Year: 1866

le"uer, thelf representative man in the
! civil government of the Confederacy


was captured at the head of his fuei.
! 1--WE guards, and when the nation shud-
uered at the most horrible assassina-
ton OF our chosen and believed Presi-
| cent; at that hour, when we thought


that that cruel deed might possibly be


avenged, and just rctribution, other


than the execution Of the poor, half


innocent Instruments Of that crime, in
comparison with the crime OF the great


leader, be visited at that hour.


say We saw condition OF THINGS
and each man OF you Will agree with


me, l doubt not-we had but to i'm
press the true stamp of our LOYALTY


upon the South and it would have re-


celved and retained that inprcss.-


Does any one doubt that at the time


II Congress had been called together,


and II the coordinate branches of the


Government had then agreed, as upon


other extraordinary occasions, on a


policy OF reconstruction, IF rcconstruc-


ticn was noedtul or s. policy upon


which these troubles which now threat


en- the country might be settled, can


any one doubt that if Congress and the


President had agreed upon d policy,


that that policy would have been the


settled law OF the land, to which each


man North and South would have rem


dered willing obedience. Suppose, for
example, that Congress and its Presi-
dent had agreed at that day, and
1t had been proclaimed by the law


making power, rendered certain by


Executive concurrence. that the great
representative leader of the rebellion,
Jefferson Davis, who, having left the
Senate Of the United States for the
purpose OF taking the lead of the re-
bellion, should be tried for his crime,
and ii found guilty, convicted and
punished, as an example to all others
IN like case. Or if General Lee, who,
on the 18th April deserted from the
flag and the army for the purpose Of
taking command of the armed forces
Of the enemies Of the United States,
bad beer tried and punished, as every
soldier who deserts his flag TO com
mand the armies of his country'a enc
mics should be punished by every law,
civil, military, human, and, / might
almost say, divine. If it had been
proclaimed that every man who had
left the Union army, and every man
who iaad left the halls Of Congress of
the United States, should leave his
country for his country's gooG within
the next sixty days, and if it should
then have been declared that all men
whO had taken IN active part in the
rebellion, and had thereby forfeited
their rights es citizens, shoaid there.
after remain without any share in the
political power Of the United States
If that had been done, does any one
doubt that peace, quietpess, and loyai-
ty would have roigned in every State
in the South? II | am right, then We
arc not to complain because We see
now that the best thing TO be done was
not done; but as | have only sketched
before you substantially what the
President OF Tie Cnited States, ut that
time, es [ understood both from his
pablic speeches and his private declar-
atlO1s, said what was the best thing to
be done. We have right, in all fair.
ness of criticism of what has happened,
to st least regret he had not done
what our jud gsaents aow tell us was
best to be done, and what his judg-
ment at that time told him, and he told
US was best to be done. But what has
happened since the whole South, which
stood ready to receive the imprint of
our institutions, Of our laws, and of
oar wishes; now, under the state of
things which has sapervcned, have
come up to claim what they claim to
be their rights-thcir power and their
places again in the Congress of the
United States, to make laws FOR us
2n& / understand the question to dav
which divides the c09ntgy and divides
the President and the maiority Of those
who supported him in this: Shall
those mese, heretofore in rebellion,
without and guarantee that they will
cot &c again what they have done be
fore, be received back and allowed to
make laws for us? and upon that ques
ton, my friends, l will endeavor to
give you some few of the ideas which
lie uppermost in my mind as the reas,
on why this course should net be taken
for upoa no other question is there any
division between the President and
tho party which put him in power
and between thom and the opposing
party, if SO small Il fragrant as is re-
presented in congress can be called a
party. The division is this, and |
think no loyal man and no man who
fought in tho fight Of the last four
years car doEbt whore his plsoe is new.
Shall we receive these men back with
out guarantee, without surety, with
out repentance, even to places which
they voluntarily deserted? Ghore are