Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1846-03-12


There is nothing in any part of the bill of
rights which is repugnant to this provision
of the constitution. The convention which
made the constitution was not prohibited
by any article of the bill of rights from i'm
posing such restriction upon the people.
They had the undoubed right, not only to
prescribe the mode in which changes to the
constitnton should be made, but to prohibit
all other modes, and having done so, I'M
! less amendments are made restoring to the
people that which they have parted with,
this provision of the constitution will con-
tinue to be binding on them to the latest
generations.
But it is said by those who advocate the
right of the people to change their form Of
government at will, that the right itself is
inherent and unalienable, and that the peo-
pie could not, if they would, have parted
with it. The undersigned are at loss to
know from whence this political axiom, to
the extent commended for, is derived 1t
certainly finds no support either in the bill
of rights or the constitution.
1t is only ''oUhen the ends of government
are perverted, and the public liberty mani
feStiy endangered, and all other means of
redress are ine6ectual," that the bill OF
rights recognizes the right of the people to
reform the old or establish new govern
ment. Here the right is clearly asserted to
be qualified right. And so far from main
tanning the right TO change or alter at will
TO be a right at all times inner ent in the peo-
pie, it denies all right to reform the old or
establish a new government, except under
circumstances Of oppression which would
be destructive ofpublic liberty. When these
circumstances occur the right begins but not
before. 1t then becomes ght drawn from
the instincts of our nature-a right of revo-
luton. founded upon the first of all the laws
of nature-the law of self-protection. This
right of revolution belongs to the body
polite, just as the right of self-defence does
to the body natural. They are rights only
to be used to prevent the destruction OF
other political or natural rights, as the case
may be, and can only exist when the neces-
-e.-roisc tliUtu exists. II oy inherent
and unalienable rights, this right of revou-
ton is meant. under the circumstances al
luded to, the undersigned feel no DISPOSE
ton to controvert the proposition; but to
any greater extent they cannot 60.
In connection with this subject the un-
dersigned beg leave to remark, that the bill
Of rights no where speaks of the inherent oil
unalienable rights of the people. 1t con,
tains no definition of those rights, and we
are therefore obliged to look elsewhere to
know what is meant by the use of such
terms.
The Declaration of independence places
among unalienabie rights ''life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness" and asserts, thai
the people in the exercise of these rights
"whenever any form o. government becomes
destructive of these ends, have the right to
alter or abolish it, and to institute new
governments The unalienable rights here
spoken OF, are ''life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness" not the right TO abolish the
old and to form new government AS in
the bill of rights, SO in the Declaration Of
independence, this right in the people 10
alter or abolish an old, and to institute q
new government, is alleged to exist only
when the ends of government are perverted
and the public liberty endangered. The
right itself, independently of these cIrcum-
stances, is not claimed at all, much less is
it claimed as an unalienable right. 1t is
only when the unalienable rights of ''life
liberty, and the pursuit Of happiness" are
impaired that it is claimed to have any ex.
istence whatever. The undersigned are un-
able to ascertain with any precision, wha
is meant by those who maintain that the
right of the people to alter and amend the
constitu,on. and to form new one, is at
unaIenable right, in the enjoyment of which
they could not have restricted themselves
| If by unaIienabe is meant not capable O
being transferred or delegated, then the un
dersigned would respectfully suggest, tina
all governments which have been establish
ed by the people, acting through agents o
their own selection, are formed in deroga
ton of this unaIienable right, and therefore
not binding on the people. The right to
form new government necessarily includes
the right to alter and change the old, and
the one be an unalenable right, the Other
must be also. If this be so, then no gov
eminent can be formed at all, unless by the
people themselves, collected together in one
great mass, acting without the Intervention
of agents or delegates. The undersigned
would desire TO know if these doctrines are
to be regarded as sound, upon what princi
pie is it that the advocates of conventional