Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-02-22

and when they have thus proposed thelE
amendments, Congress shall send those PROV
ositions to the States, either in their Leglsla'
lures or their conventions, for adoption. Ii
will be observed that in the latter arrange
ment the first leading feature is this: whel
the people or the States want amendment
which they suppose they need, they are L
have them whether Congress will or not /
they call a national convention IN this way
Congress has no power to stop 1T, but Ii
obliged to call it without knowing what
amendments will be proposed. 1he Staie'
are not bound. in their resolutions which ASK
for general convention, to state whal
amendments they want; but simply to de-
clare that they want a convention and Com
greSs, in case two-thirds of the States JOIN
in the call, is bound to cali it; and again
when it is called, and it proposes amendments
Congress has no right TO examine INTO the
merits Of those amendments, but IS bound to
sind them out to the States at once; 1t is
imperative on Congress to do 50.
Hence it is we see. Mr.. President, pr0vis-
ion is here made that am ndments to the
! Constitution are to come from those who
want them No idea entered into their heads
in those days that the old rule of common
! sense would be overthr0wn, which is that
propositions for relief # any kind should
! came from those who want it, and not from
| those who do not want it. Now, l.t us ap-
| ply this to our present condition. Does this
| General Government feel the want OF any
more delegated power? Has experience
shown that our General Government does
not operate smoothly for the want of some
other delegated power that we need ? Not
at all. NJ one suggests anything OF that
! kind we want nothing Of that kind What
| next? What Is wanted, or what is said to be
wanted IL is said that number OF the
| States desire amendments to the Constitution
for their security. am not about to enter
into the merits Of those amendments but |
say that it Is said to be the case. Now is it
not from the provision of the Constitution
to which | have alluded, perfectly obvious as
! 10 how such an object is to be reached? |
think it is clear 1t leaves no doubt about
it. Well, sir. have any Of these States ever
made an attempt to call a national convention
to get a redress of grievances according to the
Constitution Mt one. Some OF them
have hJwn into secession Others are threat
ening it; but not an attempt has been made
by any OF them to get any redress within
the Constitution at all. | have nothing 10
say Of that, particularly; but / say that
Congress ought not to undertake u exercise
the power which is given to get amendments
which they need, Tor the purpcse OF getting
amendments for the States, which 1t Is ,ald
they need. It is to pervert the uses for which
1t was given to them by SO doing. Such at
tempts will always fail and it is obvious
why they will fail. First, we undertake to
conjecture what the States want. We are
going about here framing amendments to
send out to the people. What amendments
Anything we want or need? No; but some
thing which it is cOnIectured the States need.
Who knows what they need? Who knows
what they want? Who knows what they
will be satisfied with ? Have they manifested
it to Us? In no way. 1t Is a mere matter of
| cOnjectu and however much respect may
have for the source from which these coniec-
lures come, still for all cannot but see that
1t Is lame and impOteut attempt to use
power which WAS granted for one purpose 10
effect another and an entirely different one.
Now, MIR. President, let me 20 a lutte fur
ther, to show its inipplicability. Have tho
people of the different States ever seen each
other in convention, and uuderst Od each
Others views about them Never at all . hut
we are going to make them up here, ana in
Mt them ourselves, initiate them, and send
upon them without ever seeing each other at
all, The attempt never can succeed. In the
nature of the thing, it cannot succeed. The
provision Of the Constitution is not adapted,
never was meant, to secure any such purpose
by the action of Congress, originating
amendments for the States which they have
not asked for.
The conclusion, then, come to after what
q | - lot ag ruyy
part of the Constitution, which | think very
clear when read and considered in the light
IF the circumstances in which it was made,
| never can undertake to plrtclpite here in
Undertaking to make up. and invent, and
contrive. and conjecture amendments for
States. which the Sta ties themselves lave new
er asked for | think it is entirely mal-aprO-
pos. II will be entirely unsuccessful and
the very fact now that you find such odds
and ends, such various opinions about what
they shall be, and a thousand projects that
are presented to US, the very fact that you
find Yourselves in this condition, maniiests
that the principle which state is right. 1t
shows that YOU are in this condition because
YOU are trying 70 use an instrumentalty
which you have for one purpose, for another,
for which it was never prepared, and to which
it is not at all adapted. Now, Mr.. Presi-
dent, have one other
Mr. Bigler. | ask the Senator from Yer
mont to tell Us how be reconciles the theory
which he laws down with the fact that the
very first amendment made to the COnstitu-
tlon, with reference to the sovereignty Of
States. was submitted by Congress?
Mr. Collamer 1 viii answer you entire
", if you will hear me through.
The Presiding Off ,cr. 1t is the duty Of
the Chair to announce that the hour for the
special order has arrived.
Mr. Collamer. hope shall be allowed
to 20 on. f"Certainly - Certainly ~
Mr.. Foot. hope by common consent, the
special order viii be passed over Informally,
ulti! my colleague shall have concluded his
remarks. | presume the whole Senate are
desirous to hear him upon this point.
['Certainly -
The Presiding Officer If there be no OBJ
lection, the Senator may proceed. The Chair
hears none.
Mr. Collamer. l have said nothing, and
shall say nothing which can possibly involve
the feelings of different sides, or different
rarties in the Senate. At this time, have
nothing to say about that | rise to make
remarks due TO myself in relation to the
lneluOTiIA WHICH L nave piVSchlCu' "hiSH
invokes the exercise of the power of Congress
in relation to constitutional amendments.
An illustration may be drawn from our
history, in confirmation of the principles
which | have stated. In the election OF
President of the United States, in 1901, it
was found that the arrangements which had
b en- made in the Constitution did not oper-
ate smoothly. There was almost failure
in the Government. Congress then thought
the contingency had arieea for which this
provision was made. and Congress proposed
| an amendment in order to be relieved OF that
difficulty. They sent it out to the States.
That was exactly what Congress ought to
| have done. 1t vas adopted.
| come now to another thing, which was
just about to speak Of when the Senator from
Pennsylvania interposed. 1t is quite easy to
| imagne-and QUE own history presents a
precedent ior it-this state of things. Sup
pose, for instance, a State, or certain num-
Der OF States-not two thirds-do not desire
to cali a general convention, either because
| Of want of time or soma other excuse, no