The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1847-11-29
A Territorial Government for the District
OF Columbia. WE, as&

OF Columbia.
The subjoined petition is now in circula-
ton and has already received the signatures
of many hundreds Of citizens. Indeed, no
man, to whom it has been presented, has yet
refused to sign it.
May we not hope that Congress will listen
to the prayer Of the Petitioners We pur-
pose to discuss the subject when Congress
gets together, mall its details, for we believe
we can show that the present mode Of gov
erning the District of Columbia, is entirely
at variance with the rights of the party gov
erned and in violation Of the spirit Of the
Constitution. Mean time we invite the
friends of the measure, and its opponents,
if it have any, to make themselves heard
through our columns.
To the Honorable the Senate and House Of Represen-
tatres Of the United States, in Congress assembled
" The memorial and petition OF the under
signed, citizens OF the District OF Column
bia, respectfully rcprcscntst
That, in pursuance Of provision in the
Constitution Of the United States, the ter
ritory, known and designated as the Dis
trict Of Columbia, was transferred by the
State Of Maryland to the Congress Of the
United States, as the permanent seat of
the General Government Prior to the act
Of cession, the inhabitants of this territory
possessed, in common with their fellow-citi-
zens, certain rights, which are among the
most essetial and important privileges offree-
men, and the free exercise Of which is among
their most sacred duties. They enjoyed the
power of choosing their own rulers--those by
whom their laws were to be enacted, and to
be administered"
I" 1t is manifest that it never was contem-
plated by the trainers of the Constitution,
that those who reside at the Seat of Govern
ment were, by the simple fact Of such resi-
dence, to lose these invaluable privileges,
and be exempted from the. performance OF
these solemn duties. II never was anticipa-
ted that the district Of county which was to
become the Seat of Government Of this great
Republic, was to be by this operation dis
franchised, and to forfeit all the rights offree-
men. Such consequence cannot be legitl-
mately attributed to the trainers Of the Con-
stitution, without the clearest and most abso-
lutte necessity" Q
"The forfeiture Of high political privileges
IS punishment sometimes prescribed LOT
heinous crimes and any statute, imposing
such penalty upon particular offenders, would
be regarded as severely penal in its character,
and ought to receive a most rigid construc-
ton. Such an inhibition against entire COM
munities--a whole class OF men--would, ev-
erywhere, be denounced as tyrannical in the
extreme"
"In our case, the Constitution contains no
clause which either directly or indirectly de-
prives the citizens Of this District Of the pri-
vileges which they had previously enjoyed
The compact Of cessjon does not purport to
work any such result. We have committed
no crime which involves SO severe a punish
ment. The unfortunate result has followed
not from any express intimation Of design,
but from an omission to provide for the EXT
gency. Ourprivilsges have been taken from
us by no words excluding US from their en-
joyment, but simply by emitting to rake