Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-07-26

With funds, IL happens that he Is requires
2 by the State laws to enter into bond wit
security, and to take an oath of Office, We
from the beginning of the bill to the EN-
there is no provision for any bond or oatl
> of Office, or for any single qualification re
quired under the State law, such as residenc
citizenship or anything else. The onl.
oath is that provided for in the ninth sec
ton, by the terms of which every one de
tailed is ''to take and to subscribe the oatl
of office prescribed by law for officers o
the United States"
!, Thus an officer of the army Of the Uni
ted states, detailed to fill civil Office il
one of these States, gives no official bono
and takes no official oath for the perform
ance of his new duties as civil officer o
the State-only takes the same oath which
he had already taken as a military officer o
the United States. He is, at least, mill
tary officer performing civil duties, and the
authority under which he acts IS fedora
authority only and the inevitable result i
that the federal government, by the agency
of its own sworn officers, in effect assume:
the civil government of the States.
A singular contradiction is apparent here
Congress declares these local State govern
ments to be illegal governments, and then
provides that these illegal governmentsshal
be carried on by federal officers, who are tC
perform the very duties imposed on its OWN
| officers by this Illegal State authority. II
certainly would be a novel spectacle if Con
gress should attempt to carry on Ie9a
State government by the agency of its own
officers. 1t is yet more strange that Con-
| gress attempts to sustain and carry on an
illegal State government by the same fede-
| raj agency.
In this connection [ must call attention
| tC the 10th and 18th sections of the bill,
which provide that none of the officers or
appointees of these military commanders
''shall be hound in his action by any opin-
| ion of any civil officer of the United
States" and that all the provisions of the
act ''shall be construed literally, to the end
that all the intents thereof may be fully and
perfectly carried out.
1t seems Congress supposed that this bill
might require construction, and they fix
therefore, the rule to be applied. But
where is the construction to come from p
Certainly no one can be more in want of
instruction than a soldier or an officer Of
the army detailed for a civil service with
the duties of which, perhaps the most i'm
portant in a State, he is altogether unfa-
miliar.
This bill says he shall not be bound in
his action by the opinion of any civil officer
of the United States. The duties of the
office are altogether civil but when he
asks for an opinion he can only ask the
opinion OF another military officer, who,
perhaps, understands as little of his duties
as he does himself and as to his faction, "
he is answerable to the military authority,
and to the military authority alone. Strict
ly, no opinion of any civil officer, other
than Judge, has binding force. But
these military appointees would not be
bound even by q judicial opinion. They
might very well say, even when their action
is in conflict with the Supreme Court of
the United States, "that Court is composed
of civil officers of the United States, and
we are not bound to conform our action to
any opinion of any such authority"
This bill and the acts to which it is sup
Elementary are all founded upon the as
sumption that the ten communities are not
States, and that their existing governments
are not legal. Throughout the legislation
upon this subject they are called rebel
States" and in this particular bill they are
denominated ''so-called States" and the
voice of illegality is declared to pervade all
of them. The obligations of consistency
bind the Legislative body as we'll as the in
dividuals who compose it. 1t is now too
late to say that these ten political commu-
mites are not States Of this Union.
Declarations to the contrary, made in
these three acts, are cOntradicted again
and again by the repeated acts of legisla-
ton enacted by Congress from the year
1861 to the year 1867. During that period
whilst those States were il active rebellion,
and after that rebellion was brought to a
close that they have been again and again
recognized as States of the Union. Repre-
sentation has been apportioned to them as
States. They have been divided into ju-
I ! -. E L n
and Circuit Courts of the United States, as
States of the Union only can be distributed.
The last act on this subject was passed
July %, 1866, by which every one of these
ten States was arranged into districts and
circuits. They have been called upon by
Congress to act through their Legislatures
upon at least two amendments to the con
stitution of tue United States. As States
they have ratified one amendment, which
required the vote of twenty-seyen States
of the thirty six the ncomposing the Union.
When the requisite twenty votes
were given in favor of that amendment
seven Of which votes were given by seven
of these ten States--it was proclaimed to
be part of the constitution of the United
States, and slavery was declared not longer
to exist in the United States or any place
subject to their jurisdiction. If these sew
Union, it follows as the inevitable conse-
quence that in some of the States slavery
yet exists. It does not exist in these seven
States, for they have abolished it also in
their own State constitutions but Ken
lucky not having done SO, it would still
remain in that State. But, in truth, if this
that these States have no legal
State governments be true, then the aboli-
ton of slavery by these illegal governments
binds no one, for Congress now denies to
these States the power to abolish slavery,
denying to them the power to elect a legal
State Legislature, or to fran a constitution
for any purpose, even for such purpose
as the abolition of slavery.
AS to the other constitutional amend
ment having reference to suffrage, it hap
pens that these States have not accepted it.
The consequence is that it has never been
proclaimed or understood, even by Con-
gress, to be part of the constitution of
the United States. The Senate of the
United States has repeatedly given its sane
ton to the appointment of judges, district
attorneys and marshals for every one of
these States, and yet, if they are not legal
States, not one of these judges is authoriz-
ed to hold a court So too both bouges