The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-08-01
A Political Heresy.

Nor the least among those manifest evils which
grow out of the excited political controversies o
the day. is that disposition, too prevalent among
the conductors Of public journals, indiscriminate
ly 70 defend or prescribe abstract principles, with
out regard to their real merits. just as the one
course or the other may happen to promote the
supposed interests of omeparticular individual
who may chance to be before the public in the
character of candidate for official station. The
press is mighty instrument in the formation oil
popular opinion, and there are persons, among
the patrons of every village newspaper, who,
taking but one paper, and not being in the habit
of thinking for themselves, implicitly receive, as
true, every proposition contained in those columns
/ to which they are accustomed to look for guild
ance in political affairs. This fact of itself if il
were duly considered by editors, would, surely,
lead some Of them to be little more careful in
regard to the doctrines they promulgate
The yicksburg Wig, in replying to an able
article in the SHn, employs the following extraor-
binary language:
/ Second, it charges that Mr. Bell was in favor
of the reception Of Abolition petitions. There is
more demagogueing on this question than any
other ever discussed by the Southern Secession.
/ lists The right of petition is plainly guaranteed
| in the Constitution, and Congress has no more
right to refuse to receive petition from Abolition
lists, than from Southerners. sou
Here we have the editor of a Southern news
paper, who because his candidate happens to
have an awkward record on the subject of Abo-
lition petitions, openly affords aid and comfort
to the hordes of aboltonism, by the explicit dec
laration, that in flooding the halls of Congress
with petitions praying for the abolition of slavery
in the States where it now exists, they are but
exercising fright plainly guaranteed in the
Constitution"
Now we deny that the Constitution contains
any such guarantee. The language of that in
strument in reference to petitions, is as follows
Congress shall make no law abrdging
the freedom of speech or Of the press; or the
right of the people pcaceaby to assemble, and TO
petition the government for redress of griev-
ances" In the first place, it is manifest, upon
the very face of this provision, thatits object was
to protect assembldges of the people, convened
for the purpose of pctitioning thc government for
a redress Of grievances, and not any further
than this, TO furnish any guarantee to the right
of petition itself But, waving this point, it is
equally clear that the people are not regarded,
by the Constitution, as having any right to pc.
tition the government except for redress of
grievances" II follows, therefore, that ques
tons which lie beyond the jurisdiction Of Con-
gress, are, for that very reason, not proper sub
jects for the exercise of the right of petition
Many of the abolitionists are not only in favor
of outlawing the institution of slavery, at once,
by an act of Congress, but they also declare their
preference for ian ant-slavery Bible and an
anti-slavery God.' If they were to send pc
ttions to Congress, praying that body to make
such Bible and such a'S;od, they would be guilt
of no greater absurdty than by petitioning
Congress to abolish slavery in the Statcs-be-
cause Congress has no power TO do the thing
prayed for It is nm insult to Congress to send
in a petition praying It to enact law beyond the
scope of its authority; and whenever such a pc
titon is received, the mere act Of reception i'm
plicdly recognizes the right of the petitioners to
send in the petition, and the absence of any
right, on the part of Congress, to refuse to re-
ceive it.
There are many persons, in those portions of
the country where there has been but little rain,
who regard the prevailing drought as great
grievance" as it doubtless is, to them and if
they should petition Congress to redress that
grievance by making an appropriation for their
benefit equal to the value of their crops in ord
nary seasons, the Wig could not deny, without
inconsistency, that they were simply exercising
ga right guaranteed by the Constitution"
The anti-Slavery men insist that Congress may
rightfully lcgislate adversely to our institutions
1t is upon that sole ground that they also insist
upon what they call 1.-THE sacred right of pc
tition." We deny, in toto, the right which they
claim for Congress- and we also deny the right
of petition, exc ept within the scope of the pow
ers conferred upon the government by the Con-
stitution. Southern men, who, in order to de-
fend Mr.. Bell concede the right of petition be-
yond the limit we have specified, are manifcstly
more DESTROYS that their party and their candi-
date should prevail in the election than they
are to avoid political heresy as gross and pal
pablo as any other that was ever preached be-
fore the American people; and we are content to
leave it with our readers to determine whether
we, who arraign Mr.. Bell for voting to receive
abolition petitions, or those who defend that
vote upon the ground that Congress has no
right to refuse to receive a petition from Abo-
litonists," are "demagogueing
Hoax Extraordinary.
"AT meeting of the National Union Execu-
tive Committee of Mississippi in council with