Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1866-09-20

twenty Thousand people, at Attics
Ind, few days since. We max
the following extracts from hi
speech:
WHAT TIE REBELS FORFEITED.
We maintained that when o MAJ
had committed treason against tn,
Constitution, he was guilty OF the
highest crime known to the law an6
( in so doing had forfeited his life
civil and political; and this forfeiture
was made 10 that Government froT
whom these rights were acquired
Citizens acquire rights, under the
laws. from the Government. They
are IIeseUwed upon the individual by
reason of his being citizen of the
Government of the United States;
aad when forfeited by him, they are
forfeited to the Government, again
to be returned to them, if the Gov
ernment deem it proper at any time
to do so, or to be reserved in its
hands, if the Government sees proper
to do so, for all time to CONC.
This was the theory of the e.loJ&l
people of the United States. 1t was
the theory of our courts and Of the
law.
We held then, that when these
people committed treason. they for
feited their rights, civil and political;
and not only that, but that they for
feited their lives, if the Government
saw proper to take them; and thst
they have no power to look to now,
for their restoration, bnt 10 this Gov
ernment. They cannot take upon
themselves these rights, in the hands
of the Government, and they eau
only ask the country in its magma
nimity to restore to them such of
these rights as it may deem advisa-
BILE.
But there is n party in this coun-
try that says the people of these
Southern States have forfeited no
rights, and are entitled to the same
political rights as you and 1 are. We
not only deny this, but say it was
not the theory or rule upon which
tile rebellion was fought ont and fin
ished by the loyal people of the Uni
ted States. 1t was not the under
standing that when we put down
treason the States in rebellion against
the Government were to come i'm
mediately back to their former rela-
tions. There must be some recon
struction first, before the people can
become party of the political power
Of the State and patton. We said
that the States ceuld not 60 out of
the Union, and should not, but we
said that the people by going into
rebellion, and -overturnIng their
State Governments, and establishing
other forms of government under
different Constitutions from our own,
destroyed the practical political re-
lations that existed between their
State Governments and the Govern
ment of the United States, and there
by forfeited their rights under the
Constitution. Then when the resto-
ration of the States is completed, it
can only be in this way. The legis-
lative department Of the Government
can again restore the people to such
rights, civil and political, as they
deem proper and just. Your Dem
ocrats say now, as they said all
through the war, that the rebels were
justifiable in their course, that they.
had forfeited no rights; that the mo-
ment that they laid down their arms
they were entitled to the same rights
as the people Of Indiana. We say
that a traitor cannot be placed on ar
equality with loyal men except by
the action of the Congress of the
United States, and if 1t Is left to me
they never will be placed on an
equality with them. Cheers. 1t
is for the Government, the people of
the country who saved the Govern.
ment from destruction, to say at what
time and under what conditions they
shall return. They are the crimi-
nails; we are the jury, and we intend
to decide the case in our own way,
according to law and the Constitu-
ton, and if they don't like it they
can help themselves. Great cheers.
LINcoLN's POLICY AND JoHNsoN's.
But there is a radical difference
between the two. Abraham Lincoln
appointed a Governor for the State
of Tennessee. How did he do it?
He appointed Andrew johnson Brig
adler General in the army, and then
him Military Governor of
Tennessee. How did President
Johnson do2 He appointed Gov.
miserable broken down
rebel that never held a commission
in any army, and never expected to-
This is the difference between the
two courses. When the rebel States
were subdued they were under mill
tary Jurisdiction; civil authority had
been destroyed, and military author-
ity was supreme over them. If Mr..
johnson had wished to exercise
proper authority over the States he
attempted to reconstruct, he should
have laid them off into military dis
tricts, and appointed a military off,
Ger over each one, as a military Gov
ernor subseryient to his orders as
their superior officer, until Congress
should adopt such measures as would
enable them to rearrange their rela-
tions with the general Government.
How would this have worked? In
this way: If the State of Georgia had
had 5000 loyal men in it, under the
military rule the rebels could have
been excluded from the work of re-
organization, and the loyal men un.
der an act of Congress, or resolu-
ton, might have assembled and es-
tablished their State governments