New Orleans Republican., 1873-05-03
REPUBLICAN DOCTRINE THROUGH PAST
AGES

sAS~S
who counsel resistance to the State gov
ernment, and refuse to pay tie taxes, pos
sessed too much intelligence not to see
that their doctrine was hostile to the con-
tinuance Of republican form Of union,
for such doctrine will, in our OPINION
lead more inevitably to a concentration
and consolidation of all power in single
head or hand than any grasp at power o..
the distinguished captain now at the head
of the government. To state the doc
trine alluded to fairly, it is that if one or
more citizens shall be of opinion that the
government has been illegally installed or
the DEGREES of its courts corrupt, that
thereupon a right accrues to such malcon-
tents to resist the government and refuse
obedience to any law which it may admin
ister.
| We have heretofore proven that every
citizen of a republic is party to its gov
ernment and by contract bound to obey
its laws, no matter by whom admins
tered There is higher Obligation on a
party to such contract than there can be
ON the subject of a king whose consent to
the form of government has never been
signiied by a written constitution, with
specific grants Of powers and care
| fully guarded limitations. 1t has been
| in this sense that, while regarding
the government of Mr.. Kellogg legal,
and the judgments of the courts correct,
the REPUBLICANS has impressed upon our
citizens their obligation to stand up to
their contract and not refuse to comply
with it upon the reasoning that the mode
of public administration is not acceptable
to them. These principles, resulting
from the logic Of common sense and hu
L1an justice, did not require the
citation of authority from the
republican founders of our federal govern
ment. They seemed natural to every
mind that could conceive the primary
principle that all power exists in all the
peo; lie, and that they concede and limit
the exercise Of these powers by written
constitution. But We own to gratifca-
ton when We find this natural equity of
an American mind sustained by the logic
and learning Of the republicans of Rome
and Greece, and embodied in the princi-
pies of the civil law itself From an able
commentator on the civil law (Foullier-
De Droit Civil, article sur les Verites Ju-
diciares) we derive the following argu-
ment
Whence, then, comes this power, this all
thority which accords the force of law to
Judicial decree which it regards as ad-
mitted truth Res 0Gjudicofa pro yesitate
accepit,OS. This authority, SO worthy of
respect, is derived from higher source |
1t is direct consequence, or. il you will, a |
condition of civil order. whose first law is |
that no constituent shall execute justice |
himself, but that he must demand Justice |
from the depositary of the public power. |
In entering civil society or in remaining in |
il, every citizen submits for decision by the |
magstracy all difficulties which he may
have with others. He is then under oblga-
tions to respect aud observe decisions egaIly |
adjudged against him. even although he
may consider them uni just, and even when |
they may in effect be unjust. tor he can not
withdraw himself from their operation
without disturbing, as far as he is
concerned, the laws of the State, which
must remain without force and without au.
thOrity if every defeated suitor following
his caprice or interest, may destroy with i'm
punity the DEGREES OF the magis tracy, ap-
poi.ted to declare the interpretations of the
law.
This truth was demonstrated in a sublime
manner by the wiSest of mortals The
friends OF Socrates, condemned to death by
an lnlqultOus sentence. begged that he
would save himself by flight. Everything
was prepared. They pressed him to con
sent in the Dame of ali that could move
heart that responded to holy friendship.
His friends 'yould be reproached because
they had not saved him W hen in their power
to have done 80. In the name of his chill
dren. who would be left by his death to the
accident of education; finally. in the name
of justice. which forbid him to abandon
himself to destruction, when hs could
escape. and which made it duty to spare
his country the disgrace of great crime.
The wlse old man, in his reply, laid down
the principle that he sught no. ito yield to
the wishes Of his friends, if thel- proposal
violated the laws of Athens, to which he
had promised obedience in becoming an
Inhabitant of the city. And in order to
give more force to the discussion he person
lned the laws to make them speak them
selves by an admirable prosopoppia or peg
soniticaticn What do you intend to do |
D SOcrates" exclam the laws. "Do YOU not
see that your purpose and preparation for
Hight Ia, 80 far as you are concerned, the
destruction. the annihilation of the repub-
he Do you, then, think that a State can |
subslst without laws, and that the laws
will not be destroyed and annihia:ed.
when the DEGREES have no longer
any force-when every defeated su;tor
can rescind them in withdra wing himseI:
from their OpeTatiOns,"
Socrates then answers the objection
ira5'n from the especial decree OF his own
sentence. that private wrong should never
Do weighed IN the same scales with the !
public and general interest. And so
through respect for the laws Of his country.
% obey judgment the most unjust See
,ates, who could have escaped, tranuui,iy
frank the hemlOck."
Il is also upon the respect for the adiudi-
ions that Cicero especially bases the sta
,llty OF States S'atas republjcu marine
"dirdteS rebnS coHfiHeipr.
The same authority goes even further in
eaching the obligations of a republican
'itizen to abide by the act, Of his own govs
rnment:
This doctrine is ccuimon to all the iuns- !
onsults of Rome who taught that the citi
zen should obey the judgments Of the mag
strate even if they were, in the opinion of {
he citizen. unjust, rendered through error, 2
n aouse OF poSer. per error aut ambitiose,
because the public interest required obedi-
nee. Il is thus upon the great motive of s
'ubilc interest that tins presumption of ,
'erity which the law attaches to iudiciat
lecree--pro reF'j'aie occipi'H, paslnuch that
the Judges declare la.st a fact that is {
rue, II must be accepted as fact in the eyes ;
+ the law }
The force of an Adjudication is such that '