The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-02-13
The Real Strength OF the JacObiu-
Faction in Congress.

] HE he0i Strensth OF the 1dcObtu
Faction in Congress.
Since the opening of Congress tn,
JacObin faotion, led by Mr.. Thad Ste
vens, Of Pennsylvania, has been stea d
| ily losing strength before the calm, con
servative attitude Of the President and
/ the people. The first scheme brOached
! by Mr. Stevens was the appointment o.
q Committee on Reconstruction, oI
Jacobin Club, and this was secured by
the full Republican vote Many OF the
I members who voted for this committee
profess to have done so because they
did not comprehend Its real object, and
some of them have since declared that
they sincerely regret having voted for
this club. When Mr.. Stevens proposed
to confer unconditional suffrage upon
the negroes Of the District OF Colum-
bia, ffty-three Republicans voted TO
make the negro suffrage conditional;
and, although most of them afterwards
recorded themselves in favor Of the
bill, yet this split was not entirely heal
ed. On the contrary, we find a few Of
the Republicans going squarely against
Mr.. Stevens and the JacObins on the
vote for the new constitutional amend
ment The Sumner clique in the Sen
/ ate repudiated this amendmentandt the
most ultra radicals in the House Joined
with the conservatives in protesting
against it. The very bitter and viO-
lent TRADE against the President with
which Mr.. Stevens wound up the de-
bate upon the amendment was the out
burst Of a desperate and disappointed
man, and although he succeeded in
forcing his measure through the House
he did not by any means regain the
prestige which he had lost during the
debate, and be made more enemies
than friends by his ill-natured and ex-
asperating remarks.
On Tuesday the Freedmen's Bureau
act was before the House, having al |
ready been adopted by the Senate, and !
Mr. Stevens, still smarting from the !
secession of such adherents as Sumner |
and Raymond, offered 3 substitute
which embodied his fayorite theory, /
that the Southern States are no longer /
in existence, and that the whole South /
is mere conquered territory, which We
may parcel out as we please Upon this
he demanded the yeas and
nays, believing thst most of the repubii-
cans would not dare TO vote against il
if they were thus put upon the record,
while they might be bold enough to do
so on a mere Viga UOcs vote. The demo
Gratis, still pursuing their foolish, parti,
san tactics, and hoping TO drive all the
back TO the control of the
Jacomns, sustained his demand, and
the yeas and nays were ordered. But
the republicans were not to be again
That Wrathful voice had
lost its mastery, that severe satire its
power, and that extended fOrehnger its
The issue being openly
made, the Pennsylvania Mephisto-
Dheles found himself deserted by the
large msiority Of his party Only
.hlriy-seyen votes were cast for
ais pet substitute, and one hun
lred and twenty-six against it
s1r. Stevens, thus turned out in the
cold, forget his terrible threat to 20
over to the demOCrats-Who had al
'eady come over to him on the demand
or the yeas and nsys-and quietly
r.
7oting with the mass of the republi-
,ans Tor the substitute offered by the
Jammittee on Freedmen's Affairs.
rhus We see that the real strength OF
he Jaeohins in the House is only
hirty-3eyen vOtes-a most hopeless
minority. Only thirty-seven members
believe that the Southern States no
onger exist legally. Only thirtv-sevea
are in hvor of treating the
south as conquered territory. Only
members endorse the ex-
rene views of Mr.. Stevens, of Penn
ylvania Only thirty-seven members
re directly opposed to President John
on's policy. Against this little clique
he great body Of the House is arrayed,
md if the democrats will give up the
actics which are lowering them every
lay in the eyes Of the people and bury
ng them deeper and deeper beyond
II hope Of a resurrection, and will act
heartily and patriotically with the con
ervatiye republicans, we shall hear J
lothing more of Mr. Thad Stevens and !
lis Jacobins, except their perpetual
Iefeats for the remainder Of the session.
\. ]. Herald