The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-02-25

provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.
Speech Of Secretary seward.
The following address was delivered by
Secretary Seward at the meeting at Cooper
Institute, New York, Thursday evening.
What shall speak Of or about The call
for your meeting specifies the subject, but
first let me say | am not here as an Aboli-
tionist- ! am not here to say that the nation
is in peril or in dangcr-in peril If you adopt
the views of the apparen, or real majority Of
Congress, or in peril if you reject them. 1t is
not in peril any way. Nor do think the
/ cause of liberty and human freedom, the
cause Of progress. aDehorstioo or civilization
the cause OF national aggrandixement present
! or future, material or moral, are in danger Of
being long arrested whether you adopt one
set of political opinions or another. The
mon, that IS TO say, the nation, has been
rescued from all its perils The noble ship
United States has passed from tempests and
bliows into the verge of a safe harbor. and is
now riding securely into her ancient moorngs
without broken spar or leak, starboard or
larooard, fore or aft. There are some small
reefs yet to pass IS she approaches those
moorings. One pilot SAYS that she NAV safely
enter directly through them. The other saws
that she must back, and lowering sail. take
! time to go around them. That is all the diff
ference. 1t is merely the Inference of opin-
ION between the pilots. should not practice
INV habitual charity If did not adni, think
them both sincere, and honest, but the vessel
will go IN safety one way or the other The
worst that need happen will be that by taking
the wrong passage, or even taking the right
passage and avoiding the wrong one, the YES.
sci may roll little and some honest, capable
and deserving politicians-statesmen. Presi-
dent or Congressmen-may get washed over
board should be sorry for this, hnt if it
can not be helped i, can be borne If am
one Of the unfortunates, let no friend be con-
cerued on that account. As honest. as good,
as capable politicians. statesmen. Congress.
men. and President, will make their appear
ance thereafter faster than needed 10 COM
mand the ship as we'll and as wisely as any
that have heretofore stalked their hour upon
the deck IN the alterations of calm end tenn
pest that always attend political navigation.
Nevertheless, although do not think that we
are in a crisis, the question TO-DAY is worthy
OF deliberate examination and sideration
he subject before us is difference OF opin.
ion that reveals itself but too clearly between
the President and Congress. The President.
as we ali see, Is a man Of decided convictions
The legislative leaders are trying not to coin
eide with him in opinion They have appealed
to us outsiders us We are to pronounce be-
tween them.
The speaker then went on to prove that
there was act tnally no difference OF importance
between the President and Congress, however
much 1t might seem otherwise. Wehaye gothic
onion restored, al originally planned il should
ne, without slavery. secession or compromise;
not with freedmen or refugees. abandoned to
suffering and persecution, hut with freedmen
employed in productive seii.sustaining indus
try, with refugees under the protection of law
and order. The Presiden. sees that it has
come out right at last, and he accepts the sit
uatlon. Congress On the other hand, hesi-
tates delays, debates and devises, not because
it has not come out right, but because they
have not individually had the honor in bring
ing 1t to the happy termination. lapprebend
no serious difficulty from the conviction that
that there never was, and never can be. any
successful process for the restoration of the
Union and harmony among the States except
the one with which the President has avowed
himself satisfied. Grant it that the rebellion
is dispersed, ended exhausted-dead even at
the root; then it follows that the States soon
er or later must be organized by loyal men,
in accordance with the change in our funda-
mental law, and resume their places in Con-
gress. All the rebel States but Texas have
done that thing, and Texas is doing the same
as fast as possible. The President is in har-
mony with all the States that were in rebel.
lion. and the executive and judicial depart
ments are rapidly resuming their functions
Loyal representatives, more or less from these
States, are now standing at the door of Con-
gress, and Lave been standing there for three
months, asking to be admitted to seats which
the dlsioyal representatives had previously
LETT.
Meanwhile Congress passes law after law,
imposes burdens after burdens, and duty after
duty, upon the States, which against their
desire, are left unrepresented. | feel sure
that loyal men from the now loyal States will,
sooner or later be admitted into this Congress
or the next. When this is done, the process
of restoration will be complete, for tha. is all
that remains to be done
The Law of March 3D.. 1876, which created
the Freedmen's Bureau, provides II shall con.
tinue in force dnring the war Of the rebellion,
and one full year thereafter, When does
that year expire? In the President judg-
ment, ~ l understand the matter, the war of
rebellion has been coming. and is still coming
to an end, but is not yet fully closed. 1t is
on this ground that he maintains an army,
continues the writ of hdbeds corpws, and ex-
ercises martial law. When these things were
found necessary in the rebel States, the exist
ence of the rebellion was legally announced
by the Executive proclamation in 1861. The
end of the rebellion ought to be, and may be
expected TO be, announced bya competent
declaration Of the President Of Congress, OF
of both, for all practical purposes the rebel
lion will in law come to % end If the Prssi-
deat OF Consrsss, enc Or both, olicially am
nouncss ih ternipaaion. Now vsppo1e ,tAis