encountered in their determination. And not alone as questions of law are they important, for, involving as they do, the maintenance, or the overthrow of the legislative, the executive and the judicial acts under state authority, for nearly three years, upon the faith of the validity of which the contracts and dealings of the whole people of the state have been made, they become second only in importance to the correct decision of the law itself; and for these reasons, merit and must receive the most careful and deliberate consideration.
Guided, as we are assured we shall be, by well established historical facts, by the decisions of our own courts of the highest authority, and assisted, as we have already been, by the eminent counsel who have argued the case, with an earnestness and ability alike creditable to themselves and to the profession, and profitable to the court, we will proceed briefly to review some of the most prominent circumstances connected with the formation of the two governments, state and federal.
As political questions they will not be considered by us. But, as facts tending to show the nature and extent of the compact, which binds the state and the federal government together, and, particularly, to show how, to what extent, and under what circumstances, the state may sustain, and exercise its legitimate authority in the municipal administration of the state government, it becomes highly important to do so.
That the thirteen British colonies established in North America, (now states of the federal government,) although dependencies of the British government, were entirely independent of each other, is a historical fact, about which there can be no question. Nor, is it less certain that, subsequently, when the states confederated together, mainly for the purpose of defence against a common enemy, they did so as independent provinces or states. When passing upon the articles of confederation in convention, each state had one vote. Such, too, was the case in the congressional legislation, both before and after the articles of confederation were adopted. In article, 2 it was provided: "That each state
