The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-01
H.

A copy of the Federal Constitution was re-
ceived at Boston on Sept. 20. 1887. and was
published the next day In an extra Of tho Massd-
chusetts Centfnei. Within ten days thereafter
it had appeared In all the papers of the State,
aud various pamphlet editions were soon offered
for sale. Thus. In the course of q few weeks,
the new plan Of Federal Government was made
accessible to all the reading citizens Of the State,
and speedily became the chief subject Of public
and private discussion. The first impression
was generally favorable. Knox wrote on Oct. 3.
Tho people OF Boston are enrsptured
with It as It ia. but would have liked it
still better had 1t been higher toned" on
the 9TH. Christopher Gore reported: THE Federal
plan is we'll esteemed, ana the adoption will DO
easy" About the same time James Sullivan
wrote: II natter myself it will meet with no
opposition In this State" The apparent pre-
ponderance of sentiment at first in favor OF tho
Constitution lie partly ascribed by Mr.. Harding
to the fact that the advocates OF the plan came
forward more promptly than Its opponenta- 1t
was not long, however. before such extravaganza
expectations rs those entertained by Sullivan
were removed. In tho contest which enaued
ElbridGe Gerry, although he had been one Of the
dissentients In the Philadelphia Convention,
seems. IN the main. to have kept in the back
ground; but. owing to mis- participation in
that body. considerable weight attached
to his objections to the Constitution pub
lished In letters and a pamphlet, and sum-
married. In q report to the Massachusetts GEN
eral Court, q report which he is said to have
composed in New York. In concert with Rich
ard Henry Lee. the arch.enemy OF the proposed
system. and which the advocates of the Consti-
tuition admit did considerable harm to their
cause. Tho frat ASSAULT upon the Constitution
printed in Massachusetts, seems to have been
that which was made in tho Md&sdchusetts
(Jn~sffa NJ Dct q 1877 hint xvyth .,,b
sive issue OF the press thereafter. the number Of
nti-Federalist pieces increased. In the main
the original articles were the work OF q oom-
paratively few mon living in or near Bos-
ton; these were then copied In the pa
pSrs Of the interior. and, with arti-
cles clipped from papers outside the
State. formed the bulk Of tho anti Fsderalist
literature. 1t 10 dinicult to identify the authors.
but, In Mr.. Harding's opinion, various lndica-
tions Justify the belief that James Warren,
BENJAMIN Austin, James Winthrop. and Samuel
Adams were tho chief persons concerned. II 10
acknowledged by the author of this essay that,
In general. the articles evince good temper.
literary ability, and q fair amount of candor.
The people yelling In the interior of tho State,
though they were mainly hostile to the new
plan OF Federal Government seem TO have made
only two contributions OF considerable length to
the literature directed against the new system.
Ono Of these. signed Cornelius" appeared in
the Hdmpshtre Chronicle Of Dec. IL and IS. 1887,
and 10 given in an appendix TO this book.
Mr.. Harding does 1t but Justice whom he de-
scrjbss IL as q fa!r-minded production. Still
higher praise must be given to the letters pub
lished in the Massachusetts C%entfnel, under the
signature OF "A Republican Federalist," and
attributed to James Warren. Tho author of
these letters commended that the proposed Con-
stitution violated tho instructions given to tho
delegates sent by Massachusetts TO tho Phila-
deiphia Convention. and was also a subversion.
not only of the compact contained In the Arti-
clos Of Con fed eratiOn, but Of the State Conyen-
tion of Massachusetts,. 1t 10 certain that the
Massachusetts Legislature in both of its
resolves on the subject authorized it's
delegates TO take part in the Philadel-
phia Convention solely for tho purpose of re-
vising the Articles of Confederation. and of re-
porting 70 Congress and the several legislatures
such alterations aud provisions as should, when
agreed to In Congress and confirmed by the
State. render the Federal Constitution ade-
quate TO the exigencies of government. 1t 10
also certain that the Articles OF Confed Grafton
themselves provided that they should DO per-
petual, and that NO alteration should DO made
in them at any time, unless such alteration
should have been agreed to BY the Congress
OF tho United States, and have been after
ward confirmed by the legislature OF
every state. 1t 10 no less certain that
the State Constitution of Massachusetts,,
adopted in 1850, which would DO superseded by
ting Federal Constitution Whenever the two In