Year: 1864

in nothing from the armed enemies except
in the weapons Of its warfare. They fight
to overthrow its authority over them, Will
it seeks to overthrow that authority al
home, They would curtail the limits Of the
jurisdiction of the Federal Government il
would extend those limits, but change the
basis and principles upon which il rests. -
If revolt egainst constituted authority be a
crime, it patriotism consist in upholding in
/ form and spirit the Government our faith
ers made, those in power here to-day are a:
guilty as those who in the seeded States
marshal armed men for the contest


revolutions move onward" That is
true. But call things by their true names.
Admit you are in revolutions admit you arc
revolutionists admit that you do not fight
to restore the Union. Take the response
bility of that position. Avow that you cx
erclse the powers of the Government be
cause you control them that you arc not
bound by the Constitution but by your owl
sense of right. Avow that resistance To
your schemes is not treason, but war. Dis
solve the spell which you have woven ound
the hearts of our people by the cunning
use OF the words conservatism, patriotism,
Uuion. Aud we will cease all ordinations,
we will hush all reproaches for oaths viola
ted, pledge, falsiied, faith betrayed We
Will meet you on your own ground, we will
hight you with your own weapons; and by
the issue of that contast, whether Of argu-
ment or of arms, we will abide.


Am to be told that / misrepresent the
republican party? The gentleman who has
just taken his seat MIR. Boutwell,, an able
an honored member Of that party, has said
in your hearing, 'if could direct the force
of public sentiment and the policy Of this
Government, South Carolina as State
and with name should never reappcar in
this Union. Georgia dcservcsa like fate.
Florida docs not deserve u name in this Tn.
ion. "


The gentleman from Maryland felt that
this charge could not be truthtully made -
lie sought to answer it in advance. He de-
MED that the provisions of the bill contra.
vencd any clause of the Constitutions -
" here Is the authority iorit? Where i.
the authority to declare State governments
overthown ? Where is the authority to re-
construct them ? Where the authority to
appoint governor to call a convention to
remodel their constitutions to fix the
qualifications of its members to prescribe
the condition Of their organic law; and un.
til ue,o constitution shall be made te ad.
minister by Federal officers such parts OF
| the old constitution aud laws as the govern
or, or the President or the Congress may
select? W here Is the authority to prescribe
the qualification Uf electors or State officers;
to dictate what debts the State shall Or shall
not pay; whether there shall or shall no
be slavery or involuntary servitude with.
its limits?


The gentleman from Maryland quotes
the language Of the Constitution, The Tn
tied States shall guaranty to every State il
this Union, a republican form of govern
: ment The language is shall, not nlay
1t Is mandatory, not permissive it enjoin
, a duty ; 1t does not grant privilege mere
ly. And the duty is clearly defined. Nj
Madison, in discussing this clause said


} in q confederacy founded on republica
principles and composed of republican mem
bers, the experimenting government ough
clearly to possess authority to defend the sys
TEN against aristocratic or monarchal innova
tions. The more intimate the nature OF such


union may be the greater interest have th
members in the political institutions Of eacl
other, and the greater right to insist that th
forms of government under which the compac
was entered into should be substantially main


This power was given to prevent change.
toward monarchy or aristocracy in the mem
bers Of the Union. 1t assumed that the
governments then existing were republican
IN form, that changes in them were proper
might become Necessary, were certainly
within the reserved rights Of the States,
and entirely consistent with the maintc
nance of republican forms of government
This power was not given to prevent such
changes, nor to maintain the relation of the
States to the Federal Government, nor tC
! protect the State from invasion, nor We
from domestic violence. 1t was given 1o
the sole purpose of preventing changes il
the forms of State government which wo'
make it anti-republican. Our fathers deal
not in subtle devices nor used equivocal Ian
guagc. They knew the then existing gov
crnments were republican in form; they in
tended to give to the Federal Government
no power to change them; they intended t,
impose no limit on the right Of the State
to change them, except that none Of tn,
changes should be anti-republican, and thi
intention they carried out in the languag,
of the Constitution. The States may hav,
any form of government so long as it re
mains republican, and the Federal Govern
ment shall not intervene.


1t is true that the question whether &
form Of government is republican is to be de
clded 10y the lo.itical power, and the Judi
cial department cannot revise its decision
but the discretion Of the political power i,
not unlimited, supreme, subject to no CON
troll. 1t is subject to rule and the first
rule is thatso long as the old State consti-
tutions and forms Of government are main
tanned they must be held to be republican;
! and the second rule is that all other consti
tutions similar in spirit and provisions are
also republican, and that so long as the
States preserve such form of government
the condition on which Federal interference,
is provided for does not exist. Slavery ex
listed in each of the States, except perhap,
one, at the time OF the formation of the con
stitution. Its existence, therefore, was
clearly not inconsistent with republican
\ form ut that time, and if not inconsistent
then, it cannot be inconsistent now The
States at that time had their State debts
they had entire control of them they paiC
what they pleased ; they repudiated OF
; scaled what they pleased they have done
! so ever since. This power therefore wa,
clearly not inconsistent with republican
form of government at that time, and GER
tainly therefore cannot be so now. The
right to declare who shall be electors fol
State offices, and who shall be eligable
thereto, was committed entirely to the State;
by the terms of the Constitution the elec.
tors for Representatives should "have the
qualifications requisite for electors OF the
most numerous branch Of the State Legis.
lature,' and those who vote for presiden'
tial electors should have such qualifications
as the Legislatures might prescribe. This
power was then and is now not only con-
sistent with but is indispensable to a rcpub-
, lican form of government.


And yet the advocates of this bill pro-
pose to deprive the States Of power over
the question Of slavery, power over their
own indebtedness, power to regulate the
Ia f.a, oh ice ha ,uht N n