Virginia advocate. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1827-1860, 1828-07-12
TIL. JEFFERSON.
For tho Virginia .Aovcr,,c1

The heart OF every Vrgirian should beat hiul
with transports of hope and pleasure when he re-
hec's That the spirit of Internal improvement
which has effected so much in other states ;s -,
length exertng its genial influence on our own
IL must be source OF unleigncd regret 10 rs ALL
that whist other states have been advancing wi,
rapid strides TO the pinnacle Of applause anu DOW.
err we have beer res ting on our oars and suffered
the tide to wait 10 other ports the wealth that ma.
turc designed for our own. Every orc will o,n;,
that 1t is essentially necessary fbr the welfare of
our state, to adopt some plan for The Improvement,
oil our natural resources in order to facilitate the
purposes OF trade and commerce But what plan
we shall adoit is the problem to be solved by the
approaching Convention
| 1t IS contcndcd by those who construe orr con.
sttu'ion to suit their own purposes, lard believe
they VIII soon make it by construction a dead let
| ger! that the General Government has a right to
make internal improvements i'm eye,v stat, to
whatever extent it thinks proper. And it really
does seem from the total apathy ana indifference
exhibited by the people of this state, upon this all
important subject, that they are fully impressed
win belief that this construction is correct and
are therefore disposed, with folded arms. to wait
quietly TOR the general government to execute for
,hcm, what they themselves ought long ago to
have done.
That the power thus claimed by the General
government is both unwarrattcd and unconstitu
'iohai shall endcavour to prove basing my arpu-
ments upon this clause Of the constitution. that
the Powers not delegated to the u. States by the
CONSTITUTIONS are reserved to the States respectiye
y or to the people"
It's maxim both in logic and law tina, ",he
oppression OF che thing is the exclusion of anoth-
er. Let us apply this maxim then 10 our
constitution, or rather to the powers granted to
the T. States by it, and | defy any advocate of
the lights OF the General Government TO Law hi,
niger upon that passage which authorizes either
directly or indirectly, the exercise of the power
claimed. Indeed the Convention so far from
granting the power OF internal improvement to the
General Government, expressly denied it. only
tsse days before the adoption of the Constitutions
as appears from its journal in which it is stated
that motion was made "to grant letters of incor-
poration for canals &c" which was rejected
NO man then Ill his proper senses can /" wink SO
hard as not to perceive that the rejection of this
motion, leaving out of view every other consider
alton, crinccd on the part of the trainers of our
constitutions total unwillngness to grant to the
general government the pcHcr of making internal
improvements. So then it appears most inc.n
testify, that the exercise of the power is uucon
>titutial, first because it is not granted 10 tL r.
states ny Inc constitution, and is therefore s.r-
servcG t" the States respectively or 10 the PcopIe
ana secondly because It was expressly denied by
The convention; bosli Of which however. amount
10 the same thing
Having conalderedthc power exercised by the
general government Of making internal ,nnroyc
mcnts, constitutional question; les rs no,y IN.
quire what effect it will have upon tho rcs,cctve
states If persisted in. This power implies = r;obt
OF a most dangerous character viz iur;sdcf;o,
over territory III the respective states If a-rood
is to be made, or Z canal cut, the land over which
thcy pass must be condemned by usiciaI pro-
cecainS-a writ OF al quod dounnam. But OR
constitution declares thaiiEe general government
IN SfiI fInr l..
are granted them by the states for the erection Of
iort5, magazines, &c. If then the general GOV
eminent assumes to itsclfth the tight of Jurisdiction
over our lands and condemns them, J see no rea
son why 1t should not exert the same riuht over
our lives and every thing else Is it not obyious
to every one, that the most fatal consequences
might in all probability result from such state of
things? -
The subjects appertaining to the jurisdiction Of
the states and the general government cannot he
oeiincated too accurately. Governments like
men, arc fond OF power, and can never be safely
trusted with too much. That the general govern
ment IS yearly cncroachiuy upon the rights of the
states, IS too clear to admit of doubt and how
tsr 1t VIII yet cncroach, God only knows but in
al PROBABILITY as far as the prophetic Henry pre-
dicted 1t has arrogated to itself the power of in
ferhai improvement, the right of imposing tariffs
ana the right OF providing for the education ofour
YOUTH but what it has left exclusively TO the states
cannot say, since every passage of our constitu-
tlon may be perverted by construction This sub
Jeot has already and will still continue to produce
great excitement In large portion of our country,
ana II 1t does not endanger the Union, it will at
least create heart burnings and jealouses between
the general government and the different states
which may eventually lead to serious conscquen.
ces.
IT then 1t be conceded that the power Claimed
oy inc general government is unconstitutional, |.
VIII not say with the people Of Georgia, that the
exercise Of it ought to be resisted but saw ,ve
should use greater exertons, and depend entirely
upon our own resources, since we cannot obtain
according to the letter and spirit of our coasitu
ton, aid from any other quarter Let it not tbe,,
DC said, that this state, which Ted the van in the
revolutionary war, and till of late has always been
foremost i'll all matters connected with tle s,c,sai
WIehare, is now sinking into insignifcence Let
II not nave the modification Of seeing her sons
seeking IN other states the prosperity they are de-