The daily clarion. [volume] (Meridian, Miss.) 1863-1866, 1866-02-22
lFor the Clafign
soverctgusy---naale sOverelgnty---st"'e


Union between the ota'eS
IS follows: II,
Each State retains its sovereignty,
freedom, and independence. and every
Dewer, Jurisdiction and right which IS
not bv this confederation exPressediy
delegated to the United States ~ Con
gress assembled"
The Constitution, as at tirst aoopteu'
contained no corresponding clause; Ou'
amendments were proposed by the first
Congress, and adopted by eleven OF the
States within the first two or three years
of the government The tenth of these
amendments is as follows:
"The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution nor
prohibited by it, to the States, are reser"-
ed to the States respectively, or TO the
people"
Here, it will be observed, is great
change of phraseology. Nothing is sad
in the clause last quoted about sovereign
tu, freedom. or. independence; but P0'0ers
alone are mentioned. This change could
not have been the result of accident but
must have proceeded from conviction
that the terms sovereignty and independ-
ence were not applicable to the States
under the new government; whilst as to
! freedom, it would have been at least su-
perAuous to mention it as reservation
in a document which placed stronger
safeguards around the liberty of the citl-
zen than any previous government had
undertaken to do. Poace1.s was the word
strictly appropriate to the occasion; pow
ers residing in the people, the source OF
all power and of all government, State or
National; powers which might be e1er-
cised through the instrumentallty OF the
State governments respectively when
coming within the range of their dele
gated powers; by the people in conven,
ton on. extraordinary occasions, or WhicI
might forever be dormant. 1t was the
people of the United States as en-
deavored to show in the preceding com
munication, who made the Constitution
the same people made the reservation
and the reservation was to itself, of pow
ers to be exercised in any manner tha
occasion might require.
A sovereign is defined to be suprem
lord or ruler; and sovereignty is the stat
ana condition of such lord or ruler. Ii
a literal sense, therefore the term sove1
eign is applicable only to persons an
when used in fgurative sense, as
sometimes is in speaking of things
f simply asserts the superiority OF thos
. things to others of the same sort. Thus
o if one should say that the Red Jackt
bitters were a sovereign remedy for ce
tain bodily ailments, he would be unde
! stood as asserting Their superiority to til
=, Grev Jacket, the Plantation, or any oth'
$ similar specific. So, if one should spea
of a sovereign State, strict constructlc
m of the language would make him met
le that the State so designated was superi
ot to the other States. We know, howevt
Is that such is not the fact, nor is it II
R VINO yh6h jp5y t9e It tsr 20 s 50 "Hsd n
of sense of the Articles of Confederate
Te ignoring the radical changes effected
ct the Constitution, and consequently I
es signing to the States status incompa
er Bile with any sound construction of IL
it instrument. They even use it in
ID, stronger sense, and claim for the Sta
ce under the Constitution, powers whi
ch would not have been conceded to tn
lg. under the Confederation.
-, The marked distinction between
he two forms of government is, that uni
pa the one, States alone were represent
ty. and they alone were affected by
at action of the Congress. The acts Of
ca body went forth in the shape of rec
ere sitions upon the States, and it depen'
,on upon their good faith and fidelity to
an gagements, whether the acquisitions W
Y met or not. Ifmoney were to be raj
ov or troops put into the field, the quot
ted each State was ascertained by Congr
be- and if the demand were complied W
ok well, if not, as was often the case, Il
DOL was no remedy except a resort to fo
which would of course have caused
US, dissolution of SO feeble an associat
ght In no case had Congress the po'
ion through any instrumentality of its o
ass operating within the States, to carry
Who its intentions. 1t was this exclu'
ex- Jurisdiction of the States within t
am own limits; this exemption from il
ow- ference in their internal affairs by
feel power extrinsic of themselves, W,
to constituted the sovereignty, indept
will ence and freedom reserved by the
dis ticles of Confederation. By the Co
sn' tuition, however, all this is reversed;
H's' general government does not act l
States at all but exclusively upon
viduals Itmay be said to be known
j. u. there are States only because they
'Slp- represented in their corporate eapacit
re-
hox one branch of the National Legisla
ia whilst in the other, districts alone
hem represented; and the Representativ
re- one district in State is no more res
80 % sihle to the other districts of which
/ in State is composed, or to the Stat
lent large, than to any other portion of
r eff county. Even in the Senate. wher
the States are supposed to be represe1
- Us IS and where they might be expecte