Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-03

courteous and deferential, he called the at
tention of Congress to the fact that the
Union had been maintained by the Feder-
al arms, so far as 1t was in the power Of
military force to maintain it; that its
maintenance brought with it ''the support
Of the State Governments in all their
rights" that it had been his 'steadfasti OBJ
ject to escape from the sway of momenta-
ry passions, and to devise healing policy
from the fundamental and unchapging
principles OF the Constitutions" that he
had ''found the States suffering from the
effects Of civil War;" that "resistance to
the General Government appeared to have
exhausted itself;" that ''the United States
had recovered possession of their forts and
arsenals, and their armies were in the occu-,
pationof every State which had attempted
to secede;" that iwhether the territory
within the limitsb those States should be
held as conquered territory, under military
|. authority emanating from the President as
the head of the army, was the first question
that presented itself for decision" Proper
reflection convinced him that military
governments, established for an indefinite
period, would have offered no security for
the early suppression Of discomfort, would
have divided the people into the vanquish-
ers and the vanquished, and would have
envenomed hatred rather than have restored
Affection" which "once established, no pre-
else limit to their continuance was conceiy-
able !" that ',they would have occasioned an
incalculable and exhausting expense;' that
peaceful emigration TO and from that por-
ton of the country Is one of the best means
that can be thought Of for the restoration
of harmony, and that emigration would
have been prevented; for what emigrant
from abroad-what industrious citizen at
hOme-wOuld place himself willingly un-
der military rule ?" that 1.-THE chief persons
who would have followed in the train of
the army would have been dependents on
the General Government, or men who ex-
pected profit from the miserles Of their err
ring fellow-citizens;" that "besides, the
policy of military rule over conquered
whose Inhabitants may have taken part In
the rebellion had, by the act OF those in
habitants, ceased to exist" that he had
''Rradually and quietly, by almost imper-
ceptible steps, sought to restore the right
full energy of the General Government of
the States. To that end provisional Gov
ernors had been appointed for the States,
Conventions called, Governors elected, Leg
islatures assembled, and Senators and Rep
resentatives chosen to the Congress of the
United States" lrE. ID.
He knew that "this policy" was attend
ed with some risk; !" that for its success il
required at least the concurrence of the
States which 1t concerned; that it implied
ian invitation to those States, by renewing
their allegiance to the United States, to re-
sumo their functions as States in the |
Union." To the end that the "risk" should |
not be an unfortunate one, he had felt it in |
cumbent on him to exercise one other pow
er cOnfided to him by the General Govern
ment-the power Of pardon;" that "as no
State can throw defense over the crime Of |
treason, the power Of pardon is exclusively
vested In the Executive Government of the /
United States" The next step he
took to restore the Constitutional
relations of the States was to invite "them
to participate in the high Office of amend
ing the Constitution, in so far as itprovided
for the total and continual abolition OF sla-
very" and he thought in return for the
adoption of this amendment "a general
amnesty" should be exchanged. He had
cherished the belief that "the adoption of
the amendment" would reunite 'us all be-
yond all power of disruption" After the
Of this amendment only one thing
more, In his judgment, was needed to
"completeLthe work of restoration" and
that was for !" the States, whose powers
have been so long in allegiance, to resume
their places in the two branches Of the Ma
tional Legislature"
Instead Of the last Congress regarding
what the President had so we'll done in the
grand work of restoration, they treated it
with contempt and spat upon it. They pre-
vented complete restoration by denying
1.-THE States, whose powers had been SO
long in abeyance, to resume their places in
the two branches Of the National Legisla-
ture." And to-day Congress meets ami
mated by determination to indefinitely
put off the completion Of restoration. The
line Of policy the President pursued has
worked marvelously well. While 1t
night have been looked upon one
vear ago doubtfully, to-day its wisdom
must stand confessed. The Presidents
: risk "-his putting to one. side the idea of
ruling the South by the military arm, or
through territorial condition--has resulted
most fortunately for the good ofthe country.
Had Congress united with the President
me year ago in taking the risk to fni
lp restoration by allowing the Southern
states TO resume their constitutional right
representation, to-day the country would
,e in q far better condition than ii, is.
There would not be In business that depres-
ion that there now is. II Congress and
be President shall not start out to-day
With a determination Of finishing up the ,
york of restoration without any more
insisting upon the adoption
4 any more amendments to the Constitu-
probabilities are that distress In
BUSINESS will increase instead of diminish.
'o-day, therefore, every interest in the
ountrv demands that the Southern States .