The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-02-21
L.LTHE EVANSVILLE JOURNAL FRIDAY

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| legislature, an executive, and a judi
C airy, and still be State, as it is 10
| conceive OF State without COnsti
! tuition. But Mr. Hendricks as>u ~.
Us that a State to be State IN the
| Union must have a political OrQaniza-
I ton. If he means by this that a State
must have an organized government
under the Constitution to be a State
in the Union. then manifestly the
rebel States during the war had %
political organizations under their
State Constitutions, except such :
were rebel through and through, and
bending all the power of these State
organizations to the purpose Of de-
stroying the Government and dis
membering the nation. IF this is
what he means, the result of the logic
is, that a rebel legislature, a rebel ex-
ecutive, rebel Judiciary, are better
bond of union than no legislature, no
executive, and no judiciary at all Is
not that another seeming paradox?
But suppose when it is said that q
State, to be State In the Union, must
have political organization, an or
ganized government, under Consti
tuition, is not meant, but simply
Constitution or frame work of gov
ernment. Then say this is mere
assertion; and ask the Senator why,
if State may be State in the Union
without a legislature, an executive,
or judiciary, 1t may not be State in
the Union without Constitution?
The Senator gives his reason in the
extract already quoted, and in doing
so, shows that he has progressed so
far in his education as to PROFOUND
an entirely new theory-one which
Madison, Hamilton, Jay, Marshall,
Story and Webster never dreamed of.
That theory is that State COnstitu-
ton is not only the bond Of political
organization in the State, but to some
extent the bond that holds it to the
Federal Union. That the Constitu-
ton of State, when the Srate has
been admitted into the Union. be-
comes a part of the National Union
and compact, and, therefore, while
the State may amend or modify its
Constitution, it cannot abrOgate or
destroy it. | deny this whole theory.
/ deny that the Constitution Of
any State In the Union ever
was a part of the Constitution Of
the United States. if our govern
ment is formed upon a compact at all
"a question about which jurists aud
statesmen have differed, } that compact
is contained In the Constitution of
the United States, and nowhere else.
According to the theory | am now
combating, q State Constitution be
comes, by the admission of the State,
part and portion of the compact
that is, part Of the Constitution of
the United States; and such a State,
whilst it cannot destroy its Constitu-
ton, and thereby destroy the compact
and cease to be within the Union,
still may amend its Constitution, and
thereby amend the national compact
or the Constitution of the United
States. Was ever such a theory of
government preached before2 A
single State amend the Constitution
of the United States Amend the
compact under which the nation
exists H
In the year 1916 the people Of the
Territory of Indiana, In pursuance Of
an enabling act Of Congress, called
constitutional Convention. That
Convention framed the Constitution
under which our State was admitted
into the Union. The language OF the
preamble to that Constitution was as
follows, viz.
. We, the Representatives Of the
people of the Territory of Indiana"
&C., &c, do ordain ana establish the
following Constitution or form of
government &c.
In 1849 the people of the State
called another Constitutional onven-
ton to = amend, alter, or REUSE the
Constitution of 1916 and that Con-
vention met in 1850, (Mr. Hendricks
being a. member of it), and made the
present Constitution of the State,
which was, In 1851, ratified by the
people.
This Constitution, which Mr.. Hem
bricks assisted to make, does not pur-
port to be, and In no proper sense is,
an amendment of the old one; but it
purports to be, and essentially Is, a
new instrument. The language is
not the language of amendment, but
the language of creation. It says in
the preamble, We, the people Ofthe
State of Indiana" &C.. &c, " do or
dain this Constitution The SEIZED
uletO the new Constitution of 1851,
says, p this Constitution, if adopted,
shall take effect on the first day OF
November, 1851, and shall supercede
the Constitution of 1917"
/ adduce these facts to show that
the. power to amend includes the power
to abrogate, according to the decision
of the convention of 1850, of which
Mr.. Hendricks was member, and IN
whose action he eoncurred. With
these facts before us. it follows that
! ~. l.