The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1861-07-16


A right result at this time will b
worth more to the world than ten time
the men and ten times the men and mon
ey, The evidence reaching US from tn,
country leaves no doubt that the materi
al for the work is abundant. and that i
needs only the hand ofle legislation to give
! II legal sanction and the hand of the TX
ecutiye 70 give il practical shape and ef
ticency. One Of the greatest perplexi
ties of The Government is to avoid re
celFing troops faster than it can provd,
for them in word, the people will save
their Government, if the Governmentit
self will do It's part only indiferently
well. 1t might seem at first thought t,
be Of little difference whether the presen
movement at tho South be called seces
sion or rebellion. The movers however
well understand the difference.
At the beginning that they could nov
er raise their treason to any respectable
magnitude by any name which implies
violation Of law; they knew their people
possessed as much of moral sense, as
much Of devotion to law and order, and
as much pride in It's reverence for the
history and Government of their com
mon country as any other civiizA d and
patriotic people. They knew they could
make no advancement directly in the
teeth OF these strong and noble sent-
ments Accordingly, they commenced
by an insdious debauchery ofthe public
mind j; they invented an Ingenious soph-
ism, which, if conceded, was followed BY
perfectly logical steps through all the in-
cldents OF the complete destruction Of
the Union The sophism itself is that
any state of the Union may, consistently
with the Nations Constitution, and,
the refore, lawfully and peacefully with
draw from the Union, without the con
sent of the Union. or of any other state.
The litlle disguise that the supposed
right is to be exercised only for Just
cause. themselves to be the sole Judge of
its justice, is too thin to merit any no
tire. With rebellion thus sugar coated
they have been drugging the people Of
their section for more than thirty vears
and until at ientgh they have brought
many good meu to a willingness to take
up arms against the government the day
after some assemblage5 Of men have en-
acted the fareical prefer of taking their
state out Of the Union, who could have
been brought 10 no such thing the day
before.
This sophism derives much, perhaps
the whole, of its currency from the as
sumption that there is some omnpo;eut
and sacred supremacy pertaining 10 a
S,ate-to each State OF our Federal I'm
ION. Our States have neither more nor
less power than that reserved to them in
the Uuion by the Constitution. no one OF
them ever havin. been a State out Of tie
Union. The original ones passed into
the Union even before they east off ,heir
British colonial dependence, and the new
ones came into the Union directly from
a condition OF dependence, excepting
Texas and even Texas, in its temporary
independence, was never designated As
STATE.
The new ones only took the desjyns,
lion Of States on coming into the Union,
while that name was first adopted Tot
old ones in and by the Declaration OF In.
dependence. Therein the united colo
MES were declared to be free aud ia7c-
pendent States But even then the ob
ject plainly was not to declare their in
dependence 81 Que another Of the Union,
but directly the contrary, as their mu,
tual pledge and their mutual action be
fore. at the time, and at,erward. abun,
dainty show The express pliehting OF
faith by each and all of the original tAir-
teen States in the articles of contcdera
lion two years lser, that the Union shall
be perpetual IS most conclusive, having
never been States either IN substance or
in name outside Of the Union. Whence
this magical omnipotenca OF State Rights,
asserting clam of power to lawfully
destroy the Union itself? Much is said
about the sovereignty OF The States. but
the word even is not i'll the National Con
s,itutou. nor As is believed, IN any 81
the State Constitutions.
What is a sovereignty in tie political
SeAASN oA t.t5 AEi IL " dutA lk ~ ihl
wrong 10 define it a political community
without political SUPERIOR Tested by
this no one ot ouy States, except Texas.
was 4 sovereignty. snd even Texas gave
up the character in coming into The Tn
ion, b which act she Acknowledged tie
Constitution ot the United States. and
the laws and treaties Of The uuiul States
made in pursuance OF Sa.es. have their
status in the Union made in pursuance
OF the Constitution, 70 be for her the su.
pgcme law The States have their 5lat-
Us IN the Union. ana ,hey have no other
lega! status ttcy break from TIL,
they can only do 50 against Iaw and by
revolution
Tae Union. and no; themselves sepa
4.elv procured ,hcir independence and
lheig Liberty by conquest coz purchase :,
the Union gave each Of them wha'e,er
% Independence and hher,y II has The
Union i- older Jhan any Of tie States,
and ia aetit created them as States
Originally some dependent co.oui-z made
the Union, AMI ia ta,u thc Union threw
ett their cid dependence Ion them and
made them States. such as they are M
one O! them ever had u Sue Cnusutu
uou iadcPeudeu, ~ the Union Q.cou,sa
i is not forgotten thag ail the new States