Page:Works of John C. Calhoun, v1.djvu/159



But the article in its precaution, goes further — and takes care to guard against the term, "granted," used in the first article and first section of the constitution, which provides that, "all legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States" — as well as against other terms of like import used in other parts of the instrument. It guarded against it, indirectly, by substituting, "delegated," in the place of "granted" — and instead of declaring that the powers not "granted," are reserved, it declares that the powers not "delegated," are reserved. Both terms — "granted," used in the constitution as it came from its framers, and "delegated," used in the amendments — evidently refer to the same class of powers; and no reason can be assigned, why the amendment substituted "delegated," in the place of "granted," but to free it from its ambiguity, and to provide against misconstruction.

It is only by considering the granted powers, in their true character of trust or delegated powers, that all the various parts of our complicated system of government can be harmonized and explained. Thus regarded, it will be easy to perceive how the people of the several States could grant certain powers to a joint — or, as its framers called it — a general government, in trust, to be exercised for their common benefit, without an absolute surrender of them — or without impairing their independence and sovereignty. Regarding them in the opposite light, as powers absolutely surrendered and irrevocably transferred, inexplicable difficulties present themselves.