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LARGEST CITY CIRCULATION
TUKSDAT MOUSING ~J*n. 8,186 T
PRESIDENPS MESSAGE.
Ib tks Senate of <A« United State*:
I have received and considered a bill
entitled * An Act to regulate tbe Elec
tive Franchise in the District of Colura
bia," passed by the Senate on the 13th
of December, and by the House of
Representatives on the succeeding day.
It was presented for my approval on
the 26th nIL, si* days alter the adjourn
ment of Congress, and is now returned
with my objections, to the Senate, in
which House it originated. Measures
having been introduced at the com-
mencement of the First Session of the
present Congress for the extension ol
the Elective Franchise to persons of
color iu the District of Columbia, steps
were taken by the corporate authorities
of Washington end Georgetown to as
certain and make known the opinion of
the people of the two cities upon a
subject so immediately affecting their
welfare as a community. The question
was submitted to the people at special
elections, held in the month of Decem
ber, 1865, when the qualified voters
of Washington and Georgetown with
great unanimity of sentiment, expressed
themselves opposed to the contemplated
legislation. In Washington, in a vote
of 6,556, the largest, with but two ex
ceptions, ever polled in that City, only
thirty five ballots were cast for negro
suffrage. While iu Georgetown, iu an
aggregate of 813 votes, a number con
siderably in excess of the average vote
at the four preceding annual elections,
but one was given in favor of the pro
posed extension of the Elective Fran
chise. As these elections seem to have
been conducted with entire fairness,
the result must- be accepted as a
truthful expression of the opinion of
the people of the District upon the ques
tion which evoked it. Possessing, as an
organized community, the same proper
right as the inhabitants of a State
or Territory to make known their will
upon matters which affect their social
and political condition, they could have
selected no more appropriate mode of
memorializing Congress upon the sub
ject of this bill, than through the suf
frages of their qualified voters. Entirely
disregarding the wishes of the people of
the District of Columbia, Congress has
deemed it right and expedient to pass
the measure now submitted for my sig
nature. It therefore becomes the duty
of the Executive, standing between the
legislation of the one, and the will of
the other, fairly expressed, to determine
whether he should approve the bill, and
thus aid iu placing upon the statute
books of the nation a law, against which
the people to whom it is to apply, have
solemnly, and with such unanimity pro
tested, or whether he should return it
with his objections, in the hope, that
upon reconsideration, Congress, acting
as the representatives of the inhabitants
of the Seat of Government, will permit
them to regulate a purely local question
as to them may seem best suited to
their interests aud condition. The Dis
trict of Columbia was ceded to the
United States by Maryland and Vir
ginia, in order that it might become the
permanent seat of Government of the
United States. Accepted by Congress,
it at once became subject to the exclu
sive legislation, for which provision is
made in the Federal Constitution. It
should be borne in mind, however, that
in exercising At functions as the law
making power of the District of Colum
bia, the authority of the National Legis
lature is not without limit, but that Con
gress is bound to observe tbe letter and
spirit of the Constitution as well in the
enactment of local laws for the seat of
government, as in legislation common
to the entire Union. Were it to be
admitted that the right to exercise
exclusive legislation in all cases what
soever, conferred upon Congress unlim
ited power within the District ot
Columbia, titles of nobility might be
granted within its boundaries, laws
might be made respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof, or abridging the free
dom of speech, or of the press, or of the
right of the people peaceably to assem
ble, and to petition the Government for
a redress of grievances. Despotism
would thus reign at the seat of govern
ernment of a free republic, and as a
place of permanent residence, it would
be avoided by all who prefer tbe bless
ings of liberty to the mere emoluments
of official position. It should
also be remembered, that in leg
islating for the District of Colombia
under the Federal Constitution, the
relation of Congress to its inhabitants is
analogous to that of a legislature to the
people of a State, under their own local
constitution. It does not, therefore,
seem to be asking too much, that in mat
ters pertaining to the district, Congress
should have a like respect for tlie will
and interest of its inhabitants as is
entertained by a State legislature for
the wishes and prosperity of those for
whom they legislate. The spirit of our
Constitution and the genius ot our Gov
ernment require, that in regard to any
law which is to affect and baye a per
manent bearing upon a people, their
THE DAILY PRESS.
YOL. 111.
will should exert at least a reasonable
influence upon those who are acting in
the aapacity of their legislators. Would
sot instance, the Legislature of the
State of New York, or of Pennsylvania,
or of Indiana, or of any State in the
Uuion, fn opposition to the expressed
will of a large majority of the people,
whom they were chosen to represent!
arbitrarily force upon them, a* voters,
all persons of the African, of negro,
race, and mske them eligible for office,
without any other qualification than a
certain term of residence within the
State? In neither of the States named
would the colored population, when
acting together, be able to produce any
great social or political result, yet in
New York, before he can vote, the man
of color must fulfil conditions that are
not required of the white citizen. In
Pennsylvania, the elective franchise is
restricted to white freemen, while ir.
Indiana, negroes and inulattoes are ex
pressly exclude! from the right of
suffrage. It hardly seems consistent
with the principles of right and justice
that representatives of States where
suffrage is either denied the colored
man, or granted to him on qualifica
tions requiring intelligence or property,
should compel the people of the District
of Columbia to try an experiment which
their own constituents have thus far
shown an unwillingness to lest for them
selves. Nor does it accord with our
republican Mens that the principle of
self-government should lose its force
when applied to the residents of the dis
tricts, merely because their legislators are
not, like those of the States, responsible
through the ballot-box to the people, for
whom they are the law-making power.
The great object of placing the seat of
government under the exclusive legisla
tion of C ingress was to secure the entire
independence of tbe General Govern
ment from undue State influence, and to
enable it to discharge, without danger
of interruption or infringement of it 8
authority, the high functions for which
it was created by the people. For this
important purpose it was ceded to the
United States by Maryland and Vir
ginia, and it certainly never could have
been contemplated as one of the objects
to be uttained by placing it under the
exclusive jurisdiction of Congress that
it would afford to propagandists or po
litical parties a place for an experi
mental test of their principles and theo
ries ; while, indeed, the residents of the
seat of government are not citizens of
any State, and are not, therefore, allowed
a voice in the Electoral College, or
representation in the national qouncils,
they are, nevertheless, American citi
zens, entitled as such to every right
which pertains to citizens of our common
country. In all matters, then, affecting
their domestic affairs, the spirit of our
Democratic form of government de
mands that their wishes should be con
sulted and respected, and they taught to
feel that, although not permitted practi
cally to participate in national concerns,
they are nevertheless under a paternal
government, regardful of their rights,
mindful of their wants, and solicitous
for their prosperity.
It was evidently contemplated that all
local questions would be left to their
decision, at least to an extent that
would not be incompatible with the
object for which Congress was granted
exclusive legislation over the seat of
government.
When the Constitution was yet under
consideration it was assumed by Mr.
Madison that its inhabitants would be
allowed a municipal legislature for
local purposes derived from their own
suffrages. When, for the first time,
Congress, in the year 1800, assembled
at Washington, President Adams, in
his speech at its opening, reminded the
two Houses that it was for them to con
sider whether the local powers over the
District of Columbia, rested by the
Constitution in the Congress ot the
United States, should be immediately
exercised, and he asked them to
it as the Capitol of a great
nation, advancing with unexampled
rapidity in arts, in commerce, in wealth,
and population, and possessing within
itself those resources which, if not
thrown away, or lamentably misdirect
ed, would secure to it a long course of
prosperity and self government. Three
years had not elapsed, when Congress
was called upon to determine the pro
priety of retroceding to Maryland and
Virginia the jurisdiction of the terri
tory which they had respectively relin
quished to the Government of the
United States. It was urged on the
one hand that exclusive jurisdiction was
not necessary or useful to the Govern
ment ; that it deprived the inhabitants
of the District of their political rights;
that much of the time of Congress was
consumed in legislation pertaining to
it; that its Government was expensive ;
that Congress was not competent to
legislate for the District, because the
members were strangers to its local
concerns, and that it was an example of
a Government without representation,
an experiment dangerous to the liberties
of tbe States. On the other hand, it
was held among other reasons, and
successfully, that the Constitution, the
acta of the cession of Virginia and
Maryland, and the act of Congress
accepting the grant, all contemplated
the exercise of exclusive legislation by
Congress, and that its usefulness, if not
its necessity, was iuferred from the in-
AUGUSTA, GA., TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 8, 1867.
convenience which was felt for want of
it by the Congress of the Confederation ;
that the people themselves, who, it was
said, had been deprived of their politi
cal rights, bad no} complained, and did
not desire a retrocession ; that the evil
might be remedied by giving them a
representation in Congress when the
District should become sufficiently pop
ulous, and in the meantime a local leg
islature ; that if the inhabitants had
pot political rights, they had great po
litical influence; that the trouble and
expense of legislating for the Di-trict
would not be grent, but would diminish,
and might, in a great measure, be
avoided by a local legislature, and thnt
Congress could not retrocede the inhab
itants without their consent continuing
to live substantially under the laws that
existed at the time of the cession, and
such changes only having been made as
were suggested by themselves. The
people of the District have not sought
by a local legislature that which has
generally been willingly conceded by
the Congress of the nation. Asa gene
ral rule, sound policy requires that the
legislature should yield to the wishes of
a people when not inconsistent with the
Constitution and the laws.
The measures suited to one comma
nity might not be well adapted to the
condition of another, and the persons
best qualified to determine such ques
tions are those whose interests are to be
directly affected by any proposed law.
In Massachusetts,for instance, male per
sous are allowed to vote without regard
to colpr, provided, they possess a certain
degree of intelligence. In a population
in that State of 1,231,066, there were,
by the census of 1860, only 9,602 per
sons of color; and of the males over
twenty years of age there were 339,086
white to 2,602 colored. By the same
official enumeration there were in the
District of Columbia C 0,954 whites to
14,316 persons of the colored race. Since
then, however, the population of the
District has largely increased, and it is
estimated that at the present time there
are nearly 100,000 whites to 30,000 ne
groes. The cause of the augmented
numbers of the latter class needs no
explanation. Contiguous to Maryland
and Virginia, the District during the
war became a place of refuge for those
who escaped from servitude, and it is yet
the abiding place of a considerable pro
portion of those who sought within its
limits a shelter from boudage. Until
then held in slavery and denied all op
portunities for mental culture, their first
knowledge ol the Government was ac
quired when, by conferring -upon them
freedom, it became the benefactor of
their race. The test of their capability
for improvement began when, for the
first time, the career of free industry
and the avenues to intelligence were
opened to them. Possessing these ad
vantages but a lin ted time, (the greater
number, perhaps, having entered the
District of Columbia during the latter
years of the war, or since its termina
tion,) we may well pause to inquire
whether, after so brief a probation, they
are, as a class, capable of an intelligent
exercise of the right of suffrage, and
qualified to discharge the duties of offi
cial position.
The people who are daily witnesses of
their mode of living, and who have be
come familiar with their habits of
thought, have expressed the conviction
that they are not yet competent to serve
as electors, and thus become eligible for
office in the local governments tinder
which they live. Clothed with the elec
tive franchise, their numbers are already
largely in excess of the demand, for
labor would soon be increased by an
influx from the adjoining States. Drawn
from fields where employment is abun
dant, they would in vain seek it here,
and so add tg the embarrassments
already experienced from the large class
of persons in the District. Hardly yet
capable of forming correct judgments
upon the important questions that often
make the issues cf a political contest
they could readily be made subservient
to the purposes of designing persons.
While in Massachusetts, under the
census of 1860, the proportion of white
to colored males, over twenty years of
age, was one hundred and thirty to one,
here, the black race constitutes nearly
one third of the entire population, whilst
the same class surrounds the District on
all sides, ready to change their residence
at a moment's notice, aud with all the
facility ol a Nomadic people, in order
to enjoy hereafter a short residence—a
privilege they would find nowhere else.
It is within their power, in one year, to
come into the District in such numbers
as to have the supreme control of the
white race, and to govern them by their
own officers, and by the exercise of all
the municipal nutbority—among the
rest, of the power of taxation over pro
perty in which they have no interest.
In Massachusetts, where they have
enjoyed the benefits of a thorough edu
cational gyatera, a qualification of
intelligence is required; while here
suffrage is extended to all, without
discrimination, as well to the most
incapable, who can prove a residence in
tbe District ot one year, as to those
persons of color who, comparatively few
in number, are permanent inhabitants,
and having given evidence of merit and
qualification are recognized as useful
and responsible members of the com
munity. Imposed upon an unwilling
people, placed by the Constitution under
the exclusive legislation of Congress, it
would be viewed as an arbitrary exercise
of power, and as an infication by the
country of the purpose 6f Congress to
compel the acceptance ot negro suffrage
by the States. It would engender a
feeling of opposition and hatred between
the two races whieb, hecoming desperate
and ineradicable, would prevent them
from living together in a state of mutual
friendliness. Carefully avoiding every
measure that might tend to produce
such a result, and following the clear
and well ascertained popular will, we
should assiduously endeavor to promote
kindly relatious between them, and thus,
where the popular will leads the way,
prepare for the gradual and harmonious
introduction of this new element into
the political power of the country. It
can not be urged that the proposed
extension of suffrage in the District of
Columbia is necessary to enable persons
of color to protect either their interests
or their rights. They stand here pre
cisely as they stand in Pennsylvania.
Ohio, and Indiana; here, as elsewhere,
in all that pertains to civil rights, there
there is nothing to distinguish this class
of persons from citizens of the United
States, tor they possess the full and
equal benefit of all laws and proceedings
for the security of person and property,
as is enjoyed by white citizens, and are
made subject to like punishment, pains,
'and penalties, and none other, any law,
statute, ordinance, regulation, or cus
tom to the contrary notwithstanding.
Nor, as has been assumed, are their
saffrages necessary to aid a loyal senti
tnent here» for local govenments already
exist, of undoubted fealty to the govern
ment and aresustiined by a community
which were among the first to testify
their devotion to the Union, and which,
during the struggle, turnished their full
quotas of men to the military service ol
the country. The exercise of the elee
tive franchise is the highest attribute of
an American citizen, and when guided
by virtue, intelligence, patriotism, and
a proper appreciation of our institutions
constitutes the true basis of a Demo
cratic form of Government, in which
the sovereign power is lodged in the
body of the people. Its influence for
good necessarily depends upon the ele
vated character and patriotism of the
elector, for if exercised by persons who
do not justly estimate its value, and who
are indifferent ns to its results, it will
only prove a means of placing power
in the hands of the unprincipled
and ambitious, and must eventuate
in the complete destruction of that
liberty of wjjich it should, ,le ths_
most powerful conservator. Great
danger is therefore to be apprehended
from an untimely extension of the
Elective Franchise to any new class in
our country, especially when a large
majority of that class, in wielding the
power thus placed in their hands, can
not be expected correctly to compre
hend the duties and responsibilities
which pertain to suffrage. Yesterday,
as it were, four millions of persons
were held in a condition of slavery,
that has existed for generations. To
day they are freemen, and are assigned
by law to be citizens. It cannot be
presumed from their previous condition
of slavery, that as a race, they are a,
well informed as to the nature of our
Government as the intelligent foreigner
who makes our land the home of Ins
choice. In case of the latter, neither a
residence ot five year3 and the know
ledge of our institutions which it gives
nor attatchment to the principles of the
constitution, are the only conditions
upon which he can be admitted to citizen
ship. He must prove, in addition, a
good moral character, and thus give
reasonable grounds for the belief that
he will be faithful to the obligations
which he assumes as a citizen of the
Republic. Where a people, the source
of all political power, speak by their
suffrages, through the instrumentality
ol the ballot box, it must be carefully
guarded against the control of those
who are corrupt in principles and ene
mies of free institutions, for it t-au only
become, to our political and social
system, a safe conductor of a hearty
popular sentiment, when kept free Irom
demoralizing influences. Controlled
through fraud and usurpation by the
designing, anarchy and despotism must
iuevitably follow. In the hands of the
patriotic and worthy, onr Government
will be preserved upon the principles of
the Constitution inherited Irom our
fathers. It follows, therefore, that in
admitting to the ballot box anew class
of voters not qualified for the exercise
of the Elective Franchise, we weaken
our system ot Government, instead of
adding to its strength and durability.
In returning this bill to the Semite I
deeply regret that there should bo any
conflict of opinion between the Legisla
tive and Executive Departments of the
Government, in regard to measures that
vitally affect the prosperity and peace of
the country. Sincerely desiring to re
conciie the States to one another, und
the whole people to the Government of
the United States, it has been my ear
nest wish to coflperste with Congress in
all measures having for their object a
proper and complete adjustment of the
questions resulting from our late civil
war. Harmony between the coordinate
branches of' the Government, always
necessary for the public welfare, was
never more demanded than at the pres
ent time, and it will, therefore, bu my
constant aim to promote, as far as pos
sible, concert of action between them.
The differences of opinion that have al
ready occurred have rendered me only
the more cautious lest the Executive
should encroach npon any of the pre
rogatives of Congress, or' by exceeding,
io any manner, the Constitutional limit
of his duties, destroy Ihe equilibrium
which should exist between the several
coordinate Departments, and which is
ho essential to the harmonious working
of the Government.
I know it has been urged the
Executive Department is more likely to
enlarge the sphere of its action, than
either of the other two branches of the
Government, and especially in the
exercise of the veto power conferred
upon it by the Constitution. It should
be remembered, however, that the power
is wholly negative and conservative in
its character, and was intended to
operate as a check upon unconstitutional,
hasty, and improvident legislation, and
as a means ot protection against the
invasion of the just powers ot the
Executive and Judicial Departments.
It is remarked by Chancellor Kent, that
■‘to enact laws is a transcendent power,
and if the body that possesses it he a
full and equal representative of the
people, there is danger of its pressing
with destructive weight upon all the
other parts of the machinery of the
Government. It has therefore been
thought necessary by the most skilful
and most experienced artists in the
science of civil polity, that strong barriers
should be erected for the protection
and security of the other necessary
powers of the Government. Nothing
has.-been deemed more fit and expedient
lor the purpose, than the provision that
the head of the Executive Department
should be so constituted as‘to secure a
requisite share of independence, and
that he should have a negative upon the
passing of laws, and that the Judiciary
power vested upon a still more permanent
basis, should have the right of
determining upon the validity ot laws
by the standard of the Constitution.
The necessity of some such check in
the hands of the Executive is shown by
reference to the most eminent writers
upon our system ot Government, who
seem to concur in the opinion that en
croachments are most to be apprehended
from the Department in which all Legs
islative powers are vested by the
Constitution. Mr. Madison, in referring
to the difficulty of providing some
practical security for each against the
invasion of the others, remarks that the
legislative Department is extending the
sphere of its aciivity, and drawing all
power into its impetuous vortex.” The
founders of our Republic seem never to
have recollected the danger fVom Legis
lative usurpations, which by assembling
nil power in tig same hands must lead
to the same -cranny as is threatened by
Executive usurpation.
In a representative republic, where
the Executive Magistracy is carefuilv
limited both in the extent and the
duration of its power, and where the
legislative power is exercised by an
assembly which is inspired by a sup
posed influence over the people, with an
intrepid confidence in its own strength
which is sufficiently numerous to be
incapable of pursuing the objects of its
passions by means which reason pre
scribes, it is against the enterprising
ambition of this Department, that the
people onght to indulge all their jeal
ousy and exhaust all their precautions.
The Legislative Department derives
a superiority in our Government from
other circutqstances. Its constitutional
powers being at once more exten
sive and less -susceptible of precise
limits, it can with the greater facility
mask under complicated and indirect
measures the encroachments which it
makes on the co-ordinate departments.
On the other side, the Executive
power beiug restrained within a nar
rower compass, and being more simple
in its nature, aud the judiciary being
described by landmarks still less uncer
tain, projects of usurpation by either of
these departments would immediately
betray aud defeat themselves. Nor is
this all. As the Legislative Depart
ment alone has access to the pockets of
the people, and has in some constitu
tions full discretion, and iu all a pre
vailing influence over the pecuniary re
wards of those who fill the other de
partments, a dependence is thus created
in the latter which gives still greater
facility to encroachments of the former.
We have seen that the tendency of
Republican Governments is to an
agrandizement of the legislation at the
expense of the other departments.
Mr. Jefft ■rson, in referring to the
early constitution of Virginia, objected
that by its provisions, all the powers of
Government, Legislative, Executive, and
Judicial, resulted to the legislative body
wholly that the concentrating these in
the same hands is precisely the definition
of despotic government. It will be no
alleviation that these powers will be
exercised by a plurality of hands, and
not by a single one. One hundred aud
seventy three despots would surely be
as oppressive as one.
As little will it avail us that they are
chosen by ourselves. An elective
despotism was not the government we
fought for, but one whieh should not
only be founded on free principles but
in which the powers of government
should be so divided and balanced
among several bodies of magistracy as
that no one should transcend their legal
limits without being effectually checked
and restrained by the others. For this
reason, that Convention which passed
the ordinance of Government laid its
foundation on this basis. that
the Legislative, Executive, and Judi
ciary Departments should be separate
and distinct, so that no person should
exercise the powers of more than one of
them at the same time. But no barrier
was provided between the several pow
ers.
The Judiciary aud Executive mem
bers were left dependent on the Legis
lative for their subsistence in office, and
some of them for their continuance in
it. If, therefore, the Legislature
asssumes Executive and Judiciary
powers no opposition is likely to be
made, nor if made, can be effected,
because in that case they may put their
proceedings into the form of an act of
Assembly, which will render them
obligatory on the other branches. They
have accordingly, in many instances
decided rights which should have been
left to the Judiciary controversy, and
the direction of the Executive, during
the whole time of their session is be
coming habitual and familiar.
Mr. Justice Story, in his commenta
ries on the Constitution, reviews the
same subject, and says: “The truth is,
that the Legislative power is the great
and overtulitig power in every free
Government-. The representatives of
the people will watch with jealousy
everv encroachment of the Executive
Magistrate, for it trenches upon their
own authority—but who shall watch the
encroachments of these representatives
themselves? Will they be as jealous
ot the exercise of power by themselves
as by others? There are many reasons
which may lie assigned for the engross
ing influence of the Legislative Depart
ment. In the first place, its constitution
al powers are more extensive and less
capable of being brought within precise
limits than those of either of the above
departments. The bounds of the Ex
ecutive authority are easily marked out
and defined. It reaches few objects,
and those are known. It cannot trans
cend them without being brought in con
tact with the other departments. Laws
may check and restrain and bound its
exercise. The same remarks apply
with still greater force to the judiciary.
The jurisdiction is, or may be, bounded
to a tow object* or persons, or however gen
eral and unlimited, its operations are ueees
sarily confined to tbe mere administration
of private and public justice. It cannot
punish without law. It cannot create con
troversies to net upon. It can decide only
upon rights and cases as they are brought
by others before it. It can do nothing for
itself. It must do everything for others. It
must obey the laws, add if it oorruptJy ad
ministers them it is subject to tho powor of
impeachment. On tho other hand, the
Legislative power, except it a few cases ot
Constitutional prohibition, is unlimited. It
is forever varying its means and its ends.
It gnvtrns the institutions, and laws, and
public policy of the country. It regu
lates all its vast interests. It dis
poses of all its properly. Look but at
tho exercise of two or three branches of its
ordinary powers. It levies all taxes; it
dirocta and appropriates ail supplies; it
gives the rules ‘or the desceot, distribution,
and devises of all property held hv indi
viduals; it controls the sources and the
resources of wealth; it ch nges at its will
the whole of the laws; it moulds at
its pleasure almost all the institutions
whieh give strength and comfort and dig
nity to society. In the next place, it is tho
direct visible representative of the will of
the people in all tho changes of times and
circumstances. It has the pride, as well as
the power, of numbers; it is easily aud
steadily moved by the strong impulses of
popular feeling and popular odium; it
obeys, without reluctance, the wishes and
tho will of the majority for the time
being. The path to public favor lies
opeu by such obedience, and it finds
not only suppurt but impunity in what
ever measures the majority advises’
even though they transcend tho constitu
tional limits. It has no motivo, therefore,
to he jealous or scrupulous in its own uso of
power, and it finds its ambition stimulated
and its arm strengthened by the oounten
ance and the courage es numbers.
These views are nut alone those of men
who look with apprehension upon the fate
of Republics, but they are also freely ad
mitted by some of tho strongest advocates
for popular rights and the permanency o?
Republican iuetftutions. Each department
should have a will of its own—each should
have its own indepeodence secured beyond
the power of being taken away by either or
both of tho others. But at tho eamo time
the relations of each to ibo other should be
so strong that there should boa mutual
interest to sustain and protect each other.
There should not only bo Constitutional
means, but personal motives, to resist en
croachments of oie or either of the others.
Thus ambition would be made to counteract
ambition, the desire of power to check
power, and the pressure of interest to bal
ance an opposing interest. Tho Judiciary
is naturally, and almost necessarily, as has
been already said, the weakest department.
It can have no means ot influence by pat
ronage ; Us powers can Dover bo wielded for
itself; it has no command over tbe purse or
the sword of the nation ;. it can neither lay
taxes, nor appropriate money, nor commaud
armies, or appoint to office; it ia never
brought into contact with the people by
constant appoal* and solicitations, and pri
vate intercourse which belong to ull the
other departments of government; it is
seen only in controversies or in trials and
punishments; its rigid justice and impar
tiality give it no olaims to favor, however
they may to respect; it stands solitary and
unsupported except by that portion of pub
lio opinion which is interested only in tho
NO. 6.
strict administration of justice. It can
rarely secure the sympathy or xealons sup
port either of tbe Executive or tho Legisla
ture, If they are not, as is not nnfrequeutly
the case, jealous of its prerogatives, the
constant necossity of scrutinising tbs acts
of esch upon tbe application of any prirato
person, and tbe painful duty of pronouncing
judgment that these acts ere a departure
from tbe law or Constitution, can hare do
tendency to conciliate kindness or nourish
influence. It would seem, therefore, that
some additional guards would, under such
circumstances, be necessary to protect this
department from the absolute dominion of
the others. Yet rarely have any such guards
been applied, and every attempt to intro
duce them has been resisted with a perti
nacity which demonstrates how slow popular
leaders are to introduce checks upon their
own power, and how slow tbe people are to
believe that the Judiciary is the reaj
bulwark of their liberties. If any depart
ment of the Government has undue
influence or absorbing power it certainly
has not been either the Executive or Judi
ciary. In addition to what has beeu said
by these distinguished writers, it may also
be urged that the dominant party in each
House may, by tho expulsion of a sufficient
number of members, or by the exclusion
from representation of a requisite number
of States, reduce the minority to less than
one third. Congress by these means might
be enabled to pass a law, the objections of
the President to the contrary notwithstand
ing, which would render impotent tho other
two departments of the Government, and
make inoperative the wholesome and res
training power which-it was intended by the
ramers of tbe Constitution, should be
exerted by them. This would be a practical
concentration of ail power in the Congress
of the United States. This, in the language
of the antbor of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, would be preoisely the definition
of despotic Government. I have preferred
to reproduce these teachings of the great
statesmen and Constitutional lawyers of the
early and later days of the Republic, rather
than ‘o rely simply upon an expression of
my own opinions. We cannot too often
recur to them, especially at a conjuncture
like the present. Their application to onr
actual condition is so apparent that they
now come to us as a living voice, to be
listened to with more attention than at any
previous period of our history. We have
becD, and are yet, in the midst of popular
commotion; the passions aroused by a great
civil war are still dominant. It is not a
time favorable to that calm and deliberate
judgment which is the only safe guide when
radical changes in our institutions are to
be made.
The measure now before me is one of
those changes. It initiates an untried ex
periment for a people who have said with
one voice that it is not for their good. This
alone should make us pause—but it is not all.
The experiment has just been tried, or so
much as demanded by tho people of the
several States for themselves. In but few
•f the States has such an innovation been
allowed as giving the ballot to the colored
population without any other qualification
than a residence of one year, and in most
of them the denial of tho ballot to this
race is absolute and by fundamental law
placed beyond the domain of ordinary legis
lation. In most of those States the evil of
such suffrage would he partial; but, small
as it would be, it is guarded by constitu
tional barriers. Here the innovation as
sumes formidable proportions, which may
easily grow to such an extent as to make
the white population a subordinate element
in the body politic. After fu’l deliberation
upon this measure, Icaunot bring myself to
approve it, even upon local considerations,
nor yet as tho beginning of an experiment
on a larger scale. I yield to no one in at
tachment to that rule of general suffrage
which distinguishes our policy us a nation ;
but there is a limit wisely observed, hitherto,
which makes the ballot a privilege and a
trust, and which requires of some classes a
suitable time for probation and preparation.
To give it, indiscriminately, to anew class,
wholly unprepared by previous habits and
opportunities to perform the trust which it
demands, is to degrade it, and, finally, to
destroy its power, for, it may be safely
assumed, that no political truth is hotter
established than that such indiscriminate
and all-embracing extension of popular
suffrage must end, at last, in its destruction.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Washington, Jan. stb, 1867.
AUGUSTA BOBBIN WORKS,
AUGUSTA, GEO.,
H. T. NELSON, Proprietor.
des—taugs
~ ICE
rpHE MoINTOSH STREET
Ice House
(OPPOSITE THE POST OFFICE)
IS STILL OPER
Prices for tbepresont, two and a half
(2i) cents a pound, retail. For fifty pounds
or more, two (2) cents.
R. A. HARPER A CO
aul6—tf
Piano-Fortes Tuned.
TO MEET THE TIMES, I HAVE RE
duced tho chargo for TUNING to
THREE DOLLARS.
Orders left at Mr. GEO. A. OATES',
240 Broad Street, or at my Shop, opposite
the Post-Office, promptly attended to.
gel—ts ROBERT A. HARPER.
IST otice.
TWO MONTHS AFTER DATE. APPLI
CATION will be made to the Honorable
the Court or Ordinary of Richmond oountj
for leave to sell the Real Estate belonging
to the estate of Charles W. Bond, of Co
lumbia county, deceased.
GEO. P. BUTLER,
noSO—2m Adusiu fe trato
Hotice.
OFFICE OF CHIEF OF POLICE,)
Augusta, Ga., Jan. 2, 1367. J
Taken up by the police, a
Black MARE MULE, whieh tho owner
can have by calling at this office, proving
property, and paying charges. If not called
for within fifteen days from this date, it will
bo sold at publle outcry, in accordance with
the City Ordinances.
J. A. CHRISTIAN.
j*3—ls Chief of Police.
gjt failg |tm
BOOK AIIWOBIpBIITIia
ow
•VERY DESCRIPTION
XXXCOTIID
IN THE BEST MANNER.
The Faeteet Power Prewet, and Beet es
Workmen enallet ne to do Superior JOB
WORK at Cheaper Bate * than eleewhere.
Commission Merchants.
Wedemeyer & Evers,
GROCERS,.
AXD
COMMISSION MERCHANTS,
ICB READS STREET,
HEW YORK.
Respectfully solicit CONSIGNMENTS
of SOUTHERN PRODUCE, snd are pre
pared to fill orders for GROCERIES snd
NORTHERN PRODUCE generally at
lowest rates. oc2S—6m
JAMES T. OARRIVES,
m
COMMISSION MERCHANT,
Mclntosh Street, Augusta, Ga.
Will give bis personal attention to the"
STORAGE AND SALE OF COTTON
And such other Produce as may be sent
him.
Cash advances made on Prodoce in Store
aull—6m
Insurance.
B. H. BRODNAX,
JN3URANCE AGENCY.
OFFICE AT THE
OLD SAVINGS BANK,
229 BROAD STREET
jufl—ly
JOSEPH E. MARSHALL,
JNSURANCE AGENCY,
207 J BROAD STREET.*
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
ap2fl—ly
- ——• J 1 a 1 .'J i ■ g 1
Jewellers.
■ REMOVED.
RECEIVED AND RECEIV
fr / iB ING a fine assortment of
4k Jgl silver ware, jewel-
RY, Fine SILVER-PLATED
WARE, WATCnES.ete. Allkindsof Jewel
ry and Watches repaired and warranted, at
low CASH rates. Stereoscopic views, Pic
tures, etc., for sale, at E. B. Long A Co.’s
286 Rroad street.
noß—ly T. RUSSELL A CO.
Watches, Clocks, and Jewelry.
EH. SUMMER—
• 184 BROAD STREET,
Three doors below Daily Press office.
Augusta, Ga.
WATCHMAKER’S TOOLS,
MATERIALS, and GLASSES.
WATCHES and CLOCKS repaired snd
warranted. JEWELRY made and repaired
All kind of HAIR BRAIDING done,
no7—tf
DIRECT FROM EUROPE I
AT F. A. BRAHE’S OLD STAND,
194 BROAD STREET
Established in 1844.
Rich Solid JEWELRY and SILVERWARE
Fine WATCHES of the best European
makers, selected by myself there.
ALSO,
A Fino lot of Fine
Fancy Goods !
Just the thing Jor the season.
Having superior facilities for tbe Repal
of Watches, Clocks, and Jewelry, I can da.
them at reasonable terms. oc3o-3m
Salisbury, Bro. & Cos.,
EXTENSIVE MANUFACTURERS
And Importers of
Gold, Plated and Oreide Jewelry,
SOLID AND NICKEL
SILVER WARE
American, English and Swiss WATCHES,
cased by ourselves, and every description es
Fqncy and Yankee Notions, especially
adapted and designed for Southern aid
Western trade.
Circulars and full descriptive Price Litis
sent free.
Agents wanted everywhere
SALISBURY, BRO. a C&
51 Dorrance Street,
noli—3m Providence, R. I.
KID GLOVES,
HITE KID GLOVES,
Beautiful qualities,
All sizes,
Just received, by
Mrs. PUGHE,
oel7—tf 190 Broad street.
Ice Cream and Sherbert!
CANDIES
AT
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
AT THK
FRENCH STORE,
I*l# —ly 200 Broad street.
Furniture.
FURNITURE 1 FURNITURE!!
MMBMHW "WHOLESALE
AND
RETAIL.
DEGRAAF & TAYLOR,
87 and 89 BOWERY
AND
65 CHRISTIE bTREETS
NEW YORK,
have the best assorted stock of Parlor,
Dining Room and Bed-Room
FURNITURE!
SPRING BEDS and BEDDING
IN THE CITY.
CANOPY and HIGH POST
BEDSTEADS,
Expressly for Southern trade.
STEAMERS AND HOTBLS FURNISHED
WHOLESALE PRICES.
KNOCK DOWN CANE WORK
AND TURNED POST
BEDSTEADS, in eases.
ALL WORK GUARANTEED
AS REPRESENTED.
Our Facilities for manufacturing defy
competition. myl—ly