sights of the people; the concentration of power in the federal department, or its division between the federal and state departments? The latter principle is founded on the supposition, that all good governments must contain collateral, balancing, and controlling departments. The constitution, by dividing powers, and declaring itself to be supreme, prohibits either the federal or state governments from usurping that character; and the powers assigned to each, to be held under its supremacy, express a prohibition against an assumption of supremacy by either over the other. It establishes a mutual and collateral tenure and fealty in both, under its own authority; and not a tenure or fealty of one, under the authority of its co-partner. When we hear the state governments reprobated in contumelious language, decried into subordinate corporations, the original rights of the people denied, and the supremacy of the constitution transferred to the federal government, although we may allow to declamation such accomplishments as may be consistent with a license so excessive, it is impossible to perceive any respect for those principles which suggested the resistance to British supremacy, and dictated the limitation and reservation established by the supremacy of the constitution. Whether there is courage or arrogance in undermining the authority of the people, exercised in the declaration of independence, the establishment of state governments, and spread upon the face of the constitution, both by dividing pow ers and declaring its supremacy, may depend upon success; but in that event it will soon become perfectly plain, that the attempt corresponds more intimately with the propositions in the convention to establish a monarchical or republican national government, including a suppression of state rights, and with the principles of tories and anglo-statesmen, than with those of the sages who effected our revolution, or of the people who recognised the sovereignty of the states in every act by which political power has been delegated or reserved, and by making these sovereignties the foundation of both the federal and state governments.

But no constitution, founded in the principle of dividing, limitting, balancing, and controlling power, could suffice to put an end to the natural enmity between this principle and that of con

centrating power, which has appeared in all nations, under all forms of government. Accordingly their eternal warfare subsists here, as in other countries. The whole-blooded republican federalists, take one side, and the whole-blooded monarchists and consolidators, the other. A half-breed, speculating about a government half federal and half national, entertained an idea, that by splitting both the hostile principles, and gluing the two halves together by a watery precept, the moieties of these natural enemies might be changed into artificial friends. This project being too metaphysical for practical use, left the controversy undecided, and only excited the efforts of each moiety to get back to its natural associate. The didactick party do not per ceive that a precept to the federal government not to invade the reserved rights of the states, is exactly equivalent to the precept solemnly preached to the states by the first confederation, requiring them to supply the federal government with money; and that if one precept could get no money, the other would se cure no rights. Therefore, the natural enmity of the contrary principles, has compelled these wavering individuals to vacillate between the other two parties in pursuit of attainable ends. Those who wish for the preservation of state rights, incline towards the federal republican party, and those who wish for a national government, either monarchical or republican, incline towards the doctrine of a supremacy in the federal government over the state rights of the people. So far the two substantial parties are guided by opinion. But the struggle is never conducted upon this fair ground. That class in society which is actuated by avarice or ambition, universally becomes a zealous ally of the concentrating party, and carries with it a great accession of talents. This disadvantage was surmounted in Mr. Jefferson's election to the presidency, by the rare occurrence of a ba lance in mental capacity between the advocates of hostile princi ples, and victory of course followed the better cause; and that result affords an anticipation of what will happen, whenever the same struggle is carried on by a fair appeal to the publick understanding. The impossibility of preserving their state rights by a dormant precept, coupled with a supremacy always awake and active, will enable every impartial man of good understanding,

t

to discriminate between the two principles of dividing and concentrating power, and to subscribe to one or the other, since, as in the convention, they will produce conflicting political parties. There the concentrating system was painted by a pencil dipped in the exigencies of the revolutionary war, with which the states were unjustly charged; now, it is painted by a pencil dipped in the hopes of avarice and ambition. Both have drawn caricatures, for the purpose of disguising truth; one, by hiding a beautiful object under hideous figures; the other, by hiding a hideous object under beautiful figures. One fair inference suggested by the contest between the federal and consolidating principles, is, that the people should require from all candidates for representation, both state and federal, an explicit avowal of their preference, that suffrages may answer the purpose they are in

tended to obtain.

We are in fact involved in the very struggle now going on in France. In that country, as in this, there are two parties; one labouring to sustain, and the other to destroy, the charter, retaining to the people a portion of liberty by an imperfect division of power; one for receding to the old regime, the other for keeping the ground gained by the new; one for a mutual check between political departments, the other for re-establishing the supremacy of the king. So here, the struggle is between the mutual check of the state and federal departments, and the absolute supremacy of the latter. The motives which invigorate the combatants are not to be distinguished. They are illustrated by the union of the deputies from South-Carolina in the convention, with Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, in favour of a supreme national government, exhibiting the curious spectacle of a symphony between the pride of aristocracy and the pride of population. The deputies of South-Carolina were willing to surrender her moral equality, but this disposition flowed from the high-toned political opinions of a predominating aristocracy, and not from a calculation of advancing her power upon the basis of her population. It is still more curious, after this aristocracy has been melting for thirty-five years; after Virginia has seen the error of sacrificing the sound principle of a division of powers between the federal and state governments, for mischievous spe

culations founded upon a fluctuating population; after Massachu setts has felt it; when Pennsylvania would advocate the repub lican equality and independence of state sovereignties; and when the comparative population of South-Carolina has diminished; that a single individual of the state should be willing to overwhelm the right which gives her importance as a member of the union, in the ocean of a consolidated national government.

Whatever may be the merit of the vituperations against the state governments, the object for which this pamphlet has been exhibited, is certainly accomplished. It is used as an evidence to our rulers, state and federal, that a project for introducing a supreme consolidated national government, is actively in operation, and will draw their attention to a design so momentous. The design is proclaimed by its principles, and impressed by its examples. It is proved by the reference to the supremacies of Great-Britain, Persia, Turkey, and Russia, as symbolical of the supremacy contended for. It is proved by contending that the concentrated power constructively claimed, though it will embrace the supremacy which its types possess, will not interfere with state rights, because it will either be too ambitious or too idle to do so; and it is proved by the comparison between the states and the ten miles square, for the sake of inferring that the neglect of the district by the supreme power of Congress over it, promises a neglect of the states by a similar power, and is a sufficient surety, that they may still manage their local affairs in their own way.

SECTION XV.

OTHER CONSOLIDATING DOCTRINES.

The newspapers have also abounded with opinions in favour of a supreme national government, and though it is probable that several ingenious writers will be surprised to find themselves identified with the doctrines of One of the People, they must discern, upon reflection, that their separate constructions of particular words and phrases extracted from the constitution, unchastened by the tenour and intention of the whole instrument, inevitably lead to the same conclusion. I shall notice a few, to prove further that a consolidating project exists, and to illustrate the incorrectness of this mode of construction. It has been said that the single word constitution contains innate powers, and implies sovereignty or supremacy in the federal government. Johnson expounds confederacy by the word union, and the constitution expounds itself by the same word. It is an instrument for uniting any nine of specified states, and not for constituting a government for a consolidated nation. Its provisions are so many recognitions of its federal character. If the word implies sovereignty or supremacy, it also conveys these attributes to the government of each state, and destroys the sovereignty of the people. Both the state and federal governments having been created by instruments thus denominated, whatever powers the word can convey, would be received by both, and the equality of the inferences would of course have the effect of a counterpoise between them. If it conveys an implied power sufficient to release the federal government from restrictions, the same implied power must release the state governments from them. Congress is compellable by state legislatures to call a convention, every alteration of the constitution must be ratified by threefourths of the states. If the word constitution had implied a national government, not a convention of states, but a national

and