The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1857-06-18

A Mars,s Nest ss8usasa.ss
The regular Democratic organ 81 the city
seems to think, Or - least b disposed ia
make its readers believe, shas Il has found Z
mares nest in ths columns Of the Gate City,
and thercupon makes great ado abou,
the inconsisseney md hypocrisy Of this jour.
nal in tho profession that it regards the Con.
stitution Of the United States, and all trea.
ties and laws made 10 accordance Herewith,
as the supreme law of tbs. land, while at the
same time We condemn the "opinions Of the
sIavocratic Judges in the bred Scott cass.''
Men OF common information and ordinary
4 discrimination, will see Mt q glance thai
there is no inconsistency whatever in these
positions.
The opinions referred to are neither the
Constitution, treaties and laws in accordance
Herewith, nor even decision Of the SUI
preme Court. They are nothing moro nor
less than the arguments OF slsveholding
Judgss for the purpose of strengthening the
political power Of Shareholders in tho Uni
ted States, Of no judicial authority, and en-
titled to no more, nor as mnch, respect, in
deed, as a stump speech from Locofoco
politician, or an Inaugural message Of thdz
/ President.
! Upon this point we concur, and so ex-
pressed ourselves months ago, in the opin-
ions Of Justices Mclean and Curtis. The
latter said:
| 81 do not consider il to be within the scope
Of the Judicial power Of majority Of the
court to pass upon any question respecting
| the plaintiffs citizenship in Missouri, save
that raised by the plea to the jurisdiction,
and do not consider any opinion Of this
Court or any Court binding when expressed
on question notlegitimately before it. The
judgment Of this Court is that the case 10 TO
be dismissed for want Of Jurisdiction. Into
that judgment, according TO the settled
course of this Court, nothing appearing
after plea TO merits can enter. A great
question Of Constitutional Law, deeply Affect
ing the peace aud welfare Of the country, s
not. in my opinion, 1T subject to be thus
reached
Judge Mclean fatty informed the slave
holders that he should wholly disregard their
obitd dictd, and treat them with contempt.
lie said:
SIN this case a majority Of the Court have
said that slave may be taken by his master
into the territory Of the United States the
Same as . horse or any other kind Of pro-
perty. 1t 10 true that this was said BY
the Court, NJ also many othcr things which
are Of no authority. Nothing that has been
said by them them that has not a direct bear
ing upon the jurisdiction OF the Court, against
which they decided, can be considered al
authority. shall certainly not regard it Ms
such. The question OF jurisdiction being
before the Court, was decided BY them au.
thoriiat'vely, bet nothing beyond that ques.
tion."
There We think we have busted that egg
nest and all, and can wait very patiently to
hear what further charges of trea son thu,
Russian scamp has to urge against thos,
whose ancestors fought and bled for tn,
Constitutional liberty we enjoy.
CO The forcign-born citizens Of Massa
chusetts comprise only one seventh of tn,
population. Nevertheless .four-sepenihs Of
the marriages are among that class. They
live less expensvely, pay less money to sup
port false "respec.ability," and so they
can better afford to marry. A great proper
ton Of the native ladies have such elevated
views OF life that they cannot bring their ex.
penses within the average income Of mar
riageable gentlemen. The young men shes
itG,e and grow old before they conclude
whether they can marry and keep clear OF
bankruptcy and crime" SO marriage and
the having Of children are mainly left t, the
humber foreign classes. These facts the
registration reports disclose. And what il
true there, is doubtless true to nearly the
same extent throughout the country. Our
ladies are educated for marriage. They gen.
orally consider themselves prepared for tina,
interesting process at fifteen. But the mass
Of them IRE better qualified to shine in fash
ionable circles than to become the wives Of
sensible practical men Of ordinary means.
And SO marriages grow more rare as the rule
OF fashion and atfectation and snobbery
grows more rigorous.
C1Tof late one fact SCENE to be very ex-
tensively changing the character OF liquor
drinking. The dragging Of liquors used ia
be comparatively rare fraud. For long
time it has been extensively Yracticed. Blu,
It Was labor Of time to make people fully
sensible Of it. But now the manufacture Of
all kinds Of liquors, BY means Of variou.
poisonous drugs, has got 70 be matter Of
universal notoriety. ssEssences" Of the Va.
rious liquors are op emily aud widely advsr.
tised. Only . day or two ago We read a,
account Of gentleman who applied hi
tongue to the "essence Of brandy" and in I
few minutes was . corpse. The effects Of
the "essencc" were identical with the eifect
Of prussia acid. And for tho very rsaso,
that it pos prussic acid. But this viii sur
prise no one. Every body now understand
when he calls for brandy, gin, rum, or what
ever i may be, that not the article which b
calls for will be placed before him, but som
cheap spirit doctored up with drugs 20 ~ &
counterfeit the taste. lie knows very vel
that there IL hardly drop Of pure spirit o
any kind to be obtained, not even Of chea
whisky, since the distillers have learned tina
a few cents worth Of strychnine will doubl
the prodac, Of bushel Of grain. The Ger
tainty OF this fact has become so notoriou
that people are beginning to grow somewhs
ticklish, and the substitution Of those gene
rally pure and naturally more harmless stim
ulants, native wines and lager beer, for sh
hitherto common drinks OF the oonntry. |,