Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-09-26

| and even Texas gave up the character on com
ing into the Union by which act she acknowl-
edged the Constitution Of the United States,
and the laws and treaties Of the United States
made In pursuance Of the Constitution, to be,
| for her, the supreme law of the land. The
| states have their status i1s the Union, and
| they have no other legal status. II they break
from this they can only do 81 against law, and
| by revolution. The Unldni and not them
selves separately, procured their indopend-
ence and their liberty. BY conquest or pur-
chase, the Union gave each Of them whatever
| OF Independence aud liberty it has. The Union
is older than any OF the states and, In fact, it
| created them as States. Originally, some de-
| pendent colonies made the Union, and in turn
| the Union threw of their old Dependence for
| them, and made them States, such as theJ
| are. Not one OF them ever had a State con
| stitution Independent OF the Union. OF course
| It is not forgotten that all the new States
| framed their constitutions before they entered
the Union; nevertheless, dependent upon and
| preparatory to, coming into the Union"
| Unquestionably the States have the powers
| and rights reserved to them in aud by the
| National Constitution, and upon this point,
in this great message, Mr.. Lincoln says
"Thls relative matter of National power
| and State rights, as a principle, Is no other
than the principle Of ga,Gatby and locality.
| Whatever concerns the whole should be con.
| Rded to the whdle-to the General Govern
ment; while whatever concerns only the State
| should be left exclusively 10 the State. This
1
Mr.. Lincoln held chat the United States Is
| Nation, and that its Government possesses
ample power under the Constitution to main
tain its authority aud enforce iJs laws in
| every part OF its territory. The denial Of
| this principle by those who asserted the doc
| trine OF State-rights, and who rightly claimed
that IL was inconsistent with State sovereignty,
| made up an issue over which arose one OF the
leading controversies which led to the civil
| war. The result of the war decided that con-
| troversy in favor of nationality and in favor
of the supremacy OF the National Govern
| ment.
This decision is In accordance with the prin-
| ciples of the fathers On this day ninety-two
| years ago the delegates In convention at Phil
adelphia agreed TO the Constitution Of the
| United States, which was afterwards ratified
| aud adopted. On the same day, September
| IL, 1857, General Washington sent letter
| transmitting the Constitution to the Congress
in session in New York. In that letter he
| said
"The friends of our country have long since
| desired that the power of making war, peace
and treaties, that Uf leyying money and regu-
| lating commerce, and the correspondent eK~
| ecutive and judicial authorities should be
| fully and effectualy vested in the General
| Government of the Union. 1t is OBJ
! viously impracticable in the Federal Govern
| ment of these States to secure all the rights
of independent sovereignty to each and yet
| provide for the interest and safety of
| all. In all our deliberations on this
| subject, we kept steadily in our view that
| which appears to us the greatest interest of
| every true American-the consolidation of our
| Union-in which is involved our prosperity,
felicity, safety-perhaps our National exist
| ence.n
Again, In his farewell address, Washington
said:
1.-THE unity Of government, which consti-
tutes YOU one people, is also justly dear to
| you. The name of American, which
| belongs to you In your National capacity, must
always exalt the just pride Of patriotism more
than any appellation derived from local dis
| elimination"
! On the question OF human rights Mr. Lin
coin was equally explicit, and often declared
| that 1t was involved in the conflict, and to be
| decided by the result. In his matchless mes
sage, already quoted, he says;
| "Our adversaries have adopted some decla-
| rations of independence, in which, unlike the
| good old one, penned by jefferson, they omit
| the words, all men are created equal Whys
| They have adopted temporary National Con-
| stitution, In the preamble of which, unlike
our good old one, signed by Washington, they
| omit, We, the people, and substitute We,
| the deputies of the sovereign and independ.
ent States Whyi Why this deliberate press
| ing out of view the rights of men, and the
| authority of the people. This is essentially
a Peoples contest. On the side Of the Union,
| 1t is a struggle for maintaining ia the world
that form and substance of Government whose
| leading object is TO elevate the condition of
men; TO lift artificial weights from all shoul-
| ders; to clear the paths of laudabe pursuit
to all; to afford all an unfettered start, and a
fair chance in the race of life. Yielding to
| partial and temporary departures, from neces-
sitY, this is the leading object Of the Govern
| ment for whose existence we contend. am
most happy to believe that the plain people
understand and appreciate this.n
On the subject of suffrage, Mr. Lincoln's
| guiding principle was that 'no man is good
| enough to govern another man without that
| other mans consent"
Thus we have from the lips and pen of Mr..
Lncoln-the great leader and representative
| Of the Union cause-in the most solemn and
| authentic form, a complete statement of the
| issues OF the war. He held that the Union is
| perpetual; that its Government is national
and supreme and that all of its inhabitants
should be free, and be accorded equal polit-
| ical and civil rights
These are the fundamental principles, af-
drmed on the one side, and denied on the
other, upon which the appeal was made 10 the
God of battles. | do not undertake to review
the debate as to the nature and powers of the
Government of the Union, and as to the doc
trine of State-rights, which began with the
| foundation of our institutions, and which was
continued until 1t was hushed by the clash Of
arms. 1t is enough for my present purpose
| to say that, as a matter OF history, all OF the
political parties of the past when charged
| with the responsibility of directing the af-
| fairs of the Government, have maintained In
the same principles which were held by Presi-
dent Lincoln. The principles as to the pow
ers of the National Government which were
acted upon by Washington and Jackson, and
which are sustained by the decisions of Chief
Justice Marshall, and by which Lincoln and
the Union armies crushed the rebellion and
rescued the Republic, are among the legiti-
mate and irreyersible results of the war which
ought not to be questioned.
Touching the remaining important contro'
| puhliC aVaWQle
of opinion are almost all In favor OF the faith
| ful acceptance Of the new Constitutional
amendments. On this subject the speeches of
public men aud the creeds and platforms of
the leading political parties have for some
years past been explicit. In 1877, all parties
In their respective National Conventions
adopted resolutions recognizing the equality
OF all men before the law, and pledgtng them
selves, In the words OF the Democratic Ma
| tional Convention, "to maintain emancipS-
ton and acknowledgements, and TO oppose the
reopening of the questions settled by the re-
cent amendments to the Constitution" In
| 1876, the great political parties again, in the
| language of the St Louis National Conven-
tuition of the United States, with its amend
ments universally accepted as a final settle
ment of the controversies that engendeTed the
civil war; Notwithstanding these deelara-
tions we are compelled 70 take notice that while
very few citizens anywhere would wish 10 re-
establish slavery II they could, and no one
would again attempt to break up the Union
by secession, there still remains In some coE-
munities a dangerous practical denial to the
coloTed citizens OF the political rights which
are guaranteed 10 them by the Constitution
as II now is. In the crisis of the war Mr.. Lin
coin appealed TO the colored people to take
up arms. About two hundred thousand re-
sponded 10 the call, enlisted in the Union
armies, and fought for the Union cause under
the Union flag. Equality of rights for the
colOred people, from that time, thus became
one OF the essential issues of the war. Gen
eral Sherman sail, "when the fight is over,
the hand that drops the musket cannot be
denied the ballot " jefferson said long before,
" the man who fights for the country is enti-
tied to vote.n When, with the help OF the
eol0red man, the victory was gained, the
Fifteenth Amendment followed naturally as
one of its legitimate results. No man can
truthfullV claim that he faithfully accepts the