Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1860-12-07


wsth such Ieguistion- II thus became ueces
sary, tor Tie puiposs of remuyi0g this barrier
and ''ln order 10 form more perfect Union,
to estahli'h Government which could act di
rectiy upon the puopla, and execute its owl
laws without the intermediate agency of til,
States. This has b.en accomplished by til,
Constitution OF the United States.
In short, the Government created hy tn,
Constitution, ard deriving its authority from
the sovereign people Of each of the severa
states, has precisely the same right TO excrcis,
its power over the people If al these Stat 5, il
the enumerated cases, that each enc Of tnen
pessC sses over subjects not delegated to the
United States but deserved to the Siaics, res
pectively, or to the people"
! To the extent oi the delegated powers tn,
Constitution of the Unite, 81 I S i as much
part OF the constitution ii ,ac.. ,te, and i
ns binding upon its peOll', as iEou,h it ha,
teen textuaiiy inserted therein.
This Government, tlcr,;u.,, 10 :; gIeat ant
powerful Government inycat,l i'h all the at
tributes OF Sovereignty over the special sub
jecta 70 which its authority extends. Its fra
u-e!s never intended 10 iIup plant in its bosom
the seeds of It's own d, struc,ion, nor we're the,
at it, cfc.tion guilty OF the absuriity Of provid
ing for Is uwu diss' luton. 1t vas not nteude,
by lis ir,,'u-!s 10 hc tie blseess fabric OF a
vi,ion, which, a the touch of the euchanter
would vanish iuto him air, but u substantial
and mighty fIh-i. capable Of resisting the SLOW
decay Of time and oi deiyin. the storms OF ages
Indeed, well may lie jalcus patriots of tha
day have INDUCED :ra.s hat Il government O
such high poweIs might vipllt. the reserved
rights ii the States, and siS-iy did they adop
the rule If Il strict cJnstru tiou 81 these pow
els TO prevent the danger! Int they ii / no
fear, nor bad they any reason 10 INA. ine. thai
the Cor stifuti,n ;,.,.
as to enable any State, by hes -. II act ant
without the consent Of her sister states to di.
charge her people iron all or ANY If their Fed
eral obligations
II may be asked, then, are the people Of the
States without redress against the t,rany ana
oppression OF the Federal Government fy NJ
mans. The right of resistance on the Part al
the governed against the oppression Of theil
governments cannCt be denied. II exists inde
pendently of all constitution and has been
exercised at all periods Of the worlds history
Under it old governments have been destroyed
and new ones have taken their place 1t i.
embodied in strong aud express language in
our own Declaration of Independence But
the distinction must ever be observed, that thi.
Is revolution against Al established Govern
ment, and not voluntary secession from il
by virtue OF an Inherent constitutional right
In short, let us look the danger family ia the
face. Secession is neither more nor less than
revolution. 1t may or it may not b. justifia
ble revolution, but still it is revolution
What, III the mean cine, is the responsibility
and true position of the Executive? HC
is bound by solemn oath before God anC
the country .'to take care tha;the law.
be faithfully executed and from this obljga
tion he cannot be absolved by any human
! power. Bat what il the performance OF thi,
duty, i'll whole or in part, has been rendered
lmpiactlcabic hy events over wEi"h he could
have exercised nu cInt-oi Such It the pres
enc moment, is the case tho igh ut the State
/ OF South Ciroiiua, 50 far rs th0 laws Of the
/ United Stats to secure tue admin stiaiion oi
! justice by means Of the Federal Judicilrv are
concerned. All the Federal offi-eIs within it.
limits, through whose agency alone these laws
can be carried into execution, have already re-
signed We no longer have a district iuisc. a
| district attorney, or 4 marshal, in South Caro-
lima. In fact, the whole machinery ot the Fed.
eral Government, nee, s>ary Tor the distribution
OF remedial justice among the pc pie, has been
demolished AMI it woHid b. difficult, il hot
impossible, to replace il.
lie only acts Of Congress on the statute
book, bearing upon this subject. are those of
the 18th February. 1875, aud j Mach, 1907
These authorize the President. after he shall
have ascertained that the marshal with his pose
comifdlHs is unable 10 execute civil or criminal
process in any particular case 10 call forth the
militia and employ the army and navy TO aid
him in performing this service, having first by
Proclamation commanded the insurgents 80
disperse and retire peaceably TO their respective
abodes, within a limited time " This duty
cannot 10y possibility be performed in State
where no Judicial authority exists to issue pro-
cess, and where there is 10 marshal to execute
1t, and where, even if there were such an ,ffi.
Ger, the entire population would constitute one
solid combination t. resist him.
The bare enumeration of these provisions
prove how Inadequate they are without further
legislation to overcome united opposition in
single State, not TO speak OF other States who
may place themselves in similar attitude
Congress alone has power to decide whether
the present laws can OF cannot be amended SO
as to carry out more effectually the objects OF
the Constitution
The same insuperable obstacles do not lie in
the way of executing the laws for the collection
of the customs. The revenue still continues
to be collected, as heretofore, at the custom
house in Charleston; and should the collector
unfortunately resign, a successor NAV be ap-
pointed to perform this duty.
Then in regard to the property of the United
States in South Carolina This has been pur.
chased for fair equivalent. ''by the consent of
the legislature of the State, "ior the erection
of forts, magazines. arsenals," SC, and over
these the authority 'to exercise exclusive legis-
iation" has been expressly granted by the Con-
stltution to Congress. Ii is not believed that
any attempt will lie made to expel the United
States from this property by force; but if in
this i should prove to be mistaken, the officer
in command Of the forts has received orders to
act strictly on the defensive. In such contin-
gency, the responsibility for consequences
would rightfully rest upon the heads of the as
sailants.
Apart from the execution of the laws, so far
az this may be practicable, si.O Executive Las
no authority to decide what shall be the reia-
tions between the Federal Government and
South Carolina. He has been invested with no
such discretion. He possesses no power to
change the relations heretofore existing between
them, much less to acknowledge the independ-
ence of that State. This would be TO invest "A
mere Executive officer with the power of re-
cognising the dissolution of the Confederacy
among our thirty-three sovereign States. 1t
bears no resemblance to the recognition of
foreign de fdcto government, involving no such |
Any attempt to DO this would, |
on his part, he a naked act of usurpation. 1t
is, therefore, my duty 10 submit to Congress |
the whole question in all its BEARINGS The |
course OF events Is so rapidly fastening for
ward, that the emergency may soon arise, when |
you may be clllcd upon to decide the momen |
tous question whether you possess the power,
by force of arms, to compel State to remain |
IN the Union. should feel myself recreant to |
my duty we're not to cxpress an opinion on
his important subject
The unesfinn fairly stated is- Hos tho rn,st;