Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-09-14
The Philadelphia Rebel Convention.

The Philadelphia Rebel Convention.
The rebel Philadelphia conclave Of
"National Union" rebel worshippers has
me, and disbanded; and the result Of it's
deliberations is now before the public in
the shape Of a platform of principles and
a lengthy address to the people.
The garb Of hypocritical loyalty and
professed submission to the results Of the
war, which has, as we expected, been
thrown over all the proceedings Of this
Convention, is entirely too thin to accom-.
plish its object Of deception. 1t requires
no great degree Of understanding for any
one who may read either the platform or
the address. TO discern clearly the real and
only object for which the Convention was
called, namely, to demand the immediate
and unconditional restoration Of the
Southern rebels to share in the govern
ment Of the nation, greater even than that
which they have forfeited by their trea-
son.
Disregarding all that portion Of the
address which is intended as ornsmen-
tai, and considering only what purports
to be reasoning in support Of this impu-
dent demand, we can can discover MOTH
ing but the most patent sophistry, COM
bined with the grossest Misrepresentation.
We have neither time nor space to dis
cuss in this issue the full merits, or rather
dement's, Of this remarkable Address,"
but, as a sample of its logic, we give our
readers a short extract. In order to cast
odium upon the position assumed BY the
late Congress, such glazing falsehood and
absurd reasoning as the following is re-
sorted to:
but it cannot escape observation that
the power thus asserted to exclude certain
States from representation is MADE to rest
wholly on the will or discretion OF the
Congress that asserts it. II is not made
to depend upon any specified condition,
nor subject to any rules and regulations
whatever. The right asserted and exer-
cised is absolute, without qualification or
restriction, not confined to the States in
rebellion nor to States that have rebelled.
I, is the right OF any Congress, in formal
possession Of legislative authority, to ex-
clude any State or States, and any portion
of the people thereof, at any time, from
representation in Congress and the electo-
raj college at its own discretion, and until
they shall perform such and comply with
such conditions as it may dictate. Obu-
ously, the reasons for such exclusion being
wholly without limit, the discretion Of
Congress may change as Congress itself
shall change. One Congress may exclude
a State from all share in the Government
for one reason, and, that reason removed.
the next Congress may exclude it for an
other. One State may be excluded on
one ground to-day and another to-mor-
row. Northern ascendency may exclude
Southern States from mi Congress ;
Western or Southern, or both combined,
may exclude Northern or Eastern States
from the next" =.
Now there is not an intelligent Ameri-
can citizen who does not know that the
assertions made in the foregoing paragraph
are maliciously false. The author Of this
address" knew when he penned It that
the right claimed by Congress to exclude
the Southern Representatives is not "the
right Of any Congress in formal possession
of legislative authority, to exclude any
State or States, or any portion Of the peo-
pie thereof, at any time from representa-
ton :" and he further knew that that
right is based by Congress entirely upon
tho fact that the excluded States have. as
States, combined in overt treason against
our Constitution and Government, and
have persisted for years in organized re:
bellion against the supreme authority OF
U nation. And every r lover OF his
country will agree that this fact is an all.
sufficient basis both for the assertion n
the exercise Of the right Of a loyal Con-
gress to exclude the Southern traitors
from the national councils, until they have
furnished substantial proofs Of repentance.
II any man can be misltd into the
meshes OF designing traitors by such rea-
soning as this, we cannot, to say the least,
entertain much respect for his intelligence.
Quincy National.