Mr. WADE. I was nearly through the remarks I proposed to make on this sudden outbreak. As the President, without any cause on earth. has censured Congress and accused them ofhaving erected a despotism here, though it was nothing more than an ordinary committee for the purpose of taking testimony to enlighten us upon the subject of legislation that we must enter upon of the most important char ncter, let me refer to his own conduct toshow the qua ammo more perfectly. We had, it seems. besought him to lay before congress that evidence wlnch he himself had, and no ody else had; and how did he meet it? I believe and let gentlemen of the committee correct me if I am wrong it was more than 2 months, and after 3 several applications to him, before we could extort from him the very evidence without which Congress could not stir, hand or foot on this subject. He had the constitutions that he had dictated; Congress had never seen one of them. Ile had other muniments of their titles to be States, it States they Speaker of the HoRep had are; and while he stood before the rubble there, accusing Congress of being despotic and attempting to overthrow the Government. he was withholding the very evidence without which Congress could neither stir hand nor foot. Was that candid? What have you to say to that? Other Senators have been much more fortunate than I have if they have been able as yet to see one single constitution of these reconstructed States that We are told ure all in order today. What are they? Apologists of the President, condese end to tell us what are the constitutions of these reconstructed States of yours. I saw from the papers that divers orders went down to their conventions requiring them to do this and the other on peril that they would not be admitted here; but where is the authentic evidence of how they came out of it, and what they did do, and what they are? The President says they are reconstructed States, with all the rights. powers, and immu nities of States, and with a right to claim all the rightful relations of all the unseceded States. How does he know it? How do we know it? When a State is who admitted into this Union, everybody knows the 1st thing is for that State, after it has been permitted to come in here by Congress, to furnish us with the constitution that the people themselves, unbiased by executive dictation, have adopted as the will of the people, that we may see whether it is republican, whether it squares with the Constitution of the U.S., and whether it is proper for us to admit them here. Congress passes judgment upon it. It is not the President that admits States; it is the U.S. The U.S., says the Constitution of the U.S. in thundering tones, shall judge of these forms of government; not the POTUS It is Congress, the true representative of the sovereignty of this great nation, and it rests and abides nowhere else. The doctrine that yields everything to the Executive and nothing to Congress is the most slavish doctrine that was ever propagated in a Government pretendin to be free. You cannot tell us today what no constitutions of these reconstructed States are; but you do know that they were not got up by a people free to act precisely as they wanted to act. They were under martial law, as [said before, under executive dictation, under the bayonet, and under the orders of your Executive Chief, promulged to his subordinate officers to carry into effect. Do you say that an American constitution can be built upon such a foundation as that? Mr. President, it was these things that I branded as usurations. It was for these things that I declared t notthe POTUS was endeavoring to overthrow the constitutional powers of Congress and to erect a despotism upon its ruins; for the moment it she I be admitted in the Congress of the U.S. that these immense powers belong to the executive arm of the Government, instead of to us, you have a despotism and nothing but a despotism: we have not even the power of the legislative body that meets in France. These States have destroyed their connection with this Government by a 4 years war to overturn it; they have disorganized their own State constitutions, have annulled them all, trampled them under foot, have got up new constitutions hostile to this Government, under new chiefs, new relationships, and entirely destroyed their connection with the Union; and then when you put them down at the point of the bayonet, where do they stand? Certainly not on their old constitutions, because if they did how could president Johnson attempt to declare who might be voters and who might attempt to exercise the elective franchise there? say if those States are all standing as they were originally, how came it that he even wanted to prescribe who should be voters and who should not? Answer that for him, sir. Tell me why he denies the power to these States, if they are States of the Union, to prescribe the conditions a on which men shall exercise the elective franciise or by what right did he dictate to them on that subject? Were they States? Did he do it? and if he did, was it not a usurpation, Ii noted the present POTUS i in his own language? Sir, these absurdities 5and elected him, and that as long as he fought cannot be crowded down the threats of a free 3 within our lines and remained in our party, I Congress. All these inconsistencies are so manifold, so utterly new to the principles and legislation of American government, that they breathe nothing but the spirit of despotism. The people will not permit it to be done. You say that the party is crumbling to pieces. If it is, so much the worse for this Government. If Congress should recede from the position they have taken to claim jurisdiction over this great question of readmitting these States, from that hour they surrender all the power that the Constitution places in their and s and that they were sworn to an port, and they are the mere slaves of an aeeidhntal executive; of a man who formerly associated with us upon this floor; who was no more infallible than the rest of us poor mortals; and yet the moment, by death or accident, he is placed in the executive chair, it. would seem as if some Senators believed him to be endowed with superhuman wisdom and on ht to be invested with all the powers of this government, that Congress on ht to get on theirknees before him, and take is insults and his dictation without resentment and without even an attempt to resist. Some States may send such instrumentalities here, but God knows some will notand I pity those that do, for they would hold their freedom on avery uncertain tenure. But, Mr. President, I have pursued this course of nrgument long enough. t may be that here after during the session I shall endeavor in a more deliberate and orderly mannerto set their sins in order before some men in high authority that have accused us of treason here. Some gentlemen may be patient under the charge of treason, perhaps the more so because treason is becoming opular in this day; but, sir, I am a littletoo oid fashioned to be charged by the executive branch of this Governmentas atrai tor on the floor of Congress, and not present it. I do not care whether he be King or President that insinuates that I am adisunionist or traitor standing upon the same infamousplatform with the traitors of the South, I will not take it from any mortal man, high or low, without repelling the charge. If any man here is tame enough to do it, he is too tame to be the Senator of a proud spirited people, conse ious of their own freedom. I claim to be their representative, and they will censure me if they do not like my doctrine. It will not come from Kansas. 1 will settle it with my own constituents. I fought your battle for you, sir, [turning to Mr. LANE, of Kansas] and saved your State in part from a slaver worse than that in the southern States, and lywill save it again if its representative prove recrcant to it and now, Mr. President, I wish to make an appeal to those great, patriotic statesmen on this floor who. by their love of principle, by their unswerving honesty, unseduced y the blundishments of executive power, unawed by threats of violence, stand here to defend the rights of the people upon this floor, and will stand here forever. I say to you, Senators, we the majoritywho are stigmatized as traitors, are the only barrier today between this nation and anarchy and despotism. If we give way, the hope of this nation is lost by the recreancy ca, sir, I will say the treachery of a man who trayed our confidence, got into power, and has gone into the camp of the enemy, and joined those who never breathed a breath of principle in common with us. Now, sir, [addressing Mr. LANE, of Kansas] if your nerves were unstrung by what I said before, Ihope they will be calmed by what I have said now. [Laughter] I say, Senators, you are the hope of the people. On your courage and constancy the people rely. You hear the des tinies of this great and free nation not forever for although we should turn our backs and betray our constituents, there is behind us a brave people who will vindicate their rights, whether we are recreant or not.