The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-22

administrator should in their opinion be the
nominee Of Congress, the agent for carrying
out It's will, and having no title to Office in
dependent Of its pleasure. A President wield
ing the powers conferred by the Constitution
Of the United States, is, in their estimation,
little less than an elective mOnarch; and in
their hatred of kingcraft they would destroy
all semblance of royal authority. Their plan
is to 'decentraize as much as possible, and
though on this particular point they push
their view absurdly far their general idea of
national authority is a vast improvement upon
the theoretical republicanism of France, where
the vices of Capitalization have been the most
formidable to the success of government by
the people.
In this country speculative craftsmanship
runs in exactly the opposite direction. Our
doctrindires are anxious to engraft upon the
Government the centralizing crochets of the
French dreamers of the last century. We are
called upon to advance by going backwards.
We are asked to perfect republicanism by
adopting principle which leads logically to
monarchy. It is proposed to interpret the
purposes Of the founders of the republic in the
light of the partisan aims of to-day-to assume
that they did not fulfil their own intentions,
but on the contrary framed a system at
variance with their convictions-and to sacri-
fee the strongest feature of our system to give
effect to the oaprices of a philosophy at once
sentimental and unsound.
These opposite tendencies in the minds of
theorists who profess an equal devotion to
republican principle have their origin in the
passions and prejudices of current political
discussion. The English worl1ingmen, who
manifest their hatred of Presidents by dispen-
sing with them in their organizations, are
actuated by a desire to avenge the quarrel
of Congress with Mr.. Johnson They have
a notion that Mr.. Johnson has aped regal
pretensions, and that there should be no
| hindrance to the will of the lawmakers. Mr..
| Sumner, on the other hand, is afflicted by a
sense of the difficulties that block the path to
absolute political equality. In his eagerness
| to reconstruct the Union in the interest OF
the negro, he is prepared to disregard the
Constitution deprive the States of powers
| expressly vested in them, and remodel every
| thing according to his philanthropic lnclina-
| tions. Mr.. Sumner, in fact, has in his own
mind discovered that this country cannot be
| truly called a nation until its people make
him their Gamaliel and give prompt effect to
/ his commands. We fear that the irreverent
multitude deem silly the sophomore utter
ances which he evidently intends to be
| sublime.
Because the Southern doctrine of State
| sovereignty which lay at the root of secession
| is an exaggeration and abuse of the doctrine
| of State rights, Mr.. Sumner would legislate
| the latter out of existence. To constitute this
| Union of States nation, he would make the
| Federal Government supreme-absolute in all
| matters. It's DEGREES should define the funo-
| tions of States and extirpate the idea of rights
| by reducing States to the grade of municipali-
ties, having no privileges save those which
| Congress may concede. By a simple enact
ment he suggests that the States shall be de.
prived of control over the franchise, all provi-
| sions of the Constitution to the contrary not
| withstanding. Indeed, the question he affects
to expound is treated strictly as a question o.
the Congressional will. The Constitution is
nothing The rights and powers of the States
are nothing. All must give way in order that
Mr.. Sumner may convert this into a brand
new nation-a nation that shall be a nation,
and no mistake.
But State rights, properly understood, are
not to be snuffed out of existence by a couple
of hours Oratory. Something more than Mr.
| Summers worship of Capitalization is needed
to convince the American people that it is ex-
| pedient to abandon the distinctive principle oi
their republic, and take refuge in the himsy
products of French philosophy. The glory Of
| the revolutionary fathers was that they were
| practical in their patriotism. They compre-
hended the value of local government as the
source and safeguard of Saxon liberty. They
| understood that Capitalization pushed to an
| extreme is a foe to freedom, and is the foun-
dation of monarchy. Therefore they defined
the powers of the General Government and
| threw around the states guarantees as clear
and strong as those by which Congress itself
ls fortified. Mainly as a consequence of this
application of the Federal principle, our coun-
try has grown almost in lifetime from in
fancy to giants estate. It's system of decen-
trallzation has made the best parts of the con-
tlnent ours, and has facilitated that marvellous
adaptation OF government to remote local pc
cuhariues and requirements which has ELECTED
the admiration of the world. What Mr.. Sum-
ner arralgns as cardinal blunder has, then,
been proved to be the secret of success. The
country derives its magnitude and power from
the growth OF the States, and these again have
prospered because organized with well-defned
and fundamental rights.
Undoubtedly the war led to some new rem
derings of the constitutional provisions touch
ing the relative powers of the general Govern
ment and the States, and to an enlargement in
some directions of the powers exercised by the
former. 1t has decided dogmatically and for
ever that the State rights principle so called,
affords no warrant for the heresy of State
sovereignty-that the States individually are
not justified in nullifying, and will not be per-
mltted to nullify, the authority of the Union
in matters pertaining to its existence. The
war has probably served, moreover, to recon
cile the country to stronger central Govern
ment than was previously considered neces-
sary. But here the change has ended And
we think that persuasives more potent than
Mr.. Summers oratory will be required to
induce changes of the sweeping character
which he proposes. For, despite his romano
ing, the war developed sentiment of nation
ality strong enough for all purposes. The
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