East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1866-11-01
A SOUND PLATFORM FOR
REPUBLICANS.
Common Ground for Patriots.
One of the Ablest Republican Jour.
nails ON the Situation.
Answers to Interrogatories by the New
hnt York Evening Post.
WHAT THE EvENIso rosr WANTS.

A correspondent asks us; ",What
does the ESening Post want ? 1t does
not seem to agree with anybody it
finds fault alike with Congress and
the President; it condems the Presi-
dent often, more severely than any
other journal read; yet it condemns
Congress also. i wish it would ex-
plain to an old reader what is your
mind" wt .aa
We will try to answer the question
Of our correspondent. In the first
place, the Essning Post believes the
country, in the condition which it has
been left by Congress, to be in a high
ly dangerous state. We can see clear
ly that numberless and terrible evils
may, and indeed must, grow out of a
continuance of the extra constitutional
and irregular condition in which our
national affairs remain under the pre-
sent system. We are convinced that
the evils we have to fear from keeping
the Southern Satisfactorily one-half
the Union-in the condition Of prov
inoes, to be governed without being
represented, are far greater than any
evils which can possibly happen to us If
those States were at once admitted to
representation. .,- 49,,
What the Erening Post wants, there
fore, and strenuously urges is the i'm
mediate admission Of Southern mem
bers to their seats in Congress. Would
you have Alexander ii. Stevens take
his seat in the Senate then?" demands
some impetuous and unreasonable
reader. We answer, we would have
the Constitution obeyed, the existing
laws enforced. The Constitution de-
clares, as Mr.. Lincoln, in speaking OF
the admission in 1864 Of members
from Louisiana, wisely said, that "saeh
House mot "a joint committee Of the
two-"shall be the Judge of the elec-
tions and qualifications of its own
members" A law of Congress re.
quires each member, in common with
other federal officers, to take the fol.
lowing oath, and refuse him admission
if he cannot truthfully take it.
81 do solemnly swear Tor affirm,
that / have never voluntarily borne
arms against the United States since
haye been citizen thereof; that
have voluntarily given no aid, coun-
tenance, counsel or encouragement &c
| persons engaged IN armed hostility
thereto that / have neither sought
or accepted, nor attempted to exercise
the functions of any Office whatever
under any authority or pretended au.
thority in hostility TO the United
States that have not yielded vol
untary support TO any pretended gov
ernment, authority, power or consti
tuition within the United States, hos
tile or inimical thereto. And / do fur
ther swear Tor affirm) that to the bes
of my knowledge and ability 1 will
support and defend the Constitution
of the United States against all enc
mics, foreign and domestic; that will
bear true faith and allegiance to th
same; that take the obligation freel,
without any mental reservation o
purpose Of evasion, and that / will
we'll and faithfully discharge the du
ties of the office on which i am abou
to enter, so help me God"
Now we hold that whoever, pre-
senting proper credentials, can TAX
that oath, is entitled to his seat, an,
ought, as matter of justice and goo'
policy, to be Immediately admitted.
"But" says some one, ''the South
ern State governments are not legal
Does the Esening Post deny that Con
gross has authority to judge Of thei
legality ?" Not at all, we hold wit
Mr.. johnson, who most plainly de
clared to the Southern Governors. 81
must, however, be distinctly under
stood, that the restoration to whic
your proclamation refers will be sui
ject to the decision of Congress.
will be remembered that in his annua
message, Mr.. johnson, also, after re
porting what he had done in the wa
of reorganization turned over til
whole matter to Congress
But it must not be forgotten, eithe
that Congress did not, in the whol
long session, show any disposition I
undo the Presidents work it practi
cally accepted it. Moreover, Governc
|, Morton, speaking in the name of tn
Republican leaders, said last Jun,
'the State governments reconstruct
upon Mr.. Johnson's plan are in OPP
ration, and the programme submitte
by the reconstruction committee do,
not as understand it, contemplat
thoir dissolution" And this assertio
!, of his has never been contradicte
from any source.
The Southern State government
have, therefore, practically, the reco,
, milton of Congress. "But," says son
y one, Congress has right and du
to examine their constitutions, to $,
D. that they are Republican in FORM
= We reply. Why, then, did not Co
gress perform its dutyp In an eigl
months session it made no attempt
offer to do so. And here we desire
, say, that this question, whether
], State constitution is "Republican
its form" is TO be decided not on Il
arbitrary judgment of one Congres
which may be overhauled and owe
turned by the next; for that wou
lead only to endless confusion al
I anarchy. Evidently State constit
=, ton is Republican in FORM" in &
sense of the supreme law of the lal
:, the United States Constitution.
is to be compared with that instr
ment and judged by it, and if it ca
forms with that, Congress has no rig
or authority to refuse or reject it.
But, we say further, that it was t