The Portland daily press., 1869-12-24
Hhe new England and Other Little States
in ahe SENATE.

There are thousands of men who think
they perceive some weak spot il American in
situations that must ultimately cause such
disorder, social or political, as to bring the
Republic to an untimely end. Just as ply
steal philosophers usually have some theory
as to how the great globe itself will be either
burned, or sent off into space by failure of
the centripetal force, Or hurled to the sun,
or shattered by the bursting of the mighty
forces pent up within, so political phil
osophers quite uniformly have notions
about mistakes in the organic law or difficult
ties incident to the working of our political
machinery that twill give us much trouble in
the future" One of the leading journals of
the United States declares that in its opinion
the questions involved in the controversy
about the use of the Bible in schools will
Prove as serious in their results as the slavery
question did. There was once large sect
o. alarmists who believed that even if Ma
son and Dixon's Line should be rubbed out.
- that there would no longer be any danger
OF lateral division of the Union, there
Would presently appear an indelble line. es-
tabished by the geographical confguration
OF the country, dividing East from West and
making two Republics inevitable.
Persons Of this temperament will be much
interested in the proposition of Mr.. Cullom of
Illinois to take away the equal representation
OF the States in the Senate, especially when
it is remembered that in this particular way
alone the constitution of the United States
cannot De amended, it being expressly pro-
vided that no State shall be deprived of its
two Senators without its consent. 1t is as
nearly certain as anything can be that the
small States will not give their consent to an
am endment which will establish basis OF
population for representation in the Senate,
and it is therefore perceived that Mr.. Cullom
proposes, if anything more than little SEN
sational buncombe, revolution.
Bot revolutions are not lust now popular
and 1t will be very many years before con-
tingency can arise that will make it appear
for the interest of the large States to antagon-
ize themselves against the small. Indeed. at
any time, it must be very strange contin-
gency that would bring about that result. OF
course such an anomaly as giving New York
no more weight than Rhode Island or Ne
braska in the upper branch of the national
legislature will always attract somebody's at
tention, and somebody will always be trying to
bring himself into notice by calling attention
to it, but the people will not mark him until
the time comes when they conclude that no
Union at all is preferable to the Union with
its imperfections.
A proposition like that of Mr.. Cu,lom and
reply like that of Mr.. Dawes are peculiarly
calculated to attract Democratic attention,
and 1t was the most natural thing in the
world for Mr.. Eldridge, the Wisconsin
Democrat, to gloat over the assumed fact that
the New England States were con their
knees, begging that tie original rights of the
States as secured by the constitution should
be maintained" He shares in the prevailing
democratic illusion that in some mysterious
way New England weakened the force of con-
astutional obligation by her actively defend
sng, even with arms, the charter of our liber-
ties when it was assaied by traitors. As a
matter OF fact New England is all the more
entitled to the benefit of constitutional guar.
antics that may be advantageous to her, and
especially to such rights as are actually reserv-
ed to States by the constitution, because she
SO stoutly protested against State soyereiontv
for which there is no constitutional warrant at
all.