Year: 1866

II y


virtue of his power as Commander-in-


Chief, to appoint provisional governors


over the revolted States. These were


regularly commissioned, and their com


pensation was paid, as the Secretary of


War states from the appropriation for
army contingencies, because the duties


performed by the parties were regard
ed as of temporary character, ancilla-
ry to the withdrawal of military force,
the disbandment of armies, and the re-
duction of military expenditure, by pro-
visional organization for the protection


of civil rights, the preservation of peace,


and to take the place of armed force in


the respective States"


tcannot, we think, contended that


these governors possessed or could eN-


ercise any but military authority. They
! had no powers to organize civil govern
ments, nor to exercise any authority,


except that which iniered in their own
persons under their commissions. Nei-
ther had the President, as command


er-in-chief, any other than military pow


er. But he was in exclusive possession


of the military authority. 1t was for


him to decide how far he would exer-


else it, how far he would relax it, and


on what terms he would withdraw it.


He might properly permit the people to


assemble, and to initiate local govern


ments and to execnte such local laws as


they might choose to frame, not incon-


sistent with nor in opposition to the


United States. And, if satisfied that


they might safely be left to themselves,


he might withdraw the military forces


altogether, and leave the people of any


or all Of these Statos to govern them


selves without his interference. In the


language of the Secretary ofState, in


his telegram to the provisional govern


OF of Georgia, dated Oct. %, 1865, he


might recognize the people ofany State


as having resumed the relations of 10y


ality to the Union," and act, in his mill


tary capacity, on this hypothesis. All


this was within his own discretion, as


militay commander. But it was not
for him to decide upon the nature or ct.
feet of any system ofgovernment which
the people of these States might see fit
to adopt. This power is lodged by the
Constitution in the Congress Of the
United States-that branch ofthe Gov
ernment in which is vested the author
ity to fix the political relations of the
States to the Union, whose duty it is
to guarantee to each State republican
form of government, and to protect
each and all of them against foreign or
domestic violence, and against each
other. We cannot, therefore, regard
the various acts of the President in re-
lation to the formation of local govern
ments in the insurrectionary States, and
the conditions imposed bv him upon
their action, in any other light than as
intimations to the people that as Com
mander-in-Chief of the army, he would
consent to withdraw military rule just
in proportion as they should, by their
acts, manifest disposition to preserve
order among themselves, establish gov
ernments denoting loyalty to the Uni
on, and exhibit settled determination
to return to their allegiance-leaving
with the lawmaking power to fix the
terms of their final restoration to all
the rights and privileges as States of the
Union. That this was the view of his
power taken by the President is evi-
dent from expressions to that effect in
the communications of the Secretary of
State to the various provisional govern
ors and the repeated declarations of the
President himself Any other SUPPOSE
ton inconsistent with it would impute
to the President designs of encroach-
ment upon coordinate branch ofthe
Government, which should not be light
ly attributed to the Chief Magistrate of |
the nation.


When Congress assembled in Dec
ember last, the people of most of the
States lately in rebellion had, under
the advice of the President, organized |
local governments, and some of them
had acceded to the terms proposed by
HIM. In his annual message, he stated
In general terms what had been done,
but he did not see fit to communicate
the details for the information of Con-
gress. While in this and in a subse-
quent message the President urged the
speedy restoration of these States, and
expressed the opinion that their condi-
ton was such as to justify their restor-
alton, yet it is quite obvious that Con-
gress must either have acted blindly on
that opinion of the President, or pro-
ceeded to obtain the information requis.
ite for intelligent action on the subject.
The lmpropriety of proceeding wholly
on the Judgment of any one man, how
ever exalted his station, in matter in
volving the welfare of the Republic in
all future time, or of adopting any plan,
coming from any source, without fully
understanding all its bearings and com
pretending its full effect, was apparent.
The first step, therefore, was to obtain
the required information. A call was
made on the President for
the information in his possession as to
what had been done, in order that Con-
gress might judge for itself as to the
grounds of the belief expressed bv
him in the fitness of States recently
IN rebellion to participate fully in the
conduct OF national affairs. This infor-
nation was not Immediately communi-
ted. When the response was finally
made, some six weeks after your COM
mlttee had been in actual session,it was
found that the evidence upon which the
President seems to have based his sue-
yastlons was incomplete and unsatifac-
tory. Authenticated copies of the con-