Newspaper Page Text
OLIJ4SERIES, VOL. LXXV.
(tltromclc & fcnttncl
mooki;,
At • it. will a i it.
Tlill.Urt -I ii-< HJITION.
' J. H. U . JOHNSTON ,
A j GT7«TA, <. A :
wed.m;:- day aithst 29.
FBITORI.U CORKKSFOMIEMK.
The gathering here to-day is immense.
weather ha been <Mijrhtf.il. Under the
influence of the beautiful weather thou-
Klllll- lif fir. [ ' ! ~,,.*..1 <n ,„-I.r
four to the wigwam, and when wc readied
plete!filk-d. Thounahds were standing in
endeavoring to catch .something of what
and outside wa- estimated at from 30,000
to 50,0.1'). f hardly think, however, that
it r ae!i,' l the first number, Great anxi
ety wa fel: to hear t.ho Platform, which
was to )<e to-day presented from the com
mittee appoin ted for that purpose. Al
tboti rh Oki fir«t f«p : ifaV prokeifings'lia 1 ,
developed and exhibited a degree ofbar
cxoeeled. there was a Vary "ericral an
prelien-ion that upon the Platform ..{‘prin
ciples there would be a division of senti
ment which would mar the harmony of the
Convention. No doubt this very fear of a
' ire in pro lucing th >
cordiality of agreement which the after
proceeding.-, developed. The true men
from till sections exerted themselves to the
utmost in arranging questions of disagree
ment and softening expressions which
might be offensive to either section. All
seemed to be fully impressed with the con
viction that upon the success of the move- 1
meat inaugurated hero depended, in a very
large degree, the continued existerie -of
free Government on this continent. The
fooling was general and convincing, that
unless the Convention should adopt a line 1
of policy and a platform of principles broad 1
and catholic enough for the conservative ;
men of all sections to stand upon, that the j
Radicals would sweep the entire North and !
West in the approaching Fall elections. !
I fence every member of the Convention .
came prepared to make such coneos, ions
and compromises as would secure the co- I
operation of the good men everywhere in j
the cause of the Constitution, against the j
Radical disunionists. I have never seen i
men w> mmcU in their desire for concilia
tion und peace as the members of the Foil- |
volition Iron, die Northern and Wc-tern ;
States, nor ha-re f ever heard the Radicals
so thoroughly deiKjunced, even in the South, j
n- ; they are by these, men who live among j
them. For the South mi,l Southern people |
they express the kindest tilings and most j
anxious solicitude: They recognize and ap- !
preeiate the great sacrifices which have i
been made at the South, and fed keenly |
the deep humiliations to which wo have j
been subjected by the “Hump Congress.”
With these feelings and considerations j
moving and actuating them, it is not t i he j
wondered at that the reading of the reso
lutions and address in the Convention to
day received the most enthusiastic and j
deafening applause. All seemed to feel j
that a great weight had been suddenly j
lifted from them, and in the joy of the mo- !
merit sprang to their foot and made the air
ring with wild shyujs ,yj‘ approval. For |
some moments after the reading of the
resolutions the immense and excited throng |
stood with heads uncovered and hats and I
handkerchiefs waving in the air, giving the i
most extravagant exhibitions of delight j
and approval. 1 have never seen anything !
like the enthusiasm which was here mani
fested, and I have no doubt but that the L
feelings aroused to-day will be kept alive
in the breasts of the people until the Radi
cal cohorts shall have surrendered to the
party which has this day been organized.
During t hese enthusiastic demonstrations
of approval, I noticed that the Southern
men very generally kept quiet and appa- :
rently unmoved. This was in view of the !
fact that any other course would have been
made the pretext, by the Radicals, ot
assailing the proceedings,. by declaring j
that all the enthusiasm was exhibited j
by the South, and that the whole affair
was but another Southern victory. 1 lie
Southern men felt as much perhaps, as !
the Northern, but the schools of adversi j
ty in which they have been for the last :
live years taking sad and mournful les.
sons, taught them that to repress, for the I
moment at least, any exhibition of warm i
approval would most contribute to the j
main object in view.
Before this reaches you, your readers i
will have been placed in possession of tiro i
platform, and can make up their own :
judgment upon it. I will only say here j
that as far as 1 have heard an expression
ot’Southern sentiment, it meets tire miatti- j
mous and cordial approval of the Southern
delegates. They fed that it is the very Inst '
terms that can he got /ram any party at i
the Xorth , and that if there should I- any ;
opposition exhibited to it at the South, j
Already it has been intimated that the
South will spit upon the platform, or only j
tolerate it that they may secure power in j
the Congress of the nation. Tkeconserva- ;
lives here desire that the Southern States !
shall take some action in approval of the 1
platform, either by State Convention or
county meetings. They say that such a i
vi t.rse would greatly strengthen them, and j
that they need all the help they can get. j
The address to the people of the United ;
States as published, is not in the exact j
phraseology which was reported by the ]
Committee. There are a few phrases used j
in describing parties to the late war. which |
are offensive to a portion of our people, and I
they were ordered to be stricken out of the j
address, betore it was reported to the Con- I
vent ion. By some oversight, this was not !
done, and hence the official copy of the ad- |
dros- w iff be slightly modified in a few not J
and comprehensive document, and will
doubtless do much good in conveying to the j
masses a correct view of the situation and I
the perils which surround the Govern- j
meet. L hope that its length will not pro- \
x out any ot your readers from perusing it I
calmly and thoughtfully.
After the reading of the address and the
appointment of a few Standing Commit
tees. the Convention adjourned. That its
labors have been of tlie most conservative
platform which it has established. That
its action is in harmony with the great
heart of the nation, cannot, I think, be
reasonalily qiu stiotK and.
The mail is about closing, and I must
stop. You shall hear from me again to
morrow. Vs.
Military Arrest.—The first oasc of
arrest under General Grant's order, di
recting the military to ait where the civil
authorities fail to do so. is reported by the
Atlanta papers. Mr., Jallies M. Lacky, a
highly respectable citizen of Bartow county,
wr.s arrested at Cartorsville about a week
a.o. Ly order of General Thomas, and
taken under guard to Atlanta. Mr. Lacky,
it appears had assaulted a gentlemen from
Atlanta, who was at Cartersville, in busi
ness, and the <iyil authorities there failed
to arrest Mr,. lucky. The gentleman com.
plained to Generst Thomas, who had Mr.
* Lacky arrested, l'c has been turned over
to the civil authorities.
4 .n Inside YRh of the enhvention.
Our readers are already a'vre that the
: > hia
mitt..-o appointed by the P; ;ident of the
. : two deleg jfrom
.State and one from the T. rritoi sand Dis
trict of Columbia. This C •amittee was
; compos.;d of about eighty lumbers, and
; in view in the short time wiiicl they "had
A Sub-Commit me of tliirt -*i was ap
ajipointe-l by tire General Committee, to
whom was entrusted the task of framing a
suitab! • platform and addro j. Several
drafts of a platform had been introduced in
the Convention, and by the rule iddpted by
thn' hod;.-, refer) ed to the Uenuittee with
mt <o Tht • were ail r and i the fir.-t
meeting of the General as was
1 aho a lona address, sai l to have,been pre
pared by Hon. If. J. Raymond, kdeleg
from the city of New York. The first se
ries of resolutions, aaid tp have keen from
■ the pen of Senator Cowan, from l'j.-rmsylva
nia, who was Chairman of the’' General
Committee, although somewhat- more
! lengthy, contained in substance all that is
in Lite platform as adopted by the Conveu
: tion. The second scries of resolutions'read
1 to the Co-ndhtfeo were tlrraphui'tb be the
1 prxlucii m of th,.-venerable Seiwtor from.
: Maryland. Hon. Beverly Johnson.' These
! constitute the basis of the platfiW as fin ah
: ly reported and adopted, with the exception
of the 9th resolution. Another scries of
wer: also read, which was
j thought to be from the prolific brain of Mr.
Raymond, of New York. All of, these reso
11turns were, in many resj sets, ntical as
to the subject matter treated of, and in
many instance.-, identical in the modes of
expii --i'in. The o were all referrevl, tjs'ju.- 1
! stated, to a Hub-Committee of thirteen, op
. which Senator Cowan was made Chairman
i Upon this Sub Committee, among others,
were Senators Johnson and Hendricks,
Hon. O. 11. Browning and Gen. McCook,
from tin; Northern State.-, and Governor
Graham, from North Carolina, ex-Gov.
Marvin, of Florida, Judge Yerger, of Mis
-i.-sippi, and F. W. Alexander, of Georgia.
This Committee, after a session of over
four hours, reported to the General Com
mittee the draft of a platform and address
at nine o’clock I’. M., on the I.oth. The
platform reported by the Hub-Committee
was adopted without a single alteration or
amendment, and was substantially the one
thought to be from the pen of the Senator
from Maryland, except the resolution in
relatic nto the soldiers, which was taken
from the draft submitted by Senator Cowan.
The address reported by the Sub-Com
mittee was that submitted by Mr. Raymond;
cut down and pruned of about one-fourth
of its original contents. The long history
of the slavery agitation and the action of
the Government upon the question with a
review of the results of emancipation were
stricken out, and many objectionable words
and phrases in reference to the South and
the late war were also ordered to be stricken
out, and otherwise less offensive epithets
substituted in their place. This was con
fided to Mr. Raymond as the original drafts
man of the address, with the assurance
*-iore than once given to the Southern mem
iter. oftlie Convention, that he would in
.Rood riitli comply with the instructions of
the Committee. But as thc.su changeswcre
numerous and some of them would require
a little time to make suitable selections of
words and phrases to replace them, he j
asked for time to accomplish that object. |
This was grafted, as 1 have jt*„j
upon his roftcrittucr'plMgd' that he wrorcFj
in good faith make the required alterations. \
A motion was made by a delegate from |
one of the Eastern States to striko out ;
the following clause in the address, because !
it might be construed into a declaration of !
opinion by the Convention that the indivi.d
uids who were engaged in the late civil war j
Against the authority oftlie United States :
Government were guilty if there were guilt
anywhere and not the States.
“For whatever responsibility tlie South- j
ern people may have incurred in resisting |
tire authority of the national government
and in taking up arms for its overthrow,
they may bo held to answer, as individvals,
before the judicial tribunals of the land, ■
and for that conduct, as societies and or- j
ganized communities, they have already
paid the most fearful penalities that can
fall oil (offending States in the losses, the i
sufferings and humiliations of unsuccessful j
war.”
Upon this motion to strike out —which j
was I >st —strange to say a few of the South- |
ern delegates voted no ! A motion wa s !
then made to strike out the words “for I
whatever in the beginning oftlie sentence, ;
and insert the words “if any.” It was I
contend.-, I % by those in fovorof striking
out and inserting that the word whatever j
implied soi\u\ and the Convention should
not pass upon questions which might pro- i
bably be brought before tlie courts of the
country in a few weeks, in the trial of those
accused of treason for their acts during the
war. This motion was carried, but the
address as read to the Convention retained
the objectionable words.
The discussions which arose upon these
questions of difference were conducted in
the utmost harmony and good feeling.
Some of the Northern and Western men
advocating with great earnestness the pro
priety of the change sought to be made,
while a few Southern delegates resisted
the proposed modifications.
Finally the address and platform having
been adopted about 19 o'clock, a motion
was made to adjourn, when Mr. Hendricks
begged that it might lie withdrawn, to
enable him to submit a motion, which re- I
quest was agreed to. He then moved to :
reconsider the vine adopting the resolution ’
in the platform relating to the soldiers, to
enable him to osier an amendment to it* :
This was also agreed to. and he proceeded .
to say that the resolution as it stood (sub !
stantialiy as reported by Senator Cowan) ;
would not satisfy the demands of the \\ est- j
ern people. The resolution, merely ex- :
pressed admiration for the qualities of j
the American soldier, commended him
for his courage, energy and ohivalrie
bearing in the field —bis magnanimity and |
generous forbearance in sift-eess —and his
frank and manly acceptance of the terms '
of defeat.
It was said that the North and West
demanded that a distinction should be
made between the Northern and Southern
soldiers—that the former were entitled to
their gratitude and thanks for the part
they took in the contest just closed. Hence
he moved to strike out ‘ American"' and
nsert “ Union' soldiers, and further to de
clare they were entitled to and received
their services in tlie field.
To this s.of the Southern delegates
in that shape they could not, without an
entire disregard of their own self-respect.
concur iu the report.
They admitted that such an expression
i of opinion and feeling was proper and right i
1 on the part of the Northern men, but that
|no tr> , man at the South should It' re-;
qutred to -av that he felt gr<’U/ul for hav
i.ie been conquered and subjugated. They
admitted that such sentiments were proper
in one section, but were debasing and dis
graceful to the other. A long debate en
; ' T e ‘i u P° n Gus [uestion. in which one man.
j who said he was from the South, announced
j that he approved and would support the
| amendment. He was said to be from the
I State ot Touuiss, . Finally the matter was
] disposed of by the adoption of the resoln
'■ tion, which was reported to and adopted
by the Convention, and which was drawn
. up by Mr. Johnson of Maryland, and is
number nine (9) ot the series iu the l’lat
i form.
1 These statements of the inside workings
of the Convention are made in justice to
the Southern delegates. The Platform, as
a whole, and the Address, c-xoept in regard
to the words which were ordered to be ,
stricken out, it is thought receive their
approval. W.
EDITORIAL CORKESPOXDEXCE.
Closing Scenes of the Convention—The
Enthusiasm of the Audience upon the
Reception and Reading of the Platform
and Address—Deafening tpplause upon
the Resolution Complimentary to Pres
dent Johnson —lntense Excitement
ami Tremendous Cheering upon the
Close of the Reading of the Platform
—The Immense Audience Rise to their
Feet and Rive Prolonged Shouts of
Approval which continue for some time
—Order Restored Notion for Ad
journment, <te., Ac.
PIULADKLPHIA, Aug. 17, 1806.
; The readers of the Chronicle if- Sentinel
I can hardly conceive the degree of enthusi
: asm and excitement with which the Plat
! form and Address were received liy the
| Convention yesterday. The spacious gal
j leries on each side of the auditorium were
i densely packed long before the hour desig
| nated for the opening of the Convention.
A larger number of ladies appearing than
on either of the previous days, gave variety
and beauty so the spectacle,' and font a
charm to the assembly which was truly
delightful and gratifying. Their presence I
in such numbers showed the degree'of in
terest which they felt in the success of the
great objects of the Convention, and gave
assurance that their powerful influence
will be felt in securing the triumph of the
iiKjjp.'inent over the Radical programme of
proscription and continued persecution.
Some fears had been entertained that the
! Committee on Platform and Address would
I not be able to agree, and it had transpired
that there had been a long debate in Con
vention upon ouo or two leading subjects
i contained in the Platform, in which some
feeling had been exhibited.
These idle rumors had produced a most
1 intense degree of anxiety to hear the re
! port, and all of that vast throng were as
mute and quiet during the reading as a
I country church yard on a summer eve, ex
cept when broken by the loud shouts of
applause, which followed the reading ot I
each resolution oftlie scries reported. The j
great feature of the day, as it had been on i
the two previous, was the good feeling and
fellowship exhibited by the delegates from
the two extreme sections. All seemed to
forget for the moment that they had ever
; cherished other than the most paternal re
; gard and esteem for each other, and the
j plcasureable emotions of the present
j buried in oblivion the memories of the
i feuds and blows of the recent past. This
! was particularly true as to the Northern
and Western men. The Southern dele
i gates' were quiet and dignified in their
I bearing, some exhibiting a degree of calm
ness which might well have been taken for
J indifference. They joined very rarely in
the applause, and when they did, not with
! the heartiness and apparent frankness of
the Northern men. This arose, not from
any particular feeling of indifference or
distrust, but. was the result of the pe
] peculiar position which they felt they occu
j pied in the Convention and before the
| country. It was the calm dignity of con
| scious right in all that they had done, in
| termiugied with the conviction of a disas
trous defeat, from which they had not re
| covered, and could never hope to recover,
; unless the movement now set in motion
| -should ultimately succeed in destroying the
1 power of they Radical majority. Jkime of
; lUwte^f'e
illd not meet" them With the open, frank
and cordial spirit which they had extended
to us, but were satisfied with the lioneat
purposes, and assured integrity of the
Southern men. We told them it would
take a little more time —a little more con
| ciliation and forbearance on their part to
heal the wounds made upon us during the
war. We said that in a very great degree
our resentment was gone, and that the ex
hibition of such feelings as wc had witness
; ed there towards us in the future would do
! much to secure our love.
I had no idea of the strong hold the
President had upon the great heart of the
I people until the reading of the resolution
i endorsing his course, and pledging him the
support of the Convention. Every indi
i vidual in that great concourse rose, as by
j common impulse, and threw up their hands
] with loudest demonstrations of approval
1 and love. There could be no mistaking the
| sentiment. It was one of entire, cordial
; and grateful approval of his efforts to re
j store the Union of our bleeding country
| upon the basis of the Constitution and the
Laws. His name is a tower of strength to
the new organization, and his hearty en
dorsement of its action will strengthen the
j hands of its friends and ult imately secure
j its success. After the reading of the last
resolution of the Platform it was put to
the vote of tiie Convention and carried
without a single dissenting voice. Then
the vast throng for a moment were entirely
| unmanageable, and gave vent to their feel
, ings in a series of tremendous cheers which
fairly shook the roof of the great wigwam.
I noticed that the ladies testified their ap
proval by rising, waving their handkerchiefs
and even patting their hands. Members
; seemed to breathe freer, and all were dc
i lighted that a Platform had been agreed
! upon which was broad enough to embrace
all the good men of both sections. It was
some time before quiet could be entirely
restored. Delegates were congratulating
| each other upon the results of their labors,
j and the Northern and Southern men were
: seen to grasp each other's hands with
strongest emotions of fraternal regard.
After many efforts on the part of the
President, order was finally restored, when
i Senator Cowan, from .Pennsylvania. Chair
j man of the Committee on Resolutions,
| arose and stated that an address had been
prepared by the Committee, the draft of
which being in the hand-writing of the Hon.
Mr. Raymond of New Y ork, lie proposed
that that geutleman should read the same
to the Convention. As Air. Raymond rose,
he was greeted with loud and general
applause, which subsiding, he read in a
clear, strong and impressive manner the
address which lias doubtless already reached
you. The frequent interruptions to the
reading, produced by the cheering of differ
ent paragraphs and expressions, induced
the President to stop the reading, while he
earnestly entreated the Convention to let
tlie address be read without the interrup
tions which would necessarily follow the
continued applause of its different parts.
After this the reading proceeded very qui
etly, until that portion of the address was
read w ieh declares:
That there is no section of the country
where the Constitution and laws of the
I'r.it. and states find a more prompt and en
tire obedience than in those States and
among those people who were lately in
arms against them ; or where there is* less
purpose or danger of any future attempt to
l overthrow their authority.
I lere the applause could not be suppressed I
for some minutes; but when the Secretary
read with a strong and peculiar emphasis
£he-following paragraph declaring :
" Xo people has ever yet existed whose
loyal tv and faith such treatment long con
tinued would not alienate and impair. And
the ten millions of Americans who live in
the South would be unworthy citizens of a
free country, degenerate sons of an. heroic
ancestry, unfit ever to become guardians of
the rigiits and liberties bequeathed to us
by the fathers and founders of this repub
lic, if they could a iwith uncomplain
ing submissiyeness. the humiliations thus
sought to be imposed upon them. Resent
ment ofinjustiee is always and everywhere
essentia! to freedom ; and the spirit which
prompts Uie States and people lately in in
surrection, bm insurgent now no longer, to
■ protest against the imposition of unjust and
' degrading con ml >ns. makes them all the
more worthy to share in the jjoTeru
■ ment of a free commonwealth, and gives
: still firmer assurance of the future power
and freedom of the republic.”
I The applause became unbounded. The
j whole of that vast throng arose as by one
AUGUSTA, GA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 29, IS6G.
impulse and gave cheer upon cheer to the
sentiments so truthfully and graphically
described by the draftsman. Hundreds of
voices cried out, “ read it again,” “ read it
again,” and the President was compelled to
have the paragraph read a second time.
This demonstration did not come from the
Southern members, though they were grati
fied and delighted at its exhibition. It was
the spontaneous voice of the North, uttered
in obedience to a sentiment which in their
heart of hearts they believed to be true. It
was an exhibition of American feeling,
A merican sentiment and American appre
ciation of enmity to oppression.
When almost at the close of the address,
a call is made for the organization of a par
ty to put down the present Radical disu
nionists, and the Secretary read the sen
tence :
“ We call upon you in every Congressional
District of every State, to secure the election
of members who , whatever other‘ differences
may characterize their political action, will
unife in recognizing the bight of every
State of the Union to representation
in Congress, and who will admit to scats,
in either brunch, every loyal Representative
from everg Slate in allegiance to (he govern
ment, who may be found by each House, in
the exercise of the power conferred upon it
by )ke Constitution., to have been duly elect
eel, returned and qualified for a scat there
in.' ’
Tlie excited audience arose to their feet,
and poured forth cheer after oheer in re
sponse to the ideas embraced in that sen
tence. 1 Imtr. n-rver seefffhore tfffiElniJtasni
than that which was called fortli by the
reading of this address, and particularly of
the parts which I have noticed. But when
tlie address was closed, there was a scene
of wild excitement and gratification which
I need not pitempt to describe. For many
minutes the din was incessant and boister
ous, giving to the spectator an idea of some
vast Babel, where workmen had been sud
denly stricken with a confusion of tongues.
After order had been restored, and some
formal motions made and carried, the
President a-ose and returned his thanks
to the body for the consideration and cour
tesy with which they had conducted them
selves towards him, and announced that as
at the opening of their body the Divine aid
had been invoked for tlie harmony and
suocess of its deliberations, it was becom
ing and proper before adjourning to call
upon the Deity for His blessing and bene
diction. Tliis was done by the chaplain in
attendance, when the gavel sounded the
adjournment sine die of tlio Philadelphia
Convention.
There was something exceedingly appro
priate in the selection of this city for the
assembling of the Convention. I do not
know whether it was intentional or not,
but it is non! the less striking and signifi
cant. It was hero the original Declaration
of Independence was passed in 1776; here
that the first Congress of the Confederation
assembled, which led to the union and in
dependence of the colonies ; here that the
Convention sat which gave form and birth
to the Constitution of the United States,
and -it was meet and appropriate that the
Convention which assembled to inaugurate
measures for the preservation of Jtliat Con
stitution, should have sat here also. Let
us take this accidental circumstance or for
tunate coincidence as a favorable omen of
future peace and prosperity for the whole
land.
I again reiterate what I stated in my let
ter of yesterday, that while there are some
things both in the'Platform'and Address
which might have been omitted, without,
in my opinion, impairing its hope of suc
cess at the North, and which are in some
degree obnoxious to Southern sentiment,
yet, taken as a whole, it is much better
than we of the South had hoped to have
made it; There will he a few extreme men
in the South who will condemn it, but I
have no doubt hut that the great mass of
the people will sustain and support it.
I shall leave in a few moments for New
York, from which place you will hear
from me again. A great many, if not a
large majority, of the Southern delegates
•hU£S4®f* soma for fupaey hut ,tlio most of.
them an l extending ffi'cTr trip farther
North. W.
National Bank Currency.—As there
are at present so many counterfeit altered
National Bank notes in circulation through
out the country, we publish the following
list of designs on the back of the genuine
notes: SI,OOO notes, Washington resign
ing his commission; SSOO notes, Surrender
of General Burgoyne; SIOO notes, Decla
ration of Independence ; S2O notes, Bap
tism of Pocahontas; $lO notes, De Soto
discovering the Mississippi; $5 notes,
Landing of Columbus in 1492; $2 notes,
Sir Walter Raleigh, 1585 ; $1 notes, Land
ing of the Pilgrims. All National Bank
notes, the backs of which do not correspond
with the above, are bogus.
Art at the “Hub.”— Boston takes a
front rank among American cities for its
public statues. The following is a list of
them: Washington, at the State House;
Franklin, at the City Hall; Webster, in
Sthte House yard; Horace Mann, do.;
Storey, Winthrop, John Adams, and Jas.
Otis, at the Chapel, Mount Auburn; War
ren at Bunker Hill; Alexander Hamilton,
Commonwealth Avenue; Ceres, Pomona
and Flora, on Tremont street, Horticultu
ral Hall. To be erected: Edward Everett,
Common; equestrian statue of Col. Sliaw,
State House yard; Ether Monument, Pub
lic Garden.
A Monster of Hideus Mien. —“P.
W. A.,” in his letter to the Macon Jour
nal if Messenger, hints broadly at the
dangers to the South, and to the whole
country, that lie lurking, tiger-like, in the
future, shouid the sway of fanatical radi
calism not be broken—they are, the im
peachment of the President, negro suffrage
throughout the South, the confiscation of
the property of Southerners, the banish
ment or destruction of those in the South
opposed to radical measures and princi
ples, the complete alteration of the spirit
and form of our Government, and, the
inauguration of a reign of terror which
would whelm the country and Government
in general anarchy and ruin.
Presbyterian Dissenters.— The Con
ference of the Presbyterians at St. Louis
nave received a letter from prominent Old-
School Presbyterians in various parts of
the country, sympathizing with their
movements. The Conference has adjourn
ed, after passing resolutions that it did not
mean to set up anew church organization,
but cannot sit with its General Assembly
in its present attitude. It was suggested
that a resolution be passed of confidence in
President Johnston; but a reply was made
that that would be running into the very
measures they denounced the General As
sembly for performing.
Railways in the United States. —
In September, 1865, there were in the
United States five hundred and three rail
road companies, with nearly 36.000 miles
of road, and spending for annual expenses,
$2,266,360,000. Pennsylvania has more
miles of railway than any other State, re
porting 3,350 miles : and during 1565 it
constructed more miies of railroad than
New York and New England combined.
Ohio is the second State, with 3,210 miles,
and Illinois the third, with 3.156. These
returns do not include horee railroads.
Stowers. Keyes and Byrum.—lt is
stated in a dispatch from M ashington. re
ceived by the Hon. A. Burt, one of the
counsel of Messrs. Stowers, Keyes and By
rum, that the recent removal of these
prisoners from Charleston was made
without the knowledge or sanction of the
President. Upon the matter being brought
t:. his attention, the President immediately
directed that an order should be issued for
their removal to Firt Delaware.
The ThomasviUe Enterprke publishes
an abstract of the tax statistics ot Tnorna
countv, Geonria, from n Inch it appears
that there arc 7sl white and 1, ~2 > Hack
polls ; that the number of acres of land
returned is 467,593. tbo value of wliich is
$1.226,114— ab0ut $2 75 per acre; and that
tlie total value of taxable property is 1 2,,
946,531 —being nearly six millions of dol
lars less than former valuations.
leitkii reni riiiniiij.riih.
Address to the People of the United States.
Philadelphia, August 16, l$G6.
fh'r Chronicle : —A copy of the address,
as retfl bjr the Hon. H. J. Raymond, has
just r-ached my hands. I have had no
timef.o read it carefully, but a glance sug
gests ‘.be phought that it does not exaetly
refleci the views determined on by vote in
the night session of the Committee, and I
am inciiued'to think this will appear when
we come' to see the official proceedings.
Prior to tie session of the Convention,
many of thi Southern delegation— particu
larly those from Kentucky and Georgia—-
said, “We ueave the whole matter of or
ganization, and address, to the
North and West; we only ask that £he
Platform will recognize our constitutional
rights, and the resolutions and address
will adopt that view of our past political
status which must have unquestionably
governed President Lincoln when lie recog
nized us as belligerents, and not adopt that
view which is,, sought to be mad% prevail,
that the huge civil war through which we
have passed was a rebellion or insurrection,
as those terms are defined by the laws of
nations.” ©use views were ably enforced
and the military men present, both Federal
and Confederate. My recollection is. that
the Committee, by vote, decreed that all
those terms —“rebellion” and “insurrec
tion” —be stricken out, so far as tley
affected this view, in the address, and the
term “civil war” be substituted. My im
pression is that Mr. Raymond, the author
of the address, claimed that there was not
sufficient time then to make the proper
changes in the phraseology, but' would do
so before the meeting of the Convention,
l'our correspondent has nut read the ad
dress with sufficient care to say whether or
not this lias been done, but deems it im
portant that this explanation should go
with the address to itlie readers of the
Chronicle, in order that they may properly
appreciate the spirit which governed the
Committee, and rightly understand what
was understood to be their views.
The following is the copy of the address,
as it appears in the evening papers:
M.
To the People or the United States.
Having met in Convention, at the city
of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylva
nia, this 16th day of August, 1866, as the
representatives of tlie people in all sections,
and all the States and Territories of the
Union, to consult upon the condition and
the wants of our common country, wo ad
dress to you this declaration of our prin
ciples, and of the political purposes we
seek to promote.
Since the meeting of the last Nat ional
Convention, in the year 1860, events have
occurred which have changed tluj*.diame
ter of our internal politics, and given the
United States anew place among the na
tions of the earth. Our Government has
passed through the vicissitudes and the
perils of civil war —a war which, though
mainly sectional in its character, has never
theless decided political differences that
from the very beginning of the Govern
ment had threatened the unity of our
national existence, and has left its impres
sion deep and ineffaceable upon all tlie in
terests, the sentiments, and the destiny of
the republic. While it has inflicted upon
the whole country severe losses in life and
property, and has imposed burdens which
must weigh on its resources for generations
to come, it has developed a degree of na
tional courage in the presence of national
dangers—a capacity for military organiza
tion and achievement, and a devotion on
the part of the people to the form of gov
ernment which they have ordained, and to
the principles of liberty whiclv that Gov
(TKiuaeut .dor.ign&l tp .. 1
must confirm the confideiice of the _ nation
in the perpetuity of its republican institu
tions, and command the respect of the
civilized world.
Like all great contests which rouse_ the
passion and test the endurance of nations,
this war has given new scope to the ambi
tion of political parties, and fresh impulse
to plans of innovation and reform. Amidst
the chaos of conflicting sentiments insep
erable from sue!i an era, while the public
heart is keenly alive to all the passions that
can sway the public judgment and affect
the public action ; while tlie wounds of'
war are still fresh and bleeding on either
side, and fears for the future take unjust
proportions from tlie memories and resent
ments of the past, it is a difficult but an
imperative duty which on your behalf we,
who are here assembled, have undertaken
to perform.
For the first time after six long years ci
alienation and conflict, we have come to
gether fron every State and every section
of our land, as citizens of a common coun
try, under that flag, the symbol again of a
common gbry, to consult- together how
best to eeirent and perpetuate that Union
which is again the object tof our common
love, and thus secure the blessings of lib
erty to ourselves and our posterity.
In the fust place, we invoke you to re
member, always and ever, that the war is
ended, andthe nation is again at peace.
The shock of contending arms no longer
assails the shuddering heart of the repub
lic. The insurrection against the supreme
authority of the nation has been suppress
ed, and that authority has been again ac
knowledged, by word and act, in every
State and by every citizen within its juris
diction. We are no longer required or
permitted to regard or treat each other as
enemies. Not only have the acts of war
been discontinred, and the weapons of war
laid aside, but the state of war no longer
exists, and the sentiments, the passions,
the relations of war have no longer lawful
or rightful place anywhere throughout our
brotul domain. Wc are again people of
the United States, fellow-citizens of one
country, bound by the duties and obliga
tions of a common patriotism, and having
neither rights nor interests apart from a
common destiny. The duties that devolve
upon us now are again the duties of peace,
and no longer the duties of war. We have
assembled here to take counsel concerning
the interests of peace ; to decide how we
may most wisely and effectually heal the
wounds the war his made, and perfect and
perpetuate the beiefits it has secured, and
the blessings which, under a wise and be
nign Providence, have sprung up in its
fiery track. This is the work, not of pas
sion. but of calm and sober judgment; not
of resentment for past offenses, prolonged
beyond the limits which justice and reason
prescribe, but of a liberal statesmanship
which tolerates what it cannot prevent,
and builds its plans and its hopes for the
future rather upon a community of inter
est and ambition than upon distrust and
the weapons of force.
In the next place, we call upon you to
recognize in their full significance, and to
accept, with all their legitimate conse
quences. the political results of the war
just closed. In two most important parti
culars the victory achieved by the national
government has been final and decisive.
First, it has established beyond all further
controversy, and by the highest of all hu
man sanctions, the absolute supremacy of
the national government, as defined and
limited by the Constitution of the United
States, and the permanent integrity and
indissolubility of the Federal Union as a
necessary consequence; and, second, it has
put an end, finally and forever, to the ex
istence of slavery upon the soil or within
the jurisdiction of the United States. Both
these points became directly involved in
the contest, and controversy upon both
was ended absolutely and finally by the re
sult.
In the third place, we deem it of the ut
most importance that the real character of
the war and the victory by which it was
classed should be accurately understood,
the war was carried on bv the government
of the United States in maintenance of its
own authority and in defense of its own ex
istence. both of which were menaced by
the insurrection which it sought to suppress,
ihe suppression of that insurrection ac
complished that result. The government
of the United .States maintained by force ot
arms the supreme authority over all the
: territory, and over ali the States and peo
- pie within its jurisdiction which the Con
stitution confers upon it; but it acquired
thereby no new power, no enlarged juris
, diction, no rights either of territorial pos
session or of civil authority which it -did
not possess before the rebellion broke out.
All the rightful power it can ever possess
Is that which is conferred upon it, either in
express terms or by fair and im
plication. by the Constitution of the United
States. It was that power and that au
thority which the rebellion sought to over
threw. and (he victory of the Federal arms
was simply the defeat of that attempt. The
government of the United States acted
throu shout the war on the defensive. It
, sought to hold possession of what was al
2 ready its own. Neither the war, nor the
victory by which it was closed, chanced in
: any way the Constitution of the United
i .Stines. ’ The war was carried on by virtue
j of its provisions, and under the limitations
■ which they prescribe, and the result of the
1 war did not either enlarge, abridge, or in
any way change or affect the powers it eou
! fers upon the Federal government, or ro-
I lease that government from the restrictions
I which it has imposed.
The Constitution of the United States is
to-day precisely as it was before the_ war,
the “supreme law of the land, anything in
the constitution or laws of any State to the
contrary notwithstanding. ’ and to-day, al
so, precisely as before the war, all the
powers not conferred by the Constitution
upon the general government, nor prohib
ited by it to the States, are “reserved to
the several States, or to the people there
of.”
This position is vindicated not only by
the essential nature of our government, and
the language apt? spirit of the Constitution,
but by all the acts and the language of our
government, in all its departments, and at
all times from the outbreak of the rebellion
to its final overthrow. In every message
and proclamation of the Executive, it was
explicitly declared that the sole object and
purpose of the war was to maintain the
authority of the Constitution and to pre
serve the integrity of the Union ; and Con
gress more than once reiterated tliis solemn
declaration, and added the assurance that
whenever this object should be attained,.,
■theristatfe*
should retain tlieir equal right rand dignity
unim’paired. It is only since the war was
closed that other rights have been asserted
on behalf of one department of the gene
ral government. It has been proclaimed
by Congress that, in addition to tho powers
conferred upon it by the Constitution, the
Federal Government may now claim over
the States, the territory and the people in
volved in the insurrection, the rights of
war, the right of conquest and of confisca
tion, the right to abrogate all existing gov
ernments, institutions and laws, and to sub
ject the territory conquered and its inhabi
tants to such laws, regulations and
deprivations as the legislative depart
ments of the government may sec fit to
impose. Under this broad and sweeping
claim, that clause of - the Constitution
which provides that “ no State shall, with
out its consent, be deprived of its equal
suffrage in the Senate of the United States”
has been annulled, and ten States have
been refused, and are still refused, repre
sentation altogether in both branches of
tho Federal Congress. And the Congress
in which only a part of the States and of
the people of the nation are represented,
has asserted the right thus to exclude the
rest from representation, and from all
share in making their own laws or chosing
their own rulers until they shall comply
with such conditions and perform such
acts as this Congress thus composed may
itself prescribe. That, right lias not only
been asserted, but it has been exercised,
and is practically enforced at the present
time. Nor does it find any support in the
theory that the States thus excluded are
in rebellion against tho government, • and
are therefore precluded from sharing its
authority. They are not thus in rebellion.
They are one and all in an attitude of
loyalty towards the government, and of
sworn allegiance to the constitution of the
United States. In no one of them is there
the slightest indication of resistance to this
authority, or the slightest protest against
its just and binding obligation. This con
dition of renewed loyalty has been officially
recognized by solemn proclamation of the
Executive department. The laws of tlio
United States have been extended by Con
gress over all these States and the people
thereof. Federal Courts have been re
opened, and F#leral taxes imposed and
levied, and in every respect, except that
they are denied representation in Congress
and the Electoral College, the States once
in rebellion are recognized as holding the
same position, as owing the same obliga
tions, and subject to the same duties as the
other States of our common Union.
It seems to us in the exercise of the
calmest and most candid judgment we can
bring to the subject, that such a claim, so
enforced, involves as fatal an overthrow of
the authority of the Constitution, and as
complete a destruction of the Government
and Uniomasthat which was,sough l tyJjG
in art^n
insurrection agaiX ß ®’ them {both. It car.ao.Jt
escape observation that the power thus
assarted to exclude certain, States from
representation, is made to /rest wholly in
tltu will and dilution of the KJongress that
asserts it. lit® oot toVlepend upon
any specified pnditions
nor to be Si&yrulos Hr regulations
whatever. The vi#ht asserted and exer
cised is absolute ,Without qualification or
restriction, nor confined to States in 'rebel
lion, nor to States that have rebelled; it is
the right of any pongress in formal posses
sion of legislative authority, to exclude any
State or States, and any portion of the {
people thereof, at any time, from represen
tation in Congress and in the Electoral
College, at its own discretion and until
they shall perform such acts and comply
with such conditions as it may dictate.
Obviously, the reasons for such exclusion
being wholly within the discretion nf Con
gress, may change as the Congress itself
shall change. One Congress may exclude
a State from all share in the Government
for one reason; and, that reason removed,
the next Congress may exclude it for
another. One State may be excluded on
one ground to-day, and another may be
excluded on the opposite ground to-morrow.
Northern ascendancy may exclude South
ern States from one Congress—the ascend
ancy of Western or of Southern interests,
or of both combined, may exclude the
Northern or the Eastern States from the
next. Improbable as such usurpations
may seem, the establishment of the prin- j
cipie now asserted and acted upon by Con- '
gross will render them by_ no means im
possible. The character, indeed the very
existence of Congress and the Union is
thus made dependent solely and entirely
upon the party and sectional exigencies or
forbearances of the hour
We need not stop to show that such ac
tion not only finds no warrant in the Con
stitution, but is at war with every princi
ple of our government, and with the very
existence of free institutions, it is, indeed,
thp identical practice which has rendered
fruitless all attempts hitherto to establish
and maintain free governments in Mexico
and the States of South America. Party
necessities assert themselves as superior to
the fundamental law, which is set aside in
reckless obedience to tlieir behests. Stabil
ity, whether in the exercise of power, in
tlie administration of governments or in
the enjoyment of rights, becomes impos
sible ; and the conflicts of party, which,
under constitutional governments, are the
conditions and means of political progress,
are merged in the conflicts of arms to which
they directly and inevitably tend.
It was against this peril so conspicuous
and so fatal to all free governments that
i our Constitution was intended especially
to provide. Not only the stability but the
very existence of the government is made
i by its provisions to depend upon the right
and the fact of representation. The Con
gress, upon which is conferred all the
i legislative power of the national govern-
I ment, consists of two branches, tho Senate
and House of Representatives, whose joint
concurrence or assent is essential to the
validity of any law. Os these the House
of'Repressntatives, says the Constitution,
(article 1, section 2,) “shall be composed
: ofmembers chosen every second year by
the people ol' the several States.” Not
only is the right of representation thus re
cognized as possessed by all the States and
; by every State without restriction, qualifica
i tion, or condition of any kind, but the duty
of choosing representatives is imposed
upon the people of each and every State
| alike, without distinction, or the authority
to make distinctions among them, for any
reason or upon any grounds whatever.
And in the Senate, so careful is the Con
stitution to secure to every State this right
1 of representation, it is expressly provided
1 that “no State shall, without its consent,
be deprived of its equal suffrage” in that
bodv even by an amendment of the Con
stitution Hself. When, therefore, any
iUnfc i 3 excluded from such representation,
AflLlv is the right of a State denied, but
the constitutional integrity of the Senate
impaired, and the validity of the govern
ment itself is brought m question. Lut
ment u - , ,-, re cent moment thus ex-
Congress at the P«£ tion in both
eludes , ten States of the
i branches of a n share in the en-
Umon, denying whic h they are to be
actment of law= J jonin the.elec
f° Ve nf he mlersW which these laws are
non of the otber words, a Con
:to be enforced. twent r-six States are
gross in which y
represented,, di34;ret i on , all the
absolute-? an compose the L nion
tlitrty-sixSta . an( j choose their
-to make their othor ten from
ruler.-, and » government until it
there to distinguish the power thu-assert
ed and exercised from the most absolute
and intolerable tyranns . •
Nor do these extravagant and un,u=t
claims on the part of Congress to powers
and authority never conferred upon the
government by the Constitution find any
warrant in the arguments or excuses urged
|on their behalf, it is alleged,
1 First. That these States, by the act of
rebellion and by voluntarily withdrawing
their members from Congress, forfeited
their right of representation, and that they
can only receive it again at the hands of
the supreme legislative authority of the
government, on its own terms and at its
own discretion. If representation in Con
j gress and participation in the government
were simply privileges conferred and held by
j favor, this statement might have the merit
i of plausibility. But representation is under
the Constitution not onlyexpressly recog*
' nized as a right, but it is imposed as a
j duty : _ and it is essential in both aspects to
the existence of the government and to the
maintenance ofits authority. In free gov
vernments fundamental and essential rights
cannot be forfeited, except against individ
uals by due process of law ; nor can con
stitutional ditties and obligations be dis
carded or laid aside. The enjoyment of
rights may be for a time suspended by
I the failure to claim them, and duties may
| be evaded by the refusal to perform them.
The withdrawal of their members from
Congress by the States which resisted the
general Government, was among their acts
of insurrection —was one of the means
and _ agencies by which they sought
to impair the authority and defeat
the action of the government; and
that act wfeS annulled and render
ed void whoa the insurrection sitself was
suppressed. Neither the right of repre
sentation* nor the. duty to be represented
was.in .he least.impaired by the liret dr iff* 1
VdirWrlbn ; Mt’ it may have been that by
reason oftlie insurrection the conditions on
which the enjoyment of that right and the
performance of that duty for the time de
pended, could not be fulfilled. This was,
in fact, the case. An insurgent power, in
the exercise of usurped and unlawful au
thority in the territory under its control,
had prohibited that allegiance to the Con
stitution and the laws of the United States
which is made by that fundamental law
the essential condition of representation in
its Government. No man within the in
surgent States was allowed to take the oath
to support the Constitution of the United
States, and, as a necessary' consequence, no
man could lawfully represent those States
in the councils of the Union. But this
was only an obstacle to the enjoyment of
the right and to the discharge of a duty—
it did not annul the one nor abrogate the
other; and it ceased to exist when the
usurpation by which it was created had
been overthrown, and the States had again
resumed their allegiance to the Constitution
and laws of the United States.
Second. But it is asserted, in support
of the authority claimed by the Congress
now in possession of power, that it flows
directly from the laws of war ; that it is
among the rights which victorious war al
ways confers upon the conquerors, and
which the conqueror may exercise or
waive in his own discretion. To this we
reply, that the laws in question relate sole
ly, so far as the rights they confer are con
cerned, to wars waged between alien anil
independent nations, and can have no
place or force, in this regard, in a war
waged by a government to suppress an in
surrection ofits own people, upon its own
soil, against its authority. If we had car
carried on successful war against any for
eign nation, we might thereby have ac
quired possession and jurisdiction of their
soil, with the right to enforce our laws
upon their people, and to impose upon
them such laws and such obligations as we
might chose. But we had before the war
complete jurisdiction over the soil of the
Southern States, liftiitcd only by our own
Constitution. Our laws were the only na
tional laws in force upon it. The govern
ment oftlie United States was the only
government through which those States
and the people had relations with for
eign nations, and its flag was the only flag
by which they were recognized or known
anywhere on the face of the earth. In all
these respects, and in all other respects
involving national interests and rights,
our possession was perfect and complete.
It did not need to be acquired, but only to
be maintained ; and victorious war against
the rebellion could do nothing more than
maintain it. It could only vindicate and
re-establish the disputed supremacy of the
Constitution. It could neither enlarge nor
diminish the authority which that Consti
tution confers upon the Government by
jvhieh it-was ueLfoxed. Such, an enlarge
ment or abridgement of constitutional pow
er can be effected only by amendment ol
the Constitution itself, and such amend
ment can be made only in the modes which
the Constitution itself prescribes. The
claim that the .suppression of an insurrec
tion against the Government gives addi
tional authority and power to that Govern
ment, especially that it enlarges the juris
diction of Congress and gives that body the
right to exclude States from representation
in the national councils, without which tlie
nation itself can have no authority and no
existence, seems to us at variance alike
with the principles oftlie Constitution and
with the public safety.
Third. But it is alleged that in certain
particulars the Constitution of the United
States fails to secure that absolute justice
and impartial equality which the principles
of our government require; that it was in
these respects the result of compromises
and concessions to which, however neces
sary when the Constitution was formed,
wo are no longer compelled to submit, and
that now, having the power through suc
cessful war, and just warrant for its exer
cise in the hostile conduce of the insurgent
section, the actual _ government of the
United States may impose its own condi
tions, and make the Constitution conform
in all its provisions to its own ideas of
equality avid the rights of man. Congress,
at its last session, proposed amendments to
the Constitution, enlarging in some very
important particulars the authority of the
general government over that of _ the
several States, and reducing, by indirect
disfranchisement, the representative power
of the States in which slavery formerly
existed; and it is claimed, that these
amendments may he made valid as parts of
the original Constitution, without the con
currence of the States to be most seriously
affected by them, or may he imposed upon
those States by three-fourths of the re
maining States, as conditions of their read
mission to representation in Congress and
the Electoral College.
It is the unquestionable right of the
i people oftlie United States to make such
changes in the Constitution as they, upon
due deliberation, may deem expedient.—
But we insist that they shall he made in
1 the mode which the Constitution itself
i points out —in conformity with the letter
and the spirit of that instrument, and with
the principles of self-government and of
equal rights which lie at the basis of .our
republican institutions. We deny tlie. right ;
of Congress to make these changes in the
fundamental law, without the concurrence
of three-fourths of ail the States, including ;
especially those to be most seriously affect- i
ed by them; or to impose them upon
States or people as conditions of represen
i tation, or of admission to any of the rights,
, duties, or obligations which belong under
; the Constitution, to all the States alike.—
! And with still greater emphasis do we deny
; the right of any portion of the Statesexclu
ding the rest of the States from any share
in their councils, to propose, or sanc
| tion changes in the Constitution which
are to aft'eet permanently their politi
| cal relations and control or coerce
| the legitimate action of the several mem
■ bers of the common Union. Such an. ex
-1 ercise of power is simply a usurpation ;
just as unwarrantable when exercised, by
Northern States as it would be exercised
1 by Southern, and not. to be forfeited or
palliated by anything in the past history
either of those by whom it is attempted or
j of those upon whose rights and liberties it
|is to take effect. It finds no warrant m
i the Constitution. It is at war with the
fundamental principles of our form of gov
ernment. If tolerated in one instance it
becomes the precedent for future invasions
i of liberty and constitutional right uepen
dent solely upon the wjl oftlie party in
possession of power, and thus leads, by :
i direct and necessary sequence, to the most
fatal and intolerable of. all tyrannies -the
j tyranny of shifting and irresponsible poiiti- .
cal factions. It is against this,, the most
I formidable of all the dangers which menace ;
the stability of free government, that the
; Constitution of the United States was in
tended most carefully to provide. e
demand a strict and steadfa.-t adherence
to its provisions. In this, and in this
alone, can we find a basis of permanent
Union and peace. ... -r- •
Fourth. But it is alleged m justification
of the usurpation which we condemn, that
the condition of the Southern States, and
people is not such as renders safe their re
admission to a share in the Government of
the country; that they are stiff in
sentiment and purpose, and that neitner
the honor, the credit nor the interests of
the nation would be safe if they were re
admitted to a share in its councils. We
might reply to this:
1. That we have no right, for such rea
sors. to deny to any portion of the States
or people, rights expressly conferred upon
them by the Constitution of’ the United
States. 9 ,
2. That so long as their acts are those of
loyalty—so long as they conform in all their
public conduct to the requirements of the
Constitution and laws—we have no. riglit
to exact from them cons ormity in their sen
timents and opinions to our own.
3. That we have no right to distrust the
NEW SERIES, VOL. XXV. NO. 36.
purpose or the ability of the people of the
| Union to protect and defend, under all con-
I tingeneies and by whatever means may be
| required, its honor and its welfare.
J These would, in our judgment, be full
i and conclusive answers to the plea thus
advanced for the exclusion of these States
j from the Union. But we say further, that
| this plea rests upon a complete misappre
; liension or an unjust perversion of existing
| facts.
We do not hesitate to affirm, that there
is.no section of the country where the Con
stitution and laws of the. United States find
a more prompt and entire obedience than
in those States and among those people .
who were lately in arms against them ; or
where there is less purpose or dauber of
any future attempt to overthrow their
authority. It would seem to be both
natural and inevitable that, in States and
sections so* recently swept by the whirl
wind of war, where all the ordinary modes
and methods of organized industry have
been broken up, and the bonds and influen
ces that guarantee social order have been. :
destroyed—where thousands and tens of
thousands of turbulent spirits have been
suddenly loosed from the discipline of war,
and thrown without resources or restraint j
upon a disorganized and chaotic society,
and where the keen sense of defeat is added .
to* the overthrow of ambition and hoped,
scenes of violence should defy for a.tiiJF
the imperfect discipline of law, I
tionably true that local disfiirbauee- onm
kind, accompanied by more or les of- vio- !
lence, do still occur. But they are Con- I
fined entirely to flic cities and larger towns ’
of the Southern States, where different
races and interests are brought most
closely in contact, and where passions and
resentments are always most easily fed and !
fanned into outbreak; and even there they ;
are quite as much the fruit of untimely and 1
hurtful political agitation as of any hostility I
on the part of the people to the authority j
of the national government.
But the concurrent testimony of those
best acquainted with the condition of so
ciety and the state of public sentiment in
the Soutfl—including that of its represen
tatives in this Convention —establishes the
fact that thegreat mass of the Southern
people accept, with as full and sincere ad:
mission as to tlie people of the other States,
the re-established supremacy of the na
tional authority, and are prepared, in the
most loyal spirit, and with a zeal quickened
alike by their interest and their pride, to
co-operate with other States and sections
in whatever may be necessary to defend
the rights, maintain the honor and pro
mote the welfare of our common country.
History affords no instance where a people,
so powerful in numbers, in resources ailfl
in public spirit, after a war so long in its
duration, so destructive in its progress,
and so adverse in its issue, have accepted
defeat and its consequences with so much
of good faith as has marked the conduct of
the people lately in insurrection against
the United States. Beyond all question,
this has becu largely due to the wise gen
erosity with which their enforced surren
der was accepted by the President of the
United States and the generals in immediate
command of their armies, and to the lib
veral measures which were afterwards
taken to restore order, tranquility
and law <• the States where all had for the
time been ‘ overthrown. No steps could
have been better calculated to command
the respect, win the confidence, revive the
patriotism and secure the permanent and
affectionate allegiance of the people of
the South to the Constitution and laws of
the Union than those which have been so I
firmly taken so steadfastly pursued by the j
President oftlie United States. And if \
that confidence and loyalty have been since I
impaired; if the people of the South are I
to-day less cordial in their allegiance than j
they w'ere immediately upon the close of \
the war, we believe it is due to the changed i
tone of the legislative department of the j
general government towards them ; to the j
action by which Congress lias endeavored
to supplant and defeat the President’s
wise and beninccnt policy of restoration :
to their exclusion from all participation in
our common government; to the withdraw
al from them of rights conferred and guar
anteed.by the Constitution, and to the
evident purpose of Congress, in jjie exer
cise of« usurped-aiid kivffltl 'UTtlTiOrify; id'
reduce tlieni from the rank of free and
equal members of a republic of States,
with rights and dignities unimpaired, to
the condition of conquered provinces and a
conquered people, in all things subordi
nate and subject to the will of their con-
querors ; free only to obey laws in making
which they arc not allowed to share.
No people has ever yet existed who:«
loyalty and faith such treatment long con
tinued would not alienate and impair. And
the ten millions of Americans who live in
the South would he unworthy citizens of a
free country, degenerate sous of an heroic
ancestry, unfit ever to become guardians of
the rights aud liberties bequeathed to u- :
by the fathers and founders of this repair
lie, if they could accept with uncomplain
ing submissiveness, the humiliations thus
sought to be imposed upon them. Resent
ment of Injustice is always and everywhere
essential to freedom; and the spirit which
prompts the States and people lately in
insurrection, but insurgent now no longer,
to protest against tlie imposition of unjust
and degrading conditions, makes them all
the more worthy to share in the govern
ment of a free commonwealth, and gives
still firmer assurance of the future power
and freedom of the republic. For what
ever responsibility tlie Southern people
may have incurred in resisting the author
ity of the national government, and in
taking up arms for its overthrow, they may
be held to answer, as individuals,- before
the judicial tribunals of the land, and. for
that conduct, as societies anil organized
communities, they have already paid thn
mostfearfulpenaltiesthat can fail on offend
ing States in the losses, the sufferings and
humiliations of unsuccessful war. But
whatever may be the guilt or the punish
ment of the concious authors of the insur
rection, candor and common justice de- '
mand the concession that the great mliss j
of thosd who became involved in its re
sponsibility acted upon what they believed
to be their duty, in defence of what they
had been taught to believe their rights, or
under a compulsion, physical and moral,
when they were powerless to resist. Nor
cap it be a amiss to remember that, terri
ble as have been the bereavements and
the losses of the war, they have fallen ex
clusively upon neither section and upon
neither party—that they have fallen in
deed, with far greater weight upon those
with whom the war began ; that in the
death of relatives and friends,. the disper
; sion of families, the disruption of social
systems and social ties, the overthrow of
j governments, of law and of order, the des
• tj’uction of property and of forms and
j modes and means of industry ; the loss
of political, commercial, and moral ih
fluence, in every shape and form which
j great calamities can assume, the States
| and people which engaged in the war
I against the government of the United
States, have suffered tenfold more than
those who remained in allegiance to its
j Constitution and laws.
These considerations may not, as they
certainly do not, justify .the action of tne
j people of the insurgent States; but no just
or genorous mind will refuse to them very
considerable weight in determining the line
i of conduct which the government of the
United States should pursue towards
them. . .
; They accept, if not with alacrity, tcer-
I tainiy without sullen resentment, the de
feat and overthrow they have sustained.
They acknowledge and acquiesce in the ro
i suits to themselves and tlie country whicn
that defeat involves. They no longer claim
j for any State the right to secede from t.ie
Union ; they no longer assert for a?;/ State
an allegiance paramount to that v, men re
: due to the general government. 1 hoy have ,
j accepted the destruction of slavery, abol
ished it by their State Constitutions, and
i concurred'with the States and people of the
i whole Union in prohibiting it-, exist re" ;
| forever upon the soil or within the juri
diction of the United States. Ihey lu
: dicate and evince their purpose, justvso
fast as may be possible and safe, to adapt
their domestic laws to the changed .condi
tion of their society, and to se sore, by the
Jaw and its tribunals, equal and impartial
justice to all classes of. their inhabitants, j
They admit the invalidity of all acts of re : ,
gistance to the national authority, and of
all debts incurred in attempting its over- .
throw. They avow their willingness to j
share the burdens and discharge all the ■
duties and obligations which rest upon j
them common witli other States and other
sections of the Union; and they renew,
through their representatives in this Con- ,
vention, by all their public conduct, in
every way and in the most solemn acts by
which States and societies can pledge their !
faith, their engagement to bear true faith :
and allegiance, through all time to come, j
to the Constitution of the United States, ;
and to all laws that may be m#de in pur
suance thereof.
Fellow-countrymen: We call upon you, !
in full reliance upon your intelligence and
your patriotism, to accept, with generous \
and ungrudging confidence, this full sur- !
render on the part of those lately in arms
against your authority, and to share with j
them the honor and renown that await :
those who bring back peace and concord to j
jarring States, The war just closed, with j
alldts sorrows and disasters, has opened a
new career of glory to tho nation it has
| saved. It has swept away the hostilities
j of sentiment and of interest which were a
standing menace to its peace. It has des
troyed the institution of slavery, always a
cause of sectional agitation and "strife, and
has opened for our country the way to
unity of interest, of principle and of action
through all time to coiap.j It has devel
oped in both :t limitary capacity—
an aptitude for aclHcvemcnts of war, both
by sea and land, before unknown even to
ourselves, ana destined to exercise here
after, under united councils, an important
influence .upon the character and destine of
the continent and the world. And while it
lias thus.revealed, disciplined mid com
pacted our power, it has proved tb us be
yond controversy oy doubt, by the course
pursued towards both contending sections
by foreign powers, that, we .must be the
guardians of our own independence, and
that the principles of republican freedom
we represent ean find among die nations of
the earth no friends or defenders but our
selves.
j We called upon you, therefore, by every
j consideration of your own dignity and safe
: ty, and in the name of liberty throughout
| the world, to complete the work of reslora
tion and pease which the President of tho
ft United States so well begun, and which
1 tlienolky adopted and she“principles as
j serted by the present Congress alone ob
' strut*. Viie'TwweiS close at band when
f members of n, new Congress aro fij.be
j elected. If that Congress shall perpetuate
, this pcdk\. and, by excluding ldval States
! and people from representation in its halls,
| shall continue usurpation by which the
! legislative powers of the government are
now exercised, common prudence compels
i us to anticipate augmtgitcd discontent, a
sullen withdrawal from the duties and ob
ligations of the Federal government, inter-
I mil dissentions and a general collision of
| sentiments and pretensions, which may re
; new, in a still more fearful shape, the civil
war from which we have just emerged.
! We call upon you to interpose your power
j to prevent the recurrence of so transcen-
I dant a calamnity. MV call upon you. in
I every Congressional district of a ery Slate,
to secure the election ofmembers, who what
j ever other differences may characterize their
i political action, will unite in recognizing
j the right,.of every State of the Union to
representation in Congress, and who will
1 admit to a seat in either branch every loyal
; representive from every State in allegiance
j to the government, who may be found by
\ each Hanse, in the exercise of the pmcer
j conferred upon it by the Constitution, to
I have been duly elected, returned and quali
j fiedfor a seat therein.
When this shall have been done the gov
! eminent will have been restored to its in
i’ tegrity, the Constitution of the United
I States will have been re-established in its
! full supremacy, and the American Union
! will have again become what it was design
! od to be by those who formed it, a sover
| eign nation, composed of separate States,
! each like itself, moving in a distinct and
independent sphere, exercising powers de
fined and reserved by a common Constitu
tion, and resting upon the assent, the con
fidence and co-operation of all the States
and all the people subject to its authority.
Thus re-organized and restored to their
constitutional relations, the States and the
general government ean enter, in a frater
nal spirit, with a common purpose and a
common interest upon whatever reforms
the security of personal rights, the en
largement of popular libertyand the per
fection of our republican institutions may
demand.
At the close of the reading of the fore
going address, Governor Ferry, of South
Carolina, rose and moved its adoption.
The question was put by tho Chair,
and the address was declared unanimously
adopted.
Mr. Samuel J. Tiklen, cf Now York,
then rose and said :
Mr. Chairman : The delegation from
New York have instructed me to propose
that the Convention give three cheers for
the lion. Henry J. Raymond, who has
prepared the address just read.
General Patton, ot Pennsylvania, rose,
and on behalf of the Pennsylvania delega
tion, seconded the motion.
The cheers were given accordingly,
r- 'TV Vrdftmklßt t aft b■, AwrSrnl a' , xX
\ From ;**xico—RenrganiaatToifWMSxS*
intiliaa’s Army.
Havana, August 9.
The English mail steamer Elder arrived
| here on Sunday with later Mexican dates.
The expected change in the ministry was
finally affected by the Emperor on the 20th
of July, by a-lctter to Lr.zunza and the is
surance of three decrees.
The letter says :
“My Dear President Lazunza : At tho
moment when the ministry over which you
have so worthily presided becomes in part
dissolved, we are pleased to give you a
public testimony of our profound grati
tude for tne eminent scrvfi*ng you have ren
dered us. We hope that the *>•,tion will
continue to profit by the counsels or your
patriotic and illustrious intelligence, lie.
ceive the assurance of my regard.
“Maximilian.”
i The first decree appoints Gen. Osmont,
; c’rief of staff of the Expeditionary Corps,
i Minister of War.
i The second decree "appoints Gen. Friant,
| the intendent general of tho same corps,
Minister of Finance.
The third decree orders the Ministry of
j Protection to be added provisionally to
I that of the Interior.
It is said that llaro, Tamarcs and Lares
| have been invited to form part of the new
I cabinet. It. is also said that three new un
! der-secretaries will he appointed.
_ 'The following; explanation of tlic mo
tives that determined such a notable polit
ical manoeuvre accompany the decrees:
In order to obtain in the shortest time
the complete and lasting pacification of the
country, the actual circumstances appear
to claim that unity of action and of ideas
which in ajl the crisis recorded in history
has always been the most efficient remedy.
Convinced that the guarantees necessary to
Mexican society to regain prosperity with
peace, and to carry into effect important
material improvements, exact this com
plete unity, the Emperor lias conferred the
portfolio of war to the chief of staff of the
: Expeditionary Corps, and that of the treas
ury to the intendant general of the same
I corps.
These measures, which will be found in
harmony with the mission of her Majesty,
! the Empress, will demonstrate that the
: government acts in accord with its glorious
: allies, and that it makes all the efforts the
nation has the right to demand of it to
I speedily obtain the pacification of the
1 country.
I if all good Mexicans will re-unite under
the peaceful banner ‘raised by the Emper-
I or, forgetting old and odious party dissca
; taons, which have done" so much damage,
j the nation will reach to the height of pros
| parity destined for it by Providence; and
! its geographical situation. .
j The report of there having been late po
; litieal arrests at the capital of Mexico is
j denied by tbe Pajaro Verde.
The damage to the railroad from Vera
Cruz, caused by the recent inundations,
I was repaired in three uayg.
An Illinois Postmaster’s “Report.”
j — The following letter was received at the
I Postoffice Department from the postmaster
! of the town of F., in Illinois. Artemus
I Ward or Josh Billings might try their
' worst, and couldn’t equal it :
F. co ills July 9 1857 Mr James Bu
lanin president of tire United States Deer
1 sir Been required by the instructions of the
post office to report quarterly i know here
with foolfill that plcasin dooty by reporting
as follows : The harvestin lias been goin
On peerty and most of the nabors have got
their euttin about dun wheat is hardly a
average crop on rollin lands corn is yaller*
ish and wont turn out more ten or fifteen
booshels to the aker the helth of the com
munity i- only toleroblc meesils and cholery
hav brok out about 2 and a half miles
from here than- is a powerful nwakenin on
the subjec of religun in the potto naborhood
miss nancy smith a necr nabor had twins
day before yesterdry one of them is a poor
scraggy thing and wont liv half its day
this is all i have to report the present
quarter give my respects to mrs Buckanin
and subscribe myself
yoors trooly Alijah Jenkins
p. m. at F co. ilis.
Studious inquiries in official circles fail
to confirm the report that Gen. Howard
intends to resign the Commissionership of
the Freedmen’s Bureau,''nor is there any
probable cause for believing that he will be
relieved from the duties of said office. -
The military correspondent of the Times ,
with the Austrian army, gives an account
of Marshal Bencdek s retreat, describes the
demoralizat ion of his troops, and says that
every messenger from Vienna was charged
to say, on his return, “make peace or the
army will be annihilated.
The Treasury Department is about to
commence the erection of a large building
on the grounds South of the President’s
house, and fronting on Fifteenth street,
for the accommodation of the printing
division of the National Currency Bureau,