Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-02-02

either Archimedes, or Euclid, or Dir +" nii.'n
ZONES. was Joined with any co-thinker admin
cular to either Of them, in his sublime speeuia-
,;ons or discoveries. In money there may De
conartnership: there can be none in mind -
Here each one, unless plagiarist, must trade
ON his own capital. Make your Judges, sir,
Won please. seventv-two, and like the Ploleniy'
Won will cali ON each one for complete ver-
sion. ,.
These gentlemen will tell US that, although
this bill gives no relief to the supreme court
vet there is on the stick little bill, No Is,
giving perfect remedy. Yes, sir, sheets OF
LEGISLATION for the Western States, ten lines
only for the whole nation. 1t AIDES month 10
the term of the supreme court, month, alu ;, !,
cav, No. MOI so much; "not little month;
three weeks, eighteen working days. One long
mar,,;me cause from the East, or one bread
aud oanse from toe West, will consume two
davs. and thus, the next year, nine more eau
ses will be tried than will have been tins year;
and so the number, standing over on the DOCKET,
| will truly be III and not 90
This bill proposes TO increase the supreme
court. originally six, but now seven, oy AIDING
thrernew Judges, and making the whole mum
her zen. Can this, sir, be cons,iiu,ionaily done!
An supreme judicial power is now lodged IN
The supreme court What judicial power have
YOU. then, sir, TO confer on your three new Jndg'
esq Circuit court power you certainly have,
for all inferior courts are within Your conlroi;
but all the supreme judicial power is already
vested, and no part oft can be taken away
The supreme court is whole, in all its parts
its properties, its extension, its relations. Have
Won the power to. alter it? How, then, Can you
add 10 it? Or is it that wonderful entity which
addition 10 it does not increase, or which, mul-
t;,l;ed any number of times by itself, would
continue 10 be the same? We shall all acknowl-
edpe sir. that Congress cannot require, oy law,
the President 10 select Judge Of the supreme
court from any particular district or part OF the
u. States: bur Congress can create court IN
ferior to the supreme court, and among the It.
gal qualifications OF the Judge, insert an lnhao-
itancy or residence within his territorial Juris-
diction. This may be the circuit court. II SIT,
YOU then annex the office OF such circuit Judge
to that Of a Judge OF the supreme court, you re,
auire, by law, The President TO select Judge OF
the supreme court, from limited and designa-
ted district ofthe United States; that is TO say,
from the territorial jursdic ton OF such circuit
Judge. The constitutional power OF the supreme
court is vested in the majority OF that court;
whatever shall change this relative proportion
10 the whole number OF the number creating
that majority, must change the vested power OF
that court, aud must, for that reason, be uncon-
,titu,ionaI; but four, the majority OF six, Is two
thirds of that court; whereas six, the majority
Of Ten. is less than two-thirds Of that court.
Making the number of Judges ten, is, therefore
altering the power Of the court, vested III two
thirds thereof, and giving it TO a lesser pro-
portionate number.
Itmay. sir, be set down as political axiom,
that. when YOU shall have added SO many Judg-
es to the original number OF the SupremeCourt,
as will make majority Of constitutional quo
rum that court, the judicial article OF the
Constitution will have been expunged. Add
YOUR three new Judges, 1t makes ten his IS
iour more than the original number; six is
constitutional quorum of ten; but four is ma
jority of that quorum, and may reverse all the
decisions Of the original court.
All decisions ofthe supreme court, on the
Constitution, on treaties, and on laws, not en-
acted by Congress, are beyond the control oil
the National Legislature; but if we can send in
to the supreme court an overruling majority,
whenever the united ambition OF Congress and
the Executive may choose to do it, we place The
Constitution, and all treaties, and all Constitu-
lions and laws Of all the States, in the power oil
two branches of the Government, and thus e.
rect ourselyesinlo complete tyranny; and that,
too. as The advocates of the bill must contend,
upon perfectly constitutional principles. Does
the Constitution, sir, thus place the judiciary
a, the good will and pleasure OF the osher two
branches ofthe Government! No, sir, the Pat
riots who built, and the People who consecra-
I, that glorious fabric, did not intend to de.
vote their temple to the polluted obatlons oil
legislative ambition, or the unhallowed rites
of Executive subserviency.
The wisdom Of legislation, sir, should look
TO the durability Of her works How long, sir,
will the judiciary, as amended by the provisions
of the bill, continue to subserve and satisfy the
wants of the country? Some OF its advocates
saw twenty, some Fifty, and some one hundred
wears. Yes, sir, those gentlemen, who have,
with all the force of fact, and all the reslstless
conclusion Of reason, pressed on this House the
unparalleled growth Of Western wealth and
Western population, do say that new States Will
not, in less than one hundred years, have been
added to this Union in such a number as TO re-
ouire even one additional judicial circuit Have
,hey duly considered the various expansive prin-
cipies of production and population in this
country? A president policy should look 10
the future uncer the lights OF the past. In
twice that period, few scattered families OF
emiprants have augmented to more than ten
millions of people, covering eight hundred and
Il ra1 o,,Hp Itrnt aar