Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-07-17

No"s "htn W IL inquired Wnetner
particular country being called State
has elected Presidential electors or not.
! admit that the two Houses may and
must necessarily inquire whether there
ga State within that country. To reach
that conclusion there must be defined
territory; there must be q people; there
must be a constitution or form of gov.
ernment creating a Legislature; and
this form OF government must be made
by the people of the State in their sole
and sovereign capacity, irrespective OF
any manipulation or interference by
Congress. The government Of the State
made by the people thereof must have a
legislative body, and that legislative body
that is created and organized must direct
the manner in which the Presidential
electors shall be chosen. If there are
any Of these essential, constitutional re-
quisites absent, il is fatal defect in its
non-conformation to the Constitution,
and such State in which such constitu.
tional and organic defects exist has no
power whatever to choose electors.
will illustrate my proposition by an
example, and will take an example in
point Here are Alabama and Arkansas.
1t is said they have been reconstructed
Both of those States before their govern
ments were destroyed had constitutions
and State governments formed by or
with the consent and acquiescence of the
people of those States respectively, and
those governments have been recognized
by Congress and all the departments of
this Government in various official acts
The honorable Senator from Vermont
and his associates on this floor were not
satisfied to let those governments formed
by the people remain and perform their
legitimate functions, but they proceeded
to pass what are called the reconstruction
laws of Congress, which profess to abro
gate those governments, and to dictate
conditions upon which they should be
reformed in conformity to the laws of
| Congress.
My position is that those governments
which Congress found in existence, and
which it recognized by passing laws for
the government ofthose respective States,
being formed by the people of the States,
or they having acquiesced in and adopted
those governments, were the only legiti-
mate, constitutional governments of the
States. 1t was not competent for Con-
gress to abolish those governments The
reconstruction laws which proposed to
effect that object were hagrantly in vio-
lation of the Constitution, and are utterly
null.and void. They had no right to abb
rogate State government. A State
government can be formed by but one
power on earth under the Constitution of
the United States, and that is by the peo-
pie OF the State. They are not only to
exercise the power, but all the power;
and if Congress interferes by its dictation
and by military force for the purpose of
coercing, constraining the people of a
State to form government after par
ticular manner, it is an interference with
out sanction of power, and utterly de.
stroys and renders null and void the bas.
tard fruit of such interference.
Then, sir, I am,led..::to this position:
not only that the State governments of
Alabama, Arkansas, and all the other
Southern States which had been formerly
adopted by their people, could not be
legitimately or constitutioHally or author.
itatively abolished by Congress, but also
to the second position that Congress had
no legitimate or constitutional power to
build up other States in their stead. This
reasoning leads me to the conclusion
that electors chosen by the governments
and the Legislatures of those States that
we're provided for by their previous con-
stitutions would be literally and strictly
in conformity to the Constitution, and
that any electors chosen by these spu
rious and bastard governments in those
or in any of the other Southern States
that have been erected by the usurped |
power of Congress, in conjunction with |
the military power of the nation, per-
verted to that illegitimate and unconsti |
tutional use, with the instrumentality of |
the negroes, who are not entitled, consti- |
tutionally, to vote at all, are utterly null |
and void, and have no power whatever |
to choose electors in the Presidential
election.
Suppose there should be two electoral
tickets elected from the Southern States
one under their governments that ex-
listed before the interpostion of Con-
gress by force to destroy them, and by
the Legislatures of those States respect
lively, and then other classes Of electors
chosen or appointed by these subsequent
illegitimate governments. My position
is that the former would have all the
legitimate and constitutional power to
cast the vote Of their respective States in
the Presidential election, and that the
latter would not have particle ofpower
to do it. Ell
Mr., Conkling-To which governments
do you refer, the provisional govern.
ments, or those before the rebellion
Mr.. Davis-I refer to the governments
which the people recognized after the re-
bellion ceased. They we're not provi-
sional governments. They make abso-
lutte governments. The provisional gov
ernments were set up afterward by mill
tary power, in derogation Of and upon
the ruins Of the legitimate governments
which the people themselves had formed.
/ maintain that it is the right of those
legitimate governments crea-
ted by the people themselves, and not the
right Of those meretricious governments
set up by Congress.to choose electors for
those respective States; and | believe
that whenever the question is presented
that a class of electors chosen by the
negro governments offer to vote for
President of the United States the white
people will see to it that the negro gov
ernments do not cast their votes, and that
the white men do. Now, sir, what does
this joint resolution proposef l will
read IT: I I
"Resolred, etc, That the States Of Vir-
ginia, North Carolina, South Caroline,
Georgia, Florids, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. respect
ively, shall not be entitled to representa-
ton in the electoral college"