The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-10-31


| Let them relate to what department Of govern
ment they may. OF to what domestic or local
| interest, will be equally open to criticism,
Interpretation, and adjudication by the ted
eral tribunals, whose judgements and de-
crees will be supreme, and will override the
decisions of the state courts, and leave them
utterly powerless.
The federal judiciary has jurisdiction of
all questions arising under the constitution
and laws of the United States and by virtue
of this new provision, if adopted, every mat
of judicial investigation, OWL or criminal
however insignificant, may be drawn into the
vortex of the federal judiciary. In a contro-
versy between two neighbors about the own
ership of pig the unsuccessful party may
slege that the state tribunals have deprived
him of his property without due process of
law, and take the case before the federal trl-
bunals for revision. So if a man be indicted
for larcency, or other crime, convicted and
| sentenced, upon allegation OF deprivation of
liberty without due process OF law, he may
bring the case before the federal tribunals for
revision and reversal. So, to, if murderer
be arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to
be hanged, he may claim the protection of
the new constitutional provision-allege that
a state is about to deprive him of life without
due process of law, and arrest ell further pro
ceedings until the federal government shall
have inquired whether o state has right to
punish its own citizens for an infracton of
its own laws, and have granted permission to
the state tribunals to proceed.
Under such a system the liberties of the
people could not long be maintained. As al
| ready remarked, free government can be pre-
| served only by keeping the power near the
people, to be exercised through local agencies.
| Under this new system state and local auth
L of
some time they would contest jurisdiction
with the federal government; but the newt
able and constantly increasing tendency
would be for the control of domestic affairs to
steal away from the people, the states, and
| local municipal bodies, and centralize and
| concentrate In the hands of the federal gov
| ernment and as party conflicts intensified,
| and party victories alternated, the power
| would be more and more inexorably used by
the dominant party to punish its enemies, re.
ward it's friends, and strengthen and perpetu-
ate its hold upon the power and patronage of
the government.
I Be assured, if this new provision is engraft-
ed in the constitution, it will In time change
the entire structure and texture of our gov
eminent, and sweep away all the guarantees
of safety devised and provided by our patriot
/ 10 slres of the revolution. 1t is impossible TO
| maintain our wise and happy form of govern
ment without preserving the independence
and sovereignty of the states within their ap-
! propriate and constitutional spheres. They
| are of primary and vital Importance. The
states may exist and perform all their func-
/ tl0ns without the Union or the federal govern
| ment the Union and the federal governm ent
| cannot exist without the states. And they
must be states of equality-equal in dignity
equal in power-equal in the control, abso-
lutte and unconditional of all things pertain
ing to their internal and local policy and in
terests.
Another blow which the proposed amend
| ment aims at the government which our faith
ers founded is IN the change of the basis of
/ representation. This would be Of very
| psrniclous effect Aggregate population is
| the true basis of reprsser tation. No matter
| how the elective franchise be disposed of
| whether exercised by few or many, all elias
| ses of the community are represented. The
| interests of all classes of people in the same
| community are so interviewer and Comming-
/ led that they cannot be separated, and who
| ever yields she representative power must
| do it for the good or i'll of all-perhaps not
precisely In the same degree, but he cannot
use 1t 50 as largely to benefit one class with
| out to some extent beneftting all, or to injure
| and Cypress one class without, to greater
or less extent, in uring and expressing ALL
/ There are always, even in this country.
where the right of suffrage is most widely
| extended large numbers who do not vote at
| all, whose interests, nevertheless, are cared
tor, and whose numbers, being computed in
the apportionment of representation, widen
the foundations of the representative assem-
biies. Such are all persons under Il years
of age, females of all ages. and unnsturaliz-
/ ed foreigners. Why are they not permitted
| to vote? And not being permitted, why are
| they counted in fixing the ratio of represen-
tation? They are not allowed to vote, be-
cause they are not supposed to be sufficiently
| instructed in political economy and govern
mental affairs to be entrusted with the cleo
| tive franchise. They are computed in fixing
the ratio because they are part of the same
community with those who do vote, having
interests in common with them and their
influence ought to be felt in shaping the laws
by which their rights of life, liberty, and
property are TO be determined. And al
though they do not vote, their influence is
felt and their interests are cared for, precise
~ because they are counted IN fixing she re-
latIVe weight of the communities to which
they belong IN the legislative assemblies, ell
though their voices are not directly heard
IN determining who shall represent them,
1t Is not true, a. is constantly alleged
that the relative strength of the states which
were IN rebellion viii be increased by the
result OF the war 1t they are now allowed rep
resentaton IN the national council The
present ratio of represen tation is adjusted by
the census of 1860, and cannot be changed
until after the census of 1870. Till that
time, therefore, the relative strength of our
country must remain precisely es it was I'M
der the census of 1860. After the census of
1870 the positive and relative strength of the
southern states in congress and the electoral
college will both be diminished. even If the
non-voting black population be included in
the basis. In 1860 three fifths of all the
black population of the southern states was
counted. The census Of 1870 will show the
whole ofthe nou-voting biaok population to
be less than the three-ffths of 1860
Nor is it true that "a vote in the south will
outweigh a vote IN the nnrth, if the mon vot
ing population be included in the basis of
representation. If the proposed amendment
be adopted, oil the nUn-voting black popula-
ton of the south will be excluded, while all
the non-voting, unnaturalized foreign popu-
lation of the north will he counted The
great prepanderanoe of unnaturalized, and
consequently non voting foreigners, Ia in
northern and northwestern states. They
and their families number hundreds of thous-