The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-20
For The Southern Press.
THE RANDOLPH EPlSTLES.
Facts and Reflections fer the Sou hern
People.


The ConstituiionaHty Of The .act Of .4amission-Is
California ct right and in laD member ef the
Union?--Hcr constitution roid-Ihe incapacity Of
Congress- to resscitate it-Lustrations and anato-
giesCan Congress repeal The Act Of .ad'nission?-
Can the Supreme Court take cognizance Of The
q,esiion?--The States the ultimate erpoiinders--
Observation-Disclosures and the admission Of
| Transformations qfthe Federal property, Sc.
FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE SourH
| In my last referred to the nsutlerable wrongs
and injustice inflicted upon the South, by the Act
Of Congress admitting California; into the Union,--
but unwilling to tax your patience further, of
! purpose refrained from broachng IN that paper,
another question of the very greatest importance,
and indissolubiy allied with that measures mean
very important feature OF the Act of Admission,
and to make the issue for public consideration
and judgment, whether California is, or is not
of right and in law, member Of the Union'
| IT the United States had had no share in the
| conquest or cesson of California,-and Il num-
| Der Of Adventures, wholly unconnected with this
Conveniently had invaded and vanqushed it,
proclaimed their Independence and maintained it,
and established an Independent Republic,--not a
doubt could be mooted but that the proceeding
would have been valid and constituted it a Gov
eminent both de lure and de ficto; but why p
main, the jurisdiction and the sovereignty all
theirs, and absolutely and exclusively So But the
actual state of things was variant from this in
| every particular: Not an ioa of the eminent or
useful domain, or Of the territorial jurisdiction
or of the sovereignty, conferred upon or
vested in these California Adventures when they
migrated thither,---nor since has been, unless IT
! was done through the Act of Congress of the llth
: instant admitting her into the Union. All these
rights and attributes were vested conformity and
| exclusively in the co-States of the Union and Con-
yress is constituted their attorney in fact by the
| ConsttLt ton, to administer them In Congress,
them as the Federative agent of the States, lis
exclusively vested all powers $50 dispose of" or
| to make g all needtul rules and regulations" con-
corning the Nierrltory Of the United States,-
to held and exercise jurisdiction and sovereignty
over it, Congress may, if it will, and ought to,
when it can,--and the population and circum-
stances of any portion of the public domain add
NIT Of ito confer upon the people who inhablt
it, the appropriate jurisdiction for governing them
seIv by comforting on them Territorial form OF
Government, and assigning them their boundaries,
and have no hesitation in saying, that Congress
failed in its duty, (and the Free States were ex-'
clusvelv to blame for it,) in Withholding such
jurisdiction and powers of legislating for them-
selves from the people of California 90 further,
and admit fully, that Congress might, if it would,
have dispensed the people of California from
passing under the regime of Territorial Govern
ereign powers, through an Act of Congress emf
poweriug them to call Convention, Ito form
Constitution, and to organize n State Govern
ment. II is plain, then, and | repeat-that the
whole powers, both of jurisdiction and sover-
eighty over the public domain out of the limits Of
q STATE, are exclusively vested in Congress by the
Constitution: 1t is plain, and repeat, THAT Con-
gress had the power to delegate such jurisdiction
or sovereignty, either or both, to the people of
California, but that with po,cers to delegate either,
lit, in fact, delegated neither To them. Hence,
as matter of fact it sure that the people of Cali
fornia did not derive either jurisdiction or sover-
eighty, from that source, and matter of law II is
incon,estbe, that they could not have derived 1t
from any other: Furthermore: the Executive ofthe
United States itself invested with other lurs-
diction thither than such as was incident to mere
| military occupancy; and surely such military jul
risdiction wholly inadequate to the cons,itu-
| ting of a civil Governments and would not have
| been alienable and transferable to others,--f it
| were: Therefore, Executive Department of
the Government having no civil or sovereign u-
risdiction in Caliornia,--had none to confer on
the people thereof and consequently did not and
could not have conferred any, q,
Now the foregoing premises, in right and in
fact, and in all their particulars, absolutely IN
contestible; and the people Of California, having
no jurisdiction sovereignty whatever TO constl'
tute themselves a State,-it must follow, that
: every act they have dome involved in the issue
under debate,- the calling of a Convention, the
, forming Constitution comforting of Ex-
ecutive, Legislative and judicial jurisdiction and
/ powers on themseves,-and more palpably still, -
, the appointment of Senators and Representatives
to the Congress OF the United States,.- were, and
: are radically and incurably unconstitutional, ana
f null and poid! There cannot be a doubt it, nor
will it ever be disputed by any one who bears in
Z mind, what every one cognzant Of the action and
E powers of Congress, knows and admits,-th
: California did not derive any constitutional au-
thority from Congress to perform or legaze those
acts, nor could have derived it from any other
, source.
Taking this to be so, and it must follow, thai
the constitution of California and the whole State
! organization under it, are and were abiniho ALSO
Lutte nnlhties This brings us to the main point
in the case:--Can Congress revive and give effect
10 AN act long since deunct and void IN Its incep-
ton,--and to the doing of which Congress itself
was originally and is always incompetent, that is
to say, to the making of STATE constitution
i The very statement of the question carries the
answer along with IL; for no one will pretend
that Congress could originally have formed the
constitution of California, and how could 1t re
vive, what it was powerless to create i--under
our institutions, none can form constitution foI
a State, but the people themselves whom At is 70
bind and protect and even they,-ir NHAsirING