Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-01-05

ia qTLJEEDA i AZ llUJAeR II
ton soassls stAsssif i al separate alaIes'
inr exerciaing the power heted sirl
State Consultations. s1d ~ reservation to
Il tas sIlsS RsgP sssrsisins 70 ssyss
ItTieir soverei6 "a rtti d .1.ninRot amend
ingI their State DonsliI /. .4ns This view
WAS set forthina ~ q saddress.eds-
livered at Natchez 'ppi ih Yanpa-
ry, 1885,, against tle |ication, which
speech feceip ped itli1 c1 .nentaiy sane
ton ofothe gfeat.hIid Madison." Che
Observation-Disclosures Dnstiiuiion, as
sbewpcby, lhs lsttsf 3 i Hon. Charles
J. Ingersoll, of sP PhiIadf - as published
In : the ',Giobe: at Was|, ~ pn, IN / $50
BY this ciais9 n r 4 I' constitutional
sexsrsiend of tke tack petale is
.cleasly reserved and espeo aly klisiF own
exclusive right to,fofm in Its enliFety their
own State Constitution. shall not enter
fully into the argument Of this question at
this period, but will. merely state that this
is lthe position. I,hTe ever occupied, and
my reasons for entertaining the opinion are
clearly and distinctly set forth in printed
pamphlet, published over my signature on
the 18th of June, 1855, and then extern
sively circulated, from which Irquote as
follows: sif 5sE sa .ss s1rsb 'gs ID
Under our confederate system sover-
eighty is that highest political power which,
at its pleasure, creates governments and
delegates authority to them. :. ~ Sovereignty
grants powers, but not sovereign powers,
otherwise it might extinguish5 itself by
making the creature of its will the equal
or superior of it's creator. Sovereignty
makes Constitutions, and through them
establishes governments. 1t delegates cer-
tain powers, distributing the exercise of
the granted powers amonsti$he Legislative,
executive and judicial departments. The
Constitution is not sovereign. because it is
created by sovereignty. The Government
is not sovereign for the same reason, much
less any department of that Government.
Having defined sovereignty, we must not
confound the power with its source or its
exercise. That is, sovereigntyis one thing,
and where it resides or how it is to be ex-
ercised is another. Under the system OF
European despotisms, sovereignty was
claimed to reside in kings and emperors,
under the sacreltgious idea of the ''divine
right of kings" and the blasphemous doc
trine was that sovereigns, in legitimate
succession, although stained with crimes,
and blackened with infamy, were clothed
by the Diety with absolute power to rule
their subjects, who held nothing but the
privileges granted by the crown. Such
were the absurd and impicus dogmas tc
which the people of Europe, with few7ex-
ceptions, have been compelled to submit
by the bayonet, supported by the more
potent authority Of ignorance and supersti
ton. Under this theory the people were
mere sciphers, and drowned heads sub
deities, the sole representatives on earth o.
the governing power, of the Almighty
Our doctrine is Just the reverse, making
the people the only source of sovereign
!. power. But what people? With us, soy,
ereignty rests exclusively with the people
of each State. By the Revolution each
colony acting for itself alone, separated
from Great Britain, sanctioned the Decla
1ration of Independence. -a'"1 III
I Each colony having thus become State
and leach iadopting for itself its separate
State, government, acted for itself alone
under the old Continental Congress.
Each State acted for itself alone in acce
Eding' the Articles of Confederation il
! fI778, aud each State acted for itself alon'
in. framing and Iatifying, each forsitself
the Constitution Of the United States
Sovereignty, then, with US, rests exclu
fsively with the people OF each State. Th,
Constitution Of the United States is no
sovereign, for it was created by States, eacl
exercising for itself that highest politica
power called sovereignty. t.;, 7.r..,s
For the same reason, the Governmen
fof the United States is not sovereign, no
q does it exercise any sovereign powers.1f l
exercises only delegated powers, ''aas de
clared by the Constitution, and those pow
ers only which are granted by that instru
ment. Delegated powers are not soyer
leigh powers, but are powers granted b,
sovereignty. Sovereignty beingthe high
est political power, cannot be delegated
1t is indivisible, it is a unit incapable O
Ipartition. Hence the great error Of sup
Eposing that sovereignty is divided between
the States and the Uaited States. ~ 'lh
Constitution of the United States is til,
supreme law" and obligatory as such
but law is not sovereignty, but an act O
sovereignty All laws imply law makers
4 and in this case those who Framed and rat
fled this supreme aW''bwere those soy
ereignties called the States, eachac6ng ex
clusiyely for itself, uncontrolled BY an,
sister State, except by the moral force 0
bits influence and example. 81 The Govern
ment Of the United States, possessing, "a
we have shown, no sovereignty, but onl
delegated powers to them alone, il. mus
| look for the exercise Of constitutional au
! tthority in the Territories as well as tn
States, ). for there is not a single powe
granted by the Constitution to this Gov
ernmept in Territory, which is no
fgrahted IN State. except the power t
4 admit new States into the Union, = which
as shown by the Madison Papers, the fra
r Al -