Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-01-08

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that the bonds issued by the Legislature
for the repairs of the levees should b
turned over to a new set OF Com uission
ers, appointed by him, instead Of be ole
Commissioners appointed by the ltegis'
lature. Wells telegraphed to me one lay
to suspend that order until he could iiA Y
the case examined here. Icomplied vii
his request. As soon as Sheridan hear,
what Wells had done, he issued an order,
at three clock in the morning, hurting
Wells out Of Office. II was gross piece
of INSTRUMENTATION. The only thing
Wells had done TO obstruct Reconstruction
was to ask me to suspend Sheridan
order about the levee bonds until ~
could present the case fairly to me on y
merits. The Governor of Texas wa
ousted as an impediment, but it didn
az q hit of good. 1t didn't help recon-
structiop any, because it can't be helped
bv any such acts. 1t will 60 on just as
well under one set Of officers as under
another: but instead of overturnlng
things as little as possible, Sheridan
went to work to do it as much as pos
sible"
In allusion to the late speech OF Gov
crnor Morton, the President called at
tention to what he said was misstate
ment of fact, as follows: .
Governor Morton had said that under
the Presidents amnesty proclamation,
from $50, 900 to 2so, 900 people were dis
franchised, whereas under the Congress
sional policy, the number was only
As. 600 TO $4,000. Mr.. johnson said this
was a great mistake, and be was the
moro surprised at it because he consid-
cred Governor Morton personal friend,
though a political foe, and he did not
believe he would Intentionally misrepre-
SEN, him. "The truth is" said he,
Where never was single man disfran-
chised BY any act or proclamation OF
mine. On the contrary, / said, IN
nv North Carolina proclamation, that
ali should vote, who were entitled
TO vote before the rebellion, on taking
certain oath of present loyalty. l did
not propose to inquire what man had
done during the rebellion, but if he was
willing to swear that he would obey the
Constitution and laws, he might vote.
Fourteen classes were excepted from this
general amnesty, but special pardons
we're literally promised. Even those
who were excepted, however, were not
nsohibited from voting. The pardon
and amnesty had reference only to what
ever penalties might attach to. treason
If the act of treason DISTINGUISHED them,
then the pardon and amnesty enfran-
chised them. Even in Tennessee during
the midst of the rebellion, while | was
military Governor, | never disfranchlsed
any man for past acts OF rebellion. L
issued a proclamation to encourage men
to desert the rebel cause and come over
to our side. I offered full pardon to all
who would come forward and take an
oath, not that they had never been reb-
els, but that they noio desired the sue
cess of the Union cause and had no
present sympathy with the rebellion
Under this proclamation great many
came to us, and we always treated them
WE'LL"
The President seemed TO feel very
keenly what be considered the misrepre'
sentation made by Governor Morton,
and was evidently DESTROYS of having it
corrected. He alluded to Morton's
Richmond, Indiana, speech OF Septem-
Der 20, 1865, as one of the greatest
speeches he had ever read, and thought
Morton made a great mistake IN not
standing by it. 1t contained the true
doctrine" said he, and time is vindi-
eating it every day"
In regard to the position taken by him
in his previous speeches, with which he
had been tainted, he said;
He had predicted the abolition of
slavery and the advancement of the negro
race to a condition of happiness and
freedom, aud had spoken of time not
far distant when distinctions, based on
the color of mans skin, would be un-
known in this country.
He had done no more, he said, IN the
F." Moses speech, about which so much
noise was made. He had not advocated
negro supremacy. He had not said that
the Southern States should be putunde
negro governments through the instru'
mentality of military power. There
was a wide difference between what he
had either advocated or predicted, and
what was now being brought about under |
the Congressional policy Of the Radical
party Because / wanted the negroes
TO be free and enjoy their rights, IL does
not follow that / want them TO be the |
ruling class in eleven States. Recon
struction Of that kind after its accom-.
plishment brings no peace to the coun'
Try. 1t plants in every State the ele-
ments of discord aud dissolution that |
will be felt sooner or later."
Again, as to threatened troubles of a
year ago in Maryland, he said
"The Radicals wanted TO get up
that might possibly involve
and thus get him out OF
the way By q shorter cut than impeach-.
ment" II knew what they were after,
and had determined they shouldn't sue
coed. / had forces hare ready to put
down any attempt at disturbance, and
when they found that out they didn't go
very far Congress has called for some
on the subject, but there
is a good deal behind yet that they
haven't called for, and probably don't
want" Abiding to the statement OF
Senator Thayer, ION his RESPONSE bility
as Senator" during the fall campaign
in Ohio, that he lJohnson) was about to
inaugurate q rebellion and prevent the
Of Congress, he said he never
had been able to find out exactly What it
but he believed Thayer had got
bis Information here in Washington
from high source.
There are two or three other state
nenis of this letter of less Importance.
Mr.. johnson denied the assertion Of Sen
ator Colfax that be had suggested an
extra session Of Congress, at the Kirk