The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1869-05-12
DAVIS AND LEE;
THE REPUBLIC OF REPUBLICS 1


An attempt to ascertain, from, The Fedora
Constitution, from the acts Of the pre-
existent States, and from the contempo
r'aneoas ecpositions Of The Fathers, ht
SOVEREIGNTY, CITIZENSHIP, ALLEGIANCE
and TREASON Of tie United States, til.
obligations Of The Presidents Constita1
honal Oath, end tie reasons aehy the
, ..at,iat Of the Confederate Chiefs ecas en-
dsd. By one Of The Counsel Of Jefferson
DaUiS.
About forty years after the Federal Con
stitution went into effect, the perverters o.
the instrument began to teach, as the true
meaning of it, the identical assertions made
originally by its enemies to prevent its
adoption. These charges were, that the
Constitution purported to be made by tn,
whole people; that it consolidated all tn,
states into one; and that, so far as its pro
visions went, $50 far state sovereignty wal
eiectualiy controlled by "the govern
;nent." Such was the fear that these
charges were tue among the people of tn,
several states, that it was with the utmos
difficulty that the friends of the system
saved it from defeat. Washington, Ham
ilton, Madison, Wilson, Dickinson, Coke
Sherman, Ellsworth, Adams, Ames, Par
sons, Patterson, Livingston, Pendleton
Marshall, and many Others now immortal
met and triumphantly refuted them, assert
ing and proving the absolute sovereignty
of the states, and the vicarious, delegativc
and subordinate character of the federal
government. Even then the system bare
ly escaped defeat in the larger states, Mas
sachusetts adopting it by majority of Q in
a convention OF 355 members !; New
New Hampshire by q majority Of IL in 10s
members New York by majority Of 8 in
81 /; and Virginia by majority Of 10 in
1858; while North Carolina and Rhode Is
land rejected it by overwhelming majorities
though they subsequently joined the I'm
ion. Indeed, Hildreth, the Massachusetts
historian, thinks a majority of all the PEG.
pie of the states were opposed to the Con.
stitution - s,j - 5as % a'7'si
g Nathan Dane, of Massachusetts,, one of
the original enemies of the federal system
seems to be entitled to the honor Of origi.
mating this fraudulent exposition Of the
same. He was the Gamaliel Of Story and
Webster, and they were his faithful disci-
pies. The three may be considered as the
founders Of the Massachusetts, school,
which has given ideas and arguments to
what was first a faction, then an enterpris-
ing minority, and, finally,ia victorious par
ty, engaged in overthrowlng constitutional
liberty. The Interpretations, commenta..
ries, platforms, obiter dicta, ETC., of this
school have finally given existence to a
sham or simulacrum, which is administer
ed in place of the real Constitution, and
serves alike to mask usurpation and ty-
ranny and conceal from the people the
lifeless remains of Freedom, "for, vampire
like, fair Freedoms foes have, in her slum
Der, sucked her life away, and left her
throbless corpse to carbon birds of prey!'
Such, teachings legitimately produced the
traitorouse claim by the general government
to the Allegiance" oof, and "the absolute
supremacy j, over, "theJ United States,
though the said government is creation
Of the said States, and is personally COM
posed Of their citizens and subjects. And
this theory was put in practice in the re-
cent war, for the government subjugated
the states, with the very existence, pow
ers, and war-means 1t held from them, as
a sacred trust, aud which It was bound by
solemn oath to use only for their defence
and welfare" In this We have, par erceS-
lence, the ca'inaen Aeste nsaiesiatis. .-,s.d Al
tUsURrFD CONTROL OF SUFFRAGE. -
Votes are franchises, given, Of original
right, BY the people Of q state, as body
polite, to themselves as individuals, or
such of themselves as they think fit. Such
votes are franchises created by original in
herent power, and are Instruments for, and
the only means Of, expressing the peoples
will. They, instead Of the administrative
agencies, are the real government Of the
country. By and through them the peo-
pie give existence to the constitutions and
so-called governments, these being person
ally composed Of the citizens aud subjects
of the states. Hence governmental right
to control suffrage is absurd As Monies
quieu says: "1'he laws establishing the
right of suffrage" are Fundamental" to the
republic and, consistently, we find all vo-
ting rights fixed originally, absolutely, aud
without appeal, in the organic laws Of the
states by the sovereign people thereof,
But tue federal agency now makes revol-
utionary claim to the absolute supremacy
of the country, aud to the allegiance Of
the states" It's dogma is that of Lincoln,
namely. that the former sovereigns of the
country have no status or rights except
those reserved in the national Constitu-
ton. Of course the Insignificant monads
called votes are deep down in the all-swal