"I see, as you do, and with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides with which the federal branch of our government is advancing towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the States, and the consolidation in itself of all powers, foreign and domestic, and that too by constructions which leave no limits to their powers, &c. Under the power to regulate commerce, they assume, indefinitely, that also over agriculture and manufactures, &c. Under the authority to establish post-roads, they claim that of cutting down mountains for the construction of roads and digging canals, &c. And what is our resource for the preservation of the constitution? Reason and argument?—You might as well reason and argue with the marble columns encircling them, &c. Are we then to stand to our arms, with the hot-headed Georgian? No [and I say no, and South Carolina has said no]: that must be the last resource. We must have patience and long endurance with our brethren, &c., and separate from our companions only when the sole alternatives left are a dissolution of our union with them, or submission to a government without limitation of powers. Between these two evils, when we inust make a choice, there can be no hesitation." Such, sir, are the high and imposing authorities in support of the Carolina doctrine," which is, in fact, the doctrine of the Virginia Resolutions of 1798. Sir, at that day the whole country was divided on this very question. It formed the line of demarcation between the federal and republican parties; and the great political revolution which then took place, turned upon the very question involved in these resolutions. That question was decided by the people, and by that decision the constitution was, in the emphatic language of Mr. Jefferson, "saved at its last gasp. ." I should suppose, sir, it would require more self-respect than any gentlemen here would be willing to assume, to treat lightly doctrines derived from such high resources. Resting on authority like this, I will ask gentlemen whether South Carolina has not manifested a high regard for the Union, when, under a tyranny ten times more grievous than the alien and sedition laws, she has hitherto gone no further than to petition, remonstrate, and to solemnly protest against a series of measures which she believes to be wholly unconstitutional, and utterly destructive of her interests. Sir, South Carolina has not gone one step further than Mr. Jefferson himself was disposed to go, in relation to the present subject of our present complaints-not a step further than the statesmen from New England were disposed to go under similar circumstances; no further than the senator from Massachusetts himself once considered as within "the limits of a constitutional opposition." The doctrine that it is the right of a State to judge of the violations of the constitution on the part of the Federal Government, and to protect her citizens from the operations of unconstitutional laws, was held by VOL. II.-37 the enlightened citizens of Boston, who assembled in Faneuil Hall, on the 25th of January, 1809. They state, in that celebrated memorial, that "they looked only to the State legislature, who were competent to devise relief against the unconstitutional acts of the General Government. That your power (say they) is adequate to that object, is evident from the organization of the confederacy." A distinguished senator from one of the New England States, (Mr. Hillhouse,) in a speech delivered here, on a bill for enforcing the embargo, declared-"I feel myself bound in conscience to declare, (lest the blood of those who shall fall in the execution of this measure, shall be on my head,) that I consider this to be an act which directs a mortal blow at the liberties of my country-an act containing unconstitutional provisions, to which the people are not bound to submit, and to which, in my opinion, they will not submit." And the senator from Massachusetts himself, in a speech delivered on the same subject in the other House, said, "This opposition is constitutional and legal; it is also conscientious. It rests on settled and sober conviction, that such policy is destructive to the interests of the people, and dangerous to the being of government. The experience of every day confirms these sentiments. Men who act from such motives are not to be discouraged by trifling obstacles, nor awed by any dangers. They know the limit of constitutional opposition; up to that limit, at their own discretion, they will walk, and walk fearlessly." How "the being of the government" was to be endangered by "constitutional opposition" to the embargo, I leave to the gentleman to explain. Thus, it will be seen, Mr. President, that the South Carolina doctrine is the republican doctrine of '98; that it was promulgated by the fathers of the faith-that it was maintained by Virginia and Kentucky in the worst of timesthat it constituted the very pivot on which the political revolution of that day turned-that it embraces the very principles, the triumph of which, at that time, saved the constitution at its last gasp, and which New England statesmen were not unwilling to adopt, when they believed themselves to be the victims of unconstitutional legislation. Sir, as to the doctrine that the Federal Government is the exclusive judge of the extent as well as the limitations of its powers, it seems to me to be utterly subversive of the sovereignty and independence of the States. It makes but little difference, in my estimation, whether Congress or the Supreme Court are invested with this power. If the Federal Government, in all, or any of its departments, are to prescribe the limits of its own authority, and the States are bound to submit to the decision, and are not to be allowed to examine and decide for themselves, when the barriers of the constitution shall be overleaped, this is practically "a government without limitation of powers." The States are at once re duced to mere petty corporations, and the peo- | measures of the Federal Government were less ple are entirely at your mercy. I have but one oppressive, we should still strive against this word more to add. In all the efforts that have usurpation. The south is acting on a principle been made by South Carolina, to resist the un- she has always held sacred-resistance to unconstitutional laws which Congress has extend- authorized taxation. These, sir, are the princied over them, she has kept steadily in view the ples which induced the immortal Hampden to preservation of the Union, by the only means resist the payment of a tax of twenty shillings. by which she believes it can be long preserved Would twenty shillings have ruined his fortune? —a firm, manly, and steady resistance against No! but the payment of half twenty shillings, usurpation. The measures of the Federal Gov- on the principle on which it was demanded, ernment have, it is true, prostrated her inter- would have made him a slave. Sir, if in acting ests, and will soon involve the whole South in on these high motives-if animated by that irretrievable ruin. But even this evil, great as ardent love of liberty which has always been it is, is not the chief ground of our complaints. the most prominent trait in the southern characIt is the principle involved in the contest-a ter-we should be hurried beyond the bounds principle, which substituting the discretion of of a cold and calculating prudence, who is there, Congress for the limitations of the constitution, with one noble and generous sentiment in his brings the States and the people to the feet bosom, that would not be disposed, in the lanof the Federal Government, and leaves them guage of Burke, to exclaim, "You must pardon nothing they can call their own. Sir, if the something to the spirit of liberty ! " SEARGENT S. PRENTISS. In reviewing the career of this eloquent lawyer and statesman, it can but be regretted that o much genius, intellectual worth and promise, should have so prematurely passed away. Marked as his life was by great performances, which of themselves have rendered his name familiar throughout the length and breadth of his country, it is reasonable to suppose that had it been prolonged, his maturity would have been crowned with still greater and growing glories. He was the son of a highly respectable and prosperous shipmaster, and was born at Portland, in Maine, on the last day of September, 1808. A severe illness during infancy deprived him for several years of the use of his limbs, but by the kind attention of his mother, who watched him with unwearied devotedness and care, he in a few years recovered from his infirmities, with the exception of a partial lameness in one of his legs, which clung to him until the day of his death. Denied the privilege of walking, the greater part of his childhood was passed in the house, in the company of his mother, who taught him to read. Before he was ten years old he mastered all the books "he could lay his hands on," and thus stored his mind with a knowledge of history, poetry and select literature. The Bible was his favorite, and in the palaces, the castles, the deep vales, the quagmires, and the sunny pastures of the Pilgrim's Progress, he found an irresistible charm and the deepest gratification. As soon as he was able to move about with the aid of a cane, he spent much of his time in the woods and fields, engaged in hunting and fishing. The latter diversion was his "greatest delight," says his brother. "Old Isaac Walton could hardly have excelled him in devotion to this 'treacherous art,' or in the skill with which he pursued it. Many and many a long summer's day did he spend in wandering slowly up and down the Great Brook; and never, in after life, was the subject mentioned without reviving some of the pleasantest memories of his youth." As he advanced in years, his parents began to consider the subject of his mode of life in the future. His lameness rendered him incapable of severe physical duties, and the early development of his remarkable intellectual qualities, convinced them that he ought to be educated. To this end he was prepared at Gorham Academy; and in the autumn of 1824, entered the junior class of Bowdoin College. His course was marked and brilliant: "one of the few instances, in college life, of decided indications of future success and eminence." On leaving college he commenced the study of law, and in the summer of 1827, started for the west in "quest of fortune." He intended to establish himself at Cincinnati, but, soon after arriving at that place, inducements of a more lucrative character than he enjoyed at his new home, were offered, in the situation of a tutor in a private family at Natchez, Mississippi. He left Cincinnati a few months after his arrival from Maine, and in November took upon himself the duties of the tutorship. In this position he was enabled to devote much of his time to the study of his profession. His patroness was the widow of an eminent lawyer, and the entire use of his library was at Mr. Prentiss's disposal. It hardly need be said that to these great advantages he was fully awake, and that he made the best use of them. In June, 1829, he was admitted to practice, and soon after formed a partnership with General Felix Huston. His first appearance at the bar is thus described in the recent interesting biography by his brother:-"He was a slight-made, beardless boy, extremely youthful look ing, by no means physically imposing, and a stranger to all at the court. It was a case he was appearing in for Mr. Huston; and when it was called, he responded to it, and stated the nature of the case, and that it stood on demurrer to some part of the proceedings which he desired to argue. The Judge, with some nonchalance, told him he did not wish to hear argument on the subject, as he had made up his mind adversely to the side Mr. Prentiss appeared for; upon this, Mr. P. modestly, but firmly, insisted on his client's constitutional right to be heard, by himself or counsel, before his cause was adjudged against him. The right was recognized-and be was heard, and made a speech that astonished both court and bystanders: and the Judge, to his honor be it spoken, was not only convinced of the error of his previous opinion, but had the manliness to acknowledge it. Few young men, in a strange place, with a cause prejudged and the decision announced, would have so boldly asserted and maintained their client's rights.” During his residence at Natchez he continued to devote much of his leisure to general reading and the pursuits of literature. He prepared many pieces in prose and verse, for the periodicals in his locality, among which a poetical effusion entitled The Ice Palace, "yet lives in the recollection of his friends in the south-west." An essay on Toasting, written at this time, is preserved in the life of him, lately published. Early in 1882, after having spent four years in Natchez, he removed to Vicksburg, where he at once rose to a conspicuous place in his profession. The case in which he was first engaged at this place "was one involving the power of the corporation to cut off by quarantine, a public hotel from all intercourse with the rest of the town. The hotel stood alone on a square, and was infested with the small pox. The Mayor and Council had passed an ordinance forbidding all persons out of it from going to it, and all persons in it, from coming out of it. Without any previous notice or preparation, except the examination of testimony, Mr. Prentiss spoke for two hours, and by an argument replete with metaphor, satire, and logic, he gained his cause and induced an immediate repeal of the obnoxious ordinance." About this time he made his appearance as a political orator, and seems to have gained for the patriotism of his sentiments not only the unbounded applause of his supporters, but even that of his bitterest adversaries. In 1833, he appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States, and "made a speech three or four hours long."* His pleadings, in spite of his youthful fire and highly wrought faney, were so happily fortified by deep reading and deep thought, as to instantly attract the notice of Chief Justice Marshall, and call forth from that master-mind involuntary praise. During the same year he formed a business connexion with John J. Guion, an experienced and well-known practitioner of law in Vicksburg; and a few weeks after, his duel with General H. S. Foote occurred. Of the latter event Mr. Prentiss thus wrote in a letter to his youngest brother, who had strongly remonstrated with him respecting the course he had pursued:-"I am very sorry you heard at all of my foolish scrape. I regretted the occurrence as much as any one. I neither sought the difficulty, nor sent the challenge; but having received it under the circumstances that existed, I could not have acted differently from what I did. If I had, I should have lost my own self-respect, and life itself would have had no further objects for me. I know that with your principles, no excuse will be sufficient in such a case. I am no advocate of duelling, and always shall from principle avoid such a thing, as much as possible; but when a man is placed in a situation where if he does not fight, life will be rendered valueless to him, both in his own eyes and those of the community, and existence will become a burden to him; then, I say, he wil fight, and by so doing, will select the least of two evils. I know you will say that such a case as I have supposed, cannot occur; but, brother, I think you are mistaken, and such cases may occur, but not often. However, I trust I shall never again have occasion to act in such a matter. You may rest assured, that I shall never seek a quarrel, and shall always avoid one, so long as I can do so, and retain my self-respect." At this period Mr. Prentiss was enjoying a very large and lucrative practice. Business pressed upon him from all quarters, and his fame as an advocate was widely spread. His geniality, wit Memoir of S. S. Prentiss, vol. I., page 122. T. B. Thorpe's Reminiscences. American Whig Review, September 1851, and humor attracted every body to him. "Every body liked him, and he was disposed to like every body." A reference to his letters written at this time will afford a just estimate of the extensive and laborious duties of his profession. In August of this year (1834) he delivered at Jackson, Mississippi, an address, commemorative of the life and services of Lafayette. After an absence of eight years, he visited his home in Maine, where he spent a short time amid the scenes of his boyhood; fished at the old brook, and went out to meet old faces and friends. On his return to Vicksburg, he entered upon his practice with renewed vigor, and soon after was elected to the State Legislature to represent his adopted town. In this station he remained, with occasional intervals, ardently engaged in the toil and strife of politics, for the next eight years. In the great questions of the day he evinced the warmest interest, was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay, and an active opponent of General Jackson. His political speeches at this time have not been preserved, but his cotemporaries refer to them as containing great strength, wit, and powerful argumentation. An anecdote relating to one of his earliest stump speeches, given by his biographer, will show the readiness and self-possession he displayed under trying circumstances. His speech was a powerful invective against General Jackson, for his removal of the members of his first Cabinet. While he was summing up the excuses of the Democratic party alleged for the act, he was suddenly confronted by a fellow holding up a large flag, with nothing on it but the words "Hurrah for Jackson!" inscribed with large letters. The man advanced slowly towards the speaker, whose eye no sooner caught the pennant than he exclaimed, without the slightest perturbation-" In short, fellow-citizens, you have now before you the sum and substance of all the arguments of the party-Hurrah for Jackson!" The effect was electrical, and the poor man slunk away, trailing his banner after him." Mr. Prentiss was untiring and diligent in the discharge of his legislative duties. He was appointed Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and in the course of the session delivered several speeches advocating the system of internal improvement. Hardly one complete speech, however, is preserved; but such as remain display great political intelligence, wisdom, and straightforwardness; "they sparkle, like dust of gold, amidst the rubbish of ordinary legislative verbosity." In the following session, which met in January, 1837, he delivered a masterly speech on the question of admitting the delegates from the new counties. This effort is extant, and is sterlingly illustrative of its author's reverence for law and constitution. At the end of the session he resigned bis seat; resumed his profession and the cultivation of general literature. In the fall of 1837, he took an active part in the political campaign; canvassed his State, and was elected a representative to Congress. On his arrival at Washington, his seat was contested, and a day was set apart for him to address the House in support of his claims. On that day, says his biographer, "nearly all the members were in their seats, the galleries were crowded, and every eye and ear were fixed in eager expectation. His first sentence riveted the attention of the whole audience, and each succeeding sentence increased the surprise and pleasure awakened by the first. Some, anticipating an outburst of fervid but unpolished declamation, were charmed to find themselves listening to an orator, whose logic was as accurate and subtle as that of a schoolman, while the fairest gems of literary culture adorned his rhetoric. Others, expecting a violent party harangue, were no less astonished to find themselves in the presence of a statesman and jurist discussing, with patriotic zeal, a great principle of constitutional law. His peroration. was short, but it thrilled the immense assemblage like an electric touch. Much of its force was owing to the tones of his voice, the glow of his eye and countenance, his peculiarly earnest manrer, and the high-wrought feelings of his hearers; but no one can read it even now, without admiring its skill and beauty. The moment he had finished, his friends flocked around him with their enthusiastic congratulations, in which they were joined by not a few of his political opponents. As Mr. Webster left the Hall, he remarked to a friend, with comprehensive brevity: "Nobody could equal it!" And this may suffice as a sample of the innumerable compliments elicited by his speech. It is still remembered with wonder by all who heard it. Few members of the House were less likely to be misled by false oratory than Ex-President Fillmore. In a letter, dated Buffalo, Nov. 28, 1853, he writes: "I can never forget that speech. It was, certainly, the most brilliant that I ever |