The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1866-04-19
Senator TrumbuIl,s speech.

show, conclusively, that the disagreement
between the executive and Congress is of
the Presidents own seeking, and that his
expression of regret that he was obliged to
return the bill is simply pusillanimous
"Mr President-I have now gone
through the veto message, replying, with
what patience | could command, to its
various objections to the bill. Would
that L could stop here, that there was no
occasion to 60 farther; but justice to my
self, justice to the State whose represen-
tatlve | am, justice to the people of the
whole country, IN legislating for whose
behalf l am called to participate, justice
to the Constitution l am sworn to support.
justice to the rights of American citizen
ship it secures, and to human liberty now
imperileG, require me to go farther
Gladly would [ refrain from speaking of
the spirit of this message;. of the dan
gerous doctrines it promulgates; of the
Inconsistencies and contradictions of its
apthor; of his encroachments upon the
| constitutional rights of Congress of his
| assumption Of unwarrante6 power, which,
if persevered in and not checked by the
people, must eventually lead to subver-
sion of the government and the destruc-
tion of liberty.
Congress, in the passage Of the bill
under consideration, sought no controversy
with the President. So far from it, the
bill was proposed with a view to carry out
what men supposed to be the views of the
| President, and was submitted tO him before
its introduction into the Senate. ! am
not about to relate private declarations of
| the President; but it is right that the
American people should know that The
controversy which exists between him
and Congress in reference to this measure
is of his own seeking. Soon after Con-
gress met, it became apparent that there
was difference Of opinion between the
! President and some members of Congress
in regard to the condition of rebellous
States and The rights to be secured to
| freedmen. The President in his annual
message had denied the constitutional
power Of the general government to
extend the elective franchise to negroes :;
but he was equally decided in the asser-
tion of the right of every man to life,
| liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
This was his language. But while have
ho doubt that now, after the close of the
war, 1t is not competent for the general
government to extend the elective fran
chise in the several States, it is equally
clear that good faith requires the security
of the freedmen in their liberty and their
property. There were some members of
Congress who expressed the opinion that
in the reorganization of the rebeillous
States the right OF suffrage should be
extended to the colored man though this
was not the prevailing sentiment of Con-
! gress. All were anxious for reorgani-
zation of the re5ellious States and their
admission to full participation In the
Federal government as soon as these
relations could be restored with safety to
all concerned. Feeling the importance of
! harmonious action between the different
departments of the government, and an
anxious desire to sustain the President,
for whom I always entertained the highest
respect, l had frequent in terviews with
him during the early part Of the session.
Without mentioning anything said by
him, I may with perfect safety state that
acting from considerations | have stated,
and believing that the passage OF law
by Congress securing equality in civil
rights when desired by State authorities,
to freedmen and all other inhabitants of
the United States, would do much to
relieve anxiety In the north, to induce the
Southern States to secure these rights by
their own action, and thereby remove
many of the obstacles to an early recon
struction, prepared the bill substantially
as it is now returned with the President S
objections.
"After the bill was introduced printed
copy was sent to him. At a subsequent
period, when it was reported that he was
hesitating about signing the Freedmen's
Bureau BILL he was informed of the con
ditlon of the civil rights bill then pending
in the House, and hope expressed that
if he had objection to any of It's provisions
he would make :hem known to It's friends
that they might be remedied, if not des
tructive of the measure; that there was
believed to be no disposition on the par
of Congress, and certainly none on my
part, to have bills presented to him which
he could not approve. He never indicat
ed to me, nor, so far as | know, to any ot
its friends the least objection to any of the
provisions Of the bill, till after its passage
and how could he consistently with him
self? The bill was framed, as was sup
posed, in entire harmony with his views
and certainly in harmony with what he
was then and has since been doing in pro
tecting freedmen in their civil rights al
through the reboliious States 1t was
strictly limited to the protection of the
civil rights belonging to every freeman,
the birthright Of every American citizen
and carefully avoided comforting or inter