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m i Address to the People of the United States. Tho following is tho address issued by the National Convention, lately held in Philadelphia, to the people of the United States: To the People of the United States : Having met in convention at tho city Of Philadelphia, in tho State of Pennsyl? vania, this 16th day of August, 1866, as the representatives of the people of all sections, and all tho States and Territo? ries of tho Union, to consult upon the condition and tho wants of our common country, w? address to you this declara? tion of our principles and of political pur? poses we seek to promote. Since the meeting of the last National Convention, in tho year 1860, events have occurred which have changed the charac? ter of our internal politics and given tho United States a new place among the na? tions of tho earth. Our Govornment has passed through the vicissitudos and tho perils of civil war; a war which, though mainly sectional in its character, has nev? ertheless decided political differences that from tho very beginning of the Govern? ment had threatened the unity of our na? tional oxistence, and has loft its impress deep and ineffaccablo, upon all the inter? ests, sentiments and the destiny of tho Bepublic. While it has inflicted upon tho whole country severe losses in lifo and in proporty, and has imposod burdens which must weigh on its resources for genera? tions to como, it has developed a dogroo of national courage in the presence of na? tional dangers, a capacity for military or? ganization and achievement, and a devo? tion on the part of the peoplo to the form Of Government which they have ordained, ?nd to the principles of liberty which that Government was dosigned to promoto, whioh must confirm the confidence of tho nation in the perpotuity of its republican institutions, and command the respect of the civilized world. Like all great con? tests which rouse tho passions and test the endurance of nations, this war has given new scope to the ambition of political par? ties, and fresh impulse to plans of innova? tion and reform. Amidst the chaos of conflicting seutimonts, inseparable from such an era, while tho publio heart is ' keenly alivo to all tho passions that can sway the public judgmont and affect the public aotions; while tho wounds of war ftro still fresh and blooding on oithor side, and fears for tho future take unjust pro? portions from tho memories and resent? ments of tho past, it is a difficult but an Imperative duty which, on your behalf, " ; we who are hero assembled have under? taken, to perform. ? For tho first timo after six long years of alienation and of conflict, wo havo como together from evory State and evory sec? tion of our land as citizens of a common country, under that^flag, the symbol again of a common glory^, to consult together ?how best to cemont and pcrpctuato that Union which is again the object of our eommon love, and thus secure the bles? sing of liberty to ourselves and our pos? terity. In the first place, we invoke you to ro . member always and every whoro that tho war is ended, and tho nation is again at J>eace. The shock of contending arms no ongor assails the shuddering hoart of tho Bepublic. Tho insurrection against tho supremo authority of tho nation hasbeon . suppressed, and that authority has been Ogam acknowledged by word and act in every State, and by evory citizen within its jurisdiction. Wo aro no longor required or permittod to regard or treat each other as enemies. Not only have tho acts of war been discontinued, and tho weapons ' of war laid aside, but the state of war no longer exists; and tho sentiments, the Sessions, the relations of war, havo no . onger lawful or rightful place anywhere throughout our broad domain. Wo are again peoplo of the Unitod Statos?folio w oitizens of one country, bound by the du? ties and obligations of a common patriot? ism, and having noithor rights nor inter? ests apart from a common destiny. Tho .duties that devolve upon us now aro again the duties of peace, and no longer the du? ties of war. We havo assomblod hero to take counsel concerning tho interests of peace; to decide how we may most wiso ly and effectively heal tho wounds tho war has made, and perfect and perpetu? ate the benefits it has secured, and tho blessings which, under a wise and bonign Providonco, havo sprung up in its fiory track. This is tho work, not of .passion, but of calm and sober judgment; not of resentment for past offences, prolonged beyond tho limits which justice and rea? son prescribe, but of a liberal statesman? ship, which tolerates what it cannot pre? vent, and builds its plans and its hopes for the future rather upon a community of interest and ambition than upon dis? trust and tho weapons of force. In the next place, wo call upon you to rocognizo, ro their full significance, and to accept with all their legitimate consequences, the political results of tho war just closed. In two most important particulars, the Tictorv achieved by the National Govorn? ment has been final and decisive. First, it has established, beyond all further con? troversy, and by the highest of all human sanctions, tho absoluto supremacy of the National Governmont, as defined and limited by the Constitution of tho Unitod States, and tho permanent integrity and indissolubility of tho Federal Union as a nocessary consequence. And second, it has put an end, finally and forever, to tho existence of slavery upon the soil or vrithtn the jurisdiction of tho United States. Both theso points becamo direct? ly involved in the contest, and controver? sy upon both was ended absolutely and. finally by the result. In the third placo, we deem it of tho utmost importance that the real character of the war, and the victory by which it was closed, should bo accurately understood. The war was carried on by the Govornment of the United States in maintenance of its own authority and in defence of its own exis? tence, both of which wero menaced by the insurrection which it sought to sup? press* The suppression of that insurrec? tion accomplished that result. Tho Gov? ernment of tho United Statos maintained by force of arms the supremo authority over all the territory, and over all tho States and people within its jurisdiction, ahteh tho Constitution confers upon it! But it acquirod thereby no new power; no enlarged jurisdiction; no rights, either of territorial possession or of civil au? thority, which it did not possess before the rebellion broke out. All the rightful power it can over possess is that which is conferred upon it, either in express terms, or by fair and necessary application, by tho Constitution of the United States. It was that power and that authority which the rebellion sought to overthrow, i and tho victory of the Federal arms was j siraDly the defeat of that attempt. Tho Government of the United States acted ! throughout tho war on tho defensive. It j sought only to hold possession of what was already its own. Neither the war nor tho victory by which it was closed changed, in any way, the Constitution of the United States. The war was carried on by virtue of its provisions, and under tho limitations which they prescribe, and tho result of tho war did not either j enlarge, abridge, or in any way change ! or affect the powers it confers upon the Federal Government, or release that Gov? ernment from the restrictions which it has imposed. The Constitution of tho 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 Stato to the contrary not? withstanding." And, to-day, also, pre? cisely as before the war, "all the powers not conferred by the Constitution upon the General Govornment, nor prohibited by it to tho States, is reserved to the sev? eral States, or to tho people thereof." This position is vindicated net only by tho essential nature of our Government, and the languago and spirit of the Con? stitution, but by all the acts and the lan? guago of our Government in all its de? partments and at all times. From the outbreak of tho rebellion to its final over? throw, in every message and proclama? tion of tho Executive, it was explicitly declared that tho solo object and purpose of the war was to maintain tho authori? ty of the Constitution and to preserve tho integrity of the Union. And Con? gress, more than once, reiterated this sol? emn declaration, and added the assurance that, whenover this objoct should be at? tained, tho war should cease; and all the States should retain their equal rights and dignity unimpaired. It is only since tho war was closed that othor rights have been asserted on behalf of ono depart? ment of tho General Government. It has been proclaimed by Congress that, in addition to tho powers conferred upon it by tho Constitution, tho Federal Govern? ment may now claim over tho States, tho territory and tho pooplo involved in insur? rection, tho rights ol war, tho right of conquest and of confiscation; tho right to abrogate all existing Governments, in? stitutions and laws, and to subject the territory conquered, and its inhabitants, to such laws, regulations and depriva? tions as tho legislative departments of the Government may soo fit to impose. Under this broad and sweeping claim, that clause of tho Constitution which pro? vides that "no State shall, without its con? sent, bo doprivod of its equal suffrage in the Senate of tho United States." has boen annulled, and ton Statos havo been re? fused, and still are rofused, representation altogether in both branches of the Federal Congress; and tho Congross in which only a part of tho Statos and of tho people of tho Union aro represented has asserted tho right thus to exclude tho rest from representation and all share in making their own laws, or choosing their own rulers, until thoy shall comply with such conditions and perform such acts as this Congress, thus composed, may itself pre? scribe. That right has not only boon as? sorted, but it has boon exorcisod and is practically onforcod at tho present timo. Nor does it find any support in tho thoo ry that tho,States thus excluded aro in rebellion against tho Government, and therefore precluded from sharing its au? thority. Thoy aro not thus in rebellion. Thoy aro ono and all in an attitudo of loy? alty towards tho Govornment, and of sworn allegianco to tho Constitution of the United States. In no ono of them is thero tho slightest indication of resistance to this authority, or tho slightest protest against its just and binding obligation. This condition of ronowed loyalty has been ofticially recognized by solemn proc? lamation of tho Executive Dopartmont; tho laws of tho United States have been extended by Congress over all these Statos and tho pooplo thorcof; Federal courts havo boon ro-opoucd, and Federal taxes iraposod and Jo vied ; and, in every respect, exccj)t that thoy aro denied rep rosontion in Congress and tho electoral college, tho States onco in rebellion are now recognized as holding tho samo posi? tion, as owing tho samo obligations, and subject to the same duties, as tho other States of our common Union. It soems to us, in the exercise of the calmest and most candid judgment wo can bring to tho subject, that such a claim, so enforced, involves as fatal an overthrow of tho authority of tho Constitution, and as complete a destruction of the Govern? ment and Union, as that which was sought to bo effeoted by tho States and peoplo inarmed insurrection against them both. It cannot escape observation that the power thus asserted to exclude cer? tain States from representation is made to rost wholly on tho will and discretion of tho Congress that asserts it. It is not mado to depend upon any specified con? ditions or circumstances, nor to be sub? ject to any rules or regulations whatever. Tho right asserted and oxercised is abso? lute, without qualification or restriction? not confined to States in rebellion, nor to States that have rebelled?it is tho right of any Congress, in formal possession of the legislative authority, to oxcludo any Stato or States, and any portion of the peoplo thereof, at any timo, from repre? sentation in Congress and in tho electoral college, at its own discretion, and until they shall perform such acts and comply with such conditions as it may dictate. Obviously tho roasons for such exclu? sion being wholly within tho discretion of Congress, may chango as tho Congress it? self shall change. Ono Congress may ex? clude a State from all share in the Gov? ernment for one reason, and that reason removed, the next Congross may exclude it for another. One State may be ex? cluded on one ground to-day, and another may bo excluded on the opposite ground to-morrow. Northern ascendency may oxclude Southern States from one Con? gress. The ascendency of "Western or of Southern interests, or of both combined, may exclude the Northern or the Eas-1 tern States from the next. Improbable as such usurpations may j seem, the establishment Of the -principle now asserted and aoted upon by Congress I ! will render them by no means impossible, j The character, indeed the very existence, of Congress and the Union is thus made j dependent solely and entirely upon the party and sectional exigencies or forbear? ances of the hour. We need not stop to show that auch action not only finds no warrant in the Constitution, but is at war with every principle of our Government, and with j the very existence of free institutions. It is, indeed, the identical practice which has rendered fruitless all attempts hither? to to establish and maintain free govern? ment 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 their be? hests. Stability, whether in the exercise of power, in the administration of Gov? ernment, or in the enjoyment of rights, becomes impossible?and the conflicts of party, which, under constitutional Gov? ernments, are the conditions and means of political progress, are merged in the conflict of arms, to which they directly and inevitably tend. It was against this peril, so conspicuous and so fatal to all free Governments, that our Constitntion was intended especially to provide. Not only the stability, but the very existence of the Government is mado by its provisions to depend upon tho right and the fact of representation. The Congross, upon which is conferred all the legislative power of the National Government, consists of two branches, the Senate and House of Representatives, whose joint concurrence or assent is es? sential to the validity of any law. Of these, "tho House ol Representatives/' says tho Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, "shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of tho several States." Not only is the right of representation thus recognized as possess? ed by all the States, ana by every. State, without restriction, qualification, or con? dition of any kind, but the duty of choos? ing representatives is imposed upon the people of each and every State alike, without distinction, or the authority to make distinction, among them, for any reason, or upon any grounds whatover. And, in tho Senate?bo careful is tho Con? stitution to secure to every State this right of representation?it is expressly provided that "No State shall, without its consent, be deprived of its equal suf? frage" in that body, even by an amend? ment of the Constitution itself. When, thoreforo, any State is excluded from such representation, not only is a right of tho State denied, but the consti? tutional integrity of the Senate is im? paired, and tho validity of the Govern? ment itself is brought in question. But Congress, at the present moment, thus excludes from representation in both branches of Congress ton States of the Union; denying them all share in the en? actment of laws by which they are to be governed, and all participation in the election of the rulers by which those laws are to bo enforced. In other words, a Congress, in which only twenty-six States are represented, asserts the right to gov? ern, absolutely, and in its own dis? cretion, all the thirty-six States which compose the Union ; to make their laws and choose their rulers, and to exclude the othor ton from all share in their own Government, until it sees fit to admit them thereto. What is thero to distinguish the power thus asserted and exercised from the most absolute and intolerable tyran? ny ? Nor do these extravagant and un? just claims on the part of Congress to powers and authority never conferred upon the Government by tho Constitution find any warrant in the arguments or ex? cuses urged in their behalf. It is alleged: 1. That these States, by tbe act of re bclion, and by voluntarily withdrawing their membors from Congress, forfeited their right to representation, and that they can only receive it again at the hands of tho supreme legislative authority of the Govornment, on its own terms and its own discretion. If representation in Congress and participation in the Govornment wore simply privileges conferred and held by favor, this statemont might have tho merit of plausibility; but representation is, under the Constitution, not only expressly recognized as a right, but it is imposed as a duty, and it is essential, in both respects, to the existonco of the Government and to tho maintenance of its authority. In free Governments, fundamental and essential rights cannot be forfeited, except against individuals, by due process of law. Nor can constitutional duties and obligations be discarded or laid aside. Tho enjoy? ment of rights may bo, for a time, sus? pended, by tho failure to claim them, and duties may be evaded by the refusal to perform them. Tho withdrawal of their members from Congress by the States which resistod the General Government was among their acts of insurrection?was one of tho means and agencies by which they sought to im? pair tho authority and defeat the action of tho Govornment. And that Act was an? nulled and rendered void when tho insur? rection itself was auppressod. Neithor the right of representation, nor the duty to bo represented was in tho least impair? ed by tho fact of insurrrection, but it may have been that, by reason of the insurrec? tion, the conditions on which the enjoy? ment of that right and the performance of that duty for tho time depended, could not be fulfilled. This was, in fact, tho case. An insur? gent powor, in the exorcise of usurped and unlawful authority in the territory under its control, had prohibited that al? legiance to tho Constitution and laws of the United States which is made by that fundamental law the essential condition of representation in its Government. No man within the insurgent States was al? lowed to take the oath to support the Con? stitution 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 tbe enjoyment of the right and to the discharge of a duty. It did not annul the one, nor abrogato tho other, and it ceased to exist when the usurpa? tion by which it was created had been overthrown, and the States had again re? sumed their allegianco to the Constitu- j tion and Jaws c/ the United Sfcatcg. I 2. But it is assorted, in support of the authority claimed by the Congress now in possession of power, that it flows di? rectly from the laws of war; that it is among the rights which victorious war always confers upon the conquerors, and which the conqueror may exorcise or waive, in his own discretion. To this wo reply, that the laws in question relate solely, so far as the rights thoy confer are concerned, to wars waged between alien and independent nations, andean have no place or force in this regard in a war waged by the Government to suppress an insurrection of its own people, upon its own soil, against its authority. If we had carried on successful war against any foreign nation, we might thereby have acquired 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 choose. But we had before the war complete jurisdiction over the soil of the Southern States, limited only by our own Constitution. Our laws were the only national laws in force upon it; the Government of the United States was the only Government through which those States and their people had relations with foreign nations, and its flag was the only flag by which they were recognized or known anywhere on tho face of the earth. In all these respects, and in all othor re? spects involving national interest and right, our possession was perfect and com? plete. It did not need to be acquired, but only to bo maintained, and victorious war against the rebellion could do nothing more than maintain it?it could only vin? dicate and re-establish the disputed su? premacy of the Constitution. It could neither enlarge nor diminish the authority which that Constitution confers upon the Government by which it was achieved. Such an enlargement or abridgement of constitutional power can be effected only by the amendment of the Constitution itself, and such amendment can be made only in tho modes which the Constitution itself prescribes. The claim that the sup? pression of an insurrection against the Govornment gives additional authority and power to that Government, especially that it enlarges the jurisdiction of Con? gress, and gives that body tho right to exclude States from representation in the national councils, without which the na? tion itself can have no authority and no j existence, it seems to us is at variance alike with tho principles of the Constitu? tion and with tho public safety. 3. But it is alleged that in certain par? ticulars tho Constitution of the United Statos fails to secure that absolute justice and impartial equality which the princi? ples of our Government require. That it was in these respects tho result of com? promises and concessions, to which, how evor necessary when tho Constitution was formed, we are no longer compelled to submit, and that now, having the power, through successful war, and just warrant for its exercise in the hostile conduct of the insurgent section, the actual Govern? ment of the United States may impose its own conditions and make the Constitution conform, in all its provisions, to its own ideas of equality and tho rights of man. Congress, at its last session, proposed amendments to the Constitution enlarging, in some very important particulars, the authority of tho General Government over that of the several States, and reducing, by indirect disfranchisement, the repre? sentative power of tho States in which slavery formerly existed. And it is claimed that those amendments may be made valid as parts of the original Con? stitution, without tho concurrence of the States to be most seriously affectod by them, or may be imposed upon those States by three-fourths of the remaining States as conditions of their re-admission to representation in Congress and in the electoral collogo. It is the unquestionable right of the peoplo of the Unitod States to make such changes in the Constitution as they, upon due deliberation, may deem expedient.? But wo iusist that they shall be made in tho modo which the Constitution itself points out, in conformity with tho letter and tho spirit of that instrument, and with the principles of self-govern mon t and equal rights which lio at the basis of our republican institutions. Wo deny the right of Congress to make theso changes in the fundamental law without the con? currence of three-fourths of all tho States, including especially those to be most se? riously affected by them, or to impose them upon States or people as conditions of representation, or of admission to any of the rights, duties or obligations which bolong, under the Constitution, to all the States alike. And with still greater em? phasis do wo deny the right of any por? tion of tho Statos, excluding the rest of the States from any share in their coun? cils, to propose or sanction the changes in the Constitution which are to affect per? manently their political relations, and control or coerce the legitimate action of the several members of the common Union. Such an exercise of power is sim? ply a usurpation?just as unwarrantable when oxercised by Northern States as it would be if exercised by Southern, and not to bo fortified or paliated by anything in the past history either of those by whom it is attempted, or of those upon whose rights and liborties it is to take ef? fect. It finds no warrant in the Consti? tution ; it is at war with tho fundamental principles of our form of Government. If tolerated in one instance, it becomes the precedent for future invasions of liberty and constitutional rights, dependent sole? ly upon tho will of the party in possession of power, and thus leads, by diroct se? quence, to the most fatal and intolerable of all tyrannies?the tyranny of shifting and irresponsible factions. It is against this, tho most formidable of all the dan? gers which menace the stability of a free Government, that the Constitution of the United States was intended most carefully to provide. We demand a strict and steadfast adherence to its provisions. In this, and in this alone, can wo find a basis I of permanent union and peace, j 4. But it is alleged, in justification of the usurpation which we condemn, that the condition of tho Southern States and people is not such as renders safe their re-admission to a sharo in the Government of the country; that they are still disloyal in sentiment and purpose, and that nei? ther the honor, the credit, nor the inter? est of the nation would be safe if they were readmitted to a share in its councils. >W# might reply to this: First, that we have no right for such reasons to deny to 1 any portion of the States or people rights expressly conferred upon them by the Constitution of the United States. Sec? ond, that so long as their acts are these of loyalty, so long as they conform in all their public conduct to the requirements of tho Constitution and laws, we have no right to exact from them conformity in I their sentiments and opinions to our own. Third, That we have no right to distrust the purpose or the ability of the people of the Union to protect and defend, under all contingencies and by whatever means may be required, its honor and its welfare. These would, in our judgment, be full and conclusive answers to the plea thus advanced for the excluson of these States from the Union. But we say further, that this plea rests upon a complete mis? apprehension or an unjust perversion of existing facts. We do not hesitate to af? firm that there is no section of the coun? try where the Constitution 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 danger of any future attempt to overthrow their authority. It would seem to be both natural and inevitable that, in States or sections so re? cently swept by the whirlwind of war, where all the ordinary modes and me? thods of organized industry have been broken up, and the bonds and influences that guarantee social order have been de-1 stroyed, where thousands and tens of thousands of our turbulent spirits have been suddenly loosed from the discipline of war, and thrown, without resources of restraint upon a disorganized and chaotic socioty, and where the keen senso of de? feat is added to the overthrow of ambi? tion and hope, scenes of violence should defy, for a time, tho imperfect discipline of law, and excite anew tbe fears and forebodings of tho patriotic and well-dis? posed. It'is unquestionably true that lo? cal disturbances of this kind, accompanied by more or less of violence, do still occur, but they are confined entirely to the cities and larger towns of the Southern States, where different races and interests are brought more closely in contact, and whore passions and resontments are al? ways most easily fed and fanned into out? break. And even there tbey are quite as much the fruit of untimely and hurtful political agitation as of any hostility on the part of the people to tbe authority 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 South, including that of its represen? tatives in this Convention, establishes the fact that the great mass of tho Southern people accept, with as full and sincere submission as do the people of the other States, tho re-established supremacy of the national authority, and are prepared, in the most loyal spirit, and with a zeal qu xened alike by their interest and their pride, to co-operate with other States and soctions in whatever may be necessary to defend the rights, maintain the honor, and promote the welfare of our common country. History affords no instance where a people so powerful in numbers, in re? sources, and 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 faith as has marked tho conduct of the people lately in insurrec? tion against tho United States. Beyond all question, this has been largely duo to the wise generosity with which their en? forced surrender was accepted by the President of tho United States and tho generals in immediate command of their armies, and to the liberal measures which wero aftewards taken to restoro order, tranquility and law to the States, where all had for tho time been overthrown.? No steps could have been better calcula? ted to command the respect, win the con? fidence, revive tho patriotism and secure the permanent and affectionate allegiance of the people of tho South to the Consti? tution and laws of the Union, than those which have been so firmly taken and so steadfastly pursued by the President of the United States. And if that confidonco and loyalty have been since impaired?if the people of the South are to-day less cordial in their al? legiance than they were immediately upon tho close of the war?we believe it is duo to the changed tone of the legislative de? partment of the General Government to? wards them; to the action by which Con? gress has endeavored to supplant and de? feat the President's wise and benoficent policy of restoration; to their exclusion from all participation in our common Government; to the withdrawalfromthem of rights conferred and guaranteed by the Constitution, and to the evident purpose Congress, in the oxercise of a usurped and unlawful authority, to reduce them from the rank of free and equal membois of a Republic of States, with rights and digni? ties unimpaired, to the condition of con? quered provinces and a conquered people ?in all things subordinate and subject to the will of their conquerors?free only to obey laws, in making which they are not allowed to share. No people has ever yet existed whose loyalty and faith such treatment, long continued, would not alienate and impair, and the ten millions of Americans who live in the South would be unworthy citi? zens of a free country; degenerate sons of an heroic ancestry, unfit over to De como guardians of the rights and liberties bequeathed to us by the fathers and foun? ders of this Republic, if they could accept, with uncomplaining submission, the hu? miliation thus sought to be imposed upon them. Resontment of injustice is always and everywhere essential to freedom; and the spirit which prompts tho States-and people lately in insurrection, but insur? gents now no longer, to protect against the imposition of unjust and degrading conditions, makes them all the more wor? thy to share in the government of a free commonwealth, and gives still firmer as? surance of the future powor and freedom of the Republic. For whatever responsibility tho South? ern people may have incurred in resisting the authority of the National Govern^ mont, and in taking up arras for its over? throw, they may be held to answer as in? dividuals before the judicial tribunals of the land; and for that conduct, as socie? ties and organized communities, they have already paid the most fearful penalties that can fall on offending States, in the losses, the sufferings, and the humiliationfl of unsuccessful war. But whatever may bo the" guilt or .the punishment, of the conscious authors of the insurrection, candor aud common jus? tice demand the concession that the great mass of those who become involved in its responsibility acted upon what they be? lieved to bo their duty, in defence of what they had been taught to believe their rights, or under a compulsion, physical and moral, which they were powerless to resist. Nor can it be amiss to remember that, terrible as havo been the bereavements and the losses of this war, they have fal? len exclusively upon neither section, and upon neither party; that they have fallen indeed with a far greater weight upon those with whom the war began.? That in the death of relatives and friends, the dispersion of families, the disruption of social systems and social ties; over? throw of Governments, of law, and of or? der; the destruction of property, and of forms, and modes, and means of industry ; the loss of political, commercial, and moral influence, in every shape and form which great calamities can assume, the Statos and people which engaged in the war against the Government of the United States havo suffered ten-fold more than those who remained in allegiance to the Constitution and laws. These considerations may not, as they ! certainly do not, justify the action of tho . people of the insurgent States; but no just or generous mind will refuso to them very considerable weight in deterTr'nio? the line of conduct which the Government of the United States should pursue towards them. They.accept, if not with alacrity, certainly without sullen resentment, the defeat and overthrow they have sustained. They acknowledge and acquiesce in the result, to themselves and the country, which that defeat involves. They no longer claim for any State the right to secedo from the Union. They no longer assert for any State an allegiance para mount to that which is due to the Gene? ral Government. They have accepted the destruction of slavery, abolished it by their State Constitutions, and concurred with the States and people of the whole Union in prohibiting its existence forever upon the soil or within the jurisdiction of the United States. They indicate and evince their purpose just so fast as may I be possiblo and safe to adapt their do ' mestic laws to the changed condition of their society, and to secure by the law and its tribunals equal and impartial jus? tice to all classes of their inhabitants. They admit the invalidity of all acts of resistance to the national authority, and of ail debts incurred in attempting- its overthrow. They avow their willingness to share the burdens and discharge all the duties and obligations which rest upon them in common with other States and other sections of the Union, and they re? new, through their representatives in this Conveution, by all their pubiio conduct in every way, and by 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, to tho Constitution of tho United States, and to all laws that may be made in pursuance 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 arras against your authority, and to share with them the honor and renown that await those who bring back peace and concord to jarring States. The war just closed?with all its sorrows and disastera?has opened a new career of glory to the nation it has saved. It has swept away the hostilities of senti? ment and of interest which were a stand? ing menace to its peace. It has destroy? ed the institution of slavery?always a a cause of sectional agitation and strife? and has opened to our country the way to unity of interest, of principle and of action, through all time to come. It has developed in both sections a military ca? pacity and aptitude for achievements of war, both by sea and land, before un? known even to ourselves, and destined to exercise hereafter, under united councils, an important influence upon tho charac? ter and destiny of tho continent and the world. And while it has thus revealed, disciplined and compacted our power, it has proved to us, beyond controversy or doubt, by the course pursued towards both contending sections by foreign pow? ers, that we must be tho guardians of our own independence, and that the princi? ples of republican freedom we represent can find among the nations of the earth no friends or defenders but ourselves. We call upon you, therefore, by every considera? tion of your own dignity aud safety, and in the name of liberty throughout the world, to complete the work of restoration and peace which the Pres? ident of the United States has so well begun, and which the policy adopted and the principles asser? ted by the present Congress alone obstruct. The time is close at hand when members of a new Con? gress are to be elected. If that Congress shall perpetuate this policy, and by excluding loyal States and people from representation in its halls, shall continue tho usurpation by which the legis? lative powers of the Government are now exer? cised, common prudence compels us to anticipate augmented discontent, a sullen withdrawal from the duties and obligations of tho Federal Govern? ment ; internal dissensions and a general collision of sentiments, and pretensions which may renew, in a still more fearful shape, the civil war from which we have just emerged. We call upon you to interpose yoar power to pre? vent the recurrence of so trauscendant a calamity. We call up an you in every Congressional District of every State to secure the election of members who, whatever other difference may characterize their'political action, will unite in recognizing the right of every State of the Union to representation in Congress, and who will admit to seats in either branch every loyal representative from every State in allegiance to the Government, who may be found by each Bouse, in the exercise of the power con? ferred ujon it by the Constitution, to have been duly elected, returned and qualified for a seat therein. When this shall have been done, the Government will have been restored to its integrity. The Con? stitution of the United States will have been re-es? tablished in its full supremacy, and the American Union will have again become what it was designed to be by those who formed it?a sovereign nation, composed of separate States, each like itself, mov? ing in a distinct and independent sphere, exercis? ing powers defined an J reserved by a common Con? stitution, and resting upon the assent, the confi? dence, and co-operation of all the States and all the people subject to its authority. Thus re-or? ganized and restored to their constitutional rela? tions, the States and the General Government can enter in a fraternal spirit, with a common purpose and a common interest, upon whatever reforms tht security of personal rights, the enlargement of popular liberty, and the perfection of our republt ( oa? S * ^iAnm mjiy demand.