Mr. Lincoln's third Message to Congress was published in London
on Wednesday, and will be found analyzed in another place. It is unusually short, and the bulk is concerned with ques- tions of only local interest. The latter portion, however, is of extreme importance, announcing the plan on which Mr. Lincoln relies for reconstruction. This is briefly a full and complete pardon for every individual who will give up his slaves, and read- mission for every State which will abolish slavery. The plan, as explained elsewhere, is based on recognized constitutional powers, and its only defect is the exception from pardon of classes a little too wide. These include all leaders, all generals, all who were in the civil or military service of the United States, and all who have treated negro soldiers on any footing except that of prisoners of war. The classes italicized should be pardoned also, with the exception, at all events, of one or two names.
