The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-02-13
The military Government Debate.
sPiey Passages Between different
Members of the House.

The debate in the House of Repre- /
sentatives, at Washington, on Thurs
day of last week, on the bill to estab-
lish military government for the South,
was quite entertaining. The Demo-
Gratis opposed the entire bill as uncon-
stitutional and despotic. Our neigh
bor, Mr.. Bingham, of Ohio, opposed
parts of it, and especially the pream-
BILE, in which the existing State Gov
ernments are declared null and void.
Some of the special passages of the de-
bate we quote:
Mr.. Bingham did not believe that in |
respect to bill of the Importance of |
this, either as a member OF the House |
or member of the committee report |
ing it, he was compelled to take a bill |
without a why or wherefore. This bill |
was the exercise of the highest possible |
power of legislation which, under the |
constitution of the United States, could |
be exercised by the representatives of
the people. He believed the House |
should make haste slowly. He thought, |
| at all events, 1t should allow amend |
| ments to be offered and to be respect
fully considered. he should consider
himself false to the continuous record
of the great body of freemen represent
ed on the floor, who under God had
enacted the laws through which and
| by which the nation had been saved,
if he did not strive to have this bill
/ amended. He challenged any statute
| to be pointed out, from the opening of
| the revolt to this hour, which, by im-
plication or otherwise, by direction or
| by indirection, intimated the dogma of
| the chairman of the reconstruction
| committee on the part of the House,
that those ten insurrectionary states
were foreign conquered territory. Eve
| nv statute passed Ior the last six years
asserted the very contrary, and eXclu-
ded such a conclusion. In this
connection he referred to the statute of
1861, apportioning the direct tax among
the several States and territories, and
the statute apportioning representa-
tives among the several States, to the
proclamation OF the President in 1868,
in which the President did not deem it
important to say that the '1so-called"
| States might be represented on the lst
of May following, and to the freed
mems bureau bill, particularly the 18th
section Oft. Every member, he said,
who voted for that bill averred, under
oath, two things: First that those in
| surgent States are States in the Union;
and second, that their people are citi-
| zens of the United States. There never
had been u moment since the war COM
menced when u single rood of those in
surgent States was foreign territory;
they therefore never became conquered
country. And the loyal people of those
States were no mere conquered subjects
or vassals than any representative on
this floor. He repudiated such an idea
and without intending the slightest dis
respect TO the honorable chairman, Mr..
Stevens repudiated it with scorn and
contempt. The rights ofa citizen of the
United States werc in his own keeping,
and were not to be forfeited by the
crimes of others. The general purposes
of this bill met with his hearty ap-
provaI, but he desired that the legisla-
tfon of Congress should conform TO the
Constitution. There was no statute of
the United States under which a man
could be punished in any judicial dis
tlict of the United States, North or
South, for the murder of a private citi-
zen. No common law crime, as such,
without a statute authorizing its pun
ishment, was indictable in any court of
the United States.
Mr.. Boutwell, asked Mr.. Bingham
how he could reconcile the declaration
in his preamble, that those insurrec-
tionary states were states in the Union,
ton, if he did not give them their rights
as states and citizens, the same as he
would require for his own people and
his own state?
Mr.. Bingham would, on his part, in
quire of Mr.. Boutwell, how he recon
;
J the freedmen's bureau bill on the 22d
} of July last, which subjected every one
2 of those states to its provisions until
: they should be restored to their consti-
: tutional relations. He asked Mr.. Bout
well whether he was going to have so
little respect for his oath as to say now,
! that the state of Virginia, in which
{ jeff Davis had been indicted for high
2 treason, had ceased to be state by that
: treason, so that he could no longer be
held to answer for it in that state be-
cause the state did not exist? The Ian
t guage of the constitution was that a
3 person should be held TO answer only
: in the state and in the district in which
3 he committed the crime.
Mr.. Maynard inquired of Mr.. BinR-
g ham what effect the bill would have on
l the existing state organizations of the
{ South.
l Mr.. Bingham replied that the state
t governments would exercise their func-
r tions under this bill by the sufferance
j of the nation, and only to the extent
8 that those commanding officers might
5 permit. He did not suppose that it was
Y intended to deny by this bill TO those
d organized governments the right to &C
: on and enforce simple contracts between
= man and man. He did not suppose
= that it was intended to enforce con
: tracts or the law of marriages and di
o vorces through courts-martial and mil
" itary commissions.
8 Mr.. Randolph of Pennsylvania ask
8 ed why it was that the President:
= authority, which had been in this bill
: originally, had been stricken out of it
n Mr.. Ingersoll-It was because thu
!? people, as well as Congress, dare no
trust him with such powers.
&C Mr.. Randall remarked that the Con
9 stitution trusted such powers to tht
A President.
Mr. Ingersoll went on to say that
n the selection of general officers to com
A. dent, he would not select such men h
Grant, or Sherman, or Sheridan, o
Heintzelman, or Howard, or Thomas
k but would select those who woulI
e, yield willing subservience to him.
D Mr.. Hise asked whether, if tn
le President could set aside any order
g. issued by Gen. Grant, was there an,
ID use in passing this bill.
ID Mr.. 1ngersoll replied that he did no
y think the President would have tn
st pluck to do it; and If he refused to exc
l. cute the laws of Congress it would be
T, good ground of impeachment
1t Mr.. Stronse-The only ground yo'
e. will ever have. .-.-..
I'd Mr.. IngersolI did not know that, bu
r he did believe that Congress might n
$. well stop the consideration of the ques
8, tion of the reconstruction of til
re Southern States and the Southern pee
IN pie, and turn their attention to the RI
g. construction of the President. II
ic thought it necessary for Congress |
re consider whether it would continu
Id this effort for two years longer wit
oh that paramount obstruction in the wa
OF of reconstruction-the President of th
ar United States.