The Portland daily press., 1865-10-05
, TIE. ALABAMA ooNsr1TUT1oN.

for Congress to determine, at its approaching
session, precisely its line Of duty in view OF
the action of The Alabama Constitution CON
vention. According to late dispatches nolA
Montgomery, that convention, a ia heco"p'V'''
has refused to submit its work 70 PopuiaA
vote Of the people for their approval or fs'ec-
ton. -
II is to he horne in mind that the usual plea
far S,,cb rel;,sai cannot be put in. Aconsti-
.t,ot, has not been changed or remodclled, IN
eoaforaitg to its O,on provisions. The con-
stitution of every state prescribes the mode OF
its own amendment. But in the South this
prescription is not followed On the contra
ny, a Provisional Governor, appointed by the
President, by virtue Of his military authority
as COMMANDMENTS Chief, calls a convention
entirely out of course, and this convention
Z like the Governor, entirely unknown eitner 70
the national or state constitution, undertakes
to create fundamental Jasc in relation to
which the people to be governed BY it have no
voicel The whole thing is the offspring Of
MILITARY po,oer. We submit whether con-
stitution thus created, and thus proposed to be
! forced upon the people Of a state without
their consent, should be sanctioned by Con-
gress, BY acknowledging the delegates elected
and sent to Washington under the authority
ofsuch military Instrument ? By sanction
ing such proceeding can Congress fulfil that
high prerogative imposed upon the United
States by the Constitution, Of guaranteeing to
every state inthis Union republican form of
government u
1t is to be remembered that the Montgom-
cry Convention had to deal with no mere YER
baliehanges in an existing constitution, for the
overthrow of the rebellion and the downfall
Of the Confederate government, had left the
state without constitution. True, there was
an instrument called constitution, but 1t was
spoke in the Confederate wheel, and was no
part or parcel of any state in harmony with
the Union government of the nation. To say
it was the constitution Of .disenthralled, loyal
Alabama, is an insult to the common intelli-
gence Of the American people. -
~ The convention, therefore, when it assem-
bled, had before. it no constitution to amend.
1t had only the defnnct rebel constitution.
This it might OF might not make the basis for
a new instrument The members saw fit to
so consider IL, and went to work and changed
it in divers important and vital respects, but
if they had. chaneedit only verbally so as to
make it conform and be subordinate to the
federal constitutions lit would still have been,
not an amended, but neU constitution, Just.
as much as if every sentence and word had
been changed,--just as much new constitu-
ton as it would be for the people Of terri
tory to take the constitution of an old state
and work it' over to suit theirown wants and
purposes. ib--si saab
The instrument is not an amended one, but
anew one, inasnluch as not syllable or letter
Of It was or could be made vital except by (
the new Power brought to bear upon it.
Such is the constitution framed by the Ala
bama Convention out Of the dead and defunct
constitution of the rebel regime and this, it is
proposed to force upon the people without al /.
lowing them to say whether they approve or
disapprove, and yet 1T is a fundamental doe
trine of republcanism and of democracy that
governments derive all their legitimate pow
ers from the consent Of the governed.
Thus we are to have the Kansas-Lecomp-
ton question-which killed Buchanan tried
on in Alabama Wesincerely trust that Con-
gress may set its face against such an out
rage upon popular rights, and refuse seat in
either House to any man from Alabama until
the constitution under which he claims to
come there shall have been fairly submitted to
the people, and by them shall have been dis
tinetly approved. Let right prevail, though
the heavens fall : but there can be no right in
usurpation, or in such use of military power
as shall prescribe the fundamental law Of
free people.
We are aware that the plea may be put in
that if submitted to popular vote, the pro-
gressive propositions in that new constitution
would be voted down that the convention is
In advance Of the people in loyalty, and in dis
position to conform their state to the demands
of the times. This may be true, and the pre-
sumption Of such truth may be the very rea-
son why the convention has refused to submit
its work to the approval or disapprovaI of
popular vote But how does this affect the
question of principle involved I? Are we to
force State constitutions upon unwilling
peoples Wefought against such an outrage
at the time it was attempted to force an often
siye constitution upon the people of Kansas,
and we see no reason why we should not con-
tinue to oppose such an assumption of arbitra-
rys power now. 3.
Grant that the people Of Alabama would re-
fuse to endorse the new constitution; that they
are opposed to abolishing slavery; that they
are opposed to securing to the freedmen those
rights and privileges provided for in this CON-
stitution, what does it prove, except that then
are not get fit to be trusted Nth cisil poaver
Is it right to confer state privileges upon an
unpreparad people ? Is there safety in put
ting people under a constitution which in
their hearts they cannot, and in their acts win
not support Is that a safe rule Of arecon--
struction" p Is it not. better that such peo-
ple--thGse who are enemies of the Union, OPP
posed! to lberty,il love with, secession, and
ready to trample upon the flag If they dared
to DO st--shculd remain Under military rule,
and not be invested with power to do mis-
chiefs The moment the state is but IN opera
HON under me new constitution, the people,
being opposed to it, may, and probably s,in
change that constitution, abolish its benef-
cent provisions toward the negro freedmen or
even re-establish slavery and re-ensIave tboso
who have been made free,--and we would Ink, 2
for any person, particularly a State Rights
Democrat, to point out the power in the gen.
eral government to interfere and prevent such
condition of things. -,
The truth is, the only safety is in having the
people, freely and of their own accord, adopt
such constitution as they are prepared to
live under and support, and until they are pre-
pared to adopt such a constitution as har1no-
mes with the general government and its re-
gulreiaents, to abolish slavery and make free