Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1860-12-06


It cannot be exercised In any State except by the people
In their highest sovereign capacity when framing or
amending their State constitution In like manner,
Il cab oily be escsed E tile people Of Territory rep
resented Ia convention Of delegates fol- the pposs Of
framing o constitution preparatory TO admission as a
State into the Union Then, and not until then, are
they Invested with to decide the question whether
slavery shall shall not exist within their limits This
Is an act Of sovereign authority aud not of subordinate
territorial legislation Were 1t otherwise then indeed
would the equality Of the States In the Territories be de-
stroyed and the rights OF property In slaves would de-
pend not upon the guarantees of the Constitution but
upon the shifting majoritics of irresponsible territorial
legislature Such doctrine, from It's intrinsic unsound
ness cannot long influence any considerable portion OF
our people, much less can it afford good reason for
dissolution of the Union. ...
Tho most palpabo violations of constitutional duty
which have yet been committed consist In the acts Of
different State Legislatures to defeat the execution Of the
fugitive,save Jaw II ought TO lie reepbefed however
that for these acts neither Congress any Fesitcs
can ,,., he held responsible Having been passed in
violation of the Federal Constitution they arc therefore
null apd void All the courts, both State and national,
efots whom the question has arsen have from the be-
ginning declared the fugitvesase law to bo oorstftu
tiona The single exception Is that of State court In
Wisconsin and this has not only been reversed by the
proper appellate tribunal but has met with such unyer
sal reprobation that there be no danger from 1t as
precedent Tho validity of this law has been established
over and over again by the Supreme Court Of he United
States with perfect unanmity 1t is founded upon an e.
press provision Of the Constitution requiring hatugtve
shall be sdevered tip to their iiasrrs. Without this
provision it wellknown historical fact that tho Con-
stuton itself could have been adopted by the Con-
yeution In form OF other under the acts OF 1898
and 1850 both being substantially the nlne TIC fusi
law las been the law Of the land from the days
Of Warrington until the ptetnt ometit 1cfe, then,
clear 10 presented In which IL will be the dtty o!
the next President 1t has been my own to act with
yIgor in executing this sprens s& aaatst The conflict
ing eractmens OF State Legislatures Shb,ild he fail In
the performance Of this high duty he will then have
manifested disregard Of The Consultation and laws, to
the great injury of the people of nearly half of the
that Ire will thus violate his dtty This would 10 Mt
with every principle of Justice and of Christian char
ty. Let wait for the overt act The fugitive slave
law has been carried into execution In every contested
case since the oonmencccn of the present amnstra-
tion though often it is to be regretted With great loss
and Inconvenience to the MASTER and with considerable
expense to the government Let us trust that the State
legislatures will repeal their Unconstitutional aid obnoS
ious enacmcnts Unless this shall be done without
necessary delay 1t Is impossible for any human power to
save the Unior Fa-
The Southern Sates standing on the basis of The Con-
sttuon, have right to demand this act of ssbe roin
the States of the North Should 1t be refused, then the
Constitution TO which all the States parties will have
been wily violated by one portion OF them In provi
sion essential to the domestic security and happapa of
the remainder 1u that event. the injured sttes after
having first used all peaceful and constitutional means
to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary
sistance TO the Government of the Union. .ls 4
have purpOSely CQnQncu remarks 70
resisa because it has been claimed within the last
yec t.t State, >shono~r this ahnll I've IDS Gov
eregn will and pleasure, may secedo nom the Union, 10
accordance with the Constitution, and without any VIOLA
ton of the constitutional rights Of the other members Of
the Confcdsracy. That each became parties to the
Union by the vote Of its own people assembled in Goa
venton, any of them may retro from the Union
in similar manner by the vote OF such q oonven6cn
In order to Justify secession as constitutional remedy
il must 10 the principle that the Federal Government
mere voluntary association of staes, to bs dissolved
at pleasure by any one of the contracting parties II
this be so the Conederacy rope of sand TO be pens
trated and dissolved by tho first adverse OF public
opinion in any Of the States. In this thlr
tythree States may resolve themselves into many
petty, jarring and hostile republics, each retiring
from the Union, without responsibility, whenever any
Sudden excitement might mpel them to such
by this process Union might DO entirely broken into
fragments in few weeks, which cost forefathers
many years Of toll pryatioD, and blood to establish
Such principle wholly inconsistent with the histo-
ry we'll the character of tho Federal Constitution
After it framed with the greatest elaboration and
it was submitted to conventions of the people of the
several States for ratification. Its provisions dis
Guessed at length in these bodies composed of the first
of tue country Its opponents conended that II
conferred powers upon the Federal Government danger
the rights OF the States whilst its advocates main
tanned that under fair construction Of the instrument
there foundation for such apprehensions In
that mighty struggle between tho first ntelects of this
any other country it never occurred to any individual
either among its opponents advocates, to assert
to intimate that their efforts all vain labor
because the moment that any State felt herself aggrieved
she might socede FROM the Union. What crushing
gument would this have proved against those who
dreaded that the rights Of the States would be endin
gered by the Constitution. The truth is that it was not
until many years after the origin of the Federal Govern
ment that such proposition first advanced 1t
then met and rcuted by the conclusive arguments of
General Jackson who in his message of 10th January
1883, transmitting the multiplying ordinance Of South Car
DINA to Congress, employs the following language
The right CT the people of single State to absolvc
themselves ct will and without the consent Of the other
States, from their most solemn obligations aud hazard
the liberty and happiness Of the millions composing this
Union, cannot be acknowledged Such authority is be-
upon which the General Government is constituted and
to the objects which it expressly formed to attain
1t not pretended that any clause in the Constitution
gives countenance to such theory 1t is altogether
founded upon inference not from any language contained
in the instrument ITSELF but from the sovereign charac.
ter of tho several States by which it ratified. But is
1t beyond the power of State, like individual to
yield portion of is sovereign rights to the
mainderf In the language of Mr.. Madison, who has
been called the father of the Constitution :. 1t was
formed BY the Statestbat il, by the people in each OF
tho States, acting in their highest sovereign capacity
aud formed consequently by tho authority which
formed the State constitutions" Pc. .- 4-.-.-.
Nor Is the Government Of She United States, created
by the ConsttutiOn, less Gorernmont In the strict
sense OF the term, within the sphere of IL powers than
the governments created by the constitutions Of the
States arc within their several spheres 1t Is IKE them
organized into legislative, executive and Judiciary de-
rartments 1t operates, like them directly pcrsons
and things and like them, 1t has at commend phys-
cal force for executing tho powers committed TO
1t intended to be perpetual and not TO be annu
led at the pleasure of any one Of the contracting paste
The old articles Of confederation enc "Articles
Of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the
States " and by the 18th article II is expressly declared
that hc articles Of this Confederation shall be invoia
H.. .l.-IL