Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1861-07-12

| the complete destruction OF tne Union.
The sophism itself is that any State Of tho
Union may consistently with the Nations
Constitution, and therefore lawfully and
peacefully withdraw from the Union without
the consent of the Unicn or of any other
State The little disguise that the supposed
right is to be exercised only for just cause,
they themselves being the sole Judges of its
justice, is too thin to merit any notice.
With rebellion thus sugar coated, they
have been drugging the public mind OF that
section Tor more than thirty years, and until
: at length they have brought many good men
/ to n willingness to take up arms against the
government the day alter some assemblage of
men had enacted a flrcial pretence 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 it's currency from the assumption
that there is some omnipotcnt and sacred SUI
prtmacy pertaining to each State of our I'm
ion. Our States have neither more nor less
power than that reserved to them i'll the I'm
ion by the Constitution, no one OF them ev-
er having been Il State out oil the Unlon.--
The original ones passed into the Union even
before they cast off their British colonial de-
rendence, and the new ones each came into
| lit Union d Vi
pcndency. excepting Texas, and even Texas
in its temporary independence was never de-
signated az State. The new ones only took
the designation Of States on coming into the
Union, while that name was first adopted for
the old ones in and by the Declaration OF In
dependence Therein the united colonies
were declared to be free and independent
States.
But even then the object plainly was not
to declare their independence of each other
or OF the Union, but directly the contrary,
as their mutual pledge and their mutual ac-
ton before at the time and afterwards ,abun-
dainty show. The express plighting of faith
by each and all the original thirteen in the
articles OF confederation two years later. that
the Union shall be perpetual, is most con-
elusive. Having never been States. either in
substance in name, outside OF the Union,
whence this magical omnipotence of State
rights, asserting claim of power to lawful
| ly destroy the Union itself?
RELATION OF THE STATES TO THE UNION.
Much is said about the sovereignty of tho
States, but the word even is not in the na-
tional constitution, nor, as is believed in any
of the State Constitutions. What is a SOW
ereignty in the political sense of the term
Would it be far wrong to define it a political
community without a political super p
Tested by this, no one of the States except
Texas ever was sovereignty, and even Tex
as gave up the character on coming into the
Union, by which act she acknowledged the
Constitution of the United States, and the
laws and treaties of the United States made
| in pursuance thereof, to be hersupreme law.
The States have their status in the Union,
and they have no other legal status. If
they break from this they can only do SO
against law and by revolution. The Union,
and not themselves separately procured their
Independence and their lbertyby conquest or
purchase. The Union gave each of them what
ever of Independence and liberty it has. The
Union is older than any of the States, and in
fact, it createl. them as States. Originally
some dependent colonies made the Union, and
in turn the Union threw off their old de-
pendence for them and made them States,
such as they are. Not one OF them ever had
a State constitution Independent of the In
ion.
OF course it is not tc he forgotten that all
the new States framed their Constitutions be-
fore they entered the Union; nevertheless
dependant upon ana preparatory to coming
into the mon.
Unquestionably tie States have the pow
ers and lights reserved to them in and by
the National Constitution, but among those
surely are net Included all conceivable pow
ers, however mischieyous or destructive. but
at most such only as We're known in the
world at the time rs governmental powers;
and certainly power to destroy the Gov
crnncnt itself has never been known us
Iower
Tlis relative matter of national power
SoyarnmeHta, or Il merely administrative
4 l.