Maryland free press., 1866-12-06

'h"se otaies. twouid have accorded WIZ
the sfeatrrjncipl! euu1eiiteIin the7Decla
ration Of America'i Independence, That nj
people ought to bear the burden Of taxation.
and yet be denied tho right of representa-,
ton. Il would have been in consonance
with Tie express provisions of tn Consttu.
ton that leach State shall have at least
one Representative" and "that no State
without its consent. shall be deprived Of it.
equal suffrage in the Senate" These pro.
visions were INTENDED 10 secure to every
State, and to the people of every State
the right of representation in each .,Tous,
of Congress; and 50 important was it deemed
by the trainers Of tho Constitution that
the equality Of the Stat. 5 in the Senate
should be preserved, that not even " an
amendmens of the Constitution can any
State without its consent, be denie: voice
in that branch of the National Lcgisla
ture.
1t is true, it has boen assumed TINT
the oxistance Of the States was Terminated
by the rebcllious acts of their inhabitants
and that the instruction having been sup
pressed, they were thcncefor to- be con-
siderei merely as conquered territories =
The Legislative, Executive, aul Julic,l
Departments Of the Government have,
however, with great distinc ctncss and uni
form consistency, refused to sanction an
assumption so incompatible with the nature
of our republican system, aui with the
profcssed objects of the war Throughout
the recent legislation OF Congress, the
undeniable fact makes itself apparent,
that these ten political communities arc
nothing less than States of this Union. At
the very commencement of the rebellion,
each House declared, with an unaninity as
remark able as il was signif ant, that The
war wss not wagel, upon our part, III
any spirit ofcppression nor for any pur-
pose of conquest or subjusation, nor ppr-
pose of ovcrthrowing or. interfering with
the rights or established institutions Of
those Ststes, but to defend and MAINTAIN
the supremacy Of tho Constitution and all
laws made in pursuance thereof, and to
preserve the Union with hli the dignity;
equality, and rights Of the several States
unimpaired and that as soon as these OBJ.
jects" were accomplished tho war
ought to cease" In son,o Instances.
Senators were permitted to continue,
their Legislative functions, while ii
other instances Representatives. y we're ere
elected and admitted 10 seats after their
States had formally declared that Ri ght. to
withdraw from The Union, and we're we're en-
dcavoring to maintain that right by force
ofsrms. All Of the States whose people
were in insurrection, as States, were in
cludcd in the apportionmcnt of tho direct
tax of twenty millions ef dollars annually
laid upon'the Unitdl States by the act
approved 5thi.tagust 1851. Congress, BY
the act Of March 4, 1862, AMI by the ap-
portidnmcnt Of representation thcrcunacr,
also recognized tIieir presarc, as States in
the Union, and they have, for judicial
purposes, been divided into! tIistricti," "a as
States alone can be dvil9d." " The samo
recognition appears in sie recent lc eisla-
ton in reference to Tennessee. which Ell
IDENTIFY rests up,n the fact that the flncr-
tions of the State were not destroyed BY
the rcbcllion; basmaroly suspanl,d; AMI
that principle is Of course applicable to
these States which, like Tennessee, at
tempted to rcn6uhes their pk:ss ii tie
Uuion. ... . -<'- I'". ."' .'''
The action Of the Executive Department.
of the Government upon this subject has
been equally definite AMI uniform, ani the
purpose of the war was specifically stated
in the Proclamation issiol by my prolo-
ccssor on the % dly Of 3aptsmb5r, 1852,
1t was tlrcn solcmnly proclaimed anl d.
clarcd that hereafter, as heretofore, Tie
war will be prosecuted for the oJ3.S, OF
practically rosto;in the c'asttu,ioaa! re-
lation bstSoen the Uni.cl States and csoh
of the States and the pcoplo thsfeo', III
which States that relation is or may be
suspended or disturbed" .'+.' 80
| The recognition of the States by the Ju-
dicial Department Of the Government has
also been clear anl conclusive ia all pro-
cccdings affecting them as States, and in
the Supreme, Circuit, and District Courts.
Iu tho admission of Senators Or Repre-
sentativcs from any and all of the States,
there can be no just ground Of apprsAcn-
sion that persons who are disloyal will be
clothed with the powers Of Legislation I; for
this could not happen when the Constitu-
ton and the laws are enforced by vigi-
liant and faithful Congress. Each House
is made the "iudgc of the elections. re-