The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-02-20
States Rights.

| OF the HQH 1uUb Gueefte VI A1ohuoH' w
a clevery written article taking oeclaea
grounds against secession as one OF
the reserved rights of Sta:esin our Federai
Union. The occasion of the Article was
the receipt of Morton's recent resolution
in relation to Federal and State rights.
Tie Pal Mall Gazette argues that the
right OF secession WAS not reserved because
1t was .shut out by the very nature Of the
case" 1t says:
| The State surrenders y portion OF It's soVer-
eighty to the Federal power. Inerepy IL
creates a new power coordinate with itself,
| W use authority within lts own range III mas no
legal means of casting off. In all those points
where the State has kept its sovereignty 1t re-
mains soverei gn and independent IN ali tnose
points ia which it has surrendered 1t sover-
eighty it sinks into mere administrative di-
vision.
In an issue of almost tho same date, the
Standard takes precisely the opposite view,
and contends that because the right of
secession was not specially abandoned by
the States, it was retained. 1t notes 10
favor of this view several very significant
and we'll known facts; first, that some of
the States, in agreeing to form the new
Union, specially reserved the right to
secede and secondly, that the formation OF
the Union was an act of secession from the
original Confederation. TWAS not done by
unanimous consent, for two of the original
States objected and refused at first to enter
the second Union. The secession of the
eleven other States is the more important
when we remember that the first Constitu-
ton embodied the provision that the Union
should be perpetual"
The Standard might have referred to two
other important facts tending to the same
conclusion lat, that the "perpetuaW
clause was left out of the new constitution;
and End, that the right to coerce seeding
States was proposed in the constitutional
convention and distinctly rejected.
Still, the argument Of the Pail Mall Ga
sette appears at first sight to have some
force. 1t virtually save: You have grant
ed certain powers to the Federation and
you have made no provision for retaking
them. You have given the Federal gov
eminent the right to collect customs and
hold courts within your limits, and you
have reserved no legal means of casting off
those rights. You did not in SO many words
give up your right to secede, but you did
give certain rights to the Federal govern
ment and you gave them without limita-
ton of time. Therefore you Cannot take
those rights away from the Federal gov.
eminent, and therefore you cannot eecede,
because that would be to take them away.
The idea of secession is Incompatible with
the rights which you have conferred on the
central government.
Bnt, after all, this is only begging the
question. That question ID, were the rights
which the States coded to the general gov
eminent given in perpetuity4 Saying that
they were given rithout limitation Of time
in the sense of the Pail Nall Gazette, is bu;
another way of stating the affirmative OF
the proposition. 1t means, absolutely. Now
that is the very question, and merely stat
ing il is not proving it. Ga the contrary, I'M
lees some phrase were used indicating per
manence or perpetuity, there could be nc
presump tion that these rights were granted
absolutely. 1t certainly is not 80 said. The
States simply agree to form a union. You
may commence the "oTu Will CbplGdl L
if you choose, 30 rs to give an idea Of
nationality, but this lie dong violence to the
ordinary use of language.
To form a union is not to form a nation,
though nationality should result from the
union. The idea of union implies continued
individuality otherwise it would be Wmity,
not union. OF course, considered as amere
union ofindividuals, holding az such certain
delegated powers, it can only last during
the good pleasure of the members when no
particular term of duration has been fixed
This is the natural meaning of a mere
union, unless it be provided that il
shall be perpetual.
In fact, no one eau imagine that any one
Of the States that formed the Union inten-
ded to make it final and permanent under
all circumstances. We can not believe that
to-day single State of this Union could
be found to vote for an amendment
of the Federal Constitution formally
abandoning all right of secession