Men may conscientiously hold opinions against this Bench, but in legislative action every man is in honor bound to respect the supreme law of the land. No man is justifiable in advocating a "higher law" — it is treason against the cornerstone of republican institutions.
Original passage & context
"Men may, conscientiously we dare say, entertain opinions in opposition to those declared by this Bench, but, so far as legislative action is concerned, every man is in honor bound to respect the supreme law of the land. No man is justifiable in advocating a "higher law" -- it is treason against the cornerstone of republican institutions."
A Northern Democratic paper answering William Seward's "higher law than the Constitution" of 1850. Note the Plain Dealer's own account of the vote is garbled — it lists Curtis with the majority and Nelson as a dissenter, the reverse of the fact. Early reports of the lineup varied for days.
Read it in the original — Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mar 11, 1857 ↗