Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1865-12-16

/
Certainly the Government of the United
States is a limited Government and so il
every State Government limited Govern
ment. With us, this idea oil limitation
spreads through every form of admnistra
ton, general, State and municipal, and rests
on the great Distinguishing principle of the
recognition of the rights of man. The
ancient republics absorbed the individual
in the State, prescribes his religion, and
controlled his activity. The American sys
tenn rest on the assertion of the equal right
of every man to life, liberty, and the pursuit
| of happiness to freedom of conscience, to
the culture and exercise of all his faculties
| As consequence, the State Government is
limited as to the General Government in
the interest of the Union, as to the intli
vidual citizen in the interest of freedom.
States, with proper limitations of power
are essential to the existence of the Consti.
tuition of the United States. At the very
commencement, when we assumed place
among the Powers of the earth, the Decla
ration of Independence was adopted by
States; so also were tho Articles of Confed
Grafton; and when "the People of the United
States" ordained and established the Con
stitution, it was the assent of the States, one
by one, which gave it vitality. In the event
too, of any amendment to the Constitution
the proposition needs the confirmation ol
| States.
Without States, one great branch of the
legislative government would be wanting
And, if we look beyond the letter of the
Constitution to the character of our country
its capacity for compSehending within lis
jurisdiction vast continental empire is due
to the system of States.
| Tho host saruritv for tho r,orroftoI
ance of the States is the supreme au.
thority" of the Constitution of the United
States. The perpetuity of the Constitution
brings with it the perpetuity of the States,
their mutual relation makes us what we are
and in our political system their connection
is indissoluble. The whole cannot exist
without the parts, nor the parts without the
whole. So long as the Constitution of the
United States endures, the States will en-
dure the destruction of the one is the de-
struCtiOn of the other; the preservation OF
the one is the preservation of the other.
/ have thus explained my views of the
mutual relations of the Constitution and
the States, because they unfold the princi-
Piles on which / have sought to solve the
momentous questions and overcome the ap.
palling difficulties that met me at the very
commencement of my administration. 1t
has been my steadfast object to escape from
the sway of momentary passions and derive
a healthy policy from the fundamental and
unchanging principles of the Constitution.
! found the States suffering from the ef-
I fccts of civil war; Resistance to the Gen.
eral Government appeared to have exhausted
itself. The United States had recovered
possession of their forts and arsenals; and
| heirarmies were In the occupation of every
State which had attempted to secede.
! Whether the territory withia the limits Of
those States should be held as conquered
territory, under military authority emana-
ting from the President as the head OF the
army, was the frst question that presented
! itself for decieiou.
Now, military governments, established
for an indefinite period, would have offered
90 security for the early suppression of dis
content; would have divided the people
into the vanquishers and the vanquisbeG
and would have envenomed hatred rather
than restored affection. One established,
no precise limit to their continuance
was conceivable. They would have occa-
stoned an incalculabe and exhausting ex-
pense. Peaceful emigration, to and from
that portion of the country, is one OF the
J best means that can be thought of for the
restoration of harmony and that emigration
would have been prevented; for what emf
grant from abroad, what industrious citizen
at home, would place himself willingly
! under military ruler
The chief persons who would have fol-
lowed in the train of the army would have
been dependents on the General Government,
or men who expected profit from the miser-
! les OF their erring fellow citizens. The
! powers of patronage and rule which would
| have been exercised, under the President.
over vast and popuous, and naturally
wealthy region, are greater than, unless un-
der extreme necessity, should be willing
| to entrust to any one man. they are such as,
| for myself, l could never, unless on occasions
of great emergency, consent to Exercise.
The wilful rule of such powers, if continued
| through period of years, would have en-
] dangered the purity of the general admins
tration, and the liberties of the States which
/ remained loyal.
Besides, the policy of Military rule over a
cnnqured terrtSry would nave implied that
! the States whose inhabitants may have taken
| part in the Rebellion, had, by the act of
| those inhabitants, ceased to exist. But the
true theory is, that all pretended acts Of Sc
cession were, from the beginning, null and
void. The States cannot commit treason,
sCttSh thG SitiZSuo Nuo
have committed treason, any more than they
can make valid treaties or engage in lawful
commerce with any foreign Power. The
States attempting to sece lie, placed them
selves in condition where their vitality
was impaired, but not extinguished-tneir
functions suspended, but not destroyed.
But ii any State neglects or refuses to per.
form its offices, there is the more need that
the General Government should maintain al
its authority, and, as soon as practicable,
resume the exercise of its functions. On
tL:s principle have acted, and have gradl-
ally and quietly, and by almost imptr,
ceptible steps sought to restore the rightu:
energy of the General Government anf OF
the States. To that end, Provisional Gov
ernors have been appointed for the Statcs
1 Conventions called. Governors elected, LIE
gislatures assembled, and Senators and Rep
resentatives chosen to the Congress OF thf
Uaitcd States.
Atsthe Same time, the Courts of the United
States, as far as could be done, have beer
reopened, so that the laws of the United
States may be enforced through their agency
\ The blockade has been removed aud th'
custom houses established in ports of entry
so that the revenue of the United State
, mav he collected The Post Office Depart