The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-02-25

system, and in equal States preside
over by a Federal or restricted Govern
3 ment They are settling the whole cas-
( Of the African in the w est Indies in:
z as we are.
The conflict of opinion between th
President and Congress, in referenc
TO the Freedmen's Bureau, is, in II
consequences, comparatively unimpol
tant, and would excite little interest
it stood alone Both agree that thi
Bureau was created for the Transition
period between war and peace, an,
should cease at the end of that period
The President thinks that period near
" passed, and the original provisions
sufficient, while Congress thinks tht
original provisions need enlarging.
/ agree with the President in the
hope that the extraordinary provision
which the bill makes will not be neces
sary, but that the whole question may
be simplifed by simple reference to
the existing Law. The law of March 5,
1865, which created the Freedmen s
Bureau, provides that it shall continue
IN force during the war OF the rebellion,
and one full year thereafter. When
does that year expire2 In the
Presidents judgment, as / understand
the matter, the war of the rebellion
has been coming, and is still coming to
an end, but is not yet fully closed. 1t
Is on this ground that he maintains
an army, continuestbe suspended writ
of ha6sas corpus, and exercise of martial
law, when these things were found nee
essary in the rebel States The exist
ence of rebellion was legally snnounc-
ed 10y Executive proclamation in 1861
The end of rebellion ought to be and
may be expected to be announced by
competent declaration by the, president
suing for restoration. The popular
voice was that all members of the fam
lily, however prOdigal they had been,
would be received at the board. These
efforts at obstruction, then, are as i'm
practicable, think, as they are vicious.
No State can keep itself out of the
Union, or keep itself in q territorial
condition in the Union
The States which are in the Union
cannot be taken or kept out of its lin
its. States that are il the Union can
not keep any States that are outside
from coming in. Congress Is habitually
inclined to this experiment 1t hesita-
ted about Michigan and Missouri, reel
ed and staggered over Texas and Cali
fornia, and convulsed the nation about
Kansas. Yet they areal in the Union,
ali happy, all loyal.
How many committees Of conference
did we have; how many Joint resolu-
tions, denying that Congress- ever would
consent to the admission OF such un-
welcome intruders2 How many COM
promises securing guarantees for free
dom and for slavery, We're broken and
scattered, when one after the other
these States came in as if by a headlong
thrust, hurled by Almighty ProvI-
dence, who was determined the people
of this continent should not be'many
discordant nations but one united ma
ton.
The Joint Committee of fifteen, In
l849, succeeded in excluding California
for eight months, until the majority of
the nation should compromise and 81
lence forever the debate upon slavery.
The compromise Of 1880 fingered four
years, and then perished, giving place
to the now happily contaminated ad-
iustment of the slavery question, by
the complete abrogation OF that insti-
tuition. When | left Congress, in 1861,
Commissioners and Conventions de-
manded stipulations that fetters be put
on New Mexico, fIeyada and Colorado |
You never can keep States out OF this |
Union. The present distrust Of future
States, or of existing States, have no /
subtantive grounds. They are begotton /
of miserable fears and factions. If fever /
this thing of keeping out States by I
Joint resolutions of Congress could have /
mad chance Of permanent success, that /
time has passed away. For all prac-
teal purposes the rebellion viii, |
in law, come to an end, If the Presl-
dent or Congress, one or both, officially /
announce It's termination. Now, sup> .
pose this announcement to be made
by the President and by Congress, or
by either of them, tomorrow. In that
case the Freedmen's Bureau is contin-
ued by virtue of the termination pre-
scribed in the act of March 3, 1862 one
year after such proclamation shall have
been made; thus the Freedmen's Bu-
reau would continue, by the original
limitation. until the 22d day of Feb
ruary, 1867, very proper day on which
to bring it TO an end If Congress
should find it necessary to prolong its
existence, it can at once take the nee
essary steps, for it will at that date
have been in session nearly three
months.
Ought the President of the United
States to be denounced in the house of
his enemies, much less ought he be de-
nOunced in the house of his friends, for
refusing, in the absence of any necessi-
ty, to occupy or retain, and to exercise
powers greater than those which are 4
exercised by any Imperial Magistrate
in the world2
Judge yel trust this fault OF de
clining imperial power, too hastily 4
rendered by a confding Congress, may
be forgiven by generous people. 1t
will be a sad hour for the Republic
when the refusal of unnecessary powers |
and patronage by the President shall
be held to be a crime. When it shall /
be so construed, the time will have ar
rived for setting up at the White House
an imperial throne, and surrounding 1
tba F,rae,tt;vs Nth immortal lppiOus