American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-04-04

federate States" therefor, absolying all
State officials from their oaths to support
the Constitution of the United States, and
requiring them to take oaths of allegiance
to the new State constitutions and to the
Confederate States"
8. That Tennessee passed similar ordi.
nances, only by her legislature instead of
by convention.
4. That all these States repealed the
laws providing fer the election os Repre-
sentatiyes to the Congress of the United
States
5. That all the officials Of these States
took an oath of allegiance to the "Con-
federate States" and renouncad their al
legiance to the United States
6. That long before the rebellion ceased
the official term Of every State officer
within these States, who had ever taken an
oath of allegiance to the United States, had
expired and no one held Office in any
one of these States, by virtue of an cleo
tion prior to the ordinances OF secession,
except, possibly, few judicial officers.
Now, in the language of Chief Justice
Bronson (Indiana q. Woram, 6 Hill, 33),
"that State is corporation cannot be
doubted" Viewed as corporation, can
there be much question as to the legal
effect of such a course of action as we
have set forth above? Setting Tennessee
aside for .he present. tho other States
took every possible means to destroy their
corporate existence. What more could
they do than they have done Acting
through the most authoritative exponents
which they could summon into existence,
they declared their fixed determination
not te exist any longer as States of this
Union. They abolished every law of
their own which gave them place in
the Union They vacated every office
held as an Office of State in the Union
They destroyed every right which they
had to elect representatives to q Congress
of the Union. They left not one shred
of legal and constitutional government in
existence. True, they believed that they
could exist as governments outside of the
Union; but they broke down all the
bridges behind them, and peIilled all up
on the hazard of their opinion. The war
has settled that they were mistaken upon
! this point, but it has not provided any
remedy for their voluntary destruction Of
their own institutions. That act of fully
muzt be repaired BY regular constitutional
processes.
1t is said that the States did not lose
their identity, although they rebellsd.--
But a State, like any other corporation,
may cease to exist, although all its pow
ers are assumed, all its property taken,
and all its officers continued, by another
corporation bearing precisely the same
name. Thus, number of banks in New
York, which were organized many years
ago under special charters, recognized
under the general act Of 1888, without
the slightest change in name, stockhold-
ers, officers, property, or business. A
few years ago the question arose, in an
action brought by one of these banks,
whether it was one and the same corpo-
ration throughout. The courts held,
without shadow Of doubt, that it was
not, and that the new corporation was as
distinct from the old as son from
his father. Just SO Virginia, as a State
of the Union, is totally distinct from the
Virginia which professed to exist as an
independent or Confederate State. Nor
does the fact that Virginia, as Confed
crate State, never had legal existence,
have the least tendency to prove that the
former Virginia did not destroy itself.
The case of Tennessee, as we have
said, differs from that of the other reyol-
ted States in the fact that no convention
was held therein. But all legal govern
ment was destroyed there for four years
as effectually as in any other State, and,
practically, it stands upon the same foot
ing as the rest, except that its constitu-
tion can survive the destruction of ali
government under it.
In all these States, then, there was no
civil government, no civil law, no civil ad-
ministration of affairs, for years. Never
theless, it is claimed that, by virtue of
some undefned principle Of Immortality,
the States outliyed all the forms of gov
ernment aud law which are usually sup
posed to constitute State.
Can State continue to exist without
a government or any lawful means Of
electiDg one? Can it exist after its peo.
pie have, in regular and proper method,
declared their will tina, it shall NOT exist
Is there any aelf-actins power 10 State