The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-03-24
IMPORTANT LETTER FROM AN Eek.
MEMBER OF Mr.. LINCOLN's
CABINET.
THE ULTERIOR REVOLUTIONARY OBJ
JECTS OF THE RADICAL con-
SPIRATORS in CONGRESS-.
A Frightful Military OIigarchy in
Contemplation.

1
tionary object of the proposed statute, and
denounces with appropriate bat logical sever
lity the dangerous subterfuge of it's contrlvers
which was countsracted by the prompt and
! bold interpretation OF the president.
| Ii must be confessed that the deliberate
charge from suoh a source of a porpose on the
part of the radical demagouges OF subvertlng
| our form of government cannot be lightly
considered, pecislly by such as call to mind
public speeches made by Mr.. Bates previous
| to the crisis of 1860, and recognize them now,
| in the light of the events of the Fad and in
! tervening years as perhaps more clearly pro-
phetic than those of any other public man.
We subjoin the letter referred to:
ST. LOUIS, Feb'y Oath, 1866.
Gen. E. B. Brown, President of the State Central
Committee Conservative Union Party:
SrR-I, am houored by the receipt of
your note of this day, inviting me to be pres
enr at a mass meeting of the citizens of st.
Louis. to be held at the court house this ev
ening at IT O'Clock. for the purpose of indors-
ing the action of President johnson In veto
ing the freedmen's bureau bill, and in sup
pors,pf his general policy of national recon-
struction.
am very sorry that the bad state of my
health forbids my attendance, and the more
go because | believe there will not be man
| at the meeting who feels greater adherence
than 1 do for the bill whose wicked career has
b. en- stopped by the presidents timely Veto
My feeling upon this subject does not spring
entirely from my disgust of the factious spirit
and ridiculous egotism of the clique which
now domineers over congress-, but from the
intrinsic dement's OF the bill, ascertained by
| careful examination of It's provisions.
| think | understand it. / can see 1.-THE most
csususl reader can sse)its glazing aud defiant
! breaches of the constitution, and think
can see also the hidden motive, the secret de
| sign OF the conspirstors, who planned the
| scheme to overturn cur government of law,
| and to set up in its stead a frightiul military
oligarchy. And this wicked purpose betrsys
| itself in several provisions of the bill, which
are SO arranged In the context as to seem, to
q has:y observer, to be secondary and su bor-
dinats to the ostsnsibe object, the protection
of the freedmen.
The bill provides I'm it's first section1 for
| the continuance of the original act (of March
5, 1S65)to establish frsedmen's bureau, and
! to extend 1t to all refugees and freedmen in
all parts of the United States. 1t empowers
the president to divide the United States into
districts, not to exceed II, and, with the ad-
vice and consent of the senate, to appoint an
| assistant commissioner for each district
Twelve districts That is the exact mum Der
wealth of England, and governed each die
trict. despotically, by one of his major gen.
erals. The section goes on--''or the said bu-
resu may, in the discretion of the president.
| be placed under commissioner and assist
! ant commissioners. to be detailed from the
army" And the act does not specify either
the rank or the color of the persons SO detail
ed from the army 10 rule the nation through
the freedmen's bureau.
Section tive empowers the commissioner to
divide each district into sub districts, mot
less than county or parish. and to assign
to each sub district ''at least one agent, either
citizen, officer of the army,Or enlisted man"
The section goes on to say, leach assistant
commissioner msy employ not exceeding 6
clerks; and each agent Of a sub district being
one or more for each sub-district, as suits the
pleasure of the commissioner NAV employ
clerks" And 80 in the Il districts the clarks
will amount to II; and In the snb-distrcss
The agents will amount to at least as many
thousand as there are counties and parishes
in the nation !; and their clerks to double that
number, bssides the employees mentioned In
the bill.
And the same section provides tina. she
president, Through the war department and
commissioner, shall extend military jurisdic-
ton over all the employ ees, agents and officers
of this bureau, In the exercise Of all the du-
ties imposed ur authorized by this act, OF
the act to which this act is supplementary.
And here / will draw your attention tc
that part of their dutiee especially imposed
and authorized by tho eighth section of the
bill, thus: And it shall be the duty of the
officers and agents of this bureau tall OF
them, great and smalll, to take Jurisdiction
of and hear and determine all offences COM
mitted against the provisions of this section
and oil of oil affactipn
lattoes, freedmen, refugees, or other person:
who are Disseminated against, in any of the
particulars mentioned In the preceding sec
ton of this act, under, not the constitution
and laws, but under such rules and regula
tions as the president of the United States
through the war department, shall prescribe
These are some of the enorm;ties of the
vetoed bill, framed In the wantonness of par.
tisan power in contempt of the written con
stitution, and in open violation of the histor
ical opinions and Evolutionary faith of the
people of the United States.
As all these thousands of officers, agent,
and employees of the bureau may at the
discretion of the president, be detailed from
the army. it is plain that every man Of them
may be an enlisted man of the army, and
white or black, as may best suit the fancy Of
the detailing officer.
Only imagine such q military organic alton
with despotio head at the seat o. govern
ment, and despotic members pervading the
whole mass af the community and exhibiting
: Its power in organized form. in every county
, and parish, and the president bound, BY
Irumbull's bill. to extend military protection
over them, against every effort to restrain, by
legal and civil means, the wautonness OF
their arbitrary power.
Think you that the people of the United
States are already so far degraded into pas.
sivs obedience as to submit tamely to such
an afrooious outrage, even if sanctioned by
the unanimous vote of a factious congress-
and annroVed hY a auhsaru,ant .,.a.id>n&