Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1899-01-19

power among the limited and re-
strained powers Of the sovereign
nation that they we're creating.
Upon that question | take issus
With my honorable friend from
Connecticut.
81 declare not only that this ia
not among the express powers con
ferred upon the sovereignty they
created, that il 10 not among the
powers necessarily or reasonably or
conveniently implied for the sake
OF carrying into effect the purposs 4
e. that instrpment, brt th.t L i
I powef which Il 62u 81 dsnsa|.sl
strated By the whole contem poran-
eous history and by our whole his
tory since uatil within six months
they did not mean should exist
power that our fsther and their
descendants have ever loa.hed and
abhorred-and that they believed
that no sovereign on earth could
rightfully exercise it, and that no
people on earth could rightfully
confer it. They not only did not
mean to confer it; but they would
have cut of their right hands, ey.
cry one Of them, sooner than SIT
them to an instrument which should
confer it.
The Opposing Doctrines.
Mr.. Hoar Summarizes the doc
trine laid down by MIR. Platt as fol-
lows:
"First-That the United States
is nation. sovereign;
"Second-That as q nation il
possesses every sovereign power not
reserved in the Constitution to the
States or the people (;
"Third-That the right to ac
quire territory was not reserved,
and is therefore an inherent sover.
ign right
"Fourth-That il 10 a right upon
which there is no limitation, and
in regard to which there 10 no quail
ification
"Flfth-That in the right to ac-
vsvssis0sy-ts-f-unss=sis-~;sI.-.a
govern it :
'..Sixth-That this right to gov
ern it is also sovereign right !. and
"Seventh-That it is q right
without constitutional limit"
After commenting on Senator
Platt's arguments in support of
this position, Mr.. Hoar continued
as follows
"To the constitutional doctrine
of the Senator from Connecticut |
desire to oppose mine. II is the
doctrine on which have acted and
on which the party to which be-
long has acted during the whole Of
my public life. The United States
are a nation composed of As States
in the language of a great states.
man and Chief Justice, 'an indr-
structible union Of indestructib q
States" To the people who com
pose that union belongs sovereign
ty in amplest measure. That SOW
ereignty they may exercise to such
extent and through such agencies
as may seem to them good. Or
they may determine thst it shall
never be used for purposes which
they think unfit.
"They have not deposited ell
sovereignty anywhere, and have
authorized no agent Of theirs to ex.
ercise in their behalf all sovereign
ty. unlimited, unchecked and u,.-
controlled.
'sPart OF this sovereignty is vesf-
ed in and belongs to the nation Ne
q unit, and may be exercised b.
national agencies exclusively. Part
of this sovereignty 10 vested in and
belongs to the States as units, and
may be exercised br their agen-
cies exclusively. Part of this
sovereignty, though exercised ty
other sovereigns, the people have
not delegated to the Government
OF the United States. That part 10
reserved to the people by the ex
press terms OF the Constitution, b.
cause they do not think fit that it
shall be exercised at all.
"The powers not delegated to the
United States by the constitution, ,
nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States, respect.