Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1865-12-23
UNION
Head Centre of Sadicalisns i'm
the House.
Speech of Mr.. Stevens, of Pc.
HE STRIPS FOR THE FIGHT

| Mr. STEVENS said:-A candid examination
of the power and proper principles of re
construction can be offensive TO no one, an
may possibly be profitable by exciting en-
quiry. One of the suggestions of the Mes
sage which we are now considering has spe
cial reference to this. Perhaps it is tn
principle most interesting to the people a
this time. The President assumes, what n,
| one doubts, that the late rebel States hav,
lost their constitutional relations to tn,
| Union, and are incapable of representation
in Congress except by permission of tn,
| government. 1t matters but little, with thi
admission whether you call them States ou
| of the Union and now conquered territories,
or assert that, because the constitution forbid
them to do what they did do thev are there
| fore, only dead rs to all national and polit
| ical action, and will remain so until the gov
| ernment shall breathe into them the breath
| of life anew and permit them to occupy theil
| former position-in other words, that they
are not out of the Union, but only dead car.
cases living within the Union. In either
| case 1t is very plain that it requires the ac-
| tiOn of Congress to enable them to form a
State government, and send Representatives
to Congress. No body, | believe, pretends
| that with their old constitution and forms oI
government they can be permitted to claim
their old rights under the constitution They
have torn their constitutions into atoms, and
built on their foundations fabrics of totally
different character Dead men cannot raise
themselves; dead States cannot restore their
own existence as it was. Whose especial
duty it is to do it? In whom does the consti-
tuition place the power? Not in the judicial
branch of the government, for it only adju-
dicates, and does not prescribe laws. Not in
the Executive, for he only executes and can
not make laws. Not in the commander-in-
chief of the armies; for he can only hold
them under military rule until the sovereign
legislative power of the conqueror shall give
them law. There is fortunately no difficult
ty in solving the question.
There are two provisions in the constitu-
ton, under one of which the case must fall.
The fourth article says, new States may be
admitted by the Congress into the Union"
In my Judgment, this is the controlling pro-
vision in this case. Unless the law of ma
tiOns is dead letter, the late war between
two acknowledged belIigerents severed their
original compacts, and broke all ties that
bound them together. The future condition
of the conquered power depends on the will
of the cOnqueror They must come in as
new States, or remain as conquered Prov
inces. COngress-the Senate and the House
of Representatives-with the concurrence of
the President, is the only power that can
act on this matter. But suppose, as some
dreaming theorists imagine, that these States
have never been out of the Union, but have
only destroyed their State governments, so
as to be incapable of political action, then
the fourth section of the fourth article ap-
plies, which says, "the United States shall
guarantee to every State in this Union Re
publican form of government" Who is the
United States? Not the Judiciary not the
President, but the sovereign power of the
people exercised through their Representa-
tives in Congress, with the concurrence of
the Executive. 1t means the political gov
ernment, the concurrent action of both
branches of Congress, and the Executive.
The separate action of each amounts to
nothing either in admitting new States or
in guaranteeing Republican governments to
lapsed or outlawed States Whence springs
the preposterOus idea that either the Presi-
dent, or the Senate, or the House of Repre-
sentahves, acting separately, can determine
the right of States to send members or Sena-
tors TO the Congress of the Union To prove
that they are and have been out Of the I'm
ion for all legal purposes, and are now con-
quered subjects, subject to the absolute dis
posal of Congress, l will suggest few ideas
and adduce few authorities. If the so call
ed Confederate States of America were an
independent belligerent, and were so ac-
In rIaIcr hx- NIT L..
Europe, or had assumed and maintained an
attitude which entitled them to be consid-
cred and treated as belligerent, then dur
ing such time they were precisely in the
condition of a foreign nation with whom
We were at war, nor is it necessary that
their independence as a nation be ac-
knOwledged by us to produce that effect.
Mr.. Stevens then quoted from Mr.. JUS
tice Grier in the prize cases all the laws on
those points. After such clear and repeated
decisions he said, it is something worse than
ridiculous to hear men of respectable stand
ing attempting to nullify the law of nations,
and declare the Supreme Court of the United
States in error, because as the constitution
fOrbids it, the States could not go out of the
Union de fdcto. After proceeding further in
his argument he remarked it is obvious that
the first duty of Congress is to pass law de-
claring the condition of these outside or dc
funct States, and providing proper civil gov
ernment for them. Since the conquest they
have been governed by martial law. Mil
itary rule is necessarily despotic, and ought
not to exist longer than is absolutely neces-
sary. As there are no symptoms that the
people of these provinces will be prepared
to participate in a constitutional govern
mcnt for some years, | know of no arrange
ment SO proper for them as territorial gov
ernments. There they can learn the princi-
pies of freedom, and eat the fruit of foul re-
bellion under such governments. While
electing members to the Territorial Legis-
latures they will necessarily mingle with
those to whom Congress shall extend the
right of suffrage. In the Territories Con-
gress fixes the qualifications of electors, and
| know of no better place nor better occa-
sion for the conquered rebels and the con-
quered to practice justice to all men and ac-
custom themselves to make and to obey all
laws As to these famed rebels, they cannot
at their option re-enter the heaven which
thev have disturbed, nor the garden of Eden
which they have deserted, as flaming swords
are set at the gates to secure their exclusion.
1t becomes important to the nation to in
quire when the doors shall be reopened for
their admission. According to my judg-
ment they ought never to be recognized as
capable of acting in the Union, or being
rs valid States until the constitution
shall have been so amended rs to make it
what its trainers intended so "a to secure a
ascendancy to the party of the
Union, and so rs to render republican gov
ernment firm and stable forever. The first
of these amendments is to change the basis
Of membership to actual voters.
Now, all the colored freemen in the slave
States and three-ffths of the slaves are rep
resented, though none of them have votes.
The rebel States have nineteen representa-
tives of colored slaves. If the slaves are
now free, then they can add for the other
two-ffths thirteen more, making the slave
thirty-two. / suppose the free
blacks in those States will give at least five
more, making the representation Of non
voting people of color about thirty-seven.
The whole number of representatives now
from the slave States is seventy. Add the
other two-fifths and it will be eighty-three.
If the amendment prevails, and those States
the right of suffrage from persons
of color, it will deduct about thirty-seven,
leaving them but forty-fve, with the appor-
tionment unchanged. The eighty-three
Southern members, with the democrats that
will in the best times be elected from the
North, will always give them 4 majority in
Congress and in the Electoral College.
They will at the very first election take pos