Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-12-13

States Is q linitei Government; and so Is
every State Government limited Govern
ment With Us, this idea Of limitation
spreads through every form Of admins.
tration, general, State and municipal, and
rests on the great distinguishing principle
u Of the recognition OF the rights Of man
The ancient republics absorbed the indi-
vidual in the State, prescribed his religion
and controlled MS activity. The American
system rests on the assertion of the equal
| right Of every man to life, liberty and the
pursuit Of happiness TO freedom Of con-
! sea ence, to the culture and exercise of al
/ his faculties. Is a consequence, the State
! Government is limited, as to the General
| Government in the interest Of Union, rs
/ to the individual citizen IN the interest OF
/ freedom
! q States, with proper limitations of power,
+ are essential to the existence of the Con-
stitution Of the United States. At the
/ very commencement, when we assumed q
! place among the powers Of the earth, the
/ Declaration Of Independence was adopted
/ by States; so also We're the Articles Of
/ Confederation; and when "tho People Of
/ the United States" ordained and establish
ed the Constitution, it was the assent Of
! the States one by one, which gave it vital
At1 20 Lt'E = ilr tcN' "a al
to the Constitution, the proposition Of
CONGRESS needs the confirmation Of States
| Without States, one great branch of the
Legislative go-crnment would he wanting
And, if we look beyond the letter Of the
Constitution to the character Of our coun-
try. It's capacity for comprehending with
in It's jurisdiction vast continental en-
/ plre is due to the system Of States. The
hest security for the perpetual existence
! Of the 1tlteg IS the supreme authority
of the constitution OF the United States
The parpetuity Of the Constitution brings
with it the pcrpetuity Of the States their
mutual relation makes us what we are,
and in our political system their connex-
ION is indissOluble. The whole cannot
exist without the parts, nor the parts with
out the whole. So long as the Constitu~
ton of the United States endures, the
States Will endure; the destruction Of the
one is the destruction of the other; the
preservation Of the one is the preservation
Of the other
haEe thus explained my views Of the
INITIAL relations of the Constitution and
the States, because they unfold heprinci-
lpie5 on which have sought to solve the
momentOus questions and overcome the
/ appalling 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 20 derive a healing policy from the
fundamental and unchanging principles Of
| the Constitution. --.....-
! found the States suffering from the ef-
fects OF civil war. Resistance to the
General Government appeared to have ex-
haasted itself The United States had re
covered possession Of their forts and
arsenals and their armies were in the
I Occupation 0l every State which had at
tempted to secedc Whether he territory
within the limits Of these States should
be held as conquered territory, under
military authority emanating from the
President as the head Of the army. was
the first question that presented itself for
decision.
Now, military governments, established
fol an indefinite period, would have offered
no security for the early suppression Of
diseoutcnt; would have divided the people
into the vauquishers and the yanquished ;
and would have en- en0med hatred, rather
/ than have restored affection. Once estab-
lished, TO precise Limit to their continu-
ance was conceivable. They would have
( occasioned an incalcuIablo and eZhaustinr
. expense. Peaceful emigration to and
/ from that portion Of the country is one Of
/ the best means that can be thought Of for
( the restoration Of harmony; and that
/ emigration would have been prevented ;
/ for what cmigraRts from abroad, what in
dustrious citizen 1T home would place
/ himself willingly under military rule -?
1 The chief persons who would have fol-
lowed III the train of the army would have
I been dependents on the General Govern
moat, or men who expected profit from
! the m:9eries Of their crring fcllow-citizens.
. The powers Of patronage and rule which
would have been exercised, under the
/ President, over a vast and ponul0us. and
naturally wcaltIv region, are greater than.
unless under extreme necessitv. | should
I be willing to cutTust to any one man they
/ are such as, for myself, I could never, un-
! less on occasions Of great emergency, con
I sent to exercise. The wiifui use Of such
, powers, If continued through q period OF
wears. would have endangered the purity
/ Of the General Administration and the
( liberties Of the States which remained
loyal
/ Besides, the policy Of military rule 0vor
( q conquered territory would have implied
that the States whose inhabitants may
I have taken part in the rebellion had bv
Z the act Of those inhabitants, ceased to ex
/ ist But the truo theory l. that all pre-
tended acts Of secession were, from the
/ beginning, null and void. The States can
not commit treason, nor screen the indi-
/ vidual citizen- who may have committed
/ treason. any more than they can make
. valid treaties to engage In lawful COM
mcrce with arv foreign Power. The States
( attempting to secede placed themselves IN
n condition where their vitality was I'M