The southern press., 1851-08-06

cessions
AS for the perpetuity of treaties of commerce,
or articles of co-partnership, when no time is
specified for their termination, that is neither
law nor the usage of nations nor of men--and
Dr.. LIEBER must not expect US to take his
opinion unsupported. He says:
Now, have taken the pains of examining all
confederacies Of which we have any knowledge.
In none of the many Greek confederacies did the
right of secession exist, so far as we can trace
theirfundamental principles. In some rare cases,
"A uufaithful member may have been expulsed.
But in the most important Of all these confede-
races, and in that which received the most com
plete organization, resembling in many points,
our own--in the Achean League there existed
Ino right of secession, and this is proved by the
following case When the Romans had obtained
the supremacy over Hellas, and Greece was little
more than province of Rome, the Etolians re-
spectfully waited upon the Roman agent Gallus,
to solicit permission to secede from the League.
He sent them TO the Senate, and the secessionists
obtained at Rome the permission to withdraw
no "leading case" | suppose, for Americans.
The Amphictyonic council allowed of no seces-
sion. 1t was Pan Hellenic, and never meant to
he otherwise The medieval leagues Of the
Lombard cities, of the Swaban cities, and of the
Rhenish cities, permitted no spontaneous with
drawal; bat the fortunes of the fiercest wars
ragged against them by the nobility, would occa-
sionally tear off member and produce disrup-
lions. The great Hanseatic League, which by
its powerful union of distant cities became one
of the most efficient agents in civilizing Europe
and which, as Mi. Huskisson stated in parliament
carried trade and manufacture into England,
knew nothing of secession until the year 63O
when the princes, avid for the treasures of her
cities, had decreeed her destruction, and forced
many members to secede. This is no leading
case either.
The Swiss confederacy, the Germanic confed-
Grafton, knew and know nothing of secession !;
nor did the United States of the Netherlands, SO
much studied by some of our trainers, and Wash
ington among them, admit the withdrawal of any
single State.
All these confederacies consisted Of a far looser
web than ours. None had federal government
comparable to ours, yet they never contemplated
such right.
Now, Dr. LIEBER is very unlucky in the
"pains" he has taken "to examine all confed-
eracies, of which we have any knowledge" For
it does not seem to have occurred to him to ex.
a Line confederacy that existed in this country
before the present one. The articles of that
confederation expressly stipulated that it should
be perpetual and unalterable, except by the con-
sent of all HE parties-and no Achaan, Am
phictyonic, Swabian, Lombard, Rhenish, Han
seattle, Swiss, Dutch, or Germanic confederation,
could have been more firmly bound than that
md uaf hndxv nf oaoa1ar. ~
consisting of MADISON, HAMILTON, and others,
and openly proclaimed change. They after
wa-ds met at Philadelphia, with General WASH
KGroN at their head, and with FRANKLIs, RAN
DoLPH, PScKKEY, RUTLEDGE g. Co., and de-
liberately sent forth an invitation and plan to
secede, if they could get the cooperation of nine
States, and they did-and the present Constitu-
ton was formed, and the present government
went on for some time in open secession from
several Of the States, North Carolina, Rhode
Island, &c. This Constitution and government
therefore, were conceived in secession, and born
in disunion. And if there be no such right as
sccess' where none is expressed in Consti-
tuition or compact, then the present Constitution
is not itself of any authority-nor the present
movement anything but usurpation.
But rs for the doctrine Of Doctor LIEBER,
that there is a general principle that leagues or
compacts are perpetual where no provision is
made for their termination, or even when they
are perpetual by their terms, we will quote Mr..
WEBSTER, in his speech in the Senate, in 1888,
against nulliication-and surely he is good au.
thority for DIR. LIEBER:
g If league between sovereign powers have
no limitation as to the tune of its duration, and
contain nothing making it perpetual, it subsists
only during the good pleasure of the parties. al.
though no violation he complained Of If, in
the opinion of either party, it be violated, such
party may say that he piH no longer fulfil IT'S OBJ
Egations on his parL, but toiH consider The uhole
league or compact at an end, although IL might be
one Of lis stipulations thai IL should be perpetual
Upon this principle the Congress of the United
States, in l79S declared null and void the treaty
Of alliance between the United States and
France, though it professed TO be perpetual al
lance.
H-The New York T,r;l,,o. ~ M N 10. q, Al, n