Page:Nullification Controversy in South Carolina.djvu/354

Rh that had been watched eagerly all over the state, the court of appeals by a vote of two to one annulled the test oath; Judges Joseph Johnson and J. B. O'Neall were together against Judge William Harper. They held that the convention had gone beyond its powers in its attempt to delegate power to the legislature to pass the oath as an ordinary enactment.

The Union papers, of course, rejoiced greatly, and some predicted that this would put an end to the oath controversy. The Nullifiers soon reminded them, however, that this was by no means the end. They meant to make the oath the issue in the next election, carry it through the legislature again by two-thirds, and thus have it a part of the constitution, beyond the reach of Union judges. Some of the Nullifiers saw that it would be best to take no rash or violent step which would excite sympathy for their opponents; they resolved quietly to direct their whole energies to the fall elections. But there were others who