The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-01-28
The Right Sort Of Talk.

The Right Sort OF Talk.
Gov. Joel Parker, in his message to
the General Assembly of New Jersey,
alludcs as follows to State and Federal
affairs and the Louisiana outrage.
The Governors o lOhio, Massachusetts
and New York have expressed similar
sentiments in their messages. Gov
Parker says:
The recent violation of the Federal
constitution in Il sister State strikes al
the very existence SIS;ate sovereignty.
An unlawful blow cannot be Inflicted
on enc State by the federal power with
out all feeling its effect. When the re,
served rights OF II are encroacHe'
upon the citizens OF every State are In
terested.
Without giving in detail the uncon'
stitutional proceedings recently had III
Louisiana, to which allusiOD has been
mad, and with which you are familiar,
it is sufficient to state that armed sol
diers of the United States invaded the
Stale Capitol. entered the very hall IN
which one branch OF the Legislature
was in session aud forcibly ELECTED
members Of the 3ody from the seats to
which they had been admitted W Il
vote Dt the House to which they hat
been elected and their right to nie'n-
h~ersllip referred; and that the same
soldiers, surrounding the Speakers
chair in close prvxi,aity, by the inlin'-
dalton Of their presence in military
dress and equipment, did drive tue
body from the legislative Lall provided
by law for It's deliberations. Al The
time o fthis transaction, unprecedented
in this country, there was no Invasion,
insurrertion Or domestic VIOLENCE ex-
istlng there, and LIIe Legislature, having
the night to determine upon me elec'
ton and qualifications "f its members,
had exercised that right. aud was III
peaceable session engaged in its leylti'
mate business.
Tnat such action was a clear viola
ton urthc constitution needs no arsu
meat. A mere 3 alement Sf a lew iun
damen,al principles which lie at the
foundation Of our system 0l govern
,nent. and which are NJ plain AS To have
axinms, is all that is neces
sary. Tne first great truth hearing
upoI the question Is. that the United
States government is the creation OF
The States that IL has no power except
that wlilch Was bestowed upon it ny tue
and that all powers not dele
gated are reserved To the States and
The people thereof. The delegated
powers given to the general govern
are expressed in tue constitution.
a Another important fact is that the SOW
er..ignty OF a State is complete and
real IN its proper sphere, and from this
it follows that it is the duty OF the sew
eral States. as well as of the United
States. to assert aud maintain, in a
constitutional manner, their several
The student or the c"nstitu
ton will also observe that its trainers,
the encroachments Of the cen
trail government on the rights of the
were jealous OF is military pow.
er. and hence threw around its exercise
such guards and restrictions as made
1t subordinate to the civil power. Be
fore the army Of the United Statcs..can
be used in any Of the States
when there is M INVASION, there must
be insurrection or domestic violence !;
and also, an application fot troops
the proper civil authority o fthe
State The right OF such application
IL in the Legislature. II the Legisla-
lure is not in session, the Governor
rannot apply, unless he first calls upon
The Legislature to convene. Ii upon
being summoned the Legislature can
not convene, then, and not until then,
has a Governor the tight to call fed.
eral soldiers into his State.
The Legislature coull have been
convened. In fact, ON that day it was
session and The extraordinary spec.
was presented nf the United
Army dispensing by force the
very body without whose application
not u single soldier had u right to be
here. There was no inlurrection or
domestic violence; there was no riot
t was not \ mob that was dispersed
md driven out by the bayUnet, but il
vas the Legislative Assembly OF u SOW.
'reign State. That was no ordinary
INVASION OF constitutional rights, but a
tab at local self government in a vital
1t was a direct violation of the
Constitution in its most important
importing the rights Of the
Lates aad the Ii 'ertles Of the citizen.
Nearly forty years ago. in addressing
people Of this country upon his vel.
ntary retirement from the Presidency
nd from public life, the great soldier :
nd statesman, whose mime stands .
ext to that Of Washington on the roll -,
! American heroes. used the follow d
= language, every sentences Of which I
be engraved on the minds OF all b
hO desire the preservation vi our @
run OF government: the legitimate Il
'thority Of the general government is n
.'undantly sufficient for all the pur. b
'ses for which it was created ; and its Il
'wers being expressly enumerated u
ere a be no justification for claim. Il
3 anything beyond them. Every at IL