Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1832-12-08
POLITICAL.
ADDRESS

u COnuenfiOn-.fdOpted Mon. 2S, 1892.
FELLow-CITIzENs: The situation i'm which YOU havt
been placed by the usurpations of the Federal Govern
ment is one which you peculiarly feel render al
reference TO 1t at this moment unnecessary For the las
ten years. the subject OF your grievances has been pre-
scented TO YOU This subject you have well considered
You have viewed it in all its aspects bearings and ten
denotes, aud you aud confirmed in thC
opinion expressed by both branches Of the Legislature
that the Tariff, in its operation is only "grossy
quail and unjust but is such abuse OF power is in
compatible with the principles Of Free Government aild
the great ends of civil sOcety and that if persisted in
the fate OF this State would be poverty and utter desola
uon Correspondent with this conviction a disposio:
Is manifested IN every section Of the Country by
some means other the progress of this ntoerabe evil
his disposition having arisen from sudden xcitenen
but having been gradually formed by the free and
perate discussions oil the Press, there
eve, that subside, by any short Of the
removal OF the urgent abuse and il is under this
conviction that have been con, ened TO take into
SHERATON, not only the character and of your
grievances, but also the mode and measure OF redress
lhis duty fellow citizens, have discharged to the
best OF Judgments and the result of deliberations
VIII be found in the DECLARATIONS and ORDINANcE
just passed by usiouned the great and undcnablc
truth, that in all cases OF palpable oppressive aud dan
gerous infacton OF the Federal compact each State has
right TO annu, and render imperative within lis limits
all such unauthorized After the luminous exposi.
tons which have been already furnished by many great
minds, that the exercise OF this right is compatible with
the hrs principles OF anomalous scheme of Govern
ment il would be uperuous here TO state at length the
reasons by which this mode Oh redress to be sustained
difference however for the opinions of those OF fell
low citizens, who have hitherto dissened from u.s. de
mands that should briefly state the principal ground
upon which we place the right, and the expedency
Modification.
The Constitution of the United States as is admitted
by cotemporaneous writer's is a compact between Sove-
reign States. Though the that compact
was aGovERNMENT, the powers of which Government
were TO operate 10 certain ertent upon the people of
those Sovereign States, dggTegdtey, and not upon the
State Authorities as is usual in confederacies sill the
Constitution is Coniederacy. First 1t is conederacy
because in lis FOUNDATIONS il possesses not one snpi
feature OF ndtiOndltty-The people of the separate
lisfinc
stuon, each State acting Tor ITSELF and binding its own
citizens and not those OF any other State The act of ra
hcaion declares it "to be binding the States ratfy-
ing The States are its authors-their power created il
-heir voice clothed il with authory-lhe Government
it formedis in reality their Government and the Union of
which is the bond Union of States aud not of in
divduas" Secondly; Ii is Conlederacy, because the
EXTENT OF the powers of the Government, depends not
upon the people OF the United States collectively but upon
the State Legislature, the people OF the separate
States, acting in their State Conventions each State be-
ing represented by single
must never be forgotten, that il is TO tile creating
and TO the controlling power, that look tor the
true character OF the Federal the present
contover is, not as 10 te from which The or
binary powers OF the government are drawn; these
partly federal and partly national Nor it relevant to
consider, upon tohOm those powers operate In this last
view, the Government for limited purpose entirely ma
uonal. The true question is, who the parties the
compact! who created, and alter and destroy
II! Is II the States the PeOpie2 This question
has been leady answered The States ratified
the compact The people OF the United States collective
~ had no agency formation. There did not exist
then, nor has there existed any time SINCE such poi-
teal body az the people Of the Uniled States There
M" now, nor has ,hce been such relation ext ing
as that OF citizen of New Hampshire and citizen OF
South Caroua bound together ia the same social com.
pact 1t would be waste of time todweIl longer this
par oil our subject We repeat that regards the FoUN-
DATIoN AMI The EXTENT OF It's siOwers the Government
OF the Uni ed States is strictly, what lis name implies
Fedora GoVernment-a league between several sove-
regns, and in these views, p, rect conlederacy
has never eXiS ed in ancient or modern times
On looking into this Constitution, find that the most
important sovereign powers delegated the central
government, ana all other powers reserved tte
States. foreign indttenive reader unacquainted
with the origin, progress and history OF the Constitution
would be very apt from the phraseoogy of the instrument
10 regard the States, having Invested themselves OF e
Sovereignty, and to have become great corporations
dlnae to one Supreme Government But this an error
The States are Sovereign now, they were prior to
helr entering into the compact. In parlance,
and TO avoid crcumocution ii may be admissible enough
TO speak OF delegated and reserUed Sovereignty But cor
recty speaking, Sovereignty is unit Ii is Tone ndiy
sble and unaienabIc" 1t is therefore an asury To ina
gine that the Sovereignty OF the States surrendered in
part and retained in part The Federal Constitution is
treaty, confederation, alliance by which so many
Sovereign States agree to exercise their sovereign pow
cOyOinty upon certain objects of xerna concern in
they are equally interested, such WAR PEACE, COM
MERGE, Foreign Negotiation, and Indian Trade; and upon
all other subjects of civil Government they were to
else their Sovereignty separately This the true
of the compact.
OF the States there must of necessity be some common
agency or uncionary. This agency is the Federal Gov
eminent II represents the coniederated States and Xe
cutes their joint will expressed in the compact The
powers OF this government wholly deTUdtre IT pos
scsscs inherent sovereignty than an INCORPORATED
town, or any other great corporate bodyit is political
corporation, and like all corporations it looks its powers
TO exterior That source is the States II
wants that "rresble absolute uncontrolled authority
without which, according TO iuriss there can be no
sovereignty. As the States conferred the States can
take away its powers All inherent sovereignty is there
Tore ~ the States. IL is the MORAL OBLIGATION alone
which each State has chosen to impose upon herself and
NOT lhe want o sovereignty, which resirans her from
ercisng all those powers which CAS- we are accustomed
to express OurSeves) she has surrendered the Fed
eral Government. The present organization of our Gov.
eminent, as tar as regards the terms in which the
powers OF Congress delegated, in no wise differs
from the old Confederation. The powers of the Old
Congress were delegated rather in stronger language
IMAM we find them written down in the new char
ter, and yet he would hazard bold assertion, who
would say that the States of the old Confederacy
not as sovereign Great Britain, France and Russia
would be in an alliance offensive and defensive II was
not the reservation in express of the Sovereignty
Freedom, and lndepend of each State" which made
them sovereign They should have been equally
reign as Is universally admitted, without such
ton.
We have said thus much upon the subject Of sovereign
", because the only foundation upon which safely
erect tie right Of State to protect its citizens, Vs. that
south Carolina by the Declaration Of Independence, he
came and has since continued Free Sovereign and In
dependent State. That az sovereign State she has the
inherent power TO do all those acts which by the law Of
nations, any Prince Potenate may Of right do. That
like all independent States she neither has nor ought she
70 suffer any other restraint upon her sovereign will and
pleasure Than those high moral obligations under which
all Princes and States bound be fore God and man 10 er
form their solemn pledges. The inevitable cot~son
from what has been said therefore is that as I'm all cases
OF compact between Independent SOvereipns whore from
the very nature Of things, there be no common iudge
or umpire. each sovereign has right "o Judge a. well
Of inacDns the mode and measure Of redrcss 90