The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-09-13
FRoM the AURORA.
THOMAS PAINE


THOMAS PAINE
CITIZENS. OF PENNSYLVANIA,
PROPOSAL FOR CALLING A CONVENTION.
NO. II.
The complaint refpefing the fenate is the
length of its duration, being four years. The
fage Franklin has fail, o ,vberr ANIMAL eyei7icu
e,ds, tyranny 5eyin5 :" and no man was n bet
ter judge of human nature than Franklin, nor
has any man in onr time exceeded him in the
principles of honour and honefty.
When man ceafes to be accountable to fiofe
who elected him, and with whole public a9ars
he Is entru!ted he ceafes to he their reprefenta-
tive, and ia put in condition of being their def
pot. He Incomes the representative of nobody
but himfe'E I AN sle6fed, yEz,s be-. for four
/" sears; you cannot turn ont, neither am
8" relpoaESie to YOU in re mean time. an thar
2" roa baDe to do suitb ne is TO pay me."-The
conduct of the PENNY wanna ierafe in 1900, re-
fpeeting the choice OF electors for the prefitien-
cy of the United Stat $, f,ews the imnronrietv
aud danger ut fuch an e'.5biifhment. The man
ner of chooiing ele6torl ought to be fixed in the
contribution and not te left to the caprice Of
contention. it is a matter equally as impor-
tant, and concerns the rights and intereas of
the people as much, asthe election Of members
for the fate Legislature, and in fo,ne inftances
much more. BY the conduit of the fenate at
that time the people were deprived of their
right OF iuffrage, and the rite lott its conie-
|quence in the union. 1t had but one vote. The
other IA were paired off by compromise. Seven
and feven. If the people had chofen the electors,
| which theyhad Alright to do, forthe elettcrswere
torepreient them & not to reprefent the fenate /;
the itate would have had fifteen votes which
would have counted.
The fenate is an imitation of what is called
| the houfeof lords in England, and which Chef.
| terfeld, who was a member of it, and therefore
knew it, calls 'tsbe bolbitai ofiacnrableS." The
lenate in Pennfvlvania is not gate an hofpital
OF lncurables, but it took aluoif four years TO
bring it to fat- of eonq,a!e,fencs.
! Before we initiate any thing, we ought TO ex.
anime whether il be worth initiating, and had
| thIe been done BY the convention at that time,
| tneywonld have feen, that the modrIfrom which
| their mimic imitation was made, was no better
| than Improbable and diigraceful lumber.
There was no fuch thing in England as what
is called the houfe of lords, until the conouefl
of that country by the Normans under William
the conqueror, and like the king S negative owe,
the laws, it Ia badge of diigrace upon the
country; for it isthe effect and evidence of its
having been reduced TO unconditional fubmif.
iion.
William having made the conqueft, difpofeE
fed the owners of their lands, and divided thoIe
lands among the chiefs of the plunderine army
he brought with him, and from hence arofe what
rs called the boyje Of LORDS. Daniel de Foe, in
his hlitorical fatire, entitled, " TIE true-boyu
EnsliRm0n," has very concifely given the origin
and character of this houfe as follows -
The great invading Norman let them know
What conquerors, in after times might do;
To every mufqueteer he brought to town,
He gave the lands that never were mis- own
He cantoued ont the country to his men,
And every folder was denzen;
No parliament his army could difbaud,
He RATED no money, for he paid in land.
The rafcaIs, thus enriched, he called them Loyaj,
ToPleafe their uphart pride with new made words,
And dooms-day book his tyranny records;
Some thew the fword, the bow and fome the fpear,
Which their great sneeifor, forlooth, did wear;
Blu. who the hero w4s no man can tell,
Whether colonel corporl;
The ilent record bluihes to reveal
Their hndefeerided dark original;
Great anceitors OF yeiterdly, they new,
And lords, Whole futfiers were--!Js koy9 ka.zo,
zo6o!
This is the difgracef II origin of what Is called
the HOMIE of lords IN England and 1t fill retains
iome tokeus of the plundering bafenefs of its o.
|rigjn. The fwindIer Dundas was lately made a
lord, and is now called noble l5r4! Wbv do
tbey not give him his proper title and call him
noble fwindlers for he faindled by wholefale.
But 1t is probable he will efcape punifhment :
for Backbone, in his commentary on the laws.
recites an act of parliament pancd in 1880, and
not fince repealed, that extends what is called
the benetf ofelergy, that is exemption from pu-
nihment for all clerical offences to all lords and
peers of the realm, who could not read, as well
as thofe who could, and ALTO fer "the crimes
=" OF bogfs-breakiag, bigb- eUay robbius, borIc
g feaii1g, and robbing Of eburehey" This is
conliftent with the original Establishment of a
houfe of lords, for it was originally compofed
of robbers. This is aritocracy. This is one
of the pillars Of John Adars's 4" Rneendop, fr-
brio Of human mUrntion" A privilege for houfe
breaking, highway robbipg, horls aeal;bg. and
robbing of churches! John Adams knew but
little of The origin and practice Of the govern
ment of England. AS to contribution it has
none.
The Penrfylvania convention of i776, conf
ed nothing from the Englifh government. II
formed contribution on the BATS of honeav