Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1850-04-03

strange that any gentleman should deny i
on this floor.
The gentleman from Georgia. Mr.
Toombsl cites the provisions in the Con
stitulion in relation 10 the Importation o
slaves, slave representation, and recapture
Of fugitives. and exclaims, 4" Gentlemen
deceive not yourselves, you cannot deceive
others. This is a pro.slavery Govern.
men'. Slavery is stamped upon its hear
l-ihe Constitution. You mus, tear tina
Oh, Of the body polite before you can com
mence the work Of IFS eradication" Now
so far from this being the case, defy tho
gentleman, or any other here, TO poin, te
any clause or word in that Constitution
that eonfers the right upon any nor,a
man to own slave. 1t confers no righl
it merely secures you in the enjoy menl
of what you before possessed. This was
the compromise Of the Cons,ilu;iou-no:h.
ing more. II by eradication he means its
abolition in the States, I agree with him ;
if he refers to the territories. / join issue
with him.
This power is not. in my mind. left to
doubtful construction. The clause in the
Constitution is full and ample. "The
Congress shall have power to dispose OF
and make all needful rules and regulations
respecting the territory, CT other property,
OF the Uhired States" Now, the gentle
man from Ohio. (Mr. Disney argues lha,
this conferred no other power upon Con.
gress than TO dispose ofthe land. That if
the trainers Of the Constitution had intend.
ed 10 confer upon Congress the right C. 81
gisla,ing generally for the Territories. they
would have used other expressions, such as
to make laws" "to legisla,e,' &c, and
that the terms 6" rules and regulations do
not apply to the higher objects Of govern.
menl, but merely TO some minor and unim-
poriant subjects and particularly does no,
apply TO persons, bu, merely TO things.
In answer to this permi, me, sir. 10 re.
mark, ,ha, II those who framed this Con.
sti'u,on intended merely TO confer the pow.
er 10 dispose oi the lands. Why was II ne
cessary-t 10 add " and make all needfuI rules
and regulations respecting the territory y {!
This instrument was drawn with much
care. and is in every part expressed with
great ,erseness and breviiy. No redund
ancies, such as this would present. no am
pllfcaions, no repeiiiions. such as the gem
ileman's construction shows-are exhibit
ed nywhere in this instrument. And all
this too, remember, to express an inferior
and subordinate power. the natural, and
| have no doubt the correct, construction
vii! strike any man Of ordinary judsmen,
at glance. The power OF dispcsIng is
conferred in terms and, in addition. the
power TO make " all neeful rules and regu-
laiions."
Let US, now, examine the r.eauing of
those terms "rules and regulations And
in answer to the inquiry why the trainers
of the Constitution did not use some other
mode OF conveying their meaning, can
only say, that know Of none more foil and
expressive, and ye. so concise, in the com.
pass Of our languaue. No man viii GER
tainly contend that the power Of settling,
fixing, and controlling the commercial re-
lations OF country, is a matter either of
minor Importance. or their proper .egula-
;ion a subordinate power. Yet, sir. This
vast power. (and no one has disputed that
Congress has not the most full and unlim-
tied contro! over i.,) is conferred in the Con.
stilu,ion by this very same term. "to reg
uiate commerce with foreign nations" Sc.
embracing in its provisions some OF the
highes, acts Of sovereignty which nation
can exercise. The same reasoning ap-
plies to the clause which gives the power
TO Congress "to coin money and regulate
the value thereof" Will any person, for
moment, contend that The circulating me.
dunn, which forms the basis Of all the trans
actions of society, and measures the value
of all property, and the price Of every COM
modify, is an inferior and subordinate sub
ject, II this term in these instances and
in these clauses conveys powers Of such
vast magnitude and importance, | ask, by
what fair rule Of Interpretation can gentle.
men contend thai different rule Of con.
struc,ion should obtain. in reference 10 the
clause now under consideration And
that, too, in the face of the fact, that it is
used by the same men, in the same instru-
ment, and at the same time.
The gentleman from Ohio. in my hum
BILE opinion, is still more unfortunate 10 re.
ference 10 the word "ruies" used in this
clause. If the gentleman inquiries. why
those who draughted the Constitution did
not use the words Ito make laws" to le.
gisla,e," &C., answer, simply because the
s,-.P..SS .. . hotso, ord sv,rvu c,vn;S