The Arkansas banner., 1844-03-20

-1szysssz have the undoubted right to aid or to refuse to aid in their discretion. In most cases of this character. soyereignties will willingly cooperate to eiiectuate the public good. But where they have power over subject, and l in their discretion have exercised that power although another may have the right to altcr their regulations, vet when that other com mgads ihe alteration, and requires change 10 b. made bv them, the command is given. and l the requirement. maGe, but to be rejected and l despised l. is humilating to the States, the authors of this government, to be ordered to do ythng.
 But the President. when he signed this act, put no such insulting interpretation upon it. He viewed 1t, and lie construed it, cor rectly--as merely advisory and recommenda toy. ] thank him for the explanation he gave of his signature to the bill, because our chief magistrates have heretofore proved the great and efficient defenders of the rights oi 1 the States and without this construction 1 this enactment would never have been found in your statute book. In this view the Pre- sitent was sustained by the Federaist, from ws.eh will again read:
 "Goverrment implies the power of making laws. It is essential to the idea of q law. that il be attended with sanction; or, in other words, a penalty or punishment for disobedence. If there be no penalty annex ,aaads which pretend 10 be fd1ss, wiH, in fdcf. a1ao'nf 10 noihiag more than adUice or IT ccal- meaddtion. This penalty, whatever it nay be, can only be inflicted in two ways-bv the agency of the courts and minis i justice, or by mlitav force; by the co rcicn of the magistracy. CT by the coercion offrns.a'
 As this act cannot be enforced by any power known to tie constitution of tie United $ ates. can only he considered as ad vice ard recommendation to the s ates; and. with all respect to the opinions of others, it does seem clear to my mind flat any other construction is against reason and common sense.
 have proceeded thus far, Mr Speaker. in l ihis argument, with the admission that Con- gfess had power over the election of rep resentatyes to Congress, coequal 10, and CO., extensive with, the Sates; and with this a9- mission hope I have made it manifest that l this law is uncertain, at least to a common intent, and imperfect; and, therefore, inope- l4ave and void.
 But, sir, deny that the States derive the power to district themselves from the four h section of the first article of the constitution, :, and, consequently, deny that Congress pos sesses the power to partition the States into districts.
 h the political schools in which have been taught, this has been considered a great leading truth, an axiom disputed by no one, that all power in this government is derived from the people. After the successful asser- ton of our independence, along the shores of the Atlantic, there were seen thir.een iEdepen- dent sovereign goven ments, in the peerle of which all political power was lodged In i7S7, these States. bv means of their several representatives, met in convention to form q new government, whose operation, for the most part, was 10 he external and general They formed our present constitution, in which they specifically enumerated the pow CTS which were to be exercised by the new government. They created q Corg ess, which was to consist of Senate and House of Representatives. In the second section of the first article of the constitution, the people of the States expressly reserre to themselves tie power to make or create the component ra.ts of one branch of Congress. It runs thus:
 ".i'he House of Reptep esoniatives shall be composed of members chosen every se- cond year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each S.aie shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature
 No person shall be a representative who shall not have q taiaed to the age of twenty five wears, and been seven years a citizen of the United States; and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabltant of that State in which he shall be chosen.''
 The constitution then proceeds to make an apportionment among the States, which consider model for all subsequent acts of similar character.
 "Fhe number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each Sac shall have at least one represen- tatiye: and until such enumeration shall he made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight.' and so on through all the States.
 What powers were here retained in express terms, not by construction, but m emphatic words' The time of eleciing representatives is once in two years; the place of electing is ill the ales; the manner of elec,ing, or the constituent body to elect, Is the people of the s ales. Who shall voes The States shall determine the. requisite qualifications. They must say whether he shall be white or black, a lreeholier, an alien, citizen. or a freeman. Congress can have no control over the qualifications of voter. Who shall be a represeulative' The qualifications are fixed and defined, and Congress can neither add to nor dimish the requisites of the con stitution. When the ratio is agreed upon by Congress, each qualified elector of each S.ate has right which reaches to the number of representatives apporlioned to his Sate. As citizen of Mississippi, after the present ap- portionment, l had right, which attached that moment the constituted authoriiiss sane toned the ratio, to vote for four representa- fr, aI ,f