Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-02-25
Communicated
First Principles of Government.

1
being asked, What is the first duty of
! government, replied "a just gov
eminent not only regards the inter-
ests of the rich and powerful, but
stoops to redress the wrongs of the
meanest citizen" This was we'll said
for his day and age of the world,
when the laboring classes, the plebi-
ans, had no voice in the affairs of
state, but were substantially owned
by the priests and patricians. Now,
under our form of government, all is
changed. A majority of our people
are plebians, and they are the gov
eminent.
In the adjustment of our legisla-
ton, and in our social relations, we
have been greatly disturbed by the
intrusion Of very narrow and undem-
ocratic prejudices growing out ofcon>
ditions of nationality and of color =
but since the overthrow of the rebel
lion, upon the latter of which it was
mainly founded, these partition walls
are being broken down, and we are
slowly becoming a united and homo.
geniouspeople. Ignorance, may in the
future as in the past, long delay this
glorious consumation but. happily,
the spread of general intelligence is,
year by year rapidly acelerating. and
is destined not many generations
hence to illuminate every bsclouded
mind and every hamlet in the land.
The animosities of persons and par
ties growing out of the late civil war,
now naturally very bitter and ram
pant, will gradually wane, and after
the present generation shall have
passed away, the public voice will
everywhere unite in peans of praise
to the gallant and successful Defend
ers of the Union, Thus, one by one,
the discordant elements which have
kept us and still keep us from fulfill,
ing our great mission of practical
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
among the nations of the earth, will
happily pass away.
After this long and somewhat la.
bored prelude, raise the question for
argument, intended to have been
sooner introduced What, and tohere
is the limit to the poacer # the majority
under our system OF gorernmentg The
prevailing theory is that the majority
must rule in all matters not inhibited
TO it by our national and state consti-
buttons that the minority must sub
nit to the arbitrary DEGREES of the
majority, be they right or wrong
That the limitations imposed by these
instruments, are or can be made eff
fective, does not admit Of doubt
but the public mind seems to be di
vided upon the question. as to what
extent the rights of minorities are
guarded in matters upon which the
constitutions are silent. This con,
sideration relates more particularly
to the state constitution for, in the
language of the paramount instru-
ment: article 10, amendments The
powers not delegated TO the q. S. by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the States, are reserved TO the
States respectively, or to the people"
This brings us to consider the ele.
mentary principles applicable to our
subject matter. LIST, then, we affirm
that our State Constitution is suppos.
ed to grant no power Of legislation
but what is founded in natural right,
or in the absolute necessities Of State.
1t does not organize the people into q
political body for the purpose ofcom>
mercial speculation, or for the pur-
pose of promulgating any secular or
religious faith. End, if the majority
Of any people forming state, or tax
ing initiatory STEPS thereto, should
adopt a fundamental law which per-
mitted its law-making power to i'm
pose taxes to aid one class of people
at the expense of the whole, in mat,
ters of trade, or venture of any kind
or TO propagate any creed or doctrine
affecting the rights of conscience in
the least, no matter how preponera-
ting the public sentiment might be in
its favor. it would be in violation of
natural right it would trench upon
the domain of public justice or in
other words it would be tyranny
The duty of The minority in such case
would be to resist, first by appeal to
the courts; End, by appeal to the bet
ter judgment of the people !; and, f.
nally, as dirnler resort, by appeal to
the arbitrament of arms. To do less
would be cowardice Absolute nom
intervention in these matters, is the
only Just and safe rule of action for
the conduct political bodies having
authority over us.
Under our theory of government
the eye of the law looks upon
the sectien man who tolls upon
railroad at a scanty per diem, and
the barber who shaves him, with ex-
actly the same regard as upon the
railroad director and dduenturer, who
is aiming, by playing upon the public
credulity, 10 spread his nets Of COR
porate power and monopoly over all
the business community, and by va
rious other contrivances, to put vast
sums OF money in his purse. If
there is to be any discrimination, it
sUOuiu Dt III ldNOk Vi tIC SCNblOiI' kldl
and barber. Again. The most zeal
Gus disciple of either one of the nu-.
merous Christian sects, is no more TO
the State than the Jew, the Moham-
edan, or the Infdel. all, all, of
whatever creed or color, are on an
equality Of rights and privileges, SO
iongas their conduct does not conflict
with the public welfare. The absur>
dities of the Mormon faith, may be
safely left to abide the test of reason.
but the practical illustration of their
plurality of wives may be legally met
and punished.
PARTICULAR APPLICATION OF OUR GEN
ERAL PRINCIPLES.
| LIST 1t follows as matter of course
that what the Legislature may not do
directly, it cannot delegate TO infe-
rior bodies hence, the laws which
are being constantly enacted to au-
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