Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1851-04-29


who altogether pay but $40, l6la, andthat
the property Of the West shall, in ike
manner, be subjected to the same infu-
ence in the councils of the state, but 1T is
monstrous to think of confding the control
of the State to the West which only pays
one-t third, Che might more correctly have
said, two ifths, Of the taxes OF the State
Is Gooehland solitary example Of this
state of things? Take the county Of King
William. That county paid revenue in
to your treasury last year Of $3,56v, 90
1t has 494 white tithables. An examina-
ton Of tho Commissioner books will show
that 23S Of those white titbables, alto
getber pay into the treasury but the sum
Of S5. SD--that 29S Of them, a majority Of
the whole pay altogether but S24.Ol, and
that majority of all the free white male
residents above twenty ore years Of age
are assessed but with S45.2l.
Take another example. The county OF
Richmond That county paid into your
treasury last year the sum of Sl,673,36,
and it has ISL white tithables. 1t will
appear by paper furnished me in the
Auditors Office at my request. that
372 white tithables in that county are al
together assessed but with serenity cents n
Ia majority Of the white tithables Of the
entire county are assessed but with nine
B-fuc cents land majority of the
male white persons above twenty one years
of age, residing in that county are assess
ed with but S5.47a.
These statements are open to the in
spection Of any gentleman who wishes to
examine them. / could carry the deyel-
opment further, but it is unnecessary. If
there be any county in Eastern Virginia
which. in material point of view, shows
different state of things, l beg gentlemen
to bring it to the notice of this body.
And yet, am called upon to surrender
the interests ofmy constituents to mixed
basis of representation in your General
Assembly, which representation is to rest
upon universal suffrage, and that universal
suffrage to be predicted upon state Of
society sych as | have developed in East
ern Virginia Sir, | should be treacherous
to the interests of my constituents if |
could for moment countenance any such
false and delusiye scheme of policy. And
can any man be surprised at the indignant
feelings which the people ofthe West must
naturally have upon an exhibition Of facts
like thesei To retain power to ourselves
and to exclude them from their just parti-
cipation in the government you announce
as fundamental principles OF political phil
osophy, that representation should be vest
ed in those having a malority Of interests
in any communicated representative
responsibility can only be secured when it
Is made accountable to those arho pay
majoritg of the taaes. These principles
you apply with unloading rigor to your
fellow citizens of the West. And yet when
you come to look into your own condition
at home, we find that you utterly spurn
and repudiate them. And you leave your
own interests and our interests and the
interests Of the whole State, wholly with
out the protection Of those very principles
which you allege are so essential to their
safety Can they believe you sincere in
the advocacy of doctrine which they find
no countenance for in your own practice!
Or is any device, no matter how shallow
or bald, sufficient to justify a retention Of
power in the East? 1t is surprising that
the West should exhibit some sensitive
ness at pretentions like these on the part
of the East to be exclusive guardians of
property, when that property must, under
their system, rest for its protection upon
those who have no property at all. And
when the fact is notorious throughout the
Western portion of the State that there is
N a., .oJ .,onor,l Il ,fTre,o,, <f rrn,o.t,
and that almost every man has some in
terest at stake. In the face of fact, too,
like that stated by the gentleman from
Monroe, Mr.. Chapman,) and which he
says was carefully collected from the CEN
sus returns Of his county, to wit-that
400 voters in Monroe county, 1900 of
them would average one thousand dollars
in value of taxable property. Is it not
adding insult to injustice to urge the mix
cd basis as scheme to protect property in
the face of facts like there?
Sir, recur to the proposition that be-
fore announced, that there is no other mode
in which you can in any representative re-
public, give power positive ofprotection to
property but in the regulation of the elec-
tive franchise. / defy the researches of
gentlemen on the other side of the question
to show me structure Of government, from
the earliest period of authentic history to
the present hour, where the object of the
constitution being in good faith to give an
active and potential influence to property
in the organization of the government, that
it did not proceed to accomplish its purpose,
by restricting the exercise of political pow
er to those alone who were the owners of
property as the only scheme practicable
and known to the human mind, varying of
course in the nature of the restriction ac-
cording to the aristocratic tone and temper
of the government. In what form did our
own ancestors seek to give a constitutional
protection to property In the freehold
qualification of suffrage And If the gen.
tleman from the city of Richmond, (Mr.
Meredith,) will again recur to those de-
bates in the New York Convention in 1921.
and to those views Of Chancellor Kent and
Chief Justice Spencer to which be has re-
ferred, he will find that the arguments
which they urged with 50 much power
against the repeal of the freehold suffrage
in that State have been wholly misapplicd
in tho atfamut IA austain tho princiulae NOW .