[rustbucket]

[BroJoeK]: FLT-bird quoting Patrick Henry to Virginia's 1788 Constitution ratifying convention:
"This government subjects every thing to the Northern majority.
Is there not, then, a settled purpose to check the Southern interest?...
How can the Southern members prevent the adoption of the most oppressive mode of taxation in the Southern States, as there is a majority in favor of the Northern States?” "

BroJoeK, don't you remember Madison's reply in the 1788 Virginia Ratification Convention to Patrick Henry's arguments just quoted by FLT-bird? Here it is:

An observation fell from a gentleman, on the same side with myself (rustbucket: i.e., the ones who, like Madison, wanted to ratify the Constitution) which deserves to be attended to. If we be dissatisfied with the national government, if we should choose to renounce it, this is an additional safeguard to our defence.

The documentation for that quote and others from important Founders can be found in Link to my old post 108.

I just realized that I may not have ever posted or linked that old post 108 to you, BroJoeK, so you might not be aware of it. I have things I need to reply to from your recent post to me, but family is just now arriving to spend the weekend with us. I will respond to that earlier post from you as time and activities permit.

[BroJoeK]

rustbucket quoting, reportedly from Madison, 1788: "An observation fell from a gentleman, on the same side with myself (rustbucket: i.e., the ones who, like Madison, wanted to ratify the Constitution) which deserves to be attended to.
If we be dissatisfied with the national government, if we should choose to renounce it, this is an additional safeguard to our defence."

Others here have posted long lists of quotes (or alleged quotes) purporting to show that our Founders endorsed unilateral unapproved declaration of secession at pleasure.
None actually do that, all list conditions such as powers "perverted to... injury or oppression" or "necessity", all of which refer back to the Declaration of Independence listing of just what such words mean.

This reported quote from Madison seems to go a step closer to "at pleasure" secession, suggesting only "dissatisfaction" as the criteria to "renounce" national government.
So there are several things to note here:

1. The quote can't be found in a normal google search which means, at best, it's an obscure quote, at worst, fake.

2. Virginia's ratification statement does not reflect anything resembling an "at pleasure" secession, but says instead "withdrawal" will come when powers are "perverted to... injury or oppression."

3. President Madison himself prepared to invade New England in 1814 if the Hartford Convention declared secession.

4. In his letter to Trist, Madison clearly spells out his distinction between mutual consent and "at pleasure" secession:
   
   "...the compact being among individuals as imbodied into States, no State can at pleasure release itself therefrom, and set up for itself.
   The compact can only be dissolved by the consent of the other parties, or by usurpations or abuses of power justly having that effect.
   It will hardly be contended that there is anything in the terms or nature of the compact, authorizing a party to dissolve it at pleasure."
   
   
5. So, bottom lines: we have one alleged Madison comment from Virginia's ratification convention, versus the actual language of Virginia's 1788 ratification, plus Madison's 1814 anti-secession actions and his full explanation regarding "at pleasure" to Trist in 1830.

I don't think this alleged quote overrules all the others.