Constant Reiteration of Civil Liberty Essential My first duty is to think you for inviting mo to preside over your deliberations. The importance of a conference of this nature cannot be over-estimated, because it is necessary to state and restate the case for civil liberty over and over again, and as often as it may be necessary. Mankind has suffered much from the delusion that a guarantee of civil liberty, however important under a monarchical Government or a foreign Government, is of no moment in a Constitution framed by the people, for themselves and under which public affairs are managed by an Executive chosen by the people themselves. So it was argued by the framers of the American Constitution; and in the Constitution originally framed, there was no guarantee of civil liberty at all. But experience showed that such a guarantee was absolutely necessary; and a Bill of Rights was incorporated into the American Constitution by a series of amendments. Th ....