The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-01-12
The Amnesty Bill.
Mr. siaiEe's Reasons for Excepting JeG-
ersOn Davis.

If l can induce the House to reconsider
vote whereby the bill was rejected, it is my i.-
tention to offer an amendment Every time
that the question OF amnesty has been brought
before the House by the gentleman of the 9TH
er side Tor the last two Congresses, it has been
done with certain flourish of maguanimity,
which IS an lmputation on this side of the
House as though the Republican party, which
has been IN charge OF the government for the
last twelve or fourteen years, had been bigoted,
narrow, illiberdl, and as though certain few
worthy and deserving gentlemen in the South
ern states had been ground down under great
tyranny and oppression, which the hard heart
edness of this side of the House could not pos
sibly be prevailed upon 10 remove. / desire
now to place on record just what the Republi.
can party has done in this matter. l wish to
place it there as an imperishable record of q
llberality, large mindedness, magnanimity and
mercy, such as has not been shown in the
worlds history by conquerers to conquered.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (RandalD
and myself entered this Congress in the midst
of the hot flames OF war, when the Union was
rockiog to its foundation and no man knew
whether we were to have country or not. He
would have been surprised, ,wLen he and were
officers of the 3Sth Congress, il he could then
have foreseen that before our mutual service
ended he should have seen sxty-one gentlemen,
then in arms against the United States govern
ment, admitted to equal privileges with our
solved 10 this House, and all by the grace and
magnanimity OF the Republican party.
When the war ended, according to the uni
versal law OF war the party in possession of the
government, or the government itself, which
was controlled by the party, had the right to
determine what should be the status of these
people. Did we insugurate any measures of
prosecution? Did we set off on a career or
bloodshed aud vengeance? Did we take prop.
erty? Did we prohibit any man all his civil
rights? Did we take from him the right
which he enjoys to-dsy-to vote? Not at all;
but instead OF general and sweeping condem-
nation the Republican party placed in the 14th
amendment only this exclusion. After consid-
ering the whole' subject it ended to coming
down to This:
"That no person shall be a Senator or Representa-
tive IN Congress, Elector of President and Vice
President, or hold any office, civil military, under
the United States or under any State. who having
previously taken oath a member of Congress or as
an officer OF the United States or as a member Of
any State Legislature, executive judicial Of
fcer of any State TO support the Constitution of the
Untei States. shall have engaged in iDsuuecion or
rebellion against the gave aid comfort to
the enemies thereof but Congress may, by vote Of
two-thirds OF each House, remove such disabilities"
Now have never been able to determine
from any statistical examination, exactly how
many men in the South that exception affect
ed. 1t has been variously estimated that at
the time of its original insertion in the Consti-
tuition it included somewhere from 20 900 to
$4,000 persons, but as Lear as / can gather
from thes facts in the case it included about
$4,000 men in the South, and it let 60 free
the millions if you please, who had been en-
gagged in the attempt to destroy the govern
ment, and only held those under disability
who, in addition to the general revolt, had vio-
lated special and peculiar and personal oath
to gupport the Constit uton OF the United
States.
That disability was hardly fixed on the
South until we began in this hall and in the
Senate Chamber (when we had more than two
thirds Republicans in both branches) to re-
If and the first hill took the diga
bility off from 1913 citizens of the South. The
next bill took off 1926 by wholesale. Many of
the gentlemen on this floor have come from
the grace and amnesty in these two bills.
After these bills specifying individuals had
passed, small bills, which [ will not further re-
fer to. were passed. la 1872 the Congress of
the United States by vote of two-thirds of
both branches (sti!l being two-thirds Republi-
CAM passed this general law that all political
disabilities imposed under the third section of
the 14th amendment of the Constitution of the
United States are hereby removed from all per-
sons whomsoeyer, except Senators and Repre-
sentatlves in the Both and 37th Congresses, Of
fceTS of judicial, military and naval service OF
the United States, heads of departments and
foreign ministers of the United States.
Since that act was passed very considerable
number of gentlemen included in it have been
specially by name relieved from disability; but
believe in no one single instance since the act
of May q, 1872, have disabil les been taken
from any man unless on his respectful petition
20 CougIess that they be removed and l be-
lieve IN no one instance except one has there
been any difficulty by unanimous vote even to
pass such bills
Now fad an equally erroneous varying of
Judgment ia reference to the number still un-
der disabilities in the South. l have had oc-
casion by conference with the departments of
the navy and war, and BY reference to some
other records, to be able 10 state to the House
with more accuracy than has been already
stated, just the number of gentlemen who are
still under disabilities. Those who were officers
of the United States army, educated at the ex-
pepse OF the government at West Point, and
who joined the rebellion, are still under dsa-
bilities, and are estimated at the War Depart
ment at 325 The number of each person ia
| the navy is 295, and those coming under the
other heads, members of the 36Gh and 37th
Congresses. heads of departments and foreign
ministers, L am not able to give the numberex-
actly, but the whole number of persons under
disability in the South is about 75O.
very frankly say that in regard to all these
L know OF no reason why amnesty should not
he granted to them as it has been to many of
the same class. am not here to argue against
| it, since amnesty has already become so geuer-
| al, and am not going back to argue that ques-
| ton. l am in favor of giving it to them; but
| in the absence of that respectful form of petit
| ton which since the 9th of May, 1872, has
become a part of the common law, as prelim-
mary to amnesty, simply wish to put into the
law that the persons shall go before United
l otateS court, anu III open court. Win upllfted
hand, swear that they mean to conduct them
| selves as good citizens of the United States.
| That is all, gentlemen. Say that this is fool
l ish exclusion. Well, yes 1T is; but somehow or
1 other am preiudced in favor of it. l do not
| want TO impose citizenship on the gentlemen.
If l am correctly informed there are some
| gentlemen on this list who have spoken con-
temptuously or the idea of their taking citizen
1 ship under the United States, and have spoken
with great harshnesS about their associates in
4 VI ~ II mn nd
that Mr.. Robert ToombS has made a special
boast at the watering places in this country
| and in Europe, that he would not ask the Unit
| ed States for citizenship. Very well; We can
/ stand that quite as well as Mr.. Robert Toombs
| (laughterl, and if Mr.. Robert Toombs is not
| prepared to come into the United States Court
| and swear that he means to be good citizen,
| let him stay out. l do not think that Congress
| ought to raise itself or to resolve itself into
1 joint convention, and to embrace Mr.. Robert
| roombs gushingly and beg him to honor and
| favor us by coming back and taking the high
est form of citizenship. Well, what after? My
| substitute requires that every one of these gen.
| tlemen shall show his good faith by taking the
| oath which all of Us take, and are glad to take.
| THIS is very small exacton to make as pre-
iminary to full restoration TO all the rights of
| citizenship.
In my amendment 1 have excepted Jeffer-
| son Davis from its operation. Now L do not
place that exception on the ground that Mr..
| Davis was, as he is commonly called, the head
/ and front of the rebellion, because on that
| ground L do not think the exception would be
| tenable. Mr. Davis was just as guilty, no
| more SO, no less so, than thousands of others
who Will get the benefit of grace and amnesty.
Probably he was far less efficient as an enemy
| of the United States. Probably he was far
more useful as distuIber. of the councils of the
l Confederacy.
1t is not because any particular or special
| damage which he, above Others, did to the
| United States or because be is particularly of
| any special consequence that L excepted him,
but except him on this ground, that he is the
| author, knowingly. deliberately, guiltily, will
fully, of the gigantic murder and crime at An
| dersonville Ia member-and Libby);' Libby
| pales in insignifcan ce as compared to Ander-
| sonyille. place it on that ground, and be-
lieve that so rapidly does one event follow
| on the heels of another in the rapid age in
| which We live, that even those of us who were
| C lntemporaneously cognizant of what was
transpirlDg there, still less those of us who
have grown up since, have failed to realize the
/ gigantic crime which was there committed.
Since the gentleman from Pennsylvania in
troduced this bill have taken the occasion TO
read some of the historical cruelties of the
world. have read over the details of those
| atrocious massacres under the Duke of Alva in
| the low countries which are mentioned with a