A HAND BOOK OF POLITICS FOR 1863. BY EDWARD McPHERSON, LL.D., CLEBK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON CITY: PHILP & SOLOMONS. 1868. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by EDWARD McPHERSON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia. STEREOTYPED BY McGILL & WITHEROW, WASHINGTON, D. C. PREFACE. This Hand Book is a reprint of the POLITICAL MANUALS OF 1866, OF 1867, AND OF 1868, and, on the suggestion of others, has been put in this as the preferable form for use in the Presidential campaign, for which it is cqpecially designed. Besides the political data naturally falling within its scope, it will 'e found to contain the celebrated Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798 and the National Platforms of 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, all which are h storical mnionuments of a past which it is instructive to study. The collection of Votes and Documentary matter of every kind, bearing upon current politics, will be found large, and, I hope, complete-my purpose having been to gather and combine every essential fact involved in the discussion of pending issueg. The Tabular Statements at the close of the volume will be found suggestive and of immediate value; and the whole, it is hoped, will meet the want it is intended to supply. EDWARD McPHERSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., JTuly 15, 1868. TABLE OF CONTENTS. ":E'.A.:E T I--186. I. Constitution of the United States-Mr. Seward's Certificate of the Ratification of the Anti-Slavery Amendment.................1-6 II. President Johnson's Orders and Proclamations.............................................. 7-18 Respecting Commercial Intercourse-Trial and Punishment of the Assassins of Abraham Lincoln-Arrest of< Tefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, and others-To re-establish the Authority of the United States in VirginiaEquality of Rights with Maritime NationsThe Blockade-Amnesty-Appointing Provisional Governor for North Carolina, and other Insurrectionary States-Freedmen--Suppression of Rebellion in Tennessee-Paroled Prisoners-Martial Law withdrawn from Kentucky -Annulling the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus-Declaring the Rebellion Ended-Appointments to Office-Trials by Military Courts --:Against the Fenian Invasion of Canada. III. Action of the Conventions and Legislatures of the Lately Insurrectionary States........................................................18-28 Proclamations of Provisional GovernorsElections of Conventions and Ordinances thereof-Enactments of Legislatures-Telegrams of President Johnson and Secretary Seward respecting the Rebel Debt, Colored Suffrage, Anti-Slavery Amendment, Admission to Congress of Senators and Representatives elect-President Lincoln's Letter to Governor Hahn, March 13,1864, on Colored Suffrage, and his Telegram of April 12,1865, prohibiting the meeting of the Rebel Legislature of Virginia. IV. Legislation Respecting Freedmen........29-44 In North Carolina-Mississippi-Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina, and General Sickles's Order relative thereto-Florida-Virginia, and General Terry's Order suspending the Vagrant Act-Tennessee-Texas-Louisiana. V. President Johnson's Interviews and Speeches...................................44-63 Remarks to citizens of Indiana-Nashville Speech, June 9,1864-To Virginia RefugeesInterview with George L. Stears-Address to Colored Soldiers, October 10, 1865-Interview with Senator Dixon-With Colored Delegation respecting Suffrage, with Reply of-Remarks to Committee.of the Virginia LegislatureSpeech of February 22, 1866-To the Colored People of the District of Columbia. VI. Annual, Special, and Veto Messages of President Johnson, with Copies of the Vetoed Bills, and the Votes on them...........64-84 Annual Message, December 4, 1865-On the condition of the late Insurrectionary States, and General Grant's accompanying ReportVeto of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Civil Rights Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Colorado Bill, with copy and votes-Message on the proposed Constitutional Amendment. VII. Majority and Minority Reports of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction.......84-10t VIII. Votes on Proposed Constitutional Am medment-...................................102-106 On Constitutional Amendment as finally adopted-The Accompanying Bills-The Amendment on Representation and Direct Taxes-On Representation-On Immunities of Citizens-On Tennessee-On Rebel Debt. IX. Members of the Cabinet of President Johnson, and of the 39th Congress, and of Claimants of Seats therein..................107-109 X. Votes in the House of Representatives on Political Resolutions............................109-114 On Public Debt-Punishment of TreasonRepresentation of lately Insurrectionary States -Elective Franchise in the States-Test-Oath -Test-Oath for Lawyers-Endorsement of the President's Policy-Withdrawal of Military Forces-Legal effect of Rebellion-Duty of Congress-Writ of Habeas Corpus-Thanks to the President-Recognition of State Government of North Carolina-Trial of Jefferson Davis-Neutrality-The Fenians. XI. Votes on Political Bills.....-...............114-117 Suffrage in District of Columbia-Extending the Homestead Act-Habeas Corpus-West Virginia Bill-Elective Franchise in the Territories. XII. Political and Military Miscellaneous.................................................. 117-124 Union National Platform of 1864-Democratic National Platform of 1864-Call for National Union Convention, 1866-Address of Democratic Members of Congress, 1866-Elections of 1866-Lee's Surrender to Grant-The Sherman-Johnston Agreement, and its Disapproval -Grant's Orders-Pennsylvania and Maryland Platforms of 1866-Convention of Southern Unionists. XIII. Tabular Statements on Representation, Tariff, and the Public Debt........125-126 Census Tables, showing Population, Voting Population, Present Apportionment, and effect of proposed changes-Table of Votes, by States and Sections, on the Tariffs of 1816, 1824,1828, 1832,1846, 1857, 1861, 1864, and the Bill of 1866. 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. "P.A.-BT II--1867. XIV. President Johnson's Speeches.......127-143 On receiving the Proceedings of the Philadelphia 14th of August Convention-In New York -In Cleveland-In St. Louis-Interview with Charles G. Halpine. XV. President Johnson's Messages.........143-181 Annual Message, December 5, 1866-Veto of the Second Freedmen's Bureau Bill, with copy and votes-Respecting Restoring Tennessee to her Relations to the Union-Veto of the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Second Colorado Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Nebraska Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Reconstruction Bill, with copy and votes-Veto of the Tenure-of-Office Act, with copy and votesAccompanying the Approval of the Army Appropriation Bill-Veto of the Supplementary Reconstruction Bill, with copy and votes-Accompanying the Approval of a Reconstruction Appropriation Bill. XVI. Members of the Cabinet of President Johnson, and of the Second Session of the 39th Congress, and First Session of 40th Congress, and of Claimants of Seats therein.......................................................181-183 XVII. Votes on Political Bills and Resolutions......-............................................ 183-190 Repeal of Power to Pardon by Proclamation-- Representation of Rebel States-Elective Franchise in the Territories-Femal eSuffrage, and Intelligence Suffrage-Test-Oath of Attorneys-Validating certain Proclamations and Acts of the President-Homesteads in Southern States-To suspend the Payment of Bounties for Slaves Drafted or Volunteered-Bill to Restore the Possession of Lands Confiscated by the Rebel Authorities-Proposed Impeachment of President Johnson, votes and report upon. XVIII. Text of the Reconstruction Measures of 39th and 40th Congresses.......191-194 Fourteenth Constitutional Amendment-Re construction Act, and Supplement thereto-- Copy of Test-Oath-Votes of Legislatures on XIVth Amendment. XIX. Proclamations and Orders..............194-208 President Johnson's Proclamations on the Reestablishment of Civil Authority, on American Vessels in certain Ports of Japan, respecting Decree of Maximilian, respecting Vessels of the Hawaiian Islands, and declaring Nebraska a State; his Orders withdrawing the Reward for the Arrest of John H. Surratt, and Release of Convicts; his Telegrams to Provisional Governor Throckmorton of Texas, Governor Brownlow of Tennessee, and Montgomery Blair-GeneralGrant's Order Revoking Order Respecting Disloyal Newspapers-Assigning Commanders to Military Districts under Reconstruction Bill-Various Orders of said Commanders-Governor Brownlow's. Proclamation respecting a State Guard. XX. Judicial Opinions...............................09-240 Opinions of Judge Davis and Chief Justice Chase on Military Commissions-Of Judges Field and Miller, Chief Justice Cartter, and Judge Wylie on Test-Oaths-Of Chief Justice Chase on the Mississippi Injunction Case. XXI. Resolutions of National and State Conventions............................. 240-257 Of Philadelphia 14th of August-Of Southern Loyalists'-Pittsburgh Soldiers and Sailors'Of Cleveland Soldiers and Sailors'-Platforms of Parties in Connecticut,. Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina; and Virginia-The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798. XXII. Political Miscellany.....................257-259 The Elective Franchise in the States-Proposed Substitute for XIVth AmendmentElections of 1867-Recent Legislation in Maryland - Constitutional Conventions - Public Debt of United States. XXIII. Orders, Letters, Messages, and Votes in the Senate respecting Secretary Stanton..............................................................261-264 Request for Mr. Stanton's Resignation, and Reply-Secretary Stanton's Suspension, and Action of the Senate thereon-Action of General Grant-Secretary Stanton's Removal, and votes of Senate thereon-Acceptance of General Thomas-Secretary Stanton's Letter" Re-.inquishing Charge," and vote on General Schofield's Confirmation. XXIV. The Articles of Impeachment and Answer-Votes in the House, and Judgment of the Senate............................ 264-282 Vote in House, November 25,1867-The Final Effort at Impeachment, and Vote of House thereon--Articles of Impeachment, and Votes thereon-Vote on the Legality of the CourtThe Answer of President Johnson-The Replication of the House-Progress of the TrialThe Judgment of the Senate. XXV. Correspondence between General Grant and President Johnson, growing out of Secretary Stanton's Suspension............282-293 XXVI. Letters, Papers, Testimony, PoliticoMilitary Orders, and Report of General Grant.........................................................293-316 General Grant's Orders respecting Slaves, issued in the Field-Letters on Slavery and Reconstruction; on being a Candidate for Political Office; on Results of "Peace on any Terms;" on Filling the Armies; on Protecting Colored Soldiers-His Testimoon the Exchange of Prisoners-Documents on the Proposed Mission to Mexico-On the Baltimore Troubles of 1866-On Martial Law in TexasTestimony on Reconstruction-Letters on the Removal of General Sheridan and Secretary Stanton-His Orders and Telegrams to Miliitary Commanders in the Unreconstructed States-Report as Secretary of War ad interim. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7 XXVII. Digest of Orders of Military Commanders, and General Action under the Reconstruction Acts...............3... 16-325 Orders of General Schofield in the First Militarv District-Orders of Generals Sickles and Canby in the Second Military District-Orders of Generals Pope, Meade, and Swayne in the Third Military District-Orders of Generals Ord, Gillem, and McDowell in the Fourth Military District-Orders of Generals Griffin, Sheridan, Mower, Hancock, and Buchanan, in the Fifth Military District. XXVIII. Abstracts of the new Constitutions of Maryland and New York, of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and M ississippi......................................326-335 XXIX. Supplemental Reconstruction Measures...................................................... 335-341 Act of July 19, 1867-Act of March 11, 1868-- The Arkansas Bill-The "Omnibus" BillVotes on all, and on various Propositions made during their pendency. KXX. President Johnson's Proclamations and Orders.......................................342-346 Enjoining Obedience to the Constitution and the Laws-Extending full Pardon to certain Persons who were engaged in the late Rebellion-Proclaiming a General Amnesty-Order respecting the Transaction of Public Business -Correcting an Error in previous Proclamation-Orders respecting Reconstruction. XXXI. Members of the Cabinet and the 40th Congress............................................. 347-348 XXXII. Votes on Political Bills and Resolutions........................................................ 349-352 To continue the Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and Total Expenditures of the Bureau-Thanks to ex-Secretary Stanton-Bills respecting the Supreme Court-For the further security of Equal Rights in the District of Columbia-The Eight-Hour Law. XXXIII. Political Miscellany..................352-356 Votes of State Legislatures on XIVth Amendment-Votes by the People on proposed Constitutional Amendments in Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, and Minnesota-President Johnson's Telegram to ex-Governor Parsons on Alabama's Ratification of XIVth AmendmentFinancial Legislation authorizing the 6's of 1881, the 5-20's, tho 10-40's, the Consolidated Loan of 1865, Legal Tenders, Sinking Fund, and Limiting the amount of " Greenbacks." XXXIV. National Platforms of 1852, 1856, 1860 and 1864........................................... 356-364 Democratic and Whig Platforms of 1852-Republican and Democratic Platforms of 1856, 1860,1864. XXXV. Republican and Democratic Platforms of 1868, with the Letters of Acceptance of Candidates, and sundry Proceedings of the Conventions................................. 364-371 XXXVI. Statistical Tables-Elections, Revenue, Appropriations, &c...............3........ 72-377 Election Returns since 1860, and Electoral College-Taxation (State and United States) of National Banks-Internal Revenue Receipts of 1867 and 1868-Registration, Disfranchisement, and Elections in the Rebel States-Revenue Receipts since 1860, a Aal endAnnualExpenditures from 1860 to, January, 1869-Expenditures and Appropriations for fiscal years ending June 30, 1858, June 30, 1866,1867, and till Januaryl, 1868 together with Appropriations for the year 1865, and Estimates for same. Addenda........................................................378-382 Additional Bill respecting Freedmen's Bureau-The Electoral College Bill, and President Johnson's veto, with the votes on re-passage-President Johnson's Proclamation on the Ratification of the XIVth Amendment by Florida and North Carolina-General Blair's Letter to Col. Brodhead-Speeches of Mr. Seymour and General Blair on accepting their Nominations-Secretary Seward's certificate respecting the ratification of XIVth Amendment-The Funding Bill. POLITICAL MANUAL FOR 1866. I. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. WE the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this ConsTITUTIoN for the United States of America. of shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Va ARTICLE I. SECTION 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. SEc. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall he a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twentyfive Years, and been, seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire Thall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. "When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority there cancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. SEc. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of- two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in, Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhab-, itant of that State for which he shall be chosen., The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no! Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence-. of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise. the Office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Piurpose, they shall be on Oath or Affitmetion, When the President of the United States is tried, "the Chief Justice shall preside: And no eorson shall be convicted without the Concurrence of, two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and Disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honour, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. SEc. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of.holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, 2 POLITICAL MANUAL, clall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the place of chusing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. SEC. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and. from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall,:at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without:the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. SEC. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all OCases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. SEC. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be deter mined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and Ho-use of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall bhe repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. SEC. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturaliza. tion, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the, United States; To establish Post Offices and post Roads; To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings aid Discoveries; To constitute Tribunalo inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the Discipline prescribed by Congress; CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ien Mil'es square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, DockYards, and other needful Buildings;-And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. SEc. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or Duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.. SEc. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. No State shall, without the Consent of Congre.. IlV any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Suips of Wat in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of Delay. ARTICLE II. SEc. 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. [The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House o;f Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and it there be more than one who have such.Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall ia like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A Quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.*] The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability "* This clause of the Constittitution has been annulled. Soo twelfth article of th( Amendments. 4 POLITICAL MANUAL. to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." SEC. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; ne may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. qHe shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in tre Heads of Departments. The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. 8Ec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Vase of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adiourn them to such Time as he shall think "proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; and he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and he shall Commission all the officers of the United States. SEc. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.. ARTICLE III. SEC. 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. SEC. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;-to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers, and Consuls;-to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;-to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;-to Controversies be*tween two or more States;-between a State and Citizens of another State;-between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. SEC. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony. of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture 'except during the Life of the Person attainted. ARTICLE IV. SEC. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall by given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. SEC. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. No Person held to Service or Labour in one CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. b State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. SEC. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of, any other State; nor any State formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. SEC. 4. The United States shall guarantee to' every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on, Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Leislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. ARTICLE V. The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary,:shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year one thousand eight 'hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. ARTICLE VI. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. The Senators and Representatives before menioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. ARTICLE VII. The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. Amendments. ART. 1. Congress shall make no law respecting in establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ART. 2. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ART. 3. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, bi in a manner to be prescribed by law. ART. 4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers. and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. ART. 5. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. ART. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have Compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favour, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. ART. 7. In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. ART. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor crueland unusual punishments inflicted. ART. 9. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. ART. 10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. "ART. 11. The Judicial power of the United 6 POLITICAL MANUAL, States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. ART. 12. The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as VicePresident, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;-The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. Mr. Seward's Certificate of the Anti-Slavery Amendment, known as the 13th Amendment. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE OF "THE UNITED STATES, To all to whom these presents may come, greeting: Know ye, that whereas the Congress of the United States on the 1st of February last passed a resolution which is in the words following, namely " A resolution submitting to the Legislatures of the several States a proposition to amend the Constitution of the United States. " Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said Constitution, namely: ARTICLE XIII. "SEC. 1. Neither slavery nor involuWtary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. "SEC. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." And whereas it appears from official documents on file in this Department that the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the Legislatures of the States of Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan, Maryland, New York, West Virginia, Maine, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennessee, Arkansas, Connecticut, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia-in all, twenty-seven States; And whereas the whole number of States in the United States is thirty-six, and whereas the before specially-named States, whose Legislatures have ratified the said proposed amendment, constitute three-fourths of the whole number of States in the United States: Now, therefore, be it known that I, William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the second section of the act of Congress approved the twentieth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen, entitled "An act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United States and for other purposes," do hereby certify that the amendment aforesaid has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution of the United States. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Department of State to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this eighteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord [SEAL] one thousand eight hundred and sixtyfive, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. [New Jersey, Oregon, California and Iowa ratified subsequently to the date of this certificate, as did Florida in the same form as South Carolina and Alabama.] II. PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS. Respecting Commercial Intercourse with Insurrectionary States, April 29, 1865. EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON, April 29, 1865. Being desirous to relieve all loyal citizens and well-disposed persons, residing in insurrectionary States, from unnecessary commercial restrictions, and to encourage them to return to peaceful pursuits, It is hereby ordered: I. That all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse be discontinued in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi river, as shall be embraced within the lines of national military occupation, excepting only such restrictions as are imposed by acts of Congress and regulations in pursuance thereof, prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and anproved by the President; and excepting also from the effect of this order the following articles contraband of war, to wit: arms, ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is manufactured, gray uniforms and cloth, locomotives, cars, railroad iron, and machinery for operating railroads, telegraph wires, insulators, and instruments for operating telegraphic lines. II. All existing military and naval orders in any manner restricting internal, domestic, and coastwise commercial intercourse and trade with or in the localities above named be, and the same are hereby revoked; and that no military or naval officer, in any manner, interrupt or interfere with the same, or with any boats or other vessels engaged therein, under proper authority, pursuant to the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury. ANDREW JOHNSON. Executive Order for the Trial of the Alleged Assassins of President Lincoln, May 1, 1865. EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON CITY, May 1, 1865. Whereas, the Attorney General of the United States hath given his opinion: That the persons implicated in the murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Honorable William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate other officers of the Federal Government at Washington city, and their aiders and abettors, are subject to the jurisdiction of, and lawfully triable before, a military commission: It is Ordeaed: 1st, That the Assistant Adju. tant General detail nine competent military officers to serve as a commission for the trial of said parties, and that the Judge Advocate General proceed to prefer charges against said parties for their alleged offences, and bring them to trial before said military commission; that said trial or trials be conducted by the said Judge Advocate General, and as recorder thereof, in person, aided by such assistant and special judge advocates as he may designate; and that said trials be conducted with all diligence consistent with the ends of justice: the said commission to sit without regard to hours. 2d. That Brevet Major General Hartranft be assigned to duty as special provost marshal general, for the purpose of said trial, and attendance upon said commission, and the execution of its mandates. 3d. That the said commission establish such order or rules of proceedings as may avoid unnecessary delay, and conduce to the ends of public justice. ANDREW JOHNSON. ORDER FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE SENTENCE OF THE COMMISSION. EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 5, 1865. The foregoing sentences in the cases of David E. Herold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Mary E. Surratt and Samuel A. Mudd, are hereby approved, and it is ordered that the sentences of said David E. Herold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt and Samuel A.. Mudd, be carried into execution by the proper military authority, under the direction of the Secretary of War, on the 7th day of July, 1865, between thn hours of 10 o'clock, a. m., and 2 o'clock, p. m., of that day. It is further ordered, that the prisoners, Samuel Arnold, Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, and Michael O'Laughlin be confined at hard labor in the Penitentiary at Albany, New York, during the period designated in their respective sentences. ANDREW JOHNSON, President, [By an order dated July 15, the place of confinement, as to the four last mentioned, was changed to the "military prison at Dry T rtugas, Florida."] For the Arrest of Jefferson Davis, Clemau t C. Clay, and others, May 2, 1865. Whereas it appears from evidence in the Bireau of Military Justice that the atrocious murder of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, and the attempted assassination of the Honorable William H. Seward, Secretary of State, were incited, concerted, and procured by and between Jefferson Davis, late of Richmond, Virginia, and Jacob Thompson, Clement C. Clay, Beverly Tucker, George N. Saunders, William 0. Cleary, POLITICAL MANUAL. and other rebels and traitors against the Government of the United States, harbored in Canada: Now, therefore, to the end that justice may be done, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do offer and promise for the arrest of said persons, or either of them, within the limits of the United States, so that they can be brought to trial, the following rewards: One hundred thousand dollars for the arrest of Jefferson Davis. STwenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Clement C. Clay.* Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Jacob Thompson, late of Mississippi. Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of George N. Sanders. Twenty-five thousand dollars for the arrest of Beverly Tucker. Ten thousand dollars for the arrest of William C. Cleary, late clerk of Clement C. Clay. The Provost Marshal General of the United States is directed to cause a description of said persons, with notice of the above rewards, to be published. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this second day of May, in the year of our Lord one. thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, [1. s.] and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Executive Order to Re-establish the Authority of the United States, and Execute the Laws within the Geographical Limits known as the State of Virginia. EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, "WASHINGTON CITY, May 9, 1865. ORDERED-First. That all acts and proceedings of the political, military, and civil organizations which have been in a state of insurrection and rebellion, within the State of Virginia, against the authority and laws of the United States, and of which Jefferson Davis, John Letcher, and William Smith were late the respective chiefs, are declared null and void. All persons who shall exercise, claim, pretend, or attempt to exercise any political, military, or civil power, authority, jurisdiction, or right, by, through, or under Jefferson Davis, late of the "* Mr. CLAY was released under this order: WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, April 17, 1866. Maj. Gen. N. A. MILES, Commanding, c&c., Fortress Monroe, Virginia: Ordered, That Clement C. Clay, Jr., is hereby released from confinement, and permitted to return to and remain in the State of Alabama, and to visit such other places in the United States as his personal business may render absolutely necessary, upon the following conditions, viz: that he takes the oath of allegiance to the United States, and gives his parole of honor to conduct himself as a loyal citizen of the same, and to report himself in person at any time and place to answer any charges that may hereafter be prepared against him by the United States. Please report receipt and execution of this order. By order of the President of the Un-ited States: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. city of Richmond, and his confederates, or under John Letcher or William Smith and their confederates, or under any pretended political, military, or civil commission or authority issued by them, or either of them, since the 17th day of April, 1861, shall be deemed and taken as in rebellion against the United States, and shall be dealt with accordingly. Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all laws of the United States, the administration whereof belongs to the Department of State, applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid. Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed, without delay, to nominate for appointment, assessors of taxes and collectors of customs and internal revenue, and such other officers of the Treasury Department as are authorized by law, and shall put into execution the revenue laws of the United States within the geographical limits aforesaid. In making appointments, the preference shall be given to qualified loyal persons residing within the districts where their respective duties are to be performed. But if suitable persons shall not be found residents of the districts, then persons residing in other States or districts shall be appointed. Fourth. That the Postmaster General shall proceed to establish post offices and post routes, and put into execution the postal laws of the United States within the said States, giving to loyal residents the preference of appointment; but if suitable persons are not found, then to appoint agents, &c., from other States. Fifth. That the district judge of said district proceed to hold courts within said State, in accordance with the provisions of the acts of Congress. The Attorney General will instruct the proper officers to libel and bring to judgment, confiscation, and sale, poperty subject to confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within said State, in all matters civil and criminal within the cognizance and jurisdiction of the Federal courts. Sixth. That the Secretary of War assign such assistant provost marshal general, and such provost marshals in each district of said State as he may deem necessary. Seventh. The Secretary of the Navy will take possession of all public property belonging to the Navy Department within said geographical limits, and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval affairs having application to the said State. Eighth. The Secretary of the Interior will also put in force the laws relating to the Department of the Interior. Ninth. That to carry into effect the guaranteo of the Federal Constitution of a republican form of State government, and afford the advantage and security of domestic laws, as well as to complete the re-establishment of ihe authority of the laws of the United States, and the full and complete restoration of peace within the limits aforesaid, Francis H. Pierpoint, Governor of the State of Virginia, will be aided by the Federal Government, so far as may be necessary, in the lawful measures which he may take for the extension and administration of the State Government throughout the geographical limits of said Stato, ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS. 9 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my [S.] hand and caused the seal of the United [SEAL.] States to be affixed. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Equality of Rights with all Maritime Nations, May 10, 1865. Whereas the President of the United States, by his proclamation of the nineteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixtyone, did declare certain States therein mentioned in insurrection against the Government of the United States; And whereas armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end, and the persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent cruisers, were directed, are fugitives or captives; And whereas it is understood that some of those cruisers are still infesting the high seas, and others are preparing to capture, burn, and destroy vessels of the United States: Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, hereby enjoin all naval, military, and civil officers of the United States, diligently to endeavor, by all lawful means, to arrest the said cruisers, and to bring them into a port of the United States, in order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on commerce, and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy impunity for their crimes. And I further proclaim and declare, that if, after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for this proclamation to become known in the ports of nations claiming to have been neutrals, the said insurgent cruisers and the persons on board of them shall continue to receive hospitality in the said ports, this Government will deem itself justified in refusing hospitality to the public vessels of such nations in ports of the United States, and in adopting such other measures as may be deemed advisable towards vindicating the national sovereignty. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one S thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, L. s.j and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Commercial Intercourse and the Blockade, May 22, 1865. Whereas, by the proclamation of the President of the eleventh day of April last, certain ports of the United States therein specified, which had previously been subject to blockade, were, for objects of public safety, declared, in conformity with previous special legislation of Congress, to be closed against foreign commerce during the national will, to be thereafter expressed and made known by the President; and whereas events and circumstances have since occurred which, in my judgment, render it expedient to remove that restriction, except as to the ports of Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel,) and Brownsville, in the State of Texas: Now, therefore, bt it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare that the ports aforesaid, not excepted as above, shall be open to foreign commerce from and after the first day of July, next; that commercial intercourse with the said ports may, from that time, be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States, and in pursuance of such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. If, however, any vessel from a foreign port shall enter any of the beforenamed excepted ports in the State of Texas, she will continue to be held liable to the penalties prescribed by the act of Congress approved on the thirteenth day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and the persons on board of her to such penalties as may be incurred, pursuant to the laws of war, for trading, or attempting to trade, with an enemy. And I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare and make known that the United States of America do, henceforth, disallow to all persons trading, or attempting to trade, in any ports of the United States in violation of the laws thereof, all pretence of belligerent rights and privileges, and I give notice that, from the date of this proclamation, all such offenders will be held and dealt with as pirates. It is also ordered that all restrictions upon trade heretofore imposed in the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi river, save those relating to contraband of war, to the reservation of the rights of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an enemy, and to the twenty-five per cent. upon purchases of cotton, are removed. All provisions of the internal revenue law will be carried into effect under the proper officers. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this twentysecond day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [SEAL.] sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eightyninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Of Amnesty, May 29, 1865. WHEREAS the President of the United States, on the 8th day of December, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and on, the 26th day of March, A. D. eighteen hundred and sixtyfour, did, with the object to suppress the existing rebellion, to induce all persons to return to their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the United States, issue proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had directly, or by implication, participated in the said rebellion; and whereas many persons who had so engaged in said rebellion, have, since the POLITICAL MANUAL, issuance of said proclamations, failed or neglected to take the benefits offered thereby; and whereas many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to amnesty and pardon thereunder by reason of their participation, directly or by implication, in said rebellion, and continued hostility to the Government of the United States since the date of said proclamations, now desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon: To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the United States may be restored, and that peace, order, and freedom may be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do proclaim and declare that I hereby grant to all persons who have, directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except in cases where legal proceedings, under the laws of the United States providing for the confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion, have been instituted; but upon the condition, nevertheless, that every such person shall take and subscribe the following oath (or affirmation), and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath inviolate; and which oath shall be registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit: " I, -- -, do solemnly swear (or affirm), in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion, with reference to the emancipation of slaves: So help me God." The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this proclamation: 1st. All who are or shall have been pretended civil or diplomatic officers or otherwise domestic or foreign agents of the pretended government. 2d. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid the rebellion. 3d. All who shall have been military or naval officers of said pretended confederate government above the rank of colonel in the army, or lieutenant in the navy. 4th. All who left seats in the Congress of the United States to aid the rebellion. 5th. All who resigned or tendered resignations of their commissions in the army or navy of the United States, to evade duty in resisting the rebellion. 6th. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, persons found in the United States service as officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities. 7th. All persons who have been or are absentees from the United States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion. 8th. All military and naval officers, in the rebel service, who were educated by the Government in the Military Academy at West Point or the United States Naval Academy. 9th. All persons who held the pretended offices of governors of States in insurrection against the United States. 10th. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and protection of the United' States, and passed beyond the Federal military lines into the pretended confederate States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion. 11th. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction of the commerce of the United States upon the high seas, and all persons who have made raids into the United States from Canada, or been engaged in destroying the commerce of the United States upon the lakes and rivers that separate the British Provinces from the United States. 12th. All persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain the benefits hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in military, naval, or civil confinement, or custody, or under bonds of the civil, military, or naval authorities, or agents of the United States, as prisoners of war, or persons detained for offences of any kind, either before or after conviction. 13th. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said rebellion, and the estimated value of whose taxable property is over twenty thousand dollars. 14th. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty as prescribed in the President's pro-- clamation of December 8, A. D. 1863, or an oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States since the date of said proclamation, and who thenceforward kept and maintained the same inviolate. Provided, That special application may be made to the President for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes; and such clemency will be liberally extended as may be consistent with the facts of the case and the peace and dignity of the United States. The Secretary of State will establish rules and regulations for administering and recording said amnesty oath, so as to insure its benefit to the people, and guard the Government against fraud. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, the twentyninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and SEAL.] sixty-five, andof the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: "WILLIAMI H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. CIRCULAR. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, "WASHINGTON, May 29, 1865. SIR: A copy of the President's amnesty proclamation of this date is herewith appended. By a clause in the instrument, the Secretary of State is directed to establish rules and regulations for administering and recording the amnesty oath, so as to insure its benefit to the peo ple and guard the Government against fraud. Pursuant to this injunction, you are informed that the oath prescribed in the proclamation may be taken and subscribed before any com ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS. 11 missioned officer, civil, military, or naval, in the restore said State to its constitutional relations service of the United States, or any civil or mili- to the Federal Government, and to present such tary officer of a loyal State or Territory, who, a republican form of State government as will by the laws thereof, may be qualified for admin- entitle the State to the guarantee of the United' istering oaths. All officers who receive such States therefor, and its people to protection by oaths are hereby authorized to give certified the United States against invasion, insurrection, copies thereof to the persons respectively by and domestic violence; Provided, that in any whom they were made. And such officers are election that may be hereafter held for choosing hereby required to transmit the originals of such delegates to any State convention, as aforesaid, oaths, at as early a day as may be convenient, no person shall be qualified as an elector, or to this Department, where they will be depos- shall be eligible as a member of such convention, ited, and remain in the archives of the Govern- unless he shall have previously taken the oath ment. A register thereof will be kept in the of amnesty, as set forth in the President's procDepartment, and on application, in proper cases, lamation of May 29, A. D. 1865, and is a voter certificates will be issued of such records in the qualified as prescribed by the Constitution and customary form of official certificates. laws of the State of North Carolina, in force I am, sir, your obedient servant, immediately before the 20th day of May, 1861, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and the said convention when convened, or the Appointing William W. Holden Provisional Gov- Legislature that may be thereafter assembled, ernor of North Carolina, May 29, 1865. will prescribe the qualification of electors, and Whereas the fourth section of the fourth article the eligibility of persons to hold office under the of the Constitution of the United States declares Constitution and laws of the State, a power the that the United States shall guarantee to every people of the several States composing the FedState in the Union a republican form of gov- eral Union have rightfully exercised from the ernment, and shall protect each of them against origin of the Government to the present time. invasion and domestic violence; and whereas And I do hereby direct: the President of the United States is, by the Con- First. That the military commander of the stitution, made commander-in-chief of the army Department, and all officers and persons in the and navy, as well as chief civil executive officer military and naval service aid and assist the of the United States, and is bound by solemn said Provisional Governor in carrying into effect oath faithfully to execute the office of President this proclamation, and they are enjoined to abof the United States, and to take care that the stain from, in any way, hindering, impeding, or laws be faithfully executed; and whereas the discouraging the loyal people from the organizarebellion, which has been waged by a portion of tion of a State Government, as herein authorized. the people of the United States against the Second. That the Secretary of State proceed to properly constituted authorities of the Govern- put in force all laws of the United States, the ment thereof, in the most violent and revolting administration whereof belongs to the State Deform, but whose organized and armed forces partment, applicable to the geographical limits have now been almost entirely overcome, has, aforesaid. in its revolutionary progress, deprived the people Third. That the Secretary of the Treasury of the State of North Carolina of all civil gov- proceed to nominate for appointment assessors of ernment; "and whereas it becomes necessary and taxes and collectors of customs and internal revproper to carry out and enforce the obligations enue, and such other officers of the Treasury of the United States to the people of North Department as are authorized by law, and put Carolina, in securing them in the enjoyment of in execution the revenue laws of the United a republican form of government: States within the geographical limits aforesaid. Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and In making appointments, the preference shall be solemn duties imposed upon me by the Consti- given to qualified loyal persons residing within tution of the United States, and for the purpose of the districts where their respective duties are to enabling the loyal people of said State to organ- be performed. But, if suitable residents of the ize a State government, whereby justice may be districts shall not be found, then persons residing established, domestic tranquillity insured, and in other States or districts shall be appointed. loyal citizens protected in all their rights of life, Fourth. That the Postmaster General proceed liberty, and property, I, Andrew Johnson, to establish post offices and post routes, and put President of the United States, and Commander- into execution the postal laws of the United in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States within the said State, giving to loyal resiStates, do hereby appoint William W. Holden dents the preference of appointment; but if suitProvisional Governor of the State of North able residents are not found, then to appoint Carolina, whose duty it shall be, at the earliest agents, &c., from other States. practicable period, to prescribe such rules and Fifth. That the district judge for the judicial regulations as may be necessary and proper for district in which North Carolina is included proconvening a convention, composed of delegates ceed to hold courts within said State, in accordto be chosen by that portion of the people of ance with the provisions of the act of Congress. said State who are loyal to the United States, The Attorney General will instruct the proper and no others, for the purpose of altering or officers to libel, and bring to judgment, confiscaamending the constitution thereof; and with au- tion and sale, property subject to confiscation, thority to exercise, within the limits of said State, and enforce the administration of justice within all the powers necessary and proper to enable said State in all matters within the cognizance such loyal people of the State of North Carolina to and jurisdiction of the Federal courts. 12 POLITICAL MANUAL. Sixth. That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all public property belonging to the Navy Department, within said geographical limits, and put in operation all acts of Congress in relation to naval affairs having application to the said State. Seventh. That the Secretary of the Interior put in force the laws relating to the Interior Department, applicable to the geographical limits aforesaid. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the great seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this twentyninth day of May, in the year of our.. Lord one thousand eight hundred and SJ sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. 1865, June 13-A like proclamation was issued, appointing WILLIAM L. SHARKEY, Provisional Governor of Mississippi. 1865, June 17-JAMES JOHNSON appointed Provisional Governor of Georgia. 1865, June 17-ANDREW J. HAMILTON appointed Provisional Governor of Texas. 1865, June 21-LEWIs E. PARSONS appointed Provisional Governor of Alabama. 1865, June 30-BENJAMIN F. PERRY appointed Provisional Governor of South Carolina. 1865, July 13-WILLIAM MARVIN appointed Provisional Governor of Florida. Orders Respecting Freedmen. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., June 2, 1865. Whereas, By an act of Congress, approved March 3, 1865, there was established in the War Department a Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, and to which, in accordance with the said act of Congress, is committed the supervision and management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory embraced in the operations of the army, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the head of lhe bureau, and approved by the President; and whereas, it appears that the management of abandoned lands, and subjects relating to refugees and freedmen, as aforesaid, have been, and still are, by orders based on military exigencies, or legislation based on previous statutes, partly in the hands of military officers disconnected with said bureau, and partly in charge of officers of the Treasury Department; it is therefore Ordered, That all officers of the Treasury Department, all military officers and others in the service of the United States, turn over to the authorized officers of said bureau all abandoned lands and property contemplated in said act of Congress, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, establishing the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, that may now be under or within their control. They will also turn over to such officers all funds collected by tax or otherwise for the benefit of refugees or freedmen, or accruing from abandoned lands or property set apart for their use, and will transfer to them all official records connected with the administration of affairs which pertain to said Bureau. ANDREW JOHNSON. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Ass't Adj't General. CIRCULAR No. 15. WAR DEPARTMENT, BUREAU REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS, WASHINGTON, D. C., September 12, 1865. I. Circular No. 13, of July 28, 1865, from this bureau, and all portions of circulars from this bureau conflicting with the provisions of this circular, are hereby rescinded. II. This bureau has charge of such " tracts of land within the insurrectionary States as shall have been abandoned, or to which the United States shall have acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise," and no such lands now in its possession shall be surrendered to any claimant except as hereinafter provided. III. Abandoned lands are defined in section 2 of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864, as lands, " the lawful owner whereof shall be voluntarily absent therefrom, and engaged either in arms or otherwise in aiding or encouraging the rebellion." IV. Land will not be regarded as confiscated until it has been condemned and sold by decree of the United States court for the district in which the property may be found, and the title thereto thus vested in the United States. V. Upon its appearing satisfactorily to any assistant commissioner that any property under his control is not abandoned as above defined, and that the United States has acquired no title to it by confiscation, sale or otherwise, he will formally surrender it to the authorized claimant or claimants, promptly reporting his action to the Commissioner. VI. Assistant commissioners will prepare accurate descriptions of all confiscated and abandoned lands under their control, keeping a record thereof themselves, and forwarding monthly to the Commissioner copies of these descriptions in the manner prescribed in circular No. 10, of July 11, 1865, from this bureau. They will set apart so much of said lands as is necessary for the immediate use of loyal refugees and freedmen, being careful to select for this purpose those lands which most clearly fall under the control of this bureau, which selection must be submitted to the Commissioner for his approval. The specific division of lands so set apart into lots, and the rental or sale thereof, according to section 4 of the law establishing the bureau, will be completed as soon as practicable, and reported to the Commissioner. VII. Abandoned lands held by this bureau may be restored to owners pardoned by the President, by the assistant commissioners, to whom applications for such restoration should be forwarded, so far as practicable, through the superintendents of the districts in which the lands ar' situated. ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS. 18 Each application must be accompanied by1st. Evidence of special pardon by the President, or a copy of the oath of amnesty prescribed in the President's proclamation of May 29, 1865, when the applicant is not included in any of the classes therein excepted from the benefits of said oath. 2d. Proof of title. Officers of the bureau through whom the application passes will indorse thereon such facts as may assist the assistant commissioner in his decision, stating especially the use made by the bureau of the land. VIII. No land under cultivation by loyal refugees or freedmen will be restored under this circular, until the crops now growing shall be secured for the benefit of the cultivators, unless full and just compensation be made for their labor and its products, and for their expendiures. 0. O. HowARD, Major General, Commissioner. Approved: ANDREW JOHNsoN, President of the United States. For the Return to Persons Pardoned, of their Property. EXECUTIVE OFFICE, August 16, 1865. Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Bureau Refugees, Freedmen, &c. The records of this office show that B. B. Leake was specially pardoned by the President on the 27th ultimo, and was thereby restored to all his rights of property, except as to slaves. Notwithstandipg this, it is understood that the possession of his property is withheld from him. I have, therefore, to direct that General Fisk, assistant commissioner at Nashville, Tennessee, be instructed by the Chief Commissioner of Bureau of Freedmen, &c., to relinquish possession of the property of Mr. Leake, held by him as assistant commissioner, &c., and that the same be immediately restored to the said Leake. The same action will be had in all similar cases.* ANDREW JOHNSON, President United States. To O. O. HOWARD, Maj. General, Com'r Freedmen's Affairs. Respecting Commercial Intercourse, and the Suppression of the Rebellion in the State of Tennessee, June 13, 1865. Whereas by my proclamation of the twentyninth of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and commercial intercourse, with certain exceptions therein specified and set forth, were removed " in such parts of the States of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and so much of Louisiana as lies east of the Mississippi river, as shall be embraced within the lines of national military occupation; * *" And whereas by my proclamation of the twenty-second of May, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, for reasons therein given, it was declared that certain ports of the United States which had been previously closed against foreign commerce, should, with certain specified exceptions be reopened to such commerce, on and after the first day of July next, subject to the laws of the United States, and in pursuance of such regulations as might be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury; And whereas I am satisfactorily informed, that dangerous combinations against the laws of the United States no longer exist within the State of Tennessee; that the insurrection heretofore existing within said State has been suppressed; that w ithin the boundaries thereof the authority of the United States is undisputed; and that such officers of the United States as have been duly commissioned are in the undisturbed exercise of their official functions: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare that all restrictions upon internal, domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade, and upon the removal of products of States heretofore declared in insurrection, reserving and excepting only those relating to contraband of war, as hereinafter recited, and also those which relate to the reservation of the rights of the United States to property purchased in the territory of an enemy, heretofore imposed in the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi river, are annulled, and I do hereby direct that they be forthwith removed; and that on and after the first day of July next all restriction upon foreign commerce with said ports, with the exception and reservation aforesaid, be likewise removed; and that the commerce of such States shall be conducted under the supervision of the regularly appointed officers of the customs provided by law; and such officers of the customs shall receive any captured and abandoned property that may be turned over to them, under the law, by the military or naval forces of the United States, and dispose of such property as shall be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The following articles contraband of war are excepted from the effect of this proclamation: arms, ammunition, all articles from which ammunition is made, and gray uniforms and cloth. And I hereby also proclaim and declare that the insurrection, so far as it relates to, and within the State of Tennessee, and the inhabitants of the said State of Tennessee as re-organized and constituted under their recently adopted constitution and re organization, and accepted by them, is suppressed, and therefore, also, that all the disabilities and disqualifications attaching to said State and the inhabitants thereof I I I * Extract from letter of General Howard, April 23, 1866, in reply to resolution of the House of Representatives of March 5, 1866: "In complying with these definite instructions, the bureau has been compelled to part with the greater portion of the property once under its control. Except in the very few cases where property has been actually sold under the act of July 17, 1862, and in that portion of South Carolina and Georgia embraced in the provisions of General Sherman's Field Order No. 15, its tenure of property has been too uncertain to justify allotments to freedmen. Acres. Propefty seized under act of July, 1862, and restored by this bureau.......................... 15,452 Abandoned property allotted to freedmen and restored by this bureau................................... 14,652 Abandoned property not allotted to freedmen restored by this bureau........................ 400,000 Total.................................................... 43C,104" POLITICAL MANUAL. consequent upon any proclamations, issued by virtue of the fifth section of the act entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports and for other purposes," approved the thirteenth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, are removed. But nothing herein contained shall be considered or construed as in any wise changing or impairing any of the penalties and forfeitures for treason heretofore incurred under the laws of the United States, or any of the provisions, restrictions, or disabilities set forth in my proclamation, bearing date the twenty-ninth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and sixtyfive, or as impairing existing regulations for the suspension of the habeas corpus, and the exercise of military law in cases where it shall be necessary for the general public safety and welfare during the existing insurrection; nor shall this proclamation affect, or in any way impair, any laws heretofore passed by Congress, and duly approved by the President, or any proclamations or orders, issued by him, during the aforesaid insurrection, abolishing slavery, or in any way affecting the relations of slavery, whether of persons or of property; but on the contrary, all such laws and proclamations heretofore made or issued are expressly saved, and declared to be in full force and virtue. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. * Done at the city of Washington, this thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [SEAL.] sixty-five, and of the independence of the United States of America the eightyninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WILLIAx H. SEW ARD, Secretary of State. Blockade Rescinded, June 23, 1865. Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the fifteenth and twenty-seventh of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, a blockade of certain ports of the United States was set on foot; but whereas the reasons for that measure have ceased to exist: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby declare and proclaim the blockade aforesaid to be rescinded as to all the ports aforesaid, including that of Galveston and other ports west of the Mississippi river, which ports will be open to foreign commerce on the first of July next, on the terms and conditions set forth in my proclamation of the twenty-second of May last. SIt is to be understood, however, that the blockade thus rescinded was an international measure for the purpose of protecting the sovereign rights of the United States. The greater or less subversion of civil authority in the region to which it applied, and the impracticability of at once restoring that in due efficiency, may, for a season, make it advisable to employ the army and navy of the United States towards carrying the laws into effect, wherever such employment may be necessary. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twentythird day of June, in the year of our [L. si Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Further Removal of Restrictions, August 29, 1865. Whereas by my proclamations of the thirteenth and twenty-fourth of June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, removing restrictions, in part, upon internal, domestic, and coastwise intercourse and trade with those States recently declared in insurrection, certain articles were excepted from the effect of said proclamations as contraband of war; and whereas the necessity for restricting trade in said articles has now, in a great measure, ceased: It is hereby ordered, that on and after the 1st day of September, 1865, all restrictions aforesaid be removed, so that the articles declared by the said proclamations to be contraband of war may be imported into and sold in said States, subject only to such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twentyninth day of August, in the year of our L. Lord one thousand eight hundred and L. J sixty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. Passports for Paroled Prisoners. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, August 25, 1865. Paroled prisoners asking passports as citizens of the United States, and against whom no special charges may be pending, will be furnished with passports upon application therefor to the Department of State in the usual form. Such passports will, however, be issued upon the condition that the applicants do not return to the United States without leave of the President. Other persons implicated in the rebellion, who may wish to go abroad, will apply to the Department of State for passports, and the applications will be disposed of according to the merits of the several cases. By the President of the United States. WILLIAM II. SEWARD. Paroling certain State Prisoners. EXEOUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, October 11, 1865 Whereas the following named persons, to wit: John A. Campbell, of Alabama; John H. Reagan, of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia; George A. Trenholm, of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, of Mississippi, lately ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS. engaged in rebellion against the United States Government, who are now in close custody, have made their submission to the authority of the United States and applied to the President for pardon under his proclamation; and whereas, the authority of the Federal Government is sufficiently restored in the aforesaid States to admit of the enlargement of said persons from close custody, it is ordered that they be released on giving their respective paroles to appear at such time and place as the President may designate, to answer any charge that he may direct to be preferred against them; and also that they will respectively abide until further orders in the places herein designated, and not depart therefrom: John A. Campbell, in the State of Alabama; John H. Reagan, in the State of Texas; Alexander H. Stephens, in the State of Georgia; George A. Trenholm, in the State of South Carolina; and Charles Clark, in the State of Mississippi. And if the President should grant his pardon to any of said persons, such person's parole will be thereby discharged. ANDREW JOHNSON, - President. Maxtial Law Withdrawn from Kentucky, October 12, 1865. Whereas by a proclamation of the fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixtyfour, the President of the United States, when the civil war was flagrant, and when combinations were in progress in Kentucky for the purpose of inciting insurgent raids into that State, directed that the proclamation suspending the writ of habeas corpus should be made effectual in Kentucky, and that martial law should be established there and continue until said proclamation should be revoked or modified; And whereas since then the danger of insurgent raids into Kentucky has substantially passed away: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby declare that the said proclamation of the fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, shall be, and is hereby, modified in so far that martial law shall be no longer in force in Kentucky from and after the date hereof. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord "T "one thousand eight hundred and sixty*" '-1 five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth. ANDREW" JOHNsoN. By the President: W. HUNTER, Acting Secretary of State. Annulling the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus, December 1, 1865. Whereas by the proclamation of the President of the United States of the fifteenth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and sixtythree, the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus was, in certain cases therein set forth, suspended throughout the United States; And whereas the reasons for that suspension may be regarded as having ceased in some of the States and Territories: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the suspension aforesaid, and all other proclamations and orders suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the States and Territories of the United States, are revoked and annulled excepting as to the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this first day of December, in the year of our Lord ono. thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, [L. and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. Announcing that the Rebellion has ended, April 2,1866. Whereas, by proclamations of the fifteenth and nineteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, the President of the United States, in virtue of the power vested in him by the Constitution and the laws, declared that the laws of the United States were opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law; And whereas, by another proclamation made on the sixteenth day of August, in the same year, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved July thirteenth, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, the inhabitants of the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida (except the inhabitants of that part of the State of Virginia lying west of the Alleghany mountains, and to such other parts of that State and tlhe other States before named, as might maintain a loyal adhesion to the Union and the Constitution, or might be from time to time occupied and controlled by forces of the United States engaged in the dispersion of insurgents) were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United States; Andwhereas, by another proclamation of the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, issued in pursuance of an act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the in. surrection was declared to be still existing in tho States aforesaid, with the exception of certain specified counties in the State of Virginia; And whereas, by another proclamation made on the second day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in pursuance of the act of Congress of July 13, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, the exceptions named in the 16 POLITICAL MANUAL. proclamation of August 16, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one were revoked, and the inhabitants of the States of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties of Virginia designated as West Virginia, and the ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in South Carolina,) were declared to be still in a state of insurrection against the United States. And whereas the House of Representatives, on the 22d day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, adopted a resolution in the words following, namely: " Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern States, now in revolt against the constitutional Government, and in arms around the capital; that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not waged on our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States; but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease." And whereas the Senate of the United States, on the 25th day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, adopted a resolution in the words following, to wit: ".Resolved, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern States, now in revolt against the constitutional Government, and in arms around the capital; that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all feeling of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not prosecuted on our part in any spirit of oppression nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease." And whereas these resolutions, though not joint or concurrent in form, are substantially identical, and as such may be regarded as having expressed the sense of Congress upon the subject to which they relate; And whereas, by my proclamation of the thirteenth day of June last, the insurrection in the State of Tennessee was declared to have been suppressed, the authority of the United States therein to be undisputed, and such United States officers as had been duly commissioned to be in the undisputed exercise of their official functions; And whereas there now exists no organized armed resistance of misguided citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, and the laws can be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the people of the said States are well and loyally disposed, and have conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, prohibiting slavery within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States; And whereas, in view of the before recited premises, it is the manifest determination of the American people that no State, of its own will, has the right or the power to go out of, or separate itself from, or be separated from the American Union, and that therefore each State ought to remain and constitute an integral part of the United States; And whereas the people of the several beforementioned States have, in the manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in this sovereign and important resolution of national unity; And whereas it is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that people who have revolted, and who have been overcome and subdued, must either be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily to become friends, or else they must be held by absolute military power, or devastated, so as to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last-named policy is abhorrent to humanity and freedom; And whereas the Constitution of the United States provides for constituent communities only as States and not as Territories, dependencies, provinces, or protectorates; And whereas such constituent States must necessarily be and by the Constitution and laws of the United States are made equals and placed upon a like footing as to political rights, immunities, dignity, and power, with the several States with which they are united; And whereas the observance of political equality as a principle of right and justice is well calculated to encourage the people of the aforesaid States to be and become more and more constant and persevering in their renewed allegiance; And whereas standing armies, military occupation, martial law, military tribunals, and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus are, in time of peace, dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual rights of the citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and exhaustive of the national resources, and ought not, therefore, to be sanctioned or allowed, except in cases of actual necessity, for repelling invasion or suppressing insurrection or rebellion; And whereas the policy of the Government of the United States, from the beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow and final suppression, has been in conformity with the principles herein set forth and enumerated: Now, therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore existed in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS 17 Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida is at an end, and is henceforth to be so regarded.* In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, the second day of April, in the year of our Lord r one thousand eight hundred and sixtySE AL. six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninetieth. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President: WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. Order in Relation to Appointments to Office. EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 7, 1866. It is eminently right and proper that the Government of the United States should give earnest and substantial evidence of its just appreciation of the services of the patriotic men who, when the life of the nation was imperiled, entered the army and navy to preserve the integrity of the Union, defend the Government, and maintain and perpetuate unimpaired its free institutions. It is therefore directed: First. That in appointments to office in the several executive departments of the General Government and the various branches of the public service connected with said departments, preference shall be given to such meritorious and honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, particularly those who have been disabled by wounds received or diseases contracted in the line of duty, as may possess the proper qualifications. Second. That in all promotions in said departments and the several branches of the public service connected therewith, such persons shall have preference, when equally eligible and qaalified, over those who have not faithfully and honorably served in the land and naval forces of the United States. ANDREW JOHNSON. Order in Relation to Trials by Military Courts and Commissions. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON,.May 1, 1866. General Orders No. 26: Whereas some military commanders are embarrassed by doubts as to the operation of the proclamation of the President; dated the 2d day of April, 1866, upon trials by military courtsmartial and military offenses, to remove such doubts, it is ordered by the President thatHereafter, whenever offenses committed by civilians are to be tried where civil tribunals are in existence which can try them, their cases are not authorized to be, and will not be, brought before military courts-martial or commissions, but will be committed to the proper civil authorities. This order is not applicable to camp followers, as provided for under the 60th Article of War, or to contractors and others specified in section 16, act of July 17, 1862, and sections 1 and 2, act of March 2, 1863. Persons and offenses cognizable by the Rules and Articles of War, and by the acts of Congress above cited, will continue to be tried and punished by military tribunals as prescribed by the Rules and Articles of War and acts of Congress, hereinafter cited, to wit: Sixtieth of the Rules and Articles of War. All. sutlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever serving with the armies of the United States in the field, though not enlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders according to the rules and discipline of war. * * * By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. Against the Fenian Invasion of Canada, June 6,1866. Whereas it has become known to me that certain evil-disposed persons have, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, begun and set on foot, and have provided and prepared, and are still engaged in providing and preparing, means for a military expedition and enterprise, which expedition and enterprise is to; be carried on from the territory and jurisdietion. of the United States against colonies, districts, and people of British North America, within the dominions of the United Kingdom of tGeat Britain and Ireland, with which said colonies, districts, and people, and kingdom the United States are at peace; And whereas the proceedings aforesaid constitute a high misdemeanor, forbidden by,th'e laws of the United States, as well as by the law of nations: Now, therefore, for the purpose of preventing the carrying on of the unlawful expedition and enterprise aforesaid, from the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, and to maintain the public peace, as well as the national honor, and enforce obedience and respect to the * The following official telegraphic correspondence shows the scope of the proclamation, in the opinion of the President: AUGUSTA. GA.. Anril 7. 1866. Maj. Gen. 0.. I. HOARD: Does the President's recent proclamation remove martial law in this State? If so, Gen. Brannan does not feel authorized to arrest parties who have committed outrages on freed people or Union refugees. Please answer by telegraph. DAVIS TILLSON, Brig. Gen. of Vols. [Answer.] ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, April 17, 1866. The President's proclamation does not remove martial law, or operate in any way upon the Freedmen's Bureau in the exercise of its legitimate jurisdiction. It is not expeiient, however, to resort to military tribunal in any case *here justice can be attained through the medium of civil,thority. E. D. TOWNSEND, A. A. G. TO GOVERNOR WORTH, OF NORTH CAROLINA. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 27, 1866. To Gov. WORTH: I am directed by the President to inform you that by his proclamation of April 2, 1866, it was not intended to interfere with military commissions at that time or previously organized, or trials then pending before such commissions, unless by special instructions the accused were to be turned over the civil authorities. General Ruger has been instructed to proceed with the trial to which you refer; but before the execution of any sentence rendered by said commission, to report all the proceedings to the War Department for examination and revision. There has been an order this day prepared, and which will soon be issued, which will relieve and settle all embarrassment growing oat of a misconstruction of the proclamation, of which I wtill send you a copy. Edmund COOPER, Acting Private Secretary to the President. 2 18 POLITICAL MANUAL. laws of the United States, I, Andrew Johnson, In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my President of the United States, do admonish and hand, and caused the seal of the United States warn all good citizens of the United States to be affixed. against taking part in or in any wise aiding, Done at the city of Washington the sixth day countenancing, or abetting said unlawful pro- of June, in the year of our Lord one ceedings, and I do exhort all judges, magistrates, [SEAL.] thousand eight hundred and sixtymarshals, and officers in the service of the United six, and of the Independence of the States, to employ all their awful authority and United States the ninetieth. power to prevent and defeat the aforesaid un- ANDREW JOHSON. lawful proceedings, and to arrest and bring to By the President: justice all persons who may be engaged therein.* WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. And, pursuant to the act of Congress in such case made and provided, I do furthermore au- * Circular to the District Attorneys and Marshals of the thorize and empower Major General George G. United States. Meade, commander of the Military Division of ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., June the Atlantic, to employ the land and naval 5,1866.-By direction of the President you are hereby inS tructed to cause the arrest of all prominent, leading, or forces of the United States and the militia conspicuous persons called Fenians, whom you may have thereof, to arrest and prevent the setting on probable cause to believe have been or may be guilty of foot and carrying on the expedition and enter- violations of the neutrality laws of the United States. prise aforesaid. Attorney General. III. ACTION OF THE CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES OF THE LATELY INSURRECTIONARY STATES. NORTH CAROLINA. vided they are not included in any of the fourteen 1865, April 27-Gen. Schofield announced the excluded classes of the President's amnesty processation of hostilities within that State. clamation; and, provided further, that they are, April 28-Gen. Schofield issued an order that, citizens of the State in accordance with the terme under the emancipation proclamation, all per- prescribed in the preceding paragraph. sons heretofore held as slaves are now free, and " No person will be allowed to vote who doe. that it is the duty of the army to maintain their not exhibit to the inspectors a copy of the amfreedom, nesty oath, as contained in the President's proMay 29-William W. Holden appointed Pro- clamation of May 29, 1865, signed by himseli visional Governor. and certified by at least two justices of the peace.' June 12-Provisional Governor Holden issued The convention to meet October 2. his proclamation announcing his purpose to or- September 29-The colored people of the State der ar election for a convention, and to appoint met in convention in Raleigh, and petitioned for justices of the peace to administer the oath df legislation to secure compensation for labor, and allegiance and conduct the election, &c. enable them to educate their children, and askJuly -President Johnson ordered the cot- ing protection for the family relation, and for ton of the State to be restored to her, and the the repeal of oppressive laws making unjust disproceeds of all that had been sold to be paid to criminations on account of race or color. her agents. October 2-Convention met. August 8-Provisional Governor Holden fixed October 7-The secession ordinance declared Thursday, September 21, for the election of a "null and void." convention. October 9-An ordinance passed, declaring Voters' qualifications are thus prescribed: slavery forever prohibited within the State. " No person will be allowed to vote who is not October 10-Ordinance passed, providing for a voter qualified as prescribed by the constitu- an election for Governor, members of the Legistion and laws of the State in force immediately lature, and seven members of Congress November before the 20th day of May, 1861, except that 9, the Provisional Governor to give the certifithe payment of poll tax shall not be required, cates. Each member cf the Legislature, and " All paroled soldiers of the army and navy of each voter to be qualified "laccording to the now lie pretended Confederate States, or of this State, existing constitution of the State": Provided, and all paroled officers of the army and navy of That no one shall be eligible to a seat, or be cathe pretended Confederate States, or of this State, pable of voting, who, being free in all respects, under and including the rank of colonel, if of the shall not, before May 2.9,1865, have taken Presiarmy, and under and including the rank of lieu- dent Lincoln's amnesty oath, or have taken Presitenant,if of the navy, will be allowed tovote,pro- dent Johnson's oa' h, and who shall not in CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES. 19 either case be of the excepted classes. All persons who have preferred petitions for pardon shall be deemed to have beeh pardoned if the fact of being pardoned shall be announced by the Governor, although the pardon may not have been received. The payment of a public tax shall not be required as a qualification of the voter in the elections in November next. October 12-Convention tabled a proposition to prohibit the payment of the war debt created by the State in aid of the rebellion. October 16-Ordinance passed, dividing the State into seven congressional districts. October 17-Resolution adopted, requesting Congress to repeal the " test-oath." October 18-President Johnson sent this telegram: EXECUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 18, 1865. W. W. HOLDEX, Provisional Governor: Every dollar of the debt created to aid the rebellion against the United States should be repudiated finally and forever. The great mass of the people should not be taxed to pay a debt to aid in carrying on a rebellion which they in fact, if left to themselves, were opposed to. Let those who have given their means for the obligations of the State look to that power they tried to establish in violation of law, constitution, and will of the people. They must meet their fate. It is their misfortune, and cannot be recognized by the people of any State professing themselves loyal to the government of the United States and in the Union. I repeat that the loyal people of North Carolina should be exonerated from the payment of every dollar of indebtedness created to aid in carrying on the rebellion. I trust and hope that the people of North Carolina will wash their hands of everything that partakes in the slightest degree of the rebellion, which has been so recently crushed by the strong arm of the Government in carrying out the obligations imposed by the Constitu Governor, by a vote of 32,529 to 25,809 for Prov. Gov. Holden. December 15-Governor Worth qualified. 1866, May 24-The Convention re-assembled. A motion to adjourn sine die was tabled, 61 to 30. IMISSISSIPPI, 1865, May 10-Governor Clark called an extra session of the Legislature for the 18th, to order a State Convention. May 21-Major General Canby telegraphed as follows to Major General Warren, commanding the department: "By direction of the President, you will not recognize any officer of the Confederate or State government, within the limits of your command, as authorized to exer cise in any manner whatever the functions of their late offices. You will prevent, by force if necessary, any attempt of any of the legislatures of the States in insurrection to assemble for legislative purposes, and will imprison any members or other persons who may attempt to exercise these functions in opposition to your orders." June 13-William L. Sharkey appointed Provisional Governor. July 1-Prov. Gov. Sharkey issued a proclamation appointing local officers, and fixing an election for a Convention-August 7th-voters to have these qualifications': "Voters for delegates to this convention must possess the qualifications required by the constitution and laws as they existed prior to the 9th day of January, 1861, and must also produce a certificate that they have taken, before a competent officer, the amnesty oath prescribed by the proclamation of the'29th of May, 1865, which certificate shall be attached to or accompanied by a copy of the oath, and no one will be eligible as a member of this convention who has not also taken this oath." August 14-Convention met. August 15-President Johnson sent this telegram: lion oi t e Union. ANDREW J OHNSON, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, President of the United States. WASHINGTON, D. C., August 15, 1865. October 19-Ordinance passed, that no officer Governor W. L. SHARKEY, Jackson, Miss.: of this State who may have taken an oath of I am gratified to see that you have organized office to support the constitution of the Confed- your Convention without difficulty. I hope that erate States, shall be capable of holding under without delay your Convention will amend youl the State any office of trust or profit which he State constitution, abolishing slavery and denyield when he took such oath, until he may be ing to all future legislatures the power to legisappointed or re-elected to the same; and all the late that there is property in man; also that they offices lately held by such persons are hereby will adopt the amendment to the Constitution of declared vacant, the United States abolishing slavery. If you October 19-Convention-yeas 84, nays 12- could extend the elective franchise to all persons passed an ordinance prohibiting the assumption of color who can read the Constitution of the of the State debt created in aid of the rebellion. United States in English and write their names, An amendment to refer this question to a vote and to all persons of color who own real estate of the people, lost. valued at not less than two hundred and fifty November 9-Election of State officers and dollars, and pay taxes thereon, you would comRepresentatives in Congress. Same day, ordi- pletely disarm the adversary and set an example nances repealing secession ordinance and anti- the other States will follow. This you can do slavery ordinance, submitted to popular vote, with perfect safety, and you thus place the and approved. southern States, in reference to free persons of November 13-Legislature met. color, upon the same basis with the free States. December 1-The Legislature ratified, with I hope and trust your convention will do this, six dissenting voices, the anti-slavery amend- and, as a consequence, the radicals, who are wild ment. upon negro franchise, will be completely foiled December 9-Jonathan Worth declared elected in their attempt to keep the southern States POLITICAL MANUAL. from renewing their relations to the Union by not accepting toeir senators and representatives.* ANDREW Jon so0, President of the U. S. August 21-Ordinance passed that "the institution of slavery having been destroyed in the State of Mississippi," neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, &c., shall hereafter exist in the State. August 21-An election ordered for first Monday in October for State and county officers, and Representatives in Congress in the several congressional districts as they were fixed by the legislature in 1857. August 22-Secession ordinance declared null and void. October 7-The colored citizens of Mississippi met in convention, and protested against the reactionary policy prevailing, and expressing the fear that the Legislature will pass such proscriptive laws as will drive the freedmen from the State, or practically re-enslave them. October 16-Legislature met. October 17-Benjamin G. Humphreys inaugurated Governor. November 20-Governor Humphreys sent a message recommending that negroes be permitted to sue and be sued, and give testimony, and that the freedmen be encouraged to engage in pursuits of industry, and that a militia bill be passed, " to protect our people against insurrection, or any possible combination of vicious white men and negroes." November 24-Bill passed " reserving twenty per cent. of the revenue of the State as a fund for the relief of destitute disabled Confederate and State soldiers, and their widows, and for the support and education of indigent children of deceased or disabled Confederate or State sol-J diers, to be distributed annually," &c. * November 27--The joint committee reportedl against ratifying the anti-slavery amendment,' for reasons given; and the Legislature adopted it. November 29-The Legislature adopted a memorial to the Congress of the United States, asking for the repeal of the "test oath." No-, vember 22, one for the pardon of Jacob Thompson. November 8, one for the pardon of Jeffer-, son Davis. December 1-The name of Jones county changed to Davis. December 5-Bill passed, taxing each male inhabitant of the State, between 21 and 60, $1, and authorizing any person having in his or her employ any one subject to the tax, to pay it and charge it to the person for whom paid. All officers and enlisted men who have herefore received pensions, and have forfeited the same by taking a part in the late war against the United States, shall be exempt from poll tax. GEORGIA. 1865, May 3-Gov. Joseph E. Brown issued a proclamation calling an extra meeting of the Legislature for 22d. May 14-Maj. Gen. Gillmore issued an order annulling this proclamation, and directing the persons interested not to heed it. June 17-James Johnson appointed Provisional Governor. July 13--Prov.. Gov. Johnson issued a proclamation fixing the first Wednesday in October for an election for delegates to a Conventionthese to be the qualifications of voters: " That no person at such election shall be qualified as an elector, or shall be eligible as a member of such convention, unless he shall have previously thereto taken and subscribed to the oath of amnesty, as set forth in the President's proclamation of May 29, A. D. 1865, and is a voter qualified as prescribed by the constitution and laws of the State of Georgia, in force immediately before the 19th of January, A. D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession." October 7-Names of members elect requiring pardons sent to the President, and pardons returned, as in each of the other States. October 25-Convention met. October 30-Secession ordinance repealed; ordinance passed dividing the State into seven congressional districts. November 4-Slavery declared abolished, "the "/Government of the United States having, as a war measure, proclaimed all slaves held or owned in this State emancipated from slavery, and having carried that proclamation into full practical effect." "Provided, That acquiescence in the action of the Government of the United States is not intended to operate as a relinquishment, or waiver, or estoppel, of such claim for compensation of loss sustained by reason of the emancipation of his slaves, as any citizen of Georgia may hereafter make upon the justice and magnanimity of that Government." November 8-The State debt of Georgia, incurred in aid of the rebellion, declared null and void-yeas 133, nays 117. Pending this proposition these telegrams were sent: MILLEDGEVILLE, GA., October 27, 1865. His Excellency ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States: We need some aid to repeal the war debt. Send me word on the subject. What should the Convention do? J. JOHNsoN, Provisional Governor of Georgia. EXECUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 28, 1865. JAMES JOHNSON, Provisional Governor: Your despatch has been received. Thepeople of Georgia should not hesitate one single moment in repudiating every single dollar of debt created for the purpose of aiding the rebellion against the Government of the United States. It will not do to levy and collect taxes from a State and people that are loyal and in the Union, to pay a debt that was created to aid in an effort to take * As bearing upon this point, this letter from the late President Lincoln, on a similar occasion, has value: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, March 13, 1864. Hon MICHAEL HAHN: MY DEAR SIR: I congratulate you on having fixed your name in history as the first free State Governor of Louisiana. Now you are about to have a convention, which, among other things, will probably define the elective franchise.! barely suggest, for your private consideration, whether some of the colored people may not be let in, as, for instance, the very intelligent, and especially tliese who have fought gallantly in our ranks. They would probably help, in some trying time to come, to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom. But this is only a suggestion, not to the public, but to you alone. Truly yours, A. LINcOLN. CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES. 21 them out, and thereby subvert the Constitution of the United States. I do not believe the great mass of the people of the State of Georgia, when left uninfluenced, will ever submit to the payment of a debt which was the main cause of bringing on their past and present suffering, the result of the rebellion. Those who vested their capital in the creation of this debt must meet their fate, and take it as one of the inevitable results of the rebellion, though it may seem hard to them. It should at once be made known at home and abroad, that no debt contracted for the purpose of dissolving the Union of the States can or ever will be paid by taxes levied on the people for such purpose. ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States. Hon. W. H. SEWARD: We are pressed on the war debt. What should the Convention do? J. JOHNsoN, Provisional Governor of Georgia. MILLEDGEVILLE, October 27, 1865. His Excellency JAMES JOHNSON, Provisional Governor of Georgia: Your several telegrams have been received. The President of the United States cannot recognize the people of any State as having resumed the relations of loyalty to the Union that admits as legal, obligations contracted or debts created in their name, to promote the war of the rebellion. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. WASHINGTON, October 28, 1865. November 8-Convention adjourned. November 15-Election held for State officers and Representatives in Congress. December 4-Legislature met. December 5-Legislature ratified the anti-slavery amendment. 1866, January-A convention of colored persons at Augusta advocated a proposition to give those who could write and read well, and possessed a certain property qualification, the right of suffrage. March 10-Bill passed legislature, authorizing an extra tax, the amount to be fixed by the grand juries, but not to exceed two per cent. upon the State tax, for the benefit of indigent soldiers, and the indigent families of deceased soldiers of the Confederate and State troops. Artificial arms and legs to be furnished disabled soldiers. ALABAM1A. 1865, June 21-Lewis E. Parsons appointed Provisional Governor. July 20-Provisional Governor Parsons issued a proclamation, fixing August 31 for an election for a Convention, under these restrictions: "But no person can vote in said election, or be a candidate for election, who is not a legal voter as the law was on that day; and if he is excepted from the benefit of annesty, under the President's proclamation of the 29th May, 1865, lie must have obtained a pardon. " Every person must vote in the county of his residence, and, before he is allowed to do so, must take and subscribe the oath of amr.esty prescribed in the President's proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865, before some one of the offi cers hereinafter appointed for that purpose in the county where he offers to vote; and any person offering to vote in violation of these rules or the laws of Alabama on the 11th of January, 1861, will be punished. September 12-Convention met. September 18-Election for State officers fixed for first Monday in November-the Provisional Governor authorized to order an election for Representatives in Congress. September 20-Slavery abolished, " as the institution of slavery has been destroyed in the State of Alabama." Secession ordinance duclared " null and void." Rebel State debt repu diated, 60 to 19. September 30-Convention adjourned. November 20-Legislature met. December 2-Anti-slavery amendment ratified in this form: 1st. That the foregoing amendment to the Constitution of the United States be, and the same is hereby, ratified, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution of the United States. 2d. That this amendment to the Constitution of the United States is adopted by the Legislature of Alabama with the understanding that it does not confer upon Congress the power to legislate upon the political status of freedmen in this State. 3d. That the governor of the State be, and he is hereby, requested to forward to the President of the United States an authenticated copy of the foregoing preamble and resolutions. December 5-The Presidentsent this response His Excellency L. E. PARSONS, Provisional Governor: The President congratulates you and the country upon the acceptance of the congressional amendment of the Constitution of the United States by the State of Alabama, which vote, being the twenty-seventh, fills up the complement of two-thirds, and gives the amendment finishing effect as a part of the organic law of the land. WILLIAM H. SEWAED. WASHINGTON, December 5, 1865. 1866, January 8-The Legislature re-assem bled. Gov. R. M. Patton vetoed three bills. He vetoed the bill to regulate contracts with freedmen, because no special law is necessary. He adds: " Information from various parts of the State shows that negroes are everywhere making contracts for the present year upon terms that are entirely satisfactory to the employers. They are also entering faithfully upon the discharge of the obligations contracted. There is every prospect that the engagement formed will be ob served with perfect good faith. I therefore think that special laws for regulating contracts between whites and freedmen would accomplish no good, and might result in much harm." Governor Patton has also vetoed the bill " to extend the criminal laws of the State, applicable to free persons of color, to freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes." He says - " The bill proposes to apply to the freedmen a system of laws enacted for the government of free negroes residing in a community where slavery existed. I have ca~refully examined the 22 POLITICAL MANUAL. laws which, under this bill, would be applied to the freedmen; and I think that a mere recital of some of their provisions will show the impolicy and injustice of enforcing them upon the negroes in their new condition." Governor Patton has also vetoed "a bill entitled an act to regulate the relations of master and apprentice, as relate to freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes," because he deems the present laws amply sufficient for all purposes of apprenticeship, without operating upon a particular class of persons. The Legislature passed a tax bill, of which these are two sections: "12. To sell, or expose for sale, for one year, at any one place, any pictorial or illustrated weekly, or any monthly paper, periodical or magazine, published outside the limits of this State, and not in a foreign country, and to vend the same on the streets, or on boats or railroad cars, fifty dollars." "13. To keep a news depot for one year, in any city, town or village, for the sale of any newspaper, periodical or magazine, not including pictorials provided for in the preceding paragraph, ten dollars." The Legislature passed some joint resolutions on the state of the Union, of which this, the fourth, is the most important: " That Alabama will not voluntarily consent to change the adjustment of political power as fixed by the Constitution of the United States, and to constrain her to do so, in her present prostrate and helpless condition, with no voice in the councils of the nation, would be an unjustifiable breach of faith; and that her earnest thanks are due to the President for the firm stand he has taken against amendments to the Constitution forced through in the present condition of affairs." The code became operative June 1st, under a proclamation of Governor Patton. SOUTH CAROLINA. 1865, May 2-Gov. Magrath issued a proclamation that the confederate stores within the State should be turned over to State officers, to be distributed among the people. May 8-Gov. Magrath summoned the State officers to Columbia to resume their duties. May 14-Maj. Gen. Gillmore issued an order annulling the Governor's acts, and notifying the persons interested not to heed his proclamations. June 30-Benjamin F. Perry was appointed Provisional Governor. July 20-Prov. Gov. Perry issued a proclamation fixing the first Monday of September for an election for a State Convention-the qualifications of voters being thus prescribed: Every loyal citizen who had taken the amnesty oath, and not within the excepted classes in the President's proclamation, will be entitled to vote, provided he was a legal voter under the constitution as it stood prior to the secession of South Carolina. And all who are within the excepted classes must take the oath and apply for a pardon, in order to entitle them to vote or become members of the convention. September 13-Convention met. September 15-Secession ordinance repealed, 107 to 3. September 19-Slavery declared abolished "the slaves in South Carolina having been emanci pated by the action of the United States authori ties." September 27-Election ordered for third Wednesday in October, for State officers. Ordinance passed, creating four congressional districts. September 29-Convention adjourned. October 18-James L. Orr elected Governor October -Legislature met. This telegraphic correspondence occurred: EXECUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 28, 1865. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor: Your last two despatches have been received and the pardons suggested have been ordered. I hope that your Legislature will have no hesitancy in adopting the amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolishing slavery. It will set an example which will no doubt be followed by the other States, and place South Carolina in a most favorable attitude before the nation. I trust in God that it will be done. The nation and State will then be left free and untrammeled to take that course which sound policy, wisdom, and humanity may suggest. ANDREW JOHNSON, President. EXECUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 31, 1865. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor: There is a deep interest felt as to what course the Legislature will take in regard to the adoption of the amendment to tha Constitution of the United States abolishing slavery, and the assumption of the debt created to aid in the rebellion against the government of the United States. If the action of the convention was in good faith, why hesitate in making it a part of the Constitution of the United States? I trust in God that restoration of the Union will not now be defeated, and all that has so far been well done thrown away. I still have faith that all will come out right yet. This opportunity ought to be understood and appreciated by the people of the southern States. If I know my own heart and every passion which enters it, my earnest desire is to restore the blessings of the Union, and tie up and heal every bleeding wound which has been caused by this fratricidal war. Let us be guided by love and wisdom from on high, and Union and peace will once more reign throughout the land. ANDREW JOHNSON. COLUMBIA, S. C., November 1, 1865. His Excellency ANDREW JOHNSON, President United States: I will send you to-day the whole proceedings of the State Convention, properly certified, as you request. The debt contracted by South Carolina during the rebellion is very inconsiderable. Her expenditures for war purposes were paid by the confederate government. She has assumed no debt, or any part of any debt, of that government. Her whole State debt at this time is only about six millions, and that is mostly for railroads and building new State-house prior to the CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES. 23 war. The members of the Legislature say they have received no official information of the amendment of the Federal Constitution abolishing slavery. They have no objection to adopting the first section of the amendment proposed; but they fear that the second section may be construed to give Congress power of local legislation over the negroes, and white men, too, after the abolishment of slavery. In good faith South Carolina has abolished slavery, and never will wish to restore it again. The Legislature is passing a code of laws providing ample and complete protection for the negro. There is a sincere desire to do everything necessary to a restoration of the Union, and tie up and heal every bleeding wound which has been caused by this fratricidal war. I was elected United States Senator by a very flattering vote. The other Senator will be elected today. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor. "WASHINGTON, November 6, 1865. His Excellency B. F. PERRY, Prey. Gov.: Your despatch to the President of November 4 has been received. He is not entirely satisfied with the explanations it contains. He deems necessary the passage of adequate ordinances declaring that all insurrectionary proceedings in the State were unlawful and void ab initio. Neither the Constitution nor laws direct official information to the State of amendments to the Constitution submitted by Congress. Notices of the amendment by Congress abolishing slavery were nevertheless given by the Secretary of State at the time to the States which were then in communication with this Government. Formal notice will immediately be given to those States which were then in insurrection. The objection you mention to the last clause of the constitutional amendment is regarded as querulous and unreasonable, because that clause is really restraining in its effect, instead of enlarging the powers of Congress. The President considers the acceptance of the amendment by South Carolina as indispensable to a restoration of her relations with the other States of the Union. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. November 7-Provisional Governor Perry sent a message communicating these telegrams, and recommending the ratification, and that they "place on record the construction which had been given to the amendment by the executive department of the Federal Government." November 13-The Legislature ratified the anti-slavery amendment, in this form: 1. Resolved, &c., That the aforesaid proposed amendment of the Constitution of the United States be, and the same is hereby, accepted, and adopted and ratified by this State. 2. That a certified copy of the foregoing preamble and resolution be forwarded by his excellency the Provisional Governor to the President of the United States, and also to the Secretary of State of the United States. 3. That any attempt by Congress towards legislating upon the political status of former slaves, or their civil relations, would be contrary to the Constitution of the United States as it now is, or as it would be altered by the proposed amendment, in conflict with the policy of the President, declared in his amnesty proclamation, and with the restoration of that harmony upon which depend the vital interests of the American Union. Respecting the repudiation of the rebel State debt, this telegraphic correspondence took place DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 1865. His Excellency B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor: Your despatch of this date was received at half-past 10 o'clock this morning. This freedom of loyal intercourse between South Carolina and her sister States is manifestly much better and wiser than separation. The President and the whole country are gratified that South Carolina has accepted the congressional amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. Upon reflection South Carolina herself would not care to come again into the councils of the Union incumbered and clogged with debts and obligations which had been assumed in her name in a vain attempt to subvert it. The President trusts that she will lose no time in making an effective organic declaration, disavowing all debts and obligations created or assumed in her name or behalf in aid of the rebellion. The President waits further events in South Carolina with deep interest. You will remain in the exercise of your functions of provisional governor until relieved by his express directions. WM. H. SEWARD. COLUMBIA, November 27, 1865. Hon. W. H. SEWARD: Your telegram of the 20th instant was not received in due time, owing to my absence from Columbia. The Convention having been dissolved, it is impracticable to enact any organic law in regard to the wai debt. That debt is very small, as the expenditures of South Carolina were reimbursed by the confederate government. The debt is so mixed up with the ordinary expenses of the State that it cannot be separated. In South Carolina all were guilty of aiding the rebellion, and no one can complain of being taxed to pay the trifling debt incurred by his own assent in perfect good faith. The Convention did all that the President advised to be done, and I thought it wrong to keep a revolutionary body in existence and advised their immediate dissolution, which was done. There is now no power in the Legislature to repudiate the debt if it were possible to separate it from the other debts of the State. Even then it would fall on widows and orphans whose estates were invested in it for safety. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, November 30, 1865 Sin: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of the 27th instant, imforming me, that as the Convention had been dissolved, it was impossible to adopt the President's suggesstion to repudiate the insurgent debt, and to inform you that while the objections which you urge to the adoption of that proceeding are of a serious nature, the Presi POLITICAL MANUAL. dent cannot refrain from awaiting with interest an official expression upon that subject from the Legislature.* I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. His Excellency B. F. PERRY. November-The colored State Convention addressed a memorial to Congress, asking that equal suffrage be conferred upon them in common with the white men of the State. November 22-Election held for Representatives in Congress. Respecting their admission there was this telegraphic correspondence: COLUMBIA, S. C., November 27, 1865. President JOHisoN: Will you please inform me whether the South Carolina members of Congress should be in Washington at the organization of the House. Will the Clerk of the House call their names if their credentials are presented to him? Will the test oath be required, or will it be refused by Congress? If the members are not allowed to take their seats they do not wish to incur the trouble and expense of going on, and the mortification of being rejected. Do give your views and wishes. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor. EXECUTIVE OFFICE, Washington, D. C., November 27, 1865. B. F. PERRY, Provisional Governor: I do not think it necessary for the members elect from South Carolina to be present at the organization of Congress. On the contrary, it will be better policy to present their certificates of election after the two Houses are organized, and then it will be a simple question under the Constitution of the members taking their seats. Each House must judge for itself the election, returns, and qualifications of its own members. As to what the two Houses will do in reference to the oath now required to be taken before the members can take their seats is unknown to me, and I do not like to predict; but, upon the whole, I am of opinion that it would be better for the question to come up and be disposed of after the two Houses have been organized. I hope that your Legislature will adopt a code in reference to free persons of color that will be acceptable to the country, at the same time doing justice to the white and colored population. ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States. FLORIDA. 1865, April 8-Abraham K. Allison, President of the rebel Senate, of Florida, announced the death of John Milton, rebel Governor, and appointed June 7 for election of a successor. May 14-Major General Gillmore issued an order annulling this proclamation, and com* December 21-Before adjourning, the subject of the repudiation of the war debt was referred to the Conmittee on Federal Relations, w1io recommended the appointment of a special joint committee of both Houses to inquire into the amount of such debt due by the State, and to whom due; and to report at the next regular session of the Legislature, wilch will be in November. 1866. manding the people to give it no heed whatever. July 13-William Marvin appointed Provisional Governor. August 3-Provisional Governor Marvin called an election for delegates to a convention for October 10th-these provisions governing the election: " Every free white male person of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, and who shall be at the time of offering to vote a citizen of the United States, and who shall have resided and had his home in this State for one year next preceding the election, and for six months in the county in which he may offer to vote, and who shall have taken and subscribed the oath of amnesty, as set forth in the President's proclamation of amnesty of the 29th day of May, 1865, and if he comes within the exceptions contained in said proclamation, shall have taken said oath, and have been specially pardoned by the President, shall be entitled to vote in the county where he resides, and shall be eligible as a member of said convention, and none others. Where the person offering to vote comes within the exceptions contained in the amnesty proclamation, and shall have taken the amnesty oath, and shall have made application to the President for a special pardon through the Provisional Governor, and shall have been recommended by him for such pardon, the inspectors or judges of the election may, in most instances, properly presume that such pardon has been granted, though, owing to the want of mail facilities, it may not have been received by the party at the time of the election. "Free white soldiers, seamen, and marines in the army or navy of the United States, who were qualified by their residence to vote in said State at the time of their respective enlistments, and who shall have taken and subscribed the amnesty oath, shall be entitled to vote in the county where they respectively reside. But no soldier, seaman, or marine not a resident in the State at the time of his enlistment shall be allowed to vote." October 25-Convention met. October 28.-Secession ordinance annulled. November 6-Slavery abolished-" slavery having been destroyed in the State by the Government of the United States." Same ordinance gives colored people the right to testify in all cases where the person or property of such person is involved, but denies them the right to testify where the interest of the white class are involved. Same day-Rebel State debt repudiated. A bill was first passed submitting this question to a vote of the people: but this was reconsidered, on finding this was a condition of recognition by the executive branch of the government, and the direct repudiation adopted. November 29-Election held under an ordinance of the Convention for State officers and Representative in Congress. "D)ecember 18-Legislature met. December 28-Anti-slavery amendment ratified, with this declaratory resolution a part of the ratifying instrument: " Resolved, That this amendment to the Con CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES. 25 stitution of the United States is adopted by the Legislature of the State of Florida, with the understanding that it does not confer upon the Congress the power to legislate upon the political status of the freedmen in this State." Pending this action, this telegraphic correspondence took place: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, September 12, 1865. SIR: Your excellency's letter of the 29th ultimo, with the accompanying proclamation, has been received and submitted to the President. The steps to which it refers, towards reorganizing the government of Florida, seem to be in the main judicious, and good results from them may be hoped for. The presumption to which the proclamation refers, however, in favor of insurgents who may wish to vote, and who may have applied for, but not received, their pardons, is not entirely approved. All applications for pardons will be duly considered, and will be disposed of as soon as may be practicable. It must, however, be distinctly understood that the restoration to which your proclamation refers will be subject to the decision of Congress. I have the honor to be, your excellency's obedient servant, WILLIAM If. SEWARD. His Excellency WILLIAM MARVIN.. OFFICE OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNOR, TALLAHASSEE, FLA., October 7, 1865. * * * I have said that the Convention will, in good faith, abolish slavery; but I think it probable that the Legislature, which will be elected and convened at an early period, will feel some reluctance against ratifying the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The principal argument urged against the ratification is, that the Legislature will thereby assist to impose abolition on Kentucky and Delaware, which have not yet abolished slavery. If the President should think it desirable that the Legislature should ratify the proposed amendment, either ither with a view to promote a more complete reconciliation between the North and the South, or for any other reason, he possibly may not deem it amiss to communicate to me his wishes on the subject. His wishes on the subject would be very potent in the State. The military authorities in the State, under the command of Major General Foster, are rendering me every possible ss sistance in sending out notices and proclamations of the election, in the absence of mail facilities, and no disagreements exist between us. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, VWM. MARVIN, Provisional Governor. Hon. W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, November 1, 1865. His Excellency WILLIAM MARVIN, Provisional Governor: Your letter of October 7 was received and submitted to the President. He is gratified with the favorablp progress towards reorganization in Florida, and directs me to saiy that he regards the ratification by the Legislature of the congressional amendment of the Constitution of the United States as indispensable to a successful restoration of the true legal relations between Florida and the other States. and equally indispensable to the return of peace and- harmony throughout the Republic. WILLIAM H. SEWARD. VIRGINIA. 1865, April 4-President Lincoln visited Richmond. April 7-An informal meeting of private individuals, among whom were five or six members of the rebel legislature in Richmond, was had to consider a suggestion that the Legislature reassemble to call a Convention to restore Virginia to the Union, said to be with the concurrence of President Lincoln. April 12-This address was published in tho Richmond Whig: ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA. The undersigned, members of the Legislature of the State of Virginia, in connection with a number of the citizens of the State, whose names are attached to this paper, in view of the evacuation of the city of Richmond by the Confederate government and its occupation by the military authorities of the United States, the surrender of the army of northern Virginia, and the suspension of the jurisdiction of the civil power of the State, are of the opinion that an immediate meeting of the General Assembly of the State is called for by the exigencies of the situation. The consent of the military authorities of the United States to a session of the Legislature in Richmond, in connection with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, to their free deliberation upon public affairs, and to the ingress and departure of all its members under safe conduct, has been obtained. The United States authorities will afford transportation from any point under their control to any of the persons before mentioned. The matters to be submitted to the Legislature are the restoration of peace to the State of Virginia, and the adjustment of the questions, involving life, liberty and property, that have arisen in the State as a consequence of war. We, therefore, therefore, earnestly request the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and members of the Legislature, to repair to this city by the 25th of April, instant. We understand that full protection to persons and property will be afforded in the State, and we recommend to peaceful citizens to remain at their homes and pursue their usual avocations with confidence that they will not be interrupted. We earnestly solicit the attendance in Richmond, on or before the 25th of April, instant, of the following persons, citizens of Virginia, to confer with us as to the best means of restoring peace to the State of Virginia. Wehave secured safe conduct from the military authorities of the United States for them to enter the city and depart without molestation: Hons. R. M. T. Hunter, A. T. Caperton, Wm, C. Rives, John Letcher, A. H. H. Stuart, R. L. Montague, Fayette McMulleni, J. P. Holcombe, Alex. Rives, B. Job tison Barbour, Jas. Barbour, Wmin. L. Goggin. J. B. Baldwin, Thos. S. Ghol 26 POLITICAL MANUAL. son, Waller Staples, S. D. Miller, Thos. J. Ran- Virginia together, as the rightful Legislature of dolph, Win. T. Early, R. A. Claybrook, John the State, to settle all differences with the United Critcher Williams, T. H. Eppes, and those other States. I have done no such thing. I spoke of persons for whom passports have been procured, them not as a legislature, but as " the gentleand especially others whom we consider it un- men who have acted as the Legislature of Virnecessary to mention. Signed- ginia in support of the rebellion." I did this A. J. Mlarshall, Senator from Fauquier. on purpose to exclude the assumption that I was John Wesson, Senator from Marion. recognizing them as a rightful body. I dealt James Venable, Senator elect from Petersburg. with them as men having power de facto to do David J. Burr, of the House of Delegates, a specific thing, to wit, "to withdraw the Virfrom Richmond. ginia troops and other support from resistance David J. Saunders, of the House of Delegates, to the General Government," for which, in the Richmond city. paper handed to Judge Campbell, I promised a L. S. Hall, of the House of Delegates, Wetzel specific equivalent, to wit, a remission to the county. people of the State, except in certain cases, the J. J. English, of the House of Delegates, confiscation of their property. I meant this and Henrico county. no more. Inasmuch, however, as Judge CampWm. Ambers, of the House of Delegates, bell misconstrues this, and is still pressing for an Chesterfield county. armistice, contrary to the explicit statement of A. M. Keetz, House Delegates, Petersburg. the paper I gave him; and particularly as Gen. H. W. Thomas, Second Auditor, Richmond. Grant has since captured the Virginia troops, so Lioetenant L. L. Moncure, Chief Clerk, Second that giving a consideration for their withdrawal Auditor's office. is no longer applicable, let my letter to you and Joseph Mayo, Mayor, city of Richmond. the paper to Judge Campbell both be withdrawn Robert S. Howard, Clerk Hustings Court, or countermanded, and he be notified of it. Do Richmond city. not now allow them to assemble; but if any Thomas W. Dudley, Sergeant, Richmond city. have come, allow them safe return to their homes. Littleton Tazewell, Commonwealth's Attor- A. LINCOLN. ne y Richmond city. May 9-President Johnson issued an execuWm. T. Joynes, Judge of the Circuit Court, tive order recognizing the Pierpoint Adminisretersbuig. _ration as that of Virginia. (See President John A. Meredith, Judge of the Circuit Court, nraon s rginia. (See President Richmond. Johnson's Orders, p. 8.) Richmond. June 19-Legislature met. Wm. H. Lyons, Judge of the Hustings Court, June es e scribing means by Richmond. June 20-Bill passed prescribing means by Win. C. Wickham, Member of Congress, Rich- which persons who have been disfranchised by Wm. Wickham, Member of Congress, Rich- he third article of the constitution may be reBenjamin S. Ewell, President of William and stored to the rights of voters. [It provides, " S. Ewell, President osubstantially,that persons, otherwise qualified ary CoTylege.ditorRichmond irer, as voters, who take the amnesty oath and an R. F.Walker, puhblisher, Examiner. oath to uphold the executive government of. R. Waler, publisher, amn er. Virginia, shall be qualified as voters.] R.. Anderson, Richmond. June 21-Bill passed submitting to a vote of W..Howison, Richmond. the people whether the legislature to be chosen W. Goddin, Richmond. at the next election should have power to alter P. G. Bagloy, Richmond. or amend the third article of the constitution, F. J.rankli Smith, Rnsichmond.co which is in these words: FraJohn Lyon, Pe Stersur, Ienco. No person shall vote or hold office under John Lyonm Peter sburg. e this constitution who has held office under the Thomas B. Fisher, Fauchiert. so-called Confederate government, or under any C rus Hall, Ritchie Cy. rebellious State government, or who has been a Tos. W. Garnett, t ing -nd Queen. member of the so-called Confederate Congress, James A. Scott, Richmond. uor a member of any State Legislature in rebelJames A. Scott, ichmond authority of the United States, I concur in the preceding recommendation. onain therefauth or ty of te nd States, J. A. CAMPBELL. excepting therefrom the county officers." Approved for publication in the Whigand in June 23-Legislature adjourned. Approved for publication inhe Wh and i October 12--Election held for epresentatives ajor General Gom. in Congress. The vote on empowering the RA., jor Generai Commanding. Legislature to alter the third article almost RICHMOND, VA., April 11, 1865. unanimously affirmative. April 12-Said authority revoked in this tele- December 4-Legislature assembled. A bill gram from President Lincoln to Major General passed, providing that all qualified voters hereWeitzel, being the last telegram ever transmitted tofore identified with "the rebellion," and not by the former: excluded from the amnesty proclamation by OFFICE U. S. MILITARY TELEGRAPH, President Johnson (with the exception of those WAR DEPARTMENT, embraced in the " $20,000 clause,") can appear WASHINGTON, D. C., April 12, 1865. before a notary public, or other persons auMajor General WEITZEL, Richmond, Va.: thorized to administer oaths, under the restored I have just seen Judge Campbell's letter to Government, and recover the right of sufyou of the 7th. He assumes, as appears to me, frage, by taking the amnesty oath of the 29th of that I have called the insurgent Legislature of May, 1865, an oath to support the restored Gov CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATURES. 27 ernment of Virginia, and to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. He also becomes eligible to office, unless he has " held office under the so-called Confederate government, or under any rebellious State government, or has been a member of the so-called Confederate Congress, or a member of any State Legislature in rebellion against the authority of the United States," excepting therefrom county officers. TENNESSEE. 1865, March 4--William G. Brownlow elected Governor, under the organization effected by Andrew Johnson, Military Governor. Brownlow received 23,352 votes, scattering 37. June 5-Franchise act passed, with these provisions: SEc. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the following persons, to wit: 1. Every white man twenty-one years of age, a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the county wherein he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election, and publicly known to have entertained unconditional Union sentiments from the outbreak of the rebellion until the present time; and 2. Every white man, a citizen of the United States and a citizen of the county wherein he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election, having arrived at the age of twenty-one years since March 4, 1865: Provided, That he has not been engaged in armed rebellion against the authority of the United States voluntarily; and 3. Every white man of lawful age coming from another State, and being a citizen of the United States, on proof of loyalty to the United States, and being a citizen of the county wherein he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election; and 4. Every white man, a citizen of the United States and a citizen of this State, who has served as a soldier in the army of the United States, and has been or may be hereafter honorably discharged therefrom; and 5. Every white man of lawful age, a citizen of tke United States and a citizen of the county vherein he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election, who was conscripted by force into the so-called confederate army, and was known to be a Union man, on proof of loyalty to the United States, established by the testimony of two voters under the previous clauses of this section; and 6. Every white man who voted in this State at the presidential election in November, 1864, or voted on the 22d of February, 1865, or voted on the 4th of March, 1865, in this State, and all others who had taken the "oath of allegiance" to the United States, and may be known by the judges of election to have been true friends to the Government of the United States, and would have voted in said previously mentioned elections if the same had been holden within their reach, shall be entitled to the privileges of the elective franchise. SEc. 2. That all persons who are or shall have been civil or diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called Confederate States of America, or who have left judicial stations under the United States or the State of Tennessee to aid, in any way, the existing or recent rebellion against the authority of the United States, or who are or shall have been military or naval officers of the so-called Confederate States, above the rank of captain in the army or lieutenant in the navy; or who have left seats in the United States Congress or seats in the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, to aid in said rebellion, or have resigned commissions in the army or navy of the United States, and afterward have voluntarily given aid to said rebellion; or persons who have been engaged in treating otherwise than lawfully, as prisoners of war, persons found in the United States service as officers, soldiers, seamen, *or in any other capacities; or persons who have been or are absentees from the United States for the purpose of aiding the rebellion; or persons who held pretended offices under the government of States in insurrection against the United States; or persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and protection of the United States, or fled before the approach of the national forces and passed beyond the Federal military lines into the so-called Confederate States, forth the purpose of aiding the rebellion, shall be denided and refused the privilege of the elective franchise in this State for the term of fifteen years from and after the passage of this act. SEc. 3. That all other persons, except those mentioned in sectioned et one of this act,. are hereby and henceforth excluded and denied the exercise of the privilege of the elective franchise in this State for the term of five years from and after the passage of this act. SEC. 4. That all persons embraced in section three of this act, after the expiration of said five years, may be readmitted to the privilege of the elective franchise by petition to the circuit or chancery court, on proof of loyalty to the United States, in open court, upon the testimony of two or more loyal citizens of the United States. July 15-President Johnson sent this telegram: WASHINGTON, D. C.-3.50 P. M., July 16, 1865. To Governor WT. G. Brownlow: I hope, as I have no doubt you will see, that the laws passed by the last Legislature are faithfully executed, and that all illegal voters in the approaching election be kept from the polls, and that the election of members of Congress be conducted fairly. Whenever it becomes necessary for the execution of the law and the protection of the ballot-box, you will call upon General Thomas for sufficient military force to sustain the civil authority of the State. I have just read your address, which I most heartily endorse. ANDREW JOINSON, President U. S. A. 1866, April 12-An amendment to the franchise act passed the House, 41 to 15. May 3-The Senate passed it, 13 to 6. Its principal provisions are: SEc. 1. That every white male inhabitant of this State of the age of twenty-one years, a citizen of the United States and a resident of the county wherein he may offer his vote six months next preceding the day of election, shall bh enti POLITICAL MANUAL. tiled to the privilege of the elective franchise, subject to the following exceptions and disqualifications, to wit: First. Said voter shall have never borne arms against the Government of the United States for the purpose of aiding the late rebellion, nor have voluntarily given aid, comfort, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to any rebellion against the authority of the United States Government, nor aided, countenanced, or encouraged acts of hostility thereto. Second. That said voter shall have never sought, or voluntarily accepted, any office, civil or military, or attempted to exercise the functions of any office, civil or military, under the authority or pretended authority of the so-called Confederate States of America, or of any insurrectionary State whatever, hostile or opposed to the authority of the United States Government, with the intent and desire to aid said rebellion or insurrectionary authority. Third. That said voter shall have never voluntarily supported any pretended government, Dower, or authority hostile or inimical to the authority of the United States, by contributions in money or property, by persuasion or influence, or in any other way whatever: Provided, That the foregoing restrictions and disqualifications shall not apply to any white citizen who may have served in and been honorably discharged from the army or navy of the United States since the 1st day of January, 1862, nor to those who voted in the Presidential election in November, 1864, or voted in the election for " ratification or rejection " in February, 1865, or voted in the election held on the 4th day of March of the same year for Governor and members of the Legislature, nor to those who have been appointed to any civil or military office by Andrew John-on, Military Governor, or William G. Brownlow, Governor of Tennessee, all of whom are hereby declared to be qualified voters upon their complying with the requirements of this act: Provided, That this latter clause shall not apply to any commission issued upon any election which may have been held. SEC. 2. That the Governor of.the State shall, 'within sixty days after the passage of this act, appoint a commissioner of registration for each and 'every county in the State, who shall, without delay, enter upon the discharge of his duties, and who shall have full power to administer the necessary oaths provided by this act. May 19-.A bill was passed to disqualify certain persons from holding office, civil or military. It excludes those persons who held civil or diplomatic offices, or were agents of the so called Confederate States, or who left judicial stations under the United States, or the State of Tennessee, to aid the rebellion, or who were military or naval officers of the so-called Confederate States, above the rank of captain in the army, or lieutenant in the navy, or who left seats in the United States Congress, or seats in the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, to aid the rebellion, or who resigned commissions in the army or navy of the United States and afterward gave voluntary aid to the rebellion, or who absented themselves from the State of Tennessee ta give such aid, or who held offices under the States ir insurrection against the United States with intent to aid the rebellion, or who ever held office in the State of Tennessee of, legislative, judicial, or executive character, under an oath to support the constitution,of the State of Tennessee, and who violated said oath, and gave voluntary aid or countenance to the rebellion, that each and all be excluded from all offices, State, county, or municipal. It also provides that any qualified voter shall not be excluded from office by the provisions of this bill, as amended. May -The Senate rejected a suffrage bill, 16 to 5, which proposed to allow all blacks amd whites of legal age to vote, and exclude all, after 1875, who cannot read. May 28-The Legislature adjourned until November 28. TEXAS. 1865, June 17-Andrew J. Hamilton appointed Provisional Governor. 1866, March -Convention met. April 2-Convention adjourned. The Constitution to be voted on, June 5. It abolishes slavery, and annuls the Secession Ordinance. The war debt has been repudiated. Five years residence required for eligibility to the Legislature. White population is the basis of representation for State purposes. An ordinance passed exempting all persons who, under authority of civil or military power, had inflicted injury upon persons during the war, from accountability therefor. ARKANSAS. 1865, October 30-President Johnson sent this telegram to Governor Isaac Murphy, elected Governor under the free State organization formerly made. EXEOUTIVE OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D;. C., October 30, 1865. To Gov. MuurPy, Little Rock, Arkansas-: There will be no interference with your present organization of State government. I have learned from E. W. Gantt, Esq., and other sources, that all is working well, and you will proceed and resume the former relations with the Federal Government, and all the aid in the power of the Government will be given in restoring the State to its former relations. ANDREW JOHNSON, Pres't of the U. S. LOUISIANA. There was no interference with the State organization formerly made. 1865, November -J. M. Wells was elected Governor, and Albert Voorhis, Lieut. Governor November 23-Legislature met in extra session again, under proclamation of the Governor. December 22-Legislature adjourned. 1866, March -J. T. Monroe elected mayor of New Orleans, and James 0. Nixon an alderman. March 19-General Canby issued an order suspending them from the exercise of any of the functions of these offices until the pleasure of the President be made known-as they come within the excepted class of the President'sproclamation. They were subsequently pardoned, on application, ~ ad took the offices. IV. LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. NORTH CAROL INA. 1866, March 10-The act" concerning negroes, nd persons of color, or of mixed blood," passed by the Legislature, declares that " negrocs acnd their issue, even where one ancestor in each succeeding generation to the fourth inclusive, is white, shall be deemed persons of color." It gives them all the privileges of white persons before the courts in the mode of prosecuting, defending, continuing, removing, and transferring their suits at law and in equity, and makes them eligible as witnesses, when not otherwise incompetent, in " all controversies at law and in equity where the rights of persons or property of persons of color shall be put in issue, and would be concluded by the judgment or decree of court; and also in pleas of the State, where the violence, fraud, or injury alleged shall be charged to have been done by or topersons of color. In all other civil and criminal cases such evidence shall be deemed inadmissible, unless by consent of the parties of record: Provided, That this section shall not go into effect until jurisdiction in matters relating to freedmen shall be fully committed to the courts of this State: Provided further, That no person shall be deemed incompetent to bear testimony in such cases, because of being a party to the record or in interest." The criminal laws of the State are extended in their operation to embrace persons of color, and the same punishment is inflicted on them as on the whites, except for rape, which, if a white female is the victim, is a capital crime for a black. The law regarding apprentices is so amended as to make its provisions applicable to blacks, but it gives the former masters the preference, and declares that they should be regarded as the most suitable persons. Provision is also made for legalizing the marriages of the blacks contracted during slavery, and for punishment of illicit cohabitation. All which is modified by a proviso that the act shall not take effect until after the Freedmen's Bureau is removed. Where men and women, lately slaves, now cohabit together in the relation of husband and wife, they shall be deemed to have been lawfully married at the time of the commencement of such cohabitation; and they are required to go before the clerk of the county court, acknowledge the cohabitation, of which record shall be made, and shall be prima facie evidence of the statements made. All contracts between any persons whatever, whereof one or more of them shall be a person of color, for the sale or purchase of any horse, mule, ass, jennet, neat cattle, hog, sheep, or goat, whatever may be the value of such articles, and all contracts between such persons for any other article or articles of property whatever of the value of ten dollars or more, and all contracts executed or executory between such persons for the payment of money of the value of ten dollars or more, shall be void as to all persons whatever, unless the same be put in writing and signed by the vendors or debtors, and witnessed by a white person who can read and write. "Marriage between white persons and persons of color shall be void; and every person authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony, who shall knowingly solemnize the same between such persons, and every clerk of a court who shall knowingly issue license for their marriage, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, moreover, shall pay a penalty of five hundred dollars to any person suing for the same. MISSSSISPPI. An Act to regulate the Relation of Master and Apprentice relative to Freedmen, FreeNegro es, and Mulattoes, November 22, 1865. SEC. 1 provides that it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other civil officers of the several counties in this State to report to the probate courts of their respective counties semi-annually, at the January and July terms of said courts, all freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes, under the age of eighteen, within their respective counties, beats, or districts, who are orphans, or whose parent or parents have not the means, or who refuse to provide for and support said minors, and thereupon it shall be the duty of said probate court to order the clerk of said court to apprentice said minors to some competent and suitable person, on such terms as the court may direct, having a particular care to the interest of said minors: Provided, That the former owner of said minors shall have the preference when, in the opinion of the court, he or she shall be a suitable person for that purpose. SEc. 2 provides that the said court shall be fully satisfied that the person or persons to whom said minor shall be apprenticed shall be a suitable person to have the charge and care of said minor, and fully to protect the interest of said minor: Provided, That said apprentice shall be bound by indenture, in case of males until they are twenty-one years old, and in case of females until they are eighteen years old. SEC. 3 provides that in the management and control of said apprentices said master or mistress shall have power to inflict such moderate corporeal chastisement as a father or guardian is allowed to inflict on his or her child or ward at common law: Provided, That in no case shsll cruel or inhuman punishment be inflicted. SEc. 4 provides that if any apprentice shall leave the employment of his ~r her master or 29 30 POLITICAL MANUAL. mistress, without his or her consent, said mas- prisoned, at the discretion of the court, the ter or mistress may pursue and recapture said free negro not exceeding ten days, and the white apprentice, and bring him or her before any man not exceeding six months. justice of the peace of the county, whose duty SEC. 3 gives all justices of the peace, mayors, it shall be to remand said apprentice to the ser- and aldermen jurisdiction to try all questions of vice of his or her master or mistress; and in the vagrancy, and it is made their duty to arrest event of a refusal on the part of said apprentice parties violating any provisions of this act, inso to return, then said justice shall commit said vestigate the charges, and, on conviction, punish apprentice to the jail of said county, on failure as provided. It is made the duty of all sheriffs, to give bond, until the next term of the county constables, town constables, city marshals, and court; and it shall be the duty of said court, at all like officers, to report to some officer having,he first term thereafter, to investigate said case, jurisdiction all violations of any of the provisand if the court shall be of opinion that said ions of this act, and it is made the duty of the apprentice left the employment of his or her county courts to inquire if any officer has negmaster or mistress without good cause, to order lected any of these duties, and if guilty to fine him or her to be punished, as provided for the him not exceeding $100, to be paid into the punishment of hired freedmen, as may be from county treasury. time to time provided for by law for desertion, SEC. 5 provides that all fines and forfeitures until he or she shall agree to return to his or collected under the provisions of this act shall aer master or mistress: Provided, That the be paid into the county treasury for general court may grant continuances, as in other cases: county purposes, and in case any freedman, free A-nd provided further, That if the court shall negro or mulatto, shall fail for five days after believe that said apprentice had good cause to the imposition of any fine or forfeiture upon quit his said master or mistress, the court shall him or her, for violation of any of the provisdischarge said apprentice from said indenture, ions of this act to pay the same, that it shall be, and also enter a judgment against the master or and is hereby made, the duty of the sheriff of mistress, for not more than one hundred dol- the proper county to hire out said freedman, lars, for the use and benefit of said apprentice, free negro or mulatto, to any person who will, to be collected on execution, as in other cases. for the shortest period of service, pay said SEC. 5 provides that if any person entice away fine or forfeiture and all costs: Provided, A prefany apprentice from his or her master or mis- erence shall be given to the employer, if. there uress, or shall knowingly employ an apprentice, be one, in which case the employer shall be or furnish him or her food or clothing, without entitled to deduct and retain the amount so paid the written consent of his or her master or mis- from the wages of such freedman, free negro or tress, or shall sell or give said apprentice ardent mulatto, then due or to become due; and in case spirits without such consent, said person so of- such freedman, free negro or mulatto cannot be fending shall be deemed guilty of a high misde- hired out, he or she may be dealt with as a pauper. meanor, and shall on conviction thereof before SEC. 6 provides that the same duties and liathe county court, be punished as provided for the bilities existing among white persons of this punishment of persons enticing from their em- State shall attach to freedmen, free negroes and ployer hired freedmen, free negroes, or mulattoes. mulattoes, to support their indigent families and SEC. 6 makes it the duty of all civil officers to all colored paupers; and that in order to secure report any minors within their respective coun- a support for such indigent freedmen, free neties to said probate court for apprenticeship. groes and mulattoes, it shall be lawful, and it is SEc. 9 provides that it shall be lawful for any hereby made the duty of the boards of county freedman, free negro, or mulatto, having a minor police of each county in this State, to levy a child or children, to apprentice the said minor poll or capitation tax on each and every freedchild or children as provided for by this act. man, free negro or mulatto, between the ages of SEC. 10 provides that in all cases where the eighteen and sixty years, not to exceed the sum age of the freedman, free negro, or mulatto can- of one dollar annually to each person so taxed, not be ascertained by record testimony, the which tax when collected shall be paid into the judge of the county court shall fix the age. county treasurer's hands, and constitute a fund The Vagrant Act, November 24, 1865. to be called the freedmen's pauper fund, which shall be applied by the commissioners of the SEc. 1 defines who are vagrants, poor for the maintenance of the poor of the SEc. 2 provides that all freedmen, free negroes, freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, of this and rmulattoes in this State, over the age of State, under such regulations as may be estabeighteen years, found on the second Monday in lished by the boards of the county police in the January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful respective counties of this State. employment or business, or found unlawfully SEC. 7 provides that if any freedman, free assembling themselves together, either in the negro or mulatto shall fail or refuse to pay day or night time, and all white persons so any tax levied according to the provisions of assembling with freedmen, free negroes, or mu- the sixth section of this act, it shall be prima lattoes, or usually associating with freedmen, facie evidence of vagrancy, and it shall be the free negroes, or mulattoes on terms of equality, duty of the sheriff to arrest such freedman, free or living in adultery or fornication with a freed- negro or mulatto, or such persons refusing or woman, free negro, or mulatto, shall be deemed neglecting to pay such tax, and proceed at once vagrants, and on conviction thereof shall be to hire, for the shortest time, such delinquent fned in the sum of not exceeding, in the case of tax-payer to any one who will pay the said tax, ii freedman, free negro or mulatto, fifty dollars, with the accruing costs, giving preference to the and a white man two hundred dollars and im- employer, if t'nere be one. LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMENI 31 An Act to confer Civil Rights on Freedmen, and for other Purposes, November 25, 1865. SECTIOr 1 provides that all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded in all the courts of law and equity of this State, and may acquire personal property and choses in action by descent or purchase, and may dispose of the same in the same manner and to the same extent that white persons may: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not be so construed as t: allow any freedman, free negro or mulatto to rent or lease any lands or tenements, except in incorporated towns or cities, in which places the corporate authorities shall control the same. SEc. 2 provides that all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes may intermarry with each other in the same manner and under the same regulations that are provided by law for white persons: Provided, That the clerk of probate shall keep separate records of the same. SEc. 3 further provides that all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes, who do now and have heretofore lived and cohabited together as husband and wife shall be taken and held in law as legally married, and the issue shall be taken and held as legitimate for all purposes. That it shall not be lawful for any freedman, free negro or mulatto to intermarry with any white person; nor for any white person to intermarry with any freedman, free negro or mulatto; and any person who shall so intermarry shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof, shall be confined in the State penitentiary for life; and those shall be deemed freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes who are of pure negro blood, and those descended from a negro to the third generation, inclusive, though one ancestor of each generation may have been a white person. SEC. 4 provides that in addition to cases in which freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes are now by law competent witnesses, freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes shall be competent in civil cases, when a party or parties to the suit, either plaintiff or plaintiffs, defendant or defendants; also in cases where freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes are either plaintiff or plaintiffs, defendant or defendants, and a white person or white persons is or are the opposing party or parties, plaintiff or plaintiffs, defendant or detendants. They shall also be competent witnesses in all criminal prosecutions where the crime charged is alleged to have been committed by a white person upon or against tie person or property of a freedman, free negro or mulatto: Provided, That in all cases said witnesses shall be examined in open court on the stand, except, however, they may be examined before the grand jury, and shall in all cases be subject to the rules and tests of the common law as to competency and credibility. SEC. 5 provides that every freedman, free negro, and mulatto shall on the second Monday of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and annually thereafter, have a lawful home or employment, and shall have written evidence thereof, as follows, to wit: If living in any incorporated city, town, or village, a license from the mayor thereof, and if living outside of any incorporated city, town, or village, from the member of the board of police of his beat, authorizing him or her to do irregular and job work, or a written contract, as provided in section six of this act; which licenses may be revoked for cause at any time by tho authority granting the same. SEC. 6 provides that all contracts for labor made with freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes, for a longer period than one month, shall be in writing and in duplicate, attested and read to said freedman, free negro, or mulatto by a beat, city, or county officer or two disinterested white persons of the county in which the labor is to be performed, of which each party shall have one; and said contracts shall be taken and held as entire contracts, and if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer before the expiration of his term of service without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year up to the time of quitting. SEC. 7. provides that every civil officer shall, and every person may arrest and carry back to his or her legal employer any freedman, free negro, or mulatto who shall have quit the service of his or her employer before the expiration of his or her term of service without good cause; and said officer and person shall be entitled to receive for arresting and carrying back ever y deserting employe aforesaid the sum of five dollars, and ten cents per mile from the place of arrest to the place of delivery, and the same shall be paid by the employer and held as a set-off for so much against the wages of said deserting employe: Provided, That said arrested party after being so returned may appeal to a justice of the peace or member of the board of the police of the county, who, on notice to the alleged employer, shall try, summarily, whether said appellant is legally employed by the alleged employer and has good cause to quit said employer; either party shall have the right of appeal to the county court, pending which the alleged deserter shall be remanded to the alleged employer, or otherwise disposed of as shall be right and just; and the decision of the county court shall be final. SEC. 8 provides that upon affidavit made by the employer of any freedman, free negro, or mulatto, or other credible person, before any justice of the peace or member of the board of police, that any freedman, free negro, or mulatta, legally employed by said employer, has illegally deserted said employment, such justice of the peace or member of the board of police shall issue his warrant or warrants, returnable before himself or other such officer, directed to any sheriff, constable, or special deputy, commanding him to arrest said deserter and return him or her to said employer, and the like proceedings shall be had as provided in the preceding section; and it shall be lawful for any officer to whom such warrant shall be directed to execute said warrant in any county of this State, and that said warrant may be transmitted without indorsement to any like officer of another county to be executed and returned as aforesaid, and the said employer shall pay the cost of said warrants and arrest and return, which shall be set off for so much against the wages of said deserter. 82 POLITICAL MANUAL. SmC. 9 provides that if any person shall pcrsuade, or attempt to persuade, entice, or cause any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to desert from the legal employment of any person before the expiration of his or her term of service, or shall knowingly employ any such deserting freedman, free negro, or mulatto, or shall knowingly give or sell to any such deserting freedman, free negro, or mulatto any food, raiment, or other thing, he or she shall be guilty of amisdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than two hundred dollars and the costs; and if said fine and costs shall not be immediately paid, the court shall sentence said convict to not exceeding two months' imprisonment in the county jail, and he or she shall, moreover, be liable to the party injured in damages: Provided, If any person shall, or shall attempt to, persuade, entice, or cause any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to desert from any legal employment of any person with the view to employ said freedman, tree negro, or mulatto without the limits of this State, such person, on conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars and costs; 'and if said fine and costs shall not be immediately paid the court shall sentence said convict to not exceeding six months' imprisonment in the county jail. SEa. 10 provides that it shall be lawful for any freedman, free negro, or mulatto to charge any white person, freedman, free negro, or mulatto, by affidavit, with any criminal offence against his or her person or property, and upon such affidavit the proper process shall be issued and executed as if said affidavit was made by a white person, and it shall be lawful for any freedman, free negro, or mulatto, in any action, suit, or controversy pending or about to be instituted in any court of law or equity in this State, to make all needful and lawful affidavits as shall be necessary for the institution, prosecution, or defence of such suit or controversy. SEO. 11 provides that the penal laws of this State, in all cases not otherwise specially provided for, shall apply and extend to all freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes. An Act Supplementary to "An Act to confer Civil Rights upon Freedmen," and for other purposes, December 2,'1865. SEC. 1 provides that in every case where any white person has been arrested and brought to trial, by virtue of the provisions of the tenth section of the above recited act, in any court in this State, upon sufficient proof being made to the court or jury, upon the trial before said court, that any freedman, free negro or mulatto has falsely and maliciously caused the arrest and trial of said white person or persons, the court shall render up a judgment against said freedman, free negro or mulatto for all costs of the case, and impose a fine not to exceed fifty dollars, and imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed twenty days; and for a failure of said freedmen, free negro or mulatto to pay, or cause to be paid, all costs, fines and jail fees, the sheriff of the county is hereby authorized and required, after giving ten days' public notice, to proceed to hire out at public outcry, at the court-house of the county, said freedman, free negro or mulatto, for the shortest time to raise the amount necessary to discharge said freedman, free negro or mulatto from all costs, fines, and jail fees aforesaid. An Act to punish certain Offences therein named, and for other purposes, November 29, 1865. SEC. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That no freedman, free negro, or mulatto, not in the military service of the United States Government, and not licensed to do so by the board of police of his or her county, shall keep or carry fire-arms of any kind, or any ammunition, dirk, or bowie-knife; and on conviction thereof, in the county court, shall be punished by fine, not exceeding ten dollars, and pay the costs of such proceedings, and all such arms or ammunition shall be forfeited to the informer; and it shall be the duty of every civil and military officer to arrest any freedman, free negro, or mulatto found with any such arms or ammunition, and cause him to be committed for trial in default of bail. S'E. 2. That any freedman, free negro, or mulatto, committing riots, routes, affrays, trespasses, malicious mischief and cruel treatment to animals, seditious speeches, insulting gestures, language, or acts, or assaults on any person, disturbance of the peace, exercising the functions of a minister of the gospel without a license from some regularly organized church, vending spirituous or intoxicating liquors, or committing any other misdemeanor, the punishment of which is not specifically provided for by law, shall, upon conviction thereof, in the county court, be fined not less than ten dollars, and not more than one hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned, at the dis. cretion of the court, not exceeding thirty days. SEc. 3. That if any white person shall sell, lend, or give to any freedman, free negro, or mulatto, any fire-arms, dirk, or bowie-knife, or ammunition, or any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, such person or persons so offending, upon conviction thereof, in the county court of his or her county, shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars, and may be imprisoned, at the discretion of the court, not exceeding thirty days. SaEc. 4. That all the penal and criminal laws now in force in this State, defining offences, and prescribing the mode of punishment for crimes and misdemeanors committed by slaves, free negroes or nimlattoes, be and the same are hereby re-enacted, and declared to be in full force and effect, against freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes, except so far as the mode and manner of trial and punishment have been changed or altered by law. SEC. 5. That if any freedman, free negro or mulatto, convicted of any of the misdemeanors provided against in this act, shall fail or refuse, for the space of five days after conviction, to pay the fine and costs imposed, such person shall be hired out by the sheriff or other officer, at public outcry, to any white person who will pay 'aid fine and all costs, and take such convict fo the shortest time. GEORGIA. 1865, December 15--Free persons of color are made competent witnesses in all courts in casis where a free person of color is a party, or the offence charged is against the person or property LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. 33 of a free person of color. Persons of color now living as husband and wife are declared to be so, except a man has two or more reputed wives, or a wife two or more reputed husbands; in such event, they shall select one and the marriage ceremony be performed. 1866, Feb. 23-All male inhabitants, white and black, between sixteen and fifty, subject to work on the public roads, except such as are specially exempted. March 7-Any officer knowingly issuing any marriage license to parties, either of whom is of African descent and the other a white person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction be fined from two hundred to five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for three months, or both. Any officer or minister marrying such. persons shall be fined from five hundred to one thousand dollars, and imprisoned six months, or both. March 9-That among persons of color the parent shall be required to maintain his or her children, whether legitimate or illegitimate. That children shall be subjected to the same obligations, in relation to their parents, as those which existing relation to white persons. That every colored child hereafter born, is declared to be the legitimate child of his mother, and also of his colored father, if acknowledged by such father. To Amend the Penal Code. March 12-The 4,435th section of the Penal Code shall read as follows: All persons wandering or strolling about in idleness, who are able to work, and who have no property to support them; all persons leading an idle, immoral, or profligate life, who have no property to support them, and are able to work and do not work; all persons able to work having no visible and known means of a fair, honest, and reputable livelihood; all persons having a fixed abode, who have no visible property to support them, and who live by stealing or by trading in, bartering for, or buying stolen property; and all professional gamblers living in idleness, shall be deemed and considered vagrants, and shall be indicted as such, and it shall be lawful for any person to arrest said vagrants and have them bound over for trial to the. next term of the county court, and upon conviction, they shall be fined and imprisoned or sentenced to work on the public works, for not longer than a year, or shall, in the discretion of the court, be bound out to some person for a time not longer than one year, upon such valuable consideration as the court may prescribe; the person giving bond in a sum not exceeding $300, payable to said court and conditioned to clothe and feed, and provide said convict with medical attendance for and during said time: Provided, That the defendant may, at any time, before conviction, be discharged, upon paying costs and giving bond and security in a sum not exceeding $200, payable to said court, and condition for the good behavior and industry of defendant for one year. March 8-The wilful and malicious burning of an occupied dwelling-house of another on a farm, or plantation, or elsewhere, shall be punished with death; also burglary in the night; also stealing a horse or mule, unless recommended by the jury to the mercy of the court. 3 March 17-County courts organized, as in other States, for hearing of " cases arising out of the relation of master and servant," &c. Where such cases shall go against the servant, the judgment for costs upon written notice to the master shall operate as a garnishment against him, and he shall retain a sufficient amount for" the payment thereof, out of any wages due to said servant, or to become due during the period of service, and may be cited at any time by the collecting officer to make answer thereto. March 17-SEc. 1. That all negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, and their descendants having one eighth negro or African blood in their veins, shall be known in this State as "persons of color." 2. That persons of color shall have the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be sued, to be parties and give evidence, to inherit, to purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to have full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and estate, and shall not be subjected to any other or different punishment, pain or penalty, for the commission of any act or offense, than such as are prescribed for white persons committing like acts or offenses. March 20-Crimes defined in certain sections named, as felonies are reduced below felonies, and all other crimes, punishable by fine or imprisonment or either, shall be likewise punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment not exceeding six months, whipping not exceeding thirty-nine lashes, to work in a chaingang on the public works not to exceed twelve months, and any one or more of these punishments may be ordered in the discretion of the judge. ALABAMA. December -Bill passed, " making it unlawful for any freedmen, mulatto, or free person of color in this State to own fire-arms, or carry about his person a pistol or other deadly weapon, under a penalty of a fine of $100 or imprisonment three months. Also, making it unlawful for any person to sell, give, or lend fire-arms or ammunition of any description whatever to any freedman, free negro, or mulatto, under a penalty of not less than $50 not more than $100 at the discretion of the jury. December 9-This bill passed: That all freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes, shall have the right to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in all the different and various courts of this State, to the same extent that white persons now have by law. And they shall be competent to testify only in open court, and only in cases in which freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes are parties, either plaintiff or defendant, and in civil or criminal cases, for injuries in the persons and property of freedmen, free negroes, and mulattoes, and in all cases, civil or criminal, in which a freedman, free negro, or mulatto, is a witness against a white person, or a white person against a freedman, free negro, or mulatto, the parties shall be competent witnesses, and neither interest in the question or suit, nor marriage, shall disqualify any witness from testifying in open court. 1866, Febuary 16-A law was enacted, of 34 POLITICAL MANUAL. which section 1 provides that it shall not be lawful for any person to interfere with, hire, employ, or entice away, or induce to leave the service Gf another, any laborer or servant who shall have stipulated or contracted, in writing, to serve for any given number of days, weeks, or months, or for one year, so long as the said contract shall be and remain in force and binding upon the parties thereto, without the consent of the party employing or to whom said service is due and owing in writing, or in the presence of some veritable white person; and any person who shall knowingly interfere with, hire, employ, or entice away, or induce to leave the service aforesaid, without justifiable excuse therefor, before the expiration of said term of service so contracted and stipulated as aforesaid, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on eonviction thereof, must be fined in such sum, not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, as the jury trying the same may assess, and in no case less than double the amount of the injury sustained by the party from whom such laborer or servant was induced to leave, one-half to go to the party injured and the other to the county as fines and forfeitures. SEC. 2 provides that the party injured shall be a competent witness in all prosecutions under this act, notwithstanding his interest in the fine to be assessed. SEC. 3 provides that when any laborer or servant, having contracted as provided in the first section of this act, shall afterward be found, before the termination of said contract, in the service or employment of another, that fact,hall be prima facie evidence that such person is guilty of violation of this act, if he fail and refuse to forthwith discharge the said laborer or servant, after being notified and informed of such former contract and employment. A new penal code was adopted. The material changes introduced by the new penal code are briefly these: First. Whipping and branding are abolished, as legal punishments, and a new punishment is introduced, entitled " hard labor for the county." This " hard labor for the county " is put under the *control of the court of county commissioners, who are authorized to employ a superintendent of the convicts, to make regulations for their government and labor, to put them to work on the public roads, bridges, &c., or to hire them out to railroad companies or private individuals. Second. For all offences which were heretofore punishable by fine, or by fine and imprisonment, either in the county jail or in the penitentiary, the jury may still impose a fine; to which the court, in its discretion, may superadd imprisonment or hard labor, within specified limits in each case. Third. The dividing line between grand and petit larceny, is raised from twenty to one hundred dollars; grand larceny being made a felony, that is, it may be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary; while petit larceny is only a misdemeanor, punishable by fine, or by fine and imprisonment in the county jail. Fourth. A county court is established for the trial of misdemeanors..'fth. Justices of the peace have jurisdiction of a few minor offences, such as vagrancy, larceny of less than ten dollars, and assaults, affrays, &c., in which no weapon is used. The proceedings before them conform substantially to proceedings before the county court. The new code makes no distinction on account of color, only marriages between white persons and negroes are prohibited. It went into effect June 1, 1866. The Governor vetoed three bills referring to persons of color. See page 21. SOUTH CAROLINA. An Act Preliminary to the Legislation induced by the Emancipation of Slaves, October 19, 1865. SECTION 3 provides that all free negroes, mulattoes, and mestizoes, all freedwomen, and all descendants through either sex of any of these persons, shall be known as persons of color, except that every such descendant who may have of Caucasian blood seven eighths, or more, shall be deemed a white person. SEC. 4 provides that the statutes and regulations concerning slaves are now inapplicable to persons of color; and although such persons are not entitled to social or political equality with white persons, they shall have the right to acquire, own, and dispose of property, to make contracts, to enjoy the fruits of their labor, to sue and be sued, and to receive protection under the law in their persons and property. SEC. 5 provides that all rights and remedies respecting persons or property, and all duties and liabilities under laws, civil and criminal, which apply to white persons, are extended to persons of color, subject to. the modifications made by this act and the other acts hereinbefore mentioned. An Act to Amend the Criminal Law, December 19, 1865. SECTION 1 provides that either of the crimes specified in this first section shall be felony, without benefit of clergy, to wit: For a person of color to commit any wilful homicide, unless in self-defence; for a person of color to commit an assault upon a white woman, with manifest intent to ravish, her; for a person of color to have sexual intercourse with a white woman by personating her husband; for any person to raise an insurrection or rebellion in this State; for any person to furnish arms or ammunition to other persons who are in a state of actual insurrection or rebellion, or permit them to resort to his house for advancement of their evil purpose; for any person to administer, or cause to be take by any other per~son, any poison, chloroform, soporific, or other destructive thing, or to shoot at, stab, cut, or wound any other person, or by any means whatsoever to cause bodily injury to any other person, whereby, in any of these cases, a bodily injury dangerous to the life of any other person is caused, with intent, in any of these cases, to commit the crime of murder, or the crime of rape, or the crime of robbery, burglary, or larceny; for any person who had been transported under sentence to return to this State within the period of prohibition contained in the sentence; or for LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. 85 a person to steal a horse or mule, or cotton packed in a bale ready for market. SEC. 10 provides that a person of color who is in the employment of a master engaged in husbandry shall not have the right to sell any corn, rice, peas, wheat, or other grain, any flour, cotton, fodder, hay, bacon, fresh meat of any kind, poultry of any kind, animal of any kind, or any other product of a farm, without having written evidence from such master, or some person authorized by him, or from the district judge or a magistrate, that he has the right to sell such product; and if any person shall, directly or indirectly, purchase any such product from such person of color without such written evidence, the purchaser and seller shall each be guilty of a misdemeanor. SEC. 11 provides that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person not authorized to write or give to a person of color a writing which professes to show evidence of the right of that person of color to sell any product of a farm which, by the section last preceding, he is forbidden to sell without written evidence; and any person convicted of this misdemeanor shall be liable to the same extent as the purchaser in the section last preceding is made liable; and it shall be a misdemeanor for a person of color to exhibit as evidence of his right to sell any product a writing which he knows to be false or counterfeited, or to have been written or given by any person not authorized. SEc. 13 states that persons of color constitute no part of the militia of the State, and no one of them shall, without permission in writing from the district judge or magistrate, be allowed to keep a fire-arm, sword, or other military weapon, except that one of them, who is the owner of a farm, may keep a shot-gun or rifle, such as is ordinarily used in hunting, but not a pistol, musket, or other fire-arm or weapon appropriate for purposes of war. The district judge or a magistrate may give an order, under which any weapon unlawfully kept may be seized and sold, the proceeds of sale to go into the district court fund. The possession of a weapon in violation of this act shall be a misdemeanor which shall be tried before a district court or a magistrate, and in case of conviction, shall be punished by a fine equal to twice the value of the weapon so unlawfully kept, and if that be not immediately paid, by c'orporeal punishment. SEC. 14 provides that it shall not be lawful for a person of color to be the owner, in whole or in part, of any distillery where spirituous liquors of any kind are made, or of any establishment where spirituous liquors of any kind are sold by retail; nor for a person of color to be engaged in distilling any spirituous liquors, or in retailing the same in a shop or elsewhere. A person of color who shall do anything contrary to the prohibitions herein contained shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, may be punished by fine or corporeal punishment and hard labor, as to the district judge or magistrate before whom he may be tried shall seem meet. SEC. 22 provides that no person of color shall migrate into and reside in this State, unless, within twenty days after his arrival within the same, he shall enter into a bond, with two freeholders as sureties, to be approved by the judge of the district court or a magistrate, in a penalty of one thousand dollars, conditioned for his good behavior, and for his support, if he should become unable to support himself. SEc. 24 provides that when several persons of color are convicted of one capital offence, the jury which tries them may recommend one or more to mercy, for reasons which, in their opinion, mitigate the guilt; the district judge shall report the case, with his opinion, and the Governor shall do in the matter as seems to him meet. The same may be done when one only is convicted of capital offence. Before sentence ao death shall be executed in any case, time fox application to the Governor shall be allowed. SEc. 27 provides that whenever, under any law, sentence imposing a fine is passed, if the fine and costs be not immediately paid, there shall be detention of the convict, and substitution of other punishment. If the offence should not involve the crimen falsi, and be infamous, the substitution shall be, in the case of a white person, imprisonment for a time proportioned to the fine, at the rate of one day for each dollar; and in the case of a person of color, enforced labor, without unnecessary pain or restraint, for a time proportioned to the fine, at the rate of one day for each dollar. But if the offence should be infamous, there shall be substituted for a fine, for imprisonment, or for both, hard labor, corporeal punishment, solitary confinement, and confinement in tread-mill or stocks, one or more, at the discretion of the judge of the superior court, the district judge, or the magistrate, who pronounces the sentence. In this act, and in respect to all crimes and misdemeanors, the term servants shall be understood to embrace an apprentice as well as a servant under contract. SEC. 29 provides that, upon view of a misdemeanor committed by a person of color, or by a white person toward a person of color, a magistrate may arrest the offender, and, according to the nature of the case, punish the offender summarily, or bind him in recognizance with sufficient sureties to appear at the next monthly sitting of the district court, or commit him for trial before the district court. SEC. 30 provides that, upon view of a misdemeanor committed by a person of color, any person present may arrest the offender and take him before a magistrate, to be dealt with as the case may require. In case of a misdemeanor committed by a white person toward a person of color, any person may complain to a magistrate, who shall cause the offender to be arressted, and, according to the nature of the case, to be brought before himself, or be taken for trial in the district court. An Act to establish District Courts, December 19,1865. Courts are established to have " exclusive jurisdiction, subject to appeal, of all civil causes where one or both the parties are persons of color, and of all criminal cases wherein the accused is a person of color, and also of all cases of misdemeanors affecting the person or property POLITICAL MANUAL. of a person of color, and of all cases of bastardy, and of all cases of vagrancy, not tried before a magistrate." An indictment against a white person for the homicide of a person of color shall be tried in the superior court of law, and so shall other indictments in which a white person is accused of a capital felony affecting the person or property of a person of color. In every case, civil and criminal, in which a person of color is a party, or which affects the person or property of a person of color, persons of color shall be competent witnesses. The accused, in such a criminal case, and the parties in every such civil case, may be witnesses, and so may every other person who is a competent witness; and;T every such case, either party may offer testimony as to his own character, or that of his adversary or of the prosecutor, or of the third person mentioned in an indictment. December 21--" An act to establish and regulate the domestic relations of persons of color, and to amend the law in relation to paupers and vagrancy," establishes the relation of husband and wife, declares thosb now living as such to be husband and wife, and provides that persons of color desirous hereafter to marry shall have the contract duly solemnized. A parent may bind his child over two years of age as an apprentice to serve till 21 if a male, 18 if a female. All persons of color who make contracts for service or labor shall be known as servants, and those with whom they contract as masters. "Colored children between 18 and 21, who have neither father nor mother living in the district in which they are found, or whose parents are paupers, or unable to afford them a comfortable maintenance, or whose parents are not teaching them habits of industry and honesty, or are persons of notoriously bad character, or are vagrants, or have been convicted of infamous offences, and colored children, in all cases where they are in danger of moral contamination, may be bound as apprentices by the district judge or one of the magistrates for the aforesaid term." It "provides that no person of color shall pursue or practice the art, trade, or business of an artisan, mechanic, or shopkeeper, or any other trade, employment, or business, (besides that of husbandry, or that of a servant under a contract for service or labor,) on his own account and for his own benefit, or in partnership with a white person, or as agent or servant of any person, until he shall have obtained a license therefor from the judge of the district court, which license shall be good for one year only. This license the judge may grant upon petition of the applicant, and upon being satisfied of his skill and fitness, and of his good moral character, and upon payment by the applicant to the clerk of the district court of one hundred dollars if a shopkeeper or pedlar, to be paid annually, and ten dollars if a mechanic, artisan, or to engage in any other trade, also to be paid annually: Provided, however, That upon complaint being made and proved to the district judge of an abuse of such license, he shall revoke the same: And provided, also, That no person of color shall practice any mechanical art or trade unless he shows that he has served an apprenticeship in such trade or art, or is now practicing such trade or art." Former slaves, now helpless, who were on a farm Nov. 10,1865 and six months previous shall not be evicted by the owner from the house occupied by them before January 1, 1867. It "provides that if the district court fund, after payment of the sums with which it is charged, on account of the salary of the judge of the district court, superintendent of convicts, jurors, and other expenses of the court and of convicts, shall be insufficient to support indigent persons of color, who may be proper charges on the public, the board aforesaid shall have power to impose for that purpose, whenever it may be required, a tax of one dollar on each male person of color between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, and fifty cents on each unmarried female person of color between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, to be collected in each precinct by a magistrate thereof: Provided, That the said imposition of a tax shall be approved in writing by the judge of the district court, and that his approval shall appear in the journals of that court." Order of General Sickles, disregarding the Code, January 17,1866. 1866, January 17-Major General Sickles issued this order: HEADQ'RS DEP'T OF SOUTH CA.OLINIA, January 17, 1866. [G. 0., No. 1.]-I. To the end that civil rights and immunities may be enjoyed; that kindly relations among the inhabitants of the State may be established; that the rights and duties of the employer and the free laborer respectively may be defined; that the soil may be cultivated and the system of free labor undertaken; that the owners of estates may be secure in the possession of their lands and tenements; that persons able and willing to work may have employment; that idleness and vagrancy may be discountenanced, and encouragement given. to industry and thrift; and that humane provision may be made for the aged, infirm and destitute, the following regulations are established for the government of all concerned in this department. II. All laws shall be applicable alike to all the inhabitants. No person shall be held incompetent to sue, make complaint, or to testify, because of color or caste. III. All the employments of husbandry or the useful arts, and all lawful trades or callings, may be followed by all persons, irrespective of color or caste; nor shall any freedman be obliged to pay any tax or any fee for a license, nor.be amenable to any municipal or parish ordinance, not imposed upon all other persons. IV. The lawful industry of all persons who live under the protection of the United States, and owe obedience to its laws, being useful to the individual, and essential to the welfare of society, no person will be restrained from seeking employment when not bound by voluntary agreement, nor hindered from traveling from place to place, on lawful business. All combinations or agreements which are intended to hinder, or may so operate as to hinder, in any LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDME1T. 38 way, the employment of labor-or to limitcompensation for labor-or to compel labor to be involuntarily performed in certain places or for certain persons; as well as all combinations or agreements to prevent the sale or hire of lands or tenements, are declared to be misdemeanors; and any person or persons convicted thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding $500, or by imprisonment, not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. V. Agreements for labor or personal service of any kind, or for the use and occupation of lands and tenements, or for any other lawful purpose, between freedmen and other persons, when fairly made, will be immediately enforced against either party violating the same. VI. Freed persons, unable to labor, by reason of age or infirmity, and orphan children of tender years, shall have allotted to them by owners suitable quarters on the premises where they have been heretofore domiciled as slaves, until adequate provision, approved by the general commanding, be made for them by the State or local authorities, or otherwise; and they shall not be removed from the premises, unless for disorderly behavior, misdemeanor, or other offence committed by the head of a family or a member thereof. VII. Able-bodied freedmen, when they leave the premises in which they may be domiciled, shall take with them and provide for such of their relatives as by the laws pf South Carolina all citizens are obliged to maintain. VIII. When a freed person, domiciled on a plantation, refuses to work there, after having been offered employment by the owner or lessee, on fair terms, approved by the agent of the Freedmen's Bureau, such freedman or woman shall remove from the premises within ten days after such offer and due notice to remove by the owner or occupant. IX. When able-bodied freed persons are domiciled on premises where they have been heretofore held as slaves, and are not employed thereon or elsewhere, they shall be permitted to remain, on showing to tha satisfaction of the commanding officer of the post that they have made diligent and proper efforts to obtain employment. X. Freed persons occupying premises without the authority of the United States, or the permission of the owner, and who have not been heretofore held there as slaves, may be removed by the commanding officer of the post, on the complaint of the owner, and proof of the refusal of said freed persons to remove after ten days' notice. XI. Any person employed or domiciled on a plantation or elsewhere, who may be rightfully dismissed by the terms of agreement, or expelled for misbehavior, shall leave the premises, and shall not return without the consent of the owner or tenant thereof. XII.. Commanding officers of districts will establish within their commands respectively suitable regulations for hiring out to labor, for a period not to exceed one year, all vagrants who cannot be advantageously employed on roads, fortifications and other public works. The proceeds of such labor shall be paid over to the as sistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, to provide for aged and infirm refugees, indigent freed people and orphan children. XIII. The vagrant laws of the State of South Carolina, applicable to free white persons, will be recognized as the only vagrant laws applicable to the freedmen; nevertheless, such laws shall not be considered applicable to persons who are without employment, if they shall prove that they have been unable to obtain employment, after diligent efforts to do so. XIV. It shall be the duty of officers commanding posts to see that issues of rations to freedmen are confined to destitute persons who are unable to work because of infirmities arising from old age or chronic diseases, orphan children too young to work, and refugee freedmen returning to their homes with the sanction of the proper authorities; and in ordering their issues, commanding officers will be careful not to encourage idleness or vagrancy. District commanders will make consolidated reports of these issues tri-monthly. XV. The proper authorities of the State in the several municipalities and districts shall proceed to make suitable provision for their poor, without distinction of color; in default of which the general commanding will levy an equitable tax on persons and property sufficient for the support of the poor. XVI. The constitutional rights of all loyal and well-disposed inhabitants to bear arms will not be infringed; nevertheless this shall not be construed to sanction the unlawful practice of carrying concealed weapons, nor to authorize any person to enter with arms on the premises of another against his consent. No one shall bear arms who has bornie arms against the United States, unless lie shall have taken the amnesty oath prescribed in the proclamation of the President of the United States, dated May 20, 1865, or the oath of allegiance, prescribed in the proclamation of the President, dated December 8, 1863, within the time prescribed therein. And no disorderly person, vagrant, or disturber of the peace, shall be allowed to bear arms. XVII. To secure the same equal justice and personal liberty to the freedmen as to other inhabitants, no penalties or punishments different from those to which all persons are amenable shall be imposed on freed people; and all crimes and offences which are prohibited under existing laws shall be understood as prohibited in the case of freedmen; and if committed by a freedman, shall, upon conviction, be punished in the same manner as if committed by a white man. XVII. Corporeal punishment shall not be inflicted upon any person other than a minor, and then only by the parent,, guardian, teacher, or one to whom said minor is lawfully bound by indenture of apprenticeship. XIX. Persons whose conduct tends to a breach of the peace may be required to give security for their good behavior, and in default thereof shall be held in custody. XX. All injuries to the person or property committed by or upon freed persons shall be punished in the manner provided by the laws of South Carolina for like injuries to the persons or property of citizens thereof, If no pro POLITICAL MANUAL. vision be made by the laws of the State, then the punishment for such offences shall hbe according to the course of common law; and in the case of any injury to the person or property, not prohibited by the common law, or for which the punishment shall not be appropriate, such sentence shall be imposed as, in the discretion of the court before which the trial is had, shall be deemed proper, subject to the approval of the general commanding. XXI. All arrests for whatever cause will be reported tri-monthly, with the proceedings thereupon, through the prescribed channel, to the general commanding. XXII. Commanding officers of districts, subdistricts, and posts, within their commands respectively, in the absence of the duly-appointed agent, will perform any duty appertaining to the ordinary agents of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, carefully observing for their guidance all orders published by the commissioner or assistant commissioner, or other competent authority. XXIII. District commanders will enforce these regulations by suitable instructions to sub-district and post commanders, taking care that justice be done, that fair dealing between man and man be observed, and that no unnecessary hardship, and no cruel or unusual punishments be imposed upon any one. By command of D. E. SICKLES, Major General. Official: W. L. M. BURGER, Assistant Adjutant General. FLORIDA. lattoes, except the act to prevent their migration into the State, and the act prohibiting the sale of fire-arms and ammunition to them, be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and all thecriminal laws of this State applicable to white persons now in force, and not in conflict with, or modified by, the legislation of the present session of the General Assembly, shall be deemed and held to apply equally to all the inhabitants of the same without distinction of color. An act to Establish and Enforce the Marriage Relation between Persons of Color, January 11, 1866. SEC. 1 requires all the colored inhabitants, claiming to be living together in the relation of husband and wife, and who have not been joined as such agreeably to the laws, and who shall mutually desire to continue in that relation, within nine months from the passage of this act, to appear before some person legally authorized to perform the marriage ceremony, and be regularly joined in the holy bonds of matrimony. SEC. 2 provides that the issue of such prior cohabitation shall be legitimated by the act of marriage so regularly contracted as aforesaid, and be thenceforth entitled to all the rights and privileges of a legitimate offspring. SEC. 5 provides that after the expiration of the time limited in the first section, all laws applicable to or regulating the marriage relation between white persons shall deemed to apply to the same relation between the colored population of the State. An Act in Addition to An Act concerning Marriage Licenses, January 12, 1866. SEC. 1 provides that if any white female resident shall hereafter attempt to intermarry, or shall live in a state of adultery or fornication, with any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, she shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, or be confined in the public jail not exceeding three months, or both, at the discretion of the jury; and shall, moreover, be disqualified to testify as a witness against any white person. SEc. 2 provides that if any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, shall hereafter live in a state of adultery or fornication with any white female resident within the limits of this State, he shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction'shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, or be made to stand in the pillory for one hour and be whipped not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, or both, at the discretion of the jury. SEo. 3 provides that every person who shall have one eighth or more of negro blood shall be deemed and held to be a person of color. SEC. 4 provides that in existing cases, upon petition to the circuit judge, parties coming within the provisions of this act and liable to be punished under the same, may by order and judgment of said judge be relieved from the penalties thereof, when in his opinion justice and equity shall so require. SEc. 5 provides that in all cases where marriages have heretofore been contracted and solemnized between white persons and persons of An Act to Establish and Organize a County Criminal Court, January 11, 1866. SEc. 1 gives the court jurisdiction in cases of assault, assault and battery, assault with intent to kill, riot, affray, larceny, robbery, arson, burglary, malicious mischief, vagrancy, and all misdemeanors, and all offences against religion, chastity, morality, and decency: Provided, That the punishment ofh the same does not affect the life of the offender. The Governor to appoint the judge. In the proceedings," no presentment, indictment, or written pleadings, shall be required." Where a fine is imposed, and not paid, the party may be put to such labor as thecounty conty mmissioner may direct, the compensation for which to go in payment of the fine and cost of prosecution; "or the said county commissioner may hire out, at public outcry, the said party to any person who will take him or her for the shortest time, and pay the fine, forfeiture, and penalty imposed, and cost of prosecution." An Act to Extend to all the Inhabitants of the State the Benefit of Courts of Justice, and the Processes thereof, January 11, 1866. SEC. 1 provides that the judicial tribunals of this State, wthis State, with the processes thereof, shall be accessible to all the inhabitants of the State, without distinction of color, for the prosecution and defence of all the rights of person and property, subject only to the restrictions contained in the constitution of the State. SEc. 2 provides that all laws heretofore passed, with reference to slaves, free negroes, and mu LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. color, and where the parties have continued to live as man and wife, the said marriages are herebyi legalized, and neither of the parties shall be subject to the provisions of this or of any other act. An Act to Require the Children of Destitute Persons to Provide for the Support of said Persons, January 11, 1866. SEC. 1 requires the children of natural parents who are unable to support themselves to make provision for their support. In case of neglect, and proof before a justice of the peace or judge, that officer shall make an order of assessment on the children for the necessary amount, which order shall carry with it the right of enforcement by execution, and shall have the force of a writ of garnishment on the wages of such children. An Act to Punish Vagrants and Vagabonds, January 12, 1866. SEC. 1. Defines as a vagrant " every ablebodied person why has no visible means of living and shall not be employed at some labor to support himself or herself, or shall be leading an idle, immoral, or profligate course of life;" and may be arrested by any justice of the peace or judge of the county criminal court and be bound "in sufficient surety" for good behavior and future industry for one year. Upon refusing or failing to give such security, he or she may be committed for trial, and if convicted sentenced to labor or imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, by whipping not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, or being put in the pillory. If sentenced to labbr, the "sheriff or other officer of said court shall hire out such person for the term to which he or she shall be sentenced, not exceeding twelve monthsaforesaid, and the proceeds of such hiring shall be paid into the county treasury." All vagrants going armed may be disarmed by the sheriff, constable, or police officer. An Act in Relation to Contracts of Persons of Color, January 12, 1866. SEc. 1 Provides that all contracts with persons of color shall be made in writing and fully explained to them before two credible witnesses, which contract shall be in duplicate, one copy to be retained by the employer and the,other filed with some judicial officer of the State and county in which the parties may be residing at the date of the contract, with the affidavit of one or both witnesses, setting forth that the terms and effect of such contract were fully explained to the colored person, and that he, she, or they had voluntarily entered into and signed the contract and no contract shall be of any validity against any person of color unless so executed and filed: Provided, That contracts for service or labor may be made for less time than thirty days by narol. SEC. 2 Provides, that whereas is is essential to the welfare and prosperity of the entire population of the State that the agricultural interest be sustained and placed upon a permanent basis, it is provided that when any person of color shall enter into a contract as aforesaid, to serve as a laborer for a year, or any other specified term, on any farm or plantation in this State, if he shall refuse or neglect to perform the stipulations of his contract by wilful disobedience of orders, wanton impudence or disrespect to his employer, or his authorized agent, failure or refusal to perform the work assigned to him, idleness, or abandonment of the premises or the employment of the party with whom the contract was made, he or she shall be liable, upon the complaint of his employer or his agent, made under oath before any justice of the peace of the county, to be arrested and tried before the criminal court of the county, and upon conviction shall be subject to all the pains and penalties prescribed for the punishment of vagrancy: Provided, That it shall be optional with the employer to require that such laborer be remanded to his service, instead of being subjected to the punishment aforesaid: Provided, further, That if it shall on such trial appear that the complaint made is not well founded, the court shall dismiss such complaint, and give judgment in favor of such laborer against the employer, for such sum as may appear to be due under the contract, and for such damages as may be assessed by the jury. SEC. 3 provides that when any employ6 as aforesaid shall be in the occupancy of any house or room on the premises of the employer by virtue of his contract to labor, and he shall be adjudged to have violated his contract; or when any employ6 as aforesaid shall attempt to hold possession of such house or room beyond the term of his contract, against the consent of the employer, it shall be the duty of the judge of the criminal court, upon the application of the employer, and due proof made before him, to issue his writ to the sheriff of the court, commanding him forthwith to eject the said employe and to put the employer into full possession the premises: Provided, Three days' previous notice shall be given to the employe of the day of trial. SEC. 4 provides that if any person employing the services or labor of another, under contract entered into as aforesaid, shall violate his contract by refusing or neglecting to pay the stipulated wages or compensation agreed upon, or any part thereof, or by turning off the employ6 before the expiration of the term, unless for sufficient cause, or unless such right is reserved by the contract, the party so employed may make complaint thereof before the judge of the criminal court, who shall at an early day, on reasonable notice to the other party, cause the same to be tried by a jury summoned for the purpose, who, in addition to the amount that may be proved to be due under the contract, may give such damages as they in their discretion may deem to be right and proper, and the judgment thereon shall be a first lien on the crops of all kinds in the cultivation of which such labor may have been employed: Provided, That either party shall be entitled to an appeal to the circuit court, as in case of appeal from justices of the peace. SEC. 5 provides that if any person shall entice, induce, or otherwise persuade any laborer or employe to quit the service of another to which he was bound by contract, before the expiration of the term of service stipulated in said contract, 40 POLITICAL MANUAL. he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon exceeding thirty-nine stripes. An assault upon conviction shall be fined in a sum not exceeding a white female, with intent to commit a rape, or one thousand dollars, or shall stand in the pillo- being accessory thereto, is punishable with death. ry not more than three hours, or be whipped An Act Prescribing additional Penalties for the not more than thirty-nine stripes on the bare Commission of Offenses against the State, Janback, at the discretion of the jury. uary 15, 1866. SEC. 6 applies the provisions of this act to all Sc. 12 provides hat it shall not be lawful for contracts between employers and employes re- any negro, mulatto i or other parson of color lating to the lumber, rafting, or milling business, any ne r, rmulo, or sother person or under his and to all other contracts with persons of color control any bowie-knifedirk, sword, fire-arms, to do labor and to perform service. or ammunition of any kind, unless he first obAn Act prescribing additional Penalties for the tain a license to do so from the judge of proCommission of Offences against the State, and bate of the county in which he may be a resifor other purposes, January 15, 1866. dent for the time being; and the said judge of SEC. 1 provides that whenever in the criminal probate is hereby authorized to issue license, laws of this State, heretofore enacted, the pun- upon the recommendation of two respectable ishment of the offence is limited to fine and im- citizens of the county, certifying to the peaceprisonment, or to fine or imprisonment, there ful and orderly character of the applicant; and shall be superadded, as an alternative, the pun- any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, so ishment of standing in the pillory for an hour, offending, shall be deemed to be guilty of a misor whipping not exceeding thirty-nine stripes on demeanor, and upon conviction shall forfeit to the bare back, or both, at the discretion of the the-use of the informer all such fire-arms and jury. ammunition, and in addition thereto, shall be SEC. 3 makes a felony, punishable with sentenced to stand in the pillory for one hour, death, the exciting, or attemptirig to excite, by or be whipped, not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, writing, speaking, or by other means, an insur- or both, at the discretion of the jury. rection or sedition amongst any portion or class SEC. 14 provides that if any negro, mulatto, of the population. or other person of color, shall intrude himself SEC. 12 makes it unlawful for any negro, into any religious or other public assembly of mulatto, or person of color to own, use, or keep white persons, or into any railroad car or other in possession or under control any bowie-knife, public vehicle set apart for the exclusive accomdirk, sword, fire-arms, or ammunition of any modation of white people, he shall be deemed kind, unless by license of the county judge of to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conprobate, under apenalty of forfeiting them to the viction shall be sentenced to stand in the pilinformer, and of standing in the pillory one hour, lory for one hour, or be whipped, not exceeding or be whipped not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, thirty-nine stripes, or both, at the discretion of or both, at the discretion of the jury. the jury; nor shall it be lawful for any white perSEc. 14 forbids colored and white persons son to intrude himself into any religious or respectively from intruding upon each other's other public assembly of colored persons, or public assemblies, religious or other, or public into any railroad car or other public vehicle, vehicle set apart for their exclusive use, under set apart for the exclusive accommodation of perpunishment of pillory or stripes, or both. sons of color, under the same penalties. SEC. 15 provides that persons forming a mili- An Act to Raise a Revenue for the State of tary organization not authorized by law, or Florida. January 16, 1866. aiding or abetting it, shall be fined not exceed- SECTION imposes a yearly capitation tax of ing $1,000 and imprisonment not exceeding six three dollars on every male inhabitant bemonths, or be pilloried for one hour, and be thrween twenty-ono and fifty-five, except paupers whipped not exceeding thirty-nine stripes, at the t iane or idiotic p ersons. In defxcep ault of discretion of the jury-the penalties to be three- and insane ta collector is hereby authorized fold upon persons who accepted offices in such payment the ta collector is hereby authorized fold upon persons who accepted ofces such and required to seize the body of the said delinprohibits any person from hunting quent and hire im out, after five days' public E.within 19 prohibits any person from hunting notice, before the door of the public court-house, within the enclosure of another without his con- to any person who will pay the said tax and the sent under penay of a fine of 1,000, or im- costs incident to the proceedings growing out of prisonment not exceeding six months, or the said arrest, and ttke him into his service for the pillory for one hour, an being whipped not shortest periodof time: Provided, That if said exceeding thirty-nine stripes. So if a person delinquent be in the employment of another the takes, rides, or uses any horse, mule, ass, or ox, said employer may ay the tax and costs, and without the consent of the owner, whether the the sai payment sall be good as a credit person so using is in the employ of the owner or ainst the amount that may e due by the emnot: so, by SEC. 17, if a person shall move aainst the amount that ma e due by the eminto any tenant house or other building without poyer as wages to the said delinquent. leave of the person in charge, or illegally take An Act Concerning Schools for Freedmen, Janpossession of any church or school-house, educa- uary 16, 1866. tional or charitable building, or cut down trees Provision is made for schools for freedmenexceeding $1 in value, with a view to convert supported by a tax of one dollar upon all male the same to his own use. Burglary is punisha- persons of color between twenty-one and fiftyble with death, or fine of $1,000 and imprison- five, and a tuition fee to be collected from each ment not exceeding six months, or standing in pupil-the schools to be in charge of a superinthe pillory one hour, and being whipped not tendent and assistants; no person to teach with LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. 41 out a certificate; and the fee, five dollars, to go to the school fund for freedmen, and the certificate good for one year, subject to be cancelled by the superintendent for incompetency, immorality or other sufficient cause. The superintendent "to establish schools for freedmen when the number of children of persons of color in any county or counties will warrant the same: Provided, The funds provided for shall be sufficient to meet the expenses thereof." By another act, the interest from the school fund of the State is applied to the education of indigent white children. An Act concerning Testimony, January 16,1866. SECTION 3 provides that this act shall not be construed to authorize the testimony of colored persons to be taken by depositions in writing or upon written interrogatories, otherwise than in such manner as will enable the court or jury to judge of the credibility of the witness. VIRGINIA. These are some of the provisions in the recently-enacted laws of Virginia respecting colored persons: That no contract between a white person and a colored person, for the labor or service of the latter for a longer period than two months, shall be binding on such colored person, unless the contract be in writing, signed by such white person or his agent and by such colored person, and duly acknowledged before a justice or notary public, or clerk of the county or corporation court, or overseer of the poor, or two or more credible witnesses, in the county or corporation court in which the white person may reside, or in which the labor or service it to be performed. And it shall be the duty of the justice, notary, clerk or overseer of the poor, or the witnesses, to read and explain the contract to the colored person, before taking his acknowledgment thereof, and to state that this has been done in the certificate of acknowledgment of the contract. "* 5. The writing by which any minor is bound an apprentice, shall specify his age, and what art, trade, or business he is to be taught. The master, whether it is expressly provided therein or not, shall be bound to teach him the same, and shall also be bound to teach him reading, writing, and common arithmetic, including the rule of three." The marital relation between colored persons is regulated by law. The colored person must procure a license the same as the whites, and persons celebrating a marriage are obliged to report it to the county clerks, and whether white or colored. Where colored persons, before the passage of this act, shall have undertaken and agreed to occupy the relation to each other of husband and wife, and shall be cohabiting together as such at the time of its passare, whether the rites of marriage shall have been celebrated between them or not, they shall be deemed husband and wife, and be entitled to the rights and privileges, and subject to the duties and obligations, of that relation in like manner as if they had been duly married, and all their children shall be deemed legitimate, whether born before or after the pass age of this act. And when the parties have ceased to cohabit before the passage of this act, in consequence of the death of the woman, or from any other cause, all the children of the woman, recognized by the man to be his, shall be deemed legitimate. Bigamy, too, is punished in the case of the negro as of the white person, and also intermarriage within the prohibited degrees. And all persons officiating in the rites of marriage without due authority of law are punished by fine and imprisonment. Under the old code these provisions applied only to white persons. Be it enacted, That every person having one fourth or more of negro blood shall be deemed a colored person, and every person not a colored person having one fourth or more of Indian blood shall be deemed an Indian. 2. All laws in respect to crimes and punishments, and in respect to criminal proceedings, applicable to white persons, shall apply in like manner to colored persons and to Indians, unless when it is otherwise specially provided. 3. The following acts and parts of acts are hereby repealed, namely: All acts and parts of acts relating to slaves and slavery; chapter one hundred and seven of the code of eighteen hundred and sixty, relating to free negroes; chapter two hundred of said code relating to offences by negroes; chapter two hundred and twelve of said code, relating to proceedings against negroes; chapter ninety-eight of said code, relating to patrols; sections twenty-five to fortyseven, both inclusive, of chapter one hundred ninety-two of said code; sections twenty-six to thirty, both inclusive, and sections thirty-three to thirty-seven, both inclusive, of chapter one hundred and ninety-eight of said code; the fifth paragraph, as enumerated in section two of chapter two hundred and three, of said code; all acts and parts of acts imposing on negroes the penalty of stripes, where the same penalty is not imposed on white persons; and all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. January 24-General Terry issued this order: The Virginia Vagrant Act-General Terry orders its Non-Enforcement. GENERAL ORDERS-NO 4. HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF VA., RICHMOND, January 24, 1866. By a statute passed at the present session of the Legislature of Virginia, entitled " A bill providing for the punishment of vagrants," it is enacted, among other things, that any justice of the peace, upon the complaint of any one of certain officers therein named, may issue his warrant for the apprehension of any person alleged to be a vagrant and cause such person to be apprehended and brought before him; and that if upon due examination said justice of the peace shall find that such person is a vagrant within the definition of vagrancy contained in said statute, he shall issue his warrant, directing such person to be employed for a term not exceeding three months, and by any constable of the county wherein the proceedings are had be hired out for the best wages which can be pro 42 POLITICAL MANUAL. cured, his wages to he applied to the support of himself and his family. The said statute further provides, that in case any vagrant so hired shall, during his term of service, run away from his employer without sufficient cause, he shall be apprehended on the warrant of a justice of the peace and returned to the custody of his employer, who shall then have, free from any other hire, the services of such vagrant for one month in addition to the original terms of hiring, and that the employer shall then have power, if authorized by a justice of the peace, to work such vagrant with ball and chain. The said statute specifies the persons who shall be considered vagrants and liable to the penalties imposed by it. Among those declared to be vagrants are all persons who, not having the wherewith to support their families, live idly and without employment, and refuse to work for the usual and common wages given to other laborers in the like work in the place where they are. In many counties of this State meetings of employers have been held, and unjust and wrongful combinations have been entered into for the purpose of depressing the wages of the freedmen below the real value of their labor, far below the prices formerly paid to masters for labor performed by their slaves. By reason of these combinations wages utterly inadequate to the support of themselves and families have, in many places, become the usuil and common wages of the freedmen. The effect of the statute in question will be, therefore, to compel the freedmen, under penalty of punishment as criminals, to accept and labor for the wages established by these combinations of employers. It places them wholly in the power of their employers, and it is easy to foresee that, even where no such combination now exists, the temptation to form them offered by the statute will be too strong to be resisted, and that such inadequate wages will become the common and usual wages throughout the State. The ultimate effect of the statute will be to reduce the freedmen to a condition of servitude worse than that from which they have been emancipateda, condition which will be slavery in all but its name. It is therefore ordered that no magistrate, civil officer or other person shall in any way or manner apply or attempt to apply the provisions of said. statute to any colored person in this department. By command of Major General A. H. TERRY, ED. W. SMITH, Assistant Adjutant General. January 26-President Johnson refused to interfere with this order. The Legislature took no further action on the question. "February 28-This bill passed in relation to the testimony of colored persons: Be it enacted, That colored persons and Indians shall, if otherwise competent, and subject to the rules applicable to other persons, be admitted am witnesses in the following cases: 1. In all civil cases and proceedings at law or in equity, in which a colored person or an Indian is a party, or may be directly benefited or injured by the result. 2. In all driminal proceedings in which n colored person or an Indian is a party, or which arise out of an injury done, attempted, or threatened to the person, property, or rights of a colored person or Indian, or in which it is alleged in the presentment, information, or indictments, or in which the court is of opinion from the other evidence that there is probable cause to believe that the offence was committed by a white person in conjunction or co-operation with a colored person or Indian. 3. The testimony of colored persons shall, in all cases and proceedings, both at law and in equity, be given ore tenus, and not by deposition, and in suits in equity, and in all other cases in which the deposition of the witness would regularly be part of the record, the court shall, if desired by any party, or if deemed proper by itself, certify the facts proved by such witnesses, or the evidence given by him as far as credited by the court, as the one or the other may be proper under the rules of law applicable to the case, and such certificate shall be made part of the record. March 4-The Legislature adjourned. TENNESSEE. 1866, January 25-This bill became a law: That persons of African and Indian descent are hereby declared to be competent witnesses in all the courts of this State, in as full a manner as such persons are by an act of Congress competent witnesses in all the courts of the United States, and all laws and parts of laws of the State excluding such persons from competency are hereby repealed: Provided, however, That this act shall not be so construed as to give colored persons the right to vote, hold office, or sit on juries in this State; and that this provision is inserted by virtue of the provision of the 9th section of the amended constitution, ratified February 22, 1865. May 26-This bill became a law: An act to define the term "persons of color," and to declare the rights of such persons. SEC. 1. That all negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, and their descendants, having any African blood in their veins, shall be known in this State as " persons of color." SEC. 2. That persons of color shall have the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue and be sued, to be parties and give evidence, to inherit, and to have full and equal benefits of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and estate, and shall not be subject to any other or different punishment, pains, or penalty, for the commission of any act or offence than such as are prescribed for white persons committing like acts or offences. SEC. 3. That all persons of color, being blind, deaf and dumb, lunatics, paupers, or apprentices, shall have the full and perfect benefit and application of all laws regulating and providing for white persons, being blind, or deaf and dumb, or lunatics or paupers, or either (in asylums for their benefit) and apprentices. SEc. 4. That all acts or parts of acts or laws, inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to admit persons of color to serve on a jury: And provided further, That the provis LEGISLATION RESPECTING FREEDMEN. 48 ions of this act shall not be so construed as to require the education of colored and white children in the same school. "SEC. 5. That all free persons of color who were living together as husband and wife in this State while in a state of slavery are hereby declared to be man and wife, and their children legitimately entitled to an inheritance in any property heretofore acquired, or that may hereafter be acquired, by said parents, to as full an extent as the children of white citizens are now entitled by the existing laws of this State. May 26-All the freedmen's courts in Tennessee were abolished by the assistant commander, the law of the State making colored persons competent witnesses in all civil courts. TEXAS. A colored man is permitted by the new constitution to testify orally where any one of his race is a party, allows him to hold property, and to sue and be sued. LOUISIANA. 1865, December.-"An act to provide for and regulate labor contracts for agricultural pursuits" requires all such laborers to make labor contracts for the next year within the first ten days of January-the contracts to be in writing, to be with heads of families, to embrace the labor of all the members, and be binding on all minors thereof. Each laborer, after choosing his employer, "shall not be allowed to leave his place of employment until the fulfillment of his contract, unless by consent of his employer, or on account of harsh treatment, or breach of contract on the part of employer; and if they do so leave, without cause or permission, they shall forfeit all wages earned to the time of abandonment." Wages due shall be a lien A-pon the crops; and one half shall be paid at periods agreed by the parties, " but it shall be lawful for the employer to retain the other moiety until the completion of the contract." Employers failing to comply, are to be fined double the amount due to laborer. These are the eighth and ninth sections in full: SEC. 8. That in case of sickness of the laborer, wages for the time lost shall be deducted, and where the sickness is feigned for purposes of idleness, and also on refusal to work according to contract, double the amount of wages shall be deducted for the time lost, and also where rations have been furnished; and should the refusal to work be continued beyond three days, the offender sballl be reported to a justice of the peace, and shall be forced to labor on roads,levees, and other public works, without pay, until the offender consents to return to his labor. SEC. 9. That, when in health, the laborer shall work ten hours during the day in summer, and nine hours during the day in winter, unless otherwise stipulated in the labor contract; he shall obey all proper orders of his employer or his agent; take proper care of his work mules, horses, oxen, stock; also of all agricultural inplements; and employers shall have the right to make a reasonable deduction from the laborer's wages for injuries done to animals or agricultural implements Qommitted to his care, or for bad or negligent work. Bad work shall not be allowed. Failing to obey reasonable orders, unglect of duty, and leaving home without permission, will be deemed disobedience; impudence, swearing, or indecent language to or in the presence of the employer, his family or agent, or quarrelling and fighting with one another, shall be deemed disobedience. For any disobedience a fine of one dollar shall be imposed on the offender. For all lost time from work hours, unless in case of sickness, the laborer shall be fined twenty-five cents per hour. For all absence from home without leave the laborer will be fined at the rate of two dollars per day. Laborers will not be required to labor on the Sabbath except to take the necessary care of stock and other property on plantations and do the necessary cooking and household duties, unless by special contract. For all thefts of the laborer from tho employer of agricultural products, hogs, sheep, poultry or any other property of the employer, or wilful destruction of property or injury, the laborer shall pay the employer double the amount of the value of the property stolen, destroyed or injured, one half to be paid to the employer and the other half to be placed in the general fund provided for in this section. No live stock shall be allowed to laborers without the permission of the employer. Laborers shall not receivevisitors during work hours. All difficulties arising between the employers and laborers, under this section, shall be settled, and all fines be imposed, by the former; if not satisfactory to the laborers, an appeal may be had to the nearest justice of the peace and two freeholders, citizens, one of said citizens to be selected by the employer and the other by the laborer; and all fines imposed and collected under this section shall be deducted from the wages due, and shall be placed in a common fund, to be divided among the other laborers employed on the plantation at the time when their full wages fall due, except as provided for above. December 21-This bill became a law: SEC. 1. That any one who shall persuade or entice away, feed, harbor, or secrete any person who leaves his or her employer, with whom she or he has contracted, or is assigned to live, or any apprentice who is bound as an apprentice, without the permission of his or her employer, said person or persons so. offending shall be liable for damages to the employer, and also, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to pay a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, nor less than ten dollars, or imprisonment in the parish jail for not moro than twelve months nor less than ten days, or both, at the discretion of the court. SEc. 2. That it shall be duty of the judges ol this State to give this act especially in charge ol the grand juries at each jury term of their respective courts. A new vagrant act is thus condensed in the New Orleans Picayune: It adopts the same definition of vagrancy as in the act of 1855, and provides that any person charged with vagrancy shall be arrested on the warrant of any judge or justice of the peace; and if said judge or justice of the peace shall be satisfied by the confession of the offender, or by 44 POLITICAL MANUAL, competent testimony, that he is a vagrant within this said description, he shall make a certificate of the same. which shall be filed with the clerk of the court of the parish and in the city of New Orleans. The certificate shall be filed in the offices of the recorders, and the said justice or other officer shall require the party accused to enter into bond, payable to the Governor of Louisiana, or his successors in office, in such sums as said justice of the peace or other officer shall prescribe, with security, to be approved by said officer, for his good behavior and future industry for the period of one year; and upon his failing or refusing to give such bond and security, the justice or other officer shall issue his warrant to the sheriff or other officer, directing him to detain and to hire out such vagrant for a period not exceeding twelve months, or to cause him to labor on the public works, roads, and levees, under such regulations as shall be made by the municipal authorities: Provided, That if the accused be a person who has abandoned his employer before his contract expired, the preference shall be given to such employer of hiring the accused: And provided further, That in the city of New Orleans the accused may be committed to the work-house for a time not exceeding six months, there to be kept at hard labor on the public works, roads, or levees. The proceeds of hire in the cases herein provided for to be paid into the parish treasury for the benefit of paupers: And provided further,- That the persons hiring such vagrant shall be compelled to furnish such clothing, food, and medical attention as they may furnish their other laborers. V. PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 1865, April 15-Andrew Johnson qualified as President, Chief Justice Chase administering the oath of office. Remarks at an Interview with Citizens of Indiana. 1865, April 21-A delegation was introduced by Governor 0. P. Morton, to whose address President Johnson responded, stating that he did not desire to make any expression of his future policy more than he had already made, and adding: But in entering upon the discharge of the duties devolving upon me by the sad occurrence of the assassination of the Chief Magistrate of the nation, and as you are aware, in surrounding circumstances which are peculiarly embarrassing and responsible, I doubt whether you are aware how much I appreciate encouragement and countenance from my fellow-citizens of Indiana. The most courageous individual, the most determined will, might justly shrink from entering upon the discharge of that which lies before me; but were I a coward, or timid, to receive the countenance and encouragement I have from you, and from various other parts of the country, would make me a courageous and determined man. I mean in the proper sense of the term, for there is as much in moral courage and the firm, calm discharge of duty, as in physical courage. But, in entering upon the duties imposed upon me by this calamity, I require not only courage, but determined will, and I assure you that on this occasion your encouragement is peculiarly acceptable to me. In reference to what my administration will be, while I occupy my present position, I must refer you to the past. You may look back to it a6 evidence of what my course will be; and, in reference to this diabolical and fiendish rebellion sprung upon the country, all I have to do is to ask you to also go back and take my course in the past, and from that determine what my future will be. Mine has been but one straightforward and unswerving course, and I see no reason now why I should depart from it. As to making a declaration, or manifesto, or message, or what you may please to call it, my past is a better foreshadowing of my future course than any statement on paper that might be made. Who, four years ago, looking down the stream of time, could have delineated that which has transpired since then? Had any one done so, and presented it, he would have been looked upon as insane, or it would have been thought a fable-fabulous as the stories of the Arabian Nights, as the wonders of the lamp of Aladdin, and would have been about as readily believed. If we knew so little four years ago of what has passed since then, we know as little what events will arise in the next four years; but as these events arise I shall be controlled in the disposition of them by those rules and principles by which I have been guided heretofore. Had it not been for extraordinary efforts, in part owing to the. machinery of the State, you would have had rebellion as rampant in Indiana as we had it in Tennessee. Treason is none the less treason whether it be in a free State or in a slave State; but if there could be any difference in such a crime, he who commits treason in a free State is a greater traitor than he who commits it in a slave State. There might be some little excuse in a man based on his possession of the peculiar property, but the traitor in a free State has no excuse, but simply to be a traitor. Do not, however, understand me to mean by PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 45 this that any man should be exonerated from I the penalties and punishments of the crime of treason. The time has arrived when the Ameri- " can people should understand what crime is, and that it should punished, and its penalties i enforced and inflicted. We say in our statutes t and courts that burglary is a crime, that murder t is a crime, that arson is a crime, and that trea- s son is a crime; and the Constitution of United s States, and the laws of the United States, say i that treason shall consist in levying war against them, and giving their enemies aid and comfort. ] I have just remarked that burglary is a crime and has its penalties, that murder is a crime and has its penalties, and so on through the long catalogue of crime. To illustrate by a sad event, which is before I the minds of all, and which has draped this land I in mourning. Who is there here who would say if the assassin who has stricken from our midst one beloved and revered by all, and passed him from time to eternity, to that bourne whence no traveler returns, who, I repeat, who, here would say that the assassin, if taken, should not suffer the penalties of his crime? Then, if you take the life of one individual for the murder of another, and believe that his property should be confiscated, what should be done with one who is trying to assassinate this nation? What should be done with him or them who have attempted the life of a nation composed of thirty millions of people? We were living at a time when the public mind had almost become oblivious of what treason is. The time has arrived, my countrymen, when the American people should be educated and taught what is crime, and that treason is a crime, and the highest crime known to the law and the Constitution. Yes, treason against a State, treason against all the States, treason against the Government of the United States, is the highest crime that can be committed, and those engaged in it should suffer all its penalties. I know it is very easy to get up sympathy and sentiment where human blood is about to be shed, easy to acquire a reputation for leniency and kindness, but sometimes its effects and practical operations produce misery and woe to the mass of mankind. Sometimes an individual whom the law has overtaken, and on whom its penalties are about to be imposed, will appeal and plead with the Executive for the exercise of clemency. But before its exercise he ought to ascertain what is mercy and what is not mercy. It is a very important question, and one which deserves the consideration of those who moralize upon crime and the morals of a nation, whether in some cases action should not be suspended here and transferred to Him who controls all. There, if innocence has been invaded, if wrong has been done, the Controller and Giver of all good, one of whose attributes is mercy, will set it right. It is not promulging anything that I have not heretofore said to say that traitors must be made odious, that treason must be made odious, that traitors must be punished and impoverished. They must not only be punished, but their social power must be destroyed. If not, they will still maintain an ascendency, and may again become numerous and powerful; for, in the words of a former Senator of the United States, SWhen traitors become numerous enough, treason becomes respectable." And I say that, after making treason odious, every Union man and the Government should be remunerated out of the pockets of those who have inflicted this great suffering upon the country. But do not understand me as saying this in a spirit of anger, for,.f I understand my own heart, the reverse is the case; and, while I say that the penalties of the law, in a stern and inflexible manner, should be executed upon conscious, intelligent, and influential traitors-the leaders, who have deceived thousands upon thousands of laboring men who have been drawn into this rebellion-and while I say, as to the leaders, punishment, [ also say leniency, conciliation, and amnesty to the thousands whom they have misled and deceived; and in reference to this, as I remarked, I might have adopted your speech as my own. As my honorable friend knows, I long s.nce took the ground that this Government was sent upon a great mission among the nations of the earth; that it had a great work to perform, nd that in starting it was started in perpetuty. Look back for one single moment to the Articles of Confederation, and then come down to 1787, when the Constitution was formed-what do you find? That we, "the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect government," &c. Provision is made for the admission of new States, to be added to old ones embraced within the Union. Now, turn to the Constitution: we find that amendments may be made, by a recommendation of two thirds of the members of Congress, if ratified by three fourths of the States. Provision is made for the admission of new States; no provision is made for the secession oJ old ones. The instrument was made to be good in perpetuity, and you can take hold of it, not to break up the Government, but to go on perfecting it more and more as it runs down the stream of time. We find the Government composed of integral parts. An individual is an integer, and a number of individuals form a State; and a State itself is an integer, and the various States form the Union, which is itself an integer-they all making up the Government of the United States. Now we come to the point of my argument, so far as concerns the perpetuity of the Government. We have seen that the Government is composed of parts, each essential to the whole, and the whole essential to each part. Now, if an individual (part of a State) declare war against the whole, in violation of the Constitution, he, as a citizen, has violated the law, and is responsible for the act as an individual. There may be more than one individual, it may go on till they become, parts of States. Sometime the rebellion may go on increasing in numbers till the State machinery is overturned, and the country becomes like a man that is paralyzed on one side. But we find in the Constitution a great panacea provided. It provides that the United States (that is, the great integer) shall guarantee to each State (the integers composing the whole) in this Union a republican form of 46 POLITICAL MANUAL. government. Yes, if rebellion had been rampant, and set aside the machinery of a State for a time, there stands the great law to remove the paralysis and revitalize it, and put it on its feet again. When we come to understand our system of government, though it be complex, we see how beautifully one part moves in harmony with another; then we see our Government is to be a perpetuity, there being no provision for pulling it down, the Union being its vitalizing power, imparting life to the whole of the States that move around it like planets round the sun, receiving thence light and heat and motion. Upon this idea of destroying States, my position has been heretofore well known, and I see no cause to change it now, and I am glad to hear its reiteration on the present occasion. Some are satisfied with the idea that States are to be lost in territorial and other divisions; are to lose their character as States. But their life breath has been only suspended, and it. is a high constitutional obligation we have tc secure each of these States in the possession and enjoyment of a republican form of governmesit. A State may be in the Government with a peculiar institution, and by the operation of rebellion lose that feature; but it was a State when it went into rebellion, and when it comes out without the institution it is still a state. I hold it as a solemn obligation in any one of these States where the rebel armies have been beaten back or expelled-I care not how small the number of Union men, if enough to man the ship of State, I hold it, I say, a high duty to protect and secure to them a republican form of government. This is no new opinion. It is expressed in conformity with my understanding of the genius and theory of our Government. Then in adjusting and putting the Government upon its legs again, I think the progress of this work must pass into the hands of its friends. If a State is to be nursed until it again gets strength, it must be nursed by its friends, not smothered by its enemies.,* Now, permit me to remark, that while I have opposed dissolution and disintegration on the one for all time. There is an element in our midst who are for perpetuating the institution of slavery. Let me say to you, Tennesseeans and men from the Northern States, that slavery is dead. It was not murdered by me. I told you long ago what the result would be if you endeavored to go out of the Union to save slavery; and that the result would be bloodshed, rapine, devastated fields, plundered villages and cities and, therefore, I urged you to remain in the Union. In trying to save slavery, you killed it and lost your own freedom. Your slavery is dead, but I did not murder it. As Macbeth said to Banquo's bloody ghost: "'Never shake thy gory locks at me; Thou canst not say I did it.'" Slavery is dead, and you must pardon me if I do not mourn over its dead body; you can bury it out of sight. In restoring the State, leave out that disturbing and dangerous element, and use only those parts of the machinery which will move in harmony. But in calling a convention to restore the State, who shall restore and re-establish it? Shall the man who gave his influence and his means to destroy the Government? Is he to participate in the great work of reorganization? Shall he who brought this misery upon the State be permitted to control its destinies? If this be so, then all this precious blood of our brave soldiers and officers so freely poured out will have been wantonly spilled. All the glorious victories won by our noble armies will go for nought, and all the battle-fields which have been sown with dead heroes during the rebellion will have been made memorable in vain. Why all this carnage and devastation? It was that treason might be put down and traitors punished. Therefore I say that traitors should take a back seat in the work of restoration. If there be but five thousand men in Tennessee loyal to the Constitution, loyal to freedom, loyal to justice, these true and faithful men should control the work of reorganization and reformation absolutely. I say that the traitor has ceased to be a citizen, and in joining the rebellion has become a public enemy. He forfeited his right to vote with loyal men when he renounced his citizenship and sought to destroy our Government. We say to the most honest and industrious foreigner who comes from England or Germany to dwell among us, and to add to the wealth of the country, " Before you can,be a citizen you must stay here for five years." If we are so cautious about foreigners, who voluntarily renounce their homes to live with us what should we say to the traitor, who, althougýL born and reared among us, has raised a parricidal hand against the Government which always protected him? My judgment is that he should be subjected to a severe ordeal before he is restored to citizenship. A fellow who takes the oath merely to save his property, and denies the validity of the oath, is a perjured man, and not to be trusted. Before these repenting rebels can be trusted, let them bring forth the fruits of repentance. He who helped to make all these "* On this and other points, President Johnson declared himself in his Nashville speech of June 9, 1864, from which these extracts are taken: The question is, whether man is capable of self-government? I hold with Jefferson that government was made for the convenience of man, and not man for government. The laws and constitutions were designed as instruments to promote his welfare. And hence, from this principle, I conclude that governments can and ought to be changed and amended to conform to the wants, to the requirements and progress of the people, and the enlightened spirit of the age. Now, if any of your secessionists have lost faith in men's capability for self-government, and feel unfit for the exercise of this great right, go straight to rebeldom, take Jeff. Davis, Beauregard, and Bragg for your masters, and put their collars on your necks. And let me say that now is the time to secure these fundamental principles, while the land is rent with anarchy and upheaves with the throes of a mighty revolution. While society is in this disordered state, and we are seeking security, let us fix the foundation of the Government on principles of eternal justice which will endure PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECIIES. 47 hand, on the other I am equally opposed to consolidation, or the centralization of power in the hands of a few. Sir, all this has been extorted from me by the remarks you have offered, and as I have already remarked, I might have adopted your speech as my own. I have detained you longer than I expected, but Governor Morton is responsible for that. I scarcely know how to express my feeling in view of the kindness you have manifested on this occasion. Perhaps I ought not to add what I am about to say, but human nature is human nature. Indiana first named me for the Vice Presidency, though it was unsolicited by me. Indeed, there is not a man can say that I ever approached him on the subject. My eyes were turned to my own State. If I could restore her, the measure of my ambition was complete. I thank the State of Indiana for the confidence and regard she manifested toward me, which has resulted in what is now before me, placing me in the position I now occupy. In conclusion, I will repeat that the vigor of my youth has been spent in advocating those great principles at the foundation of our Government, and, therefore, I have been by many denounced as a demagogue, I striving to please the widows and orphans, who draped the streets of "Nashville in mourning, should suffer for his, great crime. The work is in our own hands. We can destroy this rebellion. With Grant thundering on the Potomac before Richmond, and Sherman and Thomas on their march toward Atlanta, the day will ere long be ours. Will any madly persist in rebellion? Suppose that an equal number be slain in every battle, it is plain that the result must be the utter extermination of the rebels. Ah! these rebel leaders have a strong personal reason for holding out to save their necks from the halter; and these leaders must feel the power of the Government! Treason must be made odious, and traitors must be punished and impoverished. Their great plantations must be seized, and divided into small farms, and sold to honest, industrious men. The day for protecting the lands and negroes of these authors of the rebellion is past. It is high time it was. I have been most deeply pained at some things which have come under my observation. We get men in command who, under the influence of flattery, fawning, and caressing, grant protection to the rich traitor, while the poor Union man stands out in the cold, often unable to get a receipt or a voucher for his losses. [Cries of "That's so!" from all parts of the crowd.] The traitor can get lucrative contracts, while the loyal man is pushed aside, unable to obtain a recognition of his just stripes and shoulder-straps. I want them all to hear what I say. I have been on a gridiron for two years at the eight of these abuses. I blame not the Government for these things, which are the work of weak or faithless subordinates. Wrongs will be committed under every form of government and every administration. For myself, I mean to stand by the Government till the flag of the Union shall wave over every city, town, hilltop, and cross-roads, in its full power and majesty. people. I am free to say to you that my highest ambition was to please the people, for I believe that when I pleased them, I was pretty nearly right, and being in the right, I didn't care who assailed me. But I was going to say I have always advocated the principle, that government was made for man-not man for goverment; even as the good Book says that the Sabbath was made for man-not man for the Sabbath. So far as in me lies, those principles shall be carried out; and, in conclusion, I tender you my profound and sincere thanks for your respect and support in the performance of the arduous duties now devolving upon me. To Virginia Refugees. April 24, 1865-A large number of Southern refugees had an interview, Hon. John C. Underwood making an address; to which the President replied: It is hardly necessary for me on this occasion to say that my sympathies and impulses in connection with this nefarious rebellion beat in unison with yours. Those who have passed through this bitter ordeal, and who participated in it to a great extent, are more competent, as I think, to judge and determine the true policy which should be pursued. [Applause.] I have but little to say on this question in response to what has been said. It enunciates and expresses my own feelings to the fullest extent, and in much better language than I can at the present moment summon to my aid. The most that I can say is, that entering upon the duties that have devolved upon me under circumstances that are perilous and responsible, and being thrown into the position I now occupy unexpectedly, in consequence of the sad eventthe heinous assassination which has taken placein view of all that is before me, and the circumstances that surround me, I cannot but feel that your encouragement and kindness are peculiarly acceptable and appropriate. I do not think you have been familiar with my course, if you who are from the South deem it necessary for me to make any professions as to the future on this occasion, or to express what my course will be upon questions that may arise. If my past life is no indication of what my future will be, my professions were both worthless and empty; and in returning you my sincere thanks for this encouragement and sympathy, I can only reiterate what I have said before, and, in part, what has just been read. As far as clemency and mercy are concerned, and the proper exercise of the pardoning power, I think I understand the nature and character of the latter. In the exercise of clemency. and mercy, that- pardoning power should be exercised with caution. I do not give utterance to my opinions on this point in any spirit of revenge or unkind feelings. Mercy and clemency have been pretty large ingredients in my compound. Having been the executive of a State, and thereby placed in a position in which it was necessary to exercise clemency and mercy, I have been charged with going too far, being too lenient; and I have become satisfied that mercy without justice is a crime, and that when mercy and clemency are exercised by the executive it 48 POLITICAL MANUAL. should always be done in view of justice, and in that manner alone is properly exercised that great prerogative. The time has come, as you who have had to drink this bitter cup are fully aware, when the American people should be made to understand the true nature of crime. Of crime, generally, oar people have a high understanding, as well as of the necessity for its punishment; but in the catalogue of crimes there is one-and that the highest known to the law and the Constitutionof which, since the days of Jefferson and Aaron Burr, they have become oblivious; that is TREAsox. Indeed, one who has become distinguished in treason and in this rebellion said, that "when traitors become numerous enough, treason becomes respectable," and to become a traitor was to constitute a portion of the aristocracy of the country. God protect the people against such an aristocracy. Yes, the time has come when the people should be taught to understand the length and breath, the depth and height of treason. An individual occupying the highest position among us was lifted to that position by the free offering of the American people-the highest position on the habitable globe. This man we have seen, revered, and loved; one who, if he erred at all, erred ever on the side of clemency and mercy; that man we have seen treason strike through a fitting instrument; and we have beheld him fall like a bright star falling from its sphere. Now, there is none but would say, if the question came up, what should be done with the individual who assassinated the chief magistrate of a nation-he is but a man, one man after all; but if asked what should be done with the assassin, what should be the penalty, the forfeit exacted, I know what response dwells in every bosom. It is, that he should pay the forfeit with his life. And hence we see that these are times when mercy and clemency without justice become a crime. The one should temper the other and bring about the proper mean. And if we would say this when the case was the simple murder of one man by his fellow man, what should we say when asked what shall be done with him, or them, or those who have raised impious hands to "Cake away the life of a nation composed of thirty millions of people? What would be the reply to that question? But while in mercy we remember justice, in the language that has been uttered, I say justice toward the leaders, the conscious leaders; but I also say amnesty, conciliation, clemency, and mercy to the thousands of our countrymen who you and I know have been deceived or driven into this infernal rebellion. And so I return to where I started from, and again repeat, that it is time our people were taught to know that treason is a crime-not a mere political difference, not a mere contest between two parties, in which one succeeded, and the other has simply failed. They must know it is treason, for if they had succeeded, the life of the nation would have been reft from it, the Union would have been destroyed. Surely the Constitution sufficiently defines treason. It consists in levying war against the United States, and in giving their enemies aid and comfort. With this definition it requires the exercise of no great acumen to ascertain who are traitors. It requires no great perception to tell us who have levied war against the United States, nor does it require any great stretch of reasoning to ascertain who has given aid to the enemies of the United States. And when the Government of the United States does ascertain who are the conscious and intelligent traitors, the penalty and the forfeit should be paid. I know how to appreciate the condition of being driven from one's home. I can sympathize with him whose all has been taken from him; with him who has been denied the place that gave his children birth; but let us, withal, in the restoration of true government, proceed 'temperately and dispassionately, and hope and pray that the time will come, as I believe, when we all can return and remain at our homes, and treason and traitors be driven from our land; [applause;] when again law and order shall reign, and the banner of our country be unfurled over every inch of territory within the area of the United States. In conclusion, let me thank you most profoundly for this encouragement and manifestation of your regard and respect, and assure you that I can give no greater assurance regarding the settlement of this question than that 1 intend to discharge my duty, and in that way which shall in the earliest possible hour bring back peace to our distracted country, and hope the time is not far distant when our people can all return to their homes and firesides, and resume their various avocations. Interview with George L. Stearns. WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 3, 1865, 11~, A. M. I have just returned from an interview with President Johnson, in which he talked for an hour on the process of reconstruction of rebel States. His manner was as cordial, and his conversation as free as in 1863, when I met him daily in Nashville. His countenance is healthier, even more so than when I first knew him. I remarked that the people of the North were anxious that the process of reconstruction should be thorough, and they wished to support him in the arduous work, but their ideas were confused by the conflicting reports constantly circulated, and especially by the present position of the Democratic party. It is industriously circulated in the Democratic clubs that he was going over to them. He laughingly replied, " Major, have you never known a man who for many years had differed from your views because you were in advance of him, claim them as his own when he came up to your standpoint?" I replied, "I have, often." He said, "So have I," and went on: " The Democratic party finds its old position untenable, and is coming to ours; if it has come up to our position, I am glad of it. You and I need no preparation for this conversation; we can talk freely on this subject, for the thoughts are familiar to us; we can be perfectly frank with each other." He then commenced with saying that the States are in the Union, w\hich is vwhole and indivisible. PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 49 Individuals tried to carry them out, but did tot succeed, as a man may try to cut his throat and be prevented by the bystanders; and you cannot say he cut his throat because he tried to do it. Individuals may commit treason and be punished, and a large number of individuals may constitute a rebellion, and be punished as traitors. Some States tried to get out of the Union, and we opposed it honestly, because we believed it to be wrong; and we have succeeded in putting down the rebellion. The power of those persons who made the attempt has been crushed, and now we want to reconstruct the State governments, and have the power to do it. The State institutions are prostrated, laid out on the ground, and they must be taken up and adapted to the progress of events; this cannot be done in a moment. We are making very rapid progress-so rapid I sometimes cannot realize it. It appears like a dream. We must not be in too much of a hurry; it is better to let them reconstruct themselves than to force them to it; for if they go wrong the power is in our hands, and we can check them in any stage, to the end, and oblige them to correct their errors; we must be patient with them. I did not expect to keep out all who were excluded from the amnesty, or even a large number of them; but I intended they should sue for pardon, and so realize the enormity of the crime they had committed. You could not have broached the subject of equal suffrage at the North seven years ago, and we must remember that the changes of the South have been more rapid, and they have been obliged to accept more unpalatable truth than the North has; we must give them time to digest a part, for we cannot expect such large affairs will be comprehended and digested at once. We must give them time to understand their new position. I have nothing to conceal in these matters, and have no desire or willingness to take indirect courses to obtain what we want. Our Government is a grand and lofty structure; in searching for its foundation we find it rests on the broad basis of popular rights. The elective franchise is not a natural right, but a political right. I am opposed to giving the 6-tates too much power, and also to a great consolidation of power in the central government. If I interfered with the vote in the rebel States, to dictate that no negro shall vote, I might do the same for my own purposes in Pennsylvania. Our only safety lies in allowing each State to control the right of voting by its own laws, and we have the power to control the rebel States if they go wrong. If they rebel we have the army, and can control them by it, and, if necessary, by legislation also. If the General Government controls the right to vote in the States, it may establish such rules as will restrict the vote to a small number of persons, and thus create a central despotism. My position here is different from what it would be if I was in Tennessee. There I should try to introduce negro suffrage gradually; first those who had served in the army; those who could read and write; and per haps a property qualification for others, say $200 or $250. It would not do to let the negro have universal suffrage now; it would breed a war of races. There was a time in the Southern States when the slaves of large owners looked down upon non-slaveowners because they did not own slaves; the larger the number of slaves the masters owned the prouder they were, and this has produced hostility between the mass of the whites and the negroes. The outrages are mostly from non-slaveholding whites against the negro, and from the negro upon the non-slaveholding whites. The negro will vote with the late master, whom he does not hate, rather than with the nonslaveholding white, whom he does hate. Universal suffrage would create another war, not against us, but a war of races. Another thing: This Government is the freest and best on earth, and I feel sure is destined to last; but to secure this we must elevate and purify the ballot. I for many years contended at the South that slavery was a political weakness; but others said it was political strength; they thought we gained three-fifths representation by it; I contended that we lost two-fifths. If we had no slaves we should have had twelve Representatives more, according to the then ratio of representation. Congress apportions representation by States, not districts, and the State apportions by districts. Many years ago I moved in the Legislature that the apportionment of Representatives to Congress in Tennessee should be by qualified voters. The apportionment is now fixed until 1872; before that.'.me we might change the basis of representation from population to qualified voters, North as well as South, and, in due course of time, the States, without regard to color, might extend the elective franchise to all who possessed certain mental, moral, or such other qualifications as might be determined by an en. lightened public judgment. BosroN, October 18, 1865. The above report was returned to me by President Johnson with the following endorsement. GEORGE L. STEARNS. I have read the within communication and find it substantially correct. I have made some verbal alterations. -A. J. Address to the Colored Soldiers. October 10, 1865-The first colored regiment of District of Columbia troops, recently returned from the South, marched to the Executive Mansion, and were addressed by the President, as follows: MY FnIENDS: My object in presenting myself before you on this occasion is simply to thank you, members of one of the colored regiments which have been in the service of the country to sustain and carry its banner and its laws triumphantly in every part of this broad land. I appear before you on the present occasion merely to tender you my thanks for the compliment you have paid me on your return home, to again be associated with your friends 4 50 POLITICAL MANUAL. and your relations, and those you hold most sacred and dear. I have but little to say. It being unusual in this Government and in most of the other governments to have colored troops engaged in their cause, you have gone forth as events have shown, and served with patience and endurance in the cause of -your country. This is your country as well as anybody else's country. This is the country in which you expect to live, and in which you should expect to do something by your example in civil life, as you have done in the field. This country is founded upon the principle of equality; and at the same time the standard by which persons are to be estimated is according to their merit and their worth. And you observe, no doubt, that for him who does his duty faithfully and honestly, there is always a just public judgment that will appreciate and measure out to him his proper reward. I know that there is much well calculated in this Government, and since the late rebellion commenced, to excite the white against the black, and the black against the white man. These are things that you should all understand, and at the same. time prepare yourselves for what is before you. Upon the return of peace and the surrender of the enemies of the country, it should be the duty of every patriot and every,one who calls himself a Christian to remember.that with a termination of the war his resentmtnts should cease-that angry feelings should subside, and that every man should become calm.:and tranquil, and be prepared for what is before him. This is another part of your mission. You havo been engaged in the effort to sustain your country in the past, but the future is more important to you than the period in which you have just been engaged. One great question has been settled in this Government, and that is the question of slavery. The institution of slavery made war upon the United States, and the United States has lifted its strong arms in vindication of the Government and of free government, and in lifting the arm and appealing to the God of battles, it was decided that the institution of slavery must go down. This has been done, and the Goddess of Liberty, in bearing witness over many of our battle-fields since the struggle commenced, has made her loftiest flight and proclaimed that true liberty has been established upon a more permanent and enduring basis than heretofore. But this is not all; and as you have paid me the compliment to call,upon me, I shall take the privilege of saying one or two words as I am before you. Now, when the sword is returned to its scabbard, when your arms are reversed, and when the olive-branch of peace is extended, resentment and revenge should subside. Then what is to follow? You do understand, no doubtand if you do not you cannot understand too soon-that simple liberty does not mean the privilege of going into the battle-field, or into the service of the country as a soldier. It means other things as well; and now when you have laid down your arms there are other objects of equal importance before you-now that the Gov-,remient has triumphantly passed through this mighty rebellion, after the most gigantic battles the world ever saw. The problem is before you, and it is best that you should understand it, and I therefore speak simply and plainly. Will you now, when you have retired from the army of the United States and taken the position of the citizen-when you have returned to the avocations of peace-will you give evidence to the world that you are capable and competent to govern yourselves? This is what you will have to do. Liberty is not a mere idea, a mere vagary; when you come to examine this question of liberty you should not be mistaken in a mere idea for the reality. It does not consist in idleness. Liberty does not consist in being worthless. Liberty does not consist in doing in all things as we please; and there can be no liberty without law. In a government of freedom and liberty there must be law, and there must be obedience and submission to the law, without regard to color. Liberty-and may I not call you my countrymen?-liberty consists in the glorious privileges of freedom--consists in the glorious privileges of worth-of pursuing the ordinary avocations of peace with energy, with industry, and with economy; and that being done, all those who have been industrious and economical are permitted to appropriate and enjoy the products of their own labor. This is one of the great blessings of freedom; and hence we might ask the question and answer it by stating that liberty means freedom to work and enjoy the products of your own labor. You will soon be mustered out of the ranks. It is for you to establish the great fact that you are fit and qualified to be free. Hence, freedom is not a mere idea, but it is something that exists in fact. Freedom is'not simply the principle to live in idleness. Liberty does not mean simply to resort to the low saloons and other places of disreputable character. Freedom and liberty do not mean that the people ought to live in licentiousness, but liberty means simply to be industrious and to be virtuous, to be upright in all our dealings and relations with men; and to those now before me, members of the last regiment of colored volunteers from the District of Columbia, and the capital of the United States, I have to say, that a great deal depends upon yourselves; you must give evidence that you are competent for the rights that the government has guaranteed to you. Hence, each and all of you must be measured according to his merit. If one man is more meritorious than the other, they cannot be equals, and he is the most exalted that is the most meritorious, without regard to color; and the idea of having a law passed in the morning that will make a white man black before night and a black man a white man before day is absurd. That is not the standard; it is your own conduct; it is your own merit; it is the development of your own talents and of your intellectual and moral qualities. Let this, then, be your course; adopt systems of movality; abstain from all licentiousness; and let me say one thing here, for I am going to talk plainly. I have lived in a Southern State all my life, and know what has too often PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES, 51 been the case. There is one thing you should esteem higher and more supreme than almost all others, and that is the solemn contract with all the penalties in the association of married life. Men and women should abstain from those qualities and habits that too frequently follow a war. Inculcate among your children and among your associates, notwithstanding you are just back from the army of the United States, that virtue, that merit, that intelligence are the standards to be observed, and those which you are determined to maintain during your future lives. He that is meritorious and virtuous, intellectual and well informed, must stand highest, without regard to color. It is the very basis upon which heaven itself rests-each individual takes his degree in the sublimer and more exalted regions in proportion to his merits and his virtue. Then I shall say to you on this occasion, in returning to your homes and firesides, after feeling conscious and proud of having faithfully done your duty, return with the determination that you will perform your duty in the future as you have performed it in the past. Abstain from all those bickerings and jealousies and revengeful feelings which too often spring up between different races. There is a great problem before us, and I may as well allude to it here in this connection, and that is, whether this race can be incorporated and mixed with the people of the United States -to be made a harmonious and permanent ingredient in the population. This is a problem not yet settled, but we are in the right line to do so. Slavery raised its head against the Government, and the Government raised its strong arm and struck it to the ground; hence, that part of the problem is settled. The institution of slavery is overthrown. But another part rcmains to be solved, and that is, can four millions of people, reared as they have been, with all their prejudices of the whites-can they take their places in the community, and be made to work harmoniously and congruously in our system? This is a problem to be considered. Are the digestive *cowers of the American Government sufficient:o receive this element in a new shape, and digest it and make it work healthfully upon the system that has incorporated it? This is the question to be determined. Let us make the experiment, and make it in good faith. If that cannot be done, there is another problem that is before us. If we have to be7, come a separate and distinct people (although I trust that the system can be made to work harmoniously, and that the great problem will be settled without going any further)-if it should be so that the two races cannot agree and live in peace and prosperity, and the laws of Providence require that they should be separated-in that event, looking to the far distant future, and trusting in God that it may nevei come-if it should come, Providence, that workc mysteriously, but unerringly and certainly, wil point out the way, and the mode, and the man ner by which these people are to be separated and they are to be taken to their land of inherit ance and promise, for such a one is before them Hence we are making the experiment. Hence, let me again impress upon you th importance of controlling your passions,'developing your intellect, and of applying your physical powers to the industrial interests of the country; and that is the true process by which this question can be settled. Be patient, persevering, and forbearing, and you will help to solve this problem. Make for yourselves a reputation in this cause, as you have won for yourselves a reputation in the cause in which you have been engaged. In speaking to the members of this regiment, I want them to understand that, so far as I am concerned, I do not assume or pretend that I am stronger than the laws or course of nature, or that I am wiser than Providence itself. It is our duty to try and discover what these great laws are which are the foundation of all things, and, having discovered what they are, conform our action and conduct to them and to the will of God, who ruleth all things. He holds the destinies of nations in the palm of his hand, and He will solve the questions and rescue these people from the difficulties that have so long surrounded them. Then let us be patient, industrious, and persevering. Let us develop our intellectual and moral worth. I trust what I have said may be understood and appreciated. Go to your hones and lead peaceful, prosperous, and happy lives, in peace with all men. Give utterance to no word that would. cause dissensions, but do that which will be creditable to yourselves and to your country. To the officers who have led and so nobly commanded you in the field I also return my thanks, for the compliment you and they have conferred upon me. Interview with Senator Dixon, of Connecticut. January 28, 1866-The following is the substance of the conversation, as telegraphed that night over the country: The President said he doubted the propriety at this time of making further amendments to the Constitution. One great amendment had already been made, by which slavery had forever been abolished within the limits of the United States, and a national guarantee thus given that the institution should never exist in the land. Propositions to amend the Constitution were becoming as numerous as preambles and resolutions at town meetings called to consider the most ordinary questions connected with "the administration of local affairs. All this, in his opinion, had a tendency to diminish the digI nity and prestige attached to the Constitution of the country, and to lessen the respect and I confidence of the people in their great charter of freedom. If, however, amendments are to I be made to the Constitution, changing the basis f of representation and taxation, (and he did not - deem them at all necessary at the present time,) t he knew of none better than a simple proposir tion, embraced in a few lines, making in each s State the number of qualified voters the basis 1 of representation, and the value of property the - basis of direct taxation. Such a proposition, could be embraced in the following terms: " Representatives shall be apportioned among. the several States which may be included within this Union according to the number of qualified e voters in each State. POLITICAL MANUAL, " Direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to the value of all taxable property in each State." An amendment of this kind would, in his opinion, place the basis of representation and direct taxation upon correct principles. The qualified voters were, for the most part, men who were subject to draft and enlistment when it was necessary to repel invasion, suppress rebellion, and quell domestic violence and insurrection. They risk their lives, shed their blood and peril their all to uphold the Government, and give protection, security, and value to property. It seemed but just that property should compensate for the benefits thus conferred, by defraying the expenses incident to its protection and enjoyment. "Such an amendment, the President also suggested, would remove from Congress all issues in reference to the political equality of the races. It would leave the States to determine absolutely the qualifications of their own voters with regard to color; and thus the number of Representatives to which they would be entitled in Congress would depend upon the number upon, whom they conferred the right of suffrage. The President, in this connection, expressed the opinion that the agitation of the negro franchise question in the District of Columbia at this time was the mere entering-wedge to the atgitation of the question throughout the States, and was ill-timed, uncalled-for, and calculated to do great harm. He believed that it would engender enmity, contention, and strife between the two races, and lead to a war between them, which would result in great injury to both, and the certain extermination of the negro population. Precedence, he thought, should be given to more important and urgent matters, legislation upon which was essential to the restoration of the Union, the peace of the country, and the prosperity of the people. Interviewwith a Colored Delegation respecting Suffrage. February 7, 1866-The delegation of colored representatives from different States of the country, now in Washington, to urge the interests of the colored people before the Government, had an interview with the President. The President shook hands kindly with each member of the delegation. ADDRESS OF GEORGE T. DOwNING. Mr. GEORGE T. DOWNING then addressed the President as follows: We present ourselves to your Excellency, to make known with pleasure the respect which we are glad to cherish for you-a respect which is your due, as our Chief Magistrate. It is our desire for you to know that we come feeling that we are friends meeting a friend. We should, however, have manifested our friendship by not coming to further tax your already much burdened and valuable time; but we have another object in calling. We are in a passage to equality before the law. God hath made it by opening a Red Sea. We would have your assistance through the same. We come to L r b I ) ) you in the name of the colored people of the United States. We are delegated to come by some who have unjustly worn iron manacles on their bodies-by some whose minds have been manacled by class legislation in States called free. The colored people of the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New England States, and District of Columbia have specially delegated us to come. Our coming is a marked circumstance, noting determined hope that we are not satisfied with an amendment prohibiting slavery, but that we wish it enforced with appropriate legislation. This is our desire. We ask for it intelligently, with the knowledge and conviction that the fathers of the Revolution intended freedom for every American; that they should be protected in their rights as citizens, and be equal before the law. We are Americans, native born Americans. We are citizens; we are glad to have it known to the world that you bear no doubtful record on this point. On this fact, and with con. fidence in the triumptn of justice, we base out hope. We see no recognition of color or race in the organic law of the land. It knows no privileged class, and therefore we cherish the hope that we may be fully enfranchised, not. only here in this District, but throughout'the land. We respectfully submit that rendering anything less than this will be rendering to us less than our just due; that granting anything less than our full rights will be a disregard of our just rights and of due respect for our feelings. If the powers that be do so it will be used as a license, as it were, or an apology, for any community, or for individuals thus disposed, to outrage our rights and feelings. It has been shown in the present war that the Government may justly reach its strong arm into States, and demand from them, from those who owe it allegiance, their assistance and support. May it not reach out a like arm to secure and protect its subjects upon who it has a claim? ADDRESS OF FRED. DOUGLASS. Following upon Mr. Downing, Mr. Fred. Douglass advanced and addressed the President, saying: Mr. President, we are not here to enlighten you, sir, as to your duties as the Chief Magistrate of this Republic, but to show our respect, and to present in brief the claims of our race to your favorable consideration. In the order of Divine Providence you are placed in a position where you have the power to save or destroy us, to bless or blast us--I mean our whole race. Your noble and humane predecessor placed in our hands the sword to assist in saving the na"tion, and we do hope that you, his able successor, will favorably regard the placing in our; hands the ballot with which to save ourselves. We shall submit no argument on that point. * The fact that we are the subjects of Government, and subject to taxation, subject to volunteer in Sthe service of the country, subject to being. drafted, subject to bear the burdens of the State, Smakes it not improper that we should ask to I share in the privileges of this condition. PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 58 I have no speech to make on this occasion. I simply submit these observations as a limited expression of the-views and feelings of the delegation with which I have come. RESPONSE OF THE PRESIDENT. In reply to some of your inquiries, not to make a speech about this thing, for it is always best to talk plainly and distinctly about such matters, I will say that if I have not given evidence in my course that I am a friend of hnmanity, and to that portion of it which constitutes the colored population, I can give no evidence here. Everything that I have had, both as regards life and property, has been perilled in that cause, and I feel and think that I understand-not to be egotistic-what should be the true direction of this question, and what course of policy would result in the melioration and ultimate elevation, not only of the colored, but of the great mass of the people of the United States. I say that if I have not given evidence that I am a friend of humanity, and especially the friend of the colored man, in my past conduct, there is nothing that I can now do that would. I repeat, all that I possessed, life, liberty, and property, have been put up in connection with that question, when I had every inducement held out to take the other course, by adopting which I would have accomplished perhaps all that the most ambitious might have desired. If I know myself, and the feelings of my own heart, they have been for the colored man. I have owned slaves and bought slaves, but I never sold one. I might say, however, that practically, so far as my connection with slaves has gone, I have been their slave instead of their being mine. Some have even followed me here, while others are occupying and enjoying my property with my consent. For the colored race my means, my time, my all has been perilled; and now at this late day, after giving evidence that is tangible, that is practical, I am free to say to you that I do not like to be arraigned by some who can get up iandsomely-rounded periods and deal in rhetoric, and talk about abstract ideas of liberty, who never perilled life, liberty, or property. This kind of theoretical, hollow, unpractical friendship amounts to but very little. While I say that I am a friend of the colored man, I do not want to adopt a policy that I believe will end in a contest between the races, which if persisted in will result in the extermination of one or the other. God forbid that I should be engaged in such a work! Now, it is always best to talk about things practically and in a common sense way. Yes, I have said, and I repeat here, that if the colored man in the United States could find no other Moses, or any Moses that would be more able and efficient than myself, I would be his Moses to lead him from bondage to freedom; that I would pass him from a land where he had lived in slavery to a land (if it were in our reach) of freedom. Yes, I would be willing to pass with him through the Red sea to the Land of Promise, to the land of liberty; but I am not willing, under either circumstance, to adopt a policy which I believe will only result in the sacrifice of his life and the shedding of his blood.. I think I know what I say. I feel what I say, and I -feel well assured that if the policy urged, by some be persisted in, it will result in great injury to the white as well as to the colored man. There is a great deal of talk about the sword in one hand accomplishing an end, and the ballot accomplishing another at the ballot-box. These things all do very well, and sometimes have forcible application. We talk about justice; we talk about right; we say that the white man has been in the wrong in keeping the black man in slavery as long as he has. That is all true. Again, we talk about the Declaration of Independence and equality before the law. You understand all that, and know how to appreciate it. But, now, let us look each other in the face; let us go to the great mass of colored men throughout the slave States; let us take the condition in which they are at the present timeand it is bad enough, we all know-and suppose, by some magic touch you could say to every one, "you shall vote to-morrow;" how much would that ameliorate their condition at this time? Now, let us get closer up to this subject, and. talk about it. [The President here approached very near to Mr. Douglass.] Whaatrelation has the colored man and the white man heretofore occupied in the South? I opposed slavery upon two grounds. First, it was a great monopoly, enabling those who controlled and owned it to constitute an aristocracy, enabling the few to derive great profits and rule the many with an iron rod, as it were. And this is one great objection to it in a government, it being a monopoly. I was opposed to it secondly upon the abstract principle of slavery. Hence, in getting clear of a monopoly, we are getting clear of slavery at the same time. So you see there were two right ends accomplished in the accomplishment of the one. Mr. DOUGLASS. Mr. President, do you wishThe PRESIDENT. I am not quite through yet.. Slavery has been abolished, A great national guarantee has been given, one that cannot be revoked. I was getting at the relation that subsisted between the white man and the colored i men. A very small proportion of white persons compared with the whole number of such owned the colored people of the South. I might instance the State of Tennessee in illustration. There were there twenty-seven non-slaveholders to one slaveholder, and yet the slave power controlled the State. Let us talk about this matter as it is. Although the colored man was in slavery there, and owned as property in the sense and in the language of that locality and of that community, yet, in comparing his condition and his position there with the non-slaveholder, he usually estimated his importance just in proportion to the number of slaves that his master owned with the non-slaveholder. Have you ever lived upon a plantation? Mr. DOUGLASS. I have, your excellency. The PRESIDENT. When you would look over and see a man who had a large family, struggling hard upon a poor piece of land, you thought a great deal less of him than you did of your own master's negro, didn't you? POLIfICAL MANUAL. TMr. DOUGLASS. Not I! The PRESIDENT. Well, I know such was the case with a large number of you in those sections. Where such is the case we know there is an enmity, we know there is a hate. The poor white man, on the other hand, was opposed to the slave and his master; for the colored man and his master combined kept him in slavery, by depriving him of a fair participation in the labor and productions of the rich land of the country. Don't you know that a colored man, in going to hunt a master ( as they call it) for the next year, preferred hiring to a man who owned slaves rather than to a man who did not? I know the fact, at all events.. They did not consider it quite as respectable to hire to a man who did not own negroes as to one who did. Mr. DOUGLASS. Because he wouldn't be treated as well. The PRESIDENT. Then that is another argument in favor of what I am going to say. It shows that the colored man appreciated the slave owner more highly than he did the man who didn't own slaves. Hence the enmity between the colored man and the non-slaveholders. The white man was permitted to vote before-government was derived from him. He is a part and parcel of the political machinery. Now, by the rebellion or revolution-and when you come back to the objects of this war, you find that the abolition of slavery was not one of the objects; Congress and the President himself declared that it was waged on our part in order to suppress the rebellion-the abolition of slavery has come as an incident to the suppression of a great rebellion-as an incident, and as an incident we should give it the proper direction. The colored man went into this rebellion a slave; by the operation of the rebellion he came out a freedman-equal to a freeman in any other portion of the country. Then there is a great deal done for him on this point. The nonslaveholder who was forced into the rebellion, who was as loyal as those that lived beyond the limits of the State, but was carried into it, lost his property, and in a number of instances the lives of such were sacrificed, and he who has survived has come out of it with nothing gained, but a great deal lost. Now, upon the principle of justice, should they be placed in a condition different from what they were before? On the one hand, one has gained a great deal; on the other hand, one has lost a great deal, and, in a political point of view, scarcely stands where he did before. Now, we are talking about where we are going to begin. We have got at the hate that existed between the two races. The query comes up, whether these two races, situated as they were before, without preparation, without time for passion and excitement to be appeased, and without time for the slightest improvement, whether the one should be turned loose upon the other, and be thrown together at the ballot-box with this enmity and hate existing between them. The query comes up right there, whether we don't commence a war of races. I think I understand this thing, and especially is this the case when you force it upon a people without their consent. You have spoken about government. Where is power derived from? We say it is derived from the people. Let us take it so, and refer to the District of Columbia by way of illustration. Suppose, for instance, here, in this political community, which, to a certain extent, must have government, must have laws, and putting it now upon the broadest basis you can put it-take into consideration the relation which the white has heretofore borne to the colored race-is it proper to force upon this community, without their consent, the elective franchise, without regard to color, making it universal? Now, where do you begin? Government must have a controlling power-must have a lodgment. For instance, suppose Congress should pass a law authorizing an election to be held at which all over twenty-one years of age, without regard to color, should be allowed to vote, and a majority should decide at such election that the elective franchise should not be universal; what would you do about it? Who would settle it? Do you deny that first great principle of the right of the people to govern themselves? Will you resort to an arbitrary power, and say a majority of the people shall receive a state of things they are opposed to? Mr. DOUGLASS. That was said before the war. The PRESIDENT. I am now talking about a principle; not what somebody else said. Mr. DOWNING. Apply what you have said, Mr. President, to South Carolina, for instance, where a majority of the inhabitants are colored. The PRESIDENT. Suppose you go to South Carolina; suppose you go to Ohio. That doesn't change the principle at all. The query to which I have referred still comes up when government is undergoing a fundamental change. Government commenced upon this principle; it has existed upon it; and you propose now to incorporate into it an element that didn't exist before. I say the query comes up in undertaking this thing whether we have a right to make a change in regard to the elective franchise in Ohio, for instance: whether we shall not let the people in that State decide the matter for themselves. Each community is better prepared to determine the depositary of its pclitical power than anybody else, and it is for the Legislature, for the people of Ohio to say who shall vote, and not for the Congress of the United States. I might go down here to the ballot-box to-morrow and vote directly for universal suffrage; but if a great majority of the people said no, I should consider it would be tyrannical in me to attempt to force such upon them without their will. It is a fundamental tenet in my creed that the will of the people must be obeyed. Is there anything wrong or unfair in that? Mr. DOUGLASS (smiling.) A great deal that is wrong, Mr. President, with all respect. SThe PRESIDENT. It is the people of the States that must for themselves determine this thing. I do not want to be engaged in a work that will commence a war of races. I want to begin the work of preparation, and the States, or the people in each community, if a man demeans himself well, and shows evidence that this new state of affairs will operate, will protect him in all his rights, and give him every possible advantago PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 55 when they become reconciled socially and politizally to this state of things. Then will this new order of things work harmoniously; but forced upon the people before they are prepared for it, it will be resisted, and work inharmoniously. I feel a conviction that driving this matter upon the people, upon/the community, will result in the injury of both races, and the ruin of one or the other. God knows I have no desire but the good of the whole human race. I would it were so that all you advocate could be done in the twinkling of an eye; but it is not in the nature of things, and I do not assume or pretend to be wiser than Providence, or stronger than the laws of nature. Let us now seek to discover the laws governing this thing. There is a great law controlling it; let us endeavor to find out what that law is, and conform our actions to it. All the details will then properly adjust themselves and work out well in the end, God knows that anything I can do I will do. In the mighty process by which the great end is to be reached, anything I can do to elevate the races, to soften and ameliorate their condition I will do, and to be able to do so is the sincere desire of my heart. I am glad to have met you, and thank you for the compliment you have paid me. Mr. DouGLAss. I have to return to you our thanks, Mr. President, for so kindly granting us this interview. We did not come here expecting to argue this question with your excellency, but simply to state what were our views and wishes in the premises. If we were disposed to argue the question, and you would grant us permission, of course we would endeavor to controvert some of the positions you have assumed. Mr. DowNING. Mr. Douglass, I take it that the President, by his kind expressions and his very full treatment of the subject, must have contemplated some reply to the views which he has advanced, and in which we certainly do not concur, and I say this with due respect. The PRESIDENT. I thought you expected me to indicate to some extent what my views were on the subjects touched upon in your statement. Mr. DOWNING. We are very happy, indeed, to have heard them. Mr. DOUGLASS. If the President will allow me, I would like to say one or two words in reply. You enfranchise your enemies and disfranchise your friends. The PRESIDENT. All I have done is simply to indicate what my views are, as I supposed you expected me to, from your address. Mr. DOUGLASS. My own impression is that the very thing that your excellency would avoid in the southern States can only be avoided by the very measure that we propose, and I would state to my brother delegates that because I perceive the President has taken strong grounds in favor of a given policy, and distrusting my own ability to remove any of those impressions which he has expressed, I thought we had better end the interview with the expression of thanks. (Addressing the President.) But ii your excellency will be pleased to hear, I would like to say a word or two in regard to that one matter of the enfranchisement of the blacks a a means of preventing the very thing which your excellency seems to apprehend-that is a conflict of races. The PRESIDENT. I repeat, I merely wanted to indicate my views in reply to your address, and not to enter into any general controversy, as I could not well do so under the circumstances. Your statement was a very frank one, and I thought it was due to you to meet it in the same spirit. Mr. DouGLASS. Thank you, sir. The PRESIDENT. I think you will find, so far as the South is concerned, that if you will all inculcate there the idea in connection with the one you urge, that the colored people can live and advance in civilization to better advantage elsewhere than crowded right down there in the South, it would be better for them. Mr. DOUGLASS. But the masters have the making of the laws, and we cannot get away from the plantation. The PRESIDENT. What prevents you? Mr. DOUGLASS. We have not the single right of locomotion through the Southern States now. The PRESIDENT. Why not; the government furnishes you with every facility. Mr. DOUGLASS. There are six days in the year that the negro is free in the South now, and his master then decides for him where he shall go, where he shall work, how much he shall workin fact, he is divested of all political power. He is absolutely in the hands of those men. The PRESIDENT. If the master now controls him or his action, would he not control him in his vote? Mr. DOUGLASS, Let the negro once understand that he has an organic right to vote, and he will raise up a party in the Southern States among the poor, who will rally with him. There is this conflict that you speak of between the wealthy slaveholder and the poor man. The PRESIDENT. You touch right upon the point there. There is this conflict, and hence I suggest emigration. If he cannot get employment in the South, he has it in his power to go where he can get it. In parting, the PRESIDENT said that they were both desirous of accomplishing the same ends, but proposed to do so by following different roads. Mr. DOUGLASS, on turning to leave, remarked to his fellow delegates: "The President sends us to the people, and we go to the people." The PRESIDENT. Yes, sir; I have great faith in the people. I believe they will do what is right. - Reply of the Colored Delegation to the President. To the Editor of the Chronicle: Will you do us the favor to insert in your columns the following reply of the colored delegation to the President of the United States? GEO. T. DOWNING, f In behalf of the Delegation. f MR. PRESIDENT: In consideration of a deliI cate sense of propriety, as well as your own repeated intimations of indisposition to discuss or s to listen to a reply to the views and opinions 56 POLITICAL -MANUAL. you were pleased to express to us in your elaborate speech to-day, the undersigned would respectfully take this method of replying thereto. Believing as we do that the views and opinions you expressed in that address are entirely unsound and prejudicial to the highest interests of our race as well as our country at large, we cannot do other than expose the same, and, as far as may be in our power, arrest their dangerous influence. It is not necessary at this time to call attention to more than two or three features of your remarkable address: 1. The first point to which we feel especially bound to take exception is your attempt to found a policy opposed to our enfranchisement, upon the alleged ground of an existing hostility on the part of the forrrer slaves toward the poor white people of the South. We admit the existence of this hostility, and hold that it is entirely reciprocal. But you obviously commitan error by drawing an argument from an incident of a state of slavery, and making it a basis for t policy adapted to a state of freedom. The "aostility between the whites and blacks of the South is easily explained. It has its root and sap in the relation of slavery, and was incited on both sides by the cunning of the slave masters. Those masters, secured their ascendency over both the poor whites and the, blacks by putting enmity between them. They divided both to conquer each. There was no earthly'reason why the blacks should not hate and dread the poor whites when in a, state of slavery, for it was from this class that their masters received their slave-catchers, slavedrivers, and overseers. They were the men called in upon all occasions by the masters when any fiendish outrage was to be committed upon the slave. Now, sir, you cannot but perceive that, the cause of this hatred removed, the effect must be removed also. Slavery is abolished. The cause of antagonism is removed, and you must see that it is altogether illogical (and "putting new wine into old bottles," " mending new garments with old cloth ") to legislate from slaveholding and slave-driving premises for a people whom you have repeatedly declared your purpose to maintain in freedom. 2. Besides, even if it were true, as you allege, that the hostility of the blacks toward the poor whites must necessarily project itself into a state of freedom, and that this enmity between the two races is even more intense in a state of freedom than in a state of slavery, in the name of Heaven, we reverently ask, how can you, in view of your professed desire to promote the Welfare of the black man, deprive him of all means of defence, and clothe him whom you regard as his enemy in the panoply of political power? Can it be that you would recommend a policy which would arm the strong and cast down the defenceless? Can you, by any possioihty of reasoning, regard this as just, fair, or wise? Experience proves that those are oftenest abused who can be abused with the greatest impunity. Men are whipped oftenest who are whipped easiest. Peace betwen races is not to be secured by degrading one race and exalting another, by giving power to one race and withholding it from another; but by maintaining a state of equal justice between all classes. First pure, then peaceable. 3. On the colonization theory you were pleased to broach, very much could be said. It is impossible to suppose, in view of the usefulness of the black man in time of peace as a laborer in the South, and in time of war as a soldier at the North, and the growing respect for his rights among the people, and his increasing adaptation to a high state of civilization in this his native land, there can ever come a time when he can be removed from this country without a terrible shock to its prosperity and peace. Besides, the worst enemy of the nation could not cast upon its fair name a greater infamy than to suppose that negroes could be tolerated among them in a state of the most degrading slavery and oppression, and must be cast away, driven into exile, for no other cause than having been freed from their chains. GEORGE T. DOWNING, JOHN JONES, "WILLIAM WHIPPER, FREDERICK DOUGLASS, LEWIS H. DOUGLASS, and others. "WASHINGTON, February 7, 1866. Remarks at an Interview with the Committee of the Legislature of Virginia. February 10, 1866-A committee of the Senate and House of Delegates of Virginia called. upon the President, for the purpose of presenting him with resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia. After some remarks by Mr. John B. Baldwin, chairman of the delegation, the President responded: In reply, gentlemen, to the resolutions you have just presented to me, and the clear and forcible and concise remarks which you have made in explanation of the position of Virginia, I shall not attempt to make a formal speech, but simply to enter into a plain conversation in regard to the condition of things in which we. stand. As a premise to what I may say, permit me first to tender you my thanks for this visit, and next to express teio gratification I feel in meeting so many intelligent, responsible, and respectable men of Virginia, bearing to me the sentiments which have been expressed in the resolutions of your Leislature and the remarks accompanying theni. They are, so far as they refer to the Constitution of the country, the sentiments and the principles embraced in the charter of the Government. The preservation of the Union has been, from my entrance into public life, one of my cardinal tenets. At the very incipiency of this rebellion I set my face against the dissolution of the Union of the States. I do not make this allusion for the purpose of bringing up anything which has transpired which may be regarded as of an unkind or unpleasant character, but I believed then, as I believe now, and as. you have most unmistakably indicated, that the security and the protection of the rights of all the people were to be found in the Union; that we were certainly safer in the Union than we were out of it. PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 57 Upon this conviction I based my opposition to the efforts which were made to destroy the Union. I have continued those efforts, notwithstanding the perils through which I have passed,. and you are not unaware that the trial has been a svere one. When opposition to the Government came from one section of the country, and that the section in which my life had been passed, and with which my interests were identified, I stood, as I stand now, contending for the Union, and asseverating that the best and surest way to obtain our rights and to protect our interests was to remain in the Union, under the protection of the Constitution. The ordeal through which we have passed during the last four or five years demonstrates most conclusively that that opposition was right; and to-day, after the experiment has been made and has failed; after the demonstration has been most conclusively afforded that this Union cannot be dissolved, that it was not designed to be dissolved, it is extremely gratifying to me to meet gentlemen as intelligent and as responsible as yourselves, who are willing and anxious to accept and do accept the terms laid down in the Constitution and in obedience to the laws made in pursuance thereof. We were at one period separated; the separation was to me painful in the extreme; but now, after having gone through a struggle in which the powers of the Government have been tried, when we have swung around to a point at which we meet to agree and are willing to unite our efforts for the preservation of the Government, which I believe is the best in the world, it is exceedingly gratifying to me to meet you to-day, standing upon common ground, rallying around the Constitution and the Union of these States, the preservation of which, as I conscientiously and honestly believe, will result in the promotion and the advancement of this people. I repeat, I am gratified to meet you to-day, expressing the principles and announcing the sentiments to which you have given utterance, and I trust that the occasion will long be remembered. I have no doubt that your intention is to carry out and comply with every single principle laid down in the resolutions you have submitted. I know that some are distrustful; but I am of those who have confidence in the judgment, in the integrity, in the intelligence, in the virtue of the great mass of the American people; and having such confidence, I am willing to trust them, and I thank God that we have not yet reached that point where wye have lost all confidence in each other. The spirit of the Government can only be preserved, we can only become prosperous and great as a people, by mutual forbearance and confidence. Upon that faith and confidence alone can the Government be successfully carried on. On the cardinal principle of representation to which you refer I will make a single remark. That principle is inherent; it constitutes one of the fundamental elements of this Government. The representatives of the States and of the people should have the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, and those qualifications most unquestionably imply loyalty. He who comes as a representative, having the qualifications prescribed by the Constitution to fit him to take a seat in either of the deliberative bodies which constitute the national legislature, must necessarily, according. to the intendment of the Constitution, be a loyal. man, willing to abide by and devoted to the Union and the Constitution of the States. He, cannot be for the Constitution, he cannot be for the Union, he cannot acknowledge obedience to all the laws, unless he is loyal. When the people send such men in good faith, they are entited to representation through them. In going into the recent rebellion or insurrection against the Government of the United States we erred; and in returning and resum-. ing our relations with the Federal Government, I am free to say that all the responsible positions and places ought to be confined distinctly and.clearly to men. who are loyal. If there were only five thousand loyal men in a State, or a less number, but sufficient to take charge of the. political machinery of the State, those five thousand men, or the lesser number, are entitled to it, if all the rest should be otherwise inclined. I look upon it as being fundamental that the. exercise of political power should be confined to, loyal men; and I regard that as implied in the doctrines laid down in these resolutions and in, the eloquent address by which they have been accompanied. I may say, furthermore, that after having passed through the great struggle in which we have been engaged, we should be placed upon much more acceptable ground in resuming all our relations to the General Government if we presented men unmistakably and unquestionably loyal to fill the places of power. This being done, I feel that the day is not far distant-I speak confidingly in reference to the great mass of the American people-when they will determine that this Union shall be made whole, and the great right of representation in the councils of the nation be acknowledged. Gentlemen, that is a fundamental principle. "No taxation without representation " was one of the principles which carried us through the Revolution. This great principle will hold good yet; and if we but perform our duty, if we but comply with the spirit of the resolutions presented to me to-day, the American people will maintain and sustain the great doctrines upon which the Government was inaugurated. It can be done, and it will be done; and I think that if the effort be fairly and fully made, with forbearance and with prudence, and with discretion and wisdom, the end is not very far distant. It seems to me apparent that from every consideration the best policy which could be adopted at present would be a restoration of these States and of the Government upon correct principles. We have some foreign difficulties, but the moment it can be announced that the Union of the States is again complete, that we have resumed our career of prosperity and greatness, at that very instant, almost, all our foreign difficulties will be settled; for there is no power upon the earth which will care to have a controversy or a rupture with the Government of the United States under such circumstances. If these States be fully restored, the area foL POLITICAL MANUAL. the circulation of the national currency, which is thought by some to be inflated to a very great extent, will be enlarged, the number of persons through whose hands it is to pass will be increased, the quantity of commerce in which it is to be employed as a medium of exchange will be enlarged; and then it will begin to approximate what we all desire, a specie standard. If all the States were restored-if peace and order reigned throughout the land, and all the industrial pursuits-all the avocations of peace-were again resumed, the day would not be very far distant when we could put into the commerce of the world $250,000,000 or $300,000,000 worth of cotton and tobacco, and the various products of the Southern States, which would constitute, in part, a basis of this currency. Then, instead of the cone being inverted, we should reverse the position, and put the base at the bottom, as it ought to be; and the currency &f the country will rest on a sound and enduring basis; and surely that is a result which is calculated to promote the interests not only of one section, but of the whole country, from one extremity to the other. Indeed, I look upon the restoration of these States as being indispensable to all our greatness. Gentlemen, I know nothing further that I could say in the expression of my feelings on this occasion-and they are not affected-more than to add, that I shall continue in the same line of policy which I have pursued from the commencement of the rebellion to the present period. My efforts have been to preserve the Union of the States. I never, for a single moment, entertained the opinion that a State could withdraw from the Union of its own will. That attempt was made. It has failed. I continue to pursue the same line of policy which has been my constant guide. I was against dissolution. Dissolution was attempted; it has failed; and now I cannot take the position that a State which attempted to secede is out of the Union, when I contended all the time that it could not go out, and that it never has been out. I cannot be forced into that position. Hence, when the States and their people shall have complied with the requirements of the Government, I shall be in favor of their resuming their former relations to this Government in all respects. I do not intend to say anything personal, but you know as well as I do that at the beginning, and indeed before the beginning, of the recent gigantic struggle between the different sections of the country, there were extreme men South and there were extreme men North. I might make use of a homely figure-which is sometimes as good as any other, even in the illustrations of great and important questions-and say that it has been hammer at one end of the line and anvil at the other; and this great Government, the best the world ever saw, was kept upon the anvil and hammered before the rebellion, and it has been hammered since the rebellion; and there seems to be a disposition to continue the hammering until the Government shall be destroyed. I have opposed that system always, and I oppose it now. The Government, in the assertion of its powers and in the maintenance of the principles of the constitution, has taken hold ot one extreme, nd with the strong arm of physical power has put down the rebellion. Now, as" we swing around the circle of the Union, with a fixed and unalterable determination to stand by it, if we find the counterpart or the duplicate of the same spirit that played to this feeling and these persons in the South, this other extreme, which stands in the way must get out of it, and the Government must stand unshaken and unmoved on its basis. The Government must be preserved. I will only say, in conclusion, that I hope all the people of this country, in good faith and in the fullness of their hearts, will, upon the principles which you have enunciated here to-day, of the maintenance of the Constitution and the preservation of the Union, lay aside every other feeling for the good of our common country, and with uplifted faces to heaven swear that our gods and our altars and all shall sink in the dust together rather than that this glorious Union shall not be preserved. I am gratified to find the loyal sentiment of the country developing and manifesting itself in these expressions; and now that the attempt to destroy the government has failed at one end of the line, I trust we shall go on determined to preserve the Union in its original purity against all opposers. I thank you, gentlemen, for the compliment you have paid me, and I respond most cordially to what has been said in your resolutions and address, and I trust in God that the time will soon come when we can meet under more favorable auspices than we do now. Speech of the 22d February, 1866. [Report of National Intelligenccr.] After returning his thanks to the committee which had waited upon him and presented him with the resolutions which had been adopted, the President said: The resolutions, as I understand them, are complimentary of the policy which has been adopted and pursued by the Administration since it came into power. I am free to say to you on this occasion that it is extremely gratifying to me to know that so large a portion of our fellow-citizens indorse the policy which has been adopted and which is intended to be carried out. This policy has been one which was intended to restore the glorious Union-to bring those great States, now the subject of controversy, to their original relations to the Government of the United States. And this seems to be a day peculiarly appropriate for such a manifestation as this-the day that gave birth to him who founded the Government---that gave birth to the Father of our Country-that gave birth to him who stood at the portal when all these States entered into this glorious Confederacy. I say that the day is peculiarly appropriate to the indorsement of measures for the restoration of the Union that was founded by the Father of his Country. Washington, whose name this city bears, is embalmed in the hearts of all who love their Government. [A voice, "So is Andy Johnson."] Washington, in the language of his eulogists, was first in peace, first in war, and first in the PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 59 Hiearts of his countrymen. No people can claim I casion I want to be understood.) There was a him-no nation can appropriate him. His emi- portion of our countrymen opposed to this, and nence is acknowledged throughout the civilized they went to that extreme that they were willworld by all those who love free government., ing to break up the Government to destroy this [ have had the pleasure of a visit from the asso- peculiar institution of the South. liation which has been directing its efforts to- I assume nothing here to-day but the citizenwards the completion of a monument erected to one of you-who has been pleading for his his name. I was prepared to meet them and country and the preservation of. the Constitu-. give them my humble influence and countenance tion. These two parties have been arrayed in aid of the work. Let the monument be against each other, and I stand before you as I erected to him who founded the Government, did in the Senate of the United States in 1860. and that almost within the throw of a stone I denounced there those who wanted to disrupt from the spot from which I now address you. the Government, and I portrayed their true Let it be completed. Let the pledges which all character. I told them that those who were enthese States and corporations and associations gaged in the effort to break up the Government have put in that monument be preserved as an were traitors. I have not ceased to repeat that, earnest of our faith in and love of this Union, and, as far as endeavor could accomplish it, to and let the monument be completed. And in carry out the sentiment. I remarked, though, connection with Washington, in speaking of the that there were two parties. One would despledges that have been placed in that monu- troy the Government to preserve slavery; the ment, let me refer to one from my own State- other would break up the Government to desGod bless her!-which has struggled for the troy slavery. The objects to be accomplished preservation of this Union in the field and in the were different, it is true, so far as slavery was councils of the nation. Let me repeat, that she concerned; but they agreed in one thing-the is now struggling in consequence of an innova- destruction of the Government, precisely what tion that has taken place in regard to her rela- I was always opposed to; and whether the distion with the Federal Government growing out unionists came from the South or from the North, of the rebellion-she is now struggling to renew I stand now where I did then, vindicating the her relations with this Government and take the Union of these States and the Constitution ol stand which she has occupied since 1796. Let our country. The rebellion manifested itself in me repeat the sentiment which that State in- the South. I stood by the Government. I said scribed upon her stone that is deposited within I was for the Union with slavery. I said I was the monument of freedom and in commemoration for the Union without slavery. In either alterof Washington; she is struggling to stand by native I was for the Government and the Conthe sentiment inscribed on that stone, and she stitution. The Government has stretched forth is now willing to maintain that sentiment. And its strong arm, and with its physical power it what is the sentiment? It is the sentiment has put down treason in the field. That is, the which was enunciated by the immortal and the section of country that arrayed itself against illustrious Jackson-" The Federal Union, it the Government has been conquered by the force must be preserved." of the Government itself. Now, what had we Were it possible for -that old man, who in said to those people? We said: '"No comprostatue is before me and in portrait behind me, mise; we can settle this question with the South to be called forth-were it possible to communi- in eight and forty hours." cate with the illustrious dead, and he could be I have said it again and again, and I repeat informed of the progress in the work of faction, it now, " disband your armies, acknowledge the and rebellion, and treason-that old man would supremacy of the Constitution of the United turn over in his coffin, he would rise, shake off States, give obedience to the law, and the whole the habiliments of the tomb, and again extend question is settled." that long arm and finger and reiterate the senti- What has been done since? Their armief ment before enunciated, " the Federal Union, it have been disbanded. They come now to meet must be preserved." But we witness what has us in a spirit of magnanimity and say, " We transpired since his day. We remember what were mistaken; we made the effort to carry out he said in 1833. When treason and treachery the doctrine of secession and dissolve this Union, and infidelity to the Government and the Con- and having traced this thing to its logical and stitution of the United States stalked forth, it physical results, we now acknowledge the flag ol was his power and influence that went forth our country, and promise obedience to the Conand crushed it in its incipiency. It was then stitution and the supremacy of the law." stopped. But it was only stopped for a time, I say, then, when you comply with the Conand the spirit continued. There were men dis- stitution, when you yield to the law, when you affected towards the Government in both the acknowledge allegiance to the Government-I North and South. There were peculiar institu- say let the door of the Union be opened, and tions in the country to which some were adverse the relation be restored to those that had erred and others attached. We find that one portion and had strayed from the fold of our fathers. of our countrymen advocated an institution in Who has suffered more than I have? I ask the South which others opposed in the North. the question. I shall not recount the wrongs This resulted in two extremes. That in the and the sufferings inflicted upon me. It is not South reached a point at which the people there the course to deal with a whole people in a were disposed to dissolve the Government of the spirit of revenge. I know there has been 8 United States, and they sought to preserve their great deal said about the exercise of the pardon peculiar institutions. (What I say on this oc- power, as regards the Executive; and there is 60 POLITICAL MANUAL. no o:0o who has labored harder than I to have the principals, the intelligent and conscious offendeis, brought to justice and have the principle vndicated that "treason is a. crime." But, while conscious and intelligent traitors are to be punished, should whole communities and States be made to submit to the penalty of death? I have quite as much asperity, and perhaps as much resentment, as a man ought to have; but we must reason regarding man as he is, and must conform our action and our conduct to the. example of Him who founded our holy religion. I came into power under the Constitution of the country, and with the approbation of the people, and what did I find? I found eight millions of people who were convicted, condemned under the law,and the penalty was death; and, through revenge and resentment, were they all to be annihilated? Oh! may I not exclaim, how different would this be from the example set by the Founder of our holy religion, whose divine arch rests its extremities on thehorizon while its span embraces the universe.! Yes, He that founded this great scheme, came into the world and saw men condemned under the law, and the sentence was death. What was his example? Instead of putting the world or a nation to death, He went forth on the cross and testified with His wounds that He would die and let the world live. Let them repent; let them acknowledge their rashness; let them become loyal, and let them be supporters of our glorious stripes and stars, and the Constitution of our country. I say let the leaders, the conscious, intelligent traitors, meet the penalties of the law. But as for the great mass, who have been forced into the rebellion-misled in other instances-let there be clemency and kindness, and a trust and a confidence in them. But, my countrymen, after having passed through this rebellion, and having given as much evidence of enmity to it as some who croak a great deal about the matterwhen I look back over the battle-field and see many of those brave men in whose company I was, in localities of the rebellion where the contest was most difficult and doubtful, and who yet were patient; when I look back over these fields, and where the smoke has scarcely passed away; where the blood that has been shed has scarcely been absorbed-before their bodies have passed through the stages of decomposition-what do I find? The rebellion is put down by the strong arm of the Government in the field. But is this the only way in which we can have rebellions? This was a struggle against a change and a revolution of the Government, and before we fully get from the battle-fieldswhen our brave men have scarcely returned to their homes and renewed the ties of affection and love to their wives and their children-we are now almost inaugurated into another rebellion. One rebellion was the effort of States to secede, and the war on the part of the Government wvas to prevent them from accomplishing that, and thereby changing the character of our Government and weakening its power. When the Government has succeeded, there is an attempt now to concentrate all power in the hands of a few at the federal head, and thereby bring about a consolidation of the Republic, which is equally objectionable with its dissolution. We find a power assumed and attempted to be exercised of a most extraordinary character. We see now that governments can be revolutionized without going into the battle-field; and sometimes the revolutions most distressing to a people are effected without the shedding of blood. That is,. the substance of your Gov ernmen t may be taken away, while there is held out to you the form and the shadow. And now, what are the attempts, and what is being proposed? We find that by an irresponsible central directory nearly all the powers of Congress are assumed, without even consulting the legislative and executive departments of the Government. By aresolution reported by a committee, upon whom and in whom the legislative power of the Government has been lodged, that great principle in the Constitution which authorizes and empowers the legislative department, the Senate and House of Representatives, to be the judges of elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, has been virtually taken away from the two respective branches of the national legislature, and conferred upon a committee, who must report before the body can act on the question of the admission of members to their seats. By this rule they assume a State is out of the Union, and to have its practical relations restored by that rule, before the House can judge of the qualifications of its own members. What position is that? You have been struggling for four years to put down a rebellion. You contended at the beginningof that struggle that a State had not a right to go out. You said it had neither the right nor the power, and it has i n settled that the States had neither the right nor the power to go out of the Union. Anrd w'ven "ou determine by the executive, by the military, am.d by the public judgment, that these States cannot have any right to go out, this committee turns around and assumes that they are out, and that they shall not come ita I am free to say to you, as your Executive, that I am not prepared to take any such position. I said in the Senate, in the very inception of this rebellion, that the States had no right to secede. That. question has been settled. Thus determined, I cannot turn round and give the lie direct to all that I profess to have done during the last four years. I say that when the States that attempted to secede comply with the Constitution, and give sufficient evidence of loyalty, I shall extend to them the. right hand of fellowship, and let peace and union be restored. I am opposed to the Davises, the Toom bses, the Slidells, and the long list of such. But wnen I perceive, on the other hand, men-[A voice, Call them off"]-I care not by what name you call themstill opposed to the Union, I '-m tree to say to you that I am still with the people. I am still for the preservation of these States, for the preservation of this Union, and in favor of this great Government accomplishing its destiny. [Here the President was called upon to give the names of three of the members of Congress to whom he had alluded as being opposed to the Union.] PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. The gentleman calls for three names. I am say to a man who has assassination broiling in.talking to my friends and fellow-citizens here. his heart, "there is a fit subject," and also exSuppose I should name to you those whom I claim that the "presidential obstacle" must be look upon as being opposed to the fundamental got out of the way, when possibly the intention principles, of this Government, and as now labor- was to institute assassination. Are those who ing to destroy them. I say Thaddeus Stevens, want to destroy our institutions and change the of Pennsylvania; I say Charles Sumner, of character of the Government not satisfied with Massachusetts; I say Wendell Phillips, of Mas- the blood that has been shed? Are they not sachusetts. [A voice, " Forney!"] satisfied with one martyr? Does not the blood I do not waste my fire on dead ducks. I stand of Lincoln appease the vengeance and wrath of for the country, and though my enemies may the opponents of this Government? Is their traduce, slander, and vituperate, I may say, that thirst still unslaked? Do they want more blood? has no force. Have they not honor and courage enough to In addition to this, I do not intend to be gov- effect the removal of the presidential obstacle erned by real or pretended friends, nor do I in- otherwise than through the hands of the assastend to be bullied by my enemies. An honest sin? I am not afraid of assassins; but if it conviction is my sustenance, the Constitution my must be, I would wish to be encountered where guide. I know, my countrymen, that it has been one brave man can oppose another. I hold him insinuated-nay, said directly, in high places- in dread only who strikes cowardly. But if that if such a usurpation of power had been ex- they have courage enough to strike like men, ercised two hundred years ago, in particular (I know they are willing to wound, but they reigns, it would have cost an individual his head. are afraid to strike;) if my blood is to be shed What usurpation has Andrew Johnson been because I vindicate the Union and the preservaguilty of? [Cries of "None."] My only usur- tion of this Government in its original purity pation has been committed by standing between and character, let it be so; but when it is done, the people and the encroachments of power, let an altar of the Union be erected, and then, And because I dared say in a conversation with if necessary, lay me upon it, and the blood that a fellow-citizen ahd a Senator too, that I thought now warms and animates my frame shall be amendments to the constitution ought not to be poured out in a last libation as a tribute to the so frequent, lest the instrument lose all its sanc- Union; and let the opponents of this Governtity and dignity, and be wholly lost sight of in ment remember that when it is poured out the a short time, and because I happened to say in blood of the martyr will be the seed of the conversation that I thought that such and such church. The Union will grow. It will continue an amendment was all that ought to be adopted, to increase in strength and power, though it it was said that I had suggested such a usurpa- may be cemented and cleansed with blood. tion of power as would have cost a king his head I have talked longer, my countrymen, than in a certain period! In connection with this Iintended. With many acknowledgments for subject, one has exclaimed that we are in the the honor you have done me, I will say one " midst of earthquakes and he trembled." Yes, word in reference to the amendments to the there is an earthquake approaching, there is a Constitution of the United States. Shortly groundswell coming, of popular judgment and after I reached Washington, for the purpose of indignation. The American people will speak, being inaugurated Vice President, I had a and by their instinct, if in no other way, know conversation with Mr. Lincoln. We were who are their friends, when and where and in talking about the condition of affairs, and in whatever position I stand-and I have occupied reference to matters in my own State. I said many positions in the government, going through we had called a convention and demanded a both branches of the legislature. Some gen- constitution abolishing slavery in the State, tleman here behind me says, " And was a tailor." which provision was not contained in the PresiNow, that don't affect me in the least. When dent's proclamation. This met with his approI was a tailor I always mado-a close fit, and was bation, and he gave me encouragement. In always punctual to my customers, and did good talking upon the subject of amendments to the work. Constitution, he said, "when the amendment [A voice. No patchwork.] to the Constitution now proposed is adopted by The PRESIDENT. No, I did not want any three-fourths of the States, I shall be pretty patchwork. But we pass by this digression. nearly or quite done as regards forming amendIntimations have been thrown out-and when ments to the Constitution if there should principles are involved and the existence of my be one other adopted." I asked what that country imperiled, I will, as on former occa- other amendment suggested was, and he replied, 'sions, speak what I think. Yes! Cost him his " I have labored to preserve this Union. I have 'head! Usurpation! When and where have I toiled four years. I have been subjected to been guilty of this? Where is the man in all calumny and misrepresentation, and my great the positions I have occupied, from that of alder- and sole desire has been to preserve these States man to the Vice Presidency, who can say that intact under the Constitution, as they were beAndrew Johnson ever made a pledge that he did fore; and there should be an amendment to the not redeem, or ever made a promise that he vio- Constitution which would compel the States to lated, or that he actedwith falsity to the people! send their Senators and Representatives to the They may talk about beheading; but when I Congress of the United States." He saw, as am beheaded I want the American people to be part of the doctrine of secession, that the States the witness. I do not want by inuendoes of could, if they were prepared, withdraw their an indirect character in high places to have one; Senators and Representatives; and he wished to 62 POLITICAL MANUAL. remedy this evil by the adoption of the amendmountsuggested. Even that portion of the Constitutio ~ hich differs from other organic law says that no State shall be deprived of its represen-,tation. We now find the position taken that States shall not be recognized; that we will impose taxation; and where taxes are to be imposed the Representatives elect from thence are met at the door, and told: " No; you must pay taxes, but you cannot participate in a Government which is to affect you for all time." Is this just? [Voices-" No! No!"] We see, then, where we are going. I repeat, that I am for the Union. I am for preserving all the States. They may have erred, but let us admit those into the counsels of the nation who are unmistakably loyal. Let the man who acknowledges allegiance to the Government, and swears to support the Constitution, (he cannot do this in good faith unless he is loyal; no amplification of the oath can make any difference; it is mere detail, which I care nothing about;) let him be unquestionably loyal to the Constitution of the United States and its Government, and willing to support it in its peril, and I am willing to trust him. I know that some do not attach so much importance to the principle as I do. One principle that carried us through the revolution was, that there should be no taxation without representation. I hold that that principle, which was laid down by our fathers for the country's good then, is important to its good now. If it was worth battling for then, it is worth battling for now. It is fundamental, and should be preserved so long as our Government lasts. I know it was said by some during the rebellion that the Constitution had been rolled up as a piece of parchment, and should be put away, and that in time of rebellion there was no constitution. But it is now unfolding; it nust now be read and adjusted and understood by the American people. I come here to-day to vindicate, in so far as I can in these remarks, the Constitution; to save it, as I believe; for it does seem that encroachment after encroachment is to be pressed; and as I resist encroachments on the Government, I stand to-day prepared to resist encroachments on the Constitution, and thereby preserve the Government. It is now peace, and let us have peace. Let us enforce the Constitution. Let us live under and by its provisions. Let it be published in blazoned characters, as though it were in the heavens, so that all may read and all may understand it. Let us consult that instrument, and, understanding its principles, let us apply them. I tell the opponents of this Government, and I care not from what quarter they come-East or West, North or South-" you that are engaged in the work of breaking up this Government are mistaken. The Constitution and the principles of free government are deeply rooted in the American heart." All the powers combined, I care not of what character they are, cannot destroy the image of freedom. They may succeed for a time, but their attempts will be futile. They may as well attempt to lock up the winds or chain the waves. Yes, they may as well attempt to repeal it, (as it would seem the Constitution can be,) by a con current resolution; but when it is submitted to the popular judgment, they will find it just as wellto introduce a resolution repealing the law of gravitation; and the idea of preventing the restoration of the Union is as about as feasible as resistance to the great law of gravity which binds all to a common centre. This great law of gravitation will bring back those States to harmony and their relations to the Federal Government, and all machinations North and South cannot prevent it. All that is wanting is time, until the American people can understand what is going on, and be ready to accept the view just as it appears to me. I would to God that the whole American people could be assembled here to-day as you are. I could wish to have an amphitheatre large enough to contain the whole thirty millions, that they could be here and witness the great struggle to preserve the Constitution of our fathers. They could at once see what it is, and how it is, and what kind of spirit is manifested in the attempt to destroy the great principles of free government; and they could understand who is for them and who is against them, and who was for ameliorating their condition. Their opposers could be placed before them, and there might be a regular contest, and in the first tilt the enemies of the country would be crushed. I have detained you longer than I intended; but in this struggle I am your instrument. Where is the man or woman, in private or public life, that has not always received my attention and my time? Sometimes it is said, "that man Johnson is a lucky man." I will tell you what constitutes good fortune. Doing right and being for the people. The people in some particular or other, notwithstanding their sagacity and judgment, are frequently underrated or underestimated; but somehow or other the great mass of the people will find out who is for them and who is against them. You must indulge me in this allusion, when I say I can lay my hand on my bosom and say that in all the positions in which I have been placed-many of them as trying as any in which mortal man could be put -so far, thank God, I have not deserted the people, nor do I believe they will desert me. What sentiment have I swerved from? Can my calumniators put their finger on it? Can they dare indicate a discrepancy or a deviation from principle? Have you heard them at any time. quote my predecessor, who fell a martyr to his course, as coming in controversy with anything I advocated? An inscrutable Providence saw proper to remove him to, I trust, a better world than this, and I came into power. Where is there one principle in reference to this restoration that I have departed from? Then the war is not simply upon me, but it is upon my predecessor. I have tried to do my duty.. I know some are jealous in view of the White House, and I say all that flummery has as little influence on me as it had heretofore. The conscious satisfaction of having performed my duty to my country, my children, and my God, is all the reward which I shall ask. In conclusion of what I have to say, let me ask this vast concourse, this sea of upturned PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES. 68 faces, to go with me-or I will go with youan d stand around the Constitution of our country; it is again unfolded, and the people are invited to read and understand it, and to maintain its provisions. Let us stand by the principles of our fathers, though the heavens fall; and then, though factions array their transient forces to give vituperation after vituperation in the most virulent manner, I intend to stand by the Constitution as the chief ark of our safety, as the palladium of our civil and religious liberty. Yes, let us cling to it as the mariner clings to the last plank when the night and the tempest close around him. Accept my thanks, gentlemen, for the indulgence you have given me in my extemporaneous remarks. Let us go on, forgetting the past and looking only upon the future, and trusting in Him that can control all that is on high and here below, and hoping that hereafter our Union will be restored, and that we will have peace on earth and good will towards man. Speech to the Colored People of the District of Columbia, Celebrating the Third Anniversary of their Emancipation. April 19, 1866-1 have nothing more to say to you on this occasion than to thank you for this compliment you have paid me in presenting yourselves before me on this your day of celebration. I come forward for the purpose of indicating my approbation and manifesting my appreciation of the respect thus offered or conferred. I thank you for the compliment, and I mean what I say. And I will remark in this connection to this vast concourse that the time will come, and that, too, before a great while, when the colored population of the United States will find out who have selected them as a hobby and a pretence by which they can be successful in obtaining and maintaining power, and who have been their true friends, and wanted them to participate in and enjoy the blessings of freedom. The time will come when it will be made known who contributed as much as any other man, and who, without being considered egotistic, I may say contributed more, in procuring the great national guarantee of the abolition of slavery in all the States, by the ratification of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States-giving a national guarantee that slavery shall no longer be permitted to exist or be reestablished in any State or jurisdiction of the United States. I know how easy it is to cater to prejudices, and how easy it is to excite feelings of prejudice and unkindness. I care not for that. I have been engaged in this work in which my all has been periled. I was not engaged in it as a hobby, nor did I ride the colored man for the sake of gaining power. What I did was for the purpose of establishing the great principles of freedom. And, thank God, I feel and know it to be so, that my efforts have, contributed as much, if not more, in accomplishing this great national guarantee, than those of any other living man in the United States. It is very easy for colored men to have pretended friends, ensconced in high places, and far removed from danger, whose eyes have only abstractly gazed on freedom; who have never exposed their limbs or property, and who never contributed a sixpence in furtherance of the great cause, while another periled his all, and put up everything sacred and dear to man, and those whom he raised and who lived with him now enjoy his property with his consent, and receive his aid and assistance; yet some who assume, and others who have done nothing, are considered the great defenders and protectors of the colored man. I repeat, my colored friends, here to-day, the time will come and that not far distant, when it will be proved who is practically your best friend. My friendship, so far as it has gone, has not been for place or power, for I had these already. It has been a principle with me, and I thank God the great principle has been established, that wherever any individual, in the language of a distinguished orator and statesman, treads American soil, his, soul swells within him beyond the power of chains to bind him, in appreciation of the great truth that he stands forth redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled by the genius of universal emancipation! Then let me mingle with you in celebration of the day which commenced your freedom. I do it in sincerity and truth, and trust in God the blessings which have been conferred may be enjoyed and appreciated by you, and that you may give them a proper direction. There is something for all to do. You have high and solemn duties to perform, and you ought to remember that freedom is not a mere idea. It must be reduced to practical reality. Men in being free have to deny themselves many things which seem to be embraced in the idea of universal freedom. It is with you to give evidence to the world and the people of the United States, whether you are going to appreciate this great boon as it should be, and that you are worthy of being freemen. Then let me thank you with sincerity for the compliment you have paid me by passing through here to-day and paying your respects to me. I repeat again, the time will come when you will know who has been your best friend, and who has not been your friend from mercenary considerations. Accept my thanks. "VI. SPECIAL AND VETO MESSAGES OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON, WITH THE VOTES IN CONGRESS ON THE PASSAGE OF THE VETOED BILLS. The Annual Message, December 4,1865. The following extracts relate to reconstruction: I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil war. Resistance to the General Government appeared to have exhausted itself. The United States had recovered possession of their forts and arsenals, and their armies were in the occupation of every State which had at-. tempted to secede. Whether the territory within the limits of those States should be held as conquered territory, under military authority emanating from the President as the head of the army, was the first question that presented itself for decision. Now, military governments, established for an indefinite period, would have offered no security for the early suppression of discontent; would have divided the people into the vanquishers and the vanquished; and would have envenomed hatred, rather than have restored affection. Once established, no precise limit to their continuance was conceivable. They would have occasioned an incalculable and exhausting expense. Peaceful emigration to and from that portion of the country is one of the best means that can be thought of for the restoration of harmony, and that emigration would have been prevented; for what emigrant from abroad, what industrious citizen at home, would place himself willingly under military rule? The chief persons who have followed in the train of the army would have been dependents on the General Government, or men who expected profit from the miseries of their erring fellowcitizens. The powers of patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region, are greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to intrust to any one man; they are such as, for myself, I could never, unless on occasions of great emergency, consent to exercise. The wilful use of such powers, if continued through a period of years, would have endangered the purity of the general administration and the liberties of the States which remained loyal. Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered territory would have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have taken part in the rebellion had, by the act of those inhabitants, ceased to exist. But the true theory is, that all pretended acts of secession were, from the beginning, null and void. The States cannot commit treason, nor screen the individual citizens who may have committed treason, any more than they could make valid treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any foreign power. The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a condition where their vitality was impaired, but not extinguished-their functions suspended, but not destroyed. But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices, there is the more need that the General Government should maintain all its authority, and, as soon as practicable, resume the exercise of all its functions. On this principle I have acted, and have gradually and quietly, and by almost imperceptibe steps, sought to restore the rightful energy of the General Government and of the States. To that end, provisional governors have been appointed for the States, conventions called, governors elected, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same time, the Courts of the United States, as far as could be done, have been reopened, so that the laws of the United States may be enforced through their agency. The blockade has been removed andt the custom-houses re-established in ports of entry, so that the revenue of the United States may be collected. The Post Office Department renews its ceaseless activity, and the General Government is thereby enabled to communicate promptly with its officers and agents. The courts bring security to persons and property; the opening of the ports invites the restoration of industry and commerce; the post office renews the facilities of social intercourse and of business. And is it not happy for us all, that the restoration of each one of these functions of the General Government brings with it a blessing to the States over which they are extended? Is it not a sure promise of har, mony and renewed attachment to the Union that, after all that has happened, the return of the General Government is known only as a ben ficence? I know very well that this policy is attended with some risk; that for its success it requires at least the acquiescence of the States which it concerns; that it implies an invitation to those States, by renewing their allegiance to the United States, to resume their functions as States of the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken; in the choice of difficulties, it is the smallest risk; and to diminish, and, if possible, to remove all 64 VETOES AND VOTES. danger, I have felt it incumbent on me to assert one other power of the General GovernmentThe power of pardon. As no State can throw a defence over the crime of treason, the power of pardon is exclusively vested in the executive government of the United States. In exercising that power, I have taken every precaution to connect it with the clearest recognition of the binding force of the laws of the United States, and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great social change of condition in regard to slavery which has grown out of the war. The next step which I have taken to restore the constitutional relations of the States, has been an invitation to them to participate in the high office of amending the Constitution. Every patriot must wish for a general amnesty at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For this great end there is a need of a concurrence of all opinions, and the spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the late terrible conflict must work together in harmony. It is not too,much to ask, in the name of the whole people, that, on the one side, the plan of restoration shall proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the disorders of the past into oblivion; and that, on the other, the evidence of sincerity in the future maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt by the ratification of the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of our country. So long as the adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long will doubt and jealousy and uncertainty prevail. This is the measure which will efface the sad memory of the past; this is the measure which 'will most certainly call population and capital and security to those parts of the Union that need them most. Indeed, it is not too much to ask of the States which are now resuming their places in the family of the Union to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and peace. Until it is done, the past, however much we may desire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption of the amendment reunites us beyond all power of disruption. It heals the wound that is imperfectly closed; it removes slavery, the element which has so long perplexed and divided the country; it makes of us once more a united people, renewed and strengthened, bound more thlan ever to mutual affection and support. The amendment to the Constitution being adopted, it would remain for the States, whose powers have been so long in abeyance, to resume their places in the two branches of the national legislature, and thereby complete the work of restoration. Here it is for you, fellowcitizens of the Senate, and for you, fellow-citizens of the House of Representatives, to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the elections, returns, and qualinictions of your own members. The full assertion of the powers of the General Government requires the holding of circuit courts of the United States within the districts where their authority has been interrupted. In the present posture of our public affairs, strong obiections have been urged to holding those courts in any of the States where the rebellion has existed; and it was ascertained, by inquiry, that the circuit court of the United States would no be held within the district of Virginia dur5 ing the autumn or early winter, nor until Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the restoration of this branch of the civil authority of the United States is therefore necessarily referred, with the hope that early provision will be made for the resumption of all its functions. It is manifest that treason, most flagrant in character, has been committed. Persons who are charged with its commission should have fair and impartial trials in the highest civil tribunals of the country, in order that the Constitution and the laws may be fully vindicated; the truth clearly established and affirmed that treason is a crime, that traitors should be punished and the offence made infamous; and, at the same time, that the question be judicially settled, finally and forever, that no State of its own will has the right to renounce its place in the Union. The relations of the General Government towards the four millions of inhabitants whom the war has called into freedom have engaged my most serious consideration. On the propriety of attempting to make the freedmen electors by the proclamation of the Executive, I took for my counsel the Constitution itself, the interpretations of that instrument by its authors and their contemporaries, and recent legislation by Congress. When, at the first movement towards independence, the Congress of the United States instructed the several States to institute governments of their own', they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period of the confederacy, there continued to exist a very great diversity in,, the qualifications of electors in the several States; and even within a State a distinction of qualification prevailed with regard to the officers who were to be chosen. The Constitution of the United States recognises the diversities when it enjoins that, in the choice of members of the House of Representatives of the United States, " the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature." After the formation of the Constitution, it remained, as before, thk uniform usage for each State to enlarge the body of its electors, according to its own judgment; and, under this system, one State after another has proceeded to increase the number of its electors, until now universal suffrage, or something very near it, is the general rule. So fixed was this reservation of power in the habits of the people, and so unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution, that during the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose-certainly never avowed the purpose-of disregarding it; and in the acts of Congress, during that period, nothing can be found which during the. continuance of hostilities, much less after their close, would have sanctioned any departure by the Executive from a policy which has so uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elective franchise to the freedmen, by act of the President of the United States, must have been extended to all colored men, wherever found, and so mst have established a change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western States, not less than in the 66 POLITICAL MANUAL. Southern and Southwestern. Such an act would have created a new class of voters, and would have been an assumption of power by the President which nothing in the Constitution or laws of the United States would have warranted. On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided when the settlement of the question is referred to the several States. They can, each for itself, decide on the measure, and whether it is to be adopted at once and absolutely, or introduced gradually and with conditions. In my judgment, the freedmen, if they show patience and manly virtues, will sooner obtain a participation in the elective franchise through the States than through the General Government, even if it had power to intervene. When the tumult of emotions that have been raised by the suddenness of the social change shall have subsided, it may prove that they will receive the kindliest usage from some of those on whom they have heretofore most closely depended. But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of the war, it is not competent for the General Government to extend the elective franchise in the several States, it is equally clear that good faith requires the security of the freedmen in their liberty and in their property, their right to labor, and their right to claim the just return of their labor. I cannot too strongly urge a dispassionate treatment of this subject, which should be carefully kept aloof from all party strife. We must equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural impossibility for the two races to live side by side, in a state of mutual benefit and good will. The experiment involves us in no inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that experiment in good faith, and not be too easily disheartened. The country is in need of labor, and the freedmen are in need of employment, culture, and protection. While their right of voluntary migration and expatriation is not to be questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and colonization. Let us rather encourage them to honorable and useful industry, where it may be beneficial to themselves and to the country; and, instead of hasty anticipations of the certainty of failure, let there be nothing wanting to the fair trial of the experiment. The change in their condition is the substitution of labor by contract for the status of slavery. The freedman cannot fairly be accused of unwillingness to work, so long as a doubt remains about his freedom of choice in his pursuits, and the certainty of his recovering his stipulated wages. In this the interests of the employer and the employed coincide. The employer desires in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these can be permanently secured in no other way. And if the one ought to be able to enforce the contract, so ought the other. The public interest will be best promoted if the several States will provide adequate protection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in some way accomplished, there is no chance for the advantageous use of their labor; and the blame of ill success will not rest on them. I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the immediate realization of its remotest aims; but time is always an element in reform. It is one of the greatest acts on record to have brought four millions of people into freedom. The career of free industry must be fairly opened to them: and then their future prosperity and condition must, after all, rest mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so perish away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attributable to any denial of justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the freedmen, we need not be too anxious to read the future; many incidents which, from a speculative point of view, might raise alarm, will quietly settle themselves. Now that slavery is at an end or near its end, the greatness of its evil, in the point of view of public economy, becomes more and more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of labor, and as such locked the States where it prevailed against the incoming of free industry. Where labor was the property of the capitalist, the white man was excluded from employment, or had but the second best chance of finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned away from the region where his condition would be so precarious. With the destruction of the monopoly, free labor will hasten from all parts of the civilized world to assist in developing various and immeasurable resources which have hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of Mexico have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate friendly to long life, and can sustain a denser population than is found as yet in any part of our country. And the future influx of population to them will be mainly from the North, or from the most cultivated nations in Europe. From the sufferings that have attended them during our late struggle, let us look away to the future, which is sure to be laden for them with greater prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal of the monopoly of slave labor is a pledge that those regions will be peopled by a numerous and enterprising population, which will vie with any in the Union in compactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry. Message on the late Insurrectionary States. To the Senate of the United States: In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th instant, I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a portion of the people against the properly-constituted authorities of the Government of the United States has been suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as could be done, the courts of the United States have been restored, post offices re-established, and steps taken to put into effective operation the revenue laws of the country. As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive, with the view of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have reorganized their respective State governments, and " are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States" with more willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances could reasonably have been. anticipated. The pro posed amendment to the Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within VETOES AND VOTES. the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States, with the exception of Mississippi, from which no official information has yet been received; and in nearly all of them measures have been adopted or are now pending, to confer upon freedmen rights and privileges which are.essential to their comfort, protection, and security. In Florida and Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at an early period be in a condition to resume all of their practical relations to the Federal Government. In "that portion of the Union lately in rebellion" the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view of all the' circumstances, could "well have been expected. The people throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew their allegiance to the Government, and to repair the devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that their actions will conform to their professions, and that, in acknowledging the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws of the United States, their loyalty will be unreservedly given to the Govment, whose leniency they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose fostering care will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true that in some of the States the demoralizing effects of the war are to be seen in occasional disorders; but these are local in character, not frequent in occurrence, and are rapidly disappearing as the authority of civil law is extended and sustained. Perplexing questions were naturally to be expected from the great and sudden change in the relations between the two races; but systems are gradually developing themselves under whiclr the freedman will receive the protection to which he is justly entitled, and by means of his labor make himself a useful and independent member of the community in which he has his home. From all the information in my possession, and from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly-adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restoration of the relations of the States to the national Union. The report of Carl Schurz is herewith transmitted, as requested by the Senate. No reports from Hon. John Covode have been received by the President. The attention of the Senate is invited to the accompanying report of Lieutenant General Grant, who recently made a tour of inspection through several of the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion. ANDREW fOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. Accompanying Report of General Grant. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE U. S., WASHINGTON, D. C., December 18, 1865. SIR: In reply to your note of the 16th inst., requesting a report from me giving such information as I may be possessed of, coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of the United States in their resolution of th-A 12th instant, I have the honor to submit the following: With your approval, and also that of the honorable Secretary of War, I left Washington city on the 27th of last month for the purpose of making a tour of inspection through some of the Southern States, or States lately in rebellion, and to see what changes were necessary to be made in the disposition of the military forces of the country; how these forces could be reduced and expenses curtailed, &c.; and to learn, as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of the citizens of those States toward the General Government. The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington city, and information from this quarter therefore being readily obtained, I hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina, I spent one day; in Charleston, South Carolina, two days; Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both in traveling and while stopping, I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been stationed among them. The following are the conclusions come to by me: I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The questions which have heretofore divided the sentiments of the people of the two sections-slavery and States rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union -they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal-arms-that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but, now that the smoke of battle has cleared away and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has been a fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in council. Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready obedience to civil authority the American people have generally been in the habit of yielding. This would render the presence of small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time as labor returns to its proper channels, and civil authority is fully established. I did not meet any one, either those holding places under the Government or citizens of the Southern States, who think it practicable to withdraw the military from the South at present. The white and the black mutually require the protection of the General Government. There is such universal acquiescence in the authority of the General Government throughout the portions of the country visited by me, that the mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain order. The good of the country and economy require that the force kept in the interior, where there are many freedmen, (elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the sea-coast no force 68 POLITICAL MANUAL. is necessary,) should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious without mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor both by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies sufficient to defend themselves. It is not the thinking men who would use violence toward any class of troops sent among them by the General Government, but the ignorant in some cases might, and the late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property of his late master should by right belong to him, or at least should have no protection from the colored soldier. There is danger of collisions being brought on by such causes. My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as possible; that while reconstructing, they want and require protection from the Government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the Government, not humiliating to them as citizens, and that if such a course was pointed out they would pursue it in good faith. It is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater commingling at this time between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power. I did not give the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau that attention I would have done if more time had been at my disposal. Conversations on the subject, however, with officers connected with the bureau lead me to think that in some of the States its affairs havenot been conducted with good judgment or economy, and that the belief, widely spread among the freedmen of the Southern States, that the lands of their former owners will, at least in part, be divided among them, has come from the agents of this bureau. This belief is seriously interfering with the willingness of the freedmen to make contracts for the coming year. In some form the Freedmen's Bureau is an absolute necessity until civil law is established and enforced, securing to the freedmen their rights and full protection. Atpresent, however, it is independent of the military establishment of the country, and seems to be operated by the different agents of the bureau according to their individual notions. Everywhere General Howard, the able head of the bureau, made friends by the just and fair instructions and advice he gave; but the complaint in South Carolina was, that when he left things went on as before. Many, perhaps the majority, of the agents of the Freedmen's Bureau advise the freedmen that by their own industry they must expect to live. To this end they endeavor to secure employment for them, and to see that both contracting parties comply with their engagements. In some instances, I am sorry to say, the freedman's mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has the right to live without care or provision for the future. The effect of the belief in division of lands is idleness and accumulation in camps, towns, and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and disease will tend to the extermination, or great reduction of the colored race. It cannot be expected that the opinions held by men at the South for years can be changed in a day; and therefore the freedmen require for a few years not only laws to protect them, but the fostering care of those who will give them good counsel, and in whom they can rely. The Freedmen's Bureau, being separated from the military establishment of the country, requires all the expense of a separate organization. One does not necessarily know what the other is doing, or what orders they are acting under. It seems to me this could be corrected by regarding every officer on duty with troops in the Southern States as agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and then have all orders from the head of the bureau sent through department commanders. This would create a responsibility that would secure uniformity of action throughout all the South; would insure the orders and instructions from the head of the bureau being carried out; and would relieve from duty an pay a large number of employes of the Government. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT Lieutenant General. His Excellency A. JoHNsoN, President of the United States. Veto of the Freedmen.'s Bireau Bill, February 19, 1866. To the Senate of the United States: I have examined with care the bill which originated in the Senate, and has been passed by the two IPouses of Congress, to amend an act entitled " An act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees," and for other purposes. Having, with much regret, come to the conclusion that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with "my objections to its becoming a law. I might call to mind, in advance of these objections, that there is no immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it ceases to have effect, further experience may assist to guide us to a wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace. I share with Congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and property, and their entire independence and equality in making contracts for their labor; but the bill before me contains provisions which, in my opinion, are not warranted by the Constitution, and are not well suited to accomplish the end in view. The bill proposes to establish, by authority of Congress, military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and freedmen. It would, by its very nature, apply with most force to those parts of the U".ted States in VETOES AND VOTES, 69 which the freedmen mmst abound; and it exIrressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of the freedmen's bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over those States "in which the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion." The source from which this military iurisdiction is to emanate is none other than the President of the United States, acting through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be selected either from the army or from civil life; the country is to be divided into districts and sub-districts, and the number of salaried agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found. The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every part of the United States include protection to "all employes, agents, and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against" by local law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States, the bill subjects any white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of " any civil rights or immunities belonging to white persons " to imprisonment or fine, or both, without, however, defining the " civil rights and immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are liable. The exercise of power, over which there is no legal supervision, by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill, must, by the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and passion. The trials, having their origin under this bill, are to take place without the intervention of a jury, and without any fixed rules of law or evidence. The rules on which offences are to be " heard and determined " by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President, through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is required, nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The punishment will be-not what the law declares, but such as a court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power of the country. While the territory and the classes of actions and offences that are made subject to the measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I cannot reconcile a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the Constitution, which declare that "no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless upon a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land and naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger;" and that " in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State or district wherein the crime shall have been committed." The safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the punishment of the guilty, and the equal administra. tion of justice, are to be set aside, and, for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in behalf of justice, we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents, established in every parish or county, in nearly a third of the States of the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control by the federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be intrusted to any one man. If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnecessarily disturb the commerce, and credit, and industry of the country, by declaring to the American people and to the world that the United States are still in a condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offences that may be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights of whole communities. The country has returned or is returning to a state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is, in fact, at an end. The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actuaj condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of the United States. If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail, it is open to weighty objections. In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state of freedom.* But this bill proposes to make the * I have obtained from an official source the following statement, not of the number of persons relieved, but of the number of rations issued by the Freedmen's Bureau, in each State, from June 1,1865, to April 1,1866-ten months: Refugees. Freedmen. Total. Virginia............... 4,635 1,676,127 1,680,762 North Carolina.............. 4,474 902,776 907,450 South Carolina and Georgia 24,974 861,653 886,627 Alabama........................... 879,353 364,215 1,243,568 Louisiana........................... 4,330 296,431 300,761 Texas. o................... 166 3,521 3,687 Mississippi......................... 33,489 308,391 341,880 Arkansas.......................... 1,004,862 715,572 1,720,434 Kentucky and Tennessee.... 87,180 306,960 394,140 District of Columbia......... 3,834 440,626 444,460 2,047,297 6,876,272 7,923,569 Total number of rations issued to freedmen for ten months.................................................. 5,876,272 Total number of rations issued to refugees......... 2,047,297 Total number of rations issued to whites and blacks for ten months, from June 1, 1865, to April 1, 1866.......................................... 7,923~569 70 POLITICAL MANUAL. Freedmen's Bureau, established by the act of 1865, as one of many great and extraordinary military measures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch of the public administrafti-n, with its powers greatly enlarged. I L.ve no reason to suppose, and I do not understand it to be alleged, that the act of March, 1865, has proved deficient for the purpose for which it was passed, although at that time, and for a considerable period thereafter, the Government of the United States remained unacknowledged in most of the States whose inhabitants had been involved in the, rebellion. The institution of slavery, for the military destruction of which the Freedmen's Bureau was called into existence as an auxiliary, has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole country by an amendment of the Constitution of the United Stater, and practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of most of those States in which it at any time had an existence. I am not, therefore, able to discern in the condition of the country anything to justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies of the Freedmen's Bureau, which were effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees during the actual continuance of hostilities and of African servitude, will now, in a time of peace, and after the abolition of slavery, prove inadequate to the same proper ends. If I am correct in these views there can be no necessity for the enlargement of the powers of the bureau for which provision is made in the bill. The third section of the bill authorizes a general and unlimited grant of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their wives and children. Succeeding sections make provision for the rent or purchase of landed estates for freedmen, and for the erection for their benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and school-the expenses to be defrayed from the treasury of the whole people. The Congress of the United States has never heretofore thought itself empowered to establish asylums beyond the limits of the District of Columbia, except for the benefit of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It has never founded schools for any class of our own people; not even for the orphans of those who have fallen in the defence of the Union, but has left the care of education to the much more competent and efficient control of the States, of communities, of private associations, and of individuals. It has never deemed itself authorized to expend the public money for the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands, not to say millions, of the white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for their subsistence. A system for the support of indigent persons in the United States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution; nor can any good reason be advanced why, as a permanent establishment, it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than another. Pending the war many refugees and freedmen received support from the Government, but it was never intended that they should thenceforth be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United States. The idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was, that on becoming free they would be a self-sustaining population. Any legislation that shall imply that they are not expected to attain a self-sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their character and their prospects. The appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an immense patronage; and the expense of the numerous officers and their clerks, to be appointed by the President, will be great in the beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. The appropriations asked by the Freedmen's Bureau, as now established for the year 1866, amount to $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the cost to be, incurred under the pending bill will require double that amount-more than the entire sum expended in any one year under the administration of Ihe second Adams. If the presence of agents in every parish and county is to be considered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance, might be provoked; so that, to give effect to their jurisdiction, troops would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them, and thus a- large standing force be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would, therefore, be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in every county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The condition of our fiscal affairs is encouraging; but, in order to sustain the present measure of public confidence, it is necessary that we practice, not merely customary economy, but, as far as possible, severe retrenchment. In addition to the objections already stated, the fifth section of the bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without any legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." It does not appear that a part of the lands to which this section refers may not be owned by minors, or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been faithful to all their obligations as citizens of the United States. If any portion of the land is held by such persons, it is not competent for any authority to deprive them of it. If, on the other hand, it be found that the property is liable to confiscation, even then it cannot be appropriated to public purposes until, by due process of law, it shall have been declared forfeited to the Government. There is still further objection to the bill on grounds seriously affecting the class of persons to whom it is designed to bring relief. It will tend to keep the mind of the freedman in a state of uncertain expectation and restlessness, while to those among whom he lives it will be a source of constant and vague apprehension. Undoubtedly the freedman should be protected, but he should be protected by the civil authorities, especially by the exercise of all the constitutional powers of the courts of the United States and of the States. His condition is not so exposed as may at first be imagined. He is in a portion of the country where his labor canAot well be spared. Competition for his services from planters, from those who are constructing or repairing railroads, and from capitalists in his vicinage, or from other States, will enable him to command almost his own terms. He also possesses a per VETOES AND VOTES. 71 feet right to change his place of abode; and if, therefore, he does not find in one community or State a mode of life suited to his desires, 'or proper remuneration for his labor, he can move to another, where that labor is more esteemed and better rewarded. In truth, however, each State, induced by its own wants and interests, will do what is necessary and proper to retain within its borders all the labor that is needed for the development of its resources. The laws that regulate supply and demand will maintain their force, and the wages of the laborer will be regulated thereby. There is no danger that the exceedingly great demand for labor will not operate in favor of the laborer. Neither is sufficient consideration given to the ability of the freedmen to protect and take care of themselves. It is no more than justice to them to believe that as they have received their freedom with moderation and forbearance, so they will distinguish themselves by their industry and thrift, and soon show the world that in a condition of freedom they are self-sustaining, capable of selecting their own employment and their own places of abode, of insisting for themselves on a proper remuneration, and of establishing and maintaining their own asylums and schools. It is earnestly hoped that, instead of wasting away, they will, by their own efforts, establish for themselves a condition of respectability and prosperity. It is certain that they can attain to that condition only through their own merits and exertions. In this connexion the query presents itself whether the system proposed by the bill will not, when put into complete operation, practically transfer the entire care, support, and'control of four millions of emancipated slaves to agents, overseers, or task-masters, who, appointed at Washington, are to be located in every county and parish throughout the United States containing freedmen and refugees?. Such a system would inevitably tend to a concentration of power in the Executive, which would enable him, if so disposed, to control the action of this numerous class, and use them for the attainment of his own political ends. I cannot but add another very grave objection to this bill. The Constitution imperatively declares, in connection with taxation, that each State SHALL have at least one Representative, and fixes the rule for the number to which, in future times, each State shall be entitled. It also provides that the Senate of the United States SHALL be composed of two Senators from each State; and adds, with peculiar force, "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." The original act was necessarily passed in the absence of the States chiefly to be affected, because their people were then contumaciously engaged in the rebellion. Now the case is changed, and some, at least, of those States are attending Congress by loyal representatives, soliciting the allowance of the constitutional right of representation. At the time, however, of the consideration and the passage of this bill, there was no Senator or Representative in Congress from the eleven States which are to be mainly affected by its provisions. The very fact that reports were and are made against the good disposition of the people of that porlion of the country ii' an additional reason why they need, and should have, Representatives of their own in Congress, to explain their condition, reply to accusations, and assist, by their local knowledge, in the per. fecting of measures immediately affecti7 g themselves. While the liberty of deliberati, a would then be free, and Congress would have full power to decide according to its judgment, there could be no objection urged that the States most interested had not been permitted to be heard. The principle is firmly fixed in the minds of the American people, that there should be no taxation without representation. Great burdens have now to be borne by all the country, and we may best demand that they shall be borne without murmur when they are voted by a majority of the representatives of all the people. I would not interfere with the unquestionable right of Congress to judge, each house for itself, "of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members." But that authority cannot be construed as including the right to shut out, in time of peace, any State from the representation to which it is entitled by the Constitution. At present all the people of eleven States are excluded-those who were most faithful during the war not less than others. The State of Tennessee, for instance, whose authorities engaged in rebellion, was restored to all her constitutional relations to the Union by the patriotism and energy of her injured and betrayed people. Before the war was brought to a termination they had placed themselves in relations with the General Government, had established a State government of their own, and, as they were not included in the emancipation proclamation, they, by their own act, had amended their constitution so as to abolish slavery within the limits of their State. I know no reason why the State of Tennessee, for example, should not fully enjoy " all her constitutional relations to the United States." The President of the United States stands towards the country in a somewhat different attitude from that of any member of Congress. Each member of Congress is chosen from a single district or State; the President is chosen by the people of all the States. As eleven States are not at this time represented in either branch of Congress, it would seem to be his duty, on all proper occasions, to present' their just claims to Congress. There always will be differences of opinion in the community, and individuals may be guilty of transgressions of the law, but these do not constitute valid objections against the right of a State to representation. I would in nowise interfere with the discretion of Congress with regard to the qualifications of members; but I hold it my duty to recommend to you, in the interests of peace and in the interests of Union, the admission of every State to its share in public legislation, when, however insubordinate, insurgent, or rebellious its people may have been, it presents itself not only in an attitude of loyalty and harmony, but in the persons of representatives whose loyalty cannot be questioned under any xisting constitutional or legal test. It is plain that an indefinite or permanent exclusion of any part of the POLITICAL MANUAL. country from representation must be attended by a spirit of disquiet and complaint. It is unwise and dangerous to pursue a course of measures which will unite a very large section of the country against another section of the country, however much the latter may preponderate. The course of emigration, the development of industry and business, and natural causes, will raise up at the South men as devoted to the Union as those of any other part of the land. But if they are all excluded from Congress; if, in a permanent statute, they are declared not to be in full constitutional relations to the country, they may think they have cause to become a unit in feeling and sentiment against the Government. Under the political education of the American people, the idea is inherent and and ineradicable, that the consent of the majority of the whole people is necessary to secure a willing acquiescence in legislation. The bill under consideration refers to certain of the States as though they had not "been fully restored in all their constitutional relations to the United States." If they have not, let us at once act together to secure that desirable end at the earliest possible moment. It is hardly necessary for me to inform Congress that, in my own judgment, most of those States, so far, at least, as depends upon their own action, have already been fully restored, and are to be deemed as entitled to enjoy their constitutional rights as members of the Union.* Reasoning from the Constitution itself, and from the actual situation of the country, I feel not only entitled, but bound to assume that, with the federal courts restored, and those of the several States in the full exercise of their functions, the rights and interests of all classes of the people will, with the aid of the military in cases of resistance to the laws, be essentially protected against unconstitutional infringement or violation. Should this expectation unhappily fail, which I do not anticipate, then the Executive is already fully armed with the powers conferred by the act of March, 1865, establishing the Freedmen's Bureau, and hereafter, as heretofore, he can employ the land and naval forces of the country to suppress insurrection or to overcome obstructions to the laws. In accordance with the Constitution I return the bill to the Senate, in the earnesthope that a measure involving questions and interests so important to the country will not become a law, unless, upon deliberate consideration by the people, it shall receive the sanction of an enlightened public judgment. ANDREW JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, February 19, 1866. Copy of the Bill Vetoed. AN ACT to amend an act entitled " An act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees," and for other purposes. Be it enacted, &c., That the act to establish a I "* In response to this suggestion, this action took place in Congress: "When Representatives shall be Admitted from States declared in Insurrection. IN HOUSE. February 20, 1866-Mr. Stevens, from the jommittee on Reconstruction, reported this concurrent resolution: Resolved by the House of Representatives, [the Senate concurring,) That, in order to close agitation upon a question which seems likely to iisturb the action of the Government, as well as to quiet the uncertainty which is agitating the minds of the people of the eleven States which have been declared to be in insurrection, no Senator or Representative shall be admitted into either branch of Congress from any of said States until Congress shall have declared such State entitled to such representation. Which was agreed to-yeas 109, nays 40, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Iigby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard,jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, John H. Rice, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, John L. Thomas, jr., Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welkr, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-109. NAYs-Messrs. Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Coffroth, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Humphrey, Kerr, Latham,.Marshall, McCullough, Newell, Niblack, Nicholson, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Bitter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Taber, Taylor; Thornton, Trimble, Voorhees, Whaley, Wright-40. February 21-A motion to reconsider the above vote having been entered, Mr. Stevens moved to lay it on the table; which was agreed to-yeas 108, nays 38, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broon1 all, Buckland, Reader W. Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom,Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eck i1 hy, Eggleston, Eliot, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Grswold, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, lidlmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll,.Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Ketcham, Laflin, George V. Lawreile, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McRuer, Mercur, Mooe'head, Morril, Morris, Moulton, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Pike, Planti. Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Alexander H. Rice,.ohn H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Tholms, John L. Thomas, jr., Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, lIurt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom108. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Cqffroth, Dawson, Delano, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Robert S. Hale, Hogan, hEdwin N. lHlubbell, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Latham, Marshall, McCuallough, Newell, Niblacc, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radbford, itter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Trimble, Whaley-38. March 2-The SENATE passed the resolutionyeas 29, nays 18, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, Harris, Henderson, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Morrill, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-29. NAYs-Messrs. Buccalew, Cowan, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Guthrie, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Kansas, McDougall, Morgan, Nesmith, Norton, Riddle, Saulsbury, Stewart, Stockton, Van Winkle-18. VETOES AND VOTES. bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall continue in force until otherwise provided by law, and shall extend to refugees and freedmen in all parts of the United States; and the President may divide the section of country containing such refugees and freedmen into districts, each containing one or more States, not to exceed twelve in number, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an assistant commissioner for each of said districts, who shall give like bond, receiVe the compensation, and perform the duties prescribed by this and the act to which this is an amendment; or said bureau may, in the discretion of the PFesident, be placed under a commissioner and assistant commissioners, to be detailed from the army; in which event each officer so assigned to duty shall serve without increase of pay or allowance-e. SEC. 2. That the commissioner, with the approval of the President, and when the same shall be necessary for the operations of the bureau, may divide each district into a number of sub-districts, not to exceed the number of counties or parishes in such district, and shall assign to each sub-district at least one agent, either a citizen, officer of the army, or enlisted man, who, if an officer, shall serve without additional compensation or allowance, and if a citizen or enlisted man, shall receive a salary of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than twelve hundred dollars annually, according to the services rendered, in full compensation for such services; and such agent shall, before entering on the duties of his office, take the oath prescribed in the first section of the act to which this is an amendment. And the commissioner may, when the same shall be necessary, assign to each assistant commissioner not exceeding three clerks, and to each of said agents one clerk, at an annual salary not exceeding one thousand dollars each, provided suitable clerks cannot be detailed from the army. And the President of the United States, through the War Department and the commissioner, shall extend military jurisdiction and protection over all employes, agents, and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed or authorized by this act or the act to which this is additional. SEC. 3. That the Secretary of War may direct such issues of provisions, clothing, fuel, and other supplies, including medical stores and transportation, and afford such aid, medical or otherwise, as he may deem needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their wives and children, under such rules and regulations as he may direct: Provided, That no person shall be deemed "destitute," "suffering," or " dependent upon the Government for support," within the meaning of this act, who, being able to find employment, could by proper industry and exertion avoid such destitution, suffering, or dependence. SEC. 4. That the President is hereby authorized to resurve from sale, or from settlement, under the homestead or pre-emption laws, and to set apart for the use of freedmen and loyal refugees, male or female, unoccupied public lands in Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,,and Arkansas, not exceeding in all three millions of acres of good land; and the commissioner, under the direction of the President, shall cause the same from time to time to be allotted and assigned, in parcels not exceeding forty acres each, to the loyal refugees and freedmen, who shall be protected in the use and enjoyment thereof for such term of time and at such annual rent as may be agreed on between the commissioner and such refugees or freedmen. The rental shall be based upon a valuation of the land, to be ascertained in such manner as the commissioner may, under the direction of the President, by regulation prescribe. At the end of such term, or sooner, if the commissioner shall assent thereto, the occupants of any parcels so assigned, their heirs and assigns, may purchase the land and receive a title thereto from the United States in fee, upon paying therefor the value of the land ascertained as aforesaid. SEc. 5. That the occupants of land under Major General Sherman's special field order, dated at Savannah, January sixteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, are hereby confirmed in their possession for the period of three years from the date of said order, and no person shall be disturbed in or ousted from said possession during said three years, unless a settlement shall be made with said occupant, by the former owner, his heirs or assigns, satisfactory to the commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau: Provided, That whenever the former owners of landg occupied under General Sherman's field order shall make application for restoration of said lands, the commissioner is hereby authorized, upon the agreement and with the written consent of said occupants, to procure other lands for them by rent or purchase, not exceeding forty acres for each occupant, upon the terms and conditions named in section four of this act, or to set apart for them, out of the public lands assigned for that purpose in section four of this act, forty acres each, upon the same terms and. conditions. SEc. 6. That the commissioner shall, under the direction of the President, procure in the name of the United States, by grant or purchase, such lands within the districts aforesaid as may be required for refugees and freedmen dependent on the Government for support; and he shall provide or cause to be erected suitable buildings for asylums and schools. But no such purchase shall be made, nor contract for the same entered into, nor other expense incurred, until after appropriations shall have been provided' by Congress for such purposes. And no payment shall be made for lands purchased under this section, except for asylums and schools, from any moneys not specifically appropriated therefor. And the commissioner shall cause such lands from time to time to be valued, allotted, assigned, and sold in manner and form provided in the fourth section of this act, at a price not less than the cost thereof to the United States. SEc. 7. That whenever in any State or district in which the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and wherein, in consequence of any State or local law, ordinance, police or other regulation, 74 POLITICAL MANUAL. custom, or prejudice, any of the civil rights or immunities belonging to white persons, including the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property, and to have full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person -Ond estate, including the constitutional right of bearing arms, are refused or denied to negroes, mulattoes, freedm'en, refugees, or any other persons, on account of race, color, or any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, or wherein they or any of them are subjected to any other or different punishment, pains, or penalties, for the commission of any act or offence than are prescribed for white persons committing like acts or offences, it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, through the commissioner, to extend military protection and jurisdiction over all cases affecting such persons so discriminated against. SEC. 8. That any person who, under color of any State or local law, ordinance, police, or other regulation or custom, shall, in any State or district in which the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, subject, or cause to be subjected, any negro, mulatto, freedman, refugee, or other person, on account of race or color, or any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, or for any other cause, to the deprivation of any civil right secured to white persons, or to any other or different punishment than white persons are subject to for the commission of like acts or offences, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both; and it shall be the duty of the officers and agents of this bureau to take jurisdiction of, and hear and determine all offences committed against the provisions of this section, and also of all cases affecting negroes, mulattoes, freedmen, refugees, or other persons who are discriminated against in any of the particulars mentioned in the preceding section of this act, under such rules and regulations as the President of the United States, through the War Department, shall prescribe. The jurisdiction conferred by this and the preceding section on the officers and agents of this bureau shall cease and determine whenever the discrimination on account of which it is conferred ceases, and in no event to be exercised in any State in which the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has not been interrupted by the rebellion, nor in any such State after said State shall have been fully restored in all its constitutional relations to the United States, and the courts of the State and of the United States within the same are not disturbed or stopped in the peaceable course of justice. SEc. 9. That all acts, or parts of acts, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. The votes on passing this bill were: IN SENATE. 1866, January 25-The bill passed-yeas 37, nays 10, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Harris, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Morrill, Norton, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Spragnue, Stewart. Sumner, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Williams, Wilson, Yates-37. NAYS-Messrs. Buckalew, Davis, Guthrie, Hendrickvc, Johnson, McDougall, Riddle, Saulsbury, Stockton, Wright10. IN HousE. February 6-The bill passed-yeas 137, nays 33, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Doming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Iale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, HIayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asalel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John IH. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, James Humphrey, Inge! soll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Spald ing, Starr, Stevens, Stilwell, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-137. NAYs-Messrs. Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Eldridge. Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Aaron Harding, Harris, 1sogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Le Blond Marshall, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, NoAll, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross. Rousseau, Shanklin, "Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Wright-33S. February 21-In Senate, the vote on passing the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the President, was-yeas 30, nays 18, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, Harris, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Morrill, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Williams, Wilson, Yates--O. NAYs-Messrs. Buclalew, Cowan, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Guthrie, Hendricks, Johnson, McDougall, Morgan, Nesmith, Norton, Riddle, Saulsbury, Stewart, Stockton, Van Winkle, Willey-18. Two-thirds not having voted therefor, the bill failed. Veto of the Civil Rights Bill, March 27,1866, To the Senate of the United States: I regret that the bill which has passed both Houses of Congress, entitled " An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication," contains provisions which I cannot approve, consistently with my sense of duty to the whole people, and my obligations to the Constitution of the United States. I am therefore constrained to return it to the Senate, the house in which it originated, with my objections to its becoming a law. By the first section of the bill all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are declared to be citizens of the United States. This provision comprehends the Chinese of the Pacific States, Indians subject to taxation, the people called Gipsies, as well as the entire race designated as blacks, people of color, negroes, mu lattoes, and persons of African blood. Every individual of these races, born in the United VETOES AND VOTES. 75 States, is by the bill made a citizen of the United States. It does not purport to declare or confer any other right of citizenship than federal citizenship. It does not purport to give these classes of persons any status as citizens of States, except that which may result from their status as citizens of the United States. The power to confer the right of State citizenship is just as exclusively with the several States as the power to confer the right of federal citizenship is with Congress. The right of federal citizenship thus to be conferred on the several excepted races before mentioned, is now, for the first time, proposed to be given by law. If, as is claimed by many, all persons who are native-born already are, by virtue of the Constitution, citizens of the United States, the passage of the pending bill cannot be necessary to make them such. If, on the other hand, such persons are not citizens, as may be assumed from the proposed legislation to make them such, the grave question presents itself, whether, when eleven of the thirty-six States are unrepresented in Congress at the present time, it is sound policy to make our entire colored population and all other excepted classes citizens of the United States? Four millions of them have just emerged from slavery into freedom. Can it be reasonably supposed that they possess the requisite qualifications to entitle them to all the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States? Have the people of the several States expressed such a conviction? It may also be asked whether it is necessary that they should be declared citizens, in order that they may be secured in the enjoyment of the civil rights proposed to be conferred by the bill? Those rights are, by federal as well as State laws, secured to all domiciled aliens and foreigners, even before the completion of the process of naturalization; and it may safely be assumed that the same enactments are sufficient to give like protection and benefits to those for whom this bill provides special legislation. Besides, the policy of the Government, from its origin to the present time, seems to have been that persons who are strangers to and unfamiliar with our institutions and our laws should pass through a certain probation, at the end of which, before attaining the coveted prize, they must give evidence of their fitness to receive and to exercise the rights of citizens, as contemplated by the Constitution of the United States. The bill, in effect, proposes a discrimination against large numbers of intelligent, worthy, and patriotic foreigners, and in favor of the negro, to whom, after long years of bondage, the avenues to freedom and intelligence have just now been suddenly opened. He must, of necessity, from his previous unfortunate condition of servitude, be less informed as to the nature and character of our institutions than he who, coming from abroad, has to some extent, at least, familiarized himself with the principles of a government to which he voluntarily intrusts "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Yet it is now proposed, by a single legislative enactment, to confer the rights of citizens upon all persons of African descent born within the extended limits of the United States, while persons of foreign birth, who make our land their home, must undergo a probation of five years, and can only then become citizens upon proof that they are "of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same." The first section of the bill also contains an enumeration of the rights to be enioyed by these classes, so made citizens, "in every State and Territory in the United States." These rights are, " to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property;" and to have "full and equal benefit of alllaws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens." So, too, they are made subject to the same punishments, pains, and penalties in common with white citizens, and to none other. Thus a perfect equality of the white and colored races is attempted to be fixed by federal law in every State of the Union, over the vast field of State jurisdiction covered by these enumerated rights. In no one of these can any State ever exercise any power of discrimination between the different races. In the exercise of State policy over matters exclusively affecting the people of each State, it has frequently been thought expedient to discriminate between the two races. By the statutes of some of the States, northern well as southren, it is enacted, for instance, that no white person shall intermarry with a negro or mulatto. Chancellor Kent says, speaking of the blacks, that " marriages between them and the whites are forbidden in some of the States where slavery does not exist, and they are prohibited in all the slaveholding States; and when not absolutely contrary to law, they are revolting, and regarded as an offence against public decorum." I do not say that this bill repeals State laws on the subject of marriage between the two races; for, as the whites are forbidden to intermarry with the blacks, the blacks can only make such contracts as the whites themselves are allowed to make, and therefore connot, under this bill, enter into the marriage contract with the whites. I cite this discrimination, however, as an instance of the State policy as to discrimination, and to inquire whether, if Congress can abrogate all State laws of discrimination between the two races in the matter of real estate, of suits, and of contracts generally, Congress may not also repeal the State laws as to the contract of marriage between the two races? Hitherto every subject embraced in the enumeration of rights contained in this bill has been considered as exclusively'belonging to the States. They all relate to the internal police and economy of the respective States. They are matters which in each State concern the domestic condition of its people, varying in each according to its own peculiar circumstances and the safety and well-being of its own citizens. I do not mean to say that upon all these subjects there are not federal restraints-as, for instance, in the State power of legislation over contracts, there is a federal limitation that no State shall pass a law impairing the obligations of contracts; and, as to crimes, that no State shall pass an ex post facto law; and, as to money, that no State shall make anything but gold and silver a legal 76 POLITICAL MANUAL. tender. But where can we find a federal prohibition against the power of any State to discriminate, as do most of them, between aliens and citizens, between artificial persons called corporations and natural persons, in the right to hold real estate? If it be granted that Congress can repeal all State laws discriminating between whites and blacks in the subjects covered by this bill, why, it may be asked, may not Congress repeal, in the same way, all State laws discriminating between the two races on the subjects of suffrage and office? If Congress can declare by law who shall hold lands, who shall testify, who shall have capacity to make a contract in a State, then Congress can by law also declae who, without regard to color or race, shall have the right to sit as a juror or as a judge, to hold any office, and, finally, to vote, " in every State and Territory of the United States." As respects the Territories, they come within the power of Congress, for as to them the law-making power is the federal power; but as to the States no similar provision exists vesting in Congress the power "to make rules and regulations " for them. The object of the second section of the bill is to afford discriminating protection to colored persons in the full enjoyment of all the rights secured to them by the preceding section. It declares " that any person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any right secured or protected by this.act, or to different punishment, pains, or penalties, on account of such person having at any time been held in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in tho discretion of the court." This section seems to be designed to apply to some existing or future law of a State or Territory which may conflict with the provisions of the bill now under consideration. It provides for counteracting such forbidden legislation by imposing fine and imprisonment upon the legislators who may pass such conflicting laws, or upon the officers or agents who shall put or attempt to put them into execution. It means an official offence-not a common crime committed against law upon the persons or property of the black race. Such an act may deprive the black man of his property, but not of the right to hold property. It means a deprivation of the right itself, either by the State judiciary or the State legislature. It is therefore assumed that under this section members of State legislatures who should vote for laws conflicting with the provisions of the bill, that judges of the State courts who should render judgments in antagonism with its terms, and that marshals and sheriffs who should, as ministerial officers, execute processes sanctioned by State laws and issued by State judges in execution of their judgments, could be brought before other tribunals, and there subjeo ted to fine and imprisonment for tnft performance of the duties which such State laws might impose. The legislation thus proposed invades the judicial power of the State. It says to every State court or judge, if you decide that this act is unconstitutional; if you refuse, under the prohibition of a State law, to allow a negro to testify; if you hold that over such a subject-matter the State law is paramount, and "under color" of a State law refuse the exercise of the right to the negro, your error of judgment, however conscientious, shall subject you to fine and imprisonment! I do not apprehend that the conflicting legislation which the bill seems to contemplate is so likely to occur as to render it necessary at this time to adopt a measure of such doubtful constitutionality. In the next place, this provision of the bill seems to be unnecessary, as adequate judicial remedies could be adopted to secure the desired end, without invading the immunities of legislators, always important to be preserved in the interest of public liberty; without assailing the independence of the judiciary, always essential to the preservation of individual rights; and without impairing the efficiency of ministerial officers, always necessary for the maintenance of public peace and order. The remedy proposed by this section seems to be, in this respect, not only anomalous, but unconstitutional; for the Constitution guarantees nothing with certainty if it does not insure to the several States tho right of making and executing laws in regard to all matters arising within their jurisdiction, subject only to the restriction that, in cases of conflict with the Constitution and constitutional laws of the United States, the latter should be held to be the supreme law of the land. The third section gives the district courts of the United States exclusive " cognizance of all crimes and offences committed against the provisions of this act," and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts of the United States of all civil and criminal cases "affecting persons who are denied, or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State or locality where they may be, any of the rights secured to them by the first section." The construction which I have given to the second section is strengthened by this third section, for it makes clear what kind of denial or deprivation of the rights secured by the first section was in contemplation. It is a denial or deprivation of such rights " in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State." It stands, therefore, clear of doubt that the offence and the penalties provided in the second section are intended for the State judge, who, in the clear exercise of his functions as a judge, not acting ministerially but judicially, shall decide contrary to this federal law. In. other words, when a State judge, acting upon a question involving a conflict between a State law and a federal law, and bound, according to his own judgment and responsibility, to give an impartial decision between the two, comes to the conclusion that the State law is valid and the federal law is invalid, he must not follow the dictates of his own judgment, at the peril of fine and imprisonment. The legislative department of the Government of the United States thus "VETOES ANTD VOTES. 77 takes from the judicial department of the States the sacred and exclusive duty of judicial decision, and converts the State judge into a mere ministerial officer, bound to decide according to the will of Congress. It is clear that, in States which deny to persons whose rights are secured by the first section of the bill any one of those rights, all criminal and civil cases affecting them will, by the provisions of the third section, come under the exclusive cognizance of the federal tribunals. It follows that if, in any State which denies to a colored person any one of all those rights, that person should commit a crime against the laws of a State-murder, arson, rape, or any other crime-all protection and punishment through the courts of the State are taken away, and he can only be tried and punished in the federal courts. How is the criminal to be tried? If the offence is provided for and punished by federal law, that law, and not the State law, is to govern. It is only when the offence does not happen to be within the purview of federal law that the federal courts are to try and punish him under any other law. Then resort is to be had to the "common law, as modified and changed" by State legislation, "so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States." So that over this vast domain of criminal jurisprudence provided by each State for the protection of its own citizens, and for the punishment of all persons who violate its criminal laws, federal law, whenever it can be made to apply, displaces State law. The question here naturally arises, from what source Congress derives the power to transfer to federal tribunals certain classes of cases embraced in this section? The Constitution expressly declares that the judicial power of the United States "shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the same State claiming land under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects," Here the judicial power of the United States is expressly set forth and defined; and the act of September 24, 1789, establishing the judicial courts of the United States, in conferring upon the federal courts jurisdiction over cases originating in State tribunals, is careful to confine them to the classes enumerated in the aboverecited clause of the Constitution. This section of the bill undoubtedly comprehends cases and authorizes the exercise of powers that are not, by the Constitution, within the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States. To transfer them to those courts would be an exercise of authority well calculated to excite distrust and alarm on the part of all the States; for the bill applies alike to all of them-as well to those that have as to those that have not been engaged in rebellion. It may be assumed that this authority iv incident to the power granted to Congress by Hho Constitution, as recently amended, to enforco, by appropriate legislation, the article declaring that" neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." It cannot, however, be justly claimed that, with a view to the enforcement of this article of the Constitution, there is at present any necessity for the exercise of all the powers which this bill confers. Slavery has been abolished, and at present nowhere exists within the jurisdiction of the United States; nor has there been, nor is it likely there will be, any attempt to revive it by the people or the States. If, however, any such attempt shall be made, it will then become the duty of the General Government to exercise any and all -incidental powers necessary and proper to maintain inviolate this great constitutional law of freedom. The fourth section of the bill provides that officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau shall be empowered to make arrests, and also that other officers may be specially commissioned for that purpose by the President of the United States. It also authorizes circuit courts of the United States and the superior courts of the Territories to appoint, without limitation, commissioners, who are to be charged with the performance of quasi judicial duties. The fifth section empowers the commissioners so to b( selected by the courts to appoint in writing, under their hands, one or more suitable persons from time to time to execute warrahts and other processes described by the bill. These numerous official agents are made to constitute a sort of police, in addition to the military, and are authorized to summon a posse comitatus, and even to call to their aid such portion of the land and naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, " as may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged." This extraordinary power is to be conferred upon agents irresponsible to the Government and to the people, to whose number the discretion of the commissioners is the only limit, and in whose hands such authority might be made a terrible engine of wrong, oppression, and fraud. The general statutes regulating the land and naval forces of the United States, the militia, and the execution of the laws, are believed to be adequate for every emergency which can occur in time of peace. If it should prove otherwise Congress can at any time amend those laws in such a manner as, while subserving the public welfare, not to jeopard the rights, interests, and liberties of the people. The seventh section provides that a fee of ten dollars shall be paid to each commissioner in every case brought before him, and a fee of five dollars to his deputy, or deputies, " for each person he or they may arrest and take before any such commissioner," "with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such commission," "in general for performing such other duties as may be required in the premises." All these fees are to be "paid out of the Treasury of the United States," whether there is a conviction or not; but in case of conviction they are to be POLITICAL MANUAL, recoverable from the defendant. It seems to me that under the influence of such temptations bad men might convert any law, however beneficent, into an instrument of persecution and fraud. By the eighth section of the bill the United States courts, which sit only in one place for white citizens, must migrate, with the marshal and district attorney, (and necessarily with the clerk, although he is not mentioned,) to any part of the district upon the order of the President, and there hold a court " for the purpose of the more speedy arrest and trial of persons charged with a violation of this act;" and there the judge and officers of the court must remain, upon the order of the President, " for the time therein designated." The ninth section authorizes the President, or such person as he may empower for that purpose, " to employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United States or of the militia as shall be necessary to prevent the violation and enforce to due execution of this act." This language seems to imply a permanent military force, that is to be always at hand, and whose only business is to be the enforcement of this measure over the vast region where it is intended to operate. I do not propose to consider the policy of this bill. To me the details of the bill seem fraught with evil. The white race and the black race of the South have hitherto lived together under the relation of master and slave-capital owning labor. Now, suddenly, that relation is changed, and, as to ownership, capital and labor are divorced. They stand now each master of itself. In this new relation, one being necessary to the other, there will be a new adjustment, which both are deeply interested in making harmonious. Each has equal power in settling the terms, and, if left to the laws that regulate capital and labor, it is confidently believed that they will satisfactorily work out the problem. Capital, it is true, has more intelligence, but labor is never so ignorant as not to understand its own interests, not to know its own value, and not to see that capital must pay that value. This bill frustrates this adjustment. It intervenes between capital and labor, and attempts to settle questions of political economy through the agency of numerous officials, whose interest it will be to foment discord between the two races; for as the breach widens their employment will continue, and when it is closed their occupation will terminate. In all our history, in all our experience as a people, living under federal and State law, no such system as that contemplated by the details of this bill has ever before been proposed or adopted. They establish for the security of the colored race safeguards which go infinitely beyond any that the General Government has ever provided for the white race. In fact, the distinction of race and color is, by the bill, made to operate in favor of the colored and against the white race. They interfere with the municipal legislation of the States, with the relations existing exclusively between a State and its citizens, or between inhabitants of the same State-an absorption and assumption of power by the General Government which, if acquiesced in, must sap and destroy our federative system of limited powers, and break down the barriers which preserve the rights of the States. It is another step, or rather stride, towards centralization, and the concentration of all legislative powers in the national Government. The tendency of the bill must be to resuscitate the spirit of rebellion, and to arrest the progress of those influences which are more closely drawing around the States the bonds of union and peace. My lamented predecessor, in his proclamation of the 1st of January, 1863, ordered and declared that all persons held as slaves within certain States and parts of States therein designated were, and thenceforward should be free, and, further, that the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, would recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons. This gnarantee has been rendered especially obligatory and sacred by the amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States. I, therefore, fully recognize the obligation to protect and defend that class of our people, whenever and wherever it shall become necessary, and to the full extent compatible with the Constitution of the United States. Entertaining these sentiments, it only re-, mains for me to say, that I will cheerfully co-operate with Congress in any measure that may be necessary for the protection of the civil rights of the freedmen, as well as those of all other classes of persons throughout the United States, by judicial process, under equal and impartial laws, in cr'uformity with the provisions of the Federal Constitution. I now return the bill to the Senate, and regret that, in considering the bills and joint resolutions-forty-two in number-which have been thus far submitted for my approval, I am compelled to withhold my assent from a second measure that has received the sanction of both Houses of Congress. ANDREW JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., March 27, 1866. Copy of the Bill Vetoed. Ax ACT to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication. Be it enacted, &c., That all persons born in the United Stales and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians, not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall'have been duly convicted, shall have the same right in every State and Territory in the United States to make and enforce contracts; to sue, be parties, and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property; and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjcyed by white citizens, and shall VETOES AND VOTES, 79 be subject to like punishment, pains, and penal- territorial courts of the United States, with powties, and to none other, any law, statute ordi- ers of arresting, imprisoning, or bailing offenders nance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary against the laws of the United States, the officers notwithstanding. and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and every SEC. 2. That any person who, under color of other officer who may be specially empowered any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or by the President of the United States, shall be, custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, and they are hereby, specially authorized and any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the required, at the expense of the United States, to deprivation of any right secured or protected institute proceedings against all and every perby this act, or to different punishment, pains, or son who shall violate the provisions of this act, penalties on account of such person having at and cause him or them to be arrested and imany time been held in a condition of slavery or prisoned, or bailed, as the case may be, for trial involuntary servitude, except as a punishment before such court of the United States or terrifor crime whereof the party shall have been torial court as by this act has cognizance of the duly convicted, or by reason of his color or offence. And with a view to affording reasonrace, than is prescribed for the punishment of able protection to all persons in their constituwhite persons, shall be deemed guilty of a mis- tional rights of equality before the law, without demeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished distinction of race or color, or previous condiby fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or tion of slavery or involuntary servitude, except imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, as a punishment for crime, whereof the party in the discretion of the court. shall have been duly convicted, and to the prompt SEc. 3. That the district courts of the United discharge of the duties of this act, it shall be the States, within their respective districts, shall duty of the circuit courts of the United States have, exclusively of the courts of the several and the superior courts of the Territories of the States, cognizance of all crimes and offences United States, from time to time, to increase the committed against the provisions of this act, number of commissioners, so as to afford a speedy and also, concurrently with the circuit courts of and convenient means for the arrest and examithe United States, of all causes, civil and crimi- nation of persons charged with a violation of nal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot this act. And such commissioners are hereby enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the authorized and required to exercise and discharge State or locality where they may be any of the all the powers and duties conferred on them by rights secured to them by the first section of this this act, and the same duties with regard to ofact; and if any suit or prosecution, civil or crirn- fences created by this act, as they are authorized inal, has been or shall be commenced in any by law to exercise with regard to other offences State court against any such person, for any against the laws of the United States. cause whatsoever, or against any officer, civil or SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of all marmilitary, or other person, for any arrest or im- shals and deputy marshals to obey and execute prisonment, trespasses, or wrongs done or com- all warrants and precepts issued under the promitted by virtue or under color of authority visions of this act, when to them directed; and derived from this act or the act establishing a should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, receive such warrantor other process when tenand all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing dered, or to use all proper means diligently to to do any act upon the ground that it would be execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to have the right to remove such cause for trial to the use of the person upon whom the accused is the proper district or circuit court in the manner alleged to have committed the offence. And the prescribed by the "Act relating to habeas corpus better to enable the said commissioners to exeand regulating judicial proceedings in certain cute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred conformity with the Constitution of the United and sixty-three, and all acts amendatory thereof. States and the requirements of this act, they are The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters hereby authorized and empowered, within their hereby conferred on the district and circuit courts counties respectively, to appoint, in writing, of the United States shall be exercised and en- under their hands, any one or more suitable perforced in conformity with the laws of the United sons, from time to time, to execute all such war. States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry rants and other process that may be issued by the same into effect; but in all cases where such them in the lawful performance of their respect. laws are not adapted to the object, or are defi- ive duties; and the persons so appointed to execient in the provisions necessary to furnish suit- cute any warrant or process as aforesaid shall able remedies and punish offences against law, have authority to summon and call to their aid the common law, as modified and changed by the bystanders or the posse comitatus of the the constitution and statutes of the State wherein proper county, or such portion of the land and the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil naval forces of the United States, or of the milior criminal, is held, so far as the same is not tia, as may be necessary to the performance of inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the duty with which they are charged, and to United States, shall be extended to and govern insure a faithful observance of the clause of the said courts in the trial and disposition of such Constitution which prohibits slavery, in concause, and, if of a criminal nature, in the inflic- formity with the provisions of this act; and said tion of punishment on the party found guilty. warrants shall run and be executed by said SEC. 4. That the district attorneys, marshals, officers anywhere in the State or Terrritory and deputy marshals of the United States, the within which they are issued. commissioners appointed by the circuit court and SEC. 6. That any person who shall knowingly 80 POLITICAL MANUAL. and wilfully obstruct, hinder or prevent any speedy arrest and trial of persons charged with officer, or other person charged with the execu- a violation of this act; and it shall be the duty tion of any warrant or process issued under the of every judge or other officer, when any such provisions of this act, or any person or persons requisition shall be received by him, to attend lawfully assisting him or them, from arresting at the place and for the time therein designated. any person for whose apprehension such warrant SEc. 9. That it shall be lawful for the Presior process may have been issued, or shall rescue dent of the United States, or such person as he or attempt to rescue such person from the custody may empower for that purpose, to employ such of the officer, other person or persons, or those part of the land or naval forces of the United lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary to pursuant to the authority herein given and de- prevent the violation and enforce the due execlared, or shall aid,.abet, or assist any person so cution of this act. arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to SEC. 10. That upon all questions of law arising escape from the custody of the officer or other in any cause under the provisions of this act, a person legally authorized as aforesaid, or shall final appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court harbor or conceal any person for whose arrest of the United States. a warrant or process shall have been issued as The votes on this bill were: aforesaid, so as to prevent his discovery and 1866, February 2-The SENATE passed the bill arrest after notice or knowledge of the fact that -yeas 33, nays 12, as follow: a warrant has been issued for the apprehension YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, of such person, shall, for either of said offences Cragin, Dixon, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Harris, Henderson, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand HIoward, Howe, Iirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Morgan, Morrill, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Wilmonths, by indictment and conviction before liams, Wilson, Yates-33. the district court of the United States for the NAYs-Messrs. Buckalew, Cowan, Davis, Guthrie, Hendte distic court of te United taes or the ricls, McDougall, Nesmith, Norton, Ridd', Saulsbury, Stockdistrict in which said offence may have been ton, Van Winkle-12. committed, or before the proper court of criminal March 9-The bill being before the HOUSE, jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the Mr. ELDRIDGE moved that it lie on the table; organized Territories of the United States. which was disagreed to--yeas 32, nays 118, as SEC 7. That the district attorneys. the mar- follow: shals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said YEASMessrs. Ancona, Ber, B ks, Canler, Cfrt, district and territorial courts shall be paid for Dawso, Denison, Eldridge, Glossbrnner, Goodyear, Grider, their services the like fees as may be allowed to Aaron Harding, Hdarris, Hogan, EdwihsN. Hubbell, Kerr, them for similar services in other cases; and in Le Blond, Marshall, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Ritter, all cases where the proceedings are before a gernts, s,T beau, anlin,igreaves,aber, Taylor, commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten NAYs-Messrs.Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, D. R. Ashdollars in full for his services in each case, inclu- ley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, BoasiTve of all services incident to such arrest and man, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, examination. The person or persons authorized Cook,Cullom,Darling, Davis,Defrees,Delano,Deming, Dixon, to execute the process to be issued by such com- Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Fermissioners for the arrest of offenders against the ry, Grinnell, Abner ().,arding, Hart, I ayes,1lenderson, Higby, Hill, Ioluies, IHoopt r, Asahlel W. Hubbard, Chester D. provisions of this act shall be entitled to a fee Hubbard, DmasIIubbard, jr., John II. Hubbard, IIulburd, of five dollars for each person he or they may James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William arrest and take before any such commissioner as Lawrence, Lon yeLynch, Marston, Mrvin, rg, aforesaid, with such other fees as may be deemed McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, reasonable by such commissioner for such other Moulton, Myers, O'Neill,Orth, Paine, Perham, Phelps, Pike, additional services as may be necessarily per- Plants, Price Raymond, Alexander iI. Rice,johns I.Iice, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Sliellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, formed by him or them, such as attending at the Starr, Stevens, Thayer,Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas. jr., examination, keeping the prisoner in custody, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burl Van Horn, Roberi T. and providing him with food and lodging dur- Van Horn, Ward, Warner. Ellihu B. Washburne, ilenry D. and providing hm wth d nd lodging dur- Washburn, Wliam B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, ing his detention, and until the final determina- Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Wintion of such commissioner, and in general for dom, Woodbridge.-118. performing such other duties as may be required March 13-The bill passed-yeas 111, nays 38, in the premises; such fees to be made up in con- as follow: formity with the fees usually charged by the YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. officers of the courts of justice within the proper Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, district or county, as near as may be practica- Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, ble and pid out of the treasury of the U d Bundy, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darble and paid out of the treasuryof the United lingDavis,Dawes,Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, States on the certificate of the judge of theidis- Dumont, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grintrict within which the arrest is made, and to be nell, Abner C. Iarding, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Hill, Holmes, recoveraben r hhthe def n r a pti of th l Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Itubbard, Demas recoverable from the defendant as part of the ubbard, John. Ihtbbard, Itulburd, James lumiphrey, judgment in case of conviction. ' Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuy. SEC. 8. That whenever the President of the kendall, Lallin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, United States shall have reason to elieve th Loan, Longyear, Lynch, arston, Marvin, McClurg, Me United States shall have reason to believe that Ruer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhiead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, offences have been, or are likely to be commit- Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine., Perham, Pike, Plants, ted against the provisions of this act within any Price, Alexander It. Rice, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Sheljudicial district, it shall be lawful for him, in his abarer, Sloan, Spaldin, tarr, Steves, T, is Thomas, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van A rnain, discretion, to direct the judge, marshal, and dis- Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Wiltrict attorney of such district to attend at such liamB. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, place within the district, and for such time as James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodhe may designate, for the purpose of the more NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Bingham,Boyer, Brooks, VETOES AND VOTES. 81 Cofroth, Dawson, Denison, Glosbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, A aron Harding, Harris, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, Jones, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, Nicholson, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Winfield--38. March 15-The Senate concurred in the House amendments. March 27-The bill was vetoed. April 6-The SENATE passed the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the President, by a vote of 33 yeas to 15 nays, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Edmunds, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, Harris, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Morgan, Morrill, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, WiV/ey, Williams, Wilson, Yates--33. NAYs-Messrs. Buckalew, Cowan, Davis, Doolittle, Guthrie, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Kansas, McDougall, Nesmith, Norton, Riddle, Saulsbury, Van Winkle, Wright-15. April 9-The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES again passed it-yeas 122, nays 41, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Colfax, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss. Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Iulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants,Pomeroy, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, j r., Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge.-122. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Coffroth, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Aaron Harding, Harris, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, Niblacc, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Whaley, Winfield, Wright.-41. Whereupon the Speaker of the House declared the bill a law. Veto of the Colorado Bill, May 15, 1866, To the Senate of the United States: I return to the Senate, in which house it originated, the bill which has passed both Houses of Congress, entitled " An act for the admission of the State of Colorado into the Union," with my objections to its becoming a law at this time. First. From the best information which I have been able to obtain, I do not consider the establishment of a State government at present necessary for the welfare of the people of Colorado. Under the existing Territorial government all the rights, privileges, and interests of the citizens are protected and secured. The qualified voters choose their own legislators and their own local officers, and are represented in Congress by a delegate of their own selection. They make and execute their own municipal laws, subject only to revision by Congress-an authority not likely to be exercised, unless in extreme or extraordinary cases. The population is small, some estimating it so low as twentyfive thousand, while advocates of the bill reckon the number at from thirty-five thousand to forty thousand souls. The people are principally recent settlers, many of whom are understood to be ready for removal to other mining districts beyond the limits of the Territory, if circumstances shall render them more inviting. Such a population cannot but find relief from excessive taxation if the territorial system. which devolves the expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments upon the United States, is for the present continued. They cannot but find the security of person ano property increased by their reliance upon the national executive power for the maintenance of law and order against the disturbances necessarily incident to all newly organized communities. Second. It is not satisfactorily established that a majority of the citizens of Colorado desire, or are prepared for an exchange- of a territorial for a State government. In September, 1864, under the authority of Congress, an election was lawfully appointed and held, for the purpose of ascertaining the views of the "people upon this particular question. 6,192 votes were cast, and of this number a majority of 3,152 was given against the proposed change. In September, 1865, without any legal authority, the question was again presented to the people of the Territory, with a view of obtaining a reconsideration of the result of the election held in compliance with the act of Congress approved March 21, 1864. At this second election 5,905 votes were polled, and a majority of 155 was given in favor of a State organization. It does not seem to me entirely safe to receive this, the last mentioned result, so irregularly obtained, as sufficient to outweigh the one which had been legally obtained in the first election. Regularity and conformity to law are essential to the preservation of order and stable government, and should, as far as practicable, always be observed in the formation of new States. Third. The admission of Colorado, at thistime, as a State into the federal Union, appears. to me to be incompatible with the public interests of the country. While it is desirable that territories, when sufficiently matured, should beorganized as States, yet the spirit of the Constitution seems to require that there should be an. approximation towards equality among the several States comprising the Union. No State can,. have less or more than two Senators in Congress. The largest State has a population of four milr lions; several of the States have a population; exceeding two millions; and many others have a population exceeding one million,.Apopulation of 127,000 is the ratio of apportionment, of representatives among the severalbStates. If this bill should become a luw\, the people of Colorado, thirty thousand in number, would have in the House of Representativesone memre ber, while New York, with a population of four millions, has but thirty-one; Colorado would have in the electoral college three votes, while New York has only thirty-three.;. Colorado would have in the Senate two votes,5while NOw York has no more. Inequalities of this character have. already occurred, but it is believed that none have hap 82 POLITICAL MANUAL. pened where the inequality was so great. When such inequality has been allowed, Congress is supposed to have permitted it on the ground of scme high public necessity, and under circumstances which promised that it would rapidly disappear through the growth and development of the newly admitted State. Thus, in regard to the several States in what was formerly called the "northwest territory," lying east of the Mississippi, their rapid advancement in population rendered it certain that States admitted with only one or two representatives in Congress, would, in a very short period, be entitled to a great increase of representation. So, when California was admitted on the ground of commercial and political exigencies, it was well foreseen that that State was destinad rapidly to become a great, prosperous, and important mining and commercial community. In the case of Colorado, I am not aware that any national exigency, either of a political or commercial nature, requires a departure from the law of equality, which has been so generally adhered to in our history. If information submitted in connection with this bill is reliable, Colorado, instead of increasing, has declined in population. At an election for membera of a territorial legislature held in 1861, 10,530 votes were cast. At the election before mentioned, in 1864, the number of votes cast was 6,192; while at the irregular election held in 1865, which is assumed as a basis for legislative action at this time, the aggregate of votes was 5,905. Sincerely anxious for the welfare and prosperity of every Territory and State, as well as for the prosperity and welfare of the whole Union, I regret this apparent decline of population in Colorado; but it is manifest that it is due to emigration which is going on from that Territory into other regions within the United States, which either are in fact, or are believed by the inhabitants of Colorado to be, richer in mineral wealth and agricultural resources. If, however, Colorado has not really declined in population, another census, or another election under the authority of Congress, would place the question beyond doubt, and cause but little delay in the ultimate admission of the Territory as a State, if desired by the people. The tenor of these objections furnishes the reply which may be expected to an argument in favor of the measure derived from the enabling act which was passed by Congress on the 21st day o; March, 1864. Although Congress then supposed that the condition of the Territory was, such as to warrant its admission as a State, the result of two years' experience shows that every reason which existed for the institution of a territorial instead of a State government in Colorado, at its first organization, still continues in force. The condition of the Union at the present moment is calculated to inspire caution in regard to the admission of new States. Eleven of the old States have been for some time, and still remain, unrepresented in Congress. It is a common interest of all the States, as well those repre"sented as those unrepresented, that the integrity ani harmony of the Union should be restored as completely as possible, so that all those who are expected to bear the burdens of the Federal Government shall be consulted concerning the admission of new States; and that in the mean time no new State shall be prematurely and unnecessarily admitted to a participation in the political power which the Federal Government wields, not for the benefit of any individual State or section, but for the common safety, welfare, and happiness of the whole country. ANDREW JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 15, 1866. Copy of the Bill. AN AcT for the admission of the State of Colorado into the Union. Whereas, on the twenty-first day of March, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-four, Congress passed an act to enable the people of Colorado to form a constitution and State government, and offered to admit said State, when so formed, into the Union upon compliance with certain conditions therein specified; and whereas it appears by a message of the President of the United States, dated January twelve, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, that the said people have adopted a constitution, which upon due examination is found to conform to the provisions and comply with the conditions of said act, and to be republican in its form of government, and that they now ask for admission into the Union: Be it enacted, &c., That the constitution and State government which the people of Colorado have formed for themselves be, and the same is hereby, ratified, accepted, and confirmed, and that the said State of Colorado shall be, and is hereby, declared to be one of the United States of America, and is hereby admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatsoever. SEc. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said State of Colorado shall be, and is hereby, declared to be entitled to all the rights, privileges, grants, and immunities, and to be subject to all the conditions and restrictions, of an act entitled "An act to enable the people of Colorado to form a constitution and a State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," approved March twenty-first, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. The votes on this bill were: IN SENATE. March 13-The bill was rejected-yeas 14, nays 21, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Chandler, Cragin, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, McDougall, Nesmith, Norton, Poineroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Stewart, Trumbull, Williams-14. NAYs-Messrs. Buckalew, Conness, Creswell, Davis, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, Guthrie, Harris, IHendrick.s, Morgan, Morrill, Poland, Riddle, Sprague, Stockton, Sumnner, Van Winkle, Wade, Wilson-21. Mr. Wilson entered a motion to reconsider the vote. April 25-The Senate voted to reconsider; yeas 19, nays 13. (Same as below.) The bill was then passed-yeas 19, nays 13, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Crewell, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Nye, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey, Wilson-19. VOTES AND VETOES.!irs-Messrs. Buckialew. Davis, Doolittle, Edmunds, Frster, Grimes, Guthrie, Haendricks, McDougall, Morgan, Poland, Riddle, Sumnner-13. IN HOUSE. May 3-The bill was passed-yeas 81, nays 57, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Barker, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Brandegee, Bromwell, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling Cullom, Delrees, Deming, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Abner (. Harding, Hart, Henderson, Holmes, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Kasson, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Marston, McClurg, McKee, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Patterson, Plants, Alexander H Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Francis Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Lurt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Welker, Whaley, Williamns-81. NAYS--Messrs. Allison, Alley, Ancona, Baxter, Bergen, Blaine, Boutwell, Boyer, Broomall, Chanler, Coffroth, Darling, Dazoson, Denison, Eldridge, Eliot, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Griswold, Aaron Harding, Harris, Higby, James Humphrey, Julian, Kelley, Kuykendall, Le Blond, Lynch, Marshall, AMcCullough, McRuer, Morrill, Morris, Newell, iiblacc, Paine, Perham, Pike, Raymond, John H. Rice, Ritter, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Stevens, Stilwell, Strouse, Taylor, Thornton, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washhurn, James F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield, Woodbridge, Wright-57. Up to the time this page is put to press, no vote has been taken on the re-passage of the vetoed bill. When taken, it will be inserted in a subsequent page. Message Respecting the Proposed Constitutional Amendment on Representation, &c., June 22, 1866. To the Senate and House of Representatives: I submit to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, to whom was referred the concurrent resolution of the 18th instant," respecting a submission to the legislatures of the States of an additional article to the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen from this report that the Secretary of State had, on the 16th instant, transmitted to the Governors of the several States certified copies of the joint resolution passed on the 13th instant, proposing an amendment to the Constitution. Even in ordinary times any question of amending the Constitution must be justly regarded as of paramount importance. This importance is at the present time enhanced by the fact that the joint resolution was not submitted by the two Houses for the approval of the President, and that of the thirty-six States which constitute the Union eleven are excluded from representation in either House of Congress, although, with the single exception of Texas, they have been entirely restored to all their functions as States, in conformity with the organic law of the land, and have appeared at the national capital by Senators and Representatives, who have applied for and have been refused admission to the vacant seats. Nor have the sovereign people of the nation been afforded an opportunity of expressing their views upon the important questions which the amendment involves. Grave doubts therefore may naturally and justly arise as to whether the action of Congress is in harmony with the sentiments of the people, and whether State legislatures, elected without reference to such an issue, should be called upon by Congress to decide respecting the ratification of the proposed amendment. Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the amendment, or as to the merits of the article which it submits through the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public judgment, may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now unrepresented States as have been, or may hereafter be, chosen in' conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States. ANDREW JOIINSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., June 22, 1866. To the President. The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress of the 18th instant, in the following words: " That the President of the United States be requested to transmit forthwith to the executives of the several States of the United States copies of the article of amendment proposed by Congress to the State legislatures to amend the Constitution of the United States, passed June 13, 1866, respecting citizenship, the basis of representation, disqualification for office, and validity of the public debt of the United States, &c., to the end that the said States may proceed to act upon the said article of amendment, and that he request the executive of each State that m:y ratify said amendment to transmit to the Secretary of State a certified copy of such ratification," has the honor to submit the following report, namely: That on the 16th instant the Hon. Amasa Cobb, of the Committee of the House of Representatives on Enrolled Bills, brought to this Department and deposited therein an enrolled resolution of the two Houses of Congress, which was thereupon received by the Secretary of State and deposited among the rolls of the Department, a copy of which is hereunto a.n * This resolution passed the House under a suspension of the rules, which was agreed to, yeas 92, nays 25, (the latter all Democrats,) by a vote of yeas 87, nays 20, on a count by tellers. It passed the Senate same daywithout a division; and is a copy of a concurrent resolution passed in 1864, requesting President Lincoln to submit the anti-slavery amendment, changed only as to the phraseology descriptive of the amendment. 84 POLITICAL MANUiAL. nexed. Thereupon the Secretary of State, upon the 16th instant, in conformity with the proceeding which was adopted by him in 1865, in regard to the then proposed and afterwards adopted congressional amendment of the Constitution of the United States concerning the prohibition of slavery, transmitted certified copies of the annexed resolution to the Governors of the several States, together with a certificate and circular letter. A copy of both of these communications are hereunto annexed. Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, June 20,1866. [Circular.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, June 16, 1866. To his Excellency Governor of the State of SIR: I have the honor to transmit an attested copy of a resolution of Congress, proposing to the legislatures of the several States a fourteenth article to the Constitution of the United States. The decisions of the several legislatures upon the subject are required by law to be communicated to this Department. An acknowledgment of tht, receipt of this communication is requested by Your excellency's most obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. VILI MAJORITY AND MINORITY REPORTS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTION. The Majority Report. June 18, 1866-Mr. FESSENDEN in the Senate, and Mr. STEVENS in the House, submitted this REPORT: The Joint Committee of the two Houses of Congress, appointed under the concurrent resolution of December 13, 1865, with direction to " inquire into the condition.of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and report whether they or any of them 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 as assiduously as other duties would permit, and now submit to Congress, as the result of their deliberations, a resolution proposing amendments to the Constitution, and two bills, of which they recommend the adoption. Before proceeding to set forth in detail their reasons for the conclusion to which, after great deliberation, your committee have arrived, they beg leave to advert, briefly, to the course of proceedings they found it necessary to adopt, and to explain the reasons therefor. The resolution under which your committee was appointed directed them to inquire into the condition of the Confederate States, and report whether they were entitled to representation in Congress. It is obvious that such an investigation, covering so large an extent of territory and involving so many important considerations, must necessarily require no trifling labor, and consume a very considerable amount of time. It must embrace the condition in which those States were left at the close of the war; the measures which have been taken.towards the reorganization of civil government, and the disposition of the people towards the United States; in a word, their fitness to take an active part in the administration of national affairs. As to their condition at the close of the rebellion, the evidence is open to all, and admits of no dispute. They were in a state of utter exhaustion. Having protracted their struggle against federal authority until all hope of successful resistance had ceased, and 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 publi-c finances, and shorn of the private wealth which had before given them power and influence. They were also necessarily in a state of complete anarchy, without governments and without the power to frame governments except by the permission of those who had been successful in the war. The President of the United States, in the proclamations under which he appointed provisional governors, 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 his conversation with Mr. Stearns, of Massachusetts, 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 the progress of events." Finding the Southern States in this condition, and Congress having failed to provide for the contingency, his duty was obvious. As President of the United States he had no powear, ex REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. 85 cept to execute the laws of the land as Chief Magistrate. These laws gave him no authority over the subject of reorganization; but by the Constitution he was commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. These Confederate States embraced a portion of the people of the Union who had been in a state of revolt, but had been reduced to obedience by force of arms. They were in an abnormal condition, without civil government, without commercial connections, without national or international relations, and subject only to martial law. By withdrawing their representatives in Congress, by renouncing the privilege of representation, by organizing a separate government, and by levying war against the United States, they destroyed their State constitutions in respect to the vital principle which connected their respective States with the Union and secured their federal relations; and nothing of those constitutions was left of which the United States were bound to take notice. For four years they had a defacto government, but it was usurped and illegal. They chose the tribunal of arms wherein to decide whether or not it should be legalized, and they were defeated. At the close of the rebellion, therefore, the people of the rebellious States were found, as the President expresses it, " deprived of all civil government." Under this state of affairs it was plainly the duty of the President to enforce existing national laws, and to establish, as far as he could, such a system of government as might be provided for by existing national statutes. As commanderin-chief of a victorious army, it was his duty, under the law of nations and the army regulations, to restore order, to preserve property, and to protect the people against violence from any quarter until provision 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 continue military supervision and control until Congress should assemble on its regular appointed day. Selecting thle latter alternative, he proceeded, by virtue of his power as commander-in-chief, to appoint provisional governors over the revolted States. These were regularly commissioned, and their compensation wab paid, as the Secretary of War states, "from the appropriation for army contingencies, because the duties performed by the parties were regarded as of a temporary character; ancillary to the withdrawal of military force, the disbandment of armies, and the reduction of military expenditure; by provisional organizations for the protection of civil rights, the preservation of peace, and to take the place of armed force in the respective States." It cannot, we think, be contended that these governors possessed, or could exercise, any but military authority. They had no power to organize civil governments, nor to exercise any authority except that which inhered in their own persons under their commissions. Neither had the President, as. commander-in-chief, any other than military power. But he was in exclusive possession of the military authority. It was for him to decide how far he would exercise it, how far he would relax it, when and on what terms he would withdraw it. He might prop erly permit the people to assemble, and to initiate local governments, and to execute such local laws as they might choose to frame not inconsistent with, nor in opposition to, the laws of the United States. And, if satisfied that they might safely be left to themselves, he might withdraw the military forces altogether, and leave the people of any or all of these States to govern themselves 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 loyalty to the Union," and act in his military capacity on this hypothesis. All this was within his own discretion, as military commander. But it was not for him to decide upon the nature or effect of any system of government which the people of these States might see fit to adopt. This power is lodged by the Constitution in the Congress of the United States, that branch of the government in which is vested the authority to fix the political relations of the States to the Union, whose duty is to guarantee to each State a republican form of government, and to protect each and all of them against foreign or domestic violence, and against each other. We cannot, therefore, regard the various acts of the President in relation to the formation of local governments in the insurrectionary States, and the conditions imposed by him upon their action, in any other light than as intimations to the people that, as commander-in-chief of the army, he would consent to withdraw military rule just in proportion as they should, by their acts, manifest a disposition to preserve order among themselves, establish governments denoting loyalty to the Union, and exhibit a settled determination to return to their allegiance, leaving with the law-making power to fix the terms of their final restoration to all their rights and privileges as States of the Union. That this was the view of his power taken by the President is evident from expressions to that effect in the communications of the Secretary of State to the various provisional governors, and the repeated declarations of the President himself, Any other supposition inconsistent with this would impute to the President designs of encroachment upon a co-ordinate branch of the government, which should not be lightly attributed to the Chief Magistrate of the nation. When Congress assembled in December last the people of most of the States lately in rebellion had, under the advice of tke President, organized local governments, and some of them had acceded to the terms proposed by him. In his annual message he stated, in general terms, what had been done, but he did not see fit to communicate the details for the information of 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 Con. gress must either have acted blindly on that opinion of the President, or proceeded to obtain the information requisite for intelligent action on the subject. The impropriety of proceeding wholly on the judgment of any one man, how POLITICAL MANUAL. ever exalted his station, in a matter involving the welfare of the republic in all future time, or of aaopting any plan, coming from any source, without fully understanding all its bearings and comprehending its full effect, was apparent. The first step, therefore, was to obtain the required information. A call was accordingly 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 grounds of the belief expressed by him in the fitness of States recently in rebellion to participate fully in the conduct of national affairs. This information was not immediately communicated. When the response was finally made, som, six weeks after your committee had been in actual session, it was found that the evidence upon which the President seemed to have based his suggestions was incomplete and unsatisfactory. Authenticated copies of the new constitutions and ordinances adopted by the conventions in three of the States had been submitted, extracts from newspapers furnished scanty information as to the action of one other State, and nothing appears to have been communicated as to the remainder. There was no evidence of the loyalty of those who had participated in these conventions, and in one State alone was any proposition made to submit the action of the conventions to the final judgment of the people. Failing to obtain the desired information, 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 the President, more especially as he had not deemed it expedient to remove the military force, to suspend martial law, or to restore the writ of habeas corpus, but still thought it necessary to exercise over the people of the rebellious States his military power and jurisdiction. This conclusion derived still greater force from the fact, undisputed, that in all these States, except Tennessee 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 oj notorious and unpardoned rebels, men who could not take the prescribed oath of office, and who made no secret of their hostility to the Government and the people of the United States. Under these circumstances, anything like hasty action would have been as dangerous as it was obviously unwise. It appeared to your committee that but one course remained, viz: to investigate carefully 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 wliether it would be safe to admit them at once to as full participation in the Government they had fought for four years to destroy. Jt was an equally important inquiry whether their restoration to their former relations with the United States should only be granted upon certain conditions and guarantees which would effectually secure the nation against a recurrence of evils so disastrous as those from which it -had escaped at so enormous a sacrifice. To obtain the necessary information recourse could only be had to the examination of wit. nesses whose position had given them the best means of forming an accurate judgment, who could state facts from their own observation, and whose character and standing afforded the best evidence of their truthfulness and impartiality. A work like this, covering so large an extent ol territory, and embracing such complicated and extensive inquiries, necessarily required much time and labor. To shorten the time as much as possible, the work was divided and placed in the hands of four sub-committees, who have been diligently employed in its accomplishment. The results of their labors have been heretofore submitted, and the country will judge how far they sustain the President's views, and how far they justify the conclusions to which your committee have finally arrived. A claim for the immediate admission of Senators and Representatives from the so-called Confederate States has been urged, which seems to your committee not to be founded either in reason or in law, and which cannot be passed without 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 until such admission Congress has no right to tax them for the support of the Government. It has even been contended that until such admission all legislation affecting their interests 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 the Government. It must not be forgotten that the people of these States, without justification or excuse, rose in insurrection against the United States. They deliberately abolished their State goverernments so far as the same connected them politically with the Union as members thereof under the Constitution. They deliberately renounced their allegiance to the Federal Government, and proceeded to establish an independent government for themselves. In the prosecution of this enterprise they seized the national forts, arsenals, dockyards, and other public property within their borders, drove out from among them those who remained true to the Union, and heaped every imaginable insult and injury upon the United States and its citizens. Finally they opened hostilities, and levied war against the Government. 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, incurred to sustain its rightful authority. Whether legally and constitutionally or not, they did, in fact, withdraw from the Union and made themselves subjects of another government of their own creation. And they only yielded when, after a long, bloody, and wasting war, they were compelled by utter exhaustion to lay down their arms; and this REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. 87 they did not willingly, but declaring that they yielded because they could no longer resist, affording no evidence whatever of repentance for their crime, and expressing no regret, except that they had no longer the power to continue the desperate struggle. It cannot, we think, be denied by any one, having a tolerable acquaintance with public law, that the war thus waged was a civil war of the greatest magnitude. The people waging it were necessarily subject to all the rules which, by the law of nations, control a contest of that character, and to all the legitimate consequences following it. One of those consequences was that, within the limits prescribed by humanity, the conquered rebels were at the mercy of the conquerors. That a government thus outraged had a most perfect right to exact indemnity for the injuries done and security against the recurrence 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 of a return to allegiance, what time should elapse before a people thus demoralized should be restored in 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 the public 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; that from the moment when rebellion lays down its arms and actual hostilities cease, all political rights of rebellious communities are at once restored; that, because the people of a State of the Union were once an organized community within the Union, they necessarily so remain, 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 pastime which any State may play at, not only certain that it can lose nothing in any event, but may even be the gainer by defeat. If rebellion succeeds, it accomplishes its purpose and destroys the Government. If it fails, the war has been barren of results, and the battle may be still fought out in the legislative halls of 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 question whether the late Confederate States are still States of this Union, or can even 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 themselves in a condition to abrogate the powers and privileges incident to a State of the Union, and deprive themselves of all pretence of right to exercise those powers and enjoy those privileges. A State within the Union has obligations to discharge as a member of the Union. It must submit to federal laws and uphold fed eral authority. It must have a government republican in form, under and by which it is connected with the General Government, and through which it can discharge its obligations. It is more than idle, it is a mockery, to contend that a people who have thrown off their allegiance, destroyed the local government which bound their States to the Union as members thereof, 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 perfect and entire right to resume, at their own will and pleasure, all their privileges within the Union, and especially to participate in its government, and to control the conduct of its affairs. To admit such a principle 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 essence, because inconsistent with the theory of government, and fatal to Ats very existence. On the contrary, we assert that no portion of the people of this country, whether in State or Territory, have the right, while remaining on its soil, to withdraw from or reject the authority of the United States. They must obey its laws as paramount, and acknowledge its jurisdiction. They have no right to secede; and while they can destroy their State governments, and place themselves beyond the pale of the Union, so far as the exercise of State privileges 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 States, as such, but upon the people; while, therefore, the people cannot escape its authority, the States may, through the act of their people, cease 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 taxed, 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 Territories are taxed, although not represented in Congress. If it is true that the people of the so-called Confedrate States had 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 government. They cannot, either legally or equitably, refuse to bear their just proportion of these burdens by voluntarily abdicating their rights and privileges as States of the Union, and refusing to be represented in the councils of the nation, much less by 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 instead of punishing for treason. To hold that as soon as government is restored to its full authority it can be allowed no time to secure itself against similar wrongs in the future, or else omit the ordinary exercise of its constitutional power to compel equal contribution from all towards the expenses of govern 88 POLITICAL MANUAL. ment, 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 abandon their privileges, but they could not escape their obligations; and surely they have no right to complain if, before resuming those privileges, and while the people of the United States are devising measures for the public safety, rendered necessary by the act of those who thus disfranchised themselves, they are compelled to contribute their just proportion of the general burden of taxation incurred by their wickedness and folly. Equally absurd is the pretense that the legislative authority of the nation must be inoperative so far as they are concerned, while they, by their own act, have lost the right to take part in it. Such a proposition carries its own refutation on its face. While thus exposing fallacies which, as your committee believe, are resorted to for the purpose of misleading the people and distracting their attention from the questions at issue, we freely admit that such a condition of things should be brought, if possible, to a speedy termination. 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 represented in the national councils, and take their share in the legislation of the country. The possession and exercise of more than its just share of power by any section is injurious, as well to that section as to all others. Its tendency is distracting and demoralizing, and such a state of affairs is only to be tolerated on the ground of a necessary regard to the public safety. As soon as that safety is secured it should terminate. Your committee came to the consideration of the subject referred to them with the most anxious desire to ascertain what was the conditioni of the people of the States recently in insur--ection, and what, if anything, was necessary to be done before restoring them to the full enjoyment of all their original privileges. It was undeniable that the war into which they had plunged the country had, materially changed their relations to the people of the loyal States. Slavery had been abolished by constitutional amendment. A large proportion of the population had 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 them without securing them their rights as free men and citizens. The whole civilized world would have cried out against such base ingratitude, and the bare idea is offensive to all right-thinking men. Hence it became important to inquire what could be done to secure their rights, civil and political. It was evident to your committee that adequate security could only be found in appropriate constitutional provisions. By 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 become free, represen tation for 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 positions as States of the Union. As representation is by the Constitution based upon population, your committee did not think it advisable to recommend a change of that basis. The increase of representation necessarily resulting from the abolition of slavery was considered the most important element in the questions arising out of the changed condition of affairs, and the necessity for some fundamental action in this regard seemed imperative. It appeared to your committee that the rights of these 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 becoming free should be confined to their former masters, Nwho had fought against the Union, and withheld from themselves, who had always been loyal. Slavery, by building up a ruling and dominant class, had produced a spirit of oligarchy adverse to republican institutions, which finally inaugurated civil war. The tendency of continuing 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. Doubts were entertained whether Congress had power, even under the amended Constitution, to prescribe the qualifications of voters in a State, or could act directly on the subject. It was doubtful, in the opinion of your committee, whether the States would consent to surrender a power they had always exercised, and to which they were attached. As the best, if not the only, method of surmounting the difficulty, and as eminently just and proper in itself, your committee came to the conclusion that political power should be possessed in all the States exactly in proportion as the right of suffrage should be granted, without distinction of color or race. This it was thought would leave the whole question with the people of each State, holding out to all the advantage of increased political power as an inducement to allow all to participate in its exercise. Such a provision would be in its nature gentle and persuasive, and would lead, it was hoped, at no distant day, to an equal participation of all, without distinction, in all the rights and privileges of citizenship, thus affording a full and adequate protection to all classes of citizens, since all would have, through the ballot-box, the power of selfprotection. Holding these views, your committee prepared an amendment to the Constitution to carry out this idea, and submitted the same to Congress. Unfortunately, as we think, it did not receive the necessary constitutional support in the Senate, and therefore could not be proposed for adoption by the States. The principle involved in that amendment is, however, believed to be sound, and your committee have again proposed it in another form, hoping that it may roceive the approbation of Congress. REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCIION. 89 Your committee have been unable to find, in the evidence submitted to Congress by the President, under date of March 6,1866, in compliance with the resolutions of January 5 and February 27, 1866, any satisfactory proof that either of the insurrectionary States, except, perhaps, the State of Tennessee, has placed itself in a condition to resume its political relations to the Union. The first step towards that end would necessarily be the establishment of a republican form of government by the people. It has been before remarked that the provisional governors, appointed by the President in the exercise of his military authority, could do nothing by virtue of the power thus conferred towards the establishment of a State government. They were acting under the War Department and paid out of its funds. They were simply bridging over the chasm between rebellion and restoration. And yet we find them calling conventions and convening legislatures. Not only this, but we find the conventions and legislatures thus convened acting under executive direction as to the provisions required to be adopted in their constitutions and ordinances as conditions precedent to their recognition by the President. The inducement held out by the President for compliance with the conditions imposed was, directly in one instance, and presumably, therefore, in others, the immediate admission of Senators and Representatives to Congress. The character of the conventions and legislatures thus assembled was not such as to inspire confidence in the good faith of their members. Governor Perry, of South Carolina, dissolved the convention assembled in that State before the suggestion had reached Columbia from Washington that the rebel war debt should be repudiated, and gave as his reason that it was a " revolutionary body." There is no evidence of the loyalty or disloyalty of the members of those conventions and legislatures except the fact of pardons being asked for on their account. Some of these States now claiming representation refused to adopt the conditions imposed. No reliable information is found in these papers as to the constitutional provisions of several of these States, while in not one of them is there the slightest evidence to show that these "' amended constitutions," as they are called, have ever been submitted to the people for their adoption. In North Carolina alone an ordinance was passed to that effect, but it does not appear to have been acted on. Not one of them, therefore, has been ratified. Whether, with President Johnson, we adopt the theory that the old constitutions were abrogated and destroyed, and the people "deprived of all civil government," or whether we adopt the alternative doctrine that they were only suspended and were revived by the suppression of the rebellion, the new provisions must be considered as equally destitute of validity before adoption by the people. If the conventions were called for the sole purpose of putting the State governmentinto operation, they had no power either to adopt a new constitution or to amend an old one without the consent of the people. Nor could either a convention or a legislature change the fundamental law without power previously conferred. In the view of your committee, it follows, there fore, that the people of a State where the con. stitutiofi has been thus amended might feel themselves justified in repudiating altogether all such unauthorized assumptions of power, and might be expected to do so at pleasure. So far as the disposition of the people of the insurrectionary States, and the probability of their adopting measures conforming to the changed condition of affairs, can be inferred from the papers submitted by the President as the basis of his action, the prospects are far from encouraging. It appears quite clear that the anti-slavery amendments, both to the State and Federal Constitutions, were adopted with reluctance by the bodies which did adopt them, while in some States they have been either passed by in silence or rejected. The language of all tne provisions and ordinances of these States on the subject amounts to nothing more than an unwilling admission of an unwelcome truth. As to the ordinance of secession, it is, in some cases, declared " null and void," and in others simply "repealed;" and in no instance is a refutation of this deadly heresy considered worthy of a place in the new constitution. If, as the President assumes, these insurrectionary States were, at the close of the war, wholly without State governments, it would seem that, before being admitted to participation in the direction of public affairs, such governments should be regularly organized. Long usage has established, and numerous statutes have pointed out, the mode in which this should be done. A convention to frame a form of government should be assembled under coinpetent authority. Ordinarily, this authority emanates from Congress; but, under the peculiar circumstances, your committee is not disposed to criticise the President's action in assuming the power exercised by him in this regard. The convention, when assembled, should frame a constitution of government, which should be submitted to the people for adoption. If adopted, a legislature should be convened to pass the laws necessary to carry it into effect. When a State thus organized claims representation in Congress, the election of representatives should be provided for by law, in accordance with the laws of Congress regulating representation, and the proof that the action taken has been in conformity tc law should be submitted to Congress. In no case have these essential preliminary steps been taken. The conventions assembled seem to have assumed that the constitutions which had been repudiated and overthrown were still in existence, and operative to constitute the States members of the Union, and to have contented themselves with such amendments as they were informed were requisite in order t( insure their return to an immediate participation in the Government of the United States. Not waiting to ascertain whether the people they represented would adopt even the proposed amendments, they at once ordered elections of representatives to Congress, in nearly all instances before an executive had fieen chosen to issue writs of election under the State laws, and such elections as were held were ordered by the conventions. In one instance, at least, the writs of election were signed by the provisional gov 90 POLITICAL MANUAL. ernor. Glaring irregularities and unwarranted assumptions of power are manifest in several cases, particularly in South Carolina, where the convention, although disbanded by the provisional governor on the ground that it was a revolutionary body, assumed to redistrict the State. It is quite evident from all these facts, and indeed from the whole mass of testimony submitted by the President to the Senate, that in no instance was regard paid to any other consideration than obtaining immediate admission to Congress, under the barren form of an election in which no precautions were taken to secure regularity of proceedings or the assent of the people. No constitution has been legally adopted except, perhaps, in the State of Tennessee, and such elections as have been held were without. authority of law. Your committee are accordingly forced to the conclusion that the States referred to have not placed themselves in a condition to claim representation in Congress, unless all the rules which have, since the foundation of the Government, been deemed essential in such cases should be disregarded. It would undoubtedly be competent for Congress to waive all formalities and to admit these onfederate States to representation at once, trusting that time and experience would set all things right. Whether it would be advisable to do so, however, must depend upon other considerations of which it remains to treat. But it may well be observed, that the inducements to such a step should be of the very highest character. It seems to your committee not unreasonable to require satisfactory evidence that the ordinances and constitutional provisions which the President deemed essential in the. first instance will be permanently adhered to by the people of the States seeking restoration, after being admitted to full participation in the government, and will not be repudiated when that object shall have been accomplished. And here the burden of proof rests upon the late insurgents who are seeking restoration to the rights and privileges which they willingly abandoned, and not upon the people of the United States who have never undertaken, directly or indirectly, to deprive them thereof. It should appear affirmatively that they are prepared and disposed in good faith to accept the results of the war, to abandon their hostility to the Government, and to live in peace and amity with the people of the loyal States, extending to all classes of citizens equal rights and privileges, and conforming to the republican idea of liberty and equality. They should exhibit in their acts something more than an unwilling submission to an unavoidable necessity-a feeling, if not cheerful, certainly not offensive and defiant. And they should evince an entire repudiation of all hostility to the General Government, by an acceptance of such just and reasonable conditions as that Government should think the public safety demands. Has this been done? Let. us look at the facts shown by the evidence taken by the committee. Hardly is the war closed before the people of these insurrectionary States come forward and haghtily claim, as a riglht, the privilege of par ticipating at once in that tCovernment which they had for four years been fighting to overthrow. Allowed and encouraged by the Executive to organize State governments, they at once placed in power leading rebels, unrepentant and unpardoned, excluding with contempt those who had manifested an attachment to the Union, and preferring, in many instances, those who had rendered themselves the most obnoxious. In the face of the law requiring an oath wvhich would necessarily exclude all such men from federal offices, they elect, with very few exceptions, as Senators and Representatives in C'ongress men who had actively participated in the rebellion, insultingly denouncing the law as unconstitutional. It is only necessary to instance the election to the Senate of the late vice president of the Confederacy, a man who, against his own declared convictions, had lent all the weight of his acknowledged ability and of his influence as a most prominent public man to the cause of the rebellion, and who, unpardoned rebel as he is, with that oath staring him in the face, had the assurance to lay his credentials on the table of the Senate. Other rebels of scarcely less note or notoriety were selected from other quarters. Professing no repentance, glorying apparently in the crime they had committed, avowing still, as the uncontradicted testimony of Mr. Stephens and many others proves, an adherence to the pernicious doctrine of secession, and declaring that they yielded only to necessity, they insist, with unanimous voice, upon their rights as States, and proclaim that they will submit to no conditions whatever as preliminary to their resumption of power under that Constitution which they still claim the right to repudiate. Examining the evidence taken by your committee still further, in connection with facts too notorious to be disputed, it appears that the southern press, with few exceptions, and those mostly of newspapers recently established by northern men, abound with weekly and daily abuse of the institutions and people of the loyal States; defends the men who led, and the principles which incited, the rebellion; denounces and reviles southern men who adhered to the Union; and strives, constantly and unscrupulously, by every means in its power, to keep alive the fire of hate and discord between the sections; calling upon the President to violate his oath of office, overturn the Government by force of arms, and drive the representatives of the people from their seats in Congress. The national banner is openly insulted, and the national airs scoffed at, not only by an ignorant populace, but at public meetings, and once, among other notable instances, at a dinner given in honor of a notorious rebel who had violated his oath and abandoned his flag. The same individual is elected to an important office in the leading city of his State, although an unpardoned rebel, and so offensive that the President refuses to allow him to enter upon his official duties. In another State the leading general of the rebel armies is openly nominated for governor by the speaker of the house of delegates, and the nomination is hailed by the people with shouts of satisfaction, and openly indorsed by the press. Looking still further at the evidence taken REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. by your committee, it is found to be clearly cisive. While it appears that near1l all are shown, by witnesses of the highest character, willing to submit, at least for the tires ' ing, to and having the best means of observation, that the federal authority, it is equally clar that the the Freedmen's Bureau, instituted for the relief ruling motive is a desire to obtain the d vanLaand protection of freedmen and refugees, is ges which will be derived from a representation almost universally opposed by the mass of the in Congress. Officers of the Union army on population, and exists in an efficient condition duty, and northern men who go South to enonly under military protection, while the Union gage in business, are generally detested and promen of the South are earnest in its defence, scribed. Southern men who adhered to the declaring with one voice that without its pro- Union are bitterly hated and relentlessly persetection the colored people would not be permit- cuted. In some localities prosecutions have ted to labor at fair prices, and could hardly live been instituted in State courts against Union in safety. They also testify that without the officers for acts done in the line of official duty, protection of United States troops Union men, and similar prosecutions are threatened elsewhether of northern or southern origin, would where as soon as the United States troops arc be obliged to abandon their homes. The feeling removed. All such demonstrations show a statU in many portions of the country towards the of feeling against which it is unmistakably neemancipated slaves, especially among the uned- cessary to guard. ncated and ignorant, is one of vindictive and The testimony is conclusive that after the colmalicious hatred. This deep-seated prejudice lapse of the Confederacy the feeling of the. eple against color is assiduously cultivated by the of the rebellious States was that of abjeac sublpublic journals, and leads to acts of cruelty, mission. Having appealed to the tribunal cf oppression, and murder, which the local author- arms, they had no hope except that by the ities are at no pains to prevent or punish. There magnanimity of their conquerors their lives, an'1 is no general disposition to place the colored possibly their property, might be preserved race, constituting at least two fifths of the popu- Unfortunately, the general issue of pardons to lation, upon terms even of civil equality. While persons who had been prominent in the rebelmany instances may be found where large lion, and the feeling of kindness and conciliation planters and men of the better class accept the manifested by the Executive, and very genesituation, and honestly strive to bring about a rally indicated through the northern press, had better order of things, by employing the freed- the effect to render whole communities forgetful men at fair wages and treating them kindly, of the crime they had committed, defiant towards the general feeling and disposition among all the Federal Government, and regardless of their classes are yet totally averse to the toleration duties as citizens. The conciliatory measures o0 of any class of people friendly to the Union, the Government do not seem to have been me' be they white or black; and this aversion is even half way. The bitterness and defiance exnot unfrequently manifested in an insulting and hibited toward the United tsates under such ciroffensive manner, cumstances is without a parallel in the history The witnesses examined as to the willingness of the world. In return for our leniency we of the people of the South to contribute, under receive only an insulting denial of our author existing laws, to the payment of the national ity. In return for our kind desire for the re. debt, prove that the taxes levied by the United sumption of fraternal relations we receive onl3 States will be paid only on compulsion and an insolent assumption of rights and privileges with great reluctance, while there prevails, to a long since forfeited. The crime we have punconsiderable extent, an expectation that com- ished is paraded as a virtue, and the principles pensation will be made for slaves emancipated of republican government which we have vindiland property destroyed during the war. The cated at so terrible cost are denounced as unjust testimony on this point comes from officers of and oppressive. the Union army, officers of the late rebel army, If we add to this evidence the fact that, a) Union men of the Southern States, and avowed though peace has been declared by the Pre&t secessionists, almost all of whom state that, in dent, he has not, to this day, deemed it safe.. their opinion, the people of the rebellious States restore the writ of habeas corpus, to relieve ti6 would, if they should see a prospect of success, insurrectionary States of martial law, nor to repudiate the national debt. withdraw the troops from many localities, aa< While there is scarcely any hope or desire that the commanding general deems an increa-. among leading men to renew the attempt at of the army indispensable to the preservation secession at any future time, there is still, ac- of order and the protection of loyal and wellcording to a large number of witnesses, includ- disposed people in the South, the proof of a ing A. H. Stephens, who may be regarded as condition of feeling hostile to the Union and good authority on that point, a generally pre- dangerous to the Government throughout the vailing opinion which defends the legal right insurrectionary States would seem to be over. of secession, and upholds the doctrine that the whelming. first allegiance of the people is due to the States, With such evidence before them, it is the and not to the United States. This belief evi- opinion of your committeedently prevails among leading and prominent I. That the States lately in rebellion were, men as well as among the masses everywhere, at the close of the war, disorganized commnni except in some of tiie northern counties of Ala- ties, without civil government, and without conbama and the easte:n counties of Tennessee. stitutions or other forms, by virtue of whin The evidence of an intense hostility to the political relations could legally exist. between Federal Union, and an eqtually intense love of them and the Federal Government. the late Confederacy, nurtured by the war, is de- II. That Congress cannot be expected to re POLITICAL MANUAL. cognize as valid the election of representatives tion of the same States into a confederacy, which irom disorganized communities, which,from the levied and waged war, by sea and land, against very nature of the case, were unable to present the United States. This war continued more their claim to representation under those estab- than four years, within which period the rebel lished and recognized rules, the observance of armies besieged the national capital, invaded the which has been hitherto required. loyal States, burned their towns and cities, robIII. That Congress would not be justified in bed their citizens, destroyed more than 250,000 admitting such communities to a participation loyal soldiers, and imposed an increased national in the government of the country without first burden of not less than $3,500,000,000, of which providing such constitutional or other guaran- seven or eight hundred millions have already tees as will tend to secure the civil rights of all been met and paid. From the time these concitizens of the Republic; a just equality of rep- federated States thus withdrew their representaresentation; protection against claims founded tion in Congress and levied war against the United in rebellion and crime; a temporary restoration States, the great mass of their people became and of the right of suffrage to those who have not were insurgents, rebels, traitors, and all of them actively participated in the efforts to destroy assumed and occupied the political, legal, and the Union and overthrow the Government; and practical relation of enemies of the United States. the exclusion from positions of public trust of This position is established by acts of Congress at least a portion of those whose crimes have and judicial decisions, and is recognized repeatproved them to be enemies to the Union, and edly by the President in public proclamations, unworthy of public confidence. documents, and speeches. Your committee will, perhaps, hardly be deemed Second. The States thus confederated prosecuexcusable for extending this report further; ted their war against the United States to final but inasmuch as immediate and unconditional arbitrament, and did not cease until all their representation of the States lately in rebellion armies were captured, their military power desis demanded as a matter of right, and delay, and troyed, their civil officers, State and confederate, even hesitation, is denounced as grossly oppres- taken prisoners or put to flight, every vestige of sive and unjust, as well as unwise and impolitic, State and confederate government obliterated, it may not be amiss again to call attention to a their territory overrun and occupied by the fedefew undisputed and notorious facts, and the ral armies, and their people reduced to the conprinciples of public law applicable thereto, in dition of enemies conquered in war, entitled only order that the propriety of that claim may be by public law to such rights, privileges, and confully considered and well understood. ditions as might be vouchsafed by the conqueror. The State of Tennessee occupies a position This position is also established by judicial decidistinct from all the other insurrectionary States, sions, and is recognized by the President in public and has been the subject of a separate report, proclamations, documents, and speeches. which your committee have not thought it expe- Third. Having voluntarily deprived themdient to disturb. Whether Congress shall see selves of representation in Congress, for the fit to make that State the subject of separate criminal purpose of destroying the Federal Union, action, or to include it in the same category with and having reduced themselves, by the act of all others, so far as concerns the imposition levying war, to the condition of public enemies, of preliminary conditions, it is not within the they have no right to complain of temporary exprovince of this.committee either to determine clusion from Congress; but on the contrary, or advise, having voluntarily renounced the right to repTo ascertain whether any of the so-called resentation, and disqualified themselves by crime Confederate States " are entitled to be repre- from participating in the Government, the burden sented in either House of Congress," the essen- now rests upon them, before claiming to be reintial inquiry is, whether there is, in any one of stated in their former condition, to show that them, a constituency qualified to be represented they are qualified to resume federal relations. in Congress. The question how far persons In order to do this, they must prove that they claiming seats in either House possess the cre- have established, with the consent of the people, dentials necessary to enable them to represent a republican forms of government in harmony with duly qualified constituency is one for the con- the Constitution and laws of the United States, sideration of each House separately, after the that all hostile purposes have ceased, and should preliminary question shall have been finally give adequate guarantees against future treason determined. and rebellion-guarantees which shall prove We now propose to re-state, as briefly as satisfactory to the Government against which possible, the general facts and principles appli- they rebelled, and by whose arms they were subcable to all the States recently in rebellion. dued. First. The seats of the senators and repre- Fourth. Having, by this treasonable withsentatives from the so-called Confederate States drawal from Congress, and by flagrant rebellion became vacant in the year 1861, during the and war, forfeited all civil and political rights second session of the Thirty-sixth Congress, by the and privileges -under the Constitution, they can voluntary withdrawal of their incumbents, with only be restored thereto by the permission and the sanction and by direction of the legislatures authority of that constitutional power against or conventions of their respective States. This which they rebelled and by which they were was done as a hostile act against the Constitution subdued. and Government of the United States, with a de- Fifth. These rebellious enemies were conquerclared intent to overthrow the same by forming ed by the people of the United States, acting a southern confederation. This act of declared through all the co-ordinate branches of the hostility was speedily followed by an organiza- Government, and not by the executive depart. REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION.,J3 ment alone. The powers of conqueror are not so vested in the President that he can fix and regulate the terms of settlement and confer congressional representation on conquered rQbels and traitors. Nor can he, in any way, qualify enemies of the Government to exercise its lawmaking power. The authority to restore rebels to political power in the Federal Government can be exercised only with the concurrence of all the departments in which political power is vested; and hence the several proclamations of the President to the people of the Confederate States cannot be considered as extending beyond the purposes declared, and can only be regarded as provisional permission by the commander-inchief of the army to do certain acts, the effect and validity whereof is to be determined by the constitutional government, and not solely by the executive power. Sixth. The question before Congress is, then, whether conquered enemies have the right, and shall be permitted at their own pleasure and on their own terms, to participate in making laws for their conquerors; whether conquered rebels may change their theatre of operations from the battle-field, where they were defeated and overthrown, to the halls of Congress, and, through their representatives, seize upon the Government which they fought to destroy; whether the national treasury, the army of the nation, its navy, its forts and arsenals, its whole civil administration, its credit, its pensioners, the widows an orphans of those who perished in the war, the public honor, peace and safety, shall all be turned over to the keeping of its recent enemies without delay, and without imposing such conditions as, in the opinion of Congress, the security of tLh country and its institutions may demand. Seventh. The history of mankind exhibits no example of such madness and folly. The instinct of self-preservation protests against it. The surrender by Grant to Lee, and by Sherman to Johnston, would have been disasters of less magnitude, for new armies could have been raised, new battles fought, and the Government saved. The anti-coercive policy, which, under pretext of avoiding bloodshed, allowed the rebellion to take form and gather force, would be surpassed in infamy by the matchless wickedness that would now surrender the halls of Congress to those so recently in rebellion, until proper precautions shall have been taken to secure the national faith and the national safety. Eighth. As has been shown in this report, and in the evidence submitted, no proof has been afforded by Congress of a constituency in any one of the so-called Confederate States, unless we except the State of Tennessee, qualified to elect Senators and Representatives in Congress. No State constitution, or amendment to a State constitution, has had the sanction of the people. All the so-called legislation of State conventions and legislatures has been had under military dictation. If the President may, at his will, and under his own authority, whether as military commander or chief executive, qualify persons to appoint Senators and elect Representatives, and empower others to appoint and elect them, he thereby practically controls the organiattion of the legislative department. The con stitutional form of gcvernment is thereby practically destroyed, and its powers absorbed in the Executive. And while your committee cc not for a moment impute to the President any such design, but cheerfully concede to him the most patriotic motives, they cannot but look with alarm upon a precedent so fraught with danger to the Republic. Ninth. The necessity of providing adequate safeguards for the future, before restoring the insurrectionary States to a participation in the direction of public affairs, is apparent from the bitter hostility to the Government and people of the United States yet existing throughout the conquered territory, as proved incontestably by the testimony of many witnesses and by undisputed facts. Tenth. The conclusion of your committee therefore is, that the so-called Confederate States are not at present entitled to representation in. the Congress of the United States; that, before allowing such representation, adequate security for future peace and safety should be required; that this can only be found in such changes of the organic law as shall determine the civil rights and privileges of all citizens in all parts of the Republic, shall place representation on an equitable basis, shall fix a stigma upon treason, and protect the loyal people against future claims for the expenses incurred in support of rebellion and for manumitted slaves, together with an express grant of power in Congress to enforce those provisions. To this end they offer a joint resolution for amending the Constitution of the United States, and the two several bills designed to carry the same into effect, before referred to. Before closing this report, your committee beg leave to state that the specific recommendations submitted by them are the result of mutual concession, after a long and careful comparison of conflicting opinions. Upon a question of such magnitude, infinitely important as it is to the future of the Republic, it was not to be expected that all should think alike. Sensible of the inmperfections of the scheme, your committee submit it to Congress as the best they could agree upon, in the hope that its imperfections may be cured, and its deficiencies supplied, by legislative wisdom; and that, when finally adopted, it may tend to restore peace and harmony tc the whole country, and to place our republican institutions on a more stable foundation. W. P. FESSENDEN, JAMES W. GRIMES, IRA HARRIS, J. M. HowARD, GEORGE H. WILLIAMS, THADDEUS STEVENS, ELLIHU B. WASHBUNE, JUSTI S. MORRILL, Jso. A. BINGHAM, ROSCOE CONKLING, GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, HENRY T. BLOW. Minority Report. June 22-Mr. JonHsoN in the Senate and Mr. ROGERS in the House, submitted this REPORT: The undersigned, a minority of the joint com M-1 POLITICAL MANUAL. mittee of the Senate and House of Representatives, constituted under the concurrent resolution of the 13th of December, 1865, making it their duty to "inquire into the condition of the States which formed the so-called Confederate States of America, and to report whether they or any of them are entitled to be represented in cither House of Congress, with leave to report by bill or otherwise," not being able to concur in tne measures recommended by the majority, or na the grounds upon which they base them, beg leave to report: In order to obtain a correct apprehension of the subject, and as having a direct bearing upon it, the undersigned think it all important clearly to ascertain what was the effect of the late insurrection upon the relations of the States where it prevailed to the General Government, and of the people collectively and individually of such States. To this inquiry they therefore first address themselves. First, as to the States. Did the insurrection at its commencement, or at any subsequent time, legally dissolve the connection between those States and the General Government? In our judgment, so far from this being a "profitless abstraction," it is a vital inquiry. For if that connection was not disturbed, such States during the entire rebellion were as completely component States of the United States as they were before the rebellion, and were bound by all the obligations which the Constitution imposes, and entitled to all its privileges. Was not this their condition? The opposite view alone can justify the denial of such rights and privileges. That a State of the Union can exist without possessing them is inconsistent with the very nature of the Government and terms of the Constitution. In its nature the Government is formed of and by States possessing equal rights and powers. States unequal are not known to the Constitution. In its original formation perfect equality was secured. They were granted the same representation in the Senate, and the same right to be represented in the House of Representatives; the difference in the latter being regulated only by a difference in population. But every State, however small its population, was secured one Representative in that branch. Each State was given the right, and the same right, to participate in the election of President and Vice President, and all alike were secured the benefit of the judicial department. The Constitution, too, was submitted to the people of each State separately, and adopted by them in that capacity. The convention which framed it considered, as they were bound to do, each as a separate sovereignty, that could not be subjected to the Constitution except by its own consent. That consent was consequently asked and given. The equality, therefore, of rights was the condition of the original thirteen States before the Government was formed, and such equality was not only not interfered with, but guaranteed to them as well in regard to the powers conferred upon the General Government, as to those reserved to the States or to the people of the States. The same equality is secured to the States wkich have been admitted into the Union since the Constitution was adopted. In each instance the State admitted has been "declared to be one of the United States, on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever." The Constitution, too, so far as most of the powers it contains are concerned, operates directly upon the people in their individual and aggregate capacity, and on all alike. Each citizen, therefore, of every State owes the same allegiance to the General Government, and is entitled to the same protection. The obligation of this allegiance it is not within the legal power of his State or of himself to annul or evade. It is made paramount and perpetual, and for that very reason it is equally the paramount duty of the General Government to allow to the citizens of each State, and to the State, the rights secured to both, and the protection necessary to their full enjoyment. A citizen may, no doubt, forfeit such rights by committing a crime against the United States upon conviction of the same, where such forfeiture by law antecedently passed is made a part of the punishment. But a State cannot in its corporate capacity be ma-de liable to such a forfeiture, for a State, as such, under the Constitution, cannot commit or be indicted for a crime. No legal proceeding, criminal or civil, can be instituted to deprive a State of the benefits of the Constitution, by forfeiting as against her any of the rights it secures. Her citizens, be they few or many, may be proceeded against under the law and convicted, but the State remains a State of the Union. To concede that, by the illegal conduct of her own citizens, she can be withdrawn from the Union, is virtually to concede the right of secession. 'For what difference does it make as regards the result whether a State can rightfully secede, (a doctrine, by-the-by, heretofore maintained by statesmen North as well as South,) or whether by the illegal conduct of her citizens she ceases to be a State of the Union? In either case the end is the same. The only difference is that by the one theory she ceases by law to be such a State, and by the other by crime, without and against law. But the doctrine is wholly erroneous. A State once in the Union must abide in it forever. She can never withdraw from or be expelled from it. A different principle would subject the Union to dissolution at any moment. It is, therefore, alike perilous and unsound. Nor do we see that it has any support in the measures recommended by the majority of the committee. The insurrectionary States are by these measures conceded to be States of the Union. The proposed constitutional amendment is to be submitted to them as well as to the other States. In this respect each is placed on the same ground. To consult a State not in the Union on the propriety of adopting a constitutional amendment to the government of the Union, and which is necessarily to affect those States only composing the Union, would be an absurdity; and to allow an amendment, which States in the Union might desire, to be defeated by the votes of States not in the Union, would be alike nonsensical and unjust. The very measure, therefore, of submitting to all the States forming the Union before the insurrection a constitutional amendment, makes the inquiry, whether all at this time are in or out of the Union, a vital one. If they are "RBEPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. 95 not, all should not be consulted; if they are, they should be, and should be only because they are. The very fact, therefore, of such a submission concedes that the Southern States are, and never ceased to be, States of the Union. Tested, therefore, either by the nature of our Government or by the terms of the Constitution, the insurrection, now happily and utterly suppressed, hao in no respect changed the relations of the States, where it prevailed, to the General Government. On the contrary, they are to all intents and purposes as completely States of the Union as they ever were. In further support of this proposition, if it needed any, we may confidently appeal to the fact just stated, that the very measure recommended, a constitutional amendment to be submitted to such States, furnishes such support; for, looking to and regarding the rights of the other States, such a submission has no warrant or foundation except upon the hypothesis that they are as absolutely States of the Union as any of the other States. It can never be under any circumstances a "profitless abstraction" whether under the Constitution a State is or is not a State of the Union. It can never be such an abstraction whether the people of a State once in the Union can voluntarily or by compulsion escape or be freed from the obligations it enjoins, or be deprived of the rights it confers or the protection it affords. A different doctrine necessarily leads to a dissolution of the Union. The Constitution supposes that insurrections may exist in a State, and provides for their suppression by giving Congress the power to "call forth the militia" for the purpose. The power is not to subjugate the State within whose limits the insurrection may prevail, and to extinguish it as a State, but to preserve it as such by subduing the rebellion, by acting on the individual persons engaged in it, and not on the State at all. The power is altogether conservative; it is to protect a State, not to destroy it; to prevent her being taken out of the Union by individual crime, not, in any contingency, to put her out or keep her out. The continuance of the Union of all the States is necessary to the intended existence of hlie Government. The Government is formed by a constitutional association of States, audits integrity depends on the continuance of the entire association. If one State is withdrawn from it by any cause,'to that extent is the Union dissolved. Those that remain may exist as a government, but it is not tlie very government the Constitution designs. That consists of all; and its character is changed and its power is diminished by the absence of any one. A different principle leads to a disintegration that must sooner or later result in the separation of all, and the consequent destruction of the Government. To suppose that a power to preserve may, at the option of the body to which it is given, be used to destroy, is a proposition repugnant to common sense; and yet, as the late insurrection was put down by means of that power, that being the only one conferred upon Congress to that end, that proposition is the one on which alone it canbe pretended that the Southern States are not in the Union now as well as at first, The idea that the war power, as such, has been used, or could have been used, to extinguish the rebellion, is, in the judgment of the undersigned utterly without foundation. That power was given for a different contingency-for the contingency of a conflict with other governments, an international conflict. If it had been thought that that power was to be resorted to to suppress a domestic strife, the words " appropriate to that object'" would have been used. But so far from this l; -ving been done, in the same section that confers it, an express provision is inserted to meet the exigency of a domestic strife or insurrection. To subdue that, authority is given to call out the militia. Whether, in the progress of the effort to suppress an insurrection, the rights incident to war as between the United States and foreign nations may not arise, is a question which in no way changes the character of the contest as between the Government and th e insurrectionists. The exercise of such rights may be found convenient, or become necessary for the suppression of the rebellion, but the character of the conflict is in no way changed by a resort to them. That remains, as at first, and must from its very nature during its continuance remain, a mere contest in which the Government seeks, and can only seek, to put an end to the rebellion. That achieved, the original conrdition of things is at once restoied. Two judicial decisions have been made, by judges of eminent and unquestioned ability, which fully sustain our view. In one, that of Amy Warwick, before the United States district court ol Massachusetts, Judge Sprague, referring to the supposed effect of the belligerent rights which it was conceded belonged to the Government during the rebellion, by giving it, when suppressed, the rights of conquest, declared: " It has been supposed that if the Government have the right of a belligerent, then, after the rebellion is suppressed, it will have the rights of conquest; that a State and its inhabitants may be permanently divested of all political advan tages, and treated as foreign territory conquered by arms. This is an error, a grave and dangerous error. Belligerent rights cannot be exercised where there are no belligerents. Conquest of a foreign country gives absolute, unlimited sovereign rights, but no nation ever makes such a conquest of its own territory. If ahostile power, either from without or within, takes and holds possession and dominion over any poi - tion of its territory, and the nation, by force of arms, expel or overthrow the enemy, and suppresses hostilities, it acquires no new title, and merely regains the possession of that of which it has been temporarily deprived. The nation acquires no new sovereignty, but merely maintains its previous rights. " When the United States take possession of a rebel district, they merely vindicate their preexisting title. Under despotic governments confiscation may be unlimited, but under our Government the right of sovereignty over any portion of a State is given and limited by the Constitution, and will be the same after the war as it was before." In the other, an application for habeas corpus to Mr. Justice Nelson, one of the judges of t.hA 96 POLITICAL MANIUAL. Supreme Court of the Unitei States, by James Egan, to be discharged from an imprisonment to which he had been sentenced by a military commission in South Carolina, for the offence of murder alleged to have been committed in that State, and the discharge was ordered, and, in an opinion evidently carefully prepared, among other things, said: "For all that appears, the civil local courts of the State of South Carolina were in the full exercise of their judicial functions at the time of this trial, as restored by the suppression of the rebellion, some seven months previously, and by the revival of the laws and the reorganization of the State in obedience to, and in conformity with, its constitutional duties to the Union. Indeed, long previous to this the provisional government had been appointed by the President, who is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, (and whose will under martial law constituted the only rule of action,) for the special purpose of changing the existing state of things, and restoring the civil government over the people. In operation of this ap)pointment, a new constitution had been formed, a governor and legislature elected under it4 and the State placed in the full enjoyment, or entitled to the full enjoyment, of all her constitutional rights and privileges. The constitutional laws of the Union were thereby enjoyed and obeyed, and were as authoritative and binding over the pecple of the State as in any other portion of the country. Indeed, the moment the rebellion was suppressed, and the government growing out of it subverted, the ancient laws resumed their accustomed sway, subject only to the new reorganization by the appointment of the proper officer to give them operation and effect. This organization and appointment of the public functionaries, which was under the superintendence and direction of the President, the comomander-in-chief of the army and navy of the country, and who, as such, had previously governed the State, from imperative necessity, by tle force of martial law, had already taken place, and the necessity no longer existed." This opinion is the more authoritative than it might possibly be esteemed otherwise, from its being the first elaborate statement of the reasons which governed the majority of the Supreme Court at the last term in their judgment in the case of Milligan and others, that military commissions for the trial of civilians a.-o not constitutional. Mr. Justice Nelson wan one of that majority, and of course was advised of the grounds of their decision. We submit that nothing could be more conclusive in favor of the doctrine for which they are cited than these judgments. In. the one, the preposition of conquest of a State as a right under the war to suppress the insurrection is not only repudiated by Judge Sprague, but, because of the nature of our Government, is considered to be legally impossible. " The right of sovereignty over any portion of a State will," he tells us, " only be the same after the war as it was before." In the other, we are told " that the suppression of the rebellion restores the courts of the State," and that when her government is reorganized she at once is "in the full enjoyment, or entitled to the full enjoyment, of all her constitutional righte and privileges." Again, a contrary doctrine is inconsistent with the obligation which the Government is under to each citizen of a State. Protection to each is a part of that obligation-protection not only as against a foreign, but a domestic foe. To hold that it is in the power of any part of the people of a State, whether they constitute a majority or minority, by engaging in insurrection and adopting any measure in its prosecution to make citizens who are not engaged in it, but opposed to it, enemies of the United States, having no right to the protection which the Constitution affords to citizens who are true to their allegiance, is as illegal as it would be flagrantly unjust. During the conflict the exigency of the strife may justify a denial of such protection, and subject the unoffending citizen to inconvenience or loss; but the conflict over, the exigency ceases, and the obligation to afford him all the immunities and advantages of the Constitution, one of which is the right to be represented in Congress, becomes absolute and imperative. A different rule would enable the Government to escape a clear duty, and to commit a gross violation of the Constitution. It has been said that the Supreme Court have entertained a different doctrine in the prize cases. This, in the judgment of the undersigned, is a clear misapprehension. One of the questions in those cases was, whether in such a contest as was being waged for the extinguishment of the insurrection, belligerent rights, as between the United States and other nations, belonged to the former. The Court properly held that they did; but the parties engaged in the rebellion were designated as traitors, and liable to be tried as traitors When the rebellion should terminate. If the Confederate States, by force of insurrection, became foreign States and lost their character as States of the Union, then the contest was an international one, and treason was no more committed by citizens of the former against the latter, than by those of the latter against the former. Treason necessarily assumes allegiance to the government, and allegiance necessarily assumes a continuing obligation to the government. Neither predicament was true, except upon the hypothesis that the old state of things continued. In other words, that the States, notwithstanding the insurrection, were continuously, and are now, States of the United States, and their citizens responsible to the Constitution and the laws. Second: what is there, then, in the present political condition of such States that justifies their exclusion from representation in Congress? Is it because they are without organized, governments, or without governments republican in point of form? In fact, we know that they have governments completely organized with legislative, executive, and judicial functions. We know that they are now in successful operation; no one within their limits questions their legality, or is denied their protection. How they were formed, under what auspices they were formed, are inquiries with which Congress has no concern. The right of the people of a State to form a government for themselves has never been questioned. In the absence of any re REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. P7 striction that right would be absolute; any form could be adopted that they might determine upon. The Constitution imposes but a single restriction-that the government adopted shall be " of a republican form," and this is done in the obligation to guarantee every State such a form. It gives no power to frame a constitution for a State. It operates alone upon one already formed by the State. In the words of the Federalist, (No. 44,) "it supposes a pre-existing government of the form which is to be guaranteed." It is not pretended that the existing governments of the States in question are not of the required form. The objection is that they were not legally established. But it is confidently submitted that that is a matter with which Congress has nothing to do. The power to establish or modify a State government belongs exclusively to the people of the State. When they shall exercise it, how they shall exercise it, what provisions it shall contain, it is their exclusive right to decide, and when decided, their decision is obligatory upon everybody, and independent of all congressional control, if such government be republican. To convert an obligation of guarantee into an authority to interfere in any way in the formation of the government to be guaranteed is to do violence to language. If it be said that the President did illegally interfere in the organization of such governments, the answers are obvious: First. If it was true, if the people of such States not only have not, but do not, complain of it, but, on the contrary, have pursued his advice, and are satisfied with and are living under the governments they have adopted, and those governmehts are republican in form, what right has Congress to interfere or deny their legal existence? Second. Conceding, for argument's sake, that the President's alleged interference was unauthorized, does it not, and for the same reason, follow that any like interference by Congress would be equally unauthorized? A different view is not to be maintained because of the difference in the nature of the powers conferred upon Congress and the President, the one being legislative and the other executive; for it is equally, and upon the same ground, beyond the scope of either to form a government for a people of a State once in the Union, or to expel such a State from the Union, or to deny, temporarily or permanently, the rights which belong to a State and her people under the Constitution. Congress may admit new States, but a State once admitted ceases to be within its control, and can never again be brought within it. What changes her people may at any time think proper to make in her constitution is a matter with which neither Congress nor any department of the General Government can interfere, unless such changes make the State government anti-republican, and then it can only be done under the obligation to guarantee that it be republican. Whatever may be the extent of the power conferred upon Congress in the 3d section, article 4, of the Constitution, to admit new States-in what manner and to what extent they can, under that power, interfere in the formation and character of the Constitution of such 8tates preliminary to 7 admission into the Union, no one has ever pretended that when that is had, the State can agaii be brought within its influence. The power is exhausted when once executed, the subject forthwith passing out of its reach. The State admitted' like the original thirteen States, becomes at oncc. and forever independent of congressional control. A different view would change the entire character of the Government as its framers and their contemporaries designed and understood it to be. They never intended to make the State governments subordinate to the General Government.. Each was to move supreme within its own orbit; but as each would not alone have met the exigencies of a government adequate to all the wants of the people, the two, in the language of Mr. Jefferson, constituted " co-ordinate departments of one single and integral whole;" the one having the power of legislation and administration "in affair,, which concerned their own citizens only;" the other, " whatever concerned foreigners, or citizens of other States." Within their respective limits each is paramount. The States, as to all powers not delegated to the General Government, are as independent of that government as the latter, in regard to all powers that are delegated to it, is independent of the governments of the States. The proposition, then, that Congress can, by forcP or otherwise, under the war or insurrectionary or any other power, expel a State from the Union, or reduce it to a territorial condition and govern it as such, is utterly without foundation. The undersigned deem it unnecessary to examine the question further. They leave it upon the observations submitted, considering it perfectly clear that States, notwithstanding occurring insurrections, continue to be States of the Union. Thirdly. If this is so, it necessarily follows that the rights of States under the Constitution, as originally possessed and enjoyed by them, are still theirs, and those they are now enjoying, as far as they depend upon the executive and judicial departments of the government. By each of these departments they are recognized as States. By the one, all officers of the government required by law to be appointed in such States have been appointed, and are discharging, without question, their respective functions. By the other they are, as States, enjoying the benefit, and subjected to the powers of that department; a fact conclusive to show that, in the estimation of the judiciary, they are, as they were at first, States of the Union, bound by the laws of the Union, and entitled to all the rights incident to that relation. And yet, so far they are denied that right which the Constitutio.: properly esteems as the security of all tni others-that right, without which government is anything but a republic-is indeed but a tvranny-the right of having a voice in the legislative department, whose laws bind them in person and in property;-this, it is submitted, is a state of things without example in a representative republican government; and Congress, an long as it denies this right, is a mere despotism. Citizens may be made to submit to it by force, or dread of force, but a fraternal spirit and good feeling toward those who impose it, so important to the peace and prosperity of the country, arEnot to be hoped for, but rather unr.happnese, 08 POLITICAL MANUAL. dissatisfaction, and enmity. There is but one ground on which such conduct can find any excuse-a supposed public necessity; the peril of destruction to which the government would be subjected, if the right was allowed. But for such a supposition there is not, in the opinion of the undersigned, even a shadow of foundation. The representatives of the States in which there was no insurrection, if the others were represented, would in the House, under the present apportionment, exceed the latter by a majority of seventy-two votes, and have a decided preponderance in the Senate. What danger to the Government, then, can possibly arise from southern representation? Are the present Senators and Representatives fearful of themselves? Are they apprehensive that they might be led to the destruction of our institutions by the persuasion, or any other influence, of southern members? How disparaging to themselves is such an apprehension. Are they apprehensive that those who may succeed them from their respective States may be so fatally led astray? How disparaging is that supposition to the patriotism and wisdom of their constituents. Whatever effect on mere party success in the future such a representation may have we shall not stop to inquire. The idea that the country is to be kept in turmoil, States tc be reduced to bondage, and their rights under the Constitution denied, and their citizens degraded, with a view to the continuance in power of a mere political party, cannot for a moment be entertained without imputing gross dishonesty of purpose and gross dereliction of duty to those who may entertain it. Nor do we deem it necessary to refer particularly to the evidence taken by the committee to show that there is nothing in the present condition of the people of the southern States that even excuses on that ground a denial of representation to them. We content ourselves with saying that in our opinion the evidence most to be relied upon, whether regarding the character of the witnesses or their means of information, shows that representatives from the southern States would prove perfectly loyal. We specially refer for this only to the testimony of Lieutenant General Grant. His loyalty and his intelligence no one can doubt. In his letter to the President of the 18th of December, 1865, after he had recently visited South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, he says: " Both in travelling and while stopping, I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of those States, as well as with officers of the army who have been among them. The following are the conclusions come to by me: " I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men of the South accept the present situation of affairs in goodfaith. The questions which have heretofore divided ths sentiments of the people of the two sections-slavery and State rights, or the right of a State to secede from the Union -they regard as having been settled forever by the highest tribunal, arms, that man can resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I met that they not only accepted the decision arrived at as final, but that now, the smoke of battle has cleared away and time has been given for reflection, that this decision has beenr a fortunate onefor the whole covuntry, they receiving the like benefits from it with those who opposed them in the field and in the cause. * " My observations lead me to the conclusion that the citizens of the southern States are anx*ious to return to self-government within the Union as soon as possible; that while reconstructing, they want and require protection from the Government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think is required by the Government, not humiliating to them as citizens; and that if such a course was pointed out, they would pursue it in good faith. Jt is to be regretted that there cannot be a greater comming-, ling at this time between the citizens of the twosections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power." Secession, as a practical doctrine ever hereafter to be resorted to, is almost utterly abandoned. It was submitted to and failed before the ordeal of battle. Nor can the undersigned imagine why, if its revival is anticipated as possible, the committee have not recommended an amendment to the Constitution guarding against it in terms. Such an amendment, it cannot be doubted, the southern as well as northern States would cheerfully adopt. The omission of such a recommendation is pregnant evidence that secession, as a constitutional right, is thought by the majority of the committee to be, practically, a mere thing of the past, as all the proof taken by tbem shows it to be, in. the opinion of all the leading southern men who hitherto entertained it. The desolation around them, the hecatombs of their own slain, the stern patriotism of the men of the other States, exhibited by unlimited expenditure of treasure and of blood, and their love of the Union so sincere and deepseated that it is seen they will hazard all to maintain it, have convinced the South that, as a practical doctrine, secession is extinguished forever. State secession, then, abandoned, and slavery abolished by the southern States themselves, or with their consent, upon what statesmanlike ground can such States be denied all the rights which the Constitution secures to States of the Union? All admit that to do so at the earliest period is demanded by every consideration of duty and policy, and none deny that the actual interest of the country is to a great extent involved in such admission. The staple productions of the Southern States are as important to the other States as to themselves. Those staples largely enter into the wants of all alike, and they are also most important to the financial credit of the Government. Those staples will never be produced as in the past until real peace, resting, as it can alone rest, on the equal and uniform operation of the Constitution and laws on all, is attained. To suppose that a brave and sensitive people will give an undivided attention to the increase of mere material wealth while retained in a state of political inferiority and degradation is mere folly. They desire to be again in the Union, to enjoy the benefits of the Constitution, and they invoke you to receive them. They have adopted constitutions free from any intrinsic objection, and have agreed to every stipulation thought by REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION, the President to be necessary for the protection and benefit of all, and in the opinion of the undersigned they are amply sufficient. Why exact, as a preliminary condition to representation, more? What more are supposed to be necessary? First, the repudiation of the rebel debt; second, the denial of all obligation to pay for manumitted slaves; third, the inviolability of our own debt. If these provisions are deemed necessary, they cannot be defeated, if the South were disposed to defeat them, by the admission into Congress of their representatives. Nothing is more probable, in the opinion of the undersigned, than that many of the southern States would adopt them all; but those measures the committee connect with others which we think the people of the South will never adopt. They are asked to disfranchise a numerous class of their citizens, and also to agree to diminish their representation in Congress, and of course in the electoral college, or to admit to the right of suffrage their colored males of twenty-one years of age and upwards, (a class now in a condition of almost utter ignorance,) thus placing them on the same political footing with white citizens of that age. For reasons so obvious that the dullest may discover them, the right is not directly asserted of granting suffrage to the negro. That would be obnoxious to most of the Northern and Western States, so much so that their consent was not to be anticipated; but as the plan adopted, because of the limited number of negroes in such States, will have no effect on their representation, it is thought it may be adopted, while in the southern States it will materially lessen their number. That these latter States will assent to the me&sure can hardly be expected. The effect, then, if not the purpose, of the measure is forever to deny representatives to such States, or, if they consent to the condition, to weaken their representative power, and thus, probably, secure a continuance of such a party in power as now control the legislation of the Government. The measure, in its terms and its effect, whether designed or not, is to degrade the southern States. To consent to it will be to consent to their own dishonor. The manner, too, of presenting the proposed constitutional amendment, in the opinion of the undersigned, is impolitic and without precedent. The several amendments suggested have no connection with each other; each, if adopted, would have its appropriate effect if the others were rejected; and each, therefore, should be submitted as a separate article, without subjecting it to the contingency of rejection if the States should refuse to ratify the rest. Each by itself, if an advisable measure, should be submitted to the people, and not in such a connection with those which they may think unnecessary or dangerous as to force them to reject all. The repudiation of the rebel debt, and all obligation to compensate for the loss of slave property, and the inviolability of the debts of the Government, no matter how contracted, provided for by some of the sections of the amendment, we repeat, we believe would meet the approval of many of the southern States; but these no State can sanction without sanctioning others, which we think will not be done by them or by some of the northern States. To force negro suffrage upon any State by means of a penalty of a loss of part of its representation, will not only be to impose a disparaging condition, but virtually to interfere with the clear right of each State to regulate suffrage for itself, without the control of the Government of the United States. Whether that control be ex erted directly or indirectly, it will be considered, as it is, a fatal blow to the right which every State in the past has held vital, the right to regulate her franchise. To punish a State for not regulating it in a particular way, so as to give to all classes of the people the privilege of suffrage, is but seeking to accomplish incidentally what, if it should be done at all, should be done directly. No reason, in the view of the undersigned, can be suggested for the course adopted, other than a belief that such a direct interference would not be sanctioned by the northern and western States, while, as regards such States, the actual recommendation, because of the small proportion of negroes within their limits, will not in the least lessen their representative power in Congress or their influence in the presidential election, and they may therefore sanction it. This very inequality in its operation upon the States renders the measure, in our opinion, most unjust, and, looking to the peace and quiet of the country, most impolitic. But the mode advised is also not only without but against all precedent. When the Constitution was adopted it was thought to be defective in not sufficiently protecting certain rights of the States and the people. With the view of supplying a remedy for this defect, on the 4th March, 17.89, various amendments by a resolution constitutionally passed by Congress were submitted for ratification to the States. They were twelve in number. Several of them were even less independent of each other than are those recommended by the committee. But it did not occur to the men of that day that it was right to force the States to adopt or reject all. Each was, therefore, presented as a separate article. The language of the resolution was, " that the following articles be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as amendments of the Constitution of the United States, ALL OR ANY OF WHICH ARTICLES, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as parts of the Constitution. The Congress of that day was willing to obtain either of the submitted amendments-to get a part, if not able to procure the whole. They thought (and in that we submit they but conformed to the letter and spirit of the amendatory clause of the Constitution,) that the people have the right to pass severally on any proposed amendments. This course of our fathers is now departed from, and the result will probably be that no one of the suggested amendments, though some may be approved, will be ratified. This will certainly be the result, unless the States are willing practically to relinquish the right they have always enjoyed, never before questioned by any recognized statesman, and all-important to their interest and security-the right to regulate the franchise in all their elections. There are, too, some general considorations 100 POLITICAL MANUAL. that bear on the subject, to which we will now refer. First. One of the resolutions of the Chicago convention, by which Mr. Lincoln was first nominated for the presidency, says, "that the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States is essential to the balance of power on which the prosperity and endurance of our political fabric depend." In his inaugural address of 4th March, 1861, which received the almost universal approval of the people, among other things he said, "no State of its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union;" and that " in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States." Second. Actual conflict soon afterwards ensued. The South, it was believed, misapprehended the purpose of the Government in carrying it on, and Congress deemed it imporant to dispel that misapprehension by declaring what the purpose was. This was done in July, 1861, by their passing the following resolution, offered by Mr. Crittenden: " That in this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feeling of mere Sassion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not waged, upon our part, in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; that as soon as these objects are accomplished, the war ought to cease." The vote in the House was 119 for and 2 against it, and in the Senate 30 for and 5 against it. The design to conquer or subjugate, or to curtail or interfere in any way with the rights of the States, is in the strongest terms thus disclaimed, and the only avowed object asserted to be ( to defend and maintain the spirit of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union, AND THE DIGNITY, EQUALITY, AND RIGHTS OF THE SEVERAL STATES UNIMPAIRED." Congress, too, by the act of 13th July, 1861, empowered the President to declare, by proclamation, "that the inhabitants of such State or States where the insurrection existed are in a state of insurrection against the United States," and thereupon to declare that " all commercial intercourse by and between the same, by the citizens thereof and the citizens of the United States, shall cease and be unlawful so long as such condition of hostility shall continue." Here, also, Congress evidently deals with the States as being in the Union and to remain in the Union. It seeks to keep them in by forbidding commercial intercourse between their citizens and the citizens of the other States so long, and so long only, as insurrectionary hostility shall continue. That ended, they are to be, as at first, entitled to the same intercourse with citizens of other States that they enjoyed before the insurrection. In other words, in this act, as in the resolution of the same month, the dignity, equality, and rights of,such States (the insurrection ended) were not fo be~-eld in any respect impaired. The several proclamations of amnesty issued by Mr. Lincoln and his successor under the authority of Congress are also inconsistent with the idea that the parties included within them are not to be held, in the future, restored to all rights belonging to them as citizens of their respective States. A power to pardon is a power to restore the offender to the condition in which he was before the date of the offence pardoned. It is now settled that a pardon removes not only the punishment, but all the legal disabilities consequent on the crime. (7 Bac. Ab. Tit. Par.) Bishop on Criminal Law (vol. 1, p. 713) states the same doctrine. The amnesties so declared would be but false pretences if they were, as now held, to leave the parties who have availed themselves of them in almost every particular in the condition they would have been in if they had rejected them. Such a result, it is submitted, would be a foul blot on the good name of the nation. Upon the whole, therefore, in the present state of the country, the excitement which exists, and which may mislead legislatures already elected, we think that the matured sense of the people is not likely to be ascertained on the subject of the proposed amendment by its submission to existing State legislatures. If it should be done at all, the submission should either be to legislatures hereafter to be elected, or to conventions of the people chosen for the purpose. Congress may select either mode, but they have selected neither. It may be submitted to legislatures already in existence, vwhose members were heretofore elected with no vibw to the consideratiop of such a measure; and it may consequently be adopted, though a majority of the people of the States disapprove of it. In this respect, if there were no other objections to it, w3 think it most objectionable. Whether regard be had to the nature or the terms of the Constitution, or to the legislation of Congress during the insurrection, or to the course of the judicial department, or to the conduct of the executive, the undersigned confidently submit that the southern States are States in the Union, and entitled to every right and privilege belonging to the other States. If any portion of their citizens be disloyal, or are not able to take any oath of office that has been or may be constitutionally prescribed, is a question irrespective of the right of the States to be represented. Against the danger, whatever that may be, of the admission of disloyal or disqualified members into the Senate or House, it is in the power of each branch to provide against by refusing such admission. Each by the Constitution is made the judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members. No other department can interfere with it. Its decision concludes all others. The only corrective, when error is committed, consists in the responsibility of the members to the people. But it is believed by the undersigned to be the clear duty of each house to admit any Senator or Representative who has been elected according to the constitutional laws of the State, and who is able and willing to subscribe the oath required by constitutional law. It is conceded by the majority that "it -vould REPORTS ON RECONSTRUCTION. 101 undoubtedly be competent for Congress to waive all formalities, and to admit those Confederate States at once, trusting that time and experience would set all things right." It is not, therefore, owing to a want of constitutional power that it is not done. It is not because such States are not States with republi.an forms of government. The exclusion must therefore rest on considerations of safety or of expediency alone. The first, that of safety, we have already considered, and, as we think, proved it to be without foundation. Is there any ground for the latter expediency? We think not. On the contrary, in our judgment, their admission is called for by the clearest expediency. Those States include a territorial area of 850,000 square miles, an area larger than that of five of the leading nations of Europe. They have a coast line of 3,000 miles, with an internal water line, including the Mississippi, of about 36,000 miles. Their agricultural products in 1850 were about $560,000,000 in value, and their population 9,664,656. Their staple productions are of immense and growing importance and are almost peculiar to that region. That the North is deeply interested in having such a country and people restored to all the rights and privileges that the Constitution affords no sane man, not blinded by mere party considerations, or not a victim of disordering prejudice, can for a moment doubt. Such a restoration is also necessary to the peace of the country. It is not only important but vital to the potential wealth of which that section of our country is capable, that cannot otherwise be fully developed. Every hour of illegal political restraint, every hour the possession of the rights the Constitution gives is denied, is not only in a political but a material sense of great injury to the North as well as to the South. The southern planter works for his northern brethren as well as for himself. His labors heretofore inured as much if not more to their advantage than to his. Whilst harmony in the past between the sections gave to the whole a prosperity, a power, and a renown of which every citizen had reason to be proud, the restoration of such harmony will immeasurably increase them all. Can it, will it be restored as long as the South is kept in political and dishonoring bondage? and can it not, will it not be restored by an opposite policy? By admitting her to all the rights of the Constitution, and by dealing with her citizens as equals and as brothers, not as inferiors and enemies, such a course as this will, we are certain, soon be seen to bind them heart and soul to the Union, and inspire them with confidence in its government, by making them feel that all enmity is forgotten, and that justice is being done to them. The result of such a policy, we believe, will at once make us in very truth one people, as happy, as prosperous, and as powerful as ever existed in the tide of time; while its opposite cannot fail to keep us divided, injuriously affect the particular and general welfare of citizen and Government, and, if long persisted in, result in danger to the nation. In the words of an eminent British whig states-.nan, now no more, "A free constitution and large exclusions from its benefit cannot subsist together; the constitution will destroy them, or they will destroy the constitution." It is hoped that, heeding the warning, we will guard against the peril by removing its cause. The undersigned have not thought it necessary to examine into the legality of the measures adopted, either by the late or the present President, for the restoration of the southern States. It is sufficient for their purpose to say that, if those of President Johnson were not justified by the Constitution, the same may at least be said of those of his predecessor. We deem such an examination to be unnecessary, because, however it might result, the people of the several States who possessed, as we have before said, the exclusive right to decide for themselves what constitutions they should adopt, have adopted those under which they respectively live. The motives of neither President, however, whether the measures were legal or not, are liable to censure. The sole object of each was to effect a complete and early union of all the States, to make the General Government, as it did at first, embrace all, and to extend its authority and secure its privileges and blessings to all alike. The purity of motive of President Johnson in this particular, as was to have been expected, is admitted by the majority of the committee to be beyond doubt; for, whatever was their opinion of the unconstitutionality of his course, and its tendency to enlarge the executive power, they tell us that they " do nol for a moment impute to him any such design but cheerfully concede to him the most patriotic motives." And we cannot forbear to say, in conclusion, upon that point, that he sins againsi light, and closes his eyes to the course of th. President during the rebellion, from its inception to its close, who ventures to impeach hipatriotism. Surrounded by insurrectionists, he stood firm. His life was almost constantly in peril, and he clung to the Union, and discharged all the obligations it imposed upon him, even the closer because of the peril. And now that he has escaped unharmed, and by the confidence of the people has had devolved upon him the executive functions of the Government, to charge him with disloyalty is either a folly or a slander. folly in the fool who believes it; slander in the man of sense, if any such there be, whe utters it. REVERDY JOHNrIEOO, A. J. ROGERS, HENRY GRIDEE. VIII. VOTES ON PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. The Constitutional Amendment, as Finally Adopted and Submitted to the Legislatures of the States. IN SENATE. 1866, June 8-The Amendment in these words, as finally amended, Tas brought to a vote: Joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by threefourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely: ARTICLE 14. SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,,without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. SEC. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the iUnited States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twentyone years of age in such State. SEC. 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, s all have engaged in insurrec tion or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. SEC. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void SEC. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. It passed-yeas 33, nays 11, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Creswell, Edmunds, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, Harris Henderson, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Kansas, Lane of Indiana, Morgan, Morrill, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-33. NAYS-Messrs. Cowan, Davis, Doolittle, Guthrie, Hien. dricks, Johnson, McDougall, Norton, Riddle, Saulsbury, Van Winkle--l. ABSENT-Messrs. Brown, Buclalew, Dixon, Vesmith, Wright--5. IN HOUSE. June 13-The Amendment passed-yeas 138, nays 36, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Ban s, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Doming, Dixon,Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinuell, Griswold, IIale, Abner C. IIarding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Iligby, Holme., Hooper, IHotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. I-Subbard, Domas IIubbard,jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Ortb, Paine,Patterson,Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge, the Speaker-138. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Chanler, Cqfroth, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Kerr, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullozgh, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornt-on, Trimble, Wisfwild, Wright-36. NoT VOTING-Messrs. Culver, Goodyear, Harris, Hill, James lumphrey, Jones, McIndoe, Noell, Rousseau, Starr10. 102 VOTES ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 103 Preliminary Proceedings. Prior to the adoption of the joint resolution in the form above stated, these reports were made from the Joint Committee, and these votes were taken in the two Houses: IN HoUSE. April 30-Mr. Stevens, from the Joint Select Committee on Reconstruction reported a joint resolution, as follows: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Be it resolved, &c., (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely: ARTICLE -. SEc. 1. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. SEc. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But whenever in any State the elective franchise shall be denied to any portion of its male citizens not less than twenty-one years of age, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation in such State shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens not less than twenty-one years of age. SEc. 3. Until the 4th day of July, in the year 1870, all persons who voluntarily adhered to the late insurrection, giving it aid and comfort, shall be excluded from the right to vote for representatives in Congress and for electors for President and Vice-President of the United States. SEC. 4. Neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation already incurred, or which may hereafter be incurred, in aid of insurrection or of war against the United States, or any claim for compensation for loss of involuntary service or labor. SSEC. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Objection having been made to its being a special order for Tuesday, May 8, and every day thereafter until disposed of, Mr. Stevens moved a suspension of the rules to enable him to make ihat motion; which was agreed to-yeas 107, nays 20. The NAYS were: Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Coffroth, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Grider, Aaron Harding, James M. Humphrey, Latham, Marshall, Niblack, Nicholson, Ritter, Ross, Strouse, Taylor, Thornton, Winfield-20. May 10-Mr. Stevens demanded the previous question; which was seconded, on a count, 85 to 57; and the main question was orderedyeas 84, nays 79, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Banks, Baxter, Bidwell, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall. Cihanler, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling. Cook, Defrees, Dixon, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eldridge, Eliot, Grid r. Grinnell, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Harris, Hart, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, Ingersoll, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, William Lawrence, Le Blond, Loan, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, McCullough, McIndoe, Mercur, Morrill, Moulton, Niblack, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Price, John H Rice, Bitter, Rogers, Rollins, Ross, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shanklin, Shellabargar, Spalding, Stevens, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Ward, Ellihu B. Washburne, Welker, JamesF.Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-84. NAYs-Messrs. Alley, Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Backer, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boyer, Buckland, Bundy, Coffroth, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Dawson, Delano, Deming, Dodge, Donnelly, Farnsworth, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Griswold, Hayes, Henderson, Chester D. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Jenckes, Kasson, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, Longyear, Marshall, McKee, McRuer, Miller, Moorhead, Morris, Myers, Newell, Phelps, Plants, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William II. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, Sitgreaves, smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Trimble, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Whaley, Williams, Winfield, Wright-79. The joint resolution, as above printed, then passed-yeas 128, nays 37, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, B )twell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chestir D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso,. Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H1. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Spalding, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, v erner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge, the Speaker-128. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Chanter, Coffroth, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Harris, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, Niblack, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Bitter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, iSmith, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Whaley, WIV.tfield, Wright-37. The amendments of the Senate were m',de to this proposition, when it was finally adopted by each House, in the form first stated. The Accompanying Bills. April 30-Mr. Stevens, from the same committee, also reported this bill: A Bill to provide for restoring the States lately in insurrection to their full political rights. Whereas it is expedient that the States lately in insurrection should, at the earliest day consistent with the future peace and safety of the Union. be restored to full participation in all political rights; and whereas the Congress did, by joint resolution, propose for ratification to the legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, an article in the following words, to wit: [For article, see page 102.] Now, therefore, Be it enacted, &c., That whenever the aboverecited amendment shall have become part of the POLITICAL MANUAL. Constitution of the United States, and any State lately in insurrection shall have ratified the same, and shall have modified its constitution and laws in conformity therewith, the Senators and Representatives from such State, if found duly elected and qualified, may, after having taken the required oaths of office, be admitted into Congress as such. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That when any State lately in insurrection shall have ratified the foregoing amendment to the Constitution, any part of the direct tax under the act of August 5, 1861, which may remain due and unpaid in such State may be assumed and paid by such State; and the paymentthereof, upon proper assurances from such State to be given to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, may be postponed for a period not exceeding ten years from and after the passage of this act. April 30-Mr. Stevens, from the same committee, also reported this bill: A Bill declaring certain persons ineligible to office under the Government of the United States. Be it enacted, &c., That no person shall be eligible to any office under the Government of the United States who is included in any of the following classes, namely: 1. The president and vice president of the confederate States of America, so called, and the heads of departments thereof. 2. Those who in other countries acted as agents of the confederate States of America, so called. 3. Heads of Departments of the United States, officers of the army and navy of the United States, and all persons educated at the Military or Naval Academy of the United States, judges of the courts of the United States, and members of either House of the Thirty-Sixth Congress of the United States who gave aid or comfort to the late rebellion. 4. Those who acted as officers of the confederate States of America, so called, above the grade of colonel in the army or master in the navy, and any one who, as Governor of either of the so-called confederate States, gave aid or comfort to the rebellion. 5. Those who have treated officers or soldiers or sailors of the army or navy of the United States, captured during the late war, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war. Neither of these bills has been voted on up to the time this page goes to press. which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed: Provided, Thatwhenever the elective franchise shall be denied or abridged in any State on account of race or color, all persons of such race or color shall be excluded from the basis of representation. Mr. Stevens moved to insert the word " therein " after the word "persons" where it last occurs. Sundry propositions of amendment were offered, and January 30-The report was recommitted, without instructions-the motion of Mr. Le Blond to commit it to the Committee of the "Whole having been lost, yeas 37, nays 133. (Messrs. McRuer and Rousseau and 35 Democrats made up the affirmative vote.) The Negatived Constitutional Amendment on Representation. Ii HOUSE. January 31,1866-Mr. Stevens reported from the Committee on Reconstruction this joint resolution: Joint Resolution proposing to amend the Constitution of the United States. Resolved, &c., (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as pavt of said Constitution, namely: ARTICLE -. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed: Provided, That whenever the elective franchise shall be denied or abridged in any State on account of race or color, all persons therein of such race or color shall be excluded from the basis of representation. Mr. Schenck submitted this as a substitute for the "Article:" Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union according to the number of male citizens of the United States over twenty-one years of age having the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. The Congress, at their first session after the ratification of this amendment by the required number of States, shall provide by law for the actual enumeration of such voters; and such actual enumeration shall be separately made in a general census of the population of all the States within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as the Congress may by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every one hundred and twenty-five thousand of actual population, but each State shall have at least one Representative. Mr. Schenck's substitute was disagreed toyeas 29, nays 131, as follow: The Negatived Amendment on Representation and Direct Taxes. IN HOUSE. January 22, 1866-Mr. Stevens reported this proposition from the Joint Select Committee: Resolved, &c., (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, shall be valid as part of said Constitution, namely: ARTICLE --. Representatives and direct taxes ehall be apportioned among the several States VOTES ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 105 YEAS-Messrs. Anderson, Bromwell, Bundy, Reader W. Clarko, Sidney Clarko, Darling, Davis, Defrees, Farnsworth, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Hill, Chester D. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Jas. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Kuykendall, William Lawrence, Marshall, McCullough, Miller, Orth, Pike, Ross, Schnnck, Shellabarger, Sloan, Thornton, Van HIorn-29. NAYS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, James M. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, Brooks, Broomall, Buckland, Chanler, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Dawson, Delano, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Donnelly, Eckley, Eggleston, Eldridge, Eliot, Farquhar, Ferry, Fin/ck, Garfield, Grider, Grinnell, Griswold, Male, Aaron IHarding, Harris, Iart, Hogan, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John II. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, Hulburd, James i. llumphrey, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketcham, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, Le Blond, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, NTiblack, Nicholson,Noell, O'Neill, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Samuel J. Randall, William II. Randall, Alexander II. Rice, John IH. Rice, Ritter, Rogers, Rollins, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanklin, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Trimble, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, TVborhees, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn. Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wright--131. The joint resolution, as reported, was then agreed to-yeas 120, nays 46, as follow: YEas-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Barke, er, Bater,Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, e(idney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Eckley, Eggleson, Farnsworth, arquhar, Ferry, Fe Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Jas. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, yers, MO'Neill, Orth, Paine,, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, eve, Stillwell, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-120. NArs-Messrs. Baldwin, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanter, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Eliot, Finck, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Harris, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Jenckes, Johnson, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall,.McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Samuel J. Randall., William H. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, RPgqers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Voorhees, Whaley, Wright, -46. [Messrs. Driggs and Newell, February 1, stated they would have voted aye, if present.] IN SENATE. March 9, 1866-The resolution of the House was rejected-yeas 25, nays 22, as follow, (twothirds being necessary:) YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, C.reswell, Fessenden, Foster, Grimes, IHarris, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, McDougall, Morgan, Morrill, Nyo, Poland, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Trumbull, Wade, Williams, Wilson--25. NAYs--Messrs. Brown, Buckalewz, Cowan, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Guthrie, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Kansas, Nesmith, Norton, Pomeroy, Riddle, Saulsbury, Stewart, Stockton, Sumner, Van Winkle, Willey, Yates-22. Report on Privileges and Immunities of Citizens. IN HOUSE. February 13, 1866-Mr. Bingham reported from the Joint Reconstruction Committee, this joint resolution, which was re-committed and ordered to be printed: Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Resolved, &c., (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures, shall be valid as part ol said Constitution, viz: ARTICL -. The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the citizens of each State all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States, and to all persons in the several States equal protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property. February 26-Mr. Bingham reported it back, without amendment. February 28-Mr. Eldridge moved that it lie on the table; which was disagreed to-yeas 41, nays 110, as follow: YEAs--Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Brooks, Clanler, Cqffroth, Davis, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Griswold, Hale, A. Harding, Hogan, E. N. Iubbell, Kerr, Kuykendall, Marshall, Marvin, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, S. J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Stouse, aber, Taylor,. Thionton, Trimble, Winfield, tright-41. Nelvs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham.Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Donnelly, DNimont, Eclley, Eggleston, Eliot,. Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnel I, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, so,l Ketcham, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, McKee, MecRuer, Mercur, Moor/head, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Price, Raymond, Alexander I. Rice, John H. Rice, Sawyer, Schenck, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Trowbridge, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, Wm. B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-110. And on motion of Mr. Conkling, its further consideration was postponed until the second Tuesday in April. There was no further vote on it. IN SENATE. February 13-Mr. Fessenden reported tho same resolution, which was laid over, and not again considered. Report Concerning Tennessee. IN HOUSE. March 5, 1866-Mr. Bingham reported from the Select Joint Committee on Reconstruction this Joint Resolution concerning the State of Tennessee..Resolved, &c., That whereas the people of Tennessee have made known to the Congress of the United States their desire that the constitutional relations heretofore existing between them and the United States may be fully established, and did, on the twenty-second day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government, republican in form and 106 POLITICAL MANUAL. not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, and a State government has been organized under the provisions thereof, which said provisions and the laws passed in pursuance thereof proclaim and denote loyalty to the Union; and whereas the people of Tennessee are found to be in a condition to exercise the functions of a State within this Union, and can only exercise the same by the consent of the law-making power of the United States: Therefore, the State of Tennessee is hereby declared to be one of the United States of America, on an equal footing with the other States, upon the express condition that the people of Tennessee will maintain and enforce, in good faith, their existing constitution and laws, excluding those who have been engaged in rebellion against the United States from the exercise of the elective franchise, for the respective periods of time therein provided for, and shall exclude the same persons for the like respective periods of time from eligibility to office; and the State of Tennessee shall never assume or pay any debt or obligation contracted or incurred in aid of the late rebellion; nor shall said State ever in any manner claim from the United States or make any allowance or compensation for slaves emancipated or liberated in any way whatever; which conditions shall be ratified by the Legislature of Tennessee, or the people thereof, as the Legislature may direct, before this act shall take effect. The resolution was ordered to be printed, and was recommitted to the committee, and has not been voted on, up to the time this page goes to press. Payment of Rebel Debt. December 19, 1865-Mr. James F. Wilson reported from the Committee on the Judiciary the following joint resolution to amend the Constitution of the United States: Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concur ring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid to all intents and purposes as a part of said Constitution, namely: ARTICLE -. No tax, duty, or impost shall be laid, nor shall any appropriation of money be made, by either the United States, or any one of the States thereof, for the purpose of paying, either in whole or in part, any debt, contract, or liability whatsoever, incurred, made, or suffered by any one or more of the States, or the people thereof, for the purpose of aiding rebellion against the Constitution and laws of the United States. Which was passed-yeas 151, nays 11, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Chanler, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling,Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, IHenderson, Higby, Hill, Hogan, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John II. IIubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketcham, Khuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marshall, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Morrill, Moulton, Myers, Newell, TYiblacc, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham. Phelps, Pike, Plants, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H.Rice, Rollins, RossRousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Thornton; Trowbridgo, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Voorhees, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Wright-151. NAYS-Messrs. Brooks, Denison, Eldridge, Grider, Aaron Harding, McCullough, Nicholson, Ritter, Rogers, Shanclin, Trimble-11. It was not acted on in the Senate; but the substance of it is included in the amendment Wn finally adopted, IX. MEMBERS OF THE CABINET OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON, AND OF THE THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, WITH NAMES OF CLAIMANTS FROM THE INSURRECTIONARY STATES. PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S CABINET. Secretary of State-WILLIAM H. SEWARD, of New York. Secretary of Treasury-HUGH MCCULLOCH, of Indiana. Secretary of War-EDwIN M. STANTON, of Ohio. Secretary of Navy-GIDEON WELLES, of Connecticut. Postmaster General-WILLIAM DENNISON', of Ohio. Secretary of Interior-JAMES HARLAN, of Iowa. Attorney General-JAMES SPEED, of Kentucky. THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS. Senate. LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER, of Connecticut, President of the Senate, and Acting Vice President. John W. Forney, of Pennsylvania, Secretary. Maine-William Pitt Fessenden, Lot M. Morrill. New Hampshire-Daniel Clark, Aaron H. Cragin. Vermont-Solomon Foot,* Luke P. Poland. Massachusetts-Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson. Rhode Island-Henry B. Anthony, William Sprague. Connecticut-James Dixon, Lafayette S. Foster. New York-Ira Harris, Edwin D. Morgan. New Jersey-William Wright, John P. Stockton.f Pennsylvania-Charles R. Buckalew, Edgar Cowan. Delaware-George Read Riddle, Willard Saulsbury. Maryland-John A. J. Creswell, Reverdy Johnson. Ohio-John Sherman, Benjamin F. Wade. Kentucky-James Guthrie, Garrett Davis. Indiana-Henry S. Lane, Thomas A. Hendricks. Illinois-Lyman Trumbull, Richard Yates. Missouri-B. Gratz Brown, John B. Henderson, Michigan-Zachariah Chandler, Jacob M. Howard. Iowa-James W. Grimes, Samuel J. Kirkwood.* Wisconsin-James R. Doolittle, Timothy 0. Howe. California-John Conness, James A. McDougall. Minnesota-Daniel S. Norton, Alexander Ramsey. Oregon-James W. Nesmith, George H. Williams. Kansas-Samuel C. Pomeroy, James H. Lane. West Virginia-Peter G. Van Winkle, Waitman T. Willey. Nevada-James W. Nye, William M. Stewart. Senators Chosen from the late Insurrectionary States. Alabama-Lewis E. Parsons, George S. Houston. Arkansas-Elisha Baxter, William D. Snow. Florida-William Marvin, Wilkerson Call. Georgia-Alexander H. Stephens, Herschel V. Johnson. Louisiana-Randall Hunt, Henry Boyce. (R. King Cutler and Michael Hahn also claim under a former election in October, 1864.) Miississippi-William L. Sharkey, James L. Alcorn. North Carolina-William A. Graham, John Pool. South Carolina-Benjamin F. Perry, John L. Manning. Tennessee-David T. Patterson, Joseph S. Fowler. TexasVirginia-John C. Underwood, Joseph Segar. MEMORANDUM. Mr. A. H. Stephens was a delegate from Georgia to the convention which framed the " Confederate" constitution, and was Vice President of the "Confederacy" until its downfall. Mr. H. V. Johnson was a senator in the rebel congress in the first and second congresses, as was Mr. Graham, from North Carolina. Mr. Pool was a senator in the Legislature of North Carolina. Mr. Perry was a "Confederate States" judge. Mr. Manning was a volunteer aid to * Died March 28,1866. His successor, George F.Edmunds, qualified April 5, 1866. t Voted-yeas 22, nays 21-not entitled to a seat in the Senate, March 27, 1866. The vote on the amendment declaring him noten titled was as follow: YEaS--Mesesrs. Brown, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cregin, Creswell, Fessenden, Grimes, Howard, Howe, Kirkwood, Lane.of Indiana, Nye, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Sumner, Wade, Williams, Wilson, Yates--22. NAYs-Messrs. Anthony, Buckalew, Cowan, Davis, Doolittle, Guthrie, Harris, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, Lane of Kansas, McDougall, Morgan, Nesmith, Norton, Poland, Riddle, Saulsbury, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey-21. - - -- "* Credentials presented January 20, 1866, and he took his seat January 24, 1866. 107 108 POLITICAL MANUAL. General Beauregard at Fort Sumter and Manassas. Mr. Alcorn was in the Mississippi militia. House of Representatives. SCIIUYLER COLFAX, of Indiana, Speaker. Edward McPherson, of Pennsylvania, Clerk. Maine-John Lynch, Sidney Perham, James G. Blaine, John H. Rice, Frederick A. Pike. New Hampshire-Gilman Marston, Edward H. Rollins, James W. Patterson. Vermont-Frederick E. Woodbridge, Justin S. Morrill, Portus Baxter. Massachusetts-Thomas D. Eliot, Oakes Ames, Alexander H. Rice, Samuel Hooper, John B. Alley, Nathaniel P. Banks, George S. Boutwell, John D. Baldwin, William B. Washburn, Henry L. Dawes. Rhode Island-Thomas A. Jenckes, Nathan F. Dixon. Connecticut-Henry C. Deming, Samuel L. Warner, Augustus Brandegee, John H. Hubbard. New York-Stephen Taber, Teunis G. Bergen, James Humphrey*, Morgan Jones, Nelson Taylor, Henry J. Raymond, John W. Chanler, James Brooksf, William A. Darling, William Radford, Charles H. Winfield, John H. Ketcham, Edwin N. Hubbell, Charles Goodyear, John A. Griswold, Robert S. Hale, Calvin T. Hulburd, James M. Marvin, Demas Hubbard, Jr., Addison H. Laflin, Roscoe Conkling, Sidney T. Holmes, Thomas T. Davis, Theodore M. Pomeroy, Daniel Morris, Giles W. Hotchkiss, Hamilton Ward, Roswell Hart, Burt Van Horn, James M. Humphrey, Henry Van Aernam. New Jersey-John F. Starr, William A. Newell, Charles Sitgreaves, Andrew J. Rogers, Edwin R. V. Wright. Pennsylvania-Samuel J. Randall, Charles O'Neill, Leonard Myers, William D. Kelley, M. Russell Thayer, Benjamin M. Boyer, John M. Broomall, Sydenham E. Ancona, Thaddeus Stevens, Myer Strouse, Philip Johnson, Charles Denison, Ulysses Mercur, George F. Miller, Adam J. Glossbrenner, Alexander IH. CoffrothS, Abraham A. Barker, Stephen F. Wilson, Glenni W. Scofield, Charles V. Culver, John L. Dawson, James K. Moorhead, Thomas Williams, George V. Lawrence. Delaware-John A. Nicholson. Maryland--Hiram McCullough, John L. Thomas, Jr., Charles E. Phelps, Francis Thomas, Benjamin G. Harris. Ohio-Benjamin Eggleston, Rutherford B. Hayes, Robert C. Schenck, William Lawrence, Francis C. Le Blond, Reader W. Clarke, Samuel Shellabarger, James R. Hubbell, Ralph P. Buckland, James M. Ashley, Hezekiah S. Bundy, William E. Finck, Columbus Delano, Martin Welker, Tobias A. Plants, John A. Bingham, Ephraim R. Eckley, Rufus P. Spalding, James A. Garfield. Kentucky-Lawrence S. Trimble, Burwell C. Ritter, Henry Grider, Aaron Harding, Lovell H. Rousseau, Green Clay Smith, George S. Shanklin, William H. Randall, Samuel McKee. Indiana --William E. Niblack, Michael C. Kerr. Ralph Hill, John H. Farquhar, George W. Julian, EbeDezer Dumont, Daniel W. Voorhees,* Godlove S. Orth, Schuyler Colfax, Joseph H. Defrees, Thomas N. Stillwell. Illinois-John Wentworth, John F. Farnsworth, Ellihu B. Washburne, Abner C. Harding, Ebon C. Ingersoll, Burton C. Cook, Henry P. H. Bromwell, Shelby M. Cullom, Lewis W. Ross, Anthony Thornton, Samuel S. Marshall, Jehu Baker, Andrew J. Kuykendall, Samuel W. Moulton. Missouri-John Hogan, Henry T. Blow, Thomas E. Noell, John R. Kelso, Joseph W. McClurg, Robert T. Van Horn, Benjamin F. Loan, John F. Benjamin, George W. Anderson. Michigan-Fernando C. Beaman, Charles Upson, John W. Longyear, Thomas W. Ferry, Rowland E. Trowbridge, John F. Driggs. Iowa-James F. Wilson, Hiram Price, William B. Allison, Josiah B. Grinnell, John A. Kasson, Asahel W. Hubbard. Wisconsin-Halbert E. Paine, Ithamar C. Sloan, Amasa Cobb, Charles A. Eldridge, Philetus Sawyer, Walter D. Mclndoe. California-Donald C. McRuer, William Higby, John Bidwell. Minnesota-William Windom, Ignatius Donnelly. Oregon-James H. D. Henderson. Kansas-Sidney Clarke. West Virginia--Chester D. Hubbard, George R. Latham, Kellian V. Whaley. Nevada-Delos R. Ashley. Members chosen in the late Insurrectionary States. Alabama-C. C. Langdon, George C. Freeman, Gen. Cullen A. Battle, Joseph W. Taylor, B. T. Pope, Thomas J. Foster. Arkansas-William Byers, George H. Kyle, James M. Johnson. Florida-F. McLeod. Georgia-Solomon Cohen, Gen. Philip Cook, Hugh Buchanan, E. G. Cabaniss, J. D. Matthews, J. H. Christy, Gen. W. T. Wofford. Louisiana-Louis St. Martin, Jacob Barker, Robert C. Wickliffe, John E. King, John S. Ray. (Henry C. Warmoth claims seat as delegate, under universal suffrage election.) Mississippi-Col. Arthur E. Reynolds, Col. Richard A. Pinson, James T. HarrisoD, A. M. West, E. G. Peyton. North Carolina-Jesse R. Stubbs, Charles C. Clark, Thomas C. Fuller, Col. Josiah Turner, Jr., Lewis'Hanes S. H. Walkup, Alex. H. Jones. South Carolina-Col. John D. Kennedy, William Aiken, Gen. Samuel McGowan, James Farrow. Tennessee-Nathaniel G. Taylor, Horace Maynard, William B. Stokes, Edmund Cooper, William B. Campbell, Samuel M. Arnell, Isaac R. Hawkins, John W. Leftwich. TexasVirginia-W. H. B. Custis, Lucius H. Chandler, B. Johnson Barbour, Robert Ridgway, Beverly A. Davis, Alex. H. H. Stuart, Robert Y. Conrad, Daniel H. Hoge..-nseate, FeOruary 28,1866, and Henry D. Washburn qualified as his successor; July 18, Mr. Koontz admitted. * Died June 16, 1866. - Unseated April 6, 1866, and William E. Dodge qualified as his successor. I Admitted to a seat onprimafacie case February 19,1866. July 9.-Committee reported in favor of Wm. H. Koontz, contestant. VOTES IN THE HOUSE ON RESOLUTIONS. 109 MEMORANDUM. Of the Alabama delegation, Mr. Battle was a general in the rebel army, and Mr. Foster a representative in the first and second rebel congresses. Of the Georgia delegation, Messrs. Cook and Wofford were generals in the rebel service. Of the Misssissppi delegation, Messrs. Reynolds and Pinson were colonels in the rebel service; Mr. Harrison was a member of the rebel provisional congress. Of the North Carolina delegation, Mr. Fuller was a representative in the first rebel congress, and Mr, Turner was a colonel in the rebel army, and a representative in the second rebel congress; Mr. Brown was a member of the State convention which passed the secession ordinance in 1861, and voted for it. Of the South Carolina delegation, Mr. Kennedy was colonel and Mr. McGowan brigadier general in the rebel army; Mr. Farrow was a representative in the first and second rebel congresses. Of the Virginia delegation, Messrs. Stuart and Conrad were members of the secession convention of Virginia, in 1861, and continued to participate after the passage of the ordinance and the beginning of hostilities, X0 VOTES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON VARIOUS POLITICAL DECLARATORY RESOLUTIONS. Payment of the Public Debt. December 5, 1865-Mr. Samuel J. Randall offered this resolution: Resolved, That, as the sense of this House, the public debt created during the late rebellion was contracted upon the faith and honor of the nation; that it is sacred and inviolate, and must and ought to be paid, principal and interest; that any attempt to repudiate or in any manner to impair or scale the said debt shall be universally discountenanced, and promptly rejected by Congress if proposed. Which was agreed to-yeas 162, nays 1, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Ancona, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Chanler, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Culver, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Dawson, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grinnell,Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, HIill, Hogan, Holmes, Hooper, Iotchkiss, Asahcl W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Hauphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McCullough, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, Rogers, Rollins, Ross, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shanklin, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Strouse, 'aber, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Thornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Burt Van Horn,Ward,Warner, Elli'hu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, Wilson, Windom, Winfield, IVright-162. NAY-Mr. Trimble. NOT VoTINoG- essrs. Brookls, Eldridge, Grider, Aaroh Tarding, Le Blond, Lynih, Marshall, John H. Rice, Ritter, Taylor, Van Aernam, R. T. Van Horn, S. F. Wilson, F. E. WVoodbridge-1l "Treason Ought to be Punished." December 14, 1865-Mr. Henderson, of Oregon, submitted the following resolution: Resolved, That treason against the United States Government is a crime that ought to be punished. Mr. Hale moved it be laid on the table which was disagreed to; and, under the previous question, it was then passed-yeas 153, nays none, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Ames, Ancona, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwel], bAyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Dawson, Defrees, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eldridge, Eliot, Farquhar, Ferry, Finclk,Glossbrenner,Grider, Grinnell, Griswold, Halo, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hogan, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard,jr., John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketcham, Kuykendall, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Le Blond, Loan, Longyear. Lynch, Marshall, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McCullough, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Myeor, Nicholson, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Ritter, Rogers, Rollins, Ross, Rousseau, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanklin, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, John L.Thomas, jr., Thornton, Trimble, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Voorhees, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield, Woodbridge-153. NAYs-None. Representation of the late so-called Confederate States. December 14, 1865-Mr. James F. Wilson submitted this resolution: Resolved, That all papers which may be offered relative to the representation of the late so-called Confederate States of America, or either of them, shall be referred to the joint committee 110 POLITICAL MANUAL. ef fifteen without debate, and no members shall be admitted from either of said so-called States, until Congress shall declare such States or either of them entitled to representation. Which was passed-yeas 107, nays 56, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Defrees, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eliot, Ferry, Grinnell, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hullbbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, MeRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thtyer, Trowbridge, UJpson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F.Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom-107. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Blow, Boyer, Brooks, Darling, Davis, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Farquhar, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Griswold, Hale, Harding, Hill, Hogan, Edwin V. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Kasson, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, Niblackc, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, hanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Tuber, Taylor, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Thwrnton, Trimble, Voorhees, Whaley, Winfield, Wright-56. Elective Franchise in the States. December 18, 1865-Mr. Thornton submitted "this resolution: Whereas, at the first movement toward independence, the Congress of the United States instructed the several States to institute governments of their own, and left each State to decide for itself the conditions for the enjoyment of the elective franchise; and whereas during the period of the confederacy there continued to exist a very great diversity in the qualifications of electors in the several States; and whereas the Constitution of the United States recognizes these diversities when it enjoins that in the choice of members of the House of Representatives the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for the electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures; and whereas, after the formation of the Constitution, it remained, as before, the uniform usage of each State to enlarge the body of its electors according to its own judgment; and whereas so fixed was the reservation in the habits of the people, and so unquestioned has been the interpretation of the Constitution, that during the civil war the late President never harbored the purpose, certainly never avowed the purpose, of disregarding it: Therefore, Resolved, That any extension of the elective franchise to persons in the States, either by act of the President or of Congress, would be an assumption of power which nothing in the Constitution of the United States would warrant, and that, to avoid every danger of conflict, the settlement of this question should be referred to the several States. Mr. Ellihu B. Washburne moved that it be laid on the table; which was agreed to-yeas 111, nays 46, as follow: YAs--Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker;' Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Conkling, Cook, Darling, Dawes, Defrees, Drlano, Deming, Dixon, Driggs, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Garfiel, Grinll, Hale, Abner C. Harding. Hart,Hayes, Henderson, Higuy, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, AsahelW. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner. Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson-Ill. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Bromwell, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Farquhar, Finck, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hill, Hogan, Chester )D. Hubbard, Edwin D. Hubbell, Ingersoll, Johnson, Kerr, Kuykendall, Marshall, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Orth, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William I[. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreasves, Smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thwrnton, Trinmle, Whaley, Wright-46. February 26, 1866-Mr. Defrees offered this resolution, which was laid over: Resolved, That it is the opinion of this House that Congress has no constitutional right to fix the qualification of electors in the several States. May 21-It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary-yeas 86, nays 30. The nays were: Messrs. Ancona, Dawson, Defrees, Denison, Eldridge, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Kuykendall, George V. Lawrence, Le Blond, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stillwell,,ber, Taylor, Henry D. Washburn, Winfield, Wright-SO. Test Oath. December 18, 1865-Mr. Hill submitted this resolution: Resolved, That the act of July 2, 1862, prescribing an oath to be taken and subscribed by persons elected or appointed to office under the Government of the United States before entering upon the duties of such office, is of binding force and effect on all departments of the public service, and should in no instance be dispensed with. Mr. Finck moved that it be tabled; whicih was disagreed to-yeas 32, nays 126, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Grider, Aaron Harding, Harris, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, Johnson, Kerr, Latham, Marshall, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Tuber, Thornton, Trimble-32. NAYs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke,: Sidney Clarke, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Driggs, Dumont, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Hale, Abner 0. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson,KAolley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, 8cofield, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, John I. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van VOTES IN THE HOUSE ON RESOLUTIONS. 111 Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warter, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson-125. It then passed. Test Oath for Lawyers. January 15, 1866-Mr. Stevens offered this resolution: Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the act of January 24,1865, relative to the test oath, as to allow attorneysat-law to practice their profession without taking said oath, on an equal footing with the members of all other professions. Which was agreed to-yeas 82, nays, 77, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Ames, Ancona, Bergen, Blow, Boyer, Brooks, Buckland, Bundy, Chanler, Cobb, Cook, Darling, Davis, Dawson, Denison, Driggs, Eldridge, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Glossbrenner,Goodyear,Grider, Griswold, Hale, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Iigby, Hill, Hogan, Hooper, John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James R. Hubbell, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Kasson, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham, George V. Lawrence, Le Blond, Marshall, Marston, Marvin, McCullough, McRuer, Miller, Moorhead, Niblack, Nicholson. Noell, Orth, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Sawyer, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Stevens, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Thornton, Trimble, Trowbridge, Winfield82. NAYs-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Conkling, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Grinnell, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Holmes, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., Hulburd, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, McClurg, McKee, Mercur, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, O'Neill, Paine, Perham, Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, John L. Thomas, jr., Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Williams, James F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-77. Endorsement of the President's Policy. December 21, 1865-Mr. Voorhees submitted these resolutions, which were postponed till January 9, 1866: Resolved, That the message of the President of the United States, delivered at the present Congress, is regarded by this body as an able and patriotic State paper. 2. That the principles therein advocated for the restoration of the Union are the safest and most practicable that can now be applied to our disordered domestic affairs. 3. That no State, or any number of States confederated together, can in any manner sunder their connection with the Federal Union, except by a total subversion of our present system of government; and that the President in enunciating this doctrine in his late message has but given expression to the sentiments of all those who deny the right or power of a State to secede. 4. That the President is entitled to the thanks of Congress and the country for his faithful, wise, and successful efforts to restore civil government, law, and order to those States whose citizens were lately in insurrection against the federal authority; and we hereby pledge ourselves to aid, assist, and uphold him in the policy which he has adopted to give harmony, peace, and union to the country. January 9-Mr. Bingham offered this substitute: Resolved, That this House has an abiding confidence in the President, and that in the future, as in the past, he will co-operate with Congress in restoring to equal position and rights with the other States in the Union all the States lately in insurrection. Mr. Bingham moved to refer the resolutions and the substitute to the Committee on Reconstruction; which was agreed to-yeas 107, nays 42, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Ame, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eggleston, Eliot, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Hale, A. C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Smith, Spalding, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, John L. Thomas, jr., Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Williams, S. F. Wilson, Windom-107. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Darling, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Glossbrenner, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, J. M. Humphrey, Kerr, Le Blond, Marshall, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Voorhees, Winfield, Wright-42. Withdrawal of Military Force. January 8, 1866-Mr. Thos. Williams submitted this resolution: Resolved, That in order to the maintenance of the national authority and the protection of the loyal citizens of the seceding States, it is the sense of this House that the military forces of the Government should not be withdrawn from those States until the two Houses of Congress shall have ascertained and declared their further presence there no longer necessary. Which was passed-yeas 94, nays 37, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Spalding, Stevens, Thayer, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Acrman, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Welker, Williams, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom-94. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Davis, Dawson, Delano, Denison, Eldridge, Glossbrenner, Grider, A. Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Voorhees, Winfield, Woodbridge, Wright-37. The Legal Effect of Rebellion. February 19, 1866-Mr. Longyear* submitted these resolutions: Resolved, That in the language of the procla"*The first two resolutions were offered at the request of Mr. BROOMALL, on previous notice. 112 POLITICAL MANUAL. mation of the President of May 29, 1865, "the rebellion which was waged by a portion of the people of the United States against the properly constituted authorities of the Government thereof in the most violent and revolting form, but "whose organized and armed forces have now been almost entirely overcome, has in its revolutionary progress deprived the people" of the States in which it was organized " of all civil government." 2. That whenever the people of any State are thus "deprived of all civil government," it becomes the duty of Congress, by appropriate legislation, to enable them to organize a State government, and in the language of the Constitution "to guarantee to such State a republican form of government." 3. That it is the deliberate sense of this House that the condition of the rebel States fully justifies the President in maintaining the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in those States. 4. That it is the deliberate sense of this House that the condition of the rebel States fully justifies the President in maintaining military possession and control thereof, and that the President is entitled to the thanks of the nation for employing the war power for the protection of Union citizens and the freedmen in those States. Mr. Finck moved they be laid on the table; which was disagreed to-yeas 29, nays 119, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Le Blond, NMarshall, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Taber, Thornton, Trimble, Voorhees--29. NAYS -Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Dening, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Iale, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Asalhel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John II. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawwrence, William Lawrence, Loan, LonLyear, Lynch, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, McRIuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, ONcill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Tlayer, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, "Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-119. A division of the question having been demanded, the first resolution was agreed to-yeas 102, nays 36, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Henderson, Itigby, Holmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris. Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Trowbridge, (Upson, Van Aernam, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, Wiliam B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-102. NAYS.-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Chester D. Hubbard, Ke)r, Latham, MlcCullough, Mercur, Niblack. Niclolsoun, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Smith, Taber, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Trimble, Whaley-36. The second resolution was agreed to-yeas 104, nays 33, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell. Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, De. frees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John hI. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-104. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Iogan, Kasson, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, McCeullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Smith, Taber, Thornton, Trimble, Whaley-33. The third resolution was agreed to-yeas 120, nays 26, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Brandegee, Biomwell, Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliotarnsworth, ar qhrnh, Frq r, erry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Iarding, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbeil, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, IcRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander I. Rice, John IH. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, St lin, Sn, tarr, Stevens, Thayer, John L. Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Window, Woodbridge--120. NAs--Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Le Blond, McCullough, Newell, Niblack, Radford, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Taber, Thornton, Trimble--26. The first clause of the fourth resolution was agreed to-yeas 118, nays 23, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, I axter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwoll, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, IIenderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, McKee, McRuer, Mercur, Moorhead, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John It. Rice, Rollins, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Starr, Stevens, Thaysr, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, jr., Trowbridge, Upis(, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Wa i, VOTES IN THE HOUSE ON RESOLUTIONS. 113 Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welkcr, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-118. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Dawson, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Aaron Harding, James M. Humphrey, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Taber, Thornton, Trimble-23. The second clause of the fourth resolution was agreed to-yeas 135, nays 8, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Ancona, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, romwell, Brooks, Broomall, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom,Dawson, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eldridge, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, James Humphrey, James M. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Le Blond, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, Mclndoe, McKee, Mercur, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Taber, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas, Thornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn. Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. WashburnesVilliam B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-135. NAYS-Messrs. Grider, Aaron Harding, McCullough, Nicholson, Bitter, Rogers, Shanklin, Trimble-8. Recognition of State government of North Carolina. March 5, 1866-The SPEAKER having proposed to lay before the House a communication signed Jonathan Worth, Governor of North Carolina, Mr. Stevens objected to its reception; and on the question, will the House receive the same, the yeas were 38, nays 100, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, Bergen, Brooks, Chanler, Davis, Denison, Eldridge, Finck, Goodyear, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Elwin N.. Hubbell, James Humphrey, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham, Marshall, McRuer, N6well, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radford, Raymond, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Whaley, Winfield.- 38. NAYS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James NM. Ashley, Baker, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell. Bingham, Blaine, loutwell, i>t;idegee, Bromwell, Breomall, Buckland, Bundy, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cuilom, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Drig.'s, Dumont, Eckley, Eliot, Farnsworth,Farquh ar, Ferry,( riinell, Abn-r C. Harding, Hayes, Henderson, lig)y, II i, IIo(lie -, Hooper, ilotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demnas Iubbard.,r., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, lTullburd, I gersoll, Jenckes, Julian, KelleyKelo, Ketcham,Wi lam L;;wrence, Lyucl, Marston, cClui g, McKee, Miller, Moris, aMoulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perbham, Pike, Price, William H. Randall, Alexandar II. Rice, Jolin I. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Schellabrger, Sloan, Spaldini)g.tevens, Stillwell,Thayer, Francis Thomas John L. Thomas jr., Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Hotrn, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, Ellihn B. Washburne, lienry D. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge.-100. Trial of Jefferson Davis. June 11, 1866-Mr. Boutwell offered this resolution. Whereas it is notorious that Jefferson Davis was the leader of the late rebellion, and is guilty of treason under the laws of the United States; and whereas by the proclamation of the President of May, 1865, the said Davis was charged with complicity in the assassination of President Lincoln, and said proclamation has not been revoked nor annulled: Therefore, 8 Be it resolved, As the opinion of the House of Representatives, that said Davis should be held in custody as a prisoner, and subjected to a trial according to the laws of the land. Which was agreed to-yeas 105, nays 19, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Bromwell, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Donnelly, Eckley, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Chester D. Hubbard, John HI. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Julian, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marshall, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, MoRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan. Smith, Spalding, Thayer, John L Thomas, Thornton, Trow. bridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Ward, Warner, Henry D Washburn, Welker, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield, Woodbridge-105. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Boyer, Coffroth, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Harris, Ilogan, Johnson, McCullough, Niblack, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Sitgreaves, Tco ber, Trimble, Wright-19. Neutrality-The Fenians. June 11, 1866-Mr. Ancona offered this resolution: Whereas the Irish people and their brothers and friends in this country are moved by a patriotic purpose to assert the independence and re-establish the nationality of Ireland; and whereas the active sympathies of the people of the United States are naturally with all men who struggle to achieve such ends, more especially when those engaged therein are the acknowledged friends of our Government, as are the Irish race, they having shed their blood in defense of our flag in every battle of every war in which the republic has been engaged; and whereas the British Government, against whom they are struggling, is entitled to no other or greater consideration from us as a nation than that demanded by the strict letter of international law, for the reason that during our late civil war she did in effect, by her conduct, repeal her neutrality laws; and whereas when reparation is demanded for damages to our commerce, resulting from her willful neglect to enforce the same, she arrogantly denies all responsibility, and claims to be the judge in her own case; and whereas the existence of our neutrality law of 1818 compels the executive department of this Government to discriminate most harshly against those who have ever been and are now our friends, and in favor of those who have been faithless, not only to the general principles of comity which should exist between friendly States, but also to the written law of their own nation upon this subject: Therefore, Be it resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Affairs be, and they are hereby, instructed to report a bill repealing an act approved April 20, 1818, entitled "An act in addition to an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," and to repeal the act therein mentioned, it being the neutrality law, under the terms of which the President's proclamation against the Fenians was issued. - Mr. Davis, of New York, moved to lay it on 114 POLITICAL MANUAL. the table, which was lost-yeas 5, (Messrs. Cobb, Davis, Grinnell, Hale, Trowbridge,) nays 112. Mr. Schenck moved this as a substitute: Resolved, That the President of the United States, in the opinion of this House, should reconsider the policy which has been adopted by him as between the British Government and that portion of the Irish people who, under the name of Fenians, are struggling for their independent nationality; and that he be requested to adopt as nearly as practicable that exact course of procedure which was pursued by the Government of Great Britain on the occasion of the late civil war in this country between the United States and rebels in revolt, recognizing both parties as lawful belligerents, and observing between them a strict neutrality. Mr. Hale moved to table it; which was lost-- yeas 8, (Messrs. Cobb, Davis, Dawes, Dodge, Griswold, Hale, Sloan, Trowbridge,) nays 113. Mr. Banks moved to refer to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, stating that if referred the committee would report upon it. The motion was agreed to-yeas 87, nays 35, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwell, Bromwell, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Dodge, Driggs, Eckley, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Grinnell, Harris, Hart, Hayes, Holmes, Demas Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, Jenckes, Jones, Kasson, Kelley, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Longyear, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, MoRuer, Mercur, Miller, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Price, William H. Randall, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Ross, Rousseau, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Thayer, Trowbridge, Upson, Ward, Welker, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-87. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Ctsanler, Coffroth, Darling, Davis, Dumont, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Kerr, Ketcham, McCullough, Niblack, Pomeroy, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Sitgreaves, Smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thorton, Trimble, Winfieldd Wright-35. XI. VOTES ON SUFFRAGE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND OTHER POLITICAL BILLS. Suffrage in District of Columbia. IN HOUSE. January 10, 1866-Pending this bill, offered by Mr. Kelley, December 5, 1865, and reported from the Judiciary Committee by Mr. James F. Wilson, December 18, and then postponed till this day: A Bill extending the right of suffrage in the District of Columbia. Be it enacted, &c., That from all laws and parts of laws prescribing the qualifications of electors for any office in the District of Columbia the word "white" be, and the same is hereby, stricken out, and that from and after the passage of this act no person shall be disqualified from voting at any election held in the said District on account of color. SEC. 2. That all acts of Congress and all laws of the State of Maryland in force in said District and all ordinances of the cities of Washington and Georgetown inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed and annulled. After debate, Mr. Wilson moved its recommitment. Mr. Hale moved to amend by adding these words: with instructions to amend the bill so as to extend the right of suffrage in the District of Columbia to all persons coming within either of the following classes, irrespective of caste or color, but subject only to existing provisions and qualifications other than those founded on caste or color, to wit: First. Those who can read the Constitution of the United States. Second. Those who are assessed for and pay taxes on real or personal property within the District. Third. Those who have served in and been honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the United States, and to restrict such right of suffrage to the classes above named, and to include proper provisions excluding from the right of suffrage those who have borne arms against the United States during the late rebellion, or given aid or comfort to said rebellion. January 17, 1866-Mr. Wilson accepted Mr. Hale's amendment as part of his. January 18-Mr. Darling moved to postpone the bill till April 3. Mr. Niblack moved to lay the bill on the table, which was disagreed to-yeas 47, nays 123, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, enis, Eldridge, inck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Chester D. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radfordc Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Strouse, Tuber, Taylor, John L. Thomas, jr., Thornton, Trimble, Voorhees, Winfidd-47. NAys-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, VOTES ON SUFFRAGE. 115 Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defroes, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Higby, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-123. Mr. Darling modified his motion so as to postpone until the first Tuesday in March, which was disagreed to-yeas 34, nays 138, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anderson, Banks, Conkling, Darling, Davis, Defrees, Eggleston, Farquhar, Ferry, Griswold, Hale, Hart, Henderson, Hill, Hogan, Jas. Humphrey, Kasson, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, Marvin, Mercur, Miller, Orth, Phelps, William H. Randall, Raymond, Smith, Stillwell, John L. Thomas, jr., Trimble, Robert T. Van Horn-34. NAYs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Boyer, Brandegee, Bromwell, Brooks, Broomall, Bundy, Chanler, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Dawson, Deming, Denison, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eldridge, Eliot, Farnsworth, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Grinnell, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Hayes, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, A. W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, Hulburd, James M. Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Johnson, Jones, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, William Lawrence, Le Blond, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marshall, Marston, McClurg, McCullough, McKee, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, O'Neill, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John It. Rice, Ritter, Rogers, Rollins, Ross, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shanklin, Shellabarger, Sitgreaves, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Th1ornton, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Voorhees, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F.Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield, Woodbridge-135. The question recurring on Mr. Wilson's motion to commit with instructions, Mr. Schenck moved to strike from the proposed instructions these words: " Those who are assessed for and pay taxes on real or personal property within the district;" which was agreed to. The motion to recommit as amended, was then disagreed to-yeas 53, nays, 117, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Anderson, Banks, Blow, Brandegee, Bromwell, Buckland, Reader W. Clarke, Conkling, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Deming, Dixou, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Ferry, Griswold, Hale, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Hooper, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Jenckes, Kasson, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Longyear, Marvin, Miller, Moorhead, Morris, Myers, O'Neill, Plants, Raymond, Alexander IH. Rice, Schenck, Stillwell, Trowbridge, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Warner, William B. Washburn, Woodbridge-53. NAYS-Messrs. Alley, Allison, lAmes, Ae Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bergen, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Boutwelll, Boyer, Brooks, Broomall, Bundy,anler, Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cullom, Dawson, Denison, Donnelly, Eldridge, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Finck, Garfield, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Grinnell, Aaron Harding, Abner C. Harding, Higby, Hill, Hogan, Holmes, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hulb'-rd, jr., John H. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. HitMphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Jones, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, Kerr, Le Blond, Loan, Lynch, Marshall, Marston, McClurg, McCallough, McKee, Mercur, Morrill, Moulton, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Phelps, Pomeroy, Price, Radford, Samucel J. Randall, William H. Randall, John iH. Rice, Ritter, Rogers, Rollins, Rose, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanklin, Shellabarger, Sit greaves, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Smouse, Taoer, Taylor, Thayer, Francis Thomas, John L. Thomas,jr., Thornton, Trimble, Upson, Van Aernam, Voorhees, Ward, Ellihn B. Washburne, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Winfield-117. The bill was then passed-yeas 116, nays 54, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney, Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis. Dawes, Defrees, Delano, Doming, Dixon, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Grinnell, Griswold, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, Hulburd, James Humphrey, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Pomeroy, Price, Raymond, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridgo-116. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, Benjamin, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Chanler, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Farquhar, Finck, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Harding, Henderson, Hill, Hogan, Chester D. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, McKee, Niblack, Nicholson, Noell, Phelps, Radford, Samuel J. Randall, William H. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Rose, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Smith, Stillwell, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thornton, Trimble, Robert T. Van Horn, Voorhees, Winfield -54. IN SENATE. June 27, 1866-The bill, as reported to the Senate from its committee amended, was considered, the pending question being Mr. Morrill's motion to insert in the first section the words in brackets, below: That from and after the passage of this act, each and every male person, excepting paupers and persons under guardianship, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who has not been convicted of any infamous crime, or offence, and who is a citizen of the United States, and who shall have resided in the said district for the period of six months previous to any election therein, [and excepting persons who may have voluntarily left the District of Columbia to give aid and comfort to the rebels in the late rebellion,] shall be entitled to the elective franchise, and shall be deemed an elector and entitled to vote at any election in said District, without any distinction on account of color or race. Mr. Morrill moved further to amend by inserting, also, after "therein," the words "and who can read the Constitution of the United States in the English language, and write his name;" which was disagreed to-yeas 15, nays 19, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cragin, Edmunds, Fessenden, Foster, IIarris, Kirkwood, Morrill, P land, Pomeroy, Sherman, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Williams-15. NAYS-Messrs. Brown, Buckalew, Conness, Davis, Grimes, Guthrie, Hendricks, Howard, Howe, Morgan, Norton, Nye, Ramsey, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Van Winkle, Wilson, Yates-19. Mr. Willey offered this substitute for the bill: In all elections to be held hereafter in the District of Columbia, the following described persons, and those only, shall have the right to vote, namely: first, all those persons who were actually residents of said District and qualified 116 POLITICAL MANUAL. to vote therein at the elections held therein in the year 1865, under the statutes then in force; second all persons residents of said District who have been duly mustered into the military or naval service of the United States during the late rebellion, and have been or shall hereafter be honorably discharged therefrom; third, male citizens of the United States who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, (excepting paupers, persons non compotes mentis, or convicted of an infamous offence,) and who, being residents of the ward or district in which they shall offer to vote, shall have resided in said District for the period of one year next preceding any election, and who shall have paid the taxes assessed against them, and who can read, and who can write their names. No further vote has been taken up to date of putting this page to press. West Virginia Bill. February 6, 1866-The HOUSE passed a joint resolution giving the consent of Congress to the transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson counties to "West Virginia-yeas 112, nays 24; (the latter all Democrats except Mr. Baker.) The SENATE passed it, March 6-yeas 32, nays 5.-Mr. Johnson, of Maryland, voted aye; the other Democrats, voting, voted nay. Extending the Homestead Act. IN HOUSE. February 7, 1866-A bill providing that all the public lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, shall be disposed of according to the stipulations of the homestead law of 1862, no entry to be made for more than eighty acres, and no discrimination to be made on account of race or color, and the mineral lands to be reserved, was considered. Mr. Taber moved to add this proviso: And provided, also, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to preclude such persons as have been or shall be pardoned by the President of the United States for their participation in the recent rebellion from the benefit of ihis act. Which was disagreed to--eas 37, nays l04, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Delos R. Ashley, Bergen, Boyer, Brooks, Buckland, Chanler, Eldridge, Finck, Glossbrenner, Grider, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Chester D. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Kerr, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, McRuer, Niblack, Nicholson, INoell, Phelps, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Thayer, Thornton, Trimble, Voorhees-37. NAYs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Benjamin, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Bromwell, Broomall, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Hale, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Hill, Hooper, "Hotchkiss, Demas Hubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard. Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Kuykendall, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McIndoe, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Price, William H. Randall, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Sloan, Smith, Spalding, Starr, Stevens, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-104. February 8-The bill passed-yeas 112, nays 29; the latter all Democrats, except Messrs. Driggs and Latham. The bill as finally passed provided that until January 1, 1867, any person applying for the benefit of the act shall swear "that he has not borne arms against the United SLates, or given aid and comfort to its enemiea " Habeas Corpus. IN HOUSE. March 20-The bill to amend an act entitled "An act relating to habeas corpus, and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March 3, 1863, was passed-yeas 113, nays 31, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Alley, Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barker, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Bingham, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Bundy, Reader W. Clarke, Conkling, Cook, Cullom, Delano, Deming, Dixon, Driggs, Dumont, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield. Grinnell, Abner C. Harding, Hart, Hayes, HIenderson, Hill, Holmes, Hooper, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard,jr., John tI. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Kasson, Kelley, Kelso, Ketcham, Kuykendall, Laflin, Listh im, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Lynch, Marston, Marvin, McClurg, McKee, McRuer, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Morris, Moulton, Myers, Newell, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perhlam, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Price, William nI. Randall, Raymond, John I. Rice, Rollins, Rousseau, Sawyer, Scofield, Shellabarger, Sloan, Smith, Stevens, Stillwell, Thayer, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Wentworth, Whaley, Williams, James F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-113. NAYs-Messrs. Ancona, Bergen, Boyer, Biooks, Chanler, Coffroth, Dawson, Eldridge, Glossbrenner, Grider, Hale, Aaron Harding, Hogan, Edwin N. Hubbell, James M. Humphrey, Jones, Kerr, Le Blond, Marshall, McCullough, Nicholson, Samuel J. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Thornton, Trimble, Winfield-31. IN SENATE. April 20-The bill passed-yeas 30, nays 4, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Conness, Cragin, Doolittle, Edmunds, Foster, Henderson, -loward, Howe, Johnson, Kirkwood, Lane of Indiana, Morgan, Norton, Nye, Poland, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates30. NAYs-Messrs Buckalew, Guthrie, Hendricks, Saulsbury -4. No Denial of the Elective Franchise on Account of Color. IN HOUSE. 1866, May 15-Pending the bill to amend the organic acts of the territories of Nebraska, Colorado, Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, of which this is the ninth section: " That within the territories aforesaid there shall be no denial of tho elective franchise to citizens of the United States because of race or color, and all persons shall be equal beforo the law. And all acts or parts of acts, either of Congress or the legislative assemblies of the territories aforesaid, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby declared null and void." Mr. Le Blond moved to strike it out, which was disagreed to-yeas 36, nays 75, as follow: POLITICAL AND MILITARY MISCELLANEOUS. Yzas-Messrs. Ancona, Delos R. Ashley, Bergen, Boyer, Chanter, Dawson, Denison, Eldridge, Fincd, Glossbrenner, Goodyear, Grider, Aaron Harding, Chester D. Hubbard, Edwin N. Hubbell, Kerr, Kuykendall, Latham, Le Blond, Marshall, Niblack, Nicholson, Phelps, William H. Randall, Ritter, Rogers, Ross, Rousseau, Shanklin, Sitgreaves, Strouse, Taber, Taylor, Trinmble, Whaley, Wright--36. NAYs-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Blaine, Blow, Boutwell, Brandegee, Broomall, Sidney Clarke, Cook, Cullom, Darling, Davis. Dawes, Deming, Donnelly, Dumont, Eggleston, Farnsworth, Ferry, Garfield, Griswold, Hart, Hayes, Higby, Holmes, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. Hubbard, Demas Hubbard, John H. Hubbard, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Kelso, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch, Marston, McClurg, McRuer, Mercur, Miller, Moorhead, Morrill, Orth, Paine, Patterson, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Rollins, Sawyer, Spalding, Thayer, Francis Thomas, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Ward, Warner, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Williams, James F. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom-76. The bill then passed-yeas 79, nays 43. IN SENATE. June 29-The bill was considered but not voted on. XmII. POLITICAL AND MILITARY MISCELLANEOUS. Union National Platform, June, 1864. Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that, laying aside all differences of political opinions, we pledge ourselves, as Union men, animated by a common sentiment and aiming at a common object, to do everything in our power to aid the Government in quelling by force of arms the Rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the punishment due to their crimes the Rebels and traitors arrayed against it. Resolved, That we approve the determination of the Government of the United States not to compromise with Rebels, or to offer them any terms of peace, except such as may be based upon an unconditional surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and that we call upon the Government to maintain this position, and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the complete suppression of the Rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrifiOing patriotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American people to the country and its free institutions. Resolved, That as Slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the strength of this Rebellion, and as it must be, always and everywhere, hostile to the principles of Republican Government, "justice, and the National safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the Republic; and that, while we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government, in its own defence, has aimed a death-blow at this gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the existence of Slavery within the limits or the jurisdiction of the United States. Resolved, That the thanks of the American people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the Army and Navy who have periled their lives in defence of their country and in vindication of the honor of its flag; that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in the service of the country; and that the memories of those who have fallen in its defence shall be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance. Resolved, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American Liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the Presidential office; that we approve and endorse, as demanded by the emergency and essential to the preservation of the nation and as within the provisions of the Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve, especially, the Proclamation of Emancipation, and the employment as Union soldiers of men heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his determination to carry these and all other Constitutional measures essential to the salvation of the country into full and complete effect. Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that harmony should prevail in the National Councils, and we regard as worthy of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially endorse the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the administration of the Government. Resolved, That the Government owes to all men employed in its armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of the laws of war; and that any violation of these laws, or of the usages of civilized nations in time of war, by the Rebels now in arms, should be made the subject of prompt and full redress. Resolved, That foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power to 118 POLITICAL MANUAL. this nation-the asylum of the oppressed of all nations-should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. Resolved, That we are in favor of the speedy construction of the Railroad to the Pacific coast. Resolved, That the National faith, pledged for the redemption of tb.e public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous and just system of taxation; and that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and promote the use of the National currency. Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the Government that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European Power to overthrow by force or to supplant by fraud the institutions of any Republican Government on the Western Continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of their own country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for Monarchical Governments, sustained by foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States. Democratic National Platform, August, 1864. Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Unibn under the Constitution as the only solid foundation of our strength, security and happiness as a people, and as a framework of government equally conducive to the welfare and prosperity of all the States, both northern and southern. Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretence of a military necessity, or war power higher than the Contitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired-justice, humanity, liberty and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States. Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authorities of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware, was a shameful violation of the Constitution; and a repetition of such acts in the approaching election will be held as revolutionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our control. Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Federal Union and the rights of the States unimpaired; and they hereby declare that they consider that the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous powers not granted by the constitution; the subversion of the civil by military law in States not in insurrection; the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial and sentence of American citizens in States where civil law x.ists in full force; the suppression of freedom of speech and of the press; the denial of the right of asylum; the open and avowed disregard of State rights; the employment of unusual testoaths, and the interference with and denial of the right of the people to bear arms in their defence, is calculated to prevent a restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the Administration to its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are, and long have been, prisoners of war in a suffering condition, deserves the severest reprobation, on the score alike of public policy and common humanity. Resolved, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiery of our army and sailors of our navy, who are, and have been in the field and on the sea, under the flag of their country; and, in the event of its attaining power, they will receive all the care, protection, and regard that the brave soldiers and sailors of the Republic have so nobly earned. Call for a National Union Convention, 1866. A National Union Convention, of at least two delegates from each congressional district of all the States, two from each Territory, two from the District of Columbia, and four delegates at large from each State, will be held at the city of Philadelphia, on the second Tuesday (14th) of August next. Such delegates will be chosen by the electors of the several States who sustain the Administration in maintaining unbroken the Union of the States under the Constitution which our fathers established, and who agree in the following propositions, viz: The Union of the States is, in every case, indissoluble, and is perpetual; and the Constitution of the United States, and the laws passed by Congress in pursuance thereof, supreme, and constant, and universal in their obligation; The rights, the dignity, and the equality of the States in the Union, including the right of representation in Congress, are solemnly guaranteed by that Constitution, to save which from overthrow so much blood and treasure were expended in the late civil war; There is no right anywhere to dissolve the Union or to separate States from the Union, either by voluntary withdrawal, by force of arms, or by Congressional action; neither by the secession of the States, nor by the exclusion of their loyal and qualified representatives, nor by the National Government in any other form; Slavery is abolished, and neither can, nor ought to be, re-established in any State or Territory within our jurisdiction; Each State has the undoubted right to prescribe the qualifications of its own electors, and no external power rightfully can, or ought to, dictate, control, or influence the free and voluntary action of the States in the exercise of that right; \The maintenence inviolate of the rights of tho States, and especially of the right of each Stato POLITICAL AND MILITARY MISCELLANEOUS. 119 to order and control its own domestic concerns, according to its own judgment exclusively, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend, and the overthrow of that system by the usurpation and centralization of power in Congress would be a revolution, dangerous to republican government and destructive of liberty; Each House of Congress is made by the Constitution the sole judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members; but the exclusion of loyal Senators and Representatives, properly chosen and qualified under the Constitution and laws, is unjust and revolutionary; Every patriot should frown upon all those acts and proceedings everywhere, which can serve no other purpose than to rekindle the animosities of war, and the effect of which upon our moral, social, and material interests at home, and upon our standing abroad, differing only in degree, is injurious like war itself; The purpose of the war having been to preserve the Union and the Constitution by putting down the rebellion, and the rebellion having been suppressed, all resistance to the authority of the General Government being at an end, and the war having ceased, war measures should also cease, and should be followed by measures of peaceful administration, so that union, harmony, and concord may be encouraged, and industry, commerce, and the arts of peace revived and promoted; and the early restoration of all the States to the exercise of their constitutional powers in the national Government is indispensably necessary to the strength and the defence of the Republic, and to the maintenance of the public credit; All such electors in the thirty-six States and nine Territories of the United States, and in the District of Columbia, who, in a spirit of patriotism and love for the Union, can rise above personal and sectional considerations, and who desire to see a truly National Union Convention, which shall represent all the States and Territories of the Union, assemble, as friends and brothers, under the national flag, to hold counsel together upon the state of the Union, and to take measures to avert possible danger from the same, are specially requested to take part in the choice of such delegates. But no delegate will take a seat in such convention who does not loyally accept the national situation and cordially endorse the principles above set forth, and who is not attached, in true allegiance, to the Constitution, the Union, and the Government of the United States. WASHINGTON, June 25, 1866. A. W. RANDALL, President. J. R. DOOLITTLE, 0. H. BROWNING, EDGAR COWAN, CHARLES KNAP, SAMUEL FOWLER, Executive Committee National Union Club. We recommend the holding of the above convention, and endorse the call therefor. DANIEL S. NORTON, JAMES DIXON, J. W. NESMITH, T. A. HENDRICKS, Address of Democratic Congressmen, 1866. To the People of the United States: Dangers threaten. The Constitution-the citadel of our liberties-is directly assailed. The future is dark, unless the people will come to the rescue. In this hour of peril National Union should be the watchword of every true man. As essential to National Union we must maintain unimpaired the rights, the dignity, and the equality of the States, including the right of representation in Congress, and the exclusive right of each State to control its own domestic concerns, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. After a uniform construction of the Constitution for more than half a century, the assumption of new and arbitrary powers in the Federal Government is subversive of our system and de structive of liberty. A free interchange of opinion and kind feeling between the citizens of all the States is necessary to the perpetuity of the Union. At present eleven States are excluded from the national council. For seven long months the present Congress has persistently dehied any right of representation to the peophl of these States. Laws, affecting their highest and dearest interests, have been passed without their consent, and in disregard of the fundamental principle of free government. This denial of representation has been made to all the members from a State, although the State, in the language of the President, " presents itself, not only in an attitude of loyalty and harmony, but in the persohs of representatives whose loyalty cannot be questioned under any existing constitutional or legal test." The representatives of nearly one-third of the States have not been consulted with reference to the great questions of the day. There has been no nationality surrounding the present Congress. There has been no intercourse between the representatives of the two sections, producing mutual confidence and respect. In the language of the distinguished lieutenant general, " It is to be regretted that, at this time, there cannot be a greater commingling between the citizens of the two sections, and particularly of those intrusted with the law-making power." This state of things should be removed at once and forever. Therefore, to preserve the National Union, to vindicate the sufficiency of our admirable Constitution, to guard the States from covert attempts to deprive them of their true position in the Union, and to bring together those who are unnaturally severed, and for these great national purposes only, we cordially approve the call for a National Union Convention, to be held at the city of Philadelphia, on the second Tuesday (14th) of August next, and endorse the principles therein set forth. We, therefore, respectfully, but earnestly, urge upon our fellow-citizens in each State and Territory and congressional district in the Uni ted States, in the interest of Union and in a spirit of harmony, and with direct reference to the principles contained in said call, to act promptly in the selection of wise, moderate, and Sconservative men to represent them in said Con POLITICAL MANUAL. vention, to the end that all the States shall at once be restored to their practical relations to the Union, the Constitution be maintained, and peace bless the whole country. W. E. Niblack, Reverdy Johnson, Anthony Thornton, Thos. A. Hendricks, Michael C. Kerr, Wm. Wright, G. S. Shanklin, James Guthrie, Garrett Davis, J. A. McDougall, H. Grider, Wm. Radford, Thomas E. Noell, S. S. Marshall, Samuel J. Randall, Myer Strouse, Lewis W. Ross, Chas. Sitgreaves, Stephen Taber, S. E. Ancona, J. M. Humphrey, E. N. Hubbell, John Hogan, B. C. Ritter, B. M. Boyer, A. Harding, Teunis G. Bergen, A. J. Glossbrenner, Chas. Goodyear, E. R. V. Wright, Chas. H. Winfield, A. J. Rogers, A. H. Coffroth, H. McCullough, Lovell H. Rousseau, F. C. Le Blond, Philip Johnson, W. E. Finck, Chas. A. Eldridge, L. S. Trimble, John L. Dawson. WASHINGTON, July 4, 1866. The Elections of 1866. NEW HAMPSHIRE--Smyth, Union, 35,018; Sinclair, Democrat, 30,176. CONNECTICUT-Hawley, Union, 43,974; English, Democrat, 43,433. RHODE ISLAND- Burnside, Union, 8,197; Pierce, Democrat, 2,816. OREGON-Wood, Union, 327 majority. At the special election in CONNECTICUT, in the fall of 1865, on suffrage, the vote stood: For colored suffrage, 27,217; against, 33,489. majority against, 6,272. In WEST VIRGINIA, a vote was taken in May, on ratifying this constitutional amendment: " No person who, since the 1st day of June, 1861, has given or shall give voluntary aid or assistance to the rebellion against the United States, shall be a citizen of this State, or be allowed to vote at any election held therein, unless he has volunteered into the military or naval service of the United States, and has been or shall be honorably discharged therefrom." The majority in its favor is, 6,922. In the Territory of NEBRASKA, a vote was taken, with this result: For the proposed State constitution, 3,938; against it, 3,838. CongressMarquette, Union, 4,110; Brooke, Democrat, 3,974. Governor-Butler, Union, 4,093; Morton, Democrat, 3,948. Correspondence between General Grant and General Lee. APRIL 7, 1865. Gen. R. E. LEE, Commanding 0. S. A.: SGENERAL: The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of yo,' the surren ler of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieut. Gen., Commanding Armies of the United States APRIL 7, 1865. GENERAL: I have received your note of thib date. Though not entirely of the opinion you express of the hopelessness of the further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid a useless effusion of blood, and therefore before considering your proposition I ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender. R. E. LEE, General. To Lieut. Gen. GRANT, Commanding Armies of the United States. APRIL 8, 1865. General R. E. LEE, Commanding C. S. A.: GENERAL: Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same date, asking conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply I would say that peace being my first desire, there is but one condition I insist upon, viz: That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms again against the Government of the United States, until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or designate officers to meet any officers you may name, for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieut. Gen., Commanding Armies of the United States. APRIL 8, 1865. GENERAL: I received, at alatehour, your note of to-day, in answer to mine of yesterday. I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of yourpropositio. Tobefrank, I donot think the emergency has arisen to call for the surren, der of this army; but as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desire to know whether your proposal would tend to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Artny of Northern Virginia; but as far as your proposition may affect the Confederate States forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. to-morrow, on the old stage road to Richlmond, between the picket lines of the two armies. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General, C. S. A. To Lieut. Gen. U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies U. S. A. APRIL 9. General R. E. LEE, Commanding 0. S. A.: GENERAL: Your note of yesterday is received. As I have no authority to treat on the subject of peace, the meeting proposed for 10 A. M. to-day could lead to no good. I will state, however, General, that I am equally anxious for peace POLITICAL MILITARY MISCELLANEOUS. 121 with yourself, and the whole North entertain the same feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms they will hastenthat most desirable event, save thousands of human lives, and hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Sincerely hoping that all our difficulties may be settled without the loss of another life, I subscribe myself, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieut. Gen. U. S. A. APRIL 9, 1865. GENERAL: I received your note of this morning on the picket line, whither I had come to meet you and ascertain definitely what terms were embraced in your proposition of yesterday with reference to the surrender of this army. I now request an interview in accordance with the offer contained in your letter of yesterday for that purpose. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General. To Lieut. Gen. GRANT, Com'g U. S. Armies. APRIL 9. General R. E. LEE, Commanding C. S. A.: Your note of this date is but this moment (11.50 A. M.) received, in consequence of my having passed from the Lynchburg road to the Farmville and Lynchburg road. I am at this writing about four miles west of Walter's Church, and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you. Notice sent to me on this road where you wish the interview to take place, will meet me. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieut. Gen., Commanding Armies of United States. APPOMATTOX C. H., April 9, 1865. General R. E. LEE, Commanding 0. S. A.: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside. Very respectfully, U. S. GRANT, Lieut. Gen. HEADQ'RS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, April 9, 1865. Lieut. Gen. U. S. GRANT, Com'g U. S. Armies. GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officer to carry the stipulations into effect. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General. The other Rebel armies subsequently surren dered on substantially the same terms. Agreement between Generals Sherman and Johnston. Memorandum, or Basis of Agreement, made this 18th day of April, A. D. 1865, near Durham's Station, in the State of North Carolina, by and between General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding Confederate army, and Major General William T. Sherman, commanding Army of the United States, both being present: 1. The contending armies now in the field to maintain the status quo, until notice is given by the commanding general of any one to its opponent, and reasonable time, say forty-eight hours, allowed. 2. The Confederate armies now in existence to be disbanded and conducted to their several State capitals, therein to deposit their arms and public property in the State arsenal, and each officer and man to execute and file an agreement to cease from acts of war, and to abide the action of both State and Federal authorities. The number of arms and munitions of war to be reported to the Chief of Ordnance at Washington city, subject to the future action of the Congress of the United States, and in the meantime to be used solely to maintain peace and order within the borders of the States respectively. 3. The recognition by the Executive of the United States of the several State governments, on their officers and legislatures taking the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States; and where conflicting State governments have resulted from the war, the legitimacy of all shall be submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States. 4. The re-establishment of the Federal Courts in the several States, with powers as defined by the Constitution and laws of Congress. 5. The people and inhabitants of all these States to be guaranteed, so far as the Executive can, their political rights and franchise, as well as their rights of person and property, as defined by the Constitution of the United States, and of the States respectively. 6. The Executive authority of the Government of the United States not to disturb any of the people by reason of the late war, so long as they live in peace and quiet, and abstain from acts of armed hostility, and obey the laws in existence at the place of their residence. 7. In general terms, the war to cease, a general amnesty, so far as the Executive of the United States can command, on the condition of the disbandment of the Confederate armies, dis 122 POLITICAL MANUAL. tribution of arms, and the resumption of peaceable pursuits by the officers and men hitherto composing such armies. Not being fully empowered by our respective principals to fulfil these terms, we individually and officially pledge ourselves to promptly obtain an answer thereto, and to carry out the above programme. W. T. SHERMAN,.Maj. Gen., Commanding Army U. S. in N. C. J. E. JOHNSTON, General, Commanding C. S. A. in N. 0. The following official dispatch to the Associated Press gives the particulars of its disapproval, and the supposed reasons therefor: "WASHINGTON, April 22.-Yesterday evening a bearer of despatches arrived from General Sherman. An agreement for a suspension of hostilities, and a memorandum of what is called a basis for peace, had been entered into on the 18th inst., by General Sherman with the rebel General Johnston, the rebel General Breckinridge being present at the conference. A Cabinet meeting was held at 8 o'clock in the evening, at which the action of General Sherman was disapproved by the President, the Secretary of War, by General Grant, and by every member of the Cabinet. General Sherman was ordered to resume hostilities immediately, and he was directed that the instructions given by the late President, in the following telegram, which was penned by Mr. Lincoln himself, at the Capitol, on the night of the 3d of March, were approved by President Andrew Johnson, and were reiterated to govern the action of military commanders. On the night of the 3d of March, while President Lincoln and his Cabinet were at the Capitol, a telegram from General Grant was brought to the Secretary of War, informing him that General Lee had requested an interview or conference to make an arrangement for terms of peace. The letter of General Lee was published in a message of Davis to the rebel Congress. General Grant's telegram was submitted to Mr. Lincoln, who, after pondering a few minutes, took up his pen and wrote with his own hand the following reply, which he submitted to the Secretary of State and Secretary of War. It was then dated, addressed, and signed by the Secretary of War, and telegraphed to General Grant: I WASHINGTON, March 3, 1866, 12 P. M.-Lieutenant General Grant: The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee, unless it be for the capitulation of General Lee's army, or on some minor and purely military matter. He instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Meantime, you are to press to the utmost your military advantages. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. After the Cabinet meeting last night, General Grant started for North Carolina to direct operations against Johnston's army. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. It is reported that this proceeding of General Sherman was disapproved for the following, among other, reasons: 1. It was an exercise of authority not vested in General Sherman, and on its face shows that both he and Johnston knew that General Sherman had no authority to enter into any sucei arrangement. 2. It was a practical acknowledgment of the rebel government. 3. It undertook to re-establish the rebel State governments that had been overthrown at the sacrifice of many thousand loyal lives and immense treasure, and placed the arms and munitions of war in the hands of the rebels at their respective capitals, which might be used as soon as the armies of the United States were disbanded, and used to conquer and subdue the loyal States. 4. By the restoration of rebel authority in their respective States they would be enabled to re-establish slavery. 5. It might furnish a ground of responsibility by the Federal Government to pay the rebel debt, and certainly subjects the loyal citizens of rebel States to debt contracted by rebels in the State. 6. It would put in dispute the existence of loyal State governments, and the new State of West Virginia, which had been recognized by every department of the United States Government. 7. It practically abolished the confiscation laws, and relieved the rebels, of every degree, who had slaughtered our people, from all pains and penalties for their crimes. 8. It gave terms that had been deliberately, repeatedly, and solemnly rejected by President Lincoln, and better terms than the rebels had ever asked in their most prosperous condition. 9. It formed no basis of true and lasting peace, but relieved the rebels from the pressure of our victories, and left them in condition to renew their efforts to overthrow the United States Government and subdue the loyal States whenever their strength was recruited and any opportunity should offer. General Grant's Orders. [General Orders, No. 3.] WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, January 12, 1866. TO PROTECT PERSONS AGAINST IMPROPER CIVIL SUITS AND PENALTIES IN LATE REBELLIOUS STATES. Military division and department commanders, whose commands embrace or are composed of any of the late rebellious States, and who have not already done so, will at once issue and enforce orders protecting from prosecution or suits in the State, or municipal courts of such State, all officers and soldiers of the armies of the United States, and all persons thereto attached, or in anywise thereto belonging, subject to military authority, charged with offences for acts done in their military capacity, or pursuant to orders from proper military authority; and to protect. from suit or prosecution all loyal citizens, or persons charged with offences done POLITICAL AND MILITARY MIStELLANEOU8. 12" against the rebel forces, directly or indirectly, during the existence of the rebellion; and all persons, their agents and employ6s, charged with the occupancy of abandoned lands or plantations, or the possession or custody of any kind of property whatever, who occupied, used, possessed, or controlled the same pursuant to the order of the President, or any of the civil or military departments of the Government, and to protect them from any penalties or damages that may have been or may be pronounced or adjudged in said courts in any of such cases; and also protecting colored persons from prosecutions in any of said States charged with offences for which white persons are not prosecuted or punished in the same manner and degree. By command of Lieutenant General Grant: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. SUPPRESSION OF DISLOYAL NEWSPAPERS. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 1866. You will please send to these headquarters as soon as practicable, and from time to time thereafter, such copies of newspapers published in your department as contain sentiments of disloyalty and hostility to the Government in any of its branches, and state whether such paper is habitual in its utterance of such sentiments. The persistent publication of articles calculated to keep up a hostility of feeling between the people of different sections of the country cannot be tolerated. This information is called for with a view to their suppression, which will be done from these headquarters only. By order of Lieutenant General Grant: T. S. BOWERS, Assistant Adjutant General..------..,Democratic Convention of Penn., March 5, 1866. The Democracy of Pennsylvania, in Convention met, recognizing a crisis in the affairs of the Republic, and esteeming the immediate restoration of the Union paramount to all other issues, do resolve: 1. That the States, whereof the people were lately in *rebellion, are integral parts of the Union and are entitled to representation in Congress by men duly elected who bear true faith to the Constitution and laws, and in order to vindicate the maxim that taxation without representation is tyranny, such representatives should be forthwith admitted. 2. That the faith of the Republic is pledged to the payment of the national debt, and Congress should pass all laws necessary for that purpose. 3. That we owe obedience to the Constitution of the United States, (including the amendment prohibiting slavery), and under its provisions will accord to those emancipated all their rights of person and property. 4. That each State has the exclusive right to regulate the qualifications of its own electors. 5. That the white race alone is entitled to the control of the Government of the Republic, and we are unwilling to grant the negroes the right to vote. 6. That the bold enunciation of the principles of the Constitution and the policy of restoration contained in the recent annual message and Freedmen's Bureau veto message of President Johnson entitle him to the confidence and support of all who respect the Constitution and love their country. 7. That the nation owes to the brave men of our armies and navy a debt of lasting gratitude for their heroic services in defence of the Constitution and the Union; and that while we cherish with a tender affection the memories of the fallen, we pledge to their widows and orphans the nation's care and protection. 8. That we urge upon Congress the duty of equalizing tse bounties of our soldiers and sailors, The following was also adopted: Resolved, That the thanks of the Democracy of Pennsy!vania be tendered to the Hon. Charles R. Buckalew and Hon. Edgar Cowan, for their patriotic support of the President's restoration policy; and that such thanks are due to all the democratic members of Congress for their advocacy of the restoration policy of President Johnson. Union Convention of Pennsylvania, Xarch 7. 2. That the most imperative duty of the present is to gather the legitimate fruits of the war, in order that our Constitution may come out of the rebellion purified, our institutions strengthened, and our national life prolonged. 3. That failure in these grave duties would be scarcely less criminal than would have been an acquiescence in secession and in the treasonable machinations of the conspirators, and would be an insult to every soldier who took up arms to save the country. 4. That filled with admiration at the patriotic devotion and fearless courage with which Andrew Johnson resisted and denounced the efforts of the rebels to overthrow the National Government, Pennsylvania rejoiced to express her entire confidence in his character and principles, and appreciation of his noble conduct, by bestowing her suffrage upon him for the second position in honor and dignity in the country. His bold and outspoken denunciation of the crime of treason, his firm demands for the punishment of the guilty offenders, and his expressions of thorough sympathy with the friends of the Union, secured for him the warmest attachment of her people, who, remembering his great services and sacrifices, while traitors and their sympathizers alike denounced his patriotic action, appeal to him to stand firmly by the side, and to repose upon the support, of the loyal masses, whose votes formed the foundation of his promotion, and who pledge to him their unswerving support in all measures by which treason shall be stigmatized, loyalty recognized, and the freedom, stability, and unity of the National Union restored. 5. That the work of restoring the late insurrectionary States to their proper relations to the Union necessarily devolves upon the law-making power, and that until such action shall be taken no State latey in insurrection is entitled to representation in either branch of Congress; that, as preliminary to such action, it is the right of Congress to investigate for itself the condition of the legislation of those States, to inquire respecting their loyalty, and to prescribe the terms of restoration, and that to deny this necessary constitutional power is to deny and imperil one of the dearest rights belonging to our representative form of government, and that we cordially approve of the action of the Union representatives in Congress from Pennsylvania on this subject. 6. That no man who has voluntarily engaged in the late rebellion, or has held office under the rebel organization, should be allowed to sit in the Congress of the Union, and that the law known as the test oath should not be repealed, but should be enforced against all claimants for seats in Congress. 7. That the national faith is sacredly pledged to the payment of the national debt incurred in the war to save the country and to suppress rebellion, and that the people will not suffer this faith to be violated or impaired; but all debts incurred to support the rebellion were unlawful, void, and of no obligation, and shall never be assumed by the United States, nor shall any State be permitted to pay any evidences of so vile and wicked engagements. 15. That in this crisis of public affairs, full of grateful recollections of his marvellous and memorable services on the field of battle, we turn to the example of unfaltering and uncompromising loyalty of Lieutenant General Grant with a confidence not less significant and unshaken, because at no period of our great struggle has his proud name been associated with a doubtful patriotism, or used for sinister purposes by the enemies of our common country. 17. That the Hon. Edgar Cowan, Senator from Pennsylvania, by his course in the Senate of the United States, has disappointed the hopes and forfeited the confidence of those to whom he owes his place, and that he is hereby most earnestly requested to resign. The following resolution was offered as a substitute for the fourth resolution, but after some discussion was withdrawn: That, relying on the well-tried loyalty and devotion of Andrew Johnson to the cause of the Union in the dark days of treason and rebellion, and remembering his patriotic conduct, services, and sufferings, which in times past endeared his name to the Union party; and now reposing full confidence in his ability, integrity, and patri'-:ism, we express the hope and confidence that the policy of his Administration will be so shaped and conducted as to save the nation from the perils which still surround it. The fourth resolution was then adopted-yeas 105, nays 21. 124 POLITICAL MANUAL. General Grant's Order for the Protection of Citizens. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, July 6, 1866. [General Orders, No. 44.] Department, district, and post commanders in the States lately in rebellion are hereby directed to arrest all persons who have been or may hereafter be charged with the commission of crimes and offences against officers, agents, citizens, and inhabitants of the United States, irrespective of color, in cases where the civil authorities have failed, neglected, or are unable to arrest and bring such parties to trial, and to detain them in military confinement until such time as a proper judicial tribunal maybe ready and willing to try them. A strict and prompt enforcement of this order is required. By command of Lieutenant General Grant: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. Unconditional Union Convention of Maryland, June 6, 1866. Resolved, That the registered loyal voters of Maryland will liste to 110no propositions to repeal or modify the registry law, which was enacted in conformity with the provisions of the constitution, and must remain in full force until such time as the registered voters of the State shall decree that the organic law shall be changed. 2. That the loyal people of the State are "the legitimate guardians and depositaries of its power," and that the disloyal "have no just right to complain of the hardships of a law which they have themselves deliberately provoked." 3. That it is the opinion of this convention, that if disloyal persons should be registered, it will be the duty of judges of election to administer the oath prescribed by the constitution to all whose loyalty may be challenged, and, in the language of the constitution, to "carefully exclude fromr voting" all that are disqualified. 4. That we cordially endorse the reconstruction policy of Congress, which excludes the leaders of the rebellion from all offices of profit or trust under the National Government, and places the basis of representation on the only just and honest principle, and that a white man in Virginia or South Carolina should have just as much representative power, and no more, than a white man in Pennsylvania or Ohio. 5. That the question of negro suffrage is not an issue in the State of Maryland, but is raised by the enemies of the Union party for the purpose of dividing and distracting it, and by this means to ultimately enable rebels to vote. 6. That we are pledged to the maintenance of the present constitution of Maryland, which expressly and emphatically prohibits both rebel suffrage and negro suffrage, and we are equally determined to uphold the registry law, which disfranchises rebels and excludes negroes from voting, and have no desire or intention of rescinding or abolishing either the constitution or the registry law. 7. That we warn the Union men of Maryland " that no Union man, high or low, should court the favor of traitors, as they can never win it-from the first they have held him as their enemy, and to the last they will be his; and that they should eschew petty rivalries, frivolous jealousies, and self-seeking cabals; so shall they save themselves falling one by one, an unpitied sacrifice, in a contemptible struggle." The vote upon the adoption of each resolution was unanimous, with the exception of the sixth resolution, upon which a division was called, and the result showed 54 yeas to 14 nays. The resolutions were then read as a whole, and adopted unanimously as the utterance of the Convention. Convention of Southern Unionists. TO THE LOYAL UNIONISTS OF THE SOUTH: The great issue is upon us I The majority in Congress, and its supporters, firmly declare that " the rights of the citizen enumerated in the Constitution, and established by the supreme law, must be maintained inviolate." Rebels &ad rebel sympathizers assert that " the rights of the citizen must be left to the States alone, and under such regulations as the respective States choose voluntarily to prescribe." We have seen this doctrine of State sovereignty carried out in its practical results until all authority in Congress was denied, the Union temporarily destroyed, the constitutional rights of the citizen of the South nearly annihilated, and the land desolated by civil war. The time has come when the restructure of Southern State government must be laid on constitutional principles, or the despotism, grown up under an atrocious leadership, be permitted to remain. We know of no other plan than that Congress, under its constitutional powers, shall now exercise its authority to establish the principle whereby protection is made coextensive with citizenship. We maintain that no State, either by its organic law or legislation can make transgression on the rights of the citizen legitimate. We demand and ask you to concur in demanding protection to every citizen of the great Republic on the basis of equality before the law; and further, that no State government should be recognized as legitimate under the Constitution in so far as it does not by its organic law make impartial protection full and complete. Under the doctrine of " State sovereignty," with rebels in the foreground, controlling Southern legislatures, and embittered by disappointment in their schemes to destroy the Union, there will be no safety for the loyal element of the South. Our reliance for protection is now on Congress, and the great Union party that has stood and is standing by our nationality, by the constitutional rights of the citizen, and by the beneficent principles of the government. For thie purpose of bringing the loyal Unionists of the South into conjunctive action with the true friends of republican government in the North, we invite you to send delegates in goodly numbers from all the Southern States, including Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, to meet at Independence Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, on the first Monday of September next. It is proposed that we should meet at that time to recommend measures for the establishment of such government in the South as accords with and protects the rights of all citizens. We trust this call will be responded to by numerous delegations of such as represent the true loyalty of the South. That kind of government which gives full protection to all rights of the citizen, such as our fathers intended, we claim as our birthright. Either the lovers of constitutional liberty must rule the nation or rebels and their sympathizers be permitted to misrule it. Shall loyalty or disloyalty have the keeping of the destinies of the nation? Lot the responses to this call which is now in circulation for signatures, and is being numerously signed, answer. Notice is given that gentlemen at a distance can have their names attached to it by sending a request by letter directed to D. W. Bingham, Esq., of Washington, D. C. Tennessee................ W. B. STOKES, Jos. S. FOWLER, JAMES GETTYS. Texas....................A. J. HAMILTON, GEO. W. PASCHAL, LORENZO SHERWOOD, C. B. SABIN. Georgia................ G. W. ASHBURN, HENRY 0. COLE. Missouri................. J. W. MCLURG, JOHN R. KELSO, J. F. BENJAMIN, GEO. W. ANDERSON. Virginia.................JOHN B. TaOTH, J. M. STEWART, WM. N. BERKLEY, ALLEN C. IHARMON, LEWIS McKENZIE, J. W. ttUNNIOcITT, JOHN 0. UNDERWOOD, BURNHsAM WARDWELL. ALEX. M. DtAVIS. North Carolina........ BYRON LAFLIN, DANIEL R. GooDLOU. Alabama................. GEORGE REESE, D. H. BINGHAiM, M. R. SAFFOLD, J. IH. LARCOMBE, WASmNoGON, July 4, 1866. XIfl.-interesting Figures chiefly friom the Census of 1860, bearing on Representation. STATES.* White Population. FreeA gregae Rpresnta Whie MlesColored Fre Slaves.Agrgae tie Ppreet- WieMlsMales over Colored.II Population. lation. over 20.1 20. 1 Vote of 1860. ApportionMent under Ceneus of 1860. *1 1. 1. I* I *I *I -I' California........................................... Connecticut......................................... Illinois............................................... Indiana.............................................. Iowa................................................. Kansas.............................................. Maine............................................... Maseachueetts....................................... Michigan............................................ Minnesota.......................................... New Hampshire.................................... New Jersey.......................................... New York........................................... Ohio.................................................. Oregon.............................................. Pennsylvania....................................... Rhode Island....................................... 'Vermont............................................. Wisconsin........................................... Alabama............................................. Arkansas............................................. Delaware............................................. Florida............................................... Georgia.............................................. Kentucky........................................... Louisiana............................................ Maryland............................................ Mississippi........................................... Missouri.............................................. North Carolina...................................... South Carolina...................................... Tennessee........................................... Texas................................................ 'Virginia*............................................. Grand Total............................. Representative Ratio............................... j358,110 451,504 1,04,291 1,338,710 673,779 106,390 626,947 1,221,4302 736,142 169,395 325,579 646,699 3,831,590 2,302,808 52,160 2,849,59 170,649 314,39 773,693" 4,086 8,627 7,628 11,48 1,069 625 1,327 9,602 6,799 259 494 25,38 49,005 36,673 128 56,949 3,952 709 1,171........................................................................ 2............................................ iw....................................................................... o..................... 379,94 460,147 1,711,951 1,350,428 674,913 107,206 628,279 1,231,066 749,113 172,023 326,073 67 2,03 5 3,880,735 2,0951 52,465 2,966,215 174,620 315,098 775,881 362,196 460,147 1,11,951 1,50,428 674,913 107,206 628,29 1,231,066 749,113 172,023 326,073 672,027 3,880,735 2,39,511 52,465 2,906,215 174,620 315,098 775,881 206,442 127,996 439,503 316,804 164,535 31,037 167,724 33"9,086 200,474 48,186 91,954 167,441 1,027,344 562,901 17,736 702,316 461,417 87,462 198,914 2,339 2,01 1,753 2,565 290 149 362 2,512 1,918 65 149 6,291 12,989 8,770o 53 13,631 1,023 194 353 108,840 77,246 339,693 272,143 12S),331 154,747 34,799 65,953 121,125 675,156 442,441 14,410 476,442 19,911 42,844 152,170 3 4 14 11 6 1 5 10 6 2 3 5 31 19 1 24 2 3 6 Based onAccording thredffths to whole According rlaeesp opltn to White ulaveiop. inldig Suffrage. ulto. Colored......3....7.......... 4 4.......... 13 15.......... 10 11......... 5 6......... 5 6.......... 9 12.......... 6 7.......... 2 2.....3....3.....5....6.... 29 35 o 18........19 m* 1........1 Z........ 22 24........ 2 2........ 3 3.......... 6 7 H_ 147 171 t~ 1 7 4 b 1 3 3 2 8 5 1 9 8 2 6 4 2 6 3 1 9 9 2 8 5 2 5 2 1 9 7 1 5 4 2 12 9 18 94 70 18 2411 24-1........ 133,700 29,300 I 'i. 18,653,776 526,271 324,143 90,589 77,747 5913550 919,484 357,456 518,918 353,899 1,063,489 629,942 291,300o 826,722 420,891 1,47,299 225,849 2,690 144 19,829 932 P1500 10,684 181647 83,942 773 3,572 30,463 9,914 7,300 355 58,042 20 435,080 111,115 1,798 61,745 462,198 225,483 331,726 87,189 436,631 114,931 331,059 402,406 275,719 182,566 490,865 -I 18907,753 964,201 435,450 112,216 140,424 1,057,286 1,155,684 708,02 687,049 791,305 1,182,012 992,622 703,708 1,109801 604,215 1,596,318.I 18,889,947 790,169 391,004 111,496 115,726 872,406 1,065,490) 652,173 616,652 1,136,039 860,197 542,745 999,513 531,188 1,99,972 -i 4,944,2712 118,589 73,963 22,429 18,687 132,479 217,883" 101,499 128,371 85,838 268,262 143,443 68,154 189,470 109,625 245,683 -F 57,497 96,458 25,044 4,679 14,315 97,170 50,442 101,814 38,039 113,808 21,872 74,356 87,781 56,770 38,704 123,613 -I 3,3913.392 54,053 16,05Z9 14,347 106,365 146,216 50,510 92,502 69,120 165,518 47,691 1:35,000 145,333 62,986 167,223 - I 156 6 7 9 8 4 11 I I. - -I -----I. - 8,036,700 26,690,476 250,787 476,636 3.950,511 3.950,531 12,240,293 31,148.046 10, 660,081 29,550.028 - 1,924,375 944,885 6,898,647 1,002,382 -F 1,263,260 85 4,656,652 241.......... 127,000 I tI'Tvnda admitted since, with one Representative-making whole number, at present, 242. West Virginia created since, with three llepresentatives-lea7ring Virginia 8, istead of 11 allowedi( 16 T Thclucting Asiaics. I listimatea. POLITIC kL MANUALS Votes in the U. S. House of Represorzlatves on the Various Tariffs. Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Tariff of Baioff SAE. 1816. 1824. 1828. 1832. 1842. 1846. 1887. 1861. 1864, Bll.o;,~.a m 5P-. co P a P. a s P-6 ae P.IaEd PA.c ~s Z~Z:4 r;q Z;4 Z Z. 'Z PI 4 A Z >4 Z;0 Z; 4 NEW ENGLAND STATES. Maine..................... New Hampshire....... Vermont.................. Massachusetts........ Connecticut............... Rhode Island......... MIlDDLE STATES. New York................. New Jereey............... Pennsylvania......... Delaware................. Marylaind................. SOUTHERN STATES. Virginia.................. West Virginia........ North Carolina........ 3outh Carolina........ Georgia.................... Florida.................... Alabama....,--........ Miesissippi................ Louisiana................. rexas..................... WESTERN STATES. lentucky................. Tennessee.................. Ohio....................... Indaiana................... Illinois.................... Missouri................... Arkansas................. Iowa....................... Michigan................. Minnesota................. Wisconsin................. 1 4 2 12 3 1 4 2 0 1 5 1 S 2 6 5 0 11 1 0 0 4 4 2 7 2 1 11 2 1 6 5 0 1 0 3 14 1 3 0 5 10 6 2 3 4 0 1 0 7 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 9 4 1 6 1 0 9 4 1 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 3 3 9 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 8 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 10 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 Ij 16 10 15 23 15 24 17 17 26 8 11 18 21 5 26 0 18 1 23 0 20 226 827 6 27 2 23 9 14 1616 1218 2 14 216 4 3 06 05 03 3 600 52 14 0 111 3 17 3 24 1 23 0 14 12 19 0 2 23 3 15 22 0 15 0 19 1.......1 01 00 11 00 10 11 01 00 1 2 5 361 58 04 3 124 12 21 01 4 44 10 60 15 57 11 52 18 53 12 17 47 25 30 47 4 32 3 37 13 71 2 1 1 8 1 71 4113 0.......................... 0 131021 301 3 1840 17 4153 0 04......................... 430 908 36 06 70 4 0 04..................... 3 307 07 16 08 52 4 00 6............................................... 1 0 1 0 0 0....................0 30 321 04 7 0 700 8..................... 01 01 10 02 40 40 0 3........ 0-1 0 3 0 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 4 0 0 2.......... 2 0 1 0 0 1.... 1.......... 14 6 31 1 2 14 2 14 1 57 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 12 0 13 3 1 0 50 0 9 0 0 0 27 9 0 27 3 0 0 0 0 5 4 1 9 3 1 1 0 1 49.8 13 6 3 2 1 1 - 487 3 6 12 6 4 4 7 6 8 2 0 0 0 44 6 7 5 3 4 0 2 0 2 0 14 8 4 3 0 1 3 2 0 4 1 13 2 4 0 0 I 3 2 2 37 4 3 5 4 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 S 6 4 1 2 I 4 10 4 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 1 *15 0 0 2 2 4 0 2 1 0 7 3.i 7 12 4 3 0 2 2 0 liansui....................... I I I I I I I ~I i III I I I I IA~~~ ~~ 24~tK! ~I~ 3488 23 PACIFIC STATES, 30 2 37 0 32 0 22 28 3 24 0 California................. Oregon.................... Nevada.................... 27 2 1 40 0 0 0 2 0 -10 - I-I-I-- Grand Total....... Tf- 10O5194 -13-21J-65-1104 I10O3 114 19ý5jT2-2-j72 0304 105 4 8 28 9 0 Sjtatment of the Public Debt of the United States on the 1st of June, 1866. Debt hearing Coin Interest........................................ &.................... Debt bearing Currency Interest.................................................. Matured Debt not presented for payment....................................... Debt bearing no Ii iterest.-IJ. S. Notes.................................................. $1,105,825,191 80 1,147,222,226 28 4,900,429 64 qU025128,318 00 Fractional Currency........................................ 27,34,-985 04 Gold Certificates of Deposit................................. 22,568,320 00 - 452,031,603 04 Total Debt............................................................................................... 2,799,9794,430 76 Amount in Treasury, Coin................................................................. 50,679,957 72 Currency............................................................ 79,011,125 52 _________- 129,691,083 24 Amount of Debt, less Cash in Treasury................................................................ $2,6170,288,367 52 *July 12-In. SENATE, postponed till December next-yeas 23, nays 17, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Brown, Davis, Doolittle, Foster, Grinies, Guthrie, Ilarris, Hienderson, Hlend~ricks, Johnson, Kirkwood, Lane, Morgan, Nesmith, Norton, Pomeroy, Riddle, Sauls bury, Sumner, Tiumbull, Willey, Williams, Wilson-230. NAYs--Messrs. Anthony, Chandler, Clark, Coniies, Cowan, Cragini, Edmunds, Fessenden, Howard, Howe, Poland, Raw-. sey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Van Winkle, Wade-17. :PAI.-T II POLITICAL MANUAL FOR 1867. XIV.PRESIDENT JONSON'S SPEECHES. PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES. On receiving the Proceedings of the Philadelphia 14th of August Convention. 1866, August 18-A committee of the Convention presented the proceedings through their Chairman, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, who made some remarks in so doing. President JOHNso replied: MR. CIAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE: Language is inadequate to express the emotions and feelings produced by this occasion. Perhaps I could express more by permitting silence to speak and you to infer what I ought to say. I confess that, notwithstanding the experience I have had in public life and the audiences I have addressed, this occasion and this assemblage are calculated to, and do, overwhelm me. As I have said, I have not language to convey adequately my present feelings and emotions. In listening to the address which your eloquent and distinguished chairman has just delivered, the proceedings of the Convention, as they transpired, recurred to my mind. Seemingly, I partook of the inspiration that prevailed in the Convention when I received a dispatch, sent by two of its distinguished members, conveying in terms the scene which has just been described, of South Carolina and Massachusetts, arm in arm, marching into that vast assemblage, and thus giving evidence that the two extremes had come together again, and that for the future they were united, as they had been in the past, for the preservation of the Union. When I was thus informed that in that vast body of men, distinguished for intellect and wisdom, every eye was suffused with tears on beholding the scene, I could not finish reading the dispatch to one associated with me in the office, for my own feelings overcame me. [Applause.] I think we may justly conclude that we are acting under a proper inspiration, and that we need not be mistaken that the finger of an overruling and unerring Providence is in this great movement. The nation is in peril. We have just passed through a mighty, a bloody, a momentous ordeal; and yet do not find ourselves free from the difficulties and dangers that at first surrounded us. While our brave soldiers, both officers and men, [turning to General Grant, who stood at his right,] have by their heroism won laurels imperishable, there are still greater and more important duties to perform; and while we have had their co-operation in the field, now that they have returned to civil pursuits, we need their support in our efforts to restore the Government and perpetuate peace. [Applause.] So far as the executive department of the Government is concerned, the effort has been made to restore the Union, to heal the breach, to pour oil into the wounds which were consequent upon the struggle, and (to speak in common phrase) to prepare, as the learned and wise physician would, a plaster healing in character and coextensive with the wound. [Applause.] We thought, and we think, that we had partially succeeded; but as the work progresses, as reconciliation seemed to be taking place, and the country was becoming reunited,' we found a disturbing and marring element opposing us. In alluding to that element I shall go no further than your Convention and the distinguished gentleman who has delivered to me the report of its proceedings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not believe the time and the occasion justify. We have witnessed in one department of the Government every endeavor to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and Union. We have seen hanging upon the verge of the Government, as it were, a body called, or which assumes to be, the Congress of the United States, while in fact it is a Congress of only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress pretend to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable. Instead ot promoting reconciliation and harmony, its legislation has partaken of the character of penalties, retaliation, and revenge. This has been the course and the policy of one portion of your Government. The humble individual who is now addressing you stands the representative of another department of the Government. The manner in which he was called upon to occupy that position I shall not allude to on this occasion. Suffice it to say that he is here under the Constitution of the country, and being here by virtue of its provisions, he takes his stand upon that charter of our liberties as the great rampart of civil and religious liberty. [Prolonged cheering.] Having been taught in my early life to hold it sacred, and having done so during my whole public career, I shall ever continue to reverence the Constitution of my fathers, and to make it my guide. [Hearty applause.] 128 POLITICAL MANUAL. 1 know it has oeen said (and I must be permitted to indulge in the remark) that the executive department of the Government has been despotic and tyrannical. Let me ask this audience of distinguished gentlemen to point to a vote I ever gave, to a speech I ever made, to a single act of my whole public life, that has not been against tyranny and despotism. What position have I ever occupied, what ground have I ever assumed, where it can be truthfully charged that I failed to advocate the amelioration and elevation of the great masses of my countrymen? [Cries of "Never," and great applause.] So far as charges of this kind are concerned, they are simply intended to delude the public mind into the belief that it is not the designing men who make such accusations, but some one else in power, who is usurping and trampling upon the rights and perverting the principles of the Constitution. It is done by them for the purpose of covering their own acts. [" That's so," and applause.] And I have felt it my duty, in vindication of principle, to call the attention of my countrymen to their proceedings. When we come to examine who has been playing the part of the tyrant, by whom do we find despotism exercised? As to myself, the elements of my nature, the pursuits of my life, have not made me, either in my feelings or in my practice, aggressive. My nature, on the contrary, is rather defensive in its character. But having taken my stand upon the broad principles of liberty and the Constitution, there is not power enough on earth to drive me from it. [Loud and prolonged applause.] Having placed myself upon that broad platform, I have not been awed or dismayed or intimidated by either threats or encroachments, but have stood there, in conjunction with patriotic spirits, sounding the tocsin of alarm when I deemed the citadel of liberty in danger. [Great applause.] I said on a previous occasion, and repeat now, that all that was necessary in this great contest against tyranny and despotism was that the struggle should be sufficiently audible for the American people to hear and properly understand the issues it involved. They did hear, and looking on and seeing who the contestants were, and what the struggle was about, determined that they would settle this question on the side of the Constitution and of principle. [Cries of " That's so," and applause.] I proclaim here today, as I have on previous occasions, that my faith is in the great mass of the people. In the darkest moment of this struggle, when the clouds seemed to be most lowering, my faith, instead of giving way, loomed up through their gloom; for, beyond, I saw that all would be well in the end. My countrymen, we all know that, in the language of Thomas Jefferson, tyranny and despotism can be exercised and exerted more effectually by the many than the one. We have seen Congress gradually encroach step by step upon constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and month after month, fundamental principles of the Government. [Cries of " That's so," and applause.] We have seen a Congress that seemed to forget that there was a limit to the sphere and scope of legislation. We have seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise power which, it allowed to be consummated, would result in despotism or monarchy itself. [Enthusiastic applause.] This is truth; and because others, as well as myself, have seen proper to appeal to the patriotism and republican feeling of the country, we have been denounced in the severest terms. Slander upon slander, vituperation upon vituperation, of the most virulent character, has made its way through the press. What, gentlemen, has been your and my sm. What has been the cause of our offending? I will tell you. Daring to stand by the Constitution of our fathers. Mr. Chairman, I consider the proceedings of this Convention equal to, if not more important than, those of any convention that ever assembled in the United States. [Great applause.] When I look upon that collection of citizens coming together voluntarily, and sitting in council, with ideas, with principles and views commensurate with all the States, and co-extensive with the whole people, and contrast it with a Congress whose policy, if persisted in, will destroy the country, I regard it as more important than any convention that has sat-at least since 1787. [Renewed applause.] I think I may also say that the declarations that were there, made are equal to those contained in the Declaration of Independence itself, and I here to-day pronounce them a second Declaration of Independ ence. [Cries of " Glorious!" and most enthusiastic and prolonged applause.] Your address and declarations are nothing more nor less than a reaffirmation of the Constitution of the United States. [Cries of "Good!" and applause.] Yes, I will go further, and say that the declarations you have made, that the principles you have enunciated in your address, are a second proclamation of emancipation to the people of the United States. [Renewed applause.] For in proclaiming and reproclaiming these great truths you have laid down a constitutional platform on which all, without reference to party, can make common cause, engage in a common effort to break the tyranny which the dominant party in Congress has so unrelentingly exercised, and stand united together for the restoration of the States and the preservation of the Government. The question only is the salvation of the country; for our country rises above all party consideration or influences. [Cries of " Good! and applause.] How many are there in the United States that now require to be free? They have the shackles upon their limbs and are bound as rigidly by the behests of party leaders in the National Congress as though they were in fact in slavery. I repeat, then, that your declaration is the second proclamation of emancipation to the people of the United States, and offers a common ground upon which all patriots can stand. [Applause.] In this connection, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, let me ask what have I to gain more than the advancement of the public welfare? I am as much opposed to the indulgence of egotism as any one; but here, in a conversational manner, while formally receiving the proceedings of this Convention, I may be permitted again to inquire, what have I to gain, consulting human ambi PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES. 129I tion, riore than I have gained, except one thing -the consummation of the great work of restoration? My race is nearly run. I have been placed in the high office which I occupy by the Constitution of the country, and I may say that I have held, from lowest to highest, almost every station to which a man may attain in our Government. I have passed through every position, from alderman of a village to the Presidency of the United States. And surely, gentlemen, this should be enough to gratify a reasonable ambition. If I had wanted authority, or if I had wished to perpetuate my own power, how easily could I have held and wielded that which was placed in my hands by the measure called the Freedmen's Bureau bill. [Laughter and applause.] With an army, which it placed at my discretion, I could have remained at the capital of the nation, and with fifty or sixty millions of appropriations at my disposal, with the machinery to be unlocked by my own hands, with my satraps and dependants in every town and village, with the civil rights bill following as an auxiliary, [laughter,] and with the patronage and other appliances of the Government, I could have proclaimed myself dictator. [" That's true!" and applause.] But, gentlemen, my pride and my ambition have been to occupy that position which retains all power in the hands of the people. [Great cheering.] It is upon them I have always relied; it is upon them I rely now. [A voice: "And the people will not disappoint you."] And I repeat, that neither the taunts nor jeers of Congress, nor of a subsidized, calumniating press, can drive me from my purpose. [Great applause.] I acknowledge no superior except my God, the author of my existence, and the people of the United States. [Prolonged and enthusiastic cheering.] The commands of the one I try to obey as best I can, compatible with poor humanity. As to the other, in a political and representative sense, the high behests of the people have always been, and ever will be, respected and obeyed by me. [Applause.] Mr. Chairman, I- have said more than I had intended to say. For the kind allusion to myself, contained in your address, I thank you. In this crisis, and at the present period of my public life, I hold above all price, and shall ever recur with feelings of profound gratification, to the resolution containing the endorsement of a convention emanating spontaneously from the great mass of the people. With conscientious conviction as my courage, the Constitution as my guide, and my faith in the people,.I trust and hope that my future action may be such that you and the Convention you represent may not regret the assurance of confidence you have so generously expressed. [" We are sure of it."] Before separating, my friends, one and all, please accept my heartfelt thanks for the kind manifestations of regard and respect you have exhibited on this occasion. In New York, August 29. GENTLEMEN: The toast which has just been drank, and the kind sentiments which preceded it in the remarks of your distinguished representative, the mayor of this city, are peculiarly, un9 der existing circumstances, gratifying to me; and in saying they are gratifying to me I wish not to indulge in any vanity. If I were to say less I should not speak the truth, and it is always best to speak the truth and to give utterance to our sincere emotions. In being so kindly attended to, and being received as I have been received on this occasion-here to-night, and in your city to-day by such a demonstration-I am free to confess that this overwhelms me. But the mind would be exceedingly dull and the heart almost without an impulse that could not give utterance to something responsive to what has been said and been done. [Cheers.] And believe me on this occasion, warm is the heart that feels and willing is the tongue thatspeaks, and I would to God it were in my power to reduce to sentences and to language the feelings and emotions that this day and this night have produced. [Cheers.] I shall not attempt, in reference to what has been said and the manifestations that have been made, to go into any speech, or to make any argument before you on this occasion, but merely to give utterance to the sincere sentiments of my heart. I would that I could utter what I do feel in response to this outpouring of the popular heart which has gone forth on this occasion, and which will as a legion spread itself and communicate with every heart throughout the Confederacy. [Cheers.] All that is wanting in the great struggle in which we are engaged is simply to develop the popular heart of the nation. It is like latent fire. All that is necessary is a sufficient amount of friction to develop the popular sentiment of the popular feeling of the American people. [Cheers.] I know, as you know that we havejust passed through a bloody, perilous conflict; that we have gentlemen who are associated with us on this occasion, who have shared their part and participated in these strug gles for the preservation of the Union. [Great applause.] Here is the Army, [pointing to the right, where sat General Grant,] and here the Navy [pointing to the left in the direction o0 Admiral Farragut.] They have performed theii part in restoring the Government to its presen condition of safety and security; and will it be considered improper in me, on this occasion, t( say that the Secretary of State has done his part i [Cheers.] As for the humble individual whc now stands before you, and to whom you have so kindly and pleasantly alluded, as to what part he has performed in this great drama, ir this struggle for the restoration of the Government and the suppression of rebellion, I will say that I feel, though I may be included in this summing up, that the Government has done its duty. [Cheers.] But though the Gov ernment has done its duty, the work is not ye. complete. Though we have passed throug fields of battle, and at times have almost been constrained and forced to the conclusion that we should be compelled to witness the Goddess of Liberty, as it were, go scourged through fields of carnage and of blood, and make her exit, and that our Government would be a failure, yet -we are brought to a period and to a time in which the Government has been successful. While the enemy have been put down in the field there is still a greater and more important tasik-for you 130 POLITICAL MANUAL. and others to perform. [Cheers.] I must be permitted-and I shall not trespass upon you a moment-I must be permitted to remark in this connection, that the Government commenced the suppression of this rebellion for the express purpose of preserving the union of these States. [Cheers.] That was the declaration that it made, and under that declaration we went into the war and continued in it until we suppressed the rebellion The rebellion has been suppressed, and in the suppression of the rebellion it has declared and announced and established the great fact that these States had not the power, and it denied their right, by forcible or by peaceable means, to separate themselves from the Union. [Cheers. "Good."] That having been determined and settled by the Government of the United States in the field and in one of the departments of Government-the executive department of the Government-there is an open issue; there is another department of your Government which has declared by its officials acts, and by the position of the Government, notwithstanding the rebellion was suppressed, for the purpose of preserving the Union of the States and establishing the doctrine that the States could not secede, yet they have practically assumed and declared, and carried up to the present point, that the Government was dissolved and the States were out of the Union. [Cheers.] We who contend for the opposite doctrine years ago contended that even the States had not the right to peaceably secede; and one of the means and modes of possible secession was that the States of the Union might withdraw their representatives from the Congress of the United States, and that would be practical dissolution. We denied that they had any such right. [Cheers.] And now, when the doctrine is established that they have no right to withdraw, and the rebellion is at an end, and the States again assume their position and renew their relations, as far as in them lies, with the Federal Government, we find that when they present representatives to the Congress of the United States, in violation of the sacred charter of liberty, which declares that you cannot, even by amendment of the Constitution of the United States, deprive any one of them of their representation-we find that in violation of the Constitution, in express terms, as well as in spirit, that these States of the Union have been and still are denied their representation in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Will we then, in the struggle which is now before us, submit, will the American people submit, to this practical dissolution, a doctrine that we have repudiated, a doctrine that we have declared as having no justice or right? The issue is before vou and before the country. Will these States be permitted to continue and remain as they are in practical dissolution and destruction, so far as representation is concerned? It is giving the lie direct-it is subverting every single argument and position we have made and taken since the rebellion commenced. Are we prepared now, after having passed through this rebellion; are we prepared, after the immense amount of blood that has been shed; are we prepared, after having 'accumulated a debt of over three thousand millions of dollars; are we prepared, after all the injury that has been inflicted upon the people, North and South, of this Confederacy, now to continue this disrupted condition of the country? [Cries, "No, no!'" "Never!" Cheers.] Let me ask this intelligent audience here to-night, in the spirit of Christianity and of sound philosophy, are we prepared to renew the scenes through which we have passed? [" No! no! no!"] Are we prepared again to see one portion of this Government arrayed in deadly conflict against another portion? Are we prepared to see the North arrayed against the South, and the South against the North? Are we prepared, in this fair and happy Government of freedom and of liberty, to see man again set upon man, and in the name of God lift his hand against the throat of his fellow? Are we again prepared to see these fair fields of ours, this land that gave a brother birth, again drenched in a brother's blood? [" Never, never." Cheers.] Arewe not rather prepared to bring from Gilead the balmi that has relief in its character and pour it into the wound? [Loud cheering.] Have not we seen enough to talk practically of this matter? Has not this array of the intelligence, the integrity, the patriotism, and the wealth a right to talk practically? Let us talk about this thing. We have known of feuds among families of the most respectable character, which would separate, and the contest would be angry and severe, yet when the parties would come together and talk it all over, and the differences were understood, they let their quarrel pass to oblivion; and weo have seen them approach each other with affection and kindness, and felt gratified that the feud had existed, because they could feel better afterwards. [Laughter and applause.] They areour brethren. [Cheers.] They are part of ourselves. [" Hear! hear!"] They are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. [Cheers.] They have lived with us and been part of us from the establishment of the Government to the commencement of the rebellion. They are identified with its history, with all its prosperity, in every sense of the word. We have had a hiatus, as it were, but that has passed by and we have come together again; and now, after having understood what the feud was, and the great apple of discord removed; having lived under the Constitution of the United States in the past,they ask to live under it in the future. May I be permitted to indulge in a single thought here? I will not detain you a moment. ["Go on." "Go on." "Go on." Cheers.] You [turning to Mayor Hoffman] are responsible for having invoked it. [Laughter.] What is now said, gentlemen, after the Philadelphia Convention has met to pronounce upon the condition of the country? What is now saidi? Why, that these men who met in that Convention were insincere; that their utterances were worthless; that it is all pretense, and they are not to be believed. When you talk about it, and talk about red-handed rebels, and all that, who has fought these traitors and rebels with more constancy and determination than the individual now before you? Who has sacrificed and suffered more? [Cheers.] But because my sacrifices and sufferings have been great, and as an incident growing out of a great civil war, should I become dead o- in.ensible to truh or PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES. 131 principle? ["No, no." Cheers.] But these men, notwithstanding they may profess now loyalty and devotion to the union of the States, are said to be pretenders, not to be believed. What better evidence can you have of devotion to the Government than profession and action? Who dare, at this day of religious and political freedom, to set up an inquisition, and come into the human bosom to inquire what are the sentiments there? [Cheers.] How many men have lived in this Government from its origin to the present time that have been loyal,-that have obeyed all its laws, that have paid its taxes, and sustained the Government in the hour of peril, yet in sentiment would have preferred a change, or would have preferred to live under some other form of government? But the best evidence you can have is their practical loyalty, their professions, and their actions. [" Good," "good," and applause.] Then, if these gentlemen in convention, from the North and South, come forward and profess devotion to the Union and the Constitution of these States, when their actions and professions are for loyalty, who dare assume the contrary? [Cheers.] If we have reached that point in our country's history, all confidence is lost in man. If we have reached that point that we are not to trust each other, and our confidence is gone, I tell you your Government is not as strong as a rope of sand. It has no weight; it will crumble to pieces. This Government has no tie, this Government has no binding and adhesive power, beyond the confidence and trust in the people. ["Hear, hear." Loud applause.] But these men who sit in convention, who sit in a city whose professions have been, in times gone by, that they were a peace-loving and war-hating people-they said there, and their professions should not be doubted, that they have reached a point at which they say peace must be made; they have come to a point at which they want peace on earth and good-will to men. [Loud cheers.] And now, what is the argument in excuse? We won't believe you, and therefore this dissolution, this practical dissolution, must be continued to exist. Your attention to a single point. Why is a southern man not to be believed? and I do not speak here to-night because I am a southern man, and because my infant view first saw the light of heaven in a southern State. [" They are to be believed."] Thank God, though I say it myself, I feel that I have attained opinions and notions that are coextensive with all these States, with all the people of them. [Great applause. The whole audience rose and waved their handkerchiefs at this sentiment. Voice-" That's the best thing to-night."] While I am a southern man, I am a northern man; that is to say, I am a citizen of the United States, [cheers,] and I am willing to concede to all other citizens what I claim for myself. [" Sound."] But I was going to bring to your attention, as I am up, and you must not encourage me too much, ["Good! good! "] for some of those men who have been engaged in this thing, and pretty well broken down, require sometimes a little effort to get them warmed. [Laughter.] I was going to call your attention to a point. The southern States or their leaders proposed a separation. Now, what was the reason that; they offered for that separation? Your attention. The time has come to think; the time has come to consult our brain, and not the impulses and passions of the heart. The time has come when reason should bear sway, and feeling and impulse should be subdued. [Cheers.] What was the reason, or one of the reasons at least, that the South gave for separation? It was that the Constitution was encroached upon, and that they were not secured in their rights under it. That was one of the reasons; whether it was true or false, that was the reason assumed. We will separate from this Government, they said, because we cannot have the Constitution executed; and, therefore, we will separate and set up the same Constitution, and enforce it under a government of our own. But it was separation. I fought then against those who proposed this. I took my position in the Senate of the United States, and assumed then, as I have since, that this Union was perpetual, that it was a great magic circle never to be broken. [Cheers.] But the reason the South gave was that the Constitution could not be enforced in the present condition of the country, and hence they would separate. They attempted to separate, but they failed. But while the question was pending, they established a form of government; and what form of government was it? What kind of Constitution did they adopt? Was it not the same, with a few variations, as the Constitution'of the United States, [Cheers, and "That's so! "] the Constitution of the United States, under which they had lived from the origin of the Government up to the time of their attempt at separation? They made the experiment of an attempted separation under the plea that they desired to live under that Constitution in a government where it would be enforced. We said " You shall not separate, you shall remain with us, and the Constitution shall be preserved and enforced." [Cheers.] The rebellion has ceased. And when their arms were put down by the Army and Navy of the United States, they accepted the terms of the Government. We said to them, before the termination of the rebellion, " Disband your armies, return to your original position in the Government, and we will receive you with open arms." The time came when their armies were disbanded under the leadership of my distinguished friend on the right, [General Grant.] [" Three cheers for General Grant.,"] The Army and the Navy dispersed their forces. What were the terms of capitulation? They accepted the proposition of the Government, and said, "We have been mistaken; we selected the arbitrament of the sword, and that arbiter has decided against us; and that being so, as honorable and manly men, we accept the terms you offer us." The query comes up, will they be accepted? Do we want to humiliate them and degrade them, and tread them in the dust? [" No, no! " Cheers.] I say this, and I repeat it here to-night, I do not want them to come back into this Union a degraded and debased people. [Loud cheers.] They are not fit to be a part of this great American family if they are degraded and treated with ignominy and contempt. I want them when they come back to become a part of this great coun POLITICAL MANUAL. try, an honored portion of the American people. 1. want, them to come back with all their manhood; then they are fit, and not without that, to be a part of these United States. [Cheers. " Three cheers for Andrew Johnson."] I have not, however, approached the point that I intended to mention, and I know I am talking too long. [" Go on," " go on," "go on."] Why should we distrust the southern people and say they are not to be believed? I have just called your attention to the Constitution under which they were desirous to live, and that was the Constitution of their fathers, yet they wanted it in a. separate condition. Having been defeated in bringing about that separation, and having lost the institution of slavery, the great apple of discord, they now, in returning, take up that Constitution, under which they always lived, and which they established for themselves, even in a separate government. Where, then, is the cause for distrust? Where, then, is the cause for the want of confidence? Is there any? [" No, no."] I do not come here to-night to apologize for persons who have tried to destroy this Government; and if every act of my life, either in speeches or in practice, does not disprove the charge that I want to apologize for them, then there is no use in a man's having a public record. [Cheers.] But I am one of those who take the southern people, with all their heresies anderrors, admitting that in rebellion they did wrong. The leaders coerced thousands and thousands of honest men into the rebellion who saw the old flag flap in the breeze for the last time with unfeigned sorrow, and welcomedit again with joy and thanksgiving. The leaders betrayed and led the southern people astray upon this great doctrine of secession. We have in the West a game called hammer and anvil, and anvil and hammer, and while Davis and others were talking about separation in the South, there was another class, Phillips, Garrison, and men of that kind, who were talking about dissolution in the North; and of these extremes one was the hammer and the other was the anvil; and when the rebellion broke out one extreme was carrying it out, and now that it is suppressed the other class are still trying to give it life and effect. I fought those in the South who commenced the rebellion, and now I oppose those in the North who are trying to break up the Union. [Cheers.] I am for the Union. I am against all those who are opposed to the Union. [Great applause.] I am for the Union, the whole Union, and nothing but the Union. [Renewed cheering.] I have helped my distinguished friend on my right, General Grant, to fight the rebels South, and I must not forget a peculiar phrase, that he was going to fight it out on that line. [Applause and laughter.] I was with him, and I did all that I could; and when we whipped them at one end of the line, I want to say to you that I am for whipping them at the other end of the line. [Great laughter and applause.] I thank God that if he is not in the field, militarily speaking, thank God! he is civilly in the field on the other side. [Cheers for Grant.] This is a contest and struggle for the Union, for the union of these States. [Applause.] The North can't get along without the South, and the South can't get along with out the North. ["That's so," and applause.] 1 have heard an idea advanced, that if we let the southern members of Congress in they will control the Government. Do you want to be governed by rebels? [Cries of "Never," " No, no."] We want to let loyal men in, [" Hear, hear."] and none but loval men. [" Good, good."] But, I ask here to-night, in the face of this intelligent audience, upon what does the face of the observation rest, that men coming in from the South will control the country to its destruction? Taking the entire delegation of the South, fiftyeight members, what is it compared with the two hundred and forty-two members of the rest, of the Union? [" Good boy!"] Is it complimentary to the North to say we are afraid of them? Would the free States let in fifty-eight members from the South that we doubt, that we distrust, that we have no confidence in? If we bring them into the Government, these fifty-eight representatives, are they to control the two hundred and forty-two? There is no argument that the influence and talent and the principles they can bring to bear against us, placing them in the worst possible light [A voice, " The Sumner argument"] can be a cause for alarm. We are represented as afraid of these fifty-eight men, afraid that they will repudiate our public debt; that they can go into the Congress of the United States under the most favorable conditions they could require, the most offensive conditions to us, and could overwhelm a majority of a hundred and fifty to a hundred and eighty, [a voice, " Ridiculous"]-that these men are going to take charge of the country. Why, it is croaking; it is to excite your fears, to appeal to your prejudice. Consider the immense sums of money that have been expended, the great number of lives that have been lost, and the blood that has been shed; that our bleeding arteries have been staved and tied up; that commerce, and mecharteal industry, and agriculture, and all the pursuits of peace restored, and we are repre sented as cowards enough to clamor that if these fifty-eight men are admitted as the representatives of the South the Government is lost. We are told that our people are afraid of the people of the South; that we are cowards. [Cries of "We are not."] Did they control youbefore the rebellion commenced? Have they any more power now than they had then? Let me say to this intelligent audience here to-night, I am no prophet, but I predicted at different times,, in the beginning of the late rebellion, what has been literally fulfilled. [Cries of " That's so."] I told the southern people years ago, that whenever they attempted to break up this Union, whenever they attempted to do that, even if they succeeded, that the institution of slavery would be gone. [" Good, good."] Yes, sir, [turning to Mr. Seward,] you know that I made that argument to Jeff Davis. You will bear witness to the position I then occupied. Mr. SEWARD. I guess so. [Applause.] Mr. JonsoN. Yes, and you were among the few that gave me encouragement. [Applause.] I told them then that the institution of slavery could not survive an attempt to break up this Union. They thought differently. They put up a stake: what was it? It was four millions of PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES. 133 slaves, in whicr they had invested their capital. Their investment in the institution of slavery amounted to $3,000,000,000. This they put up at stake, and said they could maintain it by separating these States. That was the experiment; what are the facts of the result? The Constitution still exists. [Great cheering.] The Union is still preserved. [Cheers.] They have not succeeded in going out, and the institution of slavery is gone. [" Hear, hear."] Since it has been gone they have come up manfully and acknowledged the fact in their State conventions and organizations, and they ratify its fall now and forever. [Cheers.] I have got one other idea to put right alongside of this. [Applause and laughter.] You have got a debt of about $3,000,000,000. [" That's so."] How are you going to preserve the credit of that? Will you tell me. [Voices, "You tell us."] How are you to preserve the credit of this $3,000,000,000? Yes, perhaps when the account is made up your debt will be found $3,000,000,000 or $4,000,000,000. Will you tell me how you are to secure it, how the ultimate payment of the principal and interest of this sum is to be secured? Is it by having this Government disrupted? [Mr. Seward and others, "No, no."] Is it by the division of these States? ["No."] Is it by separating this Union into petty States? [" No."] Let me tell you here to-night, my New York friends, I tell you that there is no way by which these bonds can be ultimately paid, by which the interest can be paid, by which the national debt can be sustained, but by the continuity and perpetuity and by the complete union of these States. [Applause.] Let me tell you who fall into this fallacy, and into this great heresy, you will reap a more bitter reward than the southern brethren have reaped in putting their capital into slavery. Mr. SEWARD, sotto voce. The argumentum ad hominem. [" Good."] Mr. JoHsoN. Pardon me, I do not exaggerate. I understand this question. You who play a false part, now the great issue is past, you who play into the hands of those who wish to dissolve the Government, to continue the disreputable conditions to impair and destroy the public credit, let us unite the Government and you will have more credit than you need. [Applause.] Let the South come back with its great mineral resources; give them a chance to come back and bear a part, and I say they will increase the national resources and the national capacity for meeting these national obligations. I am proud to say on this occasion, not by way of flattery, to the people of New York, but I am proud to find a liberal and comprehensive and patriotic view of this whole question on the part of the people of New York. I am proud to find, too, that here you don't believe that your existence depends upon aggression and destruction; that while you are willing to live, you are willing to let others live. [Applause.] You don't desire ft live by the destruction of others. Some have grown fat, some have grown rich by the aggression and destruction of others. It is for you to make the application, and not me. These men talk about this thing, and ask what is before you? What is before you? New York, this great State, this great commercial emporium-I was asking your mayor to-day the amount of your taxation, and he informs me it is $18,000,000! Where did your Government start from but the other day? Do you remember that when General Washington was inaugurated President, that your annual bill was $2,500,000 for the entire General Government. Yet to-day I am told that my distinguished friend on my left controls the destinies of a city whose taxes amount to $18,000,000, and whose population numbers four millions-double what the entire nation had at the time when it commenced its existence. General SAuvFORD. Our taxation by the Gen-j eral Government is $50,000,000. Mr. JORNsoN. I am simply trying to get at the amount collected to sustain your municipal establishment. Thus may we advance, entertaining the principles which are coextensive with the States of this Union, feeling, like you, that our system of Government comprehends the whole people, not merely a part. [Applause.] New York has a great work to perform in the restoration of this great Union. As I have told you, they who talk about destroying the great elements that bind this Government together deny the power, the inherent power, of the Government, which will, when its capacities are put to the test, re-establish and readjust its position, and the Government be restored. [Applause.] I tell you that we shall be sustained in this effort to preserve the Union. It would be just about as futile to attempt the resistance of the ocean wave, or to check the wind, as to prevent the result I predict. You might as well attempt to turn the Mississippi back upon its source as to resist this great law of gravitation that is bringing these States back and be united with us as strong as ever. I have been called a demagogue, and would to God that there were more demagogues in the land to save it! [Applause.] The demonstration here to-day is the result of some of these demagogical ideas; that the great mass of the people, when called to take care of the people, will do right. A voice. Sure as you are born. [Laughter.] Mr. JOHnsoN. I tell you, you have commenced the grand process now. I tell those present who are croaking and talking about individual ag grandizement and perpetuation of party, I tell them that they had better stand from under. [laughter and cheers,] they had better get out of the way [cheers;] the Government is coming together, and they cannot resist it. Sometimes, when my confidence gives out, when my reason fails me, my faith comes to my rescue, and tells me that this Government will be perpetuated and this Union preserved. [Cheers.] I tell you here to-night, and I have not turned philanthropist and fanatic, that men sometimes err, and can again do right; that sometimes the fact that men have erred is the cause of making them better men. [Applause.] I am not for destroy ing all men, or condemning to total destruction all men who have erred once in their lives. I believe in the memorable example of Hiim who came with peace and healing on his wings; and when he descended and found men condemned unto the law, instead of executing it, instead of shedding the blood of the world, he placed him 134 POLITICAL MANUAL. self upon the cross, and died, that man might be saved. If I have pardoned many, I trust in God that I have erred on the right side. If I have pardoned many, I believe it is all for the best interests of the country; and so believing, and convinced that our southern brethren were giving evidence by their practice and profession that they were repentant, in imitation of Him of old who died for the preservation of men, I exercised that mercy which I believed to be my duty. I have never made a prepared speech in my life, and only treat these topics as they occur to me. The country, gentlemen, is in your hands. The issue is before you. I stand here to-night, not in the first sense in the character of the Chief Magistrate of the nation, but as a citizen, defending the restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of the Constitution of my country. Since becoming the Chief Magistrate I have tried to fulfill my duty-to bring about reconciliation and harmony; my record is before you. You know how politicians will talk; and if you people will get right, don't trouble yourselves about the politicians, for when the people get right the politicians are very accommodating. [Cheers.] But let me ask this audience here to-night, What am I to gain by taking the course I am taking if it was not patriotic and for my country? Pardon me; I talk to you in plain parlance. I have filled every office in this Government. You may talk to me as you will, and slander-that foul whelp of sin-may subsidize, a mercenary press may traduce and vilify, mendacious and unprincipled writers may write and talk, but all of them cannot drive me from my purpose. [" Bravo! " and cheers.] What have I to gain? I repeat. From the position of the lowest alderman in your city to President of the United States, I have filled every office to the country. Who can do more? Ought not men of reasonable ambition to be satisfied with this? And ought not I to be willing to quit right here, so far as I am concerned? [Applause.] I tell this audience here to-night, that the cup of my ambition has been filled to overflowing, with the exception of one thing. Will you hear what that is? [Cries of ' Yes," and " What is it? "] At this particular crisis and period of our country's history I find the Union of these States in peril. If I can now be instrumental in keeping the possession of it in your hands, in the hands of the people; in restoring prosperity and advancement in all that makes a nation great, I will be willing to exclaim, as Simeon did of old-[Thsee cheers]-as Simeon did of old, of him who had been born in a manger, that I have seen the glory of thy salvation, let thy servant depart in peace. [Applause.] That being done, my ambition is complete. I would rather live in history, in the affections of my countrymen, as having consummated this great end, than to be President of the United States forty times. [General Sandford called for " Three cheers for Andrew Johnson, the restorer of the Union." The cheers were given.] In conclusion, gentlemen, let me tender to you my sincere thanks on this occasion. So long as reason continues to occupy her empire, so long as my heart shall beat with one kind emotion, so long as my memory shall contain or be capable of recurring to one event, so long will I remember the kindnesses, so long will I teel t!e good that has been done on this occasion, and so long will I cherish in my heart the kindness which has been manifested towards me by the citizens of New York. [Immense applause.] The band played " The Star Spangled Banner," the audience enthusiastically joining in the chorus. President Johnson, having seated himself, again arose and said: "Gentlemen, in conclusion, after having consumed more of your time than I intended, I fear unprofitably, let me propose, in sincerity, ' The Union, the perpetual Union of these States.'" The toast was drunk with cheers. In Cleveland, September 3. FELLOW-CITIZENS: It is not for the purpose of making a speech that I now appear before you. I am aware of the great curiosity which prevails to see strangers who have notoriety and distinction in all countries. I know a large number of you desire to see General Grant and to hear what he has to say. [A voice, " Three cheers for General Grant."] But you cannot see him tonight. He is extremely ill. I repeat, I am not before you now to makle a speech, but simply to make your acquaintance, to say, "How are you?" and to bid you "Good-by." We are now on our way to Chicago, to participate in or witness the laying of the corner-stone of a monument to the memory of a distinguished fellow-citizen who is no more. It is not necessary for me to mention the name of Stephen A. Douglas to the people of Ohio. [Applause.] I am free to say that 1 am flattered by the demonstrations I have witnessed, and being flattered, I don't mean to think it personal, but an evidence of what is pervading the public mind. And this demonstration is nothing more nor less than an indication of the latent sentiment of feeling of the great masses of the people with regard to the proper settlement of this great question. I come before you as an American citizen simply, and not as the Chief Magistrate, clothed in the insignia and paraphernalia of state. Being an inhabitant of a State of this Union, I know it has been said that I am an alien [laughter] and that I did not reside in one of the States of the Union, and therefore coul(d not be the Chief Magistrate, though the Constitution declares that I must be a citizen to occupy that office; therefore, all that was necessary was to declare the office vacant, or, under a pretext, to prefer articles of impeachment, and thus the individual who occupies the Chief Magistracy was to be disposed of and driven from power. But a short time since you had a ticket before you for the Presidency. I was placed upon that ticket, with a distinguished fellow-citizen who is now no more. I know there are some who complain. [A voice, "Unfortunately."] Yes, unfortunate for some that God rules on high and deals in right. [Cheers.] Yes, unfortunately, the ways of Providence are mysterious and incomprehensible, controlling all those who exclaim "Unfortunate." [" Bully for you!"] I was going to say, my countrymen, a short time since I was selected and placed upon the ticket. There was a platform proclaimed and Sadopted by those who placed me upon it. Not PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEE'ICES. 1'c withstanding the subsidized gang of hirelings and traducers, I have discharged all my duties and fulfilled all my pledges, and I say here tonight that if my predecessor had lived the vials of wrath would have been poured out upon him. [Cries of " Never." " Three cheers for the Congress of the United States!"] I came here as I was passing along, and have been called upon for the purpose of exchanging views, and ascertaining, if we could, who was wrong. [Cries of " It's you."] That was my object in appearing before you to-night, and I want to say this, that I have lived among the American people, and have represented them in some public capacity for the last twenty-five years, and where is the man or woman who can place his finger upon one single act of mine deviating from any pledge of mine or in violation of the Constitution of the country? [Cheers.] Who ishe? Whatlanguage does he speak? What religion does he profess? Who can come and place his finger on one pledge I ever violated, or one principle I ever proved false to? [A voice, " How about New Orleans?" Another voice, "Hang Jeff Davis."] Hang Jeff Davis, he says. [Cries of " No," and "Down with him!"] Hang Jeff Davis, he says. [A voice, " Hang Thad. Stevens and Wendell Phillips."] Hang Jeff Davis. Why don't you hang him? [Cries of " Give us the opportunity."] Have not you got the court? Have not you got the Attorney General? [A voice, "Who is your Chief Justice who has refused to sit upon the trial?" Cheers.] I am not the Chief Justice. I am not the prosecuting attorney. [Cheers.] I am not the jury. I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress that is trying to break up the Government. [Cries, "You be d-d!" and cheers mingled with hisses. Great confusion " Don't get mad, Andy."] Well, I will tell you who is mad. "Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad." Did your Congress order any of them to be tried? [Three cheers for Congress.] Then, fellow-citizens, we might as well allay our passions, and permit reason to resume her empire and prevail. [Cheers.] In presenting the few remarks that I designed to make, my intention was to address myself to your common sense, your judgment, and your better feeling, not to the passion and malignancy in your hearts. [Cheers.] This was my object in presenting myself on this occasion, and to tell you " How do you do," and at the same time to bid you "Goodbv." In this assembly here to-night the remark has been made, " Traitor! traitor 1" My countrymen, will you hear me? [Shouts of " Yes."] And will you hear me for my cause and for the Constitution of my country? [Applause.] I want to know when or where, or under what circumstances, Andrew Johnson, not as Chief Executive, but in any capacity, ever deserted any principle or violated the Constitution of his country. [Cries of " Never."] Let me ask this large and intelligent audience if your Secretary of State, who served four years under Mr. Lincoln, and who was placed upon the butcher's block, as it were, and hacked to pieces and scarred by the assassin's knife, when he turned traitor? [Cries of "Never."] If I were di-sposed to play the orator and deal in declamation to-night, I would imitate one of the ancient tragedies, and would take William H. Seward, and bring him beo,,re you, and point you to the hacks and scars upon his person. [A voice, " God bless him!"] I would exhibit the bloody garments, saturated with gore from his gushing wounds. Then I would ask you, Why not hang Thad. Stevens and Wendell Phillips? I tell you, my countrymen, I have been fighting the South, and they have been whipped and crushed, and they acknowledge their defeat and accept the terms of the Constitution; and now, as I go around the circle, having fought traitors at the South, I am prepared to fight traitors at the North. [Cheers.] God willing, with your help we will do it. [Cries of "We won't."] It will be crushed North and South, and this glorious Union of ours will be preserved. [Cheers.] I do not come here as the Chief Magistrate of twenty-five States out of thirty-six. [Cheers.] I came here to-night with the flag of my country and the Constitution of thirty-six States untarnished. Are you for dividing this country? [Cries of " No."] Then I am President, and I am President of the whole United States. [Cheers.] I will tell you one other thing. I understand the discordant notes in this crowd to-night. He who is opposed to the restoration of this Government and the reunion of the States is as great a traitor as Jeff Davis or Wendell Phillips. [Loud cheers.] I am against both. [Cries of " Give it to them!"] Some of you talk about traitors in the South who have not courage to get away from your homes to fight them. [Laughter and cheers.] The courageous men, Grant, Sherman, Farragut, and the long list of the distinguished sons of the Union, were in the field and led on their gallant hosts to conquest and to victory, while you remained cowardly at home. [Ap. plause, "Bully!"] Now, when these brave men have returned home, many of whom have left an arm, or a leg, or their blood, upon many a battle-field, they find you at horme speculating and committing frauds on the Government. [Laughter and cheers.] You pretend now to have great respect and sympathy for the poor brave fellow who has left an arm on the battle-field. [Cr;es, " Is this dignified?"] I understand you. You may talk about the dignity of the President. [Cries, " How was it about his making a speech on the 22d of February?"] I have been with you in the battles of this country, and I can tell you furthermore, to-night, who have to pay these brave men who shed their blood. You speculated, and now the great mass of the people have to work it out. [Cheers.] It is time that the great mass of the people should understand what your designs are. What did General Butler say? [Hisses.] What did General Grant say? [Cheers.] And what does General Grant say about General Butler? [Laughter and cheers.] What does General Sherman say? [A voice, " What does General Sheridan say?"] General Sheridan says that he is for the restoration of the Government that Sheridan fought for. [" Bully!" and renewed cries of "New Orleans," and confusion.] I care not for dignity. There is a portion of your countrymen who will always respect their fellow-citizens when they are entitled to respect, and there is a portion of them who have no re 136 POLITICAL MANUAL. spect for themselves, and consequently have no himself? But Congress, factious and domineer. respect for others. [A voice, " Traitor!"] I wish ing, had taken to poison the minds of the AmerI could see that man. I would bet you now, that ican people. It was with them a question of if the light fell on your face, cowardice and power. 'Those who held an office-as assessor, ksiachery would be seen in it. Show yourself. collector, postmaster-wanted to retain their CUonme out here where I can see you. [Shouts of places. Rotation in office used to be thought a tiaghter.] If you ever shoot a man you will do good doctrine by Washington, Jefferson, and it in the dark, and pull the trigger when no one Adams; and Andrew Jackson, God bless him! is by to see you. [Cheers.] I understand traitors. thought so. [Applause.] This gang of officeI have been fighting them at the south end of holder, these blood-suckers and cormorants, the line, and we are now fighting them in the had got fat on the country. You have got them other direction. [Laughter and cheers.] I come over your district. Hence you see a system of here neither to criminate or recriminate, but legislation proposed so that these men shall not when attacked, my plan is to defend myself. be turned out; and the President, the only chan[Cheers.] When encroached upon, I care not nel through which they can be reached, is called from what quarter it comes, it is entitled'to re- a tyrant. He thought the time had come when sistance. As Chief Magistrate I felt so after tak- those who had enjoyed fat offices for four years ing the oath to support the Constitution, and should give way for those who had fought for when I saw encroachments upon your Constitu- the country. Hence it was seen why he was tion and rights, as an honest man I dared to assailed and traduced. He had invited them in sound the tocsin of alarm. [Three cheers for the field, and God willing, he would stand by Andrew Johnson.] Then, if this be right, the them. He had turned aside from the thread of head and front of my offending is in telling when his remarks to notice the insult sought to be the Constitution of your country has been tram- given him. When an insult was offered he pled upon. Let me say to those who thirst for would resent it in a proper manner. But he more blood, who are still willing to sacrifice was free to say he had no revengeful or resenthuman life, if you want a victory, and my coun- ful feelings. All he wanted, when war was over try requires it, erect your altar and lay me upon and peace had come, was for patriotic and Chrisit to give the last libation to human freedom. tian men to rally round the flag of the country in LLoud applause.] I love my country. Every a fraternal hug, and resolve that all shall perish public act of my life testifies that is so. Where rather than that the Union shall not be restored. is the man that can put his finger upon any one While referring to the question of suffrage some act of mine that goes to prove the contrary? one in the crowd asked him " How about LouisAnd what is my offending? [A voice, " Because iana? " To which he replied, " Let the negroes yju are not a radical," and cry of "Veto,"] vote in Ohio before you talk about their voting Somebody says veto. Veto of what? What is in Louisiana." [Laughter, and cries of "Good.'"] called the Freedmen's Bureau bill? I can tell Take the beam out of your own eye before you you what it is. Before the rebellion commenced! seek the mote in your brother's. [Renewed there were four millions of slaves and about three laughter.] In conclusion, after some further hundred and forty thousand white people living remarks, he invoked God's best blessing on his in the South. These latter paid the expenses, hearers. [Applause.] The interruptions were bought the land and cultivated it, and after the few. crops were gathered pocketed the profits That's the way the thing stood up to the rebellion. At St. Louis, September 8. The rebellion commenced, the slaves were libe- FELLOW-CITIZENS: In being introduced to rated, and then came up the Freedmen's Bureau you to-night, it is not for the purpose of making bill. This provides for the appointment of agents a speech. It is true I am proud to meet so many and sub-agents in all States, counties, and school of my fellow-citizens here on this occasion, and districts, who have power to make contracts for under the favorable circumstances that I do. the freedmen, and hire them out, and to use the [Cries, " How about our British subjects?"] military power to carry them into execution. We will attend to John Bull after awhile, so far The cost of this to the people was $12,000,000 as that is concerned. at the beginning. The further expense would be I have just stated that I am not here for the greater, and you are to be taxed for it. That's purpose of making a speech; but, after being why I vetoed it. I might refer to the civil rights introduced, I wish simply to tender my cordial bill, the results of which are very similar. I tell thanks for the welcome that you have given to you, my countrymen, that though the powers of me in your midst. [A voice, " Ten thousand hell and Thad. Stevens and his gang were by, welcomes."] Thank you, sir! I wish it was in they could not turn me from my purpose. There my power to address you under favorable circumis no power that could turn me except you and stances upon some of the questions that agitate the God who spoke me into existence, and distract the public mind at this time-quesIn conclusion, beside that, Congress had taken tions that have grown out of the fiery ordeal that much pains to poison their constituents against we have passed through, and which I think as him. But what had Congress done? Have they important as that we have just passed by, though done anything to restore the Union of these the time has come when it seems to me that all States? No; on the contrary they had done ought to be prepared for peace. The rebellion everything to prevent it; and because he stood being suppressed, and the shedding of blood being now where he did when the rebellion commenced, stopped, the sacrifice of life being suspended and he had been denounced as a traitor. Who had stayed, it seems that the time has arrived when run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than you should be at peace, when the bleeding ar PRESIDENT JOHNSON S SPEECHES. teries should be tied up. [A voice, "New Orleans."] Go on; perhaps if you had a word or two on the suhject of New Orleans you might understand more about it than you do. [Laughter.] And if you will go back-if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at Noew Orleans, perhaps you would not be so prompt in calling out "New Orleans." If you will take up the riot at New Orleans, and trace it back to its source or its immediate cause, you will find out who was responsible for the blood that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to the radical Congress, [cheers and cries of "Bully!"] you will find that the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you will take up the proceedings in their caucuses you will understand that they there knew [cheers] that a Convention was to be called, which was extinct by its power having expired; that it was said that the intention was that a new government was to be organized, and on the organization of that government the intention was to enfranchise one portion of the population, called the colored population, who had just been emancipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. When you design to talk about New Orleans [confusion] you ought to understand what you are talking about. When you read the speeches that were made, and take up the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that Convention sat, you will there find that speeches were there made incendiary in their character, exciting that portion of the population, the black population, to arm themselves and prepare for the shedding of blood. [A voice, " That's so," and cheers.] You will also find that that Convention did assemble in violation of law, and the intention of that Convention was to supersede the reorganized authorities in the State government of Louisiana, which had been recognized by the Government of the United States; and every man engaged in that rebellion in that Convention, with the intention of superseding and upturning the civil government which had been recognized by the Government of the United States, I say that he was a traitor to the Constitution of the United States, [cheers;] and hence you find that another rebellion was commenced, having its origin in the radical Congress. These men were to go there, a government was to be organized, and the one in existence in Louisiana was to be superseded, set aside, and overthrown. You talk to me about New Orleans. And there the question was to come up, when they had established their government-a question of political powers-which of the two governments was to be recognized, a new government, inaugurated under this defunct Convention, set up in violation of law and without the will of the people. Then when they had established their government and extended universal and impartial franchise, as they called it, to the colored population, then this radical Congress was to determine that a government established on negro votes was to be the government of Louisiana. [Voices, " Never 1" Cheers and cries of "Hurrah for Andy!"] So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the cause and the origin of the blood that was shed; and every drop of blood that was shed is upon their skirts, and they are responsible for it. I could test this thing a little closer, but will not do it here to-night. But when you talk about the causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings of that kind, perhaps as I have been introduced here, and you have provoked questions of this kind, though it does not provoke me, I will tell you a few wholesome things that have been done by this radical Congress [cheers] in connection with New Orleans and the extension of the elective franchise. I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it has come in advance of me here as elsewhere-that I have attempted to exercise an arbitrary power in resisting laws that were intended to be forced upon the Government, [cheers;] that I had exercised that power, [cries, "Bully for you!"] that I had abandoned the party that elected me, and that I was a traitor, [cheers,] because I exercised the veto power in attempting and did arrest for a time a bill that was called a "Freedmen's Bureau bill;'" yes, that I was a traitor. And I have been traduced, I have been slandered, I have been maligned, I have been called Judas Iscariot and all that. Now, my countrymen here to-night, it is very easy to indulge in epithets; it is easy to call a man Judas, and cry out traitor; but when he is called upon to give arguments and facts he is very often found wanting. Judas IscariotJudas. There was a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh! yes, the, twelve apostles had a Christ. [A voice, "And a Moses, too;" laughter.] The twelve apostles had a Christ, and he never could have had a Judas unless he had had twelve apostles. If I have played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles Sumner? [Hisses and cheers.] These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the Saviour; and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be denounced as a Judas. [" Hurrah for Andy! " and cheers.] In the days when there was a Christ, while there was a Judas, were there unbelievers? Yes, while there were Judases there were unbelievers. [Voices heard, "Three groans for Fletcher."] Yes, oh yes; unbelievers in Christ, men who persecuted and slandered, and brought Him before Pontius Pilate, and preferred charges, and condemned and put Him to death on the crosa to satisfy unbelievers; and this same persecuting, diabolical, and nefarious clan to-day would persecute and shed the blood of innocent men to carry out their purposes. [Cheers.] But let me tell you; let me give you a few words here to-night. But a short time since I heard some one say in the crowd that we had a Moses. [Laughter.] Yes, there is a Moses; and I know sometimes it has been said that I have said that I would be the Moses of the colored man. [Cries of " Never!" and cheers.] Why, I have labored as much in the cause of emancipation as any other mortal man living; but, while I have striven to emancipate the colored man, I have felt and now feel that we have a great many white men that vwant emancipation. There 188 POLITICAL MANUAL. is a set amongst you that have got shackles on thLeir limbs, and are as much under the heel and rontrol of their masters as the colored man that was emancipated. I call upon you here to-night, as freemen, as men, to favor the emancipation of the white men as well as the colored ones. I have been in favor of emancipation. I have nothing to disguise about that. I have tried to do as much, and have done as much-and when they talk about Moses, and the colored man being led into the promised land, where is the land that this clan proposes to lead them into? When we talk about taking them out from among the white population and sending them to other climes, what is it they propose? Why, it is to give us a Freedmen's Bureau. And after giving us a Freedmen's Bureau, what then? Why, here in the South it is not necessary for me to talk to you, where I have lived and you have lived, and understand the whole system and how it operates. We know how the slaves have been worked heretofore. Their original owners bought. the land and raised the negroes, or purchased them, as the case might be, paid all the expense of carrying on the farm; and after producing tobacco, cotton, hemp, flax, and all the various products of the South, bringing them into the market without any profit on them, while their owners put it all into their pockets. This was their condition before the emancipation; this was their condition before we talked about their Moses. [Laughter.] I ask your attention. Come, as we have got to talking on this subject give me your attention for a few minutes. I am addressing myself to your brains and not to your prejudices, to your reason and not to your passions; and when reason and argument again resume their empire, this mist, this prejudice, that has been incrusted upon the public mind, must give way and reason become triumphant Now, my countrymen, let me call your attention to a single fact, the Freedmen's Bureau. [Laughter and hisses.] Slavery was an accursed institution until emancipation took place. It was an accursed institution while one set of men worked them and got the profits. But after emancipation took place they gave us the Freedmen's Bureau; they gave us these agents to go into every county, every township, and into every school district throughout the United States, and especially the southern States; they gave us commissioners; they gave us $12,000,000, and placed the power in the hands of the Executive, who was to work this machinery, with the army brought to his aid and to sustain it. They let us run it with $12,000,000 as a beginning, and in the end receive fifty or sixty millions, and let us work the four millions of slaves. In fine, the Freedmen's Bureau was a simple proposition to transfer four millions of slaves in the United States from their original owners to a new sew set of tasksmasters. [A voice, " Never!" and cheers.] I have been laboring for years to emancipate them; and then I was opposed to seeing them transferred to a ijew set. of taskmasters, to be worked with more 3igor than they had been worked heretofore. [Cheers.] Yes, under this new system they would work the slaves, and call on the Govern ment to bear all the expenses, and if there were any profits left why they would pocket them. [Laughter and cheers.] Thus, you, the people, must pay the expense of running the machine out of your own pockets while they get the profits of it. I simply intended to-night to tender you my sincere thanks; but as I go along, as we are talking about this Congress, and these respectable gentlemen who contend that the President is wrong because he vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau bill, and all this; because he chose to exercise the veto power, he committed a high offence, and therefore ought to be impeached. [Voice, " Never."] Yes, yes; they are ready to impeach him. [Voice, "Let them try it."] And if they were satisfied they had the next Congress by a decided majority, as this, upon some pretext or otherviolating the Constitution, neglect of duty, or omitting to enforce some act of law-upon some pretext or other, they would vacate the executive department of the United States. [A voice, "Too bad, they don't impeach him."] Now, as we talk about this Congress, let me call the soldiers' attention to this immaculate Congress. Let me call your attention to-oh! yes; this Congress that could make war upon the Executive because he stands upon the Constitution and vindicates the rights of the people, exercising the veto power in their behalf. Because he dared to do this they can clamor and talk about impeachment; and by way of stimulating this increasing confidence with the soldiers throughout the country, they talk about impeachments. So far as offenses are concerned, upon this subject of offenses let me ask you [voice, " Plenty here tonight"] to go back into my history of legislation, and even when Governor of a State. Let me ask if there is a man here to-night who in the dark days of Know-Nothingism stood and battled more for their rights. [Voice, "Good," and cheers.] It has been my peculiar misfortune to have fierce opposition because I have always struck my blows direct, and fought with right and the Constitution on my side. [Cheers.] Yes, I will come back to the soldiers again in a moment. Yes; here was a neutrality law. I was sworn, in support of the Constitution, to see that the law was faithfully executed. [" Why didn't you do it?"] The law was executed; and because it was executed, then they raised a clamor, and tried to make an appeal to the foreigners, and especially the Fenians. And what did they do? They introduced a bill to tickle and play with the fancy, pretending to repeal the law, and at the same time making it worse, and then left the law just where it is. [Voice, "That's so!] They knew that whenever a law was presented to me, proper in its provisions, ameliorating and softening the rigors of the present law, it would meet my hearty approbation. But as they were pretty well broken down and losing public confidence, at the heel of the session they found they must do something; and hence, what did they do? They pretended to do something for the soldiers. Who has done more for the soldiers than I have? Who has perilled more in this struggle than I have? [Cheers.] But then, to make them their peculiar friends and favorites of the soldier, they PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES 139 come forward with a proposition to do what? Why we will give the soldier $50 bountyyour attention to this-if he has served two years, and $100 if he has served three years. Now, mark you, the colored man that served two years can get his $100 bounty, but the white man must serve three years before he can get his. [Cheers.] But that is not the point. While they were tickling and attempting to please the soldiers, by giving them $300 for two years' service, they took it into their heads to give somebody else about [laughter], and they voted themselves not fifty dollars, two years' service. Your attention: I want to make a lodgment in your minds of the facts, because I want to put the nail in; and having put it in, I want to clinch it on the other side. [Cheers.] The brave boys, the patriotic young man who followed his gallant officers, slept in the tented field, and perilled his life and shed his blood, and left his limbs behind him, and came home mangled and maimed, he can get fifty dollars bounty, if he has served two years; but the members of Congress, who never smelt gunpowder, can get $4,000 extra pay. [Great cheering.] This is a faint picture, my countrymen, of what has transpired. [A voice, " Stick to that question."] Fellow-citizens, you are all familiar with the work of restoration. You know that since the rebellion collapsed, since the armies were suppressed in the field, that everything that could be done has been done by the executive department of the Government for the restoration of the Government; everything has been done with the exception of one thing, and that is the admission of members from eleven States that went into the rebellion; and after having accepted the terms of the Government-having abolished slavery, having repudiated their debt and sent loyal "representatives-everything has been done excepting the admission of representatives, to which all the States are entitled. [Cheers.] When you turn and examine the Constitution of the United States, you find that you cannot even amend that Constitution so as to deprive any State of its equal suffrage in the Senate. [A voice, " They have never been out."] It is said before me they have never been out. I say so too. That is what I have always said. They have never been out, and they cannot go out. [Cheers.] That being the fact, under the Constitution they are entitled to equal representation in the Congress of the United States without violating the Constitution, [cheers;] and the same argument applies to the House of Representatives. How, then, does the matter stand? It used to be one of the arguments, that if the States withdraw their Representatives and Senators, that was secession-a peaceable breaking up of the Government. Now the radical power in this Government turn round and assume that the States are out of the Union, that they are not entitled to representation in Congress. [Cheers.] That is to say, they are dissolutionists, and their position now is to perpetrate a disruption of the Government; and that, too, while they are denying the States the right of representation, they impose taxation upon them, a principle upon which, in the Revolution, you resisted the power of Great Britain. We deny the right of taxation without representation; that is one of our great principles. Let the Government be restored; let peace be restored among this people. I have labored for it; I am for it now. I deny this doctrine of secession, come from what quarter it may, whether from the North or from the South. I am opposed to it, and am for the union of the States. [Voices, " That's right," and cheers.] I am for the thirty-six States, representing thirtysix States, remaining where they are under the Constitution as your fathers made it and handed it down $o you; and if it is altered or amended, let it be done in the mode and manner pointed out by that instrument itself, and in no other. [Cheers.] I am for the restoration of peace. Let me ask the people here to-night if we have not shed enough of blood. Let me ask, Are you prepared to go into another civil war? Let me ask this people here to-night, Are they prepared to set man upon man, and in the name of God lift his hand against the throat of his fellow? [Voice, " Never!"] Are you prepared to see our fields laid waste again, our business and our commerce suspended, and our trade stopped? Are you prepared to see this land again drenched in our brothers' blood? Heaven avert it! is my prayer. [Cheers.] I am one of those who believe that man does sin, and having sinned, I believe he must repent, and, sometimes, having repented makes him -a better man than he was before. [Cheers.] I know it has been said that I have exercised my pardoning power. Yes, I have.. [Cheers, and " What about Drake's constitution?"] Yes I have; and don't you think it is to prevail? I reckon I have pardoned more men, turned more men loose, and set them at liberty that were imprisoned, I imagine, than any other living man on God's habitable globe. [Voice, " Bully for you!" cheers.] I turned forty-seven thousand of our men loose who engaged in this struggle, with the arms we captured with them, and who were then in prison. I turned them loose. [Voice, " Bully for you!" and laughter.] Large numbers have applied for pardon, and I have granted them pardon; yet there are some who condemn, and hold me responsible for doing wrong. Yes, there are some who staid at home, who did not go into the field, that can talk about others being traitorous and being treacherous. There are some who can talk about blood and vengeance and crime and everything to make treason odious, and all that, who never smelt gunpowder on either side. [Cheers.] Yes, they can condemn others, and recommend hanging and torture, and all that. If I have erred, I have erred on the side of mercy. Some of these croakers have dared to assume they are better than was the Saviour of men himself-a kind of over-righteous -better than anybody else; and, although wanting to do Deity's work, thinking He cannot do it as well as they can. [Laughter and cheers.] Yes, the Saviour of men came on earth and found the human race condemned and sentenced under the law; but when they repented and believed, He said Let them live. Instead of executing and putting the whole world to death, He went upon the cross, and there was nailed by 140 POLITICAL MANUAL. unbelievers, there shed his blood that you might live. [Cheers.] Think of it; to execute and hang and put to death eight millions of people. Never! It is an absurdity. Such a thing is impracticable, even if it were right; but it is the violation of all law, human and divine. [Voice, "HI Hang Jeff Davis. You call on Judge Chase to hang Jeff Davis, will you?" Great cheering.] I am not the court, I am not the jury, nor the judge. Before the case comes to me, and all other cases, it would have to come on application as a case for pardon. That is the only way the case can get to me. Why don't Judge Chase, the Chief Justice of the United States, in whose district he is-why don't he try him? [Loud cheers.] But perhaps I could answer the question, as sometimes persons want to be facetious and indulge in repartee. I might ask you a question, Why don't you hang Thad Stevens and Wendell Phillips? [Great cheering.] A traitor at one end of the line is as bad as a traitor at the other. I know that there are some who have got up their little pieces and sayings to repeat on public occasions-talking parrots that have been placed in their mouths by their superiors-who have not the courage and the manhood to come forward and tell them themselves, but have their understrappers to do their work for them. [Cheers.] I know there are some that talk about this universal elective franchise, upon which they wanted to upturn the Government of Louisiana and institute another, who contended that we must send men there to control, govern, and manage their slave population because they are incompetent to do it themselves. And yet they turn round, when they get there, and say they are competent to go to Congress and manage all the affairs of State. [Cheers.] Before you commence throwing your stones you ought to be sure you don't live in a glass house. Then why all this clamor? Don't you see, my countrymen, it is a question of power; and being in power, as they are, their object is to perpetuate their power, since, when you talk about turning any of them out of office, oh, they talk about bread and butter. [Laughter.] Yes, these men are the most perfect and complete bread and butter party that has ever appeared in this Government. [Great cheering.] When you make an effort or struggle to take the nipple out of their mouths, how they clamor. They have stayed at home here five or six years, held the offices, grown fat, and enjoyed all the emoluments of position; and now, when you talk about turning one of them out, oh, it is proscription; and hence they come forward and propose, in Congress, to do what? To pass laws to prevent the Executive from turning anybody out. [Voice, "Put 'em out.] Hence, don't you see what the policy was to be? I believe in the good old doctrine-advocated by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison-of rotation in office, These people who have been enjoying these offices seem to have lost sight of this doctrine. I believe that one set of men have enjoyed the emoluments of office long enough. They should let another portion of the people have a chance. [Cheers.] How are these men to be got out[Voice, "Kick 'em out!" Cheers and laughter.] *-unless your Executive can put them out, unless you can teach them through the President? Congress says he shall not turn them out, and they are trying to pass laws to prevent it being done. Well, let me say to you, if you will stand by me in this action, [cheers,] if you will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance -soldiers and citizens-to participate in these offices, God being willing, I will kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can. Let me say to you, in concluding, that what I have said I intended to say. I was provoked into this, and I care not for their menaces, the taunts and the jeers. I care not for threats. I do not intend to be bullied by my enemies nor overawed by my friends. But, God willing, with your help, I will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me. I place myself upon the ramparts of the Constitution when I see the enemy approaching; so long as I have eyes to see, or ears to hear, or a tongue to sound the alarm, so help me God, I will do it, and call on the people to be my judges. [Cheers.] I tell you here to-night that the Constitution of this country is being encroached upon. I tell you here to-night that the citadel of liberty is being endangered. [A voice, "Go it, Andy!"] Say to them, "Go to work; take the Constitution as your palladium of civil and religious liberty; take it as your chief ark of safety." Just let me ask you here to-night to cling to the Constitution, in this great struggle for freedom and for its preservation, as the shipwrecked mariner clings to the mast when the midnight tempest closes around him. So far as my humble life has been advanced, the people of Missouri, as well as other States, know that all my efforts have been devoted in that direction. Why, where is the speech,where is the vote to be got of mine but which has always had a tendency to elevate the great working classes of this people? When they talk about tyranny and despotism, where is one act of Andy Johnson's that ever encroached upon the rights of a freeman in this land? But because I have stood, as a faithful sentinel, upon the watch-tower of freedom to sound the alarm, hence all this traducing and detraction that has been heaped upon me. [Cries of "Bully for Andy Johnson!"] I now, in conclusion, my countrymen, hand over to you the flag of your country with thirtysix stars upon it. I hand over to you your Constitution, with the charge and responsibility of preserving it intact. I hand over to you to-day the Union of these States, the great magic circle which embraces them all. I hand them all over to you, the people, in whom I have always trusted in all great emergencies. I hand them over to you, men who can rise above party, who can stand around the altar of a common country with their faces uplifted to heaven, swearing by Him who lives forever and ever, that the altar and all shall sink in the dust, but that the Constitution of the Union shall be preserved. Let us stand by the Union of these States; let us fight the enemies of the Goevernment, come from what quarter they may. My stand has been taken. You understand what my rposition is. And parting with you now, I leave the Government in your hands, with the confidence I PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SPEECHES. 141 have always had, that the people will ultimately redress all wrongs and set the Government right. Then, gentlemen, in conclusion, for the cordial welcome you have shown me in this great city of the South, whose destiny none can foretell, now, in bidding you good night, I leave all in your charge and thank you for the cordial welcome you have given in this spontaneous outpouring of the people of your city. Interview with Chas. G. Halpine, March 5, 1867. And now, apart from the directly political, [continued the President,] what is the main issue looming up in the immediate future? What issue i.s clearly foreshadowed to be the Aaron's rod which must swallow up all minor questions? It is the great financial issue, the issue of the national debt; whether it shall be paid or repudiated. This issue has fibres extending into the pockets of every citizen; for wherever a man has a dollar, or can earn a dollar, the Government is now compelled to go for its portion of his substance; and with the vast machinery under its control, the money is fetched. There were four millions of slaves in the southern States before the rebellion, representing a capital of three, or possibly four billions of dollars; but let us call it three billions, or three thousand millions, as you may please. These slaves represented that amount of property, men put their savings into purchasing or raising them, and they represented as property whatever were the surplus profits of their labor, after due allowance for food, clothing, medicine, and interest on the capital invested. On this property in slaves gradually grew up that slave oligarchy or aristocracy, against which the leaders of the anti-slavery party so successfully thundered during the twelve years preceding the rebellion; and after the first mad plunge into rebellion, the fate of that aristocracy was sealed. It is now a thing of the past. With its virtues-for it had virtues, courage, and hospitality eminently-and with its crimes of pride and lawless revolution, it has entered into history, and is a thing of the past. But what do we find? The aristocracy based on $3,000,000,000 of property in slaves south of Mason and Dixon's line has disappeared; but an aristocracy, based on over $2,500,000,000 of national securities, has arisen in the northern States, to assume that political control which the consolidation of great financial with political interests formerly gave to the slave oligarchy of the late rebel States. The aristocracy based on negro property disappears at the southern end of the line, but only to reappear in an oligarchy of bonds and national securities in the States which suppressed the rebellion. We have all read history, and is it not certain that of all aristocracies, that of mere wealth is the most odious, rapacious, and tyrannical? It goes for the last dollar the poor and helpless have got; and with such a vast machine as this Government under its control, that dollar will be fetched. It is an aristocracy that can see in the people only a prey for extortion. It has no political or military relations with them, such as the old feudal system created between liege lord and vassal; it has no intimate social and domestic ties, and no such strong bond of selfinterest with the people as existed of necessity between the extinct slaveholders of our country and their slaves. To an aristocracy existing on the annual interest of a national debt, the people are only of value in proportion to their docility and power of patiently bleeding golden blood under the tax-gatherer's thumb-screw. To the people the national debt is a thing of debt to be paid; but to the aristocracy of bonds and national securities it is a property of more than $2,500,000,000, from which a revenue of $180,000,000 a year is to be received into their pockets. So we now find that an aristocracy of the South, based on $3,000,000,000 in negroes, who were a productive class, has disappeared, and their place in political control of the country is assumed by an aristocracy based on nearly $3,000,000,000 of national debt-a thing which is not producing anything, but which goes on steadily every year, and must go on for all time until the debt is paid, absorbing and taxing at the rate of six or seven per cent. a year for every $100 bond that is represented in its aggregation. Now, I am not speaking of this to do anything but deprecate the fearful issue which the madness of partisan hatred and the blindness of our new national-debt aristocracy to their own true interests is fast forcing upon the country. But is it not clear that the people, who have to pay $180,000,000 a year to this consolidated moneyed oligarchy, must, sooner or later, commence asking each other " How much was actually loaned to our Government during the eivil war by these bondholders, who now claim that,we owe them nearly $3,000,000,000?" You know what the popular answer must be-I do not say the right answer-" Less than half the amount they claim, for gold ranged at an average of one hundred premium while this debt was being incurred." Just think of the annual tax of $180,000,000 for payment of interest on our national debt! This Government we have, with its enormous machinery, is a pretty hefty business in itself, costing more per capita to the people than the Government of England, which we always heretofore regarded as the most tax-devouring on earth. But over and beyond the expenses of the Government proper, as it should stand in the scale of peace at about $60,000,000 a year, we have, in the $180,000,000 of interest paid yearly on our national debt, enough to support three such Governments as this, with all their vast machinery and disbursements! We have not only, under the present system, one Government for the people to support, but, over and beyond this, we have to raise by taxation from the people sufficient to support three similar establishments every year! All property is based upon and ean only be sustained by law; and it is for a return to law and the guide of fixed constitutional principles that my whole course has been contending. But so short-sighted is this aristocracy of bonds and paper currency, this Plutocracy of the national debt, that my efforts in behalf of their true interests (which are certainly involved in the maintenance of law and the Constitution) have been everywhere encountered, and almost everywhere POLITICAL MANUAL. overwhelmed, by the preponderating influence which they have acquired from the natural force of capital and the agency of our national banks. And what has been the course of that Congress which has just ended, and which this blind aristocracy of national iebt sustained in overriding my efforts for a return to sound principles of internal government? Look at the bill giving from $480,000,000 to $600,000,000, nominally for back bounty, or as an equalization of bounties to the soldiers, but really, as all intelligent men must be aware, to be parcelled out as a prey among the bounty sharks and claim agents, who are the most reckless and clamorous adherents of the dominant majority in Congress. Then look at appropriations amounting to another $100,000,000, for internal improvements, which should properly be left to the laws governing private industry and the progress of our national development. Look also at the increase of all salaries with a prodigal hand, this virtuous Congress first setting an example against retrenchment by voting to themselves an increase of salaries. Everywhere, and in an ever-increasing ratio, the motto seems to be, "Always spend and never spare," a fresh issue from the paper-mill over yonder [slightly pointing his pencil to the Treasury Department] being the panacea prescribed for every evil of our present situation. Every effort to increase our annual taxation is resisted, for increased taxes might help to awaken the people from their false dream of prosperity under the sway of revolutionary and radical ideas; but no addition to the national debt can be proposed, no further inflation of our inflated currency, which the preponderating votes of the western States will not be certain to favor. The war of finance is the next war we have to fight; and every blow struck against my efforts to uphold a strict construction of the laws and the Constitution is in reality a blow in favor of repudiating the national debt. The manufacturers and men of capital in the eastern States and the States along the Atlantic seaboard -a mere strip or fringe on the broad mantle of our country, if you will examine the map-these are in favor of high protective, and, in fact, prohibitory tariffs, and also favor a contraction of the currency. But against both measures the interests and votes of the great producing and non-manufacturing States of the West stand irrevocably arrayed, and a glance at the map and the census statistics of the last twenty years will tell every one who is open to conviction how that war must end. The history of the world gives no example of a war debt that has ever been paid; but we have an exceptional country, and present an exceptional case. Our debt might easily be paid, provided the brakes against excessive expenditures could be turned on quickly enough; but now is the appointed time, and now or never the work must be commenced. If that debt is ever to be paid we need economy in every branch of the public service-the reduction, not an increase of salaries to Congressmen and other officials; the systematic reduction of our national debt; and not its increase by such monstrous bills as this last demagogue measure for the pretended equalization of bounties. The Congress, forsooth, is so patriotic, so loyal, that it "can refuse our gallant soldiers nothing." But you must have seen how promptly it rejected the names of nearly every gallant veteran sent in by me for confirmation to any civil office, a majority of our extremely "loyal Senators" using their guillotine without remorse in nearly every instance. And whither is all this drifting? To intelligent men there can be but one answer. We are drifting towards repudiation, and the moneyed aristocracy of the national debt, the very men whose interests are most jeopardized, are so blind that they are practically helping to accelerate, not check our course in this downward direction. We need the industry and enormous possible products of the lately revolted States to help us in bearing our heavy burden; we need confidence and calm; we need internal harmony; and above all, we need areturn to the unquestioned supremacy of the civil laws and constitutional restraints, if our debt is not to be repudiated within the next half score of years. Financial prosperity was secured up to within a recent period; but already the delicate fabric of public credit-a house of cards at best-begins to totter under the concussion of the various revolutionary ideas which have been recently exploited on the floors of Congress. Who now talks of the Constitution with respect? Who is not now made a laughing-stock in the papers and speeches of the violent revolutionary party, if he shall be so hardy as to claim that, being again at peace, the sway of civil; over military law should be immediately resumed, if we desire to maintain our liberties? " The Constitution is played out," we hear on every hand; and every effort to advocate the just ascendency of the civil law only furnishes fresh food for ridicule. No party as yet, and possibly no party for some years, will openly hoist the banner of repudiation. But a majority of those who shaped the legislation of this last Congress must know, unless they deceive themselves, or are too ignorant to appreciate their own acts, that we are drifting in that direction, and that it is by their votes we have been swung out into the downward stream. Doubtless, some of them would either be, or affect to feel, horrified if to-day branded as repudiationists, just as, in the infancy of the free-soil agitation, it was considered a bitter slander if the " freesoiler" should be styled an "abolitionist." There are steps in everything, and the term of reproach to-day will be worn as a feather in the cap some years from now, unless the true conservative wisdom of the country can be awakened, and rapidly, from its asphyxiating dream that our " national debt is a national blessing." And look at the effect of the reconstruction bill just passed over my unavailing veto. I mean its peculiar effect as a step in the direction of repudiation, and not its general effect as a highhanded measure of congressional usurpation, striking out of existence so many States, and establishing a military despotism over more than one-third of our geographical Union. This bill suddenly adds four millions of ignorant and penniless negroes to the voting force of the country, an accession of just so much strength to the PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S MESSAGES. 143 party whose interest it is, and must increasingly public credit must be looked for in a system of become, to favor repudiation as a policy. To rigidly exacted obedience to all constitutional secure the public creditor, our efforts should be, restraints, and a thorough system of economy in if that were possible, to restrict rather than to all branches of the public service. extend the right of suffrage; for money rapidly For the slights and indignities, the unconaggregates in a few hands; and whenever the stitutional curtailments and dishonors which the men who have an interest in seeing that our na- recent Congress has attempted to cast upon me tional debt is paid shall have become out of all for my unflinching and unalterable devotion proportion few, compared with those who have to my constitutional oath, and to the best inan interest in its repudiation, the votes of the terests of the whole country, according to my many will carry it, and the debt of $3,000,000,000 best judgment and experience, I am only sorry will be struck out of existence by ballots, just as regards the indignities sought to be imposed as rapidly and utterly as the similar amount in- on my high office, but unmoved as regards myvested in southern negroes has been abolished self. Conscious of only having executed my during the recent war under showers of bullets, duty, conscious of being denounced for " usurpaAt least, this is possible. tion" only because refusing to accept unconstiThat we are to have a great financial crash tutional powers and patronage, and satisfied this year I hold to be inevitable, though depre- that the day of wiser thought and sounder esticating it, and having used every effort for its mate cannot now be far distant, I look with avoidance. To say that it can be staved off by perfect confidence for my vindication to the any legislation, if the violated laws of trade and justice of that future which I am convinced canpublic economy call for it, is to assert that water not long be delayed. Unless all the senses are can be made to run up hill, or shall cease to seek deceptive, unless all truth be a lie, unless God its own level under the compulsion of a congres- has ceased to live, I tell you that the folly and sional enactment. Perhaps, for so violent a dis- fraud now dominating the councils of this diýcase, this violent cure may be the only remedy. tracted country in Congress cannot endure forIt is like a man sustaining his strength on ever. brandy; so long as he can increase the dose It is, perhaps, but right to add that the foredaily, he may get along in high good humor, going is a report from memory of remarks made "just as we have been prospering on an irredeem- by Mr. Johnson in an extended conversation able paper currency and fresh issues of public yesterday afternoon, and that the original did securities. But sooner or later, the day will not take the form of a set speech, here unavoida.come in whi h brandy no longer can stimulate; bly given to it. It should also be added that a nor can irredeemable promises to pay pass cur- few points embraced in the report, and attribrent as a circulating medium forever. To the uted exclusively to the President, may have man will come a severe fit of sickness, teaching been, more or less, suggested by iuterjectional him that the laws of temperance can only be remarks of the person to whom he was speakviolated under fearill penalties, and to the na- ing; but nothing has been here set down to tion will come a financial crash, teaching it that which the full assent of Mr. Johnson was not paper is only a representative of value, not value given, always provided, of course, that his lisitself; and that the only true securities for our tener understood him, and remembers correctly. xv. PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S MESSAGES. The Annual Message, December 4, 1866. are maintaining their governments in full activity The following portions relate to reconstruc- and complete operation. The enforcement of the tion, and kinred s rele e s laws is no longer "obstructed in any State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of.Repre- ordinary course of judicial proceedings;" and the sentatives: animosities engendered by the war are rapidly After a brief interval the Congress of the Uni- yielding to the beneficent influences of our free ted States resumes its annual legislative labors. institutions, and to the kindly effects of unreAn all-wise and merciful Providence has abated stricted social and commercial intercourse. An the pestilence which visited our shores, leaving its entire restoration of fraternal feeling must be the calamitous traces upon some portions of our coun- earnest wish of every patriotic heart; and we try. Peace, order, tranquillity, and civil author- will have accomplished our grandest national ity have been formally declared to exist through- achievement when, forgetting the sad events of out the whole of the United States. In all of the the past, and remembering only their instructive States civil authority has superseded the coercion lessons, we resume our onward career as a free, of arms, and the people, by their voluntary action, prosperous, and united people. 144 POLITICAL MANUAL. In my message of the 4th of December, 1865, Congress was informed of the measures which had been instituted by the Executive with a view to the gradual restoration of the States in which the insurrection occurred to their relations with the General Government. Provisional Governors had been appointed, conventions called, Governors elected, Legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. Courts had been opened for the enforcement of laws long in abeyance. The blockade had been removed, customhouses re-established, and the internal revenue laws put in force, in order that the people might contribute to the national income. Postal operations had been renewed, and efforts were being made to restore them to their former condition of efficiency. The States themselves had been asked to take part in the high function of amending the Constitution, and of thus sanctioning the extinction of African slavery as one of the legitimate results of our internecine struggle. Having progressed thus far, the executive department found that it had accomplished nearly all that was within the scope of its constitutional authority. One thing, however, yet remained to be done before the work of restoration could be completed, and that was the admission to Congress of loyal Senators and Repr.esentatives from the States whose people had rebelled against the lawful authority of the General Government. This question devolved upon the respective Houses, which, by the Constitution, are made the judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications of their own members; and its consideration at once engaged the attention of Congress. In the mean time, the executive department -no other plan having been proposed by Congress-continued its efforts to perfect, as far as was practicable, the restoration of the proper relations between the citizens of the respective States, the States, and the Federal Government, extending, from time to time, as the public interests seemed to require, the judicial, revenue, and postal systems of the country. With the advice and consent of the Senate, the necessary officers were appointed, and appropriations made by Corqress for the payment of their salaries. The proposition to amend the Federal Constitution so as to prevent the existence of slavery within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction, was ratified by the requisite number of States, and, on the 18th day of December, 1865, it was officially declared to have become valid as a part of the Constitution of the United States. All of the States in which the insurrection had existed promptly amended their constitutions so as to make them conform to the great change thus effected in the organic law of the land; declared null and void all ordinances and laws of secession; repudiated all pretended debts and obligations created for the revolutionary purposes of the insurrection; and proceeded, in good faith, to the enactment of measures for the protection and amelioration of the condition of the colored race. Congress, however, yet hesitated to admit any of these States to representation; and it was not until towards the close of the eighth month of the session that an exception was made in favor of Tennessee by the admission of her Senators and Representatives. I deem it a subject of profound regret that Congress lihas thus far failed to admit to seats loyal Senators and Representatives from the other States whose inhabitants, with those of Tennessee, had engaged in the rebellion. Ten States-more than one-fourth of the whole number-remain without representation! The seats of fifty members in the House of Representatives and of twenty members in the Senate are yet vacant-not by tneir own consent, not by a failure of election, but by the refusal of Congress to accept their credentials. Their admission, it is believed, would have accomplished much towards the renewal and strengthening of our relations as one people, and removed serious cause for discontent on the part of the inhabitants of those States. It would have accorded with the great principle enunciated in the Declaration of American Independence, that no people ought to bear the burden of taxation and yet be denied the right of representation. It would have been in consonance with the express provisions of the Constitution, that " each State shall have at least one Representative," and "that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." These provisions were intended to secure to every State, and to the people of every State, the right of representation in each House of Congress; and so important was it deemed by the framers of the Constitution that the equality of the States in the Senate should be preserved, that not even by an amendment of the Constitution can any State, without its consent, be denied a voice in that branch of the national Legislature. It is true, it has been assumed that the existence of the States was terminated by. the rebellious acts of their inhabitants, and that the insurrection having been suppressed, they were thenceforward to be considered merely as conquered territories. The legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the Government have, however, with great distinctness and uniform consistency, refused to sanction an assumption so incompatible with the nature of our republican system and with the professed objects of the war. Throughout the recent legislation of Congress, the undeniable fact makes itself apparent, that these ten political communities are nothing less than States of this Union. At the very commencement of the rebellion each House declared, with a unanimity as remarkable as it was significant, that the war was not " waged, upon our part, in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects" were " accomplished the war ought to cease." In some instances Senators were permrnitted to continue their legislative functions, "while in other instances Representatives were elected and admitted to seats after their States had formally declared their right to withdraw from the Union, and were endeavoring to maintain that right by force of arms. All of the States whose people were in insurrection, as States, were included in the apportionment of PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S MESSAGES. 145 the direct tax of $20,000,000 annually, laid upon the United States by the act approved 5th August, 1861. Congress, by the act of March 4, 1862, and by the apportionment of representation thereunder, also recognized their presence as States in the Union; and they have, for judicial purposes, been divided into districts, as States alone can be divided. The same recognition appears in the recent legislation in reference to Tennessee, which evidently rests upon the fact that the functions of the State were not destroyed by the rebellion, but merely suspended; and that principle is of course applicable to those States which, like Tennessee, attempted to renounce their place in the Union. The action of the executive department of the Government upon this subject has been equally definite and uniform, and the purpose of the war was specifically stated in the proclamation issued by my predecessor on the 22d day of September, 1862. It was then solemnly proclaimed and declared that " hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and each of the States and the people thereof, in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed." The recognition of the States by the judicial department of the Government has also been clear and conclusive in all proceedings affecting them as States, had in the Supreme, Circuit, and District Courts. In the admission of Senators and Representatives from any and all of the States, there can be no just ground of apprehension that persons who are disloyal will be clothed with the powers of legislation; for this could not happen when the Constitution and the laws are enforced by a vigilant and faithful Congress. Each House is made the "judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members," and may, " with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." When a Senator or Representative presents his certificate of election, he may at once be admitted or rejected; or, should there be any question as to his eligibility, his credentials may be referred for investigation to the appropriate committee. If admitted to a seat, it must be upon evidence satisfactory to the House of which he thus becomes a member, that he possesses the requisite constitutional and legal qualifications. If refused admission as a member, for want of due allegiance to the Government, and returned to his constituents, they are admonished that none but persons loyal to the United States will be allowed a voice in the legislative councils of the nation, and the political power and moral influence of Congress are thus effectively exerted in the interests of loyalty to the Government and fidelity to the Union. Upon this question, so vitally affecting the restoration of the Union and the permanency of our present form of government, my convictions, heretofore expressed, have undergone no change; but, on the contrary, their correctness has been confirmed by reflection and time. If the admission of loyal members to seats in the respective Houses of Congress was wise and expedient a year ago, it is no less wise and expedient now. If this anomalous condition is right now-if, in the exact condition of these States at the present 10 time, it is lawful to exclude them from representation, I do not see that the question will bc changed by the efflux of time. Ten years hence, if these States remain as they are, the right of representation will be no stronger, the right of exclusion will be no weaker. The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of the President to recommend to the consideration of Congress " such measures as he shall judge necessary or expedient." I know of no measure more imperatively demanded by every consideration of national interest, sound policy, and equal justice, than the admission of loyal members from the now unrepresented States. This would consummate the work of restoration, and exert a most salutary influence in the re-establishment of peace, harmony, and fraternal feeling. It would tend greatly to renew the confidence of the American people in the vigor and stability of their institutions. Itwould bind us more closely together as a nation, and enable us to show to the world the inherent and recuperative power of a Government founded upon the will of the people, and established upon the principles of liberty, justice, and intelligence. Our increased strength and enhanced prosperity would irrefragably demonstrate the fallacy of the arguments against free institutions drawn from our recent national disorders by the enemies of republican government. The admission of loyal members from the States now excluded from Congress, by allaying doubt and apprehension, would turn capital, now awaiting an opportunity for investment, into the channels of trade and industry. It would alleviate the present troubled condition of those States, and, by inducing emigration, aid in the settlement of fertile regions now uncultivated, and lead to an increased production of those staples which have added so greatly to the wealth of the nation and the commerce of the world. New fields of enterprise would be opened to our progressive people, and soon the devastations of war would be repaired, and all traces of our domestic differences effaced from the minds of our countrymen. In our efforts to preserve " the unity of government," which constitutes us one people, by restoring the States to the condition which they held prior to the rebellion, we should be cautious, lest, having rescued our nation from perils of threatened disintegration, we resort to consolidation, and in the end absolute despotism, as a remedy for the recurrence of similar troubles. The war having terminated, and with it all occasion for the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality, we should hasten to bring legislation within the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution, and to return to the ancient landmarks established by our fathers for the guidance of succeeding generations. "The Constitutiou which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the who:i people, is sacredly obligatory upon all." " If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be, in any particular, wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way in which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for" "it is the customary weapon by which free Governments are destroyed." Washington spoke these words to his countrymen when, followed by 146 POLITICAL MANUAL. their love and gratitude, he voluntarily retired receipts for the fiscal year ending the 30th June from the cares of public life. " To keep in all 1867, will be $475,061,386 and that the expenthings within the pale of our constitutional ditures will reach the sum of $316,428,078, leavpowers, and cherish the Federal Union as the ing in the Treasury a surplus of $158,633,308. only rock of safety," were prescribed by Jefferson For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, it is as rules of action to endear to his "countrymen estimated that the receipts will amount to the true principles of their Constitution, and $436,000,000, and that the expenditures will be promote a union of sentiment and action equally $350,247,641-showing an excess of $85,752,359 auspicious to their happiness and safety." Jack- in favor of the Government. These estimated son held that the action of the General Govern- receipts may be diminished by a reduction of ment should always be strictly confined to the excise and import duties; but after all necessary sphere of its appropriate duties, and justly and reductions shall have been made, the revenue forcibly urged that our Government is not to be of the present and of following years will doubtmaintained nor our Union preserved "by inva- less be sufficient to cover all legitimate charges sionss of the rights and powers of the several upon the Treasury, and leave a large annual surStates. In thus attempting to make our Gen- plus to be applied to the payment of the princieral Govvernment strong, we make it weak. Its pal of the debt. There seems now to bo no good true -strength consists in leaving individuals and reason why taxes may not be reduced as the States as much as possible to themselves; in country advances in population and wealth, and maiking itself felt, not in its power, but in its yet the debt be extinguished within the next ben efeenee; not in its control, but in its pro- quarter of a century "* teci'o:; not in binding the States more closely In the month of April last, as Congress is to the centre, but leaving each to move unob- aware, a friendly arrangement was made bestructed in its proper constitutional orbit." tween the Emperor of France and the President These are the teachings of men whose deeds and of the United States for the withdrawal from servioes have made them illustrious, and who, Mexico of the French expeditionary military long since withdrawn from the scenes of life, forces. This withdrawal was to be effected in have left to their country the rich legacy of their three detachments, the first of which, it was unexample, their wisdom, and their patriotism. derstood, would leave Mexico in November, now Drawing fresh inspiration from their lessons, let past, the second in March next, and the third us emulate them in love of country and respect and last in November, 1867. Immediately upon for the Constitution and the laws. the completion of the evacuation, the French The report of the Secretary of the Treasury Government was to assume the same attitude of affords much information respecting the revenue non-intervention, in regard to Mexico, as is held and commerce of the country. His views upon by the Government of the United States. Rethe currency, and with reference to a proper ad- peated assurances have been given by the Emjustment of our revenue system, internal as well peror, since that agreement, that he would comas impost, are commended to the careful consid- plete the promised evacuation within the period eration of Congress. In my last annual message mentioned, or sooner. I expressed my general views upon these sub- It was reasonably expected that the proceedjects. * * * * ings thus contemplated would produce a crisis The report presents a much more satisfactory of great political interest in the Republic of condition of our finances than one year ago the Mexico. The newly appointed Minister of the most sanguine could have anticipated. During United States, Mr. Campbell, was therefore sent the fiscal year ending the 30th June, 1865, the forward, on the 9th day of November last, to last year of the war, the public debt was in- assume his proper functions as Minister Plenipocreased $941,902,537, and on the 31st of Octo- tentiary of the United States to that Republic. ber, 1865, it amounted to $2,740,854,750. On It was also thought expedient that he should he the 31st day of October, 1866, it had been re- attended in the vicinity of Mexico by the Lieuduced to $2,551,310,006, the diminution, during tenant General of the Army of the United States, a period of fourteen months, commencing Sep- with the view of obtaining such information as tember 1, 1865, and ending October 31, 1866, might be important to determine the course to having been $206,379,565. In the last annual be pursued by the United States in re-establishreport on the state of the finances, it was esti- ing and maintaining necessary and proper intermated that during the three-quarters of the fiscal course with the Republic of Mexico. Deeply year ending the 30th of June last, the debt interested in the cause of liberty and humanity, weuld be increased $112,194,947. During that it seemed an obvious duty on our part to exerperiod, however, it was reduced $31,196,387, the cise whatever influence we possessed for the resreceipts of the year having been $89,905,905 toration and permanent establishment in that more, and the expenditures $200,529,235 less country of a domestic and republican form of than the estimates. Nothing could more clearly government. indicate than these statements the extent and Such was the condition of affairs in regard to availability of the national resources, and the Mexico, when, on the 22d of November last, offi'rapidity and safety with which, under our form cial information was received from Paris that the of government, great military and naval estab- Emperor of France had some time before decided lishments can be disbanded, and expenses re- not to withdraw a detachment of his forces in the duced from a war to a peace footing. month of November past, according to engageDuring the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, ment, but that this decision was made with the 1866, the receipts were $558,032,620, and the purpose of withdrawing the whole of those forces expenditures $520,750,940, leaving an available inl the ensuing spring. Of this determination, surplus of $37,281,680. It is estimated that the however, the United States had not received any PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S MESSAGES. 147 notice or intimation; and, so soon as the information was received by the Government, care was taken to make known its dissent to the Emperor of France. I cannot forego the hope that France will reconsider the subject, and adopt some resolution in regard to the evacuation of Mexico which will conform as nearly as practicable with the existing engagement, and thus meet the just expectations of the United States. The papers relating to the subject will be laid before you. It is believed that, with the evacuation of Mexico by the expeditionary forces, no subject for serious differences between France and the United States would remain. The expressions of the Emperor and people of France warrant a hope that the traditionary friendship between the two countries might, in that case, be renewed and permanently restored. A claim of a citizen of the United States for indemnity for spoliations committed on the high seas by the French authorities, in the exercise of a belligerent power against Mexico, has been met by the Government of France with a proposition to defer settlement until a mutual convention for the adjustment of all claims of citizens and subjects of both countries, arising out of the recent wars on this Continent, shall be agreed upon by the two countries. The suggestion is not deemed unreasonable, but it belongs to Congress to direct the manner in which claims for indemnity by foreigners, as well as by citizens of the United States, arising out of the late civil war, shall be adjudicated and determined. I have no doubt that the subject of all such claims will engage your attention at a convenient and proper time. * * * * * In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution, I have thus submitted to the representatives of the States and of the people such information of our domestic and foreign affairs as the public interests seem to require. Our Government is now undergoing its most trying ordeal, and my earnest prayer is that the peril may be successfully and finally passed, "without impairing its original strength and symmetry. The interests of the nation are best to.be promoted by the revival of fraternal relations, the complete obliteration of our past differences, and the reinauguration of all the pursuits of peace. Directing our efforts to the early accomplishment of these great ends, let us endeavor to preserve harmony between the co-ordinate Departments of the Government, that each in its proper sphere may cordially co-operate with the other in securing the mlaintenance of the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, and the perpetuity of our free institutions. ANDRPEW JOINSON. WASHINGTON, December 3, 1866. Veto of the Second Freedmen's Bureau Bill, July 16, 1866.* To the House of Representatives: A careful examination of the bill passed by the two Houses of Congress, entitled "An act to continue in force and to amend 'An act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees,' "* For veto of freedmen's bill of February 29, 1866, see pages 68-74 of Political Manual for 1866. and for other purposes," has convinced me that the legislation which it proposes would not be consistent with the welfare of the country, and that it falls clearly within the reasons assigned in my message of the 19th of February last, returning, without my signature, a similar measure which originated in the Senate. It is not my purpose to repeat the objections which I then urged. They are yet fresh in your recollection, and can be readily examined as a part of the records of one branch of the national Legislature. Adhering to the principles set forth in that message, I now reaffirm them and the line of policy therein indicated. The only ground upon which this kind of legislation can be justified is that of the war-making power. The act of which this bill is intended as amendatory was passed during the existence of the war. By its own provisions, it is to terminate within one year from the cessation of hostilities and the declaration of peace. It is therefore yet in existence, and it is likely that it will continue in force as long as the freedmen may require the benefit of its provisions. It will certainly remain in operation, as a law, until some months subsequent to the meeting of the next session of Congress, when, if experience shall make evident the necessity of additional legislation, the two Houses will have ample time to mature and pass the requisite measures. In the mean time the questions arise, why should this war measure be continued beyond the period designated in the original act; and why, in time of peace, should military tribunals be created to continue until each " State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the Government, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United States?" It was manifest, with respect to the act approved March 3, 1865, that prudence and wisdomr alike required that jurisdiction over all cases concerning the free enjoyment of the immunities and rights of citizenship, as well as the protection of person and property, should be conferred upon some tribunal in every State or district where the ordinary course of judicial proceedings was interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same should be fully restored. ALt that time, therefore, an urgent necessity existed for the passage of some such law. Now, however, war has substantially ceased; the ordinary course of judicial proceedings is no longer interrupted; the courts, both State and Federal, are in full, complete, and successful operation, and through them every person, regardless of race and color, is entitled to and can be heard. The protection granted to the white citizen is already conferred by law upon the freedman; strong and stringent guards, by way of penalties and punishments, are thrown around his person and property, and it is believed that ample protection will be afforded him by due process of law, without resort to the dangerous expedient of " military tribunals," now that the war has been brought to a close. The necessity no longer existing for such tribunals, which had their origin in the war, grave objections to their continuance must present themselves to the minds of all reflecting and dispassionate men. Idependently of the danger, in representative republics, of conferring upon the military, in time of peace, 148 POLITICAL MAN UAL. extraordinary powers-so carefully guarded against by the patriots and statrmen of the earlier days of the Republic, so frequently the ruin of Governments founded upon the same free principles, and subversive of the rights and liberties of the citizen-the question of practical economy earnestly commends itself to the consideration of the law-making power. With an immense debt already burdening the incomes of the industrial and laboring classes, a due regard for their interests, so inseparably connected with the welfare of the country, should prompt us to rigid economy and retrenchment, and influence us to abstain from all legislation that would unnecessarily increase the public indebtedness. Tested by this rule of sound political wisdom, I can see no reason for the establishment of the "military jurisdiction" conferred upon the officials of the bureau by the fourteenth section of the bill. By the laws of the United States and of the different States, competent courts, Federal and State, have been established, and are now in full practical operation. By means of these civil tribunals ample redress is afforded for all private wrongs, whether to the person or the property of the citizen, without denial or unnecessary delay. They are open to all, without regard to color or race. I feel well assured that it will be better to trust the rights, privileges, and immunities of the citizen to tribunals thus established, and presided over by competent and impartial judges, bound by fixed rules of law and evidence, and where the right of trial by jury is guarantied and secured, than to the caprice or judgment of an officer of the bureau, who, it is possible, may be entirely ignorant of the principles that underlie the just administration of the law. There is danger, too, that conflict of jurisdiction will frequently arise between the civil courts and these military tribunals, each having concurrent jurisdiction over the person and the cause of action, the one judicature administered and controlled by civil law, the other by the military. How is the conflict to be settled, and who is to determine between the two tribunals when it arises? In my opinion, it is wise to guard against such conflict by leaving to the courts and juries the protection of all civil rights and the redress of all civil grievances. The fact cannot be denied that, since the actual cessation of hostilities, many acts of violencesuch, perhaps, as had never been witnessed in their previous history-have occurred in the States involved in the recent rebellion. I believe, however, that public sentiment will sustain me in the assertion that such deeds of wrong are not confined to any particular State or section, but are manifested over the entire country, demonstrating that the cause that produced them does not depend upon any particular locality, but is the result of the agitation and derangement incident to a long and bloody civil war. "While the prevalence of such disorders must be greatly deplored, their occasional and temporary occurrence would seem to furnish no necessity for the extension of the bureau beyond the period fixed in the original act. Besides the objections which I have thus briefly stated, I may urge upon your consideration the additional reason, that recent develop ments in regard to the practical operations of the bureau in many of the States show that in numerous instances it is used by its agents as a means of promoting their individual advantage, and that the freedmen are employed for the advancement of the personal ends of the officers instead of their own improvement and welfare, thus confirming the fears originally entertained by many, that the continuation of such a bureau for any unnecessary length of time would inevitably result in fraud, corruption, and oppression. It is proper to state that in cases of this character investigations have been promptly ordered, and the offender punished whenever his guilt has been satisfactorily established. As another reason against the necessity of the legislation contemplated by this measure, reference may be had to the "civil rights bill," now a law of the land, and which will be faithfully executed so long as it shall remain unrepealed and may not be declared unconstitutional by courts of competent jurisdiction. By that act it is enacted "that all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign Power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." By the provisions of the act full protection is afforded, through the district courts of the United States, to all persons injured, and whose privileges, as thus declared, are in any way impaired; and heavy penalties are denounced against the person who wilfully violates the law. I need not state that that law did not receive my approval; yet its remedies are far more preferable than those proposed in the present bill, the one being civil and the other military. By the sixth section of the bill herewith returned, certain proceedings by which the lands in the " parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, South Carolina," were sold and bid in, and afterwards disposed of by the tax commissioners, are ratified and confirmed. By the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh sections provisions by law are made for the disposal of the lands thus acquired to a particular class of citizens. While the quieting of titles is deemed very important and desirable, the discrimination made in the bill seems objectionable, as does also the attempt to confer upon the commissioners judicial powers, by which citizens of the United States are to be deprived of their property in a mode contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that no person "shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." As a general principle, such legislation is unsafe, PRESIDEN.T JOHNS unwise, partial, and unconstitutional. It may deprive persons of their property who are equally deserving objects of the nation's bounty as those whom, by this legislation, Congress seeks to benefit. The title to the land thus to be portioned aut to a favored class of citizens must depend upon the regularity of the tax sales, under the law as it existed at the time of the sale, and no subsequent legislation can give validity to the rights thus acquired, as against the original claimants. The attention of Congress is therefore invited to a more mature consideration of the measures proposed in these sections of the bill. In conclusion, I again urge upon Congress the danger of class legislation, so well calculated to keep the public mind in a state of uncertain expectation, disquiet, and restlessness, and to encourage interested hopes and fears that the national Government will continue to furnish to classes of citizens in the several States means for support and maintenance, regardless of whether they pursue a life of indolence or of labor, and regardless also of the constitutional limitations of the national authority in times of peace and tranquillity. The bill is herewith returned to the House of Representatives, in which it originated, for its final action. ANDREW JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., July b16, 1866. Copy of the Vetoed Bill. AN ACT to continue in force and to amend " An act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees," and for other purposes. Be it enacted, &c., That the act to establish a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall continue in force for the term of two years from and after the passage of this act. SEO. 2. That the supervision and care of said bureau shall extend to all loyal refugees and freedmen, so far as the same shall be necessary to enable them as speedily as practicable to become self-supporting citizens of the United States, and to aid them in making the freedom conferred by proclamation of the Commander-in-Chief, by emancipation under the laws of States, and by constitutional amendment, available to them and beneficial to the Republic. SEC. 3. That the President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint two assistant commissioners, in addition to those authorized by the act to which this is an amendment, who shall give like bonds and receive the same annual salaries provided in said act; and each of the assistant commissioners of the bureau shall have charge of one district containing such refugees or freedmen, to be assigned him by the Commissioner, with the approval of the President. And the Commissioner shall, under the direction of the President, and so far as the same shall be, in his judgment, necessary for the efficient and economical administration of the affairs of the bureau, appoint such agents, clerks, and assistants as may be required for the proper conduct of the bureau. Military officers or enlisted men may be detailed for service and assigned to duty under this act; and the President may, if ION'S MESSAGES. 149 in his judgment safe and judicious so to do, detail from the Army all the officers and agents of this bureau; but no officer so assigned shall have increase of pay or allowanc'.s. Each agent or clerk, not heretofore authorized by law, not being a military officer, shall have an annual salary of not less than $500, nor more than $1,200, according to the service required of him. And it shall be the duty of the Commissioner, when it can be done consistently with public interest, be appoint, as assistant commissioners, agents, and clerks, such men as have proved their loyalty by faithful service in the armies of the Union during the rebellion. And all persons appointed to service under this act and the act to which this is an amendment, shall be so far deemed in the military service of the United States as to be under the military jurisdiction and entitled to the military protection of the Government while in discharge of the duties of their office. SEC. 4. That officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps or of the volunteer service, now on duty in the Freedmen's Bureau as assistant commissioners, agents, medical officers, or in other capacities, whose regiments or corps have been or may hereafter be mustered out of service, may be retained upon such duty as officers of said bureau, with the same compensation as is now provided by law for their respective grades; and the Secretary of War shall have power to fill vacancies until other officers can be detailed in their places without detriment to the public service. SEC. 5. That the second section of the act to which this is an amendment shall be deemed to authorize the Secretary of War to issue such medical stores or other supplies and transportation, and afford such medical or other aid as may be needful for the purposes named in said section: Provided, That no person shall be deemed "destitute," "suffering," or "dependent upon the Government for support," within the meaning of this act, who is able to find employment, and could, by proper industry or exertion, avoid such destitution, suffering, or dependence. SEC. 6. Whereas, by the provisions of an act approved February sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act for the collection of direct taxes in insurrectionary districts within the United States, and for other purposes,' approved June seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two," certain lands in the parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, South Carolina, were bid in by the United States at public tax sales, and by the limitation of said act the time of redemption of said lands has expired; and whereas, in accordance with instructions issued by President Lincoln on the sixteenth day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, to the United States direct tax commissioners for South Carolina, certain lands bid in by the United States in the parish of St. Helena, in said State, were in part sold by the said tax commissioners to " heads of families of the African race," in parcels of not more than twenty acres to each purchaser; and whereas, under the said instructions, the said tax commissioners did also set apart as "school farms" certain parcels of land in said parish, numbered on their plats from one to thirty-three, inclusive, 150 POLITICAL MANUAL. making an aggregate of six thousand acres, more or less: Therefore, be it further enacted, That the sales made to " heads of families of the African race," under the instructions of President Lincoln to the United States direct tax commissioners for South Carolina, of date of September sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, are hereby confirmed and established; and all leases which have been made to such " heads of families" by said direct tax commissioners, shall be changed into certificates of sale in all cases wherein the lease provides for such substitution; and all the lands now remaining unsold, which come within the same designation, being eight thousand acres, more or less, shall be disposed of according to said instructions. SEc. 7. That all other lands bid in by the United States at tax sales, being thirty-eight thou-sand acres, more or less, and now in the hands of the said tax commissioners as the property of the United States, in the parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke, excepting the "school farms," as specified in the preceding section, and go much as may be necessary for military and naval purposes at Hilton Head, Bay Point, and Land's End, and excepting also the city of Port Royal, on St. Helena island, and the town of Beaufort, shall be disposed of in parcels of twenty acres, at one dollar and fifty cents per acre, to such persons, and to such only, as have acquired and are now occupying lands under and agreeably to the provisions of General Sherman's special field order, dated at Savannah, Georgia, January sixteen, eighteen hundred and sixtyfive, and the remaining lands, if any, shall be disposed of in like manner to such persons as had acquired lands agreeably to the said order of General Sherman, but who have been dispossessed by the restoration of the same to former owners: Provided, That the lands sold in compliance with the provisions of this and the preceding section shall not be alienated by their purchasers within six years from and after the passage of this act. SEC. 8. That the " school farms " in the parish of St. Helena, South Carolina, shall be sold, subject to any leases of the same, by the said tax commissioners, at public auction, on or before the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, at not less than ten dollars per acre; and the lots in the city of Port Royal, as laid down by the said tax commissioners, and the lots and houses in the town of Beaufort, which are still held in like manner, shall be sold at public auction; and the proceeds of said sales, after paying expenses of the surveys and sales, shall be invested in United States bonds, the interest of which shall be appropriated, under the direction of the Commissioner, to the support of schools, without distinction of color or race, on the islands in the parishes of St. Helena and St. Luke. SEC. 9. That the assistant commissioners for South Carolina and Georgia are hereby authorized to examine all claims to lands in their respective States which are claimed under the provisions of General Sherman's special field order, and to give each person having a valid claim a warrant upon the direct tax commissioners for South Carolina for twenty acres of land; and the said direct tax commissioners shall issue to every person, or to his or her heirs, but in no case to any assigns, presenting such warrant, a lease of twenty acres of land, as provided for in section seven, for the term of six years; but at any time thereafter, upon the payment of a sum not exceeding one dollar and fifty cents per acre, the person holding such lease shall be entitled to a certificate of sale of said tract of twenty acres from the direct tax commissioner or such officer as may be authorized to issue the same; but no warrant shall be held valid longer than two years after the issue of the same. SEC. 10. That the direct tax commissioners for South Carolina are hereby authorized and required, at the earliest day practicable, to survey the lands designated in section seven into lots of twenty acres each, with proper metes and bounds distinctly marked, so that the several tracts shall be convenient in form, and as near as practicable have an average of fertility and woodland; and the expense of such surveys shall be paid from the proceeds of sales of said lands, or, if sooner required, out of any moneys received for other lands on these islands, sold by the United States for taxes, and now in the hands of the direct tax commissioners. SEC. 11. That restoration of lands occupied by freedmen under General Sherman's field order dated at Savannah, Georgia, January sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall not be made until after the crops of the present year shall have been gathered by the occupants of said lands, nor until a fair compensation shall have been made to them by the former owners of such lands, or their legal represeftatives, for all improvements or betterments erected or constructed thereon, and after due notice of the same being done shall have been given by the assistant commissioner. SEC. 12. That the Commissioner shall have power to seize, hold, use, lease, or sell all buildings, and tenements, and any lands appertaining to the same, or otherwise, formerly held under color of title by the late so-called Confederate States, and not heretofore disposed of by the United States, and any buildings or lands held in trust for the same by any person or persons, and to use the same or appropriate the proceeds derived therefrom to the education of the freed people; and whenever the bureau shall cease to exist, such of said so-called Confederate States as shall have made provision for the education of their citizens without distinction of color shall receive the sum remaining unexpended of such sales or rentals, which shall be distributed among said States for educational purposes in proportion to their population. SEC. 13. That the Commissioner of this bureau shall at all times co-operate with private benevolent associations of citizens in aid of freedmen, and with agents and teachers, duly accredited and appointed by them, and shall hire or provide by lease, buildings for purposes of education whenever such associations shall, without cost to the Governmen'u, provide suitable teach ers and means of instruction; and he shall furnish such protection as may be required for the safe conduct of such schools. SEc. 14. That in every State or district where PRESIDENT JOHNSON S MESSAGES. the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same shall be fully restored, and in every State or district whose constitutional relations to the Government have been practically discontinued by the rebellion, and until such State ohall have been restored in such relations, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United States, the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to have full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings concerning personal liberty, personal security, and the acquisition, enjoyment, and disposition of estate, real and personal, including the constitutional right to bear arms, shall be secured to and enjoyed by all the citizens of such State or district without respect to race or color, or previous condition of slavery. And whenever in either of said States or districts the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same shall be fully restored, and until such State shall have been restored in its constitutional relations to the Government, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United States, the President shall, through the Commissioner and the officers of the bureau, and under such rules and regulations as the President, through the Secretary of War, shall prescribe, extend military protection and have military jurisdiction over all cases and questions concerning the free enjoyment Qf such immunities and rights; and no penalty or punishment for any violation of law shall be imposed or permitted because of race or color, or previous condition of slavery, other or greater than the penalty or punishment to which white persons may be liable by law for the like offense. But the jurisdiction conferred by this section upon the officers of the bureau shall not exist in any State where the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has not been interrupted by the rebellion, and shall cease in every State when the courts of the State and the United States are not disturbed in the peaceable course of justice, and after such State shall be fully restored in its constitutional relations to the Government, and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the United States. SEc. 15. That all officers, agents, and employees of this bureau, before entering upon the duties of their office, shall take the oath prescribed in the first section of the act to which this is an amendment; and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. The votes on this bill were: May 29-The HOUSE passed its bill, differing in some details from the above-yeas 96, nays 32, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Baxter, Beaman, Bidwell, Blaine, Bromwell, Buckland, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Defrees, Deming, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Dumont, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farquhar, Ferry, Garfield, Abner C. Harding, Hart, HenderSpn, Iligby, Holmes, Hooper. Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Demas IHubbard, jr., John H. Hubbard, James R. Hubbell, Ingersoll. Jenckes, Julian, Kelley, Latham, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Loan, Longyear, Lynch. Marston, McClurg, MIcKee, McRuer, Mercur, Mooroead, Morrill, Morris, Myers, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Patter son, Perham, Pike, Plants, Price, Alexander H. Rice, John H. Rice, Rollins, Sawyer, Schenck, Scolield, Shellalar,,er, Sloan, Starr, Stevens, Stillwell, Thyer, Francis Thoi,as, Trowbridge, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, W )f the United States; and whereas the Judiciary Committee, to whom said resolution and charges were referred, with authority to investigate the same, were unable for want of time to complete said investigation before the expiration of the Thirty-Ninth Congress; and whereas in the report submitted by said Judiciary Committee on the 2d of March they declare that the evidence taken is of such a character as to justify and demand a continuation of the investigation by this Congress: Therefore, Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, That the Judiciary Committee, when appointed, be, and they are hereby, instructed to continue the investigation authorized in said resolution of January 7, 1867, and that they have power to send for persons and papers, and to administer the customary oath to witnesses; and that the committee have authority to sit during the sessions of the House and during any recess which Congress or this House may take. Resolved, That the Speaker of the House be requested to appoint the Committee on the Judiciary forthwith, and that the committee so appointed be directed to take charge of the testimony taken by the committee of the last Congress; and that said committee have power to appoint a clerk at a compensation not to exceed six dollars per day, and employ the necessary stenographer. Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives be directed to pay out of the contingent fund of the House, on the order of the Committee of the Judiciary, such sum or sums of money as may be required to enable the said committee to prosecute the investigation above directed, and such other investigations as it may be ordered to make. Mr. HOLMAN moved to table the resolutions, which was disagreed to-yeas 32, nays 119, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Archer, Barnes, Boyer, Brooks, Burr, Chanler, Denison, Eldridge, Fox, Getz, Haight, Holman, Humphrey, Kerr, Marshall, McCullough, Morgan, Morrissey, Mungen, Niblackc, Nicholson, Phelps, Pruyn, Randall, Robinson, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stewart, Stone, Taber, Van Auken, Van Trump, lWood-32. NAYs-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Beaman, Benja"min, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Butler, Cake, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Finney, Garfield, Gravely, Halsey, Hamilton, Harding, Hayes, Hill, Hooper, Hopkins, Chester D. Hubbard, IIulburd, Hunter, Ingersoll, Judd, Julian, Kelley, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Lynch, Marvin, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Miller, Moore, Moorhead, Morrell, Myers, Newcomb, Noell, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pile, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Raum, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shanks, Shellabarger, Smith, Stevens, Taffe, Taylor, Thomas, Trowbridge, Twichell, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, James PF. Wileon, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge -119. March 29-Mr. SIDNEY CLARKE offered this preamble and resolution: Whereas upon charges preferred in tl e House of Representatives of the Thirty-Ninth Congress against the President of the United States of high crimes and misdemeanors, alleged to have been committed by him in the execution of his official trust, the Committee on the Judiciary of the said House, to which the same was referred, did report that for want of sufficient time they were unable to conclude their investigation, but that upon the facts disclosed it was in their judgment required and demanded that the inquiry should be prosecuted to a conclusion by the present Congress; and whereas in accordance with the said opinion this House did commit the said subject anew to its Committee on the Judiciary, which is now diligently engaged in the examination thereof; and whereas, in view of the report and recommendation of the Judiciary Committee of the last House, it would be dangerous to the public interest and failure of duty on the part of the present Congress, to adjourn and abdicate its practical control over the administration of the Government by surrendering its destinies, in the present critical condition of affairs, into the hands of an officer thus impeached before the nation, and well known not only to be hostile to the policy of its Congress, and to entertain the opinion that all the acts of that Congress looking to a restoration of the Union are unconstitutional: Therefore, Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be requested to report on the charges preferred against the President, as aforesaid, on the first day of the meeting of the House after the recess hereafter to be determined. Mr. RoBINSON moved to table the resolution; which was disagreed to-yeas 38, nays 63, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Archer, Bingham, Blair, Brooks, BucklandL Burr, Chanler, Reader W. Clarke, Cornell, Denison, Eld. ridge, Ferriss, Fields, Getz, Glossbrenner, Griswold, Holman, Chester D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Kerr, Ketcham, Laflin, Marshall, Marvin, Morrissey, Mungen, Niblaclc, Nicholson, Phelps, Plants, Robinson, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stewart, Taber, Van Aukcen, Van Trump, Wood-38. NAYs-Messrs. Allison, James M. Ashley, Baker, Benton, Boutwell, Broomall, Butler, Cake, Churchill, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Covode, Cullom, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Ela, Farnsworth, Garfield, Gravely, Halsey, Hamilton, Hayes, Hooper, Hopkins, Hulburd, Ingersoll, Judd, Kelley, Koontz, William Lawrence, Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Mallory, McClurg, Mercur, Miller, Morrell, Myers, O'Neill, Perham, Pile, Polsley, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Shanks, Thaddeus Stevens, Taylor, Trowbridge, Upson, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, John T. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-63. The preamble was laid on the table, on a division by tellers-ayes 54, noes 32. The resolution was then adopted. The committee, it is understood, will make a report upon the 3d of July, on the reassembling of Congress. XVIII. TEXT OF THE RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. 14th Constitutional Amendment. Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely: ARTICLE XIV. SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. SEC. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. SEC. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. SEC. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insur rection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. SEC. 5. That Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Passed June 13, 1866. Reconstruction Act of Thirty-Ninth Congress. AN AcT to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States. Whereas no legal State governments or adequate protection for life or property now exists in the rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas; and whereas it is necessary that peace and good order should be enforced in said States until loyal and republican State governments can be legally established: Therefore Be it enacted, &c., That said rebel States shall be divided into military districts and made subject to the military authority of the United States, as hereinafter prescribed, and for 'that purpose Virginia shall constitute the first district; North Carolina and South Carolina the second district; Georgia, Alabama, and Florida the,third district; Mississippi and Arkansas the fourth district; and Louisiana and Texas the fifth district. SEC. 2. That it shall be the duty of the President to assign to the command of each of said districts an officer of the army, not below the rank of brigadier general, and to detail a sufficient military force to enable such officer to perform his duties and enforce his authority within the district to which he is assigned. SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of each officer assigned as aforesaid to protect all persons in their rights of person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, and violence, and to punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public peace and criminals, and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals to take jurisdiction of and to try offenders, or, when in his judgment it may be necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to organize military commissions or tribunals for that purpose; and all interference under color of State authority with the exercise of military authority undei this act shall be null and void. SEC. 4. That all persons put atider military arrest by virtue of this act shall be tried without unnecessary delay, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted; and no sentence of any military commission or tribunal hereby authorized, affecting the life or liberty of any person, shall be executed until it is approved by the officer in command of the district, and the laws and regulations for the government of the army shall not be affected by this act, except in so far as they conflict with its provisions: Pro11 192 POLITICAL MANUAL. vided, That no sentence of death under the provisions of this act shall be carried into effect without the approval of the President. SEC. 5. That when the people of any one of said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution of the United States in all respects, framed by a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of said State twenty-one years old and upward, of whatever race, color, or previous condition, who have been resident in said State for one year previous to the day of such election, except such as may be disfranchised for participation in the rebellion, or for felony at common law, and when such constitution shall provide that the elective franchise shall be enjoyed by all such persons as have the qualifications herein stated for electors of delegates, and when such constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the persons voting on the question of ratification "who are qualified as electors for delegates, and when such constitution shall have been submitted to Congress for examination and approval, and Congress shall have approved the same, and when said State, by a vote of its legislature elected under said constitution, shall have adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the Thirtyninth Congress, and known as article fourteen, and when said article shall have become a part of the Constitution of the United States, said State shall be declared entitled to representation in Congress, and Senators and Representatives shall be admitted therefrom on their taking the oaths prescribed by law, and then and thereafter the preceding sections of this act shall be inoperative in said State: Provided, That no person excluded from the privilege of holding office by said proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be eligible to election as a member of the convention to frame a constitution for any of said rebel States, nor shall any such person vote for members of such convention. SEC. 6. That until the people of said rebel States shall be by law admitted to representa tion in the Congress of the United States, any civil governments which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States at any time to abolish, modify, control, or supersede the same; and in all elections to any office under such provisional governments 'all persons shall be entitled to vote, and none others, who are entitled to vote under the provisions of the fifth section of this act; and no person sh-all be eligible to any office under any such provisional governments who would be disqualified from holding office under the provisions of the third article of said constitutional amendment. Passed March 2, 1867. Supplemental Reconstruction Act of Fortieth Congress. AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration. Be it enacted, &c., That before the first day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the commanding general in each district defined by an act entitled "An act to provide for Lmhe more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, shall cause a registration to be made of the male citizens of the United States, twentyone years of age and upwards, resident in each county or parish in the State or States included in his district, which registration shall include only those persons who are qualified to vote for delegates by the act aforesaid, and who shall have taken and subscribed the following oath or affirmation: "I, ---, do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of ----; that I have resided in said State for months next preceding this day, and now reside in the county of ----, or the parish of --, in said State, (as the case may be;) that I am twenty-one years old; that I have not been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion or civil war against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws of any State or of the United States; that I have never been a member of any State legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any State and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer 'of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, encourage others so to do, so help me God;" which oath or affirmation may be administered by any registering officer. SEC. 2. That after the completion of the registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time and places therein as the commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at least thirty days' public notice shall be given, an election shall be held of delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a constitution and civil government for such State loyal to the Union, said convention in each State, except Virginia, to consist of the same number of members as the most numerous branch of the State legislature of such State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned among the several districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the commanding general, giving to each representation in the ratio of voters registered as aforesaid, as nearly as may be. The convention in Virginia shall consist of the same number of members as represented the territory now constituting Virginia in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned as aforesaid. SEC. 3. That at said election the registered voters of each State shall vote for or against.a i convention to form a constitution therefor under TEXT OF THE RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. 193 this act Those voting in favor of such a con vention shall have written or printed on th oallots by which they vote for delegates, as afore said, the words " For a convention," and thos voting against such a convention shall hav written or printed on such ballots the wore "Against a convention." The person appointe to superintend said election, and to make retur of the votes given thereat, as herein providec shall count and make return of the votes give for and against a convention; and the corn manding general to whom the same shall hav been returned shall ascertain and declare th total vote in each State for and against a cor vention. If a majority of the votes given o that question shall be for a convention, the such convention shall be held as hereinafter prc vided; but if a majority of said votes shall b against a convention, then no such conventio shall be held under this act: Provided, That suc convention shall not be held unless a majorit of all such registered voters shall have voted o the question of holding such convention. SEc. 4. That the commanding general of eac district shall appoint as many boards of regis tration as may be necessary, consisting of thre loyal officers or persons, to make and complet the registration, superintend the election, an make return to him of the votes, lists of voter: and of the persons elected as delegates by a pit ralitv of the votes cast at said election; an upon receiving said returns he shall open th same, ascertain the persons elected as delegate according to the returns of the officers who con ducted said election, and make proclamatio thereof; and if a majority of the votes given o that question shall be for a convention, the con manding general, within sixty days from th date of election, shall notify the delegates to ar semble in convention, at a time and place to b mentioned in the notification, and said conver tion, when organized, shall proceed to frame constitution and civil government according t the provisions of this act and the act to which is supplementary; and when the same shall hav been so framed, said constitution shall be sut mitted by the convention for ratification to th persons registered under the provisions of thi act at an election to be conducted by the office] or persons appointed or to be appointed by tl commanding general, as hereinbefore providec and to be held after the expiration of thirty da) from the date of notice thereof, to be given b said convention; and the returns thereof sha be made to the commanding general of the distric SEC. 5. That if, according to said returns, th constitution shall be ratified by a majority < the votes of the registered electors qualified i herein specified, cast at said election, (at leac one-half of all the registered voters voting upo the question of such ratification,) the presider of the convention shall transmit a copy of tb same, duly certified, to the President of the Un ted States, who shall forthwith transmit th same to Congress, if then in session, and if nc in session, then immediately upon its next aE sembling; and if it shall, moreover, appear t Congress that the election was one at which a the registered and qualified electors in the Stat had an opportunity to vote freely and withot 13 restraint, fear, or the influence of fraud, and if the Congress shall be satisfied that such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall be declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions of the act to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act shall have been complied with, and the said constitution shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to representation, and Senators and Representatives shall be admitted therefrom as therein provided. SEC. 6 That all elections in the States mentioned in the said "Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," shall, during the operation of said act, be by ballot; and all officers making the said registration of voters and conducting said elections shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled " An act to prescribe an oath of office: "* Provided, That if any person shall knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act prescribed, such person so offending and being thereof duly convicted, shall be subject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law are provided for the punishment of the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury. SEC. 7. That all expenses incurred by the several commanding generals, or by virtue of any orders issued, or appointments made, by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. SEC. 8. That the convention for each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to all delegates and other officers and agents herein authorized or necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act not herein otherwise provided for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such taxes on the property * This act is in these words: Be it enacted, wever disguised. If the inhibition can be ions after the first of February, 1667, he should avoided by the form of the enactment, its insersuffer the pains and penalties of treason, with a tion in the fundamental law was a vain and proviso, however, that if he surrendered himself futile proceeding. before the said first day of February for trial, We proceed to consider the second clause of the penalties and disabilities declared should be what Mr. Chief Justice Marshall terms "a bill void and of no effect, of rights for the people of each State," the clause " A British act of Parliament," to cite the lan- which inhibits the passage of an expostfacto law. guage of the supreme court of Kentucky, "might By an ex postfacto law is meant one which imdeclare that if certain individuals failed to do a poses a punishment for an act which was not given act by a. named day they should be deemed punishable at the time it was committed, or imto be and treated as convicted felons and trai- poses additional punishment to that then pretors, and the act would come precisely within scribed, or changes the rules of evidence, by the definition of a bill of attainder, and the Eng- which less or different testimony is required to lish courts would enforce it without indictment convict than was then exacted. In Fletcher vs. 224 POLITICAL MANUAL. Peck, Mr. Chief Justice Marshall defined an ex post facto law to be "one which makes an act punishable in a manner in which it was not punisbable when it was committed." " Such a law," said that eminent judge, " may inflict penalties on the person, or may inflict pecuniary penalties which swell the public treasury. The legislature is, then, prohibited from passing a law by which a man's estate, or any part of it, shall be seized for a crime which was not declared by some previous law to render him liable to that punishment. Why, then, should violence be done to the natural meaning of the words for the purpose of leaving to the Legislature the power of seizing for public use the estate of an individual in the form of a law annulling the title by which he holds the estate? The Court can perceive no sufficient grounds for making this distinction. The rescinding act would have the effect of an ex post facto law. It forfeits the estate of Fletcher for a crime not committed by himself, but by those from whom he purchased. This could not be effected in the form of an ex post facto law or bill of attainder. Why, then, is it allowable in the form of a law annulling the original grant? The act to which reference is here made was one passed by the State of Georgia repealing a previous act under which land had been granted. The repealing act, divesting the title of the grantees, did not in terms define any crimes or inflict any punishment or direct any judicial proceedings; yet, inasmuch as the Legislature was forbidden from passing any law by which a man's estate could be seized for a crime which was not declared by some previous law to render him liable to that punishment, the Chief Justice was of opinion that the repealing act had the effect of an ex post facto law, and was within the constitutional inhibition. Now, the clauses in the Missouri constitution which are the subject of consideration do not in terms define any crime or declare that any punishment shall be inflicted, but they produce the sarnme result upon the parties against whom they are directed as though the crimes were defined and the punishment declared. They assume that there are persons in Missouri who are guilty of some of the acts designated. They would have no meaning in the constitution were not such the fact. They are aimed at past acts, and not future facts. They were intended to operate upon parties who, in some form or manner, by action or words, directly or indirectly, had aided or countenanced the rebellion, or sympathized with parties engaged in the rebellion, or had endeavored to escape the proper responsibilities and duties of a citizen in time of war. And they were intended to operate by depriving such persons of the right to hold certain offices and trusts, and to pursue their ordinary and regular avocations. This deprivation is punishment; nor is it any less so because a way is opened for escape from it by the expurgatory oath. The framers of the constitution of Missouri knew at the time that whole classes of individuals would be unable to take the oath prescribed. To them there is no escape provided. To them the deprivation was intended to be and is absolute and perpetual. To make the enjoyment of a right dependent upon an impossible condition is equivalent to an ab solute denial of the right under any condition, and such denial enforced for a past act is nothing else than punishment imposed for that act; it is a misapplication of terms to call it anything else. Now, some of the acts to which the expurgatory oath is directed were not offences at the time they were committed. It was no offence against any law to enter or leave the State of Missouri for the purpose of avoiding enrollment or draft in the military service, however much the evasion of such service might be the subject of moral censure. Clauses which prescribe a penalty for an act of this nature are within the terms of the definition of an ex post facto law. They impose a punishment for an act not punishable at the time it was committed. Some of the acts at which the oath is directed constituted high offences at the time they were committed, to which, upon conviction, fine and imprisonment or other heavy penalties were attached. The clauses which provide a further penalty for these acts are also within the definition of an ex post facto law. They impose additional punishment to that prescribed when the act was committed. And this is not all. The clauses in question subvert the presumptions of innocence and alter the rules of evidence which heretofore, under the universally recognized principles of the common law, have been supposed to be fundamental and unchangeable. They assume that the parties are guilty; they call upon the parties to show their innocence, and they declare that such innocence can be shown only in one way, by an inquisition in the form of an expurgatory oath into the consciences of the parties. The objectionable character of these clauses will be more apparent if we put them in the ordinary form of a legislative act. Thus, if instead of the general provisions in the Constitution, the convention had provided as follows: " Be it enacted, that all persons who have been in armed hostility to the United States shall, upon conviction thereof, not only be punished as the laws provided at the time the offences were committed, but shall also be thereafter rendered incapable of holding any of the offices, trusts, and positions, and of exercising any of the pursuits mentioned in the third article of the constitution of Missouri," no one could have any doubt of the nature of the act. It would be an ex post facto law, and void, for it would add a new punishment to an old offence. So, too, if the convention had passed an enactment of a similar kind with reference to those acts which do not constitute offences. Thus, had it provided as follows: " Be it enacted, that all persons who have heretofore at any time entered or left the State of Missouri with intent to avoid enrollment or draft in the military service of the United States, shall, upon conviction thereof, be forever rendered incapable of holding any office of honor, trust, or profit in the United States, or of teaching in any seminary of learning, or of preaching as a minister of the Gospel of any denomination, or exercising any of the professions or pursuits mentioned in the third article of the Constitution," there would be no question of the character of the enactment. It would be an ex post JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 225 facto law, because it would impose a punishment for an act not punishable at the time it was committed. The provisions of the constitution of Missouri accomplish precisely what enactments like those supposed would accomplish. They impose the same penalty without the formality of a judicial trial and conviction, for the parties embraced by the supposed enactments would be incapable of taking the oath prescribed. To them its requirements would be an impossible condition. Now, as the State, had she attempted the course supposed, would have failed, it must follow that any other mode producing the same result must equally fail. The provisions of the Federal Constitution intended to secure the liberty of the citizen cannot be evaded by the form in which the power of the State is exerted. If this be not so, if that which cannot be accomplished by means looking directly to the end can be accomplished by indirect means, the inhibition may be evaded at pleasure. No kind of oppression can be named against which the framers of the Constitution supposed they had guarded, which may not be effected. Take the case supposed by counsel, that of a man tried for treason and acquitted, or, if convicted, pardoned. The legislature then may pass an act that if the person thus acquitted or pardoned does not take an oath that he never has committed the acts charged against him, he shall not be permitted to hold any office of honor or trust or profit, or pursue any avocation in the State. Take the case before us: The constitution of Missouri excludes, on failure to take the oath we have described, a large class of persons within her borders from numerous offices and pursuits. It would have been equally within the power of the State to have extended the exclusion so as to deprive the parties who were unable to take the oath from any avocations whatever in the State. Suppose, again, in the progress of events, persons now in the minority in the State should obtain the ascendency, and secure the control of the Government; nothing could prevent, if the constitutional prohibition can be evaded, the enactment of a provision requiring every person, as a condition of holding any office of honor or trust, or of pursuing any avocation in the State, to take an oath that he had never advocated or advised or supported the imposition of the present expurgatory oath. Under this form of legislation the most flagrant invasions of private rights in periods of excitement may be enacted, and individuals, and even whole classes, may be deprived of political and civil rights. A question arose in New York, soon after the treaty of peace of 1783, upon a statute of that State, which involved a discussion of the nature and character of these expurgatory oaths when used as a means of infli3ting punishment. The subject was regarded as so important, and the requirement of the oath such a violation of the fundamental principles of civil liberty and the rights of the citizen, that it engaged the attention of eminent lawyers and distinguished statesmen of the time, and among others, of Alexander Hamilton. We will cite some passages of a paper left by him on the subject, in which, with his characteristic fullness and ability, he examines the 15 oath and demonstrates that it is not only a mode of inflicting punishment, but a mode in vioLition of all the constitutional guaranties secured by the Revolution of the rights and liberties of the people: " If we examine it," (the measure requiring the oath,) said this great lawyer, " with an unprejudiced eye, we must acknowledge not only that it was an evasion of the treaty, but a subversion of one great principle of social security, to wit, that every man shall be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty. This was to invert the order of things, and instead of obliging the State to prove the guilt in order to inflict the penalty, it was to oblige the citizen to show his own innocence to avoid the penalty. It was to excite scruples in the honest and conscientious, and to hold out a bribe to perjury." * * * " It was a mode of inquiring who had committed any of those crimes to which the penalty of disqualification was annexed, with this aggravation, that it deprived the citizen of the benefit of that advantage which he would have enjoyed by leaving, as in all other cases, the burden of proof upon the prosecution. To place this matter in a still clearer light, let it be supposed that instead of the mode of indictment and trial by jury, the Legislature was to declare that every citizen who did not swear that he had never adhered to the King of Great Britain should incur all the penalties which our treason laws prescribe, would this not be a palpable evasion of the treaty, and a direct infringement of the Constitution? The principle is the same in both cases, with only this difference in the consequences, that in the instance already-acted upon the citizen forfeits a part of his rights, in the one supposed, he would forfeit the whole. The degree of punishment is all that distinguishes the cases. In either, justly considered, it is substituting a new and arbitrary mode of prosecution for that ancient and highly esteemed one recognized by the laws and the constitution of the State-I mean the trial by jury. " Let us not forget that the constitution declares that trial by jury in all cases in which it has been formerly used should remain inviolate forever, and that the legislature should at no time erect any new jurisdiction which should not proceed according to the course of the.common law. Nothing can be more repugnant to the true genius of the common law thanisuch an: inquisition as has been mentioned into the consciences of men." * * * "If any oath with respect to past conduct had been made the con, dition on which individuals who have resided within the British lines should hold their estates, we should immediately see that this proceeding would be tyrannical and a violation.,,of the, treaty; and yet, when the same oath is: emr ployed to divest that right which. ought to. be deemed still more sacred, many, of us are so infatuated as to overlook the mischief. "To say that the persons whowill be affected' by it have previously forfeited their right, and' that therefore nothing is.talken away from theoam is a begging of the question. How do we know, who are the parties inathis situation?, If it be. answered this is the md.e:taken to. ascertain it,, the objection returaq.it is an -improper mode, 226 POLITICAL MANUAL. because it puts the most essential interests of the citizen upon a worse footing than we should be willing to tolerate where inferior interests are concerned, and because, if allowed, it substitutes for the established and legal mode of investigating crimes and inflicting forfeitures one that is unknown to the constitution and repugnant to the genius of our law." Similar views have frequently been expressed by the judiciary in cases involving analogous questions. They are presented with great force in the matter of Dorsey, (7 Porter,) but we do not deem it necessary to pursue the subject further. The judgment of the supreme court of Missouri must be reversed and the cause remanded, with directions to enter a judgment reversing the judgment of the circuit court, and directing that sourt to discharge the defendant from imprisonment and suffer him to depart without day, and it is so ordered. On the Test Oath of Lawyers, Jan. 14, 1867. Mr. Justice FIELD delivered the opinion of the Court: I am also instructed by the Court to deliver its opinion in the matter of the petition of A. H. Garland. On the 2d of July, 1862, Congress passed an act prescribing an oath to be taken by every person elected or appointed to any office of honor or profit under the Government of the United States, either in the civil, military, or naval departments of the public service, except the President of the United States, before entering upon the duties of his office, and before being entitled to its salary or other emoluments. On the 24th of January, 1865, Congress passed a supplementary act, extending its provisions so as to embrace attorneys and counselors of the courts of the United States, which provides that after its passage no person shall be admitted as an attorney or counselor to the bar of the Supreme Court, and, after the 4th of March, 1865, to the bar of any circuit or district court of the United States, or of the Court of Claims, or be allowed to appear and be heard by virtue of any previous admission or any special power of attorney; unless he shall have first taken and subscribed the oath prescribed in the act of July 2, 1862. The act also provides that the oath shall be preserved among the files of the court; and if any person take it falsely, he shall be guilty of perjury, and, upon conviction, shall be subject to the pains and penalties of that offence. At the December term of 1860, the petitioner was admitted as an attorney and counselor of this Court, and took and subscribed the oath then required. By the second rule, as it then existed, it was only requisite to the admission of attorneys and counselors of this Court that they should have been such officers for the three previous years in the highest courts of the States to which they respectively belonged, and that their private and professional character should appear to be fair. In March, 1865, this rule was changed by the addition of a clause* requiring the admin istration of an oath, in conformity wits the act of Congress. In May, 1861, the State of Arkansas, of which the petitioner was a citizen, passed an ordinance of secession which purported to withdraw the State from the Union, and afterwards, in the same year, by another ordinance, attached herself to the so-called Confederate States, and by act of the Congress of that Confederacy she was received as one of its members. The petitioner followed the State and was one of her representatives, first in the lower House, and afterwards in the Senate, of the Congress of that Confederacy, and was a member of the Senate at t]e time of the surrender of the Confederate forces to the armies of the United States. In July, 1865, he received from the President of the United States a full pardon for all offences committed by him by participation, direct or implied, in the rebellion. He now produces this pardon, and asks permission to continue to practice as an attorney and counselor of the court, without taking the oath required by the act of January 24, 1865, and the rule of this court, which he is unable to take by reason of the offices he held under the Confederate government. He rests his application principally upon two grounds: First, that the act of January 24, 1865, so far as it affects his status in the court, is unconstitutional and void; second, that if the act be unconstitutional, he is released from compliance with its provisions by the pardon of the President. The oath prescribed by the act is as follows: 1. That the deponent has never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since he has been a citizen thereof. 2. That he has not voluntarily given aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto. 3. That he has never sought, accepted, or attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatsoever under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States. 4. That he has not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States hostile or inimical thereto. 5. That he will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. This last clause is promissory only, and requires no consideration. The questions presented for our determination arise from the other They shall respectively take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: I, - -, do solemnly swear that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I hsve been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; th#.L I have neither sought, nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution, within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do fuither swear, (or affirm,) that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United Itates against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. And I do further solemnly swear, (or affirra, as the case may be.) that I will demean myself as an attorney and counsellor of this Court uprightly and according to law: So help me God. - I *The rule, adopted without dissent, is as follows: SUPREME COULR- OF THE UNITED STATES. December Term, 1864.-Friday, March 10, 1865. AMENDMENT TO 2D RULE. Ordered, That the last clause of the second rule of this Court be amended so as to read as follows: JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 227 clauses. These all relate to past acts. Some of these acts constituted, when they were committed, offences against the criminal laws of the country, and some of them may or may not have been offences, according to the circumstances under which they were committed and the motives of the parties. The first clause covers one form of the crime of treason, and the affiant must declare that he has not been guilty of this crime, not only during the war of rebellion, but during any period of his life since he has been a citizen. The second clause goes beyond the limits of treason, and embraces not only the giving of aid and encouragement of a treasonable nature to a public enemy, but also the giving of assistance of any kind to persons engaged in armed hostility to the United States. The third clause applies to the seeking, acceptance, or exercise, not only of offices created for the purpose of more effectually carrying on hostilities, but also of any of those offices which are required in every community, whether in peace or war, for the administration of justice and the preservation of order. The fourth clause not only includes those who gave a cordial and active support to the hostile government, but also those who yielded a reluctant obedience to the existing order established without their co-operation. The statute is directed against parties who have offended in any of the particulars embraced by these clauses, and its object is to exclude them from the profession of the law, or at least from its practice in the courts of the United States. As the oath prescribed cannot be taken by these parties, the act as against them operates as a legislative decree of perpetual exclusion. An exclusion from any of the professions or any of the ordinary avocations of life for past conduct can be regarded in no other light than as a punishment for such conduct. The exaction of the oath is the mode provided for ascertaining the parties upon whom the act is intended to operate, and, instead of lessening, increases its objectionable character. All enactments of this kind partake of the nature of bills of pains and penalties, and are subject to the constitutional inhibition against the passage of bills of attainder, under which general designation they are included. In the exclusion which the statute adjudges, it imposes a punishment for some of the acts specified, which were not punishable, or may not have been punishable at the time they were committed; and for other acts it adds a new punishment to that then prescribed, and it is thus brought within the further inhibition of the Constitution against the passage of an ex post facto law. In the case of CummingE vs. The State of Missouri, just decided, we had occasion to consider the meaning of a bill of attainder and an ex post facto law in the clause of the Constitution forbidding their passage by the States, and it is unnecessary to repeat here what we there said. A like prohibition is contained in the Constitution against enactments of this kind by Congress, and the argument presented in that case against certain clauses of the constitution of Missouri is equally applicable to the act of Congress under consideration in this case. The profession of an attorney and counselor is not like an office created by an act of Congress, which depends for its continuance, its powers, and its emoluments on the will of its creator, and the possession of which may be burdened with any conditions not prohibited by the Constitution. Attorneys and counselors are not officers of the United States. They are not elected or appointed in the manner prescribed by the Constitution for the election or appointment of such officers. They are officers of the court, admitted as such by its order upon evidence of their possessing sufficient legal learning and fair character. Since the statute of 4 Henry IV, it has been the practice in England, and it has always been the practice in this country, to obtain this evidence by an examination of the parties. In this Court the fact of the admission of such officers in the highest court of the States to which they respectively belong for three years preceding their application is regarded as sufficient evidence of the possession of the requisite legal learning, and the statement of counsel moving their admission sufficient evidence that their private and professional character is fair. The order of admission is the judgment of the court that the parties possess the requisite qualifications as attorneys and counselors, and are entitled to appear as such and conduct causes therein From its entry the parties become officers of the court, and are responsible to it for professional misconduct. They hold their office during good behavior, and can only be deprived of it for misconduct, ascertained and declared by the judgment of the court, after opportunity to be heard has been afforded. Their admission and their exclusion are not the exercise of a mere ministerial power. The court is not in this respect the register of the edicts of any other body. It is the exercise of judicial powers, and has been so held in numerous cases. It was so held by the court of appeals of New York in the matter of the application of Cooper for admission. " Attorneys and counselors," said that court, "are not only officers of the court, but officers whose duties relate almost exclusively to proceedings of a judicial nature, and hence their appointment may, with propriety, be entrusted to the courts; and the latter, in performing this duty, may very justly be considered as engaged in the exercise of their appropriate judicial functions." In exparte Secomb, a mandamus to the supreme court of the Territory of Minnesota to vacate an order removing an attorney and counselor was denied by this court on the ground that the removal was a judicial act. " We are not aware of any case," said the court, " where a mandamus was issued to an inferior tribunal commanding it to reverse or annul its decision, where the decision was in its nature a judicial act, and within the scope of its jurisdiction and discretion." And in the same case the court observed that " it has been well settled by the rules and practice of common-law courts that it rests exclusively with the court to determine who is qualified to become one of its officers as an attorney and counselor, and for what causes he ought to be removed." The attorney and counselor, being by the solemn judi 228 POLITICAL MANUAL. cial act of the court clothed with his office, does not hold it as a matter of grace and favor; the right which it confers upon him to appear for suitors, and to argue causes, is something more than a mere indulgence, revokable at the pleasure of the court or at the command of the legislature; it is a right of which he can only be deprived by the judgment of the court for moral or professional delinquency. The legislature may undoubtedly prescribe qualifications for the office, with which he must conform, as it may, where it has exclusive jurisdiction, prescribe qualifications for the pursuit of any of the ordinary avocations of life; but to constitute a qualification, the condition or thing prescribed must be attainable, in theory at least, by every one. That which from the nature of things, or the past condition or conduct of the party, cannot be attained by every citizen, does not fall within the definition of the term. To all those by whom it is unattainable it is a disqualification which operates as a perpetual bar to the office. The question in this case is not as to the power of Congress to prescribe qualifications, but whether that power has been exercised as a means for the infliction of punishment against the prohibition of the Constitution. That this result cannot be effected indirectly by a State under the form of creating qualifications, we have held in the case of Cummings vs. The State of Missouri, and the reasoning upon which that conclusion was reached applies equally to similar action on the part of Congress. These views are further strengthened by a consideration of the effect of the pardon produced by the petitioner and the nature of the pardoning power of the President. The Constitution provides that the President " shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." The power thus conferred is unlimited, with the exception stated; it extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any tiune after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment. This power of the President is not subject to legislative control. Congress can neither limit the effect of his pardon, nor oxclude from its exercise any class of offenders. The benign prerogative of mercy reposed in him cannot be fettered by any legislative restriction. Such being the case, the inquiry arises as to the effect and operation of a pardon. On this point all the authorities concur: a pardon reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offense, and the guilt of the offender, and when the pardon is full it releases the punishment and blots out of existence the guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he had never committed the offence. If granted before conviction, it prevents any of the penalties and disabilities consequent upon conviction, from attaching. If granted after conviction it removes the penalties and disabilities, and restores him 'to all his civil rights. It makes him, as it were, a new man, and gives him a new credit and capacity. There is only this limitation to its operation: it does not restore offices forfeited, or prope ty or interests vested in others in conse quence of the conviction and judgment. The pardon produced by the petitioner is a full pardon for all offences by him committed arising from participation direct or implied in the rebellion, and is subject to certain conditions which have been complied with. The effect of this pardon is to relieve the petitioner from all penalties and disabilities attached to the offence of treason committed by his participation in the rebellion. So far as that offence is concerned he is thus placed beyond the reach of punishment of any kind; but to exclude him by reason of that offence from continuing in the enjoyment of previously acquired right is to enforce a punishment for that offence notwithstanding the pardon. If such exclusion can be effected by the exaction of an expurgatory oath covering the offence, the pardon may be avoided, and that accomplished indirectly which cannot be reached by direct legislation. It is not within the constitutional power of Congress thus to inflict punishment beyond the reach of executive clemency. From the petitioner, therefore, the oath required by the act of January 24, 1865, cannot be exacted, even were that act not subject to any other objection than the one just stated. It follows, from the views expressed, that the prayer of the petitioner must be granted. The case of R. H. Marr is similar in its main features to that of the petitioner, and his petition must be granted; and the amendment to the second rule of the court, which requires the oath prescribed by the act of January 24, 1865, to be taken by attorneys and counselors, having been unadvisedly adopted, must be rescinded, and it is so ordered.* DISSENTING OPINION. Mr. Justice MILLER. I dissent from both the opinions of the Court just announced. It may be hoped that the exceptional circumstances which give present importance to these cases will soon pass away, and that those who make the laws, both State and national, will find in the conduct of the persons affected by the legislation just declared to be void sufficient reason to repeal or essentially modify it. For the speedy return of that better spirit which shall leave no cause for such laws all good men look with anxiety, and with a hope, I trust, not altogether unfounded. But the question involved, relating, as it does, to the right of the legislatures of the nation and the States to exclude from offices and places of high public trust, the administration of whose functions is essential to the very existence of the Government, those of its own citizens who engaged in the recent effort to destroy that Government by force, can never cease to be one of profound interest. It is at all times the exercise of an extremely delicate power for this Court to declare that the Congress of the nation or the *The new order, made by a majority, is as follows: SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. December Term, 1866.-Monday, January 14, 1867. ORDER OF COURT. It is now here ordered by the Court that the armendment to the second rule of this Court, which requires the oath prescribed by the act of Congress of January 24, 1865, to bo taken by attorneys and counselors, be, and the same is, hereby rescinded and annulled. JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 229 "legislative body of a State has assulmed an authority not belonging to it, and, by violating the Constitution, has rendered void its attempt at legislation. In the case of an act of Congress, which expresses the sense of the members of a co-ordinate department of the Government, as much bound by their oath of office as we are to respect that Constitution, and whose duty it is, as much as it is ours, to be careful that no statute is passed in violation of it, the incompatibility of the act with the Constitution should be so clear as to leave little reason for doubt before we pronounce it to be invalid. Unable to see this incompatibility either in the act of Congress or in the provision of the constitution of Missouri upon which the Court has just passed, but entertaining a strong conviction that both were within the competency of the bodies which enacted them, it seems to me an occasion which demands that my dissent from the judgment of the Court and the reasons for that dissent should be placed on its records. In the comments which I have to make on these cases, I shall speak of principles equally applicable to both, although I shall refer more directly to that which involves the oath required of attorneys by the act of Congress, reserving to the close some remarks more especially applicable to the oath prescribed by the constitution of the State of Missouri. The Constitution of the United States makes ample provision for the establishment of courts of justice, to administer its laws and protect and enforce the rights of its citizens. Article 3, section 1, of that instrument says that " the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court and such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." Section 8 of article 1, closes its enumeration of the powers conferred on Congress by the broad declaration that it shall have authority "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any department thereof." Under these provisions, Congress has ordained and established circuit courts, district courts, and Territorial courts, and has, by various statutes, fixed the number of the judges of the Supreme Court; it has limited and defined the jurisdiction of all these and determined the salaries of the judges who hold them. It has provided for their necessary officers, as marshals, clerks, prosecuting attorneys, bailiffs, commissioners, and jurors; and by the act of 1789, commonly called the judiciary act, passed by the first Congress assembled under the Constitution, it is, among other things, enacted " that in all the courts of the United States parties may plead and manage their causes personally, or by the assistance of such counsel or attorneys at law as by the rules of the said courts respectively shall be permitted to manage and conduct causes therein." It is believed that no civilized nation of modern times has been without a class of men intimately connected with the courts and with the administration of justice, called variously attorneys, counselors, solictors, proctors, or other terms of similar import. The enactment whict we have just cited recognizes this body of men and their utility in the judicial system of the United States, and imposes upon the courts the duty of providing rules by which persons entitled to become members of this class may be permitted to exercise the privilege of managing and conducting causes in those courts. They are as essential to the successful working of the courts as clerks, sheriffs, and marshals, and, perhaps, as the judges themselves, since no instance is known of a court of law without a bar. The right to practice law in the courts as a profession is a privilege granted by the law under such limitations or conditions in each State or government as the law-making power may prescribe. It is a privilege, and not an absolute right. The distinction may be illustrated by the difference between the right of a party to a suit in court to defend his own cause, and the right of another party to appear and defend for him. The one, like the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is inalienable; the other is the privilege conferred by law on a person who complies with the prescribed conditions. Every State in the Union, and every civilized government, has laws by which the right to practice in its courts may be granted, and makes that right to depend upon the good moral character and professional skill of the party upon whom the privilege is conferred. This is not only true in reference to the first grant of license to practice law, but the continuance of the right is made by these laws to depend upon the continued possession of these qualities. Attorneys are often deprived of this right upon evidence of bad moral character, or specific acts of immorality or dishonesty, which show that they no longer possess the requisite qualifications. All this is done by law, either statutory or common, and, whether the one or the other, equally the expression of the legislative will, for the common law exists in this country only as it is adopted or permitted by legislatures or by constitutions. No reason is perceived why this body of men, in their important relations to the courts of the nation, are not subject to the action of Congress to the same extent that they are under the legislative control in the States, or in any other Government, and to the same extent that the judges, clerks, marshals, and other officers of the court are subject to congressional legislation. Having the power to establish the courts, to provide for and regulate the practice in those courts, to create their officers, and to prescribe their functions, can it be doubted that Congress has the full right to prescribe terms for the admission, rejection, and expulsion of attorneys, and for requiring of them an oath to show whether they have the proper qualifications for the discharge of their duties. The act which has just been declared to be unconstitutional is nothing more than a statute which requires of all lawyers who propose to practice in the national courts that they shall take the same oath which is exacted of every officer of the Government, civil or military. This oath has two aspects-one which looks to the past conduct of the party, and one to his future conduct-but both have reference to his disposition to support or to overturn the Government in 240 POLITICAL MANUAL. whose functions he proposes to take a part. In substance, he is required to swear that he has not been guilty of treason to that Government in the past, and that he will bear faithful allegiance to it in the future. That fidelity to the Government under which he lives, and true and loyal attachment to it, and a sincere desire for its preservation, are among the most essential qualifications which should be required in a lawyer, seems to me too clear for doubt. The history of the Anglo-Saxon race shows that for ages past the members of the legal profession have been powerful for good or evil in the Government. They are by the nature of their duties the moulders of public sentiment on questions of government, and are every day engaged in aiding in the construction and enforcement of the laws. From among their numbers are necessarily selected the judges who expound the laws and the Constitution. To suffer treasonable sentiments to spread here unchecked is to permit the stream on which the life of the nation depends to be poisoned at its source. In illustration of this truth, I venture to affirm that if all the members of the legal profession in the States lately in insurrection had possessed the qualification of a loyal, faithful allegiance to the Government, we should have been spared the horrors of that rebellion. If, then, this qualification be so essential in a lawyer, it cannot be denied that the statute under consideration was eminently calculated to secure that result. The majority of the Court, however, do not base their decision on the mere absence of authority in Congress and the States to enact the laws which are the subject of consideration, but insist that the Constitution of the United States forbids in prohibitory terms the passage of such laws, both to Congress and to the States. The provisions of that instrument relied on to sustain this doctrine are those which forbid Congress and the States respectively from passing bills of attainder and ex post facto laws. It is said that the act of Congress and the provision of the constitution of the State of Missouri under review are in conflict with both these provisions, and are therefore void. I will examine this proposition in reference to these two clauses of the Constitution in the order in which they occur in that instrument. First, in regard to bills of attainder. I am not aware of any judicial decision by a court of Federal jurisdiction which undertakes to give a definition of that term. We are therefore compelled to recur to the bills of attainder passed by the English Parliament, that we may learn so much of their peculiar characteristics as will enable us to arrive at a sound conclusion as to what was intended to be prohibited by the Constitution. The word " attainder" is derived by Sir Thomas Tomlyn in his law.dictionary from the words attincto and attinctura, and is defined to be the stain or corruption of the blood of a criminal capitally condemned, the immediate, inseparable consequence, by the common law, of the pronouncing of the sentence of death, and the effect of this corruption of the blood was that the party attainted lost all inheritable quality, and could neither receive nor transmit any property or other rights by inheritance. This attainder or corruption of blood, as a consequence of judicial sentence of death, c:ntinued to be the law of England in all cases of treason to the time when our Constitution was framed, and, for aught that is known to me, is the law of that country on condemnation for treason at this day. Bills of attainder, therefore, or acts of attainder, as they were called after they were passed into statutes, were laws which declared certain persons attainted and their blood corrupted, so that it had lost all inheritable quality. Whether it declared other punishments or not, it was an act of attainder if it declared this. This also seema to have been the main feature at which the authors of the Constitution were directing their prohibition; for, after having in article 1 prohibited the passage of bills of attainder, in section" 9 to Congress, and in section 10 to the States, there still remained to the judiciary the power of declaring attainders. Therefore, to still further guard against this odious form of punishment, it has provided in section 3, article 3, concerning the judiciary, that, while Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. This, however, while it was the chief, was not the only peculiarity of bills of attainder which was intended to be included within the constitutional restriction. Upon an attentive examination of the distinctive features of this kind of legislation, I think it will be found that the following comprise the essential elements of bills of attainder, in addition to the. one already mentioned, which distinguished them from other legislation, and which made them so obnoxious to the statesmen who organized our Government: First, they were convictions and sentences pronounced by the legislative department of the Government instead of the judiciary; second, the sentences pronounced and the punishments inflicted were determined by no previous law or fixed rule; third, the investigation into the guilt of the accused, if any such were made, was not necessarily or generally conducted in his presence or that of his counsel, and no recognized rule of evidence governed the inquiry. (See Story on the Constitution, section 1,344.) It is no cause for wonder that the men whe had just passed successfully through a desperate struggle in behalf of civil liberty should feel a detestation for legislation of which these were the prominent features. The framers of our political system had a full appreciation of the necessity of keeping separate and distinct the primary departments of the Government. Mr. Hamilton, in the seventy-eighth number of the Federalist, says that he agrees with the maxim of Montes. quieu, that there is no liberty if the power ot judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers; and others of the ablest numbers of that publication are devoted to the purpose of showing that in our Constitution these powers are so justly balanced and restrained that neither will probably be able to make much encroachment upon the others. Nor was it less repugnant to their views of the security of personal rights that any person should be condemned without a hearing and punished with, JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 231 out a law previously prescribing the nature and extent of that punishment. They therefore struck boldly at all this machinery of legislative despotism, by forbidding the passage of bills of attainder and ex post facto laws, both to Congress and to the States. It remains to inquire whether in the act of Congress under consideration-and the remarks apply with equal force to the Missouri constitution-there is found any of these features of bills of attainder, and, ifso, whether there is sufficient in the act to bring it fairly within the description of that class of bills. It is not claimed that the law works a corruption of blood. It will therefore be conceded at once that the act does not contain this leading feature of bills of attainder. Nor am I capable of seeing that it contains a conviction or sentence of any designated person or persons. It is said that it is not necessary to a bill of attainder that the party to be affected should be named in the act, and the attainder of the Earl of Kildare and his associates is referred to as showing that the act was aimed at a class. It is very true that bills ofi attainder have been passed against persons hy some description when their names were unikown, but in such canes the law leaves nothing to be done to render its operation effectual but to identify those persons. Their guilt, its nature, and its punishment are fixed by the statute, and only their personal indentity remains to be made out. Such was the case alluded to. The act declared the guilt and punishment of the Earl of Kildare and all who were associated with him in his enterprise, and all that was required to insure their punishment was to prove that association. If this were not so, then it was mere brutum fulmen, and the parties other than the Earl of Kildare could only be punished, notwithstanding the act, by proof of their guilt before some competent tribunal. No person is pointed out in the act of Congress, either by name or by description, against whom it is to operate. The oath is only required of those who propose to accept an office or to practice law, and as a prerequisite to the exercise of the functions of the lawyer or the officer it is demanded of all persons alike. It is said to be directed, as a class, to those alone who were engaged in the rebellion; but this is manifestly incorrect, as the oath is exacted alike from the loyal and disloyal under the like circumstances, and none are compelled to take it. Neither does the act declare any conviction either of persons or classes. If so, who are they, and of what crime are they declared to be guilty? Nor does it pronounce any sentence or inflict any punishment. If by any possibility it can be said to provide for conviction and sentence, though not found in the act itself, it leaves the party himself to determine his own guilt or innocence, and pronounce his own sentence. It is not, then, the act of Congress, but the party interested, that tries and condemns. We shall see, when we come to the discussion of this act in its relation to ex post facto laws, that it inflicts no punishment. A statute which designates no criminal either by name or by description, which declares no guilt, pronounces no sentence, and inflicts no punishment, can in no case be called a bill of attainder. Passing now to the consideration, whether this statute is an ex post facto law, we find that the meaning of that term, as used in the Constitution, is a matter which has been frequently before this Court, and it has been so well defined as to leave no room for controversy. The only doubt which can arise is as to the character of the particular acts claimed to come within the definition, not as to the definition of the phrase itself. All the cases agree that the term is to be applied to criminal causes alone, and not to civil proceedings. In the language of Justice Story in the case of Watson vs. Mercer, 8 Peters, 88, "ex post facto laws relate to penal and criminal proceedings which impose punishments and forfeitures, and not to civil proceedings, which affect private rights retrospectively." (Calder vs. Bull, 3 Dallas, 386; Fletcher vs. Peck, 6 Cranch, 87; Ogden vs. Saunders, 12 Wheaton, 266; Satterlee vs. Matthewson, 2 Peters, 380.) The first case on the subject is that of Calder vs. Bull, and it is the case in which the doctrine concerning ex post facto law is most fully expounded. The Court divides all laws which come within the meaning of that clause of the Constitution into four classes: 1. Every law that makes an action done before the passing of the law, and which was innocent when done, criminal, and punishes such action. 2. Every law that aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was when committed. 3. Every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime when committed. 4. Every law that alters the rule of evidence, and receives less or different testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of the offence to convict the offender. Again, the Court draws, in the same opinion, the true distinction as between ex post facto laws and retrospective laws, and proceeds to show that however unjust the latter may be, they are not prohibited by the Constitution, while the former are. This exposition of the nature of an ex post facto law has never been denied, nor has any court or any commentator on the Constitution added to the classes of laws here set forth as coming within that clause of the organic law. In looking carefully at these four classes of laws, two things strike the mind as common to them all: First, that they contemplate the trial of some person charged with an offence; second, that they contemplate a punishment of a person foand guilty of such offence. Now, it seems to me impossible to show that the law in question contemplates either the trial of a person for an offence committed before its passage, or the punishment of any person for such an offence. It is true the art requiring an oath provides a penalty for falsely taking it; but this provision is prospective, as no one is supposed to take the oath until after the passage of the law. This prospective penalty is the only thing in the law which partakes of a criminal character. It is in all other respects a civil proceeding. It is simply an oath of office, and it is required of all office-holders alike. As far as I am informed, this is the first time in the history of jurisprudence that taking an oath of office has been called a criminal proceeding. If it is not a criminal proceeding, then, by all the 232 POMt'OITAt MAXIJAtM aathorities, it is not an et post facto law. No trial of any person is contemplated by the act for any past offence; nor is any party supposed to be charged with any offence in the only proceeding which the law provides. A person proposing to appear in the court as an attorney is asked to take a certain oath. There is no charge made against him that he has been guilty of any of the crimes mentioned in that oath; there is no prosecution. There is not even an implication of guilt by reason of tendering him the oath; for it is required of the man who has lost everything in defence of the Government, and whose loyalty is written in the honorable scars which cover his body, the same as of the guiltiest traitor in the land. His refusal to take the oath subjects him to no prosecution; his taking it clears him of no guilt and acquits him of no charge. Where, then, is this ex post facto law which tries and punishes a man for a crime committed before it was passed? It can only be found in those elastic rules of construction which cramp the powers of the Federal Government when they are to be exercised in certain directions, and enlarge them when they are to be exercised in others. No more striking example of this could be given than the cases before us, in one of which the Constitution of the United States is held to confer no power on Congress to prevent traitors from practicing in our courts, while in the other it is held to confer power on this Court to nullify a provision of the constitution of the State of Missouri relating to a qualification required of ministers of religion. But the fatal vice in the reasoning of the majority is in the meaning which they attach to the word "punishment," in its application to this law, and in its relation to the definitions which have been given of the phrase ex post facto law. Webster's second definition of the word " punish" is this: " In a loose sense, to afflict with pain, &c., with a view to amendment; to chasten;" and it is in this loose sense that the word is used by the Court as synonymous with "chastisement," "correction," "loss or suffering to the party supposed to be punished," and not in the legal sense, which signifies a penalty inflicted for the commission of a crime. So in this sense it is said, that whereas persons who have been guilty of the offences mentioned in the oath were, by the laws then in force, only liable to be punished with death and confiscation of all their property, they are, by a law passed since those offences were committed, made liable to the enormous additional punishment of being deprived of the right to practice law. The law in question does not in reality deprive a person guilty of the acts therein mentioned of any right which he possessed before, for it is equally sound law, as it is the dictate of good sense, that a person who, in the language of the act, has voluntarily borne arms against the Government of the United States while a citizen thereof, and who has voluntarily given aid, comfort, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility to the Government, has, by doing those things, forfeited his right to appear in her courts and take part in the administration of her laws. Such a person has exhibited a trait of character which, without the aid of the law in question, author izes the court to declare him unfit to practice before it, and to strike his name from the roll of its attorneys, if it be found there. I have already shown that this act provides for no indictment or other charge, that it contemplates and admits of no trial, and I now proceed to show that even if the right of the court to prevent an attorney guilty of the acts mentioned from appearing in its forum depended upon the statute, still it inflicts no punishment in the legal sense of that term. " Punishment," says Mr. Wharton in his Law Lexicon, " is a penalty for transgression of the law," and this is perhaps as comprehensive and at the same as accurate a definition as can be given. Now, what law is it whose transgression is punished in the case before us? None is referred to in the act, and there is nothing on its face to show that it was intended as an additional punishment for any offence described in any other act. A part of the matters of which the applicant is required to purge himself on oath may amount to treason, and surely there could be no intention or desire to inflict this small additional punishment for a crime whose penalty was already death and confiscation of property. In fact, the word "punishment" is used by the court in a sense which would make a great num ber of laws, partaking in no sense of a criminal character, laws for punishment, and therefore ex post facto. A law, for instance, which increases the facility for detecting frauds, by compelling a party to a civil proceeding to disclose his transactions under oath, would result in his punishment in this sense if it compelled him to pay an honest debt which could not be coerced from him before; but this law comes clearly within the class described by this Court in Watson vs. Mercer, as a civil proceeding which affects private rights retrospectively. Again, let us suppose that several persons afflicted with a form of insanity heretofore deemed harmless shall be found all at once to be dangerous to the lives of persons with whom they associate. The State, therefore, passes a law that all persons so affected shall be'kept in close confinement until their recovery is assured. Here is a case of punishment, in the sense used by the Court, for a matter existing before the passage of the law. Is it an ex postfacto law; and, if not, in what does it differ from one? Just in the same manner that the act of Congress doesnamely, that the proceeding is a civil, and not a criminal proceeding, and that the imprisonment in the one case, and the prohibition to practice law in the other, are not punishments in the legal meaning of that term. The civil law maxim, nemo debet bis vexari"pro una et eadem causd, has long since been adopted in the common law as applicable both to civil and criminal proceedings; and one of the amendments of the Constitution incorporates this principle into that instrument so far as punishment affects life or limb. It results from this rule that no man can be twice lawfully punished for the same offence. We have already seen that the acts of which the party is required to purge himself on oath constitute the crime of treason. Now, if the judgment of the Court in the cases before us, instead of permitting parties to appear without taking JUDICIAL OPINIONS. the oath, had been the other way, here would have been the case of a person who, on the reasoning of the majority, is punished by the judgment of this Court for the same acts which constitute the crime of treason; and yet, if the applicant here should be afterwards indicted for treason on account of those same acts, no one would pretend that the proceeding here could be successfully pleaded in bar of that indictment. But. why not? Simply because there is here uieither trial nor punishment within the legal meaning of these terms. I maintain that the purpose of the act of Congress was to require loyalty as a qualification of all who practice law in the national courts. The majority say that the purpose was to impose a punishment for past acts of disloyalty. In pressing this argument, it is asserted by the majority that no requirement can be justly said to be a qualification which is not attainable by all, and that to demand a qualification not attainable by all is a punishment. The Constitution of the United States provides as a qualification for the office of President and Vice President that the person elected must be a native-born citizen. Is this a punishment to all those naturalized citizens who can never attain that qualification? The cosnstitution of nearly all the States requires as a qualification for voting that the voter shall be a white male citizen. Is this a punishment for all the blacks who can never become white? It was a qualification required by some of the State constitutions for the office of judge that the person should not be over sixty years of age. To a very large number of the ablest lawyers in any State this is a qualification which they can never attain, for every year removes them further away from the designated age. Is it a punishment? The distinguished commentator on American law and chancellor of the State of New York was deprived of that office by this provision of the constitution of that State. He was, just in the midst of his usefulness, not only turned out of office, but he was forever disqualified from holding it again by a law passed after he had accepted the office. Here is a much stronger case thin that. of a disloyal attorney forbid by law to practice in the courts, yet no one ever thought that the law was ex post facto in the sense of the Constitution of the United States. Illustrations of this kind could be multiplied indefinitely, but they are unnecessary. The history of the time when this statute was passed, the darkest hour of our great struggle, the necessity for its existence, the humane character of the President who signed the bill, and the face of the law itself, all show that it was purely a qualification exacted in self-defence of all who took part in administering the Government in any of its departments, and that it was not passed for the purpose of inflicting punishment, however merited, for past offences. I think I have now shown that the statute in question is within the legislative power of Congress in its control over the courts and their officers, and that it Is not void as being either a bill of attainder or an ex post facto law. If I am right on the question of qualification and punishment, that discussion disposes also of the proposition that the pardon of the President re lieves the party accepting it of the necessity of taking the oath, even if the law be valid. I am willing to concede that the presidential pardon relieves the party from all penalties, or, in other words, from all the punishment which the law inflicts for his offence; but it relieves him from nothing more. If the oath required as a condition to practicing law is not a punishment, as I think I have shown it is not, then the pardon of the President has no effect in relieving him from the requirement to take it. If it is a qualification which Congress had a right to prescribe as necessary to an attorney, then the President cannot, by pardon or otherwise, dispense with the law requiring such qualification. This is not only the plain rule as between the legislative and executive departments of the Government, but it is the declaration of common sense. The man who, by counterfeiting, by theft, or by murder, or by treason, is rendered unfit to exercise the functions of an attorney or counsellor at law may be saved by the Executive pardon from the penitentiary or the gallows, but is not thereby restored to the qualifications which are essential to admission to the bar. No doubt it would be found that very many persons among those who cannot take this oath deserve to be relieved from the prohibition of the law, but this in nowise depends upon the act of the President in giving or refusing a pardon; it remains to the legislative power alone to prescribe under what circumstances this relief shallbe extended. In regard to the case of Cummings vs. The State of Missouri, allusions have been made in argument to the sanctity of the ministerial office and to the inviolability of religious freedom in this country; but no attempt has been made to show that the Constitution of the United States interposes any such protection between the State governments and their own citizens; nor can anything of the kind be shown. The Federal Constitution contains but two provisions on this subject. One of these forbids Congress to make any law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; the other is, that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. No restraint is placed by that instrument on the action of the States; but, on the contrary, in the language of Story, (Commentaries on the Constitution, section 1878,) the whole power over the subject of religion is left exclusively to the State governments, to be acted upon according to their own sense of justice and the State constitution. If there ever was a case calling for this Court to exercise all the power on this subject which properly belonged to it, it was the case of the Rev. B. Permoli, reported in 3 Howard, 589. An ordinance of the first municipality of the city of New Orleans imposed a penalty on any priest who should officiate at any faneral in any other church than the Obituary Chapel. Mr. Permoli, a Catholic priest, performed the funeral services of his Church over the body of one of his parishioners enclosed in a coffin in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Augustin. For this he was fined, and relying upon the vague idea advanced here, that the Federal Constitution protected him in the exercise of his holy functions, he 234 POLITICAL MANUAL. brought the case to this Court; but, hard as the case was, the Court replied to him in the following language: " The Constitution of the United States makes no provision for protecting the citizens of the respective States in their religious liberties; this is left to the State constitutions and laws; nor is there any inhibition imposed by the Constitution of the United States in this respect on the States." Mr. Permoli's writ of error was therefore dismissed for want of jurisdiction. In that case an ordinance of a mere local corporation forbade a priest loyal to his Government from performing what he believed to be the necessary rites of his Church over the body of his departed friend. This Court said it could give him no relief. In this case the constitution of the State of Missouri, the fundamental law of the people of that State, adopted by their popular vote, declares that no priest of any Church shall exercise his ministerial functions unless he will show by his own oath that he has borne true allegiance to his Government; and this Court now holds this constitutional provision void, on the ground that the Federal Constitution forbids it. I leave the two cases to speak for themselves. In the discussion of these cases I have said nothing, on the one hand, of the great evils inflicted on the country by the voluntary action of many of those persons affected by the laws under consideration, nor, on the other hand, of the hardships which they are now suffering much more as a consequence of that action than of any laws which Congress could possibly frame; but I have endeavored to bring to the examination of the grave questions of constitutional law involved in this inquiry those principles alone which are calculated to assist in determining what the law is, rather than what in my private judgment it ought to be. Lam requested to say that the Chief Justice and Justices Swayne and Davis concur in this opinion. Opinion of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia in a like Case, February 12, 1867. Chief Justice CARTTER said: This is a motion on the application of Mr. Allen B. Magruder and others for admission to the bar of this court, connected with a motion to rescind the rule which provides that each applicant for admission to bar shall, before being admitted, take and subscribe the following oath: "I, --, do solemnly - that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizeu thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought, nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise, the functions of any office whatever, under any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power. or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further - that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: so help me God. Sworn to and subscribed before me this - day of--, 186-." The consideration of the subject in the order of the application suggests the inquiry, whether the applicant is eligible to admission irrespecti re of the oath. His history in this connection, as rendered by himself, makes him a citizen of the District of Columbia immediately antecedent to the outbreak of the rebellion, and a member of the bar of the former circuit court, and as such attorney under the obligation of the following oath, which he took and subscribed on the 12th of December, 1857: "I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States; that I do not hold myself in allegianc-o to the king or queen of Great Britain; and that I will wel' and truly behave and demean myself in the office of attorney of this court in all things appertaining to the duties thereof, to the best of my skill and judgment; so help me God. And I declare that I believe in the Christian religion." It also appears, from his own statement, that about the time of the inauguration of the rebellion, and before the secession of Virginia, he transferred himself from this jurisdiction to that State, where he became an officer in the rebel army, doubtless, as such, binding himself under oath to do all in his power to destroy this Government. The reason he assigns for the violation of his oath to support the Constitution of the United States, as an attorney of the former circuit court, as we understand him, is that he was a native of Virginia, and owed to Virginia a paramount fealty. The mere statement of his case, as given by himself, would seem to make it impossible for any federal court to incorporate him among its officers. The assumption of State sovereignty and the paramount duty of the citizen to the State is old as a pretence in justification for resistance to federal authority, having been chiefly used as a means to that end; but as an honesteconviction of intelligent judgment it has been entertained but by few. The proposition that a part is greater than the whole, and that the Government of the United States only existed at the will of one of its members, is incapable of belief, and simply argues that the Government of the United States never existed, or if it had existence, had not vitality for self-preservation. The disqualification of the applicant for admission is made more significant if possible by his disinclination and failure to say that in taking the oath to support the Constitution of the United States in contemplation of admission to the bar of this court, he would regard it as binding him and his conscience in paramount duty to this Government. The essential absurdity of the position, that a State in conflict with the federal power is greater than the nation, and duty to the State greater than duty to the nation, which was put forth prior to the rebellion chiefly as a specula. tive means to the destruction of the Federal Government, seems still to afflict him, notwithstanding it has been persuaded and whipped out of nearly everybody else of similar hallucination by five years of bloody war and the sacrifice of about a million of men. It will be perceived, from this view of his case, that if the oath in question did not exist, it would still be impossible for the court to give the applicant admission to this bar. This leads us to the consideration of the motion to rescind the first rule of this court, adopted March 23, 1863, in order that the several parties named in the motion may be admitted as mem -1DPCIAL I pili".N bers of the bar without first taking'the oath prescribed by that rule. We understand the motion to be based substantially upon the assumption that the oath is unconstitutional, that its unconstitutionality has been determined by the Supreme Court, and that that determination is mandatory upon the judgment of this court; that it is unconstitutional because it is ex post facto and in the nature of a penalty. It is a fundamental rule, that to authorize a court to pronounce a law unconstitutional the fault of the law should be clear, and its violation of the Constitution unembarrassed by doubt. Deference to the deliberations and judgment of the law-making and co-ordinate branch of the Government not only recommends this rule, but makes it imperative. Up to the time of the publication of the recent opinion of the majority of the Supreme Court, this court, from the time of the adoption of the rule, has entertained no doubt of its constitutionality, or of its propriety and necessity. The only doubt now existing in this regard has been raised by the expression of the opinion of the majority of that Court. It is said to be ex postfacto and in the nature of a penalty. Let us inquire. The penalty for what act? A law after what act? Does it propose to inflict an additional penalty for the treason committed, or simply to leave the traitor where the treason left him-in the enjoyment of all the ordinary and natural estate of the citizen? The ex post facto penalty contemplated by law is "a new penalty prescribed for previous crimes"a new punishment for an old transgression. Does this rule do that? If it does, it is by withholding a privilege that the party never had, and that does not pertain to the estate of ordinary citizenship. The fact in the premises which it is objected is ex postfacto is the office of attorney, with its privileges and immunities as a member of this bar-a fact which the party never had, and is now for the first time seeking. The condition to the enjoyment of the office complained of here, instead of being after the fact, precedes it, and is really complained of as an obstacle to it. The oath, instead of being a penalty, is simply among the evidences of fitness for the enjoyment of the estate in prospect, which, among other tests, this court has seen fit to impose for the protection of the morale of the bar and the integrity of the Government. This view of the nature and constitutional character of this rule is sufficiently satisfactory to our mind without the aid even of the acknowledged constitutional power of Congress to make retroactive laws. It is unnecessary to discuss in the light of this argument the effect of the pardon, inasmuch as it is not part of the office of a pardon to create in a criminal new rights disconnected with his crime and which he did not before possess. But it is insisted that the unconstitutionality of this rule has been determined by the Supreme Court, which determination is mandatory upon this court. In ascertaining what the Supreme Court has determined, the first guide to judgment is the consideration of the case that the Supreme Court had before them. If the case before them defines the limits of their opinion, that Court has not decided the case before us. The case decided by the Supreme Court was the case of an existing member of their bar. The case before us is the case of the application of parties for admission to the bar. The case in the Supreme Court was a privilege in possession. The case before us is a privilege in prospect. The decision in the Supreme Court involved a dismemberment from the bar. The decision here involves admission to the bar. It may be said of the case in the Supreme Court that the pardon of the President, so far as the legal disabilities of Garland were concerned, removed them. It cannot be said that a similar pardon in the case before us would create the privilege. If the law expounded by the majority of the Supreme Court is simply an exposition of the case they had before them, it is not analogous with the case at bar; and it may be well questioned whether it would be authority beyond the limits of the legitimate issue presented. Outside of the issue, at most, it could only be considered as the expression of opinion by eminent judges. The question remaining to be considered in this connection is, conceding the decision of the Supreme Court to be in point, whether it is mandatory upon the judgment of this court. This question is to be determined by the legal relation of this tribunal to that. To make their decision mandatory upon the judgment of this court in the strict definition of their authority, they must have the power to execute it upon the deliberation of this court. The only power they possess in this behalf is given by act of Congress, and regulated by the right of appeal, and confessedly does not extend to the subject under consideration. If there was any doubt upon this point, that doubt has been removed by the repeated decisions of that eminent tribunal. In ex parte Burr, 9 Wheaton, 529, Chief Justice Marshall, delivering the opinion of the Court, said: "On one hand the profession of an attorney is of great importance to an individual, and the prosperity of his whole life may depend on its exercise. The right to exercise it ought not to be lightly or capriciously taken from him. On tlo other hand it is extremely desirable that the respectability of the bar should be maintained, and that its harmony with the bench should be preserved. For these objects some controlling power, some discretion, ought to reside in the court." " This discretion ought to be exercised with great moderation and judgment, but it must be exercised; and no other tribunal can decide in a case of removal from the bar with the same means of information as the court itself. If there be a revising tribunal, which possesses controlling authority, that tribunal will always feel the delicacy of interposing its authority, and would do so only in a plain case." In ex parte John L. Tillinghast, 4 Peters, 108, the Court said: " When, on a former occasion, a mandamus was applied for to restore Mr. Tillinghast to the roll of counsellors t,, the district court, this Court refused to interfere with the matter, not considering the same within their cognizance." And in ex parte Secomb, 19 Howard, page 13, Chief Justice Taney said: "In the case of Tillinghast vs. Conkling, which came before tils Court in January term, 1829, a similar motion was overruled by the Court. Tle case is not reported to the Court, but a brief written opinion remains on the files of the Court, in which the Court says that the motion is overruled upon the ground that it had not jurisdiction in the case. The removal of the attorney and counsellor in th;at case took place in a district court of the United States, exercising the power of a circuit court in a court of that character, and the relations between the court and the attorneys and counselors 236 POLITICAL MANK LAL. who practise in it, and their respective rights and duties, pre regulated by the common law; and it has been well settled ly the common rules and practice of the common law courts that it rests exclusively with the court to determine who is qualified to become one of its officers as an attorney and counsellor, and for what cause he ought to be removed." After these repeated decisions this question may be said to be resjudicata. The inherent right of each court to regulate its own rules of practice, including the terms of admission of attorneys to and dismissions from the bar, has come down to us unquestioned through the long life of the common law. With regard to this court, and its inherent power of making its rules of admission to and dismission from the bar, Congress, the law-maker of this court, has not only confirmed the common law power of the court, hitherto deemed almost necessary to the existence of the court, but made it the duty of the court, in the organic act of its creation, to exercise that power, leaving the court in its discretion the sole tribunal to pass upon the question, subiect only to the penalty of impeachment for the abuse of the power. These considerations are conclusive of the assumption that the opinion referred to is authority with this court. While we deny to this decision of the Supreme Court the office of such authority, we acknowledge the potency of that tribunal as the instructor of judgment, and if it had united its great wisdom in the pronunciation of opinion invalidating the rule in controversy we should feel disposed to bow to it. But it comes to us as advisory, and we must receive it upon the conditions upon which it is sent. These conditions in the way of advice are that a majority of one of that Court counsels the condemnation of the rule, while a minority of one less than the majority counsels its support, leaving this court to form its own opinion without any substantial aid from the decision. If we were to adopt the conclusion of the majority, it would be at the expense of condemning a law of Congress in defiance of the rule of judgment already referred to, and substantially upon the opinion of a single justice of the Supreme Court, for the judgmant, after all, weighed in the balance, is reduced to the opinion of one justice, a result, however binding, not very impressive of wisdom when applied to the condemnation of a law. In January term, 1835, the Supreme Court, through Chief Justice Marshall, refused to take up the cases of the Mayor of New York vs. George Miln and George Bricer vs. the Commonwealth's Bank of Kentucky (9 Peters, 85) because the Court was "not full," in consequence of the resignation of Justice Duvall. This controversy of judicial opinion, largely attributable to political excitement, demonstrates to our judgment that the question in controversy is so involved with political considerations as to render it eminently proper that it should be referred back to the political power of the nation, and the law-making power which created it be consulted in its modification or repeal. Without suggesting what would be our judgment as to the modification of the rule, or whether any, let it be sufficient to say that it is a question for legislation, and not for aijudication. The motions are denied. JUDGE WYLIE'S OPINTON. Matter of the application of Allen B. Magruder to be admitted to the bar of the supreme court of the District of Columbia. Also, motion made by Mr. Bradley, that said court rescind its rule requiring applicants for admission to the bar to take the oath commonly called the test-oath, prescribed and adopted 23d March, 1863. This application and this motion, though in some respects distinct subjects, have been argued together. I shall first proceed to consider the motion to rescind our rule. By the act of the 3d March, 1863, the late circuit court and the late criminal court of this District were abolished, and their powers and jurisdiction transferred to the supreme court of the District of Columbia, which was established by the same act. That act aso conferred upon this court full power to make all rules which it might think proper relating to the practice of the court. At the first meeting of the new court, held on the 23d of March, 1863, it was ordered that all applicants for admission to the bar should take and subscribe, as a condition of their admission, the oath, which the judges had themselves voluntarily taken, prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862. That act is in the following words: "That hereafter every person elected or appointed to any office of honor or profit under the Government of the United States, either in the civil, military, or naval department of the public service, excepting the President of the United States, shall, before entering upon the duties of such office, and before being entitled to any of the salary or other emoluments thereof, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: 'I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given noaid, countenance, counsel,or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authority or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States hostile or inimical thereto; and I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter; so help me God." This oath has been taken and subscribed by every one who has since been admitted to the bar of this court. The act, however, was not of itself obligatory upon the court or any of its officers, but only upon persons in the civil, military, or naval departments of the public service. But we were in the midst of a terrible civil war; surrounded by a large population, many of whom were, in sentiment at least, disloyal to the Government; we were a court created by the United States, to stand if it stood, and be destroyed if it were overthrown; we were at the capital of the nation, and yet in sight of the armed forces of the rebellion. Treason walked our very streets defiantly, and encouraged its partisans amongst us with the promise of a speedy triumph of the rebellion. It was at a time like this that the court feli JUDICIAL OPINIONS. 237 itself called upon to exert its whole power to exclude the traitors to their country from admission to the bar of one of that country's courts, and we ordained the rule which we now have under consideration. Its constitutionality was not then called in question, nor was its propriety doubted. The office of attorney at law is one known to the common law, and with us is regulated in part by that law, partly by several acts of the Assembly of Maryland yet in force in this District, and partly by the act of Congress of 3d March, 1863, creating this court. The English statutes relating to attorneys at law are not in force here. At common law no one was allowed to practice law in any court till after examination and admission, and every court possessed the exclusive power of prescribing the qualifications and conditions for admission to its bar. Blackstone says: "No one can practice as an attorney in any of the courts of Westminster Hall but such as is admitted and sworn an attorney of that particular court; an attorney of the court of king's bench cannot practice in the common pleas, nor vice versa." The statute of Maryland of April, 1715, ch. 41, sec. 2, conferred upon the courts of that State full powers to make " such rules and orders from time to time for the well-governing and regulating the said courts, and the officers and suitors thereof, as to the courts, in their discretion, shall seem meet." By another act of Maryland of the same year and month, ch. 48, sec. 12, the justices of the courts of that State were invested with authority to admit and to suspend attorneys at the bar without qualification or restriction, (salvo jure corones,) except that no court should admit any attorney to its bar without requiring of him the oath of allegiance prescribed by the act of Parliament, passed in the 6th of Queen Ann, entitled "An act for the security of her majesty's person and government, and of the succession to the crown of Great Britain in the Protestant line." These acts, though more than a hundred and fifty years old, are still the law of this District, except that the Government of the United States has succeeded to the allegiance which was formerly sworn to the queen of Great Britain; and our rule has furnished a fitting substitute for that oath, accommodated to the changes of governments which have taken place in this country since the reign of Queen Ann. Being thus a court of the United States, vested with full power to establish our own rules for the admission of members to the bar, and for governing and regulating the court and the officers and suitors thereof, without accountability to any other court, it would seem that we should ourselves be the ultimate judges of all the law upon these subjects. And, in my judgment, this principle has been affirmed and settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in Secomb's case, 19 Howard R., 9. It is not to be inferred from this, however, that we are at liberty, in regard to these matters, to transgress against the Constitution of the United Stages at our pleasure. On the contrary, it is the sworn obligation and duty of the court faithf~ily to support that Constitution. As it regards the question of the constitutionality of our testrule, it is not my intention to discu-ss that subject on this occasion. I have as yet heard no arguments which have disturbed my original convictions on that point. The recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Garland's case has beeq made the occasion of the present motion, and has been cited as settling the question against the rule. But I do not so understand that decision. On the contrary, it seems to my apprehension plainly inapplicable to the case under consideration. In compliance with the act of Congress of January 24, 1865, the Supreme Court had adopted a rule to carry out the provisions of that act, which were as follows: "That no person, after the date of this act, shall be admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, or at any time after the 4th of March next shall be admitted to the bar of any circuit or district court of the United States, or of the Court of Claims, as an attorney or counsellor of such court, or shall be allowed to appear and be heard in any such court by virtue of any previous admission, or any special power of attorney, unless he shall have first taken the oath prescribed in an act to prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes, approved July 2, 1862, according to the forms and in the manner in the said act prescribed." Garland had been admitted an attorney and counsellor of that Court at the December term, 1860. He subsequently committed treason against the United States by taking part in the late rebellion, but was pardoned by the President. He then presented his petition to the Court, asking permission to appear and continue to practice there under his admission of 1860 and the pardon of the President, without being required to make the oath prescribed by the act of January 24, 1865, and the rule of court made in pursuance of said act. The decision of the Court was that his application should be granted; and the grounds of this decision were, that the pardon granted by the President had blotted out the sins of his rebellion, as though they had never been committed, and that being thus innocent of all offence in the eye of the law, he could not be a proper subject for punishment, or of exclusion from the privileges of the court, which had formerly belonged to him. Mr. Justice Field, who delivered the opinion of the Court, says: " The effect of this pardon is to relieve the petitioner from all penalties and disabilities attached to the offence of treason committed by his participation in the rebellion. So far as that offence is concerned, he is thus placed beyond the reach of punishment of any kind; but to exclude him, by reason of that offence, from continuing in the enjoyment of a previously acquired right, is to enforce a punishment for that offence notwithstanding the pardon." I can have no controversy with the Supreme Court as to that doctrine. It merely teaches that Garland, having been already admitted to the bar before the commencement of the war, and having received perfect absolution for his offences committed during the rebellion, he was not subject to the operation of either the act of 238 POLITICAL MANUAL. Congress or the rule of the court any otherwise than one who had been loyal to the Government throughout Mie war. The facts in Garland's case required the Court to go no farther than this, but the opinion does go farther, and pronounces, in effect, that Garland would have been entitled to continue to practice in that Court, even without having been pardoned by the President for his 'treason, on the ground that to deprive him of the right to pursue his profession in that Court would have been a penalty inflicted for his offence, to which he was not liable at the time of its commission. Although there is one passage in this opinion which seems to go even beyond this, and to advance the doctrine that the Court had no right to debar a man from admission to the profession on account of crimes previously committed, yet I am not disposed to believe that the Court intended to advance or to advocate, even obiter, a doctrine so extreme as that. If such, however, be the fair construction of the opinion, (and nothing short of such construction will answer the object of either of the motions now under our consideration,) I am constrained to avow my unwillingness to obey the doctrine thus promulged. In the first place, the facts in the case of Garland called for no such decision; and, in the second place, having the absolute right ourselves to prescribe our own rules for admission to the bar, as has been already shown, we are not required to do violence to our convictions, in following such an interpretation of the Constitution, when given even by the eminent justices who concurred in that opinion. The opinion, in that respect, not coming to us with mandatory authority, I must for myself be permitted to look upon it only as the opinion of five gentlemen, learned in the law, weighed against the contrary opinion of the four other gentlemen, equally learned and able, and against the judgment of the whole legislative branch of the Government, by which the law was enacted; and whilst I acknowledge the importance of the principle that res adjudicate pro veritate accipitur, yet in this matter I am at perfect liberty to test the opinion of these five gentlemen by the application of that other maxim of the law, testimoniaponderanda sunt, non numeranda. Tried by this test, it appears to me that the preponderance of authority is not on the side of the doctrine of the Court's opinion on this point. In Fletcher vs. Peck, 6 Cranch, 87, Chief Justice Marshall says: " The question whether a law be void for its repugnancy to the Constitution is at all times a question of much delicacy, which ought seldom, if ever, to be decided in the affirmative in a doubtful case." I am of the opinion, therefore, that the decision of the Supreme Court in Garland's case, even if received as authority and interpreted in its widest latitude, falls far short of requiring us to declare our rule void for unconstitutionality. Our rule applies only to persons not yet admitted to the bar, and who, therefore, possess no "previously acquired right" of which its enforcement can deprive them. The rule of the Supreme Court was different from ours. It required persons already mem bers of that bar to take the oath, under penalty of forfeiture of their 1" previously acquired right." Ours has no such operation. It is true that one branch of the rule of the Supreme Court applied, like ours, also to persons asking for admission to that bar, and wo are told that the rule has been wholly rescinded -no part of it preserved-in consequence of the decision in Garland's case. This may be true, but we have received no judicial evidence to convince our minds of the fact, and if it has been done, it must have been for other reasons than those furnished by the opinion of the court in that case. In respect to the application of Magruder, the case is this: He is a native of Virginia, but for several years previous to the rebellion was a citizen of the United States, having his domicile in this District, and was a member of the bar of the late circuit court of this District. In April or May, 1861, he left us, and entered into the rebellion on the call of Virginia, and continued until the close of the war in armed hostility to the United States. He has since received the pardon of the President for his offence, and been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States since the decision in Garland's case was made. But the fatal objection to his admission to our bar is that he is now only applying for admission for the first time, and cannot furnish the requisite evidence of a previously acquired right whose continued enjoyment he might demand at the hands of the court, and is unable to take the oath required by our rule. In his case, too, there is an additidnal reason, of great force in our judgment, which forbids his admission, and it is this: On being admitted to the bar of the late circuit court, he was sworn, among other things, "to support the Constitution of the United States," and should he be admitted to practice in the bar of this court, would be required to take the same oath again. This oath has a meaning, and was prescribed for an object. We understand that it requires him who takes it to support the Constitution of the United States as the supreme law of the land, in all cases in which its provisions come into conflict with the constitution or laws of any of the States, and in this sense to require a primary and paramount allegiance to the Government of the United States. Mr. Magruder has told us that in taking up arms against the United States he acted conscientiously, and indignantly repels the imputation that he had violated his oath to support the Constitution. He says that he regarded himself as under " duality of allegiance;' that his first and paramount allegiance was due to his native State, and his secondary and subordinate allegiance was due to the United States; and that it was in this belief, honestly entertained, he went into the rebellion, in obedience to the call of his State, although he was himself of the opinion that the rebellion was without any just cause. He acknowledges to have had no change of opinion on these points to the present hour. Were we now, with a full knowledge of these facts, to admit him to take this oath, the ceremony would be a meaningless farce; we should JUDICIAL OPINIONS. "239 swear him in one sense, whilst he would take the oath in another. It would be well, perhaps, that our rule on this subject should be so amended as to enable gentlemen whose native States may hereafter rush into rebellion without just cause to see at once the path of their duty, and so relieve their consciences from any embarrassments originating in fanciful theories about a "duality of allegiance." Opinion of the Supreme Court on the Mississippi Application for an Injunction against the President and other officers, April 15, 1867. Chief Justice CHASE delivered the opinion of the Court, as follows: A motion was made some days since on behalf of the State of Mississippi, for leave to file a bill in the name of the State, praying this Court perpetually to enjoin and restrain Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, and E. 0. C. Ord, general commanding in the district of Mississipi and Arkansas, from executing or in any manner carrying out certain acts of Congress therein named. The acts referred to are those of March 2 and March 25, 1867, commonly called the reconstruction acts. The Attorney General objected to the leave asked for'upon the ground that no bill which makes the President a defendant and seeks an injunction against him to restrain the performance of his duties an President, should be allowed to be filed in this Court. This point has been fully argued, and we will now dispose of it. We shall limit our inquiry to the question presented by the objection, without expressing any opinion on the broader issues discussed in argument, whether in any case the President of the UInited States may be required by the process of this Court to perform a purely ministerial act required by law, or may be held answerable, in any case, otherwise than by impeachment, for crime. The single point which requires consideration is this: Can the President be restrained from carrying into effect an act of Congress alleged to be unconstitutional? It is assumed by the counsel for the State of Mississippi that the President, in the execution of the reconstruction acts, is required to perform a mere ministerial duty. In this assumption there is, we think, a confounding of the terms "ministerial" and "executive," which are by no means equivalent in import. A ministerial duty, the performance of which may in proper cases be required of the head of a department by judicial process, is one in respect to which nothing is left to discretion. It is a simple, definite duty, arising under conditions admitted or proved to exist or imposed by law. The case of Marbury vs. Madison, Secretary of State, furnishes an illustration. A citizen had been nominated, confirmed, and appointed a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia, and his commission had been made out, signed, and sealed. Nothing remained to be done except delivery, and the duty of delivery was imposed by law on the Secretary of State. It was held that the performance of this duty might be enforced by mandamus issued from a court having jurisdiction. So in the case of Kendall, Postmaster General, vs. Stockton and Stokes, (12 Peters, 527.) An act of Congress had directed the Postmaster General to creait Stockton and Stokes with such sums as the Solicitor of the Treasury should find due to them, and that officer refused to credit them with certain sums so found due. It was held that the crediting of this money was a mere ministerial duty, the performance of which might be judicially enforced. In each of these cases nothing was left to discretion. There was no room for the exercise of judgment. The law required the performance of a single specific act; and that performance, it was held, might be required by mandamus. Very different is the duty of the President in the exercise of the power to see that the laws are faithfully executed, and among those laws the acts named in the bill. By the first of these acts he is required to assign generals to command in the several military districts, and to detail sufficient military force to enable such officers to discharge their duties under the law. By the supplementary act other duties are imposed on the several commanding generals, and their duties must necessarily be performed under the supervision of the President, as Commander-inChief. The duty thus imposed on the President is in no just sense ministerial. It is purely executive and political. An attempt on the part of the judicial department of the Government to enjoin the performance of such duties by the President might be justly characterized, in the language of Chief Justice Marshall, as " an absurd and excessive extravagance." It is true that in the instance before us the interposition of the Court is not sought to enforce action by the Executive under constitutional legislation, but to restrain such action under legislation alleged to be unconstitutional. But we are unable to perceive that this circumstance takes the case out of the general principle which forbids judicial interference with the exercise of executive discretion. It was admitted in the argument that the application now made to us is without a precedent, and this is of much weight against it. Had it been supposed at the bar that this Court would in. any case interpose to arrest the execution of an unconstitutional act of Congress, it can hardly be doubted that applications with that object would have been heretofore addressed to it. Occasions have not been infrequent. The constitutionality of the act for the annexation of Texas was vehemently denied. It made important and permanent changes in the relative importance of States and sections, and was by many supposed to be pregnant with disastrous results to large interests in particular States. But no one seems to have thought of an application for an injunction against the execution of the act by the President. And yet it is difficult to perceive upon what principle the application now before us can be allowed, and similar applications in that and other cases could have been denied. 240 POLITICAL MANUAL. The fact that no such application was ever the execution of an act of Congi oy Andrew before made in any case indicates the general Johnson is relief against its execution by the judgment of the profession that no such applica- President. A bill praying an injunction against tion should be entertained, the execution of an act of Congress by the inIt will hardly be contended that Congress can cumbent of the presidential office cannot be reinterpose, in any case, to restrain the enactment ceived, whether it describes his. as President or of an unconstitutional law, and yet how can the simply as a citizen of a State. The motion for right to judicial interposition to prevent such an leave to file the bill is therefore denied. enactment, when the purpose is evident and the In the case of The State of Georgia against execution of that purpose certain, be distin- certain officers, the Attorney General makes no guished in principle from the right to such in- objection to the policy of the bill, and we will, terposition against the execution of such a law therefore, grant leave to file that bill. by the President? Mr. Sharkey. If the Court please, the objecThe Congress is the legislative department of tion to the bill which I attempted to file seems the Government; the President is the executive I to be that it is an effort to enjoin the President. department. Neither can be restrained in its The bill is not filed, and I can reform it to suit action by the judicial department, though the the views of the Court, and present it again. acts of both, when performed, are in proper The Chief Justice. Leave to file the bill is recases subject to its cognizance. fused. When another bill is presented it will be The impropriety of such interference will be considered. clearly seen upon consideration of its probable Mr. Sharkey. Do I understand the Court to consequences. say that the application can be made on ThursSuppose the bill filed and the injunction day? prayed for be allowed. If the President refuse The Chief Justice. On Thursday. obedience, it is needless to observe that the Court This subpoena was issued in the case, April 1% is without power to enforce its process. If, on 1867: the other hand, the President complies with the The State of Georgia, complainant vs. Edwin order of the Court, and refuses to execute the act M. Stanton, Ulysses S. Grant, and John Pope, of Congress, is it not clear that a collision may defendants. In equity. occur between the executive and legislative de- The President of the United States to Edwin M. partments of the Government? May not the Stanton, Ulysses S. Grant, and John Pope, House of Representatives impeach the President greeting: for such refusal? And in that case could this For certain causes offered before the Supreme Court interpose in behalf of the President, thus Court of the United States, holding jurisdiction endangered by compliance with its mandate, and in equity, you are hereby commanded that, layrestrain by injunction the Senate of the United ing all other matters aside, and notwithstanding States from sitting as a court of impeachment? any excuse, you be and appear before the said Would the strange spectacle be offered to the Supreme Court, holding jurisdiction in equity, public wonder of an attempt by this Court to ar- on the first Monday in December next, at the rest proceedings in that court? city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, These questions answer themselves. It is being the present seat of the National Governtrue that a State may file an original bill in this ment of the United States, to answer unto the Court; and it may be true, in some cases, such bill of complaint of the State of Georgia in the a bill may be filed against the United States. said Court exhibited against you. Hereof you But we are fully satisfied that this Court has no are not to fail at your peril. jurisdiction of a bill to enjoin the President in Witness: The Honorable SALMON P. CHASE, the performance of his official duties, and that Chief Justice of the said Supreme Court, at the no such bill ought to be received by us. city of Washington, the first Monday of DecemIt has been suggested that the bill contains a her, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight prayer that if the relief sought cannot be had hundred and sixty-six, and of the Independence against Andrew Johnson as President, it may be of the United States of America the ninety-first. granted against Andrew Johnson as a citizen of D. W. MIDDLETON, Tennessee. But it is plain that relief against Clerk of the Supreme Court of the U. S. XXI. RESOLUTIONS OF NATIONAL AND STATE CONVENTIONS. Of the Philadelphia Fourteenth of August Con- delegates from every State and Territory in the vention. Union, admonished by the solemn lessons which, They were reported August 17th, by Hon. for the last five years, it has pleased the Supreme Edgar Cowan, chairman of the committee on Ruler of the Universe to givt to the American resolutions, and were unanimously adopted: people; profoundly grateful for the return of DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. peace; desirous, as are a large majority of their The National Union Convention, now assem- countrymen, in all sincerity, to forget and forbled in the city of Philadelphia, composed of give the past; revering the Constitution as it RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 241 comes to us from our ancestors; regarding the Union in its restoration as more sacred than ever; iooking with deep anxiety into the future, as of instant and continuing trials, hereby issues and proclaims the following declaration of principles and purposes, on which they have, with perfect unanimity, agreed: 1. We hail with gratitude to Almighty God the end of the war and the return of peace to our afflicted and beloved land. 2. The war just closed has maintained the authority of the Constitution, with all the powers which it confers, and all the restrictions which it imposes upon the General Government, unabridged and unaltered, and it has preserved the Union, with the equal rights, dignity, and authority of the States perfect and unimpaired. 3. Representation in the Congress of the United States and in the electoral college is a right recognized by the Constitution as abiding in every State, and as a duty imposed upon the people, fundamental in its nature, and essential to the existence of our republican institutions, and neither Congress nor the General Government has any authority or power to deny this right to any State or to withhold its enjoyment under the Constitution from the people thereef. 4. We call upon the people of the United States to elect to Congress as members thereof none but men who admit this fundamental right of representation, and who will receive to seats therein loyal representatives from every State in allegiance to the United States, subject to the constitutional right of each House to judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members. 5. The Constitution of the United States, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, are the supreme law of the land, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. All the powers not conferred by the Constitution upon the General Government, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, or to the people thereof; and among the rights thus reserved to the States is the right to prescribe qualifications for the elective franchise therein, with which right Congress cannot interfere. No State or combination of States has the right to withdraw from the Union, or to exclude, through their action in Congress or otherwise, any other State or States from the Union. The Union of these States is perpetual. 6. Such amendments to the Constitution of the United States may be made by the people thereof as they may deem expedient, but only in the mode pointed out by its provisions; and in proposing such amendments, whether by Congress or by a convention, and in ratifying the same, all the States of the Union have an equal and an indefeasible right to a voice and a vote thereon. 7. Slavery is abolished and forever prohibited, and there is neither desire nor purpose on the part of the southern States that it should ever be re-established upon the soil, or within the jurisdiction of the United States; and the enfranchised slaves in all the States of the Union should receive, in common with all their inhabitants, equal protection in every right of person and property. 16 8. While we regard as utterly invalid, and never to be assumed or made of binding force, any obligations incurred or undertaken in making war against the United States, we hold the debt of the nation to be sacred and inviolable; and we proclaim our purpose in discharging this, as in performing all other national obligations, to maintain unimpaired and unimpeached thi, honor and the faith of the Republic. 9. It is the duty of the national Government to recognize the services of the Federal soldiers and sailors in the contest just closed, by meeting promptly and fully all their just and rightful claims for the services they have rendered the nation, and by extending to those of them who have survived, and to the widows and orphans of those who have fallen, the most generous and considerate care. 10. In Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, who, in his great office, has proved steadfast in his devotion to the Constitution, the laws, and interests of his country, unmoved by persecution and undeserved reproach, having faith unassailable in the people and in the principles of free government, we recognize a Chief Magistrate worthy of the nation, and equal to the great crisis upon which his lot is cast; and we tender to him in the discharge of his high and responsible duties, our profound respect and as, surance of our cordial and sincere support. Of the Philadelphia Convention of Southern Loyalists. They were reported by Hon. Andrew J. Hamilton, of Texas, chairman of the committee on resolutions, and unanimously adopted: ' 1. That the loyal people of the South cordially unite with the people of the North in thanksgiving to Almighty God, through whose will a rebellion unparalleled for its causelessness, its cruelty, and its criminality has been overruled to the vindication of the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over every State and Territory of the Republic. 2. That we demand now, as we have demanded at all times since the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of the States in which we live to their old relations with the Union, on the simplest and fewest conditions consistenit with the protection of our lives, property, and political rights, now in jeopardy from the unquenched enmity of rebels lately in arms. 3. That the unhappy policy pursued, by Andrew Johnson, President of the United. States, is, in its effects upon the loyal people of the South, unjust, oppressive, and intolerable; and accordingly, however ardently we desire to see our respective States once more represented in the Congress of the nation, we would deplore their restoration on the inadequate conditions prescribed by the President, as tending not to abate, but only to magnify the perils and sorrows of our condition. 4. That with pride in the patriotism of the Congress, with gratitude for the fearless and persistent support they have given to the cause of loyalty, and their efforts to restore all the States to their former condition as States in the American Union, we will stand by the positions taken by them, and use all means consistent with a 242 POLITICAL MANUAL. peaceful and lawful course to secure the ratification of the amendments to the Constitution of the United States, as proposed by the Congress at its recent session, and regret that the Congress, in its wisdom, did not provide by law for the greater security of the loyal people in the States not yet admitted to representation. 5. That the political power of the Government of the United States in the administration of public affairs, is, by its Constitution, confided to the popular or law-making department of the Government. 6. That the political status of the States lately in rebellion to the United States Government, and the rights of the people of such States, are political questions, and are therefore clearly within the control of Congress to the exclusion of the independent action of any and every other department of the Government. 7. That there is no right, political, legal, or constitutional, in any State to secede or withdraw from the Union; that they may, by wicked and unauthorized revolution and force, sever the relations which they have sustained to the Union; and when they do so. and assume the attitude of public enemies at war with the United States, they subject themselves to all the rules and principles of international law, and the laws which are applicable to belligerents, according to modern usage. 8. That we are unalterably in favor of the "Union of the States, and earnestly desire the legal and speedy restoration of all the States to their proper places in the Union and the establishment in each of them of influences of patriotism and justice by which the whole nation shall be combined to carry forward triumphantly the principles of freedom and progress, until all men of all races shall everywhere beneath the flag of our country have accorded to them freely all that their virtues, intelligence, industry, patriotism and energy may entitle them to attain. 9. That the organizations of the unrepresented States, assuming to be State governments, not having been legally established, are not legitimate governments until reorganized by Congress. 10. That the welcome we have received from the loyal citizens of Philadelphia, under the roof of the time-honored Hall in which the Declaration of Independence was adopted, inspires us with an animating hope that the principles of just and equal government, which were made the foundation of the Republic at its origin, shall become the corner-stone of reconstruction. 11. That we cherish with tender hearts the memory of the virtues, patriotism, sublime faith, upright Christian life, and generous nature of the martyr President, Abraham Lincoln. 12. That we are in favor of universal liberty the world over, and feel the deepest sympathy with the oppressed peoples of all countries in their struggles for freedom and the inherent right of all men to decide and control for themselves the character of the government under which they live. 13. That the lasting gratitude of the nation is due the men who bore the hardships of the battle, and, in covering themselves with imperishable glory, have saved to the world its hope of free government: and relying upon the "invin cible soldiers and sailors " who made the grand army and navy of the Republic to be true to the principles for which they fought, we pledge them that we will stand by them in maintaining the honor due the saviors of the nation, and in securing the fruits of their victories. 14. That, remembering with profound gratitude and love the precepts of Washington, we should accustom ourselves to consider the Union as the primary object of our patriotic desire, which has heretofore sustained us with great power in our love of the Union, when so many of our neighbors in the South were waging war for its destruction; our deep and abiding love foi the memory of the Father of his Country and for the Union is more deeply engraven upon our hearts than ever. After the adjournment of this convention, the loyalists of the non-reconstructed States met and adopted an address, closing with this declaration: " We affirm that the loyalists of the South look to Congress with affectionate gratitude and confidence, as the only means to save us from persecution, exile, and death itself; and we also declare that there can be no security for us or oui children; there can be no safety for the country against the fell spirit of slavery, now organized in the form of serfdom, unless the Government, by national and appropriate legislation, enforced by national authority, shall confer on every citizen in the States we represent the American birthright of impartial suffrage and equality before the law. This is the one all-sufficient remedy. This is our great need and pressing necessity." The vote was as follows: TExAS, 10 yeas; LOUISIANA, 14 yeas; VIRGINIA, 28 yeas, 3 nays; GEORGIA, 8 yeas, 1 nay; ALABAMA, 2 yeas, 3 nays; MiSSISSIPPI, 1 yea; ARKANSAS, 2 yeas; NORTH CAROLINA, 1 yea, 2 nays; FLORIDA, 2 yeas, 1 nay. Pittsburgh Convention of Soldiers and Sailors, September 26, 1866. General Benjamin F. Butler reported these resolutions, which were adopted unanimously: By the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy of the United States, in convention assembled, be it Resolved, That the action of the present Congress in passing the pending constitutional amendment is wise, prudent, just. It clearly defines American citizenship, and guaranties all his rights to every citizen. It places on a just and equal basis the right of representation, making the vote of a man in one State equally potent with the vote of another man in any State. It righteously excludes from places ol honor and trust the chief conspirators, guiltiest rebels, whose perjured crimes have drenched the land in fraternal blood. It puts into the very frame of our Government the inviolability of the national debt and the nullity forever of all obligations contracted in support of the rebellion. 2. That it is unfortunate for the country that these propositions have not been received in the spirit of conciliation, clemency, and fraternal feeling in which they were offered, as they are the mildest terms ever granted to subdued rebels. 3. That the President, as an executive officer, RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 243 has no right to a policy as against the legislative department of the Government; that his attempt to fasten his scheme of reconstruction upon the country is as dangerous as it is unwise; his acts in sustaining it have retarded the restoration of peace and unity; they have converted conquered rebels into impudent claimants to rights which they have forfeited, and places which they have desecrated. If consummated, it would render the sacrifices of the nation useless, the loss of the lives of our 'luried comrades vain, and the war in which we have so gloriously triumphed, what his present friends at Chicago in 1864 declared to be a failure. 4. That the right of the conqueror to legislate for the conquered has been recognized by the public law of all civilized nations; by the operation of that law for the conservation of the good of the whole country, Congress has the undoubted right to establish measures for the conduct of the revolted States, and to pass all acts of legislation that are necessary for the complete restoration df the Union. 5. That when the President claims that by the aid of the army and navy he might have made himself dictator, he insulted every soldier and sailor in the Republic. He ought distinctly to understand that the tried patriots of this nation can never be used to overthrow civil liberty or popular government. 6. That the neutrality laws should be so amended as to give the fullest liberty to the citizen consistent with the national faith; that the great Union Republican party is pledged to sustain liberty and equality of rights everywhere, and therefore we tender to all peoples struggling for freedom our sympathy and cordial co-operation. 7. That the Union men of the South, without distinction of race or color, are entitled to the gratitude of every loyal soldier and sailor who served his country in suppressing the rebellion, and that in their present dark hours of trial, when they are being persecuted by thousands, solely because they are now, and have been, true to the Government, we will not prove recreant to our obligations, but will stand by and protect with our lives, if necessary, those brave men who remain true to us when all around are false and faithless. 8. That in reorganizing the Army justice to the volunteer officers and soldiers demands that faithful and efficient service in the field ought ever to have place in the army and navy of the Union. Cleveland Convention of Soldiers and Sailors, September 18, 1866. Col. L. D. CAMPBELL reported these resolutions, which were adopted unanimously: The Union soldiers and sailors who served in the army and navy of the United States in the recent war for the suppression of the insurrection, the maintenance of the Constitution, the Government, and the flag of the Union, grateful to Almighty God for His preservation of them through the perils and hardships of war, and for His mercy in crowning their efforts with victory, freedom, and peace; deploring the absence from their midst of many brave and faithful comrades who had sealed with their life-blood their devotion to the sacred cause of American nationality, and determined now as heretofore, to stand by the principles for which their glorious dead have fallen, and by which the survivors have triumphed, being assembled in National Mass Convention in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, this 17th day of September, 1866, do resolve and declare1. That we heartily approve the resolutions adopted by the National Union Convention held in the city of Philadelphia, on the 14th day of August last, composed of delegates representing all the States and Territories of the United States. 2. That our object in taking up arms to suppress the late rebellion was to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired, and not in any spirit of oppression, nor for any perpose of conquest and subjugation; and that whenever there shall be any armed resistance o the lawfully constituted authorities of our national Union, either in the South or in the North, in the East or in the West, emulating the selfsacrificing patriotism of our revolutionary forefathers, we will again pledge to its support "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." STATE CONVENTIONS, 1867. Connecticut. REPUBLICAN, JANUARY 24. 1. That the result of the elections of the last autumn affords new proof of the devotibn of the American people to the fundamental principles of free government, and of their determination to establish and confirm a Union based upon those principles only; that we congratulate each other and the country upon that auspicious result, and pledge ourselves that Connecticut, in this respect, shall emulate the example of her loyal sister States. 2. That the pending amendment to the Federal Constitution. in the generous magnanimity of the terms which it proposed to the late insurgents, deserved and should have received their grateful recognition; that its rejection by them proceeds from a still prevailing spirit of rebellion, and imposes upon the national authority the duty of establishing the Union upon none other than just and durable foundations; that, in so doing, loyalty to the Republic should be recognized as the first of political virtues, and disloyalty as the worst of political crimes, and that the protection of all citizens throughout the Republic in the exercise of all the rights and immunities guarantied by the Constitution should be inviolably secured. 3. That the only just basis of human governments is the consent of the governed; that, in a representative republic, such a consent is expressed through the exercise of the suffrage by the individual citizen, and that the right to that exercise should not be limited by distinctions of race or color. 4. That in any revision of the revenue system the duties upon imports should be adjusted with a view to the encouragement of American industry, without impairing the public revenue, and 244 POLITICAL MANUAL. thai the burdens now imposed by internal taxatior should be alleviated as far as possible, and especially by the reduction of existing taxes upon incomes and sales. 5. That in the administration of State policy we are in favor of a rigid economy in expenditures, and permanent provision for the steady reduction and final payment of the State debt. 6. That the Republican party is identified in its history, and by its essential principles, with the rights, the interests, and the dignity of labor; that by all the record of that history and all the sanctity of those principles it is bound in sympathy with the toiling masses of society, of whom is composed the great proportion of its number, and that the workingmen of Connecticut will receive at its hands every needed legislative remedy of the evils of which they complain. 7. That the present salutary law concerning the employment of children in manufactories and education of such children should be rendered more efficient in its operation and more rigidly enforced. 8. That the Republican party regards with earnest solicitation the struggles of oppressed nationalities toward independence and purer liberty, and that it extends its earnest sympathy to Crete, to Ireland, and to Mexico, in their heroic efforts to liberate themselves from hated foreign dominion. 9. That the so-called Democratic Convention at New Haven, by its malignant spirit of hostility to the Federal authority, its deliberate attempt to renew the horrors of civil war, and its sanction of the treasonable utterances of its more prominent members, deserves, and should receive, the unqualified condemnation of every lover of of the National Union. 10. That a grateful people will never forget or cease to revere the heroic soldiers and sailors who, during the dark days of the rebellion, devoted their strength, their constancy, and their valor to the overthrow of an unholy rebellion, and rescued the country from its peril, and established the Government on the rock of universal liberty. 11. That we heartily recommend to the people of this commonwealth the gentlemen nominated by this Convention for State officers, and pledge ourselves to their cordial support and triumphant election. DEMOCRATIC, JA.NUARY 8. Whereas, it becomes a free and intelligent people, justly jealous of their rights and liberties, to frankly and fearlessly assert their views upon all great and important public questions; and Whereas, when armed resistance to the authority of the United States ceased each of the several States that had been in antagonism to the Government became, by the inherent force of the Constitution and the fundamental principles upon which our system of government is based, reinstated and restored to all their rights and privileges; and Whereas, the Supreme Court of the United States has declared "that if military government is continued after the courts are reinstated, it is a gross usurpation of power. Martial rule can never exist where the courts are open and in the proper and unobstructed exercise of their jurisdiction:" Therefore, Resolved, That each and all of the States that were arrayed in armed opposition to the authority of the Government of the United States, having ceased such opposition, are now entitled to representation in the Congress of the United States, and to all other rights and privileges appertaining to the States of the Union. 2. That the Congress of the United States, in its present exclusion of the Senators and Representatives of said States; in its open and avowed determination to destroy the organization and subvert the authorities of said States, violates and undermines the Constitution of the United States, attacks the very principles that lie at the foundation of our system of government, and strikes a fatal blow at the financial and commercial and industrial interests of the entire people of the Union. 3. That the Congress of the United States, in all its legislation, in its act levying internal taxes upon all the States, includin'g the said States expressly by name; in its act prescribing the number of Representatives in Congress for all the States; in its act in submitting the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery to all the States; in its act of last session, submitting another proposed constitutional amendment to all the States; in its joint resolution, passed with almost entire unanimity, declaring the object of the war to be " to defend, and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several States unimpaired;'" and in other acts has uniformly, fr6m the commencement of the civil war to the present time, in the most deliberate manner, recognized said States as existing States, and as States in the Union. 4. That the executive department of the United States, by its proclamations, its administrative action, and in its diplomatic intercourse with foreign Powers, has uniformly recognized all the said States as existing States, and as States in' the Union. 5. That the judicial department of the United States, including the Supreme Court at Washington, the circuit courts in the several circuits, and the district courts in their respective districts, has uniformly recognized the said States as existing States, and as States in the Union. 6. That this repeated recognition of said States as existing States, and as States in the Union, by the executive, judicial, and legislative departments of the Government, leaves no question that the exclusion of these States from Congress, governing them and taxing them without representation, is not only a violation of the Federal Constitution in its most essential part, and tyranny as defined by the Declaration of Independence, but a most flagrant breach of public faith, alike prejudicial to the best interests and to the honor of the country. 7. That in the Supreme Court of the United States we possess a tribunal that may be justly termed the bulwark of republican liberty, and in the language of its eminent jurists, "The Constitution of the United States is law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with its shield of protection all classes of men under all circum. RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 245 stnnces." * * "No dostrine involving more pernicious crnscquences was ever invented by the wit of man, than that any of its provisions can be suspefided during any of the great exigencies of government. Such a doctrine leads directly to anarchy or despotism. But the theory of necessity, upon which this is based, isfalse, for the government within the Constitution has the powers granted to it which are necessary to preserve its existence." Thus, the Supreme Court of the United States in 1866, vindicates and sustains the positions assumed and announced by the Democracy of Connecticut in convention in 1863. 8. That after solemn deliberation, it is the opinion of this convention that the suggestion of our conservative brethren of Kentucky, that a convention of the Democracy and all constitutional Union men of the thirty-six States should be called without delay by the National Democratic Committee; and we respectfully suggest that said convention meet in the city of New York on the 4th day of March next, to advise and counsel upon the great questions that agitate the public mind; to protest against the revolutionary and unconstitutional acts of the present majority of Congress; to announce the determination of the conservative men of the Union; to resist and oppose by constitutional exercise of power the disorganization of States and the destruction of State authority. 9. That the thanks of every patriotic citizen are eminently due the President of the United States for his repeated exercise of the Executive power in behalf of the Constitution and the rights of the States; and we pledge to him our support in all his future efforts to the same noble end. Rhode Island. DEMOCRATIC, MARCH 11. 1. That frequent innovations upon our laws are pernicious, as tending to confuse the minds of the people and destroy that reverence for legal authority which is essential to the perpetuity of the State and the safety of the citizen. 2 That we regard the judiciary as the shield of the people against the unwise or arbitrary acts of popular or official passion, and that any attempt to wnken or override the authority of our courts, or to detract from their dignity, imperils the very existence of the Republic. 3. That after an exhausting war our whole energy should be turned to the development of all our internal resources and to the increase of our commerce; that our system of taxation ought to be so adjusted as to bear equally upon all classes of the community and all sections of the country, to necessitate the least expense in collection, and relieve as rapidly as possible the burden of debt; that our laws ought to be so framed as to require the smallest possible number of officials in their execution, since a multiplicity of offices begets arrogance and corruption in the holders, and discontent in the people, who unwillingly lavish that money upon the leeches on the body politic which should go to nourish the body itself. 4. That the Democratic party, having spent much of its blood in a struggle to preserve the Union, will watch earnestly and anxiously and labor patiently for the same great end in the present not less terrible, though bloodless, contest. We believe it to be the duty of all people, in all sections of the Republic, to accept the circumstances which have resulted from war; to endeavor by all means consistent with honor to adapt themselves to the new status thus created, and to conform to it both in legislation and in personal and official regard for each other. As to political supremacy, we are content to await the hour when the fury of passion gives place to the temperance of reason, and the bitterness of hate is lost in the lapse of time. Maryland. REPUBLICAN, FEBRUARY 27. Whereas the present state of national affairs, and the action of the coalition which, by the treachery of Governor Swann, now usurps the power of the State, have caused this assembling of the Unconditional Union men of Maryland, and render proper a clear utterance on all the issues of the times: Therefore, Resolved, by the Republican Union party of Maryland, in State Convention assembled, That we cordially approve the reconstruction bill which has been passed by Congress, and that we declare the principles of impartial manhood suffrage contained therein to be the only secure basis of reconstruction, and that the time has come when its adoption by every State is demanded by every consideration of right and interest. 2. That we hail the result of the late election in Georgetown as a practical proof of the wisdom of Congress, and as the omen of loyal control over all the South. 3. That the convention bill now before the Legislature is in conflict with the existing constitution, and can be made valid only by the assent of the people of the State and the Government of the United States; and that no change of the existing constitution can or shall be made, or ought to be recognized by Congress, which is not made by impartial manhood suffrage, without respect to color. 4. That we request the Republican members of the State Senate to prepare an amendment to said bill basing representation upon population and submitting the question of a convention to all the male citizens of the State, and providing for a new State government on the basis of impartial manhood suffrage; and that we shall insist that any change in the constitution shall be made upon this basis, and that no State government now erected without impartial manhood suffrage ought to be considered republican; and that, in the event of the passage of the oppressive and anti-republican bill now before the Legislature, we will appeal to Congress to provide for the assembling of a convention in this State on the basis of the reconstruction bill, and to organize a loyal State government with impartial suffrage. 5. That further to carry out the object of the foregoing resolutions, this convention, when it adjourns, stands adjourned to meet at the call of its president, on such early day after the adjournment of the Legislature as the president may by public notice direct, and in the event of the president being prevented by any cause from acting, the chairman of the State Central Committee be empowered to make such call. 24 POLITICAl REPUBLICAN, MARCH 27. Whereas the Legislature of Maryland has since the adjournment of this Republican State Convention on the 27th of February, passed the convention bill, in regard to which this convention has already in previous resolutions declared its judgment, and this convention is now reassembled as provided for by its fifth resolution on the contingency of the passage of said convention bill: Therefore, Resolved, That we return our thanks to the Republican members of the General Assembly for their memorial to Congress presented to that body on the 25th of March, and this convention in behalf of the majority of the people of Maryland appeal hereby to the Congress of the United States to grant the request of that memorial.* L MANUAL. * The memorial is as follows: " To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the, " United States: "The undersigned, members of the General Assembly of Maryland, respectfully present this memorial to your honorable body on the condition of public affairs in this State, to which they ask the immediate consideration of the national legislature. The General Assembly of Maryland is about to adjourn, after a session as memorable for evil and as important to the country as that which consigned the legislature of 1861 to the casemates of Fort Warren. Elected in great part by the deliberate violation of the election laws of the State by the votes of men who were in active accord with the rebellion, and whose hatred to the Government rendered the presence of military force during the war necessary to prevent their active aid to the rebels in arms, and in spite of which they did give large aid in men amd money, they have marked their session by a series of acts to which we desire to call your attention. "The rebels of Maryland sent South during the war some 20,000 soldiers to the rebel army. These men have nearly all returned, and an emigration from the South since the war has largely added to their number. By doubtful construction of a clause of the existing constitution, this General Assembly, thus elected, has enfranchised all white men, no matter what treason they have committed, and thus have added to the voting population about 30,000 persons who have only lately ceased an armed resistance to the Government. Not satisfied with this, they have just passed a militia bill, which, in direct defiance to the present constitution of the State, has made all white rebels, no matter what their previous treason, part of the militia force. They have, by deliberate vote, refused to exclude, even from the lighest office under this law, any person, no matter what his rank in the rebel army, and they are about to put in force this law, the effect of which is against our own constitution and the army laws of Congress, and which puts in the rear of the capital an armed force, composed largely of the same men who have just been forced to cease armed attempts to capture the capital. "One great object of this bill is to better carry out the scheme of revolutionizing the government of the State, abolishing the existing constitution, and making another, still more firmly fastening on the necks of loyal people the yoke of rebel control. The present constitution of Maryland, while it does not allow colored suffrage, does not give to the late masters the right to represent in the legislature their disfranchised freedmen. It bases representation on white population. These conspirators, not satisfied with controlling the legislative and executive departments, have passed a bill calling an election for a constitutional convention on the 10th day of April, the convention to meet on the second Monday of May, 1867. This they have done, although the constitution provides that the legislature shall pass no laws providing for a change in the existing constitution except in the mode therein prescribed; and although the constitution regulates the representation in any convention called to make a new constitution by fixing it the same as that of each county in the General Assembly, they having fixed an arbitrary basis of representation which, while it 'excludes the colored man from the ballot-box, gives to the old worn-out counties, which were as rebellious as South Carolina, an increased representation, by which the oppressor is to represent the oppressed against his will, and by which a minority of the people of the State are to hold in their proposed convention the same power as the majority. The State of Maryland has at present a colored population of at least 200,000, and by emigration since the war perhaps 250,000, making a voting population of from 40,000 to 50,000. In most of the counties whose representation has thus been 2. That we will oppose any new constitution set up in subversion of the existing constitution under the convention bill which does not express the will of the majority of the people without regard to color, and that we will, with the aid of the loyal representatives of the nation, and by all means in our power, resist and destroy any such constitution as a revolutionary usurpation. 3. That we will take no part in the approaching election for delegates to a constitutional convention further than to recommend a general vote of the Republicans of the State against the call for a convention, and to use every lawful means in their power to defeat the call. 4. That should the call be sustained by a maillegally increased, the colored population is equal to ou greater than the white. The House of Representatives of the United States has already passed a resolution of inquiry whether the present constitution of this State is now republican, and since the colored man is now a citizen, it may well be doubtful whether a State which excludes for nc crime one-fourth of its population who are citizens is re. publican. This General Assembly has inaugurated, how* ever, a movement which, from the illegal representations made in the bill itself, actually now accomplishes not only the exclusion of this population from suffrage, but also gives the disloyal population a representation for them. "The present judiciary of the State is for the most part loyal, and one object of this movement is to legislate out all the remaining loyal officers whom they have not already removed, and place ex-rebels, perhaps brigadiers and colonels of the rebel army, in their places. Not satisfied with the pardon and the charity which Union men have ex. tended, they have commenced a reaction against the results of the war, and determined on a policy which, if unchecked, destroys a loyal constitution, and puts in its place one made by traitors, and flagrantly anti-republican, and places an armed militia of disloyal men and a minority governmeni of rebel sympathizers and rebels in the complete possession of this State. " While the South is about to commence a career of freedom and progress, these men, untaught by the lessons of the past, have determined, by the forms of law, but in real violation of both the State and Federal law, to put this State back into a condition of darkness and slavery. These acts, we submit, are in violation of State and national law, oppressive, revolutionary, and dangerous to the order and peace of this nation. The Union men of Maryland are groaning under this tyranny; they are now oppressed by verdicts of disloyal juries in many counties; immigration to the State, except from the South, is stopped, and many loyal men are deliberating upon leaving the State. The most, however, are ready, by all personal means, and at all personal hazards, to resist this infamous attempt at oppression. " The danger of bloodshed is imminent and the times are perilous. We call upon Congress not to adjourn before settling this grave matter, which, if not settled, may startle them in their recess by something worse than the massacre at New Orleans, although not so unequal and one-sided. We earnestly ask, on the part of the majority of the people of Maryland, deprived of legal voice except through as, a minority of the General Assembly, that Congress will guaranty to us a republican form of government on the only basis of right, truth, and peace-impartial suffrage, wihout respect to race or color, as it has already guarantied t to the southern States. CURTIS DAvis, Senator from Caroline. CHARLES E. TRAIL, Senator from Frederick. JACOB TOME, Senator from Cecil. ELIAS DAVIs, Senator from Washington. HART B. HOLTON, Senator from Howard. JAMES L. BILLINGSLcA, Senator from Carroll. EDWARD P. PHILPOT, Senator from Baltimore county DANIEL C. BRUCE, Delegate from Allegany. JONATHAN TOBEY, Delegate from Washington. A. R. APPLEMAN, Delegate from Washington. THOMAS GORSUCH, Delegate from Frederick. J. P. Bisneo, Delegate from Washington. BENJAMIN POOL, Delegatefrom Carroll. JAMES V. CRISWELL, Delegate from Carroll. JOHN L. LINTHICUm, Delegate from Frederick. J. R. ROUZERm, Delegate from Frederick. HENRY BAKER, Delegate from Frederick. R. C. BAMeonD, Delegate from Washington, S. R. GORE, Delegate from Carroll." This memorial was signed by all the Republican members who were present at Annapolis when it was signed. RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 247 jority of the voters, that the State Central Committee, on ascertaining that result, issue a call for district meetings to be held in every election district in the State, for the choice by ballot, on the basis of universal manhood suffrage, of delegates to a State constitutional convention, each county and the city of Baltimore to elect the number to which they may be entitled under the present constitution of the State. 5. That said State constitutional convention, if called, shall assemble in the city of Baltimore on the first Wednesday in June, and proceed to form a constitution based on universal manhood suffrage. 6. That courage, wisdom, and action are all that is necessary to success, and we call on the tried Union veterans of the State, who have been hardened by the conflicts of six years of battle and agitation, to fly high the banner of liberty and Union, and know no end but victory. This memorial was presented, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. CALL FOR STATE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. At a meeting of the Republican Union State central committee of Maryland, held on Wednesday, April 17, 1867, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: Resolved. That all male citizens of Maryland, who are opposed to the organized conspiracy about to assemble at Annapolis on the 8th day of May, are requested to meet in primary assemblages in the various counties and the city of Baltimore, at such time as may be most convenient, to elect delegates to a State Republican convention, which shall assemble in Baltimore city on Tuesday, May 14, at 12 o'clock, m. Resolved, That the State convention will be expected to take into consideration the present condition of political affairs in the State, and to deliberate upon the best method of guaranteeing to the people a republican form of government. To the primary meetings, the county conventions, and the State convention are invited all loyal citizens, without regard to past political differences, race, or color, who subscribe to the doctrine of the Republican Union party. The number of delegates to the State convention will not be limited; but the counties and the city of Baltimore shall be entitled to the same number of votes in the convention as they have representatives in both houses of the General Assembly. The members of the State central committee of the different counties will announce the day for holding the primary meetings, county conventions, or mass conventions, in the several counties, and the executive committee will fix the day for the aforesaid purposes in the city of Baltimore. THOMAS J. WILSON, Chairman. J. W. CLAYTON, Secretary. Ohio. DEMOCRATIC, JANUARY 8. 1. Resolved, That the democracy of Ohio steadfastly adhere to the principles of the party as expounded by the fathers, and approved by experience; that in accordance with these principles we declare that the Federal Government is a government of limited powers, and that it possesses no powers but such as are expressly, or by necessary implication, delegated to it in the federal Constitution; that all other powers are reserved to the States or the people; that a strict construction of the Constitution is indispensable to the preservation of the reserved rights of the States and the people; that all granbt of power to Government, whether State or federal, should be strictly construed, because all such grants abridge the natural rights of men; that the preservation of the equality and rights of the State and the rights of the people is necessary to the preservation of the Union; that the Federal Government is unfitted to legislate for, or administer the local concerns of, the States; that it would be monstrous that the local affairs of Ohio should be regulated by a federal Congress in which she has but two Senators, and the New England States, with but a little greater population, have twelve; that the tendency of the Federal Government is to usurp the reserved rights of the States and of the people; and that, therefore, a centralization of power in its hands is an ever-pending danger; that such an absorption of power would, while it lasted, be destructive of the liberties and interests of the people, and would end either in despotism or a destruction of the Union; that a national debt, besides impoverishing the people, fosters an undue increase of the powers of the Federal Government; that high protective tariffs have a like effect, sacrificing the interests of the many for the emoluments of the few, and plainly violating the equity and spirit of the Constitution; that the collection and disbursement of the enormous revenues by the Federal Government have the same tendency, besides corrupting the, Government, and that, therefore, economy is essential not only to the prosperity, but also to the liberties of the people; that unequal taxation is a plain violation of justice, of which no government can safely be guilty; that to each State belongs the right to determine the qualification of its electors, and all attempts to impair this right, either by congressional legislation or constitutional amendment, are unwise and despotic; that the tendency of power is to steal from the many to the few, and that, therefore, "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty;'' that the tendency of the Government is to enlarge its authority by usurpation, and therefore the Government needs to be watched; that another of its tendencies is to govern too muchunnecessarily and vexatiously interfering with the business and habits of the people; that the freedom of speech and of the press is essential to the existence of liberty; that no person not in the military or naval service, or where the civil courts are prevented by war or insurrection from exercising their functions, can lawfully be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of civil law; that the courts should always be open for the redress of grievances;. that no expostfacto law should ever be made; that, in the language of the Supreme Court, " the Constitution of the United States is a law for the rulers and the people, equal in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times and under all circumstances. No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever invented by the wit of man than that any of its provisions 248 POLIIICAL MANUAL. can be suspended during any of the great exigencies of government. Such a docrine leads directly to anarchy or despotism;" that the right of the people to peaceably assemble and consult upon public affairs is inviolable; that the military should be held in due subjection to the civil power; that while the majority, as prescribed by the Constitution, have the right to govern, the minority have indefeasible rights; and that a frequent recurrence to first principles js essential to the welfare of the State and the people. 2. That the States lately in rebellion are States in the Union, and have been recognized as such by every department of the Government, and by President Lincoln, who, in the midst of war, in7ited them to elect members of Congress; by President Johnson, in various proclamations and official acts; by Congress, which permitted Andrew Johnson to sit in the Senate as a SvLator from Tennessee, and members from Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana to sit in the House of Representatives after those States had seceded, and while the war was being carried on, and which further recognized them as States in the Union by the congressional apportionment act, providing for their due representation in Congress; by various tax laws, and especially by the direct tax; by the resolutions submitting amendments to the Constitution for their approval, and by various other acts and resolutions imparting the same recognition, all of which were passed since the attempted secession of those States; by the judiciary of the United States, which holds federal courts in all those States, and especially by the Supreme Court, which entertains jurisdiction of cases coining from them, which it could not do were they not in the Union. That being thus in the Union, they stand on an equal footing with their sister States-States with unequal rights being a thing unknown to the Constitution; that, by the express terms of the Constitution, each State is entitled to have two Senators and a fair proportion of Representatives in the Congress, and to vote in all elections of President and Vice President; that, though these rights are subject to interruption by a state of civil war, they cannot, in time of peace, be suspended, much less destroyed, without a plain violation of the Constitution; that the assent of three-fourths of all the States, whether represented in Congress or not, is essential to the validity of constitutional amendments; that Congress has no power to deprive a State of its reserved rights and reduce it to a territorial condition; that, therefore, the exclusion, by the so-called Congress, of all representation from ten States, the proposed exclusion of those States from all voice in the next oresidential election, the threatened overthrow of their State governments, and the reduction of their States to the condition of Territories, are each and every one of them unconstitutional, revolutionary, and despotic measures, destructive not merely of the -rights of those States, but also of the rights of every other State in the Union. That those measures are parts of a plan to nullify the Constitution, to virtually overthrow the State governments, to erect a consolidated despotism on their ruins, and to establish and perpetuate a tyrannical rule of a minority over a majority of the American people. That the people cannot, without a loss of their liberties, prosperity, and honor, submit to such a result; and, therefore, in the hope that the warning will be heeded, and the danger to our institutions be peaceably averted, we do solemnly warn the advocates of the plan that it will not be submitted to. 3. That Congress is not an omnipotent lawmaking power; that the Constitution provides that no bill shall become a law without the approval of the President, unless it be passed by two-thirds of each House of Congress; that one of the objects of the present so-called Congress in excluding ten States from representation is to pass bills by a two-thirds vote, which, were all the States represented, could not pass, and thus to abolish the constitutional provision aforesaid; that if the precedent be acquiesced in there will be nothing to prevent a bare majority of Congress, at any time in the future, from nullifying the constitutional veto of the President, and usurping uncontrolled legislative power by an exclusion of the minority from their seats; that the exclusion of a single State might give this control, and a pretext for such an exclusion would never be wanting to an unscrupulous and revolutionary party. 4. That the people, and especially those of the agricultural States, have suffered too long the exactions of high protective tariffs, and as the representatives of an agricultural and laboring population, we demand that their substance shall no longer be extorted from them in order to fill the pockets of eastern monopolists. 5. That unequal taxation is contrary to the first principles of justice and sound policy, and we call upon our Government, Federal and State, to use all necessary constitutional means to remedy this evil. 6. That the radical majority in the so-called Congress have proved themselves to be in favor of negro suffrage, by forcing it upon the people of the District of Columbia against their wish, solemnly expressed at the polls; by forcing it upon the people of all the Territories, and- by their various devices to coerce the people of the South to adopt it; that we are opposed to negro suffrage, believing it would be productive of evil to both whites and blacks, and tend to produce a disastrous conflict of races. 7. That for their efforts to uphold the Constitution, we tender to the President and to the majority of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States our hearty thanks. 8. That we are in favor of a Democratic convention of delegates from all the States, to be held at such time and place as may be agreed upon, and that the State central committee be authorized to concur with other proper committees in fixing time and place, and that we prefer Louisville, Kentucky, as the place. 9. That the Democratic newspapers of Ohio deserve our earnest and liberal support, and that an early and thorough organization of the party is indispensable. Tennessee. REPUBLTCAN, FEBUARY 22, 1867. We, the representatives of the loyal people of Tennessee, in convention assembled, are thankful to Almighty God for the 9access of thle arms RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 249 of the United States over the army of traitors, "who sought to destroy the best government ever known to man, thereby saving us and our posterity the blessings and privileges of our republican institutions, and a solution of the heretofore doubtful problem that man is capable of selfgovernment. " We hold these truths to be self-evident:" 1. " That all men are created equal, endowed with certain inalienable rights," and therefore the law should afford equal protection to all in the exercise of these rights, and, so far as it can, insure perfect equality under the law. 2. That a State or a nation should be governed, controlled, and directed by those who have saved it in times of peril, and who seek to preserve it with friendly hands from foes and dangers, external and internal. 3. That a wiN. -are for the public safety sometimes renders it necessary tha4 those who have sought resolutely to overthrow a government should not hastily be restored to the privileges of which they have deprived themselves by their crime of treason; certainly not until they have shown evidence of sincere repentance, and a disposition as energetically to support as they have in times past sought to destroy. 4. That rebellion is disfranchisement, and armed attempts to overthrow our common government treasonable expatriation; and the present franchise organic law is but the declaration of the handiwork of secession and rebellion. Those who have sought our country's ruin cannot be intrusted with its safety. 5. That lawless violence, reckless disregard of the rights of person and property, murder, assassination, arson, and kindred crimes, must be put down by the strong arm of power, and be made to feel that law is indeed a terror to evildoers. 6 Therefore, in accordance with the above principles, we fully indorse the policy and action of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, in restricting the elective franchise to those who are not hostile to the Government, in extending it to those who proved their loyalty by imperiling their lives, and who need this privilege for their own protection, and in establishing a military organization which shall give necessary physical support to the moral power of the State government, becoming a salutary terror to evil-doers and a cheerful hope to those who do well. 7. That the " privileges and immunities" guarantied under the Constitution of our Union to the loyal from other States, and the pledge of freedom and equality in the declaration of American Independence, shall be living truths and practical maxims in Tennessee, for the protection of " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 8. That we have entire confidence in the integrity, wisdom, and ability of the Republican Union majority of Congress, and deem it signally fortunate that they, in whom alone the power resides to restore, preserve, and govern the country, have shown themselves so eminently fitted for these high duties, that no State should be admitted to representation in Congress without adopting the constitutional amendment. 9. That the Republican Union party of Tennessee are in favor of free speech and free discussion, and to this end we invite our friends from other States to come among us, and discuss the great issues now before the people, and we pledge the Republican Union party of Tennessee to tolerate all legitimate discussion, and at the same time claiming equal privileges on our part; and that any interference to prevent this will be regarded as an unwarranted act, and resisted to the last extremity. 10. That we honor the firmness, courage, and wisdom which have characterized the administration of our Chief Magistrate, the Heon. Wm. G. Brownlow, and while we sympathize with him in his bodily suffering, we admire the healthy mind, conscious to itself of rectitude, which bears with like equanimity the throes of pain and the perilous cares of State; and that we declare him the unanimous choice of the loyal people of Tennessee for our next Governor. 11. That we cover our faces with shame when we contemplate the disgrace brought upon our beloved State by the defection and degeneracy of her unprincipled adopted son, who by the bullet of an assassin has ascended to the Chief Magistracy of the nation; and we shall cordially endorse any action of Congress which shall legitimately deprive him of continued power to disturb the peace of the country. " CONSERVATIVE," APRIL 17, 1867. We, the Conservative men of Tennessee, adopt the following platform of principle's: 1. We are in favor of the Union of the States under the Constitution of the United States. 2. We are the friends of peace and'civil law, and that these great objects can be best promoted by legislation recognizing equal and exact justice to all--exclusive privileges to none. 3. We are in favor of the immediate restoration of our disfranchised fellow-citizens to all rights, privileges, and immunities of full and complete citizenship. 4. That our colored fellow-citizens, being now citizens of the United States and citizens of the State of Tennessee and voters of this State, are entitled to all the rights and privileges of citi-, zens under the laws and Constitution of the United States and of the State of Tennessee. 5. We are opposed to the repudiation of the national debt, and are in favor of equal taxation as the proper method of paying the same. 6. That the establishment of a standing army in our State, in time of peace, is a flagrant and dangerous encroachment upon the rights and liberties of the citizen, heavily oppressive to the tax-payer, and evidently designed to overawe the voters at the ballot-box. 7. We cordially approve of the patriotic efforts of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, in defending the Constitution, preserving the Union of the States, and maintaining the supremacy of the laws. Alabama. RESOLUTIONS OF THE GRAND COUNCIL OF THE UNION LEAGUE, APRIL, 1867. Resolved, That the Alabama Grand Council of the Union League of America return thanks Sto the Congress of the United States for its patri '250 POLITICAL MANUAL. otic action in. affording to all the people an opportunity, on fair terms, to re-organize the government of the State, to put her destinies into the hands of true Union men, and to unite her again to her sister States by the only enduring bond of unswerving loyalty. 2. That we hail with joy the recurrence to the fundamental principle on which our forefathers achieved their independence--"that all men are created equal;" that we welcome its renewed proclamation as a measure of simple justice to a faithful and patriotic class of our fellow-men, and that we firmly believe that there could be no lasting pacification 'of the country under any sysem which denied to a large class of our population that hold upon the laws which is given by the ballot. 3. That while we believe that participation in rebellion is the highest crime known to the law, and that those guilty of it hold their continued existence solely by the clemency of an outraged but merciful Government, we are nevertheless willing to imitate that Government in forgiveness of the past, and to welcome to the Republican Union party all who, forsaking entirely the principles on which the rebellion was founded, will sincerely and earnestly unite with us in establishing and maintaining for the future a government of equal rights and unconditional loyalty. 4. That we consider willingness to elevate to power the men who preserved unswerving adherence to the Government during the war as the best test of sincerity in professions for the future. 5. That if the pacification now proposed by Congress be not accepted in good faith by those who staked and forfeited " their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" in rebellion, it will be the duty of Congress to enforce that forfeiture by the confiscation of the lands, at least, of such a stiff-necked and rebellious people. 6. That the assertion that there are not enough intelligent loyal men in Alabama to administer the government is false in fact, and mainly promulgated by those who aim to keep treason respectable, by retaining power in the hands of its friends and votaries. Arkansas. REPUBLICAN, APRIL 5, 1867. The people of the State of Arkansas, willing to associate together for the purpose of co-operating with the National Union Republican party of the nation in securing and maintaining equal legal and political rights to all the citizens of the Republic and restore the State to its political relations in the Union, now here in State convention assembled, do proclaim and declare the following declaration of principles on which they have unanimously agreed: I. That we will ever defend the Constitution of the United States thereunder as the sacred palladium of our rights and liberties. That the Union of the States under the Constitution constitutes a national Republic, and not a mere league of independent States, and that the Constitution of the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof are the supreme laws of the land, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. II. That we arraign the unprincipled and cot rupt demagogues who for so many years neld every office and exercised a despotic control over its legislation as the sole authors of the present deplorable condition of the State and its people. To convict them of the folly and crime of having brought upon the people of the State their present woes, let facts be stated. 1. They appropriated to their own use and squandered the grants of money and lands made to the State by the National Government for educational purposes, and then refused to provide free schools or make sufficient provision for the education of the youth of the State. 2. They in like manner appropriated to their own use and otherwise squandered the swamp land grant and all other grants of land made by the National Government to the State for internal improvements and other purposes; and refusing to make any provision therefor, the State is left to this day without a completed railroad or other work of internal improvement within her borders. 3. They issued the bonds of the State as a pretended basis for a banking capital, and having negotiated the bonds and appropriated the proceeds to their own use, the State is left to pay their bonds, with years of accumulated interest, amounting in the aggregate to millions of dollars. 4. In a time of profound peace, and when the people of the State were enjoying a degree of prosperity and happiness unparalleled in any country on the globe, these unscrupulous and reckless demagogues, actuated by none but the most selfish purposes and wicked amb'ition, with a design of founding a government based on human slavery, and governed and controlled by an aristocracy of office-holders and slave-owners, and in defiance of the expressed will of the people at the ballot-box, and in violation of their own pledges, passed an ordinance of secession, proclaimed the State out of the Union, made war upon the National Government, and by. the use of vigorous conscription laws and a military rule, the despotism of which is without a parallel in the history of the world, they forced an unwilling and loyal people, who loved their country and its flag, to join in an effort to destroy the Government that had showered blessings on them and their fathers. Having inaugurated the rebellion for these hateful purposes, they secured to themselves all the civil and military offices of their insurrectionary government, and they used the power thus usurped over the lives, liberty, and property of the people to coerce them to join in their treason and rebellion, and wickedly and wantonly protracted the struggle until one-third of their victims were in their graves, and the property of all impressed, wasted away, or destroyed. 6. Failing to destroy the Republic and rob the people of their liberty by force of arms, they returned and at once demanded to be restored to the offices and control of the State, and speedily possessed themselves of the legislative department, the supreme court, and other important offices. Again in power in the State they renewed the atrocious system of plunder and oppression. The brief respite enjoyed by the people of the State from the despotic control of these RESOLUTIONS 01 political vampires, who fled the State in 1863 to avoid a just punishment for their crimes, had enabled a loyal provisional government, by an honest and economical administration, to accumulate in the treasury of the State over $150,000 in cash. The treasury is at once plundered by these men of this hard-earned money of the people; extravagance, corruption, favoritism, and oppression mark their every act; the loyal men of tlhe State are wronged and oppressed, and denied redress; treason is made a virtue and loyalty a crime; the constitution of the State is set at defiance, and the pretended laws and decrees of the now defunct rebel government declared to be in full force and binding on loyal people living under the Constitution of the United States. The obligations and evidence of indebtedness of the rebel State government which these men issued to themselves, and obtained fraudulently and without consideration, and of which the most unscrupulous of these men hold large amounts, are declared to be binding on a loyal State and a loyal people; they refuse to take the necessary, reasonable, and just steps to restore the State to the Union and representation in Congress, and contemptuously reject terms of settlement the most magnanimous and liberal ever offered to men in their position, and up to the present moment continue to present an attitude of hostility to the National Government, its authority, and supporters, bordering on open rebellion, and dangerous alike to the peace of the nation and State, and the safety of loyal and law-abiding men. And Congress wisely and justly judged that reconstruction was impossible while such constitutional and chronic traitors, plunderers of the public treasury and oppressors of the people, were permitted to exercise the political power of the State, which they have usurped and so long held by fraud, deceit, and oppression. III. That we recognize the power and right of the National Government to determine the method and apply the means of reconstructing the rebel States, and of providing lawful governments for the same, and do willingly abide by and heartily accept the measures adopted, or which may hereafter be necessarily prescribed by Congress for a full, perfect, and final reconstruction of said States; and to the end that the State may be admitted to its wonted position in the Union and representation in Congress; that the liberty and rights of every citizen may be secured and sacredly guarded and protected under an honest, competent, and loyal State government; that the credit of the State may be restored, and economy in the public expendi tures secured; that the construction of railroads and other internal improvements so necessary to the prosperity of the State may be commenced and vigorously prosecuted; that an enlightened and judicious system of free common schools, providing for the education of all the children of the State, may be inaugurated; that emigration and capital from every quarter may be invited and induced to enter our State, and that peace, security, and prosperity may be restored to the State and all its people, we declare that we are in favor of immediate action under and in conformity to the acts of Congress, and "we hereby tender to the major general command SCONVENTIONS. 251 ing this district our hearty and cordial support and co-operation in the honest and faithful execution of the same. IV. That we denounce the guilty authors of the late rebellion who refuse to acquiesce in the necessary, legitimate, and just results of their own folly and crime, and who are now counseling the people to renewed opposition and resistance to the legitimate and lawful authority of the National Government, as enemies of the Union, and all the dearest and best interests of the State and her people, and they deserve and should receive the scorn of every honest citizen who desires to see law, and order, and peace, security, and prosperity secured to the State. V. That the most dangerous enemies of the nation and State are the disloyal newspapers and political demagogues, who, while they denounce the late action of Congress as illegal, unconstitutional, and despotic, nevertheless declare it to be their purpose to control, if they can, all action thereunder, with the declared purpose, as soon as representation in Congress is secured, of immediately repudiating their compact with the National Govornment, and by a change of the constitution of the State disfranchise the recently enfranchised citizens of the State, prohibit the education of their children, and adopt other reactionary and revolutionary measures. VI. That the Congress of the nation is solemnly pledged not to recognize any State government made by and in the hands' of open and declared enemies of the great principles of liberty and justice embraced in the measures of reconstruction; and more especially wvill Congress refuse to recognize a government in the hands of men who avow it to be their purpose to ovetthrow these great principles the moment they obtain congressional recognition of their dishonest and hypocritical action; and we warn every good citizen of the State who favors reconstruction and wishes to enjoy the blessings and benefits to be derived from our early restoration to the Union against the criminal folly of intrusting the work to such hands. VII. That we heartily indorse all meetings and conventions heretofore held in the State which had in view the reconstruction of this State in harmony with the will of Congress. VIII. That State taxation shall be equal and uniform, and that no discrimination should be made in favor of one species of property at the expense of another. IX. That all the citizens of every county in the State who approve of the declaration of principles and purposes here announced are earnestly urged to meet in their respective counties and organize, and report their organization to the chairman of the State central committee, at Little Rock, in order that a united and harmonious effort may be made to secure equal rights and justice to all, just and good government, wisely and honestly administered, by loyal men. North Carolina. REPUBLICAN, MARCH 27, 1867. Having assembled in the city of Raleigh, on the 27th of March, 1867, in conformity with a timely and patriotic call, reflecting the sentimnents 252 POLITICAL MANUAL. of the loyal men of the State, and believing the time is at hand when an open and fearless expression of sentiment, opinion, and purpose is urgently demanded: Therefore, 1. Resolved, That in view of our present political condition, our relations to the National Government, and the people of all sections of the country, we do this day with proud satisfaction unfurl the brilliant and glorious banner of the Republican party, and earnestly appeal to every true and patriotic man in the State to rally to its support. The splendid and patriotic record made by this great political organization, in standing by the General Government with an inflexible resolution, in carrying forward profound measures of statesmanship to a successful issue, and the powerful aid given by it in finally overthrowing And prostrating the most gigantic rebellion of ancient or modern times, should command the respect and challenge the admiration of every candid man. 2. That the American Congress is eminently entitled to the profound thanks of the whole country for its persevering, persistent, and heroic devotion to the great principles of human rights as enunciated in the Declaration of Independence; that in the name of the patriotic people of this State we feel warranted in cordially assenting to and accepting the reconstruction plan recently and finally adopted by that body; and to the end that peace and order may be permanently secured, and every industrial pursuit resumed and encouraged, we pledge ourselves to use every fair and legitimate means to influence public sentiment to the nearest possible approach to unanimity on this subject. 3. That we rejoice that the dogma, long propagated, of the right of peaceable secession under the Constitution, has been forever overthrown by the majestic uprising of the American people, in crushing out the late rebellion by force of arms, and that the doctrine of the supremacy of the General Government has been established, and that the paramount allegiance of the citizen has been acknowledged as due to the United States. 4. That we sincerely exult in the fact that as a nation we are now absolutely a nation of freemen, and that the sun in all his course over our wide-spread country no longer shines upon the brow of a slave. Without reservation, we heartily indorse the great measures of civil rights and impartial enfranchisement, without any property qualification, conferred without distinction of color, and that we are ready to unite in the early practical attainment of these inestimable privileges. Although the mortal remains of Abraham Lincoln now rest silently beneath the soil of his adopted State, yet his voice still rings like a clarion through the land, earnestly summoning every American citizen to the support of the great party of liberty and emancipation. 5. That as the most potent and efficient means by which the South can speedily regain her lost prosperity, we earnestly advocate the spreading of knowledge and education among all men, and that to the attainment of this great end, we demand and shall persistently and firmly insist upon the absolute right of free discussion and free speech on all subjects of public interest. 6. That we join in an earnest wish for the maintenance, untarnished and undimmed, of the public credit and plighted faith of the nation. 7. That in the maintenance of the position taken and the principles this day avowed, we earnestly invite the influence and co-operation of men of all political persuasions, who regard and cordially support the recent action of Congress as a solution of our present political difficulties; that we deprecate partizan violence, and desire peace and good-will toward all men; and if in an open and fearless effort, which we propose to make on every suitable occasion, to persuade and convince the people that our highest duty and truest interest are to be subserved by maintaining the principles of the Republican party, an earnest interest should be awakened, it will be from no other cause than a rigid adherence to what we regard as a sacred right and a solemn public duty. South Carolina. OF CHARLESTON REPUBLICANS, MARCH 22, 1867. 1. Resolved, That we give our cordial and entire sanction to the action of Congress for the restoration of the Union, and to the wise and just principles of the Republican party. 2. That in order to make the labors of all our loyal fellow-citizens more effectual for carrying out the provisions of Congress for the restoration of law and order in our State, as well as for the peace and prosperity of our entire country, we do form an association to be known as the "Union Republican party of South Carolina." 3. That we pledge our sacred honor, our fortunes, and our lives to serve our country, to preserve her institutions, and especially to aid hei in keeping inviolate the national faith, which has been sacredly pledged to the payment of the national debt incurred to save the liberties of the country and to suppress rebellion, and that the people will not suffer this faith to be violated or impaired; but all debts incurred to support the rebellion, as they were unlawful, void, and of no obligation, shall never be assumed by the United States, nor shall South Carolina be permitted to pay any debt whatever which was contracted to aid the rebellion in any form. 4. That the nation owes to the brave men, white and colored, of our army and navy a debt of lasting gratitude for their heroic services in defence of the Constitution and the Union, and that, while we cherish with a tender affection the memories of the fallen, we pledge to their widows and orphans the nation's care and protection. 5. That as republican institutions cannot be preserved unless intelligence be generally diffused among all classes, we will demand of our legislature a uniform system of common schools, which shall be open to all, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition; such system to be supported by a general tax upon all kinds of property. 6. That we will favor a liberal system of public improvements, such as railroads, canals, and other works, and also such a system of awarding contracts for the same as will give all our fel RESOLUTIONS CF CONVENTIONS. low-citizens an equal and fair chance to share in them. 7. That we will also insist on such modification of the laws of the State as will do away with imprisonment for debt, except for fraud; and imprisonment of witnesses, except for willful absence; and especially to abolish, entirely and forever, the barbarous custom of corporal punishment for crime or any other cause. 8. That, as large land monopolies tend only to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, and are ruinous to the agricultural, commercial, and social interests of the State, the legislature should offer every practicable inducement for the division and sale of unoccupied lands among the poorer classes and as an encouragement to emigrants to settle in our State. 9. That the law of ejectment and distraint should be so modified as to protect equally the landlord and the tenant. 10. That provision should be made for the exemption of the poor man's homestead. 11. That the interests of the State demand a revision of the entire code of laws and the reorganization of the courts. 12. That the interests not only of the State, but of the whole country, demand every possible guaranty for the perpetuity of all the rights conferred upon the newly enfranchised portion of our fellow-citizens, and that, in the use of the sacred right of the elective franchise, we will seek to elevate to offices of trust and honor only those who are truly loyal, honest, and capable, irrespective of race, color, or previous condition. 13. The consideration of justice and humanity demand provision by the legislature for the protection and support of the aged, infirm, and helpless poor, irrespective of race, color, or previous condition. 14. That we will not support any candidate for office who will not openly indorse, advocate, and defend the principles adopted by the Union Republican party. 15. Relying upon Divine Providence for wisdom in our counsels, efficiency in our action, harmony among ourselves, with malice toward none and charity to all, we pledge our earnest and best efforts for the return of peace and prosperity to all our people, and for an early representation of our beloved State in the Congress of the United States. Virginia Republican State Convention, APRIL 17 AND 18, 1867. "Whereas, having for the first 4ime in the history of Virginia assembled at her State capital, at the call of a Union Republican State committee, as a convention of Union men, for the pur"pose of ratifying the acts of the 39th and 40th Congresses, and adopting measures to unite all parties who earnestly and honestly desire that this legislation should be perfected in accordance with the express desire of Congress and carried out in good faith by the people of this State, we, therefore, in convention assembled, do First. Resolve, That we return our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the 39th Congress for their recent legislation resulting in the passage of the Sherman-Shellabarger bill and its supplement, and certify with gratitude that the beneficial effects of such legislation are already visible in the increased security of loyal men, and in inducing immediate efforts toward reconstruction on the part of all classes; and that we do hereby pledge our earnest and persistent efforts to carry out in good faith, without evasion, with honesty of purpose, unflinching courage, and never-tiring energy, all its provisions, believing that by this course alone can permanent peace and prosperity be restored to the State and an early admission to the Union be secured. 2. That in the principles of the National Republican party of the United States we recognize all we can desire as a guide in our political future; that we adopt them as our platform, and pledge ourselves to their support, and cordially invite the co-operation of all classes of our fellow-citizens, without distinction of race or color, without regard to former political opinions or action, induced by such convictions. We invite them to join us, and pledge them a warm welcome to our ranks, and a full and free participation in all the advantages of our organization. And firmly believing that in the present condition of public affairs the Republican party offers the most available means through its organization for the speedy attainment of permanent reconstruction, we do hereby adopt its principles and platform as the basis and platform of the Union Republican party of Virginia. 3. That we adopt as part of our platform and as cardinal points in thepolicy of the Union Republican party of Virginia the following propositions: first, equal protection to all men before the courts, and equal political rights in all respects, including the right to hold office; second, a system of common-school education, which shall give to all classes free schools and a free and equal participation in all its benefits; third, a more just and equitable system of taxation, which shall apportion taxes to property, and require all to pay in proportion to their ability; fourth, a modification of the usury laws sufficient to induce foreign capital to seek investment in the State; fifth, encouragement to internal improvements and every possible inducement to immigration. 4. That in the noble utterances of the founders of our Constitution, we recognize a true appreciation of the great fact that parties or governments, to be prosperous or successful, must be founded or administered on the basis of exact and equal justice to all men; and we accept as our guides the great principles enunciated by them, first and most important of which is the great and glorious truth " that all men are created free and equal, are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" and we solemnly pledge, on the part of this convention and the party it represents, a strict adhesion to these sentiments, which, for the first time in the history of Virginia, a political organization is in a position to adopt in spirit and action as in name. 5. That believing the principles enunciated in the foregoing resolutions can be objectionable to no man who really loves the Union, and that they are the only true principles which can give to Virginia an early restoration to the Union 254 POLITICAL MANUAL. and enduring peace and prosperity, we solemnly pledge ourselves to support no man for an elective office who fails to join us in their adoption and enforcement, who fails to identify himself with the Union Republican party in spirit and action, or hesitates to connect himself openly and publicly with its platform as adopted here to-day. 6. That we recognize the great fact that the interests of the laboring classes of the State are identical, and that, without regard to color, we desire to elevate them to their true position; that the exaltation of the poor and humble, the restraint of the rapacious and the arrogant, the lifting up of the poor and degraded without humiliation or degradation to any; that the attainment of the greatest amount of happiness and prosperity to the greatest number is our warmest desire, and shall have our earnest and persistent efforts in their accomplishment; that while we desire to see all men protected in full and equal proportions, and every political right secured to the colored man that is enjoyed by any other class of citizens, we do not desire to deprive the laboring white men of any rights or privileges which they now enjoy, but do propose to extend those rights and privileges by the organization of the Republican party in this State. KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA RESOLUTIONS. Kentucky Resolutions, November, 1498. 1. Resolved, That the several States composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government; but that, by compact, under the style and title of a Constitut:on for the United States and of Amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes, delegated to that Government certain definite powers, reserving each State to itself the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force: That to this compact each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party, its co-States forming as to itself the other party: That the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among parties having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions, as of the mode and measure of redress. 2. That the Constitution of the United States having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the laws of nations, and no other crimes whatever, and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, " that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people;" therefore, also the same act of Congress, passed on the 14th day of July, 1798, and entitled, "An act in addition to the act entitled, 'an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," as also the act passed by them on the 27th day of June, 1798, entitled "An act to punish frauds committed on the Bank of the United States,' " (and all other their acts which assume to create, define, or punish crimes other than those enumerated in the Constitution,) are altogether void and of no force, and that the power to create, define, and punish such other crimes is reserved, and of right appertains solely and exclusively, to the respective States, each within its own territory. 3. That it is true as a general principle, and is also expressly declared by one of the amendments to the Constitution, that " the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people;" and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press, being delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, all lawful powers respecting the same did of right remain, and were reserved, to the States or to the people: That thus was manifested their determination to retain to themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without lessening their useful freedom, and how far those abuses which cannot be separated from their use should be tolerated rather than the use be destroyed; and thus, also, they guarded against all abridgment by the United States of the freedom of religious opinions and exercises, and retained to themselves the right of protecting the same, as this Sfate, by a law passed on the general demand of its citizens, had already protected them from all human restraint or interference: And that, in addition to this general principle and express declaration, another and more special provision has been made by one of the amendments to the Constitution, which expressly declares that " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press," thereby guarding in the same sentence, and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, insomuch that whatever violates either throws down the sanctuary which covers the others, and that libels, falsehoods, and defamation, equally with heresy and false religion, are withheld from the cognizance of federal tribunals: That therefore the act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the 14th day of July, 1798, entitled "An act in addition to the act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," which does abridge the freedom of the press, is not law, but is altogether void and of no effect. 4. That alien friends are under the jurisdiction and protection of the laws of the State wherein they are; that no power over them has been delegated to the United States nor prohibited to the individual States distinct from their power over citizens; and it being true, as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, RESOLUTIONS OF CONVENTIONS. 255 are reserved to the States respectively or to the people," the act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the 22d day of June,1798, entitled "An act concerning aliens," which assumes power over alien friends not delegated by the Constitution, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force. 5. That in addition to the general principle as "well as the express declaration that powers not delegated are reserved, another and more special provision inserted in the Constitution from abundant caution has declared "that the migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808:" Tha.t this Commonwealth does admit the migration of alien friends described as the subject of the said act concerning aliens; that a provision against prohibiting their migration is a provision against all acts equivalent thereto, or it would be nugatory; that to remove them -when migrated is equivalent to a prohibition of their migration, and is therefore contrary to the said provision of the Constitution and void. 6. That the imprisonment of a person under the protection of the laws of this Commonwealth on his failure to obey the simple order of the President to depart out of the United States, as is undertaken by the said act, entitled " an act concerning aliens," is contrary to the Constitution, one amendment to which has provided, that "no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law," and that another having provided " that in all criminal prosecu-, tions the accused shall enjoy the right to a public trial by an impartial jury, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence," the same act undertaking to authorize the President to remove a person out of the United States who is under the protection of the law, on his own suspicion, without accusation, without jury, without public trial, without confrontation of the witnesses against him, without having witnesses in his favor, without defence, without counsel, is contrary to these provisions also of the Constitution, is therefore not law, but utterly void and of no force. That transferring the power of judging any person, who is under the protection of the laws, from the courts to the President of the United States, as is undertaken by the same act concerning aliens, is against the article of the Constitution which provides that "the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in courts, the judges of which shall hold their offices during good behavior;" and that the said act is void for that reason also; and it is further to be noted, that this transfer of judiciary power is to that magistrate of the General Government who already possesses all the executive, and a qualified negative in all the legislative powers. 7. That the construction applied by the General Government (as is evinced by sundry of their proceedings) to those parts of the Constitution of the United States which delegates to Congress a power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; to pay the debts, and pro vide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States, and to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States, or any department thereof, goes to the destruction of all the limits prescribed to their power by the Constitution. That words meant by that instrument to be subsidiary only to the execution of the limited powers ought not to be so construed as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part so to be taken as to destroy the whole residue of the instrument: That the proceedings of the General Government under color of these articles will be a fit and necessary subject for revisal and correction at a time of greater tranquillity, while those specified in the preceding resolutions call for immediate redress. 8. That the preceding resolutions be transmitted to the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this Commonwealth, who are hereby enjoined to present the same to their respective houses, and to use their best endeavors to procure, at the next session of Congress, a repeal of the aforesaid unconstitutional and obnoxious acts. 9. Lastly, That the Governor of this Commonwealth be, and is hereby, authorized and requested to communicate the preceding resolutions to the legislatures of the several States, to assure them that this Commonwealth considers union for specified national purposes, and particularly for those specified in their late federal compact, to be friendly to the peace, happiness, and prosperity of all the States: that faithful to that compact, according to the plain intent and meaning in which it was understood and acceded to by the several parties, it is sincerely anxious for its preservation: that it does also believe, that to take from the States all the powers of self-government, and transfer them to a general and consolidated government, without regard to the special obligations and reservations solemnly agreed to in that compact, is not for the peace, happiness, or prosperity of these States: And that therefore this Commonwealth is determined, as it doubts not its co-States are, tamely to submit to undelegated and consequently unlimited powers in no man or body of men on earth: that if the acts befQre specified should stand, these conclusions would flow from them; that the General Government may place any act they think proper on the list of crimes, and punish it themselves, whether enumerated or not enumerated by the Constitution as cognizable by them; that they may transfer its cognizance to the President or any other person, who may himself be the accuser, counsel, judge, and jury, whose suspicions ma; be the evidence, his order the sentence, his oh: cer the executioner, and his breast the sole record of the transaction; that a very numerous and valuable description of the inhabitants of these States, being by this precedent reduced as outlaws to the absolute dominion of one man, and the barrier of the Constitution thus swept away from us all, no rampart now remains against the passions and the power of a majority of Congress to protect from a like exportation or other more grievous punishment the minority 25 POLITICAL MAN UAL. of the same body, the legiLslatures, judges, governors, and counselors of the States, nor their other peaceable inhabitants who may venture to reclaim the constitutional rights and liberties of the States and people, or who for other causes, good or bad, may be obnoxious to the views, or marked by the suspicions of the President, or be thought dangerous to his or their elections or other interests, public or personal; that the friendless alien has indeed been selected as the safest subject of a first experiment; but the citizen will soon follow, or rather has already followed; for already has a sedition act marked him as its prey: that these and successive acts of the same character, unless arrested on the threshold, may tend to drive these States into revolution and blood, and will furnish new calumnies against republican governments, and new pretexts for those who wish it to be believed that man cannot be governed but by a rod of iron: that it would be a dangerous delusion, were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights: that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism; free government is founded in jealousy and not in confidence; it is jealousy and not confidence which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power: that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which and no further our confidence may go; and let the honest advocate of confidence read the alien and sedition acts, and say if the Constitution has not been wise in fixing limits to the government it created, and whether we should be wise in destroying those limits? Let him say what the Government is if it be not a tyranny, which the men of our choice have conferred on the President, and the President of our choice has assented to and accepted over the friendly strangers, to whom the mild spirit of our country and its laws had pledged hospitality and protection: that the men of our choice have more respected the bare suspicions of the President than the solid rights of innocence, the claims of justification, the sacred force of truth, and the forms and substance of law and justice. In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. That this Commonwealth does therefore call on its coStates for an expression of their sentiments on the acts concerning aliens and for the punishment of certain crimes hereinbefore specified, plainly declaring whether these acts are or are not authorized by the federal compact? And it doubts not that their sense will be so announced as to prove their attachment unaltered to limited government, whether general or particular, and that the rights and liberties of their co-States will be exposed to no dangers by remaining embarked on a common bottom with their own: That they will concur with this Commonwealth in considering the said acts as so palpably against the Constitution, as to amount to an undisguised declara*ion that the compact is not meant to be the measure of the powers of the General Government, but that it will proceec in the exercise over these States of all power? whatsoever: That they will view this as seizini the rights of the States, and consolidating them in the hands of the General Government with a power assumed to bind the States, (not merely in cases made federal,) but in all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against their consent: That this would be to surrender the form of government we have chosen, and to live under one deriving its powers from its own will, and not from our authority; and that the co-States, recurring to their natural right in cases not made federal, will concur iui declaring these acts void and of no force, and will each unite with this Commonwealth in requesting their repeal at the next session of Congress. -. Virginia Resolutions, December, 1798..Resolved, That the General Assembly of Virginia doth unequivocally express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of this State against every aggression, either foreign or domestic; and that they will support the Government of the United States in all measures warranted by the former. 2. That this Assembly most solemnly declares a warm attachment to the Union of the States, to maintain which it pledges its powers; and that, for this end, it is their duty to watch over and oppose every infraction of those principles which constitute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observance of them can alone secure its existence and the public'happiness. 3. That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the Federal Government as resulting from the compact to which the States are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting that compact, as no further valid than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that, in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said cornpact, the States, who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties appertaining to them. 4. That the General Assembly doth also express its deep regret that a spirit has, in sundry instances, been manifested by the Federal Government to enlarge its powers by forced constructions of the constitutional charter which defines them; and that indications have appeared of a design to expound certain general phrases (which, having been copied from the very limited grant of powers in the former Articles of Confederation, were the less liable to be misconstrued) so as to destroy the meaning and effect of the particular enumeration which necessarily explains and limits the general phrases, and so as to consolidate 3 the States, by degrees, into one sovereignty, the Sobvious tendency and inevitable result of which; would be to transform the present republican; system of the United States into an absolute, or, at best, a mixed monarchy. 5. That the General Assembly doth particui larly protest against the palpable and alarming Sinfractions of the Constitution in the two late POLITICAL MISCELLANY. cases of the "alien and sedition acts," passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power nowhere delegated to the Federal Government, and which, by uniting legislative and judicial powers to those of executive, subverts the general principles of free government, as well as the particular organization and positive provisions of the Federal Constitution; and the other of which acts exercises, in like manner, a power not delegated by the Constitution, but, on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto-a power which, more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is levelled against the right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right. 6. That this State, having by its convention, which ratified the Federal Constitution, expressly declared that, among other essential rights, "the liberty of conscience and the press cannot be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified, by any authority of the United States," and from its extreme anxiety to guard these rights from every possible attack of sophistry and ambition, having, with other States, recommended an amendment for that purpose, which amendment was, in due time, annexed to the Constitutionit would mark a reproachful inconsistency, and criminal degeneracy if an indifference were now shown to the most palpable violation of one of the rights thus declared and secured, and to the establishment of a precedent which may be fatal to the other. 7. That the good people of this Commonwealth, having ever felt, and continuing to feel, the most sincere affection for their brethren of the other States, the truest anxiety for establishing and perpetuating the union of all, and the most scrupulous fidelity to that Constitution, which is the pledge of mutual friendship and the instrument of mutual happiness, the General Assembly doth solemnly appeal to the like dispositions in the other States, in confidence that they will concur with this Commonwealth in declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid are unconstitutional, and that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each for co-operating with this State in maintaining unimpaired the authorities, rights, and liberties reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 8. That the Governor be desired to transmit a copy of the foregoing resolutions to the executive authority of each of the other States, with a request that the same may be communicated to the legislature thereof, and that a copy be furnished to each of the Senators and Representatives representing this State in the Congress of the United States. XXII. POLITICAL MISCELLANY. ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN THE STATES. In Tennessee. 1867, February 6-The HOUSE passed a bill striking the word " white " from the franchise law of the State*<-yeas 38, nays 25. The yeas were Messrs. Anderson of Hamilton, Anderson of White, Baker, Blackman, Clements, Clingan, Donaldson, Doughty, Dowdy, Elliott, Fuson, Garner, Gilmer, Hudson, Hale, Kerchival, Maxwell, McNair, Morris, Murphy, Norman, Patton, Porter, Puckett, Raulston, Richards, Shepherd, Smith of Hardeman, Smith of Obion, Taylor, Thornburgh, Underwood, Waters, Welsh, Wines, Woodcock, Woods, and Speaker (pro tern.) Mullov-38. "February 18- The SENATE concurred-yeas 14, nays 7. March 21-The supreme court of the State unanimously sustained the constitutionality of the franchise law. A law was also passed containing this provision: " That in all State, district, county, and all other elections, such aliens as have resided more than one year in the United States, and more than six months in the State of Tennessee, shall have the right of the elective franchise: Provided, That such persons shall have previously * For copy of the law see Political Manual for 1866, pp. 27, 28. 17 declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, and that they shall not have participated in the late rebellion." In Ohio. 1867, April 6-This joint resolution passed: A RESOLUTION Relative to an amendment of the constitution, providing for the extension of the elective franchise: -Resolved, By the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, three-fifths of the members elected to each house agreeing thereto, that it be and is hereby proposed to the electors of this State, to vote at the next annual Ootober election upon the approval or rejection of the following amendment as a substitute for the first section of the fifth article of the constitution of this State, to wit: "Every male citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State one year next preceding the election, and of the county, township, or ward in which he resides such time as may be provided by law, except such persons as have borne arms in support of any insurrection or rebellion against the Government of the United States, or have fled from their places of residence to avoid being drafted into the military service thereof, or have deserted the military or naval service of said Government in time of war, and 258 POLITICAL MANUAL. had not subsequently been honorably discharged from the same, shall have the qualifications of an elector, and be entitled to vote at all elections." In the SENATE, the vote was yeas 23, nays 11, strictly party vote except that Mr. Combs (Republican) voted in the negative. In Wisconsin. Both houses have agreed to proposing an amendment to the constitution so as to extend suffrage to allpersons* over the age of twentyone years. The vote in the Senate was 18 to 9, not voting 6. In New Jersey. A proposition to strike the word "white" from the constituti6h was defeated in the house -yeas 20, nays 38, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Atwater, Sayre, Murphy, Edwards, Baldwin, Voorhees, Runyon, A. P. Condit, Bruere, Stansbury, Mount, Estler, J. D. Condit, Wolsieffer, Moore, Custis, Ball, Trimble, Morris, Falkenbury-20. NAYS-Messrs. Allen, Taylor, 11if, Davenport, W. W. Clark, Vail, Lippincott, Fort, Christie, White, Pickel, Henry, Coles, Crozer, Ayres, Tyrrell, W.J.lliff, Evans, II. F. Clark, Vliet, Nixon, Garrison, Ceilings, Wilson, Thompson, Hendrickson, Hedden, Dwyer, Beesley, Van EEmburgh, Jarrard, Fulmer, Corlies, Ward, Perrine, Givens, Coate, Yawger-38. In New York. The Republican State convention to nominate delegates at large for a constitutional convention unanimously adopted this resolution: Resolved, That the delegates to the coming constitutional convention, this day appointed, be instructed to support by every honorable means an amendment to the constitution giving to the black man the same rights of ballot as to the "white man. In Kansas. A proposition to extend the elective franchise to women is pending. A PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. In February, 1867, an effort was made to prepare a constitutional amendment to be substituted for that proposed by Congress. The plan given below was published, and was declared to be approved by President Johnson, and submitted to the Legislature of North Carolina, but was not favorably received: "Whereas it has been announced by persons high in authority that propositions from the southern States having in view the adjustment of our present political troubles would be received and considered, &c: Therefore, Resolved by the Legislature of the State of-, That the Congress of the United States be requested to propose to the legislatures of the several States the following amendment to the Constitution of the United States: ARTICLE 14, SEc. 1. No State under the Constitution has a right of its own will to renounce its place in or to withdraw from the Union; nor has the Federal Government any right to eject a State from the Union, or to deprive it of its equal suffrage in the Senate or of representation in the use of Representatives. The Union under the Constitution shall be perpetual. SEc. 2. The public debt of the United States, authorized by law, shall ever be held sacred and inviolate; but neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the Government or authority of the United States. SEc. 3. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States in which they reside; and the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. No State shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. SEC. 4. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the vwhole number of persons in each State,excluding Indians not taxed. But when any State shall, on account of race or color or previous condition of servitude, deny the exercise of the franchise at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, members of the legislature, and other officers elected by the people, to any of the male inhabitants of such State being twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, then the entire class of persons so excluded from the exercise of the elective franchise shall not be counted in the basis of representation. And whereas, &c., be it further resolved by the Legislature of --, That the following article shall be adopted as an amendment to, and become a part of the constitution of the State of ARTICLE -. Every male citizen who has resided in this State for one year, and in the county in which he offers to vote six months immediately preceding the day of election, and who can read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States in the English language and write his name; or who may be the owner of two hundred and fifty dollars' worth of taxable property, shall be entitled to vote at all elections for governor of the State, members of the legislature and all other officers the election of whom may be by the people of the State: Provided, That no person by reason of this article shall be excluded from voting who has heretofore exercised the elective *The following paragraph from the Newo York Tribune is apposite: Lucy Stone and H. B. Blackwell, citizens of New Jersey, have made an investigation, the result of which is remarkable, and proves that previously to 1776 only men voted, but that in 1776 the original State constitution conferred the franchise on "all inhabitants" (men or women, white or black) possessing the prescribed qualifications of ~50 clear estate and twelve months' residence, and this constitution remained in force until 1814. In 1790, the Legislature, in an act regulating elections, used the words "he or she" in reference to voters. In 1797, another act relative to elections repeatedly designates the voters as "he or she." In the same year, 1797, seventy-five women voted in Elizabethtown for the Federal candidate. In 1800 women generally voted throughout the State in the presidential contest between Jefferson and Adams. In 1802 a member of the legislature from Hunterdon county was actually elected, in a closely contested election, by the votes of two or three women of color. In 1807, at a local election in Essex county for the location of the county seat, men and women generally participated, and were jointly implicated in very extensive frauds, In the winter of 1807-8, the legislature, in violation of the terms of the constitution, passed an act restricting suffrage to free white male adult citizens, and, in reference to these, virtually abolished the property qualification of ~50, thus extending it to all white male tax-payers, while excluding all women and negroes. In 1820 the same provisions were repeated, andreemained unchanged until the adoption of the present eonstitution in 1844. POLITICAL MISCELLANY. 259 franchise under the constitution or laws of this State, or who, at the time of the adoption of this amendment, may be entitled to vote under said constitution and laws. THE ELECTIONS OF 1867. In NEw HAMPSHIRE, the vote stood: Governor-Harriman, Republican, 35,776; Sinclair, Democrat, 32,733. Republican majority in Legislature, about 75. In CONNECTICUT, the vote stood: GovernorHawley, Republican, 46,585; English, Democrat, 47,575. State Legislature: SENATE-Republicans 11, Democrats 10. HOUSE-Republicans 124, Democrats 114. Republican majority on joint ballot, 11. In RHODE ISLAND, the vote stood: GovernorBurnside, Republican, 7,554; Pierce, Democrat, 3,350. The legislature is largely Republican. In MARYLAND, the vote on calling a convention to revise the constitution of the State, was: For a convention, 34,534; against, 24,136. In Maryland, a new registry law was passed, directing the registering of " all white male persons " over twenty-one, not criminals or lunatics, and possessing sufficient residence. The legislature also passed an act authorizing and directing the comptroller of that State to examine, adjust, and pay all claims presented to him for settlement by the officers and members, and others of the General Assembly of 1861. It rejected a bill to authorize colored persons to testify in the courts. It provided for the appointment by the governor, by the advice and consent of the senate, in each county, of a " commissioner of slave statistics," to prepare statements of the names, number, age, sex, and physical condition of the slaves in the respective counties at the time of the adoption of the State constitution in 1864, to state whether they were slaves for life or term of years, and whether they were enlisted or drafted into the military service of the United States, so far as is known to said owners or others, and in what regiment they were placed, and what compensation, if any, has been received by such owners from the State or General Government for such slaves-the lists to be preserved among the public records of the counties, and declared to be legal evidence of ownership, &c. The commissioners are to receive twenty-five cents per capita for each slave, to be paid by the former owner. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. A convention has recently been chosen in NEW YORK by the votes of all persons qualified to vote for members of the Assembly; but no person was allowed to vote who could not, if challenged, take and subscribe this oath: "I (A.B.) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise, the functions of any office whatever under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto, and did not wilfully desert from the military or naval service of the United States, or leave this State to avoid the draft during the late rebellion." The convention is to meet in Albany on the first Tuesday in June. The new constitution is to be submitted in November next-as a whole or otherwise, as the convention may determine -to a vote of those qualified to vote for delegates. The convention stands, politically, Republicans 100, Democrats 60. A convention was chosen in MARYLAND, " by the registered voters thereof," on the second Wednesday of April, in which St. Mary's county has three delegates; Kent, 4; Calvert, 3; Charles, 3; Baltimore county, 7; Talbot, 4; Somerset, 5; Dorchester, 4; Cecil, 5; Prince George's, 4; Queen Anne's, 4; Worcester, 5; Frederick, 7; Harford, 5; Caroline, 4; Baltimore city, 21; Montgomery, 4; Ailegany, 6; Carroll, 6; Howard, 4; Anne Arundel, 4; and Washington, 6. Said constitution it is provided, shall contain a " clause prohibiting the legislature from making any law providing for payment by this State for persons heretofore held as slaves." T.he convention is to meet in Annapolis, on the second Wednesday of May, 1867, the compensation of members to be five dollars per day and mileage, and the president of the convention is authorized to order the payment of the compensation above provided, and the treasurer required to pay the same, in conformity with said order. The constitution is to be submitted to the legal and qualified voters for their ratification or rejection, at such time, in such manner, and subject to such rules and regulations as the convention may prescribe. Judges of election, clerks of court, or sheriffs failing or neglecting to perform any duties required of them respecting these elections, are made liable to indictment, and fine of $1,000 and imprisonment of six months. The convention is unanimously Democratic and "Conservative," the Republicans declining to run candidates. In MICHIGAN, a Convention has been chosen, with a large Republican supremacy. Statement of the Public Debt of the United States on the 1st of April, 1867. Debt bearing coin interest..................................... Debt bearing currency interest............................................................... Matured debt not presented for payment...................................... Debt bearing no interest.-U.. Notes.............................................. Fractional currency................................................ Gold certificates of deposit...................................... $1,499,381,591 80 734,280,780 00 12,825,658 32 $375,417,249 00 29,217,494 96 12.590.600 00 --------- 417,225,343 96 Total debt......................................................................................................................... 2,663,713,374 18 Amount in Treasury, Coin............................................. 105,956,477 22 " " Currency............................. 34,328,826 52 140,285,303 74 nAmount of Debt, less Cash in the Treasury........................................................... $2,523,428,070 44 P'AIrT III. POLITICAL MANUAL FOR 1868. XXIII. ORDERS, LETTERS, MESSAGE AND VOTES IN THE SENATE RESPECTING SECRETARY STANTON. Request for Mr. Stanton's Resignation and Reply. 1.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON TO SECRETARY STANTON. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 5, 1867. SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say that your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted. Very respectfully, ANDREW JOHNSON. To Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 2.-SECRETARY STANTON TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, August 5, 1867. SIR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that public considerations of a high character constrain you to say that my resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted. In reply, I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this Department, constrain me not to resign the office of Secretary of War before the next meeting of Congress. Very respectfully, yours, EDWIN M. STANTON. To the PRESIDENT. Secretary Stanton's Suspension. 3.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON TO SECRETARY STANTON. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 12, 1867. SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to the same. You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge. Very respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, &cretary of War. ~A I.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON TO GENERAL GRANT. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 12, 1867. &IT: Thehonorable Edwin M. Stanton having beer this day suspended as Secretary of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, and will at once enter upoh the discharge of the duties of that office. The Secretary of War has been instructed to transfer to you all records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge. Very respectfully, yours, ANDREW J.HNSON. To General ULYSSES S. GRANT, Washington, D. C. 5.-GENERAL GRANT TO SECRETARY STANTON. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 12, 1867. SIR: Enclosed herewith I have the honor to transmit to you a copy of a letter just received from the President of the United States, notifying me of my assignment as Acting Secretary of War, and directing me to assume those duties at once. In notifying you of my acceptance, I cannot let the opportunity pass without expressing to you my appreciation of the zeal, patriotism, firmness, and ability with which you have ever discharged the duties of Secretary of War. With great respect, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. To Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 6.-SECRETARY STANTON TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, August 12, 1867, SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that, by virtue of the power and authority vested in you as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, I' am suspended from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to the same, and also directing me at once to transfer to General U. S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records 261 262 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. books, papers, and other public property now in my custody and charge. Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and consent of the Senate, and without legal cause, to suspend me from office as Secretary of War, or the exercise of any or all functions pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent to compel me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public property in my custody as Secretary. But inasmuch as the General commanding the armies of the United States has been appointed ad interim, and has notified me that he has accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under protest, to superior force. Very respectfully, yours, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of IWar. To the PRESIDENT. 7.-SECRETARY STANTON TO GENERAL GRANT. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, August 12, 1867. GENERAL: Your note of this date, accompanied by a copy of a letter addressed to you, August 12, by the President, appointing you Secretary of War ad interim, and informing me of your acceptance of the appointment, has been received. Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny the President's right, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, to suspend me from office as Secretary of War, or to authorize any other person to enter upon the discharge of the duties of that office, or to require me to transfer to you or any other person the records, books, papers, and other property in my official custody and charge as Secretary of War. But, inasmuch as the President has assumed to suspend me from office as Secretary of War, and you have notified me of your acceptance of the appointment of Secretary of War ad interim, I have no alternative but to submit, under protest, to the superior force of the President. You will please accept my acknowledgment of the kind terms in which you have notified me of your acceptance of the President's appointment, and my cordial reciprocation of the sentiments expressed. I am, with aincere regard, truly yours, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. General ULYSSES S. GRANT. Action of the Senate, January 13, 1868. January 13-The Senate resumed consideration of the following resolution, reported by the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, the 10th instant: Resolved, That having considered the evidence and reasons given by the President in his report of the 12th December, 1867, for the suspension from the office of Secretary of War of Edwin M. Stanton, the Senate do not concur in such suspension. Which was determined in the affirmativeyeas 35, nays 6, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Chandl.er, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Ferry, Fessenden, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Ioward, IIowe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Stewart, Sunmner, Thayer, Tipten, Trumbull, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson-35. NAYs-Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, Patterson of Tennessee-6. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Grimes, Guthrie, Henderson, Hendriclcs, Johnson, Norton, Ross, Saulsbury, Sherman, Sprague, Van Winkle, Vickers, Yates-13. [The National Intelligencer stated, in its news columns, that Messrs. Henderson and Hendricks were paired, and that Mr. Ross, though present, declined to vote.] Action of General Grant. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., January 14, 1868. SIR: I have the honor to enclose herewith copy of official notice received by me last evening of the action of the Senate of the United States in the case of the suspension of Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. According to the provisions, of section two of "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," my functions as Secretary of War ad interim ceased from the moment of the receipt of the' within notice. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United'States. Subsequent Action of President Johnson. 1868, February 21-President Jofinson sent this message to the Senate: WASHINGTON, D. C., February 21, 1868. To the Senate of the United States: On the 12th day of August, 1867, by virtue of the power and authority vested in the President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, I suspended Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of War. In further exercise of the power and authority so vested in the President, I have this day removed Mr. Stanton from the office, and designated the Adjutant General of the Army as Secretary of War ad interim. Copies of the communications upon this subject, addressed to Mr. Stanton and the Adjutant General, are herewith transmitted for the information of the Senate. ANDREW JOHNSON. [For copies of these orders, see the first and second Articles of Impeachment.] Further Proceedings in the Senate. February 21-Mr. Edmunds submitted the following resolution for consideration: Resolved, That, having received and considered the communication of the President stating that he had removed from office Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, the Senate disapprove the action of the President. The Senate, by unanimous consent, proceeded to consider the said resolution. Mr. Dixon moved to amend the resolution, by striking out all after the word " Resolved," and inserting as follows: That the President be requested to inform the Senate by what authority hie Page 3] ORDERS, LETTERS, MESSAGES, JtiU. 263 has removed Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of War. Mr. Drake moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Dixon, by inserting a preamble, as follows: The Senate having received and considered the communication of the President of the United States, stating that he had removed Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary of War, it is. Which was disagreed to. The amendment of Mr. Dixon was disagreed to-yeas 4, nays 33, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Buckalew, Dixon, Doolittle, Hendricks-4. NAYe-Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Conkling. Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Ferry, Fesseldenl, Frelingimysen, Harlan, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Morril of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Spiagne, Stewart, Sumner, Tliayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-33. NOT V OTING-Messrs. Bayard, Cole, Davis, Fowler, Grimes. Johnson, McCreery, Morgan, Morton, Norton, Nye, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury, Sherman, Vickers, Wade-17. Mr Chandler moved to amend the resolution of Mr. Edmunds, l)y adding thereto the words: as a violation of the rights of the Senate, and unauthorized by law. Which was disagreed to. Mr. Wilson moved to amend the resolution, by inserting a preamble, as follows: Whereas the Senate have received and considered the conmmunication of the President of the United States, stating that he had removed Edwin 3H. Stanton, Secretary of War, and had designated the Adjutant General of the Army to act as Secretary of War ad interim; and by striking out all after the word " Resolved," and inserting, as follows: by the Senale of the United States that, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, the President has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to perform the duties of that office ad interim. Mr. Yates moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Wilson, by striking out all after the word " Resolved " and inserting, as follows: That the removal of Edwin 1M. Stanton, Secretary of War, and the appointment of a Secretary of War ad interim, during the session of the Senate, is simple resistance to law and revolutionary in character. and that the Senate disapproves of the same, and advises the said Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, not to surrender the office to any person whomsoever. Which was disagreed to. Mr. Corbett moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Wilson, by striking out all after the word " Whereas " in the preamble, and inserting the words: The President has informed the Senate that hie has removed the Secretary of War. Hon. E- 3. Stanton, and appointed Acdjutant General Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim, therefore be it; and by striking out all after the word " Resolved," and inserting in lieu thereof the words: That we do not concur in the action of the President in removing the Secretary of War and appointing the Adjutant General to act as Secretary of War ad interim; that we deny the right of the President so to act, under the existing laws, without the consent of the Senate. Which was disagreed to. The amendment of Mr. Wilson to the resolution of Mr. Edmunds was then agreed to-yeas 28, nays 6, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Cole, Conkling, Cragin, Drake, Ferry, Harlan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Ross, Sprague, Stewart. Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-28. "NAYs-Messrs. Buckcalew, Davis, Doolittle, Edmunds, IHendriccs, Patterson of Tennessee-6. NoT YomIe--Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Conness, Corbett, Dixon, Fessenden, Fowler, Frelinghunysen, Grimes, Hendlerson, Hlooward, Howe, Johnson, McCreery, Morgan, Norton, Nye, Saulsbury, Sherman, Vickcers-20. The resolution, as amended, was then agreed to without a division. Acceptance of General Lorenzo Thomas. WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, February 21, 1868. His Excellency ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States. SIR: I have the honor to report that I have delivered the communication addressed by you to the honorable Edwin M. Stanton, removing him from the office of Secretary of the War Department, and also to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date authorizing and empowering me to act as Secretary of War ad interim. I accept this appointment with gratitude for the confidence reposed in me, and will endeavor to discharge the duties to the best of my ability. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, L. THoMAs, Adjutant General. Secretary Stanton "Relinquished Charge" of the War Department. Secretary Stanton remained in possession of the War Office till after the vote in the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, on the 26th of May, on which day he addressed this communication to President Johnson: WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON;CITY, May 26, 1868. SI;R: The resolution of the Senate of the United States, of the 21st of February last, declaring that the President " has no power to remove the Secretary of War and designate any other officer to perform the duties of that office ad interim," having this day failed to be supported by two-thirds of the Senators present and voting on the articles of impeachment preferred against you by the House of Representatives, I have relinquished charge of the War Department, and have left the same, and the bookve s s, papers, and property, heretofore in my custody as Secretary of War, in care of Brevet Major General Townsend, the senior Assistant Adjutant General, subject to your direction. EDwIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. To the PRESIDENT of the United States. Secretary Stanton's order to Gen. Townsend is as follows: WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, Mfay 26, 1868. GENERAL: You will take charge of the War Department, and the books and papers, archives and public property, belonging to the same, sub 264 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. ject to the disposal and direction of the President. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. Brevet Major Gen. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. Action of the Senate upon the Nomination of General Schofield. 1868, May 29-Mr. Edmunds offered the following preamble and resolution: Whereas, on the 23d of April, 1868, the President nominated John M. Schofield to be Secretary of War, in place of Edwin M. Stanton, removed; and whereas, in the opinion of the Senate, the said Stanton has not been legally removed from his office, but inasmuch as the said Stanton has relinquished his place as Secretary of War, for causes stated in his note to the President: Therefore Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of John M. Schofield to be Secretary of War. Mr. Willey moved to amend Mr. Edmunds's resolution, by striking out all after " Resolved," and inserting That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of John ZM Schofield to be Secretary for the Department of War, in the place of Edwin iM. Stanton, hereby removed. Which was debated and withdrawn by him. Mr. Frelinghuysen moved to amend Mr. Edmunds's resolution, by striking out all after " Resolved," and inserting That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of John M1. Schofield to be Secretary for the Department of War, in the place of Edwin M. Stanton, who has relinquished that office. Mr. Henderson moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Frelinghuysen, by striking out the words " in the place of Edwin M. Stanton, who has relinquished that office." Which was rejected. Mr. Stewart moved to amend Mr. Frelinghuysen's amendment, by striking out all after "Resolved," and inserting That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of John Ml. choield as Secretary of War, in place of Edwin M. Stanton, who has been forced to retire from the discharge of the duties of said office by reason of the illegal and unconstitutional acts of the President of the United States. Which was rejected-yeas 19, nays 21, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Cameron, Cattell, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Cragin, Drake, Morrill of Vermont, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Williams, Wilson, Yates-19. NAYS-Messrs. Anthony, Buckalew, Corbett, Doolittle, Edmunds, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, lMcreery, Morgan, Morton, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Sprague, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Vickers, Willey-21. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Davis, Dixon, Ferry, Fessenden, Grimes, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morrill of Maine, Nye, Saulsbury, Sherman-14. The amendment of Mr. Frelinghuysen was then rejected-yeas 15, nays 22, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Buckalew. Corbett, Doolittle, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Hendricks, Johnson, MlcCreery, N2orton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Sprague, Tipton, Van Winkle, Vickers-15. NArs-Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Cole, Conkling, Con"ness, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Morgan, Morton, Patterson of New IHampshire, Ponmeroy, Ramsey, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-22. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Davis, Dixon, Ferry, Fessenden, Grimes. Harlan, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Nye, Saulsbury, Sherman, Truambull-17. The resolution offered by Mr. Edmunds was then agreed to-yeas 35, nays 2. as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Buckalew, Cameron, Cattell, Cole, Conness, Corbett, Doolille, Drake, Edmunds, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Henderson, HendricksJohnson, Morgan, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Patterson of New Hampshire, Patterson of Tennessee, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Ross, Sprague, Stewart. Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Vickers, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-35. NAYS-M-essrse. AlcCreery, V-orton-2. NOT VOTING-Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Conkling, Cragin, Davis, Dixon, Ferry, Fessenden, Grimes, Howard, Howe, Morrill of Maine, Nye, Saulsbury, Sherman, Sumner, Wade -17. The preamble was then agreed to-yeas 28, nays 13, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Morgan, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Patterson of New Ilampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey. Sprngue, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates28. NAYs-Buckalew, Doolittle, Fowler, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, MlcCreery, Norton. Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Vickers--13. NoT VoTING-Messrs. Bayard, Chandler, Davis, Dixon, Ferry, Fessenden, Grimes, Howard, Howe, Morrill of Maine, Nye, Saulsbury, Sherman-13. XXIV. THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AND REPLY, VOTES IN THE HOUSE, AND JUDGMENT OF THE SENATE. Proposed Impeachment of President Johnson.* Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of 1867, November 25-Mr. Boutwell, from the the United States, be impeached for high crimes Committee on the Judiciary, submitted a report, and misdemeanors. representing the views of the majority, (Messrs. Mr. Wilson, for himself and Mr. Woodbridge, Boutwell, Thomas, Williams, Lawrence, and and Mr. Marshall, for himself and Mr. ElChurchill,) and closing with this resolution: dridge, submitted minority reports. December 7-The resolution above recited was * Continued from page 64 of the Manual of 1867, or page disagreed to-yeas 57, nays 108, as follow: 190 of the combined Manuals. [No report was made at the YEAs-Messrs. Anderson, Arnell, J. M. Ashley, Boutwell, July session.] Bromwell, Broomall, Benjamin F. Butler, Churchill, Reader Page 5] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 265 W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Covode, Cullom, Donnelly, Eckley, Ela, Farnsworth,Gravely, Harding, Higby, Hopkins, Hunter, Judd, Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, William Lawrence, Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Lynch, Maynard, McClurg, Mercur, Mullins, Myers, Newcomb, Nunn, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Pile, Price, Schenck, Shanks, Aaron F. Stevens, Thaddeus Stevens, Stokes, Thomas, John Trimble, Trowbridge, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Thomas Williams, William Williams, Stephen F. Wilson-57. NAYs-Messrs. Adams, Allison, Ames, Archer, Delos R. Ashley, Axlell, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barnum, Beaman, Beck, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Boyer, Brooks, Buckland, Burr, Cary, Chanler, Cook, Dawes, Dixon, Dodge, Briggs, Eggleston, Eldidge, Eliot, Ferris,r Ferry,,fields, Garfield, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Griswold, Grover, Haight, Halsey, Hamilton, Hawkins, Hill, Holman, Hooper, Hotchkiss, Asahel W. IIubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Richard D. Itebbard, Hulb urd, THiuphrey, Ingersoll, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Ketcham. Knott, Koontz, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall, Marvin, McCarthy, McCullough, Miller, Moorhead, Morgan, Mungen, Niblack, Nicholson, Perham, Peters, Phelps, Pike, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Pruyn, Ra'ndall, Robertson, Robinson, Ross, Sawyer, Sitgreaves, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Stewart, Stone, Taber, Taylor, Upson, Van Aernam, Van Aulken, Van Trump, Van Wyck, Cadwalader C.Wnshburn, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washlburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, Woodbridge, Woodward-108. RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY. 1868, January 27-Mr. Spalding moved a suspension of the rules, to allow him to offer this resolution: Resolved, That the Committee on Reconstruction be authorized to inquire what combinations have been made or attempted to be made to obstruct the due execution of the laws, and to that end the committee have power to send for persons and papers, and to examine witnesses on oath, and report to this House what action, if any, they may deem necessary, and that said committee have leave to report at any time. Which was agreed to-yeas 103, nays 37, and the resolution was adopted-yeas 99, nays 31. OTHER MATTERS REFERRED. February 10-The evidence taken on Impeachment by the Committee on the Judiciary was, on motion of Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, referred to the Committee on Reconstruction, and the committee was given leave to report at any time. February 11-The correspondence between General Grant and President Johnson, relating to the retirement of the former from the War Office, was also referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. February 13-The Committee on Reconstruction are reported to have voted down resolutions of impeachment offered by Mr. Thaddeus Stevens. The vote on a motion to lay them on the table was, yeas 6, nays 3, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Beaman, Beck, Bingham, Brooks, Hdlburd, Paince-6. NAys-Messrs. Boutwell, Farnsworth, T. Stevens-3. The Final Effort at Impeachment. IN HOUSE. 1868, February 21-The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House the following communication from the Secretary of War: WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, February 21, 1868. SIR: General Thomas has just delivered to me a copy of the enclosed order, which you will please communicate to the hI-ouse of Representatives. E. Ml. STANTOT, Secretary of War. Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, SSpeaker House of Representatives. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 21, 1868. SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States you are hereby removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication. You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To the Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Washington, D. C. Which was referred to the Committee on Reconstruction, with authority to report at any time, together with a resolution offered by Mr. Covode, as follows: Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors. REPORT OF COMMITTEE. 1868, February 22-Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, from the Committee on Reconstruction, made the following report: The Committee on Reconstruction, to whom was referred, on the 27th day of January last, the following resolution: Resolved, That the Committee on Reconstruction be authorized to inquire what combinations have been made or attempted to be made to obstruct the due execution of the laws; and to that end the committee have power to send for persons and papers and tn examine witnesses on oath, and report to this House what action, if any, they may deem necessary, and that said committee have leave to report at any time; And to whom was also referred, on the 21st day of February, instant, a communication from Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, dated on said 21st day of February, together with a copy of a letter from Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, to the said Edwin M. Stanton, as follows: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D.C., February 21, 1868. SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and- laws of the United States you are hereby removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, and your functions as such will terminate upon the receipt of this communication. You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To the Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Washington, D. 0. And to whom was also referred by the House of Representatives the following resolution, namely: Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors; 266 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Have considered the several subjects referred to them, and submit the following report: That, in addition to the papers referred to the committee, the committee find that the President, on the 21st day of February, 1868, signed and issued a commission or letter of authority to one Lorenzo Thomas, directing and authorizing said Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim, and to take possession of the books, records, and papers, and other public property in the War Department, of which the following is a copy: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 21, 1868. SIR: Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, and will immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To Brev. Mai. Gen. LORENZO THOsAS, Adju/tant General U. S. A., Washington, D. 0. Official copy respectfully furnished to Hon. Edwin M. Stanton. L. THOMAs, Secretary of War ad interim. Upon the evidence collected by the committee, which is herewith presented, and in virtue of the powers with which they have been invested by the House, they are of the opinion that Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors. They therefore recommend to the House the adoption of the accompanying resolution. THADDEUS STEVENS, GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, JOHN A. BINGHAM, C. T. HULBURD, JOHN F. FARNSWORTH, F. C. BEAMAN, H. E. PAINE. Resolution providing for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States. Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors in office. February 24-This resolution was adoptedyeas 128, nays 47, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnell, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Beamian, Beatty, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomail, Buckland, Butler, Cake, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Dodge, Driggs, Eckley,Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Gravely, Griswold, Ialsey, Htarding, Higby. IIill, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Judd, Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Laflin, George V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Lynch, Mallory, Marvin, McCarthy, McClurg, Mercur, Miller, Moore, Moorhead, Morrcll, Mullins, Myers, Newcomb Nunn, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pike, Pile, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Price, PRamn, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Selye, Shanks, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Aaron F. Stevens, Thaddeus Stevens, Stokes, Taffe, Taylor, Thomas, Trowbridge, Twichell, Upson, Van AQrnam, Burt Van HIorn, Van Wyck,Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Ellihu B.Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge, Mr. Speaker Colfax-128. NAYs-Messrs. Adams, Archer, Axtell, Barnes, Barnum, Beck, Boyer, Brooks, Burr, Cary, Chanler, Eldridge, Ibo, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Haight, iHobman, Hotchkciss, Richard D. IHubbard, Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Knott, Marshall, McCormnicl7, MecCullough, Morgan, Mlorrissey, Mungen, Niblack, J\icholson, Phelps, Pruyn, Randall, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stezwart, Stone, Taber, Lawrence S. Trimble, Van Auken, Van Trump, Wood, Woodward-47. Nor VOTIN--Messrs. Benjamin, Dixon, Donnelly, Ela, Finney, Garfield, Hawkins, Maynard, Pomeroy, Robinson, Shellabarger, John Trimble, Robert T. Van Horn, Henry D. Washburn, William Williams-15. Same day - On motion of Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, the appointment of a committee of two to notify the Senate, and of a committee of seven to prepare and report Articles of Impeachment against Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, was ordered, with power to send for persons, papers, and records, and to take testimony under oath. Which was agreed to-yeas 124, nays 42. The Speaker appointed Messrs. Thaddeus Stevens and John A. Bingham on the former, and Messrs. Boutwell, Thaddeus Stevens, Bingham, James F.Wilson, Logan, Julian, and Ward, on the latter. February 25-Mr. Thaddeus Stevens and Mr. John A. Bingham appeared at the bar of the Senate and delivered the following message: Mr. PRESIDENT: By order of the House of Representatives, we appear at the bar of the Senate, and in the name of the House of Representatives, and of all the people of the United States, we do impeach Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors in office; and we' do further inform the Senate that the House of Representatives will in due time exhibit particular articles of impeachment against him, and -make good the same; and in their name we DO DEMAND that the Senate take order for the appearance of the said Andrew Johnson to answer to said impeachment. The President of the Senate pro tempore replied that the Senate would take order in the premises, and the committee withdrew. Same day-The committee reported to the House the response received at the bar of the Senate. Articles of Impeachment and Votes thereon, the Answer of President Johnson, the Replication of the House, the Progress of the Trial, and the Judgment of the Senate. FORTIETH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES U. S., March 2, 1868. Articles exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States, in the name of themselves and all the people of the United States, against Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, in maintenance and support of their impeachment against him for high crimes and rmisdemeanors in ofice. ARTICLE I.-That the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, unmindful of the high duties of his office, of his oath of office, and of the requirements of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws be faithfully executed, did unlawfully, and in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United Page 7] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 267 States, issue an order in writing for the removal office, and in violation of the Constitution of the of Edwin M. Stanton from the office of Secretary United States, and contrary to the provisions of for the Department of War, said Edwin M. an act entitled "An act regulating the tenure Stanton having been theretofore duly appointed of certain civil offices," passed March 2, eighteen and commissioned, by and with the advice and hundred and sixty-seven, without the advice consent of the Senate of the United States, as and consent of the Senate of the United States, such Secretary, and said Andrew Johnson, said Senate then and there being in session, and President of the United States, on the 12th day of without authority of law, did, with intent to August, in the year of our Lord 1867, and during violate the Constitution of the United States, the recess of said Senate, having suspended by and the act aforesaid, issue and deliver to one his order Edwin M. Stanton from said office, and Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority in subwithin twenty days after the first day of the stance as follows, that is to say: next meeting of said Senate, that is to say, on EXECUTIVE MANSION, the 12th day of December, in the year last afore- WASHINGTON, D. C., February 21, 1868. saidhaving reported to said Senate such sus- SI: The on. Edwin M. Stanton havin been this day d, having reported to said Senate such sus- removed from office as Secretary for theDepartnment of War, pension with the evidence and reasons for his you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secreaction in the case and the name of the person tary of War ad interim, and will immediately enter upon designated to perform the duties of such office the discharge of the duties pertainig to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all temporarily until the next meeting of the Senate, the records, books, papers, and other public property now and said Senate thereafterwards on the 13th day in his custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, of January, in the year of our Lord 1868, having To Brevet Major General LORENZO THOR S, O duly considered the evidence and reasons re- Adjutant General U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. ported by said Andrew Johnson for said suspen- Then and there being no vacancy in said office sion, and having refused to concur in said suspen- of Secretary for the Department of War, whereby sion, whereby and by force of the provisions of said Andrew Johnson, President of the United an act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of States, did then and there commit and was certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, said guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. Edwin M. Stanton (lid forthwith resume the func- ARTICLE III.-That said Andrew Johnson, tions of his office, whereof the said Andrew President of the United States, on the 21st day Johnson had then and there due notice, and said of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Edwin M. Stanton, by reason of the premises, on Washington, in the District of Columbia, did said 21stday of February, being lawfully entitled commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor to hold said office of Secretary for the Depart- in office, in this, that, without authority of law, ment of War, which said order for the removal while, the Senate of the United States was then of said Edwin M. Stanton is in substance as and there in session, he did appoint one Lorenzo follows, that is to say: Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of EECUTIVE MANSITON, War ad interim, without the advice and consent "WASHINGTON, D. C., February 21,1868. SIR: By virtue of the'power and authority vested in me of the Senate, and with intent to violate the as President by the Constitution and laws of the United Constitution of the United States, no vacancy States you are hereby removed from office as Secretary for having happened in said office of Secretary for the Depiartment of War, and your functions as such will r r ri r terminate upon receipt of this communication. the Department of War during the recess of the You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Senate, and no vacancy existing inr said office Thomas, Adjutant General of the Army, who has this day at the time, and which said appointment so made been authoriz.e.d and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public by said Andrew Johnson, of said LorenzoThomas, property now in your custody and charge. is in substance as follows, that is to say: Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To the lion. EDWIN M. STANTON, Washington, D. C. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WAsnuxGTON, D. C., February 21,1868. Which order was unlawfully issued with intent SIR: The Hon. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day then and there to violate the act entitled "An removed from officeas Secretary for the Department of War, act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," you are hereby authlorized and empowered to act as Secreo rtary of War ad interim, and will imnnmediately enter upon passed March 2, 1867, and with the further intent, the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. contrary to the provisions of said act, in violation Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all thereof, and contrary to the provisions of the Con- the records, books, papers, and other lublic property now in his custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, stitution of the United States, and without the ANDREW JOHNSON. advice and consent of the Senate of the United To Brevet Major Gen. LORENZO THOMAs, States, the said Senate then and there being in Adjutant General U. S. Army, Washington, D. C session, to remove said Edwin M. Stanton from ARTICLE IV.-That said Andrew Johnson, the office of Secretary for the Department of President of the United States, unmindful of War, the said Edwin M. Stanton being then and the high duties of his office and of his oath of there Secretary for the Department of War, and office, in violation of the Constitution and laws being then and there in the due and lawful exe- of the United States, on the 21st day of Febcution and discharge of the duties of said office, ruary, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washwhereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the ington, in the District of Columbia, did unlawUnited States, did then and there commit, and fully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office, with other persons to the House of RepresentARTICLE II.--That on the said 21st day o atives unknown, with intent, by intimidation February, in the year of our Lord one thousand and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent eight hundred and sixty-eight, at Washington, Edwin M. Stanton, then and there the Secretary in the District of Columbia, said Andrew John- for the Department of War, duly appointed son, President of the United States, unmindful under the laws of the United States, from of the high duties of his office, of his oath of holding said office of Secretary for the Denart 268 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III ment of War, contrary to and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and of the provisions of an act entitled " An act to define and punish certain conspiracies," approved July 31, 1861, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high crime in office. ARTICLE V.- That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, and on divers other days and times in said year, before the 2d day of March, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, and with other persons to the House of Representatives unknown, to prevent and hinder the execution of an act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and in pursuance of said conspiracy did unlawfully attempt to prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then and there being Secretary for the Department of War, duly appointed and commissioned under the laws of the United States, from holding said office, whereby the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. ARTICLE VI.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, by force to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States in the Department of War, and then and there in the custody and charge of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary for said Department, contrary to the provisions of an act entitled " An act to define and punish certain conspiracies," approved July 31, 1861, and with intent to violate and disregard an act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit a high crime in office. ARTICLE VII.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully conspire with one Lorenzo Thomas, with intent unlawfully to seize, take, and possess the property of the United States in the Department of War, in the custody and charge of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary for said Department, with intent to violate and disregard the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office. ARTICLE VIII.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and of his oath of office, with intent unlawfully to control the disburse ments of the moneys appropriated for the military service and for the Department of War, on the 21st day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, did unlawfully and contrary to the provisions of an act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and while the Senate was then and there in session, there being no vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and with intent to violate and disregard the act aforesaid, then and there issue and deliver to one Lorenzo Thomas a letter of authority in writing, in substance as follows, that is to say: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 21,1868. SIR: The I-Ion. Edwin M. Stanton having been this day removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War, you are hereby authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, and will immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office. Mr. Stanton has been instructed to transfer to you all the records, books, papers, and other public property now in his custody and charge. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. To Brevet Major Gen. LORENZO THOMAS, Adjutant General U. S. Army, Washington, D. U. Whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. ARTICLE IX.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, on the 22d day of February, in the year of our Lord 1868, at Washington, in the District of Columbia, in disregard of the Constitution and the laws of the United States duly enacted, as commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, did bring before himself then and there William H. Emory, a major general by brevet in the army of the United States, actually in command of the department of Washington and the military forces thereof, and did then and there, as such commander-inchief, declare to and instruct said Emory that part of a law of the United States, passed March 2, 1867, entitled " An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," especially the second section thereof, which provided, among other things, that, " all orders and instructions relating to military operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued through the General of the army, and in case of his inability through the next in rank" was unconstitutional, and in contravention of the commission of said Emory, and which said provision of law had been theretofore duly and legally promulgated by General Order for the government and direction of the army of the United States, as the said Andrew Johnson then and there well knew, with intent thereby to induce said Emory in his official capacity as commander of the department of Washington, to. violate the provisions of said act, and to take and receive, act upon, and obey such orders as he, the said Andrew Johnson, might make and give, and which should not be issued through the General of the army of the United States, according to the provisions of said act, and with the further intent thereby to enable him, the said Andrew Johnson, to prevent the Page 9] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETO. 269 execution of the act entitled "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, and to unlawfully prevent Edwin M. Stanton, then being Secretary for the Department of War, from holding said office and discharging the duties thereof, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then and there commit and was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselves the liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter any further articles or other accusation, or impeachment against the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, and also of replying to his answers which he shall make unto the articles herein preferred against him, and of offering proof to the same, and every part thereof, and to all and every other article, accusation, or impeachment which shall be exhibited by them, as the case shall require, DO DEMAND that the said Andrew Johnson may be put to answer the high crimes and misdemeanors in office herein charged against him, and that such proceedings, examinations, trials, and judgments may be thereupon had and given.as may be agreeable to law and justice. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Attest: EDWARD MCPHERSON, Clerk of the House ofRepresentatives. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES U. S. March 3, 1868. The following additional articles of impeachment were agreed to, viz: ARTICLE X.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained between the executive and legislative branches of the government of the United States, designing and intending to set aside the rightful authority and powers of Congress, did attempt to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt and reproach the Congress of the United States, and the several branches thereof, to impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof, (which all officers of the Government ought inviolably to preserve and maintain,) and to excite the odium and resentment of all the good people of the United States against Congress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally enacted; and in pursuance of his said design and intent, openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages of the citizens of the United States convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did, on the 18th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1866, and on divers other days and times, as well before as afterward, make and deliver with a loud voice certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and did therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces as well against Congress as the laws of the United States duly enacted. thereby, amid the cries, jeers and laughter of the multitudes then assembled and in hearing, which are set forth in the several specifications hereinafter written, in substance and effect, that is to say: SPECIFICATION FIRST.-In this, that at Washington, in the District of Columbia, in the Executive Mansion, to a committee of citizens who called upon the President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress of the United States, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1866, did, in a loud voice, declare in substance and effect, among other things, that is to say: " So far as the executive department of the government is concerned, the effort has been made to restore the Union, to heal the breach, to pour oil into the wounds which were consequent upon the struggle, and (to speak in common phrase) to prepare as the learned and wise physician would, a plaster healing in character and coextensive with the wound. We thought, and we think, that we had partially succeeded; but as the work progresses, as reconstruction seemed to be taking place, and the country was becoming reunited, we found a disturbing and marring element opposing us. In alluding to that element, I shall go no further than your convention and the distinguished gentleman who has delivered to me the report of its proceedings. I shall make no reference to it that I do not believe the time and the occasion justify. " We have witnessed in one department of the Government every endeavor to prevent the restoration of peace, harmony, and Union. We have seen hanging upon the verge of the Government, as it were, a body called, or which assumes to be, the Congress of the United States, while in fact it is a Congress of only a part of the States. We have seen this Congress pretend to be for the Union, when its every step and act tended to perpetuate disunion and make a disruption of the States inevitable. * ** We have seen Congress gradually encroach step by step upon constitutional rights, and violate, day after day and month after month, fundamental principles of the government. We have seen a Congress that seemed to forget that there was a limit to the sphere and scope of legislation. We have seen a Congress in a minority assume to exercise power which, allowed to be consummated, would result in despot, ism or monarchy itself." SPECIFICATION SECOND.-In this, that at Cleveland, in the State of Ohio, heretofore, to wit, on the 3d day of September, in the year of our Lord 1866, before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress of the United States, did, in a loud voice, declare.in substance and effect, among other things, that is to say: " I will tell you what I did do. I called upon your Congress, that is trying to break up the government. * * "In conclusion, beside that, Congress had taken much pains to poison their constituents against him. But what had Congress done? Have they done anything to restore the union of these States? No; on the contrary, they had done everything to prevent it; and because he stood now where he did when thie rebellion commenced, he had been denounced as a traitor. Who had run greater risks or made greater sacrifices than himself? But Congress, factious and domineering, had undertaken to poison the minds of the American people." SPECIFICATION THIRD.-In this, that at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, heretofore, to wit, on the 8th day of September, in the year of of our Lord 1866, before a public assemblage of citizens and others, said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, speaking of and concerning the Congress of the United States, did, in a loud voice, declare, in substance and effect, among other things, that is to say: "Go on. Perhaps if you had a word or two on the subject of New Orleans you might understand more about it than you do. And if you will go back--if you will go back and ascertain the cause of the riot at New Orleans perhaps you will not be so prompt in calling out ' New Orleans. If you will take up the riot at New Orleans, and trace it back 270 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III, to its source or its immediate cause, you-will find out who was responsible for the blood that was shed there. If you will take up the riot at New Orleans and trace it back to the radical Congress, you will find that the riot at New Orleans was substantially planned. If you will take up the proceedings in their caucuses you will understand that they there knew that a convention was to be called which was extinct by its power having expired; that it was said that the intention was that a new government was to be organized, and on the organization of that government the intention was to enfranchise one portion of the population, called the colored population, who had just been emancipated, and at the same time disfranchise white men. When you design to talk about New Orleans, you ought to understand what you are talking about. When you read the speeches that -were made, and take up the facts on the Friday and Saturday before that convention sat, you will there find that speeches were made incendiary in their character, exciting that portion of the population, the black population, to arims themselves and prepare for the shedding of blood. You will also find that that convention did assemble in violation of "law, and the intention of that convention was to supersede the reorganized authorities in the State government of Louisiana, which had been recognized by the Government of the United States; and every man engaged in that rebellion in that convention, with the intention of superseding and upturning the civil government which had been recognized by the Government of the United States, I say that he was a traitor to the Constitution of the United States, and hence you find that another rebellion was commenced, having its origin in the radical Congress. " * " So much for the New Orleans riot. And there was the cause and the origin of the blood that was shed; and every drop of blood that was shed is upon their skirts, and they are responsible for it. I could test this thing a little closer, but will not do it here to-night. But when you talk about the causes and consequences that resulted from proceedings of that kind, perhaps, as I have been introduced here, and you have provoked questions of this kind, though it does not provoke me, I will tell you a few wholesome things that have been done by this radical Congress in connection with New Orleans and the extension of the elective franchise. "I know that I have been traduced and abused. I know it has come in advance of me here as elsewhere-that I have attempted to exercise an arbitrary power in resisting laws that were intended to be forced upon the Government; that I had exercised that power; that I had abandoned the party that elected me, and that I was a traitor, because I exercised the veto power in attempting, and did arrest for a time, a bill that was called a ' Freedman's Bureau' bill; yes, that I was a traitor. And I have been traduced, I have been slandered, I have been maligned, I have been called Judas Iscariot, and all that. Now, my countrymen, here to-night, it is very easy to indulge in epithets; it is easy to call a man Judas and cry out traitor, but when hle is called upon to give arguments and facts, he is very often found wanting. Judas Iscariot-Judas. There was a Judas, and he was one of the twelve apostles. Oh! yes, thlie twelve apostles had a Christ. The twelve apostles had a Christ, and hle never could have had a Judas unless he had had twelve apostles. If I have played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles Sumner? These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the Saviour; and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be denounced as a Judas. * * * "Well, let me say to you, if you will sitand by me in this action, if you will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance--soldiers and citizens-to participate in these offices, God being willing, I will kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can. "Let me say to you, in concluding, that what I have said I intended to say. I was not provoked into this, and I care not for their menaces, the taunts, and the jeers. I care not for threats. I do not intend to be bullied by my enemies nor overawed by my friends. But, God willing, with your help, I will veto their measures whenever any of them come to me." Which said utterances, declarations, threats, and harangues, highly censurable in any, are peculiarly indecent and unbecoming in the Chief Magistrate of the United States, by means whereof said Andrew Johnson has brought the high office of the President of the United States into contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the great scandal of all good citizens, whereby said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did commit, and was then and there guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. ARTICLE XI.-That said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, unmindful of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, and in disregard of the Constitution and laws oi the United States, did, heretofore, to wit, on the 18th day of August, A. D. 1866, at the city of Washington, and the District of Columbia, by public speech, declare and affirm, in substance, that the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative power under the same, but, on the contrary, was a Congress of only part of the States, thereby denying, and intending to deny, that the legislation of said Congress was valid or obligatory upon him, the said Andrew Johnson, except in so far as he saw fit to approve the same, and also thereby denying, and intending to deny, the power of the said Thirty-Ninth Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States; and, in pursuance of said declaration, the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, afterwards, to wit, on the 21st day of February, A. D. 1868, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, did, unlawfully, and in disregard of the requirement of the Constitution, that he should take care that the laws be faithfully executed, attempt to prevent the execution of an act entitled " An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867, by unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to devise and contrive means by which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the functions of the office of Secretary for the Department of War, notwithstanding the refusal of the Senatd to concur in the suspension theretofore made by said Andrew Johnson of said Edwin M. Stanton from said office of Secretary for the Department of War; and, also, by further unlawfully devising and contriving, and attempting to devise and contrive, means, then and there, to prevent the execution of an act entitled " An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867; and, also, to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867, whereby the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, did then, to wit, on the 21st day of February, A. D. 1868, at the city of Washington, commit, and was guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the Hlouse of Representatives. Attest: EDWARD McPxHERScN, Clerk of the House of.Representatives. Votes on the Articles in the House. 1868, March 2-The first article was agreed to-yeas 127, nays 42, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnell, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Bailey, Baldwin, Banks, Beaman, Beat ty, Benton, Bingham,Blaine, Blair,lBoutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buickland, Butler, Cake, Cicrchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cornell, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Briggs, Eggleston, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Garfield, Gravely, Griswold, Halsey, Htarding, HItigby, ill, IHeooper, iopkins, C. D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jenckes,Judd, Page 11] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 271 Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, Laflin, Geo.V. Lawrence, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Loan, Logan, Loughridge, Lynch, Mallory, Marvin, Maynard, McCarthy, Mcslurg, Mercur, Miller, Moore, Morrell, Mullins, Myers, Newcomb, Nunni, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pike, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Raum, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenek, Scofield, Shanks, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Thaddeus Stevens, Stokes, Taffe, Taylor, Thomas, frimble, Trowbridge, Twichell, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van HIorn, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Ellihu B.Washburne, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge-127. NAYs-Messrs. Adams, Archer, Axtell, Barnum, Beck, Boyer, Brools, Burr, Cary, Chanler, Eldridge, Fox, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Haight, Honlan,, Hotchkiss, Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Knott, Mars.all, McCorieiclk, lMsorgane, Mningen, Nziblac/c, Nicholson, Pruyn, Randall, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stewart, Stone, Tabes, Trimble, Van Auken, Van Trump, Wonod, Wboodward-42. NOT VoTING-Messrs. Baker, Barnes, Benjamin, Eckley, Eli, Finney, flawkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Richard D. Hubbard, iMcatCuugh, Moorhlead, Morrissey, Phelps, Pile, Robinson, Selye, Slellabarger, Aaron F. Stevens, Henry D. Washburn, William Williams-20. The second article was agreed to-yeas 124, nays 41, not voting 24. The third article was agreed to-yeas 124, nays 41, not voting 24. The fourth article was agreed to-yeas 117, nays 40, not voting 32. The fifth article was agreed to-yeas 127, nays 42, not voting 20. The sixth article was agreed to-yeas 127, nays 42, not voting 20. The seventh article was agreed to-yeas 127, nays 42, not voting 20. The eighth article was agreed to-yeas 127, nays 42, not voting 20. The ninth article was agreed to-yeas 108, nays 41, not voting 40. The tenth article was agreed to-yeas 88, nays 44, not voting 57. The eleventh article was agreed to-yeas 109, nays 32, not voting 48. Messrs. John A. Bingham, George S. Boutwell, James F. Wilson, Benjamin F. Butler, Thomas Williams, John A. Logan, and Thaddeus Stevens were elected managers to conduct the impeachment. March 4-The articles were read to the Senate by the Managers. March 5-Chief Justice Chase took the chair, Associate Justice Nelson having administered the following oath: "I do solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of bhe United s tates, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: So help me God." March 5 and 6-The Chief Justice administered the same oath to the various Senators. On the 6th, an order was adopted, directing a summons on Andrew Johnson to file answer to the articles, returnable on the 13th instant. March 13-The President's counsel entered this appearance: In the natter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States. Mr. CHIEF JUSTICE: I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, having been served with a summon to appear before this honorable court, sitting as a court of impeachment, to answer certain articles of impeachment found and presented against me by the honorable the House of Representatives of the United States, do hereby enter my appearance by my counsel, Henry Stanbery, Benjamin E. Curtis, Jeremiah S. Black,* William M. Evarts, and Thomas A. R. Nelson, who have my warrant and authority therefor, and who are instructed by me to ask of this honorable court for a reasonable time for the preparation of my answer to said articles. After a careful examination of the articles of impeachment, and consultation with my counsel, I am satisfied that at least forty days will be necessary for the preparation of my answer, and I respectfully ask that it be allowed, ANDREW JOHNSON. The counsel also read a " professional statement " in support of the request. The Senate retired for consultation, and, after some time, adopted, without a division, an order that the respondent file answer on or before the 23d inst. An order was also adopted-yeas 40, nays 10 -that unless otherwise ordered by the Senate for cause shown, the trial shall proceed immediately after replication shall be filed. AN "ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL COURT.' March 23-Mr. Davis, a member of the Senate and of the Court of Impeachment, from the State of Kentucky, moved the court to make this order: The Constitution having vested the Senate with the sole power to try the articles of impeachment of the President of the United States preferred by the House of Representatives, and having also declared that " the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the legislatures thereof," and the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas having, each by its legislature, chosen two Senators, who have been and continue to be excluded by the Senate from their seats respectively, without any judgment by the Senate against them personally and individually on the points of their elections, returns, and qualifications, it is Ordered, That a Court of Impeachment for the trial of the President cannot be legally and constitutionally formed while the Senators from the States aforesaid are thus excluded from the Senate; and this case is continued until the Senators from these States are permitted to take their seats in the Senate, subject to all constitutional exceptions to their elections, returns, and qualifications severally. Which was rejected-yeas 2, nays 49, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Davis, McCireery-2. NAYS-Messrs. Anthonsy, Bucealew, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Co ColConk, Cosklisg, Conness, C(orbett, Craogin, Dixon, Doolite, Drae, r, Edmunds, Ferry, Fesstendn, Fowler, Frelinghuysen, Grimees, lilarlan, Henderson, s Ie.ndrick7is, Howard, Howe, Johnson, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Neorton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Patterson of Tennessee, Pomeroy, IRaisey, Ross, Sherman, Spnrgue, Stewart, Suimner, Tlihayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Vickers, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-49. NoT VYTING-Messrs. Bayard, Saulsbury, Wade-3. Answer of President Johnson. Mr. Curtis then proceeded to read the answer to the close of that portion relative to the first article of impeachment. * Mr. Black did not appear in the trial. March 23, H-on. William S. Groesbeck of Ohio appeared in his stead. 272 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Mr. Stanbery read that portion of the answer beginning with the reply to the second article to the close of the response to the ninth article. Mr. Evarts read the residue of the answer. Senate of the United States, sitting as a Court of Impeachment for the trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States. The answer of the said Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives of the United States. ANSWER TO ARTICLE I. For answer to the first article he says: That Edwin M. Stanton was appointed Secretary for the Department of War on the 15th day of January, A. D. 1862, by Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, during the first term of his presidency, and was commissioned, according to the Constitution and laws of the United States, to hold the said office during the pleasure of the President; that the office of Secretary for the Department of War was created by an act of the first Congress in its first session, passed on the 7th day of August, A. D. 1789, and in and by that act it was provided and enacted, that the said Secretary for the Department of War shall perform and execute such duties as shall from time to time be enjoined on and intrusted to him by the President of the United States, agreeably to the Constitution, relative to the subjects within the scope of said department; and, furthermore, that the said Secretary shall conduct the business of the said Department in such a manner as the President of the United States shall from time to time order and instruct. And this respondent, further answering, says that by force of the act aforesaid and by reason of his appointment aforesa eid the said Stanton became the principal officer in one of the executive departments of the Government within the true intent and meaning of the second section of the second article of the Constitution of the United States, and according to the true intent and meaning of that provision of the Constitution of the United States; and, in accordance with the settled and uniform practice of each and every President of the United States, the said Stanton then became, and so long as he should continue to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War must continue to be, one of the advisers of the President of the United States, as well as the person intrusted to act for and represent the President in matters enjoined upon him or intrusted to him by the President touching the department aforesaid, and for whose conduct in such capacity, subordinate to the President, the President is by the Constitution and laws of the United States, made responsible. And this respondent, further answering, says he succeeded to the office of President of the United States upon, and by reason of, the death of Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, on the 15th day of April, 1865, and the said Stanton was then holding the said office of Secretary for the Department of War under and by reason of the appointment and commission aforesaid; and not having been re moved from the said office by this respondent, the said Stanton continued to hold the same under the appointment and commission aforesaid, at the pleasure of the President, until the time hereinafter particularly mentioned; and at no time received any appointment or commission save as above detailed. And this respondent, further answering, says that on and prior to the 5th day of August, A. D. 1867, this respondent, the President of the United States, responsible for the conduct of the Secretary for the Department of War, and having the constitutional right to resort to and rely upon the person holding that office for advice concerning the great and difficult public duties enjoined on the President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, became satisfied that he could not allow the said Stanton to continue to hold the office of Secretary for the Department of War without hazard of the public interest; that the relations between the said Stanton and the President no longer permitted the President to resort to him for advice, or to be, in the ee judment of the President, safely responsible for his conduct of the affairs of the Department of War, as by law required, in accordance with the orders and instructions of the President; and thereupon, by force of the Constitution and laws of the United States, which devolve on the President the power and the duty to control the conduct of the business of that executive department of the government, and by reason of the constitutional duty of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, this respondent did necessarily consider and did determine that the said Stanton ought no longer to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War. And this respondent, by virtue of the power and authority vested in him as President of the United States, by the Constitution and laws of the United States, to give effect to such his decision and determination, did, on the 5th day of August, A. D. 1867, address to the said Stanton a note, of which the following is a true copy: SIR: Public considerations of a high character constrain me to say that your resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted. To which note the said Stanton made the following reply: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, Aquztst 5, 1867. SiR: Your note of this day has been received, stating that "public considerations of a high character constrain you" to say " that my resignation as Secretary of War will be accepted." In reply, I have the honor to say that public considerations of a high character, which alone have induced me to continue at the head of this Departument, constrain mie not to resign the office of Secretary of War before the next meeting of Congress. Very respectfully, yours, EDWIN M. STANTON. This respondent, as President of the United States, was thereon of opinion that, having regard to the necessary official relations and duties of the Secretary for the Department of War to the President of the United States, according to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and having regard to the responsibility of the President for the conduct of the said Secretary, and having regard to the permanent executive authority of the office which the respondent holds under the Constitution and Page 13] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 273 laws of the United States, it was impossible, consistently with the public interests, to allow the said Stanton to continue to hold the said office of Secretary for the Department of War; and it then became the official duty of the respondent, as President of the United States, to consider and decide what act or acts should and might lawfully be done by him, as President of the United States, to cause the said Stanton to surrender the said office. This respondent was informed and verily believed that it was practically settled by the first Congress of the United States, and had been so considered, and, uniformly and in great numbers of instances, acted on by each Congress and President of the United States, in succession, from President Washington to, and including, President Lincoln, and from the First Congress to the Thirty-Ninth Congress, that the Constitution of the United States conferred on the President, as part of the executive power and as one of the necessary means and instruments of performing the executive duty expressly imposed on him by the Constitution of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, the power at any and all times of removing from office all executive officers for cause to be judged of by the President alone. This respondent had, in pursuance of the Constitution, required the opinion of each principal officer of the executive departments upon this question of constitutional executive power and duty, and had been advised by each of them, including the said Stanton, Secretary for the Department of War, that nnder the Constitution of the United States this power was lodged by the Constitution in the President of the United States, and that, consequently, it could be lawfully exercised by him, and the Congress could not deprive him thereof; and this respondent, in his capacity of President of the United States, and because in that capacity he was both enabled and bound to use his best judgment upon this question, did, in good faith and with an earnest desire to. arrive at the truth, come to the conclusion and opinion, and did make the same known to the honorable the Senate of the United States by a message dated on the 2d day of March, i867, (a true:opy whereof is hereunto annexed and marked A,) that the power last mentioned was conferred and the duty of exercising it,,in fit cases, was imposed on the President by the Constitution of the United States, and that the President could not be deprived of this power or relieved of this duty, nor could the same be vested by law in the President and the Senate jointly, either in part or whole; and this has ever since remained and was the opinion of this respondent at the time when he was forced as aforesaid to consider and decide what act or acts should and might lawfully be done by this respondent, as President of the United States, to cause the said Stanton to surrender the said office. This respondent was also then aware that by the first section of "An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," nassed March 2, 1867, by a constitutional majority of both houses of Congress, it was enacted as ifollows: That every person holding any civil office to which he has been appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and every person who shall hereafter be ao pointed to any such office, and shall become duly qualified to act therein, is and shall be entitled to hold such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed and duly qualified, except as herein otherwise provided: Provided, That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster General and the Attorney General, shall hold their offices respectively for and during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed, and one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. This respondent was also aware that this act was understood and intended to be an expression of the opinion of the Congress by which that act was passed, that the power to remove executive officers for cause might, by law, be taken from the President and vested in him and the Senate jointly; and although this respondent had arrived at and still retained the opinion above expressed, and verily believed, as he still believes, that the said first section of the lastmentioned act was and is wholly inoperative and void by reason of its conflict with the Constitution of the United States, yet, inasmuch as the same had been enacted by the constitutional majority in each of the two houses of that Congress, this respondent considered it to be proper to examine and decide whether the particular case of the said Stanton, on which it was this respondent's duty to act, was within or without the terms of that first section of the act; or, if within it, whether the President had not the power, according to the terms of the act, to remove the said Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and having, in his capacity of President of the Unfted States, so examined and considered, did form the opinion that the case of the said Stanton and' his tenure of office were not affected by the first section of the last-named act. And this respondent, further answering, says, that although a case thus existed which, in his judgment as President of the United States, called for the exercise of the executive power to remove the said Stanton from the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and although this respondent was of opinion, as is above shown, that under the Constitution of the United States the power to remove the said Stanton from the said office was vested in the President of the United States; and although this respondent was also of the opinion, as is above shown, that the case of the said Stanton was not affected by the first section of the last named act; and although each of the said opinions had been formed by this respondent upon an actual case, requiring him, in his capacity of President of the United States, to come to some judgment and determination thereon, yet this respondent, as President of the United States, desired and determined to avoid, if possible, any question of the construction and effect of the said first section of the last-named act, and also the broader question of the executive power conferred on the President of the United States, by the Constitution of the United States, to remove one of the principal officers of one of the executive departments for cause seeming to him sufficient; and this respondent also desired and determined that, if from causes over which he could exert no control, it should become absolutely necessary to raise and have, in some way, determined either or both of the said last-named questions, 274 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. it was in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and was required of the President thereby, that questions of so much gravity and importance, upon which the legislative-and executive departments of the Government had disagreed, which involved powers considered by all branches of the Government, during its entire history down to the year 1867, to have been confided by the Constitution of the United States to the President, and to be necessary for the complete and proper execution of his constitutional duties, should be in some proper way submitted to that judicial department of the government intrusted by the `Constitution with the power, and subjected by it to the duty, not only of determining finally the construction of and effect of all acts of Congress, but of comparing them with the Constitution of the United States and pronouncing them inoperative when found in sonflict with that fundamental law which the people have enacted for the government of all their servants. And to these ends, first, that through the action of the Senate of the United States, the absolute duty of the President to substitute some fit person in place of Mr. Stanton as one of his advisers, and as a principal subordinate officer whose official conduct he was responsible for and had lawful right to control, might, if possible, be accomplished without the necessity of raising any one of the questions aforesaid; and, second, if this duty could not be so performed, then that these questions, or such of them as might necessarily arise, should be judicially determined in manner aforesaid, and for no other end or purpose this respondent, as President of the United States, on the 12th day of August, 1867, seven days after the reception of the letter of the said Stanton of the 5th of August, hereinbefore stated, did issue to the said Stanton the order following, namely: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 12,1867. SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby suspended from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to the same. You will at once transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of war ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in your custody and charge. The Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. To which said order the said Stanton made the following reply WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, August 12,1867. SIR: Your note of this date has been received, informing me that, by virtue of the powers vested in you as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, I am suspended from office as Secretary of War, and will cease to exercise any and all functions pertaining to the same, and also directing me at once to transfer to General Ulysses S. Grant, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers, and other public property now in my custody and charge. Under a sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, without the advice and consent of the Senate, and without legal cause, to suspend me from office as Secretary of War, or the exercise of an. or all functions pertaining to the same, or without such advice and consent, to compel me to transfer to any person the records, books, papers, and public property in my custody as Secretary. But inasmuch as the General commanding the armies of the United States has been appointed ad interim, and has notified me that he has accepted the appointment, I have no alternative but to submit, under protest, to superior force. To the PRESIDENT. And this respondent, further answering, says, that it is provided in and by the second section of "An act to regulate the tenure of certain civil offices," that the President may suspend an officer from the performance of the duties of the office held by him, for certain causes therein fesignated, until the next meeting of the Senate, and until the case shall be acted on by the Senate; that this respondent, as President of the United States, was advised, and he verily believed and still believes, that the executive power of removal from office confided to him by the Constitution as aforesaid includes the power of suspension from office at the pleasure of the President, and this respondent, by the order aforesaid, did suspend the said Stanton from office, not until the next meeting of the Senate, or until the Senate should have acted upon the case, but by force of the power and authority vested in him by the Constitution and laws of the United States, indefinitely and at the pleasure of the President, and the order, in form aforesaid, was made known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of December, A. D. 1867, as will be more fully hereinafter stated. And this respondent, further answering, says, that in and by the act of February 13, 1795, it was, among other things, provided and enacted that, in case of vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, it shall be lawful for the President, in case he shall think it necessary, to authorize any perspn to perform the duties of that office until a successor be appointed or such vacancy filled, but not exceeding the term of six months; and this respondent, being advised and believing that such law was in full force and not repealed, by an order dated August 12, 1867, did authorize and empower Ulysses S. Grant, General of the armies of the United States, to act as Secretary for the Department of War ad interim, in the form in which similar authority had theretofore been given, not until the next meeting of the Senate and until the Senate should act on the case, but at the pleasure of the President, subject only to the limitation of six months in the said lastmentioned act contained; and a copy of the last-named order was made known to the Senate of the United States on the 12th day of December, A. D. 1867, as will be hereinafter more fuily stated; and in pursuance of the design and intention aforesaid, if it should become necessary to submit the said questions to a judicial determination, this respondent, at or near the date of the last-mentioned order, did make known such his purpose to obtain a judicial decision of the said questions, or such of them as might be necessary. And this respondent, further answering, says, that in further pursuance of his intention and design, if possible, to perform what he judged to be his imperative duty, to prevent the said Stanton from longer holding the office of Secretary for the Department of War, and at the same time avoiding, if possible, any question respecting the extent of the power of removal from executive office confided to the President by the Constitution of the United States, and any question respecting the construction and effect of the first section of the said " act regu Page 15] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 275 lating the tenure of certain civil offices," while he should not, by any act of his, abandon and relinquish, either a power which he believed the Constitution had conferred on the President of the United States, to enable him to perform the duties of his office, or a power designedly left to him by the first section of the act of Congress last aforesaid, this respondent did, on the 12th day of December, 1867, transmit to the Senate of the United States a message, a copy whereof is hereunto annexed and marked B, wherein he made known the orders aforesaid and the reasons which had induced the same, so far as this respondent then considered it material and necessary that the same should be set forth, and reiterated his views concerning the constitutional power of removal vested in the President, and also expressed his views concerning the construction of the said first section of the last-mentioned act, as respected the power of the President to remove the said Stanton from the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, well hoping that this respondent could thus perform what he then believed, and still believes, to be his imperative duty in reference to the said Stanton, without derogating from the powers which this respondent believed were confided to the President by the Constitution and laws, and without the necessity of raising judicially any questions respecting the same. And this respondent, further answering, says, that this hope not having been realized, the President was compelled either to allow the said Stanton to resume the said office and remain therein, contrary to the settled convictions of the President, formed as aforesaid, respecting the powers confided to him and the duties required of him by the Constitution of the United States, and contrary to the opinion formed as aforesaid, that the first section of the last-mentioned act did not affect the case of the said Stanton, and contrary to the fixed belief of the President that he could no longer advise with or trust or be responsible for the said Stanton, in the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or else he was compelled to take such steps as might, in the judgment of the President, be lawful and necessary to raise, for a judicial decision, the questions affecting the lawful right of the said Stanton to resume the said office, or the power of the said Stanton to persist in refusing to quit the said office, if he should persist in actually refusing to quit the same; and to this end, and to this end only, this respondent did, on the 21st day of February, 1868, issue the order for the removal of the said Stanton, in the said first article mentioned and set forth, and the order authorizing the said Lorenzo Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim, in the said second article set forth. And this respondent, proceeding to answer specifically each substantial allegation in the said first article, says: He denies that the said Stanton, on the 21st day of February, 1868, was lawfully in possession of the said office of Secretary for the Department of War. He denies that the said Stanton, on the day last mentioned, was lawfully entitled to hold the said office against the will of the President of the United States. He denies that the said order for the removal of the said Stanton was unlawfully issued. He denies that the said order was issued with intent to violate the act entitled "An act to regulate the tenure of certain civil offices." He denies that the said order was a violation of the last-mentioned act. He denies that the said order was a violation of the Constitution of the United States, or of any law thereof, or of his oath of office. He denies that the said order was issued with an intent to violate the Constitution of the United States, or any law thAreof, or this respondent's oath of office; and he respectfully, but earnestly, insists that not only was it issued by him in the performance of what he believed to be an imperative official duty, but in the performance of what this honorable court will consider was, in point of fact, an imperative official duty. And he denies that any and all substantive matters in the first article contained, in manner and form as the same are therein stated and set forth, do by law constitute a high misdemeanor in office, within the true intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United States. ANSWER TO ARTICLE II. And for answer to the second article, this respondent says, that he admits he did issue and deliver to said Lorenzo Thomas the said writing set forth in said second article, bearing date at Washington, District of Columbia, February 21, 1868, addressed to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General United States army, Washington, District of Columbia, and he further admits that the same was so issued without the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, then in session; but he denies that he thereby violated the Constitution of the United States, or any law thereof, or that he did thereby intend to violate the Constitution of the United States or the provisions of any act of Congress; and this respondent refers to his answer to said first article for a full statement of the purposes and intentions with which said order was issued, and adopts the same as part of his answer to this article; and he further denies that there was then and there no vacancy in the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or that he did then and there commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office; and this respondent maintains and will insist: 1. That at the date and delivery of said writing there was a vacancy existing in the office of Secretary for the Department of War. 2. That, notwithstanding the Senate of the United States was then in session, it was lawful and according to long and well-established usage to empower and authorize the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim. 3. That if the said act regulating the tenure of civil offices be held to be a valid law, no provision of the same was violated by the issuing of said order or by the designation of said Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim. ANSWER TO ARTICLE III. And for answer to said third article, this respondent says, that he abides by his answer to said first and second articles, in so far as the same are responsive to the allegations contained in the said third article, and, without here again POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III repeating the same answer, prays the same be taken as an answer to this third article as fully as if here again set out at length; and as to the new allegation contained in said third article, that this respondent did appoint the said Thomas to be Secretary for the Department of War ad interim, this respondent denies that he gave any other authority to said Thomas than such as appears in said written authority set out in said article, by which he authorized and empowered said Thomas to act as Secretary for the Department of War ad interim; and he denies that the same amounts to an appointment, and insists that it is only a designation of an officer of that Department to act temporarily as Secretary for the Department of War ad interim, until an appointment should be made. But, whether the said written authority amounts to an appointment or to a temporary authority or designation, this respondent denies that in any sense he did thereby intend to violate the Constitution of the United States, or that he thereby intended to give the said order the character or effect of an appointment in the constitutional or legal sense of that term. He further denies that there was no vacancy in said office of Secretary for the Department of War existing at the date of said written authority. ANSWER TO ARTICLE IV. And for answer to said fourth article, this respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully conspire with the said Lorenzo Thomas, or with the said Thomas and any other person or persons, with intent, by intimidations and threats, unlawfully to hinder and prevent the said Stanton from holding said office of Secretary for the D-partment of War, in violation of the Constitution of the United States, or of the provisions of the said act of Congress in said article mentioned, or that he did then and there commit or was guilty of a high crime in office. On the contrary thereof, protesting that the said Stanton was not then and there lawfully the Secretary for the Department of War, this respondent states that his sole purpose in authorizing the said Thomas to act as Secretary for the Department of War ad interim was, as is fully stated in his answer to the said first article, to bring the question of the right of the said Stanton to hold said office, notwithstanding his said suspension, and notwithstanding the said order of removal, and notwithstanding the said authority of the said Thomas to act as Secretary of War ad interim, to the test of a final decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, in the earliest practicable mode by which the question could be brought before that tribunal. This respondent did not conspire or agree with the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to use intimidation or threats to hinder or prevent the said Stanton from holding the said office of Secretary for the Department of War, nor did this respondent at any time command or advise the said Thomas or any other person or persons to resort to or use either threats or intimidations for that purpose. The only means =n the contemplation or purpose of respondent to be used are set forth fully in the said orders of February 21, the first addressed'to Mr. Stanton and the second to the said Thomas. By the first order, the respondent notified Mr. Stanton that he was removed from the said office, and that his functions as Secretary for the Department of War were to terminate upon the receipt of that order; and he also thereby notified the said Stanton that the said Thomas had been authorized to act as Secretary for the Department of War ad interim, and ordered the said Stanton to transfer to him all the records, books, papers, and other public property in his custody and charge; and, by the second order, this respondent notified the said Thomas of the removal from office of the said Stanton, and authorized him to act as Secretary for the Department ol War ad interim, and directed him to immediately enter upon the discharge of the duties pertaining to that office, and to receive the transfer of all the records, books, papers, and other public property from Mr. Stanton then in his custody and charge. Respondent gave no instructions to the said Thomas to use intimidation or threats to enforce obedience to these orders. He gave him no authority to call in the aid of the military or any other force to enable him to obtain possession of the office, or of the books, papers, records, or property thereof. The only agency resorted to or intended to be resorted to was by means of the said executive orders requiring obedience. But the Secretary of the Department of War refused to obey these orders, and still holds undisturbed possession and custody of that Department, and of the records, books, papers, and other public property therein. Respondent further states that, in execution of the orders so by this respondent given to the said Thomas, he, the said Thomas, proceeded in a peaceful manner to demand of the said Stanton a surrender to him of the public property in the said Department, and to vacate the possession of the same, and to allow him, the said Thomas, peaceably to exercise the duties devolved upon him by authority of the President. That, as this respondent has been informed and believes, the said Stanton peremptorily refused obedience to the orders so issued. Upon such refusal, no force or threat of force was used by the said Thomas, by authority of the President or otherwise, to enforce obedience, either then or at any subsequent time. This respondent doth here except to. the sufficiency of the allegations contained in said fourth article, and states for ground of exception, that it is not stated that there was any agreement between this respondent and the said Thomas, or any other person or persons, to use intimidation and threats, nor is there any allegation as to the nature of said intimidation and threats, or that there was any agreement to carry them into execution, or that any step was taken or agreed to be taken to carry them into execution, and that the allegation in said article that the intent of said conspiracy was to use intimidation and threats is wholly insufficient, inasmuch as it is not alleged that the said intent formed the basis or become a part of any agreement between the said alleged conspirators, and, furthermore, that there is no allegation of any Page 17] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. 277 conspiracy or agreement to use intimidation r threats. ANSWER TO ARTICLE V. And for answer to the said fifth article, this respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, or at any other time or times in the same year before the said 2d day of March, 1868, or at any prior or subsequent time, at Washington aforesaid, or at any other place, this respondent did unlawfully conspire with the said Thomas, or with any other person or persons, to prevent or hinder the execution of the said act entitled " An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices," or that, in pursuance of said alleged conspiracy, he did unlawfully attempt to prevent the said Edwin M. Stanton from holding said office of Secretary for the Department of War, or that he-did thereby commit, or that he was thereby guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. Respondent, protesting that said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for he Department of War, begs leave to refer to his answer given to the fourth article and to his answer given to the first article, as to his intent and purpose in issuing the orders for the removal of Mr. Stanton and the authority given to the said Thomas, and prays equal benefit therefrom as if the same were here again repeated and fully set forth. And this respondent excepts to the sufficiency of the said fifth article, and states his ground for such exception, that it is not alleged by what means or by what agreement the said alleged conspiracy was formed or agreed to be carried out, or in what way the same was attempted to be carried out, or what were the acts done in pursuance thereof. ANSWER TO ARTICLE VI. And for answer to the said sixth article, this respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at Washington aforesaid, or at any other time or place, he did unlawfully conspire with the said Thomas by force to seize, take, or possess, the property of the United States in the Department of War, contrary to the provisions of the said acts referred to in the said article, or either of them, or with intent to violate either of them. Respondent, protesting that said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the Department of War, not only denies the said conspiracy as charged, but also denies any unlawful intent in reference to the custody and charge of the property of the United States in the said Department of War, and again refers to his former answers for a full statement of his intent and purpose in the premises. ANSWER TO ARTICLE VII. And for answer to the said seventh article, respondent denies that on the said 21st day of February, 1868, at Washington aforesaid, or at "any other time and place, he did unlawfully conspire with the said Thomas with intent unlawfully to seize, take, or possess the property of the United States in the Department of War with intent to violate or disregard the said act in the said seventh article referred to, or that he did then and there commit a high misdemeanor in office. Respondent, protesting that the said Stanton was not then and there Secretary for the B3 Department of War, again refers to his former answers, in so far as they are applicable, to show the intent with which he proceeded in the premises, and prays equal benefit therefrom as if the same were here again fully repeated. Respondent further takes exception to the sufficiency of the allegations of this article as to the conspiracy alleged, upon the same grounds as stated in the exception set forth in his answer to said article fourth. ANSWER TO ARTICLE VIII. And for answer to the said eighth article, this respondent denies that,on the 21st day of February, 1868, at Washington aforesaid, or at any other time and place, he did issue and deliver to the said Thomas the said letter of authority set forth in the said eighth article, with the intent unlawfully to control the disbursements of the money appropriated for the military service and for the Department of War. This respondent, protesting that there was a vacancy in the office of Secretary for the Department of War, admits that he did issue the said letter of authority, and he denies that the same was with any unlawful intent whatever, either to violate the Constitution of the United States or any act of Congress. On the contrary, this respondent again affirms that his sole intent was to vindicate his authority as President of the United States, and by peaceful means to bring the question of the right of the said Stanton to continue to hold the said office of Secretary of War to a final decision before the Supreme Court of the United States, as has been hereinbefore set forth; and he prays the same benefit from his answer in the premises as if the same were here again repeated at length. ANSWER TO ARTICLE IX. And for answer to the said ninth article the respondent states that on the said 22d day of February, 1868, the following note was addressed to the said Emory by the private secretary of respondent: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 22, 1868. GENERAL: The President directs me to say that he will be pleased to have you call upon him as early as practicable. Respectfully and truly, yours, WILLIAM G. MOORE, United States Army. General Emory called at the Executive Mansion according to this request. The object of respondent was to be advised by General Emory, as commander of the department of Washington, what changes had been made in the military affairs of the department. Respondent had been informed that various changes had been made, which in nowise had been brought to his notice or reported to him from the Department of War, or from any other quarter, and desired to ascertain the facts. After the said Emorv had explained in detail the changes which had taken place, said Emory called the attention of respondent to a general order which he referred to and which this respondent then sent for,when it was produced. It is as follows: [General Orders No. 17.] WAR DEPARTMENT. ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, March 14,1867. The following acts of Congress are published for the information and government of all concerned: If-PucLIc--No, 85. AN Acr making appropriations for the support of the 278 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the headquarters of the General of the army of the United States shall be at the city of Washington, and all orders and instructions relating to military operations issued by the President or Secretary of War shall be issued through the General of the army, and in case of his inability, through the nextinrank. The General of the army shall not be removed, suspended, or relieved from command or assigned to duty elsewhere than at said headquarters, except at his own request, without the previous approval of the Senate; and any orders or instructions relating to military operations issued contrary to the requirements of this section shall be null and void; and any officer who shall issue orders or instructions contrary to the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor in office; and any officer of the army who sh:all transmit, convey, or obey any orders or instructions so issued contrary to the provisions of this section, knowing that such orders were so issued, shall be liable to imprisonmnent for not less than two nor more than twenty years, upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction. Approved March 2, 1867. By order of the Secretary of War: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. General Emory not only called the attention of respondent to this order, but to the fact that it was in conformity with a section contained in an appropriation act passed by Congress. Respondent, after reading the order, observed: "This is not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, which makes me commander-in-chief of the army and navy, or of the language of the commission which you hold." General Emory then stated that this order had met respondent's approval. Respondent then said in reply, in substance, " Am I to understand that the President of the United States cannot give an order but through the General-in-chief, or General Grant?" General Emory again reiterated the statement that it had met respondent's approval, and that it was the opinion of some of the leading lawyers of the country that this order was constitutional. With some further consideration, respondent then inquired the names of the lawyers who had given the opinion, and he mentioned the names of two. Respondent then said that the object of the law was very evident, referring to the clause in the appropriation act upon which the order purported to be based. This, according to respondent's recollection, was the substance of the conversation had with General Emory. Respondent denies that any allegations in the said article of any instructions or declarations given to the said Emory, then or at any other time, contrary to or in addition to what is hereinbefore set forth, are true. Respondent denies that, in said conversation with said Emory, he had any other intent than to express the opinions then given to the said Emory; nor did he then, or at any time, request or order the said Emory to disobey any law or any order issued in conformity with any law, or intend to offer any inducement to the said Emory to violate any law. What this respondent then said to General Emory was simply the expression of an opinion which he then fully believed to be sound, and which he yet believes to be so-and that is, that by the express provisions of the Constitution, this respondent, as President, is made the commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, and as such he is to be respected; and that his orders, whether issued through the War Department or through the General-in-chief, or by any other channel of communication, are entitled to respect and obedience; and that such constitutional power cannot be taken from him by virtue of any act of Congress. Respondent doth therefore deny that by the expression of such opinion he did commit or was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. And this respondent doth further say that the said article nine lays no foundation whatever for the conclusion stated in the said article, that the respondent, by reason of the allegations therein contained, was guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. In reference to the statement made by General Emory, that this respondent had approved of said act of Congress containing the section referred to, the respondent admits that his formal approval was given to said act, but accompanied the same by the following message, addressed and sent with the act to the House of Representatives, in which House the said act originated, and from which it came to respondent: To the House of Representatives: The act entitled " An act making appropriations for the support.of the army for the year ending June:0, 1868, and for other purposes," contains provisions to which I must call attention. These provisions are contained in the 2d section, which, in certain cases, virtually deprives the President of his constitutional functions as commander-in-chief of the army, and in the sixth section, which denies to ten States of the Union their constitutional right to protect themselves, in any emergency, by means of their own militia. These provisions are out of place in an appropriation act, but I am compelled to defeat these necessary appropriations if I withhold my signature from the act. Pressed by these considerations, I feel constrained to return the bill with my signature, but to accompany it with my earnest protest against the sections which I have indicated. WASHINGTON, D. C., March 2, 1867. Respondent, therefore, did no more than to express to said Emory the same opinion which he had expressed to the House of Representatives. ANSWER TO ARTICLE X. And in answer to the tenth article and specifications thereof, the respondent says that on the 14th and 15th days of August, in the year 1866, a political convention of delegates from all or most of the States and Territories of the Union was held in the city of Philadelphia, under the name and style of the National Union Convention, for the purpose of maintaining and advancing certain political views and opinions before the people of the United States, and for their support and adoption in the exercise of the constitutional suffrage, in the election of representatives and delegates in Congress, which were soon to occur in many of the States and Territories of the Union; which said convention, in the course of its proceedings, and in furtherance of the objects of the same, adopted a "declaration of principles " and " an address to the people of the United States," and appointed a committee of two of its members from each State and of one from each Territory and one from the District of Columbia to wait upon the President of the United States and present to him a copy of the proceedings of the convention; that on the 18th day of said month of August, this committee waited upon the President of the United States at the Executive Mans'on, and was received by him in one of the rooms thereof, and by their chairman, Hon. Reverdy Johnson, then and now a Senator of Page 19] THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ETC. the United States, acting and speaking in their b:-half, presented a copy of the proceedings of the convention, and addressed the President of the United States in a speech, of which a copy (according to a published report of the same, and, as the respondent believes, substantially a correct report) is hereto annexed as a part of this answer, and marked Exhibit C. That thereupon, and in reply to the address of said committee by their chairman, this respondent addressed the said committee so waiting upon him in one of the rooms of the Executive Mansion; and this respondent believes that this his address to said committee is the occasion referred to in the first specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech or address of this respondent upon said occasion, correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said occasion, but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office, within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent. And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the specifications thereof, says that at Cleveland, in the State of Ohio, and on the 3d day of 8eptember, in the year 1866, he was attended by a large assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in deference and obedience to their call and demand he addressed them upon matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent believes that said occasion and address are referred to in the second specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech of this respondent on said occasion, correctly or justly present his speech or address upon said occasion; but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the second specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office, within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent. And this respondent, further answering the tenth article and the specifications thereof, says that at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, and on the 8th day of September, in the year 1866, h1 was attended by a numerous assemblage of his fellow-citizens, and in deference and obedience to their call and demand he addressed them upon matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent believes that said occasion and address are referred to in the third specification of the tenth article; but this respondent does not admit that the passages therein set forth, as if extracts from a speech of this respondent on said occasion, correctly ot justly present his speech or address upon said occasion; but, on the contrary, this respondent demands and insists that if this honorable court shall deem the said article and the said third specification thereof to contain allegation of matter cognizable by this honorable court as a high misdemeanor in office, within the intent and meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and shall receive or allow proof in support of the same, that proof shall be required to be made of the actual speech and address of this respondent on said occasion, which this respondent denies that the said article and specification contain or correctly or justly represent. And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, protesting that he has not been unmindful of the high duties of his office, or of the harmony or courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained between the executive and legislative branches of the Government o4 the United States, denies that he has ever intended or designed to set aside the rightful authority or powers of Congress, or attempted to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, or reproach the Congress of the United States or either branch thereof, or to impair or destroy the regard or respect of all or any of the good people of the United States for the Congress or the rightful legislative power thereof, or to excite the odium or resentment of all or any of the good people of the United States against Congress and the laws by it duly and constitutionally enacted. This respondent further says, that at all times he has, in his official acts as President, recognized the authority of the several Congresses of the United States as constituted and organized during his administration of the office of President of the United States. And this respondent, further answering, says that he has, from time to time, under his constitutional right and duty as President of the United States, communicated to Congress his views and opinions in regard to such acts or resolutions thereof as, being submitted to him as President of the United States in pursuance of the Constitution, seemed to this respondint to require such communications; and he has, irom time to time, in the exercise of that freedom of speech which belongs to him as a citizen of the 'United States, and, in his political relations as President of the United States to the people of the United States, is upon fit occasions a duty of the highest obligation, expressed to his fellowcitizens his views and opinions respecting the measures and proceedings of Congress; and that in such addresses to his fellow-citizens and in such his communications to Congress he has expressed his views, opinions, and judgment of and concerning the actual constitution of the two houses of Congress without representation therein of certain States of the Union, and of the effect that in wisdom and justice, in the opinion and judgment of this respondent, Congress, in its legislation and prnceedings, should give to this political circumstahce; and whatsoever he has thus communicated to Congress or 280 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. addressed to his fellow-citizens or any assemblage thereof, this respondent says was and is within and according to his right and privilege as an American citizen and his right and duty as President of the United States. And this respondent, not waiving or at all disparaging his right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, as hereinbefore or hereinafter more particularly set forth, but claiming and insisting upon the same, further answering the said tenth article, says that the views and opinions expressed by this respondent in his said addresses to the assemblages of his fellow-citizens, as in said article or in this answer thereto mentioned, are not and were not intended to be other or different from those expressed by him in his communications to Congress-that the eleven States lately in insurrection never had ceased to be States of the Union, and that they were then entitled to representation in Congress by loyal Representatives and Senators as fully as the other States of the Union, and that, consequently, the Congress, as then constituted, was not, in fact, a Congress of all the States, but a Congress of only a part of the States. This respondent, always protesting against the unauthorized exclusion therefrom of the said eleven States, nevertheless gave his assent to all laws passed by said Congress which did not, in his opinion and judgment, violate the Constitution, exercising his constitutional authority of returning bills to said Congress with his objections when they appeared to him to be unconstitutional or inexpedient. And, further, this respondent has also expressed the opinion, both in his communications to Congress and in his addresses to the people, that the policy adopted by Congress in reference to the States lately in insurrection did not tend to peace, harmony, and union, but, on the contrary, did tend to disunion and the permanent disruption of the States; and that in following its said policy, laws had been passed by Congress in violation of the fundamental principles of the government, and which tended to consolidation and despotism; and, such being his deliberate opinions, he would have felt himself unmindful of the high duties of his office if he had failed to express them in his communications to Congress, or in his addresses to the peo ple when called upon by them to.express his opinions on matters of public and political consideration. And this respondent, further answering the tenth article, says that he has always claimed and insisted, and now claims and insists, that both in his personal and private capacity of a citizen of the United States, and in the political relations of the President of the United States to the people of the United States, whose servant, under the duties and responsibilities of the Constitution of the United States, the President of the United States is, and should always remain, this respondent had and has the full right, and in his office of President cf the United States is held to the high duty of forming, and, on fit occasions, expressing, opinions of and concerning the legislation of Congress, proposed or completed, in respect of its wisdom, expediency, justice, worthiness, objects, purposes, and public and political motives and tendencies; and within and as a part of such right and duty to form, and on fit occasions to express, opinions of and concerning the public character and conduct, views, purposes, objects, motives, and tendencies of all men engaged in the public service, as well in Congress as otherwise, and under no other rules or limits upon this right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, or of responsibility and amenability for the actual exercise of such freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, than attend upon such rights and their exercise on the part of all other citizens of the United States, and on the part of all their public servants. And this respondent, further answering said tenth article, says that the several occasions on which, as is alleged in the several specifications of said article, this respondent addressed his fellow-citizens on subjects of public and political consideration, were not, nor was any one of them, sought or planned by this respondent; but, on the contrary, each of said occasions arose upon the exercise of a lawful and accustomed right of the people of the United States to call upon their public servants and express to them their opinions, wishes, and feelings upon matters of public and political consideration, and to invite from such, their public servants, an expression of their opinions, views, and feelings on matters of public and political consideration; and this respondent claims and insists before this honorable court, and before all the people of the United States, that of or concerning this his right of freedom of opinion and of freedom of speech, and this his exercise of such rights on all matters of public and political consideration, and in respect of all public servants or persons whatsoever engaged in or connected therewith, this respondent, as a citizen or as President of the United States, is not subject to question, inquisition, impeachment, or inculpation in any form or manner whatsoever. And this respondent says that neither the said tenth article nor any specification thereof, nor any allegation therein contained, touches or relates to any official act or doing of this respondent in the office of President of the United States or in the discharge of any of its constitutional or legal duties or responsibilities; but said article and the specifications and allegations thereof, wholly and in every part thereof, question only the discretion or propriety of freedom of opinion or freedom of speech as exercised by this respondent as a citizen of the United States in his personal right and capacity, and without allegation or imputation against this respondent of the violation of any law of the United States touching or relating to freedom of speech or its exercise by the citizens of the United States or by this respondent as one of the said citizens or otherwise; and he denies that, by reason of any matter in said article or its specifications alleged, he has said or done anything indecent or unbecoming in the Chief Magistrate of the United States, or that he has brought the high office of the President of the United States into contempt, ridicule, or disgrace, or that he has committed or has been guilty of a high misdemeanor in office. Page o21 ORDERS, LETTERS, MESSAGES, ETC. 281 ANSWER TO ARTICLE XI. And in answer to the eleventh article, this respondent denies that on the 18th day of August, in the year 1866, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, he did, by public speech or otherwise, declare or affirm, in substance or at all, that the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States was not a Congress of the United States authorized by the Constitution to exercise legislative power under tile same, or that he did then and there declare or affirm that the said Thirty-Ninth Congress was a Congress of only part of the States in any sense or meaning other than that ten States of the Union were denied representation therein; or that he made any or either of the declarations or affirmations in this behalf, in the said article alleged, as denying or intending to deny that the legislation of said Thirty-Ninth Congress was valid or obligatory upon this respondent, except so far as this respondent saw fit to approve the same; and as to the allegation in said article, that he did thereby intend or mean to be understood that the said Congress had not power to propose amendments to the Constitution, this respondent says that in said address he said nothing in reference to the subject of amendments of the Constitution, nor was the question of the competency of the said Congress to propose such amnandments, without the participation of said excluded States, at the time of said address, in any way mentioned or considered or referred to by this respondent, nor in what he did say had he any intent regarding the same, and he denies the allegation so made to the contrary thereof. But this respondent, in further answer to, and in respect of, the said allegations of the said eleventh article hereinbefore traversed and denied, claims and insists upon his personal and official right of freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, and his duty in his political relations as President of the United States to the people of the United States in the exercise of such freedom of opinion and freedom of speech, in the same manner, form, and effect as he has in this behalf stated the same in his answer to the said tenth article, and with the same effect as if he here repeated the same; and he further claims and insists, as in said answer to said tenth article he has claimed and insisted, that he is not subject to question, inquisition, impeachment, or inculpation, in any form or manner, of or concerning such rights of freedom of opinion of freedom of speech or his said alleged exercise thereof. And this respondent further denies that on the 21st of February, in the year 1868, or at any other time, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, in pursuance of any such declaration as is in that behalf in said eleventh article alleged, or otherwise, he did unlawfully, and in disregard of the requirement of the Constitution that he should take care that the laws should be faithfully executed, attempt to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act regalating the tenure of certain civil offices," passed March 2,1867, by unlawfully devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means by which he should prevent Edwin M. Stanton from forthwith resuming the functions of Secretary for the Department of War; or by unlawfully devising or contriving, or attempting to devise or contrive, means to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867, or to prevent the execution of an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2, 1867. And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says that he has, in his answer to the first article, set forth in detail the acts, steps, and proceedings done and taken by this respondent to and toward or in the matter of the suspension or removal of the said Edwin M. Stanton in or from the office of Secretary for the Department of War, with the times, modes, circumstances, intents, views, purposes, and opinions of official obligation and duty under and with which such acts, steps, and proceedings were done and taken; and he makes answer to this eleventh article of the matters in his answer to the first article, pertaining to the suspension or removal of said Edwin M. Stanton, to the same intent and effect as if they were here repeated and set forth. And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, denies t-hat by means or reason of anything in said article alleged, this respondent, as President of the United States, did, on the 21st day of February, 1868, or at any other day or time, commit, or that he was guilty of, a high misdemeanor in office. And this respondent, further answering the said eleventh article, says that the same and the matters therein contained do not charge or allege the commission of any act whatever by this respondent, in his office of President of the United States, nor the omission by this respondent of any act of official obligation or duty in his office of President of the United States; nor does the said article nor the matters therein contained name, designate, describe, or define any act or mode or form of attempt, device, contrivance, or means, or of attempt at device, contrivance or means, whereby this respondent can know or understand what act or mode or form of attempt, device, contrivance or means, or of attempt at device, contrivance, or means, are imputed to or charged against this respondent, in his office of President of the United States, or intended so to be, or whereby this respondent can more fully or definitely make answer unto the said article than he hereby does. And this respondent, in submitting to this honorable court this his answer to the Articles of Impeachment exhibited against him, respectfully reserves leave to amend and add to the same from time to time, as may become necessary or proper, and when and as such necessity and propriety shall appear. ANDREW JOHNSON HENRY STANBERY, B. R. CURTIS, THOMAS A. R. NELSON, WILLIAM M. EVARTS, W. S. GIOESBECOK, Of Counrsel. POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Same day-The President's counsel asked for April 22-Argument begun, and continued on thirty days for preparation before the trial shall April 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, May 1, 2, 4, 5, proceed; which was debated and disagreed to- and 6. yeas 12, nays 41. May 7 and 11 spent in determining rules, March 24-The Managers presented the rep- form of question, &c. May 12, adjourned in lication adopted - yeas 116, nays 36 - by the consequence of the sickness of Senator Howard, House of Representatives, as follows: till May 16. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES, Mlarch 24, 1868. The Judgment of the Senate. Replication by the House of Representatives of the Vnited May 16-By a vote of 34 to 19, it was ordered States to the answer of Andrew Johnson,.Presidtnt of the that the question on the eleventh article be taken United States, to the Articles of Impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives. first. [ForArticle XI, seepage 10.] The House of Representatives of the United States have The vote was 35 "guilty," 19 " not guilty," considered the several answers of Andrew Johnson, Pres- aS follow: ident of the United States, to the several articles of impeachiment again-st him by them exhibited in the name of GUILT - Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, themselves and of all the people of the United States, and Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, reserving to themselves all advantage of exception to the Ferry, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Howard, Howe, Morgan, insufficiency of his answer to each and all of the several Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterarticles of impeachment exhibited against said Andrew son of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Johnson, President of the United States, do deny each and Sprague, Stewart, -umner, Thayer, Tipton, Wade, Willey, every averment in said several answers, or either of them, Williams, Wilson, Yates-35. which denies or traverses the acts, intents, crimes, or mis- NOT GUILTY-Messrs. Bayard, Buckalew, Davis, Dixon, demeanors charged against said Andrew Johnson in the said Doolittle, Fessenden, Fowler, Grimes, henderson, Hendrickcs, articles of impeachment, or either of them; and for replica- Johnson, lc-Creery, Norton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, tion to said answer do say that said Andrew Johnson, Presi- Saulsbury, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Vickers-19. dent of the United States, is guilty of the high crimes and May 26-The second and third articles were misdemeanors mentioned in said articles, and that the voted upon, with the same reult as on the House of Representatives are ready to prove the same. oted pon, ith the same result as on the SCHUYLER COLFAX, eleventh: GUILTY 35; NOT GUILTY, 19. Speaker of the House of Representatives. A motion that the court do now adjourn sine EDWAar M PHE SO e tat, die was then carried-yeas 34, nays 16, as folClerk of the House of Representatives. lo Same day-An order was adopted, finally low: without a division, that e the Senate will com YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Cameron, Cattell Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett. Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Ferry, Frelingmence the trial on the 30th inst., and proceed huysen, Harlan, Howard, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morwith all convenient despatch, rill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, March 30-Opening argument by Mr. Butler, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, Williams, "Wilone of the Managers, and some testimony intro- son, Yates--3s. duced. NAYs-Messrs. Bayard, Buccealew, Davis, Dixon, DooMarch 31, April 1, 2, 3, and 4, the testimony I little, Fowler, Henderson, Hendricks, Johnson, McCreery, SNorton, Patterson of Tennessee, Ross, Saulsbury, Trumfor the prosecution continued, and the case on bull, Pickers--16. the part of the House substantially closed. NOT VOTING-Conness, Fessenden, Grimes, Howe-4. Adjourned till April 9, at the request of the Judgment of acquittal was then entered by President's counsel, the Chief Justice on the three articles voted April 9 and 10-Occupied by Judge Curtis's upon, and the Senate sitting as a court for the opening argument for the defence, and in pre- trial of Andrew Johnson, President of the United senting testimony. States, upon Articles of Impeachment exhibited April 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, testimony by the House of Representatives, was declared presented. adjourned without day. XXV. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GEN. GRANT AND PRESIDENT JOHNSON, GROWING OUT OF SECRETARY STANTON'S SUSPENSION. "WAR DEPARTMENT, action of the Senate on his alleged reason for my "WASHINGTON CITY, February 4, 1868. suspension from the office of Secretary of War, I SIR: In answer to the resolution of the House resumed the duties of that office as required by of Representatives of the 3d instant, I transmit the act of Congress, and have continued to disherewith copies furnished me by General Grant charge them without any personal or written of correspondence between him and the Presi- communication with the President. No orders dent, relating to the Secretary of War, and which have been issued from this department in the he reports to be all the correspondence he has name of the President, with my kr.owledge, and bad with the President on the subject. I have received no orders from him. I have had no correspondence with the Presi- The correspondence sent herewith embraces all dent since the 12th of August last. After the the correspondence known to me on the subiect Page 23] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GRANT AND JOHNSON, 283 referred to in the resolution of the House of Representatives. I I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, c your obedient servant, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 1 Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1.-GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT. HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, January 24, 1868. SIR: I have the honor, very respectfully, to request to have, in writing, the order which the President gave me verbally on Sunday, the 19th instant, to disregard the orders of the Hon. E. M. Stanton, as Secretary of War, until I knew, from the President himself, that they were his orders. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. 2.-GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT. HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., January 28, 1868. SIR: On the 24th instant, I requested you to give me in writing the instructions which you had previously given me verbally, not to obey any order from Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, unless I knew that it came from yourself. To this written request I received a message that has left doubt in my mind of your intentions. To prevent any possible misunderstanding, therefore, I renew the request that you will give me written instructions, and, till they are received, will suspend action on your verbal ones. I am compelled to ask these instructions in writing, in consequence of the many and gross misrepresentations affecting my personal honor, circulated through the press for the last fortnight, purporting to come from the President, of conversations which occurred either with the President privately in his office, or in cabinet meeting. What is written admits of no misunderstanding. In view of the misrepresentations referred to, it will be well to state the facts in the case. Some time after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War ad interim, the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension, to obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him, illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the case of the Baltimore police commissioners. In that case I did not doubt the technical right of Governor Swann to remove the old commissioners and to appoint their successors. As the old commissioners refused to give up, however, I contended that no resource was left but to appeal to the courts. Finding that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out of office, whether sustained in the suspension or not, I stated that I had not looked particularly into the tenure of office bill, but that what I had stated was a general principle, and if I should change my mind in this particular case i would inform him of the fact. Subsequently, on reading the tenure of office b.ll closely, I found that I could not, without violation of the law, refuse to vacate the office of Secretary of War the moment Mr. Stanton was reinstated by the Senate, even though the President should order me to retain it, which he never did. Taking this view of the subject, and learning on Saturday, the 11th instant, that the Senate had taken up the subject of Mr. Stanton's suspension, after some conversation with Lieutenant General Sherman and some members of my staff, in which I stated that the law left me no discretion as to my action, should Mr. Stanton be reinstated, and that I intended to inform the President, I went to the President for the sole purpose of making this decision known, and did so make it known. In doing this I fulfilled the promise made in our last preoeding conversation on the subject. The President, however, instead of accepting my view of the requirements of the tenure of office bill, contended that he had suspended Mr. Stanton under the authority given by the Constitution, and that the same authority did not preclude him from reporting, as an act of courtesy, his reasons for the suspension to the Senate. That, having appointed me under the authority given by the Constitution, and not under any act of Congress, I could not be governed by the act. I stated that the law was binding on me, constitutional or not, until set aside by the proper tribunal. An hour or mord was consumed, each reiterating his views on this subject, until, getting late, the President said he would see me again. I did not agree to call again on Monday, nor at any other definite time, nor was I sent for by the President until the following Tuesday. From the 11th to the cabinet meeting on the 14th instant, a doubt never entered my mind about the President's fully understanding my position, namely, that if the Senate refused to concur in the suspension of Mr. Stanton, my powers as Secretary of War ad interim would cease, and Mr. Stanton's right to resume at once the functions of his office would under the law be indisputable, and I acted accordingly. With Mr. Stanton I had no communication, direct nor indirect, on the subject of his reinstatement, during his suspension. I knew it had been recommended to the President to send in the name of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for Secretary of War, and thus save all embarrassment-a proposition that I sincerely hoped he would entertain favorably; General Sherman seeing the President at my particular request to urge this, on the 13th instant. On Tuesday, (the day Mr. Stanton re-entered the office of the Secretary of War,) General Comnstock, who had carried my official letter announcing that, with Mr. Stanton's reinstatement by the Senate, I had ceased to be Secretary of War ad interim, and who saw the President open and read the communication, brought back to me from the President a message that he wanted to see me that day at the cabinet meet POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. ing, after I had made known the fact that I was no longer Secretary of War ad interim. At this meeting, after opening it as though I were a member of the cabinet, when reminded of the notification already given him that I was no longer Secretary of War ad interim, the President gave a version of the conversations alluded to already. In this statement it was asserted that in both conversations I had agreed to hold on to the office of Secretary of War until displaced by the courts, or resign, so as to place the President where he would have been had I never accepted the office. After hearing the President through, I stated our conversations substantially as given in this letter. I will add that my conversation before the cabinet embraced other matter not pertinent here, and is therefore left out. I in nowise admitted the correctness of the President's statement of our conversations, though, to soften the evident contradiction my statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the subject) the President might have understood me the way he said, namely, that I had promised to resign- if I did not resist the reinstatement. I made no such promise. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. No. 3.-ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT ON GENERAL GRANT'S NOTE OF JANUARY 24, 1868. JANUARY 29, 1868. As requested in this communication, General Grant is instructed, in writing, not to obey any order from the War Department, assumed to be issued by the direction of the President, unless such order is known by the General commanding the armies of the United States to have been authorized by the Executive. ANDREW JOHNSON. No. 4.-GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT. HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, January 30, 1868. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the return of my note of the 24th instant, with your endorsement thereon, that I am not to obey any order from the War Department assumed to be issued by the direction of the President, unless such order is known by me to have been authorized by the Executive; and in reply thereto to say, that I am informed by the Secretary of War that he has not received from the Executive any order or instructions limiting or impairing his authority to issue orders to the army as has heretofore been his practice under the law and the customs of the department. While this authority to the War Department is not countermanded, it will be satisfactory evidence to me that any orders issued from the War Department, by direction of the President, are authorized by the Executive. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, His Excellency A. JOHNSON, General. President of the United States. No. 5.-THE PRESIDENT TO GENERAL GRANT. EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 31, 1868. GENERAL: I have received your communication of the 28th instant, renewing your request of the 24th, that I should repeat in a written form my verbal instructions of the 19th instant, viz: That you obey no order from the honorable Edwin M. Stanton, as Secretary of War, unless you have information that it was issued by the President's directions. In submitting this request, (with which I complied on the 29th instant,) you take occasion to allude to recent publications in reference to the circumstances connected with the vacation, by yourself, of the office of Secretary of War ad interim, and, with the view of correcting statements, which you term "gross misrepresentations," give at length your own recollection of the facts under which, without the sanction of the President, from whom you had received and accepted the appointment, you yielded the Department of War to the present incumbent. As stated in your communication, some time after you had assumed the duties of Secretary of War ad interim, we interchanged views respecting the course that should be pursued in the event of non-concurrence by the Senate in the suspension from office of Mr. Stanton. I sought that interview, calling myself at the War Department. My sole object in then bringing the subject to your attention was to ascertain definitely what would be your own action should such an attempt be made for his restoration to the War Department. That object was accomplished, for the interview terminated with the distinct understanding that if, upon reflection, you should prefer not to become a party to the controversy, or should conclude that it would be your duty to surrender the department to Mr. Stanton, upon action in his favor by the Senate, you were to return the office to me prior to a decision by the Senate, in order that, if I desired to do so, I might designate some one to succeed you. It must have been apparent to vou that, had not this understanding been reached, it was my purpose to relieve you from the further discharge of the duties of Secretary of War ad interim, and to appoint some other person in that capacity. Oti'er conversations upon this subject ensued, all of them having, on my part, the same object, and leading to the same conclusion, as the first. It is not necessary, however, to refer to any of them, excepting that of Saturday, the 11th instant, mentioned in your communication. As it was then known that the Senate had proceeded to consider the case of Mr. Stanton, I was anxious to learn your determination. After a protracted interview, during which the provisions of the tenure of office bill were freely discussed, you said that, as had been agreed upon in our first conference, you would either return the office to my possession in time to enable me to appoint a successor before final action by the Senate upon Mr. Stanton's suspension, or would remain as its head, awaiting a decision of the question by judicial proceedings. It was then understood that there would be a further conference on Monday, by which Page 25] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GRANT AND JOHNSON. 285 time I supposed you would be prepared to inform me of your final decision. You failed, however, to fulfill the engagement, and on Tuesday notified me, in writing, of the receipt by you of official notification of the action of the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton, and at the same time informed me that according to the act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices your functions as Secretary of War ad inberim ceased from the moment of the receipt ot the notice. You thus, in disregard of the understanding between us, vacated the office without having given me notice of your intention to do so. It is but just, however, to say that in your communication you claim that you did inform me of your purpose, and thus "fulfilled the promise made in our last preceding conversation on this subject." The fact that such a promise existed is evidence of an arrangement of the kind I have mentioned. You had found in our first conference "that the President was desirous of keeping Mr. Stanton out of office, whether sustained in the suspension or not." You knew what reasons had -induced the President to ask from you a promise; you also knew that in case your views of duty did not accord with his own convictions, it was his purpose to fill your place by another appointment. Even ignoring the existence of a positive understanding between us, these conclusions were plainly deducible from our various conversations. It is certain, however, that even under these circumstances, you did not offer to return the place to my possession, but, according to your own statement, placed yourself in a position where, could I have anticipated your action, I would have been compelled to ask of you, as I was compelled to ask of your predecessor in the War Department, a letter of resignation, or else to resort to the more disagreeable expedient of superseding you by a successor. As stated in your letter, the nomination of Governor Cox, of Ohio, for the office of Secretary of War was suggested to me. His appointment, as Mi. Stanton's successor, was urged in your name, and it was said that his selection would save further embarrassment. I did not think that in the selection of a cabinet officer I should be trammelled by such considerations. I was prepared to, take the responsibility of deciding the question in accordance with my ideas of constitutional duty, and, having determined upon a course which I deemed right and proper, was anxious to learn the steps you would take should the possession of the War Department be demanded by Mr. Stanton. Had your action been in conformity to the understanding between us, I do not believe that the embarrassment would have attained its present proportions, or that the probability of its repetition would have been so great. I know that, with a view to an early termination of a state of affairs so detrimental to the public interests, you voluntarily offered, both on Wednesday, the 15th instant, and on the succeeding Sunday, to call upon Mr. Stanton, and urge upon him that the good of the service required his resignation. I confess that I considered your proposal as a sort of reparation for the failure, on your part, to act in accordance with an understanding more than once repeated, which I thought had received your full assent, and under which you could have returned to me the office which I had conferred upon you, thus saving yourself from embarrassment, and leaving the responsibility where it properly belonged-with the President, who is accountable for the faithful execution of the laws. I have not yet been informed by you whether, as twice proposed by yourself, you have called upon Mr. Stanton, and made an effort to induce him voluntarily to retire from the War Department. You conclude your communication with a reference to our conversation at the meeting of the cabinet held on Tuesday, the 14th instant. In your account of what then occurred, you say that after the President had given his version of our previous conversations, you stated them substantially as given in your letter; that you in nowise admitted the correctness of -his statement of them, " though, to soften the evident contradiction my statement gave, I said (alluding to our first conversation on the subject) the President might have understood me in the way he said, namely: that I had promised to resign if I did not resist the reinstatement. I made no such promise." My recollection of what then transpired is diametrically the reverse of your narration.. In the presence of the cabinet I asked you: First. If, in a conversation which took place shortly after your appointment as 'Secretary of War ad interim, you did not agree either to. remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial proceedings that might follow non-concurrence by the Senate in Mr. Stanton's suspension; or, should you wish not to become involved in such a controversy, to put me i'n the same position with respect to the office as I occupied previous to your appointment, by returning it to me in time to anticipate such, action by the Senate. This you admitted. Second. I then asked you if, at our conference on the preceding Saturday, I had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested you to state what you intended to do, and further, if, in reply to that inquiry, you had not referred to our former conversations, saying that from them I understood your position, and that your action would be consistent with the understanding which had been reached. To these questions you also) replied in the affirmative. Third. I next asked if, at the conclusion, of our interview on Saturday it was not understood that we were to have another conference on Monday, before final action by the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton. You replied that that such was the understanding, but that you did not suppose the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday you had been engaged in a conference, with General Sherman, and were occupied with "many little matters," and asked if General Sherman had not called on that day. What relevancy General Sherman s visit to me on Monday had with the purpose for which you were then to have called, I am at a loss to perceive, as he certainly did not inform me whether you had determined to retain "possession of the office, or to afford me an opportunity to appoint 286 P LITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. a successor in advance of any attempted reinstatement of Mr. Stanton. This account of what passed between us at the cabinet meeting on the 14th instant widely differs from that contained in your communication, for it shows that instead of having "stated our conversations as given in the letter," which has made this reply necessary, you admitted that my recital of them was entirely accurate. Sincerely anxious, however, to be correct in my statements, 1 have to-day read this narration of what occurred on the 14th instant to the members of the cabinet who were then present. They, without exception, agree in its accuracy. It is only necessary to add that on Wednesday morning, the 15th instant, you called on me, in company with Lieutenant General Sherman. After some preliminary conversation, you remarked that an article in the National Intelligencer of that date did you much injustice. I replied that I had not read the Intelligencer of that morning. You then first told me that it was your intention to urge Mr. Stanton to resign his office. After you had withdrawn, I carefully read the article of which you had spoken, and found that its statements of the understanding between us were substantially correct. On the 17th, I caused it to be read to four of the five members of the cabinet who were present at our conference on the 14th, and they concurred in the general accuracy of its statements respecting our conversation upon that occasion. In reply to your communication, I have deemed it proper, in order to prevent further misunderstanding, to make this simple recital of facts. Very respectfully, yours, General U. S. GRANT, ANDREW JOHNSON. Commanding U. S. Armies. No. 6.---GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT. HEADQ'Rs ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, February 3, 1868. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 31st ultimo, in answer to mine of the 28th ultimo. After a careful reading and comparison of it with the article in the National Intelligencer of the 15th ultimo, and the article over the initials J. B. S., in the New York World of the 27th ultimo, purporting to be based upon your statement and that of the members of your cabinet therein named, I find it to be but a reiteration, only somewhat more in detail, of the "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in these articles, and which my statement of the facts set forth in my letter of 28th ultimo was intended to correct;:and I here reassert the correctness of my statements in that letter, anything in yours in reply to it to the contrary 'notwitlstanding. I confess my surprise that the cabinet officers referred to should so greatly misapprehend the facts in the matter of admissions alleged to have been made by me at the cabinet meeting of the 14th ultimo as to suffer their names to be made the basis of the charges in the newspaper article referred to, or agree in the accuracy, as you affirm they do, of your account of what occurred at that meeting. You know that we parted on Saturday, the 11th ultimo, without any promise on my part, either express or implied, to the effect that I would hold on to the office of Secretary of War ad interim against the action of the Senate, or, declining to do so myself, would surrender it to you before such action was had, or that I would see you again at any fixed time on the subject. The performance of the promises alleged by you to have been made by me would have involved a resistance to law, and an inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton. From our conversations, and my written protest of August 1, 1867, against the removal of Mr. Stanton, you must have known that my greatest objection to his removal or suspension was the fear that some one would be appointed in his stead who would, by opposition to the laws relating to the restoration of the southern States to their proper relations to the government, embarrass the army in the performance of duties especially imposed upon it by these laws; and it was to prevent such an appointment that I accepted the office of Secretary of War ad interim, and not for the purpose of enabling you to get rid of Mr. Stanton by my withholding it from him in opposition to law, or not doing so myself, surrendering it to one who would, as the statement and assumptions in your communication plainly indicate was sought. And it was to avoid the same danger, as well as to relieve you from this personal embarrassment in which Mr. Stanton's reinstatement would place you, that I urged the appointment of Governor Cox, believing that it would be agreeable to you and also to Mr. Stanton-satisfied as I was that it was the good of the country, and not the office, the latter desired. On the 15th ultimo, in presence of General Sherman, I stated to you that I thought Mr. Stanton would resign, but did not say that I would advise him to do so. On the 18th I did agree with General Sherman to go and advise him to that course, and on the 19th I had an interview alone with Mr. Stanton, which led me to the conclusion that any advice to him of the kind would be useless, and I so informed General Sherman. Before I consented to advise Mr. Stanton to resign, I understood from him, in a conversation on the subject immediately after his reinstatement, that it was his opinion that the act of Congress, entitled " An act temporarily to supply vacancies in the executive departments in certain cases," approved February 20, 1863, was repealed by subsequent legislation, which materially influenced my action. Previous to this time I had had no doubt that the law of 1863 was still in force, and notwithstanding my action, a fuller examination of the law leaves a *question in my mind whether it is or is not repealed. This being the case, I could not now advise his resignation, lest the same danger I apprehended on his first removal might follow. The course you would have it understood I agreed to pursue was in violation of law, and without orders from you; while the course I did pursue, and which I never doubted you fully understood, was in accordance with law, and not in disobedience of any orders of my superior. Page 27] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GRANT AND JOHNSON 287 And now, Mr. President, when my honor as a soldier and integrity as a man have been so violently assailed, pardon me for saying that I can but regard this whole matter, from the beginning to the end, as an attempt to involve me in the resistance of law, for which you hesitated to assume the responsibility in orders, and thus to destroy my character before the country. I am in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War-my superior and your subordinate --without having countermanded his authority to issue the orders I am to disobey. With the assurance, Mr. President, that nothing less than a vindication of my personal honor and character could have induced this correspondence on my part, I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency A. JoHNsoN, President of the United States. No. 7.-THE PRESIDENT TO GENERAL GRANT. EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 10, 1868. GENERAL: The extraordinary character of your letter of the 3d instant would seem to preclude any reply on my part; but the manner in which publicity has been given to the correspondence of which that letter forms a part, and the grave questions which are involved, induce me to take this mode of giving, as a proper sequel to the communications which have passed between us, the statements of the five members of the cabinet who were present on the occasiontheoso of our conversation on the 14the t ultimo. Copies of the letters, which they have addressed to me upon the subject, are accordingly herewith enclosed. You speak of my letter of the 31st ultimo as "a reiteration of the "many and gross misrepresentations" contained in certain newspaper articles, and reassert the correctness of the statements contained in your communication of the 28th ultimo, adding-and here I give your own words-" anything in yours in reply to it to the contrary notwithstanding." When a controversy upon matters of'fact reaches the point to which this has been brought, further assertion or denial-between the immediate parties should cease, especially where, upon either side, it loses the character of the respectful discussion which is required:by the relations in which the parties stand to each other, and degenerates in tone and temper. In such a case, if there is nothing to rely upon but the opposing statements, conclusions must be dravwn from those statements alone, and from whatever 4ntrinsic probabilities they afford in favorof.or against either of the parties. I should -not shrink from this test in this controversy, but, fortunately, it is not left to this test alone. There were five cabinet officers present at the conversation, the detail of which, in my letter of the 28'ýh ultimo, you allow yourself to say, contains "many and gross misrepresentations." These gentlemen heard that conversation and have read my statement. They speak for themselves, and I leave the proof without a word of comment. I deem it proper, before concluding this communication, to notice some of the statements contained in your letter. You say that a performance of the promises alleged to have been made by you to the President " would have involved a resistance to law, and an inconsistency with the whole history of my connection with the suspension of Mr. Stanton." You then state that you had fears the President would, on the removal of Mr. Stanton, appoint some one in his place who would embarrass the army in carrying out the reconstruction acts, and add: " It was to prevent such an appointment 'that I accepted the office of Secretary of War ad interim, and not for the purpose of enabling yon to get rid of Mr. Stanton, by my withholding it from him in opposition to law, or not doing so myself, surrendering it to one who would, as the statements and assumptions in your communication plainly indicate was sought." First of all, you here admit that from the very beginning of what you term "the whole history" of your connection with Mr. Stanton's suspension, you intended to circumvent the President. It was to carry out that intent that you accepted the appointment. This was in your mind at the time of your acceptance. It was not, then, in obedience to the order of your superior, as has heretofore been supposed, that you assumed the duties of the office. You knew it was the President's purpose to prevent Mr. Stanton from resuming the office of Secretary of War, and you intended to defeat that purpose. You accepted the office, not in the interest of the President, but of Mr. Stanton. If this purpose, so entertained by you, had been confined to yourselfif, when accepting the office, you had done so with a mental reservation to frustrate the President-it would have been a tacit deception. In the ethics of some persons such a course is allowable. But you cannot stand even upon that questionable ground. The " history" of your connection with this transaction, as written by yourself, places you in a different predicament, and shows that you not only concealed your de. sign from the President, but induced him to suppose that you would carry out his purpose to keep Mr. Stanton out of office, by retaining it yourself after an attempted restoration by the Senate, so as to require Mr. Stanton to establish his right by judicial decision. I now give that part of this " history," as written by yourself in your letter of the 28th ult.: "Sometime after I assumed the duties of Secretary of War ad interim, the President asked me my views as to the course Mr. Stanton would have to pursue, in case the Senate should not concur in his suspension, to obtain possession of his office. My reply was, in substance, that Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the courts to reinstate him, illustrating my position by citing the ground I had taken in the *case of the Baltimore police commissioners." Now, at that time, as you admit in your letter -oTf the.3d instant, you held the office for the very object of defeating an appeal to the courts. In that letter you say that in accepting the office one motive was to prevent the President from appointing some other person who would retain possession, and thus make judicial proceedings necessary. You knew the President was unwilling to trust the office with any one who would not, by holding it, compel Mr. Staun 288 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. ton to resort to the courts. You perfectly understood that in this interview "sometime" after you accepted the office, the President, not content with your silence, desired an expression of your views, and you answered him, that Mr. Stanton " would have to appeal to the courts." If the President had reposed confidence before he knew your views, and that confidence had been violated, it might have been said he made a mistake; but a violation of confidence reposed after that conversation was no mistake of his, nor of yours. It is the fact only that needs be stated, that at the date of this conversation you did not intend to hold the office with the purpose of forcing Mr. Stanton into court, but did hold it then, and had accepted it, to prevent that course from being carried out. In other words, you said to the President, " that is the proper course;" and you said to yourself, " I have accepted this office, and now hold it, to defeat that course." The excuse you make in a subsequent paragraph of that letter of the 26th ultimo, that afterwards you changed your views as to what would be a proper course, has nothing to do with the point now under consideration. The point is, that before you changed your views you had secretly determined to do the very thing which at last you did-surrender the office to Mr. Stanton. You may have changed your views as to the law, but you certainly did not change your views as to the course you had marked out for yourself from the beginning. I will only notice one more statement in your letter of the 3d instant-that the performance of the promises which it is alleged were made by you would have involved you in the resistance of law. I know of no statute that would have been violated had you-carrying out your promises in good faith-tendered your resignation when you concluded not to be made a party in any legal proceedings. You add: " I am' in a measure confirmed in this conclusion by your recent orders directing me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, my superior and your subordinate, without. having countermanded his authority to issue the orders I am to disobey." On the 24th ultimo, you addressed a note to the President, requesting, in writing, an order, given to you verbally five days before, to disregard orders from Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War, until you "knew from the President himself that they were his orders." On the 29th, in compliance with your request, I did give you instructions in writing "not to obey any order from the War Department assumed to be issued by the direction of the President, unless such order is known by the General commanding the armies of theUnited States to have been authorized by the Executive." There are some orders which a Secretary of War may issue without the authority of the. President; there are others which he issues simply as the agent of the President, and which purport to be " by direction" of the President. For such orders the President is responsible, and he should, therefore, know and understand what they are before giving such " direction." Mr. Stanton states in his letter of the 4th instant, which accompanies the published correspondence, that he " has had no correspondence with the President since the 12th of August last;" and he further says, that since he resumed the duties of the office he has continued to discharge them " without any personal or written communication with the President;" and he adds: " No orders have been issued from this Department in the name of the President with my knowledge, and I have received no orders from him." It thus seems that Mr. Stanton now discharges the duties of the War Department without any reference to the President, and without using his name. My order to you had only reference to orders " assumed to be issued by the direction of the President." It would appear from Mr. Stanton's letter that you have received no such orders from him. However, in your note to the President of the 30th ultimo, in which you acknowledge the receipt of the written order of the 29th, you say that you have been informed by Mr. Stanton that he has not received any order limiting his authority to issue orders to the army, according to the practice of the Department, and state that " while this authority to the War Department is not countermanded, it will be satisfactory evidence to me that any orders issued from the War Department by direction of the President are authorized by the Executive." The President issues an order to you to obey no order from the War Department, purporting to be made " by the direction of the President,' until you have referred it to him for his approval. You reply that you have received the President's order, and will not obey it, but will obey an order purporting to be given by his direction, if it comes from the War Department. You will not obey the direct order of the President, but will obey his indirect order. If, as you say, there has been a practice in the War Department to issue orders in the name of the President without his direction, does not the precise order you have requested, and have received, change the practice as to the General of the army? Could not the President countermand any such order issued to you from the War Department? If you should receive an order from that Department, issued in the name of the President, to do a special act, and an order directly from the President himself not to do the act, is there a doubt which you are to obey? You answer the question when you say to the President, in your letter of the 3d instant, the Secretary of War is: "my superior and your subordinate;" and yet you. refuse obedience to the superior out of deference to. the subordinate, Without further comment upon the insubor dinate attitude which you have assumed, I am at a loss to know how you can, relieve yourself from obedience to the orders of the- President, who is made by the Constitution theCommanderin-Chief of the army and navy, and is, therefore, the official superior, as well of the General of the army as of the Secretary of War. Respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. General U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies of the United States, Washington, D. C. Copy of a letter addressed to each of the members of the cabinet present at the conversation between the President and General. Grant on the 14th of January, 1868: Page 29] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GRANT AND JOHNSON. 289 EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 5, 1868. SIR: The Chronicle of this morning contains a correspondence between the President and General Grant, reported from the War Department, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives. I beg to call your attention to that correspondence, and especially to that part of it which refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at the cabinet meeting on the 14th of January, and to request you to state what was said in that conversation. Very respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 5, 1868. SIR: Your note of this date was handed to me this evening. My recollection of the conversation at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, corresponds with your statement of it in the letter of the 31st ultimo, in the published correspondence. The three points specified in that letter, giving your recollection of the conversation, are correctly stated. Very respectfully, GIDEON WELLES. To the PRESIDENT. LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, February 6, 1868. SIR: I have received your note of the 5th inst., calling my attention to the correspondence between yourself and General Grant, as published in the Chronicle of yesterday, especially to that part of it which relates to what occurred at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th ultimo, and requesting me to state what was said in the conversation referred to. I cannot undertake to state the precise language used; but I have no hesitation in saying that your account of that conversation, as given in your letter to General Grant under date of the 31st ultimo, substantially and in all important particulars, accorded with my recollection of it. With great respect, your obedient servant, HUGH MCCULLOCH. The PRESIDENT. LETTER OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, February 6, 1868. SIR: I am in receipt of your letter of the 5th February, calling my attention to the correspondence published in the Chronicle, between the President and General Grant, and especially to that part of it which refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, with a request that I " state what was said in that conversation." In reply, I have the honor to state that I have iead carefully the correspondence in question, and particularly the letter of the President to General Grant, dated January 31, 1868. The following extract from your letter of the 31st of January to General Grant, is, according to my 19 recollection, a correct statement of the conversation that took place between the President and General Grant at the cabinet meeting on the 14th of January last. In the presence of the cabinet, the President asked General Grant whether, " in a conversation which took place after his appointment as Secretary of War ad interim, he did not agree either to remain at the head of the War Department and abide any judicial proceedings that might follow the nonconcurrence by the Senate in Mr. Stanton's suspension; or, should he wish not to become involved in such a controversy, to put the President in the same position with respect to the office as he occupied previous to General Grant's appointment, by returning it to the President in time to anticipate such action by the Senate. This General Grant admitted. The President then asked General Grant if, at the conference on the preceding Saturday, he had not, to avoid misunderstanding, requested General Grant to state what he intended to do; and, further, if in reply to that inquiry he, General Grant, had not referred to their former conversations, saying that from them the President understood his position, and that his (General Grant's) action would be consistent with the understanding which had been reached. To these questions General Grant replied in the affirmative. The President asked General Grant, if, at the conclusion of their interview on Saturday, it was not understood that they were to have another conference on Monday, before final action by the Senate in the case of Mr. Stanton. General Grant replied that such was the understanding, but that he did not suppose the Senate would act so soon; that on Monday, he had been engaged in a conference with General Sherman, and was occupied with " many little matters," and asked if " General Sherman had not called on that day." I take this mode of complying with the request contained in the President's letter to me, because my attention had been called to the subject before, when the conversation between the President and General Grant was under consideration. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, ALEX. W. RANDALL, Postmaster General. To the PRESIDENT. LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 6, 1868. SIR: I am in receipt of yours of yesterday, calling my attention to a correspondence between yourself and General Grant, published in the Chronicle newspaper, and especially to that part of said correspondence "which refers to the conversation between the President and General Grant at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January," and requesting me "to state what was said in that conversation." In reply, I submit the following statement: At the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the 14th of January, 1868, General Grant appeared and took his accustomed seat at the Board. When he had been reached in the order of business, the 290 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. President asked him, as usual, if he had anything to present. In reply, the General, after referring to a note which he had that morning addressed to the President, enclosing a copy of the resolution of the Senate refusing to concur in the reasons for the suspension of Mr. Stanton, proceeded to say that he regarded his duties as Secretary of War ad interim terminated by that resolution, and that he could not lawfully exercise such duties for a moment after the adoption of the resolution by the Senate; that the resolution reached him last night, and that this morning he had gone to the War Department, entered the Secretary's room, bolted one door on the inside, locked the other on the outside, delivered the ikey ýto the Adjutant General, and proceeded to the headquarters of the army, and addressed the note above mentioned to the President, informing him that he (General Grant) was no longer Secretary of War ad interim. The Presidentexpressed great surprise at the oourse which:General Grant had thought proper to pursue, and, addressing:himself to the General, proceeded to say, in substance, that he had anteiipated such action on the part of the Senate, and being verydesirous to ihave the constitutiion-ahity of the tenure-of-office bill tested, and hi- right-to suspend.or remove a member of the eabi-net decided by the judicial tribunals of the country, he had some time ago, and shortly after General Grant's appointment as Secretary of War ad interim, asked the 'General what his action would be in 'the,event that the Senate should refuse to concur in -the suspension of Mr. Stanton, and that theGeneral had then agreed either to remain at the head of the War Department till a decision 'could behobtained from the court, or resign the office into the hands of the President before the casewas acted upon by the Senate, so as to place the President in the same situation he occupied at the time of his (Grant's) appointment. The President further said that the conversation was renewed on the preceding Saturday, at which time he asked the General what he intended to do if the Senate should undertake to reinstate Mr. Stanton; in reply to which the General referred to their former conversation upon the same subject, and said you understand my position, and my conduct will be conformable to that understanding; that he (the General) then expressed a repugnance to being made a party to a judicial proceeding, saying, that he would expose himself to fine and imprisonment by doing so, as his continuing to discharge the duties of Secretary of War ad interim, after the Senate should have refused to concur in the suspension of Mr. Stanton, would be a violation of the tenure-of office bill; that in reply to this he (the President) informed General Grant he had not suspended Mr. Stanton under the tenure-ofoffice bill, but by virtue of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution; and that as to the fine and imprisonment, he (the President) would pay whatever fine was imposed, and.submit to whatever imprisonment might be adjudged against him, (the General;) that they continued the conversation for some time, discussing the law at length; and that they finally separated, without having reached a definite conclusion, and with the understanding that the General would see the President again on Monday. In reply, General Grant admitted that the conversations had occurred, and said that at the first conversation he had given it as his opinion to the President, that in the event of non-concurrence by the Senate in the action of the President in respect to the Secretary of War, the question would have to be decided by the court; that Mr. Stanton would have to appeal to the court to reinstate him in office; that the ins would remain in till they could be displaced, and the outs put in by legal proceedings; and that he then thought so, and had agreed that if he should change his mind, he would notify the President in time to enable him to make another appointment; but that at the time of the first conversation he had not looked very closely into the law-that it had recently been discussed by the newspapers, and that this had induced him to examine it more carefully, and that he had come to the conclusion that if the Senate should refuse to concur in the suspension, Mr. Stanton would thereby be reinstated, and that he (Grant) could not continue thereafter to act as Secretary of War ad interim without subjecting himself to fine and imprisonment, and that he came. over on Saturday to inform the President of this change in his views, and did so inform him; that the President replied that he had not suspended Mr. Stanton under the tenure of-office bill, but under the Constitution, and had appointed him (Grant) by virtue of the authority derived from the Constitution, &c.; that they continued to discuss the matter some time, and, finally, he left without any conclusion having been reached, expecting to see the President again on Monday. He then proceeded to explain why he had not called on the President on Monday, saying that he had had a long interview with General Sherman, that various little matters had occupied his time till it was late, and that he did not think the Senate would act so soon, and asked: " Did not General Sherman call on you on Monday?" I do not know what passed between the President and General Grant on Saturday, except as I learned it from the conversation between them at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and the foregoing is substantially what then occurred. The precise words used on the occasion are not, of course, given exactly in the order in which they were spoken, but the ideas expressed and the facts stated are faithfully preserved and presented. I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, 0. H. BRowNING. The PRESIDENT. LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, February 6, 1868. SIR: The meeting to which you refer in your letter was a regular cabinet meeting. While the members were assembling, and before the President had entered the council chamber, General Grant, on coming in, said to me that he was in attendance there not as a member of the cabinet, but upon invitation, and I replied by the inquiry whether there was a change in the War Depart Page 31] CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GRANT AND JOHNSON. 291 ment. After the President had taken his seat business went on in the usual way of hearing matters submitted by the several secretaries. When the time came for the Secretary of War, General Grant said that he was now there, not as Secretary of War, but upon the President's invitation; that he had retired from the War Department. A slight difference then appeared about the supposed invitation, General Grant saying that the officer who had borne his letter to the President that morning, announcing his retirement from the War Department, had told him that the President desired to see him at the cabinet; to which the President answered, that when General Grant's communication was delivered to him, the President simply replied that he supposed General Grant would be very soon at the cabinet meeting. I regarded the conversation thus begun as an incidental one. It went on quite informally, and consisted of a statement on your part of your views in regard to the understanding of the tenure upon which General Grant had assented to hold the War Department ad interim, and of his replies by way of answer and explanation. It was respectful and courteous on both sides. Being in this conversational form, its details could only have been preserved by verbatim report. So far as I know, no such report was made at the time. I can only give the general effect of the conversation. Certainly you stated that although you had reported the reasons for Mr. Stanton's suspension to the Senate, you nevertheless held that he would not be entitled to resume the office of Secretary of War, even if the Senate should disapprove of his suspension, and that you had proposed to have the question tested by judicial process, to be applied to the person who should be the incumbent of the Department, under your designation of Secrectary of War ad interim, in the place of Mr. Stanton. You contended that this was well understood between yourself and General Grant; that when he entered the War Department as Secretary ad interim, he expressed his concurrence in the belief that the question of Mr. Stanton's restoration would be a question for the courts; that in a subsequent conversation with General Grant you had adverted to the understanding thus had, and that General Grant expressed his concurrence in it; that at some conversation which had been previously held General Grant said he still adhered to the same construction of the law, but said if he should change his opinion he would give you seasonable notice of it, so that you should, in any case, be placed in the same position in regard to the War Department that you were while General Grant held it ad interim. I did not understand General Grant as denying, nor as explicitly admitting these statements in the form and full extent to which you made them. His admission of them was rather indirect and circumstantial, though I did not understand it to be an evasive one. He said that reasoning from what occurred in the case of the police in Maryland, which he regarded as a parallel one, he was of opinion, and so assured you, that it woula be his right and duty, under your instructions, to hold the War Office after the Senate should disapprove of Mr. Stanton's suspension, until the question should be decided upon by the courts; that he remained until very recently of that opinion, and that on the Saturday before the cabinet meeting a conversation was held between yourself and him, in which the subject was generally discussed. General Grant's statement was, that in that conversation he had stated to you the legal difficulties which might arise, involving fine and imprisonment under the civil-tenure bill, and that he did not care to subject himself to those penalties; that you replied to this remark that you regarded the civil-tenure bill as unconstitutional, and did not think its penalties were to be feared, or that you would voluntarily assume them; and you insisted that General Grant should either retain the office until relieved by yourself, according to what you claimed was the original understanding between yourself and him, or, by seasonable notice of change of purpose on his part, put you in the same situation in which you would be if he adhered. You claimed that General Grant finally said in that Saturday's conversation that you understood his views, and his proceedings thereafter would be consistent with what had been so understood. General Grant did not controvert, nor can I say that he admitted this last statement. Certainly General Grant did not at any time in the cabinet meeting insist that he had, in the Saturday's conversation, either distinctly or finally advised you of his determination to retire from the charge of the War Department otherwise than under your own subsequent direction. He acquiesced in your statement that the Saturday's conversation ended with an expectation that there would be a subsequent conference on the subject, which he, as well as yourself, supposed could seasonably take place on Monday. You then alluded to the fact that General Grant did not call upon you on Monday, as you had expected from that conversation. General Grant admitted that it was his expectation or purpose to call upon you on Monday. General Grant assigned reasons for the omission. He said he was in conference with General Sherman; that there were many little matters to be attended to; he had conversed upon the matter of the incumbency of the War Department with General Sherman, and he expected that General Sherman would call upon you on Monday. My own mind suggested a further explanation; but I do not remember whether it was mentioned or not, namely: that it was not supposed by General Grant on Monday that the Senate would decide the question so promptly as to anticipate further explanation between yourself and him, if delayed beyond that day. General Grant made another explanation, that he was engaged on Sunday with General Sherman, and I think also on Monday, in regard to the War Department matter, with a hope, though he did not say in an effort, to procure an amicable settlement of the affair of Mr. Stanton, and he still hoped that it would be brought about. I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, WILLIAM H. SEWARD. To the PRESIDENT. 292 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. 8.-GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT. HEADQU'ES ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., February 11, 1868. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 10th instant, accompanied by statements of five cabinet ministers, of their recollection of what occured in cabinet meeting on the 14th of January. Without admitting anything in these statements where they differ from anything heretofore stated by me, I propose to notice only that portion of your communication wherein I am charged with insubordination. I think it will be plain to the reader of my letter of the 30th of January, that I did not propose to disobey any legal order of the President, distinctly given; but only gave an interpretation of what would be regarded as satisfactory evidence of the President's sanction to orders communicated by the Secretary of War. I will say here that your letter of the 10th instant contains the first intimation I have had that you did not accept that interpretation. Now, for reasons for giving that interpretation: It was clear to me, before my letter of January 30th was written, that I, the person having more public business to transact with the Secretary of War than any other of the President's subordinates, was the only one who had been instructed to disregard the authority of Mr. Stanton where his authority was derived as agent of the President. On the 27th of January I received a letter from the Secretary of War, (copy herewith,) directing me to furnish escort to public treasure from the Rio Grande to New Orleans, &c., at the request of the Secretary of the Treasury to him. I also send two other enclosures, showing recognition of Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War by both the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General, in all of which cases the Secretary of War had to call upon me to make the orders requested, or give the information desired, and "where his authority to do so is derived, in my view, as agent of the President. With an order so clearly ambiguous as that of the President, here referred to, it was my duty to inform the President of my interpretation of it, and to abide by that interpretation until I received other orders. Disclaiming any intention, now or heretofore, of disobeying any legal order of the President, distinctly communicated, I remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. LETTER OF SEORETARY STANTON. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, January 27, 1868. GENERAL: The Secretary of the Treasury has requested this department to afford A. F. Randall, special agent of the Treasury Department, such military aid as may be necessary to secure and forward for deposit from Brownsville, Texas, to New Orleans, public moneys in possession of custom-house officers at Brownsville, and which are deemed insecure at that place. You will please give such directions as you may deem proper to the officer commanding at Brownsville to carry into effect the request of the Treasury Department, the instructions to be sent by telegraph to Galveston, to the care of A. F. Randall, special agent, who is at Galveston waiting telegraphic orders, there being no telegraphic communication with Brownsville, and the necessity for military protection to the public moneys being represented as urgent. Please favor me with a copy of such instructions as you may give, in order that they may be communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury. Yours, truly, EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. To General U. S. GRANT, Commanding Army United States. LETTER OF SECRETARY MOCULLOCH. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 29, 1868. SIR: It is represented to this department that a band of robbers has obtained such a foothold in the section of country between Humboldt and Lawrence, Kansas, committing depredations upon travellers, both by public and private conveyance, that the safety of the public money collected by the receiver of the land office at Humboldt requires that it should be guarded during its transit from Humboldt to Lawrence. I have, therefore, the honor to request that the proper commanding officer of the district may be instructed by the War Department, if in the opinion of the Hon. Secretary of War it can be done without prejudice to the public interests, to furnish a sufficient military guard to protect such moneys as may be in transitu from the above office for the purpose of being deposited to the credit of the Treasury of the United States. As far as we are now advised, such service will not be necessary oftener than once a month. Will you please advise me of the action taken, that I may instruct the receiver and the Commissioner of the General Land Office in the matter. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. McCULLOCH, Secretary of the Treasury. To the Hon. SECRETARY OF WAR. Respectfully referred to the General of the army to give the necessary orders in this case, and to furnish this department a copy for the information of the Secretary of the Treasury. By order of the Secretary of War. ED. SCHRIVER, Inspector General. LETTER OF THE SECOND ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CONTRACT OFFICE, WASHINGTON, February 3, 1868. SIR: It has been represented to this department that in October last a military commission was appointed to settle upon some general plan of defence for the Texas frontiers, and that the said commission has made a report recommending a line of posts from the Rio Grande to the Red river. An application is now pending in this depart Page 33] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 293 ment for a change in the course of the San An- as early as possible, with the information detonio and El Paso mail, so as to send it by way sired in the premises, and also with a copy of of Forts Mason, Griffin, and Stockton, instead the report, if any has been made by the comof by camps Hudson and Lancaster. This mission. Very respectfully, &c., &c., application requires immediate decision, but be- GEORGE W. MoLELLAr, fore final action can be had thereon it is desired Second Assistant Postmaster General. to have some official information as to the report The Honorable the SECRETARY OF WAR. of the commission above referred to. Referred to the General of the army for report. Accordingly, I have the honor to request that EDWIN M. STANTON, you will cause this department to be furnished, FEBRUARY 3, 1868. Secretary of War. X.XVI. LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, POLITICO-MILITARY ORDERS, AND REPORT OF GENERAL GRANT.* General Grant's Orders respecting Slaves, issued in the Field. HEADQUARTERS DIST. OF WEST TENNESSEE, FOeT DONELSON, February 26, 1862. General Orders, No. 14. I. General Order No. 3, series 1861, from headquarters department of the Missouri, is still in force and must be observed. The necessity of its strict enforcement is made apparent by the numerous applications from citizens for permissson to pass through the camps to look for fugitive slaves. In no case whatever will permission be granted to citizens for this purpose. II. All slaves at Fort Donelson at the time of its capture, and all slaves within the line of military occupation that have been used by the enemy in building fortifications, or in any manner hostile to the Government, will be employed by the quartermaster's department for the benefit of the Government, and will undar no circumstances be permitted to return to their masters. III. It is made the duty of all officers of this command to see that all slaves above indicated are promptly delivered to the chief quartermaster of the district. By order of Brig. Gen. U. S. GRANT. JNO. A. RAWLINS, A. A. G. HEADQUARTERS DIST. OF WEST TENNESSEE, CORINTH, Miss., August 11, 1862. General Orders, No. 72. Recent acts of Congress prohibit the army from returning fugitives from labor to their claimants, and authorize the employment of such persons in the service of the Government. The following orders are therefore published for the guidance of the army in this military district in this matter. I. All fugitives thus employed must be registered, the names of the fugitives and claimants given, and must be borne upon morning reports of the command in which they are kept, showing how they are employed. II. Fugitive slaves may be employed as laborers in the quartermaster's, subsistence, and engineer departments, and wherever by such employment a soldier may be saved to the ranks. They may be employed as teamsters, as company cooks (not exceeding four to a company,) or as hospital attendants or nurses. Officers may employ, them as private servants, in which latter case the fugitive will not be paid or rationed by the Government. Negroes not thus employed will be deemed unauthorized persons, and must be excluded from the camps. III. Officers and soldiers are prohibited from enticing slaves to leave their masters. When it becomes necessary to employ this kind of labor, commanding officers of posts or troops must send details (always under the charge of a suitable non-commissioned officer) to press into service the slaves of disloyal persons to the number required. IV. Citizens within the reach of any military station, known to be disloyal and dangerous, may be ordered away or arrested, and their crops and stocks taken for the benefit of the Government or the use of the army. V. All property taken from rebel owners must be duly reported and used for the benefit of Government, and be issued to troops through the proper departments, and, when practicable, the act of taking should be avowed by the written certificate of the officer taking, to the owner or agent of such property. *It is enjoined on all commanding officers to see that this order is strictly executed. The demoralization of troops consequent on being left to execute laws in their own way, without a proper head, must be avoided. By order of Maj. Gen. U. S. GRANT. JNO. A. RAWLINS, A. A. G. HEADQUARTERS DEPART. OF THE TENNESSEE, MILLIKEN'S BEND, LA., April 22, 1863. General Orders, No. 25. [Extract.] I. Corps, division, and post commanders will afford all facilities for the completion of the negro regiments now organizing in this department. Commissaries will issue supplies and "* For other papers of General Grant, see pages 67, 68, 120, 121, 122, 123 of the Manmal of 1866, and 73, 74, and 78 of the Manual of 1867; or 67, 68, 120, 121, 122, 123,199, 200, and 204 of the combined Manuals. C 294 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. quartermasters will furnish stores on the same requisitions and returns as are required from other troops. It is expected that all commanders will especially exert themselves in carrying out the policy of the administration, not only in organizing colored regiments and rendering them efficient, but also in removing prejudice against them. * * By order of Maj. Gen. U. S. GRANT. JNo. A. RAWLINS, A. A. G. HEADQUARTERS DEPART. OF THE TENNESSEE, VICKSBURG, MIss., August 10, 1863. General Orders, No. 51. I. At all military posts in States within the department where slavery has been abolished by the proclamation of the President of the United States, camps will be established for such freed people of color as are out of employment. II. Commanders of posts or districts will detail suitable officers from the army as superintendents of such camps. It will be the duty of such superintendents to see that suitable rations are drawn from the subsistence department for such people as are confided to their care. III. All such persons supported by the Government will be employed in every practicable way, so as to avoid, as far as possible, their becoming a burden upon the Government. They may be hired to planters, or other citizens, on proper assurances that the negroes so hired will not be run off beyond the military jurisdiction of the United States; they may be employed on any public works; in gathering crops from abandoned plantations; and generally in any manner local commanders may deem for the best interests of the Government, in compliance with law and the policy of the administration. IV. It will be the duty of the provost marshal at every military post to see that every negro within the jurisdiction of the military authority is employed by some white person, or is sent to the camps provided for freed people. V. Citizens may make contracts with freed persons of color for their labor, giving wages per month in money, or employ families of them by the year on plantations, &c., feeding, clothing, and supporting the infirm as well as the able-bodied, and giving a portion-not less than one-twentieth-of the commercial part of their crops in payment for such service. VI. Where the negroes are employed under this authority, the parties employing will register with the provost marshal their names, occupation, and residence, and the number of negroes employed. They will enter into such bonds as the provost marshal, with the approval of the local commander, may require, for the kind treatment and proper care of those employed, and as security against their being carried beyond the employer's jurisdiction. VII. Nothing in this order is to be construed to embarrass the employment of such colored persons as may be required by the Government. By order of Major General U. S. GRANT, T. S. BOWERS, A. A. A. G. HEAIDQUARTERS DEPART. OF TEE TENNESSEE, VIcKsBuEG, Miss., August 23, 18G3. General Orders, No. 53. I. Hereafter, negroes will not be allowed in or about the camps of white troops, except such as are properly employed and controlled. II. They may be employed in the quartermaster's department, subsistence department, medical department, as hospital nurses and laundresses, in the engineer department as pioneers. As far as practicable, such as have been or may be rejected as recruits for colored regiments by the examining surgeon will be employed about hospitals and in pioneer corps. III. In regiments and companies they may be employed as follows: One cook to each fifteen men. and one teamster to each wagon. Officers may employ them as servants, but not in greater number than they are entitled to commutation for. IV. Commanders of regiments and detachments will see that all negroes in or about their respective camps, not employed as provided in this order, are collected and turned over to the provost marshal of the division, post, or army corps td which their regiment or detachment belongs. V. Provost marshals will keep all negroes thus coming into their hands from straggling and wandering about until they can be put in charge of the superintendent of the camp for colored people nearest them; and all negroes unemployed, in accordance with this or previous orders, not in and about camps of regiments and detachments, will be required to go into the camps established for negroes, and, it is enjoined upon provost marshals to see that they do so. VI. Recruiting for colored regiments in negro camps will be prohibited, except when special authority to do so is given. VII. All ablebodied negro men who are found, ten days after publication of this order, without a certificate of the officer or person employing them, will be regarded as unemployed, and may be pressed into service. Certificates given to negroes must show how, when, and by whom they are employed, and if as officers' servants, that the officer employing them has not a greater number than by law he is entitled to commutation for. By order of Major General U. S. GRANT. JNo. A. RAWLINS, A. A. G. Letter on Slavery and Reconstruction. VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, August 30, 1863. Hon. E. B. WASHBURNE. DEAR SIR: * The people of the North need not quarrel over the institution of slavery. What Vice President Stephens acknowledges the corner-stone of the Confederacy is already knocked out. Slavery is already dead,.and cannot be resurrected. It would take a standing army to maintain slavery in the South, if we were a a to make pee to-day, guarnteeing to the South all their former constitutional privileges. I never was an abolitionist, not even what could be called anti-slavery; but I try to judge fairly and honestly, and it became patent to my mind early in the rebellion that the North and South could never live at peace with each other except as one nation, and that witlhout slavery. As anxious as I am to see peace established, I would not, therefore, be willing to seo Page 35] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. any settlement, until this question is forever settled. Your sincere friend, U. S. GRANT. On being a Candidate for Political Office. NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, January 20, 1864. Hon. I. N. MORRIS. DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 29th of December I did not receive until two days ago. I receive many such, but do not answer. Yours, however, is written in such a kindly spirit, and as you ask for an answer, confidentially, I will not withhold it. Allow me to say, however, that I am not a politician, never was, and hope never to be, and could not write a political letter. My only desire is to serve the country in her present trials. To do this efficiently it is necessary to have the confidence of the army and the people. I know no way to better secure this end than by a faithful performance of my duties. So long as I hold my present position, I do not believe that I have the right to criticize the policy or orders of those above me, or to give utterance to views of my own except to the authorities at Washington, through the General-in-Chief of the army. In this respect, I know I have proven myself a " good soldier." In your letter you say that I have it in my power to be the next President. This is the last thing in the world I desire. I would regard such a consummation as being highly unfortunate for myself, if not for the country. Through Providence I have attained to more than I ever hoped, and with the position I now hold in the regular army, if allowed to retain it, will be more than satisfied. I certainly shall never shape a sentiment, or the expression of a thought, with a view of being candidate for office. I scarcely know the inducement that could be held out to me to accept office, and unhesitatingly say that I in.finitely prefer my present position to that of any civil office within the gift of the people. This is a private letter to you, not intended for others to see or read, because I want; to avoid being heard from by the public except through acts in the performance of my legitimate duties. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT. On Results of "Peace on any Terms." HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, CTTY POINT, Va., August 16, 1864. Hon. E. B. WASHEURNE. DEAR S;R: I state to all citizens who visit me that all we want now to insure an early restoration of the Union, is a determined unity of sentiment North. The rebels have now in their ranks their last man. The little boys and old men are guarding prisons, guarding railroad bridges, and forming a good part of their garrisons for entrenched -positions. A man lost by them cannot be replaced. They have robbed alike the cradle and the grave to get their present force. Besides what they lose in frequent skirmishes and battles, they are now Ipsing, from desertions and other causes at least one regiment per day. With this drain upon them the end is not far distant if we will only be true to ourselves. Their only hope now is in a divided North. This might. give them reinforcements from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri, while it would weaken us. With the draft quietly enforced, the enemy would become despondent and would make but little resistance. I have no doubt but the enemy are exceedingly anxious to hold out until after the Presidential election. They have many hopes from its effects. They hope a counter revolution; they hope the election of a peace candidate; in fact, like Micawber, they hope for something to turn up. Our peace friends, if they expect peace from separation, are much mistaken. It would be but the beginning of war, with thousands of northern men joining the South, because of our disgracein allowing separation. To have "peace on any terms," the South would demand the restoration of their slaves already freed. They would demand indemnity for losses sustained, and they would demand a treaty which would make the North slave-hunters for the South. They would demand pay or the restoration of every slave escaping to the North. Yours, truly, U. S. GRANT. On Filling the Armies. CITY POINT, September 13, 1864, 10.30, a. m. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. We ought to have the whole number of men called for by the President in the shortest possible time. Prompt action in filling our armies will have more effect upon the enemy than a victory over them. They profess to believe, and make their men believe, there is stich a party North in favor of recognizing southern independence, that the draft cannot be enforced. Let them be undeceived. Deserters come into our lines daily, who tell us that the men are nearly universally tired of the war, and that desertions would be much more frequent, but that they believe peace will be negotiated after the fall election. The enforcement of the draft and prompt filling up of our armies will save the shedding of blood to an immense degree. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. On Protecting Colored Soldiers. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, October 29, 1864. General R. E. LEE, C. S. A., Commanding Army Northern Virginia. GENERAL: Understanding from youmr letter of the 19th that the colored prisoners who are employed at work in the trenches near Fort Giimer have been withdrawn, I have directed the wvithdrawal of the Confederate prisoners employzd in the Dutch Gap canal. I shall always regret the necessity of retaliating for wrongs done our soldiers; but regard it my duty to protect all persons received into the army of the United States, regardless of color or nationality. When acknowledged soldiers of the Government are captured they must be treated as prisoners of war, or such treatment as.they receive will be inflicted upon an equal number of prisoners held by us. I have nothing to do with the discussion of POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. the slavery question; therefore decline answer- change prisoners because we found ours starved, ing the arguments adduced to show the right to diseased, and unserviceable when we received return to former owners such negroes as are cap- them, and did not like to exchange sound men tured from our army. for such men? A. There never has been any In answer to the question at the conclusion of such reason as that. That has been a reason your letter, I have to state that all prisoners of for making exchanges. I will confess that if our war falling into my hands shall receive the kind- men who are prisoners in the South were really est treatment possible, consistent with securing well taken care of, suffering nothing except a them, unless I have good authority for believing little privation of liberty, then, in a military any number of our men are being treated other- point of view, it would not be good policy for wise. Then, painful as it may be to me, I shall us to exchange, because every man they get inflict like treatment on an equal number of Con- back is forced right into the army at once, while federate prisoners, that is not the case with our prisoners when we Hoping that it may never become my duty to receive them. In fact, the half of our returned order retaliation upon any man held as a prisoner prisoners will never go into the army again, and of war, I have the honor to be, very respectfully, none of them will until after they have had a your obedient servant, furlough of thirty or sixty days. Still, the fact U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. of their suffering as they do is a reason for making this exchange as rapidly as possible. General Grant's Testimony before the Committee Q. And never has been a reason for not on the Conduct of the War, on Exchange of making the exchange? A. It never has. ExPrisoners, February 11, 1865. changes having been suspended by reason of Q. It is stated, upon what authority I do not disagreement on the part of agents of exchange know, that you are charged entirely with the on both sides before I came in command of the exchange of prisoners. A. That is correct. And armies of the United States, and it then being what is more, I have effected an arrangement for near the opening of the spring campaign, I did the exchange of prisoners, man for man and not deem it advisable or just to the men who officer for officer, or his equivalent, according to had to fight our battles to reinforce the enemy the old cartel, until one or the other party has with thirty or forty thousand disciplined troops exhausted the number they now hold. I get a at that time. An immediate resumption of exgreat many letters daily from friends of prison- changes would have had that effect without givers in the South, every one of which I cause to ing us corresponding benefits. -The suffering be answered, telling them that this arrangement said to exist among our prisoners South was a has been made, and that I suppose exchanges powerful argument against the course pursued, can be made at the rate of about 3,000 a week. and so I felt it. The fact is, that I do not believe the South can deliver our prisoners to us as fast as that, on General Grant and the Proposed Mission to account of want of transportation on their part. Mexico. But just as fast as they can deliver our prison- GENERAL GRANT TO SECRETARY STANTON. ers to us, I will receive them, and deliver their HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, prisoners to them. WASHINGTON, October 27, 1866. Q. There is no impediment in the way? A. Your letter of this date, enclosing one from No, sir; I will take the prisoners as fast as they the President of the United States of the 26th can deliver them. And, I would add, that after instant, asking you to request me "to proceed I have caused the letters to be answered, I re- to some point on our Mexican frontier most fer the letters to Colonel Mulford, the commis- suitable and convenient for communication with sioner of exchanges, so that he may effect special our minister; or (if General Grant deems it exchanges in those cases wherever he can do so. best) to accompany him to his destination in The Salisbury prisoners will be coming right on. Mexico, and to give him tne aid of his advice in I myself saw Colonel Hatch, the assistant com- carrying out the instructions of the Secretary of missioner of exchanges on the part of the South, State," is received. Also, copy of instructions and he told me that the Salisbury and Danville to Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, minister to Mexico, "prisoners would be coming on at once. He said accompanying your letter, is received. that he could bring them on at the rate of 5,000 The same request was made of me one week or 6,000 a week. But I do not believe he can ago to-day, verbally, to which I returned a do that. Their roads are now taxed to their written reply, copy of which is herewith enclosed. utmost capacity for military purposes, and are On the 23d instant, the same request was rebecoming less and less efficient everyday. Many newed in cabinet meeting, where I was invited of the bridges are now down. I merely fixed, to be present,.when I again declined respectfully as a matter of judgment, that 3,000 a week will as I could the mission tendered me, with reasons. be as fast as they can deliver them. I now again beg most respectfully to decline Q. The fact is, that there is no impediment the proposed mission for the following additional now in the way except the lack of transporta- reasons, to wit: tion? A. That is all. There is no impediment Now, whilst the army is being reorganized, on our side. I could deliver and receive every and troops distributed as fast as organized, my one of them in a very short time, if they will duties require me to keep within telegraphic deliver those they hold. We have lost some communication of all the department commandtwo weeks lately on account of the ice in the ers, and of this city, from which orders must river, emanate. Almost the entire frontier between Q. It has been said that we refused to ex- the United States and Mexico is embraced in the Page 37] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 297 departments commanded by Generals Sheridan and Hancock, the command of the latter being embraced in the military division under Lieutenant General Sherman, three officers in whom the entire country has unbounded confidence. Either of these general officers can be instructed to accompany the American minister to the Mexican frontier, or the one can through whose command the minister may propose to pass in reaching his destination. If it is desirable that our minister should communicate with me he can do so through the officer who may accompany him, with but very little delay beyond what would be experienced if I were to accompany him myself. I might add that I would not dare counsel the minister in any matter beyond stationing of troops on the United States soil, without the concurrence of the administration. That concurrence could be more speedily had with me here than if I were upon the frontier, The stationing of troops would be as fully within the control of the accompanying officer as it would of mine. I sincerely hope I may be excused from undertaking a duty so foreign to my office and tastes as that contemplated. U. S. GRANT; General. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. General Grant and the Baltimore Troubles of October, 1866. 1.-GENERAL GRANT TO PRESIDENT JOHNSOI. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, VWASHINGTON October 24, 1866. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. I have the honor to enclose to t y he within report from General Canby, commander of this military department, upon the threatened violence in the city of Baltimore previous to the approaching elections. Upon receiving your verbal instructions of the 20th instant, to look into the nature of the threatened difficulties in Baltimore, to ascertain what course should be pursued to prevent it, I gave General Canby, whose department embraces the State of Maryland, instructions, also verbal, to proceed to Baltimore in person, to ascertain as nearly as he could the cause which threatened to lead to riot and bloodshed. The report submitted is given in pursuance of these instructions. Since the rendition of General Canby's report I had a long conversation with him, and also with Governor Swann, of the State of Maryland. It is the opinion of General Canby and the statement of Governor Swann, that no danger of riot need be apprehended unless the latter should find it necessary to remove the present police commissioners of Baltimore from office and to appoint their successors. No action in this direction has been taken yet, nor will there be until Friday next, when the trial of the commissioners before the governor is set to take place. I cannot see the possible necessity for calling in the aid of the military in advance of even the cause, (the removal of said commissioners,) which is to induce riot. The conviction is forced on my mind that no reason now exists for giving or promising the military aid of the government to support the laws of Maryland. The tendency of giving such aid or promise would be to produce the very result intended to be averted. So far there seems to be merely a.very bitter contest for political ascendancy in the State. Military interference would be interpreted as giving aid to one of the factions, no matter how pure the intentions or how guarded and just the instructions. It is a contingency I hope never to see arise in this country, while I occupy thb position of general-in-chief of the army, to have to send troops into a State, in full relations with the general government, on the eve of an election, to preserve the peace. If insurrection does come, the law provides the method of calling out forces to suppress it. No such condition seems to exist now. U. S. GRANT, General. October 25-The President asked for the number of troops at convenient stations; to which General Grant replied, on the 27th, giving them. November 1, President directed Secretary Stanton: " In view of the prevalence in various portions of the country of a revolutionary and turbulent disposition, which might at any moment assume insurrectionary proportions and lead to serious disorders, and of the duty of the government to be at all times prepared to act with decision and effect, this force is not deemed adequate for the protection and security of the seat of government. I therefore request that you will at once take such measures as will insure its safety, and thus discourage any attempt for its possession by insurgent or other illegal combinations." November 2-The President gave Secretary Stanton this order: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., Novemhnbcr 2, 1866. SIR: There is ground to apprehend danger of an insurrection in Baltimore against the constituted authorities of the State of Maryland, on or about the day of the election soon to be held in that city, and that in such contingency the aid of the United States might be invoked under the acts of Congress which pertain to that subject. While I am averse to any military demonstration that would have a tendency to interfere with the free exercise of the elective franchise in Baltimore, or be construed into any interference in local questions, I feel great solicitude that, should an insurrection take place, the government should be prepared to meet and promptly put it down. I accordingly desire you to call General Grant's attention to the subject, leaving to his own discretion and judgment the measures of preparation and precaution that should be adopted. Very respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSOri. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. Same day, General Grant sent this telegram to General Canby: General E. R. S. CANBY, Commn'g Depart. of Washington. Enclosed I send you orders just received from the President of the United States. They fully explain themselves. As commander of thie military department including the State of Mary 298 POLITICAL MANUAL, [Part III. land, you will take immediate steps for carrying them into execution. There are now six or eight companies of infantry ready organized in New York that have been ordered to Baltimore, on their way to their regiments here in Washington and in Virginia. Either visit Baltimore or send a staff officer there to stop these troops at Fort McHenry until further orders. Also hold one of the infantry regiments on duty in this city in readiness to move at a moment's notice. By having cars ready to take a regiment all at once, they will be practically as near Baltimore here as if in camp a few miles from that city. These are all the instructions deemed necessary in advance of troops being legally called out to suppress insurrection or invasion. Having the greatest confidence, however, in your judgment and discretion, I wish you to go to Baltimore in person and to remain there until the threatened difficulties have passed over. Proper discretion will no doubt go further towards preventing conflict than force. U. S. GRANT, General. P. S.-The orders referred to have not as yet been received. When received they will be forwarded to your address, which you will please communicate. November 3-A copy of the President's instructions was sent to General Canby. November 5-General Grant reported as follows: HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, BALTIMORE, MD., November 5, 1866. Secretary STANTON, Washington, D. G. This morning collision looked almost inevitable. Wiser counsels now seem to prevail, and I think there is strong hope that no riot will occur. Propositions looking Lo the harmonizing of parties are now pending. U. S. GRANT, General. General Grant on Martial Law in Texas. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES UNITED STATES, January 29, 1867. Respectfully forwarded to the Secretary of War.* Attention is invited to that part of the within communication which refers to the condition of Union men and freedmen in Texas, and to the powerlessness of the military in the present state of affairs to afford them protection. Even the moral effect of the presence of troops is passing away, and a few days ago a squad of soldiers on duty was fired on by citizens in Brownsville, Texas; a report of which is this *This is the report referred to: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, NEW ORLANS, LA., January 25, 1867. GENERAL: The condition of freedmen and Union men in remote parts of Texas is truly horrible. The Government is denounced, the freedmen are shot, and Union men are persecuted if they have the temerity to express their opinion. This condition exists in the northeastern counties of the State to an alarming extent. Applications come to me from the most respectable authorities for troops, but troops have so little power that they are sufficient only in the moral effect which their presence has. * * * * * I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, P. H. SHERIDAN, Major General United States Army. General U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies of the fT. S., Washington, D. C'. day forwarded. In my opinion the great number of murders of Union men and freedmen in Texas, not only as a rule unpunished, but uninvestigated, constitute practically a state of insurrection, and believing it to be the province and duty of every good government to afford protection to the lives, liberty, and property of her citizens, I would recommend the declaration of martial law in Texas to secure these ends. The necessity for governing any portion of our territory by martial law is to be deplored. If resorted to, it should be limled in its authority, and should leave all local authorities and civil tribunals free and unobstructed, until they prove their inefficiency or unwillingness to perform their duties. Martial law would give security, or comparatively so, to all classes of citizens, without regard to race, color, or political opinions, and could be continued until society was capable of protecting itself, or until the State is returned to its full relation with the Union. The application of martial law to one of these States would be a warning to all, and, if necessary, could be extended to others. U. S. GRANT, General. No action was had by the civil authorities upon the foregoing recommendation. General Grant's Testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, July 18, 1867. By Mr. Eldridge: Q. At what time were you made general of the army by your present title? A. In July, 1866. Q. Did you after that time have interviews with the President in reference to the condition of affairs in the rebel States? A. I have seen the President very frequently on the subject, and have heard him express his views very frequently; but I cannot call to mind any special interview. I have been called to cabinet meetings a number of times. Q. With reference to those matters? A. Generally, when I was asked to be at a cabinet meeting, it was because some question was up in which, as General of the army, I would be interested. Q. Did you have any interviews with him on the subject of granting amnesty or pardon to the officers of the Confederate army, or to the people of those States? A. Not that I am aware of. I have occasionally recommended a person for amnesty. I do'-not recollect any special interview that I have had on the subject. I recollect speaking to him once or twice about the time that he issued his proclamation. I thought myself at that time that there was no reason why, because a person had risen to the rank of general, he should be excluded from amnesty any more than one who had failed to reach that rank. I thought his proclamation all right so far as it excluded graduates from West Point or from the Naval Academy, or persons connected with the government, who had gone into the rebellion; but I did not see any reason why a volunteer who happened to rise to the rank of general should be excluded any more than a colonel. I recollect speaking on that point. Neither did I see much reason for Page 39] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 299 the twenty-thousand-dollar clause. These are the only two points that I remember to have spoken of at the time. I afterwards, however, told him that I thought he was much nearer right on the twenty-thousand-dollar clause than I was. Q. Do you recollect, when you had that interview with him, when you expressed those opinions? A. About the time of the proclamation. Q. Did the President, previous to issuing that proclamation, ask your opinion on the various points of it? A. I do not recollect. I know that I was present when it was read, before it was issued. I do not think that I was asked my views at all. I had the privilege, of course, being there, to express my views. Q. Was not that the purpose of your attendance-to get your views on the subject? A. I cannot say that it was. About that time I was frequently asked to be present at cabinet meetings. Q. Were there other subjects discussed before you at the meetings referred to? A. Yes, sir. Whenever I was there all the subjects that were up that day were discussed. Q. I speak of that time. A. I imagine not. My recollection is that it was solely to hear the proclamation read; but I would not be positive as to that. It is my recollection. Q. Did you give your opinion to the President that it would be better at that time to issue a proclamation of general amnesty? A. No, sir; I never gave any such opinion as that. By general amnesty I mean universal amnesty. Q. Did you give your opinion to the President that his proclamation interfered with the stipulations between yourself and General Lee? A. No, sir. I frequently had to intercede for General Lee and other paroled officers, on the ground that their parole, so long as they obeyed the laws of the United States, protected them from arrest and trial. The President at that time occupied exactly the reverse grounds,viz., that they should be tried and punished. He wanted to know when the time would come that they should be punished. I told him, not so long as they obeyed the laws and complied with the stipulation. That was the ground that I took. Q. Did you not also insist that that applied as well to the common soldiers? A. Of course it applied to every one who took the parole; but that matter was not canvassed except in case of some of the leaders. I claimed that, in surrendering their armies and arms, they had done what they could not all of them have been compelled to do, as a portion of them could have escaped. But they surrendered in consideration of the fact that they were to be exempt from trial so long as they conformed to the obligations which they had taken; and they were entitled to that. Q. You looked on that in the nature of a parole, and held that they could only be tried when they violated that parole? A. Yes; that was the view I took of the question. Q. That is your view still? A. Yes, sir, unquestionably. Q. Did you understand that to apply to General Lee? A. Certainly. Q. That was your understanding of the arrangement which you made with General Lee? A. That was my understanding of an arrangement which I gave voluntarily. General Lee's army was the first to surrender, and I believed that with such terms all the rebel armies would surrender, and that we would thus avoid bushwhacking and a continuation of the war in a way that we could make very little progress with, having no organized armies to meet. Q. You considered that the like terms were given by General Sherman to the armies whichb. surrendered to him? A. Yes, sir; to all the armies that surrendered after that. Q. And you held that so long as they kept their parole of honor and obeyed the laws they were not subject to be tried by courts? A. That was my opinion. I will state here that I am not quite certain whether I am being tried, or who is being tried, by thQ questions asked. Mr. Eldridge. I am not trying anybody; I am inquiring in reference to the President's proclamation, and as to the views he entertained. Q. Did you give those views to the President? A. I have stated those views to the President frequently, and, as I have said, he disagreed with me in those views. He insisted on it that the leaders must be punished, and wanted to know when the time would come that those persons could be tried. I told him, when they violated their parole. Q. Did you consider that that applied to Jefferson Davis? A. No, sir; he did not take any parole. Q. Ie did not surrender? No, sir. It applied to no person who was captured-on-ly to those who were paroled. Q. Did the President insist that General Lee should be tried for treason? A. He contended for it. Q. And you claimed to him that the parole which General Lee had given would be violated in such trial? A. I did. I insisted on it that General Lee would not have surrendered hib army, and given up all their arms, if he had supposed that after surrender he was going to be tried for treason and hanged. I thought we got a very good equivalent for the lives of a few leaders in getting all their arms and getting themselves under control, bound by their oaths to obey the laws. That was the consideratioia which, I insisted upon, we had received. Q. Did the President argue that question with you? A. There was not much argument about it; it was merely assertion. Q. After you had expressed your opinion upon it did he coincide with you? A. No, sir; not then. He afterwards got to agreeing with me on that subject. I never claimed that the parole gave those prisoners any political rights whatever. I thought that that was a matter entirely with Congress, over which I had no control; that, simply, as general-in-chief commanding the army, I had a right to stipulate for the surrender on terms which protected their lives. That is all I claimed. The parole gave them protection and exemption from punishment for all offences not in violation of the rules of civilized warfare, so long as their parole was kept. Q. Do you recollect at what time you had 300 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. those conversations? Can you state any particular time, or up to any particular time, when they were finished? A. The conversations were frequent after the inauguration of Mr. Johnson. I cannot give the time. He seemed to be anxious to get at the leaders to punish them. He would say that the leaders of the rebellion must be punished, and that treason must be made odious. He cared nothing for the men in the ranks-the common men. He would let them go, for they were led into it by the leaders. Q. Was that said to you in conversation? A. I have heard him say it a number of times. He said it to me, and he said it in my presence at the time that delegations were coming up to him from the South. Q. What persons do you recollect as being present at those conversations-I mean what southern men? A. I did not know them at all. I recollect that on one occasion he talked to a delegation from Richmond in that way.* I do not know any of their names. Q. Was that prior or subsequent to his proclamation? A. It was subsequent, I think. Q. Do you recollect at any time urging the President to go further in granting amnesty than he had gone in his proclamation? A. Justas Isaid before, I could not see any reason why the fact of a volunteer rising to the rank of general should exclude him any more than any other grade. And with reference to the twenty-thousand-dollar clause, I thought that a man's success in this world was no reason for his being excluded from amnesty; but I recollect afterwards saying to the President that Ithought he was right in that particular, and I was wrong. In reference to the other, I never changed my views. If he was going to give amnesty to a soldier at all, I did not see why the fact of a man's having risen to the rank of a general should be reason for excluding him. Q. Did you not advise the President that it was proper and right he should grant amnesty? A. I do not think I said anything on that subject. I only looked at the proclamation as one which he was determined to issue, and as a thing susceptible to amendment or improvement. Q. Did you not give your opinion at all that amnesty ought to be granted to those people to any extent? A. I know that I was in favor of some proclamation of the sort, and perhaps I may have said so. It was necessary to do something to establish governments and civil law there. I wanted to see that done, but I do not think [ ever Tretended to dictate what ought to be done. Q. Did yon not advise? A. I do not think I ever did. I have given my opinions, perhaps, as to what has been done, but I do not think I advised any course myself any more than that I was very anxious to see something done to restore civil governments in those States. Q. Did you not give your opinion at all to the President as to what should be done? A. I do not think I did. After matters were done, I was willing to express an opinion for or against particular clauses. * See pages 47, 48 of the Manual for 1866. Q. I suppose the President called on you for advice on those questions? A. I say I was in favor, and so expressed myself, of something being done to restore civil rule there immediately, as near as it could be done under the circumstances. Q. Did you suggest anything? A. No, sir. By Mr. Woodbridge: Q. I understand your position to be this: that you did not assume to originate or inaugurate any policy; but that when any question came up, and your opinion was asked as to what the President was going to do or had done, you gave an opinion? A. That was it, exactly; and I presumed the whole committee so understood me. I have always been attentive to my own duties, and tried not to interfere with other people's. I was always ready to originate matters pertaining to the army, but I never was willing to originate matters pertaining to the civil government of the United States. When I was asked my opinion about what had been done, I was willing to give it. I originated no plan and suggested no plan for civil government. I only gave my views on measures after they had been originated. I simply expressed an anxiety that something should be done to give some sort of control down there. There were no governments there when the war was over, and I wanted to see some governments established, and wanted to see it done quickly. I did not pretend to say how it should be done, or in what form. By Mr. Eldridge: Q. I confined my qustions entirely to war and peace. In expressing the opinion that something ought to be done and done quickly, did you make a s'uggestion of what ought to be done? A. No, sir. I will state here that, before Mr. Lincoln's assassination, the question about issuing a proclamation of some sort, and establishing some sort of civil government there, was up; and what was done then was continued after Mr. Johnson came into office. Q. Did you give your opinion on that after it was done? A. I was present, I think, twice during Mr. Lincoln's administration, when a proclamation which had been prepared was read. After his assassination it continued right along, and I was there with Mr. Johnson. Q. Did you give President Johlnson your opinion on the subject of the proclamation, which you say was up before Mr. Lincoln's death, and was continued afterwards? A. I say I have given my opinion on particular passages of it. Q. Tell us what conversations you had with President Johnson on the subject, so far as you can recollect it? A. I have stated once or twice that, so far as I can recollect, I disagreed with two clauses of the proclamation. As to the plan of establishing provisional governors there, that was a question which I knew nothing about, and which I do not recollect having expressed an opinion about. The only opinion I recollect having expressed on that subject at all was to the Secretary of War. I thought there would be some difficulty in getting people down there to accept offices, but I found afterwards they were ready enough to take them. By the Chairman: Q. If I understand you Page 41] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 301 correctly, the only opinion that you expressed, General Grant and John Hancock. A. I do not and the only advice that you gave, were in recollect any such person as John Hancock, or reference to the military side of the question, the general named. and not in reference to the civil side? A. No- Q. Do you recollect - Lloyd J. Dean? thing further than that I was anxious that (Beall?) A. Yes, sir. something should be done to restore some sort Q. Did you sign a recommendation, or make of government, an application to the President for his pardon? Q. But you gave no advice as to what should A. I do not think that the record will show that be done? A. I gave no advice as to what I recommended his pardon, but I am not sure as should be done. to that. I know that he sent his application By Mr. Eldridge: Q. State the conversation through me, with the request that I should forthat you had on that subject? A. I have had ward it to the President with some endorsement. repeated conversations with the President, but My recollection is that I made an endorsement I cannot specify what those conversations were as to his general character, which was as high, any more than I have already done. up to the breaking out of the rebellion, as any Q. Did you recommend certain generals of the man's could be. Confederate army to the President for pardon Q. Were you acquainted with him previous to who fell within the exemptions? A. Yes, sir. the breaking out of the rebellion? A. Oh, yes, I recommended General Longstreet, I think, a sir, for many years. I do not think that I recomyear and a half ago; and although I cannot re- mended him, but still I may have done so. My collect the names of anybody else, I think I recollection is that I simply endorsed his charrecommended several others. acter on the application. The application was Q. Do you recollect recommending J. G. to the President, but sent through me. French, a graduate of West Point? A. Yes, Q. Do you recollect P. D. Roddy, said to be a sir. rebel brigadier general? A. Yes, sir. I do not Q. What part did he take in the rebellion? recollect what my endorsement was in Roddy's A. He was a brigadier general. case, but I know that if I had it to do over again Q. Was he a graduate of West Point? A. He I would recommend his pardon very quickly, was; and a class-mate of mine. and I presume I did so. If he is not pardoned Q. Do you recollect recommending the pardon yet, I would be very glad to sign a recommendof George H. Stuart? A. Yes, sir. ation for him now. Q. What part did he take in the Confederate Q. Do you recollect any other officers of the service? A. He was a general, and commanded rebel army who were recommended to the Presa brigade or division. He took no very con- ident for pardon by you? A. No, sir; I cannot stYicuous part. mention any. You have already gone over a Q Was he a graduate of West Point? A. bigger list than I thought I recommended. I think so. Q. Do you recollect the case of General PickQ. He was not a class-mate of yours? A. ett? A. I know that I was urged in that case No, sir; he came long after me. over and over again, and I can send you from Q. Was there any special circumstance in his the office exactly what I did in the matter. case which you considered? A. Yes, sir. I Q. Did you sign arecommendation in his case? did that at the instance of General Hunter, and A. I do not think I did. I recollect receiving as a special favor to him, and I did it because letter after letter from him, and letters were sent it affected an inheritance. Stuart's wife was a to me time and again on his behalf. He was staunch, consistent Union woman throughout specially uneasy lest he would be tried by a the war, notwithstanding her husband was in military commission on account of some men the rebel army. I think she never went South. who were executed in North Carolina. She was as devoted to the Union cause as any Q. Do you recollect talking to the President woman whose husband was on our side. There about him? A. I do not recollect ever mentionwas considerable property in Maryland which ing his name to the President. I will furnish had not been confiscated, which he inherits, and whatever is in my office about him. I received I thought that his wife and his children were one appeal after another, not only from Pickett entitled to that property. General Hunter himself and his relatives, but from officers in the thought so too. My recommendation was not army who knew him very well and favorably out of any favor to General Stuart. prior to the war. Q. Were those circumstances presented to the Q. Do you know whether he has been parPresident as a reason for the pardon? A. I do doned yet? A. I do not know. not know that they were, and I do not know Q. State what the circumstances of his case that they were not. I think I merely signed a were, and whether you are in favor of his parrecommendation. don. A. I was not in favor of his pardon. I Q. Did that contain the statement you have was not in favor, however, of his being tried by given? A. I do not recollect whether it did or a military commission. I think that his great not. I do not know that I stated the circum- anxiety was to receive some assurance that he stances to the President. would not be taken up and imprisoned for ofQ. Do you recollect signing the recommenda- fences alleged against him as commander in tion of M. D. Ector, a rebel brigadier general? North Carolina. He wanted to be able to go to A. No, sir; I do not recollect there being such work and make a living. It is likely I may a brigadier general in the rebel service, have recommended that he be given assurance Q. The report in the House is that he was that he would not be arrested and imprisoned. pardoned on the recommendation of Lieutenant I do not think that I ever, under any circum 302 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. stances, signed a recommendation for his pardon. You have no right to ask what my opinion is now. Q. Was he an active rebel officer? A. Yes, sir. He was charged with executing a number of North Carolina refugees who were captured with a garrison under General Wessels in North Carolina. Those men had gone there to evade the rebel conscription, or it may be had deserted from the rebel army, and they were tried as deserters, and quite a number of them executed. Pickett was commanding officer at that time, and there was a good deal said of his having approved the proceedings. Q. Was this man French an active rebel officer? He served in the field. I never heard much of him during the rebellion. He was not generally in the army against which I was personally engaged. He was at one time on the James river, when General McClellan was in command, and was afterwards in the West, but he never filled a conspicuous place. Q. Did you ever advise the pardon of General Lee? A. Yes, sir. Q. Were you ever consulted on that question by the President? A. General Lee forwarded his application for amnesty through me, and I forwarded it to the President, approved. Q. Did you have any conversation about it with the President? A. I do not recollect having had any conversation with him on the subject. I think it probable that I recommended verbally the pardon of General Johnston, immediately after the surrender of his army, on account of the address he delivered to his army. I thought it in such good tone and spirit that we should distinguish between him and others who did not appear so well. I recoLlect speaking of that, and! saying that I should be glad if General Johnston received his pardon, on account of the manly manner in which he addressed his troops. By the Chairman: Q. You supposed his pardon would have a good effect? A. Yes; I thought it would have a good effect. I am not sure whether I spoke on the subject to the Secretary of War or to the President. By Mr. Eldridge: Q. Do you recollect having a conversation with the President at any time when General Hillyer was present? A. I remember going with General Hillyer to see the President, but it was on the subject of an appointment which he wanted. I went to state to the President what I knew of General Hillyer. I do not recollect the conversation going beyond that range at all, though still it might have done so. Q. You do not recollect any other meeting "with the President when General Hillyer was present? A. I do not know. I think I met im twice, perhaps, but it was on a subject in which General Hillyer himself was personally interested. Whether the President conversed on any other suojects at that time I do not recollect. Q. Do you not recollect any conversation with the President, in the presence of General Hillyer, on the subject of granting amnesty to the people of the South? A. No, sir; I do not recollect any conversation on the subject of gen eral amnesty, and I know that I never was in favor of general amnesty. I do not recollect any conversation at that time on the subject of amnesty at all. I have stated here that I never recommended general amnesty, and never was in favor of it, until the time shall come when it is safe to give it. By Mr. Williams: Q. When you say that you did not recommend general amnesty, you mean universal amnesty? A. I do not recollect of ever having any conversation on the subject of universal amnesty. I know I could not have recommended such a thing, because I never was in favor of it, until the time shall come when it is safe. Q. I merely put the question in reference to your use of the term "general," because it might be supposed from that that the amnesty in the proclamation was not a general amnesty? A. I meant universal amnesty, of course. Q. You state that you differed with the President as to two points in his proclamation, but that his views afterwards changed. State when the President's mind underwent a change? A. It would be very hard, I reckon, to fix any period for it. Q. Was it in the summer of 1865? A. Yes, sir; along in the summer of 1865. Q. How long after the North Carolina proclamation of the 29th of May? A. It is impossible for me to say. Q. Was it more than two or;three months? A. I should think not. By Mr. Woodbridge: What did you mean by saying that the President's views, afterwards changed? A. I meant to say that while I was contending for the rights which those rebel paroled soldiers had, he was insisting on it that they should be punished. My remark was confined to that particular subject. By Mr. Eldridge: Q. Did you have any correspondence with the President in writing? A. Any correspondence I ever had with the President is official, and can be furnished. I had to make frequent endorsements on the subject of the rights of those paroled prisoners. The only correspondence that I could have had on the subject of amnesty was where I recommended men for pardon, as in the case of French and others. Q. Did you keep copies of them? A. Yes. sir, and will furnish them. Q. Do you recollect the proclamation that is called the " North Carolina proclamation?" A. Yes, sir; that was the first one published giving a State government. Q. Did you have any conversation with the President as to the terms or purport of that proclamation? A. I was, as I say, present when it was read. It was in the direction that I wanted. I was anxious to see something done to give some sort of temporary government there. I did not want to see anarchy. Q. Did you give any opinion in favor of that proposition? A. I did not give any opinion against it. I was in favor of that or anything else which looked to civil government until Congress could meet and establish governments there. I did not want all chaos left there, and no form of civil government whatever. I was Page 43] LELTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 303 not in favor of anything or opposed to anything particularly. I was simply in favor of having a government there; that was all I wanted. I did not pretend to give my judgment as to what it should be. I was perfectly willing to leave that to the civil department. I asked no person what I should do in my duties; I was willing to take all the responsibilities; and I did not want to give my views as to what the civil branch of the government should do. Q. Some of those governors were military officers and held rank in the army? A. That was during the rebellion. Mr. Johnson was military governor in Tennessee and General Hamilton in Texas. I do not recollect that there were any other military governors; the others were provisional governors. I did not care whether, they were called provisional or military governors. I looked upon them as equally provisional. By Mr. Thomas: Q. You have stated your opinion as to the rights and privileges of General Lee and his soldiers; did you mean that to include any political rights? A. I have explained that I did not. Q. Was there any difference of opinion on that point between yourself and President Johnson at any time? A. On that point there was no difference of opinion; but there was as to whether the parole gave them any privileges or rights. By Mr. Eldridge: Q. He claiming that it did not, and you claiming that it did? A. He claiming that the time must come when they could be tried and punished, and I claiming that that time could not come except by a violation of their parole. I claimed that I gave them no political privileges, but that I had a right, as military commander, to arrange terms of surrender which should protect the lives of those prisoners. I believe it is conceded by everybody that I had that right. I know that Mr. Lincoln conceded it at the time. By Mr. Boutwell: Q. How recently has the President expressed to you the opinion that General Lee, or others who had the benefit of the parole, ought to be tried and punished? A. Not since about two years ago. Q. Have you at any time heard the President make any remark in reference to admission of members of Congress from the rebel States into either house? A. I cannot say positively what I have heard him say on that subject I have heard him say as much, perhaps, in his published speeches last summer, as I ever heard him say at all upon that subject. I have heard him say -and I think I have heard him say it twice in his speeches-that if the North carried the elections by members enough to give them, with the southern members, a majority, why would they not be the Congress of the United States? I have heard him say that several times. By Mr. Williams: Q. When you say " the North," you mean the democratic party of the North, or, in other words, the party favoring his policy? A. I mean if the North carried enough members in favor of the admission of the South. I did not hear him say that he would recognize them as the Congress. I merely heard him ask the question, "why would they not be the Congress?" By the Chairman: Q. When did you hear him say that? A. I heard him say that in one or two of his speeches. I do not recollect where. By Mr. Boutwell: Q. Have you heard him make a remark kindred to that elsewhere? A. Yes; I have heard him say that, aside from his speeches, in conversation. I cannot say just when. It was probably about that same time. Q. Have you heard him, at any time, make any remark or suggestion concerning the legality of Congress with the southern members excluded? A. He alluded to that subject frequently on his tour to Chicago and back last summer. His speeches were generally reported with considerable accuracy. I cannot recollect what he said, except in general terms; but I read his speeches at the time, and they were reported with considerable accuracy. Q. Did you hear him say anything in private on that subject, either during that trip or at any other time. A. I do not recollect specially. Q. Did you at any time hear him make any remark concerning the executive department of the government? A. No. I never heard him allude to that. Q. Did you ever hear him make any remark looking to any controversy between Congress and the Executive? A. I think not. By Mr. Marshall: Q. I understand you to say that you were very anxious, at the close of the war, that civil governments should be established in some form as speedily as possible, and that you so advised the President? A. I so stated frequently in his presence. Q. But that you advised no particular form or mode of proceeding? A. I did not. Q. Were you present when this North Carolina proclamation was read in the cabinet? A. I would not be certain, but my recollection is that the first time I heard it read was in the presence only of the President, the Secretary of War, and myself. Q. Did you give your assent to that plan? A. I did not dissent from it. That is just in accordance with what I have stated. It was a civil matter, and, although I was anxious to have something done, I did not intend to dictate any plan. I do not think I said anything about it, or expressed any opinion about it at that time. I looked upon it simply as a temporary measure, to establish a sort of government, until Congress should meet and settle the whole question, that it did not make much difference how it was and done, so there was a form of government there. Q. Were you present that time by invitation of the President or the Secretary of War? A. I must have been. Q. Were you not invited for the purpose of getting your views as to whether it was a judicious plan to be adopted for the time? A. I suppose I was free to express my views. I suppose the object was, perhaps, that I might express my views if I could suggest any change. Q. Were you at the time asked your views in reference to it? A. I do not think I was. I think it was merely read over. Q. You think you neither assented nor dissented? A. I know that if I had been asked the question I would have assented to that or 304 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. almost anything else that would have given stable government there. Q. In reference to the amnesty proclamation, I wish to know whether you ever gave your opinion to the President as to whether it was too liberal or not liberal enough in its clauses? A. I think I have answered that question pretty fully. When the proclamation was published, I told the President that there were two points on which I disagreed with him-that is, as to excluding volunteer generals, and as to the $20,000 clause. I do not say anything as to whether the rest of it was too liberal or too stringent. I can state what I thought about it, but not what I said about it. Q. I wish to know whether, at or about the time of the war being ended, you advised the President that it was, in your judgment, best to extend a liberal policy towards the people of the South, and to restore as speedily as possible the fraternal relations which existed prior to the war between the two sections? A. I know that immediately after the close of the rebellion there was a very fine feeling manifested in the South, and I thought we ought to take advantage of it as soon as possible; but since that there has been an evident change there. I may have expressed my views to the President. Q. What is your recollection in reference to that? A. I may have done so, and it is probable that I did; I do not recollect particularly. I know that I conversed with the President very frequently. I do not suppose that there were any persons engaged in that consultation who thought of what was being done at that time as being lasting-any longer than until Congress would meet and either ratify that or establish some other form of government. I know it never crossed my mind that what was being done was anything more than temporary. By Mr. Churchill: Q. You understood that to be the view of the President? A. I understood that to be the view of the President and of everybody else. I did not know of any difference of opinion on that subject. Q. Did you understand that to be his view as other proclamations appeared from time to time? A. I cannot say as to that. It would seem that he was very anxious to have Congress ratify his own views. By Mr. Woodbridge: Q. I understood you to say that Mr. Lincoln, prior to his assassination, had inaugurated a policy intended to restore those governments? A. Yes, sir. Q. You were present when the subject was before the cabinet? A. I was present, I think, twice before the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, when a plan was read. Q. I want to know whether the plan adopted by Mr. Johnson was substantially the plan which had been inaugurated by Mr. Lincoln as the basis for his future action? A. Yes, sir, substantially. I do not know but that it was verbatim the same. Q. I suppose the very paper of Mr. Lincoln was the one acted on? A. I should think so. I think that the very paper which I heard read twice while Mr. Lincoln was President was the one which was carried right through. By Mr. Churchill: Q.What paper was that? A. The North Carolina proclamation. By Mr. Boutwell: Q. You understood that Mr. Lincoln's plan was temporary, to be either confirmed or a new government set up by Congress? A. Yes; and I understood Mr. Johnson's to be so too. By Mr. Williams: Q. Was there anything said on that subject, or was that your inference? A. That was my inference. Q. You never heard the President say the plan was to be temporary? A. No; but I was satisfied that everybody looked on it as simply temporary until Congress met. Q. You stated that the North Carolina proclamation was a continuation of the project submitted by Mr. Lincoln. I wish to inquire of you whether you ever compared them to ascertain whether they were the same or not? A. No, sir; I never compared them. I took them to be the very same papers. The papers were substantially the same, if not the very same. RECALLED AND EXAMINED, JULY 20, 1867. By Mr. Boutwell: Q. Do you recollect having an interview with the President in company with General Hillyer, on the return of General Hillyer from the South? A. Since my attention was called to it I do. I did not remember it when I gave my testimony the last day here. Q. What is your recollection of what transpired and was said at that interview? A. My recollection is that General Hillyer called to explain to the President what he had seen in the South, and what he had heard of the views and opinions of the people there; and that what he had seen was an acquiescence on the part of the southern people, and favorable to peace, harmony, and good will. That was said in general terms, but the language I do not remember. Q. Do you recollect whether, at that interview, there was any expression by the President as to any political policy? A. No, sir, I do not; I remember General Hillyer said something of having been invited to make a speech in New York, or some place, I do not remember where, and that he should do so, and send me a copy of his speech. I am very sure that he mentioned that in the presence of the President. What he said in that speech I do not remember now, but I presume the speech could be procured. I remember that General Hillyer gave the substance of what leading men said to him in the South. He particularly mentioned Judge Hale, of Alabama. He said that Judge Hale very candidly said that whc-n they went into the rebellion they took their lives, property, &c., in their hands, and that when they were defeated, they should accept such conditions as the government chose to give; and that they claim now that what they did they did in good faith, and would not take it back again. Judge Hale claimed no right whatever after the failure of the rebellion, except such as was granted to them. That was the point he made. The conversation was made up considerably of instances of that sort. I recollect his mentioning meeting a special party in Mobile, and what occurred there. Page 45] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 305 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, June 13, 1865. LEE, GENERAL R. E.-For benefits, and full restoration of all rights and privileges extended to those included in amnesty proclamation of the President of 29th May, 1865. HEADQ'RS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, 16th June, 1865. Respectfully forwarded through the Secretary of War to the President, with earnest recommendation that the application of General Robert E. Lee for amnesty and pardon may be granted him. The oath of allegiance, required by recent order of the President to accompany application, does not accompany this, for the reason, as I am informed by General Ord, the order requiring it had not reached Richmond when this was forwarded. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. RICHMOND, VA., June 13, 1865. LEE, GENERAL ROBERT E.-Understanding that he and other officers are to be indicted by grand jury at Norfolk, Virginia, states his readiness to be brought to trial, but had supposed the terms of his surrender protected him; therefore prays, &c. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 16th June, 1865. In my opinion, the officers and men paroled at Appomattox Court House, and since, upon the same terms given to Lee, cannot be tried for treason so long as they observe the terms of their parole. This is my understanding. Good faith as well as true policy dictates that we should observe the conditions of that convention. But faith on the part of the government, or a construction of that convention subjecting officers to trial for treason, would produce a feeling of insecurity in the minds of all the paroled officers and men. If so disposed they might even regard such an infraction of terms by the government as an entire release from all obligations on their part. I will state, further, that the terms granted by me met with the hearty approval of the President at the time, and of the people generally. The action of Judge Underwood in Norfolk has had an injurious effect, and I would ask that he be ordered to quash all indictments found against paroled prisoners of war, and to desist from further prosecution of them. U. S. GRANT, Lieut. General. [Cipher.] HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, May 6, 1865-1 P. M. Major General HALLECK, Richmond, Virginia. Since receipt of your despatch of 3d, I think it will be advisable to leave Hunter alone for the present. Although it would meet with opposition in the North to allow Lee the benefit of amnesty, I think it would have the best possible effect towards restoring good feeling and peace in the South to have him come in. All the people except a few political leaders in the South will accept whatever he docs as right, and will be guided to a great extent by his example. U. S. GRANT, Lieut. General. 20 WASHINGTON, D. C., March 12, 1866. PICKETT, GENERAL GEORGE E.-Presents history of his case, refers to surrender and agreement of April 9, 1865, and asks for protection from prosecution for treason. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES UNITED STATES, March 16, 1866. Respectfully forwarded to his excellency the President of the United States, with the recommendation that clemency be extended in this case, or assurance given that no trial will take place for the offence charged against George E. Pickett. During the rebellion belligerent rights were acknowledged to the enemies of our country, and it is clear to me that the parole given by the armies, laying down their arms, protects them against punishment for acts lawful to any other belligerent. In this case, I know it is claimed that the men tried and convicted for crime of desertion were Union men from North Carolina who had found refuge within our lines and in our service. The punishment was a hard one, but it was in time of war, and upon the enemy; they no doubt felt it necessary to retain by some power the service of every man within their reach. General Pickett I know, personally, to be an honorable man, but in this case his judgment prompted him to do what cannot well be sustained, though I do not see how good, either to the friends of the deceased, or by fixing an example for the future, can be secured by his trial now. It would only open up the question whether or not the government did not disregard its contract entered into to secure the surrender of an armed enemy. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. ST. Louis, MISSoURI, March 26, 1866. BEALL, W. H. R.-Application for pardon. HEADQUARTERS ARMIES UNITED STATES, 2d April, 1866. Respectfully submitted to his excellency the President, through the honorable Secretary of War, and recommended. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General. RECALLED AND EXAMINED, JULY 18, 1867. By Mr. Thomas: Q. Did the President propose, at any time, to use the military power for the adjustment of the controversy in Baltimore between the police commissioners appointed by Governor Swann and those who claimed authority independent of Governor Swann? A. I understood that he wanted to use it, and I called his attention to the law on the subject, which changed his views and determination evidently. I called his attention to the only circumstances in which the military forces of the United States can be called out to interfere in State matters. It was his intention to send troops there to enable Governor Swann, as he termed it, to enforce his decision in the case of those police commissioners. Q. Did the President, on account of your opinion, change that purpose? A. I made a communication to him on the subject, which led to the Attorney General giving an opinion as to the power to use the military fcrces. of the 306 POLITICAL United States to interfere in State affairs; and that led to a change of what was intended to be done. After this whole question was settled as to sending the military there, there were six companies of new troops organized in New York harbor, which belonged to regiments south of here, and I ordered them to their regiments, and to stop at Fort McHenry on their way down, in order to keep them there until after the election, with a view to have a force there in.case there was a bloody riot. Q. Do I understand you to say that the President changed his purpose in that respect before the difficulty had been adjusted in Baltimore? A. Yes, sir. Q. That was in accord with your opinion, endorsed by the Attorney General? A. Yes, sir. By Mr. Williams: Q. Have you a copy of the letter addressed by you to the President? A. I have a copy of everything official except conversation. (Witness was directed to furnish the official documents on the subject.) By Mr. Thomas: Q. Did the President signify his wish concerning the army in writing or verbally? A. Verbally and in writing. Q. Were you sent for formally? A. Yes, sir. I was sent for several times-twice, I think, while Governor Swann was there in consultation with the President. Finding that the President wanted to send the military to Baltimore, I objected to it. Q. Are you distinct in your recollection as to when the President acquiesced in your views? A. It was prior to the election, two or three days. When the matter was left entirely with me, I ordered those troops down to join their regiments, and to halt at Fort McHenry until after the election. Q. Was it before or after the arrest of the commissioners appointed by Governor Swann, that the President withdrew his request to you to use the army in that controversy? A. I cannot state precisely as to that. It was before I ordered the troops from New York. What took place was in conversation, until I found that there was rather a determination to send troops there, and then I communicated officially to the Secretary of War my objection to using troops in that way. That called out the opinion of the Attorney General, and it was then that what I proposed was acquiesced in. I thought this was in writing, but do not find the paper. By Mr. Marshall: Q. The President seemed to think he had a right to send the army under the circumstances? A. Yes, sir; he seemed to think so. Q. After you sent your written communication, giving your views in reference to it, the -President then left the subject entirely in your hanids?.'A. Yes, sir; he left it entirely in my hands. I think that is in writing. (Witness was directed to furnish a copy of the communication.) By Mr. Eldridge: Q. That was a formal withdrawal of his first opinion? A. Yes, sir. I think I was sent a copy of the Attorney General's opinion as a sort of order in the matter, virtually leaving it to me. Q. After that time you did have the manage MANUAL. [Part III. ment of it? A. Yes, sir. I sent General Canby to Baltimore, and went there twice myself, and had troops stop there on their way to the South. Q. It was entirely within your control? A. Yes, sir. By the Chairman: Q. They were solely for the purpose of being used in the case of a riot? A. Solely for that purpose. By Mr. Marshall: Q. Merely as a police force? A. Yes, sir. I desire to make the following explanation of my evidence: On examination of the record I find there is more matter, in writing, from the President than, from memory, I thought there was. Also, that I have either misplaced or never wrote objections which I made verbally to what was asked of the President by Governor Swann, of Maryland, in the way of services of United States troops, and which the President seemed desirous of giving. Governor Swann visited the President, to my knowledge, (how often I do not know,) before the trial of the Baltimore police commissioners, to get the promise of military aid in case he should remove them. During the trial, and before the promulgation of his findings, he also visited the President for the same purpose. At least once before the trial, and once during the progress of the trial of the police commissioners. I was sent for to meet Governor Swann at the Executive mansion. Much was said by me on those occasions, but, as before stated, I have confused, in my evidence, what was verbal with what was written. (The documents following are on pages 37, 38.) General Grant on the Removal of Genieral Sheridan and Secretary Stanton. 1.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON TO GENERAL GRANT. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 17, 1867. DEAR SIR: Before you issue instructions to carry into effect the enclosed order I would be pleased to hear any suggestions you may deem necessary respecting the assignments to which the order refers. Truly, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON. General U. S. GRANT, Secretary of War ad interim. 2.-THE PRESIDENT'S ORDER. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 17, 1867. Major General Geo. H. Thomas is hereby assigned to the command of the fifth military district, created by the act of Congress passed on the 2d day of March, 1867. Major General P. H. Sheridan is hereby assigned to the command of the department of the Missouri. Major General Winfield S. Hancock is hereby assigned to the command of the department of the Cumberland. The Secretary of War ad interim will give the necessary instructions to carry this order into effect. ANDREW JOHNSON. 3.---GENERAL GRANT TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 17, 1867. SIR: I am in receipt of your order of this Page 47] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY. ETC. 30 1 date, directing the assignment of General G. H. Thomas to the command of the fifth military district, General Sheridan to the department of the Missouri, and General Hancock to the department of the Cumberland; also of your note of this date, (enclosing these instructions,) saying: "Before you issue instructions to carry into effect the enclosed order, I would be pleased to hear any suggestions you may deem necessary respecting the assignments to which the order refers." I am pleased to avail myself of this invitation to urge, earnestly urge, urge in the name of a patriotic people who have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of loyal lives, and thousands of millions of treasure to preserve the integrity and union of this country, that this order be not insisted on. It is unmistakably the expressed wish of tbh country that General Sheridan should not be removed from his present command. This is a republic where the will of the people is the law of the land. I beg that their voice may be heard. General Sheridan has performed his civil duties faithfully and intelligently. His removal will only be regarded as an effort to defeat the lawfsof Congress. It will be interpreted by the unreconstructed element in the South, those who did all they could to break up this government by arms, and now wish to be the only element consulted as to the method of restoring order, as a triumph. It will embolden them to renewed opposition to the will of the loyal masses, believing that they have the Executive with them. The services of General Thomas in battling for the Union entitle him to some consideration. He has repeatedly entered his protest against being assigned to either oft he five military districts, and especially to being assigned to relieve General Sheridan. There are military reasons, pecuniary reasons, and above all patriotic reasons, why this should not be insisted upon. I beg to refer to a letter marked "private" which I wrote to the President, when first consulted on the subject of the change in the War Department. It bears upon the subject of this removal, and I had hoped would have prevented it.* I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General U. S. A., Secretary of War ad interim. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. 5.-GENERAL GRANT TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. OFFICE U. S. MIL. TEL., WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 21, 1867. To General U. S. GRANT. General Thomas is absent in West Virginia, and has probably not yet seen his orders. He has been under medical treatment this summer for an affection of his liver, and it would be a great risk for him to go South at this time. ALEXANDER B. HASSON, Surgeon U. S. A. and Med. Director, Department of the Cumberland. Respectfully forwarded to the President for his information, and recommending a suspension of the order making change in military commanders. U. S. GRANT, General. desired? It certainly was the intention of the legislative branch of government to place cabinet ministers beyond the power of executive removal, and it is pretty well understood that, so far as cabinet ministers are affected by the " tenure-of-office bill," it was intended specially to protect the Secretary of War, whom the country felt great confidence in. The meaning of the law may be explained away by an astute lawyer, but common sense and the views of loyal people will give to it the effect intended by its framers. On the subject of the removal of the very able commander of the fifth military district, let me ask you to consider the effect it would have upon the public. He is universally and deservedly beloved by the people who sustained this government through its trials, and feared by those who would still be enemies of the government. It fell to the lot of but few men to do as much against an armed enemy as General Sheridan did during the rebellion, and it is within the scope of the ability of but few in this or other country to do what he has. His civil administration has given equal satisfaction. He has had difficulties to contend with which no other district commander has encountered. Almost if not quite from the day he was appointed district commander to the present time, the press has given out that he was to be removed; that the administration was dissatisfied with him, &c. This has emboldened the opponents to the laws of Congress within his command to oppose him in every way in their power, and has rendered necessary measures which otherwise may never have been necessary. In conclusion, allow me to say, as a friend desiring peace and quiet, the welfare of the whole country North and South, that it is in my opinion more than the loyal people of this country (I mean those who supported the government during the great rebellion) will quietly submit to, to see the very men of all others whom they have expressed confidence in removed. I would not have taken the liberty of addressing the Executive of the United States thus but for the conversation on the subject alluded to in this letter, and from a sense of duty, feeling that I know I am right in this matter. With great respect, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency A. JOHNSON, President of the United States. ["Private.] HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 1, 1867. SIR: I take the liberty of addressing you privately on the subject of the conversation we had this morning, feeling, as I do, the great danger to the welfare of the country should you carry out the designs then expressed. First. On the subject of the displacement of the Secretary of War. His removal cannot be effected against his will without the consent of the Senate. It is but a short time since the United States Senate was in session, and why "-ot then have asked for his removal if it was 308 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. 6.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S MODIFICATION OF THE ORDER. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, August 22, 1867. In view of the precarious condition of General Thomas's health, as represented in the within despatch of Surgeon Hasson, General Thomas will, until further orders, remain in command of the department of the Cumberland. AUGUST 23, 1867. ANDREW JOHNSON. 7.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. [By Telegraph, in cipher.] HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 24, 1867. General Thomas's orders to relieve you are suspended for the present. Orders will be sent by mail. Relax nothing in consequence of probable change of commands. U. S. GRANT, General. Maj. Gen. P. H. SHERIDAN, New Orleans, Louisiana. 8.-PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S SECOND MODIFICATION OF THE ORDER. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 26, 1867. SIR: In consequence of the unfavorable condition of the health of Major General George H. Thomas, as reported to you in Surgeon Hasson's despatch of the 21st instant, my order dated August 17, 1867, is hereby modified so as to assign Major General Winfield S Hancock to the command of the fifth military district, created by the act of Congress passed March 2,1867, and of the military department comprising the States of Louisiana and Texas. On being relieved from the command of the department of the Missouri by Major General P. H. Sheridan, Major General Hancock will proceed directly to New Orleans, Louisiana, and assuming the command to which he is hereby assigned, will, when necessary to a faithful execution of the laws, exerc.se any and all powersconferred by acts of Congress upon district commanders, and any and all authority pertaining to officers in command of military depart-ments. Major General P. H. Sheridan will at once turn over his present command to the officer next in rank to himself, and proceeding without delay to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, will relieve Major General Hancock of the command of the department of the Missouri. Major General George H. Thomas will, until further orders, remain in command of the department of the Cumberland. Very respectfully, yours, ANDREW JOHNSON General U. S. GRANT, Secretary of War ad interim. General Grant's Orders and Telegrams to Military Commanders in the Unreconstructed States. 1.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL FOSTER, RESPECTING GENERAL ORDER 44.* HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 7, 1866. Maj or General J. G.FOSTER, Tllahoma, 7Fla. General Order No. 44* is not intended to apply to offences committed prior to the close of hostilities. As a rula, no arrests should be made under it except whiere the civil authorities refuse to make them. Release all prisoners you may now have whose offences were committed previous to May, 1865. U. S. GRANT, General. 2.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C, August 18, 1866. Major General SHERIDAN, New Orleans, Louisiana. Instructions to General Foster given some months ago prevent citizens of Florida appealing to other than the United States courts fot recovery of property sold for taxes. Those instructions will be now annulled, and purchasers will look to civil courts and the civil-rights bill for protection. U. S. GRANT, General. 3.-GENERAL GRANT TO SECRETARY STANTON. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED ST TES, WASHINGTON, November 22, 1866. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. Enclosed please find copy of a communication addressed to Major General Sheridan, under date of October 17, 1866, giving my constructirn of the President's proclamations upon certain military orders. The construction is the same that I understood you to entertain at the time. The orders referred to have not yet been revoked, nor has any construction of the effect of the President's proclamation upon these orders been officially announced to any but General Sheridan's command. I would therefore submit whether my construction of the proclamation as above stated is correct, so that we may have a uniformity of action upon this matter throughout the different commands. It is evident to my mind that the provisi ns of the civil-rights bill cannot be properly enforced without the aid of Order No. 44, or a similar one. Even in the State of Kentuchy, General Jeff. C. Davis states that he cannot enforce it without the aid of this order. U. S. GRANT, General. To the foregoing communication no answer was ever received; but in answer to a Senate resolution, dated January 8, 1867, asking for information in relation to violations of the act entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights and furnish the means of their vindication," and what steps had been taken to enforce the same, the President with his message of February 19, 1867, submitted, among other papers, Order No. 44, which led me to suppose that he regarded it as still in force. At this time Congress was discussing and maturing plans of legislation for the maintenance and enforcement of law and order in the States lately in rebellion. I therefore deemed it unnecessary to take further action in the premises, but await the result of congressional action. The preceding correspondence and orders show briefly and generally the condition of the fifth military district (Florida, Texas, and Louisiana) * See page 122 of Manual of 1866. Page 49] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 809 prior to the passage of the military reconstruction bill. As the basis in part of this correspondence, and exhibiting more in detail the condition of affairs in different localities, the reports of subordinate commanders, so far as they are on file in this office, are also herewith submitted. All of these reports have reached here through the regular military channel. 4.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 17, 1866. SIR: Referring to your endorsement upon communications of General J. G. Foster, commanding district of Florida, of date September 18 and 20, relative to the effect of the President's proclamation, &c., I am directed by the general-in-chief to enclose you a copy of the same, and to say that he construes the proclamation as nullifying General Order No. 3,* War Department, Adjutant's General's office, January 12, and General Order No. 44,t headquarters of the army, July 6, 1866.$ I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, GEO. K. LEET, A. A. G. Major General P. H. SHERIDAN, Commanding Depart. of the Gulf. "5.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, November 1, 1866. You will instruct General Foster to refrain from interference with the execution of civil law in Florida, when the laws of the State are not in conflict with laws of the United States. It is alleged that orders given by Colonel Sprague to officers in Fernandina practically prevent the execution of civil law. The duty of the military is to encourage the enforcement of the civil law and order to the fullest extent. By command of General Grant. GEO. K. LEET, A. A. G. General SHERIDAN, Commanding Depart. of the Gulf. "* See page 124 of Manual of 1866. t See page 122 of Manual of 1866. General Foster's report is as follows, with General Sheridan's indorsement: HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, ASSIST. ADJ. GENERAL'S OFFICE, TALLAHASSEE, FLA., September 20, 1866. GENERAL: I have the honor to make the following semi-monthly report of the condition of affairs in this district: The state of feeling toward the government and Union and northern men has not improved since my last report, and there have been indications that the old bitter feeling engendered by the war still rankles in the hearts of many of the old secessionists, and that it will find vent in words and actions as soon as a favorable opportunity offers. In this town, the intendant, assuming that the proclamation of the President, of August 20, fully restored the supremacy of the civil law over the military, essayed to arrest soldiers and employds of the United States, while in the performance of their duties, for trifling infractions of the municipal ordinance. I was obliged to order him peremptorily to desist. To allow the ID 6.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, "WASHINGTON, D. C., Sept. 21, 1866. Major General SHERIDAN, New Orleans, La. Despatches of 20th received. Your course in regard to riot in Brenham, Texas, right, only I think troops to defend themselves should be sent there without delay. If arms are used against peaceable soldiers, disarm citizens. U. S. GRANT, General. 7.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAi. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 8, 1866. Major General SHERIDAN, New Orleans, La. Your despatch of 3d instant just received. Your views about not authorizing volunteers to be raised in Texas, ostensibly to put down Indian hostilities, are sustained. With the military at your command, as full protection can be given to the people of Texas as to any other exposed settlements. You may so instruct Governor Throckmorton. U. S. GRANT, General. 8.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 11, 1866. Major General SHERIDAN, Com'g Depart. of the Gulf, New Orleans. Despatches from the Governor of Texas to the President, and newspaper extracts,, show Indian - - -- State or municipal authorities the power of arresting and trying our officers and soldiers will be to give into the hands of our late enemies the power of retaliation for past injuries and present dislikes. I therefore hope that the supremacy of the military in all matters of conflict between the United States and municipal authorities, and in all actions under express laws of Congress, may be preserved. I have some trouble in carrying out the provisions of the "homestead law;" in some localities combinations have been formed to resist the settlement of the negroes, and to drive them off. The freedmen are doing well. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. G. FOSTER, Bvt. Maj. Gen. U. S. Army, Commanding District. Bvt. Maj. Gen. GEO. L. HARTSUFF, A. A. G., Depart. of the Gulf, N. 0., La. [Endorsement.] HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, NEW ORLEANS, LA., October 6, 1866. Respectfully forwarded for the information of the general-in chief. There has been increased indolence on the part of the functionaries of the civil law in Florida and Texas, growing out of the proclamation of the President. In Louisiana it has not been so, as the proclamation has never been officially promulgated, and as General Orders Nos. 3 and 44, from headquarters of the army, have not been rescinded, I have gone on in Louisiana as though no proclamation had been issued. P. H. SHERIDAN, ilaj. Gen. U. S. Army. 310 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. hostilities to exist on the frontier of that State to an extent requiring immediate attention. Your despatches on the same subject have been received and shown to the President. Please report again the latest information you have on the subject, and in the meantime give such protection as you can with the means at hand. If it is necessary to break up any interior posts, take such as you think may be best spared. U. S. GRANT, General. 9.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 12, 1866. GENERAL: My despatch of yesterday was sent to you on receipt of the enclosed, which is forwarded for your information. Great care will have to be observed to see that no just cause of complaint can be urged against the army for not giving proper protection to the citizens of Texas against Indian hostilities; at the same time it is equally important that loyal and law-abiding citizens should have protection against the violently disposed in their midst. I am satisfied that you have done and are doing the very best that can be done. Your attention, however, is called to the enclosed, that you may know the apprehensions and desire of the President, and cause such inspection as will enable you to report satisfactorily on the points that give him uneasiness. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. Major General P. H. SHERIDAN, Com'g Depart. of the Gulf, New Orleans, La. 10.-GENERAL SHERIDAN TO GENERAL GRANT. HEADQ'RS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, NEW ORLEANS, LA., October 12, 1866. GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 11th. I have no additional news regarding hostility on the Texas frontier, and still believe that there is a great deal of buncombe in the reports. I have a company of cavalry stationed within a few miles of where the alleged massacre took place, and have no reports from it, and doubt whether it really occurred. I will, however, send additional troops to the frontier without delay, and hope that the nine (9) companies of the seventeenth infantry, which are now in the north, will be sent to me at once. I have notified the Governor of Texas that I would send an inspector to the frontier, and that I would render such protection as the forces within my control would permit of, and would establish posts in the early spring. I do not doubt but that the secret of all this fuss about Indian troubles is the desire to have all the troops removed from the interior, and the desire of the loose and lazy adventurers to be employed as volunteers against the Indians under the acts of the State Legislature. P. H. SHERIDAN, Major General U. S. Army. General U. S. GRANT, Com'ng Armies of the U. 8., Washington, D. O. 11.-GENERAL GRANT TO SECRETARY OF WAR. OCTOBER 13, 1866 Respectfully referred to the Secretary of War for information. More troops will be sent to General Sheridan immediately-if, indeed, some are not already on the way-which will enable him to give all the protection that troops can give against Indian hostilities. Occasional murders will take place on our frontiers, and would if our people were all soldiers. U. S. GRANT, General. 12.-GENERAL GRANT TO GOV. THROCKMORTON. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 20, 1866. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of 5th instant, urging upon th general government the acceptance of a regiment of volunteers from the State of Texas, to be used in defending the frontier of that State against the incursions of hostile Indians, &c. In reply threto I would state that General Sheridan has already sent as large a force to the portion of the frontier of Texas infested by Indians as probably can be supplied with forage and provisions during the coming winter. If a large force should still prove necessary, there are enough United States troops on their way or under orders to report to General Sheridan to supply the deficiency. It is deemed, therefore, unadvisable to accept the service of volunteers, whose pay and maintenance would have to be provided for hereafter by a special appropriation of Congress. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. His Excellency J. W. THROCKMORTON, Governor State of Texas, Austin, Texas. 13.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL SHERIDAN. HEADQ'RS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 3, 1866. Major General SHERIDAN, New Orleans, Louisiana: Continue to enforce martial law so far as may be necessary to preserve the peace, and do not allow any of the civil authorities to act if you deem such action dangerous to the public safety. Lose no time in investigating and reporting the causes that led to the riot and the facts which occurred. U. S. GRANT, General. 14.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 21, 1867. MY DEAR GENERAL: Having read Governor Jenkins's address to the citizens of Georgia, I was on the eve of writing you a letter advising his suspension and trial before a military commission, when your despatch announcing that the Governor had given such assurances as to render your order, in his case, unnecessary, was received. I am now in receipt of the order itself, and your accompanying letter, and have just prepared the enclosed endorsement to go with it. My views are that district commanders are responsible for the faithful execution of the Page 51] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 311 reconstruction act of Congress, and that in civil matters I cannot give them an order. I can give them my views, however, for what they are worth. * * * * I presume the Attorney General will give a written opinion on the subject of the power of district commanders to remove civil officers and appoint their successors. When he does, I will forward it to all the district commanders. It is very plain that the power of district commanders to try offenders by military commissions exists. I would advise that commissions be resorted to, rather than arbitrary removals, until an opinion is had from the Attorney General, or it is found that he does not intend to give one. * * * * Yours, truly, U. S. GRANT, General. Brevet Major General J. POPE, Commanding Third District. 15.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. ATLANTA, GA, April -, 1867. General John Pope, commanding third military district, submits copy of special order which he intends issuing so soon as he ascertains whether Governor Charles J. Jenkins, at the time he issued his address, was aware of his (General P.'s) Order No. 1.* [Endorsement.] HEADQ'REa ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, April-, 1867. Respectfully forwarded to the. Secretary of "War for his information. The telegraphic despatch herein enclosed shows that Governor Jenkins, of Georgia, has given such pledges to the commander of the third district as to induce him to withhold for the present his order suspending the governor. The conduct of the governor (Jenkins) demonstrates, however, how possible it is for a discontented civil officer of the unreconstructed States to defeat the laws of Congress if the power does not exist with district commanders to suspend their function for cause in some way. It seems clear to me that the power is given, in the bill " for the more efficient government of the rebel States," to use or not, at the pleasure of district commanders, the provisional machinery set up without the authority of Congress in the States to which the reconstruction acts applies. There being doubt, however, on this point, I would respectfully ask an early opinion on the subject. If the power of removal does not exist with district commanders, then it will become necessary for them to take refuge under that section of the bill which authorizes military commissions. U. S. GRANT, General. 16.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. HEADQ'ES ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON D. C. May 22, 1867. The following is sent to district commanders for their guidance: WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., May 18, 1867. GENERAL: Recent occurrences in some of the military districts indicate a necessity of great * For order, see page 78 of Manual of 1867, or page 204 of the combined Manual. vigilance on the part of military commanders to be prepared for the prevention and prompt suppression of riots and breaches of the public peace, especially in towns and cities, and that they should have their forces in hand and so posted, on all occasions when disturbances may be apprehended, as to promptly check, and, if possible, to prevent outbreaks and violence endangering public or individual safety. You will please, therefore, call the attention of the commanders of military districts to this subject, and issue such precautionary orders as may be found necessary for the purpose indicated. Yours truly, EDWIN M. STANTON, General U. S. GRANT, Secretary of War. Commanding Armies United States. The above conveys all the instructions deemed necessary, and will be acted upon by district commanders, making special reports of the precautionary orders issued by them to prevent a recurrence of mobs or other unlawful violence. By command of General Grant. GEO. K. LEET, Assistant Adjutant General. Brevet Major General JOHN POPE, Commanding Third Military District. 17.-GENERAL POPE TO GENERAL GRANT. General U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies9 United States. Day before yesterday I received a copy of the opinion of the Attorney General on. registration, sent me formy information, through the Assistant Adjutant General, by order of the President. Ten days ago I had made, and published, instructions to registers, which will have to be dropped if the Attorney General's opinion is enforced. The opinion sent by the President's order does not seem to be an order to me on the subject; but, as there may be room for doubt, I ask that I be informed by telegraph whether or not I am ordered by the President to conform my action to the Attorney General's opinion. I stand ready to obey the President's orders on the subject, but I wrote you fully on the subject yesterday, the probable result of enforcing the Attorney General's opinion in this district; enclosing also copies of my orders and instructions about registration. JNO POPE, Major General Commanding. 18.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1867. Major General J. POPE, Atlanta, Georgia. Your despatch of yesterday received. Enforce your own construction of the military bill, until ordered to do otherwise. The opinion of the Attorney General has not been distributed to district commanders in language or manner entitling it to the force of an order; nor can I suppose that the President intended it to have such force. U. S. GRANT, General. 19.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL ORD. WASHINGTON, June 23, 1867. Brevet Major General E. 0. C. ORD, Commanding the Fourth District. GENERAL: A copy of your final instructions to boards of registration of June 10, 1867, is 312 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. just received. I entirely dissent from the views contained in paragraph four. Your view as to the duty of registrars to register every man who will take the required oath, though they may know the applicant perjures himself, is sustained by the views of the Attorney General. My opinion is, that it is the duty of the board of registration to see, so far as it lies in their power, that no unauthorized person is allowed to register. To secure this end, registrars should be allowed to administer oaths and examine witnesses. The law, however, makes district commanders their own interpreters of their power and duty under it, and, in my opinion, the Attorney General or myself can do no more than give our opinion as to the meaning of the law; neither can enforce his views against the judgment of those made responsible for the faithful execution of the law, the district commanders. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, General. 20.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. HEADQ'RS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 3, 1867. DEAR GENERAL: Your official letter on the subject of reconstruction in the third district, and your private letter accompanying it, are received, and I have read both with care. I think your views are sound, both in the construction which you give to the laws of Congress and the duties of the supporters of good government, to see that, when reconstruction is effected, no loop-hole is left open to give trouble and embarrassment hereafter. It is certainly the duty of district commanders to study what the framers of the reconstruction laws wanted to express, as much as what they do express, and to execute the law according to that interpretation. This, I believe, they have generally done, and, so far, have the approval of all who approve the congressional plan of reconstruction. Very truly, yours, U. S. GRANT, General. Brevet Major General JNO. POPE, Commanding Third Mil. Dist., Atlanta, Ga. 21.-GENERAL POPE TO GENERAL GRANT. General U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies. Shall I publish the order requiring jurors in this district to take the test-oath as by your instructions, or on my own authority? I had just made an order, but, fortunately, not distributed it, to require jurors to be drawn from the list of registered voters. JOHN POPE, Major General. 22.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. WASHINGTON, August 14, 1867. Brevet Major General J. POPE, Atlanta, Georgia. Publish the jury order which you had prepared. The only object in distributing General Griffin's order was to secure a jury system which will give protection to all classes. U. S. GRANT, General. 23.-GENERAL GRANT TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., October, 1867. Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, refers letter of Hon. Charles J. Jenkins, of Georgia, dated October 18, 1867, relative to apportionment of delegates to counties, instead of senatorial districts, in State of Georgia. [Endorsement.] HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES ARMY, October 24, 1867. Respectfully returned to the President of the United States. It seems to me it would have been better to have apportioned delegates to counties instead of senatorial districts in the State of Georgia, but in view of the nearness of the election in that State, (on the 29th inst.,)ý I do not see how the matter can be corrected now. I have, however, sent the following despatch to General Pope: WASHINGTON, D. C., October 24, 1867. Major General JOHN PoPE, Atlanta, Georgia. Should not delegates to convention in Georgia be chosen by counties instead of by senatorial districts, to comply fully with the law? Could not a change be made in your election order in time for election in that State? U. S. GRANT, General. 24.-GENERAL POPE TO GENERAL GRANT. ATLANTA, GEORGIA, October 25, 1867. General U. S. GRANT: If you will examine the returns of registration sent you for Georgia, you will see that the apportionments cannot be made by counties without giving very unequal representation. The counties are small and numerous, and in many cases two or three would have to be united to make voters enough for one delegate. Please try and make the apportionment by counties, and you will see that it is not practicable. I tried it for two days. The districts are precisely as they were established by State laws, and on examination you will find that the apportionment is based precisely on voters, and is in all respects the fairest that could be made on the basis of registered voters. It is too late now to change, and certainly no man in Georgia can complain because I have taken the districts established by State laws. I wrote you fully on the subject day before yesterday. My purpose was to make as little change as possible in local divisions in the State known and recognized by State laws. You will receive my letter to-morrow. I send to-day a map of Georgia, with number of registered voters for each county written on face of county. Please see if it be possible to make fairer apportionment than we have done. JOHN POPE, Bvt. Major General. 25.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. HEADQ'RS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 30, 1867. GENERAL: Your reply to my letter suggesting a revocation of your order suspending State aid to the Georgia University, or rather your reply to B. H. Hill (and others') application for such revocation, is received. I am abundantly satisfied myself with your explanation and hope no more will be heard about it. But your reply, Page 53J LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. which I read to the President and cabinet, was sent for last evening, and may result in some letter, suggestion, or opinion. In your letter you say that the subject of the Georgia University controversy will be submitted to the convention. I would advise that you submit nothing to it officially except the laws of Congress authorizing the convention and defining its duties. A convention is a sort of original body to enact laws, or rather to frame restrictions and to establish powers within which legislative bodies may act. Under such circumstances, it would seem out of place for any authority to submit questions to such conventions as are now being elected in the military districts. Yours, truly, U. S. GRANT, General. Bvt. Maj. Gen. JOHN POPE, Corn. Third Mil. Dist. 26.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. WASHINGTON, December 23, 1867. Bvt. Maj. Gen. JOHN POPE, Atlanta, Ga. The constitutions adopted by the conventions Aow in session are not the law of the States until submitted to the people and ratified by them. I do not see, therefore, how you can enforce laws enacted by them until so ratified. U. S. GRANT, General..---._. 27.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL POPE. ATLANTA, GEORGIA, December 27, 1867. General John Pope, commanding third district, relative to refusal of State treasurer, John Jones, of Georgia, to pay the members of convention in Georgia. - [Endorsement.] HEADQ'RS OF THE ARMY UNITED STATES, January 6, 1868. Respectfully returned. The convention is authorized by act of Congress passed March 23, 1867, supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," of March 2, 1867, to levy upon and collect a sufficient amount of taxes on the property of the Stte as was necessary to pay the expenses of the same. The ordinance passed by the convention for the purpose, and the order of the military commander to the State treasurer endorsed thereon, is in conformity to the letter and spirit of said acts and the acts supplementary thereto, of July 19, 1867. The government, under the constitution of the State of Georgia, adopted in 1865, which said treasurer sets up as a bar to his compliance with said ordinance, is by the said acts of Congress specifically declared, with the governments of other States lately in rebellion, therein named, to be "not legal State governments; and that thereafter, said governments, if continued, were to be continued subject in all respects to the military commanders of the respective districts and the paramount authority of Congress." Section 11 of said supplementary act of July 19, provides: " That all the provisions of this act and of the acts to which this is supplementary shall be construed liberally, to the end that all the interests thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out." It is clear, from the correspondence between General Pope and the treasurer, that the proper administration of the military reconstruction acts requires the removal of said treasurer, and the appointment of some person in his stead, under section 2 of said supplementary act of July 19, who will respect the authority of Congress, the orders of military commanders, and the ordinance of the convention under the same. Should the comptroller general of the State, as General Pope seems to fear he may, decline to execute the ordinance of the convention, then he, too, should be removed. U. S. GRANT, - General. 28.-GENERAL MEADE TO GENERAL GRANT. General U. S. GRANT. The passage of ordinances by the convention of Alabama and Georgia enacting stay-laws is producing great suffering in these States, by causing expedition to be made in making levies, in anticipation of these ordinances having the force of law. Advantage is being taken of the interval of time before these ordinances are laws to hurry levies and executions, thus causing these ordinances, intended as measures of relief, to become in reality the means of increasing and greatly aggravating the burden of the people. I am, therefore, inclined to adopt these ordinances as the act of the military authority, and declare them to have force until the question is settled as to the adoption or rejection of the constitution enacting them. I refer to you, because your telegram of December 23 is adverse to enforcing any of the ordinances of the convention prior to the adoption of the constitution, and to obtain your approval of my proposed action. Please answer immediately. G. G. MEADE, Major General. 29.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. "WASHINGTON, January 10, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Georgia. As district commander, I think you will be perfectly justifiable in adopting as your own order the stay-laws proposed in the constitutions to be submitted to the people of Alabama and Georgia. This course is different from adopting as law the provisions of the constitutions in advance of their ratification. U. S. GRANT, General. 30.-GENERAL MEADE TO GENERAL GRANT. General U. S. GRANT. I have had a conference with Governor Jenkins, and exerted all my influence to induce him to consider the appropriation by the convention as an appropriation made by law and not inconsistent with the provisions of the Georgia constitution, and urged him to sign the warrant required by the treasury. The governor declined, and there is no other alternative but the exercise of my power to obtain control of the State treasury. To avoid making any more changes than are required to effect the object, and also the difficulty of finding a suitable person, and the question of bonds, I propose to remove only the treasurer, and to assign to the duty Brevet Brigadier General Rouger, with instructions to continue payments as heretofore, in accordance with the existing laws of 314 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. State, and to make such payments to the convention as I shall authorize, checking thus unnecessary expenditures. I see no other mode of supplying the wants of the convention, and the continuance in session is dependent upon its wants being immediately supplied. It is probable other steps may have to be taken before the money can be secured, as it is intimated that an issue will be made with the view of testing the invalidity of my power. Your approval or disapproval is asked at once. GEO. G. MEADE,.Major General. 31.--GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. WASHINGTON, January 10, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Ga. Plan proposed in your despatch of last evening to remove State treasurer of Georgia is approved. U. S. GRANT, General. 32.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. WASHINGTON, January 13, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Ga. I would not advise interference with elections ordered by the Alabama convention, unless very satisfactory reasons exist for doing so. U. S. GRANT, General. 33.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. WASHINGTON, January 13, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Ga. You will perceive by the reconstruction acts that " conventions are to frame constitutions and civil governments for their respective States," which clearly implies authority to order the election of officers thereunder, and in fixing the day of election Alabama has only followed a well-established precedent. The governments elected cannot assume authority, except under orders from the district commander or after action of Congress upon their constitution. U. S. GRANT, General. 34.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. WASHINGTON, January 17, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Ga. Congress unquestionably can determine upon the questions presented by the governor of Florida, whatever may be the authority of district commanders over such cases. General Pope having practically settled the matter complained of by his action before you assumed command of the third district, it is deemed judicious not to interfere with the meeting of the convention at the time ordered by him, but leave the whole matter to Congress in its final action. U. S. GRANT, General. 35.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. WASHINGTON, January 25, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Ga. Will it not be well to extend the number of days the polls are to be kept open at the Alabama election, in order to give full opportunity to all who register to vote? Two days will hardly give sufficient time. It would be better to amend General Pope's order now than after the election had commenced. U. S. GRANT, General. 36.-GENERAL GRANT TO GENERAL MEADE. HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES, WASHINGTON, April 29, 1868. Major General G. G. MEADE, Atlanta, Georgia. I have carefully read your letter of 16th of April and its enclosures. I see nothing in thera to change my opinion as expressed to you in my despatch of March 2, 1868. The officers elected under the new constitution of Georgia are not officers of the provisional government referred to in the reconstruction acts, nor are they officers elected under any so-called State authority, and are not, therefore, required to take the oath prescribed in section 9, act of July 19, 1867. The eligibility to hold office must be determined by the new constitution and the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, designated as article 14. U. S. GRANT, General. General Grant's Order Respecting the Restoration of Removed Civil Officers. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, August 29, 1867. Special Orders, No. 420. Commanders of the military districts created under the act of March 2, 1867, will make no appointments to civil office of persons who have been removed by themselves or their predecessors in command. By command of General GRANT. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant 'General. Extract from General Grant's Report as Secretary of War ad interim, Referring to Reconstruction, November, 1867. By act of Congress the ten southern States which have no representation in the national councils are divided into five military districts, each commanded by an officer of the army of not less rank than brigadier general. The powers of these commanders are both civil and military. So far as their military duties are concerned, they are under the same subordination to the General of the army and Secretary of War that department commanders are. In their civil capacity they are entirely independent of both the General and Secretary, except in the matters of removals, appointment, and detail, where the General of the army has the same powers as have district commanders. It is but fair to the district commanders, however, to state that, while they have been thus independent in their civil duties, there has not been one of them who would not yield to a positively expressed wish, in regard to any matter of civil administration, from either of the officers placed over them by the Constitution or acts of Congress, so long as that wish was in the direction of a proper execution of the law for the execution of which they alone are responsible. I am pleased to say that the commanders of the five military districts have executed their difficult trust faithfully and without bias from any judgment of their own as to the merit or demerit of the law they were executing. Page 55] LETTERS, PAPERS, TESTIMONY, ETC. 315 FIRST MILITARY DISTRICT Comprises the State of Virginia, Brevet Major General J. M. Schofield commanding. In assuming command, the principle was announced by General Schofield that the military power conferred by act of Congress on the district commander would be used only so far as was necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the power was conferred. The civil government was interfered with only when necessary, and the wisdomof the policy has been demonstrated by the result. The instances of complaint of the action of the civil courts became exceedingly rare. Still the evil which existed prior to the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, though mitigated by the increased efficiency of civil officers, was not removed. It was an evil in the jury system, apparent at all times, and fully developed by the natural antagonism between loyalist and rebel, or the prejudice between white and black, existing throughout the South since the rebellion. The first idea was to admit blacks on juries and prescribe a test of loyalty. But as the requirement of a unanimous verdict must give very inadequate protection where strong prejudice of class or caste exists, and as a military change of jury system would be but temporary, it was determined to leave its change to the convention soon to meet, and be content with a system of military commissions. Such commissioners were appointed from officers of the army and Freedmen's Bureau in the different cities and counties of the State, with powers of justices of the peace, while the State was divided into sub-districts, under commanders whose powers were ultimately increased to those of circuit judges, taking jurisdiction only in cases where civil authorities failed to do justice. The system has given a large measure of protection to all classes of citizens, with slight interference with the civil courts. Since the publication of the act of March 23, 1867, all elections have been suspended. Existing State, county, and municipal officers were continued in office. Vacancies have been filled by the district commander. The number of removals has been five, and of appointments to fill vacancies one hundred and five. In executing the registration a board of officers was first appointed to select registering officers. The selections were made with great care, and the officers so selected have, with few exceptions, done their duty in the most satisfactory manner. Carefully prepared regulations for the boards of registration were issued, being made as specific as possible, so as to secure a uniform rule of disfranchisement throughout the State. In prescribing them, the district commander was controlled by the belief that the law made him responsible for its correct interpretation, as well as its faithful execution. The results of the first session of the registering boards were all received on September 15. One hundred and fifteen thousand and sixtyeight whites, and one hundred and one thousand three hundred and eighty-two colored, registered; one thousand six hundred and twenty whites, and two hundred and thirty-two colored, being rejected. The tax list of 1866-'67 (not quite complete) returns about one hundred and thirty-six thousand white male adults, and eighty-seven thousand colored male adults This indicates that the number of whites disfranchised, or who have failed to register, is about nineteen thousand, and that about fifteen thousand more colored men have registered than were on the tax lists. Hence it may be inferred that nearly all male adults, white or colored, not disfranchised, have registered. The principle upon which the apportionment was made was to give separate representations to the smallest practicable subdivisions of the State, and where fractions remained over to so combine counties in election districts as to justly represent those portions. This is believed to be the fairest mode of apportionment practicable under the law. SECOND MILITARY DISTRICT Comprises the States of North Carolina and South Carolina, Brevet Major General E. R. S. Canby, commanding. Major General Daniel E. Sickles, who was originally assigned to the command of this district, was relieved, and General Canby assigned by the following order of the President: (General Orders No. 80.-See Chap. Proclamations and Orders.) " In order to secure a more efficient administration ofjustice it was deemed necessary to place all sheriffs and other municipal officers under the immediate control of a military officer. Accordingly all such officers were directed to report to the Provost Marshal General, and to make monthly reports of 'crimes committed' and 'prisoners confined.' The reports of prisoners confined has aided materially in detecting illegal imprisonments or punishments, and has enabled the district commander to secure the release of many Union men and freedmen, against whom much gross injustice had been committed. "A bureau of civil affairs was established, to take charge of all matters, pertaining to registration; and its duties were afterwards extended to include all questions of protection to person or property arising under the laws of Congress. One hundred and seventy registration precincts were established in North Carolina, and one hundred and nine in South Carolina. " In North Carolina there were registered 103,060 whites, and 71,657 blacks; and in South Carolina, 45,751 whites, and 79,585 blacks. Registration proceeded very slowly on account of slowness of communication with distant parts of the district. "1Of the appropriation made by Congress, $54,802 87 have been expended, and outstanding liabilities will exceed the balance on hand $194,802 87. " The present condition of the district is so satisfactory as to warrant the belief that after elections the number of military posts in both States can be diminished." THIRD MILITARY DISTRICT Comprises the States of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, Brevet Major General John Pope, commanding. "On assuming command an order was issued" by General Pope " continuing in office State officials, but forbidding their opposing the reconstruction acts, prohibiting elections except under those acts, and giving notice that all vacancies in civil offices would be filled by the district commander. Becoming satisfied subsequently that State officials, while obeying the order personally, yet officially, by their patronage, encouraged papers opposing-the reconstruction act, an order was issued forbidding official patronage to such papers. "In consequence of the riot at Mbile, an order was issued holding city and county officers responsible for the preservation of peace at all public meetings, and requiring the United States troops to assist them when called on. No disturbances have since occurred. " Under the laws of the State no colored person could be admitted to the jury-box, and there was no surety ofj ustice to Union men, to people from the North, (and especially ex-Union soldiers,) or to colored persons, from juries in, flamed with hostility towards such classes. "There is a very large number of cases of wrong perpeStrated by such juries in the district on file. 316 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. "Accordingly an order was issued directing all juries to The extension of suffrage to freedmen has evibe drawn indiscriminately from the list of voters registered dently aroused a sentiment of hostility to the by the boards of registration. "Very few civil officers have been removed, and those, in colored race, and to northern men in many almost every case, were removed for refusing to comply parts of the district, which did not exist before; with orders. Appointments to fill vacancies have only been and General Ord is convinced that a larger force made where the daily business of the people demanded it. "The State treasurers of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida than is now stationed in those States to preserve have been. ordered to make no payments after the appro- order and organize conventions, will be required priations of the present fiscal year have expired, save on hereafter to protect them and secure the freedwarrants approved by the district commander, as it is believed that a new Legislature will not continue or approve men the use of the suffrage. many of the appropriations made. "In a majority of the counties of this district there are " In executing the registration, it was deemed advisable very few men who can take the test-oath, and these are not that no officer nor soldier of the United States should be disposed to defy public opinion by accepting office, urnless employed, and accordingly each board of registration was supportedby a military force afterwards. appointed from among the citizens living in the district, " The will of the colored people may be in favor of supand to consist of two white men and one colored. A fixed porting loyal office-holders, but their intelligence is not sum was paid for registering each name, the average for now sufficient to enable them to combine for the execution the district being twenty-six cents per name. of their will. All their combinations are now conducted "There were registered in Georgia 95,214 whites, and by white men, under the protection of the military; if the 93,457 colored; in Alabama 74,450 whites, and 90,350 col- protection is withdrawn, tile white men now controlling ored, and in Florida 11,180 whites, and 15,357 colored. The would withdraw with it; and some of the southern people, "amount expended in registration, &c., has been $162,325. now exasperated at whattheydeem the freedmen's pre"The appeortiomentof delegates was mnade in Georo'ia for "The apportiomentof delegates ws de in Georia for sumption, would not be very gentle towards them, so that State senatorial districts, and in Alabama for Representative the presence of a larger military force will be required districts, fixed by an order. Polls were ordered to be for some time to maintain the freedmen in the right of opened at each county seat." suffrage." FOURTH MILITARY DISTRICT FIFTH MILITARY DISTRICT Comprises the States of Mississippi and Arkan- Comprises the States of Louisiana and Texas, sas, Brevet Major General E. 0. C. Ord, co- i Brevet Major General J. A. Mower, commandmanding. ino. "The reconstruction measures of Congress are unpopular no report has yet been received from General "with a majority of the white people, but their execution Mower, but it is expected in time for the meethas met with slight opposition, the ignorant and lawless, i o r from whom alone trouble was to be apprehended, having i n Ore s "been kept in order by the troops distributed through the jor General P. H. Sheridan, who was origStates. inally assigned to the command of this district, equally administered, except to remove from the civil courts was relieved, and General Hancock assigned, by cases of crime charged against persons who, being opposed the following orders of the President. On the to the rebellion, had reason to fear prejudice. Also freed- decease of Brevet Major General Charles Griffin, mel's cases, where the courts were practically closed ed as against them;and cases of horse-stealing, and violaions designated as the officer next in rank to whom of acts of Congress, for all of which military commissions General Sheridan should turn over the comhave been organized. mand until General Hancock assumed it, General "The oficers of the provisional State government have Mower succeeded to the command: continued in office, except where they have failed to perform their duties. It is difficult to find competent men who (General Orders 77 and 81.-For which see can qualify to fill vacancies in civil offices, some of which Proclamations and Orders.) are consequently vacant. "In conisequence of the indisposition (as manifested of Generals Sheridan and Sickles having been late) of the civil authorities in Arkansas to take action in relieved before the period for submitting their offences of an aggravated nature against freedmen, orders have been issued for the trial of all such cases by military annual reports, none have been received from commission, and for prompt action to be taken for the pun- them. They have, however, been called on reishment of civil officers who fail to issue writs against of- cently to submit reports, which may be expected fenders committing assaults, &c., against freedmen, and pro-. hibiting bail for the appearance of such criminals." before the meeting of Congress. XXVII. DIGEST OF ORDERS OF THE MILITARY COMMANDERS, AND GENERAL ACTION UNDER THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS.* First Military District-Virginia. April 2-Board of officers appointed to select 1867, March 15-General Schofield prohibited boards of registration, one to be an officer of the whipping or maiming of the person as a punish- army or Freedmen's Bureau if possible, and the ment for any crime, misdemeanor, or offence. others either army officers or honorably disAn order was issued, same day, disbanding and charged volunteer officers, or loyal citizens of prohibiting any further organization of the the proper city or county, or any other loyal militia forces of the State. citizen. No registering officer to be a candidate Ft on. se for any elective office. All elections suspended * For previous Orders referring to Reconstruction, see; tilt tht comnpletion of registration, vacancies to pages 73-81 of the Manual of 1867, or pages 190-207 of the till th completion of registration, vacancies to combined Manual. be filled by the commanding general. All offi rage 57] DIGEST OF ORDERS, ETC. 317 cers under the provisional government to take the test oath of March 23, 1867. In registering, whites and colored to be entered in separate columns. May 28--Where civil authorities fail to give adequate protection to all persons in their rights of person and property, it was announced that military commissioners would be appointed; trials by the civil courts preferred in all cases where there is satisfactory reason to believe that justice will be done. June 3-It was held, respecting the right to be registered, that persons who voluntarily joined the rebel army, or persons who in that army committed voluntarily any hostile act, were disqualified; but persons who were forced into it, but avoided, as far as possible, doing hostile acts, and escaped from it as soon as possible, were not disqualified. Persons who voted for the secession ordinances were disqualified. Giving individual soldiers food or clothing enough to relieve present suffering did not work disqualification. June 26-It was decided that, as the laws of Congress declared there was no legal government in Virginia, the Alexandria constitution does not disfranchise any persons. July 13-It was decided that the President's pardon does not restore political rights, but merely civil; and, July 15, that it does not remove disfranchisement which exists without it. July 26-All persons hereafter appointed to take the test oath of July 2, 1862, in lieu of that of March 23, 1867. Sub-district commanders directed to report names of all State, county and municipal officers who are " disloyal to the United States, and use their official influence to prevent reconstruction under acts of Congress." August 16-A fine imposed by court, April 27, 1867, of two thousand dollars in " Confederate currency," was ordered scaled at the then rate, and $88 80, in lawful currency of United States, directed to be accepted by the court, in payment. September 12-Election ordered for October 22, on a convention; 105 delegates to be elected at the same time. September 21-Persons subject to parole upon the surrender, who have avoided giving it, are directed to take the prescribed parole within thirty days. September 24-Delegates to the State convention not required to take the oath prescribed for officers of the United States. September 25-A person who held no office prior to the war, and who was elected and served as a member of the secession convention, and was afterwards engaged in rebellion, is not thereby disfranchised. October 3-Armed secret societies forbidden. October 31-The regular session of the Legislature elected in 1866 dispensed with. November 2-Vote on convention announced: 169,229 votes cast, of which 107,342 were for, and 61,887 against, a convention. December 3d fixed as the time, and hall of House of Deleegates, Richmond, as the place of meeting. December 2-General O. O. Howard instructs General O. Brown, of Freedmen's Bureau, to allow no man to suffer for food, and to assist to a home and employment those who he ascertains may have been, or may be, discharged for having voted as they pleased. December 3-Convention met. Adjourned April 17, 1868, having adopted a constitution. 1868, March 12-Sales of property under deeds of trust suspended where such sales would result in a ruinous sacrifice or leave infirm persons without support. April 4-The office of Governor of Virginia having become vacant by the expiration of Governor Pierpoint's term, and he being ineligible for the next term, Henry H. Wells was appointed. June 2-General Stoneman assumed command. No provision has thus far been made for submitting the constitution to a popular vote. Second Military District-North and South Carolina. 1867, April 18-General Sickles issued an order that, it having become apparent that justice to freedmen cannot be obtained in the civil Courts of Edgefield and Barnwell districts, a provost court be established, with jurisdiction of any case to which a person of color is a party, except murder, arson, and rape. April 20-No sentence of such court, affecting the liberty of any person, to be executed till approved by the commanding general. April 27-Local election in Newbern suspended; and officers appointed, and required to take the oath of March 23, 1867. May 8-Registration announced to be begun on the third Monday in July; registering officers to be appointed, and required to take the test oath of July 2, 1862. May 15-Commanding officers of posts authorized, upon sufficient cause shown, to grant permission to public officers to carry arms when necessary in the discharge of their duties. May 20-Distillation of spirits from grain prohibited; violation of this order to be considered a misdemeanor. May 30-Any citizen, a qualified voter under the reconstruction laws, declared to be eligible to office in the provisional government of North and South Carolina. All citizens who have paid assessed taxes for the current year declared qualified as jurors; and juries to be hereafter drawn from such persons. All citizens are eligible to follow any licensed calling, employment or avocation, subject to impartial regulations prescribed by municipal or other competent authority, the bond required as security not to exceed $100, with one or more sureties worth double the amount of the bond. All contracts for the manufacture, sale, or transportation, storage, or insurance of intoxicating liquors to be treated as against public policy. In public conveyances, on railroads, highways, streets, or navigable waters, no discrimination because of color or caste shall be made, and the commcn rights of all citizens therein shall be recognized and respected; a violation of this regulation to be deemed a misdemeanor, and to render the offender liable to arrest and trial by a military tribunal, besides such damages as may be recovered in the civil courts. The remedy by distress for rent is abolished, where lands are leased or let 318 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. out for hire or rent. No license for the sale of intoxicating liquors in quantities less than one gallon, or to be drank on the premises, shall be granted to any person other than an inn-keeper. June 19-General Sickles asked to be relieved from command of the district, and asked a court that he might vindicate himself from the accusation of the Attorney General. August 1-The session of the Legislature of North Carolina, elected in 1866, indefinitely postponed. August 10-Order of May 30 suspended in its application to the superior and county courts of North Carolina, on account of the inability of the latter to revise the jury lists. August 17-The finding of a court-martial confirmed, fining the captain of a steamer $250 for refusing a person a first-class ticket on account of color. It was added: " So long as the laws imposed civil and political disabilities because of servitude or color, carriers were permitted to enforce the same discrimination among passengers. Such disabilities and usages have ceased, with slavery, to have any legal sanction. Whatever belongs of common right to citizens, necessarily follows the recognition of the blacks as citizens, and belongs to them." September 5-The act of the Legislature of North Carolina, of March 7, 1867, " for the relief of executors, administrators, &c.," annulled as in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of the acts of Congress passed prohibiting all acts in aid of the late rebellion. Courts directed to dismiss judgments, orders, and decrees, under said legislation. September 5-General Canby assumed command. September 13-General Canby ordered that all citizens assessed for taxes, and who shall have paid taxes for the current year, and who are qualified and have been or may be duly registered as voters, are declared qualified to serve as jurors. Any requirement of a property qualification for jurors is hereby abrogated. The collection of certain illegal and oppressive taxes, imposed in parts of North and South Carolina, was suspended. October 16-An election ordered in South Carolina, November 19 and 20, for or against a "convention," and for delegates to constitute the Convention. Violence, or threats of violence, or of discharge from employment, or other oppressive agencies against the free exercise of the right of suffrage, prohibited. All bar-rooms, saloons, &c., ordered closed from 6 on the evening of November 18 to 6 on the morning of November 21. Military interference, unless " necessary to repel the armed enemies of the United States or to keep the peace at the polls," prohibited. October 18-A similar order issued for North Carolina, fixing the election November 19 and 20. October 19-Order issued suspending Hon. A. P. Aldrich from the exercise of all functions as judge of the court of common pleas and general sessions; and Gov. Orr authorized to provide for holding his term of court, by assigning another judge. The election of municipal officers in Charleston forbidden. November 27-Prosecutions instituted in some of the courts of North Carolina for acts of war committed during the existence of hostilities, in violation of the true intent of the amnesty act of that State of Dec. 22, 1866, were prohibited. Also, ordered, that all parol " contracts, between any persons whatever, whereof one or more of them shall be a person of color," shall be of the same validity, be established by the same evidence, be determined by the same rules, and be enforced in the same manner as in like contracts where all the parties thereto are whites. December 3-A system of taxation established, for the support of the provisional government of South Carolina for the year from October 1, 1867, to September 30, 1868. Appropriations ordered for the various offices and expenses of the State. December 28-The election declared to have resulted in favor of aconvention; and the delegates notified to meet in Charleston, January 14, 1868. December 31-Convention declared carried in North Carolina; and the delegates notified to meet in Raleigh, January 14, 1868. December 31-Judgments or decrees for money, or causes of action, from May 20, 1861, to April 20, 1865, in North Carolina, and from December 19, 1860, to April 29, 1865, in South Carolina, ordered not to be enforced, &c. All proceedings for the recovery of money for the purchase of slaves, made after January 1, 1863, suspended. Proceedings in any court in either State, recognizing or sanctioning the investment of the funds of minor heirs, or females, or insane persons in the securities of the. late rebel government, or the war securities of either State, will be suspended till the validity of such investments shall be determined by United States courts or by additional legislation. Power to grant licenses for the sale of liquors remitted to local authorities. 1868, January 14-Conventions of both States met, and adjourned March 17. February 6-Ordinance of South Carolina Convention for the collection of taxes, promulgated, and the assessors ordered to collect the taxes therein levied. State Treasurer authorized to pay the expenses of the Convention. February 12-Same with regard to the North Carolina Convention. February 27-Where advances are made by General R. K. Scott, assistant commissioner of Bureau of Refugees, in behalf of the Government of the United States, in aid of the depressed agriculture of South Carolina, these advances shall be a lien upon the produce of the plantation. March 13-An election to be held in South Carolina, April 14 and 16, for or against the constitution, and on the same ballot for State officers, and Representatives in Congress, one for each of the four districts and two at large. March 23-An election ordered for North Carolina, April 21, 22, 23; regulations prescribed. April 8-Quarantine of ports of South Carolina established. May 2-Constitution announced ratified by a majority of the votes actually cast by the qualified electors of South Carolina. Page 59] DIGEST OF ORDERS, ETC. 819 May 12-Constitution of iNorth Carolina announced similarly ratified. June 15-W. W. Holden, Governor elect of North Carolina, called a meeting of the Legislature for July 1. Third Military District-Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. 1867, April 4-General Pope issued an order directing post commanders to report acts of local or State authorities or tribunals which discriminate against persons on account of race, color, or political opinion. April 8-Registration order issued. It provides, among other sections: " It is desirable that in all cases the registers shall be civilians where it is possible to obtain such as come within the provisions of the act and are otherwise suitable persons; and that military officers shall not be used for the purpose, except in case of actual necessity. " The registers are specifically instructed to see that all information concerning their political rights is given to all persons entitled to vote under the act of Congress; and they are made responsible that every such legal voter has the opportunity to record his name. " Interference by violence, or threats of violence, or other oppressive means to prevent the registration of any voter, is positively prohibited; and any person guilty of such interference shall be arrested and tried by the military authorities." April 11-Headquarters removed to Atlanta. April 12-General Wager Swayne issued this order at Montgomery, Alabama: General Orders, No. 3. I. Complaints of hardship in the needless apprenticing of minors, particularly in pursuance of the preference given to the "former owner" in the law, have been almost incessant. It is enjoined upon probate judges, upon application, to revise the action taken in such cases, and as a rule to revoke indentures made within the past two years of minors who were capable of self-support. II. The attention of magistrates is called to the repeal by the last Legislature of the "vagrant law," approved December 15, 1865, and published with the code. Attempts which are still made to put it into execution will hereafter be the subject of military cognizance. III. The use of " chain-gangs " as a mode of legal punishment being found to involve serious abuses, will be henceforth discontinued, except in connection with the penitentiary. May 1-The use of the " chain-gang" as a mode of legal punishment in Georgia is ordered discontinued, except in cases connected with prisoners sentenced to the penitentiary. May 21-The States of Georgia and Alabama divided into registration districts, the boards of registration for each district to consist of two white registers and one colored, each to take the test oath of July 2, 1862. Violence and threats prohibited. May 29-The duties of mayor, chief of police, &c., defined, in view of the riot at Mobile. June 17-Special instructions given to registering boards in Florida. August 2-No civil court will entertain any action against officers or soldiers, or others, for acts performed in accordance with the orders of the military authorities. All such suits now pending to be dismissed. August 12-Ordered, that all advertisements or other official publications under State or municipal authority shall be made in such newspapers only as have not opposed and do not oppose reconstruction under acts of Congress, nor attempt to obstruct the civil officers appointed by the military authorities. August 19-Grand and petit jurors, and all other jurors, shall hereafter be taken exclusively from the lists of voters without discrimination, as registered. Sheriffs to require jurors to swear that they have been registered. Jurors already drawn shall take this oath or be replaced by those who can. August 26-General Pope disclaimed the purpose to interfere with the relation of debtor and creditor under State laws, not considering a stay law to be within his province to adjust. August 31-An election ordered in Alabama on a convention, and for delegates, October 1, to continue three days. September 19-A: like election ordered for Georgia, October 29, to continue three days. October 30-Polls ordered to be kept open till 6 p. m., November 2. October 5-A like election for Florida, November 14, to continue three days. October 18-Convention declared carried in Alabama, names of delegates announced, and convention directed to meet in Montgomery, November 5. October 19-Post and detachment commanders directed to furnish to the proper civil officers such military aid as may be needed to enable them to collect taxes imposed by the laws of the State. November 5-Alabama Convention met; adjourned December 6. November 7-General Swayne ordered, for the purpose of securing to agricultural laborers payment for the labor of this year, a lien in their favor upon the crops grown on the farms on which they are respectively employed, said lien to attach from date and be subordinate to prior liens, November 19-Convention'declared carried in Georgia, names of delegates announced, and Convention directed to meet in Atlanta, December 9. November 26-Payment of expenses of Alabama Convention by State treasurer authorized. December 9-Georgia Convention met; adjourned March 11, 1868. December 20-Election on Alabama constitution ordered for February 4, 1868, to continue four days. Lists of voters to be revised for fourteen days prior to election. State officers and Representatives in Congress to be voted for at same time, as provided by the election ordinance. December 27-Ail military organizations expressly prohibited; and no parading of armed men permitted, except of United States troops. December 28-Convention declared carried in Florida; delegates announced, and called to meet at Tallahassee, January 20, 1868. 820 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. 1868, January 6-General Meade assumed command. January 10-The ordinance of the Alabama Convention, to stay the collection of debts, was announced as to be deemed to have taken effect from this date, and continue in full force unless the pending constitution should not be accepted; but if it be adopted, the ordinance to be valid till Congress shall act on the constitution. January 11-State officers admonished not to interfere, under color of State authority, with the exercise of military authority in the States composing this district. January 12-General Meade sent this telegram: "General IT. S. GRANT: "Unless the pending bill in Congress, directing military commanders to fill all offices in the State under their command, rescinds the test oath and provides for selection from qualified voters, I am informed its execution in this district will be entirely impracticable." January 13-This order was issued: "Charles J. Jenkins, Provisional Governor, and Jno. Jones, provisional treasurer, of the State of Georgia, having declined to respect the instructions of and failed to co-operate with the major general commanding the third military district, are hereby removed from office." Brevet Brigadier General Thomas 11. Ruger appointed Governor, and Brevet Captain Charles F. Rockwell to be treasurer of Georgia. January 15-Order issued, that the frequency of reported outrages, and the accompanying expression of opinion of subordinate officers, that no justice is to be expected from the civil authorities, require notice and action on the part of the major general commanding, who instructs the military to co-operate with the civil in detecting and capturing criminals, but states that where the civil authorities fail to do their duty, he will take prompt action for the punishment of criminals and the removal from office of derelict civil officers. January 16-The Georgia ordinance of relief, of December 12, 1867, was announced as having taken effect, till the Convention take further action, or further orders are issued. January 17-John T. Burns removed as comptroller, and Captain Charles Wheaton appointed his successor, who was also appointed secretary of State, vice N. C. Barnett, removed. January 20-Florida Convention met; adjourned February 25. January 29-The Florida ordinance of relief, of January 21, 1868, given effect as in the case of Georgia. February 2-The order of August 12 last modified so as to apply only to such newspapers as attempt to obstruct in any manner the civil officers appointed by the military, in the discharge of their duty, by threats of violence, prosecution, or other penalty to be enforced as soon as military protection is withdrawn. February 3-Registered voters may vote anywhere in the State on constitution, on proof of registration. February 4-8,114 less than half the registered vote of Alabama cast for the constitution. February 11-The assistant commissioner of freedmen's affairs urged freedmen to make contracts for the present year, and to disregard the bad advice given them by others not to make contracts but await relief from the Atlanta Convention. February 22-Imprisonment for debt in Georgia prohibited, in accordance with an ordinance of the Convention. February 28-All civil courts and officers whose duty it is to provide for the relief of paupers, shall extend relief to all persons entitled to relief, as such, without any discrimination as to race or color. March 14-An election ordered in Georgia, to commence April 20, 1868, to continue four days, on the ratification of the constitution adopted by the Convention; State officers and Representatives in Congress to be voted for at same time. March 16-An election ordered in Florida, first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of May, for like purposes. March 18-In all the jails and other prisons, colored prisoners are to receive the same food, in quality and quantity, as white prisoners, and the sheriffs shall get the same fees for victualling all classes of prisoners. March 26-Freedmen being threatened with discharge, "for the purpose of controlling their votes, or of restraining them from voting," bureau officers were directed by the superintendent of registration, E. Hulbert, to report all cases of interference with their political rights. April 3-General Meade, on being applied to, expressed the opinion that Judge Irwin was ineligible for the governorship of Georgia. April 4, he gave the opinion that General John- B. Gordon was eligible, under the acts df Congress. April 4-General Meade issued an order, of which this is the first paragraph: " I. The recent assassination at Columbus, Ga., of the Hon. G. W. Ashburn, late a member of the Constitutional Convention of said State, and other acts of violence and atrocity committed about the same time in various parts of this district, and the simultaneous publication ef incendiary articles, and the receipt by many persons of threatening letters, indicating a concert of action, by violence and intimidation, to alarm and overawe a large part of the population, and by this means affect the results of pending ele3 -tions in this district, all of which acts apparently emanate from a secret organization, for no good purpose, which seems to be rapidly spreading through these States, make it necessary for the commanding general to warn all persons against the commission of such acts, the publication of such articles, the sending of such letters, or connecting themselves with such evil organizations, and to assure all the good people of this district that he will use all the powers he possesses to protect them in the peaceable enjoyment of their homes and property, and in the exercise of their personal rights and political privileges. " Military and civil officers are directed to arrest and bring to trial persons who may print and circulate incendiary papers or threatening letters; and conductors of newspapers and other printing offices are prohibited from publishing articles tending to produce intimidation, riot, or bloodshed; public writers and speakers are enjoined Page 61] DIGEST OF ORDERS, ETC. 321 to refrain from inflammatory appeals, and military and municipal officers required to organize patrols to detect such persons as avail themselves of the secrecy of the night for executing their criminal purposes. Good citizens are called on to aid in preserving the peace, and are admonished that if intimidation and violence are not checked, bloody retaliation may be provoked." April 6-General Meade ordered an election in Georgia, April 20, for Governor, General Assembly, county officers, and Representatives in Congress. Fourth Military District-Mississippi and Arkansas. 1867, April 5-Headquarters transferred to Vicksburg. April 13-General orders or circulars of the assistant commissioner of refugees to be submitted, prior to promulgation, to General Ord. April 15-No elections to be held for any purpose, till a registration of voters be made. Freedmen urged not to neglect their business to engage in political discussions, but to continue to provide for themselves and families, lest " a famine may come and they have no food." Due notice will be given of the times and places for registration. May 6-Attention called to the prevalence of horse-stealing, and post commanders directed to exert themselves to break it up. May 13-Instructions to registering officers directed the exclusion of all persons who held an office under the General Government prior to the war, and who afterwards engaged in or gave aid and comfort to rebellion. Registers not permitted to be candidates for Convention, or to make speeches, or electioneer for or against any candidate for office. June 12-Sales of land, implements, stock, &c., under authority of State courts, where the cause of action accrued prior to January 1, 1866, stayed till December 30, 1867, to, go into effect in Mississippi June 20, and in Arkansas June 30. Illicit distilling of corn into whiskey, prohibited; property seized for violation of this order to be sold for the benefit of the poor. June 17-A poll-tax having been imposed upon freedmen by the county boards of police in Mississippi, under Section II of the act of Legislature of November 24, 1865,* " An act to amend the vagrant laws," it being, so far as it discriminates against freedmen, manifestly contrary to the civil rights act, all civil officers are forbidden to collect it. June 29-An order issued, reciting that, as mistaken ideas on the subject of registering and voting may spread or arise among the freedmen in this district, which, if not corrected, would tend to prevent them from registering and voting, sub-district commanders will direct the agents of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands to visit every important plantation within their reach and instruct the freedmen upon these points. They and registers will inform the freedmen that the registration, where their names have to be entered and an oath taken, is not for the purpose of imposing any tax, or holding them to any military or other service, but simply to enable them to share equally with the white men in the privilege of choosing who shall hold office in the county, State, and United States wherein they reside, and that unless they register they may be deprived of this privilege. Whenever freedmen are interfered with, threatened or deprived of any advantage, place, or hire, on account of their registering or showing a wish to register, they will be informed it is their duty to report, such interference or deprivation, so that the party offending may be dealt with according to law. egisters and officers of the army throughout the district will report all such offenders to' the assistant adjutant general at these headquarters, with the names of witnesses, date, and places given carefully, so that the offence may be punished. SJuly 29-An order issued notifying all State and municipal officers that any attempt to render nugatory the action of Congress designed to promote the better government of the rebel.States, by speeches or demonstrations at public meetings in opposition thereto, will be deemed sufficient cause for their summary removal. The same prohibition in regard to speeches will be applied to all officers holding appointments from these headquarters, and to officers of the army in this district. August 13-An order issued, that the general commanding having been credibly informed that in some instances land-holders within this district are, without legal cause, but upon frivolous pretexts, driving off their laborers, with a view to withhold their arrears of wages, or share in the growing crops, assistant commissioners of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands will instruct their subordinates carefully to investigate every such case which may come to their knowledge, affording all the parties a full hearing, so that, should the circumstances as developed disclose, on the part of the employers, cruel treatment of the laborer, or an attempt to defraud him of his wages, the offender may be brought to trial before a military commission. Where laborers on the crop of 1866 have not been paid, the removal of the crop is prohibited till the claim can be adjusted by three referees, (one to be selected by each party and the third by them,) " the courts of the States in this district not being open to persons too poor to give bonds." August 31-It was held that an attorney or counsellor at law is not an officer in the sense of the acts of Congress relating to registration, and voting for secession was giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States. September 6-Where a person, indicted for a criminal offence, can prove by two credible witnesses that he was a loyal man during the rebellion, believes that he cannot by reason of that fact get a fair and impartial trial by jury, the court will not proceed to try the case, but the papers shall be transmitted to these headquarters. As freed people bear their share of taxation, no denial to them of the benefit of those laws will be tolerated, and a refusal or neglect to provide properly for colored paupers will be treated as a dereliction of official duty. * See page 30 of Manual of 1866. 21 322 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. September 9-The assembling of armed organizations or bodies of citizens, under any pretence whatever, is prohibited. September 10-Persons connected with the rebel armies, who have avoided taking the parole oath, will, within 30 days, report, and take it. September 26-Registration having been completed, an election for or against a convention, and for delegates, will be held on the first Tuesday in November. Judges and clerks of election to take the test oath; registration to be revised for fourteen days prior to election; sheriff of each county made responsible for good order; public bar rooms closed; no register, judge, or clerk, to be a candidate. September 27-Election for convention ordered in Arkansas, first Tuesday in November. December 5-It was ordered that, in consequence of stolen goods being sold or delivered after dark, traders and all other parties are forbid purchasing or delivering country supplies after sunset till market hour in the morning, and making such sale or delivery a military offence. December 5-A " Convention" declared carried by a mnjority of the registered vote in each State. The delegates for Miissssippi are called to meet at Jackson, on January 7, and of Arkansas at Little Rock on January 7. All persons not in the military service, and not properly engaged in executing the laws, are prohibited from carrying concealed weapons. December 12-Whenever a citizen is arrested by the military, he will be at once furnished with a written copy of the charges. Writs of habeas corpus by United States courts will be in all cases obeyed and respected by all officers of the military service in this command. December 14-Sheriffs and other peace officers are requested to be prepared, with the aid of the posse comitatus, to arrest, disarm, and confine offenders against the peace and good order of the community; vagrancy and crime are to be suppressed. This order covered a proclamation of Governor Humphreys, of December 9, to this effect: Whereas communications have been received at this office. from gentlemen of high official and social position in different portions of the State, expressing serious apprehensions that combinations and conspiracies are being formed among the blacks, " to seize the lands and establish farms, expecting and hoping that Congress will arrange a plan of division and distribution," "but unless this is done by January next, they will proceed to help themselves, and are determined to go to war, and are confident that they will be victors in any conflict with the whites," and furnish names of persons and places; and Whereas similar communications have been received at headquarters fourth military district, and referred to me for my action, and the cooperation of the civil authorities of the State, "with the United States military, in suppressing violence and maintaining order and peaceNow, therefore, I, Benjamin G. Humphreys, Governor of Mississippi, do issue this my proclamation, admonishing the black race, that if any such hopes or expectations are entertained, you have been grossly deceived, and if any com binations or conspiracies have been formed, to carry into effect such purposes by lawless violence, I now warn you that you cannot succeed. Upon the reference of the papers referred to in this proclamation to General Ord, he, under date of November 2, instructed General Gillem to learn what white men have been advising the freedmen to take arms, seize lands, or do any other illegal act, and to instruct the leading freedmen that Congress has no intention to take land from the late masters for the benefit of former slaves. GeneralGillem ordered promptly to arrest all incendiaries. Gov. Humphreys, in his proclamation, admonished the whites that, as they prized constitutional liberty for themselves, they must accord to the black race the full measure of their rights, privileges, and liberties secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the land; that they must deal justly with the blacks, and in no case undertake to redress wrongs, except in the mode and manner authorized by law. December 16-It was declared that boards of arbitration for the protection of laborers, would be hereafter appointed only where a laborer may complain that his wages or share of the crop is wrongfully withheld from him, and where a landlord or merchant may complain that the planter has fraudulently assigned to the laborer an undue share of the crop, to the injury of the complainant. December 17-All freedmen who are able will be required to earn their support during the coming -year. Those who can, but will not work, will be liable to arrest as va'grants. December 19-County courts in Arkansas directed to make immediate provision for their poor. December 21-Result of election in Arkansas on convention officially declared, and convention directed to assemble. 1868, January 7-Arkansas Convention met; adjourned February 11. Same day-Mississippi Convention met; adjourned May 18. January 9-An order was issued restoring to the civil courts of Mississippi the jurisdiction of general cases of horse-stealing, &c.; though, should it appear that any person charged with this crime could not obtain an impartial trial by reason of his political sentiments or his race, the jurisdiction shall still remain in the hands of the military. January 27-Hereafter all questions arising from settlements of crops, and generally the relations of debtors and creditors of civil suitors, will be left to the proper civil courts, except such cases affecting the rights of freedmen, or others, as by acts of Congress are specially committed to the care of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. February 4-The general commanding refused to issue an order for the relief of debtors, believing that the homestead and exemption laws of Mississippi placed every one beyond the necessity of such protection. February 14-Election on constitution of Arkansas, State officers, and Representatives in Congress, ordered for March 14. March 14--Election held in Arkansas. Page 63] DIGEST OF ORDERS, ETC. 323 April 13-Remits to civil courts jurisdiction of any violation of the laws of the State of Mississippi in relation to carrying concealed weapons. May 19-An election was ordered to be held in Mississippi, June 22, on the ratification of the constitution and for the election of members of Congress and State officers. June 4-General McDowell assumed command of the department. June 16-He removed Governor Humphreys of Mississippi and Attorney General Hooker, and appointed General Adelbert Ames military governor, and Captain Jasper Myers attorney general. Fifth Military District-Louisiana and Texas. March 28-No elections will be held till the reconstruction laws shall have been complied with. April 8-An election in the parish of Livingston, Louisiana, annulled. April 20-Registration boards appointed. April 27-General Griffin, reciting that persons disqualified by law are drawn to serve as jurors in the civil courts of Texas, directed that hereafter no person shall be eligible to serve as a juryman until he shall have taken the testoath of July 2, 1862. The second section of the civil rights act was published for the guidance of officials authorized to impannel jurors. [General Griffin vindicated this order, May 29, stating it was not his intention to prescribe whether jurors should be white or black; but to prevent the filling the jury-boxes with men of secession antecedents, inimical to the General Government, and hostile towards Union citizens, who were applying from all parts of the State for protection against the unjust action of the courts.] May 2-An order issued, reciting that an act of the Legislature of Louisiana, of February 12, 1866, providing that officers and men of the police force of New Orleans shall read and write the English language, and have resided upwards of five consecutive years in the city, having been passed for the purpose of excluding ex-Union soldiers from the police force, and every ex-Union soldier had been discharged from it to make room for those of rebellious antecedents, so much of the act as requires the five years' residence was suspended, and a residence of two years adopted. The mayor, Edward Heath, ordered to adjust the police force so that at least onehalf shall be composed of ex-Union soldiers. May 3-New board of levee commissioners appointed. May 11-Registration boards notified that false certificates of naturalization have been issued from some of the district courts of New Orleans, and to report them whenever found. May 16-The carrying of fire-arms in New Orleans prohibited except by those authorized or required by law to do so in discharging official duties. May 25-Collection of taxes in Texas levied during the rebellion prohibited. June 3-The orderiappointing a new board of levee commissioners suspended, under President Johnson's directions. J. Madison Wells having made himself an impediment to the faithful exe cution of the reconstruction act, was removed as Governor of Louisiana, and Thomas J. Durant appointed thereto. William Baker appointed street commissioner of New Orleans, in place of the incumbent, removed for neglecting to keep the streets of the city clean. June 6-Benjamin F. Flanders appointed Governor, in place of Mr. Durant declined. June 10--The act of the Legislature of Texas, October 11, 1866, passed to get rid of Judge Thomas H. Stribling and W. P. Bacon, Union men, because of their political opinions, was annulled. June 29-Registration extended till further orders, by direction of President Johnson. July 19-Registration ordered to cease on the 31st instant. July 27-The old board of levee commissioners reinstated. July 30--J. W. Throckmorton, Governor of Texas, removed as an impediment to reconstruction, and E. M Pease appointed. August 3-Civil tribunals in Texas ordered to disregard an act of legislation, November 1, 1866, regulating contracts for labor. August 8-Judge Edward Dougherty. 12th district of Texas, removed for denying the supremacy of the laws of Congress, and Edward Basse appointed. August 17-Election ordered in Louisiana on a convention and for delegates, September 27 and 28, the Convention to consist of 98 members. Commissioners of election ordered to do everything requisite to secure a full and impartial expression of the opinions and wishes of the people through the ballot-box. August 22-General Griffin issued an order, at Galveston, that all distinctions on account of color, race, or previous condition, by railroads, or other chartered companies, that are common carriers, are forbidden in the district of Texas. August 24-Registration being complete, no person not registered in accordance with law shall be considered "a duly qualified voter of the State of Louisiana." Only those duly registered are eligible, under the laws of Louisiana, as jurors; and the necessary revision of the jury lists is ordered to be made immediately, the State exemption from jury duty to remain in force. September 1-General Sheridan relieved. September 6-General Charles Griffin, upon whom the command temporarily devolved, telegraphed General Hartsuff, A. A. G., from Galveston, to transact all business as if General Sheridan had remained in command and received his anticipated leave of absence. September - -General Joseph A. Mower assumed command. September 17-The assembling of armed men for political and other purposes, and posting them as sentinels or videttes, prevalent in various parts of Louisiana, are prohibited. September 19-All persons subject to parole, now domiciled in Louisiana and Texas, ordered to give their paroles.within thirty days. September 28-All persons duly registered in Texas, and no others, will be eligible as jurors. October 21-Convention declared carried, and delegates ordered to meet in New Orleans November 23. 824 POLITICAL MANUAL [Part III November 16-Harry T. Hays removed as Sheriff of New Orleans, and George W. Avery appointed. November 12-R. King Cutler appointed judge, in place of A. Cazabat, resigned. November 21-Albert Voorhies removed as Lieutenant Governor, and several other State officers; and, November 22, this order was suspended. November 29-General Winfield S. Hancock assumed command. He issued this order: II. The general commanding is gratified to learn that peace and quiet reign in this department. It.will be his purpose to preserve this condition of things. As a means to this great end, he regards the maintenance of the civil authorities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient, under existing circumstances. In war it is indispensable to repel force by force, and overthrow and destroy opposition to lawful anthority. But when insurrectionary force has been overthrown and peace established, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to perform their duties, the military power should cease to lead, and the civil administration resume its natural and rightful dominion. Solemnly impressed with these views, the general announces that the great principles of American liberty still are the lawful inheritance of this people and ever should be. The right of trial by jury, the habeas corpus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech, and the natural rights of persons, and the rights of property,.must be preserved. Free institutions, while they are essential to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always furnish the strongest inducements to peace and order. Crimes and offenses committed in this district must be referred to the consideration and judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tribunals will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. Should there be violations of existing laws, which are not inquired into by the civil magistrates. or should failures in the administration of justice by the courts be complained of. the cases will be reported to these headquarters, when such orders will be made as may be deemed necessary. While the general thus indicates his purpose to respect the liberties of the people, he wishes all to understand that armed insurrections or forcible resistance to the law will be instantly suppressed by arms. By command of Major General W. S. Hancock. W. G. MITCHELL, Bvt. Lieut. Col., Acting Assist. Adj't Gen. December 2-R. King Cutler's appointment as judge revoked; and, December 3, A. Cazabat appointed. December 5-This order was issued by General Hancock: The true and proper use of military power, besides defending the national honor against foreign nations, is to uphold the laws and civil government, and to secure to every person residing among us the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. It is accordingly made, by act of Congress, the duty of the commander of this district to protect all persons in these rights, t( suppress disorder and violence, and to punish or cause to be punished, all disturbers of th( public peace and criminals. The commanding general has been officiall3 informed that the administration of justice, anc especially of criminal justice, in the courts is clogged, if not entirely frustrated, by the enforcement of paragraph No. 2 of the military order numbered: Special Orders 125, currenl series, from these headquarters, issued on the 24th of August, A. D. 1867, relative to tih qualifications of persons to be placed on the jury lists of the State of Louisiana. To determine who shall and who shall not be jurors appertains to the legislative power; and until the laws in existence regulating this subject shall be amended or changed by that department of the civil government, which the constitutions of all the States under our republican system vest with that power, it is deemed best to carry out the will of the people as expressed in the last legislative act upon this subject. The qualification of a juror under the law is a proper subject for the decision of the courts. The commanding general, in the discharge of the trust reposed in him, will maintain the just power of the judiciary, and is unwilling to permit the civil authorities and laws to be embarrassed by military interference; and as it is an established fact that the administration ofjustice in the ordinary tribunals is greatly embarrassed by the operations of Paragraph No. 2, Special Orders No. 125, current series, from these headquarters, it is ordered that said paragraph,which relates to the qualifications of jurors to be placed on the jury-lists of the State of Louisiana, be, and the same is hereby, revoked, and that the trial by jury be henceforth regulated and controlled by the Constitution and civil laws, without regard to any military orders heretofore issued from these headquarters. December 18-Election ordered in Texas on a convention, and for delegates, February 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, 1868. 1868, January 1-General Hancock issued this order: Applications have been made at these headquarters implying the existence of an arbitrary authority in the commanding general touching purely civil controversies. One petitioner solicits this action, another that, and each refers to some special consideration of grace or favor, which he supposes to exist and which should influence this department. The number of such applications, and the waste of time they involve, make it necessary to declare that the administration of civil justice appertains to the regular courts. The rights of litigants do not depend on the views of the general. They are to be adjudged and settled according to the laws. Arbitrary power, such as he has been urged to assume, has no existence here. It is not found in the laws of Louisiana or Texas. It cannot be derived from any act or acts of Congress. It is restrained by a constitution, and prohibited from action in many particulars. The major general commanding takes occasion to repeat that, while disclaiming judicial functions in civil cases, he can suffer no forcible re Page 65] DIGEST OF ORDERS, ETC. 825 sistance to the execution of processes of the courts. By command of Major General Hancock. G. L. HARTSUFF, A. A. G. January 2-Mr. Joshua Baker appointed Governor in place of Hon. B. F. Flanders, resigned. January 8-Mr. Baker took the oath of office as Governor of Louisiana. In May, 1867, General Sheridan distributed memoranda of diaqualifications, and questions to be proposed for the registers. Their substance was to deolare disqualified all who had acted as United States Senators or Representatives, electors, officers of the army and navy, civil officers of the United States, and all State officers provided for by the constitution of the State prior to January 26, 1861, who had afterwards engaged in the rebellion, and all who, in 1862 and 1864, claimed protection of foreign Powers. If any person applying to be registered, having held such office, declared that he had been engaged in the rebellion, or if the registers knew them to have been so, they must not be registered. On the 11th of January, 1868, General Hancock set aside.these memoranda, declaring that he dissented from the construction given to the reconstruction laws therein, inasmuch as it applied to the officers of municipal and charitable corporations, which were not included in the act of March 23, 1867, and whose exclusion is directly contrary to that of July 19. Orders the registers to be guided by their own interpretation of the laws and the XIVth Constitutional Amendment. February 7-For proceeding to hold an election, in contempt of orders from headquarters, certain members of the board of aldermen of New Orleans were removed and others appointed in their place. February 27-The preceding order was revoked by direction of General Grant. March 11-Election ordered in Louisiana on April 17 and 18, on the constitution adopted by the Convention. March 13-It was decided that a pardon did not entitle a person to be registered, if he would have been disqualified without the pardon. March 25-Election ordered for State officers and Representatives in Congress at the same time with the vote on the constitution. May 13-The result of the election declared, 17,413 majority for the constitution. June 2-The names of the members of the General Assembly, State' officers, parish officers, and judicial officers were announced. The General Assembly was forbidden to convene till the commanding general was officially notified of the acceptance by Congress of the constitution, after which he would appoint a day for their meeting to act on the XIVth constitutional amendment. The civil government hereby provided for is provisional in its character until after the adoption of the XIVth constitutional amendment. Article 158 of the new constituE tion of the State provides that the terms of office of all civil officers elected under it shall date from the first Monday in November following the election. Therefore, the officers whose election is herein announced will only enter upon and hold their offices from that date. A vacancy occurring in any office in the meantime will be filled preferably by the person who has been elected to it. If any of the officers whose election is herein announced shall be disqualified on the first Monday in November, 1868, to hold office, the incumbent at that date will hold over until the disability shall have been removed or a new election held. June 6-The municipal officers chosen were announced and ordered to be installed in New Orleans on the 10th inst., and in other places on the seventh day after the receipt of the order. June 6-The chairman of the board of registration, S. B. Packard, issued a proclamation. reciting the provisons of the constitution requiring all civil officers to enter on their duties on the second Monday after the official promulgation of the election returns, and requiring the General Assembly totmeet on the third Monday after such promulgation; declaring that the commanding general had violated such provision, and that to the board of registration had been delegated by the Convention the power to inaugurate the new State government; notifies all officers to take possession of their offices, and the General Assembly to meet, on the days above named. The same day Mr. Packard was arrested, but released on recognizance to appear before a military commission to be immediately organized. June 8-General Grant telegraphed to General Buchanan as follows: In view of the legislation now pending relative to: the admission of Louisiana, I would suggest suspension of all action in case of Packard's arrest and trial. U. S. GR.ANT, General. Same day-General Buchanan accordingly announced a suspension of arrest and further action respecting Packard and the other members of the board of registration. June 16-The Constitutional Convention of Texas passed a resolution urging upon Congress the necessity of authorizing the organization by that body of a military force in the several counties of Texas, to act in conjunction with, and under the direction of, the military commander therein, for the protection of the lives and property of the citizens now every day, being preyed upon by assassins and robbers to an extent unparalleled in the history of civilized communities in times of peace, and which, if not speedily arrested, must result in the destruction of social order; and that if protection be not speedily provided in some form by the national Government to the loyal and law-abiding citizens of Texas, they will be compelled, in the sacred right of self-defence, to organize for. their own protection XXTIII. ABSTRACTS OF THE NEW CONSTITUTIONS OF MARYLAND AND NEW YORK, ALABAMA, ARKANSAS, FLORIDA, LOUISIANA, GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA AND MISSISSIPPI. Constitution of Maryland adopted in 1867. In the declaration of rights are the following: That the people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, as a free, sovereign, and independent State. That the levying of taxes by the poll is grievous and oppressive, and ought to be prohibited; that paupers ought not to be assessed for the support of the government. That slavery shall not be re-established in this State; but having been abolished under the policy and authority of the United States, compensation in consideration thereof is due from the United States. That no religious test ought ever to be required, as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God; nor shall the Legislature prescribe any other oath of office than the oath prescribed by the constitution. All elections by ballot; voters are white male citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age and upwards, who have resided in the State one year and six months in the district in "which he offers to vote. Sec. 5 provides a uniform registration of voters. Sec. 6 fixes the oath of office to support the Constitution of United States, and bear true allegiance to the State of Maryland, and support its constitution and laws, &c. Art. 2, sec. 17 gives governor the veto power; a three-fifths vote of the members elected to each house necessary to pass a bill over the veto. Art. 3, sec. 3, gives each county a senator, and Baltimore city 3, one for each district. Allegany county, till the next census, is to have five delegates in the house of delegates; Anne Arundel, 3; Baltimore county, 6; Baltimore city 18, elected in three districts; Calvert, 2; Caroline, 2; Carroll, 4; Cecil, 4; Charles, 2; Dorchester, 3; Frederick, 6; Harford, 4; Howard, 2; Kent, 2; Montgomery, 3; Prince George's, 3; Queen Anne's, 2; St. Mary's, 2; Somerset, 3; Talbot, 2.; Washington, 5; Worcester, 3. Sect. 4 provides that after the next census each county with a population of 18,000 souls, or less, shall have two delegates; of 18,000 and less than 28,000, 3; of 28,000 and less than 40,000, 4; of 40,000 and less than 55,000, 5; of 55,000 and upwards, A6, and each of the legislative districts of Balti-.more shall have a number of delegates equal to the largest county. The term of senators is fixed at four years and delegates two. Three years' citizenship in Maryland necessary to make a person eligible as senator or delegate. Art. 4, sec. 28, requires a majority of the whole number of members elected to each house to pass a bill, and by yeas and nays. Sec. 37 is in these words: The generai assembly shall pass no law providing for payment by this State for slaves emancipated from servitude in this State; but they shall adopt such measures as they may deem expedient to obtain from the United States compensation for such slaves, and to receive and distribute the same equitably to the persons entitled. Sec. 41 disqualifies from office of profit or trust any person fighting a duel or participating as second, or knowingly aiding or assisting those offending. Sec. 43 protects the property of the wife from the debts of her husband. Sec. 44 protects $500 worth of property from execution. Sec. 46 is in these words: The general assembly shall have power to receive from the United States any grant or donation of land, money, or securities for any purpose designated by the United States, and shall administer or distribute the same according to the conditions of the said grant. Sec. 53 provides that no person shall be incompetent, as a witness, on account of race or color, unless hereafter so declared by act of general assembly. Sec. 55 prohibits the general assembly from passing any law suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Constitution of the State of New York, Adopted in convention, but not yet submitted for ratification. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its suspension. Every male inhabitant, of the age of twentyone years, who shall have been a citizen for ten days and a resident of the State for one year next preceding an election, and for the last four months a resident of the county where he may offer his vote, shall be entitled to vote at such election in the election district of which he shall be at the time a resident, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elective by the people, and upon all questions which may be submitted to the vote of the people of the State; provided that such citizen shall have been for thirty days next preceding the election a resident of the town or ward, and, for ten days, of the election district in which he offers his vote. Registration of voters authorized. Thi tytwo senators, and one hundred and thirty-nine assemblymen. No bill shall pass except upon the assent of a majority of the members elected to each house. Governor has veto, with twothirds vote of members elected necessary to repass the vetoed bill. Legislature shall not authorize the consolidation of railroad corporations owning parallel or competing lines of road. No' law shall be passed authorizing or sanctioning the suspension of specie payments. All ablebodied male citizens, between eighteen and fortyfive, shall be annually enrolled, as a militia 66 Page 67] ABSTRACTS OF CONSTITUTIONS. 327 force, to be divided into active and reserve forces -the active to be called the National Guard of' the State of New York, and not to exceed, in peace, thirty thousand men. Constitution of Alabama. Adopted in convention, November 5, 1867, voted on by the people, February 4, 1868. The declaration of rights provides that all persons resident in the State, born in the United States, or naturalized, or who shall have legally declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, are citizens of the State, possessing equal civil and political rights and public privileges. Freedom of speech and press is guaranteed, with responsibility for its abuse; also the right to bear arms in defence of himself and the State. Prohibits any form of slavery or involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime. Asserts that the State has no right to sever its relations to the Federal Union, or to pass any law in derogation of the paramount allegiance of the citizens of this State to the Government of the United States. The president of the senate and speaker of the house shall hold their offices until their successors shall be qualified. The legislature has power to suppress duelling. The State shall not engage in any internal improvements. The governor has the veto power, but a majority of the whole number of members of each house may pass a bill over the veto. The governor shall have a pardoning power in all cases except treason, but his pardon shall not relieve from civil or political disability. Art. 7, sec. 2.-Every male person, born in the United States, and every male person who has been naturalized, or who has legally declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, twenty-one years old or upwards, who shall have resided in this State six months next preceding the election, and three months in the county in which he offers to vote, except as hereinafter provided, shall be deemed an elector; provided that no soldier, or sailor, or marine, in the military or naval service of she United States, shall hereafter acquire a residence by reason of being stationed on duty in this State. Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide, from time to time, for the registration of all electors, but the following classes of persons shall not be permitted to register, vote, or hold office: 1st. Those who, during the late rebellion, inflicted, or caused to be inflicted, any cruel or unusual punishment upon any soldier, sailor, marine, employ6, or citizen of the United States, or who, in any other way, violated the rules of civilized warfare. 2d. Those who may be disqualified from holding office by the proposed amendment of the Constitution of the United States, known as " Article XIV," and those who have been disqualified from registering to vote for delegates to the Convention to frame a constitution for the State of Alabama, under the act of Congress "to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed by Congress March 2, 1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, except such persons as aided in the reconstruction proposed by Congress, and accept the political equality of all men before the law; provided, that the general assembly shall have power to remove the disabilities incurred under this clause. 3d. Criminals. 4th. Idiots and insane persons. All persons, before registering, must take and subscribe the following oath: I, ---, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of the State of Alabama; that I am not excluded from registering by any of the clauses in see. 3, article 7, of the constitution of the State of Alabama; that I will never countenance or aid in the secession of this State from the United States; that I accept the civil and political equality of all men; and agree not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race, color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right, privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men; and, furthermore, that I will not in any way injure, or countenance in others any attempt to injure,-any person or persons on account of past or present support of the Government of the United States, the laws of the United States, or the principle of political and civil equality of all men, or for affiliation with any political party. The militia shall consist of all able-bodied male inhabitants between eightee and fortyfive, to be divided into two classes, volunteer and reserve. The common schools and other educational institutions shall be under the management of a board of education. Certain funds are inviolably appropriated to educational purposes. One fifth of the annual revenues of the State shall be devoted exclusively to the nmaintenance of public schools, the whole tax on real and personal property not, however, to exceed two per cent. of the assessed value. Corporations to be formed under general laws. Personal property to the value of $1,000 to be exempted from sale on execution for debt hereafter contracted; also every homestead in the country, not exceeding eighty acres of land, and the dwelling and appurtenances thereon; or, in lieu thereof, a lot in a city, town, or village, with the appurtenances thereon, and occupied by the owner, not exceeding $2,000 in value, such exemption not to extend to any mortgage lawfully obtained. Constitution of Arkansas. Adopted by convention February 11, 1868, and ratified by the people March 13, 1868. It provides, among other things, that the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government, in the exercise of all its constitutional powers, as the same may have been or may be defined by the Supreme Court of the United States; and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, subvert, or resist the supreme authority of the United States.. The equality of all persons before the law is recognized and shall ever remain inviolate; nor shall any citizen ever be deprived of any right, privilege, or immunity, nor exempted from any burden or duty, on account of race, color, or previous condition. The general assembly shall not grant to any citizen or class of citizens privileges or immunities which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens. No religious or property test shall be required for voting or holding office. Sec. 25 declares null and void the ordinance POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. of secession, and all action of the State under its constitution of 18,61, and the State debt then incurred shall not be recognized as obligatory. No citizen of this State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless the same is done by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers, except as hereinafter provided..There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, either by indentures, apprenticeships, or otherwise, except as a punishment for crime. The general assembly shall have no power to make compensation for emancipated slaves. Taxes limited to two per cent. of assessed value. Every male person born in the United States, and every male person who has been naturalized, or has legally declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, who is twenty-one years old or upwards, and who shall have resided in the State six months next preceding the election, and who at the time is an actual resident of the county in which he offers to vote, except as hereinafter provided, shall be deemed an elector. ART. 8. SEc. 3. The following classes shall not be permitted to register or hold office, viz: First. Those who during the rebellion took the oath of allegiance, or gave bonds for loyalty and good behaviour to the United States Government, and afterwards gave aid, comfort, or countenance to those engaged in armed hostility to the Government of the United States, either by becoming a soldier in the rebel army, or by entering the lines of said army, or adhering in any way to the cause of rebellion, or by accompanying any armed force belonging to the rebel army, or by furnishing supplies of any kind to the same. Second. Those who are disqualified as electors, or from holding office in the State or States from which they came. Third. Those persons who during the late rebellion violated the rules of civilized warfare. Fourth. Those who may be disqualified by the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as Article XIV, and those who have been disqualified from registering to vote for delegates to the convention to frame a constitution for the State of Arkansas, under the act of Congress entitled " An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2d, 1867, and the acts supplemental thereto. Fifth. Criminals. Sixth. Insane. Provided, that all persons included in the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th subdivisions of this section, who have openly advocated or who have voted for the reconstruction proposed by Congress, and accept the equality of all men before the law, shall be deemed qualified electors under this constitution SEC. 4. The general assembly shall have power, by a two thirds vote of each house, approved by the governor, to remove the disabilities included in the 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th subdivisions of section three, of this article, when it appears that such person, applying for relief from such disabilities, has in good faith returned to his allegiance to the Government of the United States; provided, the general assembly shall have no power to remove the disabilities of any person embraced in the aforesaid subdivisions who, after the adoption of this constitution by the convention, persists in opposing the acts of Congress and reconstruction thereunder. All persons before registering or voting must take and subscribe the following oath: I, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of the State of Arkansas; that I am not excluded from registering or voting by any of the clauses in the first, second, third, or fourth subdivisions of Article VIII of the constitution of the State of Arkansas; that I will never countenance or aid in the secession of this State from the United States; that I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race, color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right, privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men; and, furthermore, that I will not in any way injure, or countenance in others any attempt to injure, any person or persons on account of past or present support of the Government of the United States, the laws of the United States, or the principle of the political and civil equality of all men, or for affiliation with any political party. All contracts for the sale or purchase of slaves are null and void, and no court of this State shall take cognizance of any suit founded on such contracts; nor shall any amount ever be collected or recovered on any judgment or decree which shall have been, or which hereafter may be, rendered on account of any such contract or obligation on any pretext, legal or otherwise. A system of free schools shall be established, for the gratuitous instruction of all persons between 5 and 21 years, the funds to be tlistributed to the counties in the proportion of persons between those ages. Certain funds are set apart to be sacredly preserved as a public school fund; also, a per capita tax of $1 on every male inhabitant over twenty-one, to be collected for the support of free schools and a university, the residue required to be furnished from the State treasury. The general assembly shall require by law that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall attend the public schools for a term equivalent to three years, between the ages of 5 and 18 years, unless educated by other means. Public schools to be open not less than three months in a year. No poll tax to be levied except for school purposes. All able-bodied electors liable to military duty. Personal property to the value of $2,000 to be exempt from sale for debt hereafter contracted. Homestead of a married man or head of a family not to be encumbered except for taxes, laborers' and mechanics' liens, and securities for the purchase-money thereof; a country homestead of 160 acres and a town property of $5,000 to be exempt, with similar exceptions as above. Only qualified electors shall be jurors. Indentures not to be valid, being for more than one year, except in the case of apprenticeships. Persons disqualified herein shall not vote for candidates, nor upon the ratification of the constitution. The judges of election shall administer to every voter the oath prescribed in the constitution. Constitution of Florida. Adopted by Convention February 25,1868, and ratified by the people May 6, 1868. Page 69] ABSTRACTS OF CONSTITUTIONS. 329. It provides, among other things, that slavery shall not exist. This State shall ever remain a member of the American Union, the people thereof a part of the American nation, and any attempt, from whatever source or upon whatever pretence, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, shall be resisted with the whole power of the State. It is the paramount duty of the State to make ample provision for the education of all the children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference. Every male person of the age of 21 years and upwards, of whatever race, color, nationality, or previous condition, or who shall, at the time of offering to vote, be a citizen of the United States, or who shall have declared his intention to become such in conformity to the laws of the United States, and who shall have resided and had his habitation, domicil, home, and place of permanent abode in Florida for one year, and in the county for six months, next preceding the election at which he shall offer to vote, shall in such county be deemed a qualified elector at all elections under this constitution. Every elector shall, at the time of his registration, take and subscribe to the following oath: I, -- ---, do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States, and the constitution and government of Florida, against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith, loyalty, and allegiance to the same, any ordinances or resolution of any State convention or legislation to the contrary notwithstanding. So help me God. Lotteries are prohibited. No person who is not a qualified elector, or any person who shall have been convicted of bribery, forgery, perjury, larceny, or other high crime, unless restored to civil rights, shall be permitted to serve on juries. The governor has the veto, subject to the subsequent action of two-thirds of each house. Grand and petit jurors shall be taken from the registered voters of their respective counties. A common school fund provided for, of which a tax of not less than one mill on all taxable property is a part. Homestead exemption provided. All able-bodied male inhabitants between 18 and 45, who are citizens of the United States, or have declared their intention to become so, shall constitute the militia. The legislature shall enact laws requiring educational qualifications for electors after the year 1880, but no such laws shall be made applicable to any elector who may have registered or voted at any election previous thereto. Confederate and State war debt repudiated. All contracts in consideration of slaves declared null. Governor has the appointment, with the consent of the senate, of the judges of the supreme court, circuit judges, secretary of state, and like State officers, and he has the absolute appointment of justices of the peace. All ordinances and resolutions heretofore passed by any convention of the people, and all acts and resolutions of the Legislature conflicting or inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States and the statutes thereof, and with this constitution, and in derogation of the existence or position of the State as one of the States of the United States of America, are hereby declared null and void, and of no effect. Recognizes all laws and acts of the rebel State government not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States or this constitution. Article 16, sec. 1, disables any person from holding office who is disabled by the 14th constitutional amendment, subject to the removal of such disability by Congress. The following shall be the oath of office for each officer in the State, including members of the legislature: I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States, and of the State of Florida, against all enemies, domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, loyalty, and allegiance to the same, and that I am entitled to hold office under this constitution. ThatI will well and faithfully perform all the duties of the office of--, on which I am about to enter. So help me God. There shall be no civil or political distinction in this State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, and the legislature shall have no power to prohibit, by law, any class of persons on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, to vote or hold any office, beyond the conditions prescribed by this constitution. Ordinances were adopted by the Convention declaring it unlawful for any sheriff or other officer to sell, under execution or other legal process, any property, real or personal, and any sale so madeshall be void. Suits, decrees, &c., made during the war in the courts, against a person absent from the State, are annulled. So much of the act of January 16, 1866, as levied a tax of one dollar upon each colored male between twenty-one and fifty-five was repealed. County criminal courts abolished, and duties transferred to circuit courts. Constitution of Louisiana. Adopted by Convention March 2, 1868, and ratified by the people April 18, 1868. Provides, among other things, that slavery shall not exist. All persons, without regard to race, color, or previous condition, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and residents of this State for one year, are citizens of this State. The citizens of this State owe allegiance to the United States; and this allegiance is paramount to that which they owe to the State. They shall enjoy the same civil, political, and public rights and privileges, and be subject to the same pains and penalties. All persons shall enjoy equal rights and privileges, upon any conveyance of a public character, and all places of business, or of public resort, or for which a license is required by either State, parish, or municipal authority, shall be deemed places of a public character, and shall be opened to the accommodation and patronage of all persons, without distinction or discrimination on account of race or color. Every elector shall be eligible to a seat in the House of Representatives and to the Senate, if twenty-five years old.; and he shall be eligible to any municipal office. E'very male person, of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, and a resident of this State one year next preceding an election, and the last ten daya 880 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. within the parish in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed an elector, except those disfranchised by this constitution, and persons under interdiction. The following persons shall be prohibited from voting and holding any office: All persons who shall have been convicted of treason, perjury, forgery, bribery, or other crime punishable in the penitentiary, and persons under interdiction. All persons who are estopped from claiming the right of suffrage by abjuring their allegiance to the United States Government, or by notoriously levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid or comfort, but who have not expatriated themselves, nor have been convicted of any of the crimes mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, are hereby restored to the said right, except the following: Those Swho held office, civil or military, for one year or more, under the organization styled " the Confederate States of America;" those who registered themselves as enemies of the United States; those who acted as leaders of guerrilla bands during the late rebellion; those who, in the advocacy of treason, wrote or published newspaper articles or preached sermons during the late rebellion; and those who voted for and signed an ordinance of secession in any State. No person included in these exceptions shall either vote or hold office until he shall have relieved himself by voluntarily writing and signing a certificate setting forth that he acknowledges the late rebellion to have been morally and politically wrong, and that he regrets any aid and comfort he may have given it; and he shall file the certificate in the office of the secretary of State, and it shall be published in the official journal: Provided, That no person who, prior to the 1st of January, 1868, favored the execution of the laws of the United States popularly known as the reconstruction acts of Congress, and openly and actively assisted the loyal men of the State in their efforts to restore Louisiana to her position in the Union, shall be held to be included among those herein excepted. Registrars of voters shall take the oath of any such person as prima facie evidence of the fact that he is entitled to the benefit of this proviso. Members of the General Assembly and all other officers, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: I, (A. B.) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race, color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right, privilege, or immunity enjoyed iv any otlher class of men; that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and las of this State, and that I will faithfully a-nd impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as-- according to the best of my ability and understanding: so help me God. No liability, either State, parochial, or municipal, shall exist for any debts contracted for or in the interest of the rebellion against the United States Government. There shall be no property qualification fore offic. All agreements, the consideration of which was Confederate money, notes, or bonds, are null and void, and shall not be enforced by the courts of this State. Contracts for the sale of persons are null and void. The State of Louisiana shall never assume nor pay any debt or obligation contracted or incurred in aid of the rebellion; nor shall this State ever, in any manner, claim from the United States, or make any allowance or compensation for slaves emancipated or liberated in any way whatever. All contracts by which children were bound out without the lknowledge or consent of their parents are null and void. There shall be at least one free public school in each parish, for children between six and twenty-one, who shall be admitted to the public schools or other institutions of learning sustained or established by the State in common, without distinction of race, color, or previous "condition. And no municipal corporation shall make rules contrary to the spirit and intention of this article. Public school fund provided for, of which one half of the poll-tax is a part. The militia are all able-bodied male citizens, between eighteen and forty-five. The ordinance of secession of the State of Louisiana, passed 26th of January, 1861, is hereby declared to be null and void. The constitution adopted in 1864, and all previous constitutions in the State of Louisiana, are declared to be superseded by this constitution. An election for State officers provided for April 17 and 18, at the same time with the vote on the constitution. All civil officers thus elected shall enter upon the discharge of their duties on the second Monday after the return of their election shall have been officially promulgated, or as soon as qualified according to law, and shall continue in office for the terms of their respective offices herein prescribed, said terms to date from the first Monday in November following the election. The Legislature shall meet in New Orleans on the third Monday after the promulgation aforesaid, and proceed, after organization, to vote upon the adoption of the XIVth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Constitution of Georgia. Adopted by Convention, March 11, 1868, and ratified by the people, April 20, 1868. Provides, among other things, that slavery shall not exist. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and resident in this State, are hereby declared citizens of this State, and no laws shall be made or enforced which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or of this State, or deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws. And it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, by appropriate legislation, to protect every person in the due enjoyment of the rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed in this section. The State of Georgia shall ever remain a member of the American Union; the people thereof are a part of the American nation; every citizen thereof owes paramount allegiance to the Con stitution and government of the United States, and no law or ordinance of this State, in contra Page 71] ABSTRACTS OF CONSTITUTIONS. 331 vention or subversion thereof, shall ever have any binding force. ' Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest for five days before an election, during the election, and two days subsequent thereto. The social status of the citizens shall never be the subj;:ct of legislation. The power of the courts to punish for contempt shall be limited by legislative acts. No imprisonment for debt. Whipping, as a punishment for crime, prohibited. No poll-tax to be levied except for educational purposes, and it not to exceed $1 annually on each poll. Every male person, born in the United States, and every male person who has been naturalized, or who has legally declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, twentyone years old or upward, who shall have resided in this State six months next preceding the election, and shall have resided thirty days in the county in which he offers to vote, and shall have paid all taxes which may have been required of him. and which he may have had an opportunity of paying, agreeably to law, for the year next preceding the election, (except as hereinafter provided), shall be deemed an elector; and every male citizen of the United States, of the age aforesaid, (except as hereinafter provided,) who may be a resident of the State at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be deemed an elector, and shall have all the rights of an elector, as aforesaid: Provided, That no soldier, sailor, or marine in the military or naval service of the United States shall acquire the rights of an elector by reason of being stationed on duty in this State; and no person shall vote, who, if challenged, shall refuse to take the following oath: " I do swear that I have not given, or received, nor do I expect to give, or receive, any money, treat, or other thing of value, by which my vote, or any vote, is affected, or ex. pected to be affected, at this election; nor have I given or promised any reward, or made any threat, by which to prevent any person from voting at this election." Every Senator or Representative, before taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States, and of this State; that he has not practiced any unlawful means, directly or indirectly, to procure his election, and that he has not given, or offered, or promised, or caused to be given, or offered, or promised, to any person, any money, treat, or thing of value, with intent to affect any vote, or to prevent any person voting at the election at which he was elected. The Governor has the veto power, subject to a two thirds vote of each House. All contracts made, and not executed, during the late rebellion, in aid of it, are annulled. Common school fund provided for. Militia to be all able-bodied males, between eighteen and forty-five. Each head of a family, or guardian or trustee of a family of minor children, shall be entitled to a homestead of realty to the value of two thousand dollars, in specie, and personal property to thy vakle of one thousand dollars, in specie, both to be valued at the time they-are set apart. The laws of general operation in force in this State are: 1. As the supreme law-the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the United States in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of the United States. 2. This constitution. 3. Acts of rebel legislation not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States. The following sections are those referred to in the action of Congress on the restoration of the State: SECTION XVII-I. No court in this State shall have jurisdiction to try or determine any suit against any resident of this State upon any contract or agreement made or implied, or upon any contract made in renewal of any debt existing prior to the 1st day of June, 1865. Nor shall any court or ministerial officer of this State have authority to enforce any judgment, execution, or decree rendered or issued upon any contract or agreement made or implied, or upon any contract in renewal of a debt existing prior to the 1st day of June, 1865, except in the following cases: 1. In suits against trustees, where the trust property is in the hands of the trustee, or has been invested by him in other specific effects now in his hands, and in suits by the vendor of real estate against the vendee, where not more than one-third of the purchase-money has been paid, and the vendee is in possession of the land or specific effects for which he has sold it, and he refuses to deliver the land or said' effects to the vendor. In such cases, the courts and officers may entertain jurisdiction and enforce judgments against said trust-property, or land, or effects. 2. In suits for the benefit of minors by trustees appointed before the 1st day of June, 1865. 3. In suits against corporations in their corporate capacity, but not so as to enforce the debt against the stockholders or officers thereof in their individual capacity. 4. In suits by charitable or literary institutions for money loaned, property - other than slaves-sold, or services rendered by such institutions. 5. In suits on debts due for mechanical or manual labor, when the suit is by the mechanic or laborer. 6. In cases when the debt is set up by way of defence, and the debt set up exceeds any debt due by defendant to plaintiff, of which the courts are denied jurisdiction. 7. In all other cases in which the General Assembly shall by law give the said courts and officers jurisdiction: Provided, That no court or officer shall have, nor shall the General Assembly give, jurisdiction or authority to try or give judgment on or enforce any debt, the consideration of which was a slave or slaves, or the hire thereof. III. It shall be in the power of the General Assembly to assess and collect upon all debts, judgments, or causes of action when due, founded on any contract made or implied before the 1st POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. day of June, 1865, in the hands of any one in his own right, or trustee, agent, or attorney of another, on or after the 1st day of January, 1868, a tax of not exceeding twenty-five per cent., to be paid by the creditor, on pain of the forfeiture of the debt, but chargeable by him as to one-half thereof against the debtor, and collectable with the debt: Provided, That this tax shall not be collected if the debt or cause of action be abandoned or settled without legal process, or, if in judgment, be settled without levy and sale: And provided further, That this tax shall not be levied so long as the courts of this State shall not have jurisdiction of such debts or causes of action. Constitution of North Carolina. Adopted by Convention March 16, 1868, and ratified by the people April 23, 1868. Provides, among other things: SEC. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering and abolishing their constitution and form of government, whenever it may be necessary to their safety and happiness; but every such right should be exercised in pursuance of law, and consistently with the Constitution of the United States. SEc. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union; that the people thereof are part of the American nation; that there is no right on the part of this State to secede, and that all attempts, from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State. SEC. 5. That every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the United States, and that no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force. SEC. 6. To maintain the honor and good faith of the State untarnished, the public debt, regularly contracted before and since the rebellion, shall be regarded as inviolable and never be questioned; but the State shall never assume or pay, or authorize the collection of, any debt or obligation, express or implied, incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave. ART 6. SEC. 1. Every male person born in the United States, and every male person who has been naturalized, twenty-one years old or upward, who shall have resided in this State twelve months next preceding the election, and thirty days in the county in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed an elector. SEC. 4. Every voter, except as hereinafter provided, shall be eligible to office; but before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe the following oath: I, --, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of North Carolina not inconsistent therewith, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office. So help me God. The general assembly, at its first session, shall establish a uniform system of public schools, to be free to all the children of the State between six and twenty-one years. The University of North Carolina declared to be held to an inseparable connection with the free public school system. Homestead exemption secured, realty to the value of $1,000, personal $500. All able-bodied male citizens, between twenty-one and forty, are liable to duty in the militia. Duelling prohibited. Constitution of South Carolina. Adopted by Convention March 17, 1868, and ratified by the people April 16, 1868. Provides, among other things, that slavery shall never exist in this State. Every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the United States, and no law or ordinance of this State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force. This State shall ever remain a member of the American Union, and all attempts, from whatever source, or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve the said Union, shall be resisted with the whole power of the State. No person shall be disqualified as a witness, or be prevented from acquiring, holding, and transmitting property, or be hindered in acquiring education, or be liable to any other punishment for any offence, or be subjected in law to any other restraints or disqualifications in regard to any personal rights than such as are laid upon others under like circumstances. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, except in cases of fraud; and a reasonable amount of property, as a homestead, shall be exempted from seizure or sale for the payment of any debts or liabilities, except for the payment of such obligations as are provided for in this constitution. No property qualification shall be necessary for an election to or the holding of any office. All elections shall be free and open, and every inhabitant of this Commonwealth possessing the qualifications provided for in this constitution, shall have an equal right to elect officers and be elected to fill public offices. Representation shall be apportioned according to population, and no person in this State shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges now enjoyed, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers. Distinction on account of race or color, in any case whatever, shall be prohibited, and all classes of citizens shall enjoy equally all common, public, legal, and political privileges. Members of the general assembly, and all officers, before they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, and all members of the bar, before they enter upon the practice of their profession, shall take and subscribe the following oath: I, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution of the United States and of this State, to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected, (or appointed,) and that I will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties thereof; that I recognize the supremacy of the Constitution and Page 73] ABSTRACTS OF CONSTITUTIONS. 833 laws of the United States over the constitution and laws of any State; and that I will support, protect, and defend the Const.itution of the United States and the constitution of South Carolina, as ratified by the people on the - day of--, 1868. So help me God. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, not laboring under the disabilities named in this constitution, without distinction of race, color, or former condition, who shall be a resident of this State at the time of the adoption of this constitution, or who shall thereafter reside in this State one year, and in the county in which he offers to vote sixty days next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers tlhat are now, or hereafter may be, elected by the people, and upon all questions submitted to the electors at any elections: Provided, That no person shall be allowed to vote or hold office who is now, or hereafter may be, disqualified therefor by the Constitution of the United States, until such disqualification shall be removed by the Congress of the United States. Homestead exemption secured. The general assembly shall never pass any law that will deprive any of the citizens of this State of the right of suffrage, except for treason, murder, robbery, or duelling, whereof the persons shall have been duly tried and convicted. No person shall be disfranchised for felony or other crimes committed while such person was a slave. All the public schools, colleges, and universities of this State, supported in whole or in part by the public funds, shall be free and open to all the children and youths of the State, without regard to race or color. Governor has the veto, but two-thirds of each house may pass a bill over the veto. Judges shall not charge juries in respect to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare thle law. All contracts, whether under seal or not, the consideration of which were for the purchase of slaves, are declared null and void; and all proceedings under them annulled. Elections shall be by ballot. All voters shall be eligible to elective offices, except as otherwise provided in this constitution or the Constitution and laws of the United States. Presidential electors shall be elected by the people. The general assembly may levy a poll-tax of $1 per year, for the public school fund. No additional poll-tax shall be levied by any municipal corporation, and no person to be deprived of suffrage for non-payment of this tax. No debt contracted by this State in behalf of the late rebellion, in whole or in part, shall ever be paid. A liberal and uniform system of free public schools shall be established, for all children between six and sixteen, for a term equivalent to twenty-four months at least, facilities to be afforded to all the inhabitants for thle free education of their children. School fund established. The militia shall consist of all able-bodied male citizens between eighteen and forty-five. No pe-son shall be elected or appointed to any office unless he possesses the qualifications of an elector. Constitution of Virginia. Adopted by Convention April 7, 1868. Provides, among other thingsThat this State shall ever remain a member of the United States of America, and that the people thereof are part of the American nation, and that all attempts, from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union or to sever said nation, are unauthorized and ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State. The Constitution of the United States, and the laws of Congress passed in pursuance thereof, constitute the supreme law of the land, to which paramount allegiance and obedience are due fromn every citizen, anything in the constitution, ordinances, or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. Slavery shall not exist. All citizens of the State are declared to possess equal civil and political rights and public privileges. Duelling is prohibited. Only persons qualified to hold office shall be jurors. Every male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years old, who shall have been a resident of this State twelve months, and of the county, city, or town in which he shall offer to vote three months next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote upon all questions submitted to the people at such election. Among the excepted persons are all those who have been Senators or Representatives in Congress, or electors of President or Vice President, or who held any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath, as member of Congress or officer of thIe United States, or as a member of any legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. This clause shall include the following officers: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, secretary of State, auditor of public accounts, second auditor, register of- the land office, State treasurer, attorney general, sheriffs, sergeant of a city or town, commissioner of the revenue, county surveyors, constables, overseers of, the poor, commissioner of the board of public works, judges of the supreme court, judges of the circuit court, judges of the court of hustings, justices of the county courts, mayor, recorder, alderman, councilmen of a city or town, coroners, escheators, inspectors of tobacco, flour, &c., clerks of the supreme, district, circuit, and county courts, and of the court of hustings, and attorneys for the Commonwealth: Provided, That the Legislature may, by a vote of three-fifths of both houses, remove the disabilities incurred by this clause from any person included therein, by a separate vote in each case. "All persons, before entering upon the discharge of any function as officers of the State, shall take the following oath: I, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the constitution and laws of the State of Virginia; that I recognize and accept the civil and political equality of all men before the ltws. and that I will faithfuliy perform the duty of -, tc the best of my ability. So help me God. POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. In addition to this, all State, city and county officers shall take the test oath prescribed by the act of July 2, 1862. The Legislature shall enact a registry law, and persons applying to register shall take this oath: I, -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not disqualified from exercising the right of suffrage by the constitution framed by the convention which assembled in the city of Richmond on the 3d day of December, 1867, and that I will support and defend the same to the best of my ability. The Governor has the veto power, subject to the passage by two-thirds. Lotteries prohibited. A uniform system of public free schools to be established, and to be introduced into all the counties by 1876. Capitation tax and an annual tax on property not less than one mill nor more than five for the support of schools. The.militia to consist of all able-bodied males between eighteen and forty-five. Homestead exemption provided. Ordinance passed that the constitution be submitted for ratification June 2, when State officers and Representatives in Congress are to be chosen; the Assembly to meet June 24. [General Schofield recommended that the section prescribing the test-oath of 1862 for all State, city and county officers be submitted separately, and that the election be fixed not less than forty days after the passage by Congress of the necessary appropriation to pay the expense.] Constitution of Mississippi. Adopted by convention May 15, 1868, and submitted to popular vote, June 22, Provides, among other things, slavery shall not exist; no property qualification shall be required for jurors or for eligibility to office. All persons resident in this State, citizens of the United States, are hereby declared citizens of the State of Mississippi. No property or educational qualification shall ever be required for any person to become an elector. The right to withdraw from the Federal Union on account of any real or supposed grievances shall never be assumed by this State, nor shall any law be passed in derogation of the paramount allegiance of the citizens of this State to the Government of the United States. No public money or moneys shall be appropriated for any charitable or other public institutions in this State, making any distinction among the citizens thereof; Provided, That nothing herein contained, shall be so construed as to prevent the Legislature from appropriating the school fund in accordance with the article in this constitution relating to public schools. The right of all citizens to travel upon all public conveyances shall not be infringed upon nor in any manner abridged in this State. The Governor has the veto power, subject to two-thirds vote of each house. All male inhabitants of this State, except idiots and insane persons, and Indians not taxed, citizens of the United States, or naturalized, twenty-one years old and upwards, who have resided in this State six months, and in the county one month next preceding the day of election at which said inhabitant offers to vote, and who are duly registered according to the requirements of section three of this article, and who are not disqualified by reason of any crime, are declared to be qualified electors. The Legislature shall provide by law for the registration of all persons entitled to vote at any election, and all persons entitled to register shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation: I. -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) in the presence of Almighty God, that I am twenty-one years old; that I have resided in this State six months, and in - county one month; that I will faithfiully support and obey the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the State of Mississippi, and will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I am not disfranchised in any of the provisions of the acts known as the reconstruction acts of the Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth Congress; and that I admit the political and civil equality of all men. So help me God. Provided, That if Congress shall, at any time, remove the disabilities of any person disfranchised in the said reconstruction acts of the said Thirty-Ninth and Fortieth Congress, (and the Legislature of this State.shall concur therein,) then so much of this oath, and so much only, as refers to the said reconstruction acts, shall not be required of such person, so pardoned, to entitle him, to be registered. No person shall be eligible to any office of profit or trust, or to any office in the militia of this State, who is not a qualified elector. No person shall be eligible to any office of profit or trust, civil or military, in this State, who, as a member of the Legislature,, voted for the call of the convention that passed the ordinance of secession, or who, as a delegate to any convention, voted for or signed any ordinance of secession, or who gave voluntary aid, countenance, counsel or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility to the United States, or who accepted or attempted to exercise the functions of any office, civil or military, under any authority or pretended government, authority, power, or constitution, within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto, except all persons who aided reconstruction by voting for this convention, or who have continuously advocated the assembling of this convention, and shall continuously and in good faith advocate the acts of the same; but the Legislature may remove such disability; Provided, That nothing in this section, except voting for or signing the ordinance of secession, shall be so construed as to exclude from office the private soldier of the late so-called Confederate States army. The State of Mississippi shall never assume nor pay any debt or obligation contracted in aid of the rebellion, nor shall this State ever in any manner claim from the United States, or make any allowance or compensation for slaves emancipated or liberated in any way whatever, since the 9th day of January, 1861. Members of the Legislature, and all other officers elected or appointed to any office in this State, shall, before entering upon the discharge of the duties thereof, take and subscribe the following oath of office: I,, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully support and true allegiance bear the Constitution of the United States and the State of Mississippi, and obey the laws thereof; that I am not disqualified from holding office by the Constitution of the United States or the State of Mississippi; that I have never Page 75] RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. as a member of any convention voted for or signed All persons who have not been married, but any ordinance of secession; that I have never as a member of any State Legislature voted for the call of are now living together and cohabiting as husany convention that passed any such ordinance; that band and wife, shall be taken and held for all I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon purposes in law as married, and their children, which I am about to enter. So help me God. whether born before or after the ratification of The ordinance of secession of the State of Mis- this constitution, shall be legitimate, and the sissippi, passed January 9, 1866, is hereby de- Legislature may by law punish adultery and dared to be null and void. The present and all concubinage. previous constitutions of the State of Missis- 1868, March 13-An ordinance adopted, as sippi are hereby declared to be repealed and follows: annulled by this constitution. SEC. 1. That no contracts shall be valid which All laws now in force in this State, not en- in any manner abridge or affect the right of acted in furtherance of secession and rebellion, franchise of either party; and any person or and not. repugnant to this constitution, shall persons demanding such conditions shall, upon continue in force, conviction thereof before any court having cornCommon school fund provided for; the poll- petent jurisdiction, be disfranchised for the term tax in its aid not to exceed $2 annually. of five years, and pay a fine of not less than five All able-bodied males, between eighteen and hundred dollars. forty-five, shall be liable to military duty in the SEc. 2. Whoever shall dismiss from employmilitia. ment any person or persons for having exercised Lotteries and sale of lottery tickets prohibited. the right of franchise, or for offering to exercise All lands sold in pursuance of decree of courts such right, shall, on conviction, be fined not less or execution shall be divided into tracts not to than two hundred and fifty dollars, and be disexceed one hundred and sixty acres. franchised for the term of five years. XXIX. SUPPLEMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES,* Act of July 19, 1867. hold or exercise, any civil or military office or An act supplementary to an act entitled "An act duty in such district under any power, election, to provide for the more efficient government of appointment, or authority derived from, or the rebel States," passed on the second day of granted by, or claimed under, any so-called March, 1867, and the act supplementary there- State or the government thereof, or any municito, passed on the 23d day of March, 1867. pal or other division thereof; and upon such Be it enacted, &c., That it is hereby declared suspension or removal such commander, subject to have been the true intent and meaning of the to the disapproval of the General as aforesaid, act of the 2d day of March, 1867, entitled "An shall have power to provide from time to time act to provide for the more efficient government for the performance of the said duties of such of the rebel States," and of the act supplement- officer or person so suspended or removed, by ary thereto, passed on the 23d day of March, the detail of some competent officer or soldier of 1867, that the governments then existing in the the army, or by the appointment of some other rebel States of Virginia, North Carolina, South person to perform the same, and to fill vacancies Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louis- occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise. iana, Florida, Texas, and Arkansas, were not SEC. 3. That the General of the army of the legal State governments; and that thereafter United States shall be invested with all the said governments, if continued, were to be con- powers of suspension, removal, appointment, tinued subject in all respects to the military and detail granted in the preceding section to commanders of the respective districts, and to district commanders. the paramount authority of Congress. SEC. 4. That the acts of the officers of the army SEc. 2. That the commander of any district already done in removing in said districts pernamed in said act shall have power, subject to sons exercising the functions of civil officers, and the disapproval of the General of the army of appointing others in their stead, are hereby conthe United States, and to have effect till disap- firmed: Provided, That any person heretofore proved, whenever in the opinion of such com- or hereafter appointed by any district commander the proper administration of said act mander to exercise the functions of any civil shall require it, to suspend or remove from office, office, may be removed either by the military or from the performance of official duties and officer in command of the district, or by the the exercise of official powers, any officer or General of the army. And it shall be the duty person holding or exercising, or professing to of such commander to remove from office, as aforesaid, all persons who are disloyal to the "~ For preceding Reconstruction Measures see pages Government of the United States, or who use 191-194 of Mlanual of 1867. their official influence in any manner to hinder, 336 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. delay, prevent, or obstruct the due and proper administration of this act and the acts to which it is supplementary. SEC. 5. That the boards of registration provided for in the act entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate restoration," passed March 23, 1867, shall have power, and it shall be their duty, before allowing the registration of any person, to ascertain, upon such facts or information as they can obtain, whether such person is entitled to be registered under said act, and the oath required by said act shall not be conclusive on such question, and no person shall be registered unless such board shall decide that he is entitled thereto; and such board shall also have power to examine, under oath, (to be administered by any member of such board,) any one touching the qualification of any person claiming registration; but in every case of refusal by the board to register an applicant, and in every case of striking his name from the list as hereinafter provided, the board shall make a note or memorandum, which shall be returned with the registration list to the commanding general of the district, setting forth the grounds of such refusal or such striking from the list: Provided, That no person shall be disqualified as member of any board of registration by reason of race or color. SEC. 6. That the true intent and meaning of the oath prescribed in said supplementary act is, (among other things,) that no person who has been a member of the Legislature of any State, or who has held any executive or judicial office in any State, whether he has taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States or not, and whether he was holding such office at the commencement of the rebellion, or had held it before, and who has afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, is entitled to be registered or to vote; and the words "executive or judicial office in any State" in said oath mentioned shall be construed to include all civil offices created by law for the administration of any general law of a State, or for the administration of justice. SEC. 7. That the time for completing the original registration provided for in said act may, in the discretion of the commander of any district, be extended to the 1st day of October, 1867; and the boards of registration shall have power, and it shall be their duty, commencing fourteen days prior to any election under said act, and upon reasonable public notice of the time and place thereof, to revise, for a period of five days, the registration lists, and, upon being satisfied that any person not entitled thereto has been registered, to strike the name of such person from the list, and such person shall not be allowed to vote. And such board shall also, during the same period, add to such registry the names of all persons who at that time possess the qualifications required by said act who have not been already registered; and no person shall, at any.time, be entitled to be registered or to vote, by reason of any executive pardon or amnesty, for any act or thing which, without such pardon or amnesty, would disqualify him from registration or voting. SEC. 8. That section four of said last-named act shall be construed to authorize the commanding general named therein, whenever he shall deem it needful, to remove any member of a board of registration and to appoint another in his stead, and to fill any vacancy in such board. SEC. 9. That all members of said boards of registration, and all persons hereafter elected or appointed to office in said military districts, under any so-called State or municipal authort ity, or by detail or appointment of the district commanders, shall be required to take and to subscribe the oath of office prescribed by law for officers of the United States. SEC. 10. That no district commander or member of the board of registration, or any of the officers or appointees acting under them, shall be bound in his action by any opinion of any civil officer of the United States. SEC. 11. That all the provisions of this act and of the acts to which this is supplementary shall be construed liberally, to the end that all the intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out. [This bill passed the House, July 13, yeas 111, nays 23; and the Senate, the same day, yeas 31, nays 6-the Republicans voting yea, and the Democrats nay. July 19, the bill was vetoed by President Johnson, and the same day it was re-passed by both Houses-in the House, yeas 109, nays 25; in the Senate, yeas 30, nays 6; a party vote, as before.] Act of March 11, 1868. AN ACT to amend the act passed March 23, 1867, entitled "An act supplementary to 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate their restoration." Be it enacted, &c., That hereafter any election authorized by the act passed March 23, 1867, entitled "An act supplementary to 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March 2, 1867, and to facilitate their restoration," shall be decided by a majority of the votes actually cast; and at the election in which the question of the adoption or rejection of any constitution is submitted, any person duly registered in the State may vote in the election district where he offers to vote when he has resided therein for ten days next preceding such election, upon presentation of his certificate of registration, his affidavit, or other satisfactory evidence, under such regulations as the district commanders may prescribe. SEC. 2. That the constitutional convention of any of the States mentioned in the acts to which this is amendatory may provide that at the time of voting upon the ratification of the constitution, the registered voters may vote also for members of the House of Representatives of the United States, and for all elective officers provided for by the said constitution; and the same election officers, who shall make the return of the votes cast on the ratification or rejection of the constitution, shall enumerate and certify the votes cast for members of Congress. Page 77] RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. 337 Became a law, March 11, 1868, by lapse of time, the President not having signed or returned it with his objections within ten days after its presentation to him. [This bill passed the House, February 26, yeas 96, nays 32; and the Senate, February 25, yeas 28, nays 6; the Republicans voting for the bill, and the Democrats against it.] An Act to admit the State of Arkansas to Representation in Congress, June 22, 1868. Whereas the people of Arkansas, in pursuance of the provisions of an act entitled "An act for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2,1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, have framed and adopted a constitution of State government, which is republican, and the Legislature of said State has duly ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed by the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and known as Article XIV; Therefore, Be it enacted, &c., That the State of Arkansas is entitled and admitted to representation in Congress, as one of the States of the Union, upon the following fundamental condition: That the constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class "of citizens of the United States of the right to vote who are entitled to vote by the constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law,. whereof they shall have been duly convicted, under laws equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State; Provided, That any alteration of said constitution prospective in its effect may be made in regard to the time and place of residence of voters. [This bill passed the House, May 8-yeas 110, nays 32; the nays being all Democrats, except Messrs. Baker, Loan, Spalding, and Thomas Williams, the "fundamental condition" therein being "that tht e constitution of Arkansas shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the United "States of the right to vote yho are entitled to vote by the constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted." June 1, the bill was amended in the Senate, on motion of Mr. Drake, so that the "fundamental condition" should read: " That there shall never be in said State any denial or abridgment of the elective franchise, or of any other right, to any person by reason or on account of race or color, except Indians not taxed;" which was agreed to, yeas 26, nays 14, and was then passed, yeas 34, nays 8. A committee of conference agreed upon the bill as printed above, and their report passed the Senate, June 6, without a division, and the House also, a motion to table the report having been lost, yeas 27, (all Democrats,) nays 108, (all Republicans, except Mr. Stewart, of New York.) June 20, the bill was vetoed by the PRESIDENT, and passed in the House, yeas 111, nays 31; June 22, it passed the Senate, yeas 30, nays 7. In the House, on re-passing the bill, Mr. Stewart voted aye with the Republicans, and Mr. Cary voted nay with the Democrats. In the Senate the vote was: 22 YEAS-Messrs. Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Edmunds, Ferry, Fessenden, Harlan, Howard, Morgan, Morrill of Vermont, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Ramsey, Ross, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van inkle, Wade, Willey, Wilson, Yates-30. NAYs-Messrs. Bayard, Davis, Doolittle, IHendricks, McOreery, Patterson of Tennessee, Saulsbury-7. An Act to Admit the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to Representation in Congress, June 25,1868. Whereas the people of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have, in pursuance of the provisions of an act entitled "An act for the more efficient government of the rebel States," passed March 2,1867, and the acts supplementary thereto, framed constitutions of State government which are republican, and have adopted such constitutions by large maiorities of the votes cast at the elections held for the ratification or rejection of the same: therefore, Be it enacted, &c., That each of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, shall be entitled and admitted to representation in Congress as a State of the Union when the Legislature of such State shall have duly ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed by the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and known as Article XIV, upon the following fundamental conditions: That the constitution of neither of said States shall ever be so amended 'r changed as to deprive any citizen, or class of citizens, of the United States of the right to, vote in said State who are entitled to vote by the constitution thereof, herein recognized, exceptas a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law, whereof they shall have been duly convicted under laws equally applicable to all the inhabitants of said State; Provided, That any alteration of said constitutions may be made with regard to the time and place of residence of voters. And the State of Georgia shall only be entitled and admitted to representation upon this further fundamental condition: That the first and third subdivisions of section seventeen of the fifth article of the constitution of said State, except the proviso to the first subdivision, shall be null and void, and that the general assembly of said State, by solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the State to the foregoing fundamental condition.* SEC. 2. That if the day fixed for the first meeting of the Legislature of either of said States, by the constitution or ordinance thereof, shall have passed, or have so nearly arrived before the passage of this act that there shall not be time for the Legislature to assemble at the period fixed, such Legislature shall convene at the end of twenty days from the time this act takes effect unless the Governor-elect shall sooner. convene the same. SEc. 3. That the first section of this act shall take effect as to each State, except Georgia, when such State shall by its Legislature duly ratify Article XIV of the amendments to the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and as to the State of "* See page 331. 338 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Georgia when it shall in addition give the assent of said State to the fundamental condition hereinbefore imposed upon the same; and thereupon the officers of each State, duly elected and qualified under the constitution thereof, shall be inaugurated without delay; but no person prohibited from holding office under the United States or under any State by section three of the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States known as Article XIV, shall be deemed eligible to any office in either of said States unless relieved from disability as provided in said amendment; and it is hereby made the duty of the President, within ten days after receiving official information of the ratification of said amendment by the Legislature of either of said States, to issue a proclamation announcing that fact. [This bill passed the House, May 14, yeas 110, nays 35; the Senate, June 9, yeas 31, nays 5-Republicansfor, Democrats against it. June 25, it was vetoed by President Johnson, and passed over the veto, same day, in the House, yeas 107, nays 31; and in the Senate, yeas 35, nays 8.] IMPORTANT VOTES DURING THE CONSIDERATION OF THE ABOVE BILLS. Votes prior to Passage of Act of March 11, 1868. During the pendency in the Senate of the act of March 11, 1868 -February 25-Mr. Doolittle moved to amend by adding to the second section this proviso: " Provided, nevertheless, Th at upon an election for the ratification of any constitution, or of officers under the same, previous to its adoption in any such State, no person not having the qualifications of an elector under the constitution and laws of such State, previous to the late rebellion, shall be allowed to vote, unless he shall possess one of the following qualifications, viz.: "1st. He shall have served as a soldier in the Federal army for one year or more; or, 2d He shall have sufficient education to read the Constitutionof the United States, and to subscribe his name to an oath to support the same; or, 3d. He shall be seized in his own right, or in the right of his wife, of a freehold of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars." Which was not agreed to-,yeas 3, nays 33, as follow: /YEAs--Messrs. Dixon, Doolittle, Hendricks-3.:NAYs-Buckalew, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett, Cragin, Davis,s Drake, Ferry, Fowler, Harlan, Henderson, Howe, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Nye, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, 'Ramsey, Ross, Sherman, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-33. -1867, December 18--The House passed a bill modifying the fifth section of the act of March 23,ý 1867, so that a majority of the votes cast at the election shall be sufficient to ratify the constitution, and authorizing an election for members of Congress at the same time with the. vote on the constitution, according to the districts as they existed in 1858 and 1859. On this the yeas were 104., nays 37, Republicans and Messrs. Cary and Stewart in the affirmative, and Democrats in the negative. 1868, January 21-The House passed a bill declaring that in the ten rebel States there are no civil State governments republican in form, and that the so-called civil governments in said States shall not be recognized as valid or legal State governments either by the executive or judicial power or authority of the United States. The General of the army was authorized and required to enjoin, by special orders, upon all officers in command within those States the performance of all acts authorized by the reconstruction acts, and authorized to remove from command any or all of said commanders, and detail other officers of the United States army, not below the rank of colonel, to the end that the people of said several States may speedily reorganize civil governments and be restored to political power in the Union. The General of the army was authorized to remove any or all civil officers now acting under the several provisional governments within said several disorganized States, and appoint others, and to do any and all acts which are authorized to be done by the several commanders of the military departments within said States; and the law which authorizes the President to detail the military commanders to said military departments, or to remove any officers who may be detailed as herein provided, is hereby repealed. It was provided that it shall be unlawful for the President of the United States to order any part of the army or navy of the United States to assist, by force of arms, the authority of either of said provisional governments in said disorganized States to oppose or obstruct the authority of the United States, as provided in this act and the acts to which this is supplementary. Fine and imprisonment were provided for violation of this act. The vote was-yeas 124, nays 45, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Allison, Ames, Anderson, Arnell, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Bailey, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Beaman, Benjamin, Benton, Bingham, Blaine, Blair, Boutwell, Bromwell, Broomall, Buckland, Cake, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Cook, Cullom, Dawes, Dixon, Dodge, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Eggleston, Ela, Eliot, Farnsworth, Ferriss, Ferry, Fields, Garfield, Gravely, Griswold, Halsey, Harding, Higby, Hooper, Hopkins, Asahel W. Hubbard, Chester D. Hubbard, Hulburd, Hunter, Ingersoll, Jenckes, Judd, Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, Ketcham, Kitchen, Koontz, William Lawrence, Lincoln, Logan, Loughridge, Marvin, Maynard, McCarthy, MeClhrg, Mercur. Miller, Moore, Moorhead, Mullins, Myers, Newcomb, Nunn, O'Neill, Orth, Paine, Perham, Peters, Pike, Pile, Plants, Poland, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Raum, Robertson, Sawyer, Schenck, Scofield, Selye, Shanks, Smith, Spalding, Starkweather, Aaron F. Stevons, Thaddeus Stevens, Taylor, ma,Thomas, Trowbridge, Twichel, Upson, Van Aernam, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Ellihu B. Washburne, Henry D. Washburn, William B. Washburn, Welker, Thomas Williams, William Williams, James F. Wilson, John T. Wilson, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom, Woodbridge--124. NAYs-Messrs. Adams, Archer, Axtell, Barnes, Barnum, Beck, Bor,r Brooks, Burr, Cary, Chanler, Eldridge, Fox, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Haight, Holman, Hotchkiss, Richard D. Hubbard, Humphrey, Johnson, Jones, Kerr, Knott, Marshall, McCormick, Morrissey, Mungen, Niblack, Nicholson, Phelps, Pruyn, Robinson, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stewart, Stone, Taber, L. S. Trimble, Van Auken, Van Trump, Wood, Woodward-45. Pending this bill, 1868, January 21-Mr. Butler offered a substitute that, in order to supply the place of these illegal governments, the constitutional conventions of each of said States, as soon as such conventions, respectively, shall have submitted to Page 79] RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES. 339 the people a constitution or frame of government for their ratification, shall have power to appoint all civil officers. It shall be the duty of the several district commanders to confirm the appointment of such officers by the convention; to install each officer in his office; to cause to be put into the possession and control of each officer the records and archives and other property of the State pertaining to his office, and to do all other acts which may be necessary to enable such State officers, respectively, to perform the functions of their offices. These governments to continue until each State shall be represented in Congress and other State officers shall have been elected and qualified under the constitution thereof. Which was disagreed to-yeas 53, nays 112. The yeas were: Messrs. Allison, Anderson, Arnell, Delos R. Ashley, James M. Ashley, Banks, Broomall, Butler, Cake, Cary, Churchill, Reader W. Clarke, Sidney Clarke, Cobb, Coburn, Donnelly, Driggs, Eckley, Ela, Ferry, Fields, Gravely, Harding, Higby, Hunter, Judd, Julian, Kelley, Kelsey, Kitchen, William Lawrence, Logan, Loughridge, Maynard, McClurg, Mercur, Mullins, Newcomb, Nunn, Perham, Raum, Schenck, Shanks, Thaddeus Stevens, Taylor, Thomas, John Trimble, Robert T. Van Horn, Van Wyck, Ward, William Williams, Stephen F. Wilson, Windom. This bill was not taken up in the Senate. VOTES SUBSEQUENT TO THE PASSAGE OF THE ACT OF MARCH 11, 1868, AND PRIOR TO THE ACTS OF JUNE 22, AND JUNE 25, 1868. The Alabama Bill. 1868, March 26-The House Committee on Reconstruction reported a bill to admit the State of Alabama to representation in Congress, as soon as the Legislature, then recently elected, shall have duly ratified the XIVth Amendment, for which a substitute was offered by Mr. Spalding, making the constitution recently framed the fundamental law for a provisional government, also providing that the officers elected at the recent election should qualify on the 1st of May, 1868, and enter on their duties; and the Governor was authorized to convene the Legislature recently elected, who were given authority to submit said constitution for ratification, with such amendments as a majority of the Legislature may adopt. It was further provided that, whenever the people, by a majority vote of the electors of Alabama, qualified under the act of Congress of March 23, 1867, to vote for delegates to frame a constitution, and actually voting upon said ratification, shall have ratified a constitution submitted as aforesaid, and the Legislature of the proposed State organization shall have adopted the amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed by the Thirty-Ninth Congress, and known as Article XIV, the constitntion of Alabama may be presented to Congrass for its approval. This substituto was agreed to-yeas 77, nays 55, as follow: YEAS-Messrs.AmesAnderson, Delos R.Ashley, James M. Ashley, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Beatty, Benjamin, Bromwell, Broomall, Churchill, Sidney Clarke, Coburn, Cook, Covode, Cullom, Dawes, Dixon, Dodge, Driggs, Eckley. Eggleston, Eliot, Ferriss, Ferry, Halsey, Hawkins, Hill, Hopkins, Hunter, Ingersoll, Judd, Julian, Kelsey, Ketcham, Koontz, Laflin, William Lawrence, Loan, Loughridge, Maynard, McClurg, Mercur, Moore, "Moorhead, Morrell, Mullins, Myers, Nunn, O'Neill, Orth, Poland, Polsley, Pomeroy, Price, Raum, Sawyer, Scofield, Shanks, Smith, Spalding, Thaddeus Stevens, Taffe, Twichell, Upson, Burt Van Horn, Robert T. Van Horn, Ward, Ellihu B. Washburne, William B. Wason, Bowne, Dater, Edsall, Gaskill, Hopper, Little, (President,) Rice, Robins, Wildrick, Winfield-11. NAYS-Messrs. Bettle Blackman, Clark, Cobb, Hays, Horner, Plummer, Richey, Warwick--9. The vote on passing in the House, March 25, was yeas 45, nays 13, as follow: YEAS-Messrs. Albertson, Allen, J. L. Baldwin, Bergen, Brown, Christie, H. C. Clark, H. F. Clark; Coghlan, Cbllins, Corlies, Corson, Cox, Duryer, Evans, (Speaker,) Fulmer, Givens. Hedden, Hendrickson, Henry, Hering, Hood, Hough, Huff, Hunt, Jones;, Lanning, Lippincott, Magonagle, 'Maxwell, Molony, Pearce, Pickel, Price, Probas.o, Rosenbau, Sharp, Smith, Stron, Strong, Tylor, Van Vorst, Vliet, Westcott, Whelan, Wills-45. (One- Democrat absent.) NAYs-Messrs. Atwater, J. 1I. Baldwin, Cowperthwaite, Gage, Keim, Kennedy, Lord, Mackin, Nixon, Peck, Reeves, Speer, Van Voorhies-'-13. (One' Republican absent.) Of the Insurrectionary States, Arkansas ratified the amrendmenut, April 6, Senate, yeas 23, nays 0; and, April 3, House, yeas 56, nays 0. Florida ratified the amendment, Juane 9L, in Senate, yeas 10, nays 3; and in House of Representatives, yeas 25, nays 14. North Carolina ratified it, July 1, in the Sinate 36 to 2, in the House 72 to 23. With the ratification by the Legislatures of the remaining States whose restoration to representation is dependent upon that condition, as set forth in the act of June 25-, 1868, the requisite three-fourths of the thirty-seven States'will be secured, even conceding the right of Ohio and New Jersey to withdraw. Votes on Constitutional Amendmentw in the States. The vote in April 1868, on the new constitution, as officially declared by the State board of canvassers, was as follow: Vote for the Constitution................................ 71,733 Against the Constitution................................ 110,582 Majority against the- Conetitution.................. 38,849 For prohibition............................................. 72,462 Against prohibition......................................... 86,143 Majority against prohibition........................ 13,81 For annual sessions.................................... '24,482 For biennial sessions................................ 100,314 Majority for biennial sessions..................75,8.32 The vote on the constitution is larger by about 18,000 than the vote on Governor in 1866. Total vote on constitution................................ 182,315 " " prohibition........................158,605 " " sessions...................................... 124,796 IN OHIO. In October, 1867. the vote was taken on the proposed constitutional amendment respecting suffrage, for which see Political Manual for 1867, page 131, or the combined Manual, page 257. The result was: 854 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Against the amendment........................... 255,340 For the amendment................................. 216,987 Total vote........................... 472,327 Majority against on vote cast........................... 38,35 Not voting on amendment................................ 12,276 Constitutional majority against.................... 50;629 IN KANSAS. In November., 1867, the vote was taken on three proposed amendments respecting voters: First. To strike out the word "white." Second. To strike out the word "male." Third. To disfranchise rebels. The votes were as follows: On striking out " white," theyeas were 10,483, nays 19,421. Majority against, 8,938. On striking out ' male," the yeas were 9,070, nays 19.857. Majority against, 10,787. On disfranchising rebels, the yeas were 15,672, nays 12,990, Majority for, 2,682.:IN MINNESOTA. In November, 1867, on a vote to.amend the constitution so as to extend suffrage without regard to color, the yeas were 27,461, the nays 28,759. IN ILLINOIS. In November, 1868, a vote is to be taken for or against calling a convention to form a new constitution. FINANCIAL LEGISLATION., Act Authorizing the 6's of 1881. July 17. 1861-An act to authorize a national loan, and for other purposes. SEC. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to borrow on the credit of the United States, within twelve months from the passage of this act, a sum not exceeding $250;000,000, or so much thereof as he may deem necessary for the public service, for which he is authorized to issue coupon bonds, or registered bonds, or treasury notes, in such proportions of each as he may deem advisable; the bonds to bear interest not exceeding 7 per cent. per annum, payable semiannually, irredeemable for twenty years, and after that period redeemable at the pleasure of the United States; and the treasury notes to be of any denomination fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, not less than $50, and to be payable three years after date, with interest at the rate of seven and three-tenths per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually. Act Authorizing the 5.20's. February 25, 1862-An act to authorize the issue of United States notes, and for the redemption or funding thereof, and for funding the floating debt of the United States. * - - * *- * * SEC. 2. That to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to fund the treasury notes and floating debt of the United States, he is hereby authorized to issue, or, the credit of the United States, coupon bonds, or registered bonds, to an amount not exceeding $500,000,000, redeemable at the pleasure of the United States after five years, and payable twenty years from date, and bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually. And the bonds herein authorized shall be of such denominations, not less than $50, as.may be determined upon by the Secretary of' the Treasury. And the Secretary of the Treasury may dispose of. such bonds at any time, at the market value thereof, for the coin of the United States, or for any of the treasury notes that have been or may hereafter be issued under any former act of Congress, or for United States notes that may be issued under the provisions of this act; and all stocks, bonds, and other securities of the United States held by individuals, corporations, or associations, within the United States, shall be exempt from taxation by or under State authority. Act Creating a Sinking Fund, &c. SEC. 5. That all duties on imported goods shall be paid in coin, or in notes payable on demand heretofore authorized to be issued and by law receivable in payment of public dues, and the coin so paid shall be set apart as a special fund, and shall be applied as follows: First. To the payment in coin of the interest on the bonds and notes of the United States. Second. To the purchase or payment of one per centum of the entire debt of the United States, to be made within each fiscal year after the 1st day of July, 1862, which is to be set;apart as a sinking-fund, and the interest of which shall in like manner be applied to the purchase,or payment of the public debt as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time direct. Third. The residue thereof to be paid into the Treasury of the United States. Act Authorizing the 10.40's. March 3, 1864-An act supplementary to an act entitled "An act to provide ways and means for the support of the Government," approved March 3, 1863. SEc 1. Be it enacted, &c. That in lieu of so much of the loan authorized by the act of March 3, 1863, to which this is supplementary, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to borrow, from time to time, on the credit of the United States, not exceeding $200,000,000 during the current fiscal year, and to prepare and issue therefor coupon or registered bonds of the United States, bearing date March 1, 1864, or any subsequent period, redeemable at the pleasure of the government after any period not less than five years, and payable at any period not more than forty years from date, in coin, and of such denominations as may be found expedient, not less than $50, bearing interest not exceeding six per centum a year, payable on bonds not over $100 annually, and on all other bonds semi-annually, in coin; and he may dispose of such bonds at any time, on such terms as he may deem most advisable, for lawful money of the United States, or, at his discretion, for treasury notes, certificates of indebtedness, or certificates of deposit, issued under any act of Congress; and all bonds issued under this act shall be exempt from taxation by or under State or municipal authority. And the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay the necessary expenses of the preparation, issue, and disposal Page 95] POLITICAL MISCELLANY. 355 of such bonds out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, but the amount so paid shall not exceed one-half of one per centum of the amount of the bonds so issued and disposed of. Act Authorizing the Consolidated Loan of 1865. March 3, 1865-An act to provide ways and means to support the government. SEc. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to borrow, from time to time, on the credit of the United States, in addition to the amounts heretofore authorized, any sums not exceeding in the aggregate $600,000,000, and to issue therefor bonds or treasury notes of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe; and so much thereof as may be issued in bonds shall be of denominations not less than $50, and may be made payable at any period not more than forty years from date of issue, or may be made redeemable, at the pleasure of the government, at or after any period not less than five years nor more than forty years from date, or may be made redeemable and payable as aforesaid, as "may be expressed upon their face; and so much thereof as may be issued in treasury notes may be made convertible into any bonds authorized by this act, and may be of such denominations - lot less than $50-and bear such dates and b(. made redeemable or payable at such periods as in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasur:' may be deemed expedient. And the interest on such bonds shall be payable semi-annuallj; and on treasury notes authorized by this act the interest may be made payable semiannually, or annually, or at maturity thereof; and the principal or interest, or both, may be nmaIe payable in coin or in other lawful money: Provided, That the rate of interest on any such bori3s or treasury notes, when payable in coin, shall not exceed six per cent. per annum; and "when not payable in coin shall not exceed seven and three-tenths per cent. per annum; and the rate and character of interest shall be expressed on all such bonds or treasury notes. Act Creating Legal Tenders. February 25, 1862 -An act to authorize the issue of United States notes and for the redemption or funding thereof, and for funding the floating debt of the United States. SEx. 1. *" * And provided further, That the amount of the two kinds of notes together shall at no time exceed the sum of $150,000,000, and such notes herein authorized shall be receivable in payment of all taxes, internal duties, excises, debts, and demands of every kind due to the United States, except duties on imports, and of all claims and demands against the United States of every kind whatsoever, except for interest upon bonds and notes, which shall be paid in coin, and shall also be lawful money and a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, within the United States, except duties on imports and interest as aforesaid. Act Liriting the Amount of "Greenbacks." June 30, 1864.-An act to provide ways and means for the support of the government, and for other purposes. SEC. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to borrow, from time to time, on the credit of the United States, $400,000,000, and to issue therefor coupon or registered bonds of the United States, redeemable at the pleasure of the Government, after any period not less than five, nor more than thirty years, or, if deemed expedient, made payable at any period not more than forty years from date. And said bonds shall be of such denominations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, not less than fifty dollars, and bear an annual interest not exceeding six per centum, payable semi-annually in coin. And the Secretary of the Treasury may dispose of such bonds, or any part thereof, and of any bonds commonly known as five-twenties remaining unsold, in the United States, or if he shall find it expedient, in Europe, at any time, on such terms as he may deem most advisable, for lawful money of the United States, or, at his discretion, for treasury notes, certificates of indebtedness, or certificates of deposit issued under any act of Congress. And all bonds, treasury notes, and other obligations of the United States, shall be exempt from taxation by or under State or municipal authority. SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury may issue on the credit of the United States, and in lieu of an equal amount of bonds authorized by the preceding section, and as a part of said loan, not exceeding $200,000,000,in treasury notes, of any denomination not less than ten dollars, payable at any time not exceeding three years from date, or, if thought more expedient, redeemable at any time after three years from date, and bearing interest not exceeding the rate of seven and three tenths per centum, payable in lawful money at maturity, or, at the discretion of the Secretary, semi-annually. And the said treasury notes may be disposed of by the Secretary of the Treasury on the best terms that can be obtained, for lawful money; and such of them as shall be made piaable, principal and interest, at maturity, shall be a legal tender to the same extent as United States notes for their face value, excluding interest, and may be paid to any creditor of the United States at their face value, excluding interest, or to any creditor willing to receive them at par, including interest; and any treasury notes issued under the authority of this act may be made convertible, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, into any bonds issued under the authority of this act. And the Secretary of the Treasury may redeem and cause to be cancelled and destroyed any treasury notes or United States notes heretofore issued under authority of previous acts of Congress, and substitute, in lieu thereof, an equal amount of treasury notes such as are authorized by this act, or of other United States notes: Provided, That the total amount of bonds and treasury notes authorized by the first and second sections of this act shall not exceed $400,000,000, in addition to the amounts heretofore issued; nor shall the total amount of United States notes, issued or to be issued, ever exceed $400,000,000, and such additional sum, not exceeding $50,000,000, as may be temporarily required for the redemption of tem 856 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. porary loan; nor shall any treasury note bearing interest, issued under this act, be a legal tender in payment or redemption of any notes issued by any bank, banking association, or banker, calculated or intended to circulate as money. Important Military Order in Texas. AUSTIN, TEXAS, June 11, 1868. [General Orders, No. 13.] Trustworthy information received at these headquarters shows that in many counties in Texas organized bands of lawless men are committing murders, and otherwise violating the laws and disturbing the peace of the country: It is therefore ordered, that, all civil officers use increased diligence to arrest parties so offending. For this purpose, military aid will be rendered on application to any post commander in this State. Information with regard to offenders is requested from all citizens. Such information may be sent direct to these headquarters, or to the most convenient military post. When civil officers fail to discharge their duty, evidence to that effect is requested, to the end that proper steps may be taken in the premises. Where prisoners cannot be safely kept by the civil authorities, they may be taken to the most convenient military post, the commander whereof will receive the same, and hold them subject to orders from these headquarters. Full report and list of witnesses will be promptly forwarded in each case, in accordance with General Orders No. 41, from these headquarters, of November 22, 1867. By command of Bvt. Maj. Gen. J. J. Reynolds, C. E. MORSE, 1st Lieut. 26th Inf., A. D. C. and A. A. A. G. XXXIV. NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1852, 1856, 1860 AND 1864. NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1852. Democratic, at Baltimore, June. Resolved, That the American Democracy place their trust in the intelligence, the patriotism, and the discriminating justice of the American people. II. Resolved, That we regard this as a distinctive feature of our political creed, which we are proud to maintain before the world as the great moral element in a form of government springing from and upheld by the popular will; and we contrast it with the creed and practice of Federalism, under whatever name or form, which seeks to palsy the will of the constituent, and which conceives no imposture too monstrous for the popular credulity. III. Resolved, therefore, That, entertaining these views, the Democratic party of this Union, through their delegates assembled in a general convention of the States, coming together in a spirit of concord, of devotion to the doctrines and faith of a free representative government, and appealing to their fellow-citizens for the rectitude of their intentions, renew and re-assert before the American people the declarations of principles avowed by them when, on former occasions, in general convention, they presented their candidates for the popular suffrage: 1. That the Federal Government is one of limited powers, derived solely from the Constitution, and the grants of power made therein ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the Government; and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers. 2. That the Constitution does not confer upon the General Government the power'to commence and carry on a general system of internal improvements. 3. That the Constitution does not confer authority upon the Federal Government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several States, contracted for local internal improvements or other State purposes; nor would such assumption be just and expedient. 4. That justice and sound policy forbid the Federal Government to foster one branch of industry to the detriment of any other, or to cherish the interests of one portion to the injury of another portion of our common country; that every citizen, and every section of the country, has a right to demand and insist upon an equality of rights and privileges, and to complete and ample protection of persons and prop erty from domestic violence or foreign aggres sion. 5. That it is the duty of every branch of the Government to enforce and practice the most rigid economy in conducting our public affairs, and that no more revenue ought to be raised than is required to defray the necessary expenses of the Government, and for the gradual but certain extinction of the public debt. 6. That Congress has no power to charter A national bank; that we believe such an institution one of deadly hostility to the best interests of the country, dangerous to our republican institutions and the liberties of the people, and calculated to place the business of the country within the control of a concentrated money power, and above the laws and the will of the Page 97] POLITICAL MISCELLANY. 357 people; and that the results of democratic legislation, in this and all other financial measures upon which issues have been made between the two political parties of the country, have demonstrated, to candid and practical men of all parties, their soundness, safety, and utility, in all business pursuits. 7. That the separation of the moneys of the Government from banking institutions is indispensable for the safety of the funds of the Government and the rights of the people. 8. That the liberal principles embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, and sanctioned in the Constitution, which makes ours the land of liberty and the asylum of the oppressed of every nation, have ever been cardinal principles in the democratic faith; and every attempt to abridge the present privilege of becoming citizens and the owners of soil among us, ought to be resisted with the same spirit which swept the alien and sedition laws from our statute-books. 9. That Congress has no power under the Constitution to interfere with or control the domestic institutions of the several States, and that such States are the sole and proper judges of everything appertaining to their own affairs, not prohibited by the Constitution; that all efforts of the abolitionists or others, made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto, are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences; and that allsuch efforts have an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness of the people, and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union, and ought not to be countenanced by any friend of our political institutions. IV. Resolved, That the foregoing proposition covers, and was intended to embrace, the whole subject of slavery agitation in Congress; and, therefore, the Democratic party of the Union, standing upon this national platform, will abide by and adhere to a faithful execution of the acts known as the cocmpromise measures settled by the last Congress, "the act for reclaiming fugitives from service or labor" included; which act, being designed to carry out an express provision of the Constitution, cannot, with fidelity thereto, be repealed or so changed as to destroy or impair its efficiency. V. Resolved, That the Democratic party will resist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of it, the agitation of the slavery question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may be made. VI. Resolved, That the proceeds of the public lands ought to be sacredly applied to the national objects specified in the Constitution; and that we are opposed to any law for the distribution of such proceeds among the States, as alike inexpedient in policy and repugnant to the Constitution. VII. Resolved, That we are decidedly opposed to taking from the President the qualified veto power, by which he is enabled, under restrictions and responsibilities amply sufficient to guard the public interest, to suspend the passage of a bill whose merits can not secure the approval of twothirds of the Senate and House of RepresentaG tives, until the judgment of the people can be obtained thereon, and which has saved the American people from the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the Bank of the United States, and from a corrupting system of general internal improvements. VIII. Resolved, That the Democratic party will faithfully abide by and uphold the principles laid down in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798* and in the report of Mr. Madison to the Virginia Legislature in 1799; that it adopts those principles as constituting one of the main foundations of its political creed, and is resolved to carry them out in their obvious meaning and import. IX. Resolved, That thewar with Mexico, upon all the principles of patriotism and the laws of nations, was a just and necessary war on our part, in which every American citizen should have shown himself on the side of his country, and neither morally nor physically, by word or deed, have given " aid and comfort to the enemy." X. Resolved, That we rejoice at the restoration of friendly relations with our sister Republic of Mexico, and earnestly desire for her all the blessings and prosperity which we enjoy under republican institutions; and we congratulate the American people upon the results of that war, which have so manifestly justified the policy and conduct of the Democratic party, and insured to '.he United States " indemnity for the past, and security for the future." XI. Resolved, That, in view of the condition of popular institutions in the Old World, a high and saered duty is devolved, with increased.responsibility, upon the Democratic party of this country, as the party of the people, to uphold and maintain the rights of every State, and thereby the Union of the States, and to sustain and advance among us constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles and compromises of the Constitution, which are broad enough and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it was, the Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be, in the full expansion of the energies and capacity of this great and progressive people. Whig, at Baltimore, June. The Whigs of the United States, in convention assembled, firmly adhering to the great conservative republican principles by which they are controlled and governed, and now, as ever, relying upon the intelligence of the American people, with an abiding confidence in their capacity for self-government and their continued devotion to the Constitution and the Union, do proclaim the following as the political sentiments and determinations for the establishment and maintenance of which their national organization as a party is effected: I. The Government of the United States is of a limited character, and it is confined to the ex* For these resolutions, see pages 128-131 of the Ma>ual for 1867, or pages 254-257 of the Combined Manual. 858 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. ercise of powers expressly granted by the Constitution, and such as may be necessary and proper for carrying the granted powers into full execution, and that all powers not thus granted or necessarily implied are expressly reserved to the States respectively and to the people. II. The State Governments should be held secure in their reserved rights, and the General Government sustained in its constitutional powers, and the Union should be revered and watched over as " the palladium of our liberties." III. That, while struggling freedom everywhere enlists the warmest sympathy of the Whig party, we still adhere to the doctrines of the Father of his Country, as announced in his Farewell Address, of keeping ourselves free from all entangling alliances with foreign countries, and of never quitting our own to stand upon foreign ground. That our mission as a republic is not to propagate our opinions, or impose on other countries our form of government by artifice or force, but to teach by example, and show by our success, moderation, and justice, the blessings of self-government and the advantages of free institutions. IV. That where the people make and control the government, they should obey its constitution, laws, and treaties, as they would retain their self-respect, and the respect which they claim and will enforce from foreign powers. V. Government should be conducted upon principles of the strictest economy, and revenue sufficient for the expenses thereof in time of peace ought to be mainly derived from a duty on imports, and not from direct taxes; and in levying such duties, sound policy requires a just discrimination and protection from fraud by specific duties, when practicable, whereby suitable encouragement may be assured to American industry, equally to all classes and to all portions of the country. VI. The Constitution vests in Congress the power to open and repair harbors and remove obstructions from navigable rivers, and it is expedient that Congress should exercise that power whenever such improvements are necessary for the common defence or for the protection and facility of commerce with foreign nations or among the States, such improvements being, in every instance, national and general in their character. VII. The Federal and State Governments are parts of one system, alike necessary for the common prosperity, peace, and security, and ought to be regarded alike with a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment. Respect for the authority of each, and acquiescence in the constitutional measures of each, are duties required by the plainest considerations of National, of State, and of individual welfare. VIII. The series of acts of the 31st Congress, commonly known as the compromise or adjustment, (the act for the recovery of fugitives from labor included,) are received and acquiesced in by the Whigs of the United States as a final settlement, in principle and substance, of the subjects to which they relate; and, so far as "these acts are concerned, we will maintain them, and insist on their strict enforcement, until time and experience shall demonstrate the necessity of further legislation to guard against the evasion of the laws on the one hand, and the abuse of their powers on the other, not impairing their present efficiency to carry out the requirements of the Constitution; and we depre cate all further agitation of the questions thus settled, as dangerous to our peace, and will discountenance all efforts to continue or renew such agitation, whenever, wherever, or however made; and we will maintain this settlement as essential to the nationality of the Whig party and the integrity of the Union. NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1856. Republican, at Philadelphia, June. This convention of delegates assembled in pursuance of a call addressed to the people of the United States, without regard to past political differences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri compromise, to the policy of the present Administration, to the extension of slavery into free territory, in favor of admitting Kansas as a free State, of restoring the action of the Federal Government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson, and who purpose to unite in presenting candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, do resolve as follows: 1. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution is essential to the preservation of our republican institutions, and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the upion of the States, shall be preserved; that, with our republican fathers, we hold it to be a self-evident truth, that all men are endowed with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the primary object and ulterior design of our Federal Government were to secure these rights to all persons within its exclusive jurisdiction; that, as. our renublican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, it becomes cur duty to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it for the purpose of establishing slavery in the United States by positive legislation prohibiting its existence or extension therein; that we deny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Legislature, of any individual or association of individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the United States while the present Constitution shall be maintained. 2. That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power over the Territories \f the United States for their government, and tl at in the exercise of this power it is both the pight and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism, polyp.my and slavery. 3. That, while the Constitution of the Umited States was ordained and established by the people "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquili;ty, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Page 99] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 859 liberty," and contains ample provisions for the protection of the life, liberty, and property of every citizen, the dearest constitutional rights of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently taken from them; their territory has been invaded by an armed force; spurious and pretended legislative, judicial, and executive officers have been set over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power of the Government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been enacted and enforced; the right of the people to keep and bear arms has been infringed; test-oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature have been imposed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and holding office; the right of an accused person to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury has been denied; the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, has been violated; they have been deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law; that the freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged; the right to choose their representatives has been made of no effect; murders, robberies, and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders have been allowed to go unpunished; that all these things have been done with the knowledge, sancti in, and procurement of the present Administration, and that for this high crime against the Constitution, the Union, and humanity, we arraign the Administration, the President, his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists. and accessories either before or after the fact, before the country and before the world; and that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious outrages and their accomplices to a sure and condign punishment hereafter. 4. That Kansas should be immediately admitted as a State of the Union, with her present free constitution, as at once the most effectual way of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the rights a.nd privileges to which they are entitled, and of ending the civil strife now raging in her territory. 5. That the highwayman's plea that "might makes right," embodied in the Ostend circular, was in every respect unworthy of American diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor upon any Government or people that gave it their sanction. 6. That a railroad to the Pacific ocean by the most central and practicable route is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country, and that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and, as an auxiliary thereto, to the immediate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the railroad. 7. That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of rivers and harbors of a national character, required for the accommodation and security of our existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified by the obligation of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens. 8. That we invite the affiliation and co-operation of freemen of all parties, however differing from us in other respects, in support of the principles herein declared; and, believing that the spirit of our institutions, as well as. the Constitution of our country, guaranties liberty of conscience and equality of rights among citizens, we oppose all legislation impairing their security. Democratic, at Cincinnati, June. The platform reiterates in detail the resolutions adopted in 1852, down to and including the VIIIth resolution, and added the following: And whereas since the foregoing declaration was uniformly adopted by our predecessors in national conventions an adverse political and religious test has been secretly organized by a party claiming to be exclusively American, it is proper that the American Democracy should clearly define its relation thereto, and declare its determined opposition to all secret political societies, by whatever name they may be called Resolved, That the foundation of this Union of States having been laid in, and its prosperity, expansion, and pre-eminent example in free government built upon, entire freedom in matters of religious concernment, and no respect of person in regard to rank or place of birth, no party ca.n justly be deemed national, constitutional, or in accordance with American principles, which bases its exclusive organization upon religious opiinions and accidental birth-place. And hence a political crusade in the nineteenth century, and in the United States of America, against Catliolic and foreign-born, is neither justified by the past history or the future prospects of the country, nor in unison with the spirit of toleration and enlarged freedom which peculiarly distinguishes the American system of popular government. And that we may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sectional party, subsisting exclusively on slavery agitation, now relies to test the fidelity of the people, North and South, to the Constitution and the Union: 1. Resolved, That claiming fellowship with, and desiring the co-operation of all who regard the preservation of the Union under the Constitution as the paramount issue, and repudiating all sectional parties and platforms concerning domestic slavery, which seek to embroil the States and incite to treason and armed resistance to law in the Territories, and whose avowed purpose, if consummated, must end in civil war and disunion, the American Democracy recognize and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws establishing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the " slavery question" upon which the great national idea of the people of this whole country can repose in its determined conservatism of the Union-NON-INTEIRFEENCE BY CONGRESS WITH SLAVERY IN STATE AND TERRITORY, OR IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 2. That this was the basis of the compromises of 1850, confirmed by both the Democratic and Whig parties in national conventions, ratified by the people in the election of 1852, and rightly applied to the organization of Territoriesin 1854. 3. That by the uniform application of this democratic principle to the organization of Territories, and to the admission of new States, with 860 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. or without domestic slavery, as they may elect, the equal rights of all the States will be preserved intact, the original compacts of the Constitution maintained inviolate, and the perpetuity and expansion of this Union insured to its utmost capacity of embracing, in peace and harmony, every future American State that may be constituted or annexed with a republican form of government. Resolved, That we recognize the 'right of the people of all the Territories, including Kansas and Nebraska, acting ithrough the legally and fairly-expressed will,of a majority of actual residents, and wherever the number of their inhabitants justifies it, to form a constitution, with or without domestic slavery, and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality with the other States. Resolved, finally, That in the view of the condition of popular institutions in the Old World (and the dangerous tendencies of sectional agitation, combined with the attempt to enforce civil and religious disabilities against the rights of acquiring and enjoying citizenship in our own land,) a high and sacred duty is devolved with increased responsibility upon the Democratic party of this country, as the party of the Union, to uphold and maintain the rights of every State, and thereby the Union of the States; and to sustain and advance among us constitutional liberty, by continuing to resist all monopolies and exclusive legislation for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and by a vigilant and constant adherence to those principles and compromises of the Constitution, which are broad enough and strong enough to embrace and uphold the Union as it was, the Union as it is, and the Union as it shall be, in the full expansion of the energies and capacity of this great and progressive people. 1. Resolved, That there are questions connected with the foreign policy of this country, which are inferior to no domestic question whatever. The time has come for the people of the United States to declare themselves in favor of free seas and progressive free trade throughout the world, by solemn manifestations, to place their moral influence at the side of their successful example. [Adopted-yeas 230, nays 29.] 2. Resolved, That our geographical and political position with reference to the other States of this continent, no less than the interest of our commerce and the development of our growing power, requires that we should hold as sacred the principles involved in the Monroe doctrine; their bearing and import admit of no misconstruction; they should be applied with unbending rigidity. [Adopted-yeas 239, nays 21 ] 3. Rlesolved, That the great highway which nature as well as the assent of the States most immediately interested in its maintenance has marked out for a free communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, constitutes one of the most important achievements realized by the spirit of modern times and the unconquerable energy of our people. That result should be secured by a timely and efficient exertion of the control which we have the right to claim over it, and no power on earth should be suffered to impede or clog its progress by any interference with the relations it may suit our policy to establish between our Government and the governments of the States within whose dominions it lies. We can, under no circumstance, surrender our preponderance in the adjustment of all questions arising out of it. [Adopted-yeas 180, nays 56.] 4. Resolved, That, in view of so commanding an interest, the people of the United States cannot but sympathize with the efforts which are being made by the people of Central America to regenerate that portion of the continent which covers the passage across the interoceanic isthmus. [Adopted-yeas221, nays38 ] 5. Resolved, That the Democratic party will expect of the next Administration that every proper effort be made to insure our ascendancy in the Gulf of Mexico, and to maintain a permanent protection to the great outlets through which are emptied into its waters the products raised out of the soil and the commodities created by the industry of the people of our western valleys and of the Union at large. [Adopted-yeas 229, nays 33.] The following resolutiun, reported from the committee on resolutions, was laid on the table-yeas 154, nays 120: Resolved, That the Democratic party recognizes the great importance, in a political and commercial point of view, of a safe and speedy communication by military and postal roads, through our own territory, between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this Union, and that it is the duty of the Federal Government to exercise promptly all its constitutional power for the attainment of that object. On tabling, the vote was: YEAs-Maine 1, New Hampshire 4, Massachusetts 17, Rhode Island 4, Connecticut 6, New Jersey 7, Pennsylvania 27, Delaware 3, Virginia 15, North Carolina 10, South Carolina 8, Georgia 6, Alabama 9, Mississippi 7, Ohio 16, Kentucky 8, Tennessee 3, Florida 3-154. NAYs-Maine 7, Now Hampshire 1, Vermont 5, Massachusetts 12, Maryland C, Georgia 4, Loulsiina 6, Ohio 6, Kentucky 4, Tennessee 9, Indiana 13, Illinois 11, Missouri 9, Arkansas 4, Michigan 6, Texas 4, Iowa 4, Wisconsin 5, Calornia 4-120. The second day thereafter the rules were suspended-yeas 203, nays 88-and this resolution was adopted-yeas 205, nays 87: Resolved, That the Democratic party recognizes the great importance, in a political and commercial point of view, of a safe and speedy communication through our own territory between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Union, and that it is the duty of the Federal Government to exercise all its constitutional power to the attainment of that object, thereby binding the Union of these States in indissoluble bonds, and opening to the rich commerce of Asia an overland transit from the Pacific to the Mississippi river, and the great lakes of the North. ' NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1860. Republican, at Chicago, May. Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States, in Convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations: 1. That the history of the nation, during the Page 101] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 361 last four years, has fully established the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation of the Republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever before, demand its peaceful and constitutional triumph. 2. That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of the Independence and.embodied in the Federal Constitution, " That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," is essential to the preservation of our republican institutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States, must and shall be preserved. 3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented increase in population, its surprising development of material resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home, and its honor abro-d; and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for disunion, come from whatever source they may: and we congratulate the country that no Republican member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of disunion so often made by Democratic members, without rebuke and with applause from their political associates; and we denounce those threats of disunion, in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendency, as denying the vital principles of a free government, and as an avowal of contemplated treason, which it is the imperative duty of an indignant people sternly to rebuke and forever silence. 4. That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of tile States, and especially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes. 5. That the present Democratic Administration has far exceeded our worst apprehensions, in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a sectional interest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to force the infamous Lvcompton constitution upon the protesting peoplu of Kansas; in construing the personal relation between master and servant to involve an unqualified property in persons; in its attempted enforcement everywhere, on land and sea, through the intervention of Congress and of the Federal courts, of the extreme pretensions of a purely local interest; and in its general and unvarying abuse of the power intrusted to it by a canfiding people. 6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government; that a return to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favored partisans, while the recent startling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis show that an entire change of administration is imperatively demanded. 7. That the new dogma, that the Constitution, of its own force, carries slavery into any or all of the Territories of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instrument itself, with contemporaneous exposition, and with legislative and judicial precedent; is revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive of the peace and harmony of the country. 8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom; that as our republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that " no person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of the United States. 9. That we brand the recent re-opening of the African slave-trade, under the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, as a crime against humanity and a burning shame to our country and age; and we call upon Congress to take *prompt'and efficient measures for the total and final suppression of that execrable traffic. 10. That in the recent vetoes, by their Federal governors, of the acts of the legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting slavery in those Territories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted democratic principle of nonintervention and popular sovereignty, embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud involved therein. 11. That Kansas should of right be immediately admitted as a State under the constitution recently formed and adopted by her people and accepted by the House of Representatives. 12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the industrial interests of the whole country; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to the workingmen liberal wages, to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence. 13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the public lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the free homestead policy which regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public bounty; and we demand the passage by Congress of the complete and satisfactory homestead measure which has already passed the House. 14. That the Republican party is opposed to any change in our naturalization laws, or any State legislation by which the rights-of citizen 362 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. ship hitherto accorded to immigrants from foreign lands shall be abridged or impaired; and in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home and abroad. 15. That appropriations by Congress for river and harbor improvements of a national character, required for the accommodation and security of an existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution and justified by the obligation of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens. 16. That a railroad to the Pacific ocean is imperatively demanded by the interests of the "whole country; that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that, as preliminary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly established. 17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views, we invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other questions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and support. Democratic (Douglas) Platform, adopted at Charleston and Baltimore, June. 1. Resolved, That we, the Democracy of the Union, in convention assembled, hereby declare our affirmance of the resolutions unanimously adopted and declared as a platform of principles by the Democratic Convention in Cincinnati, in the year 1856, believing that Democratic principles are unchangeable in their nature, when applied to the same subject-matters; and we recommend, as the only further resolutions, the following: 2. Resolved, That it is the duty of the United States to afford ample and complete protection to all its citizens, whether at home or abroad, and whether native or foreign. 3. Resolved, That one of the necessities of thei age, in a military, commercial, and postal point' of view, is speedy communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States; and the Democratic party pledge such constitutional Government aid as will insure the construction of a railroad to the Pacific coast at the earliest practicable period. 4. Besolved, That the Democratic party are in favor of the acquisition of the Island of Cuba, on such terms as shall be honorable to ourselves and just to Spain. 5. Resolved, That the enactments of State legislatures to defeat the faithful execution of the fugitive-slave law are hostile in character, subversive of the Constitution, and revolutionary in their effect. 6. Resolved, That it is in accordance with the true interpretation of the Cincinnati platform that, during the existence of the territorial governments, the measure of restriction, whatever it may be, imposed by the Federal Constitution on the power of the territorial legislature over the subject of the domestic relations, as the same has been, or shall hereafter be, finally determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,should be respected by all good citizens, and enforced with promptness and fidelity by every branch of the General Government. Democratic (Breckinridge) Platform, adopted at Charleston and Baltimore, June. Resolved, That the platform adopted by the Democratic party at Cincinnati be affirmed, with the following explanatory resolutions: 1. That the government of a territory organized by an act of Congress is provisional and temporary, and during its existence all citizens of the United States have an equal right to settle with their property in the territory, without their rights, either of person or property, being destroyed or impaired by congressional or territorial legislation. 2. That it is the duty of the Federal Government, in all its departments, to protect, when necessary, the rights of persons and property in the territories, and wherever else its constitutional authority extends. 3. That when the settlers in a territory, having an adequate population, form a State constitution, the right of sovereignty commences, and, being consummated by admission into the Union, they stand on an equal footing with the people of other States; and the State thus organized ought to be admitted into the Federal Union, whether its constitution prohibits or recognizes the institution of slavery. 4. That the Democratic party are in favor of the acquisition of the Island of Cuba, on such terms as shall be honorable to ourselves and just to Spain, at the earliest practicable moment. 5. That the enactments of State legislatures to defeat the faithful execution of the fugitiveslave law are hostile in character, subversive of the Constitution, and revolutionary in their Ieffect. 6. That the Democracy of the United States recognize it as the imperative duty of this Government to protect the naturalized citizen in all his rights, whether at home or in foreign lands, to the same extent as its native-born citizens. 'Whereas one of the greatest necessities of the age, in a political, commercial, postal, and military point of view, is a speedy communication between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts; therefore, be it Resolved, That the National Democratic party do hereby pledge themselves to use every means in their power to secure tlhe passage of some bill, to the extent of the constitutional authority of Congress, for the construction of a Pacific railroad from the Mississippi river to t e Pacific ocean, at the earliest practicable moment. NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1864. Republican, at Baltimore, June. Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain against all their enemies the integrity of the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that, laying aside all differences of political opinions, we pledge ourselves as Union men, animated by a common sentiment, and aiming at a common object, to do everything in our power to aid the Government, in quelling by force of arms the rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bring Page 103] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 363 ing to the punishment due to their crimes the rebels and traitors arrayed against it. 2. That we approve the determination of the Government of the United States not to compromise with rebels, or to offer them any terms of peace, except such as may be based upon an unconditional surrender of their hostility and a return to their just allegiance to the Constitution and laws of the United States; and that we call upon the Government to maintain this position and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the complete suppression of the rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrificing patriotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American people to the country and its free institutions. 3. That as slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the strength of this rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile to the principles of republican government, justice and the national safety demand its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the republic; and that while we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government, in its own defence, has aimed a death-blow at this gigantic evil, we are in favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever prohibit the existence of slavery within the limits of the jurisdiction of the United States. 4. That the thanks of the American people are due to the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy, who have perilled their lives in defence of their country and in vindication of the honor of its flag; that the nation owes to them some permanent recognition of their patriotism and their valor, and ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received disabling and honorable wounds in the service of the country; and that the memories of those who have fallen in its defence shall be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance. 5. That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the unselfish patriotism, and the unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circumstances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the presidential office; that we approve and endorse, as demandrd by the emergency and essential to the preservation of the nation and as within the provisions of the Constitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the nation against its open and secret foes; that we approve especially the proclamation of emancipation and the employment as Union soldiers of men heretofore held in slavery; and that we have full confidence in his determination to carry these and all other constitutional measures essential to the salvation of the country into full and complete effect. 6. Than we deem it essential to the general welfare that harmony should prevail in the national councils, and we regard as worthy of public confidence and official trust those only who cordially endorse the principles proclaimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the administration of the Government. 7. That the Government owes to all men em ployed in its armies, without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of the laws of war; and that any violation of these laws, or of the usages of civilized nations in time of war by the rebels now in arms, should be made the subject of prompt and full redress. 8. That foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources and increase of power to the nationthe asylum of the oppressed of all nations-should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. 9. That we are in favor of the speedy construction of the railroad to the Pacific coast. 10. That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of the public debt, must be kept inviolate, and that for this purpose we recommend economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous and just system of taxation; and that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain the credit and promote the use of the national currency. 11. That we approve the position taken by the Government that the people of the United States can never regard with indifference the attempt of any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant by fraud, the institutions of any republican government on the western continent; and that they will view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence of their own country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for monarchical governments, sustained by foreign military force, in near proximity to the United States. Democratic, at Chicago, August. Resolved, That in the future, as in the past, we will adhere with unswerving fidelity to the Union under the Constitution as the only solid foundation of our strength, security, and happiness as a people, and as a framework of government equally conducive to the welfare and prosperity of all the States, both northern and southern. Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretence of a military necessity or warpower higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States. Resolved, That the direct interference of the military authorities of the United States in the recent elections held in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Delaware was a shameful violation of the Constitution, and a repetition of such acts in the approaching election will be held as revolutionary, and resisted with all the means and power under our cont ol. 864 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Resolved, That the aim and object of the Democratic party is to preserve the Federal Union and the rights of the States unimpaired, and they hereby declare that they consider that the administrative usurpation of extraordinary and dangerous powers not granted by the Constitution-the subversion of the civil by military law in States not in insurrection; the arbitrary military arrest, imprisonment, trial, and sentence of American citizens in States where civil law exists in full force; the suppression of freedom of speech and of the press; the denial of the right of asylum; the open and avowed disregard of State rights; the employment of unusual test-oaths; and the interference with and denial of the right of the people to bear arms in their defence is calculated to prevent a restoration of the Union and the perpetuation of a Government deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. Resolved, That the shameful disregard of the Administration to its duty in respect to our fellow-citizens who now are and long have been prisoners of war in a suffering condition deserves the severest reprobation on the score alike of public policy and common humanity. Resolved, That the sympathy of the Democratic party is heartily and earnestly extended to the soldiery of our army and sailors of our navy, who are and have been in the field and on the sea under the flag of our country, and, in the event of its attaining power, they will receive all the care, protection, and regard that the brave soldiers and sailors of the republic so nobly earned. XXXV. NATIONAL PLATFORMS OF 1868, THE LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE OF CANDIDATES, AND SUNDRY PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTIONS. Republican, at Chicago, May.* The National Republican party of the United States, assembled in National Convention in the city of Chicago, on the 21st day of May, 1866, make the following declaration of principles: 1. We congratulate the country on the assured success of the reconstruction policy of Congress, as evinced by the adoption, in the majority of the States lately in rebellion, of constitutions securing equal civil and political rights to all; and it is the duty of the Government to sustain those institutions and to prevent the people of such States from being remitted to a state of anarchy. 2. The guaranty by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at the South was demanded by every consideration of public safety, of gratitude, and of justice, and must be maintained; while the question of suffrage in all the loyal States properly belongs to the people of those States. 3. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a national crime; and the national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the uttermost good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only according to the letter, but the spirit of the laws under which it was contracted. 4. It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized, and reduced as rapidly as the national faith will permit. 5. The national debt, contracted as it has been for the preservation of the Union for all time to come, should be extended over a fair period for redemption; and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of interest thereon, whenever it can be honestly done. 6. That the best policy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest than we now pay, and must continue to pay so long as repudiation, partial or total, open or covert, is threatened or suspected. 7. The Government of the United States should be administered with the strictest economy; and the corruptions which have been so shamefully nursed and fostered by Andrew Johnson call loudly for radical reform. 8. We profoundly deplore the untimely and tragic death of Abraham Lincoln, and regret the accession to the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, who has acted treacherously to the people who elected him and the cause he was pledged to support; who has usurped high legislative and judicial functions; who has refused to execute the laws; who has used his high office to induce other officers to ignore and violate the laws; who has employed his executive powers to render insecure the property, the peace, liberty and life, of the citizen; who has abused the pardoning power; who has denounced the national * Reported from the following committee on resolutions: Alabama-D. C. Humphreys. Arkansas-H. B. Morse. Colorado-G. MI. Chilcott. Connecticut-J. M. Woodward. Delaware-C. S. Layton. Florida-R. G. Roder. Georgia-R. H. McCoy. Illinois-Herman Raster. Indiana-Richard W. Thompson. Iowa-G. 3. Dodge. Kansas-B. F. Simpson. Kentuckyq-Charles Eginton. Louisiana-William R. Fish. Maine-Eugene Hall. Maryland- Massachusetts-F. W. Bird. Michigan-R. R. Beecher. Minnesota-R. M. McClelland. Mississippi-A. R. Howe. Missouri-Robert T. Van Horn. Nebraska-R. W. Furniss. Nevada-C. E. De Long. New Hampshire-J. F. Briggs. New JerseyJohn Davidson. New York-Charles Andrews. North Carolina-L. G. Estes. Ohio-J. C. Lee. Oregon-H. R. Kincaid. Pennsylvania-Samuel E. Dimmick. Rhode Island-R. G. Hazard. South Carolina-B. O. Duncan. Tennessee-W. G. Elliott. Texas-George W. Paschal. Vermont-W. H. Johnson. Virginia-L. Bill. West Virginia-R. S. Brown. Wisconsin-H. Rublee. The thirteenth and fourteenth were added to the committee's resolutions on motion of General Carl 8churz. Page 105] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 365 legislature as unconstitutional: who has persistently and corruptly resisted, by every means in his power, every proper attempt at the reconstruction of the States lately in rebellion; who has perverted the public patronage into an engine of wholesale corruption; and who has been justly impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and properly pronounced guilty thereof by the vote of thirty-five Senators. 9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, that because a man is once a subject he is always so, must be resisted at every hazard by the United States, as a relic of feudal times, not authorized by the laws of nations, and at war with our national honor and independence. Naturalized citizens are entitled to protection in all their rights of citizenship, as though they were native-born; and no citizen of the United States, native or naturalized, must be liable to arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power for acts done or words spoken in this country; and, if so arrested and imprisoned, it is the duty of the Government to interfere in his behalf. 10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war, there were none entitled to more especial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who endured the hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperilled their lives in the service of the country; the bounties and pensions provided by the laws for these brave defenders of the nation are obligations never to be forgotten; the widows and orphans of the gallant dead are the wards of the people--a sacred legacy bequeathed to the nation's protecting care. 11. Foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development, and resources, and increase of power to this republic, the asylum of the oppressed of all na. tions, should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy. 12. This convention declares itself in sympathy with all oppressed peoples struggling for their rights. 13. That we highly commend the spirit of magnanimity and forbearance with which men who have served in the rebellion, but who now frankly and honestly cobperate with us in restoring the peace of the country and reconstructing the southern State governments upon the basis of impartial justice and equal rights, are received back into the communion of the loyal people; and we favor the removal of the disqualifications and restrictions imposed upon the late rebels in the same measure as the spirit of disloyalty will die out, and as may be consistent with the safety of the loyal people. 14. That we recognize the great principles laid down in the immortal Declaration of Independence, as the true foundation of democratic government; and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these principles a living reality on every inch of American soil. Soldiers and Sailors' National Convention, at Chicago, May. 1. Resolved, That the soldiers and sailors, steadfast now as ever to the Union and the flag, and fully recognizing the claims of General Ulysses S. Grant to:the confidence of the American peolle, and believing that its victories under his guidance in war will be illustrated by him in peace by such measures as shall secure the fruits of our exertions and the restoration of the Union upon a loyal basis, we declare it as our deliberate conviction that he is the choice of the soldiers and sailors of the Union for the office of President of the United States. 2. That in the maintenance of those principles which underlie our Government, and for which we fought during four years, we pledge our earnest and active support to the Republican party as the only political organization which, in our judgment, is true to the principles of loyalty and equality before the law. 3. That speaking for ourselves and the soldiers and sailors who imperilled their lives to preserve the Union, we believe that the impeachment of Andrew Johnson by the House of Representatives, for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, and his trial before the United States Senate, have presented unmistakable proofs of his guilt, and that whatever may be the judgment of the tribunal before which he is arraigned, the verdict of guilty has been rendered by the people, and we regard any Senator who has voted for acquittal as falling short of the proper discharge of his duty in this hour of the nation's trial, and as unworthy of the confidence of a brave and loyal people. 4. That the soldiers and sailors recognize no difference between native and adopted citizens, and they demand that the Government shall protect naturalized citizens abroad as well as those of native birth. LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE OF THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEES. General Grant's Letter. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 29, 1868. General JOSEPH R. HAWLEY, President Nat. Union Republican Convention: In formally accepting the nomination of the National Union Republican Convention of the 21st of May instant, it seems proper that some statement of views beyond the mere acceptance of the nomination should be expressed. The proceedings of the convention were marked with wisdom, moderation, and patriotism, and I believe express the feelings of the great mass of those who sustained the country through its recent trials. I endorse their resolutions. If elected to the office of President of the United States, it will be my endeavor to administer all the laws in good faith, with economy, and with the view of giving peace, quiet, and protection everywhere. In times like the present it is impossible, or at least eminently improper, to lay down a policy to be adhered to, right or wrong, through an administration of four years. New political issues, not foreseen, are constantly arising; the views of the public on old ones are constantly changing, and a purely administrative officer should always be left free to execute the will of the people. I always have respected that will and always shall. Peace and universal prosperity, its sequenice, with economy of administration, will lighten the 866 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. burden of taxation, while it. constantly reduces the national debt. Let us have peace. With great respect, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT. Mr. Colfax's Letter. WASHINGTON, May 30, 1868. Hon. J. R. HAWLEY, President Nat. Union Republican Convention. DEAR Sin: The platform adopted by the patriotic convention over which you presided, and the resolutions which so happily supplement it, so entirely agree with my views as to a just national policy, that my thanks are due to the delegates, as much for this clear and auspicious declaration of principles as for the nomination with which I have been honored, and which I gratefully accept. When a great rebellion, which imperilled the national existence, was at last overthrown, the duty of all others devolving on those intrusted with the responsibilities of legislation evidently was to require that the revolted States should be readmitted to participation in the Government against which they had warred only on such a basis as to increase and fortify, not to weaken or endanger, the strength of the nation. Certainly no one ought to have claimed that they should be readmitted under such rules that their organization as States could ever again be used, as at the opening of the war, to defy the national authority, or to destroy the national unity. This principle has been the pole-star of those who have inflexibly insisted on the congressional policy your convention so cordially endorsed. Baffled by executive opposition, and by persistent refusals to accept any plan of reconstruction proffered by Congress, justice and public safety at last combined to teach us that only by an enlargement of suffrage in those States could the desired end be attained, and that it was even more safe to give the ballot to those who loved the Union than to those who had sought ineffectually to destroy it. The 'assured success of this legislation is being written on the adamant of history, and will be our triumphliant vindication. More clearly, too, than ever before does the nation now recognize that the greatest glory of a republic is, that it throws the shield of its protection over the humblest and the weakest of its people, and vindicates the rights of the poor and the powerless as faithfully as those of the rich and the powerful. I rejoice, too, in this convention, to find in your platform the frank and fearless avowal that the naturalized citizens must be protected abroad, " at every hazard, as though they were native-born." Our whole people are foreigners or descendants of foreigners. Our fathers established by arms their right to be called a nation. It remains for us to establish the right to welcome to our shores all who are willing by oaths of allegiance to become American citizens. Perpetual allegiance, as claimed abroad, is only another name for perpetual bondage, and would make all slaves to the soil where first they saw the light. Our national cemeteries prove how faithfully these oaths of fidelity to their adopted land have been sealed in the life blood of thousands upon thousands. Should we not then be faithless to the dead if we did not protect their living brethren in the enjoyment of that nationality, for which, side by side with the nativeborn, our soldiers of foreign birth laid down their lives. It was fitting, too, that the representatives of a party which had proved so true to national duty in time of war should speak so clearly in time of peace for the maintenance untarnished of national honor, national credit, and good faith as regards its debt, the cost of our national existence. I do not need to extend this reply by further comment on a platform which has elicited such hearty approval throughout the land. The debt of gratitude it acknowledges to the brave men who saved the Union from destruction-the frank approval of amnesty based on repentance and loyalty-the demand for the most thorough economy and honesty in the Government-the sympathy of the party of liberty with all throughout the world who long for the liberty we here enjoy-and the recognition of the sublime principles of the Declaration of the Declaration of Independence, are worthy of the organization on whose banners they are to be written in the coming contest. Its past record cannot be blotted out or forgotten. If there had been no Republican party, slavery would to-day cast its baleful shadow over the republic. If there had been no Republican party, a free press and free speech would be as unknown from the Potomac to the Rio Grande as ten years ago. If the' Republican party could have been stricken from existence when the banner of rebellion was unfurled, and when the response of " no coercion" was heard at the North, we would have had no nation today. But for the Republican party daring to risk the odium of tax and draft laws, our flag could not have been kept flying on the field till the long-looked-for victory came. Without a Republican party, the civil rights bill, the guar-.. antee of equality under the law to the humble and the defenceless as well as to the strong, would not be to-day upon our national statute-book. With such inspirations from the past, and following the example of the founders of the republic, who called the victorious general of the Revolution to preside over the land his triumphs had saved from its enemies, I cannot doubt that our labors will be crowned with success. And it will be a success that will bring restored hope, confidence, prosperity and progress, South as well as North, West as well as East, and above all, the blessings under Providence of national concord and peace. Very truly, yours, SCHUYLER COLFAX. The nomination of General Grant was made on the first ballot. That of Mr. Colfax occurred on the fifth ballot, as follows: 1st. Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana. 115 Benj. F. Wade, of Ohio........147 Reuben E. Fenton, of N. Y. 126 Henry Wilson, of Mass...... 119 Andrew G. Curtin, of Pa..... 51 Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. 28 James Speed, of Kentucky. 22 James Harlan, of Iowa....... 16 John A. J. Creswell, of Md.... 14 William D. Kelley, of Pa...... 4 Samuel C. Pomeroy, of Kas.. 6 2d. 145 170 144 114 45 30 3d. 1065 178 139 101 40 25 4th. 186 206 144 87 25 5th. 541 38 69 Page 107] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 367 Domocratic, at New York, July.* upon foreign imports, and such equal taxation The Democratic Party, in National Convention under the Internal Revenue laws as will afford assembled, reposing its trust in the intelligence, incidental protection to domestic manufactures, patriotism, and discriminating justice of the peo- and as will, without impairing the revenue, imple, standing upon the Constitution as the foun- pose the least burden upon and best promote dation and limitation of the powers of the Gov- and encourage the great industrial interests of ernment, and the guarantee of the liberties of the country. the citizen, and recognizing the questions of Seventh-Reform of abuses in the administraslavery and secession as having been settled, for tion, the expulsion of corrupt men from office, all time to come, by the war or the voluntary the abrogation of useless offices, the restoration action of the Southern States in constitutional. of rightful authority to, and the independence conventions assembled, and never to be renewed of, the executive and judicial departments of the or reagitated, do with the return of peace, de- Government, the subordination of the military mand: to the civil power, to the end that the usurpations First-Immediate restoration of all the States of Congress and the despotism of the sword may to their rights in the Union under the Constitu- cease. tion, and of civil government to the American Eighth-Equal rights and protection for natpeople. uralized and native-born citizens at home and Second-Amnesty for all past political offences, abroad, the assertion of American nationality and the regulation of the elective franchise in which shall command the respect of foreign the States by their citizens, powers, and furnish an example and encourageThird-Payment of the public debt of the ment to people struggling for national integrity, United States as rapidly as practicable; all constitutional liberty, and individual rights and moneys drawn from the people by taxation, ex- the maintenance of the rights of naturalized cept so much as is requisite for the necessities citizens against the absolute doctrine of immutaof the Government, economically administered, ble allegiance, and the claims of foreign powers being honestly applied to such payment, and to punish them for alleged crime committed where the obligations of the Government do not beyond their jurisdiction. expressly state upon their face, or the law under In demanding these measures and reforms, we "which they were issued does not provide that arraign the Radical party for its disregard of they shall be paid in coin, they ought, in right right, and the unparalleled oppression and tyand in justice, to be paid in the lawful money of ranny which have marked its career. the United States. After the most solemn and unanimous pledge Fourth-Equal taxation of every species of of both Houses of Congress to prosecute the war property according to its real value, including exclusively for the maintenance of the GovernGovernment bonds and other public securities, ment and the preservation of the Upion under Fifth-One currency for the Government and the Constitution, it has repeatedly violated that the people, the laborer and the office-holder, the most sacred pledge under which alone was rallied pensioner and the soldier, the producer and the that noble volunteer army which carried our bondholder. flag to victory. Instead of restoring the Union Sixth-Economy in the administration of the it has, so far as in its power, dissolved it, and Government; the reduction of the standing army subjected ten States, in time of profound peace, and navy; the abolition of the Freedmen's Bu- to military despotism and negro supremacy. It reau and all political instrumentalities designed has nullified there the right of trial by jury; it to secure negro supremacy; simplification of the has abolished the habeas corpus, that most sacred system, and discontinuance of inquisitorial modes writ of liberty; it has overthrown the freedom of assessing and collecting Internal Revenue, so of speech and the press; it has substituted arbithat the burden of taxation may be equalized trary seizures and arrests, and military trials and lessened; the credit of the Government and and secret star-chamber inquisitions for the conthe currency made good; the repeal of all enact- stitutional tribunals; it has disregarded in time ments for enrolling the State militia into national of peace the right of the people to be free from forces in time of peace; and a tariff for revenue searches and seizures; it has entered the post and telegraph offices, and even the private rooms Unanimousy eported from this Committee on ofindividuals, and seized their private papersand Resolutions: Alabama--Charles C. Langdon. Arkansas-A. H. Garland. California-A. H. Rose. Connecti- letters without any specific charge or notice of cut-Tilton E. Doolittle. Delaware-James A. Bayard. affidavit, as required by the organic law; it Florida-Wilkerson Call. Georgia-Henry S. Fitch. has converted the American Capitol into a basIllinois-Wilianm J. Allen. Indiana--Joseph E. McDonald. Iowa--John H. O'Neil. Kansas-George W. tile; it has established a system of spies and Glick. Kenttcky--William Preston. Louisiana-James official espionage to which no constitutional Stevestis. Achne-ri. sech etts D. aryd Ave monarchy of Europe would now dare to resort; Michigan-Charles E. Stuart. Minnesota-James J. it has abolished the right of appeal on imporGreen. Mississippi-Ethelbert Barksdale. Missouri- tant constitutional questions to the supreme Charles M anr. Nebraska-Charles F. Porter. NYe- judicial tribunals, and threatens to curtail or -J. A. S. Cir psre-J..Campelljudicialribunals, and threatens to curtail or New Jersey-Jacob R. Wortendvke. New York-Henry destroy its original jurisdiction, which is irrevoC. Murphy. North Carolina-Robert Strange. Ohio- cably vested by the Constitution, while the William. Gilmore. Oregon-R. D. itch. Pennsyl learned Chief Justice has been subjected to the vania--Franklin W. Hughes. Rhode Island-Thomas Steere. South Carolina-Wade Hampton. Tennessee- most atrocious calumnies, merely because he Edmund Cooper. Tcxas-George W. Smith. Ver- would not. prostitute his high office to the supot Chles N Davenpo. irga o s port of the false and partisan charges preferred A. Mallory against the President. Its corruption and ex ,868 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. travagance have exceeded anything known in history, and, by its frauds and monopolies, it has nearly doubled the burden of the debt created by the war. It has stripped the President of his constitutional power of appointment, even of his own cabinet. Under its repeated assaults the pillars of the Government are rocking on their base, and should it succeed in November next and inaugurate its President, we will meet as a subjected and conquered people, amid the ruins of liberty and the scattered fragments of the Constitution. And we do declare and resolve that ever since the people of the United States threw off all subjection to the British Crown the privilege and trust of suffrage have belonged to the several States, and have been granted, regulated, and controlled exclusively by the political power of each State respectively, and that any attempt by Congress, on any pretext whatever, to deprive any State of this right, or interfere with its exercise, is a flagrant usurpation of power which can find no warrant in the Constitution, and, if sanctioned by the people, will subvert our form of government, and can only end in a single centralized and consolidated government, in which the separate existence of the States will be entirely absorbed, and an unqualified despotism be established in place of a Federal union of co-equal States. And that we regard the reconstruction acts (so called) of Congress, as such, as usurpations and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void. That our soldiers and sailors, who carried the flag of our country to victory against a most gallant and determined foe, must ever be gratefully remembered, and all the guarantees given in their favor must be faithfully carried into execution. That the public lands should be distributed as widely as possible among the people, and should be disposed of either under the pre-emption of homestead lands, or sold in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants, at the minimum price established by the Government. When grants of the public lands may be allowed, necessary for the encouragement of important public improvements, the proceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands themselves, should be so applied. That the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, in exercising the power of his high office in resisting the aggressions of Congress upon the constitutional rights of the States and the people, is entitled to the gratitude of the whole American people, and in behalf of the Democratic party we tender him our thanks for his patriotic efforts in that regard. Upon this platform the Democratic party appeal to every patriot, including all the Conservative element and all who desire to support the Constitution and restore the Union, forget ting all past differences of opinion, to unite with us in the present great struggle for the liberties of the people; and that to all such, to whatever party they may have heretofore belonged, we extend the right hand of fellowship, and hail all such co-operating with us as friends and brethren. Resolved, That this convention sympathize cordially with the workingmen of the United States in their efforts to protect the rights and interests of the laboring classes of the country. [Offered by Mr. Vallandigham, and adopted the last day of the convention.] Resolved, That the thanks of the convention are tendered to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, for the justice, dignity, and impartiality with which he presided over the court of impeachment on the trial of President Andrew Johnson. [This last was offered by Mr. Kernan, of New York, after the nominations and immediately before the final adjournment, and was carried by acclamation.] _ Soldiers and Sailors, at New York, July. Whereas a mutual interchange of views between members of this Convention and delegates to the Democratic National Convention, has fully confirmed us in our previously entertained opinion of the purity and patriotism of that body, and fully justifies the belief that in the selection of candidates and in the construction of a platform the Convention will be governed by the spirit of the address adopted by this body on the 6th inst.; therefore, relying upon this belief, Resolved, That we will support its nominees for President and Vice President of the United States, and that on our return home we will induce our late comrades in arms to unite with us in yielding to them a united support. [Reported from the Committee on Resolutions and adopted-yeas 287, nays 7.] Resolved, That the declaration of principles adopted by the Democratic National Convention be and the same is hereby ratified arid approved, and that the secretary communicate to that Convention a copy of this resolution forthwith. Resolved, That the President of the Convention appoint a committee of five to wait upon General George B. McClellan, and assure him that although we are called upon by duty to support the nominee for the Presidency of the National Democratic party now in Convention, our confidence in him is unimpaired, and that our love for him is as ardent as ever, and that the highest honor that this Convention could confer upon him would but poorly express our esteem for him. Also, that the said committee be requested to ask him to come and assist us with all his ability during the coming campaign. Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention, and of all patriotic and right-minded citizens, are due to the President of the United States for the removal of E. M. Stanton from the War Department of the Government, a position which the said Stanton has disgraced and dishonored ever since his appointment to that office, by his many acts of cruelty-both to the Union aind Confederate soldiers-and by his official acts of tyranny; and that the soldiers and sailors should, on all occasions, meet him with the same feelings of outraged dignity and patriotism that he was received with, on an ever-memorable occasion, in the city of Washington, from that great and glorious soldier--General William Tecumseh Sherman. [The last three resolutions were offered in the Convention, and adopted unanimously, under a Page 109] POLITICAL PLATFORMS. suspension of the rule requiring the reference of all resolutions to the committee on resolutions.] Pending the resolutions reported from the committee above, General Thomas Ewing, jr., of Kansas, offered this resolution: Resolved, That the faith of the republic to its creditors, as pledged in its laws, is inviolable, and the public burdens should be lightened by vigilant economy in expenditures, and never by repudiation; that all the bonds of the United States issued after the passage of the legal tender act, and not by law expressly payable in coin, should be paid when redeemable in legaltender notes, but without undue inflation of the currency, or at the option of the holders, converted into bonds bearing a low rate of interest; that the national bank currency should be retired and its place supplied by legal tenders, so as to save to the Government interest upon the amount of that circulation, and that the policy of permitting banks to supply nearly half of the national currency - allowing the five-twenty bonds, bearing, as they do, interest at the rate of nearly nine per cent. per annum, to run beyond the date when they become redeemable, and of contracting the currency until it shall rise to the value of gold, is a policy which favors the few against the many, is oppressive to the laboring and the debtor classes, and tends to bring upon the country the dishonor of repudiation. [He moved for the suspension of the rule requiring reference to the committee, which was lost-yeas 78, nays 197; and the resolution was accordingly referred, and not again considered.] General Blair's Letter. OMAHA, NEBRASKA, July 13, 1868. General GEORGE W. MORGAN, Ohairman Committee National Democratic Convention. GENERAL: I take the earliest opportunity of replying to your letter, notifying me of my nomination for Vice President of the United States by the National Democratic Convention, recently held in the city of New York. I accept without hesitation the nomination tendered in a manner so gratifying, and give you and the committee my thanks for the very kind and complimentary language in which you have conveyed to me the decision of the convention. I have carefully read the resolutions adopted by the convention, and most cordially concur in every principle and sentiment they announce. My opinion upon all of the questions which discriminate the great contending parties have been freely expressed on all suitable occasions, and I do not deem it necessary at this time to reiterate them. The issues upon which the contest turns are clear, and cannot be obscured or distorted by the sophistries of our adversaries. They all resolve themselves into the old and ever-renewing struggle of a few men to absorb the political power of the nation. This effort, under every conceivable name and disguise, has always characterized the opponents of the Democratic party, but at no time has the attempt assumed a shape so open and daring as in this contest. The adversaries of free and constitutional government, 24 in defiance of the express language of the Constitution, have erected a military despotism in ten of the States of the Union, have taken from the President the powers vested in him by the supreme law, and have deprived the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction. The right of trial by jury, and the.great writ of right, the habeas corpus-shields of safety for every citizen, and which have descended to us from the earliest traditions of our ancestors, and which our revolutionary fathers sought to secure to their posterity forever in the fundamental charter of our liberties-have been ruthlessly trampled under foot by the fragment of a Congress. Whole States and communities of people of our own race have been attainted, convicted, condemned, and deprived of their rights as citizens, without presentment, or trial, or witnesses, but by congressional enactment of ex post facto laws, and in defiance of the constitutional prohibition denying even to a full and legal Congress the authority to pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law. The same usurping authority has substituted as electors in place of the men of our own race, thus illegally attainted and disfranchised, a host of ignorant negroes, who are supported in idleness with the public money, and combined together to strip the white race of their birthright, through the management of freedmen's bureaus and the emissaries of conspirators in other States; and, to complete the oppression, the military power of the nation has been placed at their disposal, in. order to make this barbarism supreme. The military leader under whose prestige this usurping Congress has taken refuge since the condemnation of their schemes by the free people of the North in the elections of the last year, and whom they have selected as their candidate to shield themselves from the result of their own wickedness and crime, has announced his acceptance of the nomination, and his willingness to maintain their usurpations over eight millions of white people at the South, fixed to the earth with his bayonets. He exclaims: "Let us have peace." " Peace reigns in Warsaw" was the announcement which heralded the doom of the liberties of a nation. " The empire is peace," exclaimed Bonaparte, when freedom and its defenders expired under the sharp edge of his sword. The peace to which Grant invites us is the peace of despotism and death. Those who seek to restore the Constitution by executing the will of the people condemning the reconstruction acts, already pronounced in the elections of last year, and which will, I am convinced, be still more emphatically expressed by the election of the Democratic candidate as the President of the United States, are denounced as revolutionists by the partisans of this vindictive Congress. Negro suffrage, which the popular vote of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut, and other States have condemned as expressly against the letter of the Constitution, must stand, because their Senators and Representatives have willed it. If the people shall again condemn these atrocious measures by the election of the Democratic candidate for Pres'dnt, 370 POLITICAL MANUAL* [Part III. they must not be disturbed, although decided to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and although the President is sworn to maintain and support the Constitution. The will of a fraction of a Congress, reinforced with its partisan emissaries sent to the South and supported there by the soldiery, must stand against the will of the people and the decision of the Supreme Court, and the solemn oath of the President to maintain and support the Constitution. It is revolutionary to execute the will of the people! It is revolutionary to execute the J udgment of the Supreme Court! It is revolutionary in the President to keep inviolate his oath to sustain the Constitution! This false c-onstruction of the vital principle of our Govermnent is the last resort of those who would have their arbitrary reconstruction sway and supersede our time-honored institutions. The nation will say the Constitution must be restored, and the will of the people again prevail. The appeal to the peaceful ballot to attain this end is not war, is not revolution. They make war and revolution who attempt to arrest this quiet mode of putting aside military despotism and the usurpations of a fragment of a Congress, asserting absolute power over that benign system of regulated liberty left us by our fathers. This must be allowed to take its course. This is the only road to peace. It will come with the election of the Democratic candidate, and not with the election of that mailed warrior, whose bayonets are now at the throats of eight millions of people in the South, to compel them to support him as a candidate for the Presi. dency, and to submit to the domination of an alien race of semi- barbarous men. No perversion of truth or audacity of misrepresentation can exceed that which hails this candidate in arms as an angel of peace. I am, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, FRANK P. BLAIR. Page 1111 P.OLITICAL PLATFORMS. 371 The nomination of Ex-Governor Seymour was made, July 9, on the 22d. ballot, as follows: Candidate&. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Horatio Seymour...................................... 9 George H. Pendleton......................... 105 104 119Y411 22Y 3 6214 172IA Andrew Johnson............................... 65 62 3 ~4Y232 24 21 /2Y286 31 6?ý 24Y24Y 43246 47 42Y3322 Winfield S. Hancock......................... 33Y 4034 234 A Sanford E. Church..................... 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 Asa Packer............................. 26 26 26 26 27 27 26 26 26Y2 27Y2 26 Joel Parker..................................... 13 151~ 13 13 13 13 7 7 7 7 7 James E. English........................... 16 12 ~7 Y2 7Y2 7 6 6 6 6 James R. Doolittle............................. 13 122 12 12 15 12 12 12 12 12 1ý2~/ Reverdy Johnson.............................. 811/ 8 11 8 91~............ Thomas A. Hendricks......................... 2 / 2 94~1 1 1i 30 391~ 75 8041 821~ 88 F. P. Blair, Jr................................ A1014 A 2...A /2 A Y. T~homas Ewing.................................. Y 7P2 1 1Y 1..Y o /2. o 0 UJ.. Adams........................................ o.... bo... 1.. to *s S. 0. Gerge B. McClellan.............. o........................bo bo 0.0.............. o.......... Salmon P. Chase............... o...... o..... o.....o........ to......0....&.................... Franklin Pierce.................... o..............o......bt t. bb... 0........................ John T. Hoffman.................................................. t Stephen J. Field.............................................. o........ Thomas H. Seymour...........o.................... to...... ob....... 6......... 0.......... Candidatcs. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Horatio Seymour........................... o.......... 00 to o....317 George H. Pendleton..................... 1451~ 1341~ 130 19 107k 70Y 56Y2........... Andrew Johnson................ o........... 4A/ 4' o 6 10.... 5.. Winfield S. Hancock....o.............o....... 30 Y 4802 56 7922 1132ý2 137Y2~ 144Y2 135Y2 142Y2 135Y2.. Sanford E. Church...............................................bo....to 0. t... bo 6...00.... Asa Packer.....................................26 26 26.. 1i to.. 22 to.. Joel Parker........ o........... o..........o..... Y o o. James E. English.................................... o........ bo...... 6 16 19 James 1R. Doolittle.....o...................... 12 2 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 0. Iteverdy Johnson..............................o............. bo to..04 Thomas A. Hendricks....o................ o... 89 81 842 2Y 7Y2 0 8710111 13 bo F. P. Blair, Jr......................... 2 Y ' 3' 3 o o Thomas Ewing..............o............................................to to. J.. Adams...... o...................................................... bb........... Geor ge B. McClellan...................1...... to bo.0.. 0. 00Y Salmon P. Chase.......................~................. 2 2Y 3232 too 4 Franklin Pierce........o........ o...................1o 06 00 6. John T.,Hoffman.................................................. 3 3 0. 0. 0. to Stephen J. Field..................................................49, to 00 se *0 04 15 9 8 06 Thomas H1. Seymour..............................................0t* se bo. 00 4 2 o 0. Necessary to a Choice....................................................................General Blair was nominated unanimously on the first ballot. CHAP. XXXVI.-Election Returns from 1860. C, P\3 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION STATE ELECTIONS. ELECTORAL COLLEGE. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1864, STATES. OF 1860. Including army vote. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1864. Linc____ol__n.Bell.__ ___ Li.__ Me__l___a__At______ ____________ _________ At the L B.. Breckin- Ln present Lincoln. Bell. Douglas Br n- Lincoln. McClellan. Rep. Dem. Rep. Dem. Linc'n. McC'n. time. Maine.................. New Hampshire.......... Massachusetts.......... Rhode Island.............. Connecticut............. Vermont................. New York.................. New Jersey.................. Pennsylvania.............. Delaware................... Maryland............... Virginia................. North Carolina........... South Carolina............. Georgia........................ Kentucky................. Tennessee.................. Ohio..................... Louisiana............... Mississippi................ Indiana.................... Illinois........................ Alabama....................... Missouri................. Arkansas................. Michigan..................... Florida................. Texas......................... Iowa......................... Wisconsin................... California.......... Minnesota............ Oregon............... Kansas.................. West Virginia.............. Nevada....................... Nebraska...................... Total................. 62,811 37,519 106,533 12,244 43,792 33,808 362,646 58,324 268,030 3,815 2,294 1,929 "No.................. "231,610 139,033 172,161 "17,028 "88,480 "70,409 86,110 39,173 22,069 5,270 Admitted Ineluded Admitted " e 2,046 441 22,331................." "3,291 1,969.................. 12,776 3,864 41,760 74,681 44,990 popular 42,886 66,058 69,274 12,194 20,204 25,040 5,306 4,913 27,875 58,372 20,094 405 5,437 *15,438 1,763 161 6,817 62 183 since in since "4C 26,693. 25,881 "34,372 * 7,707 15,522 6,849 "*312,510 * 62,801 16,785 1,023 5,966 16,290 2,701 vote. 11,590 25,651 11,350 187,232 7,625 3,283 115,509 160,215 13,651 58,801 5,227 65,057 367 55,11 1 65,021 38,516 11,920 3,951 1860. Virginia 1860. " ( 6,368 2,112 5,939................. 14,641 218.................. "178,871 7,337 42,482 74,323' 48,539 51,889 53,143 64,709 11,405 22.681 40,797 12,295 2,404 48,831 31,317 28,732 805 8,543 47,548 1,048 888 34,334 -748 5,006 in 1860... ~~~~~~~~~ -..~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 72,278 36,595 126,742 14,343 44,693 42,422 368,726 60,723 296,389 8,155 40,153......................."............................. "265,154 189,487 "72,991 85,352.................. 87,331 79,564 62,134 25,060 9,888 14,228 23,223 9,826 ~~~~r~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 47,736 33,034 48,745 8,718 42,288 13,325 361,986 68,014 276,308 8,767 32,739..................................................... 64,301 205,568 130,233 158,349....... "...'' "......'........... "31,026 "67,370. 49,260" 63,875 43,841 17,375 8,457 3,871 10,457 6,594.............. o~ 69,626 35,137 91,980 8,197 43,974 34,117 366,315 65,542 307,274 8,598 27,351 "10,749. 58,035 "256,302 169.601 203045 "62,187 6,476 96,746 12,051 91,227 79,323 No gen'l 25,983 10,283 19,370 23,802 5,126 4,093 41,939 30,481 26,671 2,816 43,433.11,292 352,526 63,947 290,096 9,810 40,264 34,345............... 95,979 213,606 155,399 147,058 40,958 27,931 67,708 "48,631 55,815 55,416 election. 15,77 9,956 8,151 17,158 4,036 3,948 57,649 35,809 98,306 7,372 46,578 31,694 325,099 51,114 266,824 No State 21,890............................ 9 33,939 74,484 243,605 No State No State............... "80,819 90,789 73,637 140,359 34,870 No State.......................... 45,948 32,663 70,360 3,178 47,565 11,510 373,029 67,468 267,746 election. 63,602........................................ "90,225 22,548 240,622............... election. election. 55,865.58,880 68,873.49,905 29,543 election.............................. 39,724 371098 ~~~~~~~ ~~~~..........~~~~~~~~ 10,044 5,709 48,777 50,541...........................................................~........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ S..........................................................................................................................................................................~~~~~............................... I................................................................................................................................ 0........................................... 7 5 12 4 6 5 33............ 26............ 7.................................... 21 13 16.o.o....... 11 "8 8 8 5 4 3 3 5 S2............~................................ 7.........~. 3................................................ 11..............................o..................................................................................................... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ II...... ~~~~~~.~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~. 7 5 12 4 6 5 33 7 26 d 3 O 7 Z 6 9 11 10 21 7 13 16 8 11 5 8 3 8 8 5 4 3 3 5 3 3 r-- ^ 294 ------- ---------- -- - - --- - - --- 1 - - i 1 1 I I I 1,866,452 590,631 1,375,157 847,953 2,213,665 1,802,237........................................................... 212 21 * Fusion ticket. Third party, 13,167. $ Third party, 2,088. ý Judicial. II Estimated. ~ One elector having died, but two votes were polled from Nevada. Not yet restored: Virginia 10, Mississippi 7, Texas 6-23. Total of college 317. Majority of full college 159. Majority of actual college 148. Statement showing the amount and rate of taxation (U. S. and State) of the National Banks, for the year ending December 31, 1867. 4 STTES AND T o. C l. Amount of taxes Rate per cent. Paid to and assessed Rate per cent. Taxes paid to U. S. Rate of tax (U. S. ~ SSTATES AND TERRITORIES. Capital. paid United States. U. S. taxation. by State authorities. State taxati'n. and State authorities. & State) on capital,. Maine...................................... $9,085,000 00 $180,119 00 2. $141,225 64 1.5 $321,344 64 3.5 New Ham pshire................................................ Vermont.................................... M assachusetts................................ Rhode Island........................................ Connecticut....................................................... New York............................... New Jersey............................................ Pennsylvania....................................... Delaware................... M aryland....................................................... District of Columbia......................... Virginia......................................... West Virginia.......................................... North Carolina............................................. Georgia.................................................. Alabama.................................................... Louisiana....................................................... Texas~........................................... Arkansas...................................................... Kentucky........................... Tennessee.............................. Ohio.............................................................. Indiana................................................... Illinois................................................ Michigan............................................. Wisconsin................................... Minnesota.............................................. Iowa..................................................................... Missouri............................... K ansas...................................................... Nebraska............................................................ Oregon.............................................................. Territories............................................... Totals....................................................... 4,735,000 00 6,510,012 50 79,932,000 00 20,364,800 00 24,584,220 00 116,494,941 00 11,333,350 00 50,277,990 00 1,428,185 00 12,590,202 50 1,350,000 00 2,500,000 00 2,216,400 00 583,300 00 1,700,000 00 500,000 00 1,300,000 00 576,450 00 200,000 00 2,885,000 00 2,100,000 00 22,404,700 00 12,867,000 00 11,620,000 00 5,070,010 00 2,935,000 00 1,660,000 00 3,992,000 00 7,559,300 00 400,000 00 250,000 00 100,000 00 700,000 00 88,772 90 122.213 57 1,616,824 50 324,844 25 434,440 35 3,022,662 16 253,359 31 1,242,037 40 32,620 68 260,261 25 15,329 45 48,344 81 46,966 34 9,048 71 40,844 75 8,762 52 35,894 28 6,865 36 5,745 38 59,816 01 52,459 82 514,681 46 278,797 60 321,406 24 111,789 56 76,583 25 39,132 43 106,349 34 133,141 77 10,229 23 10,734 67 1,623 86 12,905 10 1.9 1.9 2.02 1.5 1.7 2.61 2.2 2.47 2.28 2.06 1.33 1.93 2.1 1.55 2.5 1.75 2.76 1.19 2.87 2.1 2.7 2.29 2.16 2.76 2.2 2.61 2. 2.66 1.4 2.5 4.29 2.4 1.33 93,178 83 144,163 50 1,566,128 10 196,355 32 387,146 26 4,058,706 11 223,106 28 278,268 04 1,260 61 166,054 11 3,285 94 13,925 66 51,457 38 5,144 31 6,050 46 3,829 49 20,041 58 2,149 34 1,350 99 17,466 77 27,974 80 520,951 20 200,372 29 231.917 40 68,061 41 62,011 51 29,522 20 88,281 27 189,247 69 7,801 08 7,014 39 4,677 36 1.9 2.2 2. 1. 1.6 3.48 2. 0.55 0.08 1.31 0.28 0.55 2.3 0.88 0.4 0.95 1.54 0.37 0.68 0.6 1.4 2.32 1,55 2. 1.34 2.1 1.3 2.21 2. 2. 2.8 0.078 181,951 70 266,377 07 3,178,952 60 520,199 57 821,586 61 7,081,368 27 476,465 59 1,520,305 44 33,881 29 426,315 36 18,615 39 62,270 47 98,423 72 14493 02 46,895 21 12,592 01 55,935 86 9,014 70 7,096 37 77,282 78 80,434 62 1,035,632 66 479,169 89 553,323 24 179,850 97 138,594 76 68,654 63 194,630 61. 322,389 46 18,030 31 17,749 06 1,623 86 17,582 46 3.8 4.1 4.02 2.5 3.2 6.09 4.2 3.02 2.36 3.37 1.61 2.48 4.4 2.43 2.9 2.7 4.3 1.56 8.55 2.7 4.1 4.61 3,71 4.76 3.54 4.71 3.3 4.87 3.4 4.5 7.09 2.4 2.12 H 4 ~z ci -I I-------I I ------ -I- 1 $423,304,861 00 $9,525,607 26 2.25 $8,812,823 92 2.08 $18,338,431 18 4.33 -:_-- ----.. L, Receipts of Internal Revenue for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1867, and June 30, 1868. Manufactures Spe Taxes. ncome. Leaciesand rticlesin BkCir. & Dep. Pass- Penalties, Total. Productions Gross rec'ts Sales. Spec'l Taxes. Income. Successions. Schedule A. ports, &c. &C. 1867.......................................... *$145,794,732 55$7,397,120 75$4,103,513 20 $18,103,615 69 $64,895,314 01 $1,861.429 16 $2,116,495 22 $2,028,193 29$263,115 04$854,65073$247,418,179 64 1868 To March 31,1868................... 83,440,918 72 4,787,422 51 3,509,947 88 8,527,745 96 24,4126,435 18 2,031,296 55 629,475 44 1,474,539 22 6,158 10 842,291 89 129,682,231 45 lo Estimated for last quarter........ 16,641,000 00 1,244,100 00 912,400 00 9,536,320 001 20,074,800 00 676,200 00 332,100 00 491,400 00 1,90000 280,40000 50,190,620 00 " * Of this, $29,151,339 78 were from distilled spirits, and $23,769,076 80 from cotton. The tax derived from distilled spirits during the last fiscal year was about $14,000,000. The act exemptine cotton from internal tax was approved February 3, 1868, and the act to exempt certain manufactures from internal taxes was approved March 31, 1868. The total expense of collectin Internal Revenue, including stamps and all contingencies, for the year ending June 30,1866, was $7,689,700 46; for 1867, $7,712,089 02. The expenses of the next fiscal year (ending June 30, 1863) are satimated at $3,200,000. Registration, Disfranchisement, and Election Returns in the Rebel States, under the Reconstruction Acts. Registration Number Votes on Ratification of Constitutions Returns. Disfranchised. Votes on calling Constitutional Conventions. recommended by Conventions. STATES. For. Against. Total Adop- Rejoc- Total Date of Whites. Colored. Total. Whites. Color'd. Whites. Colored. Total. Whites. Color'd. Total. Vote. tion. tion. Vote. Election. Alabama................ 61,295 104,518 165,813................18,553 71,730 90,283 5,583............ 5,583 96,866 70,812 1,005 71,817 Feb'y 4. 1868 *Arkansas......................................... 66,831...........'.'..................................27,576................. 13,558 41,134 27,913 26,597 54,510 Mar. Florida............... 11,914 16,089 28,003 350 "1200 1,220 13,080 14,300.203............ 203 14,503 14,520 9,491 24,011 May 4, 1868 Georgia........... 96,333 95,168 191,501 10,500......... 32,000 70,283 102,283 4,000 127 4,127 106410 89,007 71,309 160,316 Apri Louisiana.......... 45,218 84436 129,654...............................* 75,083........................... 4,006 79,174 66,152 48,739 114,891 April 17,1868 *Mississippi....................... 139,6906..................................69,739.................. 6,277 76016..........................June North Carolina...... 106,721 72,932 179,653 11,688 493 31,284 61,722 93,006 32,961........... 32,961 125,b67 93,084 74,015 167,099 April 21.1868 South Carolina...... 46,882 80,550 127,432 8,244 625 2,350 66,418 68,768 2,278........... 2,278 71,046 70,758 27,288 98,046 April 14,1868 Texas................... 59,633 49,497 109,130................. 7,757 36,932 44,689 10,622 818 11,440 56,129 ~ irginia...........120,101 105,832 225,933 t16,343......... 14,835 92,507 107,342 61,249 638 61,887 "169,2291 ~. 0 * No distinction between white and colored. t: "Failed to register from any cause."-1Report of Maj. Gen. J. M. Schofield, December 13, 1867. 4: Chiefly for felony. 85 blanks. ~ N1o election held. 1NOTE-The revised registration made before voting on the constitution was, in North Carolina 196,873, nArkansas 73,784, in Florid 31,498. Statement of the Public Debt of the United States, on the 1st of June, 1868. Statement of the Public Debt on the 1st of July, 1857, and subsequent years. Debt bearing coin interest-5 per cent. bonds............................................................................ $220,812,400 00 6 per cent. bonds of 1867 and 1868........................................................... 8,582,641 80 6 per cent. bonds, 1881.....................................................................0 283,677,200 00 6 per cent. 5-20 bonds.............................................................................. 1,494,755,600 00 On 1st of July, 1857...................$29,060,386 90 1858........................... 44,910,777 66 1859........................... 58,754,699 33 1860........................... 64,769,703 08 1861........................... 90,867,828 68 1862 -...........................-_-514211 -71 02 Navy pension fund................................................................................ 13,000,000 00 Debt bearing currency interest-6 per cent.bonds...................................................................... $25,902,000 00' $2,02 827,841 80 3-year compound interest notes............................................................ 21,604,890 00 3-year 7.30 notes..................................................................................... 105,610,650 00 3 per cent. certificates............................................................................ 50,000,000 00 20M.10,83402 6 1863....................... M,9,9,113 Yatured debt not presented for payment........................................................................................................ 6..... 10,3,2 026&.............1,098,793,181 3 1864.............. 1,740,690,489 49 Debt bearing no interest-United States notes...........................................................................$356,144,212 00 1865.............. 2,682,593,026 53 Fractional currency.............................................................................. 32,531,589 94 1866........................... 2,783,425,789 21 Gold certificates of deposit...................................................................... 20,298,180 00 1867........................... 2,692,199,215 12 408,973,981 94 1868, (st June).......... 2,510,245,886 74 Total debt............................................................................................................... $2,643,753,566 38 Amount in Treasury-Coin................:........................................................................................... $90,228,559 31 "Currency.................................................................................................... 43,279,120 33 133,507,679 64 ( Amount of debt, less cash in Treasury........................................................................ $2,510,245,886 74 Statement of the annual revenue collected by the Government from each source since 1860. *From customs: duYears. ties, imposts, and tonnage. From internal rev- From direct taxes. From public lands. enue. II From miscellaneous sources. Total, exclusive of From loans and loans and treasu- treanotes. ry notes. treasury notes. Total receipts. 1860 $53,187,511 87................................................ $1,778,557 71 $1,088,530 25 $56,054,599 83 $20,786,808 00 $76,841,407 83 1861 39,582,125 64........................... 870.658 54 1,023,515 31 41,476,299 49 41,895,340 65 83,371,640 13 1862 49,056,397 62................................. $1,795,331 73 152,203 77 931,787 64 51,935,720 76 529,692,460 50 581,628,181 26 1863 69,059,642 40 $37,640,787 95 1,485,103 61 167,617 17 4,344,139 82 112,687,290 95 776,682,361 57 889379,652 52 1864, 102,316,152 99 109,741,134 10 475,648 96 583,333 29 51,505,502 26 264,626,771 60 1,121,131,842 98 1,385,758,614 58 1865 84,928,260 60 209,464,215 25 1,200,573 03 996,553 31 37,125,002 89 333,714,605 08 1,472,224,740 85 1,805,939,345 93 1866 179,046,651 58 309,226,813 42 1,974,754 12 665,031 03 67,119,369 91 558,032,620 06 712,851,553 05 1,270,884,173 11 1687 176,417,810 88 266,027,537 43 4,200,233 70 1,163,575 76 42,824,852 50 490,634,010 27 640,426,910 29 1,131,060,920 16 1868 ToJan.1 81,065,212 69 99,182,232 33 1,029,685 66 666,519 69 25,277,787 51 207,221,437 88 332,557,102 00 539,778,539 88 Statement of the annual expenditures of the Government from 1860. Years. Civil list Foreign in- Navy Depart- War Depart- Pensions. Indians. Miscellane- Total of ordi- Interest on Principal of Total debts Total expendtercourse. ment. ment.. nary expen- public debt. public debt. and loans. itures. tereurse mot. mnt. us. ditures. 1860 $6,077,008 95 $1,146,143 79 $11,514,649 83 $16,472,202 72 $1,100,802 32 2,991,121 54 $20,708,183 43 $60,010,112 58 $3,144,620 94 $13,900,392 13 $17,045,013 07 $77,055,125 65 1861 6,074,141 83 1,147,786 91 12,387,156 52 23,001,530 67 1,034,599 73 2,865,481 17 16,026,574 79 62,537,171 62 4,034,157 30 18,815,984 16 22,850,141 46 85,387,313 08 1862 5,939,009 29 1,339,710 35 42,674,569 69 394,368,407 36 879,583 23 2,223,402 27 14,129,771 52 461,554,453 71 13,190,324 45 96,096,922 09 109,287,246 54 570,841,700 25 1863 6,350,618 78 1,231,413 06 63,211,105 27 599,298,600 83 3,140,194 44 1,076,326 35 15,671,890 24 689,980,148 97 24,729,846 61 181,086,635 07 205,816,481 68 895,796,630 65 1864 8,059,177 23 1,290,691 92 85,733,292 77 690,791,842 97 4,979,633 17 2,538,297 80 18,155,730 31 811,548,666 17 53,685,421 65 430,197,114 03 483,882,535 72 1,298,144,656 00 1865 10,833,944 87 1,260,818 08 122,567,776 12 1,031,323,360 79 9,291,610 48 4,966,964 90 32,670,795 17 1,212;911,270 41 77,397,712 00 607,361,241 68 684,758,953 68 1,897,674,224 09 1866 12,287,828 55 1,338,388 18 43,324,118 52 284,449,701 82 15,605,352 35 3,247,064 56 27,430,744 81 387,683,198 79 133,067,741 69 620,321,725 61 753,389,467 30 1,141,072,666 09 1867 15,585,489 55 1,548,589 26 31,034,011 04 95,224,415 63 20,936,551 71 4,642,531 77 33,975,948 46 202,947,537 42 143,781,591 91 746,350,525 94 890,132,117 85 1,093,079,655 27 1868 To Jan. 1 f27,191,353 541..................... 13,151,158 92 61,910,551 13 +13,875,648 60............................ 116,128,712 19 71,145,554 03 388,470,185 66 459,615,739 69 575,744,451 88 td W cl td bd NOE..-The revenues and expenditures of the fiscal year ending June 30,1868, are not yet officially ascertained, but the following is an accurate statement of them: Revenue. Expenditures. Customs, (gold)............................................ $163,500,000 Civil list, (including foreign)...............................................................$53,009,846 95 Internal revenue, (currency).......... 193,000,000 Navy Department................................................................................ 25,775,502 72 Public lands and direct tax................... 21800,000 W ax Departm ent.................................................................................123,246,648 62 M iscellaneous..................................................................... 47,000,000 Interior Department..........................................................................27,882,576 07 $406,300,000 Total of ordinary expenses............................................ 229,914,674 36 SOf the War Department payments, $38,000,000 were for bounties. Interest on public debt..................................................141,635,551 00 * Gold. f Includes foreign and miscellaneous. $ Includes Indians. 371,550,225 36 co --I POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. Statement of the expenditures of the United States during the fiscal years ending appropriations for the fiscal year ending June Year ending June 30,1866. Year ending Civil expenses..........4.........4'...................... 'Porptifn inferaonrqt........................... $12,287,828 55............. 1,338,388 18..............1.......................VVE~lrnLL iki~k~kJ~i:;ýiu. % b.4 1 6..............I............ Interior DepartmentIndian department............................... Pensions, military................................ " naval........................................................ Relief of sundry individuals........................................................ War Department*Pay departm ent................................................................ Comm issary departm ent....................................................... Quartermaster's department............................................. Ordnance ".............................................. Engineer's "............................................ Provost Marshal General................................................. Adjutant General,................................................................. Secretary's office, (army expenditures)...................... Relief of sundry individuals......................................... Deduct excess of repayment from Surgeon General's dept... $3,242,688 04 12,905,847 93 2,699,504 42 4,376 52 $205,934,240 70 7,430,606 67 49,856,986 39 9,932,402 63 2,651,903 37 6,779,114 77 243,539 74 3,594,375 28 30,009 80 286,453,179 35 2,003,477 53 0..6..................................................................................... 18,852,416 91,......-.................................................................................... I..................................................... $4,586,393 40 19,016,263 21 1,920,288 50 56,138 37 t30,700,776 06 10,331,174 87 35,438,367 31 4,690,677 00 3,233,414 08 105,658 39 1,495,788 53 8,514,008 23 756,466 41........................ 95,266,330 88 41,915 25 284,449,701 82 Navy Department Secre Mari Bure Relie Interest on Principal o Miscellane tary's bureau.............................................................. $10,831,260 08 ne Corps............................................ 1,492,617 83 au of Yards and Docks................................................. 4,777,868 83 Equipment and Recruiting.............................. 5,103,661 99 Navigation....................................................... 351,061 92 Ordnance............................................................ 3,494,216 32 Construction and Repair..................................... 8,675,216 81 Steam Engineering........................................ 6,154,888 23 Provisions and Clothing................................. 2,244,775 99 Medicine and Surgery..................................... 95,708 73 If of sundry individuals............................................... 102,841 79 i the public debt, including Treasury notes.................... )f public debt........................................................ eous.................................................................................................. Total for year....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43,324,118 52 133,067,741 69 620,321,725 61 27,430,744 81 1,141,072,666 09 10,545,843 51 1,440,993 68 3,828,198 13 3,577,311 08 ~ 551,981 35 1,921,788 99 4,545,509 72 2,940,665 19 1,440,642 70 88,099 72 152,976 97 * Bounties (report Secretary of War, 1866, p. 391,) jJ General and staff officers.......................$1,329,805 50 $7,662,736 Signal corps.......................................... 2,580 00 Engineers............................................ 358,327 50 1 Of this there were paid for bounties and arrears by Ordnance.............................................. 502,113 50 "Division of Referred Claims," as shown on p. 6, Cavalry................................................... 3,084,738 00 Report of Paymaster General, 1867....$12,706,000 00 Artillery................................................. 2,233,622 50 Infantry................................................12,970,063 50 $ Includes foreign and miscellaneous., Scouts and bands.................................... 300,540 00 Page 117] EXPENDITURES AND APPROPRIATIONS. 377 June 30, 1858, June 30, 1866, 1867, and till January 1, 1868, together with the 30,1869,and the estimates for the same year. June 3, 1867. 1868, to Jan.1 Appropriatedfor year end- ýEstimates for year ending ~Expenditures for year ing June 30, 1869. June 30, 1869. ending June 30,1858. $15,585,489 55 $27,191,353 54................... $18,357,549 69....................$23,891,292 03.................... $7,052,196 75 1,548,589 26................................... 8,411,634 00.................... 1,423,454 00............... 1,391,407 91...............................$3,989,163 45................... $3,240,152 86..................... $4,812,815 09.......................................... 30,000,000 00.................... 30,000,000 00........................ 1,075,837 14............................................ 350,000 00.................. 330,000 00.................... 143,246 17................................ 20,224 98..................................................................................................... 20,224 98 25,579,083 48 13,875,648 60--- 34,339,163 45 33,570,152 86 6,051,923 38................................ 17,792,120 00.....................1122,600,775 00........* *17,455,976 85................................... 14,299,0000 0.................... 28,280,066 20.............................. 381,680 00................... 1,533,084 00..................... 1,443,235 74........................................... 1,800,000 00..................... 10,528,769 88..................... 5,540,276 26.................................................................................................................... t 411,844 20........................................... 100,000 00.................. 300,000 00............................................. 376,805 00..................... 193,305 00...............1... 164,301 31...............................................................469,748 24 95,224,415 63 61,910,551 13 -- 34,749,605 00 --- 63,436,000-08 --- 25,485,383 60............................... 8,000,000 00.................... 10,760,560 00................ 5,665,315 34..................................... 482,000 00.................. 1,614,978 05.................... 587,242 25........................................... 1,493,600 00.................... 11,512,41225..................... 1,982,923 62.........a....I............................... 1,268,000 00.................. 3,536,000 00..................... 11113,394,646 29..........a............................... 413,650 00.................... 650,999 40..................... 43,731 22........................................... 279,500 00.................... 2,370,135 75................. 202,849 14......................................... 3,039,000 00....................... 8,767,120 00................... 841,323 37............................................ 674,000 00................. 4,448,800 00..................... 885,322 20.......................................... 1,626,000 00.................... 3,451,603 50.....................................................a.......... 90,000 00..................... 204,575 00..................... 71,346 70...................................................................................................................... 301,300 46 13,976,000 59 31,034,011 04 13,151,158 92 17,365,350 00 47,317,183 95 143,781,591 91 71,145,554 03.............. 103,961,958 50.................... 103,961,958 50.................. 1,567,055 67 746,350,525 94 388,470,185 66................................................... 25,716,120 00................... 8,417,48 32 33,975,948 46.......................10,289,606 76................... 12,545,654 00................... 17,937,217 54 1,093,079,655 27 575,744,451 88.................... 227,474,267 40..................... 311,861,815 42..................... 81,585,667 76 { Besides these specific estimates, the Secretary of ~ In gold. the Treasury stated that there may be required- ** Includes heads of Pay, Commissary, and QuarterFor bounties, under act of July, 1866......$25,500,000 00 master's departments. For miscellaneous...................................9,969,000 00 t Miscellaneous. S--West Point. Total.....................................$35,469,000 00 ill Includes heads of repair and ordnance. S$7,200,000 00 of this are for the purchase of Alaska. ADDENDA. A Bill relating to the Freedmen's Bureau and Providing for its Discontinuance. Be it enacted, &c., That the duties and powers of commissioner of the bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees shall continue to be discharged by the present commissioner of the bureau, and in case of a vacancy in said office occurring by reason of his death or resignation, the same shall be filled by appointment of the President, on the nomination of the Secretary of War, and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and no officer of the army shall be detailed for service as commissioner, or shall enter upon the duties of commissioner, unless appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and all assistant commissioners, agents, clerks, and assistants shall be appointed by the Secretary of War, on the nomination of the commissioner of the bureau. In case of vacancy in the office of commissioner happening during the recess of the Senate, the duties of the commissioner shall be discharged by the acting assistant adjutant general of the bureau until such vacancy can be filled. SEC. 2. That the commissioner of the bureau shall, on the 1st day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted, and its operations shall be discontinued. But the educational department of the said bureau, and the collection and payment of moneys due to soldiers, sailors, and marines, or their heirs, shall be continued, as now provided by law, until otherwise ordered by act of Congress: Provided, however, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any State which shall not, on the 1st of January next, be restored to its former political relations with the Government of the United States, and be entitled to representation in Congress. Passed both Houses. Joint Resolution excluding from the Electoral College Votes of States lately in Rebellion which shall not have been Reorganized. Resolved, &c., That none of the States whose inhabitants were lately in rebellion shall be entitled to representation in the electoral college for the choice of President or Vice President of the United States, nor shall any electoral votes be received or counted from any of such States, unless at the time prescribed by law for the choice of electors the people of such State, pursuant to the acts of Congress in that behalf, shall have, since the 4th day of March, 1867, adopted a constitution of State government, under which a State government shall have been organized and shall be in operation; nor unless such election of electors shall have been held under the authority of such constitution and government, and such State shall have also become entitled to representation in Congress pursuant to the acts of Congress in that behalf: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to any State which was represented in Congress on the 4th day of March, 1867. July 20-The PRESIDENT sent a veto, of which these are the most important paragraphs: " The mode and manner of receiving and counting the electoral votes for President and Vice President of the United States are in plain and simple terms prescribed by the Constitution. That instrument imperatively requires that the President of the Senate " shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Congress has, therefore, no power, under the Constitution, to receive the electoral votes or reject them. The whole power is exhausted when, in the presence of the two Houses, the votes are counted and the result declared. In this respect the power and duty of the President of the Senate are, under the Constitution, purely ministerial. When, therefore, the joint resolution declares that no electoral votes shall be received or counted from States that, since the 4th of March, 1867, have not "adopted a constitution or State government under which "a State government shall have been organized," "a power is assumed which is nowhere delegated to Congress, unless upon the assumption that the State governments organized prior to the 4th of March, 1867, were illegal and void. "The joint resolution, by implication at least, concedes that these States were States by virtue of their organization, prior to the 4th of March, 1867, but denies to them the right to vote in the election of President and Vice President of the United States. It follows either that this assumption of power is wholly unauthorized by the Constitution, or that the States so excluded from voting were out of the Union by reason of the rebellion, and have never been legitimately restored. Being fully satisfied that they were never out of the Union, and that their relations thereto have been legally and constitutionally restored, I am forced to the conclusion that the joint resolution which deprives them of the right to have their vote for President and Vice President received and counted is in conflict with the Constitution, and that Congress has no more power to reject their votes than those of the States which have been uniformly loyal to the Federal Union. "It is worthy of remark that if the States whose inhabitants were recently in rebellion were legally and constitutionally organized and restored to their rights prior to the 4th of March, 1867, as I am satisfied they were, the only legitimate authority under which the election for President and Vice President can be held therein must be derived from the governments instituted before that period. 118 Page 119] FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT. 879 " It clearly follows that all the State governments organized in those States under acts of Congress for that purpose, and under military control, are illegitimate and of no validity whatever; and, in that view, the votes cast in those States for President and Vice President, in pursuance of acts passed since the 4th of March, 1867, and in obedience to the so-called reconstruction acts of Congress, cannot be legally received and counted; while the only votes in those States that can be legally cast and counted will be those cast in pursuance of the laws in force in the several States prior to the legislation by Congress upon the subject of reconstruction." Same day-The bill re-passed the SENATEyeas 45, nays 8, as follow: YEAs-Messrs. Abbott, Anthony, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, Corbett, Cragin, Drake, Edmunds, Ferry, Fessenden, Frelinghuysen, Harlan, Harris, Henderson, Howard, Howe, Kellogg, McDonald, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Patterson of New Hampshire, Pomeroy, Rice, Ross, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Tipton, Trumbull, Van Winkle, Wade, Welch, Willey, Williams, Wilson, Yates-45. NAYs-Messrs. Buckalew, Davis, Doolittle, Hendricks, McCreery, Patterson of Tennessee, Vickers, Whyte-8. Same day-It passed the HOUSE-yeas 134, nays 36; and the Speaker proclaimed it to be a law. The NAYS wereMessrs. Adams, Archer, Axtell, Barnes, Beck, Boyden, Boyer, Brooks, Gary, Eldridge, Fox, Getz, Glossbrenner, Golladay, Grover, Haight, Holman, Hotchkiss, Johnson, Thomas L. Jones, Kerr, Knott, Marshall, McCullough, Niblack, Nicholson, Phelps, Randall, Ross, Sitgreaves, Stone, Taber, Lawrence S. Trimble, Van Auken, Wood, Woodward-36. Proclamation of President Johnson respecting the Ratification of the XIVth Amendment by Florida and North Carolina, July 11, 1868. Whereas by an act of Congress, entitled "An act to admit the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to representation in Congress," passed on the 25th of June, 1868, it is declared that it is made the duty of the President within ten days after receiving official information of the ratification by the legislature of either of said States of a proposed amendment to the Constitution known as article XIV, to issue a proclamation announcing that fact; And whereas the said act seems to be prospective; And whereas a paper, purporting to be a resolution of the Legislature of Florida, adopting the amendment of the XIIIth and XIVth articles of the Constitution of the United States, was received at the Department of State on the 16th of June, 1868, prior to the passage of the act of Congress referred to, which paper is attested by the names of Horatio Jenkins, Jr., as president pro ter. of the Senate, and W. W. Moore as speaker of the Assembly, and of William L. Apthoop as secretary of the Senate, and William Forsyth Bynum as clerk of the Assembly, and which paper was transmitted to the Secretary of State in a letter dated Executive Office, Tallahassee, Florida, June 10, 1868, from Harrison Reed, who therein signs himself Governor; And whereas, on the 6th day of July, 1868, a paper was received by the President, which paper being addressed to the President, hears date of the 4th of July, 1868, and was transmitted by and under the name of W. W. Holden, who therein writes himself Governor of North Carolina, which paper certifies that the said proposed amendment, known as article XIV, did pass the Senate and House of Representatives of the General Assembly of North Carolina on the second day of July instant, and is attested by the names of John H. Boner or Bower, as secretary of the House of Representatives, and T. A. Byrnes, as secretary of the Senate, and its ratification on the 4th of July, 1868, is attested by Tod R. Caldwell as Lieutenant Governor, president of Senate, and J. W. Holden as speaker of House of Representatives; Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America, in compliance with and execution of the act of Congress aforesaid, do issue this proclamation, announcing the fact of the ratification of the said amendment by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina, in the manner hereinbefore set forth. In testimony whereof I have signed these presents with my hand, and have caused the seal of the United States to be hereto affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord SEAL. one thousand eight hundred and sixtyS ] eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety third. ANýREW JOHNSON. By the President: WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. Certificate of Mr. Secretary Seward respecting the Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, July 20, 1868. William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, to all to whom these presents may come, greeting: Whereas the Congress of the United States, on or about the sixteenth of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, passed a resolution which is in the words and figures following, to wit: [For text of XIVth Amendment, see page 68 of Manual of 1867, or 194 of the combined Manual.] And whereas by the second section of the act of Congress, approved the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, entitled " An act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United States, and for other purposes," it is made the duty of the Secretary of State forthwith to cause any amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which has been adopted according to the provisions of the said Constitution, to be published in the newspapers authorized to promulgate the laws, with his certificate specifying the States by which the same may have been adopted, and that the same has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution of the United States; And whereas neither the act just quoted from, nor any other law, expressly or by conclusive implication, authorizes the Secretary of State to 380 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. determine and deeide doubtful questions as to the authenticity of the organization of State legislatures, or as to the power of any State legislature to recall a previous act or resolution of ratification of any amendment proposed to the Constitution;. And whereas it appears from official documents on file in this Department that the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the: legislatures of the States of Connecticut, New' Hampshire, Tennessee, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, New York, Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Missouri, Inaiana, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Iowa; And whereas it further appears, from documents on file in this Department, that the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed as aforesaid, has also been ratified by newly-constituted and newly-established bodies avowing themselves to be, and acting as, the legislatures, respectively, of the States of Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama; And whereas it further appears from official documents on file in this Department that the legislatures of two of the States first above enumerated, to wit: Ohio and New Jersey, have since passed resolutions respectively withdrawing the consent of each of said States to the aforesaid amendment; and whereas it is deemed a matter of doubt and uncertainty whether such resolutions are not irregular, invalid, and therefore ineffectual for withdrawing the consent of the said two States, or of either of them, to the aforesaid amendment; And whereas the whole number of States in the United States is thirty-seven, to wit: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nevada, and Nebraska; And whereas the twenty-three States first hereinbefore named, whose legislatures have ratified the said proposed amendment, and the six States next thereafter named, as having ratified the said proposed amendment by newlyconstituted and established legislative bodies, together constitute three-fourths of the whole number of States in the United States: Now, therefore, be it known, that I, William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the second section of the act of Congress, approved the twentieth of April,.eighteen hundred and eighteen, hereinbefore cited, do hereby certify that' if the resolutions of the legislatures of Ohio and New Jersey ratifying the aforesaid amendment are to be deemed as remaining in full force and effect, notwithstanding the subsequent resolutions of the legislatures of those States which purport to withdraw the consent of said States from such ratification, then the aforesaid amendment has been ratified in the manner hereinbefore mentioned, and so has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the Constitution of the United States. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the Department of State to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this 20th day of July, in the year of our Lord [SEAL.] 1868, and of the independence of the United States of America the ninetythird. WILLIAM H. SEWAeD, Secretary of State. Concurrent Resolution of Congress on the same Subject, July 21, 1868. Whereas the legislatures of the States of Connecticut, Tennessee, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Michi, gan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Maine, Iowa, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana, being three-fourths and more of the several States of the Union, have ratified the fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States, duly proposed by two-thirds of each House of the Thirty-Ninth Congress; therefore Resolved by the Senate, (the House of Repre. sentatives concurring,) That said fourteenth article is hereby declared to be a part of the Constitution of the United States, and it shall be duly promulgated as such by the Secretary of State. July 21-Passed the SENATE without a count. Same day-Passed the HousE-the resolution-yeas 126, nays 32; the preamble-yeas 127, nays 35. Georgia has ratified it since, by a majority of ten in the Senate, and twenty-four in the House. General Blair's Letter to Colonel Brodhead. WASHINGTON, June 30, 1868. Colonel JAMES 0. BRODHEAD. DEAR COLONEL: In reply to your inquiries, I beg leave to say, that I leave to you to determine, on consultation with my friends from Missouri, whether my name shall be presented to the Democratic Convention, and to submit the following as what I consider the real and only issue in this contest. The reconstruction policy of the Radicals will be complete before the next election; the States so long excluded will have been admitted, negro suffrage established, and the carpet-baggers installed in their seats in both branches of Congress. There is no possibility of changing the political character of the Senate, even if the Democrats should elect their President and a majority of the popular branch of Congress. We cannot, therefore, undo the Radical plan of reconstruction by congressional action; the Senate will continue a bar to its repeal. Must we submit to it? How can it be overthrown? It can only be overthrown by the authority of the Executive, who is sworn to maintain the Constitution, and who will fail to do his duty if he allows Page 121] SPEECHES OF SEYMOUR AND BLAIR. 881 the Constitution to perish under a series of congressional enactments which are in palpable violation of its fundamental principles. If the President elected by the Democracy enforces or permits others to enforce these reconstruction acts, the Radicals, by the accession of twenty spurious Senators and fifty Representatives, will control both branches of Congress, and his administration will be as powerless as the present one of Mr. Johnson. There is but one way to restore the Government and the Constitution, and that is for the President elect to declare these acts null and void, compel the army to undo its usurpations at the South, disperse the carpet-bag State governments, allow the white people to reorganize their own governments, and elect Senators and Representatives. The House of Representatives will contain a majority of Democrats from the North, and they will admit the Representatives elected by the white people of the South, and, with the co-operation of the President, it will not be difficult to compel the Senate to submit once more to the obligations of the Constitution. It will not be able to withstand the public judgment, if distinctly invoked and clearly expressed on this fundamental issue, and it is the sure way to avoid all future strife to put the issue plainly to the country. I repeat, that this is the real and only question whioh we should allow to control us: Shall we submit to the usurpations by which the Government has been overthrown; or shall we exert ourselves for its full and complete restoration? It is idle to talk of bonds, greenbacks, gold, the public faith, and the public credit. What can a Democratic President do in regard to any of these, with a Congress in both branches controlled by the carpet-baggers and their allies? He will be powerless to stop the supplies by which idle negroes are organized into political clubs-by which an army is maintained to protect these vagabonds in their outrages: upon the ballot. These, and things like these, eat up the revenues and resources of the Government and destroy its credit-make the difference between gold and greenbacks. We must restore the Constitution before we can restore the finances, and to do this we must have a President who will execute the will of the people by trampling into dust the usurpations of Congress known as the reconstruction acts. I wish to stand before the convention upon this issue, but it is one which embraces everything else that is of value in its large and comprehensive results. It is the one thing that includes all that is worth a contest, and without it there is nothing that gives dignity, honor, or value to the struggle. Your friend, FRANK P. BLAIR. Speeches of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair, Jr., Accepting the Nominations, July 10, 1868. [From the N. Y. World, July 11, 1868.] SPEECH OF GOVERNOR SEYMOUR. MR. CHAIRMAN D GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE: I thank you for the courteous terms in which you have communicated to me the action of the Democratic National Convention. I have ao words adequate to express my gratitude for the good-will and kindness which that body has shown to me. Its nomination was unsought, and unexpected. It was my ambition to take an active part, from which I am now excluded, in the great struggle going on for the restoration of good government, of peace and prosperity to our country. But I have been caught up by the whelming tide that is bearing us on to a great political change, and I find myself unable to resist its pressure. You have also given to me a copy of the resolutions put forth by the convention, showing its position upon all the great questions which now agitate the country. As the presiding officer of that convention, I am familiar with their scope and import, and as one of its members, I am a party to their terms; they are in accord with my views, and I stand upon them in the contest upon which we are now entering; and I shall strive to carry them out in future, wherever I may be placed, in public or private life. I congratulate you, and all conservative men, who seek to restore order, peace, prosperity, and good government to our land, upon the evidences everywhere shown that we are to triumph at the next election. Those who are politically opposed to us flattered themselves there would be discord in our councils; they mistook the uncertainties of our views as to the best methods of carrying out our purposes, for difference of opinion with regard to those purposes. They mistook an intense anxiety to do no act which should not be wise and judicious, for a spirit of discord; but during the lengthened proceedings and earnest discussions of the convention there has.prevailed an entire harmony of intercourse, a patient forbearance, and a self-sacrificing, spirit, which are the sure tokens of a coming victory. Accept for yourselves, gentlemen, my wishes for your future welfare and happiness. In a few days I will answer the communication you have just handed me by letter, as is the customary form. SPEECH OF GENERAL BLAIR. Mr. CHAIRMAN: I accept the platform of resolutions passed by the late Democratic Convention, and I accept their nomination with feelings of profound gratitude; and, sir, I thank you for the very kind manner in which you have already conveyed to me the decision of the Democratic Convention. I accept the nomination with the conviction that your nomination for the Presidency is one which will carry us to certain victory, and because I believe that the nomination is the most proper nomination that could be made by the Democratic party. The contest which we wage is for the restoration of constitutional government, and it is proper that we should make this contest under the lead of one who has given his life to the maintenance of constitutional government. We are to make the contest for the restoration of those great principles of government which belong to our race. And, my fellow-citizens, it is most proper that we should select for our leader a man not from military life, but one who has devoted himself to civil pursuits; who has given himself to the study and the understanding of the Constitution and its maintenance with all the force of reason and judgment. My fellow-citizens, I have said that the contest before us was one for 382 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. the restoration of our government; it is also one for the restoration of our race. It is to prevent the people of our race from being exiled from their homes-exiled from the government which they formed and created for themselves and for their children, and to prevent them from being driven out of the country or trodden under foot by an inferior and semibarbarous race. In this country we shall have the sympathy of every man who is worthy to belong to the white race. What civilized people on earth would refuse to associate with themselves in all the rights and honors and dignity of their country such men as Lee and Johnston? What civilized country on earth would fail to do honor to those who, fighting for an erroneous cause, yet distinguished themselves by gallantry in that service? In that contest, for which they are sought to be disfranchised and to be exiled from their homes-in that contest, they have proved themselves worthy to be our peers. My fellow-citizens, it is not my purpose to make any long address, (cries of-"go on,") but simply to express my gratitude for the great and distinguished honor which has been conferred upon meA voice. "You are worthy of it." General Blair-and from my heart to reiterate the words of thanks that fell from my lips when I arose. The Funding Bill, July 25, 1868. AN ACT providing for payment of the national debt, and for the reduction of the rate of interest thereon. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to issue coupon or registered bonds of the United States, in such form as he may prescribe, and of denominations of one hundred dollars, or any multiple of that sum, redeemable in coin at the pleasure of the United States after thirty and forty years, respectively, and bearing the following rates of yearly interest, payable semi-annually in coin, that is to say: The issue of bonds falling due in thirty years shall bear interest at four and a half per centum; and bonds falling due in forty years shall bear interest at four per centum; which said bonds and the interest thereon shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties to the United States, other than such income tax as may be assessed on other incomes, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority, and the said bonds shall be exclusively used, par for par, for the redemption of or in exchange for an equal amount of any of the present outstanding bonds of the United States known as the five-twenty bonds, and may be issued to an amount, in the aggregate, sufficient to cover the principal of all such five-twenty bonds, and no more. SEC. 2. That there is hereby appropriated out of the duties derived from imported goods the sum of one hundred and thirty-five millions of dollars annually, which sum, during each fiscal year, shal be applied to the payment of the interest and to the reduction of the principal ol the public debt in such a manner as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, or as Congress may hereafter direct; and such reduction shall be in lieu of the sinking fund contemplated by the fifth section of the act entitled " An act to authorize the issue of United States notes, and for the redemption or funding thereof, and for funding the floating debt of the United States," approved February twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. SEC. 3. That from and after the passage of this act no percentage, deduction, commission, or compensation of any amount or kind shall be allowed to any person for the sale, negotiation, redemption or exchange of any bonds or securities of the United States, or of any coin or bullion disposed of at the Treasury Department or elsewhere on account of the United States; and all acts or parts of acts authorizing or permitting by construction or otherwise, the Secretary o the Treasury to appoint any agent, other thar some proper officer of his department, to maki such sale, negotiation, redemption, or exchange of bonds and securities are hereby repealed. INDEX. ALABAMA, reconstruction facts, 12, 21-34; claimants in Congress, 107, 108, 182, 183; resolutions of legislature, 22; laws on freedmen, 33, 34; vote of legislature on 14th constitutional amendment, 194; made part of third military district, 200; resolutions of grand council of Union league of 1867, 249, 250; orders and action of the military therein, 204-206, 319-321; abstract of new constitution of, 327; restoration to representation, 337, 339, 340, 341; representatives elect from, 348; election returns in, 372. AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION, the 14th, President Johnson's message, and Secretary Seward's report upon, 83, 84; votes adopting, 102; preliminary votes and propositions, 103-106; text of, 192; votes of legislatures upon, 194, 353; proposed substitute for, 258; ratification of, 379. AMNESTY, President Johnson's proclamation of, 9; Mr. Seward's circular, 10; full pardon to certain persons, 342-344; general amnesty, 344. ANCONA, SYDENHAM E., resolution on Fenians, 113. ANTI-SLAVERY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, announcement of ratification of, 6; action of insurrectionary States, 19-24; President Johnson's telegrams respecting, 22, 23, 25. APPOINTMENTS TO OFFICE, President Johnson's order respecting, 7. ARKANSAS, President Johnson's telegram to Governor Murphy, 28; claimants in Congress, 107, 108, 183; vote of legislature on 14th amendment, 194; made part of fourth military district, 200; Republican platform of 1867, 250, 251; orders and action of the military therein, 206, 321-323; new constitution of, 327; restoration to representation, 337-339; Senators and Representatives qualified, 347, 348; vote of legislature on 14th amendment, 353. ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST ANDREW JOHNSON, answer of, and judgment of the Senate, 266-282. ASHBURN, GEORGE W., order on assassination of, 320. ASHLEY, JAMES M., action on impeachment of President Johnson, 187-189. ASSASSINS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President Johnson's orders for trial and punishment of, 7; withdrawal of reward for John H. Surratt and others, 198. ATTORNEYS, test-oath of, votes in House on, 111, 185; opinion of Supreme Court upon, 220-239; orders of court on, note, 226-228. BALTIMORE TROUBLES OF 1866, General Grant's record upon, 297, 305, 306. BEALE, W. H. R., application for pardon, 301, 305. BINGHAM, JOHN A., report on immunities of citizens, 105; joint resolution for the restoration of Tennessee, 105,151,152; amendment to resolution on President's policy, 111; motion respecting the headquarters of the general commanding the armies, 178; bill to validate certain proclamations and acts of the President, 185. BLAIR, FRANCIS P., General, nominated for Vice President, 371; letter of acceptance, 369; preceding speech, and letter to Colonel Brodhead, 380-381. BLOCKADE, proclamations concerning, 7, 9, 13. BOUTWELL, GEORGE S., resolution for trial of Jeff. Davis, 113; bill to prescribe test-oath for attorneys, 184. BROOMALL, JOHN M., resolutions of, note, 111-113. BROwNING, ORVILLE H., Secretary of the Interior, 181, 347; letter of, on General Grant, 289. BUCHANAN, GENERAL, General Grant's telegram to, 325. BUTLER, BENJAMIN F., amendment to reconstruction bill, 338. CABINET OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON, members of, 107,181,347. CANBY, E. R. S., Major General, telegrams forbidding meeting of rebel legislatures, 19; orders of, in third military district, 318, 319; order assigning, 345. CARTTER, DAVID K., chief justice, opinions on test-oath, 234-236. CENSUS TABLES, on representation, population, &c., 125. CHANDLER, ZACHARSAH, motion respecting Mr. Stanton's removal, 263. CHASE, SALMON P., Chief Justice, President Johnson's allusions to, 135, 140; opinion on habeas corpus case, 217-220; opinion in Mississippi injuction case, 239, 240; oath as presiding officer at impeachment trials, 271; motions proposing thanks to, 350, 368; vote for nomination for President, 371. CITIZENSHIP, constitutional amendment, 102; legislation respecting, 78. CIVIL RIGHTS BILL, veto of, copy of, and votes upon, 74-80. CIVIL TENURE BILL, veto of, copy of, and votes upon, 173-178. CLARKE, SIDNEY, resolutions on impeachment, 190. COLFAX, SCHUYLER, Speaker of House of Representatives, 108, 182, 347; nominated for Vice President, 366; letter of acceptance, 366. COLORADO, first bill for admission of, veto and votes, 81 -83; second bill, veto and votes, 160-164. COLORED PEOPLE, President Johnson's address to, 63; interview with, 52-56; conventions of, in insurrectionary States, 18, 20, 21-24. COLORED SOLDIERS, President Johnson's address to, 49 -52; General Grant's letter on protecting, 295. COLORED SUFFRAGE, President Johnson's telegram to Provisional Governor Sharkey, 19, 20; President Lincoln to Governor Hahn, note, 20; President Johnson's allusions, 24, 49, 52-55; proposed in District of Columbia, 114-116; in Territories, 116, 184; proposed in Connecticut, and vote, 120; in District of Columbia, 114-116, 154-160; in insurrectionary States, 192; in various loyal States, 257, 258, 353, 354. COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, of the army, headquarters permanently fixed, protest of President Johnson, and vote upon, 178. COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE, President Johnson's orders respecting, 7, 9, 13. CONFISCATED LANDS, bill to restore, 187. CONGRESS, resolution on duty of, to guarantee a republican form of government, 112; President Johnson's telegram to Provisional Governor Perry on organization of 39th, 24; members of 39th Congress, 107, 108, 181, 182; of 40th, 182, 183, 347; President Johnson's description of, "as a body hanging upon the verge of the government," 127; other allusions to, 128, 129, 135, 137, 138, 142. CONKLING, ROSCOE, motion respecting Alabama, 341. CONNECTICUT, election of 1865 on colored suffrage, and election of 1866, 120; election of 1867, 259; party platforms in 1867, 243, 244; election of 1868, 372. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, copy of, 1-6; Mr. Seward's certificate of ratification of the anti-slaveryamendment, 6; President Johnson's message on proposed amendment to, 83; votes on propositions of amendment, 102-106; votes of legislatures on the 14th amendment, 194, 353; proposed substitute for, 258; ratification of 14th amendment, 379. CONVENTIONS, call for, National Union, at Philadelphia, 14th August, 1866,118; resolutions of, 240, 241; resolutions of Union National of 1864, 117; of Democratic National of 1864,118; of Pennsylvania Union and Democratic of 1866, 123; Maryland Union, 1866, 124; call for Southern Unionists', 124, resolutions of, 241; of Pittsburg soldiers and sailors', 242; of Cleveland soldiers and sailors', 243; other of 1867, 243-257; resolutions of National, of 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, 356-364; of 1868, 364-368. COOK, BURTON C., bill to suspend payment of bounty to former owners of colored volunteers, 186. COOPER, EDMUND, telegram respecting peace proclamation, 17; claimant of seat in Congress, 108; admission of, 182. CORBETT, HENRY W., motion respecting Mr. Stanton's suspension, 263. COWAN, EDGAR, proposition for female suffrage, 184. DAvIS, DAVID, Justice, opinion in Milligan case, 209 -217; endorsements of, 244, 248. DAVIS, JEFFERSON, President Johnson's order for arrest of, 7; resolutions for trial of, 113; President Johnson's allusions to, 135, 140. DAVIS, TIMOTHY T., motion to table impeachment resolution, 188. DEBT, amount of, of United States, 126, 259, 374. DEFREES, JOSEPH H., resolution on elective franchise, 110. DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL PLATFORM of 1864, 118; address of Democratic Congressmen, 119, 120; platform of Pennsylvania in 1866, 123; sundry other, of 1867, 244, 246, 247; National platforms of 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, 356-364; of 1868, 367, and vote for President in, 371. DIRECT TAXES, proposed constitutional amendment on, 104. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, President Johnson on proposed 383 384 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. suffrage in, 52; bill on suffrage, 114-116; bill to regulate the elective franchise in, veto of, copy of, and votes upon, 154-160; bill for the further security of equal rights in, 351. DIXON, JAMES, proposition for intelligence-test for suffrage, 184; amendment to resolution on Mr. Stanton's removal, 262. DOOLITTLE, JAMES R., amendment to reconstruction bill, 338; vote for nomination for President, 371. DoUGLAss, FREDERICK, President Johnson's interview, 52-56. DRAKE, CHARLES D., motion respecting Mr. Stanton's removal, 263; amendment to Arkansas bill, 337. EDMUNDS, GEORGE F., resolution on removal of Mr. Stanton, 262; on confirming General Schofield, 264. ELECTIONS of 1866, returns of, 120; of 1867, 259; of 1860, 1864, 1866, and 1867, 372. ELECTIVE FRANCHISE, resolution concerning, in the States, 110; in District of Columbia, 114-116, 154 -160; in Territories, 116, 117, 184; in the insurrec"tionary States, 192; President Lincoln upon, note, 24; President Johnson upon, 19, 20, 24, 49, 52-55, 154-159; proposed female, and intelligence-suffrage, 184. ELECTORAL COLLEGE of 1864, and vote in, 372; of 1868, 372; act respecting counting votes in, 378; veto of, by President Johnson, and votes on re-passage, 379. ELIOT, THOMAS D., bill to repeal power to pardon by proclamation, 183. EWING, THOMAS JR., proposed resolution of, at soldiers and sailors' convention, 369; vote for nomination for President, 371. EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS, General Grant's testimony upon, 296. FEMALE SUFFRAGE, proposition for, in Senate and House, and votes, 184; former in New Jersey, note, 258; proposition in Kansas and Wisconsin, 258; votes upon, 353. FA NSWORTH, JOHN F., motion respecting Florida, 341. FERRY, ORRIS S., amendment to the Arkansas bill, 340. FIELD, STEPHEN F., Justice, opinion in test-oath cases, 220-228; vote for nomination for President, 371. FINANCIAL LEGISLATION, on 5.20's, 10.40's, "greenbacks," &c., 354. FIVE-TWENTY BONDS, act authorizing, 354. FLORIDA, provisional governor appointed, 12; General Gillmore's order annulling acting Governor Allison's call of rebel legislature, 24; reconstruction steps in, 24, 25; Freedmen's code, 38-41; claimants in Congress, 107, 108; made part of third military district, 200; orders and action of the military therein, 204-206, 319-321; new constitution of, 328, 329; restoration to representation, 337, 341; vote of legislature on 14th amendment, 353; Senators and Representatives from, 348. FORNEY, JOHN W., 107, 182, 347; allusions of President Johnson to, 61. FOSTER J. G., General, Grant's order to, on order 44, 308; report of, note, 309. FOURTEENTH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, text of, and votes on adopting, 102; votes of legislatures on ratifying, 191-194,352,353; certificate of Mr. Seward respecting, 379; concurrent resolution of Congress upon. 380. FREEDMEN'S BUREAU, President Johnson's veto of first, copy of, and votes on passing and repassing, 68 -74; veto of second, copy of, votes on passing and repassing, 147-151; number of rations issued by, to April 1, 1866, note, 69; bill to continue, 349; whole expenditures of, note, 349; additional bill, 378. FRELINGHUYSEN, FREDERICK T., bill to restore confiscated property, 187; motion respecting General Schofield's confirmation, 264. FUNDING BILL, the, 382. GEORGIA, General Gillmore's order annulling Governor Brown's call for a meeting of the rebel legislature, 20; reconstruction steps in, 20, 21; laws on freedmen, 32, 33; clamnants in Congress, 107, 108, 182; vote of legislature on 14th amendment, 194; made part of third military district, 200; orders and action of the military therein, 204-206, 319-321; new constitution of, 330, 331; restoration to representation, 337; Representatives elect from, 348; ratification of 14th amendment, 380. GRANT, ULYSSES S., General, LETTERS OF, to Secretary Stanton and President Johnson on taking the War Office ad interim, 261, 262; to and from President Johnson respecting his retirement from the War Office, 282-293; on removal of Sheridan and Stanton, 306-308; to Hon.E. B.Washburne on slavery and reconstruction, 294; to Hon. I. N. Morris on being a candidate for office, 295; on results of "peace on any terms," and filling the armies, 295; on protecting colored soldiers, 296; on going to Mexico, 296; on Baltimore troubles of 1866, 297; on martial law in Texas, 298; on order 44, 308; to Generals Foster, Sheridan, Pope, Meade, Ord, and Governor Throckmorton, respecting reconstruction matters, 308-314; accepting nomination for President, 365. GRANT, ULYSSES S., General, ORDERS OF, for protection of loyal persons, 122; for suppression of disloyal newspapers, 123; and revocation of the same, 199; assigning commanders to military districts, 200; disallowing State and local elections in Alabama, 204; respecting return of slaves from camps, 293; use of colored persons in the army, 293; organization of negro regiments, 294; establishment and control of camps for freedmen, 294; orders and telegrams respecting reconstruction, 308-314; on reappointing removed civil officers in the rebel States, 314; telegram to General Buchanan, 325. GRANT, ULYSSES S., REPORTS OF, on condition of insurrectionary States, 67, 68; terms of Lee's surrender, 120, 121, and views upon, 299; law fixing headquarters of, 178; testimony on exchange of prisoners, 296; testimony on reconstruction, 298-306; testimony on Baltimore troubles, 305, 306; on applications of Lee and others for benefit of amnesty, 301-305; report of, as Secretary of War ad interim, 314-316. "GREENBACKS," law limiting amount of, 355. GRIFFIN, CHARLES, General, jury order of, 323; order respecting, 344. HABEAS CORPUS, annulling suspension of, in certain States, 15, resolution on, 112; bill respecting, 116; opinions of Supreme Court on, 210-220. HALE, ROBERT S., amendment to suffrage bill, 114. HALPINE, CHARLES G., President Johnson's interview with, 141-143. HANCOCK, WINFIELD S., General, orders respecting, 306 -308, 345; orders of, 324; vote for nomination for President, 371. HENDERSON, JAMES H. D., resolution on treason, 109. HENDERSON, JOHN B., motion respecting General Schofield's confirmation, 264; amendment to Arkansas bill, 339; motion proposing thanks to Chief Justice Chase, 350. HENDRICKS, THOMAS A., amendment to Aikansas bill, 339; vote for nomination for President, 371. HILL, RALPH, resolution on test-oath, 110. HOLDEN, WILLIAM W., appointed provisional governor of North Carolina, 11; President Johnson's telegram to, respecting rebel debt, 19; defeated for governor at election, 19; call of, for meeting of legislature of North Carolina, 319. HOLMAN, WILLIAM S., motion to table impeachment resolutions, 190. HOMESTEAD ACT, bill extending, 116, 186. HOWARD O. O., Major General, orders of, 12, 13. HUMPHREYS, BENJAMIN G., Governor of Mississippi, proclamation of, 322; removal of, 323. IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON, proposed action of Congress, 187-190; subsequent votes, and articles, answer, and judgment of the Senate, 264-282. INSURRECTIONARY STATES, proclamations concerning, 7, 9, 11, 13-17,194; reconstruction steps in, 18-28; laws on freedmen, 29-44; President Johnson's messages concerning, 64-67, 166-172, 178-180; General Grant's report, 67, 68; votes in Congress upon, note, 72, 183, 184; reports, propositions, and laws, 102 -106, 166-172, 178-180, 335-337; claimants for seats in Congress, 107, 108, 181-183; Senators and Representatives from, 347, 348. JENKINS, CHARLES J., Governor, threatened removal of, 311; actual removal, 320. JOHNSON, ANDREW, inauguration of, 44; Cabinet of, 107, 181, 347. JOHNSON, ANDREW, INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES-To citizens of Indiana, 44-47; Nashville speech of June 9, 1864, note, 46, 47; to Virginia refugees, 47, 48; with George L. Stearns, 48, 49; to colored soldiers, October 10, 1865, 49-51; with Senator Dixon, 51, 52; with colored delegation respecting suffrage, and reply of, 52-55; with committee of the Virginia legislature, 56-58; speech of February 22, 1866, 58 -63; speech to colored people of District of Columbia, 63; on receiving proceedings of Philadelphia convention, 127-129; in New York, 129-134; in Cleveland, 134-136; in St. Louis, 136-141; with Charles G. Halpine, 141-143. JOHNSON, ANDREW, LETTERS OF-To Secretary Stanton requesting his resignation, 261; appointing Gen. U. S. Grant Secretary of War ad interim, 261; appointing Lorenzo Thomas Secretary of War ad interim, 266; correspondence with General Grant on his retiring from the War Office, 282-293. JOHNSON, ANDREW, MESSAGES OF-First annual, 64-66; second annual, 143-147; special, on the condition Page 125] INDEX. 385 of the insurrectionary States, 66, 67; veto of first Freedmen's bureau bill, 68-72; of second, 147-149; veto of civil rights bill, 74-78; veto of first Colorado bill, 81, 82; of second, 160-163; on proposed constitutional amendment, 83; on restoring Tennessee to her relations to the Union, 152-154; veto of the District of Columbia suffrage bill, 154-159; veto of' the Nebraska bill, 164, 165; veto of the military reconstruction bill, 166-172; veto of the civil tenure bill, 173-176; accompanying the approval of an army appropriation bill, 178; veto of the supplemental reconstruction bill, 178-180; message accompanying the approval of a reconstruction appropriation bill, 181; message announcing to the Senate the removal of Mr. Stanton, 262; veto of electoral college bill, 378-379. JOHNSON, ANDREW, ORDERS AND PROCLAMATIONS OF, 7-18, 194-208; on commercial intercourse and blockade, 7, 9, 13; for trial and punishment of Abraham Lincoln's assassins, 7; for arrest of Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, and others, 7; and withdrawal of, note, 198; for release of Clement C. Clay, note, 8; recognizing Governor Pierpoint's administration in Virginia, 8; respecting rebel cruisers receiving hospitality in foreign ports, 9; of amnesty, 9, 10; appointing provisional governors in North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida, 11, 12; respecting freedmen, 12, 13; for return of property to pardoned persons, 13; respecting the State of Tennessee, 13,14; passports for paroled prisoners, 14; paroling certain State prisoners, 14; withdrawing martial law from Kentucky, 15; annulling the suspension of the habeas corpus, 15; announcing that the rebellion had ended in certain States named, 15, 16; that civil authority exists throughout the whole of the United States, 194-196; President Johnson's interpretation thereof, note, 17; in relation to appointments to office, 17; in relation to trials by military courts and commissions, 17; forbidding the invasion of Canada by the Fenians, 17, 18; respecting merchant vessels in certain ports of Japan, 196, 197; respecting Maximilian's decree of July 9, 1866, 196; respecting suspension of tonnage and impost duties of Hawaiian vessels, 197; declaring Nebraska a State in the Union, 198; withdrawing reward for John H. Surratt, and others, 198; concerning release of convicts, 198, 199; assigning commanders to military districts, 199, 200, 306-308, 344-346; order suspending Secretary Stanton, 261; order removing Secretary Stanton, 265; order appointing General Lorenzo Thomas ad interim, 266; order to General Grant respecting orders issued by Secretary Stanton, 284; orders respecting Baltimore troubles in 1866, 297; orders respecting Sheridan, Thomas, Hancock, 306-308; proclamation enjoining obedience to the Constitution and the laws, 342; extending full pardon to certain persons engaged in the rebellion, 342, 343; of general amnesty, 344; order respecting transaction of public business, 344; correcting an error of date in previous proclamation, 344; order establishing a new military division, 346; proclamation respecting the ratification of 14th amendment by Florida and North Carolina, 379. JoHNSON, ANDREW, proposed impeachment of, 187-190'; subsequent votes, articles, answer, and judgment of the Senate, 264-282. JOHNSON, ANDREW, TELEGRAMS OF, to Prov. Govs. Holden and Johnson, on repudiating rebel debt of North Carolina and Georgia, 19, 20, 21; to Prov. Gov. Sharkey on colored suffrage, 19, 20; to Prov. Gov. Perry on ratifying anti-slavery amendment, &c., 22, 23, 24; to Prov. Gov. Marvin on ratifying antislavery amendment, 25; to Gov. Brownlow on enforcing election laws, 27,199; to Gov. Murphy, of Arkansas, 28;.to Prov. Gov. Throckmorton, of Texas, 199; to Montgomery Blair, 199; to ex-Gov. Parsons, of Alabama, on Alabama's withdrawal of ratification of 14th amendment, note, 352. JOHNSON, ANDREW, thanks of House to, 113; sundry resolutions on, 111, 112,187-190, 364, 368. JOHNSON, ANDREW, validating certain proclamations and acts of, 185. JOHNSON, JAMES, Prov. Gov. of Georgia, 12; telegrams from and to, 20, 21. JOHNSTON, JOSEPH E., General, agreement with General Sherman, 121,122. JOINT RECONSTRUCTION COMMITTEE, reports of, 84-101; various propositions of, 102-106. JUDICIAL OPINIONS, on habeas corpus, 210-220; on test-oath, 220-239; on military reconstruction bill, 239, 240. JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, report on proposed impeachment, 188, 189. JULIAN, GEORGE W., homestead bills of, 116, 186. KANSAS, votes on proposed constitutional amendments, 354. KELLEY, WILLIAM D., suffrage bill of, 114. KELSO, JOHN R., resolutions on impeachment, 187, 188. KENTUCKY, withdrawal of martial law, 15; resolutions of 1798, 254-256. LEBLOND, FRANCIS C., motion on disbanding militia of certain States, 178. LEE, R. E., terms of surrender, 120, 121; application of, for benefit of amnesty proclamation, and action thereon, 305; General Grant on, 301-305. LEGAL-TENDERS, act authorizing the, 345. LEGISLATURES, votes on 14th constitutional amendment, 194, 353. LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, orders for trial and punishment of assassins of, 7; letter to Gov. Hahn on colored suffrage, note, 20; telegram to General Weitzel, 26; withdrawal of reward for alleged assassins of, 198; vote for, in 1864, 372. LISTS OF CONGRESSMEN AND CLAIMANTS, 107, 108, 181-183, 347, 348. LOAN, BENJAMIN F., resolution on impeachment, 187, 188. LONGYEAR, JOHN W., resolutions of, 111-113. LOUISIANA, J. M. Wells elected governor, 28; pardon of Mayor Monroe, 28, 29; legislation on freedmen, 43, 44; claimants in Congress, 107, 108, 183; new constitution of, 329, 330; restoration to representation, 337; representatives elect from, 348. MARTIAL LAW, General Grant on declaring, in Texas, 298; General Sheridan's report upon, note, 298. McDOWELL, IRVIN, order assigning to and relieving from command of fourth military district, 346; action of, 323. MARVIN, WILLIAM, appointed provisional governor of Florida, 12; claimant of seat in Senate, 107. MARYLAND, unconditional Union platform, 124; legislature, on 14th amendment, 194; Republican platform and calls of 1867, 245; memorial to Congress of Republican members of the legislature, note, 246; sundry facts respecting, 259; new constitution of, 326. MCCLELLAN, GEORGE B., vote of, for President, in 1864, McCULLOCH, HUGH, Secretary of the Treasury, 107, 181, 347; letter of, on General Grant, 289. McPHERSON, EDWARD, clerk of House, 108, 182, 347; telegrams concerning, 24. MEADE, GEORGE G., General, telegrams to and from Grant, 313, 314; removal of Gov. Jenkins, of Georgia, 320; telegram on test-oath, 320; order assigning, 346. MExico, relations of United States and France to, 146, 147; General Grant and the proposed mission to, 296. MICHIGAN, votes in, on constitutional amendments, 353. MILITARY COURTS, effect of peace proclamation upon, note, 17; order in relation to, 17. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE ATLANTIC, order establishing, 346. MILITARY RECONSTRUCTION BILL, 191,192; supplements, 192, 193, 335-337; orders thereunder, 199-208; 316-325; 345, 346. MILITIA FORCES OF INSURRECTIONARY STATES, action and orders respecting, 178, 201. MILLER, SAMUEL F., Justice, opinion on test-oath cases, 228-234. MILLIGAN CASE, opinion of Supreme Court, 210-220. MINNESOTA, vote on proposed constitutional amendment, 354. MISSISSIPPI, rebel legislature forbidden to assemble, 19; reconstruction steps in, 19, 20; on colored suffrage in, 19, 20; laws on freedmen, 29-32; claimants in Congress, 107, 108; made part of fourth military district, 200; orders and action of the military therein, 321-323; new constitution of, 334. MORRILL, LOT M., amendments to suffrage bill, 115. NATIONAL PLATFORMS of 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, 356-364; of 1868, 364-368. NEBRASKA, election in, on State government, &c., 120; veto of, and votes upon, bill to admit, 164-166; proclamation of President Johnson, of admission of, 198. NEW HAMPSHIRE, election in 1866, 120; in 1867, 259; in 1868, 372. NEW JERSEY, vote of legislature on ratifying 14th amendment, 194; on withdrawing the ratification, 353. NEW YORK, new constitution of, 326. NEW ORLEANS RIOTS, President Johnson's allusions to, 137. NOELL, THOMAS E., bill to authorize female suffrage, 184. NORTH CAROLINA, provisional governor appointed, 11; reconstruction steps, 18, 19; claimants for seats in Congress, 107, 108,183; convention of colored peo 386 POLITICAL MANUAL. [Part III. pie, 18; laws on freedmen, 29; platform of Republican State convention, 251, 252; made part of second military district, 200; orders and action of the military therein, 201-204, 317-319; new constitution of, 332; restoration to representation, 337; Representatives elect from, 348; vote of legislature on 14th amendment, 353. OHIO, legislature on 14th amendment, 194; votes on withdrawal of, 353; resolutions of Democratic convention of 1867, 247, 248; votes on proposed amendment to State constitution, 353. ORD, EDWARD O. C., Major General, assignment of, to and from the command of fourth military district, 200, 345; orders of, 206, 321-323. ORDER NO. 44, facts concerning, 122, 308. ORDERS, SILITARY, 36-38; 41, 42; 122, 123, 124; 199-208; 306-308. OREGON, election of 1866, 120; of 1868, 372. PARDONED REBELS, order for return of property to, 13; President Johnson's allusions to, 139. PARSONS, LEWIS E., provisional governor of Alabama, 12; claimant of seat as Senator, 107; telegram to President Johnson respecting 14th amendment, and reply, note, 352. PEASE, E. M., appointed governor of Texas, 323. PENNSYLVANIA, resolutions of Union and Democratic State conventions of 1866, 123. PERRY, BENJAMIN F., provisional governor of South Carolina, 12; telegrams to and from, 22, 23, 24; claimant of seat as Senator, 107. PHILLIPS, WENDELL, President Johnson's allusions to, 61, 135, 140. PICKETT, GEORGE E., General, application for clemency, 301, 305; General Grant upon, 305. PIERPOINT, FRANCIS H., recognized as Governor of Virginia, 8; superseded, 317. PLATFORMS of 1864, Union and Democratic, 117, 118; State platforms of 1866,123, 124, 240-243; of 1867, 243-253; national platforms of 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, 356-364; of 1868, 364-368. POPE, JOHN, Major General, orders of, 204-206; telegrams to and from Grant, 310-313; orders and action of, in third military district, 319,320; order relieving, 346. PROCLAMATIONS AND ORDERS OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON, 7-18; 194-208, 342-346, 379. PUBLIC DEBT, resolution respecting inviolability of, 109; proposed constitutional amendment respecting,102, 103,191; amount of, 126, 259, 374; President Johnson's allusions to, 141, 146. PUBLIC LANDS, proposed legislation on, 116, 186. RANDALL, ALEXANDER W., Postmaster General, 181, 387; letter of, on General Grant, 289. RANDALL, SAMUEL J., resolution on public debt, 109. REBEL CRUISERS, proclamation concerning, 9. REBEL DEBT, propositions to repudiate, 19, 21, 23, 24, 28, 102, 106, 109,191. REBELLION SUPPRESSED, proclamation announcing the, 15,16,194-196. REBELS PARDONED, order for return of property to, 13. RECONSTRUCTION, majority and minority of committe on, 84-101; votes upon propositions of, note, 72, 102-106; reconstruction bill, ("military,") veto of, copy of, and votes upon, 166-173; supplementary reconstruction bill, veto of, copy of, and votes upon, 178-181; General Grant's views upon, 294, 298-306; supplemental measures, July, 1867, March and July, 1868, and orders connected therewith, 335-341; President Johnson's orders referring to, 199, 200, 345, 346, 379. RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES OF THIRTY-NINTH AND FORTIETH CONGRESSES, 166-173, 178-181, 335-341; votes of legislatures thereon, 194, 353, 380. REPRESENTATION, proposed constitutional amendment on, 102-105, 191; census tables on, 125. REPRESENTATION OF INSURRECTIONARY STATES, President Johnson's allusions to, 57-66, 71, 72, 82, 130, 144, 153, 172; concurrent resolution upon, note, 72; majority and minority reports upon, 84-101; bills and propositions relating to, 102-106; resolution concerning, 109; joint resolution regulating, 184; bills prescribing terms of, 191, 192, 335-337. REPRESENTATIVES IN THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS AND CLAIMANTS, 108, 109, 181, 182; in Fortieth, 182, 183, 347, 348. REPUBLICAN NATIONAL PLATFORMS of 1856, 1860, and 1864, 356-364; of 1868, 364, 365, and vote in, for Vice President, 366. "ESOLUTIONS ON POLITICAL SUBJECTS, 109-114, 183-186. ROBINSON, WILLIAM E., motion to table impeachment resolution, 190. RHODE ISLAND, election of 1866, 120; of 1867, 259; of 1868, 372. SCHENK, ROBERT C., propositions on representation, 104, 105; on Fenian resolution, 114; on suffrage in District of Columbia, 115; on suspending payment for slaves drafted or volunteered, 18Q 187.. SCHOFIELD, JOHN M., Major General, orders of, 200, 201; confirmation of, as Secretary of War, 264, 347; action of, in reconstructing Virginia, 316, 317. SCHURZ, CARL, General, resolutions of, at Chicago Convention, 360. SENATORS IN THIRTY-NINTH AND FORTIETH CONGRESSES AND CLAIMANTS, 107, 108, 181, 182, 347. SEWARD, WILLIAM H., Secretary of State, 107,181, 347; certificate of ratification of anti-slavery amendment, 6; telegrams to provisional governors, 21, 23, 24, 25, 199; report on transmission of 14th constitutional amendment, 83, 84; letter of, on General Grant's onversation with President Johnson, 290; certificate of ratification of 14th constitutional amendment, 379. baYMOUR, HORATIO, nominated for President, 371; speech on accepting, 381. SHARKEY, WILLIAM L., provisional governor of Mississippi, 12; action as, 19, 20; claimant as Senator, 107. SHERIDAN, PHILIP H., Major General, orders under military reconstruction bill, 206, 207; report on condition of Texas, note, 298; letters and orders on removal of, 306-308, 345; orders and telegrams of, and to, on reconstruction, 308-310. SHERMAN, JOHN, motion respecting Georgia, 340. SHERMAN, WILLIAM T., General, agreement with General Johnston, 121, 122. SICKLES, DANIEL E., Major General, order setting aside South Carolina code, 36-38; orders under military reconstruction bill, 202-204,317; order relieving, 345. SLAVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION, General Grant's views upon, 293, 298-304. SLAVES, to suspend payment of, 186,187; General Grant's orders respecting, 293, 294. SOUTH CAROLINA, provisional governor appointed, 12; telegrams to and from, 22, 23, 24, and note; reconstruction steps in, 22-24; General Gillmore's order annulling Governor Magrath's call for a rebel legislature, 22; laws on freedmen, and General Sickles's order thereon, 34-37; claimants in Congress, 107, 108, 182; made part of second military district, 200; platform of Charleston Republicans, 1867, 252, 253; orders and action of the military therein, 200-204, 317-319; new constitution of, 332, 333; restoration to representation, 337; Representatives elect from, 348. SPALDING, RUFUS P., motion to table impeachment resolution, 188; subsequent resolution, 265. STANBERY, HENRY, Attorney General, 181; of President's counsel, 271; rejected on re-nomination, 347. STANTON, EDWIN M., Secretary of War, 107, 181; request for resignation of, and reply, 261; order of suspension, and Senate vote upon, 261, 262; order of removal, and Senate vote upon, 262, 263; letters to General Grant and to President Johnson, 261, 262; letter announcing that he had relinquished charge of the War Department, and order to General Townsend, 263; President Johnson's order respecting orders of, 284; General Grant's letter to President Johnson on removal of, 306-308; vote of thanks to, 350; of censure of, 368. STATE PRISONERS released, 199, 200. STEARNS, GEORGE L., President Johnson's interview with, 48, 49. STEVENS, THADDEUS, allusions of President Johnson to, 61, 135,137,140; resolutions on representation, note, 72; propositions from Reconstruction Committee, 103-105; resolution on test-oath for lawyers, 111; motion not to recognize the North Carolina State government, 113; report and action in favor of impeachment, 265, 266. STEWART, WILLIAM M., motion respecting General Schofield's confirmation, 264. SUFFRAGE, in District of Columbia, 114-116; veto of bill regulating, copy of, and votes on passing and repassing, 154-160; in Territories, 116, 117, 184; vote in Connecticut, 120; votes in Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, and Minnesota, 353; President Lincoln upon, note, 20; President Johnson upon, 19, 20, 24, 49, 52 -55, 154-159; proposed female and intelligence-suffrage, 184; in the insurrectionary States, 192, 194, 327-334. SUMNER, CHARLES, allusions of President Johnson to, 61, 137. SUPREME COURT OF UNITED STATES, opinions on habeas corpus, 209-220; test-oaths, 220-234; Mississippi injunction case, 239, 240; proposed legislation respecting, 350. SURRATT, JOHN H., reward for arrest of, withdrawn, 198. SWAYNE, WAGER, General, orders of, 204, 206, 319: order relieving, 346. TABER, STEPHEN, amendment of homestead act, 116. TARIFFS, votes on all, since 1816, 126. TEN-FORTY BON ps, act authorizing the, 354. Page 127] INDEX. 387 TENNESSEE, President Johnson's proclamation respecting suppression of insurrection in, 13; franchise acts in, 27, 28, and President Johnson's telegram to Governor Brownlow respecting, 27, 199; legislation on freedmen, 42, 43; joint resolution restoring the relations of, to the Union, 105,152; message of President Johnson in approval of, 152, 153; admission of Senators and Representatives, 181, 182; Governor Brownlow's proclamation respecting a State guard, 208; legislature on 14th amendment, 194; Republican and "Conservative" platforms of 1867, 248, 249. TENURE-OF-OFFICE ACT, 176; veto of, and votes upon, 173-178. TERRITORIES, elective franchise in, 116, 184. TERRY, General, order relative to vagrant laws of Virginia, 41, 42. TEST-OATH, action of North Carolina requesting repeal of, 19; of Mississippi, 20; votes in House on, 110, 111, 184; copy of, note, 193; opinions of Supreme Court on, 220-240. TEXAS, provisional governor appointed, 12; action of convention, 18; laws on freedmen, 43; elaimants of seats in Congress, 184; legislature on 14th amendment, 194; resolutions of convention of, 325; important military order in, 356. THOMAS, GEORGE H,, Major General, various orders respecting, 200, 306, 307, 344; telegram of, declining brevet, 346. THOMAS, LORENZO, letter of authority as Secretary of "War ad interim, 266; acceptance of, 263. THoRNTON, ANTHONY, resolution on elective franchise,110. THROCKMORTON, J. W., Governor, Grant's telegram to, 310. TOWNSEND, E. D., General, order of Secretary Stanton to, 264. TREASON, resolution on punishment of, 109. TRIMBLE, LAWRENCE S., motion to table bill respecting confiscated lands, 187. STRUMBULL, LYMAN, motion respecting Alabama, 341. VIRGINA, order to re-establish authority in, 8, 9; call for meeting of rebel legislature and Mr. Lincoln's telegram forbidding, 25; legislation in, 26, 27; freedmen's code, and General Terry's order setting aside, 41, 42; claimants for seats in Congress, 107, 108; republican platform of 1867, 253, 254; Virginia resolutions of 1798, 256, 257; order creating it the first military district, 200; ordersand action of the military therein, 200, 316, 317; Henry H. Wells appointed governor, 317; new constitution of, 333. VooRHEES, DANIEL W., resolution endorsing President Johnson's policy, 111. WELLES, GIDEON, Secretary of the Navy, 107, 181, 347; letter of, on General Grant, 290. WELLS, HENRY H., appointed governor of Virginia, 317. WTEST VIRGINIA BILL, votes on, 116; election of 1866, 120. WHIPPING OF THE PERSON, order prohibiting in Virginia, 200, 201; elsewhere, 201. WILLEY, WAITMAN T., amendment to suffrage bill, 115, 116; motion on confirming General Schofield, 264. WILLIAMS, GEORGE H., motion respecting certain constitutions, 340, 341. WILLIAMS, THOMAS, resolution on withdrawing military force, 111; bill to restore confiscated lands, 187; proposition relative to Supreme Court, 350. WILSON, HENRY, motion respecting Secretary Stanton's removal, 263; motion respecting Alabama, 340; vote of, for Vice President, 366. WILSON, JAMES F., proposition relative to rebel debt, 106; resolution on representation, 109, 110; amendment to suffrage bill, 114; report on impeachment, 188, 189. WOODBRIDGE, FREDERICK E., motion respecting Alabama, 340. WYLIE, ANDREW, Justice, opinion on test-oath, 236-239. YATES, RICHARD, motion respecting Secretary Stanton's removal, 263. McPherson's Political Publications. POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE GREAT REBELLION, From November 6, 1860, to April 15, 1865, the Date of the Death of Abraham Lincoln. With a Copious Chapter on the Church and the Rebellion. By Hon. EDWARD McPHERSON, LL.D., Clerk of the U. S. 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