Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-07-21

d this military appointee's would not eve
be bound by q judicial opinion. The
! might very well say even where thei
E l.action is IN conflict with the suprem
2 court Of the United States, that th
I court is composed Of civil officers {
the United States, and we are nc
. bound TO conform our action TO an
: opinion of any such authority. Tn
7 bill and acts to which it is supple
mentary, are all founded upon the a.
/ sumption that these ten cOmmunitie
are not states, and their government
are not loyal throughout. In the legis
! latiOn on this subject, they are ealiti
/, rebel states, and In this particular the.
are denominated so-ealled states, ani
! the vice Of illegslity is declared to per
wade all Of them, The obligations o
{ Consistency bind a legislative body q
well as the individuals who compos
it. It is now too late to say that Jhes
{ ten communities are not states, de
I elarations TO the contrary made II
three acts, are contradicted again auC
, again by repeated acts OF legislation By
congress from the year 1861 to the yea
1867. During that period, while tn
states were in actual rebellion, 2nC
, after that rebellion was brought to
close, they have again and again beeI
recognized as stetes Of the union
Represe ntatives have been appointeC
from them, and they have been dividet
. into judicial districts for the holding O
district and circuit courts Of the United
States. As states of the union only car
they be distrieted The last on this sub
jeef was passed Jniy %, 1866, by which
every one Of the ten states was arranged
into districts and circuits. They have
been called on only by congress to ac
through their legislatures upon at leasi
two amendments to the constitution o
the United States. As states they have
ratified one amendment which re-
quired the vote Of twenty-seven states
Of the thirty-eight composing the union
When the requisite twenty-seven votes
wers given in favor Of that amendment
seven votes Of which were given by
seven OF these states, 1t was prOciaimed
to be part Of the constitution of the
! United States, and slavery was declared
no longer to exist within the United
States or any place subject 10 its jurisdic-
ton. If these states were not loyal
states of the union, it follows as an
I inevitable consequence that in some
! of the states slavery yet existed. IL
does not exist in these seven states,
for they have abolished it in their new
state constitutions, but by not having
done so it could still remain in that
state but, in truth, il this as
sumption that these states have
| no legal state governments be true, then
the abolition Of slavery by these illegal
! governments binds no one, for congress
now denies to the states the power to
/ abolish slavery by denying to them the
power TO elect q legal state legislature, or
/ frame a constitution for any purpose,
/ even for such a purpose as the abolition
/ of slavery. As to the other constitutional
amendment, having reference to suf-
/ frage, it happens that these states have
not accepted 10. The consequence is, il
I has never been proclaimed or understood
[ even by congress to be a part Of the con-
| stitutiOn Of the United States. The sem
ate of the United States has repeatedly
/ given its sanction to the appointment Of
| judges and district attorneys for every
one of these states, yet, if they are not
legal states, not one Of these judges is
authorized to hold court. Both houses
Of congress have passed appropriation
bills TO pay all these judges, attorneys
and officers of the United States exer-
cisiug their functions in those states.
Again, in the machinery Of the revenue
laws all these states are described, not as
territories, but as states. So much fer
continuous legislative recognition.
The instances cited, however, fall far
short Of all that might be enumerated,
Executive recognition, as is well known,
mas been frequent and unwaveriug
The same may be said as 10 the judicial
recognition throughout by the supreme
court Of the United States. That august
tribunal, from first to last, in the admin
istratiOu Of its duties in banco and upon
the circuit, has never failed to recognize
these ten communities as legal states Of
the uaiOn. The cases in that court upon
appeal and writ Of error from these states
when the rebellion began, have not been
dismissed on any cessation of jurisdic-
ton. They were carefully continued
from time to time, until the Fe6elli0n
was entirely subdued and peace estab-
lished, and were called for argument and
consideration as if no insurrection had
inteFVeDed. New eases occurring since
the rebellion have come from these
states before that court by
writ of error and appeal, and
by the original suit. These cases are
entertained by that tribunal in the ex-
else Of acknowledged jurisdiction which
could not attach to them il they had
a state of the union. Finally, ia the
allotment Of their circuits, made by the
Judges at the December term, 1855, every
one of these states is put on the same
footing of legality with all other states.
Virginia and North Carolina beng part
of the fourth circuit, are attached to the
chief Justice South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alab6Ma and Mississippi con-
stitute the fifth circuit, and are attached
to the late Nlr Justice Wayne. lOuisi-
ana, Arkansas and Texas are ailGttsd TO
the sixth judicial circnit in which there
is z vacancy on the bench. The chief
Justice. 10 the exercise of his duty, has
recently held a Nircuit court in North
Carolina. If North Carolina is not 8
state Of this union, the chief Justice had
no authority to hold court there, and
every judgment and decree delivered by
him was null and void Another ground
on which these reconstruction acts are at
tempted 60 be sustained is that these ten
states are conquered territory; that thecon-
stitutional relation ia which they stand
as states toward the fedora. government
prior to the rebellion, has given place to
a new rebellion, that Is, territory as con-
quered territory, and their citizens con-
quered people, and in this relation con-
gress can govern them by a military
power. 4 title by congress stands on
clear ground. 1t is new title acquired
by war 1t applies only TO territory, OF
for goods and movable things regularly
captured in war, called booty, or if
taken by Individual soldiers, plunder
There is not a foot of land in any one Of
these ten states which the United States
or any individual Owner-I mean such
ta1 N fa ~
government called Che Confedrate States
these lands we claim and hold by con-
quest As to all other lands or territory, I
whether belonging to the states or indI- !
viduals. the federal governmenthas now /.
no more title or right 10 than it had be-
fore the rebellion. Our own forts, arse |
mails, navy yards, customhouses and
other federal property situated in these /
states we now hold, not by the title of
conquered, but by an old title acquired !
by purchase or condemnation for public /
use with compensation to former owners. !
We have not cOnquered these places, but /
simply repossessed them. If we require /
more sites for forts, custOmhOuses, or |
other public uses, we must acquire the |
title to them by purchase of them, or by /
appropriation 10 regular mode at this |
moment. The United States, in the /
ACQUISITION of sites for national /
cemeteries in those states, acquires !
title in the same way. The [
federal courts sit in courthouses owned |
or leased by the United States-not in /
of the states. The United /
States pays each Of these states for the .
use Of their jails. Finally, the United f.
States levies its direct tax and its in
ternal. revenue upon the property in
these states including productions of |
lands within their territorial limits not /
by way Of contributions in the character
Of conquered people but in the regular
way of taxation, under the same laws /
which apply 10 all the other states of the |
union, from first to last. During the /
rebellion, and since, the title of each Of 1
states TO the lands and public build /
ings owned by them, has never been dis
turbed. Not a foot of it has ever been /
acquired by the United States, even /
under title of coniscstion, and not /
a foot has ever been taxed under federal /
laws.
In conclusion, I must respectfully call 1
the attention of congress to the con-
sideratiOn Of one more question arising
under the bilL IL vests In the military
subject only to the approval
of the general of the army Of the United
States, an unlimited power to remove
from Office any civil OF military officer
IL, aapi of the tan gfQfaa and ffrrf bar