The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-07-03
.os,,,,,rv accession from that day for

|
Numerically Inferior to their adversaries
"a new contract at AppomattoXT Ihen
NO do not live under the Constitution OF
| i7sg but we exist as states by virtue OF
a contract made on batue-hell. az
| the point Of the bayonct. A new artlcle'
| written in blood, was read into the Con-
! stitution. by which IL was fundamentally
! altered. and by this article we must
| abide But submit that the. above vie"
| OF the case IS a false and perniclous
| one. When, after the four years OF an
] unjust war waGed against them, ana the
| eight years, more or less, or tnat II.
| famous period Of so-called "reconstruc-
| tion" the Southern States were made
! again a part Of the Union. they came back
| with all the rights that they had pos
| sessed In 1879, with the exception OF those
restrictions TO their sovereignty eX-
pressed through the three last amend
ments. These amendments. OF course,
were wholly unconstitutional. But the
stamp Of law was set upon things illegal.
1t is a farce 10 say that the southern
States assented to them, except by con-
| straint However the alterations 70 the
compact stopped there They could not
and did not touch the right or secession
| And the Northern Union" having salts
fed its vengeance. and gone such lehgths
In the way Of military despotsm as 70
imperil its own existence, at IehBuh
paused IN It's downward course, ana re-
called the fact that the Constitution
guaranteed to every state repuDlIcdnl
form OF government. Jney must IeStOi Z
the States TO their autonomy, they must
give them back home rule. IL they would
preserve the integrity OF Federal re-
public. To restore the Southern states
to their rghtful position was an
act of self-preservatiOn on the part OF
the States OF the North. If they would
conserve their free institutions.
But when robbers take your purse. you
do not consider them "magnanimous,' be-
cause they allow you to keep possession
of your watch. nor do you feel II
necessary, because you have been over
powered. to say that you no longer nave
any right 20 that purse, and you "aban-
don for all time the claim" TO II. a big
bully attacks a small boy, and after being
himself first well-cudgelled. he tnally
knocks down the small boy. The latter
rises to his feet by the "magnanlmity' or
the big bully. And the bully expects the
victim Of his aggression to be eternally
grateful. 70 love him ever after, 10 be-
lieve that cO-partnership with that
big bully is the best thing In life Tor
him. and must and should last eternaiiy:
What has become Of the natural rights
Of the boy? Knocks and blows cannot do
away with them. They may be trampled
upon. but II IS impossible Tor hin 10
surrender them under any stress or du-
rance. since they are an inalienable part
OF his humanity.
There are certain rights Of which II is
impossible for people TO deprive tnflF
posterity. Virginia defined them IN her
IDpCl11dtlOD
and acted upon them In 1861. and her
sons cannot be said 10 have surrendered
them in 1865, though they suffered abey-
ance for the time under the mailed hand
Of tyranny.
Carolina, in her ordinance Of secession,
after reviewing the steps that led TO IN
dependence OF Great Britain, tine two
great principles asserted by the colonies,
namely. the right Of a State 10 govern
. ha ioI q { noOTlD abolish
a government when II becomes destructive
of the ends for which IL was instituted.
And concurrent with the establishment OF
these principles was the fact that eacn
colony became. and was recognized by the
mother-country. as a free, sovereign ana
independent State" And, 2fter reviewing
the schemes Of Federal union that led
I'D TO the Constitution OF 1852 the oral
nance continues: "Ihus was estdDlSHeu'
by compact between the States, govern
nent with defined objects ana powers,
limited to the express words OF the grant
This limitation left the Whole REMAINING
mass of power subject 10 the clause re-
serving il TO the States, or 10 the pe0-
ME. and rendered unnecessary any speci-
fcation of reserved rights " TN me
two principles aforementioned, 10 winch
the Federal Government Is subject the
mode Of It's formation SUBJECTS II 10 q
third fundamental prlnclple-tne, ,dM ~
compact. The compact was notorlously
violated by the States Of the North' ana
"the failure OF one OF the contracting
parties TO perform material part OF the
agreement entirely releases the obligation
These are the eternal truisms Of our
nolitical philosophy, and there Is no
power in the heaviest artillery 10 aDIo
gate them IL may be that the mana OF
time has changed the face OF Things,
hut Il cannot uproot cardinal principles
or pursuade us that as individuals we nave
no longer the rights of freemen' or as
States we have no longer the reserved
powers Of sovereign communities.
Many injuries, however, follow IN the
wake of blows leveiled at law and liberty;
We see them about us every uay' ahu
one OF the sad consequences Is apparent
i'm that "eVii communications corrupt
GOOD manners" Living Tor Twenty-Five
wears under a Union demoralized by
illegal practices and heretical doctrines,
we find ourselves committed by a south
ern writer TO such sentiment as ms
eve are as patriotic sons Of the | mon
OF to-day as we were Of the Union before
the war, as any State would find out -
it's sorrow. II IT SHOULD attempt 10 rebel
against the national authority.
As a Southerner and Confederate /
distinctly repudiate for myself and my
people such a mOnstrOus assertion. Be
cause you are cOerced and deprived or
the exercise Of a right you believed IN,
you are to abjure your belief and 10
face around in your turn, and deny the
exercise Of this right 10 others
Upon the formation Of the best gov
ernment the world ever saW-that OF the
Confederate states Of Acknowledgement
Davis used these expressions IN MS IN
augural address, war Of conquest they
cannot wnCe. because the Constitution OF
their confederacy admits Of no coerced
association; civil war there cannot be
between States held together by their
voition only" These are golden words,
and until they are admitted 10 be true
by the United States Of America the
cause of civil liberty on this continent
must eyer be In Jeopardy, for they mean
what oil Americans were once taught 10
believe. though so many have forgotten
the lesson, that governments derive their
lust powers from the consent or the gov
erned" And the governed IN ms re-
public (Which is not NATIONAL but led
eralO, who are the soVereisns' on Whysc
consent the government rests are IN the
words Of Madison, mot the people as
composing one great body, but the people
rs composing thirteen sOvereignues.
Twenty years after the war Jefferson
Davis gave this admonition 10 MS coln-
trymen: by all that Is revered in the
memory of our Revolutionary sires and
sacred In the principles they established,
let not the children OF the United States
be taught that our Federal government
is sovereign: that our sires, after having
by a long and bloody war won community
independence. used the power, not for
the end sought, but 70 transfer their al
legiance. and by oath or otherwise bind
their pOsterity 20 be the subjects Of anOth-
er government, from which they could
only free themselves by force Of arms"
l. VI. r.
EDITORIAL COMMENTS.
New York World: The London Times