New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-05
Thlrtv.NInth gongress.
SENATE,


population OF the South would not exceed five
millions; that his population was so distributed
that, if the late seeded States were admitted
without conditions, they would be able to elect
twenty-sX Senators and eighty four represents
tlVes, thus permitting one seventh of the whole
population of the United States to control one.
third OF the legislative power, and that this con
troll would be used for the destruction Of the
government.
SHE urged that the seeded States came back to
the Union only by coercion; that it was forced
pri1ai snaI Jhe Original cause OF secessloi-
hatred Of the North and its ant.saVery majorities
was much stronger than in 1861. They did not
even profess themselves to be in favor Of the
Union, though untruthful men from the North pre-
varicated for them. II they could, they would
&. revive the Gontederacy at once, and they would
use their power to provoke u war with Great
Britain or France, hoping thereby to secure their
own independence. For this state of things three
remedies have been proposed: First, to disfran.
chse the leading rebels; second, to neutralize
their votes by enfranchisng the blacks; and
third, to make the population minus the disran
chised classes or the number of voters, the basis
Of representation. He advocated the third propO.
stiOn, claiming that it was the Republican plan of
reconstruction.
The DELAY in reconstruction is to be attributed
to the opposition of the Democrats. They fought
against all reconstruction that did not allow the
return of their long mourned friends, more ma
levOent than before The rebels had been for full
four years out upon plague infected seas, and
could they not now tarry at quarantine for single
session The Presidents policy exhibited in
his correspondence with his Provisional Governors
was not inconsistent with this plan. HIS breath
was even now the law of the land 10 these States
The Democrats were pursuing him with unrelent-
ing friendship, and, if they finally seduCed him.
his friends could rejoice that the past is at least
secure. The Presidents patriotic thoughts of the
last five years would still live, although only to re-
prove him. The proposition to admit loyal repre-
sentatiVes from the South, he tSGO6eld) regarded
asa snare, just as Semnes had hung ont the Union
flag as decoy to unarmed merchant vessels, re-
placing it with the pirate emblem when he had Sc
cured his victim.
Mr.. Scofeld replied atIength to the leading
objections made to the Republican plan of recon
struction, contrasting it with the policy advocated
by the opposition If the latter were to succeed,
the Contederates would have eighty votes in the
next electoral college, and would need only sew
enty-seyen more to elect President. OF these
they claimed thirty-one from semi Confederate
States, and expected the Democrats of New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut to make up the re-
naming forty-siX. The government would then be
run entirely in the interests of the rebels, and then
would be realized what the opposition, in different
phFaseology, constantly asserted was the object
of the war, namely to compel the rebels to be-
come the rulers of the nation.
Mr.. Highly was the neXtspeaker. Referring to the
appointment of the joint committee on reconstruc-
ton, and to its action in reporting some Constitu-
tional amendments and large mass of testimony,
he said he proposed now to direct his attention TO
the report made by that committee on the 9Th of
March last and the joint resolution then reported
for the admission of Tennessee. He must not be
considered Captous If he differed with fifteen OF
the wisest men in Congress in regard to some mat
tiers introduced in the report Two things were to
be observed in the joint resolution reported by
the committee. One was that the committee en-.
dorsed the new Constitution Of Tennessee as re-
publican in form, and the other was the decara-
ton that the only means by which the States could
have representation in Congress was to be through
the laW-making power of the United States.
The constitution of the State OF Tennessee pro.
vided who should be entitled to the elective fran
Chse, and it would be found that the word
elective franchise was limited to white loyal citi
zens of the State, those who had been engaged il
the rebellion being disfranchised The cOlored
population Of Tennessee were more than one
fourth of the whole population and, taking the
relative contributions of Tennessee to the Fedora
and rebel armies as data, the loyal white popula
ton did not exceed one-fourth of the whole. L
that one.fourth were to have exclusive potica
control Of the State, there would be republican
ism in it. He held however, that the civil right
bill, giving civil rights to coored people, gave
them also political rights There would be nothing
effected by giving them their civil rights, unes
they possessed the political power to prOtec
those rights.
Ifthese people were citizens of the United States
where did the power lie to take away the elective
franchise from them? A citizen had a right t.
vote, and there was no power under the govern
ment to deprive him of that right But this join
resolution would only permit very small portion
of the white population of Tennessee to vote, ant
would exclude the colored population altogether
There was no element of Republicanism in ii
excluded large part of its citizens from partici
patton in it. Congre had CO 1trsI sof the matter
and it was its duty to declare no Constitution of
government republican in form that excluded an
portion of its citizens GonditiOnally from the elect
i've franchise.
Mr, Harding of Kentucky, discussed the ques
ton Of reconstruction from an opposition point o
view. He said there had been two rebellions il
the country, one at the North and one at tn
South, Although differing widely on some points
they had been yet, in reality, leagued together
They had been warning to overthrow the COnst
tuition and dissolve the Union. The rebellion a
the South was ended. The people had abandone
and repudiated secession. They had returned t
their allegiance, yielded obedience to the Const
tuition and laws and anxiOusly desired a restoratio
of the Union. But the Northern rebellion was sti
rampant and defiant, and there was no hope 70
restoration of the Union until that rebellion wa
also subdued, or was at least reduced to cor
trolable minority. The country had gone throug
four years of terrible and eXhausting war to kee
eleven States from going out of the Union; an
now it had gone through four months. and wa
threatened with four years, of congressional an
political war to keep these eleven States out, an
prevent a restoration of the Union.
There could be no such thing as reconstructin
the Union unless it had been broken up and d
solved. The basis and central idea, therefore, c
the Northern revolutionary movement called II
construction was disumon. 1t rested th
assumption that the Union was dissolved, and ha
no other foundation or support. The war wa
Waged by the Southern insurgents to take th
states out of the Union was failure The wa
on the part of the government to keep them
was success. To say, therefore, that the eleve
seeded states were out of the Union was to 50
tGat the Federal government was failure an
that the failure of the Southern rebellion was i
success This important discovery had been mac
by the superior wisdom of Northern rebels
was wholly unknown in the South If the eleyt
States were out of the Union then jeff Davis hf
not been guilty of treason, for he owed it /
allegiance, but owed it to the Confederate cover
ment, and his long imprisonment was an ACT
cruelty. lfthat were So then the war was ware
not to keep the eleven States in the Union for fh
were already out, but was a war Of mere conoue
and subiugation. He called upon the neopie
unite with the great Democratic hosts of the Mart
and rally roundE and support the President in !
noble stand for The liberties of the people,
} MoOrhead next addressed the House m +
financial condition OF the country Annie gnars
tees for the future should be required. The Son
should abandon the principle Of slavery. sbon
secure the rights of freedmen; should Tepndia
the rebel debt; should renounce the claimed rio
of secession; should cultivate spirit of lovaii
and prove it by their works. and should accent
the true theory of the Constitution that which +
war had settled in conformity with the purposes
its trainers. Passing from this, he proceeded
discuss the question of the national debt and 1
duty of Congress to protect its saeredness, and
the same time SO distribute the burthens of the d
ton as to develop the resources of the countr