Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1829-12-19

laid upon the table.
The House then proceeded to consider the report,
Of the Communities OF the Whole, and concarred in the
following amendment to the Sh Resolution OF the lie.
gisativs Committee:
RESOLVED, That ought he provided in the Cou,ti-
tuition that in all elections in this state 10 av office oy
place ofrus honor profit the shoald be given
opsniy, or csDo voce. and not by ballot.
The Report Of the committee having been gone
through with, the House proceeded consider the re-
solutions OF the Legislative COMMITTEES in order.
The first revolution was read as follow:
Resolved, That in the appor,onment of represen
ton In the House Of Delegates regard should be had
20 the white population exclusively.
On the suggestion of Mr.. LEIGH, this resolution wa.
postponed for the present. until the House should be
full.
(sIr, RANpoLpH's indi.posi,ion had detained him
The 81 Revolution was read, as follows:
Res0ired, That a census OF the population OF the
State for the purpose Of apportiOrng the representa-
ton, should be taken in the year 1884, the year 1876
and thereafter at lea (, once In every twenty years.
On the suggestion OF Mr. POWELL, that this Resolu-
ton Immediately connected with the former, il
also was passed by for the present
The third Resolution, amended in the House yes.
terday, on Mr. Leighs motion was next read in the
words following:
"Every male citizen of the Commonwealth resident
therein aged twenty years and upwards, other than
free negroes aud muattoes, qualified to exercise the
right Of suffrage by the existing constitution and laws
and every such citizen being possessed whose ten
ant for will at suerance possessed of land
Of the assessed value Of IS dollars such assessmen
DO required by law, aud having estate of freehold
thereD-and every such citizen being possessed asteu.
ant in common joint tenant or parcen-r Of an interest
in share OF land, and having estate Of freehold
heren ouch interest share being Of the assessed
value Of % dollars II such assessment he required by
aw-and every such citizen being entitled to rever
sion vested remainder in fee, expecant an estate
for life lives in land Of the value OF so dol
lars If such assessment be required by iaw-(eac and
every such citizen. unless his title shall have come to
him by descent, devise, marrisge, marriage settle.
r. Or for6 s\
land every such citizen who shall own and be himsel
in actual occupation of lessehod estate with the evi.
denee OF title recorded OF term originally less
than years. Of the annual value rent Of 20 dollars
and avery such citizen, who for twelve months ne 1t
peecedng, has been house keeper and head of fami.
y within the city, county, borough election district
where he may offe to vote and shall have been
oil with part Of the of the Common we 18th
within the preceding year and actually paid the same
and othersshall be qualified for members OF
the General Assembly in the county, city, or borough
respectively, wherein such land ieth; or such house
keeper and head ola family lveth-and in case of two
or more tenants in common, onenaEts parceners in
possession, reversion or remainder, having interests in
land the value whereof shall be insufficient to entitle
them all TO vote they shall together have many votes
- the value Of the land shall en,e them to- and the Lee
gi.laure shall by law provide the mode in which their
vote or votes shall in such case be given.''
The question then being on the filling of the blank
In the above resolution,
Mr. LEIGH moved to fill it wit h the words" three
months"
Mr.. L. in advocating this amendment said that he
should nst trouble the House with many remarks on
the proprety Of that term. 1t would be ba,
Fseeholiers, by resolution already agreed to- were
required 10 have their title for six months before the
time they offer TO vote-and the question was whether
the non-eeholder. who certainly had less interest in
the Community, ought not TO have theirs least three
months before they voted? The object of both provi
sions was to prevent fraudulent manufacturing of
votes with view to an approaching election. The
period OF months in the of Freeholers though
IL might not be perfect safeguard would under ,hs
hal 0f ha
found sufficient Ii would rarely occur that votes
would he provided so long months before an eIrc.
non. H. indeed, such practice did at all exist. the
mode was TO make the fraudulent deed Just be fore the
election took place. but to anedate en- the law not
requiring the deed to have been recorded. He was
very much gratied to hear the truth of such an allie
CATION denied, as II applied to the Western part of the
State, and In the rounest terms As to the case of
leaseholders occupation required and ,hs he pre
sumed would be sufficient, tho no could easily con.
csive case in which that security wouII fail SIM.
pose tenant to have rented tract Of land on which
he was employing many free-white labourers An
he would have to do, would be partition out the land
and relet TO these labourers, and put them in pos
session oil their respective shares; then let I'm yete
and Immediately ater transfer the lani book tn the
original tenant. He said he saw no motive to induce
any gentleman TO desire 70 leave open door to frauds
Of any kind, let the qualification he what il might
lie concluded by moving to ill the blank with three
monhs.
Mr. SUMMERS sail he was far from being in favor
OF "csng frauds oil any kind or in any place, hut he
ties in the way OF exercising the elective franchise
IL would be very troublesome operation for tenant:
for the tenant to dspossess himself anil put his sub.
tenants in possession 1t would be expensive as well 40
troublesome, and after all the provisions of In, law
would come in anil obige the eub-enant at the polls 10
pure himself OF fraud by an ealh The gentleman
had EXPRESSED himself as greatly graed 10 learn tn
no frauds collusive conveyances with the view 70
alpg votes hal taken place in the western parts of
the state and from what he had sal about s having
been denied, he presumed he referred TO some state.
ments made by hmselt But that gentleman would
do him the justice to recoect that the denial he had
made that sc5ject had been expressly limited so az
TO refer only TO cases within his personal kDowIeGae
and cognzance, and that in taxing his memory az to
reports, he had heard that he had remembered but ne
such attempt which hal proved utterly abortive from,
The honorable conduct OF The mp ,cors of the polls
MIR. L.. said, that gentleman near Inn had given
lin very good reason for reducing the term from
three TO fWo months: which was that the leases usually
run from LIST January, and were commonly recorded
some lime during the month Of January; as the eec.
tons were commonly held in April If three months
required, the period would be too long. He would
therefore Je content with two months.
(Some explanations passed between Mr. IErGu and
MI. SUMMERS as TO the denial by the lstter's having
been qualified in generally
MIR. l., said, all be wished, to impose the same
tecy 10 the case OF lanholds az in that offeehoIs:
he was aware that IL was impra ccsbe IN stta, per
iec security against Frauds for all laws would be eva
dcd. " "
As TO the consideration OF expense though 4. men
wol'h pay much money 10 gipe voe vet there might
ne men who would willingly give money 10 Get vote
Mt SUMMERS was not salisbed with the term of Two
mouths. lie referred to the practice existing in some
part oil the State OF creating very burdensorns leases
!eyokabIe at the pleasure Of the landlord. II would be
oeter 10 give the people their rights and not force IN EN-
70 huTect means 10 attain them. II was customary 10