Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1830-03-16


ton, nor prohibited by it to the States, are re-
served to the States respectively TO the rso
pie" The ptture OF the Federal Constitution
therefore, is, lin IL" language Of MIR. Medison0"
compact to which the States are par,ies"a co,,pac
by which each State acting in its sovereign capacity
hos entered into agreement witt, the Other s ates
by which they have consented that certsn
powers shall be exercised by the Uni,cd Stie in the
manner prescribed in the instrument. Nothing be
clearer, than that, under such system, the Fedora
Government, -x~eing s's, tly delegated powers,
have no RICH, TO act beyond the pale o! its authority
end that all such acts void. State, the con
uary, retaining all powers not expressly given away
may lawfully in al cases where she has not voIun
tariy imposed resIc ions herself. Here then, il
case OF compact between sovereigns and the ques.
ton aris--what is the remedy for clear violation oil
express t"rns by OF the parties, And here the
plain obvious dictate OF scrs~, j. in syct con
iorui'y with the understanding OF mankind AMI the
practice oil na'irrs IN all analogous cases" that where
resort he had superior, the parties te
The compac, must, themselves, be the rghtul jule e
whether IN" bargain he' hen pursued or violated."-
(Madiscn's Report, u POI When it is insisted nv the
gentleman that ono OF The parties Uhc Federal Govern
menO has thu power o. deciding ultimately and cen
tiusively upon the extent of its own authority ok
for the grant OF such power call up,n the gentle
man to shew ii 10 me IL the constitution. I, is
he found there. II il is TO be Inferred the nature
81 the compact. aver, that not single Argument can
he urged IN support al such an Inference, in favor OF the
Federal Government, which would not apply, with II
least equal force, in favor of State. An sovereigns
ere OF necessi equal, and any one State, however
small in popnstion territory, has the rights as
the rest, just "a the most insignificant nation in Eu-
rope, as much sovereign as France, or Russia, En-
gland.
The very idea of division Of mower by compact is
destroyed by right claimed and exercised 10y either
he the eScusve interpreter Of the instrument. Power
Is not divided, where one Of the parties arbitrarily
determine its limits compact between two, with a
right resrrved" enc to eSpound the instrument accord
ing TO his own pleasure, s no compact at ALL but alb
solue surrender OF The whole subject matter the arb-
trarv discretion OF the party WHO'S the Judge
This Oh, ou'. that in the conduct OF human affairs
between man AMI man, common superior is always
lNf nl Al
he no common s"perior, it results, from the very ma
ture Of things tha, the parties be their ocn idg
ts This is admitted TO he the case where treaties
formed between ndepenhcn, nations, and ii the same
rule does not apply 10 he federal compact, il must be
because the federal is erior to the State Govern
nen or because the States have surrendered their
ereigoty. Neither branch ot ,hi. proposition be
m]iutained Tor mcnent. l have already shewn that
All soversgns mus, as such, be equal IL only
rneius therefore, oiuque whether the States have sur.
rendered TIER sovereignty, aud ed TO reduce
themselvesto mere corporations The whole form and
structure OF the Federal Government, the opinions of
the trainers Of the Constitution and the organization
ot the ale Governments demonstrate that thou h
the States have surrend' red cer'an specific power.
they have not SURRENDERED ;ntir sovereignty. They
have each an Independent legislature, executive, and
1nhicary and exercise jurisdiction the lives and
property oil their citizens. They have il is true vol
unfairly restrained themselves from doing certain acts
but IN all other respects they omnpo ent az any
indrp' nden nation whatever. Here, however we are
met by the argument that the Constitution was not
formed bv he States in their sovereign capacity hu,
Wy H Fepe, anu II u therefore Inferred IL at the Fed
e'ai Government being created by all the P-opl
must he supreme and though il il not contended thai
The Constitution may be righfuy violated, yet il is in
sisted, that from the decisions OF the Federal Govern
rnent mere can be no appeal Ii is obvious that this
argument rests the idea of State nfrrioritv. Con-
slering the Federal Government as one whole and
We States merely as component parts it follows OF
couse mat uie iormer as much superior to the lat
Ter, az the whole is 10 the parts of which compos
ed Instead OF deriving power by delegation from the
states TO The Union, this scheme TO imply tina,
me lnhlVJdu3I States derive their from the u
nited States just as petty Corporations may exerc,e
80 mnch power, and no more, rs their superior may
permit IN IN 10 enjoy Th. noion is entirely variance
with all our conceptions OF rights those rights
were understood by Mr. Madison and others. at tn
Time the Constitution was framed deny that the
ION was framed by the People in the in
which that word is used On the o,,, and insist that
II was IL med by the States acting in their sovereign
cepaci'y. When in the preamble the Constitution
we md The words eve The People OF the United States
Is clear 'heycan eny relate to The People ctiz ms
OF the several States, because the Federal Government
was not then in existence.
we accordingly find, in every part of tina; instru
men'hat thepeoie always spoken of in that
Thus in the % section of The LIT articI. il is de-
c'ared " that the House of Repre- sen'atives shall be
composed OF members chosen every second year, by
'he people Of the several States" To show that i'm n
terng into Ills compact the States acted in their
reign c?Paci'y, and not merely parts of gre
community, what can be conclusive, than the his
torca iact that, when every State had consented to
Ut except one, che not held 10 be bound. A ma
Jorry ct The people in any ate Found that Stae, but
not Dind the people OF Rhcde land, until Rhode Isl.
and, as STATE, had consented to the compact. IL
cannot he denied, that, at the tho Constiiut ton
was framed, the people of the United States were
In'"h@rS OF regularly organized governments, citizens
OF independent states; and, unless these State Govern
"eht- hal OePn dissolved, il impossible that the
prope could have entered into any compact but az
'o these S'1es. Suppose assent 10 the Con-
sl'ulnn had been given by all the people within
certain district at any State, but that the State in it,
sovereign capacity, had refused ito assent, would II
people OF thai district have become citizens Of the
Sa'es' Surely not II is clear then that, in ADOPT
ing Tie Constitution, the people did act aud could
ho' nave acted in any other character than citizens
ct their respective States And, il. on the adoption
oil me Constitution, they became citizens OF the Unit
Ph States, II was only by virtue of lat clause i'm the
CONSTITUTION which declares that the citizens Of each
SAFE snail he entitled 10 all the privileges and irnmu.
nle. oil citizens of the several States In choosing
members TO the Convention, the States acted ,hroush
meir IrIsiauies by whose authority the Con.ti.,t.
non, whPn framed, was submitted for ra ica'ion 70
Cehvettcns oil The People, the usual and mos. appro
pra'c organ oil the sovereign will am not jspo. ed
10 dwe longer on his point which does appear % my
mind 10 he too clear 10 admit Of controversy But /
will qro'c from Mr.. Madson's Report which COS the
whole Length in support Of the doctrines for which
have commended
The o;her posi- ior involved in Ibis branch Of the
resolution, namely, that the States are parties 10 the
Consultation, or compact" il, in The Judgment of the
committee, equally free from objection" II is in
deed rue, that the term Staes sometimes used in
vague sense, AM sometimes in different senses ar
cordirg 70 the subject TO which IL il applied Thus
II sometimes meaus the separate sections of territory
occupied by the political societies within each some.
unf' h9 particular governments established by those