Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1866-12-13
EBENsBURG, PA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1866

! of these States to representation and it
] was not until toward the close of the
eighth month of the session that An ex-
| ception WAS made in favor of Tennessee,
/ by the admission of her Senators and
Representatives. .v15 y.rnp ra - 20.
'H "a #s 4 PRoFoUND REGRET ns..t
| j deem it a subject of profound regret
that Congress has thus far failed to admit
to seats loyal Senator'S and Representatives
| from other States whose inhabitants, with
those OF Tennessee, had engaged in the
rebellion. len States-more than one
| fourth the whole number-remain with
out representation the seats of fifty mem
bers in the House of Representatives and
OF twenty members in the Senate are yet
vacated-not by their OWN counsel. not by
| a failure of election, but by the refusal Of
Congress to accept their credentials =
| Their admission. it is believed, would
| have accomplished much towards the
| renewal and Strengthening of our relations
as one people, and removed serious cause
for discomfort on the part of The inilab-'
tants Of those States. 1t would have
ted in the Declaration of American Inde-
pendence, that no people ought TO bear the
burden of taxation and yet be denied the
right of representation. 1t would have
been IN consonanee with the express pro-
visions of the Constitution, that 'Eeacl
State shall have at least one Representa-
tive" and ''that no State, without its
consent, shall be deprived Of its equal
suffrage in the Senate" These provisions
were intended TO secure TO every State,
and to the people Of every State, the right
of representation in each House of Con-
gress and so important was It deemed by
the trainers Of the Constitution that the
equality of the States in the Senate should
he preserved, that not even by an amerd-.
ment of the Constitution can any State,
without its consent, be denied voice in
that branch of the National Legislature
CoNGREss REFRACTORY.
1t is true, it has been assumed that the
existence OF the State was terminated by
the rebeilIons acts OF their inhabitants.
and that the lnsurrcction having been Sup
pressed, they were thenceiorward TO be
considered merely as conquered territories
HE Legislative, Executive, and judicial
departments OF the Government have
however, with great distinctncss and uni
form consistency, refused to sanction an
assumption 50 Incompatible with the nature
OF our republican system and with tie
protested objects OF the war. Throughout
the recent legislation of Congress, the
undenlable fact makes itself apparent,
that these ten political communities are
nothing less than States of this Union
At the very commencement OF the rebel
lion, each House declared, with Il unanim-
lty as remarkable as it was significant.
that the war was not ''waged, upon our
part, IN any spirit Of oppression, nor for
any purpose of conquest or subugation,
nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering
with the right or established. institutions
OF those States, but 10 defend and maintain.
the supremacy Of the Constitution and all
laws made in pursuance thereof, and
TO preserve the Union with al the dig-
nifty, equality, and rights Of the several
States 'unlmpaircd and that as soon as
these objects were accomplished the
war ought 10 cease" In some instances
Senators were permitted 10 continue their
legislative functions, while in other in
stances Representatives were elected and
admitted to seats after their States had
formally declared their right to withdraw
from the Union, and were endeavorino TO
maintain that right by force of arms All
of the States whose people were in insur-
rectlon, as States, were included in the
appcrtionment of the direct tax of twenty
millions of dollars annually laid upon the
United States by the act approved 5th
Angus, 1861. Congress by the act of
March 4th, 1862, aud by the apportion-
ment of representation hereunder, also
reconlZed their presence as States in the
Union; and they have, for judicial DUR
poses been divided into districts, as States
alone can be divided. The same re-
cogaltlon appears in the recent legislation
in reference TO Tennessee, which evidently
rests upon the fact that the functions of
the State were not destroyed by the
rebellion, but merely =dspended and that
principle is of course applicable to those
States which, like Tennessee, attempted to
renounce their places in the Union.
ACTION OF TIE EXECUTIVE.
The action oftho Executive Department
of the Government upon this subject has
been equally definite and unifrrm, and the
purpose of the war was specifically stated
in the proclamation issued by my predeces-
sor on the 22d day of September, 1862.
1t was then solemnly proclaimed and
declared that thereafter. as heretofore.
the war Will be prosecuted for tue object