The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-04-04

visions of the fourteenth amendment
and to that extent are a cheat confer
upon the President powers for the sup
preston of violations of law IN the
Southern States which belong exclusive
" to the local authorities of those
States, and not to Congress or the Fed
eral Executive; and therefore these
sections are clear infringement OF
the Constitution and the rights of the
States.
Rnt il is the fourth section that is the
most Objectionable and dangerous.
Without the slightest warrant in the
Constitution, without precedent in our
history, it confers power upon the Pres
iient which no Parliament since the
DAYS of the First Charles has ever in
trusted to King, and the exercise OF
which by that arbitrary monarch cost
him his head. The States in question
have been, and now are, with scarcely
an exception, under the absolute con-
troll of the party that proposes to pass
this bill. Whenever violations OF law
in any State have reached such iormld,
able stage that they deserve to be called
An insurrection or rebellion, then, ac-
cording to the Constitution and the
precedents, it is the duty Of the Govern
or to notify the President Of that fact
and call for his assistance; and then,
and not till then, the President has the
right to interfere. But this bill utterly
ignores this line of procedure, and
thereby utters the severest condemna-
ton of the carpet-nag administrations
of the States in question. Ignoring
them as inefficient ami Worthless, 1t be-
slows upon the President, in the first
instance, the authority to proclaim any
portion Of those States in resurrection
and rebellion, and thereupon to suspend
the privileges of the writ Of habeas
corpus and declare martial law therein,
and then proceed to arrest, try at the
drum head and shoot or hang, accord
ING to the rules and articles OF war, any
body who has the misfortune to fall
under the displeasurc Of General Grant.
Stripped of verbiaye, this is the fourth
section Of the proposed law
Does any man in his senses believe
that there now exists in the South a
condition of affairs which warrants such
summary, unprecedented, and unconsti.
tutional proceedings as these? 1t will
not do for the advocates OF this danger
Gus policy to shelter themselves under
acts deemed necessary during the red
heat of our late civil war. On an occa-
sion when a bill was pending in the
House for the suppression of the rebel
lion, anda Republican, member was ar
guing to show that it was according to
the Constitution, Mr.. Thaddeus Stevens
remarked in an undertone to a friend ::
There are only ten Republicans in Con.
gress who don't know that all this kind
of legislation is outside of the Constitn-
ton and they are Id fools. II we then
went outside the Constitution TO find
weapons to save the life ofthe Republic,
it is no excuse for Keeping outside OF 1t
now, to find weapons to put down a mis-
cradle gang, which, beyond all douh;, is
maze up VI lIlt lHcIS l'iIith W. 'O"''
ern society. Especially for such a COM
paratively trivial purpose, we should not
clothe q man like General Grant with
powers so extreme and unjusitiable.
This bill is the joint product Of par
tisanship and hypocrisy. Short-sighted
Republicans may hope, through It's
provisions, to maintain the supremacy
of the carpet,bag administrations, and
thereby perpetuate the existence Of
their party in the South. But the real
object lies deeper than this. The king
ly powers given to General Grant are,
10y the terms of the bill, to cease on the
first day of June, 1872. That is to say,
he is to have absolute control over the
Southern States until after their dele
gates are chosen to the next National
Convention of the Republican party i;
and by chcane, terrorism, and the
sword, ne is to he enabled to secure the
appointment of delegates in One-thlrd OF
the Union who are TO be his tools in
that Convention, and plot, clamor and
vote for his denomination.
These are the real objects Of this bill.
If the Republicans dare to enact 1t
into law, they will certainly be swept
from power in November, 1872
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