The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-06-21

tlOnal amendment 10 thS
the Union and which is necessary! I"
aficc, those States only composing 'no
Union. would bc an absurdity, ana l" a'i""
An amendment which States III tue mon
MICH desire 10 hc defeated, hy the votes oi
Sts,,. NOT in the Union, would be alike
nnnscnsical and unjust. The very mca-
.nrr therefore, OF submitting to all the
S,,,r> forming the Union before the insnr-
rnr,;on = constitutional amendment, makes
thc inquiry whether all at this time are IN
,r ont of the Union vital one. Ii they
are not. all should not be consulted. ii
ti,cv are. they should be, and should be
nnIy because they are. The very fact,
therefore, Of such submission concedcS
that the southern States are, and never
ceased 10 be, States Of the Union.
TIE CONCLUSION rroN THIS POINT.
Tested. therefore, either by the nature
of orr Government or hv the laws oi the
Constitution, the inSurrcction, now hap
PLY and utterly suppressed, has III no
respect changed the relations OF the States
where il prevailed to the General Govern
mcnt. On the contrary, they are to all
intcntS and purposes as completely States
uf the Union as they ever were. In fur-
thcr support of this proposition, if IT needed
any, we may confidently appeal to the fact
ius. stated, that the very measure recon-
mcndcd, constitutional amendment TO be
submitted 10 SGch States, furnishes such
support. For locking 10 and regarding the
rights of the other States, such SubhliS-
sion has no warrant or foundation exc, IA
upon the hypothesis that they are as abso-
lutcly States OF the Union as any OF the
other States. 1t can never be under any
circumstances "prottleSS abstraction,
whether under the Constitution State Is
or is not a State OF the Union. 1t can
never be such an abstraction whether the
people of a State once in the Union can
voluntary or by compulSion accept or he
forced from the obligations 1t CnlOlnS, or
he deprived OF the rights 1t conicrs or the
protection il affords.
\ different doctrine necessarily leads to
a dissolution of the Union. The ConStitu-
tion suppoScS that inSurrcctiOnS may exist
in State, and provides for their suppress.
sion Ivy giving Congress the power to call
forth the militia " for the purpose. The
power is not To Subiugatc the State within
whose limits the in>urrcction may prevail,
and to cXtinguish il as Il State, but to pre-
serve il as such by Subduing the rebellion,
bv acting on the individual persons en-
gagged in il, and not on the State III all.
The power is altogether conservative. II
j. To protect /" State, not 10 destroy II: 10
prevent her being taken ont of the Union
hv individual crime not in any contln-
gcncy to put her out or keep her out.
The continuance OF the union OF the
States is necessary 10 the intended exist
eucc OF the Government. The Govern
mcut is formed by a constitutional aSSocla-
tion OF States, aud its integrity depends on
the continuance Of the entire association.
II one State is withdrawn from ii by any
cause, to that extent is the union dis
solved, Those that remain may exist a> Il
government, but ii is not the very GO
vvrumcnt the Constitution designs. That
consists of all, and lis Characters changed
and its power is diminished 10y the absence
ot any one.
WHAT THE OPPOSITE DOCTRINE LEADS To.
\ different principle leads to "A dislnte-
grafton that must sooner or later result III
the separation of all, and the consequent
destruction OF the Government. To sup
pose that power To preserve may al the
option OF the body 10 which it is given he
used to destroy, iSa proposition rcpugnant
to common sense, and Yet aS the late IN
surrcction was put down by means OF that
power, that being the only one conferred
upon Congress 10 that cud, that PROPOSE
ton is the one on which alone ii can be
hn
not in the Union now rs well as the first.
The idea that the war power, as such, has
been used, or could have been used, to eN-
tinguiSh the rebellion Is, i'll the Judgment
ut the undersigned, utterly without t"un-
dation. That power was gwen Tor dine
rent contingency OF conflict with other
covcrnmcnts-an international conflict. II
it had been thought that the power was 10
be rc>ortcd 10 10 >upprc>Sa domestic STRIFE,
the words appropriate To that object would
have been used. But 50 far from this
having been done, in the same section that
confcrS il, an express provision Is inserted
10 meet the eXigcncy OF domestic strife
or nSurrectlon.
To subduc that, authority is given 10 call
out the militia. Whether in the progress
of the effort to suppress an insurrcction
the rights incident TO war as between the
United States and foreign nations may not
arise, is a question which in no way changes
the character Of the contest as between
the Government and the insurrcctionistS.
The exercise of such rights may be found
convenient or become necessary for the
suppression Of the rebellion, but the cha
ractcr of the conflict is in no way changed
bv resort to them. That remains rs at
first, and must, from its very nature, du-
ring its continuance, remain mere con-
test, in which the Government seeks, and
can only seek, TO put an end to the rebel
lion. That achieved, the original condition
of things is at once restored.
TWO JUDICIAL DECISIONS REFERRED TO.
Two judicial decisions have been made
BY Judges OF eminent and unquestioncd
ability, which fully sustain our views. In
onc-that of Amy Warbick, before the
United States District Court of MaSSachu-
setts--Judgc Sprague, referring 10 the sup
posed effect of the belligerent rights which,
il was conceded, belonged to the Govern
mcnt during the rebellion, by giving, when
suppressed, the rights Of conquest, de-
clared
alt has been supposed that if the Go
vernment have the right of belligerent,
then, after the rebellion is suppressed, il
will have the right OF conquest. That
State aud its inhabitants may he perma-
neutly divestcd oil all political advantages,
and treated as foreign territory conquered
bv arms. This is an error-a grave and
dangerous error. Belligerent right cannot
be exercised where there are no bellige-
rents. Conquest of a foreign country gives
absolute. unlimited sovereign rights, but no