The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent., 1851-01-31
Protest in the Mississippi Senate on
the Passage of the Convention Bill

Protest in the Mississippi Senate on
the Passage Of the Convention Bill.
The undersigned members OF the Legislature
OF the State of Mississippi, convened in obedi.
ence TO the proclamation Of his Excelency the
Governor, in November, 1850, beg leave to
present this our solemn protest against the act,
entitled "an act to call a convention of the peo-
pie os the State" 1t declares that the sovereign
will of the people should be expressed by means
of convention, in reference to wrongs done
and threatened this State BY the general govern
ment, and it provides that delegates shall be
elected TO such convention and that it shall
meet in November next. The act proposes to
call into action The sovereign power of the State.
When the convention assemblies, it will possess
and may exercise all the sovereign power of
the State. or it will possess no power whatever.
If the sovereign power Of the State be centred
in it, there can be no limit prescribed by us. 1t /
may alter, abolish. or change the whole form of
our government, it may substitute monarchy /
or an aristocracy, and If it should possess no
power, it may prove mischievous in the attempts |
10 assume it. Has the Legislature the power 10 {
call such convention? Can it so far controlan6 /
direct the sovereign power to require the people
10 exercise il? We deny it. There is no such |
political power is inherent in the people; gov-
ernment emanates from this power, being
ordained and established by the people, to secure
their liberty and happiness. Their freedom
consists in the possession CT the supreme power,
and in confding the duty of governments to
their agents, they have not only reserved the |
sovereign power to themselves, and prohibited
their agents from its exercise, but the more ef- |
fectuallY and surely TO secure it, they have d.
vided the duties Ct their agents into different
departments, each one moving as check upon
! the other. The powers Of government must
be restricted and kept separate, or there is no
liberty. II the same body of men may legisate,
adudeate, and administer or execute the laws,
it is plain their will would be omnipotent
Hence, the constitution divides the powers OF
the government; the legislative power being
| confined to one body OF men, the executive pow
er to another, and the judicial power to third.
But all these powers are of course subordinate
to the supreme or sovereign power of the people
themselves. The constitution is the source and
limit OF the power of each department, and no
| department can so enlarge or extend the sphere
of its action as to control or direct the supreme
power, without express authority to do so. Even
the people themselves, cannot exert their soy-
ereign power in manner different from that
which they have prescribed in the constitution.
| By'that instrument they are bound; it Is the
covenant OF the people with each other, it is the
only buwafk and shield o! the minority; it was
| designed 10 give permanency II the government
and to secure equality, by combining each de-
partment of the government within its prescribed
limits 1t is unalterable except by the pre-
scribed mode; and as there is a mode prescribed
that operates necessarily as Imitation on the
| mo ImU0SPQ
| by the people. it is covenant that it shall not
be brought into action at all. except in that pc
cular way; but it may act without restriction,
| for people assembled in convention, are ABOVE
the constitution. BY this bill. we disregard the
restriction in the constitution; we devise new
way by which the sovereign will may be ex-
pressed.
The constitution gives us existence as body,
and invests us with legislative powers, nothing
more; that is, legislative power subordinate to
the constitution. Do we now exercise legisla-
tive power as thus conferred, or.is it thus con-
! ferreG. oris it sovereign power? We say the
people shal, have convention. and shall exer-
else their sovereign power; very plainly this Is
| something more than legislative power; II Is
mandate to sovereign power, which is thereby
brought into action without the authority OF the
people, and clothed with authority to say to the
people you shall 60 into convention and exer-
else your supreme power. This is a command
| to that which is above us. Look to the consti-
tuition for your authority you hnd none such
there. The people themselves cannet alter The
constitutions; cannot exercise their snp-eme
power except by a vote of two-thirds OF the
Legislature after The proposed change has been
| read each day for three days, then published six
months, and then approved by majority OF the
popular votes This is ofsnecessiiy limitation
4 to the exercise of supreme power. fbis bill
dispenses with this ceremony; it provides new
way by which the sovereign viii may be de-
clared, and utterly obterates this feature Of the
constitution, But this is not the only objection
10 it. BY what authority is it we say to the
1 people, the whole of your supreme power should
be vested in and exercised by any number of
/ Representatives? Have we the power to limit
the number of agents through whom the people
may act? We have no power to say to them
you shall confer your power to agents. If we
can do so, we may as well appoint the agents.
This is really the exercise Of sovereign power;
/ it is defining and limiting the rights of the peo-
pie. Each man in this community is equal in
political power So says the bill of rights; and
Lie convention is to meet. each man has the
right to 90 there and speak for himself, unless
be himself has restricted this power. But in
this bill they are not regarded as equals; some
are TO have more rights in the convention than
others, and the political power of some is actu-
4 ally transferred to Others The bill Of rights
also declares that all political Dower is inherent
in the people. and all free governments are
founded on their authority and established for
their benefit. and therefore they have at all times
an inaenable and indeieasible right to alter or
abolish their form Of government in such man
ner as they may deem expedient. We are devil
sing way 10 alter or abolish the government,
without the permission or consent of the people
by legislative power, although the last section
to the bill Of rights to guard against transgres-
sions, excerpts everything in that article out o.
the general powers Of government, and declares
that they shall ever remain invioIaie. This bill
establishes new and dangerous precedent.
The Legislature assumes 20 say when the su-