The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-09-26

believe, that his opinions are often referred
TO as authority upon political questions
We presume, however, that the Iateliigeacer
could find no better authority, and that it
was forced to coatent itself with what was
to be had.
Tie Intelisgeneer then cites, further, fom
a speech of Mr.. Madison, and the thirty
ninth number of the "Federalist," to show
that the general government is, at least for
some purposes, and to certain extent, ma
tional in its character We cannot, without
devoting to the discussion an amount Of
space wholly dsproportioned to our idea of
its present importance, go fully into an ex-
animation Of DIR. Madison's views, as dis
closed by the citations We have just spoken
Of. Suffice it TO say, that any of our readers
who may desire to pursue the subject fur
ther, win find, in Calhoun's Works (Vol. i,
commencing at page 1907 what We regard as
a very clear and satisfactory demonstration
of the erroneous character of those views Of
Mr.. Madison, on which the Inteiligencer has
relied to sustain its argument.
In Calhoun's discourse upon the Con-
stitution and Government of the United
States" which is sometimes sneered at-by
those who have never read it-but which
has never yet been answered-is contained
the repertory of all the doctrines and argu-
ments of the State-Rights school Of poll
ticians. We commend the work to the
fresh perusal of our venerable namesake,
fearing, as we do, from the tenor of some of
its recent articles, that it has forgotten " the
memorable logic" of the great Carolinian.
When the American Colonies threw off
the yoke of the mother country, they became
thirteen sovereign and independent States.
Each State formed, for itself, its own Consti-
tuition, without interference from any other
State, and conferred upon its own State
government all governmental powers, except
what were retained by the people in their
sovereign capacity. These State govern
ments, at first formed league between them
selves, called a Confederation; but, after.
wards, the people of the several States, in
the same sovereign capacity in which they
had previously acted when they formed their
respective State governments, withdrew
from those governments portion of the
powers previously conferred upon them, and
delegated the same to new government,
created by themselves for certain general
purposes. If these delegated powers can
not be revoked by the same authority which
bestowed them, then is that authority some
thing less than sovereignty, which we under
stand to mean supremacy; and if the people
of the several States, who did, unquestion-
ably, possess the attribute of sovereignty
when they formed the governments, State
and general, under which they now live, and
who may, if they choose, destroy those gov
ernmcnts to-morow-if VIC say, they have
lost or parted with their sovereignty, we will
be exceedingly obliged to any one who will
inform us what has become of it, and where
it now resides for, il the several States are
still sovereign, it seems TO us too clear to ad-
nit of question, that each of them must be
as free to-day to 60 out Of the Union, if she
shall think proper to do so, as she was, in
the first instance, TO stay out.