Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-12

u as tue Executive OF the lnIted states
h make peace with the States .once in insu
id reetion. Sil, under 'what clause of the Col
at titution does the President of the Unite
States have the power to proclaim and e
tablish peace after state of war has inte
a vened, whether with foreign country Wit
h which We might happen to be at war, {
a with State or District declared by Con
: gres to be in insurrectiOn. He has no powe
n under the Constitution to make war and fc
l., the same reason he has no power under tn
If Constitution to make peace, and Congress
\ has never, in any statute which it ha
If passed given TO the President of the Unite
\ States any authority whatever to declar
q peace, even in regard TO the rebel States
n Gentlemen, you will look in vain for sucl
e authority in the act of 1861. The Presiden
e was authorized to declare certain States o
part Of States, according tc his discretion
or in other words according as the fact
might appear to him, to be insurrectiOn; bu
Sir, Congress never gave him any power t.
declare the insurrectiOn 10 be at an end
much less to declare the insurrectionary
States restored to the positions which thsy
occupied before the war; much less to de-
clare that peace had intervened.
Mr.. C0WAN inquired whether there wa.
necessity for any declaration of the kind
and whether it was necessary to declare the
l
Mr.. HOWARD replied: That is by no
means the question. 1t is net a question
whether there be any necessity for granting
such power to the President or any other
person; but the question il whether it has
been granted. / assert, Sir, thst Congress
has never granted any such power TO the
President, as TO declare that peace in all its
forms, and all its relations, has been restor-
ed to the insurrectionary States. Congress
has taken good care to reserve for them
selves the authority, and / need only
to refer to the fact that the statute to which
I refer was drawn by the hand of one of
the most cautious and cireumspect and
| profound constitutional lawyers of the
| country, refer to Hon. Mr.. ,Collamer, Of
| Vermont, who is understood to have been
the author Of that act. He bysno means
| inserted clause in the statute authorizing
the President of the United States to declare
that peace has returned.
Mr.. SUMNER-He was the author OF
that act.
Mir. HowARD-But the Presidents mes
| sage assumes that il is within the constitu-
! tional competency Of the President Of the
| United States to make peace with insurrec-
| tionary States, and it assumes, sir, all this
| without the slightest recognition in any of
its pages or any Of its paragraphs Of the
power or duty of Congress to legislate in
these momentous and important subjects.
| Nothing, sir. The message ignores the
| competency of Congress and its authority,
| and treats the Executive as the only source
of power over the rebel States. 1t does not
propose to consult Congress at all on the
subject Of reconstruction. and takes as'little
pains to refer this subject or any other
branch of it to Congress as If there were
no Congress, and with singular coolness
asks the two Houses to Judge each for itself
of the election returns and qualifications Of
its own members.
: Mr.. Howard, after quoting from the
message and from SONIC Of the preclsma
tions Of the President, said that he John
SOM had presumed 10 appoint without law
provisional governors for Southern States.
and to impart power to call conventions for
the purpose of allowing those States to re-
model their constitutions, and to enact laws
70 cover the whole field of State legislation.
He had said, after having done this, very
coollY and very condescsndingiy, to Con-
grcss, IL now remains for YOU to juige-of
what? Of the fitness of States for read
mission into the Union? No, but simply and
solely to judge of the election qualifications
and returns of senators and representatives
who might happen to elected 10 represent
the Southern States reconstructed under
abnegation on the part Of the Executive Of
any authority whatever for Congress to in
tertore to regulate in any manner whatever
thestatus of the rebel States.
Mr.. Howard said he would not assert that
Provisional governors ought not to have |
been appointed, but the question was what |
power had the President over the subject |
1t was for Congress and not for the Presi- |
1ent to have authority over these appoint |
ments. The power exercised by the Presi- |
dent in the matter was one of the most |
enormous Usurpations Of the power of Con |
gress ever attempted. If the Congress of |
the United States should at this moment |
wink at this assumption Of power; if they /
should not stand up to assert their con- |
stitutioDsl power over this most important
branch of their duties, then he {oated for
ward to the time when the will OF ~
Executive of this nation shall become the |
law Of the land.
The President should have called Con-
gress together at the close Of the war, in
stead of claiming the right to say that he,
Andrew johnson, the lucky, wss to say how
the work of reconstruction was to be con
Quoted.
Referring to Mr.. Lincoln's plan of recon
struction, Mr.. Howard said Now, Sir, let
the name Of Mr.. Lincoln be no more quoted
eous policy by which the law power of Con-
gress over the subject of reconstruction is
said to be absorbed into the single hand of
the. Executive of the United States. Do not
desecrate the name Of so great and good
man as President Lincoln by imputing TO
him such gross attempt to usurp the pow
ers of Congress-
Mr.. President, the Hon. Secretary of State
in prepared speech, delivered by him at
Cooper Institute in New York, on the 22nd
day Of February, simultaneously with the
delivery Of the Presidents own speech, to
which I have alluded, speaking Of the res
toration Of the rebels, uses the following
language, which, TO me, is very strange in
deed
'Sir, now Tam sure this plan" that is-the
plan OF President Johnson %is going to sue
coed, that is the plan of the immediate re-
admission of the Southern States into Con
gress. l am sure of It." says the Secretary
of State, "because some plan must succeed"
He is perfectly sure particular plan is 60
ing to succeed because some plan must
When was boy at school studying logic,
if had uttered such a sentence as that by
way Of logic, I think the professor wonld |
have told me 1t was a non sequItur. And
because, continues the Secretary, this is the !
only plan which has ever been attempted, |
or ever will be attempted. The only plan
Had the honorable Secretary forgotten the
plan of Mr.. Lincoln plan as different
from that of Johnson's as light is from
darkness He says that this is the only one
which can be attempted with success We
shall try the issue.
Mr.. President, l make no boasts
throw out no Inenaces and no denanee, but
I say with conG GdenOe here to the friends of
this policy will try that issue before the
country. I tell you when it is fully and
fairly presented to the people of the United
States when they come to understand
what it is in its length and breadth, in its de-
signs and purposes, in its enormousness and
dangers, in its injustice and cruelty, andin
all its monstrosities, sir, do not doubt that
an honest, loyal and gallant people, who
have done so much to preserve the Govern
ment, to maintain its dignity, its honor,
will give lasting and endurable rebuke to
this policy so confidently asserted by the
Secretary of State.
He says 1t is nearly executed already.
States, he says,-harken to this-the States
are then just as truly in the exercise of their
State Constitutions aud powers and facuI-
ties as the State Of New York is at Albany
to-day. What is the logical CONSEQUENCE Of
this If the eleven rebel States are nj the
present time as legitimately and as consti-
tutionally in the exercise of their proper
functions, and are as loyal and obedient 10 |
the laws of the United States, and if as
much entitled to be represented in Congress
as is the State of New York, and if Con-
gress wickedly refuse to allow
them the same privileges of representation |
that is enjoyed by New York, what is to be /
spprehended? What is the logical result of |
the assertion Of the Secretary Of State that |
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