Year: 1867

THE FORTIETH CONGRESS.


While many sur:nises are INDUCED
in as to the result of the present attempt
TO reconstruct the Federal Union on a
secure and lasting basis and a universal
desire exists for n speedy settlement of
the estrangement now existing between
the North and South, as we'll as the three
respective heads of the Government we
are apt TO overlook the magnitude of the
work the many and diverse interests
involved, and that to harmonize all
these requires time, talent, patience and
unremitting effort. The question is one
upon which there is no precedent fthe
past TO base present action; and the
Constitution is as void of any explicit
instructions to guide in the adjustment
of the difficulties with which the prob
lem is now surrounded, as it was claimed
by the insurgents to be in authorizing a
resort TO coercion on the part of the
central governments, when they saw fit
10 withdraw their respective States from
their allegiance. Such being the case,
il rested with Congress either to pass a
law upon compliance with which the
States might be restored to their former
relations with the government; or to
prepare a series of amendments which,
being ratified by three-fourths of the
States, would become an incorporate
part of the Constitution, and furnish an

authority upon which to base subsequent
legislation. The latter was chosen as
the most acceptable method to all con-
cerned and after months required to
devise and perfect them, five amend
ments were submitted by the committee
and passed the Senate 33 to II and the
House 13S to 80. These amendments
contained nothing humiliating to the
South, and the door was opened by
which it could return to representation
and all the privileges of the North. The
first guarantees the right of citizenship
mot suffrage) to all persons born or nat
uralized in the United States. The sec
ond bases the representation from each
State upon the number of its enfran-
ohised citizens. The third prohibits
persons who have held office under the
federal government and afterwards en-
gagged in the attempt to overthrow it,
from holding any political office unless
Congress shall remove or modify the dis
ability. The fourth requires the repudia-
tion of the rebel, and prohibits repudi-
alton of the national debt. The fifth
empowers Congress to enforce these guar
antees by appropriate legislation. These
have been rejected, and the great work
must again begin. 1t will probably now
be presented in the form of an enact
ment containing the same general prin-
ciples set forth in the amendments.
There is already in the hands of the
committees more business than the pre-
sent session can complete. The necessity
for action is imperative, and the emer-
gency is met by the novel idea of assem-
bling the Fortieth Congress on the 4th
of March instead Of the following Decem-
Der. The authority for doing this is
plainly conferred in the fourth section
of article first of the Constitution, as
follows


The Congress shall assemble at least once in
every year and such meeting shall be on the hrst
Monday Of December, unless they shall 6y t0U oP-
poiVt different day"


Whether we shall have a delegate
there or not, depends upon the receiving
Of instructions from Washington. The
acting Governor will, on the receipt of
these instructions, either assume the
responsibility of ordering an election, or
call together the Legislature, upon
whom the duty properly devolves.