Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1867-08-08
SCHUYLER ooLFAx.
Speech of Mr.. CoIfax in Response 10
Serenade, Saturday Evening, Ju-
ly goth.

= FELLOW CITIzENs--Tberc are tW
kinds Of serenades in Washington
|, the first when members arrive to el
!. ter on the discharge Of their dutie
: and the last, when after the clos
: Of their labors, they are about I
= return to their homes. AS H0l
! writ declares that he who takcth 0
: his armor has more right to !
Q proud than he who putteth it on,
value this mark of regard nor
highly because our work being CON
pleted, you mean by it, "Well done
good and faithful servants" Al
plause. Congress sincerely desil
ed to avoid this midsummer session
They passed the Military Recon
struction bills last March. Th
President vetoed them on the eX
plicit ground that they made th
military commanders supreme AM
absolute over the people Of the lat
rebellious States. Congress accept
ed his construction Of them and re
passed them over his veto. They
were cordially endorsed by the 10y
al people of the North and acquies
ed in more readily than had beer
supposed by the people Of the South
Soon it became apparent that under
them loyalty would triumph in most
of the Southern States; and ther
the President vetoed his own veto,
and promulgated a decision Of his
Attorney General that under these
laws the military commanders were
mere policemen, subordinate to the
provisional governments over which
they had been placed, the army but
a posse c0mitatuS to enforce the de-
crees Of the rebel governors and
mayors, and that every rebel was to
be his own registrar The people,
surprised at these decisions, appeal
cd to the Congress in which they
placed such deserved confidence, to
reassemble, and from Maine to Cal
iiornia they came hither to resume
their legislative authority, and to so
declare the meaning Of their legisla-
ton that no legal sophistries of any
Attorney-Ge could mystify it.
Vetoed again, they passed it again
by vote of four to one, and it has
gone on the statute-book, as one of
the laws which the President, by his
constitutional oath, must take care
to have faithfully executed.
Some, know, condemn Congress
for having done too much in its
past legislation, and some for hay-
ing done too little; but l think it
has struck the golden mean; firm
and yet prudent, courageous with
out undue excitement, infeXible and
vet wise. The President in his last
veto denounces this military despot- |
ism, as he calls it, and declares that
Congress has subjected the South
20 tyranny most intolerable. We
have heard these charges of militia
ry despotism before, during the war,
from the party which so bitterly op-
posed his election three years ago,
Every act tending to strengthen the
government, such as the suspension
If the habeas corpus, trials by court
martial, DC, was denounced as a
military despotism; but the people
their verdict and it could
lot be reversed. Instead of tyran-
", the keynote of the Congress
ional policy is protection to all,
nd the vindication and triumph Of
oyalty, and, God keeping us, we
hall stand by it until it is crowned
With triumph. Applause. l will
se no word Of disrespect toward
he President, for although differing
nth him in policy as wide as the
oles, l respect the office which he
olds, and prefer argument to in
ective. When listened yesterday (
> Mr., Mcpherson, the Clerk of the s
louise, as he read the bold and de-
ant message of the President, l
ould not but feel that in the whole
f it he arraigned himself far more
lain the Congress which he address
Il. All parties agree that he spoke
DIRECTLY when in his North Carroll t
a proclamation of May, 1865, he {
eclared that all the civil govern |
tents Of the South had been de- l
iroyed by the rebellion. He then, {
ithout calling Congress together, i
ent on with the work Of recon
in the absence of all law {
pom the subject. Has Congress q
ade state governments subordinate G
, the military power? So did the c
resident. Has Congress provided f
IT the calling of State Conven- /
ons? So did the President. Has t
authorized the ratification ? /
, did the President. But he order t
conventions by his executive t
1t, and recognized their constitu- Q
ons without their being submitted &
the people. Congress required il
e people, the registered voters, to d
Ill the Convention themselves, and n
en- to approve or reject their work r
Z a popular vote. Applause. o
as Congress required the ratifca-
on of constitutional amendment? ? Il
} did the President. Has Con-
'ess established q test oath ? So g
d the President Our crime is, | n
oppose, that we provided that those W
lom the nation had made free Il
.ould have the freemans ballot d
+ their protection, while the Pres b
o,,A AL ,o4 D,,+ tbo voe,,1tg Of ~