Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1829-11-23

sis they would be entitled 10 Ave times as many
as they contain five times as many inhabitants (!
The same four counties would be outnumbered
in the House OF Delegates, almost by one rep.
reseniatIve, by the three towns of Richmond,
Petersburg and Norfolk noin outstanding The
whiie population Of the counties amounts 10
80, o36, while that OF the towns is onl, l4.I6B
And this is the equality they talk of giving Us ,
This is The equality which two of the Delegates
from he Piilsy lvania district have had the mag
nanimiy 10 vote for. IN the teeth of the pledge
which they frequently and uuqualiiedly mad.
to their constituents pending the election Well
might the aristocracy of Richmond Circulate
their handbils in this and the neighbor,ng dis.
tricts, TO cheat the people out of their rights
rights which, surrendered by us, 20 to swell the
power and Impotence of the Metropolis The
county Of Campbell. with white population Of
lO,362, will be entitled, under the compound
basis, to ? 3.l0tbs representatives, while the
County OF Bedford, containing a white popula.
ton OF 1907, will be entitled only to 9.lOths,
giving to Campbell, possessing 1900 fewer
whites, superiority over Bedford in the
Legislature nearly in the proportion of
3 to 2-We will not, at present, pursue
the comparison any farther but content
ourselves with saying, what the pub.
lie documents will fully prove, that the same
inequalities will be found to exist through
out the State, upon that basis. We ask the
people Of Bedford whether they will tame
ly submit to an inequality operating thus
iujuriously to themselves-which gives to a
voter in Campbell a weight in the Legislature
greater than a voter of Bedford will possess, in
the proportion OF TO 2-and which, more
glarngly un just still, will confer on one voter
in Richmond as much power rs is possessed by
three in Bedford We are perfectly sure
the people ofCampbel DO not wish it-for,
by the operation Of the same rule, they, too,
will Ire shorn OF her due weight, which is TO DE
conferred on others weathier than thems elves
Aud he must be deeply stepped in prejudice,
indeed, who can pretend to think that Camp
bell county ought to have this superiority over
Bedford, in order TO protect her interests against
The unjust exactions Of her neighbor Or,
will il be sufficient sairo to the people Of Bed
ford 10 say 10 them, " il is true your power is
not equalto that of the people OF Campbell or
OF Richmond, because your average wealth is
not as great; but then, in return. you have a
greater share than your neighbofs OF Bote,ourt
and Montgomery, because they are still poorer
than YOU thus graduating the political
power of our country, mol upon the principle
ofeqn1lrights, but OF The aggregate Weaih OF
| the counties aud districts. We appeal
TO every man, who styles himself a republican,
if these are his opinions of what a republican
government should be 7 Are they ready, under
the groundless apprehension of being oppres-
siyely taxed by our Western brethren, to sur.
render their own equal rights to people Of the
more wealthy sections Of the State After
having thus degraded themselves from tina, free
aud equal station in which they are placed by
Nature and Natures God" do they expect tc
console themselves by the reflection that there
are others of their once free fellow-clizcns still
poorer than themselves. aud consequently still
more degraded ? If such be the sentiment.
OF the people of this and the neighboring dis
tricts. when they shall dispassionately review
and clearly understand the bearings of this
question, then have we grossly mistaken Their
character. We believe that they are not dis
posed to ask for any unequal advantages fol
| hemseIves-that they want no political rights
which they are not willing to grant to others
and so believing, we must still cherish the hope
that they will not permit others 10 usurp un-
equal privileges over them-that, holding
the gift OF political equality by charter supe
ror even TO Constitutions, neither gold shall
tempt, nor the sword compel them to surrender
or impair it,. If in this opniCn we are deceiv-
ed we have heretofore been laboring under a
a strong but glorious delusion-the deIusion
that gave wisdom TO the councils, strength to
courage to the hearts of our forefathers-the
deusion 'ha, in this country, if in no other
men had knowledge of their rights and spirit
TO maintain them And lift be indeed de-
Iusou-a mere CHI imera OF the brain, would TO
Heaven that we had died under the e1hirating
spell. We shall have lived day too long when
we shall discover that the corruptiog influence
of wealth has insinuated itself into the very
vilals of our government and laid the founda-
ons of an overshadowing arstocracy on the
ruins Of the Liberties Of The peopIe-dissiratins
the most glorious dream that ever warmed the
imagination or Frightened the hopes OF man
kind.
We speak warm y on this subject, because
we feel intensely. We speak in the spirit Of
hostility or anger towards no man. We know
that many of our most intimate and mos,