Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-05-11
The Past and Preseut-Jen. Davls con.

The Past and PreseBt-Jef. Davis Con-
futed by Pinckney and Rutledse.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Of late date OBJ
serves: -.
A large portion of the message Of the Chief
of the Confederate rebels is devoted TO a stale
rehearsal of the dogma that the perfect
Union" OF the United States is a mere vol
untary partnership or compact comforting
no indeteasible, national authority or power;
and with, the disregard for historical truth
which is "the badge of all bis tribe" he re-
peats the falsehood that the national doctrine
is a modern heresy of the Northern school of
politics. Upon this point he remarks, that il
| must appear strange indeed to the impartial
observer, but it is none the less true, that all
these caEefully-worded clauses proved un-
availiDg to prevent the rise and growth in
the Northern States of a political school
which has persistently claimed that the Gov
eminent thus formed was not a compact be.
| tween, States, but was in effect National
government set up above and over the
The sentiment Of. nationality here de-
| nonnced by Davis, as q claim which is of
modern rise and growth" in the "Northern
| States" was the great and especial ground
upon which Rutledge and Charles Ootes-
worth Pinckney vindicated the Constitution
before the Legislature, and the Convention
Of South Carolina, from the assaults of Low
dens in 1888. 4..sr r.-..s -i .-..f .
| Listen to Rutledge; "The people of
America have felt the consequences of this
| feeble Government (the Confederationl if
that deserves the name of government which
has no powers to enforce laws, founded on
solemn compact; and it is under the in6u-
ence of these feelings that almost with one
| voice they have called for different gov
| eTnment." y 81 think very light of
! those fears entertained about beyonets being
! necessary TO enforce an obedience in the peo-
| pie TO the laws; but if a spirit of resistance
should appear, surely it ought to be in the
power OF the Government to compel coeI-
cion in the people.p ..f.a 53.
! Lowndes, who was the leader of the State
| Rights party in the South Carolina Legisla-
tuIe, and the most persistent opponent Of the
| Constitution, contended that "this new con-
stitution at once swept all their privileges
awAy-being sovereign over all p and he
| added that he would thereafter value seat
in the Legislature no higher than a seat in
the City Council" Such was the opinion of the
ultra State Rights men of the South as to
sovereignty Of the national Government at
that day. Pipckney, who was the principal
champion of the Constitution against the at
tacks OF Lowndes, took up the guantlet thus
thrown down, and triumphantly vindicated
the Constitution on this very basis. e The
! Convention says Pinckney, "saw and felt
the necessity of establishing a government
on different principles (from Contederation)
which, instead of requiring the Intervention
of thirteen different legislatures between the
demand and the compliance should operate
on the people in the first instance. The me-
cessity of having agoYernment which should
at once operate on the people and not upon
! the States was conceived TO be Indispensable
! by every delegation present.
! Upon this same theme he observed, in an
other part of the debate, the separate inde-
pendence and individual sovereignty of the
several States was never thought of by the
enlightened band of patriots who framed the
Declaration of independence the several
States are not even mentioned by name in
any part of it, as if it was intended TO i'm
press this maxim on America-that our Free
dem and Independence arose from our Union,
and that without il we could be neither free
nor independent. Let us then consider all
attempts to weaken this Union, by main
tanning that each State is separately and in
dividually indepent, as a species Of political
hereSy Which-eaH FseVer beaeft Us, out MAY
bring on us the most serious distrsSses.n
Upon arguments such as these, Pinekney,
Rutledge and their compatriots carried the
constitution unanimously through the Legis-
lalure, and, by vote Of one hundred and
forty TO seventy three, through the OonVen-
ton of South Carolina, and yet Jefferson
Davis stands unblushingly before the world
proclaiming the official lie through his mes
sage, that the claim that the Governmeat
sis National Government and not CON-
pact" is a strange doctrine of political
school which has had 'its rise and growth
in the Northern Statesn
It is humilistiDg to reflect that the people
of the tree States bave wasted 30 much pre-.
cious time in at.tmp ting 70 reason with meu
whose Ablsst and purest statesman Is SO vilt
and false a demRgoRne. 'cr q 80