Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-07-12

press the rebellion--and II Is only when the re-
beilion = suppressed that you propose To execute
the powers under this bll-the instant, 90 IA
sfaHfi. that You suppress the rebelIOn. the Gov.
eminent of that State springs into life and full 4
vigor again. and goes on operating as il did be-
fore. and 10 no rebellion bad ever occurred.
But sir. il s too warm to-day u make anything 4
like speech. This - a proposition that think 4
cannot command majority OF this body.
Mr.. Hars-The Senator from ennsylvania,
for whose ability and Judgment / entertain the
most profound respect, has started with propo-
siton which to my mind is a political heresy IN
der our system Of Government. IL Is this. and
bis argument is based upon IT, that where the peo-
pie OF State are unanimous in regulating the
Government of the country We have no right as
General Government 10 suppress that rebellion;
that IL is only where they are divided upon the
question, where some of the people want TO re-
nam in the Union and some want to 60 out OF
the Union, the United States Government have
authority to hold them in the Union. regard
that doctrine a n heresy and a most danger
Gus heresy. Sir, how does that Senator know,
how does any Senator know, that there is 10y
al man IN South CaronaT The presumption
is against il; and according 20 the doctrine of
the Senator from PENNSYLVANIA, unless il hap
pens that there is some loyal man or woman in
South Carolina, the against South Caro-
lima is unjust.
Mr. Cowan-If the Senator will allow me to
make remark just here. is not that the very
thing We are now endeayoring TO ascertain
Mr. Harris--I do not think il is.
Mr. Cowan-Is not the very thing we are try
Ing TO discover whether there are enough loyal
people in the South TO maintain Government
with our help against the rebellion. II they can
not the rebellion succeeds, and then. instead OF
bclng rebellion, it is revolution, legitimate
and goes on.
Mr.. Haris-I do not so underestimate. Ny idea
of this thing is this: that, assuming every man,
woman and child in South Carolina to be hostile
to the Gov eminent of the United States. it is our
duty under the Constitution of the United States.
ami as citizens oil the United States. to put down
that rebellion, to suppress II; and having done
that, what lollowsl The people OF South Caro-
lima say, You have conquered Us; you have by
physic strength suppressed our determination TO
20 out OF the Union; We admit that we are sub
dued. but you shall never hold US in the Union
Notwithstanding; have formed Constitution
TOR oul selves out OF the Union; we have organ
zed a Government for ourselves outside of the
Union, and though YOU have conquered US. you
may hold Us by main force OF strength; but as
for coming back INTO the Union as
State, We never will.
Now, what is to be done? What will The Sen
ator from Pennsylvania do in that caseg Why,
sir, we can not make those people organize them
selves into government We can not force
them TO hold a convention and form new con
sti;ution, and apply 10 be readmitted into the
Government. We not force them to hold
elections and elect members of Congress and
members OF a Legislature. We can not do that;
bat we can do this-and that is the object of this
bill--we can say To Them, "until YOU TO that, We
Will enforce against yourselves your own con
situations and laws: we will execute upon your
selves the laws YOU have made ana the cUnstitu
lions YOU formed when YOU were I'm the Union.
That is the object of this bill and nothing else.
Whenever. being conquered, rebellion being sup
pressed, they are ready to hold Il convention, or
ganze themselves, and come back into the Union,
we are ready to receive them, and then this law
will have spent its force. liz will be no longer
operative as law. But this contempates that
temporary state OF things, and, as | said before,
it will be very short in its duration, when the
State is subdued, and yet the people are not ready
TO surrender their present form of government
under an alien power. but choose to say to Us.
though YOU have conquered u, still We belong
to another Kingdom; we do not belong to the
United States We belong to the Confederate Gov
eminent; and if you will let have way, we
will stay there; we will not go back into the
Union
Mr. Cowan-Mr. President, suppose the
as put by my honorable friend should occur sup.
pose iilbt We Ill
in South Carolina, and alter we have done SO,
every body j. quiet and submits, but they take no
steps whatever To resume their old State Govern
ment or TO establish anv Government in subordi-
nation to ours, then ask the honorable Senator
what is he TO doI Is this Provisional Govern
ment to remain the State of South Carolina
/ forever l. il 10 be permanently And il IL is To
Toe permanent / ask whether that is not conquest
and sutugaton! What is conquest; what is
IL tho
running of country and the assumption OF its
| political power the part ot the conqueror and
maintaining il as against the will OF the people.
| What is su',jugatiour Making that people 20
under the yoke, after the fashion OF the anclen;,,
who made the yoke the symbol of subsection.
AS understand. and as | thought we all under
stood, that is not our object Why did we invade
Tennessee? Because when the will OF the people
of Tennessee was fairly expressed according to
/ the laws then prevailing and under our COnstl,u-
ton there was majority against the rebellion.
/ So il was in Mary land; so it was. believe, in
North Carolina; 50 il was in Kentucky; and so
il would have been IN Louisiana, ii the poll had
/ been fair Then we were in duty bound to inau
gurate this war; were in duty bound to go 10
the rescue OF those loyal people. aud We so de-
cided il at first They mghtuot have been com
batants, but they were loyal people, and We had
GUARANTEED to them "a republican form OF govern
j
gone there as men ought TO 20, ia pursuance OF
the stipulations OF our Government. ana ii il
/ turns out by some accident other that in the
meanwhile they have all changed their minds and
are all now unanimously against Us, then our
/ labor is lost. We cannot subugate any people
who are unanimously against u. particularly I'M
! der circumstances OF this kind. III that he So
as | said before, labor is lost, because We
/ have no constitutional machinery by which TO
seize upon aud take hold OF an exterior province
and govern il by virtue of our conquest. No
man desires IL, no man wishes 1t. because that
I Itself would be the overthrow of our Constitu-
\ ton-by the admission that the seeded States
had gone out were OUT and that being out
could make valid conquest OF them.
have no doubt these are gentlemen here in
I favor of sublugation, and were from the very
first because almost everything that they have
done since then has indicated that that their
original idea; but | say that was not the original
idea OF the American people; 1t was not the orig
inal idea OF the American Congress. because they
declared otherwise; and If thew declared what
was not their real opinion at that time, so much
the worse for those who did so, and it will come
+ To naught We a. nation. responsible be-
+ fore God and before the world and TO ourselves
/ TOR the honesty of our motives and the correct
ness OF our intentions. five expect that We can
violate the right. trample it under foot. regard
less OF ANYTHING except our own desire for ven
geance, we shall be taught bitterly and mourn
fully the truth of the text: Vengeance j. mine,