The New York herald., 1876-01-20
ConstitutIonaIIty OF the Centennial
Appropriation.

Appropriation.
Our respectable contemporary, the World,
makes a long assault on the Introductory
paragraph of Mr.. jays excellentle letter on the
Centennial. indulging in flippaney of dis
paraging personal illusions which Ito char
aeterize them mildly do not aid its argu-
ment or add to the dignity of its columns.
We need no such substitutes for reasoning,
even if we could descend to them, to give
force to our reply in defence of our CORE
spondent. Mr.. Jay alluded to the constitu-
tional question only incidentally, without
undertaking to discuss it, and doubtless
without any intention 10 set up target for
the long range logical gun of our democratic
contemporary, which misses no opportunity
to denounce what with equal Staste and
patriotism it calls ''the Centennial job"
/ Mr. Jays constitutional position, although
( introduced but casually, seems to us per-
! fectly tenable. We shall, at least, succeed
! in showing that it has not been weakened by
/ the stormy bombardment of the World. 1t
/ inserts, as the point of its attack, the follow
ing judiciously worded paragraph of the
letter, which, with singular observance of
the amenities of discussion, it calls ''such
rubbish as this -
Congress- in exercise OF It's constitutional power
TO provide for the general welfare, having deemed it fiji
and beneficial 70 order the commemoraton Of the Cen
tennia by an International Exhibition having secured
the Of foreign Powers by OF its
national character and being now about to egsate or
its support under governmental control Will naturally
desire omit interesting an occasion no suitable
provision that may enhance the dignity of the ceebra
ton tho resulting benefits 70 our own people and
] TO the world
- The World proceeds with want of accu-
racy inexcusable in 50 dogmatic censor) to
assert that Mr.. Jay rests his opinion on ''six
words of the preamble" of the constitution,
and it showers upon his ignorance in this
respectful and urbane fashion,
If the youngest atache Of his legation at Vienna had
had better knowledge of the laws of his country
than TO cite Congress United body
having a constitutional power provide for the
general welfare, Mr Jay should have boxed his ears
and sent him home by the first steamer If any attache
of his legation had had better knowledge of the inter-
probation OF the laws OF his country than to cite the
amble of its constitution grant OF power, as an
enumeration specification or definition of the powers
conferred upon Congress- Mr. Jay should have set him
TO writing report the State Department on the
styles in which the girls OF Vienna dress their back
hair Or Mr. Jay might beneyolently have taken one
OF very first decisions OF his own grandfather and
taught his attache from that, &c &c.
Poor Mr. Jay How he must shrink and
/ ''hide his diminished head in finding that
he has exposed himself to such formidable
and weighty logic But what will the World
say when we show it that it is itself, and not
Mr.. Jay, that has perpetrated a fragrant
blunder? This we shall have no difficulty
in doing. In point of fact, Mr.. Jay does not
quote from nor allud to the preamble" Of
the constitution at all, as is proved by his
carefully selected language. The erudite
World does not seem to know that there are
two places in the constitution where the
phrase general welfare" is employed-one
in the preamble and the other in
the first specific grant of power
Mr.. Jay evidently alluded to the
specific grant and not to the preamble, be-
cause he uses the connecting words of the
former and not of the latter. The language
of the preamble is to promote" the general
welfare; that of the specific grant is to 'pro-
vide for" the general welfare; Mr.. Jay uses
the latter phrase, which is a conclusive proof
that he did not refer to the preamble. So
the World delivered its assault on o blunder
of its own creation, which it attributed to
/
phrase general welfare" occurs in any other
part of the constitution than the preamble
Its learned citation from Judge Story to
prove that the preamble confers no power on
the government is, therefore, piece of
wasted parade. The section of the constitu-
ton to which Mr.. jay really alluded has this
language: Congress shall have power
to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the
common defence and general welfare of the
United States" This is clear specific grant
of power to collect and appropriate money
to provide for the general welfare.
And this power is granted to Congress
without any other limit or restriction than
its own discretion and its responsibility to
the people. 1t is not controlled by the other
specific grants, as President Monroe main
tanned in one of the ablest and certainly the
most elaborate public document he ever pre-
pared He said he was inclined to differ
ent opinion in an earlier stage of the govern
ment; but" he adds, ION further reflection
and observation my mind has undergone a
change, for reasons which l will frankly un-
fold" Mr. Monroe was an eminent demo-
crat of the Virginia school of Interpretation,
and Mr.. Calhoun, who had served eight years
in his Cabinet, said, near the close of his
life:-"AIr. Monroe was among the wisest
and most cautious men have ever known"
Mr. Monroes opinion, or at least his reason
ing, is entitled to the respect of every jour
nal which has not climbed to that sublime
and airy height of constitutional knowledge
from which it can look down upon such
rubbish"
Mr.. Monroe's argument on this subject is
too long and elaborate to be given in ertenso
and too close and consecutive to be quoted
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