Mr. SCOFIELD. Mr. Speaker, as the confederate population, 5 or 6 million in numbers, is to remain in this country and to some extent shape its destiny, it is all important that we so reconstruct the Union that this population may become an element of strength rather than of weakness to the Republic. Powerful as we are we can hardly afford to allow a poulation so large, brave, and reckless to settle down into chronic discontent forever to be to America what Ireland is to GreatBritain, Po land to Russia, or Hungary to Austria an ever ready element of revolution. To avoid this is the avowed purpose of both political parties; but strange to say, with the same professed end in view, they start out upon aths Y. in quite opposite directions. epublicans claim that the Union can be best preserved by removing the causes of discontent and thus extinguishing the motives to disunion, while the Democrats think the Union can be best preserved by tolerating, conciliating, and fostering the errors and wrongs from which disunion sprang. For instance, the preservation of slavery was the original motive for secession. To destro this motive the Republicans propose to abolis and the Democrats to foster slavery. upon their theory, and anticipating the fin overthrow of the rebellion, the Republicans be gan early in the war the removal of its cause: They prohibited the extension of slavery, abolished it in the DistCol, forbade the return of slaves by the Army, repealed the fugitive slave law, supported Fremont's, Hun ter's, and Phelps' partial and Mr. Lincoln's more general proclamation of freedom, and finally by an amendment of the Constitution prohibited it everywhere and forever. Thus it was hoped that when the rebellion should be suppressed no conflicting interest would be i. about which the North and South could There appeared, however, to be a E. minds of the late masters quarrel. lingering hope in that in a separate republic the institution might still be revived in some modified form and something at least of their large investment saved, and to this extent the motive to renew the struggle in more propitious times survived. This hope and motive for disunion would grow weaker and weaker as the subject race become more and more intelligent, thrifty, and self reliant. To facilitate this result the civil rights and Freedmen's Bureau, the franchise, and many other mine r bills of like import were passed by Congress. The advancement of the negro was thought to be a greater hindrance to the revival of the disunion institution and a greater discouragement of confederate outbreaks than repealable laws or amendable constitutions. This was the Republican plan of reunion. The Democrats, acting on their theory of fostering and thus conciliating the disturbing elements opposed all measures for emancipation, an are still opposing bills for the improving the colored race. I do not question their sincerity. Quite likely they sincerely thought that the best way to unite the North and South was to yield to, extend, cherish, and propitiate the cause of disagreement. But if is passed. The great work is nearly accomplished, and I refer to the course of the 2 parties upon it only to illustrate. position, that they seek the preservation of the Union in diametrically odirections. !he Republicans had hoped that by the removal of this original cause of quarrel all incentives to disunion would disappear; but on the threshold of reconstruction another and to some extent an unexpected trouble presents itself. The confederacy had 4 and a quarter years of nationality. During this time vast interests, passions, and resentments grew up under and centered in it. She contracted many debts, a debt in bonds and currency to her capitalists, of damages to her property holders, of honor to her soldiers, memory to her fallen, and alms to the suffering. The dead claim homage; the maimed, widowed and or phans, pensions; the impoverished, payment; and the leaders, historic honors. These interests and passions embrace all classes and appeal to all of hearts within the circumference confederate power. This makes a cause stronger than slavery. There is more money in it by half, and quite as much to awaken resentment or provoke resistance. If these people come back with these interests unbarred by a constitutional amendment, how can they avoid struggling to save in the Union all that was risked in the confederacy? If they do not, they must be worse than men or better than angels. But these interests are in direct conflict with the corresponding interests of the Federal Government. The reunited nation cannot honor Grant for preserving the Union and Lee for attempting to destroy it. We cannot mourn for the 100,000 Union dead and pension the men at whose hands they fell. It will be another war of sectional interests to be fought over in the Halls of Congress, the State Legislatures, on the hustings, and then again if opportunity presents on the field of. The “lost cause will take the place of the slave power” with a larger in vestment to back it, and a less repulsive face to defend. What shall be done with this new element of disintegration and strife? The Republicans propose to dispose of it as they did slavery. } it by another amendment of the Constitution. And why shall not this be done, and the Union thus purified and harmonized restored at once? Does Congress stand in the way? No, sir; for 8 months the 2 pol icies Republican surgery and Democratic opiates were discussed and contrasted in these alls, and almost everybody here came to the conclusion that it was better to cure than pal liate the disorder. The amendment was agreed to 4 to one. Do the people neglect their duty? No, sir; the amendment was sent out to them and for 3 or 4 months rediscussed. They approved it, and in 23 of the 26 States elected Legislatures instructed to adopt it. Do these legislative servants disobey instructions? No, sir; they are now assembling, and State after State is recording its verdict. Very soon these 23 States, having a population in 1860 of 21 million. E.1,000, and not less than 27 millions now, will send to a perfidious Secretary the official evidence of the people's will. Delaware, 3 counties large, Maryland, betrayed to the confederates by a servant less treacherous than weak, and ko.whose patriotism in the great struggle hardly rose above a dissembling neutrality, alone give a negative answer. By the census of 1860 the entire population of these 3 States, white and black, was only 1, 955,000, and cannot much exceed those fig ures now. Who then stands in the way? Not the Democratic party; the amendment was be yond their reach when it passed Congress and was indorsed by the people, not the President; the Constitution withholds from him any authority over the question of amendment. Who, then, stands in the way? One old man who is charged by law with the duty of proclaiming the adoption of the amendment, but who (the Chicago defeat being still unavenged) has deter mined to incorporate into the Union the debris of the late confederacy; to be in place of the “irrepressible couflict” the breeder of present broils and future rebellions he stands in the way. He has contrived a theory of estoppel. The amendment, he tells us, is void. confederate sanction. The will offic people of 23 States, nay, the whole 26 if they had been unanimous, must go for nothing unless approved by a few million rebels scattered .the confederate States. Having set up his theory, he undertakes to procure from these “misguided people' never more misguided than when led by him an expression of dissent. His machinations are likely to be successful. In 1861 the southern heart was fired by the taunts and promises of northern Democrats. “The election of Lincoln, ” they would say, “is an assault upon your institutions and an insult to the South.” They promised in case of trouble to take care of the abolition ists. There should be no coercion; but when the trouble came they shrunk away from the people they had thus prompted, perhaps unin tentionally, to resist. A good deal of half. treasonable criticism on the action of the government when deeply embarrassed and strug gling for life, a little secret encouragement and silent sympathy for the foe, were the only noticeable departures from a strict neutrality. Their promise was broken. Let me warn these confederates who have abandoned their scheme of separation in good faith to beware of their old and their new leader. Here, then, arises an intermediate question. It is not whether confederate assets shall be buried in the same grave with slavery as the Republicans propose, nor whether they shall be tenderly taken up and warmed into venomous life in the bosom of the Union as the Democrats propose; but whether this question shall be determined by the States in the Union or by the confederate States. hat then is the status of the ten confederate States? Are they States or Territories in the Union? If States, they can control the other 26 on a question of amendment; if not, not. They must be one or the other. Some.?; strike intermediate ground by ling them overthrown, disorganized, or suspended States. But certainly a State overthrown or suspended is not at present an existing State, nor is a disorganized an organized State. If they have no present existence as States they are only at the most theoretic States, which are no States; or prospective States, which are Territories. They have cer. tainly not been acting as States during the last 6 years, and they are only claimed to be so because no way for the severance of a State from the Union is provided in the Constitution. Once a State therefore always a State. H To they are States now they have been so for the last 6 years. Look at the consequences. By article one, section 5 of the Constitution, no business can be done in the absence of a quorum, and a quorum is there declared to be a majority of all the members. Now, if the confederate States were also States in the Union for the last 6 years this House consisted of 242 members, and no business could be constitutionally done without the presence of 122 members. But for all this time we have acted on the hypothesis that the House was composed of only 184 members, deducting 58 for the rebel States and that 93 made a quorum. The Senate has acted on a similar presumption, counting 26 instead of 37 a, s the constitutional quorum. Probably more than half of our legislation has been enacted, as will appear of record, when either the House had less than 122, or the Senate less than 37 members present. All this must therefore be unconstitutional and void. Again, a presidential election occurred during the war. If the confederate States had not. forfeited their privileges as States in the Union they were entitled to cast 80 electoral votes. These 80 votes might have decided the contest, and they might thus have chosen the Commander in Chief of our Army and Navy to conduct the war against them; or by casting their votes for Jefferson, Davis they might have defeated an election ". people and thrown it into this House. hat then? We vote by States, (article two, section7,) and 2/3rds of all the States must be represented. If Kentucky and Missouri had joined the confederacy as they attempted to do and they actually were represented in it during the entire war more than 1/3rd of the States would have been absent, and the election of President would have become impossible. The Senate would have encountered the same difficulty in the election of VEEP. To perform this duty 2/3rds of all the Senators must be present. That number could not be had in the case supposed, and so we must go without executive officers until the rebel States choose to relieve us by sending representatives to aid in choosing them for us. Suppose, again, that pending the war it had become absolutely necessary to amend the Constitution, that all parties concurred in its propriety, and the loyal States were unanimous upon the subject, it could not have been done without the consent of the confederate States. Though formed into a separate republic and conducting a war with this, not, the slightest change in our fundamental law, however necessary to our salvation, could be had without their consent. And this state of things would have continued as long as the war continued, even if it were a quarter of a century; worse than that, sir, in the light of this theory they were States in the Union until released or expelled by an amendment of the Constitution. such an amendment required the consent of all the States. No matter, then, how the war should terminate or whether it terminated at all, their power over us could never be severed without their consent. Seceding and fighting would not do, you say, because these were unconstitutional acts. But whipping us, I would suppose, would be quite as unconstitutional as fighting. If they had succeeded in the war. maintained a separate republic they could then have run their own government and in part controlled ours in spite of us. The absurdity of this hypoth esis proves the truth of the other. When a State rebels and levies war against the Union it thereby forfeits its privileges as a State, an can only be restored by Congress. Absurd as the other theory is, upon it the SecyState has undertaken to bring back to the Union the confederate population, freighted with all the belligerent interest collected by 4 and a quarter years of nationality and war. How?" Not by convincing the people; that has been tried and failed. Not executive patronage, that has failed also. Not by corrupting Congress, for his old lobby ist is powerless here. No, sir; he meditates the seduction of another old man who happens to hold the balance of P. in the Supreme Court; vague rumors of a mission to England are afloat. The Secretary seems to think that A man who can betray. constituents and misrepresent his State will make a good misrepresentative of the nation abroad; and why not send a 2nd champion of his theory to flaunt his soiled ermine at the court of StJames and negotiate treaties for the payment of confederate cotton bonds or a release of claims for the piracies of the Alabama? But his judge must have something to stand upon. The courts follow precedents and the RhdIsland case stands in the way. This question is there held to be a political one, to be decided by the political dept of the Government. Eventually he will insist that this decision has been made and made in his favor. To meet this emergency he is now and has been for some time preparing his facts. The emancipation amendment was agreed to by 23 States out of the 25 then in the Union many more than the number required for its adoption; but in his proclamation he chose to omit from his count a portion of these States and add 7 confederate communities to make the number required by his construction. There is a prej.for his judge. So he submitted without authority to these same communities the amendment now under consideration to be acted on by them in the capacity of States. There is another precedent. The interior is prompted to issue agricultural land scrip which can only be given to States in the Union, and the Treasury and postoffice Depts are ordered out of their line of duties to make some small recognition of these communities as States. These will make so many more precedents for his judge. The Secretary 1st declares they are States, treats them as States, procures other Executive Depts to do likewise, and then cites his acts and declarations to enable a willing judge to decide that they are States, and thus launch into the heart of the Republic a confederate shell with fuse still burning by a single twitch of his gown.