The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-05-29

continue the bureau which was establishes
during the war for the protection Of freed
men or emancipated slaves. The Presiden
" thheld his assent from the bill. It wa
Immediately argued that the President pro
posed with unnecessary inhumanity an'
cruelty to abandon the freedmen to oppres
sion and persecution by their former mas
tiers, and thus to render positive the resto
ration Of slavery. The result of the discus
sion, however, established in the public
mind a clear conviction that slavery cal
never in any case be renewed in this Of
any other Christian country; that the Freed
men's Bureau in a state of peace is no
only unconstitutional, but that It is desira
bic and necessary only as a temporary
measure during the civil war and the tran
sition from war TO peace that its oTganiza-
ton, which was adequate during the war
is consequently competent during the tran
sition from war to peace, and that It hai
with his hearty cooperation legal dura-
ton for one year for sll just, necessary
and practical purposes. The passage Of tbs
so called Civil Rights Bill constitutes Sc
cond incident which the advocates Of dis
cord seek to improve. Besides the enamel
patton Of the slaves and the complete aboli-
tion Of slavery, the majority Of Congress
deemed it necessary, constitutional and
wise to pass some laws TO countersct sup
posed or apprehended legislation in the
lately dislOyal States by which those States
might discriminate between white and col
ored citizens. The bill consists of two parts,
one Of which declares that all persons who
are born in the United States and owe allie
glance to no foreign power are citizens, with
out discrimination OF race or color, and an
other which eonfers power upon United
CfoAao II. i
to oppose and arbitrarily annul and defeat
the legislative and judicial proceedings Of
the States in the administration Of Justice
where the equal rights Of particular class
of persons are alleged to be invaded. The
President withheld his approval from the
first part Of this law upon the grounds that
1t was unnecessary in his judgment-sn abb
stractlon open to misconstruetion. He dis
approved Of the second part Of the law, be-
cause 1t was not merely inccngruous, but in
consistent with the rights and powers which
the Constitution necessarily and wisely
leaves to be exercised by the several States.
But he at the same time offered to concur
with Congress in any constitutional meas
ure which should be required for the pro-
lection of freedmen in harmony with the
fundamental principles of the Constitution
of the United States. Congress adhered to
It's bill and it became law. The President
could not forget, an sure I shall never
forget the pesulential fruits Of the fugitive
slave law and the bred Scott decision.
They were invidious and onerous, be-
cause they unnecessarily srrayed Federal
Courts and officers in conflict with the
authorities Of the States upon questions of
individual rights Of property and liberty.
There is no sundness at all in our political
system if the personal or civil rights of each
member Of the State, white or black, tree
born or emancipated, native born or natn-
raj zed, Is not more secure under the admin
istration of State Government than they
could be under the administration of the
National Government. Harmony is essen
tai TO Union, but harmony is impossible 10
the citizens if every State is not left free
from Constitutional intervention in their
civil rights by the Federal Government.
The Civil Rights bill indcts on the late
States now, alter slavery has
ceased to exist, the very aggression which,
through the Fugitive Save Law, the slave
States committed upon the free States. I,
Tor one, am not proposing now, OF ever, to
carry sectional ambitions into the field of
y stional Legislation. The President, new
ertheless, acquiesces in the law of Congress.
How, then, shall he be condemned for inf
deity to his politi al principles or assooia
{ rs? The Colorado case is the third incl
dent which the discordant seek to turn to
their advantage. Five years ago Congress
N View Of tho detection Of the eleven states
VIII ch we're carried into the rebellion, au-
thorized the people OF Colorado, then under
stood to be 40 600 in number, to form a consti
tuition for State. The people By NJ aiority
Of three toone refused to accept the privilege.
Last year, when the people were reduced
by emigration to twO-thirds of their former
party without any legal authori-
ty, held an Irregular election, and obtained
majority one Of hundred and thirty-five. cut
OF less than six thousand votes, for accent
ing the privilege Of a State Government.
which they had rejected a year before.
Congress passed bill which proposed their
admission into the Union. The President
withheld his approval on the ground that
the few inhabitants of Colorado Territory
are already exercising all the necessary
aud beneheient powers Of self government;
that the late irregular election furnished
only equivOcal proof Of their desire to come
into the Union; and that in principle, com
munItles having less than one-fourth Of the
population required by law for the election
Of one member of Congress ought not, with
cut some extraordinary reason, to be adj
mltted to an equality of political power with
the States which have a population four
times, i've times, ten times, or one hundred
times greater. The dissent by the Presi-
dent from the action of Congress, while it
was clearly within the province Of the Ex-
ecutiye Department, was at the same time
as just, as well considered and as loyal as
the action of Congress in passing the bill.
IN two Of the instances mentioned, Con-
gress, according to the forms Of the Consti-
tutiOns have, or at least seem to have, sur
rendered their own convictions and accept
ed those Of the President. Let me say now,
that al three of these messages, in which
the President declined TO concur with Con-
gress, are purely extraneous instances, and
have no necessary or real bearing upon the
question OF rec0 struction. / think il may
be now assumed that the President has
neither sought, nor made, nor accepted any
occasion for disagreeiug from Con gress; and
that so far as the purely incidental legisla-
ton to which | have referred is concerned,
be was loyal to its principles and to the
national cause as Csngress or any Of its
mem bers can claim to be. The sewers Of
disc0rd further insist that the representa-
tives who have come from the unrepfesented
States are actually disloyal. It is agreed on
all hands that disloyal representatives
ought not to be in any ease admitted.
Congress, however, hes the constitutional
right and power to exclude all such repre-
sentstiVes not only from the States unrepre-
scented, bat from any other State. When,
therefore, a Seustor OF Representative nom
any one Of the unrepresented States presents
his credentials to the body which he has been
elected, he offers himself Is any other mem
Der does for a trial upon the question Of his
loyalty and allegiance 1t belongs 70 Con-
gress 20 prescribe the form Of the trial and
The evidence Of loyalty il viii demand. In
accordance with this principal in view Of
exactly TINS occasion, Congress has hereto
fore established two test osths, one a gene
raj oath Of fidelity and allegiance, the 9TH
er special one, dissvowing and repudiating
all connection with Dlsunion or Rebellion.
These laws are general. They require every
member to subscribe to them they are re-
ouired to be presented 70 every claimant to
a sest, and yet the members from Tennes-
see and Arkansas have been SIX months
asking 10 have these oaths rendered 10 them
for their subscription, and have been de-
MED. II you'd seem that they could be
justly den ed only on the ground that in
subscribing b the oaths the claimants
would commit fraud and reuury- BOT
only is there legal presumption 70 the
c0utrsrys but every Intelligent man in the
community admits tae proved Loyalty, f
deity end constaaoy Of al the members
who have come from Tennessee and from
Arkansas. TIE apology for the denial is
that although the n ssnbers now chosen are
loTals yet that they IA ight become disl0ysl
sfter beng admitted. is is Necessary
to say that the same subterf1ge
may be equally resoried 70 IN the case
OF every ether member Of Congress-
The suspicion Is illegal and unwsrranted
by the Constitution And even If il were
both constitutional and logical, Congress
has stil the reserved and absolute power %