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

administration Of particular party cast was succeeded
~ ;.s onnoste of all the others instantly settled dow
n te opinion that he too like his predecessor, wa.
abusing his power aud patronage for his seltisi
great deal has been said here about the inallibty
If the people know Of no respectable school, eithe:
in politics i'll theology, in which any such doctrine
taught kno,r that | gn :.>ilible, and take It iol
granted that every gentleman who sits here associateN
with III this Convention wc'd admit that lie wa
allibe andit would be most extraordinary spectacle
of body consisting Of one hundred and thrty'hve mel
all fallible representing nalibe constituency ih'
Governor of Virginia If YOU give him the power anl
patronage will do like other men, and VIII not ~
! the performance Of oUr duty here, base TINS ooisu
tuition upon confidence except 10 those cases wi'Ft
confidence is 1?ensablo But he has 40 power ana
patronage and according to the gentleman from Car
lille. is sounding brass and tinkllng cymbal. Aye
is it so9 Your report does not propose to take an
of that which he now has away; 1t proposes !" give
him more; and am called upon now to vote net upon
the idea that you will take away rom nm "hat ne
has but upon what he has got under the laws n i've
and for all that you do not take from him. ne VIII re
tain under tho law of the land, which law his body
cannot change unless provide for 1t IN the ConstH
ton am tn vote upon this amendment now, upon tie
mower which he has got and state here, without the
fear Of successful contradiction that at this very momcn,
the Governor of Virginia i'll proportion TO the number o
neople and the number Of interests which he rules
rs Governor has power of moro dangerous char
act than Willard Fillmore Victoria the First sn
thu, are Ia come have said and repeat il, that there
i. nscparable from the executive department OF the
government, mass Of power and patronage which may
and which will I've used in a conflict with the people t"
turn the scale whenever the parties are equally balanced
in tn. State Can YOU forcsce the new officers that
must be created in this State in onward marc!-and
she has within her limits ali the elements of greatness
10 degree unprecedented by any other of the tc;:-
tv-une-can YOU foresee all the influence Of the differ
eilt offices that will become necessary ana that vii!
be created bv low, and cali gu IN this Cor huton
provide drposor v for 'o powers and PATROLS that
will be nc!ert to TIE creation of thea Offices 40 II
cannot be done The Legislature of Virginia al It's ses
sion at the White Sui phur Springs gave specimen std
fcretaste merely Of what be done bv Legislative 10
" in the of enlarged executive power and pa,r"
age and in short bill of some twenty lines, they I've
clothed him with the appointment, not merely :" rau
GER III the city of Richmond the gentleman rom "a
bell said this morning. but they have clothed n win
the power Of appointing every inspector IN Inc "h'e
Commonwealth OF Virginia, from one side oi II l" e
her and they have enumerated in that bill ht"en Fi
ces of merchandise for each one Of which he i. author
lied to appoint inspector limiting him 10 one tor "eh
city and town and six for each county ana beyond 'a
each Of these inspectors so appointed by the "Se
or nav BY and with the advice and consent onv OF nj
Excelleucv appoint deputy md that would give hi
in the CITY Of Richmond alone patronage equal r. he
appointment Of thirty officers and IN the county oi le'
rico if he exercises bis power 10 the full extent liz may
for Richmond it were. IL overtowlng her corporal,
limits and invading tho county of Henrco-he may nave
under the existing laws the appointment In that county
alone directly or indirectly, Of hundred ana eighty
public officers A man Of Ordinary imagination, should
suppose having his attention particularly drawn to tue
subject might be able calculate tho influence Of the
exercise Of that power upon closely contested election
in the me,ropoltan district Of Virginia Would ii
turn the scale in nine Of ten But that sno even
the beginning Yc have By the le groa, S'2te corp
ration called the Board of Public orks aud the Gov
ernor is made member Of that corporation and presi
dent of the body and that corporation appoints PROV
les 10 represent the Common in all those great N
terual improvements which stretching through The
Common ealth from North to South and from Lh- To
West; and not only proxies. but wherever the S''e
owns threeffths Of the Stock the Board appoints Ics'
6fths of the directors of the companies. And II II
were all. it might be toerabe. What else You haze
bank capital of nearly ten millions Of dollars. and Tor
he wears 40 and so the average loans and discounts n
.hese banks amounted to from eighteen to twenty NIL
ions Of dollars and this Governor called the sounding
rass and tinkng cymbol. has now, While SPEAK IN"
rover of appointing three out Of every seven of the d-
ecors Of all tho banks spread all over the C"'a"a
wealth and four out Of nine of all the directors d
/: mother bank with further power expressly re
served by law 70 give to him whenever the
M : J., case the ,wcr Of appointing four ont OF seven
al the branches und five out CT nine at the mother banks
Az, now ask if the President Of the United Stntes III
thu proportion which the State bears to the non hois
in lis hands power TINT so reaches down TO the bcs
nes transactions of the people, that so touches the VI
tai interests Of all the people this single power at
this moment possessed by the Governor oil this Common
wea ia, cannot under these circumstances. vote or
the eligibility Of the Governor of thus Commonwealth
aulot under these circumstances, vote Tor thecigl
blitv of the Governor ut the end OF his frst t'r
viii :, 1t nerm; him by my vote-wien he comes into
The crntes. with large portion pcraps one.aii nl i-
own ,,low.citizcns for his reelection to be able %
throw into the scalc-which hangs pcrchance AZ the end
mower and patronage which will cectually turn il
:, tba word or Brcunus when cast into the scale Z,
! Rome.
some fthe illustrations of the gentleman upon this sub
ect did not seem to be of the most fecitous description
The gent .enau to whom hare referred already told Is
veterda, that ndcr the old Constitution he Governor
was rnitted to be elected FOX three terms aud then be
Ineligible for life Thirteen out of eighteen, betwet L
l16 and .so9 reelected just rs long rs the Con
,,itution .rlnittcd them to be- Insert no clause q II
eligibility III this Constitution and does my friend rom
Marion rs the Governor to c able to reelect himself
long IL lives because if the analogics hold Which
he hi.nsc,f IS cred such will in all probability he the
case. We told that this re-eligiby Of the Gov
erncr the responsibility oil the Office have
Ii toned 10 Tat argument with great attention, but
gentlemen " Il pardon for saying-for | certain
y mean II" 'iiSrcpect to thcn-that on subjec: up
on which Alexander Hamilton has exhausted his &c.
MUS in defence OF the rc.cgihty of the President
of the United ta"-, and left ,kcptic still ii can
hardly happen that shall b. converted by any arc,,-
ncnts here resi- ectabc and strong as they NAV be-
do not know tina any gentleman who has ever discuss
anv question upon which Alexander Hamilton poured
+he fall tide Of sgenus, has further illuminated it
to any verv great extent nor DO know that the man
ncr although respectable and worthy Of consideration
in which his argun ents upon that topic have been
ed upon the cons Grafton Of ;his Convention have AL
dea any strength o. force to them.
The gentleman fl POwhatan the other day by way
Of distinguished statesman who departed this life about
the period think the memorable Buffalo nxen
eJ States once film the highest and the proraes, ant
fthe genemaniro ca6ell ". pardon me ne, most
10 hs support one of he most powerful parties tha
the world ever saw Bat he FELL he fell says he gen
tleman from Powhatan md now there is none---nons
here oer:ainly-so poor rs to do him reverence WHY
did he fall if fall he did after leaving the presidential
chair on the fourth of March ls41 That is question
c,rl;no 10 the argument o the gentleman from Pow
haan he fell a, this tine a. Why Beeau'. the door
Of ineigibty opened t him. That is the recs:r
no fell He had been defeate once but there was M
clause Of ineligbility in the institution of the United
states aud having tasted the fruits and the sweets
= o1.1 oh md ,rha Ii,