The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-06-19

pate Again he wrote, Il must ask
you to examine the constitution of the
United StateS-particularly the follow
ing parts. and then tell me if congress
can establish banks, make roads and
canals, whether they cannot free all
h slaves in the United States" The
parts he wished examined We're: Ar
ticle l, section s, paragraph l, same ar
ticle and paragraph section 9. article 4,
all the section , and 4, with the 9th and
10th amendments. AS the doctrine of
implied powers" grew in popularity,
Macon's a~pprehensions steadily increas-
ed. In January 1926, he wrote to Yam
cey. A government which has COM
plete power over the purse and sword,
with a patronage Of millions of dollars,
cannot easily be kept in check, by a
constitution which by construction or
implication can be made TO mean what
ever a majority may Deem eXpedient or
convenient" In March of 1926, he wrote
as follows: The book of Judges ought
to be attentiVely read by every man in
the United States to see the terrible
effect on the Israelites for departing
from the laws, which were their on
stitutiOn." And two years later he thus
sums up his intense feelings on his
question. The constitution of the
United States 1 have long since consid-
cred dead and gone" Of course we
know hat in these views Macon was
mistaken, yet it was we'll for the fu-
ture of the American people that there
We're such checks in the first stage of
the government, otherwise there is no
ra1lj ~ 70 y-h = 0v+~n,,oAc H.
of a strong government would have
gone.
There was one important matter
which came up during Jefferson's adj
m~inistration which caused both parties
to shift their positions and in the shift
Macon was compelled to go along with
his party. The question was the rati-
icatiOn of the Louisiana purchase.
The federaliStS opposed it because he
constitution did not authorize the pres
ident to make such purchases, thus tax
ing the anti-federalists' own weap-
Ons; the a~nti-federalists or rather the
republicans, favored it on the ground
Of implied powers Whether Macon
surrendered his convictions to party
eXpediency is not known. He took no
; part in the debate and at least did not
openly oppose his party.
There are many other matters of in
terest in this valuable constitution to
! our history, which the readers are re-
commended to obtain. MacOn'S letters
| are not we'll written; tn y show haste
in composition, lack of revision and
sometimes carelessness in grammar and
rhetoric which often results in OBSCURE
ty as to his meaning. But Withal there
is a certain directnesS, ruggednesS
4, and fOrcibleness about them character
istic of the man. Most of them were
! written in moments snatched from a
! busy career, some even written at his
! desk in the house, which mad it bare
! ly possible for him to jot down his
thoughts and left no time for attempts
at rhetorical perfection. They are full
of the most interesting political gossip
and give a keener insight into the times
and the characters of the men who
made those times than can possibly be
obtained from history. The reader who
studies these letters mas a clearer and
more vivid idea of the early political
history of our country than he can get
in any other way. These letters are
history at first ham they are full of
reflections on political principles in gen
eral as we'll as their applications to par
ticular persons and events, which are
of great value and Wisd m, worthy OF
careful study by the politicians of to-
! day. AS a single instance of this the
following quotation, from one of his
letters nay be interesting. Permit me
to observe to you, that no constitution
in the United States exactly suits me;
because the patronage is in no one di-
yided. The idea Of balancing a gov
eminent by three departments, where
one cannot receive anything from the
other two, and the other two can take
another place from the other, is falla-
cious. The thrifty part of government
is that which bestOWS the lOaveS and
fishes; hence in all free government
the patronage should be divided, and nc
member of one department should be
allowed to receive a place from an
other"
Another quotation SHOULD be read
every day by all free thinking people:
My great objection to attending q
caucus is that the minority yield their
opinion, and support What they disap-
prove" This principle, strange as il
may seem to the present day politician
Macon followed during his entire politi.
cal career and at the time the letter
vas written, he had not attended q
caucus for more than 20 years.
When we remember h a Macon was
most Intimately associated in congress
with such men as AndreW Jackson
Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, VIM
H. Crawford, John c. Calhoun anG
many others whose names adorn thu
no o-pc of 4 nario9n history and that n
this number he himself was by NJ
means the least, We can imagine how
intensely interesting must be the polit.
ical gossip and political intrigues re
corded in these letters. They are made
all the more interesting from the fac
that Macon writes unreservedly to ar
intimate friend, for whom alone tn
letters were attended We therefor