The native American., 1839-01-12


the Constitution is violated by not granting " la
the petitions ask for--BUT, If on The eoatrary, an,
one Of all them petitions asks Congress TO do an,
thing contrary to the clear meaning of the Consti
tution--as it was understood when it was ma(
and agreed to--then | would call thai member o
Congress, who offered such petition right VI
and give him copy Of the Constitution and tel
him to git that by heart, and the next time he at
tempted another such unlaacfM act, I'd send him
home" Well, says |, that is neD notion. ''No
It amt" says he, 'ts oil as truth and justice
and the Constitution itseJE-and they come Of
ago pretty much ali at once. This is the rub OF
the matter Maior--the people have "a Constitu-
tion,' and all laws and regulations mus, agree
with 1t or they amt good for nothing; the people
send their agents to Congress TO make or alter the
Constitution; and any man in or out Of Congress
who brings IN petition asking the people sagents
to grant things contrary to the Constitution, are
doing an ualamful act, and if they are Ignorant
Ia teach en- what the law is, and if arter the first
offence, they repeated it, I'd make EN- feel it, If
some'sng Of this kind aint done--Congrcss will
have nothing else TO do but cackle over all the
whlms that old grannys all about the country will
be sending ina man South has Just as good
right to petition Congress to pass laws to stop my
raising Punkins as | have TO stop his raising Cot
tor--and on the score OF oppression and siauery
and all that nonsense-therc is nothing in tive
are all slaves, to the necessity Of earning an ho-
nest living, and all necessity to aCsrk is an eUii,
but 1t is an evil like beurds and toe-aa;Ls, we are
born to--some have to work at one calling and
some at another-and some work is harder than
another-some 60 down under the air,h and dig
coal and iron and copper and lead and gold and
s!lver-and some on the face of the airth dig,
plough and hoe, and chop woodland that last
kind OF work, It's plagy tuffin winter away off in
the woods, with snow up to your knees and your
dinner iroze hard as brick-bat) and some
go on the great deep in storms and tempests, and
don't know what it is to have dry jacket on for
weeks together-and no wife and children to sit
round a fire with every evening-and some pick
cotton and have this advantage over all the rest,
and that is when they get sick and old, they are
taken care of without going begging or be thrust
into poor-house or prison-some folks are by ma
ur dependent on others, and lean Oh EN- like bean
vines to polls
Now suppose some old women should get
notion to petition Congress against letting folks
dig away down in the airth arter Coal and Iron,
and so forth, and say that man wasn't born like
Woodchuck to live in the arlh--and then again
to stop folks from rsking their precious lives at
sea- as though they were born with fins like fish,
how then, and what would be the end ont? Can
any man tell what would he the state of things
if any Of these whims was to be acted on only for
one year just for the trial ont! And then agin,
has any one turned over the matter to see what
would be the condition of things if 'sAbolition''
should take root-kck up bobery down South,
and let only one crop of cotton 60 unpck 'd-folks
abroad don't think much of this matter but look
at 1T pretty much do at the Chinese, and
carelessly talk of abolition as a matter of moon
c1,, u.
keep EN- | suppose from deviltry at home-pos-
slbly fthcIr mad schemes were only for one sea-
son to prosper here, a storm would howl over
England worse than univarsal cholera morbus.
Cut Tone of our crops of cotton only y-and then
let the Queen of her Ministers attempt to tell the
of spinners and weayers Of England
that they and their families must suhn.it 10 20 hun
cry and unemployed, on account ofthe great and
st'raoAs cause Of abo'ifion-and if they remain
content and hungry, Why then no harm will cone
from that pont-out if on the contrary, they don't
understand the doctrine (and some folks do say
that some of ohm Ban family get cross and ugly
when hungry why then there vil he trouble and
such trouble as amt cooled by sage or catnp tea
-aud for one wash my hands on':-and say
"let we'll alone.'
''l'l tell what it is Major,'' says the Deacon,
"we have now ben working along pretty pros
perously for fifty years under a Constitution that
has kept us all together happy family, and any
man who attempts to disturb any matter or thing
guaranteed and secured by that Constitution, amt
got any more Patriotism in him than rotten
puukin--and all petitions to Congress, asking
things contrary TO the Constitution, are st as bad
as fora man to ask another mans agent to do what
he knows he has no right to do under the power
of attorney he holds from his prncipal--,hat's
Lar, Major" says the Deacon, 'and l don't
know" says be. ''if it aint Gospel too
! and Uncle Sam have been thinking over this
matter and upon the hull we come to the notion
that the Deacons doctrine is about right, and we
hope you will not Disregard it.
Your friend and fellow citizen,
J. DowNISs, Major,
Downingville Militia, I'd Brigade.