Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1892-08-16
COMMON CO-PARTNERSHIP
THE STATES AND THE GEN.
ERAL. GOVERNMENT.
Chase and I,incOlM-The Duty of
Every Southern NIan-The Force
Bill Agaim-North Carolina and
the Constitution.

hS OISS
Bill Agaim-North Carolina and
the Constitution.
Judge Mcrrimon tells THE CITIZEN
that yesterdays CITIZENS report OF
what he said last Saturday to the vet
Grams contains number OF errors. He
says that in speaking of the United
States as partnership of states he said
that President Harrison, grandfather of
the present president said in his inaug
ural that the United States, which he
called "our .onfcdcracy" was like
common co-partnership. and that he
agreed with him, and insisted that i'll a
common co-partHership when one Of
the partners violated the articles of
partnership, the other partners had a
right to withdraw from 1t; that congress
and many of the northern states had re-
peatedly and almost from the time the
government of the United States went
into operation, violated the econstitution,
and instanccd the case of the alien and
sedition laws the first of which was a
blow at the personal liberty of the in
dividual, and the other desperate as
saut upon the freedom of speech and of
the press. These laws called forth the
celebrated Kentucky and Virginia reso
lutions Of 179S which formed the plat
form upon which Jefferson was elected
president; that the leading principles
of the resolutions OF '9S were that the
states composing the Union were not
united upon the principle of unlimited
submission to the general government,
but that they constituted a government
for special purposes and delegated
to that government only certain definite
powers, and that when it exceeded these
powers its acts were void, and that each
state had the right to judge for itself
whether the constitution had been vio-
lated, and also in what way the viola
ton should be redressed. These princi-
pies were never questioned by any Presi-
dent from Jefferson to Lincoln, and
that even Lincoln at first claim
ed no right to cocrcc the Southern
States, but that it was said he was in-
stigated by the governors of seven OF
the Northern States to take the course
he did. His secretary of state had given
a positive pledge that Fort Sumter
should be evacuated and this was deemed
by the Southern people to be an assur-
ancc of peace.
Judge Merrimon says that what he said
in regard to Mr.. Chase was, that it was
understood that he was to he Lncoln's
secretary of the treasury, and that he
met the Peace Congress at Washington
in Feb, 1861 before L:rcoln's inagura-
ton. and told the conference that the
election of Lincoln was the triumph of
the principles of the opposition to the
extension of slavery beyond the limits
of the states, and further that the party
which elected Lincoln would not regard
the decisions of the supreme court of the
United States with respect to slavery,
and the people of the free states would
not surrender fugitive slaves.
| Judge Merrimon did not say that Mr..
Chase said that Lincoln had been
elected on a platform that called for its
abolition, and the south either had to
submit to be domineered over by the
north or set up for ITSELF but that he
said in substance that as the southern
states could obtain no redress, but were
threatened with further violation of their
rights, there was nothing left for them
to do but to secede, and set up for them
selves; that their act was lawful, peace
able and the exercise OF a well
recognized right; that making war upon
them and killing their people who fought
solely in self defense was murder, and the
destruction of their property was no
better than rank robbery; that it was
the duty OF every southern man to teach
his children and his children's children,
so far as he could, that the southern sol
dicrs were not rebels and traitors but
fought in self defense and because they
were forced to fight or surrender every
right that was dear to free men.
In speaking of the force bill Judge Mcr'
rlmon said that the convention of North
Carolina WHICH ratified the constitution
ot the United States was assured by the
North Carolina delegates to the convcn
tion which framed that constitution
that the power conferred upon congrcs:
by the +th section OF the first article o
the constitution to make or alter suct
regulations as the State legislature:
might prescribe for the election of repre-
scntatives, was never to be exercised
unless the state refused to prescribe an,
regulations, or was in some way pre-
vented from doing so, and hut for thi
assurance North Carolina would neve
have acccded to the constitution.
Judge Mcrrimon agrees that TIL
CITIZEN report was substantially corrcc
. cxceptin two instances, where the wront
construction was put on his language b,
the reporter. In other respects his ex
: planaton, given above, is largely for tn
. sake of celebrating on ideas that wcr
= necessarily condensed in the neWSpape