The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1866-08-29

or upon any grounds whatever. And
in the Seuate, SO careful is the Constitu.
ton to secure to every State this right
Of representation, it is expressly provi-
ded that "no State shall without its CON
sent, be deprived of its equal suffrage
in that body, even by an amendment OF
the Constitution itself. When, therefore,
/ any State is excluded from such repre-
sentation not only is right Of the State
| denied, but the constitutional integrity
of the Senate is impaired, aud tho valid.
| ty of the Government itself Is brought
In question. But Congress at the pres.
ent moment thus excludes from repre-
sentation, in both branches Of Congress,
ten States OF the Union, denying them
all share In the enactment Of laws by
which they are to be governed, and all
participation in the election OF rulers by
which those laws are TO be enforced.
! In other words, a Congress in which
only twenty. six States are represented
asserts the right to govern, absolutely
and in its own discretion, all tho thirty
six States which compose the Union.
to make their laws and choose their ru.
lcrs, and to exclude the other ten from
all share in their own government nuti
it sees fit to admit them thereto. What
is there to distinguish the power thus
asserted and exercised from The most ab
solutc and intolerable tyranny?
ExTRAvAGANr CLAIMS OF CONGRESS.
Nor do these eXtravigant and unjust
claims on the part of Congress TO powers
and authority never conferred upon the
Government by the Constitution, fDd
any warrant in the arguments or excuses
urged on their behalf 1t is alleged,
First. That these States, by the act Of
rebellion and by voluntarily withdraw
ing their members from Congress, for,
leited their right to Representations aud
that they can only receive it again a,
The hands OF the supreme legislative au.
thority of the Government, on its own
terms and at its own discretion. IF rep
rrscn. alton in Congress and participation
in the Government were simply privil
eges conferred and held by favor, This
statement might have the merit OF plausi.
hility. But representation is under the
Constitution not only expressly rccoglli.
zcd as right, but is imposed as duty !;
and it is essential in both respects to the
existence of the Government and 10 tho
maintenance ofis authority. In free
Governments fundamental and essential
rights cannot be forfeited, except against
individuals by the process Of law nor
can constitutional duties and obligations
be discarded and laid aside. The en-
joymcut Of rights may be for the time
suspended by tho failure 10 claim them,
and duties may be evadcd by the refusal
to perform them. The Withdrawal Of
their members from Congress bv the
States which resisted the General Gov
ernmcut was amoug their acIs Of insnr-
rection was one Of the means and agcn.
ces by which they sought to impair the
authority and defeat the action Of the
Government; and that act was annullcd
and rendered void when the nsurrection
itself was suppressed Neither the right
of representation nor the duty to be rep
resented was in the least impaired by
the fact Of insurrection but it may have
been that by reason Of the insurrection
tho conditions on which the enjoyment
Of that right and the performance Of that
duty for tho time dcpendcd could not be
fulfilled. This was, in fact, the case
An insurgent power, in the exercise of
the usurped and unlawful authority in
the territory under its control, had pro-
hibtcd that allegiance to the Constitu.
ton and laws ofthc United States which
is made by that fundamental law the
essential condition of representation in
its Government. No man within the
insurgcnt States was allowed to take
the oath to support the Constitution Of
the United States, and, as q necessary
consequences, no man can lawfully rep.
resent those States in the councils OF the
Union. But this was only an obstacle
to the employment of the right and to
the discharge Of duty-it did not annul
the one nor abrogatc the other and it
ceased to exist when the usnrpaton by
which it was created had been over
thrown, and the States had again re-
sumed their allegiance to the Constitu.
tion Of the United States.
Second: But it is asserted, in sup.
port Of the authority claimed by the
Congress now in possession of power,
that it flows directly from the laws of
war; that it is among tho rights which
victorious war always confers upon the
conquerors, and which tho conqueror
may exercise or waive in his own dis
crction. TO this we reply that the laws
in question relate solely, so far as the
rights they confer are concerned, to
wars waged between alien and indepcn
dent nations, and can have no place or
force, in this regard, in a war waged by
q government to suppress an insnrrec-
ton of ssits own people, upon its own
soil, against its authority. If we had
carried on successful war against any
foreign nation, we might thereby have
acquired possession and jurisdiction over
the soil of the Southern States, limit
ed only by our own Constitution.
Our laws were the only national laws
in force upon it. Tho Government of
the United States was the only Gov
ernmcnt through which those States
o,,I tl,o;, ~ooo,jo l,o,l ,nl,+;ou, ,y;tI,