The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-04-27
4ithmond 1ispattln
FRIDAY, APRIL 81, 1866.
IL this n Free Government or n Dcs-
nOtiAm

Nothing has been more surprising to us
than what has seemed to he the utter blind
ness of many honest, wcll-mcaning, SenSi-
Die men in the North to the present condi-
ton of the people of the Southern States,
not to include those of the entire Union.
While il has seemed To Us to he an evi-
dent fact that a Republican form of govern
mcnt docs not exist in the United States al
present, for the simple reason that, III the
language of Mr.. JEFFERSON, "all Govern
"mcnts derive their just powers from the
" consent of the govcrncd,' and the
Southern people have never consented to
be governed by the North alone, but 10y 4
Congress composed Of members elected
from both North and South, we have seen
conscientious friends of free government
in the Northern States advocating mca-
>nrcs which could bc justified on no other
plea than that deSpotic rule is best. 1t Is
with pleasure, therefore, that we read in
the New York TnReS--So hight favor with
Mr.. SEWARD and Mr.. JoHNSoN-thc follow
inc excellent remarks upon this very point {:
"If there is ANYTHING fundamental in
free institutions, it is the principle that
all States amd all people that are required
la obey the laws, shall be represented IN
the Congress which makes them. \ Go
vcrumcnt which denies or diScardS tins
principle i> Il d,NpotiS1a-wc care not what
NAV hr its form, nor under what prcteNt IL
may cloak its tyranny. Unless this Is true,
then the whole theory of free institutions,
of self government, of representative Re
puhlc>, is cheat and sham.
The rebel States contain some ten
millions of people. They belong to ma
ton proir>Scdly Republic, governed 10y i
written Constitution, which secures 10 all
who are required to obey its laws and pay
It's taxes the right of representation. Pos
>hly ii was a mistake to adopt such Con-
>titutiou or to engratt such principle upon
il. Possibly it would have been better, at
the outset il we had provided that nobody
should hc represented in Congress except
New England, or the western States, or the
northern States. or States that had never
rcbcllcd, or such States rs Congress might
designate. Such theory "i government
has always had its advocates. Generally,
those who h0ce the power are OF OPINION
that the country would be Il good deal
better or il nobody else were ever per
mittcd To Share it. Louis Napoleon thinks
that he can rule France Il great deal better
than the French people could through re-
prc>cntativcS. The English Tories are
quite confident that England is Il great deal
better oil than il would he il more OF her
people were admitted Ia representation,
We are not surprised, therefore, to find the
same theories OF government cropping out
here and there in our own Republic. II i
perfectly natural that when twenty-five
States find themselves in possession Of the
whole power OF the nation, many men
among them should think the country a
great deal better Off than if the other
eleven were admitted to share it,
but certainly no man of Intelligence
can dcludc himself into the belief that this
theory is in harmony with the Fundamental
principles OF our Government. or fail t"
see that it strikes dcath-bl"w At the fun
damcntal principle of all rcprc>rntatiV"
government of whatever FORM"