The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-01-16


psaceo upon II bv each Of the thirteen Col-
ouies-lhat they were sovereign States. They
~eTe admitted 10 be soverefgn States by the
ui0tner country in the treaty OF peace which
followed the Revelation. These sources ex
nio,ted the proofs of the absolute sovereignty
oiait the thirtaen original States. They adopted
me articles OF Confederation which con tained
declaration that the ULitn framed by them
shouid be perpetual, and never altered excep'
la Congress under the Conf deration, and
any alteration thus made should be ratified
nv each State. These articles were short lived
Eleven States of the thirteen seeded from
that Union Ia 1859. not only withou, the con.
sent, but In opposition TO the will OF two
States which preferred the CONSIDERATION
North Carolina and Rhode Island. Tney Sc
ceded by separate State action leach State sep
arating decided In Convention of its own
whether IL wonld ratify the present Constitu-
ton, which had been framed and proposed by
the General Convention. but was not and
could not be valid in any State Till Tattffed by
a Convention of such State, and by which a
Union could not be formed till ratified by nine
States. They did not require all the thirteen
States. Then secession, therefore, was not by
the consent of all.
The effect of The ratification by nine States
was the separate secession of each OF the nine
from the articles. The act of ratification had
the same legal effect that secession hast re-
leased the STATE that ratified from the power
OF the Government of the Confederation, as
secession does from the power of the Federal
Government. The act Of ratification was
made separately, as the act by which each Sc
eedes is. Some Of the sS,a,essn are opposed to
TO the secession from the articles of Con fede-
ration. That opposition was not allowed 10
control the movement. The new Government
was put into operation. The two opposing
States were left out of the Union, of which
the present Constitution was the bond. They
were sovereign, Independent States and con-
iinued so for nearly two years, when they
ra atified the present Cons titution and were ad-
x,ott tod TO fhap rrin n =
Three of the States-New York, Virginia
ard Rhode 1siand-expIessly reserved the
right of secession by the terms by which each
ratified the Constitution, and the reason
doub biless why this reservation was not made
hy all was, that the right of secession was
supported by the secession of most of the
States against the will of two) from the old
Confederation. The declaration inserted by
the States who then signed articles of Coufede
ration, that there should be perpetual Union.
amounted to a construction by them that the
right was inalienable and was i'm piled, and not
necessary to be reserved expressly. There
fore, the States all ratified 1t, after the three
mentioned, with an express reSersatlon.-
No State is bound to the Federal Union and
Cons ton by any stronger tie than every
other State. There is an equality of obliga-
tions as well as equality of rights. As no one
should doubt the right OF secession, reserved
expressly by three States, upon the principle
l have ntioned, every other State is entitled
to exercise the same right.
The present Constitution contains no decla-
ration that the Union shall be perpetual. We
have therefore, the authority of each of the
thirteen States that seeded from ths articles
of the Confederation, separately, for what we
have done. The right TO do SO now is con-
stitutiopal one be'ause IL was reserved eX-
pressiy or impl,edly by the ratification of
each State. Eich State had admitted every
other State to be sovereign State but each
State is entitled to exercise this right by the
law of nations on srch compact this for
of "A
committed.
II either of the free States which have NULL.
fec the Constitution and the laws had been
on the Continent of Europe and tram Piled
upon q treaty--although no oath had been
taken to observe it's covenants-no nation on
that Continent would make another treaty
with 1.-THE aggrieved party TO the violated
treaty would have perfect right to treat 1t as
Il nullity. II one or two nations, civilized and
Christian at the date of the treaty between
Them should afterwards become piraticai, or
authorize her citizens 10 practice robbery, 1t
would be sufficient cause for the other party
TO put an end 10 it. II in treaty of alliance,
offensive aud defensive. between two States,
one sh ould not only tail in a case requiring it
to send troops to aid the other, but add them
20 the force of the enemy Of her ally, il would
be most ample cause flr the injured party 10
abandon the compact which had existed only
to &c eye. In all such cases the aggrieved
party has the right to put an end 70 tn.
treaty forever, and reject all offers to renew
the violated covenants. Ile covenant
in the Constitution that one object of the Con- :
federacy is to est stabliSh justice, has been by
most OF the free States construed, under their
higher law, To mean that it p-aiSeworthy 10
steal negroes or 10 aid them Iu their fligh l.
that the covenant TO deliver fugitive ind dic ted
for a crime against the laws OF slaveholdipg &
State is construed to mean nothing unless the
act charged in the indictment be a crime also
according to law against the State in which
the felon has taken refuge. In the case of Two
OF John Browns followers, mnrderers and in
vaders of this State, the q yernors of free
States refused to delivef-ohe escaped TO Iowa
another TO Ohio. The refusal was upon pre-
text-the real ground, l believe, was because
they had done nothing more than invade a
slayeholding State, to incite a servile insur-
rectiou W hich failed because the slaves would
not enlist under them.
Another object OF the present Con nfederacy
was to secure domestic tranquility, which has
been perverted by the believers i'll The CHER
law" to keep up constantly excessive agiia
ton on the most exciting subject. slavery; and,
by way OF variety, once in the last thirty years
the leaders have treated us to the Invasion of
the most powerful OF the slaveboldipg States.
Tue Time for a general Convention of the
slaveholdiDg States is after the separate seces-
sion of them, or of as many of them as will
secede The right is a separate onej each Stale
acceied SO rarately TO the Constituiion, aud
each must secede separately. The right Is
founded on the right OF self-goyernment. Ii
all the slavehelding States were 10 meet III
cession and agree To be bouEc Oy the will of
majority, the minority, whether for or
against secession, could not exercise their right
OF seif-government. If they were against Sc
cession they would be bound ty the will of
The mai ,rity TO secsde, as they would be if in
favor Of secession to remain In the Union il
the mai ,rity preferred TO do so. But in the
Conventions of the States which have seeded
there can be Lo danger to the right OF self
government. The States are not In the Fede-
raj Union nd they assemble to form a COM
pact for another Union.
In the course of Mr.. Hopkins argument of
which the above is mere outline, he said that
the General Government was mere creature
of The Copstitution-the federatiye agent
MIR. jefferson and Mr.. Madison both believed
in the right of secession. The d. ctrine had
been aintained by the New England States
in the Hartford Conyen iiop-the right of
withdrawal, claimed by one State, entitled all
TO its use. The LEGISLATION of Congress was
and had been offensive TO he slave States. he
cited violations of the Federal compact by
the passage OF Personal Liberty bills, &c, by
pon-slayehoidlng States; traced the rise and
progress of the Black Republican party, and
said that demagogues and fanatical preachers
had created the material of which it was
composed and sent John Brown and other
armed missionaries to propagate the new
faith. Brown, the incarnation of all humaa
wickedness, was impiously ciassed as a mar
tyr. The Constitution that allowed the
stealing OF negroes, and the m urder OF South
cru peoPie, was not worth preserving
He alluded TO the plot in Texas by Northern
emissaries, IN tfe guise of preachers, for
wholesale robbery, murder and arson and
said scarcely one of the Northern States fsaye
those on the Pacifc) had failed to pass laws
designed 10 obstruct us in maintaining
our rights. Alabama had withdrawn her
delegated power and resumed her sovereign :
ty. The Northern people are paid half
million of dollars for catching ccddsh for
their own eating-have monopoly of The
ceasting trade. and yet repay these and
other blessings with ingratitude. No indi-
yiduals or States have ever shown more
forbearance than the people OF the South
The time has come for Us to dissolve. The
General Government cannot make war on the
sacediue Sfates That power was asked for BY