Woodville Republican., 1853-12-27
The Message State Rights.


Under this head, that able and influential
paper, the Richmond Enquirer, has an excel
lent article, showing, with most unmistakable
plainness, the evident and decided doctrines
which do, and will, shape the course of the
present administration. The grand starting
point andgoverning idea will be most eminent
" the doctrine Of State Rghts-such State
Rights as have been preached and practiced
by such men as Jefferson, Madison and 9TH
ers in former times ard by jeff Davis and
the organs of the State rights party in Missis
sippi in latter days. The doctrines against
which such crusade was preached by design
ing demagogues in this State but few years
since, which somewould lain believe, and shud
der while they believed, must effectuay ruin
the country, damn the Constitution, and rem
der our fruitful hills and smiling plains but
dreary wilderness, bowling waste of wild
beasts and demons we say this doctrine is
now the sheet anchor of an Administration
which assumed the reins of Government, by Il
more universal and more nearly unanimous
voice ofthe whole people than any ever before
The Pres dent nobly and boldly af1irms it. de-
carcs it will be maintained as the only true
method of rightly maintaining the Constitu-
ton and practicng the views of the trainers
of that instrument. The following extract,
from the message, speaks for itself, and speaks
plainly enough for the comprehension, even of
so-calIed Union wings of the strictest secl:
81 am deeply sensible Of the immense re-
sponsibility which the present magnitude of
the republic and the diversity and multiplicity
of its interests, devoves upon me; the ale
Walton of which, so far as relates to the i'm
mediate conduct of the public business is, first,
in my reliance on the wisdom and patriotism
of the two houses of Congress; and second
", in the directions afforded me by the prin-
ciples of public policy, affirmed by fathers
of the epoch of 1898, sanctioned by long ex-
perience, and consecrated anew by the over
whelming voice Of the people of the United
States.
Recurring to these principles which CON
stitute the organic basis Of union, we perceive
that vast as are the functions and duties of
the General Government, vested in or entrust-
ed to lis three great departments, the Iegsla-
tive, executive and Judicial, yet the substantive
power, the popular force, and the large capa-.
cities for social and materel development, ex-
ist in the respective States, which. all being of
themselves well constituted Republics, as they
preceded, so they alone are capable Of main
tanning and perpetuating the American Union.
The Federal Government has its appropriate
line of action in the specific and limited pow
ers conferred on it by the Constitution, chiefly
as to those things in which the States have
common interest in their relations to one an
other and to foreign Governments; while the
great mass of interests which belong to cult
vated men, the ordinary business Of life, the
springs of industry, all the diversified person
al and domestic affairs Of society, rest securely
upon the general reserved powers Of thepeo-
pie Of the several States. There is the cffec-
tive democracy of the nation, and there the
vital essence Of its greatness"
The following is the article from the En-
quirer spoken of above:
Within the last quarter century, the power
of the Federal Government has been immense
ly aggrandized by usurpation of sovereign
rights of the States. This tendency towards
the Capitalization and consolidation Of the
political power which just theory of our sys-
TEN Of government would distribute among
the States, has been deplored by Democrats
of the school of Jefferson and Madison; but
they have not been able to arrest the move
ment. They have made a gallant stand for
State rights, but without success. The per
version Of the constitution and the aggrandize-
ment of the Federal Government made such