Our country comprehends thirty-one states - thirtyone governments each occupying a prescribed and well defined territory, which, so far as any other state is concerned, with some few exceptions, is exclusively its own. These states, in many particulars, are foreign to each other. The people of these several states are citizens of the state to which they belong, and within which they reside; they also have the capacity, the right to become citizens, at their election, of any other of the several states; they are also citizens of the federal government. The constitution of the United States is the charter of the national government. It contains, defines, and prescribes, in general terms, the system of government by which we are politically known to foreign nations, by which we are protected from their control, and by which the citizens of the several states, in their intercourse, are regulated. The government thus established is not a government of states, it is a government of the people. It was established, not by the states acting as sovereignties, but by the people. The instrument contains a distinct enunciation of this position. It says, "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America." Notwithstanding this declaration, so clear and explicit in its terms, its truth and propriety have been questioned, and efforts have been made to resist, to pervert its plain import, — all of which have failed. As the states which compose the Union have increased in number, and as they may increase, -as the interests of different localities

* Constitution of United States - Preamble.

become more diverse, the importance of this position, which is the foundation of the system, will be more manifest, and an adherence to it is essential to the success of the constitution. The late Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering a judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States, incidentally considered and stated the mode in which the constitution of the United States had been adopted, and its character as a government of the people. He says: "The convention which framed the constitution was elected by the state legislatures. But the instrument, when it came from their hands, was a mere proposal. It was reported to the then existing congress (which had been organized under the then existing articles of confederation) of the United States, with a request, that it might be submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each state by the people thereof, under the recommendation of its legislature, for their assent and ratification. This mode of proceeding was adopted; and by the convention, by congress, and by the state legislatures, the instrument was submitted to the people. They acted upon it in the only manner in which they can act safely, effectively, and wisely on such a subject, by assembling in convention;- they assembled in their several states;- when the people act, they must act in their states. The measures they adopt do not, on that account, cease to be the measures of the people, or become the measures of the state governments. From these conventions (of the people) the constitution derives its whole authority. The government proceeds directly from the people; is ordained and established in the name of the people; - the assent of the states in their sovereign capacity is implied in calling a convention, and thus submitting the constitution to the people. But the people

* McCullock v. The State of Maryland, 4 Wheat. Rep. 316.

were at perfect liberty to accept or reject it; and their action was final. It required not the affirmance of, and could not be negatived by, the state governments. The constitution, when thus adopted, was of complete obligation, and bound the state sovereignties. The government of the Union, then, is emphatically and truly a government of the people. In form and substance it emanated from them. Its powers are granted by them and for their benefit. This government is acknowledged by all to be one of enumerated powers; - the principle, that it can exercise only the powers granted to it, is now universally admitted. But the question, respecting the extent of the powers actually granted, is perpetually arising, and will probably continue to arise so long as our system shall exist. The government of the United States, then, although limited in its powers, is supreme; and its laws, when made in pursuance of the constitution, form the supreme law of the land, any thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." In a more recent case, the same eminent jurist affirmed these views, and again says: "The constitution (of the United States) was ordained and established by the people of the United States, for themselves, for their own government, and not for the government of the individual states. Each state established a constitution for itself, and in that constitution provided such limitations and restrictions on the powers of its particular government as its judgment dictates. The people of the United States framed such a government for the United States as they supposed best adapted to their situation, and best calculated to promote their interests. The powers conferred upon the federal government are to be exercised by itself; -the limitations of power contained in the instrument, unless the contrary expressly appears, are applicable to the government therein created. The

states in their several constitutions imposed such restrictions on their respective governments as their own wisdom suggested - -such as they deemed most proper for

themselves." *

From these extracts, and from the short general view presented, it results that certain power, for certain paramount purposes no less important, has been confided to the state government by the people-the source and fountain of all power which either sovereignty, state and national, enjoys. All power and authority not so conferred resides in and with the people unrestrained, which they may exercise at will, exercising it so as not to weaken or in any way render unavailing and useless the powers surrendered. Individuals of other countries do not perceive how two jurisdictions can exist without conflict. Some of our own statesmen have occasionally feared collision. If conflict shall arise, it will result, not from the deficiencies or incompleteness of the system, but from a disposition, on the part of those who administer it, to lessen and detract from the rightful power and province of the one sovereignty, so as thereby, in fraud of the system, to build up and elevate the other.

This division of power is the source and secret of our security. As an illustration of the theory of our system a single exercise of power, in and by each sovereignty, may be stated, from which it will be perceived, that no danger or cause of conflict can exist. The federal government has the exclusive power to make treaties, to declare war. The state government has the exclusive power to prescribe the formalities with which a will or other testamentary paper shall be executed; to say how title to estates, real or personal, within its limits

* Barron v. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. 7 Peter's Sup. Ct. Rep. 243.

shall be acquired. These powers are not inconsistent, and the exercise of them by the different sovereignties to which they are confided cannot produce collision. These instances are understood; others more difficult of solution and more complex have arisen and must arise. They have been, and are to be controlled upon the same principle as the cases stated, with the addition of two well established propositions,—one of which is, whenever two jurisdictions, political or judicial, have concurrent power and authority, the one which first attaches upon its object, be it person, thing, or contract, cannot rightfully be displaced or impeded, until its rightful and legal purpose shall have been accomplished, until its power shall have been exercised, or voluntarily surrendered. The other is, that the constitution of the United States, and the laws and treaties of the United States, made in conformity with the constitution, constitute the supreme law of the land, and no state legislation can control it. It follows, if each sovereignty shall be content with its own trusts, each performing its peculiar duties, and asserting in good faith and in a spirit of comity its own rights, the two sovereignties will together constitute, as they were designed to constitute, one system. The right of sovereignty exercised by the federal government may be designated as external and occasional, although it is, in some particulars, internal and constant; that of the state government, as internal, and within its province, without interruption. If these rights are exercised by the federal and state sovereignties, within their respective limitations, they cannot come in conflict. And when a conflict occurs, the inquiry must be, which is the paramount law, this must depend upon the supremacy of the power by which the law, the subject of the conflict, was enacted. The federal government is supreme in the exercise of powers delegated to