Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1833-01-26

TO seeedc when she chooses Bat that gentleman con
tends that when each STATE tie compact she
agreed to he bounl lay erery iq, ,adc n confrinifv
tctth The pO,cerS then conceded This ,ir Is the very
thing which all OF us admit but, suppose law i passed
fiOt IN conformity with these pJN,tsil>, the gratlc
mans statement implicitly almiS a. tie tieud, of these
Resolutions aud of State Right every whcic contend is no
binding law all r., e.. the psociamaon ans that no
law oil Congress Is Valid unless made ia conformity with
the Constitution Now, WHO'S io Judge Whether die con.
rovercd law be- within ;he.c lgiimate pog ctS OF not
This very grave que II, which shall have ion
to eNaUlne presently. Aud hope Bring forward n,,
opinions OF men onted 10 infinitely greater weight than
my humble tes,ios-Gdrcl the very authority which
the gentleman Is himself inv o<cdo establish our CON
cuSon AMI that this power l0dcCidc does where
the gentleman or the Procl ,u,atun has placed it,
Sovereignty, in my esttuaiiOn in country, rests in
me people, and no, in 5y government. IL is the people
who created both State and general governments. The
people do not here, under The heo les OF despoc
marches, derive their rights from the government by
charters or CONCESSIONS but each government derives its
PoioeTS from the people. do understand gentlemen
who talk OF the Federal Constitution being compact be-
tween the government and the people. The govern
lnent was no party To the compact, but the of it,
IL was nCt IN existence until the compact was rati.
fed ani therefore could not be party own crea.
ton The compact was between the several States as
attempted 10 show BEFORE that the people OF the
Nera States respectively, each State contracting with all
c rest The same people te real sovereisns
vernmcnts, within which, nobody here denies there exsted
perfect sovereignty Intensive with the geographic al
HINTS OF EACH The people OF these States, them acting
as States, agreed Tor mutual convenience, TO exercise
through The agency OF the general government, which
ey constructed, portion OF their sovereign powers
y"Wty such as declaring war, making peace &c. Sc,
winch they expressly enumerated; and reserved all other
powers OF sovereignty 10 be exercised by the State 90
Nernments sepdTdfey To say them that the States have
no right to resume the power thus granted the general
government to say either that they did confer it, or
uiat the agcn-the crcatuc-is greater than the crea
tor; that this letter attorney cvocsblc TO the end of
Tune And sir it is strange indeed, hear gentlemen
rely on the fact, that the Constitution Processes to be
'bond OF perpetual Union, argument for its indie
sHucuhl'iiy IN whole or in part They forget
tha lew governments iorncd expressly limited ne
IioS OF 'mc' though many turn out TO be shorved; and
mat The old articles of confederation themselves contain
strong. ''
One gentleman asks we suppose that the States enter
ca INTO the compact with any idea that they coud
Sir, on his supposion in private lille man should ever
do any thing which he knows he afterwards il he
Pieascs undo Every of his life to be as tevoca e
as The laws OF the MGdcs aud Persans The very fact
that he may undo it, if it do often the very
consideration, with prudent man. for his undertaking
Ana the states must have been ra aud mpren in the
extreme, il they meant TO bind themselves their pos
tefly to the end OF time to new form of government
which however happily it has resulted hitherto, at
the time, but unticd experiment in the history OF the
world as all must admit IL would have been particular
iy imprudent if, this Proclamation nsuc;s US the Ce
neral Government is the judge OF ITS own powers aud the
states, who constituted il, have right Judge OF any
violation, or to revoke its authority.
Sir, have heard aud seen many learned disous,ions
as TO the character Of His right lad
tural revolutionary or con,iiuonalwhc her under he
constitution above it, The great question oes IN,
right erist2 Or, when ii attempted To he exercised Inv
State, as such, do her private citizens, arng in obedi-
10 her laws, still rem in obnoxious to the punishment,
oil traitors This j. the practical aspect of the question
aud the only material Some tell us that it cannot be
constitutional, because the constitution does not confer any
such right on the States ignorant before that the
constitution conferred ANY right on the States. have
ever supposed the true aud that whatever
power flowed through that channel ran the other wav and
was conferred by the States.
The Proclamation puts secession by tchole State
through her organized authorities the footing a,
RIOT or rebellion by fraction OF nacontenis acting against
the appreciation and laws OF their State la either case
according 10 that reScpt, The citizens concerned are equal
ly traitors Sir you prepared TO swallow this doctrine;
~.
what could peaceabc citizen do, when his own State
TO which contend his primary allegiance is due, com
mands one csurse-and the General Government and ar
ter too HAT State has proclaimed her withdrawal from it,
commands different If he refuses obedience 10 the
Stale, he hung traitor the Statc if he obev ne
Is huhS as traitor TO the General Government. So that
hung he is TO be- no matter what he does-uness his
State can conquer in battle the whole remaining Unions
Tor na he very issue on which tn" Proclamation places
IL Sccesslon, we are told by the President like any
other precautionary act, may be morally justified by the
extremity OF OPPRESSION, the tate attempting il of course
10 Incur the penalties consequent on a failure" Then
II seems that the Sa'cs OF this conederacv possess no
greater rights, IN this respect, than any portion large,
small OF the Tarars, the Turks-or the abiec subjects
Of inc most absolute dcsposn. They all possess the
Vontionary right here dedncd that is, if they succeed
ny arms III eiecng the proposed change in their govern
leh, IL IS revolution; il they FAIL and conquered by
the existing government, it And this is the
amount ihen OF the right OF secession by whole State
moving poically-as President understands il! Sir
viii Virginia assent to this doctrine' | trust not.
Inc Proclamation admits that law OF Congress to be
valid must be madc in conformity with the Constitution
but he denies State the right OF deciding on this con-
i1rnity Let us now then examine who the arbiter
u IS not little remarkable that the President has hn.ef
IA lOrmer communications contended that every depart
ment oil tile Federal Goverument-nay every officer uu
der IT, has right TO construe The Constitution Tor himself
and that neither is bound by the construction of the
other Aud the power OF the Supreme Court TO aiudge
1t, is expressly repudIated by him. Still he denies this
right to State. So that the States this once proud
conederdcy humbed and deLased that they have
not the same power 10 the limitations of power
IN the very government they created that may be right
luly exercised by the pcuicst officer under il! ii the
States cannot ajudge disputed question Of power in The
goVernmen-and the Supreme Court cannot-and as TO
the latter, Virginia has always maintained what Gen
jackson has heretofore commended for, where are we to
look Tor the umpire? Few i'll be willing to admit that
Congress has the exclusive right in the last resort and
without any conOul whatever decide the extent orits
own powers For, were this the would practical
~ be government OF absolute, Unlimited powers, and
the modern invention Of written Constitutions would turn
out to be Of 40 value whatever 1t must be then that
the President is to be this arbiler would really seem
that such was the impression OF the Craftsman of this un.
ipitunlte Pocina'Onior while denies the right of
state TO sccede as conclusion it aruineniiively adj
mus u under certain circumstances OF Oppres.i0n the
ffeSldcn we are LETT TO infer i bc the Judge the
cause Tor It, Sir, % viii he found from the cdugs
oil me General Convention, that this very difficulty was
lOrcseeni but no artcr could be agreed upon. Indeed il
was conceded by Madison aud Randolph think by
oiherS-that, "in doubtful Of jurisdiction between
the Federal and State Governments, no line could be
agreed on, because 40 tribunal could be conceived Of
sufficiently impartial" And the fact Of the rejection in
that body OF every prop sion, several such we're
made, to give the General Government veto on State
laws or to take from the States the power constituting
TIE Constitution Themselves, constitutes the most conc
sVe IcIlauOn OF this modern pretensOn the right of