Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1861-02-16
BLOOMSBURY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA, SATU
DIR. Robert J. Breckenridge on
Secession.


This distinguished Kentuckian and no.
ted minister of our Church, delivered a
discourse on the "Fast Day." in Odd
Fellows Hal, Lexington, KY, ia which he
took high ground for the preservation Of
the Union, showed the entire invalidity of
the pretensions of the seeding States,
warned Kentucky against involving her
self with them, and told her in the plainest
terms that her only hope of safety and
prosperity as a State was to be found in
clinging to the border free States.
With respect to the fgment of the right
of secession and State sovereignty, he
thus expressed himself:
"If it is the right of any State to do this
then-First. We have no National Gov.
ernment, and never had any, Secondly.
1t is perfectly idle to speak of new Con-
stitution, since new Constitution can
have 10 more force than the Constitution
already despised Thirdly. The posi-
plity is cnded-cnded in the very theory
of the case illustrated, in the utter failure
of its practice the possibility is ended of
uniting republican freedom with national
strength in any country, or under any
form of government. But, according to
my belief, and according to the universal
belief of the American people little while
ago, no such right, legal or constitutional,
as that of secession does or can exist under
such institutions as ours.
"In the first place, no States in the Un-
ion ever had any sovereignty at all, in
dependently of, or except as they were
United States. When they speak about
recovering their sovereignty-when they
speak about returning to the condition of
sovcrcigns, in which they were before they
were members of the confedeI acy, called at
first the United Colonies, then the United
States, they speak OF thing that has no
existence. They speak of a thing that is
historically without foundation They
were not States. They were Colonies ui
the British Grown. They were Colonies
of the Dutch Government. They were
Colonies granted by charter to particular
: individuals, or to particular companies Of
individuals. Pennsylvania was Colony
: the property of William Penn. Georgia
a large portion of it-belonged to Ogle
thorpe. They were chartered to individ
uals or companies, as were the Colonies o.
foreign nations or kings. AS States they
revolted as such, before their revolt they
united in Continental Government more
or less complete, and as such United Col
onics they pronounced that famous Declar
alton of independence, which, after a wal
, of seven years, still as United Colonie
they made good. That great WASHING
Ton who led the war was the comman
der-ln. general IN DcnalI OIL inc Y nlucu Ool
. ouies. AS such they were born States
, The treaties of peace that made them in
y dependent treated them as United States
: What sovereignty did Kentucky ever hav
. except the sovereignty she had as Stat
o of these United States, born at the sam
time that her sovereignty, as an indcpcn
. dent State, was born. We we're Colon
!. or District of Virginia. We became
State one of the United States,at the sam
time, for the same purpose, and fer goo
Il and all. What l mean by this my friend
h is this to point out that in fact the com
d plex system of government which we ha
is in this country, did always, does now ,anc
J., in the nature of the case must contempla
}. these States as united into a common GO
ernment, and that government as really
. part of our political system, as it eonten
plated them as seperate sovereigntes, {
5 such parts of that political system.
AZ