The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-01-24
THE ENQUIRER.
JlNUAsY "a. 1909.

TO JOHN PARK,
N oNE OF
1.-THE FRIENDS or ORDER"
/ address myself to yeu, sir, not from any
particular respect which l feel for your me-
rits, or your standiug-bnt because I.coasi-
der you as Ole of the %whippers.i in of the Es-
ser Junto, as one OF those editorial C.:ppets,
which the great mel of the East play of. to
Sciald the temper and dispositions of the
people of ew-England-These mcn are not
bold enough to risk their character upon a
direct PRONUNCIATION of their vicws-and
thereforc they use such men as yourself to
whisper their designs by degrees, feel the
pulse of the people, and discover whether
your countrymen are ripe enough for the
contamination of their sinister projects. To
| ga. :i=si:, Is t!.e honorable org5.fi Of this par
Ity, permit nc to address this communicate
on IN reply. VI the proposition, which you
have thrown out in your paper, brcathes in
any respect the views of the Essex Junto :;
II 1T be such a one. as the approaching Lee
gislature of Massachusetts. are abou. ito a.
dept; there is not a man ia America who
should not make 1t the object of his most
serious animadvcrsion.
What is this proposition! In your paber
OF the 18th Ian. it is made in the following
terms:
There is not a man among the advocates of
Administration, who, can reconcile the outrage
Gus conduct Ut our government With its duties
1t was formed for purposes directly the reverse
from those which it has now executed, and hav-
ing swerved from the object of its creation, and
become the ,oppressor instead of the guardian of
the people,, the basis of the compact is dissolved,
md withouta doubt, every state that chooses to
consider its obligation of allegiance a nudity, has
a perfect rightto do so.
" We do not invite nor urge to ARMS. There
- \ course more expedient. A course dictated by
duty, safe and promising. Notwithstanding the
unteeling, insulting and tyrannoIs spirit off those
who have assailsd our liberties md threaten us
with total destruction, they would tremble at be-
ing left without the strong arm of the Eastern
states, TO defend them from dangers which they
we'll understand. Il is for tliese devoted states
to take Just, honorable and irmground to make
unitedly ? statement of their grievances, and o So
Tenn declaration of the conditions OH which the
Union must lie preserved. Letthem do it under
tie nest sacred pledges ~ aw,it ali the cuilse-
quences, -four voice and Our alfferings are dis.
regarded.
!" We see that in different PARTS of the state,
a determination is evinced, of appealing to the
state Legislature for its interferencs. This plan
IS so prudent, so proper, and So confcrmable to
the nature OF our stale governments. and their
~ sahshN vi Inv toSiDU VIC nODC9 tlu Dse-
sumo 1T will be adopted throughout New-Eng-
land, at least"
Van words express q more, sovereign con-
femft for the two great principles, on which
our constitution is built? A 7ehubHeau looks
to the medium of elections to cure the de-
fects OF the government; by changing. n,e,
he would expect to. change their measures.
A Feder0Ast would shriRk from any step.
winch would in the remotest degree lead TO
a dissolution cCf the Unisn. But that man
is neither Federa!ist nor RehuShcan, who
would propose DiSunton as a cure for those
measures, which a change of Rehresenta-
tues would so easily remove.
Again, your proposition is not only at war.
with the great pillars of the constitution,
but 1T is utterly Inconsistent with the DOC
trlne, which your party maintained, during
fheV political ascendancy. What were the
Fnaxihis oil your party, when the legislature
OF Virginia adopted their resolutions in 1898.
declaring the Alien and Sedition laws I'M.
constitutional? They denounced those re-
solutions as a daring encroachment upon the
rights of the General Government. .
The Legislature of Delaware on the 1st of
req i'99, declared these resolutions to be
a very uWuStJfabie interference with the
General Governments and Constituted antho-
rites Of the United States and of Sanee+ous
ten6eEcy."
In Feb. 1899, the Assembly of Rhode Is
land protested against this inte exposition of
the states, and claimed for the federal courts
the exclusive authority of deciding on the
constitu;ionality of a law.
The legislature Of Massachusetts denied
IN the ioudest tone the right of the state
legislature, TO dcnounoe (that is, to condemn)
the adminfstration of that government to
which the people themselves by a solemn
act nav eaekusioely committed their nation
al concerns"
The assemblies of Connecticut, New
Hampshire and Vermont adopted similar
maXims.--in the eyes of these states, it an
peared tobe a political sin of the most hor-
rlble Character, for any other body, than a
JHdiciat court of the u. s. to examine the
Cohstitutlonality of a law.
Such rDaS the doctrine of your party in
1899 Why are those sentiments so CON
temptuolsly disrcgarded at the present day
why docp the legislature of Massachusetts
denouncc even tile most delicate measures OF
the general government! Why is this ordi-
nary legislatnre-certainly not delegated by
the people themselves so decide on this cues
ton, ana therefore deriving no sanction from
them-actually called upon not only to protest
against the unconstitutional encroachments