National Republican., 1880-10-02
~ OPEN LETrER
70 Hon. Alexander II. II. stuart of virginia.

affairs, l would most proba bly, have remained
unaware of the censure pas sed by you upon
my official action as clerk Of the house of ron
rcsentatives at the opening of the thirty y.ninth
| congress-
| You claim to havo been duly.elected repre-.
| sentative from the state Of Virginia to the
thirty-ninth congress Of the United States; to
| have held a proper Certificate Of that fact and
| to have been entitled under IL to enrolment by
the clerk as q member of that body. You com
| plain that this right WAS denied you by me.
Stating this grievance you use this language
"Under tho orders ftho leaders of the repub.
| licau party, q partisan clerk, although ho had
| the duly authenticated certificates of our cleo.
! tiOn IN his possession, refused TO place our
names on the roll of the house, or to call us to
qualify and participate in the organization"
This action you denounco as Outside tho
| constitution as "iguomiuious' to you, and
infcrcntally, as unjust and unjustifable in me.
Permit mo to say in re ply, and with all the
| respect which your words show you to deserve
| that deny the souudnoss of your reasoning
aud tho correctness of your statements. Your
| logic aud your memory are equally at fault
| My action as clerk of the house on the occa.
sion referred to was dictated by no "ordcrs"
was enforced by no leaders" and It proceeded
| from no caucus. 1t had the approval of my
| judgment which was my rule of action; it
was justified BY principle aud precedent; aud
| it was high duty under the law, If you re-
| call the times you will see how gross has been
| your blunder
In the thirty.eghth congress, which nd
| iourncd March 3, 1865, there were no repre-.
| sentativcs admitted from the "insurrcctiOnary
| states" or either of them. There had becu
suudry claimants for seats from them in each
| branch of congress- but all failed of admission.
The general ground then taken on this whole
| question was clearly stated in report made
| by the judiciary committee OF the senate, in
the special session in the spring Of 1865 That
report was drawn aud presented by its chair
man, HOu. Lyman Trumbul of Illinois, then a
republican and, ofcOursc. bipartisan" accUrdiu &
to your method of classification, but now II
democrat, and by that act transformed into a
lofty statesman. commend this report to you
as brief, rational and conclusive viudiCatiOn
Of the principle Oh which my action was based.
Mr.. rrumbul's report sets forth the fact that
| by an act of congress the inhabitants of the
state OF Arkansas had boen declared to bo in Il
state OF msurrcclion against tue United States
aud that the question Ot the admission to seats
in the senate OF claimants under recognized
state government should BE- postponed until
congress shall take action Ia eg0rd 10 The rec0g
p milton Of the alleged crisiHg state gOuc'HHeat III
ArkdiSds." The resolution declaring the claim
ants not entitled to seats was adopted without
dissent from any senator republican or demo
cratic. If the rulo was sound which prohibited
, the senate from receiving senator from ~
'insurrectionary state" before both houses o
congress had, by law passed upon the cOmpC
teuCy of the source from which lie derived hi
Certificate" why was it not sound rule 10 re
strain tho enrolling officer OF the house of repre-
senlatives FROM accepting like "ceitificates
under like circumstance The vote referred
y
special session Of the thirty y.ninth congress. NJ,
action was taken III December 1850, ut the be
| ginning OF the regular session vi the thirty
ninth congress. Did the time or the place ai
feet the principl,2 If NOT, where is II distinc
tion to be NADER Oh were the democratic sen
ators OF lsO5 us partisan" as tho republica
clerk OF 1862
What were the surrounding circumstances
Within one month after the close of the thirty
eighth congress on March 3, 1865, Lee surrcI
dered, and the armies of tue rebellion mclte
away. With them fell the state government
which constituted, with the slim central organ
zatiOu, the confederacy Political society l.,
quirCd reconstruction. Tho questions of til
n hour were, who should do ii? and how? Shoul
it be done by executive authority exclusively
or by legislative? The former plan WAS NOR
agreeable to the executive, since IL gave hiL
, supreme control; and congress was not sun
moned. The law-making power was, thctetOr,
silent, while the president, as commandment
chief, proceeded in his own way, on his ow
terms aud by his own methods, 10 recOnstruC
aud, us far as lie could, to restore those di,
crowned states. His terms being compile
with, his favor was assured and on his suggel
\ tou elections for representatives in cOngre:
= were held in those states thus fashioned an
existing. At one of those elections you wer
chosen. Your "crcdeutial' came with others
the clerk oil the house; but II came, upon its iac
from II state whose inhabitants, when last hear
, l'from in congress, had been III arms against Ill
United States; who had been frequently y aud c,
. prcssly treated as in state oil insurIectiol
D. aud who had been refused representation
the last preceding congress.
You claim that it was my duty as clerk
I, the thirty-eighth house, and, therefore, ouro.
ing oficOr Of the thirty ninth, to overlook u
these public aud historical facts, aud to ire.
- all the claimants for seats from the insu
= rectionary country as on the same plane wit
> claimants from those states whose inhHbtan
had never been in insure CctlOn, aud who
organization had never suffered the jar OF
o, rebellion, aud this In view not only of Il
ni general considerations involved in the cas-
-, but of the special procodents and action tax,
' by the last congress which SIT prior to tn
time. To state this proposition is to expo
it's grotesquo ubsurdity Even your duuu
ciatory maintenance oil it cannot save it fro
contempt.
1Ou stN lllNb phlblahHSulD huu tHb OluG
OF leaders" were tho motives of my action.
do not discuss with you or any other critic II
motives. They are personal TO myself but
stand prepared always TO Ylndicato my nc
Was tho act then, justilable?
specting this you ought 10 know tn
there was not member Of the admin
tration Of President JOhnson-if its pub
uttcranccs afford test Of opinion-who su
"a posed that the settlement of this grave que
'' tion, or any portion Of it, properly dcyolv
- upon the clerk of the house, Upon the 9th
hand If you will consult the telegram of n
T.. vembcr y, 1865 sent by President johnson
uo Provisional Governor Perry of South Caroliu
{" you will see that the president advised til
the South Carolina claimants should not pr
sent their certificates of election until at
The tao houses are organised" His kuowlud
OF parliamentary law aud usage, aud OF /
proper methods Of administration, taught I
president, deeply anxious a5 he was tO hR
his reconstruction ratified aud his represent
tives admitted that on such an issue, inyolYi
the grayest questions aud the widest resul
the appeal must be to the Judgment of I
. body when prepared for legislation, aud not
that of a. officer whose sole duty, prescribed
ioS rule or law, was with the least exercise Of d
ny thority to prepare ii for such action. Not on
re- did the president SO advise, but he gave u +,
ne son for it. Ii was this: Then" [after orga
zationl "it will be simple question under /
constitution of the members taking til,
ma seats. Each house must judge for itself /
80" Vaturug and anal titvtt nf "a,