that that is one of the very objects for which
it was created. It was to decide upon all
questions arising under the laws and Consti-
tution of the United States, all disputes be-
tween two States, or between citizens of one
State and citizens of another. What becomes
of the position of the gentleman who harped
so much upon the Dred Scott decision, if that
was a decision which it was never designed
that the Federal Government should have the
power to make.
The States' rights party had control of the
destinies of this Government for a great num-
ber of years up to 1860, nearly uninterrupt-
edly; and a pretty fist they have made of it.
See where they have landed us. In one of
the grandest civil conflicts this world ever
saw; and it is the legitimate result of their
infamous doctrine of State rights. It is just
where I have expected they would land us
ever since I understood their principles. The
gentleman said rightly that General Jackson
stemmed the tide of events for the time being,
the corrupt and rushing wave that was car-
rying the nation down into the deep gulf of
anarchy and civil war. Eternal honors to
his name; and may his memory live so long
as this Government shall be known. But
while I say this of General Jackson, I say,
may the memory of James Buchanan rot in
eternal oblivion.
SEVERAL MEMBERS. Amen.
Mr. NEGLEY continued. May it go down
unwept, unhonored, and unsung. May no
flowers ever bloom upon his grave. May
naught but the deadly night shade grow there.
When he dies and is carried to his tomb may
the hungry worm that riots there crawl away
in disgust and abhorrence from his carcase.
That is my opinion of James Buchanan, He
is the chiefest villain of them all.
What was his declaration when he was in
the Presidential chair, in the message that
the gentleman landed to the skips, the last
annual message of that imbecile, infamous
old man? What was it but a public invita-
tion to revolt? What was it but a public
declaration to those Southern rights men ?
"Go to war; get ready; steal the arms of the
United States; steal the ships; steal its mo-
ney; but for God's sake don't do it until after
the 4th of March." That is what Jimmy
Buchanan did, and that is his history. Sir,
in the streets of Lancaster, where be lives,
honest men turn away in disgust from him
and none but a few miserable and duped cop-
perheads still associate with him at all.
So much tor the argument of the gentleman
from Prince George's. I shall now have a
little to say upon other points.
It has been said that the tendency of this
clause is to centralize the federal power and
thereby endanger the peculiar rights of these
States' rights gentlemen. They are taking
fright. They are seeing perhaps in prospectu
a long way ahead, a halter, or something of
23 |
that sort. They say it has a tendency to in-
vade the rights of the people and the rights
of the States. What does the Federalist say
upon this subject? Here is what Alexander
Hamilton says:
' 'It will always be far more easy for the
State governments to encroach upon national
authorities than for the National Government
to encroach upon the State authorities. The
proof of this proposition turns upon the greater
degree of influence which the State govern-
ments, if they administer their affairs with up-
rightness and prudence, will generally possess
over the people; a circumstance which at the
same time teaches us, that there is an inherent
and intrinsic weakness in all Federal Consti-
tutions; and that too much pains cannot be
taken in their organization, to give them all
the force which is compatible with the princi-
ples of liberty.
" The superiority of influence in favor of the
particularly governments, would result partly
from the diffusive construction of the National
Government; but chiefly from the nature of
the objects to which the attention of the State.
administrations would be directed.
"It is a known tact inhuman nature, that
its affections are commonly weak in propor-
tion to the distance or diffusiveness of the ob-
ject. Upon the same principle that a man is
more attached to his family than to his neigh-
borhood, to his neighborhood than to the
community at large, the people of each State
would be apt to feel a stronger bias towards
their local governments, than towards the
Government of the Union, unless the force of
that principle should be destroyed by a much
better administration of the latter."
That is the reasoning of Alexander Hamil-
ton; and it is reasoning which needs no
elaboration. It commends itself at once to
the judgment of all. He says also :
" The separate governments in a confed-
eracy may aptly be compared with the feudal
baronies; with this advantage in their favor,
that from the reasons already explained, they
will generally possess the confidence and good
will of the people; and with so important
a support, will be able effectually to oppose
all encroachments of the National Govern-
ment."
Here is the reasoning of James Madison,
which I suppose is good authority upon the
other side: He has written a number of pa-
pers the tendency and argument of which
are to show that all confederated governments
in the history of the world had been weak,
and their uniform tendency had been lo go
to pieces, and therefore it was necessary to
make them very strong.
"Several important considerations have
been touched in the course of these papers,
which discountenance the supposition 'that
the operation of the Federal Government will
by degrees prove fatal to the State govern-
ments. The more I revolve the subject, the |
