The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-07-13


have brought many good men TO willingness
to take up arms against The Government the
day after some assemblage of men have en-.
acted the farcical pretense of taking their
State out of the Union, who could have
been brought TO no such thing the day be-
fore. This sophism derives much, perhaps
the whole of its currency, from the as
sumption that there is some omnpotent and
sacred supremacy pertaining to a State. To
each SAFE of our Federal Union, our States
have neither more nor less power than that
reserved to them i'll the Union BY the Con
stitution-no one of them ever having been
a State out of tie Union. The original ones
passed into the Union even before thew east
off the British Colonial dependence, and the
new ones came into the Union directly from
a condition of dependence, except Texas,
and even Texas, in It's temporary independ-
ence. was never designated STATE. The
rev ones only took the designation of
State on coming into the Union. while
| in and by tie Colonies, were declare to be
! free and independent States, but even then
the object plainly was not to declare their
! independence of one another. or of the
| Union, but decidedly the contrary, and
before, at the time, and afterwards, absolute
ly shows the express phghting of faith by
each and all of the original thirteen in the
article of confederation two years later, that
the Union shall be perpetual. is the most
conclusive, having never been States either
! in substance or i'll name, outside of the
| Union. Whence the magicol omniotence of
State Rights, asserting claim of power to
lawfully destroy the Union itself? Much
is said about the sovereignty of the States,
1 but the word is not in the Natioal Constitu
lion, nor. as Is believed, in any of the State
! Constitutions. What is a sovereignty in
the political sense of the term, could il be
far wrong 10 define il political community
without political superior? Tested by this,
no one of our States except Texas, ever was
a sovereignty, and even Texas gave up the
character on coming into the Union, by
which act she acknowledged the Consttu
ton of the United States and the laws and
treaties of the United S ates made in puFsu-
ance of the Constitution to be for her the
supreme law of the land
The States have their status in the Union
and they have no other legal status. If
they break faom this they can only do so
against law and by revolution. The Union,
and not themselves separated, procured their
Independence and their liberty by conquest
or purchase; the Union grve each of them
whatever independence and liberty it had.
The Union is Older than any of the States.
in fact it created them as States originally.
Some dependent colonies made the Union,
and in turn thd Union threw eff their old
dependence for them, and made them States
such as they are. Not one of them ever
had a State Constitution independent of the
Union. OF course st is not forgotten tina,
all the new States framed their CONSTITUTIONS
before they entered the Union. Nevertne
less. dependent upon and preparatory tc
coming into the Unirn, unques' ionably the
States have the power and rights reserved
10 them in and bv the National Cunsti tuition
but among them surely are not included al
conceivable powers, however miscellaneous
or destructive, known in the world at tn.
time governmental overs; and &c rtainIy :
power to destroy the Government itself, ha,
never known as governmental, merely ad
ministrative power. This relative matter o
national power and State rights, as a princi
pie, is not other than the principle of gener
aliiy and locality. Whatever concerns The
world should be confided to the whole, t
The general good. while what concerns only
the State should be left exclusively to th,
State. This is all there is of any real prin
ciple about it. whether the National Consti
'utionin in defining boundaries between the
two. has applied the principle with exact ac
cuIacy, is rot 10 be questioned. We are
also bound by that defining without ques
ton. What is now combatted is the position
that secession is consistent with the Con
Stitution. is lawful aud peaceful. Ii is not
C Intended that there is any express law for
il, and nothing should ever be implied as
law which leads TO unjust or absurd conse
quences. The nation purchased Wild money
The countries out of which several of these
States were formed. Is it just that they
should 90 off without leave, and without
refunding. The nation paid very large
in the aggregate. l believe, a bundled million
to release Florida of the aboriginal tribes
is it just that she now go off without con
sent or without making any return? The
nation Is now in debt for money applied 10
the benefit OF these so called seceeded States
in common with The rest. Is it just either
that creditors shrll go unpaid or the remain
ing States pay? While part of the present
national debt was contracted TO pay the old
debts of Texas, is it just that she shall
leave and pay no part of this herself?
Again, if one State may secede. so may an
ether, and when all shall have seeded none
is left to pay the debts. Is this quite just
20 creditors? Did we notify them of this
sage view of ours when we borrowed their
money? If we now recognize the doctrine
of allowing the seceders to go in peace. it
is difficult to see what we can do If others
choose 20 go or TO extort terms upon which
they will promise to remain. The seceders
insist that our Constitution admits secession.
They assumed to make national Constitu-
ton of their own, in which of necessity
hey have either discarded or retained the
right of secession. As they insist it exists
in ours, if they have discarded it, they
thereby admit that principle. it ought
not TO be in ours: If they have retained it by
their own Construction of ours, they show
that to be consistent they must secede faom
one snothea whenever they shall find it the
readiest way ofsettiing their debts. or effect
ing any other selfish or unjust object. The
principle itself is one Of dIsintesration, and
upon which no government can possibly
endure. If all tie States save one should
assert the power 10 drive that one GU of Ibe
Union. il il presumed the whole class Sc
ceiling politicians would at once deny the
power and deBounce this act as the greatest