New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-03-30
tAqru ORLEANS Daily Grtstent.
The Radical Dlsunfon Plot,
LETTER FROM THE HON. EDWARD BATES.

q of ST. Louis, the Hon. Edward Bates subjects the
freedmen's bureau bill to merciess analysis, in
which he exposes with unmstakable dstinctness
the Interior revolutionary object Of the proposed
statute, and denounces with appropriate but
logical severity the dangerous subterfuge of its
contrivers, which was countesacted by the prompt
and bold interpositi0n of the President.
1t must be confessed that the deliberate charge,
j from such source, of purpose on the part of
1 the radical demagogues of subvertng our form of
i government, cannot be lightly considered, espe
/ cialy 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 sad intervening years, as perhaps more
clearly prophetic than those of any other public
man. We subjoin the letter referred to:
ST.. LOUIS, Feb. "a, 1866.
Cen E, B. Brown President of the Committee
} Conservative Union Party
Sri am honored by the receipt of your note
Of this day inviting me to be present at IN mass s.
the court house this evening at y o'clock, for the
purpose of indorsing the action of President john
son in vetong the freedmens bureau bill, and IN
support of his general policy of national recon
struction.
am very sorry that the bad state of my health
forbids my attendance, and the more so because
/ believe there will not be man at the meeting who
/ feels greater adherence than do for the bill
II whose wicked career has been stopped by the
Presidents timely Veto My feeling upon TINS sab,
ject does not spring entirely from ny disges.o 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
II by careful examination Of its provisions.
H think understand it. l see 1.-THE most casual
reader can see) its garing and defiant breaches Of
# the constitution and think can see also the hid
Re- den motive the secret designs of the consprators
2 who planned the scheme to oyerturn our govern
. ment of law, and set up in its stead frghtful
q military oligarchy. And this wicked purpose be-
g. trays itself in several provisions of the BILL which
are arranged in the context. as to seem, to q
hasty observer, to be secondary and subordinate
HI to the ostensble object the protection of the
freedmen. rt #s
The bill provides lin its first secton) for the
continuance ofthe original act (of March 3, 1861
to establish freedmen's bureau and to extend it
to all refugees and freedmen in all parts of the
United States. 1t Empowers the President to
divide the United States into district, not to
exceed twelve, and with the advice and consent
Il of the Senate, to appoint an assistant commits
sioner for each district. That is the exact number
4 into which Cromwell divided the Commonwealth
j of England and governed each districts, despot-
cally, by on of his Major Generals. The section
goes on, 'or the said bureau may, in the discretion
HI of the President, be placed under commissioner
lei and assistant commissioners, to be detailed from
E the army And the act does not specify either
n the rank or the color of the persons SO detailed
H from the army to rule the nation through the freed
IL mons bureau.
II Section two empowers the commissioner to
divide each district into sub-districts, (not less
81 than a 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
may employ not exceeding six clerks; and each
agent of subdistric as suits the pleasure of the
commissioner, may employ two clerks. And 30 IN
u districts the clerks will amount to II; and in
the sub districts the agents will amount to at least
as many thousand as there are counties and par
isles in the nation; and their clerks to double
that number, besides the employees mentioned III
L tie bill
And the same section provides that the Presi-
II dult g through the war department and commits
sinner, shall extend military jurisdiction over all
1SfIa
in the exercise of all the duties imposed or au-
tlprized by this act, or the act to which this act
IN is supplementary And here | will draw your
4 attention to that part of their duties especially
imposed and authorized by the eighth section OF
the bill, thus " And it shall be the duty Of the
81 others and and agents of this bureau (all OF
81 them great and small, to take jurisdiction of and
4 5 heT and determine all o1enses committed against
# tbs provisions of this section; and also of all
@ caeS affecting negroes, mulattoes, freedmen,
refugees or other pereols who are Disseminated
If aginst in any of the particulars mentioned in
II tn preceding section of this act under, not the
Ia constitution and laws, but under such rules and
X regulations as the President of the United states
# though the war department, shall prescribe"
FL these some Of the enOrmites of the vetoed
ii BIZ, framed in the wantonness of partisan power
IN incontempt of the written constitution, and ii
olcn violation of the historical opinions and ira
diionary faith of the peope of the United States
Z AS all these thousands of officers, agents ant
E employees Of the bureau may, at the discretion Of
tie President, be detailed from the army it i.
Fly pain that every man OIL tlcnl may ne an enllsteC
nan of the army, and white or black, as may bes
suit the fancy of the detailing officer.
Only imagine such military organization, with &
dspotic head at the seat of government, and des
S. ptic members pervadng the wh8ie mass of the
) community and exhibiting its power in organized
brm, in every county and parish, and the Presi
cent bound, by Trumbull's bill, to extend military
/ protection over them, against every effort to re
\ srain by legal and civil means, the wantonness o
/ ueir arbitrary power.
Think you that the people Of the United States
I Te already so far degraded into passive obedience
Is to submit tamely to such an atrOcious outrage
. ( 0en if sanctioned by the unanimous voice of
! hctious congress, and approved by subservien
1 resident? No, verify. They are not yet read,
Z b abandon their constitution and renounce al
1 lope of legal liberty, by giving over their lives
J lberties and properties, to be disposed OF at thu
nprice Of petty officers and agents of petty sub
4 tiVsion of the war department, called abureau
They will insist upon their legal rights as freedmen
/. + ind American citizens; they will demand the pro
Z ection of the laws of their country; and
,harged with crime, or drawn into controvers,
about property or contracts they WI insist upo
court and jury, and will refuse to be tried b,
d any petty despot, detailed from the army
: whether he be white or black. -, -
y Constitutional government and liberty by Law
are worth fighting for. We have just past throug
I a bloody war to maintain them against one set Q
traitors and make no doubt that the people viii
be as ready, if need be, to resist IN the same wa
{any other set Of traitors who seek to destroy tn
Illegal government by insidious artifce and Dol
H An eminent publicist, (Mill) on representativ
government gives it as his opinion that "reprt
isentative institutions depend for their permanenc
upon the readiness of the people to fight for thel
lin case of their being endangered. If too littl
8 valued for this, they seldom obtain o footing {
all, and, if they do, are almost sure to be owe
thrown as soon as the head of the government
any party leader who can muster force for a COZ
de main is willing to run some risk for absolu
power,n 0fFrt t-Elsass
think it a fortunate thing for the country th
the radical faction is SO demented as to pick
quarrel with the President because he refuses
be their instrument to overturn the Constitute
and substitute in its place a military despots1
and to stake their political fortunes upon tt
monstrous vices and follies of the Trumbull hi
For in doing SO they do but insure their own d
feat, and consequently the restoration of law q
der and peace, and revival of national respect f
legal government and a national love for liber
by law.
10 Even the emancipated negro, for whose sake
"a is pretended that this wrong is DONE will not lo
fail to see the hypocrisy and fraud of the trasa
ton. They will see that, while they are caiol
with the pretense of liberty and equality befo
g the law, this wicked bill subjects them to II
: power of military overseers, excludes them fire.
all legal protection, denies them the right to a
peal to the courts of law for redress of grievance
and REQUIRES the agents and officers of the bure
to take Jurisdiction of all cases" which &C
, Germ them and their interests. ~ .
Very respectfully your friend and fellow citizen,
(Signed) EDWARD BATES
aJ,r.,ov.,y,e AryrNrrrpE WITH q WIN Ar G