The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-19
THE POWERS oP CosGREss.
Argument Of Mat. n. Carpenter.

Mr.. Mat. n. Carpenter, which was
mainly a constitutional argument. we
extract from the Chicago Tribune re-
port of a part of this speech relating TO
the powers of Congress in the recon
strnction of States:
"when Congress dnds inhabited ter
ritory within the limits of the United
States without civil government II may
lake steps to form a State government
for them, to be admitted into the Union.
| And what difference can il MAKE, in
such a case, whether they had never
| had a local government, or once hao
one which they have since abandoned
| or destroyed? 1t is the fact or sHcn
| people being withoutsuch government,
| and not the time or circumstances at or
under which such state OF things come
to exist, that gives Congress jurlsdlc-
| ton.
"Therefore, when, at the close of the
war, the territory and people OF Geor
| Ria were found without State govern
| meut, Congress had the same r1ght 10
| organize a civil government for them
| that it would have had ifsuch territory,
Inhabited by SO many people, had been
found west of the Rocky Mountains.
And this was a matter purely within
the discretion of Congress to say now
long the people of Georgia should re-
main subject to such government, and
when IL would be proper to admit them
as State of the Union.
"To this it may be replied: The pow
er of Congress TO admit new States Is
conceded, but Georgia is not new
State. II was one of the original thir-
teen. But Fthe State of Georgia. when
we speak of 1t as member OF the
American family, means the State gov
eminent; and after her people, in 1867
or 1861, destroyed that government ana
organized under the revolutionary gov
eminent which existed during the war,
there was no State government OF Geor-
gia in a constitutional sense; none that
could be recognized as constitutional
State government; and when subse-
quently another government was Or
ganized for admission into the Union,
Il was a new state as truly as though
there had never been a State OF Geor-
gia' in the family of States. But,
"3, Suppose we concede for the pur-
pose OF tie argument that the power to
admit new States, that is, new state
governments, does not apply to Georgia,
and that she has always been State OF
the Union. 1t is clear that she was
State without State government OF
any kind, if size was State at all, at
the close of the war. Now the Consti-
tuition provides, article 4, section a:
"The United States shall guarantee to ev-
cry State in the Union republican form OF
government, and Shall protest each OF them
ltgtslature or OF The Executive when the Ie-
gisiature cannot De convened, against do
mestic Violence"
'sAnd again, article /, section s: That
Congress shall have the power ito make
all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into eIecution*s;
all powers "vested by this Constitution
in the Government of the United States
or in any department or officer thereof"
"If, as 1 have shown, Georgia, at the
close of the war, had no civil govern
ment whatever, then it is certain she
had not a repu blican form of govern
ment," and it was the undoubted right
and duty of Congress to pass laws for
the purpose of putting such govern
ment there.
"But to this it viii bereplied that Con-
gress did not at first pass any laws up
on the subject and the President pro-
ceeded to call a convention to frame
State government, which State govern
ment was formed, organized. and was
in operation, in fact, before Congress
pretended TO pass any laws for the or
ganization of State governments in the
South and that the government so eX-
listing was republican in form, and
ought to have been admitted. l shall
purposely confine myself this evening
to a discussion of the constitutional
power of Congress in the premises ; and
shall, on some future occasion, examine
and discuss the other and distlnctques-
ton: whether Congress bag exercised
its power wisely and justitably.
"rhe question here is, had Congress
the constitutional power to say that the
governments which were being organ
lied in the Southern States under tn e
auspices of the President were not Re-
publican in form, and so refused to adj
NIT them into the Union?
hoe Il H.
the Supreme Court of the United States
in an opinion by Chief Justice fancy,
whose authority cannot be denied by
any Democrat, in the case ofLuther Us.
Bordenkl7 How, u, growing out of the
Rhode Island difficulties. The Court,
by the Chief Justice, says:
Under this article OF the Constitu-
ton it rests with Congress to decide
what government is established
in State before 1t can determine
whether 1t is Republican or not. And
when the Senators and Representatives
of a State are admitted into the Coun-
ellis of the Union, the authority of the
government under which they are ap-
pointed, as well as its Republican char
acter, is recognized by the proper con-
stitutional authority; and its decision
Is binding on every other department
of the Government, AMI could not be
questioned in ajudicial tribunal. 1t is
1
| not last long enough to bring the mat
ter 10 this issue; and as no Senators or
| Representatives we're elected under the
authority of the government of which
| Mr.. Dorr was the head, Congress was
not called upon to decide the contro-
versy. Yet the right to decide was
placed here, and not in the COURTS
"In Scott G0t. Jones, 8 How, 3l3, the
opinion of the Supreme Court was
sought as to whether statute passed
by the pretended State government of
Michigan before it was admitted into
| the Union was valid after the admis-
sion of the State. The Court held that
Congress had tho exclusive power of
determining as to the validity OF state
government, and when Congress had
decided by admitting tho State, the
statues passed by such a. government,
even before admission, were as valid as
those of any other State government.
Mr.. Justice Mclean and Mr.. Justice
Nelson dissented upon other points,
| but went as far as the other judges in
| support of the power of Congress In the
premises. They say:
"'No act of the people Of territory,
without the sanction of Congress, can
change the territorial into State gov.
eminent. The Constitution requires
the assent of Congress for the admis-
sion of a state into the Union, and the
United States guaranty to every State
in the Union a republican form of gov
eminent. Hence the necessity, In adj
hitting State, for Congress to exam
inc its constitution
"These decisions are conclusive upon
| the question of the power OF Congress
to determine whether the State gov
ernments created in the South under
the Presidents proceeding were valid
| rPnvarOmanf9 which OnUht tn ba adj =