Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-01-16

alono, has contrary course been nnrsmaJ In SSa~
late amendments, South Carolina has established a
mixed representation of persons and property; and
eeor9a mas earned INTO her enumeration of inhabi-
tants, three-fifths of all people of color whothr,
slaves not. H'
., With the exception of the two last mentioned
States, whether an amendment has been made it has
been to lop off some arisocratic feature. But mo-.
tng can so decsiveIy prove the growing determine
ton or the American people, to establish their 40
verniaeEts upon the pure and equal princpes of em.l
personal and political rights as their conduct IN the
admission of new States into the Union and the
course pursued by each State, III the formation
OF it's own constitution.
The American People never brouglt their on;p;on,
to bear unitedy and practically the subject under
until they passed the first act to enable the
people Oh territory to form Constitution. In the
rst OF these acts, well in each successive one
the right OF suffrage free and equal and sch i,
nearly the right of suffrage in each new State Tba;
legislative houses are homogeneous with each other
o. with the electors This even the case with Alaba
ma and Louisiana, where we would least have cxnec
ted It, and this, notwithstanding the neighborhood or
georgia and South Carolina. The truth is that
odious distinctions founded the possessioo of e.lth
are condemned intoerabe by the body of the An,e
rican People; and how much more odio,Is il the at
tempt ;:ade by the friends of this bill-an attempn
to dsranchise free of portion of his ncI;t;1l
rights, because he does not possess a sInpce
Wealth, at best, is but feeling thinu-is here,
to-day and gone tomorrow But the practice of re-
presenting property. where property has been re-
presented, was more rational than the present eff
fort. Other States looked to property generally:
Whereas the trainers of this bill regard slave property
alone.
have already shewn, that solid located yell-dafi
ned aristocracy, existed at the period of the reyou-
ton and that the Convention of 1875 preserved that
arisocracy as far possible The author of the act
OF desccnts, and of the law tcstrovinr estotes toll
used to say, that by those measures he had DESTROYED
the arisocratic party in his stute Perhaps he was
rght. His measures may have laid the axe to the
root of the tree, but the itself dies slowly Phe
members cling to their power to the ruling passion
strong III DEATH They resist every innovations and bv
THIS name, characterize every measure of The,ai
nature In that spirit they resisted the establishment
OF PRIMARY Schools-some of them maintaining that
to instruct the poor child to increase his misery
by adding imaginary, to his real wants,-a position
winch might be true, If could be asserted that he
VINO IS born poor, must necessarily remain So
Shall we be asked why Georgia and South Cerof.
ma have assumed the grounds they have assumeds
Perhaps the times of these assumptions connected
w n1 exlsung might furnish the answer
Old Georgia was nearly all settled and througbo,,r
that state nearly the same interests existed Tbat
STATE IL !793 was asserting it's title vast unset
tied deman like Western Virginia was and the
people OF the settled parts established their prncpl
OF enumeration, while they h, . So Nh,
same IN thecase Of Carolina: but who Ca say esSs
.osg ss ps0pss q those sssiss w submit
ward too late. Yhey rested too LONG n, tl,p
nope, that their county and burrougb svsfer, 1,sI
uphoid them They blinded their eyes to the grow;rs
inseiigence and dissatisfaction of their comm
Phe strife of more than twenty years nrrer, 1911
convince them that all was not safe. They never Ala
bclcVe that majority OF freehoIders were against
them, until last Apri and as to the rea5olJor
they never dreamed of him. A short rev;arr of ~;
progress at home, ought to convince these gentlemen
that their present attempt has been deferred too
IN taxing thus review, will first advert to the re-
port OF committee of this House in the session nc
f8'6-.T (See journal, p. 49, Rv- that report h
was shewn that In almost every year since 1900 neti
lions 1or the call OF convention, for taking the
sense OF the people, had been presented and in Is0S
ana 1914 had been sustained by the votes of those
VINO represented majority of the whole peope-In
1919 THIS House refused to consider bill to euuazt.
The senatorial districts from supposed want of lepis
lative power. In 1916, this House passed conven
ton bill and sent 1t to the Senate. The Senate nan
sed until tins House sent them senatorial bill which
they passed, and rejected the convention bill The
most prominent of all the grievances compIained Of
WIS, tbs, unequal representation of the people, and
at All times an equal representation of the people
founded on the basis of white population wac yyhos
was most loudly demanded No other REPRESENTATIVE
was thought spoken Of
Twenty-eight years have passed away since tbs.
reehofderS have sought for REFORM and fourteen since
tey knew themselves to be the majority; vet so reat
was their aversion from revolution that thcy petfion
cd year after year, for the facility of law to fake.
Gneir votes on the question of calling convention
" hen this was obtained, it fair to expect tho
facility asked for, to enable the free peone tn On
INTO convention on equal principles. No one had
reason to apprehend that instead of this We woun
have been met by such measure os tho Hill 49,.
considerations
Do gentlemen deceive themselves SO far as to b,.
lleve they have either the right the power to forc,
TINS Dill on the community! What right have we to
say that none but freeholder shall give his yotes
Could we not as well say that none but STAKEHOLDER
shall vote? We have such right. The precedep,
of1775, will not bear us cut. There was then m,
enemy at the door, and government in the hands Of
some person Indispensable necessary Persis
lance III this measure would raise uy another enemy
of very different character. It must inevitably,
produce revolution. 1t is not in human nature
that should endure on olioarchy in anv E,un,
when they able to shake it off No one onpbt IN
doubt that majority of even the present ffeehokers
are opposed TO this measure. The whole west is agasa
IT. and there there is scarcely diesenteut There s
also, great division aguinst it in the east pen;s
me to consider this subject with reference to numbers
The white population of the East in 1910. exceeded
tnat OF the west ABOUT f6 thousand. In 1920 about
86 thousand. At the present moment hive i;ttio
doubt that the minority would be found NYca of liz