The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-03-05
RECONSTRUCTION.

President I1ncoln's Plan-Speech of Fred
ericI< w. Seward In the New York Legis-
Iature.
In the New York Assembly, when the
resolutions condemning the President
and Gen. Sheridan for the action of the
military in the Louisiana affair came up,
Mr.. f. w. Seward spoke in opposition
to them. We print that portion relating
to President Lincoln's policy of recon
struction as agreed upon at a Cabinet
meeting on the day of his assassination.
The Albany Journal pronounces it the
first public and full account of that most
interesting historical event. In the ILL
ness of his father, Mr.. Seward was him
self present on that occasion as the repre-
sentative of the State Department, and
participated in the council. Mr.. Seward
spoke as follows:
The questions about Louisiana are not new
ones. On the contrary, they are very old ones.
They arose immediately upon the close of the
war. On the morning Of the 18th Of April,
1865, when Richmond and Petersburg had
fallen, and Sherman was holding Johnson 9
was at hand. President Lincoln called . Cabinet
meeting at the Executive Mansion, and invited
to participate in it the victorious General to
whom Lee surrendexed at Appomattox. At
such meeting, in such time, there could be
but one question, and that o question OF tram
scendent importance-the question of recon-
struction. restoration or re-establishment of the
seeded States IN their former relations as mem-
bers of the Federal Union. The con-
ference was long and earnest, with little divers
ity of opinion, except as to details. One of
the difficulties of the problem WAS,
who should be recognized as State au-
thorities There was a loyal Governor in
Virginia. There were military Governors in
some of the other States. But the Southern
reasonable. Whether they should be allowed
to continue until they committed some new
overt act of hostility whether the Governors
should be requested to order new elections
whether such elections should be ordered
by the general government-an these were
questions raised. Among many similar
expressions Of the President, in that terse and
hoTnely mode of speech, the memory of which
still fingers pleasantly IN the hearts of the
American people, he said I'VE can't under
take to run State governments in all these
Southern States. Their people must do that.
though reckon at first they may do it badly. ''
The Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, produced
some sheets of paper on which he had drafted
the outlines of q plan of reconstruction, en-
bodying the Presidents views, and, as under
stood. those of most of the other members of
the Cabinet. In substance it was that the
Treasury Department should take possession of
the Custom-Houses, and proceed to collect the
revenues that the War Department should
garrison or destroy the forts, take possession OF
arms and munitions and maintain the public
peace that the Navy Department should in like
manner occupy the harbors. take possession OF
navy yards, ships, and ordnance that the In
terror Department should send out its sur
veyors, land, pension, and Indian Agents, and
set them at work that the Postmaster-G General
should reopen his postofaces and establish his
mail routes that the Attorney General should
look after the establishment of the Federal
Courts, with their Judges, Marshals. and attor-
neys in short, that the machinery of the United
States government should be set in motion. and
its laws should be faithfully executed and vigor-
ously enforced, and that everything like domes-
tic violence or insurrection should be re-
pressed but that public authorities and private
citizens should remain unmolested. If not
found in actual hostility to the government OF
the Union. In a word. it was Aplan based upon
the Constitution of the United States. That
night Abraham Lincoln passed from earth.
Through the madness of an assassin, the South
ern people lost lenient judge, q just and gen.
erous friend.