The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-11-01
DOCTOR WILSON
on SECESSION
The Great PubIicist Says Both Sec
tons Were Right at the Tine,
LOGIC Of WORDS AND or EVENTS
Tho South Influenced by One and the
North by che Othcr-Thc Subject.
Written Constitutions" Discus
sed I'm An Able Manner

ence gathered in the ch-yc. OF Richmond
College last r.sni 90 heai the thiFd oil
the series % lectures unocr TIE thomas
Museum Lecture EndJ vment oy DF
Woodrow Wilson The speaker Was
given the closest attention throughout
ie seems to grow mor1 and more "a
teresiiug in each lecture. JIG is cleAf ono
altogether Instructive as a lecturer ana
mis- delivery Is attractive and Impressive.
Or Wilson's subject last nignt vas
Written Constitutions" and De handled
his theme IN a way which could not our
De Instructive and helpful 90 al VINO
heard &c.
DIR WILSON'S LECTURE
d. Wilson spoke iH substance as FOL
love-.
We have in the United states a very
specialized notion Of o. Constitution
which always has iu it the notion ~ a
document q written fundamental Jaw
We have considered ourselves Che inNen-
tors az written constitutions, ANA have
supposed that because written. thcr con-
stituted a government Of new and
unfeard-of form. Foreign observers have
been inclined 60 regard as as inventors
NJ q new kind OF government. whereas
we have in reality been inventors only
~ "a new way of formulating me consul
tuition Of government
There SIS celebrated passage IN one
of SIR Cadstone's essays. in which hs
speaks Of the Constitution of the United
States as having been struck on az a
given time by the brain and purpose
of the men OF the convention OF li>. MI
Gladstone probably did not suppose as
bis WORDS would imply that ms was
really am act of outright orgination' but
even he does not seem to nave atuu.cd
our institutions closely enough 20 see
how really simple the part was "hi-h
was paved by ougnation.
Neither are those right who describe
our government as mere corporations ana
sneak of Our constitutions as II tneF were
the mere charters Of business bodies.
They are wrong in suppOsing that gov
eminent is "a business though. of course
in its mmistrative details 30 must pe
executed with business capacity, and
they are wrong in comparing a govern
uent with O corporation. The concep-
tion OF the government Is much greater.
lt is nothing less than a frame Tor the
whole life Il society. and ils functions
SHIFT and enlarge with the changes ana
growth which society undergoes. IL Is
best 90 have no theory about the chafac-
ter Of our constitutions except that
theory which IS merely a general ex-
preston Of facts Of history.
FROM CHARTERS.
AS matter If fact. the original tnir-
teen States which formed the Union. had
charters before they had constitutions.
end when the Revolution came they
merely transformed their charters into
institutions fn doing $50 they did not
even make radical alteration of form,
but the whole character OF the new
document was unlike the character of
fhe OLD document for The old d0Cu-
ING was derived from the will OF ln0th-
en- government The Colonial charters
we're granted by the King in England.
AND were grants of as much ~ govern
mental power as Doe was willing 90 part
with iu Tie Colonies COZ felt obliged
under the circumstances 90 yie.d 90 the
Colonies
The state constitutions were o gif, OF
power not from O. government but from
d. community. and We're more 30 their
nature llhe constitutions of liberty. as
we have before defined them. than like
constitutions Of government. Their OBJ
ject was not so much 90 make an efl-
Gent governing organization Jas 10 make
such arransements as would enable the
people 90 guide and restrain. and control
the orsaHizaton Of the government ia
the interests OF their own liberty The
purpose was o. set 40 such governments
rs would be most favorable 10 liberty and
the notion under which The whole pro-
cess took place. Was tle notion which
ve put in The phrase. popular sovcr-
eighty or sofcreignty " The people
Under this Arrangements for example
the legislatures which were created were
unlike the Eneish Parliament for they
would be legislatures without absolute
law-making power checked and con-
strained On such way as not 90 be the
real masters OF the community.
TIE SUPREME LAW.
The supreme law was to be the written
constitution. which The legislature could
uot change. Lawyers were 10 recognize
sharp distinction between ordinary
Jaws and fundamental laws and were 10
test legislation by the question whether
g. Has in conformity with the written
grant 1f powers under which the iesisla-
lures were 90 act Courts would Doe au-
.hollal 10 adopt an answer 10 this CUES
ton and with them was to rest the ulti-
make decision as 90 the powers of legis'a-
tive action. All of this was but way
81 making constitutional government an
extension and safeguard OF the cons,itu-
lion o. liberty 10 was this notion that
was new and original. and which we our
selves at FIRST only dimly conceived.
though we We're !n fact acting upon IL.
In constructing our governments dur
ing this process we used almost without
exception old forms and principals which
had been tested either by English or by
colonial experience generally by both.
end 80 far as the actual institutions which
we sat up were concerned. Che process OF
constitution making was a process alto
ge.hor a selection and not at al an in
velfion
The same Is true % tho making OF the
Constitution OF the United states as is
true % the making OF the Constitutions
% the states. u also was conceived as ~
@ part OF the general constitution Of lib
ertv u TOO. was mado 10 consist Of
tested bits of English and colonisi prac-
tees and had. though q rapid growth. as
rruch a growth as the State Constitutions
which had their origin In colonial char
tela
OUR CONSTITUTION.
II Is worth noting that though ra-
tiorai action had begun with the Congress
~ f--f ~ continued untn 1857 without p
formal Cons'ru'ion ~ any sort ara the
o-'f-ies - confederation. aftorward adopt
- a. f-v were harl'v r1o~e -han FORMAL
evprossf-n ~ ne practices and power
~ - ronfiron'al Conarcss. n &C. note
wo~fhv f,e trat drri~~ go oi~Nf wears
trr'nr whf-h NE country licoa under no
1rilc'ce ~ r0ufofo~0tion if hoo0~lc owl
cent no on'v that those articles were
nof 4-H. is~' or sniah'0 fo~ mo M
ti0oa' rrowfa hnf fh0t l' would We I'M
p~se.h'o fo rhon~o Thorn On tho wav I'm
which 'hev 'Ne-o eefvcs had n~ovi'e7 'hat
c-.e~~" eto"'H poo ~0ao Thov n~ovifol
tha' their terms should be changed only