The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1870-01-21
ABINGDON, Va, Feb, 1869.
Extracts from Speech Of Hon. Thomas swanr
Of Maryland.
RECONSTRUCTION OF GEORGIA


In the House of Representatives, on the
21st of December, 1869, the Hon. Thomas
Swami, of Maryland, delivered speech on
the bill to promote the reconstruction OF
the State of Georgia, from which we
give the following extracts:
MIR. SwANN.-Mr. Speaker, the bill re-
ported by the honorable chairman of the
committee on reconstruction is the most
startling, in my judgment, that has ever
engaged the attention of this House. The
President of the United States in his annual
message, ignoring any and all limitation to
the power of Congress or any constitution
al obligation governing his own action,
has deliberately recommended the degra-
dation and Acknowledgement of the State
OF Georgia; and the measure before us is
the embodiment of the willing respons e
which it has met with in the report Of the
committee.
| The State of Georgia has dared to exer-
else the functions of State of this Union.
This is her offense. The acceptance of
the terms and spirit Of the fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments, saddled upon the
country by intimidation and force, was
the condition of her brief political exist
to comply with their most rig1uS eAa laal5
she has subjected herself to the heavy pen
atty of this bill.
When the principle is established, as it
soon will be, that the Union fthese States
may be dissolved by the mere will of Con-
gress-for such is the sad inference which
the bill carries with 1.-THE people of this
country will find with what rapid strides
they have at length reached the confines of
an absolute, consolidated oligarchy, in
which the States have no recognized par
ticipation.
Georgia took the first step toward what
has been called reconstruction in June,
1863 Gen. Meade was at the time military
governor of the district in which the State
was situated. She elected her Governor,
members of Congress and Legislature
General Meade acted under the immediate
orders of General Grant, then commander
in-chief of the army, in directing this So
called reconstruction movement, and sub
sequently reported to headquarters that
the reconstruction acts of Congress had been
duly complied with. In accordance with
this action the Governor of George Bul-
lock- was duly inaugurated, the Legislature
Vorganized, the State admitted back into the
Union, and her members of Congress to
| their seats in this House.
Next came the election of United States
| Senators; and Hill and Miller, nominees
of the conservative party, were elected by
large maiorities over Brown and Blodgett,
republicans and received their certificates
from Governor Bullock in due form OF
law.
Before the election of United States Sen
ators came off, question arose as to the
right of the negroes, under these construc-
ton acts, to hold Office Brown was the
leader OF the republican party, and was
looked upon as one of the ablest jurists in
the State In onesof his published speech
es upon this particular point he says:
"The reconstruction acts may have in
tended that the negro should be eligible
to office, but there was nothing in the Ian
guage of these acts that warranted any such
construction. Therefore he proposed to
deal with those acts Of Congress as he read
and understood them The new constitu-
ton of Georgia, adopted in obedience to
the reconstruction acts, clearly allowed the
negro to vote but not to hold Office"
The opinion of Governor Brown was ac-
quiesced in by all parties, the negroes in
cluded. After the senatorial contest was
over the democrats and white republicans
united, and the negroes were disqualified
from holding their seats in the Legislature
If in the exercise of this power the Legis-
lature committed an error, they acted with
entire honesty of purpose ard under the
advice of the recognized leader of the re-
publican party, and had no design or in
tention of bringing upon their State the
displeasure of the government. The whole
subject was matter for the courts, and
was expected TO have been settled by the
courts at the proper time.
This is the case of Georgia in its length
and breadth as it comes before this House;
and if upon such a pretext, or for any such
cause State can lose her place in the
Union as recommended by General Grant
and Congress can assume to exercise the
tremendous power which the committee
claims in this bill, we may well feel alarm
ed at the frai tenure by which this Union
is held together.
|
This government was constituted in all
its essential features government of the
people; and the specific language of the