The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-04-11

all of her sovereign functions. or, stay
ing out OF the compact Of 1857, had tt g
sovereign power TO enter into any
other compact with any other SAFE.
We see also Oy the compact OF 1857
tn b when any SsaLe did accede TO the
compact It ala 80 Oy csdlng only Ger
tain DO @ers e. the Federal Govern
ment OF the States, and that all powers
not so ceded we're reserved to be exer
clsed Dy Gne State In her sovereign
Capacity. We also see chat no ptate
entering into the compact of 1857 ever
ceded TO the government OF the States
its sovereign rIKnG to Withdraw from
the Compact; and further, hat inc
compact itself expressly left ouo any
declaration that IL was co De perpetual,
as the former compact contained.
So when South Carolina withdrew
from the cOmpacG In 1861 she simply
exercised a sovereign Right and power
which she mad reserved, AID which
Rhode Island and every other State re-
served wnen IL entered into the coca
pact aud coded Certain powers Co the
Federal Government of the States.
| Every Oody a. mIts mat the frsG Fed
| eral Government formed, known as
| the CODted ration, was a compact be
tween the States, and that every State
had the reserved right uader That com
pact to wlthC raw, rel though n
| compacb was declared TO be perpetual
Tnen how much truer it must have
been under the present compact, which
was not to be perpetual.
No one aver denied that the States
had reserved, among their other re-
served sovereign rights, b right al d
power to WITHDRAW from the C impact
when it was no longer desirable or ad
vantas eous to remain In iG, until Mr.
Webster brought forth n new doc
trIne and set 10 the claim in his famous
debate in tnie body with Calhoun IN
1888 Only three years before Web
sIer did not AXE such a position in his
speech on the Foote resolutions. He
admitted then hat the CONSTITUTION
was a compact Massachusetts and
all New England expressed this view
In 1915 and came near acting on it.
The south acted on it In 1861
Therefore when the Southern States
withdrew from the compact they did
not rebel against the other States or
against the government sec up under
the compact They SIMPLY withdrew
from the cDmDact ~peaceaoly and IN the
exercise of their reserved constitutional
powers In doing this they were not
dIsloyal to tbs other States or to the
government of the States, but they
were loyal to truth and justice and to
the compac OF 1857 II other States,
which had before recognized this right
of each State, had not desired at that
time to deny this right and had not
desired at that time to deny this right
and had cot decided to do 90 by force, |
there would have been no conflict Of
arms
North Carolina did not desire to
withdraw from the compact or Union,
and would not have done 90 if North
Carolina had not been torclDly denied
her right to withdraw in peace. After
South Carolina had seeded, the people
of my State by popular vote and by
an over whelming majority decided not
to withdraw from the Union We
recognized the constitutional right of
South Carolina OF any other State Co
withdraw, but we took the position
that our State had no Just cause to
withdraw and that it WAS desirable to
remain 10 the Union.
Mr.. President, we did not take up
arms against the government, as Ieaid, |
but the ma JriTy of the States denying |
this right took up arms and invaded
the South by force to amend the com /
pact, or rather to force the South to
agree to the. recently formed views of
the North as TO the nature of the com
pact. The N nth did not hold this
view before 1888. and nobody held it
before that time, 80 far as I have been
able to find. Even Gouverneur Morris,
who went into the constitutional con
vention and fought for a strong gov
eminent and wanted to make q com
pact between the people and not be
tween the 8 .ates, admitted that they
did not succeed, and that it was simply
a compact between the States.
Therefore every gun fred by every
Southern soldier was fired in self. de-
fense-in defense of the sovereign and
constitutional rights of his State and
in defense of his home and Preside.
1t was q most unnecessary and I'M.