Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-10-15
A Battle in the Air.

NOTHING could be more touching than
the pertinacity with which Mr.. Alexander
III. Stephens insists that the war was I'M
constitutional, and that true regard for
the fundamental law would have resigned
the United States to total destruction. He
continually argues at great length that the
Constitution is merely treaty between
sovereign powers from which each may
withdraw at pleasure; and in utter contra
vention of the peace and dignity of Mr..
George Ticknor Curtis, the historian of
the Constitution, the biographer of Web
stcr, and gentleman who believes to a
degree that ought to console Mr. Stephens
that the country has already arrived at
the demnition bow woWs-in utter disre-
gard, we say, of the peace and dignity
aforesaid, Mr.. Stephens stoutly asserts that
Mr.. Webster himself changed his views
somewhat after his famous speech in re-
ply to Hayne.
Mr.. Stephens quotes from q subsequent
argument of Mr. Webster in the Su-
preme Court, in which he said: az am
not prepared to say that the States have
no national sovereignty" And he de-
clares that Mr.. Calhoun reduced Mr.. Web
ster to utter silence, crushed him, pulver-
lied him, on the Goth Of February, 1888.
Upon that celebrated occasion Mr.. Cal
hOun drew an argument in favor of the
State sovereignty theory from the 18th ar
ticle of the Constitution ITSELF which
speaks of the establishment of the Con-
sttution 6etaoeen the States so ratifying."
This blow, Mr.. Stephens tells us, was
overwhelming 1t left Mr. Webster, so to
speak, in hopeless limp and flabby intel
lectual condition, and he "never came back
at his opponent" That word "between,"
Mr.. Stephens again informs us, is an argu-
ment in favor of the treaty view of the
Constitution that never has been andn
can be answered.
Mr.. Curtis replies by hurting Mr.. Madi-
son at Mr. Calhoun, and demanding,
through his clenched teeth, as it were,
whether Mr.. Madison was not as good
Democrat, and might not be presumed to
understand the Constitution quite as well
as Mr.. Calhoun. He shows Mr.. Madison's
view of the subject to be identical with
Mr.. Webster's, and he follows up Mr.. Ste
phens' airy speculations about "dele-
gated or 'aalienated sovereignty with
the JUNCTION of Seraphic Doctor pushing
an Angelic Doctor upon the most recon
dite theological abstraction. Then he
descends upon the ex-Confederate Vice
President, and asks by what right, upon
his theory of the Constitution, he COM
plains of the military despotism, the
satrapic system, and the "ruin at last"
which Mr. Webster predicted, which now
weighs upon the country.
Does it never occur to such disputants
that the point upon which they differ was
purposely left obscure in the Constitution,
as the great, unexpressed compromise,
that Mr.. Webster and Mr.. Calhoun, rea-
soning from the letter of the instrument
merely, were both correct, because while
the Constitution declares that eve, the
people" ordain it, it also makes it subject
to ratification "between the States" and
that such a radical difficulty could at last
be settled in one way only and that it has
been settled? The people of the United
States have declared with the most APP
palling emphasis that they are and will
remain one nation. The only final inter
prefers of the Constitution have inter-
preted it. "You are all wrong" murmurs
Mr.. Stephens Constitutionally you
ought at this very moment to be moist,
unpleasant body" 1t is the most affect
ing illustration upon record of "Scissors,
if die for it "-Harper's Weekly