Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-07-16
"ln the Union or Out Of the UnIOn.r- v,..-
OF Senator Howe "s

Our readers are aware that the ouas,;.-
whether Certain persons, claiming to be Sor
ators elect from the State of Arkansas. sbouis
De aamltted to seats in the Senate of ~
United States, has recently been under a.
cusslon In that body for some days. So e..
as this question. turns on the personal oualis
cations or merits of the applicants the al.
cussiou haslittie interest to the public h..
so far as it involves great questions of fnnJa
mental law, affecting the logical relations of
the States composing the Union under tbn
Constitution, It has a vivid interest to ever
reader. Embracing within its scope the con
sideration of theoretical principles the mos,
essential and important in connection Will
the immense practical difficulties that baro
resulted from the chaos into which the orda,
ly working and symmetry of our institutions
have been plunged by the architects of on
national ruin, this discussion presents to fbs
most capacious and logical of minds the ora
vest embarrassments--emba rFassmentsipdead
which, to the thoughtful inquirer, rise IN
complex and seriousness precisely in pro.
portion to the comprehensiveness and Logical
faculty of the mind that undertakes to- erasn
them with view of bringing such chaotic
relations into harmony with the Theoretical
arrangements of the Constitution X
The question whether, in point of law
States like Arkansas are $ in the Unienp or
"out 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 ul
timo, by Mr.. Howe, of Wisconsin. He said !:
81 have document in my hand entitled
the Constitution of the United States and
here is a clause which reads T
ass The Senate Of the United States shall be com
posed Of two Senators from each State, chosen BY
the Legislature thereof for six years, and each
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 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 the laws Of
the United States within the same, and for
other purposes A clause in that act reads
as follows 1895 s tss Bag
"fThat the State of Arkansas shall be one and
is hereby declared to be one of the United States
of America, and admitted into the Union on an
equal footing with the original States in all respects
whatever, and the said State shall consist of all the
territory included within the following boun-
daries, to wit >" F-a
4
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-making 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 it will not be seriously contend
ed by any body on this floor. There are
Others who suggest, if they do not saw. that
it has been. repealed by the President of the
United States. | think they are mistaken
Also | do not believe the President of the
United States can repeal one of these laws
l do not believe that he has the authority to
do it and what is more, do not believe be
has attempted to do it. ~
1t is said he issued proclamation which
operates as a repeal of this 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 ut
terly inadequate to effect any such purpose.
He declared, to be sure, that the inhabitants
of the said States of Georgia, South Carroll
.
bama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississip-
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 loyal
adhesion to the Union and the Constitution,
or may be from time to time occupied and
controlled by forces of the United States en-
gagged in the dispersion of said insurgents J
are in state of Instruction.
g That portion of this proclamation which
have read does not declare that the people
of Arkansas even are in a state of insurrec
tim 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
by those forces he does proclaim that the
people are in state of instruction against
the United States. But what then What
if they are in a state of insurrection, the
whole of them, what is the consequence as
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 a representation in this
House or the other, not that they are depriy-
ed of the functions of state the President
does not declare either of these things, but
simply that !" all commercial intercourse be-
tween the same and the inhabitants thereof
with the exceptions aforesaid, and the eiti-
zens of other states and other parts of the
United States, is unlawful and viii remain
unlawful" When? ''Until such insurrec-
ton shall cease, or has been suppressed. =
What theni Why, that ssall goods and chat
tels, wares andmerchandise, coming from any
of said States, with the exceptions aforesaid
into other parts of the United States without
the special license and permission of the
President, through the Secretary of the
Treasury, or proceeding to anyof said States,
with the exception aforesaid, by land or wa.
ter, together with the vessel or vehicle. con-
veyfng the same, or conveying persons to and
from said States, with said exceptions, will
be forfeited to the United States"
70" 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
nnqnestionably, BECAUSE the obligations and
the duties charged upon the people of 5Arkan-
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
placedupcn precisely the same footing, and
if by the terms of this proclamation Arkansas
is.thrown without the pale of the Union, New
York is'also without the pale of the Onion.
3 /" i shall say no more to establish the point
that up to this time the act which I read from
the statutes of the United States, and which
was enacted on the 2sd of June, 1886, is not
repealed or abrogated,"
r SSH pS1lcga. 500 - ssssys 4,