East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-04-15
10 ! tho Editor Of tho Journal Of Dommoree
PRoyIpENeE, Il. /, March n, 1856

10 the Editor Of the Journal Of Dommoree
i,..,-s PRoyIpENcE, II /, March 81, 1862.
The enclosed extract from Rev L.
Wayland's, ID. d., "Human responsible.
ities," published in 1888, is very fair
statement of the rights of the States
under our beloved Constitution You
will see thai the Ship of State headed
all right when the patriotic endcavor,
aud not the blind will prevailed. Now
Sue is off her course, but ia expected to
come up and point directly for her har,
DOR, as the patriotic brcczes freshen and
the National crew do their duty: Iva
what are the CONSTITUTIONAL Pow
ers Of Congress over tire Iustitu-l
ton of slavery! ..l .t.r..t
think it evident, that, 10 eitixevs of
The United States, We have no power
whatever either to abolish slavery in the
southern States or to do anything, of
which the direct intention is to abolish
it Whatever power VIC possess, rs cit
liens of tue United States, is conferred
upon us by tho constitution. This
power Is not conferred upon as by that
instrument, and therefore IL does not erist
But this instrument has not merely a
poSitire, il. has also a negatirc power. II
not only grants certain powers. but it eX.
pressly declares that those not enumer.
ated arc not granted. Thus, it enacts,
that all I" The powers not delegated to
the United States Ivy the constitution,
nor prohibited by it, to the States, are
ressrred TO the States, respectively, or to
the people" Now, the abolition Of
slavery being power not conferred, it
is, by this article, expressly wahhelH--
Whatever power we may therefore have
over slavery, as citizens Of tho seceral
Statss, within our own limits respect
lively, we have none, as citizens of the
United States. The majority of the pco.
pie in the United States, have, in this
respect, no power over tho minority;
! for, the minority has never conceded TO
them this power. Should all the States
in the Union but one, and that one the
very smallest, abolish slavery; should
the majority of one hundred to one, of
tho people Of the United States, DO in
favor of its abolition, still IT would not
alter the case That one State would
he as free to abolish il or not abolish it,
as it is now. This is question which
has never been submitted to the major.
ity of the citizens of these United States,
and therefore, the citizens of the United
States, as citizens, have nothing to do
with 1t. fnrs tbu III f vt
The same thing is evident, from the
most cursory view of the circumstances
under W hich tho constitution was form.
ed. Previously to the revolution, each
of these States was an independent col
ony; constituted into distinct govern
/ trent, by charterfrom the British crown.
Each colony was a government az dis.
tinct from every other, as though it had
been thousand miles distant from all
the rect; as, distinct, in fact, as are the
different West India Islands from each
other, or as any one of the West India
Islands, from the colony of Canada, Of
4 New Zealand, or of Bombay. They all
held of the British crown, but were all
independent OF each other, and the q; "
bond Of union by which they wer; con
nected together, was, that they were all
subject to the same king and all ac.
} knowled2ed the ultimate authority OF
tho constitutional laws of the empire.
When the independence of these col
onics was established, this link, which
; hound each of them tn the mother
| country, and thus indirectly to each
20 other, was severed. They became in.
dependent States, having, each one fol
itself, power, to make peace or war, o,
, to form alliances, offensive and defensive
/ with What foreign States sopver they
scverally ohosc. Wilde in this condi
ton, it II I'd manifest that no State had any
, power whatsrer over any other States.--
! Any ono might have established slavery
! or have abolished it, and no other one
4, would have imagined that, 10 so doing
il was lishls IN any control from any
other, or from all tho rest; any more
than from Canada, Austria, Russia, o,
the Sandwich Islands. qn io-
Under these circumstances they chose
of their own sovereign will, to form q
confederate government 10 the form.
alton ofthis government, each State, o.
tho people of each stxte, mutually
Iagreed to commit certain powers to tho
whole, and 20 submit the Ultimate dscis-
lon Of certain questions to tho majority
lof the whole people represented by thos