VOL. XXXI..
Or COLUMBIA CO.
President Judge--Ike, William E we n.
in 1 )err,
n
Associate Judges--
I Peter K. Ilerbein.
Proth'y and CV k of Court4--Jess Culunatt.
Itegister and Iteetirlyr--..1 i di!, 11. Free re.
I Allyn Mann,
Commiusiouere-- 1 John F. Fowler
I 111untgotuery Cu 'le.
Sheriff—Samuel 'Snyder.
Treasurer—John J. Stiles.
Illaniel Snyder,
Auditors— L II itupert,
John I'. Kennon.
I:4lnwiasioner's Krivklmiam.
Commissioner's, Attorney—B. H. Littlv.
MermanHe Appraiser—Capt. Uuo. W. lit.
County Surveyor—lsauc A. Dewitt.
District Attroney—Milton M. Traugh.
Coroner—Willi/nu .1. Ikeler.
County Superintendent- elms. G. Barkley,
Amesurs Internal Berme—lL F. Clark.
(Julie Thomas,
IS. I)ietner,
Ass . /;Ages Atoess‘r— U. tketer,
T. 8. AVotAls.
Collector—lienjatein Ilartinan.
N EW STOVE AM) TIN SiluP.
011 MAIN irraltrr. (NE I.V !Tim pre
.1111.1LERIA drug E:.) 1111.04)%iS ut; R '3. PA.
11118 gudentlesed Imo jut dud up, and 0pe0 , •41
Ms no*
N . 1 .4, VE AN!) Tlp / 16 11411',
la tale place. arisen/ h. Ie peeporyd 10 make op 11Pa ,
W +111.1.t or 111 ttn.le in 10. SHIN aa.l .10 repair.
$4 With araole... 11.1.1 aaoa rlta ulna lea.
ennoble terni•, Ile atom keep. 9111 lined Sri iV111•4 oh
*trines pdit , •ree and rtyier, *hods he %ill null epee
Wine i, rwt ourebemer 4.
. h aha 3 ro)4 mechanic •n 4 de
•%bile petsoinie.
JAI:OI{ MOM
Niue 1t0... .
*Rolls* of .t
Ainum•rwa &lot. 9, 19r,9,-.1,
1)LISTE11 FOll S 1141.»
The under.iguce le ebv3t Gala 4? A
PILASTIII Ntial
it tliP PENV FI;IIVAIT. MILL R. ne.4 wul wive tu
thy pubth; 111)Ni/1a:ill
Nosia Scotia llVltile ?fader
0/ 0 0 1 ". 1 lea l 6.1 u•c lu •ivamuic. to aiil put cilia,
ass. ta any tome (coin tho find et 3:41 cf•
J. id. IIeNINCII.
Caltowhees. Jean. V.
\ -- 1) - " - ifoLiiiiii;
800 A. .
oSe .1 P. Gllrri.).V,
Ro.p. , ctNlly Informs the ii.tlilte tltAt tia yi IRAN pre
pure au uraeulleture all It Was of
reBOOTS AND SHOES,
of dte LO WEST flogible l'ie's
et Awl Roth.. nod in she veri• ass., Intros .'vier
Mr. lilrt.•n'.'tf to %I 4,ls.sw is so eds.osisosorkr.; Iso
b... 1 PlOlll/ yeurss Of vrea•i..' .it Ile.' 1. MI a I' I ,
leation G•r good WOOL, ilstegiily nod hoisoro.di.
iud omostplowd.
bu.sue•s (.11 !r ur
Main and Iron Pnirviii. over J. K. G 'tow' Moog.
Bloomsbarv. Ut". 10.
FORKS IIUTEL,
GEO. W. NAGGER, Proprietor.
The share Well known hotel has rerrostly roster
f.'s... radical thesauri in it. sestorsosl urraeigeillffl:lss,
111551 It. proprirt , tr lin ttttt to ht. torsarr ru.t , stn
awl the gravelints plastic thet los ant. ..... assol.stiose.
(..r thr comfort of hi. purar Wen ...torsi to ls
111.5 CI. miry. 111. sitar %111 "daisy. I.r mosso Ana
soled. 11.11 0114 with agli,Nistial 6mii, toll Wilts al
lka 4.5115 - ..,5,55.5, 01 the *.A.sso, 1114 wire /its{ 11.140 rs
trissost ttent isolovilst 1111014 au ..11r1Pwrg •
iarrtossersl ditort fr•on t so esalsorlort Irso.rr• htu,rr
ltrolv purl, "rot Rrr fn hi. ill o.l.oassue drag.. Ile
I. thankful fora Ica-rat aatrouseir In 1110 pd.., all.l
still etiology to Oe.orve is 5% tifilfe.
ULuttil. W. *AUGER
Juna 13. 184 AL—tr
MACHINE AND REPAIR SHOP
undetehlird atoned roost veer:tangly Plll.
0.'11;10 In the ilssbil4 Mut hr is pr , pared
to r %twine all kied• 3IAEUINERV. at .1.bi..1:P9
PIIAAPLLS , ' r..t: •
',Lev whelr he
eau r.h. 1. ahe found newt) to do r n L.aide rethitt
tag. to. lading The...hind Ma ht•we. owl 1N 4thett. aU
of Panning IX
PITUVU UP . Ur VAPPING AVII NACIIIYERf •
doue nu shun not/ie./4i h houtiiiii.e Nish
Art. UllOll Or 111011 fr(1.11..
It i toug ~.sp,rience hi the hh.hleor M rar 4 sonn la
the shop of t.rwi. U. Mani of 1 / 1 14 0.'4%
Nora your., warrsolle Wm 19 is that hn r oil gat , s
entire iroissactioo to hit who use) favor him with
era. work.
eloomoben. tiny In, Itel
FALLON HOUSE.
I l L e vo u t e i r a lbet Malay yardman! l b . *Fallon
T
LOCK NA TEN, rn ,
properly t•f E. W. blowy. Erl.. would tar so the
rI. at ib•• Mom, bit arquastoranceu. and lb.. pub
Ur v..ittally, 11101 be we, low if , ^Artp a 11..tti..
with thr awroneutolut taws and coubfortu of a Mow..
aau bouthly oulicttu flick patronage.
Lela n( the %%Mean nudes. Philadelphia
Leek Raven. Ilee. itd, Pine.
1%1188 LIZZIE PETER3IAN,
.•
Would 'mouses In the WO, 01 111.1not.bure end
he public ifioxerei!,. that ,dte has jun seemed !two
Ite Imitates ci•l‘!* twr
ko spring . and Sinniner
tIo h wr
MILLINERY GOODS,
(milli " "X of .X!ir" . • 001.411, found it Oe r claim
Mom 4. IP( "Orbls lif.• of IV I.e.f jMYlily
aid isto,•nit tin fend heasloool4 slid eliedim.l o'llo
amok rt 1 40/ Rad Pidarean ror ynor4elirre.
•n. 5014 pHirrAme. 4,..wis•to before ..xantin -
* 4 alio, ot.ek 4/111.0114 Ulida
le tplnl r nu 111 . 1 ffiiifloof flatter. Of trpair-d.
sior, on ifa.n •tratl. 9r d or Wow thit Moro of
Moddsphall 4t
13111111.4 burg, 113711.16411,-1t
OS, DRUGS, DRUUS.
Trim►, nt Jnhoo R. Moyer'► Drug Pm,
min and Mark.% dtrc►l►. A gum! *4G
lIBE
le. Ode end %%enlehou, niwiys nn
be *eft eltexpet than at ally other
hal !I,
On s
ryGuARANTEED
=ll
Plaper
Dm •
Mitt
!tor',
Widia
kart.
far Amy
iq Pt •
lAsther
r IP
6Y V
Me,:irtuet *old at Motes Oros
11.,k •r'l Litrr Oil,
113, .uld at star'• Urup
t call at Mayne.
ntosair and rctall,
. • art, Ya.
11 1
sw-ir
?moo ,
vivo WI
04.1
Me I.
&llk
' .
• GL , '
•
" i 46
. •
...,-01,
Sil ty
BLoomsßußG
,41
_ _ .._ _......
floomoturg.l,cinatrat.
18 MILIAllte.O EVEny writOirsDAY IN
BImOSISBURO, l'A„ BY
WILLIAMSON 11. JACOBY.
Trl;Ntell, —II 90 In n.lvowire. Ir not p9ld within
OIX 111I Si1114. rvut•u*ditinnnf will be rtutrtu,:.
NI paper ALrnnliuuoJ 11..111 411 4l'Mdebigoa
%Te pyjd the option 14 the editf.
RATES ~ E ADV talr~ST 11.
1/.M IMISA 111401f11 , 1 IA A AIIC•RiI
(MP Mqunrß .11.• Of liner itior loPle
I;Vag y sg* than 13.•••
DrAvv. In. Un. 3n. On. IT
Illll.' plum r... •J.lO I
11'0 I 400 I 11.011 I 10.10
TWo viols, uo. :I oil 3 .)11 I ) f) 1 1 ,0 14.1.0
Threlt ' • 3.00 I
1.00 I SSA I 1''.14) IMMO
Pon f I , llls to I. 1 . 1 0 1' I 0 11104) 14,00 %Nu)))
Hof “oliiiiiia,l I 10.141 1'.1.101 14 011 11.141 I .'llOO
One cal nwoll. 113 oil 0) I
1)0 !11.00 1 30,00 I 511.110
Rionll..eo find Adwilti•lratuer Notice...
Audit.Deo Woo We
llOrr a4verllarsuppis In,urled aceordi fig to special
Onto, 4.
MlWises. sontkes, without advert lientelit, twenty.
ecru Per
rtagioletsi 11.1vPritgruttritta pasrahle ht &thane* all
ellwr• der sm.!, th. firiq
co- errics —us slaire'm Work, cur. or Won ars
long &►rntr.
4141drere,
1: 41 00 , liC0S of Mc Staate 40,4 &lac "I
Reiwesenttetircs:
The continued disorganization of the
Calm', to which the Prebident has in often
called the attention of Congrewi, is yet a
m t hj er t of profound awl is eivtig eititrenl.
Wd fluty, hwever, find trona relict' from
that litxtety in the reflection that the p a i n .
ful sitivition, although untried IT
our.u!vca, in nut lbw ,n the expericoco ol'
um 4mo.
seienee : perbaie% as highly per
fected in our 41%1 fifth; limp :Is ill
any other. has a n t decLesal any moans
by which civil Wfta'S can be absolutely pro
rated ; an enlightened nation, however.
with a wise and beneficent Cettstitution of
free pin ermnent, may diminish their fre
quency and mitigate 'ledr severity, by di.
meting all it. 4 11:11 , TeliiInts in accordance with
iii l'undantentel law. When a civil war lists
been brought to a do e, it is manifastfy the
first interett Doll duty of the Stab to r ep a i r
the injuries which the war has inflicted, and
to source the ismelit oldie lessons it teaches,
as folly Still u= freally MS possible. This
duly was. upon the termination of the re
beiliint.etOttlptly mS'Alltf.hi, taut May by the
Executive 115 yartmete, but by tie insur
rectionary States themselves. and resters
tion is the CM 1 / 1 0telelit of peace, Lip he
bored to be is., easy and certain as it was in
&Tiler:Ade.
1 h • *Are t t tills, liniveve , , then so re:l
- awl eutifidcutly emertained, were
disappointed by legislation from which I
reit constrained, by my obligations to the
Coostitution, to withhold toy assent. It is,
thcrefiire, a source of prolimmi regret that
in complying with the obligation imposed
npint the President by the Constitution. to
k riingress 00111 tune tai t7iiiii iiiFirniia
ties of the mate of the rnion, II am unable
to communietee any definitive actiustment
satisfactory to the American people, of the
questions which. since the dose of es., 1...-
hellion, have agitated the public whet. On
the contrary, mutt)r compels me tw declare
that at this time there is no Union us our
f a thers understood the term, Witt as they
meet it to be tueie.rstood by ns. The I 'Mon
which they established Can exist only
where the States are represented in
loth Houses of Cou g rec", -ahem one State
is as free as another to regulate its internal
concerns according to its wit!." awl where
the taw of the ventral iteVelltnenit, strictly
*Joked to tnattoi- of nations) jeris , lietion,
:ply wide Neal foxy t, ail the people of
every seeti..U.,
That seals is n• - 4, the prevent "Ante of the
('union" is a seelaneleily Met. ..iel we all
must acknowledge that the restorat;osi of
the `tatted to their pi over legal reitttion4
with the Ceder:ll Government, and ~rich one
mother, erearding to the terms of the ori-
F i na l venire, would he the . greatest tem-
Idessing which God, in his kindest i
iwevi•ltinee. mold bestow upon this natioe.
It becomes our imperative duty to evie
shier whether or not it 13 ilOpossibio to ef.
feet this most desirable coneummatiou. The
l'idon and the Censtitution are inseparable.
As long ny. one is obeyed by all parties, the .
other will be preserved ; and if one is de-
strayed. both neist poish together. The
destruction of the Constitution will be fel- 1
lowed by other and still grower calainitiee.
It was ordained not only to form a more
perfect Vision between the States, but to
o'establish justice, insure domestic tranquil
ity, provide for the common defence, pro
mote the general welfare, and swum the
mos,ioto. Ithort3 to oursolre4 and our I
posterity." Nothing but i pliei t elmilieneo
to its mpoirentents. in all pares of the •
roontry, will accomplish these great ends.
Without that obedietwe wecti look forward ,
only to continual outrages mem individual I
rights, ineesmint breaches of the public
peace, natieeal weakness, anemia, dishonor,
the total loss of our prosperity. the general
isirruetiee sot ' morals, lad the final extinct
ion of Isipular freedom. To save our'
country &ow evils so apalliog as these, we
should renew our efforts again and again.
To me the process of restoration seems
perfectly I lain and simple. It eon-his
merely in a liiithful application of the Con
stitution and the laws. The execution of
the Inns is not now obstructed or opposed
by physical !Inc*; there k no military or
other necessity, real or prattle:lel which
am prevent obedience to the Coustitntion.
either North or South. All the rights - and
all the obligations oi' State ;e,. 1 .
can be protected and eMoreed by nicatr.
perfeetiv consistent witty the fundamental
law. The courts may be everywhere open,
awl, it' open, their process would be unim
peded. Crimes against the United States
utti bo prevenied 'r pueished by the proper
judicial authorities m a UnlnUer entirely
practicable and legal.
There is, therefore, no reason why the
Constitution ',teeth] not be obeyed, unless
those who exercise its powers have deter
maned that it shall be dtsreg Idea and vie.
lated. The mere naked will of this Gov
ernment, or of' some one or more of its
broootte., is the only obstac:e that can exist
ton perfect Union of all the Status. (In
this mementoes question, and some of the
neeraires growing out of it, I have had the
midiwtane to differ from Cengress, and
have expressed my convictions without re
serve. though with becoming deference to the
opinion of the Legislative Department.
Th ose co nvictions are not only unchanged,
but strengthed by subsequent events and
fluther reflection. The transcendent impor
tance of' the subject will be a sufficient ex
cuse for calling your attention to snue of
the mamma which have en strongly influene
ad my own judgement. The hope that we
UEultuß II ASSIAT
OUNDRY.
MSitt Ito, (10.
IA CO., PA.
hmetitset;rt et*, 'eta,
elmve named et
blighturtit,s• now
11* fteViso4l uttivaa
bury,
lonary engines
ALC.. &C.
all sixes snit
Hilly wade t
0. wm►.
Ws OMP
=I
BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA CO., PA., WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11, 1867.
THE
W. IL Jeettrir.
nienuaiherg. My. re
ruEsuDENT•s 31 VISAGE.
way all finally concur in a mode of settle
went consistent at wee with our true inter
ests, und with our sworn duties to the Con
stitution, is too natural and too just to he
easily relinquished.
It is clear to my apprehension that the
States lately in rebellion are still members
of the National Union. When did they
to lm fin ? The - Ordit..osees of Seces
pion" adopted by a portio d in 111.1 t or IL, ”t
a very small portion—of their eitiscus acre
there nullities. If we admit now that they
were valid atel effectual fur the purpose in
tended by their authors, we swim) from
under our Met the whole ground upon
whieh we justified the war. Were those
State.. of erwarils expelkl trout the Union
by the war? The direct contrary was aver
red by this sovernment to be its purpose,
and was so understood by all those whogave
their blood and treasure to aid in its prose
cution.
....SI 54)
54)
It cannot he that a sueemrsful war, waged
for theßeservation of the Union, had the
legal effect of dissolving it. The victory of
the notion's arms ww4 not the disgrace or
her policy; the of Seeem4oo on the
hattle-deld was not the triumph of ite lawless
principles ; nor could Cong . r . eas, with or
without the consent of the 'tixecutive, do
anything which would have the effect, di
reedy or indirectly, of separating the States
Bout each other. To dissolve the Radon is
to repeal the Constitution which hoist; it
together, and that is a power which does
not m a ting to any department of this gov
ernment, or to all of them unite{
so isl.•io that it ha s ',cut aeknowi
edio4i f ; istanAse. of the I'4.Am-A Gov
erment.. The Executive, my predceesaor,
as well as myself, and the heads of all the
41cp:trl Mild* have unifiwthierly acted upon
die l.riswiple that the I'niou is not only un
but Congressi sub
mitted an amendment to the Constitution
to Ins ratified I , y the Southern States. and
accepted 6 , 4 acts or ratification asa ttelm4-
aary and !millil exercise of their highest
function. If they were nut States, or were
States out of the slinn, their conwnt to a
change in the Niel:mental law of the
union would have been nugatory. and Con
gress in asking it committed a isolitical ab
surdity.
Tin; Judiciary has also given the solemn
sanction of its authority to the same view
of the ease. The Judges id the Supreme
Vourt have inelotle.l the Southern State, io
their eilCUitS, 91111 they are constantly, ia
/Nine and eXerreidtl jurisdiction
which does not lielong to them. unless those
Slates are States of the Union. If the
Southern States AN component parts of the
rillllll, the Constitution as the seprOttle law
fir thou, as it is for all the other States.
They arc bound to Ob 7 it. 1111 d so are we.
The right of the I , ederal Government,
which is clear and timpiestionahle, to mi•
form.. the Constitution U:Min 60111. implie.
the cotelative obligation on our part to oir•
serve its limitations and execute guaranties.
Without she eon:Alt:Rion we are noticing:
by. thr o ugh and under the Constitution we
411'11.0/34-itSlia:#l..;so6.
e may doubt the wisdom of the law ;
we may not approve of its provisions, hut
we cannot violate it merely because it scents
to eantiLe our powers within limits narrower
than we omit! wish. It is to t a ple-ti , in of
or class or sectional interests,
notch le-s of party predominance, but of
duty of hi g h and mitered duty— which we
are ail sworn t.► perform. If we cannot
support the Constitution with the cheerful
alacrity of those who love and believe in it,
we must give to it, at least. the fidelity of
public servants who act under solemn obli
gations and commands which they dare not
disregard. The constitutional duty is not
the only one which rtsioi MS the States to be
te-tore , l • them is another consideration,
though of minor importunee, is ytit
of great weight.
(=We OF THE LATE WAR
Ott the L'..2,1 day of July, ISO, Congress
declared by at. almost utinimon4 vote of
both Houses. that the war sitimbi be con
ducted solely I'm the purpose of preserviug
the I to as ana maintaining the supremacy
of the Federal Constitution and laws, with
out impairine the di nits, espalify maul
rights or the States or of•indiruluai nod
that when Hide was dune sir! , war should
ethos.. Ido pot - . fly Hutt this licelaration i 4
pemnially lending on those who joined
m frisking it, any more than individual
members of Congress are personally bona
to.pay a public debt created under it law tier
wlneh they voted. Bet it was a solemn
puhlie official pledge of the national batter,
and I cannot imagine upon what grounds
the repudiation of it is to he justified.
Ilia be Said that we are uot bound to keep
fait with rebels, let it be remembered, this
promise was not made to rebels only. Thou
tanels of' true men in the South were drawn
to our standar d
. by it, and hundreds of thou
sands in the North gave their lives in the
belief that it would be carried out. It was
made on the day after the first great battle
of the war had been fought and lea. All
patriotic and intelligent men then saw the
neees•iitv of giving such an assurance, And
believed that without it the war would end
in divstvr to our cause. Having given that
assorbee 01 the extremity of out peril, the
violation of it now, in the day of our lower,
would be n rude rending of that good faith
which holds the moral world together. Our
country would 0111.0 10 I n ure any c laim Up•
on the csedidenee of urea. It weitlil make
the war not only a failare but a fraiel.
Being sincerely convinced that these
views are correct, I would be unfaithful to
tov duty if I did not recommend the tepee'
the acts of !feteress which Otos, ton o f
the Smelter's States under the domination
of military mesons , . If calm reflection shall
satisfy a majority of your Inevitable bodies
that the a c ts rerermd to are not only a yes
lotion of the national faith, but to direct
conflict with the Constitution, I dare not
permit myself to doubt that you will initutt
diately strike them from the statute book.
To demonstrate the unconstitutional diame
ter of those acts, I need do no more than
refer to their general provisions.
It'must be seen at owe that they are au
thorized. To dictate what alterations shall
ho maths in the constitutions of the several
States; to control the eleetions of the State
legislators and State officers, members of
Congrese and electors or President and
Vice President by arbitrarily declairing who
shall vote and who shall be excluded from
that privilege : to dissolve State legisltures
or prevent them from pssomblife ; to dis
miss bulges and other civil fun c tionaries of
the state and appoint others without regard
to State law' organise anti operate all the
political machinery of the States : to regu
late the whole administration of their do
mestic and !wed affairs according to the
mere will of' strange and irresponsible
agents sent among them for that purpose.
These are not powers granted to the
Federal Government, or to &my one of its
Imuithea ; not being granted, we viplato our
trust by assuming them as palpably as he
lould by acting in the face of a positive in.
rdiet, for the Constitution fielnds us to do
whatever it does not affirmatively authorize,
even by express words or by clear implieto
non. If the ant bority we desire to use does
nut come to us through the Constitutien,
I we can exeereise it only by usuritation, and
j usgrtieti•mie one of th e most dangerous of
I political crimes. By that crime the enemies
; or free government in all ages have work
ed nut their design touting public liberty
and private right. It loads directly and
immediately to the establishment of abso
lute rule ; for undelegated power is always
unlimited Aid unrestrained.
The nets of Congress in question are not
only objectionable for their assumption of
tingratogd power, but many of their provis.
Ma are in temtlict with the direet prohibi
tions of the Constitution. The( 'misfit ution
tun:Han)s that a republican fie ma of govern
ment shall be guarantied to ell the States ;
that no person shall be deprived of life, lib
erty or property, without due proem of law ;
arrested without a judicial warrant, or pun
ished without a fair trial before an impartial
jury ; that the privilege of lusbatts corpus
shall not be denied in time or peace, and
that no bill of attainder shall be !wised even
against a single individual. Yet the system
of measures established by these acts of
C o n g re s s dues totally subvert and destroy
the form na well as the substance of repub
lican geverunient. In the ten States to
which they Imply it bioels them hand and
!bet its :Amebae slavery, rod subjects them
to a strange anal bust ife power more unlimi
ted and more likely to be abdsed than any
other now known among civilized mem
It tramples down all those rights in which
the essenea of' liberty consists, and which a
free government is always most careful to
protect. It denies the hutcos corpus and
trial by jury. l'ersomil freedom, property
and life, if assailed by the pas.nion, the mei-
Wife or the rapacity of the ruler, have no
security whatever. it Las the effect of a
Itill of attainder, or bill of pains and penal
ties. not upon a few individuals, but upon
whole matisee, including the millions who in
habit the subject States, and even their un
larrothildreti. These wrones being express
lv forbidden. outwit be constitutionally in
; Ilicted upon any portion of oh:, no
I matter how flow may have e o sin our
misdietion, and no inatteer they
; live in States, 'Verritories or
I have li e desire to sure from the proper
and just erteeequences of their great crime
1 those who engaged in rebellions agaidst the
1 gevernment but us a tit••ila of punishment,
the IiseaSIIIVI4 meter temeideration are the
most unreasonable that could be invented.
IMatiyor those i .ormoo, mile l ierreetly imam:elle
Muny were ineitpabie of any legal offence.
1 A large proportam PITH of the persons able
1 t-. , !war :trams 'A ere (Meted Mtn the rebellion
a:millet their oil, and of those who are
guilty with their own eousent, the degrees
of guilt are as various its the shades of' their
leliertue.ir awl temper.
r-
But -thescinns - of Congress - confound t hem
all together in one common doom. Indis
criminate vengettace upon cles.vm. sects and
parties, or upon whole reamitunities for of
' fences committed by a purlieu of thou
1 against the Rovermstent to which they owed
`obedience, W ie r common in the harbaroum
ages of the world. But Christianity and
eivilizatian have made such pre gross, that
maiorse to a punishment so cruet and noinst
would meet with tlio too ndemnation of all
unprejudiced and rielttoninded teen. Time
punitive jitetice of this age, and especially of
this country, does not consist in stripping
1 whole States or their liberties and reducing
all their people, without distinction, to the
condition of shivery. It deals separately
with each individual. continent itself' to the
forms of law, awl viiidicutes its Owls purity
by an impartial eaaminaibm of every seise
before n competent judicial tribunal.
If this does not satisfy all our desires
twith regard to Southern nebels, let us cen
,
, soe o urselves by reflecting that a free Cun
t
stitution, triumphant in war and unbroken
in peace, is worth far more to us and our
children than the gratification of any present
Ifeeling.
I alit aware it is assumed that this system
, or g.ivertinient of the Southern States is
1 not to be perpetual. It is true this military
i government is to be only previsional, but it
is !Inveigh this temporary evil that a greater
evil is to he made perpetual. It' the gnar
-1 ties of the Constitutien can be broken pro
visionally to serve a temporary purpose, and
in part only of the country, we gan destroy
them everywhere, mid fiir all time. Arbi
trary measures often change, but they gen
erally change for the worse.
It is the curse of despotism that it has
no halting place. The intermitted ezeeruise
of its power brings no cute of security to
its subjects, for they can never know what
snore they will be called upon to endure when
its red right hand is armed to plague them
again. Nor is it pis able to conjecture how
or where power unrestrained by law may
seek its next vietinei. Toe States that are
still free may be enslaved at any moment,
for if' the (',institution does not protert all it
protects moue.
Is is manifestly and avowedly the object
of these kiwis to media upon negroes the
privilege of voting, and to disfranchise such
a number of white citizens as will give the
former e :deer majority at all elections in
Southern States, 'I his, to the minds of
some persons, is so important, that a viola
tion of the Constitutien is justifitel as a
meatus of bringing it about.
The morality is always Wee which excuses
a wrong because it promisee to accomplish a
desirable end. We are not permitted to do
evil that good may come. But in this •case
the end itself is evil
. as well as the inmost.—
The subjugation of' States to negro domina
tion would be wove than the military tles
potisiti under which they are now suffering.
It was believed beforehand tied the people
would endure any amount of military op
pre:saint, for any length of time, rather than
degrade themselves by subieetion to thee
negro nice, Therefore they Lave been left
without a choice.
Negro suffrage was established by act of
Congress, and the military , officers were com
manded to superintend the process of cloth
ing the negro race with political privileges
torn from white men,
'1 he blacks of the South are entitled to be
well and humanely governed, rind to have
the protection (ilium. laws for nll their rights
of person and property. It' it were practi
cable at this time to give them a government
exclusively their own, under which they
might manage their own affairs in their own
way, it would become a grave question
whether we oil zht to do so, or whether com
mon humanity would not require us to rave
them from themselves,
But, under the circumstances, this isril
a speculative point. It is not pro posed
merely that they shall govern themselves
but that they shall rule the white race, make
and administer State laws, elect Presidents
and members of Congress, and shape, to a
greater or lees extent, the future destiny of
the whole country. WouA such a trust and
power be safe in sueh hinds ? The peculiar
qualities which should characterize any peo
ple, who are fit to decide upon the mumge
went of public affairs for agreat State, have
seldom been combined.
It is the glory of white men to know that
they have had these qualities in sufficient
measure to build upon this continent a great
political fabric, and to preserve its stability
for more than ninety veers, while in every
other part of the world all similar experi
ments have tailed. But it' anything can be
proved by known facts ; if all reasoning up
on evidence is not abandoned, it must be au
knowledeed that in the progress of nations
negri les have shown less capacity for govern
ment than any other race of people. No
independent government of any form has
ever been aucceasful in their hands. On
the contrary, wherever they have been left
to their own devices they have shown a con
stant tendency to relapse into barbarism.
In the Southern States, how -Jeer, Con
gress has undertaken to confer upon them
the privilege of the ballot. Just released
from slavery, it may be doubtful whether,
as the.; know ! more than their an
cestors, how to organize and regulate civil
society. Indeed, it. is admitted that the
blocks of he South are not only regardless
of the rivnits of property, but so utterly is
north t i.f public affairs that their voting can
consist in nothing mare than carrying a bal
lot to the place whim they are directed to
depo,it it.
1 need not remind von that the exorcise
of the elective franuhise is the highest at
tribute of an American citizen, and that
when guided by virtue. intelligence and
patrioti s m, and a proper appreciation of our
free institutions, it constitutes the true basis
of a Democratic form of ti o enenment, in
which the sovereign p'owe'r is lodged in the
lady of the people. A truq. artificially cre
ated, not for its own sake, but solely as a
means of iirometing the general welt:ire, its
influence for good must necessarily depend
upon the elevated ele.tieter and true allegi
slice of the oleetor ; it ongbt, therefore, to
be repa , ed in none except those who are
fitted. morally and mentally, to administer
it well, fur if conferred upon persons who
do not justly estimate its value, awl who
are indifferent as to its results, it. will only
a :rve us a means of placing power in the
hands of the unprincipled and ambitious,
and must eventually mid in the complete
destruction of that liberty of which it
should be the most powerful conservator.
I have, there&ire, heretotitre urged upon
your attcetion the great danger to be up
prebended from an untimely extension of
the elective franchise to any new elms i in
nor country, e,oecially when the largo ma
iinity, in wielding the power thus placed in
their hands, rennet lie expected correctly
emeprehend the duties and responsibilities
which pertain to suffrage. Yesterday, as
it werictiar - taitlifiai eT "liiieisslis were heti
in a condition of slavery that had existed
for generations. To-day they are freemen,
and are assumed by law to be chime. It
cannot be presumed from their . previous
condition of servitude that. as a rAuse they
are as well intinnoel as to the nature or our
government us the intelligent foreigner who
mhos our land the haunt of hi- choice.
In the ease of die latter, withers mai
&nee of tive Years nor the knowledge dour
institutions which it gives, nor attachment
to the principles of Lisa Canslitwinu are the
only conditions upon which he can be ad
mitted to eitizenship. Ile must prove, in
addition, a good motel character, awl thus
give reasonable ground the belief that
lie will be faithful to the obligations whieli
lie assumes as a citizen of the nepublic.
Where a people, the source of aII political
power. speak by their suffrages through the
mstrumentality of the ballot-L4m it must he
carefully guarded against the control of those
wh3 are corrupt in principle and encode.; of
free institutions for it can only become to
our Ikthoetel and social Sysieln n sal;.: con
ductor of healthy popular sentiment when
kept free from demoraliziog influences.-
0)114484 through trawl and usurpation by
the desining, anarchy and devotism must
inevitably follow. In the hands of the pa
triode and worthy our government will be
preserved upon the principles of the Con
stitution inherited front our futhem
It follows, therefore, that in adtuitting to
the ballot•hex a new class of voters, not
qualified for the exercise of the electite
franchise, we weaken our system of govern
ment instead of adding strength and darn.
bility.
1 yield to no one in attachment to that
rule of general suffrage which distinguishes
our policy as a nation. But there k a limit,
wisely observed hitherto, which makes the
ballot a privilege and a trust which requires
of some classes a time suitable for proba
tion end preparation. To give it indiscria►i
nately to a taw class, wholly uttprepar.4l by
previous habits and opportunities to per
form the trust which it demands, is to de
grade it, and finally destroy its power, for it
may ha seVely assumed that no political truth
is better established than that such it,
disariminate and el -embracing extension of
popular suffrage must end at last in itsocer
thr mr and destruction.
repeat the expression of my willineness
to join in any plan within the scope of our
must it ut ional authority which protuises to
better the condition of the mimes in the
South, by encouraging them in industry, co
lightening their minds, improving their
morals and giving protection to all their
just rights i s fivadout, But the transfer of
our political Inheritance to them, would, in
my opinion. be an abandonment of a duty
which we owe alike to the memory of our
fathers and the rights of our children.
Tho plan of putting the Southern States
wholly, and the General Government par
tially, into thin hands of negroes, is proposed
at a time peculiarly unpropitious. The
foundations of society have ken broken up
by civil war. Industry must be reorganised,
lustier re-established, public credit maintain
ed, and order brought out of coofusion.—
To accomplish these ends would require all
the wisdom and virtue of the great men who
formed our institutions origionally. I con-
Wendy believe that their deseenlants will
be equal to the arduous task before them
but it is worse than mane.' to expect that
negmes will perform it. for us. Certainly
we ounht not to ask their assistance until we
dr ya ir of our own competency.
The great difference between the two races
in physieal, mental and moral uharucteristies
will prevent an amalgamation or fusion of
them together in one homogeneous mass,—
If the inferiority obtains the ascendency
over the other, it will govern with reference
only to its own intemst—for it will recognise
no common interest—and create such a ty
ranny as this Continent has never yet wit-
nagged, Already the nagrooe are influenced
by promises of confiscation and plunder;
they are taught to recogniao as an enemy
every white man who has any respect for
the rights of his own rece.
If this iamtlitues it mug become worse
111wor"'untialarerw su bve rted,
alndustry"lumnth° fiel ds of
t: iouthgrownj into a e. O f
all the dangers which our nation has yet en
countered. none are equal to thous w hi c h
must result from the success of the effort
now making to African's° the half of our
country.
I would not put considerations of money
in competition with justice and right, but
the expellees incident to reconstruction tinder
the system adopted by Congress aggravate
what I regard as intrinsic wrong of the meas.
ore itself. It. has east uncounted millions
already, and if' persisted in will add largely
to the weight of taxation already too oppres
sive to be borne without just complaint, and
may finally reduce the treasury of the nation
to a condition of bankruptcy.
We must not delude ourselves. It will
require a strong standing army, and probably
more than two hund. 0.1 m lido I of di Pare
per anemia to maintain the supremacy of
negro gevern ments after they aro established.
The sum thus thrown away would if proper
ly used, form a sinking fund largo enough
to pay the whole national debt in less than
fifteen years. It is vain to hope that negrocs
will maintain their aacendeney themselves.
Without military power they are wholly in
capable of holding in subjugation the white
people of the South. I submit to the judg
ment of Congress whether the public i.,redit
may not be injuriously 'effected by a system
of measures like 'this. With our debt, and
the vast private incrusts which arc compli
cated with it, we cannot be too cautious of
a policy wide might by possibility impale
the confidence of the world in our govern
ment. That confidence can only he retain
ed by carefully inculcating the principles of'
justice and honor on the popular mind, and
by the me scrupulous fi delity to all our en
gagementn of every sort. Any serious
breach of the organ . ° law, persisted in for a
eonsiderable time. cannot but create fears
for the stability of our institutions. Habit
mil violation of preseribed rules, which we
bind ourselves to observe, inu-t demoralise
the people. Our mdv standard of civil duty
king set at naught : the sheet anchor of our
political morality is lost, the public con
science swings from its moorings and yields
to every impulse of passion and interest.—
If we repudiate the Constitution we will not
he expecte to care much for mere pecuniary
obli rations.
T e violation of moll a pledgees we made
on the 2:.td day of July, 1861, will assuredly
diminish the market value of our promises;
besides, if we now acknowledge that the
I, 4,.,,,tal debt was created not to hold the
State in the Union, as the tax-payers were
led to suppose, but to expel' them from it
and hand them over to be governed by nes
grons. the moral duty to pay it may seem
ititteli less elear. 1 say it may seem so, fur
1- 1 - do not admit that this or any other tap
) mem it: floor of roptidation (.an be enter-
I tained as bound ; but its influence on some
elasses of minds may well be apprehended.
'fhe financial honor of a great commercial
nation, largely indebted, and with a republi
eau feu of government administered by
! avids or the popular choice, is a thin.; of
I such delieate texture, and t'pe destruction of
I it would ba follewed by such unspeakable
' calamity, t hat every true patriot must desire
to avoid whatever might expose it to the
slifhtest danger.
('he great interests of the country require
inimednite relent' front these enactments.—
I Rosiness in the South is paralyzed by areas:
1 of general insecurity, a terror of contiscatiou
I and the dread of negro supremacy.
The Southern trade from which the North
have derive so great a profit under a gov.
el.:most of law, still languishes, and can
• !weer be revived until it ceases to be fetter
ed by the arbitrary power which makes all
its operations unsafe. That rich country,
the richest in national resoures the world
ever saw, is worse than lost, if it be not
soon placed under the protection of a free
emistitution. Instead of its being us it
ought to be. a source of wealth and power,
it will leconie ail inttiarable burden upon the
test at the nation.
Another reason for retracing our steps
will sloubilese be seen by Congress in the
late manifiLactions:of public opinion upon
this subject. We live in a country where
popular will always tbrees obedience to itself,
sooner or later. It is vain to think of op
posittg t with any thing short of legal author
ity. backed by overwhelming force. It (Mi
not hive escapedyour attention that, from
the day on which Cungress fairly and firm
ally presented the preposition to govern the
lanuthern States by military force, with a
view to the ultimate estehliahuient of negro
supremacy, every expression of the general
sentiment has been more or less adverse to
it. The affections of this generation cannot
be detached from the Institutions of their
ancestors. Their determination to preserve
the inheiitanee of free government in their
own hands, and transtuit it undivided and
unimpaired, to their own posterity, is too
strong to be successfully opposed. Every
weaker passion will disappear before that
love of liberty and law for which the Amer
ican people are distinguished above all oth
ers in the world.
How fur the duty of the Preside it "to
p i KT% e, protect and defend the Constitu
te)," iequires him
go on in opposing an
unconstitutional act of Congress, is a very
serious and important question, on which I
have del:berated much and felt extremely
anxious to reach a proper tstnelnsion.—
Where en act has been passed according to
the forms of the Constitution, by the su
mono legislative authority, and is regular
ly enrolled among thepublie statutom of' the
country, Executive resistance to it, especially
in time of high party excitement, would be
likely to produ iolent oollisionbetweon the
respective adherents of the two branches of
the government. This would he simply civil
war. and civil war must he resorted to only
as the last remedy Pr the wort of evils.
Whatever might tend to provoke it should
be most carefully avoided. A faithful and
cons&entious magistrate will concede very
much to honest error and something even to
perversonalice, before ho will endanger the
publiepoace, and he will not adopt forceable
measures, or such as might lead to force, as
I ing as those which are peaceable rou . aim
open to him or to his constituents.
It is true thalaasea may occur in which
the Executive sOlfuld be compelled to stand
on its rights, and maintain them regardless
of nil consegeenees. If Congresa should paws
titi act which is not only in palpable conflict
with the Constitution, hut !yin, certainly, if
carried oat, produce immediate and irrepar
able injury to the organic structure of the
government, and if there be neither judicial
remedy for the wrongs it inflicts, nor power
in the people to protect themselves without
the official aid of their elected_ defender;
if, for instance the Legislative Department
should pass an act. oven through all the
forme of law, to abolish a cc-ordinate dw
partment of the government, in Pooh a ease
the Preiid'nt must take the high responsi•
bilities of his office, and ttaVO the life of the
nation at all hazard.
The so called Reconstruction acts, though
as plainl unconstitutional as any that can be
imagined, were cot believed to be within the
ekes last mentioned. The people were not
wholly disarmed of the power ofseltklefence.
In all the Northern Stated they still held in
their hands the sacred rights of the ballot,
and it was safe to believe that in due time
they would conic to the mews of dicir own
institutions. It gives me pleasure to add
that the appeal to our oammon oonatitueney
was not taken in vain, and that my oonti.
demo in their wisdom and virtue seems not
to have been misplaced.
It is well and publicly. known that ennrs
mile frauds hare been porpetrated on this
Treasury, and that oolossel fortunes have
been made at the public expenee ; this spe
cies of corruption has increased, is increasing
and if not dimisliehed, will moon bring us into
total ruin and disgrace. The public credit
ors and the taxpayers are alike interested
in an honest administration of the finances,
and neither class will long endure the high.
heeded robberies that have recently °war
red. For this disenediteble state of things
there are several Causes. Some of the taxes
are so laid as to present an irreaistahle
temptation to evade payment. The great
eunis which officere may win by connivaned
at fraud, ureate a pressure which is more
than the virtue of many can withstand, and
there can be nn doubt that the open disro
gard of constitutional obligations avowed by
some of the highest and most influential
men in the country. has greatly weakened
the moral sensed time who serve in subor
dinate places.
The expenses of the United States, in•
eluding intere,t on the public debt, are morn
than six times as much as they were seven
years ago. To collect and disburse thiavaet
amount requires careful supervision as well
as sy , tennatie vigilance. The system, never
perfected, was much - disorganized by the
"Tenure of Optics bill," which has alumet
destroyed official accountability. The Press
Went way be thoroughly convinced that an
officer is incapable, dishonest and unfaith
ful to the Constitution, but, under the law
which 1 have named, the utmost he can do
is to complain to the Senate, and ask the
privilege of supplyiut his place with a bet
ter mxu. If the Monte he regarded as per.
tumulty or politically hostile to the President,
it is natural and not altoeethor unreasonable
tbr the officer to expect that it will . take his
Part as far as possible, restore lino to his
place, and give him a triumph over his Es•
eautive superior.
The officer has other chances of Impunity
griming from accidental defects of evidence,
the mode of investigating it and the seamy
of the hearing. It is not wonderful that
official malfeasance should become bold in
proportion as the delinquents learn to think
themselves sere. I sin cutirely persuaded
that under such a rule the President esinuot,
perform the great duty assigned to him of
swing the laws faithfully executed, and that
it disables him most especially from . enforc
ing that rigid accountability which is nese.
sary to the due execution of the Iterenne
laws.
The Constitution invests the President
with authority to decide whether a removal
should be made in any given case ; the act
of Congress declares in substance that be
shall only accuse such as he supposes to be
unworthy of their trust. The Coustitution
makes him the sole judge in the premises;
but the statute takes away his jurisdiction,
transfers it to the Senate, and leaves him
nothing but the odious, and sometimes int
preeticable, duty of becoming a prosecutor.
The prosecution is to be conducted ben ire a
tribunal whose members arc not. like him,
responsible to the whole people, but to sepa
rate constituent bodies, and who may heir
his aevusition with great disfavor. The
Senate is absolutely without any known
standard of decision applicable to such a
case. Its judgment cannot be anticipated,
for it is not governed by any rule.
The law does not define what shall be
deemed good cause for removal ; it is im
possible even to conjecture what may or
may not be so considered by the Senate.
The nature of the subject forbids clear proof'.
If the charge be incapacity, what evidence
will support it Fidelity to the Constitu
tion may be understood or misunderstood in
a thousand different ways; and by violent
party men, in violent party times, uufaith
fulness to the Constitution may even
come to be considered meritorious. If the
officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall
it be made out? Will it be inferred from
acts unconnected with public ditty, from
priv a te history, or . from general reputation ?
Or must the Pres ident await the commis
sion of an uctual misdemeanor in otlice?
Shall he, in the meantime, risk the eharc
ter an 1 interest of the nation in the hands of
men to whom he cannot give his confidence ?
Must hu forbear his complaint until the
mischief is done and cannot be prevented ?
If his seal in the public service should impel
him to anticipate the overt set t must he
move et the peril of Icing tried himself for
the offence of slandering his either linate ?
In the present circumstances of the country,
some ono must be held responsible for oft
cis) delitepieney of every kind. It is ex
tremely difficult to say where that responsi
bility should be thrown, if It be not Id.
where it has been placed by the Censtitu
tion. But ell just men will admit that the
President ought to be entirely relieved from
such responsibility, if' he cannot meet it by
reason of restrictions placed by law upon his
sedan.
The unrestricted power of removal from
office is a very great one to be trusted even
to a Magistrate chosen by the general suff
rage of the whole people, and_ aecountable
directly to them for his sets. It is insloobt.
edly liable to abuse, and at some periods of
our history perlinps has been abused. If it
be thought desirable and constitutional that
it should be so limited as to wake the Pilk
ident merely a common inthrwer a,gainstooth
er public agents, ho should at least be per
mitted to act in that conicity befere some
open tribunal, independent of party polities,
ready to investigate the merits of every
ease, furnished with the means of taking
vldenre, and bound to decide wording to
established rules. This would guarantee
the ferret) of the accuser when be acts in
good faith, and at the same time secure the
rights of the other party. I speak of cot
with all propper respect fbr thi proo
Senate, but it does
legislative body
insure its
It is tirs
that p,
CM
1
NO. 41.