Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-03-28


purpose of the statesman.
shall vote for the original resolution
without fear that my constituents will
blame me for want of sympathy or
generosity on the one hand, or for undue
extravaganza in the expenditure of the
public money on the other. My sympa.
thy for the heroic dead is as great as
that OF the gentleman from Massachu.
sets. The soldiers memory is as sacred
to me as it is 10 him, and when the
proper time comes trust | shall not be
far behind the honorable gentleman in
relieving the necessities of their widows
and orphans, both from my private
purse and from the public chest. say
with him, God bless the noble soldiers
who, through rivers of blood, have
saved our beloved country, and borne
our flag aloft so successfully that it now
floats over every sea, the hope of the
oppressed and the fear Of the oppressor.
God bless their widows aHd orphan chill
drep, aud palsied be the hand and dumb
the tongue that would not by act and
word conduce to their comfort and sup
port.
Sir, am equally opposed to the prop
ositiOn introduced this morning by the
gentleman from Massachusetts as an
additional substitute. As l gathered
from the reading of it by the Clerk, it
provides that the military commanders
OF the various districts may assess those
owning over one hundred and sixty
acres Of land, or having an income of
more than 5000 per annum to an amount
sufficient to feed the starving poor of
the South. 1t seems to me TO be thrust
forward as an easy, cheap, and | may
say illegal method of effectuating the
gentleman's Quixot.c scheme of general
confscation. The scheme cannot be
justified under the Constitution, or in the
present condition OF the country under
the laws of war; or under that principle
Of sovereignty which is above the Con-
stitution and enables every government
to do that which may be necessary in
order to protect the national life.
When the gentleman from Massachus-
etts Mr.. Butlerl was at New Orleans,
where he so well and so faithfully and
so gloriously served his country, he
could, under the laws of war, take the
property of the rebel citizen and apply
lit either to the preservation of the health
Of the city or the lives of the people. If
the gentleman claims that the Southern
States are now under the exclusive and
absolute control of Congress, and that
his measure is in the nature of d tax,
then it is illegal and unjust, because it
is indefinite, unequal, and without ap-
pOrtionment. If he justities it upon the
doctrine Of sovereignty superior to the
Constitution, then it is illegal, unwise
and unjust, because it is partial in Its
operation, and to be applied without
condemnation or any of the ordinary
procedures of law.
| know it has been said upon the floor
of this House, and more especially by
gentlemen on the other side, that the
recent legislation of Congress providing
for the more effective government of the
reb9liOus States is unconstitutional
that it cannot be justified by the Con-
stitution, or under the laws of war, be.
cause war is no longer existing, and
hence is improper and cannot be sus-
tanned.
Passing over that clause of the Con-
stitution which says that Congress shall
guaranty to every State and the people
thereof republican form of govern
meut, | strike higher ground, and justi-
fy the law upon the doctrine of sover-
eighty, that inherent and necessary
power which rests in every government
on earth. The decalogue, in which is
written by the finger OF God "Thou shalt
not kill, is the law for the guidance of
every individual soul. And yet who
does not know that when man is cal
led upon to defend his own life that
right is superior even to the divine
command
1t is so with nations. Let me Illus
trate. When Napoleon I. offered to cede
the territory of Louisiana to the United
States, President Jefferson was troubled
because he could find no authority in
the Constitution, nor in the Fedora ist,
which expended it, for making the pur-
chase. He consulted his friend, an en-
inent lawyer, who told him that he look
ed into the wrong book; that the con-
stitutlon OF no nation in Christendom,
written, verbal, or traditional, contain
ed any such provision; that it was an
attribute of sovereignty and belonged
of right by the law Of nations to every
Independent government on earth, and
the purchase was made under that SOW
ereignty, which authorizes a govern
ment to 90 that which it's own preserva-
tion demands.
And so in the present case. The first
and paramount duty of the government
is to protect its citizens in their persons
and property. When it fails to do that
its vital force is gone; it becomes a
dead carcass, and is no longer a living
power. Such being the case, it was
within the power of Congress, by virtue
OF its sovereignty, to pass such regula-
tions aud ordain such measures as
would give to every citizen in the South
ern States the protection which govern
ment is under obligation to provide.
When government fails to give that
protection, then it is absolutely des-
troyed. Now, this being the case, we
had the right, In the exercise OF sover-
eighty, to use all the means and forces
which Christian nation ever uses to
preserve the life of the nation We can