Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-10

] &ANs
The Senator from Bedford intimated, in
the course Of his speech yesterday on the
Convention Bill, chat there was u gIaTing
Inconsistency between the editorials Of the
UNION AND AMERICAN of May, 1861, and
those OF the GNIeE AND AMERICAN Of the
past two days The Senator is evidently
endeaYorlng to escape The. force Of the
blows which have been given his theory
Of legislative sovereignty-that the Con-
yention sis the mere creature of the Legis-
lature; that it exists alone by the wiz of
the Legislature We cannot permit kim
thus to escape. lie has chosen his own
position, not in 'scaptious spirit, as a
"mere fault finder, to use his own Ian
guage, but coolly, deliberately, carefully.
His substitute for the House Bill; his Mi
nority Report, and his speech yesterday,
were all prepared by the lamp, and reduced
to writing, so that there can be no excuse
of q excitement of the moment for false
position or hasfy expression. Although
nominally connected with the UNION AND
AMERICAN until the fall of 1861, we were
not in Nashville except, for day or two
at time, from the middle of April 1861,
until the autumn of 1865. We are not,
therefore, responsible for the editorials of
die paper from the middle of April, 1861,
until our recent connection with it. But
we do not attempt thus to avoid the init
nation of Senator Cooper. We defy
him to show an editorial in the UNIoN
AND AMERICAN from the first day of its
existence up TO the present day which
held the doctrine that convention is
q the mere creature of the Legislature;
that il exists alone by the viii of the
Legislature We defy him to point TO
an editorial of the UNox AND AMERICAN
of any date which asserts that the 'Epow-
ers, duties and authority of aconvention are
conferred alone by the Legislature
We defy Senator Cooper to point to a
single editorial in the UNION AND AMERI-
CAN, either before, during, or since
the war that enunciated the doctrine that
emo changes can be made by the people
in the fundamental laws of the State by
delegates in convention assembled or 9TH
erwise without the consent of the existing
State government given by the General
Assembly of the State previous to said
meeting We defy Senator Cooper to
put his finger ON any editorial of the
UNION AND AMERICAN during its existence
which ever proclaimed that it was "a
well settled principle of constitutional law
that the General Assembly has the IN
questionable right to enforce conditions,
restrictions and limitations upon the action
Of said delegates in convention assembled,
and that said convention can have no legal
existence without such consent previously
given" These are the enunciations of
Senator Cooper's bill and report
The UNION AND AMERICAN has ever
been the champion of the rights of the
people, and as such denOunces these doc
trines of the minority as political here
sizes, dangerous to the peace, safety and
happiness of the people If Senator
Cooper had based his proposed amend
ments on the power of the Legisla-
tre to submit amendments to the
people for their ratification and rejection,
while we should have opposed his bill,
we would have acknowledged the right
and power of the Legislature to propose
those amendments, and would have insisted
that their ratification by the people would
have breathed into them life and power.
That was what was done by the Legisla-
ture of 1861. 1t submitted propositions
to the people for acceptance or rejection.
That was what was done by the COnven-
ton of 1865 without previous legislative
authority. But neither the Legislature of
1861 nor the Convention of 1865 claimed
that the Legislature was the sole repository
of power for calling a convention into ex-
istencc, and that it had 'the unquestiona-
be right to enforce conditions, restrictions
and limitations upon the action of the del
egates in convention assembled"
We repeat We should have opposed Sen
ator Cooper's substitute if it had only pro-
posed to submit his amendments to the
people without having coupled there
with the obnoxious doctrines to
which we have alluded. Because we
believe, in the language of the preamble to
the House bill, that the public exigencies do
now demand the exercise by the people Of
the unalienable and indefeasible right to
alter reform or abolish the government in
such manner as they may think proper
We believe, with the Declaration of indie
pendence, that governments are instituted
among men to secure the unalinable rights
Of life, liberty and the pursuit of happi-
ness; that whenever any form of govern
ment becomes destructive Of these ends,
it is the right of the people TO alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new govern
ment, laying its foundation on such prin-
ciples and organizing its powers in such
form as 10 them shall seem most likely to
effect their safety and happiness, subject
only to the Constitution Of the United
States. Nor do we fear, in thus submit
ting to the people the guardianship and
control of their own highest interests,
what Senator Cooper is pleased to term
'the hazard of unrestricted authority and
unlimited power" We believe in the in
tegrity, wisdom, moderation and JUS
tice of the people. And, again,
in the language of the immortal
authors of the Declaration of hide
pcndence. Prudence, indeed, will die
tate that governments long established
should not be changed for light and tran
silent causes; and accordingly all eNpe
rience has shown, that mankind are more
disposed to suffer while evils are suffer
able than to right themselves by abolish
ing the forms to which they are accus-
toned
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Il fla. month ,C Nov 1874 an Eprl;-h