Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-04-04


with your improvements commenced at tiic-water am
commenced sole and wholly account of year wcseI
trade: Improvements which must pass through Pied
mont before your valley trans Allegheny regions ca,
4 be rechcd. AS well might you place TO The accon; o
Richmond the cost of your capitol and other public
buildings, including your public grounds here located
well might you charge her with the annual expense.
of your legislature, and all other distributions of public
money made in this city for the ordinary purposes Of
government. No. this charge against Piedmont is
more easily made than sustained. As representative
OF u;l portion OF the State, have stood OH the floor OIL
your house OF delegates year after year and have voted
tor appropriations for improvements 10 pass through the
PIEDMONT country, in which my people had II" more
Il local interest than The people of the gentleman
from Accomac. They were improvements which
deemed for the general interest, and general benefit o
The State; and were there | would give the same
vote again. Ii was not to improve solely and wholly
this country called Piedmont, which lies just above
water and takes in the whole tier OF counties along
and below the Blue Ridge, from the southern 10 the
northern border Of YOUR State but the questions al
ways submitted was. is the contemplated improvement
for the public and general good: Is il for the r'biic
aud general benefit: Do the west desire 1t And il"
they did desire it You need but go to the Journals OF ynl
general assembly, and you will there find each and
every one Of these improvements general III tier char
acter, sustained by the western vote OF The STATE oi
western friends have lent valuable aid in these cxrcd
tons for plumber geographically described b. ny ircno
from Augusta. But let me dismiss this matter, Tor
| Mr.. SHEFFEY. Will the gentleman allow me 10
make Just single remark; did not desire to interrupt
his very handsome, graceful and chivarc assault upon
ME- but finding he has gotten through ] simply wish
not in reply to him, but las think dill in my remark.
the last morning spoke before the committee" 10 pat
myself right before the country My remarks IL regard
10 puudcr designed to rcpe the charge Of the
gentleman from Faunuicr (Alr. ScoTT) thai if power
were transferred To the west, the west wou! puidc!
the east. Ny argument WAS that if plumber were II b"
,pcrperated, it had been perpetrated; AMI that TIL"
Piedmont country had taken, at least, le,d;n, part III
this crusaIc-if crusade there had bee-upon the pub
lie treasury and that according to the report Of the
second Auditor it had received very large proportion
If the public money expended in internal Improvements
To that extent thought my argument legitimate, 10 re.
pei the ausion of the gentleman from Fau1uicT did
not charge or intend to charge that the Pictmu
try had plunoer. the resi- Of the commonwealth; In,
The contrary expressly said was friend ui internal
Improvement and that had voted for many of !hose
great schemes Of Improvement which arc tonnl III
the Piedmont district; but that l" INT that the posi-
ton the members from the Piedmont country hal 'rirr
" assumed, inconsistent with their prescott position,
And to prove this. went TO argue that when the
Piedmont members assessed lax for the purpose Of
maxim. an Improvement in their country, thry assessed
one dollar themselves an, at the time assessed
dollar and ten upon interest in the c"!!!pn-
wealth. lying i'll the ticwater district, wh!c! rt"">tcl
against amy such improvements and which wa; hn>'c
to the cherished by Piedmont. eIlrav"r,"i
to show from that train of argument that Of any pa!c
ur tcres; shuud have utrustcd to il the Legislative.
power protect ITSELF gentlemen from the Fled
mont country contend to be the true principle in
apportoning representation, it would follow thai tn"
dewater country should have the control of the cy<
| atirc power, to protect its interests as,inst Fled
mont, tho Valley and trans ALLEGHENY.
Mr. SOUTHALL. | did not desire 10 miSrcinc:
the gel tenan from Augusta do think have eth.
er nSrepreseated misunderstood HIM II tie gentle
man has upon reflection been satisfied that the facts do
not sustain justify the positions which he occupied
some weeks ago upon this subject, have doubt that
his candor liberay aud love of truth all sufficient
TO insure my constituents Justice at ii. lanls-tat
whenever his mind free upon the h and
to examine it calmly and deliberately he will see that
his is the last quarter from which Piedmont ought t.
have expected the blow, which he aimed at her. Wha:
ever NAV have been her public course, whatever mas
other portions Of the State, lai:sn her when AMI where
You please. that gehtlelnon at least c"ncas that
her aud prosecutor ought not Ia haze been
found in the county of Augusta.
1t is true the gentleman did say. and it makes
the position he has assumed the rema kable tia
the appropriations to which he has alluded were for
the local benefit of Piedmont did he dissent from
the policy which had dictated them. Ii such appr"pr;.
atoms OF your public money, for many of which the gen
enlan himself voted not intended for local but for
great and general Objects and if the policy which nuc-
ed them praisewcrtly and patriotic and commanded
the .entlemans support lask why has the past Of
Piedmont upon the subject Of Internal improvement
been held up obnoxious to the gemle!rans Ccnsurc,
and IN apparent overture made to tdewacr 10 u.t,
with the valleyl For what purpose, for what design
for what object. What is to be the consequence ui
this new ami unnatural alliance. Why the gentleman
from Accomac has Just told US it was To get back
part of the pluIder-to play upon us, suppose, the
came of two pluck cne' Be the intent what it NAV
cha ritabe or otherwise, let the league be made how
and when it shall, Piedmont trust, i'll the panopy Of
Justice and of right will be prepared to resist md rcpel
any attempted invasion So much for Piedmont an
Internal Improvement.
Returning from this DEPRESSION which, located rs
am in the State knew not how we'll to avoid let me
approach the question more immediately before Us. BE.
fore doing 81, however and as somewhat connected with
lit, desire To notice two opinions which have
been advanced in this debate, in neither Of which do
at all First, it has been said by gentle
man. perhaps Ly the worthy and intelligent gentleman
from Jefferson tlr LucAs) that the constitution Of June
l776 then adopted aud under which we lived until
1880, was usnrEtion: that fundamental law it
was not obligatory
/ Mr. LUCAS. / certainly did not say it.
Mr. SUI HALL l do not desire to msrcpresert
the gentleman 1t has, however, been said in this de
bate and the opinion Of Mr. Jefferson has been here and
elsewhere upon other occasions quoted to sustain the
POSITION he constitution under which this government
was administered, which every officer vi the gov
ernnent lro that time up t" $780, swore to support
as the fundamental law OF the land il has been said
act of mere Ordinary legislation and. as such
could at any time be anuued by the same mower that
created it! Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes ON vir.
ginia IA book have not for years and which
believe is out of prntdoes advance the opinion that
the constitution, that this legislative aci rs il ba.
been termed this ordinance of your legislature of June
l776, WAS but an ordinance Of government and as nm or
ganic law, was not obligatory upon our people. Other
distinguished men have examined this question. The
elder Judge Tucker i'll do not forget very able note
attached to bis commentary on Blackstone meets this
position of Mr. Jefferson and in my humble opinion re-
flutes aud overlhrowsit But if other and high authori.
y was necessary the decision of your general court in
the of Kemper and Hawkins, reported either in the
lst or I'd volume of Virginia cases (wherc this oaes.
ton is directly metz sustains the constitutional
ity and obligation of this ordinance, act, or what
ever YOU may call it, aud declares it the binding and
supreme organic law of the land.
The gentleman from Jefferson has said, that
whatever might have been the origin OF this constitu
tion however it may have been created originally, 10y
what hand may have been ushered into HE 1t cstab.
Isheda gross arsocracy under which We lived from
to 1929. These charges aud declarations like, many
Others are easily made but demand the proof should
like to have specifications some evidence of
the arisocratc features of the constitution OF IS 1t Is
not obnoxious 10 the ephet not justly liable to the
charge Of creating aristocacy in the State OF Virgin.
ia What did it do What powers did it confer, and
what duties did it assign to the Legislative department