The Portland daily press., 1866-10-22
Addre.. Of the southern Loyaii-.-


which fill to the brim other portions of the an
;ient crater"
Address of the Southern Loyaiisis
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
The committee of Southern loyalsts, appoint
ed by the convention at Philadelphia to visit
the tomb of Lincoln, has issued the following
address: afs 1a.a4ti 81 s+sias
aaiss4 ? SPRINGFIELD, Oct. II.
To the Loyal People of the United States:
The undersigned members of the committee
appointed by the convention of Southern 10y
alists, lately assembled in Philadelphia, to vis-
it the tomb of our martyred President, Abra-
ham Lincoln, as testimony Of the admiration
and affection with which the Union men of
the South remember his single hearted patri-
Otism, have discharged that -duty.-The enthu
siastic greetings which we received all along
our route are sufficient evidence that the Uni
on party is still intact We return our sincere
and hearty thanks for the uniform courtesy
and kindness everywhere shown us, but before
We separate desire to warn our countrymen of
a new danger which appears to be looming up.
Everywhere that we have been the loyal peop-
lie who are sustaining Congress seem to be UNI
tied in demanding: a'i .tsa,tii =, {
First, That Andrew johnson shall not be permit
ted to usurp and exercise the powers OF Congress in
addition to those of President Is,
Second, That disloyal men shall not be permitted
to rule either the whole country or any part thereof
and,
well as white, shall be protected in all their rights as
American citizens. fsssl Ia f.fA ~ :
Unfortunately, however, some Republican
speakers and writer's, by the loose language
they make use Of, and their frequent DECLARE
tions that if the non-reconstructed States rati
fy the pending Constitutional Amendment,
such OF their applicants as can or will take the
test oath will be admitted to membership in
that body, are creating the impression that the
ratification of that amendment will render any
further legislation by Congress in relation to
the non-reconstructed States unnecessary If
this conviction is allowed to fasten itself upon
the minds of the people, it can only be remOv-
ed by a long acrimonious discussion, pending
which the nation will continue to be affected
with the evils which now render life in a third
of the States almost intolerable. iAs.. a satl
1t now requires but q few moments reflec-
ton to see that such settlement OF the recon-
strlIction problem would convert the victory
now being won at the polls into defeat. The
Constitution of the United States declares that
''all legislative power shall be vested in a Con-
gross, and Legislative power means simply
the power to make laws. The usurpatiOn of
the President consists in the fact that when,
at the close of the war, he found ten States
deprived of all civil government there be-
ing no law upon the statute book providing
how, under such circumstances, government
might be instituted-instead of calling the leg
islative department together in extra session to
pass the necessary laws, he assumed the pre-
rogative of Congress and prescribed the rules
and regulations claiming for them all the force
and validity of regularly enacted laws) neces-
sary for establishing civil governments in the
ten States which he declared had none 1t
was in accordance with theseillegal edicts that
the tyrannical organizations claiming to be the
State governments of North Carolina South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida Alabama Mississ-
Ippi and Texas we've formed ,and to recognize
their adoption of the Constitutional Amend
ment as valid, is simply to indorse and legalize
the RESIDENTS usnrpations. Are the people
willing thus to indorse the actions of President
johnson? If not, they must firmly resolve
and declare that the illegally -organized tools of
usurper cannot by their action affect the Con-
stitution of the country and that before the
non-reconstructed States can ratify the
tuted in them. 49, ,a.
Again, every one of the sO-called governments
IN the ten non-reconstructed States is in the
hands of and controlled by the men who at
tempted to destroy the nation, and is ostenta-
tiously used to make treason honorable and
loyalty odious, and in the Southern States inn
possible. 1t Congress legalizes them, it perpe-
tuates these ex-rebels in power indefinitely
They will continue to have absolute control of
the Governments of all or nearly all of the late
slaveholding States, ami will send up solid del
egations to Congress OF men whose sympathies
were and are with the Confederate cause
Once admit that they are loyal State govern
ments and Congress cannot thereafter inter
fere in those States any more than it can now
in Illinois and New York. In short legalize
those bogus governments, and ex-rebels will
thereafter have absolute political control of
nearly one-half the Union. If the loyal people
do not wish such a state of affairs, they must
never consent to the Endorsement of Andrew
Johnson's usurpaton. Again, it is these State
governments which now tyrannize over the
Union men of the South, and which are being
welded SO as to render our living there intol-
cradle or impossible. Protection, either of life
or property, with the State governments can
trolled by those now in power there is impos-
sible. While loyal State governments can af-
ford us protection, we solemnly warn the peo-
pie That the ratification of these bogus govern
ments Is sentence of death or exile to every
Union man in the South whose position OF alb
llity renders him at all obnoxious to the late
rebels. To those who are willing to tolerate
for a moment the idea of abandoning their
friends to destruction-of handing them over
bound hand and foot into the power of their
and the nations enemies we have not one
word to say; but to such as call themselves
UnlonlSts, and have some spark of manhood
or womanhood in their natures, we appeal for
protection-for that protection which can alone
the principles of impartial justice for all men.
Shall we appeal in vain? The action of Con-
gress this coming winter must answer this
question. SIS s apH hi 3i68ssd slNaE n =
The late rebels are of course DESTROYS of re.
tanning as much power in Congress as possible
but they would surrender all representation in
that body rather than lose control of the State
Governments, for by the help of these State
governments alone, can they keep their people
united against the general government. Rep
resentatlon in Congress is side and COMPARE
tlvely unlmportant matter, but the control of
the State governments, whether or not they
shall remain in the hands of those who had
once used them to wage war upon the Union is
the vital question. We do not wish to have it
understood that we are finding fault with the
present Congress noble body of men,
whose hrmness has afforded us our only pro-
lection thus far since the war closed 1t has
been, and is, our expectation, that most, if not
all, OF the Union members intend to adopt the
IA necessary to give us protection. The
Reconstruction Committee, in addition TO the
Constitutional amendment, reported bill pro-
vidlng tor the organization of loyal GOVERN
ments in the seeded States, and this bill has
yet to be acted upon. If Congress, Immediate
~ upon Resembling, takes it up, perfects and
passes it, all will be well. We have been inn
PEELED to issue this address by the fact that
this bill which is immeasurably the most i'm
portant half of the Congressional plan of re-
construction, as we have understood it, is be-
ing apparently lost sight of, and the further
fact that some prominent politicians have been
using language which seems to commit them
TO an abandonment of it. We have aided thus
Tar In the present canvass, and expect to con
tnue, with the distinct understanding that
Congress will not, after being Endorsed 6y the
people, abandon this the most important fea-
ture of its plan. We do not believe that it is
either necessary or right to carry on the cam
vass under MISREPRESENTATION or mystification
OF the issue, and feel Confident that such
course would certainly lead to embarrassment,
and might lead to disaster; for although the
great majority of tile u ni6n members Of Com
gress Will undoubtly remain true, some are al
ways anxious to obtain notoriety for being
more conservative. than their associates, and
such would claim, If we keep silent, that the
that the enacting of the Constitutional amend
ment was all that Congress proposed doing.
We have expressed ourselves strongly in this
paper, because we feel deeply The bones Of