The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-08-28

Mr. EkEEMAN, IlnteIuPuh6tJ Inc Bcuuo-
man is a lawyer, and good lawyer, too. Now,
i ask him what he thinks Of that provision of the
Constitution which provides that no preference
shall be given TO the port of one State that Of
anotheri We have some ports IN Mississippi;
but you have given preference 10 the ports of
other States TO the exclusion Of those Of Missis-
sippl.
man that his State is not precluded from having
an appropriation some other year. To provide
during one year the appropriations for all the
States would swell the bill 100 large.
MIR. FREEMAN. What year are we to come
in, should like TO knowi fear il will be after
the day Of judgment.
Mr.. FULLER. The genteman's colleague
[Mr. BaowSl said that the State OF Mississippi
was the only State upon the Atlantic sea board
that was not provided for in ihis bill. In that the
gentleman is mistaken He then went on to as
sumo the reason why the State of Mississippi
was omitted by the committee. lie assumed that
the omission was owing 10 her peculiar political
opinions. Now, New Hampshire, which is
Jewel III the galaxy of States, presume all will
concede, with sea-board Of fly miles, and a
very fine port has not had dollar appropriated
10 her. The gentleman is therefore mistaken in
that fact He was quite much mistaken in the
inference which he drew. The committee did not
omit to give an appropriation 10 the State of Mis-
sissippi for the reason he assigns.
committee went around the frontier Of the coun.
try, endeavoring to deal out equal and exact JUS
tice to all portions off There is not gold enough
in the mines of California TO improve all your
harbors. Are gentlemen going to take the ground
that because their particular river is not appropri-
ated for, they going 10 oppose the bi' The
result of that argument would be, if it have any
force at all, opposition against any BILL The gen
tleman, his State borders upon the Mississippi,
ought 10 be satisfied with her share that has been
appropriated for that river. These are all the re-
marks desire to make.
The question was then taken on Mr.. Free
MANS amendment to the amendment, and it was
rejected.
REGULATION OF COMMERCE.
Mr.. FREEMAN. Mr.. Chairman, am OPP
posed TO the amendment of the gentleman from
Connecticut. This bill is entitled "a bill ma
king appropriations for the improvement of certain
harbors and rivers" large amount of the op-
preparations IRE for works entirely within the
Jurisdictions of the several States, and over which
the State governments have exclusive jurisdiction.
Ii is, therefore, biIl establishing a system of
internal improvement within the States of this
Union, and that too, without the consent of eisher
of said States. We were told the other day by
member of the Committee on Commerce, Mr..
WALSH that the committee reported this bill
under the constitutional power of Congress to
regulate commerce." and yet, strange to say,
there is not single regulation Of commerce in the
whole BILL Not one, sfr. The Secretary of War
is armed with the arbitrary power Of expending
nearly million and half of dollars on seventy
three specified works. Not word is said about
commerce navigation---not a single ",tguia-
ton " prescribed. What is meant by the cons,i-
tulonal power to regulate commerce." In or
der to be exact, | will read from Story on the
Constitution, VOL 2, sec. 1861:
ain the first place, then, what is the consttu-
tional meaning of the words to regulate COM
mercer for the Constitution being one (as has
been aptly sadly of enun, ration, and not of d.ni
ton, it becomes necessary, in order to ascertain
the extent OF the power, TO ascertain the meaning
of the words. The power is to regulate that is,
to prescribe The rule by which is TO be gop-
trned. The subject to be regulated is commerce.
Is that limited to traffic. to buying and selling,
the interchange of commoditiesi Or does it COM
Prehend navigation and intercourse
"Commerce, undoubtedly, is traffic but il is
something more. 1t is intercourse. II describes
the commercial intercourse between nations and
parts Of nations in ell its branches and is regu-
lated by prescribing rules for carrying on that inter
eour@n
Here is the law and the commentary. Not
word is said about approprating money for iul-
provements, either external or internal. Not
word is minated about building or improving
tuition admit of any such construction
The whole power granted Is " to regulate COM
merce with foreign nations, and among The several
States, and with the Indian tribesn Now, IL we
can improve rivers and harbors within I" the sew
erul States" under this grant of power, we
also improve rivers and harbors within the juris-
diet on of . foreign nations" The power TO reg
uate commerce with foreign nations is as broad
the power to regulate commerce among The several
States. They are identicaly the same and is any
man so crazy as to admit the power TO build har-
bors and improve rivers and harbors throughout
Europe, Asa, and Africa, or that such power was
intended to be given to Congress- Again, the
power TO regulate commerce with the Indian
tribes +" is identicay the same as that to regulate
commerce with foreign nations and among the
several States; yet il is well known that the In
dian tribes of the United States have no rivers or
harbors 10 improve they have never engaged IN
navigation at all. We have always denied them
any title either to land or water. We have treated
them as mere tenants at will, with the right to
hunt and fish until we choose TO drive them away
by force, or coax them away by small donations
Of gewgaws and money.
IL, then, II be impossible, under this clause OF
the Constitution, to improve rivers and harbors,
either with the Indian tribes, or in foreign
nations,n II is equally out Of power to do the
same thing within the several States Of this Union.
BY what rule Of Interpretation is it that the
Committee on Commerce to mean both rivers and
harborsl We have always been taught that
riper was large aream Of uair d0,oing in a cham
nj that hubor, in the commercial sense, was a
port, or hapsn, for ships bay, inlet OF the sea,
IN which ships can moor and be sheltered from the
fury OF the winds and heavy sea; any nsvlgable
water, where ships ride in safety that com
meree was a mutual change Of goods, wares, pro-
ductons, or properly Of any kind, between ma
tons or individuals, either Ivy barter or by pur-
chase and sale-trade-trafhc. The words are
totally dissimilar in meanings and yet, the com
mittee tell us they ali mean the same thing; in
short, that the commerce Of the present day is the
philosophers stone Of past nge.
The legal rule for the Interpretation Of words Is,
that they shall be taken in Extraordinary import
as they are generally received in the community
where the Law made and is to operate. BY
this rule we have seen that commerce means one
thing, rivers another, and harbors a third yet tho
committee tell us TO improve rivers and harbors IL
10 regulate commerce among the States.
The world have generally supposed that com
merce was one thing and the means mode OF
carrying on commerce was another-they have
generally supposed that rivers and hNrbors, wagon
roads, and railroads, were public hghpays over
which commerce was conducted and its transmits