Mr. HOTCHKISS. Mr. Speaker, it is impossible in ten minutes to exPress my views on this bill. I cannot do myself justice in that time, and I will only say this: that Congress during the Present session has taken no step in advance in relation to the protection of the loyal people of the southern States. And I would ask gentlemen on this side of the House whether we are today obeying the mandate of the people? What carried our elections overwhelmingly in the last campaign 2. It was the story.". refugees told to the people of the North and the West. They told us: demanded protection. They enlisted the sympathy of northern soldiers by telling that the very guerrillas who hung upon the skirts of our Army during the war were now murdering southern soldiers who fought on the Union side, and murdering peaceful citizens, murdering black men who were our allies. We promised the people if we were indorsed we would come back here and protect them, and yet not a step has been taken. When a proposition is introduced, a man jealous he did not bring it in himself says it is beginning at the wrong end, and when the other end is taken it is declared to be beginning at the wrong end again. And so we are prevented from taking a step in advance. If we adjourn on the 4th of March next, as we will have to, without taking some such step all hope is gone. The 40th Congress will not do anything until after another election, and gentlemen who were indorsed at the last election will find themselves receiving a different verdict from the people. The people will show their dissatisfaction that the measure which was promised had not been passed. There will be at the beginning of the 40th Congress 16 States unrePresented and very little will be done in the absence of those States. if I could be indulged, I would like to say something about the of this bill. Let me say 1st this bill repudiates those pretended and bogus governments set up at the South; that is, the preamble repudiates them and that is always taken to give construction to the law; and in the 2nd place the plain terms of the bill repudiate them: And all legislative or judicial proceedings, or processes to prevent or control the procceedings of military tribunals, said and all interference by said pretendedState governmentswith the exercise of authority under this act, shall be void anmd iolif no eitect. Stronger language could not be used to effect the very object proclaimed time and again in this discussion; but it seems all the patriotism there has been exerted is the declaration, for when we come to act there is a shrinking. The loyal men of the South, if this does not pass, are to go on appealing to us in vain. This bill places these Territories under military control, and there is where they ought to be." Let me ask what is the necessity of this bill placing these Territories under military control when it is alleged that the military now have sufficient authority? I grant it that the law is sufficient today were it not for the construction the President places upon it. The President himself recognizes these rebel States as having perfect powers like any loyal State rePresented here. ith that construction the military law at Present is insufficient. We have got to get rid by our legislation of the effect given by the President to the decision of the Supreme Court. If these States have now these full powers and rights as he declares and they have if the decision of the Supreme Court is applicable to them it is very evident that we have no law now to reach their case, and the Present military authority is insufficient. Another objection that is made to this is that we send the military there in advance of the civil governments. In my humble opinion that is an absolute necessity. Place the Army there, and then when we send our civil governments there the power will be there to protect them. The Army will pave the way. We might as well have sent civil governments there at the outset of the rebellion instead of the Army, as to send them there now. I need not appeal to facts to substantiate what I say. They are patent; every child that reads knows that what I say is true. We want the Army, the military power, there, and then civil authority can go there in safety. You had a few days ago a bill to establish civil governments there. This House was asked to vote upon it, but a majority said, No, we will not vote for it, but will send it back to the comReconstruction. We sent it to that committee, and they have reported back a bill establishing military authority there as an absolute necessity under the circumstances of the case. Now, are we going to tell them “You have not reported back the bill referred to you but another and a different measure, iwe will defeat this and keep on defeatin any measure you report until the time wi arrive when we shall be defeated?” Mr. Speaker, already the rebelleaders, as of old, are dictating terms to this Government upon which they will submit to the Constitution and the laws, and the President is reported as abandoning his own policy and like former Presidents yielding to their dictation. Mark ou, the people will have something done. hat the rebels propose is better than nothing, and if we adopt no practical plan we shall have to do as we have always done heretofore until the rebellion commenced and the spirit of the North was aroused, we shall have to accept terms at the hands of the rebelleaders. e have it now in our power to reject their terms and Prescribe such as we have the right and the authority to do. There is another objection made to this bill, that it recognizes the civil courts of these rebellious, bogus governments. That is a mistake; the bill only recognizes as civil tribunals the Federal courts, and it places them in subordination to military power. And let me say that in my opinion all authority in these States o i. subordinate to the bayonet and the sword. They are the effective weapons we can send there. We senour missionaries and teachers there and we allow these rebels to murder them. The best missionaries we can send there now are the sword and the bayonet. Suspend these over their heads and keep them in check until we can send civil authority there. Let us have that protection there 1st, and then let us discuss the question what kind of civil government we shall establish. Extend to the loyal people of the South such protection as i. we now at our command. e can then deliberate without danger to the lives of our southern allies, and perfect measures of reconstruction unembarrassed by threats or fears of rebel insurrection or unrestrained violence.