Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-11-12

~ uo"ti cefta!n general fundamental prjoco;cs ,r
ing me PED OF frocrasoS, compel every cornr,,,;,
TO conform to them without regard m o;s :.
- constitution TO be Of any ralnc must he nSan,o
i.p 'i'I;i! circumstances and situation OF Il,
10y lo[ whlch 1t is intended That qoyernneI
.-'cn would be best for one country migRt bn ,,ors
! ior another Every man in this Conyentioe 80
, .,'i, am sure, In America would unite i
"y my tiiat Republican form of government W.,
80 uP'eu 60 lhe situation of the peope of Tho TTni
tea States and to the Individual Sates i, ~ .u IN
" ioi uiWise politician indeed, who yyonld ,ttao,
i Jay 10 establish Repubc in Russia or T,rrr
NY dhu humanity has had TO mourn over tho nnsn
cesSitl efforts to establish Renhlic ~ ~, . uiisuc
ioi ,econ Indications, We have too nucb ro,so,, -
'PpTehend thai Republican Goyornnent is NO, go, ~
M, l'c spanish Possessions on this Continent
i@c o'y question thut wise statesmen sbo,Id oeI
49, WHeler the measure proposed is best colcI,toJ
~ the liberty, interests and happiness of the
eope OF "nom Is intended operate as rhev real
" MOI whether the measure conforms To certain
rules OF theoretical peyfeciion and ,vouldba ~. -
tea 10 people such as he would have them IN he r.
TINS was question between the protection of ~
rights on the one hand and property ON the ofbnr NH
~ was iiPossibie to reconcile the two | sbould not
hesitate IN giving the preference to the projection f
pei aoiiui rights but hunby conceive that there is
no niconpatloiLty In the protection ofthc two pro
perry asks not for sword to enable it to do mn;
90 others; 1t only asks for shield to nrotoct i S
| injury. Il ifo'n
rms question has been discussed, Mr.. Chairman
oy bost OF the gentlemen one side and all n, +ho
Other as If the only object was the protect;on va |
slave property of Eastern Virginia from onnrossi,o
taSation. And the. gentleman from Albemorte M
az L ias s1tid mat no gentleman on the other
sue nan advocated the amendment to the Report of
tIie Legislative Committee on any other r..ror,J
OF uyseu' sir, haVe no hesitation in savinG ;hor If
~ ere noC slave III Virginia, if by Tie una
nlnlous consent of the Convention n clousa 80
inserted IN the Constitution eyemptinp tho, $50 -
from taxation, | should still think the amend61eni
ougn. TO prevail The power of imposing taxes upon
! community, whereby the government cen M ~
sure Withdraw from every individual anv norri ~ H.
nara earned property, Is of the most iIor,rant
powers winch can be conferred by the people IN tbeir
% 'n onaFac'eF' upon their government And
u IS u me utmost Importance that that responsibility
OF puphc functonares TO the people for The ftht
olscharge OF their duties, which is the life and seen
! lity o. repTesehtat!"c Government, should be pre-
served IN The fullest and most perfect daorna I'll,
respect to the power of laying taxes: and thi. 70
sponsibilty never in proper decree lInIaes
those VINO have TIE power of laying the taxes are
b, To those who are compelled to pay
! tiien; II the Report OF the Legislative COMMITTEE
be adopted by the Convention then those ,TI,o nav
less than one fourth of the taxes of the Stair (nId
ti e, ne PowSEo! imposing taxes the residue CT
'"e t9t'e, ana Inc MINORITY who imposed the IA cs
Woud De subject to no kind of responsibility TO ,hosa
taxes. i''' u '''1
The wealth Of country, Mr.. Chairman. d..,,ands
epon the productive industry of tIat co,,r,sx and
whether these productions arise from, Che labor the
trcemeA or OF slaves, they add equally to the wealth
or the community at large The tobacco of y;r;ia
the cotton and rice of the Carolinas and (eor1;s ~
the sugar of Louisiana. add as much TO the saJtb ~
the nation as If they the produce of the labor 81
free white men. Yei atn stiu uuwiJlinr To -
the slave labor equality with the c3bt, No.
ihere are preIudces this subject al .sing from -
difference IN colour and various other consdrrafiora
~Iiun are nsuPerah Die; these prejudces feel as
strongly as any man in the West; and if the oueston
now under consideration was, whether in an an,,or
comment OF representation having reference to num-
oets ana 10 no otheT consideration, slaves should be
hcluaed' should feel no hesitation in saynr tot
| would not include slaves in the enumnrai;e1, "'
Although the protection of slave property from tba
uanger OF unjust and oppressive taxation be mt tbr
only object or the proposed amendment tn m, arr,
of the Legislative committee vet the 1arqo -,
OF slaves held in Eastern Virginia and the ccn,naro
| livery small number held in the Western port oG
inc state deserves serious considerations in deciding
upon this SUBJECT. The slave tax is so uer cent n
The whole revenue the state; they constitute one
third OF the whole property of the state and move
than one half OF tie property of that part of Virginia
| lying To the cast OF the Blue Ridge of rnounfoiDe
We have been told blythe two gentlemen from Ire.
derrick (Mr Cook and Mr PoWell0 bv the ocntlo.
man from Brooke (Mr. Campbell,) by the gentleman
from from AlDenarie Mr. Gordon and by the gentleman
rom Loudoun Mr. Mercer, that ifthe white basis Of
representation be adopted, still the slave hold;n in
terest would be proected-because there are Traa,
many slaves in the Valley, where they are penerolIv
distributed amongst the people and several rf thnJy
gentlemen referred particularly to fopr counfis -
the Valley which they say contain great numbers a.
slaves, and that the white population of these coun
tles added TO the white population of the country
East of the Blue Ridge would make white non,lla
ton OF 100000 who have peculiarly slave Interest
and the balance Of the white population beino onI,
10000, the slave holding interest would have largC
majority, and would always have n roa;or;t re-
responsibility of these gentlemen repudStes the idea
that they intended to deceive the Convention And
their splendid talents added to their weight of charac
ter give an imposing authority to every statement
they nake but I think, sir, it can be very easily
shcwn, that these gentlemen entirely mistaken IN
their calculations. Fhe slaves constitute 80 per
cent of the whole population of the state. And no
county having less than SO per cent can have such
controlling slave interest would induce it to unite
with the slave holding interest in other parts of the
state IN resisting attempts to burthen that species OF
property from taxation. To illustrate nv idea will
suppose that the taxes Of the state are so arranged
that one half arises from land and the other half from
slaves. II these slaves be distributed in equal nro
portions, according to white populations amongst the