Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1835-03-12

the whole etsrct oil to depend upon The decision of the
very person "ituH II was meant To- controul.
Sir, th s'rut anJ uisciieyuus crItr in the Idle, com.
mented on, consists ia It's assuming. that in every case
OF instruction. ,Acrc is a true w,ii ar a false will. which
IS De Judged o., M; uyon grounds of fact. bat of cir
cumstanee AMI opinion, ald Ia be judged OF by the
representatives. No proposition could be- more peifrc;-
~ lndeiensiblc. There Is NJ such true or false will
none whatsoever IN that understanding of it which
would entitle the Representative to Interfere. That viii.
Whatever ~ be- is genuine as to him and as u his duty
toacknowled.e At, which is not false in point OF fact-n1t
u forgery or fraad-and genuine without regard TO the
suihciency OF the reasons or grounds upon which il rests
Such suhicicncy is to be iudued of by the constituent
alone, without participation with amy one, and whether
nus Judgment be right or wrong, ~pIeiudiced or fair, whe-
,hSr Al be made up upon much knowledge or little know
icuge, no matter what be the quality Of it, an ins,ruc.
lion rounded upon IT can no more be CHALLENGED on nc
count oil that quality. than Il vote can be CHALLENGED Gar
IN cause when II is spoken out ritN roce at the polls.
Probabilities upon this point, MIR. Speaker. should moi
be confounded with principles. Let il be considered
SIR, mat what you cannot do directly, you cannot do in.
directly; so that II You have no power directly to- sci
aside the Judgment of u voter when pronounced il, a
case oil instruction, you have no greater Indirect nowcr
70 go oehind mat vote Tor reasons TO impeach aud TO
overthrow 1t. Lay open that Judgment to question aud
attack, from any quarter, on the mere score of its uuaIi.
~ and you, at once, withdraw the right TO assertit from,
the hxed, constitutional footing ON which it now s.ands
anu SUBJECT IL to the capricious tests of moral and mental
htness; But no such tests exist, and none sucI, can be-
appned.IL9ok 10 the Constitution. Here you find the
eiectoral right compounded of certain qualifications of
age advanced enough to imply discretion, with certain
other qualifications OF residence and property. which go
To require the identification of the citizen witt, tho oes
manent anu common interests of the conmunity. This
is all. That Instrument does no more; il erects no stand.
aroo htness, moral or intellectual, but II places all iis
commence Tor a proper aud prosperous exercise of the
.ignt which At conicIs, upon the simple guar antecs which
interest and discretion are expected TO supply.
These, too, are the guarantees upon which Won =
rely, wnelher the right be exercised in common election
attne polls, or in a case of i'll Instruction.; for. there arc none
Others which can be superaddcd. Whenever Il man.
Then, who possesses it, shall exercise il i'm n case
oil instruction, and shall make no aftcr-complnint
about 1T himself, surely no one is entitled to com.
pam Tor INN, and to say that he had been mista.
ken or ueluupd. The worry hest nrnor ,b-. L.. l.-.
been, that he IS satisfied with his own act. and with
tne reasons Oft, Is TO be had when he neither complains
OF IL, nor recalls it; and be these reasons what they NAV
according to the estimate Of another-be they crer So
lnapposlte, or deceptive, or wrctclcd. there is noibipr in
mem, which can arm any human being with u negative
over the decision to which they have led him. This
ucclHon, Whatever it be, is the decision, in n ,eonsti-
tuuohM sense, OF u competent Judge, and if be CON
CURED la by a majority of the local commute
of which the person who declares II ;s = 80
per, and which mmnnity is made Gamble NV ,he
constitution OF having.its will represented then, is il
uhe decision OF a tribunal which is cogaisaat of the case.
embraced by IT, which must operate as law upon the mat
Ter at issue, until it be reversed, and which il no Other.
~ !" icVerSipie uhan oy the very persons who pronounced
y. mere may De error IN 1t, but 1T is not correctihlc by the
representatives; 1t is the error of those who con s,ituiio,,,IIv
nave the right to be wrong, and who, and who ONLY. can
cancel or correct 1t. There liz no appellate On suncrrv;.o
ry power lodged, for security's sake. in the hands of tb.
General Assembly we are not made a board of controI
&c regulate our constituents, but an assembly of agents
executing their commands when required: eSecutin9y orr
own judgment when left TO ocr own discretion. Gen.
uemeh may declalln as much as they please a0ainst
SuS lmpoSitlonS which certain nedps nf strnc
l'oh are supposed to foster and conceal, but they can do
no more than declaim the right of argament NAV he
thcirs, put the right of decision, in all its comprchensive
III ooIigatory Import, belongs to the voter Wcr. =,
lhe prerogatlvc OF the Representative To determine
upon probabilities OF fact, or upon mere a zyio1i ,,oson''
ihg, when and under what circumstances tbrv r;oL,
should be considered rs abused, and refuse his obedie4ce
accord!ngly-were it his prcrogative to go behind the
act OF instruction and satisfy himself by an investiro.
ton INTO reasons, views, and motives, whether he was
pouhut 70 regard 1t or not-were this the case, there could
not be u more downright or perfect mockerv of n r;rbt
uPoh earih' tnan tins boosted one of instruction itself.
Inc whole Of 1t would be little more than nm nrtc,I lin.
son, TO cheat the %confding and the thouohtless. If The
opisatlon oil 1t, when exercised, Is not imnerotivc
upon the representative, it il the idiest of all va.
iuhtary fotiesj At is, ia truth, inter nothinrncss-
Authorize him 10 determine upon the ynlidny of nm
Instruction, and then, should great party object depend
upon It's inValidltion and persuade him TO 1t. whore is
your power over him? 1t is the power ofthe coI,veh
Give the representative such authority. and Won mart
WIN your own; Tor, he will never want some plausible
q" u uisaPPolht and to evade it, If Inc wishes to do
50. Itink you, sir, out of the almost innumerable
elements OF thought and of fact which enter into the en-
lnrged and complex questions of American poI;t;c. and
upon one ofwhich it is proposed to Instruct The renre.
sentative, that he could not find materials enongb to
asapPoint the instruction, he being the Judge of the rea.
sons upon which individuals gave it? UndoubtedIv Inc
could or lac would be stoHd, beyond even the excmnE6ca.
i.on OF our annals-and that is saying not a little
would be easy, Sir, to offer illustrations of this-take
q rev Tor example. Here Mr.. Med. suggested several
SIR, 1T Is plain that you cannot admit any tIIing Ike or,r5l
heu obedience in the delegate, without abandoning. sub.
sliiuaLy, lhe principle OF popular control. Where snch
quahhed obedience is allowed, evasions and Iisannoint
hents VIII accompanyit. Relax ever so little in thc die.
hlahds oil rigid authority, and new rclaxations will or;sc
)" ~ Sousnt i0r. But II y~u go step farther than this.
and allow the representative the rirht TO inyestigote and
Try, the reasons upon which the instruction is fopndrd
ana as individuals vow them-if you allow him the rioI,f
" cneiIchge lhese reasons tor cause, and allow il 20 him
npon The specious doctrine, that it is his dutv thus to !.
CERTAIN the iHr sense OF his constituchts-if YOU do this
You surrendereFery thing in the nature of in,struct;onni
oohTol, and abandon tic rcins of Government literally
though not proicssedly, to the hands of vour nocnf
Ageht ne WIZ be no longer; you will have elevated him
INTO a jurisdiction over your will, which enallps hin, r.
be chooses, to displacc il with his own. Only author;so
NM upon any prctcncc whatever, to bring Io,or viii 10
Hs DaT' there to examine into the grounds Of it. and TO
Wy rs VaiulIy. upon his tests, and the degradation of
your right OF instruction is complete. You MAJ s,ii
amuse yourself with the early and the cherished ,h11u,, ,
tnat ours IS a government where the power of thc Co.
PIE never mtermits, where it always acts over the nnihHc
agent wltha steadiast and bencfccnt chcck-cnrbing dis.
honesty, and making the passion for private intcrcsI ,c
minister for public good-you may sill do tbie. L.t -,
"a 3 such idea comprchcnds the powcr-the available
Pu"cT OF popular insiruetton-no vision of a 6feauiuo
intellect could be more saadowy or unreal.
There ~, Mr.. Speaker, but one basjs-thot ,yh;ct,
has been already stoted-on which this rigla csn bc
hNcd, and from which no crafincss of ARGUMENT can
wrest II. 10 belongs TO every man. TO whom. nulcr
inc constitution, the right Of suffrage belongs
IL belongs to him, moreover. withorf ans ,Ls.fn.a s.
10 regulate the form and manner OF it's cycrcisc. 49,
therefore, TO be regulated, in that matter. bv each one
IoT niinscf, as ms own Judgment and sense Of pro,e;e.
" Shal determine. The power Of each ono TO rcsoIt 4,
and apply tins right is plcnary, for there il 90 ,dyor.orn
or higher power which can interfere vg;tb 49, ~ an.'y
hhilt5 modity or control 1t. But inasmucIt az the r;oE,
cannot ne cXerted by one man 20 any available ar nraeE
q emu without the union and Concurrence of 6tI,e,s
you must lock to the necessity for this corc,rron.a ~
public cooperation, as well as TO j ndividnaI 49, sm1
discretion 10 guard the right itself against yanfon =,
aOuSiFe application. You can look no where else. frnst
no Whcrc else. Above all, YOU cannot trust n renrcsent,
1--WE to Impose such a guard upon his cons,;tu.,ts m.
tth unInInK To do fvtfh onrL n To-. g. f 80.