Year: 1866

OF tne most common acts passed by legls-
lative bodies when there is no meAttion as
to what the law is, for the greater certain
ltyF 1t is the most common thing in the
world to pass a statute declaring its OBJ
tject. My opinion is-and such was the
lopinion of the Attorney General and the
present Secretary of State; such was the
opinion of Mr.. Lincoln's administration in
all its departments, and such / believe to
be the prevailing opinion in the United
States, that all native-born persons not
subjects of foreign powers, are by virtue
of their birth, citizens of the United
States; but some disputed this; hence for
greater certainty, it is proposed to pass
this law.


1t is now made an objection to the pas
sage Of the law, and reason given by the
President, which we cannot approve, be-
cause it is declaratory act. But if such is
not the law, says the President, grave
question presents itself, whether, when
eleven of the thirty-six States are unrepre-
sented in Congress at the present time,
it is sound policy to make our entire color
ed population, and all other excepted clas-
ses, citizens of the United States. This is
a standing objection, not urged, it seems,
against all bills; for the President tells us
in this message that he has signed some
forty bills that have been presented to him.
Why is it made an objection to this bill?
/ The President states no objection as ap-
plicable to this particular bill, it is a gen
eral objection that he makes applicable
alike to all bills; but if there is ANYTHING
in it, no bill can pass the Congress of the
United States until these States are repre-
sented. Well, Sir, whose fault is it that
| eleven States are not represented! Whose
fault is it that twenty-five loyal States,
which have stood by the Union and the
Constitution, are TO be deprived of their
right to legislate! Sir, it is not the fault
of the twenty-five. If the fact of some
States having rebelled against the Gov
ernment is to take from the Government
the right to legislate, why, Sir, then the
criminal is to take advantage of his crime,
and the innocent are to be punished for
the guilty. Within few days the Presi-
dent has issued proclamation, out of
place, as the Senator from Nevada (Stew-
art) seems to suppose, not that the rebel
lion is over, but that in certain States it is
over.


The President does not tell us that Tex
as, one of the States that were in rebel
lion, is in condition to be represented
here. Sir, if we had to wait for the elev-
en- States, must we not wait for
Texas; and she has not yet been
recognized as having Republican
form of Government emitting her to rep
resentation. They have sent from most
of those States that have undertaken to
reorganize persons fresh from the rebel
Congress and from the rebel armies; men
who could not be admitted here, and
could not take the required oath to be ell
titled to their seats; and are we to wait
and abstain from all legislation, till these
States shall be admitted to representation
here, when they refuse to send men here
except those whose hands are dripping
with the blood of loyal men. Is the Vice
President of the rebel Confederacy and
his colleague, one of the Senators in the
rebel Congress, to come here to legislate
for the loyal people of this country Are
the men who organized the Government
that carried on four years war, as the
result of which this nation has had to
spend more than four hundred thousand
millions Of dollars; and consequence of
which more than 100000 men-pa-
triotic heroes-have laid down their lives
upon the battle field and in the army hos
pitals-are these men to come here to
legislate for the loyal people of this eoun-
try.


Sir, these States can only be represent
ed through State organization. Allmem-
bers of this body can only be elected by
State Legislatures. Members of the 9th
er House can only be elected in pursuance
of State laws. Hence, as preliminary to
any representation in either House of Con-
grss, it must be determined whether there
is Government where there is State
Legislature having authority to elect Sem
ators, and having authority to provide
laws under which representatives may be
elected. There was time, certainly,
when there was no such Legislatures in any
of these States. There was time when
the kind of Government in any of them
was hostile to the United States; when
every member in it had adjured his allegi-
ance to the United States, and sworn alle-
glance to government hostile to this
Will anybody pretended that when State
Government was in the hands of the enc
my, it was entitled to representation in
either House of Congress If not, shall
we not inquire whether it has got out of
these hands, into the hands of loyal men
Sir, this proposition that no bill is to be
passed, because certain States are unrep-
resented-it is their own fault that they
are unrepresented-wound be utterly de-
structive of the Government.


But the President tells us that the bill
lin effect, proposes to discriminate against
large numbers of intelligent, worthy and
patriotic foreigners, and in favor of the ne
gro. Now, sir, is that truel What is the
bill Why, it declares that there shall be
no distinction in civil rights between any
race or color 1t declares that there shall
be no different punishment inflicted on a
colored man in consequence of his color,
than that which is inflicted on white
man for the same offense. Is that a dis
elimination in favor of the negro and
against the foreigners, in bill the only
object of which is to preserve equality in
rights? But, perhaps, it would be said in
reply to this, that the bill proposes to
make citizen of every person born in the
United States, and therefore it discrimin-
ates in that respect against the foreigners.
But, Mr.. President, is not white child,
who is born in the United States, a citizen
1t is not to be presumed that there is a
discrimination here in favor of the white
infant, who is citizen the moment of his
birth, and against the worthy, intelligent
: and patriotic foreigners who emigrate in