The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1867-12-06

tprese;rvstion 81 the U 1ioThad the lie
1gAl effeS Of dlssolSing ~ TheFic
tory of the hatioh's arms was 10
I. the disgrace of her policy. The de
feat of secession on the battle field
was not the triumph of its laWlesl
tprinciple. Nor could Congress. Will
or without the consent Of the Execu
tive, do anything which would hav,
the effect, directly or indirectly, o.
separating the States from each. 9th
er. To dissolve the Union is to re
f peal the Constitution, which holds il
together, and that is power which
does not belong to any department oi
this Government, or to all of them
united. This is so plain that it has
been acknowledged by all branches
of Federal Government The Exec.
utive, my predecessor, as well as my
self, and the heads of all the depart
meuts, have uniformly acted upon the
principle that the Union is not only
undissolved, but indissoluble Con-
gress submitted an amendment
OF the Constitution TO the Southern
States, and accepted their acts of rat
jfication as l necessary and lawful ex-
ercise of their, highest fGnetioh-. Ii
they were nt. Statcs, or were States
out of the | nion, this consent to a
change in the fundamental law Of the
Union would have been nugatory,
and Congress, il asking it, committed
q political absurdity. The judiciary
has.also gissniheIsolemn sanction of
its authority to the same view of the
case. The Judges of the Supreme
Court have Included the Southern
States in their circuits, and they are
corstantlysin banc and eisewlere, ex-
tereising jurisdiction which does not
belong to them, unless those States
are States of the Union, If the South
ern States are component parts of the
Union, the Constitution is the Su-
rreme law for them, as it is for all the
other States. They are bound to
obey it, and so ere we. The right of
the Federal Government, which is
clear and unquestinable to enforce the
Constitution upon them, implies the
corelative obligation on our part to
observe its limitations and exc
cute its guarantees. Without the
Constitution we are nothing. BY,
through and under the Constitution,
we are what it makes US. We may
doubt the wisdom of flaw, we may
not approve of its provisions but
we cannot violate 1t merely because
it seems to confine our power within
limits narrower than We could wish.
1t is not question OF individual or
class or ssotionalintsrests, m maeh less
of party predomiranoe; but of duty,
of high and sacred duty, which We
are all sworn to perform. If we
cannot support the Constitution with
the cheerful alacrity of those who
love and belive in 1t, we must give to
it at least the fidelity of public SER
wants who act under solemn obliga-
tions and com mands which they dare
not disregard.
The constitutional. duty is not the
only one which requires the States to
be restored. There is another con-.
sideration which, though of minor
Importance, is yet Of great weight.
On the 22d of July, 1861, Congress
declared by an alnostunahinouS vote
of both Houses, that the war should
be conducted solely for the purpose
of preserving the Union and main
tanning the supremacy of the Federal
Constitution and laws, swithout sf-
fecting the dignity, equality and
rights of States or individuals; and
that when this was done the war
should cease / do not say that this
declaration is personally binding on
those who joined in making it, any
more than individual members Of Con-
gress are personally lbound to pay a
public debt created under law for
which they voted, but 1t was solemn
public official pledge Of national hon.
or, and I cannot imagine upon what
grounds the reputation of 1T is to be
justified. If it be said that we are
not bound to keep faith with rebels,
let it be remembered that this prom
ise was not made 10 rebels only. Il
Thousands of Union men in the South
were drawn to our standard by it, !
and hundreds of thousands in the
North gave their lives in the belief
that if would be carried out. 1t was
made on the day afte- the first great
battle of the war had been fought and
lost. All patriotic and intelligent
men then saw tie necessity of giving
such "a assurance, believing that
without it the war would end in dis
aster TO our cause. Having given
that assurance in theextremity of our
peril, the violation of itNRoa, in the
DAY of our lower, would bela rude
of thit good faith which holds
the moral world together. Our coun
try would cease to have any claim
upon the confidence of men. Itwouid
make the war not only a failure, but
q fraud. Being sincerely convinced
that these views are correct, l would
be .unfaithiul to my duty if did not
recommend the repeal of the acts of
Congress, which place ten of the
Southern States under the domina-
ton of Military masters. If calm re
lection shall satisfy q majority of
your honorable bodies that the acts
referred to are not a violation of ma
tionsl faith, but in direct conflict with
the Constitution, / dare not permit
myself to doubt thst you will imme-
diately strike them from the statute
book to demonstrate the unconstitu-
tional character of those acts. Ineed
do no more than refer to this general
provision. 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 elections of State Legislators,
State officers, Members of Congress,
and Electors of President and Vice
President by arbitrarily declaring
who shall vote and who shall be ex-
cluded from that privilege; to dis
solve State Legislatures or prevent
them from assembling /; to dismiss
Judges and other civil functionaries
Of the State, and appoint others with
put regard to State law; to organize