, 1874-11-12
A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE,

Tho statement made by TIE TRIBUNE, that IA
party IL simply q voluntary organization Of citi-
zouH unitod to carry into OBJECT certain principles
and purposes" is criticised by ono Of the jour-
nn1s Of the day Which affects contempt for the
Judgment mud opinions Of tho public, and oon-
stitutoB a sort Of oracle which mankind must
obey. In the caao Of the shest In question there
is not even the psetcnse Of independent Journal
ism that papor ia party to ITSELF and meets
tho proycrbial success Of the man aho acts u
his own attorney
It is argued thut members Of both political
parties arc divided On various questions, and
that, being 80 divided, they arc held together by
some bond which procludes tho idea Of voluu.
tary Organization; nnd wo are challenged to sug-
gest any necessity for any party organization, or
to Indicate any point wherein tho two parties
havo, as such, auy material difference. Tnero
Aavo been opposing parties from the foundation
Of tue Government, and opposed to eaoh other
upon certain principles Of Government. That
separation of parties on TINT aano priuci-
pie exista to-day us strongly % it over
did. Ono OF tho fundamental questions
at issue is, is tho United Etatos D
nation, with distinct aud defined nationality,
possessing all the powers and attributes neccs~
sary to tho maintenance and preservation Of q
nation, exclusively sovereign, and commanding
tho allegiance Of al tho peoplo : or, L. 1t moro
coufcdosacy OF independent Statoa, each boing
sovereign in itself, holding merely delegated
powers, and existing, not by tho consent Of tic
people in tho aggregate, hut Of tho 'atatea,"
each acting for itself? On that question thero
waa division at the beginning Of the Govern
ment Washington and Hamilton took tho one
side, Jefferson aud Madison tho other. At a
later day Webster represented tho one side and
Calhoun the other; and at still later period this
fundamental question WAS represented Oh tho
ono hand by Lincoln and on the othor by JefY
| Davis. Parties have changed their namos many
times since the adoption Of tho Constitution, but
the underlying principle on which they hayo op-
posed each other has alvaya been tho same.
Tho Republican party OF today adheros to tho
doctrine 20 frequently discussed previous to the
Civil War, that t1ia ia nation that the name,
| tho United Station Of America, means distinct
nationality, On aggregate people, aud doea not
usoan merely tho union of 10 many independent
statea or nationB aa allies for tho common do.
fense. It adhoreH to tho doctrine as OK
| pounded By Webster, that the pcoplt
arc osizona Of tho Unitod States, and
citizens ia the full senso Of the term o.
| States, bfcauao they arc citizens OF tho Unitel
| States that they owe an allegiance to th'
uu!on directly aud exclusively, and not througl
tho Estates u; aud that this allegiance is Al
wholly due to tho United Gtatca a. it would be /
there were no State organizations at all Thi
| uuiou Of States Ia perfect union. aud not
mere confederation 1t is q nation, sovereign Il
itsof for all the purpoEos set forth In tho Con
s!itution. It Ia exclusively aoveresgu In every
thing essential to tho exiatouco OF nation. a
time has developed imporfections or neode
grants OF power in the Constitution, the peopl
hayo added to TINT Constitution everything cd
eeutial to complete tho supreme authority OF IL,
nntlon. II il not only sovereign as regards OF
ter,al affairs, but is equally go in all ntor-stat
matters. It ia sovereign In all controversies bo
tween stateB and betweon citizens or resident
Of different states. The powers Of this natio
ara to he administered exclusively by Govern
ment composed Of tho President, Congress-, an
tho Federal Judlc!ary.
How laa tho Democratic party stood On thi
fundamental question: ~ las followed Ca!Aou
as ho followed tho earlier expouonts Of Stat
sovereignty. THIS party has hold that ths wa
confederaoy Of States, and not nation. Tit
tho "Btatea" wero sovereign. mud that tho Go,
esal Government was but the agent Of tho State
Tint the allegiance OF tho eitizen ia dus pslmRrl