The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-06-15

The Commonwealth must remember that
il was not the Dispatch but itself that en-
dorsed the following resolution OF the Re-
publican platform, and by implication GEN.
sured us because we had criticised the
same:
Second. The Constitution OF the United
States is a supreme law, and not mere con.
tract. Out of confederate States it made
sovereign nation. Some powers are denied
TO the nation, while others are denied to the
States, but the boundary between the pow
ers delegated and those reserved is to be de-
termined by the national and not by the
State tribunals"
We also quoted from our neighbor the
following emphatic declarations:
"The Republican party claims that the
war was fought for the purpose OF enlargiDg
the powers OF the General Government, and
the war party having prevailed that the
amendments to the Constitution which were
adopted after the war were intended TO
largely increase the powers OF the General
oyernmeut-practicaliy to make them un.
limited. The Democratic partyrepheS mat
that was not the purpose Of the amend
nsents. IL says that the ,odr odS fought tor
the single purpose Of preserving the Union
as ii loaS and at its SUCCESSFUL conclusion
the General Government had not acquired q
sinqle additional pooer, but had simply er'
erciSed those pOloerS conferred upon Oy
the Constitution for its o'on preSercat,on."
Here our neighbor emphatically declares
il TO be the creed OF the Democratic party
that at the close Of the war "the General
Government had not acquired single adj
dtional power" Our whole article was
based upon the assumption that our neigh
Dor held the doctrine set forth in the para.
graph last above quoted; and we particu-
larry asked our readers TO note that fact.
Our neighbor now says:
"But the war put an end to Mr.. CAL
| houn's theory OF this Government, and set
| tied that it is not compact between soye-
| reign States to be terminated by one
when another breaks the agreement, but a
National Government, created by grant OF
power from the people, and that it is indis-
soluble, save by the consent OF every man,
woman. aud child in the nation"
The reader will see that our neighbor has
totally shifted his ground. II not, we do
not yet understand his position. But as he
has distinctly declared, first, that the Fede-
raj Government is sovereign only as to the
powers delegated to it in the Constitution,
| and, secondly, that "the boundary between
those powers delegated to the Federal Gov
ernment aud those reserved to the States is
| to be determined by the national and
not by the State tribunals" we can hardly
be mistaken in assuming that he holds
that this power to determine the bound
airy between the delegated and the
reserved powers is delegated to the
General Government by the Consti-
tuition. We hold no such doctrine; and
we don't think that the Democrats OF Vir-
ginia hold it. We are as ready, however,
as anybody else TO admit that practically the
Federal Government has psurred all the
powers of the State governments. We
deny that 1t had the right 10 do so; or that
its constitutional power was TighUally In
creased by the war. The war decided seces-
sion to be impractcable. 1t did not decide
that to the Constitution had been added
new powers unknown to the fathers Of the
republic.