ferred by them upon their _governments_, we hear of a
Government of the United States "sovereign within its sphere," and of
State governments "sovereign in _their_ sphere"; of the surrender by the
States of _part_ of their sovereignty to the United States, and the
like. Now, if there be any one great principle pervading the Federal
Constitution, the State Constitutions, the writings of the fathers, the
whole American system, as clearly as the sunlight pervades the solar
system, it is that _no_ government is sovereign--that all governments
derive their powers from the people, and exercise them in subjection to
the will of the people--not a will expressed in any irregular, lawless,
tumultuary manner, but the will of the organized political community,
expressed through authorized and legitimate channels. The founders of
the American republics never conferred, nor intended to confer,
sovereignty upon either their State or Federal Governments.

If, then, the people of the States, in forming a Federal Union,
surrendered--or, to use Burlamaqui's term, transferred--or if they meant
to surrender or transfer--_part_ of their sovereignty, to whom was the
transfer made? Not to "the people of the United States in the
aggregate"; for there was no such people in existence, and they did not
create or constitute such a people by merger of themselves. Not to the
Federal Government; for they disclaimed, as a fundamental principle, the
sovereignty of any government. There was no such surrender, no such
transfer, in whole or in part, expressed or implied. They retained, and
intended to retain, their sovereignty in its integrity--undivided and
indivisible.

"But, indeed," says Mr. Motley, "the words 'sovereign' and 'sovereignty'
are purely inapplicable to the American system. In the Declaration of
Independence the provinces declare themselves 'free and independent
States,' but the men of those days knew that the word 'sovereign' was a
term of feudal origin. When their connection with a time-honored feudal
monarchy was abruptly severed, the word 'sovereign' had no meaning for
us."[62]

If this be true, "the men of those days" had a very extraordinary way of
expressing their conviction that the word "had no meaning for us." We
have seen that, in the very front of their Articles of Confederation,
they set forth the conspicuous declaration that each State retained "its
_sovereignty_, freedom, and independence."

Massachusetts--the State, I b