Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-03-20


deliver il 10 me for him. that. mi.
From the Baltimore Federal Gazette.
THE PRESIDING Y-Caoies Of Electors.
There are ,wenty-four States now 10
in the confedsrAcy. Under the con.
s,itutioD Of the United States. the E
factors Of President and Vice President
are appointed sin such manner ss the
LEGISLATURES of the several s;ates may
direct" As might be expected. there.
fore, the mode Of appointment differs in
different States, and on exau. alton
of the whole, it is found, that of she
twenty.four States.
TEN of theu, choose their Electors by
gsneraLticket.
SEVEN OF them. including Maryland,
choose by districts, and
SEVEN by the Legislatures. The
seven which choose IN the tsst men.
toned way ars-Nermoht, New York.
Della ware, South Caroline, Georgia,
Louisiana, and indisns.
As it is to b. expected, on the eveof
every Presidential election, attempts
will bs made to alter the mode ofap.
pointing, by the frlends OF those. who
ascertain that, under the existing mode,
the vote of the State will be given u.
gainst their ,tavonrste.
The advocates of these proposed inno-
,vations, generally claim for Themselves
the Popular designation Of "the friends
of the people," and they reason thus !:
According to the mode disappointment,
a. it stands, we shall be in the vocative.
Something, therefore, in the torn Of
the VII el, may be CAMEL, and nothing
can be lost.
Hence it was that during the past
winter, a proposition was made by the
Cd ponents of Mr.. Adams in the Legis-
lature Of Vermont. to change the mode
from the legislative choice, to choice
by the psopls--bat tho proposition was
rejected by large majority, who are
understood to be the friends Of Mr.. A.
dams.
Hence too, in the legislature of South
Carolina, where the mode Of appoint
|hg is by the Legislature, as it has al
ways been IN New York, proposition
to give the election to the people di.
rect, was also rejected by the friends
Of Mr.. Calhoun.
In Georgia, the same attempt was
noHa ha osr,o fri q
Of Mr.. Crawford said we will not d..
vide the vote and power Of the State
and the New York Legislature have
lately come to the same decision. In
short, there is not a single state where
the party having the power, has, or will
re!inquish il--so apt are all Wen, IS
Mr.. Jefferson says, TO &C, Oh the prlDci-
pie that might IS right What,
however, woulo appear O be most clear
in the case 10, that all these states are
right, or all are wrong. 1t is difficult
to discover or admit the Justice Of any
ruio III political ethics, under which,
the majority in The Legislature of New
York, should be condemned as knaves
ana traItots, ana tue majority OF Ihe
Legislatures of Vermont and South
Carolina, and Georgia and Delaware
and Illinois and Indiana are to be held
up as honest and faithful cehtiDels Of
the public wsal--exclusive 'triends Of
the people,"
Let our prepossession, be what they
may, we should never suffer local at
tschmenis, or personal prejudIces a.
gsinst any candidate, to blind Us to the
rules of fair reasoning and the plain
dictates of Justice. Tie probability is,
that after all, they are all friends Of the
people in nearly about the same degree.
1t lisa strong proof Of the strength Of a
candidate whom his friends succeed
gsinst the combined friends of all his
tagonists /!