The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-11

| action. II still remains the most perfect
| instrument ever struck off at given time
by the brain and purpose Of man, under
which we are armed for every emergency
and able to cope with every condition
The Attorney Generals Argument.
After the recess for luncheon Attorney
General Griggs opened the closing argu-
ment in behalf OF the United States. His
remarks, he s<id, were intended only to
supplement the argument made by him
| last month He referred. in opening, to
letter from John Quincy Adams to the
French Minister in 1921. in which the then
Secretary of State stated that the seventh
article of the treaty by which the Terri
| tory of Louisiana was acquired was special
| and not TO be taken as a general policy
| or principal. That article of the treaty
| gave the ships Of France and Spain spe-
| cial privileges in the ports of that Terri
tory for a term of ten years. This was
done. said Secretary Adams, upon the IN
| derstsnding chat Louisiana was separate
/ from and not a part Of the United States
1t was not until 1890 that North Caro-
lima ceded the territory belonging to her
to the United States. not part of the
State. but territory belonging to the State.
| 1t was conveyed by a deed. which the
United States accepted in full reciting sew
eral provisions that would have been un-
! necessary and superiiuous, If, by the pas
sage of the deed, the territory became part
! of the United States. and its inhabitants
| citizens OF the United States. The Ian
| guage of the deed forced the conclusion,
| said tho Attorney General, that those who
framed it and those who received it recog-
| niZed distinction, and difference be-
| tween the statutes of the United States
and of territory belonging to it. and be-
tween the citizens of the United States
! and the residents of the territory.
Recently" continued the Attorney Gen
| eral, Il have come across a book pub
! lished by Thomas H. Benton in 1857, enu-
tied Historical and Legal Examination
of the Dred Scott Case Referring to the
history of the Constitution, Mr.. Benton
said:
"'Who were the parties TO it? The
! States alone. Their delegates framed it
in thesFederal convention their citizens
adopted it in the State conventions. TIE
| Northwest Territory was then in exist
| ence and had heen for three years: yet
it had no voice, either in the framing OF
adopting of the instrument-no delegate
I at Philadelphia, no submission of it to
| their will for adoption. The preamble
! shows it was made by States, and for
| States. Territories are not alluded to in
It. The body of the instrument shows the
same thing, every clause, except one te-
ing for States; and Territories as polii-
the word territory occurring but once,
/ in fact and as property, assimilated to
other property-as land. in fact, and as
thing to be disposed Otto be sold. Now,
you never sell territorial government,
! hut you sell property: and in that sense
alone does the word territory occur,
and that but once in the whole instrument.
Tried by the practice under it. the
| Territory is a subject without political
| right-no right to vote for President or
| Vice President. or Senator. or Represen-
! tative in Congress; nor even to vote
/ through their Delegate on any question in
! Congress-all their officers appointable
and removable by the Federal authority.
even their judges-their territory to be
| cut up as Congress pleases; even parts
/ to be given to Indians; no political rights
J under it. except as specially granted by
/ Congress; no benefit from any act OF Con-
| gress. except specially named in it. or
/ the act specially extended to them, Ike
| the subject colonies and dependencies Of
/ Great Britain.
The Territories Ignored.
| How can the Constitution go to them
| of itself when no act of Congress under it
can 20 to them unless specially intended?
Far from embracing these Territories the
Constitution ignores them and even re-
/ fuses to recognize their existence where
1t
case of the fugitive from service and from
/ labor Look at the clause. 1t only ap-
plies to States-fugitives from States to
I states. Why? Because the ordinance of
| 17S7 the organic law Of the Territories,
| made that provision for the Territories,
| and about in the same words and before
it was put in the Constitution. In both
| places it is an organic provision, barren
4 of execution until a law should be passed
under it to give it effect-which was done
in the fugitive slave and criminal act of
1898. that act applying to Territories as
well as to States. and SO carrying both
the Constitution and the ordinance into
effect.
The whole Constitution was carried
out upon the principle of ignoring the ex-
istence of Territories. / speak of Terri
tories implying political existence and or
ganization in contradistinction to terri
tory slgnifying land, and repeat that, as
political entities. the Constitution ignores
! them.
Referring TO the act for the govern
rnent of the Louisiana territory Mr.. Ben
ton declared:
The bill thus passed received the
| appreciation OF the President the same
! day it was laid before him, and to those
| who are acquainted with the work OF The
| legislative machinery, it may well be be
lieved that the whole proceeding was in
| concert with the Administration; that
| Mr. Jefferson picked out MIR. Breckenridge
| to bring in the bill; that its principles
| were settled in Cabinet meeting; that MIR.
| Madison drew it, and that every question
! in relation to il was duly considered be-
fore it was submitted for final action.
And thus this first instance of Congress
| legislation upon newly acquired territory
| was as high an instance Of disregard OF
| the Constitution as the imag nation could
| conceive, being nothing less than the con
| tinuation of the Spanish regal Gespotism,
| the President taking the place Of the
| King of Spain, Governor Claiborne the
| place of the Intendant General. Morales;
the laws Of Spain remaining in force and
| administered by American judges. and the
whole provincial administration going on
as If no change of government had taken
place. ii was q royal despOtic Govern
ment, and everybody knew it, and NJ one
thought OF testing 1t by the Constitution
(sOme few members in the House ex-
cepted) any more than by the Koran.
And now for the men VINO passed
these acts-who established these gov
ernments-so incompatible with the Con-
stitution and so fully asserting absolute
power over this new territory. Who were
they? They were the men of the ReVolu-
tlon-of the ordinance of 17S7-of the
Constitution OF that year-of the first Ad-
ministration of the Federal Government
in its early age-and the authors Of the
acquisition OF Louisiana Mr.. Jefferson was
President, Mr. Madison Secretary OF State.
and the two houses of Congress filled
with men who had acted their good part In
founding and in putting into operation the
new Federal Government. These were the