The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-03-13

life, property, liberty and honor Of all the
people in each of them under the DONNA
ton of q single person clothed with un-
limited authority. The Parliament OF
England, exercising the ommipotcnt power
which it claimed, was accustomed to pass
bills of attaindcr; that is to say, it would
convict men of treason and other crimes
by legislative enactment. The person &C
cnscd lad hearing, sometimes a patient
and fair one, but generally party prejudice
prevailed instead of justice. 1t often be-
cameneccssary for Parliament to acknowl-
edge its error and reverse its own action.
The fathers of our country determined that
no such thing should occur here. They
withheld the power from Congress, and
thus forbade its exercise by that body /;
and they provided in the Constitution that
no State should pass any bill of attaindcr.
1t is, therefore impossible for any person
in this country to be constitutionally con-
victcd or punished for any crime by q leg
islative proceeding of any sort. Never
theless, here is bill of attainder against
nine millions of people at once. 1t is based
upon all accusation SO vague as to bc
scarcely ineligible, and found to be true
upon no crcditablc evidence. Not one OF
the nine millions was heard in his own de-
fence. The representatives Of the doomed
parties were excluded from all participa-
ton i'll the trial. The conviction is TO be
followed by the most ignominious punish
ment ever inflicted on large masses of men.
1t DISTINGUISHES them by hundreds of thou
sands, and degradcs them all-even those
who arc admitted to be guiltlrss-from1 the
rank of freemcn to the condition Of slaves.
The purpose and object of the bill-thc
general intent which pcrvadcs it from be-
ginning to ends to change the entire
Structure and character. of the State Gov
crnmcnts, and'to compel them by force
to the adoption of organic laws and regu-
lations which they arc unwilling to accept
if left to themselves. The negroes have
not asked for the privilege of voting-thc
vast ajority of them have no idea what it
means. This bill not only thrusts it into
their hands, but compels them as we'll as
the whites to use it in a particular way.
If they do not form Constitution with
Fprcscribed articles in it, and afterwards
elect Legislature which will act upon
certain measures in a prescribed way,
neither blacks nor whites can be relieved
from the slavery which the bill imposes
upon them. Without pausing here to con-
slider the policy or impolicy of Atricaniz-
inc the Southern part of our territory, J.
would simply ask the attention of Con-
rrcss to that manifest, well-known and
universally acknowledged rule of constitu-
tional Inv, which declares that the Fed
eral Government has no jurisdiction,
authority or power to regulate such sub
iccts for any State. To enforce the right
OF suffrage out Of the hands of the white
people and into the hands Of the negroes
is an arbitrary violation of this principle.
The bill imposes martial law at once,
and its operations will begin SO soon as the
General and his troops can be put in place.
The dread alternative between its harsh
rule and compliance with the terms of this
measure is not suspended, nor arc the pco-
pie afforded any time for free dcliberation.
The bin saws to them. take martial law
first, thcn deliberate. And when they
have done all that this measure requires
them to do, other conditions and contill-
eencies, over which they have no control,
vet remain to be fulfilled before they can
be relieved from martial law. Another
Congress must first approve the constitu-
tions made in conformity with the will of
this Congress, and must declare these
States entitled to representation in both
Houses. The whole question thus remains
open and unsettled, and must again occupy
tile attention of Congress, and i'll the
meantime the agitation which now pre-
walls will continue TO disturb all portions
of The people.
The bill also denies the legality Of the
! Governments of ten of the. States which
participated iii the ratification of the
amendment 10 tile Federal Constitution
abolshng slavery forever within the jul
risdiclion of the United States, and prac-
ticllv excludes them from the Union. If
this assumption OF the I'LL be correct, their
concurrence cannot be considered us h;sv-
inc been legally given, and the important
fact is made To appear that the consent OF
thrce-iourths oil the Statcs-thc requisite
nlmbcr-lls not been conStitutionally
obtained to the ratification of that amend
mcnt, thus leaving the question Of slavcry
where it stood before the amendment was
officially declared to have become part
Of the Constitutions
That the measure proposed by this bill
docs violate the Constitution i'll the par
! ticulars mentioned, and in many other
WAYS which torbcar to cnumcratc, is too
clear to admit Of the least doubt. 1t only
remains to consider whether the injunc,
tions OF that instrument ought to be
obcycd or not. think they ought to be
obcyctl, for reasons wbicl, [ will proceed
to give us briefly as possible.
In the first place, it is the only system
of free government wllich we can hope to
have as a nat;or. When it ccascst to be the