Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1866-06-15

atoms, and opens a much wider field 6
or discussion. l suppose it is the {
purpose of the Union Republican ma
ority in Congress, when they shall
have agreed upon articles of amend /
ment to the Constitution to be pro
posed for adoption, to say to the
southern States which seeded, joined
the confederacy, and waged war
against the national Government,
that as preliminary to their again be-
coming acting members of the nation
al Union by their Senators and Repre-
sentatives in Congress they must
adopt or ratify such amendments.
Indeed, one of the bills reported by
the committee, accompanying the pro-
posed amendments, proposes this d.
rectly, and is part of the committees
plan of reconstruction. 1t is objected |
in the outset to this that the States
and people who have remained loyal
to the Government during the war
for the suppression of the rebellion
have no right to afix such or any
condition whatever, to their return
that, having laid down their arms and
ceased active hostilities against the
nation, and acknowledged their al
legiance and willingness to obey the
national laws, no reason exists why
their representatives should not be
Immediately admitted to their seats
in Congress and participate n the
Legislation for the nation; and that to
refuse this is really to deny to those
States their proper constitutional
rights.
No public OF political question has
ever arisen in this country that has
excited more ingenious and earnest
debate than the legal and political
condition of the seeded States, after
the suppression of the rebellion by the
military power Of the nation. The
discussion began long before the war
ended, and before there was occasion
for any practical application, and it
has continued ever since. | do not
propose to 90 into this question or to
attempt to prove by argument that
these States did or did not lose OF
forfeit their corporate existence as
States by their acts of secession and
: rebellion, or that they are now in OF
: out Of the Union. | may say, how
? ever, that | was never able to see as
clearly as others could anything sc
illogical and absurd in the doctrine
that these States actually forfeited
their rights as States and lapsed int
the condition Of Territories belonging
to the Government, requiring reOrgan
. ization, and readmission into tn,
o Union, as much as if they had neve
= been admitted. Their acts of seces
. sion were of course entirely void, an(
of themselves had no effect; but whel
. the great majority of the people 0
= these States abandoned and forswor
. all allegiance to the Union, forme,
themselves into a hostile cOnfederacy
filled every official place in the Stat
with enemies OF the Union, and the
- used all the official machinery Of til
State, in common with the persona
> efforts of the great majority of tn
: people, In carrying on for years
= bloody war against the nation,
seems to me almost absurd to sa
: that the nation might not, if it S
- elected, treat them as having forfeite
- all rights to be considered existin
- States in tho Union, and treat the
~ when subdued as so much unOrgaI
! lied territory.
- The difficulty now lying in the wa
~ of taking this ground and basing tt
- reconstruction or restoration Of tt
~ seeding States upon it is that tt
- national Government has hithert
, from the beginning Of the rebelliC
i down to the present time, procede
II upon the opposite theory; that
~, " that the States as such, still existed
W. that the corporate life Of a State WI
% not lost or destroyed by the paSsas
y of ordinances of secession or Il
=: prosecution of armed hostility by Il
49, majority of its citizens. All depal
~ ment8 of the national Governme
w. having for so long acted upon tt
" ground, it would be exceedingly e.
ho barrasSing to unsay and undo so mu
~ that has been said and done; indee
10 10 it could hardly be done witho
wv greatly aggravating and enhancil
~ the difficulties with which the Subje
~ Of restoration is now beset. Nothi
~ short Of absolute necessity could nc
~ justify the Government in ignori
~ State existence in the members
~ the late confederacy and reduci
~ them to the condition of inorganic
w. territories.
on Is it necessary for the protect
# and safety of the always loyal part
he the nation to do this May we L
in without this require such guarante
he and conditions from the secedi
OIL States, prior to allowing them to p'
NV ticipate in the general direction a
nt- government Of the nation, as in @
m judgement the national safety
he quires?
on By the most formal and solel
Del acts of legislation these States wi
d rev or attempted to withdr;
nd from the national Union; they 6
nd jured all allegiance to the nation
ms Government; they withdrew tn
or Senators and representatives frC
of the national Legislature; they form
themselves into a separate and host
life, confederacy, of which each Of the
a%, States was a constituent membe
and for four years as a separate l
on ton of States, and by the individr
10 action of the great majority of tn,
as people, they made most cruel and l
ed rplanfiDn yuap ouaipCf +io 1oroJ ,,r