Year: 1871

Sooueiui ou tue hulneSty Dlli Salu


''Mr. Speaker, this is a bill to authorize
certain leaders of the late rebellion to hold
office. All the other leaders and all the rank
and file have that privilege already a
small number, understood to be the con-
trivers OF as well as actors in the revolt, are
excluded by the fourteenth amendment from
places of trust. The exclusion covers only
those who were guilty not only of the crime
of treason, but of that meaner crime, false
swearing and betrayal They are not, how
ever, by virtue of any Federal law, excluded
from the franchise. The national Govern
ment does not withhold the ballot from a
single rebel, high or low. 1t permits them
all to vote. In other countries such leaders
would have been beheaded Our fathers
banished the Tories and forfeited their
estates. We all believe this rebellion was
causeIess; we all know the precious lives
it cost u.s. we all know how much treasure
it consumed we ali know how many hearts
ache 10 day by its bereavements yet the
Government has not avenged itself with the
life of a single criminal None are banished
none are under bonds. All can vote, nearly
all can hold Office few cannot; a very
few compared to the whole number As
near as | can make out it is about one in one
hundred OF those who participated in the





The impression has gone out that some
penalties are imposed, that some of these
offenders are still in danger of death or i'm
prlsonment or loss of property, at least that
some are not allowed to vote, and that none
can hold office. All this is error. Neither
the Constitution nor laws of the United
States impose any penalties, disabilities, or
restrictions of any kind whatever, upon the
authors of our great national sorrows except
to exclude few Of the worst from office.
lhls bill proposes to remove that slight re-
strIctIou. It proposes to put those who at
tempted to destroy the country upon an
equal footing in all respects with those who
rlsked their lives to save 1t. 1t proposes TO
put patriotism and treason on a common
level: to make patriots and traitors equal
before the law. The public judgment may
make difference, but the law is to furnish
no censure for the one and no approval for
the other. L am not now speaking against
the proposed amnesty. | am only describ-
ing it, L do not want the House to forget,
nor the country to forget, that all the actors
in the rebellion already have all the privi-
leges OF the Republic, except that a few
leaders cannot hold office. and that this bill
does away with that restriction. [ do not
think the advocates of amnesty, in Congress
or out of it, have been very particular to
let tie people know how little there is left
upon which 1t can act. They have not been
particular to tell the people chat It's whole
and only purpose Is TO enable the leaders to
hold office. They are not particular now to
tell them that this bill is an invitation to
these leaders to come back to Congress and
to the control of States


Now, before We remove this restriction
before we give this invitation, we ought to
consider its original purpose. What was
that purpose? Not punishment, certainly
No new provision was necessary for that.
By pre-existing law, not only these leaders.
but all their followers, were exposed to the
gallows, or, by communication, to imprisou-
ment, Punishment, and forfeiture. The
purpose of the exclusion was safety, nothing
else. We forgave the crime at once, and
legi,lsted only for the future safety of the
Republic. There was a time in our history,
not very remote, when tie words linden
nifty for the pas and security for the fu-
ture' controlled the action of the then dom
inant party. We exacted from the confed-
crates no indemnity for the past, but made
this slight restriction as security for. the
future. Security against what? it is asked.
Do you fear second rebellion? No, sir, [
do not Security against legislation in the
interest of the confederacy and against the
Republic. The contederacy had four years
of nationality. Great interests and power
full passions grew up in the meanwhile.
Their currency, their bonds, their obliga-
tions TO MANNED soldiery, orphanage, widow
hood, their military history and personal
fame, and their vast claims for damages,
were all antagonistical to the corresponding
interests of the United States. Had these
leaders come immedia teiy back to Congress
and assumed control Of the confederate
States, the question would have been wheth-
er their debts or ours should be paid,
whether their soldiers or ours should have
pensions, whether their currency or ours
should pay debts; whether their generals
or ours sh ould be honored, whether the
colored people should be citizens or slaves.
The result would have been division of
these interests and a compromise of primer
pie. The future historian would have been
puzzled to know which were the victors IN
the long struggle TO secure the Republic
against such result this restriction was
adopted.


What reasons are assigned for its abroga-
ton? | have listened to most of the de-
bate, and have hunted through all the
rhetoric of the Globe for an answer Only
two reasons are given in all this eloquent
talk. First, it irritates the rebel leaders !;
and second, Congress is peddliug ont this
relief by the small A word as TO the first
reason. Admitting that it Is a cruel thing
to irritate these great offenders. | ask for
the evidence that they irritated. They have
not SO informed Congress they have asked
for no relief; or if any of them have, the
prayer has been promptly granted. If they
are irrita,ed let them inform us. and not
leave it for their friends here to get at it
by a process of reasoning. [ think their
friends here are more united in their behalf
than they are for themselves. At alleveuts,
we have no evidence beyond the assertion of
members that the rebel chiefs are irritated.
1t will be time enough to soothe them when
that fact is authoritatively made known.


But to the second reason, the charge of
peddling From time to time Congress has
removed the restriction as to certain per-
sons. This is discrimination, wise dis
elimination, think. But the advocates of
universal amnesty call it ''peddling - and
having given it belittling name, continually
repeat it as an argument. When Governor
pardons an offender for exceptional reasons
nobody calls it peddling out cemency, and
nobody scolds because he does not pardon
everybody at once We have already in
this way removed the restriction from sew
eral thousand persons Not single person
who has asked 1t has been denied. These


For