Sentence:  Ezra Stiles Gannett , an honorable representative of the sanhedrin , addressed himself frankly to the issue in 1845 , insisting that Parker should not be persecuted or calumniated and that in this republic no power to restrain him by force could <WSD>exist</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have an existence, be extant