Southern planter., 1832-12-22


can be enforced, We live under government exef-
clsng power which we did NOT delegate, or sun.
pose Others to delegate; il is not the novorameai
whchNe designed. II you propose the amend.
ncni suggested by ms, and Il is ratified by lifce.
iour'hs OF the States, Congress piH mrdemdblypos.
se's ne Porer. But f you reject our PROPOSE
uon' inc result must be, that mere majority may
assume Tor Congress, power which constitution
any can be coneued only by three -lourths of the
Sa'e. iheso arguments plausible perhaps al a
rs1 view, labor under this naierinl obiectjon that
ihey are not only quito as good, but even consider.
ably better, on the opposite side For the ma,or.
iiy without hesitation could reply-nYes. we agree
with you, that the meaning of the parties Il The
spini OF compact. But when we ratified tbe
Constitution, we believed that il did confer an
Congress the power in question. Ifthe nulh6ed
law can not be enforced, we live under govern.
ment deFpived Of apowor, which zoe did delegate.
ana understood all others 10 delegae: il is not the
Government which we designed II YOU propose
ihe amendment suggested by US, and il is ratified
oy hfee iourihs OF the States ConPress lpiu be un.
dsniabg diveSfed Of the popcr Bnt if we ac-
ceue 70 your proposition, the result must be- that
miHor'fy barely ercceding one fourth, may deprive
Sohe'esa OF power, which can consiituiionay
bo taken away, only BY three-fourths of the states
a..
prehend be somewhat difficult. In truth, the the.
ory Of notification pressed TO It's ultimate conss.
quences, would amount TO ihis-that three.lourths
1i the States arc necessary to confer power on
congress, while any number beyond one Conrtb
may take i away. Whether such system would
be expedieni, we shall not at present enoure--
most certainly II is not that of the Federal Consti
luton. In the article relative TO amendments. tho
word poirer does not occur-it declares that ga.
mendmenis" "shall not be valid" 9when ratified
by tho legislatures Of threefourhs of the several
states, or by conventions in ihee-fourhs thereofn
heuenchng power Of Congress, is as much an
anohumen'i as coniering power; and therefore,
70 DC Valid must require the same number of yoiee
"hen a convention is called, TO propose amend.
nenls relative to power claimed by the majority.
and denied by the minority, il is evident that the
hnal decision must depend altogether on the form
IN which the amendment is submitted To the sta,eq
IL the amendment proposed 10 give the power, tho
power will be lost, because small minoritv Il suE.
hcieni to reject ~ g. for tho same reason. the now.
er VIII DO sanctioned, If The amendment proposes
% take At away. The form Of the amendment
.hen oeing absolutely decisive, and each party hay.
ing az equai right 10 support its own construction.
'ne oelgh' OF eXiravngance 10 expect, that a
hJoHy maintaining the constiutionality of The
PoMe, wou'u agree to incur certain defeat, by soil.
cnl',g grant, winch they knew that minority ex.
0oTuins ohe,iouHh was predetermined to refuse
a'oauy we think sufficiently proved, that a
minority exceeding one.fourih. has no, ,be caa.,;
luiiona right to impose its own conHlruc,ion on
majority But there is a farther evidence uhoL
appears TO US so striking, that il would he mnrono,
TO pass II entirely without notice. fiho f,amers
OF the Constitution designed, that such a ninor,,v
should have the right of laying an interdic, IN tbc
exercise oI any power which II considered uncon-
sllulional why did not those ffamers plainly sav
sol why did they not Indicate the manner. N
whlch that night was TO bo oniorced2 There was
no mo'iye, no apology for a mysterious silence =.
ihey might have simply provided, that the declor-
aon OF lhs minority, through their respective stae
legislatures, or convention, should be sufficient fo,
the purpose. Instead of making this obviou. me-,
VISION, or ANY other equivalent 10 II. thev dd ~,
even grant TO such minority, the right of cal;nc
convenlion--a privilege which belongs only to
Congress, acting on the application Of two.tbirds
OF the States. Here then, il we admit the nre,an.
sons OF the nuhers, il is the most astonishing nm.
omally ever witnessed in government. The con.
slliulion intends that momenious power shall be
possessed by certain proportion of the states and
though an obvious mode might have been provided
Tor It's sale and easy exercise, no mode ,yhateve,
Wus uesl8hhledi and hitherto none better has heen
devised, than the open resistance of whole STATE
TO general law Of the landl II will be dIicul
indeed to believe, that the sage authors of Inc con.
sulutlon, were guilty of such blunder--one which
would disgrace tho barbarous legislation, of n Tar.
tar horde, or Hoitentot kraal. The necessity
ana The facility of prescribing regular means 70,
the exercise of such power, supposnp il to exist
are both so manifest, that the absence Of ali proyis
ion oil the kind is alone conclusive proof i6at tba
existence Of the power itself never was conlempla
ted
Thus we have shewn, that even if the m1ioritv
should assent to the calling of a convention, the
nnlliiyng minority must, nevertheless, fail, in tho
accomplishment Of their purpose, since tbev could
never cause their construction to be recognized =
Each party, according to the principle originally
assumed, would remain on the ground of lis equal
right, to 'Judge fjr ITSELF as we'll of inaclions as
OF the mode and measure Of redress" In such a
position, there would be no impedlment to HOSTILE
ties, and unless one side or The other receded they
must necessarily ensuc. If this is evident in the
abstract, is even manifest, in the case of tho
existing tariff law, on which it is proposed that the
experiment of nullifcalion shall DO tried. Sun.
pose, that by the operation Of such measure. the
ports of South Carolina are made free If thew re-
main so, and the state is still 10 be considered
mpmber of the lJnion. tho nrincr,l ,,,,,,,.,;....