The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1872-02-10

The radicals have also sinc0 denounced it,
as n tcoyenant with hel.n The admins.
tration of John Adams ended by the com.
plete overthrow of the monarchsts in the
United States. The people of the United
States, n large majority of whom were liy.
ing witnesses TO the true intent of the faith
ers Of our Government and who were cal.
led upon to interpret the Constitution &C.
cording to the meaning they understood
and believed it to convey, elected Thomas
Jefferson the third President of the United
States, The issue in that election which
the voters in the States were to dicide, in
yolyed the integrity of the Constitution as
well as its preservation from all insidious
or open yforts to pervert its true intent
and meaning. They elected jefferson the
founder of the Democratic party, in 1900.
In his inaugural address, coming as it did
from the results of this contest, with full
knowledge of the issues then decided, he
thus speaks to the people: about to en-.
ter, fellow citizens, on the exercise of du.
| ties which comprchends epeyyihing dear
and raiuaJie 10 you, it is proper that you
| should understand what deem essential
principles Of our Government" Among
these he then declares as essential: "Tho
support Of the State Governments in all
their rights rs the most competent admins.
trations of our domestic concerns, and the
sircst bulwarks against aniirepubiicdh
tendencies -'the supremacy of the civilover
the military authority y''-'the diffusion of
information and the arraignment fall abu.
ses at the bar Of public reason'-"ihe free.
dom of religion, freedom of the press, free.
dom of the person under the protection of
the habeas corpus and trial by juries impair,
TALLY selected;' and he also declares in
favor of "wise aud frugal Government
which shall restrain men from injuring one
another, which shall leave them otherwise
free to regulate their own pursuits of in
dustry and Improvement, and shall not take
from the mouth of labor the bread it has
earned In his first annual message he
thus speaks to Congress: "When we con.
slider that this Government is charged with
the external and mutual relations only of
these States, that the States themselves
have principal care Of our persons, our
property and our reputation, constituting
the great field Of human concerns, we may
well doubt whether our organization is not
too complicated, too expensive; wheth er
Offices and officers have not been multiplied
unnecessarily, and sometimes injuriously
to the service they were meant to promote. -
Let it be remembered that these words of
wisdom, these essential principles, these
Democratic teachings were uttered after
John Adams alien aud sedition laws were
enacted; after Hamilton had tried to es
tablish monarchical system by forced con.
structon of the Constitution, or by tri
umph over State Governments, reducing
them to entire subordinatiou after Con.
gress aud President Adams had at Hamil
tons suggestion, sought to make the Fed,
eral Judiciary controlling and paramount
department of the Federal q oyerument.
The alien and sedition laws we're pa ssed
by Congress in 1898. These flaws we re
odlous then aud since Designed to subor.
dinate the people to the will of the Federal
Executive they vested in the President
arbitrary power, power only exercised by
IaTn ., -
the people in the golden age of true Amer.
lean patriotism. The first six sections Of
the law related to aliens, whom the Presi-
dent was commissioned to move out of the
country, if he deemed them dangerous to
the peace and safety of the United States,
without trial or habeas corpus, or redres s
from State courts. This is very condens.
ed description of the dangerous powers aud
| purposes Of this law. The 'sedition lawn
related to the punishment of certain crimes
against the United States. 1t provided
that any persons unlawfully combining or
conspiring together to oppose any measure
| Of Tie GorerHmeRt OF the United States, or
any of its laws, or to intimidate or prevent
any officer under the Government from
undertaking or performing his duty; and
any persons with such intent, counseliug or
attempting to pro cure any instruction
riot or unlawful combination were to be
guilty Of high misdemeanor, and punish.
able by fine not exceeding 5000, and by
Imprisonment not less than six months, nor
exceeding five years. The next provision
declared that any person who should write,
print, utter or publish, or aid in writing,
printing, uttering or publishing any false
scandalous or malicious writing against the
Government, Congress, or President of tho
| United States, with intent to deiame them
or bring them into disrepute, or to stir up
sedition within the United States, should
be fined not exceeding 81 900 and mpris-
oned not exceeding two years. The
people were alarmed at this attempt of the
Government Of the Union to subiueate
them, and deny them their rights as assert
ed in the Constitution, and resistance be.
came a duty. The State of Virginia, of
Jefferson and Madison, the State that did
so much to form the Constitution and Sc.
cure the blessings of liberty, solemnly pro.
tested against this usurpation. That state
by its legislature proclaimed that the Con
stitution of the United States, was com
pact to which the States were parties
granting limited powers to the Federal
GovernmentJ that these laws were palpablc
and alarming infractions of the consti.u.
tioni that when Virginia ratified the Fede-
raj Constitution, it expressly declared that
among essential rights, liberty of conscience