The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-05 00:00:00

THE DEVONPORT ELECTION PETITION.

LOrdZ.PAGET hoped to be allowed to correct amis-
take he had made the other evening, when the matter of
the election petition was under the notice of the house.
He had said that the telegram directing facilities to be
given for the service of the Speaker's warrant to the
authorities at Devonport dockyard had been issued by
direction of the First Lord, the Duke of Somerset. The
order, however, issued from the Board of Admiralty, and
not from the Duke of Somerset personally.
[LEFT SITTING.]

The Fenians.

DUBLIN, Sunday Evening.

AMERICA.

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU BILL VETOED BY

T lIE PRESIDENT.

By the arrival of the American mail we have New
York papers to the 21st ult. The principal item of
news brought by these advices is that President
Johnson has vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill.
The Message announcing this was brought into the
Senate on the 19th ult. by the Vice-President, and
read by the clerk amid evidences of intense feeling
on the part of Senators and members of the house,
as well as spectators in the galleries, but without
any open manifestation, except at the close of the
reading, when, it is stated, applause was heard,
mingled with determined hisses, and the emphatic
blows of the Vice-President's hammer. The fol-
lowing is the text of President Johnson's Message :
To the Senate of the United States.-1 have examined
with care the bill which originated in the Senate, and has
been passed by the two houses of Congress, to amend an
act entitled "An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of
Freedmen and Refugees, and for other purposes." Having,
with much regret, come to the conclusion that it would
not be consistent with the public welfare to give my ap-
proval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with
my objections to its becoming a law.
I might call to mind in advance of these objections that
there is no immediate necessity for the proposed measure.
The act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen
and refugees, which was approved in the month of March
last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent and
extensive enough for the purpose in view. Before it ceases
to have effect, further experience may assist to guide us to
a wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of
peace.

I have, with Congress, the strongest desire to secure to
the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and their
property, and their entire independence and equality in
making contracts for their labour. But the bill before me
contains provisions which, in my opinion, are not warranted
by the constitution, and are not well suited to accomplish
the end in view. The bill proposes to establish by autho-
• rity of Congress military jurisdiction over all parts of the
United States containing refugees and freedmen. It would,
by its very nature, apply with most force to those parts of
the United States in which the freedmen most abound ; and
it expressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of
the Freedmen's Bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over
those States in which the ordinary course of judicial pro-
ceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion. The source
from which the military jurisdiction is to emanate is none
other than the President of the United States, acting
through the War Department and the commissioner of the
Freedmen's Bureau. The agents to carry out this military
jurisdiction are to be selected either from the army ar from
civil life. The country is to be divided into districts and
sub-districts, and the number of salaried agents to be em-
ployed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes
in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are
to be found. The subjects over which this military juris-
diction is to extend in every part of the United States in-
clude protection to all employ6s, agents, and officers of this
Bureau, in the exercise of the duties imposed upon them
by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over
all cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated
against by local law, custom, or prejudice. In these eleven
States the bill subjects any white person who may be
charged with depriving a freedman of any civil rights or
immunities belonging to white persons to imprisonment or
fine, or both, without however defining the civil rights and
immunities which are thus to be secured to the freedmen
by military law. This military jurisdiction also extends to
questions that may arise respecting contracts. The agent,
who is thus to exercise the office of a military judge, may
be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of the place,
and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are
liable. The exercise of power, over which there isno legal
supervision, by so vast a number of agents as is contem-
plated by the bill, must, by the very nature of man, be-at-
tended byacts of caprice, injustice, and passion. The trials,
having their origin under this bill, are to take place without
the intervention a jury, and without making any fixed
rules of law or evidence. The rules, on which offences are
heard and determined by the numerous agents, are such
rules and regulations as the President, through the War
Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is
required, nor any indictment charging the commission of a
crime against the laws ; but the trial must proceed on
charges and specifications. The punishment will be not
what the law declares, but such as a court-martial may
think proper. And from these arbitrary tribunals there lies
no appeal—no writ of error to any of the courts in which
the constitution of the United States vests exclusively the
judicial power of the country ; while the territory and the
class of actions and offences that are made subject to this
measure are so extensive the bill itself, should it become a
law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form
a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I cannot
reconcile a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with
the words of the constitution, which declares that "No
person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise
infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces or in the militia when in actual service in time of
war or public danger ;" and that "in all criminal prosecu-
tions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed."

The safeguards which the wisdom and experience of ages
taught our fathers to establish as securities for the protec-
tion of the innocent, the punishment of the guilty, and the
equal administration of justice, are to be set aside,and for the
sake of a morevigorous interposition in behalf of justice we
are to take the risk of the many acts of injustice that
would of necessity follow from an almost countless number
of agents established in every parish or county in nearly a
third of the States of the Union, over whose decision there
is to be no supervision or control by the Federal courts.
The power that would be thus placed in the hands of the
President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never
to be intrusted to any one man. If it be asked whether the
creation of such a tribunal within a State is warranted as
a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself
whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnec-
cessarily disturb the commerce and credit and industry of
the country by declaring to the American people and the
world that the United States are still in a condition of civil
war. At present there is no part of our country in which
the authority of the United States is disputed. Offences
that may be committed by individuals should not work a
forfeiture of the rights of the same communities. The
country has entered or is returning to a state of peace and
industry, and the rebellion is in fact at an end. The'mea-
sure therefore seems to be as inconsistent with the actual
condition of the country as it is at variance with the con-
stitution of the United States.

If, passing from general considerations, we examine the
bill in detail, it is open to weighty objections. In time of
war it was eminently proper that we should provide for
those who were passing suddenly from a condition of
bondage to a state of freedom. But this bill proposes to
make the Freedmen's Bureau, established by the act of
1865 as ono of many great and extraordinary military mea-
sures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch
of the public administration; with its powers greatly en-
larged. I have no reason to suppose, and I do not under-
stand it to be alleged, that the Act of March, 1865, has
proved deficient for the purpose for which it was passed,
although at that time, and for a considerable period there-
after, the Government of the United States remainedunac-
knowledged in most of the States whose inhabitants had
been involved in rebellion. The institution of slavery for the
military destruction of which the Freedmen's Bureau was
called into existence as an auxiliary force, has been already
effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole
country by an amendment of the constitution of the United
States, and practically its eradication has received the assent
and concurrence of most of those States in which it at any
time had existed. I am not, therefore, able to discern in
the country anything to justify an apprehension that the
powers and agencies of the Freedmen's Bureau, which were
effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees during
the actual continuation of hostilities, and of African servi-
tude, will now, in a time of peace, and after the abolition
of slavery, prove inadequate to the same proper ends. If I
am
correct in these views there can be no necessity for the
enlargement r
i gs madeprovi-
sion tho bill. The third section of the bill autho-
risesgeneral and unlimited grant of support to the desti-
tute and sufferingo refugees and freedmen and their wives
and children.
eding sections make provisions for the
rent or purchaseof landed estates for freedmen, and for
the erection, for their
asylums and
of schools, theb"e4 of suitable buildings for
treasury the whole
Theth Congress of the United
States bas never heretoforethoughtitself competent to
m
establish any laws beyond theo
of the District of
Columbia except for the benefit of our disabled soldiers and
sailors. It has never founded schools for any class of
our
people, not even for the orphans of those who have fallen
in defence of the Union, but has left the care of then
education to the much mors competent and efficient con-
trol of the Soles, of communities, of private associations,
and of individuals. It has never deemed itself authorised
to expend the public money for the rent or purchase of
homes for the thousands, not to say millions, of the
white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for
their subsistence. A system for the support of indi-
gent persons in the United States was never contem-
plated by the authors of the constitution. Nor can any
good reason be advanced why, as a permanent f
estab-
lishment, it should be founded for one class or colour of
our people more than for another. During the war many
refugees and freedmen received support from the Go-
vernment, but it was never intended that they should
henceforth be fed, clothed, eduCated, and sheltered by
the United States. The idea on which the slaves were
assigned to freedom was, that on becoming free they would
become a self-sustaining population. Any legislation that
shallimply
that they are not expected to attain a self-sus-
tainingcharactertheir and their prosperity. The appointment of
an
agent f
every county and parish will create an im-

mense patronage, and the expense of the numerous officers
and their clerks to be appointed by the President will be
great in the beginning, with a tendency steadily to in-.
crease. The appropriations asked by the Freedmen's
Bureau as now established for the year 1866 amount to
$11,745,000. It may be safely estimated the cost to be in-
curred under the pending bill will require double that
amount, more than the entire sum expended in any one
year under the administration of the second Adams. If the
presence of agents in every parish and county is to be con-
sidered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance,
might be provoked, so that to give effect to their jurisdic-
tion troops would have to be stationed within reach of every
one of them, and thus a large standing force be rendered
necessary. Large appropriations would therefore be re-
quired to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in every
county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The
condition of our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in order
to sustain the present measure of public confidence it is
necessary that we practise not merely customary economy,
but, as far as possible, secure retrenchment. In addition to
the objections already stated, the fifth section of the bill
proposes to take away land from its former owners with-
out any legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that
provision of the constitution which declares that no person
shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law. It does not appear that a part of the lands
to which this section refers may not be owned by minors,
or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been
faithful to all their Obligations as. citizens of the United
States. If any portion of this land is held by such persons, it
is not competent for any authority to deprive them of it. If,
on the other hand, it be found that the property is liable to
confiscation, even then it cannot be appropriated to pub-
lic purposes until, by due process of law, it shall have been
declared forfeited to the Government.

There are still further objections to the bill, on grounds
seriously affecting the class of persons to whom it is de-
signed to bring relief. It will tend to keep the mind of the
freedmen in a state of uncertain expectation and restless-
ness, while to those among whom he lives it will be a source
of constant and vague apprehension. Undoubtedly the
freedmen should be protected, but he should be protected
by the civil authorities, especially by the exercise of all the
constitutional powers of the courts of the United States
and of the States. His condition is not so exposed as may
at first be imagined. He is in a portion of the country
where his labour cannot well be spared. Competition for
his services from planters, from those who are construct-
ing or repairing railroads, or from capitalists in his vicin-
age, or from other States, will enable him to command
almost his own terms. He also possesses a perfect right to
change his place of abode ; and if, therefore, he does not
find in one community or State a mode of life suited to his
desire, or proper remuneration for his labour, he can move
to another where labour is more esteemed and better re-
warded. In truth, however, each State, induced by its
own wants and interests, will do what is necessary and
proper to retain within its borders all the labour that is
needed for the development of its resources. The laws
that regulate supply and demand will maintain their force,
and the wages of the labourer will be regulated thereby.
There is no danger that the great demand for labour will
not operate in favour of the labourer. Neither is sufficient
consideration given to the ability of freedmen to protect
and take care of themselves. It is no more than justice to
them to believe that, as they have received their freedom
with moderation and forbearance, so they will distinguish
themselves by their industry and thrift, and soon show the
world that in a condition of freedom they are self-sustain-
ing and capable of selecting their own employment and
their own places of abode ; of insisting for themselves on a
proper remuneration, and of establishing and maintaining
their ow asylums' and schools. It is earnestly hoped
that, instead of wasting away, they will, by their own
efforts, establish for themselves a condition of respecta-
bility and prosperity. It is certain that they can attain to
that condition only through their own merits and exer-
tions. In this connection the query presents itself whether
the system proposed by the bill will not, when put into
complete operation, practically transfer the entire care,
support, and control of four millions of emancipated slaves
to agents, overseers, or taskmasters. who, appointed at
Washington, are to be located in every county and parish
throughout the United States,' containing freedmen and
refugees. Such a system would inevitably tend to such a
concentration of power in the executive which would
enable him, if so disposed, to control the action of a
numerous class, and use them for the attainment of his
own political ends.
I cannot but add another very grave objection to this
bill. The constitution imperatively declares in connection
with taxation that each State shall have at least one re-
presentative, and fixes,the rule for the number to which
in future times each state shall be entitled. It also pro-
vides that the Senate of the United States shall be com-
posed of two senators from each State, and adds with
peculiar force that no State without its consent shall be
deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. The original
act was necessarily passed in the absence of the States
chiefly to be affected, because their people were then con-
tumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the case is
changed, and some at least of the States are attending
Congress by loyal representatives, soliciting the allowance
of the constitutional right of representation. At the
time, however, of the consideration and the passing of
the bill there was no senator or representative in Con-
gress from the eleven States which are to be mainly
affected by its provisions. The very fact that reports
were and are made against the good disposition of the
country is an additional reason why they need and
should have representatives of their own in Congress to
explain their condition, reply to accusations, and assist by
their local knowledge in the perfecting of measures imme-
diately affecting themselves; while the liberty of delibera-
tion would then be free, and Congress would have full
power to decide according to its judgment. There could be
no objection urged that the States most interested had not
been permitted to be heard. The principle is firmly fixed
in the minds of the American people that there should be
no taxation without representation. Great burdens are
now to be borne by all the country, and we may best de-
mand that they shall be borne without murmur when they
are voted by a majority of the representatives of all the
people. I would not interfere with the unquestionable right
of Congress to judge, each house for itself, of the elections,
returns, and qualifications of its own members. But that
authority cannot be construed as including the right to
shut out in time of peace any State from the representation
to which it is entitled by the constitution. At present all
the people of 11 States are excluded ; those who were most
faithful during the war not less than others. The State of
Tennessee, for instance, whose authorities engaged in re-
bellion, was restored to all her constitutional relations to
the Union by the patriotism and energy of her injured and
betrayed people. Before the war was brought to a termina-
tion they had placed themselves in relations with the gene-
ral government, had established a State government of
their own, and as they were not included in. the emancipa-
tion proclamation, they by their own act had amended their
constitution so as to abolish slavery within the limits of
their State. I know no reason why the State of Tennessee,
for example, should not fully enjoy all her constitutional
relations to the United States.

The President of the United States stands toward the
country in a somewhat different attitude from that of any
member of Congress chosen from a single district or State.
The President is chosen by the people of all the States.
Eleven States are not at this time represented in either
branch of Congress. It would seem to be his duty on all
proper occasions to present their just claim to Congress.
There always will bo differences of opinion in the com-
munity, and individuals may be guilty of transgressions of
the law ; but these do not constitute valid objections against
the right of a State to representation. It would in no wise
interfere with the discretion of Congress with regard to
the qualfications of members ; but I hold it my duty to re-
commend to you, in the interests of peace and in the inte-
rests of the Union, the admission of every State to its share
of public legislation, when, however insubordinate, insur-
gent, or rebellious its people may have been, it presents
itself not only in an attitude of loyalty and harmony, but
in the persons of representatives whose loyalty cannot be
questioned under existing constitutional or legal test. It is
plain that an indefinite or permanent exclusion of any
part of the country from representation must be attended
by a spirit of disquiet and complaint. It is unwise and
dangerous to pursue a course of measures which will unite
any large section of the country against another section of
the country, no matter how much the latter may predomi-
nate. The course of immigration, the development of in-
dustry and business, and natural causes will raise up at the
South men as devoted to the Union as those of any other
part of the land. But if they are all excluded from Con-
gress; if in a permanent statute they are declared not to
be in full constitutional relations to the country, they may
think they have cause to become a unit in feeling and sen-
timent against the Government. Under the political edu-
cation of the American people, the idea is inherent and in-
eradicable that the consent of the majority of the whole
people is necessary to secure a willing acquiescence in le-
gislation. The bill under consideration refers to certain of
the States as though they had not "been fully restored in
all their constitutional relations to the United States." If
they have not, let us at once act together to secure that de-
sirable end at the earliest possible moment. It is hardly
necessary for me to inform Congress that, in my
own judgment, most of those States—so far, at least
as depends upon their action—have already been fully
restored, and are to bo deemed to be entitled to
enjoy their constitutional rights as members of
the Union. Reasoning
and from the actual situti
ofnroomf
thethceounCtornys,tlitfueteilonnotitosnellyf,
entitled but bound to assumea that, with the Federal courts
e
restored in the several States and in the lull exercise of
their functions, the rights 'andsinteyests of all classes of the
people will, with the aid of the military in cases of resist-
ance to the law, be essentially protected
Should
It
this
su n consti-
tutional infringement and violation. Sh.O%-ug
expecta-
tion unhappily fail, which I do not anti.cipate,
then the
Executive is already armed with the powers conferred by
l
the act of March, 1865, establishing tho Freedmen's Bureau
and hereafter, as heretofore, he can employ - the land and
naval forces of the country to suppress insut :rection and to
overcome obstructions to the laws.

I return the bill to the Senate in the ea• rnest hopo that
a measure involving questions and interest is so important
to the country will not become a law urele4 s upon delibe-