Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-05-31

vealed themselves as Inferior mechanism
TO the engineer TO bring the devices into
successful movement. Congress is TO be
expected, therefore, TO concur with the
President, not In adopting plan which
he has projected, but In accepting with
him the actually existing overtures OF
reconciliation in the form which they
have occurred. | think that the pro.
ceediugs OF Congress hitherto indicate,
not an ultimate disagreement and fail
ure, but only procrastlnation, which
TO the impatient is inconVenient, and to
the tlmid alarming"
MIR. Seward replied TO some objections
TO the Presidents policy, and spoke very
strongly against the proposition to dis
franchise the people OF the South. He
interpreted the plan proposed by the
Joint committee to mean the postpone
ment of the whole subject to another
Congress. Mr.. Seward next reviewed
the matters in which the President had
differed from Congress, and argued that
in none of them had the President been
untaithful to his political principles or
associations He closed his speech with
an argument FOR the admission ofthe
loyal Southern members to Congress.
lie said -
at is agreed on all hands that disloy-
al representatives ought not to be in
any case admitted. Congress- however
has the constitutional right and power
to exclude all such representatives not
only from the states unrepresented, but
from any other state. When therefore
a senator or representative from one of
the unrepresented states presents his
credentials TO the body to which he has
been elected, he offers himself as any
other member does for trial upon the
question Of his loyalty and allegiance.
1t belongs to Congress to prescribe the
form of the trial and the evidence of 10y
atty it will demand. In accordance
with this principle and in view Of eX-
actly this occasion, Congress has here
! tOfore established two test Oaths, enc
general oath of fidelity and allegiance,
the other special one, disavowing and
repudiating all connection with disuniOn
or rebellion. These laws are general.
They require every member TO sub
scribe to them they are required to be
presented to every claimant to a seat,
and vet the members from Tennessee
| and Arkansas have been six months ask
ing to have those oaths rendered to
them for their subscription, and have
| been denied. 1t would seem that they
could be justly denied only on the
| ground that in subscribing to the Oaths
| the claimants would commit fraud
! and perinry. Not only is there le-
gal presumption to the contrary, but
every intelligent man in the community
admits the proved loyalty, fidelity and
! constancy of all the members who have
come from Tennessee and from Arkan-
sas.
The apology for the denial is that al
though the members now chosen are
loyal, they all might become dis
loyal after being admitted. 1t is neCes-
sary to say that the same subterfuge
may be equally resOrted to in the case Of
every other member of CONGRESS The
suspicion is illogical and unwarrantcd
! by the constitution. And even if it
were both constitutional and logical,
| Congress has still the reserved but abSO-
]
avs, he sbaII have become nnrajthfnI or
Tslfar in his aTIsojancn The advocates
nr diesoIntion messed nv these far+s
resort ~ me- aronment that although If
is 1rnr that The renresentatfyes who
have Come from Tennessee and Arkan.
eae are loyal and can meet copscirnti-
onsIv and loyaIIy eyerv test which Con.
| greSS has prescribed or can prescribe,
remain I0y9I tLtmsrIye. vet that amon@
those F,.', wh9 bavn come from othrr nnren,
r r(.Y, e,at4s tbare are nnrsons who
cannnt .aI,a IN. fnst oath and are thara,
fore properlv held RI he diS1oya] The
renlv * obvions Let all othar d;sIove]
! hDt in anv case admit the Iovai rpnrp-
! s,ntatiyes Of Tennessee and Arkansas,