Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1848-02-18
"eiNVs 10 my IIUTIllIIl, =.
4 local AuhItalIon and a nalne.'


lie "saws theAir." lie sees phantoms. Well
then, let all admit, what none deny. that the only
source of political power in this country is the
people. Let us admtthat they are sovereign, for
they are so that is to say. the aggregate COM
munity the collected will of the people, is sover-
eirn. | confess that | think Chief Justice Jay
spoke rather paradoXically than phlOsophically.
when he said that this country exhibited The cy
traordinary spectacle of many sovercgEs and
no subjects. The people, he said, are all sovcr-
cigns and the popularity of the case IS that they
have no ublects. except few colored persons.
This must be rather lanciiul. The aggregate
community is sovereign, but that is not The sover'
eighty which acts in the daily exercise of sover-
eign power. The people cannot act daily a
the people. They must establish a government,
and invest it with so much of the sovereign
mower as the case requires and this sovereign
power being delegated and placed in tie hands
of the government, that government becomes
what is popularity called THE STATE.
l. like the old fashioned way of stating things
as they are (; and this is the true idea OF a state.
1t is an organized government, representing the
collected will of the people, so far as they see
fit TO invest that government with power. And
in that respect it is true that though hiS govern
mcnt possesses sovereign power, 1t does not pos
sess all sovereign power and 50 tie state Coy
are not in all. Nor could it be shown that the
powers of both, as delegated, embrace the whole
range of what might be called sovereign power
We usually speak of states as sovereign states
| do not object. But the constitution never so
styles them, nor does the constitution speak of
the Government here, as the general or the taIe-
raj government 1t calls them the United States.
and the government, the government of the IT,
States; and it calls the state Governments state
(tppprpmpnfs lpt * pi.hl u q.
! Legislation is sovereign power, and is exer-
cscd by organised government to certain eX-
tent, aud by the states, according to the forms
which they have themselves established.
Well, then, having agreed that all power is
originally from the people, that they can confer
as much of it as they please, the next principle
is that, as the exercise of Legislative power and
the other powers of government by themselves
Is impractcable, they must be exercised by Re-
pREsENTATlVEs OF the people and what distn-
cuisines the American system as much as any,
thing else, from any political system of ancient
or OF modern times, is the marvellous felicity of
its representative system. 1t has with us. allow
me TO say a somewhat different origin from the
representation Of the Commons in England.
though that has been worked up to some resem-
blance of our own system. The representative
system in England originated not in any sun
posed rights OF the people themselves but in the
necessities and commands of the crown. AT
first knights and burgesses were summoned to
a parliament called BY the King, often against
their will.
Many remonstrances were presented against
sending up these representatives; the charge OF
paving them was felt TO be burdensome by the
people But the King wished their counse
and advice and perhaps the presence OF the pop
ular body to enable him To make greater head
: way against the feudal barons in the arstocrat