CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



137 



safety strike out all after that first section, and 

 the second section, which carries the first into 

 effect. But such is not the fact or condition, 

 in my belief, and in the belief of the majority 

 of the committee who have reported this bill. 

 Therefore we have made certain exceptions. 

 Let me repeat, in order that there may be no 

 misunderstanding, that we have swept out 

 every thing in the first section that has been 

 done wrong by everybody on the one side as 

 well as on the other, so that no more suits can 

 be brought for acts done or committed in the 

 war either against those who warred in behalf 

 of the United States, or those who warred 

 against the United States. Many of the officers 

 of the United States all the military officers 

 are to-day protected by acts in their behalf 

 similar to this. None of the Confederate offi- 

 cers are protected. Therefore we see suits 

 pending against them to-day. The intention 

 in this bill has been to have general amnesty, 

 and to save from trouble and vexation every 

 thing that happened during the war except 

 the exceptions. 



" Now, let me say right here that this bill 

 leaves all the excepted cases but one, and that 

 is in regard to the national cemeteries, just 

 where they are now. It imposes no new pains, 

 no new penalties, but simply does not take any 

 pains or penalties from those excepted cases 

 with which they are burdened. It leaves those 

 excepted cases just where they are ; therefore 

 the action of the bill is to give the great mass 

 of the people of the South full amnesty ; to 

 throw the mantle of oblivion, as I have said 

 before, over all that has happened ; but it is 

 deemed necessary to make exceptions ; it has 

 always been deemed necessary in every civilized 

 country to hold up for reprobation and example 

 certain great and leading criminals in all rebel- 

 lions and in all public wrongs ; and, therefore, 

 we have excepted out those classes of men who 

 have stood forth as the leaders. And why 

 should they not be excepted? They played 

 for empire and lost ; let them take the penal- 

 ties of the loss. Therefore, they are held by 

 this bill just where they are. I will examine 

 those exceptions in detail by-and-by. 



" The second section of the bill is a very long 

 one. It involves many considerations, but its 

 object and bearing can be explained in a word. 

 It provides machinery adapted, under our com- 

 plex system of State and national judiciaries 

 and laws, to prevent suits being carried on 

 either by Confederates against a Federal officer 

 or by a Union man against a Confederate officer 

 or Confederate neighbor, or vice versa. 



" I come now to the third section, and I ob- 

 serve that the third section of this bill excepts 

 classes of persons, and the rights, titles, and 

 causes of action and matters set forth. 



u There is a proviso to this section that 

 whosoever's disabilities having been removed 

 by act of Congress, by name, shall have all 

 the benefits of this act. That would seem to 

 be just and fair. 



" Then there is one other exception. We 

 except every right of action and liability arising 

 upon any ordinance, law, or contract in aid of 

 the rebellion, and every such right shall be 

 deemed invalid ; that is to say, when we sweep 

 away all disabilities, all penalties, and settle 

 all quarrels, it might be held by some court to 

 revive rights of action upon contracts, and 

 contracts under the rebellious States. I do 

 not believe it would ; but, to exclude the con- 

 clusion, we have put in that exception. 



^ ^ The last section extends all these immu- 

 nities to every officer engaged in carrying out 

 the reconstruction laws. Congress, as we 

 know, has been employing for many months 

 officers in the South to carry on the recon- 

 struction laws, and as those reconstruction acts 

 are attacked as unconstitutional, suits are being 

 brought against those officers for acts in the 

 premises. I thought it was but just, and your 

 committee agreed with me, to extend this im- 

 munity and amnesty to that class of our public 

 servants." 



Mr. Beck, of Kentucky, said : " I propose as 

 a substitute for the. bill which has been re- 

 ported by the gentleman from Massachusetts 

 (Mr. Butler), from the Committee on Recon- 

 struction, that which I send to the clerk's desk 

 to be read, as follows : " 



Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert 

 in lieu thereof the following : 



(Two-thirds of each House concurring), That all 

 persons, other than those hereinafter excepted, now 

 disqualified to hold office by the third section of the 

 fourteenth article of amendments to the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States, are hereby relieved from 

 such disqualification, and the same is hereby re- 

 moved, from and after the passage of this act, except 

 from the following classes of persons, namely : 



1. Whoever, having been educated at the Military 

 Academy at West Point, or the Naval School at An- 

 napoliSj shall have engaged in the rebellion and in- 

 surrection against the United States, or given aid 

 and comfort to the enemies thereof. 



2. Whoever, having been a member of either 

 House of Congress of the United States, shall have 

 engaged in rebellion against the same, or given aid 

 and comfort to the enemies thereof. 



3. Whoever shall have held the office of head of 

 one of the Executive Departments of the Govern- 

 ment of the United States, or minister plenipoten- 

 tiary, or minister resident, or judge of any court 

 under the United States, and shall nave engaged in 

 rebellion or insurrection against the same, or given 

 aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. 



Mr! Farnsworth, of Illinois, said : " I move 

 to amend the substitute by striking out all 

 after the word ' that,' where it first occurs, 

 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following : " 



All political disabilities imposed by the third sec- 

 tion of the fourteenth article of amendments to the 

 Constitution of the United States are hereby re- 

 moved. 



Mr. Bingham, of Ohio, said : " I send to the 

 Clerk's desk an amendment to the text of the 

 original bill." 



The Clerk read as follows : 



Be it enacted, (tc. (two-thirds of each House con- 

 curring therein), That all legal and political disabil- 

 ities imposed by the fourteenth amendment of the 



