VOLUME 3.
RECONSTRUCTION.
faiial Report of the Joint Congressional
Cr/mmittee — IVesidevt Johnson's "Pol
icy" reviewed— The late Rebel States
Disorganized C ommun itirt Recon -
struct ion belongs exclusively to Con
gress—Guarantees of Secvr ity for the
Future Necessary— The Rebel States
not entitled to Representation in Con
gress.
The following is the report cf the Com
tnittceon Reconstruction, submitted in
the House and Senate of the Bth inst.
The joint committee of the two hous
es of Congress, appointed under the con
current resolution of December 13, 1865,
With direction "to inquire into the condi
tion of the States which formed the so.
called Confederate States of America,and
report whether they or any of th m are
entitled to be represented in either house
of Congress, with leave to report by bill
or otherwise," ask leave to report:
That they have attended to the duty
assigned them assiduously as other duties
wouhl permit, and now snbmit to Con
gress as the result of their deliberations
a resolution, aud two bills, of which they
recommend the adoption.
Hefore proceeding to set Forth in de
tail their reasons for the conclusion to
■which, after great deliberation, your com
mittee have arrived, they beg leave to
advert, briefly, to the course of proceed
ings they found it necessary to adopt,and
to explain tho reasons therefor.
The resolution under which your com
mittee was appointed directed them to in
quire into the condition of the Confed
erate States, and report whether they
were entitled to representation in Con
gress. It is obvious that such an inves
tigation, covering so large an extent of
territory, and involving so many import
ant considerations, must necessarily re
quire no trifling labor, and consume a
very considerable amount of time. Tt
must embrace the condition in which
those States were left at the close of the
war; the measures which have been ta
ken toward the organization of civil gov
ernment, and the disposition of the peo
ple toward the United States; in a word,
their fitness to lake an active part in the
administration of national affairs.
A.s to the condition at the close of the
rebellion, the evidence is open to all, and
admits of no dispute. They were in a
Mate of utter exhaustion. Having pro
tracted their struggle against Federal
authority until all hope of successful re
sistance had ceased, end laid down their
arms only because there was no longer
any power to use them, the people of
those States were left bankrupt in their
public finance, and shorn of the private
wealth which had before given them
power and snfluence. They were also
necessarily in astate of complete anarchy,
without governments, except by the per
mission of those who had been success
ful in the war. The President of the
United States, in the proclamations un
der which he appointed provisional gov
ernors, and in his various communications
to them, has, in exact terms, recognized
the fact that the people of those States
were, when the rebellion was crushed,
"deprived of all civil government, and
must proceed to organize anew." In this
conversation with Mr. Steurns, of Mas
sachusntts, certified by himself, President
Johnson said : "The State institutions are
prostrated,laid out on the ground,and they
must be taken up and adapted to tha
progress of events."
Finding the Southern States in this
condition, and Congress having failed to
provide for (he contingency, his duty was
obvious. \s President of the United
State# he hud no power, except to exe
cute the laws of the land as Chief Mag
istrate. These laws gave him no author
ity over the subject of reorganization,but
by the Constitution he was Commander
in-Chief of the army and the navy of tho
United States. These Con federates em
braced a portion of the people of the
Union whohud been in.astate of revolt,but
bad been reduced to obedience by force
of arms. They were in an abnormal
condition, without aivil government.with
out commercial connections, without na
tional or international relations, and sub
ject only to martial law. By withdraw
ing their representation in Congress, by
renouncing tho privilege of representa
tion, by organizing a separate govern
uen t, and by levying war against the
United States, they destroyed their State
constitution in respect to the vital prin
ciple which connected their respective
States with tha Union, and severed their
federal relations; and nothing of those
constitutions was left of which the Uni
ted States were bound to take notice
For four years they b»d a tie fucto gov
ernment, but it was usurped and illegal.
They chose the tribunal of arms wherein
to decide whether or not it should be le
galized, and they were defeated. At the
AMERICAN CITIZEN."
close of the rebellion, therefore, the peo
ple of the rebellious States were found,
ns the President expresses it, deprived of
all civil government.
Under this state of affairs it was plain
ly the duty of the President to enforce
existing national laws, and to establish,
as far as he could' such a system of gov
ernment as might be provided for by ex
isting national statutes. As Commander
in-Chief of a victorious army, it was his
dnty under the law of nations and the
army regulations to restore order, to pre
serve property, and to prote<#the people
against violence from any quarter, until
pro-vision should be made by law for their
government. He might, as President,
assemble Congress and submit the whole
matter to the law making power, or he
might supervision and
control until Congress should assemble
on its regular appointed day. Selecting
the latter alternative, he proceeded by
virtue of his power as Commander-in-
Chief to appoint provisional governors
over the revolted State?. These were
regularly commissioned, and their com
pensation was paid, as the Secretary of
War stated "from the ajipropt iation for
army contingencies, because the duties
performed by the parties were regarded
of a temporary character, auxiliary to
the withdrawal of military force, thedis
bandment of armies, and the reduction
of military expenditure, by provisional
organizations tor the protection of civil
rights, the preservation of peace, and to
take the place of armed force in the re
spective States."
It cannot, wa think, be contended that
these governors possessed or could ex
ercise any but military authority,. They
had no power to organize civil govern
ments, nor to exercise any authority, ex
cept that which inhered in their own
persons under their commissions. Neith
er had the President, as Couimamlcr-in-
Cliief, any other than military authority.
It was for him to decide how fir he would
exercise it, how far lie would relax it,
and on what terms he would withdraw
it. ile might properly permit the peo
ple to assemble, and to initiate local gov
ernments, and to execute such local laws
as they might choose to frame, not incon
sistent with, or in opposition to the laws
of the United States. And, if satisfied
that they might Palely be left to them
selves, he might withdvow the military
forces altogether, and leave '.he people of
any or all these States to govern them
selves without his interference. In the
language of the Secretary of State, in
his telegram to the provisional governor
of Georgia, dated October 28, 1865, he
might "recognize the people of any State
as having resumed the relations of loyal
ty to the Union," and act, in his milita
ry capacity, on this hypothesis. All this
was within his own descretion, as milita
ry commander. Hut it was not for him
to decide upon the nature or effect of
any system of government which the
people of these might see fit to adopt.—
This power is lodged by the Constitution
in the Congress of the United States—
that branch of the Government in which
is vested the authority to fix the political
relations of the States to tho Uuion,
whose duty is to guarantee to each State
a republican form of government, and to
protect each and all of them against for
eign or domestic violence, and against
each other. We csnnut, therefore, tegard
the various acts of the President in re
lation t« the formation of local govern
ments in the insurrectionary States, and
the conditions imposed by him upou their
action, iu any other light than as intima
tions to the people that, as Commander
in Chief of the army, he would consent
to withdraw military rule just in propor
tion as thay should, by their acts, mani
fest a disposition to preserve order among
themselves, establish governments den
oting loyalty to the Uuion, and exhibit
a settled determination to return to their
allegiance—leaving with the law making
power to fix the terms of their final re
storation to all the rights and prvileges
as States of the Union. That this was
the view of his power taken by the Prea
ident is evident from expressions to that
effect iu the communications of the Sec
retary of State to the various provisional
governors and the repeated declarations
of the President himself. Any other
supposition inconsistent with it would
impute to the President designs of en
croaohments upon a co-ordinate branch
of the Government, which should not be
highly attributed to the Chief Magis
trate of the nation,
When Congress assembled in Decem
ber last, the people of most of the States
latoly iu rebellion had, under the advice
of the president, organized local govern
ments, and some of them had acceded to
the terms proposed by him. In his an
nual message, he gtcted in general terms
what bad been do&t), but be did wot see
"Let us have Faith that Right makes Might; and in that Faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as w« understand it"~A. Lii.coi.ir
BUTLER, BUTLER COUNTY, PA., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1866.
fit to communicate the details for infor
mation of Congress. While in this and
in a subsequent message the President
urged the speedy restoration of these
States, and expressed the opinion that
their condition was such as to justify
their restoration, yet it is quite obvious
that Congress must either have acted
blindly on that opinion of the President
or proceeded to obtain the information
requisite for intell'gent action on the sub
ject. The impropriety of proceeding
wholly on the judgment of any one man,
however exalted his station, in a matter
involving the welfare of the Republic in
all future time, or of adopting any plan,
coming from any source, without fully
understanding all its hearings and com
prehending its full effect, was apparent.
The first step, therefore, was to obtain the
required information. A call was ac
cordingly made on the President for the
information in his possession as to what
had been done, in order that Congress
might judge for itself as to the g-rounds
of the belief expressed by him in the
fitness of States recently in rebellion to
partic : pa*e fully in the conduct of nation
al affairs. This information was not im
mediately communicated. When the
response was finally made, some six weeks
after your committee had beeu in actual
session, it was found that the evidence
upon which the President seems to have
based his suggestions was incomplete and
unsatisfactory. Authenticated copies of
the constitutions and ordinances adopted
by the conventions in three of the States
had been submitted; extracts from news
papcis furnished scanty information as
to the action of one other State, and noth
ing appears to have been communiiated
as to the remainder. There was no evi
dence of the loyalty of those who partic
ipated in these conventions, and in one
Stat# abnc was any proposition made to
submit the action of the convention to
the final judgment of the people. *
Failing to obtain the desired informa.
tion, and left to grope for light wherever
it might be found, your committee did
not deem it either advisable or safe to
adopt, without further examination, the
suggestions of tho Prcsidedt, more es
pecially as he had not deemed it expedi
ent to remove the military force, to sus
pend martial law, or to restore tho writ
of habeas corpus , but still thought it nec
essary to exercise over tho people of the
rebelliiflls States his military power and
jurisdiction. This conclusion derived
greater force from tho fact, nndisputed,
that in all those States, except Tennes
see, and perhaps Arkansas, the elections
which were held for State officers and
members of Congress had resulted almost
universally in the defeat of candidates
who had been true to the Union, and in
the election of notorious and unpardoned
rebels, men who could not take the pre
scribed oath of office, and who made no
secret of their hostility to the Govern
ment and the people of the United States
Under these circumstances> anything like
hasty action would have been as danger
ous as it was obviously unwise. It ap
peared to your committee that but one
course remained, viz : to investigate care
fully and thoroughly the state of feeling
and opinion existing among the people of
these States; to ascertain how far their
pretended loyalty could be relied upon,
and thence to infer whether it would be
safe to adroit them at once to a full par
ticipation in the Government they bad
fought for four years to destroy. It was
an equally important inquiry whether
their restoration to their former relations
with the United States should only be
granted upon certain conditions and guar
antees, which would effectually secure
the nation against a recurrence of evils
so disastrous as those which it had
escaped at so enormous a sacrifice.
To obtain the necessary information,
recourse could only be had to the exam
ination of witnesses whose position had
given them the best means of forming an
accurate judgment, who could state facts
from their own observation, and whoso
aharaoter and standing afforded the best
evidence of their truthfulness and im
partiality. A work like this, oovering so
large an extent of territory, and embra
cing such complicated and extensive in
quiries, necessarily required much time
and labor. To shorten the time as much
as possible, the work WM divided and
placed in the hands of four sub-commit
tees, who have been diligently employed
iu its accomplishment. The result of
their labors has beea heretofore submit
ted, and the country will judge how far
they sustain the President'* views, and
how far they justify the conclusions to
which your committee have finally ar
rived.
A claim for the immediate admission
of Seuatorg and Representatives from
the so-called Confederate States hag been
urged, whieh seems to your committee
not to be founded either in reason or in
law, t»nd which cannot be passed with
out comment. Stated in a few words, it
amounts to this : that, inasmuch as the
lately insurgent States had no legal right
to separate themselves from the Union,
they still retain their positions as States,
and consequently the people thereof have
a right to immediate representation in
Congress, without the imposition of any
conditions whatever; and further, that
nntil such admission, Congress has no
right to tax them for the support of the
Government. It has aven been conten
ded that, until such admission, all legis
lation affecting their intereststs is, if not
unconstitutional, at least unjustifiable and
oppressive.
It is believed by your committee that
all these propositions are not only wholly
untenable, but, if admitted, would tend
to the destruction of tho Government.
It must not be forgotten that the peo
ple of these States, without jurisdiction
or excuse, rose in insurrection against
the United States. They deliberately
abolished their H'ate governments, sa far
as the same ccnnected them politically
with the Union a? members thereof un
der the Constitution. They deliberately
renounced their allegiance to the Federal
Government, and proceeded to establish
an independent government for them
selves. In the prosecution of this enter
prise they seized the national forts, arse
nals, dock-yards, and other public prop
erty within their borders, drove out from
among them those who remained true to
the Union, and heaped every imaginable
insult and iujury upon the United States
and its citizens. Finally they opened
hostilities and levied war against the Gov
ernment. They continued this war for
four years with the most determined and
malignant spirit, killing in battle and
otherwise, large numbers of loyal people,
destroying the property of loyal citizens
on the sea and on the land, and entailing
on the government an enormous debt in
curred to sustain its rightful authofity.
Whether legally and constitutionally or
not they did in fact withdraw from the
Union, and made themselves subjects of
another government of their own crea
tion : and they only yielded when, after
a long, bloody, and wasting war, they
were compelled by utter exhaustation to
lay down their arms; and this they did
not willingly, but declaring that they
yielded because they could no longer re
sist, affording no evidence whatever of
repentanceJor their crime, and expres
sing no regret except that th«y had no
longer the power to continue the desper
ate struggle.
It cannot we think be denied by any
one having a tolerable acquaintance with
a[public law, that the war thus wiged was
a civil war of the greatest magnitude.—
The people waging it were necessarily
subject to all the rules which by the laws
of nations control a contest of that char
acter, and to all the legitimate consequen
eos was that, within the limits prescribed
by humanity, the oonquered rebels were
at the meroy of the conquerors. That a
government thus outraged has a most per
fect right to exact indemnity for the in
juries done and security against the re
currence of such outrages in the future
would seem too clear for dispute. What
the nature of that security should be,
what proof should be required as a re
turn to allegiance, what time Bhould elapse
before a people thus demoralized should
be restored io full to the enjoyment
of political rights and privileges, are
questions for the law-making power to
decide, and that decision must depend on
grave considerations of tbo publio safety
and the general welfare.
It is, moreover contended, and with
apparent gravity, that from the peculiar
nature and character of our Government
no such right on the part of the conqueror
can exist ; and from the moment when
rebellion 'lays down Its arms, and actual
hostilities cease, all political rights of re>
bellious communities are at once restored;
that because the people of a Stat* ofthe
Union were once an organized community
within the Union, they necessarily so re
main, and their right to be represented
in Congress at any and all times, and to
participate in the government of the
country under all circumstances, admits
of neither question nor dispute. If this
is indeed true, then is the government of
the United States powerless for its own
protection, and flagrant rebellion carried
to the extreme of civil war is a pass tiipe
which any State may play at, not only
certain that it can lose nothing in any
event, but may be the gainer by defeat.
If rebellion succeeds, it aooomplishes
its purposes, and destroys the Govern
ment. If it fails, the war has been bar
ren of results, and the may be
fought out in the legislative, halls 0 f the
' country, Treason, defeated in the field,
has only to take possession of Congress
and the Cabinet.
Your committee does not deem it either
necessary or proper to discuss the ques
tion whether the l»te Confederate States
are still States of this Union, or can ever
be otherwise. Granting this profitless
abstraction, about which so many words
have been'wasted, it by no means follows
that the people of those States may not
place themselras in a condition to abro
gate the powers and privileges incident
ton State of the Union, and deprive
themselves of all pretence of right to ex
ercise those powers and enjoy those priv-
A State within the Union has
obligations to discharge as a member of
the Union. It must submit to Federal
laws and uphold Federal authority. It
must have a government, republican in
form, under amd by which it is connected
with the Peneral Government, and thro'
which it can discharge its obligations.—
It is more than idle, it is mockery, to
contend that a people who have thrown
off their allegiance, destroyed the local
government which bound these States to
the Union as members thereof, or defied
its authority, refused to execute its laws,
and abrogated every provision which
gave them political rights within the
Union,' still retain through all, the per
fect and entire right to resume at their
own will and pleasure all their privi'egCs
within the Union, and especially to par
ticipate in its government, and to control
the conduct of its affairs. To admit such
principles for one moment would be to
declare that treason is always master and
loyalty a blunder. Such a principle is
void by its very nature and 6ssence. be
cause inconsistent with tho theory of
government and fatal to its existence.
On the contrary, we assert that no por
tion of the people of this country, wheth
er in State or Territory, have the right
while remaining on its soil to withdraw
from or neglect the authority of the Uni
ted States. They must obey its laws as
paramount, and acknowledge its jurisdic
tion. They have no right to socede ; and
while they can destroy their State govern
ments and plaoe themselves beyond the
pale of the Union, sa far as the exercise
of Stato privilege! is concerned, they
cannot escape the obligations imposed
upon them by the Constitution and the
laws, nor impair the exercise of national
authority. The Constitution, it will be
observed, does not act upon the States, as
such, but upon the people. While,
therefore, the people cannot escape its
anthorjty, the States may, through the
act of their people, ceaso to exist in an
organized form, and thus dissolve their
political relations with the United States
That taxation should be only with the
consent of the people, through their own
representatives, is a cardinal principle of
all free governments, but it is not true
that taxation and representation must go
together under all circumstances and at
every moment of time. The people of
the District of Columbia and of the Ter
ritories are taxed, although not represent
ed in Congress. If it be true that the
people of the so-called Confederate States
have no right to throw off the authority
of the United States, it is equally true
that they are bound at all times to share
the burdens of the government. They
cannot either legally or equitably refuse
to bear their just proportion of these bur
dens by voluntarily abdicating their rights
and privileges as States of the Union and
refusing to bo represented in the councils
of the nation, much less be rebellion
against national authority and levying
war. To hold that by so doing they
could escape taxation, would be to offer a
premium for insurrection. To reward in
*>tead of punishing treason. To hold that
as soon as Government is restored to its
full authority, it can be allowed DO time
to secure itself against similar wrongs in
the future, or elso to omit the ordinary
exercise of its constitutional power to
compel equal contribution from all toward
the expenses of the Government, would
be unreasonable in itself and unjust to
the nation. It is sufficient to reply that
the loss of representation by the people
of the insurrectionary States was their
own voluntary choice. They might aban
don their privileges, but they could not
escape their obligations. And surely
they had no right to complain, if before
Resuming their privileges, and while the
people of tjie United Strtes are devising
moans for the public safety, rendered nec
essary by the act of those '*bo thus dis
franchised themselves, they are compel
led to contribute their just proportion
of the general burden of taxatioq incur
red by their wickedness and folly.
Equally absurd is the pretense that
the legislative authority of tfcp nation
must be inoperative, so far as they are
concerned, while they, by their own act,
' b»Y« lost tbe right to take pari to it.—
Such a proposition carries its own refu
tation on its face.
While thus exposing fallacies, which,
as your committee believe, are resorted
to for the purpose of misleading the peo
ple, and distracting their attention from
the questions at issue, we freely admit
that such a eondition of things should be
brought, if possible, to a speedy termin
ation It is most desirable that the union
of all the States should become perfect at
the earliest moment consistent with the
peace and welfare of the nation, that all
these States should become fully repre
sented in the national councils, and take
their share in the legislation of the coun
try. The possession and exercise of more
than its just share of power by any seo
tion is injurious, as well to that section as
to all others. Its tendency is distract
ing and demoralizing, and such a state of
affairs is only to bo tolerated on the ground
of a necessary regard to the public safe
ty. As soon as that safety is secured it
should terminate.
Your committee came to the consider
ation of the subject referred to them with
the most anxious desire to ascertain what
was the condition of the people of the
States recently in insurrection, and what,
if anything, was necessary to be done
beforo restoring them to the full enjoy
ment of all their original privileges. It
was undeniable that the war into which
they had plunged the country had mate
rially changed their relations to the peo
ple of the loyal States. Slavery has
been abolished by constitutional amend
ment. A large proportion of the popula
tion has become, instead of mere chattels,
free men and citizens. Through all the
past struggle these had remained true
and loyal, and had in large numbers
fought on the side of the Union. It was
impossible to abandon these without se
curing them their rights as frea men and
citizens. The wholo civilized world have
cried out against such base ingratitude,
and the baro idea is offensive to all right
thinking men. Hence it becomes im
poitant to inquire what could be done to
secure their rights, civil and political.—
It was evident to your committee that ad
equate security would only be found in
appropriate constitutional provision-. liy
an original provision of the Constitution,
representation is based on the whole
number of free persons in each State, and
three fifths of all other persons. When
all became free, representation of all
necessarily follows. As a consequence
the inevitable effect of the rebellion would
be to increase the political power of the
insurrectionary States, whenever they
should be allowed to resume their posi
tion M States of the Union. As repre
sentation is, by the Constitution, based
upon population, your committee did not
think advisable to recommend a change
of that basis. The exercise of represent
ation neoessarily resulting from the abo
lition of slavery was considered the most
important element in the questions aris
ing out of the changed conditions of af
fairs, and the necessity for some funda
mental action in this regard seemed im
perative. It appeared to your committee
that the rights of theso persons, by whom
the basis of representation had been thus
increased, should be recognized by the
General Government. While slaves they
were not considered as having any rights,
civil or political. It did not seem just or
proper that all the political advantages
derived from their beooming free should
be confined to their former masters, who
had fought against the Union, and with
held from themselves, who had always
been loyal. Slavery, by building up a
ruling and dominant class, had produced
a spirit of oligarchy adverse to republi
can institutions, which finally inaugura
ted civil war. The tendency of contin
uing the domination of such a class by
leaving it in the exclusive possession of
political power would be to encourage the
same spirit and lead to a similar result.
Doubu were entertained whether Con
gress had power even under the amended
Constitution to prescribe the qualifica
tions of voters in a State, or could act
directly on the subject. It was doubtful
in the opinion of your committee wheth
er the States would consent to snrrender
a power they had always exercised, and
to which they were attached- As the
best, not the only method of surmounting
all difficulty, and as eminently just and
proper in itself, your committee comes to
the concision that political power should
be possessed in all the States exactly in
proportion as the right of suffrage should
be granted without distinction to oolor or
race. This, it was thought, would leave
the whole question with the people of
each State, holding out to all the advuo
tage of increased political power as an
inducement to allow all to participate in
ita exercise. Such a proposition wo lit J
b»i» ik> nature geatle and pe*suaaiv», and
wo«l4 lead,was bopsd, a| no distant
NUMBER 35.
day, *6 an wuial participation of all, with
out distinction, in all the rights and priv
ileges of citizenship, thus affording a full'
and adequate protection to all classes of
cituens, since we would have, thfough
the ballot-bos, the power of self-proteo
tion.
Holding these views, your committee
prepared an amendment to the Constitu
tion to carry out this idea, and submitted
the same to Congress. Unfortunately as
we think, it did not receive tlie necessary
constitutional support in the Senate, and
therefore could not bo proposed for adop
tion by the States. The principle involv
ed in that amendment is, however, be
lieved ta be sound, and your committed
have again proposed it in another form,
hoping that it may receive the approba
tion of Congress.
Your committee Have been unable to
find in the evidence submitted to Con
gress by the President under date of
March 6, 1866, in compliance with (ha
resolutions of January 5 and February
27,1866, any satisfactory proof that either'
of tho insurrectionary States, excopt pcf
baps the State ot Tennessee, has placed
itself in a condition to resume its politi
cal relations to tho Union. The firet step
toward that end would necessarily be the
establishment of a republican form of
government by the people. It has been
be! jre remarked that the provisional gov
ernors appointed by the President in the
exercise of his military authority could
do nothing by virtuo of tho powor thus
conferred toward the establishment of <1
State government. They were acting
under the War Department, and wertf
paid out of its funds. They wero sifftply
bridging aver the chasm of rebellion anrf
restoration. And yet we find them call
ing conventions and convening Legisla
tures. Not only this, but we find tho
conventions and Legislatures thus conV
vencd acting under executive direction
as to the provisions required to be em
bodied in their constitutions and ordi
nances, as conditions precedent to their
reorganization, by the Pruid«nt. The
inducement held out by the President far
compliance with the conditions imposed
was directly in one instance and presuma
bly thereafter in others, the immediate
admission of Senators and Representa
tives to Congress. The characters of the
conventions and Legislatures thus assem
bled was not such as to inspire confidence
in the good faith of their raombers.—
Governor Perry, of South Carolina, dis
solved the convention assembled in that
State before the suggestion had reaohod
Columbia from Washington that the reb
el war debt should be repudiated, and
gave as a reason that it was a "revolu
tionary body." There is no evidenoe of
the loyalty or disloyalty of the members
| of these conventions and Legislatures »r
--cept the fuct of pardons being asked for
on their account. Some of these Statos
now claiming representation refused to
adopt the conditions imposed. Mo rclia
able information is found in these papers
as to the constitutional provisions of sev
eral of these States, while in not one of
them is the slightest evidence to show
that these "umended constitutions," as
they are oalled, have ever been submit'
ted to the people for their adoption. In'
North Carolina alone an ordinance was
passed to that effect, but it does not ap
pear to have been acted on. Not one of
them, therefore, has been ratified. Wheth
er with President Johnson we adopt tho
theory that the old constitutions wero
abrogated and destroyed and the people
" deprived of all government," or wheth
er we adopt the alternative doctrine that
they were only suspended and were re
vived by the suppression of the rebellion',
the new provisien mast b« considered as
equally destituto of validity before adop
tion by the people. If the conventions
were called for the sole purpose of putt
ting the State govcrnwont into operation,
they had no power either to adopt a new
constitution or to amend an old one with'
out consent of the peoplo. Nor could
either a convention or Legislature change
the fundamental law without power pre
viously conferred. In the view of your
committee it follows, therefore, that tho
people of a State when the constitution
has been amended might feel themselves
justified in repudiating altogcthera!) sttelt
unauthorised assumptions of power, and.
might bo expected to do so at pleasure.
So far as the disposition of the people
of ttie insurrectionary States and thq
ptobability of their adopting measures
conforming to th» eitaoged condition of
affairs oon be inferred jVoai the papers*
submitted by the President as the basis
of his action, tho prospects are far ftora
esoouragius, It appears quite clear that
the anti-slavery amendments, bath to fchft
State and Federal Constitutions, wero
adopted with reluctance by the hodiea
which did udopt them; and i»
§U.tes they beett sither passed