almost wholly upon the spirit of the tribunals, and upon their capacity to give effect to such a declaration of rights, against a course of State policy or the positive enactments of a State code. The chief difficulty of the condition of affairs existing before the Constitution lay not so much in the hazards of a violation of principle through local prejudice, or the superior force of local policy or legislation,— although these influences were always powerful, — as in the fact that, when these influences were likely to be most active, or were most feared, there was no tribunal to which resort could be had, and which was known to be beyond their operation and their reach. The articles of compact between the States had intended to remove from the citizens of the different States the disabilities of practical alienage under which they would have stood in the tribunals of each other. But with that mere declaration those articles stopped. If the litigant saw that the local law was likely to be administered to him as if he were a foreigner, or feared that the scales of justice would not be held with an impartial hand, he could go nowhere else for a decision. This was a great evil; for much of the value of every judicature depends upon the confidence it inspires.

There were still other and perhaps stronger reasons for creating an independent jurisdiction, to be resorted to by foreigners, in controversies with citizens of the States. No clause in the Constitution was to make them equal in rights with citizens, and for the very reason of their alienage, therefore, it was

necessary to give them access to tribunals organized under the authority of the general government, which would be responsible to foreign powers for the treatment that their subjects might receive in the United States. Ambassadors, too, and other foreign ministers, would not only be aliens, but would possess the character of representatives of their sovereigns; and consuls would be the public agents of their governments, although not bearing the diplomatic character. These functionaries were therefore permitted to resort to the judicial power of the United States; and for the purpose of more effectually protecting the national interests that might be involved in their personal or official relations, original jurisdiction was given to the Supreme Court in all cases affecting them.

In addition to these, there were other controversies, which, as we have seen, were included within the judicial power of the United States, on account of the character of the parties; namely, those to which the United States might be a party; those to which a State of the Union might be a party, where the opposite party was another State of the Union, or a citizen of another State of the Union, or a foreign state or its citizens or subjects; and those between citizens of a State of the Union, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. Finally, controversies between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States were placed under the same jurisdiction for similar reasons; because the State tribunals could not be expected to afford that degree of

impartiality which the circumstances of these several cases required.

There remains only one other branch of the jurisdiction conferred by the Constitution on the tribunals of the United States which it is necessary to notice; namely, the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. With respect to the criminal jurisdiction in admiralty, in cases of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and the prize jurisdiction, the Articles of Confederation had given to the Congress the exclusive power of appointing courts for the trial of the former, and for hearing and finally determining appeals in all cases of capture. Such appeals were taken from the State courts of admiralty, tribunals which also possessed and exercised a civil jurisdiction corresponding to that of the admiralty in England, but in practice somewhat more extensive. When the Constitution was framed, it was perceived to be expedient, on account of the relation of maritime commerce to the intercourse of the people of the United States with foreign nations, or to the intercourse of the people of different States with each other, to give the whole civil as well as criminal jurisdiction in admiralty, and the entire prize jurisdiction, original as well as appellate, to the government of the Union. This was effected by the comprehensive provision, which gives the judicial power cognizance of "all cases of admiralty and maritime 'jurisdiction"; expressions which have often been, and are still likely to be, the subject of much forensic controversy with respect to the particular trans

actions, of a civil nature, intended to be embraced in the jurisdiction, but in reference to which there is nothing in the known proceedings of the Convention, other than what is to be inferred from the language selected, that affords any special evidence of the intention of the framers of the Constitution.

CHAPTER XV.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF DETAIL, CONTINUED.

OF RECORDS.

- INTER-STATE PRIVILEGES. FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE AND FROM SERVICE.

We now come to a class of provisions designed to place the people of the separate States in more intimate relations with each other, by removing, in some degree, the consequences that would otherwise flow from their distinct and independent jurisdictions. This was to be done by causing the rights and benefits resulting from the laws of each State to be, for some purposes, respected in every other State. In other words, by the establishment and effect of certain exceptions, the general rule which absolves an independent government from any obligation to regard the law, the authority, or the policy of another government was, for some purposes, to be obviated between the States of the American Union.

To some extent, this had been attempted by the Articles of Confederation, by providing, — first, that the free inhabitants of each of the States (paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted) should be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and that the people of each State should have free ingress and