The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-03-12
The 0ooTEia InfamY.


sive perhaps of all the spawns of radical-re-
publicanism, has reached another stage of de-
velopment in Congress. Last year Congress
passed bill for the admission of Georgia on
certain conditions. Every condition was COM
piled with, and, in December, she sent her
representatives to Washington for admission
to Congress. It turned out that, in organic
ing her legislature, Georgia had expelled Ger
tain illegally elected niggers from that body.
For this offence, Congress refused to admit
the Georgia members in December, and, con-
trary to the pledge of her admission made in
the previous reconstruction act, remanded her
back to territorial condition, until she could
set herself right in the matter of excluding
the niggers from her Legislature. Gen. Terry
and Gov. Bullock went to work and had the
Legislature duly purged. Then came the
Georgia members back to Washington and
knocked again for admission to Congress
The senate was troubled. The matter was re-
ferred to the judiciary committee, who in due
time reported. Their conclusion was, that
what Terry and Bullock had done was all it,
legal, but concluding, nevertheless, that their
work had better be allowed to stand.
In the house the matter went to the recon-
struction committee, of which Butlor is the
ruling spirit, and thus into holder hands,
Butler felt none of the embarrassment evinced
by the senate committee. His solution of the
conundrum was simple enough. His ready
remedy was new reconstruction bill. The
Legislature as fixed up by Terry and Bullock
should be declared all right, and not only
that legislature, but Bullock and all the state
officers of Georgia thus iniquitously toisted
| into office, should be continued in office for
another term of two years, notwithstanding,
by the constitution of Georgia, a new cleo
ton is to take place next fall. Farnsworth,
republican member from this state, said But
lers bill was Infamous and Internal" and
that the excuse for it was that, if it were
not passed, the republican party would lose
the next election in that state" Bingham,
another republican, went further in expound-
ing the infamies of the bill He said it would
move all the judicial officers of the state, and
enable Gov. Bullock to nominate a new set.
who would not only release Bullock from
punishment for immense sums he had already
stolen from the state, but would give him
control ofthe proceeds of the state railroads,
amounting to two millions year. And Mr..
Bingham added, that he would count him
self dishonored man and breaker of his
oath if he ever recorded his vote in favor of
the bill"
Butler denied none of these indictments ::
but he boldly avowed his purpose to be to
deal with Georgia so as to demonstrate to the
world that we have not abrogatcd and abne-
gated the power of Congress to deal with
men wherever they may be, nnder whatever
sort of state obligations, who render the life
and liberty of citizens of the United States
unsafe" In other words, Butler wishes to
pass this bill as a precedent to show that
Congress claims the right to seize any state
by the throat and compel it to do what Con-
gress chooses to say that it should do. This
| HoiStIOuS toClIlHc, WHICH WOulu De the de-
struction of the last vestige of states rights
and the subversion of our form of govern
ment, was met with no disclaimer one the re-
publican side of the house, and, although the
bill was amended on Binghams motion so as
to divest it ofits infamous provision in regard
to continuing the present state officers in
power and ousting the Judiciary, it passed
the house by strict party vote, Farnsworth
Bingham, and all that class of republicans
voting for it, and thus proclaiming the doc
trine, that not only Georgia, but any state
Illinois or New York as we'll as Georgia
or Tennessce,--if it fails to do what Con-
gress thinks it ought to do to protect Its clti-
zens in their rights, may be hurled out of the
Union and kept there until it shall be the
gracious pleasure of Congress to reconstruct
and again admit it.
WYOMING TERRITORY, as is we'll known, has
| tu1a Ia -, A.