East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1866-01-31

nicious heresy place the Federal Gov
.ernments ? If we were waging war on
an independent power, separate ex-
isting nation, how was it that we re-
fused all negotiations for peace except
on the ground Of its utter annihila-
! tionp Wars between different civil
lized powers are made to repair inju-
ries, to resent insults, or 10 reclaim
rights which have been denied but
there is no law of nations, which JUS
titles one government, because Of its
superior strength, In inhicting oblit-
Grafton and murder upon its inferior
neighbor. This doctrine is one of bar
barism, in which the law of force is
the law Of right. Much pathetic elo-
quence and many bitter tears have at
tested the worlds sympathy with Po-
land, with Hungary, and with poor,
poor Ireland, and maledictions attend
upon their destroyers; but with what
curses of Indignation would mn en-
lightened posterity and an impartial
history assail us for blotting out by
sheer force of arms n nation Of our
own kindred, who simply desired to
possess their own in peace and leave
lis to do the same Sir. in every as
pect the theory which now controls the
majority of this House is fraught with
death and disgrace to the Republic
turn from its conteniplations to o
more cheerful theme. l will contrast
against it the conduct and principles
of the Executive, for which; think
he deserves well at the hands Of his
countrymen.
What was the wish, the hope, the
prayer of every heart not fatally bent
on mischief, not an enemy to the hu-
man race, when the last of the South
ern forces laid down their arms p
Was it that this bitter period of strife
should be prolonged, and the fires of
hate and malice kept alive forever !?
Was 1t that at the close of such a
hurricane, with the pillows yet swell
ing IN angry commotion around US,
we were to start afresh upon the long
voyage of political discovery and leg
islative piracy which the bold mariner
from Pennsylvania Mr.. Stevens and
his radical followers now, like Viking
robbers of the ancien: seas. point out
to us? Was it not rather that the
corner-stones, boundary lines and land
marks of the fathers of the Republic
should be traced out AM restored p
l here assert that when the President
closed the temple of Janus, refused to
go in search of new principles by
which to administer the Government,
and extended the hand of frindship to
the crippled and bleeding though liv-
ing yes living States of the South, he
met the demands of the popular will
and laid claims to the gratitude of the
present and the future. The gentle
man from Pennsylvania Mr.. Stevens]
says such recognition of their exist
ence coming from "a man of respecta-
BILE standing is something worse than
ridiculous" The American people
to-day do not think so, nor VIII their
rc:.c:iIy;,
1t Is cohtended, however, tia, the
Executive had no power to appoint
provisional governors. There are in
my own party, as well as in the other,
those who assert that this was usur-
patton. First allow me to observe
that u usurpation; even if il be such,
TO restore, to- build up, to give health
and strength to the sick and PROSTATE
is far easier to be borne than a u.ur-
patton to crush and destroy. But
do not view the conduct of the Presi-
dent as usurration at al. by his
oath he must enforce the laws. He
found States without legal officers and
unable to move forward in the chan
mel of their duties. A State of this
Union when the Federal laws are no
longer obstrutted can not be in passive
allegiance. 1t is an integral part Of
the Federal body, and if the body be
sound there can be no paralysis among
its members--thcy must have vitality;
and in the performance of his duty
the President used the best means in
his power to revive and restore their
lawful functions. And much more
was l reconciled to the use of. this
power when | saw on whom the Sc
lections of the Pres ident fell, And /
think, too, that with what was
pleased on this point my radical
friends were equally displeascd. l
hailed such names as Sharkey, Perry,
johnson and Parsons, and, indeed all
the Provisional Governors, as bright
omens of good administration, as
harbingers of peace and happiness to
the Southern people, and of union,
peace aud prosperity to the whole
country. But then what Military
governor Of South Carolina, for in
stance, that ideal of the radicals, Gen.
Butler would have made Aye, there
is the rub. What fat, unctuous, juicy
pickings have been lost to the faithful
by this cruel policy of the President +.
What shoals of loyal, hungry sharks
swimming around in these northern
waters have been cheated of their an
ticipated prey All the wolves and
jackals that wait till the battle is over
in order to mangle the dead and the
wounded, snarled their disarpoint-
ment and rage at the President. but
will now open in a full chorus of Joy
over the delightful vision which arises
before them from the formation Of
the committee of fifteen.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania
[Mr. Stevens1 saw fit to anonnce that
the position of the President in re-
gard to the Southern States was "not
an argument buta mockcry." Ipart-
ly dissent. / think it is both. 1t is
an unanswerable argument in behalf
the early and true principles Of the
Government, aud it is also an over
whelning and consuming mockery of
the bloody designs, nvaricioos hopes
aud greedy expectations Of all those