The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-04

increased the national debt by rerkless ex.
pcndture OF the public moneys, and thus added
TO the burdens which already weigh upon the
Teople. They have permitted the nation TO
euifer the evils Of q derauQed currency, to the
enhancement In price OF oil the becessaries OF
life. They have maintained large standing
army for the enforcement OF their measures OF
oppression. They have engaged In class legs-
lation and built up and encouraged moUooones,
that the few mieht be enriched at the expense
of the many. They have tailed to act upon
important treaties, thereby endaugerluR our
present peaceful relations with foreign po Rers.
Their course OF usurpatioD has not been
lint ed TO inioads upon The Executive Depart
ment. BY unco Institutional and oppressive
tnactmeDts the people of ten safes OF the
Unit have been reduced to a condition more
intoeTable than that from " hch the patriots
of the Revolution rebelied. Millions OF Amerl-
can citizens can now say of their oppressors.
with more truth than our parents did Of British
tyTants, that they have ioi bdden the State gov
ernments to pass laws of immediae and press
Ing importance, unless suspended until their
assent should be obtaibed; that they have re-
fu. cd to pass other laws for the accommodation
of large districts of people, unless those people
would feliLquish the right OF representation In
the Legislature-a right iDestimable TO then
ard formidable to tyTants only; that they have
made judges dependent upon their will alone
for the tel ure OF their offices aud the amount
and payment OF their salaries.
That they have erected q multitude OF new
offices al sent hither swarms of officers to
harass our people and eat out their substance.
That thev have affected to render the military
independent of and superior TO the civil DO wers
combined with Others to subject us to iuris.
d1ction foreign to our Constitution aud IN
acknowledged by our laws, qnartered large
booies OF armed troops among as, protected
them by mock trial from punishment for any
murders which they should commit on the
inhabitants of these States, imposed taxes on us
without our consent, deprived US in many cases
OF the benefit of trial by Jury, taken away our
char,ers excited domestic nsurrection amongst
Us, abolished our most valuable laws, altered
fundamentally the forms OF our Government,
suspended our own Legislatures, and declared
themselves invested with power 10 legislate Tor
us in all cases whatsoever.
This catalogue of crimes, long as 1t is, is not
yet complete The Constitution vests the judi
cial power of the United States in one Supreme
Court, whose jurisdiction shall extend TO all
cases arising under the Constitution aud the
laws OF the United States. Encouraged by this
promise OF refuge from tyranny, citizen of
the United States, who, by the order OF mill
tary commander, given under the sanction of
a cruel and deliberate edict of Congress- had
been denied the constitutional rights of liberty
OF conscience, freedom of the press and of
speech, personal freedom from military arrest,
of being held TO answer for crime only on pre-
sentiment and indictment, on trial by Jury, of
the writ of ha6eas corpus, aud protection of
civil and constitutional governmental citizen
thus deeply wronged appeals to the Supreme
Court for the protection guaranteed him by the
organic law of the land. At once. fierce and
excited majority by the ruthless hand of legis-
latlve power, stripped the ermne from the
judges, transferred the sword of justice to the
general, and remanded the oppressed citizen to
degradation and bondage worse than death.
1t will also be recorded as one of the marves
OF the times, that party claiming for itself
monopoly OF consistency and patriotism, aud
beasting, too, of Its unlimited sway, endeavored
by costly and deliberate trial to impeach one
who defended the Constitution and the Union,
not only throughout the war of the Rebellion,
but during his whole term of Office as Chief
MAGISTRATE, but at the same time could find no
u ia nr mos a hai nd fn hrin
to trial even the chief of the Rebellion. Indeed,
the remarkable failures in his case were so often
repeated that, for proprety sake. If for no other
lin an unconditional pardon. What more
plainly than this illustrates the extremity of
party management aud Inconsistency on the one
hand, and OF faction, viudctiveness, and intole-
rance on the other? Patriotism will hardly be
encouraged wheD In such a record 1t sees that
its instant reward may be the most vrulent
party abuse and obloquy, If not attempted
disgrace. a.
Instead of seeking to make treason odious, it
would, in truth, seem to have been their pur-
pose rather to make the defense of the Consti-
tuition and mon crime, and to punish fidelity
to oath of Office, If counter to party dictaton
by all the means at their command. Happily
for the peace OF the country, the war has deter
mined against the assumed power of the States
to withdraw at pleasure from the Union. The
institution of slavery also found its destruction
in a rebellion commenced in its interests. 1t
should be borne In mind, however, that the war
neither impaired nor destroyed the Constitution; [;
but, on the contrary, preserved Its existence
and mace apparent its real power and enduring
| strength. All the rights granted to the States,
or reserved to the people, therefore are intact.
Among those rights is that of the people of each
State to declare the qualifications OF their own
| State electors.
| 1t is now assumed that Congress can control
| this right, which can never be taken away from
| the States without impalring the fundamental
| pIiI ciples OF the Government itself. II is
necessary to the existence of the States, as well
| as 10 the protection of the liberties of the
| people, for the right to select the electors IN
| whom the political power of the State shall be
| lodged involves the right of the State to govern
| ITSELF When deprived of this prerogative, tine
| States will have no power worth retaining. All
will be gone, and they will be subjected to the
| arbitrary will of Congress. The Government
will then be centralized, if not by the passage
OF laws then by the adoption, ough partisan
| influence, of an amendment directly in conflict
| with the original designs of the Constitution
| This proves how necessary 1t is that the people
| should require the administration OF the three
| great departments of the Government to be
strictly within the limits of the Constitution
Their boundaries have been accurately defined,
and neither should be allowed to trespass upon
the other, nor, above all, to eDcroach on the re.
served rights Of the people and the States.
The troubles of the past tour years will prove
10 the nation o blessing, II they produce &c
desirable result. Upon those who became
young men amid the sound Of cannon and din
OF arms, and quietly returned to the farms the
| factories, and the schools OF the land, Will
principally devolve the solemn duty OF perpetu-
ating the Uuion of the States In defense OF which
hundreds of thousands of their comrades
oblig ations were incurred. A manly people
will not neelect the training necessary to resist
egeression, but they should be Jealous lest tbeiI
will be made subordinate 10 the military e.e