Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1833-05-14
POLI'EHCAL.


POLITICAL.
n Review Of the Proclamation of President Jackson. o.
the 10Th of December, 1882; in a series of numbers
originally published in the Norfolk and Porf,mo,D
HerG,d, under the signature Of "a Yrginian."-
(by LIrrLEroN WALLER T~AzEwELL, ESQUIRE, late
Senator OF United States.l
HE scene Is again shifted, and the Proclamation. after
asserting and striving in vain to maintain. the doctrines nj
the new ultra Federal School, that these States nevs,
were Sovereign, at last comes down 10 the old Feder,i
faith, that the States although once Sovereign, are not Sc
nowf because, by the Constitution of the United States, to
use the words oil this Proclamation, &" they surrendered
many oil their essential parts OF Sovereignty, and there.
fore, 90 were no longer Sovereign"
L freely admit the truth OF this conclusion. if its prenises
are correct. Nay, l go further even than the author Of
tins PROCLAMATION; for | concede, that if the States have
ever surrendered the smallest fractional part of their sove.
reignty, they thereupon ceased 10 be Sovereign and 40
lar from retaining g their entire sovereignty" thew have
lost not only all this, but with it their freedom and inde
pehuehce Also Shew me, then, the transfer by the States,
u any portion oil their sovereignty, and | will willingly
s,lmit tina. all OF it is lost. Nor do / regard it as worth an
effort, to enquire, whether they may have saved in lis
wreck, any vain and useless bauble, to serve as a memo.
rial oil their former condition, in presenting perpetuaIlv IN
their view, the fact, that even this worthless MA ,hina
must now De held under the mere courtesy of another. I
care not much either, who the new Sovereign OF the
States may be, TO whom their former sovereignty has been
surrendered. Whether no is the OK Apis, who thew had
seen calved In their own fields, fat,cd in their own ms
lures, and had then in their own folly consecra,ed "a AN
IDOL; or whether he is the great King, the Majority. the
necessary and legitimate Sovereign Of every 2Ns;ion .
which mas not yet appointed some other Chieltain to rule
over It, The privilege OF choosing a Master, is of no va.
ne IN my eyes except that if the States must have one,
l should prete one to many; for, have high authority
time.
But is il true, that these States have ever surrendered
any part OF their sovereignty? To answe this question
We must first endeavor to form a correct opinion of what
Sovereignty Is. Now, what is Sovereignty Sovereignty
is Supremacy. A sovereign, according to the very derf.
vaton oil the word, is one who is over all, and who. there.
fore, can have no superior.-Strictly, then. there is no az
listing Sovereign but He who made all, who preserves ali,
and who. DV His almiphfv nntua mas NJ 49, ,G.o .:-l.
fully, annihlate4 all. When the vanity of human Rulers,
aopropriatedto themselves, a name and character, which. OF
right, belong only to their Creator, they tried TO preserve
all their attributes, although limiting their application to a
more narrow sphere. An earthly sovereign thus becomes
one who Is over all his subjects, who may of right do with
IN ms own dominions, all that is physically possible, and
which does not contravene the will OF his God. Such is
human sovereignty, which alone | am now considering
Founded upon this simple truth, is that great maxim ~
the pubic law, which asserts the equality OF States for.
as all States must have sovereignty, and as sovereientv
is supremacy therefore, all States are equal. From this
maxim, do all treaties derive their obligation: for, although
these instruments are rarely executed by the Sovereign
parties in person, but by their agents duly appointed for
that purpose (whether ~mediately or Immediately matters
notJ the acts so ratihed, are considered as the acts of the
Soyereigns themselves, who being EQUALS, NAV properlv
contract, which could not well be if the parties were not
equal. Standing on this well established doctrine of The
equality OF the States, do " we the People" the only le-
giumate Sovereign in this land, erect our head, high as the
proudest he who sits upon a throne, because we too are
sovereign, and like him may rightnlly 10 within our own
dominions, all that mortals may.
Having thus shewn what Sovereignty is, and proved
tne uut ol my uennluOn by exhibiting its acknowledged
enec's, L WIZ endeavor TO make this more manifest by con.
trast, in shelving what Sovereignty is not. This is necessary.
because, II is only by cOnfounding Sovereignty Will some.
thing else, that any difference has ever arisen. i'm the de-
termination OF the question which have first proposed
sovereignty is not Government. If it was, as all Sove.
reignty is Supremacy, every government under Inc SIM
oil necessity, would be an absolute and unchecked Despot.
ism nor could free governments exist. But as Soye-
reIgnty and Government are not the same we may readily
discern, how 1t -, that although sovereignty is the same
wherever II exists, ye.t, governments are infinitely diver
sihed. Sovereignty, like truth, is an indiyisible INIT I,
may De enjoyed by one or by many, at the same time, but
then all the persons make but one sovereign, as all the
Parceners make but one heir. Government being a mere
delegation or assumption of power, jurisdiction, and autho.
rity, each OF which subjects are infinitely diyiibIe. NAV
have as many hues as the Chameleon, as many forms IA
Proteus.
Although sovereignty and government are distinct, EASY
separable, and in modern lines often found separated vel
as the rights OF sovereignty and the powers of government
may, and Tor a long time did CO exist, and in the A nor.
sons, the two became confounded; and, il is always diff.
cut 70 remove any error confirmed by long habit. Cali
leo suffered in a dungeon of the Inquisifon, for presum.
ing to demonstrate that the earth revolves around the
sun, and Sidney died Oh a scafod as a Traitor, for daring
to prove, that government was not Of divine origin. n
was reserved for American Statesmen, to give a nracncaI
illustration of the great truths which he taught. bv induc.
ing their fellow-citizens, while establishing governments,
to retain their own Sovereignty unimpaired, and so 10
shew, that sovereignty and government were not only Sc.
parable and distinct, but that they ought not ever 10 be
again united IN this land by any who wish to be free.
This is the true American System. which has been but
little understood, aud therefore, has been butimperfecty
initiated, any where else, as yet.
Notwithstanding sovereignty and Government, r moi
tho same, yet il is reality conceded, that where tIe
rights oil sovereignty are admitted to be possessed
oy any government, there the government becomes
the sovereign, and will continue such as long as il
enjoys these rights, no matter by what means ,hey
may have been acquired. The first aud highest IF
,hese rights OF sovereignty, nay, that which compre.
hends all the others, is The tight to create a eoyernme6t n
regulate the affairs OF all the subjects Of the sovereign. and
70 amend, alter or abolish this government, at its pleasure.
Stripped OF this right, sovereignty il but worthless NAME
but while this right is retained, although the government
created by the soycreign's viii, may he endowed with the
Piehary power OF a Roman perpetual Dictator, yet as il
hyes but by the will Of its Creator, il would be idle to cal
such a government a sovereignty.
When ] speak Of the right to create new and 10 abolish
former governments, as the sure index and test of soye.
reignty, j do not OF course refer to force. That NAV be
and more often has been, employed, to destroy, tbsn 10 pre.
serve, rights Of all Kinds. What mean TO assert il simply
this, wherever a power exists IN any country, which pow
er Is admitted by all Of thai country 10 possess the right o.
creating, amending, or abOlisbfng the government of tina
country, ths power must be superior 10 the government