HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
FRIDAY, January, 10, 1867.he House met, pursuant to adjournment, at two o'clock P. M.
On the motion of Mr. SHUEY, the reading of the journal of yesterday was dispensed with.
Mr. SHUEY submitted the following:
Resolved, That the Doorkeeper be requested to procure seats and place them in order on the right of the Speaker's desk, for the use of members of the Senate; and that the Clerk inform the Senate that the House is now ready to receive that body in Joint Convention to hear the message of His Excellency the Governor.
The resolution was adopted, and the order taken accordingly.
The SPEAKER announced the Special Committee on Mr. Thacher's court bill [H. R. No. 3,] introduced yesterday, to-wit: Messrs. Thacher, Griggs, Honneus, Vawter and Williams.
Mr. SHUEY presented the credentials of the Hon. George W. Spencer, the Representative elect from the counties of Benton and White; whereupon-
Mr. SPENCER came forward, received the oath of a Representative at the hand of the Speaker, and took his seat.
VINCENNES UNIVERSITY, &C.
The SPEAKER laid before the House the Report of the Trustees of the Vincennes University, required by the charter of that institution, with accompanying papers-showing educational and financial condition, &c.
On the motion of Mr. THACHER, it was referred to the Committee on Education.
Mr. McLEAN laid before the House the Biennial Report of George W. Hoss, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of Indiana, to the General Assembly, it being the fourteenth Report, and the Third Biennial Report for the years ending respectively, August 31, 1865, and August 31, 1866.
On his further motion, it was laid on the table.
The SPEAKER laid before the House the Report of the Auditor of State in relation to the enumeration of the inhabitants of the State.
It was laid on the table.
A message from the Senate by O. M. Wilson, their Secretary, informs the House that that body has accepted the invitation of the House of Representatives to hear the message of His Excellency the Governor.
IN JOINT CONVENTION.
Members and officers of the Senate of this General Assembly were now announced and coming down the front aisle of the Hall, took their seats on the right-the Lieutenant Governor, on the right of the Speaker, presiding.
JOINT RULES OF THE TWO HOUSES.
Mr. MILLER, of Tippecanoe. Mr. President, I offer the following resolution, and move its adoption by the convention:
Resolved, That the joint rules for conducting the business of the two Houses of the General Assembly at the last session be adopted as the joint rules of this General Assembly.
Mr. Senator BENNETT moved to amend by saying therein appropriately these words: "Until otherwise ordered;" but he did not press the motion.
The resolution was adopted.
His Excellency Governor Morton now entered the Hall and advanced to the center, attended by Colonel Schlater, his Military Secretary.
The LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. Gentlemen of the convention, we have met in joint convention for the purpose of hearing the message of his Excellency, the Governor. In pursuance of a concurrent page: 20[View Page 20] resolution of both Houses, this session of the joint convention will now be opened by prayer by the Rev. Mr. Heckman.
The Rev. Mr. Heckman, Pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, having offered prayers-
His Excellency, the GOVERNOR, delivered his Biennial Message to the General Assembly, reading it in person from the Speaker's dais, as follows:
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Throughout the year which has just passed, the people of Indiana have been greatly blessed. The pestilence which desolated other parts of the country, touched within our borders but lightly, and did not long remain, and good health has generally prevailed to an unusual degree.
Although one of our staple crops has fallen short, causing loss and embarrassment to many, yet we have had great and almost unexampled prosperity.
Agriculture has been prosperous, commerce has flourished, manufactures have been extended, public improvements of various kinds projected and successfully prosecuted.
When we consider that the country has just emerged from a dreadful war in which our State bore a distinguished part, and suffered greatly in the loss of thousands of her best citizens, and the withdrawal from labor and business of many thousands more, her general prosperity and growth in population and wealth is as surprising as it is gratifying.
According to the census of 1860, the population of Indiana was one million three hundred and fifty thousand four hundred and twenty-eight (1,350,428).
By the enumeration which has been made and returned to the Auditor of State, under an act of the last Legislature, it is shown that, in 1866, the State had a population of three hundred and forty thousand two hundred and forty (340,240) white males over the age of twenty-one years, which number multiplied by the ratio usually adopted would give a population of over one million seven hundred thousand, the estimate will also be sustained by comparing the aggregate vote of 1860 with that of 1866, and shows an increase of more than three hundred and fifty thousand in six years.
According to this ratio of increase the State will have within her borders in 1870 more than two millions of people, which would be an increase of over forty-eight per cent in ten years. It is doubtful whether any State in the Union is growing more rapidly in population, wealth, manufactures, public improvements, and the general development of agricultural resources This great result is owing in large part to the high character which the State has acquired during the war.
The large number of men she furnished to the armies of the Union, under circumstances of great trial and difficulty, their uniform and distinguished gallantry on every battlefield, surpassed by the soldiers of no other State, the great and continued liberality of her people for sanitary purposes and to relieve the distress growing out of the war, and the faithful performance of all obligations of whatsoever kind in the midst of the great conflict, have commanded universal admiration and directed the attention of the enterprising and those who in every State are seeking for new homes, to the advantages presented to the labor and capital of the immigrant.
GOVERNOR BAKER.
I was absent from the State on account of ill health, from the 16th day of November, 1865, until the 17th day of April, 1866, during which period the duties of the office under the Constitution were performed by Governor Baker. The great ability and fidelity to the interests of the State which distinguished the administration of Governor Baker, commanded the general approval of the people, and makes a public acknowledgment on my part proper as well as a great pleasure. The duties which devolved upon him were of an important character, and were so well and faithfully discharged as to be satisfactory to all.
THE PUBLIC DEBT OF THE STATE.
The public debt of the State outstanding in the hands of creditors to be provided for is as follows:
| Five per cent. stocks................ | $3 829, 936 38 |
| Two and a half per cent. stocks..... | 1,191,091 65 |
| Total amount of stocks........ | $5,021,027 98 |
| War Loan Bonds.......... | 309,000 00 |
| Vincennes University Bonds....... | 66, 585 00 |
| Total Public Debt.......... | $5, 396, 612 98 |
The Auditor estimates that the State Debt Sinking Fund tax for 1866 will, on the 1st day of July next, furnish nine hundred thousand dollars, ($900 000) and that enough can be drawn from the General Fund in the Treasury at that time and added to this Amount to redeem all the outstanding two and a half per cent, stocks, which will leave outstanding in the hands of creditors to be provided for otherwise, four millions two hundred and five thousand five hundred and twenty-one dollars and thirty-three cents. ($4,205,521 33.)
The assets of the Sinking Fund independent of State stocks and bonds, which by the law of last winter are to be applied to the payment of the State Debt, may be safely estimated at one million dollars, ($1,000,000), of which amount five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) can be made available by the 1st of July 1870, and which, if properly applied, would leave the balance of the debt to be provided for and paid by taxation, three million seven hundred and five thousand five hundred and twenty-one dollars and thirty-three cents, ($3,705,521 33), which it is estimated by the Auditor will be fully accomplished at the present rate of taxation for that purpose by the 1st of July, 1870.
This shows the financial condition of the State to be better than at any former period in her history, and presents the gratifying prospect that by 1870 she will, have taken up all her stocks and be out of debt, without adding to the taxes which have been already imposed.
To avoid confusion of ideas it must be borne in mind that the money and property of whatever kind belonging to the old Sinking Fund are held for the benefit of the School Fund, and while so much of the State Debt as may be purchased by the Sinking Fund is thereby extinguished in so far as creditors arid the public are concerned yet it must, in another form, be kept alive for the benefit of the School Fund.
The report of the State Auditor will be found to be an able and thorough document, giving a full exposition of the business affairs of the State.
In the above estimate of the indebtedness of the State I have omitted the internal improvement bonds, amounting to three hundred and fifty three thousand dollars ($353,000.)
The Auditor in his report, following the example of his predecessors for more than twenty years, has put these bonds down as a part of the indebtedness of the State. They belong to the old debt of the State upon which a compromise was made in 1846, the holders of them failing or refusing to enter into or take part in the compromise. Upon these bonds interest has not been paid for more than twenty-five years. The attitude of the State in regard to them is not creditable and ought to be changed. Year by year the State by her accounting officers publishes and confesses to the world that they are a part of her page: 21[View Page 21] indebtedness, but pays no interest on them, which has now accumulated to more than half a million of dollars, and makes no offer to pay the principal although it has long been due. The character of Indiana is too high, and her position too proud to allow her to occupy an attitude so equivocal. It is not my purpose to enter into any discussion at this time as to the legal and moral obligation of the State to pay the interest and principal of these bonds in whole or part; but I desire simply to say that if the State believes that she is not bound to pay them and does not intend to do so, she should through the Legislature promptly declare that fact to the world, and have them stricken from the books of the Auditor.
If, on the other hand, she holds herself bound to pay the whole or any part, she can not honorably longer delay to take action for that purpose, as her ability to pay can not be denied.
STATE DEBT SINKING FUND.
In pursuance of the provisions of an act passed at the late special session of the Legislature, creating a State Debt Sinking Fund, for the payment of the State debt, and abolishing the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners and all offices connected therewith, the Auditor, Treasurer and Agent of State, acting as the State Debt Sinking Fund Board, have purchased in the market four hundred and sixty thousand, thirty-six dollars and ninety one cents of the certificates of Stock, bearing interest at the rate of two and a half per cent., which they have caused to be cancelled.
The Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners, by virtue of an act passed also at the late extra session, directing them to invest any moneys belonging to the Fund in Indiana State Bonds or Stocks have purchased Stocks and Bonds to the amount of seven hundred and nine thousand, and twenty-four dollars and eighty-five cents.
The Auditor of State and the Agent of State in their reports point out several material defect in the first of the above mentioned acts which require legislative remedy. In addition to those pointed out by these officers, I will call your attention to another.
The seventh section of the act abolishes the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners on the 20th day of January, 1867, and directs that all the property of whatever kind, both real and personal, belonging to said Fund, together with the books and papers, be surrendered and turned over to the Auditor. The annual sale of Sinking Fund lands took place on the 11th day of December, 1866, and by the terms of the law, deeds are to be made to the purchasers of such lands as are not redeemed at the expiration of sixty days from that time, which will be in February, at which time the Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners having ceased to exist, there will be no officer having authority to execute the conveyances. It will therefore be necessary to empower some officer or officers to execute the deeds and perfect the contract with the purchasers.
The act is further defective in failing to give the Auditor authority to collect the money upon the Bonds and Mortgages falling due, which are to be placed in his hands by the Sinking Fund, by selling the mortgaged lands.
Such authority should be directly conferred and he, or other proper officers, should be empowered to execute conveyances to the purchasers.As the law now stands after the 20th of January, 1867, there will be no officer authorized to sell the mortgaged lands, or make deeds to purchasers therefor.
The borrowers from the Sinking Fund on mortgage security, have, by special enactment, had their loans extended for five years from 1868, by paying the amount due in equal annual installments. Upon their failure to pay any of these installments, their lands can be offered for sale, and if there are no cash bidders, sold on a credit of five years. This may defer a collection of a part of the money for eleven years, and as the State has abandoned the policy of lending money on mortgage security, it will be inconvenient and unnecessary to keep these claims outstanding so long, and I therefore recommend that the law be so changed that when the mortgaged lands are sold, they be sold for cash, and thus close up the transaction five years sooner.
SINKING FUND INVESTIGATION.
At the late special session a concurrent resolution was adopted, directing the Governor to appoint a Committee of three persons to investigate the management and operations of the Sinking Fund, and the manner in which the moneys belonging to it had been invested or deposited.
Governor Baker appointed on this Committee, Hon. B. W. H. Ellis, Hon. John A, Matron and Major Thomas J. De La Hunt. The Committee met and organized by the appointment of Charles P. Jacobs, Esq.. as Secretary, and proceeded to the investigation.
Their report, accompanied with the evidence in the matter, is herewith submitted.
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S REPORT.
The office of Adjutant General has been well and ably administered by General Terrell The report which he is publishing will consist of seven large volumes, of which six have been already issued, and will be invaluable as a history of the officers and soldiers of Indiana during the late rebellion. It is intended to give the name and military history of every officer and soldier who went into the army from this State, and thus furnish a public record of the service, and honorable discharge of every good soldier, and fix the status of every deserter and of every man who was dismissed or punished for cowardice or crime. The value of the record will increase with years, and will be held sacred by corning generations to whom it will perpetuate the honorable deeds of their ancestors ; and it is to be regretted that the Legislature did riot make provision to have the work stereotyped and the plates purchased and held by the state. From those who have compared it with the re ports from other States, I am assured that it will be found to be more complete in its information and perfect in its arrangement than any similar work, and General Terrell is certainly entitled to great credit for the ability, care and industry displayed in its preparation.
QUARTERMASTER GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT.
The State received from the General Government at various times during the war for the use of the Indiana Legion (41,572) forty-one thousand five hundred and seventy-two pieces of small arms, and twenty-one pieces of artillery, with carriages, caissons, aid equipments, all of which were charged to the State, and required to be accounted for.
The report of the State Quartermaster, General Stone, shows that (41, 212) forty-one thousand two hundred and twelve guns have been returned to the proper United States ordnance officers at this point, and (530) five hundred and thirty guns lost and destroyed in the service have been accounted for by proper affidavits, making a total of (41,742) forty-one thousand seven hundred and forty-two guns accounted for to the General Government, and that all the artillery, caissons and equipments have been returned. This leaves the State clear of all liability on the score of arms for the use of the militia, and the account has been closed, which is a most desirable result.
General Stone's report is lengthy, and gives a comprehensive statement of the operations of the Quartermaster's Department from the time of his appointment. The Department has been a large and cumbrous machine, but has been managed with great fidelity, ability and success, for which General Stone is well entitled to the thanks of the State. His position has been one of great responsibility and labor, and its duties page: 22[View Page 22] have been performed to my entire satisfaction. Your attention is specially invited to the interesting details in his Report.
PAYMASTER GENERATES REPORT.
The report of Major Stearns Fisher, Paymaster of the Indiana Legion, shows that about fifty thousand men have received pay for military service in repelling rebel raids and guarding against invasion.
The whole amount of money disbursed by him for military service amounts to five hundred and sixty-six thousand, three hundred and ninety dollars and twenty-eight cents ($560,390 28). There still remains unpaid claims allowed by the Auditing Committee amounting to over thirty-three thousand dollars, which are being paid as fast as presented. And there are also claims, apparently just, amounting to twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars, which have been presented since the Auditing Committee was abolished, but can not be paid until art appropriation is made for that purpose. Although the amount of money disbursed is not very large comparatively, yet it has been paid out in small sums and the business has been complex, involving a great number of accounts, and has been ably and faithfully performed by Major Fisher.
COLONEL WM. H. SCHLATER.
Colonel Wm. H. Schlater has acted as my Military Secretary, except during the time that he was in the field, from the beginning of the war. His ability for the correct and rapid dispatch of business as a Secretary is without a superior, and his accurate recollection of names, dates, and minute circumstances concocted with the organization of the army, rendered his services most valuable. Our relations have been most agreeable, and it affords me pleasure to make this public acknowledgment.
MILITARY AGENCIES.
The military agencies in this city and in Washington for the prosecution and collection, free of charge, of bounties, back pay and pensions, due to soldiers and soldiers' widows and orphans, have been kept in operation, and have transacted a large amount of business arid rendered great service to those who are poorly able to pay for it. The report of William Hannaman, Esq., gives a full statement of the transactions of the two agencies and contains matter and suggestions of much interest and importance. In my opinion the agencies ought to be maintained and their sphere of usefulness enlarged by appropriate legislation.
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS.
The general management of the Institutions for the Blind and Deaf and Dumb, and the Asylum for the Insane has been satisfactory, and I believe that the Board of Trustees and the several superintendents have labored to conduct them upon sound and economical principles. At the last session of the General Assembly an act was passed authorizing the enlargement of the Insane Asylum for the reception and care of the "incurable insane." The construction of the buildings has been commenced, but further appropriations will be required for their completion. The necessity for this enlargement and addition can not be denied. Many cases of the "incurable insane" have come to my knowledge, where the patients are without friends, or their friends are unable to take care of them, and which are of a character to make it difficult to provide for them in the County Poor Houses, and render it important that the new building should be completed without delay.
The general efficiency and success of the benevolent institutions of Indiana are creditable to the intelligence and humanity of her people.
PENITENTIARIES.
The reports from the Boards of Trustees and the Wardens of the Northern and Southern Prisons, and other information I have received, show that the Prisons have been well and economically conducted. A fire occurred in the Machine Shops of the Southern Prison last summer, by which considerable damage was done, and a number of convicts thrown out of employment. As they could not again be returned to labor until the damages had been repaired, for which there was no appropriation, I took the responsibility of urging the State Treasurer, Honorable John I. Morrison to pay from the Treasury the necessary amount to make the repairs, which he did, and I now respectfully ask this General Assembly to approve his conduct, it was done to prevent a considerable loss to the State in the way of convict labor.
The Report of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Prison states that the sum of sixty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-two dollars and seventy-six cents will be necessary to complete the construction of that Prison, and for deficiencies on account of work and materials already furnished, eighty-seven thousand nine hundred and twenty nine dollars and forty three cents, for which amounts an appropriation is asked, and to which your attention is specially directed.
HOUSE OF REFUGE.
The second section of the ninth article of the Constitution reads as follows :
"The General Assembly shall provide Houses of Refuge for the reformation and correction of juvenile offenders."
This Constitutional provision adopted in 1851, and which is plainly mandatory in its character up to this time remains wholly unexecuted. The necessity for such institutions is admitted by all who are at all familiar with the administration of the law, and I believe that a strong public sentiment demands that the legislative consideration of the subject shall not be longer postponed. We have no punishment now for the juvenile offender but the common jail and the penitentiary, neither of which exert a reformatory influence upon the youthful mind; and during my six years experience as the Executive of the State, I have often been constrained to pardon the youthful criminal because I felt that to incarcerate him in the penitentiary, would be to consign him to a life of degradation and crime. Humanity, justice, and the plainest principles of public policy, demand that the juvenile offender shall not be treated like the mature and hardened criminal, and placed in the society of felons ; but that an effort shall be made while he is yet in tender years, to reclaim him from vice and train him to a life of usefulness and respectability.
The "House of Refuge" as it has Long existed in many of the older States, is a vast improvement upon the jail and the penitentiary, but within the last few years, great progress has been made in elevating the system, and results have been obtained in the reform and education of juvenile offenders that are truly wonderful.
The introduction of the "Reform School" is, in many respects, a great improvement upon the old House of Refuge, and has been attended with a success which it would be hard to believe, were it not attested by indubitable evidence.
Barnabas C. Hobbs, and Charles F. Coffin, distinguished members of the Society of Friends, have bestowed much attention and labor upon the subject, and have addressed to me valuable communications which I herewith lay before you, together with reports and documents setting forth the character and operations of the Reform Schools of New York, Ohio and Illinois.
As the subject is one of no ordinary magnitude, and requires for its full understanding much thought and investigation, and as the system you may adopt will be intended not for a year only, but for all time, and should be wisely considered, I recommend that Committees be appointed at an early day, with full powers to investigate the subject and report a plan, if pos page: 23[View Page 23] sible, for your consideration and action at the present session.
SUPREME COURT.
I deem it my duty to direct your attention to the fact that no provision has been made for the accommodation of the Supreme Court. The State House does not afford sufficient room at any time, and during the sessions of the Legislature none of the Judges can occupy rooms there for chambers. The large and increasing business of the Court can not be promptly disposed of unless the Judges have comfortable chambers, with convenient access to the law library, and the judicial records.
The importance and dignity of the Court, the necessity for the prompt dispatch of its business, and a proper regard for the comfort and convenience of the Judges, require that the Court room clerk's office; law library, and the chambers, should be situated adjacent to each other, it is not becoming or excusable, that the judicial department of the government should be neglected and left to shift about for a local habitation, deprived of those conveniences necessary to the speedy and comfortable performance of its duties.
ENUMERATION AND APPORTIONMENT.
At the Special Session of the General Assembly, in 1865, an act was passed directing that an enumeration of the white male inhabitants over twenty-one years of age, be made in each county in the State, and prescribing rules and regulations therefor.
This enumeration has been made and properly returned to the Auditor of State, who has caused it to be published.
Section 5, article 4, of the Constitution of the State declares that: "The number of Senators and Representatives shall, at the session next following the period of making such enumeration be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties according to the number of white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age in each."
This provision is positive and mandatory in its character, and requires this General Assembly to apportion Senators and Representatives among the several counties in the State, according to the number of white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age in each.
The State for full six years has been without a law apportioning Senators and Representatives in the several counties. During that time members of the General Assembly have been elected by common consent, and from necessity, upon the basis of the old law.
While these elections are really without authority of law, but from necessity must be received as legal, the basis made by the old apportionment, has by lapse of time and changes of population become grossly inequitable.
The relative population of counties and Senatorial and Representative Districts has in many cases become so greatly altered as to conflict utterly with the theory of representation prescribed by the Constitution.
As the General Assembly is now in possession of the proper data upon which to make an apportionment. I trust that duty will be fully performed before your final adjournment.
REGISTRY LAW.
The purity of the ballot-box is essential to the maintenance of free institutions. In so far as it is corrupted, it not only fails to express the will of the people but defeats their will, and places the political and civil power in the hands of fraudulent holders. If we would have the decisions of the ballot-box respected, and the voice of the majority peacefully obeyed, it must be by making our elections an honest exposition of the people's will, an exposition so fairly and certainly made as to leave in the public mind no want of confidence in its integrity. But upon that subject I need not enlarge, as there is not a member of this General Assembly who does not fully comprehend its vital importance, and I will proceed at once to the consideration of the evil for which if possible, a remedy should be found.
It is a notorious fact that under our election laws, men go to the polls and vote, who at the time have not the right to vote anywhere; that men vote in precincts and townships where they do not reside, and often vote several times on the same day, at different places, and sometimes at the same place.
The oath which is prescribed by law to be administered to persons, whose votes are challenged, has been found practically to furnish but little security against fraudulent voting.
The statute provides, that if taken it shall be conclusive as to the right of the person to vote, and no other evidence shall be received to impeach its truth.
In cities and precincts where the vote is large, it is administered in haste, and is received by those who are intent on fraudulent voting as an empty form, which carries with it no terrors, and to which little attention is paid. The only remedy for this evil, in my judgment, is the enactment of a law requiring all legal voters to be registered, in books prepared for that purpose, and before such officers, and in such manner and form as may be prescribed. Such registry to be completed by a time certain before the election, kept at a known place, and exposed to public inspection, that errors may be corrected and frauds detected.
It has been said, however that under the Constitution a Registry Law can not be adopted. The constitutional provision is in these words :
"ARTICLE I. SECTION 2. In all elections not otherwise provided for by this Constitution, every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who shall have resided in the State during the six months immediately preceding such election; and every white male of foreign birth, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards who shall have resided in the United States one year, and shall have resided in this State during the six months immediately preceding such election, and shall have declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, conformably to the laws of the United States on the subject of naturalization, shall be entitled to vote in the township, or precinct where he may reside."
From this it will appear that persons otherwise qualified have the right to vote, if they are residents of the township or precinct on the day of the election, and have had no previous residence therein, whence it has been said that a law requiring a registry on a day previous to the day of election, would be unconstitutional. There is, in my opinion, no fores in this objection. The question as to the way and manner of proving residence is entirely within the control of the Legislature. It may by law require verbal proof, as it now does, or, it may require the evidence to be in writing. It may accept of the oath ot the person proposing to vote as conclusive, or, it may reject his oath altogether and require the testimony of other persons. The Legislature has, from time to time, regulated the competency of witnesses and the form of giving testimony in courts of justice, in some cases requiring it to be in written depositions taken out of court, and in others the personal presence of the witnesses before the court and jury. It certainly has equal power to determine in what manner the proof of resilience shall be made before an election board.
All persons claiming the right to vote who are residents of the township or precinct, at a time certain before the election, say thirty days, can be legally required to have their names registered, in such place and in such manner, and form as may be prescribed, and the registry thus made to constitute the legal evidence of their qualifications and right to vote. For such persons who claim to have acquired a residence within the township, or precinct within thirty days before the election, or on the day of the election, special provision can be made.
page: 24[View Page 24]The constitutional provision of Illinois upon this subject is as follows :
"ARTICLE II. SECTION 1. In all elections every white male citizen above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the State one year next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote at such election ; and every white male inhabitant of the age aforesaid, who may be a resident of the State at the time of the adoption of this Constitution shall have the right of voting as aforesaid ; but no citizen or inhabitant shall be entitled to vote, except in the district or county in which he shall actually reside at the time of such election."
It will be seen that upon the subject of residence in the township or precinct it is the same as ours, it being sufficient to acquire the residence on the day of the election. The Legislature of Illinois has enacted a Registry law, and have provided that persons claiming the right to vote, whose names are not upon the registry, shall make their affidavits in writing stating specifically, the place where they live, when they acquired their residence, and their occupation, which affidavit must be sustained by the testimony in writing of some other person of acknowledged residence in the township or precinct. The cases coming under these specific provisions must ordinarily be few in number, and give but little delay or embarrassment to the election Board, while the safeguards furnished against fraudulent voting are most obvious. In the one class of cases the registry constitutes the evidence of the right to vote, and in the other class the written affidavits and there can be no question as to the legality of both provisions. It is quite possible that a better method can be adopted as to cases of late residence, than that prescribed by the Legislature of Illinois, which I have referred to only to show one plan which is in use.
I commend the subject to your earnest and immediate attention, trusting that the state of the public mind and the condition of parties are such that there will be no hesitation in any quarter in effecting the much needed reform.
SOLDIERS' AND SEAMEN'S HOME.
When the war ended and our armies were mustered out of the service, and hospitals broken up, there were many gallant soldiers who were disabled by wounds and diseases contracted in the service from making their own living and taking care of themselves. Many of them were without homes and without friends, who must either pass into the common poor houses of the country as paupers, be subsisted by private charity, or provided for by the State. The support furnished by private charity, would be precarious and uncertain, and justice, humanity, and the honor of the State forbade that these men should suffer for the comforts of life, or find that the poor house and the society of paupers should be the end and reward of their campaigns, in which they had sacrificed their health and capacity to provide for themselves. The State had called them to the field, and they had nobly responded by abandoning their occupations, leaving behind them family, friends, the comforts and pleasures of life, and entered the army to fight for a cause in which they had no greater interest than those who remained at home to pursue their avocations and live quietly and safely with their families and friends.
It was not charity, it was not benevolence on the part of the people or the State to make liberal and generous provision for these men, but it was a duty than which none could be higher or more sacred. Accordingly, to meet immediate demands for relief, and to inaugurate a measure imperatively demanded by humanity and the strongest obligations, on the 15th day of May, 1865, I issued an address for the purpose of enlisting the sympathies of the people in establishing a Soldiers' and Seamen's Home, and in pursuance of the invitation contained in it, two successive meetings were held at Indianapolis for the purpose of effecting a temporary organization of a Home for disabled Indiana Soldiers and Seamen, and to institute a system for the collection of voluntary contributions sufficient ultimately to place it on a permanent foundation. At the second of these meetings, held on the 24th day of May, 1865, a temporary organization was effected, the basis of which will be seen by reference to a copy of the proceedings of said meeting herewith respectfully submitted. The temporary Home was opened in the city hospital building of Indianapolis, on the 27th day of August, 1865, and up to the 30th day of November, 1866, the number of men admitted was 224. Of this number 134 have been discharged, fourteen have died, and seventy-six remain in the Home. Early last spring the Board of Directors purchased the property known as the "Knightstown Springs, i' in Rush county, at a cost of $8,500, to which place the Home was removed on the 26th day of April. The total expense of maintaining the Home from the time it was opened until the 30th of November last, not including the cost of purchase, is $17,060 84. This includes the salaries of officers. If we add to the above sum the cost of purchase it will make the sum of $25,560 84, all of which has been raised by private contribution.
I herewith submit the report of Dr. Wishard, the excellent and successful superintendent of the institution, and quote from it the following extract, as descriptive of the property which has been purchased:
"The farm consists of fifty-four (54) acres of excellent land, thirty-five (35) of which are under cultivation-the balance a beautiful grove of forest timber. The buildings are large and commodious, affording ample room for about one hundred patients. They were, however, much dilapidated and out of repair, but have been repaired until they are now very comfortable. Some additions have also been made, in the way of hospital buildings, which are of great advantage in the treatment of the sick and wounded."
As lingering wounds, disease and old age do their work, the number of men to be cared for must largely increase for some years and the question is presented, in what manner the institution shall be maintained?
Thus far it has been built up and supported by private contribution, resulting from the labor of a few men, but it can not be kept in operation longer in this way. The obligation to support our disabled veterans rests equally upon all, while the number of persons who give by private contributions is small, and they are already tired and demand that the burden shall be made to fall upon all the people according to their capacity to pay. That this demand is just and patriotic, I will not further argue, and earnestly recommend that committees be appointed to investigate and examine into the character of the institution, and upon their report, if satisfactory, it bo adopted by the State, and appropriations made to carry it on for the next two years. The National Government has made arrangements for the establishment and maintenance of Soldiers' and Seamen's Homes in several of tho States, and it is quite possible that these institutions when established will have capacity to receive and accommodate all, including disabled soldiers and seamen of Indiana.
When this comes to pass it will not be necessary to continue our Home, as such, longer, and the fine property where it is located can doubtless be turned to some other humane purpose. But until that occurs it is, in my judgment the duty of the State to adopt the Home and make appropriations for its support.
It would not be just to pass from this subject without stating the fact that the general management and supervision of the Soldiers' Home since its first organization has been under the care and direction of William Hannaman, Esq., his heart has been in his work, and he has given page: 25[View Page 25] to it unremitting attention, and much of its success has resulted from his labor.
SOLDIER'S ORPHAN.
The soldier's orphan has not been provided for. From a return made by county auditors to a circular addressed to them by Mr. Hannaman, it is estimated that there are in the State 2,070 orphans whose fathers have perished in the army, and a number of whom are now in the county poor houses Their natural protectors and guardians, by whose labor they were to be supported and educated, have died in the service of their country. Many of these orphans are left in destitute and helpless circumstances, without relatives or friends who are able or willing to give them training and education. Are they not the wards of the State? Is it not the duty of the State, dictated alike by justice, humanity, and the sacrifice made by their dead fathers, to step forward and as far as possible take the father's place in giving to these orphans protection and a sufficient education to fit them for useful and honorable members of society? Can the proposition be strengthened by argument? Does not the bare statement of it carry conviction to the mind and touch the heart of every patriotic man? The way and manner in which this can be accomplished is a proper subject for legislative research and discovery. But it has been suggested that if the General Government shall finally provide for our disabled soldiers and seamen, that the beautiful property near Knightstown might be converted into a "Soldier's Orphans Home."
CEMETERIES AND MONUMENTS.
The report of Colonel James Blake who was appointed Commissioner to represent Indiana on the Board of Managers of the Gettysburg Cemetery, contains a full history of the Cemetery, its condition, the amount of money required to finish it and the proportion due from Indiana.
Papers will also he laid before you in relation to the Cemetery at Antietam, and asking a small appropriation to defray so much of the expense as falls to Indiana in the general arrangement.
The Board of Trustees of Crown Hill Cemetery, situated about two miles from this city, donated a sufficient and beautiful part of the Cemetery for the burial of Union soldiers who died in the camps and hospitals at this place, and such as might be brought from elsewhere. The Government of the United States, represented by General Ekin, accepted the donation and agreed to pay the Crown Hill Cemetery Association the sum of five thousand dollars to be expended in the improvement of the grounds, and the dead have already been removed from the places where they were first laid and buried in the new Cemetery.
In this Cemetery there if a high hill, quite overlooking the city, and I recommend that upon this hill the State erect a monument in memory of her brave soldiers who perished in the rebellion. We cannot pay too much honor to the memory of the men who died for their country. This monument overlooking all the country around, would be the first object to greet the eye of the traveler as he approached the capital, and in the language of the great Webster, when he laid the cornerstone of Bunker Hill monument at Boston : "Let it rise ! let it rise, till it meet the sun in its coming; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play upon its summit." To this monument each county of the State should be requested to contribute one block bearing such inscription as it might choose in commemoration of its dead and the part it bore in the war.
EMIGRATION.
On the 18th of January, 1866, Gov. Baker issued to John A. Wilstach, Esq., an appointment as Commissioner for the encouragement of emigration to the State of Indiana, and to take such steps both in the United States and in Europe as he may deem advisable for that purpose."
Mr. Wilstach's report is herewith submitted, and your attention invited to the important suggestions it contains.
It is not necessary to argue the importance of adding to the wealth and population of Indiana by increasing the emigration to her borders from the various countries of Europe. The agricultural and mineral resources of the State are as yet comparatively undeveloped, for the want of population, labor and capital. Nearly one-fourth of the whole area of the State is a coal field, a large part of which is said to be of the best quality. Excellent iron ore is found in vast quantities in many of the counties and throughout the State, excepting a few small localities the soil is rich and fertile, capable of producing all the grains, grasses and fruits in the greatest abundance. The State abounds in fine timber, and living streams of water, and in every respect presents facilities for an easy and profitable agriculture, while an abundance of coal and water power furnishes the means for manufacturing on the largest scale and cheapest terms. Large tracts of country are yet unsettled, and in many counties the population is quite sparse, and it is not too much to say that the State can support in ease and comfort a population three or four times larger than the present.
The people of Europe desiring to emigrate to this country can not and will not select Indiana as a home unless they are advised there is such a State, and are informed somewhat in regard to its character, population, productions, improvements, climate, and the special advantages it presents to the emigrant. When we consider how little the mass of the people of this country know in regard to the condition and character of the interior countries of Europe, we may form some opinion as to how little the masses of the people there understand about ourselves and our State. While they may have a general knowledge of the character of this country, it is the specific knowledge of our State which will bring them to her borders, and this is what we should labor to give them.
I therefore earnestly recommend the establishment of a Bureau of Emigration, upon a plan similar to that adopted by several of the Western States, providing for one or more Agents in Europe, whose duty it shall be to furnish to persons about to emigrate to America, information of the geography, population, wealth and resources of the State, and the prospects for health, comfort, wealth and education presented to those who come in search of new homes, and of such facilities for getting here as the Staffs may be able to furnish. Some of our sister States have in this way added largely to their population and wealth, and while we are somewhat late in beginning, it will be later and worse for us the longer it is put off.
The fact that Indiana is rapidly growing in wealth and population, furnishes no reason why that growth should not be greatly accelerated by the use of means so simple and legitimate in their character, and costing so little when compared with the great advantages to be derived. I had the honor to call the attention of the Legislature to this subject at the regular session in 1865, and beg leave to repeat the arguments and recommendations I then offered.
I request your special attention to that part of Mr. Wilstach's report in which he describes the effort made and the difficulties attending it, to make an exhibition of Indiana productions, manufactures and mineral resources at the "World's Fair," to be held in Paris this year. The importance of thus presenting to the people of the "Old World" in a tangible form the great resources of our State, requires no illustration.
SCHOOLS.
The School Fund of Indiana may be estimated in round numbers at $7,611,337 44, and is, I be page: 26[View Page 26] lieve, larger than the School Fund of any other State
While our school system is far from being what it ought to be, yet it is being gradually and substantially improved. The standard of qualification for teachers has been elevated, and teaching, as a science, is far better understood than formerly. The want of qualified teachers, which has been one of the chief obstacles in the way of the efficiency of our schools, will be greatly diminished in a few years by the Normal School, which was authorized by the last General Assembly, and which I trust will be speedily put into successful operation. The other great evil consists in the fact that the schools are kept for too short a time, and this can only be remedied by increasing from taxation and other sources that might be made available the annual revenue for school purposes. I will enter into no argument before this General Assembly to prove the importance of education and that our schools should be open to all, and able to furnish an education sufficient for the ordinary business of life; but assuming that all admit this truth, will simply say that the common schools of Indiana, can not furnish such an education without they are continued for a longer period in each year.
THE EDUCATION OF COLORED CHILDREN.
In my message delivered to the Legislature at the late extra session, I presented the importance of providing for the education of colored children in language which I beg leave here to repeat:
The first section of article eight of our State Constitution provides as follows:
"Knowledge and learning generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free Government, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement; and to provide by law for a general and uniform system of common schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all."
The language of this provision is very broad, and would seem, in letter and in spirit, to embrace all the children of the State without regard to color.
Surely it can not be denied that, as we have a colored population in our midst, it is our interest, independent of those considerations of natural justice and humanity, which plead so strongly to educate and elevate that population.
An ignorant and degraded element is a burden and injury to society, whatever may be its color. It therefore becomes a matter of sound political economy, as well as absolute justice, that whatever colored population we may have, should be educated, and enabled to become intelligent, industrious, and useful members of the community.
The laws of Indiana exclude colored children from the common schools and make no provision whatever for their education I would there fore recommend that the laws be so amended as to require an enumeration to be made of the colored children of the State, and such a portion of the School Fund as may be in proportion to their number, be set apart and applied to their education, by the establishment of separate schools, under such suitable provisions and regulations as may fee proper. I would not recommend that white and colored children be placed together in the same schools, believing, as I do, in the present state of public opinion, that to do so would create dissatisfaction and conflict, and impair the usefulness of the schools.
I am informed that a system can be devised, by which separate schools for the education of colored children can be successfully maintained in various parts of the State, and believe that justice, humanity and sound policy, require that it should be done.
By the school law of 1865, negroes and mulattoes are not taxed for the support of common schools, but if colored schools should be established this law should be so amended as to subject them to like taxation with white persons for educational purposes.
AGRICULTURAL-COLLEGE.
By an act of Congress thirty thousand acres of land were donated to each State for each Senator and Representative in Congress for the purpose of erecting and maintaining an Agricultural College. This entitled Indiana to (390,000) three hundred and ninety thousand acres. The act provided that where there were public lands in the State subject to entry at $1 25 per acre, the quantity to which the State was entitled should be selected from such lands ; but if there were no such lands in the State, or not enough, the Secretary of the Interior was to issue to such State land scrip for the requisite number of acres. This scrip can not be located by the State to which it was issued, but must be sold ; but the purchasers of such scrip may locate it upon any of the unappropriated land of the United States, subject to sale at, private entry at $1 25 or less per acre. There being no public lands in this State for sale at private entry held by the Government at $1 25 per acre, Indiana received her donation in scrip. The original purpose entertained by Congress of establishing Agricultural Colleges in the several States to be maintained by substantial and sufficient endowments was most enlightened and patriotic, but we may well doubt the wisdom of the means by which it was to be accomplished. The most of the States having no lands within their borders upon which this grant could be located were compelled to receive it in scrip, which they were not at liberty to locate in other States and Territories, but were required to sell. Large quantities of the scrip were put upon the market at the same time, and the price suddenly went down until it could not be sold for much over one-third of its par value There has been no time since the State of Indiana received her scrip at which it could have been old for more than 50,or at most 55 cents per acre. At fifty-five cents an acre it would only realize $204,500) two hundred and four thousand five hundred dollars, a sum wholly inadequate to successfully establish and maintain a College upon the broad and comprehensive plan Contemplated by Congress. The State became rival vendors in the market, and all of them competing directly with the Government, which can not sell land in the regular way at less than $1 25 per acre.
The scrip already sold by the several States, has, with few exceptions, been purchased in quantities by speculators, some of whom will enter and hold large bodies of land to be made valuable by the settlement and improvement of other lands around them, and others will retail the scrip in small quantities at a price greatly advanced over what they gave for it, but still underselling the Government. The reason why the States were not allowed to locate the scrip, was because it would create a monopoly, and enable them to hold lands in perpetuity, but no provision was made against permitting the specu[l]ators who purchase the scrip at, less than half its value from doing the same thing. While it was not so intended, yet it has turned out that no better arrangement for speculators could have been devised. If the States had been allowed to locate the scrip, the land, as soon as entered, would have been worth to them $1 25 per acre, and they might have been required, upon pain of forfeiture to the Government, to sell the same within four or six years, thus avoiding the danger of monopoly and perpetuity, and enabling them to realize at least the par value of the scrip. As the matter has turned out it would have been much better for the State and the Government, if the Government had donated to each State, the same number of dollars, instead of acres. Indiana would thus have received three hundred and ninety thousand dollars, and the Government have retained three hundred and ninety page: 27[View Page 27] thousand acres of land which could be sold at $1 25 an acre.
The Board of Trustees of the Agricultural College, created by an act of the Legislature at the regular session of 1865, memorialized Congress at the late session, praying that the law making the grant to the States might he so amended as to allow the States to locate the scrip under such regulations and restrictions as might be deemed proper to prevent monopoly and perpetuity. But Congress took no action on the subject. The memorial is herewith laid before you.
The Board of Trustees have had a number of meetings to consider what disposition should be made of the scrip, and in view of the fact that it could not be sold without a sacrifice of nearly two-thirds of its par value, which would realize a sum so small as to be inadequate to the accomplishment of the grand purpose which Congress had in view in making the donation, unanimously resolved to withhold it from the market entirely, and submit the whole subject for the action of the Legislature. They have made a report embodying the facts, and containing certain recommendations, which I herewith lay before you, and commend to your special consideration.
THE THIRTEENTH ARTICLE.
By the decision of the Supreme Court at its late session, the Xlllth Article of the Constitution of the State, which prohibits negroes and mulattoes from coming into the State, and from making contracts and acquiring title to property, was declared null and void as being an infringement of the Constitution of the United States. In this decision it was held that negroes born in the United States are citizens of the United States, and of the State in which they live, and that the XIIlth Article of our Constitution was therefore in violation of that provision of the Constitution of the United States which declares that "the citizens of each State are entitled to the privileges and immunities of the citizens of the several States." The law made in execution of the XIIIth Article is of course a nullity, but I respectfully recommend that as an act of public decency it be formally repealed and wiped out.
NATIONAL DEBT AND THE CURRENCY.
It would be very flattering to our national pride, and would excite the astonishment and admiration of Europe, if we were to pay off our national debt within fifteen or eighteen years ; but there are some things more important to us than flattering our vanity or astonishing the people of the Old World.
While I am not in favor of perpetuating the national debt, and do not regard it as a blessing, I am opposed to pressing our people to its sudden payment, just to show what we can do.
If this generation, after having put down the rebellion, shall accomplish the work of restoration, it will have done well, and may very properly leave at least a part of the national debt to be paid by the next.
As the misconduct of the people of the South caused this debt to be contracted, I am decidedly in favor of requiring them and their children to pay their proportion of it, which in their present destitute and impoverished condition they can not do. At this time they have very little property besides lands, and scarce anything to pay taxes on, or pay taxes with, and such their situation must be for years; and until restoration has been completed, and emigration, capital, industry, commerce and agriculture shall have brought to them wealth and prosperity. Whatever part of this debt is paid in the next five or eight years, must, from the condition of things, be collected from the people of the North, and must to that extent relieve the people of the North from a burden, which ought in justice to fall chiefly upon them.
I am therefore in favor of reducing taxation to a standard which will be sufficient to defray the ordinary expenses of the Government, and maintain perfectly the credit of the Nation by paying punctually the interest on the debt, leaving the payment of the principal to times of more general prosperity, when our commerce upon the seas shall have resumed its sway, and a largely increased population has greatly developed the agricultural and mineral resources of the coun-[ Concluded from 1st page.] -try, and produced an aggregate of wealth compared with which the national debt will be but a trifling percent.
While it is desirable to return to specie payments, at as early a period as is consistent with maintaining the business prosperity of the country, it is not a result so important that we should hazard general disaster and bankruptcy.
At this time the financial condition of the country is depressed, trade is languishing, and a widespread fear of panic and disaster prevails among the people. The continued reduction of the currency, followed by a corresponding reduction in all values, to that extent diminishes the capacity of the people to pay their indebtedness contracted at a time when the currency was much more inflated than at present and gold at a much higher premium.
If last year pork was twelve dollars a hundred and this year it is six, it is manifest that the capacity of the farmer to pay is diminished just one half, while the volume of the principal and interest of the public debt, and of his own private indebtedness has not diminished, but remains the same. Cast iron theories of finance which do not yield to the circumstances of the times, are very apt to be broken by a crash, and it is the part of wisdom to make the theory, however wise in general, submit to the temporary condition of the people. The unsettled and impoverished condition of the people of the South, the failure of the cotton crop, the successive failure of two wheat crops in the North, render the situation of the country quite peculiar and critical, and makes it unsafe, in my opinion, to push the further reduction of the currency at this time.
Should the General Assembly concur in these views, it would be entirely proper to present them to their Senators and Representatives in Congress.
RECONSTRUCTION AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
The people of the North have not been animated by a spirit ot resentment and revenge in their dealings with the South since the conclusion of the rebellion. On the contrary, they have earnestly hoped that the people of the South would kindly and sincerely accept the situation, and co-operate with them in the settlement of our national difficulties upon a permanent basis ; and had the Southern people met them in this spirit, adjusted their Constitutions and laws to the new order of things, rendered justice and given equal protection to all their citizens, confiscation, disfranchisement and punishment would scarcely have been demanded. When, upon the surrender of Lee's army, General Grant gave absolution to the Confederate officers and soldiers, upon the sole condition of not again bearing arms against the Republic, the nation acquiesced in his conduct almost without a murmur, and when all the rebel forces laid down their arms, and the war was at an end, the misfortunes of the South, the fallen and prostrate condition of the people inspired in the North feelings amounting almost to compassion and forgiveness. At that time the South declared full submission, asked for lenient terms, but claimed no rights and dictated no conditions. But since then the temper of her people seems to have undergone a radical change. They have passed from submission to defiance, and the mercy which was extended to them has been requited in bloody persecutions upon the Union men and negro population in their midst. Their course has had its natural and inevitable effect page: 28[View Page 28] upon the public mind of the North which is rapidly passing from mercy and forgiveness to the stern demands of justice and the exaction of the penalties for treason. The logic of events against which the arguments of the statesman weigh not, moulds the public mind and sweeps it on rapidly from conclusion to conclusion. The impossible of yesterday is the possible of to-day, and the radicalism of to-day becomes the conservatism of to-morrow.
The patriotic and loyal members of Congress who voted for the "Winter Davis" bill in 1864,would stand aghast before it as a scheme of reconstruction in 1866. It was then thought the wisest thing to be done, but we can now see in the light of two years' experience how fatal it have been to the nation. It was manifest would from the beginning that no scheme of reconstruction could be or ought to be accepted by the people of the North, which did not involve the equalizing of representation in Congress and the electoral college. The people of the North could not consent, honorably to themselves, nor without a disregard to the principles of Republican government, that those lately in rebellion should return to their places in the Government, and retain, in perpetuity, the right to represent four millions of colored people whom they deprive of all political rights, which would give to them after 1870 at least thirty votes in the electoral college and in the House of Representatives. Should the Southern States be permitted to return without the rectification of this great wrong it would constitute a source of constantly increasing dissatisfaction in the North, would be regarded as an intolerable burden and would dangerously threaten the future peace of the country.
I have received from the Secretary of State of the United States, an official copy of a joint resolution passed by Congress at the late session, two-thirds of each house concurring, proposing to the States an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which I herewith submit for your consideration.
The first clause of the Amendment establishes the great fact that all persons born in the United States are subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside, and that no State shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, or deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The second clause establishes equality of representation in the lower house of Congress, and in the electoral college, by excluding from the basis of representation any race or class of people who are deprived of the right of suffrage, and thus takes away from all the States the right to have representation for the colored people in their midst, unless they first give to them the right of suffrage. It proceeds upon the principle that white people do not have their political rights enlarged by reason of having in their midst a colored population whom they deprive of all political rights: upon the principle that people who are not good enough to have representation for themselves are not good enough to give it to others ; upon the principle that people who are not qualified to vote themselves are not qualified to duplicate the voting power of others.
The third clause declares ineligible to any National or State office any person who having once taken an official oath to support the Constitution of the United States afterwards committed perjury by going into the rebellion. This will tend to make treason odious by excluding from office the perjured politicians and political paupers who brought on the war.
The fourth clause declares the validity of the public debt; forever forbids the assumption or payment of the rebel debt, and prohibits the payment of any claim for the loss or emancipation of slaves. The four clauses constitute one amendment, which was submitted to the people of Indiana for their approval or rejection at the late election.
It establishes the great principle of national unity and citizenship, equality of representation, disability for treason, the good faith of the nation to her creditors, and guards the nation in future times against the corruptions of the rebel debt. It is of inestimable value to the country, and can not be safely substituted by mere legislation which is liable to repeal or destruction at the hands of the Supreme Court.
The cardinal principles of reconstruction should be planted in the Constitution whence they can be uprooted only by the same process by which they were established. No public measure was ever more fully discussed before the people, better understood by them or received a more distinct and intelligent approval. I will enter into no argument in its behalf before this General Assembly. Every member of it understands it, and is prepared, I doubt not, to give his vote for or against, on the question of ratification I venture, however, to recommend that you give to it your speedy consideration, and I hope that its ratification, will soon be published to the world as a declaration of the spirit and purpose of the people of Indiana.
But what if the Southern people reject the Amendment? But what if they continue this reign or terror, this flagrant disregard of liberty and life? Do they imagine that the North will recede, or that affairs will be allowed to remain as they are? These things are impossible. A quarter of a million of lives have been lost, Millions of money wasted, the tears of the widow and orphan are flowing, the shrieks of the murdered freedmen are heard, Union men are flying for their lives and now the blood of the nation is up and the cry for vengeance is abroad in the land. Let the people ot the South flee from the wrath to come. Let them put away the perjured traitors who hurried them them into rebellion, and now darken their counsels, and make haste to abandon their sins and accept the proffered terms
The Constitutional provision declaring that the United States shall guarantee to each State a republican form of government was not intended to furnish merely a paper guaranty, but authorized the Government of the United States to interfere in a certain contingency, with the government of a State. The guaranty is to be made by the United States, that is, by the Government of the United States, which is not the President or Congress, but both together, and must therefore be a legislative act
The President could not establish a State Government and accept it finally as loyal and republican in its form, and legal and complete in its structure without assuming that he is the Government, of the United States, which would manifestly be absurd.
What the extent of this power is has never been settled by any precedent; and has not been defined by Kent, Story, or any of our writers on Constitutional law. It is avast, undefined power, given to the United States to guard the States against revolution, anarchy or change to monarchical or aristocratic government. If a State government has been destroyed by rebellion the United States must set up or re-establish a republican form of government, if a State government should be converted into an aristocracy the United States must restore it to a republican form. How, or in what manner, this shall be done is not marked out by the Constitution and must, therefore, as far as we can judge, depend upon the circumstances of each case.
The Government is armed with supervisory power to keep the States in their orbits by mainlining within them republican governments, and the measure of power must therefore be the extent of the means necessary to accomplish the purpose.
page: 29[View Page 29]It is a well-recognized principle of Constitutional law. that, where a duty is enjoined, all the powers necessary to the performance of the duty are included
Where a certain demand is made by the Constitution the means necessary to produce the result must be inferred, else the demand would be nugatory.
The only measure, therefore, we can give to this power is that it embraces whatever may be truly necessary to guarantee to each State a republican form of government. If a State government falls into anarchy the United States must re-establish it upon republican basis, and must be held to have the right to employ whatever instrumentalities are necessary for that purpose.
Ordinarily, and when the country is in a normal condition, the subject of suffrage is in the control absolutely of the several States, and has been so treated from the first formation of the Government, and may be regarded clearly as one of the reserved rights of the States. But, if a State government shall fall into anarchy, or be destroyed by rebellion, and it is found clearly and unmistakeably, that a loyal new one can not be erected and successfully maintained without conferring upon a race or body of men the right of suffrage, to whom it has been denied by the laws of the State, it would clearly be within the power of Congress to confer it for that purpose, upon the principle that it can employ the means necessary to the performance of a required duty.
Not that Congress could make a Constitution for a State, in which the right of suffrage should be fixed but that it could call a convention to form a new Constitution and establish a new government, and prescribe the qualifications of those who should vote for the members of that convention and participate in the organization of the new government.
The power which I claim for Congress is vast and dangerous, and should be exercised with deliberation, and only in case of clear necessity, as it trenches directly upon the general theory and structure of the Government, yet it unquestionably exists.
If when other remedies have failed, it be the clear and deliberate judgment of Congress that loyal republican State governments can not be maintained except by conferring the elective franchise upon the negro race in those States, Congress may confer it upon the ground that it is necessary to the performance of a prescribed duty. In this view it is not necessary to regard the rebel States as Territories, as the Constitutional provision applies in express terms to States.
As a practical question it can not be supposed that four millions of free colored people can for a great time be kept in a state of political vassalage and denied their voice in the government by which they are controlled and which they help to support. As a political question, our republican theory, which asserts that "governments exist only by the consent of the governed," and that "taxation and representation" should go together, does not admit that suffrage shall be limited by race, caste, or color. As a question of natural right, it is hard to say that suffrage is not a natural right when upon its exercise may depend the possession and enjoyment of all other acknowledged natural rights It is hard to say that a man has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and yet has no natural right to a voice in that government by which these other rights will be protected or denied. But as all other natural rights are subject to restriction and limitation for the general welfare of society, this should be no exception to the rule. The proposition at once to introduce to the ballot-box half a million of men, who but yesterday were slaves, the great mass of whom are profoundly ignorant, and all impressed with that character which slavery impresses upon its victims, is repugnant to the feelings of a large part of our people and would only be justified by necessity resulting from inability to maintain loyal republican State governments without them.
But the necessity for loyal republican State governments that shall protect men of all races, classes and opinions, and shall render allegiance and support to the Government of the United States must override every other consideration of prejudice or policy.
If it be found necessary not to accept the present State Governments in the South, and to exercise the great power which has hitherto lain dormant in the Constitution, the people of the South will have the consolation of knowing that it is their own act and deed. By the unrestrained slaughters of Memphis and New Orleans ; by the unpunished murder of loyal men; by the persecution and exile of those who adhered to the Union ; by the contemptuous rejection of the generous terms that were offered, they are fast proving that the extraordinary powers of the Constitution must be summoned to cure the evils under which the land is laboring.
Let them take warning, and speedily reform their ways before they have driven the Nation to a point where theory, passion and prejudice must all give way to the stern necessity of establishing new governments that will protect all men in equal enjoyment of life, liberty and property.
But come what will, the Nation will live, and its unity and power be established.
Throughout the late conflict, we discerned the hand of God leading the Nation through blood to a purer morality and clearer perception of the rights of men, and can not doubt that in His own time, and by His chosen means, He will conduct it safely through this sea of troubles to a fraternal peace, unstained by oppression, unbroken by rebellion and crowned with the choicest blessings ever vouchsafed to any people.
OLIVER P. MORTON.
The GOVERNOR having finished reading the message-
The LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: The business of the Convention, for which the two Houses were assembled having been transacted, I therefore declare this Convention adjourned sine die.
Whereupon-
The officers and members of the Senate repaired to their chamber, and-
The SPEAKER resumed the Chair.
Mr. CRAIN. Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact, that there has been no time for the Speaker to fix and announce the committees, I move that when this House shall adjourn to-day, it shall adjourn to meet on Monday at two o'clock P. M.
The motion was agreed to by consent.
And then the House adjourned.
