The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-10
From the Lexington 9 sewer.
LETTER FROM COL. slNTON.
WAsHINGro .Nor. l. 1857

cur with you most heartily, d .you will soon see
in the sixth volume of the Sridqment of The
Debates Of Congress, now the presf, (by
Messrs. Appleton, Of New Y rk y and also in
an Examination which hare made Of the
same branch of the decision, o , thin octave o.
| 200 pages, likewise noE in t tame press, and
quickly to appear. This des sitn that part o.
1t which relates to the pullty f The Compromise
ac:, and to the selfextension IF he Constitution
to Te-ritores-is the heav. sst political blow
that ever fell upon my hear ead left me in q
state of total impossibility r,maining silent
under it. l view it as you do-as dreadfully
wrong 10 itself and entirely sxtta.iudicial. and
of no more weight than the PHI ion of any hal
dozen equally-respectabl c IL, ,ns, coming tc
the same conclusion. in m5 b part,) upon in
consistent, incompatible, aDe CO atradictory res
sons That Compromise j gas a politica
enactment, made by he p ttcal power, fol
| political reasons, and hese ca ops among the
largest that ever infue, ced nj N legislation
no less than to reconcile di i'd d and distract
ed country, and to p, event our sacred Union
| from splitting asuuder As suth political en-
| sctment, the Court hi; no right to Judge il
even if the question hs con- fairly before it
which il did motor t. { JUDI sssy cannot Judge
political questions, lei her Q. right nor in fact
| t1rthesa questions deps ndap considerations OF
| policy which the JUDI aary Gn5ot touch, and
not upon the interpret; ton @ phrases TO which
the Court Is confined Tn same OF tie self
extension of the Cons, tutioi to Territories: i,
was political questio 4 as t VIA. that Consti
tuition should extend md If wss Limited by its
own words to States, and Is been so acted
upon BY every Congre !, and by al authorities
(S.ate snd Federal, Lis .isla.iN, Executive, AID
Judicial,) from the cor mens Aln mt Of the Fed.
eral Government to Il e Pr tent day. And |
venture the assertion, that 5e,e has not been
one single member of Congf s., in the SEVENTY
years IN which Congre ses b re been held, who
has not voted for obie< j. in { e Territories. flo
cal internal impEovem, OTIS, f. example which
they would not vote for in S ate.; and upon the
express groand that be CO lstitution did not
extend 10 Territories TIE ordinance of 1857
was the Territorial c, .s,itu .on, given to Ter
ri'ories IS a so7ereig givt a charter to his
subjects; and, SIS slcl was made in concert
VITA the Constitution, $ 20, We'll say, and in.
oisPensAble to the form ,tioa 3the Constitution /;
and SIS such vas proYli I'd fol -Sou6ly provided
toF-in the new Gover} rlent f.st, By the clause
in the Constitution VII eh de olives ali the an.
gagements OF the c jyress OF TIE Confedera.
ton upon the new Fede siCos .Tess: anG. second
| " og the act OF the few c rs reas Of August
I, l7o9-the eighth a6 pass i hy tie first Con.
gcesa under Washing )n-s lasting that Ord.
nance 10 the new Con. Etuti ). and adopting It
in every word which il col aiaed as law OF
| the new Government.
| You vii see IL Ii, ABR ,gsd Debates THE
notes as well as the Sextl Aas full justice is
| done 10 yourself and 70 all III, patriotic men
who acted with you 10 that great measure OF
generalization and paci6cate5n; and also in
| my " Examination Of the Courts opinion
that part OF it which 5eem Slyica1 and extra.
Judicial, and o5iter di,!a. q to what concern
81 the individuals bsf31e Il 5 t,our. as parties
n the record, l have noth g to say. That
| pari was Judicial; aud VIII th,,r righ.fully or
Trongtaily gotten hold of al decided, le. it
alone, IoE II was the decision Of the tribunal of
highest resort; AID the pea<e md good order
| OF soclei7 require al que liens o: personal
rights to be settled and done with. But in this
political decision, in which ae Supreme Cour,
seed upon question beyol its Jurisdiction,
and iugged IL IN as ted to Question of negro
| freedom, and in which it az iGed upon a view
OF the Constitution which b no more to do
with it than the siventure',cf Robinson Cru.
| soc, and then reversed the ,c!ion of tie Gov.
eminent for seventy years, al Iiade a new Con.
stitution in all tina: relates tc territorial legiss
tlon-in such case have fe J / to be nv duty
as one OF The few survivors tie old school. "a
raise my voice against it, az ! t, appeal to the
candid intelligence Of my e ou citizens, &c
come 10 the defence Of OUT C nSlitution, such
IS our fathers made il, and "a it was admins
tered ior two generations. !. 4
mean Whist | say, when 2,y the Supreme
Court had as well been looI {na Ipto Robinson
GruSoe, as looking into the 20 q tuition of the
United States, to ind the pc Se, If Congress 10
legisiaie for Territories for It not there. bu,
IL the Ordinance of 1857. 3 torted bv the Con.
stitu.ioh and by lie first Cof;xr So under Wash.
ing,on, and in their right as so rsceign proprie.
tors, having the right to &C hi e, and become
| their dug under the StE.e IS on acss and IN.
der The treaties o. cessiof The "needful
rules aid regulation clause, a; the Court said
gave no power 10 govern hss Territories il
| only applied e property, an t st the property
of the United S.ates-iis tsi it 81. I'd est. land:
and in other property, I'd T. ,ersonal estate
Ii conferred no powers OF g vernuent and
that for the reason known erybody at the
time, aud to nobody (har5 81 now, uidelicet
because The Government of he Territories waa
| provided for in another pla, = namely. IN the
Ordnance OF 1867, AID prt &c ed by g clause
IL tie Constitution, aad al % ed by Congress
august Z, 1859, ana II the sie i OF sovereign
proprie;ors. The Court 10 Re in the wrong
place to fld the power Of C N. ,ess to leyislate
| for Territories.
| l was breaking dowR uld + .e appallin, a..
tack Which fell upon me wke.t sas writing the
examination, ana had le we some heads
unfinished and also TO add SC ae part after l
had given up this world. Nj physician. DIR.
May, saw with astonishmeu ttat / rose from
what he knew | considered to : bed of death.
lana which he feared to be y .ad went to nv
table aud wrote. l was a. linz something 70
ne Examination" aud c'1lc' hsrdly refrain
ifoin postscript :" his ms political tesla
rent, written wIh dying ud.& Wenl / did
net G'e, ou' have to; az sii die upon the
truth and justice OF VIA: ro.se
AIo22g The heads sketcht /, BE- not filed ~,
are me FLORIDA Territorial Il lnsa lions of 1921,
in Wnich Governor Jacg, en-. com UNASSIGNED
WIN tne power OF Cspta G. neral and In.
tendant OF Cuba, under an Let o. Congress con.
tnuipg temporarily the Spa iish .vstem of Gov
ernmeat In that Tefrtory srttin which he
found occasion to act up ) tn letter of ,ha,
| law AID com mission, unitip in imself the en-
prene, civil, military, exc. atir, and iudic;s
functions, using the rlili,a : f,n his arm. and
| MS oTn nat Tor authCritt sen ling Governo,
Callava TO the calaboose. ami having Jndo,
Fromentin brought before i'm q the no;nt q
the bayoaet for issuing : 1t ii habsas corpu,
in behalf of the imprisoned tio,t nor: and Law
ing divers Others BY tie he Is IL complicitv j.
Csliava's iaul., to Wit :: rel sing to deliver u,
and intending to carry off juS .al records. OF
which depended redress tt shan chiIdrer
who had been despoiled CT thes fathers prop
erty for fifteen years, aud W il h actings an,
doings Of Governot Jacks IN, ,erc;sing owe
florida the powers ola spts General an
Intendant of Cuba, were az pro 4 expressly b,
the Monroe Administering, nd you know
who composed that Adm oist i tion,) and i'm
phedly sanctioned by each 10 ae of Congress
IN their refusal to act up IA complaints o
the lncarceraled nfficars an all unnn III