Show OR THE 6OVEMET I AttorneyGeneral Griggs Con eludes FiveHour Speech L 1 ± i < < I I PERORATIOJI WAS BRILLIANT 4 1 I Feels Confident That Nothing HoHas I < Adviscdy Kegarding the Islands frothingtho Government Has Don t Has Been Without Its Precedent and Forerunners From the lIost Illuptriousof Our Forefathers Has inNo Instance Sought Strict and NarroW Constructions l If Washington Dec 10The United States Supreme court was again crowded crowd-ed to its fullest capacity today to hear the concluding arguments In the cases Involving the status of Porto Rico and the Philippines AttorneyGeneral r Griggs lo began the Governments presentation yesterday concluded his argument The AttorneyGeneral elaborated the I points enunciated yesterday One of these to which special attention was given was the distinction between ort or-t ganised Territories and unorganized Territories under the jurisdiction of the United States Justice Brewer had askec the AttorneyGeneral to make clear his views on this distinction Mr Griggs took up Territory after Territory Terri-tory showing in each case that it the Territory came under the operation of the laws of the United States by an aat of Congress specifically extending the lows to the Territory and not ex proprio vlgorfv He said that while Rhode Island and South Carolina atood outside ttieUnIon they wdrc treated as foreign States and when they ultimately ulti-mately assented to the Union Congress passed a law extending the revenue laws to them VeVmont had prior to its admission as a State been a part of the territory r terri-tory belonging to the United States If the revenuelaws were applicable to the Territory of Vermont proprio vl gore it was an act of stiperrogation to extend them to the State CASE OF LOUISIANA In tile caaeof Louisiana the Attor neyGeneral pointed out that all the declarations of Jefferson were to the effect that in order to come under the operation of the laws of the United States those laws must be explicitly extended to new acquisitions Jefferson Jeffer-son selected certain nets to be amended and others to be extended from time to time as might be found practicable The AttorneyGeneral directed attention at-tention in the instance of the acqul eltlon of Florida to the fact that three American statesmen Monroe John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson each of whom was elected President of the United States unite in declaring officially that the Constitution did not apply of its own force to territory newly acquired by this Nation by vir tile of the act of acquisition but that such extension must bo accomplished by the action of Congress Mr Griggs also specified the Territorial organization organiza-tion of Oregon Missouri Montana and Wyoming in each case showing that Congress specifically extended the laws to these Territories ORGANIZED TERRITORIES Finally as to the extension of laws to the Territories Mr Griggs said that by act of Congress In 1S71 Congress had expressly extended the Constitution Constitu-tion and Federal laws to the organized Territories and to every Territory hereafter organized but that act went no further than organized ron ritorlea and could not be Interpreted to mean that expanse of country entirely en-tirely unorganized The Guano Islands Isl-ands were cited in support of the proposition prop-osition that territory may belong to or be under the jurisdiction of the United States without being a part of the United States Over seventy different dif-ferent islands keys and groups of islands isl-ands have been thus taken possession of and made for such special purposes the property of the United States They enjoy certain privileges under the law and the United States Supreme court has recognized their status but they are not a part of the United States Turning from his books Mr Grlgps exclaimed ex-claimed In Impassioned tones Why should this Government bo considered to have less freedom of action In this matter mat-ter than other nations What clause of the Constitution so compels Why are we so tied md bound that we are n vcr lo secure the fruits of victory never to acquire an Island of the sea a belt across the iHlhmus u station for a naval base unless at the cost of admitting those Inhabiting In-habiting the soil full rights as citizens of the United Slates whether they be cannibals can-nibals or savages granting them the glorious glo-rious potentiality of being a part of tho people of the United States Did our forefathers hamper JIB like that 1C so this ConBlllutlon Is misshapen us fIlch urd the Hunchback sent Into this world before hls time scarce half made up and that so lamely andunfushlonablo that nations na-tions laugh at us as wo halt by QUESTIONED BY JUSTICES Justices Brewer and llarlan asked a number of questions Justice Brewer asked If the AttorneyGeneral hold that is Congress extended the Constitution uijd laws to the organized Territories Congress also could take them away from the Territories Mr Grlsga answered that this was a most serious question but ho thought it hafo to iay that when the laws were once cxtendcdto Territories an inviolable contract con-tract was created and could not bo brolton Justice llaulan aHked tho AttorneyGen oral to state later on to what extent Congress Con-gress could Impose a tariff to be collected against goods coming from New Mexico Arizona and Alaska Justice J3rewer also reminded Mr Griggs that Oklahoma was not Included In the treaty taking In the Loulaiara and Mexican territory uul was an apparent exception to the rule stated by the AttorneyGeneral Mr GrlggB said that Congress Jit Its last session In effect declared that the existing exist-ing tariff laws were applicable against the goods of Porto Rico This was in the act of lust March remitting to Porto Rico certain duties collected under existing ex-isting law This Mr Griggs declared wan un assertion by both branches of the present Congress that the tariff net which waj the existing law operated against Porto Rico WHITE ASKS QUESTION Justice Whltrt asked the AttorneyGen eral If ho claimed that Congress could so exempt Tenllorlos from the law us to gIve them privileges not enjoyed by the States Mr CJilggs responded that he did HO claim In fact tho Territories had been for years exempted from Internal revenue and dl reot taxes The AttorneyGcnoral rcfcrrod to the celebrated cane of Loughboroiigh va Blake whereupon Justice llurlun road Ing from that decision asked Mr GHKKR what Chief Justice Marshall mount In saying The power lo lay and collect duties imposts and excises may bo exercised exer-cised and must bo exorcised throughout the United States Mr Griggs said that throughout the United States referred to the Stnlcs of the Union but Justice Harlun pointed out that It referred also to the District of Columbia Co-lumbia und the Territory west of the Missouri ELOQUENT PERORATION Mr Griggs closed his livehours speech with a hrlllliml and cloaimiii peroration I urn bOre In a feeble aid bumble way jJiild lie to sumnl the executive und legislative branches of the Government In dealing with these monientoun questions Throughout I have felt a serene eonlldoncc fivtl nothing I have mlvtaud nothing tho Government bun done bus been without Us preredcnlH and forerumuMH from Ibo moftt IlliiMirlonM or our forefathers from Tcff rpon Tnokpon Madl on allann and rein I the preil Chief indices or Hie psiai I ht nothing bus bcjn lonn but wlUrti I 1 tpScU 1 lp tio jjrco1 exaltaiJQn an l cxCcn slon of our country and the Improvement of tim people coming under our control Instead of sooklnc strict und narrow constructions he uld tim jiowcrs of the executive und Icjlslntlvir branches had hcHi so construed ns lo give them a wise and safe discretion so thar the day would be busloncl when we might wive to these now people selfgovernment and to uomo of theta perhaps n placo In the galaxy of Stales Court adjourned ns soon as Mr GrljfCS finished Mr AldrIch will closo for the plaintiff In the Philippine case tomorrow and the cuses then will be submitted |