Year: 1865

ovlocI VI tno government, CIVIL ant


military, in regard to these States, i


to again get them into that proper


practical relation. i believe that it i,


not only possible, but in fact easier tc


do this without deciding or even con.


sidering whether these States have
ever been out of the Union, than with
it. Finding themselves safely at home,
1T would be utterly immaterial wheth-
or they had been abroad. Let us all


be doing acts necessary to restore the
proper practical relations between
those States and the Union, and each
forever after innocently indulge his
own opinion, whether in doing these


nets he bro,,sh. tho Btatos nom wruir-
out into the Union, or only gave them
proper assistance, they never having
been out of it. The amount of con-
stituency, so TO speak on which the lou
isiana government rests, would bo
more satisfactory TO all if it contained
$4,000 or 60, 900, or even 10000, in
stead of II, 900 as it does. 1t is also
satisfactory to some that the entire
franchise is not given to the colored
man. l would myself prefer that it
were now conferred on the very intel
hgent, and on those who serve our
cause as soldiers, still the question is
not whether the Louisiana Govern
ment, as it stands, is quite all that is
desirable. The question is, will it be
wiser TO take it as it is, and help to
improve it, or to reject or disperse it !?
Can Louisiana be brought into prop
er practical relations with the Union
sooner by sustaining or discarding the
new Government? Some 1,200 vot-
ers in the heretofore slave State Of
Louisiana have sworn allegiance to
tho Union, assumed to be the rightful
political power of the State, held
elections, organized State Govern
ment, adopted free State Constitu-
ton, giving the benefit Of public
schools equally to black and white,
and empowering the Legislature to
confer the elective franchise upon the
colored men. The Legislature has
already voted to ratify the Constitu-
tional Amendment recently passed by
Congress abolishing slavery through
out the Union. These 10000 persons
are thus fully committed to the Union,
TO perpetual freedom in the State and
committed to many things, and near
ly all things the nation wants, and
they ask of the nation recognition and
assistance TO make this committal.-
We have rejected and spurned them
we do our utmost to disorganize
and dispense them-we in fact say to
the white man, you are worthless or
worso--we will never help you, nor
bsShclped by you. To the blacks we
say, this cup Of liberty which these,
your old masters, hold to your lips,
we viii dash from you, and leave you
TO the chances of gathering the spill
ed and scattered contents in some
vague and undefed way, when, how
and whore. If this course is discour-
aging and paralizing to both white
and black, or has any tendency to
bring Louisiana into proper practical
relations with the Union, / have so
far been unable to perceive it. II, on
the contrary, we recognize and sus


tain the new government of Louisi-
ana, the converse Of all this is made
true. We encourage the hearts and
nerve the arms of $1,000 to adhere to
their work, and argue for it, and pros
elyte for it, and fight for it, and feed
it and grow it, and ripen it to COM
plete success. The colored man, TOO,
in seeing all united for him, is inspir-
ed with vigilance and energy, and is
doing TO the same end. Grant that
he desires the elective franchise, will
he not attain il sooner by saving his
already advanced steps toward it than
by running backward over them.-
Concede that the new government of
Louisiana is only to what it should be
as an egg is to fowl. We shall
sooner have the fowl by Matching the
egg than by smashing it, Laughter. ]
Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also
reject our Constitution, to meet this
proposition it has been argued that no
more than three-fourths of those
States which have not attempted Sc
cession, are necessary to validy ratify
an amendment. j do not commit my
self against this further than to say
that such ratification would be sure to
be persis .ently questioned, while rati-
facation by three-fourths of all the
States, would be unquestioned and
unquestionable. / repeat the ques-
ton, can Louisiana be brought into
proper practical relation with the
Union sooner by sustaining or by dis
carding her new State Government


What has been said of Louisiana will
apply to other States, and yet so great
peculiarities pertain to such State and
such important and sudden changes
occur in some States, and withal so
new and unprecedented is the whole
case that no exclusive and inflexible
plan can safely be prescribed as to de-
tails and collaterals such exclusive
and infexible plan would surely be-
come a new extanglement. Import
ant principles may and must be in
flexible in presentation, as the phrase
COOS, it may be my duty to make
some new announcement to tho peo-


ple of tho South. / am considering,


and shall not fail to act when satisfied


that that action was proper. aa


EA-Gcn. Reynolds has developed