The Richmond palladium., 1866-03-01


ion They have appealed TO us outsiders
10 pronounce between them
The spe fker then went on 70 prove
that there was sctuallv no difference o.
importance between the President apd
Congress however much it might seem
otherwise He said both have got the
Union restored as originally planned Il
should be. without slavery, secession or
compromise-not with freedmen ana
refugees abandoned 10 suffering and
persecution, but with freedmen employ
ed in productive and self-sustainiug in
dustry. and with refugees under the pro
lection of law and order. The Presl-
dent sees that it has come out right At
last, and he accepts the situation. Con
gress on the other hand, hesitate. delay,
debate, and argue not hecsuse it has
not come out right, but because they have
not individually had their own way in
bringing it to that happy determination.
| apprehend no serious difficulty, from
. the conviction that there never was ana
can never be any successful process to-
the restoration of the Union and har
mOnv among the States, except the one
with which the President has avowed
himself satisfied. Grant it that the re
bellion is dispersed, ended and exhaust
lows necessarily that the States sooner
or later must be organized by loyal men
in accordance with the change in our
fundamental law. and resume Iueir place
in Congress All the rebel StatcS /
Texas have done lust that thing, and
Texas is dong the sanIe as fast as pos
sIble. The President Is in harmony with
all the States that were in rebellion. and
the executive and judicial 81 tepartueAt>
are rapidly resuming their functions
Loyal representatives, more or eSS.
from these States, are standing at the
doors of Congress, and have been stand
ing there for three months, asking to be
admitted to seats which the disloyal rep
resentatives had previously left Mean
while Congress passes law after law, I'm
poses burden after harden AMI duty a.
ter duty upon the States, which, against
their earnest desire, are left unrepresen-
ted | feel sure that loyal men from the
now loyal States. will sooner or later be
admitted into this Congress, or the next
When this is done the process oil re~to
ration will be complete, for that is all
that remains to be done. The speaker
thought that territorial governments for
the seeded States were perfectly i'm
practicable. This was also rejected by
Mr.. Lincoln. Yet what for? Well. the
States are already organized in perfect
ha mony with our amended n~iioa-,.
Constitution and are in earnest go -oper
alton with the Federal Government i
/ IS impossible To reduce the States to Z;
territorial condition. Congress has hao
a Reconstruction Committee, composeG
OF fifteen members, who have stopped
the wheels of legislation three months.
to enable them to submit plan differ
ent from that which is now on the eve OF
a happy consummatiou. And wharhsve
they given us? One proposed All
amendment to the Constitution TO com
pei the excluded States to equaIize suf.
frage, upon penalty of an abridgment OF
representation. This was no plan Of re
construction, but obstruction.
The resolution which passed the House
Tuesday last directly declares that loyal
representatives shall not he admit ell
from loyal States unit Congress 81 ali
pass law for that purpose. which law
cannot be enacted without the President )
approval, and which cannot he consist
entity given in view of the opinions he is
known to entertain. This resolution
then is not plan fo~ reconstruction, hut
for indefinite postpOnement and delay
When the rebellion began we determin-
ed to humble TIE rebels We have hum
bled them and brought them back with
humiliation and repentance, suing for re
storation. The popular voice was that
all members of the family, however
prodigal they had been, would be rcceiv-
ed a. the board These efforts at OBJ
struction then are as impracti cable as |
think they are vicious; no State can
keep itself out of the Union or keep it
self in territorial condition under this
Union. The States which are in the
Union cannot keep anv States that are
outside from coming in Congress is
habitually inclined to this experiment
1t esitatei about Michigan and Missouri,
reeled and staggered over Texas aud
California and convulsed the nation
about Kansas, vet they are all in the
Union; all happy, all loyal. How many
committees of conference did we have ;
how many joint resolutions denying that
Congress ever would consent to the al
mission OF such unwelcome intruders
how many compromises securing guar
antics TO. freedom and for slavery were
broken and scattered when one after the
other Of these States came in as if by
! headlong thrust and hurled BY the 81
mighty Providence who was determined
the people Of this continent shall not be
many discordant nations, but one united
nation.
A Joint Committee Of fifteen, in ls49
succeeded in excludingCalifornia for eight
months, until the majority of the nation
should compromise and silence forever
the debate upon slavery The compro-
mise was by its terms to be perpetual
The compromise Of 1880 fingered for
four years, and then perished, giving
place to the now happily consnmated ad
justment of the slavery question, by q
complete abrogation of that institution.
When | left Congress in 1861, commit
: tees and conventions demanded stipula-
: tions that the fetters be put on New
Mexico. Nevada and Colorado. You
can never keep States out Of this Union.
The present distrusts of future States.
or existing States, have no substantial
grounds Tney are begotten OF misera-
bic fears and factions, if ever this thing