over all employes, agents, and officers of
this bureau.' He wants to know the effect of that in Indiana. This
bureau is a part of the military establishment. The effect of that in
Indiana is precisely the same as in every other State, and under it
the officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau will occupy the same
position as do the officers and soldiers of the United States Army.
What is that? While they are subject to the Rules and Articles of War,
if they chance to be in Indiana and violate her laws, they are held
amenable the same as any other person. The officer or soldier in the
State of Indiana who commits a murder or other offense upon a citizen
of Indiana, is liable to be indicted, tried, and punished, just as if
he were a civilian. When the sheriff goes with the process to arrest
the soldier or officer who has committed the offense, the military
authorities surrender him up to be tried and punished according to the
laws of the State. It has always been done, unless in time of war when
the courts were interrupted. The jurisdiction and 'protection' that is
extended over these officers and agents is for the purpose of making
them subject to the Rules and Articles of War. It is necessary for
this reason: in the rebellious States civil authority is not yet fully
restored. There would be no other way of punishing them, of holding
them to accountability, of governing and controlling them, in many
portions of the country; and it is because of the condition of the
rebellious States, and their still being under military authority,
that it is necessary to put these officers and agents of the
Freedmen's Bureau under the control of the military power.

"The Senator says the original law only embraced within its provisions
the refugees in the rebellious States; and now this bill is extended
to all the States, and he wants to know the reason. I will tell him.
When the original bill was passed, slavery existed in Tennessee,
Kentucky, Delaware, and in various other States. Since that time, by
the constitutional amendment, it has been every-where abolished."

Mr. Saulsbury, aroused by the mention of his own State, interrupted
the speaker: "I say, as one of the representatives of Delaware on this
floor, that she had the proud and noble character of being the first
to enter the Federal Union under a Constitution formed by equals. She
has been the very last to obey a mandate, legislative or executive,
for abolishing slavery. S