Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-03-29
From the New York Times, March 49,
The Constitution and the Changes Wrought
by the Revolution.


States is not ro,r what it was believed and
, held to be ten or even five years ago
, 1.-The CONSTITUTIONS" he says, must be
construed TO meet the wants Of the people
hence it is practically changed according to
the ideas and wants of the day
This may be perfectly true. But it is
equivalent to saying that the Constitution
is sham,-that our system of Constitu-
tonal Government is failure. and that
8 the wants of the people, the ''ideas
and wants Of the day. constitute the only
Fundamental law of the land England
has just such a Constitution as that. The
opinion of Parliament, the votes of the
House Of Commons, the will and wants of
the people, constitute the "llnwritten Con-
stltution" by which England Is governed.
Our Government is tending to precisely
that result. Our Constitution in It's theory
was intended to be the supreme law. lin
iting and restraining the action of the Gov
ernment III every department., and putting
checks ard restrictions upon the wants.
wishes and will of the people whenever
they should transcend its provisions This
Is the Theory Of our form of government.
This is the only object and use of written
Constitution. When it ceases to serve that
end, when it ceases to interpose a barrier
to popular passion or to regulate and con-
troll the action Of Congress- the EXecu-
tive or the Judiciary, it ceases to perform
the practical duty for whichitw was ordained.
t Our correspondent says these are not
changes III the Constitution but only IL the
construction put upon its provisions. Ell
ther this is a distinction without Il differ
| ence, or else the Constitution is too vague
and unmeaning in It's terms to have amy
practical meaning whatever. The COnstl
tuition Says, for example, that ''the writ Of
hnbe0S corpus shall not be suspended eX
cept when III case of invasion or rebellion,
the public safety may require it," Congress
has just authorized the supenslon Of that
writ III ten States. There is no invasion,
there is no rebellion, and the public
safety does not require it yet the writ is
suspended all the same. Is this a mere
| difference Of construction ? There is no
room for any such difference. The Ian
guage is just as clear and explicit as it is
possible for language to be. There is not
shadow of doubt us to its meaning. There
IS only one reconstruction" of it possible
the suspension of that writ is absolutely
prohibited except in one specified case .
that case has not occurred and vet the
writ is not suspended What this means is
just this,-the Constitutitution 0d hoe has
been repealed, abolished, annulled by act
of Congress.
Precisely the same thing is true of other
portions of the fundamental law. 1t de-
clarcs that no State shall be deprived Of its
equal representation in the Senate without
it's own consent. But ten States are thus de-
prived of all representation, in either
House of Congress, not only without their
consent, but against their earnest and in
dignant protest. Is this difference of
construction? Nobody pretends anything
of the kind Congress claims that the Con-
stitutiOn never contemplated such state
Of things as now exists, and that therefore |
this prohibition has no effect. But this is
sheer nonsense The Constitution provides !
for every case that can arise, and for every
state of things that can exist. It's language |
is general, and its binding force is absolute |
and universal The plea cited means sim
ply that Congress may dispense with the
Constitution whenever it pleases, provided |
the people will sustain it in so doing. In |
other words, the Constitution is the su !
preme law of the land, except when the |
will of the people sustains Congress in |
overriding and, overruling it. Then it be- |
comes simply so much waste paper.
"Everything done by Congress to sup
press the rebellion, says our correspondent, |
E:is found in the Constitution, and more
ac0uld hare been found if neceSsa7W." I'm |
questionably But this is only rounda- !
bout way of saying that the trU Of Congress
became the supreme law of the land, and |
the provisions and prohibitions of the Con- |
stitution vanished i'll its presence. Con-
gress did whatever it deemed necessary to |
be done,-and it continues to do SO down to |
the present hour. The Reconstruction Bill
Of the last session was in nearly every one |
of its provisions, in clear and fragrant vio |
lation of the Constitution as intended by its |
trainers, as interpreted by the Supreme |
Court, as maintained by every department
of the Government hitherto, and as ex-
pressed in its clear and explicit language. |
Yet that bill is the law of the land, and as
such will be enforced, d,--because it embod- |
les the will of the nation, which has become !
a 'higher law than the Constitution, and |
as :such will control, not only its construc-
ton, but its application to the practical gov
ernment of he country.
We may just as we'll look this matter in
the face. 1t is quite useless to ignore the
plain and pGipable fact that the rebellion
and the war have rerOlMiOnized our govern
ment. We are not living now under the
the Constitution of 1889, but under an un-
written Constitution which represents the
will as embodied in the action Of
Congress. The limitations Of the old Con-
stitutions have ceased to have binding
force. Congress exercises power never
COHltIICo II, tDIl uCt1lCo " h1ttsLSo
rights expressly reserved to them by the
Constitution. And it does 50 with per-
feet impunity, because there is no au-
thority to ogerrule or reverse its action
The President is powerless, because tarO-
thirds of Congress is against him. The
Supreme Court is powerless, because the
case cannot come up for It's action, and
even if it should the Court has no means of
enforcing its DEGREES. The people are
without remedy, because ten States arc not
allowed any voice in the matter, and the
remainder sustain the usurped authority.
We are living under a de fttct0 government
"a government resting on force, and on
the will of the people who WELD it, but an
0ctuuI government nevertheless.
President Johnson attempted at the out
set of his administration to carry on the |
government under the Constitution of the
United States as il existed before the war,
respecting all its limitations and restric
tions of power, er,-conceding to States all
the rights it guaranteed, and carrying on
the Government within the channels and
1pon tho -r0OyeS which IL proyi6pC The