Year: 1866

been said about the exercise of the pa


doning power, so far as the Executive


concerned. There is no one who has |;


bored harder than | have to have th


principal conscious and intelligent traitor


brought to justice to have the law win


dicated, and the great fact vindicate'


that treason is crime. Yet while con


scious, intelligent traitors are to be pun


ished, should whole States, communitie


and people be made to submit to and bea


the penalty of death ? have, perhaps


as much hostility and as much resent


ment as man ought to have but W,
should conform our action, and our con


duct to the example of him who founded
our holy religion, not that [ would likel
this to it, or cause any comparison, for
am not going to detain you long. But
gentlemen, [ came into power under the
Counstitution of the country and by the
appreciation of the people, and what did ]
find +? | found eight millions of people
who were, in fact, condemned under the
law, and the penalty was death. Under
the idea of revenge and resentment, they
were to be annihilated and destroyed. O.
how different this from the example set
by the holy founder of our religion,
whose divine arm touches the horizon
and embraces the whole earth! Yes !
He who founded this great scheme came
into the world and found our race con-
demned under the law and the sentence
was death. What was his example In
stead of putting the world or nation to
death, he went forth with grace and at
tested by his blood and his wounds that
he would die and let the nation live
EApplause.] Let them repent and let
them acknowledge their allegiance. Let
them become loyal and willing supporters
and defenders of our glorious stripes and
stars and the Counstitution of our coun-
try. Let their leaders, the conscious, in
teIligent traitors, suffer the penalty of the
law; but the great mass who have been
forced into the rebellion and misled by
their leaders, 1 say leniency kindness,
trust and confidence. Enthusiastic
cheers. But, my countymen, after hav-
ing passed through the Rebellion and
given such evidence as | have, though
men croak a great deal about it now
[laughter]; when / loook back through
the battle-felds and see many of these
brave men, in whose company [ was in a
part of the Rebellion where it vas most
difficult and doubtful to be found ; before
the smoke of battle was scarcely passed
away; before the blood shed had scarce
ly CONCEALED, what do We find? The Re-
bellion is put down by the strong arm of
the Government in the field but is it
the only way in which We can have Rebel
lion? They struggled for the breaking
up of the Government, but before they
are scarcely out of the battlefield, and be-
fore our brave men have scarcely return
ed to their houses to renew the ties of af-
fection and love, we find ourselves almost
in the midst of another rebellion. Ap-
plause.] The war to suppress our Rebel
lion was to prevent the separation of the
States and thereby change the character
of the Government and weaken its power.
Now what is the change? There is am
attempt to concentrate the power of the
Government in the hands of few, and
thereby bring about consolidation,
which is equally dangerous and objection
able with separation. Enthusiastic ap-
plause.


We find that powers are assumed and
attempted to be exercised of most ex-
traordinary character. What are they J
We fnd that governments can be re-
volutionized, can be changed without GO
ing into the battle field. Sometimes re-
volutions the most disastrous to the peo-
pie are effected without shedding blood.
The substance of our Government may
be taken away leaving only the form and
shadow. Now, what are the attempts
What is being proposed? We find that
in fact by an irresponsible central direc-
tory, nearly all the powers of Govern
ment are assumed without even consult
ing the Legislative or Executive Depart
ments of the Government Yes, and by
resolution reported by committee upon
whom all the legislative power of the
Government has been conferred that prin-
cipal 10 the Constitution which authorize
and empowers each branch of the legisla-
tive Department to be judges of the cleo
lion and qualifications of its own mem
bers, has been virtually taken away from
those departments and conferred upon a
who must report before they
can act under the Constitution, and allow
members, duly elected to'take their seats.
By this rule they assume that there must
be laws passed that there must be re-
cognition in respect to State In the u
MON with all its practical relations re-
stored, before the respective Houses of
Congres under the Constitution, shall
Judge of the election and qualifications of
its own members. What position is that!
You have been struggling for four years
to put down the Rebellion. You denied
in the beginning of the struggle that any
State had the right to so out. You said
that they had neither the right nor pow
err. The issue has been made, and it
has been settled that State has neither