danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to assert |ing the autumn or early winter, nor until Conone other power of the General Government-gress should have "an opportunity to consider the power of pardon. As no State can throw a defence over the crime of treason, the power of pardon is exclusively vested in the executive government of the United States. In exercising that power, I have taken every precaution to connect it with the clearest recognition of the binding force of the laws of the United States, and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great social change of condition in regard to slavery which has grown out of the war. and act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason, most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the laws may be fully vindicated; the truth clearly established and affirmed that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the offence made infamous; and, at the same time, that the question be judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will has the right to renounce its place in the Union. The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations of the States, has been an invitation to them to participate in the high office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For this great end there is a need of a concurrence of all opinions, and the spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict The relations of the General Government tomust work together in harmony. It is not too wards the four millions of inhabitants whom much to ask, in the name of the whole people, the war has called into freedom have engaged that, on the one side, the plan of restoration my most serious consideration. On the proshall proceed in conformity with a willingness priety of attempting to make the freedmen electo cast the disorders of the past into oblivion; tors by the proclamation of the Executive, I and that, on the other, the evidence of sincerity took for my counsel the Constitution itself, the in the future maintenance of the Union shall be interpretations of that instrument by its auput beyond any doubt by the ratification of the thors and their contemporaries, and recent legis proposed amendment to the Constitution, which lation by Congress. When, at the first moveprovides for the abolition of slavery forever ment towards independence, the Congress of the within the limits of our country. So long as the United States instructed the several States to adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long institute governments of their own, they left each will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty pre- State to decide for itself the conditions for the vail. This is the measure which will efface the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During sad memory of the past; this is the measure the period of the confederacy, there continued which will most certainly call population and to exist a very great diversity in the qualificacapital and security to those parts of the Union tions of electors in the several States; and even that need them most. Indeed, it is not too much within a State a distinction of qualification preto ask of the States which are now resuming vailed with regard to the officers who were to their places in the family of the Union to give be chosen. The Constitution of the United this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. States recognises the diversities when it enjoins Until it is done, the past, however much we may that, in the choice of members of the House of desire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption Representatives of the United States, “the elecof the amendment reunites us beyond all power tors in each State shall have the qualifications of disruption. It heals the wound that is im-requisite for electors of the most numerous perfectly closed; it removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and strengthened, bound more than ever to mutual affection and support. branch of the State legislature." After the formation of the Constitution, it remained, as before, the uniform usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors, according to its own judgment; and, under this system, one The amendment to the Constitution being State after another has proceeded to increase adopted, it would remain for the States, whose the number of its electors, until now universal powers have been so long in abeyance, to re-suffrage, or something very near it, is the genesume their places in the two branches of the na- ral rule. So fixed was this reservation of power tional legislature, and thereby complete the in the habits of the people, and so unquestioned work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellow- has been the interpretation of the Constitution, citizens of the Senate, and for you, fellow-citi-that during the civil war the late President never zens of the House of Representatives, to judge, harbored the purpose-certainly never avowed each of you for yourselves, of the elections, re- the purpose-of disregarding it; and in the acts turns, and qualifications of your own members. of Congress, during that period, nothing can be The full assertion of the powers of the Gene- found which during the continuance of hostiliral Government requires the holding of circuit ties, much less after their close, would have sanccourts of the United States within the districts tioned any departure by the Executive from a where their authority has been interrupted. In policy which has so uniformly obtained. Morethe present posture of our public affairs, strong over, a concession of the elective franchise to objections have been urged to holding those the freedmen, by act of the President of the courts in any of the States where the rebellion | United States, must have been extended to all has existed; and it was ascertained, by inquiry, colored men, wherever found, and so must have that the circuit court of the United States would established a change of suffrage in the Northern, not be held within the district of Virginia dur- 'Middle, and Western States, not less than in the 5 condition must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to any denial of justice. In all that relates. to the destiny of the freedmen, we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm, will quietly settle themselves. Southern and Southwestern. Such an act would | The career of free industry must be fairly opened have created a new class of voters, and would to them: and then their future prosperity and have been an assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution or laws of the United States would have warranted. On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can, each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted at once and absolutely, or introduced gradually and with conditions. In my judgment, the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the States than through the General Government, even if it had power to intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that they will receive the kindliest usage from some of those on whom they have heretofore most closely depended. Now that slavery is at an end or near its end, the greatness of its evil, in the point of view of public economy, becomes more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the monopoly, free labor will hasten from all parts of the civilmeasurable resources which have hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will be mainly from the North, or from the most cultivated nations in Europe. From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle, let us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry. But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective fran-ized world to assist in developing various and imchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and in their property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return of their labor. I cannot too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural impossibility for the two races to live side by side, in a state of mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country; and, instead of hasty In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senanticipations of the certainty of failure, let there ate on the 12th instant, I have the honor to be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the ex-state that the rebellion waged by a portion periment. The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract for the status of slavery. The freedman cannot fairly be accused of unwillingness to work, so long as a doubt remains about his freedom of choice in his pursuits, and the certainty of his recovering his stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some way accomplished, there is no chance for the advantageous use of their labor; and the blame of ill success will not rest on them. I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought four millions of people into freedom. Message on the late Insurrectionary States. To the Senate of the United States: of the people against the properly-constituted authorities of the Government of the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as could be done, the courts of the United States have been restored, post offices re-established, and steps taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country. As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive, with the view of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States" with more willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could reasonably have been anticipated. The pro posed amendment to the Constitution, provid'ing for the abolition of slavery forever within In " With your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War, I left Washington city on the 27th of last month for the purpose of making a tour of inspection through some of the Southern States, or States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary to bo made in the disposition of the military forces of the country; how these forces could be reduced and expenses curtailed, &c.; and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of those States toward the General Government the limits of the country, has been ratified by the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate each one of those States, with the exception of of the United States in their resolution of the Mississippi, from which no official information 12th instant, I have the honor to submit the folhas yet been received; and in nearly all of lowing: them measures have been adopted or are now pending, to confer upon freedmen rights and privileges which are essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical relations to the Federal Government. that portion of the Union lately in rebellion" the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of all the circumstances, could well have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the Government, and to repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that their actions will conform to their professions, and that, in acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws of the United States, their loyalty will be unreservedly given to the Govment, whose leniency they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington city, and information from this quarter therefore being readily obtained, I hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina, I spent one day; in Charleston, South Carolina, two days; Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both in traveling and while stopping, I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them. The following are the conclusions come to by me: the highest tribunal-arms-that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but, now that the smoke of battle has cleared away and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in council. It is true that in some of the States the de- I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men moralizing effects of the war are to be seen in of the South accept the present situation of afoccasional disorders; but these are local in fairs in good faith. The questions which have character, not frequent in occurrence, and are heretofore divided the sentiments of the people rapidly disappearing as the authority of civil law of the two sections-slavery and States rights, is extended and sustained. Perplexing ques- or the right of a State to secede from the Union tions were naturally to be expected from the-they regard as having been settled forever by great and sudden change in the relations between the two races; but systems are gradually devoloping themselves under which the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled, and by means of his labor mako himself a useful and independent member of the community in which he has his home. From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly-adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the national Union. Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such The report of Carl Schurz is herewith trans-time as labor returns to its proper channels, and mitted, as requested by the Senate. No reports from Hon. John Covode have been received by the President. The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanying report of Lieutenant General Grant, who recently made a tour of inspection through several of the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion. ANDREW JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. Accompanying Report of General Grant. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE U. S., WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. SIR: In reply to your note of the 16th inst., requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of, coming within civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the Government or citizens of the Southern States, who think it practicable to withdraw the military from the South at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the General Government. There is such universal acquiescence in the authority of the General Government throughout the portions of the country visited by me, that the mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the country and economy require that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen, (elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the sea-coast no force is necessary,) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor both by their adyice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking men who would use violence toward any class of troops sent among them by the General Government, but the ignorant in some cases might, and the late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should by right belong to him, or at least should have no protection from the colored soldier. There is danger of collisions being brought on by such causes. My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as possible; that while reconstructing, they want and require protection from the Government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the Government, not humiliating to them as citizens, and that if such a course was pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling at this time between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power. towns, and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination, or great reduction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for years can be changed in a day; and therefore the freedmen require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel, and in whom they can rely. The Freedmen's Bureau, being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing, or what orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the Southern States as agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would secure uniformity of action throughout all the South; would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out; and would relieve from duty and pay a large number of employés of the Government. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. Veto of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, February 19, 1866. To the Senate of the United States: I have examined with care the bill which originated in the Senate, and has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees," and for other purposes. Having, with much regret, come to the conclusion that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my objections to its becoming a law. I might call to mind, in advance of these objections, that there is no immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it ceases to have I did not give the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations on the subject, however, with officers connected with the bureau lead me to think that in some of the States its affairs have not been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief, widely spread among the freedmen of the Southern States, that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, be divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willingness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen's Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing to the freedmen their rights and full protection. At present, however, it is independent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Everywhere General Howard, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave; but the complaint in South Carolina was, that when he left things I share with Congress the strongest desire to went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority, secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of of the agerts of the Freedmen's Bureau advise their freedom and property, and their entire the freedmen that by their own industry they independence and equality in making contracts must expect to live. To this end they endeavor for their labor; but the bill before me contains to secure employment for them, and to see that provisions which, in my opinion, are not warboth contracting parties comply with their en-ranted by the Constitution, and are not well gagements. In some instances, I am sorry to say, the freedman's mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has the right to live without care or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in division of lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, effect, further experience may assist to guide us to a wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace. suited to accomplish the end in view. The bill proposes to establish, by authority of Congress, military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and freedmen. It would, by its very nature, apply with most force to those parts of the United States in The safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the punishment of the guilty, and the equal administration of justice, are to be set aside, and, for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in behalf of justice, we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents, established in every parish or county, in nearly a third of the States of the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control by the federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be intrusted to any one man. which the freedmen most abound; and it ex- a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, pressly extends the existing temporary jurisdic- except in cases arising in the land and naval tion of the freedmen's bureau, with greatly forces, or in the militia when in actual service enlarged powers, over those States "in which in time of war or public danger;" and that "in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy been interrupted by the rebellion." The source the right to a speedy and public trial, by an from which this military jurisdiction is to eman-impartial jury of the State or district wherein ate is none other than the President of the United the crime shall have been committed." States, acting through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be selected either from the army or from civil life; the country is to be divided into districts and sub-districts, and the number of salaried agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found. The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every part of the United States include protection to "all employés, agents, and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against "by local law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States, the bill subjects any white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of "any civil rights or immunities belonging to white persons to imprisonment or fine, or both, without, however, defining the "civil rights and immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are liable. The exercise of power, over which there is no legal supervision, by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill, must, by the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and passion. Let If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself whether we are still engaged in war. us not unnecessarily disturb the commerce, and credit, and industry of the country, by declaring to the American people and to the world that the United States are still in a condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offences that may be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights of whole communities. The country has returned or is returning to a state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is, in fact, at an end. The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actual condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of the United States. If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail, it is open to weighty objections. In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state of freedom.* But this bill proposes to make the The trials, having their origin under this bill, are to take place without the intervention of a jury, and without any fixed rules of law or evidence. The rules on which offences are to be "heard and determined" by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President, through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is required, nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The punishment reau, in each State, from June 1, 1865, to April 1, 1866-ten will be-not what the law declares, but such as a court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power of the country. I have obtained from an official source the following statement, not of the number of persons relieved, but of the number of rations issued by the Freedmen's Bu months: Virginia....... North Carolina....... South Carolina and Georgia Alabama......... Mississippi.. Arkansas. Kentucky and Tennessee.... Refugees. Freedmen. Total. 4,635 1,676,127 1,680,762 4,474 902,776 907,450 24,974 861,653 886,627 364,215 1,243,568 879,353 4,330 296,431 300,761 166 3.521 308,391 3,687 341,880 715,572 1,720,434 33,489 1,004,862 87,180 306,960 394,140 2,047,297 5,876,272 7,923,569 Total number of rations issued to freedmen for ten months.... While the territory and the classes of actions and offences that are made subject to the measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I cannot reconcile a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with Total number of rations issued to refugees......... 2,047,297 the words of the Constitution, which declare that "no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless upon Total number of rations issued to whites and 5,876,272 7,923,569 |