Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-04-26
The masters and their Servants.

The Masters and their Servants.
1t was once thought by all classes of the
people that the Constitution of the United
States was an almost perfect instrument,
and that under it's benign influence the
young American nation was destined to at
tain, not only to the rank of the greatest
and most enlightened people of the world,
but to that summit of perfect internal hap
piness and accord that would, through ali
time, excite the wonder and admiration of
the less favored inhabitants of other coun-
tries.
The history of the past six years has
proven the contrary, and how utterly falla-
cious all such ideas were. Yet the failure
has been only to partial extent, and was
the fault of the sovereign people themselves.
The old proverb of ''put not your trust
in Princes" has received a new version and
one more in accordance with the enlight-
ened views Of the age. 1t now reads ''put
not your trust in servants" The govern
ment founded by our Constitution was emf
nently wise, and founded upon new princi-
pies. Ignoring entirely the old-time theo-
ry of the Capitalization Of power in the
few, it assumed the theory of popular
government upon the broad basis of Il uni
versal sovereignty. The monarchs of the
cuted the laws of the land but its rulers
were they who lived under the admins
tration of those laws, the people of
the land, each one of whom was
monarch in his own right
The powers which they possessed them
selves were delegated to those whom they
might select to bear the expression of their
own will They were the lords, and their
Legislators and congressman the servants.
Yet these servants, waxing strong in the
arbitrary exercise of powers vested, and
not vested in them, have been gradually,
yet surely overstepping the bounds of the
authorities granted them by the people,
until at length they hove grown SO bold as
to override the teachings of the Constitu-
ton and the will of their constituents, and
now stand confessed before the world as
the dictators Of America. They yet boast
loudly of their loyalty, and with this boast
upon their lips, but with treason in their
hearts, they are assuming unto themselves
the most terrible and formidable of powers.
They have given new version to the terms
Of patriotism and of political morality, and
who may dare to think for themselves
They have declared as reasonable those
very principles which first gave birth to
the great Democratic party, and by which
that party has been guided since the days
Of Jefferson. They have threatened to re-
model the Supreme Court, because it con-
forms to the principles derived by it from
the Constitution. They have not only over
ridden the power of the President, but
have endeavored to impeach him because
he opposed their will by an exercise Of
his legitimate functions, and, disregarding
the powers with which his office is legally
vested, have passed laws binding him in bis
action to the range allowed by the Congress
sional MILL and under the veil Of loyalty and
q love for the Union, they have bowed to
the dust of degradation people who are
the Legitimate heirs of the benefits Of the
Constitution, in that their fathers fought
to establish and to perpetuate it.
These are they to whom the new version,
"put not not your trust in servants, will
apply the corrupt opponents of corrupt
principles, the legislation usurpers, and
the men from whom, if their self-conferred
powers are not soon withdrawn, will yet alb
sorb, in the progress of their own ambition,
the remnants of the Constitutional liberty
of the people of the United States.
Hon. Romulus Nj. Saunders is no More.
| This distinguished gentleman departed
this life at his residence in Raleigh, on the
Dist inst, alters protracted illness, at thead
vanced age of seventy-six years, and as the
Raleigh Sentinel truly remarks, few men
in the country have filled larger measure
Of usefulness, or occupied more or higher
positions Of prominence and trust
"Judge Saunders was born in Caswel]
county, in March, 1871. In his early man
hood, he removed to Tennessee, where he
studied law under the Hon. Hugh Lawson
White, and was licensed to practice in 1912.
He then returned to North Carolina and
was elected to the House of Commons in
1815-serving until 1S20-and was speaker
of the House in 1919 and 1920. In the
latter year, he was elected a member OF
Congress and served until 1927. In 1926
he was elected Attorney General of the
State. In 1888 he was appointed by the
President one of the Board Of Commits
sioners to decide and allot the amounts due
citizens of the United States for injuries
by Franco, us settled by treaty Of July 4,
1881. In 1881 he was elected by the lie.
gislature a Judge of tho Supreme Court,
but resigned in 1910, Oh account of being
nominated as the Democratic candidate for
Governor, in opposition to the Hon. John
M. Morehead. Many of our readers will
remember the memorable canvass of the
State by these two gentlemen, as being
perhaps the ablest and most excited ever