Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1871-06-20
PRESIDENT DAvIs-AGAINI


The Richmond Dispatch, for instance, dc,
clares that Mr.. Davis, in his recent speeches,
grossly iHsulted four t!tlhs Of TIE people otthe
South We should rather say that the Rich.
moud Dispatch, in its time-serving obsequious-
ness, would grossly insult ninety.nine one
hundredtha of US by such nonsense
After declaring that there may be talk about
States Rights, but it is and will be n,ocEerV
that ''there is no help for State when
her rights are oUirugod however crtrcmc tho
case" it holds the following language:
'This Government has passed the day of
State consequence and Independence. The
Central Government is too powerful in its
physical force and in its vast patronage to
permit the revival of that day. The concen-
tra'cd power of. the nation will grow steadily
in strength and influence and every day puts the
old principles OF States rights further away,
ami more and more completely, among things
past and never to return"
Now we maintain that the man who penned
those lines is just as thoroughly Republican
as either SWnncr or the Beast would have
him. Coming from the ". \. Tribune, we
would not have been surprised; but from a
Southern paper, calling itself Democratic, the
whole Iticle from which this extract is taken.
is insulting to Mr.. Davis, and to the Dealoc>
rGcy generally, to the very last.degrec. Any
man, whatever he may call himself, who re-
pudiates States Rights" and "strct construc.
ton, is thrown practically right into the ranks
OF the Republicans and all we ask Of the Dis
Pdich Is, that, from this time forward, it will
throw off its "lion's skim" and appear in its
tFuecolo's. Whatever may be asserted to the
contrary, Tie great Distinguishing difference
between the Republican and Democratic par.
ties Is, that the first insists upon the exercise
by the Federal Government of every mower
that 1t Ole Republican Porty) thinks the
exi2encies of the case require: Whereas, the
latter claims that The powers not delegated
to the u. 5. by the constitution, nor prohib-
tied by it TO the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people," That
Is the whole thing in a nutshell. 1t is that
Nth Amendment that is really the Lost
ause"-which Mr.. Davis has rightly declared
Is not lost, and which the Democratic PARTY
says must be revived if We would escape
despotism absolute as that of Russia itself
Nor have We stated the great principle of the
Republican Party too broadly Will any body
maintain that the call for 10000 men in 'GI
was in pursuance of the Constitution ?-or
the Emancipation Proclamation by the "la,e
!amcntcd'-or the Reconstruction Acts-or
last, but not least, that bill of denominations"
the klu-klux Bill-werc any of them in
pursuance Of the Constitution Answer us
that! Necessity: Necessity! has always been
thci: cry, and they themselves claim to be the
Judges q that necessity, The truth is. every
line in the Constitution, from eve the Peo-
pie straight on through, breathes the breath
OF its creators-the States and if. from This
time forward, we are to have n centralized
Government, with the States bearing the same
relation to it, tina: the counties now do to the
States, then let us 20 to work, by all means.
and make another Constitution with that ex.
press object in view. The present one will
not do. 1t wasn't made for that purpose
Why. therefore, 90 through the "mockerv'
OF having constitution, if the Government,
Is TO be administered without the slightest re-
gard to its provisions. Whenever the Gov
crnmcnt as administered without any record
to the Rights Of the States, the Constitution
becomes practically dcad 1cttcr, and conse-
grentiy, the administrations of the. Govern
ment are thrown upon a wide and unknown
sea, without chart or compass to guide them.
We believe the British Constitution consists
OF time honOred prCccdcuts. But it must he
remembered those precedcnts have been an.
proved hy the wisdom of ages. We will not
have that advantage. The klu-Elux Bill, ct
on'"c genus have not received the approval of
the wisdom Of any age. The whole article in
the DispUfcA that called forth these remarks.
is so full of political hercSics, and of tru,kliny
toGrceley, and the Republicans generally. thar
II was with difficulty we could select any one
passage as the subject Of our comments AL
though an imaginary line now scpar,tcs ne
from the "mother OF States" We feel too doom
an interest in her honor and welfare to La
without feeling of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES per.
haPs-upcn discovering that some Of our
Northern contemporaries have n more correct
idea ct the theory of our Government. than
many whose boast it should be. that they live
IN the State that gave birth TO Thos. Jefferson,
the pro&cnltor O.! States Rights We had
hoped Virginia would at least have taken
place in the van of the great army devoted to
bringing the government back to first prin>
cipIcs' IN -; but it seems the Northern
people themselves are going to lead off in the
conflict Hear how the " J. Dov, Book
talks:
Mr.. Jefferson Davis, being sercnadcd in
some towns through which he was passing.
and DANGEROUSLY called for by his friends with
a '7'o"eN 6r0rc5y and nwh in keeping with
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