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Show ATTORNEY WHITECOTTOX'S MISTAKE. MIS-TAKE. 1 1 was a deplorable feature of Wednesday Wed-nesday night's Republican meeting to see Attorney Wiiitkcottox get up and defend the constitutionality of the Lodge bill. It acted most disastrously, disas-trously, and the intelligent portion of the audience, who had read of the infamous in-famous measure, 'were, to all appearances, appear-ances, disgusted. The purpose of this bill, as any one knows who has read it closely, would, had it passed, effectually have placed the election of members of Congress under the control of the United States Government, and, we contend, the effect ef-fect of the bill, whatever its purpose, would have been to control absolutely the election, not only of members of Congress, but of various State and county officers in the several States of the Union, and eventually to control the election of the President of the United States. The ciause under which this claim is made is the first clause of the fourth section of the first article of the Con-Milution, Con-Milution, which provides: The times, places and nranuer of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; bat the Congress may at any time bv law make or alter such regulations", except as to thu places of choosing Senators. It is hardly necessary to say to those who are supposed to know something of the history of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, I that this section created more uneasi- 1 "ess in the minds of members of the I conventions that finally passed upon I the adoption of the Constitution of the I United States, than all of its other provisions combined. Seven of the thirteen States were so unwilling to accept the Constitution of the United Stales with this provision in it, that they expressly provided amendments to it which were to be submitted to the States, which would deprive the Congress of the Unitfd States of the ; right to exercise this power except in certain specified emergencies. And the State of Massachusetts, which has sent so many able Rf presentatives to the Congress of the United States, and which so far as ability and learning are concerned, has certainly filled an honored hon-ored place among the sisterhood of States, was so seriously concerned on the subject that that State not only submitted an amendment to the Constitution Con-stitution to deprive Congress of this power, but expressly enjoined upon its Representatives to take care at "all times" to see that nothing was done by the Congress ef the United States which should deprive the people of the State of the right to pass upon and settle this question for themselves. Every expression that has ever fallen from the lips of the voters of this country has been in absolute and utter condemnation of the right of Congress to take from them the right to decide de-cide through State agencies how these elections shall be carried on and who shall conduct them. At the very inception of this gov- eriiment, when its foundations were 1 -'ng laid, as was then hoped in the Uoad and everlasting principles of human liberty, seven of the thirteen original States declared against the power of Congress to exercise this au- thority; and they put their objection I on the broad ground that it was a usurpation of the liberties of the people peo-ple and that it would eventually oper-;' oper-;' to their destruction. Cm -tess obeyed that injunction un-lil un-lil Is when for the first time it un-d- to? to legislate i;pon the subject, !:! Mk. Ca.vjmskkl, a gentleman n piv.-eiitingat that time one of the . -tsof South Carolina, introduced i ilo :iic apportionment act of that a provision requiring that the &c. ia! States should elect their members mem-bers of Congress from separate districts, dis-tricts, "which shall be composed of c iiitiguous territory." That was a Wi.ig Congress, and Mr. Campbell was the only member from South Carolina Car-olina who voted for the proposition, Un' ihe Democrats thought then, as they think now. that it was a usurpa- lion of power by Congress and voted with practical unanirrSty against it. Four of the States disobeyed the retirements re-tirements of the law and elected tii ir members of the House from the .- Lite at large and not from separate list rids. The right of the members from these four States was examined into under a resolution of the House, and in this way the question arose as to whether I i J or not the paisae of the law was a constitutional exercise of power by Congress. The House of Representatives, Representa-tives, by a large majority, practically overruled and set at uaught this alleged statute of the United States, and seated the members from the four ' States that had knowingly and will- ; fully disobeyed it. When it came to a question before the people as to whether or not they would sustain the Democratic party in practically wiping wip-ing from the Statute'books such a law, tha sentiment in their favor was overwhelming and the Congress that had been Whig in 1840. by the following follow-ing election in 1S12 was converted into a Democratic Congress by a majority of more than two to one. Had the Lodge bill became a law it would have had no other effect except to put the people of some districts dis-tricts between the upper and nether millstone, by which the voters would have been ground out of the last right that is left to them. Thig is a government of limited power. There is no power which we haye here -except that which the Constitution gives us, and the Lodge bill proposed to strip the Constitution ef that power. In the first place the supervisors to be appointed by its provisions were to supervise the registration of voters, and not only to supervise the registration of voters, but actually actu-ally pass upon the qualifications of voters. And yet the power to pass upon the qualifications of a voter to vote is a power that the Constitution gives to tin States that cannot be wrested from them. j i This power, which was inherent in the States, the Lodge bill proposed should be taken from them, and given for its determination into the hands of the Federal officer appointed under the bill. The Democrats voted against the bill to a man, and thank heaven for their honesty, their integrity, and their patriotism, for through their love for the constitution, constitu-tion, the people of this great nation were saved the ignominy of being reduced to the level of the slave. When Judge Saxey answered W. D. Roberts in the Republican meeting meet-ing Wednesday night as to who disfranchised dis-franchised the women of Utah, he made the statement that it was a Democrat, and then added that the Republican party was in favor of bestowing be-stowing upon all women in this hind the right to cast the ballot. Then if Mr. Saxey is a staunch Republican, why did he sign a petition for the passage pas-sage of the Struble bill, which proposed pro-posed to take away the rights of the voters of this Territory, wholesale? and why did he go around with this petition? The people of Utah cannot be gulled with any such stuff as Wednesday Wed-nesday night's talk, for they know that the only friends they ever had in Congress to say a good word for them ; Lave been the Democrats. |
