Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-09-16

that st the time Of the adoption Of thi
| instrumonx 0 majority q H. STATE,
which rsstz1sd this Coasst1a1toa and or
/ ganised sAe 0ossrnnsnt under =. 81
176o, rseagnA1ed TIE sQnal righs te vot,
Of n tnr eBos mn1e oiei1sne q eaaA o
I fokl go, 3rrsapeo1tpe q ossu9
And - ree0enitino a tbs pfinciP3e o
the eSsaIl Eight of the free people Of tn.
! Republic to epptrol its affairs, did they
| rot declare in the Constitution thai
| Repre- ressGtatives should be apportioneG
| among the several States according u
the whole number of free persons il
each? TheeHeeption of the Contusti
| tuition IN the representative enumera
ton OF 5wo-fifths of all other person,
| than free persons in the several States
was q solemn declaration that the States
which adhered to the slave system, i'm.
posed upon them by. the tyranny o
Great Britain, should not hold or exer.
else the ssme political power in the Ma
\ tional Government for slave population
as for free. l do not stop to argue what
have argued again and again, that the
iIhuman system of chattel slavery was
no part of the American representativ,
system, aud found no sanction in the
! American Constitution. / need only
say, what has been often said by tht
first minds ofthe country, that this slave
system existed not by force of National
but exclusively by fsrce of State author
and continued in the States simply be
cause il was not within the operation o
the Constitution of the United States
and each of the original States reserved
| 10 itself the power Of determining thi
system of cruelty and injustice, subject
however, to the hiSher power of all thi
people of all the States to abolish it fn
! the common defense in time of insurrec
| zion or Invasion. That time did come.
| it came by tie act of the slave States
and having thus come, the people in nc
| cordance with the Constitution, by sol
emn announcement, declared that here
after there should be no slavery in any
| State OF the Union except as punish
ment for crime upon due conviction
| Those who were slaves before the great
event were in the words of the Constitu.
! ton, not free persons,n and in the word.
of Chancellor Kent, "were citizens o
the United States under disabilities
and, therefore, notiwithin the protection
of the Constitution of she country. Now
| that slavery has been abolished the
| former citizen-slaves of the several
| States have become citizen-freemen o.
the United States and all the privilege,
and immunities OF citizens are assure,
| to them in common with all the citizen
of the United States by the Fourteenth
Article of Amendment, which has re-
ceived the sanction of the Legislative
of more than three-fOurths of the States
as also of an overwhelming majority oitnt
country and ii this day to 'tshintentsand
| purposes" part of the Constitution of tn.
| United States, and as obligatory an0
biRding as such upon all the States, and
all the people of the Union as any Other
| part of that sacred instrument. This
| Fourteenth Amendment declares, among
other things, "that all persons born
within the United States or its jurisdic-
tion, are citizens of the United States.
and of the States in which they reside,
and that mo State shall make or enforce
any law which shall abridge the privi-
eyes or immunities Of citizens of the
United States, or deprive any person oi
| life, liberty or property without due pro-
cess of law, or deny to any person with
in its jurisdiction the equal protection oi
\ the laws"
Thus stands the Constitution to. day and
lest the original and declared purpos.
of the Constitution shall be carried into
effect; lest justice shall be established in
the land--that justice which secures t.
every man his due--lest liberty to all
shall be secured under the shelter and
sanction OF American law, this party
now seeking the suffrages of the people
of Ohio, last year, by its national plat
form, declared that the Fourteenth
Amendment was unconstitutional, rev.
olutionary and void, and this year. In
State platform, declares that the Fiji
teenth Amendment, already ratified by
the Legislature of twenty-one States OF
this Union, is subversive of the princi
pies of the Federal Constitution.
Allow me to say. my cOuntrymen,
| that the day of our national dissolution
| is at hand when the American people
shall, in the blindness of party passion
and party fury, sanction, by their bal
lots, this Democratic party dogma thai
il is revolutionary, unconstitutional anu
void TO amend the Constitution of this
country in the mode prescribed for it,
amendment, and for the purpose
making good the end for which it was
originally ordained-"to establish justice
and to secure the blessings of liberty"
STATE SOVEREIGNTY.
1t was the good fortune of America to DE fa-
vorsd IN the struggle for liberty and indepen-
dence and the sacred right Of self-governmenI,
with a leader and a statesman whom the people
called .Tasnsr Of s sas County @ and ID whom @ the
ported In his council by such gifted spirits as
hamilton and Jefferson. Washington recorded
his Farewell Address, that the Constitution and
Government of the United States constitute all
the people Of the United States zone people,
and that the lesls of the Constitution was the
right OF the people to alter or amend it at pleas
ure, in the manner therein prescribed. Now we
are to be told by the Democratic party that IL is
unconstitutional
that an amendment proposed by two-thirds OF
the Congress of the United states and ratifieu
by three-fourths of the States is of itself uncGn
stitutional and void; and that the Fifteenth
Amendment now proposed, on the ratification
the Republic should be resisied by the people OF
ohio as an invasion of the rignts OF the States.
| and -subversive Of ths principles of the FEEDER
The people have suffered enough from this
Democratic cry of Stste Sovereignty. A sover-
Sse sxsr.s AZ, gSey tSsy of necs
| and war which are essential to nationality. A
sovereign State, therefore, must have the power
| must have the power 70 make treaties, CONNER
| cial offensive and defensive, and must have
| power to enter into confederation with otheI
Is it not written in the Constitution that Con-
gress shnll have power to regulate commerce
among the several states OF this Union, with
| the Indian tribes, and all foreign nations-thal
/ the President shall have power, by and with
the advice and consent Of the Senate, 20 make
| treaties-that no State shall enter into any
| treaty, alliance or consideration, nor lay Any
| imposts duties upon imports or exports, nol
| emit bills of credit, nor make any law abridg-
| ing the privileges and immunities of the citi-
zens Of each State, shall be entitled to all the
privileges and immunities OF citizens of the
several States; that all executive, Legislative
and judicial Officers of the several States shall
be bound by oath 10 support the Constitution o.
| the United States; that this Constitution and
| the laws and treaties made in pursuance there
| OF shall be the supreme Law oftheland, and the
| Juds es In every State shall be bound thereby
| snythinC In the constitution and laws Of any
State to the contrary Notwithstanding, and, f.
pally, that Congress may propose amendments
to the Constitution, which. when ratified by the
Legislatures Of three-fourths of the several
States shall be valid to all intents and purposes
as part OF this Constitution?
| These words of the Constitution, familiar &c
| the people, constitute my answer TO this dema-
| gogue cry that the rights Of the States are IN
| vaded and ''principies OF the Constitution sub
Yertadn by airaendrnanta propoSed by Congress