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

presidency inaugurated by votes from
the rebel States?

tiiV AVbVt OtoSto
Seriously impressed with these dan
gers, Congress, ''the proper constitu-
tional authorize" formally declared
that there was no state governments
in the rebel states, and provided for
their erection at proper time; and
both the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives rejected the Senators and
representatives chosen under the au-
thority of what the President calls a
free constitutional government Of Ar
kansas.
The Presidents proclamation holds
fornaught this judgment, and discards
the authority of the Supreme Court,
and strides headlong towards the an
archy his proclamation of the Sth OF
September inaugurated.
If electors for President be allowed
to be chosen in either of these States,
sinister lightwill bo cast on the mo-
tives which induced the President to
''hold for naught" the will of Con-
gress rather than his government in
Louisiana and Arkansas.
That Judgment of Congress which
the President defes was the exercise
of an authority exclusively vested IN
Congress by the Constitution to de-
termine what is the established Gov
ernment in State, and in it own no
ture, and by the highest judicial au-
thority, binding on all other parts of
the government.
The Supreme Court has formally
declared that under the fourth section
of the eth Qrticle of the constitution,
requiring tho United States to guar
antee to every State a republican form
Of government it rests with Congress
to decide which government is the es-
tablished one in State and when
Senators and representatives of a
State are admitted into the councils of
the Union, the authority of the gov
ernment under which they are ap-
pointed, as well as its republican
character, is recognized by the proper
constitutional authority, and its de-
cision is binding on every department
of the government, and could not be
questioned in a judicial tribunal 1t
is true that the contest III this o,sso
did not last long enough to bring the
matter to this issue; and, as no SEN
ator or Representatives were elected
under the authority of the govern
ment Of which Mr. Dorr was the head,
Congress was not called upon to de-
eide the controversy, yet the right to
decide was placed there.
Even the Presidents proclamation
of the eighth of December, formally
declares that "whether members sent
to Congress from any State shall be
admitted to seats constitutionally,
rests exclusively with the respective
Houses, and not to any extent with
the Executive"
And that is not tho less true be-
cause wholly inconsistent with the
Presidents assumption in that procla-
nation of a right to recognize and in
stitute State governments in the rebel
states, nor because the President is
unable to perceive that his recognition
is nuAity if it be not conclusive on
Congress.
Under the constitution, the right to
Senator'S and Representatives is insep-
arabic from State government. II
there be state government the right
is absolute. If there be no state gov
ernment there can bo no Senators or
Representatives chosen. The two
Houses Of Congress are expressly de-
clared to be the sole judges of their
own members.
When, therefore, Senators and rep
resentatives are admitted, the State
government, under whose authority
they were chosen, is conclusively es-
tablished: when they are rejected
its existence is as conclusively rejected
and denied and to this judgment the
President is bound to submit.
The President proceeds to express
his unwilliugness ''to declare a consti-
tutional competency in Congress to
abolish slavery in the States" as
another reason for not signing the
bill.
But the bill nowhere proposes to
abolish slavery in the States.
The bill did provide that all slaves
in the rebel slave States should be
manumitted.
But as the President had already
signed three bills manumitting sew
eral classes Of slaves in States, it is
not conceived possible that he con-
ceived any scruples touching that pro-
vision of the bill respecting which he
is silent.
He had already himself assumed a
right by proclamation to free much
the larger number of slaves in the
rebel States, under the authority Civ
en- him by Congress to use military
power to suppress the rebellion; and
it is quite incon8erable that the
President should think Congress
could vest in him a discretion it
could not exercise itself.
1t is the more Ineligible from the
fact that except in respect to small
part of Virginia and Louisiana, the
bill covered only what the proclama-
ton covered-added q Congressional
title and judicial remedies by law tn
the disputed title under the proclama-
ton, and perfected the work the
President seemed so anxious to accom-
plish.
Slavery as an institution cnn be
abolished only by change of the
Constitution of the United States OF
of the law of the State; and this is
the principal of the bill.
1t required the new constitution oi
the State to provide for the prohibi-
ton; and the President, in the face
of his own proclamation, does not ven
ture to object to insisting on that
condition. Nor will the country toll
erate its Abandonment yet he de-
n L.