The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1862-10-01

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of the states. had prevdiIed;iberal expendi-
lures had necessi'ated in'erLal taxes,
navy was to be built, the army was increas-
ed, war with France was threatened, and
measures OF repression upon the press and
upon free speech were proposed as we'll as
one Tor the control or expulsion of resident
aliens.
The Democratic creed, being that of the
party of opposition, naturally an,agonized
these measures. and received strong Ten
dency against The policy of Capitalization
| and consolidation of power in the Federal
government And as question of power
in the government must always raise
question oi grant by the Constitution, the
construction and meaning of that instrument
| came into debate The Democracy held
then aud have always held that government
must con6ne itself 10 The jurisdiction clear
lY granted ii-that il must not By str aimed
or loose construction give more extended
meaning TO the grants Of The Constitution
than it's makers intended-in short, that
where a power Is reasonably doubtful, II is
not 10 be exercised.
And in regard TO the powers reallysvested
| in The government, they held that they
were TO be used in good faith for the equal
advantage of the whole people, and TO pro
mote only the particular objecls for which
the government was instituted
They were opposed TO a splendid, costly,
repressive rule, proceeding upon dislrus,
.C a.
lrbu:ing fsvors TO particular classes or in-
Ieres;s 10 conciiaie their support
This was The creed, ever memorable and
glorious, introduced into the administration
OF public affairs under the auspices of Vir-
ginis statesmen al the commencement OF
the present century. How it was honestly
and successfully applied in practice by Mr..
Jefferson tor the eight years oil his admin
isration, history through all time will tests
fy. He swept away all internal lakes
struck from the judiciary eighteen useless
;udges-reiormed the executive depart-
menis and abolished sinecure offices-siop.
ped the persecution of citizens for preien-
ded sedition-res,ored the freedom of the
press-presefved peace with foreign pow
ers uader circumstances of great difficulty +
upon The public debt. The Constitution !
was kept in letter and spirit-iI was subject !
ed 10 no strain-.o no perversion or insult, +
and il was shown that The legitimate aud
unqnesiioued powers of government were /
ample and adequate Tor most vigorous and +
successful administration.
The party of Jefferson yet survives TO de-
fend the Constitution aud 10 oppose all .
forms o: unwarrahled or unjust rule. How /
il has kept the country together and kept it
prosperous aud Tree !or sixty years-how il
has put down innumefsble projects of plum |
der aud wrong and in,erposed The shield of
the Constitution against The passions and /
rapacity OF faction, or of class, whenever
they assailed right or demanded unjust
priyiIege-si known OF all men andlhe re-
cord is sure
But il Is now out of power both in this /
State and in the union, and what is the re-
suit ! We need not panse 10 mention the /
millions sunk within a lew years at Harris /
burg by corruption-the contempt with /
which Republican rapacisy has there set I
aside the constitutional guarantees for the +
extinguishment oil the public debt. All eyes
are turned 10 larger field of observation, +
where greater interests are involved and in |
peril.
The authority of the Constitution of the
United States is now openly defed in Ten
States and threatened in others, and it has
been found necessary 10 raise large armies
and exrend enormous sums of money, ia
orJer 10 restore il. In fact, il is not yet re-
events suppose that much real advancement
had been made Toward its restoration, du-
ring the sixteen or eighteen months that
have elapsed since the war began.
Meantime, the Federal Executive has,
upon many occasions, resorled to measures
of an unusual character, not authorized by
the Constitution and laws, upon the ground
that they were necessary to the public se-
curity-
And in the Congress of the United States,
al the last session, many bills framed in Ut
Ter disregard oil the Constitution were intro-
duced and urged and some whose consti-
was denied, apparently upon
good grounds OF reason and authority, were
enacted into laws.
These things have occurred under the rule
of the Republican party, which came into
power by virtue of the elections of 1860.
In contempt of the warnings of Washing
cn's Farewell Address 10 his countrymen,
--D-..~LI:-,~, -, -, ,,,s fo,ndod hv Mr |
seward, MIR. Lincoln ard others as Sec
ional party, upon the uniounded assump-
ion that there were ;rfeconclabIe cifere1
les between the North and South, leading
o ssifrepfessibIe conflict" and that NEW
,ary was necessary 10 upbold-norhern in
erests and opinions and make them pre-
Iominaul in .he Government. Foiled for a