Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-02-16
Sc N A TT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
( Ks9syay, February 5.
JUDICIARY BILL.

: + rs aue entered The Senate Chamjey al g
= late boar, ave @aH nat asssmps'fo si7e
all the Sfeeeses in Jace16Eos. Ibis Is
tie Lsfs nsesgay from .ds srsss kzgt6
: ct avbick. tie debafe bas 6res already
6tsNle1. Bxtf The .4v5 jsilazriag pefe5s'
we 6ays tboxgb. ii impe,t~at to .1xs-
ly6, as they prsient GiesOs IL fane srsa-
fire REV., and certainly despJ intffgf-
= ng. Edit. MAI. Intel.
Mr.. Breckenridge fad, that he did
not expect to have rlfen again on this fub-
jetf, more Especially, at 70 late an hour,
. iabeut s o'clock but that he would beg
leave to aniwer Jingle argument, which
had been much preiIed to-day, and he
/. woald pseniis TO detain the houle bat a
few minutes.
- I did not expect icontinued Mr.. B. to
: find the doctrine Of the power Of the
court, to annul tine laws Of congrefs.
& which they conceived unconaitutional, 70
feriouly Unified on. lndeed do not
. think il revclen, to the iubjees before US !;
hst as it has been United on, ihall not,
:. I prefune, be out of order in replying to
= It. It is Gaid that the different depart
,miI,ents of the government are intended BY
>, the sonAitution to operate As checks On
sacn other; and that thispower is lodged
= with the courts to check the Legislature.
If this be even true, without enquirisg
into the policy and viidom of the dspoGt
OF ioVefeign controul, in the courts,
would ak, who checks the courts if tbsy
:. violate the confi,u,ion Would tkey
not BY this doctrine have the ablolute d.
retfion OF the government To whom are
sy,under the contraction ccntended for
by the gentlemen TO Poinr ous that part of
thu contribution which:granrs it. can find
no fueh power. Is it nor remarkable, that if
the courts poiiels this high power, it fhoula
1 not appear In the letter of the conEitu.
sion but ihould have been left to con-
fruaion and implication only! And is
il not truly afonilhing, that the con.ti-
tuition ihonld, in its abundant care to
ieperate and accurately define the pow.
ere afigned to each department, have
omitted, an explicit declaration, OH 70
important power, as that Of the courts
TO nullify all the acts of Congress, which
in their opinion, were contrary to the
contribution.
Never were iuch high and tranGen-
dans powers in any government, much
lefs in one like oursI competed Of Pow.
ers fpecislly given and defined, claimed
or exercifsd by contraction only. The
doctrine of contractors NO, warranted
by the letter of an inRrument, is danger
GUS in the extreme. Let men once
loofe on contributions and implications,
and at what point will yon Gcp them -
Is The AJaatia Of Eng1ilh, Judges in aif-
eovsring the latent meanings and inten-
: lions of law makers, meanings not en-
pfefsd in the letter of the laws, to be
adopted hsle in the contraction Of The
Conftitutioni Oncc admit the doctrine,
cha. either judges or lcsillatcrs are to be
: INDUCED in tilefe acute. and wire drawn
eonRiuetioas, to enlarge their own pow
: ssrs, or % controul rhof= Of Others, then
! would join the scntlenen in the cppo-
.e.i.ion IN declaring, that the contribution
would indeed be in danger.
To make the contribution a PRACTICAL
/; iyaem, the power Of the courts to an
nsl the laws Of copgrsis cannot poci-
bly, exit. My idsssesshe fab;ea, in a
few. words, is: That the contribution
intended aleperation only Of the powers
vdfed in the three, great departments,
siving to each the executive authority of
ssaiug on the iubjesas committed 10
each: Thar eachSre intended to revolye
Within the iphere ct their own orbits /;
are ref1oEable fer their own mo,icn on
"; and are no, TO disea OF. eontroul the
cvusie Of the Others That thofe for ex-
ample who make the laws, are prefansd
no have 40 eqsal atsaehuens TO, aud In
.seree in the contribution; are equally
!. bound by oath 10 kspcre IL, and have
an eqsal sighs to give a contribution
sois: That the OBSTRUCTION of one
: department Of the powers particular
~ seaed in the department. is Of as