Year: 1861

| oehce Tor them and mad; them States, such the
are Not one oi them ever had a State Cunstitu
ton independent of the U0On.


. vi course it is not forgotten thPt all the new
! states framed their Constitutions before they en-
! tered the Union, nevertheless dependent upon ant
| preparatory to coming into the Union.


UnquestionabIy the States have powers ant
| rights reserved to them in and by the Natona
! Constitution; but among these surely are not in
| cluded all conceivable powers, however mischie
vous or destructive, but at most such only a
were known in the world at the time as govern
| mental powers-and certainly power to DESTROY
! the government itself had never been known as q
| governmental or merely administrative power.
| This relative matter of National power and State
rights, as principle, is other than the principle
OF generality and locality. Whatever concerns
the whole should be confded to the whole-the
General Government; while whatever concerns
only the State, should be left exclusively to the
State This is all there is of original principle
about it. Whether the National Constitution in de-
hnlng boundaries between the two, has applied the
prihclpe with exact accuraey,is is not to be ques-
TONED. We are all bound bv that defuielv
without question. What is now combatted, is
the position that Secession is consistent with
the Constitution-is lawful and peaceful. 1t is
not contended that there is any express law for it:
and nothing should ever be implied as law which
leads to unjust or absurd consequences.


The nation purchased with money the countries
out OF which several OF these States were formed
Is 1t Just that they should go off without leave and
without reundiug? The nation paid very LARGE
sums-in the aggregate believe, nearly one hun
dred miliionsto relieye Florida of the ABORIGINAL
tribes Is 1t just that she shall now be off without
consent or without making any return? The nation
is now in debt for money applied to the benefit of
these, so-called seeded States in common with the
rest.


Is just, either that creditors shall be unpaid,
or the remaining States pay the whole? part of
the present national debt was contracted to nav
the old debts of Texas. Is it Just that she shall
leave and pay no part of this herself?


Again, II one State may secede, so may another,
and when all shall have seeded none are left to
pay the debts. Is this quite jus, to creditors? Did
we notify them of this sage view of ours when we
borrowed their money?


II we now recognize this doctrine by
allowing the seceders to go in peace, it is
aiIhcult to see what can do if
others choose to go or to extHrt terms upon
which they will promise to remain.


The secedera insist that our Constitution
admits OF secession; others have assumed to
make a National Constitution of their own,
in which, of necessity, they have either dis
carded retained the right of secession,
as they insist it exists in ours. If they have
discarded it, they thereby admit that on prin-
cipe it ought not to be in ours. If they have re-
tanned 1t, by their own construction of ours they
show that, to be consistent, they must secede from
one another whenever they shall find it the easiest
way of settling their debts or cftcting any other
selfish or unjust object.


The principle itself is one of dsintcrration and
upon which no government can possibly endure.


1t all the States, save one, should assert the
power to drive that one out Of the Union it is pre-.
sumed the whole class Of seceder-poticans would
at once deny the power and denOunce the act as
the greatest outrage upon State rights. But sup
pose that precisely the same act instead of being
called driving the one out, should be called the
seeding OF the others from that one, it would be
exactly what the seceders claim to do; unless
indeed, they make the point that tue one, because
it is a minority, may rghtfully do what the Others
because they are ma j0rity, may not rghtiuly do.


These politicians are as settled and profound on
the rights OF minorites They partial to that
power which made the Constitution, and speaks
from the preamble calling itselG-"We e, the people"
1t may well be questioned whether there is to-day
a majority OF the legally qualified voters of any
State, except perhaps South Carolina, in favor Of
dSupiOn. There is much reason to believe that
the Union men the majority in many, if not in
every other one OF the sO-called seeded States
The contrary has not been demonstrated in anv one
of them. 1t is Ventured to affirm this even of
Virginia and IenDessec;for the result of an election
held in military camps, where the baynnets are all
On one side of the question voted upon can scarcely
be considered as demonstrating popular sentiment
at such an election: all that large class who are at
once for the Union and against coercion would be
coeTced to vote against the Union.


1t may be affirmed, without extravaganza thay
The Tree institutions We enj ~ have developed the
powers and improved the condition Of our whole
people bevond any example in the world and we
nave striking aud Impressive illustration So large
an army as The GOvarnm n has now on foot w as
never before known-wthout a soldier in it but
who had taken his place there of his tree
choice. But more than this, there MANY single
regiments, whose members, one and another, pos
full practical knowledge of all the arts sciences
professions, and Whatever else, whether useful or
elegant, is known in the world. And there is
scarcely one from which could not be selected a
President, Cabinet, Congress, and perhaps a
Court, abundantly competent to administer the
G Ivernment itself.


Nor do say this is not true of the army of our
a re Tiasi in hico l1,,f
if it is, much better the why the govern
ment which has conferred such benefits on both
them and us should not be broken up Whoever
in any section proposes to abandon such a govern
ment would do well to consider in Difference to
what principle is th he does it; what better he
is likely to get in its stead whether the substitute
will give or be intended to give much of good to
the people. There are some foreshadowings on
this subject.


Our adrersaries have adopted some declarations
of independence, in which, unlike the good old one
penned by Jefferson, they omit the words call men
are created equal" Whv? They have adopted a
temporary national Constitution, in the preamble
of which, unlike our good old one. signed by
Washington, they omit "We, the people," and
substitute eve, the deputies of the sovereign
and independent States.'' Why? Why this de-
liberate pressing out of view the rights of men
and the authority of the people? This is essen
TALLY peoples contest.


Oa the side of the Union, it is struggle for
maintaining in the world that form and substance





the condition OF men, to lift artificial weights from
all shoulders to clear the paths of audabe pursuit
for all; to afford all unfettered start, and fair
chance in the Of life. Yielding to partial and
temporary departures, from necessity, this is the
leading object of the Government for whose exist
ence contend.


l am most happy to believe that the plain peo-
pie understand and appreciate this. 1t is worthy
! of note that while in this, the Governments hour
of trial, large numbers of those in the army and
navy, who have been favored with the Offices have
resigned and proved false to the hand which had
| pampered them. Not one common soldier or COM
mon sailor is known to have deserted his flag
Great honor is due to those officers who remained
| true despite the example of their traitorous as
| socates But the greatest honor, and the most i'm
portant fact of all,is the unanimous rmness OF the
common soldier and common sailor. To the las
man, so far as known, they have successfully re-
| sisted the traitorous efforts of those whose com
mands but an hour before they obeyed as absolute
law. This is the patriotic instinct of plain people
| They understand, without an argument, that de
| stroying the government which was made by
| Washington means good to them.


! Our popular government has often been called
an experiment. Two points in it our people have
already settled; the successful establishing and the
! successful administering of it. One still remains
| its successful maintenance against formidable in
| ternal attempt to overthrow it. 1t is for then
| to demonstrate to the world that those who can
| fairly carry an election can also suppress rebel
| lion. The ballots are the rightfr and peaceful
| successors of bullets, and that when ballots arr
fairly and constitutonally decided. there be
successful appeal back to bullet; that there can b.
no successful appeal except to ballots themselves al
| succeeding elections. Such will be a great lessor
! of peace, teaching men that what they cannot TAXI
| by an election, neither they take it by war
teaching all the folly of being the beginners o
| a


! Lest there be some uneasiuess in the minds o
| candid men as to what is to be the course of th
| Government toward the Southern States after tn,
rebellion shall have been suppressed, the Executiv
deems it proper to say, it ioW be has purpose then
ercr, to be guided by the Constitution and the laUs
and that he probably will have no different under
standing of the powers and duties of the FEEDER,
! Government relating to the rights Gf the State
and the people, under the Constitution, than tina
| expressed in the inaugural address.


He desires to preserve the Government, that i
| may be administered for all, as it administered
| by the men who made it. LOYAL citizens every
where have the right to claim this of their Govern
ment, and the Government has no ght to withhold
or neglect it. 1t is not perceived that in giving i
there is any coercion any conquest or any subiuga
| tioD, in any Just sense Ct those terms.


The Constitution provides and all the State
have accepted the provision, that the United State
| shall guarantee to every State in this Union
"Tepublican form of government" But if a Stat
In this Union may lawfully go out of the Union
having done so, it may also discard the republican
form OF government, so that to prevent its gon;
| out is an Indispensable of maintaining tn
guarantee mentioned and when an end is Lawful
and obligatory, the in 1spensable to it "a
also lawful and obligatory.


1t was wi tn the deepest regret that the Executiv
found the duty of employing the war power in de
fence of the Government forced upon him. H
could but perform the duty or surrender the exis,
| ence of the Government.


No compromise by public servants could in thi
case be cure Not that compromises are not o
ten proper, but tn at no popular government ca
long survive marked precedent, that those VIII
| carry election can only save the governmeu
from immediate destruction by giving up the mail
point upon which the people gave the election.


The people themselves aud not their servants