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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



prosecution of the war which resulted in the 

 suppression of the rebellion waged by those 

 States. I hold that, subject to the Constitution 

 of the United States and to the duty of ultimate- 

 ly restoring the rebel States to their former 

 standing under the Constitution, the Govern- 

 ment of the United States has the same power 

 in reference to those conquered communities as 

 it would have had they been foreign territory. 

 " Let me not be misunderstood, sir. I do not 

 say that the Government of the United States has 

 precisely the saine authority over the rebel States 

 which it would have in reference to conquered 

 foreign territory ; but \ve hold them by the sword 

 and by the right of conquest ; yet we hold them in 

 a fiduciary capacity, and the trust imposed upon 

 the Government is ultimately and in our own 

 good time, as Congressshall judge mostfltand ex- 

 pedient in reference to the public interest, to re- 

 store them to the enjoyment of all their former 

 rights as members of the Union. But at pres- 

 ent we hold them as conquered country. The 

 governments which have- been established there 

 under the imperial edicts of the Executive have 

 all depended for their vitality and force upon 

 the military power of the United States ; and it 

 cannot be denied to-day that all these bogus 

 governments in the rebel States I call them 

 bogus only in the sense of their being unconsti- 

 tutional rest upon the military edicts of the 

 President of the United States, so far as they 

 have any foundation and operation. I hold 

 further, that in assuming to establish govern- 

 ments, in assuming to appoint provisional gov- 

 ernors, and to set in motion the machinery of 

 these State governments, a most unparalleled 

 usurpation has been committed upon the author- 

 ity of Congress, delegated plainly by the Consti- 

 tution to Congress, to whom and to whom, only 

 belong the right and the power of reconstruct- 

 ing, so to speak, and readmitting these States to 

 the enjoyment of their rights as such. We hold 

 these countries as military conquests. We have 

 won them by our arms. We subdued the rebel 

 military forces, have disarmed them, and at 

 least half a million men now residing in these 

 rebel States are our prisoners of war to-day, 

 having been captured and paroled, sent home 

 upon their parole cPhonneur. The bill before us 

 proposes to regulate this military occupation by 

 the appointment of several major generals, each 

 one to his proper department, who is authorized 

 and required to protect all persons in their rights 

 of person and of property, to suppress insurrec- 

 tion, disorder, and violence, and to punish or cause 

 to be punished all disturbers of the public peace 

 and other criminals. It will be seen that the bill 

 itself recognizes the military authority ofthe Uni- 

 ted States over these countries. It recognizes the 

 right and the duty of Congress to provide for 

 their military government, for the protection of 

 persons and property, and the preservation of 

 any vestige of liberty that may remain among 

 them. If we have the power thus to act in the 

 rebel States, then these so-called States them- 

 selves are not now invested with State rights and 



the power of State legislation. The amend- 

 ment of the honorable member from Maryland 

 clearly recognizes the present existence of this 

 power of State legislation in them." 



Mr. Morrill, of Maine, said : " I undertake to 

 state as a proposition, that this bill modifies 

 the action of the military authority which has 

 been exercised since the war began ; and it pro- 

 poses to furnish a rule, a military rule, as an 

 article of war, if you please, to the commander 

 in that region of country where now they are 

 without any except such as arise from the gen- 

 eral articles of war. Now, let me say to the 

 honorable Senator, that when he talks about 

 the apprehension of being accustomed to mili- 

 tary authority, and that here is an imposition 

 of military governments, he is mistaken. It is 

 no such thing. It is simply in the nature of an 

 article of war, or a rule for the government of 

 the army in a conquered country, and that is 

 all it is. Sir, by the triumph, of our arms we 

 have overthrown rebellion and civil war. These 

 civil and political communities, recently in in- 

 surrection and war, are subdued and at our feet 

 I assume that there are no civil tribunals there, 

 no State governments which we are bound to 

 respect, or which it is safe for us to respect and 

 trust. What, then, is to be done ? We are to 

 restore those communities, of course ; when ? 

 As soon as it is practicable to do it. In the 

 mean time it is the duty of Congress to define 

 by law what the military authorities in that re- 

 gion of country shall be bound to do, and that 

 is, by this proposition, to keep order, preserve 

 order in these insurrectionary States, protect 

 the persons and the property of the people, 

 and that is all." 



Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, said: "It mat- 

 ters but little to me, and it will matter but little 

 to the people of the South and to the people 

 of this country, if State governments are sub- 

 verted there, if constitutional liberty is struck 

 down, whether there be impartial suffrage or 

 manhood suffrage. The passage of this bill, if 

 it shall become an act either by the signature 

 of the President, or by the vote of Congress 

 over a veto, is in my judgment, as we heard 

 this afternoon, the death-kriell, not only of the 

 Republic, but of civil and constitutional liberty 

 in this country. I cannot touch it in any shape, 

 form, or fashion, or have any thing to do with 

 trying to amend it; but if it be the determina- 

 tion of those who exercise political power in 

 this country to put a final end forever to con- 

 stitutional liberty, and all hope of constitutional 

 liberty, in this land, let the dose be as poison- 

 ous as possible. I would not have the pill 

 coated. 



" What, sir, are we doing? I shall not now 

 enter into a discussion of this question, though 

 I intend to do so before the bill is finally passed ; 

 but what do we hear here ? The agent recon- 

 structing the principal! What is the Federal 

 Government? A mere agent created by the 

 States of this Union, with no particle of origi- 

 nal inherent sovereignty about it. And that 



