The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-07-08

difference. At the beginniue they knew they
could never raise their ttes.soh to any respect
eo'e maxhtoae ,by any name which implies
eiotdItom OIL. law. They knew their people
possessed as much Of moral sense and as
much OF devotion to law and order. and as
| Wuch PRIDE In and reverence for the history
anu government OF their common country, as
any other civilized and patriotic people
| ihey knew they could make no advancement
| directly In the teeth Of these strong and noble
sentiments; accordingly they commenced by
an an lhsidions debauehing of the public mind.
ihey invented an injurious sophism, which,
| "a coheeoed, was followed by perfectly logical
| steps through all the incident Is 10 the complete
obstruction of the Union. The sophism Itself
Is, mat any State Of the Union may consist
| ehtiy with the National Cons titut ton, and
therefore lawfully and peacefully, withdraw
from the Union without the consent of the
| Cnlon or OF any other State.
me little Disguise that the supposed right
| is 10 be exercised only for just cause, them
selves 10 De the sole judge OF its justice, is too
| INN TO merit any notice. With rebellion
| mus sugar-coated, they have been drugging
| the public mind of their section for more than
| thrty years, and until at length they have
| brought many good men to Willingness to
| lake up arms against the Government the
| day AFTER some assemblage of men have
| enacted the farcical pretence of taking their
| State out of the Union, who could have been
brought to no such thing the day before.
Inns soph!sm derives much, perhaps the
whoie OF It's currency, from the assumption
| lhat their Is some Omnipotent and Sacred Sn
| preInacy pertaining to a State, to each State
| OF our ederal Union. Our States have nei-
| ther more nor less power than that reserved
| 10 them in the Union by the Constitu ton, no
one OF them ever having been State out OF
! the Union. The original ones passed into the
| Union even before they cast Off their British
| Coionial dependence, and the new ones each
| came INTO the Union directly from a condi-
| tion Of dependence, excepting Texas; and even
! Texas in its temporary independence
| never designated Us a State. The new ones
| only took the designation of States on coming
| into the Union, while that name was first
| adopted fer the old ones in ana by the Decia-
| ration of Independence.
Therein the limited United Colonies were
| declared TO be free and independent States, but
| even then the object plainly WAS not to declare
| their Independence OF one another, or Of the
| Union, but directly the con trary, their
| tual pledge and their mutual action before,
| at the time, and afterwards, abundantly show.
| The express plghting of faith by each and all
| of the original thirteen in the articles of con-
| federation, two years later, that the Union
| shall be perpetual, is most conclusive.
| Having never been States either in substance
| or in name outside OF the Union. whence this
magical impotence OF State rights, asserting
claim of power lawfully to destroy the
! Union itself? Much is said about the sove-
| reignty OF the States, but the word, even, is
! not in the National Constitution, nor, DIS is
! believed, in any OF the State Cons TONS
| What Is a sovereignty in the political sense OF
| the term Would it be far wrong TO define it
d" a political community without Il political
| superior I" Tested by this, one OF our
| States except Texas ever II sovereignty;
| an! eyenTeXas gave up the character on coming
| into the Union. By which act she ackno wiedg
| ed the Constitution of the United States, ard
the laws and treaties of the United States,
| MADE i'll Aprsuance OF the Constitution TO be
| for her rHe supreme law of the land
| The States have their status in the Union,
and they nave no other legal status. If they
break fIom this, they can only do SO against
a an Tb IA 'uIl not.
themselves separately, procured their indie
pendence and their liberty by conquest or
purchase the Union gave each of them what
ever OF indie pendence and liberty it has.
The u nion is older than any of the States.
and il fact it created them States. Origi.
nally some dependent colonies made the Union
| aud III turn the Union threw Off their OLD de-
peadeDce for them and made them States such
they are. Not one of them ever had q 5 tiLe
| Constitution independent OF the Union.
OF course 1t is not forgotten that all the
new States framed their Constitutions before
they en- tered the Union nevertheless dependent
npon, and preparatory TO coming into the
Union.
PROFESSIONALLY the States have the powers
and rights reserved 10 them in and by the Ma
tiOnal Cons ton but among these surely
are not included all conceivable powers, how
ever mischeyGus or destructive but at most,
such only as were known in the world at the
time governmental powers, and certainly
a power to destroy the Government itself had
never been known as a governmental--as
| merely administrative power. This relative
| matter of national power and State rights as
| n principle, is no other than the principle of
| geueraiil and locality
Whatever concerns the whole should be
| cCrfided 10 the Whole-the General Govern
nrent; while whatever concerns only the
State should be left exclusively TO the State.
| This is all there is of original principle ;bout
it, Whether the National CONSTITUTION, IN
defining the boundaries between the two, has
| applied the principle with exact accuracy, is
| not to be questioned. We all bound by
| that defining, without question. What is
| now combatted is, the position that secession
is consistent with the Cons titu tior--is lawful
/ and peaceful.
| 1t is not contended that there is any express
| law Tor it and nothing should ever be i'm
| piled rs law which leads to unjust Or absurd
| Conseq uences.
| The nation purchased with money the
| coun tries out ct which several OF these States
| were formed. Is it just that they shall 20 oft
without leave ana without retuEdlngi The
| nation paid very large sums, in the aggregate.
| l believe, nearly one hundred millions, to re-
| lieve Florida OF the aboriginal tribes
Is il Just that she shall now be Off without
| consent, or without making any return The
nation is now i'll debt for money applied to
! the benefit Of these so-cailed seeding States,
| in common with the rest. Is it just, either,
| that creditors shall 90 unpaid, or the
naming States pay the whole? A part OF the
| present national debt was contracted 10 pay
| the old debts of Texas. Is it just that she
| shall leave and pay no part OF this herself?
Ii
| ther; and when all shall have seeded, none
| are left to pay the debts. Is this quite just to
creditors Did we notify them of thus sage
view of ours when we borrowed their money2
| If we now recognize this doctrine, by allow
| ing the seceders to go in peace, 1t Is difficult
| TO see what we can 90 if others chose TO go,
| or TO extort terms upon which they viii pro-
| mise to remain.
The seceders insist that our Cons titut ton
| admits of secession. They have assumed to
| make national Constitution of their own,
| IL which necessity they have either discarded
| or retained the right OF secession, as they i'll
| sist it exists in ours If they have discarded
| it, they thereby admit that Oh principle il
| ought not to be in ours.
II they have retained it by their own con-
| struction OF ours, they show that to be con-
| sis tent, they must secede from one another
| whenever they shall fnd it the easiest way
| Of settling their debts, or effeeting any other
! selfish or unjust objsct.
The principle itself is one of disintegration,
| and upon which no government car possibly
endure.
| If all the States save one should assert the
| power TO drive that one out OF the Union, il is
presumed the whole class of seeded poll ticians
| would at once DEFY the power and denounce
| the act as the greatest outrage upon State
| rights. But suppose that precisely the same
| act. instead CT being called driving tho one
out, Should b. called the seeding CT the others
| from that ons 1t would be exactly what The
sscedegs claim 10 do, unless, indeed, they make
| the point tina. the one, because it is s. minor.
| ity, may rightfully do what the others, be-
cause they are majority, may not righuully
| do. These politicians are subtle and profound
| on the rights OF minorties. They are not
| partial to that power which made the Consti-
! ton and speaks from the preamble, calling it.
self ave, the people,
1t may we'll he a questioned whether thara ia