The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-22
Wade and Chase as Teachers Of
Secession.

INV VI !
Secession.
We alluded the other day to Senator
Wade, Of Ohio, and Chief Justice Chase,
as former teachers Of the doctrine Of
secession We now clip the following
extracts from the speech Of the Senator,
made in the Senate as late as 1865.
We quote:
"Nho is to be the Judge in the last
resort of the violation of the Constitu.
ton Of the United States by the enact
ment of q law2 Who is the final arbi-
teri The general Government or the
States in their sovereignty Why, sir, |
10 yield that point is 10 yield up all the
rights Of the States to protect their
own citizens, and to consolidate this
Government into a miserable despo |
tism- / tell you, sir, whatever you may
think of il, if this bill pass, collisions
will arise between the Federal and :,
State jurisdictions-conhicts more dan
gerous than al the worldly wars which
are got up in Congress-cOnficts in
which the States will never yield; for
the more you undertake TO load them
with acts like this, the greater will
be their resistance.
81 stated that this bill was intended
to promote and help the execution
Of tine fugitive bill The Senator does
not deny IL. / said there were States
in the Union whose highest tribunals
mad adjudged that bill TO be u%nconsti-
tutional, and that ! was one Of those
who believed it unconstitutiOnal; that
my State believed it unconstitutional;
aud that, under the old resolutions of
1898, a State mnst not only be the Judge
Of that, bat Of the remedy in such a
case"
No other man in the country ever
put the question in stronger language.
And this same man, with his own views
thus on the public record, has sat in
Judgment for the last four years on the
men who but carried out the doctrine
he 50 vigorously and persistently en-
forced in his speeches. They became
TRAITORS and everything that was vile,
while he remained a patriot" TO en-
force confscation, destruction and dis
union upon them for following his
teachings. Had he a modest degree OF
conscience, OF a decent self-respect, he
should have at least retired from pub
lie life and left the part be has per-
formed during the rebellion TO clean
hands
In 1859, when Joshua r. Giddings
and his abolition crew came to Cleve-
land to release the Oberlin rescuers by
force, and after they had passed the
celebrated Kentucky resolutions of
1889 IS part of their platform, Mr..
Chase, then Governor of Ohio, address
ed the meeting, with & design undoubt-
eddy of preventing mob violence by a
forcible release OF the prisoners, but
as anticipating the interference OF the
Supreme Court Of that sovereign
State. He said: .
NThe Federal court, IN prosecuting
and furnishing our incarcerated friends,
is acting under the provisions Of the
fugitive slave act. What is our re-
dress? In the first place 1t is to defend
them, az they have been defended,
ably and %eloquently, before the court
where they are indicted. Some per
sons claim that the law itself is uncon-
stitutionaL If improperly made, al
claimed, it Is no law, and every step
taken under il is a nulity. The proper
course under this impression is to apply
TO our own tribunals for relief 4 =
"The case of our ~incsrcerated
friends has been brought before the
courts of the State. These courts have
a perfect right to carry their DEGREES
into action.
I" do not wish 10 say, nor ID it proper
for you to say, what the decision Of our
court should be in your case. That Is
left for the members of the court TO
determine. Ii is a matter between
them, the people, and their God. I
will only say, what | have frequently
said before, that as long as the state Of
Ohio remains q sovereignty, and as long
as / am her Chief Executive, the pro-
cess of her courts shall be executed.
The process Of the United States courts
must not be sighted or resisted, but as
long as / represent the sovereignty of
our State, / will see that the process of
our State courts shall not be interfered
with or resisted, but shall be fully en-
forced
And these are the men who now
propose to d~isfranchise their fellow
citizens, and govern them as dependen.
cies upon the country, and contiscate
the property and hang the leaders of a
rebellion based upon their own doc
trine, and which they themselves had
repeatedly threatened 10 carry out
10 this Cleveland meeting Csssius NJ.
Clay wrote: "You intend To resolve.
to protest TO 'denounce. is that all 2
Then 20 home and wear your chains /
say, are yOu really 10 fykH' Mr.. Gid
dings did not want any legal proceed
ings' 10 accomplish the objects Of the
meeting "He put it TO vote, how many
are ready TO resist the fugitive slave
law :? And there was a general shout
that all were ready, and Mr.. Giddings
said al would have this voice sound IN
Me mouth Of the cannon" The purpose
Of these men were to try the expert
meut Of civil war and rebellion them
selves They however postponed their
attempt, anticipating, perhaps, that
from the doctrines they promulgated
and the goadings they were inhIoting
upon the South, when they succeeded
in grasping the power OF the Federal
Government the South would be exas-
perated enough and foolish enough TO
carry out The doctrine OF which they
were the logd-mOuthed advocates. Let
these men etire. 10 is not decent in
them TO sit in judgment on 9th rs no
more guilty than they themselves sre