Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-02-20
[l'rom the National Intelligencer, Feb. eth.l
TO The Sovereign PeOniIe.

good rs our eherlShed ODJect, 10 invoke tht
testlmony from every loyal man that ths
war has ceased, the Union has been restor.
ed, the time has come when the States mus
be practically, as>they have always beer
alphabetically, equal In rights, in immuni-
ties, and in sovereign dignity.
Either this is so, or It Is not. If so. the
refusal of Congress to admit members elect
from part OF the common Union is revo.
lutiOnary. The example Is one of fearful
promise. The practical form of the ques'
tion Is, as to the qualifications for seats o
the individual members elect. Adverse re-
ports upon their credentials have not been
made. There is by a majority, mere nom
action on the subject. After long hesita-
tion, the Clerk of the House had declined
to enroll those members elect. Thus, the
minister ial act OF an inferior otlieer-dOubt'
less, in this instance, conscientiously done
has had the practical effect (by givinS
opportunity to party organization un-
known to the organic law, to refuse to eXer-
else legislative functions upon certain
and vital matter) to Suspend the Constitu-
tion of the country.
Isthis not fearful precedent to set? The
Clerk of any future Congress may refuse te
enroll the names of the adverse party
without regard to their sectional locality
aud his party might, upon assembling
organize the House and delay action upon
claims to seats, of which they might moi
even deny the validity. What would that
be calledp and what is the present case
else y" .D. i'i '''
The truth is plain, and it ought to be
heard. Everybody knows 1t. To deny il
is to dishonor the mind which contrives
the subterfuge of dissent. We talk now
not ut the augmentation, but to the con-
science of every reader. And what is that
truth9 1t is this: W..ish .5sG
The Republic is restored in whole, and
in every Ipartg And what is the Republic
A union OF States in which all thst they
have not given up to the nation they have
reserved to themselves, and what they
have given llp to the nation is specified in
the Constitution, and is to be exercised
by equal delegates from all the States sub
ject to its jurisdiction. a.t ...,.a..5-
But if men have the audaeity to say that
the civil warts not over then when is 1t to
be over? Are we In the midst of civil
struggle now? Ifso, proclaim to the world
that the overthrow of the rebel armies, the
abolition of slavery, and the general amnes-
ty conclude nothing, Obligate nothing, end
nothing, effect nothing; that we have de-
frauded the rebels into submission, and
have resolved to force them into resrac-
tiOn of it. Let us confess that in every
syllable Of the following heartfelt pledge
of the loyal people of the United States,
made almost unanimously by Congress two
days after the battle of Bull Run, on the
23d July, 1861, and solemnized by every
drop of loyal blood ever shed since, we
were recording the gravest and most stu
pendous falsehoOd of history. 1t was on
the faith of the following that our loyal
-ln
subversion of the Republic dared not then
disclose such an object: .r
"ReSolred, That this war is not prosecuted
upon our part in any spirit of oppression,
nor for any purpose OF conquest or sub
jugatiOn, nor purpose of oVerthrowing or
interfering with the rights or established
institutions of those States, but to defend
and maintain the supremacy of the Con-
stitutiOn and all laws made in pursuance
thereof, and to preserve the Union with
all the dignity, equality, and rights of the
several States unimpaired; that as soon as
these objects are accomplished the war
ought to cease"
is that resolution loyal or disloyal p
that is the question. We pronounce with
out the least hesitation our opinion that no
man is loyal who denies the opposite, con-
elusive and controlling application of the
doctrine of these resolutions now and here.
We think they are aDerfect test. We hope
the people will open their eyes.
The scenes of 1851 in Congress are being
now re-enacted in all their substantial ele-
ments Of revolution, of disunion, of treason.
The old rebellion is in progress. 1t is only
the difference of circumstances. The ma
jority in Congress are carrying on an
essentially revolutionary scheme. And
the object is like that of their predecessors
in conspiracy and treason. 1t is to
preserve power. For this object the Seces-
isiOnists undertook to SOutherniZe the North
against an accomplished event, and adapt
the Constitution by violent reform to their
own section.- For the self-same object the
disunionists now in Congress undertake,
against an accomplished event and one of
the greatest in history. by denationalizing
the South, to deliberately destroy the res
cued Union, abolish the social compact,
defy the laws of nature, and revive the
abominable abasement of feudalism
which perished under the curse of Heaven
three hundred years ago. This, from the
lust for power in few hands-just as the
few artful aud arrogant traitors of 1861 did
for the sake Of power.
But there must soon come to pass a no.
table difference. The desperate secession
lists were able to induce their people to fol-
low them, and war resulted. The present
revolutionary combination, defiant and
desperate as It Is, cannot command their
people, and hence their extreme and reck-
less malevOlence.
We inplore the people to realize for
themselves that the soemnly declared
pledge made by every one of them, through
Congress in 1861, is heing repudiated by
their party leaders, and conspiracy is on
loot for the subversion of the Republic and
the establishment of grim and monstrous
military despOtism instead. Do you doubt |
it, fellow citizens of the Union? The South |
is to be kept down as fulcrum. But the
iron lever il, coming with crushing force
upon your own breasts. and you must rise
and Indignantly demand that a restored |
Union shah not be subverted, or the power
will pass forever from your still sovereign
hands. -'
Let the people hold meetings in every
hamlet in the North and West, with An-
drew johnson, the resolutions of 1861, and
the Union, as the only party PLATFORM and
rebuke with disgust every suggestion of
sectional malice or ruinous fanaticism.
We say to you, fellow-citzens, that your
awful sacrifices and your splendid achieve
ments are to be all in vain, and that speed
lily, if you do not put forth your power
ful arm aud smite your betrayers. Their
scheme is to perpetuate their hold upon
you by establishing themselves as a new
and mighty slave power in the South,
through the pretense of Negro Suffrage;
and thus intrenched, aided by the powerful
name of universal freedom, they will es-
tablish a remorseless and tremendous
enginery of oppression of the white peO-
pie Of the whole country, through passive