The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1861-01-17

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The following report of the Committee
of which Mr.. Memniinger was Chairman,
has been adopted by tho Conycntion:
Tho State Of South Carolina having de-
termined to resume her separate aud equal
place among nations, deems it due to her
self, to the remaining United States of
America, and to the. nations OF the world.
that she should declare the causes which
have lead to this act.
In the year 1865, that portion Of the
British Empire embracing Great Britain.
undertook to make laws for the government
Of that portion composed oil the thirteen
American Colonies \ struggle tor the
right of selt-government ensucl, which re-
suited, on the 4th OF July, l116, in Dec
laration by the Colonies. "that hey are.
and of right ought to be, FREE AND IN
DEPENDENT STATES; and that as free
and independent States, they have full
power to levy war, conclude peace, contract
alliances, establish commerce, and do all
other acts and things which Independent
States may light do
They further solemnly declare that
Whenever any Storm OF government be-
comes destructive Of the ends for which it
was established, tits the righ; of the pco-
pie to abolish it, and to Institute new
government" Dceming the Governments
OF Great Britain to have become dcs;ructivr
ofthese ends they declared tina the Colonies
'areabsolved from all allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all politic,l connection
between them and the State OF Great
Britain, is and ought TO bc totally dissolved" 4"
In pursuance OF this Declaration of In
dependence, each of the thirteen States
proceeded to exercise its separate suver-
eighty adopt for itself Constitution. and
appointed officers for tn: administration OF
government in all its departments Lcgis-
latire, Executive and Judicial For ur-
poses OF defence, they united their arms
and their counscls aud, in l77S, they en-
tered into League known a. the Articles
Of Confederation, whereby they agreed To
entrust the administration of their external
relations to a common agent, known as the
Congress Of the United States, expressly
declaring in the first article, that each
State retains its sovereignty, freedom and
independence, aud evory power, iuyiSl!c-
ton and right which is not, by this Con
federation, expressly delegated to the
United States in Congress assembled"
Under this Confederation the War of
the Revolution was carried on, and on the
Sd of September, 1888, the contest ended
and dcfinitiye treaty was signed by Great
Britain,.in which she acknowledged the
independence Of the Colonies in the fol
lowing terms :,
g@ARTIcLE /. His Britanic Majesty ac-
knowiedges the said United States, viz ::
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Bay.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,
Connecticut, New York, New jersey, Penn
. sylyania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia.
North Carolina, and ticorgia. to he FREE
SOVEREIGN AND INDEPENDENT
STATES; and that he treats with them as
such and for himself, his heirs aud sue
cessors. rc!inqaishes all clliors to the gov
erninent, proprietary and territorial rights
te the same, and every part thereof"
Thus were established the tive great prin
ciples. asserted by the Colonies, namely :
the-right of State to govern itself; and
the right of people to abolish Govern
ment when it becomes destructive of the
ends for which it wns Instituted. And
concurrent with the establishments af these
principles, was the fact, that each Colony
became and was recognized by the mother
country as FREE. SOVEREIGN AND
INDEPENDENT STATE.
In 1887, deputies were appointed hy the
States to revise the Articles of Confcdcra-
tion, and on the l7th September, 1887,
these deputies recommended, for the alop.
tion of the States, the Articles OF Union
known as the Constitution Of tho United
States.
9 The parties to whom this Constitution
was submitted were the several sovereign
states; they were to agree ordisagree, aud
when nine Of them agreed. the compact was
ITO take effect among those concurring, and
the General Government, as the common
ayept was then to bo invested with their
authority. e..
If only nine of the thirteen States had
concurred, the other four would have re-
snained as they then were-separate sover-
eign States, independent Of any Of the pro
visions OF tie Constitution In fact two oil
the States did not accede to the Constitu-
tion until long after it had gone into opcr-
alton among the other eleven; and during
that interval, they each exercised the func-
tions ofan independent nation.
BY this Constitution, certain duties were
charged on the several States, and the ex-
ercise Of certain Of the powers restrained,
which necessarily implied their continued
existence as sovereign States. But to re-
move all doubt, an amendment was added,
which declared that the powers not dele
gated to the United States by the Consti-
tuition, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or
TO the people On the 23d of May, 1888,
South Carolina, by Convention of her
people, passcd an Ordinance asserting to
this Consatuticn,apd afterwards altered
her own Constitution, to conform herself to
che obligations she had undertaken.