The Portland daily press., 1866-03-22

Position of the Rebel States.
President johnson in each of his proclama-
tions, appointing Governors for the rebellious
States. declared their people chad been depriv
ed Of all civil government" Although Presi-
dent Lincoln never made any such declara-
| Ooh that am aware OF, he acted ON the
same view in his efforts to reorganize Louisi-
ana ana Arkansas. By this language of
IreSiuent johnson we are not to understand
that those States had not been under orVapiz-
ed governments de fucto during the rebellion,
Tor we know that they had been Organized
with Governors, Legislatures and Judjcial
Courts, and that by force of those organiza-
tions they had waged one of the most destruc-
tive wars in all time. They had waged this
war for more than four years in order to over
t row the government of the nation. Tbess
ae tacto governments would have become Ie-
gal II the rebels had succeeded in the war
As they did not succeed in the wal, these reb-
-el governments never became legalized.-
what President johnson must have meant,
was that the rebellion deprived the people IN
the re6etlious States of all ctci oorernment
that cos legal under the constit,t;on-of all
civil government that the United States could
legally recognize
ana this was strictly true. The Constitu-
ton OF the United States, REQUIRES that stbe
members OF the several State legislatures. and
all executive and judicial officers of the sew.
eial States shall be bound by oath or affirma-
tion to support [saidI constitution Now in
the rebeliious States, the de tacto governments
were Med with officers who did not take that
oash. On the other hand every one of these
omcers, legislative, executive or judicial had
faken an oath to support different govern
ment, to wit, the government of the "Confel-
crate States of America" This was eouiva-
lent to an oath to overthrow the Constitution
ofthe United States. In the eye of President
johnson and of every loyal citizen as well, ey-
cry one ofthese rebel governments was fEleoaf.
and could not be recognized; every office in
them was unauthorized and every officer
claiming under them usurper; and every one
using military power to uphold them trai-
tor. aHl lsl
Formerly there had been loyal governments
In North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Arkansas, Florida and Texas; but all these
had been overthrown and REASONABLE govern
ments substituted in place Of them. Formerly
each OF these states had had constitution,
recognizing the National Government at
Washington as the supreme power; but all
these had been overthrown or so modified as
to recognize "The Confederate States of Am
erica as the supreme power. This change
took place more than four years before Presi-
dent Johnson's proclamations. All the stat
utes OF these rebellious states had been mcdifi-
ed to conform to their assumed relation to
"the Confederate states of America" There
was not in either Of them any law TOR the ell
ection Of representatives to the United States
Congress nor loyal officer in either of them au-
thorized to call primary meetings to elect rep
resentatives in Congress or members of le-
gal legislature that might elect senators. Meth
er of these states had any legal Governor or
any judges authorized to administer justice,
nor had they any lawful mode of obtaining a
is agreement between the President and the
majority of Congress. These states were COM
pletely disorganized by the rebellion, and were
not authorized to appear in Congress by Rep
resentatives and Senators, when the President
issued his proclamations, and that is what he
must mean by declaring that the rebellion had
deprived them of "all civil government"
The Senators in Congress who went into
the rebellion in 1851 were expelled for trea-
son "a pretty sound reason one would think.
The copperheads insist that no re-organiza-
ton is necessary; that as soon as the rebels
laid down their arms, these states were entitled
to send Senators to the United States Con-
gress. This implies that when the rebel ar
mics were surrendered, the rebel legislatures
were or would instantly become legal bodies
and authorized to choose Senator'S 1t has al
ready been shown that they were not legal
legislatures, but tr easonable bodies. It is not
conceivable, that the surrender of the rebel
armies would have such a transforming effect
upon those rebel legislatures as to make them
legal, seeing each member of every one Of
them was traitor, under oath to destroy the
Constitution of the United States, and justly
liable to judgment of condemnation and the
punishment of death. Moreover these rebel
states had no laws whereby these rebel legis-
latures could be regularly succeeded by other
legislators that should be loyal. The rebellion
had broken the regular order of succession
and there was no power in those states where
hv H. could he restored The neonla xuara ra
mitted to a state of nature. Without some
outside organizing force not single lawful
meeting could be held for the purpose of inau-
gurating civil government; not a single lawful
meeting for the choice of representatives to
Congress. The question to be considered Is
this: What is that outside organizing force p
who shall put the ball in motion? jew.