The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-02-19
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
WASHINGTON, Feb. IL, 1866.
HOUSE.
The House to-day was devoted to

power of recognizing the seeded States
rs being in the Union rested with Con-
gress, when tho military power can
safely be withdrawn and these States
remain peaceably IN the Union of their
own accord, and not by force, and tho
Union men and freedmen do not re-
quire u military force TO protect them,
their civil government should be- recog-'
nized.a No military power could set
aside the enactmentS and judicial decis-
ions of States fully in the Union; while
these acts were necessary, the Southern
States should not be recognized.
Mr.. Lawrence offered the following:
ReSoEUed, That it is the deliberate
sense of this House that the condition
OF the rebel States fully justities the
President IN maintaining the suspen-.
sion Of the writ of habeas corpus IN
Resoised, That it is the deliberate
sense of this House that the condition
of the rebel States fully iustities the
President in, maintaining military pos
session and control thereof, and that
the President is entitled to the thanks
of the nation for employing the war
power for the protection of Union citi-
zens and the freedmen in those. States,
Mr.. Lawrence then maintaineds thai
the ordinances of secession were void.
Thai no State was out of the Union, but
that all lawful State government was
destroyed in the rebel States, that when
the rebel governments were overthrown
the people were left without State gov
ernments; that it is the duty of Congress
to guarantee a republican State govern
ment, and that until this is done there
can be no lawful State government;
traitors will at once control them and
the nation could impose no terms nor
even judge when it would be safe to adj
init representatives. If the President
alone may set up State government
without any control by Congress,
it would be a fearful power in hands
less trustworthy than those of our re-
spected Chief Magistrate. He dcmand-
ed in the name of the Constitution and
people, that Congress as the agent of
States, had right to guarantee them
governments. The war power had n
right to and did set aside therebel State
governments. nany other, State gov
ernments exist in the Southern States,
it must be because either, first, That
the original government continued; or,
second, That they We're suspended, or,
third, That the new government had
been lawfully set up; that the original
State governments were abandoned in
authority of the Constitution of the
preme Court, of Lincoln and of PreSi-
dent johnson. Hequoted many author
tiles to support this position. The orig
inal governments could not be resumed
without the authority OF Congress, for
no State constitution provided Il mode
for doing So. The nation has right
to live, and the incidental farce to set
up new State governments when de-
stroyed, as means of continuing the
nations life. The President sustained
this view by callinga convention in the
rebel States to set up new State gov
,ernments, by prescribing the qualitica-
lions ofelectors, and byrequiring terms,
I,n nRnT1 M IN ~ fhn ORIGINAL
State governments continued.
Messrs. Raymond and Hubbell, in
their speeches, conceded that the Presi-
dent declared his RECONSTRUCT policy
an experiment, and would abandon it If
necessary.
Mr.. Lawrence said, in the course of
his remarks, that it would depend on
the people of the rebel States when re-
construction would be complete. 1t
would be complete when loyalty re-
turns; when the Government is so prac-
ticable as to secure obedience to law,
with security for the future. He would
welcome the Southern representatives
when they can come with guarantees of
peace, security and liberty. In the
work of suppressing the rebellion aud
saving the Union, and giving freedom
TO race, he was proud TO follow the
faithful Andrew johnson. Let each
department perform its function now,
and follow the policy worked out by
the people, and the triumph of peace
will be as signal as the victories of the
war. The power of Congress to decide
when representatives should be admit
ted could never be surrendered; it is
the right of Congress to submit to the
people constitutional amendments for
| their approval or rejection, for thus can
terms of reconstruction and peace be
made enduring. Let us close forever
the approaches of internal feud, and so
return to the ancient concord of nation
al prosperity; and when we have done
this, let us here, in this temple, forever
preserve honorable peace with the world
and eternal brotherhood with each other.
Mr.. CuIlom, of III, said that the gem
tleman from kentucky, Mr. Har1ing5
had on former occasion remarked
that it was time there should be ALT
tie posting of books. While making
the declaration the gentleman seemed
willing to pass silently over the record
of himself and party. His zeal was
only eQualled by his bitterness against
the Union party which he and his par
| ty had opposed for the last five years.
The Union party were willing at all
times that the loyal people of the conn
try could see how the matter Stands
Mr.. Cullom then proceeded to look at
what he called the debit side. The
gentIemanis (Mr. Harding) party had
long. been in power, and when MIR.
Lincoln succeeded to the Presidency,
he found the country divided and n
Southern Confederacy existing. When
the Union party took possession of the
Government, treason, armed and Sc
cret, invested all high places and scat
tered its deadly poison among the3peO-
pie until the Union and liberty had al
most persisted. 1t was then that we
heard all around us the cry that to at
tempt to relieve the starving garrison
Mt Fort Sumpter would be useless. and
would only excite the Southern heart.
In the Legislature, in the White House
and almosteVeryN yhere it was urged by
the democratic party that II was uncoL-
stitutionalto wage war to putdown tho
rebellion, because President Buchanan
had said that a State could not
be coetced. Meanwhile tho people
of the South inyevery capacity in W HIGH
they moved, lived and had their
being were organizing armies cooperate
against the national government. The
people knew the hollowness and rot
tenness of their party, and the Union
party declared that they could not per-
nit treason and secession TO triumph,
and that all attempts to overthrow the
It's power. The Union party with their
executf i've, declared that the country
could not and should. notsbe divided;
the war began,and hefheeded moi to say
what has been the result. The seces-
sionists of 1861 sought TO divide the
country and erect on part of the ruins
a new confederacy, having for its corner
stone the divine institution of slavery.
In reviewing the acts OF the Union
party, he said that peace has been con-
.quered, slavery forever prohibited and
private Justice performed; and he men
tionedrepeated instances in which the
Democratic party had so opposed all