Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-07-04
TuE PAST. TEtCHESG TIE PRESENT
TIE ETTEhE.

Even before the late Civil War, ".
had come i~nsensibly to attach TO the
word State a meaning different from
! and inferior to the true one. The admis-
] sion Of new States, not fl, to be called
such, caused it. A State, CT az t~erH'ial-
is autocratic, self governing, Sovereign
over itself. We really call our States
| Sovereign, because they have no Sow
ereign. The American States, when
! they united themselves into a chair of
msnv links and endless, We're distinct
uatioualities, each complete in itself, as
much as Hungary and Austria were,
when separate Kingdoms, or Scotland
and England. Who doubts the right Of
/ Hungary or Scotland to dissolve its union
with Austria or England, If the compact
and terms of union are grossly violated
ON the other side . II each State dis
not retain its plenary sovereignty, how
could they amend the constitution ? 1T
required the exercise of the sovereignty
Of each to make 10. 1t requires the exer-
else Of the same TO amend it.
There is no superior over the States ;
but only 3 corporation, created by them
selves, Of which they are the c~orporatoTs,
and by which they exercise part OF their
sovereign powers, not exercising them
each for itself singly and separately, but
all doing SO together, making the act of
sI one act.-eyery Joint act the act of
each. Each promised not to exercise
certain of her sovereign powers by her
self alone and this promise Of each was
the promise Of q sovereign, a. is sove-
reign word. Each also promised to per
form certain duties and DO certain acts.
Of good neighborhooa. One set Of
promises was the consideration for the
other. 4 single material promise Of the
latter class broken, the breach releases
the injured States from all the promises
made on their part and other remedi
falling, dissolution Of tine cumpal f. the
rightful remedy in the lastresort. There
never was anything bus q ~sophsticsl
and unfair argument made against
the doctrine that the States alone are
parties to the compact and that the
right of secession was retained by each
WEBsTER's, as an argument, was I'm
worthy Of a ~third-rate county court law
yer. Common interests growing up,
and injury to be done to the remaining
States by secession, could, at the utmost,
only suspend the right until there should
be a clear case Of violation Of compact.
These only made it more necessary for the
Northern States scrupuiousIy to comply
with the compact; because if iJ were
violated by them, and the South with
drew for that violation, the North was
itself the author Of its own loss and in
jury.
We do not like the terms " grant OF
powers and delegation Of powers -
IS applied TO the provisions or the Con-
stitu-i5u though the word grant is not
used there. The words lead Inaccurate
thinkers into errors. Ii is true that the
perpetrators may be said 20 grant powers
to the corporation, because that legal
and ideal person as q unit is deemed, IN
tar, 10 exercise these powers. 50 the
people Of "a State grant to the STATE all
the powers IL posses ses. But the reality
is, that it is the People who exercise the
latter powers. through the ideal person,
the State: the CoTporstors do, Through
the corporation, all that is doue the
States exercise all the powers Of the
General Government, through that cor
p7ration, The United States. The Off
GERS Of S oorpora.ion are really agents
Of the States. The States may be said
to have delegated certain powers to
them or to the National Government:
but in reality the States exercise those
powers, through those officers or that
Government. OF course such words are
controlled by the plain meaning and
general intent Of the instrument.
People talk and write of the Govern
ment' Of the United States, as if it
were some substantial legal uni. and
parsonage or thing, having a distinct
legal and even actual entity and exist
ence. II it does not mean the corpora
ton itself, styled the United States,
then it means merely the aggregate Of
the individual officers Of all depart
ments who conduct the Government;
as the Directory Of s. bank means the
aggregate aud succession Of individual
directors. WEBSTER said that the Con.
stitution Of the United States created
"a Government proper over all the peo-
pie Of all the States. What did the
phrase mean? Nothing unless it meant
that the States had created q State supe-
rior to all Of themselves, paramount
over all, composed Of all the people Of
all the States, granting away to that Su-
peTior, beyond power Of recall or revoca-
ton, the chief powers Of Sovereignty
over themselves. That is precisely what
he did mean, and what the North now
holds 10 be true. II is in v~indicati5n of
this imaginary Sovereignty that they
made war upon Us as rebels, and that
they regard our States as virtually guilty
Of high treason, and term them Rebel
States +" in which they are correct be-
cause the States were the rebels, if il was
rebellion to secede.
But both the Constitution itself, and
the ndisputable facts recorded by his
prove It to be a fact, that the Con-
stitution was made by the States, and
was a compact between them. That
established, the legal consequence are
equally indispulable. A contract. COM
pact or agreement, made and entered
into between two or more parties. Of
whatever nature H may be, and whoever
the parties. may be rescinded on either
of these grounds First, misunderstood
ing and therefore the want Of o~nueur-
-ence OF wills, as TO the nature Of the
or as to the meaning Of any
sssentiaI provisions Of 1t, which an.
ruled the bargain ought not to stand
seconds Violation Of the contract bv
or more of the parties, in any essen.
ia! matter, 70 the injury Of the other
iarsy or parties Third such a cbahge
{ circumstances a Tat even without
be fault Of either party, the contract
ias BECOME oppressive, onerons or un-
air. /,
We shall not further enlarge upon I
aese legal propositions, since they are !
Elementary and undeniabie. They are J
rineiples Of universal application, o..
aining as ful8 in respect to eapPsets {
4een Empires, as TO those between I
adigiduasss They are axioms that are !,
xpsessions Of natural reason and s
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