Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1868-07-29

an equal chance to acquire property, the
old Republican party, as / said before, abol.
ished imprisonment for debt, and made he
necessaries of life exempt from execution.
Following in these footsteps, the Republican
party, in the first year of its national triumph,
secured to every landless man one hundred
and sixty-acre farm without money and with.
out price and in the further practice of the
same principle only last year it released the
honest but broken debtor from the further
pursuit OF unrelenting credit. By an amend
ment to the Constitution slavery in sixteen
States, in the District of Columbia, and in
all the vast Territories of the country has
been abolished and its restoration made i'm
possible forever. We have many bright pages
IN our history trust we are to have many
more-but the page that records this brief
amendment will be the brightest of them
| all The franchise, which lifts up the humble.
protects the weak, educates the ignorant,
and endows the poor, the synonym of liber-
u aud self respect has from time to time
been greatly enlarged. Under Republican
legislation the volunteer soldier retains
his franchise and sends home hisvote.
One years service of the country endows
the alien with the ballot. In twelve
States, in all the Territories, and in the Dis
trict of Columbia, the franchise has been
! extended to all and without distinction OF
race, and the whole tendency of Republican
! debate and legislation has been toward an
enlargement of the franchise without re-
strictiOn, except for crime.
All these measures look in one direction,
and lead only to one result. They enlarge
the rights. privileges, and opportunities of
all the people, and subordinate the laws to
the popular will. That is not despotism,
/ but freedom. These measures may all be
wrong, but if So it is because tie theory of
| popular government is wrong. L have a
right, therefore. to conclude that the charge
| of despotic tendency preferred against the
| Republican party is entirely without founda-
| ton
| 1t may be said that two of these measures,
namely, the emancipation OF the slaves in
all the States and their enfranchisement in
| the eleven rebel States have been too much
| hurried. The Republican party did not in
| the beginning intend to move so rapidly
| Emancipation, which would withdraw from
the enemy and add to us tour million popu-
latiou, became military recessity The
! great purpose of the rebellion was to with
draw slavery from the wasting influence of
| the nineteenth century to build it around
| with new nationality, ard wall out the
| light and warmth of Christian age. That
motive could only be destroyed by the des-
struction eff slavery itself, and we struck it
a hurried but faoa, blow. P,o.natuIe
franchisement, If premature 1t Is, has Teen
forced upon us for a somewhat similar rea-
son. TIE returning rebels demanded two
sets Of Congressman, all their own, and
thirty-three more Tor the blacks, both sets
to be elected exclusively by themselves.
Under the amended Constitution the claim
was legal But such double power would
enable them to vote down your soldiers
pensions, repudiate your plighted honor,
force upon you the payment tor emanclDa-
ted slaves, and finally TO master and redivlde
the Union. To break the strength of this
disunion element, we put the ballot In the
hands of the loyal black man. Our own
safety and the safety of the Union demand
ed it, but it is in accordance with the theory
of our Government, and if little prema-
ture, time will soon overtake it.
But you have passed laws restraining the
pewers of the President where is the des-
potiSm of that? A despotic government is
a one man governmental executive. How
can restraints upon that one man power be
also despotic They might be considered
too Republican, too Democratic, but to call
them despotic involves contradiction.
What are the facts During the war the
President was clothed with extraordinary
anprehended that these powers might be
used to destroy the liberties of the people.
At length the war was over, Mr.. johnson
had come to be President but the extraor-
dipary powers were still attached to the ex-
ecutive Office. They were no longer needed,
but we're as dangerous as ever. MT. John
son himself said in his celebrated East Room
speech, that he possessed power enough to
make himself dictator A great many peo-
pie thought he intended to stry 1t. Then
Congress began to do what the Democrats
claimed they should have done long before,
confine the executive power to Its old peace
limits. Then they complain again. 10 confer
the powers were despotlc, to recall them Is
despotic. One or the other complaint Is
nnfounded. We could not be wrong each
time We were really right each time; Ii
was proper that the Presid ent should have
large powers to suppress he rebellion, and
that these powers should be surrendered al
ter the necessity was PASSED. =,
But your mode demonstrating the South
is desnotic Not so much so yours, pro-
vided you adopted it. The President put
tbe people of the South under military rule;
CONGRESS did not. We did not order the
Army there. We did not keep 1t there.
We took no action till March 3, 1867. UP
to that time the President had his own way
and all this time he governed the South Dy
the Army. Till then his despotlc vii
was law. He got up conventions. lie seiec
ted the voters He shaped the constitutions
and declared them adopted, lie allowed nc
popular vote That was your plan. This
was real espotism-unrestraIne one-man
military power. Our plan was only, re-
straint upon yours. We did not order the
Army away, to be sure; but We put it under
| the control of law We did not prohibit
| the assembling of conventions, but released
| them from the dictation of the President.
| We did not forbid constitutions to be framed
but required their submission to the people
Your plan was to originate State govern
ments in accordance with the President
will, ours in accordance with established
law.
But you are making eucroachments upon
the Supreme Court A bill which require:
the concurrence of two thirds OF the Judge:
to declare statute of the United State:
void was proposed, but never became law
Suppose it had, what despotism Is there II
that2 Who compose the Supreme Court
Usually nine judges. They are appointed
by the President and hold their offices fol
life. The people can change their Repre-
sentatlves once in two years, their President
once IN four, and their Senators once IN SIX
but the judges of this court are always be
yond their reach. This is the only anti-re