Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1847-01-14
FROM THE RICHMOND WING.
MR.. ROOTS pEECI

I.
we regret that our space will not permit its publ
cation entire. Some of his admirable hits, however,
are too good to be lost. in reference to the es,ab-
lishment of civil governments in California and New
Mexico, Mr.. Root said, the President, in his late
special message, "dodged behind Mr. Marcy, and
Mr.. Marcy lodged behind Com Stockton and Gen.
Kearney," whose conduct is somewhat unexpected
ly dsapproved by the Executive, while ON reading
the instructions given to them, it is obvious that
they were invested with the widest discretionary
powers. Mr. r. is particularly felicitous in expos
ing the ridiculous position of those members of
Congress, who, under the natural presumption that
our Military and Naval commanders had not trans
cended their instructions, themselves diligently
to work to find, some, like Mr.. Seldom, in the
Constitution, and others, ike Mr. Bayly, in the
La,cs q. Nations, authority for those high handed
proceedings, in order to screen the President from
ccnsure, for acts, which that officer himself, inca
Pabe of defending, promptly disavows! Referring
TO MIR. Seddon's most extraordinary argument-ex-
traordinary, we mean, in the positions assumed,
which nevertheless, we admit are sustained with
no little ingenuity-Mr Root says
"IIe knew that gentleman justified the acis of
the President and his officers and one very learned
gentleman especially, (Mr. Seddon) He found the
power OF the President to do all he had done some
where in the Constitution. He did not know Just
exactly where it might bein this article or it might
| be In that, or 1t might be in third. The power
was there somewhere. Mr. II. said he never knew
an abStractlonSt. strict cOnStrucOniSt, TO be hard
pushed in his life to find justification for any IA
vorlte measure. but he could always find it in the
constitution The good old constitution He re-
spected it, and he loved to defend it. lie had no
notion OF seeing ii submitted To this stretching and
pickering process. The learned gentleman's search
Tor Executive power to set up civil governments
reminded him of a sort of game he had nncc seen
played with thmbles and balls-he forgot now
how it was played exactly, what it was called.
voice; thlmberig. laughl Yes; it was
likely that was it. Ii was played with three Thin
bles and ball, and the ball was sometimes found
under one, and sometimes under another-but it
was there somewhere The thing 10 tell I'M
der which thimbe. Much laughter Nothing
but the governing habit of the abstractionist school
could have produced such reading of the consttu-
| tion."
| MIR. Seldom has found the constitution e1,,al TO
all emergencies heretofore, and he was satisfied that
1t would not fail in this-and so, he made the re-
markabe discovery that the President, as s'com-
mander-in- chief of the army is clothed with such
vast powers that, were he to exercise them, as
| Civil Magistrate, it would make him an Imperial
despot!
MIR. Rhett, of South Carolina. though belonging
to the same school of politics Of which Mr.. Seldom
is so prominent member, denied that the constitu-
on In any one OF Its clauses, vested the President
with imperial powers-and, SO far, we agree with
him. That is an emergency" never contempla-
ted, in our humble estimation, by the trainers of
that instrument! Yet Mr.. Rhctt defended The
President, whose subsequent disavowal Of the acts
| complained of, unfortunately for his champions
shows that he deems those acts wholly ndefansibe!
Mr. Root answers Mr.. Rhett in this wise:
but another gentleman of the same school came
out and admitted that the power under which the
President had acted to be found in the con-
| stitutlon. No. ii was above and beyond it. How
then, was it authorized The very fact of con
quest conferred the authority. The President was
a conqueror, and, as conqueror, had authority to
do all that he had been doing in these Mexican pro-
vnces. He was placed in loco PARENTS TO the peo-
| pie. This was new sort of Loco Roars of
merTiment. If he parent to the Mexicans
Judging from the freaks and antics he had been
playing before his bantlings, would conclude it
was rather new business TO him. Renewed fun |
But, as he seemed little indiscreet in the thing
there was some danger Of spelling the chiIdron''
Mr. Bayly, not content with the arguments either
of Mr. Seldom or Mr.. Rhett, though one of the same
school of strict constructionsts finds authority for
the acts complained of in the Laws Of Nations
contendng that because ''socereigns" may exercise
certain powers over conquered regions, therefore
Mr.. Polk-who is no sovereign yet, whatever he
may ultimately become, in accordance with the re-
solutions of '"9S '9o'-may play the King over the
provinces wrested from Mexicol Mr. Root thus
replies to him.
"Another learned conference.-the ought TO be. a
Virginia Judge was always presumed to be learned }
read them a decision of Lord Stowells formerly and
better known as Sir VIM. Scott but it was all the
same. From this opnioritappearcd that conquering
sovereign might hold conquered territory as his own
and might cede il to third party A certain
island had been conquered by Great Britain, and
until the war ended. it was subject TO the RIGHT
of the losing sovereign, who might reconnuer il if
he could. And then the learned gentleman asked
for our authority in opposition TO this. WHY no
, body controversial the position. Mr.. r. need not
E conrovert it, he knew the responsibility of the
Judge who made the decision. 1t was a sufficient
answer to say the case was not in point 1t stvke
of the power Of a sovereign but James K Polk.
thank God, was not yet the sovereign of these Uni
ted States by the constitution. whatever he might
be by the sutferancc of Congress He had no right
to establish any civil jurisdiction over State held
IN military occupation without an act of the sOve-
reign--that was, OF the legislative body-Eo mere
military commander. whether President or general.
or commodore, captain, could do any thing Of that
kind it required the sovereign authority of the
: Statc.--&nd where was that2 In the President
4 No, in Congress and nothing short of the act Of
Congress could create any such government. Be
fore could establish any civil government there.
We must annex il as a territory Of the United
States; then we might begin TO set up govern
; mcnt for it,"
Mr. Root closes this 6ranch of his subject by the
following ausiou TO the unfortunate Predcament in