The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-09-17
PRESIDENT HAYES
CONTINUATION OF HIS ADDRESS.

which would be worthy to be pondered
by all of his countrymen throughout all
time. III his short speech OF only two
or three paragraphs he twice spoke OF the
objects Of the war, once in its opening
and again in its closing sentences. The
words have been often quoted, but they
can not be too familiar. They bear clear
ly and forcbly on the question we are
considering. =,
"Four score and seven years age" sad
Mr. Lincoln, "our fathers brought forth
on this continent a new nation, conceived
in liberty and dedicated to the PROPOSE
ton that all men are created equal. Now
we are engaged in great civil war, test
ing whether that nation, or any
nation 50 conceived and so dedicated, can
long endure"
And again. in closing, he said: "lt is
rather for us that we here
highly resolve that the dead shall not
have died i'll vain; that the nation shall,
under God, have new birth of freedom
and that Government OF the people, by
the people, and for the people, shall not
perish from the earth"
No statement of the true objects of the
war more complete than this has ever
been made II includes them all-Na-
tionality, Liberty, Equal Rights, and
Self-Goyenment. These are the princi-
pies for which the Union soldier fought,
and which it was his aim to maintain
and to perretuate.
If any one supposes that that con-
struction Of our National Constitution
which is known as the State-rights doe
trine, is consistent with sound principles
let him consider few paragraphs from
Mr.. Lincoln's first message to Congress
at the extra session Of 1861.
Speaking Of what was called the right
of pea pful seccssion-that is, secession il
accordance with the Rational Constitu
tion--he said;
This sophism derives much, perhap
the whole, of its currency from the as
sumption that there is some omnipoten
and sacred supremacy pertaining to
State--to each State of our Federal Union
Our States have neither more nor les
power than hat reserved 20 them in the
Union by the Constitution, no one O
them ever having been State out of the
Union. The original ones passed iutt
the Union even before they cast off theil
British colonial Gependeuce and the new
ones each came into the Union directly
from a condition Of dependence, except
ing Texas And even Texas, in its tenn
porary independence, was never deslg
mated State, The new ones only took
The designation of States ON coming into
the Union, while that name was frs
adopted for the cid ones in and by the
Declaration Of Independence. Therein
the UNITED Colonies were declared t'
be free and independent States bu
even then, the object plainly Wa
not to declare their independence o
one another, or of the Union, but directl,
The contrary, as their mutual pledge, ant
their mutual action, before, at the time
and afterwards, abundantly show. The
express plightng of faith by each and al
of the original thirteen, in the articles o
Confederation, two years later. that thl
Union shall be perpetual, is most conclu
Sive. Having never been States, eithe
in substance or in name, outside OF tht
Union, whence this magical omnipotenc'
Of 'State-riGhts,' asserting Il claim Of pow
nr to lawfully destroy the Union itself
Much is said about the sovereignty o
the States; but the word. even, is not il
the National Constitution, nor, as is be
Iieved in any of the State Constitutions
What is Sovereignty in the politca
sense Of the term? Would it be ia
wrong TO define it "A political communi
ty, without political superior? Toste
by this, no one of our States except Texa
ever was q sovereignty; and even Texa
gave up the character on coming into tn
Union; by which act she acknowledge
the Constitution of the United State
and the laws and treaties Of the Unite
States made in pursuance Of the Constitl
ton, to he, for her, thosupremc law of til
land. The States have their 8tatr
in the Union and they have IL
other legal status. If they break frol
this, they can only do 50 against Law
and by revolution. The Union, aud nC
themselves separately, procured the
Independence and their liberty. b
conquest, or purchase, the Union CAV
each of them whatever Of independent
and liberty it has. The Union is olde
than any Of the States; and, in fact,
created them as States, Originally, som
dependent colonies made the Union, ant
in turn, the Union threw off their old d'
pendence for them, and made thcl
States, such as they are. Not one ,
them ever had State Constitution ind
pendent of the Union. OF course, it
not forgotten that all the new Stat
framed their constitutions before the
entered the Union; nevertheless, depen,
cnt upon, and preparatory to, comir
into the Union"
uestionably the States have IL
powers and rights reserved to them
and by the National Constitution, al
upon this point, in another part Of til
great message, Mr.. Lincoln says:
"This relative matter OF National POI
and State rights, as a principal, is !
other than the principle Of generali
and locality. Whatever concerns t
whole should be eonfded to the whole
to the General Government; while VIII;
II Il. IL