The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1868-01-16


! He was not ignorant of his business.
nor did he forget it, and his omission to
! refer to it is significant OF his purpose
| to defeat it
The body of the order is devoted to
. the emphatic recognition of the legality
and binding authority of the existing
State governments in defiance and con-
i tempt Of the declarations of Congress-,
: as set forth in the several acts of recon
struction. These acts of Congress are
predicated upon the idea that the exist
ing State governments are illegal, un-
| authorized, and have no lawful authority
| Whatever to control the people and to
show how strongly and frequently this
| is put will quote as follows:
The preamble of the first act, passed
March 2, 1857, reads thus
AN ACT 10 provided for the more efficient govern
ment of the rei,el States.
Whereas no legal State governments or adequate
protection Tor life or property now exist IN the rebel
States Of Virginia, North Carolina South Carolina
Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida :,
Texas, and Arkansas; and whereas it is necessary
that peace and good order should be enforced in said
States until loyal and republican State govern
ments can be legally established.
The sixth and last section of the same
act is in these words:
That urtl the people of the said rebel States shall
be by law Admitted to representations in the Con-
g-ess of the United States, any civil governments
which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional
only, and in all respects subject to the paramount
authority of the United States at any time to aho
sh, modify control, supersede the same and in
all elections to any Office under such provisional gov
ernments all persons shall be entitled vote and
none others, who entitled vote under the pro-
visions of the fifth section of this act and no per-
provisional governments who would be disqualified
from holding Office under the provisions of the third
article OF said constitutional amendment.
Then again, the first section of the
supplementary act passed July 8, 1867,
is in these words:
That is hereby declared to have the true i.-
March, ore thousand eight hundred and sixty-sercn,
entitled "An Get to provide for the more efficient
government of the rebel States" and of the act sun
Elementary thereto, passed on the twenty-thrd dax
of March, in the year Thousand eight hundred and
that the governments then existing the
lima Georgia, Mississippi Alabama, Louisiana Fox-
ida Texas and Arkansas not legal State govern
ments' and that ~ .here.iter said governmsnts,
the military commanders of the respective dstricts
and to the paramount authority of Congress.
These different sections declare In the
most positive terms that the existing
State Governments are illegal and unau.
thorized; that they do not furnish pro.
lection for life or property, and that the<
are made entiely subordinate to the mill
tary authority, and whatever powers thew
continue to exercise will be by the con-
sent of the military commander. But
General Hancock, in open contempt of
these declarations, asserts that the civil
authorities do furnish adequate protec-
ton to life and property that to pre-
serve peace and quiet is the object of
his mission, and that as a means to this
RI h n nxry-
the civil authorities in the execution Of
the laws as the most efficient means IN
der existing circumstances He saws that
the war is over, the civil authorities are
ready and willing to perform their du-
ties the military power should cease to
lead, and civil administration resume it's
natural and rightful dominion. Again
he says, pompously: s.Solmen,y i'm
pressed with these views, the General
announces that the great principles Of
American liberty still are the lawful in
heritance of this people, and ever should
be-" This is very startling PROPOSE
tion, and quite as astonishing as the
news that the ''Duteh have taken Hol-
land" Again be says: sCrimes and
offences committed in this district mnat
be referred to the consideration and
judgment of the regular civil tribunals.
and those tribunals will be supported in
their lawful jurisdiction" Here he all
jures the military power conferred unon
him by Congress-, recognizes the supre-
macy of the bogus civil authorities. and
declares that he will support their tri-
bunals in the exercise Of their lawful
Jurisdiction And this he says standing
upon ground in New Orlesns vet moist
with the blood of nearly two hundred
men slaughtered in the plAsence and bv
the contrivance OF these civil authorities.
while the tribunals which he pledged
himself 70 support have never brought
one OF the murderers to justice. If
peace prevailed when he went there ;t
was because OF the bold and determined
measures of General Sheridan. Gr;ff7n
and Mower, and not from anv merit ~
these civil authorities, which he deliohta
to honor, for it is notorious fact That
until General Sheridan took ctrumrn.i
there was no security for the life or
property OF Union men in Texas or
Louisiana.
Again, says General Hancock. "the
right OF trial by jury, the ha6eas corpus.
the liberty OF the press. the freedom of
speech, and the natural rights OF per-
sons and the rights of property mrst he
This is very pretty say.
ing, but what does it mean in this con.
nection 1t means that the loyal men.
white and black, shall have the right to
be tried by rebel juries, which is like
giving the lambs the right to be tried bv
the wolves. It means that rebels who
have murdered Union men shall be tried
by rebel juries and when. ask. has
one OF them been brought to iustice7
II means thse men arrested by military
authority may be discharged from cus.
tody upon writ Of As6eas corDus issued
BY State judge, which is in direct yio-
lation OF the concluding part of the
third section of the act Of March 9. 1867.