Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-01-28

ticularly the iaes;iniatle right OF GreebnI,
suffrage. You are To call q Convent
how by calling on the Gree and ls,ar
citizens os'h,s Conmonwealth' to anno;.u
Its delegates. What does this vas,,n '
preston meani Who are the frce an
lawful citizens CT this Commonwealth
liz the law-bOokS, We have heard or y.
p''ooi et fegdfes ho"''nes--they are freehold
ers. But, who, we repeat, are the e
and lawiulcllizens of this commonwsai,t ye
The resolution must mean al our c;,;..o'
for, there Is none unlawful. but SIS
who violate your laws and are sent ;a',, se
?eniientiary. Then, you are to ex,s,
the right OF suffrage ID the black 10 ~
women TO the alien, who bur yes,o ,ne
was natIrasizedbN YOUR courts: and,haN
voters are TO appoint persons Ike SIS
selves to form the Convention. All
what proportion Not in propo,i;o,' "a
property, not in proportion topopula,;o,.'o
but IN proportion 10 the muster RAN -
your militia! Are ven prepared 90 o,, ".
these propositions Are on yreparoA ~
adopt The blacks among your voters ~.
say IT is to be confined to whites: ibenyn,.
have all free and lawful white citizen u
but 80, YOU mean TO exclude fjle wo,.
irom suiirase-thenyou have all treewhi,a
male ci1izens-but no, YOU will excl'.se
the children-the naturaizeil ci,iren
yesiertlay-but, five adopt the gsn,loO'
mans rule Of eternal Justice, YOU mms,n'i
mit them all. The truth is, This oues,;".
| Is, alter all, q mere question of exno,l;a,'
CIV; adopt hiSrule, and then the crestan
isnot wnom Won may exclude, but VIII
| YOU may admit. The rule may do mn, uh
| tee; because all the works of man 80
imperlect-But who, Sir, will takesS.S,
| good care OF this land, as those to Who
1t may belong ?-those to whom the ~
| belongs, not the tenant of that soil-,ce,,
whose affections are welded to thu, se;l
and whose fathers lie bnried in its .wonhS
ltmav do injustice, Sir but SO win e,.,-
ry standard YOU may adopt. Yon o..
ciude ihe argument OF natural right. H..
momentyo exclude trsen egroes, womer
children, and the naturalized alien of ~
| terdav and then, ii becomes solaI,
| question Of political expediencv M.
standard, then, so proper, as the hav;nr
| evidence Oft 4" permanent common mt
est IN, and attachment TO the comn,iniN
| ~ {" that standard which we have tr;og
so long, TO the utter exclusion of All ill.,
evils which have witnessed in our sista-
states.
And this Convention, Sir, is TO be CON
posed ofihe very same materials as tho
| gentleman from Wyilie has ASSIGNED -
the electors. could laugh. till NV side.
split, If my heart did not ache ar the sioh,
ii Hogarth were to paint The composition
OF that assembly, his picture would be The
best argument could offer. Here. Sir i
a curly-headed, thickhpped, flat-noseI
African Mr. Smyih rose to expIain-be
SAID, the gentleman ought TO have known
tiat he meant no other than free white
| male citlZen.-Mr. r. proceeded l-ItaLs
the description from the resolution If
the gentleman meant that, why did he NOT
introduce terms so well known TO lis and
to this land Why employ expressions
so vague as 10 comprehend the knotty-
headed African, the beardless bow. tie
woman, the alien naiuralized in one bour
by our laws Yet, even with the gentle
mans definition, YOU would moi find anv
| freeholder Thereon If he was there S;r
You might find him pcrched behind vonrp
chair, his hand upon his face, shedding
the warm tear upon his bosom forthe shame
which il sustained
The numbers of delegates in this Con
vcntion are to be assessed, too, by the
musier-roils ofyOur miliiia-persons from
Is to 20 years of age. Ton exclude, by
your calculation, the old venerable man.
yon admit the beardless STRIPPING; and tle
down on the chm of the boy weiohsmore
in your estimation than the frost ON the
head OF old age MIR T. contcnded
that IN his part of the country the rule
would bear peculiarly hard because of
tiIe number ofpilots, seamen, the officers
OF lhe federal and state governments aud
of oihcrcIasscs OF exeinpts-But, we are
not to count these, or TIE old men; but
merely The muster-rolli
He said, he was done with theargumcnt
ON the Substitute proposed by the senfe-
man from Wytle-fIe was against il, be-
cause YOU have no pOwer-bccause this
IS not the time TO act we were haDpy
the evilswiich were complained OF were
not really felt they were only in the
minds eyc-and because II it was expcdi-
ent to act, If was improper 10 let all H.:
free and lawful citizens vote. and TO pro-
portion the number of delegates bv the
muster-rolls.
Mr.. i. said, while he was up, he would
briefly state his objections TO the Report
OF the Select Committee. He commended,
that the Legislature had no more right 10
recommend the call of Convention to
the people, than to call one themselves
that II was an usurpation and that this
argument was founded on the same prin-
cipies rs the one whiclh had already adj
vanced. IT had, indeed, been said, that
1t was merely an innocent exercise Of
power; which was not correct, because
every exercise of an ungranted power
was, IN fact, all USUrpatiOn. lie remarked
that this Legislature had no more right
to interfere than the lagos and Iangas Of
the drama; TO scatter suspciers amoFs
the people, to excite their jealousics, and