The Portland daily press., 1867-10-30

TO the end that the United States may perform
the duty imposed by the Constitution to
guarantee to each State in the Union u re-
publican form of government,
BE u enacted. DC, That no State shall IN its
constitution or laws make any distinction in
the qualifications of electors on the ground of
color, caste or race, and all the provisions of
any constitution or law of State which shall
exclude persons from the electoral franchise
on the ground aforesaid, shall be null and void.
maintain that the construction which
give to the constitution is the only safe one
lor the States and for the United States and that
u IS the one that was given by Mr.. Madison.
Col. Hamilton and the leading men of their
f'me. Inc papers in the Federalist are utter
iy irreconcilable upon any other hypothesis
than the one | have stated and are pap and
consistent upon that.
Ia Mr.. Madison's remarks in the Federalist
paper No. 52-copied by the Press, it is said
"The definition Of The rights Of Suffrage is
justly regarded as a .funddm entail article of
republican, government" Thus it follows
that as the United States Is required TO guar
antce republican governments to the States,
whenever in this fundamental article Of suf
fraee the States have made Unconstitutional
provisions, their Work must be corrected by
| the former. No other conclusion seems pos
sible; and this is entirely consistent with all
the essential rights OF the States, among
which is the right OF initiating the law in re-
spect to suffrage. The same result is clear,
think, from the last clause of the quotation
made by the Press. After the observation
that the provisions of the constitution win be
safe for the United States, Mr. Madison
adds, " and it cannot be feared that the peo-
pie Of the States win alter this part of their
constitutions in such manner as to dbridge
| the rights secured TO them by the federal CON
! stituti0n." What were these rights There
were none more important or valuable than
that to republican government. Should a
State at any time alter its constitution so as
to " abridge this right" and make its govern
ment anti-republican, is it possible to conceive
that Mr.. Madison understoods that there was
no remedy?
All that is said by Madison, in the other
portions of The quotation IN the Press, in e.
gard to the power of the States, refers TO their
poscer 10 originate the ld'es and regulations
concerning elections--to establish them is
the first place,--but there is certainly implied
| all along the ultimate power of revision and
amendment in the general government.
In paper, No. 81, by Mr.. Madison, we have
this remarkable language: -. a..i''
Let me now ask, what circumstance there is
| in the constitution of the House of Represen
tatives, that violates the principles of republic
/ ~ or f.tssn H. -
| fe1o on the ruins Of the nadnye Let me ask
whether every circumstance is not on the con
| trary, strictly conformabe 10 these principles;
and serupulously impartial to the rights and
| pretenSfOrS of epery class and description of
CITIZENS? Who are to be the electors Of The
| federal representatives? Not the rich more
than the poor; not the learned, more than ae ig-
nofdnt; not the naughty heirs of distinguished
names, more than The humble sons of oJSeurity
| and anpropitious fortune. The electors are 10
| be the great body Of the people of the United
| States. They are to be the same who exercise
the right in every State of electing the cores
pondent branch Of the Legislature of the State.
/ The electors of Representatives in Congress
and of the State Representatives are to be the
same persons, and they will be "the great
body OF the people of the United States7 In
the light of this extract, can it be doubted
that republican government, as understood
| by Mr. Madison, was one founded upon the
! naoy1Io and without any aFisioerati, distine-
tioRs, or that the government of any State
was otherwise founded, the power existed in
the general government to make it repubIi-
| can?
The views of Alexander Hamilton are
equally explicit and emphatic with those of
MIR. Madison. make the following extract
from the Federalist, No. 60: .,@ iii
1t will, presume, be as readily conceded.
that there were only three ways in which this
power could have been reasonably organized
that it must either have been lodged wholly in
the national legislature, or wholly in the state
legislatures, or primarily in the latter, and ul-
| tmately in the former The last mode has
,cih reason been preferred by The conceRtion-
| They have submitted the aregulation of cleo
tons for the federal government in the first in
! stance, TO the local administrations; which in
| ordinary cases, and where no improper views
/ prevail, may be both more convenient and
more satisfactory but they hare reseyged TO The
national authority a rightto interfere, acheneoer
| extraordinary circumstances might render that
| interposition necessary 10 IFS safety.
| Nothing can be more evident, than that an
| exclusive power of regulating elections for the
| national government, in the hands of the State
| legislatures, would leave the existence of the
| Union entirely at their mercy. They could at
any moment annihilate it, by neglecting to
provide for the choice of persons to administer
its affairs. 1t is to little purpose to say that
| neglect or omission of this kind would not be
| likely to take place. The constitutional inn
| possibility of the thing, without an equivalent
j for the risk, is an unanswerable objection
Nor has any satisfactory reason been yet as
| signed for incurring that risk. The extrayagant
| surmises of a distempered jealousy can never
| be dignified with that character. fl we are in
| humor to presume abuses Of power, it is as fair
| to presume them on the part of the State gov
| ernments as on the part of the general govern
| ment And as ID is more cOas0ndat 10 The rules
/ of a Just theory to entgust The Union Nth the
care Of its o,on existence, than to transfer that
care 10 any other hands; II abuses Of pO,oer are
| 10 be hdz0rded on the one side or on the other II
| as more rational to hazard them iohere the POO
en- acoud naturally be placed, than chere IL ,oo,ld
| uandturaiiy be placed
1t will not fail to be observed how impossi-
| BILE it is to reconcile some of the most weighty
of the foregoing sentences with the idea that
in no case has Congress power over the ques-
tion OF suffrage. Nor will it fail to be seen
how easily all the language asserting or i'm
plying the existence OF this power in the
States mag be harmonized with the authority
of Congress as herein claimed to exist--to
wit-to revise and control the action of the
| States in respect to elections and suffrage
| whenever it shall be in violation of the re-
| quirements of the Constitution of the United
States.
| To the authority Of the quotations already
made | have to add one of singular force and
pertin ,ncy and one, which, / submit, ought
| to close all controversy on this question. 1t
is from a speech by Mr.. Madison in the Vir-
| ginia Convention, when the adoption of the
Federal constitution was being considered by
that body quote from page 26l OF the De-
bates. Mr.. Monroe wished that the honor
| able gentleman tMr. Madison,) who had been
| in the Federal convention, would give infor-
formation respecting the clause concerning
elections. Mr.. Madison having stated that
the reason for excepting the place OF choosing
Senators was that otherwise the general gov
ernment might compel the State Legislatures
to meet in different place than that OF their
usual sessions, then added: r9Iaq ,.
With respect to the other point it was
thought that the regulation of time, place and
manner of electing the Representatives shonid
be uniform throughout the continent. some
States might regulate the elections on Tho
principles OF equdt'fy, and others might repu-
late them otherwise. The diversity would he
obviously unjust. Elections are yeo,,Ioted nm
eqdduB nog III some of the States, particularly
IN south Carolina, with respect to Charleston
Wmeh Is represented by thirty members
ohoutd me people Of any State by any means be
| dePTsoeo 81 he right of suffrage sods proper
Hut ~ Sh0utd De reDlediedby the general govern