. Life and military career of Winfield Scott Hancock; his early life, education and remarkable military career. that there are no local laws or institutions here to be respectedby me, outside the acts of Congress. I say unhesitatingly, if it werepossible that Congress should pass an act abolishing the local codesfor Louisiana and Texas—which I do not believe—and it should fallto my lot to supply their places with something of my own, I donot see how I could do better than follow the laws in force hereprior to the rebellion, excepting whatever therein shall relate toslavery. Power may destroy t
. Life and military career of Winfield Scott Hancock; his early life, education and remarkable military career. that there are no local laws or institutions here to be respectedby me, outside the acts of Congress. I say unhesitatingly, if it werepossible that Congress should pass an act abolishing the local codesfor Louisiana and Texas—which I do not believe—and it should fallto my lot to supply their places with something of my own, I donot see how I could do better than follow the laws in force hereprior to the rebellion, excepting whatever therein shall relate toslavery. Power may destroy the forms, but not the principles of justice; thesewill live in spite even of the sword. History tells us that the Eomanpandects were lost for a long period among the rubbish that war andrevolution had heaped upon them, but at length were dug out of theruins—again to be regarded as a precious treasure. You arc pleased to state that since the publication of (my) gene-ral orders Xo. 40, there has been a perceptible increase of crime andmanifestations of hostile feeling toward the Government and its sup-. WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK. 253 porters, and add that it is an unpleasant duty to give such a recitalof the condition of the country. You will permit me to say that I deem it impossible the first of thesestatements can be true, and that I do very greatly doubt the correctnepsof the second. General order No. 40 was issued at New Orleans, Nov-ember 29,1867, and your letter was dated January 17, 1868. Allowingtime for order No. 40 to reach Texas and become generally known,some additional time must have elapsed before its effect would be mani-fested, and yet a further time must transpire before you would be ableto collect the evidence of what you term the condition of the country;and yet, after all this, you would have to make the necessary investiga-tions to ascertain if order No. 40 or something else was the cause. Thetime, therefore, remaining to enable you, before the 17th of Ja
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