New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-09-23

"Whv Mr. President It is astonishing that with the extent
Of educsron in this Commonwealth ead in New
Epsnd should be snoraDce positive ignorance
upon the constitutional principles Of our Government than pre-
ssy those forty Of Divinity and that Geo
logical Pros that undertook to address Mr. Buchanan uP0n
the doctrines Of the Constitution more ignorant Of the
Copsttuton the United the relation Of the State
the United States than sny school boy Of the fifth form"
These are the sublimely ssrca,tic words of one
Benz. +. Hallett uttered in a State Democratic
Convention. They contain has opinion OF the intel
lect intelligence and information of men whose
status in the thinking world is certainly quite equal
to his own We do not believe that single one Of
the "forty" will weep at the low estimate Of bis
knowledge made by this person, who will under
take to say" anything which may be required of
him. and no has in the course of his life under
taken to say" things which do not exactly
tally with his preient outpOuriDg,. For instance,
Halett, in 1S42, undertook to say " that the
lawful Governor Of Rhode Island WAS Thomas VIII
son Dorr- that the awful Legislature Of that State
was the Foundry Legislature its Legitimate
Constitution was the Peoples Consti ntion-tdat
the "Algerines" we're usurpers-that Ming and
Mike Walsh and other patriots of the Pewter Mug
were quite justified in sympathzi1g with the en-
shaved Free. Suffrage men, and that John Tyler was
a tyrant, Iufian, and despot for order
ing the Federal troops into the State to
suppress the popular rising for liberty. Then
this Hallett went the undminisbed swine for
The right of the people to overthrow one
Government and set up another. When the
Pewter Muggers organized berry legion t, help
the beseeed Of Chepatchet, Hallett was delighted.
When Levi d. Samm suggestei the arson Of the
domiciss of the Law and Order men, aud limited at
SULPHUR snd iron filings, Haleit gave no gruat of
disspprObation. Some fifteen years have gone BY,
and as he slides into the sere and yellow, he be-
comes. like other great men-Burke, Msckintosh
| and Brougbsm, for instance-intensely couserva-
tive. He reyeled at what was done 10 Chepatchet,
but be writhes at what has been done in Topeka.
| 1t was all very we'll for the Providence Planta.
TONERS to mOSe Constitution for themselves.
That was " Popular Sovereignty vindicatsd.
/ But it is all very jill for the people of Kansas
| to do the same thing That is treason. If con.
sistency be jewel, then this B. F. Il. must be
superior to the bigges. pearl ever found in New
Jersey-a diamond millions Of carsts fine and of
most eIqusitely pellucid water,
| "What is it We call the Constitution 2" ia
query cnce much placsrded by an eminent pill
vender. Let US zee what this Democratic quack
| calls it:
Here are your United States. What MAKE. them The
srsnts d powers given them by the Ss;es Con.ta
non 70 the shtfe owners and that s.,,s nav a.
lowed 10 stock themselves with slaves for twenty yeas That
vas the original construction OF that Constitution"
There YOU have the Democratic construction in
yeto The object Of the constitutional to provide for
the "IetuIn Of runaway negroes, and the stock.
| "ipe Of States with slaves for twenty years"
| We wish we knew v here Mr.. HaDett bought the
| bsrpscles with which he discovered the clause
| about "returniDs" fugitive slsves. Delivering
ND " and returning" seem to US to be slightly
different OPERATORS: and as for Stocking the
." States with slaves for twenty years." we re-
spectfully suggest that as the twenty years have
expired the /" stockiDg" ought now to STOP The
magnificent Democratic argument, as here pre-
,epied with cearness unusually muddy, is, that
because the Constitution says nothing about Slave
~ in the Territories, ergo Congress has no right
| 10 nrobibit Slavery in the Territories. This ig
norss the Great Ordinance held for more than
half century to be as sacred as Holy Writ-but
u. yer mind y The idea is that Congress can i'm.
po,e no copditions upon the admission Of State,
except ,ueh as i! is expressly authorized 10 so
many words to impose BY the Constitution. Well,
what i. there in that venerable document about
polysamy, And yet will the most abdomin,us
flee holder pretend to say that the open and
shameless immortality Of Utah would not afford al
ample reason for keeping that Territory out Of the
Co.k3.,sc,q We beleJe that there is nothing in