Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-12-31


creator. Sovereignty makes Constitutions
and through them establishes governments.
1t delegates certain powers to these gov
ernments, distributing the exercise of the
granted power among the legislative, exc
cutive and judicial department. The con-
stitution is not sovereign, because it is Gre
atrd by sovereignty; the government is not
sovereign for the same reason, much less
any department of that government. Hay-
i'm defined sovereignty, we must confound
the power with its source or exercise
That is, sovereignty is one thing; where it
resides or how it is to be exercised, is an
other. Under the system of European
despotism, sovereignty was claimed to re-
side in kings and emperors, under the sac
rilegious idea of the divine righ. Of kings
and the blasphemous doctrine was, that
sovereigns, in legitimate succession--al-
though stained with crimes and blacked
with infamy-were clothed by Deity with
absolute power to rule their subjects, who
held nothing but privileges granted by the
crown. Such were the absurd and impi-
Gus dogmas to which the people Of Europe,
with but few exceptions, have been COM
peeled to submit by the bayonet- sustained
by the mere potent authority of igno-
rance and superstition. Uader this theory
the people were mere eiphers, and crown
ed heads sub deities-the sole representa-
tives on earth of the governing power of
the Almighty. Our doctrine is just the re-
verse, making the people the oily source of
sovereign power. But what people?--
With us sovereignty rests exclusively with
the people of each State. By the Revolu-
ton, each colony actiag for itself alone,
separated from Great Britain, and sane
toned the declaration Of Independence
Each colony having thus become a State,
and each adopting for itself its separate
State Government, acted for itself alone
under the old Continental Congress-
Each State acted for itself alone in acced
ing to the Articles of Confederation in
in framing and ratifying each for itself the
CoBstitut ton Of the United States. Sove-
reignty, then, with us, rests exclusively
with the people of each State. The Con-
stitution of the United States is not sove-
reign, for it was created by the States, each
exercising for itself that highest political
power called sovereignty. For the same
reason the government of the United States
is not sovereign, nor does it exercise any
sovereign power. 1t exercises only "dele-
gated powers. as declared by the Consti-
tuition, and those powers only which are
granted by that instrument. Delegated
powers are not sovereign powers, but are
powers granted by sovereignty. Sove-
reignty being the highest political power
cannot be delegated. 1t is invisible. 1t
is unit incapable of partition. Hence the
great error of supposing that sovereignty
is divided between the States. The con-
stitution of the United States is the su-
preme law, and obligatory as such. But
a law is not sovereignty, but an act of SOW
ereignty. All laws imply law makers, and
in this case those who framed and ratified
this supreme law" where those sove-
reignties called the States, each acting ex-
clusively for itself, uncontrolled by any sis
ter State, except by the moral force of its
influence and example. The government
of the United States, possessing, as we
have shown, no sovereignty, but only del
egated powers, to them alone it must look
for the exercise of all constitutional au-
thority in the Territories AS we'll as States;
for there is not single power granted by
the Constitution to this government, in a
Territory, which is not granted in a State,
except the power to admit new States into
the Union, which, as shown by the Madi-
son papers, the trainers Of the Constitution,
as first demonstrated in my first Texas let
ter, refused to limit to our then existing
Territory.
''In the Territories then, as well as the
States, Congress possesses no sovereignty
and can exercise only the powers delega-
ted by the Constitution, and all the pow
ers not thus granted are dormant or reserv-
ed powers, belonging in common Territory
to all the States as co-equal, joint tenants
there Of that highest political power called
sovereignty"
It will be perceived that this doctrine,
that sovereignty makes Constitutions, %
that sovereignty rests exclusively with
the people of each State,' that sovereign