The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1856-01-10


bring TO the special notice of Congress-
Unlike the great States of Europe and
Asia and many of those OF America
these United States are wasting their
strength neither in foreign war nor domes-
tie sfrfft- Whatepef Of discomfort or pub
lic dissatisfaction exists, is attributable to
tho fhfpeifettiJhs eof hufnan nature, or lis
Incident to all governments, however per-
feet, which human wisdom can devise.
~Such subJPts sof political agitation. as
occupy the public mind, consist, to a great
extent, of exaggeration of inevitable evils,
or over zeal in social Improvement, or
mere imagination grievance, having but
remote connection with any one of the
constitutional functions or duties of the
federal government. To whatever ex,
tent these questions exhibit tendency
menaeing to the Union, and no farther,
they demand the consideration of the
Executive, and require to be presented
by him to Congress- ~4
Before the Thirteen Colonies became
confederation of independent States, they
were associated only by community of
TRANSATLANTIC origin, by geographicalpo
sition, and by the mutual tie of common
dependence on Great Britain. When
that tie was sundered, they severally as
sumed the powers and rights of absolute
self-guvernment. The municipal and So
cialinstitutions of each, its laws of pro-
perty and of personal relation, even It's
political organization, were such only as
each ohe choose to estsbjsh, wholly with
out interference from any 9th er.
In the language of the Declaration OF
Independence, each State had ' full pow
erto levy war, conclude peace, contract
alliances, establish commerce, aud to do
all other acts and things which independ-
ent. States may of right do. - The seve-
raj colonies differed in climate, in soil, IN
natural productions. in religion, in system
of education, in legislation, and in the
forms of political administration and
they continued to differ in these respects
whensthey voluntarily allied themsel YES
as. States to carry on the war of the reyo-
lutibn.e eA'ilt< " e' #t }"o"s u
The object of that war was to olsen
thrall the United Colonies from foreign
rule, which hard proved 80 be oppressive,
and to separate them permanently from
the mother country the political results
was the foundation of federal republic
of the free white men of the colonies,
constituted, as they were, indistiHct. and
reciprocally independent, State govern
ments. As for the subject races, whether
Indian or African, the wise and brave
statesmen of that day, being engaged in
no extlavagant scheme of social change,
left them as they were, and thus preserv
ell themselves and their posterity from
the anarchy, and the recurring civil wars,
which have prevailed in the revolutionizet
Eu. opean colonies of America. ltu
When the confederated States found il
convenient to modify the conditions OF
their association, by giving to the genera!
government direct access, in some respects
to the people of the States as such, they
proceeded to frame the existing constitu-
tion adhering steadily to one guiding
thought, which was, to delegate only such
power as was necessary and proper to the
execution of specific purpose, OF, in other
words, to retain as much as possible
consistently with those purposes, of the
Independent powers of the individual
States. For objects of common defence
and security, they intrusted to the general
government certain carefully defined tunc-
1ions, leaving all others as the undelega
ted rights of the separate independent
sovereignties.
Such is the constitutional theory q
our government, the practical observance
oil which has carried us, and Us alone
among modern republics, through nearly
three generations of time without the cos
of a drop of blood shed in civil war;
With freedom and concert Of action, i
has enabled us to contend successfully OF
the battle field against the foreign foes
has elevated the feeble colonies into pow
reful States, and has raised our industria
productions, and our commerce which
transports them, to the level of the rich
est and the greatest Nations OF Europe
And the admirable adaption of our polit
ical Institutions to their objects, combin
ing local self-government with aggregate
strength has established the practicable
ty OF a government like ours to cover
continent with confederate States
- The Congress Of the United States is
in effect, that Congress of sovereignties
which good men in the old world hav
sought for, but could never attain, AM
which nnparts to America an explana
tion from the mutable leagues for com
mon action, from the wars, the mutuo
invasions and vague aspirations after h
balance OF power, which convulse fror
time to time the governments of Enrop'
Our CO operative action rests in the cor
ditions of permanent confederation pre-
served by the constitution. Oul baant
of power is in the separate reserved right
of the States, and their equal leprescntai 10
In the Senate. That independent severe
gnty in every one of the States, with i
reserved rights OF local self governm n
assured to each by their co-equal powe
in the Senate was the fundamental cond
tion Of the constitution. Without it til
Union would never have existed How
ever desirous the larger States might |
to organize the government so as to gi,
to their population its proportional
weight in the common councils, the
knew it was impossible, unless they COZ
ceded in The smaller ones authority to e,
ercise at least a negative Influence ON
the measures of the government, whetl
er legislative or executive, throug
their equal representatives in the Senat
~ Indeed, the larger States themselv
could not have failed to preceive, that Il
same power was equally necessary to the
e.. &l - a. u