Litchfield enquirer., 1866-10-18
YatBdtlo Gnqnitst
na.ona.la. Conn. Thursday, Oct. 1s, lsss
The Result.

ratohasld. Conn. Thursday, Oct. 1s, l866
 The Result.
 The Composition of the Fortieth Congress can no.lasesr b .. matter of doubt SeshaH have as large majority in that as in the pres snt one. The Northern people, therefore, in- sist on the acceptance by the South of the Constitutional amendments before they are admitted to . participation.in in the government i; end it Msy not be improbable 10 review the eysns5 wkicE have brought the reconstruction question te thatisaee 9as' a3s
 When ths.H ended tho Democratic party mantained that the Secession State govern srnmsnss still held . leeitinate | authority that alfshsif Seeding and iusurrectionary legislation wnindssdsvdids but that all their other or dinsty Iseislaaionf was valid. This they held on ths, ,eedipey legal principle, that the validity ofasny constitutional State enactment is not affected by tic nnconstitutionality of any oth- CT Sct; -that portions even of single act may besAsad uuoohstitutional, while other portions are held yalid. aa sla. isNls ,sa si.se ass ;, With regard to theaegal position of fnthe se! esded States, the opinions of Union men were were divided. Some heA thst State rights, like othsss sssspyr~ssl fisisss might be- Etorfsted by ababdSphapf or bl what. in law is termed 2, misxser. It is we'll settled that when corpo- ratieusS SwilHaIly and riispsatedly undertake to exercise gan authority not given them, mot onlys gre their illagsl acts void, but they fcr. feitthsir corporate sxists1ce also, and may may On psqpsf, legal ioeesdipss be- dissolved. In like maensr, itis atguedsby theira outrageous per: version of State authority to treasonable. purr- poiss and by tbeis sPraeicslly ssyeriug ell con- nectieni between the State and thepnatio1, the inhabitants of the seeded States have abap, doned and forfeited their right to State privii- leges that, although a'State cannot commit tssasob' ot taks its tsfttosy oat of the national jurisdictiops yet when git repudiates the na- tional suthoriss5 when it compels every one of its af5cssgEss tp support rebellion against that suthoit5da itn may justly and on prece- deuslbs considered 6 hayealost that corporate szistss3fssa aniehit SaSh has 50 grossly abpsed.- This Gsaemst the sonnder and among Union men theimore prevalent doctrine, and tohnds its treatment pfs mischievous and reasonable mu- nicipal associations on the common sense max i'm that an ounce of prevention is worth pound,efcurs!i' isi rtT a ooi.h hi '9t
 Other Union men, however, have taken 2 middle Gppjss; {; holding that althouahi it would be preposterous to..claim that Secession Govern on Ind isHaatSrs need only to take the oath of allegiapqe, tog bscome Union Governors and legislaaors. yet that the privileges of the secs dsd saatss Sxsss i6S sabsyaace.. rather than lost during the rebellion, and needed only to be set again in motion by the national govern msnt. This portion of the Union party have, nevertheless, always maintained that it was the prsvincs 6f the national legislature tore estab- lish the suspended State governments and toe decide upon dhs svidebces'of loyalty which sho9@ bs gsqqifHssd were recogaizsd.
 T6sueourse of President Johsson acanuos,' howsvE,i.bs Eeconciled with any reasonable theory < 1gtouHaed Hou any principle. If the Dsmoeratio doctrine were correct. President Johnson not only assembled dozen illegal conventions. but tyrannically imposed condi. tious upon them after they were assembled. If either Union theory were, correct, President Johnson usurpsd the Legislative powers be- longing to Congress, unless he merely intended ssta6lishing temporary governments till they could meet and arrange some we'll considered plan of Reconstruction. No sooner, neverthe-, lsss, did Congress meet, than the President demanded their immediate recognition of the stats, savesnnenh he. had established, with, out makiBgsany examination into their mode osiotnsAson, ,sor their loyalty. The truth is, thai, just as Psssidsnt Johnson began his ad- minislrstioia a 1Unioaist, and ended Demo- cras, so. he began the work of reconstruction on . UnieR theory apd changed to the Democrat ic; and, hispressnti eviews of reconstruction can n6 inofs be 'reconciled with his former ones, than his present conduct towards traitors can bereconciled with the current of his talk during the frat few weeks of his administra- ton. llsds GiIsi3ouadl hrF f0s,sF 7a'l 's'
 whsi acotgrsss1 assembled the difficulties they ksds fo spcountsr were of 2 practical rath-, CT than anithsorstical scharaetsrs Although the great majority believed ip their coustitu- tiouals tight to declare Southern State organi-. satious forfsissd by abandonment and misuser,i they dsspsd t insxpedient to adopt. any such extreme, meaaures, and were willing to sanction Mr Jshseou's temporary State governments ;; but tiley did not propose to abdica.e thei, .le- gitimats legislative functions and, pass meas. ures of such importance without examination. They psoceded atoncs to bear evidenoe upon. the coaditinn of the South and practical work-, ings ctMr Johnson's plan oI reconsideration 2 On nature ,delibssation they determined Shat other conditions ssrsinecsssarY, beside those already imposed by the President, before it would 6e ssls toFecogaisa his provisionalS eovsrhnents, and they embodied those condi-.