The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-07-05
STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.
ThePLATFoRM ADOPTED
January Sth, Il. ID. 1867.


party as eNpOunded by the fathers, and APP
proved by experience; that IN accordance
with these principles We declare that the
Federal Government Is "A government Of
limited powers, and that It possesses 40
powers but such as are expressly. or by
necessary implication delegated to II In the
| Federal Constitution; that all other powers
are reserved to the states or the people
/ that strict construction OF the Csnstitu-
tion Is Indispensable to the preservation Of
the reserved rights OF the States and the
people that all grants of power to Govern
ment, whether State or Federal, should be
strictly construed, because all such grants
abrdge the natural rights of men; that the
preservation OF the equality and rights of
the States and the rights Of the people is
necessary To the preservation of the Union
that the Federal Government Us untitled to
llcgislRte for OF administer the local concerns
of the States that it would be mOnstrous
that che local affairs ofOhio should be regu-
lated by Federal Congressin which she has
but two Senators, and the New England
States, with but n little greater population,
have twelve; that the tendency of the Fed
eral Government Is to usurp the reserved
rights OF the States and OF the people and
that, therefore, a Capitalization of power In
its hands is an ever pending danger. That
such an abs Irption OF power would. while
IL lasted, be destructive of the liberties and
interests Of the people, and would end
either in despOtsm or destruction of the
Union; that u National debt besides i'm
poyerishing the people, fosters an undue
increase of the powers Of the Federal Gov
ernment; that high protective tariffs have
a like effect, sacrificing the interests of the
many for the emoluments of the few, and
plainly violating the equity and spirit of
the Constitution; that the collection and
disbursement of enormous revenues by the
| Federal Government have the same ten
dency, beside corrupting the Government,
and that, therefore, economy is essential
not only. To the prosperity, but also TO the
liberties of the people; that unequal tax
alton Is 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 the few, aud that, there
fore, eternal vigilance is the price of lib
erty;" that the tendency of government is
to enlarge its authority by usurpation, and
therefore government needs to be watched :;
that another of its tendencies is to govern
too much-unnecessarily and veXatiOusly
interfering with the business and habits Of
the people; that the freedom of speech and
of the press is essential to the existence of
liberty that no person not in the military
martial law lcgitimately 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 no eI post GdCtO
law should be made; that the right of the
people to peaCeably assemble and consult
upon public affairs is inviolable; that the
g military should be held in due subjection
to the civil power; that while the major
4 ity, rs prescribed by the Constitution, have
s the right to govern, the minority have in
t defeasible rights; and that frequent re-
t currence to first principles is essential to
= the welfare of the State and the people.
e 2. Resolued, That the States lately in re-
h belion are States in the Union, and have
Z been recognized as such by every depart
S ment of the Government, and by Presi-
dent Lincoln, who, in the midst fthe war
invited them to electmembers of Congress
= by President johnson, in various prOcla-
, nations and official acts; by Congress
y which permitted Andrew johnson to sit IL
Il the Senate as a Senator from Tennessee
l, and members from Virginia, Tennessee
= and Louisiana to sit in the House Of Repre-.
sentatives after these States had seeded
and while the war was being carried on
n and which further recognized them a,
h States in the Union by the Congressional
d apportionment act providing for their due
-, representation in Congress; by various
u tax laws, and especially by the direct tax
J, by the resolutions submitting amendments
i to the Constitution for their approval, anC
}, by various other acts and resolutions Inn
;, parting the same recognition; all of which
u were passed since the attempted secession
y of those States, by the Judiciary of tn,
I, United States, which holds Federal Court
in all those States, and especially by tn,
Supreme Court, which entertains jurisdic
tiOn of cases coming from them, which i
could not do were they not in the Union
" That hAiDn thnG in the IIninp. thaV 0f a m,
he on an equal footing with their sister State
a States with unequal rights being a thin!
"a unknown to the Constitution that, by til
~ express terms of the Constitution, eac
er State is entitled to have two Senators and
We due proportion of Representatives in tn
g. Congress, ana to vote in all elections c
No. President and Vice-president; that. thoug
}" these rights are subject to interruption b
IT. state of civil war, they can not in time {
peace, be suspended, much less destroyed
1n without plain violation of the Constitu
d. tion; that Congress has no power to dc
he prive a State of Its reserved rights, an
81 reduce it to a Territorial condition; thi
"u therefore the exclusion, by the so-calle
Congress, of all representation from te
ce States, the proposed exclusion of thos
States, from all voice in the next Presider
tial election, the threatened overthrow
= their State Governments and the reductio
OF their States to the condition of terrific,
les, are each and every one of them uncor
ct stitutional, revolutionary and dcspot
d. measures, destructive not merely of Il
IS rights of those States, but also of the righ
ale Of every other State in the Union. Tn
ary those measures are parts ofa plan to nullii
the Constitution, virtually overthrow Il
State Governments, to erect aconsoldat,
es. despOtism on their ruins; and TO establii
the and perpetuate n tyrannical rule of mino
the ity over a majority of the American pc
yn- pie. That the people cannot, without
hip loss of their liberties, prosperity and hone
tna ha submit to such result; and we, therefor
,ut. in the hope that the warning will
lalf needed, and the danger to our situations
peaceably averted, do solemnly warn d
! q advocates of the plan, that it will II
Tor be submitted to.
eor 8. Resolved, That Congress is not
nls, t,Sa omnipotent aw-making power. That I
! TO Constitution provides that no bill shall b
on come law without the approval of d
J., President, unless it be passed by two-thir
W. of each House of Congress. That one
the objects of the present so-called Co
- gress IN excluding States from represent
tiOn, is 10 pass bills by twO-thirds vO
N which, were all the States Tepresente
-"' could not so pass; and thus to virtual
abolish the constitutional provision afor
said. That il this precedent be acQuiesc
in there will be nothing to prevent a ba