Year: 1862

'iiNl III Atito hpitus DuL tllld Is OtlI
wisdom and moderation with which we
would invite back to the Union our erring,
our guilty brethren, who havo beon en-
gagged in rebellion against the best Gov
ornment on earth. We are trying to get
them back, and we are wooing them in
this way. The lion has way of wooing
his mate, and this must be somewhat in
the order of that sort of wooing. You
WOO him back, and tell him come back,
and what do you do? Is there anything
of that forgiveness which the prodIgal
son received; anything of that rejoicing
which welcomed his return. 81 have
been guilty; | desire to return to the bo-
som of my country; / have seen Tho
folly Of my ways, and | wish to como
back, and will you not allow me, will
you not invite me?" "Oh. yes, we will;
we are willing to have peace, but we must
first strip you before you como back Of
all you have; we must take from you
your bread and the bread of your wife
aud children" and we take away at one
time, at one moment, and by one decree,
all the means of subsistence, and all the
property, Of five millions Of people,
male, female, children, adults, and all


Such is the BILL To enquire whether
such a measure is against the Constitu.
tion Of the United States, would seem to
be mockcry. Such measure is against
the very instincts Of mankind against
the lessons Of human policy; against all


LESSONS Of Christianity and humanity


Why enquire whether is is against the
Constitution Of the United States? God
and man 50 far as / can read them in
history, have forbidden it; and l think
that, as l have read it, the Constitution
of the United States has also forbidden
it. The Constitution of the United Stetes
has divided the powers of this Govern
ment into three departments, the legisla-
tive, which we are, the judicial, and the
executive; and neither of these are to ex-
ecute the powers distributed to either Of
the others. Here is the great division,
and here is the great security-the leg
is lature to make the rule, the judiciary to
administer, and the Pesident to execute
it. Such is our system. You destroy
that system by this measure. You pass
your bill Of confscation you send for
ward youI own commissioners to carry
the law with them, and they, like tho
ministers of vengeance, follow in the
rear of this bill, and bring up the rear
Of your vengeance by seizing and CON
fiscating without the authority Of any
judge Or jury all this property.


Now, l say the government has for
bidden the exercise Of this power Of con-


fiscation. The Constitution says you
shall pass no bill Of attainder 1t was
enough to mankind that this word should
find a place in the Constitution Of the
United States What is this bill but
a bill of attaindcr? You apply it to
those you consider as criminal, those en-
gagged in rebellion. their aiders and abet-
tors, aud you punish the crime by declar-
ing confscation Of their property
You pass your Judgment, and send your
own officers to execute it. This is bill
of attainder. The Constitution did not
use the word in any technical sense
We should abuse the power Of construc-


tion by refusing to consider this as the
enunciation of great principles; and
that principle is, you are too powerful,
by the Legislative power which is given to
you, to have also added to you the power
of Judgment. You cannot administer
your own laws. That would make you
despot. You shall only pass laws,
and those laws shall undergo a super
vision and judgment of the judicial tri-
bunal before they reach the people.


That is the security between your
powers and the rights and safety of the
people. Do you not pass by all that
here, aud pass by it by very sweeping
denunciation, a very sweeping sacrifice, a
very presumptious prescription of all
sexes, of all ages, and execute your own
Judgment? Then it is a bill of attain
der; and that is the principle of this bill.


do not wish to prolong these remarks.
What have said, have said in no spirit
of controversy, hut with deep and SOL
emn conviction that the country demands
that every man shall give the best counsel
he can, and that all our counsels together
are not more than sufficient to meet the
great exegencies of the time in which we
live. We want peace, then. Peace is
cheap at any price we can pay for it.
We want peace and unity. Our armies
are victorious we have the prospect of a
speedy termination of actual hostilities,
and our task begins. What is that .
Not to tear open old wounds not to
make new wounds not to make whole
people by millions desperate and paupers.
That is not our business. No, sir. If
we fulfill the glory of our Constitution,
and meet the great responsibility which
is upon US, our duty will be to heal up
the wounds Of this sad war, and to re-
store the Union and the laws.


Public Justice may demand sacrifice
of a few of the leaders who have insti-
gated this rebellion but as to the pun
ishmcnt Of the mass Of the people, let US
leave that to Heaven alone. We cannot
do it. If we were to take their lives,
their blood would stain every acre of land
from Massachusetts, to Texas. We can
not do it To take their property would
only be inferior in point of severity to
toking their lives, if Shakespeare is right
in saying, "he who takes from me that
whereon live. takes from me my lilo"
BY taking their property and their bread
you condemn them to starvation. Ouv
business now is to heel and pacify; our
business is once more to consolidate this
great Union and all its people into one
great and mighty nation, to make pro
gress together in full brotherhood, and to
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