Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-05-31

reDoScd III congress Dy the StdIeS ttiat
made the ccssion, and which would be
deeply injured by snch an exercise OF
power under it; and also of the faith rcpos-
ed in that body by all the States, inasmuch
as no independent State in the Union can
be injured in IFS peace, or its rightfnl inte-
rests, by the action Of the Federal Go
vernment, without corresponding injury
to every member of the contedcratcd
States.
Yo.r committee have already shown
that an interference with slavery in tho
District of Columbia, would involve vlo-
lation of the public faith, as regards the
rights and interests ofthc citizens thereof.
They recur TO this topic, however, on ac-
count of its Importance ,~and for the pur-
pose of ofputting it in another light, and, as
they consider, upon unanswerable ground.
They are aware that, under the constlIu-
tom Congress possess "exclusivc legls-
lation' over the aforesaid District; butthc
power of legislation was given to be cxcr-
cised for beneficial purposes only, and cam
not, therefore, be exercised, consistently
with public faith, for any object that is at
war with the great principles upon which
the Government itself is founded. The
constitution, to be properly understood,
must be taken as a whole. Wherever
particular power is granted, tho extent TO
which it may be carried can only be infer
red from other provisions by which 1t may
be regulated or restrained. The constltu-
ton, while it confers upon Congress ex-
elusive legislation rithin this District,
does not, and could not, confer unlimited
or despotic authority over it. 1t could
confer no power contrary to tho funda-
mental principles of the constitution itself,
and the essential and unalienablc rights Of
American citizens. The right to legislate,
therefore, Ito make the constitution con-
sistent with itself,) is evidently qualified
by the provision that "no man shall be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, with
out due process of law,'f and various o.
theirs of i similar character. We lay it
down as rule, that no Government can
do any thing directly repugnant to the
principles Of natural Justice and of the So
cial compact. Itwould be totally subver-
sive of all the purposes for which govern
ment is instituted. Waffle says: "The
great end of civil society is, whatever con-
stitutcs happiness with the peaceful pos
session of property" No republican
would tolerate that man should be pun
ishcd, by a special statute, for an act not
legally punishable at the time of its COM
mission. No republican could approve a.
ny system of legislation by which private
contracts, lawfully made, should be dec
Jared null and void, or by which the pro-
party of an individual, lawfully acquired,
should be arbitrarily wrestcd from him by
the high hand of power. But these great
principles are not left for their support to
the natural feelings ofthc human heart; or
to the mere gener.:! spirit Of republican
government. They arc expressly incor-
porated in the constitution, and they have
also been recognised and insisted on, by
the Supreme Court of the United States,
which lays down the following sound and
incontrovertible doctrine: "There arc acts
which the Federal or State Legislatures
cannot do, without exceeding their author
ity. There are certain vital principles in
our free republican Government, which
will determine and override an apparent
and flagrant abuse of legislative power; as
to authorize manifest injustice by positive
law, or to take away that security for
personal liberty or private property, for
the protection whereof the Government
was established. An act of the legisla-
ture, contrary to the great first principle
ofth social compact, cannot be consider
ed a righpul exercise of Legislative au-
thority. The obligation of a law, in Co.
vernments established on express compact,
and on republican principles, must be de-
ternncd by the nature of the power on
which it is founded. A few instances will
suffice to explain. A law that punished a
citizen for an innocent action, or that was
in violation of an existing law; law that
destroys or impairs the obligation of the
lawful private contracts of citizens; law
that makes. a man Judge in his own case;
or law that takes property from A. and
gives it to B. 1t is against all reason and
Justice for people to entrust legislature
with such powers, and therefore it cannot
be presumed that they have done it. The
legislature may enjoin or permit, forbid or
punish; they may declare new crimes, and
establish rules of conduct for future cases;
but they cannot change innocence into
guilt, or punish innocence as crime, or
violate the rights of an anteccdent lawful
private contract, or the right of private
To maintain that our Federal
or State legislatures possess such powers,