Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-07-07
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
IN THE SOUTH.

The Radicals propose that the pending
amendment to the Constitution be submitted
to Conventions in several Of the Southern
States. An effort was recently made in
Louisiana to recall TO life a small political
convention which met and passed away a
year or two ago, for this purpose. It was a
bad beginning; for, the presiding officer at
that convention refused to sit in the present
case, declaring his opinion that such body
did not exist for any purpose 1t is stated
that in North Carolina and Georgia similar
attempts viii be made; aud it is plainly de-
veloped that any means will be resorted to
to effect the revolutionary purposes of the
Congressional Radicals.
The Constitution provides the only modes
in which it can be ammended One of
these is the proposal by Congress by a two
thirds vote Of each House. The proposition
may be acted upon by the States either
through their Legislatures or Conventions
elected by the people for that purpose; and
when Congresssproposes, it deignates wheth-
er the Legislatures shall act, or Conventions
shall be called for the purpose. Whichever
is prescribed must be uniform, it would
seem, among all the States. In the present
case, Congress chose to refer the proposition
TO the State Legislatures. We should have
vastly preferred its submission to Conyen-
tons elected by the people on the simple
questions presented by the proposed amend
ments. This would hayereferred the matter
to the people, who in all popular
governments ought to be the makers of their
organic laws. But the Congress expressly
referred it to the State Legislatures. We
insist upon that election being observed.
The effort to carry this or any other amend
ment by means Of partisan bushwhacking is
disgusting and not only disgusting, but it
is a threatening step towards mobocratic an
archy, in which lie the greatest Of our
dangers.
Our own Legislature will act upon it but
that body is at present little more than a
political caucus. Some Of its members do
not live at home, while others were not
voted for by a single person in the counties
they pretend to represent. They were
chosen as no similar body in this State was
ever chosen before. By Revolutionary and
violent proceeding they have excluded
about one-ffth of the people Of the State
from participation in the affairs Of their
State government. For such body to act
upon proposed change Of the organic law,
is one Of those ahsurdities which sometimes
occur, bit never justifably, among Eevolu-
tionary coteries and clubs, who by their
threats and intimidation endeavor to rule
communities, and dictate to them constitu-
tons, governments and laws.
That such proceedings violate every prin-
ciple of popular freedom no one Of ordinary
sense and common honesty will deny. The
violation is justified by the pretense that in
doing so they disarm the enemies of liberty.
This assertion assumes that the people are
their own enemies-which is as tenable as
any other Radical proposition that has been
made
The people must look to themselves for
the perpetuation of their rights and liber-
ties-and discard now and forever the false
partisan teachers, who, with professions of
friendship upon their lips, are thrusting the
fatal dagger into the vital principles of free
institutions