American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1866-08-15

Union 0l1cefS Tor acts done IN the line s0f
official duty, and similar prosecutions are
threatened elsewhere as soon as the Uni
ted States troops are removed. All such
demonstrations show a state of feeling
against which it is unmistakably neees-
sary to guard.
The testimony is conclusive that after
the collapse of the Confederacy the feel.
ing of the people of the rebellious States
was that of abject submission. Having
appealed to the tribunal Of arms, they had
no hope, except by tA. magnanimity of
their conquerors, their lives and possibly
their property might be preserved. I'm
fortunately the general issue of pardons
to persons who have been prominent in
the rebellion, and the feeling of Kindness
and Cancellation manifested by the Ex-
ecutive. and very generally indicated
through the. Northern press, had the eff
feet to render the whole communities ior-
getful of the crime they had committed,
defiant toward the federal Government,
and regardless of their duties as citizens.
| The conclliatory measures of the Gov
ernment do not seem to have been met
even half way. The bitterness and de
fance exhibited toward the United States
under such circumstances is without
parallel in the history of the world. In
return for our kindness we receive only
an insulting denial of our authority. In
return for our kind desiIe for the rcsump.
ton Of fraternal relations, we receive only
an insolent assumption of rights and priv
ileges long since forfeited The crime
we have punished is paraded as a virtue,
and the principles of republican govern. .
ment, which we have vindicated at so
terrible cost, are denounced as unjust
and oppressive.
If we add to this evidence the fact that.
although peace has been declared by the
President, he has not to this day deemed
it safe to restore the writo habeas corpus,
to relieve the insurrectionary States of
martial law, nor to withdraw the troops
from many localities, and that the com
manding general deems an increase of
the army indispensable to the preserva-
ton of order and the protection Of loyal
and well disposed people in the South, the
proof of a condition of feeling hostile to
the Union and dangerous to the govern
ment throughout the instruction States
would seem to be overwhelming.
With such evidence before them, it is
the opinion OF your committee
l. That the States lately in rebellion
were at the close Of the war, nisorganized
communities. without civil government,
and without constitutions or other forms,
by virtue of which political relations
could legally exist between them and the
Federal Government.
2 That Congress cannot be expected
TO recognize as valid the election of rep.
resentatves from disorganized communi-
ties, which, from the very nature OF the
case, were unable to present their claims
to representation under those established
and recognized rules, the observance of
which has been hitherto required.
3. That Congress would not be usti-
fed in admitting such communities to a
participation in the government of the
country without first providing such con,
stitutional or other guarantees as will aid
to secure the civil rights of all citizens of
the Republic; a just equality Of repre-.
sentatl0n ; protection against claims foun
ded in rebellion and crimes a Temporal
r. restriction of the right of suffrage to
those who have not actively participated
in the efforts to destroy the Union and
overthrow the Government, and the ex-
clGsion from positions of public trust of
at least portion of those whose crimes
] hau ba % In al
Union and unworthy of public confidence
Your committee will, perhaps, hardly
be deemed excusable for extending this
report further; but, inasmuch as imme-
date and unconditional representation of
the States lately in rebellion if demand
cd as matter of right, and delay and
even hesitation, denounced as grossly
oppressive AMI unjust as well as unwise
and impolitic, it may not be amiss again
to call attention to few undisputed facts
and the principles of public law applica-
BILE thereto in order that the proprety of
that claim may be fully considered and
well understood.
The State of Tennessee occupied a po
siton distinct from all the other insur-
rectionary States and has been the sub.
ject OF a separate report, which the COM
mi'tee have not thought it expedient to
disturb. Whether Congress shall sec fit
to make that State the. subject of sepe-
rate action or to include it in the same
category with all others, so far as con
Germs the imposition of preliminary con
ditions, it is not within the province of
this committee either to determine or
advise. To ascertain whether any of the
so called Confederate States ''are entitled
to be represented in either house of Con-
gress," the essential inquiry is whether
there is in any one of them constitu-
ency qualified to be represented in Coo
gress. The question how far persons
claiming seats in either house possesses
the credentials necessary to enable them
to represent duly qualified constituency
is one for the consideration OF each house
separately, after the preliminary question
shall have been finally determined
We now propose to restate as briefly
as possible the great facts and principles
applicable to all the States recently in
rebellion
First. The seats of the Senators and
Representatives from the so-called Con-
1 FL O.