Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1844-02-08
(From The Charleston, Cowier.)
HE ADDRESS OF MIR. CALHOUN TO HIS
POLITICAL FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS

fOhii0AL FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS
have left IL to you my friends and supnor,ors
mrouSh whose favorable estimate of my ouoliG
caions, my name has been presented TO the peo-
PIE oil the United States for the Office of Cie,
u"S'S'a'e' 10 conduct The canvass on such prin-
ccipies, and IN such manner. as YOU miuh, think
pest. But IN so doing, I did not waive INV riuht
W ue'erm'hc, ON my individual responsibility.
wna' course my duty might compel me 10 pursne
ultimately, nor have been an inatten,iye obsery.
CT OF me canvass and the course YOU have taken
IL affords me pleasure TO be enabled IN cav Tho,
oh all leading questions, growing out of the can.
Sass, heartily concurred with YOU, i'm the Grounds
you LOOK ana especially in those rela,inG to the
moue In which the Delegates to the pI,noscd
convention to be held in Baltimore. shonId bs
appointed, and how they should vote. You have.
In my opinion, concusively shown Tho, ,Ln
should be appointed by Districts and yo,, pcy
cdpid-but your reasons, as conclusive 40 ,b,y
are, nave proved IN vain. Already New York
and some other States have appointed DELEGATES
en- masse by State Conventions, and one S,.,n
S'Hg'n'a) has resolved that the votes of her De-
iegates should be given by the majority. and he
counted per capita. Their couse would necessa.
thy overrule that which you have so ably sun.
Por'od, should you GO into Convention and would
ieaVe you no alternative, but to yield YOURS and
auop' 'heirs' however much you may be opposed
w ~ o' Pi'"c'p'e' or TO meet them the most
unequal terms-with divided, against united and
concentrated forces
the question then is, what course, under sucb
circumstances, should be adopted And ina,
question; you will be compelled speedily to de-
otoe. Inc near approach of the time for meeting
oi inc proposed convention will not admit Of
much longer delay. But. as your course NAV
dePend In some degree on that which have de-
cided TO take, deem it due to the relation sub
sistng between us, to make mine kncwn to YOU
without further delay.
l, then, after the most careful and deliberate
whole hnro al H. \
cannot permit my name TO go before the proposed
Cohvention constituted as il must now be- con-
s's.eni'y with tho principles which have ever
guided my public conduct. My objections are
insnperabie As 1t must De constituted il is re-
pugnani TO all The principles, on which. in INV
opinion, such Convention should be forued.-
Nhat those principles are, l shall now proceed
briefly to state f
noid' then, with you, tina, the Convention
s,'ou,u oe so constituted, as 10 utter fully and
uoI;,;Sy ,'c voice oil the people and not that Of
PoIiicai managers, or otlce-hoders and Office
suckers and Tor that purpose, hold it indispen
saoie' that The Delegates should be appointed d.
[ectiy by the people, or, to use the LANGUAGE of
Eenerai Jackson, should be :. fresh from the peo-
PIE. also hold, that the only POSSIBLE mode
70 effect this is for the people to choose The dee-
gates ny districts, and that they should vote mr.
eup"d. Every other mode of appontinn would
De controlled by political machinery, and Mace
work it. - VIC 'o"' VINO
object, thon, to the proposed Convention. h
cause IL VIII not be constituted in conformity with
, ms 'unaamenia' article of the Republican creed
ne delegates 10 it will be appointed from some
oi the S,aies, not by the people in Districts, but
as mas been stated, by State Conven,ons 90
"nSSe composed of delegates, appointed in all
cases, as tar as am Informed, by County or his
i'c' conventions, and in some cases if moi mis-
ih'olhed these again composed of Delegates an
p,eu oy sun snaiIer divisions, or a few inter
ested individuals. Instead then of bejnr direc,I
oI 'fesh from the people, the delegates to the Raj
'ithore convention will be the delcgates of dele
saes ana OF course removed, in all cases ri
ieas' 'iree' II not four degrees from the peonle
~ eacm successive remove the voice of the peo-
PIE VIII become less full and distinc, mill =,
ias,, VIII be so faint and imperfect as not TO he
aucio!e. 10 drop metaphor. 1 hold il impossibIe
~ 'o'ui Schene more perfectly calculated In an
hihiate the control of the people over the Pres;-
uenliai election, and vest it in those who mako
The Government " '''' VII
In this connection, | object 10, less stronolv IN
ihe mode In which Virginia has resolved her dc.
ieea'es shall vote. With all due respect I mnst
say can imagine nothing more directly in con-
iiict Win The principles OF our federal system of
government, or, 10 use broader expression the
principles on which all confederaled communal
ties nave ever been united. | hazard NOTHING in
y,"e' tat mere is not an instance in our politi-
oa' history IRON the meeting Of the first RevoIu
congress 10 The present day, of The dele
gates oil any State voting by majority and conp,
ing per copita; nor do believe an instance Of The
KIND can be found in the history of any conlede
rated community. There is, indeed, sometime
monstrous In the idea Of giving the majority the
fight OF iinPresslng the vote of the minority into
y us service and counting them as its own, The
WIN 'uie-c'Iat which has prevailed, and
~ "iih conforms to Tie dictates of common sense
;,;," where a State votes as a State. bv q mn,
tbar fr,Is delegates, the votes count one, he
On tbe cont many, or the State large or small
oates arc co,ny, where the votes of all the dele
dependentlv they vote Individually and in,
And j, is TO bo nn,dt2r himself counting one
mode OF voting exists an an ne eEeI lhis latter
1t is in all cases iouuded"s '"h,ederated States,
Inc consent OF each State is 70 "hch
sencc OF compact, the invariabieeo, ~ me ao-
IN F"e States 49, in all eases, bISe a".ng
'nei' vote counting one. The course t!'y'IIn'y'
gina has resolved to take is in violatid'c VIZ
pain and fundamental rule, and if il sho4Spi, 'hiS
come setlIed practice, would be destrnc,iyt" e
'he Iouhda'ion on which the whole Structure se
the State Rights doctrine is reared.
hoId' In The next place, TO be an Indispensable
pHnclple, that The Convention should be so con-
siltuted as TO give TO each Slate. in lhe nonina-
Won OF candidate, the same relative WEIGHT
Which Inc Constitution secures to it i'm the cleo
ticn OF the President, making due allowance for
lis relative party strength. BY tile election, /
mean me whole-the eventual choice when il
goes into The House of Representatives, as well
as the primary vote in the electoral COLLEGE. The
one Is as much p ri of the election as the other
The TWO make the whole. The adoption or tho
one, In the convention which framed the constitu-
,ion, depended en- the adoption of the other
Neither could possibly be adopted alone The
two were the result of COMPROMISE between tho
larger and smaller States, after lone and douht
iul struggle, which threatened the loss Of the
Constitution itself. The object of rivinu to the