Year: 1866

humiliating memories Of the war the daily
tearing open of old wounds and twitting
and sneering and taunting our conquered
opponents with all things that may tend to
exasperate their anger and perpetuate their
hales What can any mortal expect from
such treatment but perpetual alienation
And what is the meaning Of the condition
which their official act imposes if not in
definite exclusion of some, at least, of the
States ? It's preposterors to presume that
even Congress could suppose that all the
formerly insurgent States would be weak
or dishonest enough to be bribed back into
precarious and inferior seats in the national
councils. For We must notlforget that in
asserting TO the terms Of Congress these
States must acknowledge the constitutional
authority Of the process By which they re-
turn, and be content to sit at the good pleas


ure Of mere majority, and by the authori-
ty Of simple joint resolution OF Con-
gress Of part Of the States, exercising a
power which, to say the least. is not ex-
pressly granted by the Constitution. II
suy noe even rejects the bribe, no alterna'
tive hut permanent subjectin 10 offered by
Congress-. will not spend time in show


ING how entirely withOu; sanction Of any
thing 10 be found in the text of the ;onsti-


tution is the arbitrary offer of conditional
restoration contained 10 the Amendment
and It's enabling statute. Only to read
them in the light of the tenth article Of


Amend ment to the Constitution Of the U.
nited States. which says expressly that "the


powers not delegated to the United States
are reserved to the States respectively or
to the peopie,r would seem TO be sufi-
cient negative Of constitutional authority.
Bat the legal bearings Of this extraordinary
proposition have .gbeen fully discussed by
more than one Of the ablest jurists Of the
time. Indeed, the candid and logical Re-
public.na and their honest -pressss aanit
its divergence from the strict letter, but
assert a certain pre-eminent concordance
with the spirit of the Constitution, and they
Justify this lax construction by the old plea


Of necessity and kind Of lndescrlbable re-
served war right in the conqueror IN civil


war to disregard his own constitutional IL


mutations. As to this plea Of necessity, not


to dwell on the patent reflection that no
usurpation or constitutional overture ever
occurred IRON the day Julius Cesar cross
ed the Rubicon to the coup d efcf OF Louis
Napoleon, or the Committee OF Fifteen OF
the last session Of Congress, that did not
strive 10 cover itself under the. broad man.
tie of aIledged necessity, | might we'll De
content to simply deny the iaet o. the ex.
istence Of such necessity. but wiii not
detain YOU now 10 examine the evidence
upon this head, or to analyze this strange
claim Of reserved rights and lurking war
powers, potent 70 retain their force long
after peace is declared. and which are no
where even limited at in the written word
Of our organic law, but will content myself,
tonight, with asking merely what any rea.
sonable man can fairly anticipate wili re.
suit from The proposed process, sopPoslng
il is successfully perfected. Passing over
the strange anomaly OF recognizing these
States, which we have ascertalned oy our
committee 10 be two wicked to be permit
ted to vote upon the simplest matter OF sta
tuie law, nav not even on questions OF n
nance, where surely no human beng. De ne
never so rebeIlious, could well give more
ioolish-or dishonest votes than many OF our
Radical friends, as are still IN the Union,
aud safely reliable, SO far as TO pass upon
The grayest changes in our organic law, and
that Ton under an open bribe ALLOWING all
this for the sake Of the argument, what shall
we gain by our mover Congress says we
shall secure ourselves against another war,
and take new guarantees for peace. But !
confess cannot see how. This idea seems
to me only part Of the general theory so
prevalent with US that statute mas some
sovereign power to change the minds OF
men the same theory which teaches that
intemperance can be abolished by law.
Why, gentlemen. was there any lack OF
constitutional law against secession and re-