Although
from the obviously local character of that work I might well have
contented myself with a refusal to approve the bill upon that ground,
yet sensible of the vital importance of the subject, and anxious that
my views and opinions in regard to the whole matter should be fully
understood by Congress and by my constituents, I felt it my duty to go
further. I therefore embraced that early occasion to apprise Congress
that in my opinion the Constitution did not confer upon it the power
to authorize the construction of ordinary roads and canals within the
limits of a State and to say, respectfully, that no bill admitting such
a power could receive my official sanction. I did so in the confident
expectation that the speedy settlement of the public mind upon the whole
subject would be greatly facilitated by the difference between the two
Houses and myself, and that the harmonious action of the several
departments of the Federal Government in regard to it would be
ultimately secured.
So far, at least, as it regards this branch of the subject, my best
hopes have been realized. Nearly four years have elapsed, and several
sessions of Congress have intervened, and no attempt within my
recollection has been made to induce Congress to exercise this power.
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