The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-11-12
Which II the Guiltier 2

IN radicals propose, Dy means Oh .
oon NATIONAL amendment, to disfran.
p I'd deprive Of the power of hold
~ ee all citizens who, having once
f<t66o - oath of allegiance to the Uni,
- <ee, engaged in the recent rebel
Izon me design of this provision oi
~ ondment is to punish this class
1Eens for having violated the
always been contended by the
! States government that some
61151 stances may arise which will JUS
~ ~ citizen in renouncing his allie
sefn11S The British colonists estab
.Mih6d this doctrine when they threw of
thofr GzIegiance to the British crown
anfS efsr since the formation of oul
i ro>G11sent, persons of foreign birth
vho caule here and renounced their al
le1fn&6o to the government from whose
doml ms they came, have been invest
"a With the rights and have received
Ia pt>fection accorded to American
eftino6x And yet our revolutionary
arcea66zs never esteemed themselves
Ruf1<I u perjury nor morally RESPONSE
bI6 ~ the violation of their oaths Of
slleG<3kce; neither do we, their de-
sce116nts, hold those guilty Of any
Nyonr who renounce the oaths they
sw0rs - support a foreign government
snd take upon themselves the Obliga.
tions a an American citizen. The oath
Il aIlegianse is not an obligation OF
nn6k mature as that it can aerer be vic,
~ rithout guilt.
Ix4 Intention of the citizen at the
ttn& q taking the oath must be con-
Sidef60 In determining his guilt or inno-
cef69 hen the oath is broken. We dc
Z not s1pPose that GEORGE WASHINGTON
or any other of the patriots ofthe revo'
1ution had any idea or intention of re-
bslling against the British government
when they swore allegiance to it. They
doubtless expected and intended to
comply with all the obligations their
I 6th imposed. Had it been otherwise,
they would have committed grievous
crimo in their subsequent rebellion,
md certainly no American will dare to
charge them with perjury for acts done
in vio1stion of their oaths of allegiance.
HS1t>R do we suppose that any foreign
- &itizens Of the United States took
til of allegiance to his home gov
: MT with the deliberate intention of
i icing that oath and doing acts in
N fon of its provisions. The United
$50 government has, upon some oc-
: oIIozk intcrfered to protect foreigners
7 nho h6d merely declared their intcn-
. dod u become American citizens, but
Who I'D not yet taken the oath of allie
.Giannoto our constitution; and it has
alvnya held that men might renounce
i thoir 1legiance to one government and
aasof3& The obligations of another with
out Bo1hg guilty of any crime.
How far these principles apply to the
6iff<uuS of the Southern States who were
of<6sd in the recent rebellion is a
Qu1f1on of much Importance at this
The Southern rebellion has failed
M{61rne; the attempt that was made to
s1116]Ish an independent government in
NJ Bouthern States was not successful;
- this fact destroys, to some extent,
fho pnrallel between the recent rebellion
snd the revolution of l776. But does
nny person suppose that if the revolu-
Ho6 q 1776 had failed and the British
ev(uxnment had re-asserted its authority
orr the colonists, that fact would have
u66WAsHISGToN morally or legally
gn11ty Of perjury, and liable to punish
M fhcrefor' Does any person believe
that, Ten, fifteen, or twenty, OF thirty
ye1x3 ago, when the men of the
Got3hern States swore allegiance
- - United States government, they
al - with the intention, fully formed
ofsf<at time, to rebel against its au-
ni1fty and violate their oathsf Is it
nc<Ierobable that they took the oath
N1&It the same good faith and the same
i<tion to comply with its require
Sh with which our forefathers swore
fI nnce to the British crown, or our
kn-bOrn citizens swore to support
nropean government under which
were borni That the lack Of
money and men to overcome the
y Of the United States government
them morally or legally guilty Of
q Of which they would have been
O INT had they had more money and
Zen, is system Of morality which
built to understand.
suppose these men to be guilty Of
q in that they have violated their
G Of allegiance, and that they are
N OF whatever punishment may be
"a upon them, how does it become
aical politicians to prescribe and
the penaltyi Have they so scru-
by regarded their oaths as that
nay sit to judge the people of the
and bid them stand aside, say.
am holier than thouw Are the
members of Congress, when
by the same standard they set
others, so entirely guiltless of the
Of perjury, as that they are enti-
cast the first stone! Let us see.
members of Congress have all
to support the Constitution >
ave voluntarily assumed an obi.
as solemn and binding as the
& Ity Of an oath can make it, to obey
| rovisions of that instrument. The
itution says "The House of Repre-.
lives shall be composed of members
avarv sacand war nv fb. ,,o.1.