ous in the extreme, in any
exercise of it which should surrender a vital advantage.

It does not require even that the complete reconquest of the South
should be awaited in order that the question of the return of subdued
States into the Union upon the old terms should be sprung upon the
nation, and perhaps decided, by a precedent, before the attention of
the country can be thoroughly directed to the momentous nature of the
step proposed. The _New York Herald_ has been hitherto a steady and
consistent advocate of this policy, and a powerful agitator in its
behalf. The following extract from its columns indicates the imminence
of the issue, as well as the simple and seemingly reasonable political
machinery by which the whole thing is to be effected:

'It appears from the correspondence to which we have referred that
certain citizens of New Orleans, some of whose names are given
elsewhere, have resolved to restore Louisiana to the Union, and
that they intend to do this in the manner pointed out by Secretary
Seward in his famous reply to the intervention despatch of M.
Drouyn de Lhuys. That is to say, they intend to set the State
Government in motion, elect members of the Legislature, and send
loyal representatives to Congress. These gentlemen assert--and the
_Tribune_ does not deny--that Mr. Seward and Mr. Bates indorse this
idea, and that Mr. Etheridge, as Clerk of the House of
Representatives, has consented to receive the loyal members from
Louisiana, upon their own credentials, until the House is
organized. They also say--and the _Tribune_ does not deny--that Mr.
Etheridge has a perfect right to do this upon the precedent
established by the Broad Seal controversy, some twenty years ago.
Under these circumstances, the Union men propose to hold an
election for five members of Congress--one from each district and
one on the general ticket--and also for members of the State Senate
and Assembly. 'They are anxious,' says the _Tribune_ correspondent,
'that Louisiana shall take the lead in this matter, and there is no
doubt but Mississippi and the other States will, in due time,
follow.' So far, the patriotic reader will search in vain for any
objection to a plan which promises so much good for the Union, and
will be at a loss to know upon what grounds the _Tribune_ can
oppose it with any show of loyalt