The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-02-21


pearcd for the first time in the robes
OF the Chief Justice, having been
sworn IN but few moments before,
for his first official act to al minister the
oath of Office as President of the Unit cd
States TO his bittcrest enemy. .Jcflcr.
son and Marshall were both men of
too much dignity TO allow their per-
soual animOsities to interfere with a
solemn ceremonial Of this kind, and
they treated each other with profound
respect.
During the eight years following the
President and the Chief Justice were
continually at war. Mr.. Jefferson was
| opposed to permanent judiciary; he
| wanted tn amend the constitution hv
changing the life tenure Of judges to
terms of four and six years and sub
! ject them to removal by the President,
like all other officials of the govern.
mcnt, Oil the theory that life Offices
were contrary TO the split Of repub,i-
can institutions. He INDUCED in frc.
Tuent criticisms Of the cour,, and par.
tic"ia"iY' Judge Malsilaii's iu,crprcta-
tions OF the constitution. which were
not at all in accordance with his views.
He accused Marshall of trying TO over
awe Congress and Of desiring " TO be-
come an inuuisitOr on the freedom of
speech, of writing and of principle"
He was compelled to coin the word
wistiicatiOns y to define Marshall's
construction Of the constitution, and
referred to the cunning sophistres
with whichhe is able to cnshroud him.
SELF "Thc Supreme Court of the
| United Staics," he said, can be COM
pared to subtle corps Of sappcrs and
| miners, constantly wOi king under
ground TO undermine the foundation
of our government and the indcpcn-
| dent lights of the State and TO cOncpn-
lrate all power in the hands of that
government in which they have 80 inn
pOrtant freehold stake.'
Naturally Judge Marshall did not
rclisl these criticisms from the Prcsi-
dent, but from his lofty position upon
the bench he could afford to forget per-
sonal animosities and did rot permit
his Interpretation Of the constitution
to be influenced by such considera-
tions, but he never lost q chance to
make Mr.. Jefferson unhappy, and the
trial of Aaron Burr afforded an oppor.
tunity to torment him.
The apparent indifference of Prcsi.
dent Jefferson TO the Burr conspiracy
when all the rest Of the country was
excited and alarmed has never been
explained and probably never will be.
He made light Of it in his message to
Congress and in his private correspon-
dcncc. He compared Burr TO Don
(luiXotc, but when the crisis came the
President discovered, to lis chagrin
and alarm, that his bttcrcst enemies
were to be the chief actors in the great
historic drama enacted in the courts at
Richmond. The rentless Randolph of
Roanoke was the foreman Of the grand |
jury, and nobody hated jefferson more
than he; John Marshall, who was even
more formidable as an enemy, although |
not so vicious and vindictive, was the |
presiding Judge, and Jefferson believed
that they conspircd to force him into
the attitude of an attorney for the de-
fcnsc.
There is no evidence that Jefferson
had any sympathy with or knowledge
of Burr's plans, but he unconsc cously
promoted them by the assignment Of
Gen. Wilkinson, Burr's most intimate
friend, TO the Sovcrnorship of the new
Louisiana territory and by The ap.
pointment Of Burr's brother.in-la as
secretary to the new government and
his stcpson to be judge of the princi-
pal court at New Orleans. These re.
lations of the Vice President were ap-
pointed to Office in defiance of Jcffer-
sons long and loud sermons against
and his theoretical oppos-
ton to the union of civil and military
authority. Marshall and Randolph
were easily able to connect Jefferson's
appointccs with Burr, and there is no
doubt that they intended 10 entrap the
President himself IN the conspiracy
just as Secretary Bristow in 1876 tried
to involve President Grant in the
frauds of the whisky ring at st. LOUIS.
Upon the application OF Randolph,
Justice Marshall issued subpoena re-
quiring the attendance of :he Prcsi-
dent of the United States as q witness
q