The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1866-05-22


The House, as in Committee of the Whole
on the state of the Union, having under con-
sideration the Presidents annual message
MIR. SCOFIELD said:
Mr.. SPEAKER: What is the whole
amount of disloy al population in the south,
ern States? | do not include In this ln-
quiry persons who have been stigmatlzed
as "sympathizers" or "copperheads," "
much less any other portion of the Dem
ocratic party, but only those who sought
to divide the country into two republics
and who now regret the failure of the en-
terprise. The whole amount of white
population in the eleven confederate
States is 5,097,524. Deducting from
this amount the estimated number Of loyal
people in those States, and adding the dis
loyal scattered through the other FIVE
slave States, will give the answer to my
question. Making this deduction aud
addition from the most reliable data within
my reach, l conclude that the disloyal
population in the whole South will not
exceed, if indeed it will equal, FIVE mil
lions 10 all.
If the eleven confederate States were
readmitted now (the Constitution and
laws remaining unamended) what amount
of representation in Congress and the
Electoral C3lege would this FIVE million
be eutitled to claim? They would Ger
tainly have these eleven States. There
could hardly be doubt about Kentucky
For if the loyal men of that State, sus-
tanned by the power of the Federal Army
and the persuasion of General patronage,
with the young disunionists absent in the
South aud the old ones disfran chlsed at
home, could scal cely bold their own, what
could we expect them to do when these
Young men have returned, the disfra0
chising laws have been swept away, the
Army removed or palSied by orders, and
Federal patronage at least uncer taIu
This would give them twenty. -four Sena-
tors. Thcre are four more States that
belonged to the slvehOiding class, Della.
ware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Mis-.
souri, Is it auy stretch of probe bilities
to suppose that two more Senators will
be picked up somewhere In these four
States by the confederate element! l
fear there will be more. This will give
them tweuty six Senator'S.
In the House of Representatives this
population will have as large, if not larger,
Droportionate representation. BY the ap
portionmeDt of 1851, fifty eight Repre-
seotatives were assigned to the eleven
confederate States. These States will
be 50 dstricted by the hostile sentiment
of their several Legislatures that not one
true Union man can be elected. To the
other five slaveholdlug States twenty-six
were assigned by the act of 1861. II
any one will take the trouble to look over
these districts, thIok he will come to
the conclusion that even if laws dlsfran-
chisiDg rebels in Maryland, West Vir-
giuia, and Missouri remain in force, not
less than half of these will be controlled
! by the influence aud votes of the late
secesSionists This gives seventy-oue
| Representatives in the House. But even
this large number must soon be increased.
| The two,ffths of the four millions freed
men which were not counted In the rep
resentative basis of the last census must
be counted in the census Of 1870, and
(other things remaining the same) add
to that number thirteen members more !;
so that the FIVE million disloyal popula-
ton. as soon as their full power can be
felt through the elections, will have at
! least twenty six Senators and eighty-four
II, presantatives and one hundred and ten
votes in the Electoral College. This is
low calculation. When we consider
the earnestness, or rather should say the
6erceness of these people, the ability,
ambition, and courage of their leaders,
we may well appreheud that the number
will be even greater: But this number
is their own-legitimate and certain un-
der the laws as they stand. Supposins
the entire population of the United States
to be thirty-6ve million now, this five
million will be just one seventh OF the
whole, but will have more than one third
of the representation in both Houses OF
i, Congress, and more than one third of the
Electoral College. The same amoun, OF
Ioyal population at the North is repre-
sen,ed by only about half that number.
If by factions or party division among the
loyalists Of the country, they could con
trive to secure one sixth more OF the rep
resentation, they would have a majority
of the whole, and be able to control Fed
eral legislation, elect the President, and
distribute his patronage.
I When these States are admitted and
these people come to have the unabridged
control of this tHofold representation. how
: will they desire to use it? do not in'
, qnire how they possibly may use it, mol
even how they now expect or intend tc
use Il. hut how. IL unreetrainei bv /.