The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1865-12-13

ln aDeyance, 10 resume their place8 ~
1.-THE two branches Of the National Legis.
lature, and thereby complete the work 81
4 restoration. Here itisfor you, fsllow-c citi
zens Of the Senate, and for You, fellow.
citizens Of the House Of Representatives.,
Ito judge, each Of you for yourselves, the
| elections, returns, and qualifications Of
IRE fsii asssftiSn u, 'thc powers Of sB5
! General Government requires the hold
ling Of Circuit Courts Of the United
States within the district where their an.
j thority has been interrupted. fn the
tpresent posture Of our public affairs,
strong objections have been urged to
holding these courts in any Of the States
where the rebellion has existed and II
was ascertained, by inquiry, that the Cir.
cult Court of the United States would
not be held within the District Of Virgin.
ia during the autumn or early winter, nor
until Congress should have aan opportu-
nifty to consider and act on the whole
subject" To your deliberations the res
toration Of this branch Of the civil au.
thority Of the United States is therefore
ne cessa,ily referred, with the hope that
early provision will be made for the re
sumption Of all its functions 1t is man.
ifest that treason, most fragrant ID char
acter, has been committed; Persons who
are charged with it's commission should
have fair and impartial trials in the high
est civil tribunals Of the country, IN or.
der that the Constitution and the laws
may be fully vindicated the truth clear.
| " established and affirmed that treason is
d crime, that traitors should BE punished
1 and the offence made infamous aud, at
the same time, that the question may be
judicially settled, fpally and forever, that
no State Of its own will has the right to
[renounce its place in the Union. ''7l 9os'i
/ The relations of the General Govern
ment towards the four millions Of inhab-
itants whom the war has called into free!
dom, have engaged most serious consid-
Grafton. On the propriety Of attempting
to make the free a1men electors BY the
proclamation Of the Executive, I took for
my counsel the Constitution itself, the
interpretations Of that Instrument by its
authors and their contem porarics, and
recent legislation by Cobgrcss. When at
tho first movement towards Independence,
the Congress Of the United States id.
structed the several States to institute
governments of their own, they lett each
State to decide Tor itself the conditions
for the enjoymentof the elective franchise
During the period Of the con'ederacy,
there continued to exist very great d.
versity in the qualifications Of electors in
the several States; and even within q
State a distinction of qualifications pre-
vailed with regard to the officers who were
to be chosen. The Constitution Of the
United States recognizes these diversities
when 1t enjoins that, in the choice OIL
members Uf the House Of Representatives
of the United States, "the electors in
each State shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors Of the most numer-
Gus branch Of the State Legislature y
After the formation of the Constitution,
it remained, as before, the uniform usage
for each State to enlarge the body Of its
electors, according to its own judgement;
others has proceeded to increase the mum
Der Of its electors, until now universal
suffrage, or something very near it, is the
general rule. So fixed was this reserva-
tion of powerin the habits of the people,
and so unquostioned has been the inter.
probation OF the Constitution, that during
the civil war the President never harbor-
ed the purpose-certainly never avowed
the purpose Of disregarding it and inthe
acts Of Congress, during that period moth.
ing can be found which, during the coutin-
uance Of hostilties, much less after their
close, would have sanctioned any ,depar.
ture by the Executive from policy which
has so uniformly obtained Moreover, a
concession Of the elective fracbise to
freedmen, by act Of the President Of the
United States, must have been extended
| to all colored men, wherever found, and
80 must have established a change of suf
frape in the Northern, Middle aid West.
ern States, not less than in the Southern
and Southwestern Such an act would
have created n nav GLASS Of voters and
would have been an assumption ofpower
by the President which nothing in the
Constitution or laws Of The limited States
| would have warranted 10 rCiiI5roTg q
On the other hapd, every danger Of
conflict is avoided when The settlemeut Of
The question a referred 10 tbe7seyeral
'S leSoso" 20 N'N " - ~.