ic schools equally to black and white and empowering the Legislature
to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man. Their Legislature
has already voted to ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed
by Congress abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These 12,000
persons are thus fully committed to the Union and to perpetual freedom
in the State--committed to the very things, and nearly all the things,
the nation wants--and they ask the nation's recognition and its
assistance to make good their committal.

"Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and
disperse them. We, in effect, say to the white man: You are worthless or
worse; we will neither help you nor be helped by you. To the blacks we
say: This cup of liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your
lips we will dash from you and leave you to the chances of gathering the
spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where
and how. If this course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and
black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper practical
relations with the Union, I have so far been unable to perceive it.
If, on the contrary, we recognize and sustain the new government of
Louisiana, the converse of all this is made true. We encourage the
hearts and nerve the arms of 12,000 to adhere to their work, and argue
for it, and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow
it, and ripen it to a complete success. The colored man, too, in seeing
all united for him, is inspired with vigilance and energy, and daring,
to the same end. Grant that he desires the elective franchise, will he
not attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps toward it
than by running backward over them? Concede that the new government of
Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is to the fowl, we
shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it.

"Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of
the proposed amendment to the national Constitution. To meet this
proposition it has been argued that no more than three-fourths of those
States which have not attempted secession are necessary to validly
ratify the amendment I do not commit myself against this further than
to say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure to be
persistently questioned, while a ratification by three-fourths of
all the States would be unquestioned and unquestionable. I