American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1825-04-05

aggregate OF whose electoral votes conferred upon
the highest returned candidate indicates their wishl
tina, ne should be the President. Their votes
amount in number to 90, out of the 26l electoral
votes of the whole Union. These 99 do not ana
cannot, of themselves, make the President. 1t the
fact Of particular States giving SO votes cam accord
ing to any received notions OF the doctrine OF in
s,ruction. be regarded in that light, to whom are
those instructions considered TO be addressed. Ac-
cording TO that doctrine, the people, who appoint,
have the right to direct by their instructions, IN
certain cases, the course Of the Representative
whom they appoint. The States, therefore, VINO
gave those 80 votes may, in some sense DC unaer-
stood thereby to have instructed her
in he House to vote for the person on whom they
were bestowed in the choice of President. But
most clearly the Representatives coming from other
States which gave no part Of those SO votes, can
not be considered as having been under any oonga
lion to surrender their judgments to those OIL the
States which gave the 90 votcs 10 contend that
they are under such an Obligation would be to
maintain that the people 0! one State have the right
60 instruct the Representatives from another state.
Il would be to maintain sill more absurd propo-
son, that, in case where the Representatives
from State did not hold themselves instructed and
bound by the will of that State as indie ated IN Its
Electoral College, the Representatives ,ro y another
State we're, nevertheless, instructed and bound by
that alien will Thus, the entire vote oi Noh Car
ona, and large majority OF that OF Maryland, IN
their respective Electoral Cole ges were given to
one Of the three returned candidates. tor whom The
Delegation from neither Of those ates voted. And
vet The argument combatted requires that the Dele
cation from Kentucky, who do not represent the
people of North Carroll Maryland should be
insruce BY, and give an effect to, the indie a. ed
will of the people ut those two States, when their
own Delegation pad no attention to It Doubtless.
those Delegations elt the nselyes authoriz d 10 look
into the actual composition Of and all other cieum
stances connected with, the majorltirs which gave
the electoral votes, in their respective 5 ates and
felt themselves Justified fro y view 81 the whoIt
ground, to act upon thei' responsibility and accord
ing to their beat Judgments, disregatding The cleo
toral votes 10 their States. And are the Represer'
tatiyes from different State not only bound by ibe
will OF The people Of dte' ent comm nweaiih, but
forhitden to examine into the manner by whit h The
expression of that will was brought abou-an ex
animation which the immediate Rep esenali, es
themselves feel it their duty to make?
IS the fact then, OF plurality tn have no weight!
Far from it. Here "a conimn,iiles. uni'ed under
a common government. The expression OF the
will of any one of them is entnled TO N, most
spectful attention 1t ought 10 be patiently heard
and kindly regarded by the Others; but ! cannot be
admitted to be conclusive upon them The exNres
sion Of the will of SO out Of c6l fecio is emil
tied 10 very great attention. but that will cannot he
considered as entitled TO control The will OF 90
Electors who have manifested d He ent viii. ! o
give il such con'rolllng inlusnce would be sub
version Of the fundamental maxim Of the Republic
that the majority should govern The will Of
the SO neither he allowed rlghtiuliy To cont ol
the remaining l62, any OF the l62 Electoral
votes IL may be an az umeni, prrsuasioh ad
dressed to ALL and TO each ct them. but II Is binding
and obligatory upon none. 1t follows, then that tn
fact OF plurality only one among the various
consider atoms which the House was called upon To
weigh, In making up It's judgment. And the weight
oil the CONSIDER alton ought to have been 'egu ated
BY the extent oil the plurality. As, between Gene
raj Jackson and MI. Adams. the v3ie sanding in
the proportions Of SO to "a, it was enitled less
weisht; as between the General and Mr.. C,swfo d
II WIS entitled to more, the vote being as 80 To 4
The concession may even be made upon the sup
position OF an equaiiy OF p'eten,inns between com.
peiDg candidates, the prepohde ance ought to be
given TO The fact of plurality.
With these views of the relative state Of the vote
with which the three re ulned candidates entered
the House, proceeded to examine the orher con-
sldrra'ions witch belonged c the question. For
Mr.. Crawford, who barley enered the House with
only four votes more than one dlda not return
ed, and upon whose Case therefore, the argument
derived from the fact of plurality operated with
strong, though not decesive force, have ever felt
much personal regard But was allied upon to
perform solemn pubic duty, in which my private
scCHi5S, "uctHeT y dHtCtoO OF aversion, were MOI
TO be indulg d. but the good Of my cDu try OILY
consulted 1t appeared To me hat the pre-, az ious
state of that sentlt man, health, although parlci
pated with his best triens in al their regrets and
sympaihes, on account of it con:lu i've against
him, to say nothing of other copslde a',o of a
public nature which would have desc we'd txamna
ton, il, happily, in thai respect he had heen diff
emily circunsanced. He had iii near e hteen
months, and although am aware mat his actual
vas "A tact drDe rv,de
that the evidence in regard to il which had been
presented to the public. not perfectly harmoni
ous, Judged for myself upon what saw and heard
He NAV, and, DENLY h pc. VIII recover; but