Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-04-15

',.e 'hiue Oh property held, any lloc Inn. ~ ~,
OF proportion in relation to the value Of life and OF I'D
Icrty. They arc each personal rghts-every man Is
equally entitled to enjoy them The rlghI 70 nave ana
to hold is the thing which government projects eae
case not tho degree extent Talue Oh Inc pie'i9
which results from the right. Uader Inc compact OF
government each citizen puts in all he mas mere II
nothing reserved. The entirety ri one man Is as I'M
Portant as the entirety of a.ro.her-and 30 each
stands perfectly equal in interest. anu sho'." "
equal in political power This gives tho answer 70 the
inquiry, what is the right Of the maority TO govern
II every member of the body polite ia equa IN rsn.
and entitled to tho SAME quantunt Of poltcal
foows that the majority OF members have tho MAJOR
ity of rights and tho greater number must control tho
lesser
Dir. Chairman, the moment you depart from the
majority principle and determine tn place inc power OF
gov eminent in the hands of minority Of inc people;
you abandon the trlle principles of repubc"h'sn aaa
create an arisocracy more or less concentrated I'D
proportion to tho numbers Of which sueh minority
may DO composed, but still not tho less al ara.
tocracy. This word is derived from tho two GreeS
words aristos, tho best or the select ana Hra!eo'
to govern, and signifies form Of government IN ~hsh
tho political power is vested in the sa!ec. NEIL OF she
better men of the State in contradstnctlon TO gov
eminent in which there ia an equs distribution OF po-
litical power among all tho citizens 1t Is mnlateral
upon what ground the selection may be made or on &C
count of what qualities the selected citizens may De
deemed the best Of the community Whether on account
of noble BIRTH in come OF tho arl-tocraei'' "heh
have gone before us on account oil superior "cat ~
is now attempted here. | do not know thal theio ID
much ground to choose between an arisl"cracy Oh brth
and an aristocracy Of money Nor do Ace that there
is auv difference in principle, between such govern
nrnt YOU endeavoring to construct Tor irShia
aud which is to give to four hundred Thousand people
in one section OF the State account OF their superior
wealth power to control and govern rr hundred thou
sand people in another section and those governments
where the power il concentrated rs III tho repub
lie of Venice The prnc pie is the samc-the Only dii-
ference is that in our Gaze the power OF the few IS more
diluted b. diffusion among larger number. But dis
ui,c it you may it Is M arstocracy 1t VIII not De
the government Of the people but oil tho lesser part
OF the people. selected to govern the greater NUMBER
because OF their superior wealth.
Suppose this we're an original question-imas1ne Tor
noeat tina: instead Of being here IN tins represent
alive assembly, the whole people had assembled to-
gethcr At some central point in the commonwealth TO
agree upon the which they were to 1--WE
~ one people-to make government for themselves
and by themselves instead of through their deprtioa
Suppose in this assembly onafourth third of the
whole number being Of the Blue Ridge, should set
up claim to govern the residue BY taking the leSsa
tive power into their own hands and for the reason
that having the larger amount Of property, they would
be called upon to make the largest contribution IN taxes
to the support Of government How would this preten-
be received and treated by the three fourths or the
lwothrds who had to the assembly from the West
side of the mountains They would say: IF we unite
in forming government with YOU it mast be on terms
of perfect equality. We are willing to mngle our
people with your people and destiny With your des
ting, and be governed by the will o majority OF
the whole properly expressed in such form as we shall
agree upon. We came, not to surrender any rights
which possesa but By union with you TO HAYS those
right better guarded and preserved and iii turn 10 pre-
and guard yours Wecome 10 constructs govern
men; for the common good, and by our combined
n = ~, i cr,,,
est foundation. If you have most property we have
most mea. If you will be called upon to make the
largest contribution in peace will be called upon to
make the largest contribution in II you have the
money TO furnish arms and construct defcnccs hsve
tho soldiers to WELD them. If you have the to
purchase peace We have tho physical force to compel
and 10 maintain it. We are willing and mo.t anxious
to unite with you as equals and brethren but are
net here TO become yor sub ectR and be ruled
by you beca,ise You are Weather than we are
Such would be The response of the ma o.ty. and
doub, not it's justice would challenge th. OF tbs
whole assembly Sir, every ust notion of popular gov
eminent is violated when you say that o minority o.
the people shall govern j, is at war With the inbred
sentiments OF the American heart II all tht
great teachings of American history and converts A.
the great triumphs of American liberty into crpty anC
barren abstraction. 1t tears from the bill Of rights
over practical virtue, and leaves string If sublime
theories
in this debate. that the plan Of representation which
they propose OF founding tho legislature in part upon
taxation, and in part upon population involves tho
great principle for which fathers conteded in tn.
the Rrvolutioa---thst it was then maintained tha
taxation and representation should 60 together-tha
the spirit of the scheme which they now prese,
comes down to ssnctifed and consecrated BY Tho
blood and service Of that great contest deny it. enc
call them TO the proof There is no analogy whatever
between the principle maintained in the Revolution
and the principle iii it have sn- of representation here
proposed for the general assembly OF Virginia TIT
people OF these colonies did deny that Parliament hat
right to them and they did claim that thew coult
only be rightfuy taxed By their own Representatives
but they claimed to be represented in the Btisl
Parliament, either according TO numbers or accordn;
to numbers aud property combined, or in any otbe
mode. Their position was, that they were only subjec
TO be taxed by their colonial assemblies Whe!
they complained of taxation BY Parliament it was no
that they up any rorestve right to be represented
in Parlameut-ths they had no desire for they dia
claimed a right in Parliament to subject them Il
taxes, not because they were unrepr.sented in tina
body but because by the relations existing between
the mother country and the colonies the right to a'
the people OF the colonies vested, as theT de
clared and maintained, solely in their own legislativ
assemblies. As iar back as 1861, when the COLONY 0
Virginia which had held out for the monarchy con
sen,ed to recognize the Commonwealth of England
it was expressly stipulated BY the sh section Of tn
articles agreed to at Jamestown that,
Virginia shall be free from all taxos customs anc
nnpostinus wnatevor. and none to DO imposed then
Without consent Of the Grand -A;srmbln"
If gentlemen would derive any profit from an exan,ina
ton Of this period Of our history, ther would do vel
to ascertain how the good people of Virginia the
represented in the Grand Assembly, rather than bus
themselves witt. the vain effort to show that sepe
rated from the mother country because wo no
| daily represented in Parliament because wer
taxed by body in which no; adequately rep
resented No air Our fathers denied tho right to tax
IL was struggle for righ. aud for liberty.
Mr. Burke remarks that Of the great contests TO
freedom in England have grown out of the power o
taxation They have not been questions of successio
much questions OF taxation. But, Mr. Chairman
these were not such questions as havo to deal witt
now. They were no miserable squabblca whether tn
majority should be denied power to levy ta1es bccaus
they did not possess majority Of tho propertT o
whether the people of Great Britain should be repre-
scented 10 the Parliament according to the property the,
owned or the taxes they paid No. These were con
tests of nobler kind They efforts of the major
ty-etforts Of tho people of England to rescue 'ht
powers OF taxation from tho minoritv-aye SIR q mi
norrv of one, from the King. who hal usurped them
and to restore them to tue hands of tho people, where
| they belonged These contests were whet her Kings
without law, should impose taxes and burhcns upoT
tue people-whethcr in the form of ship money or be
uevnences. whether tho great power of taxation Be
onged to the people. In their hands these were srea