Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 19.pdf/164

 JAMES WILSON — NATION BUILDER with the proviso that a two-thirds vote in the Congress might pass an act over the veto of either the President or Court, and a three-fourths vote where both were opposed. It was his preference that the President should be elected by the direct vote of the people. He advocated a provision for the impeachment of the President, but opposed his removal by Congress on application of the states, for it was a fixed principle with him that the national government derived its powers and authority solely from the people of the nation, and not from the states, — these he considered to be merely the artificial creations of the people for the purposes of government, — the units into which the nation must necessarily be divided for purposes of internal police and local self-government : "The judiciary ought to have an oppor tunity of remonstrating against projected encroachments on the people, as well as on themselves. It has been said that the judges, as expositors of the law, would have an opportunity of defending their constitu tional rights. There was weight in this observation; but this power of the judges did not go far enough; laws may be unjust, may be unwise, may be dangerous, may be destructive and yet may not be so uncon stitutional as to justify judges in refusing to give them effect. Let them have a share in the revisionary power and they will have an opportunity of taking notice of those characters of a law and of counteracting by the weight of their opinions the improper views of the legislature." He thought the power of the President to pardon should exist before conviction. He urged the election of senators directly by the people, and proposed to divide the Union into senatorial districts; he advocated six years as the senatorial term; opposed the equal vote of the states in the Senate, and thought the number of senators should be in ratio to the population; he objected to state executives filling vacancies in the Senate, and disapproved of the Senate being united with the President in the power of appointment, as well as to its being sepa rately convened. He urged the election of

representatives by the people, and advocated proportionate representation of the states in Congress; he pointed out that voting by states was submitted to originally by the Continental Congress " under a conviction of its impropriety, inequality, and injustice." He advocated the same proporton of representation in both houses, and thought annual elections of representatives desirable. He opposed payment of senators and representatives by the states, declaring that "the members of the national government should be left as independent as possible of the state governments in all respects.,r He was against the constitution fixing the amount of compensation, asserting that "circumstances would change and call for a change of amount." He suggested the number of freemen and three-fifths of the slaves as the ratio of representation, but considered the admission of slaves into the ratio a matter of compromise. According to Madison he argued thus, as to slaves: "Are they admitted as citizens — then why are they not admitted on an equality with white citizens; are they admitted as property — then why is not other property admitted into the computation? These were difficulties, however, which he thought must be over-ruled by the necessity of compromise." And in the Pennsylvania Ratifying Con vention he argued: "After the year 1808, the Congress will have power to prohibit such importation [i.e. of slaves] notwithstanding the dis position of any State to the contrary. I consider this as laying a foundation for banishing slavery out of this Country; and though the period is more distant than I could wish, ... it is with much satis faction I view this power in the general Government, whereby they may lay an interdiction on this reproachable trade. ... It was all that could be obtained. I am sorry it was no more; but from this I think there is reason to hope that yet a few years, and it will be prohibited alto gether." He was of opinion that a quorum in Congress should not be less than a majority