Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1864-08-27

cred for more than month in the House
Of Representatives, which it passed on the
4th of May il was reported to the Sen
ate on the 9th OF May without material
amendment, and passed the Senate abso
lutely as it came from the House on tho
I'd of July.
Ignorance Of its contents is out of the
question.
Indeed, at bis request, draft OF bill
substantially the same in all material
points, and identical in the points objected
TO by the proclamation, had been LAID be
foro him for his consideration in the win.
ter OF lS62-ls63.
There is, therefore, no reason to suppose
the provisions Of tho bill took the prosi-
dent by surprise.
On the contrary we have reason 10 bo-
lieve them 10 have been 80 well known that
this method OF preventing the bill from be-
coming law without the constitutional
responsibility Of a veto, had been resolved
on long before tho bill passed tho Senate.
We arc informed by gentlemen enti-
lied to entire confidence, that before the
22d Of June in New Orleanc it was stated
| by member Of Gen. Banks staff, in the
presence Of other gentlemen in official po-
sition, that Senator Dooli,tle had written
lo.tcr to the department that the House
{ reconstruction bill would 10 STAYED of in
the Senate to period too late in the ses-
sion to require the President to veto it in
| order 10 defect it, and that Mr.. Lincoln
would retain the bill, if necessary, and
| thereby defeat it.
The experience Of Senator Wade, in his
! various efforts to get the bill considered in
the Senate, was quite in accordance with
that plan, and the fate Of the bill, was ac-
eurately predicted by letters rorevcd from
N. Orleans before il had passed the Sen
ate,
Had the proclamation stopped th ere, it
would have besn only one other dOfeat OF
the will Of the people by All Executive per
version of tAc Constitution
Bat it goes further. The President says
And whereas the said bill contains
among other things, a plan for rest 'ring
the States in rebellion to h'ir proper
practical relation in the Union, which plan
| expresses the sense Of Congress upon that
mbject, and which plan it is now thought
fit to lay before the people Tor thor con
sideration--
BY what authority Of the Constitution
! In what formsl The result to be dcclar
cd by whoml With what effect wher
| asccrtained
1t is to be a law by the approval of the
| people without the approval of Congress al
the will OF the President!
VIII the president, on his opinion Of the
popular approval, execute it as law
Or is this merely device to avoid the
serious responsibilities Of defeating n law
on which SO many hcarts rcposed for Sc
curlty
But the reasons now assigned for no
approving the bill are full of ominous zig
niiicancG.
The President proceeds
Nav, therefore, |, Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States, do pro.
claim, declare, md make known, that
while am (as was in December last
when by proclamation l propouuded q
plan for rostoraton) unprepared, by {
formal approval Of this bill, to be inhexi
bly, committed to any single plOn ofres'o-
( ration
That is to say, the President is resolved
that the people shall not By lar take on7
! securities from tho rebel States against
renewal of the rebellion before restoring
their power to govern Va.
His wisdom and prud cnco are to be ou>
sufficient guarantees
He further says:
Ard, while an also unprcpared to de
cl are that the Free State Constitutions an'
Governments already adopted and IN
stalled in Arkansas and Louisiana shal
be set aside and held for h1ught, thereby
repolling and dlsconragipg tho loyal riti
zens who have set up the same as TO fur
thcr effort
That is to say, tho President persists Il
recognizing those shadows of Government
in Arkansas and Louisiana, which Con
gress formally declared should not be re
cognizcd-who.e Representatives and Sen
ators were repclled by formal votes of bot
Houses of Congress-which it was doclar
ed formally should have no electoral vot
for President and Vice. President.
They are the mere creatures of his vii
They cannot live a day without his sup
port They arc mere oligarchies, impose
on the p eople by military orders under til
the forms Of election, at which generals
provost marshals, soldiers and camp fol
lowers were the chief actors, assisted by
handful OF resident otizons, and urged o
to premature action by private letters lroI
the President
In neither Louisiana nor Arkansas, be
fore the Banks defeat, did the the Unite
States control half the territory or halth
population. In Louisiana, General Bank'
proclamation candidly declared 9Th
fundamental law Of the State in marti,
law."
On the foundation OF freedom. he ereC
ted what tho President calls "the free Con
stituton and Government Of Louisiana
But of this State, whose iun1umenti
law was martial law, only sxteen parishc
= out of forty eight parishes were held b
5 the United States and in five OF the sil
teen we held only our camps.