Des Arc citizen., 1866-04-28

We looked out again. and saw that there was q
 blockade We said open the doors of the custom houses, and let the pursuits of peace go on. It was done. We thus travelled on, step by step, opening the custom houses, ap- pointing collectors, establishing mail facilities and restoring all the railroads that had been interrupted by the rebellion, Was there any thing undertaken to be done here that was not authorized by the Constitution, and that was not justified by the great necessity of the case, that has not tbcen clearly consistent with the Constitutions and with the general spirit of our Government. m ,Itf.fa m
 want to sec measures of policy brought forward that, will advance the interests of the people, and that portion of the people who constitute the gallant and brave men, who in
 both branches of the service, who have upheld
 the nations flag, and sustained the country in
 the recent struggle. Let us go on and restore
 the Government. Let us enlargeeth area. of
 our commerce and trade, and let iis not only
 inspire confidence at home, but respect abroad
 by letting the nation resume it's career of
 greatness. I know that some will find fault
 with me, and say am too kind. too lenicnt
 and all that. If we were all to be put to
 death. or punished. or thrown away for one
 offense, or for the second offense, and were to
 be lost and excluded from society and com
 munion with our fellow men, how many of us
 wouldbe left We must reason with each
 other, and understand our mattress and what
 is necessary to restore peace and harmony
 and concord to a distracted and divided peo-
 ple Tn time of war it is right to burnivilL
 iiaees, sack cities and desolate fields, to lay
 waste country and cripple and reduce the
 enemy; but in time of peace the reverse of Tthat course is precisely the right one, and the htrue policy ofthe nation, is torebuild its cit ies, restore it's villages and renew its fields of agriculture. I know there are some who have
 been at home during the war, who bring to the consideration of tho questions of peace, harmony and the avocations of civil life, all
 the feelings of resentment which animated us,
 when the war was running high But take the brave men, who sustained the flag on the field and on the wave, and you will find better l'feelings and better judgment on these ques- tions, than you will find with those who have Isbeen sitting in the closet, and never smelled
 gun powder. [Cheers.1 Yes, from private to the general, they know how,to treat the present circumstances better than any of | those closet patriots and humanitarians. Then countrymen, fellow citizenss and soldiers and
 sailors, let us rejoice that peace has come.
 Let us rejoice that the relations of the States -are about being restored Let us make every
 effort we can, on proper principles, to restore the former onsbetweenlthe Federal Gov
 ernment and the States. II thank God that peace is restored. l thank God that our brave men can return to their families and homes, and resume their peaceful avocations I thank
 God that the baneful planet of fire and blood, which short time ago was in the ascendant, has been ohased-away by the benignant star of peace. Now, that the star of peace is sus- pended in the heavens, let US cultivate the earth, and the relations of peace, und all Ithose associations that toappertain to men in peace s The time is not distant when we can
 have a political millennium, q political jubilee, and when we can proclaim to all the nations
 of the earth that again we are united peo-
 dle, and that we have triumphantly passed 1 through our third ordeal; have peace at home and power to bid defiance to the world Loud
 cheering Remember one thing, gentlemen,
 in my past; although slanderers may misrep-
 resent me, none can say that 1 ever deceived
 ar betrayed them. It will be for you to see,
 in the future, who will redeem all his promis-. es, and who will be most faithful. I thank you, gentlemen, for the compliment you have
 paid me. What remains to be done? One thing remains, 10 show the civilized world that We have passed successfully through the third ordeal of our national existence, and proved that our Government was popular. A great principle was restored, which was es- tablished in our revolution, when our fathers
 were contending against the power of Great Britain What was one of tho principal caus-
 es of their complaint9 They complained of
 taxation without representation. One eff the great principles laid down by our fathers, and which fired their hearts, was, that there should 4 be no taxation without representation. How, then, does the matter stand? Who has been
 defeating the operation of the Constitution?
 What now remains to be done to complete the
 restoration of those States to all their former ,l..t. Jo,, ,n
 to finish the great ordeal through which we
 have been passing It is to. admit represen-
 tation. ECheers.1 When we say admit rep-
 resentation, what do we mean? We simply
 mean representation in the Constitutional and
 law abiding sense which existed at the begin ming of the Government The Constitution
 declares in3express terms that the Senate and
 House of Representatives, each acting for it. self, shall be jndge of the returns of elec- ! tions, and the qualifications of it's own mem
 bers. Itis for each House to settle thatquc
 tion under the Constitution and under the sols
 emn sanction of an oath. Can we believe
 that either House would admit any member l into it's body to participate in the legislation of the country, who has not been qualified? They have the powcr-not the two Houses, but I one House for itself. The Constitution furth-
 CT declares that no State shall be deprived of I it's equal suffrage in the Senate of the United ! States, without it's consent, Where do we l stand? All that we have need of is to finish \ the great work of restoration, for the two \ Houses respectively to decide the question. I Ohl but, some one will say, a traitor might come in The answer to that is, that each I House must be the judge of it.. and if traitor presents himself cannot helpit. The House ] will know that he is Q traitor and if he is a
 traitor they can kick him out of doors and
 send him back, saying tothe people who sent him, you must send us loyal man. Cheers- ]
 Is there any difficulty about that? If q trait-
 or presents himself to the other House, can
 not'that House say to him "No you cannot
 be admitted into this body. Co back. We deny not your people the right of representa- .tion; but they must send a loyal representa-
 tive" [Chcers.] And when the States do
 send loyal representatives, can you have any
 better fidelity to the laws and the Constitu- tion? There is no one learned in the Constitu-
 ton and the laws who will say that if traitor
 happened to get in Congress. that body can -4- I | T1a4 ol-no