Middletown transcript., 1874-06-20
The United States Senate.


For some time past many of the journals Of the
North, more especially Of New York. have been
the Senate OF the Ua,ed States. They assert that
the present organisation of that body by which
the smaller States of the Union are allowed the
same voice as the greater States is unjust. They,
therefore, demand mn increase of representation
Ia that body for the larger States, and a couse-
quent decrease for the smaller States. In other
words, they would have representation in the
Senate based upon the same grounds as that of
The lower House according to population.
IN ordinary times no apprehension whatever
would be felt that the people of the United States
could by any possible means be induced to thus
utterly destroy the bcaafalfabric of Federal, or
confederate, Republic established by the trainers
of the Constitutions, but these are extraordinary
times; and too much vigilance cannot be exer-
cised. For nearly fourteen years the control of
the government has been in the hands of a
great political party which, conceived in spirit
Of malice and vindic,ive hatred toward one Sec
tion of the country and its institutions, intoxi-
Gated with success in carrying out their designs
against the objects of their hate far beyond their
most ardent expectations, have been taught to
dcspise all established forms and maxims as cold
fogyism,'' and to regard the Constitution and
its provisions us restraints upon their .progress"
Hence they bave not scruped, whenever partisan
ascessty required it to trample that instrument be-
meath their eet,or to force amendments to il, con-
tsasy to the will of vast proportion of the people
and in direct opposition to the method in which
it was intended that amendments should be made
When party feeling is thus allowed to overcome
reason and common sense, aud an insane ambi-
tion for progress seeks to change every exist
ing feature Of the government as it was given us
Wy its founders and to make new and frequen,
experiments in the science Of government it may
be well for the people to be on their guard and
watch with the utmost vigilance and most jealous
care the few rights that yet remain to them un.
trammslled.
No proposition has yet been made or could be
conceived fraught with such danger to the liber
~ of the American people or to the maintenance
of the Federal Republic as that to place the Ma
tional Senate upon an equal footing with thu
House of Represen tatives. 1t is the deadlies
thrust at State Rights that has yet been made
Under such a system the smaller States would
lose the influence in the government which the,
now exert, and the control of the governmen
would pass into the hands of the great States
and the country, instead of Union of States
would at once lapse into a consolidated Repub
lie.
So jealous were the members of the couventio
that framed the Constitution of the rights an
independence Of their States that they would nc
permit the word national to be used in cor
nection with the government which they prt
POSED to establish, bst insisted that the teri
government Of the United States should b
used in stead thereof. The system of electin
members of the Senate by the State Legislature.
and the members of the lower House by the pee
pie Of the States according to population, wa
adopted as compromise between the create
and smaller States, otherwise the Union woul
never have been formed. 1t was jealous fea
of the very consolidation proposed by these Ne
York journalists that postponed for SO long
time the ratification of the Constitution by man
Of the States. Had such propositions as tho.
suggested by these Northern papers been inco
porated into the Constitution, by which the sci
arate nationality of the States would have bee
subverted, it would never have been adopted ,nt
the Union formed. The Senate was intended
also, as a check upon the acts of the more POI
ular branch Of the Legislature, after the san
manner as the House of Lords is check upo
the lower House of Parliament. For these, an
other reasons which we cannot stop now 10 enl
mernte, the present method of constructing Il
Senate, IA representation of territory rather tina
nunbers) was determined upon.
The innovations thus far made upon the for
of government as it was given us, in large m
jority Of cases, have been rather disadvantal
than benefit. The egotism which induces j
dcvotees to believe in their superior wisdom, al
. in the name Of REFORM" as they regard it,
sndesvov TO make such great and radical chang
in the Constitution and laws, is calculated to i
jure rather than improve. The people, then, I
pecially of the smaller States, should be on thu
guard, ever remembering that " Eternal Viz
lance 10 the price OF Liberty.