Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-03-19

Will not be excluded, we viii Coz and let some of thu
rest stay; so all would say, every man deciding for
himself hrst% But sir it the majority have right
70 alter why not ascertain the sentiments of that ma
lor1y oy hearing all by their rcpresentativess-S
lear aas that the secret consists i'm this some gen.
ticnien see that the sceptre is about to depart
IRON judah; the white population beyond the blue
topped mountain Is increasing too fast, the strong
t,de population ssetng to the west it must from
the nature OF things happen there the forest COW
crng our fertile valleys are daily disappearing before
the axe OF the woodman, all that our soil produces is
Tor the sus.enance ofman bread meat and .ramient;
such Is not the situation with this section of the
state here sir your section has been long settled and
cannot sustain many more inhabitants whilst the
west Just springing into existence, here your soil is
exhausted IN the culture oftobaccc, which is not at all
essential to the sustenance of man, whilst ours is
daily becoming more and fertile by the raising
OF stock from the very nature of things therefore
the west must, and assuredly will be the most popu
ious part fthe state. ask emphatic8lly, do we do
mand any thing moro than justice' Do YOU admit
that we are free men, You saw yes; why then wish
TO exclude part of us, and that large part from
Representations Sir. we must lose much in agreeing
TO take the population of 1920 the basis of repre
sentalion; but we are willing to give up great
er increase since then, because il cannot be clear
~ ascertainet, and If we were to attempt it by
cuicuiatng, we might get too much. SIR we only
want justice and qualify more than that we would
not receive II you were to offer it, besides by tn
KING inc census OF 1890, we would not appear
we contend, we would feel ourselves TO be deara
ded and sunk below the level of frecmen in yo,t esf
NATION aud IN point of fact the exercise of no.
htical power. The gentleman from ORANGE bimsclf
admits that his proposition does not do us lustce he
admits that the white population is the true basis of
representation; still he invites the gentlemen from
the west tovote with him; that is, he invitesl,s to
ABANDON what he admits to be right, and vote for
what he says Is wrong; but he says is only little
wrong according to him. eight representatives. and
the western gentlemen have given up nothnp vet:
he says that we contend now for what we did at first
therefore, presume that the western gentlemen
ought according to that gentlemans ideas0 TO vote
Tor that which Is wrong, merely because they must
yieid something According to this reasoning if we
had at first have demanded something more than ms
tice, the gentleman would have voted with us be-
cause we had given something up. Welook to great re
neral principles and do not wish to make them mat
ter OF trafhc Lei rue earnestly invite the gentleman
yet to JOIN our ranks with his powerful coopern,ion.
victory VIII perch on our standard, which the gentle
man says is just.
The gentleman from Orange has ciyon another
strange reason why his first amendment OUGHT to
prevail; he says, that the population on this of the
ridge is OF native growth, and that on the other
sioc there are many foreigners and men from the
NORTH II suppose he means Yankees) from all which
the gentleman very nationally arrives at the conclu
sion that the native growth" Of this side of the
mountain, "reai Of Virginia" ought to retain
IN tneir own hands the political power of the State.
In the trst place SIR do not admit the fact that there
are more Foreigners on the other side of the noun
tam Than there are on this, when you count out your
Scotch and Irish merchants, this is not said in der
slon because am myself of Irish extraction and We
nerato highly the of that oppressed landl do
know that there arenot many foreigners in that mart If
the State from which come. True we have tbore
many persons that are called Dutch because thew are
descended from German parentage, and all of us are
descended from some European nation, because tbere
are no other persons among us except those d,,eL,
Africans that some gentlemen appear be so sensitive
about, and yet few of the sons ef American co,,e,
Indians, lettering about our streets Those Dutch'
OF whom Ihave spoken and TO whom the oentIa.,on
IN part suppose alluded, are for the most part mon
OF steady habits, who make their living by cIltvnting
their own soil, are generally the best farmers have
ever seen; they are as honest intelligent and Judi
cious as those 'natUe groom" sons of old Vir1;n;.
of whom the gentleman from Orange has snoken
Inc gentleman has therefore, proved that the east
mas power and is anxious to retain it, and he has not
proved to my mind any thing more.
Mr. Speaker have been uniform advocate of copye,
uoE the present constitution of this State reeard as an
arocracy of an asocracy it aristocracy first because
think has been Clearly hewn by the gentleman form Monon
gaia hr Morgan) that the recIoldeIs are minority nj the
adult male citizens of the commemorative ,Lot Of y
make an aocacy, but is further arstocracv hcc
minority Of the eeod.rs pover b
STATE yes SIR they govern the majority of the feeboder and
e sun greater majority of freeholders-M Speaker in
making this declaration, the truth Of which man can DENY
wish distinctly understood, that do not impute this to de;n
on the part OF those ges by whom this was formed
as mas elsewhere been imputed to them; no sir mo man
enenams for their memory higher vemeraton than do sir
10 their country never before surpassed if eqiacd with
as pure as the mama Of Heave they fixed ter eve
steadily on the genus of liberty they on the Justice f
hciI own good and ho and they submitted the result TO
the God of battles sir would be vain 10 their eog
the tongue cannot describe the extent their virtues the mind
can barely conceive them, but still Mr. Speaker hev were
about to make experiment which world had never before
witnessed TO ascertain the capacity of for sefgovenc
10 reduce the social compact pdrcen hence our bill oil
gn's declares those great pncpcsto the maintenance OF
hcn they pledged their property honor and lives they were
however not then III possession of the practical Operation of
government they were about TO adopt whereas sir have the
dement, OF Their wisdom aided by the experience Of more tina
nall century OF its practical operation; must moreover be
recoected That they then had time look what would
W Iurc be the practical operation Of the present constitution
ey were then weak numbers and resourscs with the cc
'Ion OF their own determination be free o, d conendinr
WIN the most powerful people earth for national existence
II was necessary therefore, that they should forthwith form am
cent government in order 10 all the energies of
Ore commonwealth, aud in order this il was tesi not 10
make any great innovation tho previously existing state oil
thngs which probably would only TO Icrpex the peone
W ubderstandng tneIT govern nent.
But further, Mr. Speaker the time this government wa
Tmed those inequalities OF which the friends OF 60
Justly complain did not exist the then appropriated
ach oer IN point Of populations they could not clearly rcsee
we cnaIges which time effect; then immense rerons