The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1866-02-22
VOLUME 26.-

+ stand godfather for it, let it dropas it ought
want it sanctioned by nobody else NJ
other tribunal known to our constitution
l and laws can give it any sanction.
! MIR. President, the speech submitted by
my colleague contains a great number o.
, points upon which should Ike to comment
but it would not answer to occupy the time
of the Senate for that purpose. Some Of
l them, however, must mention. Consider
! ing that he is the representative of the
Union party, l thought it very unfortunate
that he should have tauuted the Senate and
the Congress of the United States with the
passage of resolution which he quotes
from the legislation of 1861 He says that
Immediately after our humiliating reverse
at Bull Run:
I'm that hour of defeat, when humbled
before the nations and before the supreme
Ruler of the world, Congress, almost unani
mously in both Houses, declared
That this war is not prosecuted upon
our part i'll any spirit of oppression, nor for
any purpose OF conquest or subjugation, nor
purpose OF overthrowing or interfering with
the right or established institutions OF those
States, but to defend and maintain the su-
premacy Of the Constitution aud all laws
made III pursuance thereof. and to preserve
the Union with all the dignity. equality,
and rights of the several States uulm3ared;
that IS soon as these objects are accomplish
cd the war war ought to cease.
lie says that resolution was adopted in
the hour Of defeat and in the hour Of nation
al humiliation, as Il congress, had they de-
liberated a litCle longer Til they survived
the humiliation vi tn0t bull hun disaster,
would have refused To pass such resolution
fa5 that; and the IntlnatiOu is that now
proving victorious instead Of defeated We
/ see lit 10 disregard it and set it aside alto
getheY. Sir, do we not all know what the
0aipab.e fact was The first months of
this war, | am sorry to say the first years
Of this war; were spent in the vain, idle aud
hopeless effort to put down the rebellion af-
ter fashion which would enable us to
make believe that there had never been a
rebellion. We We're trying not TO overcome
our enemies, but to just hold them still; and
this resolution was the deliberate expression
OF the Congress Of the United States at that
| time.
We were then prosecuting the war, all the
time holding out to our enemies terms Of
reconciliation and Cancellation. aud peace
Why, sir, for the first year of the war our
very bayoue is carried laureIs upon then
we thought softly. When this resolution
was adopted, believe we were all on What
is called the ixty-day paper; we were going
to put down the Instruction. OF course it
was not then the purpose of the Government
it was not the purpose of those who
adopted this resolution, to interfere with
those political organizations which were
called states; nor to interfere with their in.
situations, not to interfere even with their
laws. We did then propose this resolution.
We proposed it for the purpose of appealing
to the magnaninity of the people down
there to lay down their arms and not to
prosecute that insurrectionary attempt to
the bitter end of the bitterest of wars. But
we found in the course of months, What |
think wise and sagacious men foresaw i'll the
very outset of these hostlities, that all these
efforts at cancellations, at reconciliation,
were in vain.
| We found that there was only one way
OF obtaining peace with these enemies Of the
United States, and that was by whipping
| them; and when your armies were organ
lied and officered and maneu vered upon that
| system of tactics, peace began to show itself,
| and not till then.
| But do not think it was exactly right to
intimate that the American Congress was
insincere or dishonest when it adopted that
resolution. or that it is faithless to that
resolution now when different policy is
suggested to it, The doctrines of that res,
olution were departed from long ago. Then
we declared that at that time we did not
propose to interfere with the institution of
No into
stitution of slavery, several years ago, and
the institution of slavery has ceased to exist.
Was that violation of this joint resolution
which was passed in 1861 Whv, sir, the
American people, taking the power out of
our hands, superseding its Congress, decreed
Of themselves, that in spite of this resolu-
ton and of all the local laws in those dis
| tricts, slavery should cease to exist. We
were going to preserve the states with all
their dignity and rights unimpaIred. How
well we have persevered in that policy
shall have occasion to remark hereafter.
But, Mr.. President, my colleague differs
not only from myself i'll his views of what
should be done at the present time, but he
differs very materially, as is evident, from
the Senator from Maryland. The Senator
| from Maryland insists that these communl
Ties were always states, that we were pros
ecuting the war simply to disarm the insur-
gents in them. and that, when that object
was accomplished, there the states stood
with their organizations complete; that Ma
grath was Governor of South Carolina; that
the men who were elected Senators and
Representatives to her Legislature were the
| Legislature of that State that the Judges
appointed by that government still exercised
| the judicial pewers of the state; there was
the state complete, with its complete organ
izations intact. This is the theory of the
Senator from Maryland. The theory of my
| colleague is that we, somehow or other,
notwithstanding South Carolina was always
a state, did get the right and the power not
merely to disarm the insurgents but to over
throw those political organizations. have
been utterly unable to understand from
what clause of the Constitution my colleague
derives that authority. We not only dis
armed the insurgents in South Carolina, but
we deposed her Governors, we dismissed her
Legislatures, we vacated the seats of all
her judges That has been done. My col
league says it is all right; the Senator from
Maryland says it is all wrong; l agree with
my colleague that it is right but not right
IL bOubn SdlOiALib 10 q OtoIC, Ouly DG
cause South Carolina had forfeited all the
prerogatives and all the rights which belong
J to state.
My colleague thinks that the President
had this power by virtue of the authority
vested in him by the laws of the land t.
make peace. There have been great many
things done in the progress of this war, il
{ the exercise of what were called the wa
l powers of the government, which though
little peculiar, some Of which | coult
hardly undertake to defend under the con
stitution of the United States. have no
j been distressed about them, for they wer
i all done for good purposes; and if the.
were illegal, l knew the time would com
: when redress could be administered, and
: thought that redress would come when tn
Q war ended, and the war would not last for
: ever. But sir, the worst of all these thing
: bears no comparison to what has been don
r. in tho axaroica of what NV al loo cruo 90 II