PROCLAMATION.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT
OF THE GULF,
New Orleans, January
11, 1864.
TO THE PEOPLE OF
LOUISIANA:
I. In pursuance of authority vested in me by the President
of the United States, and upon consultation with many representative men of
different interests, being fully assured that more than a tenth of the
population desire the earliest possible restoration of Louisiana to the Union,
I invite the loyal citizens of the State qualified to vote in public affairs,
as hereinafter prescribed, to assemble in the election precincts designated by
law, or at such places as may hereafter be established, on the 22d day of
February, 1864, to cast their votes for the election of State officers herein
named, viz: Governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer,
attorney-general, superintendent of public instruction, auditor of public
accounts, who shall, when elected, for the time being, and until others are
appointed by competent authority, constitute the civil government of the State,
under the constitution and laws of Louisiana, except so much of the said
constitution and laws as recognize, regulate, or relate to slavery, which,
being inconsistent with the present condition of public affairs and plainly
inapplicable to any class of persons now existing within its limits, must be
suspended, and they are therefore and hereby declared to be inoperative and
void. This proceeding is not intended to ignore the right of property existing
prior to the rebellion, nor to preclude the claim for compensation of loyal
citizens for losses sustained by enlistments or other authorized acts of the
Government.
II. The oath of allegiance prescribed by the President's
proclamation, with the condition affixed to the elective franchise by the
constitution of Louisiana, will constitute the qualification of voters in this
election. Officers elected by them will be duly installed in their offices on
the 4th day of March, 1864.
III. The registration of voters, effected under the
direction of the Military Governor and the several Union associations, not
inconsistent with the proclamation, or other orders of the President, are
confirmed and approved.
IV. In order that the organic law of the State may be made
to conform to the will of the people, and harmonize with the spirit of the age,
as well as to maintain and preserve the ancient landmarks of civil and
religious liberty, an election of delegates to a convention for the revision of
the constitution will be held on the first Monday of April, 1864. The basis of
representation, the number of delegates, and the details of election will be
announced in subsequent orders.
V. Arrangements will be made for the early election of
members of Congress for the State.
VI. The fundamental law of the State is martial law. It is
competent and just for the Government to surrender to the people, at the
earliest possible moment, so much of military power as may be consistent with
the success of military operation; to prepare the way by prompt and wise
measures for the full restoration of the State to the Union and its power to
the people; to restore their ancient and unsurpassed prosperity; to enlarge the
scope of agricultural and commercial industry, and to extend and confirm the
dominion of rational liberty. It is not within human power to accomplish these
results without some sacrifice of individual prejudices and interests. Problems
of state too complicate for the human mind have been solved by the national
cannon. In great civil convulsions the agony of strife enters the souls of the
innocent as well as the guilty. The Government is subject to the law of
necessity, and must consult the condition of things rather than the preferences
of men, and if so be that its purposes are just and its measures wise, it has
the right to demand that questions of personal interest and opinion shall be subordinate
to the public good. When the national existence is at stake and the liberties
of the people in peril, faction is treason.
The methods herein proposed submit the whole question of
government directly to the people. First, by the election of executive officers
faithful to the Union, to be followed by a loyal representation in both Houses
of Congress, and then by a convention which will confirm the action of the
people and recognize the principles of freedom in the organic law. This is the
wish of the President. The anniversary of Washington's birth is a fit day for
the commencement of so grand a work. The immortal Father of his Country was
never guided by a more just and benignant spirit than that of his successor in
office, the President of the United States. In the hour of our trial let us
heed his admonitions.
Louisiana in the opening of her history sealed the integrity
of the Union by conferring upon its Government the Valley of the Mississippi.
In the war for independence upon the sea she crowned a glorious struggle
against the first maritime power of the world by a victory unsurpassed in the
annals of war. Let her people now announce to the world the coming restoration
of the Union, in which the ages that follow us have a deeper interest than our
own, by the organization of a free government, and her fame will be immortal.
N. P. BANKS,
Major-General,
Commanding.
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume
4 (Serial No. 125), p. 22-3
