Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-03-22


his vote may be sent forward and counted, and so
may exercise his part of sovereignty, in comm
with his fellow men.
In the exercise of political power through repl
sentatives wo know nothing, have never know
anything, but such exercise as should be carrie
through the prescribed forms Of law and when v
depart from that, we shall wander as widely fro
the American track tho pole is from the track
the sun.
| have said that it is one principle of the Amor
can system, that the people limit their Govornmenti
national and State. They do 50; but il is anothe
principle, equally true and certain, and according &
my Judgment of things equally important, that the
people often limit themselves. They set bounds to
their own power They have chosen to secure the
institutions they establish against tho sudden i'm
pulses of mere majorities. All our institutions
TEEN with instances Of this. 1t was their great
conservative principle, in constituting forms of go
vernment, that they should secure what they had
established against sudden changes Of mare MAORI
ties. by the fifth article of the Constitution Of the
United States, Congress, two thirds of both Houses
concurrlnS, may propose amendments TO the Con-
slituton, or on the application of the Legislatures
OF wothrds Of the States, may call Convention,
and amendments proposed i'll either Of these FORMS
must be ratified by the Legislatures OF Conventions
OF three-fourlhs Of the States That fifth article of
the Constitution, if it made topic for those
who framed the Peoples Constitution" Of Rhode
Island, could only have been made topic of denun-
citation. gives no countenance TO any of their
proceedings or 10 anything like them On the COLI
tfary, 1t Is remarkable Instance Of the enact
mont aud application Of that great American princl
pie that the constitution of Government should DO
cautiously and prudenily in,erfered with, and tina,
changes should not ordinarily be begun and carried
through by mere majorites
But the people limit themselves also in other
ways. They limit themselves in this first exercise
OF Their political rights They limit themselves,
by all their constitutions in two important respects.
that is to say, in regard 10 the qualifications of
electors, and in regard 10 tho qualifications Of
the elected. In every State, and in all the States
the people nave precuded themselves from voting
tor any body they may choose they have limited
their own right of choosing. They have said we
will elect no man who has not such and such quail
ihcaiions We will not vote ourselves, unless we
have such and such qualifications. They have al
so limited themselves 10 certain prescribed forms
for the conduct of elections. They must vote al 2
particular place, at particular time, and under par
ucuar conditions, or not at all 1t is in these
modes that we are " ascertain the will Of the A.
meTican people and our constitution and laws know
no other mode we are not 10 take the will Of The
people from public meetings, nor from the tumul-
tuous assemblies, nor from those assemblies Of the
people by which the tmid are terrified, by which
The prudent are alarmed, and by which society is
disturbed. These are not American modes Of siu-
nifying the will ofthe people and they never were.
III anything in the country, not ascertained by a
regular vote, by regular returns and by regular re-
presentation, has been established, it is an exoep
ton and not the rule, it is an anomaly which. be-
iieve cannot be found. 1t is true that at the Revo
luton, when all Government was Immediately dis
solved, the people got together and what did they
do! Did they exercise sovereign power? They
began an lnceptIve organization, the object of which
was TO get together representatives of the people
who should form Government This was the
OF DrUCCedlDU m here tbo;r Il
glsatuTes were dissolved. 1t was much like that
mad IN England upon the abdcation Of James the
I'd. lie ran away-abdicated. He threw the
great seal into the Thames. am not aware that
on the 4th of May, 1912, any great seal was thrown
into Providence river! But James abdicated and
King William took the Government and how did
he proceed? Why he at once requested all who
had been members Of The old Parliament OF any
regular Parliament in the time of Charles the I'd
10 assemble. The Peers, being standing BODY.
could or course assemble; and all they did was 10
recommend the calling Of convention TO be chosen
by the same electors, and composed Of the Same
numbers as composed Parliament. And the con-
vention assembled, and, all know, was turned
INTO Parliament. This was case of necessity
revolution. DON'T we call it so? And wby?
mol merely because new sovereign then ascepdsd
the throne of the Stuarts but because there was
change IN the organization Of the Government
The succession law was broken. The conven-
ton did not assemble under any preceding law
There was hiatus, syncope, in the action Of the
5"iv polite. This was revolution and the parIia
monts that assembled afterwards dated tbeif local
origin TO that revolution.
is 1t not obvious enough that men cannot get 10
gether and count themselves, and say thew are so
many hundreds and SO many thousands, and Judge
OF their own qualifications, and call themselves tho
people, and set up Government? Why another
set OF men, forty mile3 off, on the same day with
Inc same proPrlety, with as good qualifications and
in as large numbers, may meet and set up a Govern
ment Tor themselves; one may meet at Newport.
another at Chepachet, and both may call themselves
the people. What is this but anarchy What
liberty is there here but ,umultuary tempestuous
violent, stormy iberty-a sort Of South American
liberty, without power, except in spasms-a liberty
supported BY arms to- day, crushed by arms to- NOR
Tow Is that our libery2
MS regular action OF popular power, on the O.
Tier hand, places upon public liberty the mos. beau
tIfuI face that ever adorned that angel form All is
regular and harmonious in its features, and gentle
IN It's operation The stream CT public authority
under American liberty, running in this channel
has the strength Of Missouri, while lis waters are
as transparent as those Of crystal lake. tits pow
eTiul Tor good 1t produces no tumult no violence
1hd no wrong 1t is well enough described IN those
| lines oil Dir Thomas DcDman-it is stream
Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull
Strong without rage, without o'erfloyving full ,,
Another American principle growing ont of tbi.
and just as important and well settled, as is tho
great truth that the people the source Of power
is that when In the course Of events il becomes ne
ce$sary TO ascertain the will Of the people on new
exgency, or new state of things or of opinion In,
legislative power provides for that ascerainment by
an ordinary act of legislation Has not that beer
our whole history? 1t would take mo from row
I'll the sun shall go down, 10 advert TO all the in
stances Of IT, and shall only refer to the most bro
i m ana especially to the establishment OF ,b,
Constitution under which you sit. The old can