Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1849-04-17

"a
2lnf@ @3j q. 1885, f. r.N4rAt oal 50
! nal history Of the Constitution-from a II tina
you have ever read of the opinions, sugges
tions, and statements Of its framers turn you
eve inward upon the instru mcnt itself; run i
over line by line; count up all of its provisions
and COMPROMISE Is the one outstanding ant
characteristic feature which is indelibly stamp
&c upon every page of it. 1t was once said by
u French critic Of a fine literary performance
which he was reviewing, that after he had writ.
ten the words bene, pulchre, optimc. at the top
| Of every page, his work Of criticism was ac-
complished. So it, may be said of our Consttu.
ton that after writing the word compromise
| upon every part of it, your work Of descriptive
| history Of over. This is especially true Of all
those portions of it where the relative rights Of
the States are concerned. Wherever these
| rights were invol. ed, there all priori hypoth,
| eses Of government, all abstract and theoretic
IDEAS of perfection, were at once abandoned,
and some conventional adjustment resorted to
instead, by which the largest practicable mca-
sure of equality, Justice, union, and content
ment, was expected to be established. These
indeed, were the great and ultimate ends for
which the Constitution was intended, and no
abstra ctons nor localities of Government, nor
any local or sectional obj cts were ever allow
cd to Illustrate or thwart them The result
| was, that all the external, nationel, and ag-
gregate interests of the States were collected
into and placed under the control of one cen.
ira head, whilst Il ii their separate and local in
! terests were left to the homo government out
Of which they arose, and to which they proper
| ly belonged.
Pressed as these States had been to the very
/ earl. ~ ~ tho heavy foot Of un unnatural pow.
! CT, even after they had confedcrAted with on
| another for mutua assistance, none better un-
derstand, from experience, than they did, that
security and strength, and life ITSELF lay in
their most intimate and closest union with one
| another; that if separate and disunited, they
would not only be less capable by lar both for
internal prosperity and external defence, but
must sooner or later sink under the grasp of
some forci On usuIper, o; under lealousies, az
gressIons and conflicts with another
UNION, then, was the wisdom of our revolu
tlonary day; UNION is the wisdom Of our day
and UNION will continue TO be the wisdom Of ev.
cry day that is yet to come, until the nations
Of the earth have no "a pacities aad no ambition
to crafty, and this poor heart OF ours-that
VOL Id of iniquity within itsclr--llas no foul
passods to intame, to misdirect. or dcfile 1t.
The wel-adviscd and cordial faith with which
the trainers of our Constitution commlttcA
themselves to this great historic truth, and the
political consequences to which it led the way
that our highest wisdom was in closest union
with rrother-is strkingly exemplitied in the
character Of the constitutional concessions
which they devised to secure it. Look, for OK
ample, at the representation III the Senate
There you sec every actual, and almost every
possible inequality between the associated
States dlsregGrded, and the States themselves
made politically equal to each other. There
you see Delaware and New York the pigmy
and the colossus Of the Union, sitting side Nv
| side the equal of each ether in dignity, and
sharing alike in the power and the counse!s by
which the affairs of each and Of all arc con-
trolled. Having representation in this House
founded upon numbers, the small States might
| reasonably have entancd some apprehensions
for their security, unless supplied with the
check of unit or political representation in
the Senate. They, therefore, demand this
persstlhgly and vehemently demanded it, de.
caring that they could not surrender it with
out subj Getting themselves to the mere mercy
of their constitutional associates, which they
would not do: This demand, so perfectly sub.
versivc Of the dominion, and SO revolving to
Inc natural love Of consequence and power in
the larger States, was fna ly acquicsced in. Its
clear justice in federatve government, ha OK
ed and enforced by that ardent revolutionary
spirit, not then extinct, which nationalized
everything, triumphcd over every objection,
and thus secured its adoption as one of the most
marked and conservative features of the whole
Constitution.
But it is not so much to the ertent of the
compromise in this particular matter to which
would direct your attention, Mr.. Chairman
as it is to the principle on which it is made
the principle, namely Of defending the ,oeak a.
ga1nst the encroachments and aggrcssions of the
strong. IL will not have" id lsocrates, when
RI q rioh Sfafo how Z bo
affairs of Athens-"I will not have" said he
ANY guarantee that you can offer US but this
that shall not be able to hurt Us if you would. +"
l his IS precisely the guarantee intended by
aur Constitutions: the weak were to be so pro-
tectcd by it that the strong should not hurt
them if they would. II was not enough to the
equitab bic and ust and provident spirit ef our
Constitution makers that the States should, in
a III respects, be as safe and as well off under
the Constitution then forming as they were be
fore; they looked and labored for something
beyond this, and better than this. Dctcrmin-
cd to place every State in sounder and fer
condition than ever before, they hot only left
it a sovereignty sufficient ftr all local wants,
but they SO abored es to possess it, at the same
time, with central head, which should be
perfectly capable of defending it from all ex-
ternal aggl esson, and yet inca pable of COM
uniting upon it any aggression Of its own.
NN'SsA Wis W AL eAih PCl iCCt shCtCu Vi Ltlc
compromise character of the Constitution. l
feel myself more ut liberty to insist upon the
representative duties which that character en-
JOINS, and to require, on behalf of the South,
and as one of its representatives here, that its
high authorities be executed for the broad and
nutional ends for which they were given. Our
situation in the South, so far as any Of the rights
u interests which attach to it can be subject.
ed, even resultingly, to the action of Congress,
is just that which some Of the compromises spo.
ken of were intended to provide for. We are
minority in numbers; we are u minority in
interest; we are thus aboring LII Ter double
incapacity to defend ourselves, representative.
ly, here, and have no other reliance, rithin the
Constitution. for the protection of our rights
and interests, when questioned or assaiied, ex.
cept in the faithful and righteous administra.
ton Of that instrument, under the limitations,
for the objects, and in the fra ternal spirit. in
which it was formed. This is our reliance; it
may be what we expedt it to be--a safe and q
solid reliance; it may be u worthless and rot
ten one. Whatever it be, it is our constitution.
al all; and we are determined 10 stand upon it