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“(G-A..,: JANUARY 22, 1869.
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'/Congrofcs on the
- *’ cavlioat op.
>08e, tiio lul-
tiicd :
Slater:
al Oo
„ of Joi—
,_io fourteenth iimendmftnt.
>r'Uls Olrtfat .bse-Miie. of tlic
» ntiil f ho lnfont of thi low wool J, it Is
ed, have p'rMijhndlfc* Babooqucnl lcg-
inhUfro action, vhtSh, no far as it may l>o por-
Mttlr.1 "■ Tho term. nnu condition. upon vhioh
it. * (1 corgis K»s to lmte been admitted as a Stato
Mm:
aro proscribed in iho law of June 2Clh, 1808,
entitled “An Aot tp admit, cto. •
4. There being nothing In that Aot which
repealed or aunuUeittHs requirements pros
Constitution/
be bo amend
ythatn
m it t ed to Blind, has vmually overthrowu‘tlic vlousljr cnnotwl as to elJflbMtj, those terms
wise polioy inaugurated by'Congress; tfpol-'»»»« conditions could be logally adopted only
iny so lately and. so fully oudorsed by tho by a legislative assembly organlxed tinder
Amorlcan people at tho ballot box. Hm ‘ ‘‘y virtue of tho laws of the Unitod States
The position taken in liny communication to theu in force, and byrd body whoso members
Congress ns to tho rcqulTements of the llo- were eligible under tho Acts bf March 2d And
construction nets is founded upon tho follow- July Will, 18b
ing official opinion of the'MnjorOouoral who,
proeliv*
i, noted upon
ring on the 4th day of
nted Provisional Gqt*
lenernl George
Thjrd Military
je of the power
isttifclion Acts,
lent.to your
ler whioli
boon 'ad*
. »
present for'yon
ilohlcadtno to this
the more
dictates,
diho State
l.vtho poo -
-by law.
ess, any
‘ therein
*iy.’ ? Tho
unMer those acts, commanded Iha-Third Mill-,
tnry District, which opinion was announoed
previous to tho eluotion for members of the
UrnvraP Assembly,, and by which nil persons
Wej-o put upon notice as to what would ho
roqulrfid:
From Iho Atlanta New Era, April 29, 1807.]
“ xtiQinartr tor ofiioh.
4 “ As the question .of eligibility under the
uew Provisional Goteramont is now. ono of
groat interest, wo hav.C been at sorno pains lo
place bafuro our readers an official opinion
upon this point..
“A person who lias never held an office lie-
fora tho war, hut who voluntarily aided and
abetted llio rebellion by holding d civil oflici
r at ono ttuio during the war, sought tho opin
ion of tho Cyuiiuantliug General as to wheth
er he would now ho eligible if elected.
“Wo give below the offioial opinion, by
whioli it will bo seon that the test oatlt will
bo required.
‘•Congress wiil, however, uo doubt pnss an
enabling act, relieving porsons who, in good
failli, de: ire restoration of. tho Union, (and
who have proved their faith by their works.)
from ilm operation of ihf ttli seotion, and of
other di.Abilities, which would otherwise pre
vent thorn aiding iu restoration.
' ‘H'liqi 'us Timm Military District, \
■Dsnartmcnt Georgia, Ala. and 'Florida, v
Allanta. On., April 16, 1808. J
.’ “The sixth section of the first Reconstruc
tion Act of t'ougruss declares ‘That until the
people id said rebel States shall be, by law,
Until said terms and conditions should
bo adopted by such n legislative body as that
referred to, the Now ConsUtution could have
no vitality as fund omental, law.
<•. In tho Act of March 2d, 1807, the follow
ing condition was prescribed for persons
holding office unde.' the provisional govern
uient: '
“ * * *no person shall bo eligible lo
nny office under any such provisional govern
ments who would he disqualified* from hold
ing office under the fid article of said [F
teenth] Amendment.
7. That this restriction Was ncLjiy Con
gress considered sufficiently comprehensive to
insure tho establishment of Stato Govern
ments ia hartnuiy with its policy, is made
manifest-by tho fact that tho following still
more restrictive provision was embodied in
the Supplemental Reconstruction Act vrhioh-
I ocame a-law oi tho 19th of July, 1807;
“And be it further enacted, x o n That
all persons Hurciftir elected or appointed to
office in said MBitary Districts uidvranf sfc-
onlled StotQ or * * *
tnil or
shall
in saiu nir.uary uismois unter any sO-
State or nquicina! anilu-ii’y. nr by-da-
appeintmintofthe Dim net Command
dl he required to tak. , j;d subscribe
• ho oatli uf office preaoiihod by law for officers
of tho United Stiles."
iforo. been, admitted to representation.in lUoOongre.ts of
MRil,* until the Yiflled Hates, “any civil government
.became a whioh.tnay exist (heroin, Shall bo deemed pro
lion
a Aot
been complied
in aooorihinoe
Aot® previously
emontnry Re
ft, ,18(17, it: i*
roffor oleolfd
Military-Dis-
he required
prescribed by
.tea, .
i .Drovisiohaf
ii‘Q .iogisla-
>aw thoieforc, required
i Reuoustructiop Adts,sboOld'bd permitted
iiflipafein tin.--ulcbsscry provisional
lUou preodflont -to. recognition .as a
as ato oltgjblo under
sltonld' bo permitted
itteu' prcocdont - lo, .recdgttlllon ai
Thcfact; h9v.'Cvtr.dsThat:all t.ho c
visional on'y, &c.'
, , 'Under tiio provisions of'tho fifth section
Of Hie name net, ‘tiio peopleot said Slate can-
not bo admitted to representation iu Congress
until they shall have ratified tho Constitution
submitted to them bytURtteconsIrueliou Acts,
and Congreis shall nave approved the same ;
nnd until said Uinta ahull hare adopted the
amendment, to the (JonstHp.Uou of tho United
Staler, proposed by Cotigrchs, known ns *Ar.
tiolu II’ nnd snul-Artiolo slmll have become
a patt-of the Constitution of tho United Stales.'
These and other provisions of the llcoonstruc
tlon Acts .dearly show that whatever govern
ment may exist in Georgia, before tiio fulfill
ment' of tlm above conditions, 'mu^t ‘he deem
ed provisional only.’ The fiinth seotion of the
Supplementary wOOMitructlim Act, passed
July 19, 18t>7, ‘requires nil officers elected or
appointed umlrsttlts provisional government
of it Stato lo talcs and subscribe the onili oi
office proscribed-by low for officers of the
United States," Twin makes a condition ot
eligibility'to bfiico uuder a provisional gov-
evnment- very irtwttit’iaUy•different from eitlmr
eligibility lo rsglstralion as a voter, or oligi-
provislons of the
prop'osod Constitutional amendment.
•llofove cutetlng upon bin duties, a provis
ional officer is required, among other things.
io^Bwoar ilmt ho.has neither sought, nor ac
oepted, nor attwnwSsd.tO exercise the fnne-
t-ionwufany offioe whatever, under any au
thority. or pretended authority, in hostility
tq tlu' Uniiml States.
~' ‘Mi*. —— : hold oliloo under the authority
oi 1 tho fltatoorueorgia while that State wa-
ui lm-.iiliiy to the Unitod States, lie is con
.sequently ineligible to olliee under tho pro
visional government. It is not deemed ueoesi
snry lmro to’diaOUss the effect tills view of the
law may have atf to other officers. Rut t he
lrgU>J'iiionl»astoho taken wliile tho State is
ttlyei. Under provisional government ; and the
if ‘Ve^mbe.rs'df the Ucglslature miint bo qualified
to hold offico under tUst provisionul govern
ment.
“Jo'friOiAf..] R. C. Drum, A. A. G.
8. Cougro.ss is tho solo, final lutcrprclor of
the truo iuteut and meaning of tho lleoon-
*t melton Acta, ind the arbiter upon questions
of their cxccut.on, fGen. Grant to Gen. OrU,
Juno 2M, 1807. 4 * The law, however, makes
the District Uomuntulors tholr own Interpre
ters of their power md duty under It; and
in my opinion tho Attornoy-GcuciAl nnd my«.
self can do no more than give our opinion .«
to the meaning ot tbs law; neither cab en
force las views against the judgment of iWo-
made responsible for tho fait lit ul execution of
«ho law—the District, t'-otnnmnders." Also
Gen. Meade toG*n. Grant, July 18th, 1808;
“My judgment, therefore, is to acquicsoo in
the decision of UteGeuate, nnd leave to Coins
gie.ss such actioni»s mny ltsreafler bodheiuod
proper in ease tho donate has fiiilod lo ootn-
i-ly witli tho law "]
.Tnisa^ition Is further sustained liy the
■ not from General Orders No.
following UX
til, dated .Headquarters Third Military Din-
trim, Atlanta, April 15,1808:
‘‘ir.’ Ths quosiion having boon submitted
whether the members of tho General Assem
bly of this State, to he elected noxt week,
will ho.roqiiirod, before entering upon their
dutios, lo take what is commonly called ‘the
test tooth,’ tiio Commanding General i* of
opinion that, inatiinnoh as said General As-
seihhly—should the Constlliition now sub-
mtttsd to 4{io..p«qplo of this State he ratified
by ihim,
.. . nnd be opprpved by Congress—is
required to convene aud adopt Iho proposed
atsamdment'to Iho Constitution of the United
Stales,.designAlcd as ‘Article XIV,’ before
t ha Stato oon bo admitted to representation
in'Otnjgrees; it- may bo decidcd'that the mem-
bt?rs of said General Assembly arc, whilo
taking this preliminary action, officers of a
ionai Government, and ns such requir-
.... _ thr. tho 9th seotion of tho Act of Con-
of July 10,1807, to take the test oath.”
7jf( . there woro any doubt—based upon
phraseology—as to whether tho provision of
lli6 ninth. soc|ion of the Act July 19, 18G7,
^ ““ihig ThO ohth to bo administered, should
le.lo apply, it would seem that the
ftU' section of the sumo. Act would, iu
fs csss, Tchder its application imperative.
JhVeleVonlb section reads as tollows:
' “That all the provisions of this Act, and
of the Acta to which itissupploaientary shall
ho'ooustrued liberally, to tho end that nil tho
intents thereof umy be fully-and perfectly
‘Hat such litoral construction of the law
iccted is evidenced by the following
from a. eoraraunication Of General
it ft*General Pope, under date August
J67: L ,
I think your views are sound, both
construction whiolr you give to the h
'Congress and the duties of tho supporters of
good government to see that wlicu Reconstruc
tion ia effected no loop hole ia left open ia give
(rouble anU mbarraatveent hereafter. It it eer-
taihly the Advwf Diitrict Conmaadera to atudy
whdtihe fraSm 4
op the Jleconatraction Laws
Utah ted to express as much as they do express, and
to extentelhs lain according to that interpretation.
^Also, General Rawlins to General Meade,
JnW*ff*/1808» , ‘»Tbo Reconstruction Acts aro
- '“X . . '.** V. J t ■ niii.tl i. (a (tin nfiil
to be ooustruod liberally, to tho end
fnioots thereof, vix: Tho ro-es-
oJf civil government in Btalce
iitoolrfoo nay bo fully nnd porfoetly
ti. and it would teem that persons in-
r ...A old office under their provisions should
ptrnutled lo defeat thnn.'
iwu elamjuation of the Reconstruction
leads me to tho following conclusions:
UntiV tho full reoogwiiion by Congress
* 41 tlie
'■ « '
'or ffOTcrnmcnl- ifl roun-1
lh» Keronutriieliim Aci.
Thu fuel ill’ll thunt in upl.ui GnorgU
;lil('f[iiato ]}iotccii(>n for lilt- t\nh pro|l-
urty, iho ntnitucniiiico' of^lenco and
good ordor, and tho iroo cupru.aiou ol
political opinioii, I. too well tkiiown
and imdci.tooil lo require argu
ment, or the prcBi-nlatlnn ol tho evi
doneo which ha. reached mu Iron,
many portions of the Stato. In faot,
it is Imped that it may. never become
necessary to inakii publio . information
which would lo auvcroly reflect upon
us us a poople.
Let us consider what would bo the
practical etTeot ot executing tiio law in
accordance with the view above.ipro-
scnled. i '1-V..
The persons fleeted In Af^il .lt>»t
would be rc-tlRscmblod. . bllcil ot
them as could take the required Oath,
or who had been reHcvod by <Jon_
yi uss of legal ^alld politioiil disahili-
lies would be seated. This would ro -
'1.0re the colored; in&intiers to the posi
tion to which they tvore. elected. The
body, thus organized, would, by legis
lation, adopt the requirements preeo-
dent lo our recognition as a State.—
Our Stale Counlitutioii would than
beeoiuo of force,- and .upereeda: the
ReconstlUBtioii Acts. lVrsons wbo
could not take tho test oath, but who
would bo eligible under tho Stale Cun-,
stitution and the f..urtepnth amend.
nient would thou ba admitted—the
body abovo referred to being the
judge of tlioir eligibility.
This would not be. “reconstructing
reconstruction,” but simply a vindica
tion mj tiio sutiiclenoy of iitwk lioroto^
loro enacted to seouro results which
were contemplated at tho.timu of their
passage, and anticipated by-tho per
sons who voted to sustain thbrn;-';
It is, howevet', urged with force, in
oiijeetion to tho view heretofore, pre
sented, that tho words “under *oy so-
called Stato or uiUtneipaL authority”
would pvoventtlro applioatioji ot the,
aforesaid Oth Section of tho Act,of Ju.
ly 19th, 18»>, to per.oos. who «■»{*
elected in Apriilasti uuder an Ordi-
nanoo of the Convention, hna'
eligibility of martborsof tfie‘
Uno rested only upon the new
tulion and tht.li'.ourteontU Amend-
inont. [Gmi. Crabt to! ©cn. Mendo,
April 29lb,iMjPfer^Bp*P)lPW*i "" ^
ed under tiio new
officers ofthe'-pTo' _
referred to in tiio ReMhitniOl . IW ,.
nor aro they ofllcers.blccted under aiij
so-called Stoto enthowy, and s
tboreiore . required -to;' 1 takU thl
prescribed Iu Scctipn 9, ’Act ,of. Ju
lOtli, 1807. Tho eligibility to . Jtql
office must bo deterimued by .tlie
Coustitutionj ard the Ablondl
.*,0 the-Constitution of 1 the TMJfcd
States deeigoated' as; Artiolq
But even la this view of tho euso, it
will undoubtedly, be hold b;
l iy is iound in tho notion of two-
thirds of each House of Congress, and
can not be acoomnlished by the indi
vidual opiaiou of tlm person afleoted,
that “the aid or comfort was uot vol
untarily afforded.
It is hoped that thorohgh notion in .
this diroctinu will affect what wo all
so much desire, tho Dual adjustment
of our political statue ae a Stato in iho
Union} and promoto penco atno g.our-
aalves by granting what UearTy.oqe
half of mu- whole voting .population
demand, and- lo wltion they bblleVO T '
(liom.olvoe entitled—tho great right
of choosing one of tholr'own number
to bo tlioir rcpreaentivc.
Tho sentiment in tuvor of univenal
amnesty was rapidly growing through
out tho nation, until oliookud in part
by the course pursued boro; and now,'
unfortunately fur us, tho demand of
tbs popular voico is correotiy oxpreit-
ed by tho words of a distinguished
Senator on a late publio oocaaion, ’■
when lie says:
“Tho pure minded; tho noble 'Whit- 'S'-
lior sendS ua,a. scutiment to-; ‘
that the action of
body, in expelling cc„
ineoiisisten.t w1th“oUr.;ndij,r
tlon,' aiidJ^aOeqipplislibii.-.a..
and an overthrow of tho :
established Under
and that steps must bo I
gresB to vindicate itf*
establish^ I--- 1 ' '
Thoro being
ot inanyqjf *
your llooo
rigbfrwt’nulou
sito to that e
of tiio
slituVl
ton ent
tion i
body i
Coov
would,..without doubt,
ua to remove UDy uncor
tainty that piay now exist an to tbo es
tablishment of a loyal Stato Govern- ■
mont. republican in form and in faot—
ono that would'uphold and promote
tho greaf principles of civil liberty
and personal rights which havo been
developed by tbo results of tho war,
and oudorsed by tlto verdict of the
whole people. '.
We may bo well assured that the
Government of tho Unitod States will
not liesitato in tho groat work of re
generation until its euoocss is full and
complete—established abovo and bo
il tlie reach of those whoso oon>-
yontl
victionn of ilnty led thorn to on
in an eflbrt to destroy that which
they hail attempted to prevent being
Constructed,
It is, therefore, respectfully recom
mended that wo, ourselves,take tho in
itintive In thq comenmniatlon of tho
policy df Congress^ and noting upon
onfown good stui|io''of the obligation
wo owe to tho authority ’from whioh
we derive nil we now haVo or expect
to oiyoy, of civil self-government, urn
do What has been done.'
Restore tho colored members to
thoir sente, anil oxcludo ovefy person •
from participation in your legislation
tn to support tha
whu took an officiil oath rr
Govormnent.of tlioTJnited States, nnd
attcrwnrds gave aid or comfort to its
eueuiles, until suck person shall hSvo
rcliei • • 1 - • *
beep relieved by Congress, of tho draa
Ullity tbP» inonrrod—bearing in mind
that the only relief from such disabili..
favor of unjvehml ainno .
movat of till political disabilitic
that sentiment I do not nssent. -
mo no ihoro amnesty or 'removiat
disabilities till tiio life of tbo humb..,. ,
individual who walks on God’s foot
stool, he lm black or white,Te as' sa
wed in Oartiilla, Ga., or in Now Or.'
leans, la Louisiana, as it is in tho pe|qe-
ful village of AmoSbury, in '
ohusofts.
Let ub then do all in onr powor to
prevent what may bo dcomod by Cop-
grosa » nepesaity—tbo denial pftbeap-
pcals of our oitiaens to. bo , relieved of
ly from thuso who do 1 not boartily ac
quieso in, and., .abide by, tho. pplipy „
that Mcogntzcs our laic tilawfw tnpr.
—entitled to’nil fbo rights and immu-i
ten befor
nitics of other men before tho law.
.'Tit le not degiroij tJiat Aiwaaii
bo punished, but it is domondi
lovalf
iuu jiuiuniivM. uiib ib iu uuinunuea \
loyalty ■shall bo rcajmctod, nnd; If a
oisary, protected. .» ,
My only objeotjs the establishment
bf a royal Stfsto Govornmont—ft Gov- ,
onimont that will eoouro .to overy
Union man, and to-overy man who fa»
. . iupap, a
yore- tho Uecoii.tractlon'polioy ottWn-
gresB, btf lie rioli or poor, t
white, protection, foil and ,.'j
for Ido j
Is jrejson,- his property, nnd in tho’; •'
i» expression.ol his political opinions:
10 i
und o . _
ho mostorrogant supporte
- , c . ^ ,i I’M®-!- 'JnPWW.t »»
maft wa iin>|)oru>r oi.tfmGQnmJf:
grossionul policy, bdfqro vtG can - Itave-
perfect liberty'ofpi
iwOyor,.tlt®o. risfiOmmani
InJJitvor with' ybnr Hot. „
, y,. it ia moat rcspoettnlly .aug
ed- that euah action upon this an
if.
M
'U
m ■ mit mi ■ -1*