Year: 1868

community to the Constitution anC


Union of the Unites States. By so do
ing they created, in legal contemplation
a new Government as much as they


would in the case which l have suppo
sed of their calling a convention ant
framing a new Government with new


officers.


The Government which they created by
taking the old Constitution and moldlnt
it to their views, was no Government


which had been in the Union from th'
adoption of the Constitution. 1t was NJ
constitutional Government in any sense
but only an organization in deadly an
tagonism to the the Constitution of the
United States, and under that Constl
tuition the people of Georgia organized
and gave their voluntary allegiance te
that State Government, went into the
Southern Confederacy and levied wal
upon the United States.


Well, after while, the war came out
just as every man who belives God sits
ON his throne, and prefers truth to false
hood, Justice to injustice, liberty to sla.
very, might have predicted it would
come out. 1t came out with triumph
of all good things over all bad things
Loud applause. And our armies
swept everything before them, and de-
molished every cradle and stronghold OF
treason and rebellion, and they planted
our flag in old and time-honored places
after sweeping away the rebel armies,
and after sweeping away the rebel
States they swept away everything that
was part and parcel of rebellion, every
instrumentality, every agency, and eve
ry means by which traitors had sought
to levy war upon the Government; and
these revolutionary State Governments
We're the principal agency for that war.
Now, then, what was the consequence 2
They had had a Government in the
Union from the organization of the
Union down to 1860. They had destroy
ed that. They had set up in its Llace a
revolutionary, Illegal, Unconstitutional
Government, which had been in exis-
tence until Grant swept that away.


Then they will be without any State
Government whatever. The old Gov
ernment they had destroyed and the
new Government we had destroyed
They were without any Government
[Applause. Now what uas their con
ditiOn? The soil of Georgia was still a
part of the dominion of the United
States; the people of Georgia were still
citizens of the United States. They had
thrown off no part of the duty which
they owed to the Union. The Union
had lost or forfeited no part of its power
over them. They were still so many
square miles, and so many American
citizens, without local Government
Now, msnifestly, the first step after war
ended was for somebody to establish a
loc"l Government there. This brings
us to the question-Who shall do that
The Democrats say THE people of the
State shall do it," The Democrats say
that the people of Georgia had got their
hand in making Governments-they
had experimental upon the subject [de-
risive laughter], they had peculiar and


pecial knowledge. (Laughter.] They
had demolished the old Union State
revolutionary Government they had
built Southern Confederacy, and over
that they flung out its Haunting rag i'm
rivalry with the star spangled banner OF
America; and they shodld form this
State Government for Georgia.


Now there are two theories, one or the
other of which must be true. The South
ern theory of the situation is that the
edict of secession, passed by Georgia,
took her out of the Union, and out OF
the limits of the Federal dominions.-
Upon this theory, when we conquered
that State, her soil and her people were
as subject to the absolute will of the
conquerer as would be the soil and peo-
pie on conquered Mexico, or any other
foreign power subdued by our army. If
this was their condition, then it was not
for them to say whether they would
have State Government or not; it was
not for them to say whether they would
ever belong to the Union or not as an
independent State. 1t was for us to say.
1t was for the conquerOr to dictate terms
to the conquered-net ior the conquered
to dictate terms TO the conqueror. T'You
are right.'l Then, upon their theory,
Georgia had no more right to establish a
State Goverement, TO come back into
the Union than the people of Mexico
had right to demand admission into
the Union when Scott planted his STAN
dard on the halls of the MOntazHma.


Again, the other theory is-the North
ern theory is-the constitutional theory
is-that ordinance of secession was a
nullity; that it was no protection to the
rebels of the South; and although we
chose, as we had right to do, to exer-
else as against them beligerent rights
the rights and power of a sovereign peo-





Quired by the ordinance of secession no
privilege and no protection.


What is the result of that doctrine p
The result of that doctrine is that when
the war ended they We're so snany SUBJ
dued and conquered traitors, taken. in
crime, taken with the blood upon their
garments. Sensat!on.l They have for
feited life, liberty, property, civil gov
ernment and everything that belongs to
u man. Great applause; cries, that's
sow You. have got it"'1


Upon this theory, very clearly, the
people of Georgia had no right to form
government and say it had right to
come back int the Union. Now, don't
care which theory the Democratic party
takes for the purpose of this argument,
because either one cuts their throat
from ear, to ear. [Great applause and



There is, then, an end to this pretext
that Georgia could settle this question.
Rebels may say when war shall begin,
how it shall begin, how it shall oe man
aged, but the Government must say how
it shall end [cheers. ['That's the idean
Applause. 1t is about time, after hun
dreds and thousands of lives have been
we have baptized and
fertilized that rebel sell with the best
blood of the land-it is about time that
some man had the courage and the
nerve, and the good sense, to stand UP
and talk the truth upon this subject.
[Sensation, applause and cheers.


1t is clear, then, that Georgia could
hot reconstruct a Government without
our consent. Now, the only party in
terested is the Government of the Uni
ted States. They, as rebel States, could
not do it. The General Government
must do it.


And, then, we come to consider the
further question. How? By what de-
partment, and through what depart
ment, and through what department
and agency the United States shall act
to the end of establishing these State
And this brings us to
The question upon which none of the de-
partments of the Government have ev-
er held different opinions. The Supreme
Court of the United States, the Presi-
lant nf fba ITpifad StataS tho Cnpnraoo