Year: 1861

deVotIoh TO law auu order, as much pride


and reverence for their history and the


government of their country as anv other


civilized and patriotic people. They knew
they could make no advancement directly


in the teeth Of these strong and noble SEN


timents They accordingly commenced BY


an industrious debauching Of the public


mind. They invented an ingenious sopb-


ism, which, conceded, was followed by per-
fectlY logical steps through all theincidents


Of the complete destruction of the Union


The sophism itself is that any State of the


Union may, consistently with the nation )


Constitution, and therefore lawfully and


peacefully, withdraw from the Union with
out the consent Of the Union or Of any


other State. \ little disguise, that the


supposed right is to be exercised only for


just cause, then selves to be sole Judges Of


its Justice, is too thin to merit any notice.


With rebellion thus sugar coated, they have


been drugging the minds Of their section


for more II tan thirty years, until at length


they have brought many good men to


willingness to take up. arms against the


Government, the day after some assem-
blage of men have enacted the farce Of
taking their State out of the Union, who
could have been brought to no such thing
the day before This sophism derives much,
perhaps the whole, Of its currency from
the assumption that there is some omnipo-
tent and sacred supremacy pertaining to
each State of our Federal Union. Our
States have neither more nor less power
than that reserved to them in the Union by
the Constitution, no one Of them having
been a State out Of the Union. The orig
inal ones passed into the Union even before
they cast off their British dependence, and
the new ones came into the Union d.
rectly from condition Of dependence, ex-
cepting Texas, and even Texas in its tenn
porary independence was never designated
as State The new ones only were des-
ignated States on coming inte the Union.
while that name was only first adopted fer
the old ones on and by the Declaration Of
Independence. These in the United Col
onies were declared tree and independent
States, but even then the object plainly
was not to declare their independence Of
one another, Of the Union, but directly
the contrary, as their mutual action be-
fore. at the time, aud afterwards, abun-
dainty show. The express plighting Of
faith BY each and all Of the thirteen orig
inaI States in the articles of the confcdera-
ti9n, two years later, "that the Union shall
be perpctual," " is most conclusive. Ha7-
ing never been States neither in substance
or name outside the Union, whence this
magical omnipotence Of State rights, as
serting claim of power to lawfully des-
troy the Union itself? Much is said about
the sovereignty Of the States, " but the
word even is not in the national C0nstitu-
tion nor, it is believed, in any Of the State
What is q sovereignty 2
Would it be far wrong to declare it a po-
IiticaI community without political suPe-
rior? Tested By this, no one Of our States
except Texas was sovereignty, and even
Texas gave up the character on coming
into the Union, by which act she acknowl-
edged the Constitution of the United
States and laws and treaties of the United
States, made in pursuance Of the Constitu-
tion, to be forever her supreme Law.


The States have their status in the I'm
ion and they have no other legal status
IF they break from this they only do SO
against law by revolution. The Union,
and not themselves separated, procured
their independence and their liberty. By
or purchase the Union gave each
Of them whatever Of independence and lib
ertY it has. The Union is older than any
Of the States and in fact it created them
as States. Originally some dependant
colonies made the Union and in return the
Union threw eff their old dependence for
them and made the States such as they
are. Not one Of them ever had q State
Constitution independent Of the Union =
OF course, it is not forgotten that all the
new States formed their Constitutions be-
fore they entered the Union, nevertheless
dependent on and preparatory TO coming
into the Union. PROFESSIONALLY the
States have the powers and rights reserv-
ed to them by the National Constitution.
but among these surely are not included
all conceivable powers, however mischiay-
Gus or destructive. But at most such on
" as were known in the world at that time
as governmental powers, and certainly
power to destroy the Government itself,
had never been known as a governmental,
a merely administrative power.


This relative matter of National power
and States rights as p; inciple, is no other
than principle of generality and locality.
Whatever concerns the whole should be
confined to the whole General Government,
while whatever concerns tie State should


be left exclusively to the State. This Is
all there is left Of the original principle
about it. Whatever the national conyeu-


ton intended in defining the boundaries be-


tweenthe two as applied to the principle with


exact accuracy is not TO be questioned.


We are all bound By that definition with


out question, What is now combatted is


the position that secession is consistent


with the Constitution, is lawful and PEACE
ful. It is not contended that there is any


express law for it, and nothing should ever


be implied as Law which leads to unjust


and absurd consequences. The nation


purchased with mo. ey the countries out of


which several of these States were formed.


Is it just that they should 20 of without


leave OF without refunding? The nation


paid very large sums. in the aggregate, l


believe. nearly 100000, to relieve Elor-


ida from the aboriginal tribes. Is it just


that she should now 60 of without consent


or without any retura? The nation is now


in debt for money applied for the benefit
/ Of these so called seceeding States. in COM


mon with the rest. Is 1t just either that