Year: 1865

LOCAL NEWS.


THE cELEBRAI!0N LAST NIGHT.
| A Grand Illumi mination-Speech n by the
President.


Inc anticipation that the President would
SPEAK last evening drew an immense throng
| to the White House, which not only filled up
the grounds Immediately in front of the man.
| sion, but obetructed the sidewalks of the ave.
nue. from 18th to 18th streets. The Executive
Mansion was brilliantly Illuminated, the lights
revealing in the mist the extent of the vast
throng front and flanking the northern portico
and rendering objects quite visible at remote
distance The assemblage was enthusiastic
ana In thorough good humor, standing pa.
tlentiy In the deep mud and under the misty
drlzzie until the time Of the appearance Of the
PRESIDENT, VINO, on showing himself at the
window over the door, was received with tire.
mendous and confined applause, as was Mrs.
Lincoln, when accompanied by some friends
President proceeded to speak as follows, read.
| ing from manuscript copy, prepared with this
| deliberation, evidently in order that there
should De NO chance for miscenception Of his
THE PRESIDENTS SPEECH.


We meet this evening not in sorrow, but in
gladness Of heart The evacuation of Peters.
burg and Richmond, and the surrender OF the
principal insurgent army, gave hope Of a
righteous and speedy peace, whose joyous ex.
preston Pre- cannot be restrained. In the midst OF
this, however, He from whom all blessings
flow must not be forgotten. A call for a ma
tional thanksgiving is being prepared. and
will be duly prom lgated. Nor must those
whose harder part gives US the cause Of re-
| joicing be overlooked. Their honors must not
be parcelIed out with others. I myself was
near the front, and had the high pleasure of
transmitting much OF the good news to you;
but no part OF the honor, for plan or execution,
| is mine. To General Grant, his skilful officers
and brave men, all belongs. The gallant navy
stood ready, but was not in reach to take ac-
tive part.


BY these recent successes the reinauguration
OF the national authority, reconstruction, which
has had large share OF thought from the first,
is pressed much more closely upon our atten.
ton. 1t is fraught with great difficulty. Un-
like the case Of q war between independent
nations, there is no authorized organ for us TO
treat with. No one man has authority to give
up the rebellion for any other man. We simply
must begin with and mould from disorganiZed
and discordant elements. Nor is it small ad.
ditional embarrassment that we, the loyal
people, differ among ourselves as to the mode,
manner and measure OF reconstruction.


AS general rule, I abstain from reading


the reports OF attacks upon myself, wishing


MOTTO be provoked by that to which / cannot


properly offer an answer. In spite of this pre-


caution, however, it comes to my knowledge


that am much censured from some supposed


agency in setting up and seeking to sustain the


new state Government OF Louisiana. In this


l have done just SO much, and no more than


December, 1863, and accompanying proclama-


tion presented plan Of reconstruction tas


the phrase goes) which promised, if adopted


by any State, should be acceptable to and sus-


tanned by the Executive Government Of the


nation. I distinctly stated that this was not


the only plan which might possibly be accept.


able; and 1 also distinctly protested that the


Executive claimed no right to say when or


whether members should be admitted to seats


in Cong gress from such states. This plan was, in


advance, submitted to the then Cabinet and dis


tinctly approved by every member OF it. One


of them suggested that should then. and in


that connection, apply the Emancipation Pro


clamation to the heretofore excepted parts of


Virginia and Louisiana, that I should


drep the suggestion about apprenticeship for


freed people, and that I should omit the


admission OF members Of Congress; but even


he approved every part and parcel OF the plan


which has since been employed or touched by


the action OF ofLouisiana. The new Constitution
/ of Louisiana, declaring emancipation for the


whole State, practically applies the proclama-


tion to the part previously excepted. It does


it is SILENT as it could not well be otherwise,


about the admission Of members of Congress-


So that, as it applies to Louisiana, every men,


ber OF the Cabinet fully approved the plan.


The message went to Congress, and 1 received


many concentrations of the plan, written and


verbal; and not single objection to it, from


any proiessed emancipauonist, came to my


knowledge, until after the news reached
Washington that the people Of Louisiana had


begun to move in accordance with it, From


about July, 1862, 1had corresponded with diff
ferent persons. supposed to be interested, SEEK


ing reconstruction OF State government for
Louisiana. When the message Of 1863, with


the plan before mentioned, reached New Or
leans, General Banks wrote me that he was


confident the people, with his military CO.


operation, would reconstruct substantially on


that plan. l wrote him and some of them to


try it. They tried 1t, and the result is known
Such only has been my agency in getting up


the Louisiana government. AS to sus-


tanning it, my promise is out, as before
stated. But, as bad promises are better broken


than Kept, shall treat this as a bad promise,


and break it. whenever l shall be con vinced


that keeping tits adverse to the public interest.


But have not yet been SO convinced.


/ have been shown letter on this subject,
supposed to be an able one, in which the wri-


ter expresses regret that my mind has not
SCENE to be definitely fixed on the question


the Union or out OF it. 1t would, perhaps, ada


astonlshment to his regret were he to learn that,
since have found professed Union men en-


deavoring to make that question, have pur-
poSely forborne any public expression upon it,


1t appears to me that question has not been,


nor yet is, a practically material one, and that


any discussion Of it, while it thus remains


practically immaterial, could have no effect


other than the mischievous one Of dividing our


friends. AS yet, whatever it may hereafter


become, that question is bad, as the basis of


controversy, and good for nothing at ala


merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree


that the seeded States, SO called, are out of


their proper practical relation with the Union,


and that the sole object OF the Government,


civil and military, in regard to those States, is


to again get them into that proper practical


relation. I believe it is not only possible, but


in fact easier to do this without deciding or


even considering whether these States have


ever been out Of the Union, than with it. Find


ing themselves safely at home, it would be ut
terly immaterial whether they had ever been
abroad. Let US all join in doing the acts ne
cessary to restoring the proper practical rela-
tions between these Stales and the Union, and


each forever after innocently indulge his own


opinion whether, in doing the acts, he brought
the States from without into the Union, or only
gave them proper assistance, they never hav-


ing been out Of it.


The amount Of constituency, so to speak, on


which the new Louisiana government rests,


would be moro satisfactory to all if it contained
fifty, thirty, or even twenty thousand, instead
of only about twelve thousand, as 1t does. 1t
is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective
franchise is not given to the colored man. I


would myself prefer that it were now conferred
on the very intelligent, and on those who serve
our cause Us soldiers. Still the question is not


whether the louisiana government, asst stands,


is quite all that is desirable. The questions
are: -"Wul it be wiser tale it as it is, and help
to improve 1t, or to reject and disperse ita''