Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1820-05-09

| d Dill 10 CSt2b llSh Il laTlu district Ill ILL
nois, north of the district of Shawnee
| town.
MONDAY, APRIL 10
Mr.. Barbour, of Virginia, submitted
the following resolutions for considera-
| ton: re-. s.....
Resolped, That the federal government is a
government of limited powers, and can right
fully exercise such only as are expressly
given it by the constitution, or such as are
properly incident to an express power, and
necessary to its execution.
Resolved That Congress cannot constitu-
tionally pass any law concerning the press s.;
and therefore that the sedition act was palpa-
bic assumption of power, directly at variance
rs well with the spirit as the letter of the
constitution.
Resolved, That where the people of the
United States are endamaged in their proper
ty by unconstitutional exercises of authority,
and such damage can be fixed with certainty,
the sufferers are entitled to indemnity if it
can be done without hazarding the public
welfare.
Reso.1cd therefore, That the amount of fines
collected under the sedition act, should be re-
funded to those from whom they were exact
ed; and that the bill now pending before the
Senate, for the relief of Matthew Lyon, be re-
committed TO the committee which brought it
in, with instructions so to amend it as to en-
brace all such cases.
Mr.. Barbour introduced these resolu-
tons from conviction, long entertained,
that the principle advanced was correct,
! and that it was right to make general
provision for all cases coming within the
purYicw Of the resolutions, instead Of
legislating for them individually, as they
| were presented for relief.
The resolutions lie upon the table.
The Senate took up the report of the
judiciary committee On the.claim of John
II. Piatt, and the bill for his relief.
The Senate continued until half past 4
O'Clock in laborious discussion of the
various circumstances involved in the
consideration of this claim. Finally, the
bill was ordefed to be engrossed for a
third reading, by yeas and nays-24 to
IL.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL ~.
Mr.. MorrI laid upon the table the
following resolutions;
Resolved, That the practice of Duelling is
| inhuman, immoral, and censurable.
ReSolued, That the President of the United
| States would be .iustifable in striking from the
rolls of the army and navy the names of all
persons thereon, who have been or hereafter
| may be, directly or indirectly engaged in a
duel, or who may have been, or hereafter may
be, i'll any way or manner accessory thereto.
The Senaie took up the bill to ascer-
tain and designate the boundary line, be-
tween the sutes of Indiana and Illinois.
Some debatetoo place on this bill, on
point made " Mr.. King, of N. Y. who
doubted the oower of Congress to csta-
blish the dividing line between two
sovereign states of the Union, and did
not believe such survey would be valid,
| if its accuracy were questioned by either
ofthe states concerned. He was answer
ed by Messrs. Edwards, Noble, Thomas,
Smith, and RugglcS, who urged the
compact made ON this subject, the
petitions to Congress by the states con-
cerned that Congress- would have this
line ascertained; that all which was
necessary was 70 run a meridian line
from certain point; that there was not
the least dispute about the boundary,
which the ascertammcnt of line north
and south, would establish incontroverta-
bly,; that there were precedents for the
act, &c. &c.
The question being taken on ordering
the bill to be engrosscd for third