The sun., 1893-07-09

\ dtsputable truth that a federal constitution u
p not necessarily n perfect constitution: tina,
Z the federal form OF government enjoys nc
a immunity from the various weaknesses
t and dangers which beset all forms ol
. government. Our author thought that the
: facts might be held to demonstrate the
: existence Of mismanagement In the con-
) duct OF the American republic; and writ
Ing We repeat, in 1S82-03. he was inclined
to admit that circum mstances had rendered IL
undesirable that the whole Union should re-
!; main united by q single federal bond. Yet.
, even conceding this, he insisted that the facts
proved no moro against federalism In the abb
} stract than tho misgovernment OF particular
kings and the occasional disruption Of their
Kingdoms proved against mon archy In tho alb
stract. At this stage OF my work." he says.
L desire to keep myself as clear rs possible
from the tangled maze OF recent Ameri-
can politics. l postpone to later
stage any definite judgment on questions
which have rs yet hardly become matters Of
history. am not now concerned to Judge be-
tween North and South: to act as the accuser
or the champion either OF President Lincoln
or OF President Davis. have to deal only with
such mistaken inerences from recent events
as affect the general question OF federal gov
ernment am not concerned to defend either
Mr. Lincoln or Mr. Davis; but am concerned
to answer any differences which reflect on the
wisdom either Of Markos and Aratos. or OF
Washington and Hamilton. The South has
seeded from the North: whether rightly or
wrongly do not here pronounce"
Prof. Freeman goes on to aver. however. that,
TO say the least. there can be no doubt that
| plausible case could be made out on behalf Of
secession on the ground OF expcdiency 1t is
explained in foot note that the argu-
ments to show tho constitutional right OF
secession carried no conviction to our authors
mind, but the arguments on the ground OF ex-
peciency seemed to him to deserve the most
careful answer that the North could give them.
He would not deny the possibility that there
may not have been tho degree OF mutual sym
| pnthy between the States without which
| federal government cannot bo successfully
carried on Neither would he dismiss the as
sertion rs entirely unfounded that the Union.
| as II stood. was too large to be properly gov
| erned as one federal commonwealth. or per-
haps as ono commonwealth o, any kind.
| lie contends nevertheless. that all these
| admissions. IL made. would provo moth
| Ing. either against federal government
| In the abstract or against tho wisdom
| or the founders Of the particular Fed
eral Government Of the United States. Let it
be granted. he suggests that the continuance
OF the American Union was undesirable: that
1t was expedient and Just for tho Southern
States to separate. 1t is submitted that this
liar disruptions in the case OF monarchies.
In different ages of European history Sicily |
has seeded from Naples. Portugal has So
ceded from Spain. Greece has seeded from |
Turkey. and Belgium has seeded from Hol- |
land. These examples have not been looked |
upon as proving tho inherent weakness and |
absurdity of monarchies Tho secession of |
South Carolina and her sister States went eX- |
actly as far and no further to prove the in
hnr mt ,l-,,r, 4
What all these instances prove is merely this.
that both under monarchies and under feder-
alton States are sometimes Joined together
which conceivably had better be separated. So
lar from the disruption OF the Union. which
Prot freeman supposed would be permanent.
proving in his opinion anything against fed
eralism in theory. II did not even. he thought
prove anything against tho concrete example
OF the American Union as it came forth from
the hands of its founders. 1t ie pointed out
that those founders when they legislated for
thirteen States on the Atlantic border, could
not foresee the enormous extension OF the
republic from ocean to ocean. Neither could
they foresee those vast diversities Of interest
and feeling which were afterward to arise be-
tween the different sections Of the original
Union. Tho opposition between slaveholding
and non -slaveholding States. between agri-
cultural and manufacturing States. did not
lean Constitution Could they have foreseen
all that was to happen after their day. WASH
inEton and his colleagues would have been
not merely the wise but fallible men which
they undoubtedly were. but unerring prophets |
q character to which they laid no claim.
The strongest point made. however. by Prof
Freeman was that, after all. the Southern
States had. in their very secession. paid the
highest tribute conceivable to the general prln-
ntF,tn - faIA ti1n ID |
federal government only to set up another.
Their first act was to reGuact the old
federal Constitution. with only such changes
in detail as the experience Of seventy yearS
seemed to them to require for what they
deemed their interest. That Belgium, In
separating from the Dutch monarchy, still re-
manned kingdom. proves far more in favor OF ..
than its separation proves against
1t. So. in our authors judgment, the
fact that the Southern States. In separating
from the old Federal Union. forthwith set up l
a new Federal Union OF their own. proved far 5
more in favor OF Federalism In the abstract
Than their separation proved against 1t. This Q
Is after all only passing and. so to speak, '
alluslon. Prof. Freeman ab- 8
stains not only from entering In the first vol 8
ame OF his history on the details Of tho then t
recent secession. but even from entering on t
he details OF the Federal Constitution ITSELF 8
He refers to them incidentally only to answer v
popular objections. and to show that events in | i
America. then recent. proved nothing against ]
considered as u system, and that
men should be able to discuss the comparative o
merits and effects Of Federalism and other I
orms OF government as dispassionately In a
S62 as they could have done In 1850. II
Nv. III
Elsewhere the author OF this history recurs h
o the same question for moment and consid- 81
rs 1t from another point OF view. lie repeats O.
hat no one who really understands the posi-
lon OF the United States at the time when F
heir Federal Constitution was formed, will In
oubt that the establishment OF q Federal sys- 1,
em was absolutely the only course open to Il
he founders OF the republic. Thirteen fnde- s.
endent and possibly hostile common Il
Iealths would not present desirable alterna- et
I've. A consolidated State OF thirteen conn In