Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1862-04-09
.T1a 1eAa slate TheorY.

United States Senate, and JoHN A. BINGHAM OF
Ohio. In the House Of Representatives at Wash
lngton. are the two great apostles OF the Dead
State Theory. GREELET, Of the New YORK
Tribune, is their scribe and man Friday. 10
his issue Of April 2, GREELEY speaks OF Tenn
essee especially as deceased STATE ana trea's
AnDy JOHNSON as appointed to administer upon
her estate and effects Inaamuoh as she died
intestate and without heirs or any legal repre-
sentatiyes. Messrs. SUMNER, BINGHAM and GREE
LEV are OF the opinion, decidedly and unequivo-
oalIy. that the moneys, goods and chattels, and
the lands, tenements aud effects, and EEORoEs,
Of the late State Of Tennessee, must inure to-
and become vested In "Uncle Sam"
We will not here give our own version OF the
Dead State Theory of CHARLES suMSER, JOHN
A. BINoHAM and HoRAoE GREELEY, Esqrs, lest
some Republican or Fusionist should say the
Siatesman had lied about ii; but will let the
New York World, a saunch Republican paper,
tell what il IA In its own words. The World, OF
April 4, says the theory Is substantially this;
nThat inasmuch as the Constitution Of the Uni
ted States requires all legislative, executive
and judicial eficers, both OF the United States
and Of the sevsraI States, to be bound BY oath
TO support the Constitution, the officers oil
Sn,e government who either have not taken or
have violated such oath, have 90 official exist
tenoe, and their Offices are vacant From these
premises Mr.. BINGHAM leaps to the concuson
that the ST ties whose offices are thus all vacated
have terminated their existence as States, aud
are no longer members Of the Union"
The World In the same article raises lew
objections to this argument, which we will
briefly notice. And
/. 1t follows from this Dead State Theory
that State which has committed suicide and
Is politically dead, has exercised power lar
trsnscending any that It could have exercised as
loyal member Of the Union. 10 other woids,
squad Of State officers who have violated
their oatbs Of allegiance, have been made ca
pable BY that very act Of snnuling a solemn
act Of Congress.
Take the so-called deceased State OF Ten
neseee as an illustration. Its teTritsry was
eeded 10 the United States by North Carolina
la the deed Of cession there was this express
condition, that the territory 80 ceded shall be
laid ou, and formed into State or States -
The deed was accepted with this condition.
We might here very properly inquire, whether
the United States is not bound to keep its faith
thus pledged to North Caroliua9 But we pass
to the act of Congress "fOr the admission Of the
State Of Tennessee into the Union," approved
June /, 1886. The Hrst sentence in this act is
as follows:
That the whole of the territory eeded to the
United States by the State OF North Caro-
lima, shall be one State, and the same is hereby
declared to be one of the United States OF
America, on an equal footing with the original
States, in all respects whatever, bv the name
and title of the State of Tennessee.
Without raIsing the question whether Con-
Rress could repeal this act, it is certain that the
State Of Tennessee, acting through her regu-
lArly constituted authorities, could not annul
this or any other act Of Congress. But, &C.
cording to the Dead State Theory, her officers
had only to abjure their allegiance and turn
traitors to the State and the Union, and they al
once became invested with.a power superior to
Congress and the Constitution. In committing
suicide they became mightier than SAMSON.
9. Another objection to the Dead State The
ory lie, that the United States are bound by the
Constitution ITO guarantee to every State In
this Union republican form of government
| II State is dead, there is nothing, 80 far al
Iit is concerned, for the guarantee to act upon
But the guarantee Is to every State. It Is a
guarantee to States 10, and not of the Union
to living, and no. to dead States. But if State
officials, by turning traitors, have taken their
State out of the Union-put it to death as q
State, they have, as regards IL. annulled guar
antee In the Federal Constitution.
3. A third objection to the Dead State Theo-
~ we will let the World state in Its own words:
II agents of jeff Davis he'd made a success
full attempt, on the fourth OF March, 1861, 10
poison Mr.. Lincoln, Mr.. Hamlin, all the men,
bers OF Congress, and all the Judges Of the
Federal Courts, would those agents have there
BY annihilated the United States, annulled the
Constitution and the Federal laws, and released
the separate States from all further obligation
to the Cnion2 If In the interval between the
adoption of the present New York State Con-
sti,ntion on the third Of November, 1916, and
the first of January ensuing, when it went into
operation, every State officer under the old
Constitution had resigned, would that freak
have sunk the Empire State In the gulf OF an
Inhalation, and authorized Congress to treat 1t
thereafter as Territory7 The idea is mon
strous absurdity. But it Is legitimate conse-
uuence Of the new doctrine that the vacation Of
State cfices annuls State Constitutions and