Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1852-07-08
VOLUME TX. NO. %.

AZ ' ~ sucH way as 10 lead one to suspect
Unut uheY nave not read them-the doctrine Of 4
the resolutions of 1889, '99. which decIare tba
alien and sedition laws to be Unconstitutional bv
course of reasoning which applies as strictly
to this question of the fugitive slave law as i
o0es TO the alien law, or sedltion law, or to any
section or clause of either
But the State of New I1ampsbire. when the
constnutlOnality of the alien and sedlion laws
came up IN her Legislature, voted unanimously.
III full House, one hundred and hirty seuen
members beng present, and unanimously in the
senate, that those laws were clearly " "constitt,-
honat and, IN the present critical situation of our
country" said they, "highly erpedtent." Is there
a man in. New Hampshire who believes that
now New Hampshire bushes when that PAGE
Of history IS recalled to memory. It was then
lhe unanimous opinion of the Senate and House
OF Representatives of New Hampshire, that the
ALIEN AND sEDITIoN LAWS were " CONSTI-
IUTIONAL." 1t is the unanimous opinion Of
New hampshire now, that they are UNC0N-
SIIFUFlONAL; and, sir, the day will come,
when every mans children will blush for his ser
vile heresy upon this question, as the men of
New Hampshire now blush for what their fathers
did upon that question
The question of the constutionality of such
grant OF power is within very narrow compass.
It IS only necessary to take up the history of
The clauses included in the FOURTH ARTICLE of
the Constitution, ard see where they came from,
what they mean, and what changes they under
went Sir, everybody knows that the Constitu.
ton contains an enumeration of powers granted
to Congress-, and stand by themselves as they
did in the old Articles of Confederation. In
another part OF that instrument, distinct from the
enumeratian Of powers granted to Congress- you
lind certain clauses of compact. suppose there
Is not man in this House who will undertake
to deny that there are clauses of mere compact
In the Constitution-causes Of compact between
the States, which imply no grant of power what
ever to the Federal Government. The whole
question Is, does the clause relating to The fugitiUes
from labor, belong 10 thai class Of clauses which
glOe pot0er to The General GoUanment Or is IL
simply clause Of compact bet,Ocea hte States
This is the question.
Well, now, sir, the Continental Congress re-
solved, on the lIth of June, l776, to appoint
committee of one from each Colony to report ar
ticles of confederation. The next day the COM
mttee was appointed, and Samuel Adams of
Massachusetts, was tie member from that State,
upon it, On the 18th of July, little more than
a month afterwards this committee reported the
articles, which were debated, from time to time,
and adopted by Congress on the 18TH of No
vember, l777. They were ratified by the States,
one after another, until Maryland the last on the
list, acted upon them on the lst of March, 1871!
The first article establishes the style of Con-
federacy-" it shall be g The United States Of
America" The second article is the key TO
the whole and is therefore very important to be
considered. 1t determines that the government
to be established for the management of the
general interests of the United States, shall be
strictly held, and confined within the limits of
powers expressly granted by the act of confed
Grafton. 1t is in these words (: Each State re-
talnS It's sovereignty, freedom, and independence,
ana every power, jurisdiction, and right which
IS not, by this Confederation, EXPRESSLY
DELEGATED to the United States in Congress
assembled"
No implied powers there - EzrpresSsy- -ctesss,
gated" This, | say, is the corner stone of the
whole system ofthe Confederation-S rights
leaously preserved few powers clearly de.
fined are granted to Congress, which is sternly
prohibited at the outset, by the first fundamental
principles of its existence, from assuming any
sclntlIla of power not so granted.
There can be no difficulty, then, in ascertain
ing what powers belonged to the Congress under
the Confederation. We have only to read the
enumeration, aud we shallfn them all erpressH
delerdted none others existed.
Let US proceed, then, with our examination of
Perpetual Union"
BY the THIRD article, the said States sever
ally enter into firm league Of friendship :" but
no power is granted to Congress.
By the Fourth article, the free inhabitants
of each State, except paupers, vagabonds and
lugitives from justice are entitled 10 alt prjUi-
ieges and immuniieS Of free citi.ens in the SeveraL
States , but no grant Of power Is connected with
this particular provision of the compact.
second clause of the same article is in these
words " If any person gulGyoE or charged loHh
treason, felony, or other high nisdmeanor. in any
State, shall flee from justice and be found in any
Of the United States, he shall, upon demand of
the Governor or executive officer of the State
from which he fled, be deiiUered up, and removed
to the State having jurisdiction of his offence"
The power to deliver up the person guilty or
charged, is not " expressly delegated to the
United States,' but " each State retains that
power as entire, and unimpaired, and unques.
tionabe, as if the Confederation had never been
brought into existence.
A third clause of the same article is in these
words; " full faith and credit shall be given in
each of these States, to the records, acts, and
judicial proceedings of the courts and maois.
trates of every other State" Congress had no
power to enforce or to regulate this stipulation
of the compact. Each State retained unimpaired,
and unqueslioned, all and every power. iuris-
dchon and right" over the manner in which this
agreement should be performed, and the effect
Of that performance
Now, the substance of this FOURTH article of
the Coniederation-the substance of each of
the three clauses Of this fourth artce-has
found its way into the Constitution of the United
States, constituting, together with certain add.
uOnal provisions to be considered by and by, the
first and sections Of the FOURTH ARTICLE Of that
instrument
How came these agreements Of the old com
pact of l777 into the Federal Constitution of the
18th of September, 1857? What changes had
they undergone in passing them? What effect
and force, in their present form, do they now
carry with them? Are they, by any means,
transformed from mutual stipuations between
contra citing parties, into grants Of power by
parties suueudering what they had retained and
reserved to themselves for ten years, to a new
administration of the powers, jurisdiction, and
rights, in this BEHALF then for the FIRST time dele
gated to the United States?
If so, how, when why by whom, by what ant
words to express the transformation of these
mutual covenants into delegations Of power,
was this new grant first made, aud where in the
record do you find it written down?
We. will trace the subsequent history of these
stipuations of the old Contederacy, and examine
first the process to which they have been sub.
iected, the changes resulting from it, and the
addition the have received, and when we have
sufficiently considered the clauses by them
selves, we will inquire whether they are affected
by their relation 10 other parts of the same in
suument, and whether any different rule of con-
struction is to be applied TO interpret them, so
As entirely To clAnUp their rhornctar