Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-04-04

Another Lesson.

The New Orleans homicides have served
TO attract public attraction throughout the
country TO tho dual nature Of our Govern
ment and consequently 70 the fact that
there are some criminal offences which
cannot be punished by the respective
States. and other criminal offences which
cannot be punished by the United States.
The word Estate" lot us say, by the
way. is used only in its local meaning
under the operation of our Federal system.
We IN this country seldom speak OF the
United States Governments as the State"
Nevertheless, il Germany is State, and
Great Britain is State, and France Is
State. the United States constitute
State also. When O British writer says
that under the written OF the unwritten laws
of that country. 1.-THE State" may do so
and 40. the word " State " is used to desig-
nate not England separately. or Scotland,
or Ireland, but all Great Britain, to say the
least. So we lin this country might pro-
perly term our Federal Government 1.-The
State but we do not often so designate
II. We call Virginia, or New YORK, or
Massachusetts,, or Georgia, State; but all
the States together constitute 1.-THE State"
known to writers upon international law.
So the word territory" formerly meant
land. The Federal Constitution empowers
Congress TO dispose Of" the territory
or other property" &c. Now the word Is
a,so used here to designate body-politic,
but has no such meaning in Europe, we
think.
To return to our immediate subject. we
saw that the northern people. and some of
the southern, ought to learn from the let
tiers passing between the officials of this
country and Italy that the United States
Government is one of limited powers.
Certainly il was intended by the fathers OF
the republic that it should be one OF that
kind. How far the thirteenth, fourteenth,
and fifteenth amendments have gone IN
the matter of increasing the powers Of the
Federal Government is q question whicn
viii for years occupy the attention OF the
courts and Of the legislative and executive
departments of the national Government.
We argued yesterday that the doctrines
laid down by Mr.. BLAINE for the in
etruction of King HUsBERT might
be employed by the southern people
in their protests against the informed
ding with their domestic affairs which
has ever since the close of the war between
the States characterized the Congresses
controlled by the Republican party. We
saw that the northern people ought TO
learn that II is the rights of all the States
which the South contends for, not merely
the rights of the southern States.
Our attention has been recalled to this
subject by the fact that the people OF
Maine will soon have their attention called
practically to a point like that we have
inst made. Thev will have to vote for or
against the ratification OF an amendment
TO the State Constitution, which amend
ment provides that no person shall vote or
hold Office in that State who shall not DO
able 10 read the Constitution in the Eng
lish language and to write his name pro-
perly. Before fatifying this amendment
Maine must inquire whether its ratifica-
ton would or would not reduce the num-
Der of her representatives in Congress. The
fourteenth amendment in so many words
provides tnat Wnon tho Iisht W 'VVo ~
denied any of the male adult inhabitants
of State who are citizens of the United
States or Is abridged IN any ,ody except for
crime, the basis of representation shall
be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear
10 the whole number Of male citizens
twenty-one years old in such State. 1t
seems to us that the proposed amendment
when ratified viii certainly operate to re-
duce the very small delegation Maine now
has in the House of Representatives. 1t
is an interesting question. We leave it to
the people Of Name in the hope that its
consideration will be profitable to them
and serve TO enhghten them upon asubject
upon which they need "more light"