I insisted that in giving to the President
and Senate a power to make treaties, the constitution meant only to
authorize them to carry into effect, by way of treaty, any powers they
might constitutionally exercise. I was sensible of the weak points in
this position, but there were still weaker in the other hypothesis; and
if it be impossible to discover a rational measure of authority to have
been given by this clause, I would rather suppose that the cases
which my hypothesis would leave unprovided, were not thought of by the
convention, or if thought of, could not be agreed on, or were thought
of and deemed unnecessary to be invested in the government. Of this
last description, were treaties of neutrality, treaties offensive and
defensive, &c. In every event, I would rather construe so narrowly as
to oblige the nation to amend, and thus declare what powers they would
agree to yield, than too broadly, and, indeed, so broadly as to enable
the executive and Senate to do things which the constitution forbids.
On the question, which form of explaining the principles of the
proclamation should be adopted, I declared for Randolph's, though it
gave to that instrument more objects than I had contemplated. Knox
declared for Hamilton's. The President said he had had but one
object, the keeping our people quiet till Congress should meet; that
nevertheless, to declare he did not mean a declaration of neutrality,
in the technical sense of the phrase, might perhaps be crying _peccavi_
before he was charged.
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