The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-11
Is There a National Congress 2

From the Daily NeUs.
The President has declared the Civil Rights
bill to be unnecessary, inexpedient, and un-
constitutional. 1t is bill the provisions of
which chiefly affect the interests of people
and of States unrepresented in the National
Legislature. The parties most concerned
had no voice in the consideration of the bill;
no opportunity of discussing the doctrines
upon which it is based; no privilege of placing
upon official record their arguments, their
protest, or their votes against its passage. 1t
is legislative measure, involving change In
the very organic law of the Republic, creating
determinations between classes aud colors
under the pretense OF removing them, and
furnishing 1ood tor bitterness and strife be-
tween the white and black elements of our
population. 1t necessarily increases, beyond,
all bounds of reason or safety the extent of an
ali eady enormous Federal patronage, with all
the attending evils of excessive expenditure and
wide fields for partisan intrigue and corruption.
The innumerable stipendiaries thus established
throughout the land, Obedlent, of course to the
nod OF their employers, would in turn, exercise
a kind OF patriarchal control over the shitless
1ndolent, and doclle creatures placed under their
especial guardianship. The negroes, TO con-
ciliate their patrons, would embrace any polti-
cal doctrine suggested to them by the party
that held the purse.strngs and the power, and
faction would be lncessantly at work to convert
those thousands of stipendiares and those mil.
lions of their proteees into agents OF their
ambition.
The President appreciates the evils threatened
by the passage of this bill. He has set forth his
objections with an emphasis that demonstrates
an unqualified and irTevocable hostility to the
measure thus proposed. He has shown that he
is conscious OF the pernicious consequences of
the execution of such an act, and should he be
called upon to execute it, he must do so in
defiance of his convictions Of its unconsutution-
ality, and of results that he knows will be pre-
f1afto 10 fhai infn Of fhn npIa dan
gerous to the safety of the political system.
Under these circumstances, can 'he conscen-
tously exercise the executive authority in car
rying out the provisions of the bill 1t will
be claimed by the radicals that he has no
choice; that in the regular fulhment OF his
official functions he must execute the laws
passed by the National Legislature. But what
If he should consider that the assemblage that
passed the Civil Rights bill did not constitute,
consttutonally, a National Legislature? Is the
| Executive bound to execute the will OF an assem-
blage OF usurpers, or 10 carry out the unconsti-
! tutional measures of an unconstitutional legis-
| latlYe body? If Mr. Johnson is convinced that
| the Federal Congress is not complete, that there
Is some defect in its essence that renders it in
capable OF legislatng in accordance with the
provisions OF the Constitution, and especially if
! he is aware that defect has been wilfully created
| by the wrong and usurpauon of those who
claim to constitute that Congress, ii is not his
| duty to execute the laws passed by those pre-
tenders TO the functions OF national legislators.
| Ifthe representatives of Massachusetts should
take possession of the Capitol, exclude the
representatives of other States, and pass laws
for'the government of the whole country, the
President would certainly be justified in refusing
10 sanction the proceedings of such Congress.
! The case is not changed in principle from the
fact that the representatives Of other States have
leagued with those of Massachusetts to usurp
| this ismonopoly OF legislation. Eleven States and
some millions of American citizens were illegally
held from representation when the Civil Rights
bill was passed. If those States and those
. / citzpng pOul0 he nfagpnt nv
sentation as they have the right TO be, in The
national council the Civil Rights bin could mo-
be passed over the Presidents veto. That va
presume will be admitted by all parties. II Is