Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-08-18
Another Interesting Letter from hr'
Charles Harris.
DOVER. DEL. August II, 1889.
ID Re 10 of ~ DisDa'ch :


Whom On the sth instant I furnished
your pal'er with certain facts having very
material bearing on theletter Of May. 1888,
attributed 70 Chlef-Iustice Marshall by the
Chicago T,-lafne. l had other equally irl;
portant facts IN my repertoire winch 1 do
not then contribute, because apprenend-
ed that If | did so tho length of my COM
munication might cause you 70 reject It.
If YOU shall think what now follows mere
in is worthy Of publication l snail not re-
gret the work of preparing 1t Tor your
columns. -,
In 1898 Governor Hancock. Of Massachu-
sets. and his Attorney-General, James
Sullivan. were summoned by the United
States Marshal 10 appear IN court as the re-
of their State and answer 10
the suit of a citizen of another state. Ing
Governor refused 10 OJey ne s'unfnOTs, Ill
though the Federal Constitution then pro-
rided for Just sucn cases ana authorlIeu
this citizen TO sue Massachusetts.
The Governor Immediately summoned
the LEGISLATURE to assemble. and In MS
opening speech said:
- / cannot conceive that the people OF
this Commonwealth, VINO by their repre-
sentatives adopted the Federal compqc', ex-
pccted n state would DO held liable TO
answer a compulsory civil process TO an IN
diyidual of another State or foreign King
DOM"
He also said in the same speech that
consolidation of the States INTO one gov
eminent would endangcr the nation az
renublic. and crerhs1liy diride The safes now
united. or eradicate the prlnclplesto wmch
we have contendsd." meaning the prlncl-
pies that were established by the then re-
cent Revolutionary war. -,
In view of the eXigency IN 'whlcn INC
LEGISLATURE of Massachusetts, then found
their State, they passed on the 2fth OF
September. 1898, the following resolution:
Res5iDed. That a power claimed OF COM
polling the State TO become defendant NJ
the suit Of an individual or lndiylduals IS
Unnecessary and ineXpedient, and IN us
exercise dangerous TO the power saietyi
and indlpcadlnce of the scccrdl States ana
repugnant to tie first principles OF a CoHted-
crate Government"
Accordingly, to prevent the chance OF
any other attempt at Offering such an IN
dignity to sovereign State, Alassachu-
sctts prOposed further amendment TO tho
Federal Constitution as an additional
guard and guarantee of state sovereignty.
and il was adopted and Is now known as
the eleventh amendment. John hancoch,
James Sullivan, Samuel Adams, Doctor
Jarvis, Nathan Dane, and many other great
and LEADING men OF Massachusetts took a
very active and energetic part in this sue
cessful vindication Of State sovereignty.
Ia tie Massachusetts Convention OF 1883,
which reluctantly ratified the present Con-
st!tutiOn bv a majority of only 10 votes out
of 3jJ total votes, tho following important
explanatory declaration was drawn up by
tine convention and proposed as en- amend
meut to the Constituuon-Yiz.: =,
That il bc explicitly docla q that all
powers not expressly dec71tH by the afore-
,t raafrsraf "a q ne D. neral
States, to be by them exercised"
The present tenth Amendments co the
was the result OF that action
by Massachusetts, and other States acting
with her to that end.
That amendment became an article OF
the Constitution in 1871. and as an authOrl-
tative commentary on the Constitution II
self il was then supposed to have settled
forever the question of State sOFerelgh'y
and to have decided that the Government
81 the United States does not possess
original underivcd, Inherent sovereignty
of its own or represent any such soye-
reigutv - existing I'm ono consolidated
political community of individual persons,
such "a France or Belgium il. br that II -
the mere recipient only OF tho right 20 eH-
erciea for the benefit of the States certain
enecifcd "powersn OF sovereignty that
were ONLY sd 'c10'fd" (not alienatcd) to 1t
bv the several actually sovereign parties to
the cOmpact-vIz., the states
ia ,hat very convention samuel ADAMS,
when adveriing 10 that proposed declara-
tory tenth amendment. said of it: 1t IS
cOnsonant with the second article IN the
present meaning the then existing tirstl
copfederatiOn-yIZ.. that each state retains
its sOr,1eiqntV, freedom. and inGepcndelce, and
erc1.y power. jurisdiction. and right winch
is nos bv this conf iteration expressly dc'e-
qGtod to Tho United States IN Congress as
semhlcdn
PRAY observe Just here that Mr.. Adams
terms the United States, under the present
q C0HfetrG''0n, whlchlt right
fully is end nothing more. whatever bruto
force without the shadow OF right or justi-
fcation may nave IN these latter days con
yortci 10 into. Aud by claiming The tenth
amendment OF the present Constitution 10
be the equivalent Of the second article O.
the first Constitution Mr.. Adams thereby
claimed that the sovereignty itself resides
in the States. not the states collectively,
but separately in " cach - state. inat GER
tam powers" Of sovereignty that Is 10
say. not the sovereignty itself, but the
right 10 exercise certain powers thcre0i)
are only delegated, not alienated to Con-
gr 80.
The individual person, or the sovereign
who Geqqies power or authority 20 act IN
sneeiGc cases, most Individually hos the
authority and right 10 recall IL at pleasure.
Those States which ratified and adopted
the present Constitution sad nowhere IN
their acts Of .atiicatl0n-nOr docs the Con-
itself s3y-that the Union shall
DE perpetual, yet in the first Constitution
{ Arficls of C,ef iTdio there Il clause
IN the last article spres tly declaring that
tho Union under shat Constitution shall
" be perpetual.n Il was Tuptured IN less
then nine years from its full and formal
ADOPTION bv the deliberate secession of
eleven States from two states and bv the
alolishmcut OF the Constitution 30 far as
the eleven States were concerned. And
{ me present Constitution provided, before.
10 was adopted 10y u single State, that if
Oaly nine rtatcs should sccede from the
FIRST and old Union. then the present Con-
should become an established
form Of government for the nine
States so seeding. wide Article VII. of
the present constitutional | well know.
Mr.. Editor. that no.tntr the word "seccde"
nor " secession" can be found in Article
VII, but ne would be a very ignorant or q
very bold man Certainly not cOnstitu-
tioral iawyer) who would venture 90 assert
that the trainers of the Constitution did
not deliberately and openly intcndtO found
the present Government of the United
States on Tire secession OF nine States from
the first Union Il any nine and TO more OF
the thirt-n should concur IN ratifying the
present Constitution. The General Gov
crnmcnt under which we now live mad its
origin in and is the child OF secession.
During the progress OF the ar Of lSl2-i5
the Legislature Of Massachusetts passed "a
law lFowlcrl directing the jailers Of all the
State jails "tO discharge at the end of
thirty days all British officers captured in
the wax who had been committed to their
custody for close confinement" if not re-
moved before the end of thirty days.
(" Removed of course, 10y the General
If the people of Massachu-
sets were not a distinct, Independent SOW
holding that sovereignty as older
than. and not deriving its existence from,
the Federal Constitution, nor from the fiat
Of any sovereign orpOwer outside Of them
selves, but were. on the contrary, only
mere subordinate fraction of one great po-
Iitical community of original and Inherent
sovoreignty-tO wit. the (sO-caled) people
Of the United States" then, beyond all
this legislative act was, DC
,ordiug 10 the position taken by Aiassa-
,husctts herself in the late war between
the States. not the act Of any legislative
BODY whatever, but the unauthorized pro-
seedlings OF q combination of insurrectlOn-
lrv individuals; aud those persons who
pretended tn be the State Legislature and
II.