20 The Compact of 1785 The second point is more complicated. When this opinion was written in 1838, the District of Columbia extended into Virginia. Maryland, by ch. 45 of 1791, and Virginia, by its ch. 32 of 1789, had each ceded territory to the United States, so that the District of Columbia then embraced lands formerly belonging to both states. It therefore was entirely accurate for the Court to say that Congress had received as to the District of Columbia the rights of both states to modify the Compact. In 1846, however, Congress re-ceded to Virginia all lands within the District which had originally come from Vir ginia, on the finding that the District of Columbia would never need that much territory (ch. 64 of the Virginia Acts of 1845-46; 9 Stat. Large 35) . The question after 1846 would have been, therefore, would Congress have been required to secure the joint action of the State of Virginia in order to modify the Compact for that part of the river opposite the District of Columbia? Congress after 1846 still had whatever rights the Maryland General Assembly had formerly had, over the Compact within this particular area. It had re-ceded to Virginia, however, all rights in the former Virginia lands. Stated otherwise, the question is this: May Congress now, by unilateral action, modify or repeal the Compact as it affects the District of Columbia? The question is a highly important one, for the answer to it would suggest an answer to the companion question: May either of the states by unilateral action modify or repeal the Compact? It seems highly unlikely that the Supreme Court would ever require that Congress secure the assent of the State of Virginia to making a change in the Compact. It is doubt ful if Congress feels itself at all bound by the Compact, yet the language of the Court in the Alexandria Canal Company case leaves the whole question open. D. State v. Hoofman (1856). By ch. 148 of 1845 Maryland prohibited fishing in the Potomac River during March, |
||||
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|
An ecpCLIO electronic publication in the Archives of Maryland Series.
For information contact
edp@mdarchives.state.md.us.