Martinsburg gazette and public advertiser. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1826-1833, 1830-02-11
ros<ale to get ala OF our best men % leave

7
i months in every year.
/ This is the present state Of thing under the
old Constitution and a fair statement Of the
I grievance.
Now what have the Convention done to
remedy this?
4 The members from this size Of the Ridge
asked that the members 10 The Leg lalarc
should be appointed according 70 th2 Tree
white inhabitants The people below, be-
cause they pay three times nuch taxes 10
tue State as we do. (Which is the },irt that II
should be according TO representation and
taxation comhincd. Various we're the at
| tempts made to agree upon some plan that
i would meet with universal concurrence; va
4 rlous tn, plans Of compromise: many and long
/ yere the speeches tbIt were made; and deep
| and strong were the feelings excited by The
r. lision ofdebate But as you have seen all
| u Sc, aud as my purpose is not TO write a
IiistorY Of tine struggle, but to show you ITS
rsstilts, will proceed to point ont to you the
changes which were at lastmade, IN the Legs
l4tivo branch. by the Constitution finally ad-
opted and now submitted to the votes OF the
people
| In tie first place, they declare that the
lower House. which now contains 2IA, shall
| consist Of but 81 members, * shall never OK
coed. under any new arrangement. more
than $50. This Tops of so members from
| the present number. Then they divide the
State into four districts, as have mentioned
| them
The twenty six counties beyond the Ale
| ghany noun. aims many Of which are small IN
population though large IN eDte'af, are to send
! hiirty-oae Delegates to the lower House
| This is about the same proportion Of weight
| that they now have The fourteen counties
! in the Valley, being large. wealthy and popu
| lous. send twenty FIVE This, ia House of
one hundred and thirty four, is about double
| the proportion of weight which we have under
| the present Constitution; for in House of
two hundred and fourteen, we send but ttoers-
| ~ eight.
| The twenty nine counties below the Ridge
| and above tide, water, send forty-two Dele
gates.
And the thirty six counties and four DO
roughs, cities, &c. below Underwater, send Sc
Delegates to the lower House.
Now, what is the result of this diminuticn
Of members and division of power? 1t is
tais:--that the weight of power j. thrown
mlere is ought 10 be--in the middle country Of
Virginia, and is taken away from where it
ought not to be-in the small counties.
The large counties Immediately below the
Ridge, Joining the Valley counties along its
top. have, in point Of soil, inhabitants, staple,
and markets, the same interests with the
Valley; and the history Of the legislation of
the country shews 1T. We raise the same
crops. we go to the same markets by the
same roads ,SI as general rule our waters run
the same way, and cur interests in the inn
provement of the country, and in the charac-
ter of the legislation OF the country, are, or
will be, idendcally the same. To these large
counties, IN some instances, as IN the case of
Loudom 3 delegates are given, as Frederick
has three, and Shenandoah three, and TO
Fanquier, Cuipepper. Albemarle, Campbell,
Bedford, and others lying under the Ridge,
two delegates are allotted, the political pow
er of the State is thus not only given to the
large counties, as it ought to be, but it hap
pens that these large counties compose the
middle belt of the State, having common
interest With us. Another consideration is,
that, "a we OF this section of The county went
with the extreme west, berona the hllegha
ny, IN the great questions which divided the
Convention, SO have we generally found that, !
in political views, we were with the west
ia the Legislature. What can prevent the
upper country then, under the new Constitu-
ton. from carrying any measure OF fair policy
which its interests may suggest. Another IL
OF the fact, that under the new al
iotment we have increased power, is to be
found in the fact, that where the lower
counties below tide water send now seventy
SIX members, under the new arrangement
they will send but thirty This. although
more than their proportion, according to o0r
spinien o" a fair mode of representation, is
still Il great decrease Of actual power. when
II is remembered that we in the Valley In a
House of i34, have within three of our pre-
sent numberin House of . Ia; and the coun-
try allied to us in interest that is. the large
counties immediately below the ridge, are
even in greater ratio.
1t is thus obvious. that by the new consti-
futon there is In respect to the lower House
a great amendment in favor of the upper
In the Senate will remark, that
according to the present ratio of apportion-
meat, we would have in the new Senate 10
Senators west Of the Blue Ridge. As they
have arranged At, we have 3; and besides
tins increase of one, ii is obvious TO me that
there are four, perhaps live, Of the Senatorial
districts Immediately east OF as who would,
In all questions affecting our interests, vote
with the western members, which would an
sure us a majority in Senate OF thirty two
There is another consideration most i'm
portent TO be borne IN mind, and that is the
saving of expense TO the State by this les
sening of the lower House. The saving in
the lower House in the pay of members alone,
sBpposiRg the Legislature to sit 100 days. as
1 almost uniformly does, would be (s32,O01;t