Year: 1866

1t was his duty under the law OF ma
tions and the army regulations to re-
store order, to preserve property, and
to protect the people against violence
from any quarter, until provision should
be made by law for their government.
He might, as President, assemble Con-
gress and submit the whole matter to
the law-making power, or he might
continue military supervision and con-
rrol until Congress should assemble on
its regular appointed day. Selecting
the latter alternative, he proceeded, by
virtue of his power as Commander-in-
Chief, to appoint provisional governors
over the revolted States. These were
regularly commissioned, and their COM
pensation was paid, as the Secretary of
War states from the appropriation for
army contingencies, because the duties
performed by the parties were regard
ed as of temporary character, ancilla-
ry to the withdrawal of military force,
the disbandment of armies, and the re-
duction of military expenditure, by pro-
visional organization for the protection
of civil rights, the preservation of peace,
and to take the place of armed force in
the respective States.''


1t cannot, we think, be contended that
these governors possessed or could eX-
ercise any but military authority. They
had no powers to organize civil govern
ments, nor to exercise any authority,
except that which inhered in their own
persons under their commissions. Nei-
ther had the President, as command
er-in-chief, any other than military pow
er. But he was in exclusive possession
of the military authority. 1t was for
him to decide how far he would exer-
else it, how far he would relax it, and
on what terms he would withdraw it.
assemble, and to initiate local govern
they might choose to frame, not incon-
sistent with nor in opposition to the
United States. And, if satisfied that
they might safely be left to themselves,
he might withdraw the military forces
altogether, and leave the people of any
or all Of these Statos to govern them
selves without his interference. In the
language of the Secretary of State, in
his telegram to the provisional govern
or of Georgia, dated Oct. %, 1865, he
might ''recognize the people ofany State


as having resumed the relations of 10y


ality to the Union,' and act, in his mill
tary capacity, on this hypothesis. All


this was within his own discretion, as


militay commander But it was not
for him to decide upon the nature or eff
feet of any system ofgovernment which
the people of these States might see fit
to adopt. This power is lodged by the
Constitution i'll the Congress of the
United States-that branch ofthc Gov
crnment in which is vested the author
ity to fix the political relations of the
States to the Union, whose duty it is
to guarantee to each State republican
form of government, and to protect
each and all of them against foreign or
domestic violence, and against each
other. We cannot, therefore, regard
the various acts of the President in re-
lation to the formation of local govern
ments in the insurrectionary States, and
the conditions imposed bv him upon
their action, in any other light than as
intimations to the people that as Com
mander-in-Chief of the army, he would
consent to withdraw military rule just
in proportion as they should, by their
acts, manifest disposition to preserve
order among themselves, establish gov
ernments denoting loyalty to the Uni
on, and exhibit a settled determination
to return to their legiance-leaving
with the lawmaking power to fix the
the rights and privileges as States of the
power taken by the President is evi-
dent from expressions to that effect in
the communications of the Secretary of
State to the various provisional govern
ors and the repeated declarations of the
President himself Any other supposi-
tion inconsistent with it would impute
to the President designs of encroach-
ment upon a coordinate branch of the
Government, which should not be light
ly attributed to the Chief Magistrate of
the nation.


When Congress assembled in Dec
ember last, the people of most of the
States lately in rebellion had, under
the advice of the President, organized
local governments, and some of them
had acceded to the terms proposed by
him. In his annual message, he stated
in general terms what had been done,
but he did not see fit to communicate
the details for the information of Con-
gress. While in this and in a subse-
quent message the President urged the
speedy restoration of these States, and
expressed the opinion that their condi-
tion was such as to justify their restor-
alton, yet it is quite obvious that Con-
gress must either have acted blindly on
that opinion of the President, or pro-
ceeded to obtain the information requis.
ite for intelligent action on the subject
The impropriety of proceeding wholly
on the Judgment of any one man, how
ever exalted his station, in a matter in
volving the welfare of the Republic in
all future time, or of adopting any plan,
coming from any source, without fully
understanding all its bearings and com
pretending its full effect, was apparent.
The first step, therefore, was to obtain
the required information. A call was
accordingly made on the President for
the information in his possession as to
what had been done, in order that Con-
gress might judge for itself as to the
grounds of the belief expressed by
4. f ~. IL