Year: 1860




constitution or ia,cs Of any State to the con-
trary notwithafanding."


Under this clause of the American Consti-
tuition the Fugitive Slave Act is perfect and
valid, notwithstanding the Personal Liber-
ty bills of certain of the Northern States, and
notwithstanding other enactments of similar
character. The same guarantee is in that
clause for the protection of the country
against Northern notification as against
Southern. A Legislative enactment by a
Northern State, in violation of the Federal
Constitution, can no more stand in the way of
the execution Of the Federal authority by q
competent Administration than could a par
allel enactment for Southern purposes in the
South. There is way of testing the consti-
tutonality of every law of Congress. There
is but one way known to the Constitution,
and in that one way, every loyal State and
community must acguiesee. A constitution
al law of Congress must be enforced in every
State of this Union. or Government is at an
end. 1t must be enforced despite of conflict
ing legislative enactments and the so much
vaunted doctrine of State rights. There
used to be some sensible meaning to the term
State Rights, but it is made to mean, by it's
more modern interpreters, the unlimited lib
erty Of every State to do as it pleases. The
sooner this Interpretation is crushed out un-
der the heel Of popular contempt the better


If a law of Congress be faithfully carried
out. whether it be like the tariff law against
which South Carolina threatened nullifca-
tion, or the Fugitive Slave Law, attempted
to be nulifed now by portion of the North
ern States, there can be no cause of complaint
by any true patriot or conservative man in
the country.


We say, then, that all this hue and cry
about distractions of the Fugitive Slave Law,
by individual States, on the ground that it
affords just cause for a dissolution of the Un-
ion, is nonsense, or it is madness. We have
yet to learn that q United States Marshal,
with respectable Federal power to back him,
has failed to execute the Fugitive Slave Law
in any of the free States If he has not had
sufficient power to back him, whose fault was
1t but either his own in not applying for it, or
that of the Administration in refusing it
when it was applied for. There is no getting
around the plain fact, that it is within the
ability of the Federal Gov ernment to enforce
the Fugitive Slave Law. We believe that
the most palpable violations of that law have
| occurred during an administration supposed
to have been thoroughly controlled by the
South. Why was that Administration not
urged up to the point of determined en-
forcement of the law in all those cases We
very much fear that mere excuse was
wanted for the movements now on foot by
the conspirators ofeertan sections.


But that is neither here nor there. The
point We contend for is this: That the
clause of the Constitution above quoted is q
full guarantee of the enforcement of the Fu-
gitive Slave Law, if there be President in
the chair fit for the position, or who is at all
willing to execute constitutional act. Abe
Lincoln has declared his intention to enforce
that law. In other words he is going to put
down notification in the North as Jackson
put down notification in the South. Now,
we say, let him do it, and, ifhe does, let him
be sustained by the public sentiment of the
country.


Because some Of the Northern States, in
wholly unjustifable manner, feel like doing
what South Carolina felt like doing in Jack
sons time it affords no reason for the disso-
luton of the Union. We presume the su-
preme law of the land can be executed now
as well as it was executed formerly. and. un
til the General Government proves itself
wholly incapable of enforcing the laws which
Congress has enacted, there is no sense in
supposing that dissolution can take place
we believe in trying the strength of the
General Government, as it was tried by
Washington in the celebrated whiskev re-
bellion in the North, and by jackson in the
no less celebrated notification business of
South Carolina. We believe that the FEEDER.
al Government would be sustained by the
IL
be sustained, if it is indeed so poor and
worthless thing as some upstart theorists
would have us believe, the sooner we know
1t the better. We are of the opinion that it
is potent in the armor of the Constitution.
and that THE PEOPLE of this Union will see to
it, that "the Constitution and the laws of the
United States made in pursuance thereof.
shnH be the supreme law of the land, any,
thing in the Constitution or laws of any
State to the contrary notwithstanding"


SENATOR TooMBs is reported to be in favor
OF a consolidated Southern republic, and of
obliterating State lines.-Erchdnge.


Senator Toombs is making himself ridicu-
lous. He used to be great Union man in
1850, and was against Secession, teeth and
toe nail" Now, he stands on the Nullifca-
ton and Secession principle, which declares
that States are in all respects independent of