Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-04-02

Kind oFini,s,io"" .i "oe'' u accomplish any
is unl,wG5l anJ u 'oI'l'act D, government
SON tbata con,ra,, ~ L''' ~ 'ue same rea-
Two indiyiJnais i. = ~ S!'"o nature between
a contract Of %oYal any Nolu' oucl
ful authority mon ,hm.o a, ooH'..I no Ilgnt-
@ietor - "P0" '"oSe "FPoih'eu 10 admin
utnl..., -, ..
.u'lC'al tribunals slt'ing under the au-
liam u uIls 1nIawlTl contract or Constitu-
io'' are oound' equally with other men, to
G, "a. ~ ana All unjust ehactlnents passed
FIJI ~ Got5rnu9Gnt IN pursuance OF It, unIaw-
n ,u' "'u .oIu' ihese judicial tribunals can
rH pS accepting ONCE under a Government
~, IT, 'lTIl'eIVes oil lhat paramount obligation,
u" vi "'9H are uhuer' 10 ~ueclare, II they de-
.. any 'nlng, tnat justice Is law that Go
'u'le can nave no lawful powers, except
G G'Tse WIN Whlch lthas been invested by law
rr to"'acl ana t'at an unlawful contract
nnla ~ Is,ag'iSnneht OF Governments is as
;" s"u 'oiu aS any o'her contract TO do
i"JU'"ce'
* \ *
"No oaths, which judicial or other officers
may take, to carry out and support an unlaw-
tai contract or Constitution Of Government,
are of any moral obligation."-p. 81
And here beoins the real and ONLY innor.
tant dispute between us. The reader NAV
torret. if he pleases. all we have said MI
Spooner's differences and our own. nm 70 his
point, are mere questions of theory. 1t mat
ters little which side he adonted HE noei-
ton now is;
That laws and Constitutions which vio-
late Justice. are void. They are as lille
bindinu in the eve of the law. os in tho ova
of God. They are hgaNy as well as morally
void =
So far we agree with him. mr. dinrar en- sIirbt-
w., that here we care not To disnute the mai
Ter, He uocs on;
A Judre boLJjug o6fce y1der s,cb Co,st;y,,-
fions is authorized and bound to treat them
as raid. and to decide cases. not according TO
them, but as his sense of natural i~usticen
dictates.
Here IRE dlDer from linn, maintaining that
tie position y the gGcerS gf such u Government
dlterS from that u Pricate Individuals, their
duty IS 10 resign Their post Whenerer unwiAing
10 JnyH me conditions on Whtch they receice
them, anu hen, AS MEN, treat The hrS as Uoid.
Inns question Is not to be confounded with
one somewhat similar 10 i' ana Which mas
peei' sotnet.uies oisousoeu' esPeclally III Eng
az ulJus' eld.u'I' ~ Plesent P"eS.oh Is
~ IA ~ y ~ ?"ou'u u ie''IGAo'leu t""' l"
nnSltru t'eio - no "i'"en OonS''utioh'-
Even II a'uuge hau Sucn powers mere WHICH
that bo had tho same rnder onr form Of co.
varnment T6oTe tho I"Jre swaor" SimnIv
TO bear true allegiance to the King. 1t might,
therefore, with some plausibilitv, be argued
that having no test to which TO bring acts Of
Parliament, except the rules of natural JUS
tice, Judges were authorized to declare them
void when inconsistent with those rules
Such a doctrine, however, is rcpudiated by
the almost unanimous voice of the English
law.
However the case NAV be in Enrland,
here the case is different. Our Government
is founded on contract. So agrees Mr.. Spoon
er:
"The Cors,i,rt;or ;s , cortr,ot. v,rit,or
consis,inT Of y cnrtain nrnohor nr
nrecise worJS ~ Hbiah ouJ - uh;ah onIu
All the nortias 70 il have in tLoory arroo3
Manifes,ly neither tbis cortr,ct nov tho 1ean.
inc of its words can he ch,rred without Tho
co0sent of oil ,ba nar,ios to - ~ Io9N
"
cUntract LOT me establishment oil 10
Ve'niIen'' oeln9 no'nihg nut d voluntary con
asseo ~ inu'NLuual' ioI 'helr mutual
diners IN ho'hing mat Is essential to
us salluIty ron any olher contract between
man ana man, OF Oe'Weeh hatlon ana natIon'
Up o.
"Our Constitutions are but contracts.'-
Note p. 8.
Under our Constitution then. the neople
and the ofice-holder make a contract topeth-
err. They grant him certain specifed pow
ers, and demand of him certain specified du-
ties. He deliberately looks over the cala-
logue Chat is, the Ccnstitution)-assents to
it-swea,s that he agrees to it, and will per-
form his part-and so takes office and acquires
power. That pouer, MIR. Spooner thinks, he