Mr. ROUSSEAU.Mr. Speaker, I wish now to call the attention of the House to a letter sent up here from Charleston. It emanates from one Reuben Tomlinson, one of those eu tlemen, I suppose, who go down South fort eir own purposes, and are constantly writing back what they are doing and taking great credit to themselves. “CHARLESTON. S. 0. October, 13, 1865. “DEAR SIR: I am now endcavoring to start the lehoolsin thiseity, Therearein Charlestonfour public school buildiu s: the Normal. StPhilips street, Monisstroct and eeting streot buildings.ThoMect in; streetschoolis a small and very insignificant af fair: the others are vorytinc houses. The oldtrustees have a lied to be putin Genoraf gaxton possession of them. This has rofus unles sthey will agreeto have a fair share of them to the colored children. Hey refuse to do this. The Normal. Morris street and Meeting street schools I have openedand they are already well filled with colored children. The white children. of course, do not attend." There are 4 school houses in Charleston, and this gentleman takes credit to himself for having taken possession of the whole of them and used them for the benefit of the colored people to the exclusion of the whiteS.R.Speaker, when Iwasaboy, and in common with all other Kentucky boys was brought in company with negroes, we used to talk, as to any project, about having “a white mans chance. It seems to me that now amen may be very ha py if he canget “a negroschance.” Here are our school houses taken possession of, and unless the mix up white children with black, the white O ildren can have no chance in these schools for instruction and so it is wherever this Freedmens Bureau operates. Sir, what will be the result of all this? It will result in that state of feeling I have spoken of which Union men in my section of the country want to keep down.Mr. Speaker, I am told that the Constitution and laws of the land are nothing just now because we are in a state of war. I do not care what may be said about the theory that a state of war may exist without any declaration of it or existing hostilities. but I say there is no such state of war among the people who are brethren and fellow citizens of a common country as to justify these illegal interferences. But, sir, 4 years O we began resistance to the efforts of the rebels to put down this Government. We were told that this war was for the Union. But we are told now that the rebel States are out of the Union, and that all these laws may of right and must of necessity be passed, and that we must sweep away the constitution and laws of those States as this bill does. As I have already suggested, you may arrest the judges of Kentucky, not by warrant of law, but by order of a subaltem of this bu reau, and deprive them of liberty. You may take awa the liberty of any man, woman, or child without warrant of law, without aflidavit, but upon the experts statement of any vaga bond negro who strolls through the country and we are told that these States are not in the Union. Why, sir, howis this? Was there a soldier in the whole Army of the U.S. who fought in this war for the preservation of the Union who did not do so to save the government of his country I and yet, when the war is at an end and the rebellion dead, we are told by the Gentfrom Pennsylvania Mr. Stevens and the Gentfrom Ohio [Mr. Sneuasrincnn] that it does not matter in the least how the war might end, whether the rebellion was suppressed or not, the Union is at any rate dissolved; that our nationality is dead, but the consolationis affordedus that theRepublicau party still lives, and to keep it alive and in power the organic law must be amended. Now, sir, as I before said, I have acted with that party and would act with it still. I want to stay with the loyal men of this country. But, sir, I find there are northern as well as southern secessionist 1, and they not only seek the same result but adopt pretty much tosame reasoning on that subject. I am not willing to act with either, and I care not whether either or both are honest in the belief that secession could be or is accomplished. I do not value, iuthe least, honesty in treason. They told me at the be inning of this war that JeffersonDavis and his co-traitors were honest in their belief that they could secede. I knew they could not. I knew there were but two ways in which they could secede; one was according to the law of the land, and the other was by force. You all say they could not do it by the law of the land; and I ask you if we did not put down the force by which they nttempted to carry out their purpose? Sir, we sent ern men have fought owi share in this war. We have gone through more trials than you know of. We have aided in bringin the war to a triumphant close, we have side in gaining the victory u.on which the life of the Government depended: and now, when we come here, these who profess extreme loyalty get up and coolly tell us to “Stand 00; you are enemies of the country.” A few days ago my friendfrom Ohio on my right [Mr. DELANO] made a report, and he was complimented with much honeyed commendation, to use an old exression, by the Gentfrom NewYork [Mr. CONKLING] for making that report, that the people down in the insurrectionury States were enemies to the Government, and that he could make no distinction between loyal and disloyal men in the southern States. I ask those gentlemen today, and I wish they were able to answer me, when the loyal men in the southern States became ene mice to their country? Did they do so by the secession of these States, which all these gentlemen said was a nullity? Why, sir, upon the principle thesegentlemen contend for. the southern man who, while defending the Ha of his country in the face of the enom. if he ind left his wife and children behind im. they were enemies of the Government because they were left in the seceded States. I do not believe a word of all this. It cannot be true. We have cut ourselves loose; we have broken every tie that bound as to our people; brother has been against brother and fatheragainst son, and yet when we come to the legislative halls of the nation and ask for that protection which we think we are entitled to, we are told that we are enemies to the Government, and must wait the convenience of gentlemen for even a consideration of our claim.