The Illinois free trader. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1840-1841, 1841-03-19


that of the devoted exterior guards of
camp-that their sulierings secure tran
guilty and safety within. Are there any
OF their countrymen who would subject
them to greater sacrifices; TO any other hui
rniliations-ihan those essentially neces-
sary TO the security of the object for which
they were thus separated from their fell
low citizens Are their rights alone not
to be guaranteed by the application of those
great principles upon which all our consti
tutions are founded We are told by the
greatest OF British orators and statesmen,
| that, Al the commencement of the war of
the revolution, the most stupid men in
/ England spoke of 'stheir American sub
jccis.' Are there indeed citizens of any
Of our States who have dreamed of their
/ SIT cciS in the District of Columbia.
Such dreams can never be realized by
any agency Of mine. The people of the
District Of Columbia are not the subjects
OF the people of the States, but free Ame-
rcan clIizens.-Being in the latter condi-
ton when the Constitution was formed,
no words used in that instrument could
have been intended to deprive them of that
character. If there is any thing in the
great principle Of inalienable rights, so
emphatically insisted upon in our Decla-
ration OF Independence, they could neither
make, nor the United States accept, a
surrender Of their liberties, and become
the subjects, in other words the slaves, of
their former fellow citizens. If this be
true, (and it will scarcely be denied by
any one who has q correct idea of his own
rights as an American citizen the grant
to Congress Of exclusive jurisdiction in
| the District of Columbia can be interpre-
ted, so far as respects the aggregate peo-
pie of the United States, rs meaning moth
ing more than 10 allow to Congress the
controlling power necessary to afford Il
| free and safe exercise of the functions as.
signed to the General Government by the
! Constitution. In all other respects, the
legislation of Congress should be adapted
TO their peculiar position and wants, and
be conlormable with their deliberate opin-
ions OF their own interests.
| have spoken of the necessity of keep
ing the respective departments of the Go
vernment, as we'll rs all other authorities
OF our country, within their appropriate
orbits. This is a matter Of difficulty in
some cases, as the powers which they re-
specially claim are often not defined by
any distinct lines. Mischiveous, however,
in their tendencies, as collisions of this
kind may be, those which arise between
the respective communities which, for GER
tam purposes, compose one nation, are
much more so; for no nation can long
exist without the careful culture of those
feelings of confidence and affection which
arc the effective bonds of union between
freq and confederated States. Strong as
is the tie of interest, it has often been
found Intellectual. Men, blinded by their
passions, have been known to adopt meas
nres for their country, in direct opposi-
ton to all the suggestions Of policy. The
alternative, then, is, to destroy or keep
down a bad passion by creating and ios-
lering good one: and this seems to be
the corner stone upon which was to bind
1t, and perpetuate its existence the
aiIeclonate attachment between all its
members. To insrrc the continuance
OF this feeling, produced at first by COM
munlty of dangers, of sullerings and of in
terests, the advantages of each were made
accessible to all. No participation in any
good, possessed by any member Of our
extensive confeder9cy, except in domes
tic government was withheld from the
citizen OF any other member. By pro-
cess attended with no difficulty, no delay, /
no expense but that of removal, the cit-
zen Of one might become the citizen of
any other, and successfully of the whole.
The lines, too, separating powers to be
exercised by the citizen of one State from
those of another, seemed TO be distinctly
drawn as to leave no room for misunder-
standing. The citizens of each state
unite in their persons all the privileges
which that character confers, and all that
they claim as citizens of the United States;
but in no case can the same person, at the
same time, act as the citizen OF two sepe-
rate States, and he is therefore positively |
precluded from any interference with the
reserved powers of any State but that of
which he is for the time being, a citizen
He may indeed offer to the citizens Of
of other States his advice as TO their man
agement, and the form which it is tender
Ell is lni 10 lis nmn liSrrnIian nnl Snnrn