American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-07-24
SPEECH OF MIR. STEVENS.

lowing speech in the House of Represen,
tative at the conclusion of the argument
on the Supplemental Reconstructin Bill
Mr.. Stevens (Pa.) closed the debate,
saying: I confess that small portion
of the blame for the acts of the President,
since Congress adjourned, may be direct
ed to Congress, in using improper Ian
guage in the bill, and that was owing to
an indistinct knowledge of the country
which we were legislating for. five had
all agreed, as we have since agreed, that
the States lately in rebellion were con-
quered territory, and subject to this ma
tion as conquered territory, and if we had
treated them accordingly, wo should have
had but very little trouble in reconstruct
ing this government upon the principles
of tie admission Of free States, but we
were not all perfectly prepared for it in
our understanding Of the laws o. nations,
nor is it wonderful that we should have
been thus wandering in our views. |
will state what l suppose to he our real
condition. The nation was afflicted with
civil war, which for time was an in~
surrection, which divided its sway
Some twelve millions of inhabitants,
claiming that they no longer belonged
to this Union, had set up an independent
government They formed all the ma
chiuery of a government, both Of q ma.
tional government and of State under
that national government, and they raised
large armies to defend their pretentions.
We, at the period when we declared a
blockade, admitted them to be not an in
dependent nation, but an independent
belligerent The nations of Europe SO
treated them. In short there eau be no
doubt of the fact. We we're then at war
as two independent nations. 1t depended
on the conqueror whether he would treat
the one that was vanquished after the
war as a vanquished nation, or whether
he should punish him for violation of the
sovereign rights of the nation in addition.
We conquered. What did we conquer
We conquered the confederate govern
meut; we conquered all the States form
ing the confederate government; we con-
4auered a government which by its own
declaration owed no allegiance to the
government of the United States That
they should pretend after that, that they
had one right under the Constitution
which they had thus repudiated and ats
tempted to destroy, and that they were
still within the Union, as asserted by the
gentleman from Wisconsin, (Mr. Ed,
ridge, looks to me like bold absurdity
Yet that was the doctrine of the Presi-
dent that is the doctrine which the gen
tlemen are fighting about. We declared
them to be conquered provinces. We
were treating them under military law.
Now what is the law in reference to
provinces conquered from foreign inde,.
pendent belligerent? When you cons
quer from foreign nation, or from an
independent belligerent, the territory
that is conquered is governed by military
power, by the commander.in chief of the
army (who in this case was the Presi-
dent,) until the legislative power of the
nation snail have spoken and directed
what laws shall govern but the moment
that the Legislative power of the nation
interposes, the military authorities cease
to exist, and the commander-in chief Of
army has no more to say to it than CO.'S
poral in the army has to say just what
that Legislative power orders him to say.
He has to do just what that legislative
power orders him to do, and he can do
nothing else. A great deal is said about
the President acting as commanderin-
chief of the army until he was superse.
ded in his authority by Congress. l
have no fault to find with his maintains
ing military rule, but he assumed to ex>
.ercise legislative powers; he assumed to
establish governments; he assumed to
appoint civil officers he assumed that
that conquered territory should receive
back precisely the Constitution of the
loyal States, and be entitled to all the
privileges they ever had. No part of
that came within the power of the COM
'mander>in- chief of the army.
ne IF Congress sends an army to Nebraska
to quell the Indian war, Congress orders
them to go there. What do the officers
do?, They pass no act of legislation
They go there and order these troops
when TO charge and when to retreat
They drill them, they put them through
all the military exercises They can do
no act which looks like regulating the
object Of the way or the object of the
army The Constitution takes express
reservation to show that there can be no
such power. 1t expressly declares that
Congress shall have power to make all
rules and regulations for the government
of the land and naval forces Of the United
States. The Executive has nothing to
do with it. The judiciary has nothing
to do with it. Congress is the only
powerl Congress has enacted rules and
articles of war. Can the President of the
United States interfere with them?-
Can he add new articles, new rules, new
regulations? No such thing. The mill
itary officers that were sent as command
ers in these States were simply appointed
as agents of Congress. To be sure, orr
ginally the bill provided military su,
pervision simply, and We had intended to
follow it up with law putting recon-
struction into tie hands of civilians
That is what | should have done, and
what / had been prepared for; but if we
choose to adopt officers of the army-if
Congress chooses to take them from the
orr,y opd 70 ocsiup than, ta fhot dutv