Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1866-03-03

money TO prosecute such i'm perisl enter.
prises. Suppose that be could give place to
another President, whether by election, OF
even assassination, where will you find IN
the United States q man who would want
20 be elected TO that high place to plunge
this country into civil war for . political
cbimetsf fthere be such one. what chance
Is there that he would be elected for such
o purposei That scheme. then, Is at on
end, end Is not now even scriou y men
toned. Is there any other plsnf Com
gress has had a Rcconstr oiion Committee.
as IL is called, composed Of fifteen members.
Who have stopped the wheels OF legisla.
,ion three months to enable them 10 submit
q process or plan diferedt from that which
is new on the eve OF o hsppy consnmstion
And what have they given usi One pro-
posed amendment TO the Consultation, to
compel the excluded States TO eqpalize
suifrag eui on the penalty Of on abridgement
Of represent alton. i do no, discuss its
merits. Either the amendment win or
will not be adopted The expectation is,
that it will fail even Congress. 10 any
ease IL implies Q full restoration Of the
Southern States. 1t is therefore no plan
or process OF reconstruction OF all The
| Committee prove this 10 be true o aracier
| Of the proceeding, because they fell back
upou process not Of restoration. but o!
obstruction. The resolution which they
submitted To sdsy last and which hes
passed the House Of Representatives.
directly declares that loyal representatives
shall not be ,sduait,ed from loyal States
until Congress shall pass q Law for tba,
purpose-whicS low il would seem that
every member who votes for II most know
cannot be. enacted withou, the Presidents
approval, which cannot be consist en- tly
given in view Of the opinions that he IL
known to euteriain This last concurrent
resolution, then, is not plan for recon.
truetion, hut for indr6uite postponed meRt
and delay by the concurrent action Of the
two Houses Of Congress.
know that the scriptural instruction Is soh
always accepted rs 40 iofallibe guide Of fsitt
| and practice in these latter days. ! do not
| therefore ask you whether the United States
| Government osgbt not nov TO slay the iatted
calf and invite our prodigsl brethren to 90
IuxuEUus tCuSts out w NCuthtG W SU Iut
when this nation became disorganized Eve
years sgo by fragrant secessian asd rebellion,
we did determiDe to humble the rebels and
bring them back again TO their eonstitutio nal
seat at the family table. know that we
have BUNDLED them. and have brought them
buck with humiliation and repentence sueiog
Tor restoration. know that when Congress
was convened, epd when the last elections
we're held which gave utterance 10 the public
voice, il was their expectation, that without
unnecessary delay that table would be act, and
that oil the members OF the family, however
prodigal they had been, would be received at
the board.
i There being, then, no farther plau of restora-
lion. what are the chances Of carrying out the
system Of obstruction to which have referred! !
II is IS impraciicab!e in its character ns l
think il is vicious. II have cad the history
Of this country correctly, it has selected these
three things: First--No State Can keep itself
out OF the Union or keep itself in territorial
condition under the Union. Ia the very be.
giouibg four States refused TO enter; with
wry faces they all came 10 a.terwards-making
the whole number OF States thirteen instead Of
the pine 6rst consentiog. All the region east
OF the. Mississippi rushed rapidly through q
briei territorial privilege into the Union
We bought provinces from Spain. from France.
and from Mexico. From the Mississippi to
the Pacific they have rushed or are rushing
with railread speed. srter brief territorial
existence, Ms States ioto the Union. If il
were possible. we might scquire still more
provinces, north. You cannot easily 20
further west Every province that there
might be gained, whether white or black, or
native.borD. would be Immediately rushing. as
with railroad speed, as States into the Union
Another thing which our. national history
teaches us is, tn at the States which sre in the
Union cannot be taken or kept out ofits limits;
and that 10 he great lesson Of the rebellion -
The third thing which this even,ifu war
teac hes Us is that the States which are in the
Union cannot keep any States that are outside
from coming in., Congress 10 hsbitually in
cIined to this experiment. It besitated about
Michigan and M issouri, il reeied and staggered
before Texas and Cslifornis, and it convuIsed
the nation 10 resisting Kansas; yet they are ell
10 the Uuion. oil now loyal, aud most OF them
cheerful and happy. How many committees Of
conference did we have, how many joint CON.
miltees did we not have. on this nomenious
question: How many joint resolu'ions. deny.
lug that Congress ever would consent to the
admission Of such uDwelcome intrudersf How
many compromises, securing guarantees for
ieedom, securing guatnices for slavery, were
broken aud and scattered, when Que after the
other these States came 10, ss il by headIoug
thrnst, and buried by an Almighty Providence.
who was determined that tho people Of this
continent shall be not many discordsut nations
but Que harmonious aud united nat ion.
i entered Congress 10 lS49, when the
joint committee of fifteen was skilfally
and IL is bu. just to say honestly, framed
to- Obstruct the admission Of California.
until the m,jrity OF the nation shsuld
compromise aud silence forever the debate
upon slavery. The committee succeeded
in excluding California for q period of
eight months aud no longer. aud eventu.
ally .btuioed. in broken fragments, ~be
compromi-e which il sought. The com
promise was by hs terms to be perpetual.
The compromise Of 1850, fingered. bow
ever, jast four years sud then persisted ,
giving place to the incip;est spd now bsp
ply consummsted adjustment OF the slsv
cry question. by tie complete and uoiver-
cal abrogs,ioo u that institutiou. left
Congress in 1851, VII. committee and co.,
Ven'ion clustered In and Q. ouud the espi
tol. demanding TipulstiO0s. (which Con.
gress refused. that fsitsrs cbould be pot
upon New Mexico. Nevada sud Colorado.