The Goodhue volunteer., 1862-07-09

A Great and Memorable Concress--Wha,
was Required of it and What it ha,
Done.
There has been great deal of senseless
clamor and complaint by secession and semi
secession papers against the present Con
gress, and charged with faults of omission
and commission. The Washington Repub,
llcon gives the quietus to portion Of these
unjust strirtures in the following article:
1t would be wholly inadequate expires.
sion of the truth to say that the RESPONSE
bilities devolved by events upon the present
Congress snrpass those devolved upon any
of its predecessors. That would be to com
pare things between which there is no com
parison, being as unlike in kind as in de-
gree.
1t is not merely war, but attempted rev
olution, that this war has to deal WITH
1t is not merely the suhjugation Of an enem,
but the paci6cation Of a great section o
the country, which is the problem to b<
solved.
To apply financial measure to the duties
Iof Congress it may be said, that the expen
ses of the Government have become tnt
times greater than at ordinary periods, and
Expenditure may be said to be test and
guage of the extent Of the operations O
governments.
If there has been Occupied expenditure
to supervise, so. also, there has been de.
cupled amount OF money to provide for, b,
taxes and loans.
There is no precedent, and no approach
to precedent, of such a sudden and enor.
nous enlargement Of governmental opera
tions in the history of any nation in the
world. The European monarchies are not
unlrequently engaged in great Wars. but
their naval and military establishments are
upon such scale in time Of peace, that &C
tual hostilities do not enlarge them at all
in the proportion which we are now wit
Messing here. The total cost to Great
Britain of the late Russian war, which last:
Ell for two years, was one hundred millions
sterling, equal ordinary British revenue fol
two years. The increase Of expenditure in
war, of the continental Powers is still less
as they maintain themselves in peace upon
war footing, which the insular English
have not been in the habit Of regarding as
necessary for their security.
But great as have been the emergencies
and necessities Of this war, Congress has
been found adequate to them. Especially
has this been so in respect to the creation o!
revenues by taxation. The Treasury de-
partment proposed ninety millions Of reve
nue. but Congress, of its own mo.ion took
the earliest opportunity at the present ses.
sion to declare that it would raise one hun
dred and fifty millions, and is more than re.
deeming the pledge made in that dcclara-
ton. In governments having parliamentary
constitution, it is at executive instance tha
appropriations sre made and revenues grant
cd, and this is the first instance, here or else
where, in which the representatives Of the
people have imposed greater burdens upor
their constituents than they were urged tc
do by the executive power. The parlia
mentary history of England is record o
struggles between the murmuring and grud
ging Commons and the Ministries with THE,
demands for revenues and subsidies. Ir
our American case, it was the Commons
who stepped forward upon their own view
Of their own duties, to vote nearly twice a,
much as the exchequcr asked for.
Nor has this Congress, under compli
cation Of dif1iculties-somc of which are fl,
Tor public discussion, and some Of which
cannot yet be properly discussed-been
wanting either in statesman like appre
citation Of the revolutionary crisis, or in the
frmness to meet it.
Thus, it has already
Abolished slavery in tho District Of
lumbia
Forever prohibited slavery in all the Ter
titories of the Union, now acquired or to be
hereafter acquired:
Prohibited, under severe penalties, the
surrender Of fugitive slaves by naval and
military officers
Offered compensation to such States a.
shall, before this war closes, voluntarily
emancipate their slaves;
Provided for the emancipation Of slaves
devoted to the use Of the rebellion, BY their
owners.
These are measures accomplished by
the concurrent action of the Senate and
House.
In addition, the House has passed q bill
for the emancipation OF the slaves of large
classes Of rebels, and has directed the bring.
ing in Of bill providing jury trial for al
persons claimed as fugitive slaves, and DENY.
ing the benefits Of the fugitive slave law tc
oil who have taken part in this rebellion.-
And the Developments by votes aud dis.
eussions in tie Senate, give unhesitasins .s
surance that these bills will recsivs the con.
currence Of that body.
Thus this Congress, in the midst Of grea,
war has boldly launched new policy, af
fecting. a all points, the social condition O