Portland gazette., 1805-05-27
PORTLAND f1AArvSl MONDAY, mAv 81. 1905.

4hS lIshiSipea OF tHui4al COFHpIOnlIC. ana Dy the
unanimous content Of all the States BY the
conditions Of the iettlerncnt agreed upon by thar
ordnance, the public faith Of each flare was fol
cmrssg pledged to all orher itates, and the public
faith Of the United States was lolcninly pledged
to each Individual Rate thar the fettlement and
proportion Of the debt allotted 10 each Rate, by
the Con,mifFoners thus mutually agree upon &
choien BIZ ali the tfa;es ihould be final and con-
cluhve. Soon after the.eitabIi(hmenr Of the pre-
tent government in the year II 50, a law was paf-
fed by c0ngretsfor facilitating the lettlement and
for filing vacancies in the board agreeable 10
the principles Of the ordnance Of 737, and 70
far asI have ditcovered by a recurrence to the
Journals, this law pahed without any oppofition.
In 100 Congress again aiIumcd thc contdera-
tion Of tie lubjett, aud pzIed lazy whichre
cogniled all the principles Of the ordhance Of
1887, and provided that a distributicn Of tie
whole expenfe fhould be made among tAe few
crsl ifates according TO TIE hrit Genius under
the preient contribution. This law was afo
pat5cd By The almof unanimous conlent Of the
Honfc, and in the Senate where the hate fov-
ereiga.ies are more particularly repreicnted, it
appears by the journals to have pafed without
oppoGtiorl. j 1hus, Er, from the firth agree
ment Of 1897 to the final clofe Of the lett!cmenr
all the hates were unanimous i'd the mode pre-
icribed for fetticment, and GOOD mott folcmnly
bound 10 each other to abide by. il (; and the
public faith Of the nation wss,l by the faveral
acts Of congrefs on tho fubj1t}, mott folemnly
pledge j. 10 carry il into. effect, 4 s;
Can the legi1ature then reinqui(h thcfe bal
anccs without violation Of plighted public
faith And yet will they undertake to- do il 7
Sir, it is fundamental principle in the gov
ernmcnt of all civilized nations TO pay the mott
facred regard to Plighted public faith. Ana
ffr, the friends Of our government have derived
much confolation from the idea, that the Uni
ted ffates would never fufer their national Cha
raGerto be itained by violation of this i'm !.
portapt national principle, Yet,tSir, from what
has taken place it has been believed, that the
United States would not be behiAd any nation
on earth in the prefervarfon Of this public vir,
tue. Bot if the refolu,ion on the table ihould
be paGedi into law, this va luable prinoiple
will receive wound which may lead to fetal
eonfrqucnces. j mult be permitted 10 doubt tbs
power Of congrefs to sxtinguiih thefe balances
without the Concurrence Of of I'll the ftates.
The fettlement having been made rhder fol-
emn agreemrn; Of all the itates, where win YOU
find a power veited in congrefs to sIienate the
intereit which any individual fate has acquired
in the balance in conicquence of that agree
ment, and vet irin another fate No fuch
power ia exprened in the contribution, mar can
conceive it to be implied by any thing which is
expreacd in that ihitIumeEt r.
If then, Congreis have no conffitutioHsl pow
or to make the extinPuifhment, wild not the
tranfa9ions be confdered an innovation or the
rights of individual Rates, as wei as a direlic-
ton Of the public faith Z
AFen:leman from Ncwyork has faid that the
extihguifhnent could not be violation of rab-
lie faith, becaufe congrefs has already given up
part Of the debt. 1t feems to me that the gen
tlemans copculion does ndt naturally follow
the prerniles which he has itated, for if II could
under any circlmnances, be conGdered as a
direliGion Of public faith to extinguith thels
balances, itcannot al this time be coniidered the
leis 70, merely on tie ground Of the legiAatu--
having heretofore fallen into an error on the
fubiett The faG is, TIA congre{s did in 1899
patr law, for recnittng the balances on con-
dition, that each dcbtor fate would pay into the
1realury of the United States BY given per-
iod, the amount Of the fun1S wl5ch had been
ihned by the United States Of their refpoGaeive
fate debts prior to the fettlemenf. But, Sir,
at the time of paiEng that law, and ever lince
have confdered it in the fame point of light as
| do the refolution sfore you, and therefor4
cannot admit as circumfahce in favor Of the
refolution. Th7, proyiGon. has now expired
without tsing embraced by any Of tae debtor
ifates excepting that which has been done by
the fate Of Nevyork, in fortfqing her ports and
lI27boss. If the fate Of Delaware had thought
proper to have complied with this liberal pro-
viGop, llc might have been difcharged from a
dsbt of co., 900 dollars for 5000 dollars, but