Excerpt from The Report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the President's Message, Relating to the Affairs Between the Confederate and the United States It may be supposed, by those who have not attentively con sidered the history of the past, that the Constitution of the United States would be a barrier to the. Sectional omnipotence claimed by the North, in the administration of the Government of the United States. Undoubtedly, the Constitution does not authorize the assumption of the powers claimed by the North ern States. It was established on the principle of non-interven tion by the General Government, as to all local or sectional inter ests whatever. Its framers were perfectly aware of the essential difference between the States composing the United States, in climate, productions and pursuits of industry. There was but one way, that different people, with such various interests, could live free and harmoniously under one Government. All local or sectional interests must be left to the exclusive governance of the people to whom they belonged; and only such general interests should be committed to the control of a common Gov ornment, as would make all equal, and equally protected in their exercise. Any policy, therefore, which is local or sectional in its Operations, must, from the very nature of the constitution, be unconstitutional. If this great principle of the Constitution had been observed, there would have been no serious divisions or contests amongst the people of the United States. The interest of one section of the Union was the interest of all, in the powers exercised by the General Government. Hence, a sectional majority could not exist. Differences in policy in carrying out the provisions of the Constitution would be com mon to all sections of the l'nion; and a majority could not op press a minority, without oppressing themselves. Party con tests for power, however much they may rage, could not effect the stability of the Union. Antagonisms would be within the sphere of general interests, to be protected and promoted by general powers, and would not arise between opposing sections of the Union. This was the theory, upon which the Constitu tion of the United States was built. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.