Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-02-21


the infusion of the monarchial and aris!oct noysrn
ments being as slight the nature OF emclon ~
ment would admit Of When gentlemen 10 III dc-
this sort meet positions such az those take
NAL that there is any foundation for sue. 80, ro
there is an end of argument. No argument o. an,
no,tion in the legitimate sense Of argumen eau eaAo
place between gentlemen unless they can So n ~
some conceded point. Where the premises "a
sides. the very starting point, IS ina.'. aIn ,,
sy and is denied upon the side OF 'ie o.hel 'ee
can he no argument Because if understand argu-
ment BY induction, the only just moue VI 1Isun'en'
there must be starting point or II cannot eAiS'.
Now, sir i am not q monarchist, not at all am no
arstocrat am neither in fortune, IN taste, nor IN
habits.
Mr. WISE Ii requires pride also.
Mr. Chiffon The gentleman says 1T takes pride
to make an aristocrat There arc many kinds OF PRIDE
Just pride hope every gentleman IN thus assembly pos
sesscs pride Of independence PRIDE Of truth PRIDE o.
usce that sort of pride which every who has any
must 1ossess There is another sor; OF pride
founded mon con,emp, for fellow men, founded in
spirit which will not stop to define and characterize
pride which leads rather to dspse and inure than
to esteem and assist his fellow man. That sort oi PRIDE
trnst do not possess and ift be necessary to make
arstocrat have not single particle Of the ingredient
in me-no in my nature certainly, and think not in
my opinions
Mr. Chairman shall take it for granted whatever
gentlemen say tho other side, however they may de-
nv it. must rest hcore this Convention and before those
positions that take, that in every republican gov
ernmcn. the three ingredients to which have referred
are found in eNistence-the features Of monarchc III
ari>tocratical and democratical government.
Now, do not mean TO contend that the executive Of
flee has all the lnolrchcal features, that every c
tire attached 10 it is monarchical. do not intend to
maintain before this Convention that the aristocratca
feature is pure aristocracy; nor do mean to contend
will the gentlemen Oh the other side contend that
ii is pure democracy. They cannot SO contend II
is impossible in view Of the very work i'll which We are
engaged ofe manner IN which VT Are To perform
it, and the results which to flow from it is Ut
teslv impossible, say for any gentleman to maintain
that the government which we arc aoout TO establish
will be pure democracy. Ana why let ME ask, should
not these elements be mixed up together nemay
draw lessons sometimes from nature. We sometimes
see the mngling of good and evil essentially necessary
10 the production Of what is useful and good In the
medical world we posons the most deeterious when
taken alone. when infused md mixed with other inSre
dents become the most sanitary medicines myself
have often taken arsenic in inconsderablc quantities
but it was in solutions mixed with other ingredients
was taken for disease and resulted in cure. Yes Wish
to give government to you mixed up as you have a.
ways had il. Iwish okeep you to governmental med,
! icnc political food upon which YOU have led and
grown from almost he piess infancy to mature anu f
orous manhood.
! |. IS very small matter TO what you call nc
vo max call me ,nonarchst arstocrat, democratic
pu what YOU please, 90 long n YOU make these
merely the Foundation Of your attacks upon me
| q 10: comp'aiG az care TO argue with YOU lmeei
yoo. rex. now because they caculaielto PIT Inc
IN ID sc position sud make me misunderstood Cal!
M. rnc ,lcs hy what name you please. yet meet the
ID tas of nv propositions. meet them face to iace,
J3. light ard anguish Inc y, the argument and Will
- 10 Us ...aa on the face o: the earth tn complain
II y rtAer and soy, that can be convinced if aru
VIZ, and if convinced will acknowledge it, and re-
i,r my opiions accordingly.
ill. upon this branch Of my remarks, Will pro
coed to say al that have to say upon these funda-
mental principles Of government will pass from this
question on the elements OF government and cndeavor
10 get az something practical understand the
position of the gentleman from Accomac 10 - this.
AMI in which perfectly conclr -. - certain
cxteat-that all lawful governmental lower resides III
The people belongs to the people, emanaes from them
AID is 70 he exercised in that manner and to the extent
;heT declare il shall be exercised and other, and
that any power that 10 exercised outside Of this rule
and this definition, is usurped and unlawful power.
agree to this proposition entirely ot the gentleman
from Accomac goes step further. 1t Is 10 my mind
the great ascy Of the positions ii gentlemen who have
argued this question They perpetually resolve them
selves into state of nature state that 90 net be-
leye ever did exist mean politically VI do not be-
leve that from the time Of the expulsion from Eden
down to this day. there has ever been found people
who did not recognise some law however absurd low
ever unwsc, however oppressive it mig ht be- say Do
not believe that people ever did exist, who did no,
recognize some established fora of govcrect. There
have been bad governments enough cera':''E there
have been usurped governments there have acyn drs
posms there have been governments OF every d"scrp
lion but for the time being they the governmc,
and those over whom their jurisdiction extended,
subec, to then We are certainly not in state of
fur. in this commonwealth. We have an established
government We have all established system of laws.
We have institutions have rights and hold them
all under the authority and virtue of the existing gov
ernlnent every one Of them and stand here to deny
that the people Of this state-and when speak Of
the people in political take it for granted that
We sneak of that portion who WELD the political power
can lawfully and rghtfay change the existing govern
ment without the assent of that government
Mr. WISE. Worse and worse
Mr. Chiffon 1t may be worse and worse, but
il the gentleman will have little patience, | think
will show him that il is true. The gentleman on
Yesterday objected to definition made by the gen
leman from Loudoun, (Mr JASSEY) that the sovereign
political power of the State divided into three de-
partment-e1eoutive legislative and judicial, and he
secuted the idea that that any division of sovereign
ty at all but said that it mere municipal division
He said subsequently, it was true that these were three
departments or divisions Of sovereign power, but that
there was another division and that was the reserved
power / so understood the gentleman Now confess
that do not understand the gentlenan proposition
do not understand what he meant by reserved power
did suppose that when the government OF this State
any other sovereign State formed the fundamental
law embodied the whole sovereign power that then cx-
listed.
MIR WISE The gentleman does not understand me.
| think when he does get to understand ne that he
will find himself hope, convinced of his That
which divided into the three departments,
legislative executive aud Judicial, is creature of
the sovereign power 1t is created BY the conventional
power The gentleman understands that There is n
vast an infinite difference between the power of the
mere creature and the power Of the creator just the
difference of ufinty itself Well the people having the
power of the creator the conventional power of the
eregn do not the creature, do not to the mun
cira government they ever possibly, delegate
the whole of their sovereign creative power. All then
that they do not delegate to the creature remains and
abides with themselves The bare statement Of this
great truth which the gentleman will fnd in the
writer's of the old world but in every American writer
attacks at once the INDUSTRIOUS heresy which he has s
peradded to the others which lie has altered that the
sovereign the creative power, the conventional power
Of the State cannot alter aud change the creature with
out the consent of tn creature He might well tell
me that the God of being, the God of u universe
could not change the atoms of animate or nanmae ma
ture without its consent hold that the constitutional
power Of this people who created can at will destroy
and without its consent. 1t is laid down in declara
ton of Independence in bill of rights, and in every
creed of republican democratic faith that any gentle
man cancite in the whole anals of entire history
never contended that such thing pure democracy
,ho son.a in which he understands it existed Talk