American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-05-15
The Republicans on the Army Bill.

| The Democrats IN Congress have
right to congratulate themselves on
their treatment of the two subjects
which occasioned the extra session. In
the Deputy Marshals' bill they judi
ciously accepted the suggestion of Mr.
Garfield, which was so obviously fair in
itself and had an authorship so strictly
Republican as to leave the Republicans
nothing to say, except to attack the
practice of aflixing riders. Mr.. Garfield
helped the Democrats in that case, but
in their treatment of the Army bill they
have had no help from the Republicans.
Neither have they given the Republic
cans any help. 1t seems to have been
very perplexing for the Republican
orators to have nothing but the bill
itself with which to contend. They
tainted the Democrats to i" come on"
and defied them even as the pale youth
in MARTIN Chuzzlewit'' defed the
British lion, and with a response no
more favorable .or satisfactory. In
point of fact, as everybody knows, the
discussion of the matter was exhausted
months ago, and there was nothing left
for the Republicans but to outdo the
violence of the attacks they had already
made upon the measure. This they
did with as much spirit as the absence
of contradiction would allow. Mr.. Robe
son took the wonderful ground that to
keep troops away from the polls was to
subordinate the civil to the military
authority, and Mr.. Hawley denounced
all riders on all Appropriation bills. In
doing this Mr.. Hawley let himself down
to the level of factious partisan. One
would think to read his speech that he
had never read the history. of England
or of America, in which supposition
one would doubtless be doing him an
injustice. But any admission of the
of politician who takes
Mr.. Hawley's ground about . riders
must be made at the expense of his can
dor. Mr.. Lowe, the ex-Chancellor of
the Exchequer. contributes a paper to-
the current number of the NineteenH
Century which will apparently contain
news for some of the Republican Rep
resentatives, if not for Mr.. Hawley. Mr..
Lowe says: Htsft fls sa r.
"Most of the nations of Europe had some
kind Of Parliament. but the Parliament of En-
gland has alone been, able to preserve its pow
er untarnished and unbroken. Why was thfs?
It was simply because by the happy Consfi- /,
tuition of England, the power of the purse was
reserved to the Commons So = An ambi-
tious and warlike King, unable to live on the
for money to the Parliament, and the Par
Lament granted him subsidy In considera-
ii9n Of the ab th int of Of some paisoulssr
ourselves free Of allzour appressions. = he
no money can be eranted without their assent.
and thus they have become the principal pow
er in the realm; The right OF refusal draws
grounds upon which the money is required,
and consequently the right of being consclted
as to the policy for which the money is to be
spent"
In this respect nobody out of Con-
gress needs to be told that the powerof
Congress is exactly analogous to the
power of Parliament. The monstrous
claim that the Legislature has no right
to attach conditions to the expenditure
of the money it votes was never heard
of until the Republicans found it con-
yenient to raise that pretense. OF
course Congress could have no power
whatever over the Government of the
SO long as Congress consents to
provide money for the Executive De-
partments without :" being consulted as
to the policy for which the money is to
be SPENT Nevertheless, that is what
the Republican orators insist that Con-
gress shall do. In fact Republican
theories arise, not at all
from reading constitutional history,
nor even from reading the Constitution
Itself, but entirely from the temporary
eXlgencleS OF the party When the
President is opposed, as Andrew john
son was, to a Republican Congress, the
theory is that Congress is
supreme, and The Republican Congress
accordingly ties the President hand and
foot and impeaches him if he attempts
to- get free or if he exercises the plain
est prerogatives of his Office. When q
Democratic Congress is opposed to a
President and undertakes,
20 prevent the Republicans from carry
ng elections by a system of arbitrary
arrests and of military terrorism, the
theory is that Con gross can
10 nothing but sit still and give the
President what, money he requires to
carry out this system. That is the
heory which was expoufitled by Mr..
Y World. aIfo 10 s