Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1820-12-21
FOR THE ENQUIRER.
THE LOTTERY CASE.


Having departed from the terms and
ienour 81 The federal constitution, the
l'arned lawyers have gra'ui,ously sup
plled us wllh set of new terms and
phrases not 10 be found in the insiru.
meat and assuming them as il The, were
really in u, extract acouclusi0n, not from
NE real, but from a suTrcptiious case.
lie "onId lie a poor lawyer, whu could
MOI make case, which would " arrapt
his conclusion.
hey ASSET 'ilat The government was
established Tor national purposes that
congress rs HatiOnai legislature !; tina, If
Il a national lottery, authorised b. ne-
H0Haf Legislature that the ten miles square
Is ndH0Hdt district. established for ma.
aoHat e"dS and that il is a national object.
us ihfa ut comprising nation within
Tort, or lie compass Of ten miles square.
and Then condensIng ii within The halls
OF Congress, IL novelty, upon which The
reasoning OF The opinion throughout, il;
assertions can be called reasoning. is
founded aud the conclusien depends ur.
on lis truth ana efficacy Ii Is remarka-
BILE thai The graduation from the pr, misses
TO The conclusion, is precisely Tie same
with HAT used by the British parliament,
10 Justify lis usurpaiou of internal lrgis-
I"iion III all cases whatsoever over the
provinces. That parliament asserted it,
sell 10 be national legislature, established
Tor national purposes, that The provinces
were settled Tor national ends, aud thai its
legislative powers tXienGed TO all national
oeJecfS Admitting the use nIadc by it
silt L. be true, The conclusion was una
voidable.
The words ain all cases whatsoever.
are also IN the tlausv bestow ing on Com
gress exclusive legislation over fort
magazines, arsenals, doc Yards and the.
ten Mules square and if by HE interpo-
laiIon OF The phrases national lottery ma
iIohal district, aud national object" none
ofwhicb are 10 the constitution, the res
triciive terms actually in il are obliierat-
ed, The clause will only mean, that Com
gross shall have power 10 exercise exclu~-
Slve legislation in all cases whatsoever We
must therefore either allow, thai this *.
preston is limited 10 all cases thin :ie.
prescribed boundaries. or that il repeals
every lImllatiOn OF tic federal legislative
power. J. is obvious, tina, il Ills ex,Iu-
slve legislation can be extended / auy
one ease, because it is a national object
and because Congress is a national Lgis-
mtme. That il reaches all cases VIA So
ever. which may be considered by Con-
gresS as national objects; and - ats Cor
gees beyond It's geographical limits, just
as the British parliament would have
waited llScll hey oud theirs, soon the pi.
Mons OF The same doctrine. Ii is InpOs.
sible Ia conceive any subject Tor leg isias
ton which Is not national object, or 10
imagine The least restriction upon the le-
glslatVe towers of Congress, if il extends
IL all n0tiOiiat objects Ii fort, magazine.
arsenal, dock yard, and the Ten miles
square are national objects, surely the
several states, the state gislatures, CoLs
gress itself, eye'y civil institution, and
every acre OF territory, are also national
objects ; and 1t Congress may by loiie-
Tlcs or other modes of taxation, raise
and apply money 10 the establishment
of one lucal national object, ii may do
the same thing IN favor of an0ther.-The
constitution prohibits preference 10 The
ports of one state over anOthfr by any re-
gutatiOu Of revenue, and neither The port
OF Washington, nor the medilaied ten
miles square, arc excepted from tins re-
gulaiion What preference can be great
er than an exclusive privilege. of raising
revenue Tor local embellsh AIent and are
not other ports national objects
Tue federal constitution is great OBJ
jeci. Now as the cOubined ideas Of @
national legislature and pailoDal object.
do really confer legislatife power, these
ideas upon which lie unlimited powers
Of tie British parliament rest, are obvious
ly lnappllcable TO our system of govern
meni, or must confer on Congress The
unlimited power Of changing the conslir
tuition, exercised by that parliament.
In fact, the term national is q heierOget