Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1866-02-22

not to be too noisy in their demonstrations
President looked to the Constitution alone.
He wishes well to the whole country, and
tnougnt that the people of the South needed
something more than the charity $50 caiIedl
intended by this bill. He asked IL they did n st
want the whole Union restored loud cries Of
"fes."l They INTENDED by the resolution that
no States shall be represented except through
Congress, and that the Southern States shah
not come in until after 1863, for fear that Presi-
dent johnson will be reelected. (Applause.l
AT this time, amid the applause, Judge Kin
neY, delegate from Utah. attempted to get
the fleor, but at the same time, Mr.. Mason,
with the commi' tte on resolutions, having re-
turned, there were cries from all parts OF the
house for Mr.. Kinney to come on the stage,
the stand, where he complied with the invita-
ton
MI Mason, on behalf of the committee, re-
ported the following resolutions:
RESOLUTIONS.
ReSolred, That on this anniversary OF the
birthday of him who was " first IN war, first in
peace, and first in the hearts of his country:
men," it becomes an appreciative and grateful
people TO hold communion with the spirit by
which he was ever animated; to show their re-
spect for the illustrious dead by attempting to
follow his footsteps and TO be guided by his
admOnitions and to place in strong relief in
wiling TO emulation the outlines OF a character
whose moral grandeur and unselnsn devotion
TO the public welfare will ever render it the
chosen model of American patriotism through
all coming time.
ResoIred, That the Constitution of the United
States was the ouJgrowth and browning glory
of that great revolution which his courage and
fortitude conducted through disbursement
and disaster to final and complete success; and
that by our veneration for that immortal in
strument, and by our determination to preserve
II sspure and undefiled," we can best eyince
our gratitude to its authors and secure to our
selves and our posterity the inestimable bless
ings il is calculated to bestow.
ReSoired, That the vitality of this great cove
pant depends primarily upon the indestructi-
bility OF the States which are the parties there
TO. and their preservation in the full exercise
of all their normal functions; and that he who
would eradicate or pervert this cardinal prin-
ciple aims fatal blow at the most vital portion
OF the system OF which it is the heart and centre,
and acts in utter disregard OF the spirit and
intent Of those by whom it was framed and
adopted.
Rssolred, That ours is a Government of law
that punishment for ofenses, however heinous,
cannot be dictated by arbitrary vengeance; that
no eE post tdctO law can be rightfully estab-
hshed, either by statutory enactment or by con-
stltutlonal amendment, and no more as against
a community than as against an individual;
that as 10 punishment had ever been provided
against a State Tor an attempt TO secede from
the Union, none can now be legitimately in
fiicted, either by enforcing disabilities other
wise; that therefore any delinquent State from
the moment ii returns to it's allegiance and
resumes its rightful position a member of
the Federal Government becomes entitled to
the exercise of all its rights under the Consti-
each branch of Congress-which it enjoyed
before the commission of its offense. 1t is
better that wrong should go UNPUBLISHED than
that it should be redressed through a violation
of law.
ReSolrcd, That the only lawful ground on
which any member of either House of Congress
can be prevented from taking his seat on an
equal footing with any other member, must be
that his election or the returns thereto have
not been in accordance with law, or that he
does not possess the requisite qualifications for
= lnI. IN.
qualifications, none other can be considered
man those prescribed in the Constitution Of the
United States.
ResOlUtd, That they who illegally attempt to
exclude the representation of any State from
seats in the Federal Congress, or who in any
other way endeayor to prevent the full restora-
uon of the Union under the Constitution, are
emphatically disunionists, and are equally
culpable in principle with those who have
heretofore disturbed the harmony Of our great
political system-beng accessories after the
fact, of the great wrong which has been perpe.
IateO. by thus aiding in its perpetuation.
Res0lred, That the Constitution Of the United
States purposely and carefully abstains from
any interference with the qualifications of cleo.
tors in any of the States Of the Union, and that
any attempt on the part of Congress to pre-.
scribe 20 any State a new rule on this subject is
manifest departure from the spirit and prin =
clple on which our system is founded, and
should ever receive as 1t deserves the unq uali.
flied apprehension of every true friend OF our
cherished institutions.
Resolred, That the people Of the District Of
Columbia, though governed bv Congress I'M
der the Constitution, are still citizens and not
subjects; that the fundamental prin ciples of
republican government are just as applicable
and Just as sacred here as in any CT the States,
though not protected by the same sanctions;
that the will of the people should be equally
the gnide for the legislator in relation to our
local concerns; and that. therefore, the late &C.
ton Of the House of Representatives in passing
bill giving the indiscrminate right of suffrage
10 the African race residing in this District, in
opposition to the expressed and almost unani-
nous wish of the people, has been in palpable
disregard of what we believe TO be the mani
1estduty OF the legislator in a Government like
ours.
RssoIred, That the sudden elevation of in.
experienced, uneducated negroes, in those
States where they constitute any considerable
portion OF the entire population, to the full
privileges OF American citizens would be
fraught with the most imminent danger to our
WhoIe poilucal fabric; that whether that race is
capable of ever becoming qualified for the ex-
ercise OF the great and delicate trust scharged
through the elective fran chise or not, they GER
tainly are not so at present, and that the hasty
and Indlscriminate bestowal upon them of this
high prerogatiye is calculated, if not intended.
10 bring the whole system of popular institu-
lions into disrepute by practically demonsgra-
ting the incapacity of the great mass of man.
kind for intelligent self government
Resotred, That the grand old declaration that
'all men are created equal' was never intend
ed by its authors, nor understood by the people
for whom 1t was made as placing the African
race IN this country on a civil, social, or po-
litical level with the Caucasian; that to give it
such signlfication would be to charge large
proportion of those who were engaged in max
ing and sustaining it with the rankest hypocrl-
sy, lnasmuch as they were all the while hold.
ing large numbers Of what was confessedly an
inferior race in dependence and servitude; that
even If this broad declaration was meant to ap.
ply to all human beings alike, it does not fol.
low that the Chinese or the negro any more
than the females and children OF our own blood
should exercise the right Of suffrage and that
while We are willing to accord to these exotic
and unassmilable fellow creatures all the
privileges necessary for their personal well.
being We Will never consent TO imperil the sa-
cred inheritance derived from our revolution
airy fathers by intrusting it partly to the guar
dlanship OF those who know not its value and
VINO care not for its preservation.
ReSOlred, That the letter, and more especial.
~ the spirit, of our Federal Constitution aims
to counteract the natural tendency to a GEN.
tralization Of power In the hands OF the gen.
eral government; that every indication Of g.
breach through the barrier thus provided
should be watched with the utmost vigilance
and be resisted with the most uncompromisine
determination at its earliest manifestation; that
we have therefore witnessed with the utmost
alarm the recent reckless disregard of consti.
tutonal restraint on the part of the governing
maloritles in both branches of Congress as in
Glpatinp a lilo r,vrita