The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-05-15
STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.
THE PLATFORM ADOPTED.
JANUARY Sth, 4. u. 1891.


NI'AuiastlS Aul'It 70 the principles OF lhe
party MS eNpounded by the fathers, and APP
by experience that In accordance
with these principles we declare that the
Federal Government Is a government OF
powers, and that II possesses no
powers but such MS are expressly, or by
implication delegated to it I'm the
Federal Constitution that allother powers
are reserved to the states or the people;
that u strict construction of the Censtltu-
ton Is Indispensable to the preservation Of
the reserved rights of the States and the
people that all grants of power to Govern
meut, whether state or Federal, should be
strictly construed, because all such grants
abridge the natural rights of men; that the
preservation Of the equality aud rights of
the States aud the rights of the people is
necessary 10 the preservation Of the Union;
that the Federal Government Is untitled to
legislatc for orudministcr the local concerns
of the States that II would be monstrous
that the local affairs OfOhio should be regu-
lated by u Federal CongrCssin which she has
but two Senators, and the New England
States, with but Il little greater population,
hayctwclvc; that the tendency of the Fed
cral Government Is TO usurp the reserved
rights of the States and of the people; and
that therefore, u Capitalization Of power in
its hands is an ever pending danger. That
such an abs lrptiou OF power would, while
IL lasted, be destructive of the liberties and
interests of the people, and would end
either In despotism or a destruction of the
Union that II National debt, besides i'm
povcrishing Ahc people, fosters an undue
increase OF the powers Of the Federal Gov
crnmcnt that high protective tariffs have
q like effect, sacrificing the interests of the
many for the cmolumcnts of the few, and
plainly violating the equity aud spirit Of
the Constitution that the collection and
disbursement of enormous revenues by the
Federal Government have the same ten
dcncy, beside corrupting the Government,
aud that therefore, economy Is essential
not only to the prosperity, but also to the
liberties of the people; that unequal tax
alton Is "a plain violation of Justice, of
which no Government can safely be guilty.
That to each State belongs the right to
determine the qualification of its electors,
and all attempts to impair this right, either
by Congressional legislation or Constitu-
tional amendment, are unwise and despOt-
ic; that the tendency of power Is to steal
from the many to he few, aud that, there
fore, eternal vigilance Is the price of lib
crty - that the tendency Of government is
to enlarge Its authority by usurpatiOn, and
therefore government needs to be watched I;
that another of It's tendencies Is to govern
too muClf-umncccssarily and vcXatiOusly
interfering with the business and habits Of
the people; that the freedom of speech and
Of the press il essential to the existence of
liberty that no person not In the military
or naval service, or in the bounds where
martial law lcgitimatcly prevails, can law
fully be deprived Of life, liberty or proper
ty, without due process of civil law that
the courts should always be open for the
redress of grievances; that 10 er post JdctO
law should be made that the right Of the
people to pcaceably assemble and consult
upon public affairs Is inViOlablc; that the
| .-siG.-.. I.-.I1 L.. I..1I l.. I.. A.ls.aNG-.
to the civil power; that while the major
ity, IA prescribed by the Constitution, have
the right to govern, the minority have in
dcfensihle rights; and that n frequent re-
currcnCe to first principles is essential to
the welfare of the State aud the people.
2. Resolred, That the States lately in re-
bcllion are States In the Union, and have
been recognized IA such by every depart
ment of the Government, and by Prcsi-
dent Lincoln. who, in the midst of the war,
invited them to clcctmcmbcrs of Congress
by President johnson, In various procla-
nations aud official acts; by Congress
which permitted Andrew Johnson to sit il
the Senate as n Senator from Tennessee
and members from Virginia, Tennessee,
and Louisiana TO sit In the House of Repre-.
s%cutativcs after these States had seeded
and while the war was being carried on
and which further recognized them a.
States in the Union 10y the Congressional
apportiOnmcnt act providing for their due
representation in Congress; by YariOu.
tax laws, and especially by the direct tax
by the resolutions submitting amendment.
to the Constitution for their approval, aut
by various other acts and resolutions i'm
parting the same recognition all of which
were passed since The attempted secession
of those States, by the judiciary of the
United States, which holds Federal Court
In all those States, and especially by thu
Supreme Court, which entertains jurisdic
ton of cases coming from them, which i
could not do were they not In the Union
That being thus in the Union, they stant
on an equal footing with their sister State
States with unequal rights being a thin
) unknown to the Constitution; that, by tn
4, express terms of the Constitution, encl
State is entitled to have two Senators and
due proportion of Representatives in tn
? Congress, and to vote in all elections q
President and Vice-president that, thong
these rights are subject to interruption b.
Il state of civil war, they can not, in time q
peace, be suspended, much less DESTROYED
without n plain violation of the Constitu
! ton that Congress has no power to de
a prive a State of its reserved rights, an
/ reduce It to n Territorial condition tina
therefore the exclusion, by the so-calle
, Congress, of all representation from te
! States, the proposed exclusion of thos
States, from all voice In the next IreSlucn
I tial election, the threatened overthrow {
a their State Governments and the reductio
,, OF their States to the condition of |territoI
les, are each and every one of them uncon
= stitutional, revolutionary and dcspotl
: measures, destructive not merely of I'll
@ rights of those States, but also of the righI
Of every other State in the Union. Thi
those measures are parts ola plan to MULTI
the Constitution, virtually overthrow I'll
State Governments, to erect consolidate
despotism on their ruins; and to cstablis
u and perpetuate n t%yrannical rule of a minol
n ity over a majority of the American pee
Ia Pile. That the people cannot, without
n loss of their liberties, prosperity and hone
submit to such n result; and we, therefor
in the hope that the warning will |
Ie needed, and the danger to our situations |
q peaceably averted, do solcmnly warn IL
advocates Of the plan, that it will II,
|, be submitted to.
8. ResolUed, That Congress II not q
= omnipotent law-making power. That u
Constitution provides that no bill shall b.
lrome "A law without the approval of n