Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-26

rated States, party to the war from tina
: time to the present waged between tn
. United States and the Confederate State
/ of America; and on the 30th Of May
1861, the People by Ordinance declares
: every citizen Of the United States al
alien enemy. The war still RACES Tn
/ State OF Arkansas still continues one o
+ the Confederate States ; and this coulti
, one Of the Departments of its govern
ment, under the Constitution of the frs
OF June. 1861. Under the same consti
tuition, Samuel w. Williams, electe'
in the summfr of the year 1868, Prose
cutting Attorney of the Fifth JudiAa
District, became ex-officio Attorlle.
General of the State.
Since his election, and under ana by
virtue of the terms Of Proclamation
issued by the President of the UniteC
States, part Of the State of Arkanaas
including Little Rock, its capital, beint
held by the troops Of the enemy, aud th'
seat of the regular government removed
for the time being 10 this place, por
ton of the people of the State and 9th
ers, coming together in Convention a
Little Rock, under the protection OF the
arms OF Che public enemy, by delegates
elected without any authority nom
/ the Legislature Of the State, so far as
they We're elected at all, have adopted
and promulgated an instrument called
Constitution for the State OF Arkansas
under which a Governor aud mem
bers of a legislature have been
in some manner elected or pre-
tended to be so, and Judges OF
a Supreme Court and other courts in
some manner elected and appointed. By
this constitution it is claimed that the
/ State of Arkansas has returned into the
Federal Union, and again become one oi
the United States, or that she never le-
| gally ceased TO he so; and IS now a
party, as one Of the United States, to the
war waged by them against the Confed-
/ crate States; and persons elected OF
pretended to be elected members of the
! Federal Congress by those of the people
OF Arkansas who acknowledge the valid
! ity of the constitution thus made, have
/ auplied for seats as Representatives and
! Senators in the Congress of the United
States.
At an election held in Pulaski County
/ and elsewhere, on some day in April,
! 1864. for Judge of the Circuit Court OI
/ that and other counties, under the con-
/ stitutiOn last mentioned, and at which
/ election no persons who had not taken
! the oath of allegiance TO the United
/ States and hostility to the Confederate
/ States. dictated by the Proclamation OF
/ the President of the former, were
/ allowed to vote, the same Samuel w.
! Williams, we are given to know by the
/ information, having himself previously
/ taken that oath, was a candidate, and
sought to be elected. lie resides al
/ Little Rock, within the enemy's lines
/ and beyond the reach Of the process OF
! this court, and has not formally resigned
his Office OF Attorney General or Prose
cutting Attorney.
The case thus made brings US face to
/ face with questions as grave 9s have
/ ever been present TO a court.
! The People Of the State, e,-assembled in
convention by their delegates regularly
elected, in pursuance Of an act Of the
/ Legislature providing for the election OF
/ Delegates aAd the assembling of such
convention by an Ordnance which
/ received every vote save one, Withdrew
/ from the Union into which 1t entered in
| 1886 They had plenary and unqualifled
p0iUer to determine what should be- or
! cease or eCatinue 70 be, the relations Of
/ the State H.th other States; and the
action Of tle convention, being the act
OF the Stale, was in law the action OF
every citizen oi the state, whatever his
I opiuiOn or vote May have been unless
! there was something in the nature az the
/ relations OF the State with the otner
! States, or Of the Union evidenced by the
/ Federal Constitution, or in the alegl-
auce and obligation OF the citizen, under
and by virtue Of the Constitution of the
/ United States, which made secession
/ only the act of the State rs being the act
/ of the majority, and therefore not the
! action of those who were opposed to 1t
and voted against it; or which author
/ lied the dissenting citizens, after the act
| was consunmated, to elect whether to
! continue citizens of the State or OF the
/ United States, ,-between their allegiance
/ 10 the ore and their allegiance to the
/ other.
When the people Of the State, in con-
vention, had acted, their action con-
| oluded the judicial department.. We
cannot inquire into the righiTulness Oi
/ the act, for the purpose Of impeachlng its
( validity. Necessarily, it is, to a court OF
+ the State, continuing TO exercise part of
the judicial power Of the State, the act OF
/ the State, and valid TO effect her sepaTa-
/ ton froLl ne otker StsJes remaining IN
/ the TuioE Whether right OF EfOng,
| the act "a done, and irrevocable. We
/ can no more inquire into the right to
/ secede, ia order 10 hold the act ivalid,
/ than we could inquire into the justice
( OF war Yg&ged by the State, in order to
/ hold that the war was not her act
/ The courts cannot decide questions
/ even Of private right, when these grow
ont Of the political relations of the State
/ with other Statea o. countries, Gn4 nave
/ been determined by the Legislature or
/ Executive. When Louisiana was puls
/ chased, the Supreme Court Of the United
/ States could not have decided that that
! province wae still a foreign country, for
/ want Of constitutional power t. purchase
I it. When Texas was annexed, il could
not have decided that that Republic had
] not become q member Of the Union, be
| cause OF Jle -artGf constitutional power
/ to annex it otherwise than by treaty.
It is common learning that one who
has made q conveyance OF land, eX-
/ pressing certain sum as the Donsldera-
| ton, can not be allowed 10 show that no
/ consideration at all was paid, IN order TO
/ destroy the deed Ss an operative convey
| anca. But nevertheless there are other
! purposes for which even he may show
! that. As a principal question, and to
/ ifnpesah the validity Of the act of seces-
sion, aud show Il not TO have been the act
/ Of the State, we can not consider whether
! under the constitution, the State had the
light 10 seee,ie. She is vindicating the
! rightfuiness OF the act by var: ana TO
! her Tribunals the act is necessarily law
4 ful and valid, if not because permissible
/ as peaceful exercise Of right under the
constitution, or even il forbidden by the
| constitution still in the exercise of the
| inherent and iualienable right of the
/ PeopIe to change their government,
upon the great principle asserted
| hv the Colonies in the Declaration OF
! Inlpy,ondence. To Us the act must needs
| Te the lawful, valid, ilstiHable act Of the
! State. To as she is necessarily and
( always a complete and perfect State,
/ with ell the functions and powers OF
| State, competent 10 2Ontraq. aillances
and dissolve them, TO unite with other
States, by compact, in leagues, coniede-
rations or unions, and at her pleasure TO
| withdraw from these and enter into new
ones, or remain wholly independent and
| 10 change and alter her constitution oi
1 government at Rieasuls.
Nor does il need, for this, that we
.nould hold that the People in conven-
ton possessed al the powers of the
| State. so as that they could be directly
| exercised by the convention: since ii is
not imagined that they could there exer-
4 Else the judicial power; or that, upon the
assembling # the convention, the powers
of all the Departments and AlEceTs OF
the Government either passed over to
the convention or were suspended. Thai
body was invested with all the political
gower Of the State, and with the supreme
| legislative pOwvF, ordinary apd eXtraor-
binary: and that was sufficient.
The act Of secession, whether right OF
wrong. changed only the external rela-
tlons Of the State, remained the same
State, with the same constitution. Hven
if it could be in rebellion, it was the
same State, in rebellion. Its eonstitu
ton remained in full force, its laws full
vigor, the Legislature still the Legisla'
ture Of the State of Arkansas, its Courts
the Courts of that State. Whether
her new action was so fundamental 8
/ change as to constitute new compact
between her citizens, 10 which those
citizens only were parties who assented
to it, as at the original formation of q
state government in a Colony or Pro-
vince, leaving those who dissented at
liberty TO decline accepting ciu4enshipi
whether it was the exercise of her pow
ers OF sovereignty in possession, or, on
( the contrary, the assumption Of new
sovereignty or the reclamation Of one
surrendered as to such sctiOn, so that
those dissenting owed no allegiance tr
her, are questions that may depend on
the rightfulness Of her act in view Of heI
relations to other States, and her consti-