The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-06-12

Interference soith the reserved po,cers as the
Legislative or Executive Departrnents.'i Z.
We conld multiply these quotations to
almost any extent. Here b one worthy Of
peculiar consideration. Il shows that Mr.
CALHOUN fcresaw what would result from
claiming for aud conceding 70 The Federal
tribunals the power to decide arbitrarily
the boundary between delegated and re
served rights. sfr. CALHOUN said:
eBut what n II fthe doctrine OF States
rirhtsl SHOULD not prevail Would there
he nescef Yes. ne pedce Of despotisn ;
fhaf ps0cs ,shich Is enforced by the tdyonet
and fke sserd the peace of death, where
ali TIE vital functions Of liberty haze
ceased" ~
Chiei-Justice MARSHALL tAunsis Of Con-
gress, page 606) said:
"But the judicial power cannot ex'eno
70 political compaots."
This be said 10 sIIuding to the fact that
the judicial power CT the United States ex'
tends 20 an cases " In law and equity" &C.
These words, be coutended, could not De
stretched 50 I, TO include cases arising under
political compacts, - pslI 10
The Washington Globe, General ANDREW
JAcKsoS's organ, said, soon after his procla-
nation against South Carolina was issued,
that It was authorized" to explain It as
follows: n .a i,t
"That in the case OF violation OF the
Constitution OF the United States, ana the
usurpation OF powers not granted by u, on
the part OF the fuuctionaries OF the General
3oyernment, the State. governments nave
the right to interpose and arrest tue evli
upon the principles ,citich ,oere SET forh IN
Tie Virginia. resolutions Of 1885," &c.
What those principles were we have
shown already.
Mr.. MADISON, the father Of the Federal
Constitution, in bis celebrated report on
the Virginia resolutions Of 1893, said;
at appears to your committee to be
plain principle, founded in common sense,
illustrated by common practice, ana essen.
tial to the nature Of compacts, he Federa'
Constitution being a compact, that wbere
resort can be had to no tribunal superior 10
The authority of the parties, the parties
themselves must be the rightfut judges in the
last resort whether the bargain made has
been pursued or violated"
Mr.. MADISON evidently did not hold that
the Federal tribunals had exclusive and ar
bitrary power to construe the compacts OF
the Constitution. n tsf
But enough. The Federal Government
has usurped the power which the Repubi-
can platform claims for it i; but the Demo-
Gratis OF Virginia have never admitted that
the usurpation was justi6able, SO far as we
know. IL we admi: that the Federal Gov
ernment has the power to decide for itself
when a State has grievance, and how far
it can 60 in usurping States rights, we
admit away our whole case; and agreed
that whatever. the Government does is right.
We admit that the southern States had no
right to secede when we c0ncede to the
Federal courts the power to say whether
they possessed such a right or not. In fact,
il the Federal tribunals have the sole right
to say where the boundary is between the
powers delegated to the General Govern
ment and those reserved to the States, then
the States are absolutely at the mercy
Of these tribunals. They have no rights
which the Federal Goverum ent is bound to
respect; because they have no rights ex-
cept such as the Federal tribunals concede
TO them. In a word, the whole theory OF
the Federal Constitution is reversed. In
stead Of the General Government being one
81 delegated powers, the State governments
are governments having no powers except
such as are conceded delegated to them by
The Federal tribunals.
We have written in much haste; but we
think we have made our point good.