Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-02-10


docs sovereignty rosido2 DO not
be- alarmed, reader We arc not
about "a inilict ~ you II display of
our legal learning or political met
nphlslcs, but only u small portion
I'll their fruits. Ottoursc, II is open
10 writings to say, that, Judging the
trco by iis fruit. We have very III.
ilo of other to display or, rather,
II would have been open to them,
IL we Ind not said II ourselves,
And so, having provided against
this fire in the rear, we will proceed
The answer TO our question, nj
though theoretical itself, hears at
this time on II practical question Of
tho Arst Importance, Our answer
shall be q strictly common sense
one.
The Constitution recognizes three,
and only three, great dcpositarlcS
Ut political 20 YER which are, first,
the General Government second
~, the State governments, and,
lastly, the people Of the States rc-
speclively. Between these three
dcpositarcs tho whole power Of our
political system is distributed, aud
in Que or the thrr of thc.n sOvcr-
eighty, which is necessarily II unit,
must be lodged. Which is it? Sow
crcignty, wo need not say, IS ST.
preme power, and it will be admit
ted that the highest exercise of su
prcmu power, in II given sphere OF
action, is creation and alteration.
The power which creates and alters
the constitution ofa country, it fol.
lows, is the supreme power in that
country. Is it not? "lf not" AZ
Jack Bunsby would say, "why
not?' 1t uHqncstionably is.
Now, in which of the three great
Acposilayies above mentioned is
lodged the power to create or altar
the Constitution of this country?
Is it the General Government ? The
General Government is merely the
Constitution itss | actualiZcd. 1t is
the creature, The creature can not
be it's own creator. Is it tho State
governments :although here,
as the children cry in the game Of
"IIot Butter beans" we may shout
"l[ot !" for the answer is next the
truth. The powers Of the State
governments, like these Of the Gen
eral Government, are all delegate
power consequently they can not
include the Supreme power. There
remains but one other depositary,
The people OF the States respective
~, who scvcraIly created the sew
cral State governments, who joint.
" created tho General Government,
and who at their pleasure, iii like
manner, can alter or abolish either
or both. Here at least, then, We
find the supreme power, and our
question is answered.
Under our po!itical system, soy
ereignty resides in the people of tho
States respectively, the rca abso-
lutte, essential States, that is 20 say,
three. fourths Of which, according to
the Constitution created by al are
competent to exercise sovereign
power. The people of State are
the supreme power Of the State;
the people Of the States respective
iy are the supreme power Of the
United States, The sovereignty Of
the whole country resides in the
people Of the States respectively,
Mark, we say the people of the
States respectively. not collecttoely
The people Of the States collective
", or the collective people Of the
States, are unknown to our sys, ZEN
of government. No such mob, in
truth, ever raised its head in this
system. except occasionally be-
tween tho lines of the Constitution,
in the distenpered and distorted
vision of sectional partisans or po-
litical drcnmers. 1t is the base
less fabric of dream" Tho peo
pie OF tho States respectively form
tho true depositary Of sovereignty
in this country.
Ifthis truth had been acknowl-
edged in good faith at the close Of
the civil war how easily might the
Union have been established,
the people of such seeding State,
the essential STATE, repairing their
own constitution, and resuming
their constitutional relations in the
Federal system, without any but
the auxiliary and ministerial inter
vcntion of the Generate Government,
and in substantial conformity to
tho TO nal requirements of the con
stitution. The usurping. extrava
CANT, villainous scheme of recon
struction, including that most alb,
surd and stultifying demand that
each scceding State should, under
the dictation of the General Gov
crnment, exercise the highest pow
er Of State, as the condition Of
being recognized as . State at all,
would never have been heard OF. |
md those delicate and difficult |
questions of State concern inherit
cd from the war would long ere
now have been settled by the States
in accordance with the
best interests CT all concerned, as
we'll us with the organic law. In
that event, the oak of American
liberty might nave struck its roots
,lceper, and shaken its leaves more
proudly in tho breeze, instead of
being torn up, and rcplantcd up
eide down, as has happened to it
But The past is past.
Yet THE practical acknowledge
ment of the truth in question would
3, this late day remove the surviv-
ing evils springing from IFS past re-
pudiation, and, above all, would do
AWAY with the source OF those evils,
md of an endless cocxistencc, Of
,,t ers' the same in kird but even