Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1867-03-15
BY w. A. LEE AND HUGH WILSON.
THE RECONSTRUCTION BILL AND VETO

AL HdiI-phSI e'Sn', Oh catuTuay eFenln y
March 2, the veto Of the President on th,
Reco, struc,ion Bill was taken up arc
read. The reading having been corcln-
ded-
Mr.. johnson took the floor and said
While doing, as lie most sincerely did, ful
justice to tho CONSCIENTIOUS purpose Of the
President, he could not but regret that he
(the Prcsilenl) had felt himself compelled
to come to that result, and to send this
message to Congress. There we:e many
propositions in law contained in that mes
sage which could not be maintaincd.-
There were many errors Of judgment ia i,
which, upon examination, would be arpar
ent, and. above all, the result to which he
(,he PrcsidenD had been compelled to
come in the exercise of his own judgment
which, there was no doubt, was conscien-
tiously exercised. lie (Mr. Johns on) saw
nothing but continued turmoil, danger and
error to the South and to the entire couu-
try. He rose, therefore, for the purpose
OF stating very briefly. in addition to what
he had alrca ly said wien the measure was
before the Senate on former occasion,
why it was that he had ca the vote he
had cast on that occasion, and why it was
that he ehou.d give the same vote now.
(AprlauSe IN the galleries, which was re-
pressed by the Clair.) 1t will net lie for
a moment supposed, said Mr.. johnson, hy
those to whom AN addressing myself,
that am governed now, or that WAS
governed then, by any hope Of popular
applause. Ny motives, if know myself,
were perfectly pure and patriotic. sew
before me distracted and almost bleeding
country. thought saw, and think I
see now, the means by which it might be
restored to heaIlhful condition, and the
constitution Of the country i'll The end pre-
served. I have :.rrivc:l, Mr. Pres dent, at
that period Of my life when, If ever any
other ambition animated me, I can have
no other ambition now than that of s:rv-
ing my country. Having referred TO the
views he had previously expressed on the
question of reconstruction, cuuciu; ;irg tina,
when the war ceased the Suites were res
tored to tl:eir former relations, and that no
conditions for their representation were
requisite or constitutional, Mr. Johnson
said that the present and the late Execu-
tive thought differently. I: was unncces-
sary for him to say what were the condi-
tions exactcd by the present Executive.
They were in his (Mr. Johnson's) judg-
ment as unconstitutional as any that could
be found in this bill The Con gross Of the
United States was Of opinion that, not
withstanding the people of the Southern
States compiled with the terms exactel by
the presen. Chief Magistrate, they couIl
not be restored without the sanction Of
Congressional legislation and this was
the Judgment Of the country. Then how
we're they to come back? Only by com
plying with the conditions which Congress
may impose, whether Congress had the
authority to impose them or not or, fail
ing to comply, to remain in the sad cond
tion in which they are now. IIe (Mr.
Johnson) impu:el bad motives neither 10
Congress nor to the executive. lie
thought he knew bis duty 10 the ins titu
tions of the country too well to call in ques.
tion the motives Of either. lie accorded
purity of purpose and patriotic principles
to both. lie differed from both but he
sought the restoration Of the Union, and
he saw no way of accomplishing it now
but bJ the adoption sf the measure now
before the Senate. We are now, in nv
opinion, in state Of quasi war-our con.
dtion is revolutionary ten States of the
Union are virtually held as provinces, up
on the ground that we have right to hold
them as enemies of the Union and the
government. In that state Of things, to
hesitate in the adoption Of any measure
which promises even the most distantly to
put an end to this revolutionary condition,
Is, ID my Judgment, to be false to the true
interest and safety Of the country. In
conclusion, Mr.. johnson said he was glad
to see from the public prints of the South.
and to be informed by many Of the lead.
ing men Of the South, that i. was the pur.
pose Of the Southern States to organize
under this bill. They are taking lessons
from experience. The Constitutional
Amendment, if it had been adopted, would
have brought into this chamber and the
other chamber representatives from the
South. Of that I have no doubt. Now
1t will not. The Bill which we passed.
and which was afterwards amended 10 the
House, would have accomplished the same
purpose upon terms less exacting than the