Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1855-01-12
Special Message of the President on River and
Barbor improvements.


works heretofore commenced under authority of law 1t
became necessary for me- owing TO ne ate d at wncn ee
announcing at the same time purpose to resume the sub
ect for more deliberate discussion the session OF
Congress for while by nsensbe of the arduous
the task thus undertaken by me- conceived that the
entitled exposition OF the
which had induced dissent my part, from their concu-
sons in this instance.
The great constitutional question of the power of the gen
era government in relation internal improvements has
been the subject difference of opinion at every
period of the history of the United States Annual and se
ca messages of successive Presidents have been occupied
with it, sometimes in remarks the general topic and ire
quentlv in objection to particular bills The conflicting
sentiments of eminent statesmen expressed Congress- or
in conventions called expressly devise if possible
plan calculated to relieve the subject OF the
attention strongly to magnitude of the interests nvov
ed yet left unsettled the limits not merely oil exped
ency but of constitutional power IN relation to works OF
this class by the general government 49,
What intended by the phrase internal imProVements
What does embrace, and what exclude! Nc such IAN
guage is found in the constitution Not only it not
preston ascertanabe constitutional power but has no
sufficient exactness meaning to be OF any value as the ba
safe conclusion either of constitutional law OF
practical craftsmanship.
President John Quincy Adams, in claiming,
SION after his retirement from Office the authorship of the
idea introducing into the administration OF the affairs
the general government ga permanent regular OF
whole Union would have been heckered with railroads
and canals afordng 'high wages and constant employ
hundreds of thousands OF aborer ; and he places
express with the construction of such works
by legislation of the States and by private enterprise
er which authorizes the construction of railroads and
malls by Congress- the same power must comprehend turn
pixies ordinary carriage roads nay it must extend to
the construction of bridges the draining of marshes to
the erection evees to the construction of canals of r
gation-n word to all the possible of the material
of the earth by developing its natural resour-
anywhere and everywhere within the proper ur
dicon of several States But there be any conttu
power thus comprehensive in its nature must not the
power embrace within its scope other kinds improve
ment equal utility in themselves, and equally important
to the welfare of the whole country President Jefferson
VIII mt
tuition to comprise objects of physical progress and we'll
nens, uUs o @ W. While educaticn bv name be-
long the class of powers In fact, not only public
instruction. but hospitals establishments Of science and art
libraries and indeed everything appertaning to the inter
nal welfare of the country, just much objects of inter
nal improvement, in other words, of internal utility as
canals and railways.
The admission of the power in either of its implies
it's existence in the other and SINCE if it exists at all it
wolves dangerous augmentation Ofthe political functions and
the patronage of the federal government ought to
clearly by what clause clauses of the constitution 1t is
conferred.
have had occasion than express and deem
proper repeat that it is Judgment to be
ken granted fundamental proposition not requiring
eucidaton that the federal government the creature OF
the individual States and OF the people OF the States sever
ally that the power was IN them alone that all
of the federal government dergtVe the
enumeration and limitations of which contained IN the
strumen which organized it and by express terms " The
delegated to the United States by the
prohibited by to the States reserved to the States
respectively or to the people,
Starting rem this foundation of constitutional faith,
proceeding inquire what part of the constitution the
power making appropriations for internal
found it is necessary to reject all idea of there being
grant of power in tAe preamble When that instrument
says We the people OF the United States IN order to form
perfect union establish justice insure domestic tran
guilty provide for the defence the general
welfare and the blessings OF liberty to ourselves and
poserity, it only declares the and the
ticpate results of the things ordained and established by
To that thing be designed by the Ian
guage of the preamble would be to convert all the body of
the constitution with its carefully weighed enumeraons
and Limitations, into surpusage. The may be
said Of the phrase in the grant of Congress to
pay the debts and provide for the defence and
era welfare of the United States to construe the words
exactly they not significant of grant concession
but of restriction of the specific grants having the effect of
saying that in laying and collecting taxes for each OF the
precise objects of granted to the general government
Congress any such definite and undoubted pow
in strict to the purpose of the common de-
fence and general welfare of all the States.
There being specific grant in the constitution of pow
sanction appropriations for internal improvements and
general provision broad enough to any such indie
finite object becomes necessary to look for particular
ers to which another of the things included in the
phrase internal improvements may be referred.
In the discussion Of this question by the advocate of the
auspices the federal reliance is had
justification of the several of the pow
er EXPRESSLY granted Congress such as establish post
offices and post roads to declare war; to provide and
maintain navy to raise and support armies to regulate
property of the United States
the last of these of powerthat of dpesng
of the territory and other public property of the United
the management of the public property to make improve
essential to the successful execution of the trust but
this must the primary object of any such
and would be abuse of the trust to sacrifice the inter
est of the property to incidental purposes
AS the other assumed of general power
internal improvements, they being specified powers, OF
which this supposed be the incident if the trainers
constitution wise and thoughtful they were,
tended to confer Congress the power subject
wide as the whole field of internal improvements it
markabe that they did language clearly expires
in other words that they did not give it distinct
and substantive power instead Of making the implied in
supposed incidental and its capacity thai
any system established under it would exceed each of the
other in the amount OF expenditure and number OF the per
employed which would thus be thrown upon the gner
This position may be illustrated by taking, single
ample of the many things comprehended clearly in the
idea of general system of internal improvements aame
Iy roads Let it be supposed that the power consruc
roads over the whole Union according to the suggestion
President O. Adams i'll 1907 whilst member of the Sen
of the United States had been conceded Congress wou
have begun pursuance of the state of knowledge at thu
time by constructing turnpikes then knowledge advan
ced it would have constructed canals and at the presen
time would have been embarked in almost limtes
scheme of railroads.
Now, there in the United States the results of Stat
private enterprise, upwards of 900 miles of railroads
and 900 miles of canasin all % 900 mleshe total
of which be estimated at little short of hundred mil
lions dollars and if the works had been CONSTRUCTED
by the federal government supposng the thing to have bee
practicable the cost would have probably been not less thai
nine hundred millions of dollars The number of person
employed in experimenting managing and keeping thes
canals and railroads, may be stated at hundred
twenysx thousand thereabous which to be ad
ded seventy thousand ghty thousand employed tn
railroads in construction making total of at least two hun
ded thousand persons representing in families nearly mi
lion of souls employed on or maintained by this one class
public works in the United States.
In view of all this it is not easy estimate the disastrou
which must have resulted from such extende
local improvements being undertaken by the general govern
State legislation upon this subject would have bee
suspended and private enterprise parayzed while applies
for appropriations would have perverted the egsato
of Cong exhausted the national treasury and left tn
legislation of Congress- the national treasury
left the people burdened with heavy public debt beyon
the capacity of generations to discharge
it conceivable that the trainers of the constitution inter
ded that authority drawing after it such immense eonse
quences should be inferred by as the incident
enumerated powers? cannot think this and the imposs
blity of supposng it would be still garing if simf