The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1824-05-07

ahagslefy on H., isgIs,.t#se, "a / sod ~
fore, the un,.s I'm whether We have a con
stitutpn "r unt - put 10 fest
Thr mkt subject. said Mr.. " hieh
have Ia consider rs the extension of ths
right 1T +HIta.r Ihfs - \ question wiiicl
Game mol here prepared IL discuss--and
in the discussion vi which beiure 4 popular
assembly, the adv coates ot the present sys-
tenn must labor under considerable disad.
vantage To Investigate this subject July
would occupy more time than am willing
10 CONSUME, ar this meeting to bestow upon
II. | shall therefore c0nlIHe ufEself 10 a
brief statement of one of the many afgu-
rnents which might be brought forward in
support of the present system. And here
in the olitgrt have difficulty 10 surmonnt.
the magnitude rf which 1 feel most sensi-
bly,. have opposed to me the authority
of "A man whose political opinions have
always held In the highest estimation, and
for whose chafactefI entertain the greatest
yeneration-one, whose tpse d,ra IS emil
tied 10 weight aud Influence Yet, sir, not
withdanding MY yeneraton for that Illns-
trous man, cannot help thinking that he
/ has been misled with reverence b. it said J
/ by his great attachment To a popular form
of government and what Re conceyes 10
be- the rights of the people. Represents
tion, said Mr.. y. should be in proportion 10
taxation and population. The power oi
laying taxes, winch is one OF the most i'm
portant acts OF legislation, should Or placed
I'm the hands Of those who from their err
IcnmstaoCes cannot pass any law on the sub
jett which would not operate equally upon
themselves and others. BY restricting the
right Of suffrage TO those who are possess
ed of property of some kind, we adopt a
rule in conformity To this principle. Pro
perty being the subject ot taxation, the
fnan of property can lay no tax which does
not bear equally upon himself with others
But by extending this right to others, for
know not hut what geslIemen IN their
Hael would extend Il to women and chill.
dren,j the power Of laying taxes would BIZ
often placed III the hands Of tlos" who
could not BE affected by them II is evi
drnt. then, that the EXTENSION Of the right
of suffrage might, ard probably would be
productive of great injustice The man Of
no property would feel bat little companc
ton in laying taxes by which he and many
Of his constituents would not BIZ affected.
IT, then, said Mr.. y. it is light that there
should be any rcstrctlon-=lt il IS sXnedl.
ent that man should possess property Of
some kind IN order to confer on him the
right of suffrage, should not such a rule be
adopted as is least liable 10 abuse. Ir this
view of the subject II appears - me that
laud has a decided prrlt renee over every
other KIND OF property Personal property
passes by mere delivery OF possession ;
land by deed and if man who is rot 4
flecholder offers himsclf at the polls, the
fraud can easily be detected by requiring
him 10 produce his deed. But experience
Is better than reasoning upon this and eye@y
other subject, and | am informed that in
those states where personal property or
money coniers the right of voting, the
frauds that are practlscd are so numerous
as completely to destroy the benefit Of the
restriction.
The inequality Of the representative sys-
tenn vas al nitled by MIR. n. who contend
ed, that from its very nature, il WAS obliged
to be so. Ii is produced hr causes beyond
the control ofhG lslatlon. The tide OF en-
gration has for number of years flowed
10 the west, but who can say that It will
not again revert to the east, aud make II
necessary, some 10 years hence, 10 call A.
mother convention But il we take a view
Of particular sections of the state, instead
of here aud there detached county, the
system will not appear 50 unequal. II the
small county of Prince Edward elects two
representatives, the ncighhoriag large
county OF Halifax elects no more. The
l,n y,t.li..,t..J - h,ro "a
Frederick; Nc.
Mr. \. tkrn made some remarks CT The
subject of the Executive. He SAID it was
strange-or, rather, lnconslstent-in the
friends oil a convention, who styled them
selves the peculiar friends of popular go
Nerumeut, to find fault with the restricted
powers OF the governor. He admitted that
the council would very we'll be dispensed
with, bat be would ask gentlemen il it was
an erd nt a nature to render the call Of a
convention necessary The most that
could be SAID against it was that il was use
! less, and cost the state $4,000 per annum--
and what was that 10 the great state Of
Virginia /?
That the constitution Is not perfect, is
admitted hut ITS impcrfectlons are such as
are incident to all the works of men. We
"lil not, presume, said Mr.. \. arroSate Il
degree OF virtue and Intelligence to our
selves which we deny To our sister states.
Some of them have altered Their c6nstitu-
tons within the last two or three years,
and the constitutions of many of them
have been recently adopted. Now, ! will
only ask gentlemen 20 compare the old
constitutions of Virginia with that of any