The southern press., 1851-08-06
The New ConstItutIsn or virginia.

Inc uCw VOuStltutl0u VI mBhnA1s
When the constitution of Virginia was amend
cd in 1880, JoHs RAspoLPH, then member o.
the convention, declared, that no constitution
would last twenty-five years His prediction
was fulfilled almost to the very letter. AT thai
time as now, there was "a struggle betweenthe eas
tern and western sections of the State, In which
slavery was involved, and there was then ofcours'
a compromise. That compromise is now O
course overthrown. By the constitution O
1880, the right of suffrage was limited to fret
holders, and lease holders and heads of families
and an apportionment Of representation was
made that gave the property of the State a share
of power with the population. Now, suffrage
is substantially universal, and an apportonmen
is made to last until 1865, which gives eastern
Virginia a majority Of ten in the Senate and
western Virginia majority Of fourteen in the
House. The avowed object of the arrangement
was TO divide the power of the State between
the two sections, on the ground that in some re-
spects their interests were different But the
governor is elected by the people; and hence
the executive power is given to western Virgi
mia, which preponderates in population. Ifthere
fore ary member of the legislature from eastern
Virginia should aspire to the first Office Of the
State, he must understand that he cannot oppose
the interest of western Virginia. This ridcu-
lous pretence of creating balance of power in
the Legislative department between the two sec
lions, and then destroying it by the executive
is SO flimsy and silly that we wonder at the as
surance that attempts to impose it on the com
mon sense of the people.
The arguments advanced in behalf of an ad.
vantage for western Virginia, were as shallow
and absurd as the arrangement itself The
western members said their people could moi
endure the indignity of having less power, in
proportion to their numbers, than eastern men
Well, how does Virginia then endure the in
dignity of having no more United States sena.
tors than Delaware or Rhode Island? Ani
how can the western people of Virginia endure
the thought that they are inhicting an indignity
by the slave representation in Congress, on tn,
people of non-slaveholding States! The truti
is, no such ndignity is felt, or felt only by very
foolish men.
Another pretence was, that the people. of ives
tern Virginia loved the eastern SO WE'LL that there
was no danger or possibility of Expressing them
But if this were SO, the same thing must have
been equally true of the east towards the west
and hence there was no use in changing the con
stitution.
The truth is, that where State is divided like
Virginia, into two regions, differing not only il
the proportion of their property, but in the kind
of it, each ought to have a power in their gov.
ernment of self defence against the other
Hence, it would perhaps have been well to es
tablsh each house on different basis, so that
each section would have predominated in one
house. But in that event, the governor, and all
other State officers, ought to have been equally
the choice of both sections. They ought to
have been elected either by concurrent vote oi
both houses, or by concurrent majorities Of
both regions Of the State.
The whole Judiciary system of the State has
been made elective-a most disastrous change
Every b2dy knows that State officers are now
all elecced on federal politics-and to elect ,
judge, supreme judge of Virginia, on hi.
Presidential preferences, is to give up that las
department Of State authority to party and to
centralism.
All this has been done under the notion Of in
creasing popular power-but it is great mis-
take. These officers will hereafter be selected
by caucus, the most irresponsible and corrupt
and the least popular mode of selection known
to our whole system.
About half the States have been engaged oi
late years in changing their constitutions. The
principles of these changes, If true, indicate the
propriety Of changing the federal Constitution
in its essential elements. In fact they are al
ready practically applied to its administration
and nothing but the large vote Of States re-
quired to change the instrument itself, prevents
il.