Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1833-01-15

i'm motion--and again hear of resistance--and o
notification, and secession.
! In the Enquirer of Oct. -, $780, we mud MIR. Ma
dison's letter to the North American Review-wtl
our structures, aud objections To one of his leading
propositions. In his letter is the following passage
"And in the OF failure of every constitutional re
sort and accumulation OF usurpaions and abuse rem
derng passive obedience and resistance greater vii
than resistance aud revolution, there can remain but
resort the last Of ALL appeal from the cancelled obga-
tons OF the constitutional compact original rights and
the law OF seltpreservaon This is the ultima ratio
der all Governments, whether consolidated
or compound Of both and cannot be doubted that
single member OF the Union, in the extremity supposed,
but in that only would have right as an extra and ultra
constitutional right, TO make the appeal"
! The following is part of our commentary
upon the doctrine and the dangers Of Modification
MIR Madison delivers himself with great deal OF force
well as truth This Union would be continually subject
TO the risk Of falling to pieces every State Welding TO its
resentmens its fears would upon every
upon its rights, real supposed fly TO violent
nullily the obnoxious Act OF Congress or as Mr. Jeer-
son says "sand TO arms" Gag sea of troubles
Such measures ought be for cases of extreme
expressions and when such occur when the fce
r'l compact IS grossly rOidted; when the powers
granted shall be agrny "pcrverted their injury or
OPPRESSION these powers 'may he resumed by them "
In the Enquirer of March, 1881, we find the fol-
lowing:
The propcy of secession ought extremity
the right to sccode That tSs Mr. JeaSTson
must be tho last resource no, to be thought until aud
ties Is to he resisted at dissolution Off,
or endurance then with brethren deInOn give
selves situation by chapter accidents aud sepa
U% h w tSS% , sg" ~ S are hS
without limitation Of pororS.'
But God forbid that this Union should ever he rent
asunder II should be the ark of safety. Its the
sheet anchor of the hopes of the civilized world Nottne
bit me most desperate erfreuifies c0lId ,royr0nt ~
thought Of the kind"
But 10 come lower down-On the 18th June last
we use similar language-wiih the same celebrated
quotation from MIR. Jeffersons leter.-On the 9th
July, we express the same sentinent.-On the l4.h
August, we use the following language:
But the OF Liberty AMI of State Rights is one
great object with usThe safety OF the Union another
Mr. Jefferson in his Inaugural Address laid down as the
essential principles OF our government, te support the
state Governments in all their rights the compe-
tent administration for domestic concerns and the sur
est bulwarks against anti Republican tendencies; AND
me preservation OF the General Government in whole
constitutional vigor, the of our peace al
home and safety abroad-The dissolution of our Union
would be one OF the heaviest blows struck at the hap
piness oil the human We ourselves should be iv
ed into two (who shall say how many0 small and
powerIess communities insued by foreign States aud
constantly warning with each ohel Virginia too would
PROBABLY be frontier State Nothing but The ertrenesf
necessity should drive us into this gloomy measure"
g The States ought FIRST frankly aud calmly to commune
WIN each oher-Me must appeal in the last extremity
TO the good sense of all the States in General Convention
and try to save the Union as did in 'ss-or, we
must seek TO commune with brethren of tho South
IN special Convention, calmly confer with them as 10
what Is best TO he done, and prepare for solemn appea
TO our brethren of the North We must ATTEMPT n
awaken them again TO of Justice Whether i'm
the event OF Southern Convention this appeal TO be
made 10 Congress, or to General Convention depends
upon events which cannot anticipate. But with one
ming we are seriously impressed, that the time is proba-
6fy coming, when it becomes all the good and true
men IN virginia to do their duty to come foitc0rd 10
otD dH MINOR calculations behind them TO exhibit all
heir lore Of country and TO this Union We must
DO H. not by Nullhcationwe do il by opposn0 both
'he extremes oil consolidation, and of Notification We
must do II by united cOunciis-and Jefferson said We
VIII separate from companions mot ntLf markll
only when the sole alternatives left, the dissolution
oil our Union with them, submission TO government
Without limitation Of pOlcerS"
On August 18th, and Sept. 18th, we utter similar
sentlments-On the 9th October, we repeat passages
from the Enquirer of 1891 TO show that " Nothing
ont an Overwhelming flood Of encroachments should
hurry our people TO any act Of violence or ,car We
must see this flood sweeping down EVERY vEsTIGE
OF STATE RIGHTS BEFORE rive must hare pre-
ulousy exhausted eUe'y amicaJe topic Of erposlatio
anl rgorm NE 'oo'dd first appeal TO The Legisla-
lures, to the people, 10 The Oorld. We would declare
III tne most pedcedbe the unconstilutionalitv
OF these proceedings i'll the federal governments;
we would communicate the declaration 10 other states
ana i!0he the" concurrence an like declaraon.' We
would call upon Jefferson and Madison, upon all the
wise and the good men and the true TO save their
country.-.Nothing Jlh the most urgent ,ecessify
should induce as 10 resort TO other erpeelienis"
Ana on The 10Th December last, we repeat with
some little variation of phrase but none of senti-
nen the same doctrine, as follows:
We regard secession as the ultima ratio of our Fee
dcraI system-and we perfectly agree with Mr. jefferson
pn letter TO Mr. Nicholas in '99) that Gas we should
never hhk Of separation, but for repeated and enormous
Vo'auHS so these when they occur will he cause enough
OF themselves We think the right as one which flows
from the very nature of sysem-but we hold il TO be
right never TO he exercised but The Uerv last resort
unth an constitutional means haze been GpDeaIed In
an dmicdDie erPedients hare been exhausted and until
mere mas been Tree consultation with our sister States
we regard indeed as the extreme medicine of the Con.
sttuion-(Mr p r. Barbour goes so far we believe ne
10 can 1t the arsenc)-euer to be unnecessarily dis,
c"SSed aaa neueT to be actually epIoyedJ ut in tie last
erfremity."
If we may Judge the reader by ourselves.
he is satiated with quotations. We have done
with them. lie will find that we have not dis
cuSSed the doctrine Of secession-indeed, we hive
dsclalIned regular GtScuSSion-but we have
merely stated the general idea, that it ought ne
yer to be resorted to, but i'm the last ertye9iil ofcr
every amcable and constitutional means had been
exhausted, and when we had only to choose be-
tween dissolution of the Union and government
0uhom limitation Of pOtOers. In 1914 we sought IN
sane The Union. In 1888, we are still contributino
all IN our power also to preserve a. AT neither Of
these periods has the occurred to Justify either
resort TO the right Of secession to make il neces
sary to discuss it. For, every anicable and consu
tonal eNpedien has not yet been exhausted for oh
tanning a redress OF our wrongs. All the means which
JEFFERSON and- Madison have pointed out in their re-
spectYe resolutions have not been employed When
Hm mas been done, and the "cnormous violations
SIM continue, Then It is time for the STATES IN ocf
with tins extreme medicine. Whether the Ie-
gslature of Virginia should deem it expedient
or neXPedient now to discuss this most vital pro
Dlem IN our political system To state it i'm lis an
stracuons or with its qualifications; whether thew
should state 1t as constitutional right or as revo-
I.UN.