“These things, as I affirm, are held and bound (though it is somewhat rude to say so) in reasons of iron and adamant, as would really appear to be the case,--so that, unless you, or some one stronger than you, can break them, it is not possible that any one who says otherwise than as I now say can speak correctly; for my statement is always the same,--that I know not how these things are, but that of all the persons with whom I have ever conversed, as now with you, no one who says otherwise can avoid being ridiculous.”[206] Show me that I am wrong, that this conclusion is not founded in the Constitution, and is not sustained by reason, and I shall at once renounce it; for, in the present condition of affairs, there can be no pride of opinion which must not fall at once before the sacred demands of country. Not as partisan, not as advocate, do I make this appeal, but simply as citizen, seeking, in all sincerity, to offer my contribution to the establishment of that policy by which Union and Peace may be restored. * * * * * Looking at the origin of this power in Congress, we find that it comes from three distinct fountains, any one of which is ample to supply it. Three fountains, generous and hospitable, are found in the Constitution ready for this occasion. _First._ From the necessity of the case, _ex necessitate rei_, Congress must have jurisdiction over every portion of the United States _where there is no other government_; and since in the present case there is no other government, the whole region falls within the jurisdiction of Congress. This jurisdiction is incident, if you please, to that guardianship and eminent domain belonging to the United States over all its territory and the people thereof, and springing into activity when the local government ceases. It can be questioned only in the name of the local government; but since this government has disappeared in the Rebel States, the jurisdiction of Congress is uninterrupted there. The whole broad Rebel region is _tabula rasa_, or “a clean slate,” where Congress, under the Constitution of the United States, may write the laws. In adopting this principle, I follow the authority of the Supreme Court of the United States in determining the jurisdiction of Congress over the Territories. Here are the words of Chief-Justice Marshall:-- “Perhaps the power of governing a Territory belonging to the United States, which has not, by becoming a State, acquired the means of self-government, _may result necessarily from the facts that it is not within the jurisdiction of any particular State_, and is within the power and jurisdiction of the United States. The right to govern may be the inevitable consequence of the right to acquire territory.”[207]