Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-05-30
lGont;sued from First Page.

sns asesate for eyery seventyh part of the sale
.oYe, and the senators shall be distributed in like
ner" This is known as proposition A
The second proposition submitted, is the reported
by that portion Of the Basis Committee who favor the
white or suffrage basis, and is in these words: The
qualification necessary to-, confer the right OF suffrage
shall be uniform throughout the commonwealth so ina
in all elections of senators and delegates the same qua
6cation shall confer the right Of suffrage and the
suffrage of one qualified voter shall avail as much a
hat Of another qualified voter whatever may De the
difference in value of property owned by mem respec
lively AS individual suffrage should equai without re
snect to the difference Of individual wealth. so an equa
number of qualified voters shall be entitled to equa
renresentation without regard TO their aggregate
(. wealth.. -,
,;no,,sbed gentleman from Fauquier, tMr. ScoTT ane
hch leaving out details, is intended to embody the
principle of proposition A. And just here, sir, mus
saw that in all the governments that have been formed
in the various States OF this Union, whether they bt
dave States or free States, such proposition this
ttsr A. has been adopted except possibly in the
Stste of South Carolina: ~ -a 1850
az Mr.. Chairman great deal has. been said in this
debate as to the natural rights of man the origin Of
eminent and who were the parties the organization
Of government; all of these interesting questions
and have been treated of by Locke and other elemen
tary writer's do not propose to detan the COMMITTEE
on these writer's but to ask their attention to an Amer
can, to a Virginia document, which We all agree to
adopt az an exponent truth and reason these SUBJ
jscts, Imean the bill ofrights Of Virginia. which was
frat sent forth to the world on the 18th OF june l6
and re-adopted by the Convention Of 1929.
That document contains these words: s'That all
men ore by nature equally free and indie pendent and
have certain inherent rights of which when they enter
into state Of society they cannot by any compact de-
prre Or direst their posterity, namely the enjoyment
Of life and liberty, with the of acquiring and
possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining hap
pinsss and safety. That all power Ii vested in, and
Consequently derived FROM the peoples that magistrates
are their trustees and servants and at all times amena-
,ha Nff hn llnD
mttes to this point, which of the propositions now be-
fore the Committee, the mixed basis as set forth in
letter A. the suffrage basis, as set forth IN letter b,
contains most of the spirit Of the bill Of rights which
practically carries out most Of that sprt Suppose the
second section of the Bill of Rights instead Of reading
asst does: "That all power is vested in and con-
ssquently derived from the people,, contained the fol-
lowing: all power is vested in and consequently derived
from certain mixed basis principle, and that one halt
of the representation is to be given to the free nhabi
tants and the other half to the taxes paid whereby
minoritx of the voters Of the State to rule
ity Suppose the Bill of Rights contained such Ian
guage as that would ever have been adopted by the
men of l776: would not such declarations have pal
sied the arms of those heroic men. Sir they heard
different language totally different language and they
left their ploughs standing in the folds; and their homes
and families, and fought the battles of their country
without pay, and almost without food or clothes.
We have had great deal of criticism and special
pleading, as who is meant in the Bill of Rights by
t'he people," when it says that all power is vested in
consequently derived from the people. had supposed
that there was any one characteristic which, above
all others distinguished the men of Ffo, it was the
characteristic of saying in the panest words what they
meant, they knew very we'll who they meant by "tht
people" and we know too; it means those who are
capable of taking part in the formation of the govern
ment adults men Of mature minds; and when gentle
men ask why We do not allow the ladies' and children,
and unatcs, to exercise powers, | think very salts
factory is given in the fact that the ladies full
~ represented by the men, and their very natures
tel them that they have place in the great as
semblages of men, when they meet together for gov
ermenta purposes; their place is in another sphere
not an inferior one, and they best illustrate their
characters by moving therein You had as well ask
why should not enter upon the tented field and
bear the shock of war Sir, their is proprety in it,
and that is the why the ladies not included
Az to the question: why children and lunatcs
cluded really think the question answers itself; they
are excluded from tho meetings OF ''the people be-
cause they are children and unatcs and therefore, not
capable Of exercising properly their judgment, their
mind. Sir, gentlemen cannot drive me from the plain
good sense and Republican principles of the Bill OF
Rights by such questions, which, with all respect ]
must say show rather their ingenuity than tho strength
Of their cause.
The gentleman from Fauquier, MIR. CHILToS,) last
night read and commented upon the first clauses OF
the third article OF the Bill of Rights he did not read
the last clause of that article, having to the
clusion, that he would "throw it over" Yes sir,
those were his words, that he would throw part
of the Bill of Rights that is very easy way 10 get
around position that YOU cannot meet BY argument
but not the best way to treat portion of the Bill o.
Rights Let read the whole of this third article, il
10 these words: THAT government is ought TO be
instituted for the benefit protection and
ity of the people, nation community, Of all the
rous modes and forms government that BEST which
il most efectually secured against the danger of NAL
administration, and that when any government shall
Be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes,
majority of the community hath indubita6{e ua-
aenabs and indeasible right to reform, alter abol-
ish it in such manner as shall be judged most conducive
TO the public veal" This latter clause commencing
with "majority of the community" is the part no,
read BY the gentleman from Fauquer, (Mr. CHlLroS
1t really that when the question under
abolish the constitution of Virginia, that this latter
clause Of the third article of the Bill of Rights is
material point and not to be overlooked and particu
LARRY SO when consider that it has been decided BY
the highest court of the State-in 9th Randoph-tha
our Bill of Rights is part of the constitution, AND
the general principles thereby declared fundamen
tai laws They limit the powers of the legislature, ane
prohibit the passing Of laws violating those principles
Recollect that the question not whether this power
TO alter amend abolish the existing constitution hac
better have been lodged some where else; but the
question is where has it been placed, who exercise
II under the present constitution. And then contend
if words anything if language scontended to
vey IDEAS that majority of the community Of the State
of Virginia have this rights that it has been lodged
intheir hands by law, by the constitution and that il
cannot be exercised properly and of right BY any
ctneTt Iuau tule majority Vi Tic community or the
ir representatives in convention assembled.
know sir that there has been some discussion as tc
who are meant by ''the community" some have con
tended that the community meant sthe people" spoken
OF in the second article of the Bill of Rights others
and, particularly gentlemen who advocate the mi,
basis, Ray "the community only includes the legal
tors the sHragans under the present constitution Sir
will adopt their construction, that the "commu
nity used in the Bill Of Rights. only includes the
legal voters so that according to the mix basis advo
Gates, majority of the voters of Virginia have the
right to alter amend abolish the constitutions not
by implication, but in so many words, and yet the
law calling this convention organized it. that O0l
ofthe white population, including majority of the
voters ofthe State, have not their proper representa-
ton on the floor Of this Conventions organized it tina
instead OF majority of the having majority il
this body, minority of the voters have the majority
here SIR, is that right is that according to the bill
rghtsi
know it has been said that the action of the egis
laturs 10 organizing this convention has been anconee
by majority OF the voters because they voted for tn
call of this convention but sir, there was no choic
given them, as to how the convention should be or
ganizsd, they had only to choose between having nj
convention, to take organized by the legsa
ture and no man can doubt or dare doubt if the organ
ason Of this convention had been left to majority