Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-09-07


gitive shall be hung" The words in italics
we're accidentally omitted
Judge SutlF in the case Of Bushnell and
Langston 90 ST. Rep p. 229, favored the
notification Of the fugitive slave law because
he said it was wrong and because the State
of Ohio had right to nullify it He gives
the following as incontrovertible facts
That the States before the Constitution
was formed were independent sovereign
States. That the resolution calling the Con =
venton together, expressed the object to
be "lor the sole aud express purpose Of re.
visiug the articles of Confederation" Il ELL
Deb 1907. That in the Convention two par.
ties we're ut once scovered-Hamiltons 8,
which favored national Government su-
preme and general, and Jefferson's which
looked with distrust upon any removal OF
power from the State Governments. That
Randolph, Pinckney, Patterson aud Hamilton
introduced plans of government to give
negative upon the laws Of each State Govern
ment and authorizing general Government
to coerce refractory States thus to secure the
subordination Of the States--every one of
which plans was "fulIy considered and finally
| rejected
| That the opposition to the adoption of the
| Constitution in the States OF Virginia. Massa-
chusetts, South Carolina, New York, Rhode
Island and Georgia arose from the apprehen-
sion that the tendency of the Govern
ment would be to arrcgate to itself the powers
belonging to the State Governments, and that
they proposed the different amendments upon
that subject, to counteract that tendency, and
only consented to the Union when they we're
satisfied that the States would remain coordi.
dinate with the general Government That
the expression in the preamble in tie Consti
tuition ave the people of the United State"
means--"we the people OF the States respect.
lively, which, as parties to this instrument,
agree to become united for the purposes there
in expressed" That "the States, as to all
powers not delegated by, nor prohibited to
them under the Constitution, remain inde--
pendent sovereign governments as they we're
under the articles of Confederation That
the Supreme Court of each State remains the
: final arbiter as to such State Of the extent and
limit of her powers and jurisdiction that
''the Government Of the United States have
no more right TO enforce it's decisions, or those
of its Judiciary against the separate States
: where the two judicisries disagree, than the
against the Federal Government That the two
Governments are placed by the Constitution
upon equal grounds and neither is made supe
rior to the other"
Having by these facts established to hi
satisfaction his proposition that the genera
Government is not superior to the State Gov
: ernments, and that the State has a right Il
nullify any law which it may deem unconsti
tutional, Judge Sutlif proceeds (p S03) t
r point the advantages and beauties of thi
theory and the disadvantages Of its opposite
''If, he says, ".he federal Government is lef
t to determine, by any Of its departments, tn
0 line Of partition between the powers of tn
Il States and itself the result necessarily will b
s to make the federal Government absolute, an,
utterly destroy the independence of the States
6 For the States to have given the limited fed
eral Government they were forming such
power, would have been TO make the create
'e greater than the creators would have been t
y require the State Governments to look onl
l. to what they apprehended as the real sourc
l. Of their danger for protection against th
= danger 1t would have been a consent o
n the part of the States to hold the reserve
~ powers they so carefully guarded, as mer
" tenants at will under the federal Govern
ment.
: "Where the State and general Government
disagree as to the extent of their respectiy
10 powers each must necessarily be negatiy
il upon the acts of the other Centra
10 ization Of all power in the government OF sh
IN United States can only be prevented by tn
ID construction, or rather this adherence to, th
provisions of the Constitution. No commo
to arbter was ever consented to, or centemplt
le ted by the trainers Of the Constitution. The
he knew that it was safer to rely upon the rec
rs Governments upon each other in their opel
rs atious The greatest danger
Q, our system is the already evident tendency
'u a Capitalization of all governmental powe
~ ~ in the federal Government, and no hope CT
= be reasonably entertained for correction
this evil, if police powers, clearly belongiI
to the States under the Constitution, are tn
arbitrarily usurped and wrested from them
,ot the federal Government, and the States, il
u no stead Of maintaining their rights, only invi
an further aggressions by passive submission, "
m Judge Brnkerhof, less elaborate, agre
with Judge Sutlf and states his conelusiC
,aI thus:
cir "The federal legislature has usurped
be power not granted by the Constitution, al
an IL a diniarv hna So nnlinnad the nanr