Southern standard. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1851-1856, 1851-09-13
Ron. JeTe. Clenle3s.

Hon. JeTe. Cleme2s.
Among the thousands Of instances which the
history Of politicians in this country affords of the
facility with which the unprincipled portion of this
class Of bipeds can change their opinions and re
verse their position the political chess board at
the bidding of selfnterest and ambition, no one
stands forth more prominently than that furnish
ed in the course of the Hon. gentleman, whose
name heads this paragraph. Without any assign
ed or assignabe cause worthy Of moments con
sideraton, Mr.. Clemens has metamorphosed HIM
self from the most ultra fire eater that appeared in
the halls of Congress during the stormy session
that witnessed the humiliation and punder Of the
South to the most abject apologist for and most
craven submissioniss to, the aggTessions commit
ted on the South, by the .free-soil party Of the
North.
The Huntsville Democrat, of the 7tllinst. con-
trasts the opinions expressed by Col Clemens IN
the Court House at Huntsville on the 25th July
ut. with what he uttered in bis place in the Sen
ate on the 18th of August last year. Says the
Democrat
Col. Clemens in his speech on the 28th ult. in
the Court House spoke, in substance, as follows;
II IS o6strd to talk Of State Sovereignty IL
deny that Alabama is a sovereign State; she has
surrendered her sgvereignty to the General Gov
ernment of the Union. She cannot coin money,
emit bills OF credit. form treaties with Forel9R
Z
State without these attributes of sovereignty
We should have been shocked and surprised at
such sentiments, continues the Democrat, emana-
ting from the lips of protested Democrat ard
Repubhcan,-a gU0Rdaa2 advocate OF State tights
Doctrines-but for the many changes that his
pnions and professions have undergoing IN the
brief period of twelve months. We record his
opinions now, in order to preserve them for future
comment: TO show that the denial Of State SOW
/ ,,lo+ iah
lists stand that its tendency is to consolidation,
that its inevitable result viii be to subject the
Southern States to the will Of the dominant ma
/ jority of the Northern people We will show
that denial Of State sovereignty IS the pu@ctuh'
salieH8 the beginning of all the adyersaTies OF
those Republican or strict construction doctrines
taught by Jefferson, Madison and Jackson, and
that Col. Clemens has adopted the opinions OF the
Adamses, Kent Story and Webster, and Of the
Federal party, generally.
For the present, we will only hold up for Col
Clemens inspection, his opinion OF State soTer-
eighty so late as 18th August, 1850, when ad-
dressing the Senate, he used this language:
4 know, sir, that the President in his late let
ter to the governor of Texas, has assumed Ht
right Of tie Government 20 coeree SOVEREIGN
State. deny shat there is anything in the con
stitution-anything in the laws-to justify sucf
an assumption. The law is plain and clear-indi
SCNA0hSA4
If any State should secede let him, if he dares
attempt to employ military force to compel her t
return. He viii soon find in that event that h
has more than one State TO deal with, and tina
the powers and resources Of this government ar
wholly Inadequate TO the task he has undertaken
The federal doctrine tat oU pogeer lodges here ha
been somewhat widely repudiated and tie de''ia
. Of State sovereignty either North or South, ca
, bring to the Erecatigs nothing bit coAtenpt."
And what ought the denial Of State .soyerignt
to bring to SENATOR specially to one, who vi
terecEthe words above recited not twelve month
! ago ?-Echo answers--''N Nothing but contempt
: That the denial Of State so0ereigntyis .Federo
: doctrine Col. Clemens himself averred, Gas q
bove quoted, and that he now avows that Fedel
al doctrine, we presume even he cannot deny
: But he knows that he cannot deny the RIGHT of
State to secede, without also, denying her soyel
:. eighty, and, hence, he now renounces all the II
, publican opinion expressed in that speech. h.'-A6
! Yion Commonwealth.