Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1820-12-26

before the Judiciary, that chance might never
, | Come, Sc If the judiciary we're indeed the .riou
nal 10 decide the question. they ought 70 ueclu.
It before the house acted on i. Another grea,
objection to the course proposed was that " Wou'e
unnecessarily throw on the Judiciary the perform
ance of ain odious duty, which he acknowledged
this to be and il seemed TO him gentlemen sneW,
ed too strongly by their mode OF proceeding, aHo
their entleavors to throw it from themselves t'ia
they felt il to be so. But this house was muct
better able to bear the odium OF It than ths Juu'
r ciary. Mr.. S. said he never would consent that
the Congress of the United States should, for theiI
own relief, burthen the Judiciary with that sort O
question: the decision OF which makes it most OBJ
noxious, exposes it most to that excitement which,
of all departments oil the government, it was least
capable OF eontending against. The effects Of
unpopular decisions IN the state courts, showed
what might possibly be the effect, in similar cases.
on the u. States judiciary. He wished the whole
strength of the Federal Judiciary might be MAIN
tanned unimpaired for cases wherein the exertiou
of IL might be necessary, which il was not in the
, present case. Another objection to the course
proposed was, that. it the argument in its favor
proved any thing it proved too muchs The more
objectionable clause of the constitution is the
stronger is the reason against the reference of II
to the judiciary because it would there more cer-
tainIy be declared so. A fnil consideration OF all
the views which could be taken Of the subject, MIR.
S, said, would bring him back to the true ground,
that this house ought to decide itself upon the
/ question.
If the judiciary had been the proper tribunal to
determine this question, Mr.. s. went on to argue.
ii was SO as TO all questions which could arise re-
speeding new constitution; aud if gross and pail
pable series of nfractions OF the constitution of the
| United States were contained in constitution
formed bv the people of a territory, Congress
would be justified, as much as in the present ease,
i in referring il TO the judiciary.
/ lthad been suggested that the present was case
which it would be difficult for Congress TO decide,
because the clause of the Missouri constitution WAS
said to have offended that clause OF the constitution
Of the United States TO which it most difficult
| to give precise interpretation That clause Mr..
| s, quoted in the following words: "trhe citizens
of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges
and immunities of citizens in the several states
| Mr. S. said he should be exceedingly sorry to be-
ieve that the clause difficult OF construction
that this house could not decide whether or not It
had been violated in given case because in one
of our standard books 1.-THE Federatist one Of those
authorities to which we refer for light in difficult
| cases of construction OF the constitution 1t was
said that this very clause vas the basis Of the
Union . Strange, indeed, that this clause should
have been considered the basis of the Union, and
vet So eouiyocal that a construction could not be
| given 10 III
If there was difficulty in defining precisely the
some ~ that clause Of the constitution there could
he none n deciding that it does give To the citizens
| Of each state in the union, the humbest and low.
| est RIGHTS enioyed by free man Did any one
doubt Mr. s. asked that this clause gives to citi
zens Of every state the free right to 90 into any
other state 70 return. or 10 reuaii there II :hs.
was denied then he would agree that this clause Of
| the CONSTITUTION was all words and no meaning.
Here, then, was the very point Of this question
If the constitution of the state of Missouri has,
either by its own positive provisions, or by eDjonng
it on its legislature, excluded altogether from the
state of Missouri any man who is citizen of an
other state in this Union, then it is impossible to
reconcile that constitution to the constitution of the
United States 1t would be defiance, which is
worse than resistance. to the constitution of the
United States, if it had been intentioHsl-but Mr.
/ G .oc,,..+ad NTtesouri of anv euch intention