The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1850-08-28

~ N+t WY Ntfn fnuuNiif AMI % III
rl1nfiy nIisrepresenied me. hr ~ Hean,
4 Gag ny PosifioRs rsrs iaisuadersio0a
Whether lhis aTose iron anv obsrusily 4
ne manner IN uhirh lhey wrre si.ied b
me. thai bring my ilzi sp~eeh in The cam
psIgn. ~ whether The impressions xn1
|opinions ~ these gentlemen we're derive,
from unfoanded infrfencss from nv srrn
menIs. instead of leg.IilHsis eonelasious
| know nas Bun by some mrans nv DO
silion and opinions werr mixiulerprelet
by them. - ! sh n prnrrsd 70 slow.
On The 29ih day Of June last. met my
opPanenl far the 6sss lime during The
campaign in has o~a ca~n,y az Went.
worth. commenced lIse discussion and
alluded briefly io several topics.
In regard 20 Equal Suffrage. said OF
in'ended 10 say. as ! had dime many lime-
before. that. il by allowing The qualified
voters 10 The House of Commons 10 vote
also IN the Senale. % was rou'endrd that
this made them equal OF gave them equal
polii'ral power under oar Constitution, Il
was mistake: that II would not acrom.
plish thai object. BY way Of illustration,
] argued that the County cf 0nslow FORM
ed one Senatorial District and was allow
ed "ne Senator. The Counties Of Wilkes.
Caldwell. Burke and Mcdowell formed
one Senatorial District and was allowed
one Senator. That allowing MI The free
white men in these districts 10 vote Tor
their Senators respectively. would moi he
granting 10 them an equality Of porer,
Tor as 0nslow had about 500 voters and
the other four Counties had about 1000
voters. il would be making 500 men equal
10 1000. or making one man equal TO FIVE.
And ] argued that il would be necessary
for those irho sdrocaied the proposed a.
maadmenf ia the Constitution on this
ground, 10 change The basis Of represea-
fafion TO The ,chife population principle,
so thai one white man in one secIiun Of
the State would be OF equal weight to a
white man 10 any other seciion--lhai the
advocates offhe doctrine, 90 be consis-
tent men. must go for The change. Such
was. ! think. my argument; such was
certainly my meaning. Yet in a rapid
debate. heard only onre. genllemen might
have adapted the opinion that I was adj.
vocaling The establishment of the White
Basis. While on the same subject,
stated that the recent Democrats Con.
venlion had proposed 10 change the Con.
siiIuIios by extending The right Of voting
for members Of the General Assembly and
and Of eIerting the Judges BY the people:
that the Wing Convention not only pro.
posed these changes. but also the ques.
lions Of rleciing the Officers Of State and
Justices Of the Peace by the people that
The Wings had thus gone further than the
Democrats. aud. | remarked playfulIy.
that therefore was better Free Suffrage
man than my opponent.
In regard to the federal basis Of repre-.
sentaIion, | said in substance, that many
persons in this Stale, myself among the
number,were Of the opinion that, when
the new basis fl representation was es-
lablished in our Constitution, slaves and
property in slaves entered too largely in
The composition. That slaves formed a
most important item Of calculation for
both Houses Of the Assembly in the Com.
mons slaves being estimated as persons
by counting lhvee-illhs. and in The Senate
as property by counting the amount OF
taxes paid on them into the public Treas
ury. In thus connexion I stated further.
as an abstract proposition, that if had
10 make Constitution for q people 0b
inifio (ihey having had no Constitution
hefore) that while population should form
the basis Of representation in one branch
al least Of the law.making Department..
isnl making Constitution ab nifio or
from The start, q new Constitution for
new State, is ve,y different thing, in
my judgment. from changing an old one
already existing; erisfing upon conapro-
misses Of sectional influences. and adjust
menis Of antagonisiic interests, like the
Constitution Of North Carolina. And il
was a total mistake and misapprehension
Of my argnmen, and opinions 10 suppose
That |, al Wentworth or elsewhere, ever
advocated the doctrine Of changing our
present Constitution so as 10 abolish fed
eral and substitute phife population as
the representative basis! These were
The opinions tina, expressed myself ready
). to stand up 10 and To swear by" and
not the uplurning Of our constitution and
tho abandonment OF its compromises. !
wss not proposing amendments TO our
Constitution; for as | said in my printed
address to the Wing Convention, /" in my
judgmen, il is NJ part Of a Governors du-
lies or right to make or propose new
Constitutions fur the People,"
Yet | have no doubt that those who
have given Certificates about my speech
understood me as they have stated and
were homes, in their convictions. Bst as
! haze already said, either they drew in
ferences no, warranted by the argument,
or my views were too amhiguously or OBJ
scurely expressed. And when my aiten-
tisn was drawn 10 the subject Subsequent
", tina, had been SO understood at Went
..,l