New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-01-06
WHAT CAN THE SUPREME COURT say

Ii is stated that the Supreme Court of the
United States will shortly be called TO pass upon
the constitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts
passed by Congress. We hope that If Recon
structon is TO be brought before the Supreme
Court at all, that court will not act until the
whole question is before it-unti TO use a
technical phrase, all the parties in interest are
parties to the suit. There are three policies of
Reconstruction, viz: First-Gen. Sherman's
policy. as illustrated by his treaty with Gen.
Johnston, which would have involved no over
turning of any State Government whatever,
but would have admitted to the Union the
same governmental organizations which formed
"the Confederate States of America" Second
ly-Andrew Johnson's policy which consists IN
abolishing these State Governments and form
ing new ones, pursuant to military procih-
nation, wherein he defines who shall vote, and
allows all white men to vote who take an oath
prescribed by Andrew johnson. Thirdly-The
Congressional policy embodied in the Recon
struction laws, which also prescribes who shall
vote.
Before the Supreme Court ventures to decide
the Congressional policy unconstitutional, II
should be prepared to designate one OF the
other two policies as the constitutional one.
All the legal arguments which apply to the
Congressional policy apply with far greater
force to the Presidents policy. If the States
were never out of the Union" and never
Z" lost their right TO regulate their domestic
institutions in their own way" then the John
son State Governments are all void; for none
of them are the governments with which those
States seeded. They are all mushroom gov
ernments, created by a military proclamation to
supersede State Governments which had existed
from the foundation Of the Republic. IL "a
Estate can never lose its right of self-go
ernment,n then Gov. Fletcher and his Rebel
Legislature were unlawfully superseded in Vir-
ginia Gov. Vance fell victim to the Presi-
dents illegal proclamation in North Carolina,
and should be restored, with his Rebel Legisla-
ture. Gov McGrath and his Rebel crew are the
rghtful officers of South Carolina. Gov. Brown
and his Rebel cOnfreres Of Georgia, and Isham
G. Harris of Tennessee have a right of action
against Andrew johnson for setting up psuedo
State Government in place of the Rebel con-
Germ. So of all the other States. If the Su-
preme Court should decide the case on the
principle of the indestruetibity of States, they
would saw off the limb on which the Johnson
State Governments hang, and let the President
down as fiat as Congress.
Let the whole question, therefore, be brought
before the Supreme Court, and if the law
making power has no jurisdiction over Recon
struction, let them explain where the Presi-
dent gets his power to overthrow State Gov
ernments and create new ones by a pr0cama-
tion And if his pOvernments are alsO void
let them explain how the State organizations
which, under the names of Virginia, North Car
DINA. South Carolina, Georgia, &C.. formed the
Rebellion, did also at the same time form part
of the Government of the United States.