Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-12-06

TO exercise It's power o. ssr the people of al
these States, In the ENUMERATED cases that
zach one of them POSSESSES oyer the sub
Ieets not delegated to the United States,
but reserved to the States respectively, or
10 the people. To The extent Of the tieles
gated powers, the Court Of Che Uaited
States Is as much 2 part of the Cont Of
each state, and is a. binding upon It's pee
pie az though il had been textuaaly IN
serted therein This GoFeTnmeEt, there
fore, is great and poFeesul Government.
invested with all the attributes aid sever
eighty OF the special subjects 10 W hlcil
Its authority extends. Its trainers never
Intended to fuplant IN lis bosom the seeds
Of liz owl. destruction, nor were they, AZ
its creation, guilty ofthe absurdity Of proFl-
ding for ils dissolution. 1t was NOS intended
bv It's trainers to be the baseless febrlc OF a
vision which, at the touch of the enehaHt-
er, would vanish into air, but a substantial
and mighty fabric, capable OF resisting the
slow decay Of time, and OF defying the
storms Of sges Indeed, web may Jealous
patriots Of that day have indulgedfears that
a (iorernment Of such high powers might
violate the reserved rights Of The States
and wisely did they adopt The rule ola strict
construction OF these powers, TO prevent the
danger. bat they did not fear, nor had they
ahv reasonto imagine, that The Constitution
would ever be so interpreted as C. enable
any State by her own act a1d without
The consent Of her sister States, 10
sissh'Tgs Ss5 PfS sssr. from a61 ~ Or
1t nsy be asked, then, are the people of
the States without redress against the ~
ranny and oppression Of the Federal Gov
ernmentg By no means. The right of
resistance ON the part OF the governed
against tie oppression of their Govern
rnents cannot be denied; Ii exists indie
pendent of all Constitutions. and has been
exercised at all periods OF the worlds his
tory Under il old Governments have
been destroyed, and under it new ones
have been replaced. II is embodied in
strong and express language N, our own
Declaration Of Independence; but the dis
tinetion must ever be observed that this
IS revolution against an established Gov
ernmeRt, and not voluntary accession
from il by virtue of an inherent eonstitu-
ytional riEht. In short, let US look the
danger fairly in the face. Secession
Is nothing more nor less than revolution.
II NAV or may not be unsuitable reyolu-
tion hut still il Is revolution. fWkat, in
the meantime, Is the responsibility and
true position Of the Executive, Hho Is
bound by solemn oath befors God and the
country to take care that the laws be faith
IullN G1ECuttus EIUl4 NAlAE ObllS1i1OA &c
cannot be absolyed BY any human power.
But what II the performance Of this dafy,
In whole or In part, has been rendered i'm
practicable by events over which he could
have exercised no eOntrols Such, at the
present, is the ease throughout The State
Of South Carolina. So far as the laws of
the United States Go secure the admins
tration Of Justice by means of the Federal
judiciary are concerned, al the Federal
officers within Its limits, through whose
agency alone these laws can be carried into
I execution, have slready resigned. Wehaye
no longer o District Judge, q District At
torney in South Carolina. In fact the
! whole machinery of the Federal Gov
ernment necessary for the distribution
of remedial Justice among the PEG lie,
! has been demolished, and ii would be
| difficult If not impossible TO replace II.
/ The only acts of Congress on the statute
book bearing npon this subject are those
| of the 2Sth February, 1875, and Sd March,
1907. These authorize the President, after
1 he shall have aseertained that the marshal,
with his posse eommitafus is unable to
execute civil or criminal process in any
particular case to call forth the militia,
and employ the army and navy to aid him
in performing the service, having FIRST, by
| proclamation, commanded the insurgents
| to disperse and return peaceably to their
! respective abodes within limited time
| This duty cannot by possibility be per-
formed in State where no judicial author
| ity exists to issue process, and where there
! is no marshal to execute, and where even
| ifthere were such an officer, the entire pop
ulation would continue one solid column
/ to resist him. The bare resistance of
| these provisions proves howinadequate they
| are, without further legislation, TO overcome
| a united opposition in a single State, not TO
( speak Of other States who may place them
| selves in q similar attitude. Congress alone
I has power 10 decide whether the present
/ laws can or cannot be amended so as 70 car
| ~ out more effectually the objects Of the
| Constitution. The same insuperable Obsta-
cles 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 al the Custom House in Charles
| ton aud should the collector unfortunately
resign, a successor may be appointed 10 per
! form this duty. Then, in regard 10 the prop
erty Of the United States IN South Carolina,
this has been purchased for fair equivalent
by the consent of the Legislature of the
State, for the erection of forts, magazines,
arsenals, &C., and over these the authority
to exercise exclusive legislation has been
expressly granted BY the Court TO Congress.
Il is not believed that any attempt viii be
made to eNpel the United States from this
property by force, but If in this / should
prove to be mistaken, the officer in command
of the forts has received orders to act strict
" on the defensive in such contingency
the responsibility for consequences would
rightfuliy rest upon the heads Of the Rssaii-
ants Apart from the execution of the laws
so Ear as this may be practicable, the Execu-
tive has no authority to decide what shall be
the relatiOus between the Federal Govern
ucnt, DC He has been invested with no
such discretion, and be possesses no power
to change the relations heretofore existing
between them. much less to acknowledge
the Independence of that State. This would
be 10 invest a mere executive officer with
the power Of recognizing the disOlu
ton OF the Confederaey among our
thirty-three sovereign States 1t has no
resemblance to the recognition of for
eign de factO Government, involving no
such responsibility. Any attempt TO do
this would, on his part, be naked act of
asurpation. Il IS, therefore, my duty TO
submit 10 Congress the question In ell its
bearings. The course of events il so ra-
pidlv Fastening forward that the emer-
gency may arrive when you may be called
upon TO decide the momentous 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 were | not to express an opin-
iou on the important subject. The ques-
ton fairly stated: Has the Constitution
delegated to Congress the power TO force
a State into submission which Is attempt
ING TO withdraw, or has actually with
drawn from the Confederaeyi If answered
In the affirmative, it must be ON the prln-
ciple that the power has been conferred
upon Congress to declare and to make war
against a State. After much serious re6ec-
ton, have arrived at the conclusion that
no such power has been delegated TO Con-
gTess, or to any other department Of the
Federal Government II IS manifest upon
an inspection Of the Constitution, that this
is not among the specific and enumerated
powers granted 70 Congress. and it is equal
w apparent that its exercise Is not necessary
and proper for carrying into execution any
one Of these powers. So far from this power
having been delegated TO Congress, il was
expressly refused BY the Convention that
framed the Constitution. Ii appears from
the proceedings Of that body on the Slst
Of May, 1877, the case authorizing
an Executive 10 use the force of
the whole against delinquent State, came
up for consideration. Mr.. Madison oppos-
ed it in a brief but powerful speech, from
which shall eStractb but single sentence.
He observed that the use of force against
a State would look more like declaration
Of war than an inhietion of punishment,
and probably be considered by the party
attacked rs a dissolution of all previous
c0mpacts by whick 1t might be bound.
Upon his motion, the clause was unani-
mously postponed, and was never, be-
lieye, again presented.
Soon afterwards, on the Sth of June,
lsS1, when incidentally advcrting to this
subject, he said, any Government for the
United States, formed on the supposed
practicability of using force against the
unconstitutional proceedings Ofthe States,
would prove as visionary and fallacious as
the Government Of Congress-evidenly
meaning the existing Congress of the old
Confederation. Without descending to
particulars, it may be safely asserted that
the power to make WIr against State is
at variance with the whole spirit and in
tent ofthe Constitution. Suppose such a
war should result in the conquest of State,
how are We to govern IL afterwards! Shall
we hold it ASIA province, and govern Il by