Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1831-09-15

= m
This great lever Of destruction TO the.Union
Ian, they uttered. what is indeed aud truly
..gatded a most abomiRabte heresy, even by
=, who are tainted as being federaiisis and
.oo,ol;da,onists, aud BY all who have set their
t.c.. as. q nj against The doctrine Of Nnlf.
..,;on WHAT u this heresyi ~ The States.
.. ooIcal bodies, lsaid Nj. McDuff J have
an original ighsreni rights: That they have
,,.b rehs Is false, dangerous aud an i-repub.
tcnn assumption, which turks at The bottom Of
I'll The reasoning in favor Of State Rehss Z
Aodoow in the very ierth OF this bold ieclsra-
an. The same Mr.. McDutie, led away either
nv hl,S,mpalhy for tue imaginary suterings
;, the COLON planters of South Carolina; or
giving up TO the party with which he has
c,neeclpd himself his own del betate conyc-
t,oo,.-nr. " hal is more probable Instlgsied by
desire TO cut asundrr me bonds al Union, and
~ erect South, IN Confederacy, IN which his
ambition wouli Gnd a speedier road 10 lie hon
orsstwh Oh it aims. nol only retfacts this SEN
f,rroi. bur contends that the States are entire
IN sersreigu-lhat they alone possess all power
that they have surrendered nothing TO the
general goveInment-and that my one of them
basarigh rot only to decide upon the consti-
ntionalfiy of law, enacted by the general
rovernment, but to &C, upon and enforce that
decision, even against the united voice oil her
twenty three Sister States Truly, this is the
:. climax of political hereses and he who All
yocate. il deserves the execution Of his coun.
,rymen, If, like Mr.. McD'ilis. he does so a.
oaiost the drhberate convlc ions of his sme n
q. aynwed IN his more sober moInenIs--or heir
.ha.pe.t ridicule. il he be honest III hi. attach.
mtni u it. as We verify believe 40 man ofsound
ninh can be.
We have expressed the opinioa thai an I'm.
pire for The settlement of disputes between the
General & State Governments already eKists-lst
tecanse the constitution declares that " laws OF
the Uai,e States, which shall he IA pursuance
thereof. shall IN the supreme law Of the aud ;
and the Judges IN ecsry SAFE shall he bound
thereby, any thing III the constitution or laws
Of any State TO the contrary notwithstanding -
aud because, in subsequent provision, il reitrs
creme Court ms the tribunal pro vldtd for then
adins,meui.-2iy. We believe the Supreme
Court. was designed by the framers Of the Con-
st;uton as the Umpire TO determine all dispu
ted questions, for the very reason tAai the Nul
hiytr, assign WAY III not. aud should not be !;
70 ,oH. because the q uaral Government, OF
which il is a coordinate Department, is the
creature Of The STATES, aud not Il party 10 Tie
comDac,. lie us illustrate our meaning by a
familiar example Twenty persons form
d co.pa,tncrsbip in business aud for the more
convenient tranSactnn Of it tiny unite upon an
agent vii ,se dlt'es arc prescribed by written
document and with the express understanding
taal all powers not granted by that document
are reserved 10 the paslies respectively, form
Jog the co.parlnership. In the oil time,
Oar of he parties to This CON, pact becomes dis
saii,G 4 wlth the mdnagsm mt of the business.
AVID takes upon himself TO say that tie agent
ha, Transcribed tbs powers Conferred upon
bun The IL enty-thre- others, however, de-
clare, that, however bDrdensome tho acts of The
sgent may be upon the protesting member of
ihe Grm, yet he has confined himself W thin the
powers granted. Wonld it not be the height OF
arsurdi,y II the single complaining member
saonJ claim the right to enforce his opinion a
sdinst the will of his twenty three partners,
possessing the sumo lights individually as hni'
sell? AID yet, ~ there nns' be some power 10
which disputes Of his KIND must be ref rred, is
il not obvious lhet he is the safest depository of
it, whose iniesrst j, no, iienuieJ with any one
of its members, bui Is dept ndeni upon the u
nion and conliaueJ prosperity 81 he i0hcie
l his is precisely the Cas- w,lh the Gene, al Gov
ernmen. Il is the agent of ths Sates, for tre
pprlorMnnc" oil cer,ain dates, which, separate.
J., those suites could not so vii perform Tor
themselves. In order q the performance 81
these duties certain power, are granted To il
in the federal consti'o,,3h; aud in accordance
with these powers, tie la in laws have heen
enacted, which South Carolina first pronouno
ed oppressive, aud nov unconstitutional. All
OF us will admit, that, II they he unconSiitutiou-
al, they are necessarily imperative. But the
question here arises, how shall their constitI-
'ionany be tested? AID tn answer given by
South Carolina ia. that she alone has the right
TO decd the question, and Il act upon this d.
cisi1n. in virtue of her s0rGrfigny- ior getting,
apparently, tso things--Grst. that she surren-
deted portion of her sovereignty in the for
nation Of the federal compact, and that the
right TO decide upon the cons'itulionaIity of
the laws Of the general government was involy-
ed in this surrender-and secondly, that il she
is set entirely sorereign," 50 are her twenty
three Sister States, whose sovereign decision
that the Tariff laws are constitutional is there.
fTe equally as weighty as hers thatthey are not.
Then comes the question, where is the Umpire
60 decide brtween thase opposing Sorereigns i?
Anl tae answer sit is the Suprem- Court,
WHICH in the formation of the compact, the
parties erected into tribunal for this very