Year: 1876

ness to protect the rights of negro voters In
the Southern States, excites universal atten-
tion, and is likely to provoke angry and
injudicious comments. 1t will be a mistake
to regard this matter as very serious. 1t
should be looked upon rather as an adroit po-
litical manoeuvre than as an effective military
order. The republican advisers of the
President saw opportunity to give Mr..
Scott Lord Roland for his Oliver, and as
bit of political strategy it has, no doubt,
been dexterously done. Our only regret is
that the President appears as the chief
player in this party game. Public opinion
will sustain him in every sincere attempt to
secure fair elections in the South, and we
have been hoping and have had good rea-
sons to hope for the last twenty months, that
he would take no further steps toward mill
tary interference except on a necessity so
manifest that the whole country would
justify him. Since the unfortunate Louisi-
ana affair in January, 1875, President Grant
has seemed truly reluctant to employ mill
tary force and has repeatedly refused apph-
cations from State Governors. We incline
to think that the recent order is hasty act
done on the advice of Others without proper
deliberation, and that he will allow it on
Election to pass into silent oblivion. We
trust that the moral influence of his great
station will be exerted to secure fair cleo
tions and justice to both races and to pre-
vent any complications requiring military
interference. We would fain hope that his
o1, ,ofr <,,1
tion of the memorable aspiration, "Let us
have peace" which he expressed in his first
letter of acceptance We regard this recent
order as mere bs1tt,tn, fuln,en-a harmless
thunderbolt launched in too ready compli-
ance with astute politicians, who did not
wish their party to risk SO tempting
chance to lash the democrats with withe of
their own cutting. We appreciate the joke,
but are sorry that the President was COM
plaisant enough to take part in it.


The democrats Of the House were caught
in trap when MIR. Lord sprung his resolu-
ton. They squirmed for two hours to no
purpose but when they found they could
not dodge a vote they were wise enough to
vote almost unanimously for the resolution.
Everybody knew that there was no hearth
ness or sincerity in that vote, given under
political duress, and7it is really very good
party joke for the republicans to affect to
look upon it as serious and act upon it as an
instruction to protect the negroes. tits very
dex.erous way Of trumping the democratic
trick, but it is beneath the dignity of the
President of the United States to participate
in such party game.


There are conclusive reasons for suppos-
ing that this singular order is not serious.
President Grant is no lawyer, but he knows
that the Supreme Court, in q solemn judg-
ment pronounced last March, decided that
the Enforcement law is unconstitutional,
and that the federal Executive has no au-
thority to interfere to enforce the fifteenth
constitutional amendment. After declaring
that the right to vote shall not be denied or
abridged on account of race or color, it pro-
to enforce this article by appropriate legisla-
tion." Congress did legislate and passed
the very elaborate net known as the Enforce
ment law. But that law covered too much
ground; it included subjects on which the
fifteenth amendment confers no power and
the Supreme Court decided that it's constitu-
tional and it's unconstitutional features were
so blended and intertwined that it had
neither ability nor authority to disentangle
them, and that the whole act is void by
reason of its unconstitutional provisions.
'sWe are not able" said Chief Justice Waite
in delivering the opinion of the Court, ''to
reject a part which is unconstitutional and
retain the remainder, because it is not possi-
BILE to separate that which is unconstitu-
tional from that which is not" "Within
its legitimate sphere Congress is supreme
and beyond the control Of the courts;
but if it steps outside of its constitutional
limitations and attempts that which is be-
yond its reach the courts are authorized to.
and when called upon in due course of legal
proceedings must, annul its encroaclfnents
upon the reserved power of the States and
the people. To limit this statute in the
manner now asked for would be to make
new law, not to enforce an old one. This is
no part of our duty. We must therefore
decide that Congress has not yet provided
by appropriate legislation for the punish
ment of the offence charged in the indict-
ment."


This authoritative decision settles the
whole question as to the power of the Exec
utive or the courts of justice to enforce tho
fifteenth amendment under existing legisla-
ton. The thing stands now precisely as if
no law had ever been passed on the
subject 1t is too clear that the ff-
teenth amendment is not self-execut-
ing, and, the law that was passed
for enforcing it having become dead
letter by the action of the Supreme Court,
the President has no other or greater au-