The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1868-02-06

found after repeated trials that loyal re
publican State Governments, govern
ments that shall answer the purpose tha
such governments are intended TO an
swer, cannot be successfully founded
upon the basis Of the white population
because the great majority OF that pop
ulation are disloyal. then Congress has
q right to raise up . new loyal voting
| population for the purpose Of establish
| ing these governments la the execution
/ Of the guarantee. / think, sir, this
proposition is so clear that it is not nee
/ essary to elaborate it. We are not re
quired to find in the Constitution a par
ticular grant OF power for this purpose,
but we find a general grant OF po yer,
and we find also smother grant Of power
authorizing US To use VIII stever means
NAV be necessary to execute the first
and we ind that the Supreme Court of
the nite.! States has said that the iadg
ment of Congress III on this question
shall he conclusive. that it cannot he re-
viewed by the Courts, that it is purely
political matter. and, therefore, the de-
termination OF Congress, that raising
up colored men to the right of suffrage
Is q means necessary TO the execution of
that power. Is determination which
cannot he reviewed by the Courts. and
is conclusive upon the people at this
country The President of the United
States, assuming that he had the power
to execute this guarantee, and basine
his proclamation upon it, went forward
in the work of reconstruction. 1t was
understood at that time-it was so an
nounced, if not by himself. at least
formally by the Secretary of State, Mr.
Seward-that the Governm nts which
he would erect during the vacation of
Congress were to be erected as provis
ionai only, that his plan of reconstruc-
ton and the work that WAS to be done
under it would be submitted 10 Congress
for its approval or disapproval at the
next session. If the President had ad-
hered to that determination / believe
that all would have been we'll, and that
the present state Of things would not
exist. But, Sir, the Executive under
took finally to execute the guarantee
himself without the co operation of Con-
gress. He appointed provisional gov
ernors, giving to them unlimited power
until such time as the new State gov
ernments shoul be erected. He pre-
scribed in his proclamation who should
election Of delegates. And allow me
for one moment to refer to that. He
says in his proclamation
"No person shall be oualifed as an caectnr or shall
be eligabie as member OF such convention, unless
he shall have prcvisouly taken and subscribed the
Osaa of amnesty, set forth in the Presidents
proclamation of May y, A. D. 1867
which was issued on the same day and
was part of the same transaction
a~ad 10 :Snl-
skeaton and laws OF the Ssate North Carolina in
force ammediatsiy before the se,A day of May, A. D.
1851
TAe persons having the right to -ate
nsss have the right TO vote by the laws
VI State, and must. in addition to
-. ou~'s I've taken the oath of amnesty.
.ne aent disfranchised in voting
for delegates 20 the conventions from
25o, 900 to 3OOapO men. His disfran-
chisement was i.r greater tnsn th,,
which has been don. by Congress-. T,
the proelsmation of sunesty he saws:
.The kssowing classes of PARSONS ar. s,..n..a
from the henefts Of this proclslasion"-
He then announced Il classes of per.
sous
~. Al ~ho shall have zen n--.. t.
or aipaan.s'e ofscer. otherwise donsssissT
eign AGENTS Of the pretended Confeds~
- Voluntarily parsicipa-
- al HSiffn, AMI tie est tnasea fsue vi ~uos~
"a sfopeEty is over $20.ooo
.,a lwe..e other classes, estimated
- nurus.er at the least 250. 900 or 5v
9oa men while the distrsnchise.
&c, he ,..a.--oaLtd by Conyres ''es
no. .x--aI perhaps to more tia- S9.oo"
80 .uoO i,erso rs at the arthes'
These provisional governes. under tue
authority q! The Presiie.C. were 20 call
conventions they were to aoid the eiec
,iaus. and they were - count the votes
.a.x were to sxe-cise all the power,
t.,.f are heinz ex.ntse9 nv the military
a.,,n1,snt;ars aide. the Reconstruction
aess of Congress After those constisu
tious ~ere formed the President went
forward ana accepted them as being 10y
a, and republican in their ch racter-
He authorized the voters under them to
proceed TO elect Legislatures. members
of Congress, and the Legislatures TO
elect Serstors to take their seats In this
h,dv. In other words. the Presid cnt
launched those State governments into
full life and activity without consultation
with or cooperation on the part OF Con-
gross. Nov, sir, when 1t is claimed that
these governments are legal, let it be
remembers that they took their origin
under q proceeding Instituted by the
President Of the United States Ia the
execution Of this guarantee. when 1t
nov stands confessed that be could not
execute the guarantee But even II he
| had the power, let it be further borne
| in mind that those constitutions we're
formed by conventions that we're elected
nv less than one thi ii Of the white
/ voters, in the States 1t that time; tha
the conventions we're elected by a-smal
minority even Of the white voters. and
that those Constitutions thus formed b,
. very email minority have never beer
submitted to the people Of those Sease
for ratification. They are no more tn
Constitutions Of those States to-da,
thsa the Constitutions formed by tn
conventions now il session would b
il We were to proclaim them to be tn
Consultations Of those States withou
first having submitted them TO the Pee
nle for rasincAtiou- How can it be pre-