The southern press., 1851-08-01

Seo~GI1 ua1sr ~ juksdis3lon cf ~ oid sGHf
l C&n1hss Ccan, bat aossse(gu 2tntas wars never
bsoa3ht thsss. No. there v no umpire. The
/ sessseirn States themselves are the Judges ia
| the lsst resort, and from the nature Of things
there can be no other judges compatible with
sovereignty. The power to interfere and check
| in extreme and vital cases. involving ths liberty
Of the State is inherent in the nature Of the c0m
psct itself Without this, we have made no ad-
vance Ia the system Of regulated liberty. It is
the great distinctive feature OF American free
dom.--It IL the great fundamental law OF the
Amerinan compact, without which we are under
. consolidated despotsuI, one, from which we
will have to march sword in hand and through
the pedIs Of revolution. Under the recognition
Of this great fundamental right belonging to the
States, there can bs peace and no revolution.
A fair adjustment and new und rstanding OF the
compact may yet give life to the confederacy.-
But without it our doom is tixed-the hand writ
ting IL upon the wall, and we have no alternative
but an appeal 10 arms and the God of battles.
But the right Of State to sscede or interpose
was not questioned by the Republican party Of
old. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions Of
1898. drawn by Jefferson and Madison, express
" laid down the doctrine boldly and ably. and
It was universally recognized BY the Republican
party from that dav until now. Virginia did ac
tualy interposs and declare the alien and sedi-
ton laws Of no force, null and void within her
territories--and empowered the legislature to
carry It out. The government was checked and
controlled, and civil revolution was brought
about Ii those who enacted these laws had
held power aud perservered in enforcing them,
the Union would then have been dissolved. But
State interposition made the issue palpable and
they were 0verthrown.
| Vsho rixht f<, xO;th1ru ss~a%. Il. IN
inference, although clear from the very nature
Tof the compact and of soversignty in tho States.
But New York, Ia the conditions upon which
she ratified. expressly declared that the powers
of government may be rcassumed by the people
whensoever Il shall become necessary for their
happiness Virginia did the same, except using
the words, "whensoevcr the same shall be per-
verted to their injury or oppression" Rhode
Island did the same. Those were the conditions
these States expressly annexed, and If it was
right they expressly reserved, If It avails any
thing, it accrues equally to all; for 1t was rati-
fed by equals and no one could retain power
which each and all did not have alike. But it
does not require that the right should be secured
in fotidsm rerbis. 1t belongs to The existsncs
and independence Of State, and cannot be lin
tied or circumscibed by any parchment on earth.
But it is said this would make the Union
rope of sand. So it was said in old times that
trial by jury would be serious clog TO an eff
cient government To assert that It was neces-
sary to obtain the verdict Of twelve men, before
you could convict State criminal, would en-
barrass government and ministers Of State could
not get along with powers. All free govern
ments full of checks. 1t il the checks that
make liberty. Despotism has no checks. So
far from the interposition Of States on vital local
interests making the Union too weak, it il the
only thing that can save the Union. Without
this, in so extensive country with such variety
of interests, its dissolution is a. inevitable AZ
destiny. Heretofore the difference in our so :ial
and domestic institutions and our almost distinct
orders of civilization, have not been 90 deeply
felt, because we have had u sparse population
But as population increases and becomes pressed
down into its diffe. ent classifcatons, and grows
dense-then these differences will be deeply felt,
and the conflict will grow more deadly. Nothing
can save us but the recognized power of the
States. What has aided in keeping this Union
together heretofore, has been the fear of Euro
pean interference ii We should separate. Frag
ments of the confederacy might be subsidized
or conquered by European powers with monarch
ical institutions, and thus monarchy might be
reinstated here. This was the great fear in the
early days Of our republic But the last few
years have dispelled all such fears. 1t is now
apparent that Eur pean monarches can scarcely
maintain themselves at home. The convulsions
OF the last few years came near overthrowing
their own governments, and the day is now past
when there is any danger from European inter-
ference in American governments. WASHING
TONS Farewell Address, which has been so often
quoted by demagogues, was drawn in reference
to the state of the world at that time We were
then, comparatively speaking, but handful of
people, We had but recently come out of
bloody struggle with Great b itain. There was
deep prejudice TO our institutions in Europe
And the great dread with us was, that we might
be re-conquered or portions might become sub
sidised. United we could defend ourselves, and
divided we would be ruined To keep us to-
gether so as to defend ourselves from Europe,
was the great object of WASHING IONS address.
1t was suited to the day in which it was delivered
We have now passed from weak to powerful
people. The address was to rally us against
foreign power, but never contemplated one pow
erfu section of the republic combining no as
to insult and degrade nearly one-half of the
States of the republic. tits totally inapplicable
to the present state of the world and to our
country. We are now alive to other dangers
than disunion, and the dormant powers of the
States may be called out to their fullest deve-
lopement according to the genius of our system
without at all running into the dangers thatWAsH
ISGroN dreaded from European Interference
We are now strong enough to deleope the true
nature of our government fully, and a, it might
have been too weak at first to encounter the
power of Europe, true patriotism then required
cordial Union to support it. But If inits pro-
gress, it becomes too pc xerful at the centre for
the independence of the parts, then true patriot
ism would require checking power, and that
the States should be raised up to assert their
original rights and independence, so as to force
back the government itself into channel CON-
patible with regulated and enlightened liberty
IL is vile demagogueism to quote the great
WAsHIscToS's Farewell Address applicable to
the present state of the country; those who ex-
pect to save the Union by simply doing that,
without reforming the government first, hug to
themselves a fatal delusion.
See the review Of the great debate between
WEBSTER and CALHOUN, in the North American