Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-09-24
NEW SERIES--V0L. 8, NO, 10

President Linooln's or even Winte
Davis project wherein did they dc
part from Republican form Tha
which the Constitution authorizes an,
enJoins us to guarantee is the form
II gives no authority TO touch the in
ternal administration Of the govern
ment of any of the States; on th,
contrary, it reserves that power 10th,
several States. This pretense OF righ
TO interfere With the local government
Of the States is miserable sophism
resting on false assumption. 1t il
not true, as is assumed that any one
of these States, when interfered with
| by Congress, bad not a republican form
ofgovernment, or that any one Of them
attempted TO adopt any other form,
The forms were various, bnt all rapub
lican, Hike the constitutions Of the orig.
inal States at che time they adopted
this guarantee; aud Congress, when
they interfered, under rretense of exc
cutting this guarantee, destroyed the
actual republican form, and imposed
on the States, in its stead, military
despotism. 1t were idle to'assert the
contrary; the events are recent; they
occurred in the presence of us all, and
stand for the information Of present
and future ages, recorded in our annals
Ii is strange to hear it pretended by
intelligent men in the presence of a
thinking, reasoning public, that the
placing of ten States under absolute
military rule is legitimate carrying
out Of the constitutional provision
which requires the United States to
guarantee to each State republican
form Of government. The appeal to
the guarantee was simply false pre-.
tense; the object Enthusiastically was
not 10 secure TO those States republi-
can forms Of government, but a gov.
ernment in form and fact which would
secure their seventy votes TO continue
the Republican party in power. To
excuse the arbitrary measures taken
TO effect this object, facts are pervert
ed, language wrested from its true
meaning, and the rights which the
Constitution was framed TO secure are
secuted and despised.
Mr.. Morton admits that the Crit
tenden resolutions amounted TO a
pledge that, having put down the re-
bellion, we would not disturb the do
nestle institutions of the States, but
restore them to their constitutional
rights in the Union but he says, in
discussing Mr. Lincoln's emancipation
proclamation, that if we stood by the
pledge we could not restore the Union
"we must either stand by the Union
and let the pledge go, or stand by the
pledge and let the Union GO"
Admit this to be true .hen
thought, and still think it a mistake,
and that as war measure it did not
strengthen, but weakened us. 1t di-
vided the North-united the South
and alienated hundreds of thousands
in the border States. Yet it was no
breach of faith-.it was resorted to as
a war measure, gdgrdnte boilo, and no
more a breach of the pledge made in
the Crittenden resolutions than any
other act Of hostility That pledge
related to the use which we would
make of victory, having achieved it
not the means we would adopt TO
achieve it. Mr.. Lincoln, therefore,
did not violate the pledge, but it was
violated when, after the rebel armies
surrendered or were disbanded when
all the rebel governments were dis
solved when having restored their
republican State constitutions, as
members of the Union, they claimed
70 accept the duties and enjoy the
rights of States then when Congress
refused TO receive them as States, but
treated them as conquered territories,
sub bjected them TO military govern
ment, prescribed nearly all the intel
ligent men men of the States by a
sweeping bill ofattainder, and "raised
up" in the language of Senator Nor
ton, a new set of loyal voters-planta.
tion slaves who could not tell their
names nor read their tickets, but
could vote a Republican ticket when
given them-when Congress did these
things, they violated that solemn
pledge which brought at least half Q
million Union volunteers into the
field. II was a deliberate breach OF
faith, prompted by interest, not neces.
sity. 1 do not think the party profit
ed by il; men, that is untaught men,
love faith and detest falsehood. Be-
side this, it has involved the party in
complications from which they never
can be extricated until they are mer.
citully relieved from the cares of gov.
ernmont. For myself, l confess to a
lack of progress; | stand as one OF
Senator Morton's mile.posts on do.
serted road, having learned by the
war no moral code releasing men, as
individuals, or legislative bodies, from
the obligations of the Constitution,
or law or personal truth and honor.
Mr. Morton shows very clearly that
the guarantee of republican forms
of government TO these ten States
was all pretense. You will remem.
ber that President Johnson, at the
close of the war, issued a proclama-
ton debating provisions TO be adop.
tod in the constitutions of the ten
States which would adapt them to
the changed condition of things, and
tina: they modified their constitutions
according to the terms of the procla-
nation. Mr.. Morton, in speaking ol
the proclamation, and il was the
same substanstially as if be had been
speaking of each Of the several consti
tutions, says:
Il did show that the policy Of that proclamation
was even more radical than that OF Mr. Lincoln
/ did show that Il was more radical even than th'
/ Winter Davis bill Of the summer Of 1854 But
sir Il all up0n the distinct ppdcrsianding that
whatever the prcsidont did, his whole policy o
action was 10 be submitted to Congress FOR its con
sidoraiion and decision and, a. before rmarkcd
/ il that had been done all would have been we'll
That is - the proclamation wa;
right, even to excess the constitutions
modified in pursuance of it were right
and would have been accepted II sub
mitted 10 Congress but this etiquctts
was neglected and ten States were
kept out of the Union, under military