Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-01-27

~, 1861.
and Congress combined, are armed with the
! powers Of a military despot to carry out the
laws, without the Intervention Of the courts,
according TO their own caprice and their own
discretion, to judge when laws are violated, 70
convict for the violation, to pront uDce SEN
tence, and to execute it. You can DO nothing
Of The kind with your military force.
But it is sugg sted, and the President is
/ weak enough 70 yield 20 the suggestion, that
you will collect your revenue BY foFce-by The
action Of the power Of tte FEDERAL Govern
msHt on individuals. Has anybody followed
this cut prsetieaily2 Is it possible / re-
member that Mr.. Webster once, as a mere
figure Of rhetoric, in his debate on The Foot
resolutions, used some such threat as this
against this same State Of South Carolina. but
1t was looked upon as a mere BEAUTIFUL figure
Of speech. No man ever paid any attention
'oit as really threat Of the use Of coastitu-
tional power. You viii put your collector On
board Of a vessel in the haTbor. It shall be a
man-of-war; il is in the port; and there you
will make everybody pay duties before the
goods are landed. That is the next proposition,
that nobody sees any practical difficulty about.
Bat, sir, it is totally cabis-totaliy i'm
possible. Take case. a citizen OF New
York owns vessel which loads with a cargo
Of assorted merchandise, part free, part owing
duty, and consigns It to Charleston. He en-
ters the harbor. Under he law be s obliged
20 make entry Of bis vessel, to produce bis
manifss', to 60 through certain o.her formsli-
ties. He goes on board your ship -of-war, sees
the collector, nd complies with the orders.
Wat next? There are no duties paid yet,
and the man who has a right to the free goods
has no duty to pay. You cannoi prevent bin
from going 20 the wharf and disehargiBg them
There is no Law to be executed there against
an individual But / will take it for granted
mat the whole cargo is duiy-psying cargo,
and all belongs TO one man, who does not mean
TO pay your duties. You are no better of
The man declines 10 enter bis cargo. What
the law? The master Of tbe vessel
wants to 20 away. Hs is entitled By law 70
! rspor1 to the collector that be is ready to De.
liver his cargo, that nobody is there 70 enter
it, and that be demands that bis cargo be dis
charged, and put in public sore; and under
that be may 20 upon bis new voyage and you
cannot change that, unless you change the Law
Tor all the ports Of the United States. Or he
may 90 further: the importer may 90 to the
collector, and say, "l want to enter nv cargo
ia warehouse p and be gives a bend signed BY
himself and solvent feioW-citizeD, that they
I will pay the duty when he takes the goods ont
Of the warehouse. Then you must let him put
I those goods into the custom house warehouse
and you cannot change that law either, with
I out changing it for tue whole United States
because yen cannot, under he CoBstitu ion.
[ by any regulation Of commerce, give any
I preference to tho ports Of enc State over those
Of another.
Now, Mr.. President, desire not to enter in
any detail into the dreaTy catalogue Of wrongs
and outrages by which South Carolina defends
/ her position; that she has Withdrawn from the
] Hmm haeeuae uhn baa rouatfft,Ff,,aT -srhf
to do go, by reason Of prior violations OF the
/ compact by her sister States. Before, how
I ever, making any statement-that statement
20 which we have been challenged, and which
/ shall make in bat very few words--of the
Z wrongs under which the South is now suffer-
ing, and for which she seeks redress, as the
/ difficulty seems to arise chiefly from a differ
! ence in our construction Of the Constitution, I
desire to read one more and last citation from
Vattel, giving A rule in relation to the con
strucLion Of treaties between s0vereigns and
/ comPacts between States. Among other things,
be says:
The rules that establish alaxfuI interpre-
tstion Of treaties are sufficiently important to
be made the subject Of distant chapter For
the present, let Us simply observe that an evi-
IDENTIFY false Interpretation is the grosssst iTn-
( aEiHabie violation cf tbe faith Of treaties
He that resorts 20 such an expedisnt, either
smnrudenily sports with that sacred faith. or
I iHthcianlly sviace8 his inward conviction Of
The degree Of moral turpitude annexed 70 the
violation Of t.; he wishes to act a dishonest
part, and yet preserve the character Of an
honest man: be is puritanical imposter, who
[ zEgraVates his crime BY the addition Of a he-
testa5le hypocrisy. Grotius quotes several in
/ stasccs Of evidently false interpretations sut
upon treaties. The Piateans having promised
the Ihebans TO restore their prisoners, restored
them after they had put them to death. Peri
clss, having promised TO spare the lives Of
such Of the enemy laid down their arms
ordered all those to be killed who had iron
clasps to their cloaks. A Roman general hav-
ing agreed wirh Antiochus to restore him half
his feet, caused each Of the ships to be sawed
in two. All these interpretations are as
fraudulent ss that Of Rhadamistus, who, ac-
cordinZ TO TacitBs' account, having sworn to
@ithr.dates that be would not employ either
poison or steel against him, caused him to be
smothcref under heap Of Tattel's
I LaW Of Nations, book ?, chap. Is, p. 234.
There is the text: now the commentary
You, Senators Of the Republican party, assert.
that under just and fair Interpretation Of the
Federal Constitution, it is right that you DENY
that our slaves, which directly or Indirectly
involve a value Of more than four mil
lion dollars are property at all, or entitled to
protection in Territories 0 Bed By ths General
Government. You assume the Interpretation
I that it is right to encourage, by an possible
. means, directly or indirectly, the robbery OF
I this property, and to egjslate SO az to render
/ its recovery as difficult and dangerous as pos
sibe, that Il is right and proper and justifable,
under The Constitution, to prevent our mere
transit across a sister State, to embark with our
| property on a lawful voyage, without being
[ openly despojled Of it. You assert, and prac-
/ tee upon the assertion, that it is right to
hold us up to the ban OF 'maas kind in speech,
. writing and print, with every possible appli-
snce Of pGblicity, as thieves, robbers, mur-
I derers, villains, and criminals OF the blackest
I dye, because we continue TO own property
. which we owned at the time that we an signed
the compact that It is right that we should
be exposed to spend our treasure in purchase,
( OF shed our blood in the conquest Of foreign
territory, with no right to enter it for settle
meBt, wi hout leaving behind our most valu-
able property, under pena'ty Of its confsca-
/ ti0n. You practically interpret this iustru-
ment to be that it is eninentiy in accordance
with the asSuraDce'that our tranquility and
/ welfare were to be preserved and promoted
that our sister States should combine to pre-
vent our growth and development that they
should surround us with Gordon Of hostile
/ communities, for the express and svowed pur-
/ pose Of accommodating in dense masses, and
within restricted limits, population which
/ you believe to be dangerous, and thereby force
/ the sacrifice OF property nearly sufficient 10
/ pay the public debt Of every nation 10 Europe
! This is the construction Of the instrument
/ that was to preserve our security, promote our
/ welfare, and which we only signed on your
assurance that that was its object You tell
US that this is a fair construction-not all,
some s3y one thing, some another; but you
act, or your people do, upon this principle.
You do not propose to enter into our States, /
you say, and what do we complain Of You do /
no. pretend to enter into our States to kill or
destroy our institutions BY force. Oh, No. 1
You initiate the faith Of Rhada mis,us; YOU pro-
pose simpiyto close us IN an embrace that will 1
suocate us. You do not propose to fell the tree;
YOU promised not You merely proposed to I
girdls it., that It dies. And then, when we tell 4
you that we did not understand this bargain .
this way, that your acting upon it in this spiris
releases us from the obligations that accom-
pany it F; that under TO circumstances can We
consent to live together under that inteTpreta-
lion, and say: "We will go from you let ne
20 in peace . We are answered BY your Lead
ing spokesmen: ooh, no; voH cannot do
that; we have no objection to it personally,
but we are bound by our oaths if you attempt
it, your people will be hanged for treason.
We have examined this Cor stitutiOn thor
oughly; we have searched it out with a fair
spirit, and we can find warrant in it for re-
leasing ourselves from the obligation Of Civ
ing you any Of its benefits, but our oaths
force US TO tax you we can dispense with
everything else; bat our cOnseiences, we pro-
test upon our souls, viii be sorely worried if
we do not take your money" Laughter ]
That is the proposition Of the honorable Sena-
tor from Ohio, in plain language He can
avoid everything else under the Constitution,
in the way Of secession but how be is to get
rid Of The duty Of taking eur money be cannot
see.
s. J.. cANP....................... ..NEADER < co.
CAMP & CO.,
Successors to Grosyenor, Camp s Col
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