Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-11-10

ou language whici ie,.otes the pcrtec,ou of moral ,
srenrtb , l,p . us latin pt WHICH originally sisns
" virtues Dec ause among them, the useful m The rui
"a me Wisest nations. has ills claims vcera,iou OF r
ny feelings IN this assembly hourly e.nind me To xio
81 ' ye respect: and as society older Birth asserts
liack them by authority. Wealth. comes las, of all a., h.
mower ana distinction, and to be freeman "
lhai the very last dominion TO which Will so,v nc &
must Choose between the aris,ocracy OF birth or Fortune Il
'p' State nis,.eni which y prefer Had rot Better ir
ss i @ IL must have master TO the descendant ior
s ifvhis VINO may be presumed have reared aud e,ca
'eu ue offspring with and tenderness than 10 man
do not anow, s mere rche, If the I,st h S,; .,
by sudden acquisition or by sscst or u"nau " onee'
e eoed uik incunsnt on their if he clmed N
hinsef had honestly acquired his ilc. >.''- .
10 The argument Of my friend from Frederick mr.
Coon) that wealth would protect Itself, The gentle
. gnsi ifoIi Northampton TYR Upsbur had replied
that it could do so, only by corruption by tie e,o,
nent only, C! the basest means. And sau renrssa!
tat!on bn based on wealth. (tiere MIR. CpsF.r ey
planeJ) Mr.. NJ said he had not derstood The rIn
Saeus niemesr Enin a.. though he could no,
70 Justice to his former language, hor Lad The pcntle
man, lns.:itdonc in his explanation. ff1nexcep
tiona5ie Ii al other respects, wealth Mr. Mr. said
would be found Ii all countries too fcla basis al
representations tol distribution of political power
assigned to hauce the interests OF individuals or Of
atinct portions even of the s;ne community Indi-
T!auat wealth.. who fix it !, FIa, VINO can stop
~ eyer REVEALING, wheel offortune. National wealth
Is sunccf, 'housb not in the degree to like uil-
certainty. Oh what does that of Virrinia coIrssI2
Chiefly OF lands and slaves. No estimate OF tho VA
Inc on The $4,000 slaves of Virginia accompanies
the auditors Report. The Land; of the Common
Wealth ssere valued Ii Gi7 Ut goo op0 600 of doars
" Nat are they row WORTH Half That sum- Tie Ind
carefully sought throughout the Convention for in
formation to correct the results OF his own oh.erya
'c within late years As to the change of the value
81 lands IN Virginia After all his enquiries he be.
heYed they had fallen to ftiIs, OF their Cormsr
etiniaed value; and could not, now be computed, at
more than 90, or at most than so millions Next as
20 saves y gentleman sitting near him had, at the
peflod TO which ne had just referred, of The pa
OF the ~eGualzing land law sold 80 slaves in GIni-
cs, at GOO dollars round: He had been assured by
Dinl and 10y other gentlemen, equally wei informed
from OTHER portions OF the Commonwealth, that l50
las fer each slsve' taking them in fanlics, would
be fair price ct the present moment This de,crip
hon OF iabour, then, has fallen one half and lands
more than hall, in very lile more ttap ten ycars
III the estimate OF the lat, the tables supplied by the
AudloT coinpfehended 26 500 900 for city and town
!ose chiefly for the value of those at Richmond Pc
tefSburg, Norfolk. and Frede ricksburr A value de-
peaent ON the fluctuations OF domestic and foreign
raae. " hat Was ohce ats exten in this city, the
metropolis OF the Commonwealth, we AL remember
" MAJ 1t IS now know not; since coninere. tls..i
mconstan handmad of fortune, has turned her helm
from our ports to the favored harhor OF Nev-Vork
cath attracts uealth. Fortune not only withdraws
her gifts from those who abuse but from those who
idl TO use tl:em taking from those who have little
that which they cannot spare, to pour it into the lap
or abundance. while we have been guarrelinp about
internal Improvement, New-Yorl mas swallowed I'D
""C SotLnioICc VI :tIIleflCl. driven from Dy
has gone where It was invited by wiser
councils.
Pilere arc fuctuatieJs ef the value of property,
however, which no wisdom elude or avert. The
value OF our land and labor depends on the value of
the staple commodities which they produce: this en-
the demand for them at home and abroad and that
again on physical and moral causes which no consti-
tuition OF government, which man himself cannot con-
troll On the seasons, III other countries, as 1ell as
our own the policy OF other nations on peace ON
the varying events Of foreign wax. The act Of Con
gress reducing the minimum price Of the national
lands, struck down, at blow, the value of every
landed estate In Virginia Phe tide of wealth which
set in from Europe to America during the vars of the
French revolution, rolled back at The general peace
which succeeded Our last contest with Great Britain
II tins uncertainty of wealth operated unifoTmly
ON all the interests Of our Commonwealth their rra-
tive proportion would be seDsibly disturbed by it,
Such however, is not its effect. The cotton the to-
bacco, the gram. and even the grazing interest are
affected, III different degrees by the same agents:
and although the natural tendency Of the profits of
stock, the rent Of land and the wages of labor in the
same country, is to one level il requires time to still
the successive asitaions of their varying values. In
the interim, new causes continually arising to de-
lay their subsistence to one common leyel and this
principle, the truth OF which is unquestioned though
constantly operating, may accomplish its end
But he'd wealth the necessary stability TO serve the
purpose Of the proposed amendment, is taxatim in
any known system just measure ofihat wealth.
Pa1atfon is the instrument by which legislation
draws from the private revenue of each citizen his
fair proportion Of the public expenditure 1t should
be proportional to lis ability to pay it. It should,
therefore, be drawn from his income, and not from
Ills capital except with view that his income shall
supply the call His income cannot be reached if at
ALL by expedient means, and wisdom suggests the pro-
pretty of taxing his expenditure, which usually bears
q certain proportion to his income.
The constitutional power of another government
restrains the application of these principles TO taxa
ton iu Virginia under the authority Of the States and
tn other respects, dversaes the ucton Of our local
system Of public revenue.
The gentleman from Culpeper, (Mr. Grecn,) has
not told Us how he to combine the taxes of the
people, with their numbers in his compound basis of
representation. Will he add the annual sum Of tie
present taxes, to the numbers OF the people, and d.
vidng the aggregate Of and dollars, settle the
value, at which legal voter in any district moy be
computed? friend has informed me that such is
TO constitute part Of the details of the proposed
compound basis, and that the value of each VOTE in
this commonwealth will be rated ut about fifty eight
cents! Or if this shall shock the ears of the Con-
vention, or the seDse Of the people, who may set
higher estimate their rights, vill gentlemen adopt
what, IL practice, will lead to a similar result the
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