New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-12-08

fhe uhitsd StaVes; ana yet tne sophlsttcal fede
II asts aud Wings have the absurd efrontery to dt
a clare that these words United States . do nc
E mean United States,n but signify single grea
State Of North America. Did not each and every on
of the several and separate States actndependentl
and separately in adopting and ratfyng the FEEDERS
Constitution, or compact of alliance, by which the
/ agreed to establish q central agency or govern
/ ment at Washingtong And did that instrument
| agreement or compact have any validity or efteo
/ whatever in each of those separate States unit
4 each had so adopted and ratified itf
$ 4. When the thirteen Colonies declared their in
dependence of Great Britain, did they not become
/, go Instant, thirteen independent and sovereign
/; States? Did not all sovereignty necessarily reside
in them, as sovereignty eannotremain in allegiance
i but must reside somewhere2 And, such being tn,
case have those States ever done any act whatever
j by which they have abandoned, resigned or giyeI
up that sovereignty? Can such abandonment be
inferred from their having united together for Ger
tain purposes of war and commerce, either In the
old confederation, or the present Union Of soyer
egn States
\. g. was not the Convention which framed thai
Constitution authorized and called together by the
Congress of the Confederation, and did not that
Congress vote altogether by delegations of the
States, each delegation counting one vote And
could not the seven smaller States, with less than
one third the population of the whole, have called
the Convention which framed that instrument in-
/ stead OF a majority Of the people OF America?
6. Did not the Convention thus called together,
| also vote by States, each giving one vote, and
could not in like manner, the seven smaller States.
with one-third the population, either form or de-
feat the Constitution which they framed and adopt
i ed? And did not this Constitution, when so framed
go back to the Congress of the Confederation, to
be by them approved before it could be submitted
4 by them to the several separate States for their
ratification? And could not this ratification also
have been defeated by the seven smaller States,
with one third the population of all the States +?
4 And moreover, could not the nine smaller States
(nne being required by the Constitution) have
adopted that instruments against the will of the
| majority of the people of North America? And
could not the four smaller States, with population
of less than one-tenth of the whole, have defeated
that ratification? Is it not, therefore, perfectly
manifest that the majority of the people had no
agency whatever in either recommending, framing,
adopting or ratifyng the Federal Constitution?
I. Did not each and every one of the seven and
| separate States act independently and separately
in adopting and ratifying the Federal Constitution,
or compact of alliance, by which they agreed to
establish central agency or government at Wash
ington? And did that instrument agreement or
compact have any validity or effect whatever in
each of those separate States until each had so
adopted and ratified it And did not several of the
! States (as Virginia, New York and Rhode IsIandl
expressly reserve the right to secede or reserve
the powers OF government21
| s. Again, does not the Federal Constitution re-
quire three-fourths of the States to ratiy amend
ments to that instrument? Is it not therefore, in
| the power Of anything over onefourth of the
smaller States with population of one twentieth
of the whole, to defeat any proposed amendment?
3. Did the people Of our entire country ever col
leetively do any one act as single body either in
electfng delegates to conventions, members of
Congress, OF electors for the Presidency, or any
other conceivable act either at this time or from
the very settlement of our country to the present
day and if not, how can this possibly be called
Gas by Edward Livingston in the proclamation and
by all federalistsl government Of the solid peo-
pie Of our country, the government Of the people of
United America?
Did not the people of each State create the cor
poration or body polite called the State, of which
each of its citizens is corporator whilst the State
is an imaginary entity or being? And in like man
ner did not those States create the corporation,
Union, called the United States, of which each
State is distinct corporator; thus forming ALI
ance of foreign or separate States, as equals and
allies, for certain specified and limited purposes?
Does not each State by its Legislature choose its
two Senators, and thus has not each State (the
smallest and the largest) an equal suffrage in the
Senate? Does not eachState choose its Represent
atiyes to the House, as apportioned amongst the
several States, according to the Inhabitants of that
State and require to be inhabitants of that State
in which they are so chosen? Does not each State
appoint its electors of President mott proportion
to its population but to its representatives in both
houses of Congress, whereby the vote Of the small
States is much increased over the proportion of the
large ones Are not these electors either chosen
by the people or the Legislature, or "appointed
by the Governor as each State shall determine |
for itself? Does not the smallest State cast the
same two votes in the Senate as the largest for |
Vice-President, in case of vacancy, and does not
that officer become President in of vacancy in
that officer Is not the President, in fact and truth,
the representative of the States being chosen by
their electors, and not by the people or majority
of the whole people OF the Union, but Of the |
States and being such representative of the States
is he not invested with the veto power for the very
purpose of preventing and arresting every invasion
of their rights by the majority vote in the House
Of Representatives the States, in fact through his
action, interposing their veto? Is not this repre-
sentative Of the States, for the same reason, en-
powered to appoint their judges for the Supreme
Court, which judges are therefore empowered to
decide controversies between the States?
Again, can any one possibly be citizen of the
!! United states except By being citizen of one Of
the States? Is there any such thing as citizen
Of the great State, or nation, of United American
Does not the Constitution itself show this self
evident fact in requiring that the very first chosen
land all other1 representatives shall have been
citizens Of the United States for seven years. and
the first, and all other Senators for nine years
meaning, of course, citizens of one of the States,
IS there was then no other citizen of the United
3tatesa And finally does not the Constitution in
fact leave the power to each State to prescribe
the qualifications of voters tor members of Con-
gress, by declaring that they shall have the quail
cations required BY each State for electors Of the
most numerous branch of the State Legislature
And cannot each State vary and alter those quali-
ieations as often and as much as she may choose
or fancy
10. Did not the several and separate States Of
This country adopt and ratify the Constitution,
compact Of alliance, and power of attorney, {for
t is all three combined) at various different
periods? Did not some Of these States, as Rhode
ISLAND, North Carolina, ETC., remain out of the
Union, or alliance, for many months, and even
swo years and could they not have remained tf
hey had SO chosen) out OF it altogether to the
present day and could any possible force have
compelled them to come into the league Union
1r ailiance2 How, then, can it be pretended that
orce can be employed to drive them back into
he league, if they should now choose to depart
rom the partnership and how can such Union
thus separately adopted at different times by
separate Statea) be called solid government of
.he collective people of United American
Ii. Do not the favorite authorities, SO con-
stantly quoted by the Intelligenoer, Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, of 1880; Daniel Web
tier and every other Federalist constantly, and
ee.aecessitdterei' employ the terms j" Union,"
compact Federal Government etc., each
If these terms directly eontradictng lin the very
anguage they are compelled TO use) the doctrines
hey contend for of solid government of the
collective people of United Ameriea?u Does
lot the very title given the great standard work
If the ConsolidatioDists =" the Federalistn as in
erpreted by its derivation, q fcedts y and by the
dictionaries, signify pertaining TO a covenant,
eague or contract ~
Is not the language of Madison, in the Virginia
Of i9S, 1.-THE powers Of the Federal
Government result from the compact to which the
states are parties, aud limited by the plain sense
Ind intention of the instrument constituting that
Was not the word "cempaett as well
is "Union'' and "Federal Government 2 employed
BY Webster. (though arguing against it in his de-
bate with General Hayne) in his later speeches in
Congress and elsewhere. and most uarficularly in