The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1866-04-26
Tho "Rum7 Congress. y

tho inaetion, imbeciiity and iiiegnlty
Of the present Congress.
It is asserted, with great sorrow
anl solicitudc, that months have gone
into the past, since tho first meeting
Of Congress, aud all tho legislation of
that body has been for the benefit Of
the Freedmen. Monstrous heresy
In support of these assertions of an.
warranted inadelity upon tho part Of
Congress, to It's duty and trust, are
enumerated the passage Of the Freed
mems Buroan Bill, vetoed by the
President, and the Civil Rights Bill,
also vetoed by tho Executive, but
which, Notwithstanding, is now law;
aud above all, tho exclusion from the
councils of the nation, the Ecprcscn.
iauyes of the eleven rebcllious States
The conclusion drawn, is, that while
time is consumed in the adjudication
of those measures, business Of greater
moment to the nation, is neglected. !
ThSconclusion is false aud hypocriti-
cal. II is tho conclusion that men
who sympathizcd with treason will
over draw. Can it he denied, when
tho eud Of a protracted and disns-
trous civil war has come, that it should
he the FIRST care and duty of the Gov.
ernment TO roa? tho costly fruits of
that war BY such legislation as will
cIlcetually remove all cause for fu-
ture Instruction Must the wishes
of recognized reasonable men, weigh |
in the balance against tho nations
safety and the Uuion2 Must au nc
count be taken of Tie shocked and
laceraicd feelings Of iusincerc loyal
mon and uurepcntaut rebels, in the
process of reconstruction We say
no. If it be the conceded duty of
Congress to prevent, by wise legisla-
tion, q recurrence of tho scenes of
the past five years, the large oaks
must be leyelcd fret. The primary
obstacles to peace aud harmony in
the nation, which c::.,,s;;yG before, and
w-,v ne immediate causes of the war,
must be jerkcd ont, root aud branch,
ll this be not the first net in rcorgan
izing the Union, after the clash Of
arms has ceased, and the military
victory won, why should loyal men,
in secret, thank God, aud in public
rejoice at the downfall of rebellion
What will have been gained at sc
much cost9 Tho war is practically
at amend. The flag floats everywhere,
Disloyalty is no longer manifested by
grey clad armies and glittcripg bayo.
nets hut there are men in the insur.
rcctionary States painting with hatred
for tho Yankee, aud disloyalty to the
Governments TIE evidence adducod
shows this 1t is not an idle Osscr.
tion, They hold tho same opinious-
the same desires and motives which
lead those States iuto the wrong path.
The sympathetic northern friends of
the past-away Confcdcracy, would,
doubtless, he glad to see the Repre-
senta,ivcs Of those eleven States stop
into the Halls of Congress, aud there
inseduously rccommonce their trca-
son. Until his record be proven true
and loyal not one Of the Representa-
tives elect should be allowed a seat.
Southern Representatives were not
forced into resignation of their seats;
they lct them voluntarily. breathing
disloyalty. They must come back
now imbued with corresponding
spirit of respect aud patriotism to.
wards the Government, upon which
they and their constituents rely for
protection. Loyalty is the founda-
tion OF nation's strcugth, and none
but loyal men should have a voice in
State affairs, Tho Union party in
Congress are not uiiing with the
great interests Of tho nation. They
are simply lcgislNtiug to secure Cor
the future, what the Soldiers of the
Union achieved in the fold of battle;
equal civil rights before tho law to
every citizen OF the United States
The Government is in honor bound to
do this. 1t has conferred freedom
upon avery citizen and requires obs-
dieuce from every cititsn, aud is there
fore under every obligation, moral
and religious, to protect them in all
their political rights. II is time
enough, We think, when tho end for
which TIE war was prosecuted by the
United States ia firmly secured, for
Congress to turH attention TO other
business.
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