Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1856-01-04

! Wnlcn mas carried US, ana us alone, among
modern republics, through nearly thret
generations of time without the cost Of ont
drop of blood shed in civil war Will
freedom and concert of action. it has ena
bled us to contend successfully on the bat
tle-feld against foreign foes. has elevated
the feeble colonies into powerful States, and
has raised our industrial productions, and
our commerce, which transports them. tc
the level Of the richest and the creates,
nations of Europe And the admiral adap
tation of our political institutions to theil
objects, combining local self government
with aggregate strength, has established
the practibility of government like our
to cover continent with confederate
States.
The Congress Of the United States. is
/ in effect. that congress of sOyereigntics,
which good men in the Old World have
sought for, but could never attain, and
which imparts to America an exemption
from the mutable league for common ac-
ton, from the wars, the mutual imasionS
and vague aspirations after the balance of
power, which convulSe from time to time
the governments of Europe Our cooper
ativc action rests in the conditions of per-
manent confederation prescribed by the
constitution Our balance Of power is in
the Seperate reserved rights Of the States,
and their equal representation in the Sen
ate That Independent sovereignty in ev-
cry one of the States, with its reserved
rights of local self-government assured to
each by their co-equal power in the Sen
ate, was the fundamental condition of the
constitution Without it the Union would
never have existed However deSirous the
larger States might I've to re-Organize the
government 50 as 10 give to their popula-
tion its proportionate weight in the cont
mon counsel>. they knew it was impossible
unless thcv conceded to IN" smaller once
authority to exercise at least Il negative IN
iiuencc on all the measures Of the govern
ment, whether legislative or executive,
through their equal representation in the
Senate. Indeed the larger States Them
selves could not have failed to perceive,
that the same power was equally necessary
to them. for the security OF their own do
nestle interests against the aggregate
force of the general government In Il
word. the original States went into thi,
permanent league on the agreed premises
of cXrrtin~ their common strength for the
defence of the whole aud of all its parts :
but of utterly excluding all capahiIity of
reciprocal aggression Each Solcmnlv bound
itself to all the others neither 10 under
take, nor permit, any encroachment upon.
or intermeddling with, another's reserved
rights
Where it was deemed cxpedicnt. partic-
ular rights of the States were expressly
guaranteed by the constitution /: but, in all
things beside. these rights were guarded
by the limitation Of the powers granted,
and by express reservation of all powers
not granted, i'll the compact of union.
Thus, the great power OF taxation was linz
tied to purposes of common defence and
general welfare, excluding objects apper
tanning TO the local legislation of the sever
al States, and those purposes of general
welfare and common defence were after
wards defined by specific enumeration as
being matters only Of correlation between
the States themselves, or between them
and foreign governments, which, because
of their common and general nature, could
not be left to the separate control Of each
State.
Of the circumstances of local condition.
interest, and rights, in which portion of
the States, constituting one great section
of the Union different from the rest, and
from another section, the most important
was the peculiarly of a larger relative col
Ored population in the southern than i'll
the northern States.
A population of this class, held in sub
lection, existed in nearly all the States,
but was more numerous and of more scrl-
Ous concernment in the South than in the
North, on account of natural differences of
climate and production and it was fore
seen that, for the same reasons, while this
population would diminish, and, sooner or
later, cease to exist, in some States. it
might increase in Others. The peculiar
character and magnitude of this question
OF local rights, not in material relations on
", but still more in social ones, caused it
to enter into the special stipulations of the
constitution.
Hence, while the general government,
as well by the enumerated powers granted
to'it, as by't those not enumerated, and there
fore refused to it, was forbidden to touch
this matter in the sense of attack or Of
fence, it was placed under the general safe
guard of the Union, in the sense of defence
against either invasion or domestic vio-
lcnce, like an other local interests Of the
several States. Each State expressly stip-
ulated, as well for itself as for each and all
of its citizens, and every citizen of each
State became solemnly bound by his ale
glance to the constitution, that any person
held to sevice or labor in one State, escaping
into another, should not, in consequence of
any law or regulation thereof be dis
charged from such service or labor, bnt
should be delivered up on the claim of the
party to whom such service or labor might
be due by the laws of this State
Thus, and thus only, by the reciprocal
guaranty of all the rights of every State
against interference on the part Of another,
was the present form Of government estab-