The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-07-31


constitutional obligation for the law
maker to refuse the necessary appro-
priations of money to make it effective
as it Is for the private citizen to disobey
it. The act in both cases Is the same,
and differs only in the remedy. In
the case of the private citizen the
remedy is in the courts, and in the
case of the law-maker it is in the
ballot-box, by the reputation at the
polls of a faithless public servant and
of the party that sustains his acts.
THE CoNFEDERATE CONGRESS.
The advent of the Democratic party
| to power i'm one branch of Congress,
after sixteen years exclusion, was sig
| nalized by their refusing all appropra
| tions of money for the support of the
army. And as soon as they have ma
| iority i'm both branches of Congress it is
claimed that the lawmakers may of
right refuse to apply the money col
lected from the people to the support
of their Government, on the plea that
certain laws are unwise if not uncon-
stitutional. This is the mode of re-
pealing laws not provided for in the
| Constitution, and is revolutionary and
destructive of all forms ofgovernment.
This party begins in power in 1879
Just where it ended in 1861. 1t ended
then in an opposition to the army and
a refusal to acquiesce in the constitu-
| tional forms of the Government. 1t
comes back to legislative power and
begins by refusing the necessary sup
port for the army and by making war
upon the constitutional forms of the
! Government. Tins the war of ideas
goes on. The people of the United
States, in order to form n more perfect
! Union, establish justice and secure the
blessings of liberty for themselves and
their posterity, did, III March, 1889,
establish the Constitution of the United
States as the form of government
which they believed would best secure
these ends. That there might be no
mistake as to the authority and char
acter of the government which they
established, they declared in the
seventh article that "this Constitution
and all laws ofthe United States which
shall be made in pursuance thereof,
and all treaties made or which shall be
made under the authority of the
United States, shall be the supreme
law of the land and the judges in
every State shall be bound thereby,
anything in the Constitution or laws
of any State to the contrary notwith-
standing.n The tribunal which they
established in the Constitution to de-
termine whether the laws are made in
pursuance thereof was the Supreme
Court of the United States.
A NATION, NOT A CONFEDERATION.
Among the powers conferred upon
Congress is one 'to provide for calling
forth the militia to eXecnte the laws of
the Union,n and each and every State
| l., top p; nv
into any treaty, alliance or confeder;i-
ton or Unto any agreement or COM
pact with another State or with a
foreign power" The Constitution OF
the United States is, therefore, in eX-
press terms and provisions, made for
a nation, and not for "a confederation,
How, then, did the idea ever obtain
that any local community could judge
for itself as to the cOnstitutionality OF
the laws of the Government of the
Union, and at will nullify such as il
did not approve? The dcvotees OF
slavery, while it lasted, constantly
seeking greater security and more etfec
tive safeguards for its perpetuity, be
gan by magnifying the power of the
States, so as to place them as bulwark
behind which human bondage coult
entrench itself against any possible
action of the government of thu
: Union. In the increase and growtl
, of the country they foresaw that th'
! time was not far distant when the Rep
resentatives in Congress from the non
; slaveholding States would outnumbc
; those from the slaveholding, and thei
their peculiar institution might be en-
, dangered by unfriendly legislation
= With the keen foresight characteristi,
| Of ln ronrasnnfatiN-ps of Snpniol n
. class interest the votaries of slavery
; led by Calhoun, for nearly a half cen
: : tury, devoted all their energies t,
= creating n sentiment with the peopl
= of their section, under the disguis
I and sugar-coating of State rights, of
! local sectional allegiance, as para
! mount to that patriotism Whicl
= springs from the love of a common
: country. In order to alarm the citizel
:. as to his future security and protection
/ the Government of the Union, it
- . capital being outside the limits of tn
= State, was persistently represented a
= foreign government, not responsible
: to the people, therefore dangerous t
a liberty. Hence the citizen must loo
A to the local community in which h
- Glanced to live for his protection
~ when in fact the only subvcrsion {
= liberty and the rights of men in on
. whole history has been by State at
u thority and by that alone. The-
= ideas, born of slavery, they infuse
% through the ecaucus machinery of part
=" organization. into the Democrat
, party as article-of its political fait
:. on the proper distribution of the pow
q ers of government. The Presider
- and Congress elected by precisely til
;, same votes that elect the constable an
:" justice of the peace, each and all alib
the servants of the people; the term
Office of the President not longer tina
, that of most governors, and that
~ members of Congress the same
- the legislators of most of the State
ie and every branch of the Governmel
= of the Union, except the judiciar
~ amenable to the people and created |
~ them, the same as are their State G
~ CARNATIONS, how is it possible for ii
le Government of the Union to be al
ic more dangerous to the liberties of ii
10 people than that of the State?
q. STATE RIGHTS, PROPERLY UNDE
2? STOOD,
as are those rights of local communiti
in to form rules and regulations for the
IS own government as their geograph
rd or social condition seem TO require
OF the promotion of their happiness al
TO prosperity, not inconsistant with,
ID or in cOntravention of the powers co
of ferred on the Government of t
MS Union. The condition or right
ne iC loft to aoch Stota tp n V