The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-12-30
THE REVOLUTION.
.,ooNrysuyp rRoM FIRST PAGE.l


so,as,s II he latter he has no more authority 20
-owue, her obedience TO the laws Of the United s'a'
han he has TO exact compliance with them ID
nnons Of England or OF France. The whole -.
hen upon this single point, and when p' s"a.s ara
HE rest follows necessary CO ea,na,oa IA IN
order 10 arrive correct concuf s ys rns, ons,a.r
IN an American and republie.n, NOT in Furopeap and
view the subject Of the respective rights
end duties Of people and their government
THIS VITAL question nos been wholly ignored by the So
sas republican par ", both Congress and throughout
NE country The. whole burden Of their speeches and
resolutions has that the laws should and must be
executed a. S hazards BY this plausible and ingenious
device o. reerasis truism which good citizen viii
pwesa TO question, and by appealing 70 that innate
Bces Tor law s order characteristic of people,
MY cave partially succeeded in deceigng them TO
The real peint Tor consacrasen, and have led them OH
nPon side issue, concerning which there be 10 DIS
pate In this stroke of political strategy they have die
played great adroitDCss and ingenuity.
Thousands OF honest, ax abiding citizens now dcmsRd
1h the laws shan be executed IN South Carolina, 0y
nrce f'xecessary, who Il they satisfied that she
wssrEdtfuy in&arend,n Of this Union, would be willing
20 shed the last of their blood rather than have her
dxae0oned into submission government which, In her
juUent no lger Chords her citizens security for life
ana property.
This question ssen Of the present status of South Caro-
1Aa should 10 fully weighed and discussed in all its
authority before The President presume TO resort TO
vcorcon. sSaced In embarrassing position, and un-
unc To do FOR himself this experienced statesman
has sought the opinion OF his constitutional legal adviser,
e highest iasy officer Of the government IA reply the
Attorney General has distinctly ana empnaticaiy IN
fwmed INN fna he has right 10 resort TO Offensive
coercion ssains. South Carolina while she is member Of
te If she be foreign country he has equally no
right scaSe without the authority of Congress.
N order inform ourselves accurately, let us go
back 70 the principles upon which the whole theory of our
systom G. government is based The Declaration Of indie.
pendenoe declares that life liberty and the pursuit
Of haprness naenabc rights that to these
rRbes governments instituted among men, deriving
their powers from the consent of the governed that
whenever any form Of government becomes destructive
ssossh IL and 20 institute new government" This right,
rresume American VIII pretend 10 deny The only
question Is as % the Interpretation OF the expression the
people, On this point have no better authority
Nx Thomas jefferson; for apart from all other conside
which would eatite his opinion TO weight he
~ author of that Declaration, and for that reason II for
other his Interpretation Of its true meaning should
take precedence OF that Of other man. dead or living
In 1896 during the discussion concerning the course of
NE relative internal mprov
recommeHed by President Adams he writes TO Governor
Giles, Of Virginia as follows
.f every infracton of compact of many parties is
20 be resisted at once dissolution of IL, none can
over be formed which would last one year. We mus.
have patience and longer endurance, then, with
brethren while under delusion give them time for re-
section and Of consequences keep ourselves
separate from companions only when the sole alter
nAlivesdeft the dissolution of Union with them
o. submission to government without Limitation Of
powers Between these two evils when we must make
choice, there can be no hesitation. But in the mean
yl usurpaton their rights TO denounce them they
eccur in the most peremptoy terms u protest against
. considered not as Acknowledgements or precedents Of
Eght, but az temporary yielding 70 the lesser evil
~ their accumulation shall overweight that OF separa
sson"
The circumstances under which this letter written
demonstrate concusvey that Mr. jefferson had in mind
ind referring TO the separation OF Virginia from her
sster States solely because the President his annual
message, had recommended, and it was feared the
about to assume certain disputed powers
N relation TO internal improvements And although he
ccunselei against IL as not being an evil Of sufficient
magnitude overweight that OF separation he never
ihscss declared N specific terms, that circumstances
might arise when the State would be compelled to make
choice between the two evils viz Separation or sub.
mission govet nment without limitation OF powers
and that then "there could be no hesitation"
IN the opinion Of the people of South Carolina these
precise alternatives presented TO teir state,
and accordance with the advice OF jefferson they have
not hesaied TO the which they should pursue
We may consider their conclusions as hasty and may
diner with them as 10 the mode Of redress; but Is
matter for their Judgment, not for ours, whether
they shall have "onger endurance with their brethren
while under delusion,n take refuge at once
In the alternative OF separation from the Union.
Again, in the famous Kentucky resolutions, which
drafted by Jefferson and received the almost unanimous
sanction of the Legislature o that state find the fol-
lowing explicit declaration. Speaking OF the constitution
he sayseTo this compact each state acceded State,
and an integral party s CO states forming, a. TO itself
the other party that the government created by this
compact made the exclusive final judge of the
extent Of the powers delegated 10 itself since that would
have made its discretion and not the constitution the
measure Of its powers but that as IN all other cases OF
compact among powers having common Judge each
party has equal right TO Judge for itself well of
miraculous as Of the mode aud measure OF redress
In 17ss the Legislature of Virginia passed resolutions
responsive "a those of kentUky, which drafted by
James Madison south Carolina claims that she Is now
exercising only powers rights which years
the adoption OF the constitution held by the Legs
atnrcs Of Kentucky and Virginia 20 pertain TO the States
OF the Union, and endorsed by such men James
Madison and Thomas jefferson Turning 10 the North with
view "a ascertain the opinions OF some Of It's prominent
men and its state satgrcs on the point under consh
GRAFTON, lind that IN January, ISL in debate upon
bill Ito enable the people Of the Territory Of Orleans 10
form constitution and State government, Josiah GUN
cy leading member OF Congress from Massachusetts,
declared il e. be his deliberate opinion THAT II this bull
passes the bosds OF this Union are virtually dissolved
that the states which compose 4 are free from Their M
RAJ obligations and that u win be the right OF ALL
vii be The duty q some, to prepare definitely for sera
ratsonamicshy if they can, violently N they must
In 1913 when war existed between this country and
Great Bsn Governor Chii'enden, OF Vermont ordered
back the militia 81 his state from Canadatha State de-
Gliding for itsef that the federal had exceed
ell is constitutional powers And although by doing
she committed act OF direct treason in attempting 10
withdraw her troops from the presence OF the enemy,
she was nevertheless sustained by the Legislature Of
Massachusetts, which passed resolutions pedging that
state TO the support Of Vermont or any other state whose
constitutional rights invaded. Yet this state
~ nassssnse's 'oasy INC onnsss nsr asasnSa
not only that invasion or her constitutional rights
held 20 be us,isbe BY the North but that she has no
longer guarantee for security within the Union, pro
poses 20 withdraw from II amicaby, and az time when
40 foreign enemy threatens our national existence
The advocates Of secession contend that II General
Jackson al the helm Of state the action Of
souh Carolina would bc unhesits'ngy met with stern
famous nnhcation proclamation in support q that a.
scrtn. II Is undoubtedly xuc that General Jackson, in
that celebrated state paper declared that the true con
sfrcticn q the constitution 'sdd not permit state 10
the Union and yet be bound by other cf ts
Laws tina thee Il may choose 10 consider "a consttu
honal;H and further added that Ito say that any state
al pisasure secee from the tnin Is % that the
United States a natsn.N But careful analysis
&C that PROCLAMATION viii convey the clear mprcssios
that Gully lntended ~ apply 70 the case actually
under Consideration at nc time. h,s oelect w. y
dee that State would be permitted 10 nuilfy the
constitutional laws of the Union OF TO withdraw from the
Union nj pleasure. " thwartei tn her views, and re-
rcqnrcd O. submit 10 the execution of such laws.
Rot he distinctly states IN the opcning portion 81 the
PROCLAMATION, when referring 70 the act (" ssceSslen
raeesd by SOUR carolina, that 'the ordinance = not
Founded the rdcleasibe right IL resisting acts which
plainly nuconst nutioual" And, further On, while
denying the right II IN the general case 10
seressou like any other revolutionary at, may
b. morally Justified by the extremity Of oppression IL
dent tlsf he did not consider that slr,llt
IN Al cars. and a. matter ~ course be follow "A
hN IhMf a AM.tf American doc