The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1860-1863, 1861-08-08

ofthe- speech. The ssarfal conscionAness
| Of wrong, the 6xed determination to ig'
more the past--facts, principles, country
and all, could alone account for she mis-
statements made and sentiments avOwed.
The points made by Mr.. Van Trump, or
attempted to be made were briefly these;
1st. "our difficulties could and Ought
10 be settled by compromise. Fhere were
differences Of opinion by the trainers OF
the Government in regard to the right OF
secession, Madison and Jefferson belier-
ed in the right, and the Virginia rssolu-
tions Of SO, drafted by the former, and the
Kentucky resolutions Of 70, drafted by the
latter, sustained the doctrine" s..s-
end "lts This wars object was the
abolition Of slavery"
In regard to the question Of secession,
the construction of the Virginia and ken>
, tucky resolutions of SO and 99-the views
of Southern statesmen, and especially OF
Madison and Jefferson, Col. Van Trump
displayed more pervsrseness than candor,
and more ignorance than wit. Col. Van
Trump must have been closely pressed in.
deed, to tell an excited people. in times of
Q eminent peril, like the present--times de-
!, mandiug deiberation, candor aud truth
fulness-"that Jefferson. the drafter OF the
4 declaration, and Madison the father Of the
' Constitution, believed 10 the right of se-
!. cession." , . s."
/. The charge is wholly without founda.
, ton. No mar, while Jefferson lived, wo'd
O have dared to charge him with such an
o abomination, and no man save Col. Van
# Trump, ever had the hardihood To do il
q since. As for Madison he vindicated him
Il self as we'll as the Virginia resolutions Of
II 98, 1.-THE only resolutions read by Col
Van Trump TO sustain his views, in more
than fifty letters TO prominent men Of The
10 country, al Of which were made public
,. and extracts from many of which are e
10 he found in 'Benton's Thirty Years View:
ID From the letter 10 Mr.. Everett, pub
lished in the North American Review
y shortly after it was written [ August
" 183O,) the following extracts are taken.
"It (the Constitution Of the UniteC
ut Sta,es) was formed by the States, actinI
IN 10 their highest sovereign capacity; ant
formed consequently by the same author
Be i.y which formed the State constitutions
SO Being thus derived from the sam
y source as the constitutions Of the States
a. it has, within each State, the same au
he thority as the constitution OF the State
v. and is as much constitution in the striC
j. sense Of the term within it's prescribe
ur sphere, as the constitutions OF the State
are within their respective spheres, bu
he with this obvious and essential difference
sn that being compact among the States
nd their highest sovereign capacity and cor
sr- stituting the people thereof one peopl
,ut for certain purposes, it cannot be altsre
or annulled at the will of the States IN
nd dvidualy as the constitution ofa Stal
". may be a. its individual will"
10 To Joseph O. Cabell. Sept. i6. 1881
,o congratulate you on the event who
o restores you TO the public councils, wher
your services will be valuable. particu
larly in defending the constitution an
) a Union against the false doctrines whic
IA assail them. That Of qualification seen
:. to be generally abandoned 10 Virginia, |
~ those who had most leaning towards
DE- But i. still hourishes in the hot.bSd whe
to II sprung up"
rec II know not whence tho idea cou
nm. proceed that concurred in the dootrlo
~, that although a State could not nu,lify
'nu law of tho Union it had tight to sece,
on from the Union. Both spring from q
ur. same poisonous root"
be Lo Mr.. N. p. Tnst, December, 1881.
Or ii cannot see the advantage of Il
on. perseverance, Of South Carolina in clail
oL ing the authority Of the Virginia procee
~ ipgs in 1893. '99, as asserting a right
op' single State 10 nullly an act Of the Vi
acy ted States. Where, indeed, is the ia
had ness of attempting to palm on Virgin
,ro. an intention which is oontradicted
- such variety Of contradictory proc
,'A which has at no intervening period,
'ih ceived the slightest countenauce from b
and and which with one voice she now d
:. claimsl'
"To view the doctrine 10 its true chi
acter, it mus, be recollected that il asse
be a right in a single State to stop the 9!
uly cution of federal law. uni a convent!
,hi. of the STATES could be brought aGIut BY
rio. process requiring an uncertain time; a
!, finally in the convention, wnen formed,
OF vote of seven STAGES, if in favor Of the
ion to, to give tia prevalence over the VI
edt majority Of seventeen States. For 4
mo. prepOsterous and anarchal pretens
-. there is not shadow Of countenance
~ the constitutions; and we'll that there
mo- not. for IL is certain tina! with such del
idi' ly poison in it, no constitution could
'sed sure Of lasting year.
ter, Incidentally, Mr.. Madison. in these
Fri. ters, vindica,es also his compoerS.
'hig Jefferson and Mr.. Monroe. In the let
lay, to Mr.. Cabell, Of May 81, 1880, he sa
was "You will see, in vol. ill.,, page 42E
A Mr.. Jeffsrson's Correspondence. q lei
'rm, 10 W. O. Nicholas. proving that he
En-, nothing to do with the Kentucky resC
ca, tons, Of 1899, in which the word "nu
~" ~. 6caliou' is found. The resolutions Of
lie State, in 1898, which were drawn by
Lo. aud have been republshed with the P
the ceedings Virginia, do not contain
ll6. or any equivalent word
cd In the letter to Mr., Trist, Of Decent
| IRSI aftnr havalnninp nj anmA lannth