The sun., 1882-06-18

In futurc time OF war from prohibition
OF it's emission authority to issue bills OF
credit that should be legal tendcr-an att
thority which had been possessed by the Con-
gross OF Confcdcration-wa refused to the
new general Government by the vote Of nine
Statcs against two. II was Madison who dccid-
cd tho vote OF Virginia. and he has left his tcs-
timony that " the prctcxt for paper currency.
and particularly for making the bills u tender
either for public or private debts. was cut on
No man who goes. rs Mr. Bancroft has gone. to
the original authorities can refuse to concur In
his avermont that such is the Interpretation
OF the clause made at the time Of its adoption
alike by its authors and by its opponents, ac-
cepted by all the statesmen OF that age. not
open to dispute. because too clear for argu-
ment and never disputed so long as any one
man who took part in framing the Constitution
remained alive"
1t will be remembered that the phrase we,
the people. in tho preamble to the Constitution
was construed by Webster to mean that the
whole mass OF the voting population in tho
thirteen States must be held to havo ratified
the new organic law by one united act
performed in their aggregate national
capacity. and not in the exercise Of
their several functions as the electoral
bodies OF individual States. This theory would
have been obviously untenable had tho names
of the States been inserted instead of the collec
tive term United States" Mr.. Bancroft points
out why this substitution was made. namely.
because 1t was uncertain. when the instru-
ment vas drawn. what States and how
many would adopt it (: but as the
Constitution was to be valid when
sanctioned by nine States. whichever they
might be. phrase broad enough to cover the
parties to the agreement was requisite. The
word United" therefore. far from being spe-
cially intended to designate a collective act Of
the whole thirteen States. was inserted for the
express purpose Of designating less number.
should certain States hold aloof. The fact.
moreover that the States held their ratifyng
conventions at different times. and under
calls differently phrascd, while the adop-
ton of the Constitution was in some in
stances unconditional, and in other cases
coupled with q firm demand for immediate
amendments. supplies additional evidence that
the electoral body Of each State was viewed as a
political unit.
But why it may be asked was the phrase the
people used instead Of tho Legislatures" On
this point Mr.. Bancroft might have furnished
us more copious information. for the debates
In the State conventions often turned upon the
question. In Virginia and North Carolina es-
pecially profound missivings were excited by
the proposition TO ratify the Constitution. not
by the Legislative organs Of the respective
States. but by popular conventions. One rea-
son for resorting to this method OF ratification
was undoubtedly the desire to carry out the
theory that the new Government was to
act directly on the individual, this theory being
mainly recommended by the power Of col
lecting taxes through legal process from
each taxpayer. But there was another
and unanswerable argument for appeal
ing to the ultimate depositary Of political
power in each State viz. that in sew
eral cases the Legislatures could not have
adopted the Federal Constitution without vio-
lating the State Constitutions 1t was to avoid
this difficulty. otherwise insuperable. that re-
course was had in each State to the funda-
mental organ Of political power. the organ by
which State Constitutions are made and un-
made. namely. n convention elected by the peo-
pie for an express purpose. This fact furnishes
another proof that the phrase we the people,"
did not contemplate a collective utterance OF
the whole American population. but dis
tributve expression of assent on the part OF
the voting bodies in the several Common
wcalths. 1t is plain for instance. that the ac-
ceptance of the Constitution by other States
would have been powerless to annul those pro-
visions Of the Massachusetts and Delaware
Constitutions which were irreconclabe with
the proposed Act of Union. The assent Of
each state was, and had to be. in other words.
an individual assent, expressed, however. not
by its Legislature which would in certain
eases have no competence. but by n con-
vention. tho ultimate cXpounder OF the vii! Of
community.
question which OF late years has been the
subject Of strenuous discussion is concerned
with the construction oil the clause in the Con-
stitution giving Congress power 10 make or
alter the regulations governing the tines
places. and manner Of holding elections for
Senators and Representatives. except as to the
places Of choosing Senator's Mr.. Bancrofts
illusions TO this provision are somewhat cuIso-
ry. although the dangerous use which might be
made Of it was distinctly predicted in some of
the State conventions. and although the ex-
plantations given by the advocates OF the
Constitution make it at least questionable
whether any OF the trainers and ratiners
intended 10 countenancc the innovation made
in recent years by placing Federal supervisors
over the ballot box Thus Madison in his report
o! the debates upon the subject in the Federal
Convention AYERS that tho power TO make"
az wolf as alter" the regulations was given to
the national Legislature in case the States
should fail or refuse altogether" to provide
for tho election of Senators and representa-
the South Carolina Convention, to the power OF
interference with elections conferred upon
tho general Government. {. &. Pinciney ex-
planned that the power was needful. lest a
State Legislature should name inconvcniont
times and places for election. He also referred
however, to "a contingency which, it may be as
serted by the advocates of Federal supervision,
has occurred in some of our southern States
since the war, viz, lest by the intrigucs of
ruling faction in State the members Of the
House Of Representatives should not really
represent the people of tho State" But
1t does not appear that Pinckney had in mind
anything beyond the regulation Of times and
places and certainly there is no indication that
he contemplated a Federal control OF the ballot
boxes.
In tho North Carolina Convention SO
much alarm was occasioned 10y tho wide
power apparently conceded to Congress
by the clause under rovi"w that none
of the interpretations offered by friends
Of tho Constitution avaicd to prevent
II formal demand that among the Indispensable