Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-01-07

minion Of the others; yet rarely have
any such guards been applied, and every
attempt 10 introduce them has been re-
sisted with rprtnacity which demon
stratcf how slow popular leaders ard 10
introduce checks upon their own power
aud how slow the people are to behave
that the Judiciary Is the real bulwark Of
their liberties II any department OF the
Government has undue influence $r-ab--
sorbins power. il certainly has not been
either the Executive or Judiciary In
addition to what has been said by these
distinguished writer's, itmay also be urged
by the dominant party in each house,
that they may, by the expulsion Of suf-
iicieht number of members, or by tho
exclusion from representation Of q requi-
site number of States, reduce the minor
ity TO less than one-third. Congress By
these means might be enabled to pass q
law, the objections Of the President to
the contrary Notwithstanding which
would render impotent the other two
departments of the government and make
imperative the wholesome and restrain
ing power which it was intended by the
trainers Of the Constitution should be
extended BY them, This would be a
practical concentration of all power in
the United States; this, in the language
Of the authors Of the Declaration of
Independence, would be precisely the def
milton Of q despotic government have
preferred to reproduce these teachings
Of the great statesmen and constitutional
lawyers Of the early and later days
Of the Republic rather than to rely sim
ply upon an expression Of my own
opinion. We cannot too often recur to
them, especially at conjuncture like
the present. Their applications to our
actual condition is so apparent that they
now come to us as living voice, to be
listened to with more attention than At
any previous period Of our history. We
have been, and are yet, in the midst of
popular commotion. The passions
aroused by great civil war are still
dominant. II is not time favorable to
that calm and deliberate judgement which
is the only safe guide when radical
changes in our institutions are to be
made. The measure noS before me is
one Of those changes. II initiates all
untried experiments for a people who
have said with one voice that it is not |
for their good This alone shonld make
us pause But it is not all--the expert
ment has not been tried, or so muchras |
demanded by the people Of the several |
States for themselves--in but few of the
States has such an innovation been al
lowed as giving the ballot to the colsred |
population without any other qualiica-
ton than residence Of one year, andin !
most of them the denial OF the ballot to
this race is absolute and by fundamental
law placed beyond the domain of ordi-
nary legislation. In most of those States
the evil of such suffrage would be partial,
but small as il would be, it is guarded BY
barriers. Here the inno-
vation assumes formidable proportions
which may easily grow to such an extent
rs to make the white population subor-
Innate element in the body polite At
.er full deliberation on this measure,
cannot bring myself to approve it, even
ipon local considerations, nor yet as the
Of an experiment on larger
'cale. / yield to no one in attachment
o that rule of general suffrage which
distinguishes our policy as a nation but
here is limit, wisely observed hitherto,
which makes the ballot a privilege and a
rust, and which requires fsome classes
! time suitable for probation and pre-
,arasion. To give it Unfortunately to
new class, wholly unprepared by pre-
nous habits and opportunities to perform
he trust which it demands, is to degrade
t and finally to destroy its powers; for
t may be safely assumed that no political
ruth is better established than that such
and alLembracing extern
ion of popular suffrage must end at last
n its destruction. |
ANDREW JOHNSON
WLsHINGroN Ian & 1867 49,.