The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1866-09-19
A -, PURPOSES.

From the relations of HENRY j. RAYMOND
semi. official character to the Times am
nouncements of the Presidential purposes.
SO considered the following editorial in the
Times Of the 18th, has much significance.
"The following law passed by Congress and
approved by President Lincoln, in 1862,
stands upon the statute book:
CHATTER AXXVi.-An act fixing the num-
Der of members of the House Of Repre-
seutatives from and after the 3D. of March
eighteen hundred and sixty three.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House Of
Representatives ofthe United States Of Amer
lea in Congress assembled, That from and
after the Sd day of March, eighteen hundred
and sixty three, the number of members Of
the House of Representative Of the Com
eress of the United States shall be two hun>
dred and forty one and the eight additional
members shall be assigned one in each TO
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Approved March 4, 1862.
"By law Congress thus consists of 24l
members, and by law, also, q majority of the
whole number, or III members, constitute 9
quorum. Suppose that members elected
from the Southern States should meet in De-
cember, 1867, and be enough, added to
Northern members who believed in their
right to representation, and who would meet
with them, to constitute quorum and sup
pose the Northern members who do not be-
Iieve the South entitled to representation and
who would not meet with them should NEE.
by themselves, constituting less than quorum
Of the whole number. The Pittsburg Chron,
icle begins TO see the possibility Of such an
occurrence and it also sees that the Presi.
dent will be under the necessity OF rocogniz-
ing one or the other of these bodies ~ the
valid, constitutional House of Represents
tives. He must send his message to the one
or the other. He must sign bills passed by
the one or the other He must treat one or
the other as branch of Congress, clothed
with the power of making laws, and the other
q having no such authority. And under the
circumstances assumed, there can be very
little doubt, in view of his known opinions
on the subject, that President johnson will
recognize the numerical quorum-the body
which contains majority OF all the members
AS the only body authorized by the Consti-
tuition to make laws for the United States.
He will probably send his message to that
body; he will sign the bills they pass, If con-
Cured in by the Senate, and will not recog-
uize the acts of the others as valid in any re-
spect. The Senate, Oh the contrary, will
recognize majority Of members from all the
States but ten, even it they are minority Of
the whole, as the real Congress, and as such
clothed with all the powers of legislation.
This doubtless foreshadows the programme
of A. Moses JOHNSON in his work of putting
the control OF this Government into the
hands OF rebels. He would join with rebels
and Copperheads in putting down The Con-
gress Of the loyal people. Thank the Lord,
he will not get chance TO play this dictator
part. The next Congress will be just like
the present one only more SO. "My Policy"
is dying daily.