Oregon Republican. [volume] (Dallas, Or.) 1870-1872, 1872-05-04
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Political KSgMeS-State aud
National. 81

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paign viii be made, the result of'which
must determine what party shall admins
lister The Government for the next four
years, This is matter of SO grave
importance that every person in the
Government ought to give it serious
thought, enough at least to be able to
use their influence and votes ethose1who
have that right in proper manner
and 10 the right direction, for nothing
issmore apparent than the fact that un>
less the people Of this Government,
like all other popular governments,
shslhtake pride enough in their own
ihstianfions, when they themselves are
the only sovereigps, to see to it, that
their national affairs are administered
fairls and honestlysand to see that their
public servants (not rulers) obey the
sovereignsf win. the perpstuity of the
great Government cannot long be ex-
pected or hoped for. What the Ma
tisaal Platforms will present is not jet
knOEp, bat iathe platforms of the re-
spective parties in Oregon are any in.
aicatipn of what p to- come, there seems
to be but two issues presented, upon
patipnall Affairs, and, in fact, the only
one Of Importance seems to be found in
the FIRST resolution of both platforms
The Republicans declare that the al
legiance Of hepeople Of this country is
sne fist to the General Government
and i means simply this, that the su.
prehe, sovereign, uncontrolled power of
this,GoTernment rests entirely with the
whole people in the aggregate, and that
whenever they, or . majority of them,
shall,exprass their will. fairly and con-
stitutionally At the ballot.box, that will
shall besobaysd.
The Democrats declare that the Con-
stitution must be strictly construed,
that the supremacy Of the State over
tine General Government must be. pre-
served, that the States must have the
rigAttO regulate their own internal af-
fails and no. Interference fromtae Gen.
eral GsEegamept. In this doctrine is
found the backbone of modern De,
mocracy, and it means simply this that
when A. Ell. Stephens, of Georgia, said
in his great work called "The Consti-
!tutional History of the War" that no
man in this Government owes allegi-
apee 10 any. power on earth, except to
the individual State of which he was or
happened to be member, that each
State was, and is an independent SOW
ereign, per Sc, that there is no power
on earth that could control the actions
of the people Of a State under any cir
cumstances, except by brute force ip an
unlawful manner, and that every act of
the General Government in insti,uting
'andi carrying on the war against South
.srps rebels, was uncopstitutional and
void" be uttered the exact sentiments
Of the Democracy of the present day
II means that each State has an un-
doubted right to regulate its pwn
internal sfairs as IT pleases, that if the
majority Of the people want to establish
human slavery, or any other institution
they may desire, within their own
limits, no matter how offensive or in
furious il may be TO all the balance of |
the people of the Government, or how
much it may stand in the way of the
the establishment and perpetuity of
Rpre Republican form of Government,
there must be 20 interferepcs by the
General Government, no exercise of
power BY the whole people for the gen.
eral good, and no establishment of the |
great fundamental principle, that this
Government ought to be so administered
as to bring the greatest good to the
greatestnunesr. Allother battle cries
OF the modern Democracy have died
away, ana can pnly be heard in the dim !;
disiapce.