The weekly standard. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1865-1867, 1865-11-25

Of the South.
A Noble State Paper-Inaugu-
raj Address of the Governor
G9 Mississippi. lad 5isa3I ,89ag
Weturn with a feeling of relief and
qualification from fhe 9xliberant loyal
ty and abject contrition exhibited by
some political converts to the noble,
manly, frank, outspoken, and brave brave
address of the newly elected Goyern5oi5l
Of Mississippi, Hon. Benz. G. Humph-
reys,y ItIhas the ring of .thebtruemetal
and will acquire for it's author the es-
TEEN and respect of every man who
honors entegrity ofcharacter, and ad-
mires the fearless utterance of great
truths andiiprincffples! His is, no no cra-
ven spirit ready and willing to accept
every concession as boon, and who
imagines that a people defeated in de
fence of their rights should be deprived i
of them. While accepting the arb;ttra-
lnents Of war he does not acknowledge
that tie Southern people were guilty. Of
q crime in seeking by a resort to the
same mode of trial adopted by the men
Of ,76 a redress of grievances which
had SO long been a cause of iiustifable
complaint. To do this would have,
been to deny a right which has been
always maintained in this country, and
which had Gan existence prior to the
principle of State Sovereignty-the
Right of Revolution. His definition Of
State Sovereignty and the Powers OF
the General Government VIII raise a
storm among the sensitiyely loyal that
will be certain to revive old controver-
sizes. Those who imagined that the
war had settled the question Of '.Re-
served Powers viii be disappointed in
Governor Humphreys address, and
their loyalty viii be shocked by the
complete absence of all humility, or
even an afectafion of humility, from
this his first of' cial d ument. He
speaks as the Governor of a State
should speak to his fellow-citizens, as
= = "a. =
a freeman sh ,tlld speak to freemen.
As the first inaug ral address deliy-
ere by the freely-cnosen executive of a
Southern State since the close of the
var it has a peculiar significance, and
its influence viii, we believe, be most
beneficial ON the tone and spirit of sim
liar addresses hereafter. Although
speaking for his own State alone his
address is of special Importance to all,
to the Northern as well as the South
ern people. It Fenuneiates the only
principles by which the freedom of the
people can be preserved. It is in
word one Of the most forcible protests
that has yet been made against the pol,
icy of centralization as illustrated by
the course Of the despotic administra-
ton of the late President. The prin-
ciple of State Sovereignty is asserted
in a modified form, that is the State
is sovereign in all that was formerly
claimed for it except the Right of Sc
cession-the right of revolution still Of
course remaining with the people 10
BE CALLED INTO EXERCISE WHEN THE pow,
ERs BELONGING EXCLUSIVELY TO THEM ARE
UsURPED BY THEIR OFFICIAL SERVANTS, AND
WHEN REDRESS CAN BE OBTAINED ONLY By
THE FULL yNpHeAroN OF PopUIAR Sow
ERE1GNT1.
The powers of the Federal Govern
ment are fixed by the Constitution, and
to it we must look hereafter in the con-
fiict Of the Sovereignties which the peo-r
pie have constituted as the guardians
and projectors Of their liberties There
must be no encroachments on State
Rights, any more than on the Rights
Of the People The. General Govern
ment must confne its authority to the
exercise Of the powers with which it is