Daily national Democrat., 1861-03-08

States be not agents Of this compact, it must
be one great consolidated National Govern
ment efthc people Of all lie Sfates.'
"The fate of this question and of America
may depend on this, Have they said We, the
States? Hare they made Eroposdt Of a com
pact 6et~eJn the Statcs@ If they had, this
would be confederation 1t is otherwise
most clearly Consolidated Government. The
question turns, sir, on that poor little thing
the expression, We, the people, instead Of
the States of America"
Mr.. Nicholson, in reply said:
But he objects to the expression we, the
people, and demands the reason why they
had not said we, the United States of a.
merica.' In my opinion, the expression il
highly proper it is submitted to the people
because on them it is to operate till adopted
it is but dead letter. and not binding on any
one when adopted, it becomes binding oE
the people who adopt it, 1t is proper on an
other account We are under great obliga-
tions to the Federal Convention, for recurring
to the people, the source of all power
And again Mr. Corbn said
"The introductory expression Of we, the
people has been thought improper by the
honorable gentleman. | expected no such
objection as this. Ought not the people, sir,
to Judge of that government whereby they
are to be ruled? We are, sir, deliberating on
question of great consequence to the people
Of AmeFica, and to the world in general"
The Supreme Court Of the United States, in
the bred Scott Case, says;
"Tho words people of the United States,
and citizens are Synonymous terms, and
mean the same thing. They both describe
the political body who, according to our re-
publican institutions, form the sovereignty
aud who hold the power and conduct the
Government through their representatives,.
They are what we familiarity call the 'sovei-
eign people and every citizen is one OF this
people, and a constitutional member of this
sovereignty"
The old compact of the Confederation said,
ARTICLES of Confederation between the States
of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Bay.
Rhode Island" etc The new Constitution
said, eve, the People" There is the differ
ence between league of States and a Gov
ernmont of the People.
Mr. Piuckney, of Maryland, one of the
ablest constitutional lawyers of any age, said :
The Constitution acts directly on the peo.
pie, by means of powers communicated d =
rectly from the people. No State, in its cor
perate capacity, ratified it, but it was pro-
posed for adoption to popular Conventions"
In the case of McCulloch vs. the St e Of
Maryland, in 1919, Chief Justice Marshall, in
rendering decision, said: They 1.-THE peo-
pie acted upon it the Constitution in .ht
only manner in which they can act safely
eifectually and wisely, on such subject, by
assembling in Convention. Ofcon
sequence, when they act, they act in theil
States. But the measures they adopt do not
on that account, cease to be the measures OF
the people themselves or become the meas
ures of the State Governments"
The Union was designed to be perpetual
Every Government designs that its existence
shall be perpetual. In theory it is to endure
forever, and consequently nothing but Revo-
luton can overthrow it, The Constitution
itself declares that it was ordained bv the
people for themselves and for "their posteri-
ty" Mr.. Madison said, in reference to tins
point, at the time that the adoption of the
Constitution was being considered, that such
adoption was an adoption in toto and forcrer
De Tocqueyille, that able Frenchman, state:
so lnedly the true character of our Govern,
ment that his mere statement amounts to al
most logical demonstration of that for which
Mr. Edgerton contends He says:
"ln America the subjects oc the Union are
not States, but private citizens The Natien.
al Government levies q tax, not upon the
State oi Massachusetts, bat upon each inhabi
tant of Massachusetts. All former confeder-
ate Governments presided over communities.
but that of the Union rules indipiduals: force
is not borrowed, but self derived and it is
served by its own civil and military officers
by its own army, and its own courts of ius
tice. 1t cannot be doubted that the spirit of
the nation the passions of the multitude. and
provincial preiuiices of each State. tend sin
guarly TO diminish the authority Of Federal
thus constituted, and TO facilitate
the means of resistance to its mandates: but
the comparative weakness of a restricted SOW
eregnty is an evil inherent in the Federal
system. In America, each STAGE has fewer
opportunities of resistance, and fewer tempt-
auons to noncompliance nor can such IL de
sign be put in execution, Gf indeed il be en-
,tertained without an open violation of the
laws oil the Union, a direct interruption of
the ordinary course Of Justice. and n bold
declaration of revolt in word without n
decisive step, which men hesitate to adopt."
The argument Of Mr.. Edgerton, in maipten.
ance of the proposition that under the Con-
stitution of the United States the Supreme
Court is the tribunal to interpret the powers
vested in the Federal Government, and in
opposition to the heresy that States them
selves are to decide on the consttiutionality
Of acts of Congress, is very masterly por-
ton Of his speech.