The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-12-11

T mentS unless this shall be done without
unnecessary delay, it is impossible for
any human power to save the Union.
The Southern States, standing on the ba-
SIS OF the Cons tituton, have right to
demand this act of justice from the States
of the North. Should it be refused them,
the Constitution, to which all the States
are parties, will have been willfully vio-
lated by one portion of them, in proyi-
sion essential TO the domestic security
aad happiness of the remainder. In that
event the injured States, after having first
used all peaceful aud constitutional
means to obtain redress, would be justi
/ fed In revolutionary resistance to the
government Of the Union.
have purposely confined my remarks
to revolutionary resistance, because it
has been claimed within the last few
years that any State, whenever it shall be
her sovereign will and pleasure, may Sc
cede from the Union in accordance with
the Constitution, and without any viola
ton OF the constitutional rights of the
other members OF the confederacy, that
as each became parties of the Union by
the vote of lis own people assembled in
convention, SO any one of them may re-
tire from the Union in similar manner
by the vote Of such a convention In
order to justify secession as a constim-
tlonal remedy, it must be on the princi-
pal that the Federal Government is a
mere voluntary association of States, to
be dissolved at pleasure BY one of the
contracting parties. If this be so, the
confederacy Is rope of sand, and to
be separated aud dissolved by the first
adverse wave of public opinion by any
OF the States. In this manner our 33
States may resolve themselves into as
many petty, Earring and hostile republics,
each one retiring from the Union with
out possibility whenever any sudden
excite ent might impel them to such a
course. BY this process, Union might
be entirely broken into fragments in a
lew weeks, which cost our forefathers
many years Of toll, privation and blood
to establish. Such principle is wholly
Inconsistent with the history Of the con
stitutlon. As it was framed with the
greatest deliberation aud care, it was sub
mitted to conventions of the people Of the
several States for ratification It's oppo-
( nents contended that it conferred power
upon the federal government dangerous
/ to the rights OF the States, whilst its ad-
yocates maintained that under fair con
struction of the instrument there was no
! foundation for apprehensions. In that
mighty struggle between the first intel
Iects Of this or any other country, it new
/ er occurred to any individual, either
among its opponents or advocates to as
/ sert or even to intimate that their efforts
were all vain labor because that the mo-
ment thai any State felt aggrieyed, she
! might secede from the Union. What a
crushing argument would this have prov
ed against those who dreaded that the
! rig hts OF de States would be endangered
by the Constitution. The truth is, that
1T was not for many years after the origin
T OF the Federal Government, that such a
proposition was first advanced. 1t was
then met and refued by the conclusive
arguments of Gen. jackson, who in his
message Of the 10th of January, 1882,
transmitting the multiplying ordinance OF
South Carolina to Congress, employs the
following language
=" The right OF a people of Il single
! State 10 absolye themselves at will. with
out the consent of the other States, from
their most solemn obligations, hazards
the liberty and happiness Of millions
composing this Union. aud cannot be &C.
knowIedged' Such authority is belieY,
ed 10 be repugnant. both to the princ.
pies upon which the General Govern
ment is constituted, and to the objects
which lis was expressly formed to attain.
1t is not pretended that any clause in the
Constitution gives countenance to such
theory, 1t Is altogether founded upon in
ference, not from any language contain
cd in the instrument itself, but from the
sovereign character Of tie several States
by which 1t was ratified but is beyond
the power of a State, like an individual.
to yield portion of its sovereign rights
to secure the remainder" In The lan-
guage of Mr.. Madison, who has been
called the Father of the Constitution, il
was formed by the States, that is, by the
people IN each of the States, acting in
their highest sovereign capacity, and
formed consequently by the same author
ity which formed the State Constitutions ::
nor IS tho government OF the United
States, created by the Constitution, less
a government, in the strict sense of the
term, within the sphere Of lis powers,
than the government created by the Con
siitulons Of the states are within their
several spheres. 1t is, like them, organ
zed into Legislative, Executive and Ju-
dietary departments. 1t operates. Ike
them, directly on persons and things.
and like them, IT has at command phys
zeal force for executing the powers com
mllted TO IT; was intended TO be perpet-
uaL and not 10 be annulled at the plea
sure Of any one Of the contracting par
ties Of the Confederation, a perpetual
union between the States and by the
18Th article it is expressly declared that
the articles OF this Confederation shall
be inevitably observed by every State,
aud the Union shall be perpetualed
The Preamble to the Constitution Of
the United States, having express.
reference 10 the Articles of Conledera-
ton, that it states was established In or