Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1829-12-05
CONVENTIONS
DEBATE ON BASIS OF REPRESENTATION
In COMMITTEE oF THE WhoLR on THE CossurvTIoS.
SAruRnAX Nov


Mr.. STANARD again and addr e.sed the Commi,
tee, in substance, as follows
endeavorsd yesterday TO shew from the re ason @
t:c case Lnd the concessions Of my opponent eithe
directly or by fair implication that their argument of
pithss was unflunded and that the epthets thew hav
attempted TO fas'"n to the doctrines maintaned by
and wantonly applied by them.
thought that satisfactorily showed from both ,our
ces mat the question: how far the general principle in
sisted on the sole aid exclusive rule in the
lion OF republican COVE uyht TO be carrsJ
question Of degree aud not Of prin chile; and thai
what we have to determine it, at what point tina princi.
pie nersected traversed and modified by other and
controlling principles which all must admit 10 be
consulted in adapting Government the actual state
Of Society.
Permit me now to attempt farther ilIu,traon h,
showing what must he DONE If they shall prevail i'm es
abshng their proposition either in the form i'm which
" mas been reported by the Legislative Committee OF
according 10 The gloss wh'h has been put upon it by
the gentleman from Augusta. Their elementary pro
position Is this, that as all men by nature equa
MI men have right to enjoy equal portion, Of politics
power and they insist that this be carried out
mere Is no such thing Republic. Now will give
them this principle, and let them apply il to matur,
condition OF society, and then how far they will b,
compelled to renounce some portion of il. In the ~.
lure oil hngs, TO the obension OF the desired equality
you must have given hrst the on which the prn
cipe Is to operate as DIVIDEND then the given numbe
OF Representatives as dvisor; and applying ,h. de
VISOR TO this dividend the quoiien will be the numbe
OF Individuals TO be represented by each Delegate
Then you come TO the existing soccty-and Won find
dividing lines ell over the State which have existed
some oil them Tor two hundred years, and the popua
ton scattered in unequal masses within the So lines
The number which your quo,i-n indie for one re-
preventative IL OF course, an unvaryng quantity
the numbers to which il is to be applied are all
One county contains 5000 free whites-ano,her county
scotland your quo'ent is 5000-what are YOU TO do,
must you break up the county lines! Must you add
ore county 10 another and subdivide fer the
10 this to be your process! L, such process
The gentleman from Augusta, am sure, does not look
10 such process; none OF the eeatlemcn avow them.
serves IN favor OF IT, Ii would be cutting up one
nor Two, nor three OF your counties; but every existing
PARTITION Of the Sste-every one-without excention
All the present lines, all Of them must be
And even when shall have been reconciied TO this
ny any practical process to cut off and define the Sc
vcra portions to be taken from and added to another
so as TO produce perfect equality between the counties
or districts, is beyond "e power OF man.
III the principle cannot be thus applied what is IN be
done? What must be its effect in practice? Here Won
have one county containing 5000 inhabitants and ano-
Their containing 5000: while your invarabe dvi.or /,
2ooo. WI, you give the former Of these counties a
Representative? Suppose you do: and what will you
allow to the second? Not any but saw YOU give
IL two-yetl aPprehend you would not give two to a
county containing six or seven thousand. And what
Then! why then a county containing 5000 will have
two Representatives, while a county containing 6 or
7OOO will have Representatives and thi. 10 their
exact mathematical proportion IL turns in practice
80 variant and unequal that gives e. and ons and
as many as7.
shall not pursue this visw OF tn. subject farther:
there can he no necessity Of pushing to other obvi.
My next voucher Tor clearing away the incumbr,n.
ees to our title to RepubcaBism 10 the Constitution Of
this State-which shew, the principle embodied and
ID concrete FORM and in that form con.ecraed by an
authority which gentlemen invoke their aid and their
dispsragenent They all eulogize in ihs most exalted
stra the wisdom, the virtue the patrio.m of eur
ancesor aud yet they endeavor 10 make their princ-
pies condemn their own work. Their patriotism their
virtue their wisdom, their intelligence are all forth
~ order the more to the PRINCIPLES thew laid
down; but all these cannot mitigate the sentence NJ
condemnation which l. pronounced upon their labor,
aud on the structure which they themselves rs,,,J
on these very rrncpler
But the gentlemen have sslvo for discredi,ing At
one time authority which they cry ND as irrefrapa
bic and iniabe in every respect in which they want
to make use Of IL: and that s-that while the prnci
pies they laid down are the result of mature rescon
the happy induction Of ssgacious minds from an ex.
tended view OF past tme', all these qualities were dis.
solved and dssipaed by the hurry aud alarm in which
they constructed their work That assumption ba.
been shewn TO bs inconsistent with historical fac O.
They so IN pursuit OF some prete1t, which 10 dis
eredn ther own authority u Is Catholic, a. lar a.
they chose to use it, and htreeaI Just so far az the
wish TO rejectt They have INDUCED themselves in
an elaborate examination Of analogous provisions In the
Constitutions Of our Sister States
The gentleman from Loudoun, in particular, pre .
sonted us with most elaborate and extensive snslv.
ais, this sutject--all with view TO maintain M.
auho ity Of The Bill Of Rights and to rspudste that Of
the Consuu IN.
To give them more emphasis 10 the,e precedents !,
pleased That gentleman. only to bring before vs. in
detail various Bile Of Righs, adopted in different
p'ts Of the Union; bu, TO appze the Committee win
more than usual 'olernniy, that these were o. tho
work Of men, in I'm dated by the presence OF an
al theie doors, and by the OF hostile cannon bnt
the mature results Of PROFOUND aud tranquil inv .stga.
ton. when CAGE wa 10 all borders and their an.
,hors enjoyed the adyan'age OF the experience Of N
Revolution, and the Councils OF all the master spirits
OF that epoch. Al these things wer, brought in a..
Tenn array, and for what purpose To cast discredt
Oh the work Of orr Progenilors But surely the evil
genius OF the Ieman from Ioudouu Imus have lac
presiding, when he sured 10 adop, nj eours