The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-10-05

4 dared to deny thai th0re were certain
Important indispensable rights which
belonged to the State, and that if the
st. tie were deprived of them this Gov
ernment would becomea despotism-
the worst of despotisms. But at the
breaking out of the war and afterward
our opponents took advantage of cir
cumstances TO c~entralize power. l
wish, before going further, to have it
distinctly understood that what L
shall speak of will have nothing what
ever to do with secession. There is
no man.of candor who will deny that
4 for The last ten years the tendency has
been and now is to consolidate, to cen
tralize the power in the Federal or
General Government. What is it
that made this country what it was TO
our fathers, what it is to ourselves,
and what we hoped it would be to our
~posterity? 1t was because this was
said to be a free government. Not
the government of a monarch, an oil
garchy or an aristocracy; but the
government of the people; and a gov
crnmcnt cannot be free unless it is of
| the people. New England had the
honor of setting the brightest exam
pie of the Democratic government
of any colony which ever settled in a
new country. 1t was New England
which established the township sys-
tenn. In the township the people met
together and decided questions con-
corning them-the lowest political di-
vision we have in Ohio is the school
district, and the people of these dis
tricts decide district matters. Rising
from that we come to townships, the
people deciding township matters with
gu; Interference from other townships.
Ascending we come to counties, the
inhabitants settling county matters
among themselves. Next we como
to the state, aud it used to be that the
people settled stale matters among
themselves alone. That is the only
true system of free government. But
there are questions which concern
more than one state, and thus the ne
cessity of a federal or general govern
ment, which is 10 decide questions af-
fecting all the states and u foreign
relations - Hence Rssourfe ..f6fefathers
drew up the Federal Constitution
That happy system of local self1gov1
ernmeni, and of a general govern
ment at the same time, though com
plicated, is perfect and harmonious,
and has been the admiration of every
political economist who has ever stud
led 1t. But, as 1 have said, the tend
ency of the last ten years has been 70
take from the States their dearest and
most sacred rights and vesI them in
the general government. The timei
has now come for the people 20 say
whether it IS for their interest that
this shall go on.
My colleague, Mr.. Sherman. in a
recens spe-ch remarked that the eff
feet OF our late war was 10 fuse the
country into one great Hatioa. Fuse III
That means. nolted, doesn't lie? And
there was nothing else to melt
the States must have been
melted, or fnsed, and the power con-
solidated in the general government,
which would leave US what Jack2on
pronounced fhe most despicahle of
despotisms. Again, 1 might quote
the United States Attorney General,
who said, in a recent speech n: Allan
ia, thai now AM henceforth the State
might be abolished? Can Ibe
to account, then, when these
men of The other parry
speak so plainly of The tendency to
ecni: aliZe power? ~ ...rls
What gives me Legislators aU Wash
the power 10 lesisl lte, 10 take
money? The Tn ed Sfa;es Coo$:;i,-
wb ca provides .na:.nc CoDr ress
he chosen '-om he STATES. two
f. OH each SAFE, AID Repre-
from each State acco ding
10 popcia,iou. / saw nothing against
away the RICH: OF a State when
rebeIlion, but for moo than five
years we have bad poo:ound peace,
md duriag that i;me fen States have
deprived of representation in Ell
her branch of Congress bv The mere
will and fiat o" he Radical party
al his time, though they talk
IF reconstruction being completed,
IS Georgia without a Senator or
N Congress. And in
Ill this Ii ne, the tazSasherer has been
these States, bu. the Represeniive
been waning.
Our 70 efaine:s thought tnlt 10 pre-
rent usripation and secure the libe1-
les OF the people, il was necessary to
w-ii:eh co.'s ilctioJs, and from
he beginning of her se:t lemen. here
hey beGa } 10 :rfanle w.itteJ cons:;.U-
ions, SO plain that q wavfa:ing man,
.hou.h a fool, nigh not CIR in read
ng them, And who made those
constitutions? The people. IN 10
Il the Peop4e-ef0 Ate-thoueAt il nec--
,ssa,y 10 change their constitutional
Did they ask permission of any otaer 8
,faie. or OF Congress I? No. That }
onsti;uilea . eoncernedi themselves, (
they themselves changed it for
themselves. But how has it. been
the last five years? At the
lose of the war the rebellious States
lad constitutions, republican IA form
dmiitedly 50, and needed b,ta few
words of change TO adapt them to the
circumstances. But Con-
,iess, The frst thing, compelled the
of those ten States to abro1ate
hose constitutions. Nav, more, they
compelled the people 10 make a
lew constitution 10 sui:-not the peo-
lie of those States but the majority
{ Congress, and This when one-third
{ all The States were not represented
II that Congress. Does not this look
ike a tendency to ceniraiization? t
Il 1000