Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-01-05
QDtioI. States'nllrla;5lr1or:,. u {; H..
9dl ECTI OF Fa j.ru
HON. FRANK H. HURD,,
In tIe Ohio RenaIr, on Thursday,
h"f january Sd, 1867, .aH.
-tg - .Hn9gnGi ..Ha rHi1riu .g
Jna q,o8 AGAINST THE ..II ~.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT,
Mr.. PREsIDENT:-Upont the question of
| the ratification Of this amendment, doubt
not that every Senator has deliberately
made up his mind. / do not, therefore, ex-
pect, by anything that | may suggest, to
change or affect the convictions of any one
who hears me; but Notwithstanding this,
on account of the magnitude of the in
terests involved, cannot consent to give
merely silent vote upon this measure. /
| propose to submit some of the reasons
which satisfy my mind that the proposed
amendment should not be ratified by the
Legislature OF the State of Ohio and made
q part OF the Federal Constitution. ....
| And In the first place, i would recall the
advice given by Mr.. Madison as to the time
most suitable for the amendment of that
instrument. He says: The Constitution
of the United States may doubtless disclose
from time to time faults which call for the
| pruning or engrafting hand. But reme-
dies ought to be applied not in the
| paroXysms of party or popular excite
ment, but with the more leisure and rehec-
| tiOn as the great departments of power, ac-
| cordlng to experience, may be successively
and alternately IN and out of public favor:
and as changes hastily accommodated to
these vicissitldes would destroy the symme-
try and beauty aimed at in our political
system" . a.1 o.. = 10. .-
Never in the history of this Government
have these remarks seemed so timely as
now. A civil war of great magnitude has
just terminated; the bitterness which the
strife engendred has not yet passed away;
tile passions which the contest lashed into a
fury have not yet subsided. Though there
is no arraying of hostile armies. though the
smoke of battle no longer obscnres the sky,
still the men of the lately conflicting sec
tions speak of and act towards each other as
though they were in the midst of war. The
conduct of the people after the battle little
consists with that peace which 1t was said
the battles were fought to secure. 1t Is in
the miost of this contention that this
change in the fundamental law is proposed
1t does not appear to have been born in
that magnanimity which characterizes a
generous victor, nor yet in that cOncili-
atory spirit in which the Constitution was
framed. Indeed some of its provisions are
punitive in their character, and calculated,
If not intended, to repel rather than to
unite. The calmness suited to the clear eX-
ercise of the judgment is wanting now.
The pfejudices by which judgment is
always biased abound now. 1t would be
wisdom as well as patriotism to listen to
Madison's advice and postpone action in
this matter until the days of prejudice are
past and the days of calmness have return
ed. -t hGr -s~-r..i.
cannot expect, however, that action up
on this subject will be at all delayed, and
proceed at once TO consider this proposed
nc n xtyhn In ha
of this subject it becomes exceedingly inn
portant to examine that provision of the
Constitution by which amendments are au-
thorized, and ascertain exactly what the
amending power is. Article fifth provides
that "the Congress, whenever two-thirds of
both Houses shall deem it necessary shall
propose amendments to this Constitution,
or, on the application of the Legislatures
of two-thirds of the several States, shall
call convention for proposing amend
ments, which in either case shall be valid
to all intents and purposes as part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the Legisla-
lures of three-fourths ofEithe several
States, or by conventions of three fourths
thereof as the oneor the other mode of rati-
fication may be proposed by the Congress
Provided, that no amendment which may
be made prior to the year one thousand
ner affect the first and fourth clauses in the
ninth section of the first article; and that
no State, without its consent, shall be de-
prived of its equal suffrage in the Senate"
This is the only section In the Constitu-
tion In which amendments are alluded to-
and of course Is that from which all power
over this subject is derived, 1t will be OBJ
served that the section is principally taken
up with q statement as to the manner in
which the power shall be exercised, rather
than in an exact definition of what the
power itself Is. In rejecting upon this
provision, almost the first thought that oc-
ours Is, is the power of amendments conferred
in it-an unlimited one-and if not, what
are Its limitations9 >sAi /
To say that it is unlimited, is to as
sert a doctrine which may prove de-
structive of civil liberty. If 1t be true that
there are no limitations upon this power,
then the rights and institutions of one
fourth of the States would be subject to the
control of the other three-fOurths.D Under
the pretense of amending, three-fourths
could change the Government from one re-
publican IN its nature to an oligarchy. a
monarchy, or a despotism. a. King could |
be substituted In the place of President
right In the place of the voice of
the people, and one-fourth of the States |
which might contain majority of the en- |
tire population OF the country, would be |
obliged to submit. Who would maintain |
that it was the intention of the States to |
delegate any such power In the article
under consideration? Again, suppose that |
three -fourths of the States should so amend !
the Constitution as to deprive the peo-
pie Of Ohio of the rights enjoyed by |
the people of the other States, SO as to deny
them access to the courts OF the United |
States, or to forbid them to pass beyond the |
limits Of the State, exceptunder restrictions |
States, Who would Insist that the people of |
Ohio were obliged to submit, or that such |
OF power could be justified |
under the section authorizing amendments |
It Is manifest then that the amending |
power is not unlimited, for from such a |
theory consequences would result that are |
rejected as absurd. |
II, then, the power is not unlimited. |
what are It's limitations? i submit that the |
limitation may be found in the tenth article |
Of the amendment, Ia which the distinction |
Is made between the powers that are dele |
gated and those that are reserved, My !
Is that no reserved right can be !
taken away or in any manner affected by an |
amendment to the Constitution, unless |
every State assents thereto, and that the |
sole province of the amending power Is to !
deal with the powers that are delegated. |
And first, as reason for this proposition, |
l submit the tenth article of the amend |
"The powers not delegated to |
tie United States by the Constitution nor |
by it 10 the States, are reserved |