Washington telegraph., 1851-07-16
: - an Nullification alias Secession.

- h.en one Of tho abeSt scnoarS ana most &C
ssomnlished statesmen this coqAtry has produced,
I'D I have been struck again and again with the
of many of his reflections 10 the pre-
.snt condition Of things in this country. As our
are constansIy Iegaled with arguments (sa We
-. markD in fsvoE Of sece ssiop, and assumptions
r.. h.vond the reach of logic, have thought it
;n,nnortune to transcribe for the Advertiser,
~. n0 nnanswerabe argument of Mr.. Legare upon
s,,h;ect. taken from an address HE delivered at
Ch.rles,ou. July 4th, 1881. doubt not, sir, your
rs,d,rs will be forcibly struck with the similarity
= sh,ws between the positions Of tile friends Of
,I;6ca,ion of '32 and the Secessionsts Of to day.
indeed, 'mut"tis m.utondis, it would be very
nnro,rate speech for July, 1881. As MI. Legare
rs .pp ueal descendant olthe aristocracy of Caro-
,;n. and was an acknowledged member Of the
".h;valry." his authority will Of course be ack cknowl-
.dgrd by the worshppers Of Palmettodpm here.
T s,cb I commend, in confidence, understand,
the extracts which follow
a0er acknowledging the injustice which had
h.su done to the South, and totally disappearing
ihe action OF the government, NJ. Legare PEE
ceeds thus: -
A.. most ex,ravagant writers in our newspapers
have ever assumed, and q great deal more than
,bs most able of ,heIa can prove-I will grant
,h., the government Of the United States is no
aoysrument at aIi--that it is not only compact
hs,weeu independent States, but thati is COM
,,c, of no peculiag soleIauIy OK leQcaey-c"nvey-
mo no powers not usually granted by International
t.a,.ss establishing no intimate relations between
the different parts Of the country, not suhJeciIng
The citizen; in the least, to the jurisdiction OF the
FEDERAL Courts, not binding upon his conscience,
not imposing upon him the obligations OF allegiance,
not making hin, liable in any Case TO the peraltles
,f treason will pat the case as strongly as pos
.ble for the sdvoceles Of the doctrine ! will sup
pose that this Constitution, Of which we have been
boas,ing so much for near half century.Is iound
on, to be league between foreign powers, and
that every question that cap arise under Vt Is, I'D
TN. strict sst sense Of the word, a merely pohticdl
question. What then, sir? Did you ever hear of
one party to a league having right-no to Judge
for himself of its meaning, mark the Distinction
but-io bind the other party by his Judgment!-
| admit that there is no common arbItef-that
each of the parties is 10 Judge for h'mself-does
tina, mean that he shall Judge for the others too?
4 compact between States is as binding com
n,c, he, weeu individnas- creates what is called
bv tex, writers ga perfect obligation n-here is no
doubt but that a sovereignty is obliged before God
and man scrupulously tofulhH the conditions of its
agreements But sovereeuties With regard to zach
other are iu a state of nature-they have no COM
mon superior 10 enforce compliance with their
covenants and if any difference arise as 10 their
riybs and liabilities under tlerp, what says the law
of nature and nations9 Why, what can ii say:
but tina, each shall do as il peases-or that force
shall decide The controversy Is there any lmag-
pable alternative between the law ard ihe sword,
between the Judgment of some regularly con-
ss,i,u,ed empire chosen beforehand by the common
consent of the contracting parties, and the ultima
ratio regum? Sir, we have heen told that State
sovereignty is and ought to be govtined BY no.
thing but It's own feelings and hon6ra He jo~tIce'-
il comes up, in The dscal,aton of the day, to the
description Of hsi ragcibsr, mperious and reckless
hero, whose wrath and the woes 1t brought upon
hls country are an admirable theme for epic or
a tragic sohg, but would not, suppose, be recon-
mrnded as The very highest q all possible exam
pies i" morality
ImpgeT. fracundus, lpeXorahs, aceF,
lura nrgat sbi nata, nhi non arrogat arms. arms
Yet strange TO say. the very men who paint TO us
the Sverrignty of the States in SUCH -colors, and
would caviI about the ninth part of a hair where
their ri hts and interests are concsrnrd' forget
entirely tina. lhers other parties to The compect
bu, South Carolina or that those parties have amy
right to exercise, or any interests to malntain'E
"We have righ, to Judge for ourseyes,' say they,
chow far we are Bound fer the constitution, or
how far we shall comply with it," Grapt it. But
wha, of the other twenty three partiesl now
thirty ore Are they bound by our decision9
Shall they not think for themselves, because we
say that act, which they have declared Tor the
great majority or thrm] to h9e within the meaning
Of the treaty aud binding upon us, is not so! IT
our opinion is just, we are not bound. Now the
whole failacy Of the argument on the other side
consists in cooy taking for granted the very mat
Ter in jispute-in botting out this fin denying
others the very righ, of judging which We claim
for ourselves-and in expecting them, exactng 1t
Of them, to act upon our convictions instead OF
their own"
Mr. Legare next adduces the Authority Of the
most publicist to sustain his positions,
and then closes in the following manly and Pa
trotic strain:
.sTo this conclusion it must come at last, and
the only question now submitted TO the people Of
South Carolina, s-Ale YOU ready 70 absolve yorr-
selves from your allegiance to the government Of
the United States, aud to take and maintain YOU.
station as a separate commonWealth among the
Nations Of the earth2
| have confined myself. in the discussion ofthis
subject. to singIe point in one branch OF 1t. l
have said nothing about the extent of our grievan
ces, SO enormously exaggerated by the ""ExposI.
iion." Even in regard to the proposed remedy bY
Notification, | have chosen to take up the ques-
ton it is presented by the Warmest advocates OF
that doctrines--and submit that have made It
plain that even on their opn sholring, 1t is neces-
edfny an act OF Wa[-d re yoiufoHhiS "'eoou C.
But, in doing SO, have conceded great deal too
much-l have allowed hem to treat our elaborate
and peculiar policy, which we have been taught
to regard as one Of the masterpieces Of human in
ventun, as if it were the cOarsest and loosest Of
those occasional expeditions to preserve peace
among foreign powers, leagues. offensive and de-
fensive. If their argument is wholly inconclusve
and indeed msnifessIy ineongraoas and aostird
even in thus point OF viaw, what shall be said of IT,
when it is thoroughly and critically examined with
reference to true state of the Sir, | have
no language 10 express my astonlshnent that such
doctrine should have found any countenance
from the sbIe and enlightened men who have
given in their adhesion to it.
We have been taunted as subnissionists-l am
not afraid of nckname--'''l'is the eye Of child
hood that fears painted devil" 1t would be
easy-very, very easy to retort-but prefer ac-
ceptlng own denomination aud putting my