Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1861-07-02

its part only iudiffercntly we'll.
10 might seem at FIRST thought to be Of
little difference whether the present move
meut at the South be called secession
or rebellion. The movers. however, will
understand the difference. They knew at
the beginning that they could never raise
their treason to any responsible magnitude
by any name which implies violation Of
law. They knew their people possessed
as much devotion to law and order. as much
pride and reverence TO the history and
government Of their common country, as
any other civilized and patriotic people,
They knew they could make no advance
mcnt directly in the teeth Of these strong
and noble sentiments.
They accordingly commenced by an
ihsidious debauching OF the public
mind. They invented an ingenious
sophism, which, il conceded, was fol.
lowed by perfectly logical steps
through all the incidents of the com
pletc destruction of the Union. Tho
Sophism itself is, that any State of
tho Union may consistently with tho
nations Constitution. and therefore
lawfully and peacefully, Withdraw
from the Union, without the consent
Of the Union or of any other State.
A littlo disguise, that the supposed
right is TO be exercised only for just
cause, themselves TO be the sole Judges
Of its Justice, is too thin to merit any
notice.
With rebellion thus sugar-coated,
they have been dragging the minds
of thoir section for more than thirty
years, until at length they have
brought many good men to n willing
ness to take up arms against tho gov
eminent tho day after some as
scmblago of men have enacted
the farcial sentence OF taking their
State out of the Union, who could
have been brought to no such thing
the day before. This sopbism derives
much, perhaps tlc whole of its cur
rcncy from the assumption that there
is some omnipotent and sacred supre-
macy pertaining to each State OF our
Federal Union. Our States have
neither moro nor less power than
that reserved 10 them in the
Union by the Constitution, no
one Of them ever having been
n State of the Union. Tho orr
ginal mes passedinto the Union even
Goforc they cast off their British co
lonial dependence, and the new ones
came into the Union directly, from Il
condition of dependence, excepting
Texas, and even Texas in its temper
AIRY independence was never designat-
cd as a State. The now mes only
were designated States on coming in.
to the Union, while that namo was
only first adopted for the old ones in
and by tho Declaration OF Indepcn-
dence. Therein the united colonies
we've declared free and independent
States; bat even then tic object plain
ly was not to declare their mdepen-
dcnce of one another, or ofthc Union,
but directly the contrary, AZ their
mutual pledge and mutual action, be-
fore, ut the time, and afterwards,
abundantly shows.
The express plighting of faith by
each and all Of the original thirteen
States in tho articles OF confederation
two yearsllater, that the Union shall
be perpetual, is most conclusive, hav-
ing never been States either in sub.
stance or name, outside the Union.
Whence this magical %omnipotenco of
State rights asserting q claim Ofpowcr
to lawfully destroy the Union itself?
Much is said about the sovereignty Of
the States, but tho word even is not
in tho national constitution, nor as is
believed, in any of the State Consti-
tutiOns.
What is a Sovereignty? With par
ticular sense of the term, would it be
far wrong TO declare tia political com
munity, without u political superior?
Tested by this, not one of our States
except Texas was n sovereignty; and
even Texas gave up tho character on
coming into the Union, by which act
she acknowledged the Constitution Of
the United States, and laws and trea-
ties OF the United States, made in pur-
suanGe of the Constitution, to be for
her supreme law. The States have
their statutes in the Union they have
no other statutes. If thoybraak from
this they only do SC against law by
revolution.
The Union, and not themselves
separately, procured their indepen-
dcnce and their liberty by conquest
oil purchase. The Union gave each
of them whatever of Independence and
liberty it has. The Union is older
than any of the Statos-in fact it
created them as States originally.
Some dependent colonies made the