Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-04-09
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA.
SPEECH OF MR. BAiLY OF AccoMAck,

Mr.. Sneaker on recurring to my notes. ilno lnat
omitted to notice yesterday several Polh.s ",auo
the gentleman from Fauqnler, (hlr. Scott Hlust "
them are immateral and will not detaln 'he HOUSE
to refer To but few of them The gentleman said lna
the bill was crudcly drawn, and INSISTED lhal u sup
of war, commanded BY a resident oil Ne" io'A, W
to arrive within waters alter It's passage oe' -
spector would be required to take possess'on u ~
provided the captain did not We the bond anu nc '
dertook to draw the ridiculous figure which our IN
spector would in taking possession OF iihe u o
tie ship, and muzzling her "dogs OF war.
In the first place, | contend that the gentleman
construction is not correct Every law must oe
strned with an eye the object OF IT. and ship oil war
would not come within the provisions of tins bill bul
suppose wrong in this, and the gentleman IS tsh'
il is no objection the BILL for IS now open to amend
ment and four words inserted IT would remove the
difficulty This is conclusive answer to this and all
similar objections | will take no iarlher notce 81
them than say That the gentleman from fanqnier IS
the last man who ought 10 start them; Tor ne u was
who moved to out OF the committee ol lile "ho.
where there existed the greatest latitude OF amend
ment. ,r,,.
Mr. Sneaker without noticing minor dlihcuiues
started by the gentleman from Fauquie will proceed
at once the constitutional objection ana 10 '''s pa'
of the discussion, | beg the earnest attention % t
House II the constitutional objection be well iounu'
ed it il fatal to the bill. If cannot protect our
selves without violating the Constitution, ior one am
opposed to doing it in that way would prefer u
once to throw off its shackles rather than living under
| it, violate lis provisions.
| The States Of this Union are sovereign ana moe
PENDENT united by the Constitution Of the United
States which is compact between them, anu are pos
sessed of all powers which belong to such States "a
ceptinp those the exercise of which delegated 70 Tue
| General Government This is a proposition winch II
is not necessary to establish by argument III th's lie
rislature II any moral proposition can be settled
this one is not open for controversy here. lhe COM
pact itself provides that all powers not delegated nor
prohibited to the States reserved to the states OF
the people. 80,
It's not denied that we NAV pass this bill, unless
we be prohibited from doing by the Constitution oil
Virginia, or the Constitution OF the United STATES
The gentleman has not taken the ground that II IS pro-
hibiied by the Virginia Constitutions but as have
heard the idea expressed in private by members oil
the House. that it conflict with our bill o'rshts,
| will make few remarks upon that point me Sec
ton Of the bill of tights which supposed 10 contain
the prohibition, in these words: That general war
rants whereby any officer or messenger may be com
manded search suspected places, without evidence
of fact committed or 10 seize any person or persons
not named, or whose offence is not particularly de-
scrbed and supported by evidence, are grevons and
oppressive, and ought not TO be granted The Ian
guage of the section itself, as well as IT'S history,
shews that it is not designed to apply 10 case Ike
this; and that il is meant restraint upon the Ex-
ecutive and Judiciary rather than upon the Logisa-
ture This clause Of our bill OF rights, and similar
in the Constitution of the United States, have
common origin. They little more than the affirm.
|
law And their Introduction into our Constitution, was
doubtless occasioned by the strong sensibhy excited
both in Eng land and America, upon the SUBJECT Of re-
neral warrants almost up to the eve af the American
Revolution Although special warrants upon com
plants under oath, stating the crime and the party BY
name, against whom the accusation is made, are the
only legal warrants upon which arrest can be made,
according 10 the law Of England, yet practice had
obtained in the Secretary office ever since the reslo-
ration of issuing general warrants TO take up without
49,
and publishers of such obscene or sedons l'bes as
particularly specified IN the warrant When these
acts expired in l67i the practice lad continued
in every reign and under every Administrations, except
the four last years Of Queen Anne reign down to the
year 1863. The general warrants issued, III general
terms, authorized officers 10 apprchcnd all persons
pected without naming or describing any person IN
particular.
1t evident, therefore, from the history of the pro.
vision as well as the Ian guage of it, that il is meant
only restraint upon officers, and not for ike
this The next provision is in similar terms" In con-
troversIes respecting property, and IN suits between
man, the ancient trial trial By jury is preferable TO any
OF her. and ought TO be held sacred Yet it has never
been doubted, that the Legislature may constitute chan
Gerry courts.
The provision in the Constitution Of the United
States, though similar, is in stronger terms yet has
never been construed TO prevent such searches and
seizures authorized BY the custom house laws
some of which go great deal further in this respect
than the bill before the House.
The bill not being in conflict with the Constitution
Of Virginia. the next question which arises rs whether
il is in conflict with The Constitution Of the IT, States
The gentleman from Fauquer contends that tie pow
pass this bill is granted 10 Congress- exclusion
of the States, in the clause authorizing Congress
to regulate commerce and that it is prohibited 10
them by the second clause Of the Cd section Of the 18th
article the Constitution And 10 sustain hun in the
opinion that it is unconstitutional, he refers 10 the
report Of the committee of last INDEPENDENTLY
the sentence in which it is said-"To bring il ian in.
specton law,) perhaps within the Constitution, il would
have to he general" That sentence is not meant tn
assert, positively, that to bring inspection law with
in the Constitution, it would have TO be general AL
the time it written, entertained such npinion
But have already adverted TO the circumstances under
which the report drawn On this point there were
then, now, two sets Of opinions in this House
Some supposed that unless the law made general
in its operation, that it would be unconst ntional
others entertained different opinion. | could not
therefore, assert or deny the proposition without pro-
vokng the opposition Of the class or the other
Therefore 1t was that introduced in that part of the
report, and in the subsequent paragraph of it the word
sspcrhaps And that it wisely introduced in the
last instance, proved by the fact that the gentle
man himself scarcely restrained, as well rempm-
ber from making war upon that part of the report by
IFS introduction.
But the report of last winter asserts the constitution
aly Of the measure positively. 3D. The proposition TO
appoint inspectors. This has much to recommend it.
In the first place, the remedy is specific TO the wrong
II is clear Of all constitutional difficulty The prlnci-
pie upon which such law would be founded has been
frequently recognized In point of time, first in the
recognition of the validity of quarantine regulations
and last in the law prohibiting the transmission of in
cendary publications by mail
Is the bill prohibited by The I'd section ofthc 9TH ar
tice Of the Constitution of the United States: That
section is in these words "The citizens of each State
shall be entitled to all privileges and immuntes of CT
tizens in the several States" Speaking Of this prov
sion in the Constitution in his Commentaries. Judge
Story says:-"It is plain and simple in its language
and its object is not easily TO be mistaken Connected
with the exclusive power of naturalization in the Ma
tional Government it puts at rest many of the Difficult
ties which effected the construction of the article of
the Confederation. 1t is obvious, that if The citizens
Of each State to be deemed aliens 10 each Other
that they could not take hold real estate or other
privileges, except aliens. The intention of this
clause to confer them, if one may speak,
general citizenship"
The difficulty of the gentleman seems TO me 10 ORR
ginate in misleading of the clause of the Constitution.