The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1810-02-21

poor will not delegate such right to the
rich, nor the rich 10 the poor; and to as
sumo il, is not only assuming arbitrary pow
er, but 20 assume right TO commit robbery.
Personal rights, Of which the right OF voting
for representatives is one, are species of
property Of the most sacred kind and he
tha, would employ his pecuniary property,
or presume upon the influence 1t gives him,
10 dispossess. or rob another of his property
or rights, usas that pecuniary property rs he
would firearms, and deserves to have it To-
ken from him.
" Inequality of rights is created by a COM
bination in one part of the community, 10
exclude another part from its rights Uhen-
eper IL BE- a laqv thai the rights Of voting, or
If elechng and 6cing elected, shaH ahherfain
ereiuaiveiy, 10 fersons possessing ccrfain
guantity ef hroherty, be IL Hffie or much, His
com6ination Of me hersons Possessing thas
qnantity, to eccIuc- those 7oho do nor h0ssess
he same guantify--if is invesnng Themselves
7viM hosver, as q seLfcreated hart q society,
N Me exclusion Of the rest. In any view
of the case, it is dangerous and impoli-
tick, sometimes ridiculous, anC always un-
just, to make property the criterion of yot-
ing. If the sum, or ynuc Of the property,
upon which the rishtMs to take place, be
considerable, it will exclude a majority OF
the people, and unite them in common IN
terest against the government, and against
those who support it, and as the power is
always with the majority, they can overturn
such government and its Supporters, when
ever they please.
" If in order to avoid the danger, small
quantity of property be fixed as the criterion
of the right, il exhibits liberty in disgrace, by
putting it in competition with accident or in
Significance When brood mare shall for
tunately produce foal or mule, that, by be-
ing worth the sum in question, shall convey
to IT'S owner the right of voting, or, by its
death, take it from him, in whom does the
origin of the vote exist Is it in the man or
in the mule When we consider how many
ways property may be acquired without mer-
it, and lost without crime, we ought to spurn
the idea of making it the criterion OF rights,
&C But the offensive part of the case is, that
this exclusion from the right of voting, im-
plies stigma on the moral character OF the
person excluded. In this S ate a man who
has not sufficient estate to qualify him as
voter, stands ON the degraded footing, with
respect to that right, as man who has suffi-
cient estate, but has been convicted of theft,
forgery, or other high crimes, lie. they are
both excluded from the right of voting) ; and
this is what no part Of the community has a
right to pronounce upon another part whose
character stands as fair as their own. No
external circumstance can Justify it. Wealth
is no proof of moral character, nor poverty
Of the want of it on the, contrary, wealth is
often the presumptive evidence Of dishonesty,
and poverty the negative evidence of inno-
cence. If therefore property, whether little
or much, be made the criterion, the manner
by which that property has been acquired,
ought to be made criterion also.
The right OF voting for representatives
is the primary right by which other rights
are protected. To take away this right is to
reduce man to slaye:y, for slavery consists
in being, subject to- the will of another, and
he who has no vote in the election OF repre-
sentatiyes is in this case The proposal
therefore to disfranchize any class of men is
as criminal as the proposal to take away pro-
perty When we speak of rights, we ought
to unite with it the idea of duties rights be-
come duties ty recipority The right
which enjoy becomes my duty to guarp ntee
it TO another, and he 10 NEE, and he who
violates the duty Justly incurs a forfeiture Of
the right.
In political view of the cose, the strength
and permanent security of government is in
proportion to the number Of people interest
ted in supporting it. The true policy there
fore is to interest the whole by AN equality OF
right, for, the danger arises from, exclusion.
ITO be concluded IN our neat