The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-08-11

IOTce OI aTIuS. hfQ UOW tudt The ATmeO
power of the rebellion is broken the same
class of persons deny the Government the
power to hold these rebel States in subjection
by military authority and to adopt efficient
measures for the future security of the coun-
try. They insist that after the Government
has conquered the rebels by force of arms, it
is powerless to prevent those same rebels
from recognizing their political power over
the rebel States, and by the aid of Copper
heads in the North, who sympathise with
them. and opposed the war. undoing all that
has been done.
Now, we hold, on the contrary, that this
Government has the power to avail itself of
the fruits of victory, and to assure for all time
to come the peace of the country and the per
manency of the Union and the liberty of the
people whom it has made free by force of
arms in the process of subjugating the rebels
And We contend that the Constitution Of the
United States is cursed with no such imbe.
cility as leaves the Government powerless
after the close of the war to guard against the
Vaccinations of traitors; and condemns it at
once to fall under the political direction Of
the rebel States, with the aid of some of their
sympathsing sisters of the North After the
sacrifice of million of lives and of untold
millions of treasure to overthrow the great
rebellion, it would not only be blunder, but
q crime. to permit all this great sacrifice TO
go for nought, and have our Government
plead the baby act of incompetency to
meet the perils of returning peace. and to
secure forever to the country the fruits Of vic
tory over rebellion and treason, achieved by
our soldiers in the field.
In the first place, if those rebel States are
to be at once readmitted to the full rights and
powers exercised by them before the rebel
lion, the political power of the States will be
in the hands of rebels, and as a consequence
Union men must go to the wall, and the
colored population be reduced to practical
slavery by the action of these independent
rebel States. And these rebel States will
stand upon the doctrines and in the exercise
of the fIA powers under which they seeded
and rebelled against the Government four
years stGO
We have pledged the Government to main.
tain the freedom of the colored people eman-
cipated by the proclamation of ABRAHAM LIN
coin. How shall we redeem that pledge ?
Surely not by submitting them to the unre-
strained legislation of the rebel States, and
the unimpeded activity of the traitor slave
holders. with their old blood hound regime.
But that seems to be just what copperheads
and conservatives demand ofthe Government,
in tie Lope lhat thereby the votes of the rebel
States will place the reunited party ia power
once more.
Suppose this programme prove successful,
the people of the United States will have to
abide by it for the present, because it would
be enforced by military despotism under the
control of traitors and copperheads. and for
the protection and perpetuation Of slavery
shat despotism wouid be rendered perpetual.
Ii viii not do to treat this as a groundless
fear, for the Democracy of the South organ.
lied an armed rebellion to maintain slavery,
and organized a separate, independent and
autagonistic Government to perpetuate the in.
ssitution. And who shall say that the same
Democracy would not, if In their power,
speedily convert our republican Government
into military despotism TO effect the same
purpose. With united South they would
need but few Northern votes in Congress to
have everything their own way, and expert
ence has taught us that there are many of the
rbaaA faaI dor ho ,,ofb hi ID
aud affiliate with Southern traitor shareholders
in all their aspirations.
We regard it, then, as essential to the per
petuity Of our free institutions that our Gov
ernment should hold the rebel States by mill
tary power till the spirit of loyalty and patriot
ism Is revived in the South, and till the liberty
proclaimed to the slaves of the South be Sc.
cured beyond all future question or contin-
gency.
Whatever theory be adopted as to the stata,
of the rebel States, one fact is clear, that by
their rebellion they ceased to be States exer
cising their constitutional functions in the
tions now as members of the Union, withou1
the consent of Congress, any more than they
could have done during the continuance Of tht
war. Nor can there be any doubt that oul
Government may adopt such measures of pa
cifcation, and insist upon such guarantees IN
behalfof measures adopted during the war,
and such securities against the revival Of re-
bellion under the Vaccinations Of traitors, q
it may deem necessary and proper.
While the rights of the freedmen Of the
South must be protected and guaranteed in
good faith hy the General Government,
against the destinations of the States under
rebel rule, these same freedmen can be made
the most e1icient protectors of the rights OF
the Union and the loyalty of the South
All that i required is, that our Govern
ment shall Insist that the colored men, who
alone wase the friends of our Government in
the Sou1A, shall rot only have their freedom,
but ~ non privileges of freemen in the
6opthS the loyalty of the Southern States
would ssared by their votes. Will the
loy1l l ybf the North agree that the un.
repe1 aitors of the South shall have
thin sentatives in Congress, based
upoa aored population, and that thas