The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-19 00:00:00

vision of the constitution, requiring that fugitive slaves who
escape from service in one state to another shall be " deli-
vered up" to their masters. Without this provision it is7a
well-known historical fact that the constit ition itself could
never have been adopted by the convention. In one form
or other, under the acts of 1793 and 1851, both being sub-
stantially the same, the Fugitive Slava Law has been the
law of the land from the days of Washington until the
present moment., Here, then, a clear ma is pre-
sented, in which it will be the duty of the
next President, as it has been my own, to act with vigour
•
in executing the supreme law against the conflietiag en-
actments of State Legislatures. Should he fail in the per-
formance of this high duty, he will then have manifested a
disregard of the constitution and laws, to the great injury
of the people of nearly one half of the States of the Union.
But are we to presume in advance that he will thus violate
his duty ? This would be at war with every principle of
justice and of Christian charity. Let us wait for the overt
act. The Fugitive Slave Law has been carried into
execution in every contested case since the commence-
ment of the present Administration, though often, it is to
be regretted, with great loss and inconvenience to the
master, and with considerable expense to the Government.
Let us trust that the State Leeslature will repeal their
unconstitutional and obnoxious enactments. Unless this
shall be done without
.unnecessary delay, it is impossible
for any human power to save the Union.
ThelSouthern states, standing on the basiS Of the consti-
tution, have a right to demand this act of justfea from the
states of the North. Should it be refused, then the consti-
tution, to which all the states are parties, will have been
wilfully violated by one portion of them in a provision
essential to ;the domestic security and happiness of the re-
mainder. In that event, the injured states, after having
first used all peac..eful and constitutional means to cbtain
redress, would be I,7lstifted in revolutionary resistance to
the Government of the Union.
I have :purposely confine!' my remarks to revolutionary
resistance, because it has beeif claimed within the last two
years that any State, whenever Ais shall be its sovereign
will and pleasure, may secede from Ole Union, in accordance
with the Constitution, and without Any violation of the
constitutional rights of the other members of the Confede-
racy. That as each became parties to the Uilion by the vote
of its own people assembled in Convention, Se any one
of them may retire from the Union in a similar ;uanner by
the vote of such a Convention.

In order to justify secession as a constitutional rem Ody it
must be on the principle that the Federal Government is a
mere voluntary association of States, to be dissolved .at
pleasure by any one of the contracting parties. If this be,
so, the Confederation is a rope of Sand, to be penetrated,
dissolved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any
of the States. In this manner our 33 States may resolve
themselves into as many petty, jarring, and hostile re-
publics, each one retiring from the Union, without respon-
sibility, whenever any sudden excitement might impel them
to such a course. By this process a Union might be entirely
broken into fragments in a few weeks, which cost our fore-
fathers many years of toil, privation, and blood to establish.
Such a principle is wholly inconsistent with the history
as well as the character of the federal constitution. After
it was framed, with the greatest deliberation and care, it
was submitted to conventions of the people of the several
States for ratification. Its provisions were discussed at
length in these bodies, composed of the first men of the
country. Its opponents contended that it conferred powers
upon the federal government dangerous to the rights of the
States, whilst its advocates maintained that under a fair
construction of the instrument there was no foundation for
such apprehensions. In that mighty struggle between the
first intellects of this or any other country, it never occur-
red to'any individual, either among its opponents or advo-
cates, to assert or even to intimate that their efforts were
all vain labour, because the moment that any State felt
aggrieved she might secede from the Union. What a
crushing argument would this have proved against those
who dreaded that the rights of the States would be endan-
gered brAlie constitution. The truth is that it was not until
many years after the origin of the federal government
that such a proposition was first advanced. It was then
met and refuted by the conclusive arguments of General
Jackson, who in his Message of 16th January, 1833, trans-
mitting the nullifying ordinance of South Carolina to
Congress, employs the following language :—" The rights
of the people of a single State to absolve themselves
at will, and without the consent of the other states, from
their most solemn obligations, and hazard the liberty and
happiness of the millions composing the Union, cannot be
acknowledged. Such authority is believed to be utterly
repugnant both to the principles upon which the general
Government is constituted and to the objects which it was
expressly formed to attain."

It is not pretended that any cause in the Constitution
gives countenance to such a theory. It is altogether
founded upon inference, not from any language contained in
the instrument itself, but from the sovereign character of
the several States by which it was ratified. But it is beyond
the power of a State, like an individual, to yield a portion
of its sovereign rights as to secure the remainder ? In
the :language of Mr. Madison, who has been called the
father of the Constitution :—" It was formed by the States
—that is, by the people in each of the States, acting in
their highest sovereign capacity, and formed consequently
by the same authority which formed the State constitu•
tions."
"Nor is the Government of the United States created by
the Constitution, less a Government in the strict sense of
the term, within the sphere of its powers, than the go-
vernments created by the constitutions of the States are,
within their several spheres. It is, like them, organised
into legislative, executive, and judiciary departments. It
operates, like them, directly on persons and things ; and
like them, it has at command a physical force for execut-
ing the powers committed to it."
It was intended to be perpetual, and net to be annulled at
the pleasure of any one of the contracting parties. The old
articles of confederation were entitled " Articles of Confe-
deration and Perpetual Union between the States ;" and by
the 13th article it is expressly declared that " the articles of
this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every
State, and the Union shall be perpetual." The preamble
to the Constitution of the United States, having express
reference to the articles of Confederation, recites that it was
established "in order to form a perfect union." And yet it
is contended that this "more perfect union" does not
include the essential attribute of perpetuity.
But that the Union was designed to be perpetual appears
conclusively from the nature and extent of the powers
conferred by the Constitution and the Federal Government.
These powers embrace the very highest attributes of national
sovereignty. They place both the sword and the purse under
its control. Congress has power to make war and to make
peace, to raise and support armies and navies, and to con-
clude treaties with foreign governments. It is invested
with the power to coin money, and to regulate the value
thereof, and to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several States. It is not necessary to enumerate
the other high powers which have been conferred upon the
Federal Government. In order to carry the enumerated
powers into effect, Congress possesses the exclusive right to
lay and collect duties on imports, and in common with the
States to lay and collect all other taxes.
But the Constitution has not only conferred these high
powers upon Congress, but it has adopted effectual means
to restrain the States from interfering with their exercise.
For that purpose it has, in strong prohibitory language,
expressly declared that " no State shall enter into any
treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque
and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make any-
thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ;
pass any bills of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impair-
ing the obligation of contracts." Moreover, " without the
consent of Congress, no State shall lay any imposts or
duties on any imports or exports, except what may be abso
lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and if
they exceed this amount, the excess shall belong to the
United States.

And "no State shall, without the consent of Congress,
lay any duty of tonnage ; keep troops or ships of war in
time of peace ; enter into any agreement or compact with
another State, or with a foreign Power ; or engage in war,
unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will
not admit of delay."
In order still further to secure the uninterrupted exercise
of these high powers against State interposition, it is pro-
vided "that this constitution and the laws of the United
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ; and all
treaties made, or which shall be made under the authority of
the United States, shall be the supreme law of the.land ; and
the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything
in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary
notwithstanding."
The solemn sanction of religion has been superadded to
the obligations of official duty, and all senators and repre-
sentatives
of the United States, all members of State legis-
latures, and all executive and judicial officers "both of the
United States, and of the several States, shall be bound by
oath or affirmation to support this Constitution."
In order to carry into effect these powers, the Constitution
has established a perfect Government in all its forms,
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial ; and this Govern-
ment, to the extent of its powers, acts directly upon the
individual citizens of every State, and executes its own
decrees by the agency of its own officers.
In this respect it differs entirely from the Government
under the old confederation, which was confined to making
requisitions on the States in their sovereign character.
This left it in the discretion of each whether to obey or to
moving this 11318
refuse,
floras. It('
thus
often declined to comply with such requisi-
Union," to
became necessary, for the purpose of re-
upon the
in-
termediate agency establish
and "in order to form a more perfect
In short, the Gl:veil a
plished by the corYieg
and deriving its authal).li
each of the several ;States
Government which could act directly
people,erjeand execute its own laws without the
tho States. This has been accom-
plished of the United States.
nt created by the Constitution,
%from the sovereign people of
pz3o precisely the came right to
I exercise its power over the gnee of all these States, in the
peStoatim,!mt " reserved
them possesses over
enumerated eases, tl tat each
subjects not delegate d to the United
to the States, respectively, or to the
To the extent of the. delegated powerstaee. Constitution of
the United States is •as much a part of the
constitution of
heaacdhbSeetnatete,
xatntidalisya.sinsbeinrtdedingthueproenini.ts people' as though it
This Government, therefore, is a great and Powerful '
Government, invested with all the attributes of sovere--7
over the special subjects in which its authorityn Y
extends.
Its framers
never intended to implant in its bosom the seeds
of its own destruction, nor were they at its creation guilty
of :the absurdity of providing for its own disolution. It
a vision which, at tlz e touch of the enchanter, would vanish
was not intended by- its framers to be the baseless fabric of
into thin air, but a sq tbetautial and mighty fabric, capable