Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-02-21


of the United States, which when ratified
by three-fourths of said Legislatures shall
be valid as part of said Constitution:
The executive power shall be vested in q
President of the United States Of America,
He shall hold his office during a term o
four years, and shall not again be eligible
to that office during the term of his natural
life. In case of removal of the President
from flee, or Of his death, resignation OF
inability to discharge the powers and du-
ties of said Office, the same shall devolve
on the Vice President of the United States
who shall not again be eligible TO the office
of President Of the United States during
the term of his natural life. Whenever
Congress may by law provide for the case
of the removal, by death, resignation or in
ability, of both the President and Vice
President, declaring what officer shall then
act as President such officer shall not again
be eligible to the Office of President during
the term of his natural life.
Mr.. WADE-In Offering this resolution !
will state that this resolution is no new
idea of mine, for l have been its advocate
for many years and have derived the very
strong impressions have on the subject by
the very careful observation of the work
ings of our government through such periods
as | have been an observer of and believe
1t has been worry rare that we have been
able to elect President Ofthe United States
who has not been tempted to use the vast
powers entrusted to him according to his
own opinion to advance his reelection,
and when l say this of the Presidents
who have preceded us, I say it in no
attempt to deprecats the merits of
these men, but the Constitution placed be-
fore them temptations which we can hardly
expect that human nature will resist, and
in the long run it will never resist, as is
clearly shown in the history of our govern
ment. Washington, who was exceedingly
sagacious in the workings of our govern
ment, informed US that i. was his opinion
that it was a matter that ought to be
remedied. He saw that man entrusted
with these more than regal powers during
the period he was President might be
tempted to use them for his advancement
Almost all the Presidents since have felt
the necessity Of some such check on per-
sonal ambition.
1t IS the injunction of more than human
wisdom to be relieved from these tempta-
tlens. We might trace this, had we time,
through preceding administrations and
we should find that this influence
weighed on the mind of almost every Pres
ldent We ever had. How is it, Sir, in the
present case. have no doubt that the
present Chief Magistrate came into Office
entirely perfectly sincere in his opin-
ions. Why, Sir, he spoke and reiterated
every day for two months that treason was
so great ia crime that it ought to be punished,
that it must be rendered odious, and that
he was the man to do this. He said it to
every delegation that waited on him till
the words became stereotyped on the minds
of the whole people.
How, sir, has he performed that pledged
Has he punished anybody? Why, sir, we
have the unheard-of spectacle of one of the
greatest rebellions that ever cursed man
kind, involving more people, more lives,
and more expense than all the rebellions
that have occurred in history and vet no
man has been punished in consequence of
1t. Something IS wrong. If this is all
right then the whole system of penitenti-
aries throughout the Union ought to be
abolished. Sir, the President was right
when he said that treason was a great
crime and ought to be rendered odious
Why did he not carry out this declaration?
Whas has occurred to change his position
on this question. l will not say that this
ambition which has tempted all who have
gone before him weighed on his mind
to tempt him. But it is exceedingly singu-
lar that so far from rendering treason
odlOus by punishment he has hoisted into
the most exalted position many of the lead
ing traitors in the South. Who else, at any
period of the worlds history, ever thought
OF taking a rebel, red with the blood of his
and place him in the position
OF Governor of State who has sought to
overthrow the Government of the Union,
and who invoked despotism to aid him in
doing III Is that the way you make trea-
son OdiOus among mankind2 Is that the
policy about which we have heard so much
Nobody has been able to tell us heretofore
exactly what that policy was All, how
ever, saw thatit was kind of policy that
suits every rebel, every copperhead, aud
every enemy of the Government of the
United States, both foreign and domestic.
Further said. that as that policy has
become develop We now see what it is and
why 1t was so grateful to the hearts of every
enemy of his country. It wBs no less than
this, that these treitors should suffer nothing
nor forfeit nothing by the rebellion, but
that they should be admitted unwashed and
red with the blood Of their countrymen, into
full communion with honest, loyal men.
aud into the councils of the nation. What
has brought about this change? 1t all
points to this fact, that it will not do to
tempt men in this way. This policy of
bringing these States into the Union with
all their rebellion and treason in
thsir hearts is no better than treason.
lay dswn the rule and defy contradiction
that there is any man, be he high or low, who
is an advocate of bringing traitors into the
councils of the nation, that man is a traitor
at heart. He is an enemy to the Govern
ment and nothing can make it appear diff
faranflrr Il NIL, al i r.
pentant rebels to ceme into the councils of
the nation, to participate in their delibera-
tions, is no better than rebel and is a rebel
at heart. How does the policy that is now
devolved on US differ from the policy that
would be announced from the same place
by JEFF Davis, were he placed in the same
position? Would he ask any more?
would he ask any less than that
his co-conspirators should be restored
to the same positions that they had
when they left these halls. Why, sir, we
all know the history of the government at
the time when these men rebelled. How
was it2 When they went of they had the
government in their own hands, and to the
infamy of the Democratic party be it said,
that with all their treason and crimes in
the Senate chamber, there was but one man
from their side ready to protest against
their treason. With this exception you
will not find that single Democrat voted
against the action enjoined by the Southern
rebels just before they went out of Congress.
They had it all their own way and you and
l, Mr.. President, felt relieved when we
sow them leave these Halls. The greatest
blunder treason ever committed; more fatal
than the bluDder of the battle was the blum
der of withdrawing from the force in Con-
ha, hi
Sir, suppose they had kept on here Just as
they are invited to come here now, and sup
pose they had kept on and predominated in
Congress, so as to prevent any provision
being made for arresting the progress of
treason, you could not have enlisted a SOL
dier; had they not committed a blunder of
withdrawing the Democracy party
would have stood by them, and voted
down every measure as they tried
to vote them down after they had
gone out, therefore shall move at a very
early period to take this resolution up, and
shall then press the action of Congress to
vote on it. Some gentlemen are astOnished
at the number of amendments offered from
time to time, and l do not wonder at it.
This government has hOundered through a
crisis such as never government encOun-
tered before. 1t has been tried in all
its parts. Ifthere was any weakness it has
been revealed by the very difficulties that
we have overcome. This amendment that
1 now propose is to remedy the greatest de-
fciency left by the fathers who framed it.
1t is no disparagement to them that we
find their work not adapted to our
time 1t is absurd to suppose that a
Constitution which was made for people
and a nation scattered over small part Of
the country, shall be in all its perfect when
the nation has grown up to 3O,O0O,OO0 peo-
pie spread over an entire continent Just as
well expect that the cloth cut for an infant