The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-01-20
CONGRESS and tho PeopIe-The xvii and the
Remedy.

Conxress and the PsopIe-The Evil and tho
Remedy.
What Is the remedy This is the real word
of the hour. Congress is naturally and under
the constitution the favored depository Of
political power in government organized
around the idea of popular sovereignty. II is,
indeed, the real fountain of power, and power
placed elsewhere is placed to restrain an undue
exercise or abuse of its authority by Congress-
For the reason that 1t has this power it follows
that when there Is no division In its councils
when both houses are in the hands ola majority
SO absolute that 1t does not even feel called
upon to respect legislative decency In its
course, and when this majority Is 80 dominated
by fanatical idea that it can appreciate no
restraint founded on reason-then the Congress
itself menaces public liberty and popular
rights with danger greater than could flow
from any other source. Does the constitution,
in Its many restraints upon power-in its
many provisions wisely planned for popular
safety-turnish any refuge against this danger
Does it put in the hands of the people any ade-
quate remedy against those who openly scorn
its control-we mean any remedy that might
not be In itself more destructive TO order and
society than the Congressional usurpation? For
we might argue that Congress, so soon az
it clearly acts outside tho constitution, Is no
longer Congress- and that its acts are without
force Of law but this would set up opposing
powers in every city, and might be a remedy
worse that the evil. But we believe that the
constitution furnishes better remedy--one
less questionable than this, and one amply sufl-
cient for the occasion.
Revolution is harnessed into our political
system. This is the guarantee Of our safety.
Regularly recurring, organized, acknowledged
revolution is the ultimate provision made by
the constitution for preserving tho freedom OF
the people. Revolution is always an assertion
of the conservative principle in governments;
but in all governments that antedate ours il
power-a power to be kept down-whoso
operation was to be guarded against by all the
possible devices of statecrafi. 1t has been re-
garded as a combination Of all the untamcd SO
cial powers that governments have to fear 1t
is the glory Of our system that ii accepts this
popular power as one of its primary elements,
and, providing for it a mode of expression and
regular periods of recurrence, secures all its
salutary influences and escapes all its dangers.
II is this normal revolution of the ballot box
that we must now count upon as the remedy
against Congress. II is in this, its grand, ulIi-
mate provision, that the constitution is now on
trial. 1t has been satisfactorily shown that our
system can outride the wear and tear, the
wrestling and wrangling OF q great civil war;
but 1t is possible to see that law may have
severer test. War draws definite lines, and
government generally goes on, whoever pre-
walls; for party strong enough to wage war
is strong enough TO enforce order. But there
is civil strife that is worse, because it induces
anarchy; because often Of the very doubt that
is in mems minds as to which side they arc on.
The people hesitate; they do not give deter
mining weight to either side, and factious IA
natics meanwhile reduce the nation to the last
extremity Of terrorism and disorder.
We have nothing left, then, 20 secure us but
this revolutionary function of the national
will. Congress is lost to every other restraint
"Every man cries out for liberty" said Crom-
well, "and when he hath it he denies it to every
other to the extent of his pow,r" Thus our
radicals, in the full cry for liberty, are tram
ping liberty under foot. Our first device TO
restrain too energetic majority was the
Supreme Court. But that tribunal exercises a
control that, as opposed to Congress, is purely
moral ; and party passion, influenced only by
the "higher law" of its own existence, never
heeds any merely moral force inconsistent
with its supremacy. Congress thus stands just
where the leaders of The Confederacy did when
they repudiated he moral force of the consti
tuition in 1861 and brought on the appeal to
arms. Against Congress there will be no
appeal to arms, but the appeal TO the ballot
box. The reference of all this bitterness to the
great calm common sense Of the people win
determine the dispute against fanaticism--
against those who defy the law and who would
disorganize and destroy the nation, more trc-
mcndousy than the war decided the case
against armed rebellion. Andrew Johnson is
the head and front OF this civil strife, as The
people already feel and around him they must
organize and wage the final battle for their
liberties that the constitution Itself has pro-
vided for.
The Presidents Advisers.
During the tough fight which the President