t, and
by doing so require the defendant to answer over by a plea to the
merits, and shall decide the case upon such pleading_, this court has
the same authority to inquire into the jurisdiction of that court to
do so, and to correct its error in that regard, that it had in the
other case to correct its error, in trying a case in which the
plaintiff had not made those averments which were necessary to give
the court jurisdiction. In both cases the record is resorted to, to
determine the point of jurisdiction; but, as the power of review of
cases from a Federal court, by this court, is not limited by the law
to a part of the case, this court may correct an error upon the
merits; and there is the same reason for correcting an erroneous
judgment of the Circuit Court, where the want of jurisdiction appears
from any part of the record, that there is for declaring a want of
jurisdiction for a want of necessary averments. Any attempt to control
the court from doing so by the technical common-law rules of pleading
in cases of jurisdiction, when a defendant has been denied his plea to
it, would tend to enlarge the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, by
limiting this court's review of its judgments in that particular. But
I will not argue a point already so fully discussed. I have every
confidence in the opinion of the court upon the point of jurisdiction,
and do not allow myself to doubt that the error of a contrary
conclusion will be fully understood by all who shall read the argument
of the Chief Justice.

I have already said that the opinion of the court has my unqualified
assent.

* * * * *

Mr. Justice NELSON.

I shall proceed to state the grounds upon which I have arrived at the
conclusion, that the judgment of the court below should be affirmed.
The suit was brought in the court below by the plaintiff, for the
purpose of asserting his freedom, and that of Harriet, his wife, and
two children.

The defendant plead, in abatement to the suit, that the cause of
action, if any, accrued to the plaintiff out of the jurisdiction of
the court, and exclusively within the jurisdiction of the courts of
the State of Missouri; for, that the said plaintiff is not a citizen
of the State of Missouri, as alleged in the declaration, because he is
a negro of African descent; his ancestors were of pure African blood,
and were brought into this country and sold as negro slaves.

To this plea the plaintiff