The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-06-21
The Excluded States-The Enabling Act
Before Congress.

From the Herald
On Monday last, in the House of Representa-
tives, Mr.. Bingham, of Ohio, submitted a
resolution, which was adopted, requesting the
President TO transmit forthwith to the Governors
of the several States the Constitutional amend
ment which has passed both branches OF Con
gress respecting citizenship, suffrage the basis
of representation, Rebel disqualidcations for
office, the sacredness of the national debt, the
reputation OF all Rebel debts and all claims for
slaves, etc. A compliance with this resolution
being only an act of official courtesy, of course
the President viii comply. Indeed, before the
resolution was offered, he had officially an
nounced, through the State Department the
action OF Congress on this amendment as COM
plete..
So far, then, this business of reconstruction is
transferred from Congress and the Administra-
tion to the States and the people. But this
amendment is only the cornerstone OF the Con-
gressional plan, or the beginning of the work.
The regular order of the day on Monday last IN
the House was bill from the Committee of Fli-
teen providing for the restoration Of the States
lately in insurrection to their full political
rights. The reporter concerned does not give US
hint of the details of the bill but take it to
| be the enabling act, which provides that when
! this amendment shall hay become part OF the
! Constitution, and when any one OF the States
! implicated in the late Rebellion shall have not
only ratified this amendment, but modified its
| local laws accordingly, the members TO Congress
| from such States, il duly elected and qualified,
| shall he admitted and, furthermore, that the
! State fulnlling these conditions shall have a
| credit of ten years in reference TO its quota OF
the national debt on the presentation OF satsfac-
| tory securities to the Secretary of the Treasury
| in view of payment when due.
Now the question recurs, about what time
may we expect Tennessee, tor instance, 10 be
remstated in Congress under this enabling act
The amendment in question must first be ratified
by threefourths of the States, including Tennes-
see; aud the State Legislature must then revise
all its local laws in conformity with this atore-
said amendment, excluding Rebels from office
among other things, subject to absolutiOn, by a
two.thrds vote of Congress, and putting whites
and blacks upon footing OF perfect equality
under the State authority, etc. This is process
of publication as by ire and weter which will
not be finished this side the coming Presidential
election. The object of the bill is evidently a
lob of work which will keep out of Congress and
our Federal elections all the now excluded
States until after the settlement of the question
OF the next Presidency and the Congress to be
elected at the same time. This point secured,
the admission of the excluded States may be
DELAYED and put off for two or three, or ten or
twenty years longer according TO the conve'
nience OF the dominant party.
There is no guarantee in this bill that the
States directly concerned will ever be restored
under lis operation to their full political rights
II is a device of the party IN power 10 retain
its power by the continued exclusion nom the
| Government of the States which might turn the
scale. But this thing must come to an end some
day. or the Government itself will cease tc
exist as that of republic. We cannot under
take the indefinite exclusion and alienation o
. ! eleven States OF the Union from the natlona