The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-02-24


the supremacy Of the Constitution OF the Uni
| ted States, give obedience to the law, and the
| whole question Is settled" (Cheers.l
What has been done since' Their armies
have been disbanded. They come now to meet
| us in q spirit of magnanmity and say, 1--WE
were mistaken; we made the effort to carry
out the doctrine Of secession and dissolve this
| Union, and having traced this thing TO Its
logical and physical results, we now acknow-
| ledge the flag Of our country, and promise
obedience to the Constitution and the supre-
macy of the law" [Cheers.
/ say, then, when you comply with the Con-
stitution, when you yield to the law, when
| you acknowledge allegiance to the Govern
ment, say let the door of the Union be opened
and the relation be restored TO those that had
erred and had strayed from the fold of our
fathers. [Cheers.
Who has suffered more than have2 I ask
the question. shall not recount the wrongs
and the sufferings inflicted upon me. 1t is not
| the course to deal with whole people in q
/ spirit of revenge ] know there has been a
great deal said about the exercise of the pardon
power, rs regards the Executive; and there is
| no one who has labored harder than TO have
| the principals, the intelligent and conscious
! offenders, brought to justice, and have the
principle vindicated that treason is crime. "
| But while conscious and intelligent traitors
are 10 be punished, should whole communities
and States be made TO submit TO the penalty OF
DEATH i have quite as much asperity, and
perhaps as much resen tment, as q man ought
| TO have; but we must reason regarding man
as he is and must conform our action and our
conduct to the example Of Him who founded
our holy religion,
came in to power under the Constitution of
| the country, and with the appreciation Of the
people, and what did ] find2 / found eight
millions of people who We're convicted, con-
4 demned under the law, and the penalty was
death ; and through revenge and resentment,
| were they all to be annihlated? Oh may
\ not eXclaim, how different would this be from
! the example set by the Founder of our holy
religion, whose divine arch rests its extremi-
| ties on the horizon, while its span embraces
the universe Yes; He that founded this great
! scheme came into the world and saw man
condemned under the law and the sentence
was death. What. was His example In
stead of putting the world or nation to death,
He went forth on the cross and testified with
His wounds that He would die and let the
world live. Let them repent let them ac-
knowledge their rashneSs let them become
loyal, and let them be supporters of our glo-
rious stripes and stars, and the Constitution
of our country. l say, let the leaders, the
conscious, intelligent traitors, meet the
penalties of the law. But as for the great
mass who have been forced into the rebellion
-misled in other instances-let there be Gle
mency and kindness, and trust and conf
dence in them. But, my countrymen, after
having passed through this rebellion, and
having given rs much evidence of enmity to
it rs some who croak great deal about
the matter-[cheersl-w when look back over
the battle field and see many of those brave
men in whose company was, in localities of
the rebellion where the contest was most diff
cult and doubtful, and who yet We're patient;
when look back over these fields and where
the smoke has scarcely passed away; where
the blood that has been shed has scarcely been
Observation-Disclosures their bodies have passed
through the stages of decomposition-wha
do find? The rebellion is put down by the
strong arm of the Government, in the field.
But is this the only way in which we can
have rebellons? This was n struggle against
change and revolution of the Govern
ment and before we fully get from the
ba tile felds-when our brave men have
scarcely returned to their homes and renewed
the,ties of affection and love to their wives and
their children-we are now almost inaugurated
into another rebellion. [Cheers.] One rebel
lion was the effort of States TO secede, and the
war on the part of the Government was to
prevent them from accomplishing that, and
thereby changing the character of our Govern
ment and weakening its power. When the
Government has succeeded, there is an at
tempt now to concentrate all power in the
hands of a few at the Federal head, and
thereby bring about n consolidation of the Re
public, which is equally obJec tionable with its
dissolution. [Cheers.] We find power as.
sumed and attempted to be exercised of a most
extraordinary character. We see now that 60
yernments can be reyolutioniZed without going
into the battle field; and sometimes the revo-
lutions most distressing TO people are effected
without the shedding of blood. That is, the
substance of your Government may be taken
away while there is held out TO you the form
and the shadow. And now what are the at
tempts and what is being proposed? We find
that, by an irresponsible central directory,
nearly all the powers of Congress are assumed
without even consulting the legislative and
executive departments OF the Government.
By q resolution reported by committee upon
whom and in whom the legislative power of
the Government has been lodged, that great
principle in the Constitution which authorizes
and empowers the legislative department, the
Senate and House of Representatives, to be
the Judges of elections, returns, and qualifica-
tions of its own members, has been virtually
taken away from the two respective branches
of the National Legislature and conferred
upon committee, who must report before the
body can act on the question OF the admission
of members to their seats. BY this rule they
assume State is out of the Union, and 10 have
it's practical relations restored by that rule
before the House can judge of the quahhca-
tions of it's own members. What position is
that? You have been struggling for four years
to put down a rebellion. You contended at
the beginning of that struggle that State mad
not right to 60 out. You said IT had neither
the right nor the power, and 1t has been set
tied that the States had neither the right nor
the power to go out Of the Union. And when
YOU determine by the executive, by the mill
tary and by the public judgment, that these
States cannot have any right TO go out, TINS
committee turns around and assumes that
they are out, and that they shall not come in.
i am free to say to youas your Executive that
I am not prepared 10 take any such position.
TGreat cheering. said in the Senate, in the
very inception of this rebellion, that the States
had no right TO secede. That question has
been settled. Thus determined, l cannot turn
round and give the lie direct to all that pro-
fess to have done during the last four years,
/ say that when the States that attempted TO
secede comply with the Constitution, and give
sufficient evidence of loyalty, shall extend to
them the right-hapd OF fellowship, and let
peace and union be restored. am opposed 10
the Dayises, the Toombses, the Slidetls, and the
long list Of such But when perceive on the
other hand, men--[A voice, !" Call them on. y
care not by what name you call them-still
opposed TO the Union, am free to say TO you
that am still with the people. am still for
the preservation of these States-for the pre-
seryation of this Union, and in favor OF this
great Government accomplishing its destiny.
Here the President was called upon to give
the names of three of the members OF Con-
gress to whom he had alluded as being opposed
TO the Union.
The gentleman calls for three names. ! ana
talking to my friends and fellow citizens here.
GCheers Suppose should name TO you those
whom 1 look upon as being opposed TO the
fundamental principles of this Government,
and as now laboring to destroy them say
Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania; say
Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts say Wen
dell Phillips, of Massachusetts. lGreat cheer-
ing and a voice. I" Forney "