The Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1843-1852, 1844-09-25
FROM THE MoUNrAINERR.
PUBLIC MEETING.


the election of Presidential Electors, and Govern
or of the State. directly to the people. "A Com
nitscc ofhttcen was appointed To prepare Re-
port and RESOLUTIONS to be submitted to u meeting
Z ON Ssle-day IN September.
- Ia accordancc with the proceedings above re-
ferred to, meeting was held Sae-day last
when Josiah kg"re, Esq was called to the Chair
(the Chairman OF the previous meeting not being
Prcsent) and }. Choice. Esq. appointed Secretary
After the organization al the meeting, the follow
ing Report was submitted by DR.. o. b. Irvine,
Chairman OF the COMMITTEE of l5) which was ad
voca,cd in speeches of some length by DIR. Irvine
Maj. Perry. Capt. Brooks, and opposed by DIR.
Crook, alter which it was adopted:
REPORT
The Committee to whom was referred the Res
olutions of the meeting OF the citizens Of Greenville
District, held i'll the Court House on Sale-day in
August last, have taken every opportunity to meet
together and to consult upon them, and they beg
leave TO offer the following Report, viz:
The Committee have first examined the Cons,i-
tut:on of the United States where it prescribes ,hc
mode OF appointing the President. The following
is the language OF the instrument on thc subject
That ''each i5tatc shall rIoint in snch ,nonncr
sas the Legislatures thereof may direct, a number
ot E.eciors equal to the whole ur,nber Of Senators
aud Representatives, To which the State may be
snu,icd in the ConS gess,' SC. &c.
Ihis language seemed TO the Committee to be
piain susceptible Of but construction, the
powers conferred upon the Legislatures. The Le-
gislatures were appointed by the Constitution sim
ply the agencies. far only. direct the man.
neT IN which the Electors, should be appointed by
the State.
a bret analysis Of the wording of that clause
will concusively show this Its words are these :
Each State shall appoint number of Electors" 4"
&c NC. The legislatures thereof naay direct
the man"c'.' There is surely difference between
the dninS an act oneself and the directing others
how hey may 10 it, lit had intended the Leg
1ss'"res to appoint the Electors themselves, it
""''d have said SO; It's language would have been
imperative, as 1t is IN all Instances in which row-
conferred.
SnpPosc, for instance Jhar the Constitute, had
intrt'sed to the Governor Of the State instead of
the Legislature, this agency dtrectinS the man.
ncr IN winch the State shall appoint the Electors
and the Governor, instead of doing so, had taken
upon himself the appointment of the Eectors-
would the people have submitted to it for Il mo-
inent 80 ralPabe an cncroachment upon pupu-
lar suffrage would not have been attempted hy an
individual! but where is the difference in prlnci-
PIE, between the usurpation of power by single
individual, and the same act 10y an organized
oody OF individuals, such the Legislature of the
State?
The Committee, in every light in which they
nave viewed the subject, confidently assert lla,
the Legislature of South Carolina, by retaining in
their own body, the election of the Electors for
PRESIDENT. have dsobpvcd tho Constitution, of the
Cnnrd States. They have inisapplicd a trust
"
oy Withheld from the people a high prcrcaatiye
tnat vs. ti'st clearly conferred upon them By
ngtacsnselves the tliattttv were s,,,iy an
Shorizedaso dtrcrt the manncs ia which oi,ers
should do't they hrrc to that extent disfr;fnchised
the peopie; iegsiaed them ont of the suffrage fo,
~" chest officer known 10 the Constitution of III,
United S'nic,
TOE = .ii:ce deem ihc argument; or further
comment on this branch ofthe subject referred to
them' wholly unnecessary. They contemplate the
SUBJECT with surprise, asou!sI inrnt and regret
that the people of South Carolina, so republican in
1reiiS, so intelligent, and watclful of all ell.
cr"hch'nents upon their political rights and prvi-
lcSrs, shonld so long have acquiesccd in so plain
anu so paahl" a usurpation Of their suffrage a
suhrag', toe" above all others regarded most dear
10 treeinan-that suffrage, too, which, on re-
Pcat'd occasions has been proligately abused
u"itr the control the Legislature or rather the
p"llticans of South Carolina
The Committee here would have gladly passed
over IN silence those former of the Legislature
but they belong to the history of the State
and they are referred to only as hs,ory-"philos
oPhy teaching by example," and warning to
the future.
How often has the Legislature of South Caro
Ma repeated that most disoreanzing of all prccc
dents, that Of bestowing this high suffrage of the
State upon men who, at the inc were not cond
dates Tor the office, scarcely known to the people
at ALL but who happened, at the time to be the
mere cphcmerai tnvorites OF the dominant party o
the State; and thus, in repeated instances, the
dearest right ever wrlng from the hand oftyranny
that high prcrogave Tor which the patriots and
statesmen of 7G and SO toiled and counselled has
been withheld from the people of South Carolina
and prodSally wasted by her politicians to be be-
slowed on their party favoritcs. The Committee
trust that so dangerous aud caprcious an abuse
OF the elective franchise will never again he tolcra
TED IN south Carolina. And from this part of her
political history the Committee arc almost led to
np6f fbc IL.
sttu,on - E..lciIa bodies for alkE xec,itivc ap-
po'ntInents, more especially that for President OF
the United States, III place of direct vote by the
people themselves. The history of every Prcsi-
dental election, not only in South Carolina, but
throughout the whole country, furnishes but too
many evidences to strengthen such distrust-all
our experience in Presidential nominations and
Presidential canvasscs, has shown that every step
through the invention Of electoral bodies of what.
ever name, whether Of Congressional Caucuscs