Thursday, January 21, 2016

Mr. George Nicholas,"but they cannot define or prescribe the punishment of any other crime whatever, without violating the Constitution."

   "Treason against the United States is defined in the Constitution, and the forfeiture limited to the life of the person attainted. Congress have power to define, and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the laws of nations; but they cannot define or prescribe the punishment of any other crime whatever, without violating the Constitution. . . . A bill of rights is only an acknowledgment of the preexisting claim to rights in the people. They belong to us as much as if they had been inserted in the Constitution. . . . They cannot legislate in any case but those particularly enumerated."--Mr. George Nicholas, June 14, 1788, The Debates In The Convention Of The State Of Virginia, On The Adoption Of The Federal Constitution. [Elliot's Debates, Vol. III, Pg. 451]

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