Luther v. Borden, 48 U.S. 1 (1849)
Luther v. Borden*
48 U.S. 1
Syllabus
At the period of the American Revolution, Rhode Island did not, like the other States, adopt a new constitution, but continued the form of government established by the Charter of Charles the Second, making only such alterations, by acts of the Legislature, as were necessary to adapt it to their condition and rights as an independent State.
But no mode of proceeding was pointed out by which amendments might be made.
In 1841, a portion of the people held meetings and formed associations which resulted in the election of a convention to form a new constitution to be submitted to the people for their adoption or rejection.
This convention framed a constitution, directed a vote to be taken upon it, declared afterwards that it had been adopted and ratified by a majority of the people of the State, and was the paramount law and constitution of Rhode Island.
Under it, elections were held for Governor, members of the Legislature, and other officers, who assembled together in May, 1842, and proceeded to organize the new government.
But the charter government did not acquiesce in these proceedings. On the contrary, it passed stringent laws, and finally passed an act declaring the State under martial law.
In May, 1843, a new constitution, which had been framed by a convention called together by the charter government, went into operation, and has continued ever since.
The question which of the two opposing governments was the legitimate one, viz., the charter government or the government established by the voluntary convention, has not heretofore been regarded as a judicial one in any of the State courts. The political department has always determined whether a proposed constitution or amendment was ratified or not by the people of the State, and the judicial power has followed its decision.
The courts of Rhode Island have decided in favor of the validity of the charter government, and the courts of the United States adopt and follow the decisions of the State courts in questions which concern merely the constitution and laws of the state.
The question whether or not a majority of those persons entitled to suffrage voted to adopt a constitution cannot be settled in a judicial proceeding.
The Constitution of the United States has treated the subject as political in its nature, and placed the power of recognizing a State government in the hands of Congress. Under the existing legislation of Congress, the exercise of this power by courts would be entirely inconsistent with that legislation.
The President of the United States is vested with certain power by an act of Congress, and in this case, he exercised that power by recognizing the charter government.
Although no State could establish a permanent military government, yet it may use its military power to put down an armed insurrection too strong to be controlled by the civil authority. The State must determine for itself what degree of force the crisis demands.
After martial law was declared, an officer might lawfully arrest any one who he had reasonable grounds to believe was engaged in the insurrection, or order a house to be forcibly entered. But no more force can be used than is necessary to accomplish the object, and if the power is exercised for the purposes of oppression, or any injury willfully done to person or property, the party by whom, or by whose order, it is committed would undoubtedly be answerable.
These two cases came up from the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Rhode Island, the former by a writ of error and the latter by a certificate of division in opinion. As the allegations, evidence, and arguments were the same in both, it is necessary to state those only of the first. They were argued at the preceding term of the court, and held under advisement until the present.
Martin Luther, a citizen of the State of Massachusetts, brought an action of trespass quare clausum fregit against the defendants, citizens of the State of Rhode Island, for breaking and entering the house of Luther, on the 29th of June, 1842. The action was brought in October, 1842.
At November term, 1842, the defendants filed four pleas in justification, averring, in substance:
An insurrection of men in arms to overthrow the government of the State by military force
That, in defence of the government, martial law was declared by the General Assembly of the State.
That the plaintiff was aiding and abetting said insurrection. That at the time the trespasses were committed, the State was under martial law, and the defendants were enrolled in the fourth company of infantry in the town of Warren, under the command of J. T. Child.
That the defendants were ordered to arrest the plaintiff, and, if necessary, to break and enter his dwelling-house.
That it was necessary, and they did, break and enter, &c., doing as little injury as possible, &c., and searched said house, &c.
To these pleas there was a general replication and issue.
The cause came on for trial at November term, 1843, when the jury, under the rulings of the court, found a verdict for the defendants. During the trial, the counsel for the plaintiff took a bill of exceptions, which was as follows:
RHODE ISLAND DISTRICT, sc.:
MARTIN LUTHER
v.
LUTHER M. BORDEN ET ALS.
Circuit Court of the United States, November Term, 1843
Be it remembered, that, upon the trial of the aforesaid issue before said jury, duly impanelled to try the same,
The defendants offered in evidence, in support of their first, second, and third pleas:
1st. The charter of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and the acceptance of the same at a very great meeting and assembly of all the freemen of the then Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, legally called and held at Newport, in the said Colony, on the 24th day of November, A.D. 1663.
That on the 25th day of November, A.D. 1663, the former lawful colonial government of the said Colony dissolved itself, and the said charter became and was henceforth the fundamental law or rule of government for said Colony. That, under and by virtue of said charter, and the acceptance thereof as aforesaid, the government of said Colony was duly organized, and by due elections was continued, and exercised all the powers of government granted by it, and was recognized by the inhabitants of said Colony, and by the king of Great Britain and his successors, as the true and lawful government of said Colony, until the 4th day of July, A.D. 1776.
That the General Assembly of said Colony, from time to time, elected and appointed delegates to the General Congress of the delegates of the several Colonies of North America, held in the years 1774, 1775, and 1776, and to the Congress of the United States of America, in the years 1776 and 1778. And that said delegates of said Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations were received by, and acted with, the delegates from the other Colonies and States of America, in Congress assembled, as the delegates representing the said Colony and State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; and that on the 4th day of July, A.D. 1776, said delegates of the said Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations united with the delegates of the other Colonies as representatives of the United States of America, and as such assented to and signed in behalf of said Colony the Declaration of the Independence of the United States of America.
That afterward, to-wit, at the July session of the General Assembly of said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, said General Assembly, by resolution thereof, did approve the said Declaration of Independence made by the Congress aforesaid, and did most solemnly engage that they would support the said General Congress in the said Declaration with their lives and fortunes.
That afterwards, to-wit, on the 9th day of July, 1778, the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, by her delegates duly authorized thereunto, became a party to the articles of confederation and perpetual union between the States of New Hampshire. Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and ratified and confirmed the same, and, as one of the United States of America under said articles of confederation and perpetual union, was received, recognized, and acted with and by the other States of the said confederation, and by the United States of America in Congress assembled, during the continuation of said confederacy.
That after the dissolution of said confederacy, to wit, on the 29th day of May, A.D. 1790, said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in convention duly called, elected, and assembled under an act of the General Assembly of said State, ratified the Constitution of the United States, and under the same became, and ever since has been, one of the said United States, and as such, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, hath ever elected and sent, and doth now send, Senators and Representatives to the Congress of the United States, who have been since, and now are, received and recognized as such by the said United States, and in all respects have ever been received and recognized by the several States, and by the United States, as one of the said United States, under the said Constitution thereof.
That from the said 4th of July, A.D. 1776, to the present time, the said charter and the said government of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, organized under the same, hath ever been acted under and recognized by the people of said State, and hath been recognized by each of the said United States, and hath been recognized and guaranteed by the said United States as the true, lawful, and republican constitution and form of government of said State; and that the said charter continued to regulate the exercise and distribution of the powers of said government of said State, and except so far as it hath been modified by the Revolution and the new order of things consequence thereon, continued to be the fundamental law of said State, until the adoption of the present constitution of said State, and the organization of the government under the same.
That all the officers of the said government of said Colony and State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, organized under said charter as aforesaid, were elected in conformity with said charter and with the existing laws, from the first organization of the government under the said charter until the organization of the government under the present constitution of said State, and were and continued to be in the full exercise of all the powers of said government, and in the full possession of all the State-houses, court-houses, public records, prisons, jails, and all other public property, until the regular and legal dissolution of said government by the adoption of the present constitution, and the organization of the present government under the same.
2d. That the General Assembly of said State, at their January session, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, passed resolutions in the words following, to-wit:
Resolved by this General Assembly (the Senate concurring with the House of Representatives therein), That the freemen of the several towns in this State, and of the city of Providence, qualified to vote for general officers be, and they are hereby, requested to choose, at their semiannual town or ward meetings, in August next, so many delegates, and of the like qualifications, as they are now respectively entitled to choose representatives to the General Assembly, to attend a convention, to be holden at Providence, on the first Monday of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, to frame a new constitution for this State, either in whole or in part, with full powers for this purpose, and if only for a constitution in part, that said convention have under their especial consideration the expediency of equalizing the representation of the towns in the House of Representatives.
Resolved, That a majority of the whole number of delegates which all the towns are entitled to choose shall constitute a quorum; who may elect a president and secretary; judge of the qualifications of the members, and establish such rules and proceedings as they may think necessary; and any town or city which may omit to elect its delegates at the said meetings in August may elect them at any time previous to the meeting of said convention.
Resolved, That the constitution or amendments agreed upon by said convention shall be submitted to the freemen in open town or ward meetings, to be holden at such time as may be named by said convention. That said constitution or amendments shall be certified by the president and secretary, and returned to the Secretary of State, who shall forthwith distribute to the several town and city clerks, in due proportion, one thousand printed copies thereof, and also fifteen thousand ballots, on one side of which shall be printed "(
Amendments or Constitution) adopted by the convention holden at Providence, on the first Monday of November last"; and on the other side, the word
approve on the one half of the said ballots, and the word
reject on the other half.
Resolved, That at the town or ward meetings, to be holden as aforesaid, every freeman voting shall have his name written on the back of his ballot; and the ballots shall be sealed up in open town or ward meeting by the clerks, and, with lists of the names of the voters, shall be returned to the General Assembly at its next succeeding session; and the said General Assembly shall cause said ballots to be examined and counted, and said amendments or constitution being approved of by a majority of the freemen voting, shall go into operation and effect at such time as may be appointed by said convention.
Resolved, That a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars be appropriated for defraying the expenses of said convention, to be paid according to the order of said convention, certified by its president.
That at their May session, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, the said General Assembly passed resolutions in the words following, to-wit:
Resolved by this General Assembly (the Senate concurring with the House of Representatives therein) That the delegates from the several towns to the State convention to be holden in November next, for the purpose of framing a State constitution, be elected on the basis of population, in the following manner, to-wit: Every town of not more than eight hundred and fifty inhabitants may elect one delegate; of more than eight hundred and fifty, and not more than three thousand inhabitants, two delegates; of more than three thousand, and not more than six thousand inhabitants, three delegates; of more than six thousand, and not more than ten thousand inhabitants, four delegates; of more than ten thousand, and not more than fifteen thousand inhabitants, five delegates; of more than fifteen thousand inhabitants, six delegates.
Resolved, That the delegates attending said convention be entitled to receive from the general treasury the same pay as members of the General Assembly.
Resolved, That so much of the resolutions to which these are in amendment as is inconsistent herewith be repealed.
And that at their January session, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, the said General Assembly passed resolutions in the words following, to-wit:
Whereas a portion of the people of this State, without the forms of law, have undertaken to form and establish a constitution of government for the people of this State, and have declared such constitution to be the supreme law, and have communicated such condition to the General Assembly; and whereas many of the good people of this State are in danger of being misled by these informal proceedings, therefore,
It is hereby resolved by this General Assembly That all acts done by the persons aforesaid, for the purpose of imposing upon this State a constitution, are an assumption of the powers of government in violation of the rights of the existing government, and of the rights of the people at large.
Resolved, That the convention called and organized in pursuance of an act of this General Assembly, for the purpose of forming a constitution to be submitted to the people of this State, is the only body which we can recognize as authorized to form such a constitution, and to this constitution the whole people have a right to look, and we are assured they will not look in vain, for such a form of government as will promote their peace, security, and happiness.
Resolved, That this General Assembly will maintain its own proper authority, and protect and defend the legal and constitutional rights of the people.
And that, at their January session, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, the said General Assembly passed an act in the words following, to-wit:
An act in amendment of an act, entitled an act revising the act entitled an act regulating the manner of admitting freemen, and directing the manner of electing officers in this State.
Whereas the good people of this State have elected delegates to a convention to form a constitution, which constitution, if ratified by the people, will become the supreme law of the State; therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: all persons now qualified to vote, and those who may be qualified to vote under the existing laws previous to the time of such their voting, and all persons who shall be qualified to vote under the provisions of such constitution, shall be qualified to vote upon the question of the adoption of the said constitution.
That under and by virtue of the resolutions and acts last aforesaid, a written constitution of government for the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was framed by a convention legally called, elected, and assembled, and that said proposed constitution was, in pursuance of the said resolutions and acts, on the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of March, A.D. 1842, submitted for adoption or rejection to all persons qualified by the existing laws of said State to vote, and also to all persons who, under the provisions of said constitution, were qualified to vote, in the legal town and ward meetings of said State and of the city of Providence, legally called and assembled, and was by a majority of the persons so qualified by law to vote thereon, and actually voting thereon, rejected. That the said Martin Luther and his confederates, in causing and fomenting the said rebellion, voted against the adoption of said constitution, a copy of which is hereunto annexed, marked A.
3d. The defendants further offered all the acts, resolutions, and proceedings of the said General Assembly of the said Colony and State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, from the organization of the said government under the said charter, until the organization of the present government under the present constitution.
4th. The defendants offered evidence that, on the 24th day of June, A.D. 1842, and for a long time before, and from that time continually, until after the time when the said trespasses are alleged in the plaintiff’s said declaration to have been committed, large numbers of men, among whom was the said Martin Luther, were assembled in arms in different parts of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations for the purpose and with the intent of overthrowing the government of said State and destroying the same by military force, and with such illegal, malicious, and traitorous intent and purpose at and during the times aforesaid did, in different parts of said State, make and levy war upon said State, and upon the government and citizens thereof, and did attempt and enterprize the hurt, detriment, annoyance, and destruction of the inhabitants of said State, and the overthrow of the government thereof.
5th. That, in order to protect and preserve said State and the government and the citizens thereof from the destruction threatened by said rebellion and military force, the General Assembly of said State, on the 25th day of June, A.D. 1842, enacted and declared martial law in the words following:
An Act establishing Martial Law in this State.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law, and the same is declared to be in full force, until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his Excellency the Governor of the State.
And thereupon, on the 26th day of June, A.D. 1842, Samuel Ward King, governor, captain-general, and commander-in-chief in and over said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, issued his proclamation in the words and figures following:
By his Excellency, Samuel Ward King, Governor, Captain-General, and Commander-in-chief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
A Proclamation
Whereas the General Assembly of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations did, on the 25th day of June, A.D. 1842, pass the act following, to-wit:
"An Act establishing Martial Law in this State.
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under marital law, and the same is declared to be in full force until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his Excellency the Governor of the State.
"I do, therefore, issue this my proclamation, to make known the same unto the good people of this State, and all others, that they may govern themselves accordingly. And I do warn all persons against any intercourse or connection with the traitor Thomas Wilson Dorr, or his deluded adherents, how assembled in arms against the laws and authorities of this State, and admonish and command the said Thomas Wilson Dorr and his adherents immediately to throw down their arms and disperse, that peace and order may be restored to our suffering community, and as they will answer the contrary at their peril. Further, I exhort the good people of this State to aid and support by example, and by arms, the civil and military authorities thereof, in pursuing and bringing to condign punishment all engaged in said unholy and criminal enterprise against the peace and dignity of the State.
"In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of said State to be affixed to these presents, and have signed the said with my hand. Given at the city of Providence, on the 26th day of June, A.D. 1842, and of the Independence of the United States of America the sixty-sixth.
"SAMUEL WARD KING
"[L.S.]
"By his Excellency’s command.
"HENRY BOWEN,
Secretary."
6th. That at the time when the trespasses mentioned and set forth in the plaintiff’s said declaration are alleged to have been committed, and at divers other times before that time, the plaintiff was aiding and abetting the aforesaid traitorous, malicious, and unlawful purposes and designs of overthrowing the government of said State by rebellion and military force, and in making war upon said State, and upon the government and citizens thereof.
7th. That, at the time when the pretended trespasses mentioned in the plaintiff’s declaration are alleged to have been committed, the said State was under martial law as aforesaid, and the said defendants were enrolled in the company of infantry in the said town of Warren, in the fourth regiment of the militia of said State, and were under the command of John T. Child.
8th. That said John T. Child, on the 25th day of June, A.D. 1842, was duly commissioned and sworn as a quartermaster of the fourth regiment of the first brigade of militia of Rhode Island, and continued to exercise such command until after the time when the trespasses mentioned in the plaintiff’s declaration are alleged to have been committed; that, on the 27th day of June, A.D. 1842, the said John T. Child received written orders from Thomas G. Turner, Esq., lieutenant-colonel commanding said regiment, and duly commissioned and sworn,
to continue to keep a strong armed guard, night and day, in the said Warren, and to arrest every person, either citizens of Warren or otherwise, whose movements were in the least degree suspicious, or who expressed the least willingness to assist the insurgents who were in arms against the law and authorities of the State.
9th. That these defendants were ordered, by the said John T. Child, their commander as aforesaid, to arrest and take the said Martin Luther, and, if necessary for the purpose of arresting and taking the said Luther, these defendants were ordered to break and enter the dwelling-house of said Luther.
10th. That these defendants, in compliance with said orders, and for the purpose of arresting and taking said Luther, proceeded to his house and knocked at the door, and, not being able to obtain admission therein, forced the latch of the door of said house, and entered the same for the purpose of making said arrest, doing as little damage as possible.
11th. That, at the time these defendants were ordered to arrest the said Martin Luther, as before stated, the town of Warren was in danger of an attack from the said Martin Luther and his confederates, and the inhabitants of said town were in great alarm on account thereof.
And the counsel for the plaintiff, to maintain and prove the issue on his part, offered in evidence the following matters, facts, and things, in manner following, to-wit:
1st. The plaintiff offered in evidence the proceedings and resolutions of a convention of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, passed 29th May, 1790, a copy whereof is hereunto annexed, marked A.
2d. The plaintiff offered in evidence the report of a committee of the House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island, &c., made in June, 1829, upon certain memorials to them directed therein, praying for an extension of the right of suffrage in said State, a copy of which is hereunto annexed, marked B.
3d. The plaintiff offered in evidence resolutions passed by the General Assembly of said State, at their session, January, 1841, a copy of which is hereunto annexed, Marked C.
4th. The plaintiff then offered in evidence the memorial addressed to said Assembly, at said session, by Elisha Dillingham and others, a copy of which is hereunto annexed, marked D.
5th. The plaintiff offered evidence to prove that, in the last part of the year 1840, and in the year 1841, associations were formed in many, if not in all, the towns in the State, called "Suffrage Associations," the object of which was to diffuse information among the people upon the question of forming a written republican constitution, and of extending the right of suffrage. To prove this, he offered the officers and members of said associations, also the declaration of principles of said associations, passed February 7, 1841, and the proceedings of a meeting thereof on the 13th day of April, 1841; and also offered witnesses to prove that a portion of the people of this State assembled at Providence, on the 17th day of April, 1841, under a call from the Rhode Island Suffrage Association, to take into consideration certain matters connected with the existing state of suffrage in said State, and to prove the proceedings of said meeting; and this he offered to prove by the testimony of the chairman of said meeting, and the clerk of the same, and of other persons present thereat, all of which proceedings and declaration, resolutions, &c., are hereunto annexed, marked E.
6th. The plaintiff offered to prove that, on the 5th day of May, A.D. 1841, a mass convention of the male inhabitants of this State, consisting of four thousand and upwards, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, met at Newport, in said State, in pursuance of notice for that purpose, whereat, among other things, it was resolved by said convention as follows: (See copy of said resolutions hereunto annexed, marked F.)
7th. The plaintiff offered to prove that the said mass convention at Newport aforesaid adjourned their meeting from said 5th day of May to the 5th day of July, 1841, to Providence, in said State, at which place and time last mentioned said convention reassembled, consisting of six thousand persons and upwards, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, the same being the free male inhabitants of said State, when and where, among other things, it was resolved by said convention as follows: (See copy of said resolutions hereunto annexed, and marked G.)
8th. The plaintiff offered in evidence certain resolutions of the General Assembly of said State, passed at their May session, 1841; also a certain bill (or act) presented by a member of said Assembly, at the same session, and the proceedings of said Assembly thereupon, copies of which are hereunto annexed, marked H a, H b.
9th. The plaintiff offered in evidence the minority report from the Committee on the Judiciary upon the bill or act mentioned in the eighth offer, made to said General Assembly at their June session, A.D. 1841, and the action of said General Assembly thereupon, copies of which are hereunto annexed, marked I a, I b.
10th. The plaintiff offered to prove that the said State committee, by virtue of the authority in them vested by the said mass convention, notified the inhabitants of the several towns, and of the city of Providence, in this State, to assemble together and appoint delegates to a convention, for the purpose of framing a constitution for this State aforesaid, and that every American male citizen, twenty-one years of age and upwards, who had resided in this State as his home one year preceding the election of delegates, should have the right to vote for delegates to said convention, to draft a constitution to be laid before the people of said State; and that every thousand inhabitants in the towns in said State should be entitled to one delegate, and each ward in the city of Providence to three delegates, as appears by the following request duly published and proclaimed; also an address from said committee to the people of the State. See the copies of said request and address, hereunto annexed, and marked J a, J b.
11th. The plaintiff offered to prove that the said notice, request, or call was duly published and promulgated in public newspapers printed and published in said State, and by handbills which were struck up in the public houses, and at various other places of public resort, in all the towns, and in every ward in the city of Providence, in said State.
12th. The plaintiff offered to prove, that, at the adjourned mass convention aforementioned as held at Providence, in said State, on the 5th day of July, A.D. 1841, the people of the State then present did by vote duly taken enlarge said State committee by the addition of the following-named persons, all citizens of this State, to-wit:
Providence County, Henry L. Webster, Philip B. Stiness, Metcalf Marsh.
Newport County, Silas Sissons.
Bristol County, Abijah Luce.
Kent County, John B. Sheldon.
Washington County, Wager Weeden, Charles Allen.
13th. The plaintiff offered to prove that, at the meeting of the said State committee, on the 20th day of July, 1841, at Providence aforesaid, when the said notice, request, or call was ordered, the following members of said committee were present, and approved of the aforesaid call, and of all the proceedings then had, to-wit: Samuel H. Wales, Henry L. Webster, Benjamin Arnold, Jr., Welcome B. Sayles, Metcalf Marsh, Philip B. Stiness, Dutee J. Pearce, Silas Sissons, Benjamin M. Bosworth, Abijah Luce, Sylvester Himes.
14th. The plaintiff then offered to prove that, in the month of August, 1841, citizens of this State, qualified as aforesaid, did meet in their several towns, and in the several wards in the said city of Providence, and made choice of delegates, in conformity with said notice, to meet in convention to form a draft of a constitution to be laid before the people of this State, and he offered the chairman presiding at said meetings, and the persons acting as clerks of the same, the votes or ballots then and there cast by the persons voting thereon, and of the persons then and there voting, to prove the aforesaid facts, and to prove the number of citizens so voting.
15th. The plaintiff offered to prove that the said delegates did meet in convention in said city of Providence in the month of October, 1841, and drafted a constitution, and submitted it to the people of said State for their examination, and then adjourned, to meet in said city of Providence in the month of November, A.D. 1841, and he offered to prove this by the production of the original minutes, or records, of the proceedings of said convention, verified by the oaths of the presidents and secretaries thereof, and of divers persons attending the same, as members thereof, or delegates thereto.
16th. The plaintiff offered to prove that, in pursuance of said adjournment, the said delegates did again meet in convention, in said Providence, in said month of November, and then completed the draft of the following constitution (a copy of which is hereunto annexed marked K), and submitted the same to the people of said State for their adoption or rejection, recommending them to express their will on the subject at meetings to be duly presided over by moderators and clerks and by writing their names and their tickets, and to be holden in their several towns, and in the several wards of the city of Providence, on Monday, the 27th day of December, and on the two next successive days, and that any person entitled to vote, who, from sickness or other cause, might be unable to attend and vote in the town or ward meeting on the days aforesaid might write his name on a ticket and obtain the signature upon the back of the same, as a witness thereto, of a person who had given in his vote, which tickets were in the following form, to-wit:
I am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, and have my permanent residence, or home, in this State; I am (or not) qualified to vote under the existing laws of this State. I vote (for or against) the constitution formed by the convention of the people assembled in Providence, and which was proposed to the people by said convention on the 18th day of November, A.D. 1841;
which votes the moderator or clerk of any town or ward meetings should receive on either of the three days succeeding the three days before named, and which he offered to prove by the production of said original minutes and records as aforesaid, verified as aforesaid, and by the testimony of said persons aforesaid, and by the 14th article of said constitution.
17th. The plaintiff offered to prove that meetings were held in the several towns and wards of the city of Providence aforesaid, and on the days aforesaid for the purposes aforesaid, in pursuance of the requirements of said constitution, and the said moderators and clerks did receive, on said three successive days, such votes of persons qualified as aforesaid, and then carefully kept and made registers of all the persons voting, which, together with the tickets given in by the voters, were sealed up and returned by said moderators and clerks, with certificates signed and sealed by them, to the secretary of said convention, to be counted and declared at their adjourned meeting, on the 12th day of January, A.D. 1842, all of which he offered to prove by the testimony of the several moderators presiding at said meeting, and of the clerks of the same, and of the secretaries of said convention, and by the production of the original votes or ballots cast or polled by the persons then and there voting, the original registers of all said persons so voting, and the said certificates, signed and sealed as aforesaid, verified by the oaths of said moderators and clerks.
18th. The plaintiff offered to prove that the said convention of delegates did meet in said Providence, on the said 12th day of January, 1842, and did then and there count the said votes, and the said convention thereafterwards, on the said 13th day of said January, did pass the preamble and resolutions following, to-wit:
Whereas, by the return of the votes upon the constitution proposed to the citizens of this State by this convention, the 18th day of November last, it satisfactorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original sovereign capacity, have ratified and adopted said constitution by a large majority; and the will of the people, thus decisively made known, ought to be implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed.
We do therefore resolve and declare that said constitution rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
And we further resolve and declare, for ourselves and in behalf of the people whom we represent, that we will establish said constitution and sustain and defend the same by all necessary means.
Resolved, That the officers of this convention make proclamation of the return of the votes upon the constitution, and that the same has been adopted and become the constitution of this State, and that they cause said proclamation to be published in the newspapers of the same.
Resolved, That a certified copy of the report of the committee appointed to count the votes upon the constitution, and of these resolutions, and of the constitution, be sent to his Excellency the Governor, with a request that he would communicate the same to the two houses of the General Assembly.
A copy of which resolutions and proceedings is annexed, marked L c.
And he further offered to prove that the same was sent to said Governor, and by him communicated to the said General Assembly, and by them laid on the table, and that, by a subsequent resolution of the House of Representatives in said General Assembly, the further consideration thereof was indefinitely postponed. All these matters he offered to prove by the production of the original minutes or records of the convention aforesaid, verified by the oaths of the president, vice-presidents, and secretaries thereof, by the report of the committee appointed by said convention to count said votes, verified by the certificate of the secretaries of said convention, and by the oaths of the members of said committee, and by the certificate of Henry Bowen, Secretary of State under the then acting government, and of Thomas A. Jenks, one of the clerks of the then House of Representatives. And he further offered to prove, that, at the same session of said Assembly, a member of the House of Representatives submitted to that body, for their action, a resolution referring all the matters connected with the formation and adoption of the aforesaid constitution to a select committee, with instructions to them to ascertain and report the number of votes cast, and the number of persons voting for the same, with full power to send for persons and papers; which resolution was rejected by said House of Representatives, as appears by copies of the records of the said House for said session, hereunto annexed, and marked L a, and the exhibit hereunto annexed, marked L b, and the testimony of witnesses.
19th. The plaintiff then offered to prove that the officers of said convention did make the proclamation required by the said resolution of the said convention, and he offered to prove this by a copy of said proclamation, certified by said officers, the oaths of said officers, and the testimony of other witnesses. See form of proclamation annexed, marked X.
20th. The plaintiff then offered to prove that the said constitution was adopted by a large majority of the male people of this State, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who were qualified to vote under said constitution, and also adopted by a majority of the persons entitled to vote for general officers under the then existing laws of the said State, and according to the provisions thereof, and that so much of the same as relates to the election of the officers named in the sixth section of the fourteenth article of said constitution, on the Monday before the 3d Wednesday of April, A.D. 1842, to-wit, on the 18th day of said April, and all the other parts thereof on the first Tuesday of May, 1842, to-wit, on the 3d day of said May, and then and there became, and was, the rightful and legal constitution of said State, and paramount law of said State; and this he offered to prove by the production of the original votes or ballots cast or polled by the persons voting for or against the adoption of said constitution, by the production of the original registers of the persons so voting, verified by the oaths of the several moderators and clerks of the meetings held for such votings, by the testimony of all the persons so voting, and by the said constitution.
21st. The plaintiff produced a copy of said constitution, verified by the certificates of Joseph Joslin, president of said convention of delegates elected and assembled as aforesaid, and for the purposes aforesaid, and of Samuel H. Wales, one of the vice-presidents, and of John S. Harris and William Smith, secretaries of the same, and offered the said Joslin, Wales, Harris, and Smith as witnesses to prove the truth of the matters set forth in said certificates, which said copy, upon the proof aforesaid, he claimed to be a true and authenticated copy of said constitution, and which constitution he claimed to be the paramount law of the said State.
22d. The plaintiff offered to prove, that, by virtue of, and in conformity with, the provisions of said constitution, so adopted as aforesaid, the people of said State entitled to vote for general officers, Senators and Representatives, to the General Assembly of said State, under said constitution, did meet, in legal town and ward meetings, on the third Wednesday of April next preceding the first Tuesday of May, 1842, to-wit, on the 18th day of April, 1842, and did elect duly the officers required by said constitution for the formation of the government under said constitution, and that said meetings were conducted and directed according to the provisions of said constitution and the laws of said State, and this he offered to prove by the evidence of the moderators and clerks of said meetings, and the persons present at the same.
23d. The plaintiff offered in evidence that the said general officers, to-wit, the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Senators and Representatives, all constituting the General Assembly of said State under said constitution, did assemble in said city of Providence on the first Tuesday of May, A.D. 1842, to-wit, on the 3d day of May, 1842, and did then and there organize a government for the said State, in conformity with the provisions and requirements of said constitution, and did elect, appoint, and qualify officers to carry the said constitution and laws into effect, and, to prove the same, he offered exemplified copies of the acts and doings of said General Assembly, hereunto annexed, and marked N a, N b, N c.
24th. The plaintiff offered in evidence a duly certified copy of that part of the census of the United States for the year 1840, which applies to the District and State of Rhode Island, &c., hereunto annexed, and marked O.
25th. The plaintiff offered in evidence a certificate signed by Henry Bowen, Secretary of State of the then existing government of the State of Rhode Island, &c., showing the number of votes polled by the freemen in said State for ten years then last past; a copy of which is hereunto annexed, marked P. Also, under the same certificate, an act marked Q, purporting to establish martial law.
26th. And the plaintiff offered in evidence an authenticated copy of an act of the General Assembly under the charter government, passed at their June session, A.D. 1842, entitled "An Act to provide for calling a Convention of the People," &c., and an act in amendment thereto; which said copy is hereunto annexed, marked Q a. And also a copy of _____ from the records of the House of Representatives (under said government), at their March session, A.D. 1842, hereunto annexed, marked R.
Whereupon, the counsel for the plaintiff requested the court to charge the jury, that, under the facts offered in evidence by the plaintiff, the constitution and frame of government prepared, adopted, and established in the manner and form set forth and shown thereby was, and became thereby, the supreme law of the State of Rhode Island, and was in full force and effect, as such, during the time set forth in the plaintiff’s writ and declaration, when the trespass alleged therein was committed by the defendants, as admitted in their pleas.
That a majority of the free white male citizens of Rhode Island, of twenty-one years and upwards, in the exercise of the sovereignty of the people, through the forms and in the manner set forth in said evidence, offered to be proved by the plaintiff, and in the absence, under the then existing frame of government of the said State of Rhode Island, of any provision therein for amending, altering, reforming, changing, or abolishing the said frame of government, had the right to reassume the powers of government, and establish a written constitution and frame of a republican form of government; and that having so exercised such right as aforesaid, the preexisting charter government, and the authority and the assumed laws under which the defendants in their plea claim to have acted, became null and void and of no effect, so far as they were repugnant to and conflicted with said constitution, and are no justification of the acts of the defendants in the premises.
And the court,
pro forma and upon the understandings of the parties to carry up the rulings and exceptions of the said court to the Supreme Court of the United States, refused to give the said instructions, or to admit in evidence the facts offered to be proved by the plaintiff, but did admit the testimony offered to be proved by the defendants, and did rule that the government and laws, under which they assume in their plea to have acted, were in full force and effect as the frame of government and laws of the State of Rhode Island, and did constitute a justification of the acts of the defendants, as set forth in their pleas.
To which refusals of the court so to instruct the jury as prayed for, as well as to the instructions so as aforesaid given by the court to the jury, the plaintiff, by his counsel, excepted, and prayed the exceptions to be allowed by the court. And after the said instructions were so refused, and so given as aforesaid, the jury withdrew, and afterwards returned their verdict for the defendants.
And inasmuch as the said several matters of law, and the said several matters of fact, so produced and given in evidence on the part of the said plaintiff and the said defendants, and by their counsel insisted on and objected to in manner as aforesaid, do not appear by the record and verdict aforesaid; the said counsel for the plaintiff did then and there propose the aforesaid exceptions to the said refusals and opinions of said court, and requested them to put the seal of said court to this bill of exceptions, containing the said several matters so produced and given in evidence for the party objecting as aforesaid.
And thereupon the judges of the aforesaid court, at the request of the counsel for the party objecting, did put their said seal to this bill of exceptions, the same being found to be true, pursuant to the law in such cases provided, at the term of said court and the trial aforesaid.
JOSEPH STORY [SEAL.]
The papers referred to in the above bill of exceptions, and made a part of it, were so voluminous that it is impossible to insert them. They constituted a volume of 150 pages.