Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1825-06-17

the passions only How cool and composed were
the passions OF the critic, when he his criti
oism, may be gathered from the vehement, declau-
aory and hyperbocal assertion that the address OF
the Loudoun Committee, Inviting the friends OF a
convention TO send deputies to Staunton 10 co-ope-
rate with the Loudoun deputies in devisng g iotD-
! fii and expedient means Of procuring ccmen-
ton is " an, open declaration OF tcor against
the eriSting sorernmcRt"
| Moreover, the addresseIs have been guilty. he
says, OF & nventiug'' reproachful denomination
for certain class of their opponents, who are in
the address denominated &c alarmists''
| The critic has invoked some memorable passages
OF history, and with considerable felicity to illus
,rate bis views. Had he pursued his historical re-
searches a little further he would have discovered
that the iauention of the party-term aarnists'
was not reserved for the Loudoun Addressers.
When the pensioned eloquence of Burke had
worked up the people of England into frenzy of
loyalty; when 10 doubt the excellence of the exist
ing constitution of England, in all it's parts and
particulars, was considered &c an open declaration
Of iodr against the eriSting Sorernment;'' when
the belief that the decayed and tenantless borough
| OF Old SaruIn ought not to have as much weight
IN tie government half of the great and pop
| ulous county of York, was deemed ''iacobnical
! principle when every proposition 10 extend the
Liberties of the people of England, by reforming in
! some degree the gross inequality of representation
IN parliament, fercey resisted, and stigmatzcd
fss the commencement of course of revolutionary
measures q porending the most fearful consequent
ces'; when the friends of liberty and parliamentary
reform were charged with attempting 10 weaken
the authority of the laws" and with using the crv
oil reform" merely - to collect and condense
all the discontenis that were floating in the COM
munty, and, by condensng 10 increase their in,en-
sity ard eNasperate their fiercenes%'' then il was
that the venal writers of the government, who
terrified The inaoipntiOps Of IL ,.;,I n
these " chlmeras Dire were justly stigmatized as
% alarmists''
How far the critic may be considered as one OF
that class OF politicians, may in part be gathered
from the quotations have Just made from the pub
locations on which am commenting
But in the same breath that the critic COMPLAINS
OF the reproachful denomination invented by the
committee, he initiates the evil example by stylng
them the ''decemriri Of Loudout;''a denomination
more reproachiu than that of Z" aarinists,' since
! The decemviri OF Rome were tyrants and usurpers
| Another exception taken to the brief address or
J Notification oil tie Loudoun committee is that
: 1t deigns not to offer one word of argument >,
The answer is, that in a paper of that sort. an ar
! Sument, would la, e been misplaced He might as
| we'll complain that subpoena in chancery does
not contain the whole history Of the plaintiff 5
wrongs.
An examination of the present state of our rep
resentation in the General Assembly will present TO
the mind OF every man of free aud republican spl-
rIt, unanswerable argument in favor of an amend
mcnt of the constitution
The constitution of Virginia was framed in hast.
AMID the ain OF arms, Its trainers had not time
and opportunity, it they had been so DISPOSED. 10
take down and build mp anew the whole fabric of
government and internal poli,y. Moreover they
might justly apprehend that BY altering too many
hihSs IN Their new plan o! government, they might
! disgust people iond of the institutions of their
| fathers The DeODle n Liruipia h.; "a
Cd, were then but young r6pu6Hcans and the fra
rners OF The constitution might Justly apprehend
mat the public mind was not prepared for concur
ring AT once IN many innovations. They found the
state divided into counties of unequal size each OF
Wmch, under the old regime, sent two representa-
tives TO the General Assembly. An aItempt 70
deprive the smaller counties of part of the power
| or weight in the government which thew had been
accustomed to enjoy, would have been at that ne
roo, highly impoitic and dangerous Discussed
with a scheme of liberty which commenced with
curtailing their privileges, they might have fallen
back INTO the bosom OF monarchy as the preferable
system Wisely, then under the circumstances in
which they placed, did the trainers of the con-
stitution declare that the House of DeIesa,es
should be composed of two representatives. from
each ei the counties, however differing in size and
population.
They were well aware that the theoretical per-
lection OF the system they were LAYING the rounda
non vi was an tqdUA representation OF the people
IN the legislative bodies and that by conerrng on
small body portion of the people az great a
share OF political power was conferred on bodies
or portions much larger, they violated the natural
inherent rights OF the individuals COMPOSING the
larger bodies The Injustice and hardship of UNEQUAL
representation was no new idea. II had long been
a theme OF popular discussion in England and the
intelligent and well educated men who formed our
constitution were doubtless familiar with all the
details OF the T3ut tba,, ,ya-, 1
by circumstances TO violate their own notions of
right, hoping and expecting that a more TRANQUIL
period would come, when the people, more familiar
with the principles of free government. would
heartily and unanimously concur in recurrence
10 fundamental principles"
They did not foresee, moreover. the enormous
increase OF the inequalities which then existed =,
mong the counties They did not foresee that a
time would arrive,
When twenty counties in the upper country,
containing 223, POI free While inbabi,anis
would have no more weight in the govern
ment than twenty counties on tide water. con-
tanning only 50,97I
w hen The SIX smallest counties in the state com
pared with the six largest, would enjoy nine
and one half times much political power
and weight as they were entitled to:
W hen freeman OF Warwick county would have
as muchpolitical weight and power as f,,eut,,
screen ireemen of Loudoun, Frederick n,
| Shenandoah.
All these things they did not and could not fore
see: nor did they, nor could they foresee. nor
would they have believed though one had ,risen
from the dead and foretold il, that when in the fiji
ness OF time, all these monsrote results and r,pL
abuses should arise from defect in the constitution
which they saw but could not remedy. the be.t "a
tents ia me land would be enlisted in their defence
and that those who attempted to restore the povern
II ri ,,,I,