The Springdale news., 1889-05-03

WlLn wisdom Wn1cn lUIPttSteu lHs IutTe.
 They may not haVs Understood at first the whole tiujn, but, for that which they knew,
 they had the martyrs spirit and the cru- saders' enthusiasm.
 The government of the republic by Con- gress of States, diplomatic convention of the ambassadors of petty cemmcnwealths, after seven wears trial was falling asunder. Threatened with civil war among
 it's members, insufrection and lawlessness rife within the States foreign cdtitmercs
 ruined and internal trade pafalyZed it's cur rency worthless its merchants bankrupt,
 its farms mortgaged, its markets closed; its labor unemployed it was like a helpless
 wreck upon the ocean, tossed about by the tides and ready to be engulfed in the storm Washington gave the warning and called Tor action. 1t was a voice accustomed to command, but now entreatIng. The vet
 erans of the war and the statesmen sf the
 Revolution stepped ts tht front The
 patriotism which had been inisled, but had
 never faltered. rose above the interests of
 States and the jealousies of jarring Con federates to find the basis for union. Tt is
 clear to me as A, B, c, said Washington,
 that an extension of Federal powers
 would make us one of the 'noet happy,
 wealthy, respectable and powerful nations
 that ever Inhabited the terrestrial globe. Without them we shall soon be
 every thing which IS the direct reverse I predict the worst consequences from halt- starved, limping Government, always nov ing upon crutehes, and tdtterinF at every step" The response ui the country was the convention of 11S7, at Philadel phia The Declaration of Independence was but the vestibule of the temple which this illustri- ous assembly erected With no successful precedents to guide, it auspitiously worked out the problem Cl Constitutional Govern ment and of imperial power and home rule suppementing each other in promot- iCer ha q of 10 ing the liberty of the individual.
 The deliberations of great councils have vitally affected, at different periods, the history of the world and the fate of Em7 pires; but this Congress builded, upon pop
 ular sovereignty, institutions broad enough to embrace tho continent ahd elastic
 enough to fit all conditions of race hnd traditions The experience of
 hundred years has demonstrated | for us the perfection of the work for de l fense against foreign foes, and for self preservation against domestic nsurrection, fnr lrnltle5s expansion in population and | material development, and for steady growth in intellectual freedom and force. | It's continuing influence upon the welfare
 and destiny of the human race can only be
 measured by the capacity of man to cultt-
 vate and enjoy the boundless opportunities l of liberty and law. The eloquent character l isation of MT. Gladstone condenses its
 merits: The American Constitution is the | most wonderful work ever struck of at q | given time by the brain and purpose oi | man "
 | The statesmen who composed this great l Senate were equal to their trust Their
 conclusions were the results of calm debate | and wise concession. Their character and | abilities were sb pure and great as to com | mand the confidence of the country for the
 reversal of the policy of the independence | of the State of the power of the general 1 Government, which had hitherto been the | invariable practice and almost universal
 opinion, and for the adoption of the idea oi
 the Nation and it's supremacy
 | Towering in majesty and inHuence above | them all stood Washington, their President
 Beside him was the venerable Franklin who, though eighty-one years of age | brought to the deliberations of the Conven-
 ton the unimpaired vigor and resources Of the wisest brain, the most hopeful 1 philosophy, and the largest experience Of
 the times Oliver Ellsw orth, afterwards
 Chief Justice of the United States,
 and the prosoundest jurist in the 1 country; Robert Morris, the won lution, and Gouyerneur Morris, the most versatile genius of his period; Roger Sher l man. one of the most eminent of the sign
 CTS of the Declaration of Independence, and | John Rutlcdge Rufus King. Elbridge Gerry l E8'euld Randolph and the Pinckneys were ' ,! -IS OI iltAll FHli lpllSIl, COuI t , ablnty and learning; while Alexander Ham ilton and James Madison, as original think CTS and constructive statesmen, rank among ! the immortal few whose opinions have foI ages guided Ministers of State and deter mined the destines of nations
 There were no examples to follow. and tht
 experience of its members led part uf them | to lean toward absolute centraizatlon as | the only refuge from the anarchy of the
 confederation while the rest clung to the
 sovereignty of the States, for fear that the \ concentration of power would end III the
 absorption of liberty. The large States diC 1 not want to surrender tine advantage oi
 their position and the smaller States saw 1 the danger to their existence.
 At this crisis the courage and confidence , needed to originate a system weakened | The tomporizing spirit of compromise
 seized the convention with the alluring | proposition of not proceeding faster thar | low. The cry Let us not waste | our labor upon conclusions which vii not be adopted, but amend anC
 adjourn was assuming startling unan | unity. But the supreme force and majestic sense Of Washington brought the assem
 blaze to tho lofty plane of it's duty and op- portunity He said Tt is too probable 1 that no plan we propose will be adopted l Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be i sustained If to please the people we offer 1 what we ourselves disapproye, how can wt | afterwards defend our work? Let us raise | n standard to which the wise and honest | can repair; the event is in the hands of God 1 Freed from the limitations of its envir IT.
 ment, and the question of the adoption of | its work the convention erected its Gov. | ernment upon the eternal foundations oi l the power of the people It discussed the l delusfve theory of a compact between in 1 dependent States, and derived National | power from the people of the United States ' It broke up the machinery of the Confeder- 1 ation and put in practical operation the : glittering generalites of the Declaration oi 1 Independence From chaos came order from 1 insecurity came safety, from disintcgra l tion and civil war came law and liberty 1 with the principle proclaimed in the pre- | amble of the great charter. We the peo- i pie of the United States, in order to form 2 more perfect union, establish justice, in l sure domestic tranquility, provide for the
 common defense, promote the general wei l fare, and secure the blessings of liberty tC | ourselves and our posterity. do ordain and l establish this constitution for the United l States" With a wisdom inspired of God ] to work out upon this continent the liberty ! of man, they solved the problem of the 1 ages by blending and yet preserving local l government with National authority
 and the rig ts of the States, with the
 majesty and power of the Republic. The government of the States under the ar l ticles of confederation, became bankrupt i because it could not raise four millions oi
 dollars; the Government of the Union, un- ] der the constitution of the United States
 raised six thousand millions of dollars, it:
 credit growing firmer as its power and re | sources were demonstrated The Congress: of the confederation fled from a regiment
 which it could not pay; the Congress of the | Union reviewed the comrades of million of it's victorious soldiers saluting as they
 marched the flag of the Nation, whose SUI premacy they had sustained x
 The pride of the States and the ambition
 of their leaders, sectional iealousies and the overwhelming distrust of centraizec ! power, were all arraved against the adop- ton of the cons tuition.
 Success was due to confidence in Wash
 ington and the genius of Alexander Ham ilton Jefferson was the inspiration of in 1 dependence, but Hamilton was the in-
 carnation of the constitution. In no age | nor country has there appeared more pre- cocious or amazing intelligence than Ham 1 ilton. He gave life to the corpse of Nation al credit, and the strength for se!f-preser
 vation and aggressive power to the Fedora Union Both as an eXpOundcr of the prin ciples and an administrator of the affairs o government he stands supreme and un rivalled in American history He captured
 the people of the whole country for the itt1fip by his n the Federal