Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-06-12


confiagratcn ef city under their iIn,ncdists ;nr
dction, IN which they have countrytnen freuds md
lSnsien. Quitting their station, they rush 10 the
a OF ,ne poor, who may be ruined, and Of the rich
VINO may DO reduced to poverty. They return ex-
hansted oy fatigue and affected by tho calamity and
sufcrings which they havo witnessed In this state
OF excitement they Plead eloqucn,ly plead the cause
OF the sunerers-of the widow and tho children, who
nave none to help them. In all these cases relief
has been afforded. Are the acts offordnr this relief.
expositions OF the constitution, from which general
principle is To be deduced, in favor of the Unlimited
rsht OF appropriations II would be asabsurd to say
So as IL would be useless to lay down. in tho tranou
ity OF closet meditation rule of action for Cnyros,
TO which they were To adhere in the mdst of earth
quakes, insurrcction and confagration The man h
not sunk m the Legislator, and when moral and phv
steal commissions Vt this awful character occur tho
most rigorous expounder of the constitution. will
sometimes transcend his powers, soothing IL nu, do
udng his conscience with the hope or the belief thar
upon emergencies so appalling, humanity alone NAV
be ms guide.
But even whom sympathy does not mscod, there
are other considerations which impair The value and
Importance of Legislative precedens. Legislators are
pohtcians who frequently take part in a discussion
10 effect particular object. The eXpounder of the
constitution Is often lost IN the representative Tho
Wishes oil his constituents founded on Their own yi,y
~! their own interest generally govern his conduct
and he easily persuadcs himself 10 believe at least 10
oct as II he believed, that Congress have power TO do
that, which If DONE will contribute 10 their hepeC, mr.
qualification. ard of course TO his own ponnlnr;,y M
lntiuencc-The difference between a member of
Congress, who considers himself as the represen,:
1--WE Vi district, or at most of the State and menu
bcr OF State Legslaure- the Interests of ~ los.
constituents, are with few exceptions the interests
OF the State, at large, leads very important result
but the development of them belongs not TO thi,
inquiry. - $500
Lawyers, unquesiionably MS men of business o,o
among the most useful and active members of society
But when they become politicians they seldom fail
l" carry inio the Hall of Legislation portion Of the
'echhcaiity belonging TO the bar They have been &c.
ruStomcd TO argue from adludged cases in municipal
laW IRON prccedents, authority. The habit con-
tnues when the theatreis CHANGED They remember
that II Is part of the law itself that precedent,
should ne followed but they forget that this rule il
pTt ol the Constitution Thev forget that the COR
sitution Is alone to be consulted In mnjcnal In ~,
there Is no great Supreme Code bv which precedent, >
themselves may be tested But in the constitnt;or
we have the code. We should adhere TO Il tLerefre
through all times aud circumstances and meyer re-
gard what has been said or done by others excepy
Tor The purpose of informing our own mnds OF ena-
olng ourselves, after the most extended research
ana democratic examination, TO pronounce our own
judgment IN every case in which we are called TO
&c WIS tne observation of great LAWYER and
JUDGE that IL was of much more importance Tint the
Jaw should be sottled than that il should be Settled
IN any particular way. Stare decss is therefore one
OF the maxiIns of tho courts: and thev adl,eye 70
CSeecnts' But In constitutional law the matter of
real, never varying and never ending importance O.
encc between the two systems is immence. Biuuici-
pal awacis on ndividcal and where its principle or
It's pelcy Is wrong the is promptly corrected by
an act OF ordinary Legislation. The Constitution op-
crates on The whole nation: and an error once
cngrattcd upon it, can be Corrected only -.hrouch
tHe very difficult and laborious process of al
ainen1i9ent We must therefore alwuys look 10
our Political Bible. That alose should poyesrn
our creed: If instead of drawing it from that
hlSh' ana IN reference TO right, may add, that
hoiy source, we suffer ourselves to he governed bv
presidential messages, the opinion If distinguished
men, and 6y precedents, Legislative or even judicial
VIC snail DO as completely hewildered in darkness
as were our forefaHicrs for upwards of a Thousand
years IN matters of religion. They suffered them
selves to be led and msled by the decretals of the
popes tie opinions of the fathers and the decisions
OF the councils The bible was thrown out of sipht.
and intentionally kept out of sight The prOtestsnts
'neir reformation of the church, discarded all tits
luinOer and drew, or protested to draw their doc
trnes from the bible itself We should be all prot
estant republicans.
mr.. f'He6r0'0n.--Thc public are upprised tina,
this gentleman, clerk in the Navy Department. was
lately removed nv tho IToro md 3D. ~.