Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-08-11


the supervisors can secure it, will have the
benefit of an honest vote in the north at
least. In the south the law is of but little
avail, am sorry to say, but that little is
more than they can bear. If northern Dem
| ocrats will vote in favor of such things, will
| they not vote for other and worse measures ?
Why not The cohesive power OF public
plumber will hold them together If once they
get into power, and no course which the
south marks out will be repudiated by their
northern allies
| THE SUPREME COURT AND THE
AMENDMENTS.
Ihave already alluded to the constitutional
amendments, and that it required the votes
of three-quarters of the states to repeal them
There is no probability of their abrogation
in that way for it will take the votes of the
| legislatures of too many northern states
| They will stand in the path forever. The
! intelligent and patriotic voters of the north
will take care of that. But unless they can
get rid of the amendments in some way, they
can never repudiate the national debt, never
can be paid for the slaves, never can be
made whole for their rebel debt. Can they
get rid of them in any other way? Because,
if they can, they will. Let us see. Under
the constitution, the government is made up
of three departments, the executive, the leg
islative and the judiciary. The constitu-
tion says: "The Judicial power of the
United States shall be vested in one supreme
court and in such inferior courts as the con-
gress may from time to time ordan and es
tablish." Under this provision of the
constitution, congress has the power to
fix the number of the judges of the su
preme court. 1t is now fixed at nine. As
the court is composed now, on any of the
great political questions they would be d-
vided. They were divided upon the le-
gality of the legal tender act they were di-
vided upon the legality of the election laws.
1t has been my fortune to be instrumental
in bringing before the supreme court an i'm
portant question growing out of these acts,
which permitted the arrest, in time of war,
of suspected wrong-doer against the gov
eminent without any judicial warrant. The
court was divided on that question. Judges
Clifford and Field are Democrats, and their
opinions are against the constitutionality of
all the great war acts. Judge Swayne has
Democratic tendencies and is apt to side
with Judges Clifford and Field on political
questions. Judge Hunt is paralyzed and
cannot long retain his seat upon the bench.
Suppose he should resign tomorrow and the
president should appoint Republican in
his stead. Do you suppose the senate would
confirm it No, they would reject it, and
would refuse TO confirm any one until after
the fourth of March next, when they hope
that Democratic president will nomin-
ate Democratic Judge You may be
sure they will confirm the appointment,
and there will then be, four Democratic
judges, reckoning Judge Swayne. There
will still be five Republican judges, headed
by the chief justice,-a majority. But
by the simple expedient of increasing the
number OF judges to eleven, they can have
two new Democratic judges appointed, and
the Republicans will then be in a minority.
That being the case, suppose that Judge
Black were to come before the court and
say When | was attorney general of the
United States in 1860, | informed James
Buchanan, who was then president, that the
general government had no power to coerce
a sovereign state. | say so now, and ask
you to say if the thirteenth, fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments to the constitution are
not absolutely void because they were forced
upon the south it was not their voluntary
choice to accept those amendments" One
of those amendments provides that slavery
shall be abolished; another forbids the re-
pudiation of the national debt and the pay
ment of the rebel debt the third prohibits
the disfranchisement of the negro or any
one else on account of race, color or previous
condition of servitude. Judge Black will
say that that was good Democratic doctrine
in 1861, and it ought to be good Democratic
doctrine now 1t is true that the south
said after the rebellion: eve accept those
amendments we want peace" But, if
they turn round then and say: These con-
stitutional amendments were forced upon
us because we were subdued, and we now
claim that our acceptance was wholly null
and void," what will be the result?
And that is the general rule of the COM
mon law-that a man is not bound by any
act which he is forced to do, and against
his will. II such claim as that is made
before a Democratic supreme court, what
will be the decision Will they not hold
the objection to be valid, and that the
amendments are not binding are not a
part of the constitution Then all the bar
riers, all the safeguards which the Republi-
can party and the loyal men of the north
have erected to preserve the fruits of the
war will be thrown down; and there will be
nothing to prevent the reputation of the
national debt, the payment of the rebel
debt, the Acknowledgement of the negro, or
even his reinstatement. Judging by the
course of the south since it obtained control
of the national legislature who can deny
that such calamity is not possible should
they possess the executive and the supreme
court?
REPUBLICAN SUCCESS A NECESSITY.
have said to you that | believed there
was serious danger to the country in the
election of General Hancock. The southern
states are determined to control this gov
eminent, and if he is elected they can OBJ
tain their end Do you doubt that the solid
south will do everything in its power to
crafty its revenge on the one hand, and to
keep itself in power on the other. 1t may
be said that they would not repudiate the ma
tional debt The best answer to that is,