In addition to the dangers to the
Constitution springing from the sources I have stated, there has been
one which was perhaps greater than all. I allude to the materials which
this subject has afforded for sinister appeals to selfish feelings, and
the opinion heretofore so extensively entertained of its adaptation to
the purposes of personal ambition. With such stimulants it is not
surprising that the acts and pretensions of the Federal Government in
this behalf should sometimes have been carried to an alarming extent.
The questions which have arisen upon this subject have related--
First. To the power of making internal improvements within the limits of
a State, with the right of territorial jurisdiction, sufficient at least
for their preservation and use.
Second. To the right of appropriating money in aid of such works when
carried on by a State or by a company in virtue of State authority,
surrendering the claim of jurisdiction; and
Third. To the propriety of appropriation for improvements of a
particular class, viz, for light-houses, beacons, buoys, public piers,
and for the removal of sand bars, sawyers, and other temporary and
partial impediments in our navigable rivers and harbors.
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