Year: 1864

consideration Of the bill to establish Bureaufor Freed


Mr. KNAPP. Of Illinois. made speech in opposition to
the BILL He said that the urged in its favor were
that the negroes had been freed by the Executive powers


that no power earth cOnld reensave them that they
must not be permitted to sarve and that with law or
without law the Government must take Of them
This CLASS Of people had been denomnated the children
Of the GoverDment" He argued at length against this
theory desiring 70 know when thi. parental would
chip at slf Whence the powerf He argued that
there was power under the Constitution and even
under the war power TO authorize & :uch measure Why
the widows and orphans made by the war; II you enroll
the negro the army do By him you did by Others
him b: and seo soS M % i.s q


large body Of oicers 10 the rebel States and nothing
threatened the extinction Of the republican system Of gov
nv %sos I. n1 q afss e1oy 81
tho ability to maintain themselves. II they show that
they in every respect men, they will MAINTAIN their
position as reemen But all history teaches that if they
cannot show this the weak must always bend and 90
down before the stronger.


Mr.. PRICE, Of Iowa, advocated the bill. 1t opened
he said field for legislation. In this trial hour Of
the Republic surrounded by facts and such
fathers dreamed not Of such before exist
cd, we were without precedeRts to guide This
wicked rebellion, forced upon against will, had
upheaved aud unsettled the foundations of society and
thrown ts component parts into chaotic wildness and
forced upon the necesry of reorganization. This
requires action The bill proposes simply an organ-
d
aud snew energy of the black who have made
free by the fortunes Of Only this, and nothing
more. The stock 10 trade of these people consists al
most entirely of muscle. Their manner Of life here
tofore has not been favorable mental development and
business education. They must have assistance now
that their stock in trade may be made available and
whether 1t shall be DONE but how shall it be done He
argued that the negro would not disappear the Indian
and said that while the latter rowing unsettled and
vicious the former was domestic and copied the virtues
,uaIIo viNa afth ha uhitk ma han h,
reau he said is to be established because the abolition of
slavery has set free thousands Of persons who having
heretofore abored for Others must be directed how
they to help themselves.


Mr. PENDLETON, of Ohio, argued that Congress had
no power pass this bill Its e, ads had given up this
the strongest point in the IT. he sad there lis no
constitutional power to pass this BILL the fact that it costs
nothing makes the nfracton none the less If there
constitutional power pass then there power to in
all the expense necessary to carry into m operation
The effect of the proclamation of emancipation ts autho
ry have nothing to do with this question: agree with
the gentleman from Maryland Mr. DAVIs) that no law
yer whose opinion ia worth having thinks IT worth more
than the paper which it Is written. The power of the
Fedaral armies may be bought into requision to give t
validity. Test oaths unconstitutional in themselves and
exorted condition precedent to the enjoyment any
civil right may give it some sort of eect but of itself IL
s utterly void it ID Illegal it s of authority it ought
never to have been issued ii ought be mmedatey
called il has freed sing slave it never will But
that not the question here 1t is not remotely
v0ived. Ni F-ara sW 4tsNsf o to ~ 'a al9 .le


We have within our lines now Ave hundred thousand
men, and children who actually freed by tho
chances of The number increases daily They
sst of slaves who have away from their masters
slaves who have been made cspves ny troops They
are oil free sctuay free legally free and will never be
enssved 1t s in behalf of these that appeals have
been made to We told they sTe poor without
food except Government ratons without clothes except
clothing; without houses homes and with
out knowledge enough to take of themselves and
provide for their families. We are not told but it is fire
quenty alluded to in the various reports of those who
looked into this subject that they long the repose
and quiet Of their old homes and the care Of their
ters that freedom has not been to them the promise
boon that even thus it has proven itself 70 be life
of torture, ending only in certain and speedy death


We have not the power to pass the bill If we had ts
exercise would destroy our best hopes for restoration OF
our Union My objections to the bill are radical will
only pause to point you to the officers created by tho
commissioner, eight ten assistant commissioners and
needu superntenden and clerks 10 carry into operation
this complicated mach wherever it may get foot
hold will only suggest the powers yoo give
to another Of these officers. They shall have
power to decide all questions arising under any law here
tofore hereafter be enacted persons
African descent whether they have been slaves


and all persons who have may become Free ar IN any
wise entitled 10 their freedom They shall have power to
assign to the freedmen all lands which have been at any
time abandoned though they may be occupied
their owners and to advise and aid them organize and
direct their labor adjust their wages aud abate their
quarrels. Extraordinary powers indeed Were such
entrusted to and not abused1 Nor will remind
gentlemen that this very difficulty was frequently foreold
that the ncspacty of the negro to take Of himself
oen alluded to- and that you always ridcued the
idea Nevertheless these questions here for so


ucn and the care Of the negro bids fair be as trouble
some in the future bis emsncpston has been in the
past


But pass to another consideration am one OF those
who still hope for restoration OF the Union not the
unity Of territory only, but the maintenance Of the
Union under the Constitution. hope that we may main
tain the Int gritty Of system Of the sys
tenn Of confederation the system whose foundation is
Staae rights The Constitution s compact Of govern.
ment made by sovereign States which assigns the Fed
eral Government It's powers and duties and reserves all
others to the States and people It's foundation that all
power not granted s reserved all duties not specifically
enoined forbidden The duties Of the Federal Gov
few and simple They relate to foreign aI
fairs and matters Of general and universal interest Its
powers intended TO he limited also To the States
committed all matters Of local concern and the oa
Of the rights and liberties OF all their ctzens Their re-
served powers very large Our fathers
thought this the very hidden Of their sysem They
thought they had discovered 10 this the philosophers stone
OF government And they had 1t was the beauty and
the pride Of our system IL secured to liberty it se
cured TO prosperity il secured us self government
abandoned Since then have had war aud misery and
tyranny but forbear.


Build up the system proposed By this BILL and You will
have established In the heart OF each State that which will
the very strongest obstacle against s return Ia Lb
Union the basis Of the old Constitution Establish il
firmly, and you will have in each State settlement Of ne
grocs sup"rintended by your officers more difficult Of
either by the Federal Government or by The
State than the Indians in Georgia which will either
draw the Federal Government into the performance T
State duty will harass and annoy and embttr the A.
GERS Of the State 10 the performance OF it themselves


have said nothing, sir, of State institutions They
may perish. They are but for time Tbeir duration