New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-11-27
seeding for ntoserable oppression is another naH1
only for reyoluti0n.'I
AMOS KENDALL ON SECESSION.
Prov The Weetfr1fop Sto'.
SErESSIOEz--Sn Nv

| Nor tsDNIsiBLK sOB DEsr
STATES CAS- MERGE OR SUsREsDER TIER Sow
| EREIGsTT IN WHOLE OR IN PART-ls tbs COUs~
| TRY 1T HAS BBEs DIVIDED, Portion TRANS
| FERRKD TO THE UsTTED STATES, ASD A Portion
LKrT IN THs SrATEs-MR MADIsos's Vivs.
| To ne People Of me South
Secessionsts maintain that each OF the United States
retains all It's original sovereignty; taat the United
STATES po-es no sovereign power; thai their govern
ment IL a agency for the States that any of the
States may Will dismiss this agent ans thus relieve
Its people from all obligation to submit to vs. Constilu
ton and laws. One fundamental position assumed be
the Secessonists IL that ''sovrREIGSTr Is McAPABLk
or DIVISION"
II this be true, how happens it that thee ia more
than -Jyerwgniy in NE vtrti'
Old Adam we suppose was the frst sovereign, and
if sovereignty is incapable Of division, how happens
II that there many soyersgns among hs descen
dants IL this position be sound, there IL now bat one
sovereignty earth and that Is vested in all rrunkfud
consolidated mass South Carolina has been IN
rebellion against this one and indIyb1ble sovereignty
since l776 at least.
How came south Carolina to hav, any sovereignty
at ALL She formed part Of the Brit sh Empire, whose
sovereignty according TO this argument, or assump
ton rather was and Is "indvisble.' She is there
fore still part of the British Empire, though II
state Of rebellion and ought 70 return to her allegiance
But If they that the sovereignty Of any natl
cannot be divided the Poaonb equally absurd, a. We
shall hereafter show.
IL IL another fundamental position Of secessonists
that SOVEREIGNTY IS IsHEREsT." Inherent ID
Whist Secession answers, In the States. But how
eregn while they formed parts of the British Empire.
They then had 10 " inherent sovereignty Did the
Declaration of Independence make them Sovereign
That the act of Congress. If that gave them SOW
eregnty they derived it from their creature and
Congress must have been Sovereign before they could
impart that quality 10 their constituents That sover
eighty was inherent in Congress- nobody preends; TO
say that it inherent in the colonies while parts OF
the British Empire If absurd; and if II be indylsl-
bic" and inherent" pray where did they get it,
and when did it begin To be inherent And what be-
came Of the indiviible sovereignty Of the British
Empire when ii divided into twelve or thirteen 10
dependent States
The truth ia sovereignty il not indirisiJle IN
Lerent 1t has been divided and subdiylded acquired
and lost restricted and enlarged times without number
and by various means during the worlds history.
But without caring how or where the States get
their sovereignty we ready TO admit that they
were sovereigns in l776; but we maintain that they
could and did modify their own sovereignty IN the
adoption Of the Constitution Can any one doubt that
the people of each State, if they had been minded
could have united with the people Of all the other
States and formed q consolidated Government that all
their soveregnties could have been merged into one
sovereignty and that the States could thus have been
extinguiAhed The history OF the world Is ull OF ex
amples of two more nations being merged into one
and Of divided into two or more; OF sovereignty
Lost by conquest by voluntary surrender and soye
regny acquired by rebellion or voluntary association
To ray that State cannot surrender or merge her own
sovereignty Is to deny the existence OF sovereignty
itself for how can state be sovereign which cannot
TIRE sovereignty in that Of other States, cannot she
merge Darf and retain part To say that she can
not il also 20 deny her sovereignty for sovereignty
according TO secession logic, possesses all political
power while by the same logic, 1t cannot divide Itself,
and therefore does not pOrse-s all political power The
argument is feio dc set destroys itself.
When the Secesonists soy that sovereign power can.
not be invested in the Government OF the United
States they utter n truth which is equally applicable
10 the Governments Of the States. Both Governments
are agents in the sense, and both of them are
governments in the same sense. What Is State Inc
PEOPLE composing 1t. What Is the United States The
PEOPLE posing them in the of the Constitution
where il says We the people Of the United States.
The grants of the Constitution TO the United States
meaning the people thereof and not to their govern
ment The powers reserved in the Constitution are
served to the States meaning the people OF the States
not their governments. When the Constitution says
there is such thing az the people OF the United
States there be such people in some sense and
In that pepe il vested and merged the sovereignty Of
of the people of the Sateu, tar and 20 far only IA 1t
covers the powers granted in the Constitution In refer
to all their reserved powers, the people oil the
Sates remain as sovereign and independent as they
were in l776.
own views on this subject, it would have been obv-
ated by the following lucid and unanswerabe eXposl-
ton have recently met in one OF Mr.. Madison let
| ters, VIZ: .
tuition OF the United States. the not Uncommon
mus, be avoided Of viewing through the medium either Of
consolidated Government or Of conedsaiea uo'erhinea'
while il neither the he other but mixture Of both
Aud having model the mitudss and .naoge applicable
TO ether sysss OF government tAn any other
be il ~ Interpreter according IT, text and w Jae Of ne
From tbe- It will be .een tina, the Characteristic pecuA
ties Of Constitution reL The mode OF its formation
he division Of the supreme power o. fosefhe. .n
their united capacity aud the states IN 'he Ha'"A
sapaei'ie. f., -. ,h ..,r,sr, n, the corrc,,su,
Sa.s Federal Government for which II substituted
va formed Nor formed by majority Of the people OF
-oded government II formed by the states that t. by
The people IN each acting in their highest ove
md by
| which formed the STATE Constitution 49,. c-.,,,u
tion OF the States within the authority
a. the Constitution of the state and as much Constitution
In tho Of the within it, prescribed sphere as
the Constitutions Of TIE States within t. respective
spheres bu, With ms Obvious and e.ehis - @
pe snd eoG.1as ag POP h sSSSs SH at vii Of hs
saes isy the Constitution Of State may be al is
AID tbs, Il d,iA.. the supreme powers Of Government
between Government Of tie United states and the OoyeL
Of the individual States y stamped on the aes o. hs
and other enumerated powers vested N me Govern
nen. OF United State being Of high aud 9verszn char
sets "a any Of The pow reserved to tho state Govsnent
Nor the Government Of The United states created py tns
Constitution ss Government IN The sre seus- Of the term
within the sphere Of IL powers than the Governments created
by Contributions Of the states are within hrit se,erA
spheres II h. iikr them Organized into LegslNe'
aud Judiciary Department. operates Ike them di'ec ~
and hings Ard IKE them hs a. 60 i' PN'"
Here Mr. Madison describes the sources OF error INTO
which different cLles Of politicians tall IN considering
the nature Of gOyernmentone class cOisloerlhs II
a consolidated government and the other mere con-
federation efic Il aether the nor ne other
b1f nurture al 10TH. II was the error OF Federalism
10 consider it consolidated it ia the error Of Secession
I'm IN consider il mere confederation: il II the creed
of Jefereonian and MadisOnlAn Repnbhcanism that II
IL neither the one nor the other but MIXTURE 81
| botk .
In another number shall show the utter incompasi-
bhtv of Sece.sion arguments with the language and
substance Of the Constitution. AMOS Kendall
MOVEMENTS IN TEXAS.