Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-01-25
REMAINS OF GE,7. G,R-IELD on the Recon
NH

hEH.AGK OF tsE-s. GARElELD on tue hsCSH-
sruction Bill, Friday, Jan. IT.
Mr.. Boutwell, yielded 90 minutes of his
time to Mr.. GARFIELD, who addressed
the House in defense and advocacy of
tt bill. He defended the section vesting
General Of the army with powers now
exercised by the President, by reference
to various acts of1Gongress auth horizipg
suborbnates, offices to preform certain du-
suites; the President of United States,
himself was subordinate of Congress.
if Congress could pass laws controlling
subordinate What new doctrine was
this, that it might not give its orders to
the General of the army? The President
and his associates were the obstruction
in the way OF the restoration Of the State
recently in rebellion, and Congress, ne
proposed, should remove that obstruc ion
by transferring the power into the hands
of one who mad shown loyalty to the
law and his willingness to obey the laws
of the United States. Congress was see
ing the Reconstruction laws shamefully
set at nought by the subordinates of the
President and Congress, who had been
sent down to Louisiana, with law ct
Congress in hand commanding him to
see that justice is dealt out equally to
the people, and that no pretense of civil
authority shall stand in the way, and yet
that man was fl und giving lectures to
the people and the Congress Of the Uni
ted States what ought to be the relation
between the civil and military depart
ment of the Government. He (Garfield)
wanted it tdistincly understood, and he be-
lieved he might say SO far ofthe party to
which he belonged, that the party, inten-
ded to take 10 step backward They
mad inaugurated policy in the xxXIxth
Congress, aud were now in the pro-
cess of carrying it ont. The State OF Ten
nossec had already been restored. Ala
bama had prepared a Constitution, ard
weud vote for it Oil the 4th of February,
and he expected to see, before the sec
ond week of February, that State redeem
ed and clothed in her right mind, sitting
by her Representatives in Congress.
Seven more of th5se States were now
holding conventions and forming Con
stitutions of government in accordance
with law, and two more have ordered
elections to vote on the question of con-
ventions. The work was thus going on
and if there were an adverse action to 4
thwart it, they would see the Union
completely restored before another II
mouths. The gentlemen on the other
side were manitestly arrayed with the
Preidcnt in endeavoriug to obstruct the
work of reconstruction. Without char
ciLg on them Rebel sympathies, and
without using any hard terms concerning
them, he would say t!eir conduct was
pleasing to every unreprntant, unchanged
Rebel liz the South. The whole mass of
the Rebel population were IN favor Of
ohstructing the Reconstruction policy Of
Congress. That there was not man
who went into the Rebellion, not a guer-
rilla who slot down Union soldiers i'll
ambulanceS, not man who burned Nor
thern cities or steamboats,, not man
who starved Union prisoners, not man
who made raids into Northern States,
not a rascal Of the Rebellion, who was
not to-day with their party in Congress
attempting to ohstruct the Reconstruc-
tion laws and policy OF Congress. With
such hostile combination, did anybody
expect that the victorious Republican
party would now retire? Did anybody
pretend it should move or slip back
ward Much less did anybody expect
that Congress would permit subordin-
ate to fling dack his lectures, and tell
Congress what ought to be and what
ought not TO be?