The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-04-09
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
wAsuINoTON, April 4.

! House. He characterized this session
as the session of magazine articles pre-.
pared and spoken by members and
published in the Globe to such an ex'
tent that that publication exceeded by
81, 400 pages the quantity published
in the corresponding period of the first
session of the last Congress? What
beneficial purposes had all these essays
contributed, with the exception of five
or six, or perhaps dozen of them,
there was not a solitary new idea pre-
scented by them. They were but a
mere repetition of what had been said
by others. The verbiage had been
changed, but the ideas were the same,
These speeches might be almost regard
ed as law, for they had their first, sec
ond and third readings. The principal
topic of these speeches was the Ameri-
can citizen of African descent. He be-
lieved there was n great deal of mis-
taken philanthropy and sympathy ex-
hibited for the colored people. When
they were in slavery, he proceeded to
show from personal experience, that
the slaves of the South had not had n
very bad time of it. This part of his
spec CHI brought out series of question
| ing from Messrs. Price, Plants and
| Norris Mr.. Hogan'S answers showed
that he believed slavery to be wrong
that he was glad that it was eXtirpia-
ted; that he believed that the Demo-
cratic party could not die while liberty
lived and that all declarations about
the negro was great wrong perpetra-
ted in Congress and the American peo-
pie passing on the discussion OF the
reconstruction question.
Mr.. Hogan proceeded to show tile in
consistency ofthe present policy OF the
Republican party with the action OF
Congress throughout the war, &C., in
the admission 10 a seut on the floor, of
persons claiming to be representatives
from Tennessee and Louisiana, and in
other matters of general legislation
Much of the, argument at this session
had been against the President of the
United States. He had been denounced
and abused because his policy WAS sus-
tanned by democrats in the House. But
had he been nominated and elected be-
cause he was IL democrat and because
he was a Southern man, democrats
would have sustained him purely from
patriotic motives.
Mr.. Baldwin, of Mass, was the next
speaker. He had no sympathy, he said,
with the eager zeal which had been eX-
hibited for restoring the insurgent
States to their place in the Union. He
thought the effort premature. Itseemed
to him the work should have been
undertaken without haste, and with
very great deliberution. He thought IL
better to have waited until the mad
passions had subsidized, till the whole
nation had been made to feel that trea-
son is a crime, tillthe policy to be pur-
sued with traitors had been settled, un-
til time had developed in those South
ern communities with elements of re-
construction as would have nude 1t
successful, and until that black and
bloody spirit, baffled treason, had been
changed and purified by the transtigu-
ration of such a returning love for
. Ia oll for a and glory
of the Republic as would have brought
all the semblance of genuine loyalty.
He cordially approved of the joint res
olution reported from the ReconStruc-
ton Committee relating to traitors, SO
far as it asserted or implied the absolute
authority of Congress over questions OF
that character, but the resolution was
not quite free from objection in another
aspect; it had not been presented in the
best form. He thought it could be
much improved by making it
more direct. A portion of its
language was calculated to mislead
many people. He meant the portion
resolving that the State of Tennessee is
hereby declaredl 10 be one of the United
States of America on an equal footing
with other States. That Language was
understood by many to mean that Ten
nessee was now out of the Union. He
was sure no such meaning was lntend,
ed, but the language was likely to lead
to misconstruction, and should not be
used in "a resolution of such Importance.
He thought the resolution might be i'm
proved by striking out the words he
had quoted, and substituting for them
something like the following:
RESOLVED, That the State of tennessee
is hereby declared to be satisfactorily
reorganized and in fit condition to re-
a6lish her old relations to the Gov
eminent, and resume her representa-
ton in Congress.
He held that not an acre OF land in
the Southern region had ceased for a
moment to be under the national sover-
eighty. No assumption or proceeding ,g
of treason had repealed the act of Con-
gress by which certain specified Terrific
Ty was declared to be the State of Tenn
essee. Either the most pestilent- doc
trine of secession, or else every ordl-
nance of secession must be 1nneXlDly
treated as null and void from the be-
ginning. The men who had couspired
and warred against the Government,
and who were still unchanged in spirit,
such men us had been described in the
testimony of Gen. Thomas should be
compelled to stand back to wait and
| feel for a time the disabilities oftreason.
No consideration of policy or desire 10
exercise magnanimtty, no mesmerlc
charm of expectancy could mae the
I
Iofsuch men into the councils OF the ma
ton would be "a crime more damnhDle
than treason itself. There should be no
system of reconstruction that was not
founded in the protection and security
of Union men in the South and OF the
coIored freedmen. The latter should
| have the ballot which contained a mod
flied power of projections, and this would
he ONLY n return to the old practice OF
| the country, for mt the time of the revo-
linton it was only in two States, Geor-
pia and South Carolina, that the color
| cd freedmen were refused suffrage. The
mower of darkness could not triumph
| in this contest in this matter of duty to-
ward freedmen. The country was on
trial before the world and could not
escape the Judgment of mankind:
Mr.. Harding, of Ill, addressed the
/ House briefly in reference TO the hnan-
cial condition of the country.
Mr.. Wilson, of Iowa, said presume
| that the message from the Senate IN
reference to its action on the civil rights
bill will be received in this House early
ON Monday, L desire to state now, in or
der that notice may be given to mem
hers who al not here, in the reports OF
to-day's proceedings that Immediately
AFTER the morning hour on Monday tfthe
message from the Senate shall have
been received, shall ask to have the
veto message of the President taken up,
and inter its reading / shall move the
nreyious question on the passage of the
| bill. Notwithstanding the objection OF
| the previous question in order to bring
the house to an immediate vote on the
/ bill