The Kingwood chronicle. [volume] (Kingwood, Va. [W. Va.]) 1861-1861, 1861-07-13

this contest short and decisive one. that
YOU place at the control of the Government
for the work. at least four hundred thousand
men and four hundred millions of dollars.
That number of men is about one tenth ot
those Of proper ages within the regions
whore apparently all are willing to engage
and the sum IS les than twenty third
part Of the money value offerel..by the men
who seem ready to devote the whole 4
/ debt Of six hundred millions Of dollars now
Is less sum per head than vas the debt of
our revolution when We came out Of that
struggle and the money value Ill the
country now bears even 4 greater proportion
/ to Y hat il was then than does the population
/ Surely each man has as strong motive now
to preserve our liberties IL each man had
then to establish them
4 right result at this time will bc worth
more to the world than ten times the men
reaching is from tile country leaves no doubt
! that the material for the work Is abundant
and that it needs only the hand Of legis-
/ lation to give it legal sanction and the hand
| Of tie executive IL give it practical shape
I and efficiency One vt the greatest perpleN-
4 tiles Of the government Is ID avoid receiving
/ troops faster than provided for La a word,
/ the people viii save their government if The
I government itself viii do its part, only intlii
\ tcrently we'll
Itmight seem at first thought to he cf III
/ tie difference whether the present movement
1t the South Be called Secession III rebellion.
! The movers. however. we'll understood The
difference at the beginning They knew they
could never raise thcirtreaSon 70 any respect
/ able magnitude by any name which lnplle>
4 violation Of law They knew their people
possessed IL much 1 moral sense, ~ much ~
1 devotion to law and order much PRIDE IL
! and reverence for the history and government
/ Of their common country, aS any other civil
I zel and patriotic people l'hey knew they
I could make 40 advancement directly ~ the
4 teeth OF these strong and noble sentiments !.
/ accordingly thes commenced Is ~ ln9ldion9
] debanchely ofthe public mind. They invent.
Y eI an ingenious ,nphsm which, II conceded,
4 va followed by perfectly logical steps through
OUT all the steps incident "a the complete
destruction 81, the Union The sophi~m it
Self ~ that any State u the lnipn may con
I ~istently with the national Constitution, ami
therefore lawfully and peacefully withdraw
/ from the Union without tle consent of the
] Union or of any other State The little dis
gti,e that the supposed right II - ~ cxer
4 cscl only ior just cause, because they them
selves are to be the sole Judge, ofits justice,
IS too thin to merit any notice With rebellion.
! Thus sugar coated they have been drnrvine
the public mind Of their section ior more
II than ~ wears and until 4, length they have
4 brought many good men f. ! Willingness e
i take up arms against the government the day
v after some ;l.-emia.e III men have enacted
H the i;isuiral pletense of taking Their State
/ out of the MON who could have been
brought C 10 such thing tie day before.
This sophism deserves much perhaps the
I who'll. III ii, currency from the assumption
H that there il some rnnlpotent and sacred
III supremacy pertaining - State. So each
State Of our Federal Mon Our States
have neither more nor less power than that
v reserved to them i'll tile Union ly the Ton
N stit,ltion none Of them ever having been q
STATE out Of the Mon The original ones
passed into the mon eycn before they cast
Y osi their British colonial dependence and
the new ones each COME into tho Union dl-
ructiy from condition Independence, except
Texas. ano~eyen Texas IN its temporary II
eIependenee was never designated State.
" The new ones only took the designation oi
NJ State, an coming into the Union. while that
name was first adopted rs the old ones II
and b tic colonies were declared to be
free and Independent States hnt even then
N Till object plainly was not todeclare their in
dependence Of one another or of the leion.
bnt .iireefly the contrary ~ their mutual
pledge anI their mutual action before. " the
time anl afterwards ahnnaantly shows =.
The express plightiug pf faith i> zach AID
sIIrf the original thirteen il the articles q
confederation. two year. later. that the
Union shall be perpetual /, most conclusive.
Il Having never been States either IN substance
or in name outside Of the Union whence
this magical omnipotence oi State rights, a.
serting claim OF power to lawfully destroy
the Union itself.
/ Much i said about the sovereignty of the
States But the word even i not il the ma
tional Constitution nor. a. Is believed, in
any Of the State Constitutions. What il d
sovereignty in the political sense Of the term
/ Would it be far wrong to define it political
community without a polical SUPERIOR Test
ed BY this, no one Of our States except Tex
a. ever was a sovereignty and even Texa.