hand, on the other I am equally opposed to con- | people. I am free to say to you that my highest solidation, or the centralization of power in the ambition was to please the people, for I believe hands of a few. Sir, all this has been extorted that when I pleased them, I was pretty nearly from me by the remarks you have offered, and right, and being in the right, I didn't care who as I have already remarked, I might have adopted assailed me. But I was going to say I have alyour speech as my own. I have detained you ways advocated the principle, that government longer than I expected, but Governor Morton is was made for man-not man for goverment; even responsible for that. as the good Book says that the Sabbath was made for man-not man for the Sabbath.

I scarcely know how to express my feeling in view of the kindness you have manifested on this occasion. Perhaps I ought not to add what I am about to say, but human nature is human nature. Indiana first named me for the Vice Presidency, though it was unsolicited by me. Indeed, there is not a man can say that I ever approached him on the subject. My eyes were turned to my own State. If I could restore her, the measure of my ambition was complete. I thank the State of Indiana for the confidence and regard she manifested toward me, which has resulted in what is now before me, placing me in the position I now occupy.

In conclusion, I will repeat that the vigor of my youth has been spent in advocating those great principles at the foundation of our Government, and, therefore, I have been by many denounced as a demagogue, I striving to please the a

So far as in me lies, those principles shall be carried out; and, in conclusion, I tender you my profound and sincere thanks for your respect and support in the performance of the arduous duties now devolving upon me.

To Virginia Refugees.

refugees had an interview, Hon. John C. UnderApril 24, 1865-A large number of Southern wood making an address; to which the President replied:

It is hardly necessary for me on this occasion nection with this nefarious rebellion beat in unito say that my sympathies and impulses in conthis bitter ordeal, and who participated in it to son with yours. Those who have passed through great extent, are more competent, as I think, to judge and determine the true policy which should be pursued. [Applause.]

I have but little to say on this question in response to what has been said. It enunciates and expresses my own feelings to the fullest extent, and in much better language than I can at the present moment summon to my aid.

widows and orphans, who draped the streets of Nashville in mourning, should suffer for his great crime. The work is in our own hands. We can destroy this rebellion. With Grant thundering on the Potomac before Richmond, and Sherman and Thomas on their march toward Atlanta, the The most that I can say is, that entering upon day will ere long be ours. Will any madly per- the duties that have devolved upon me under sist in rebellion? Suppose that an equal num- circumstances that are perilous and responsible, ber be slain in every battle, it is plain that the and being thrown into the position I now occupy result must be the utter extermination of the unexpectedly, in consequence of the sad eventrebels. Ah! these rebel leaders have a strong the heinous assassination which has taken placepersonal reason for holding out to save their in view of all that is before me, and the circumhecks from the halter; and these leaders must stances that surround me, I cannot but feel that feel the power of the Government! Treason your encouragement and kindness are peculiarly must be made odious, and traitors must be pun-acceptable and appropriate. ished and impoverished. Their great planta- I do not think you have been familiar with tions must be seized, and divided into small my course, if you who are from the South deem it farms, and sold to honest, industrious men. The necessary for me to make any professions as to day for protecting the lands and negroes of these the future on this occasion, or to express what authors of the rebellion is past. It is high time my course will be upon questions that may arise. it was. I have been most deeply pained at some If my past life is no indication of what my things which have come under my observation. future will be, my professions were both worthWe get men in command who, under the influ-less and empty; and in returning you my sinence of flattery, fawning, and caressing, grant protection to the rich traitor, while the poor Union man stands out in the cold, often unable to get a receipt or a voucher for his losses. As far as clemency and mercy are concerned. [Cries of "That's so!" from all parts of the and the proper exercise of the pardoning power, crowd.] The traitor can get lucrative contracts, I think I understand the nature and character while the loyal man is pushed aside, unable to of the latter. In the exercise of clemency and obtain a recognition of his just stripes and shoul- mercy, that pardoning power should be exerder-straps. I want them all to hear what I say. cised with caution. I do not give utterance to I have been on a gridiron for two years at the my opinions on this point in any spirit of resight of these abuses. I blame not the Govern- venge or unkind feelings. Mercy and clemency ment for these things, which are the work of have been pretty large ingredients in my com weak or faithless subordinates. Wrongs will be pound. Having been the executive of a State, committed under every form of government and and thereby placed in a position in which it was every administration. For myself, I mean to necessary to exercise clemency and mercy, I have stand by the Government till the flag of the been charged with going too far, being too leniUnion shall wave over every city, town, hill-ent; and I have become satisfied that mercy top, and cross-roads, in its full power and ma- without justice is a crime, and that when mercy and clemency are exercised by the executive it

jesty.

cere thanks for this encouragement and sympathy, I can only reiterate what I have said before, and, in part, what has just been read.

should always be done in view of justice, and in | and comfort. With this definition it requires the

that manner alone is properly exercised that great prerogative.

exercise of no great acumen to ascertain who
are traitors. It requires no great perception to
tell us who have levied war against the United
States, nor does it require any great stretch of
reasoning to ascertain who has given aid to the
enemies of the United States. And when the
Government of the United States does ascertain
who are the conscious and intelligent traitors,
the penalty and the forfeit should be paid.
I know how to appreciate the condition of
being driven from one's home.
I can sympa-

The time has come, as you who have had to drink this bitter cup are fully aware, when the American people should be made to understand the true nature of crime. Of crime, generally, our people have a high understanding, as well as of the necessity for its punishment; but in the catalogue of crimes there is one-and that the highest known to the law and the Constitutionof which, since the days of Jefferson and Aaron Burr, they have become oblivious; that is TREA-thize with him whose all has been taken from SON. Indeed, one who has become distinguished him; with him who has been denied the place in treason and in this rebellion said, that when that gave his children birth; but let us, withal, traitors become numerous enough, treason be- in the restoration of true government, proceed comes respectable," and to become a traitor was temperately and dispassionately, and hope and to constitute a portion of the aristocracy of the pray that the time will come, as I believe, when country. Iwe all can return and remain at our homes, and treason and traitors be driven from our land; [applause;] when again law and order shall reign, and the banner of our country be unfurled over every inch of territory within the area of the United States.

God protect the people against such an aristocracy.

Yes, the time has come when the people should be taught to understand the length and breath, the depth and height of treason. An individual occupying the highest position among us was lifted to that position by the free offering of the American people-the highest position on the habitable globe. This man we have seen, revered, and loved; one who, if he erred at all, erred ever on the side of clemency and mercy; that man we have seen treason strike through a fitting instrument; and we have beheld him fall like a bright star falling from its sphere.

Interview with George L. Stearns.

WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 3, 1865, 114, A. M. I have just returned from an interview with President Johnson, in which he talked for an hour on the process of reconstruction of rebel States. His manner was as cordial, and his conversation as free as in 1863, when I met him daily in Nashville.

In conclusion, let me thank you most profoundly for this encouragement and manifestation of your regard and respect, and assure you that I can give no greater assurance regarding the settlement of this question than that intend to discharge my duty, and in that way which shall in the earliest possible hour bring back peace to our distracted country, and hope the time is not far distant when our people can all Now, there is none but would say, if the ques-return to their homes and firesides, and resume tion came up, what should be done with the in- their various avocations. dividual who assassinated the chief magistrate of a nation-he is but a man, one man after all; but if asked what should be done with the assassin, what should be the penalty, the forfeit exacted, I know what response dwells in every bosom. It is, that he should pay the forfeit with his life. And hence we see that these are times when mercy and clemency without justice become a crime. The one should temper the other and bring about the proper mean. And if we would say this when the case was the simple murder of one man by his fellow man, what should we say when asked what shall be done with him, or them, or those who have raised impious hands to take away the life of a nation composed of thirty millions of people? What would be the reply to that question? But while in mercy we remem ber justice, in the language that has been uttered, I say justice toward the leaders, the conscious leaders; but I also say amnesty, conciliation, clemency, and mercy to the thousands of our countrymen who you and I know have been deceived or driven into this infernal rebellion.

And so I return to where I started from, and again repeat, that it is time our people were taught to know that treason is a crime-not a mere political difference, not a mere contest between two parties, in which one succeeded, and the other has simply failed. They must know it is treason, for if they had succeeded, the life of the nation would have been reft from it, the Union would have been destroyed.

Surely the Constitution sufficiently defines treason. It consists in levying war against the United States, and in giving their enemies aid

His countenance is healthier, even more so than when I first knew him.

I remarked that the people of the North were anxious that the process of reconstruction should be thorough, and they wished to support him in the arduous work, but their ideas were confused by the conflicting reports constantly circulated, and especially by the present position of the Democratic party. It is industriously circulated in the Democratic clubs that he was going over to them. He laughingly replied,

Major, have you never known a man who for many years had differed from your views because you were in advance of him, claim them as his own when he came up to your standpoint?"

I replied, "I have, often." He said, "So have I," and went on: "The Democratic party finds its old position untenable, and is coming to ours; if it has come up to our position, I am glad of it. You and I need no preparation for this conversation; we can talk freely on this subject, for the thoughts are familiar to us; we can be perfectly frank with each other." He then commenced with saying that the States are in the Union, which is whole and indivisible.

Individuals tried to carry them out, but did not succeed, as a man may try to cut his throat and be prevented by the bystanders; and you cannot say he cut his throat because he tried to do it.

haps a property qualification for others, say $200 or $250.

It would not do to let the negro have universal suffrage now; it would breed a war of races. There was a time in the Southern States when Individuals may commit treason and be pun- the slaves of large owners looked down upon ished, and a large number of individuals may non-slaveowners because they did not own slaves; constitute a rebellion, and be punished as trai- the larger the number of slaves the masters tors. Some States tried to get out of the Union, owned the prouder they were, and this has proand we opposed it honestly, because we believed duced hostility between the mass of the whites it to be wrong; and we have succeeded in put- and the negroes. The outrages are mostly from ting down the rebellion. The power of those non-slaveholding whites against the negro, and persons who made the attempt has been crushed, from the negro upon the non-slaveholding and now we want to reconstruct the State gov-whites. ernments, and have the power to do it. The State institutions are prostrated, laid out on the ground, and they must be taken up and adapted to the progress of events; this cannot be done in a moment. We are making very rapid progress-so rapid I sometimes cannot realize it. It appears like a dream.

We must not be in too much of a hurry; it is better to let them reconstruct themselves than to force them to it; for if they go wrong the power is in our hands, and we can check them in any stage, to the end, and oblige them to correct their errors; we must be patient with them. I did not expect to keep out all who were excluded from the amnesty, or even a large number of them; but I intended they should sue for pardon, and so realize the enormity of the crime they had committed.

You could not have broached the subject of equal suffrage at the North seven years ago, and we must remember that the changes of the South have been more rapid, and they have been obliged to accept more unpalatable truth than the North has; we must give them time to digest a part, for we cannot expect such large affairs will be comprehended and digested at once. We must give them time to understand their new position.

I have nothing to conceal in these matters, and have no desire or willingness to take indirect courses to obtain what we want.

Our Government is a grand and lofty structure; in searching for its foundation we find it rests on the broad basis of popular rights. The elective franchise is not a natural right, but a political right. I am opposed to giving the States too much power, and also to a great consolidation of power in the central government.

If I interfered with the vote in the rebel States, to dictate that no negro shall vote, I might do the same for my own purposes in Pennsylvania. Our only safety lies in allowing each State to control the right of voting by its own laws, and we have the power to control the rebel States if they go wrong. If they rebel we have the army, and can control them by it, and, if necessary, by legislation also. If the General Government controls the right to vote in the States, it may establish such rules as will restrict the vote to a small number of persons, and thus create a central despotism.

The negro will vote with the late master, whom he does not hate, rather than with the nonslaveholding white, whom he does hate. Universal suffrage would create another war, not against us, but a war of races.

Another thing: This Government is the freest and best on earth, and I feel sure is destined to last; but to secure this we must elevate and purify the ballot. I for many years contended at the South that slavery was a political weakness; but others said it was political strength; they thought we gained three-fifths representation by it; I contended that we lost two-fifths.

If we had no slaves we should have had twelve Representatives more, according to the then ratio of representation. Congress apportions representation by States, not districts, and the State apportions by districts.

Many years ago I moved in the Legislature that the apportionment of Representatives to Congress in Tennessee should be by qualified voters.

The apportionment is now fixed until 1872; before that me we might change the basis of representation from population to qualified voters, North as well as South, and, in due course of time, the States, without regard to color, might extend the elective franchise to all who possessed certain mental, moral, or such other qualifications as might be determined by an enlightened public judgment.

BOSTON, October 18, 1865. The above report was returned to me by President Johnson with the following endorsement. GEORGE L. STEARNS. I have read the within communication and find it substantially correct.

I have made some verbal alterations.

A. J.

Address to the Colored Soldiers. October 10, 1865-The first colored regiment of District of Columbia troops, recently returned from the South, marched to the Executive Mansion, and were addressed by the President, as follows:

MY FRIENDS: My object in presenting my self before you on this occasion is simply to thank you, members of one of the colored regiments which have been in the service of the country to sustain and carry its banner and its laws triumphantly in every part of this broad land. I appear before you on the present ocThere I should try to introduce negro suffrage casion merely to tender you my thanks for the gradually; first those who had served in the compliment you have paid me on your return army; those who could read and write; and per-home, to again be associated with your friends

My position here is different from what it would be if I was in Tennessee.

and your relations, and those you hold most sacred and dear. I have but little to say. It being unusual in this Government and in most of the other governments to have colored troops engaged in their cause, you have gone forth as events have shown, and served with patience and endurance in the cause of your country. This is your country as well as anybody else's country. This is the country in which you expect to live, and in which you should expect to do something by your example in civil life, as you have done in the field. This country is founded upon the principle of equality; and at the same time the standard by which persons are to be estimated is according to their merit and their worth. And you observe, no doubt, that for him who does his duty faithfully and honestly, there is always a just public judgment that will appreciate and measure out to him his proper reward.

I know that there is much well calculated in this Government, and since the late rebellion commenced, to excite the white against the black, and the black against the white man. These are things that you should all understand, and at the same time prepare yourselves for what is before you. Upon the return of peace and the surrender of the enemies of the country, it should be the duty of every patriot and every one who calls himself a Christian to remember that with a termination of the war his resentments should cease-that angry feelings should subside, and that every man should become calm and tranquil, and be prepared for what is before him.

mighty rebellion, after the most gigantic battles the world ever saw.

The problem is before you, and it is best that you should understand it, and I therefore speak simply and plainly. Will you now, when you have retired from the army of the United States and taken the position of the citizen-when you have returned to the avocations of peace-will you give evidence to the world that you are capable and competent to govern yourselves? This is what you will have to do.

Liberty is not a mere idea, a mere vagary; when you come to examine this question of liberty you should not be mistaken in a mere idea for the reality. It does not consist in idleness. Liberty does not consist in being worthless. Liberty does not consist in doing in all things as we please; and there can be no liberty without law. In a government of freedom and lib. erty there must be law, and there must be obedience and submission to the law, without regard to color. Liberty-and may I not call you my countrymen?-liberty consists in the glorious privileges of freedom-consists in the glorious privileges of worth of pursuing the ordinary avocations of peace with energy, with industry, and with economy; and that being done, all those who have been industrious and economical are permitted to appropriate and enjoy the products of their own labor. This is one of the great blessings of freedom; and hence we might ask the question and answer it by stating that liberty means freedom to work and enjoy the products of your own labor.

You will soon be mustered out of the ranks. This is another part of your mission. You It is for you to establish the great fact that you have been engaged in the effort to sustain your are fit and qualified to be free. Hence, freedom country in the past, but the future is more im- is not a mere idea, but it is something that exportant to you than the period in which you ists in fact. Freedom is not simply the principle have just been engaged. One great question to live in idleness. Liberty does not mean simply has been settled in this Government, and that is to resort to the low saloons and other places of the question of slavery. The institution of disreputable character. Freedom and liberty do slavery made war upon the United States, and not mean that the people ought to live in licenthe United States has lifted its strong arms in tiousness, but liberty means simply to be indusvindication of the Government and of free gov-trious and to be virtuous, to be upright in all ernment, and in lifting the arm and appealing to the God of battles, it was decided that the institution of slavery must go down. This has been done, and the Goddess of Liberty, in bearing witness over many of our battle-fields since the struggle commenced, has made her loftiest flight and proclaimed that true liberty has been established upon a more permanent and enduring basis than heretofore. But this is not all; and as you have paid me the compliment to call upon me, I shall take the privilege of saying one or two words as I am before you.

our dealings and relations with men; and to those now before me, members of the last regiment of colored volunteers from the District of Columbia, and the capital of the United States, I have to say, that a great deal depends upon yourselves; you must give evidence that you are competent for the rights that the government has guaranteed to you.

Hence, each and all of you must be measured according to his merit. If one man is more meritorious than the other, they cannot be equals, and he is the most exalted that is the Now, when the sword is returned to its scab- most meritorious, without regard to color; and bard, when your arms are reversed, and when the idea of having a law passed in the morning the olive branch of peace is extended, resent- that will make a white man black before night ment and revenge should subside. Then what and a black man a white man before day is abis to follow? You do understand, no doubt-surd. That is not the standard; it is your own and if you do not you cannot understand too conduct; it is your own merit; it is the develsoon-that simple liberty does not mean the opment of your own talents and of your intelprivilege of going into the battle-field, or into lectual and moral qualities. the service of the country as a soldier. It means other things as well; and now when you have laid down your arms there are other objects of equal importance before you-now that the Government has triumphantly passed through this

Let this, then, be your course; adopt systems of morality; abstain from all licentiousness; and let me say one thing here, for I am going to talk plainly. I have lived in a Southern State all my life, and know what has too often