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- i lip AOT) NORTH-CAHOIillm GAZETTE. (4 OURS ARE THE PLANS OF FAIR DELIGHTFUL PEACE, UNWARP'D BY PARTY RAGE, TO LIVE LIKE BROTHERS." v TUESDAY, APRIL ' 1833. 0 e lit 10 at ti 4. 'A 13, V. IB of: he 5 ro eB nit-: i ia ir ny ub ne-; tCl cecf bee . fa opc Pr' the iu cite tion bile 30SC i Si. is, F hist 4ut shall 5poSr isetlt it her who wove de K,",'i : TS f PBUSHKD EVEnr vstUESnAT, Raleigh, North-Carolina. TERMS. T nisE Potti" per annum; one liamn aavance TI,0P who do not.eitner at tne lime 01 sun- crUiinff.ot subsequently, give notice ottneir Jisl, t oh :ive the Paper disContinvied at he e ril T 1. ...Ml Via n ma.' 1 1 m r1 Did l ;f,H Of iui.ir jrcai)" in." ,n..nu.iv. ... its continuance itntil countermaodea. pir' A D V ERTISEMENTS, ii i ! 4- ,1 w.,t eeedinj; stTcfH lines, w.u c'"tu ,trimea tor a .Dollar; and t wenty-nvc .n5 . ...k1iiiii!nn those for'-iftcn susequriii puui.aw.. - -P4ter lern-th, in the same proportion. mber ot insertions oe nn i-i J until rkP-r1 of If the nn them, they out, and charged accordingly C0NGI1E8S. MR. WEBSTER'S SPEECH, In replv to Mr. Calhoun, 0i the Bid further to providf for the Col - lection of Duties on imports. On the. 21st of January, 1833, Mr.WiL- Tciss.CVrairmanofthe Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill Munher to provide for the Collection ot Duties. On the 22d day ot the same month, Mr. Calhoun submitted the following Reso- J-. iiiina ' Resolved. That the people of the several Sta.es composing thee United Slates are united s navties to a coiistitntionrd coYnpact, to which t people of each State acceded,, as a separate sotreij;n conptnuiiity, tacn oinning itseii oy us own particulaj ratification ; andlhat tlie union, c' Wltichtne Smhi compact is ue doiiu, is a union ywern the States ratifying the same. ' Resolved. jTtut the people ot the several States, thus united by the constitutional compact, in forming1 that 1 instrument, and in creating1 it General Governtsneut to carry into effect the ob-i-ci9 for which they were formed, delegated to that Govtrnmeni, lorinai purpose, certain am-n'-te powe rs, to be exerc sed jointly, reserving, it the same time, eacn aiaie to nseir, me tesi m iss cf powers, to be exercise 1 by its oun separate Government ; and that, whenever the (ieneral Government assttn.es the exercise of powers not deleted b the compact, i's :c's are unauthorized, and are of no effect ; and that ithe same Government is not made the final judge of liie poW' rs delegated to it, si nee that would tli Uir fy --t, HivVe itsuiscretion, and not thg Constitution, the .'c ' - 1. .. .1.. . It ...U. 1- doK r-.t ct otiie measure ot its powers ; but that, as in all other cases of cc mpact among sovereign parlies, with out a;i common judge, t ach has n equd rig'it to mck't for itself, as well of .the infraction as ot .'" ... .. . the mode and measure oT.renrt.-ss. " Resolved, That the assertions that the people pftVit.se Unst-d States, taken coilectivtly as in d:iduaK are now, or ever ha,ve been, united on the principle-pf the social compact, and as such arc now loitneu into one nation or people, or that thVv have ever "been so united in any one stage f their political existence ; that the peo pte of the several Slates composing the Union Ime'not, as members thereof ret lined their so vereignty ; thst"the allegiance of their citizens ha been transfened to the General Government; that thtyfiave parted with the right of punishing reason through their respective State Govtrn- itnts: ;-nd that they have not the right ot judging in the l.Hst resort as to the extent of the powers reserved, and of consequence of-those delegat ed ; are not only without foundation in truth, but are contrary to the most, certain and plain historical facts, and tne clearest deductions of ri-afivfi ; arid that all exercise of power on the ptrt of the General Government, or any of its de- pirments,-cl timing authority from suph errone ous assumptions, must of necessity be unconsti tutional must tend, dircily and inevila ly, to subveruhe. sovereignty of the States, to dcsiroy the ffd ral ch:.r '.cicr of. the.- Unron, and to rear on iis ruins a consol dated Government.-without const itntifinal check or limitation, and which i must necessarily tertTiiii ite in the loss of Jibcrty itself." On Saturday, the 10th of February, Mr. Calhoun spoke in opposition to the bill. . Mr. Webster followed him. The srent leman from South-Carolina said, Mr. "i-.bstku, has admoMislied us to be mindful of '"e opinii.ns of thoss who shall come after us. We must take our chance, sir. as to ih- lP-hr in ' n - "ich posterity will regard tis. I do not decline ''s judgment, nor withhold myself from its scru tiny. Ft eling that I am performing my public duty with singleness of heart, and to tte best of my ability. 1 fearlessly trust myself to the coun- y, now and hereafter,, and leave both my mo- hvpsan.d my character to itsdecision.i iiie gentleman has terminated his speech in a fne At threat and defiance towards this tvill,evt-n 'ion I :t become a law of the land, altogether 'usual in the: halls of Congress. But I shall ti'4 vuflef jmyself to be excited into warmth, by jf'is dnur,tiation of the measure wh b I sup- ipi'l't. Amciriv' th ff-lirnv urhi.ti nt thiu inriTtnt . ''II HiV hlf ... imt t- !'ivt ie I hut i frNut t.i )epcsition in which the gentleman has placed "nwelt. -. Sir. he dot 9 himself no iustice. The iCiU -e w hich he has espoused finds no basisin the 'iw.itution no succor from pub he sympathy cijeeiing from a patriotic community. He 'jas iia foothold on which to stand, while he might ''isjjiay the powers of his acknowledged talents. veiy thing ben'-atli liis ttel is hollow and trea cner:iiS. He is like a strong man struggling in : every c rt.;rt io extricate hunselt, only '"'k- t.iiii deeper and deener. And 1 fear the e-ait;awce may be curried still further ; 1 tear .'U !i. flw...rl . 1 I - I- f .1 ",i.ii.iiu tan s.ieiy come to nis renei, tiiav ! ran Jpeared in the progress of human history. As exhibited in te master States of antiquity, as I breaking out aeain troni amidst the darkness of I the 'middle ages, and beaming fin the formation , . 1 . "I . n e. t a line oi new communities, in inouerii f-uiujjc, -', always and every where, harms forme. et sir, it is our own liberty, guarded by constituti ons and secured by union ; it is that liberty wlrch is our paternal inheritance, it is our established, dearboutrht. peculiar' Ameiican liberty to which I am chiefly devoted, and the cause of which I ' now mean, "to the utmost of my power, to main tain and defend. Mr. President, if I consider the constitutional question now before is as doubtful as it is impor tant, and if I suppose that its decision, either in the Senate or by the country, was likely toLe, in any degree, influenced by the manner in which I might now d scuss it, this would be to nie a moment of deep solicitude. Such a moment has once existed. There has been a time, vhe:i, ris ing in this place, n the same question, I felt, I must confess, that something for good or evil to the Constitution of the country might depend on an effort of mine. Cut circumstances are chang ed. Since tha.t daH', sir, the public opinion has become awakcned!tthis great question ; it h: s grasped it, it has rjeasoned upon it, as ' become , an intelligent a r.d atrio i6 comnntnity, :nd h settled it,or;now sterns in the progress of se'r'X'; it, by an authority which none can disobe t'nc authority of the pejiple themselves. I slir.il not, Mr. President, follow t'.te gentleman, step by step, through the course of his speech. Much of what he lias said, he bus deemed neces sary to the just explanation and defence of his own political champter and conduct. On this I shall offer no comment. M-.'.ch, too, has consist ed of philosophical!renark upon the general na ture of political libr v, and the history of free institutions; and of other tp.ir-, so general in their nature, as to tjossess, m inv n. inio i, only a remote bearing on he iminediute subject of this I uebate. ' ' Rut the gentlemafn's speech, nude some days ago, upon introducing hts resolution.:-, those re solutions thcmselvel, end parts ot tlie speech now just conclnded, maV probably be j-utly regarded as containing the wiole South-Carolina doctrine. That doctrine it is rjiy purpose, now to examine, and to compare i. wit! i the Constitution of the United States. I slijall not consent, sir, to make anv new Constitutioji, or to establish another form f Government. I k ill not undertake to say what . 111 . 1 " 1 , . l.i A. a Constitution lor tnese unitea siaies uugui io be. That question- the people have decided for themselves, and I ihall take the instrument as . 1 . t 1 11 1 A. thev have estaDiishoxi it, ana snail enaeavor iu maintain it, in its plinsense and meaning, against opkiions and notions which, in my judgment, threaten its subversion. rhe resolutions introduced by the,, gentleman were apparently dravn up witli care, and brought forward upon deliberation. I shall not be in dan ger, therefore, of misunderstanding him, or those who agree with him, it I proceed at once to these resolutions, and consider then as "an authentic statement of those obiniousi up n the great con stitutional question, py which the recent proceed ings in South-CaroLiw afe attempted to be justi fied. These resolutions;are three in number. The tJrird seems intei.dc-d to enumerate, and to denv, the several opinions expressed in the Pre- The sense of the gentleman's proposition, there fore, is not at all affected, one way or the othr, by the use of this word. That proposition stfil is, that our sjstem of Government is but a. cornjont between the people of separate and sovereign State?. Was it Min.beau, Mr. President, or what 5ther master of the human passions, who has told us ? They are indeed things, that words are t say, that they have a right to discard the form of Government vhich they have adopted, ai d to break up the Cgnsiitution which they have rati fied. Now, sir,his is neither more nnr less than saying that they haFe a right to make a revolu tion. To leje. t an established Government, to bp-ak up a polijt cal. constitution, is revolution. I deny tliatn -man can state, accurately, what was done by th p ople, in establishing the pre sent Constitute' if and then -ta'e, accurately, what the peopl; or any part of them, must now do to ge.t rid ot its"obligations, without stating and things of mighty influence, -not only in ad dresses to the passions and high-wrought feelings of mankind, but in tlie discussion of 'egal und po litical ar.er.tions also : because a itist conclusion is often avoided, or a false one reached, by the j m n"- 1 admitf ;f course, that the people imy, adroit substitution of one phrase, or one word, j ' 'hey choose, -erthraW the Government. Dot for another. Of this we have, I think, another . t'1-11. t!'at is rcv 'ution. The floctrine now con- eramnle in the resolutions before us. I l! ulc 1 " r S '."5 cJy nuuijtcuuon or seces-on. sissipni. If ne State may secede, ten m.v do s-7-twenty may do so ; weihty-thive may do so. Sir, as tiiese secessions go on, one after another, what is to constitute th United States ? Whose will he the armv ? Whose theNav?' -'Who will p iy the debts- ? Who fulfil the public tre: 'ies ? Who perform the constitutional guaran ties ? Who govern this District and the Terri lories ? Who retain tlie public property ? Mr. President, ewrv man must see' that the are all questions which can arise only after a re voiuuon. I hey nresunnose the hre 9n n it. Ir-, iit.it. os i ,ii i ,u ,.,,h,.,,, f ........ n . .. . . ' " -v- .b. me unniiiuw ui viuci ii-i me vsovernmenr. w n t ihi fun thev are repressed i th- v J istnution lasts, spring up to annoy ana sisme i,s only trom its grave. Tlie Constitution dot s not provide for events which must he ni-erprld hv Itc nun A.,;..r, i - " . . . - I - - - ' I wi. i Vl M I II V. The first resolution declares that the people ot; uie oongu ons A autnoruy or nie Government j Skcssiox, therefor, since it must bring these the several States ac-eded' to the const'eution, or; in'.V be set aside. r rejected, without revoluton. j consequences, with it, is revolution hy. And to the constitutional compact, as it is called. T.us t ljUl isWJi; deny ; and what 1 sav is, thai scllincatiox is eaially word "accede." not found either in the constituti on itself, or in the ratification of it by any )ne ot doubt it ecw4' mniiffc.. K U . I.' 1J ... Ih I "ct'iwm.11 ne. ii c nun i; ii to iiuiu out a , 'P'ng hand, without danger ' of going dovrn ''lrt-eir'. also, in.o the holtomlesa lnih nf th"o aerboiiian Bop-. r sident's '.Proclamation, respecting the nature and powers of this Government. Of t'n's third reso lution, I propose, ak present, to take no particu lar notice. ' The two first resolutions of 'the honorable member affirm thestl propositions, viz : 1. That the political system, under which we live, and under whicii Congress is now assembled, is a compact, to w'hidU the people of the several States, as separate hd sovereign communities, are the parties. 'if-.. 2. That these sovereign parties have a right to judge, each for itself, of any alleged violation of the Constitution byi-Qongress ; and, in case of such violation, to chbose each for itself, its own mode and measure p$ redress. It is true, sir, 'that thel honorable member calls this 2k ''Constitutional compact ; but still he af firms it to be a compact between tovereign Slates. What nrecise meaning-, then, does he attach to the term const itntionkt ? When applied to com pacts between soy ertjign ; States, the? term consti tutional affixes to th&t word compact no definite idea. Were we to hear of a constitutional league or treaty between England and France, or a con st 'duiional convention between Austria and Rus sia, we should not understand what could be in tended by such a leajrue, such a treaty, or such a convention. In these connexions, the word is ! void of all meaning ;a and yet, sir,' it is easy, quite easy, to see why th honorable gentleman has used it in these resolutions. He cannot open the book, and look upofi our written frame of Gov ernment, without seeing that it is called a Con stitution.' This mayweH be appalling to him. It threatens his w;oIe doctrine of compact, and its darfing derivatives, 5 nullification and f,ectssion, with instant confutation. lieckose, if . lie admits our instrument of Government to be a constitution, then, for that very reason, it is not a compact "be tween sovereigns ; ajcoustitution ot Government, and a compact between sovereign Powers, being things essentially ufilike in their very natures, and incapable ofeve-. being the sam-. Yet the word constitution is oi the very front of the instru ment. He cannot overlook it. He seeks, there fore to compromise the matter, and to sink all the Lsubstantial sense of the word, while he retains a resemblance of its solind. He introduces a new word of his own, compact, as importing the principal idea, and designed to play thepnncipal part, and degrades c&nbtitutidJtfiit.o an insignifi- cant idle epithet, attajcl i ed to Com pact. I tie., whole then stands as a " conMiiutional compact" And in this way lie hopes to puss off a plausible gloss, as satisfying the words otjthe instrument ; but he will find himself disappointed. Sir, I must say to the honorable gentleman, that in our Ameri can political errammar. cOnstitctio.v is a noun substantive ; it imports a distinct and clear idea, of itself ; and it is n oft to lose its importance and dignity, it : is not to bei turned into a poor, ambi guous, senseless, -unfneuning adjective, for the purpose of accommdditihg any new set of politi cal notions. Sir, we reject his new rules ot svn tax altogether. We frill not give up our forms of political speech tb the grammarians of the school of Nullification). .By the constitution, we mean not a " constituional compact, but simply and directly, the Coiistitution, the fundamental law; and if there be 6ne;word in the language, which the people of the United States understand, this is that word. the States, has been chosen for use here less not without a well considered purpose. The natural converse of accession is sction ; and, thei-eforeiwdien it is stated that tlie people of the States acceded to the Union, it m ty he more i!ai:siblv arsrued that tiiev mav meed- from it. - ii ...l...:.... ....f'...ir. .....c .l-. si, m ;aiiJJuiij .nis ciii:iLni-.i.iuii, ihjlii.ii i ut acceding to a compact, nothing would seem necessary, in order to break it up,- but to secede from the same compact. I'utthe term is wholly out of place. Jccvwon, as a word applied to political associations, implies coming into a league, treaty, or confederacy, by one hitherto a stran ger to it ; and secession impiics departing front such league or confederacy. The people of the United States haVe iied no such form of expres sion, in establishing the present (I'lvernment Thev do not say that they accede to a league, but they declare that they ord-j n and ett'illili a con slic.-tion. Such are the very words f the instru ment itself; and in all the State1;, without an ex ception, the language used by liieir convention-was, that they "ratified the CamUtvtioo'' some of tlie.n.employing tlie additional words " assented to and "adopted," but all of them " ratifying." There is more importance than may at first sight, appear, in the introduction of tins new word by the honorable mover oT these reso lutions. Its adoption and use are' iinli -pcnsaule to maintain thoe premises, fi om u '..icii his Main conclusion is l) b afterwards drawn. Hut, be fore showing thn allow nie to remark, that this phraseology tends to keep out of sight the just view of our previous political history, as well a? to suggest wrong ideas as to, what was actually done when the present constitution was agreed to. In 1789, and before this Constitution was a dopted, the Un ted States had already been in a Union, more or less close, for 15 years. At least as far back as tlie meeting of the first Congress, in 1774, they hail been, in some measure, and to some national purposes, united together. Before the confederation of 1731, tliey had declared in- deper.dence jointly, and had carried on the war jointly, both by sea and land ; and this, not as separate State.-, but as one people. When, there fore, they formed that confederation, and adopt ed its articles as articles of perpetual union, they did not come together for the first time ; and, therefore, they did not speak of the States as ac ceding to the confederation, although it was a league, and nothing but a ler.guo, and rested on nothing but plighted faith for its performance. Yet, even then, the States were not strangers to each other : there was a bond of union already subsisting between tliein ; they were associated United States ; an d the object of the confedera tion was to make a stronger and better bond of union. .Their representatives deliberated toge ther on these proposed articles of confederation, and, being authorized by their respective States, finally ratified and confirmed" 'them. Inasmuch as they were already in union, they did not speak of acceding to the new articles of confederation, but of ratifying and confirming them ; and this language was not used inadvertently, because, in the same instrument, accession is used in its pro per sense, when applied to Canada, which was altogether a stranger to the existing Union. " -Canada," says the 11th article, "acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into the U nion. Htving thus used the terms ratify and confirm, even in regard to ihe old conf-deranon, it would have heen strange, in.leecl, if the people of the United States, :d.er i s formation, and hen th y cime to establish ' e pr sent Con-titulton, had spoken of the S'a es, or of the people of the States as acceding to this Constitution. Such language vvou'd have been ill suited to the occa sion. Ti wou d have imidi-d an existing seoara tiun or disunion among the Sta'es, such as never hasexi ted since 1T4-. No such !anguge, h-re fore, was used. The language ac ual'y t mplov ed is, adopt, ratify, crdain, establish. ' heivtore, sir, since any S at-, before she can pr -ve her nglu to d ssolve the Union, must show her authority to undo what h s be-n done, no State is at liberty to secede, on tlie ground that s ie and outer Mites have done nothii.tr but ac cede. She must show that she has a right to re verse what has b?en ordained, to unsettle and overthrow what has been established, to reject what the people have adopted, qnd to break up what thev hive ratified ; because these art the terms which express the transactions which have acui I ly taken place. In other words, she must show her right to make a revolution. If, Mr. Piesident, indrawi ig these resolutions, the honorable member had confined himself to the use of constitution d language, there would have been a wide and awful hiatus between his premises and his conclusion. Leaving out the two words compact and accession, winch aie not constitutional modeaol expression, and stding the ma ter precisely as the truth is, his first res i lution would have affirmed that the people of the several States ratijfitd this -Constitution or form of Lrovernmeiit. 1 heseare the, very words ot South Carohna herself, in her own act of ratification Let, iHteri, his first resolution tell the ex act truth ; let it state the fact, precisely as it exists ; let it say that the people of the s-everal States ratified a vunauiui'uii, ' Vi IOI 111 01 uuvciiiiiicm , ami then, s r, what will become of his inferenceln his second resolution, whith is in these words, no man c n state :ie case With hiitoric.d accura cy, and In c"oi stitutional language, wi'hout o-vmg that tji? -honorable gentleman's right, as asserted i i lii conc'usi"i1f )S a revolutionary right merely ; ti f,. it does not, and cannot exist Uf.der the Convolution, or agreeahly to the Constitution,: ltti$a.i c-me in o existe-ne only when tlie Constitution is overturown. This is . -Lii ... ques- . ..... i .. ... " M'i.ki the cause o hbertv itself. T am of fh l.r P 'non ; but t, .en, sir. the liberty which ti N.i,k is staked on the contest, is not political li S iu uiiy general and 'undefined character. 0U1' w,1 well understood, and long enjoyed "'t'l 1 iove liln'i-tw " -v.liUIl. Ill Vt lVJlr ti.-y liwn. no. less ardehtly than the W'a Vnnur no mnw of u rmiti ic- hoiiorabie gentlem.-n has declared that onj tvtinnul compact be,twden sovereign Powers, than !f....'.l.1.,!on ot the flest,w,l nosr debate, may we know of a con&litutional indenture ofconarU ncrship, a coustitutioviil deed of conveyance, or a constitutional bill of exchange. But we; know what the Constitution & ; we know w'uat the plain iy wnuen iuiia-tmenal law is ; we know what the bond of our Union and the security of our liberties is ; and we riiean to, maintain and dc fend it, in its plain sense ; and uiiiophisticated meaning. me reason, sn w-nvch m-iKes it n cessarv to aban don th - u e 'hf eotitiitio ial 1 mgu age for a new vocabulary,, ajid :t sulistii ute, in tlie )1 ice of pi .in historical jcts, a scries of as-u npiions. 1 h:s is thr- reason ny it is necessary to give new names to titue, to snvak of the noi as a i.onsuMtiou. out as a comoact. 'int o tn - ra'ifi" uionj;be the people, not as rutiticatioos out is ac's of acig - fission. Sji, 1 iiiie'vd o'4ofd the gentlf-man to the. writ tpn record. . 1'n-tlsp. di.-cuv-ion of u constitutional qnestion, I niteiid to impose irioii him ti e re st i int o'f cm s'ittioiial lunguige. The people' hnv; ordaired a I'onst t t.io:i ; e;.n th v re ject ! vvitLi ;i 'revolution ? They have estrthli-iitd a foii.i u Goverm if nt ; can they overthrow it without revblulio ( .These are the true tion-. -z Allow rne nowjiilr. President, to inquire fur ther in'o th extt'ijt of the pr positions Contain ed in tlie rtsoK4Mjia a.idnheir necessary conse queiiC e.i. ' '; ; VV here .sovereign communities are parties, her-; is no es'sentf. difference between a com pi'ct, a confederr tion, and a league. They all equally r stiin plighted fiitli of the sove reign party. A 1; igue or confederacy, is but a , subsis'ing or c?. iitiing treaty. T'n's; 'g- rttiemat' i? ..fesoiations, then affirm, in tjfeet, that the.se went-four United Sia.es aie neui together onj- py a suDsisting treaty, resting for its fulfilment id cm inuanee in no inherent power. of its own But on the nliirhted faith of a di State ; or; ii pother words, that our, Union s but a league, .;, fd, as a consequence from this proposition,' tuey i .rther arm m that, as sovei c.ns are' suj. c "Ito no superior power, the States must deeid, -j," each for itself, of any alleg d violation of t ague ; and if such violation be supposed to h: e occurred, each may adopt any mode or " mej avre of reuress wnich it snali th oik proper. Other consequetes naturally follow, too, from the ma n proposit'.tt. If a league between sove reign powers havtJ.n'o limitation as to the time of its durj'ifh, ait "vcontain nothing making it perpeiua', it subs: jtS.only. during the good plea, sure ot tin parties' although no violation be com plained of. If, -in the opinion of either party, it be v.olaten, mich ariy may say that he will no longer fulfil its o! !i. a.im-s on his part, but wVd considt r the Who! ; league or compact at an end, although it might be ...ne ot its stipulations that it should be perp !u,d. Upon this principle, the Congress of the U jvtfe ' Slat, s and France, in 1798, declared n(' 11 and vojd ihe treaty of alli ance between the 'Juited States and France, tho it protessedto be a perpetual alliance. If the violation if the league be accompanied with serious injur 'S, the suffering party, being sole ju ige of ins f wn mode and measure of re dress, has a r gt't -o 'mdemnify himself by repri sals, onhe di"ei! ling members of the league ; and r pfis-1 if t -e circumstances of tlie case rt qu re it, may bT followed by direct, avowed, and public war. t . Tne necessary i (port of the resolutions, there fore, is, that ihe I Hit.d States are connected on l, by a league ; 'tfftit is in the good pleasure of every State, to dec ie bow long she will c'noose to remain a mmt ;r of ttws league; th -t any Stat - mav detirmiie ilie extent of vr ovn obli gations under it, ;j id accept or feject what siiall be decidjid by His jWhole ; t bat she also m y de termine wiie-lur If "Wights have been violated, what is t'-e -xt-n( of . the injury done her, and what mode and ml jisure of redress her wrongs may maite :t.nt a ? espeaient tor ner to aiopk. I'he resuit ot ihe, vho'e is, that auy State may eeede at pleasure ; that any Stale mav resist a law w hich she h'er .lf may choose to say exceeds e power ot Cwn jess ; an that, as a sovereign ower, she may lu r own arm at make reprisals,' sh : may cruise against the pro. perty of other meubers of the league ; she may luihor ze captures and make open war. If, sir, tin be m r political condition, it istune the people 'of the United States understood it. et 'us look for a n omeut to the practical conse- quences t these v-pinionsf un state, noiuing an embargo l iw : mconslitiitional, Jway declare ler opinion ..ml wlhdraty from the Union. She secedes. Anothe; ,. forming and expressing the Same judgment on a law la ing duties on imports, ma withdraw alt one secedes. Ann as, in her opinion, m?ife, t has been taken out of the pockets,of her citi ens. illegally, under pretence viz: "that, as in all ot Iter cases of compact, a mong sovereign partits, eicJi has an equal right t ttidge for itself, as ivell of the infraction as of tce mode and measure of redress f It is oovtous, is it not sir, that this conclusion requires for its sop port quite other premises ; it r. quires premises which speak of accession and of compact -net we n sovereign Power, and, without such premises. it is aitogeiher unmeaning. Mr. President, if the honorable member wil truly state what the people did in forminir this Constitution, and then slate what they must do it they would now undo what they th -n did, Iu will -unavoidably st Ue a case ot revolution. Let us see if it be not so. He -oust !-tate, in the. firs place, that the people of the Severn! States adopt d a' d tat.fied this Constitution, or form of Go .veinment ; and in the next place, he must stnte .hat thev have a right to undo tuts ; thai is to , "esg her own grievances, by , Te.ro wn discretion ; she may equally hevoll'tiuxakt. .What is revolution ? Why, sir, that is revolution, which oveiiurne, or controls, or successfully re sists the existing public atitliority ; that which arrests the exercise of the supreme power ; that which introduces a new paramount authority in to the rule of ihe State. Now, sir, this ;s the precise object of nullification. It attempts to supersede the supreme legislative authority. Ii arres's the- arm of the Executive M gi-trat'-'. Ii interrupts the exercise ol'tiie judicial power. Under the name of an ordiiiunce, ii declares null and void, within the State, all the revenue laws of the United States. Is not this revolutionary ? institution, j Sir, so soon as this ordinance shall bt carried in- io ettec', a revolution will have commenced in South-Carolina. She wilt have thrown off the author. ty to w hich her citizens have heretofore been su! ject. She will have decinred her own opinions and her own will to he above the laws, and above the power of those who are entrust ed with their administration. If she makes good tiiese declarations she is revolutionized. As to her, it is as d.slinctly a cha.ige of the supreme power, as the American revolution qf 1776. That revolution did not subvert Government in all its forms." It did not subvert local laws and municipal administrations. It only threw off the dominion of a Power, claiming ,to be superior, and to-have a right in many important respects, to exercise legislative authority. Thinking this authority" to have been usurped or abused, the Aimrican colonies, now the United States, bade it defiance, and freed themselves from it hv means of a revolution. Bat that revolution left them with their own municipal laws still, and the forms of local Government. Jf Carolina now shall effectually resist the law s of Congress, if she shidl tie her own judge, take her remedy in to her own hands, ob.y the laws f the Union when she pleases, and disobey them when she pteases, she w il! relieve hersedf from a paramount power as distinctly s the American colonies did the same thing in 1776. In other words, she will achieve, us to herself, a revolution. But, sir, while pructical nullification in South Caiolnia would oe, as to herself, actual and dis linct revolution, it-jr necessary tendency must al so be to spread revolution, and to bre .k up the Constitution, as to all the other States. It strikes a deadly biow ut tUe vital principle of the whole Union. To aliow State resistance to the laws of Congress to be rightful anil proper, to admit nullification in some States, and yet not expect to see a dismemberment of the entire Government, appears to me the w ildest illu -ion, and the most extravagant folly. The gentleman seems not conscious of the direction or the ra pidity of his own course. The current of his opinion sweeps bun ah.ng, he knows not whi ther. To begin with nullification, with the avow ed intent, nevertheless, not to proceed to se cession, dismemberment, and general revolution, is as if one w ere to take the plunge of Niagara. :.nd cry ou', that he would stop half way down, In the one case, as in the otlur, the rash adven turer must go to the bottom of the dark abyss below, were it not that that abyss has no disco vered bottom. Nuilifioadon, if successful, arrests the pow ot the law, aosoives citizens from their d subverts the foundation both of protection obedience, dispenses with oaths and ob'iga'ions of allegiance, and elevates another authority to! supreme command. Is not this revolution.' And it raises to supreme commmd four and twenty distinct powers, each professing to be under a General Government, and yet each set ting its laws at defiance at pleasure. Is not this anarchy, as well as revolution ? Sir, theconsti tution of the United States was received as a whole and for the whole country. If .it cannot stand altogether, it cannot stand in parts ;-and, if the laws cannoi be executed evey where, .t'sev cannot long be executed any where. The gpn tleman very well knows that all duties and im posts must be uniform throughout the coun ry,. tie knows that we cannot have one rule or one law for South-Carolina, and another for other States. He must see, therefore, and does see. every "man sees, that the only alternative is a re peal of the laws, throughout the who'e Union, or their execution in Carolina as well a.s else where. And this repeal is demanded because ! a single Sta:e interposes her veto, and threatens res stance ! The result ol the rentleman s opin ions, or rather the very text of his doctrine, is, that no act of congress can bind all the States, the constitutionality of which is not admitted by all ; or in other words, that no single State is bound, against its owji dissent, by a law of im posts. This is precisely the evil experienced under the old confederation and for remedy of which this constit itio i was adopted. ' Thejend nig object in establishing this Government, . an object foreed bn the country by the condition ol the times, and the absolute necessity' of the re enue law? it is .... v. .. to of which tlie revenue is collected ; if it be arrested in any State, the revenue ceases jn that State ; it is, in a word the sole reliance of the Govern ment for the means of maintaining itself and per forming its duties. Mr. President, the alleged right of a State to decide constitutional questions for herscll, ne cessarily leads to force, because other States must have the same right, and because different S ates will decideMtfereutiy ; tahd, when these questions arise between States if there be no '. sup rior power, they can be decided only by the law of force. On entering" into the. Union, the people of each State gave up a part: Of their own power to m ike laws for themselves, in con-sidei-.dion that, as 1o common objects, they should have apart in mak ng law's for other States. In other words, the people of all the Utes agreed to create a common Government, to be conducted by common councils. Penn sylvania, for example, yielded the right of lay. ing imposts in her own p rts, in consideration that 'he new Government, in which she was t have a share, ihouM possess the power of laying im-pi-.s's in all tiie States. If South-Crrolma now refuses to submit to this power, she breaks the condition oit whicf; other States entered the Union. She p irt ikes of the common cotincils.and therein ass.sts tb bind o hers, while she refuses to be bound herself. It makes no difference in the case wht tlier she does all this without rea son or pretext, or whether she sets up -is a rea. soo th -t, in her judgment, the acts complaine'd of are uiicons'ituti na. In the judgment cf other States they are not so. It "is no. li ng to iheni that she fTVrs sortie reason or some apolo gy f r her conduct, if it be one which they do not admit. It is not to be expected that any Tate wad v.ol.ite her dutv withoutkBCMne plausi Me pretext. That would be too rash" a defiance of the opinion ad mankind. But, if it be a pre text which lies in her own breast if it be no more than an opinion which she s.ys she has formed, how can othewStates be satisfied with this ? How c n they all allow her to be judge of her own obligations. ? O', "rf" she rc ay judge of her .obligations, may they not judge of their r giits also ? May not the twenty-three enterta n an opinion as well as the twenty-fi urth ? And, if it be their right in their own opinion, as ex. pressed in the common council, to enforce the Lw against her, how is she to say lhat her right and her opinion are to be every thinir. and their' right and their opinion nothing ? ' : Mr. Piesidenl, if we areitreceive the Con stitution as the text, and (KflTtp.jay down in its margin, the contradictory commentaries which have been, and which m.y be made by different Slates, the whole page would be a po-fyglot indeed, j It would speak with as many tongues as tlie builders of Babel, and in dialects as much cor'-.sed, and mutually as unintelligible. The very instance now before us presents a practical illustration. The law of the last session is de clared unconstitutional ir. South-Carolina, and obedienc . to it is refused. In other States it is ad mitted to be strictly constitutional,, You walk over the limits ot its authority, therefore, when )ou pass the State line. On one side it is law f on the other side, a nullity ; and yet it is passed by a common Government, having the same au thority in all tlie Slates. Such are the inevitable results of this doctrine. -Beginning with the original eirbr, that the Con stiiution of the United States is nothing but a compact between sovereign States; asserting, -in the next step, that each State has a right to be its own sole, iu.lareiif the extent of its o-wni- obligations, and consequently of the constitution 4 ahty ot laws ot Congress ; and, in the nextthaf it may oppose whatever it sees fit to declare iin constitutional, and that it decides for itseHTori the mode and measure of redress, (lie argument arrives at'once at the conclusion that what. State dissen's from it may nullify ; whatit oppjp' ses, it may oppose by force ; what it decides for itself, it nny execute by its own power; and it t ! 4m 0- of this law, and as he has p iwer to redress their U .w, was io give t Congress power tr;jay and wrongs, she may retused, si may iemaitd satisfaction ; and, if ake it with a strong hand. I'he gentleman .ha- h.mself pronounced the cul ection of tlntres, U der existing laws, to be no thing but robbeiy. Robbers, of course may .be rightfully dispdsset led of the fruits of their fla gitious en meji ; ant therefore, reprisals, impo sitions on tlie cojm jerce of other states, toreign alii .nces against ihi m, or pen war, are all modes ot redress justly op n to the discretion and choice of South-Carolina fbrshe is to judgeof her own rights, and to se satisfaction for her own wrongs, in her owii iway. But, sir, . third i.a.e is of opinion, not only that these l:w;s of i lirnjst are constitutional, but thai it is the absoli te duty of Congress to pass and to maintain sue -daws ; arjd that, by omitting to p ss and maintat them, its constitution d ob ligations would be ; -i ossly disregatded. She re l .iQuistitd the pov ;r of protection, she m'uh allege, and allege , -illy, herself, and gave it up to Congress, on th i faith that C-ingress would exercise it. Ifjboi.rei-s no.w ftUise to exercise it. Congress frlp:s!', she n:ay insist, break, the Cdndiiioii of tlie grjt, and.thits man.festiy vio ble the const'.tuti in ; and for this violation of the Constitution, A J'fnay threaten toseccde also. Virginia may. secetre-'ai'd hold the foriresses in the ChtSpeake.: '..-he .Western Stites may se cede,' -nd tke to-t(ir own use the -public lands. Louisiana may set ide, it she choose, Torm a I nseu, u uny execute ny us own power; and iwer that, in short, it is, itself, supreme over the'Ieg , 41, uty, islaiion of Congress, and supreme ovejjtiiede-jt-' and j cisions of the national judicjtturesuprejtne ov - ? ftMf : ilia I 'nnclltntinn ..1" tl.j. .n nriu?!w ..w-i .. -V'ttk-i' the supreme lawof the land. However it seeks Cv-' to protect' itself against these plai' inferences, '('. by saying that an unconstitutional laW ,5$ liolaw, and that.it only opposes sucih laws a are"uncoa-? i siitut io. al, yet this does not in the slightest de- " gree vajy t1be result ; since it insists on deciding this question for itselt ; and, in opposition to re,S , so i and aigumeht, in opposition to practice ai&- ' w . ' experience, in opposition to tne judgment of others, having an equ A right to judge, it bays. onlv, ' Such is rny opinion, and my, opinion shallt be my law, and I will support if' by my own strong hand. I denounce the law; I declare it.nti- constitution d ; that is enough; it shall . ntVbew, exicuted. Mtn in arms are ready to resist its ex ecution. An attempt to enforce it shall cover the l ..rl Mlfl, Plc,..!,.... U . U U J- '!.' a.iu mini uiuuui uijtuiicic iLiuny oc-ulUtling but here it is trampled under foot." j; 3 Tnis, sir, is practical nullification ' . .And now, sir, against all these theories and. opinions, I maintain- : t 1. Tl.at the Constitution of the United State is not a league, confedei-acy or.compact, between the people f the several States n theiir i sorer eign cupacities; but a Government proper, founded on the adoption of the people, andcre-" atmg direct relations between itself and indiv id rials 2. That no State authority has power to dis solve these relations ; that nothing can dissolve c them but revolution ; and that, consequently, there can be no such thing as secession without : ivo!iit Vnn. . ! - - - 5. foreign alliance, an 4 hold. the mouth oi the Mis'as a law for collect imposts u-uwm me consent of "pamcuiar Stuies. The revolutionary tlebt leiiunhed. un paid ; tlie national treasury was bankrupt ; the country was destitute .of credit ; Congress issued its requisitions, on Cue St tes, and the States neg lected them,J thera was no power of coercion but war; Congress could not lay imposts, or otiier taxes, by its own authority ; the whole General Governinenjt, therefore, was little more than-a name. The articles of confederation, as to purposes of reveiihe and financeywere nearly a dead letter. The f country sought -to lescape from this.condition, at once feeble and dasgrac; fal, by constituting S Government wlucti should have power f itself to lay duties and taxes, and to pay the publc'ebt, atid provide; fjrthc general welfare; ahd.to lay these duties and taxes in all the States, without asking' the con sent of the state dovernineuts. t'i-is .was the I very power on which the new constitution was j i r,. .u :...""-utr.. ... ,1,. ..A io uepeuu 101 ii its a'Jiiny v u guuu , siki, without it, it can be no Government ' now r"at any tinie. Yet, sir, it is precisely,ag:iiQst ihis pow er, so absolutely indispensable to the very being of the Government,: that Soutli-Carliiia chrecl Irer ordinattee. She attacks the GoVernrneiit in its authority to raise revenue, the' Very main spring of the Hole ayv.em and, if she succeeeL ttrv roovenwrtif of that 'system must inevilabl-T cease. It U of no avail tliat she declares thai she loes nt resist the law as a revenu'; law, but irotcctitig tranufactures. ltiift 3. That there is a supreme law. consistine- P 4he Constitution of the JUnited States, acts of (intnsfresa passed in pursuance of it, and treaties, and that, in cases not capable of assuming the character of - a suit in law or equity, Congress craust judge pf, and finally interpi et'thi3 supreme law, so often as. U has occasion to pats acts of legislation: and, in cases capable of assuming, and actually assuming, the character of a .suit;'' the Supreme Court of the United States is the final interpreter. - ' 4. Tliat an attempt by a State to abrogate, an nui, or nullify an act of Gongress,'or to arrest iis operation within her limits, on the ground that, in her opinion, such Jaw is unconstitutional, is a direct usurpation on toe just powers of the Ge nejal Government, i and on the equal rights of other States, a plain violation of jthe Constitution and a proceeding essentially revolutionary 4n its churacter ana leimenc. " Whether the Constitution be a compact be tween States in tiieir isovereign capacities, is r question which must be mainly argued from w hat contained in the instrument itself., We all a- ree that it is an instrument which has beer in me way, clothed with power. We al ad nit Wat it speaks with authority. Tne fits:, int--.- on then is, what does it ay of lisidf J yv; at 'Oi-s it purport to be ' Does it Sl-f itse a lt:ague, confederacy, or com icct b.i e;B -eve-reign States? It is to be renr n-b red, si,, thtf ijhe Constitution-began tosp.aiconir d.jtt iff . dopt.on. Uid W 'fc ra... i .u i; , n:i. jj tf t wag buU proposal, tiie ttttv untight of ao s: 1. .-l - f " ' "rV - -...--tff -N 3 A' f Ml : . ..til " .'v. ... "l-'i J JV 1 f w i - . it ' r ;X9 "'j-4 V .; tr, it ,:4 4 -If
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 2, 1833, edition 1
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