Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1856-03-05

equality Of territory, or of population and
property, what a complete farce would our
Government have exhibited from the very
day of its existence The Constitution
could not have stood through one decade.
The practical expressions Of the numerical
majority, scarcely tolerable now under the
strong conservative influence of the Senate,
backed by the veto power Of the President,
would have involved us in civil brols and
contests, that could have ended in no other
way than by a dissolution of the Union.
This majority have broken through the bar
riers of the Constitution, (which itself has
been saved alone by the influence Of the
minority interest in the Senate) and, by lat-
tudinarian construction, and the iendish
doctrines Of a "higher law have made
series Of encroachments on the rights and
liberties of the minority, unprecedented in
the history Of free government. If with the
Constitution the minority are barely saved,
what would be their fate without it,
Though, then, to the superficial eye, Unequal
ity may appear on the surface of the Sem
ate's organization, a closer search into its
merits will disclose the great wisdom and
practical efficacy of its provisions. 1t is this
very theoretical inequality that produces
something like practical equality in the
administration of the Government; the main
defect in the structure being, that the power
of the minority interest is not sufficiently
great for its protection and security.
In the Senate Of most of our sister States
the conservative element is much less con-
siderable than in the U. S. Senate; and it
arises from the. want of sufficiently power
fnl minority interest in their composition.
The members OF the Senate, not having any
special interest in the preservation Of the
fundamental law, are too generally swayed
by the same local interests, the same popu-
lar impulses, the same considerations Of
public policy, as the leading majorities in
the lower House, and when the latter desire
change, they too often find a ready response
from the former in accordance with their
wishes. Hence the rapid and almost frivo:
lous innovations in the institutions, laws and
public policy Of many Of our sister States ;
and hence also, the many unwise and dan
gerous alterations Of their fundamental law.
The just lines between power and liberty,
stability and progress, can only be marked
out and preserved, by well defined minor.
ity interest in the Senate. chamber, with
proper guards and limitations to its powers.
In South Carolina, we may safely boast
of this happy conjunction of qualities in our !
State polity. Local circumstances contri-
buted to the formation Of government with
US, which, for equality OF action, steadiness
OF purpose the liberty Of its citizens, and :
harmony of public sentiment, stands unrlval- /
led in the history of nations. Though to
the negligent observer, our Senate may ap-
pear somewhat irregular and unequal in its
exterior, it in reality contains, in an eminent
degree, the blessings Of practical equality. !
1t secures equal rights, equal laws, to each !
aud every part of the Stale and this it does
by virtue of its very organization. From
Geographical peculiarities, not admitting OF
dense while population, in one section OF
the State, minority interest is created, of
which our ancestors, by happy inspiration
of Legislative genius, more fortunate than
that OF Minos or Lycurgus, of Solon or OF .
Romnlus, readily availed themselves in the
organization of the Senate. 10 this minor-
ty interest they gave substantial power
for self protection and for preserving the
Constitution of the State; but they so well
guarded this power as to render impossible
any positive encroachnent by it on the
rights of the community at large. This
power was given by subdividing the lower
and less populous section Of the State into
number of small election Districts allow
ing to each Senator; and, as without this
distribution of power, that section OF the
State, would have been almost without voice
in the legislative assembly, and consequent
ly without any proper guaranty or protec-
ton 10 its various local interests, so our an
cestors drew from this necessity double
virue-by extending the blessings Of politi-
cal liberty to an otherwise unprotected sec.
ton, and by throwing into the Senate
wise, Just, well guarded conservative ele-
ment, deeply interested in preserving intact
the noble Constitution Of our State, and in
transmitting its manifold blessings to future
ages. They had assurance, OF having ound'
ed a free and stable Government, amply Sc
curing on one hand the liberty Of the ciilzen'
aud on the other, order, and disnied ad-
minstration, Of the political power OF the
State. Shall we without being able to
pick one flaw, or to point out one iIi'ad.
iusted part in that noble framework, sui
fer ourselves, through freak Of the fancy,
mere permission OF the will, to overthrow
and destroy it9 Will we rashly cut Oft this
our glorious heritage handed down to us
! from a wise and virtuous ancestry
But the wisdom of our present arrange
ment is seen in another point. While
wholesome restraint is placed upon the legis'
lative power of each House by the checks
which one holds over the other, the Senate
is enabled to hold and to exercise the only
reio power in our State Government. This
wise restraint upon Governmental author
ty, so essential to liberty, is not formally
recognized in any distinct branch OF our
State polity Yet that such a power actu-
ally exists is evident upon the slightest re.
| Election. No government, indeed, could last
Tor any length Of time without such a power
resting somewhere. In the absence OF this,
the minority would ever be the sport and
victims Of the ruling majority. 1t has been
demonstrated by Mr.. Calhoun, with almost
mathematical precision, that "where the
majority rules without restriction the minor:
ity will be the slaves" Could this veto
power he now more wisely placed than IN
the Senate. chamber, among experienced aud
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