ame shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, dockyards, and
other needful buildings." That the United States should be prohibited
from purchasing lands within the States without their consent, even for
the most essential purposes of national defense, while left at liberty
to purchase or seize them for roads, canals, and other improvements of
immeasurably less importance, is not to be conceived.

A proposition was made in the Convention to provide for the appointment
of a "Secretary of Domestic Affairs," and make it his duty, among other
things, "to attend to the opening of roads and navigation and the
facilitating communications through the United States." It was referred
to a committee, and that appears to have been the last of it. On a
subsequent occasion a proposition was made to confer on Congress the
power to "provide for the cutting of canals when deemed necessary,"
which was rejected by the strong majority of eight States to three.
Among the reasons given for the rejection of this proposition, it was
urged that "the expense in such cases will fall on the United States
and the benefits accrue to the places where the canals may be cut."

During the consideration of this proposition a motion was made to
enlarge the proposed power for "cutting canals" into a power "to grant
charters of incorporation when the interest of the United States might
require and the legislative provisions of the individual States may be
incompetent;" and the reason assigned by Mr. Madison for the proposed
enlargement of the power was that it would "secure an easy communication
between the States, which the free intercourse now to be opened seemed
to call for. The political obstacles being removed, a removal of the
natural ones, as far as possible, ought to follow."

The original proposition and all the amendments were rejected, after
deliberate discussion, not on the ground, as so much of that discussion
as has been preserved indicates, that no direct grant was necessary,
but because it was deemed inexpedient to grant it at all. When it is
considered that some of the members of the Convention, who afterwards
participated in the organization and administration of the Government,
advocated and practiced upon a very liberal construction of the
Constitution, grasping at many high powers as implied in its various
provisions, not one of them, it is believed, at that day claimed the
power to make roads and canals, or improve rivers and har