Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-13
IIOIISE

The bill to repeal the statute of limitations so far
as applies to treason and capital oenses was taken
up, discussed and recommltted to the Judiciary
Mr. BLAINE, from the Military committee. re-
ported bill authorizing the President to confer
brevet rank on officer Of tho United States army on
account Of gallant conduct in the volunteer service.
Read three times and passed.
The bill reported yesterday by Mr.. Lawrence,of o.,
from the Judiciary committee, repealing, the pro-
treason and capital oifenses from being barred by
the statute of limitations, up as the first BUSH
mess in the gRoLniDg hour :, .J:;
siton lo the bill the aS 9f 1893. ne said, provided
the punishment OF deatnfor four oHehses-ttseason.
EilfG LIN murder piracy aud forgery FSrsery
Murder was excepted from the limitation
of the. act Piracy could be punished in
o sases Of i liz e SPpGS
and pnwise TO meddle with the statute Of nita.
tions. Tney were atutes Of repOse and peace.
respect han formerly and ia class of cases should
they be more rngenty applied than in arising
during periods of seditlon and rebellion. All per-
sons to be affected by the proposed change of the
avs had been within the military nd owl! power Of
the Government for twenty months. If indictments
had not been found and the guilty punished, it was
mRent and the, clemency, of the Executive;
II was here that the remedy should
bo applied; If this Congress should repeal thi;
statute OF limitation another Congress might repeal
these statutes of indemnity and limitation passed
by the last Congress- and thus repreve the cas- es of
prosecution against thousands of servants OF the
republic who had executed in the army the COM
malds OF their officers in the suppression If the
btlliOn. 1t was just that all parties should be re-
qured to respect those imitatiors and statutes of
peace, and that the punishment of crime and the
mode OF enforcing i should be left to the statutes in
force at the time when the Ofenses were committed
Mr.. ROGERS addressed the House against the
bill There we're serious objections he said, to the
passage of law Of this kind. not only OH tho ques-
tions Of policy, but on questions of law. 1t would
Ss TP oo RS SS 1fnn TS. Of 6s RS s
republic, and against the spirit of our insttu tons
Inc time had come, when tae people should turn
Of peace, and when Congress, should begin to
legis ate as well for the benefit Of the South
asof the North. The people of the South
which he thought would be reasonable
excuse for rebe lion. He protested against tyranny
and de'potism in every shape. and he warned the
people Of tho United States that their liberties were
about TO be taken by aset Of crazy fanatics that
had been SENT and they supposed the will of the
people, for the purpose of tIsmpng the Cons stituton
under foot and depiving the people of their rights
and liberties. He was for amnesty and general
pardon, and there were men in the Republican
ley. the lea ing white in the black Republican
party, was for general amnesty andfor general suf-
frage. Then he was for general amnesty. The
conduct Of Congress was worse than that of toe
long Parliament Of England 1t was such as dis
graced and degraded the people OF the country
daughter all over the Housed So long as God Al
mighty gave MIN Dreatn ne would raise his VOige
against such despotic conduct. The whole object of
legislation here appeared to be to punish the south
The first principle of charity or magnanimity had
not been extended to the House except BY few, {
None of the late rebel States were represented in
Congress except Tennessee, and that was a State
which had republican form of Government but
was governed by despotism. The people of tho
South we now in the same condition that made
the American colonies rebel against the Northern
country-beng compelled to submit to taxation
without representation, rr r.-r sruH rs~n q.
Mr.. GRtNNELL remarked that four millions at
the South had been compelled to submit not only to
taxation, hut to slavery, without representation.
Mr.. KELLY wished to know whether Mr.. Rogers
admitted that the coored men of the South, who
had to pav taxes, should be represented? tfIy
Nr ROGERS thought Mr. Kelly did not under-
stand his premises. lie had not admitted that the
free negroes of tho country were citizens of the
United States. 1t had been settled in the early his
tory of the country. in the bred Scott [Gener-
al laughter that negroes were not citizens and the
proposed constitutional amendment admitted vir-
tuslly that they were not. TFIj o. w
-, Mr.. KELLYpropoSed TIE query whether it was
liberty despOtsm that denied not Only represent-
alton but q GciMtiZsnship u to peop.e who were taxed?
! Mr.. ROGERS replied that if the gentlemap's
theory OF despotisT was the trainers Of the
o MT. KELLY suggested that he asked not about
the opinion of the founders of the Government nor
about the opinion Of the leader OF the Democratic
party of this house, the honorable gentleman from
New Jersey. ILaughterl Was he in favor of de-
nying both the rghtof representation and the right
OF Citizenship 70 four millions of American peope
Mr.. ROGERS declared his position to be opposi
tOh to infctng the South or on the North citi-
zenshiplby virtue Of any Congressional Legislation
or Constitutional Amendment He was in favor of
liberty, but not ~ favor Of negro suffrage. D
i Mr.. THAYER inquired whether the gentleman
(RogerS bad not voted against tho constitutional
amendment abolishing slavery. WV " I
Mr.. ROGERS admitted that he had on the simple
ground that control over the institution of slavery
had never been delegated to the Federal Govern
ment but had been reserved to the States and he
held now, that the constitutional amendment was
utterly null and void in view Of the reserved right
of the States. ,-.I s.I.... sI---' =.