Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1858-01-29
Capitalization VS.. State Rights.

Capitalization vs.. State Rights
Aher the Gloss OF the American Revolu.
ton the colonies found themselves thirteen
Independent, sovercignties, subject only to
the restriction and Limitation contained in
the articles Of confederation. The grca,
question Of forming Constitution TO unite
the colonies under one Federal head, was
one which employed the greatest and best
mind, Of ,ht, day. With no model Repub-
lie before them ioi guiding star, /, was
not At all singular that the statesmen Of
that day entertained different opinions As
to the relative rights Of the general govern
mcnt and the several States. The great
question substantially was how Car the States
should yield up their rights as States. and
the individual rights OF their subjects % the
commou Federal bead. This idea wa. dis
cussrI Tor . long time with a good deal Of
.piri, by al parties. One erca, party, led
Cd by Alexander Hamilton, was in favor Of
making a strong government, and in order
% incorporate tins principle into the Con-
s,tution. he va. in favor OF elcciinea Pres
iicut ur life. Of giving the Senators long
term ol service. and ei,in; 20 Congress cx-
traoriiuary powers Of legislation. llis
theory wa, hascl on the idea that unlos- you
thus made the CENTRAL government strong, Il
could not hold together. but would tumble
to risc,, by It's own rouderous weisat. lie
doubted the capacity OF the masses % govern
themselves, and would have aIop,c! limit
"a monarchy.
There was another party, at whose
head stood Thomas Jefferson, who strvnu-
ously opposed thi. theory, AMI through
their agency the peculiar views Of the Ham
ilton party we're rejected by the trainers OF
the Constitution but after all, Jefferson
always declared it as his belief that too much
power Was vested by the Constitution in the
General Government. and that the rights Of
the States would sooner OF later BE- inlringcd
upon hy the Executive and Congress. The
history Of our government cor the last TWEEN
,y.6vs year. conclusi,ely rrOye' that the
prophetic eye Of the illas,rious sasc Of Mon.
ucsllu Jaw in the dim future. what would
actually D. an unu.' cncroaehmcbi OF the
Federal Government upon the rights Of the
Stats, lli. fear. then - truthiully eI-
Pressed, ar now being realized. IL is now
clearly % be seen that 90 much power Is
vested in the President. According 10 mod.
ern democracy, as now explained, the Prcsi-
j-utut thc United State. has dcspouc power.
lIe control, ,bc Army, the Navy. and the
Treasury ~, uuitcs the purse and the
ss0rl, aud siells either at pleasure. /, i
al,p now evident that the immense public
patronage in his hands, by which be makes
aud unmakcs public flnetionarics at pleas
ure, appoints men 10 Olhcc and then removes
them at will, Is one exceedingly dangerous
to the liberties Of the people. These public
officers, scattered all over the country. being
mere CREATURES Of has will and pleasure. be-
cause Of the abjeCt tools Of the power that give
thsm birth and holds tnem in existence.
Look at our custom houses and posi-oficss,
located in every State in the Union, filed
with ssrvile hirelinSs, living and breathing
upon Executive elemency.
But there is another evil sprung into eI.
istenee within a few years, more dangerous
than this-the direct interference OF the
Executive with the legislation OF Congress
Executive patronage is the great moving
power by which the President seeks to con.
troll the legislature OF the country. Take
for example the passage Of the infamous
Kansas-Nebraska bill. Everybody. who
knows about the way and manner 1t was
engineered through Congress, knows that il
never could have passed, except under the
tremendous pressure Of the Administration.
Congress was corrupted by the Executive
members were bought like cattle in the
market,-the legislation Of the country was
uslrpcl by coordinate branch OF the
general government. This is only one in
stance among many that might be cited to
show dangerous exercise OF Executive
power. If the Lecompton swindle ever gets
through the presen, Congress, It will be in
consequence Of the corrupt interference Of
the President with the legislation Of the
country. But the President not only un-
dertakes TO over awe and control Congress.
but seeks an alliance with the Judiciary. by
which Judicial opinions are promulgated
10 aid him in this work Of tyranny. The
bred Scot; decision is case in point. Here
only fec men undertake u declare uncon-
stitational what has been considered eonsti.
tutional by all the great statesmen Of the
country for more than sixty years. IL is a
conspiracy between the Executive and Ju-
dieiai dapartmant. On eonfrol the lerisl atiye