Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-02-20

Int of the State in It's political cnarac'ei, VI, " ~
words of the Government of the State In TINS tneo
- Mr. r. said he would beg leave, with all due defer
ence 10 oin issue with that gentleman beiore
upon the discussion of this issue, however ne wouu
| resnecifully enquire of the gentleman what nene'
G, !, the nresent instance, he would derive from
~, ~ 49,, adrttnr il, for the sake Of argument
| - he founded in truth. Suppose the Senator TO
=, The Represenlative of the Government OF the
State The gentleman, be presumed, would adm''
that i was the province OF the legislative branch OF Inc
Government to elect the Senator and that the election
should be made at least, in accordance with The VIII
and opinions of the people Of the State, as asceraned
by the vote of the State its political divisions IN re-
ference 10 the mixed basis If so, what he would ASK
would be the result; Look TO the vote OF Noven-
Der last and it would be found that OF The countes IN
the State 6l voted for Van Buren,, and .. Tor Har-
r;son shelving majority for the former Vi the Coun-
ties and Districts in the State, sending Delegates TO
the General Assembly, If they were III dc
| cordance with the vote of November, the House OF
Delegates would stand e. TO O7 the senatorial LIS
trc,s 16 10 I6 and the Congressional District II for
Va pnren and @ for Harrison. So that even in this
view of the subject would appear most evident that
the nresen Legislature did not reflect the views oil the
State upon Federal politics MIR. t., however, utterly
denied tina. tie Senator was the representative oi Inc
STATE in The sense in which the gentleman from Mont
| oomarv contended he was. lie denied that the Sena-
| Tor renresented the Government of the State. He
commended that he represented the people of the State
in their highest sovereign capacity; as civil comnu-
nity and not as body polite The Senator was the
renres.ntotyc of the State, in its whole extent II,
said MIR. T., the theory Of the gentleman be cor
rect was the Senator not as much the representa-
i've Of the Executive and Judicial Departments OF
the State, as of the Legislative Department And
should they not participate in his election, as well
as i'll the exercise of just proportion OF controu!
over his official conduct And yet, how absurd
it would be in any gentleman, to contend for any
such right. Mr. Tod would call the attention OF
gentlemen TO the meaning Of tie term estate, as de-
fined by the abest and the soundest authorities that
the country has produced. All gentlemen, he pre-
sumed would agree that Senators elected in accord
ance with the provisions Of the Constitution in
the language of Judge Baldwin, the representatives. Of
each State in the Senate None, he imagined, would
that they the representatives fthe States
in that in which the States are parties TO the com
pact If the Senate would indulge him for moment
lie would turn to the celebrated report Of Mr. Madison
whence, he thought, if gentlemen would take that dis
tinrushed patriot and sage authority, lie should be
able derive ample support in the position which ne
occupied In commenting upon the third resolution
which aiirms that the States are parties TO the com
pact. Mr.. Madison uses the following emphatic Ian
guage:-"lt is indeed true that the term Estates i
sometimes used in vague sense, and sometimes IN d
ferent senses, according the subject to which 1t IS a
pled Thus it sometimes means the separate sections
of territory occupied by the political societies within
each; sometimes the particular governments estao'
lished by those societies; sometimes those societies
rs organized into those particular governments; and
lastly, it the people comprising those political
societies in Mcir highest sorere'gn capacity In the
present instance, whatever different constructions
of the term States in the resolution may have
been entertained all will at least concur in that last
mentioned; because, that sense, the Constitution
was submitted TO the "S,a,es"-in that scasc, the
SC States ratified it, and in that sense OF the term
States they are consequently parties to the compact
from which the powers Of The Federal Government
suit" Now, in this definition of the term States,
Mr. Madison had drawn marked distinction between
the political government Of Il community Of people, and
the same community OF people, composing that po
cal government in their highest sovereign capacity
He had AFT rmed that whilst the term ght be applied
to territory to political governments to the people
in their highest sovereign capacity, II was in the latter
sense alone that the Constitution had been submitted
to- and ratified by the Stae. If, then, the Senators in
Congress the of the States in the
sense in which the Constitution adopted by them
was it not manifest that they were the representa-
tves of the people in their highest sovereign capacity
and If he had succeeded III showing that they the
representatives of the States in the which the
States were parties the Federal compact, how, he
would ask, could any gentleman deny that in making
this election we bound to consult the wishes and
opinions of this people," But, say gentlemen, the lie
pisla,ures elect these iuntona.es Admit il. They
do elect Them but they do il in the character OF agents
The members of the Legislature are in this respect the
agents to carry out the will OF the people, and IN tina
character and that alone they perform this high func
ton Mr. T. thought il needless to consume more O.
the time of the Senate the further discussion Of sub
iect which he thought must now be clear to the mind
every gentleman Gentlemen had been pleased SAFE
he to charge the party with which he had the honor
act with being influenced in the discharge OF hIsi
public duty, by spirit Of faction. lie was grcved Il
hear this charge-he thought it unkind, ungenerous
and certainly unust.-For himself, he Indignantly re
PEELED it, and for his party he was sure he could safely
affirm that their conduct was guided by lofty and Pari
otto impulses. Could gentlemen find for the Democrat
| . mn han m
refusing to proceed with this election at this tiine-
| Was there no principle involved in this contest: Was
not the question of National Bank directly nvolvct
in this issue: Was not the Tariff question, the In
ternal Improvement question, and the Distribution
all intimately connected with the RESULT And die
not these questions involve wei
understood and properly appreciated in Virginia, ant
in regard to which, she was as firm and immovea
BILE as her own Western Mountains, Surely there
was enough of principle in this movement to shield
the Republican members Of the Senate against thu
uneenerous charge of faction Mr.. Tod had listen
ed with great satisfaction to the beautiful panegy
RIGS which had been cloquently bestowed npor
this proud old Commonwealth. lie too Virgi
mia by birth and by education, and he was proud of thu
olory and renown of his native State He felt that he
honor was his honor and her interest his interest lii
would be the last upon earth who would do aught
intentionally to soil her spotess cscucheon His ar
dent PRAYER to Heaven would ever be, that she nigh
20 increasing in glory and renown, until the nea
sure oil her greatness inlSHl DC iui-uHi sic M
stand as bright exempar in the midst Of her sisters
pointing them too, to the path which alone leads t
glory and to honor-to the path of principle. 1t wa
strict and underwriting adherence to principle, throug
evil rs well good report that had won for her thu
chaplet which had been gracefully entwined aroun
her brows. If she would continue to occupy the enva
bic position assigned her in the scale of the Union, sh
must continue faithful to her honor, true to her prin
;. ciplcs.
| Mr. McMULLEN asked leave TO withdraw his motion
for indefinite pos,ponement his only object in pro
posing it, had been to throw upon the field of debate
and TO give himself an opportunity of setting hmsel
right with the Senate and the country in certain par
tcnlars, in which he had been misreprcsened by The
| Editors of the Wing.
The leave to withdraw gave rise to desutory, bu
very animated debate. The Wing Senators opposed
the moton-,hcy objected to their opponents getting
rid of the motion in any other way than by the motion
indefinitely TO postpone; the motion indefinitely t.
POSTPONE being according to Parliamentary practice, tn
way OF settling it for that scssion-they objected tina
now when the battle pressed warm upon the opposite
side, they should change their front
! IN thp onnosite side it commended that the mo