Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-07-09


power and propritey before this matter was acted
upon. The whole eff the laws which were required
10 be faithfully executed were being resisted. and
failing of execution in nearly third Of the States
must they be allowed to finally fail of execution,
had it been perfectly clear that by the use of
law made in such extreme tend erness of the citizens
liberty, that practically, it relieves more of the
guilty than Of the innocent should to very limited
extent be violated To state the question more d.
rectly, all the laws but one 90 unexecuted and
the government itself TO go to pieces lest that one be
violated Even in such case would not the official
oath be broken II the government should be over
thrown when 1t was believed that disregarding the
single law would tend to preserve IT, But it was not
believed that tbs question was presented was not
believed that any law was violated the provision
of the constitution is thatthe privilege of the writ
OF habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless
whea in cases of rebellion or invasion the public
safety may require it. Il is equivalent to a pro-
in case Of rebellion or invasion the public safety
does require it, 1t was decided that we have a
case of rebellion and that the public safety does
require the qualified suspension of the privilege of
writ, which was authorized to be made. Now it is
insisted that Congress and not the Executive is
vested with this power, but the constitution itself
is silent as to which or who is to exercise the
power; and tle provision was plainly made for a
dangerous emergency. 1t cannot be believed that
the trainers of the instrument intended that in
every case the Danger SHOULD run Its course until
Congress should be called together, the very as
sembling Of which might be prevented as was in
tended in this case by the rebeilionists. No more
extended argument is row offered, as an opinion at
some length, will probably be presented By the
attorney general Whether. there shall be any le-
gislation upon the subject, and if any, what is
submitted entirely to the better Judgment of Con-
gress The fOrbearance of this government had
been so extraordinary and 50 long continued as to
lead foreign nations to shape their action as
if they supposed the early destruction of our Ma
tional Union was probable, while this on discovery
gave the Executive some concern he is now happy
TO say that the sovereignty aud rights Of the United
States are now everywhere practically respected
by foreign powers, and general sympathy with
the country is manifested throughout the world.
The reports of the Secretaries of Treasury, War.
and Navy will give the information in detail deemed
necessary and convenient for your delOeratiOn and
action, while the executive and all the departments
will stand ready to supply omissions or to cOmmu-
municate new facts considered important for you
to know. 1t is now recommended that you give the
legal means for making this contest short and de-
csive that you may place at the control of the
government for the work at least 400,O 600 men ard
$500, 600 O00 that number of men being about one
tenth Of those at proper ages within the regions
where apparently all are willing to gsge, and the
sum is less than twenty third part of the money
value owned by the men who seem ready 10 devote
the whole. A debt OF $500 600 600 now,s less sum
per head than was the debt of our revolution when
we came out of that struggle, and the moaey value
in the country now bears even greater proportion
to what il was then than does the population Sure
ly each man has as strong motive now to preserve
our liberties as each had then to establish them.
right result at this time will be worth more now
to the world than ten times the men and ten times
the money. The evidence reaching US from the
country leaves no doubt that the material for the
work is abundant, and that it needs only the hand
of legislation TO give it legal sanction and the hand
of the executive to give it practical shape and eff
cheney. Oue of the greatest perplexities of the
Government is to avoid receiving troops faster than
provided for them. In word, the people will
save their government if the government itself viii
do its part only indiferenty.
While it might SEEM at first thought, OF but little
difference whether the present movement at the
South be called secession or rebellion, the movers,
however, well understood the difference at the be-
gin g. They knew that they could never raise
their treason to any respectable magnitude by any
name which implies violation of law. They knew
their people possessed as much of moral sense; as
much Of devotion to law and order, and as much
pride and reverence for the history and government
of their common country as any civilized and patr.
otto people; they could make no advancement d.
recty in the teeth of those strong and noble sent
meI t. Accordingly they commenced an insidiOus
debauehing OF the public mind, they invented an
ingenious sophsm, which, if conceded was followed
by perfectly logical steps through all the Incidents
ID the complete destruction OF the Union. This
sophsm itself is that any State of the Union may
consistently with the national Constitution. III IL,
fore lawfully and peacefully withdraw from the
Union without the consent Of the Union any other
State. They little disguise that the supposed right
is to be exercised only for a just cause, because
they themselves to be the sole judges Of its JUS
tee is thin to merit any notice with ret elliOn
thus sugar-c0ated, they have been drugging the
public mind of their section for more than thirty
years until at length they have brought many good
men 10 a willingness to take up arms against the
ant tha nau aft Of NOR
have enacted the farcical pretense Of taking the
State out of the Union who wOuld have been brougI
TO no such thing the day before.
This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole of
its currency, from the assumption that there is
some omnipOtent and sacred supremacy pertaining
to State-to each State Of our federal Union. Our
States have neither more nor less power than that
reserved to them in the Union by the Constitution
ne one of them ever having been State out Of the
Union. The original ones passed into the Union
even before they east off their British colonial de-
pendence, and the new ones each came into the MON
from condition of dependence except Texas, and
even Texas in temporary independence was never
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
and by the colonies were declared to be free and
independent States, but even then the object was
not to declare themselves independent of one an
other, or of the Union, but directly the contrary,
as their mutual pledge and their mutual action be-
IOfeg az time anu dllefWdrus, dDSOluISy SHOWS
the express phghtng Of faith by each and all of the
original thirteen States in the articles of confede
ration two years later. That the Union shall be
perpetual is most conclusive Having never been
States, either in substance in name, outside of
the Union, whence the magical omnipotence ofStates
rights asserting a claim of power to lawfully de-
strOy the Union itself? Much Is said about the SOW
eregnty Of the States but the word even is the
national constitution not is believed in any of the
State constitutions. WHAT'S a sovereignty in the po
teal sense of the term2 Would 1.-THE far wrong to de-
fine it political community withouta politealsup
: or! tested by this, none of our States, except
Texas. ever sovereignty, and ven Texas gave
up the character 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 of the Congress to be for
her the supreme law of the land. The States have
their status in the Union and they have no other
ega stains if they break from this. They can only
10 so against law by revolution. The Union, and |
rot themselves separately, procured their indepen
lence and their liberty by conquest or purchase. |
The Union gave each of them whatever iDdepen- |
lence and liberty it had. The Union is older than /
my of the States, and in fact it created them as
States. Originally some dependent colonies made
he Union and in turn the Union threw off their old
dependence for them and made them States. Such |
Is they not one of them ever had State cOnsh.
ution independent of the Union. Of course it is
Tot forgotten that all the new States framed their
before they entered upon and prepare
DRY to coming into the Union. Unquestionably the
states have powers and rights reserved to them in
nd by the national constitution, but among them
urely are not included all conceivable powers how
yer mischieyOus destructive, which are known
Il I