Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-03-02
Government Of Insurrectionary States
Speech ofGen. Garfield.

Mr.. RAYMOND of New York having
the floor, the Military Bill as it is called,
fer the Government of imsurrectionary
States being under discussion yielded a
portion of his time to Gen. GARFIELD,
who spoke as follows:
Mr.. Speaker, in the short time allowed
me / can say bat very little. But want
to call the attention of the House to two
or three points which, in my judgment,
stand out prominently, and which should
control our action upon this measure.
And first, call attention to the fact
that from the collapse of the rebellion to
the present hour the Congress of the Z.
S. has undertaken to restore the States
latelyi iii rebellion by cooperation with
their people; and that our efforts in that
direction have proved complete and
disastrous failure. We commenced, sir,
by waving nine-tenths of all the powers
we had over these people under the in
fuence of mercy. 1t was clearly the
right of the victorious Governmentxo
indict, try, convict and hang every re8l
traitor in the South for their bloody con-
spiracy against the Republic.
In accordance with the law passed by
the first Congress met under the Consti-
tuition, and approved by Washington, we
might have punished with death by hang
ing every rebel in the south. We might
confiscate the last dollar of the last reb-
ell to aid in paying the cost of the war.
Or adopting more merciful policy, we
might have declared that no man who vol
unfairly went into the rebellion should
ever again enjoy the rights of a citizen of
the United States. They had forfeited
every right of citizenship by becoming
traitors and enemies. What the con-
quering sovereign would do with them
was for Congress to declare.
Now, ith allthese powers in its hands
Congress declared that it would do moth
ing for vengeance, but everything for lib
erty and safety. The representatives of
the nation said to the people ofthe South,
Join with us in giving liberty and justice
to that race which you have so long out
ragged, make it safe for free loyal men to
live among you, bow to the authority of
our common country, and we will for
give the carnage, the desolation, the loss
es and the unutterable woes you have
brought upon the nation, and you shall
come back to your places in the Union
with no other personal disability than
this: that your leaders shall not again rule
rs except by the consent oftwo-thirds Of
both Houses of Congress. That was the
proposition which this Congress submit
ted during its last session; and | am here
20 affirm to-day that so magnanimous, SO
mercifll proposition has never been sub
mitted by sovereignty to rebels since
the day when God offered forgiveness to
the fallen'sons of men. =.
The constitutional amendment did not
come up to the full height of the great
occasion {; it did not meet all that desir-
ed in the way of guarantees to liberty;
but if the rebel States had adopted it as
Tennessee did, should have felt bound
to let them in on the same terms prescrl-
bed for Tennessee. | have also been In
favor of waiting, to give them full time
to deliberate and act. They have delib-
Grated; they have acted The last one Of
the sinful ten has at last with contempt
and scorn, fundg back into our teeth the
magnanimous offer of a generous nation.
1t is now our turn to act. They would
not c. perate with us in rebuilding what
they destroyed. We must remove the
rubbish and rebuild from the bottom.
Whether they are willing or not we
must compel obedience to the Union,
and demand protection for its humblest
citizen wherever the flag floats. We
must so exert the power of the nation
that it shall te deemed both safe and hon
orable to have been loyal in the midst of
treason. We must see to it that the
fightful carnival of blood now raging In
the south shall continue no longer.
We must make it possible for the hum
blest citizen ofth United States-from
whatever State he may ceme-to travel
in safety from the Ohioriver to the Gulf.
In short we must plant liberty on the ru-
ins of slavery and establish law and peace
where anarchy and violence now reign.
believe, sir, the time has come when we
must lay the heavy hand of military au-
thority upon these rebel communities,
and hold them in-its grasp till their mad
ness is past, and until s'clothed in their
right mind" they come bowing to the au-