Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-07-06

not been recorded as far as I know.
Neither President Davis. in his Rise
ana Fall of the Confederate Govern
ment," nor Mr.. Stephens. in his War
Between the States" anywhere men,
tlon the subject. and the only light
which can now be shed on the question
are the contemporaneous reports of the
debates in Congress, in the Enquirer,
the Examiner and the Dispatch of that
period.
The files OF these papers lire not ac-
cessiole to me. but l get q glimmer of
or the reason from statement to me
by Judge Keith. of the Supreme Court.
lie told me that when he was on
picket duty he read by the light of n
campfire long and venomous attack
or Senator Wigfall on John Marshall
ana the ccntralizing tendencies of the
Supreme Court of the United States.
Now. when you touch one Fauquier
man the blood of every other Fauquier
man, Whether on picket or on the SUI
preme bench, grows red-hot. and l
have no doubt that when the young
cavalryman read this attack on his
countryman and kinsman. his eyes got
red and he blowed and pulled, and
just wished he had him at sabre's
length. That's the way they used to
do in Fauquier. AS everybody knows,
they've all joined the Young MEMS
H..
is joke. for l don't want some fellow
from about Warrenton writing to know
If l meant anything disrespectful TO
Fauquier. sab, | don't and | love
every one of them; God bless ENID
Judge Keith's "reminiscences gives
me the clue to the reason. From the
time of the resolution of 1889. the
States Right party had been firm in
their opposition to common arbitcr."
Mr.. Madison. in his report. had laid
down the law. that in case OF an in
fringement of States rights by the COM
mon aSent-the Federal government
each State must be the judge of the
wrong done her. and OF the mode and
measure OF redress.
The kentucky resolutions Of l79S were
drawn by Mr.. Jefferson. They declared
that the several States, composing the
United States of America. are not unit
ed on the principle OF unlimited sub
mission to their general government.
but that by compact under the style
and title of the Constitution of the
thereto. they constituted a general
government for special purposes. dele
gates to that government certain de-
Unite powers, rescrving to each State
for itself the residuary mass of right
to their own scif-government. and that
sumes undelegated power, it's acts are
unauthorized, void, and of 10 force;
that to this compact each State acecd-
ed as Il State and is an integral party
that the government created by this
compact was not made the exclusive
judge of the power delegated to itself,
since that would have made discretion
and not the Constitution, the measure
of its own powers: but as in all cases
of compact among parties having no
common judge, each party has an equal
right TO judge for itself. as we'll OF In
fraction as of the mode and measure
of redress" On this platform Mr.. JET
ferson was elected President in 1900.
overthrowing John Adams and the
Federal party.
1t was the conversions of the Demo
cratic faith. and the government was
administered on it in the main from 1900
to 1861. excepting the intersigna of John
Quincy. of Andrew Jackson. and OF Mil
lard Fillmore. The National Demo-
cratic convention affirmed it time and
again. But John Marshall. in the SUI
preme Court, steadily enlarged the dele
gated power of the common agent. and
the northern people generally lest sight
OF the nature of the Federal Govern
ment, and. applying the principle Of the
resolutions of 1885, in the case of seces-
sion. set itself up ''to Judge for itself.
as we'll of infraction as Of the mode ana
measure of redress"
Mr.. Calhoun wrote his book to estnb-
lish the proposition. and 1 can we'll un-
uerstand how President Davis, Sena-
tors Wigfall, Mason and Hunter all
agreed that there should be no SUI
preme Court. the creature OF the Fede-
raj authority. to become common
arbiter' in all time in disputes between
states or between States and the Fede-
raj Government. The conclusion ar
rive ut is that there was no Supreme
Court because the Confederate states
would not tolerate Il common arbiter''
appointed by their agent the Confede-
rate Government.
BRADLEY II. JOHNSON.
me Woodlands. Amelia Courthouse.
Va. June 90 1892