The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-06-26
The minority Report.
From Me BaLtimore Amerloan.

The Minority Report.
From Me Baltimore american.
After some delay the Minority of the
Reconstruction Committee has put its
report upon record, and we cannot but
regard it as tame and powerless doc
ument. A great deal of space is taken
up in discussing what Mr.. Lincoln de-
nominated as a protitless abstraction,
namely: Whether the lately rebellious
States were in or out OF the Union 1t
was admitted on all hands that their
practical relations in the Union had
been suspended; and it is not denied by
the Minority Report that the legal con-
nection between the States and the Gen
eral Government could not be de-
stroyed. The Union party was organ.
lied on the principle that the States had
no right to secede, and on 1t fought
down the rebellion, which was based
upon the opposite doctrine. The Mi
nority of the Committee with singular
inconsistency, after insisting upon the
indivisibility of the Union, reproduces
the arguments of the State Rights men
to secure to those who have committed
treason all their old rights unimpaired.
1t treats the pending issue as one be-
tween people and States who have been
equally loyal, and who have alike
maintained their relations to the Union
intact. 1t draws no distinction what
ever between patriots and traitors;
maintains that the governments of the
Southern States are completely organ
lied; that they are now in successful
operation, and that "no one within
"their limits questions their loyalty or
" is denied their protection" "Ho'V
"hey mere JOrmed-ltndeT Whdt aus
"piceS they IUere Iormed-dre tn
+" concern. The right Of The people Of a
Z" State to form q government for them
+" setUes has neUer been questioned" To
see the fallucy of this reasoning, let us
observe few facts. The State of Vir-
ginia, by the original Constitution, be-
came one of the United States. The
people of that State, carrying ont the
principle here insisted upon in 1861, or
ganized State Government which
transferred their allegiance to n foreign
power. They adopted a new flag and
fought against the United States, and
established the Capital of dc JdctO
government known as the Confederate
States within the boundaries of the
State of Virginia. For nearly five years
this attitude was maintained, until the
GOnquering armyOf the Union dissolved
the new government. The acts OF Ntr-
ginia State officers are matters of pub
lie record; and the Constitution of the
State which connected il with the Con-
federate States was Il law to the State
officer during the whole period of Con-
fpderate supremacy. If, nS the minOri-
"known to the Constitution" and per-
manent equality of rights was guaran-
teed to them with the right of represent
tatiOn-if they can never withdraw
from the Union, and have lost no rights
by the war, then it follows that they
had the right continuously to send rep
resentativeS to Congress to emDarrasS
the Union while fighting against it; and
the Congress of the United States by
this report had no right to inquire un-
der whose auspices these States were Or
gnnized, or to ascertain whether their
officers were identified by oath of office
with AN inimical power. This report
utters the monStrouS dOctrine-"HOO
'H.cy lDcre JOlmIed-lndeI' lChOse aus
spices theypeTe formed are inquiries iDith
"IOLich Congress- has 40 cOHceIn." Sup
pose they were formed by alien enemies
suppose they were formed by insur-
rectionary negroes-suppoSe they were
formed by very limited minority of
the peoDle-are we bound to accept
The public enactments of the United
States show TINT there was an organized
State of Virginia in Legitimate Connec-
ton with the Union, with regularly
qualified officers who had sworn to sup
port the Union. The sumo enactments
Furthermore show that this Legitimate
connection was suspended, that the
State was divided, that portion of
Virginia was organized into Il State OPP
posed to the Union. Are we to be told
that Congress has no right to inquire
whether said opposing organization
continues? The Virginia that demands
admission for her representatives with
ont inquiry is not the Virginia that en-
deavored to disrupt the Union in 1861;
it is only piece of the original State.
How is Congress to know who or how
many to admit from Virginia without
inquiring into the present organization
of the State? Does Congress know
whether the present constitution of
Virginia recognizes tile Confederate
States or the United States? II Con-
gress does not know it, is it not impor-
tant that il should know it; and if Con-
greSs does not know. it, how has it been
ascertained? Manifestly by some of
those inquiries into the auspices under
which the State Government was
formed, with which the minority says
Congress has no concern" Has Con-
greSS no concern to know whether the
relations of the rebellious States with
an enemy have been constitutionally
revoked? ? and in what way in Congress
to ascertain the fact except by inquiry +?
After lengthy and labored argu-
ment to prove thiTt State, once in the
Minority discovers that nobody ques-
Lions the eprinciple-that they have only
been endeavoring TO prove an admitted
fact. The Report admits that the meas
ures of the Majority concede the insur-
rectionary States to be States of the
Union. This is true, and they hold
them to accountability for acts done ns
members of the Union, and for the per-
formance of their duties within it. The
Minority makes the insurrectionary
States members of the Union, but in
dependent of it-gives them the adVau-
tage of the connection, but releases
them from all Observation-Disclosures the
Union for the protection of State Rights,
in the assertion of which they tried to
overthrow the Union. This attempt to
revive exploded doctrines of State
Rights will hardly succeed in convinc-
ing many. 1t is too specious to have
much weight, and must fail of effect
because it reads AS if the committee
wrote it merely on the ground that
something should be written, while
convinced at the same time that it had
little to write about. The Inct is, the
constitutional amendment reported by
the Majority is n hard thing to answer.
1t is an equitable proposition, and has
the sanction of the President himself,
uttered on several occasions. The re-
apportionment of the basis of repre-
sentation is one of the measures to
which the Minority excerpts, but it pre-
sents no new arguments in support OF
its position
a Racy Description.
From treatise on races by GriswoId
(the Fat Contributor } we quote para
graph or two: .r