The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1849-09-08

t The 10th Of May Convention ratified tho
{ act, and made the defeat Of that Apportion
ment fraud the great issue nthe late Stat
!, election. Hence, if the Democrats afte
having taken their seats, had united witt
these same Wings, and divided the officer
to be elected among the two parties-i
would have been, to my mind, the mos
i infamous transaction ever recorded-anC
would have converted the conduct of thu
Is Senators. the 10th of May Convention
the late campaign, and the three week.
perpetual session in the House, into mos
ridiculous and soicked farce. and proved
to the satisfaction of the world, that the
Democrats had kicked up all that excite.
ment against the Apportionment fraud
with an eye single to the "spoils of Office
or the election of one man! That was a
feast to which | was not invited when
consented to serve you in the Ohio Senate!
and death itself would have been prefer
able to such shameful exhibition!
pledged you in my address, last fall, to la
Dor for a new Apportionment and new
Constitution-and l labored for nothing
else. All the sacrifices | made were to
obtain these great ends; and not for the
"spoils Of Office words are too
feeble to express the contempt | feel for
those who make the charge that such base
motives influenced our action! " "
But, fellow citizens, who are the men
that our votes were to place upon the Su-
preme Bench, in case we had softened our
hearts, and negotiated with the wings
Spencer, the whig claimant to seat against
Pugh; and Converse, brother-in-law of
the Speaker of the Senate, who signed the
infamous Apportionment Bill in tavern!
A pretty set of Judges these, for Democrats
to put upon the Supreme Bench! How
impartial and unbiased they would have
been, when called upon to decide on the
constitutions ality ofthe Apportionment Bill;
and of laws passed under the new one
we then expected to obtain! And if
could for moment believe that Col. Allen
would have accepted office, thus obtained,
should loathe and hate him as much as |
now love and esteem him! There was
another strong consideration urged in fa-
vor of securing Democratic Judges, even
if it had been in our power to have chosen
the Senator. The importance of having
an impartial and honest Judiciary cannot
be over-estimated. Upon that body are
dependant all our private rights and per-
sonal liberties-and with party in power
who trample upon the constitution at will,
and partizan Judiciary to enforce their
unconstitutional laws, our government
would soon become as despotic as that of
Russia; and our rights and privileges no
safer than with Turks and Arabs! Hence,
majority of the Democrats in the legisla-
ure, would never have consented to yield
he Judiciary into federal hands, so long
IS they have the power to withholdit. Yet,
is idle to suppose we could have elected
we had more members
lected, pledged to vote for Free Soil
than we could have obtained |
'higs to vote for Allen!-and Giddings |
'ould have been the Senator! t
| do not wish to take up room, to speak i
f the political views of Mr.. Chase-but t
ill merely remark, that on all great ma
onal questions, his votes cannot be diff. {
rent from what Aliens would have been, {
elected. He is opposed to the federal
,hemes of Bank, Tariff, and distribution '
land on the Wimot Proviso will not
ote differently, from what Allen has al !
'ays done, and what he was pledged to J
o, if reelected. We therefore sacrafice t
o principle in the election of Mr.. Chase.
We lose noble champion of Democracy
l Col. Allen, and sacrifice man whom
would rejoice to see elevated to the Presi- '
entail chair. But, if the imprudent ac- 9
On of his friends does not drive the free +
'il democrats from us, and give the state |
Taylor whiggery beyond redemption, | b
} not despair of seeing him fill the place e
wv disgraced by Tom Corwin, and ulti- 9
ately becoming the Democratic nominee II
r President. ..'- c
We did not succeed in obtaining new I
oportionment, though that measure pas Il
ID the House. We did procure the pas
lge of resolutions calling convention p
form new Constitution, and | have II
rong hopes that the next Legislature will c
Democratic-a new apportionment
lopted--and the Constitutional Conven- IL
On Democratic! But the failure Of the n
ew apportionment Bill in the Senate, was I
, fault of Townshend and Morse; these
en- honestly and rigidly kept their faith
ith us. g
1t is but justice that l should here re-
ark, that Mr.. Vanbuskirk was absent s
hen the repeal of the Black Laws was c
'termined upon in caucus. But when {
} returned, and learned, what had been e
me, and the object to be obtained there b
:, he promptly submitted to the decision s
majority. He said he had always ii
elded to the decisions of Conventions in d
d Knox, and he was not going to desert n
. Democrats in the Legislature, at that G
isis! He had sat for three weeks with le
em, in perpetual session, shared with O.
em the perils and privations ofthat men, p
able period, and sink or swim, he would
Al hxy Tho ~, :o,.,tx, .o,,o~xx re