The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-08-12

Constitution itself the hot bed Of its own treasons
for it bears within iis womb the seeds of its
own dismemberment! If money be the sinew OF
war. it is undoubtedly, also, life Government
Without il, the wheels Of Administration stop;
and if for length of time the spokes decay, and
they fall TO pieces. Our Constitution requires ma
jorities of the whole numbers elected TO each
House of Congress to constitute the quorums,
who can proceed 10 business. Less than these
IN either House brings all Legislation to pause.
Without quorumsin both, not law can be passed
to raise money or to disburse ito put money
into the Treasury, or to take il out. Now it so
happens, that the aggregate numbers of the Re-
personalities Of just Of the thirty States Of
the Union exceeds, by majority of one, the ag-
gregate representative numbers of the remaining
i'centy-ihree States. Suppose the seven States
refuse or fail from any cause, TO elect represen
tative for a term two the consequence would
| suppes-and eventually an entire dissolution Of
the Unionl And how effected Through the re-
cusancy Of less than one-fourth Of the States and
in successful defiance and resistance Of all the re-
naming States! There the Senate too. OF the
| 80 States, there are Is of them whose aggregate
popular numbers amount to no more than 3,770,-
1856, while the aggregate popular numbers Of the
other Is States amount to 3,273, ISL; and yet by
refusal or failure Of the Legislatures of the Is
States first referred to- chosetheir senators, the
Senate's quorum is lost, and thus scarcely more
| than one-ffth of the popular numbers control an
overwhelming majority, bring the Government
| to stand still and dissolve the Union! Similar
refusals or failures to appoint the Presidential
electors ut any time, would effect like result!
Now any Of these injurious contingencies are
plainly within the legal capacities OF the Consti-
tuition; and should dissolution Of the Union be
either comprised or ensue, who but mailman
would maintain that treason had been committed in
the sense ofthe Constitutions Would that be slevy-
ing war" against the Union, or g adhering to its
enemies" or "giving them aid and comfort -
Who would have the recklessness TO say so, and
denounce one-kalf or two-thirds Of the people as
traitors to the residue. And how would the de-
linquents be dealt with! Would you visit recu-
SAINT State with all the scath and waste Of war, for
doing an act. which the Constitution far from
furnishing or forbidding, has provided the means
Of accomplishing and permits' Well, suppose
you invade, suppose you triumph. What then J
Though you put down the State authorities, you
cannot make men poie. Ifyou can and if you do,
then is the State crushed and destroyed ,nder
| such an EXCISE of power, and she can no longer
be brought back into the Union as sovereign
| and co-equa of the other States, and hence your
very highest triumph would bring you no success!
| There is yet another clause of the Constitution
| providing still more palpable and simpler means
for Immediately accomplishing dissolution Of the
Union. I aIlude to the clause, empowering one
yih of the number present in either House of Con-
gress TO have the yeas and nays recorded " on
any question" that arises ard vesting in them
therefore, an unlimited discretion to raise ques-
tons and call the yeas and nays on them, through
an entire Congress and longer, stopping the
supplies, arresting all Legislation, land which car
ried out, would eventually end in rupture of the
Union. Now, the joint representative numbers
in the House Of Representatives, of the two popu-
lous States Of New York and Pennsylvania amount
to fifty eight, and the whole number of represen-
tatiyes being two hundred and thirty-one, OF
course forty-seven members contains one-ffth oil
the whole number flected-and consequently these
t,co States, Containing about out Of % 900 O0C
Unpopular numbers, and Nth eiepen representative.
to pare possess the poicer to arrest the Legislative
action Of the remaining ttccnty-eigM States even to
the extremity of dissolving the Union But, it may
be replied, that the majority would not submit
to be thus controlled by refractory minority,
and would expel them from the House by strong
hand and violence. Very well, so they might
but only through one of these fragrant breaches OF
the Constitution, which would itseU effectually
destroy the Union, and through the very nAsonst
tutional means resorted to, to preserve III Once
more and by way of hypoihises Suppsse the
white population Of Texas en- masse, sader the
promptiDgs Of some mania for the gold mines,
should remove to California and become citizens
thereof, taking the oath of allegiance thther,
and renouncing thereby their allegiance to
Texasi Suppose further, that all of them should
retain their lands in Texas, leaving their slaves to
cultivate them, and to account to them for the
crops, &c; Suppose further, that The Legislative
and popular electors Of Texas, had chosen their
senator's and representatives prior to embarking
upon this wholesale migration: And suppose
lastly, that the United States marshal for Texas,
in making his census returns, should report oil OF
these facts to Congress- and that the senators and
representatives elect, were the only resident clti-
Gems of the State: Now, demand to know, whe-
Their. if all these supposals were brought into re-
alities, there be any one among them, which
would not be perfectly la,fuL act under the Con-
stitution of the United States' Most undoubted-