New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-16
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDmENG.

gence of the country. They perceive very plainly
that their doctrine of State suicide is not recon-
eilable with the idea of any right on the part of
the deceased States to pass upon constitutional
amendments. None are more versed than they
in verbal subHetes and none are more skillEul in
deducing vigorously logical conclusions from
assumed or admitted premises. 1t was, there
fore, scarcely conceivable that they would permit
themselves to be eruoifed on the reduotio ud
dbSaUdanl.
We have on several occasions pointed out this
necessity of the Republican doctrine, and we have
believed that they would boldly accept it, rather
than to leave defenseless point in their logical
rampant, Hence we find Mr.. Stevens, the
acknowledged leader of the so-called U. S. House
of Representatives declaring, in speech on the
report of the Reconstruction Committee, that no
State not in the Union " was to be counted in
the question of ratification. He moreover stated
that, "on a careful survey of the whole
| ground, the committee had come to the CON
clusion that the Union consists of twenty
six States, and that, therefore, the rati
fcation of nineteen Of these twenty-six would suf
fee to give validity to the proposed amendments
This is certainly an important feature in the
scheme of the committee, and it ulfls the logical
requirements of their doctrine completely as is
| possible in the nature Of the case. But there is
still some inconsistency which cannotbe remedied,
When Mr.. Stevens spoke Of States in the Union,
his expression involved the oorrelatiYe idea Of
States out of the Union. But States out of the
Union are unknown in our system. They cannot
exist as such. Even the territorial organizations
which were evolved from the necessities Of events,
were not contemplated by the Constitution. States
out of the Union are not States at all. They can
have no relations with the Federal government
except international relations. They are separate
and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. Otherwise they must
be dependent and subject provinces, and thence
not States at all Up to this point the radical theory
is consistent, but here it fail It is easy enough to
prove that States not in the Union ought not to be
represented inCongress. 1t was justas easy forthe
orthodox astronomers Of the sixteenth century to
prove that the same stars go round the earth, by
simply assuming the earth to be immovable in the
center of the universe. 1t would be quite as easy
too, TO prove that man continuing to travel in
any direction would finally come to the
edge of the world and fall off into
space. but we should FIRST have to admit that the
world is fat like pancake. In the same way the
Republicans show eonclusiyely that the people of
the South ought all to be hung or at least disran
clsised BY means Of the simple sylogisn- criminals
oughtto be hung traitors ought to be disfranchsed
The people of the South are all criminals and trail
tors; consequently the people of the South ought
all be hung or disfranchised The difficulty in all
these cases lies in the fallaoy of the first term of
the syllogism. Tt would be quite as difficult to
prove that the Southern States have committed
political hari- kar5 or that the Southern people are
criminals and traitors, as to show that the earth
stands fixed inspace, or that it is fat like pan
cake.
On the other hand, if the Republicans are right,
then the ratification Of nineteen so.caled loyal
give validity to the Contemplated amend
ments But the President maintains that they are
notright. He declares that the Southern States
are IN the Union now as much as ever, and he is |
not perplexed BY the necessity Of proving his
point He has always maintained this position
and one time in concert with the whole Republican
party as the basis on which the war for
TIE Union was waged; and now, in company
with all the people Of the South and Of the
Northern Democratic party. When he asks
Il the ordinances Of secession Terminated
the constitutional relations Of the late
Confederate States with the Federal government,
he is answered very emphaticaly in the negative.
When he asks if the act Of war put an end to the I
Unon, he is to told that the war was a rebellion I
ana hence that the legal and constitutional duties
Of the Southern States and of Southern citizens
were not impaired by it. When he requires to be
informed at whatprscise point Of time the South
ern States got cut Of the Union, he gets no salts
faction, except a Federation of the proposition.
Hence his positionis far more consistent, far more
ogical, far more reasonable than that Of the Re-
publicans. And hence, likewise, he win never
recognize the right Of nineteen States to make
! Constitution for thirty-six States
The issue is thus to be broadly and distinctly
made, and it is an issue which admits Of none Of
he ordinary modes of settlement In such a
natter there can be no common arbiter What
hen will be the result2 Who can say, unless the
ounty be saved by the returning moderation,
rood sense and justice of the Northern masses,
7t,-
a REPUBLICAN, DE1TY.-The radicals have found
deity. They have discovered that the Emperor
+ Russia is fitting object of Republican worshipI
When Roman Emperor happened to escape
the Senators used to meet, tender
i'm vote of of congratulation, elevate him from
ne Imperial dignity to place among the gods,
pp0int the necessary priests to superintend his
-orship, and retire to their homes to feast on
lrbot and peaoock's brains. 1t was a charming
istom that Of converting Calignia or a Nero
to an olympian deity it is equally charming to
e the case with which a Russian despot is
langed into a Republican god. The power of
has evidently descended from the
oman Senate TO the American Congress and the
1t of apotheosis emanating as naturally from
Q cushioned chair of the Congressman as
I'M the curule seat of the Senator. Since Messrs.
syens and Summer have volunteered as priests {
the new worship, we may anticipate that an I
win soon be made to set up statue t
Alexander in the rotunda Of the capitol, and !
alto deny the intense repuhlicanism and othodox :
eralism Of the despotio Gear, will be denounced ?
heresy and visited with the penalty of " dis p
palty.n a
Notlong ago it was stated that Alexander II, En-
ror Of Russia, had narrowly escaped assassina- Il
N. No sooner did the rumor of this fact reach Il
gaping ears of the two radical chieftatns than ii
ey introduced, into the Senate and the other Ia
% the House, resolutions Of congratulation on Il
G fortunate preservation Of the imperial ally Of ii
pnblleanism Mr.. Sumner declared that the il
nperor was the very type and incarnation Of p
ideal radical. He maintained that the te
assassination was the result q