• It would be delightful to pursue the fruitful enquiry concerning this godlike characteristic of our beloved country. But this part of the subject will be closed after considering the topic of the power to declare sear.
The American people remembered that this power was every where else committed to the ecclesiastical or civil princes or aristocracies. The actual and imme diate representatives of the people themselves, who are to endure the expenses, the fatigues, the wounds and the mortalities of war, had no share in the solemn de claration—no power to forbid such a declaration, though manifestly founded on light, transitory or unjust causes.
The passions of princes constantly involve unw illing na tions in bloody quarrels; and the suffering people Ott both sides could only mourn for the madness of the (M% Ils and the wanton effusion of human blood. It la a's surely honourable to this young and christian nation to remember the injunctions of our religion, and to devise new precautions to preserve peace. They have there fore given to those, who directly represent the nation at large, and to those who represent the people (indi • rectly) of the seventeen subdivisions, in the several states, the whole power of the public sword. The de puties in senate, of nine of the states, can preserve its brunt a foolish, passionate or malignant declaration of war, though the co-ordinate deputies of of the states, the whole of the immediate representative body, and the executive magistrate or president, with all hi, auxiliary officers, were ready to ordain and to make war Thus have we sacrificed, on the altar of huinanity, at home and abroad, the worst passions of our nature. Thus have we at oided these war expenses, which lead governments cruelly to grind the faces of their ow poor, anti to occasion equal nii,cries to the innocent poor among their enemies. Thus have we prevented the rich means of benevolent systems of education, em ployment and charity from being perverted to extinguish peace and good-•ill among- men. Thus have we re sisted the barbarous prejudices, which have taught many great and neighbouring communities to forget all the charities of life and situation towards each other, and in hollow peace as well as in real and infuriated war, to consider themselves as "natural enemies !" Feeble and inefficient as our government is repre sented to be, we have extended protection and justice, formerly unknown, to the remote aborigines.—Eager as we arc said to be for the profits of trade, we have abo lished the commerce in the natives of Africa.—Vitiated by the infusion of foreign criminals, as we are pretend ed to be, we alone have taught Europe what it is to exempt our fellow men front the unequalled misery of an invaded conscience.—Igno•ant and unwise, as foreign rivalship would describe us, we have collected the wis dom of every code of laws, divine and human, and of every suggestion of our minds to ameliorate the condi tion of our younger sons, our beloved daughters, and the tender wives of our bosoms—and have cast indig nantly from us, the whole unjust and barbarous tyranny of retrospective legislation. We have arrested the de
grading and bloody progress of the penal code, and car ried the tender mercies of our perfect religion into the miserable prisons of convicted guilt. teaching- the hope less criminal, that mercy had softened the wonted rigour of justice, and afforded to him the unexpected opportu nity of an availing repentance.—By the new forms of our solemn and binding constitutions, by the care of the blood of our own citizens. by the sparing of the means of their daily bread, of their youthad instructions, and of their family establishments; by a wise forbearance to wards our fellow men of other nations; and by so true an obedience to the injunctions of our mild religion, do we claim, of an impartial anti observing world, the ines • timable character of practical humanity.
As it has been represented, that the citizens of United America are attached to the true principles of humanity , so it is now into lulu(' to be maintained, that tilt y art sinee•efriends p oilfired morality.
The of is recognised by the North Americans, in their invaluable constitution of public wel fare, union and justice, as a code of existing rules among civil societies, enjoining on each what is right, and fiar bidding to all what is wrong. They consider the law of nations as the public kw of morals. Whatever has been, whatever is, and whatever may be, the treatment of this general law by the sovereigns, or the courts of other countries, it is well known that the judiciary department of the United States is bound to adjudicate by those rules of political morality, which are to be collected from the great system of this prescriptive or common law of independent states. Aggrieved and injured in our per sons and property by violations of this law exceeding all example, we have ;lever consented to raise our voice for its future abrogation. We have not countenanced any derogation from its true force. As soon could we think of repealing the rules of honour, of private morality or of religion itself. They compose in truth altogether One great, and good and binding law, with a precious variety of high sanctions. They are indeed but different names for the same inestimable thing. For there can be no ho nour, or prit ate morals, or public morality, which is not founded on the system of religion. We have not com to our executive power the authority to dispense with the law of nations, nor have we accorded to the judges permission to reject its venerated rules. We have voluntarily extended its benefits even to those Indians, who were not, at the time, within acy of our municipal jurisdictions, though subject to the power of our arms. We have applied it between our contending states, be tu ten every state and the Union, between a state and an individual, and between the body politic of our whole confederacy and every private person, whether foreign or native. It has been to tnis country, in and out of our courts, a fixed rule of conduct and of jirdgment. It has bee• our constant endeavour to maintain its salutary obligations among our friends, our rivals, and our open enemies.