Mexico weekly ledger., 1880-03-11
A THIRD TERM.
BY Judge jeremiah s. Black.

by Judge Jeremiah s. Black.
Where the chief magistrate is
vested, as is ours, with great power
liable to gross abuse, if there is no
law or practice which forbids him to
be reelected, he can remain in Office
for life, as easily as for a term. He
has the appointment of all officers,
the making of all public contracts,
and a veto upon all legislation, be-
sides the command of the army and
navy. By an inscriptions use of
these means he can coerce, not only
his horde Of Immediate departments,
but he al control the corporations
and become master of all the rings,
put the business Of all classes under
his feet, corrupt the venal, frighten
the timid, and check all ambitions
but his own He can force the cleo
tons of every State he desires to
carry by the bayonets of his army.
If that fails, he can order a false re-
turn, and pay for it out of the public
treasury. The people would soon
perceive opposition to be useless and
accept the situation !; elections would
be as mere a matter of form as they
we're in Rome when such Consuls as
Nero and Domitan were elected regu-
larly every year under the supervision
the Pretorian guards.
If these were no more than remote
possibilities, prudence should put US
On our guard against them. But they
are near probabilities; the signs of
the times warn is that the peril to
cur institutions is imminent; that
danger is already or the wing. 1t is
vain to remind US the President
swears to preserve, protect aid defend
the constitution, and see the laws
faithfully executed. That is true I;
and it is true, also, that if there be
no perjury in the case, the constitu-
ton, laws and liberties of the country
are safe. But the last twenty years
have given ample proof that an oath
is not much restraint upon a presi-
dent who is melted by ambition, rs-
pacity or strong party feeling to
break it.
1t is true that this presupposes a
people much degenerated, and a
magistrate animated mainly by vul-
gar love Of power tor it's own sake /;
but exactly such a conjunction of
things has already been feared with
good reason, and hence, comes the
desire to put every check upon that
tendency to ''strong government"
which is now manlfesting itself in
many quarters.
What is the remedy? How shall
we avert the dire calamity with which
We r threatened? The answer
comes from the graves of our fathers:
By the frequent election Of new men.
Other help or hope for the salvation
of free government, there is none
under heaven. If history does not
teach this, we have read it all wrong.
In the republics of ancient and mod
ern times the chief magistrate was en-
with only temporary power,
and always went out of office at the
end of a short period fixed and pre-
scrIbed by law or custom. 1t was
this, indeed, that made the substantial
difference between a1them and the
nonarchies aggression en-. An I'M
punished ttation was unipf the Gus
destruction. ESormly fol-
D"eeffways it was the fatal iSery"nere
decay, the sure forerunner Vmptom
hen Caesar refused to lay doHt RUIN.
onsulate, as his predecessors :" Ills
at the end of a year, and was
elected, time after time, with the
,auiescsnce of the Senate and peo-
|e. all that was real in Roman free
ON ceased to exist. Two Republics
France we're brought to end in the
,me way. Napoleon began by being
for a term, then was elected
life, and finally became Emperor,
18th the power of IN absolute despot.
he last Bonaparte was president for
BUR years, was reelected for ten, and
nded like his uncle in grasping the
imperial crown. May all this be
washed in Lethe and forgotten? Shall
hese lessons be lost? Shall the lamp
which guided our forefathers be ex-
inguisled? Shall the broad daylight
# all human experience be closed up
n a little dark lantern? l think this
.annot be done. The ''eternal veri-
are against it. The most pow
,rful t%hird-termer may as well try to
blow out the sun as he would a tallow
by the breath of his mouth.