Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1866-09-26
WHAT IS CONGRESS

ia The following act, passed by Congress
in 1862 and approved by President Lin
coin, stands upon the statute book
JO~ Be it enacted by the Senate and
Honseiof Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assem-
bled,i That from and after the 3D. day of
March, 1868, the number of members Of
the House Of Representatives of the Con.
gress of the United States shall be 24l
and the s additional members shall be
assigned, one in each, to Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Minne-
sofa, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Approved March 4, 1862 f"
By law Congress thus consists of 24l
members, and by law, also, majority
of the whole number, or l2l members,
constitute quorum. Suppose that
members elected from the Southern
States should meet in December, 1867,
and be enough, added to Northern mem
bers who believe in their right to repre-
sentation, and who would meet with
them, to constitute quorum; and sup
pose the Northern members who do not
believe the South entitled to representa-
ton, and who would not meet with them,
should meet by themselves, constituting
less than quorum of the whole num-
ber The Pittsburg Chronicle begins to
see the possibility of such an occurrence
and also it sees that the President will
be under the necessity of recognizing
one or the other of these bodies as the
valid, constitutional House of Repre-
sentatives. He must send his message
to the one or the other as a branch of
Congress, clothed with the power of
making laws, and the other circumstan-
ces assumed, there can be very little
doubt, in view of his known opinions on
the subject that President johnson will
recognize the numerical quorum--the
body which contains a majority of all
the .members-as the only body author
ized by the Constitution to make laws for
the United States He will probably
send his message to that body; he will
sign the bills they pass, if concurred in
by the Senate, and he will not recognize
the acts of the other as valid in any res
pect The Senate, on the contrary, will
recognize majority of members from
all the States but 10, even if they are
minority of the whole, at the real Con
gress, and as clothed with all the powers
of legislation. NJ
Here, certainly, is danger of colli
sion of authority. We have foreseen it,
and have warned the country of it.
The Radicals have foreseen it, and have
been preparing for it They have not
concealed their pprpose, in such an
event, to appeal to force, and rouse the
country to another conflict OF arms 1t
was with direct reference to such a con
tingency that Gen B. r. Butler was last
winter made commander-in-chief of the
militia of Massachusetts, 1t was for the
purpose OF preparing for this, that a bill
was brought into Congress last winter,
calling on all the Northern States to re-
organize, discipline and arm their mill
tia and proposing to take from the Pres
ident control of the arms and munitions
of war belonging to the United States,
and to Distribute them among the Cow
ernors of the Northern States Radical
members said openly on the floor Of
Congress that they intended to be ready
for such,a conflict of authority when ii
should ,afise+1that the negroes of the
South should be prepared and armed for
it .also-=and that the President and his
cabinet, and everybody in Congress who
stood by him, should be driven headlong
into the Potomac ..H.ff