Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-12-05

eause II seems 10 confne our powers within
limits narrower than We could wish' III y no,
question Of individual, OF class OF seeuoha.
interest, much less of party predominant, oue
OF duty-of high and sacred dnty-whieh we are
all sworn 10 perform. five cannot support the
the Constitution with the cheerful alacrltY OF
those who love and believe IN ~ We must glNe
TO IL, at least the fidelity fpubhe servants VINO
act under solemn obligations and eonmaIus
which they dare moi disregard The consutu' |
tiOnal duty IL not the only one when requires |
the States 20 be restored, THERE'S another con-
sideration which, though Of minor Importance |
Il vet OF great weight On the 2s1 aay ol Suly,
1861, Congress declared, by an almost unail,
nous vote of both Houses, that the war should
be conducted solely for the purpose oil preserv.
ing the Union and maintaining the supremacy
Of the Federal Constitution ana laws; WltnouI
impairing the dignity, equality ana rlghts OF inc
States or individuals, or that when this was done
the war should cease. | do not say that TINS
declaration is personally binding on those
who joined In making II any more thah lhul-
yidual members OF Congress, are personally
bound to paw a public debt created under law
for which they voted But 1t was solemn,
public Official pledge of the national honor, ana
/ cannot immagine upon what grounds the repu-
diation of IL is 10 be justified. lft be said that
we are not bound TO keep faith with rebels, let
II be remembered that this promise was not
made TO rebels only. Thousands OF true men
in the South were drawn to our standard by II,
and hundreds of thousands in the North gave
their lives in the belief that 1t would be carried
out, II was made on the day after the first great
battle of the war had been fought and lost. All
patriotic and intelligent men then saw the ne
cessty of giving such an assurance, ana DelieV-
ing that without IL, the war would end IN dlsas-
ter TO our cause. Having given that assurance in
the extremity of our peril the violation of IT
now in the day of our power, would De rude
rending of that good faith which holds the NOR
al world together. Our country would cease TO
have any claim upon the confidence of men; it
would make the war not only failure, but
fraud.
THE RECONSTRUCTION LAWS.
Being sincerely convinced that these views
are correct / would be unfaithful to my duty
if l did not recommend the repeal OF tne
acts OF Congress which place ten OF the South
ern States under the domination OF military
masters. If calm reflection shall satisfy ma
jority of your Honorable bodies that the acts
referred to are not only violation of the ma
tiOnal faith but an indirect conflict with the
Constitution, l dare not permit myself TO doubt
that You will Immediately strike them from the
statute book. To demonstrate the unconstitu-
tional character of those acts, lneed do no more
than refer to their general provisions. 1t must
be seen at once that they are not authorized.
To dictate what alterations shall be made in the
constitutions of the several States to control the
elections of State Legislatures and State officers,
members of Congress and electors of President
and Vice President by arbitrarily declaring who
shall vote and who shall be excluded from that
privilege TO dissolve State Legislatures or pre-
vent them from assembling to dismiss judges
and other civil funCtionaries of the State and
appoint others without regard TO State law: to
organize and operate all the political machinery
of the State, to regulate the whole admnistTa-
ton Of the domestic and local affairs, according
TO the mere will of strange and irresponsible
agents sent among them for that purpose, These
are powers not granted to the Federal Govern
ment or to any one of its branches. Not being
granted we violate our trust by assuming them
as palpably as We would by acting in the face OF
positive interdict, for the Constitution tOTbids
to do whatever it does not atfrmativcly author
iZe either by express words or by clear impCa-
ton. If the authority we desire to use does not
come to US through the Constitution we can eX-
ercise il only by usurpation, and usuTpatiOn is
the most dangerous of political crimes. BY that
crime the enemies of free government in all
ages have worked ont their designs against pub
lie liberty and private right. II leads directly
and Immediately to the establishment of abso-
Lutte rule-fOr undelegated power is always UNI
limited and unrestrained The acts of Congress
in question are not only Objectionable for their
assumption of ungranted power, but many of
their provisions are in conflict with the direct
prohibitions of the Constitution. The Constl-
tuition commands that republican form of gov
eminent shall be guaranteed TO all the States;
that no person shall be deprived Of life, liberty
Or property without Que process OF law, arrested
without judicial warrant, or punished without
q fair trial before an impartial jury that the
privilege of habeas corpus shall not be denied
in time of peace, and that no bill of attalnder
| shall be passed even against single individual
vet the system of measures established by
these acts of Congress does totally subVert and
| DESTROY the form as well as the substance of re-
| publican government in the ten States TO which
| they apply 1t binds them hand and foot in alb
| solute slavery, and subjects them to strange
| and hostile power more unlimited and more
| likely to be abused than any other now known
| among civilized men. 1t tramples down all
| those rights in which the essence of liberty
consists, and which free government is always
more careful to protect. 1t denies the haDeas
| corpus and the trial by jury, Personal freedom
property and life, if assaulted by the passion, the
prejudice or the rapacity of the ruler have nc
security whatever. 1t has the effect OF bill o
attainder or bill of pains and penalties, not up
on few individuals, but upon whole masses
including the millions who inhabit the subjeC
States, and even their unborn children. ThesC
wrongs being expressly forbidden cannot b.
constitutionally inflicted upon any portion o
| our Deople no matter how they may have Com'
within our jurisdiction, and no matter whethe
they live in States, Territories or districts.
| have no desire to save from the proper and jus
| consequences of their great crimes those VIII
| engaged in rebellion against the Government
Int as a mode of punishment the measures un
der consideration are the most unreasonable
that could be invented. Many ofthese people ar
perfectly innocent many kept their fidelity t
the Union untainted to the last; many were in
capable of any legal Ottense; and large pre-
= | portion even of the persons able to bear arm
were forced into rebellion against their WILL an
, of those who are guilty with their own consent
2 the degrees of guilt are as various as the shade
of their character and temper But these act
| of Congress COnfOund them all together in com
G | mon doom. lndisCrminate Vengeance upO
D classes, sects and parties, or upon whole con
= munities, for Otfenses committedb by portion
c them against the Government to which the
= owed obedience, was common in the barbarou
J, ages of the world. But Christianity and Civi
i, izatiOn have made such progress that resourC
= to a punishment so cruel and unjust would met
with the condemnation Of all unpreiudiCed an
right-minded men, The punitive justice
- this age and especially of this country, does nj
% consist in stripping whole States of their libe
y ties, and reducing all their people, withol
a distinction to the condition Of slavery. 1t dea
,f | separately with each individual; COnint
II itself to the forms of law, and vindcates its
~ | purity by an impartial examination of evel
~ case before a competent and judicial tribuns
n If this does not satisfy all our desires with r
- gard to Southern rebels let us console Oursev,
- by rejecting that free Constitution trump
n. ant in war and unbroken in peace is worth f
n more to US and our children than the gratifc
~ ton of any present feeling. / am aware it
assumed that this system of government for Il
~ Southern States is not to be perpetual. 1t
~ true this military government is 10 be only pr
~ visional, but 1t is through this temporary ey
"a | that a greater evil is to be made perpetual
40 | the guarantees of the Constitution can
M | broken Professionally to serve temporary pit
~ pose, and in part only of the country, we Ct
lNara ina