New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-25


reinsated in the national councils In view Of the
rebellious conduct of our people, and treacheFy
OF those who controlled her action, Congress has
deemed it necessary to require of US certain condi
tions precedent as guarantees for future 10y
atty. To do this it has been deemed necessary to
the future security of the whole country that the
state legislature should ratfy certain amendments
to the Constitution Of the United States which
may be briefly stated as follows:
1. Equal protection Of al, citizens in the enjoy
ment of life, liberty and property.
2. That classes who are disfranchised without
CRIME, shall not be taken into account in fixing the
basis OF Federal representation.
II 3. mat certain persons who have proved them
selves dangerous to the peace of the country shall
not be eligible to Office.
A. The validity Of the national debt shall not be
questioned, while all debts incurred in aid Of the
rebellion are illegal and void
AS to the disloynl portion Of our people, these
| Terms are mild in the extreme 1t is hoped that
! theTe Is nothing in them repugnant to the senti-
ments Of the loyal, or if there be- that all objec.
tons will be yielded upon the altar Of our common
country,
Therefore, ], William G. Brownlow, Governor of
the State of Tennessee, in consideration of the
premises, and viewing the present as an eytraor,
binary occasion, do issue this my proclamation,
/ converting the General Assembly in extraordinary
| session, 10 consider the aforesaid amendments to
the Federal Constitution, and do call upon the
members thereof to assemble in the State capitol
on Wednesday, July 4, 1866, when and where the
purposes for which they will have been convened
VIII We LllOie tuily abdttu 10 LutAi.
THE MINORITY RECONSTRUCTION REPORT.
/ WASHINGTON, June l0.-The minority Of the
Joint Committee On Reconstruction, Senator John
son and Representatives Grider and Rogers, have
presented their views In order to obtain a cor
rect apprehension Of the subject, and having
direct bearing upon it, they think it almportant
clearly to ascertain what was the effect of the late
insurrectCn upon the relations of the State where
it prevailed TO the general government and Of the
people, collectively and Individually Of each State
rlnNF -IAvat gra FIRST Il III
themselves Did the Instruction, at its commence
A ment Or at any subsequent time legally dissolve
| the connection between those States and the gen
1 eral government? In their Judgment SO far from
being pr0fitless abstraction, 1t is vital inquiry
for if that connection was not dismembered, such
States during the entire rebellion were as compe
4 tent States Of the United States they were be-
tore, and.Were bound by all the obligations Of the
Constitution and entitled TO all its privileges. Was
not this their condition? The opposite view alone
can justify the denial of such rights and privileges
That State Of the Union can exist without pos
sessing them, is inconsistent with the very nature
of the government and the terms of the Constitu-
ton.
They then set forth their views of the nature of
the government as one Of equal States, with equal
ity of rights j State once in the Union must
abide there for ever; they can neither be with
drawn expelled from it, for this reason: Insur
rectiOnary States are consulted in amending the
Constitution as their relations are unchanged by
the war" They add, that there is nothing in the
condition Of the country to justify their exclusion.
These and other points are argued at length, and
the minority say, in conclusion, that the under
signed have not thought it necessary to examine
into the legality of the measures adopted. either
by the late or present President for the restora-
ton of the Southern States.
" 1t is sufficient for their purpose to say that if
those OF President johnson were not justified by
the Constitution, the same may at least be said Of
those of his predecessor. We deem such an exam
nation to be unnecessary because, however it
might result the people of the several States who
| W 4ha Dciu
right to decide for themselves what constitutions
they should adopt, have adopted those under
which they respectively live.
The motives OF neither President, however,
whether the measures were legal OF not, are not
liable to censure. The sole object of each was to
effect complete and early union Of all the
i States; to make the general government as it
was at first embrace all and to extend its
. authority, and to secure its privileges and bless
lngs to all alike. The purity of the morals Of
: PRESIDENT johnson in this particular, as was tc
d have been expected, is admitted by majority o
g the committee beyond doubt, for, whatever wa
v their opinion of the constitutionaty of his couTs
= and its tendency to enlarge the executive power
they tell us that they GO net for moment imputt
j.. to him any design, but cheerfuy cOnGede to hin
most patriotic motives
TARIFF NOT TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
v 1t is not true, as published, that the Committee
n on Ways and Means have decided to have the new
Il tariff go into operation from the date of the pas
/ sage of the bill. Such precedent is unknown
st lime IS always gwen.
: THE MISSISSIPPI LEvEEs.
i The special Senate committee on the subec
q have decided to report in favor of making tenn
~ porary appropriation for the repair of levees OF
the Mississippi river. The delegation from Louis
W lana were before them to-day, urging prompt relic
j in that respect.
WEST POINT CADETsEIP.
IS The President is already being overrun with ap
plicatons for the cadetships at large to WestPoint
just authorized by Congress.
7. REPORT ON HARBoR DEFENsEs.
81 The Joint committee of army and navy officer
$ on harbor defenses has made report The com
mittee is composed of the most eminent engineer
E and naval officers in the service. The secretar
of war suggests the disappointment of the boar
"A by the President. The board considered the tire
ID subjects of iron-clads, channel distractions an
ne torpedoes. Concerning the first named topic, tn
ne board is asked to settle approximately the char
acter and number of these vessels necessary a
ID land batteries for harbors. The board does no
IN undertake final solution of the problem
;h hoThor defenses, but are agreed that upon iror
clads our method Of defense must be based
1e particularly where the channels are wide
ir and the objects to be protected Of vital in
Of portance.
1e They consider it doubtful whether the destrut
es tive effect of modern artillery has Kept pace wit
a the invulnerability of irOn-clads moving at hig
he velocity and there is danger that one or more
such vessels might succeed in passing betwee
f forts and shore batteries, and that therefore sly
TEN OF 0OStruCuOnS may be necessary tor defenS
er They say is to be regretted that Fort Echmont
in New York Harbor, and Fort Delaware, on I'll
w. Delaware river, which were built after prolonge
Of experiments, were rendered yalueless by immed
se ately succeeding developments in the power
artillery.
ia. The report says further:
}st 1t is believed that guns have now reached the
maximum limit of power, at least for naval us
and that experiments are indispensable to dete
mine the resistance of our most recent works. an
cal the for future construction for Meth
on the protracted experiments in England again
lar iron targets nor those made by our navy depar
ment throw much light upon these subjects, the
ne having been made with other objects,
ed The question of the efficiency of channel o
III structions seems to be still in dispute. While a
hitting that they have proved failures, as unde
vas taken by the French for instance in the roadster
tie OF the island AK, they credit the failure to the
be being attempted the spur of the moment, witho
preliminary study experiment.
HE TOrpedoes were used successfully during 4
late war in defense of harbOr5 and rivers upon 0
on Southern coast The most successful was attain
ave by sensitive percussion fuses, on some simp
mo- mechanism, so arranged as to produce exposi
of by contact with vessels passing over them. Pl
badly the most certain means of exploding torn
fin. does would be by the use Of galyanic or magne
bn electricity.
9th Though we have derived some knowledge
ca torpedoes from the rebels, this knowledge is We
IRE limited. Before they can be successfully employ
in oh def q SRripS 0f