Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-03-10
West Point and the South.

Mr.. ScHExcx, of Ohio, on Tuesday last, of,
fered the following amendment to the Military
Academy bill
and Drorided further, That no part of the money
appropriated by this or any other act shall be APP
piied 10 the pay or subsistence Of any cadet from
any State declared TO be in rebellion against the Co.
yernment OF the United States, appointed after the
LIST day in January, 1866 until such State shall have
been returned TO its original relations to the Union,
under and by virtue of act Joint resolution Of
Congress for that case made and provided"
Mr.. BLAINE, of Maine, indicated his wish to
offer a substitute for this amendment, which
was taken verbatim from the West Point ap-
preparation bill, approved April SOth, 1864 as
follows:
That no part Of the money hereby appropriated
shall be applied to the support or pay of'a1y cadets
hereafter appointed. not in conformity win the eN
press provisions Of law, regulating appointments OF
cadets at that Academy.
A debate ensued, which was participated in
bv Messrs. ScHENCK, BLAINE and STEVENS, OF
Pennsylvania, chiefly, which developed the fact
that the custom has arisen Disappointing North
ern cadets as from Southern States. Mr.. BLAINE
stated that thirty eight or forty Northern boys
had been sent to West Point, colonized as if
appointed from the Southern Districts. He OBJ
ieeted TO the amendment of Mr.. ScHENCK, on
the ground that it would be equivalent to say
ing TO the President" We cannot trust you to
appoint single cadet from the South. If
ssyou desire to nominate q son of Governor
g BROwNLow or JOHN MINOR Boris, you cannot
&: do it." Mr.. SCHENCK said his amendment
was intended TO warn the President and Secre-
tary of War q" not to violate the law by making
irregular appointments" Mr.. STEVENS con-
tended that all living in the Southern States
are to be regarded as alien enemies-loyal
Union men as well as seceSSioniStS-and not en-
titled to the privileges enjoyed in the loyal
States. He gave cold comfort to the Union
men of the South, saying;
When the South went cut of the Union, there
was nobody to make nominations from the South
ern Districts. II might have been and was the mis-
fortune Of some loyal men TO live under disoyal
and hostile Government, but they took the condi-
tons of all men living in the South. All loyal men
there suffered alike. Although they ought not to be
punished individually still their political destlnles
were bound up with those OF the state and the dc
facto Government under which they lived. They
were therefore, alien to all rights under that Gov
eminent while they were in that condition. II had
been decided that all those rebel States were enemies
according to the law Of nations, and he (Stevens)
objected to the President or anybody else going
down there against the law and selecting individ-
uals there and giving them preference over boys in
the North. He knew that the President, and he be-
lieved that the Secretary of War, were under mis-
apprehension about this matter, and had appointed
some seventy or eighty cadets on the nomination Of
a few Senators who were in Washington. Some
bows in his district had been.appOinted as If from
Southern districts where there really no power
to DO such a thing. 1t was an abuse of power
The amendment Of the gentleman from Ohio,
(Schenck) went no further than to put into plain
language the duty Of the officers of the Government
50 that those States still in rebellion should not be
entitled to come in and have any of the privileges OF
the Government until they were rehabilitated."
lie tainted Mr.. BLAINE and those favOring
his substitute with being politicians of a
mired character"
Mr.. ScHENCK's amendment was adopted by
vote of ayes SO, nays 80.
The monopoly enjoyed by. the North for the
last five wears Of 1.-THE honOrS and emOluments'
of the Government will not be easily and will
ingly relinquished. The unwillingness to share
with the South is one great difficulty in the
way Of restoration.