Mr. Dawns, then, as now, chairman of the ComElections, A. J. Clements was admitted to a seat in this House as a Representative from the 4th district of Tennessee. I find, furthermore, what is even more significant, that at the 3rd session of that Congress, on the 17th February, 1863, (House Journal, pages 412, 413) Representatives were admitted from the 2 loyal districts of Louisiana. Here are the resolutions: "Remlvod, That Benjamin F. Flanders is entitled to a seat in this HoRep from the 1st congressional district of Louisiana. lfcmloed, That Michael Hahn is entitled to asent in this HoRep fromthe2nddistrict of Louisiana." Those resolutions were adopted, and, on motion of Mr. Dawns, a mtRtv they were adopted was laid upon the table. Thus we have a declaration, made during the period of war, that this Government could not e disrupted, and a further declaration that Representatives from Louisiana and Tennessee, which were then in rebellion, were entitled to seats upon this floor. But, sir, there is another thin to which I wish to call the attention of the House in this connection, and that is, to resolutions which were offered by the Gentfrom Pennsylvania [Mr. Srnvnxs] on the 4th of December 1862. They are to be found on page 36 of the House Journal of the 3rd session of the 37th Congress. I will read the resolutions: “ Mr. Srnvsss submitted the following resolutions, which were read. ordered to be printed, and their further consideration postponed until Tuesday, the 10“th"Mine stnaenrt], namely: That this Union mustbeand remaine ne and indivisihle forever. “ Resolved, That ifnuy person 1!]the employment of the U.S. in either the legislative or executive branch.should proposeto may c peace, orshould mcept or advise the acceptance of any such proposition, on any other basist lan the integrity and entire unity of the U.S and their Territories as they existed at the time of the rebellion, he will be guilty of a high crime. " Now, the Gentfrom Pennsylvania is the leader of this House; he seems to control its action. Looking around here, he may almost say, in the language of Alexander Selkirk: “IMflymri g hmtotnh!e lreoolilsf anlol nIestuordvi se pyu.te." He can pass what resolutions here he pleases. He said, at that day, that it would be a high crime for anyone even to think of allowing a disruption of this Union. While the rebellion was 1n existence nobody thought of anything but fighting for the Union; but now, when the battle for the Union has been fought and won, it is the strangest thing in the world that men who are elected under the name of the Union party should come into Congress and propose to obliterate 11 stars from our noble and glorious flag. There they stand yet; and who here dare say, as was said by a writer in a NewYork paper, “Tear down that flaunting liel” Sir, that flag has 36 stars on it yet, and 11 of those stars are not represented in this House. For 4 months of this session you have been keeping out men who are entitled to seats upon this floor, according to all your own acts and your own resolutions. But I wish to call your attention further, to another point. I refer you to age 460 of the same Journal. On the 23d of ebruary, 1863, “Mr. Dawns called up and the House proceeded to consider.the report of the comElections in the caseofJennings Pigott, claiming a seatin the House as a Representative from the blate of NCarolina, the pending question being on agreeingto the following resolution. namely: “ltrmlnul, That Jennings Pigolt is not entitled to a seat in this House as n Representative from the 2nd congressional district in NCarolina. “Mr. Unnnssrs submitted the following amendment, namely: Strikc out all after the word “rosolved." and insert: Whereas the rebellion of a portion of the people of any State cannot deprive lhose who remain loynl of anyof their rights under the Constitution nor destroy the integrity of the Stutcjlse lf; and whereus the forfeiture of rights and privileges by the disloyal devolves the responslbiity of citissnship upon those who maintain a true allegiance; and whereas the Constitution of the U.S. guaranties to each State a RFG and equal Representation in Congress; and whereas the o ligation of paying taxes, which is imperative upon all citizens everywhere.is reciprocal with the rights of repro sentation; and whereas protection to citizens in the exercise of their political right of votin is a duty of Government.am the lossof that right hy loyal men in consequenceof the armed rebellion of their neighbors, or an invading enemy, is u misfortune and not a fault; and whereas this House regard the right of loyal citizens to bero presented as essential, and the laws prescribing the time, mode, and mannerof holding the electionsasinercl directory; and whereasin the2ndtl district of NCarolina the people.being SLIDJCCLto taxation. are entitled to representation, did, on the lst day of Junuury, l Stiil, 1nt ct at their usual placcsof holding elections, and complied, asfor as was within their power. with the laws regulating the samc, by the election of Jennings Pigott to Represent them in this body.giving tohim a majority of all the votese astat said election: Therefore, the said election is hereby declared valid and the said Jen nings Piuott is hereby admittedtohis seat as the Representative from the 2nd district of NCaroliua.” Pendim.vwhich. after debate. Mr. Dawns moved the previous question: which was 2nded, and the main question ordered; and under the operation thereof. said amendment was It chance at v. agreedto; and the resolution reported from the com your Unionlsm again, milieu of Elections was agreedto." Now, I inquire, with what consistency can gentlemen who thus, after the passage of ordinances of secession, which if anything except successful revolution, could take these States I out of the Union if, after the war had long progressed, and multitudes on both sides had been slain, yet voted that the Union was not dissolved; that these States were not out of the Union, but in it, and entitled as loyal. planetary system of ours. people to representation in this House, and actually allowed Tennessee and Virginia and Louisiana and NCarolina representation here, and participation in legislation how, I ask, can these gentlemen, now that the war is over, the terrible conflict closed, when we have but one flag waving over our land, when the laws of the U.S. are in none of these States obstructed, that now they deny representation, and in fact regard them as out of the Union, thus, by the action of this Congress, dpirilg what armed rebellion could not accomp is I Mark my word, the people will have a bitter controversy with those Representaiives who act upon the idea that Congress can, by not or deed, dissolve the Union. New, sir, the allegation upon which those States secured their independence was the right of representation where there is taxation. I wish to call the attention of the House to the strikingly anomalous fact, that in this year ofour Lord 1866, after we have been a people since 1776, when that declaration was made, that taxation and representation must go together, we are taxing these States, an have collected from them during the past year, as public documents show, (see report of SecyTreasury, February 16, 1866 Ex. Doc. No. 47) $27, 955, 540 37 in taxes, and yet we allow them no Representatives upon the floor of this House. Sir I like that DeclarIndep; and I like the Constitution of my country. Framed by men of little less than divinewis dom, little less than inspired, it is such a constitution that cannot impair it without danger to our posterity as well as of ourselves. You might just as well try to obliterate from the firmament of heaven a part of its glorious galaxy of stars, as to deprive any of our glorious galaxy of stars of any of its rights and immunities. The Constitution of our country was formed upon the model which the great Architect of the universe established when He formed this Our Federal government is the central sun, which revolves upon its own axis to be sure, but which at the same time exerts its power and influence to control and direct and manage all the surrounding lunets of the system and all those planets have an independent action of their own; they revolve upon their 01m noble axis; and although they do that, they go around the sun among the planetary worlds in the order and necording to the laws which God has established for them. By the Constitution of the U.S., the Federal Government is the great central head; and the States are independent so far as they move on their own axis. ou cannot obliterate a part of the system without destroying the beauty and configuration of the whole system. But there is one thing more to the consideration of which I will now go, and upon which I will dwell but a few moments. a great deal of the argumentation during this who c seson has been in opposition to the POTUS. We have been told here that certain things which have been done. were done by Democrats in support of the President; and that was a reason why hisfriends on the other side should not do them. Has it come to this, that because Democrats support a measure, it is therefore wrong in the opinion of gentlemen upon the other side? Do not our people pay taxes just the same as your people? Although we have but few men upon this floor, not so many as we are entitled to, and not so many as we will have when the people get a the l you we have just as goodaright to support the POTUS as any ody has, and we intend to do it; not because he is a Democ;at; not because we aided to elect him; but because he is the POTUS, and because he is right. Why do you denounce AndrewJohnson 1 Why has he been spoken of so se urrilously in this House of Congress? Did you not elect him? Did you not know when you nominated him that he was an inborn Democrat? Did you not want him just because he was a Democrat? Did you not want himjnst because he was a southern man as well as a Democrat? With Mr. Lincoln, a northern Republican, and Mr. Johnson, a southerner and a Democrat, what did your platform declare? In favor of the maintenance of the Union, its integrity, its PQWCXi, ts glory, and its salvation. “Resolved, That it is the highestduty of American citizens to maintain. against all their enemies.the integrityof the Union and the paramount authority of the Constitution and laws of the U.S. " Plalform at Baltimore, 1864; Raymonds Life of Lincoln. 556. But who made this platform? I answer, representatives from all the loyal States, socalled: But not they only. No. Tennessee and Louisi ana and Arkansas were also fully represented there, and they as living States participated in its doings. 1 know that the Gentfrom Pennsylvania, the present recognized leader of this House, the one who directs its course, opposed then in that convention. as he does now in this House, theirrecognition as " States.” He then proclaimed them “dead States, ” and maintained that they had no right to be represented. But the convention decided otherwise by an overwhelming majority. Their representatives were admitted to articipation in the deliberations of that nationa. convention. They helped nominate its candidates, helped make its platform, and the people who confirmed its action, and on its principles elected the members composing the majority in this House, have given these gentlemen unmistakable instructions that their will and their positions must be carried out in the same way, and “ no State be deprived of equal representation” in Congress. You wanted to blend all parts together and hence ou took a Republican from the North and a democrat from the South and blended them together n on the same ticket. That is what made the nion party under which you fought the last political battle and by which you now fillup t cse seats here and now you denounce the man you voted for, the man who standsupon the platformthat you made for him, who has not deviated from it one hairs breadth. What brought you into power? What brought you into the places which you occupy on this floor? The platform which you made at Baltimore; that platform which recognized the Union of these States, and the unity of Democrats and Republicans, and the very man who perambulated your country, declaring that you were for peace, that you were for union and the conservation of the nation, you now abuse because you say he is a traitor. A traitor to what? A traitor to whom? Is he a traitor to the Union of these States? Is he a traitor to the platform upon which he was elected? Is he a traitor to the principles which he enunciated and declared while he was your candidate? No, sir, no; he is no such traitor. He sustained the cause of the nation; he battled for its ting; he has sacrificed more than most of his traducers have sacrificed. While they were at home, quietly ense onced in the enjoyment, many of them, of the ilferings of the war, AndrewJohnson was sacrificing health, and almost life and family and all his property, in order to preserve our Union, and make it glorious and indissoluble forever and now, Mr. Speaker, I have shown that President Lincoln did not regard any of those States out of the Union, but in revolt against its power and hence, the war was only to restore and protect; that Congress so declared by its solemn act, in a period of alarm and danger; that again, by the admission to seats upon this floor of members from severalof the revolted States, the hold out inducements to all the others to follow the example and send their members here, and thushave recognized that in 1861. 1862, and 1863 those States were Still in the Union. I have shown also that as a party, both in your name of“Union” and by the action of your national convention, your highest and most authoritative exponent of mere party principles, you have recognized their exist“ence as “States, living and entitled to full representation as such, and all this while war was progressing. Yet now, when you have got into power upon these principles and latlorm, when the war is over, when no arme rebel disputes the authority of the Government anywhere, when your armies have crushed out the revolt, your socalled “Union party, " by means of your present majority, refuse representationdo even the States which were represented here during the rebellion, and keep men who, although ot those States, yet enlisted in your armies to fight for the restoration of the Union which. they loved, and although elected by loyal constituencies, are not allowed to participate in your deliberations, although yon are passing laws directly affecting their constituencies. I ask you, is this just, is it magnanimous, is it patriotic, is it American? If this is what you call Unionism, I am proud that I do not belong to such a Union party. But, you ask, why should the Democrats support him? Because we are patriots, that is the reason. In thus supporting him we have no party ends to subse rve. Patriotism, Genuine patriotism, rules the Democratic heart. Those one million 800,000 noble free American Democrats who have not bowed the knee to any Baal stand up for AndrewJohnson because AndrewJohnson stands u for the integrity of this country. They de cline their determination to support him from purely patriotic motives. Gent emen on the other side need not be alarmed at all. We do not intend to steal their President from them. They brought him into power, placing him upon a platform which he stands by today. We do not want to take him away from them; nor do we want to de prive them of the patronage of the Government. They are welcome to all the loaves and all the fishes. We from patriotic motives him our support; and we ask nothing from giivme but the integrity of our Union and the unsul lied honor of our flag. We ask that that glorious banner shall wave over a united, a happy, and a prosperous people and we desire to support, not the party. that elected AndrewJohnson, but the President of the whole U.S.A., one and indivisible, now and forever. CONGRESS and RECONSTRUCTION.