The Lincoln County herald., 1871-05-18
The Act Ia MAKE Crani our Kl,,.

q We pfotestaei0ns,o u Democsats from {
hir Republican stand point. We d,
aet ssdorss the assaupiion that aGsa
Grant 10 too faithful and too pure /,
desire the possession Of the power thi
infamous measure would clothe hin
With" We believe the danger IL to,
imminent ia, that direction to be disre.
garded, but, outside Of this, the solem,
words Of warning contained In this sfs,cl,
should attract attention " p t'9t ti-"'
This Capitalization Of The suthorit,
which has hitherto belonged 10 the mG
hicipsI governments u acco anicd viii
centralisatiop 10 the national executive
o' powers which have hitherto had no ex
istence atall. The President is charged
with the execution Of the local laws 70,
the preservation Of civil order and au-
thorised, Whenever in bis judgment
these laws are not administered by the
States, TO use the military power or the
United States 10 enforce them. He may
at any time, and without evidence Of an
emergency requiring such action exec D.
bis own opinion, depose . State govern
rnent, declaring it a rebellion against The
United States, and disperse or impri,on
lie members, suspending. at Che same
time, the civil remedies which persons
wronged BY his actions might have under
the writ Of hdbeas corpus. The war
making power, which the Constitution
expressly reserves to Congress, is thus
given to the President alone and the
power to suspend the haJeas corpus
which tie Constitution forbids to any
and al Branches Of The government, ex-
cept id public peril from invasion or re
bellion, is given to the President upon
any occasion when, in his judg the
conviction Of certain classes of offenders
shall 10 any district become impractica.
bic.
1t cannot be disguised that the pas.
sage Of this bill makes q crisis in the
political history Of the nation a crisis
which calls for oil the wisdom Of great
people to meet it properly. In any
other country than our own It would
inevitably lead either to a centralized
imperialism or to civil war. II is only
among people long habituated to free
dom and to respect for law, that such
rulers could be found to hold such powers,
even for week, without danger to lib.
erty. In other nations, with such q
grant Of power as this, q strong cxecu.
tive would strike for absolute sovereignty,
aud weak one would quickly be led by
ambitious advisers to do the same. Here
we are safe against such danger. The
present President, whatever mistakes in
statesmanship he may have made, is an
honest patriot; and that usurpation
which Gen. Grant is too faithful and too
faithful and too pure to desire, even o
reckless and corrupt man in his place
would be too prudent to attempt. The
habit of freedom has destroyed among
our people the material of which slaves
are made, and no sudden seizure of abso.
lutte power is to be feared here.
The danger, however, is no lees real,
and scrrcely less serious, than II We had
au imitator Of Napoleon at the head Of
the nation and the army. If this act be
enforced, and If 1t succeed 10 the work
proposed by it, every barrier which the
Consultation holds up against the en-.
croachment Of the central upon the local
governments IS broken. Reverence for
the fundamental law will disappear, and
all the checks and forms Of political con.
troversy. No man can see what the next
step towards Capitalization may be, but
every one may confidently predict that
constitutional limitation or prohibition
may be permitted by any political party
in control Of the national government to
defeat its ends, or to protect municipal
privileges against IL. The local rights of
persons and Of property, the local conflicts
Of corporations, the whole system of local
laws, with controversies they involve and
the passions they excite, will become Gle
ments Of national politics and the very
organization Of society throughout the
land will become the stake Of national
party struggles. The absolute centrali-
zation Of our government, and tho de.
struction Of the federal system, must
soon follow, with civil war and disunion
as the only alternative. '4.' ''''
The false step must be retraced. The
act must TO disowned by the nation.
But it is with rcgret and remonstrauce
that patriotic citizens will hear the ex.
hortatious already uttered 10 some quar-.
ters to meet it by violence and disorder.
The Constitution, which has been out.
ragged BY passing this bill, provides the
means for, its own vindication. On the
6rst-test case which can be brought be fore
the Supreme Court of the United States,
il will doubtless be found and declared,
in . way which 'fanaticis,n itself will heed,
that Congress cannot abolish the States
and repeal the constitution. Even
should II be impossible to obtain such q
Judgment before the next meeting Of
Congress, yet the act will ere then have
been studied BY the people ana public
opinion will demand imperatlyely that it
Be removed from the statute book. BY
such means only can usurpation, under
the forms Of law. be me' in manner
worthy Of tho nation, and the means, we
are confident, are adequate to the end.
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