Year: 1866

/ IlOUSE-lno IlOuSo 5tl dS III Ill COlil
mittee of the Whole on the state of tn,
Union, the only business being genera
debate on the Presidents annual mes
sage.


Mr.. Hogan, of Missouri, addressed TIT
House. He characterized this session
as the session of magazine articles, pre-
rared and spoken by the members ani
published in the Globe to such an ex
tent that that publication exceeded by
three or four hundred pages the qnan
tity published in the corresponding pc
riod of the first session Of the last Con
gress, What beneficial purposes had all
these essays contributed With the ex
ception of five or six, or perhaps dozen
of them, there was not solitary new
idea presented by them. They were but
a mere repetition of what had been said
By others; theverbiage had been changed
| the ideas were the same These speeches
might be almost regarded as law, for
they had had their first, second and
third readings The principal topic OF
all these speeches was the American cit
| izen Of African descent. He believed
| there was a great deal of mistaken
philanthropy and sympathy for the
oolored people when they were in
slavery, He proceeded to show from
personal experience that the slaves OF
! the South had not had very bad time
of it.


This part of his speech brought ont a
series of questions from Messrs. Price,
| Plants and Morris.


Mr. Hogan's answers showed that he
believed slavery to be wrong; that he
was glad that it was eXtirpated; that he
believed the democratic party could not
die while liberty lived, and that all decla,
nation about the negro was a great
wrong perpetrated on Congress and the
American people.


Passing then to the re-disscussion of
the reconstruction question, Mr. Hogan
proceed to show the inconsistency of the
present policy of the Republican party
with the action OF Congress throughout
the war in the adoption Of resolutions
in reference to the objects Of the war,
&c, in the admission to seats OIL the
foor of persons claiming to be repre-
sentatiyes from Tennessee and Lonisi
ana, and in other matters of general leg
islation. Much of the argument at this
session had been against the President
| OF the United States He had been de
nounced and abused because his policy
was sustained by democrats in the
| House, not because he was nominated
aud elected as democrat and because
he was Southern man Democrats Sis
tanned him from patriotic motives


Mr Baldwin of Mass, was the next
speaker. He had not sympathized, he
5ot1 NTH tho 1aoI Irx-b Oh bo1 Ionp
exhibited for restoring the insurgent
States to their place III the Union. after
their armies had surrendered. He
thought the effort premature 1t seemed
to him that the work should have been
undertaken without haste, and with
very great deliberation. He thought it
should have waited till the mad passion
had subsidized till the whole nation had
been made to feel that treason was
crime; till the policy to be pursued
| with traitors had been settled until
time developed in those southern com
Innnities such elements Of reconstruction
as would have made 1t successful and
until that black and bloody spirit Of
batfied treason had been changed and
| purified by the TRANSPORTATION Of such a
returning love for the old flag and for
rhe honor and glory of the republic as
would have brought all the semblance
OF genuine loyalty. He cordially ap
proved Of the joint resolution reported
from the Reconstruction Committee
relating to the theme. so far az it assert
Ell or implied the absolute authority OF
Congress over question OF that charac
ter but the resolution was not quite
free from objection in another aspect
1t had not been presented in the best
form. He thought it could be much i'm
proved by making it more direct A por
tnn OF its language is liable to mislead
many people. He feared that the reso-
intion resolving that the State of Ten.
nessee is hereby declared to be one Of the
| United States Of America, on an equal
footing with the other States, would be
understood by many to imply that Ten
nesse was now out of the Union He felt
sure no such meaning was intended. but
the language was liable TO mscOnstruc.
ton, and shonld not be used in resoln
tion of such Importance He thought
the resolution might be improved by
striking ont the words he had quoted,
and insttuting tor them something like
The following:


Resolved, That the state OF Tennes
see is hereby declared to be satsfacto
| rily reorganized, and in fit condition
to re establish her old relations with the
Government and resume her representa-
tion in Congress


He held that not an acre of laui IN
the Southern region had ceased for a
moment to be under the national SOY.
ereiguty. No assumptions OF proceed,
ines of treason had repealed the act OF
Congress by which certain specified ter
ritory was declared to be the State OF
Tennessee The pestilent doctrine of Sc
cession must be declared as null and
void by the men who conspired against
the government, and who were still uu
changed in spirit Such men as had
been described in the testimony of Gen
Thomas should be compelled to stand
back. No mesmeric charm of expedien
cy could hide the overwhelming fact
that the admission of such men into thu
ceunsels Of the nation would be a crime


more damnable than treason itself
There should be no system of recon
struction that was not founded on tht
protection and security Of the property
of the Union men of the South, and o
the colored freedmen the latter should
have the ballot, which contained won


derful power Of protection, and thi
would only be return to the old pTac
tice of the country, for at the time o
) the revolution it was only in two States
Georgia and South Carolina, the coloret