The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-07-14

oflio and weal'hto tie northern merchants. and
- ieiien nj nearly the fame proportion, the FIR
plus capital which was crnpioved in nan5yin,
" productive commerce of the fouthern .tates.
SUI the acquiiition of Louiiiana appears to in.
ARE theie itates IN a more obvious and direct
nfnner. Not only is there lei5 capitol to carry
On their trade, but this trade nearly fprnifheetb
iine commodities. Many ofthe mot VALUABLE
%ports !oom the f3uthern Rates will be found
m tie Lomiiana market. Among thefe are to-
oacco, cotton, indigo, rice, tar, cattle, sc. Ac
cordiisg TO The frehdent'S Document
4 v :;s at $ s' p Rs
we're exported from 6ouifana, while Is. 7o4 al
los. &eilimated at 300, 200 dolls. only were ex
ported from the United States durine the lalt
year. The acquiEtion OF Louifiana, as il will
ierve 70 extend the trade in thofe articles. both
by rendering commerce more unfettered and
agriculture more ex,enlive, will thus Introduce
the capita! Of the northern merchants to great
er number Of markets, and will multiply the
number OF competitors Of the fouthern f1tcs.
VIII not the northern ftates thus purchafe at
itla price, and make greater profit by their
commercial fptcuatiors, and will not the fouth-
trn inhabitants obtain a lower price for their
productions viii not theie commercial rela
hons produce II length a certain degree of at
'achtnent between this new country and the
northern rates; and 4 fpirit Of competition and
rivalry with the iouihern 0ates? And who can
venture To predict ine influence of theft. COM
Inerci7' Feelings upon their political relations
9. The acquiiltion of Louiiiana will proba
hlv ferve to introduce Hr.v ard important G-,t
or intereits INTO the union. While the wenern
rates were principally dependant upon the At
iantic ftates for their imported commodities
while the Eght of fecurely navigating the Milf
iippi, and OF depoiiting their productions at n.
Orleans was iniecurc, and their commerce fet-
tered by Spanill regulations, it was not extreme
~ probable that they ihould coniider their con-
hectlon with the Atlantic itates as placed upon
an equal balls, or that they ihould venture TO
form for themielves an independent felt of in
tereftS. But the acquGtion of LouiGana
mas compeatly reverted their ftuation.--
helr population and wealth are now def
lned TO lncreate in Al incaculable RATIO
Perhaps the time is not far diftant when the
LonIhanlans, Kentuckians, inhabitants of Ten
nehee and Ohio, may form felt of we(ferr IN
'ereits' eitatiiihing an admirable eauipoifc be-
tween the much-canvafied, much.abufld, and
ut'e-underitood lnterefts of the northern and
tnole or the fourhem itates. To guard their
own lnteretts from the encroachments of Others,
without facrifcing the intereits ofothers TO Their
own, will thus become their mot indifpeniible
DUTY and their mott enlightened policy. Are
not the federaits of the north then deIuded nv
tneir prcIudices or their fears, when their ina
gInatlon has already thrown the nafcept fate of
LouItlana into the interelts of the foutbern omar
ter or the Union Is it not on the contrary.
more probable that The influence of thofe ftates
over the weftern itates, which are aIready eRet
0'b9ed' VIII continue to lctiep each day, as eve
" Gay VIII increate the abfoute power of the
Wet andthat the Progrefive augmentation of
the wealth and number ofthe weifern neon14
and the erection Of Louiiiana into fepsrate { 5.
verelenty, may finally enable them to eRablih
new and independent interef.-But my
conceptions are lot in the immenfty of the
theme. 1 feel myftf incompetent to decide, or
even TO conjecture the mott important ifuort.G;
ons, winch the acquilition of Louiiiana is defin-
co 10 MAKE upon the happiness of our nation.
LAST AMENDMENT To THE Constitute
on have no inclination 20 enter into the wide
neld or argument, which this celebrated nlea-
lure mas opened 10 the public attention. The
Preient difcuiiion does not require that fbouId
rehearie the important advantages which have
oeen expected to How from its adoption.
mean not 10 enter into any proofs of that great
marin OF republican government, that the
puhhc officers fhould difinGtly reprefent the
sentiments OF the people, and that to accom-
PUN this important object, the votes ofthepeo
pie fhould not be diverted from one candidate
W hoi'i thSy think Clallfled Tor an important of.
nee, to another candidate, who appears oual6-
ed only for subordinate duties Nor fbaIi I at
tempt to demonitrate how the prcfant conhitu-
tona mode of eleGting the PRECEDENT and Vice
Piehdent, evidently contravenes this princiDIc
how faetiousminority by throwing awaytheir
votes upon candidate whom the majority oftbe
people had Designated for the subordinate Office
OF Vice PRECEDENT, lhouId flcceed in elevatine
him to the pref iep..'l chair, in oppofition 10
the eXprets wiihcs Of their country. Armed
with this iimpie principle, | think | fhould be
prepared TO examine and to refute all the yari
Gus objections which have been urged apaipG
tins meafnie. But my prefcnt deiign requires
no fuch extenlive ilveftigation. fhall con6ne
mytelt TO two objections only, which have been
made to this neafure on the ground of local in
terets the iirf associative TO the fouthern ftatps
in general the fecond as particularly confined
to Virginia.
III. The weight of the G1aH fates (anono
which are mott of the eaftern Rates, where there
aFS few oI no ha,esji5 faid 10 be greatly al
niniihed' by the combination which would
iecretly EXIT among the large ftates. They
would agree among themitves in theirchoicc Of
the candidates, and the fmailer Rates would
thus be deprived of the power of giving either
a Prehdent or Vice Prelident to the Union.
This argument appears neither to admit of =
particular application 70 the fouthern Rates nor
to derive any great fupport from the experience
we have had of the prclent mode Of eleSfior III