Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-06-27

l
cor-Tu CAROLINA DEMOCRACY
-, n see the Charleston Mercury as
.,n,in mora conciliatory one and even explaining
some 6oin,s which appeared TO be ambiguous IN u'e
proceedings Of the late Convention. ns con''u''o"
nf ,,s commen, IL in the following words, VIZ
Ga zoo understand our Convention, then, they 10
-, .,,oom,,onisng!y insist on these points OF Us
,,;c, Daoalion aud per capita voting anu, ia oui
opinion. il would be wrong 10 DO so.
In MS view OF The case, all We have 70 DO 70
,b; h,,,v cooperation with the Democracy Oh ''e
I'm on, to show '"'' '"o f'N' -
the Convention IS wrong. 49,. ,ha f,onvan
We consider it inconiestibiy right, mat 'ne oo'e
,on sh. he 90 organized and SO vote as 10 secure 70
each candidate for nomination ON 'ne N 80 3D.
snma sn,no.t he would have right 10 expect ro .'e
a,ty in an election by electors Without The
NO. 80 RI n nominating Convention. There are
Nlessrs Bochanan, Calhoun, Cass Johnson yer anu
Van Rp,an whose friends propose 10 present oe'" "
| ~, ,;,,a,i,, Convention for lis consideration and
| -: - ,bsr several merits On The Rfst 6anot,
each onfbi to receive the same support he wouiu
oh,;, f,on the electors IN lie ina eiectop u chose
bv tho democracy of each State Can the justice oil
III; nroooson be doubted or contested lis 1t not m
conppsbIy nrop,r-nay ia it unquestionaby Just,
| a. .,oo ne candidates themselves, that the true
STRENGTH Of each should be first ascertained:
Hny !. his to be done, Not surely by dividing the
,o,oe az tho States which united in the elecuon
| M, bv . plan which might give Mr. Van Buren III
Convention four votes out of nne from South
| whore he could not get in the final election VOL
by plan which might give Mr.. Calhoun IN oohVe"'
;on lon votes out of twenty six from PennsyIvana,
where Mr. Buchanan would, unquesonabiy, receive
tho whole in the final election. Such plan wou'u
dnr;.a some candidates Of the support which belongs
IN iber and give others fictitious Strength, iel'
sucb is the South Carolina plan 1t practically pro
poses 10 take iron candidates IN the oonVehto
mart of the support they would have right TO eApect
in the election, and in the degree increase inc
strength of others. BY such plan, the man VINO
might have right to expect majority OF electoral
votes, m ght find himself in minority IN the Con
ven,ion Apart from the justice OF securing to each
the support which belongs TO him, the poicy OF any
other plan s than questionable. Is 1t TO be ex'
oeced that aspirants or their friends will submit 20
the decisions of Convention when they have r'sh'
TO feel and do feel, that they have been deprVeo' uy
dividing States, which are necessarily uhi'eo w e
election of a portion of their Legitimate strength -
If acqnescence be desired ough; not The Convention
so 10 vote 10 exhibit the first instance, each cahdi-
dates full strength Certainly, the justice ana pohcy
of this principle q too PLAIN to need inF"F' i''s''a'
| ton.
is objected, that, by this plan, an individual, who is
not the choice Of majority of individuals composing
the party may be nominated We reply, there Is the
sa me danger Of such result in election oy electors
By "the compromises of the Constitution, our rresI-
dent elected upon the pure majority principe'-
Each State is allowed for its Senator's ana
one for each Of its representatives IN congress. III
this manner, South Carolina is enabled TO give nine
votes 10 New York thrtyslx. or lourtn part as large
vote But take out the two Senatorial votes, ~nich
have no relation TO population, and South carolina
would give seven votes to New Yorks th'rly-our,
being but a tribe over onc-fith So, Delaware having
bot one representative, to New Iorks th'tty-our,
would, according to the majority principle, give nu'
one electoral vote, equal To one thirty ioutth OF me
vote Of the Empire Sta,e-ye she actually has th'ee
electoral votes equal TO onetwefth But these are
compromises of the Constitution OF which we ought
not 10 complain, and they concede advantages TO the
smaller States in the election which the Virginia plan
proposes to allow them in the nominating Convention
IL the pure majority principle were insised on III 'he
nomination, it would be proposed that each State
should have in Convention only as many votes as y
has representatives in Congress; but, with US, IS quite
sufficient if we secure in the nomination as lar
and full expression of the popular will as the Con,
s,iiu,ion allows The election When not satisfied
I with thai. we shall be dissatisfied with the Consttu
,ioa-hu, even then we shall deem il proper in all no
minanr Conventions observe the basis Of the Con
s,itution until it can be- regularly amended. 1t thus
only lha, they effect any good, or command &C.
neral acGniescence
ton by which the first choice Of the various delegations
shall be ascertained. If ma ority OF all the votes be
not in of any man. II then becomes necessary
for some to give up their first choice and be content
with their second. The same principle should govern
in this operation for the object still IS 10 hx on
candidate TO be presented to the Electors not one to
be presented Congress in the last resort under "he
compromises Of The Constitution In every vote with
a view TO arrive al the object therefore, each State
should have the same united strength that II has in
the election But there other details to he consi
dered in all after the first, of great importance as
means of leading To an accurate result We have seen
two modes pursued by legislative bodies to decide be-
tween numerous candidates One Is tc drop The hind
most on each ballot until one has majority -
This does not always 10 the majority hei. first
or second choice. For instance There are six candl-
dates and one hundred votes On The first ballot one
Candida gets thirty, another twenty-five, another
II. fnnr
three BIZ the rule alluded to, the candidate who gets
three votes be dropped yet he may be the
second choice Of the friends of all the other can
d,da,es. We participated in an election once
where there sixteen votes and four or hve
candidates. To make OF our second choice,
expecting TO lose cur first, proposed in lieu # the
mode generally pracsed in Kentucky, that when there
. CHOICE, vote should be taken between the
hlndmost candidates, 10 determine which should be
dropped On the first vote candidate received i've
voice and the rest dTided among several, our
first and second choice getting but one each. vote
vas then taken between them, and our first choice
was dropped On the second ballot, we cast our vote
for our second choice, who then had but two votes,
and was tied with another candidate. vote was
taken between them, and the other was dropped =
On the third ballot, he had four votes; and hnay,
after all the lower candidates dropped by thus
process he was brought in direct competition with
him who had the FIVE votes at the start, and beat nm
eleven TO FIVE He was, IN iact we oeeVe, the secoHu
choice of the whole Board
The other mode is, TO vote without by rule drop
pnr any candidate until obtains majority. By
this plan mans fate depends very much on the per-
severance and management Of hrs friends. There ~
dansr that the resolu,e and most intriguing will
succeed over those who really stronger the
bassed Judgment of the Convention and in the afiec
tons of the people. 1t would be far preferable if some
rule were adopted by which the members of the Con.
ven,on could give expression at once to The views
and feelings they may have brought "fresh from Inc
people" giving no room for management and no time
Tor intrigue.
Either the rule Of which we have given practical
illustrations or some other Of similar tendency, ought
to be adopted the meeting of the Convention, eav
ing nothing for the members TO do bat give their votes
and return to their constituents
The smaller States have peculiar in,eres, in taking
care that all shall have chance To give effect to their
second choice after losing their FIRST. Mr.. Van Buren,
might come into Convention backed by the thirty SIX
votes Of New York the first ballot, Mr.. Buchanan
by the twenty SIX votes Of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cass 10y
the thirty two votes of Ohio Mr. Tyler by the
teen votes of Virginia, Mr. Johnson by the twelve
votes Of Kentucky and Mr. Calhoun by The nine votes