Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-02-27
CVoL. 1. No. 10.

aganI be established, It NAV be .!cci,,,o mat
coal shall bo carried in no other way than coat
wise, &C. Sr, there IS no end to the purposes
that may be effected under such constructions
ofpower. there beg of gentlemen to rcs:oli,c ct
II particularly call upon the very few mem
bers of this House, who happen tu be Interested
IN the navigation of the River ON which 4 reside
1.-THE Roanoke, to say, whether, after we have.
with many efforts and great expense with the
loss Oh al least nall oil our capital, effected The
navigation oil that river, 1t would be competent
10 tins government to seize upon our feeders ia
assume jurisdiction OF Lake Dr,n,u,,n,i No
and, for the accomplishment of some wild scheme.
not more preposterousau ridiculous than SOM,
others could name--drain the waters of th:t
Lake, into the Atlantic ocean, and ;btlis,, ,,,r
canal five should chance to encounter H..
displeasure of the government under thcs,. c,,,-
structions OF power, they may say TO every War-
goncr in North Carolina, You shall not carry
on any commerce across the Virginia line i,
Wagons. or carts, because have some other ola.
Ject to answer, by suppression of tint Trade
Are gentlemen prepared for tiiis?
There Is one other power, said Mr. r. wbich
may be exercised, in case the power now con-
tended for be conceded, to which ask the NJ.
.eni'on Oh every gentleman who happens tos;and
LII the same unfortunate predcaInent with my,
self-of every man who has the misfortune TO he
and to have bee born, slave holder. icon.
gress possesses the power to do " hat is prsDoscd
by this bill, they may not only enact set,ition
law-for there is preccdent-but they NAV e-
mancipate every slave in the United States-s.
with stronger colour of reason than they can ex-
ercise the power now contended for. And
where will they fnd, the power? They NAV G,I-
low the example of the gentlemen who have
preceded me, and hook the power upon the first
loop they find In the Constitution they ,nio.Li
take the neutrality-suspicious. the war-,nalSiro
poWer-or they might take greater sweep. and
say, with some gentlemen that il is not to 10
found IN this or that of the granted powers but
results from all OF thcm-whiCh, at least, is no;
only a dangerous, but the most danperons do
trlne- w as 1T not dcmonstr;.hle, Mr.. r. asked
that slave labor is the dearest in the wo,ld-,pJ
that the existence of large body of slaves is
source OF danger Suppose We are at war with
a foreign power, and freedom should be oTcrcd
them by Congress an induccment TO thorn In
take part In lt-or suppose the country NOT M
war, at every turn of this federal machine Of r.
very successive census, chat interest will find i.
sell governed by another, which is bound TO II,
herby any common tie of interest orfeclino
And eyerthe time allarrivc, as assurcdy il haa
arrived elsewhere, and, III all probability. m,,,
arrive here, that coalation Of knayery and fan
atclsm shall, for any purpose, be got up ON This
floor, ask gentlemen, who stand in the Same
Predicament as do, TO look well to what thew
are now dong-to the colossal powc witt, which
Nm
power to do what l allude To is. aver 49,
honestly nferrable from the war-makinp no,y
er, IMAM the power we are now about to eyer
clse. Let them look forward to the time who,
such question shall arise and trenble with ,,,,,
at the thought that that question is to be decided
by majority of the votes of this House of
WHOM not one possesses the slightest lie of com
mon interest or Of common feeling with nc
When, on a late occasion, it was pronosos &,
TINS House to give grant of some ninety nopnds
iaW1ul money, to rock the cradle of decEp;n.
age, 10 smooth the pillow of venerable lady H.,
mother OF race of heroes-a race to -
some OF us seem to have a constitutional a,,i ~
stInctlve anhpathy-we have been met Viii
cry Oh Danger TO the Constitution of danrer
otle loerties OF the country But, when i ;s
proposed to draw the last shilling from tbe mock,
ct OF honest industry, to be laid OUT "a f,opo ~
very nature OF the thing 1t must be laid ouf;n
JOBS, and contracts, and corruption and ;f w
VIII trace the execution of all your proecfs
the ZIP hap, or Others you will find the Process =
is the same In ail-you are told that in NAL Kim
ROADS and digging canals and spending ,niI,;o,,.
upon lhe'h' you are promoting the honor, and
interest, and grandeur of the countv-and tb;s
MIR. Chairman, for fear that the ST. tes ub;ot,
are all clamorous, burdeniDg your tabIe w;,b
daly petitions, to get you to extend ,-o,,r No.. :
routes through all the States and TIcrritor;os
should undertake to stop the passape of tho r.
ntates, mail Why, sir, if we suppose !, c.so
IKE TINS, we may suppose universal madness
seizng on thewhole population ofthecountrr e,
argue from that suppostion.
ana TINS brings, me, said MIR. r. TO notice nm
admission, as 1t has been called of nvtror,h
cohcague, OF the power of altering post road
after they are established. Icannot I,ndorstas
this as gentlemen appear TO do, and know fho+
my colleague is not correctly so UNDERSTOOD
Dir, In the state, one ofwhCsc Representative
am DON'T Know single post route that ha, mr.,
oeen changed from what il was when estabIi<bcS
as a post road by the statute. Whv. Sir Won,
VIII not, al tins moment on the mail routo fo,,,
the Capltol OF the United States to tbe C,n;to IS
Virginia, travel for the first twenty miles ~,
single inch OF the road as it existed when th,t
mail route was first established. What Co,lo,,.
from the doctrine of gentlemen on this suI,;ect
why, that If Virginia should do what she onot,.
to do-make good road between the i've 80
re:erred to-the mail is vet to continue r., .e,
now, plunging through the worse tban g.
man Dogs, between the Ncabscoand Chana,y.,,-
SIC, ana we shall do 1T, because it is treason.
not oy the Constitution Of the u. States, 70 be
sure, out ABOUT as pretty a case of constructive
treason, as aiatitudinarian Judge could desire ~
see on summers day. TO alter post road E,ro,,,
The doctrines now advanced on Tins Aoar i f,i
lows, that every mile that post route IS rb.roo3
Whether for the better or worse, the po,roTe sc
government are impugned and (,,,,I1o, to,,,,,,.
occurr1t reg7) we do not know yyba,a me- ~
crmnaIty may not have been incurred onj
very lnnocently incurred, because peyor I'm,
now, had our people prccc2tor learned opougb
10 instruct them III the true :.oinnc of the ,vrr,