The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-08-24
DISSECTION.

these opinions may be still more CON
Aicting and incongruous, and yet be
honest, perhaps. each partly right. The
tabled quarrel of the knights as to the
color of the shield is an illustration. But,
when instead of tangible, material OBJ
jects, it is an idea, a proposition, or a
governmental action, where conflicting
passions, interests or prejudice precedes
even the primary consideration of the
question, it would be marvellous indeed,
that men should not differ radically and
conscientiously. Today, the people of
this country are considering momentous
questions. beside which the duty they
owed to their government and the course
which every man should pursue in the
terrible days of the civil war, was so well
defined, so imperative and unquestion-
able, and which was so diversely con-
strued that it is not astonishing that
men now differ as to their effect and
bealing. Out of all this is finally To be
evolved our decision as Nation, aad it
is right, proper an desirable, if not an
absolute necessity to the welfare OF the
Nation that these issues should be can
vassed and considered until the chat be
separated from the wheat ere it is gar
nered into the store house of history. To
accomplish this, however, il is better to
take facts as they really exist, than to
distort them better to be honest than
smart, better to admit truths than to
bolster up error, better that wrong should
go without an advocate than that right
should be vanquished. Some of our
politicians do not appear to take this
view of the case, and would sacrifice
principle for partizan purposes, or are
grossly ignorant of those things whereof
they declaim Governor Smith ia his
speech on Monday evening started with
the proposition that the Congress OF the
United States, by the reconstruction
policy. and the positions assumed by its
are out of the Union. He beings Union
man, was, and is, opposed to secession,
come from what source it may, and did
not therefore approve of the acts of Con-
gress, or indorse its policy on reconstruc-
ton. With all due Difference to the djstin-
guished gentleman who laid down those
propositions, we assert that Congress
and the Union party, does not hold and
has not held any such opinion. either by
expression, n,enactment,or inference. The
eleven rebel States are, and have been in
the Union, kept there, however, by the
force of arms. Had the so-called South
ern Confederacy became an established
fact, they would have been q seperate
government, but failing to establish by
force of arms the Independence of the
Confederaey, they are still a part Of the
Union. BY the act of secession they did
not take the States out of the Union, that
was an issue involved in the war, but
they did by that act destroy and forfeit
their State governments and right to
legislate under the Constitution, and
their powers and functions as such,
lapsed until restored by authority from
That such a contingency as this was
anticipated by the trainers of the Con-
stitution is shown in section FIVE where
it states that mo State shall, without
it's consent, be deprived of its equal
suffrage in the Senate" The ordinances
of secession were the consent of those
States to that deprival, and during the
war they waged for four years to destroy
gain it. The gentleman himself referred
TO acts of Congress during the war show
ing that they were still considered States
of the Union. So late as last fall. the
Constitutional amendments were sub
mittted to the action of all the States,
and through the rejection of the Southern
States failed TO be ratified by two-thirds.
The reconstruction bill refers to them as
" the States lately in rebellion" and it is
incorrect that the Union party, or Con-
gress hold any such idea as that they
are out of the Union. They derived
their power to legislate as States of the
Union and to be represented as States in
Congress from the Constitution They
voluntarily destroyed those powers, and
as it devolves upon Congress ''to guaran-
tee to every State iH the Union q Re-
publican form of government" and that
where such government does not exist
the enabling power must be granted Ly
it, as is illustrated by the Organic acts
of the Territories. there is no other
method whereby thosc functions can be