Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1862-12-23

7 alSaSure, aid IS not q government !. a"eH
stable and permanent form as any !oree'
State could or ought TO recognizes ~
amazing that SO respectable a Wrher S'"o'o
rul forth \ sentence involving so many over
Sights in reasoning and i'll facts AS are CON
tanned in these objections. Does n'' '"e
writer know that every State pn.S"SScS
the right to alter or amend It's 'oF1h q
government rs 1t plcaSes and wheh j
uiesses: and that all agreements betweel
nations, W hether Fedora! or other, depend
on the pleasure Of the parties which 1naEt
them Is he no: aware that IN oil! eases .!
ar,rn,rcrtS between sovereign States, c"''
Scales must. er RcreSS''de r'f, ia thu )nlSr I"
It's own conduc:,..arrl in tie iaS' resort 'i'c'"'
Tor ;ts,!f ? The objection. t!'"'.. at the *rn"ri
s;mnly iii,,, thr,', -. 40 kun: t'''e'r ''t'i La
/ Snuihrrn Coufe,icgsr:, -" ,'T "niy ie'y OF
TN, clig r,linnc. la Il l.. $50 had III incl
do,i.r-s win ony another lfum the beginning
of H., world TO the present day As l1I
rac,sli.Ii Sroricus' had only looked Into ouT
articles OF confederation, adop'cG IN i'"i'ah'
SGT asil. in l7&9, lie would hsva sccn that
| their provisions Wcrc m'r"Iy those OF LIE
! ,iluDlcst federal alliance, and not To nc COM
| narct with thu ciahu,n'e constitution OF the
! Con lederate SLa;rS.; YET, Great Britain, Win
every mGnccmrrI NJ that time TO play restlVe,
acknowledged lhy States associated under
that league IS her equals in the family OF ma
lions. and formed with them, in the Language
Of the treaty nf l1S3, : q firm and perpetual
peace" SAFELY it looks like over-Ee1nemen
=, ~, ure.eu, d.r Tor 4 British writer to re-
ou;,c /; Stronger association OF StRtcs with
| wh!ch u MAXI an ordinary treaty OF COIN
ruc,cc than III. British Grvc,nment did III
r-s3, when :rc Il tinitiYe treaty Of peace he-
,we.u E~r,!,n,l AMI the States was signed
Is rot ,hc ;lrII c Of 4 State s faith as sacred
rnder ore form as another: And is not this
! pledge tho only reliance among sovereign
States
{ have thus gwen a running commentary
| upon the paragraph which | nave quoted; pu1
[ now proceed to show, first. thi. me States
individually and collectively, have been at
eays acknowledged as free, sovereign ana III
deponden. ; secondly, that tho right OF q SOW
ereign State to alter, or amend, or totally
| abolish its plan Of conducting it's foreign a.
| fairs at pleasure. is beyond dispute and,
thirdly, that the conduct Of Great britain in
delaying to recognize the South 10 THEORISTS
tent, %u;.jas. and imp,litic.
l.. That the States have always been rccog-
Missed individually and collectively, as Soyer-
.ign. ii.iS position IN fully established
by facts. The Just recognition of the States
yas made on the sixth day OF February,
LIS. w.e, Fraucc negotiated two treaties
with them. one Il treaty Of arn'ty and com
merce, tile other nf alliance eventual AID de-
~fcnsivc. Tn each treaty the States were
mentioned individually. | quote a part OF
The lis paragraphs of the treaty of antIty+
which, - as follows: The most christian
King. ani the thirteen United States of North
AIncrica, to wit: New Hampshire. Massn-
chusctt Bay, Sc, a." The treaty Of alliance
c~untaius the same enumeration Of the several
States. Ia pass over the recognition of the
States by :$p.'n a1d Holland, in which shcSe
last are mentioned s"voral!y, lot us proceed at
once TO the Gcliu!tivc treaty between Hrcat
Britain aid the States whici was signed Sep
LcmLcr the third, l1S:;, Of which the first
article is as E~li3wS: Ills R"itaric Majesty
acknowledges the said United States, VIZ:
New HAMPSHIRE, Massachusetts DAY, Rhode
~lslanlc, and Providence Plantations, CUnncctl-
cat, New York. New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
delaware, MARYLAND, Virginia, North Carolina,
south Carolina, and Georgia, to he free,
sacercigA, and independent St0teS &c. Here
Is rh- lorms! and solemn declaration and ac-
acknowledgement Of Great Britain that the
Safes wcr" free, sovereign and independent.
And OF the States enumerated in the treaty,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Georgia, are Southern States,
a1d, with the exception Of Maryland, winch
has been presented by lawles violence from
acting on the subject, memhers OF The
Southern Coniedrracy. And az respects the
other States composing the Southern Con-
f"derncy, tbey stand in the same relation TO-
tne o-'gina! Southern States as the Northern
States created siEce the treaty Of liS3 stand
t, the North, that Is, they have been re-
e .yuized as Co-cqual and coordinate with
he original States by the respective ooser-
rance by both England aud the States Of tho
.iS..;.l (pr!us Of diplomatic and commercial
connection, thus presenting the anomaly OF
..aril successive rn,Ess!er from the States 70
the Court Of St. Jaass, representing a dt-
i.r.nt constituency fsnln that represented by
h.; predecessor. Now. it the language OF the
4. is:sn treaty OF lIS3 means anything, 1t
.,D;.aS tina, thirteen free, sovereign and mde-
..ci .r:.t States, arc thirteen States that arc
.fyc. So Yurci:u. aud independent; and As the
nnw Southern States have hr.a equally &C
3nnwscigr,l with the oti, all the States stand
..n Ire same f.o!ing. Accordingly, this fact,
IN the wor4s or"liiStoricus,' ''is sufficient in
it>.if. without any adjunct" to enSere our
r"cI.riLion by Great Britain, and | call upon
ala. Unless he is disposed to dispute thc dc
llhcra:e declaration Of his country, TO Use his
~elli:y,s to bring about The object in question.
The second proposition | seek to MAINTAIN
il. ;!,at every sovereign State has a right t"
,l'"~ or amend, ~ totally abolish its plan Of
conducting ita affairs will foreign govern
.n"utS. This is @ trIism that f,l!o"s from
liz. nature of sovereignty. and requires no
a.~rnrnt to enforce it. Accordingly, in
lis, the form Of a new Federal alliance
alnl,rn; the States was presented, was DIS
c,t:aci and decided upon by each State I"r
,LSciI. was adopted by SONS Of the Stnt"S III
pia,,. ri the former emo, and went into effect
IN 1859. Each State, | have said, decided
Tor itself, in accepting or IN rejecting the
new plan; AMI two of the States, ONO
IN the heart Of the Nnrth, the other
~ he heart Of The South, rejected the
nrw system -preftrring to rcmaln under
the aid. Tie new government consisting OF
hose States which preferred the new plan,
~cri INTO operation, conducted its affairs with
.orcr.n powers, and neither asked nor r.
ca,v,,i a new recognition from foreign powers
il us n.w form. The men who framed
tai new plan would have scorned to ask a
,rr, CATION from any earthly power, or to
hn>e pei 10. med my act which might lead to
tn. Inference that, by changing their plan of
conducting their affairs with foreign powers,
they had lost or impaired their status as
Sovereign commonwe althS; and, least, Of all,
Ia have debased themselves before those f,r-