Louisville messenger. (Louisville, Miss.) 1842-1843, 1843-08-19

tuliOnal questions nfe Involved, tor.
verse aud oycfllifn TOO, II they hnd Il
necessary, any uosoubd doctrine, pro.
mulpatcd amongst them, whether II
be In The form OF Judicial decision.
Executive message, or u legislative
enactment, aud " they had moi this
right. they would not In my poor
Judgment deserve 10 be called free,
In any valuable sense OF that momen.
ious and comprehensive word. Bot
for tbs very right, reserved 10 the
States and people, and It's fearless a.
perscyering exercise. the Alien and
Sediion laws, would now bac ken
the page ofour national statute book;
and The United States bank, that
mouster Of corruption, would have yet
continued to dihnsc its malignant in.
huencc throughout our happy coun.
try.
The obligation Of the people in
reference to all such matters, is pre-.
ciscly such, in all cases, as | judge,
us the Fundamental law Of the land,
and their enlightened regard for Ger.
tain great principles OF moral justice
may prescribe, and if ! mistake not
the obligation is not capable of be-
ing either heightened or diminished,
. imposed or recinded, by the action of
any class of their civil functlonaTies.
As TO your third question, ] hope
you will pardon me for considering it
sufficiently answered already. | must
frankly acknowledge though, that
the judicial opinion to which you al
ludc, has struck me, as bearing strong
marks Of haste, and as not being alto
gether as explicit in several respects,
as would have been desirable. 1t
seems to be generally acknowledged,
that sofaras il touches the point of the
constitutionality of the Union Bank
bonds, il is what The lawyers call an
obiet dictum, or decision upon a
point, aside from the main question
involved in the case before the court,
and not indispensable to have been
alluded to by them,-of course it
would hardly be cited in court even
as conclusive authority, and out Of
court will be at least not more impo-
sing. At any rate | do not doubt,
that the people are as fully authori-
zed now as they ever were to enter
tain md ank IN THAR ANN nDtn;ono
independently. / will add that my
own opinions have not been at all
altered, by reading the decision in
question, and am inclined to think
that such has been the experience of
most other citizens; whether ''that
decision" Quoting your own Ian.
guage) can or cannot effect any diff
fercnt decision by the people Of the
State, really am not prepared to
say, but suppose it TO be. best. to leave
the point to be settled by the people
themselves at the ballot box. Every
good citizen will evince proper re-
spect for the opinions Of our court of
last resort, but il seems to me that to
say that the opinion of the court is
Politically binding upon the people
at large, is asserting the doctrine of
judicial infalibility in its most dan
gerous form, erecting particular
class Of our functionaries to SET aside
the constitution at pleasure.
TO your last inquiry, ! will say,
that should the subject Of the Union
Bank bonds, be submitted to direct
vote of the people for their decision,
l freely acknowledge, that | should
atpresent be strongly disposed to vote
for the payment Of that portion of
them, if there be any such, as might
on investigation, turn out to have
been purchased in good faith and
held in the same way up to the pre-
sent time. But whatever | may do
on this subject will be done as pri.
vate citizen, under solemn protgsta-
ton against constitutional or moral
obligation, and in the same spirit
precisely, in which have occasion :
ally paid money claimed ofme, (which
/ did not really owe, from regard to
particular considerations operating
upon my sensibilities as man.
| have now answered your q1es-
tons in spirit OF frankness and can. I
dor. May ] indulge the hope that it (
will prove satisfactory to you. !
would here beg leave TO say to you !
and my fellow citizens Of the Safe, !
thatit would give me great pleasure I