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( rt • .;. • ~ • ';'l.; ..tt : .l oru: t it•1t:7.,:1.; ' , 7 - 7., .: • ;•• .. i +r.• -•t c • t.:,..L.L. 1. .4 _ ......ti •,-.i t 't:t t , •o:...‘••tltJt .•••• 1 : - :_.•;'-'! 4 •1 , ..*;-• ; rii 1 A. J. GERRITSON, Publisher,' ADDRESS OF THE ITAVIONAL . UN- lON CONVENTION, To THE PEOPLE OF TUE UNITED STATES Having met in Convention, at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsyl vania, this 16th day of August, 1866, as the representatives of the people in, all liectiones and all the States and Territo ries of the,Union,-to consult upon the con- - dition and wants °roam country; we 'ad dress to you this' deelaratien of our principles, and. of the political purposes we seek 1,0 promote. Since the meeting of the last National Convention, in the year 1860, events have occurred which have changed the charac ter of our internal politics and given the United States .a ,newTplace among the nations of the earth. Our government has passed through the vicissitudes and the perils of war—a war which, though mainly sectional in its character, has nevertheless decided political differences that from the beginning of the government had threatened the unity of our national existence, and has left, its impress deep and ineffaceable upon all-the intensts, the sentiments and the &witty of the repub lic. While it has inflictad upon the whole country severe losses in life awl in, prop erty, and has imposed burdens' whi c h must weigh on its resources tot genera tions to conie,h has developed a degree of national courage in the presence of nation al dangers, a capacity for military organ ization and achievement, and a devotion on the part of the people t the form of government which they have ordained, and to the principles of liberty which that government was designed to promote, which must confirm the confidence of the natirtri in the perpetuity of its republican institutions, and command the respect of the civilized world. Like all great contests which rouse the passions and test the endurance of nations, this war has given new scope to the am bition of politeal parties and fresh impulse to plans of innovation and reform.— Amidst the chaos of conflicting sentiments inseparable from such an era, while the public heart is keenly alive to all the pas sions that c.tn sway the public judgment and affect, the public action ; while the wounds of war are still fresh and bleeding on either side, and fears for the future take unjust proportions from the memo rie,: and resentments of the past, it Is but au imperative duty which on V.341r behalf we who are here assembled, have undertaken to perform. For the first time alter six long years or alienation and of conflict we have come togother from every State and every p-minti 4,f (nu land ciLiz-ni of a com mon country, under that flag, the symbol fiz,in of common glory, to consult, te•- g,:her hoar best to cement and perpetu ate that Union which is again the object of our common love, and thus secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. In the first place, we invoke you to re member al ways and everwhere, that the war is ended, and the nation is again at peace. The shock of contending armies BO longer assails the shuddering heart of the republic. The insurrection against the supreme authority of the nation has been suppressed, and that authority has been again acknowledged, ,by word and act, in every State and lty every citizen within its jurisdiction. We are no long er required or 'permitted to regard or treat each other as enemies. Not only have the acts of war been discontinued and the weapons of-war laid aside but the state of war no longer exists, and the sentiments, the passions, the relations of war have no longer lawful or rightful place anywhere throughout, our.broad do main. We - are again people of thetnited States, fellow-citizens of one country, bound by the duties and obligations of a common patriotism, and 'having neither rights nor interests apart from a conmmon destiny. The duties that devolve upon us now are again the duties of peace, and no longer the duties of war. We have • assembled here to take counsel concerning the interests of peace; to decide how we may most wisely and effectually' heal the wounds the war has made, and perfect and perpetuate the benefits it has secured,,, and the blessings which, under a wise and benign Providence, have sprung up in its• fiery track. This is the work, not I:of pas sion, but of calm and sober judment; not of resentment for past offences, prolonged beyond the limits which jnstice.and reason prescribe, but of a liberal statesmanship, which tolerates what it cannot prevent, and builds its: plans and its hopes for the future Tether upon .n community of inte rest and Ambition:than 'upon distrust and the ireaporks of ,force. In t'he next place we-call upon yon to" recognizes, in their:, fnliiignificance, and to accept. with-ill their legitimate conse quences, the political results ,of the war just closeit In two most ittiportant par ticulars the victory achievedbr,the, na tional government has been :final-end de cisive. • - First; it has, established :beyond all further vontroversy, And bribe highest of all human sanctions; the absiolute su premacy of - the:national.gdverunient as defined and liMited by tiin opnatitntion of the United'States, and the .t*.fnianeut in tegrity and indissolubilitrof the - federal rninwas on tisairy tonsequenii-, 9 and,, second, it has put an end‘fhially'and Tat: ever to the existence of slavery upon. the soil or within the jurisdiction of the United States. Both these points became directly involved in thecentest, and con troversy upon both was ended absolutely and finally by the result. In the third place, we deem it of the utmost importance that the real char acter of the war and 'the victory by which it was closed should be accurately under stood. The war was carried on by the government of the United States in main, tenance of its own authority and in de% fence of its existence, both of which were menaced by the insurrection which it sought to suppress. The suppression of that insurrection accomplished that result. The government of the United States maintained by force of arms the supreme authority over all the territory and over all the States and people within its juris diction which the constitution confers upon it; but it acquired thereby no new power, no enlarged jurisdiction, no rights either of territorial possession or of civil au thority which it did not possess beforethe rebellion broke out. All the rightful power it can ever possess is that which is conferred upon it, either in express terms or by fair and neccessary implica tion, by the constitution of the United States. It was that power and that. an thorii y which the rebellion sought to over throw, and the victory of the federal arms was simply the defeat of that at tempt. The government of the United States acted throughout the war on the defensive. It sought only t o hold possess ion of what was already its own. Nei ther the war nor the victory by which it was closed changed in any way the con stitution of the United States. The war wai carried on by virtue of its provisions, and under its limitations which they pre scribe, and the result of the war did not, either enlarge, abridge or in any way change or affect the powers it confers upon the federal government, or release that government from the restrictions which it has imposed. The constitution of the United Starts is to-day precisely as it was before the war, the " supreme law of the land, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding ;" and to-day, also, precisely as before the war, all the powers not conferred by the con stitution upon the general government, nor prohibited by it to the States, are "reserved to the several States, or to the people thereof." This position is vindicated not only by the essential nature of our government, and the language and spirit of the consti tution, but by all the acts and. the lan guage of our government. in all its de partments, and at all times, from the out break of the rebellion to its final over throw. In every message and proclama tion of the Executive it wai explicitly declared that the sole object and purpose of the war was to maintain the authority of the constitution and to preserve the integrity of the Union; and Congress, more than once reiterated this solemn declaration, and added the assurance that whenever this object should be at tained the war should cease, and all. the States should retain their equal rights and dignity unimpaired. It is only since the war was closed that other rights have been asserted on behalf of one depart ment of the government. It has been claimed by Congress that in addition to the powers conferred upon it by the con stitution, the federal government may now claim over the States, the territory and the people involved in the insurrec tion, the rights of war, and the right of confiscation, the right to abrogate all ex isting governments, institutions and laws, and to subject the territory conquered and its inhabitants to such laws, regula tions and deprivations as the legislative departments may see fit to impose. Un der this broad and sweeping claim that clause of the constitution which provides that "no State shall without its consent be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate of the United States" has been annulled, and ten States have been refused and are still refused, representation alto gether in both branches of Congress.- And the Congress in which only a part of the" Staves, and of the people of the Union, are represented has asserted the right to thus exclude the rest from representation and; front all share in making their"oWn lawa or cboosingtbeir own rulers until they shall comply with such condition and perform such acts as this Congress thus comptised may itself prescribe. That right has not only been asserted, but it has.: be:enlexgreised, and is praolially; ren:: forbid nettle peseta tide. Nor does, if find any supporkinthe theory, that the States tlfus - exeludetrare Tin rebellion alf.Ainst the•gaveranientiatid therefere precluded from,sbaring in its authority.. They,arn not .thus in rebellion:, They are one and all in an attitude of Royalty towards the government, and of sworn allegiance to the .constitution r ot' the. Unitod:;Statea. ,In .no ::one of them is there the slightest indication of resistance toaythority;er th - e:s li ghteat pretest agamst jtistand The condition ..of renewed;-loyalty has 1604 OfficiallY reungikedbikAetnil-Pien lamation,of the Ereentivecpepartment. The laws of the United - States have-been. extended Congresd'ever, aIL , the States and the people thereof': Federal MONTROSE, PA., TUESDA.Y, AUG. 28, 4866. Courts ha4e ' been reopened; and federal 'taxes imposed and levied : and in, every respect, except that they are denied rep resentation' in Congress and the Electoral College, the States once in rebellion are recognized as holding the same position, as owing the same obligations, and sub ject to the same duties as the other States of our common Union. It seems to us, in the exercise of the calmest and most candid judgment we can bring to the subject, that such a claim, so enforced, involves as fatal an overthrow of .the authority of the constitution, and ai complete a destruction of the govern ment and the Union as that which was sought to be effected by the States and the people in armed insurrection against them both. It cannot escape observation that the power thus asserted to exclude Certain States from representation is made to rest wholly in the will and discretion of the Congress that asserts it. It is not made•to, depend upon any specific condi tions or circumstances, nor to be subject to any rules or regulations whatever.— The right asserted and exercised is' abso lute; without qualification or restriction, not confined to States in rebellion, nor to States that have rebelled ; it is the right of any Congress in formal possession of legislative authority to exclude any State or States, and any portion of the people thereof, at any time, from representation in Congress and in the Electoral College, of its own discretion and until they shall perform such acts and comply with such conditions as-it may dictate. Obviously, the reasons for such exclusion, being wholly within the discretion of Congress, may change as the Congress itself shall change. One Congress may exclude a State from all share in the government for one reason ; and, that reason removed, the next Congress may exclude it for an other. One State may be excluded on one ground to-day, and another may be excluded on the opposite ground to-mor row. Northern ascendency may exclude Southern States from ne Congress ; the ascendancy of Western or Southern %in terest, or of both com bs ed, may exclude the Northern or Eastern States from the next. Improbable as such usurpations may seem, the establishment of such prin ciple now asserted and acted upon by Congress will render them by no means impossible. The character, indeed, the very existence of Congress and the Un ion is thus made dependent solely and entirely upon the party and sectional ex igencies or forbearance of the hour. We need not stop to show that such action not only finds no warrant in the constitution but is at war with every principle of our government and at war with the very existence of free institutions. It is, indeed, the identical practice which has rendered fruitless all attempts hither to to establish and maintain free govern ments in Mexico and the States of South America. Party necessities assert them selves as superior to the fundamental law, which is set aside in reckless obedience to their behests. Stability, whether in the exercise of -power, in the administration of government or in the enjoyment of rights becomes impossible; and the con flicts of party, which under constitution. al governments are the conditions and means of political progress, are merged in the conflicts of arms, to which they directly and inevitably tend. It was against this peril so conspicuous and so fatal to all free governments that our constitution was intended especially to;provide. Not only the stability but the very existence of the government is made by its provisions to depend upon the right and the fact of representation. The Congress, upon which is conferred all the legislative power of the national government, consists of two branches, the-senate and House of Representatives, whose joint concurrence or assent is es sential to the validity of any law. Of these the House of Representatives, says the constitution, (article 1, section 2,) "shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States." Not only is the right of representation thus recognized as possess. ed by all the States and by every State, without restriction, qualification or con dition of any kind, but the duty of choos ing representatives is imposed npoh the people of each and every State alike, withoht • distinction' or the authority to make distinctions among them, for' any reason or upon any grounds whatever.— And in the Senate so careful is the con stitution to secure to every State this right of representatien it is expressly prd vided that "no State shall, without its consent,be deprived of its equal euffrage" in that body, even by an amendment of the constitution itstiff.`'When, therefore, 'any State is excluded front snob represen •Aation, novenly is a rigbt.of a State de nied,. but • the constititional integrity of the Senate is impaired, and the validity of the government itself is brought , •in question. But Congress at the present, moment thus exoludes.from representad Ilion; in , both , branches of -Congress - , ten States •of the. , Union, denying them , all there in; the enahtment of laws by which they are to