The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-05-04

and be accepted and complied with its con-
dItion, he was to all intents and purposes,
placed in the same condition, legally, as a
subject OF the Government, as he was be-
fore his act Of rebellion, and entitled TO ell
the rights and privileges Of any other citi-
zenJ and must be numbered and protected,
and II need be, punished as such. But If
is could be supposed that the rebel lost his
citizenship by his rebellion, it is now fully
and completely restored by the late act Of
Congress, known as the Civil Rights Bill,
by the very first clause of which it is dis
tinctly declared that every person born in
the United States, and not subject to any
foreign power, are citizens Of the United
States.
Again, this bill is directly at variance and
total disregard Of the wise and benefcent
policy of our late lamented Chief Magis-
trate, and his successor, Tennessee's favorite
son. Let us briefly advert 10 this policy.
The first intimsti0n we have Of it is in the
amnesty proclamation issued on the Sth
day of December, 1868. In that document
we find President Lincoln declaring, in ef-
feet, to all the insurgents of q certain class,
lay down your arms and cease your rebel
lion, take the oath herein prescribed, and
you shall receive pardon, full and complete,
for all your past offences against the Gov
eminent. Blackstone defines pardon to
mean 10 renew or bestow upon the offender
a new character. If this is true, and no
respectable jurist will deny it, then the re-
bel who was thus pardoned is a new born
citizen, entitled to all the rights and privi-
leges of any other man, and this is clearly
the light in which the President then con-
sidered it; for he declares in a succeeding
section as follows: "And / do further de-
clare and make known, that whenever, in
any of the States of Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia,
Alabama, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina
and North Carolina, a number of persons
not less than One-tenth in number of the
votes cast in any such State at the Presi-
dental election of the year Of our Lord,
1860, each haVing taken the oath aforesaid,
and being qualified voter, By the election
laws Of the State existing Immediately be-
fore the sO-called act of secession, and ex-
cluding all others, shall re-esta6Iisk State
government which shall be republican in
form, such shall be recognized as the gov
ernment Of the State"
Is not this clear and positive declara-
tion that the President then considered the
pardoned rebel entitled 10 vote Now take
notice that it was under this very proclama-
ton that our present State government was
organized and set in motion. This was
done under the direction and guidance of
Pres dent johnson himself. While acting
military Governor Of Tennessee, with this
very same proclamation in full 70 &C, and
with this provision directly in view, Gov.
johnson called upon the people TO come to-
gether and set the machinery of State gov
ernment again in motion. The people re-
sponded TO the call, and the State govern
ment revived. In that election no man was
excluded from the ballot box on account of
his former disloyalty, if he had taken the
oath and had thus obtained amnesty. All
were urged to come out and vote. l allude
to this to show you that if the amnesty had
power then to purify the rebel and restore
him to this privilege, which l contend he
never legally lost, iJs virtue is equally eff
cacious now. If it involved a promise of
oblivion for all past offences, then it is
equally obligatory on both parties now,
Governments and people rEust be just and
faithful to their plight faith if they would
command respect. Better let party ties be
swept away than that oar great and mag
nsnimOus Government should fail in her
promises, or violate its plghted faith.
Our Government in the seve al amnesties
she hes proclaimed declared to the rebel
'tdo this, and you shall be pardoned; you
shall henceforth stand az you did before
your crime was committed. 1t asks no
cringing pretence at penitence;sll itrequires
of you is faithful, honest obedience" The
rebel replies, "It is enough, / accept the
profered bounty with all its conditions, and
/ henceforth claim your protection" shall
we, as subjects of that Government, break
up and destroy this cOmpact2 Vattel, the
great expounder of the law Of nations, in
speaking of this subject, uses this express
slve language; "When tho amnesty is one
| Ii 4 IL
be buried in obllvian, Nor must any one
/ be called to account for what has been done
during the disturbances, and the sovereign, d,
whose word oug sever TO be kept sacred ,s
| bound to the faithful observance of every
promise he has made even to rebels.
mean 10 such of his subjects as have re-
Volted without reason or necessity, The
same reasons which should render the faith
of promises inviOlable and sacred between
| individual and individual, between sover-
| eign and sovereign, between enemy and
enemy, subsists in all their force between
| the sovereign and his insurgent or rebel
lious. subjects"
In this franchise bill that We are about to
| pass, is there no calling to account for what
| has been done during the disturbances2 Dc
we not DECLARE that although the President
| has pardoned the rebel we have not, and
| that we are going TO hold him to answer fol-
| his crime, by the forfeiture of this impor-
| tant and cherished right? But it is urged
with great confidence, by the friends Of this
measure, that this pardon only extends to
| the offence against the General Government
| that the offence against the State remains
| in full force, and therefore the State car
! still arraign, aud try, and punish him, al
though no pardon had been granted.
/ answer, in the first place, he has never re-
/ belled against the State, and if he had, and
| in the same act had committed the same
| offence against the General Government, il
/ is the greater and must take cognizance oi
| the crime, and if it does, then the COnstitu-
| ton declares q man shall never be tried
| twice for the same offence. 1t, in the case
| of the psrdOned rebel, has taken cogn zsncC
| Of the offence, and has dealt with the crimi-
| nal and concluded to pardon him. Thi:
must end the matter, or else we must act
| directly in the face of the Constitution, and
arraign him twice for the same offence
which would in effect be the case if We pass
this bill, and exclude the amnestied rebe
from the ballot-box.
Another argument in favor of this re.
strictive bill, is, that the rebels, under the
amnesty and Proclanations Of the Presi-
! dent, were once called upon TO ley down
/
! time TO accept, and that their day Of grace
/ is passed forever. l answer, that hundreds
! and thousands Of them were not here to
/ accept the offer. The larger number were
| far away from their State, subject to the
| iron rule of a military despctsm. They
could not accept; while others, to the num-
Der of many thousands, were held in con-
| fnement in the prisons Of the North. Is il
not mockery now to taunt these men with
such an argument? and is it not gross in
| justice to deny this cherished privilege t.
those misgu ded youths who remained true
and faithful 10 bad and unwholy cause
| to the last, and grant it 10 those who have
| proved themselves but feeble and wayward
supporters Of Q noble cause, which they
| had not the courage in the beginning of the
Troubles to uphold and defend9
But there are other reasons, Of a constitu.
| tional character, why | cannot support this
! bill. Among other requirements resting or
me as a Senator, I took the following oath
which is found in the 10Th article Of the
| Constitution. Il is in these significant
words: 81 do solsmnly swear that, ss
member of this General Assembly, / will
| in all appointments vote without favor, sf-
fection, prejadice or psrtiality, and that
/ will not propose or assent 70 any bill, yot'
or resolution which shall appear TO me in
furious TO the people, or consent to any &C
or thing lehatcUcr, that shall have q ten
dency 70 lessen or abrIdge their rights enc
| privileges IS declared by this Constitution
| That the rebel is cit zen I think have
clearly shown but if you deny him thr
character, surely you will sdmit that theI
are people. Then, If they are, you and
have sworn that We will not lessen thei
privileges. If this bill was only applicable
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