Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-01-24
Popular SOverefgnty-The Sovereign
~ of the PeOpIe-The Sovereign Peo-
gpIe-The Sovereigns.


I. ,"In its proper sense" says a learned writer
OF the present day, "the word sovereignty
means the supreme power of the person or
persons who are sovereign in the State, and
are legally uncontrolled both from within and
from without; frequently, however, it is used
in an improper and metaphorical sense. to
signify the moral influence of whole or a
part of the community, upon the acts Of the
sovereign. 1t is in this sense that we must
/ understand those persons who speak of tie
sopereignty Of Tie peQple' in States where the
people in any sense Of that word, is not
sovereign. The phrase, soreragnty Of the people
unlike most of the political terms, is of very
recent origin; as no expression corresponding
TO il occurs in the ancient writers, although
they wrote on all forms of government, and
= although in many ancient States the people
really were sovereigns; nor is il very easy to
give it any determinate meaning; but. as
some have laid great stress on the principle of
popular sovereignty, in States where the
sovereign power is clearly defined and does
not reside in the people, we may presume that
they meant to express the moral control and
Influence exercised by the community at
large upon the acts of the legislature"
sometimes" says the learned writer in
another place, "the phrase, soUeragnty Of the
, people, means the admission of all the
members of the community, or all the free
adult males. to the election of repre-
sentatives or magistrates. In this sense
It appears to be applied to the Government of
the United States Of America; but this usage
is not less improper and fignrative than the
other just mentioned; as the right of voting
fJr the election of one who i to possess a
share Of the sovereignty, is itself no more a
share of the sovereignty than the right of
publishing political treatise or political
newspaper. The exercise Of the one right
may influence the decision, as the exercise of
the other may Influence the formation, of the
sovereign body
when the difference" continues the writer,
g between the literal and metaphorical mean
ings of the sovereignty between legal power
sni moral inauence.--is clearly perceived,
there is no danger in speaking of the sove..
reignty of the people in States where the
people is not sovereign: we may indeed avoid
it as clumsy and inaccurate mode of expires
sing an idea which may be conveyed by
precise and convenient terms, but not from
any fear of its producing a worse result than
obscurity. This phrase, however. is often
presented to persons little acquainted with
political reasoning. who may easily confound
real with figurative sovereignty, and thus be
led to suppose that the people truly possess
the sovereign power, and therefore are not
subject to it. On the mischievOus tendency
OF such notions, which are incompatible with
the existence of government, it is unnecessary
10 make any comment"
"The mischievous tendency Of such notions
and of confounding real with figurativc sove-
reignty, when the term is applied to the
people of the United States, must be obvious
upon the slightest reflection Our attention
has been more Immediately directed to the
subject by the following paragraph which
recently appeared in Wisconsin paper
INCIPIENT REPUTATION IN WIscoNsN.-A
mass meeting of Grant county tax payers
has been held at Melville, where they entered
taxes. They say that the Legislature has
been "unreasonably extravagant and pro- !
dgaP'-that they have suffered the burdens /
imposed upon them long enough - have |
wanted the comforts OF life and let their
children go ragged and untaught long enough. |
They therefor resolved Ito pay no part OF
any tax, either State. county, or town, now
claimed Of us for this year-and may be none
hereafter"
A similar meeting was held at Patch |
Grove, and equally strong ground was
taken.
Does not our State present an alarming !
spectacle: Many thousand men have bound !
themselves together by the strongest obliga- /
lions TO resist, even to force, the foreclosure
Of farm mortgages. Several counties have |
Iepuaiated par, of their State tax and the
people are doing the same. aud without this !
tax The wheels of the State Government must
stop.-4HIdison Arsls.
Is it not altogether probable that the |
lawless, revolutionary, and anarchical spirit |
exhibited by these people has been engender- /
ed, TO some extent at least by the frequent !
use or rather abuse, of the political terms /
'soyereiglty ofahe people," "the sovereign |
people, !" "the sovereigns," as applied to the
people &ci
Its a common remark and true one, that /
Of late years the disposition among portions
of our people to take the law into their own !
hands, or to resist its execution by the regu-
larry constituted authorities. has alarmingly !
This disposition has been exhibit
ed again and again by large bodies in the
free States in forcibly resisting the execution
of the Fugitive Slave Law. 1t has been fire. /
quently manifested in the South by the en-
II was strikingiy and most discreditably ex-
hibited not long ago In the great commercial !
emporium Of the South, when the city author
tiles were, for period Of several DAYS, OPEN
ly set at defiance and in fact put down by an
0 overwhelming force ofinflriated men. Doubt
lawless proceedings had some sort of idea
floating In their minds, however vague aud IN.
d stinct, that they were 'sovcr igns." por-
ton Of the sovereign people" and rs such /
were justiiable In exercising a share Of the
power which. they had been told
SO ofteu. is in the UHited States, vested Ia the
people. They could hardly have bad clear.
distinct perception OF the fact, that in this
country the people, nor any numher OF the
people, fcaa make laws, nor execute them.
nor, without inenrriag heavy penalties, forei-
bly, resist them; that these powers Of soye-
reignty are exercised. and can only be eyer
cised by the Legislative, executive aud jude
al departments Of the government that Is, by
The persons filing those departments
Those persoas, it is true. are, as a general
thing elected by the people.hy which tsrm we
mean the qualified voters, or free adult white
sirG C. Lewis Use aaa Abuse Of Polaeai