Year: 1868

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government shall be organized the re, 70
be admitted again into the Union and TO
be restored again to the federal rights,
that government, thus formed, is new
government. rs much as though the peo-
pie of Georgia had never had govern
ment whatever. What difference can it
make, for instance, with this power Of
Congress to admit State government
and to frame government, whether the
people WAC are to be admitted have once
had gosernm ent which they nave de-
stroyed, or whether they never had
government. G


For instance, we have, west OF the
Rocky Mountains, so many square miles
of territory, and so many citizens of the
United States born in the country. We
say, "Those people are our people; that
soil is our soil, and they are entitled to
our protection" The Government of
the United States establishes q terrific
rial government there, and protects them
until such time as they come to proper
condition to be admitted as State, in
full communion, into the Union.


Now, this power and Jurisdiction of
Congress to do this thing grows out Of
this fact, simply-that if our citizens
are dwelling in compact community,
upon our soil, without local government
iit is of no consequence how that state
Of things is brought about-whether it
is because they moved there and never
had government, or because they have
been there and once had government
and destroyed it); if they are our peo
pie, dwelling upon our territory, and
have no government, the United States
is bound to put q civil government
there. ft


AT this point the grand torch light
procession filed into the square and
the speaker suspended his remarks for a
few moments, resuming as follows:1


Ihave forgotten precisely where was
addressing the world before the rest of
mankind came in; but I believe had
got through with saying what proposed
to in reference to the power of Congress
to admit new States, and claimed that
that covered the entire ground, and
gave Congress the constitutional power
to reconstruct State government for
Georgia. Suppose, for the sake of
argnn ent, that we admit what the Dem
ocrats claim, that Georgia never was
oa1 of the Union, and that her territory
aud people remaining in the Union-as
we conceded they always did, because
they could not get out-that therefore
she is to be regarded as a State of the
Union. The Constitution provides that
the United States shall guarantee to eve
ry State a republican form of govern
ment. Now, if Georgia was not State
OF the Un'ol she was State without
any government whatever, consequently
she had no republican form of State
government; and Congress was called
upon, in its capacity of legislating and
executing that power, to take the proper
steps to put a republican form of State
government in Georgia. This guarantee
of the Constitution was intended to Sc
cure to the Union republican form of
government for such State without re-
ference to the wishes of the people of a
particular State. In New York, for in


stance, to morrow should call a conyen
ton. and change her form of govern
ment from republican to monarchical
government, it would be the duty of
Congress to interfere, because the Con-
stitution makes it the duty of the United
States to Sc. to it that there is a
republican form Of government for them
in New York; ind, if she should call
convention to abolish the form Of gov
ernment, and resolve herself back into
her original condition, so much soil, and
SO many people without any government
whatever, Congress, in this case, would
be compelled to take particular steps to
put State government there for the
State Of New York, because the Consti
tuition has imposed this duty upon the
General Governments; and the Constitu
tion has provided that Congress shall
pass all laws necessary to execute all the
powerswhichthe Constitution has confer
red upon the United States. This has been
so frequently decided by the Supreme
Court Of the United States-so clearly
has it been announced by Chief Justice
Gardner especially, in the Rhode Island
case, as it is called, reported in Seventh
Howard, where he distinctly lays down
the doctrine that it is the province of
Congress and Congress alone, to deter
mine whether the form Of government is
republican. It must also have the power
to say VIII eth er there il A yovorpn, art tb a..