The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-11-01
WHICH Is ar?

the United States, Nation, with alb
solute and unlimited power in the
hitherto called Federal Government,
leaving no sovereignty, or power in
the states as states, except such as
the Federal Government may see prop
er to give Them or are we a confed-
eracy, or Union of States, as states?
Is the Federal Government supreme
in all things? Or are States supreme
in anything? From whence did the
Federal Government get its power;
not from the people, as persons; but
from the States, as States. The con
stitution was made and ratified by
the States, as States; and not by the
people at large, and it is wisely pro-
vided, that this constitution can alone
be amended by the States, at least
three-fourths of the States must rat
ify such amendments. Three fourths
of the people of the United States
cannot do it. The Constitution itself
is headed, or entitled Constitution
of the United States of America,
not of the United people Of America.
1t begins, I'VE the people of the Uni
ted States" II "do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the
United States of America" This
Constitution as adopted, and subse-
quently ratified by the thirteen, then
states, created Federal or confeder-
ate Government, with limited powers;
the states retaining to themselves, as
States, all powers not thereby delega
ted to the United States, nor by it
prohibited to the States-See tenth
amendment. BY the sixth article; it
is declared that "This Constitution,
and the laws of the United States
mot of the nation (which shall be
made in pursuance thereof, shall be
the supreme law of the land" Thus
it will be seen, that as to the powers
there delegated by the States to the
United States, as well as the powers
thereby prohibited to the States; the
! the Federal Government is the SUI
preme law of the land; all other pow
| ers not in conflict with the powers SO
| delegated, were and are reserved to
the States, or to the people, respect
! lively. So then, the formation of the
Federal Government, to wit, the con-
stitution of the United States, was
not intended to destroy the States as
such; or to take away, or annul their
| sovereign power over their domestic
affairs; but on the contrary, was
wisely intended by the patriotic
trainers of that instrument, to pre-
serve the states with all their powers
not so delegated away, or prohibited
to them respectively. Our Federal
| Constitution is the bond of union
between the states, and made by the
States for their preservation and not
for their destruction. That Consti-
tuition created a confederacy of the
States thus united. A confederacy,
| Webster defines to be "a union be-
tween two or more persons, bodies of
men, or states; mutual engagement;
a federal cora pact" And so being a
league, covenant or compact between
all the states, and ratified by all in
accordance with it's own provisions;
it must follow that that solemn com
pact cannot be annulled, or set aside
but by and with the consent and sane
ton Of all the states, in the manner
therein provided. This is so, not be-
cause, as some say, the war has deci
ded that state cannot secede of its
own will from that Union; for in our
opinion, the war decided nothing, ex-
cept that the North was stronger than
the South; any more than personal
encounter between two men decides
which of the two was right, or the
more honest. But while this is so,
| the courts have so decided; and that
decision is, as we believe acquiesced
in by all; indeed, in the absence of
any such decision, it is apparent,
that no such legal right ever did or
could exist The constitution, in our
opinion, never did teach, or tolerate
any such doctrine, as that state, or
any number of states, short of the
whole, could secede; or destroy the
Union thus formed; at pleasure. But
we are aware that the Resolutions of
1898 were construed by many, to give
such ultimate power to the states,
whenever, in their opinion; the gen
eral Government should fail to per-
form the functions for which it was