Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-01-26
8eoforo ynqaular.
GUARANTEEING A REPUBEECAN FORM
OF Gs0TER%MENT.


In discussing the momentous question Of
reconstruction, notonly the people, at large,
but alsp the President and many members
of Congress appeared to be at a loss TO find
some safe ard substantial starting .pcints
upon which to build their theories and ar
guments. There appears to us to be no safer
ground on which to base all our logic and
argument than the Constitution itself. Ar
ticle Nv, Section of the Constitution of.
the United States reads thus The United
States shall guaranty to every State in this
Unien republican form of government
Webster defines aTepublic to be A State
in which the exercise of the sovereign pow
eris lodged in representatives elected by
hepeople Here would seem to be a sol
id constitutional foundation on which to-
build. The only question to be decided is,
who are ''tks people" of state? This de-
cided the course is clear, and no State can.
be admitted to the deliberations of Congress
nor permitted to enact laws for its own peo-
pie, except it adopts republican form Of
government Now Webster neither says
the losite people nor the black people but
THE PEOPLE, which, taken in its most obvious
and comprehensive sense, means the whole
people, or the free. adult, male population
of a State But we are not left to specula
tion to determinethe meaning of the phrase
s'tlle people It occurs frequently in the
old articles eff Confederation, as wen as,
in the present New Constitution In the
Journal of the Congress of the Confedera-
ton we learn that the fourth of the Articles
of Confederation, being under discussion,
which runs thus the free inhabitants of
each of these States shall be entitled to all
privileges and immunities of free citizens in
the several States The delegates from,
that Judas among States, South Carolina,
moved to insert white between the words,
free inhabitants, eleven States voted on
the question, two, of which South Carolina
was one, voted for it, one was divided, and
eight voted unanimously against it. Thus
early and emphatically was the distinction
between freemen rebuked. This is the most
satisfactory evidence that this question of
distinction was not overlooked; and it was
deemed so emphatically settled that nine
years later, at the adoption of the new Con
stitution, by the Convention, in which were
a large proportion of the former members of
the Congress that adopted the articles Of
Confederation, it was not thought nee
essary then to define the meaning of the
phrase the people IF even this positive
evidence we're wanting wewould have 9TH
er scarcely less positive in the fact, that at
the adoption of the New Constitution in
1887, South Carolina was the only State,
of the thirteen ratifying it, in whose
Constitution the odious distinction was
found. The veriest simpleton would
not pretend to argue that twelve, of the
thirteen states then comprising the Union,
a had consented to a distinction in the ma
tional constitution, which they did not per
NIT in their own, and which was so rerug-
nant to the then existing idea of repnbli-
can government. The leprosy that then
was only visible in South Carolina extended
itself insidiously, until it had wen nigh
wrought the death of the nation. Happily
that calamity has been averted. But many
evidences of the effects of the eontagion still
remain. There are few even Of the loyal
States that would now bear this CON
stitutional test oftheir republicanisln. But
their infractions of the strict letter with
the exception of Delaware, Maryland and
Kentucky are trifing compared with the
States lately in rebellion. They have for
feited no right by rebellion, and are fasi
reforming their previous anti-republican ten
denotes, and may be safely left to take CARE
ofthemselyes. But now is most certainly
as favorable an opportunity as we will evel
have of guaranteeing to the States lately
in rebellion their constitutional right to ;
republican form of government Two third.
of the people ofSouth Carolina, more thar
half of the people of Mississippi, about hah
those of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and
Florida, one third of the people of North
Carolina, and one fourth of those of Ten
nessee and Arkansas have never had voiet
in the government of their respective states
In other words, those states have never hat
republican form of government. Surely
it is high time, the United States SHOULD
guarantee tothem this Constitutional rigb
and not permit them to return to their plac,
in the Union without it.
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