New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-28
MINORITY REPORT ON RECONSTRUCTION.


MINORITY REPORT ON RECONSTRUCTION.
The report Of the minority Of the "Reconstruc-
ton Committee" has just been published. The
delay shows that the opponents of the Republican
party never had any hope of successfully meeting
their antagonists in the forum of Congressional dis
cussion and, indeed, it would have been entirely
futile to address anything like argument to body
| which yields with tame and plastic submission to
the truoulent dctation of Stevens and Sumner. But
as the majority report has been placed before the
country which after ALL must be the final Judge Of
the grave questions which Congress assumes to
settle with fippant predetermination, the minority
doubtless, deemed it proper to appeal to the pow
erful tribunal of public opinion, in hopes of es-
Gaping the influence of the Judicial insanity
which domineers in the capitol.
The report, which is supposed to be written by
Mr.. Reyerdy johnson, of Maryland, is signed by
that gentleman and by A. j. Rogers and Henry
Rider. 1t is an able and almost exhaustive dis
cussion of the points in controversy between the
two parties and in its calm clear and dpassionate
style, presents a striking and pleasing contrast
with the feeble rhetoric, and turgd bombast of
the majority report
That document, in attempting to sustain the
position of the Congressional majority dismissed
the question whether or not the Southern States
are, constitutionally in the Union as proftless
abstraction. Yet it is on this very point that the
whole controversy between the President and his
adversaries, naturally hinges. "a proftIess alb
stracdon" it may be, in the eyes of a party re.
solved to decide the question in the negative and
to make their own decision the basis for subsequent
action; but in its bearing on the question whether
not that decision is logically andegaly correct
it is by no means a "proftless abstraction" That
it is an abstraction is not to be denied. But all
principles are distractions; and all generaliz
ations rising to Tile dignity of law are distractions
Of which particular facts and phenomena are
merely the indices ana evidences. The party Of
great moral ideas itself, is particularly fond
Of tile distractions which it calls general prn.
oipes, but the difficulty in its case is that its
general principles no principles DIT all; since
they never regard facts, but almost invariably
contradict them.
The minority, seeing that the question of /" il
the Union Or out Of the Union Sc State or 40
State lis the pivot Of the whole controversy
vigorously combat the attempt of the majority to
shrk the issue, by Diminishing it as "proftless
abstraction They, therefore, devote themselves
to the task of proving that The late Confederate
States, are constitutionay, States of the federal
| Union; and this point being proved the right OF
representation, as fixed by the Constitution, fol-
lows as a matter of course. The argument by which
this conclusion is reached is, as against the Re
| publican party, entirely unanswerable.
| The next point IS very dexterousy handled by
the minority. The majority had tried and to some
extent had succeeded in confusing the question by
means of very Illogical conclusions drawn from
the doctrine of belligerent rights. II the Confed-
crates had baligerent rights, which is admitted.
they we're belligerent enemies, which is not de-
MED. Thence came the question intended to ter
riy all the patriotic Northern people with visions
of prospective subjugation by rebels - and
traitors rs Shall we admit public enemies into
Congress to Iegislate for Us ~ This sort of ad
captdudaTl nonsense is supported by reference to
the judicial decisions rendered by the prize courts
which admitted that the Confederates possessed
belligerent rights. The minority report shows
that the bearing and effect of that decision have
been misinterpreted. It related to the rights of
third parties, and its purpose was to show that
the United States government possessed such
rights of war as justified it, under GER
tain circumstances, in capturing and con
demning ships and property belonging to
the subjects of foreign governments, as
against them the contest was a war. But the
United States government assumed that, as against
itself it was simply an Instructions all of Mr. Lin
coins proclamations calling for troops were issued
under laws for suppressing Instruction Bat
even granting that the contrary had been the case
and that the people of the South occupied toward
the Federal government the position Of alien enc
mics, yet beligerent rights could not outlast the
war. Where one nation conquers another, it
thenceforth governs the conquered people, not as
a beligerent but az a sovereign. When a nation
fights simply to recover territory which it claims
as its own, it merely RECEIVERS such rights of SOW
ereignty ii previously possessed, and no others.
The jurisdiction which it regains cannot exceed
the jurisdiction which it originally held Under
the federal system of the United States the meas
ure of that jurisdiction is the Constitution. it,
limits and extent are precisely those assigned to il
| by thesConstituton, and no others
As to that great danger to the perpetuity O
the Union, arising out of some assumed dspo
sition of the South to engage in another confio
with the government, the minority prove from
J the report of the majority, that no such danger
exists. If danger turks in the supposed attach
ment of the Southern people to the doctrine O
secession as a rightfUl remedy for political evils
why, ask the minority, has no Republican member
of Congress thought of proposing an amendment
to the Constitution, denying the right of secession
and prohibiting its exercise. That no such amend
ment was proposed, shows that the Republicans
themselves see that all danger from this source
has ceased.
| After effectualIy disposing of the argument!
used by the majority this report proceeds to crit
else and aasail the proposed amendment Its
reasOnings on this point are of no Importance tt
US, because nobody in the South, except Brown
lows legislature, and such like people, think o
ratifying the amendment, but it is to be hoped tina
its clear and cogent arguments will not be with
out effects on the public opinion of the North out
side of those unreasoning and vindictve bodies
known as the "loyaln legislatures Of the so-calee
''loyal States.
THE ENGLISH REFORM BILL.
i The fight on the reform question still continue