The southern aegis. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1857-1862, 1861-12-14

never meant to barter it away. They thought,
without debt, the Union would forever Danish
commotion and the sword as between State and
state or states and states. That so State
might redress herself without conclusion to the
Others, the stars still shining undisturbcd in
their places, only one had gone from among
them And is not this, in truth, one grand Gu mi
mating beauty of the federal system; for without
it; We have nothing but the old Story of mouar-
chies and despotisms, revolution and subiugaton,
tyranny, the sword and blood, subsection, and
again the sword, with all its slaughter and mis-
cry Your fathers fondy thought they had
saved their beloved children from this fate
Otherwise, are we better than the despotisms at
which we have rallied? They claimed the divine
right to compel and subjugate, to enforce their
laws with the sword on their unwilling subjects.
We have not that poor excuse; we claim to COM
pei and to suhdue with force and many chastse-
ments, States equal and coordinate with our
own. But, it is said, if the States have no right
to force one another, the Federal Government in
some sort of mystical way, has u mission to COM
pei and subject both States and people, with fire
and sword and plague, of hunger and abroga-
iva of law. wherever and whenever il pleases,
itself being the sole judge and arbier of circum-
stances. Your fathers would have put their
hands to their own good swords at the bare sug-
gestion of such an idea.
lntte aIc tWo tnSOIleS Vi government. OHe
is, that government is created by the people at
their will and for their use, that it is their crca-
ture, their delegate, their scrvitor to be Ivy them
admonished, amended, abolished as they sec fit.
The other is, that the people are created for the
Government That they are its creatures, its
servitors to be used its pleasure, so that it can
say to each and every one of them, as said the
centurion of old to his servants, Ego and he go
eth, come and he cometh." Which of these was
the theory of your fathers? Let them speak for
themselves. They maintained ''the right of the
people to alter or abolish their government and
10 institute a new government laying its founda-
tions on such principles and organizing its pow
ers in such form as to them shall seem most like
ly to effect their safety and happiness" And the
people, in their view, was not an arbitrary and
sectional majority of all the States iii confused
mass, but the aggregate Of each organized COM
munity acting for itself and best able to Judge of
its material interests. Some cry out ''our Co
vernment then is a rope Of sand" No! not a
rope of sand, and assuredly not chain forged of
the iron of tyranny ana red with the blood of
brothers, but bond of amity, of love, of justice
and Of liberty. Others say. ''our fathers thought
their work would last-they did not expect the
Union to be shattered to pieces in less than hun.
dred years"
In the first place, the Union is not shattered to
pieces though eleven States have gone from it.
Not till the stars shoot from their orbits and wan
der forth alone, not till all the States separate and
apart, take each their own way, will the Union
be resolved into fragments. But we excaim, eff
we say they can go, they will go, if we say we
can separate, we shall separate we must be held
by compulsion and force or we shall rever keep
together" What is this formidable coercion we
think so potent Did it bring the States togeth-
er? No. assuredly not. What brought them to-
gether was the idea of mutual benefit, mutual
love, mutual protection. These brought them
together these alone can keep them together, let
us delude ourselves with coercion as we will If
we say to man that he cannot and shall not do
thing, is he less likely to do it? Is he not ten
thousand times more like unless it be totally out
of the range of possibility? If man conceives
that he has a certain right, and we allow that he
has, many considerations and many circumstan-
ces will govern him in the use of it but if we de-
ny that he has it, ten to one but, despite all con-
siderations and all circumstances, he defies us,
and uses it, though it should be his ruin. This
is our case with the South, and may yet be with
each other. But your fathers did indeed hope
their majestic ediice would indeed remain in its