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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



ing for punishing people who impeded the 

 course of justice belonging to the citizen, 

 which the Constitution of the United States 

 had guaranteed him the right to have ; and so 

 far I will go with him with the greatest pleas- 

 ure; and on that same principle I hope he 

 will stand by us on the similar provision in 

 this bill." 



Mr. Thurman, of Ohio, said : " The Consti- 

 tution consists of certain delegations of power 

 to the Government of the United States, and 

 certain limitations upon the powers of the 

 States. In regard to the grants of power to 

 the United States, the clause read by the Sen- 

 ator is ample that the Congress shall have 

 power 'to make all laws which shall be neces- 

 sary and proper for carrying into execution 

 the foregoing powers' that is, the powers 

 which are vested in Congress 'and all other 

 powers vested by this Constitution in the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States or in any depart- 

 ment or officer thereof.' That is simply a 

 power to make laws which may be necessary 

 for carrying into effect the powers of the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States, and has no ref- 

 erence whatsoever to the prohibitions upon 

 the States that are contained in the Constitu- 

 tion." 



Mr. Edmunds : " Yes, it has some." 



Mr. Thurman : " Not the least in the world." 



Mr. Edmunds : " We all agree that it has." 



Mr. Thurman : " As to the act of 1T89, that 

 comes under the clause that 'the judicial power 

 of the United States shall extend to all cases in 

 law and equity arising under this Constitu- 

 tion.' " 



Mr. Edmunds : " Cannot Congress pass a law 

 in aid of that power ? " 



Mr. Thurman : " Certainly." 



Mr. Trumbull : " The answer which I should 

 make to the Senator from Ohio would be this : 

 that when the Constitution of the United 

 States imposes an inhibition upon the States, 

 such as that they shall not coin money, and 

 that they shall not enter into treaties of alli- 

 ance with foreign powers, it does give to the 

 Federal Government power to see that they do 

 not do them. I think the Senator from Ohio 

 will agree that, if the State of Massachusetts 

 should to-morrow enter into an alliance with 

 Great Britain to become a part of the kingdom 

 of Great Britain, he would vote with me for 

 the Government of the United States to inter- 

 fere to prevent it." 



Mr. Thurman : " But not under that clause 

 of the Constitution." 



Mr. Trumbull : " "Where will you find the 

 power ? " 



Mr. Thurman : " I will answer that at the 

 proper time." 



Mr. Trumbull : " So if a State, as is suggest- 

 ed to me, should undertake to keep ships-of- 

 war in time of peace, I think we should find 

 the power very quickly to interpose. If not, 

 it was a great mistake that we were engaged 

 in during the late rebellion, in undertaking to 



prevent the late rebel States from forming al- 

 liances with foreign powers. 



" Now, Mr. President, the Senator from 

 Vermont admits (and I agree with him) that 

 it was a very proper way to enforce through 

 the courts the clause of the Constitution of the 

 United States which inhibited the States from 

 passing a law impairing the obligation of con- 

 tracts; and I want to say to the Senator from 

 Vermont that not only in regard to that right, 

 but in regard to all the rights secured by the 

 fourteenth amendment, however extended, in 

 time of peace, the courts are established to 

 vindicate them, and they can be vindicated in 

 no other way. Sir, the judicial tribunals of 

 the country are the places to which the citizen 

 resorts for protection of his person and his 

 property in every case in a free government." 



Mr. Edmunds : " Suppose they fail ? " 



Mr. Trumbull : " If they fail by reason of or- 

 ganized opposition, resort, as in the case I sup- 

 posed, and to which the Senator from Ver- 

 mont agreed, is had to force, if necessary, in 

 order to give the protection. 



" I come now, Mr. President, to the bill un- 

 der consideration, about which I shall ma^ke a 

 few suggestions, and but few. The Presfdent 

 of the United States has thought it question- 

 able at any rate whether he had sufficient 

 power to put down organizations which exist 

 in some of the States of the Union, which are 

 encroaching on the rights of person and prop- 

 erty, which are committing outrages and sac- 

 rificing life. Now, sir, I want it understood 

 that I am ready to go as far as he who goes 

 farthest to maintain the authority of the Gov- 

 ernment of the United States. 



" Show me that it is necessary to exercise 

 any power belonging to the Government of 

 the United States in order to maintain its au- 

 thority, and I am ready to put it forth. But, 

 sir, I am not willing to undertake to enter the 

 States for the purpose of punishing individual 

 offences against their authority committed by 

 one citizen against another. We, in my judg- 

 ment, have no constitutional authority to do 

 that. When this Government was formed, 

 the general rights of person and property 

 were left to be protected by the States, and 

 there they are left to-day. Whenever the 

 rights that are conferred by the Constitution 

 of the United States on the Federal Govern- 

 ment are infringed upon by the States, we 

 should aiford a remedy. That was done in 

 1789 by the twenty-fifth section of the ju- 

 diciary act, which afforded a remedy against 

 a State statute in violation of the Constitution 

 of the United States, as in the case of a State 

 law impairing the obligation of contracts, 

 have no objection now to a law which shall 

 protect a person in the same way against in- 

 equality of legislation in any of the States of 

 the Union against any laws that deprive him 

 of life, liberty, or property, except by the 

 judgment of his peers or the law of the land. 

 I aui ready to pass appropriate legislation on 



