The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-04-21

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qualifications. returns and election Of its
own members; but every authority. in
GLIDING Story. Tucker and HamiltOn--in
No. so of the Fed eralist' and no au-
| thority to the contrary. that | have been
able to find. hold that each house can
| Only ascertain If each member has the
qualifications prescribed by the COnstitu-
ton which are age Citizenship and resi-
dence. There was never d question of
| doubt raised as to any member elected
| to either house from either of these
! States possessing these requisite qualifi-
| cations: there was never a question raised
as to their having been duly elected. and
| there should have been no question as
! to their having been elected by States
| of the Union.
To cite no other evidence: Congress
| had. within the past few months: recog-
| nized each of these States as States in
/ the Union by submitting to them the
| thirteenth amendment for ratification or
/ he ever made. April II. 1868. said that
1 the thirteenth amendment should be sub
/ of the late Confederacy. and should be
| ratified by the Legislatures of three
! fourths of all the States; otherwise the
! amendment would always be questioned
| and questionable"
To rAtify Or reject isst an s92eRaimeP 2o Re
stitutionaI function. which cab be exer-
cised only by states in the Union
State Governments Repudiated.
| Congress now. however. passed joint
resolution over the Presidents veto
!.FIeming's History of Reconstruction"
1919, repUdiating or refusing to recognize
| the governments organized under the
proclamations of Lincoln and johnson.
and appointed a joint committee of fif-
| teen OF which Thaddeus stephens on
| the part of the House. and VIM Pitt
| Fessenden. on the part of the Senate
were chairn1en, to enquire into the condt-
| lions in the late Confederate States; to
| report which. If any. of these States were
| entitled TO representation in either House
of Congress- and refused to admit Tt 10
| either House of Congress a member from
any of these States until the Committee
| should report faVourably upon such ad-
| mission. All matters affecting these
States were now referred TO this Com
mittee.
| Now began a carnival Of crime against
| Constitutional liberty. disregard and braz-
| en- violations of the plainest Constitu-
| tiOnal provisions. and of plShted faith
| to the Southcrn States. which for turpi-
| tude stands unparalleled in history. The
| Chamber of Deputies of the French Ma
! tional Assembly. in 1898. possessed a high
| degree of political virtue and morality as
| compared with the Congress OF the United
| States during this and the Immediately
| preceding and succeeding periods. J quote
from an address delivered by Hon. a.
! Capperton Braxton before the Virginia
| Bar Association.
'.In justification of its action. in re
pudia ting the reconstructed governments
| erected in the South BY Presidents Lin
| coin and Johnson. it behOoVed Congress
| to show that those EovernmentS were
| disloyal and dangerous TO the Union: that
| they were but the TeCTudeSence OF the
rebel element-in short. to diScredit them
| with the Northern people in every posi-
| mittee on Reconstruction addressed ltSeIt
| with Vigor; and unfortunately. the chaotic
| condition of the South Just emerging. as
! it was from A Devastating war. with
nearly five million idle. ignorant. Naga-
bond. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS slaves TO be as
| simulated by the body polite. AFFORDED but
too much material for criticism The
Joint Committee on Reconstruction began
| to take testimony on the condition of the
| States lately in rebellion. and soon be-
! came the mecca of all dissat l'tef efe-
ments in the S~dl----I ~ fehturers;
then known ~ carpet hagEers. who had
| followed ~ Union armies there. We're
quick toy grasp the Holucal opportunity
der. if they could but succeed in dis
franchising the white native men and
| enfranchiSing the Negroes. whom they
found they could readily control These
| carpet baggers-. therefore, at once allied
| themselves with tn" Eorthern Negro SUI
fragists, and in H." shape oi evlHence
construction. Furnished their Northern al
lies with ample ammunition for their 20
| Thus the Northern heart was fired.
the hands of Congress wee -tTeil- thene'.'
and the efforts Of tn" t!'Sldent 20 H!l-
hold the Federal Constitution ~ the south
| were successfully represented to the
country as a traitOrOUs cooperation with
southern rebels The country was as
sured that, TO al intents and purposes,
the Negroes were ti7e only loyal clement Is
in the South; for Congress vel knew tla'
!
'carpet-bag' allies that it could look in
the South for supporters or Its roilcE.
The laws adODted in various southern
States to regulate vagrancy and prevent
the newly enfranchiSed slaves from ne-
coming tramDS by the hundreds OF thou
sands were represented as yelled at
temptS to re-enSIaVe them
The 1Ath. Amendment
In June. 1866. Congress proposed the
fourteenth amendment 10 the ConSItu-
ton which among other things raised
the Negro to citizenship ana disqualified
a ma jority Of the leading citizens OF the
seeding states including a large number
of distinguished citizens OF these states
to whom amnesty had been extended ny
the Presidents proclamations Of May %
| 1855 and of December ;. 1883, with ex-
, plicit authority from Congress by the
Act of July Is, 1852. O2Jh Statutes al
Large. 5s9l and disqualified others tC
whom the President had extended par
dons, in pursuance Of his UnouestioneC