New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-30
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THE ABOLITION OF THE BEN svo by pp hEs s1
II. worthington & Co.
Mr.. lockwood has been at the pains OF writing a
hie book and he seems to have spent several years
at it, for he refers to measures as stu pehuihe
which were settled long ago. Nevertheless we can
not see that he has made material addition to the
old DISPUTE The whole question is thls shaii we
have an unmixed democracy. in which the people
govern directly by means of a single House OF Con-
cress frequently changed and rejecting all the
variations of the popular temper or system OF
divided powers with an executive installed for
fixed term and Independent of the Legislature SO
long as he keeps within his constitutional fuhc-
tonsf Mr.. Lockwood W shes to abolish the Execu-
tive and the Senate and to substitute for them the
will of the House Of Representatives. lie would go
still further and take away fro m the Supreme Court
power of interpreting the Constitution leaving III no
other duty than to "expound and interpret what
ever laws Congress may see fit to pass. That is TO
say he would substitute the absolutism OF popu'
lar assembly for the limited and divided powers of
three coordinate branches. The question was dis
cussed and decided hundred years ago. and most
of the arguments which Mr.. Lockwood now adj
vances used and answered then III was inc
deliberate judgment of the American people, wheh
the Constitution was adopted, that popular rights
would be best protected by the present plan ana,
ell history shows that an unrestrained democracy
beside being inefficient as guardian OF ordcr
has quite "a marked a tendency toward oppression
and Injustice MS the monarchica system and espe-
cially tyrannica IN Its treatment of minorties III
Is hardly worth WHILE In the face of experience.
20 denounce the President as only king under
another name and to Insist that we are drifting
toward irresponsible royalty. Mr.. Lockwoods
instances are not we'll chosen. For example,
in order to show that foreign affairs could
best he conducted openly In Congress, he remarks
that "a hasty note written to the British Govern
ment in the negotiations of the Trent affair would
have brought a feet of English iron-clads IN I'M
comfortable proximity to every seaport city OF the
United States the President could have pro-
duced similar condition of things by unfrendly
demands upon the French Government in regard to
ITS occupation of Mexico" Nothing could be more
maladroit than tnese references. For 1t is well
known that we were saved from war with England
over the Trent affair only by the courage and sa-
gacity of Mr. Lincoln and Mr.. Seward in
disregarding the popular will of the mo-
ment to which Congress of Mr.. Lock
woods pattern would certainly have yielded.
The triumph of American diplomacy in the Mexican
business was illustration OF the success OF the
Executive in the opposite polcy-that is. OF vigor
instead of concession. Our President did make an
"unfriendy demand" and made 1T to some pur-
moment, whereas a wrangling popular assembly
could have done neither
Equally unfortunate is Mr.. Lockwood in his
attack upon the veto power for he enumerates
among the measures which Presidents have tyran-
nically defeated such mischievOus acts as the in
fation bill and the Bland silver bill, and In his
search for usurpatiOns he does not hesitate to pick
up the reckless and unsupported charges born of
political rancor and TO parade them as established
facts with the expression, lit Is asserted, 1t IS
clalrnedn ait is gravely charged" 1t is openly
alleged" vet has been stated" sometimes going so
far as to make disgraceful accusations against
living persons under of these disguised rumors.
We trust that In conducting his law business he
shows a better understanding of what constitutes
evidence than he docs in writing books. The prac
tical effect of testimony in supporting case seems
also to be not quite clear to him. lie reviews the
administrations of all the Presidents since Jackson
10 show how surely tie executive power tends
toward imperialism and how much safer we should
bewIth an absolute Congress of a single chamber. MI
Lincoln naturally gives him the greatest array of
points But the only conclusion the reader is likely
20 draw from this chapter Is that in great crisis
Mr. Loncon proved the savior OF his country, aud
that nothing cOuld have avertea the run of the
Republic at that tine but an Executive who was
not afraid TO strain his Constitutional powers to
the utmost in order to preserve the Union. An alb
solute Congress would almost certainly have dis
membered the Union and preserved slavery. That
Mr. Lincoln was patriot aud hero does not prove
that the Presidency is n useful institution; but
surely it does not prove the reverse. la fact, Mr.
Lockwood's book Ia great deal of which seems to
have been written under the spell of The Ner York
HeralFs "Casarism" tomfOolery) is full Of lame
arguments and prcposterous assumptions He
gIavely assures that the Presidential system
was the overshadowing and controlling cause Of
the Rebellion. the South resOrting TO rebellion be-
cause II saw that Republican President was GER
tam to be elected in 1860 by minority of the peo-
pie If the people of the United States had been
living under representative government; with ~
Executive whose purpose, design and wish were 10
carry into effect the will OF the masses
the South would probably have re-
manned loyal ard submitted the issue to the
decision Of the ballot" 1t is hard to be patient
with a writer whose ignorance Of the recent history
of his own country is gross II is notorious that
the South wished 10 secede because II had become
q minority of the people, and that it deliberatey
caused the election of a Repub lican President In
1850 as a pretext for carrying out maturcd
scheme Mr.. Lock wood merely turns the facts up
side down. IL member of tho New-York bar
should commit such vagaries In court he would
probably he made the object of some interesting re-
marks from the bench.