The Elk advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Elk Co., Pa.) 186?-1868, 1867-08-01
VETO OF THE RECONSTRUCTION BILL
TO tie House ofRepresentatiOcs ofhe
United States

United States
return herewith the bill entitled
An act supplementary to an act en-
titled an act to provide for the more
efficient government of the rebel States"
passed on the I'd day of March, 1867,
and the act supplementary thereto,
passed on the 23d Of March, 1867, and
will state, as briefly as possible, some of
the reasons which prevent me from CIV
ing it my approval.
This is one of q series Of measures
passed by Congress during the last four
months on the subject ofreconstruction.
The message returning the act OF I'd Of
March last states at length my objec.
tions to the passage Of the measure {:
they apply equally we'll to the bill now
before me, and am content merely to
reIer to them, and to reiterate my con-
viction that they are sound and unan.
swerable. There are some points pecu.
liar to this bill which [ will proceed at
once to consider.
The first section purports to declare
the true intent and meaning, in some
particulars, of the prior acts upon this
subject. 1t is declared that the intent
of those acts was, first, +" that the ez.
isting governments in the ten rebel
States were not legal State govern
ments and second, That thereafter
said governments, If continued, were to
be continued subject in all respects to
the military commanders of the respec-
tive districts and to the paramount
authority OF Congress. Congress may,
by declaratory act, fix upon an act
a construction altogether at varlence
with its apparent meaning, and from the
time at least when such construction is
fixed, the original act will be construed
to mean exactly what it is stated to mean
by the declaratory statue. There will
be then, from the time this bill may be.
come a law, no doubt, no question as to
the relation in which the existing gov
ernments in those States, called in the
original act the provisional govern
ments stand toward the military au
thorty. As their relations stood before
the declaratory act, these " govern
ments," it is true, were made subject
to absolute military authority in many
important respects, but not in all, the
language of the act being, " Subject to
the military authority Of the United
States as hereinafter prescribed"
BY the sixth section Of the original
act these Governments were made " in
all respects subject to the paramount
authority OF the United States" Now,
by this declatory act it appears thar
Congress did not, by the original act,
intend 20 limit the military authority
to any particulars or subjects therein
prescribed" but meant to make II
universal Thus, over. all these ten
States, this military government is now
declared to have unlimited authority,
1t is no longer confined to the preserva-
vation OF the public peace, the ADMIN
istration of criminal law, the registra'
ton of voters, and the superintendence
of elections, but in all respects is assert
ed to be paramount to the existing
civil governments. 1t is impossible to
conceive any state Of society more lntol'
cradle than this, aud yet it is to this
condition that millions Of American cit
liens are reduced by the Congress Of
the United States. Over every foot o!
the immense territory occupied by these
American citizens the Constitution Of
the United States theoretically is in full
operation. 1t binds all the people
there, and should protect them ;yet
they are denied every one Of its saci ed
guarantees. Of what avail will it be tC
any one of these Southern people, when
} seized by file Of soldiers, to ask tor
the cause Of arrest, or for the production
Of the warrant ? OF what avail to ask
for the privilege of bail when in rlili
tary custody, which knows no such
! thing as bail 4? Ofwhat avail to de
mand trial by jury, process for Wit
nesses, copy of the Indictment, th(
privilege OF counsel, or the greater pri
vilege-the writ of habeas corpus
The veto of the originalbill of the q
of March was based ou two distinc
, grounds, " the interfel ence Of Congress
/ in matters strictly appertaining to thu
4 reserved powers of the States, and the
; establishment of military tribunals to
the trial Of citizens in time OF peace
. The impartial reader Of that message
c will understand that all that it contains
y with respect to military dcspotism anc
!, martial law has reference especially Il
u the fearful power conferred on the dis
f trict commanders to displace the crimi
h nal courts and assume jurisdiction to try
c and to punish by military boards tha
G potentially the suspension of the habeai
corpus was martial law aud miltar,
! despotism. The act now before Inc no
e only declares that the intent was to con
i fer such military authority, but also t.
confer unlimited military authority owe
all the other courts of the State, anc
q over all the officers of the State, legisla
tive, executive and judicial.
Not content with the general gran