Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-06-17


,r.serve The liberties of the people lhere was mncs
debate as 10 what should be the minimum ratio ana
was even cositendtd that the rao oi '''oe" was 'o'
a-g, The result 20 FIX il at 336Op; ana YET ne
aid not l,eeve there STATE, IN winch we mater
was dis used where doubt was not expressed, es' Tue
,h,r en- mid become numerous To be truy repre-
scntcd HIS opinions on iiis SUBJECT were l'i"eo VI
the coursa Of the debate which took place IN congress
vh;cb he attended with interest beng then student o
,w I,v;nr formed his opinions then, and consider
mo The House as cmplaiicay. aud perhaps exclusive
v the concentration Of the Democratic power, IN It's
authorized forms he came here Determined I" vote "i
as low rutio as p found practicable Oh that GROUND
mo had voted for III. lie would not have voted for
an r,,nher under 80 900 or over GO,000 lie should
Vol. for the number in the bill as It went from The
House and adhere oit even II tins and twenty olhef
apportonmenl bills should be lost
a. no had remarked, he a Democrat, but not IN
the usual sense in which that word was used lie was
ma, Democrat of the Five Points, [laughier,J yet he
was !, his feelings as much 4 Democrat as any member
or The House There another branch, however, OF the
legislative department Of this Government, winch was
mn, Democratic He alluded 10 The Senate and pro-
nnnncsd lis members be the representatives OF cor
pora,ions II was known that the Democracy here
or moi fond of corporations The Senate was neces
,rv and essentially an arisocratc body in lis feelings
ard boned the balance would fall in favor OF the House
Of Re prcsentatires
The gentleman from Delaware represented popula-
ton of nearly So 000 and the Senators from the State
Of New York represented population OF two millions
and half or thirty times the number represented by
tho gentleman from Delaware. He thought the fra
mers of the Constitution d we'll III making the State
legislatures the constituents ofthe Senate. But 1t was
moi The Democratc-it essentially the Ars;ocratic
nrncipc There was concentrated The corporaton the
ndependent the State Rights principle, which he hoped
would not needessly be brought into collision with
thus House. Let that body 0hc Sennte) perform It's
proper functions. Let it maintain the States rights
but let il not dictate this House, and say that the PEG
r,l,, moi ~
One of the arguments used in the Senate, IN the de
hate on thi, bill was that If this House should become
too numerous IL would be too powerful Tor lhen and
that the House would ovcrwhelm the power OF the Sc
nate. What the meaning of that; Did the senate
choose to restrict the power OF the people OF the u ,
in their from fear that the representa-
lives of the people would be too powerful Tor that boo
Thus the interests Of the other body were to be the
principle on which the representation OF tins House
was 10 be formed The gentleman who moved the pre-
vous question here TO cut of debate, deemed the Sc
nate better judges this subject than the members oil
this House.
Mr.. EVERETT denied that he had said any such
thing. .
Mr. ADAMS replied that the gentleman SAID the Sc
nate would Judge without the personal influences
which operaed on this House and not that saying
that they were better judges; II the gentleman DENIED
the inference let him take back III The Senate was
not susceptible Of personal influences, and the members
Of the House were, the Senators were better Judges
Bnt he mir. Al did not think the position True one
He did not think this House was unduly Intusnced-
He did not think this House moved by personal
influences al all.
But there was gong on-and 1t was IN the nature Of
things as was shown by the history OF all free Govern
menis-a perpetual struggle between the three branch
es of the Government each of which was encroachIns
on the other and it was the duty of each to resist tina
encroachulent 4 resolution offered in that House
short time ago. by which the House undertook tc
condemn certain Of the President, which he had
done under the soemny Of his oath. Now, this e1
hibled the tendency in this Ilou>e 10 cncroach on the
President 1t was not the province of this House "a
express appreciation disarp.nbauon oil the PRESIDENT
il was enough that it approved its own acts 1t had
been said by very distinguished but very eccentric
man from Virginia. that in all struggles OF the separate
branches Of this Government, his leaning was IN avo
of this House, and in all discussions between the Sc.
nate and the Executive, his leaning was with the Sc
NATE Now he (Mr. A on this occasion, went partly
on that principle; he held the doctrine that THIS House
as well the oher ought TO abstain from encroachng
on the power of the Executive, as 1t was The duty Of
the Executive 10 avoid sncrcachlng on the powers OF
this House. or of the other 1t vas, indeed surprising
that in the history ofths Government, this House had
manifested desire TO encroach on The Other which
now attempted to encroach upon it. lie hoped, how
ever that the House would resist tins and every Other
attempt cncroach upon tho rights aud the powers q
| this body, as the representatives Of the people.
MIR. W. c. JOHNSON disagreed with the gentle
man who had Just addressed the House. lie disap
proved Of the representation OF ractons and he dsa
creed on the ground set forth in the veto message
President Washington. He in favor of an adher
ence TO the basis of representation adopted by TIT
House which he defended from the odum which hat
been thrown on i, by the public journals. lie pro
ceedcd 10 show that this House was the weaker o
the three branches OF the Government, because !
stood alone in its power. 1t was checked BY tilt
Senate and, in Of failure by the Senate, It's ever
act might be checked by the President; Tor both th'
Senate and the Executive had a veto on every I'm
portant act it could consummate. But how STOOD !
with the other branches The Executive was IN OF
fee for four years, without any control or check on IN
power by this House. They also found the Senate
elected for the Of six years. TO represent copo
rations, as the gentleman from Massachusetts hat
termed them and from the moment they took thei
seats they could set at defiance the will OF the corpo
rations by which they elected Those tw
bodies Executive branch and the Senae-had
besides no inconside amount of power in the pat
ronage which they possessed, and over which TIN
House had no negaton. He deemed that the safety
this House. and lis security against yielding to the IN
uence oil the other branches were IN proportion 10 u
numbers.
He next proceeded TO show that, for many years pas
the Senate had been the hot. house. from which spran
aspirants for the Executive chair Men with power
and men without power-men of high talents, and me
of moderate ces-n that arena were found spread
ing abroad their influence among the great mass of tn
people, with no responsibilities, but independent AM
supreme How many such men had they seen IN In
history of this Government, who could not be elec!e
TO this House by the congressional districts IN wh'c
they resided; and yet such men could throw odum OF
this Housc-such men could stgmatize it as bea
GARDEN and contend that its number must be reduced
lie (Mr Johnson) would vote for any number OF Ill
House short Of $50 and he hoped the House would no
concur in the amendment of the Senate, but adhere
the number fixed by the House.
Il Mr. PlCKENS submitted whether the censure cas-
on the Senate by the gentlemen who had addressed tn
House 1Messrs. Adams aud Johnsonl came with pro
priety from those gentlemen. The Senate, by the Con
s,iuton, was an independent branch of this Govern
ment and the Senate had just much right 10 discus
and amend the bill then before the House, any olhe
measure which came legitimately before them
lie agreed with those gentlemen, that the rights an
the power OF this House sacred under the Con
suan. &c the rights and powers of the Senate an
he would 90 with them i'll maintaining it az a &C
, ordinate and independent branch OF the Government
and in making the guardian Of the rights of the pee
pie; hut, 10 the mode of maintaining it in this pos
lion he submitted whether there might be differ
ehca Of opinion. lf they carried the principles
which had been laid down by the gentleman from Mas