Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-04-10
A New Phase in Reconstruction.

and Robert j. Walker of Mississippi. at
tempted to file bill in the United States
Supreme Court at Washington, PRAYING in
behalf of Mississippi and such other Southern
States as may join in the petition, that Presl-
dent johnson and the military commanders
assigned to the Southern districts, he restrain
ed from carrying into effect the Reconstruc-
ton act recently passed by Congress. They
were, however, reminded by Attorney ten
eral Stanberry, that their proper course
would be TO ask leave to file their bill. which
course they will probably take and upon
that motion we shall get an intimatIon from
the court in regard to what course 1t Propo-
ses to take upon the question OF recJnstruc-
ton The bill in this case holds substantially
the same views respecting the constitution
aIitv of the reconstruction act, A. nave been
put forward in President johnson veta
messages 1t insists that Mississippi Is u
state in the Union, equal in its right of rep
resentation to states now represented III
Congress, and that Congress has no power Il
reconstruct the state, or declare its present
state government Illegal.
Messrs Sharkey and Walker will. prob
ably, find the way into Congress through
the Supreme Court, as difficult as the Presi-
Dental methods they have Intellectually tried
for the last two years. 1t is by no means
certain that the court viii not at once
decide that the question is political and MOI
a legal one, and therefore one with which
the court will have nothing to do. The rea-
sons which would lead them to such Il decl-
sion are abundant, but they need not be re-
cited here because, if the court listens t. tie
case. they must still dismiss the bill on legai
grounds
L. The Constitution makes it the dCty u
the United States u guarantee republican
governments to the several states. This i
an injunction upon Congress as the law
making power, and not upon the President
who ONLY executes the laws, nor upon the
Supreme Court which only interprets and
applies laws TO particular cases. Congress
is therefore clothed with power 10 declare
whether government is republican and ii
it declares it is not republican, it must or
ganize a republican government i'll place
of it. Its work to this end is not subject u
the revision of any other tribunal, for the
simple reason that the Constitution does NOT
specify the way in which this guarantee shall
be made good and the method is therefore
left wholly to the discretion of the body with
whom - power is lodged. This point has
been once decided by the Supreme Court in a
case growing out of the Dorr rebellion in
Rhode Island Chief Justice fancy in dc
Iivering the opinion of the court in that case
said
Under this article of the Constitution it
rests with Congress to decide what govern
ment is the established one in State. For
las the United States guarantee to each one
"a republican government, Congress must
necessarily decide what government is e'
tabIished in the state before it can decide
whether it is republican or not And when
the Senators and Representatives of a state
are admitted into the councils OF the Mon
-. the authority of the government under
(which they are appointed well its
constitutional character is recognized by
:. the proper constitutional authority And
its decision IS binding on erery other depGTt-
- Blent of the government and cOufd not De que-
toned IN a judicial tribunal 1t is true that
the contest in this case did not last long
enough t. bring the matter to this issue
land as no Senators or Representatives were
elected under the government of which Mr.
..DoRR was the head, Congress was not call
g cd upon to decide the controversy And
yet the right 10 decide placed there and not
- IN the courts
This argument is good without respect to
the question whether these Southern commu-
mites are states in the Union not Il
Mississippi has all the state rights of Mas
sachusetts, Congress may still judge whether
it has a republican form of government OF
not, and no appeal will lie from that judg
ment to the Supreme Court. If Governor
Dillingham; and the General Assembly should
attempt to hold power in this State beyond
the legal term of office, and refuse to yield W
the authority now reposed in them to those
who should be elected their SUCCESSOR
next fall, Congress would have the undOubt
ed right to decide which of the conflicting
officers it would recognize as the Legitimate
incumbents of the Offices; and in SO doing il
would not expel Vermont from the Union.
or in any way affect its rights State il
the Union. And it may do the same thing
upon any right of that state.
. What has Congress attempted to do by
its measures of reconstruction In 1860 and
1861 eleven states, in their capacity as
states, attempted to secede from the Union. |
They withdrew their Senators and Represen-
tatives from Congress. They confederated
together with Congress and President Of
their own They made war to secure sue
cess for their undertaking Their state au-
thorities refused to recognize in any way the |
authority of the United States. After fouI |
wears of war they gave up the attempt |
They were at that moment without loyal |
state governments had forfeited all right to
be treated state governments, and were
ignored accordingly by every department o.
the United States government. President
johnson commenced his work of reconstruc-
ton. and attempted to set up new state gov
ernments. Congress has, however. contin-
uallv refused to recognize these pretended
governments as republican in form, and at
the close of its last session formally declared |
that these were not valid state governments
and in doing this it was acting precisely as
Chief Justice fancy said it had a right TO
act But having declared that Mississippi
had no republican government, the duty to
give it a republican form of government was
imposed upon Congress and the reconstruc-
ton acts provides how that shall be done.