The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-09-11
:goIitieal.
( From the Charleston Courier.
Outside of. the Constitution

:: Outside .of the Constitution! Such is
the remarkable utterance OF. Mr.. Thad-
~.deus Stevens. 1t is the declaration OF a
: sruth,. which, although long since urged
-sbYSthe South, desirous OF constitutional
I restoration, yet falls none the less start
&ingly upon the ears when broadly an
honnced. by theSleader Of the party IN
dominance. over the country.
!: -; In a public letter, and at an apparent
::eiisiis In the politically olution'into which
: he and his followers have cast the land, 1t
us IN stated without any disguise, that "some
: of the members of the Senate seemed TO
doubt their power under the Constitution,
: which. they had just repudiated, and
: whollysoutside of which all agreed that
ssWesswere acting, else our whole work OIL
q reconstruct ion was usurpation:'
:. Thissis complete vindication OF all
I, fbat, has been uttered by the thoughtful
:: men. whether at the North or the South,
|: -aSainststhe measures by which the States
. Of the. .South4have, since 1868, been kept
= separate from. the other commonWealths
:of; the Union, It is an acknowledgment
s Of. the correctness of the messages.of the
!. President. in which,4he refused his assent
to their passage. Itisa unequivocal adj.
:: :ui,ission, ii that those Senators and Repre-
<sentativesawho, by the mere power Of
their votes, set aside his vetoes, accom-
: piished this soutside of that Constitution"
s which the Executive had endeavored to
protect and defend.
- Mr.. Stevens uses the strongest Ian
;. sguage, as if the time had past when either
!. .concealment or doubt was necessary.
when describing the adoption of the mil
.s:ifary acts, under which these States were
made provinces, and theirpeopfe deprived
:9sof thefrights of citizenship and self-gov-
; eminent, and reduced to the condition OF
: subjects, he speaks of it having been et-
S-tected blythe repudiationeof the Constltu-
Stion.Swhich it was heretofore supposed,
! was the only common bond of union and
of:safety.
. NElse," he says, ''our whole work of re-
: construction is usurpation." That IS,
S.;ndsed, by. either the letter or the spirit OF
: the: Constitution, the whole work OF re-
CONSTRUCTION at the South; as decreed by
CONGRESS, is usurpation.. No authority
!: for any' such action-is. to. be- found either
I'm it's terms or provisions. If we look
:ssthere. we. will find that every State is en-
.s:titled to complete control over the right
.Soff suffrage within its limits, to the selec-
ton of its local officers, and undisturbcd
: control overits Municipal and State Coy
ssernments Its contents assure US that
] each State cannot, even by Congress, be
deprived of atCleast one Representative
S;and.t two Senators in the Federal Councils.
,'.jnd9ed by this, therefore, our ,"work is
;,a,is,lurpation.n But, in order to effect our
: design, we: sail agreed that we were act
5iiy,sts outside Of the CONSTITUTIONS which" we
! had iust ;repudiated." Such, practically
: IS the language of Mr.. Stevens.
= =: The danger of this course, thus so freely
:ayowed. docs not end with the South. 1t
!. affects the whole country. Authority
:. crows upon what it feeds. 1t has stretch
: ed forth its hands, and eagerly grasps 10
place all the commemorative alike, out
side of the Constitution" Thus we hnd,
, that without the slightest warrant IN the
Fundamental law, it has excluded from
their. seats in the Congress Of the United
7 States, the representatives OF kentucky,
a State always in tho Union and never in
secession. It threatens the same course
; towards Maryland. Nay, further, by
Bills now upon file, and openly advocated
by leading journals and orators OF its
sparty, it would step within the confines
of every State, regulate their voters and
take charge Of their Government. And
:, when the source from which this power is
is demanded, there will come the
same response, as is now made to the
). South ..'we are all agreed that we are act
ing outside fthe Constitution.
This truth, however blinded the minds
:. Of the Northern people may have hereto
: fore been. to it, has long since been patent,
2 :: not only tosthe South, but to all Europe.
The latter, away from the deceptive pre-
: indices and passions, which here claim the
mastery, and occupying an impartial
standpoint, have plainly perceived that,
under the dominion of party, the United
= States is undergoing the throes OF a polltl,,
I cal revolution, which threatens to engnlf
: its chartered rights and to change the en-
tine character Of the Government.
:. Thus o late writer in the London
Z. Quarterly Rcpie,o says: HThe great civil
!. war has proved q second American reyo-
luton. OF epolitical changes that may
come out of it, who shall be rash enough
TO speak (? One thing only we know
That the old paper Constitution is gone
What stronger confirmation of this ut
/ ferance could either its writer, or any
citizen Of this country have, than is af-
.forded, in tho letter of Mr.. Stevens, HIM
!. self tho acknowledged leader of the large
) .party which processes to be the masters
IF States and peoples, in which ne pub
: fishes with boastings, as it were IN the
Z vtery face of the. American people, that ne
and his adherents are conducting the at
fairs t:,; of the Republic, and enacting laws
entirely ssoutside of the Constitution"
. SAs A. Renublican journal following in the