Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1856-12-05
III. saprene Court 81 the 4 nitrd sia'"s ON th"
SSut,t of& 49,,


, appeal from the State Of Ohio IN which an imror-
tani question Of State rs oontrodistngushed from
Federal Rights, came up directly for considera-
ton aud decision The majority Of the court
ak Judges out of nine) rs stated yesterday, sus-
tainel the appeal. and in the course of the opin-
ion. which was delivered by Justice Wayne of
Georgia. the doctrine of State Rights, for the
peaceful right of secession) as e1pounded by
South Carolina and other Southern Democrats,
wa, distinctly aud alphabetically denied As the
easa will undoubtedly excite much attention, and
the doctrine advanced il ~rbaI very significant
md important, we conclude that fulier notice
of il will be acceptable to our readers
Tic case is reported in the last volume Of How
nrd'- United States Supreme Court Report, just
issued from the press Of Little. Brown 4 Co.,
Boston. Not having access to the volume we
nvnil ourselves Of the summary Of the case pre-
pared by the New York Evening Post. which We
presume 10 be correct. II appears TINT one Wool
sey. citizen of Connecticut, aud IA stakeholder
Of the Commercial Branch Bank of Ohio, filed
bill IL the United States Circuit Court against
the directors Of the bank. with others. to eni1 in
them lron paying state tax, which he and they
deemed illegal, but TO which they were disposed
to submit
1t was commended by the defendants that the
question was purely ono If State policy, and that
the United States Courts had no jurisdiction
in the premises The plea overruled in the
csarl below. and an appeal taken to the Su-
preine Court, which appears to have been consid-
cred il full bench. Here again it was insisted
10y appellants that the United States Supreme
Court had no jurisdiction over the ease, and that
it wis question purel of State sovereignty, for
which State tribunals furnished all the remedies
that any stakeholder war entitled to.
As We have stated this plea overruled, the
minority of the Court sustaining their jursdic
ton. Judge Wayne. in the course of the opin-
ION adopted by the Court. thus explicitly defines
the constitutional relations subsis,ing between
the General Government and the States:
The departments of the government are egis-
lative executive and Judicial. 1heypre coordi-
mite in degroe 10 the extent Of tho powers dele
gated 10 each of them Each in the exercise Of
it- poweris independent of the other. but all
rghtniiy done by either is binding upon tho 9TH
cfs. Tho constitution is supreme over all of
them, because the people who ratified it have
made L SO; consequently. anything trhich may
be done unauthorized by II, is uniapEL But it
is not on y over the departments of the govern
ment thnt the constitution i. supreme il is so,
To the extent of its delegated powers, orer all ,cho
made themselves parties TO States, MS well AS
persons within those concessions of sovereign
pawera, Welded by the people Of the states, when
hey accepted the constitution in their eonven-
lions. Nor does its supremacy end there: IL is
supreme orer the people ofhe Eaited States, az
gtegateig and in hair Separate SorercignticS,
becdnse they hare erci0dea McmscireS from any
dlreet u immediate agency in makmg amend
ht,ah % II ; and have directed that amendments
should be ma lc personal---very. for them by the
Congress of the United States &c.
Til is tho iii st judicial declaration made by
the Snpromc Court directly hearing upon the al
legged hight of secession, and it could hardly be
expected TINT such conclusions AS tho above,
would meet tho unanimous concurrence of the
Court, much less that they will meet the undyi-
ded ascent of the people of all the States. Three
Of thu Judges, Messrs. Campbell. Daniel and Ca
tron dss,ntcd, the former delivering the dsson
tient opinion, which denies, entirely thu right of
the federal tribunal to interfere. Mr. Campbell
says:
" Tho acknowledgement of such power would
" be Il establish the alarming doctrine that the
empire Of Ohio and tn remaining states of the
" Union, over their revenues, il not to be found
lin their people, but in the numerical minority
:" OF this oIurt."
And again
- b. for my part. when | consider the ins.
tice. moderation. the restraints upon arbitrary
power. the stability IF social order, the security
II petronnl rights aud general harmony which eN
i-ted IN the country htfof tie Sortreigniy Of
governments ruS Inserted and chen The Sorcr-
tignfu 81 the people edS Il firing and operative
pfincigi', aud governments were administered
suhire Ia the limitations, and with reference to
the specific ends for which they were organized,
aud hoir numbers recognised their responsibility
and del tnGcnce. feel no anxiety nor apprehcn
sion in .eaving the people of Ohio n complete
power over their government and all the instiu.
tons ard estubs hments it has called into exits
tcnce.'
Extreme men at the North and South will oh
ieet strongly to the decision of the Court-at the
North, because it etleetualy di>poses of the
claims setup by Massachusetts and other States
| to nullfy tho Fugitive Slave Law; and at the
South, because it priels the bubble, which has
| been diligently blown in some of the States.
! that peaceful secession is one of the rights re-
served lay the people of each State, tn be put in
! to practice whenever her sovereign will chooses
to do go Already find the New York Tri.
bune and Post. on the ono hand denying the
soundness of the decision, and the Savannah
Georgian. on the other. sneerng at the rsspec-
table gentlemen composing the majority, who a
| gree to il. The Tribune copies the paragraph
aboveq aoted from Judge Cnmpbcll's opinon,and
SAYS:
In these averments of Judge Campbell, in this
/ emphatic condemnation of the present policy of
/ the Federal Government, we must express our
entire occurrence, as Daniel did in the whole q
! piuion ut the moment of its delivery: Most Ger
tain it Is that the "sovereignty of the people is