Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1836-03-24

feel myself guilty, most guilty, ana howev.
or might succeed 10 conccaling myself
fr ON the sight Of men. could not in my
view Of the subject, save myself from the
upbraidings OF my own perjurcd con.
science. How could return to NIX q.
mong her people. to share their hospital
" and kindness, with the declaration on
my lips. Il have violated my office. and
sooner than resign my place in the Senate,
have struck down the Constitution ~
1.-THE Senate has a right TO touch the
Jouru al under Instructions. it has right
to do so without. If TO cancel part.
right to expunge the whole. II to use ink
from a pen. right to pour il out from
bottle to destroy the journal in any other
way-to burn ito make bonfire Of all
that 10 bright and glorious in our history.
| know it has been said that the process
directed to be adopted BY your resolution
is not designed to expunge. ] cannot be-
lievc this. and reject it as equally injurious
10 yourselves and unjust to those you re-
present. You direct the words, "Expun-
ged by order of the Senate" to be written
across the resolutions on which you pro-
pose to make war. will not believe that
you merely design TO cnsnare my con
science much less will indulge for q
moment the idea that you direct false.
hood to be recorded by me. Those do
not understand you who make such as.
criptions, and am not misled BY them
The general Assembly Of proud and lof-
ty State, is incapable of mere bubble,
and such an one IS would disgrace kings
| jester. No, gentlemen, the act which
you direct TO be performed, is designed to
be, and is equivalent to, an actual oblite-
ration in all its practical results. The
manner Of accomplishing this act Of can
collation.. is wholly immaterial. In pub
fishing this journal, from time to time here
after, the resolution thus cancelled cannot
be published as part Of it. II is declared
to be expunged upon its face. But. If IN
this could possibly be mistaken-if. af
ter all, il is merely child's play--the ma
king few flourishes. and putting the Sc
cretary Of ihe Senate to the trouble to
| write few unmeaning words, the ques-
, ton would not be changed. Such as is
the Journal, SO shall il be kept, unaltered
in letter, unchanged in comma the
same as it now is .'to the last syllable of
recorded Time" Such is the fiat Of the
Constitution. There is not a clerk or de.
putty clerk in the Commonwealth of Vir
GINA who would execute such an order, in
regard to bis records. The people would
be alive 10 the question, and in vindca.
ton Of their rights, would Erpunge the
the Court sooner than permit the rec ord
containing the titles on their estates TO be
cancelled in any manner whatever. They
surely cannot take less interest in the pre-
servation of the Constitution, the great
charter of all their rights.
The efforthas been made 10 hunt up pre-
cedents to justify this act. The pages Of
English parliamentary history have been
ransacked, and an array has been made
Of examples drawn from the times Of the
Jameses and Georges of England. With
equal force might examples he quoted TO
] Justify an Amer lean President in executing
,-capitally citizen Of any one Of the States
Without the form Of trial. He might
equally be justified in the use Of the bow
string, because such is the power Of the
Grand Seignor. The power Of the Eng.
lish Parliament is unlimited so is that Of
many of the States Of this Union in re.
gard to this particular subject. No pre-
cedent can have force 10 overthrow an OK.
press enactment of the constitution. I'm
der its provision, the Senate is directed TO
keep a journal of its proceedings, to pre-
serve it, and TO publish il from time TO
time. III were permitted to look else
where than to that constitution, l would
60 TO Virginia for bright and glorious ex
amples 10 conduct me in safety. The first
point Of prominence, although not in point
of time, was the course attempted TO be
adopted by the Kings party in the House
of Burgesses, in 1865, as to the celebrated
resolutions of Patrick Henry, Of that peri
cd Those resolutions were declaratory
of the rights of British America. After
their adoption, many Of those who voted
for them left the city Of Williamsburg.
thereby giving TO the opposite party the
accidental ascendensy, and they immedi
ately formed the resolution 10 erpunge
them from the journal. But by stroke
OF policy as bold as il was successful, MIR.
Henry saved these resolutions from being
expunged which form at this day, one
of the brightest pages in Virginia history.
and. recorded on any mans tomb, would
eternize his fame. And yet, TO expunge
them from the journal was regarded as
much an act Of duty by those who propo
sed it. as you, gentlemen, can esteem It to
be in the case under consideration. They
failed and my prayer as citizen Of
free country is, that you too may be On.
successful. Your posterity may have good
cause to rejoice in your failure.
Another example, almost as illustrious.
is to be found in the conduct Of Robert
Beverly, during the administration Of Lord
Culpepper. The history Of the incidents Of
, that transaction is not only instructive,
but highly interesting. Lord CulpePper,
armed with all the authority Of the King
of England, his master, ordered that q re-
solution adopted by the House Of Burgess
es, during the administration Of Herbert
Jeffries, should be ezpunged from their re-
cords. as highly derogatory 70 MS ma
iesty's prerogatiye.n Robert Beverly was