Another incident which, it seems to me, we may recall to-day with profit and satisfaction, grew out of the conduct of the President when the treaty of 1803 had been formulated and was returned to him for ratification and final completion. He was, as is well known, originally quite firm in his belief that the Constitution as it stood did not authorize such an extension of our limits by purchase as the treaty for the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory contemplated. Holding this opinion, and at the same time confronted with the clear conviction that the treaty, with all its stupendous advantages, could not be allowed to fail without positive peril, if not to our national life, at least to its most vital object and aspirations, his perplexity was increased by the receipt of an authoritative intimation that any delay in final action on the treaty might open the way to a recession on the part of France. In these circumstances, not daring to risk the delay of an amendment to the Constitution prior to such final action, he proposed reconciling consistency with duty by procuring confirmation of the treaty by the Senate and compassing its unquestionable validation by a subsequent constitutional amendment. In view of the conclusive statement, since that time of this constitutional question by every branch of the Government against Mr. Jefferson's original opinion and in favor of the nation's power to acquire territory, as was done under the treaty of 1803, and considering the fact that we have since that time immensely increased our area by the acquisition, not only of neighboring territory, but of distant islands of the sea, separated by thousands of miles from our home domain, we may be inclined to think lightly of President Jefferson's scruples concerning the acquisition of lands, not only next adjacent to us, but indisputably necessary to our peace and development. There were wise men near our President in 1803 who differed with him touching the nation's power to acquire new territory under the original provisions of the Constitution; and these men did not fail to make known their dissent. Moreover, in the Senate, to which the treaty was submitted for confirmation, there was an able discussion of its constitutional validity and effectiveness. The judgment of that body on this phase of the subject was emphatically declared, when out of 31 votes 24 were cast in favor of confirmation. An amendment to the Constitution was afterwards presented to Congress, but its first appearance was its last. It does not appear that the President interested himself in its fate, and it died at the moment of introduction.