The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-04-12

8Ao is tseeo1dble ne the waRf
In my last article I.embOdied the foruIal
Declaration Of war against q clearly qua
Esntesd Constitutional right Of the fifteen
slavehOlding States Of this Union, by one
Of the most rabid AbolitiOnists Of North
Carolina, appending thereto the names Of
sixty eight members Of Congress Of the
Republican party, cordially indOrsing the
Declaration Of war and recommending its
circulation by the hundred thousand over
the free States.
NY closing paragraph contained some
extracts from a speech delivered in the
United States Senate on the 18th Of Aug.
Is4s, by Daniel Webster, where he says
that
Slavery was a matter Of State regulation
exclusively, and that Congress had not
the least power over it, OF right to inter
fere with it. Therefore, ] say that all
agitaiionS and attempts TO disturb the re-
latiOns between master and slaves, by per.
sons not living in the slave States. are
unconstitutional in their spirit, aud are,
in my opinion, productive Of nothing but
eSp .T9d mischief. i cOunteDance none Of
them. ---.-.-..----.
wifi now, at the commencement Of this
communication, quote \ few lines from
letter of Amos Kendall, dat+d February
Is, 1862, addressed to Abraham Lincoln
President Of the United States:
Let it never be forgotten that we are
one people and one nation only so far as
the Constitution makes us one. Outside
of that bond we are thirty-lOur peoples
and thirty four nations, none of which
have any more right to interfere with the
local laws and institutions of the rest than
with the laws and institutions Of China
and Brazil. The people Of the States have
q right, under our Constitution, to defend
their local laws and institutions by arms,
if necessary, and it is the duty Of the Uni
ted States to uphold and aid them in the
attempt \ war confined to such an OBJ
ject ,fOVM not be reJeltiOn, even though
the United States we're the 0ggressOr.-
-,;y~ w. 9~"N ~ AG....:A--:..--
may be-wuseaA against Southern iRstitu-,
ti0nS, tie SOutherRers in arms tciU cease
to be rebels. and the NoStsscyc>,s7s az Orais
UiU become in truth the todntOR assaiidhts
Of Southern rights.
All intelligent men know that Repub.
lie rs extensive as the United States, EN-.
bracing variety Of climates, productions,
institutions, opinions and interests, can
not exist under one consolidated Govern.
ment, and at the same time allow the high.
est practicable d, gree Of liberty to all its
parts Hence it is that every true friend
Of liberty revOlts from the idea Of an at
tack on the fundamental principles of the
Constitution, which leaves every State
free 10 govern itself in all things which
pertain to its local affairs. In the subver-
sion Of that principle he sees nothing III
prospect but cluster Of hostile Republics,
like those Of Greece, wasting each other
in continual wais; or a great Empire like
that of Rome, in which liberty shall be
crushed under the iron rule Of an aristo.
cratic Senate or usurping Caesar. With
such prospect before him. how can any
true friend Of liberty sustain with conf
dent hope and unAaging enthusiasm, the
prosecution of this war;
But the paralysis which an abandon
ment Of the Constitution would produce
in many Northern arm would not be its
only effect 1t would in an equal degree,
nerve many Southern arm aud array in
active hostility many Southern friend OF
the Union.
Such is the strong language Of Amos
Kendall.
The above quotations from Messrs.
Webster and Kendall are in such perfect
accordance with the teachings of Jefferson
and MadiSOn-whoSe messages to Con.
gress | have put in type-and knowing
that the struggle between the friends Of
Mr.. Jefferson and the elder Adams in the
canvass of 1900, drew the distinctive lines
between ancient Federalism (present Re-
publicanism) and Jetfersonian Republican
ism, Qhe present National Democratic or
ganization as exemplified in our State
ticket last fall, headed by the name Of John
r. Mcconnell, for Governor) prompts me
to transcribe, at this place, short extracts
from the writings Of each.
1t may not be amisS for me to say here
that my father, a Wing of the Revolution,
was an active participation in that canvass;
and my mOther-hallowed bc her memo
ry!-was equally alive to the success Of
Mr.. Jefferson-instiIIed those pure pOliti-
cal principles SD indelibly upon my heart
and memory, that the lapse Of 81 years
have been unable to erase.
| will commence by a quotation from
the Kentucky Resolutions" drafted BY
Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Leg
isaturc of Lentucky, in the House OIL the
10th of November, 1913, and unanimous
~ concurred in by the Senate on the 18th
Of the same month:
ResoIred, That the several States com
posing the United States Of America, ART
Iot uhlICo WI tNN P'hN aPiS W u"'''SNN
submission to their General Government
but that. by compact, under the style anc
title Of a Constitution for the United
States, and Of amendments thereto, they
constituted General Government for spe
cial purposes, delegated to that Govern
mcnt certain definite powers, rescrving
each State to itself, the residuary mass o.
riOht To their own SelC.gOvernment: and
whatsoever the General Government as
sumes undelegated powers, its acts are un
authoritative, void and Of no force; that tC
this compact each State acceded as State
and as an integral party; that this Govern
ment, created by this compact, was moi
made the exclusive or final judge of tho
extent of the powers delegated to itself
since that would have made its discretion
and not the Constitution, the measure d
it's powers; but that, as in all other cases
of compact among parties, having no com
mon judge. each party has an equal right