Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-29

constitution, especially in It's great uu-
questionable power to guarantee repub-
eau government ia the StatCl, did not
summarily settle this whole question, 80
that it should no longer disturb The county.
1t was for Congress to give q def
niiion OF g republican government,
nor need It go further than our own
Declaration of Independence, where is a
definition from which there is no appeal,
There il is, ss il came from our forefathers,
in lofty self-evident truth, and Congress
should have applielit Or it might have
gone to the speech of Abraham Lincoln
at Gettysburg, where again is the same
great definition. There was also a great
precedent, A. Congress made civil rights
law, so should it have made a political
rights Law, 10 each case the power il
identical. Ii ii can be done in the one it
can be done in The other. TO my mind,
nothing is clearer. Thus far { Ingress has
thought otherwise. There remains, then,
the slow process Of constitutional amend
meni, TO which the country must be rallied
Mr.. Sumner doserVedly occupies
very high position in his party.
He is q man Of vast and varied acs
quirements, of rather commanding
appearance and stentorian voice.
He is a native and resident Of the
Athens Of America, q graduate Of
Harvard College, at one time Ices
turor in the Cambridge Law School,
and continuously a member of the
United Utates Senate since 1851.
Such man, it would seem, should
be entitled to be considered author
ity upon almost every political and,
especially every politico ,consti-
tutioEal question. Yet, we uns
dertake to say, that the distinguish
ed Senator will not be sustained
by either the past or the present,
when he claims for Congress "plo-
nary powers under the constitu-
ton We deny that Congress has
the right "to give a definition of a
republican form of government, -
by taking it either from the DecIar-
alton of independence, or Mr.. Lin
coins speech at Gettysburg.
If this postulato Of Mr.. Sumner
be granted, then our government is
a consolidated empire and Congress
is the supreme authority. Accord
ing to Mr.. Sumner, Congress can
give the definition of a republican
government, and then in its ple>
nary powers under the constitution
can enforce its definition in any
State Of the Union. What a cruel
burIesque this would be upon re
publican government What would
Jcff0r10u, Madison ana hamilton
have said to such political philoso'
ply ? When the constitution was
before the country for adoption,
one Of the strongest reasons urged
against it was that it tended to
consolidation; that it might posi-
bly, be so construed as to deprive
the States Of their sovereign rights
There was nothing about which
the people Of the cid confederacy
were more jealous. To show the
groundlessness Of such fears
Hamilton in number Il OF the
Federalist, says:
Il may be said, that 1t would tend to
render the government of the U0iOn too
powerful, and to enable it TO absorb those
rcsiduary authorities, which it might be
jGdged proper to leave with the States for
local purposes. Allowing the utmost lali.
tuda 10 the love Of power which any rea-
sonable man can require, ! conf, ss | an at
a lO7s 10 discover what temptation the
persons entrusted with the administration
Of the general government, could ever feel
to divCst the States Of the authOTiti,s of
that description. The regulation Of the
mere domestic police Of State, appears to
me to hold OF, slender aliurements 10
ambition. Commerce, finance, negotiation
and war, seem to comprehend all the OBJ
ieCis which have charms for minds gov
eTned by that passion; and all the powers
necessary TO those objects, ought, in the
fret instance, TO be lodge in the national
depository. The administration of private
Justice between the citizens of the same
Stale; the supervision of agriculture, and
Of other concerns Of a similar nature: all
those things, in short, which are proper 10
be provided for by local legislation, can
never be desirable cares Of a general
jurisdiction. 1t is therefore improbable,
that there should exist disposition in The
federal couscils, to usurp the powers with
which they are connected; because the al.
tempt TO exercise them, would be as
Troublesome IS it would be nugatory and
the possession of them, for that reason,
would contribute nothing TO the dignity,
10 the Importance, or TO the splendOr Of
the national government.
Mr.. Hamilton, in the purity Of his
heart, never dreamed that states
manship would ever descend to the
level Of such a man as Charles Sum
ncr. lie never dreamed that such
a party as the Radical party, under
any confederation circumstances,
could ever get control Of tho gov
crnmcnt
But while we have this unweI-
come craftsmanship from Massa-
chusetts, we have something better
from Ohio. The Cincinnati Times
(RadicaD says:
Congress he's gone far enough with its
eucroachments upon State sovereignty;
and what the general government, AMI
more especially the Republican party,
would lose hy the failure of that amend
ment, would be saved by the State.
The States have none too much
power, and the time may SCOT come when
it will he pecessary to diminish the power
Of the central government.
NRGlNh-ouc OF the United
States OF right to>day, one of the
glorious OLD thirteen the State