The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1861-02-20

governments do profess, and ought in fact, to be
built upon thisimmutable foundation. That the
signers Of the Declaration of Independence per-
fectly understood this principle, is shown by the
following extract from that immortal paper:
1--WE hold these truths to be self-evident-that
all men are created equal; that they are endow-
ed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these
rights, governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent Of
the governed; that whenever any form of gov
ernment becomes destructive of these ends, it
is the right of the people to alter or abolish 1t,
and to institute new government laying its
foundations on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety and happiness"
And that they did not mean this language to
embrace an inferior race, when brought into
juxtaposition with superior race (as blacks and
whites, for instancc) is proven by the fact that
many of the signers of that instrument and
nearly all the States represented by than, held
negro slaves then, and continued to hold them.
]
They would thus have stultied themselves.
States, or nations are moral persons, or inii-
vidualities, possessing many Of the character
istics, or attributes, of men in state of nature.
As the members of which State is composed
were originally all equal and wholly indepen-
dent of each other and of all others 50, when
formed into a political body, this equality and
independence still adheres to the whole mass, as
respects all other bodies of similar character
Hence the law Of nations regards them all as
equals-as perfect peers in rights and in digni
ty Therefore ii is that no nation has right to
expect of any other any favor or privilege which
it belongs to that other to grant, without render
ing in turn a full and fair equivalents nor will
any respectable State enter into any treaty or
compact with others except upon equal terms
I showed, in my first article, how well our anccs-
tors understood and appreciated these princi-
pies, and how jealous!y they watched and guard
cd the equality and independence of the original
States, even while in the colonial condition. with
respect to each other; and more especially so af-
ter their independence was acknowledged by the
mother country. Throughout the whole history
of their intercourse with each other, and Of all
their alliances and compacts, from their earliest
colonial infancy until the final consummation of
them all, in the formation of that great compact
between sovereign States, the Constitution of
the United States, in no instance was the equal
ity of any colony or State with the others ig.
nored or surrendered; and the proceedings Of
the Constitutional Convention itself plainly
showed, that no Union or system of govern
ment could have been formed, which did not
clearly recognize this cardinal principle. And
the most formidable difficulty in the way of rat
flying the Constitution in many of the State
Conventions called for that purpose, was the
fact, that while the sovereignty and equality Of
the States was in var ous ways recognized in that
instrument, the men of that day feared that
sufficient guarantees were not thrown around
these vital points to defend them eifectualy
against the encroachments of the Federal power.
1t follows, that if any State had supposed, or
could have inferred that her citizens and their
property were not to receive the same degree Of
fostering care and protection from the common
government, within the legitimate sphere of its
| jurisdiction, that was to be extended to the cit
izens of other States and their property, such
State never would have ratified the Constitu-
ton, but would have rejected it with scorn.
Now one of the most important attributes Of
sovereignty, which the States never surrender
ed, is the right to determine what they will per-
nit to he held as property within their respect
| i've limits, and what shall not be so held and
to regulate the manner of acquiring title to and
disposng of such property. This is one of the
reserved rights of the States which has never,
believe, been called in question. Even Black
Republicans sdmitit, while they make war upon
it Therefore, Mississippi had as perfect right
to say that African slaves may bc~held as prop
erty in her borders, and to direct by what tenure
such property shall be so held, as Massachu-
setts has to do the same thing in reference to
horses, or clocks anything else. The one
species of property depends as much upon the
laws of the one State, as the other does upon the
laws Of the other State.
But there is a large amount of public territory,
which belongs equally to all the States OF
course, while it is in this territorial condition IL
is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the common
government the agent Of all the States But
that jurisdiction can only be properly exercised
in conformity to that principle which underlies
the Constitution ITSELF forming the very sub
stratum which supports the compact, viz: that
the States are all co-equal in the Union, and that
therefore their citizens respectively have equal
rights in the common domain. This is the doc.
trine Of sound reason, as well as of the Dred
Scott decision. Suppose, then, that a citizen Of
Massachusetts, goes into the common territory
with his horses and clocks, and a citizen Of
Virginia also goes there with his negro slaves.
Each derives title to his property under his own
State laws regulating that subject over which
the jurisdiction Of the respective States is ad-
mitted to be exclusive and supreme. Now, il
the Federal Government the common agent, re-
cognizes the title Of the Massachusetts man, and
enforces his rights and protects his property,
while it repudates the title Of the Virginian, de-
nies him his rights, and outlaws his property.
tor permits it to be done by any Of its subordi
nate agencies) is not that fundamental equality
Of rbich croiro fofa liz - do.s-,--