The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-01-08

'iO', " III CIldiS ana PUNISH
ments. Its rigid justice and impair
tlality give it no claims to favor. how
ever they may to respect; it stands
solitary and unsupported, except by
that portion of public opinion which
is interested only in the strict admi-
nistration OF Justice 1t can rarely
secure the sympathy or zealo,.; SUI
port either of the Executive or the
Legislature, if they are not, rs is not
unfrequently the case. Jealous Of its
prerogatives. The constant necessity
OF scrutlnlzlnS the acts Of each upon
the application Of any private per
son, and the painful duty of pro
nonnclng Judgment that these acts
are II departure from the law or Con
stitution, can have no tendency t.
conciliatc kindness OF uourish intlu-
ence. 1t would seem, thcrcforc. tba.
some additional guard, would. upler
such circumstances, b. necessary t.
project this department. from the
absolute dominion Of the others. Yc.
rarely have any such guards beel
applied, and every attempt to intro.
duce them has been resisted with
pertinacity which demonstrates how
slow popular leaders are to Introduce
checks upon their own power, ana
how slow the people are to believe
that the judiciary is the real btllwarl
of their liberties. II any depart
ment Of the Government has undue
influence or absorbing power, it GER
tainly has not been either the Execu-
tive or judiciary.
In addition to what has been said
by these distinguished writer's, it may
also be urged that the dominant party
IN each House may, by the adoption
Of a sufficient number Of members.
or by the exclusive representation Of
a requisite number Of States. reduce
the minority to less than onc-third.
Congress, by these means, might be
enabled to pass law, the objections
of the President To the contrary not
withstanding. which would render
impotent the other two departments
OF the Government, and MAKE inopc-
rative the wholesome and restraining
power which it was intended by the
trainers OF the Constitution should be
eXerted Ivy them. This would be a
practical concentration Of all power
in the Congress of the United States.
This, III the language Of the author
Of the Declaration Of independence,
wonld be precisely the definition Of
despotic Government.
L have preferred to reproduce these
teachings Of the great Statesmen and
constitutional lawyers OF the early
and later days of the republic, rather
than torel ~ simply upon an expression
of my own opinions. We cannot too
often recur to them. especially at q
conJuncture like the present Their
application to our actual condition is
so apparent that they now come tous
q living voice, to be listened to with
more attention than at any previ-
Gus period OF our history. We have
been and are yet in the midst OF
popular commotion; the passions
aroused by Il great civil war are still
dominant. 1t is not time favorable
to calm and deliberate Judgment.
which is the only safe guide, when
radical changes in our institutions are
to be made. The measure now before
me is one of those changes. It ini-
tiates an untried experiment for a peo-
pie who have said with one voice that
it is not for their good. This alone
should make us pause; but this is not
all. The experiment has not been
tried, or SO much as demanded by,
the people Of the several States for
themselves. In but few of the States
has such an innovation been allowed
as giving the ballot to the colored
population without any other quail
tication than a residence Of one
year; in most of them, the denial
of the ballot to this race is abso-
lutte, and by fundamental law
placed beyond the dominion of ordi.
nary legislation. In most Of those
States, the evil of such suffrage would
be partial; but small as it would be,
it is guarded by constitutional barri-
ers. Here the innovation assumes
formidable proportions, which may
easily grow to such an extent as to
make the white population a.subordi-
nate element in the body polite.
After full deliberation upon this
cannot bring myself to
approve it, even upon local consider
alton. nor yet as the beginning of an
experiment on q larger scale yield
to no one in attachment to that rule
Of general suffrage which distin-
suishes our policy as a nation, but
there is limit wisely observed hith-
IL 4