Washington telegraph., 1865-10-04

|
assigned thereby his Acts void and Of no effect
0. in ike manner, tbs powe of the legi stature
sare prescribed in the constitution, and when
ever it attempts 10 pass laws which it has no
authority to pass, they are wholly invalid and
entitled to no respect whatever. This is what
makes the difference between those govern
nents which have written constit utious All
those which have none. The main purpose OF
a written constitution is TO restrain the legisla
;ure from passing arbit sry laws under the
transien. influence of passion, or from temporary
imbecility, or from corrupt motives, which may
wantonly sacrifice the rights and privileges OF
the citizen, and thus destroy that sense of secu-
rity and respect without which any government
must early go to ruin. In order that the consti-
tuition, as the organic law, the very foundation
of the State, may be preserved ~ permane"l
and supreme over all other laws and ins tuition
whatever, all officers are required upon ent-r-
ing on the discharge of their duties to tax al
oath to support that Constitution, which thence
forth becomes their chart ard invioiable rule Of
action. No cath is required that they will obey
the acts of the legislature, for this is the com
mon duty Of the citizen, and the constitutions
laws passed by the legislature, cary with then
them the penalty for trAnsgresson Should ther'
at any time unfor, unstely be collision between
the Constitution and the acts of the legislature,
it becomes the duty Of any officer of the State,
from the highest to tie lowest. to abide by hi
solemn oath and to preserve the constitution i'll
tact. II is the duty of the private citizen TO do
the same, for the constitution. being the fun"a-
m-nta! law Of the land and above all others, and
above ali officers, Governors. legislators an,
courts, through which alone they can caim All
existence, and by the terms of which their Off
csl life must be bounded both as to power aud
as to duration, is dominant over all.
That the Governor of this State is sworn OF
mis- accession to office to support the cossiitu-
ton, and that it is his hgh. most solemn duis
to do so, is true. That the acts OF the lcgisIa
iure at Little Rock whereby they attempted tt
disfrauchise tive thirds of all the people of tn
State, anI to deny them access 10 the courts un
less as criminals. is a most fragrant violation oi
the constitution, well a most foolish anu
mischeivous enactment, tending TO loosen al
the bonds of civil society, and TO bring the gov
ernmcnt into open contempt by the very tok-r
that it denies its protection to the great mas
OF the people. and repels their very applications
ior relief and redress, cannot be denied. Ne
lawyer has ever yet sunk his fame so low as TO
aver them to be constitutional Those who All
vocate their enforcement have never put forth
suy argument basing their validity upon the
constitution. They never will. None but fool
will argue against that which is obvious.
The constitution mas expressly defined who
shall be electors, and in doing SO it confers ex-
pressly upon all persons coming within tina,
definition the right of voting, not for day, noi
until the legislature shall order it otherwisr
but for all time. The supreme court of this
State decided in the case of Hampstead VS.
Watkins. l Eng 3i7. that the constitution hav-
ing defined the jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts
in chancery, it could neither be altered nor
abridged by the Legislature; and 50, IN this
case the Constitution having defined the quail
.fication of electors, their rights cannot be lim-
Ted or restricted by any act which the Legisla
ture may pass.
The Supreme Court Of Tennessee, in the
case of Vanzant v. Waddell, 2 Yerg. 26O, de-
clared that 1.-The idea of people, through their
Representatives, making laws whereby are
swept away the life, liberty, and property of enc
OF fep citizens, i, too sdious to be tolerated an
azy gorerament ,eherc freedom has na~e."
What then shall be said OF law which sweeps
away the most valuable rights Of the great
majority Of the peoplel
Never before in the history OF the world, was
class legislation carried to such a fightful ex-
tent. Men are no longer to be tried according
to such laws as theseJ singly before competent
tribunals, and sngly condemned to such pun
ishment as they may severally deserve, If any.
but they are to be sdjudged, condemned and
punished by one fell edict which destroys the
dearest rights and liberties of thousands; and
these thousands. 50 tar from being allowed the
privilege of the most abandoned felon OF plead
ing his own cause, not expected even to
protest against such q monstrcus piece OF in
justice.
One of the greatest and purest spirits that ev-
er walked the paths of earth and now sleeps in
uti pocohi, Luuionu III spsaklUS Oi
kind OF legislation, left gu record these true
words: Grimes are the acts of individual and
not OF denominations and there fore, Arbitrarily
% class men under general descriptions. in or
der to prescribe ard punish them in the lump
Tor a presumed d,linl is, indeed. com
pendious method, and icaves a world of troubl
about proof; but such a method, instead of be-
ing law, is an at OF unnatural rebellion against
the legal dominion of reason and justice; and
vice III any constitution that cntsrtairs il which
at one tine or other will certainly bring GU its
ruin"
Fortunately this is not part Of our constitu-
ton, but is directly opposed to its letter and its
spnit.
We have said that we have not heard Of any
who assert this law to be constitutional We
understand Governor Murphy only 10 say that
it is constitutional until declared 10 bo other
wise by the couftsl So that according to this
IL