Year: 1866

President to the delegates of the Vir-
ginia Legislature was so mangled in It's
transmission by telegraph as to be,
in parts nearly unintelligible. We there
fore reproduce the report prepared for
National Intelligeneer, by Mr.. Murphy
official reporter Of the U. S. Senate:


The President, in reply, said:


GENTLEMEN: In reply to the resolu-
IOns you have just presented to me, and
the clear and fOrclble, and concise re-
marks which you have made In explana-
ton of the position of Virginia, 1 shall
not attempt to make a formal speech, but
simply enter into a plain conversation in
regard to the condition of things in which
We stand. As premise to what [ may say,
permit me first to tender you my thanks
for this visit, and next to express the
Qualification l feel in meeting so many
intelligent, responsible and respectable
men Of Virginia, bearing to me the senti-
ments which have been expressed In the
resolutions of your Legislature, and in
the remarks accompanying them.


They are, so far as they refer to the
Constitution of the country, the senti-
ments and the principles embraced in
that charter of the Government The
preservation of the Union has been, from
my entrance into public life, one of my
cardinal tenets- At the very inoipiency
Of this rebellion l set my face against the
dissolution Of the.union of the States.


I do not make this allusion for the
purpose of bringing up anything which
has transpired, which may be regarded as
of an unkind or unpleasant character, but
| believed then as | believe now, and as
you have most unmistakably indicated,
that the security and the protection Of
the rights Of all the people were to be
found in the Union that we were GER
tainly safer IN the Union than we were
out Of it.


Upon this conviction [ based my op-
position to the efforts which were made to
destroy the Union. I have continued
those efforts, Notwithstanding the perils
through which l have passed, and you are
not unaware thatthe trial has been severe
one. When opposition to the Govern.
ment came from one section of the cOun-
try and that the section nwhich my life
had been passed, and with which my in
terests were identified, | stood as [ stand
now, conteDding for the Union and as
severating that the best and surest way to
obtain our rights and to protect our inter
ests was to remain in the Union, under
the protection of the Constitution





The ordeal through which we have pas
sed during the last four or five years
demonstrates most conclusIvely that that
opposition was right, and to-day after the
experiment has been made and has failed;
after the demonstration has been most
conclusively afforded that this Union can
not be Dissolved, that It was not designed
to be dissolved, it is extremely gratifying
to me to meet gentlemen as intelligent
hi
willing and anxious to accept, and do ac-
cept the terms laid down in the ConstitU
ton and In obedience to the laws made
in pursuance thereof.


We were at one period separated the
separation was to me painful IN the eX-
treme; but now after having gone through
a struggle in which the movers of the
Government have been tried, when we
have swung around to a point at which
we meet to agree, and are willing to unite
our efforts for the preservation of the
Government which l believe Is the best
in the world, it is exceedingly gratifying
to me to meet you to-day, standing upon
common ground, rallying around the
Constitution and the Union of these
States, the preservation of which as l
conscientiously and honestly believe will
result in the promotion and the advance
ment of this people.


I repeat, am gratifed to meet you to-
day, expressing the principles and an
nouncing the sentiments to which you
have given utterance, and | trust that the
occasion will long be remembered. l
have no doubt that your intention Is to
carry out and comply with every single
principle laid down IN the resolutions you
have submitted. [ know that some are
distrustiul, but an Of those who have
confidence In the judgement, In the lnteg
rity, in the intelligence-in the virtue of
the great mass of the American people
and having such confidence, [ am willing
to trust them and I thank God that we
have not yet reached that point where
we have lOstall confidence in each other.


The spirit of the Government can only
be preserved, we can only become pros
porous and great as people, BY mutual
fOrbearance and confidence. Upon that
faith and that confidence alone can the
Government be successfully carried on.


On the cardinal principle Of represen-
tation to which you refer, l will make
single remark That principle is inner
ent it constitutes one of the fundamen
tai elements of this Government. The
representatives of the States and of the
people should have the qualifications
prescribed by the Constitution of the
United States and those qualifications
most unquestionably imply loyalty he
who comes as a representative, having the
qualifications prescribed by the Constitu-
ton to fit him to take a seat IN either Of
the deliberative bodies which constitute
the National Legislature. must necessa-
rily, according to the intendment of the
Constitution, be loyal man, willing to
abide by and devoted to the Union and the
Constitution of the United States. He
cannot be for the Constitution, he cannot
be for the Union. he cannot acknowledge
obedience to all the laws, unless he Is loyal
When the people send such men, in good
faith, they are entitled to representation
through them.


In going into the recent rebellion or in
surrection against the Government of the
United States we erred, and in return
ing and resuming our relations with the
Federal Government, L am free to say
that all the responsible positions and
places ought to be confined distinctly and
clearly to men who are loyal. If there
were only FIVE thousand loyal men In a
State, or a less number, but sufficient to
take charge of the political machinery of
the State, those five thousand men, or
the lesser number are entitled to it, if all
the rest should be otherwise inclined.
look upon it as being fundamental that
the exercise of political power should be
confined to loyal men, and / regard
that as implied In the doctrines laid
down In these resolutions, and in the
eloquent address by which they have been
accompanied. may say furthermore,