Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-03-13
Foreign tyrant never trod,
But Freedom, with her falchion bright.
Swept the stranger from her sight,


The wrongs and injuries that our Revo-
lutionaryr fathers suffered at the hands of
the King OF Great Britain, and which they
in their declaration OF independence sub
mitted to the world as justification for
their separation from the mother country,
are now being inflicted upon the inhabit-
ants of these ten States by this Radical
party. The imposition of taxes upon them
without their consent, the deprivation OF
the benefits of trial by jury, the abolition
of their most valuable laws. the alteration
of the fundamental powers of their gov
|ernment, the suspension of their legisla-
Etnres, subsection to a jurisdiction foreign
to their constitution, and the making the
military independents of and superior to
the civil power, were the grievances of
which they complained. And there is not
one of these causes of complaint that does
not now as justly exist against this party
which controls the administration of the
affairs of our Federal Government.
speak not of acts done by them during
the war, when they being charged with
illegality, could defend themselves as Mar
ius did, when he had filled Rome with
blood, by saying that the din of arms pre-
vented them from hearing the still voice of
the law. am willing to cOnsign to obliv-
ion the many wrongs and outrages that
were then perpetraIed by them, upon all
who dared to ooppose them in any measures
they might see fit to propose. But, l call
your attention to measures enacted into
laws by them, after the people of the South,
unable and unwilling to continue the con-
test longer, had laid down their arms and
expressed willingness. to resume their
allegiance to the general government
The monarchical governments of the old
world furnish no instrument of injustice
and oppression that will surpass what is
known as the military Reconstruction bill
ceo1I |, los ~
of the President. it bears upon its facethe
impress OF faiseheod, by declari ng in its
preamble. that no legal State governments
| or adequate protection to lite or property
exist in the ten States. that are thereby
made subject to the military authority Of
the United States, for, from the close of the
war, which alone can give them any
| preteXJ for this claim. up to the time of the
'passage of this bill, and up TO the present
time, save in the instances where the vari-
Gus State, County aud Municipal officers
have been removed by the military COM
manders appointed in accordance with the
provisions of the bill, the laws in these
States have been faithfully administered by
the legally constituted authorities thereof.
In these States, as in our own, the courts OF
| justice have ever been open to pass upon
all offenders the just sentence of the law.
The man who was wronged by his fellow
man could there, as well as here, apply to
I the civil courts for the redress of his pri-
vate injuries. The legality of their State
lGOvernments has been repeatedly recog-
nized by the authors of the bill itself,
whenever it has been necessary for the ad-
vancement of their own interests to do so.
And, as the President tells them in his
veto message; ''it-is now too late to say
that these ten communities are not States,
and that their governments are not legal
because the declarations made in this bill,
and in the bills supplementary to. it, are
contradicted again and again by repeated
acts of legislation by Congress, from the
year eighteen hundred and sixty zone to
the present time.
| will not detain you with an enumera-
ton of those acts; but will content my
self with calling your attention to single
one-one which | consider establishes the
fact that these States are still members o.
the Union, and as much entitled to : ua
rights and privileges with the other States
beyond the possibility of successful contra
ldiction. 1t is the Amendment to the Con
stitution of the United States, which was
SUBMITTED to the Legislatures of the severa
Estates for their ratification or rejection, by
Congress, in the year 1865. Its ratification
by the Legislatures of three-fourths OF thu
States was required before it could become
a part of the organic law OF the land. Ant
when the requisite number OF votes were
given in favor OF that Amendment by th'
Legislatures of the several States, some
|. which were given by the Legislatures o
these same States, it was declared to be
part OF the Constitution, and Congress wa
estopped from denying that these Stat
Governments are not legal. Besides, the,
, have been recognized as still being mem
bers of the Union. by every other depart
ment of the Government. The Executive
| in his message from which 1 have jus
quoted, expresses his opinion upon thi
question in language that cannot be mi.
taken. -s....e.....-.. .-
In a former message to Congress he tol
them that the political existence of theS
i States had been completely and fully re
? stored and recognized so far that the Court
of the United States had been reopenet
!. the custom houses re-established. and post
= operarions resumed. The Courts of th
. United States have, also, so decided tn
/, question whenever it has come before thel
for adjudication. No longer ago than til
ninth day of this month, the Supreme Coul
q of the United States held, In determinin
:, a case involving decision of this question
that ssthe efforts to draw Off ten states frol