Southern standard. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1851-1856, 1853-04-23

1 opinion, who has written since n. -
was formed. Mr.. Calhoun in his trs. gOVernnen,
eminent just published, on page loo 1nes on gov.
guage: representative governmen. 'hslsa.
entire, cannot possibly be the seat os efenWheo
the Supreme and ultimate power 80 SOVEREIGNTY
| The very term representative impI;e. : STATE
in the body represented" He draw l Superior
between the constitution making and n. melton
king powers. Between the power Will Jaw ma
and establishes the Fundamental :of,asiOs
ates and invests government with it's .mt h'en ere
and the power that passes acts to carry
ton the power delegated to government ) u
Portant consequences flow from this. Tho m
pie is sovereign the courts are its cro.ta Ro-
agents and functionaries The sovers;e'a it
nouneed the Bonds to be void. Can FL II. NSs p'O-
make valid what the sovereign power has ~ IOufs
declared void +? Can sovereign be sunn,, aread!
answer before its own tribunals? No 70
CO tend that it can, except by its own orooo WI
favor. And when 1t extends this grace and aug
it follows that it does so only as reseects sucb VT
tiers, as it has not at the time pronounced ;ts aa
lion. In 1888, the state gave to persons bor;"
claims against her. the privilege to sue her Il ~
Superior Court of Chancery; but the wear bat As'
she had solemnly declared that the bonds ;s."
for the Union Bank were null, and in no wav u
lgatory upon her. Can the Courts nuIfy ~.
edicl of the State Can the agent of the Sow wy
eign repeal his act, when he has given him :.
commission even to examine such act? Vs-.
dearly not.
Then the decree of the Chancellor in the rams.
decided is simply void from want Of iurisdict;oD
over the subject matter And (make the predr.
tion) the High Court will not decide-must 50 d.
eide. How can they do otherwise?
j Another important consequence flows from n,
doctrine, so we'll expressed by the author cited :
1t is this In many matters not at all inyolvD.
the constitution, the Legislature cannot bind 10
sovereign at all. For instance, can the Leos.
ture bind the sovereign for debts incurred not with
a view to the national advantage? Or can it bar.
row money for purpose not national? Couldo,
Legislature bind the sovereign people (supuosins
all constitutional forms strictly observed in the art
to pay money which has been borrowed to erer
golden statutes to some of her distinguished men,
Or to enable some of her needy men to pay their
debts? Or some of her avarltious men to Speech
late upon? l would say no. At any rate Waiter
appears to have been of this opinion
" The sovereign has not in general, power TO
render the state or body corporate liable for the
debt he contracts, unless they be incurred with
view to the national advantage and in order to en-
able him to provide for all occurrences. If be is
absolute. it belongs to him alone to decide, in all
doubtful cases, what the welfare and safety ofthe
state require. But, if he should, without neces-
slty, contract debts of immense magnitude and
capable of running the nation forever, there could
not Their exist any doubt in the case tHesovergn
has evidently acted without authority; and those
who have lent him their money, have imprudent--
! ly risked it, 1t cannot be presumed that ma
ton has ever consented to submit to utter ruin
through the caprice and foolish prodigaity Of Der
ruler.
As the national debts can only be paid BY con-
tributIons and taxes, wherever the sovereign has
not been intrusted by the nation with power to
levy taxes and contributions or, in short to raise
supplies by his own authority, neither has he a
power to render her liable for what be borrows, Or
to involve the state in debt. Thus, the king Of
England, who has the right of making peace and
war, has not that of contracting national debts
without the concurrence of parliament because
be cannot, without their concurrence, levy any
more of his people.
The case is not the same with tie donations OF
the sovereign as with his debts When a sover-
el9n has borrowed without necessity, or for
wise purpose, the creditor has intrusted tie state
with his property and it is just that the state
should restore it TO him. it, at the time ofthe
action, he should entertain reasonable preSump-
ION that 1t to the state he was lending it, But
when the sovereign gives away any of the prop
10y vi tiiC ot'ic-d part OF the D3ilCn2l OOmdl-
considerable fef-he has no right to make such
grant except with view 10 the public welfare, as
reward for service rendered to the state, or for
some other reasonable cause in which the nation
Is concerned, if he has made the donation without
reason and without lawful cause, he has made it
without authority. His successor or the state,
may at any time revoke such a grant nor would
the revocation be wrong done to the grantee
since 1t does not deprive him of any thing which
he could Justly call his own What we here ad-
vance holds true ofevery sovereign whom the law
does not expressly invest with the free ard abso-
Lutte disposal ofthe national property so danger
our power is never to be found on presumption"
only spring, for l have neither time nor space
to explore this subject. The Judges ofour State,
who have safe since this matter ofrepudiation has
been agitated with the exception Of Judge Thstch-
er believer) whether in the Chancery, or the
Court of Errors and Appeals, Smith, Cooke, Ruek-
ner, Turner, Clayton, Sharkey, Trotter, Yer5er'
Fisher, Scott, arc all understood to hold the opn-
ion that the bonds were consttuionally issued
Sach an array is entitled to, and should recelEs
respect. But what eminent Jurist has yet adj
vanced the opinion that the Legislature has the
power to borrow money for such a purpose IL
may be thought that this doctrine would be alike
fatal to the bonds issued for the Union and for the
Planters Bank. | am not prepared to say mucn'
The State was a large Stakeholder in the Planter
Bank. 1t was for some time her fiscal agent
believe. The State appointed halfoftbe directory,
and thus had to great extent, the management
and control of it. 1t was sort of State lnStllu
ton, and might be considered perhaps as INTENDED
to effect benefcially the general interest. Blu. III
the Union Bank, the State was not Stockhooer
for all agree that the Supplementalact that was