Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-01-17

! for myself only, but for thousands of
others, whose past and present political
aSs0ciatious have been and are the same as
mine.
For moro than thirty years [ belonged
! t. the Whig party, and fought in its ranks
! So, long that ! was ciasgcd as ono of its "Old
guard" / was with it in its successes,
U Uhicla were few, aud sill constant to it in
! its revcrSes, which were many. i never
deserted it while its organization existed,
and only ceased to bo Il Wing when the
/ PARTY Itself ceased To exist. My last vote
Was given to that party III the Presidential
contest Of 1860. Whcn came the rebellion,
and with ii newissuc, which ovcrshadowed
ali former party issues | lost sight at once
Of all former political associations, and
joined that great Union party which saved
the Republic. Applause.
Wh>n that great fact WAS accomplished,
when the work of the soldier WAS done,
and the work Of the statesman was to be
resum Cd, u new question arose, only less
III magnitude to that o. tho preservation of
! the nation, and that was, in what spirit
and according to what policy tie victorious
North should deal with those Southern
States and that Southern people who had
been engaged i'll insurrection. They gave
up the contest and all the issues Of the
| y
secession they abolished tho institution
of slavery they ppudiated the debt which
they incurred in waging war, and again
asked to como under the protection Of
the old flag, TO be restored once moro to
the rights and privileges Of American citi-
zens.
1t did seem, at first, that the policy of
forgiveness and restoration would prevail
1t was inauguratcd under the leadership of
Mr.. Lincoln, and lie proposed in good
faith to carry out the pledges and hopes
held out to the South during the struggle
that the object of the war was not to de-
stroy, but to preserve; that Southern States
had never lost their places in the Union,
but were only temporarily out of their
proper relations, and that as soon as the
war was over these constitutional relations
should be resumed. But even before the
death OE Mr.. Lincoln there was developed
III the Republican party formidable OPP
position to that policy and Il new party
was soon formed, which held that We had
wagGd q war for conquest, and not for re-
stOration that we had not merely put
down an insurrection, but that we had con-
qUered provinces not States, and q for
olgn people, not American citizens that
these States, instead of being restored,
we're to be reconstructed that as con-
! y,
III all their domestic concerns, and if ever
! they were again to become States Of the
! Union. they were to come in by a new
title, precisely as in some future day we
may choose to make q State Of the newly
acquired territory of Alaska.
Gentlemen, the Constitution is the text
of the sentiment to which [ have been call
cd upon to respond. Let us stop one mo-
ment to look into that sacred instrument,
i'll order to solve the question which arises
hore. The case which Ehas occurred has
not, i'll the language Of a lawyer, a caSuS
on3i$SHs Tie Constitution is not silent
1t has anticipated what has happened. 1T
provides for insurrcctiOn, whether small or
great; whether of a part of State or an
entire State; whether III one State OF in
many. 1t provides for instruction against
the laws Of Il State, and for insurrection
against the laws of tho United States II
gives power III both cases; the power in
ono case to put down insurrection against
the State by enforcing obedience to the
laws OF the State; and the power in the
other case to put down InSuIrcctiOn against
the laws of the United States by enforcing
obedience to those laws. Sc, too, the
! Constitution gives the power Of protection
against foreign enemies, and the power to
declare war, and as incidental to that, the
power to mako conquests.
Where, in this instrument, providing for
tho very case of insurrection and for the
very remedy to be suppliod-where do you
find power to put down insurrection in
State, and then to destroy the State, and
hold it and It's people as conquered and
subjugated? And yet, gentlemen, this is
precisely what has been done, not by n
change Of our Federal Constitution, but by
Il Congress who must find for every act a
warrant and authority in the provision of
that Constitution. Tho reconstruction acts
passed by Congress have converted ten OF
these States into Il lower condition than
that Of mere Territories, have destroyed
every vc3ti4G Of State government, and
have stripped millions Of their people OF
every characteristic oi an American citi-
zen. Under this extraordinary legislation,
the VAT toiiltory covered by these ten
STATE and the millions Of unhappy people
which reside there have no more protection
under our Federal Constitution than If they
occupied SO much territory i'll the interior
Of Africa. Their State C0nStitutiOnS-madC
by these people under the auspices Of Pre-
sdcnt Lincoln arc declared TO be Illegal,
and, in effect, abolished, and in place of
them Congress has provided a military des-
p0tisn. Certainly, ii 10 valid State law
Federal law which ought to have protected
them, for over every foot of that territory
and every individual that inhabits it, the
great fundamental law of the Constitution
of the United States prevails in all its Wig
or, and gives to every ono of them every
privilege and every immunity which it ex-
tends to the American citizen anywhere
and everywhere.
With The Constitution, then, fully in
force over all that territory and all those
people, where docs Congress find its war
rant for supplanting a legal State govern
ment with military despotism Where
does Congress find its warrant, in time of
peace, to suspend the habeas corpus, to
take away tile iaestimable privilege of trial
by jury, to remove the civil officers of a
State and substitute Federal officers in their
places; and, finally, to try to condemn, to
punish, to lmpris9n, to hang these people
for civil offence, or pretended offences, by
the Judgment Of II military court? Where
does Congress tiGd It's warrant in the Con
stitution to quit the domain of Federal law
and make constitution for State by
voters Of It's own croating-to pass a spf-
frage law for q State? Where does it find