The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-04-27
SEcESST


We. the people of the United States, IN
order to form a more perfect union. esta6
lish Justice, insure domestic tranquility.
provide for the common defense, promote
the general welfare, and secure the blessings
of liberty to ourselves and our posteriuy, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for
the United States of America.-I' Preamble
to tie Constitution.
This is the statement of the origin and
purpose of our instrument of political or
ganization and government.
1--WE. the people," not 1--WE, the States;"
"we, the people of the States of Virginia,
Massachusetts. and so forth, lido ordain and
establish this Constitution Constitu-
ton, or fixed and organic basic of govern
ment-not for the confederdted, but "for
the United States of America" In addi-
ton to securing the essentials of all gov
Iernment, our first and priuciLai object in
doing this is ''to form a more perfect I'm
ion.'' Now, what is the chief element of
perfection in any form of government?
Stability. sMore perfect" then, in compar-
ison' with what The old confederation.
But what was represented in its title as
perpetual" 4
Therefore, any State of the present I'M
ion has right to secede at will.
The conclusion does not flow very clear
ly from the premises.
..More perfect 90 Under the old sys-
tenn of assessing the public burdens. requl-
siLions were made upon the individual States
as sovereign bodies. Though these were
| seldom complied with in full, the obligation,
| in honor and morality, to do so, was admit
ted; but under the Improved arrangement 1t
! appears that there is not even an obligation
| of any sort, anywhere in the case. We can
| slip out of our contract whenever the fancy
| takes US, and carry off some of the COM
mon property in addition, if we can. What
an extraordinary perversity of constitution
| it is ! But let that pass.
| We do not intend to go into a parade of
evidence in this matter, nor to quote what
Mr.. Madison said on this occasion or M.
Hamilton wrote on that, or the grounds on
which Patrick Henry opposed such and
such provisions of the Constitution. We
plant ourselves on the broad assertion that
! the trainers of that instrument were men
Of common sense, understood the meaning
of words and could never have stultifed
themselves to the extent of laboring for
weeks to adjust piece of mechanism
which. after all. had no handspring or its
equivalent When we see an experienced
builder undertake to put up an arch with
out key stone, we will believe it, and not
! before.
On the 17lh of September. 1897. Gen'l.
Washington made an official communication
to the President of Congress. Remember
that this was in writing, and that he wrote
as presiding officer, and ''by unanimous or
i der'' of the convention which had just com
pleted its labors .s.
i .'S1R: We have now the honor to submit
to the consideration of the United States in
Congress assembled, that Constitution
which has appeared to US the most advisa-
BILE. + = In all our deliberations
on this subject we kept steadily in our view
that which appears to us the greatest OF ev-
cry true American-the consolidation of
our Union-in which is involved our pros
perity. felicity, safety. perhaps our national
existence
So wrote George Washington; but it is
now we'll understood that, in accordance
with his established character for insinceri-
ty, he did not mean what he wrote. All
the Members of the Convention which he
represented, and all who sat in that Con-
gress he was addressing, were parties to the
deception. Yes, the sun shines only for
the daily convenience of the earth; the great
those iIlustrious men were solely intent on
quilting their posterity.
But shall we be told that we have fallen
upon times that scout authority. and that it
is idle to view great subject in any light
but that of selfinterest? Agreed. Let us
put public honor and public faith out of
the question, and ask: How is secession
going to pay That is g practical point
that concerns US all.
If established as the theory of our I'm
ion, what will be its results? Credit az
home or abroad-none. Faith to be pledged
to foreign nations-none. Power to insure
domestic ranquillity-none. Capacity or
spirit to resent insult from abroad-noue.
Weakness, imposition, contempt, indignity
l-everywhere We shall be the fragments
of the feast, for any be0gar to devour.
There is one picture of the future. An
other ia to be drawn for there is no seed
of public evil that secession bears it not.
The misery is not in the loss Of few, or
many elements Of national sequence. It is
in being robbed Of the sout, as it were, of
our republic; in being left exposed to what
Mr.. A. H. Stephens apily calls. 1.-The pro-
cess of disintegration, /" TO crumble, crum-
Die into mere chaos. But one of the cha
os order must come again in some shape.
What form will it assume? Not the pres
emf, we may be sure. Republican institu-
! lions can scarcely survive the admission OF
this claim as right. Secessioni Bah
1t is, in political sense. that poisoned shirt
of Nessus. which, drawn around any peo-
pie, must drive them to certain doom. 1t
is the first step toward despotism, and the
steps are only three: Secession-Anarchy
-Tyranny-E p World.