Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1866-04-19

ID thsisery horn: books of the law. that an'
act declaring what the law Is. is one Of the
most eou mon of acts passed by legislative
badies3 When th3re is any question as to
what the law il, and for greater certainty,
il is the most common thing in the world to
passEa statute declaring iii My opiuionis
such was the opinion Of, the Attorney,G Gen-
eral, such the opinion Of the present Secre-
tary of State, such the opinion of Mr. Lin.
coins Administrator in all its departments,
such / believe TO be the prevailiug opinion
in the United States, that all native-beru
|, persons not subject 20 a foreign Power are
by virtue Of their birth citizens Of the United
States. But some dispute this and hence
for greater certainty it is proper to pass this
law, and the fact Of its being a declaratory
act is now made reason for disapproving
it by President.
10 But if such is not the,law, says the
President. 80 the grave, question presents
ITSELF whether. when eleven of the thirty
six States are uurepresented in Congress at
the present time. it is sound policy to make
our entire colored population and all other
excepted CLASSES citizens Of the United
States 2" This isa standing objection in
all the veto messages of the President, not
urged, it seems. against all bills, for the
President tells US in this message that he
has signed some forty bills. Why is 1t made
al, objection to this bill The President
does not state 1t as an objection applicable
to this particular bill. 1t is general OBJ.
lection which be makes applicable alike to
all bills; ahdi there is anything In 1t, no
bill can pass the Congress of the United
States till these States are represented here.
Sir, whose fault is it that eleven States are
not represented 2? BY what fault OF theirs
i il that twenty. five loyal States which have
stood BY this Union and by the Constitution
are to be deprived OF their right to legislate !?
If the reason assigned is a good one now, 1t
has been good one all the time for the dast
five years. If the fact that some States
have rebelled agsinst the Government Is to
take from the Government the right to legis'
late, then the criminal is to take advantage
Of his crime; the innocent are to be punish
ed for the guilty.
sued proclamation, not OF peace, as the
Senator from Nevada Mr. Stewart seemed
to suppose not q proclamation declaring
that therebellion is over but that in certain
States it is over. The President does not tell
US that Texas, one the States that was IN
rebellion, isin a condition to be represented
| here and If we are to wait for these eleven
| states UGIOTb lcklSIdbluSb thuoe w NV 49,
for Texas? The same principle would re-
ouire us to wait for Texas as for the others
and she has not yet reorganized any form o.
government. Those States which have un
dertaken to reorgauize have not yet beer
recognized as having a republican form o.
government emitting them to representa-
tion. The Representatives chosen by most
of them are persons fresh from the rebe
congress or from the rebel armies, men wht
could not take the requisite oath to entitl'
them to admission to seats. Are we to 40
stain from all necessary legislation tor tn
nation until these States shall be admitte'
to represe ntation, which as ergapized refus
to send Representatives eptitled to admission
and insist on thrusting into Congress me
whose hands are dripping with the blood a
; loyal men T? Is the vice president OF tn
, rebel confederacy, is his colleague. one Q
the senators in the rebel congress-. to com
here to legislate for the loyal people OF thl
country 2 Are the men who organized
government that carried on four year!
war against US, as the results OF which TN
nation has had to expend more than thre
thousand million dollars, aud as a const
: quence Of which more than quarter or
, million of patriotic heroes have laid dow
t their lives upon the battle field and in Arm
hospitals those men to come here
= legislate for the loyal people Of this eou'
try2 va
d State organizations. The members OF tn
' body can only be elected by State Leglsl'
lures. Members of the other House, ca
!, only bs elected in pursuance OF State law
T Hence, as preliminary to any representatie
Q of State in either House of Congress,
must first be determined whether there Is
r State Legislature having authority to ele
o Senator'S, having authority to provide iaa|
q uuder which, Representatives may be cleo
v ed. There certainly was time when the
}, were no such Legislatures In any OF the
gelsyen States. There was time when Il
only organized government in either OF the
IS was hostile to the United States. when eve
d, officer in il had abjured his allegiance to t
o. United States and sworn allegiance to a ge
5e S' ernment hostile theretsia Willanybody p
IS tend that while the; State, government
:; in such hands it was entitled to represen
On On ton in either House of Congress-? Ii n
he shall we not inquire whether IT has pass
TT n, out of such hands and into the hands Qf TO-
in men 2 Aud who but Congressis Is competent
IN, make this inquiry?. Mr.; lincoln, IN the |
p. speech he ever made. allndlng 70 ms p'
on of reconstruction, said: .,,..t. .,sl ,.L
4
Is Is which might p6ssy be acceptable AND Also psi.
e IN PsorEsrED THAT rHK EXECUTIVE CLAIMED NO hldh
pe sAy wHgy or wtsrHER MEMBERS SHOULD - ApAirfA'
SEATS IS CdsGRsss FROM SUCH STATES n
!. Sir," this proposition that no bill is to
dss passed because certain States are unrep
lay sentea when their being pnrepre sente'
: :, their own fault, would If sanctioned aud
ba, ed upon be utterly destructive OF che q
re- | arnme0t. !.
the Bnt the President tells us that !" the
,ey es in effect. proposes discrimination aga
w:, large numbers ofintelligedtp werthy,f'
&c. |. patriotic foreigners, and infayor lef the
is gro. p,a Is. that true What is the bill
re- declares that there, shall be no dlstlnctlo
.ioa . civil rights between any other race or 2.
ices and the white raoe.y Ii declares that q
are are shall be no different punishment iptiictes
Iisy A rcolored man in consequence. of his III
tits than that which is inflicted on a white
eie, L; for the Same ofsnse, Is tbata dlscrlm
.ach ton in fayorIof, the negro and agaiIst
'FS ;Ss fereiguer-a bill the only effect Of whiff
i be to preserve equality ofrightsf ,,'iI., i.,
such But perhaps il may be replied to
that the bill proposes 10 make acitisel
ana q every psrsoa born 10 ths Unted States,