The North-Carolina standard., 1844-05-08
lI.EItsH, n. q. syVEDNE ESD =; MAY 3. Isa4. .

States Ela0faty GTsslng MT btM- tie J5aaTts OF Ia
LtlBed States; whether ArisinS rom d yblrnta. y
Ilinetieh Of fgovernpent or otier With the con
Sent of number Of voices in the Legislature, less
than 5he whole In Mr.. Charles Pi1ckneye
draft. it Vas proposed that @ftie Legislature shah
have power.to admit new States into the Union
on the same terms with the original States, pro;
viaed two thirds of he members present in both
Houses agree leaving out the Clause in respect
to the character of the territory. Mr.. RandcIphss
proposition, Containing tie restriction confining
thap power to States taaofaslly arising aoit1s the
Limits Of The Dnitsd States, was at one time adopt
ed in Committee of the Whole, and, IN that State,
referred with others to the committee Of detail.
LIP draft of constitution, reported by that com
mittee the article upon this subject contained the
following propositions: 1st. Thathew States, law
fully constituted or established soitlin tie EnoitS
-of the United States, might BE admitted by the
Legislature in This government I'd. That.to such
admission the consent of two-thfrds OF the-mem-
bers present in each House sho1ld be necessary.
Sd. That if new State should arise withinthe
limits of any Of the present States the consent OF
the legislature of such States should aRo be ne
cessary to its admission 4th That ifIhe adrnis.
sion was consented to- the new States should be ad-
mitted on thesame terms with the:orignal States
and 5th. That the legislature might make condi-
tions with. the new States concerning the public
debt then subsisting. The ed, 4th, and 5th claus
es were stricken out by the votes of the conyen-
tiont and after that had been done, the following
was adopted as substitute for the whole, viz
|"NeW States may be ADMITTED by theslegisiature
into the Union; but no new State shall be erected
within the limits Of any of the pfesent States,
without the consent of the legislature Of such
State, as we'll as of the general Legislature" -
leaving out that parrot the first clause which re-
lated TO the domestic character of the territory
andathis Substitute was subsequently revised and
amended, to make it conform 4n its phrase
ology to the section as il" now stands m the con-
stitdtion, These proceedings show that the pro-
position to restrict the power to admit new States
to the territory within the original limits Of the
United States, was distinctly before the convention,
once adopted by it. and finally rejected in favor of
a clause making the power in this respect gener-
al. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as
to the propriety of referring to extraneous matter
to influence the construction of the constitution
where its languageis explicit, there can certainly
be no objections to to such aids to test the
correctness of inferences, having no other basis
than supposed improbabilities have not, there
FORE been able to bring my mind any other sat
isfactory conclusion than that t'waS the intention
of the CONVENTION to give the power of admitting
new States to Congress with no olhsr limitations
than those which are specified N that instrument
The language employed, the specificatioas.of ceF-
tain restrictions, the adoption and subsequent ex-
clusion of that which is referred to, together
with the subsequent aud continued action of the
new government, all seem to combine to render
this Interpretation Of the constitution the true one
Propositions for Gfinexaions can certainly be i'm
agIned, OF Character so 1nwiSe and inprcVident
as to- strike the minds of all with repuenance
Butif we lock over the conceded powers of Con-
gress, we shall also find many others, the abuse
of which might involve, to an equally great ex-
tent, the wellbeing of the republic, and against
which abusethe constitution has provided no other
safeguards than the responsibilities To their consti-
t4ents and to the laws ofthe land, Of those whose
sanction is necessary to the validity of an act of
Congress Nor IS Il very unreasonable to.sup-
pose that those who based their government upon
the great prneipts that it Is the right of the peo-
pie TO alter or abolish it, and to institute new ones,
in such forms as they may think most likely to
effect their safety and happiness, should feel them
selves secure in trusting totheir representatives in
the House, IN the Senate, and in the executive
chair the right to admit new members into the
confederacE with no other restrictions than those
which they have thought proper to specify. =
1t was uufler this view of the. constitution that
the purchase 7of Louisiana In 1893, only fifteen
years after the adoption of the constitution, prom
Using the incorporation Of the ceded territory into
the Union, and the admission as soon as possible,
of einhabitats TO the enjoyment Of all te rights
advantages, and nnmunities of citizens of the Uni
ted States ratified, confirmed, and finally ex-
ecuted by evesy branch of the federal government
whose cooperation is requiged by rte constitution.
1t is true that Mr, Jefferson the interval between
the negotiation and submission of the treaty to the
Senate threw out the opinion that the constitution
had made no provision for our holding foreign ter
ritory, nor for Incorporating foreign States into the
Unioa The fact of his approving the treaty,
and the laws necessary to its execution must how
ever; be regarded as conclusive. rFaoF that, upon
looking further into the mattsB, his opinion was
changed The attempttoconvince hinaof his error
was made by hie. friend Governor Nicholas, as
appears by Mr. JeffersonfS letter to him; and
have little doubt that, if his letters to Breeken-
ridge and Nicholas had been published in his life
time, or his attention been IN any0ther way direct
ed to their contents, he would, from his habitual
care ID sueA>naatters, have avUwed the change
and explainedthe grounds on which it was based
1t is equally true that the acceptance Of the ces-
sfoh as well as the admission of the State became
party questions, and were contested with partisan
watgatA. OF the vital importance Of that great
acquisition to the safety, prosperity, and honorof
the Whole Union, there can, however, now be no
diversity ofopinion. But the councils of the las
tio1, ia the course Of tige ceased to he at all d-
vded upon she-question of censtitutionaI power 10
accept aycession of foreign territory, wit1 view
to its ultimate admission into fle Union. In $40
the Spanish treaty for 1he,scessietf Of East and
West Florida eentaining the usual stipulation for