Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-03-14

was suppressed they proceeded to try
those old cases. Congress passed a law
laying of the United States into circuits,
10 which the associated justices of the
Supreme Court perform circuit court
duiiea, aud they arranged all the rebel
States in those circuits. AS late as
1866, before Tennessee was formally ad.
Eitted to come back into the Union,
while she was 10 statu quo as she was
left by her ordinance of secession and
the rebellion, Congress passed several
laws in relation TO the United States
courts held in the State of Tennessee.
Here, sir, is q distinct and frequent
recognition by all the departments Of the
Government, by Congress, BY the Presi-
dent, by the Supreme Court, that those
States were all States of the Union. This
recognition has been made many times in
the most solemn forms. The thirteenth
amendment of the Constitution was sub
mitted to all the rebel States. The rebel
States carried it before it had been voted
upon by the requisite number of the ad'
herring States; andu upon its receiving the
vote Of threefourths of the States, in
Gliding the votes Of the rebel States
which it had received, and before some
Of the loyal States had voted upon it at
all, while enough Of them had not voted
to constitute three.fourths of the States,
the Secretary of State and the President
proclaimed that the thirteenth amend
ment had been adopted by the requisite
number Of States for its adoption.
This is all in conformity to the author
tiles on the subject ! intended to read
a passage or two from Vattel, but cau
not lay my hand upon it conveniently; ;
/ read it few days ago to the Senate.
The effect of it is simply that when a
portion Of country has been conquered
BY foreign enemy and is reconquered
by the country of which twas previously
part, Immediately upon its recenquest
1t is restored, as relates to person, prop
erty, municipal government, and in
every other respect, to precisely the same
condition in which it had subsisted be-
fore it's conquest. That is the law. 1t
is the law of nations. 1t is in conformity
to our own Constitution for the suppress
sion of insurrection and rebellion. 1t is
practiced upon in every State where
there is any domestic trouble, in an in
surrection against local governments, as
city governments. 1t was the law recog-
nized by Justice Story in relation to the
conquest of Castine, as | read few
days ago. He there recognizes the prin.
ciple Of post limine. He applies it
to portion of one of the States of the
Union that had been conquered by
the arms of England He decided
that the sovereignty Of the United
States during the occupancy of the
conquered country by the foreign power
was suspended, but so soon as the foreign
foe relinquished the possession of the
country, or was driven from it, the prin-
ciple OF post Iimine reinstated the con.
quered country as a part of the State of
Massachusetts,, and as a part of the Uni
ted States also, aud that the authority
and government both of the State and
the United States were Immediately, in
stantly, by the effect of the principle of
post limiae, reinstated in the conquered
country, and that it required no legisla-
ton, at least there was no legislation,
State or Congressional, for rehabilitating
that portion of the district of Maine,
then a portion of the State of Massa-
chusetts. Suppose the whole of Maine
had been conquered; would not the prin.
ciple have applied to all Of it2 If the
British arms had possessed every foot of
Maine in the war of 1872, upon the ex-
pulsion of the arms of England or their
upon treaty of peace from
the territory of Maine, what would have
been the result2 Suppose the conquest
had been of the entire State of Massa-
chusetts, including the district of Maine;
would not the principle of post hmins,
without any Congressional or State legis-
lation, have reinstated the entire State
of Massachusetts, including the district
of Maine, as one of the States of the
Union, and as the entire State Of Massa-
chHsetts2 al.t..I
In the case of Luther VS.. Borden, if the
United States forces had not intervened,
or the President had not said that he
would interpose with those forces, Dorr
would have taksn possession of the whole
State. He would have driven the charter
government from it. he would have
placed his government in possession of
the power of the State, positively and ac-
tually, and the charter government would
have been expelled. Suppose that had
been the condition of the State of Rhode
Island when the President of the United
States undertook to intervene with the
military power for the purpose Of sup
pressing disorder, and Dorr, when he
was actually the Governor of Rhode
Island under government de tdcto,
and was holding and exercising his
power as Governor of the whole
State, had been marched upon by the
arms and authorities of the United States,
and had been expelled from the State,
would not Immediately the State, upon
his expulsion, have passed under the ju-
risdiction and authority of her charter
government and the Governor and all
the officers under the charter govern
ment7 Certainly those consequences
would have ensued, and they would have
followed from the operation of the prin-
ciple of our Constitution with the princi-
pie Of post imine superadded to it. Upon
his principle, the moment the insurrec-
ion in the South was suppressed, it be-
came the duty of the authorities of the
United States to reinstate things just as
hey existed before; and whether those
authorities acted and reinststed things
,r not, the principle of law and of the
Constitution de jure would reinstate the
States, and they would then be legally
md constitutionally as much States In
he Union as though they had never re-
7olted against the Government of the
United States, ......-s
Mr.. President, l hold, not with q view
o this impeachment, but to great and
fundamental principle of the Constitu-
ion, that neither Congress nor q major
ty Of Congress have any power to ex-
,lude State from the Union and from
having its full and legal representation
n the Senate and in the House of Rep-