Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-03-15

that the benefits meant to be secured b,
! the contract to eitherparty can no loDge
\ be Substantially realized; when, IS &
/ him, the purposes of the contract fail
| when il has become unfair or onerops O
unequal. For then, equally, the consid
GRAFTON OF his promises falls; and ]
would be iniquitous 10 hold him te th'
! endurance Of the burdens Of the bargain
when he can no longer reap the benefits
/ in consideration OF which, and as th'
price Of wliieh, he consented to assume
| the burdens.
| These are not arbitrary principles
/ found in any one system or body OF Laws
4 They are part OF that universal law
| which was the same at Rome and Attn
| ems as it Is in France and England they
are embodied in the codes Of all civil
| lied nations and States, and are ever
authoritative among bsrbarians. They
are found IN the code and pandects o
i Jnstipiau. in the common snd equity
! law on England, the Partidas Of Spain
| and the code OF Napoleon. You will nol
| look for them in vain il the writings o.
Cicero, Ulpian, Gaius, or Trebonian in
! the judgments Of Coke or Hardwickel oi
| Mansfield, or of the American Courts
in the writings OF d'Aguesseau, Merlin
| Pothier or Marcade, or in those Of kenl
and Story. Without them, society could
not exist sor fraud and chieaneY patron
lied and licensed by law, would destroy
| all the ties, even those of interest, which
bind society together.
Nor do they apply to contracts OF
particular class or higher or iowei
grade OF dignity, only OF especially
] But, being the simple utterances or rea'
son and justice, they apply 60 all con.
/ traots, azrsements and compacts, by and
| between WhonlsosVeE made as fully to
those between realms and nations Jhe
governing and the governed, as between
Drivate eli tIzens, in the smallest peeuniary
affairs Indeed, they would, if possible
more stringently obtain betEesn states,
tha performauce of whose promises Is
only secured by their good faith, who
are bound 30 6lle observance of the most
perfect and punctifiOus good faithI Hoe1a-
ina tides, and the only remedy for whose
shameless breach of good faith Is found
in the horrors and calamities OF war,
which equally affect tie innocent and
The guilty State.
Tls plighted faith OF the states was
the only real guarantee of observance OF
the terms of the Federal Union. II was
hideous doctrine to announce, that TIE
States did not plight their faith to each
other to act upon that doctrine, crime
against humanity. The constitution was
ordained and established on the princi-
pse sissss Ev committee of Congress,
composed Of James stadigoH, AleEanGer
Hamilton aud Mr. Fitzsimmons, IN De-
cember, 1852, in respect to the security
to be given fer Icons obtained by the
nation. at must, they said, once
for all be defined and established on the
fuiih Of the States, SOleBlRtg pledged to
each 3theF, ana moi rFVccsble by any
without a breach OF the generaf con-
pact"
Unless the States ceased to be, not only
sOvereignties, but persons in law and IN
dividuals capable of contracting, when
they entered into the Union, each State
necessarily reserved TO itself the right to
regard the constitutional compact as at
an end and dissolved as % herself,
whenever it was violated by the other
States, or ceased to answer the purposes
and secure the benefits for which it was
intended; or its operation became un-
eouaI, onereus or unfair. A State could
not cede away that right, without ceas-
ing to be a State. The right is evidently
of the same nature as in the case IN indi-
yidual con tractors revolutionary
right Wh4tovsr the meaning Of that
phrase may be, or a mere right to make q
revolution. Rights are rights, and
not semi-rights or quasi-rights-
They may be absolute, or cOpditiopab
or qualified but they are none
the less rights. That others may deny
them, endsayour by stress of war TO pre-
vent their exercise, in no wise proves
them revolutionary rights. Colonies and
provinces have the right of revolution,
when oppressed by tne sovereign or a
superior. But when there is a compact,
and one party violates 1t, the other is re-
leased. The law may cOnstrain him to
apply to a Court, to obtain decree OF
recission; but he is not under any obli-
CATION TO perform the contract moment
after it is broken on the other side. Ii is
10 longer con tr6Et. Hhere j. no longer
mutually, which is Of the essence Of
eOmpacts. There Is no longer any con-
sideration for his promise. They are
null.
Every people owes it 70 itself to see to
its own welfare. no State ean ineapaci-
tate ITSELF by any bargain, or by any
abdicatiou of its sovereignty, to provide
for the welfare and safety of its people.
It is quite certain, that no such self
emasculation by State is to be pre-
sumed or inferred. The most positive
and express words alone could prove it,
The Declaration of Independence an
nounced it TO be the right OF every people
to alter or abolish their government
whenever it should be destructive of the
ends for which it was instituted and TO
institute new governments, on such
principles sod with such organization Of
powers sz 10 them should seem most
likely to. fleet their safety and happi-
ness. Upon the foundation, and with
the universal recognition of this right
the government of the United States was
established and all the States were
absolutely estOpped 10 deny the right so
asserted by themselves. For States may
be estopped as well as individuals. That,
too, depends on principles of the law
universal, of universal application.
The constitution was ordained and es-
tablished by the people of the several
States, in order to attain certain declared
ends. Among these are the following :
80 form more perfect union of the
States than that existing under the arti-
cles of Confederation to insure domestic
tranquility; TO establish justice; and 10
promote the general welfare. When
ever the constitution of government
failed to aid in attaining any of these
ends, the right of the States no longer
benefited 10 Withdraw from the Union
ana seek by themselves to attain the
benefits not to be had under the Federal
constitution and government, was per
fe0t and ample.
If there could be any possible state Of
case, short of actual war by some of the
States on the. others, any degree and
height of violation Of the constitution,
of oontemptuous disregard for its pFovi-
sions, any diversion of the powers Of
government from their legitimate uses
any trespsss on the reserved rights of
the States, any change Of circumstances,
making the compact onerOas, une-
qual, unfair, an injury instead of a
benefit to part of the States, which
would create the right of the injured
Stateor States to withdraw, or Justify the
exercise of the right, the right of seces-
sion in a proper case is admitted, and the
only question remaining is as to the sutfi-
cheney Of the reasons for its exercise.
OF that question the State is, necessarily,
the judge Of herself. OF course she de-
cides at her own risk. War may result /:
but the law of Nations is none the less a
law and code, and the rights of Nations
are rights none the less, because there is
no tribunal or common arbiter to adjudi-
cate between nations, and each must
decide for ITSELF
THE Philadelphia Bulletin has New
York correspondent who has seen the