Weekly Trinity journal., 1860-12-29

to establish Such principle is wholly incon-
sistent with history, as it was framed with the
greatest deliberaton and care. 1t was submitted
to Conventions of the people OF the several
States for ratification. It's provisions were dis
cussed at length in these bodies, composed of the
first men of the country. Its opponents con-
tended that it conferred power upon the Federal
Government dangerous to the rights of the
States, while its advocates maintained that under
a fair construction of the instrument there was
no foundation for such apprehenSions. In that
mighty struggle between the first intellects of
this or any other country 1t never occurred to any
individual, either among its opponents or its ad-
vocates to assert, or even to intimate that their
efforts were all vain labor, because the moment
that any State felt herself aggrieved she might
secede from the Union. What crushing argu-
ment would this have proved against those who
dreaded that the rights of the States would be
endangered by the Constitution The truth is
that it not many years after the origin OF the
Federal Government that such proposition was
first advanced. 1t was then met and refutcd by
the conclusive arguments of General Jackson,
who in his Message of the 10th of January, 1888,
transmitting the multiplying ordinance of South
Carolina to Congress, employs the following
language "The right of the people of a single
State to absolve themselves at will, without the
consent of the other States, from their most
solemn obligations, hazards the liberties and
cannot be acknowledged. Such authority is
believed to be utterly repugnant both TO the
principles upon which the General Government
is constituted and to the objects which it was ex-
pressly formed to attain 1t is not pretended
that any clause in the Constitution gives counte-
nance to such theory. 1t is altogether founded
upon inference and not from language contained
in the instrument itself, but from the sovereign
character of the several States by which it was
hut il hp n
like an individual, to yield portion OF its SOW
ereign rights to secure the remainder" In the
language of Madison, who has been called the
Father of the Constitution, it was formed 10y the
States; that is, by the people in each of the
States acting in their highest sovereign capacity,
and formed consequently by the same authority
which formed the State Constitutions. Nor is
the Government of the United States created by
the Constitution less a Government in the
srictest sense of the term within the sphere OF its
power, than the Governments created by the
Constitutions of the States are within their
several spheres. 1t is, like them, organized into
Legislative, Executive and Judiciary Depart
ments it operates like them directly on persons
and things and like them it has at command
physical force for executing the powers commit
ted to it was intended to be perpetual, and not
to be annuled at the pleasure of any OF the
contracting parties of the Confedcration-a per-
petual Union between the States and by the
thirteenth Article it is expressly declared that
the Article of this Confederation shall be inevita-
bly, observed by every State, and the Union shall
be perpetual. The preamble to the Constitution
of the United States having express reference to
the Articles of Confederation states it was estab-
lished in order to form a more perfect union,
does not include the essential attributes OF perpe-
tuity but that the Union was designed to be
perpetual, appears conclusively from the nature
and extent of the powers conferred by the Con-
IL, EoI
powers embrace the highest attributes of national
sovereignty they place both the sword and the
purse under its control. Congress has power to
make war and to make peac", to raise and sup
port armies and naves and to conclude treaties
with foreign Governments. 1t is invested with
the power to coin money and to regulate the
value thereof, and to regulate commerce with
foreign nations and among the several States
1t is not necessary to enumerate the other high
powers which have been conferred upon the
Federal Government, in order to carry the emu
merated powers into effect. Congress possesses
the exclusive right to levy and collect duties on
imports, and, in common with the States, to levy
and collect all other taxes but the Constitution
has not only conferred these high powers upon
Congress, but it has adopted clfeciual means to
restrain the States from interfering with their
exercise for that purpose 1t has in strong,
prohibitory language, expressly declared that no
State shall enter into any treaty. alliance of con
federation, grant letters of marque and reprisal,
coin money, emit bills of credit, make anything
but gold and silver coin q tender in payment Of
debts, pass any bill of attander, post facto
law or laws impairing the obligations of con tracts
Moreover, without the consent of Congress no
States shall lay any impOsts or duties on any
imports or exports, except what may be absolute
ly necessary for executing its inspection laws !;
and if they exceed this amoun! the excesses shall
belong to the United States. And no State shall,
ia fnCE Ia Infu
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of
peace, nor enter into any agreement or compact
with another State or with foreign power or
engage in war; unless actually invaded, or in
such imminent danger as not admit OF further
delay"
AMENDMENT TO THE CoNsTITuTI0N.-H He recon-
mends that the Constitution be so amended as to
put beyond future controversy the Slavery ques-
tion. We hope this may be done, and the " ire
pressible nigger" be forevermore barred out of
political platforms, a consummation devoutly to
be wished, by all true men.
FOREIGN AFFAIRs.-In our Foreign relations,
all goes on smoothly. Our only difference with
England at present, is TO whom belongs the is
land of Saa Juan? Negotiations are now being
made in regard to this question. The French
courts have decided that citizen of that coun-
try has a right to expatriate himself. Hereafter
our French American citizens may visit their
native homes without fear OF being forced to
serve in the French army.
Spain has not exactly come to settlement of
some old accounts due to our citizens, but high
hopes are entertained that the present commits
sioners will come to some definite understanding
China is doing the clean thing-has appropria-
ted 500, 900 to pay American claims. This is
about 100000 more than is due our citizens,
and the President suggests, " as this surplus, in
equity, belongs to China, that it ought to be ap-
propriated to some benevolent object, in which
China is Interested" [Certainly, by all means
send it to California, to help send her miserable,
pauper "chidren of the sun" to their celestial
homes
New GRENADA has agreed to pay all the dam
Mo at e, mil