Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-07-20
The Judiciary and the Democracy.

THE issue which has been uppermost in
American politics ever since the war
closed is no longer directly Congre ssional.
The amendments needed have all been
submitted to the several States and duly
adopted. The legislation specially called
for by those amendments has been enacted.
1t needed no throwing up of the Demo
cratic "spoEge" to end the contest on that
line. If anything is to be done, it must
be upon another arena. The new depar-
ture is significant, simply in the recog
milton of an accomplished fact.
The completion of the work, so far as
concerns amending the Constitution and
framing laws, amounts, virtually, 70
transfer ofjurisdiction. What was ques-
ton before Congress and the several State
Legislatures is heuceforth question be-
fore the Judiciary of the United States,
the third estate of the realm. The Democ
racy has all the time protested that these
laws are unconstitutional, and that the
amenGments were never legally adopted.
TIE party adheres to that position still
the most enthusiastic "departists nc less
than the hardshells of the party.
If the Democracy could regain control
of the Executive and Legislative branches
of the Government, the Judicial would
soon follow. The Democratic minority
would be reinforced by additional Judges,
and the legislation to enforce the amend
ments in question would be pronounced
unconstitutional From such decision
there would be no escape. The right to
pronounce upon the validity of a law is
denied the English Judiciary, but is un-
questioned in this country.
The programme goes still farther.
There is way to test the validity of the
amendments themselves. 1t is more
roundabout and hedged up, but the De-
mocracy is evidently bent on walking in it
A law of Congress designates the Secre.
tary of State as the proper official to for
mally make known the ratification of a
constitutional amendment His duty is
merely declaratory, not judicial. As a
matter of fact not one of the fifteen declar
aaons thus far made by the Secretary of
State has ever been called in question; but
such an issue could be raised The Con-
slitutiOn prescribes that an amendment
submitted to the State Legislatures can
only be adopted by the 1ndorsment of q
three-fourths majority. Should it be
doubtful whether the requisite indorse-
ment had been received, the question
would have to be decided by the Supreme
Court of the United States. It follows,
therefore, that if the Democrats could
control the Judiciary, they could nuliify
the amendment, which they still insist
were never legally ratified. Those who
profess to accept these amendments are
careful in the method and extent of their
acceptance. They are in force o-day, and
must remain so until set aside in the way
mentioned This is incontestable, and the
acceptance OF the more progressive Demo
crat goes no farther. If in position to act
at all, the whole party would join in ju-
dlcial plot to overthrow the entire recon
struction part of our laws, organic and
statutory. Not word can be found In
all the platforms and editorials of the new
departure intimating the contrary, while
there are continual outcroppings of the
plot itself. Even the cautious New York
World cannot keep the secret. In a re.
cent article it pronounced the Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments the "of
spring of gross usurpation of power
passed by force, fraud and perfdy" If 6
majority of the Supreme Court took the
same position, the amendments could bt
blotted out of existence.
There remains only one point to con
S1der in this connection: Has the peril O.
constitutional notification limit in time
or must perpetual guard be kept over the
tWo last amendments to prevent their de
structlon? Although no attempt was eve
made to judicially nullify any part of thu
Federal Constitution, and no exact prece
dent can be pointed out, the principle in
volved is well established. We can bes'
state it by an illustration The Constitu
ton of California, like our own, requires
that the title of a law shall correspond will
the nature of the law itself This provis
aon was habitually ignored by several leg
lslatures before a test case was brcugh
into court The defense admitted that thu
Constitution had not been complied with
put showed that the same was true in mum
berless other cases, and that if at that lat,
day that clause of the Constitution should
be enforcs d, the evil in the upsetting of ths
existing order of things would be i'm
mense. 1t was further shown that thi
latter consideration had in many cases de
TERED courts from doing what they woule
otherwise have done. This defense wa
held valid. According to the rule shown
to have found general acceptance in tn
best courts of this country and England
it will, in a few years, be too late to s.
much as entertain the question of tn
validity of these amendments If the De
mocracy cannot carry the next Presiden
tlal and Congressional elections, it will b
too late in 1876 to raise this political issue
There is, in other words, only one way lef
to set aside the new features of the Consti
tuition, and if the next attempt to open u
the path should fail, that would end, alto
gether and forever, the reconstructio
issue. We are all weary of it, and Ion
Tor rest or change, but there must be n
disarmament until the battle has bee
fought and won in 1879 -CH;cnro Toa.r, n