Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-05-14
Is THIS A REPRESENTATIVE GOV
ERNMENT?


The death Of Chief Justice Chase aud
speculaHons ps to his successor call 10 mind
condition OF affairs in reference to the
Supreme and other courts of the United
States anomalous in the history Of the coun-
try, condition, in our view, lamentable
and to be regretted by all who, as We dc,
earnestly desire the coming ofthe day when
the sections so recently battling for diver
gent views as to the character and scope of
the constitutional compact which binds the
States together shall be reunited in spirit,
as well IS in letter, in full accord and SYM
pathy, each with the other, working out the
nations destiny.
Our national government is, in theory, 3
government by the people, not of one State
or of half the States, but By the people of
all the States, In theory, ours is Demo
cratic and representative government, in
which all the people of all the States,
through their representatives., rule in every
department Of national puissance. This
representation should, and in theory does,
extend not only to the Legislature, but
in equal degree to the coordinate, Judicial
ami executive departments of the Federal
Government. From the foundation Of the
Government up to these latter days
this CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT of all the
people of all the States 10 representation
in the Cabinet of tie President, and in the
Federal Judiciary and on the Supreme
Bench Of the Nation, has been recognized
and acted upon. No SO now. No silgle
representative has the South in the Cabinet
of the President or in the Supreme Court.
Not only this, but all over the South men
have been appointed to the Circuit and
District Judg ships of tie United States
who were, at the time Of their appoint
ment, citizens of remote States.
To-day the South is represented neither
in the Circuit and District Courts of the
United States, with rare exceptions, whose
jurisdiction is within the Southern States,
nor in single instance in the Supreme
Court Of the Nation.
True it is that among the pronounced
adherents of the dominant party, men quail
fled to sit on the Supreme Bench are not
numerous in the South. Yet there are
great lawyers among us vino are not and
never can be blind partizans Of any party
who, If appointed to any position, would do
honor to themselves, their States, and the
whole country; men who would in no respect
dim the lustre reflected on the States South
by Marshal and bis Illus rious confreres
from the same section. We, for our part,
have long since given up all hope that the
present appointing power will ever come to
act towards the people Of the South
10 tbs high shd nOn-partizan tone
which would induce it 10 select a
man from the South for any federal sp-
poin'ment becsuse of bis intrinsic fitness
for the place or np}n any a.her than mar
row partizan considerations. Closing, we
desire to ask an impartial answer to this
question. Is this government OF ours, as at
present administered, really and in any
rue sense Of the word representative gov
eminent of all the people, when, as Is nov
the case, the entire Southern half of the
country is nOtrepIesented by a single individ
ual in two of the co ordinate departments Of
The government?