The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1864-01-14
Correspondence of the Cass County Republican.
From Washington.

The portion of the Presidents
message which discloses the Admins
tration plan for completing the alb
clifton of slavery and ere constructing
the Union," seems to be acceptable to
the Republicans and anti-Slavery
"Union men" congregated here. Ger
tainly, it ought to be, for without
expressly adopting their doctrines, it
substantially embodies them, and
places the Administration fully and
firmly, if not ostentatiously, upon their
platform. fhn5 1@t 5io
In the portion of the message in
question, the President has, indeed,
shown himself a shrewd politician as
well as sagacious statesman. He re-
Trains from any direct acceptance of
the adroit verbal issues which the cop
perheads have been so zealously stri-
wing TO force upon him in their clam
orous repetitions of the pretences that
ga State cannot rebel or commit treas
on" and therefore "cannot by reason of
rebellion or treason, forfeit or be de-
prived of any of its rights" .
He does not even descend to any
direct notice of the pretenoes. Nor
does he directly notice or discuss the
question whether the rebel States will
by conquest, "be reduced to the con-
dition of territories" And yet be goes
farther than the affirmative of all such
issues and questions would carry him.
Throughout his plan, he takes for
granted, what, indeed, the law of ma
tons provides, that the Federal Gov
eminent representing the people of the
loyal States, is entitled to treat the
people of the rebel States as ordinary
beligerents; or the people of any foreign
country with which we might be at
war and to treat their Government,
State and "Confederate," as the Gov
eminent of such foreign country. His
plan, therefore, takes the ground that
the conquest of rebel State by the
Union arms, will bring to it, all the
consequences that conquest brings to
any country or province of country
in any ordinary war;,
Amongst these consequences as de,
creed by the law of nations, are the
loss by the vanquished and the acqui-
sition by the victorious Government,
of whatever of sovereignty, Il. e. pow
ers of Government,) the vanquished
previously possessed. This, of course,
leaves the vanquished subject to the
right of the victorious government to
retain or to remit at its discretion, any
portion or portions of that sovereignty;
TO abrogate or TO continue in force any
portion or portions of the local law OF
the conquered region in short, to
treat the vanquished with more OF
or with less of the rigor allowed to
conqucrors, as circumstances may
seem to require.
Without directly affirming, the por.
ton of the message in question, lie dis
tlnctly assumes, all these positions
and each of them is an incontroverti.
bic position OF the law of nations. Sc
is the position which is, indeed, i'm.
piled in them, and which constitutes O
marked feature of the message aud
accompanying Proclamation, that a
Government assaulted by a rebellion
even tb ough it have passed beyond the
limits of mererebeliion and become
an organized civil war, may in its dis
erection not only infict the extreme
penalty of treason upon the instigators
and leaders, but may extend pardon
and amnesty to such as it may deem
worthy and on such terms as 1t may
see fit }, and thus restore their forfeited
rights as citizens or subjects.
Therefore it is that in his plan fol-
the Reconstruction of the Union,'
the President proposes a recreation Of
citizenship in the rebel States by means
of pardon and amnesty to rebels of in.
ferior grades, and an oath to be taken
by all not proceeded against as trait
ors, of allegiance to the Constitution
and Government and to all laws oil
Congress and executive Proclama
tons for the suppression of the rebel
lion and the abolition of slavery.
This portion of the President's
plan assumes as unquestionable posi-
lions that State and national citizen
ship is in the rebel States, and go fan
as political franchise are concerned
virtually and utterly extinguished
that rebellion, secession, and conquest
effect as a necessary legal result, the
total political Acknowledgement of the
entire bodies of the people of those
States and that, Of course, their re
Acknowledgement is necessary 10 rein