Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-12-15


sistent with public safety. For this great
end there IS need OF concurrence of all
opinions, and the spirit Of mutual cencilia-
ton, All parties ii the late terrible conflict
/ must work together in harmony. It is too
/ much to ask, in the name Of the whole peo-
/ pie, that, on the ore side, the plan of resto-
ration shall proceed in conformity with
i willingness to cast the disorders of the past
into oblivion; and chat, on the other, the
evidence of sincerity in the future mainte-
nance of the Unioa shall be put beyond any
doubt by the ratSication Of the proposed
amendment to the Constitution, which pro-
vides for the abolition Of slavery within the
limits of our countey. So long as the adop-
tion Of this amendment is delayed, SO long
will doubt, and jealousy, and uncertainty
prevail. This Is g tssal.easure which vii et-
! face the sad mem6s oI taAo past this isfhe
measure which wa most certainly call pop
ulation, and capital, and security to those
parts OF the Union that need them most.
! Indeed, it is not tso much TO ask of the
States which are now resuming their places
in the family Of the Union to give this
pledge Of perpetusl loyalty and peace. I'm
/ til it Is done, the past, however much we
may desire it, wilNnot be forgotton. The
adoption of the amendment re-unltes US be-
! yond all power of disruption. 1t heals the
wound that is still imperfectly closed it re-
moves slavery, the element which has so
/ long perplexed and divided the country; it
makes Of once mere a united people, renew
/ ed and strengthened, bound more than ever
to mutual affection and support.
! The amendment of the Constitution being
adopted, it would remain for the States,
whose powers have been so long in allegiance,
to resume their places in the two branches
| of the National Legislature, and thereby
! complete the work Of restoration. Here it
/ is for you, fellow citizens Of the Senate, and
| for you, oW-eifzens of the House Of Re
presentatiyes, to judge, each Of you for
1 yourselves, of the elections, returns, and
1 qualifications of your own members.
The full assertion Of the powers of the
/ General Government requires the holding Of
/ Circuit Courts Of the United States within
the districts where their authority has been
interrupted. In the present posture of our
/ public affairs, strong objections have been
urged to holding those courts in any OF the
| States where the rebellion has existed; and
| it was ascertained, by inquiry, that the Cir
cult Court Of the United States would not be
held within the District of Virginia during
the autumn or early winter, nor until Con
gress should have AN opportunity to CON
slider and act on the whole subject. To
your deliberations the restoration of this
branch of the civil authority of the United
States is therefore necessarily referred, with
the hope that early provision be made for
the resumption Of all its functions 1t is
manifest that treason, most fragrant In char
acter, has been committed Persons who
are charged with its commission should have
far and impartial trials in the highest tribu-
nails OF the country, in order that the Con-
stltutlon and the laws may be fully vindica-
ted; the truth Early established and affirm
ed that treasonisa crime, that traitors should
be punished and the offence made infamous;
and at the same time, that the question
may be judicially settled, finally and forev-
er, that no State of It's own will has the
right to renounce its place in the Union.
The relations of the General Government
towards the four millions of inhabitants
whom the war has called into freedom, have
engaged my most serious consideration. On
the propriety of attempting to make the
freedmen electors by the proclamation of the
Executive, / took for my counsel the Con
stitution ITSELF the interpretations of that
instrument by its authors and their cotem-
poraries, and recent legislation by Congress.
when, at the first movements towards inde-
pendence, the Congress of the United States
governments of their own, they left each
State to decide for itself the conditions for
the enjoyment of the elective franchise. Dur
ing the period of the Confederacy there con-
tinued to exist very great diversity in the
qualifications of electors in the several States
and even within a State a distinction of
qualifications prevailed with regard to the
officers who were to be chosen The Con
stitution of the United States recognizes
these diyersities when it enjoins that, in the
choice of members of the House of Repre-
sentatiyes Of the United States, the cleo
tors In each State shall have the qualifica-
tions requisite for electors of the most nu-
merous branch of the State Legislature
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 Judgment; and, under
this system, one State after another has pro-
ceeded to increase the number ofits electors
until now universal suffrage, or something
very near it, is the general rule. So fixed
was this reservation of power in the habits
of the people, and so unquestioned has been
the Interpretation Of the Constitution; that
during the civil war the late President never
harbored the purpose certainly never
avowed the purpose-of fdisregarding it; and
in the acts of Congress during that period,
nothing can be found which, during the con
tinuance of hostilities, much less after their
close, would have sanctioned any departure
by the Executive from policy which has
so uniformly obtained Moreover, a CON
cession of the elective franchise to the freed
men, by act of the President of the Unitel
States must have been extended to all color
ed men, wherever found, and so must have
established a change Of suffrage in the Nor
theIn, Middle, and Western States, not less
than in the Southern and Southwestern
Such an act would have created a new class
ofvoters, and would have been an assump-
ton of power by the President which moth
ing in the Constitution orlaws of the United
States would have at all warranted. On
the other hand every danger of conflict is
avoided when the settlement of the question
is referred to the several States. They can
each for itself, decide on the measure, and
whether 1t is to be adopted at once and alb
solutely, or introduced gradually and with
conditions. In my Judgment, the freedmen
if they show patience and manly virtues, |
will sooner obtain participation in the elec
tive franchise through the States than
through the General Governments even if it |
had power to intervene. When the tumult |
of emotions that have been raised BY the /
suddenness of the social change shall have !
subsidized, it may prove that they will receive
the kindliest usage from some of those on
whom they have heretofore closely depen-
ded
But while have no doubt that now. after I