V.

    Blooms the laurel which belongs
    To the valiant chief who fights;
    I see the wreath, I hear the songs
    Lauding the Eternal Rights,
    Victors over daily wrongs: 
    Awful victors, they misguide
    Whom they will destroy,
    And their coming triumph hide
    In our downfall, or our joy: 
    Speak it firmly,—­these are gods,
    All are ghosts beside.

* * * * *

OUR DOMESTIC RELATIONS;

OR, HOW TO TREAT THE REBEL STATES.

At this moment our Domestic Relations all hinge upon one question:  How to treat, the Rebel States? No patriot citizen doubts the triumph of our arms in the suppression of the Rebellion.  Early or late, this triumph is inevitable.  It may be by a sudden collapse of the bloody imposture, or it may be by a slower and more gradual surrender.  For ourselves, we are prepared for either alternative, and shall not be disappointed, if we are constrained to wait yet a little longer.  But when the day of triumph comes, political duties will take the place of military.  The victory won by our soldiers must be assuredly wise counsels, so that its hard-earned fruits may not be lost.

The relations of the States to the National Government must be carefully considered,—­not too boldly, not too timidly,—­in order to see in what way, or by what process, the transition from Rebel forms may be most surely accomplished.  If I do not greatly err, it will be found that the powers of Congress, which have thus far been so effective in raising armies and in supplying moneys, will be important, if not essential, in fixing the conditions of perpetual peace.  But there is one point on which there can be no question.  The dogma and delusion of State Rights, which did so much for the Rebellion, must not be allowed to neutralize all that our arms have gained.

Already, in a remarkable instance, the President has treated the pretension of State Rights with proper indifference.  Quietly and without much discussion, he has constituted military governments in the Rebel States, with governors nominated by himself,—­all of which testifies against the old pretension.  Strange will it be, if this extraordinary power, amply conceded to the President, is denied to Congress.  Practically the whole question with which I began is opened here.  Therefore to this aspect of it I ask your first attention.

CONGRESSIONAL GOVERNMENT vs..  MILITARY GOVERNMENT.

Four military governors have been already appointed:  one for Tennessee, one for South Carolina, one for North Carolina, and the other for Louisiana.  So far as is known, the appointment of each was by a simple letter from the Secretary of War.  But if this can be done in four States, where is the limit?  It may be done in every Rebel State, and if not in every other State of the Union, it will be simply because the existence of a valid State government excludes