The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1877-07-28
The American Constitution.
Hon. 0. p. Morton in North American Re
view for .Julyl

The impcrfeCtions in our national
constitution, demonstrated by ex-
pcllcnCe, nave come near making ship
wreck or the nation upon several Occa-
SIons, threaten to do it again if not re-
paired, and should command the attcn-
f'np OF the American people. When
tihl mas demonstrated imDerfCctiOn in
any system OF government, the power
OF amendmcnt is the only safety that
government has from revolution and
destruction. The Capablity of the
brltlsh constitution for reform has re-
pcatedly saved that government from
revolution; and our forefathers, per
celving this great truth, wisely provided
i'll the constitution for its amendment
by two distinct methods.
Each State is to appoint its electors
III such manner as the legislature shall
| provide. This power of the SCate to
| appoint electors is conferred by the
constitution Of the United States, and
not by the constitution of the State ::
| and the exercise Of it cannot be con-
! trolied by Il State constitution. The
| method of appointing electors is ALWAYS
under the control of State legislatures,
ana the legislature may repeal at any
time a law that may have been passed,
providing for the election of electors
by the people. 1t is a matter entirely
within the control of the legislature,
and there is 10 provision made in the
constitution whereby the appointment
OF IN electOr can be contested, and the
States, except Louisiana, have made no
provision for COntesting the fraudulent
appointment of an electOr. Though
electors may have been chosen by
violence or manifest fraud, and, though
the whole world may know it, their
votes must be received and counted; !
and there is no power in Congress or
anywhere else to reject such IL vote. |
Inns IS clearly one of the great I'M
with.
Our fathers contemplated an electoral
college as deliberative bOdy-a body |
OF men who should come together and
consider who was the proper man for
pfeSldent; and then, to insure their
perfect independence OF the country
and Of each other, they were to vote by
ballot, so that they might vote secretly:
and, to further continue this secrecy and
secure their independence, the votes
were to be sealed up and sent to the
president OF the Senate, and to remain
sealed and concealed until the very +
moment they were to be counted in
the presence of the two houses: and
IT, when opened, there were imperfec
tons or Irregularities, it was then too
late to mend or perfect them. AS stated /
IN former paper, the theory of our
fathers III regard to the electoral college i
originated III Il profound distrust of f
the people, | have as much reverence s
Tor our f0rGfathers as any one, but to =
assume that they were infallible or i
perfect would be very great mistake l
indeed. They did not expect the legis- I
atures would provide for appointing
electors by the people; on the contrary Il
5he history of the convention shows {
nat they were opposed to that The 5,
to choose electors by the i
Ilrect vote OF the people was yns&||TT o.
lOWn time and again, aiPp afiPpcS1 gErI
If LtatiOn was left to the legislatures \
md 1t was understood that they were N
o be chosen by the legislatures them
elves. The idea of electing them by
he people made slow progress: and '
Intil 1861, the time of the rebellion I
'outh Carolina continued to choose her P
lectors by. the legislature. The idea
vas OF arlstOcratic and mOnarchical
rlgln.. 1t had come down from ancient
ines, IN countries where the nobility
lected the monarch o.
1t, In the State of New York, with q ie
opnlatIon of forty five hundred thou of
ana, the electors on one side have y p1
lalorlty OF one hundred, that get the he
mole vote OF the. State, just as if Che il
eOplo were unanimous, and the voice
more than two millions Of DeonIe is pc
Ilenced. The minority is utterly sub "a, o.
9cted. Where parties are nearly canal w
divided a successful fraud in "One az
reclnct may determine the result in
he whole State. In New York, in 1853 J
leree was successful fraud perpetrated z
(he election in the city, .repeaters y
arhing from poll to poll, and voting -
trough the day, and this FRAUDULENT vote
lrrled the State for a particular can -
Idate; whereas, if the neople had va va
Oted by districts, the fraud would only BIZ
ave operated in the district where It an
de
| wish to show how far short the cleo R3 R58t
'fal system falls of representing the Ion
,ntlment and views of the people. In dc
~ General Grant received So per cent ,ri
the votes of the people; in the elec- =
raj college he received 81 per cent of 3
e votes of the electors appointed, In co
69 General Grant received SO per cent oal a
the popular vote, and IS per cent of me
@ electoral vote. In 1864 Mr. Lincoln pa
celved 55 per cent of the popular vote, tn5 t1dna5
I'd VI per cent of the electoral vote. na roo
1856 James Buchanan received 455 mi
II cent OF the popular vote and 80 per nu
Mt Of the electoral vote. In this elec- .,
III Mr. Fillmore received 25 per cent of J
e popular vote and only per cent of a
e electoral vote. In 1862 Pierce re- - -
lved 81 per cent Of the popular vote -
ID s. per cent Of the electoral vote.
1913 General Taylor received 46 per '
mt OF the popular vote and Sc Der
Mt of the electoral vote. At this s. !
octlon Mr.. Van Buren, received about to
per cent of the popular vote and no aut
actoral vote. In 1913 James X. PGik SI Smt
eelyed 80 per cent of the popular A. ]
tie, and GS per cent of the electoral Q
tie. So that, while the electoral col 8
ye has differed 42 per cent from the L
pular vote it has never come nearer il
it than 10 per cent. -
denOunce this clause in the consti- n
5ion, first, because of it's gross in ~
'tlce. There can be DO excuse made IL
1T. 1t ls simply trampling on rights,
len forty thousand people in the
ate Of Nevada have the same mower =,
th fOrty-fye hundred thonsand in r.aTI
? State OF New York. There Is no poi
;tice, no sense in IL. que
Sut,, to take this matter still farther iSiI r,
m the people, when the election goes pos
me house OF Representatives, it is in IL. J,
0e made by members of Congress WIZ
70 were elected nearly two years in
Tore: 1t the last election had gone =
the House, the president would have
en elected by members chosen in
4-clIOsen upon wholly different is
IS, and not with q view to their In
ectiOn of president.
We now have two hundred and