The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1867-04-23
Prompt Action Under the RECON-
structIon Measures, shc only
Safety.

control, ana TO arrest results ~ y. "
: early future, far more dcplorable, TN
obstructive idea is advanced that they
should rely upon other means Of saie
ty which its authors with blind iaitn
urge, will come to them, from othei
sources. in a,sl. .,i .sfas. d
Some persons propose nothing more
than listless inactivity, apparently In
order to rid themselves Of the duty OF
facing a disagreeable trouble. But
this is the philosophy of the fatalist
who yields to the force Of the current
! into which he may be drawn, and per-
mits himself to beborne to the abyss
below, without exercising the mental
and physical powers of selfpreserva-
ton with which nature has endowed
him. His mind refuses to compre-
bend all the elements. of the prospect
before him, and he is hurried to his
doom upon the pfinciple of mere
chance. AK 44dE qieI
BY others, the admonition is
given that we must fix our gaze upon
the Constitution, and permit ourselves
to do nothing toward the execution OF
laws framed not in accordance with
that instrument They who suggest
this expedient, are strangely forgetful
of events with whfch all our people
should be familiar. "A nobler structure
Of human wisdom was never devised
by uninspired mortal. For all the
purposes of harmonious action be-
tween the people of every section for
the protection Of all classes at home,
in the enjoyment Of their rights; and
for commanding the respect of nations
abroad, it is amply sufficient. Admin
tered according to the intent of its
trainers, it is equal to the attainment
of all the ends of good government
ment. Yet administered according to
the Interpretation of the party which
now holds unlimited control, it is not
worth to the minority as protection
from oppression, the parchment on
which it is written To trust to the
saving virtues of the Constitution as
interpreted by the agragrians of the
Sumner, Stevens and Phillips school,
is like committing your destiny to the
fortunes Of a magnificent vessel on a
stormy sea, with mailman at the helm,
Dow forget that even in the better
days ofthe Government, the Constitu-
ton was repeatedly and wantonly vio-
lated by the Northern States, under
the guidance Of such men as those, to
the detrinent of the South, and that
in these aggressions the Southern
States have found their unanswerable
vindication for Withdrawing from the
Union, and erecting homogeneous
government of their own creation? Do
we forget the personal liberty
bills of the Northern States? Do
we forget the incessant clamor
which the fanatics INDUCED, that they
were absolved from their obligations
to obey the constitution because it
was "a league with hell and a covenant
with death ~ And do we forget that
in violation of the comfy which was
due to each other by the States COM
posing the Union, the majority banded |
together for the avowed |
purpose of administering the constitu-
ton, or the government under it, upon
q purely sectional idea, and that by |
this sign they conquered in the
election Of 1860?
And, yet, with these lessons of his
tory indelibly written IN the minds Of
our people, they are told by persons
who claim to speak In their interest,
hat they must trust their chances of
rescue from impending dangers, to
The saving virtues of the constitution,
by the men who haYe
Illustrated their veneration for it by
,he enactment of the very measures
which are now being enforced against
he late Confederate States.
Not less futile, we are constrained
% believe, is the trust which some
people place in the fnterposition of
he Supreme Court Admit that it
las cognizance of political questions;
md will decide the recent measures to
,e unconstitutional in advance of
he consummation of the contemplated
Ian of reconstruction-which is not
'robable-what will it avail, practi-
allyp What respect has the party
Fhich now controls the government
eretofore shown for the decisions of
hat tribunal2 Are the results which
ollowed the memorable bred Scott
ecision so soon forgotten Con-
letting with the ideas of the higher
lw malignants, they laughed it to
corn; set it at defiance;
nd the party at whose
practices it
ras aimed, derived fresh fuel for the
ngry flames which it had kindled, and
aught from it renewed inspiration for
he work which they had undertaken
> accomplish. Now, this same party .
fields the powers of the Governments
! refusal of the President to execute s
he law in obedience to the. mandate
{ the Court, would be the signal for
is impeachment and immediate dis !
lacement, and the transfer of the Ex- !