The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-11-13
Let the Senate Look to II!

II appears that the President Of the United
States, has ia en- it upon himself to remove Aaron
Goodrich fro.a the Office of Chief Justice of Min
nsso,a Territory, and to appoint Mr. Fuller. late
of Albany, n. Y, to tina. Office. The news came
first, as mere rumor--then a Geographic re-
port, and finally, in official, authentic form. We
have doubted and refrained from comments, upon
this subject, for several reasons. First, because
there was reason existing, why Judge Good
rich shonii be reaored; enjoy ing, as he does
and an intelligent, honest Judge During his
term Of service here ns Chief Justice, with num-
beriess intricate and perplexing questions to de-
eide, arising out Of the chaotic condition of The
laws with which Minnesota was Gu, loose from,
Wisconsin and set adtif upon Territorial ca
reer, as well as the bunglius and incomplete leg
islation with which the old statutes Of Wisconsin
were patched up by our own Legislature, he was
the first Territorial officer who arrives here after
his appointment, and has remained constantly at
his post, in ie faithful discharge of his official
duties ever since; and out Of the large number of
cascs-tfar more than all the other cases beside
in our whole Terri,ory,) that have been decided
by him as Judge Of this District, and remove ed
afterwards f"r error TO the Supreme Court Of the
Territory, out one solitary judgment Of his has
erer Teen rerersei for error; and that reversal
involved merely question Of practice rather
than Of law.
Second; because if any charges were made
against Judge Goodrich, he had right to know
what those charges were, and to have an oppor-
tuni,y 10 respond tc them. The very same mail
that brought Judge Goodrich notice Of his reno
val, without even an in,ima,ion preceding it, that
any charges existed against him, brough, to the
Winnebago Agent, full copies Of charges and
speciicai ons filed against that officer, aifordiny
him opportunity for refuiing the charges prefer
red.
Third; because we were reluctant TO be con-
vinced, that President Of the United States,
would now for the frs, time in our annals, dare,
attempt TO attack the sacred errniue, which the
flaming sword Of the Constitution guards with
terrible jealousy. We could not think that the
President was cursed with such evil advisers as
to nd that he try the experiment Of chop
ping down with the Executive axe, the ndepen-
dent pillar of the Judiciary, upon which equally
as upon the Executive and Legislative pillars,
rests our whole fabric Of Constitutional freedom
month since, we should have deemed it a
question undeserying Of discussion, whether any
of the Judges Of the U. S. Courts held their off
ces by so frail tenure the good will of Pres-
dent Had il been urged n an argument az ainst
the Compromise measures, in Congress, that i
Slave holding President Of the United States,
might hereafter exercise the power in New Mex
CO, Utah, Nebraska, Minnesota, or any other
Territory, Of removing all Judges who refused
to recognizes slaves as ,ransltory property the title
Of which remained valid in the master, into what,
ever Territory they might be taken, and thai,
Judges might be appointed in their stead, who
,routd recognize such property. and thus forever
fastcn letters upon those Territories, such an
argument would have been pronounced nnfound-
ed in fact and reason, contrary 10 the whole doc
trine Of the distribution and independence of the
; three several powers of our Government, in op-
position TO the genius Of the Constitution in fac,
mere fTo,hy fanaiicsm. Had this new doctrine
Of the dependence Of Federal Judges upon The
President, for every official breath, been es,ab-
Iished by solitary precedent, and once acquies-
ccd in by the Senate, not all the patriotism Of Cas-.
and Foo,e aud Clay and Douglass, not even the
torrent Of Webster's eloguence. which swept
like Mississippi, RICH. down through the heart
Of the nation, could ever have carried through
the Compromise measures. Never. Nav more.
Let the Senate acqGiesce in this usurpaiion Of
power, the removal of this Judge, and the Com
prom Sc bill and all its blessing. and all the pa
cihcation that j, promised, are dead-utterl,
dead; for whenever it comes to be decided az !,
virtually viii then be, by the elecii,a of Presi-
dent. by mere superiority Of numbers. whether
On the one hand. the Shareholder shall be depriv-
ed Of slaves in the new Territories, or on the
other hand, whether new Territories shall have
slavery cngraffed on them, the very principle and
bass upon which the Compromise rests, is SVEN,
away, tof tue eStstdnce or non xt<t ence of Sla
very in Territory then, will be thing tina, can
NOT be regulated by the people themselves OF the
Territory, since Courts, acting and decidin. in
exact accordance with the viii and opinions of
the President. viii regulate and decide this que..
ton, and will treat as unconsiitu Iional. any Ter
ri,oriai law, that the President deems to be in
conflict with rights already vested aud suarantied
under the Constitution. For be il remembered.
the prevailing doctrine Of The Slave States is that
no Territorial legislation, can take a masters
slaves away from him. No matter how ably Mr..
Webster has shown up the miserable nonsense
about property in slaves being iransi,ory; IL is
sill the Southern doctrine, tina, the ssis of our
Constitution protects his slaves into whatever Of
the territories Of the United States he may choose
TO carry or to keep them. VIII the Senate of
the United States then, suffer preceden, like
this, by which all the territories we have. and
through which. by fraud, purchase or conquest
our empire has reached TO the Pacific and is fas,
-.