Newspapers / The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, … / Feb. 12, 1833, edition 1 / Page 2
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1 have the authority of Mr. Madison himself for the inevitable conclusion that it is "A plain principle illustrated by common practice, and essential to the nature of compacts, that when resort can be had to no tribunal superior 10 the au thority of the parties, the parties themselves must be the rightful judges in the last resort, whether the bargain made, has been pursued or violated." The Constitution, continues Mr. Madison, "was formed by the sanction of the States, given by each in its sovereign capacity; the States then being parties to the constitutional compact, and in their sovereign ca pacity, it follows of necessity, that there can be no tribunal above their authority, to decide in the last resort, whether the compact made by them be vio lated; and, consequently, that as the parties to it, they must themselves decide in the last resort, such ques x ions as may he of sufficient magnitude to require their interposition." If this riht does not exist in the several States, then it is clear that the discretion of Con gress, and not the Constitution, would be the measure of their powers, and this, says Mr. Jef- lerson, would amount to the "Seizing the rights of the States and consolidating tneni mtlie hands ot the General Government, with a power assumed to bind the States not only in cases made federal, but in all cases whatsoever; which would be to surrender the form of eovernment we have chosen, to live under one deriv ing its power irom its own will." We hold it to be impossible to resist the argu ment that the several States as sovereign parties to the compact, must possess the power, in case of "gross, deliberate and palpable violation of the constitution, to judge each lor itself, as well ot infraction as the mode and measure ol redress,77 or ours is a Consolidated Government "with out limitation of powers,'7 a submission to which iUr. Jeuerson has solemnly pronounced to be a greater evil than Disunion itself. If, to borrow the language of Madison's report. "The deliberate exercise of dangerous powers pal pably withheld by the Constitution, could not justify the parties to it, in interfiosing even so fur as to arrest the fir ogress of the evil, and 'thereby to preserve the Constitution itself, as well as to provide lov the safety of the parties to it, there would be an end to all re lief from usurped power, and a direct subversion of the rights specified or recognized under all the State Constitutions, as well as a plain denial of the funda mental principle on which our independence itself was declared." The only plausible objection that can be urged against this right, so indispensable to the safety of ihe States, is that it may be abused. But this danger is believed to be altogether imaginary. So long as our Union is felt as a blessing and this will be just so long as the Federal Govern ment shall confine its operation within theac-l Isnowledged limits of the charter there will be i no temptation for any State to interfere with the' harmonious operation of the system. There will -exist the strongest motives to induce for bearance, and none to prompt to aggression on cither side, so soon as it shall come to be univer sally felt and acknowledged that the States do not stand to the Union in the relation of degraded and dependent colonies, but that our bond of U nion is formed by mutual sympathies and com mon interests. The true answer to this objec tion has been given by Mr. Madison, when he says: "It does not follow, however, that because the States, as sovereign parties to the constitutional com pact, must ultimately decide whether it has been vio lated, that such a decision ought to be interposed, ei ther in a hasty manner, or on doubtful and inferior oc casions. Even in the case of ordinary conventions between different nations, it is always laid down that the breach must be both wilful and material to justi fy an application of the rule. But in the case of an intimate and constitutional union, like that of the Uni ted States, it is evident that the interposition of the parties, in their sovereign capacity, can be called for by occasions only deeply and essentially affecting the vital principles of their political system." Experience demonstrates that the danger is not that a State will resort to her sovereign rights too frequently, or on light and trivial occasions, but that she may shrink from asserting them as often as may be necessary. It is maintained by South Carolina that accor ding to the true spirit of the Constitution, it he comes Congress in all emergencies like the pre sent, either to remove the evil by legislation, or to solicit of the States the call of a C nnvpntinn? and that on a failure to obtain by the consent of it. ... - inree-iourths ot all the Mates an amendment giv ing the disputed power, it must be regarded as never having been intended to be given. These principles have been distinctly recognized by the President himself in his message to Con gress at the commencement of the present ses sion, and thev seem onlv to be imnraetir;ihlf ah. surdities when asserted by South Carolina, or wade applicable to her existing controversy with me reuerai oovernment. But it seems that South Carolina receives from the Federal Government no credit for her sin cerity, when it is declared through her Chief -magistrate, that "she sincerelv and nnvionslv seeks and desires the submission of her grievan ces i to a Convention of all Ihe States.77 The only alternative (savs the President which she presents, is the repeal of all the acts for raising icucnuc. leaving the government without the 4iicc.ua ui support, or an acquiescence in the dis Solution Of our Union.7' South Carolina hn nrP sented no such alternatives. If the President nau read the documents VunU iUa rnvonimn caused to be forwarded to him for the express yu., U4 making Known her wishes, and her views, he would have found, that South Caroli na asks no more than that the Tariff should be reduced to the revenue standard; and has dis tinctly expressed her willingness, that "an a rnount of duties substantially uniform, should be levied upon protected, as well as unprotected ar ticles; sufficient to raise the revenue necessary to meet the demands of the government, for consli tmional purposes.77 He would have found in Exposition, put forth by the Convention itself, a distinct appeal to our sister States, for the call of a Convention; and the expression , of an entire willingness on the part of South Carolina, to sub mit the controversy to that tribunal. Even at the very moment when he was indulging in these unjust and injurious imputations upon the people of South Carolina, and their late highly respect ed Chief Magistrate, a resolution had actually been passed through both branches of our Legis lature, demanding a call of that very Conven tion, to which he declares that she had no desire that an appeal should be made. It does not become the dignity of a sovereign State to notice in the spirit which might be con sidered as belonging to the occasion, the unwar rantable imputations in which the President has thought proper to indulge, in relation to South Carolina, the proceedings of her citizens and constituted authorities. He has noticed, only to give it countenance, that miserable slander which imputes the noble stand that our people have ta ken in defence of their rights and liberties, to a faction instigated by the efforts of a few ambitious leaders who have got up an excitement for their own personal aggrandizement. The motives and characters of those who have been subjected to these unfounded imputations, are beyond the reach of the President of the United States. The sacrifices they have made, and difficulties and trials through which they may have yet to pass, will leave no doubt as to the disinterested mo tives and noble impulses of patriotism and honor by which they are actuated. Could they have been induced to separate their own personal in terests from those of the people of South Caroli na, and have consented to abandon their duty to the Slate, no one knows better than the Presi dent himself, that they might have been honored with the highest manifestations of public regard, and perhaps instead of being the objects of vitu peration, might even now have been basking in the sunshine of Executive favor. This topic is alluded to, merely for the purpose of guarding the people of our sister States against the fatal delusion that South Carolina has assumed her present position under the influence of a tempo rary excitement; and to warn them that it lias been the result of the slow but steady progress cf public opinion for the last ten years: that it is ihe act of the people themselves, taken in con formity with the spirit of resolutions repeatedly adopted in their primary assemblies; and the sol emn determination of the Legislature, publicly announced more than two years ago. Let them not so far deceive themselves on this subject, as to persevere in a course which must in the end inevitably produce a dissolution of the Union, under the vain expectation that the great body of the people ol South Carolina, listening to the councils of the President, will acknowledge their error or retrace their steps: and still less that they will be driven from the vindication of their rights, by the intimation of the danger of domes-j tic discord, and threats of lawless violence. The brave men who have thrown themselves into the breach, in defence of the rights and liberties of their country, are not to be driven from their holy purpose by such means. Even unmerited obloquy, and death itself, have no terrors for him who feels and knows that he is engaged in the performance of a sacred duty. The people of South Carolina arc well aware that however pas sion and prejudice may obtain for a season the mastery ot the public mind, reason and justice must sooner or later re-assert their empire: and that whatever may be the event of this contest, posterity will do justice to their motives, and to the spotless purity, and devoted patriotism, with which they have entered into an arduous and most unequal conflict, and the unfaltering cour age with which, by the blessing of heaven, they will maintain it. The whole argument, so far as it is designed at this time to enter into it, is now disposed of: and it is necessary to advert to some passages in the Proclamation which cannot be passed over in silence. The President distinctly intimates that it is his determination to exert the right of put ting down the opposition of South Carolina to the Tariff, by force of arms. He believes him self vested with power to do this under that pro vision of the Constitution which directs him "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.7' iNow it by this it was only meant to be asserted that under the laws of Congress now of force, the President would feel himself bound to aid the ci vil tribunals in the manner therein prescribed, supposing such laws to be constitutional, no just exception could be taken to this assertion of Ex ecutive duly. But if, as is manifestly intended, the President sets up the claim to judge for him self in what manner the laws are to be enforced, and feels himself at liberty to call forth the mili tia, and even the military and naval forces of the Union, against the State of South Carolina, her constituted authorities and citizens, then it is clear that he assumes a power not only not con ferred on the Executive by the Constitution, but which belongs to no despot upon earth exerci sing a less unlimited authority than the Autocrat of all the Russias: an authority, which, if sub mitted to, would at once reduce the free people of these United States to a state .of the most ab ject and degraded slavery. But the President has no power whatsoever to execute the laws ex cept in the mode and manner prescribed by the laws themselves. On looking into these laws it will be seen that he has no shadow or semblance of authority to execute any of the threats which he has thrown out against the nconle of South I Carolina. The act of 28th Feb. 1 795, gives the Piesidcnl authority to call forth the militia in case of invasion "by a foreign nation or Indian tribe.'7 By the 2d section of that Act, it is pro vided that 'Whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed, or the execution thereof obstructed in any State, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested by the Marshals in this Act, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of such State, or of any other State or States, as maybe necessary to suppress such combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly exe cuted." The words here used, though they might be supposed to be comprehensive in their import, are restrained by those which follow. By the next section it is declared that "Whenever it may be necessary in the judgment of the President to use the military force hereby direc ted to be called forth, the President shall forthwith, by Proclamation command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes with in a limited time." On reading these two sections together, it is manifest that they relate entirely to combinations of individuals acting of themselves without any lawful authority. The constituted authorities acting under the laws of the State, and its citi zens yielding obedience to its commands, cannot possibly be considered as a mere mob forming combinations against the authority and laws of the Union, to be dispersed by an Executive Procla mation, and any attempt so to treat them would be a gross and palpable violation ol" the sove reign authority of the Slate, and an offence pun ishable criminally in her own Courts. Whether the late Proclamation of the President was inten ded as a compliance with the provisions of this act, does not very clearly appear. But if so, it can only he considered against the State, since the laws of the United States have certainly not been forcibly obstructed by combinations of any sort, and it is certainly worthy of observation that the command extended to the people is not that they should disperse, but that they should re-assemble in Convention and repeal the ob noxious Ordinance. The power of the President, so far as this sub ject is embraced, in relation to the army and the navy, is exactly co-extensive with that over the militia. By the 1st section of the Act of 3d March, 1807, it is expressly provided, that in all cases of "Obstruction to the laws of the United States or of any individual State, where it is lawful for the Pre sident to call forth the militia for the purpose of cau sing the laws to be duly executed, it shall be lawful for him to employ for the same purpose, such part of the land and naval force of the United States as may be necessary, having fu st observed all the pre-requi-sites in that respect." Here then it is seen, that unless the President is resolved to disregard all constitutional obliga tions, and to trample the laws of his country un der his feet, he has no authority whatever to use force against the State of South Carolina, and should he attempt to do so, the patriotic citizens ot this St3te, know too well theirown rights, and have too sacred a regard to their duties, to hesi tate one moment, in repelling invasion coming lrom what quarter it may. Could they be deter red by the threats of lawless violence, or any ap prehension of consequences, from the faithful performance of their duty, they would feel that they were the unworthy descendants of the Pinckneys, Sumters, and Rutledges, and a thousand other names which adorn the pages of our revolutionary history,'7 some of whom have just gone from among us, and been gathered to . i r.i l : i .t i men- iaiuer, leaving as a legacy ineir solemn in junction that we should never abandon this con test until we shall have obtained "a fresh under standing of the bargain" and restored the lib erties for which they fought and bled. Others still linger among us, and exhorting us to main tain that "solemn Ordinance and Declaration77 which they have subscribed with their own names, and in support of which they have "pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.7' The annals which record the struggles of free dom, show us that Rulers in every age and coun try, jealous of their power, have resorted to the same means to extinguish in the bosom of man that noble instinct of liberty which prompts him to resist oppression. The system by which ty rants in every age have attempted to obliterate this sentiment and to crush the spirit of the peo ple, consists in the skilful employment of prom ises and threats, in alternate efforts to encourage their hopes and excite their fears to show that existing evils are exaggerated, the danger of re sistance great and the difficulties in the way of success insuperaoie; anu iinally to sow dissen tioms among the people by creating jealousies and exciting a distrust of those whose counsels and example may be supposed to have an impor tant bearing on the success of their cause. These, with animated appeals to the loyalty of me peopie, ana an imposing array of military force, constitute the means by which the people have in every age been reduced to slavery. When we turn to the pages of our own history j we find that such were the measures resorted to at Ihe commencement of our own glorious revo lution, to keep our fathers in subjection to Great Britain; and such are the means now used to in duce the people of Carolina to "retrace their steps," and to remain forever degraded colonists governed not in reference to their own interests but the interest of others. Our fathers were told, as we now are, that their grievances were in a great measure imaginary. They were pro mised, as we have been, that those grievances should be redressed. They were told, as we now are, that the people were misled by a few designing men, whose cbject was a dissolution of-the Union and their own aggrandizemen They were told, as we now are, of the dan that would- be incurred by disobedience to n' laws. The power and resources of the rnotl ' country were then, as now, ostentatiously (pH' played in insulting contrast with the scan? ' population and feeble resources on which could alone rely. And the punishment due? treason and rebellion were held out as the certa' fate ot all who should disregard the paiern ! efforts of their royal master to bring back his er ring children to the arms of their indulo-Pn," ' ther. 1 hey were commanded, as we have been to "retrace their steps." But though dividJ among themselves to a greater extent ihan u. are now, without an organized government, anJ destitute of arms and resources of every descrin lion, they bid defiance to the tyrant's power, and refused obedience to his commands. Thev in curred Ihe legal guilt of rebellion, and braved the dangers, both of the scaffold and the field, opposition to the colossal power of their acknow. ledged sovereign, rather than submit lo the im position of taxes light and inconsiderable themselves, but imnosed without, their for the benefit of others. And what is our dip sent conuiuuur ue nave an organized govern ment, and a population three times as great as that which existed in '76. We are maintaining not only the rights and liberties of the people) but the sovereignty of our own State, against whose authority rebellion m;y be committed but in obedience to whose commands no man can commit treason. We are struggling against un constitutional and oppressive taxation imposed upon us not only without our consent, but in de fiance of our repeated remonstrance? and solemn protests. In such a quarrel our duty to our country, ourselves, and our posterity, is too plain to be mistaken. We will stand upon the soil of Carolina and maintain the sovereign au thority of the State, or be buried beneath ?ts ru ins. As unhappy Poland fell before the power of the Autocrat, so may Carolina be crushed by the power of her enemies but Poland was not surrounded by free and independent Stales, inte rested like herself in preventing the establish ment of the very tyranny which they are called upon to impose upon a sister State, 'if, in spile of our common interests, the glorious recollec tions of the past, and the proud hopes of the fa lure, South Carolina should be coldly abandoned to her fate, and reduced to subjection, by an un holy combination among her sister States which is believed to be utterly impossible-arid the doctrines promulgated by the President are to become the foundations of" a new system ce mented by the blood of our citizens, it matters not what may be our lot. Under such a govern ment, as there could be no liberty, so thcrecould be no security either for our persons or our property. But there is one consolation, of which in the providence of God no people can be deprived without their own consent. The proud con sciousness of having done their duly. .. If out country must be enslaved, let her not be disho nored by her own sons! Let them not ' forge the chains themselves by which their liberties are to be manacled." The President has intimated in his Proclamation that a "standing army" is about to be raised to carry secession into effect. South Carolina desires that her true position shall be clearly understood both at home and abroad. Her object is not disunion' she has raised no "standing army," and if driven to repel in vasion or resist aggression, she will do so by the strong arms and stout hearts of her citizens. Soutli Carolina has solemnly proclaimed her purpose; thac purpose is the vindication of her rights. She has pro teased a sincere attachment to thc Union; and that to the utmost of her power she will endeavor to pre serve it, "but believes that for this end, it is her duty to watch over and oppose any infraction of those? principles which constitute the only basis of that U mon, because a faithful observance of them can alone secure its existence; that she venerates the Constitu tion and will protect and defend it, "against every aggression either foreign or domestic," but above all, that she estimates as beyond all price her Liberty, which she is unalterably determined never to surren der while she has the power to maintain it." The President denies in the most positive terras the right of a State under any circumstances to se cede from the Union, and puts this denial on the. ground "that from the time the States parted with so many powers as to constitute jointly with the other States a single nation, they cannot from that period, possess any right to secede." What then remains of those "rights of the States" for which the President professes so "high a reverence?" In what do they consist? And by what tenure are they held? The. uncontrolled will of the Federal government. Like any other petty corporation, the States may exert such powers and such only as may be permitted by their superiors. When they step beyond these lim its, even a federal officer will set at nought their de crees, repel their solemn Ordinancesproclaim their citizens to be Traitors,and reduce them to subjection by military force; and if driven to desperation, they should seek a refuge in secession, they are to be told that they have bound themselves to those who havo perpetrated or permitted these enormities in the iron bonds of a ufierietual union." If these principles could be established, then in deed would the days of our liberty be numbered, and the republic will have found a Master. If South Ca rolina had not already taken her stand against the usurpation of the Federal government, there would have been an occasion, when she must have felt her self impelled by every impulse of patriotism and eve ry sentiment of duty, to stand forth, in open defiance of the arbitrary decrees of the Executive, when a sovereign State is denounced, her authority derided, the allegiance of her citizens denied, and she is threatened with military power to reduce her to obe dience to the will of one of the functionaries of the Federal government, by whom she is commanded to "tear from her archives" her most solemn decrees surely the time has come when it must be seen whe ther the people of the several States have indeed lost the spirit of the revolution, and whether they are to. become the willing instruments of a military despot ism. In such a sacred cause South Carolina will feel that she is striking not for her en, bnt the liberties
The Tarborough Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.)
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Feb. 12, 1833, edition 1
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