Year: 1869

[ lAc bare thought that the Govern
meut would ever dlshunOr the very
smallest Of its engagements or 70
pudiate any of lis obligations, A
sp0tlvss virgin woull not mSr5 in
sllnclivcly hy from the vi.cprtscnce
OF u scduucr than they would shrink
from the communicating influence 0i
a mau 80 lost to shame Hs to breathe
suspicion against tho National
honor Laughter Such crime
would sink him 50 low Ia their rs,
limntion that repentance and re-
morse could never raise him from
the depths OF his degradation,
II /, u fact that good morals and
good character depend upon the oh
scryauce of good faith in all trans
actions public aud private, II Is
equally true that profession and
practice are not always travelling
companions in this world, Repu-
dia,ion, hideous rs il may appear
is not such II stranger in this land
us to s,arllc Us by its novelty. ln'
stances occur very early aud very
late ia our history The patriots Of
the Revolution, without an effort At
redemption, abandoned the paper
currency which had been paid To
the farmers who led and the soldiers
who fought, The last act of repu'
dation is oil recent date, and con.
sisted in appropriating n large
amount of private property to pub
lie use without any compensation TO
tho owners. Tho Constitution pro-
vdcs:


mo person shall be deprived of
property without due process OF law;
nor shall private property be taken
for public use without just compcn
sation."


In pursuance Of this provision
Congress passed II law allowing 10y
al owners $500 zach for the slaves
enlisted in the war. Commissioners
were appointed to hear and deter
mine the claims, but before Il dollar
was paid tho law suspended, and the
debt virtually repudiatcd. The law


itself was very feeble attempt to
meet the requirements Of the Con
stitution, us just compensation i'm
plies the full value Of the property.
Men were stripped Of their earnings,
widows Of their dowry, orphans of
their Inheritance, and the soldier
who had followed the flag from the
beginning to the end Of the war,
had to submit quietly TO the repu
diation Of his claim.


The constitutional provision to
which ] have advcrted was in full
force at the time when the act was
done. The Constitution was the
supreme law Of the land, or, rs Mr.,
Webster has iorcbly expressed it,
it was the bond, and the sole bond,
Of our Union. No civil officer could
enter upon the discharge Of his
duties until he had taken n solemn
oath to support it. In view Of these
facts, | would ask any honest man
to lay his hand upon his heart and
say if the people Of Kentucky have
been righttully deprived Of the
proper y which they held under the
double guarantee Of Constitution
and Of law? l do not ask. him to
decide it by the Declaration oflnde
pendence, nor by the starspangIcd
banner, nor by the higher law,
laughter. but by the sacred com
pact which our fathers formed for
our government, by the charter
which secures our liberties, by the
Constitution which was intended to
protect our property


Lest n returning sense Of justice
should induce some legislative body
to make some reparation for the
wrong inflicted upon loyal com
munity, the fourth section of the
fourteenth amendment provides that
neither the United States nor any
State Shall ever pay for the loss or
emancipation Of any slave, but that
such obligation shall be held illegal
and void. This clause is retroac-
tive and nullifies the force Of exist
ing obligations, and how far it would
receive the sanction of our highest
judicial tribunal is matter which
is yet TO be tested However, If
danger is to be apprehendud from
that quarter, following the prece
dent set in the McCardle case, the
jurisdiction could be repealed by an
act Of Congress declaring that the
Supreme Court should take cogni
zance of no case involving a consti-
tutional question. Laughter.


The Secretary of the Treasury, in
his report, alludes incidentally to
the inequality Of the burden of tax
alton, and doubtless realizes its ut
terly exhaustive influence upon
those sections where no bonds are
held and where none of the interest
is disturbed But he forgot to no
tice the hardship, the oppression,
and the wrong involved in the act
OF depriving whole communities Of
one half their estates without pro
cess of law and without compensa-
tion, and then taxing the remainder
to pay the interest on claims which
rest upon no more solid foundation
than their own. Has the Govern
ment kept faith with its own citi-
zens2 A dominant party may defy
the Constitution, trample upon the
rights Of the weak, and sport with
their misfortunes but the fires of
fanatic.sm cannot always burn, the
passions of meE will grow cool, and
the day will come when justice and
public faith, beneficenL ; the Con-
stitution and broad as the Union,
will prevail.


If gentlemen really desire TO con-
stitute themselves the peculiar
friends and guardians Of the public
faith, if they wish to preserve it
pure and unspotted, they should