The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-27
lions to Human Action" We here repro- duce an excerpt from this excellent sd- creeo. "

lions to Human Action. We here repro duce an excerpt from this, excellent ad- dress:
 Concerning Rightfulness of Secession The rights of secession was recognized In all parts of the Union during the ear President from Jefferson to Lincoln. Judge Tucker. one of the earliest and ablest commentators on the Constftutiou, says: Tbe submission of a State to the operation of the Federal Government 's voluntary"
 Another early and able commentor. Mir. Rawle of Pennsylvania, has said: The right of a State to secede from the Union l depends upon the will of the people of such State."
 Among eminent foreign writers wno l made our institutions their study. quote tas does Alexander Fl. Stephens) from De Tocquevile: ''rhe Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States: and these In uniting have not been res duced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States should choose to withdraw from the Union. the ! Federal Government would have no means ! of maintaining its claims, either by force | or right" | Mir. Webster admitted that if the Con- l stitution were compact the right of l secession followed. as q matter of course: and the fact that he never attempted to | reply to Mr. Calhoun's arguments prov l ing that 1t was a compact. is -unques-
 toned admission on the part of Mir. | Webster of the right of secession 1 As late as November. 1880, Horace Gree. | lev the noted abolitionist said in his paper. The New York Tribune: Those
 who would rush into carnage to defy and
 defeat secession would place themselves What of Lincoln? Lincoln declared | those same general principles in lsfs. | Proof that the Confederates were the l Constitutional party is so abundant that l nothing short of many volumes could | contain all the incontrovcrtiblc evidence | But would the establishment of that his. | toric fact complete our fulfillment or | duty? Far from 1t.
 | Our association Is properly not only one | of historic memories, but of vital pres- 1 ent interests. not only one of sentiment
 but of utility. History should be made to l serve its true purpose. by bringing its les.
 sons into the present and using them as | q guide to the future.
 | mothers of our Southland. the pres- l ervation of constitutional liberty depends upon you; depends upon your insulting I Its principles into the minds and souls of | your children; depends upon your teach ing them the application of those prin- | ciples to issues Of what avail is simply the knowledge of the honor and heroism of the Confed- crate soldier, the high morale of the Con- l federatc army. the unimoeachabie ihteg- | rity of the Confederate soldier? Of what | avail Is this knowledge if the young men of our land are not taught that those | lofty virtues can be emulated only by | exercising a vigilant guardianship over | the fundamental principles of liberty anu
 by considering opposing principiess s . n l feet the organic structure or our Federai | system?
 Of what profit Is 1t to proclaim that our | fathers were the conservors of constitu- | thafr rbildran their gi andchildren and their great-grandchil- | dren are not? Is 1t not rather shame: It seems to me that our error lies In | embalming. as 1t were. historic untns | the Contederacy-making them as devoid of energizing influence as an Egyptian mummy. instead of bringing them and | keeping them ever before us In the Xl,an. | living present. Memory Is not passivity. | but an ever active faculty. What lies before us Is, not only loyalty to memo I ries, but loyalty to principles; not only | the building of monuments, not only the yindication of the men of the Confeder- acy; for great and worthy as are these objects, there is that which Is Of even greater importance, the vindication or the
 principles which those heroes and 5h1se n,s monuments represent. Why greater! Tne I vindication of those principles would re. suit in their perpetuarion in the lives of the present and future generations. ana would make us altogether worthy or an tC ID, surrender the right to hold the truth, 70 proclaim the truth. to implant the truth. If were asked what 1t Is that prevents
 our association reaching the zenith Tha Sa misconception of the legal consequences of war This misconceptfon arises from regarding the field of battle as the only
 and an ,rib falling t9 tS eonno that h man action and effect settlenent. but It cannot enslave the intellect. unless we so will.
 be seen that the measures passed oy Congress during the reconstruction pe-
 riod did not in reality affect the Federal organic law. because those amendments
 were not made in the prescribed man
 States were compelled under duress to go
 through the forms of adopting the
 fourteenth amendment. If we examine
 the policy of the centralists, we will see
 even in this instance pretended recoS-
 hilton of the States. and we would also
 see that notwithstanding their bold usur-
 patton of power they never openly ue
 nied the federation character or the Gov
 ernment On the contrary. says NIT
 Stephens, they openly and avowediy pro-
 claimed that in passing those measures
 they were acting outside the Const'tu-
 tion'" This is a most important admis-
 sion to be borne in mind and 1t strength
 ems Mir Stephenss assertion Gan asser-
 tion based on unanswerable logic). that
 nothing really affecting the vital princi-
 ples of the organic structure of our fed
 erated sysem of government has been ac-
 complshed or even claimed to have been
 accomplished. That some or our own
 writers should claim for those paipaple
 usurpations of power the consideration of
 due legitimate measures notwithstanding
 the fact that the authors of those meas ules virtually acknowledged their ilie- patttv bv saving they acted outside of the Constitution" notwithstanding that they never ventured Q submit those measures to the courts. that some of our writers should. notwithstanding all this hrine the monster "cen1ralism" from it's covert place and clothe it with the robe of legality is to say the least, surprising and disappointing.
 Knew What He Wanted