The southern press., 1851-05-19


position revolutionary right the doctrine VIZ
admissbe-but not otherwise. And Ms. WI
A srER went on TO maintain that the federal go,
ernment, or In some cases a single department
of it, was the sole and final Judge of its ow
powers, and that when the constitutionality o
a aw was called in question the Supreme Cour
was the last resort to decide. TO show hoy
much mistaken he was in the argument, and how
much both he and Mr.. RvEs misunderstood Mr.
MADISON, we now quote from Mr.. AlApIsoE's re
port to the Legislature of Virginia in 80O in de
fence of his resolutions of 1898, and in reply te
hostile responses of the legislatures Of Other
States MIR. MADISON declares he had considered
their positions maturely, and carefully reconsd
cred his own, and we beg TO fix the attention OF
the Republicans of this country, and particularly
of its young men, to those words which declare
the principles on which this Union is based, and
without which it is only hydra.headed despot-
ism.
1T appears to your committee to be a plain
principle, funded in common sense illustrated BY
common practice, and essential 10 the nature Of
compacts that, ,ohere resort be had 10 no tri-
bunat superior 10 the authority of The parties, The
parties themselves must be the ,ightful Judges in
the last resort, ,ohetler the bargain made has been
pursued or piolated The Constitution of the
United States was formed by the sanction of the
States giren by each in lis sorereign capaciiy
1t adds to the stability and dignity, as well as to
the authority, of the Constitution, that it rests
on this legitimate and solid foundation The
States then, being the parties to the constitu-
tional compact, and in their sovereign capacity,
toltoios Of necessity thai there can be no tribunal
ADORE their authority to decide, in the last resort,
whether the compact made by them be violated !;
and consequently as the parties to it, they must
themselves decide IN the last resort such questions
as may be of sufficient magnitude to require their
nterpostion.
/ X
| But it is objected that the judicial aaahOrityis
to be regarded as the sole expositor of the Con-
sttution in the last resort and it may be asked
for what reason the declaration by the general
assembly, supposng it to be theoretically true,
could be required at the present day, and in so
solemn manner.
On this objection, it might be observed, first,
| that there may be instances of usurped power,
which the forms Of the Constitution would
never draw within the control of the judicial
department; secondly, that if the decision of the
judiciary be- raised above the authority of the
| several parties to the Constitution, the decisions
of the other departments mol carried by the forms
j of the Constitution before The Judiciary must be
| eouaAp authoritative and final aoifh The decisions
of that department. But the proper answer to
the objection is, that the resolution of the ge-
neral assembly relates to those great and ex-
traordnary cases, in ,ohich all The forms of The
Constitution may prove Intellectual against in
fractions, dangerous to the essential rights of
the parties to it. The resoutiuI supposes that
dangerous powers not delegated, may not only
be usurped and executed by the other depart
ments, but that the judicial department also may
exercise or sanction dangerous polcers beyond The
! grant Of the Constitution; and, consequently,
that the ultimate right of the parties to the
Constitution, to Judge whether the compact has
o been dangerously violated, must extend to vio-
g lations By delegated authority, as ,oeH as an
i other-by The Judiciary as weH as by The erecu-
:, tipe, or The legislature"
!. Here it will be seen that Mr. MADISON asserts
the right of the States, not merelyt to decide but
# to decide in The last resort in a controversy
e with the general government, and thus crushes
f the construction of Mr. RIvEs and other resolu-
f tionary politicians. Mr.. WEBSTER goes for Mr..
, MADISON a V better than Mr.. RIvEs and con-
strues the right as revolutionary one. But Mr..
2 MADISON crushes Mr.. WEBSTER with equal pom
4 derosity, by asserting the right to decide in the
last resort as resulting not only from The compact
,chich forms our Union but from all compacts
r And the pretended right of re~olution-which
by the way we have repeatedly shown to be n
e mere fog bank of retreat for sophsts-isa right
: which rests on no compact but on the law of ma
D ture and belongs as much to Russian serf, who
0 knows no compact, as to sovereign American
. State.
The Congress of 1928 met with an over
whemng majority in favor of reducing South
Carolina to submission. General Jackson came
out with a proclamation, which LIVINGSTON
penned and WEBSTER approved, that ignored
the very existence of State rights and proclaim
ed the absolute supremacy of federal power.
Treason was the crime and hanging the punish
7 ment, prescribed by both the grand national par
ties for the ilustrious men Of that State. Mr.
4 CALHOUN was detained at home for perhaps q
fortnight, by what was expected to be the death
!, bed of his wife, ard it was reported here in
. Pennsylvania avenue that he dared not come
When this word reached him he. came right on
A without waiting TO perform what he expected
would soon be the last sad duties to her re-
mains. He came and entered the Senate and
reason and liberty and wisdom and patriotism
attended. He spoke, and the light of his intel
Iect radiated through the Senate aud the coun.
try. He had to contend against the pride af
power, the pride of opinion, against popular
prejudice, against sectional cupidty. But he
prevailed. The proclamation was partly re-
tracted, the odious tariff was repealed-and the
Union and the Constitution were saved And
, the opposition which South Carolina thus made
at the peril of her existence to the tariff, hns
now been ratified by overwhelming MAORI
ty of the people The principle Of protection
still fingers, but such tariff az that Of 1928 OF
oan i 4