The Georgia constitutionalist. (Augusta, Ga.) 1832-184?, December 18, 1832, Image 2

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TWB fCViTITI T10M.% 3,1*■!% 1 \ ' BV ).l Il f A M t * —|\.r the scmi-wnekly paper, publish© i entry Tuesday and Friday morning. *5 per annum fj «,ix the weakly £3, »H pn;. J'r.lc in advance. __ I, ADVERTISEMENTS 'ire inscnet! week’}' for <IC r. 1-2 c«i*l per square ; sctni-wcokty G 2 1-2 cen» for .he c fin*, and 43 3-4 cents for each subsequent insertion, f on<l'monthly for * 1. O) per square lor each insertion. lot yearly advertisements private arrangemnts are ; a X deduction is made on.fl« advertise, j e merits ofpftbitc officers. _ , j £ HT Posttre ‘ pUOCLAn ixios * by Ay drew jacksox rRKSIDKNt Os THE UNITED STATES. , WHEREAS a CoifvCdrvor. assembled in the State of flfouth-Carolina have passed at. Ordinance, by which , teev declare “That the severs’.-erts ar.d parts of 3',.s j Congress ot the United States, purporting •> be Iswsfor the imposing of duties and imposts on im. j porijt.on of foreign commodities, ami no’-v hay .ig actu- , al operation and effect wl'.r.m the United States, and more especially** two at*!.*, for the aa .rte purpose* pas*. I #d on the 29th of May, ’IS&i, and ntt -he 14th of July, j ilb32, “are onautkotteed by the Conui .utfon of the U i iptttci, and vied ate the Crn- meaning and intent thereof, I • and ore null and vtV.d, ar.i r < inw," nor biyding cn the j ’ ipfciaens of tbrft ttzre ct : .-.s officers '.and I>y tl-.c - dj Ordnance it J« furihrt declared tu he unlawful any j th« cotrftinflcd JKJ‘hc.rltie‘l of the s ate, or ot the U. [ Spates, to •inferior the p'-yir.eiit of tiie duties imposed by *laa •aidaseffc within the same slate, a.id that it is the *dnty ol the '•Lcgiaimure to pass such laws as may be j reel'sStVTy to give full effect to the bifid Ordinance : And NvK’BßAas, by the said Ordinance it is timber or. •■daiped, that, in no case of law or equ ty. decided in the obuKs dt said stu-e. wherein shall be drawn in question ■the xshduy of the said Ordinance, or ot the acts of the legislature the ■ may he passed to give it eliect, or ol j ‘thtssid laws of the United States, no appeal shall be i Hlfowcd to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor ; “•shall, any copy of the record be permitted or allowed tor I that purpose ; and that any person attempting to take ; such appeal shall Im; punished as tor a contempt ot court, | And, finally, the said Ordinance declares that the j people of South-Carolina will maintain the. said Ordin- | nice at every hazard ; and that they will consider the j passage of tiny act by Congress ah dishing or closing | tUo ports of the said state, <>r otherwise obstructing the j fr*o ingrcsi or egress ol vessels to and from the said | ports, or any other act ot the Federal Government to coerce the state, shut up her ports, destroy or harrass her commerce, or to enforce the said acts othci wise than through the civil tribunals ot the country, as incon sistent with the longer continuance of South-Carolina m the Union ; and that the people ot the said slate will thenceforth hold themselves absolved Irom all further •Uigation to maintain or preserve their political con nexion with the people of ihc other stales, and will forthwith proceed to organize a separate Government, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and in dependent states may of right do: And whereas the said Ordinance pres ribes to the j people of Son h-C irulina u course ot conduct, in direct violation of their duty as citizens ot the United Stales, oontrary to the laws ol ineir country, subversive ot tts constitution, and having lor its ohjec. the destruction ol tb* Union—that Union, wly* h. coeval with our political •zisience, led our fathers, without any other ties to u. ■ ite them than those tit p .trio'isin and a common cause, through a sanguinary struggle to a glorious indepen dence—that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, perfected hy our happy Constitution, has brought us, by ths favor ol Heaven to a stale of prosperity at homo, and high consideration abroad, rarely, it ever, equalled In th* his'ory of nations: To preserve this bond ot our political existence from destruction, to m lintain invio. lite this slate of national honor and prosperity, and to justify the confidence my fellow-eitizons have reposed in me, I, Andrew Jackson, President «J lhr Lulled States, have thought proper to issue this my J*roc?!l* million, stating my views ot the Constitution and laws applicable to the measures adopted by the conven lion of South-Carolina, and to the reasons they h ive put forth to sustain them, declaring the course which duty will require me to pursue, and, appealing to the un derstanding and patriotism ol the people, warn them ot the consequences that must inevitably result from an ssbservanre of the dictates of the Convention. Strict duty would require ol me nothing more than •zeroise of those powers with which lain now, or met Isere.ifti r be, invested, tor preserving the peace of , the (Union. and for the execution ol the laws. But the aspect which opposition has assumed in tuis case, by ■clothing itself with state authority, and the deop interest whicli the people of the U b ed States must ail feel in .preventing a resort to stronger measures while there tv a hope that any thing will be yielded to . reasoning and remonsltan.-e, perhaps demand, and wnl osrtainly justify, a full exposition to South-C arolina and the nation ot the views I entertain ot this iinporta it question, as wcFi as a distinct t •mneiation ot the course which my sense of dutv will reqn’fe me to pursue. The Ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible right of resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutton al, and too oppressive to be endured, bu* on the strange position that nnv one state may not only declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit its e.xeotiib n shat they nay do this consistently with the constitutim that the trits construction of that instrument permits a st.ue to retain its place in the Union, and yet lie b mr.d by no **th*f ot its laws than those it may choose tc> consider as constitutional. It is true, they add, that, to justify this abrogation ot a liw, it must be palpably con.tr.try to ryiurtitation ; hut it is evident, that to give thfl right of resisting laws of that description, coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what laws deserve tl.’ it character, is to give the power o! resisting all laws. For. as by the theory there is no appeal, the reasons il- Isged* bv the State, goml or bid, must prevail. It it should be said that public opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse ot this power, it may be as.ved why it is not deemed a sufficient gtt ird against the passage ■of an unconstitutional act by Congress. Tocro is, however, a restraint in this last case, which makss ths assumed power ot a state more indefensible, and which does rot exist in the other. There are two ap psals from an unconstitutional act passed by I ongress— suti) the Judiciary, the other to the people <St the states. There is no appeal Irom the state decision in theory ; and the practical illustration shows that the courts arc olosed S£Knst an application to review it, both judges •nd jurors being sworn to decide in its tavor. But rea. toning on this subject is superfluous w ben our social compact in express terms, declares, that the law? ot tfie Unitsd States, its constitution, and treaties made under it. sru the supreme law ol the land : end, for greater Glutton, adds, “that the judges in every state shall be fcound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws ot any State to the contrary notwithstanding." And it may ka asserted, without fear of r Tutution, that no fec.t ’ live government could exist without a similar provision. I/O ok, for a moment to the consequence. It ‘outi; Ca- So It ns considers the revenue laws unconstitutional, and has ■ right to prevent their execution in the port •f Charleston, there would ho a eiear constitutional abjection to their collection in every other port, and ao revenue could be collected any where ; tor all Imposts must be equal. It is no answer to repeat that aa unconstitutional law is no law. so long as the ques tion of its legality is to be decided by the st tie itself; fur every law operating injuriously upon any local inter est will be perhaps thought, and certainly represented, at unconstitutional, and, as has been shown, there is no ! appeal. If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the Union would hare been dissolved in its infancy.— Tha excise law in Pennsylvania, the embargo, and non. '{•tei-course law in the Eastern St ues, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deemed unconstitution J, and were | awrs "unequal in their operation than any of the laws a»w complained of: but, fortunately, none of those states : discovered that they had the right now claimed by South datblina. The war into which we were forced, to sup port the dignity of the nation and the rights of our citi- Sfns, might have ended in dcleat and disgrace, instead Os victory anti honor, it the states, who supposed it a rn. iuous and unconstitutional measure, had thought they possessed the right of nullifying the act by which it was declared, and denying supplies for its prosecution. — If.trdly and unequally as those me tsures bare upon sev. •r*l members of the Union, to the legislatures of none | this efficient and peaceable remedy, as it is called, j ■sggest itself. The discovery of this important te 'tare 4a our constitution was reserved to the present d ty. To the statesmen of -qmh-C«rolina belongs the invention. Hid upon the citizens of that state will unfortunately fall th* evils of reducing it to practice. If the doctrine ot a state veto upon the laws of the Eaton carries with it internal evidence of its impr-Cti •uble «j«urdity, our constitutional history will also af ford abundant proof that it would have been repudiated with indignation, had it been proposed to form a feature Wl OUT fSWWßlient. la afctaial state, although dependant on another •• *«ry early considered ourselves as connected 7SOfaaae'n iVerrst «nth a*ch other. Leagues were foriu- [A Jf. , -can •r. i. a; .’b'-fiii■ deeb.ration cftrtv pt-c*i ;■: .v. c were known in our aggregate character - Titt; I’Mtr.n colonies or ayeuica. T!iat decisive dr up rs; nt »:cp was t ken jointly. We declared opr i! vt a a nati.ai ;>y a joint, not by sever .1 a.Ctuj and wren ;«• t. ente of our < onfcd»’.-ation were redmerd to form, it •as in that of a solemn league o 1 several 8’ tes, by which I tev agreed »hr.t they would, coltectivoTv, fortr. one na j on for the purpose of ronddeting *-ar.ie cerfnin domes. ■c concerns, and ad foreign relation*. In the inatni. tent forming that Union, is so il'd an article which do lares that •• every state shall abide bv the determina ons of rergress rn all qn«s*ions which by thatcoafedc ition should be ?übmi»trd tb (item." Under the confoderar.t'.n. then, no state could legally nntu a decision ol two Uougress, or refuse to snhmit'to its xecut.on; hut t» < provision w.as made to enforce these de. isionr. rongrea? mude requisitions, but they were not I cm plied Vidth. Thr Government could not operate on in. ividuaia. They bad no judiciary, no means of collecting cv-nue. Btittbr defc # t§ of the confederation need not be detailed, its •■pf ration, we could scarcely be called a nation. ■ At find’ either prosperity at home nor consideration a. ‘road. This state of things could not he endured, nnd our prr f ,nf happy constitution was formed: but formed in vain, if this fatal doctr tie prevails. It was formed for important object? that are announced in the preamble made in the name and by the authority of the people ofthe U. States, whose delegates framed, «St whose conventions approved if. The most important among these objects, that which is placed first in rank, on which all othe-rs rest, is, “ to form n more perfect Union." Now, is it possible that, even if there were no express pr foion giving supremacy to the constitution and laws of the United States over those of the states, it can be conceived, that an instrument made for the purpose of “ forming a core perfect Union" than that of rhe confederation, could be so constructed by the assembled wisdom of our country,ast ro substitute for that eonicrh-raiion a form of government dependent fonts ex isten-’c on the local imerest, the party spirit of a spate, or of a prevailing faction in a state? Every mar of plain un. sophisticated undsrstanding, who hears thr question, will give such an answer as will preserve the Union. Meta physical subtlety, in pursuit of an impracticable theory, could alone have devised one that is calculated to de stroy it. I consider, then, the power to annul a law of th? U. States, assumed by one star#, incompatible with th'k ex. ISTENCEOFTHE U.NIO.N, CONTRA DIC PEI) EXPRESSLY BY THS LETTER OE THE CONSTITUTION, t'.VAf PRORtZEI) BY ITS SPIRIT, INCONSISTENT WITH EVERY PRINCIPLE ON WHICH IT WAS rOCNDCI), ANT) DESTRUCTIVE OE THE GREAT OBJECT FOR WHICH IT WAS FORMED. Atti-r this general view of the leading principle, we must examine the particular applicotton of it which is iirnie in the ordinance. The preamble rests its justification thesr grounds:— It asstiiiifs as a fact, tii t the obnoxious laws, nhhotiuh I lie v purport lob -1 iws tor raising revenue, were in re ality intended for the protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to he unconstitutional; —that the ope ration ol these laws is unequal;—that the amount raised by them is greater than i# required by the wants of the Government; —and, finally, th it the proceeds are to be applied to objects unauthorized by the Constitution-. These are the only causes alleged to justify an open opposition to the law 8 of the c >untry, and a threat of seceding from the Union, if any attempt should he made to enforce them. 'i'!ie first virtually acknowledges that the* law in question was passed glider a power expressly given by the Constitution, to lay and collect imposts; but its con stitutionality is drawn in question from the motives of those who passed it. However apparent this purpose in iv be in the present case, nothing can he more danger ous than to admit the position th it an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the members who assent to a law enacted under a constitutional p »wer, shall make that law void; for how is thru purpose to be ascertained ? Who is to make the scrutiny? How often may bad purposes be falsely imputed ? in how many cases are they con. cealed by false professions? in how many is no declara tion of motive made? Admit this doctrine, and you give to the states an uncontrolled right to decide, and every law mav be annulled under this pretext. If, therefore, the absurd and dangs rous doctrine should be admitted, that a st,ite may annul an unconst mtional law, orotic that it deems such, it will not apply to the present case. The next objection is. that the laws in question operate unequally. This objection may be m ide wirh truth to every law that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that woui 1 operate wirh perfect equality. If the unequal operation of a law m ikes it uneonsTttutional, and b all 1 iws of that description may hr abrogated hy any state for that cause, then indeed is the Federal Constitution unwor'hy of the slightest effort for its preservation. We have hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our Union. " e have received it as the work of the assem bled wisdom of the nation. We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor of our safety, in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe. " e have looked to it with sacred awe as the palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion, have pledged to c ich other our lives and fortunes her*, and our hopes of happiness hereafter, in its defence and support. Were we mistaken, my countrymen, in attaching this impor. lin - e to the Constitution of our country ? Was our devo. tion p lid to the wretched, ineffi dent, clumsy contriv. nnce, which this new doctrine would make it ? Pid we pledge ourselves to the support of an ary nothing—a bubble that must be blown awav by the first breath of d s iffeetion 7 " as this self-destroying, visionary theory, tiie work of the profound statesmen, the ex iltcd patriots, t > whom the tisk of constitutional reform was entrusted ? D d the name of Washington sanction, did the states de liber itely ratify, such an anomaly in the history of funda mental legislation ? No. " e were not mistaken ! Tiie letter ot this great instrument is free from this radical fault; its language directly contradicts the imputation: its spirt—its evident intent contradicts it. No, we did not err! Our Constitution does not esntain the absurdity of givinz- -power to make laws, and another power to resist them. The sages, whose mem >ry will always he rever enced, hive given us a practical, and. as they hoped, a permanent constitutional compact. The Father ol his country did not affix his revered name to so palpable an absurdity. Nor did the stales, when they severally rati tied it, do so under the impression that a veto on the laws of the U. St Ues was reserved to them, or th it they could exercise if by implication. Search file debates in all their Conventions —examine the speeches of the most zealous opposers of Federal authority—look at the amendments that ware proposed. They are all silent—not a syllable uttered, not a vote given, not a motion made, to correct the explicit supremacy given to the law* of the Union over tho->e of the states —or to show that implication as is now contended, could defeat it: No, we have not erred ! The Constitution is still the object of our reverence, the bond of onr Union, our defence in danger, the source of our prosperity in peace. Il shall descend, as we have ' received it, uncorrupted by sophistical constiaction, to our posterity; and the sacrifices of local interest, of stare prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made to bring u into existence, will again be patriotically offer ed for its support. The two remaining objections made by the Ordinance to these laws are, that the sums intended to be raised by them are greater than are required, and that the pro. ceeds will be unconstitutionally employed. The Consti iution has given expressly to Congress the right ot rais ing revenue, and ol determining the sum the public exi gencies will require. The states have no control over the exercise of this right, other than that which results from the power of changing the Representatives who a buse it, and thus procure tedress. Congress may un. doubtediy abuse this discretionary power, but the same mav U? said of others with which they are vested. er the discretion must exist somewhere. Tiie Constitution Pas given it to the Representatives of all the People, checked by the Representatives of the states, and by the Executive power. Ths South Carolina construction gives it to the Legislature or the Convention ot a single state, where neither the people of the different states, nor the states in their separate capacity, nor the Ciiiei M igistrate eiec‘ed by the people, have any representation. Which is the nD>?t discreet disposition of tiie power; I do not ask vou, fellow-citizens.pvhicu is the constitutional disposition—that instrument speaks a language not to be misunderstood. But it you were assembled in gener d convention, which would you think the safest depository of this discretionary power in the last resort? \* oui.i you add a clause giving it to each of the states, or would vou sanction the wise provisions already made by your Constitution? If this should he the result ot your tlelibe ratioiis when provid ng fur the future, are you—can you —be ready t > risk all that we hold dear, to establish, tor a temporary and a local purpose, that which you must a :- knowledge tube destructive, and even absurd, as a gen eral provision? Carry out the consequences ot thi# right vested in the different states, and you must perceive th it tiie ends year conduct presents at this day, w»uld recur whenever any law of the United States displeased any of the slates, and that we should soon cease to be a nation. The Ordinance, with the same knowledge of the fu ture that characterizes a former objection, fells you that the proceeds of the tax will be unconstitutionally appli ed. If ihiscould be ascertained with certainty, the ob jeetion would, with mne propriety, be reserved for the law so applying the proceeds, but surely cannot be urged against the laws levying the duty. These are the allegations contained in the Ordinance. Examine them seriously, my fellow citizens—judge for yourselves- I appeal to you to determine whether they are so clear, *« ceunociiig, oa to leave ao doubt of t'.e.r <- rr. *?»■'•?« : ».nd tvvn if yau aV-ao! * ■.-.. me u tu>. , i-onc!u-i >a. how far tlwy justify rpektess, destruc tive o .rsc, which you arc directed to pursue. Re view ?iic ■*** Directions, and the conclusion* drawn from them, once more. What arc they ? Every law, then, lor r.i t ng revenue, according to the Sou.h C iroitn i Ordin;. x: -e, may be rirhtfuily annulled, 'males-,* it be <?.» framed :>* no law ever will or can he i> lined, (ongr.’ss. have a right to laws.tor raising revenue, and e ich s’ste lis& a right i-» or»v-»se tlieir ex'HcutiOii —two rights directly opposed re ea n other; and yet is this absurdity suppose! to be (5 mtained in an instrument drawn for the express purposu o; avoiding collisions between the. B'atea a; id the -geneml government, !>y an assembly of the most enlighten' 1 statesmen end purest patriots ever enih’od : e(f for a > miiar pur; o?c. In vain have these «:fg£3 'declared ton’ -Congress shall have power tolar and culled taxes. duties, imposts, and excises—i a t ;in 'have they provided that they shall have powi rto p-ss l«tws which shall be necessary ’and nroper to ■ o-trv those powers into execution that those laws and t’ ,at Con mtinjon shall bo the “ supreme law of the land ; ,n.i that the judges- in every state shall be bourn! the; ehy, a y thing in the-Constitution or laws of any state to the -.contrary, .not withstanding.” In vain have (he i tfpl* of the several states sol tnnlv. sanction, eel these v- ■£visions,- made them--their paramount law anil indivii tali} sworn to support them whenever they were call!- lon to’-.-xt-cute any office. Vain provisicms ! ineffectual restrictions ' vile profanation of oaths! ‘ erabic mo< kerv of legislation ! Ii a hare majority i • :’e voters ; - ! so y one stale may, on a real or supposed i. ledge thi• intent with w hich a law hits been pas; " declare rhe* is<dv. s free from its operation—say herd-u --jnv-s ico lit = i*--. thesrtWo liiufh,. and op« ryes unequally —hen it aul'ers art! ies to be free that ought to lie Tax ed, there it t ixes’ those that ought to bo tree—it! this case the prociintb. are intended to be applied tO’psrppy cs which wc <’o not approve, in that the amount raised us more thin is •• .amred. Congress, it- is tr-iic.-arc invested by thu Cousin ition v.-lth the right of deckling tiiese qtiee tions according .to their sound discretion. Congress s coinpi-svd of the Representatives of all rhe stares and c i sll tho people of. nil the states; but wt:.,part of the p- ' pit oi one stall - , to wirom the Constitution has given no po'.ver on the subject, from whom it has expressly taken it away—ice, who have solemnly agreed that tins C-.vi : solution shall be mrlaw— ice,n\ »st of whom haveyc.voM i to support it— ict, now abrogate this law, and swear, and force others t > swear, that it shall not be obeyed—and 1 \vr do this, not because Congress have no right to pass such laws ; thm wc do not allege ; but because they ! have passed them with improper views. Tory are un ! co istitwion.d troin the motives ot those wh > pissed them, which we can never with certainty know, Irora their unequal operaiion; although it is impossible (rum the.nature of tilings that they should be cqu tl— nut troin the disposition which we presume may-be made ot their proceeds, although that disposion has not been declared. This is the plain meaning ot the Ordinance in relation to laws which it abrogates for alleged uaconstitutio inlay. Hat it does not stop there. It repeals, in express terms, £*t import in: pan of the Constitution itself, and of I twa passed to give it effect, which have never been alleged to be unco-.istituticvil. The co.istiriitiou deal n.-s that the judicial powers of the United States extend to esses arising under the laws ot the United States, and that such laws, the constitution, end treaties, shall be para mount to the state constitutions and laws. The Judiei j ary act prescribes the inode by which the case rn ,y be brought before a court of the United State.--, It;. - appeal, when a state tribunal shall decide against, this provision of the constitution. The Ordinance declares there shall be it!) appeal; makes the state laws paratn unit to the constitution and laws of the United States; forces judges and juror-* so swear that they will disregard their provisions; and even makes it penal in a suitor to attempt relief by appeal.- it further declares that it shall t c‘- he lawful for the authorities sit tile United Stales, or of that stale, to enforce the payment of dunes imposed by the revenue laws within its limits. Her t is a la w of the United -States, not even pretend ed tob» unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority of the voters as it single state. Here is a provision ot the constitution which is solemnly abro gated by the same authority. On sgeh expositions and reasonings, the Ordinance ground vhot onlv an assertion of the right to annul the laws of which it complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seceding from tbs Union, if any attempt is matte lo exc u’e them. The right to secede is deduced from site nature cf the ConstitMti Mt, which, they say, is a compact between sovereign . flutes, who have preserved their whole sove reignty, .'ini'; therefore, are subject to no superior lh.it, because they made the compact, they can break it when, in their opiui Vi, it lias been departed from by the other states. Fuliai ions as this course of re isoning is, it en lists state pri* e. and finds advocates in the honest-preju dices of those who have not studied the nature of our Government siiliciently to see the radical error on which it rests. Tite People ff the United States formed the Constitu tion, acting ihro igh flic suite Legislatures in making tlie compact, to meet nnd discuss its provisions, and acting in separate conv* ntions when they ratified tiiosc provi. sions ; but the teems used in its construction, show it to be a Government in which the people of all the states collectively tire represented. We an* oSs people in the choice of the President anti Vice-President. Here the states have no other agency than to direct the mode in which trie votes shall be given. Tile candidates hav. ing the majority of all the votes are chosen. The elec tors of a m - j irity of states may have given their .votes for one candidate, and yet anot! »r mty be chosen. The People, then, an*! not the states, are represented in the Executive branch. I i the II msc-of - ? there is this differ ence, that the pconle of one state, do not, as in tiieca.se o! President ami Vice-President, all vole for the same officers. The people of all the states do nit vote for all the members, each state electing only its own repre sentatives. Hut this creates no material distinction. When chosen, they are all representatives of the United States, not representatives of the purlieu! r state from which they come. They are. paid by the United t ites, not by the state ; nor are they accountable to it for any act done in the performance of their legislative func tions ; and, however they may in practice, as it is tlieir duty to do, consult and prefer tho interests of their par. cular constituents when they come in conflict with any other partial or local interests, yet it is tlieir first and highest duty, as representatives of the United .States, to promote the genera! good. The Constitution of the United States, then, forms a government, not a league ; and whether it be formed by coinpact between the states, or in any other manner, its character is the same. It is a government in which all the people are represented, which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the st.te? ; they re tained ail the power they did nut grant. But each state having expressly parted with so many powers as to con stitute jointly with the other states a single Nation, can not from th.it period possess any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation ; and any injury to that unity is not onU a breach which would result from the contravention ot a compact, but it is an offence against the wh tie Union. To say that any state may at pleasure secede from tiie Union, is to say that the United Mates are not a nation ; because it would be a solecism to conten 1 that aay p in of a nation might dissolve its connexion with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing any offence. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, mav he morally justified by the extremity of oppression ; but to rail it a constitutional right, is confounding tiie meaning of terms ; and can only be done tiirougii gross error, or to deceive those who are willing to assert a j right, hut would pause before they made a revolution, or incur the penalties consequent on a failure. Because the Union was formed hy compact, it is said tiie parties to that compact may, when they feel them selves aggrieved, depart from it : but it is precisely be cause it is a compact that they cannot. A comp ict is an agreement or binding obligation. It mav, bv its terms, hare a sanction or penalty for its hrcacii, or it may nor.— If it contains no sanction, it may he broken with no oriier consequence than moral guilt : if it have a sanction, then the breach incurs the designated or implied penalty. A league between independent n ilium*, goner div, h.s no j sanction other than a moral one ; or, if it should contain a j penalty, as there is no common superb r, it cannot been. ‘ forced. A Government, on tiie contrary, always has a sanction, express or implied; and. in our cse, it is bom necessarily implied and expressly given. An attempt by force of arms to destroy a Government, is an elf n- e, by , whatever m* ,- ins the constituti anal compact may have ; been formed ;and -such G ivernmeat has the right by the ! law of sei '-dafence, t * pass acts tor punishing tiie - if n-der. unless that right is modified, restraint 1. or resom *.!. hy . the constitutional act. 1 1 our system, although it t * mo.li ned in the case ol treason, yet authority is expressly given to pass ail laws n - ce**s try to carry it-* pow rs into effect, and under this grant pr -vision ha« been made ’or punishing acts wmich obstruct t ie due administration of the laws. It would seem superfluous to add nnv thingto show the j na’pre of that Union which connects us; but as erroneous j opini *ns on this subject are the foundation of doctrines j the most destructive to our peace, 1 must give same fur- j ther developement to my views on this subject. No one. < fellow citizens, has a higher reverence f>r the reserved ; rights of the states, than the M igistrate who now ad~ ’ dresses you. No one would make greater personal sa caifiees, or official exertions, to delend them from viola tioe; but equal ear« must be taken to prevent on their xn ; mt -n- i m-.x- with, or rer..tuß|aiun 01, th* ■ rights thev have vested in the nation. The line has no becn so distinctly drawn as to avoid doubts in some case :ot ;he exercise of power. Men ol the best intentions am soundest view s tAny differ in their c-nstruction ot sont i parts of the Constitution; but there are otters on vvhiel ■ dispassionate reflection can leave no doubt. Ol thisnn ! * ture appears to be the assumed right of secession. I rc'*s. ns we have seen, on rite alleged undivided sovc reigntv of tiie stpes, and on their having formed in thi sovert-isr i capacity a compact which is called the Consti tution, from which, because they, made it, they have th right t*j .secede. Both of these positions are erroneous \ and some of the arguments to prove them a- 1 have bee anticipated. The stales severally have net retained their entir sovereignty. It has been shown that in becoming par: of a nation, not members of a league, they sUrrendere many of their essential parts of sovereignty. The rigli to make treaties —declare war—K-vy taxes—exercis exclusive judicial and legislative powers,were all ofthcr functions of sovereign power. The states, then, lor al t these important purposes, were no longer sovereigr The allcjri mce-of the ; r citizens was transferred, in tii first iustanoe, to.the Government of the United Stafes ! they nec.ame Amcricon citizens, and owed obedience t i the Constitution of the United Stos, and to laws made i i conformity with the powers it vested in Congress —Thi * last position has nos been.’ anil cannot he denied. llov : ion can tint st te be said to ie sovereign and imlcper ,cnt. whose citizens owe obedience to laws rot made b and wii’se m *gistrates are sworn t» disregard fit os ■ T -*s, when they come in conflict with those pissed b ■.. other? What shows conclusively that the states car 1 tint !>a s-dd to have reserved an undivided sovereignty is, that they e.\pr - ss’y ceded tho right to punish troason not treason against tlieir separate power—but trenso ngr.ins! tiie United Sites. Treason isnn offence again - * j? -reie’gtify, a - 'd sovereignty must reside with the powe to punish it. * But the reserved rights of tiie states ar not loss sacred, because they have for their common ir teres t inmi*. the General Government the depository c these powers. The unity of our political characte : (as Iris been shown for another purpose) commence: j with its very existence. Under the Royal Govertunen j we h :d no separate character—our opposition to its op i pressio , < began as United Colonies. We were th Umtei* States under the confederation, and tiie nam was perpetuated, and the union rendered more perfect by the Federal Constitution. In none of these stage did we cons!,!-r our*e'ves in any other light than ns forming one nation. Treaties and alliances were nnd* in the name of all. Troops were raised hr file joint de fe. if. How, then, wi h all these proofs, that under nl changes of'onr position we had, for designated purpose and with define I powers, created National Governments how is it, that rhe m is?, perfect of these several mode ol union should now he considered as a mere league tii it may be dissolved at pleasure? It is from an abust of terms. Compa-t is used as synonymous with league although die true term is not employed, because it wouh at o ice show the fdla yof the reasoning. It would no do to say that our Constitution was only a league; but, i is ! -bored to prove if a compact, (which in one sense i is)and then to argue that as a league is a compact, even compact between nations must of course be a league an I that from site!) an engagement every sovereign pow er has,i rLiir to recede. But it h.s been shown, that ir this s 'use the "fates are not sovereign, ami that even i -they wore, and tiie National Constitution had been form, t ii by compact, there would he no right in any one state to exonerate itself from i's obligations. So obvious ary the reasons which forbid this secession, that it is necessary only to allude to th. - m. The I nion was formed for the benefit of ass. it was produced by mutual sacrifices of interests and otii-iioris. Can those sacrifices be recalled 1 Can .ho S :ties who magnanimously surrender ed iheir ii le to the Territories of the West, re call the grant ? \\ ill the inhabitants of the in land States ayree so pay the duties that may be imposed without fheir assent bv those on the Atlantic or the Gulf, fir their own benefit ! Shall there be a free port in one State, and onerous •'hi ics in anolh r? No one believes that any right ex as s in a single State to involve till the others in these ami countless other evils, conTarv to the engagemen's solemnly made. Every one must sot; that the other States, in self-defence, amis oppose at all hazards. These are the aiterna ives that arc presented .by the Convention : A repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leaving the Government with nul the means ol support ; or an acquiescence in tiie (Jissoiu ion ol our Union bv the secession of one ol its members. Vv hen the first was pro posed, it was known that it could not be lis'ened to lor a moment. It was known if force was applied to oppose the execution of the laws, that it must he repelled by force—that Congress could not, wiihour involving its-dfin disgrace and the country in ruin, accede to the proposition ; and ye - , ifthis is no' done in a given day, or ifany at tempt is m ide to execute the laws, tho State is, hy the Ordinance, declared lo he out of the Union. Tho majori y of a Convention assembled for the purpose have dictated these terms, or rather this ivj ction of all terms, in the name of the people ol'S. Carolina. Jt is true that the Governorof the Statu speaks of the submission of their grievan ces, to a Convention of all the Sia'es ; which, he says, they “sincerely and anxiously seek & de sire.’' Yet this obvious and cons itutional mode of obtaining the sense of the other States on the construction ofthe federal compact, and amend ing it, ii necessary, has never been attempted by hose who have urged the Suite on to this de struc ive measure. The State might have pro. posed die call for a General Convention to the o hcrS afes ; and Congress.if a sufficient number oftliom concurred, must have called it. But the first Magis rate of South Carolina, when ho expressed a hope that,“ on a review by Congress and the functionaries of the General Govern, incut, ol the merits of the controversy,” such a Convention will he accorded to them, must have known that n ;ither Congress nor anv func tionary ot the General Government has author!- ty toe dl such a Convention, unless it be de unndeil by two thirds ofthe States. This sug gestion, then, is .mother instance of the reckless . uteiition to the provisions of the Cons itution : w h which th s crisis has been madly hurried 0.-i or oftheattempt to persuade the people that a cons j n ional remedy had been sought and refus e-i. It the Legislature of South Carolina “ anxi ously d- sire” a General Convention to consider their complaints, why have they not made ap plication for it in tiie way the Constitution points out? The assertion that they “ earnes'ly seek” ■ it is compl tidy negatived hy the omission. This, then, is 'he position in which we stand. A small majori’ v of the citizens of one State in t-ie Ln;on have elected delegates to a Slate Convention : that Convention has ordained that all the revenue laws ofthe United States mus - be repealed, or that they are no longer ti member oi"the Union. The Governor of that'S ate has recommended to the Legislature the *aising of an army to carry the sec- ssion in o effect, and that he may be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of the S ate. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet been committed, but such a s a'e of thi.-gs is hourly apprehended, and i‘ is the intent ofthis instrument to rn oct-a i m not only that the duty imposed on me by the Consti u ion ’ to take care that the laws ; he lai hfully executed,” shall be performed to die ex on? ol the powers already vested in me bv law, or oi such others as the wis lorn of Congress sua:l devise and entrus - to me for fiiat purpose; hut to warn the citizens- of Sou’ h Carolina, who have been deluded in‘o an opposi ion to the laws, of the danger they will incur by obedience to the j il'egal and disorganizing Ordinance ofthe Con. vention, —to exhort those who have refused to 1 support it to persevere in their determination To ! upliol 1 the Constitution and laws of their country, an 1 so point out lo ail the perilous situation into which the good people of that s ate have been L‘d, —an I that the course they are urged to pur sue is one of ruin and disgrace to'the very state whoso rights they affect to support- Follow citizens of my native State !—let m< not onlv admonish you, as the first Magistrate of our common country, not to incur the penal tv of its laws, but use the influence that a Fathe would over his childsen whom he saw rushing to certain ruin. In that paternal languge, witl that paternal feeling, let me tell you, my couu trvmen, that you are deluded by men who ar either deceived themselves, or wish to deceiv you. Mark under what pretences you hava been led on to the brink of insurrection an< treason, on which you stand ! First a diniimttioi of the value of your staple commodity, lowerc by over production in other quarters, and th consequent diminution in the value of your lands were the sole effect of the Tariff laws. The el feet of those laws are confessedly injurious, but th evil was greatly exaggerated by the unfoundei theory you were taught to believe, that its bur thens were in proportion to your exports, not b your consumption of imported articles. Your prid was roused by the assertion that a submission b those laws was a state of vassalage, and that rcssi tanre to them was equal, in patriotic merit, t< the opposition our Fathers offered to the oppres sive laws of Great. Britain. You were told tha this opposition might be peaceably—might b roustitutionally made—that you might enjoy nl the advantages of the Union and bear none of it bur'hens. Eloquent appeals to your passions, to you State pride, to your native courage, to you sense of real injury,were used to prepare you so the period when the mask which concealed tin hideous features of disunion should be lak< i off. It fell, and you were made to look witl complacency on objects which, not long since you would have regarded with horror. Lool buck at the arts which have brought you to this safe —look forward to the consequences to wind it must inevitably load ! Look back to what was first fold you as an inducement to enter into thi: dangerous course. The great political truth was repented to you, that you had the revolutionary right of resisting all laws that wore palpably on constitutional and intolerably oppressive—if was added that the right to nullify a law rested or the same principle, but that it was a peaceable remedy ! This character which was given to it made you receive, with too much confidence, tlie assertions that were made ofthe unconstitu tionality of the law, and its oppressive effects. —Mark, my fellow-citizens, that, by the ad mission of your leaders, the unconstit utionahty must be palpable, or it will not justify either re sistance or nullification ! What is the mean ing of the won\ palpable, in the sense in which it is here used ?—that which is apparent to eve ry one ; that which no man of ordinary intellect Will fail to perceive. Is the unconstitutionally iof these laws of that description ? Let those a ■ mong your leaders who once approved and ad - vocated the principle of protective duties, an swer tile question ; and let them choose wheth er they will be considered ns incapable, then, of perceiving that which must have been appa rent to every man of common understanding, or as imposing upon your confidence, and endeavor ing to mislead you now. In cither case, they are unsafe guides in the perilous path they urge you to tread. Ponder well on tin’s circum stance, ami you will know how to appreciate t lie exaggerated language they address to you. They are not champions of liberty, emulating the fame of our Revolutionary Fathers ; nor are you an oppressed People contending, as they repeat to you, against worse than colonial vas salage. You are free members of a flourishing and happy Union. There is no settled design to oppress you. You have indeed felt the une qual operation of laws which may have been un wisely, not unconstitutionally passed ; but that inequality must necessarily be removed. At the verv moment when vou were madly urged on • -■ m> o to the unforuinale course you have begun, a I change in public opinion had commenced. The nearly approaching payment of the public debt, and the consequent necessity of a diminution of duties, had already produced a considerable re duce ion, and that too on some articles of gener al consumption in your Stale. The importance of this change was understood, and you were au thoritatively told, that no fur;her alleviation of your burthens was to be expected, at the verv | time when the. condition ofthe country impc- | riously demanded such a modification of the clu- I ties as should reduce them to a just and equita ble scale. But, as if apprehensive of the effect I of this change in allaying your discontents, you I were precipitated into the fearful state in which I you now find yourselves. 1 have urged you to look back to the means that were used to hurry you on to the position j you have now assumed, and forward to the con sequences it will produce. Something more is necessary. Contemplate the condition of that country of which you still form an important part! Consider hs government, uniting in one bond of common interest and general pro’ection so many different States, giving to all their in habitants the proud title of American Citizens, protecting their commerce, securing their liter ature and their arts, facilitating their inter-com munication, defending their frontiers, and ma king their name respected in the remo est parts of the ear h ! Consider the extent of i s terri tory, i’s increasing and happy population, its advance in arts, which render life agreeable, and the sciences which elevate tlie mind ! See education spreading the lights of religion, hu inanity, and general information into every cot. tage in this wide extent of our Territories and S ates! Behold it as the asylum where the wretched and the oppressed find a refuge and j support! Look on this picture of happiness and ! honor, and say— we, too, are citizens of A merica : Carolina is one of these proud States : her arms have defended, her best blood has ce mented this happy Union ! And then add, if you can, without horror and remorse, this hap py Union we will dissolve—this picture of peace and prosperity we will deface—this free inter course we will interrupt—these fertile fields we will deluge with blood—the protection of that glorious flag we renounce—the very names of Americans we discard. And for what, rnista ken men ! —tor what do you throw away these inestimable blessings—for what would you ex change your share in the advantages and honor of the Union ? For the dream of a separate independence—a dream interrupted by bloody conflicts with your neighbors, and a vile depen. denco on a foreign power. If your leaders could succeed in establishing a separation, what 1 would be your situation ? Are you united at home are you free from the apprehension of civil discord, with all its fearful consequences? Do uiir neighboring republics, everv day suffer ing some new revolution, or contending with new insurrection—do they excite your envv ? But the dictates of a high duty oblige me so lemnly to announce that you cannot succeed. The laws of the United States must be ex ecuted. I have no discretionary power on the subject—my duty is emphatically pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you • might peaceably prevent their execution, deceiv. sd you—they could not have been deceived f themselves. They know that a forcible opposi tion coaid alone prevent the execution of the > laws, and they know that such an onr.o.sm, ; be repelled. Their object is disunion • v"** . not deceived by names; disunion, by armed • is treason. Arc you really ready to inen^ 1 guilt ? If you are, on the heads of tl 10 j r ' U i tors of the act be the dreadful consequence ' • their heads be the dishonor, but on yours j fail the punishment — on your unhappy St nia : ; 3 inevitably fall all the evils of the Wl ‘^ ; force upon the Government of your countr- ' 1 cannot accede to the mad project ofdisun ' - i which you would be the first victims— I Magistrate cannot, if he would, avoid tho 3 formance of his duty—the consequence , fearful for yon, distressing to your fellow'^ v - zens here, and to the friends of good gov-rn ° 5 i 3 .throughout the world. Its enemies have beUr 1 our prosperity with a vexation they could . - conceal—it was a standing refutat'ion oftl"^ ) slavish doctrines, and they will point to 0 , l eir 3 cord with the triumph of malignant joy j. S 3 yet in your power to disappoint them, Tli \ is - yet time to show that the descendants //V* 3 Pinckneys, the Sumters, the Rutledges* •. i - the thousand other names which adorn th, ! ° t of your revolution try history, will not al/T* 3 that. Union to support which, so nirvuv of‘i"° n 1 fought and hied, and died. I adff c v,hj f 3 i honor their memory—as you love ;ie ° u , freedom, to which they dedicated their iff ' j you prize the peace of your coun'ry, th e |j V(S its best citizens, and your own fair fame. *o ? r trace your s eps. Snatch from the archive, ; your S'ate the disorganizing edic ofitsConven i tion—hid its members to re-assemble an d pro* i nnilgate the decided expressions of your will io remain in the path which alone can conduct vou to safety, prosperity, and honor—tell lliem that compared to disunion, all other evils are light be i cause that brings with it an accumulation of a ;[ i —declare that you will never take the field tin. i less the star spangled banner of your,country shall float over you—that you will not he si. matized when dead, and dishonored and scorns while you live, as the authoisof the first attack i on the Constitution of your country !—ltsde. strovers you cannot he. You may disturb ii peace—you may interrupt the course of its pos. peritv—you may ( loud its rejuuafion for sfabili. tv —hut i's tranquillity will he res'ored, i s pros perity will return, and the stain upon its national character will be transferred, and remain an c. tornal blot on the memory of those who caused the disorder. Fellow citizens of the United Slates’. The threat of unhallowed disunion—the names of those, once respected, by whom it is uttered— tlie array of mill ary force to support it—d note the approach of a crisis in our aflairs on v.hich the con inuance of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that of all free governmen s may depend. The conjimc. tion demanded u free, a full, and explicit enunci ation, not only of my indentions hat of mv prih. cipies of action; and as the claim was assenedof a right by a suite to annul the laws ofthe Union and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my opinions in relation to tlieori. gin and form of our government, and the con 3 struction I give to the ins rument by which it was created, seemed to he proper. Having the fullest confidence in the jus*ness of the legal and constitutional opinion of my duties which lias been expressed, I rely with equal confidence on | your undivided support in my determination to execute the laws —to preserve the Union by all constitutional means—to arrest, if possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to force; and, if it be the will of Heaven that the recurrence of its primeval curse on man for the shedding of a brother’s blood should fall upon our land, that u be not called down by any offensive act on the pari of the United States. Fellow citizens : The momentous case is before you. On your undivided support of your government depends the decision of the great question it involves, whether your sacred Union will he preserved, and the blessing it, s cures to us as one People shall be perpetuated. No one j can doubt that the unanimity with which tint M decision will he expressed, will be such ns to in spire new confidence in republican ins Tuitions, and that the prudence, the wisdom, and the coin age which it will bring to their defence, will transmit them unimpaired and invigorated to oui children. May the Great Ruler of Nations grant that the signal blessings with which he has favored ours, may not, by the madness of party or per- I sonal ambition, he disregarded and lost: andmav I IJis wise Providence bring those who have pro* I duced this crisis, so see the folly, before they I feel the misery of civil strife : and inspire a re. I turning venera*ion for that Union which, if w ft may dare to penetrate His designs, he has chosen I as the only means of attaining the high destinies I to which we may reasonably aspire. I In testimony whereof, I have caused the Seal of I the United States to he hereunto affixed, hav- I ing signed the same with my hand. E Done at the City of Washington this 10th day I of December, in the year of onr Lord, one P thousand eight hundred and thirty.two, and of I the Independence ofthe United States theft- I ty-seventh. I ANDREW JACKSON. I By the President: I Edw. Livingston, Ij Secretary of State. [1 NOTICE. I Lnited States Arsenal Augusta, Ga, December H 1832. I EALED Proposals will be received by the und'-f- 1> ' $ signed until the 2otb inst. at seven o’clock, P- ft' for furnishing the Troops at the United States Arsens'. 1? Sand-Hills, near Augusta Geo. with Fuel for ,WP ‘ V * Ij months commencing on the first dav of January* Op- H and ending on the last day of December, 1833. T” I) W ood expected to be delivered must be Upland ly Oak, Hickory, Black Oak, or Black Jack, sound, s: r,;l ? “ I , and tree from rot or decay, and delivered at the Arsen- l> al above stated at such times and in such qu T.'i"-'-’ ** I - the Acting Assistant Quarter Master at said Po«t »" 1 I j direct. II Bonds in the sum of SSSOO, with two securities ■_ I. named in the letter of Proposals, and to be approved 11 the Acting Assistant Quarter Master) will be require H to insure the faithtui performance of the contract. H The letter of Proposals to be directed >o the ,in er signed and endorsed on the buck. Wood Proposals. A. C. FOWLER, 1 Lieutenant and Acting Ass't. Q iarter Master• ■ December 7 50 1 Y. O. Siisar, Coffee, Raising e * | llhds N.O. Sugar 60 70 Bags prime Green Coffee K Whole, half and quarter boxes Spanish -egari ■ 20 Baskets Champagne, Favourite brands H Boxes Lemons K Jars of Grapes E| Whole, Halves, and quarter boxes of Raisins • H Landing from Steam Boat Charleston, and will t*'' H low if taken from the wharf. uH IN STORE. S St. Croix and Porto Rico -agars, fll Northern Gin, Bale Rope, Cut Nails assorted, HI Iron assorted, Sacking, Hyson Tea, Arc. , |>| Enquire of THOM A ; McGRA* • S Dec. 11, 1832, 3t I PIECES Tow and Hemp Bagging, 42 I.x”* es wide and sound, for sale at a re L II rice for Cash or approved Paper by J December 14 J