The Elk advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Elk Co., Pa.) 186?-1868, 1866-08-30

OuuSJlIuJlOu 10 secure 10 every CJaJG
this right of representation, it is ex-
pressly provided that /" no State shall,
without its consent, be deprived of its
equal suffrage in that body, even by
an amendment of the Constitution
itself When, therefore, any State is
excluded fiom such representation, not
only is right Of the State denied, but
the constitutional integrity of the Sen
ate is impaired, and the validity of the
government itself is brought in ques
ton. But Congress at the present mo-
ment thus excludes from representation
in both branches of Congress, ten States
of the Union, denying them all share
in the enactment oflaws by which they
are to be governed, and all participation
in the election Of the rules by which
those laws are to be enforced. In 9TH
er words, Congress in which only
twenty'six States arc represented, as
serts the right to govern, absolutely and
in its own discretion, all the thirty.six
States which compose the Union to
make their laws and choose their rulers,
and to exclude the other ten from all
share in their own government until it
sees fit to admit them thereto. What
is there to distinguish the power thus
asserted and exercised from the most
absolute and intolerable tyranny?
Nor do these extravagant und un.
just claims on the part of Congress to
powers and authority never conferred
upon the government 10y the Constitu.
ton find 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 with.
drawing their members from Congress,
forfeited their right of representation,
and that they can only receive it again
at the hands of the supreme legislative
authority Of the government, on its own
terms and at its own discretion. If
representation in Congress and partici
patton in the government were simply
privileges conferred and held by favor,
this statement might have the merit of
plausibility. But representation is un.
der the Constitution not only expressly
recognized as right, but it is imposed
as duty ; and it is essential in both as
poets to the existence Of the government
and to the maintenance of its authority.
In free governments fundamental and
essential rights cannot be forfeited, ex-
cept against individuals by due process
of law nor can Constitutional duties
and obligations be discarded or laid
aside. The enjoyment of rights may
be for time suspended by the failure
to claim them, and duties may be eva.
ded by the refusal to perform them.
The withdrawal of all their members
from Congress by the States which re-
sisted the general government was
among their acts Of insurrection-was
one Of the means and agencies by which
they sought to impair their authority
and defeat the action of the government !;
and that act was annulled aud rendered
void when the insurrection itself was
suppressed. Neither the right of rep
resentation nor the duty to be represon-
ted was in the least impaired by the
fact of insurrection but it may have
been that by reason of the instruction
the conditions on which the enjoyment
of that right and the performance of
that duty for the time depended could
not be fulfilled. This Was, in iact, the
case. An insurgent power, in the exer-
else of usurped and unlawful authority
in the territory under its control, had
prohibited that allegiance to the Consti
tuition and the laws of the United States
which is made by that fundamental law
the essential condition Of representation
in its government. No man within the
insurgent States was allowed to take the
oath to support the Constitution Of the
United States, and as necessary conse.
quence, no man could lawfully represent
those States in the councils of the Union.
But this was only an obstacle to the en-
joyment of fthe right and to the discharge
of a duty-it did not aunul the one nor
abrogate the other; and it ceased to ex-
ist when the usurpation by which it was
created had been overthrOwn, and the
states had again resumed their allegi-
ance to the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
Second. But it is asserted in support
of the authority claimed by the Congress
now in the possession of power, that it
flows directly from the laws of war;
that it is among the rights which victo-
rious war always confers upon the con.
querors, and which the conqueror may
exercise or waive in his own discretion.
To this we reply, that the laws in ques-
ton relate solely, so far as the rights
they confer are concerned, to wars wag-
ed between alien and independent ma
tions, and can have 20 place or force, in
this regard, IN war waged by gov.
ernment to suppress an insurrection of
its own people, upon its own soil against
its authority, If we had carried on
successful war against any foreign ma
ton, we might thereby have acquired