The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-07-27

Eers. He (Schenck) had sometimes sbeensi9.ss
clpcdto to think that Congress had ,wasted its,
tilDe ttbkcring. &a Il
IND doubt Of it" slnssrpossa 81. Ross
| (Dcm@Ill) @F q M}
ssNir. Schcnck proceeded Without needing the,
remark. Congress had passed one law after
another in its effort to carry out system of
restoration of the rebel States, and those laws
had been rendered nugqtory, had been, in effect
stricken down and muic imperative BY the hos
tility to them, to Congress, and to the policy of
Congress on the part of the Executive. The
President stood now as an obstacle in the path
way. n
Mr. Stevens (kep,, Pa }said: agree pre-
ciscly with the eloquent speech of my amiablc
colleague across the way (aandalD that we cam
not impcach the President of the United
States. But say to our friends on this side
who are urging that measure that they are urg
ing it in vain. The result of my motion the
attempting to make disclosures, I undertake to
say that there unseen agencies at work
there arc invisible powers at work in this counI
try which will prevent the impeachment of the
President. l have taken some pains to Under
stand the composition of the House and the
composition of tho Senate, and am quite GER
tain that there arc enough of persons in the
House first to prevent the presentation Of ar
ticlcs Of impeachment; and secondly, that
there arc enough persons in the Senate if ar
ticles Of impeachmcnt,wcre voted, to prevent
the conviction of the President. So that re-
peat any attempt I'd impcach the President will
he vain and futile. 1t is imno...",ic TO picrco
the panophy. " nlch surroundsthc White House.
lie President starts by asserting in his mes
sage what, if true, would support all the rest
of his argument. He says the Constitution of
the United States is theoretically operative in
the conquered provinces of the South. If
that was tvuo thon all we havc done here is
rank usurpation. deny that the Constitution
is either theoretically or actually in operation
in any of these States. l am sorry to say that
not all our statesmen profound as they are, and
that not all Of our judges. learned they arc,
not even the highest among them seem to have
looked sufficiently to the bottom of the law of
nations to understand the true condition of Il
conquered people And set slight cxamina-
ton Of one page of Frottius. of half page or
half lecture of Rutherford, one page Of Vat.
tel, and even less than tll.: If the last, and
best. and tcrsct of publicists seant Wild
man-w:l convince every min that the true
position Of the late Confederate States is thai
of conquered territory Of the United States.
That being admitted, all tic rest Of rcconstruc-
tion is IS easy as amy of the problems of
Euclid. Many Of cur people have relied on
Blackstone and Wheaton and other ancient and
modern publicists, and have ibccnmc familiar
with them, while the occupant of the ~ liitc
House WAS engaged in very laud.blc business.
but one not much calculated to instruct and
adorn that end of the human frame, There
fore, SIR, I make allowance and indulgence on
the errors of that honorable gentleman now
movQpthe previous question.
Mcssrs. Wilson (Rcp.. Towa) and Pruyn
(Dcm., n. y I.)appealcd to Mr.. Stevens to allow
each Of them some time to address tho House.
Mr.. Stevens consented, to do So, aud yielded
first to Mr.. Pruyn, who said agree with the
gentleman iron, Pennsylvania as to these first
principles which he at the foundation of the
national law to which he has referred and that
the authors lie has named are authorities which
cannot be di>rcgarded here, but whose opinions
and views are conclusive on tho question be-
fore the House. The difficulty is in applying
that law to the case before it. The gentleman
from Pennsylvania in the Thirtieth Congress
announced what / considered to be, and what
the country considered to bc, Il startling propo-
sition that by rcascn Of the proclaula-
tion of blockade so-callcd, the war had
become war between nations, and hence
forth it was struggle between two great par
ties, and that the conpuering party had right
to do with the conquered what it pleased.
That was in the face Of tho solemn proclama.
ton of both Houses of Congress- passed un-
animously after the struggle had reached it's
height, after the first battle of Bull Run, that
it was not war between nations, but it was
q war to enforce the provisions Of the Con
stitution acknowledging all the rights of the
| States and declaring that as soon as tho strur-