Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1861-07-12

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ease the danger should run its course until Con-
prcss could he called together, the very assembling
of which might be prevented, rs was intended an
This ease by the rehelh n. No more extended ar
enmcnt is now offered, as an opinion at some time
will probably be presented by the attorney general
Whether there shall be any legislation upon the
subject and II any, what, is submitted entirely
10 the better judgment Of Congress, The lorbear-
ance Of this government had been 50 extraorliua-
nv and so long continued as TO lead some foreign
nations 10 shape their action il they supposed
the carly destruction Of our national Union was
pruhnble While this, on discovery gave the ex-
ecutive some concern, be is now happy TO say the
sovereignty and 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 the treasury,
war, aud the navy, will give the information in
detail deemed necessary and convenient for your
,lelibcration and action, while the executive and
all the departments will stand ready to supply
omissions or to communicate new facts consider
ed important for you to know
Ii Is now recommended that you give the legal
means for making this contest a short aud deci-
siye one that you place at the control OF the
government for the work at least 100000 men and
four hundred millions Of dollars That number
Of men is about one tenth of those of proper age
within the regions where apparently all are VIII
ling TO engage, and the sum Is less than twenty
third part of the money value owned by the men
who seem ready 10 devote the whole. debt OF
5000, 900, 900 now, is less sum per head than
was the debt Of our revelation when we came out
of that struggle aud the money value in the coun-
try now bears even greater proportion to what
il was then than does the population. Surely
each man has as strong motive now 10 preserve
our liberties as each had then to establish them
right result at this time will be worth more TO
the world than ten times the men aud 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 legslation to give it legal sanction, and the
hand Of the executive to give it practical eiheien-
cy One of the greatest perpleNues OF the gov
eminent is to avoid receiving troops faster than 1t
can provide for them. In word the people viii
sustain their government if the government itself
will do It's part only indiierenuy well,
1t might seem at first thought to be Of little con-
sequence whether the present movements at the
South be called secession orrebellion The movers
however, will understand the difference. AT the
beginning they knew they could never raise their
treason to any respectable magnitude by any name
which implies violation to law and order, and as
much pride in its reverence for the history and
government of their common country, as any 9TH
or civilized and patriotic people. They knew they
could make no advancement directly in the teeth
of these strong and noble sentiments; accordingly
they commenced by an insdous debauehlng Of
the public mind. They invented an ingenious
sophism, which, if conceded, was followed by per-
fecty logical steps through all the incidents to the
complete destruction of the Union. The sophism it.
self is that any State of the Union may, consistent
ly with the national constitution, and therefore,
lawfully and peacefully withdraw from the Union,
without the consent Of the Union or Of any other
State The little disguise, that the supposed right
is to be exercised only for just cause, themselves
to be the sole Judges of its justice, is too thin to
merit any notice. With rebellion thus sugar-coat-
ed, they have been druggng the public mind Of
their section for more than thirty years, and until
at leaath they have brought many good men to
a willingness 10 take up arms against the govern
rnent the day after some assemhlage Of men have
enacted the farce of taking their State out OF the
Union, who could have been brought to no such
thing the day before This sophism derives much,
perhaps the whole gifts currency, from the assump-
ton that there is omnpotent and sacred su-
premaey pertaining to a State, to each State of
our federal Union Our States have neither more
nor less power than that reserved TO them in the
Union 10y the constitution, no one OF them ever
having been State out OF the Union. The origin
81 ones passed into the Union even before they east
of their British colonial dependency and the new
ones each came into the Union directly from
condition Of dependency, excepting Texas, and
even Texas in its temporary Independence was
never designated 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 in aud by the declaration Of lndepend-
euoc. Therein the united colonies were declared
to be free and independent states.
But even then the object plainly was not to de-
clare their indedendence Of one another, or Of the
Union, but directly the contrary, as their mutual
pledge and their mutual action, before, at the
tune. and aiterward, abuhdantly show. The ex-
press pledgng of the faith by each and all of the
original thirteen in the articles OF confederation,
two years later that the Union shall be perpetual
is most conclusive They having been States eli
ther ia substance in name, outside of the Union,
Whence this magical omnipotence of state rights,
asserting claim of power to lawfully destroy the
Union tsefY
Much Is said about the sovereignty Of the states,
out the word even is not in the national consttu-
tion nor as is believed in any Of the state eonsti-
tutions. What is a sovereignty, in the political
sense Of the termH Would be far from wrong
ia defining it political SUPERIOR Tested by
this no one Of our States excepting Texas ever
was a Sovereignty, and even Texas gave up that
character on coming into the Union, by which
act sheacknowledged the constitution Of the United
States aud the laws and treaties of the United
States, NAL in pursuance thereof The States
have their status in the Union, and they have no
other legal status IL they break from this, they
only do against law and by the violation OF
the constitution. The Union of States, and not
the States separately procured their independence
and their liberty, by conquest or purchases and
the Union gave to each of them whatever of indie
pendence aud liberty it had. The Union is older
than any of the States, and in fact it created them
States Originally, some dependent colonies
made the Union, and in turn the Union threw of
their old dependency for them. aud made the
states such MS they are Not one of them
ever had a State constitution independent of the
Union.
OF course it is not forgotten that all the new
States framed their constitutions before they en-
tered the Union. Nevertheless It was dependent
upon and preparatory to their coming into the
Union. Unquestionahy the States have al the
powers and rights reserved to til m in the nation
al constitution; but among these, surely all rights
are not included, all conceivable powers, how
mischievous or destructive. At most, they
only were knoa n in the world at the time as gov
ernmental powers. aud certainly power to de
stroy the government itself has never been known
as governmental power. This relative matter Of
national and State power and rights as a prinoi-
pie, is no other than the principle Of generality
and locality. Whatever concerns the whole should
be confined to the whole general government
while what concerns only the States should DC cft
exclusively to the State government This is all
there is Of original principle about IT,
Whether the national constitution. defining be
tween them, has applied the principle with exac
accuracy or not. is 10 be questioned. We are al
bound by that defining, without question. Wha
is now eombaed is the position that secession IN
der the constitution is lawful and peaceful. II 4
not contended that there is any express law 70,
il. aud nothing should ever be implied as law
Il. 4. - - 1.