The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1861-07-11

ton before, at the t1mej anu diser ai"e'
abundantly show. The express plight
ing of faith by each and all of the thir,
teen original States in the articles OF
confederation, two years later, "that
the Union shall be perpetual, is most
conclusive. Having never Deen states
either in substance or name outside the
Union. whence this magical omnipo-
tence of State rights, asserting a claim
of power to lawfully destroy the Union
itself? Much is said about the SOW
ereignty Of the States" but the word
even is not in the national Constitution
nor, it is believed, in any of the State
Constitutions. What is sovereignty
Would it be far wrong to declare II a
political community without Poii'icai I
superior? Tested by this, no one OF
our States except Texas was sover-
eighty, and even Texas gave up the
character on coming into the Union,
by which act she acknowledged the
Constitution of the United States and
laws and treaties of the United States,
made in pursuance of the Constitution,
to be forever her supreme law.
The States have their status in the
Union and they have no other legal
status. If they break from this they
only do so against law by revolution.
The Union, and not themselves separ-
ately, procured their independence and
their liberty. By conquest or purchase
the Union gave each OF them whatever
of independence and liberty it has
The Union is older than any of the
States and in fact it created them as
States. Originally some dependant
colonies made the States such as they
are. Not one of them ever had State
Constitution Independent of the Union:
Of course, it is not forgotten that all
the new States formed their Constitu-
tions before they entered the Union,
nevertheless dependent on and prepar-
atory to coming into the Union. I'm
questionably the States have the pow
ers and rights reserved to them by the
National Constitution, but among these
surely are not included all conceivable
powers, however mischievous or de-
structive. But at most such only as
were known in the world at that time
as governmental powers, and certainly
a power to destroy the Government it.
self, had never been known as a gov
ernmental, a merely administrative
power. This relative matter of Nation
al power and States rights as princi-
pie, is no other than aprinicple of gener-
atty and locality. Whatever concerns
the whole should be confined to the
whole General Government, while what
ever concerns State should be left
exclusively to the State. Thisis all there
is left of the original principle about it.
Whatever the national convention in
defining the boundaries between the
two as applied to the principle with ex
act accuracy is not to be questioned
We are all boundby that defini
ton without question. What is
now combatted is the position that
secession is consistent with the Con-
stitu:ion, as lawful and peaceful. 1t
is not commended that there is any ex-
press law for it, and nothing should
ever be implied as law which leads to
unjust and absurd consequences. The
nation purchased with money the
countries ont of which several of these
States were formed. Is it just that the,
should go off. without leave or without
refunding? The nation paid very
large sums, in the aggregate, believe
nearly 800, 900, 600, to relieve Florida
from the aboriginal tribes. Is it jus
that she should now go off without
consent or without any return The
nation is now in debt for money applied
for the benefit of these so called seced
ing States, in common with the rest
Is it Just either that creditors shall &C
unpaid or the remaining States pay the
whole? A part of the present nation
al debt was contracted to pay the ole
debt of Texas. Is it just that she shall
leave and pay no part of this herself
Again, if one State may secede so may
another, and when all shall have sece-
ded, none is left to pay the debts. is
this quite Just to creditors? Did we
notify them of this sage view of ours
when We borrowed their money? /
we now recognize this doctrine by al
allowing the seceders to go in peace i
n uiiuCulG W oCc Wu6G NS CAL uO Il
others choose TO 60, or to extort terms
upon which they will promise to re
main. The seceders insist that oul
Constitution admits of secession. They
have assumed to make a national con.
stitution of theii. own in which, of ne
cessity, they have either discarded OIL
retained the right of secession as they
insist it exists in ours. If they have dis
carded it they thereby admit that or
principle it ought not to exist in ours
If they have retained it by their con
struction of oursit shows that to be con
sistentthey must secede from one anoth
er when they shall find it the easies
way of settling their debts or effectins
another selfish or unjust object.
The principle itself is one of disin
tegration and on which no Govern.
ment can endure. If all the States
save one should effect the power to
drive that one out of the Union, it i:
presumed the whole class of the seced
ed politicians would at once deny thu
power and denounce the act as the
greatest outrage upon State rights
But suppose that precisely the sam,
act, instead of being called driving on,
out, should be called the " seeding o
Che others from the one, it would be ex