Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1833-02-13

Vi, 'i1 siiiiiituueS anu dhalogle5 appicaple u
other systems Of Government, it must. more
than any other, be its own interpreter, accord
ing to its text apd facts tie Of the case.
'From these will lie seen the characters. !
tic pecuiartief OF the Constitution are, !. the
mode of its formation; 2, the division of the
supreme powers Of Government between the !
States in their united capacity, and the States
in their individual capacities
81. 1t was ftmed, not by the Governments
|of the component States, as the Federal Gov
lernment for With il wns substituted was form
led. Nor was il orrned by majority of the
people of the Udtad States, as single com
rHunity, in the uR me- Of consolidated Gov
lerDment.
lit was formed by the States; that is, BY the
|peopie in each Of the States; acting in theirl
highest sovereign capacity; and formed conse-
lqgently by the same authority which formed
the State Constitutions
'.ieing thus derived from the same source j >
The Constitutions Of the States, it has, With
leach STATE, the same authority as the Constitu
ton of the STATE; and is as much a Constitn-
ton, IN tie strict sense Of the term, within Its
prescribed sphere, as the Constitutions of the
States are, within their respective spheres: bus
with this obvious and essential difference, thai
being compact amongthe States in their high
est sovereign capacity, and constituting the
people thereof one people for certain purposes,
it cannot be altered or annulled at the will of
the State Individually, as the Constitution of
State may he at its Individual will.
%. And that it divides The supreme powers
of Government, between the Government oi
the United States, and the Government Of the
individual States, is stamped on the face Of the
instrument; the powers of war and of tax
alton, of commerce and of treaties, and othey
enumerated powers vested in the Government
of the United States, being of as high and sove-
reign a character, as any Of the powers re-
served 10 the Safe Governments.
Nor is the Government of the United
States created by the Constitution, less Gov
ernment in The strict sense of the term, within
the sphere offs powers, than the governments
created By the Constitutions of the States are.
within ,heir several spheres. 1t is like them
organized into Legislative, Executive, and
Jndiciar. Departments. Itoperates, like them
distinctly on persons and things Aad, like
them, has at command physical force for ex-
executing the powers committed to it. The
concurrent operation IN certain cases, is one o.
the features making the peculiarly Of the sys
tenn.
Between these different Constitutional Gov
ernments, the one operating in all the States,
the others operating separately in each, with
the aggregate powers of Government divided
between thom, it could not escape attention,
that controversies would arise concerning the
boundaries Of Jurisdiction; and that some pro-
vision ought to be made for such occurrences
A political system that does not provide for
peaceable and authoritative termination Of oc-
curing CONTROVERSIES, would not be more than
The shadow of Government; the object and
end of a real Government being, the substitu-
ton of law ant order, for uncertainty, coniu-
Ision, and violenee.
THAT, to have left final decision, in such
cases, to eachof the States, then thirteen, and
already twenty. four, could not fail to make the
Constitution and laws Of the Unted States
different in different States, was obvious; and
not less obvious, that this diversity of indie
pendent decisions must altogether distract the
Government Of the Union, and speedily put an
end TO the Union itself. An uniform au,horl-
ty Of the laws, is in itself vital principle.
A,oliic vi tIIc ilOSt Jaws nut NC
partially executed. They must be executed
in all the States, or they could be duly execu-
ted in none. An impost, or an excise, for
example, if not in force in some States, would
be defeated in others. 1t is we'll known that
this was among the lessons of experience,
witch had primary inAunce in bringing about
the existing Constitution. A loss of its general
authority would moreover revive the exaspera.
ting questions between the States holding ports
for foreign commerce, and the adjoining States
without them to which are now added all the
inland States, necessarily carrying on then
foreign commerce through other States.
so have made the decision under the au.
thori,y of the Individual States coordinate, in
all cases, with decisions under the authority
Of the United States, would unavoidably pro.
duce collisions incompatible with the peace Of
society, and with that regular and efficient I'D
minIstration. which is the essence of free gov
ernments. Scenes could not be avoided, in
which ministerial officer of the United States
and the corresponding officer Of an individual
State, would have rencontres in executing con-
flicting DEGREES; the result of which would de.
pend on the comparative force of the local pos
scs attending them; and that, casualty de-
pending on the political opinions and party
feelings in different States.
TO have referred every clashing decision,
l.. Al .. e. -