Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-06-29
FRIDAY. ............JUNE %. 1888.
The Amerdments-Th War Between
the States.


State at the tWe. certified that one OF the
rev amendments bad been ratified by twen-
". nine States u Ohio and New Jersey had no
right 10 TetTact.
That "liv was significant. Every Judge
Of the Supreme Court Of the United States
knows that the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth amendments were ratified under
duress and that such a ratification was not
Of the Kind contemplated by The fathers Of
the republic and lhe trainers OF the Con'titu'
ton. In ether words. the southern States
were compelled to accept an increased num-
Ter Of representatives, in the lower house Of
Congress. But az course the blind RepubIi-
cans supposed TIA, the negroes would send
none but Republican, 10 Congress, and that
thus the power Of the Rcpublican party
would I've perpriuated indefinitely. Our
enemies buiGtI better dor ~ than they
knew.
II the Judges II the Supreme Court OF tue
United States know these things, why do
they recognize the new amendments ~
valid? There are at least two reasons. One
j. AuaL TIC iNNlAiai hA pa hAitnb w wv wv
eminent has nothing to do with deciding
whether amendments 10 the Constitution are
r.ufed ID due form or not. When the fact
OF ratification +, certified ~ TIE Executive
Department. the courts refuse to 20 behind
the record. We are not sure that this is ten.
able ground.
Another reason isthlt jnsurm0untSblo cir
cumstances 20 doubt seem 10 the supreme
Court Judges to require them sometimes to
treat as if,hey were facts what they know TO
DE fc'ions. VIC cite a case in point; On
the 2Ch instant Mr. Justice STANLEY MAT.
THfVs delivered the annual Grafton before
the Yale Law school. In the address be
said:
THE principle according to which the
Supreme Court in the administration OF
Justice pronounce, upon the validity Of the
LEGISLATION Of Congress and OF the state gov
crnmeuts seems TO confer an extraordinary
IuNcr upon that tribunal, and has always
cYnsNtutCdG puzzle 10 foreign students Of
our institutions. Attempts have been made
iu few instances under the forms OF lu-
dicill procedure. 10 invoke tue Interference
OF the courts In matters purely political. In
such matter, jurisdiction has been denied
because the questions we're not iuncial
notable illustration Of tins priucp, i iOuni
10 the great controversy concerning the
torld when cuiminsied IN the multiplying or
d.uance If the state Of South CslOlina, on
the one hand. and on the other IN the
Force hin, sO.caled, % 1898, which was
iaally composed by the political and legs
laiye compromise acts Of that period.
The conclusion, indeed, is inevitable
q 4
ment cannot operate directly upon the State
governments, considered a. political bodies.
tucy nevertheless do operate directly upon
every natural aud subordinate political per-
son domiciled or being within the territorial
limits OF the State.
"~uch n combination may become power
ful enough, IS it did in the ease OF cur late
civil war 10 overthrow existing state gov
ernmeuts, erect Others In their places, and
confederate them together with view 10 es.
tlblish a revolutionary government; but, un-
less L succeeds IN its ultimate object, II does
not dfsplace the constitutional relations be-
tween The states themselves aud the United
states. II is, therefore, \ settled constltu.
ilonal doctrine that the acts OF secession
which resulted in the civil war Of 1851 were
the unlawful acts Of the usurpug State gov
ernments, and not the acts OF the states
themselves. and that consequently The war
itself was not a war between the states, nor
war of the United states against states, but
awar Of the United States against unlawful
and usurpmg governments, representing,
not the states, but rebellion against the
United States"
Old THAD. STEVENS scorned TO pretend 10
believe the falschSod thus endorsed by Mr..
Matthews. He declared that Congress was
iegislatug outside OF the Constitution
when that body passed its reconstruction
acts. Mr.. STANLEY MATTHEWS knows that
Pie State governments in the southern
States which made up the late Coniederscy
were the real State governments. Take
Virginia. whose Governor Mr.. LINCOLN
called upon in 1861 for troops to fight the
battles OF the Union Governor LRTCHER.
Governor I.ErcHER was the lawful Governor
OF Virginia. lie was recognized as such by
Mr.. LINCOLN aud was called upon rs such TO
furnish troops. He refused to furnish any.
Then he became "usurpiDg" Governor.
and the Slate government OF Virginia b.
came "usurping State government" aud
the miserable abortion called 9" tho restored
government" set up by traitors in West
Virginia became the constitutional govern
ment OF the Old Dominion! What batch
Of fslsehOOds.
Mr.. STANLEY MATTHEWS therefore de-
clares that Mr.. A. II. STEPHENS WAS mis-
taken when he spoke Of The war between
the States, aud that all the people who follow
him in calling the late war q "wsr between
The States" are mistaken. IL was. quoth be,
not war between the States, nor war OF
the United States against States, but a war
Of the United States against unlawful aud
usurpins governments This fiction MIR
Justice MATTHEWS is not ashamed TO affirm
10 he 4 fact, though be well knows that IN
most OF the Confederate States there was
during the war but one State government;
that State government represented tue peo-
pie, and the people almost unanimously re-
cognlzed IS the lawful, constitutional
government Of the State.
The Virginia reader cannot but recall Mr..
STANLEY nAYIuEws's opinion iu a certain
virginia case, In which opinion he set forth
the same sort OF doctrine but or another
question. We refer 10 his celebrated deei-
sion that the lzwiully-electsd officers Of Viz.
gina were not her officers at all when they
undertook 10 carry out certain laws, but
were uespassers masquerasing Us State OF.
fcersl Tbis was another fiction Of the same
kind. Il Is q pity that men OF high standing
should feel themselves under the necessity Of
resorting to sneh fctions. Trxlh Is mighty,
and viii prevail Future generations
will surely decide that the so
called "rebelion" was a war between
the states. and that the thirteenth, four.
teentb, aud Giteenth amendments TO tho
Federal Constitution we're not ratified ia tie
manner provided IN mt instrument for the
ratification Of amendments. Every lawyer
10 Eogisnd knew WILLIAM OF Orange 10 be
usarper. yet bis title 10 the throne was
never successfully challenged. So though
theme amendments 10 The Federal Consn.
tniiea sers uncOostisutiopaly forced into