New-York tribune., 1900-08-31
AMERICAN CONSTITUTION.
ITS MARCH GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED.
GEORGE R. PECK. OF CHICAGO. BEFORE
THE BAR ASSOCIATION.

GEORGE r. PECK. OF CHICAGO. BEFORE
THE BAR ASSOCIATION.
Saratoga. Aug. sO.-At to-day's session OF the
twenty-third annual meeting Of the American Bar
Association, the annual address was delivered by
George r. Peck, of Chicago. who spoke on The
March of the Constitution" saying in part:
For something more than hundred years the
people OF the United States have enJoyed-or nave
constitution It's sanctions and its guarantees have
been with them and over them so eepssY IeTs tights
irnmemorfally existing. But the Federal Constltu-
union of States apd breathed into the powers and
attributes Of nationality II was neM 1epa rio,s
leagues and federations united by written cove
nants and some small local consttuuons, l r,d " 70
make a written constitution on large scare one
What is constitution? The question is more more
ever it may be said that it is the system or body
Of fundamental principles written u hodv 0 oitic is
f9TIneq or ongttions like the British-that
cient fabric which fathers knew ana reNeFeu- r.
are evolutionary growing from year 70 year; iISI %n
reign To reign and from century to century. No
doubt the English constitution Is well @ gaapteo @ 10
the English people fI faster than the constitution
but ENTHUSIASTICALLY. though not always, with pa
tience-for the Incorporation of ancient and neon
rnunioable rights into the acknowledged fundaIsh
tai OF the realm Well did Tennys1n GescI1oS Us
evolved when he wrote:
Where freedom broadens slowly down
From precedent TO precedent
But. gentlemen. It need not be said that ths
British constitution however splendid It's propoI-
seS Lon, 20 oDberIt mon a career of separate
tionali.y. They had their local charters: oonstitu-
ton and each had for itself the Engish eoInInGn T
law But all these did not, ana couIa nov, t1oaG Hdo
q nation or Il you like the term better a hauohs|4
indeed. 1t is not just of language 10 call
hat COX
ercive power no power of energetic offence or DE.
voluntary contributions of the different States
wAsHINGToNs WISE WORDS.
washineton's genius Of the sane =, cisar ear
eyed quality which does not often & a9er gave w up
hope when his armies were IN the field against
@tt'ilss It is clear to me as A that extension
OF Federal powers would make US one OF me +nUes
happy wealthy. respectable and powerful nsIloLs
that ever Inhabited the terrestrial globe; Without
dTect reverse / predict the worst consequences
moving upon cruehes. ana totterlng al every SreP
The Father of His Country was not an aiaIElst, @ s
and seldom suffered ms mlno 10 De oIaT1,nr nm
situation that could wiring such language from MIN;
Constitution was called It curious to note how
people and upon the State Governments the neces-
ssity Of a convention about the paramount reason
trT trSt was MsS rapidly an drifting into anarchy
the men VINO lreG Ineost II yif6out EXCEPTION calm
fhoughtfuI men, who thoroughly apprehended the
hot be worked out by defamation or by passionate
discussion of the abstract rights OF man or u5 pS
the mother country an acknowledgment OF their IN
What order of men they were is shown in the
Hight OF HISTORICAL contrast which rs run OF robi nF
more serious, more tragic, more frightful than
Of things The revolution was upon them
On the very day that George Washington was
sem6ig Of the No{abes-the first which had met
sat +Vro MOI
which could save France Then hen came ra anotner
the National Assembly, the Constituent Assembly
and that fruitess and utterly abortive effort ito to
crown and the peoples rights.
CARLYLE ON CONSTITUTIONS.
Carlyle in his saturnine way, observes of this
"A constitution can be built; constitutions enough:
Ia Sieves the frightful difficulty is that OF
getting men to come and live in them
habit @ men I gs is sth the ss 6ne to TRfa fEa
wondrous universe and what rights, duties capa-
biities they have there; which stands sanctioned,
Deity then by an unseen one Other laws, whereof
there are always enough ready made, are usurpa5 pa
tions which do not obey, but rebel against ana
abolish at their earliest convenience
altogether Ineligible but in it there is that essen
tial grain Of truth which IS in all that Carlyle
wrote. The attempt at constitution making failed,
for could rally to its support any faith in its
Gnen pnL & 20 fae & be cetred I'd IN ~ Homes oF de-
bt CarIvle sums up the result in single sentence
Which makes the heading for one Of his grandly
march
But. gentlemen the Constitution our fathers made
had the marching quality in n 1t; and our 1 history
sometimes through per1ls and G1nlcu!tes some
times seeming almost ready TO halt, but always
the people Who adopted it. never considered it per
feet; some of the members OF the convention
posed in many Of the States. In the convention
Franklin. old and feeble in body. but with unim-
paired intellectual vgor, urged the members sink
their personal objections for the sake Of the great
issue at stake Thus consent, sir. TO this Con-
stitutiOn' he said, because I expect
because I am not sure that 1t is not the best The
opinions have had of its errors sacrifice to tho
Though the work Of the convention was not en-
trely satisfactory to any member nearly all
cepted il the best then attainable and only
three refused 10 sign it. 1t was nearly three years
before al the states came in under IT, and when
Rhode Island gave her tardy assent the Govern
Washington was President and the Constitution
had begun its march.
THE PATHWAY NOT A SMOOTH ONE
It was plain from the first that the Supreme
cult questions; The composition Of the court, and
particularly the order of mind which should be
John Jay. our frst Chief Justice was lawyer,
statesman and diplomat, student OF literature
and man Of unbending integrity and spotless
Thus far the Constitution had marched; but It
must oe admitted It's pathway had not been a
the Supreme court was body claiming eno1nns 1nas
powers-powers that thousands of good men viewed
with sincere alarm.
From the first the country had been divided on
the question whether there should be a strong
nauonaI government. operating directly upon the
people. or mere agency for certain purposes
main in the several States In the convention and
before the people there had been earnest gome-
who had hoped that IT would be settled by the Ian
guage OF the Constitution itself were doomed TO
argument was not closed The 0ueson va .naf me me
changed hest2