The Oxford intelligencer., 1861-03-13

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stitution does not expressly deny its existence.
The trainers Of the Constitution expressly re-
fused TO confer upon the general government
authority to coerce State, and thereby declared
tha. they would not deny the right Of secession.
Mr.. Lincoln processes, we believe to be law
yer. Judged by his inaugural, his legal educa-
ton seems to have been sadly neglected He
asks:-"If the United States be not govern
ment proper, but an association Of States in the
nature of contract merely can it as a contract
be practically unmade by less than all the par
ties who made 1T One party to a contract may
violate it, break it, so to speak, but does
It not require all lawfully to rescind II" Now
we venture the assertion that there is not an
other "jack-leg lawyer" in the country, besides
Abraham Lincoln, who would not be ashamed
/ to ask such questions. There is no man who
has read the horn-books of the law who does
not know that it does not require all the parties
to a contract to unmake or rescind it. Two or
more persons may contract to form partnership,
which, by its terms, is to continue for ten years,
and yet either Of them the very next hour, may
unmkae that contract and dissolve the partner
ship, without the consent Of the other. So too,
if vendee of land omit to pay the purchase mon
ey at the stipulated day, the vendor may. without
the consent of the other party rescind the contract
of sale and resume possession of the land. But,
even though the law of contracts, as applied to
individuals, were precisely what Lincoln says it
is; even then, it would wholly fail to sustain his
position The force of habit is evidently strong
in his case. He has so long been accustomed
to wrangling, before magistrate S courts in Hi
nois, petty three dollar cases, and depending
upon the smaller articles of the profession for
success, that he has no idea of what is signifed
by craftsmanship. The notion would have
crept into the minds of some men, in the course
of life of fifty odd years, that there might be
difference between individuals and States, and
that there might, therefore, be some propriety
in reasoning differently about them. In regard
to the contracts of individuals, the parties are
amenable to the courts of the country, which are
clothed with ample power to determine private
controversies and enforce their own decisions
In the case of engagements between States there
is no superior tribunal, acknowledged by the
parties and vested with authority to make decis-
ions and compel obedience and, therefore, in
the very nature of things each State must pos
sess the exclusive power to determine for her
self and finally, whether her "contract" with
another State has, or has not, been violated and
to Judge of the mode and measure of redress
No rule is more clearly recognized by the STAN
dard authorities upon the law of nations than
that which declares that every State has a right
to annul the most solemn treaty into which she
may have entered with another power, if in her
sole judgment, that treaty has been violated by
the other high contracting party. "Thc Union,"
says Lincoln, in continuation, is much older than
the Constitution. This is simply false" "7he
Union the Union, which existed from 1888
to 1S60-was created by the Constitution. An
other Union, differing essentially from this, pre-
ccded 1t, having been formed under the Articles
of Confederation, and it followed others of
still different character. All these Unions, how
ever, were formed by compacts between States,
in the nature of treaties. Thoy formed to
secure certain ends, and not for the mere sake of
Union, and they were not designed to be perpet-
ua unless they should be found to secure
those ends
Denying, utterly, the right Of secession, Mr..
Lincoln next proceeds to announce the "peacc
full" intentions which he entcrtains. Divested
of vcrbiage, his declarations on this topic would
read substantially thus -" The abolition party,
at last has got control of the government just
give that party full swing don't do or say any
thing to prevent us from carrying out our pur-
poses, and you shall have peace; but if you lift
finger in the way of resistance, I'll thrash you
out of your boots" Abraham is clearly of the
opinion that the simplctons are in the majority,
and we admit that his election goes far to Justify
him in that belief If he thought otherwise, he
would scarcely have vcnturcd, unless he is him
self a simpleton, to declare that, according to
the true theory of the Constitution of the United
States, that instrument is nothing more than a
mere nose of wax, which the majority may
shape and mould as it plcases and that the only
right Of the minority as that of abject and hope
less submission The dcspotism of Russia is
that of one man. Lincoln would inauguratc a
far more grinding and pitiless dcspotism-that
of the million, whose numbers will render it
forever impossible to- satiate their appetite for
plumber and oppression. Well may we congrat-
ulate ourselves that We are no longer in Union
where such doctrines can be advanced without
raising up Brutus to avenge his country's
wrongs.
Abraham does not like the bred Scott decis-
ion, and it is plainly enough to be discovered from
the tenor of his observations in regard to the
Supreme Court of the United States, that we
may soon expect such reorganization of that
tribunal as will enable the Black Republicans to
obtain decisions from it, upon the slavery ques
ton to order, in any quantity, and at the short
est notice"
There are many other salient and very tempt
ing points presented in the inaugural, but we
have already extended our remarks upon it far
beyond our original design. Mr.. Lincoln may
be able to steer fat-boats. We doubt his abili-
ty to steer "the ship of State" lie may have
been successful in persuading those who former
ly patronized his little grocery that his "bald-
face was an article of excellent quality. He is
mistaken, we think, in his opinion that the