New-York daily tribune., 1854-05-25
NEW PUBLICA ITO VS.
Mr.. BENToN's POLITICAL HISTORY.
THIRTY YEARS IN The UNITED STATES SENATE Bv
THos H. Brsros Vol d. Appleton a Co

Ano'her matter OF some interest, IN regard to which
Mr. Benton has fallen into errors offact is his attempt
to yindicste Mr.. Jefferson from the charge of being
the author of the doctrine Of notification He
more than once statement derived from letter Of
Mr.. Madison, written in 1880 and quoted by Mr.
Benton, page 359) in which it il asserted that
Mr.. Jefferson had nothing to do with the Ken
ucky resolutions of 1879, in which the word null6
"caton is found" But this is great mistake on the
part ar well Of Mr. Madison as of Mr. Benton II il
very true that Mr. Jefferson did bot prepare any draft
IN writing specially for the Kentucky resolutions Of
1873; but he had furnished very copious draft for
the resolutions Of that State of the year preceding
all OF which had not been used up on that OCCASION
and Mr. Breckenridge, in drawing up the Kentucky
resolutions Of 1893, avsied himself largely of the
material furnished by Jefferson for the resolutions of
l79c, but not then employed. Among the passages Of
the Kentucky resolutions of 1892 derived from this
source, the famous declaration tha. in cases of
violations of the Constitution "the several States
who formed that instrument being sovereign and in
ode endent, have the unquestonable right to Judge
"Oi the infraction, and that nulifeation by those
"soyeregnties of all unauthorized acts, under color
"of that instrument, is the rightful remedy" The
following the terms in which this doctrine was
laid down in JeiersOns draft of 1795 still preserved
in bis own handwriting: THAT in cases of an abuse
"of the delegated powers the members of the Gen
"ersl Government being chosen by the people
"change by the people would be the constitutional
"Temedy; but where powers are assumed which have
"not been delegated. a nullfcaton Of the
"act is the right remedy; and that every
State has II natural right, in cases not
within the compact, to nully, of their author.
"y, all assumptions of power by others within their
''limits" Surely, Minerva did not spring from the
brain of Jupiter prepared for war, than the doc
trine of notification did ripe and mature from the pen
of Jefferson. That he was the drawer Of that BILL it
is impossible to dispute. How far SIR. Madison and
the Virginia and Kentucky Legislatures of 1893 are
responsible indorsers of it, ia another question.
Mr. Benton has quoted extensively from the Virginia
Debates on the Resolutions of 1793-and this is
valuable part of his bOOk-to prove that the members
of the Virginia Legislature who voted for those
lutiOns did not understand them in nuying sense.
But bis own quotations show that the members who
opposed the resolutions, did notification in them,
and pointed it out. Thus Mr.. George X. Taylor in
sisted that the consequences of pursuing the advice
"Of the resolutions would be insurrection confusion
"and anarchy; while Gen. Henry Lee suspected that
the repeal of the laws complained of was not the lead
ing point in view but that the resolutions covered
scheme for promoting disunon and separation Of the
States-the very surmise, in fact, which Mr..
Benton makes to the South Carolina nullifng ordi
nances. 1t would, indeed, be hardly fair to hold the
members of the Virginia Legislature to full respon-
sbity for the doctrines of set of resolutions got up
out of doors and merely brought in for them to pass
oc 81; oh uvalI H. asad
that they did not understand the full scope. Indeed
the Virginia Legislature is entitled to the credit OF
having struck out the most obviously Objectionable
passage in the draft, that by which the acts OF Con-
gress complained of were pronounced "nul, voidand
OF no force or eect-tO which passage the opposi-
ton had objected "that it contained declaration
"not of opinion but of fact" This sort of apology,
however will hardly serve for Madison, who, in all
probability must have seen Jeersons Kentucky draft,
and who, if he wished to avoid being implicated in
the doctrines therein laid down. ought not to have en-
ployed phraseoloey which may very fairly be inter-
preted as involving those doctrines Certainly he did
not contemplate nor is it to be supposed that Jefferson
contemplated any carrying out of the nullltcatlon
scheme to the extent to which the South Carollnans
afterward went into it, Yet timld and cautious men
like Jefferson and Madison ought to be very careful
how they set forth in words what other belder and
more violent spirits relying upon their authority may
insist upon carrying into action
Mr. Benton is a very warm opponent OF South Caro-
lima notification; but notification in Georgia he seems
10 think quite audable procedure. The only diher-
euce that we are able perceive between the conduct
of South Carolina in relation to the tariff and of
Georgia in the case of the Cherokees nearly
consists this - that the
passage of the Compromise Tariff OF 1915, having
afforded 10 South Carolina decent preense Tor avoid
inc any actual collision with the Federal authorities
she ayaled herself of it to abandon the practical en-
forcement of her notification doctrines; whereas
Georgia took advantage of the connlvance oil Uen'
Jackson in her proceedings to carry those doctrines
into practical effect by setting at nought the process
of the Federal Courts, and hanging and mprsoning IN
defiance of that process. Zone Indian hanged
some missionaries imprisoned, the writ of the Su-
"preme Court disregarded the Indians removed, and
the political and pseudop ophilanhropic Intermediates
LEFT to the reflection Of having done much mischief
" in assuming 10 become the defenders and guardians
of tribe which the humanity of our laws and people
were treating with parental kindness -such are
the exultant terms in which Mr. Benton records the
triumph of notification in Georgia preliminary to nls
very pointed condemnation Of the same Doctrine as
acted upon in South Carolina.
Tbouob Mr.. Benton in the course of his book makes
some occasional diyergences to early times as III Tue
cases already commented uPon of the Ordinance 0i
l7s7 and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions oi
1898 and 179 yet he selects as the point OF departure
for his preliminary view the of 1-l2; and ID wns
b saws of this WAR we observe as in many other parts