The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1867-07-26
Veto of the Supplementary Re.
construction Bill.

LCAChlLil, NuC JILL ClllLLAGN
can Act supplementary to an Ac'
entitled an Act to provide for the
more efficient government of the reb
iel States" passed on the 2d of March
1867, and the act supplementary
Thereto, passed on the 23d of March
1867, and will state as briefly as pos,
lsible some of the reasons which pre-,
vent me from giving it my approval
This is one of 4 series of measures
passed by Congress during the last
-four months on the subject OF recon
Istruction. The message returning
the act of the ID of March last, states
lat length my objections to the pas
sage of that bill. They apply equal
ly well to the bill now before me, and
l am content merely to refer to them,
and to reiterate my conviction that
they are sound and unanswerable.
There are some points peculiar TO
this bill which will proceed at once
to consider.
The first section purports to de-
clare the true intent and meaning in
some particulars of the two prior acts
upon the subject. 1t is declared tina;
the intent of those acts was, first,
that the existing governments in the
ten rebel states were not loyal State
governments, and that thereafter said
governments to be continued, were
10 be continued subject in all re-
lspects to the military commanders of
the respective districts and 70 the
paramount authority of Congress.
Congress may, by declaratory act,
fix upon \ prior act construction
altogether at variance with its APP
parent meaning, and from the time at
least when said construction is fixed
the original act will be construed and
mean exactly what it is stated to
mean by the declaratory statute
There will be then from the time this
bill may become q law, no doubt, no
Iqucstion as to the relation in which
the existing governments in those
States, called in the original act the
Provisional Governments, stand to-
ward the United States. As these
relations stood before the declarato-
Try act, these governments, it is true,
were made subject to absolute mill
!, tary authority in many important re
;spects, but not in all, the language
of the act being, subject to the mil
Iitary authority of the United States
as hereinafter prescribed by the 9th
section of the original act" These
governments were made in all re-
spects subject TO the paramount au-
thority of the United States. Now,
by this declaratory act, it appears
that Congress did not, by the origin
al act, intend to limit the military
authority to any particulars or sub
jects therein prescribed, but meant
TO make it universal. Thus over all
these ten States, this military gov
ernment is now declared to have IN
limited autho :ity. 1t is no longer
confined to the preservation of the
public peace, the administration of
criminal laws, the registration of vot-
ers, and the superintendent of cleo
tions, but in all respects Is asserted
to be paramount to the existing civil
governments.
1t is impossible to conceive any
; state of society more intolerable than
this, and yet it is to this condition
that twelve millions of American cit
lizens are reduced, by the Congress
of the United States. Over every
foot of the immense territory occu-
pied 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 sacred guar
antees, and of what avail will it be
=. to any one of these Southern people,
when seized by file of soldiers, to
ask for the cause OF arrest or the pro
duction of the warrant? Of what
avail to ask for the privilege of bail
when in military custody, which
knows no such thing as bail? OF
what avail 20 demand trial by jury,
process for witness, a copy OF the
indictment, the privilege of counsel,
or that greater priyelege--the writ
of habeas corpus?
The veto of the original bill, of the
I'd of March, was based on two DIS
tinct grounds-the interference OF
Congress in duties strictly pertaining
to the reserved powers of the States,
and the establishment of military
tribunals for the trial of citizens in
time of peace. The impartial reader
of that message will understand that
all it contained with respect to mill
Itary despotism and martial law, has
:. reference especially to the power con-
ferred on the district commanders to
displace the Criminal Courts, and
= assume jurisdiction to try and punish
by military boards and most poten-
tally the suspension Of the habeaC
corpus was martial law and military
ldespotism. The act now before me
not cnly declares that the intent was
to confer such military authority,
-but to confer unlimited authority
over all the other Courts of the State,
and over all officers of the State, leg
islative, executive and judicial. Not
content with the general grant, Con-
gress, in the second section of this
, bill, specifically gives to each militia
Iry commander power to suspend or
relieve from Office, or from the per-
Iformance of official duties, and ex-
t erclse of official power, any officer or
= person holding or protesting to hold
= or exercise any civil or military Of
flee in such district, under any pow
rler, elective, by appointment, or de-
ylrlved from, or granted by, or claimed
: under, any so-called State or the gov
ernment thereof or any municipal or
e other division thereof; power that
: hitherto all the departments OF the
Federal Government acting in con-
' cert or separately have not dared to
t exercise, is here attempted to be
conferred on a subordinate military
|. officer. To him as 4 military officer
l of the Federal Government is given
n the power supported by sufficient
!, military force to remove every civil
8 officer of the United States.
a What next? The district COM
e mander who has thus displaced the
n civil officers is authorized to fill the
vancancy by the detail of an officer
or soldier of the army, by the ap-