The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1845-02-18

WAC tuAS mo- uiuotftoue eesompyi Wrmtn9
~ they did the organic Law Of great people, laying
the deep foundations Of Government which u
endure for ages They framed it with all that care
aud anxiety and deliberalion which il was their
duty TO exercise in matter grave and momentous
They were Of the highest reach Of intellect and
Of mole devoted patriotism than had belonged " men
who had since, or that might again bless the Re-
public.
And what was the rule laid down for the constIu-
ing of such public instrumental Vattel says;
The first general ma Kim Of Interpretation is that
y not allowable to interpret Oho has no need Of inter
pretation When deed Is worded In clear aud pre-
else terms-when its meaning Is evident, and leads
to no absurd concus0n--there can be no reason for
refusing TO admit the meaning which such deed natu-
rally presents. To 90 elsewhere in search OF conjec-
lures In order to restrict extend it, Is but an attempt
to eude it, II this dangerous method be once admitted,
there will be deed which it will not render useless
However luminous each clause may be--however
clear and precise the in which the deed is couch
ed--al this will be Of avail, if be allowed to 80
In quest of extraneous arguments to prove that 1t is
not to be understood in the which it naturally
presents"
Was there ever quotation more strictly appropri-
atel The worthy Senator from Kentucky had gone
all the way to Patagonia for the sake Of constituting
away the PLAIN language Of the Constitution. lie
had invoked The aid of the sma-footed beauties OF
China nay, he had gone TO the land of the an
thropophagi, men whose heads do grow beneath
their shoulders Yes: he had brought cannibas
into the Senate to devour honorable Senator'S and all
to avoid the plain reading OF plain clause in the Con-
stituton. When men OF his capacity and ingenuity
resortcd to such expedenls, it showed very plainly
how sorely they pressed by the force of TRUTH
The honorable Senator in this part of his argument
'esembled the strong man in the midst Of the SerbO
man bog-he more he struggled, he plunged but the
deeper in the mre. What had the Supreme Court of
the United States said this suhject2 Chief JUS
tice fancy says:
In expounding the Constitution of the United
States every word have its due force and appro
pirate meaning, for it ia evident from the whole in
stIument that no word was unnecessarily Used or
needessly added. The many discuss which have
taken place on the construction of The Constitution
have proved the of this proposition, and
shown the high talent, the caution, and the foresight
of the ilustriuus men who framed it. Every word
appears to have been weighed with the utmost delibe
ration, and its force and effect have been fully un-
derstOod."
New States may be received; yet his ingenious
friends nterpolated the additional words, 'arising
within the existing territory of the United States
But what would be thought of this argument when it
the clause found it in the Constitution had
had before them the express question whether it
should be thus limited not, and had had these very
words, or words Of similar import, under cOnside
ration for weeks together, and had deliberately re-
jected them? The records of the Convention es-
b. had made some references to the journal of their
proceedings, and had noted down few extracts
which he would now read.
On the 29th May, 1887, Mr.. Edmund Randolph
offered his famous resolutions to the Convention
The tenth of these resolutions was in the following
words
" Resolved, That provision ought to be made for
the admission of States, LAWFULLY arising ,Oithim the
limits Of TIE United STATES, whether from voluntary
junction of government and territory otherwise,
with the consent of number of voices of the Ma
tonal Legislature less than the whole"
will be perceived that the point was thus distinct
ly presented to the Convention whether the power of
Congress to admit States should be restricted to
those 'arising within the limits of the United States
What was their decision?
On the 18th June, 1887 the Committee of the
Whole reported this resolution to the Convention in
the words of Mr.. Randolph, containing the restric
ton.
The committee on detail afterwards reported the
resolution it originally stood.
On the 9Th August, 1887, the committee which re-
ported the draught of Constitution retained the
restriction limiting the power of Congress to new
States arising within the limits Of the United States
The following is copy of their report
"New States, lawfully constituted or established
within the limits Of the United States NAV be ad-
mitted by the Legislature into this Government but
TO such admission the consent of two thirds Of the
members present in each House shall be necessary
Ii new State shall arise within the limits of any Of
the present States the consent of the Legislatures of
such States shall be also necessary to its admission
III the admission be consented to, the States shall
be admitted on the terms with the original States
But the Legislature may make conditions with the
new States, concerning the public debt which shall
be then subssting."
On the 29th August, 1887, it moved and Sc !
coDded TO agree to the following proposition as sub
fOrt he hich hos inc
"New States may be admitted by the Legislature
into the Union; but no new States shall be erected
within the Limits of any of the present Staes with
out the consent OF the Legislature of such State
we'll as Of the general Legislature"
The restriction was thus abandoned, and the pow.
er left unlimited to admit States whether within
the limits of the United States or composed of TO- |
reign territory; and the article in the Constitution
was finally adopted as it now appears the nsttu-
ment.
Thus it appeared that from the 29th May until the |
29th August l7S7 the Convention had adhered to the
proposition of putting limitation on the admission
clause, but had finally rejected this ilberal PROPOSE.
ton and stricken II out Of their draught. And they
had acted wisely for no human foresight could then,
or now, tell what was to be the destiny of the new
born Republic, whose Constitution they were en-
trusted to prepare and TO have limited it in the
ner supposed by gentlemen on the other side, would
have accorded neither with the wisdom nor the pro
found craftsmanship Of those eminent men
But to go further What was the contemporaries
Gus construction Of the instrument Mr.. was
sorry his friend from Kentucky had not got far in
his quotations from the Federast as to the Add num-
Der, where this subj ct expressly treated on If
the gentleman had but proceeded as far as that he
would have found the astonishing fact that the old
Confederation bad no power to adopt any other than
a foreign State. Their power of admission was con-
fined within this limit The only clause n the arti.
Giles of confederation referring to the admission of
new States was this
canada, according to the confederation and Join
ing in the Of the United States shall be ad
mItted into and entitled to all the advantages Of the
union but other colony shall be admitted into the
same, unless such admission be agreed TO by nine
States"
Mr.. Madison said that by "colony" in this article