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<br />20 <br /> <br />dcclnl"cd hy the Const1LIlUon of the United States, wllich M .In <br />Ilccol'dul1ce witll divine law. <br />Mr. President. the Constitution of the UnIted State!;, it is <br />said, 11'1 not so vllltmble. tllfit we can alwnys stann by it. The <br />well who made it knew that. tbe time would corne when we <br />would want to muend it. TlJe first Congress tbat came tberew <br />ofLe.r lIHldc ten nmcndmellts, all in accordance with the theory <br />!llld principle UPOIl whicl! tile ConsUtutton bud beeu adopted. to <br />carry Ollt the veL'y jJt1l'lJOSes llnd principles that l1nd been }lro- <br />clajlllc{l ill H. 'l'l1ey Imew that sometime there WQuh} come n <br />condition when it wonld ue(~d n change, Rnd they provided <br />how It could be cbnuged, nud tIley put DO heavy burd.en upon <br />us III that pal'("JclIlur. <br />At tbe expense of keeping the Senate longer tlmu I oUl!ht, <br />I Wl1llt to call nttentiOll to the Constitution and'the way it was <br />cl'eated. 1 do so because I find n growing disposition to under. <br />rate it. Ji.lvery little while some man says: "Ob, the great <br />Fatl.l(~!' of Ollr Country was nothing but a comDlon man." I <br />heard sllch n stuteniC'l1t nmde only a few'days flgo, I hcnrcl <br />tL S('l\ntor here sny one day: "I dQ not believe RH the wisdom <br />of the world was illcluded ill the Constitutional Couveotiml," <br />Kobildr asserts it. BlIt iu the history of lllflnkil1fl there never <br />lias teCH u constitution lIlte unto that. '.rl1el'e ne\"er hus been <br />n coustitnlioll, 1/1 my judgment, t!.tat wns so wisely and care- <br />fnlly malle, You want to stOll f\.lld consider what the. eouditioQ. <br />waR wh~n tt wns made. There were thil'teen l~olonies, S0Ule <br />big and some little; ~oll1e with large territory, eInI1irel'3 in ex- <br />tent, and others witll pmcticaJIy nothIng; Delawllre no bigge'l" <br />than R county in Virginia; Virginia extending cH~fir np as far <br />as onr Government E>xtf.nHlcrl, contnin1np; all area that Ims ~lnce <br />/)een mncle jllto five great States, Delawl\re WH~ Ileces~nry to <br />the Unioll, Then thcre wilS Rhode Islaud, smo.llel' still thnu <br />f)elfiWnrt~. if anything, flud with n very 80lnll poplllation; New <br />York wiLh n grefl t population; Mussacllllsetts wan a fail' popu- <br />liltion: all these SlllteR having different Interests and different <br />ambit.lonK All of them had to be bl'ol1glJt nucleI' oue control, <br />and how could It be tlone III slIch a WilY that they would all <br />unite? <br />Tb~y dcvlsed thc SCllRte. 'I'Ids was the crucial point. How <br />could the little States have tl1elr voIce in this Government of <br />ours? Who devised it I do not know. Many Dleu have hud the <br />honor claimed tor them, but whoever dId It did tho wisest thing' <br />tbat ever was dOlle. Tbe Senate, representing the soycretgnty <br />of the S~ntes, reIH'eselltlng--ii.lBouie. 'clegl'ee' 'also fi~- it nlUst the <br />wishes of tho pcople buck of the Stute, is the only body of the <br />Idlld that ever exiHted III tl1e world. The SCllate of Rome llnd <br />of olher count.rles thllt have hud S(lI1utes was entirely different <br />from oUl's--difI'ercllt ill the character of the electil)llS, dilfcrent <br />In tile chlunctel' of the service, different in the chnrncter ot Hs <br />power. Will nllY mUll to-dny ally that he can create a better <br />:::ystelIl? He woulcl be exceedingly brave who would set out to <br />do it. ]Gven now, with tile ambition of 8tnte::: for p.xtrn po.....er, <br />how lOllg would n coufcnmce Ja8t between New York, Delaware. <br />Hod Uhodc Island, (ll" C\"OI1, perl1lJ.ps, Col(ll'Udo? But to-day <br />the 811ml1cst Stale here has the same power as tbe larg€F:t, and <br />sometimes cven more power, but it is rightfully exerc(sed, not <br />been l1~l' 1IH' (1on~titl1l.ion gIves It more power, but because its <br />144.0G-7816 <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />) <br />