The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-01-29
Startling from Washington = A
Voice of Warning from the Re-
Dublican Press,


J. RAYMOND, a member of the present Con-
gress, and thoroughly acquainted with the
revolutionary designs of the Radicals, on
the 9th inst published the following In
It's editorial columns, which should arrest
the serious attention Of the nation. The
article Il too lengthy for our columns but
we win extract literally enough TO show TO
the reader how overshadowing peril Is
now hanging its dark shadow over this
country. The Times gives its article the
caption: "THE IMPENDING CoUr D'ErArAT
wAsaINGroNl" We urge the readers OF
the EXPIRE to carefully examine and sol
EMMY ponder. We are hanging on the
very brink an awful preciTice:
'.Few of us are blind enough not to see
that there Is now impending coup dctdt
at Washington. IL hangs above our heads
at this very moment and If We do not lay
aside all party hopes and fears, or IN fact
all other political considerations u VIII fall
upon us ~ we arc gazing upon II with
stupid and inactive apprehension. The
uower by which the existence OF coustitu-
tional government Is imperiled In this
country has control of one branch only OF
our ooyet nment. IL holds that power as
the representative of only majority OF
only a part of the nation. large minori-
tv Of the constituents Of the very members
who at present control tae Legislative branch
of our government are opposed To their
action. and vet must submit aud
ought to submit to that action. 50 long
AS it Is constitutional. Now IL IS the
one cardinal principle of constitutional
government that within the provisions of
the Constitution the rights of minorlties as
well as those of majorities shall be safe. 1t
ttg,V, Of min nRtf ff.au
that constitutional government Is estab-
Hshed-that the party, which, for the time
being, has control of the executive and
legislative branches Of government may
not use Its power exclusively IN its own
interests. and in tyrannical disregard of the
rights of the minority. Therefore 1t Is that
a constitution declares what the executive
and what the legislative power may do,
and declares also that they shall not do
certain other things, or that they shall do
only that for which they receive authority
through the Constitution.
The purpose of the majority on the pres
ent imperfect Congress, as we all see, IS TO
remove the President, and not only the
President but the supreme Court out of its
way. We see this, and we look on in
apathy, and 90 about our money-making,
stupidity trusting that no harm will come
of It. and yet what Is doing is that cousti-
tutional government is destroyed before
our eyes. \ bill was brought in on Nom
day by Mr.. Williams, of Pennsylvania,
which. absolutely, is entitled bill to de
fine the powers of che Supreme COurt'-of
the Supreme Court whose powers are de-
fined by the Constitution, and the chief OBJ
ject Of i0hOSe creation lCdS TO dCtRG NE pom
erS Of Congress. A more bare-taced at
tempt at usurpaton was never seen;
more fatal blow to constitutional govern
ment was never dealt. Yet what may we
not expect when Mr.. Wilson reports bill
which declares valid and conclusive certain
proclamations and consequent acts which
the Supreme Court can only declare valid?
and when Mr.. Boutwell, does not hesitate
10 declare, "with strong emphasis that
the Supreme Court exists but by the
breath of Congrcss-the Supreme Court
created by the creator of Congress. to iu-
terpret its laws and be n check upon its ac-
tion! Congress has no more right to define
the powers of the Supreme Court than to
define its own powers or those of the Pres
ident. The people have already done all
this through the Constitution; and the peo-
pie may change their definition through
the Constitution. When the powers either
of Congress, the President. or the Supreme
Court are abridged or enlarged in any
other way, constitutional government is at
an end. and constitutional liberty has for
the time, perhaps for ever, been destroyed.
These things
are done before us the doom of our Gov
ernment is on the brink of execution; and
yet we are quiet! VIII nothing rouse us {?
Are we as sluggish of apprehension noW
on tire one hand, rs we were before the re-
bellion on the other? Our Government Is
in peril now, as it was theu not of disinte-
grafton. but of uSurpatiou-the usurDatiOn
of absolute power by the temporary repre-
sentatives of a majority of the people of Il
part of the country. The men whom the
whole country, except degraded though
influential part of the Democratic party,
trusted during the rebellion with the taSl,
of preserving the nation, are using their
trust now to perpetuate their own power
and preserve their own party. They pursue
the course which they have taken, rs we all
know, from the fear of the return of the
Democratic party to power. That would
indeed be Il calamity; but there is one
possible which is so much greater that
the former dwindles into nothing in COM
parison-the destruction, not of the Con-
stitution, which might be made better or
worse and little harm be done, but of
something much greater than the Constitu-
tion-constitutiOnal government. OF this
we may be sure that the present course of
Congress will, if continued, end either in
the destruction of constitutional govern
ment or the restoration of the Democratic
party. If the President is impeached and
suspended from office during his trial and
the powers of the Supreme Court are defined
by Congress, the impending coup d'etGt will
have been struck, and the majority of an
imperfect Congress will be absolute master
of the whole country, not only now. but
at any time hereafter
If such loud warning as this is; so
palpably setting forth the dangers which
now surround our liberties written, too, by
public man not of the Democratic side in
politics; and by gentleman who is mix
ing constantly with the cOuspirators and
knows of all their designs-if such a warn
ing now falls dead on the public ear and
produces no alarm, it may well be qucs-
toned whether we have not grown wearied
with that "ETERNAL VIGILANCE"
which rs THE PRICE OF LIBERTY! -
BE Warned.
The WashingtonsUR sURioN closes an article
upon the present political situation as fol-
lows:
"This is no time to mince words. We are
on the eve of a tremendous epoch. The
REPUBLIC must lice, the UNION must be
preserved, the CONSTITUTION must remain in
tact If all other means fail, there is al
ways an appeal To the God of Battles and
the Last Resort is always open TO free,