The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-06-08

have been denied the highest aspira-
tions and the purest ambitions; at Ire
land, whose people have been burden.
ed with unjust laws, with outrageous
taxes, with, Infamous DEGREES; at Ire
land, whose people have fled from
British sovereignty or died with DIOR
en- hearts and famished bodies.
wherever you go, whether you find
the Irishman at home or abroad, you
will find hater of British sovereignty
and a living witness to the fact that
British rule over the people who are
denied equal participation in British
government has been unjust to the
people and discreditable to the gov
erning power"
Continuing, Mr.. Bryan says: "In
order to fully understand these opin-
ions it must be known that in ruling
that the Dingley tariff rates could not
prevail against Porto Rico the court
did not act on the theory that the con-
stitution followed the flag during any
of these periods under consideration.
'"This ruling was made because, in
the opinion of the court, law enacted
for the purpose of levying tariff duties
against foreign country could not
be applied in levying tariff duties
against country that was not for
eign.' In other words, if Immediately
after the ratification Of the peace
treaty, congress had enacted law
levying the Dingley rates specially
against Porto Rico, those rates would
have prevailed. In the courts opinion,
the legality Of any tariff rate between
Porto Rico and the United States
simply waited upon formal act Of
congress establishing these rates as
applying to Porto Rico.
'The logic Of this opinion as it
applies to the right Of congress to levy
tariff customs, would make it possible
for congress to levy tariff duties on
articles coming from any territory of
the United States.
"With respect to our new posses
sions, the decision is an unfair one,
because it denies to them equal trade
privileges with other portions Of the
United States whose sovereignty has
been established over them, and the
purpose Of the constitution in provid-
ing for equal trade privileges was that
no section subject to the United States
sovereignty. shall ever become the vic.
tim Of discrimination. This principle
is in line with the very foundation
principles of this government which
contemplated that all the people of the
United States should have equal privi.
leges, should be exempt from discrim.
nations, and should enjoy the immu'
mites which the constitution-makers
conceived to be essential to the per.
petuity Of free institutions.
Throughout the majority opinion
runs the theory that the American con.
gress may do anything not forbidden
in the constitution. This is one Of the
most repugnant features Of this opin.
ion. Justice Brown seems to have
searched the constitution for prohibi-
tions rather than for that grant Of
power which the American people have
always conceived to be the true Office
of that instrument
Mr.. Bryan makes the reasoning of
Justice Brown the special feature of
attack, and says:
'"The courts decision was based
upon expediency. In the opinion to
which Justice Harlan referred in an
effort to establish two governments in
this country-one resting on the con-
stitution for Americans, the other car.
ried on in the national capital by the
same people without the constitution
for a subject people-Justice Brown
said: "A false step at this time might
be fatal to the development Of what
Chief Justice Marshall called "the
American empire."'
'It would seem that this phrase wal
employed by way Of apology or de-
fense for the American empire which
Justice Brown and his colleagues were
seeking to erect upon the ruins Of the