Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1866-03-12
SIGNIFICANT SUGGESTION.

Let him that thinketh he stand, taxi
heed, lest he fall, is warning applica
BILE now, not less than when it came frs
from the lips of inspiration. 1t is eau
ton to pride, and a menace to ambition
There is no plot so ingeniously contrived
that it may not be dissected, and no
power so secure that it may not be over
come. There is in all Wanted strength
an element of weakness, as there is in the
blossom of health, the germ of dissolu-
ton. And it will turn out that the Con-
gress of the United States, so naughty,
so implacable, and so sure of its power,
will come to understand that it is not
omnipotent The elections are to come
on in the summer and autumn and many
members are to hear the verdict of the
people pronounced upon their official
conduct Legislatures are to be elected,
and Senators are to hear from them,
either in accents of approval, or tones Of
condemnation. Nor are Senators quite
sure that the days of their power are not
numbered while they yet occupy their
seats. Ni1
Mr. DAVIS, Senator from Kentucky,
has created quite sensation in Wash
ington by announcing in the Senate that
" the Southern Senators and those who |
are in favor of securing them seats in the
Senate, constitute majority of the whole
number Of Senators, and that if these
two were united, the President could /
communicate with them, and that she
would advise him to do it tomorrow
He would sooner trust the Southern SEN
ators as the friends of the country than
those who were keeping them out"
This is bold declaration to be made
in the capitol of the country, and in the
midst Of such fearful spirits as SUMNER
and STEVENS. But it was made, and the
heavens have not been overcast with
darkness, nor the earth rocked with the
rough and tumble play of earthquakes.
1t looks as if DAVIS put himself in great
peril by sentiments so disloyal and revo-
lutionary; but, so far as we are permitted
to be informed, he still lives We are
not prepared to discuss the merits of
the proposition, nor TO anticipate the
views of the President There may or
may not be something in it, but it pos
sesses at least the merit of novelty.
Without indorsing or condemning the
views of the Cincinnati Enquirer upon
this subject, we submit them TO our
readers:
This time certainly Mr. DAVIS took the
Republican bull by the horns. If one ,
body composed of only part of the
whole number Of Senators can resolve
itself into constitutional body, why not
another? The mere possession of the {
hall where legislation is to be DONE does !
not constitute legal legislature. 1.-THE
Senate of the United States" according
to the Constitution shall be composed |
OF two Senators from each State" For V
Senators voluntarily to remain absent
from their seats, may not vitiate the Con-
stitutional authority of those who re-
main, but when factious part employs
force to keep out another part, it effec-
tually sophisticates itself There is, at
present, no Constitutional Senate of the
United States-no Constitutional House
of Representatives. a
The position taken by the President of o
the T. s in respect 10 the rights of a
Senators and Representatives is undoubt- q
edly correct He held that none but LOYAL
men were entitled to seats in Congress,
and that the sole test Of loyalty is will p
llngness to swear to support the Copsti- Il
tuition. A body which assemblies itself ;,
and sets mp test of membership unknwn y
to the Constitution is not constitutional h
body. The laws which it enacts are not a
statutes Its resolutions are no more n
binding than a mass meeting.
An assemblage of Senators from the q
Southern States, organized according TO So
the Constitution, and opening its doors Sc
10 all whose credentials are legally au-
and who are willing 10 swear
TO support the Constitution, would pos
sess claims to legitimacy superior TO that
which now sits at the Capitol And il Is
IS not easy to see upon what pretense s
the President could refuse to communi- q
cate with IT. Such body would consti- =,
tute basis upon which a full Senate L
could be assembled, and would, in the st
face Of the country, fix the blame of the nj
present unconstitutional condition where >.
1t belongs 1t would possess this superb y
GRITTY that its members are DESTROYS 10 Ell
give the country Constitutional lecisla- X
ture, and are only prevented from so do W
ing by the illegal force of body of de- >,
strnctives. oil
FENIAN EXCITEMENT