The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-07-23
BAYONET RULE OF FREE GOVERNMENT.
Hurd's Great Speech Defending the
Democratic Position.

I q Tue United states have been from the first
/ day until now the subject of discussion and il
seems a proper thing at its termination 70 in
qulre into the result OF it, and inquire whether
/ 'r not the action OF the majority Of this House
I pie.
Ny colleague from Ohio Mr.. Garfield who
mas Just taken his seat, has seen fit in answer
1 to the positions which have been maintained
4 by the Democratic party ia the progress Of the
argument . enter upon "A dIsquIsition "a to the
nature Of the Federal Government and the
iatons Of the States to that Government under
the Constitution which they created. Never, ia
All my studies Of the political history OF this
country; never in all my knowledge of the po-
lItical debates which have taken place in the
Congress Of the United States have / heard
such views OF consolidation advanced as have
been suggested to-day by that gentleman.
He advanced the extraordinary proposition
that the Union preceded the States, when the
seventh article of the Constitution declares
/ The ratification Of the Conventions Of nine
states should be sufficient Tor the establish
ment Of this Constitution between the States so
rttliying the same Applause on the Demo
cratic side OF the Housed
But in order that all doubt might be removed
upon the subject, that the Constitution ana the
Union was the creature OF the States it was de
rlared IN tenth amendment OF the Constitution:
That the powers not delegated 10 the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by il
10 the States, reserved to the States respec-
lively, or to the people"
Nor Is the opinion Of the highest judicial
tribunal in this country wanting upon this pro-
position In the case OF Lane County Ore
gOn, the following is the decision Of Chief JUS
tice Chase, to be found on page 10th OF eth Wal
lace:
'The people OF the United States constitute
one nation. under one Government, and this
Government, within the scope of the powers
with which it is invested, Is supreme. On the
other hand, the people Of each State compose a
State, having its own Government, and cndow-
Cd with all the functions essential to separate
and independent existence. The States dis
united might continue to exist. Without the
States in Union there could be such political
body as the United States"
But, Mr.. Chairman, for the purposes of the
present discussion, it is not necessary to enter in
10 an elaborate consideration of the doctrines OF
State rights, or the powers Of the Federal Gov
eminent 1t is sufficient for the bill now under
consideration, that should inquire to
whethcr1t IS within the scope and the powers OF
the Federal Government To pass laws to inter
fere with elections i'll the States, and only SO
far as tins question Is involved do / propose
10 discuss the doctrine of States rights at all
Al the beginning OF this session of Congress,
the Democratic party declared three PROPOSE
tons: W e insisted that the army should be kept
away from the polls that the test oath should
he repealed, and that laws should be enacted for
the impartial drawing of jurors; and that the
Federal Government should not exercise au-
thority over elections held within the States.
We insisted aud maintained that because OF
and by virtue of the Constitutional provision
that the House OF Representatives alone shall
originate money bills; that the representatives
of the people had the right to insist that the
grievances of which they complained should be
remedied before the appropriations should be
made for the support OF the Government
In the discussion which has continued three
months, one OF the most earnest and able that
has ever occurred in an American Congress, the
Democratic party has maintained these propo-
SitiOns. 1t l. not necessary to into the de
tails of the argument; il IS sufficient for my
purpose to briefly recapituiate them.
We said the measures to which we objected
were unconstitutional We said there was no
such person as a voter Of the United States as
such; that every who had Il right vote,
had IL because Of State authority and under
State laws, and that, therefore, the Federal
Government not creating the voter, had no
power to interfere with him in the exercise OF
his rights of franchise
We insisted that under the laws as they now
stand there is no such thing as a National cleo
ton that under the provisions Of the Coustitu-
ton. in order that there should be a National
election, il was fundamental that Congress
should fix the places times and manner of
holding such election, but that is not the ease
for in every instance the times, places and man
uer of holding elections are fixed by the Con
stitution and the laws Of the States, except in
single instance as TO time. The States having
exercised power upon the subject there is no
occasion for the exercise Of power by the United
States and To say that the United States and
each State ut the same time possesses the power
of fixing the time place and manner OF holding
elections, is to say that two sovereignties pos
ScSs the power 10 do the same thing at the same
time on the same subject matter which is itself
an absurdity. We maintain as to the army that
it, being creature of Congress, il has no power
to be within the limits of the sovereign States
except as the Constitution of the United States
provides, and then only Tor the purpose OF sup
pressing domestic instruction repelling the
armed enemies of the United States, and then
only AT the request of the Legislature thereof
or the Executive of the State, if the Legislature
be not in session,
More than that, We have referred to the de-
cisions of the Supreme Court of the United !
States approving all these propositions and
glq rim har hp WpF of ha
State, and that the Federal Government has
nothing to do with them. To these decisions
gentlemen on the other side, with one or two
exceptions, have absolutely retralned in the
debate from referring In addition to that we
urged the argument that the laws we sought to |
repeal enabled the supervisors TO come into the |
State and interfere with State elections for the |
selection OF State officers and we also referred |
To the fact that in the State of New York and |
other States the greatest outrages had been |
committed by the arrest of citizens without |
warrant by officers who had not seen them !
commit any otfensc against the laws, and who |
upon bare suspicion that an otfense was intend |
ed, had arrested them. We showed from expe- |
rience how, in the South, justice had been made |
a farce; that jurors drawn in the interests |
of partisanship, and that eases were decided in |
the interests of craftsmanship, and that the courts
had absolutely failed to administer justice to |
the people in that great section. We referred |
To the city of New York, where, on an election |
dav, more than 5000 American citizens were !
imprisoned by the authority of supervisors of |
W
of the United States Court, who decided that |
there was no authority to arrest, and that they |
had been guilty Of no crime. More than that, |
we referred III our argument 10 the great doe 1
trine of civil liberty, and maintained that the |
measures sought to repeal were inimical To |
freedom un-Ameriean in spirit and in the end |
would prove subversive of free government.
No more manly, no more dlgnlted no more !
logical debate so far as the Democratic part of |
the House is concerned, was ever conducted on |
this floor; but in what way were our arguments |
6N-e thpFG sid nf he
House? With the exception of half dozen |
speeches the pretended answers To argu- |
ments might well have been made any |
other subjects upon the bill now before the |
House for consideration. When said that |
these measures were FiQlatiye of the Constitu- |
ton of the United States, Republican orators |
replied that on this side of the House the |
majority were Confederate BrigadierS, who had |
attempted to overthrow the Constitution of the |
United States. When referred TO the fact /
of the outrages committed on American citizens, |
they replied by citing the outrages committed |
at AndersonYllIe and other prisons IN the South /
during the war, and when urged that the |
power of the army should be limited and |
qualified that il might not be used to overthrow |
the liberties Of the people, they said your side /
was whipped by that army, and, therefore you |
Never in my all knowledge has debate been
honestly conducted than this has been upon our /
side of the House; never have been our argu- |
ments by gentlemen the other side. There
are honorable exceptions, of course 1t would |
be invidious to name them, but will venture to
mention the names OF two, and refer TO the
distinguished gentleman from Connecticut, Mr..
Hawley, and the gentleman from New Jersey,
Mr.. Robson
As the result of this debate, bills have been
passed and sent to the President of the United
States and have been vetoed. The veto power
was designed BY the Constitution power to
prevent Unconstitutional legislation, or hasty,
or ill-considered legislation, or TO enable the
Executive to protect itself against encroach-
n,aDts from other branches of the Government.