Year: 1866

HON. r.. p. BUCKLAND,
Delivered in the United States House O
Representatives, March oath, 1856.


Mr.. BUCKLAND. Mr. Speaker, thii
is joint resolution, and if passed by Con
gres will require the approval of the Pres
ident, and is founded upon the principle
that it requires the action of the legisla
tive power of the Government to admit
representation into the Congress of the
United States from States which have been
in rebellion against the national Govern.
ment. Is not this enough, at least as re-
CARDS Tennessee? 1t seems to me that
every one really desirous of recognizing
the present loyal government of Tennes-
see by admitting her Senators and Repre-
sentatives into Congress, ought to be salts
fed with this resolution or something like
it. Those who desire to keep Tennessee
out indefinitely may consistently vote for
the committees resolutions in their present
shape, for whatever the intention of their
authors may have been, the practical effect
of the passage of these resolutions must
be to keep the Tennessee Representatives
out of Congress during the present ses-
sion. If the President should approve
them, they cannot 60 into effect until the
Legislature of Tennessee complies with
the required conditions, and there is nc
telling how much time that will require,
as there cannot be quorum of the Leg
islature until some time in April.


We have already declared that Senators
and Representatives shall not be admitted
into either branch from any of the States
lately in rebellion until Congress shall
have declared such State entitled to rep
resentation. 1 am willing to go still fur
ther, and say that the right of representa-
ton must be restored to these States by
force of law, by act of Congress approved
by the President; but in passing such an
act l am not willing to raise any unneces-
sary issues, OF present to the President for
his approval any gentleman's theories as
to whether these States are in or out Of
the Union, or whether they are States or
Territories, or whether the present govern
ment of Tennessee, and the acts perform
ed by it, are void for the want of the as
sent of Congress. There is no necessity
for presenting these issues in the case Of
Tennessee. Nothing can be gained by it,
but much may be lost. If we believe
what the committee say, that "the people
of Tennessee are found to be in a condi-
ton to exercise the functions of State
within this Union," and have organized a
government republican in form and not in
consistent with the Constitution of the
United States, which proclaims and de-
notes loyalty to the Union, and we have
faith in the loyal people of Tennessee that
they will prove true to the Union as they
have done heretofore, then let us pass an
act or resolution in plain terms, stripped
of all unnecessary and useless issues and
theories, and of all unnecessary and hu-
initiating conditions, declaring the facts,
and that the State is entitled to represen-
tation in the Congress of the United States.
If the President refuses his approval of
such measure the responsibility of keep
ing Tennessee out will be fairly upon him,
and for one l am willing to 60 before the
country upon the issue. But sit, l am
not willing to vote for aresolution declaring
that the State of Tennessee is a Territory
that the State is out of the Union, or that
the present State government, and all acts
done by its authority, are null and void,
and do not believe that Congress will be
sustained or justified in unnecessarily pre-
senting these issues.


There is much less difficulty in agreeing
upon practical measures than upon partic-
ufar theories, and therefore, if harmony
among the true friends of the Union is
desirable, it can be best promoted by
avoiding, in every measure, all unnecessary
issues, all useless theories, and, in short,
everything not necessary for that particu-
lar measure, leaving every measure to
stand or fall upon its own merits. The
country wants less theorising and more
practical legislation. Let us try Tennes-
see first. If she proves faithless, then we
may well doubt all the other States. If
we cannot trust such true Union soldiers
as Colonels Stokes and Hawkins, and such
men as Maynard and Brownlow and others,
who are known to have been true from the
beginning to the end of the war, then we
may as we'll say at once that we will not
trust any citizen of these States, no mat
ter how faithful he has been to the nation
al cause, no matter how faithfully and well
he has served in the Union Army.


Mr.. Speaker, great pains have been ta-
ken to convince the loyal public that the
people of the South are not acting in good
faith toward the Government of the Uni
ted States, and that they are even now
preparing to take advantage of the first
favorable opportunity to renew the war.
That there are some men in all of those
States who entertain such sentiments and
purposes, have no doubt. 1t would be
wonderful, indeed, if there were not. 1t
would form an exception in the history of
civil wars and in the history of human ma
ture itself Nodoubt there are men there,
as there are elsewhere, whose importance
or prominence in public life depends upon
keeping up civil commotion or sectional
strife, and who will make use of every op-
portunity and pretext for prejudicing and
infaming the public mind; but they are
comparatively few in number. l fully be-
lieve, sir, that the great mass of thesouth-
ern people are submitting to the Govern
ment in good faith, and desire to live in
peace as American citizens, and to have
restored to them the rights and privileges
of American citizens; and do not be-
lieve they can be deceived or driven into
another rebellion except by such acts of
oppression as would drive any people to
desperation.


Take, sir, candid survey of the whole
southern people and the circumstances
which have brought them to their present