Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-10-18

1t Is a question which goes to the very root,
and involves our national life. Iti the same
great question which separated Hamilton
and Jefferson. 1t is the Old fight between
Federalism and Democracy. When our
National government was first established,
these two antagonistic forces-Federaltsm
and Democracy-were present contending
for the mastery. One sought to establish a
great centralized government, practically
monarchicali in form and to clothe 1T with I'M
divided sovereignty, 1t sought to divest
the states of their sovereign attributes and
to compress the whole into one consolidated
mass-tnto one single, omnipotent sover-
eighty. The other fought the reverse of
that. 1t sought to establish a national gov
eminent of limited and purely delegated
powers. Instead of consolidating all sover-
eighty into one great central government,
It sought to create q national government of
limited powers defined by specific grants in
a written constitution; to make 1t sovereign
as to those granted powers only, and to
leave the sovereignty Of the States undis-
turbed as to all powers not granted. FEEDER
alism denied the capacity of the people for
successful self government and maintained
hat the public good could be best promoted,
and the public safety alone secured, through
the agency of a strong centralized govern
ment far removed from direct popular re-
straint or interference. 1t commended that,
in practical effect, democracy and moboc-
racy were synonymous. 1t was strongly
opposed to State sovereignty, because State
sovereignty was too democratic; because 1t
meant the reservation of too much power to
the people and the consequent subsection of
public authority to popular control. De-
mocracy, on the contrary, maintained the
very opposite of all that. 1t had absolute
faith in the ability of the people to govern
themselves, and with strong hand upheld
the standard of popular supremacy. 1t
stood the uncompromising advocate of local
sovereignty and self government. It was
unyielding in its opposition to unrestricted
Federalism, which 1t denounced as a scheme
to promote powerful special interests, a
menace to personal liberty, and a sure pre-
cursor to imperialism.
Out of these contiicts-acrimonious, pas
s%ionate, stormy-democracy came forth trl-
umphant. Federalism was overthrow,
Democracy was in the ascendant, and upon
sts principles and in accordance with its
ideas the new Republic was organized. This
Republic, this new government, bear you in
mind, is a deliberate creation, not an acct
dental growth. BY whom or what created?
by Independent states. 1t was created, or
ganized, established as the result of an
agreement between those states. For what
purpose was 1t created, and with what pow
ers invested? These purposes and powers
are defined and set forth in an instrument
adopted, first, by a convention of delegates
appointed by the several states, and then
by the states themselves. That instrument
Is the Constitution of the United States. The
Federal government, therefore, exists only
by virtue of that Constitution. 1t is founded
wholly upon 1t, and can lawfully exercise no
power it does not confer. This new govern
ment was organized on the democratic plan
of a limited sovereignty. In the exercise of
the specific powers granted to 1t by the Con-
stitutton 1t was made supreme. But 1t was
created a sovereignty with reference to
those powers only. All powers not granted
by the Constitution were by its terms ex-
pressly reserved to the states and the peo-
pie. Let me quote the exact language of the
Constitution, as IL relates to this subject:
THE powers not delegated to the United
States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the states, are reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people,
The government established under the
authority of this constitution is dual in form,
There are two distinct sovereignties in one