Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1865-1872, 1867-07-12
The Press on Stanbery's Opinion Null
fyinq the Reconstruction Law.

Inc washington CHFohicte says In
long article: The last "opinion" for
length and cbscurity is fully equal to its
predecessor. The Attorney General seems
to be proficient in the art Of "darkening
counsel by words without knowledge" !"
Whatever force and clearness remained
about the reconstruction law after bis drst
opinion has surely been explained away and
utterly obscured by this second multitude
Of words" Ii President johnson under
stands the law any better now than he
did before, he deserves some credit for be-
ing able to see further through milestone
than the majority Of his countrymen
The Attorney General starts ont with re-
citing the various provisions Of the recon-
stiuction act, and then proceeds with his
argument against the exercise Of certain
powers by the military commanders
Ills whole opinion is based upon the
erroneous assumption that the military
districts are not composed of what Con
gress terms "rebel States" in which "no
legal State government" exists, but Of
State having all the characteristics and
powers of State government, legislative,
judicial and executive" This is the old
idea under which the President acted be-
tfsss-I -Isagrass took in hand the work Of
reconstrncticn
The Attorney General utterly ignores
the fact ofihe recent rebellion in the South
lie deliberately forgets that there has been
great revolution which sweptaway every
thing in the form Of a State government
in that section. lie endeavors TO stultify
Congress by saying that the military re-
construction act ''contemplates two dis
tinct governments IN each of these ten
States, the one military, the other civil"
What sort Of legislation is this? Two dis
I.iinct governments in each State! Twenty
distinct governments" in ten rebel States,
ten civil aud ten mi itsryl And yet thie
is but the natural and inevitable deduc-
ton to be drawn from Mr.. Stanbery's ar
gumeut. The lawyer who can so con-
strue, or rather misconstrue, the plain
meaning of the act of Congress. has, of
course, the hardihood to undertake the
delicate task Of defining the line which
separates the two Jurisdictions" The act
Of Congress sets out with the distinct de-
clara,ion that "no legal State gopcrnmcnts
exist in tho rebel States of Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Mississippi. Alabama, Louisiana, Florida,
Texas. aud Arkansas" In the face OF
this Mr.. Stanbery talks Of q government
being recognized which covers .'every de-
parIment OF civil Jurisdiction in each Of
these States" al has" he says, "all the
characteristics and powers Of a State gov
crument, legislative, Judicial, and exeeu.
tive Congress was clearly not aware of
this fact when il passed the military recon.
siruction acts. To be sure there was some
sort OF civil government in those States,
but il wac never rec gnized Ms tgai by
Congress. IL was and is used simply Ms a
convenience, or, rather, tolerated MS being
something better than anarchy. Ii was to
protect The loyal portion Of the people OF
those Suites In the formation OF legitimate
State governments and facilitate their ef.
forts that the military forces were sent TO
The South. The military commanders
represent the United States Government.
They are not, us MIR. Stapbery supposes,
sent there to do mere police duty for the
20 called governments Of the rebel States
They are charged with the performance OF
certain important duties, aud they are
clothed with full power to execute them.
The New York Herald says;
We are to have deliberatiye piece oi
legislation put forth from the Executive
Chamber-un "order in council'-an im
perial decree or ukase nulifying absolute.
ly the reconstruction laws passed at the
last session Of Congress, and declaring
that Congress had no Legitimate power IN
the Government, since we see that ia fact
it has none, aud that it only wasted the
words in which it expressed the peoples
will. Attorney General Stanbery used no
idle expression in tho Supreme Court
when he declared that his sympathies were
on 1.-The other side" Between the presi
dent and his lawyer and the stultiied
Cabinet that agreed to the President.
vetoes aud now agrees to one more veto
we see the delunct State.rights doctrin,
again rising to trouble the nation With il.
putrid pre-enee. Functounries "derviup
their authority from the State govern
ments," they tell US, shall be safe and
|, sacred. No general shall touch them
They may do what they plcase-they ma,
DO obstructive aud faclious aud inprac
: ticablc, recording TO the example sct IL
9 Washington; aud IL the generals fud i
. impossihls Ia carry out tho laws viii