Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1865-09-14

that the State itself is the tribunal that
is authorized to determine when the
General Government has exceeded its
authority, and to determine also the
manner and extent of the remedy. Or,
in other words, that party holds that
State has the right to determine the
measure of her allegiance to the Cen
eral Government, and when and by
what means she may resist its author
ity.
This is fearful theory, theory out
of which the notification of South Car
olina in 1882 and the great rebellion
of 1861 have grown, and it is all impor-
tant to the people of this country that
doctrine, the legitimate solution of
which produces such results, shall not
be permitted, surrounded and buried
as it is in the democratic" platform
with truisms, sophisms and antique
references, to escape the vigilance of
people who have SO recently expound-
cd their vast treasures of blood and
money to destroy q rebellion that was
but the natural result of a practical ap
plication of this doctrine. To show
that we do not misstate the position of
this party on this subject, and attach a
meaning to its platform not warranted
by the facts, we shall as briefly as the
nature of the case will admit, attempt
to demonstrate.
The 4th Resolution of the platform,
as adopted at Columbus, is as follows:
"a. Resolved, That the Democracy Of
Ohio will maintain, and defend, as they
have always heretofore done, as essential to
the existence Of our Federal system of gov
ernment. the true doctrine of State Rights
not notification, not secession-but the
theory of that system as laid down in the
Virginia and Kentucky resolutions Of 1898,
as interpreted by their authors the one by
other by Jefferson in his solemn, official
Inaugural of 1901"
What is the theory of State Rights
as laid down in the Virginia and Ken
lucky resolutions of 1882 Very few
; persons have ever read those rcsolu-
tions, and their antiquity and the his
, toric positions of their authors, MADI-
SON and JEFFERSON, give them char.
. acter and force, unexamined in the
. light of contemporaneous history,
3 which the politicians of the "Demo.
3 cratic party propose to use to aid
e them in fastening upon the character
i of our Government theory, which, al
4 the time it was promulgated, was con-
Y demned by the American people, and
g has ever since that time been repudia
ted by the great body of that people as
f a dangerous heresy.
e The Kentucky Legislature, from tn,
8 10th to the 18th days of November
9 1898, discussed and finally passed th'
/. resolutions referred to as part of thu
}, "Democratic' platform, the first o
8 which reads as follows:
o THAT the government created by thi.
compact was not made the exclusive or ina
) judge of the extent ofthe powers delegated t
itself, since that would have made its jiscre
n ton, and not the constitution, the measure O
= its powers; but that, as in oil other cases O
Q compact among parties having no common
n Judge, each party has an equal right to judg
Tor itself, as we'll of iufractions as Of tn
= mode and measure Of redress"
> The Virginia Legislature Decembe
Oath, 1898, RESOLVED,
q "That this Assembly doth explicitly andpe
emptorily declare, that it views the powers 0
;, tho Eederal Government MS resulting frou
+ the compact to which the States are parties
Q as limited by the plain sense and intention
f of the instrument constituting that compact
as no further valid than they are authorizes
by the grants enumerated in that compact
e and that, in case ofa deliberate, palpabl,
~ and dangerous exercise Of other powers no
- granted by the said compact. the State,
l. who are parties thereto, have the right, an
e are in duty bound, to interpose, for arrestin
the progress OF the evil, and for maintainin
D. within their respective limits the authorities
j. rights and liberties appertaining to then
1t Here we have it declared in the Ken
e lucky Resolutions, that each State
J. whenever the General Government as
il sumes undelegated powers, has a
k equal right to Judge for itself, as we
). of infractions as of the mode an
|. measure of redress. In the Virgini
n Resolutions the language is a littl
n different, but it is held that it is tn
n right and duty of State to interpos,
d to arrest the efforts of the Geners
D. Government to enforce any unauthol
y lied or dangerous power.
n Mr.. MADISON In his address, whic
l. is also part Of the Democratic
/. platform, explaining the Resolution
Il after they had been repudiated by min
TT States to which they had been submit
IF ted for endorsement, uses the follow
is ing language In reference to them:
d 1.-THE States, then, boing the parties I
- the Constitutional compact. and in the
II sovereign capacity, it follows NECESSARILY, til,
az tha.a can ha M frihunal ahoua iii. . /.