Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-01-26
The Latest Democratic Outrage.

Never in the history of the Govern
ment has the doctrine of States rights
been so treated with contempt as it was
on Wednesday by the Democratic House
of representatives.. That body ordered
the arrest of the members of the Returning
Board of Louisiana, their transportation
to Washington, and their Imprisonment
for contempt. The committee of the
House of Representatives in session in
New Orleans demanded of the Return.
ing Board the original returns of the
election in that State. The Canvassing
Board stated that they had not the GUS
tody of those returns, the papers having
been deposited with the Secretary Of
State; that the board was unable to
make copy of the returns, and had no
money at their command to pay for max
ing copy of them; and that If the com
mittee would furnish the means or the
clerical force 1t could obtain certified
copy of the original papers. The COM
mttee persisted in its demand for the
original papers, and reported the refusal
to the House of representatives.. That
body passed resolution directing the
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House to arrest
the members OF the board and present
them at the bar of the House for con-
tempt. This is carrying the power of
contempt to limit never before reached.
1t is an order to arrest a branch of the
Government of the State. The House
might as well order the arrest of the
Governor and Executive Department of
a State because of the refusal of the
Governor or court to surrender the orig
inal records and archives of the State to
an irresponsible committee of one branch
OF Congress, to be removed from the
State. We do not suppose that such a
requirement was ever before made in the
United States. A certified copy of the
original papers of any public record of a
State or of court is all that can be de-
manded by any authority The official
and original records of the Supreme
Court of Illinois cannot, even upon the
command of court, be taken from the
files of that court, thence to be removed
to another State. The Constitution pro-
vides that I" full faith and credit shall
be given in each State to the public acts,
records and judicial proceedings of
every other State. And the Congress
may, by general laws, prescribe the
manner in which such acts, records and
proceedings shall be proved, and the
effect thereof" Congress has exercised
this power, and prescribed that copies,
properly authenticated, shall be fur
nished of such papers, and such copies
| shall have the same effect as the origi-
nails. The demand of the committee for
| the possession of the original papers was
wholly Illegal. The wisdom of the uni
versal rule in such cases of not parting
with the custody of the original papers
was shown in the fact that, on u former
occasion, the State authorities of Louis
lana, from courtesy, placed certain orig.
| inal records of the State in the hands of
Congressional committee, and they
were never returned.
The partisan majority of the House of
| representatives, however, has declared
the power of that House to demand pos
session of the original records, the
archives of the State of Louisiana, and
has ordered the arrest of the officers who
have refused to produce the papers. For
this proceeding there is no warrant of
law, not even the authority of bad
precedent. The act demanded of the
Returning Board is one which is for.
hidden by the laws of Louisiana, the
laws of the United States, and one
which, under like circumstances, Is for
hidden by the laws of every other State,
and by the laws of every other Govern
ment. Because of this refusal to per-
form an act forbidden by statute, and
not sanctioned by any law, these men are
to be arrested and taken to Washington,
and there held in contempt during the
legal life of the present House of Rep
resentatives. Such an outrage can hard
ly fail to awaken the indignation of the
American people, and such blow at
the sanctity and security of the States in
the matter of the custody of their own
public records is an invasion of State
rights far exceeding anything ever pro-
posed by the EXTREMIST advocate of cen.
tralization.-C Chicago Tribune.