The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1868-02-06
Established 1925.

at least formally by the Secretary
OF State, Mr. Seward-that the
governments which he would erect
during the vacation of Congress
we're 10 be erected as provisional
only, that his plan of reconstrue.
ton and tho work that was TO be
dene under it would be submitted
to Congress for it's approval or
disapproval at tho next session. If
the President had adhered TO that
determination / believe that all
would have been well, aud that
the present state Of things would
not exist. But, sir, the Executive
undertook finally to execute the
guarantee himself without the co.
operation Of Congress lie sp.
| pointed Provisional Governors,
| giving 10 them unlimited powc:
until slch time as the new State
governments should be erected
He prescribed, in his proclamation,
who should exercise the right OF
suffrage in the election Of dele.
gates. And allow ne for one mo-
ment to refer to that. lie says in
his proclamation
"No person shall be qualified as
an elector, or shall be eligible as
a member Of such convention. un.
less he shall have previously taken
and subscribed the cath Of amnes-
ty as set forth in tho Presidents
Proclamation Of May 29, A. D..
1866
Which was issued on the same day
and was part Of the same trans.
action ...t..
"And is o voter qualified as pre-
scribed by the Constitution and
laws Of the State Of North Carolina
in force Immediately before the
goth day Of May, A. D. 1861"
The persons having the right TO
vote must have the right to vote
by the laws Of the State, and must,
in addition to that, have taken the
cath OF amnesty. Tho President
DISTINGUISHED in voting for dele
ga.cs to the conventions from two
hundred and fifty to three hun.
dred thousand men. His dis.
Establishment was far greater
than that which has been done BY
Congress. In the Proclamation OF
Amnesty be says:
"Thc following classes of per.
sons are excepted from the beuc-
fits of this proclamation
He then announced fourteen class
es of persons
81. All who are or shall have
been pretended civil or diplomatic
officers, or otherwise domestic or
foreign agents, of the pretended
Confederate Government" 't.
T., K X 4 & K
"l3. All persons who have vol
unfairly participated in said rebel
lion, and the estimated value Of
whose taxable property is over
T twenty thousand dollars"
Ard twelve other classes, esti.
mated 10 number at the least two
hundred and fifty thousand or
three hundred thousand men, while
the disfraDchisement that has been
created by Congress does not ex-
tend perhaps tc more than forty
five thousand or fifty thousand per-
sons at the turthcst. These Pro.
visional Governors, under the au.
thority of the President, were to
call conventions; they were 10 bold
the elections, and they were 10
count the votes; they were TO eXer.
else all the powers that are being
exercised by the Military Com
manders under the reconstruction
acts of Congress. After those con-
stitutions were formed the Presi-
dent went forward and accepted
them as being loyal and repnbI-
can in thoir character. Ho an.
thorized .he voters under them TO
proceed TO elect Legislatures, mem
bers Of Congress, the Legislatures
10 elect Senators to take their seats
in this body. In other words, the
President launched those State gov
ernmcnts into full life and activity
1 without consultation with or CO.
operation on the part Of Congress.
Now, sir, when it is claimed that
these governments are legal, let it
be remembered thatthey took their
origin under proceeding iustitu.
ted by the President of the United
States in the execution OF this guar
antee, when it now stands confess.
cd that he could not execute the
guarantee. But even if he had the
power, let it be further borne in
mind that those constitutions were
formed by conventions that were
elected by less than one.third OF
the white voters in the States at
that time; that the conventions
were elected by a small minority
even of tho whito voters, and that
those constitutions thus formed by
a very small minority have never
been submitted to tho people OF
those States for ratification. They
arc no more the constitutions Of
those States to-day than the cou-
stilutions formed by tho conven-
tions now in session would be if
we were TO proclaim them to be
the constitutions of those States
without first having submitted tfem
to tho people for ratification. How
can it be pretended for @ moment,
oven admitting that the President
bad the power to start forward in
the work of redistribution, that
those State governments arc legal,
, formed by n small minority, mover