Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1851-04-15

| ! believe In the capacity Of man for self
government, should have said the ,sAmeri-
can" and why do believe this Because he
has given me satisfactory evidence Of it in
the form of government which he has So
lected and under which we now i've. Apart
from such evidences have 10 such fifth
do not believe in the capacity Of any other
people under the sun for self government,
because they have furnished me no testimo
ny upon which such a belief could rcpose.
How can believe il any mans capacity for
self government, until ! fud lie is willing to
impose restraints upon bis own natural pro
pcnsities; until ! find that he is prepared to
surrender much Of his own sovereign will for
the good and safety of those, with whom he
is associated. Without these evidences Of
bis capacity. (they only exist among our
highly favored peoplc,) / repudiatc the theo-
ry as unfounded in truth. A mere Pigment
Of the Imagination, a4
What, then, is the objection to the propo
sition to adapt government to the condition
of the people by placing power in the hands
Of those most deeply interested in its exer-
else to the basis Of population aud taxa.
ton ? We have called. but there has been.
no satisfactory response. True, there has
been one. and only one. at is a violation Of
republican principles as set forth in the bin
Of rights" We have invited attention to
its practical operation, and challenged evil
dencc that it had worked injuriously to your
interests. speak Of those who are seeking
to change the government in this respect
No instance has been furnished We sup
posed we had an answer from the gentleman
from Augusta, when he referred us to the
militia duty required to be performed by the
people of the Nest in opposition to their
wishes But when this view was taken Of
his remark by the gentleman Of Halifax, he
promptly repudiated that view Of it. Then,
in the space of twenty years experience un-
der this government, not one instance ofop-
preston or wrong is referred to, and vet the
cry of change, change, is still sounded in our
ears, and we are called upon to abandon a
principle which has thus far operated so well
and 50 safely. For disregarding this call we
are denounced as aristocrats-as violators of
the rights the inherent rights of freemen in
Western Virginia. How? In what way
To hear the speeches of some Of the West
ern gentlemen, you would suppose that they
were the most oppressed and down trodden
people that ever lived upon the face of this
globe.
They remind me Of an anecdote once
heard. An unfortunate man who conceived
himself entitled to some of his neighbours
property, instituted suit to recover damages,
alleging some personal injury His lawyer
portrayed, in language of burning eioquence,
the sufferings of bis unhappy client. While
listening to the shocking detail of his own
wrongs and injuries which, for the first
time he realized in their intensity-his feel
ings were overcome, and he began to weep
Some bystanders, who had perceived his
hitherto unmovcd couuteuance and observed
the excitement into which be had been
wrought by his lawyer, approached and adj
dressed him :;"Friend, what is the matter?"
TO which the client replied, "Indoed, don't
know; but if what my lawyer says is true,
must have suffered intensely" Now, with
out meaning to disparage the griefs of the
constituents of our Western friends, I must
be permitted to say do not believe one
word of their wrongs and expressions. am
very much inclined to think. when the West
err people read the debates of this Conten-.
ton, aud see how eloquently their sufFeriugs
have been depicted. they will, for the FIRST
time, realize their intensity. tell you this
oppression OF the West is mere fiction. Ii
does not really exist. If there be just cause
ofcomplaint against the dispensations of this
government anywhere it is in my own ne
elected section--tide- water. IL has borne
the burthen without any of the favors Of gov
| arnrpapt "a aStar, oaptlovpon rv,nof. tb.,a
fore, fall back upon the abstract principle
aud rely upon the unsupported theory that
republican government must be based cx-
clusively upon white men or voters. eu sisgf
- ~
| Reference has again aud again been made,
in this connection, to other States in this
Union, in which. according to the views OF
gentlemen. the republican principle has been
adopted, and they, therefrom, infcr that it
has been violated in our own. have al
ready shown that government, to be wise and
safe, must be adapted to the condition Of the
people to be governed Until. therefore, it
is shown that other States Of this Union.
situated in all respects as our own, have adop-
ted different form of government, and it has
worked well; will not permit gentlemen to
use any such case, even as a plausible prece
dent.
So far as have examined the Constitu
tions of other States. have not met with
one in which the basis of population alone
has been adopted, except where population
was very fair exponent Of the interests Of
the State In no single case can / find a
State similarly situated with our own, which
has acted upon any other tasis than that
upon which we are acting. have not had
time to examine with care the Constitutions
of the different States. their statistics, or
their physical condition, bat so far as my cx-
animation has extended, they have all been
guided by the same consideration which con-
troll us, aud wherever population is not fair
exponent ofthe interests Of the State, they
look for another and safer basis.
now come to what may designate as the
view of the gentlemen from the Valley
These gentlemen insist that the appropria
ting power Of this government has been par
tally exercised under the mixed basis, TO
their prejudice and to the prejudice also Of