The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1868-02-13


its effect. This Governor has all the pow
er ofone of the district commanders, and,
in fact, far greater power than was con
ferred upon General Pope or General
Sheridan or any general in command of IL
district; for it is further proyided:
'tThat the military commander of the
department, and all officers and persons
in the military and naval service, aid and
assist the said provisional governor in
carrying into effect this reclamation"
We are then agreed upon the second
proposition, that the power Of the United
States to reconstruct and guaranty repub-
lican forms ofgovernment at once applied
when these States were found in the con-
dition in which they were at the end of the
war. Then, sir, being agreed upon these
two propositions, we are brought to the
question as to the proper form ofexercising
this power and by whom it shall be exer-
United States shall guaranty to every
State in this Union republican form Of
government. By the phrase United
States T" here Is meant the government OF
the United States. The United States can
only act through the government, and
the clause would mean precisely the same
thing if it read " the government of the
United States shall guaranty to every
Statein this Union republican form Of
government"
Then, as the government of the United
States is to execute this guarantee, the
question arises, what constitutes the gov
eminent of the United States? The Presi-
dent does not constitute the government !;
the Congress does not constitute the gov
eminent; thejudiciary does not constitute
the government; but all three together
constitute the government and as this
guarantee is to be executed by the govern
ment of the United States, it follows neces-
sarily that 1t must be legislative act
The President could not assume to exc
cute the guarantee without assuming that
he was the United States within the mean
ing of that provision, without assuming
that he was the government of the United
States. Congress could not ofitselfa assume
to execute the guarantee without assu-
ming that 1t was the government of the
United States; nor could the Judiciary
without alike assumption. The act must
be the act Ofthe government, and there
fore it must be legislative act, a law pass
ed by Congress, submitted to the Presi-
dent for his approval, and perhaps, in a
proper case, subject to be reviewed by the
judiciary.
Mr.. President, that this is necessarily
the case from the simple reading of the
constitution seems to me cannot be for a
moment denied. The President, in asst
ming to execute this guarantee himself,
is assuming to be the government of the
Uuited States, which he clearly is not, but
only one Gifts coordinate branches and.
therefore, as this guarantee must be a leg
islative act, 1t follows that the attempt on
the part of the President to execute the
guarantee was without authority, and that
the guarantee can only be executed in
the form of a law, first to he passed by
Congress and then to be submitted to the
President for his approval, and if he does
not approve it then to be passed over his
head by majority of two-thirds in each
House. That law. then, becomes the exc
cution of the guarantee and is the act of the
government Of the United States.
Mr.. President, this is not an open ques-
ton. I send to the Secretary and ask him
to read part Of the decision of the SUI
preme court of the United States in the
case of Luther VS.. Borden, as reported in
Howard.
The Secretary read as follows:
Moreover, the constitution of the Uni
ted States, as far as it has provided for an
emergency of this kind, and authorized
the general government to interfere in the
domestic concerns of a State, has treated
the subject as political in its nature and
placed the power in the hands of that de-
partmet.
"The fourth section the fourth article
Of the constitution Of the United States
provides that the United States shall guar
antee to every State in the Union a repub-
lican form ofgovernment, and shall pro-
tect each of them against invasions; and
upon the application of the Legislature or
cannot be convened) against domestic vio-
lence.
"Under this article of the constitution it
| rests with Congress to decide what govern
ment is the established one in State
For, as the United States guarantees q
each States republican government,
| Congress must necessarily decide what
fore it can determine whether it is repub-
lican or not. And when the Senators and
Representatives of a State are admitted
into the councils of the Union the author
| ity of the government under which they
are appointed, wcif as Its republican
| stitutional authority, And its decision is
binding upon every other department Of
| the government, and could not be ques~
| toned in judicial tribunal. 1t is true
| that the contest in this case did not last
! long enough to bringthe matter to this is
sue; and as no Senators or Representatives
were elected under the authority of the
government of which Mr.. Dorr was the
head, Congress was not called upon to de-
eide the controversy. Yet the right to de-
eide is placed there and not in the courts."
Mr.. Morton. In this opinion of the
Supreme court of the United States,
delivered many years ago, the right
to execute the guarantee provided for
| in this clause of the constitution is
placed in Congress and nowhere else,
and therefore the necessary reading
of the constitution is confirmed by
the highest judicial authority which
we have.
Mr.. johnson. Do youread from the
opinion delivered by the Chief Jus.
tice
Mr.. Morton. Yes, sir; the opinion
delivered BY Chief Justice fancy. He
decides that thispower is not judicial
that it is one Of the high powers con,
ferred upon Congress; that it is not
subject to bereviewed by the Supreme
court, because it is political in its ma.
ture. 1t is distinct enunciation OF
the doctrine that this guarantee isnot
to be executed by the President OF
by the Supreme court, but by the Con
gress OF the United States, in the form
Of law to be passed by that body
and to be submitted to the President
for his approval; and should he dis.
approve tilt may become a law by
being passed by two-thirds majority
over his head.
Now, l will call the attention O.
my friend from Wisconsin to some
other authority. AS he has beer
pleased to refer to former speech Of
mine to show that ] am not quite
consistent, will refer to vote giver
by him in 1864 on very important
provision. On the LIST of July 1864
the Senate having under considera
ton, as in committee of the Whole
"a bill to guar antee to certain States
whose governments have been usur
ped or overthrow republican form
Of government" Mr.. Brown of Mis-
souri,, offered an amendment to strike
out all of the bill after the cnactine
clause and to insert a substitute
which ! willask the Secretary to read
The Secretary read as follows:
"That when the inhabitants Of any
State have been declared in state
Of insurrection against the United
States by proclamation of the Presi-
dent, by force and virtue of the ACT
entitled can act further to provide
for the collection ofduties on imports
and for otherpurposes, approved July
ID, 1861, they shall be, and are here