On the record
The interest and ambition of states, like those of men, will disturb the moral sense and incline to one side or the other the strict balance of impartial justice.
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gutenberg.orgJames Blaine: “The interest and ambition of states, like those of men, will disturb the moral sense and incline to one side or the…”
Editor's note · Context
Blaine discusses how the interests of states can compromise impartial justice in international affairs.
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More from James Blaine
Without the exercise of those functions which belong exclusively to the civil service, the laws cannot be executed in any event, no matter what may be the physical strength which the Government has at its command.
You can use force only to repel an assault on the public property and aid the Courts in the performance of their duty.
The right of the General Government to preserve itself in its whole constitutional vigor by repelling a direct and positive aggression upon its property or its officers cannot be denied.
All these provisions are made to protect the States, not to authorize an attack by one part of the country upon another; to preserve the peace, and not to plunge them into civil war.
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