Great Commoner" had at that day few acknowledged
adherents. When in vindication of his scheme it was asked upon what
ground the collection of taxes could be enforced in the Southern States,
Judge Thomas, one of the ablest and clearest minds of the Massachusetts
delegation, said, "Upon this ground, that the authority of this
Government at this time is as valid over those States as it was before
the acts of secession were passed; upon the ground that every act of
secession passed by those States is utterly null and void; upon the
ground that every act legally null and void cannot acquire force because
armed rebellion is behind it, seeking to uphold it; upon the ground that
the Constitution makes us not a mere confederacy, but a _nation_; upon
the ground that the provisions of that Constitution strike through the
State government and reach directly, not intermediately, the subjects.
Subjects of whom? Of the nation--of the United States." "Who ever heard,
as a matter of public law, that the authority of a government over its
rebellious subjects was lost until that revolution was successful--was a
fact accomplished?"

Shortly after the capture of New Orleans and the establishment of
Federal authority over Louisiana, two of the Congressional districts of
that State elected representatives to Congress. The admission or
non-admission of these representatives involved the question of the
political condition of the Southern States and people in the Federal
Union, and the whole principle, in fact, of restoration and
reconstruction.

The subject was long and deliberately considered and fully discussed in
Congress. The committee on elections reported in favor of their
admission, and Mr. Dawes of Massachusetts, the chairman, stated that
"more than ordinary importance is attached to the consideration of this
subject. It is not simply whether two gentlemen shall be permitted to
occupy seats in this House. The question whether they shall be admitted
involves the principles touching the present state of the country to
which the attention of the House has more than once been called." He
said, "The question now comes up, whether any reason exists that
requires any departure from the rules and principles which have been
adopted." "An adherence to these principles is vitally important in
settling the question, how there is to be a restoration of this Union
when this war shall be drawn to a close."

The subject of admitting these represent