Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1803-12-02
CO N s RES S
OF THE
u NITED ST n e = S.
HOUSE OF REPRESENT AT,,vEs.
TUESDAY,, October %
DEB4TE on the LOUISIANA 1,REATE.
lNr Nsb9lss's Speed ega.isaea.
oF THE

have abandoned this ground, DUl III Hio o t
Mon the treaty itself violates the consf't5u-
ton. With that gentleman am unwilling
to set the constitution at defiance. i trust
we shall nsaintaln it in all its vigor. Inc Sd
article of the treaty, he says, either admits
the ceded territory INTO the union lmme-
diately or pledges us to dot hereafter. 1t
cannot be scontended that the territory IS
ibso fdcto admitted, but the objection IS that
the president and senate have no right to
pledge the government forany thing not I'M
mediately within their own powers. This
objection is not solid. Every days prac-
tice proves that it is without any force
whatever The president and senate have
the treaty making power vested inthem,
but almost all their treaties contain stipu-
lations, which must be performed by this
house, if they are ever performed at all.
In our last convention with Great Britain,
the president and the senate pledge the U.
States to the payment OF Six thousand
pounds sterling, yet the payment of this
money was not within the powers granted
to them BY the constitution, nor could it
ever havebeen paid without the concurrence
of this house. It was never doubted how
ever that this stipulation was constitutions
al. he present treaty with France Pledg-
Ses the United States to the payment of fif-
teen millions OF dollars, yer gentlemen do
not question the constitutioDality Of this
measure, althou8h y can never be carried
into effect witaouttfe cooperation of this
house. In fact there is no treaty made with
foreign power in which some of the regu-
lations must not lie entirely inactive, unless
this house shall give It's assent to them
So IN the present instance the fifteen milli-
ons of dollors can never be paid, nor the
ceded territory admitted into the union, UNI
less this houselshali give its assent.
tits said, however, that congress cannot
under the constitution admit foreign terri
tory into the union upon an equal footing
with the states even under that article of
the constitution which provides that new
states may be admitted. I have before
said that upon this point mean to offer no
opinion because at this time think it IN
necessary, nor need we now enquire whe-
Their this is In reality the meaning of the
treaty. The Gentleman from Connecticut
however assuming this. ground, contends
that as the treaty embraces objects rot in
the power OF the general government the
whole IS or course Invalid. There may be
some plauslbility m this argument, but it is
plausibility oniy It has been already prov.
ed that the treaty making power frequently
and OF necessity embraces objects not in the
power OF the president and senate, bat of
the whole Legislature, yet that this does not i
OF course lnvalldate the treaty. 1t may be
shewn that where a treaty contains stipula-
tons, which aren9t in the power of the pc
neral government, and of course cannot be
carried into effect, yet that does not invali-
date the whole, although those particular
scipulations may of themselves be void. I
An instrument might sometimes contain
covenants which were impossible or that
were andtQ r: Sc; these Of course would be
void, but others might nevertheless stand
good. take adistinetionwhich / asnwar-
ranted IN BY the best writer's, between arti-
cles CT a treaty which are violated by one
party, and articles ffomwhich the nature of
things or from previous engagements, are
void. Where one party violates an arti-
Gle IN q treaty. the other has right to
declareth whelev void, because the violation
fisa breaellof faith, and is a voluntary ACT
But where some Of the sstipulations of "a
trcatgare impossible to performed, orcan- /
net besalhlled consistently with the'engage-
ments OF at alstecedent treaty with a third
power, these are of course void, bat other
parts will stand good. A variety Of cases
might be cited to prove this, but very
strong one will be found in our treaty Of
peace with Great Britain, concluded IN
1888. The Ath article Of thattreatv pro-
x,id II ti,n% -, u