Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-11-13
Fon THE CoNsrIrrrroSAL VINO.
Let ali tic ends tlio.. l:as, a. be tIv country
Thy Gods sud trtith's

! FoR THE Constructors VINO.
! "Bc just and fear not:
| Thy Gods, and truths"
! In observing the proceedings of the Convention
ut Richmond, surprised to discover that few
OF It's members seem inclined TO alopt the pIan n
two distinct basis of representation: the for the
Senate, the other for the lower House. We ha,
believed that most of the Eastern gentlemen, woulC
have acquiesced IN that schemes aud we still enter
tam hope, that II may finally prevail.
| We confess our neXperiencc in political affairs
but If there be any principle which we have beer
taught from infancy to revere, which VIC may Rlrnos
DE SAID 10 have mbibed with mothers milk, anC
IN which, to use the nervous dialect of the Roman
Orator mon fact sed natl; non INSTITUTE sed imbut
| sumus; 1t is that minority can have no right tc
supreme control over the majority of rho independ
ent citizens OF our country; and not see ar
attempt made To violate conceive, the sanctt,
of that axiom, without raising DIR voice howeye,
feeble and unheared, against il. We will not per.
mt any seeming, temporary, interest to beguile us
into the adoption of doctrine which would ulti-
mately prove the ruin of the Commonwealth. No
we swear by those who fell at Lexington and Bunk
ers Hill, never to desert what we regard as the
fortress which protects the liberties of the State
although we were born, and have generally resided
ana expect hereafter TO do so, county considera-
bly, below ide-wae we donot deny, that were il alb
solutey necessary to adopt basis of represenao
IN Doth branches of our Legislature, either white
population alone, or population and taxation combin-
ed, we should prefer the former. The utter indeed
appears to US wholly ogarchical and aristocrati-
cal III Its tendencies that we would almost as soon
thnE' "i Claiming for the district in which live
privileged order OF Mobiles, as prominence in the
Leg stature created upon such foundation We
neither know, nor Is 1t IN the present roversy at
all important to know, whether the rights of the
majority be rightly called natural or not; but we pre-
ment, viii look only what reason Justice and mo-
htcaI cXprd!cncy, may dictate. Now If The greater
number must either be placed in the power of the
lesser or e lesser IN that of the grentcr the latter
event would surely be most agreeable to natural rea-
son and equity. The minority would be as apt 10
abuse their sovereign authority as the majority
since they are impeed by the same selfish passions:
and the happiness OF large body of men s Of more
consequence than that of few individuals. II is
more unjust to Cypress a multitude, than two or
three, os II Is more ubiquitous rob thousand than
TO rob one; and If you once yield tho point that a
minority may rule, 1t may diminish to two or three
persons, since, there is limit at which YOU must
step. There is no definite magnitude assigned to
this minority, which might dwinde to n point, and
thus single city might, by the mere ACQUISITION of
enormous riches, swell its power to Colossal size
and assume supreme dominion over the Republic -
Are the Democratic of the ancient Dominion.
prepared to admit such doctrine as this? Is this
the Liberty and equality for which our forefatbers
sned their blood And is this al that remains TO Il,
OF the rich legacy they bequeathed to their issue,.
Shades OF immortal Washington, Of Greene, and Of
Warren, "
.Are all Thy conquess gories triulnphs, spois
Shrunk to this little measure"
An able advocate of the compound basis in the
Convention, endeavOured to demonstrate nv ins,an
ces ngenously drawn from our political insiituions
that there is nothing in the spirit Of those institutions
"hch declares that majority shnl govern. Ills
unalOgcs though specious ore utterly fallacious :
Ihere 10 no resemblance, so far the prpsaut aues
ton Is concerned, between the examples put Of Ju.
res the Presidential vote, and others and Tho case
now under discussion. In every instance mentioned
! by the eloquent gentleman alluded to- the actors
were merely The deputies Of others and not decidinn
upon their own interests The jurcs and the Con
gress, nrc the assents Of others; of the nation
large. If an individual should choose to appoint
twoVc or Two hundred persons 20 transact q particu
lar piece of business for him. and To- rive IN single
ono OF these persons the power TO control the opn
ions OF all the rest there Injustice IN this bc
cause the party appointing them is The only poyc,
concerned, and he has assurcdy right 10 manage h
own business ~ his own way. so if the 1otior
chooses to constitute Juries, Legislatures and othc
pohtical bodies, and organize them in the wnv inst
mentioned, it has unquostioned and unqucstionabl,
right TO Do So The majority Of the individual COM
posing the nation, might do this and thus those nnor
ties would have an authority founded upon, g. derived
lIom the VIII OF the majority Of the Community
But suppose these twelve these two hundred men
were cast upon some desert shore would one indivd
ual among them, have any title to TcnaI power
without the consent Of his companions? He would
nave most certainly right to leave them IL he did no,
like the form Of government they might establish;
bN neither natural reason nor Justice, could rive
him claim TO make them tho slaves of his will II
may be said, II has been said, and the Convention
-, 80 no "'ul"iHy i''ShI alWaybIetaln the prepon-
derance by paying the larger share Of taxes. This
would be TO impose the largest pOr On Of the com.
nunity, the very injustice which the minority only fear
The majority wo are told ought not to govern Whv'
Because they might tax the weaker party beyond
measure; and TO avoid the possibility Of this forsootb
we ought to inhict the majority the very evil
winch tho minority may otherwise perchancc endure
There IS something obviously unfair in this arp-
rnent, that astonisbed at it's use by the hon
gentleman who employed il.
: We have been told, too, that the East could not
practice c7tor,iSn ppon thoWcst. because Ia lat