Mr. BINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I say the position that was assumed at the commencement of this struggle by the advocates of this cat treason, which, as I have already remarked, has terminated so happily for us all, is the very position which is assumed by the gentleman today. Let him disguise it as he may, the gentleman today affirms that which was assumed by his party upon this floor and at the other end of the Capitol, by the President ofhis party; in December, 1860, and which then energized the arms of the conspirators and gave them the courace to strike at your flag, to strike at your constitution, and to strike at your nationality. What was that position? It is burned into my brai as with re, and will only be obliter ated with the extinction of my life. What was that position? It was that the people of the U.S., under their constitution, had not the lawful right to coerce the seceding States. It embraces all the gentlemans nr ument. It is no new invention with him. Then the assumption of the gentleman and his party was, you could not coerce the seceding States by arms, and today the gentleman declares you cannot coerce seceding States by laws. The several States of the Union being original, independent sovereignties, according to the expressed opinion of the gentlemans party, it logically resulted therefore as was then declared by that party, that States might secede; they might make war upon this Union; they might tear down your banners; hey might seize upon your customhouses, your navyyards, your arms, and our, munitions of war; they might hunttothe eaththe true men found everywherc, thank God 1 in their midst, clingingto the tottering pillars of the Republic, invoking Gods bles sings upon the defenders of the Republic, praying that the great treason might erish, that their count might survive, and t us attesting by their hydelity that they were the very elect of human nature, men fit to be enrolled among the immortals. Then we were told we could not, even to protect these true men, coerce seceding and rebellious States by arms, and now we are told by the gentleman we cannot restrain the seceding and rebellious States in any manner by laws. That is the position of the Gentleman. NowI should be lad to hear him.