Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1869-03-27

present pcatflnl Fel'''Vhs WIN
iOnvign powers.
Their course ~ usurpailon hRs
not been limited Ia inrOads upon the
Executive Department,
By Unconstitutional and Opprcs-
sivo onaetmonts, the people OF ten
States of the Union have heeR 10,
duee,l 10 condition more intolera-
BILE than that from which the patri-
ols OF the Revelation rebolled, Mil
lions of American citizen. tan now
say of their opprcssors, with moro
trulh than our Fathers did OF British
tyrauts, that they have "iorblddcn
the governors 10 pass laws Of immo
diplc aud pressing Importance, nm
less suspended until lhoir assent
should be obtaincdi" ,hat they have
"reiused TO pass other laws for the
accommodation OF large districts 0f
people, unless those people would
relinquish the right of representa-,
ton in tho Lcgislaturo--a right
incstimablo to them. oad iormida,
bio to tyrants only that they
have "madc judges dependant
upon their will alone for the tenure
0fthcir offices, and the amount and
payment of their snmrics;" that
they have "crcctcd n multitude Of
new offices, and sent hithcr swarms
of officers 10 harass our people and
cat out their substance" that they
have "ailected 10 render tho military
Independent of and superior 10 the
civil power" combined with others
to subject us 10 n jurisdiction foreign
TO our Constitution, and unac-
knowlcdgcd by our laws" ""quartcr-
cd lnrgo bodies Of armed troops
among u.s." protected them by II
mock trial from punishment for any
murders which they should commit
on tho inhabitants these States"
imposed taxes upon us without our
consent" deprived us in many cases
Of tho benefit of trial by jury"
"takcn away our charters, excited
domestic iusurrection amongst us,
abolished our most valuable laws,
altered Fundamentally tho forms Of
our Government, suspended our own
Legislatures, and declared them
selves invested with power TO lcgis
late for us in all cases whatsoever.
This catalogue of crimes, long as
it is, is not yet complete. Tho Con-
sttution vests the judicial power of
the United States "in one Supreme
Court" whose jurisdiction "shall
extend to all case arising under this
Constitution" and "thc laws of the
United States" Encouraged by this
promise of u refuge from tyranny u
citizen of the United States who, by
the order of a military commander,
given under the sanction of cruel
and deliberate odict Of Congress, had
been dunicd the constitutional rights
of liberty of conscience, freedom of
the press and of speech, personal
freedom from military arrest, of be-
ing held to answer for crime only
upon prcscntmcnt and indictment,
Of trial by yjury, ofthc writ of habcas
corpus, and the protection of civil
and constitutional governmcnt-a
citizen, thus deeply wrongcd, ap-
pcals to the Supreme Court for the
protection guaranteed to him by
tho organic law ofthc land. At once
a fierce and excited majority, by the
ruthless hand of legislative power,
stripped the crmino from the judges,
transferred tho sword Of justice to
the General, and rcmanded tho OPP
pressed citizen to q degradation
and bondage worse than death.
1t will also be recorded as ono of
the marvcls of the times, that
party claiming for itsclfa monopo-
ly Inconsistency and patriotism, and
boasting, too, Of It's unlimited sway,
endcavorcd, by a costly and doliber-
ate trial, to impcach one who de-
Tended tho Constitution and the
Union not only throughout the war
of the rebellion, but during his
whole term of Office as Chief Magis-
,tratc; but at the Same time could
find no warrant or means at their
command To bring to trial even the
chief of the rebellion. Indeed, tho
remarkable failures in his case wcrc
so often repeated that for propriety's
sake, if for no other reason, it be-
came at last necessary to extend to
him an unconditional pardon. What
moro plainly than this illustrates
the extremity oil, party management
and Inconsistency on the one hand,
and of faction, vindictivoncss, and
intolerance on the other? Patriotism
will hardly be encouraged when, in
such a record, il sees that its instant
reward ray be the most virulcnt
party abuse and obloquy, if not at
tempted disgrace. Instead Of seek
ing to "make treason odious," it
would in truth secm to have been
their purpose rather to mako the
defence of the Constitution and tho
Union crime, and to punish fideli
ty to an oath of Office, if counter to
party dictation, by all the means at
their command. -.r. 4-. -
Happily for the poace ofthc eoun-
try, the war has determined against
the assumed power of the State to
at pleasure from the
Union. The institution of slavery
also found its destruction in re-
isblion commenced in its interest. 1t
should bc borne in mind, however,
that the wnr neither impaired nor
destroyed the Constitution, but. on
the contrary, preserved its existence, /
,,,I ,,,oJo op,,aront lie ra,1 r,ort.ar