Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-07-13
In the Union or Out of the Union. iva
of Senator Howe. ehs
From the National Intellirencss

Our readers are aware that tba
whether certain persons, claiming to he So
ators elect from the State of Arkans.s sheI-
be admitted to seats in the Senate of tbo
United States, has recently been under ~. le
cussion in that body for some DAYS s. Is
as this question turns on the personal onalis
cations or merits of the applicants the a.
cussion has little interest to the puhlio -
so far as 1t involves great questions of 81
mental law, affecting the logical reIatiors -
the States composing the Union undar 81
Constitution, it has a vivid interest to eve,
reader. Embracing within its scope the cor.
sideration OF theoretical principles the most
essential and important in connection VII,
the immense practical difficulties that bava
resulted from the chaos into which the Ode
ly working and symmetry of our ingtitntior.
have been plunged by the architects of nnr
national ruin, this discussion presents to tho
most capacious and logical of minds the era
vest embarrassments-em barrassmentsindae
which, to the thoughtful inquirer, rise in
completely and seriousness precisely in pro
portion to the compreheEsiveness and logical
faculty of the mind that undertakes to grasp
them with a view of bringing such chaotic
relations into harmony with the theoretical
arrangements of the Constitution.
The question whether, in point of law
States like Arkansas are $ in the Union " or
% cut of the Union, has been discussed in
many aspects and relations but this simple
question, Invested of irrelevant issues, has
never been more clearly presented in one Of
its aspects than in the following brief obser-
vations made in the Senate, on the 18th Ill
timo, by Mr.. Howe, of Wisconsin He said
. have a document in my hand entitled
the Constitution of the United States and
here is clause which reads:
The Senate of the United States shall be con
posed of two Senators from each State. chosen by
he Leo : lat n Sly wear and -L
Senator shall have one vote
eff this is a genuine document and that
is binding law, it opens up the INQUIRY
whether the State of Arkansas is a State of
the Union. / have another document which
is entitled An act for the admission of the
State of Arkansas into the Union, and TO
provide for the execution of the laws of
the United States within the same, and for
other purposes \ clause in that act reads
as follows
's1 That the State OF ArkaI shall be one, and
is hereby declared be one, of the United States
of America, and admitted into the Union an
equal footing with the original states in all Iespect
whatever and the said State shall consist of all he
territory included within the following bo4a-
daries, to wit -
Il will not read the boundaries l sup
pose the body which enacted that law had
authority to enact it, and | suppose it to be
a law to-day which binds this Senate and
binds the President and binds each of the
agencies and all the authorities of the United
States except the law-maaing power, unless
it has been repealed or abrogated. If it has
been repealed, / ask when and by whom
There are those who say it was repealed by
the people of Arkansas. / think they are
mistaken / think the people of Arkansas
cannot repeal one of the acts of Congress,
and | suspect il Will not be seriously contend
ed by any body on this floor. There are
others who suggest, if they do not say, that
it has been repealed by the President of the
United States l think they are mistaken
| also. | do not believe the President OF the
United States can repeal one of these laws.
| do not believe that he has the authority to
do it and what is more, | DO not believe he
| has attempted to do 1t.
1t is said he issued proclamation which
| operates as q repeal of TINS statute. have
! looked at the proclamation. | do not think
| it was intended to have any such effect, and
| if so designed the terms employed were uJ-
terIy inadequate to effect any such purpose.
| He declared, to be sure, that the inhabitaUl-
] of the said States of Georgia, South Carroll
na Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ala
| bama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missi=aiq-
| pi, and Florida, Except the inhabitants Of
| that part of the State of Virginia lying west
of the Allegheny Mountains, and all such
/ other parts of that State and the other States
| hereinbefore named as may maintain a loyal
|
! or may be from time to time occupied AMI
/ controlled by forces of the United States en-
gagged in the dispersion of said insurgents
are in a state of instruction.
"That portion of this proclamation which
| have read does not declare that the people
of Arkansas even are in a state of insurrec-
ton positively, but only SO far as they are not
controlled by the military forces Of the Uni
ted States. So far as they are not controlled
Nv no HOT RI.
people are in a state of instruction against
the United States. But what then What
| if they are in state of insurrectiOn, the
whole of them, what is the consequence s.
declared by the President Simply, not that
they are out Of the Union, not that they are
no longer in the Union, not that they are no
longer entitled to representation in this
House or the other, not that they are depriv-
ed of the functions of state; the President
does mt declare either of these things, but
simply that I" all commercial intercourse be
tween the same and the inhabitants thereof,
with the exceptions aforesaid, and the citi-
zens of other states and other parts of the
United States, is unlawful and viii remain
unlawful" When? ''Untn such insurrec-
ton shall cease, or has been suppressed. y
What then Why, that call goods and chat
tells, wares and merchandise, coming from any
of said States, wit, the exceptions aforesaid,
into other parts CT the United States without
the special license and permission of the
President, through the Secretary of the
Treasury, or proceeding to any OF said States,
with the exception aforesaid, by land or wa
ter, together with the vessel or vehicle con
veying the same, or conveying persons to and
from said States, with said exceptions, viii
be forfeited to the United States"
g Give to this paper whatever authority
you please, if by it the people of Arkansas
are deprived of the power of establishing a
State Government, of electing Legislature,
which Legislature can elect Senators to this
body, if by this paper these prerogatives are
taken away from the people of Arkansas, they
are taken away from the people of New York
| unquestionably, because the obligations and
the duties charged upon the people of Arkan-
sas and the people of New York are precisely
alike. The citizens of Arkansas cannot send
commerce to New York, and New York can
not send commerce to Arkansas. They are
placed upon precisely the same footing, and
if by the terms Of this proclamation Arkansas
is. throwR without the pale of the Union, New
York is also without the pale of the Union
aball To Oh ha