Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1856-01-11

tory has never been surveyed and established
The rapidly extending scttieincnts IN That
region. and the fact that the main route be-
tween trdercndence, in the State Of Missouri,
and New Mexico is contiguous to this line,
suggest the probability that embarrassing
questions Of jurisdiction may consequently
arise. For these and other considerations,
commend tho subject to your carly atten-
tion.
CONSTITUTIONAL THEORY W rHt 1pyL"NNENf.
have thus passed in review the general
state Of the Union, including such particular
concerns Of the federal government, whether
Of domestic or foreign relation, as it appear
ed to me desirable and useful to bring to
the speci i 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 domestic strife Whatever of discomfort
or public dissatisfaction exists, Is attributable
to the imperfectiOns Of human nature, or is
incident to all governments, however perfect,
which human wisdom can devise. Such sub.
iects Of political agitation, rs occupy the pub
lilo mind, consist, to great extent OF eang-
Grafton Of inevitable evils, or over zeal in
social improvement, or mere Imagination of
grievance, having but remote conuexion with
of the federal gCvernment. To whatever ex-
tent these questions exhibit tendency men
acing to the stability Of the Constitution, Or
the integrity of the Union, and no farther,
they demand the consideration Of the Execu-
tive, and require to be presented by him to
Congress.
Before the Thirteen Colonies became a CON
federation Of independent States, they were
associated only by community Of trans-at-
lantic origin, by geographical position, and
by the mutual tie Of common dependence on
Great Britain. When that tie was sundered,
they severally assumed the powers and rights
Of absolute self-government The municipal
and social institutions Of each, its laws of
property and of personal relation, even its
political organization, were such only as each
one chose to establish wholly without inter-
ference from any other In the language Of
the Declaration OF Independence. each State
had " full power to levy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establish commerce, and
to do all other acts and things which indie
pendent States may Of right do" The sew
eral Colonies differed in climate, in soil, in
natural productions, in religion, in systems
Of education, in leg station, and in the forms
of political administration and they contin-
ued to differ in these respects when they vol
untary allied themselves as States to carry
on the war Of the revolution.
The object of that war was to disinthral
the United Colonies from foreign rule, which
had proved to he oppressive, and to separate
them permanently from the mother country
the political result was the foundation Of Il
/ Federal Republic of the free white men Of
/ the colonies, constituted, as they were, in
distinct, and reciprocally independent, State
Governments. As for the subject races,
whether Indian or African, the wise and
. brave statesmen of that day, bong engaged
/ in no extravagant scheme Of social change
left them az they were, and thus preserved
themselves and their postcrty from the an
archy and the ever-recurr!ug civil wars which
have prevailed in other revolutiOnizcd Eu
ropean colonies of America.
When the confeleratcd States found it con-
venent to modify the conditions Of their as
sociation, by giving to the general govern
ment direct access, in some respects, to the
! people Of the States, instead Of continuing it to
action on the States US such, they proceeded
to frame the existing Constitution adhering
steadily to one guiding thought, which was
| to delegate only such power as was necessary
and proper to the execution Of specific pur-
I poses, or, 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 entrusted to the general gov
ernment certain carefully defined functions,
leaving all others as the undelesated rights
Of the separate Independent soyereignties.
Such is the constitutional theory Of our govern
ment. the practical observance Of which has carried
us, aud Us alone, among modern republics, through
nearly three generations of tllue without tho cost
of one drop of blood shed in civil war. With free
dom and concert of action il has enabled con.
tend ssfully the battle field agaust tore Gr
foes, has elevated the feeble colonies into powerful
states, and has raised our industrial productions
and onr commerce which transports them to the
level of the richest and tic greatest nations of Eu
rope And the admirable adaptation Of our poilti
cal institutions to their obec's, combining local
sslf-government with ag ggreSate strength, has es
tablished the practicaoihty Of government like
ours to cover a continent with confederate States.
! The Congress of the United states is, il effect
that congress Of sovereisntics. which good men II
the Old World have ,oueht for, but could never at
tain, and which imparts to America nm exemption
from the mutual leagues for common action, from
the wars, the mutual invasons, and vague aspra
tions after the balance of power, which conyu's
from time to time the governments of Europe Gu
operative action rests in the conditions Of per
manent confederation prescri bed by the constitu
tion Our balance ofpowCr is in the separate re
served rights of the States md their equal repre-
.entation in the Senate. That independent sover
eighty in every one Of the States, with its
rights of local self-government assured to each b.
their co-equal pewer in tho Senate the funda
|
the Union would never have existed However dc
sirous the larger States might be to .anEe tn
government so as to give to their population its pro
portionate weight i'll the common cOunsels, the
knew it was impossible, unless they conceded to th
smaller ones authority to exercise at least mega
tive influence on all the measures of the govern
, ment, whether legislative or executive, throug
their equal representation in the Senate. Indeed
the larger states themselves could not have faie
to perceive, that the same power was equally nee
essary to them, for the security Of their own domc'
tic interests against the aggregate force of the ger
= eral government. In a word, the original STATE
went into this permanent league ON the agree
premises, of eIeripg their common strength for III
defence of the whole, and of all its parts but ,
, utterly excluding all capabilIty of reciprocal o.
gression. Each solemnly bound itself 60 an "a
Uthers, neither u undertake, nor permit, any eI
. cruachmeut upon, iutc. m ediliug with another
p reserved rights.
Where il vas deemed exped,ent, particular ish
4 Of the states were expressly garl ntecd 10y the col
stiu,ion, but in sll thing. beside these rishts We
guarded by the Limitation ofthe power, granite al
= by expire, reservation ulall power. not granted
/. The compact Of union. lnus, the great power
. tINation Wa lIuiitel t. purposes OF cuuuu ,clcI
:, aud general welfare, excluding objects appeltai
ing " the local legislation ut the several state
and those purpose ot general welfare aud comm,
defence were afterwards defined hN specific ,uUulr
70 a'iou a, being matters only Of correlation bctwc
5 the States themselves, between them and v.yl
Y governments, which, because of their coum.n al
general nature, cuult not be lett ~ the stuela
control of each state
r o. the circumstances o. local condition. iutclc
u and rights in which portion u! the safes, Cons
tutlug one great section ct the Union differed Ire
4 the rest, aud from another section the must imp,
lie taut was the pecularity OF q lHrxc relative color
,r population in the southern than in the Northe
- states
" population of this class, held ia suhicctiuu. q
listed in nearly all the states, but was more mum,
l. Gus and of more serious coucernment in the Sou
r. than in the North, account of natural dilercu,
= of climate and production; aud it forcccu th
,s for the same reasons, while thi. population won
A., diminish and, sooner OF later, cea,c to exist, in sol
. states, II night Increase in otAeIs. The peculi
~ ~ character and magnitude of this question of lo
IL rights, not IN material relations only, but stll
n in social ones caused it to enter into the spec
n stipuatons OF the constitution.
n. Hence while the general government, as well
:, the enumerated powers granted 10 il, a. hy the