Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1864-03-12
The True constitutional Theory.

the True CONSTITUTIONAL TneOfy.
The celebrated Greencvillc Convention,
which assembled on the Eth June, 1851,
after the people had voted for separation
from the Federal Government among other
resolutions adopted the following bne
"Iha. the action Of our State Legislature in
passing the so-cqiic2 "DcclHmton of lndcpcnd-
sncc,' and in forming tlc Military League with
the Confederate States, and in adopting other acts
looking to separation of the State of Tennessee
from the Government of the United States, is mn
constitutional and Wcgdi, and therefore not Lind
ing upon us tt, loyal citizens
The loyal people of East Tennessee held
at that day, rs they do at this that scceS-
sion was Illegal and unconstitutional, aud
that no State, as state, cosld legally with
draw from the Union They admitted the
right of revolution, for a sufficient cause,
but denied that there was the slightest
cause for the present one, The rebels, on
the other hand, insisted that secession was
constitutional right, which they could eX-
ercsc whenever n majority Of the people
Of sovereign State willcd it. The friends
Of the Union were nearly everywhere
agreed in favor Of the first stated doctrine
while the traitors We're unanimous as To
the latter. The resolution we have cited
adopted by the Grccncvillc Conventcn, cN-
pressed the views Of the Union men of
East Tennessee They-ol'H "unere To those
views. Tncy are, and ever have been, trHe
and faithful TO their government, Their
alby'aace has never been changed, and no
power can change it. The State has never
been out Of the Union Certain traitors
rebellcd against the government of the
United States and passed what they called
Declaration Of Independence and pre-
tended to vote themselves and the State out
Of the Union. But the legality of these rev
olutionary acts was, at the time, denied by
all sound thinkers. Any other position
places the rebels in the right and the Union
men in the wrong. Adopt that theory, and
then the Union men of Fast Tennessee
were 5cb.is against the rghttuIly constitu-
ted authority over them W. deserve no
credit, for we were traitors 10 the govern
ment to which we owed our allegiance
We were bound to follow the destiny Of
the seeding State Such were not our
views then, nor are they our views now
True, by the uSurpng acts Of a traitor
Governor, and an ohcdicnt Legislature, the
authorities and powers Of the State were
arraycd in hostility to the genera! govern
ment Finally those authorities fed from
the State, and thereby caused the functions
of civil government to become SuSpehded--
But the State was not destroyed The ma
chncry Of government was simply sus-
pended. All the functions, powers and
sttution Of the State remains unimpaired,
and with all its vitality That vitality is
now dormant, but it requires only the
breath Ola popular election to make it
start up in full life and vigor. 1t needs no
Presidents Proclamation, no act of Con
grcss, no Governors Proclamation, not
the Union. Ii was nerer out Of the Union,
and how then can it require the act OF
any man, or set Of men, or any body, to put
d it back?
/ On a msrc question Of Constitutional in
terpretati,n We shall never consent to
change the abov. views. On their correct
ness DEFENDS. in the li.lt Of history. our
vindication, and that of all tnc loyal men
Of East Tennessee. If we are now wrong
in our theory, then all who participated in
the Grcencvillc Convention. and all the
Union men in East Tennessee, who have
taken up arms, are traitors to their country
and deserve the rcproaches of history
We will never consent to bear that oppro-
blum We will never confess that the
rebels were right and We wrong Whether
on being recognized, Internationally. as
being in the Union, with all their ancient
rights, or whether they should woiue some
Of them. in Difference to the public scnti.
ment of the day, or from any other cause.
are questions that are entirely outside of
the foregoing considerations and which we
do not now propose to discuss We merely
wish to preserve consistent, constitutional
record TO be made up in history. The idea
of the ilcgality and nullity of secession on
the one side, and its constitutonalty as
means of redress, on the other, is the
great disputed point between the North and
the South. From the arena of argument,
the question has passed to tho arbitrcmcnt