Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1860-12-14

United States, all members OF State legislatures
aMd all executive and judicial officers, ssboth Of
the United States and Of the several States,
shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support
this Constitution"
In order to carry into effect these powers the
Constitution has established perfect Govern
nient in all its fqrma, Legislative, Executive,
an1 Judicial; and this Government, TO the ex
tent OF its powers, acts directly upon the indi-
Eidual citizens of every State, and executes IFS
own DEGREES by the agency of its own officers.
LII this respect it differs entirely from the Cows
ernrnent under the old Confederation, which
was confined TO making acquisitions on the
States in their sovereign character. This left
il 10 tie discretion of each whether to obey or
to refuse, and thay often declined to comply
With such acquisitions. Ii thus became neces-
sary, for the purpose of removing this barrier,
and aln order TO form a more perfect Union,
TO establish Government which could act di-
rectly upon the people, and execute its own
laws without the intermediate agency Of she
States. THIS has been accomplished by the
| Constitution Of the United States.
In short, the Government created by the Con-
stitution, aud deriving its authority from the
sovereign people of each of the several States,
has precisely the same right to exercise its
p4wer over the people of all these States, IN
tHe enumerated cases, that each one of them
possesses over subjects not delegated to the
Euited States but preserved to the States, res
positively, or to the people"
/ 10 the extent of the delegated powers the
Constitution of the United States is as much a
| pftt Of the constitution Of each State, and is
~ bindiDg upon its people, as though it had
heen texually inserted theren.
This Government, therefore, is great and
po#erfnl Government, invested with all the at
tributes Of sovereignty over the special subjects
to which its authority extends. Its trainers
never intended to implant in its bosom the seeds
OF its own destruction, nor were theT at It's
GFeation guilty of the ahsurdity of providing
its own dissolution. 1t was not intended
its trainers to be the baseless fabric of q
~ len, Thieh, at the touch of the enchanter,
Rld vanish inlo thin air, but a substantial
II mighty fsbric, capable of resisting tho slow
decay Of time aud of defYing the storms OF ages.
Iudead, we'll may the jealous patriots Of that
day have INDUCED fears that government of
ouch high powers might violate the reserved
rights of the States. and wisely did they adopt
the rule of a strict construction Of these powers
to prevent the danger But they did not fear,
nor had they any reason to imagine, that The
Constitution would ever be SO interpreted as to
enable any State, by her own act, and without
The consent Of her sister States, TO discharge
her people from all or any of their Federal OBJ
legations.
It may he asked, then, are the people of tie
States without redress against the tyrany and
oppression of the Federal Government By
% means. The right Of resistance on the part
Of the governed against the oppression of their
governments is cannot be denied. 1t exists inde-
penaently of all constitutions, and has been
exercised at all periods Of the worlds history.
Under it old governments have been destroyed,
aud new ones have taken their place. 1t is
embodied 10 strong and express language in
our own Declaration of Independence. But
the distinction mus, ever bo observed, that this
is revolution against an established Govern
ment, and not voluntary secession from II
by virtue of an inherent constitutional right.
10 short, let us lock the danger fairly IN the
face. Secession is neither more nor less than
revolution. Ii may or it may not be justiGa-
BILE revolution, but still it is revelation
} What, in she meantime, is the responsibility
and true position of the Executive2 He is
bound BY solemn oath before God and the
} country sste take care that the laws be faith
fully executed" and from this obligation be
: cannot be absolved by any human power. But
, what ii the performance of this duty, in whcle
! or 10 part, has been rendered ilnpractcabla by
! events over which he could have exercised nc
r control? Such, at the present moment, Is the
case throughout the Stale of North Carolina
80 far as the laws of the United States TO Sc
} cure the administration of justice by means Of
; the Federal Judiciary are concerned. All the
t Federal officers within its lmlts, thro' whose
agency alone these laws can be carried into
r execution, have already resigned. We have
{ DO longer district Judge, district attorney
t or a marshal in South Carolina. In fact, The
whole machinery of the Federal Government
s necessary for the distribution of remedial jus.
' tiee among the people, has been demolished
: and it would be difficult, if not impossible, tt
0 replace il.
The only acts of Congress on the statute
beck, bearing upon this subject, are those oi
the 2Sth February, 1895, aud Sd March, 1907
These authorize the President, after be shall
have ascertained that the marshal with bis
posse comitatus is unable to execute civil OF
: criminal process in any particular case, 70 call
forth the militia aud employ the army and navy
TO aid him in performing this service, having
first by proclamation commanded the insur'
gents 'sto dispense and retire peaceably to then
respective abodes, within limited time -
Thus duty cannot by possibility be performed
in State where no Judicial authority exists
to issue process, and where, even II there wert
!, such an officer, the entire population would
constitute one solid combination to resist him
! The bare enumeration of these provisions
5 provo how inadequate they are without furthe
2 legislation to overcome united opposition il
. single State, not to speak of other State
who may place themselves in similar attitude
: Clnngrass alone has noYer to decide Rhethe