Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-10-06

it not be the course of wisdom to wait
this result before inserting in our fun
damental law provision making them
equal participants with US in welding
the destinies of the country. This is no
imaginary issue. 1t is a question OfTeal
Importance and is now upon Us. The
tide of this immigration is setting I'm
upon us-it has increased very largely of
late years, with the increased facilities
for trade between China and our Pacific
coast, and its future growth and proper
tiOns no man can estimate-promOted
as il will he by the completion of the
railways to the Pacific and the demando of
capital for cheap labor. The population
of China is about four hundred millions.
She can send to our shores without mis-
sing them population large enough to
Outnumber the present white population
of the United States, and which will
possess the power to mould its destinies
at its will. This population will all be
voters under this amendment. The
radical differences of race, language,
religion, color and mental constitution
leave little ground to expect that they
will assimilate with and merge into the
body of our people as European foreign
ers do. They will then either be an in
dependent body of Chinese voters hold
ing to views and a policy of their own or
they will become the hired voting in
struments of the capitalists by whom they
are employed or the dupes of whatever
demagOgue or manager shall be most
successful in controlling their votes.
The people should think seriously before
incorporating such an element into our
body polite.
So much for the classes of persons on
whom this sO-calIed amendment will
primarily operate. But these are not
the only nor the chief objections to it.
The strongest objection to it is that it is
not an amendment of the Constitution at
all but a fundamental change of it. An
amendment is a change in some particu-
lar not inconsistent with the theory on
which the Constitution was establish
ed. No would call it an amendment
if it were proposed to abolish the Office Of
President and substitute a King. This
would be altering the form fourgOvern-
ment, and so radical and complete a
change would require the consent of all
the parties to the original compact, not
Ofthree-fourths ofthem only. The seper-
ate States which originally formed the
Union or which afterwards entered it,
consented to become part of particular
form of gOvGrnment-a federal republic
described in the Constitution. In doing
SO they consented that amendments
might be made by the consent Of three
fOurths of the State, but no one will con-
tend that they meant the government
they had consented to, should be Who'll
ly changed without their consent and q
monarchy for instance substituted for a
republic. But the change proposed by
this amendment though not so obvious
is hardly less complete and radical. The
system Of government formed by the
Constitution of the United States and
under which we have lived and pros
pered, since the infancy Of our State is
a federal republic i'll which all the powers
and duties of government except those
specially delegated to the United States
or prohibited to the States were "re-
served to the States respectively or to the
people"
All the functions ofgOvernment which
most intimately concern our business
and social life have hitherto been exer-
cised by the States: the ownership and
descent of property, the administration
of estates, the relation of husband and !
wife, parent and child, and master and !
servant, the laws of trade and the pun
ishment of crimes, have all been regula-
ted by the State Governments. It is the !
only way i'll which a country SO vast in
extent rs ours and embracing such
variety of climate, productions, pop
ulation and material interests can be |
governed consistently with liberty.
The Parliament of Great Britain Iegis-
lates for the British Islands, a compact
territory hardly larger than two Of our
States. But the statesman of England are
far too wise to attempt to govern from a
single center their whole vast empire.
Canada, the different provinces of Aus
tralia and New Zealand, and other colo
MES all have their local legislatures and
governors.
Under our present system every
one Of your counties has u repre-
sentative in the legislature, residing in
it or acquainted with its local wants.
The people of Ohio have one hundred |
such representatives in their House Of
Representatives and thirty five in the
Senate, and local courts bring justice at
comparatively slight expense to every
mans door: while in the Senate of the
United States they have but two repre-
sentatives out of the seventy four, and |
in the House of Representatives but
nineteen members out of two hundred
and forty and but two Federal Courts in
the whole State.
And yet there has been steady tell
dency for the last five or six years to-
ward n Capitalization of power in the
hands Of the Federal government at
Washington. We have seen it charter
Il vast number Of banking corporations
and to promote their business tax State
banks to such an extent as to drive them
out of existence: we see the same ten
dency i'll the chartering Of railroads and
telegraphs within the States, and the
recent proposition to appropriate the
telegraph lines: i'll the law authorizing
the transfer of suits from State to Uni
ted States Courts by which in many
classes Ufsuits the plaintiff or defendent
i'll State Court is liable to be compelled
to prosecute or defend, his action in
distant Federal Court at great ex-
pensC and Inconvenience. The effect
of this centralizing policy if it is per-
mitted to go on will he gradually to
absorb all the most important flnc-
tiOns now exercised by the States and
vest them in a great central gov
Crnment at Washington. How ut
terly inefficient, unwieldy aud irrespOn-
siblo such government would be and
how inevitably it would become corrupt
and despOtic 1t Is unnecessary to de-
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