East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1864-08-17

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to the department that the House
Construction Bill would be STAYED off
in the Senate to period too late in
the session to require the President to
veto it in order to defeat it, and that
Mr.. Lincoln would retain the bill if
ecessary, and thereby defeat it,
The experience Of Senator Wade in
his various efforts to get the bill con-
sidered in the Senate, was quite in
accordance with that plan and the
fate of the bill was accurately predict
ed Ivy letters from New Orleans before
it mad passed the Senate.
Had the proclamation stopped there
it would have been only one other de-
feat of the will of the people by an
Executive perversion of the constitu-
ton.
But it goes further. The President
says:
"And whereas, the said bill con-
tains, among other things, a plan for
restoring the States in rebellion TO q
proper practical relation in the Union,
which plan expresses the sense of Con-
gress upon that subject, and which
plan it is now thought fit to lay before
the people for their consideration"
BY what authority of the Constitu-
ton? In what forms? The result
to be declared by whom With what
effect when ascertained.
Is it to be law by the approval Of
the people without the approval Of
Congress at the will Of the President?
Will the President on his opinion
of the popular approval execute it as
law?
Or is this merely device to avoid
the serious responsibility of defeating
law on which SO many loyal hearts
reposed for security?
But the reasons now assigned for
not approving the bill are full Of om-
inous significance.
The President proceeds:
"Now, therefore, /, Abraham Lin
coin, President Of the United States
do proclaim, declare, and make
known, that, while i am las 1 was in
Dece'nhar last. WHOM by proclamation
/ propounded plan for restoration
unprepared, by the formal approval
of this bill, to be inhexibly committed
to any single plan of restoration
That is to say the President is re-
solved that the people shall not By
LAW take ANY securities from the rebel
States against renewal of the rebel
lion, before restoring their power to
govern us.
His wisdom and prudence are to be
our sufficient guarantees
He further says:
':And while L am also unprepared
to declare that the free State constitu
tons and governments already adop-
ted and installed in Arkansas and
Louisiana shall be set aside and held
for naught, thereby repelling and
discouraging the loyal citizens who
have set up the same as to further
effort
That is to say, the President per-
sists in recognizing those shadows of
governments in Arkansas and Louisi-
ana, which Congress formally de-
clared should not be recognized
whose Representatives and Senators
were repelled by formal votes of both
houses of Congress-which it was de-
clared formally should have no cleo
toral vote for President and Vice Pres
ident.
They are tho mere creatures of his
will. They cannot live day without
his support. They are mere oligar-
chies, imposed on the people by mill
tary orders under the forms of cleo
ton, at which generals, provost mar
shals, soldiers and camp followers
were the chief actors, assisted by a
handful of resident citizens, and urged
on to premature action by private let
ters from the President.
In neither louisiana nor Arkan-
sas, before Banks defeat, did the
United States control half the terrific
ry or half the population. In Louisi-
ana General Banks proclamation de-
clarsd: "The fundamental law Of the
State is martial law"
On that foundation of freedom he
has erected what President Lincoln
calls ''the free Constitution and gov
ernment Of Louisiana.
But of this State, whose fundamen-
tai law was martial law, only sixteen
parishes out of forty eight parishes
were held by the United States, and
in five Of the sixteen we held our
camps.
The eleven parishes we substan-
cially held had two hundred and thir-
ty-threc thousand one hundred and
eighty-fve inhabitants the residue
of the State not held by us, five hun
dred and seventy-fve thousand and
six hundred and seventeen.
At the farce called an election, the
officers of Gen. Banks returned that
eleven thousand three hundred and
forty-six ballots were cast; but wheth
er any, or by whom, the people of the
United States have no legal assu-
rance but it is probably that four
thousand were cast by soldiers or en-
ployecs of the United States military
or municiplc, but none according to
any law, state or national. and soven
thousand ballots represent the State of
Louisiana.
Such is the free constitution and
government of Louisiana; and like it
is that of Arkansas. Nothing but the
failure of military expedition de-
prived us Of like one in the swamps
of Florida; and before the Presi-
Dental election, like ones may be or
ganized in every rebel state where the
United States have camp.
The President by preventing this
bill from becoming a law, holds tho
electoral votes of the rebel States at
the dictation Of his personal ambi-