American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-04-28
THE PRESIDENT AND THE CIVIL
RIGHTS BILL.

In the first excitement on the de
feat of the Presidents veto, and the
consequent passage of the "civt
rights bill by Congress, there is
great deal OF wild apprehension o
immediate and dangerous conflicts o
authority The character of the bill
is 50 intrinsically odious and flagrant
~ unconstitutional-its effects are st
injurious to what remains of the all
th0ritv OF States over their most do
nestle affairs It's consequences arr
50 peril0uS to the peace of the coun
try, and the opinions of the PreSi
dent have been So uncOmpromiSiIlg
~ pronounced against it in all its as
poets, that impetu0uS men who fl
yOred his policy and believed tho
cnormities of the measure and the
revolutionary means adopted to car.
~ it, TO be justification" for every
form of vigor in resisting it, called
upon the President to refuse to put
il into execution. The faction which
passed the bill responded to the call
With the rctahatOry threat of i'm
parchment if the President should
oppose his executive power to arrest
q law conStitutiGnally passed and
they eXulted in the anticipation that
he might afford them, by some such
act, plea upon which to institute
proceedings. for many of them are
impatient to remove him from office.
let him dare to take the RESPONSE
hility, was the Radicals cry. and the
tWo-thjrds majority which passed the
bill Will he sufficient to drive him
from the presidency.
They were more confident in this,
because while it requires tWO-thirdS
ut the senate to convict, after i'm
paachment by the House, a mere ma
torlty ot the House may impeach;
and It would he contrndcd that while
"a high officer is under impeachment,
hc Is necessarily suspended from the
exercise of the functions of Office,
aud can only resume them after ac-
qulttal. However that may be, Rad
ic1lism was evidently willing to Ell
courage the idea that President john
Suu designed, by some cam d'etdt, to
arrest the execution OF the law. and
tu sustain his acts by resort to force.
IN any event, they were anxious TO
md ground tor accusing him of re-
iusal to execute it, and counted on
further int1aming Radical passion
AGAINST him as setting up his person
at opinions in obstruction to an act
"hIch, having passed the forms of
the constitution, is law until it is re-
versed by the Judiciary, or repealed
b. another statute.
Ii the President should place HIM
self in that position, it could not boon
the grounds of uncOnStiutiOnality in
the law itself, which is a point yet
to be passed on by the tribunal con
,,itutiOnally appointed for that pur
pose, but must be on the grounds
urgcd upon him that the authority
by whom the bill was passed was de-
tectiyr. He must assume that there
was not full or constitutional Con
-reSS, and that the act which re-
uUrrS n vote of tWO-thirds is not
law fully passed, when the two-thirds .
rs only that proportion OF a number
who uSurp that degree of power by /.
Iorcibly excluding lawful associates,
and by tyrannicaIly cXpelling por-
lions Of the minority among them
selves. But this raises a question
which attaches not 10 the "civil
rights" bill alone 1t reaches equal
~ the character Of many other meas
urps which have passed Congress,
hy mainritic4 that would have been
affected in the same way, if all the
States had been represented, and all
members honestly elected had been
permitted to retain their seats.
The President has signed several
of these bills. The denial Of the
night OF Congress because mutilated
by the absence of the southern mem
hers in both Houses, and the cXpul-
sion of Northern representation, who
had opposed the course OF the mat
isrity, would include a general denial
Of the right Of this Congress to legs
late at all. The same grounds of in
capacity would attach to bills passed
IN regard to revenue and taxation,
rs bills requiring tWo-thirdS vote.
If the civil rights bill could be resist
rd on the ground that there is not
Congress competent to act upon it;
II foriiori, mere majority bills, not
obtaining more than one-tliird OF q
full number in either House would
he exposed to the same rule of CON !
~tructlpn. I
Now these are very critical and ]
highly dangerous questions. which il !
- the evident interest of the coI,n- /
try not to bring into prominence of 1
contest, whatever might be the re- :
suit of an issue made upon them. {
The adjustment OF the questions he /
fore the country does not require ,
that they should be forced to an is
sue. On the contrary There is an
national prudence in avoid
ing them, and tiding through the
OF the crisis without
bringing these latent conflicts into
activity. 4 great deal that is alb
normal is aSSented 10 from necessity
aud eXpe,liency. The great line of
distinction between. the President
aud his adVcrsaries at this time is,
hat be desires these anomalies to
90 50 rs soon rs possible, and all the I
4.tr.afTartE ,nf tho Mon