CHAPTER IX. FIRST ACTS OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION-BEGINS THE WORK OF RECONSTRUCTION-AMNESTY PROCLAMATION. S a closing feature of the wonderful funeral ceremonies over the martyred President, Mr. Johnson issued the following proclamation: "WHEREAS, By my direction, the Acting Secretary of State, in a notice to the public on the 17th of April, requested the various religious denominations to assemble on the 19th of April, on the occasion of the obsequies of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, and to observe the same with appropriate ceremonies; and "WHEREAS, Our country has become one great house of mourning, where the head of the family has been taken away; and believing that a special period should be assigned for again humbling ourselves before Almighty God, in order that the bereavement may be sanctified to the Nation; now, therefore, in order to mitigate that grief on earth which can only be assuaged by communion with the Father in Heaven, and in compliance with the wishes of Senators and Representatives in Congress communicated to me by a resolution adopted at the National Capital, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby appoint Thursday, the 25th of May next, to be observed, wherever in the United States the flag of the country may be respected, as a day of humiliation and mourning, and I recommend my fellow-citizens then to assemble in their respective places of worship, there to unite in solemn service to Almighty God, in memory of the good man who has been removed, so that all shall be occupied at the same time in the contemplation of his virtues, and sorrow for his sudden and violent end. "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. "Done at the City of Washington, the 25th day of April, in the year of our Lord, 1865, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. "By the President: ANDREW JOHNSON. "W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State." The day for this "further humbling" was afterward changed to the 1st of June; and, this matter finally disposed of, the President began to look more directly after the difficult affairs of the country, which were to test his strength more than any or all of the scenes through which he had passed. One of the first things demanding his care was the reduction of the expenses of the Government on the assumption of the immediate close of the Rebellion, and a general order to that effect was issued from the War Department. The following documents will sufficiently explain themselves: EXECUTIVE ORDER. "EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON, "Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and welldisposed persons residing in the insurrectionary States from unnecessary commercial restrictions, and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits, it is hereby ordered: "First. That all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi River, as shall be embraced within the lines of the national military occupation, excepting only such restrictions as are imposed by the acts of Congress, and regulations in pursuance thereof prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by the President; and excepting also from the effect of this order the following articles, contraband of war, to wit: Arms, ammunition, and all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for operating telegraph lines. "Second. All existing military and naval orders in any manner restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and trade with or in the localities above named, be, and the same are hereby, revoked, and that no military or naval officer in any manner interrupt or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged therein under proper authority pursuant to the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury. "ANDREW JOHNSON." “EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON CITY,} "May 1, 1865. "WHEREAS, The Attorney-General of the United States hath given his opinion: That the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Honorable William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Government at Washington City, and their aiders and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of, and legally triable before, a military commission, "It is ordered: 1. That the Assistant Adjutant-General detail nine competent military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said parties, and that the Judge-Advocate-General proceed to prefer charges against said parties for the alleged offenses, and bring them to trial before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted by the said Judge Advocate-General, and, as recorder thereof, in person, aided by such assistant or special judge advocates as he may designate, and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the ends of justice; the said commission to sit without regard to hours. "2. That Brevet Major-General Hartranft be assigned to duty as special Provost-Marshal-General for the purposes of said trial and attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates. "3. That the said commission establish such order or rules of proceeding as may avoid unnecessary delay and conduce to the ends of public justice. "ANDREW JOHNSON. "ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 6, 1865. "Official Copy. "W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General." "WHEREAS, It appears from evidence in the Bureau of Military Justice that the atrocious murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, were incited, concerted, and procured by and between Jefferson Davis, late of Richmond, Virginia, and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay, Beverly Tucker, George N. Sanders, W. C. Cleary, and other rebels and traitors against the Government of the United Staes, harbored in Canada; now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of said persons, or either of them within the limits of the United States, so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards: One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, late of Mississippi; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders; twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverly Tucker; and ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late Clerk of Clement C. Clay. "The Provost-Marshal-General of the United States is directed to cause a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be published. "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. "Done at the City of Washington, the second day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. "By the President: ANDREW JOHNSON. "W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State." "" "EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON CITY, “EXECUTIVE ORDER May 9, 1865. "TO RE-ESTABLISH THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED STATES, AND EXECUTE THE LAWS WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS KNOWN AS THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. "Ordered: First, That all acts and proceedings of the political, military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of insurrection and rebellion, within the State of Virginia, against the authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis, John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend, or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power, authority, jurisdiction, or right, by, through, or under Jefferson Davis, late of the city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them |