The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-21
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IConegponde1cs Of the Nashville Unlon7

Correspondence Of the FeshVle Unon.I
As your paper is medium by which
the means of political information is
/ communicated to the public mind, and
having an extensive circulation, I would
like, by your permission, to offer few
crude thoughts upon the subject Of our
system Of goyernment-styled the
American system Of Popular Liberty
adopted by the American people some
( eighty-odd years since, both as an ex-
/ pedient and an experiment, having Wit
messed and experienced tho dangers
and evils incident to q monarch.caI form
of government
They instituted what we, 10y way Of
distinction, call a republican form Of
/ government. I VIII here remark that
all forms or any form Of government
that has been instituted by man since
| the fall of man, are not only an evil,
but q necessary evil; because man is so
/ constituted that he cannot exist with
out society, as the history Of the world
! proves, neither can society exist with
! out government This necessity grows
out of the weakness Of human nature,
for was every human being strong
enough to protect himself or them
selves against oppression, then govern
ment would, Tor the want Of necessity,
cease to exist, just as if every human
being could exist without food or raj
ment; then labor and industry would
cease from necessity; just if all persons
could enjoy perpetual health; physi-
clans and medicines would cease Of ne
cessity; hence all the systems Of gov
ernment that have been instituted by
man have beon required by necessity.
I think history, observation, and ez-
perienco all conclusively prove that
that system Of government which IS
best adapted to human nature, and the
! present state Of society, and which
grants liberty without icentiousness,
and government without tyranny, IS the
best system as yet devised.
We do not claim perfection for our
present form Of government. Nay, we
think. as the stream cannot rise above
the fountain, so neither can perfection
emanate from imperfection. We think
it IS somewhat defective, both in phi
losophy and organism, but as it is not
material for the patient to fully com
prehend the nature and manner in
which the medicine operates upon his
system to eradicate the disease, so, per
haps, it may not be necessary for me to
give the philosophy Of our American
system of popular government 7 viii,
however, lay down the fundamental
principle upon which our system is
based First, that all power Is inherent
in the people. This may properly be
called sovereign power-the root and
offspring OF all social power This pow
er is transferred or delegated directly
or indirectly through the medium Of
suffrage, as the great body Of the peo-
pie cannot en- ulasse transact its busi-
ness only through certain channels,
called officers. Rather by the officers
who execute or fill those Offices, just os
the natural body has its Offices Of seeing,
hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and
speech, represented by the officers called
eyes, ears, hands, nostrils and lungs
This social power thus delegated through
the right Of suffrage, their frstJusiness
is to guard and provide against the
abuse Of that power.
Thus, in the first place, they prescribe
who may lawfully exercise, and there
by impart this social power. Thus they
say none other than free white men,
and American citizens at that, having
attained the age Of twenty-one years,
and a citizen also Of the State and Of
the county wherein he offers his vote
six months next preceding the day o.
his vote, and that right Of suffrage shall
be exercised in daylight, and that at
certain specified time and place, and
that in presence Of duly sworn officers
of the law, previously appointed. They
are thus protected to guard agains,
force or fraud. Those persons who re.
ceive the greatest portion Of this pow
er from the sovereign people are called .
its officers or agents, whose powers arc (
or should be well defined. The powers /
thus conferred on those agents are Of F.
the same kind or nature as the power
was from those from whom it was de- .
rived, bur different in exteqt. Hence .
this sovereign power finds its way usu- 4
ally, first in conventions, then IN legis-
latures, then in judicial and executive
departments They further provide
that 10 one OF these departments shall
exercise the functions thai legitimately
belong to the o.hcr. The most dan
gerous exercise of this sovereign power,
when delegated, is found in what is
called convention, as they then have
al eorora;y,, ,,ouvar t,lared in II cir