11. Strange aa it may appear, them who vvanted larger powers granted to the United States, and, in the language of that day, thought that thinge must be worse before they could he better, and those who honestly feared that too much power waa granted, both fixed their eyes on this clause; land petliapts no part of the eonstitution gave greater warmth tu the controveray than this. To disarm the detsign ing and counteract the fears of the timid, the tenth amendment was offered by the friends of the constitution. But so jealous were parties of each other that it was offered in the oonvention of 31atusachuisetts by Governor Haneock,•who favored and bad the confidence of the opposition, though it was in the handwritiug of Mr. Persona, after wards chief-justice. Life of Chief-Justice Persona. That amendment is iu these witrds: " The powers not cialegated to the United States by the constitu tion, nor prohibited to the staters, are reserved to the states respectively, or the people." Were the wurds of the original constitution and the amend ment both stricken out, it- would leave the true eoostruetion unaltered. Story, Const..i 1232. Both are equally nugatury in fact; but they have an important popular use. The amendment formally admits thte. certain rights are reserved to thestates, and these rk-hts must be sovereign.
We have seen that, within their limited powers, the United States are the natural expositors of the nonstitution and laws ; that when a case affecting riehte ariaes. the supreme court 'stands
for the United Statists, and that they have the sole right to explain and enforce the laws and constitu tion. But their power is confined to the facts before them, und they have no power to explain them in the form of an edict to affect other rights u,nd came Beyond these powere the states are sovereign, and their acts are equally uoexaminable. Of the 'separating line between the powere granted and the powera withheld, the constitution provides no judge. Between eovereigne there can be no common judge but an arbiter mutually agreed -upon. If that power is given to ono party, that may draw all power to itself, and it establishea a relation not of equal sovereigntiee, but of sovereign and subject. On this 'subject the conetitution is silent. The great :nen who formed it did not under take to :solve a question that in its own nature is insoluble. Between equals it made neither superior, but truated to the mutual forbearance of both parties. A larger confidence was placed in an enlightened public opinion ea the float umpire. The people parcelled out the rights of 'sovereignty hetween the states and the United States, and they have a natural right to determine what was given tu one party and what to the other. To this en lightened public opinion an appeal may be made, and a peaceful solutiun of the question may be obtained without recourse to the ultinta ratio reguni.