The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-18
IooNeREss1oNAL PROCEEDINGS.
The following are the Congressional proceed
iugs Of yesterday, continued from our Fourth

MI TRUMBULL moved that the Senate take
mp the bill TO repeal the amnesty section OF the
Mr.. HENDRioKs Of Indiana, hoped that the
bill would not be taken up. The bill 70 ADMIT Ne-
Hendricks) was entitled to the floor upon II, ana
wished to make some remarks upon H. - 49, .
vote was taken, and the senate VooA up 'ne
bill indicated by Mr.. Trumou -, -,
mr. TRJJMBJJI.L called for the reading of the
seoiion proposed to be repealed, and IL was read.
Mr. TRUMBULL said the only effect Of the pas
sage of this bill will be TO repeal the thirteenth sec
ton of the Con cation act which is as tolloWs:
HThat the President is hereby authorized at any
time hereafter by proclamation TO extend TO per-
sons who may have paIucipatea IN tne exlsung re;
bellIon, in any State or part thereof pardon and
amnesty, with such exec ptions and at such time
and on such conditions as he may deem expedient
From the haste with which this bill hurried
through the House, and the anxiety manifested oy
some In this body to pass II at once, without tne
usual reference to a committee, an impression has
gone out to the country that by the repeal OF tne
Thirteenth section of the Oonscation act the power
oI the President to grant pardons and restore TO
rebels their property would be taken away. Sucn,
however will not be ITS effect. The Presidents
power TO grant pardons and restore property VIII
ne inst as complete after the passage OF THIS Dill re-
pealng the Thirteenth sec1lon az Dei9pe' ore Inc Ooh
grant reprfeves and paTdons for offences against
the United States except in cases OF otimpeachment"
And IL is not in the power of Congress to deprive
him of this pIerogatve. A pardon is q remission
of the crime offence and not of the conviction,
and may be granted either before or after convic-
tion, and may be absolute or conditional. All
thee questions were settled by the opinions OF the
Attorney Generals
preme court years ago. Mr.. Writ, Attorney Gen
eral under President Munroe, gave an opinion, in
1920, that the President, under the Constitution,
mad authority to pardon well before after
yicaon; and the Supreme Court of the United
States in the case of ex parte William Will,1S
Howard, $40, cited with appreciation the follow
iDE A pardon is said by Lord Coke to be
q work of mercy, whereby the king, either
before attaindeT, sentence conviction, or
after, may forgive any crime, offence, right, etc
Inst, 233. The same Court, in the case of United
States VS. Wilson, Peters, 162 decided that par
is n 10
ard acceptance by the individual for whom it is
intended are necessary, and that the President
may grantpardons on conditions. The Presidents
power to restore property seized under the contis
cation act to its former rebel owners will not be
affected by the repeal of this thirteenth section,
The section is silent that subject, and his power
in that respect is just what the Constitution gives
him and no more. 1t is certainly within his power
TO retain the property seized, by imposing con-
dition to the pardon that no property shall be re-
stored under II, and where hs has not done so, it is
manifest that he did not intend TO retain the proper
ty. This is moreover apparent from the affirmative
action of the President in commanding Gen How
ard, Commissioner of the treedmen's Bureau,
to restore to pardoned rebels their former pro-
perty. The President has these powers under the
Constitution. 1t may be asked, why repeal this
thirteenth sectionl What possible harm can it
do to let it stand9 l answer, 1t contains power to
grant general amnesty by proclamation, which
the Consultation does not give. There can now be
no occasion to issue general proclamation of am
nesty. That has already been done, except as to
certain specified classes, and by repeating this
thirteenth section Congress takes from the Presi-
dent the power to issue any more general procla-
of special pardons and the restoration of rebel pro-
perry shall NO longer be done under its sanction.
Mr.. JOHNSON, of Maryland, took the floor, to
show that the President has full power to pardon
under the Constitution. He cited the authority of
the Federalist and the proclamation of General
Washington during the whisky insurrection, to
show that the President has, by the Constitution,
the power to issue proclamation OF general am
Pending the remarks of MIR. johnson the morn
ing hour expired, and the CHAIR decided the bill
TO admit Nebraska to be In order.
r. hOped Nebraska
would be informally laid aside for the present.
until the bill called up by him disposed of.
The CHAIR decided that Mr. Hendricks, OF In
diana, entitled to the floor the bill to admit
Nebraska, and it could only be laid aside with his
Mr HENDRICKS, OF Indiana, declined to yield
the floor, SO the bill to admit Nebraska was taken
up. Mr.. Hendricks addressed the Senate against
the bill, taking the ground that the population of
Nebraska was too small for q State government;
that the majority in favor of a State government
was very mall, &c. In conclusion, he referred to
a speech of Mr. Shermans, on Friday last, and said
he (Mr Sherman) expressed the opinion that the
constitutional amendment which passed this body
all the last session was mild proposition and was
just and fair toward the southern States think
1 recollect to have asked the Senator at the last
session question which he did not then answer.
l will repeat the question to him now, and let
him thep, as a Representative of one of the States
of this Union, say whether one of the constitu-
tional amendments was fair; that amendment was
so carefully and wlfully framed as to leave the
northern States representation of from fifteen TO
twenty Representatives in the House based upon
non-voting population, leaving Missouri, West
virginia, tennessee ana marylanu tnelr 1ull re-
presentation, when one half of their people, by
State policy and legislation, denied the right of
voting. Full representation is allowed TO four
States, notw thstan ding one half OF the population
is disfran chised and full representation includ-
ing large nom voting population, securing twen-
ty Representatives OF the House, is left to the
noI thern States.
Now is it right in q constitutional amendment to
give to one State a representation based upon
non-voting population, and deny it TO another
State because a particular population is not al
lowed to voter Is it right to give to New York
is it just ard mild and tair to propose that New
York may have four or five representatives based
upon voting population, and deny to Geor-
gia representative upon her non-voting popula-
tion? Is it equal and just that one State shall be
represented Tor her non-voting population, and
another State shall not be represented Tor her
voting population!
Thatls the question. The Senator (Mr Sher-
MANI, at the last session did not answer it, and
think It cannot be answered. know it can be
said that these people OF the south have been IN
state of rebellion. The wlckedness and folly of
cannot be too strongly expressed by the Senator
from Ohio. But, sir, when they come back by
their representatives in this body and into the
House, do they come as Statesl
Mr.. WADE, OF Ohio-Does the Senator contend
that the constitutional amendm provided that
they might exclude part OF the population of Ohio
from voting and have representatives. for theml
Mr.. HENDRlOKS-Oerta
MT WADEII W.fI, 40 not SO understand IT, But l
ernment over the States that have forfeited their
rights by rebellion and the rights Of those States
that have not thus forfeited their rights
Mr.. HENDRICKS-I am not discussing the
views of the Senator, but of his colleague
(Mr. Sherman) His colleague has stated that
the amendment was fair, mild and Just, and that
because OF its character in this respect, great ad
vantage was secured to the party with which he
acted.
If he desired him 70 answer the question nowl
Mr.. HENDRICKS said he did not want an i'm
%r any o geST %s wS%d do
Hendricks If the constitutional amendment did