The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-03-28

that he has arrogated R hlmseif poWerS:1
attempted to do and efforce acts for"h!c ~
Il he can find no warranty IN the CoIv'I'ion
! and laws of the natiot. InvesteS as he is
,,;tl the command of die army and navy
III ali tbe executive powers OF the different
na,,.r+ments If he should be permitted tc
,,s,rn still further powers, and take control o
| the States, and the organization OF Congress
| is thers not danger that some future Execu
! tive, some ambitions Cesar, will cross thu
| Rubicon and march his legions upon thu
capital? While protecting the President il
the exercise of all his legitimate duties, ant
| in times of national peril making large al
lowance for patriotic acts of a doubtful lie
gality, great care should be taken that hi
! does not draw to himself all the powers q
government. and thus enable him to become
! despot This is one of the sacred dute,
of Congress, which if they fail to discharge
| they deserve the severest ccnsure, for they
bctray nation: nay more, they betray thu
cause of universal liberty. To maintain this
position Is difficult, and requires great forti
| tude and moral courage. How apt is poor
human nature to yield to the smiles or the
| the frowns of power! How difficult to de
tcrmine to cast from you all chance of influ-
ence and patronage! How difficult to
| resist the temptations of Office and emolu-
ment! And yet this must be done, or this
great people, instead of being free, will become
| the heritage of tyrants. Ten States ofthis Ull-
ion have cast off their allegiance, and, by the
common acknowledgment Of all, have forfeit
cd all their rights under the Constitution.
To become again legitimate States in the
Union, so as to entitle them to equal rights
with the other States, the Constitution re-
quires the sanction of Congress. 1t matters
not whether such power is attributed to the
provision to admit new States, or to the
clause guaranteeing republican forms of
government; in either case Congress is the
only power authorized to act; SO has the
Supreme Court of the United States decided
in Luther agt. Borden, and elsewhere. The
law making power providing for the case,
the Presidents whole functions are to execute
the laws. If the Confederate States of
America" are q conquered power, the Presi
dent, as Commander-in-C Chief, may hold
them in military rule until the sovereign
power of the nation declares by what laws
they shall be governed. Sovereignty rests
with the people, and is exercised through
their representatives in Congress. But the
President has assumed not only the military
control of those conquered States, but he la.
attempted to give the force of laws to his
proclsmations and DEGREES, whereby he has
determined what acts shall entitle them to
all the rights of States in the Union He
has imposed upon them forms ofgovernment
without their consent, and without the con-
sent of Congress. He has allowed small
minority of their votes to register his con-
,titution, and without submitting them to
the ratification of the people, he has declared
them legitimate organic laws and the States
reconstructed" He has imperiously re-
quired of Congress to treat them as equal in
all their rights to the loyal States, without
inquiring whether they are entitled to rep
rescntation, and dogmatically informed them
that their only power is leach House for
itself to inquire into the qualification and
election of members who present themselves
and claim their seats" If his order is not
obeyed he obstructs legislation and "forbid,"
Congress to pass laws in the absence of such
members. What more could a king do but
place the crown upon his head? The King
of England, for $50 years, has not ventured
to oppose his single will to the will of the
nation and veto bill which had passed the
Parliament of the realm. England has had
her servie and timid Commons, ready to
register the edicts Of the Crown But for
the last hundred years such a body would
have been hurled from power and doomed |
to infamy by the English people and by
history. We are now undergoing the test of
courage and the integrity of a republican !
Congress. How many may be craven none |
can tell. For who can judge Of his own |
strength Z History will record their names. |
Men now obscure may thus obtain the adj |
vantage of becoming famous Butt is said |
that Mr. Johnson is but carrying out the
policy of Mr. Lincoln. That, il true, would |
not Justify his errors. But it is not true. |
In the midst Of war Mr.. Lincoln had but |
little time or little occasion to examine into |
the question OF reconstruction. Until the |
enemy was conquered, everything was made |
subservient to that great object. Attempts |
to distract the Confederate Government |
were made by recognizing parts Of her terri |
tory as loyal. Such wassshe case with small |
portions of Louisiana. The President en- |
couraged them to assume the form ola State;
but Congress never sanctioned it. The Pres |
idcnt, by his message and proclamation of |
December, 1868, suggested mode of re- !
construction. But in it he distinctly dis |
claimed all right to control Congress in the
matter, and declared that his suggestion of |
a plan did not exclude other plans He |
said:
For the same reason, it may be proper to !
say that whether members sent to CONGRESS-
from any State shall be admitted to seats |
constitutionally, rests exclusively with the |
House, and not to any extent with |
the Executive.
He defines more carefully what he meant !
IN this proclamation in wel-prepared |
speech delivered three days before his death |
9th of April, 1869 He said:
from the Nat Intelligencer of April IL, 1865. I
In this have done just so much and no more |
than the public knows. In the annual MESSAGE |
of December, 1868, and accompanying proclama-
ton, presented plan of reconstruction "a, the
phrase goes) which promised, if adopted by any
State, should be acceptable to and sustained by |
the Executive Government of tile nation 7 dis |
tinctly stated that this was not the only Man |
which might possibly be acceptable, and also
distinctly protested that the Executive claimed |
no right to say when or whether members should |
be admitted to seats in Congress from such
States.
How different from our present Secretary
of State!
That good man, who never willingly in
fringed upon the rights of any other depart
ment of the Government, expressly accorded |
to Congress alone the power to declare |
" when or whether members should be adj |
mitted to their seats in Congress from such
States" 1t is not to be Denial that b;c |