Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-10-08
THE FOURTEENTH ARTICLE.
Is it Valid or is it Not--Seward's
Proclamation.
the ANNOUNCEMENT.

a very singular proclamation was
issued from the Department of State
on the goth of July last, Announcing
in a conditional manner that the pro-
/ posed fourteenth amendment had be-
come valid to all intents and purposes
as a part Of the Constitution, provided
something is true which the Secretary
of State did not undertake TO say is or
not true. This unprecedented event
in our constitutional history is calcu-
lated to give us pause. For the first
time since we had Constitution, the
high officer whose duty it is by law to
announce the flnal adoption of amend
ments Of that instrument is unable or
unwilling to say with certainty, on the
public facts before him, whether an
amendment has been duly ratified by
the requisite number of States or not.
Whether tho want of positive official
announcement by way Of legal finding
of the fact of adoption is conclusive
against the validity of the adoption
supposed TO have taken place in this
instance, il is perhaps not now neces-
sary to inquire. 1t is, at all events,
officially announced that there is a
question respecting this matter; and
this novel situation leads 10 inquiry
into the grounds of the doubt. How
it happens that there should be a
doubt, what that doubt is, and how
it should be solved, are very grave
matters.
THE LOGIC OF FACTS.
The facts Of the case are these ::
There are thirty-seven States in the
Union. The Publications of at least
twenty-seven are necessary to the
adoption OF any amendment. OF the
twenty-three States, consisting of Con.
necticut, New Hampshire, Tennessee,
New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, New
York, Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia,
Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Missouri, In
diana, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Wis
consin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Mas
sachusetts, Nebraska and Iowa, which
had ratified the amendment before the
official announcement, tlcO, namely
Ohio and New Jersey, withdrew their
ratifications before any of the remain
ing States had acted. If that with
drawal was rightful, the ratifying
States, of those above Iecited, are 81
if it was not rightful, they are %. In
either case the rat,fcations of Arkan-
sas, Florida, North Carolina and Ala.
bama, six States, or, some of them,
were necessary 70 the adoption of the
amendment. IfOhio and New Jersey
are not TO be counted, the whole ofl
the above six are necessary if those
two States arc to be counted, four out
Of the six arc sufficient to make up
the requisite number of 27. In either
case, therefore, whether Ohio and New I
Jersey are counted or not counted as
ratifying States, no point Of time has
yet been reached at which this amend |
mcnt has been ratified by twenty
seven States, unless the notifications |
were valid which have been given by
the supposed Legislatures OF States
reconstructed under acts of Congress
by the military power of the United
States.
A REVIEW OF THE EFFECT THEREOF.
The Secretary of State, after reel.
ting the course Of events, and after
reciting that the law under which he
acts has not made it his duty to decide
whether the ratifcations of Ohio and
New Jersey could be or have been
validly withdrawn, or whether "the
newly constituted and newly ostab-
lished bodies avowing themselves TO
be acting as the Legislatures" of the
six Southern and reconstructed States
could rightfully act on tho proposed
amendment, nevertheless proceeds to
announce that il the States of Ohio
and New Jersey are to be counted as
ratiiying States, notwithstanding their
then the amendment has
become valid TO all intents and pnrpo-
ses as part of the Constitution thus
to decide one of the very
questions which be said ia the former
part Of his proclamation Il was not
his province to decide. | do not know
he intended 10 be understood
as expressing the opinion that the
by those bodies which he
calls "newly constituted" and which
! shall call pretended Legislatures, are
valid, and at the same time 10 say that
his official duty did not require him TO
pass upon that question. BY the terms
Of bis proclamation he has expressed
his opinion officially that the amend
ment has been duly adopted, Il the
Of Ohio aud New Jersey
Of their previous ratifcations, are TO
be disregarded. But il is as clear as
figures can mako Il that whether Ohio
and New Jersey are counted in or
counted out, ifthe ratifications of the
pretended Legislatures Of the six
oouthern etat0s aIv valid, the amend
ment has been adopted; otherwise it
has not been adopted In this aspect
Of the official announcement, any citi-
zen may be at liberty to examine the
subject for himself or others and con-
the very peculiar character
Of tho official announcement, the ques-
tion IS open before any public body,
tribunal, or official, that may have TO
act upon il, and before the public
WHAT TIE FRAMERs OF THE coNsT1TU-
TloN DESIGNED.
When the trainers of the Constitu.
ton provided for its amendment by
the Legislatures Of thrce-iourths Of
the States, they carefully avoided ev-
cry species of coercion ia the process
Of reaching the requisite threo.iourths.
They thought il enough 10 make a
proposed amendment binding on all
the States aflor Il had been adopted
by thrce-fourths Of tho States. In
the process Of securing its adoption,
they left every State perfectly free to
ratiiy or 10 reject. They provided no
mode by which Legislature could be
packed, under the direction, or by the
influence Of tho Congress that had
proposed an amendment; and they
added TO this power Of proposing
no power Of debating