Year: 1863

upon the subject ofeiections set aside. 50 that
the voting might be as Illegal the unsettled
and licentiuus spirit of the times might dictate.


Sir. the two prOclamatons Of Gen Shepley
overthrow the whole system OF elections and rep
resentatiOn in the State OF Louisiana. submit
to my candid friend from Ohio. Mr.. HarrisoH,
what could be more complete than the utter
overthrow Of the Constitution and the laws on
the subject Of elections by this Military Governor;
first. by superseding the Constitution. and usurp-
ing the powers ami duties Of civil Governor; and
next, by proclamation setting aside the law which
required the registration of voters


Under these circumstances a certain number Of
votes were cast; whether they were legal votes or
not the law which protected the purity of the
ballot boxes being nulli6ed by the stroke OF a
pen, we cannot say. And under these circum-
stances il is gravely urged that these men are en-
titled TO seats upon this floor.


Mr.. Speaker, have said more, by far. than I
intended Al desired 10 30 was simply 10 call the
attention of the House, 6rst, TO the proposition
which made in the opening. that il this State is
your State; il il is vet member OF this unbrok-
en- Union, according to the construction of nearly
every gentleman upon this floor; if il is not
foreign power, you cannot--n0t merely the Ex.
ecutive cannot-but you cannot, Congress can
not, no power known TO the Government can,
supplant or do away with its laws in exercising





foreign Government. it would be different. As
it is part Of our own Government. the point /
insist upon is that We should leave her alone
until you receive representation here as the Off
spring of her own system OF laws, and not by vr-
tue of any emanaton of Executive authority.
Until the people of Louisiana, protected. it may
be, by military power. in a peaceful condition,
tome forward and resunect the State Gov
ernment, and 10y virtue Of their own laws OF their
own making. send Representatives here, they
must go uurepresented.


insist. further. that II you surrender this great
power to the Executive. as our armies move on
you will have more Military Governors You
have one now IN North Carolina; yeu have one ia
Tennessee; YOU have one in Arkansas. and. per-
haps. one in Texas; and men will come here who
are the choice of nobody who have no consttu-
ents to represent, and though may have thirteen
thousand votes for myself, though some here NAV
have twenty thousand votes, yet one vote. the
vote of the Executive operating through Mill
tary Governor, can send men here TO carry out
executive designs, defeat the popular will. aud
thus totally overthrow system of govern
ment


Let the advocates of this monstrous doctrine
beware. Let me say 10 them that their power is
not the longest nor the most stable. You do not
expect to carry the next Presidential election.
We do; and We do not want system made to
our hands like this. Remember that your day IL
drawing near the close, and that which you may
seek to exercise for temporary purposes. while
you yet linger in power for the destruction Of
political opponents. or as a power upon which the
Executive is to ride through this Hall triumph
ant may all come back to haunt you hereafter;
may come back TO disturb YOU il now disturbs
Us. AS for me. for all times and under al cir.
cumstances. now and forever. 1 repudiate all
these designs which conceive to be fatal TO the
Constitution of my country. 10 the Independence
and freedom of this House and 70 the liberties g
the people.