The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, December 11, 1867, Image 1
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VOLUME XIV.
- '
O. F. TO W N EB,
I EDITOR.
J O. BAILEY, Proprietor ui tab-Editor.
ft"-. '
I ' President's Message.
OBMTBBKD TVIID1Y, DKC. .1, 1807.
UowCiltrtnn of the Small and Home of
/lif?wtrtutfN> r.v/' -' VTho
coptloaod disorganisation of the Union,
I ' to Which (be President bat io often celled the
I attention of Congress, la yet a auhjeot of pro
found and patriotic concern. W# may, bowaver,
find font* relief from that anxiety In the
reflection that the palnta! political situation,
although before untried by ourselves, is not
hew in the experience of nations. Political
ectenoe, perhaps as highly perfected in our
own time and country as In any ether, has not
yet disclosed any moans by which civil wars
aan be absolutely prevented. An enlightened
nation, however, with a wise and ip-ncfleent
Constitution of freo Government, may ditninr
- ish their frequency and mitigate their aevority
by directing all its proceedings iu accordance
with iu fhndamental law.
Vfh?B a civil war has boon brought to a
v ' - close, it ia manifestly the first interest and
? duty of the SUto to repair the injuries which
the war has inflicted, abd to secure tho bonefit
of tho lesson* it teaches ae fully and as speedily
as possible. This duty was, upon the termination
of the rebellion, promptly accepted,
Wot only by the Executive Department, hut by
the Insurrectionary States themselves, and
restoration, in the first moment of peace, was
believed to he as easy and ecrtain as it was
Indispensable. The expectations, however,
then so reasonably and confidently ertcrtaln*
ed, wore disappointed by legislation from
which I felt eontrained. by my obligations to
the Constitution, to withold my assent.
It is, therefore, a source of profound regret,
*\ that in complying with tho obligations imposed*upon
the President, by the Constitution, to
glvh to Congress from time to time information
of the state of the Union, I am unable to
communicate any definite adjustment, satisfactory
to the American people, of the questions
which, sineo the close of the rebellion*
* have agitated the publio mind. On the contrary,
aandor compels me to declare that at
this time there is no Union as our fathers understood
tho term, and as they meant it te he
understood by us. T-he Union which tbey
established oan exist only where all the States
are represented in both bouses of Congress;
where one 8tate ia as freo as another to regu
late its internal concerns according to Us own
will, ud whin tho Itwt of the Central Oov4
' eminent, strictly confined to matters of national
jurisdiction, apply with equal force to
nil the people of every section. That such is
? net the present " state of the Union," is a
melancholy fact, and we all must acknowledge
that the restoration of the States to their
proper legal relations with the Federal Government
and with one another, according to
tba terms of the original compact, would be
the greatest temporal blessing which flod, in
His kindest providence, could bestow upon
this nation- It becomes our imperative duty
to eeasider whether or not it is impossible to
effect this most desirable consummation.
The "Union and the Constitution are inseparable.
As long as one is obeyed by all par
ties, the other will be preserved; and if ono Is
destroyed, both mnst perish together. The
destruction of the Constitution will be followed
by other abd stUl greater eelamltios. It was
ordained hot only to form a more perfect nuion
between the States, but to "establish justice,
insure domestio tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general welfare,
and secure*the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity." Nothing but implicit
obedience to its requirements in all parts ol
the country will accomplish these great ends.
Without that obedlenoe, we oan look forward
to continual outrages upon individual
rights, Incessant breaches of the public peace,
national weakness, financial dishonor, the tota'
Iocs ol oar prosperity, tho general corruption
f morals, and the final extinction of populai
freedom. To save our country from evils sc
Appalling as these, we should renew our oHorti
gain and again.
* To me, tho process of rest oration seems per
fbetljr plain and simple. It consists merely it
a faithful application of tho Conatitution and
laws. Tb* execution of tho laws ia not now
obairuetad or oppoaed by physical force.?
jj There ia no military or other neocaaity, real 01
fwetendod, which can prevent obedience to th<
'' Constitution, either Nortb or South. All th<
yv* rights and all the obllgatlona of Stales ant
^ . individuals aan be protected and enforced bj
moons perfectly eonaiatent with the foods
' naeatallaw. The eenrta may hearerywhere opci
and, if open, their proceaa would ba an impeded
' ' . - Crimea egeiSit the United 8tates oen be pre
VVV* or punished by the proper Judicial an
tberitiee, in a manner entirely practicable ant
f Ml legal. There Is, therefore, no reason why tb<
v Conatitution abonld hot be obeyed, no lee
t a ihoee who axarciae Itn powers have determine;
* that it ahal) be disregarded and violated. Th
mere naked will of thla Government, or o
I wm one or more of ita branches, ia. the on);
hataele that can exist to a perfect union of ?l
"> tUltatM, ?. ' \ '0.4 1
' % On thia mementos question, and aoraa of tlx
, measures growing on* of it, I have had tlx
misfortune to differ from Congress, and ban
,#?pruaaed my eonvlptlona without reaarra
though with becoming-defcrenro to the opia
U? ef the leglalativa department. Those eon
vietlena are net thly. unchanged but strength
ened by subsequent events nod farther n-flec
tie a. The tronaaendent importance of thi
nhjeet Will be a sufficient exouse for eallloj
' yew attention to soma of the raaeone wbiel
ham 9* strongly iofnenaed mf^ewn jndg
' meat.Tha hope-that v t/toy ail finally Con
ftr la ti mode 9# settlement, consistent ft
ggten with ova true Interests pnd with onj
,-S ewera datim to the Constitution, U too nolo
loo Jrnt Co be OMtly roUu-iunbr-i.
iSfci-H IM tl
* II11 L!
m,AmUi AWA.1
^ \3?N.
A. REFLE
It ia clear to my apprehension that tha
States lately in rebellion are still members of
the national Union. When did they ceaae to
b?i?l The " ordinance of eeoeaaion," adopt*
ed by a portion (in most of them a very email
portion) of their eitisene, were mere nullitiea,
If we admit now that they were valid and c?
reciuai ror the purpose Intended by their authors,
we (weep from under our feet the whole
ground upon whieh wo justified the war.?
Were those States afterwards expelled from
the Union by the war f The direct contrary
was averred by this Oorcrnment to be its purpose,
and was so understood by ail those who
gave their blood and treasure to aid in its prosecution.
It cannot bo that a successful war,
waged for the preservation of the Union, had
tha legal effect of dissolving it. The victory
of the nation's arms was not the disgrace of
her policy; the dofcat of secession on the
battle-field was not the triumph of its lawless
principle. Nor could Congress, with or without
the consent of the Executive, do anything
which would have the effort, directly or
indirectly, of separating the States from each
other. To dissolve the Union is to repeal the
Constitution which holds-it together, and that
is a power which does not belong to any department
of this Oorcrnment, or-to all of
them united.
This is so plain that it has been acknowledged
by all brancbea of the Federal Government.
The Executive (iny predecessor as well
as mysalf) and the heads of all the Departments
hgve uniformly acted upon tbo princi.
pie that tho Union is not only undissolved,
but indissoluble. Congress submitted an
amendment of tbo Constitution to be ratified
by tbe Southern States, and accepted their
acts of ratification as a necessary and lawful
excrciao of their highest function. If they
were not States, or were States out of tbe
Union, their consent to a ebange in the fundamental
law of the Union would have been nugatory
; *nd Congress, in asking it, committed
a political absurdity. The Judielary has
also given the solemn sanction of its authority
to the aame view of tha eaae. The Judges
of the Supreme Court have included the Southern
States in their circuits, and tliey are constantly,
in bane and elsewhere, ekereising
jurisdiction whieh does not belong to tbem,
unless those States are Statea of the Union.
If the Southern States aro component parts
of tbs Union, tho Constitution is the snproine
law for them, as it is for ail the other States.
They are bound to obey it, and so are we.?
The right of the Federal Government, which
i? cicar ana unquestionable, to enforce the
Constitution upon them, implies tlio correlative
obligation on our part to observe its limitations
and esecute its guaranties. Without
the Constitution we are nothing ; by, through,
and undor tbe Constitution we are what it
makes us. Wo may doubt tho wisdom of the
law, we may not approve of its provisions,
but we cannot violato it merely because it
seems to coufiue our powers within limits narrower
than we could wish. It is not a question
of individual, or class, or sectional interest,
much less of party predominance, hut of
duty?of high and sacred duty?which we a*o
all sworn to perform. If we cannot support
the Constitution with the cheerful alacrity
of those who love and believe in it, we must
give to it at least tho fidelity of public servants
who act under solemn obligations and
commands which they dare not disregard.
Tho eonstitutional duty is not the only one
which requires tbe State to l,o restored.?*
Thoro it another consideration which, tliongh
of minor importance, is yet of great weight.
On the 22d day of July, 1S6I, Congress declared,
by an almost unanimous vote of both
Houses, that-tbe war should "he conducted
solely for the purpose of preserving tho Union,
and maintaining tho supremacy of the Perioral
Constitution and laws, without impairing
. the dignity, equality, and rights of tho States
or of individuals; and that when this was
; uono, ino war suouia cease. 1 <io njt say that
tliis declaration is personally binding on those
' who joined in making it, any wore than individual
members <?t Congress are personally
' bound te pay a public dobt created nndor law
1 for which thoy voted. Bat it was a solemn,
public, official pledge of the national honor>
and I eannot imagine upon what grounds the
i repudiation of it is to be Justified. If it be
I said that we are not bound to keep faith with
r rebels, let it be remcmberffil that this promise
- was not mado to rebels only. Thousands of true
r men in the South were drawn to our standard
? by it, anil hundreds of thousands in the North
> gave their live# in the beliuf that it would bo
I carried out. It wat mado on the day after th?
r first great battle of tho war had been fought
- and lost. All patriotic and intelligent inon
i then saw the necessity of giving such an assurance.
and believed that without it the war
would end In disaster to our cause. Having
given that assurance in the extremity of our
i peril, the violation of it now, in the day of
i our power, would be a rude rending of that
i good faith which holdi the moral world to1
gather} our country would eeaso to hare any
b claim upon the confidenee of roon ; it would
f make the war not only a failure, but a fraud.
f Being sincerely eonvineed that these views
1 are correct, I would be unfaithful to my duty
if I did not recommend the repeal of the Acts
, of Congress which ptaee ten of the Southern
, fiUtM under the domination of military mas
-? rr ^-.l ? ^? .kail ..H.A. . uaU.
I wn, 41 cmiii ivinuviuii mmu ?nnj m ni^yur>
Hy of your honorable bodies that iho Acta ra.
ferrad to era not only a violation of the national
faith, bat in direct conflict with the
Constitution, I dare not permit myself to
donbt that yon will immediately strike them
, from the statute book.
I To demonstrate tho unconstitutional ehari
actcr of tbose Acts, I need do no more tban
, refer to their general provision*. It wnst be
. teen at onee tbat tbey are ere not authorised*
I To dictate what alterations shall be made In
r the Constitutions of tbe several State*; to
1 control tha elections of State legislators and
Slats o(Beers, tBcmbcrs of Coujiqm and aieo\
1 ^3 V* V >r NT |
\ ' *
, * o
i__ ????
:x of r><
-L
GREENVILLE. SOUTH C
tor. of President and Vice-President, by arbitrarily
declaring who .hall Tote and who sha1|
bo excluded from that privilege; to dissolve
State Legislatures or ptevent then from as
somblitog; to dismiss judges and other civil
functionaries of tho State, and appoint ethers
without regard to Stato law; to organiso and
operate all the political machinery of the
6tatea ; to regulate the whole administration
of their domeetie and local affairs according to
the mcro will of strange and irrcsponslbla
agents, teat among them for that purpose?these
are powers not granted to the Federal
Government, or to any ono of Us branches.?
Nut being granted, we violate onr trust by asturning
them as palpably as we would by acting
in tho face of Expositive interdict; for the
Constitution forbids us to do whatever it docs
not affirmatively authorise either by express
words or by clear implication. If the authority
we desire to use does not come to us
through the Constitution, wo can exercise it
only by usurpation, and usurpation is the most
dangerous of political crimes. By that crime,
the enemies of free government in all ages
have worsted out their designs against public
liberty and private right. It leads direetly
and immediately to tho establishment of absolute
rule; for undelegated power is always
unlimited and unrestrained.
Tho Acta of Congress in question are no(
only objectionable for their assumption of
utigrantgd power, but many of their provisions
are in conflict with tho direct prohibitions of
tho Constitution. Tho Constitution commands
that a Republican form of government sball
bo guaranteed to alt tbo States ; that no person
shall be deprived of life, llborty or proper
ty without due process of law, arrested withou*
a judicial warrant, or punishod without a fair
trial boforo an impartial jury ; that the privilege
of kubeau cor pun shall not be denied in
time of peace ; and that no hill of attainder
shall be passad, ovea against a single individual.
Yet the system of measures established
by those Acts of Congress docs totally subvort
and destroy the form, as well as tho substanco
oi (republican government in tbo ten States
to which they apply. It binds lliein hand and
loot Id absolute slavery, and subjects them to
a strange fend hostile power, more unlimited
and more likely to bo rbiisinl than nny other
now knowu among civilised men. It tramples
down all those rights in which the tmcnce of
liberty consists, and which a freo Govern*
mcnt is always most careful to protect.?It
denies the habta* enrjms and the trial by
jury. Personal freedom, property, and life, if
assailed l>y the passion, the prejudice or tbo
rapacity of tho ruler, have no security whatever.
It has tho effect of a bill of attainder,
or bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few
Individuals, but upon whole masses, including
the millions who inhabit the snhjoct States,
and even their nnbnrn children. These
wrongs, being expressly forbiddon, cannot
be constitutionally inflicted upon any portion
of onr people, no matter how tbey may
eomo within our jurisdiction, and no matter
whetbor they live in States, Territories or
Districts.
I have no dosiro to save from the proper and
just consequences of theirgroat crime those who
engaged in rebellion against the Government;
but as a tuodo of punishment, tho tncasuros
under consideration are tho most unreasonable
that eould be iurontod. Many of thoso
people are perfectly innocent; miny kept
their fidolity to the Union untainted to tho
last; many wore incapable of any legal offence
; a large proportion uvon of tho persons
able to boar arms, were forced into robclllon
against tbeir will; and of thoso who are guilty
with their own consent, tho degroes of
guilt kre as various as tbo shades of thoir
character and tonapor. Hut these Acts of
Congress confound them all togethor in ono
common doom. Indiscriminate vcngoanco
upon closes, sects and parties, or upon whole
communities, for offences oomiulttod by a portion
of them against the governments to which
they owed obedience, was common in the barbarous
ages of tho World. Iiut Christianity
and civilisation have ninds'such progress that
recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust
would meet with tho condemnation of ull unprejudiced
and right-minded men. The punitive
justice of this age, end especially of this
country, does not consist in stripping whole
States of their liberties, and reducing all their
people without dlitinetion, to the condition of
slavery. It deals separately with each individual,
confines itself to tho forms of law, and
indicates its own purity by an impartial examination
of every case before a competent
judicial tribunal. If tbls docs not satisfy all
our desires with regard-to Southern rebels, let
us console ourflros by reflecting that a tree
Constitution, triumphant in war and unhrokon
in peace, is worth far more to us and our
children than the gratifh-ulfron of any present
feeling.
I am aware it is assumed that tbls system
of gorornment for the ftonthern States is not
to be perpotual. It is true, this military government
is to be only provisional, but it is
through this temporary evil that a greater
evil ie to be made perpetual. If the guarantees
of the Constitution ran be broken provisions')/
to eerre n temporary purpose, and in n
part only of the country, wo can destroy them
?r?ry?ht? and for nil time. Arbitrary kmi*
urea often change, bat they generally change
for the worse. It U the euro* of despotism
tbnt it baa nn halting place. The intermitted
exercise of It* power bring* no sense of security
to It* subjects; for thoy can never know
what more they will be tailed to endnre when
ite red right hand I* armed to plague them
gain. Nor I* It poeaible to conjecture how
or where power, an restrained by law, may
seek it# next viotims. The fitaJes that are
till free may he enslaved at any moment j for
II the Constitution does not pvoteot all, K protests
none.
It Is manifestly and avowedly the object
of theao lawa to confer upon negroes the
privilege of voting, and to disfranchise such
ISiW I / Uti
i ??i ?.
^PULAR
CAROLINA. DECEMBER I
? number of white ciii&rn* will hItc the
fanner a clear majority at all elections in
the Southern State*. This to the minds of
some person*, is so impoitanl that a violation
of the Constitution Is justifiable as a
means of bringing it about. The moral itv
is always fals* which excuse* a wrong be
Cause it proposes to accomplish a desirable
sod. We are not permitted to do evil that
good may coma. Will in this caso the end
itrelf is avil, aa well as the means. The
subjugation of the States to nogro domination
would b* worse than the military despotism
under which they are now suffering.
It was believed before-hand that the people
would endure any amount of military oppression,
for any length of lime, rather than
degrade themselves by subjection 16 the n?
^iu mcc. i ncrciure, inej niivts d on leit
without a choice. Negro suffrage wm established
by Aot of Congress. and the mill
Ury oflk-urs w?re commanded to superiut?od
the proeeM of clothing the negro race
with the politic*) privilege* torn from white
men.
The blacks in the South ere entitled to
he well end humanely governed, end to
here tho pioleoiion of just lew* for ell their
fight* of per?'?n end property. If it were
practicable,*! this lime to give them n gov*
rnment exclusively their own, under which
they m:ght manege their own affaire in
their own way, it would become a grave
qmsiion whether we ought to do *n, or
whether common humanity would not require
us to save them from themtelves.?
But, under the circumstances, this it only a
speculative point. It is not proposed merily
that they shall govern themselves, hut that
they shall rule the while race, make and
administer State laws, elect Presidents and
member* of Congress, and shape to a greaUr
or less extent the future destiny of the
whole country. Would such a trust and
1 power be cafe in such hands f
The peculinr qnaliliee which should characterize
any people who arc fit to decide
upon the management of puldie affaire for a
groat State have seldom been eomtdned. It
Is the glory of while men to know that tlo-y
have bad lli-se qualities in sufficient mens
ure to build upon this continent a gieit
political fabric, and to preserve its stability
for more than ninety years, while tn erery
other part of the world all rimilur experiment*
have failed. But if anything can be
proved by known facts?if all reasoning
upon evidence is not abandoned?it mutt
be acknowledged, that in the progress of
nations negroes have shown has capacity
for government than any Other rare of people.
No independent government of any
form has evrr been successful in their handsOn
the contrary, wherever they have been
left to their own devices they have show n
a constant tendency to relapse into harharism.
In the Southern Slates. However,
Congress has undertaken to confer upon
them the privilege of the billot. Just released
from slavery, it tnay be doubted
w hether, as a class, they know more thar
their ancestor* hoj* to organize And regnlatt
civil societj. Indeed, it U admitted llinl
the hlacks of the South are not only regard
less of th? rights of properly, hut so utterli
ignorant of public affair* that their voting
ran consist in nothing more than carrying
a ballot to tlie place slice they are direct
ed to deposit it. I need not remind vot
that the exercise of the elective franchise ii
the highest attribute of an American citizen
and, that, when guided by virtue, intelli
genee, palri Aism, and a proper appreeialior
of our free institutions, it constitutes tin
true basis of a <1e noerntic form of govern
ment, in whinb the sovereign power ii
lodged in the body of the people. A tros
artificially created, not for its own sake
but Bol.ly as a m-*rts of promoting tin
general welfare, its influence for good mils
necessarily depend tij?on the elevated clior
acter and true nllegance of lire elector. I
ought, therefore, to be reposed in noa<
except those who are fitted morally am
mentally to administer it well; for if eon
fcrred upon persons who do not justly est!
mate its value, and who are indifferent ai
to ite results, it will only serve as a meam
of placing power in the han Is of the tin
principled an I amliitious, and must eVentu
ale in the complete destruction of thai
liberty of which it should he the most powerful
conservator. I have, therefore, here
tofore urge I upon your attention the greal
danger "to be apprehended from an an
timely extension of the elective franchise tt
any new class in onr country, especial!]
when the large majority of that class, it
| wielding the power thus placed in lh?ii
hands, cannot l>? exproted correctly t<
comprehend the duties and responsibilitiei
which pertain to snfT age. Yesterday, *?ii
were, four million* of p~r*on* were held Ii
condition of slavery that had existed foi
generation*; to-day they are freemen, and
re a is nmed hy law to lie eilisona. It can.
not he presumed, from their previous eon
dition of servitude, that, a* a close, they ar?
ft* well informed a* to the nature of oui
Government as the Intelligent foreigner
who make* our land the home of hischoice.
In the case of tha latter, neither a residence
of flew years, and the knowledge of our in'
siitutions which it gives, nor attachment U
the principles of the Constitution, are lh?
only conditions upon which ha ean he sd'
nritted to oiliwnship. He must prove, ir
addition, a good moral character, end tlm-*
give reasonable ground for the b lief thai
he will be fai'.hful to the. obligations which
EVENTS.
ii 1867.
h? iMumM u I citizen of the Republic ? a
Where a people?the aoeree of all political I
power?epeak, by their euTragea, through r
the instrumentality of the ballot-box, it n
muat be carefully guariled against the con- ?'
trol of thoee who are corrupt in principle tl
and eaemiea of free institutions, for it can li
only boeotne to our political and eocial aya- it
trm. a aafe conductor of healthy popular p
eentiment When kept Tree from demoralizing C
influence*. Controlled tkrongb fraud and c
usurpation by the designing, anarchy and 1
despotism must loeritably follow. * In the o
hand* of the patriotic and worthy, our 1;
Government will bo preserved upon the p
principles of thoConstitution inherited from tl
our father*. It follow*, therefore, that in h
.1?i- it. ?
?.<> iiic uiiiui uox t new etas# ol p
voter* not qualified for tlie exercise of the tl
elective franchise, we weaken our system g
of government, instead of adding to its p
strength and durability." "I yield to no n
one In attachment to that rule of general o
suffrage which distinguishes our poliey as a
a nation. But there is a limit, wisely oh ii
served hitherto, which malt** the ballot a *
privilege and a trust, and which require* o
of some classes a time suitable for proba- <1
tiun and preparation. To give it indie- g
criminatrly to a new class, wholly unpre- p
pared, by previous habits and opportuni I
tiss, to perform the trust which it demand', f<
is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its tl
power; for it may lie safely assumed that v
no political truth is belter established than d
that such indiscriminate and ail-cmbracing
extension of popular suffrage must end at q
last In it* overthrow and destruction." r
I repeat the expression of my willingness \
to join in any plan within the scope of our t
constitutional authority ?hich promises to g
better the candilion of the negroes in the i
South, by encouraging them in industry, g
enlightening tluir minds, improving their
morals, and gijing protection to oil their i
just rights as freedmen. But the transfer g
of our pol.lical inheritance to them would, a
in my opinion, ba an abandonment of a duty t
which wc owe alike to the memory of our i
fathers and ths right* of our children. c
The plan of putting the Southern States I
wholly, and the General Government par- c
tially.into the hands of negroo?, is proposed, t
at a lime peculiarly unpropitious. The t
foundations of society have been broken up
by civil war. Iudiiatry must be reorgan- ,
iscd, juetice re-established, public credit ]
maintained, and order brought out of con t
fusion. To accomplish these ends would re |
quire all the wisdom and virtue of the great y
men who formed our institutions originally. t
I confidently believe that their descendants j
will be equal to the arduous task before (
them, but it is worse than madness to ex- y
p -ct that negroes w ill pet form it for ue.? |
I Certainly we ought not to ask their assist- i
ance until we despair of our own cmpe ,
tency. ,
Tho great difference between the two
rncrs in piiysicsl, mental, and moral char|
acteristics will prevent an nmalgamalioii or
, fusion of tbetn together in oue homogeneous
mat*. If lli? inferior obtain* tbo ascendency
over the other, it will govern with reference
r only to its own interests?for it will recog,
nise no conittion interest?and create aueh
a tyranny a* this continent has never yet
witnessed. Alteady the negroes are influ
, et ced by promises of confiscation and plan,
der. They are Inoght to regard as an
enemy every while mnn who has uny
. respect for the rights of hisown race. If tl.ts
, continues it must become worse and worse,
9 until all order will le subverted, all indus
. try cease, and the fertile fields of the South
s grow up Into a wilderness. Of all the dsn'
I. gets which our nation has yet encountered,
none are t-qual to those which must result
8 troni the success of the efTort now making
t to Africanize the half of our country.
I would not put considerations of money
l in competition with justice and right. But
s the expenses incident to " reconstruction "
I under the system adopted by Congress
aggravate what I regard a* the intrinsic
wrong of the measure itself. It lies cost
i uncounted inOAons already, and if persisted
I in will add largely to the weight of taxa
lion, already too oppreetire to be borne
- without just complaint, end may finally
t reduce the Treasury of the nation to n con
> dition of bankruptcy. We must not delude
ourselves. It will require a strong stand
I, iug army, and probably more than two
hundred million* of dollars per annum, to
main'nin the supremacy of nrgro governmtnls
after they are established. The aum
thua thrown away would, If properly used,
f<>rin a sinking fund large onongh 10 pay
the whole national debt in lese than fifteen
years. It Is vain to hope that negroes will
maintain their ascendancy themselves.?
Without military power they are who.ly
incapable of holding in subjection the white
people of the South,
I submit to the judgment of Congrese
whether the pwMic credit may not be injuriously
affected by a system of measures
like this With our debt, and the vast pri? 1
vate intereeta which are complicated with ]
it, we cannot be too cautious of a policy
which mfjjtit, by possibility, impair the
confidence of the world in our Govern- |
meat. That confidence can only be retain* i
ed by carefully inculcating the principles i
of justice and honor on the popular mind, I i
and by the most, sortitions fidelity lo all 1
our engagements of every sort. Any *r- i
nsus breuoh of the organic law, persisted I
In for a censid> ruble time, cannot but ere
fc
-I - ???*? ' M'L.I
NO. 29.
-? ? . ?
it* fear* for the stability of our ln*titn?
ion*. Habitual violation of prescribed
ulee, which we bind ourseiv?e to obeerve,
)u*t demoralise the people. Our only
tnndard of nivil duty being net at naught,
lie *heet anchor of our political morality
i lo*t, the public conscience awinga from
e mooring*, and yield* to eYery impale* Of
aealon aud interest. If we repudiate the
ouatilutiun, we will not be expected to
are much for mere pecuniary obligation*,
'he violation of eneh a pledge aa we mad*
n the S2d day of July, 1881, will aaauredf
dlminlih the market value of our other
ronilse*. Besides, if we now acknowledge
hat tbe national debt vat created not to
-1J aL. ev*-. - ? *
uiu liic oiaics in ine union, as the taxayers
were led to aappoae, but to expel
hem from it, and hand them over to l>a
overned bj negroes, the moral duty to
ay it may seem much leas clear. L say it
tay teem so ; for I do not admit that this 4
r any other argument in favor of repudilion
can be entertained aa sound; but its
aflucnce on some classes of minds may
rail be apprehended. The financial honor
f a great commercial nation, largely inlebted,
and with a republican form of
[overnment, administered by agents of the
opular choice, is a thing of such delicate
exture, and the destruction of it would be
olio wed by such unspeakable calamity,
hat every true patriot must desire to avoid
rhatever might expose it to the slightest
soger.
The great interests of ths eonntiy re[nire
immediate refief from these enaetnents.
Business in the South is psialyaed
>y a sense of general insecurity, by the
error of confiscation, and ths dread of ns*
;ro supremacy. The Southern trade, from
vliicli the North would have derived so
;reat a pro6t under a government of law,
till languishes, and can never revive until , |
t ceases to be fettered by the arbitrary
lower which makes all its operation! onafe.
That rich country?the richest in
istuial resources the world ever saw?is
vorse than lost if it be not soon placed onler
the protection of a free Constitution.?
nstead of being, as it ought to be, a source
if wealth and power, it will become an inolerable
burden upon the rest of Uie union.
Aoother reason for retracing our steps
will doubtless be seen by Congress in the
ate manifestations of puhlio opinion upon
his subject. We live in a country where
.lie popular will always enforces obedience
? itself, sooner or later. It is vain to
:hink of opposing it with anything ahort of
egal authority, backed by overwhelming
ore*, it cannot have escaped your attention
that frcm the day on which Congress
Fairly and formally presented the proposition
to govern the Southern States by military
force, with a view to the ultimate establishment
of negro supremacy, every ex
predion of the general sentiment has been
more or less adverse to it. The affections
of this gen< ration cannot be detached from
the institutions of their ancestors. Their
determination to preserve the inheritance
of free government in their own hands, and
transmit it undivided and unimpaired to
their own posterity, ia too atrong to be successfully
opposed. Every weaker paction
will disappear before that love of liberty
and law for wliich the American people
are distinguished above all others in the
world.
IIow far lli# duty of the President, " to
preset ve, proteet and defend the Constitu,
tion," requires him to go in opposing an
unconstitutional act of Congress, is a very
serious and important question, on which I
have deliberated muob, and felt extremely
anxious to reaelt a proper conclusion.?
Where an act has been passed according to
the forms of the Constitution by the supreme
legislative authority, and is regularly
enrolled among the public etalutea of the
country, Executive resistance to it, especially
in times of high party excitement,
would be likely to produce violent collision
between the respective adherents of the
two branches of the Government. Thie
would be simply civil war; and civil
must be retorted to only as the last remedy
fur the worst of evils. Whatever might
tend to provoke It should be most carefully
avoided. A faithful and conscientious
magistrate wil) concede very much to honest
error, and something even to perverse
malice, before he will endanger the public
peace; and he will not adopt forefblw
measures, or such as might lead to force, as
long as those which are peacable remain
open to him or to his constituents. It is
trne thst cases may occur in which the Executive
would be compelled to stand on its
rights, and maintain them, regardless of all
consequences If Congress should pass an
act which is not only in palpable conflict
with the Constitution, but will certainly, if
carried ont, produce immediate and irreparable
injury to the organic atrneture of
the Government, and if there be neither judicial
remedy for the wrongs it inflicts, nor
power in the people to protect themselves
without the official aid of their elected defender?if,
for instance, (lie legislative department
should pass an act, even through
all the forms of h?w, to abolish a eo ordi
natc depart men t of the Government?ii>
neb >i c??a l'1 pf-^detit. must tulcc the
liigh reapOSSvU V > ' fi<?. mi '
L%. life of tT. "..at the
lo-ftdled Seconal mat ion acts, though n?
[cosrisfin os rttSTu raut I