Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1900-04-26
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS
NUMBER 50

that congress may make rules and reg
ulations for the government Of the ter
ritory and other property Of the United
States. That implies that we may
acquire and regulate territory as we
may acquire and use other property.
such as our ships of war, our cannon
or forts or arsenals. But territory,
like other property, can only be acquir-
ed for constitutional purposes and can
not be acquired and governed for un-
constitutional purposes. Now, one con-
stitutional purpose Is to admit new
states to the Union. That Is one OF
the objects for which the constitution
was framed. So we may acquire and
hold and govern territory with that
object In view. But governing sub
ject peoples and holding them for that
purpose is not a constitutional end
On the contrary, it is an end which
the generation which framed the con-
stitution and the Declaration Of Inde-
pendence declared was unrighteous
and abhorrent So, in my opinion, we
have no constitutional power to ac-
quire territory for the purpose Of hold
ing it in subjugation, in a state Of
vassalage or serfdom, against the win
of its people.
Can't Buy AIIegfanee.
In the present case we have not, I
repeat, bought any property. We have
undertaken to buy mere sovereignty.
There were no public lands in the Phil
ippine Islands, the property of Spain,
which we have bought and paid for.
The mountains of iron and the mug
gets Of gold and the hemp bearing
ields-do you purpose to st-ip the own
ers of their rightful title? We have
undertaken to buy allegiance, pure and
simple. And allegiance is just what
the law of nations declares you cannot
buy. The power of congress to dis
pose Of the territory or other property
Of the United States, invoked in this
debate, as the foundation Of your con-
stitutional right, may carry with it In
a proper case right to the allegiance
Of the occupant of the soil we own.
But we have not bought any property
there. The mountains Of iron, the mug
gets of gold, the hemp bearing fields,
the tobacco and sugar and coffee. are
not ours unless, holding first that we
can buy of Spain an allegiance which
this people have shaken of, which
Spain could not deliver, which does
not exist in Justice or In right, we can
then go on and say that the eonstitu-
ton of the United States does not APP
ply to territory and that we will pro-
ceed to take the private property OF
this people for public use without their
consent.
whether the inestimable and imper-
ishable principles Of human liberty
are to be trampled down by the Ameri-
can republic, and whether its great
bulwark and fortress, the American
constitution, impregnabIe from with
out, is to be betrayed from within. Is
our question now.
evil any gentleman affirm that the
trainers Of the constitution or the peO-
pie who adopted it considered as an
object and end of their government Of
limited powers which the Declaration
of Independence had declared beyond
the just powers Of any government
and contrary to natural rightF AIexan-
der Hamilton says the Declaration OF
Independence is the fundamental con-
stitution of every state.
81 have been unable to find single
reputable authority more than u
months old for the power now claimed
for congress to govern dependent ma
tons or territories not expected to be-
come states. The contrary. until this
war broke out has been taken as too
clear for reasonable question. con-
tent myself with a few authorities.
Among them are Daniel Webster, VIII
lam FL. Seward. the supreme court OF
he United States. James Madison"