CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



141 



their substance, impeding their culture, and impair- 

 Ing their happine ; i.ml whereas the class rule and 

 uri-ti'eratii- element of ilaveholdlng which found a 

 place in our Republic has proved itself, in like man* 

 IHT, liui-tt'iil t" uiir people, by degrading labor and 

 prohibiting popnbr edncfttton in a largo section of 

 the couiiti\ ; li\ .stri\iiin to icml our Union in frag- 

 ; by causing the blood of hundreds of thou- 

 sands of patriot* to flow, and by compelling tlio 

 people to impose on themseives a debt of European 

 '.udo in deleiire of liberty, nationality, and 

 civili/ation on this cuntiiient : 'I In ; 



.is Hie sense of this House), That once 

 for all wo .-liniilil have done with class rule and aris- 

 tocracy as a privileged power before the law in this 

 nation, no matter where or in what form they may 

 ippear; and that, in restoring the normal relations 

 of the States lately in rebellion, it is the high and 



d duty of the Representatives of the people to 

 proceed upon the true, as distinguished from the 



ilemocrutic principle, and to realize and secure 

 the lartrest attainable liberty to the whole people of 

 the Republic, irrespective of class or race. 



On the same day, on a motion to refer the Pres- 

 ident's message to the respective committees 

 in the House, Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, ex- 

 pressed his views on the state of the country. 

 After advancing reasons to prove it to be the 

 duty of Congress to " create States and declare 

 when they are entitled to be represented," he 

 said: 



" It is obvious from all this that the first 

 duty of Congress is to pass a law declaring the 

 condition of these outside or defunct States, 

 and providing proper civil governments for 

 them. Since the conquest they have been gov- 

 erned by martial law. Military rule is neces- 

 sarily despotic, and ought not to exist longer 

 than is absolutely necessary. As there are no 

 symptoms that the people of these provinces 

 will be prepared to participate in constitutional 

 government for some years, I know of no ar- 

 rangement so proper for them as territorial 

 governments. There they can learn the prin- 

 ciples of freedom, and eat the fruit of foul 

 rebellion. Under such governments, while 

 electing members to the Territorial Legisla- 

 tures, they will necessarily mingle with those 

 to whom Congress shall extend the right of 

 ouffrage. In Territories, Congress fixes the 

 qualifications of electors ; and I know .of no 

 better place nor better occasion for the con- 

 quered rebels and the conqueror to practise 

 justice to all men, and accustom themselves to 

 make and to obey equal laws. 



" As these fallen rebels cannot at their option 

 reonter the heaven which they have disturbed, 

 the garden of Eden which they have deserted, 

 and flaming swords are set at the gates to 

 net-lire- their exclusion, it becomes important to 

 the welfare of the nation to inquire when the 

 doors shall bo reopened for their admission. 



"According to my judgment they ought 

 never to be recognized as capable of acting in 

 the Union, or of being counted as valid States, 

 until the Constitution shall have been so amend- 

 ed as to make it what its framers intended ; 

 and so as to secure perpetual ascendency to the 

 party of the Union; and so as to reudcr our 



republican government firm and stable forever. 

 The first ot those amendments is to change the 

 banis of n prr .-iitution among the States from 

 1'Vileral numbers to actual voters. Nowull the 

 colored fiv.-im-n in the slave States, and ihrec- 

 tittliH of the slaves, are represented though 

 none of them have votes. The States havo 

 nineteen representatives of colored slaves. If 

 the slaves are now free then they can add, for 

 the other two-fifths thirteen more, making the 

 slave representationtion thirty-two. I suppose 

 the free blacks in those States will give at 

 five more, making the representation of non- 

 voting people of color about thirty-seven. The 

 whole number of representatives now from the 

 slave States is seventy. Add the other two- 

 fifths and it will be eighty-three. 



"If the amendment prevails, and those States 

 withhold the right of siitFrago from persons of 

 color, it will deduct about thirty-seven, leaving 

 them but forty-six. AVith the basis unchanged, 

 the eighty-three Southern members, with the 

 Democrats that will in the best times be elected 

 from the North, will always give them a major- 

 ity in Congress and in the electoral college. 

 They will at the very first election take posses- 

 sion of the White House and the halls of Con- 

 gress. I need not depict the ruin that would 

 follow. Assumption of the rebel debt or repu- 

 diation of the Federal debt would be sure to 

 follow. The oppression of the freedmen ; the 

 reamendment of their State constitutions, and 

 the reestablishrncnt of slavery would be tho 

 inevitable result. That they would scorn and 

 disregard their present constitutions, forced 

 upon them in the midst of martial law, would 

 be both natural and just. No one who has any 

 regard for freedom of elections can look upon 

 those governments, forced upon them in duress, 

 with any favor. If they should grant the right 

 of suffrage to persons of color, I think there 

 would always be Union white men enough 

 in the South, aided by the blacks, to divide 

 the representation, and thus continue the Re- 

 publican ascendency. If they should refuse to 

 thus alter their election laws, it would reduce- 

 the representatives of tho late slave States to 

 about forty-live, and render them powerless for 

 evil. It is plain that this amendment must be 

 consummated before the defunct States arc ad- 

 mitted to be capable of State action, or it never 

 can be. 



" The proposed amendment t.o allow Con- 

 gress to lay a duty on exports is precisely in 

 the same situation. Its importance cannot well 

 be overstated. It is very obvious that for many 

 years tho South will not pay much under our 

 internal revenue laws. The only article on 

 which we can raise any considerable amount is 

 cotton. It will be grown largely at once. "With 

 ten cents a pound export duty it would bo 

 furnishcd cheaper to foreign markets than they 

 could obtain it from any other part of the 

 world. The late war has shown that. Two 

 million bales exported, at five hundred pounds 

 to the baV?, would yield $100,000,000. Thia 



