The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-10

that lhtSG ODJ6ClS Cdll Otlly De accom-
plished after ways and fashions ex-
pressly described in the constitution or
necessarily implied therein. And in
that | disagree with him.
But when the senator from Connecti-
cut undertakes to declare that We may
do such things. not for the perfect
union, the common defense, the general
welfare of the people of the United
States, or the securing of liberty to
ourselves and our children, but for any
fancted or real obligation to take care
of distant peoples beyond our boundar-
les, not people of the United States,
then 1 deny his proposition, and tell
him he can find nothing either in the
text of the constitution or the exposi-
zion Of the fathers, or the judgments
of courts from that day to this, to war
rant or support his doctrine
Further the first article of the con-
sttution declares: "All legislative
powers herein granted shall be vested
in congress of the United States"
What becomes, in the light of that
language, of the senator's repeated as
sertion that powers not denied may be
so exercised? Is not legislative power
a power of sovereignty? Therefore, ac-
cording to the senator's logic, every
power of legislation that any foreign
goVernment-legisla constitutional,
limited, or despotic-may exercise, may
be exercised by us. We have heard of
limited monarchies, constitutional mon
arches, despotisms tempered by assas-
sination; but the logic of the senator
from Connecticut makes a pure, unlim-
tied. untempered despotism without any
relief from aSsaSsinS
| repeat, Mr.. President the first arti-
Gle of the constitution, section 1. says:
'All legislative powers herein granted
shall be vested in a, congress Of the
United States" So. certainly, there are
legislative powers that are not herein
granted" All legislative powers are
powers of sovereignty. So the senator's
whole argument seems to me to topple
over when the first article of the con-
stitution is read, But Connecticut her
self made that clear in the first con-
gress, when she caused to be perfected
the tenth amendment of the constitu-
ton: THE powers not delegated to the
United States by the constitution nor
prohibited by it, to the states, are re-
served to the states, respectively, or to
the people" Mark the clear distinction
between the legislative powers of the
states and between the sovereign pow
ers of the state, and those belonging
to the United States. The powers of
the United States must be affirmatively
delegated or they do not exist. The
powers claimed by the states must be
expressly prohibited, or they do exist
And there are other powers not dele
gated to the United States and pro-
hibiEed to the states which are reserv-
ed to the people; that is, there are
powers which the people of the United
States mean shall be exercised by any,
anybody on the face of the earth, so far
as their jurisdiction and authority ex-
tend, unless they shall hereafter change
heir mind and grant them.
What, then, becomes of these SEN
fences 1 have cited from the speech of
the honorable senator from Connecti-
cut? They are not supported by a
single enc of his authorities. He cites
authority that congress may admit new
states. He cites authority that con-
sress may acquire territory and he
cites authority that congress may gov
ern territory. And I admit frankly
that the authority he cites is ample
and abundant to establish all these
postulates.
But the question with which We now
have to deal is whether congress may
conquer and may govern, without their
consent and against their will, a for
eign nation, a separate, distinct and
numerous people, a territory not here
after to be populated by Americans,
to be formed into American states and
to take It's part in fulfilling and eXecut-
ing the purposes for which the con-
stitution was framed, whether it may
conquer, control and govern this peo-
pie, not for the general welfare, COM
mon defense, more perfect union. more
blessed liberty of the people of the
United States, but for some real or
fancied benef1t to be conferred against
their desire upon the people so gov
erned or m discharge of some faneied
obligation to them, and not to the peo-
pie Of the United States
Now, Mr.. President, the question is
whether the men who framed the con-
stitution, or the people who adopted it,
meant to confer that power among the
limited and restrained powers of the
sovereign nation that they were Great
ing Upon that question ! take issue
With nay honorable friend from Con-
necticut.
1 declare not only that this is not
among the express powers conferred
upon the sovereignty they created, that
it is not among the powers necessarily
or reasonably or conveniently implied
for the sake of carrying into effect the
purposes OF that instrument but that
it is a power which it can be demon
strated by the whole centemporaneous
history and by our whole history since
until within six months they did not
mean should exist-a power that our
fathers and their descendants have ever
loathed and abh0rred-and that they
believed that no sovereign on earth
could rightfully exercise it, and that
no people on earth could rightfully con
fer it. They not only did not mean
to confer it; but they would have cut
off their right hands, every one of
them, sooner than set them to an in
strument which should confer it,
Now. let us trace for moment the
history of this beautiful, august, pure,
oil 10 NP -
that our fathers intended to cIothe it
with such sovereignty is as repugnant
to me as the idea that because God
created a seraph, or an archangel, or
even a man in his own image he in
tended that he should be at liberty to
commit murder or robbery or any form
of bestiality because he had clothed
him with the physical power to accom-
plish it.
Expositio contemporaries maxine va
let. The great contemporaneous eX-
position of the constitution is to be
found in the declaration of independ-
ence. over every clause, syllable and
letter of the constitution the declara-
ton of independence pours its blazing
torchlight The same men framed it.
The same states confirmed it. The
same people pledged their lives, their
fortunes and their sacred honor to sup
port IT. The great characters in the
constitutional convention were the
great characters of the continental con-
gress. There are undoubtedly, among
it's burning and shining truths one or
two which the convention that adopted
it were not prepared themselves at once
to put into practice. But they placed
them before their countrymen as an
ideal moral law to which the liberty of
the people was to aspire and to ascend
as soon as the nature of existing con-
dttions would admit. Doubtless sla-
very was inconsistent with it, as JEFF
ferson, it's great author has in more
than one place left on record. But at
last in the strife of a great civil war,
the truth of the declaration prevailed