Year: 1866

the people of Louisiana, whom he served
devotedly His administration of the high
est Office in her gift was able, earnest, and
faithful. We presume his remains will be
brought home for burial in the land and
under the guardianship of the people be
loved so well.


Remarkable Conversation Of President


johnson with the London Times Cor


respondent.


Under date of April 10th, the Times
American correspondent gives the following
account of aa interesting Interview he lad
recently, with President johnson: /:


The President first adverted to the con.
dition in which he found the country on his
accession to Office, and pointed out that ever
since that time the Radical party, which
now has the control over Congress, had been
preparing for the issues forced upon him.
Their object was manifest, and it was one
which, from their point of view, they could
scarcely be blamed for pursuing it so eager
ly. They knew perfectly we'll that when
the South came back into Congress their
day of power would be over-the Southern
representatives would stand as unit; they
would probably fall into alliance again with
the Democratic party, the old issues Of sla.
very and State sovereignty would be dead
and buried, and the party which now ruled
would be stripped of its power. Their talk
of philanthropy and benevoleuce to the me-
gro, meant nothing more than desire to
work upon the feelings of the North, so
that they might be enabled to carry every.
thing thsir. own way. 1t was a renewal of
an old conflict. The two sections of the
country were ready to go to war before the
rebellion broke out-the one to- preserve
slavery, the other to destroy it. Each side
was willing to sacrifice the Government in
order to gain its object. The South struck
first The rebellion was subdued at the
Southern end of the line, and now it is
swinging round to the other end "These
men," continued the President, and he al
ways used these words to denote the Radi.
cal party-"are almost ready to 90 into re.
bellion again rather than have their suprem-
acy destroyed by the re introduction of the
South. They know nothing practically of
the real state of the South The very man
who had drawn up the Civil Rights bill,
what are his means Of judging? l left him
in the Senate during the war, and went out
to Tennessee and saw it all, and bore my
share of the troubles. He stopped at home
and now endeavors to make his theories
square into the events of the war, and leg
islate on ideas which he has never put to
the test"


The President then went on to speak of
slavery and the negro. He had been
brought up, he said, under the very shadow
of the institution of slavery. He had
bought and owned slaves, but still be had
always been for abolishing slavery upon any
basis which could be adopted with safety
to the country. When it came to the ques,
tion whether slavery should be abolished or
the Government broken up, he never had
doubt as to the course which he ought to
pursue; he decided to give up slavery, and
be abided by that decision. Butthe South
now would treat the negro with greater
kindness than the North, if 1t were let
alone and not exasperated "They talk of
justice to the negro" continued the Presi-
dent, "God knows my heart yearns toward
him when l think of the end which these
men are preparing for him. Isee that end
clearly enough-tbey are going the way for
a conflict of races. When that occurs We
all know how it will fare with the negro
How has such a contest always ended p
When the time comes there will be no strug-
gle. The result will be. decided without
that. Now, then, what do we find? The
very thing which We said these Southern
States could never do-which we fought
these four years to prevent them doing
these men affirm that they have actually
done-namely, been out of the Union. The
Southern States are ready to come back
upon our terms, take loyal oaths, and ac.
knowledge their allegiance, but these men
say they shall not. Why, if they had of.
fered to come back, or any of them, during
the rebellion, should We have turned them
away on the ground that they had placed
themselves out of the Union? Mr.. Lin
coin offered to receive the whole Legislature
of Richmond-s rebel Legislature-and
would have welcomed them with open arms. |
Would be have refused to receive these
States now that they had fully submitted ?"


Mr.. johnson then enlarged with consid.
erable detail upon the operation CT the
Freedmen's Bureau, and said its machinery
was now being used to get negroes conveyed
from the North back to the South, by the
very men who we're asserting that the lives
of the freedmen were not safe in he South.
They had hired or bought lands, they want. !
ed labor, and they got their negroes trans.
ported at the expense of the Government
The Freedmen's Bureau compelled the me-
groes to 60, or they stopped their subsist-
ence allowance. 1t was little better than
another form of slavery, only that it was
solely conducted by Abolitionists; for the
Freedmen's Bureau would not assist
Southern man in getting negroes from the
North where manv thousands of them have