Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1825-05-10

ly tree to examine the preleDslons oil an
he candidates, and to form IFS unbiased
Judgment, the General Assembly oil hen'
lucky thought proper 10 inlerPose ana 10
request The deleg alton TO give IT'S VOC u
one OF the candidates, whom they were
pleased to designate. | felt sincere
desire to comply with request emana'-
ing from a source SO respectable, 1t
could have done SO consistently WIN
those paramount duties which owed 10
you and the country. But, after iull and
anxious consideration, found 1t incom
patible with my best Judgment oil those
duties TO conform to the request OF inc
General Assembly. The resolution as
serls, that it was the wish OF the people
of Kentucky, that their delegation should
vote tor the General. l did not inform
me by what means that body had arrlv-
ed al a knowledge OF the wish OF the
people. l knew that its members had
repaired TO Frank fort before departed
from homo to come to Washington.
knew thar their attention was liked on
important local concerns, well entitled,
by their magnitude, exclusively 10 en-
gross 1t. No election, no general ex'
preston OF The popular sentiment had
occurred since that in November, when
electors were chosen, and at that lhe
people, by an overwhelming majority,
had decided against General jackson. l
could not see how such an expression
against him, could be interpreted INTO
that OF desire for his election.
If, as IS tue, the candidate whom
they preferred, were not returned TO the
House, it is equally true, that the state
OF the contest as 1t presented Itself here
10 me, had never been considered, dis
cussed, and decided by the people OF
kentucky, in their collective capacity,
What would have been their decision on
this nezo state OF the question, might
have undertaken to conjecture, out Inc
certainly OF any conclusion OF tact, as to
their opinion, at which could arrive,
was BY no means equal to that cerIaln'y
OF conviction of NY duty to which l was
carried by the eXer ion OF my besI and
most deliberate reflections. The letters
from home, which some OF The delega-
81 OPINIONS, and there were not wanting
instances OF letters from some OF the We
~ members who had voted for the reso-
luton, advising a different course. / re-
| ceived from highly respectable pornon
OF my constituents paper, insiructing
me as follows go We, the undersigned
voters in me Congressional district, hav-
ing viewed the instruction or request OF
The Legislature OF Kentucky, on the sub
&c, ct choosing a President and We
President of the United States, with re-
greet, and the said requss! or instruction
to our representative in Congress from
this district, being without our know
ledge or consent we for many reasons
known to ourselves, connected with SO
momentous an occasion, hereby instruct
our representative in Congress 10 vote
on this occasion agreeable to his own
judgment and by The best lights he may
have on the subject, with, or without,
the consent OF he Legislature OF Ken
lucky" This instruction came both I'M
expected and unsolicited by me, and it
was accompanied by letters assuring me,
thai il expressed the opinion OF MAORI
ty OF my constituents | could not there
fore regard the resolution as conclusive
evidence OF your wishes.
Viewed as mere request, as 1t pur-
ported to be, the General Assembly
doubtless had the power TO make it. But
then, with great Difference, think /, was
worthy OF serious consideration whether
the dignity Of the General Assembly
ought not to have inducedit to lorbear
addressing Itself, no. to another legsla-
tive body, but to small part OF II, and
requesting the members VINO composed
that part, In a case which me constitution
had Contlded 10 them, to vote according
o The wlsaes oil the General Assembly,
whether those wishes did ar did not con-
form 10 their sense OF duty | could not
regard the resolution as an instruction
ion from The origin OF our STATE, us le-
glslature has never assumed nor exercise
ed their right to Instruct their Represen-
'tatives in Congress. l did not recog-
nize the right, therefore, OF the Legisia-
lure to instruct me. l recognized that
right only when exerted by you That
The portion of the public servants who
made up the General Assembly have
no right to Instruct tina, portion OF them
who constituted the Kentucky delegation
in the House OF Representatives, IS
proposition too clear to be argued. The
members of the General Assembly
would have been the first TO behold as a
r,noc 1.,r,tnnua iniernosi nm any inslruc