he had neither plan nor hope. Nor
could he give any assurance that Northern men would be received upon
terms of equality and friendship, if they avowed the opinions that
then prevailed generally in the North: "The manner in which they
would be received would depend entirely upon the individuals themselves
--they might make themselves obnoxious, as you can understand," was the
statement of General Lee. His testimony as a whole indicated an
opinion that it was more important to secure capital for business, than
it was to rid the State of the negro laborer. In his opinion, most of
the blacks were willing to work for their former masters, but they were
unwilling to make engagements for a year, a form of engagement which
the farmers and planters preferred, that they might be sure of help
when it would be most needed. The negroes may have been influenced by
one or both of two reasons. Their unthrifty habits--the outcome of
slavery--or an apprehension that a formal engagement for a year was a
kind of bondage that might lead to a renewal of the old system.

When General Lee was pressed by Senator Howard as to the feeling in the
South in regard to the National Government, he said: "I believe that
they will perform all the duties that they are required to perform. I
think that is the general feeling. . . . I do not know that there is
any deep-seated dislike. I think it is probable that there may be
some animosity still existing among some of the people of the South.
. . . They were disappointed at the result of the war."

General Lee was of the opinion that a Southern jury would not find an
accused guilty of treason for participation in the war. Indeed his
doctrine of State Rights excused the citizen and placed the sole
responsibility on the State. Of the common sentiment in the South he
said: "So far as I know, they will look upon the action of the State,
in withdrawing itself from the government of the United States, as
carrying the individuals of the State along with it; that the State
was responsible for the act, not the individual." This was the
framework of his own defence. Speaking of the advocates of secession,
he said: "The ordinance of secession, or those acts of a State which
recognized a condition of war between the State and the General
Government, stood as their justification for their bearing arms against
the Government of the United States. They considered the act of the
State as legitimate. Tha