Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1859-10-15
CONCLUDED.

escape the denial, and ut the same time |
- invest the Inhabitants of Territory
with the absolctc right to exercise high !
and unqucstioncd attributes of sovereignty,
1T becomes necessary to apply new term
1T IS affirmed, therefore, that they possess
the Inherent rights of lf-govcrnmeut, be- !
cause they are political communities.
This term, therefore, is pressing into SER 4,
vice and made to answer all the ends. 1t
Is IN truth, however, only varying the
phrase to describe the same condition.
The only just political significance of !
political community is body polite, which,
IN the political sense, is nothing less than |
State-a nation in which sovereignty |
resides. Now, by what process have these
inhabitants arrived at the dignity of a po |
litical community? Did they go into the
territory and conquer it, and set themselves
up as distinct pcoplc--a political com
munity?. Or did they, going there under
the authority of the United Stutcs, rebel.
and, by successful revolution, dcposc the
existing sovereignty and establish their
own: surely by neither How, then,
can these comparatively few inhabitants be
SAID to have attained the inherent right of
sclf-govcrnment, within the jurisdiction,
under the government and control, and
within the territory of sovereignty al
ready acknowledged, whose land they oc
cupy only by permission! The only sense
III which community can be logically made
to sustain such state of things. is that
which asserts the right of all men, by the
law OF nature, to appropriate all thugs
view which ignores civilization and all
human law, governments and constitutions.
Tho ,rnnnrn1 nrn,N,c;t;,,,
having no other power over the subject of
slavery than power coupled with the duty
OF protection, cannot coufer higher powers
than 1T possesses on territorial Legislature
is pronounced to be Gas plausible as it is
tallaclous. But that the reverse is true as
general rule
Now, it was expected that the claim of
power of Congress to confer on tho Terri
toral Legislature, powers othcrand greater
than it possessed itself would be proven as
coming under the general rule, or under
some rule This has not been done, but
other propositions are affirmed, by no
means inconsistent with the first. 1t is
affirmed that every power conferred on
Congress BY the Constitution must be OK
ecntcd by Congress in the mode prescribed
III the Constitution" and that Congress
cannot delegate any power that it does
possess" Let us examine these moment.
1t is perfectly true that Congress must cx-
crclse every power in the mode prescribed.
But suppose there are grants of power with
no mode of exercise prescribed How
then? Are such powers not to be exercised
at all If this be true, then many of the
most important powers granted to Con-
gress must lie dormant forever. Let us
take some of the powers which have been
enumerated in support of this view
Congress shall have power to coin money,
&C. &c
TO raise and support armies &c.
TO provide and maintain navy.
Now, there is no mode prescribed for
the exercise of these important powers,
and 1T Is evident they cannot execute them
selves. What then is to be done? Arc
they to lie dormant? No, yet it is mani
fest that Congress cannot exercise them
without the employment of intermediate
agencies. Congress will not be expected
to divide itself into committees for the pur-
pose of coming money, one to assay the
gold, another mix the alloy, another to roll
the bars, fourth to stamp, &c. All this
would be absurd What then? Under
the power to make all laws necessary and
proper to carry into effect the powers cx-
prcssly granted, it will pass laws creating
proper agencies to exercise the power of
coming money under the supervision and
control of Congress But, can any rational
being contend that because it has the pow
er to create and appoint agencies to cary
into full effect the exercise of a granted
power, which it cannot itself conveniently
exercise, that therefore, it can confer upon
such agencies greater power than it possess
es? Surely not. And, how does this
differ III principle from the case in which
Congress creates and appoints Territorial
governments to exercise the functions which
+ cannot conveniently do? Not at ALL
rhc power OF Congress to govern to lcgis
late for, and create Territorial governments.
to give full effect 10 the power granted to
that end, is derived from the very same
source. Then, whence is dcduced the
right to confer these greater powers 1t
must bo manifest that the affirmation of
tho duty of Congress "to exercise all its
powers in the mode prescribed in tho Con-
stitution" and the denial of right in Con
ross "to delegate any power it docs poss-
cA," DO iii no manner prove that Congress
Can confer powers which it does not possess
on EIarritorinl Legislature
The claim then, for this power, must
nc other foot of reason. What
fSet Q" 80 80 'nferreu to the eases in