The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-01-11
niJI,moNd 1ispatch.
.a Platform for the Northern

N,opocrais - IA NV ssSSS"'A SSSA
t,c ConstitustanaE,y effected.
S ~. address Of the Conservatives of
!" -. 70 the people of the United States,
/ '. ,,.sn VIC suppose, by Hon. Herschel V.
H' ',,n We fad The following striking ar
''"'S which we commend to the atten-
- al true friends Of the Union IN the
,,u, States. Il will well repay any
far the trouble Of q careful perusal:
~, hcr TO offer another view for the
N',,nSiieration Of the northern people.
4 ~" . o1noSt universally contend that Sc
*; :" WAS nullity. The war having so
('s Coed il as q question Of practice, it is
'' ,'sncrssary now to contest il as qucs-
~. - light. Then, let the assumption be
~" .,,rd. It follows, then, that not only
FINANCE Of secession was void, but
49, ... eli The subsequent pcoccedingS-the
", ';-n fabric icrected upon it-were also
"a This fabric was the State govern
,'.s which were in existence and in opc-
..:nn when the Confederate arms were
'.,,,.,rcndcrea and the war was tcrmi-
.,,nl These State governments were
..rl.,I NecauSc they were built on q
,.-ooch If the true constitutional re!a-
.''n hr,wcen the States and the Fede-
49, Government. These propositions are
..r, mon the assumption that Sc
.,s,;oD was a nullity, as insisted upon
Is the northern people. 1t follows from
Ganl that the States were never out OF
,ts Union, and that they retained their
...h+ ia continue as such, however their
r.,;1}c organization and constitutional re-
Ions NAV have been disturbed by ScceS-
.on. So far, all is plain and easy. The
rryt step is the beginning of the difficulty.
r.tbcSc State governments were VOID, and
.arrcforc fell with the Confederate cause,
low can their places be constltutlonally
.rppIicd? Can it BIO done by RECONSTRUCT
,r? By new State governments con-
t-rcied by the President, Congress, or any
cher power? Surely not. No depart
gcnt of the Government Of the United
safes. nor all Of them combined, is IN
Vested with power to construct govern
a,nts for the States. Instead of being
conferred by the Constitution, it is pal
pahly inconsistent with it. The duty,
and the whole duty Of the United States
with respect to the State governments Is
clearly defined in, the Constitution. Ihat
duty is to guarantee to every State re-
publican form OF government; TO guarantee
il. not TO crccte ito preserve, not oe-
,,rov and then reconstruct 1t. Can You
Guarantee what does not exist! The very
.ica of guaranteeing a government imples,
1rceSsarily, the preGXistence OF the 60
.rrnment. And this is precisely the duty
which the United States owe to each
>.a,e-to support and uphold the govern
,ant with which each State started in the
''D;on, whether that start was made at the
r.rjoning or at a later period OF our his
~y. Whenever the start was made, each
safe started in the Union with repub-
lean form Of government. This Is GER
.siav true Of Georgia and all the original
.;rtccn: and the admission of other
safes, at subsequent periods, was a
untcssion by the Government, which
i is cstoppcd from denying, that they,
.ao. were republican. The government,
therefore, with which State started IN
he Union is he government which the
United States is obliged to uphold. It
nay be modified in the legitimate way
hat i bv 1I!v people Of the State, but al
WAYS under the limitation that 1t must re-
min republican in form. And since the
+a;,,r, ~ secession. ard the decision by
,ra sword that secession was nudity, as
. 1rrsii0n o! practice, it would seem that
r9.h Stale is bound 10 preserve It's orlgl-
nal relation 10 the Union, as well as to have
ar,pghIican form Of government. When
;n,r,. !, a breach of either OF these llm!ta-
IONS the thread OF legality or constltu-
,ioDality is dropped. All that may come
afterwards is on IN Illegal basis and VOID.
S.ch is the inevitable conclusion, viewing
the subject from the northern STANDPOINT.
What, yhcn, is The remedy? Isl for Con-
crcss 10 Stepin ana construct new govern
Iuentt We have already shown that they
have no such power. But the remedy is to
70 back and pick up the thread of Legality
r':lt lriere It lrns dropped; OF IN other
words, restore the government which was
vroGgfu!ly displaced. 1t was rot GeStroyed
+. secession, assuming secession to be
Void lis functions were suspended only;
is Offices were UuCuttQ but not e.ctihg.!lSh-
.l.' Hence it follows that as soon as the
disturbing cause (Which was secession and
lis results was removed, the legitimate
Constitutions Of the States, which were IN
lt1Cc Ill tlC lllDc vi SSLSSSiouj StOou la Will
original vig0r, and the Offices Of their 60
yerumrnts should have been Immediately
filed by the proper constituency. This
doctrine of maintaining the succession OF
acarv in the State governments is pre-
cisely what was decided by the Supreme
Court of the United States in the case OF
Doris rebellion in Rhode Island. The
duty belongs not TO Congress alone, nor
10 the President alone, nor 10 the Federal
Judiciary alone, but to all Of them, each
acting in its appropriate sphere-it belongs
" The United States. All Of the powers Of
lie United States stand pledged TO its per-
tofmaace-the duty Of maintaining the
State Government with which each State
entered the UNION, with such notifications
:, ii may have received by the free and
voluntary action OF its people consistently
with Iii, Constitution Of the United States.
Whenever there is breach Of the limita-
ton imposed by the Constitution Of the
United States, everything thereafter, too,
becomes illegal and void. The remedy,
therefore, is remission back to the inter-
wptcd ieguL status. Now, the late war has
decided, as a question Of fact, that seccs-
sou broke the thread Of constitutional re-
..;ion between the seeding States and the
United States, and that the State govern
@cnts founded on secession were illegal
aud void, and fell with the Confederate
cause. These fabrics having thus fallen,
he people Of the States, as logical neces-
Nty, are RENTED back to their constltn-
lions and governments which existed at
he time Of secession. All that was ne
cesSary-all that the United States, under
lie Federal Constitution, had the right to
Q0-land that they were bound to do)