Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-03-01

y plausible statement, and the tediousnel
at any time, Of the dissection Of q
n proposition SO ar~tistically put.
J. "a compact IL a bargain betDe'
V equals: q g-OUey77Mleat proper is establis
4 ed Ouer interiors: the Constitution is
q government proper: Therefore, Il
n Constitution is not a compact" Put
Is this shape, the fallacy is readily detect
bic. But II you put the proposition TIL
! the Constitution is q government, b
4 itself, and as ~sel-evident, and repeat
e until the hearers mind is used to 1t, wit
o. eloquent and captivating passages in Ill
{ intervals, and afterwards take it as
e proposition already proven, you ma
I safely adventure to proceed with you
: syllogism, and shall seem to demonstrai
your principal proposition.
But the Constitution ia not q govern
2 ment. It Is an instrument, expressin
the viii Of equals or . superior, as ia
case may be, and when made by equal;
{ ~eUidenctnq a contract between them
" Constitutional compact" and creatin
f OF establishing, by providing for an
: agreeing to, a government, to be admin
/ istered, by means Of proper agencies an
officers, by themselves jointly over tn
people of all and each. The Constitu
ton may well be a compact between
the States, and yet create more thai
a Confederaey-a corporation, instea'
OF a mere partnership: may wei
create a government proper, tina
y shall have direct relations between
a. itself and individuals.' Reason ant
common sense prove that this may besO
and History and experience testify tina
it often has been so. II every league j
but 3 permanent Treaty, q P~erB5dReH
Treaty may well create a government
proper. The union between Scotland
and England is really a permanent
league; but il has established q govern,
meut proper over the people Of TIVE
realms. Every league, moreover, is q
compact between the parties but every
compact is not, therefore, a league,
There may he GOmpaets hat are less OF
more than a league. There are Treaties
that are permanent, and may be perpet-
ual, and which yet are not leagues, and
do not constitute leagues.
1t does not az all follow, that because
the Constitution does not create a mere
Confederacy, league or partnership be-
tween tAe States, therefore it is not a
compact and agreement between them,
and Lhey are not the parties to or makers
of it. Articles of incorporation are a
compact between the c~orpOratOrs, and a
charter is evidence Of such a compact,
written or verbal but neitheV the one or
the other creates a mere partnership or
league between them. Each creates a
new and third person in law and direct
relations between that person and the
corpOratOFs.
The Constitution clearly created, or
recognized and continued, a corporation,
Of the highest rank, but still a corpora
ton, the corporate name of which was
to continue 70 be, as it had been, "The
United States of America" The States
were its corp0rators. BY that corporate
name and person they were to exercise
the corporate powers, by the agency of
certain officers, organized into Depart
ments of Government. These officers
were the government, as the directors of
q bank are the directory; the corpora
tion was not the Government, but the
Nation, the aggregate of the States, as
each State was the aggregate Of its W
people. The Constitution was the arti-
cles Of Incorporation and the charter.
This government proper was founded
on the adoption Of tie People but Of the
People of each State, acting as a State,
independently of the People OF every
other State. Delaware, in making the
Constitution and establishing the Gov
eminent, had the ~ VOICE as AeW
York she is always to have the same
equal voice and vote in amending il.
Always she Il Id lie entitled to sit Ia tho
Senate, to have her equal suffrage in the
Senate, with the other States, and have
her equal vote: to east at least three
electoral votes for President, and have
her equal vote if he is elected by the
House. The Constitution tO0a ratified by
the People, in their respective onven
tons" each People, the People Of Della
ware, for instance, ratifying for itself. 1t
is impossible fDE Ehe isgsF-Je-Hain Of
words to become argument, how much
so ever they msy look like il.
a constitution Mr.. Webster said,
q is the fundamental LdlU Of the State.
It is ordained and established by the
People. They say that they establish it.
We 10 not speak of OrdGiHiRg leagues
and c~OEpacts.N 1t used, he gail, tAe
term the Government Of the United
States and he asked if L could call q
league or compact that. "The broad
and clear difference" he said, ais, hat
a g-0UenRmett is q body polite. It has a
will of its own, and it possesses powers
and faculties to eEecpte is own pur-
poses"
And he said, with singular insecu-
racy: 1.-THE Constitution, founded in or
on the ~ennsent Of the People, rests in
compact or consent but it Is not Itself
the compact, but its rssU3.h
Thus he Coufoands Tie Constitution,
meaning the written instrument, with
the Power, Corporation or Person which
il creates, and both with the Government.
The phrase previously in common use
was 4" the Constitution Of Government"
Strictly sSsaking, The written COnstitV-
ton is but the epide3cG of the compact or
agreement. It'll not the result or ored-
tire OF it, in any other sense. A deed
may be said to be the reaidt of the
grantor's viii, because his will caused it
TO be written, gave it existence as a writ
ing. Bqt the iittC, OF the creation and
transfer whereof this qee9 is the eujaeace,
is the result Of the contract between the
parties.
If We suppoae that, there being 10
superior power or sovereign to grant a
charter, two States agree to incorporate
themselves as a bank, by joint articles of
agreement, we have, first, the compact
itself, or the concurrent will and mutual
promises Of the two next, the a~rticlee
which express, and are the evidence of,
that compact; then the corporation or
ideal person, created by the concurrence
Of wills or compact, its powers and ca
pacities granted and defined Oy the COM
pact, and expressed and evidenced by
the writing and last, the government
Of that corporation, or the agencies and
officers which it, that is, the two States
as it, is to act. If in any argument one
of these is confused with the other, the
argument ceases to be logical, and error
is the sure result.
But, in ordinary language, and in legal
decisions also. the writing which evil
dences and sets forth the terms of q con-
tract, is often itself called tie contract.
This is convenient, snd allowable where
there is no necessity for keeping i n mind
the distinction.
So here, knowing, by means Of evil
dence all agreeing and the whole incon-
testable, that The States alone acted, rs
States, from first 10 last in establishing
and setting on foot the new order Of
things; and hat their notifications
established the constitution between
the States so ratifying the same,
we have The sREe four things
First : the concurring wills and
mutual promises, and engagements
between them, and which could quite as
well have been expressed, and with the
same plenary effect, by enactmen:s iden-
teal in tenor, Of the Legislature Of each
Second, the Instrument or constitution,
evidencing that compact and recording
its terms, and declaring the results to
flow from it, aud the mode and agencies
Of its execution Third, the nation ere
ated by this compact so evidenced, with
pO10erS Of government, prerogatives and
characteristics, rights and capacities,
which are its corporate powers, franchises
and privileges and, lastly, the govern
ment of this corporation or nation, the
aggregate and succession of its offices,
organized into Departments and Bu-
reaus, or acting separately, and eXercis-
ing the corporate 'pOo0ers Of govern
ment' or of governing that belong
to the corporation or nation. Thus do
the States, the people Of the several
States, the " people of the URited States"
by solemn compact made between them,
embodied and expressed in written arti-
Giles, create q nation, and ordain and
establish a constitution Of government
for the United States of America
The DtaGereRte OF IOmg1tude BetW cen
America and England.
The problems of aScertai1ing the exact
difference of longitude between America
and England, which has long engaged
the attention Of scientific men, has just
been solved by the officers Of the United
States coast survey, under the personal
SUPERVISION Of DIR. Gould, of Cambridge.