Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1866-04-07


until it went to the President to receive
his signature or veto. Since l could
not find the bill as it passed both
branches verbattm, I have made an alb:
stract from its provisions.
The reconstruction bill, as it passed
the Houte May 4, 1864, which was dur.
ing the first session of the Thirty Eighth
Congress, provided very briefly as fol-
lows:
The first section provides for each Of
the States declared in rebellion a pro-
visional governor, to ba appointed, with
the advice and consent of the Senate, by
by the President, to be charged with
the civil administration of such State
until a State government is recognized
as hereinafter provided.
The second section provides, so soon
as resistance is suppressed and obedi-
ence restored, for an enrolment of citi-
zens and taking the oath, and if the
majority enrolled take the oath, dele
gates are to be elected to meet in con-
vention to declare the will of the peo-
pie relative to reestablishing State gov
ernment.
The third section provides for the
number of delegates to attend the con-
vention-the day fixed for elections and
places of voting by the Governor.
The fourth section provides who may
vote and where.
The fifth section provides how the
election shall be conducted.
The sixth section provides for con-
vening the delegates, and the place
where, and the qualification by oath.
The seventh section provides through
the convention State constitution,
which, when recognized by Congress as
a government for the State, Senators
and Representatives and electors for
President and Vice President may be
elected
The bill further provides, on failure
of the first effort to establish a State
government acceptable to Congress, a
further means to establish such one
as will be acceptable.
Such, in brief, is the substance of the
bill on reconstruction 1t will be OBJ
served that State government must be-
first established before Senators and
Representatives and electors for Presi-
dent and Vice President may be elected.
Mr.. Speaker, I wish to call the at
tention of the House to the vote on this
question. My friend from Pennsylva-
mia Mr.. Stevens is charged with
publishing very startling principles here
at the commencement of this Congress
Now, let US see whether those princiA
Piles are entirely new. lam now speak
ing more particularly to the members
of this House who were members of the
Thirty Eighth Congress, because, hav-
ing been here, and knowing what was
said at the time, and taking part in
what was done, they can state whether I
make any mistake.
The bill of last Congress to which I
have referred was House bill 244; and
by reference to page 624 of the Jour-
nal of the House of Representatives
for the first session of the Thirty Eighth
Congress, it will be found that the gen.
tleman from Pennsylvania Mr.. Stevens1
moved the following preamble to the
bill:
| Whereas the so-ealled confederate States
are public enemy, waging an unjust war,
whose injustice is SO glaring that they have
no right to claim the mitigation of the ex-
treme rights Of war which are accorded by
modern usage to an enemy who has a right
to consider the war just one; and whereas
none of the States which by q regularly re-
corded majority Of its citizens have joined the
so-called Southern confederacy can be con-
sidered and treated as entitled to be repre-
sented in Congress to take any part in the
political government of the nation: There.
FORE"
"Be it enacted" &c., as have al
ready stated. A vote was taken upon
agreeing to that preamble, and the yeas
and nays were called, and by examining
the record I find that ffty-seven MEM
bers of this House voted in favor of the
preamble; the majority, however, voted
against it. And of those ffty-seven
who voted for that preamble, I find
forty who are members of this House.
The preamble was lost.
Then came the vote on the bill, and
1 find from this record that the vote,
upon the ayes and nays, stood IA in ia
vor of the bill, and 66 against it. And
of the IA who voted in favor of the
bill, of which I have given synopsis,
there we're fifty-seven who are now menu
bers of this House, and there are other
members of this House who were then
members of the House, whose names
are not recorded upon that bill. My
friend from Maine Mr.. Blaine was not
then present, for do not find bis vote