American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-08-15

been met and paid. From the time these
confederated States thus withdrew from
their representation in Congress and lev
led war against the United States the
great mass of their people became and
were insurgents, rebels, traitors, and all
OF them assumed and occupied the polt
ical, legal, and practical relation of enc
mics of the United States This posi-
tion is established by acts ST Congress and
judicial decisions, and is recognized re-
peatedly by the President in public proc
lamations, documents, and speeches
Second. The States thus confederated
prosecuted their war against the United
States to final arbitrameut, and did not
cease until all their armies were captured
their military power destroyed, their
civil offieers-State and Confederate
taken prisoner or put to flight, every yes
tige of their territory overrun and occupied
by the Federal armies, aud their people
reduced to the condition of enemies. con
quered in war, entitled only by public law
to such rights, privileges, and conditions
as might be vouchsafed by the conquer
or. This position is also established by
judicial decisions, and is recognized by
the President in public proclamations,
documents andspeeches.
Third, Having voluntarily deprived
themselves of representation in Congress,
for the criminal purpose of destroying
the Federal Union, and having reduced
themselves, by the act of levying war, to
the condition Of public enemies, they have
no right to complain of temporary exclu--
sion from Congress, but, on the contrary,
having voluntarily denounced their right
to representation, and disqualified them
selves by crime from participation in the
Government, the burden now rests upon
them, claiming to be reinstated in their
| former condition, to show that the are
| qualified to resume Federal relations =
In order to do this they must prove that
they have Established, with the consent
of the people, republican form of govern
ment in harmony with the Constitution
and laws of the United States, that all
hostile purposes have ceased. and should
!. give adequate guarantees against future
treason and eoellion-guarantee which
prove satisfactory to the Government
against which they rebelled, and by
whose arms they were subdued.
Foulth. Having, by this reasonable
withdrawal from Congress and by fagrant
rebellion and war, forfeited all civil aud
political rights and privileges under the
Federal Constitution, they can only be
restored thereto by the permission and
4 authority OF that constitutional power
against which they rebellel, and by which
they were subdued
Fifth. These rebellious enemies wera
conquered by the people of the Unite
States, acting through all the coordinate
branches Of the Government, and not
by the Executive department alone The
powers of conqueror' are not so vested in
the President that he can fix and regu-
late the terms of settlement aud confer
congressional representation upon con-
quered rebels and traitors Nor can he
in any way qualify enemies of the Gov
ernment to exercise its w-making pow
er. The authority to restore rebels to
political power in the Federal Govern
ment can be exercised only with the con
curren e of all the departments in which
political power is vested. And hence
the several proclamations of the Presi-
dent to the people of the Confederate
States cannot be considered as extending
beyond the purpose declared, and can
only be regarded as provisional permis-
sion by the Commmnder-in Chief of the
army to do certain acts, the validity
whereof is to be determined by the con
atitutiunal government, and not solely by
the Executive power.
Sixth. The question before Congress is,
tn n, whether conquered enemies have
the right and shall be permitted, at their
own pleasure and on their own terms, to
participate in making laws for their con-
querors; whether conquered rebels may
change their theatre of operations from
the battlefield, where they were defeated
and overthrown, to the halls of Congress
and, through their representatives, seize
upon the Government which they fought
to destroy,whether the national treasury,
the army of the nation, its navy, its forts
and arscnals, its whole civil administra-
tion, its credit, its pensioners-th wild
ows and orphans of those who pershed
in the war-the public honor, peace and
safety shall all be turned over to the
keeping of its ro3ent enemies, without
delay and without imposing such condi-
tions as, in the opinion Of Congress, the
Sc urity of the country and its institu.
tions may demand
Seventh. The history of mankind ex-
hibits no example of such madness and
folly, The instinct of self preservation
protests against it. The surrender of
Grant to Lee, and Sherman to johnson,
would have been disssta u of less magui-
tude, for new armies could have been
raised, new battles fought, and the Gov
egnment saved. The auti-coercive poll.
cy which under pretext of avoiding blood
shed, allowed the rebellion 10 take from
and gather force, would be surpassed in
infamy by the matchess wickedness that
now would surrender the halls of Con.
gress to those so recently in rebellion,
until proper precautions shall have been
taken to secure the national faith and the
national safety.
Eighth. 1t has beer shown in this
report and in the evidence submitted, no
proof has been afforded to Congress of a