Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-05-02
THE CONVENTION.

THE CONVENTION.
Along session was spent yesterday by the Con
vention, without making much progress. DR.
Saunders withdrew his Compromise for the pre-
sent, whereupon Mr.. Bowden offered the Fed
eral Basis as substitute for the proposition
moved by Mr.. Bolts as substitute for proposition
A, the original mixed basis report. Mr.. Bolts
asked leave to withdraw his proposition, in order
to give his constituents time TO express their wish
es Upon this motion debate took place which
was ended by vote granting the leave. The
withdrawal of Mr.. Bolts plan carried with it the
amendment moved by Mr.. Bowden Mr.. Sum
mers then moved to strike out all of proposition
A, except one or two clauses containing matter
not disputable, desiring doubtless to have A voteo
down, as and the substitute of Mr.. Scott o.
Fauquier had been voted down before it. MIR
Beale, however, made motion which took pre-
cedence of this, and the effect of which would be
to renstate the substitute of Mr. Scott of Fauquler
modified so as to exclude the tax on flee negroe!
from being estimated in the basis of representa-
ton. Whilst Mr.. Beaie's proposition was pending
long discussion was excited by an avowal from
Mr.. Randolph of Albemare, that he was pledged
for tho mixed basis, but only for that part
cular mixed basis which was proposed by Eastern
members in the Convention of 1929, which. he
maintained, was different from the mixed basis
now urged by the East. His idea is, it seems
that the mixed basis of 1929 proposed that the
taxation of the whole State, in dollars should be
added to the white population of the whole State
and the l5Oth, or l35th part Gas the case may be-
of this hybrid aggregate of dollars and men would
be the proper ratio of one delegate. Mr. Ran
dolph afhrms that his constituents, as well as him.
self, understood the mixed basis of 1929 to mean
this. We cannot believe that any considerable
number of the intelligent people of the Albemarlt
district ever contemplated anything SO incongru
GUS. Those of them who have read the debates
of the late Convention must know that men Of al
parties in that body understood the proposition o
Judge Green, which was the mixed basis in CUES
ton, to apportion representation upon white popu
lation and taxation in precisely equal degree. AL
of them who are at all conversant with the pro
ceedings of the Legislature must know that a
the session of ls49-'5O, Mr.. Randoph's con
ception of mixed basis, assumed the shape of :,
formal proposition, moved by Mr.. Dorman, as al
amendment to the Convention bill, and was 10
ted doaon. 1t was shown, in debate, and in the
press, to be founded on no principle, and was onl.
voted for by Western members because it gave
smaller majority to the East than the true mixet
basis. We we'll rememberthat, in this paper, Mr..
Dormans scheme was analysed, and we put the
question why, in adding the population and taxa
ton together, dollars were assumed as units
rather than dimes cents land, if either of these
had been adopted in the addition. the Eastern ma
jority would have been more than the East .itsel
claimed. We now ask, is it not probable that il
the Eastern neil in tho Convention of 1929 had
meant to add the taxes to white persons, they
would not have taken care to explain whether
taxes were to be added in the shape of eagles
dollars, dimes or cents? But the citations made
yesterday by Mr.. Stanard, from the speeches
of Judge Green, Mr.. Mercer and Mr.. Johnson,
have set this question to rest. Mr.. Randolph adj
mits that he is pledged to vote for the mixed basis
of 1929, and what that basis was is established
beyond any manner of doubt. More than this, he
declares himself bound to vote for the Federal
basis, if it be proposed, basis which would give
the East considerably larger majority than the
mixed basis to which he objects Surely he has
involved himself in an inconsistency, from which
he can only recover by acknowledging his own
error without unnecessarily imputing one to his
constituents.
There is every probability that the basis ques-
tion will not be determined in committee of the
whole before the public meeting tonight, and as
those members of the Convention who are for the
white basis, and those who are for compromise,
are evidently expecting much from this assem-
blage of our citizens, we trust there will be large
attendance.