Daily national Democrat., 1861-01-05
The People and MOI The States.

Since we are recurring Of late, so frequent
ly, to the fundamental principles upon which
our Government is based (the mad hereses of
the Secessionists and their sympathizers max
ing it necessarily let us refer, for a moment to
that portion of the debates. in the Convention
for framing our Federal Constitution, which
related 20 the point of electing members to
the National Legislature. The question was,
whether the members of the House of Rep
resentatives should be elected by the people
directly, or by the State Legislatures and it
will be observed at once that this was a very
important point, for to decide in favor Of the
State Legislatures would determine the char
acter of the National Legislature as q body
representing the States only and not the peo-
pie, it being already well understood in the
Convention that the Senate was to be COM
posed of members elected by the State Legis-
latures. The Convention was willing that the
States should be represented in the Senate
but it was not willing that the Government
should be Government of the States instead
of Government of the people. 1t shortly af-
terwards decided that the President should be
elected by the people and not by the States,
as few of the members had proposed.
In the discussion of the question above al
luded to, namely, the election of members Of
the House of Representatives, Col. Mason, OF
Virginia, said;
"Under the existing Confederacy 1.-THE orig
inal Confederation Congress represent tie
States, and not the people of the States; their
acts operate on the States, not on the individ-
ndls The case will be changed in the new
plan of Government The people will be rep
resented they ought therefore to choose the
representatives"
Mr.. Madison said, that he considered an
election of one branch, at least, of the Legs-
lature by the people Immediately, as a clear
principle of free government and that this
mode, under proper regulations, had the ad-
ditional advantage of securing better repre-
sentatiyes, as well as ofavoiding too great a..
agency Of the State Governments in the general
one.
Col. Mason, of Virginia, had before said in
the Convention that "the present Confedera-
tion, meaning the original league of the
States] was deficient in not providing for co :
ereiOn and punishment against delinquent
States" but "argued very cogently," says the
record, "hat punishment could not, in the
nature of things be executed on the States
collectively, and, therefore, that such a Gov
ernment was necessary as could directly ope
rate on individuals, and would punish those
only whose guilt required it."
F. How clearly 1t appears, upon examining
not only the Constitution itself but the histo-
ry of its formation, that the Government was
intended to be q Government of the people
and not of the States, and that iadiyidualS
and not States were to be considered In case
of resistance to the Federal laws. Coercion
of States, as such, was not contemplated, but
every individual was to be held responsible
for resistance, whether he sheltered behind
the impersonality of State or not
On the question of electing the House of
Representatives by the State Legislatures,
and thus making the Government a Govern
ment of States, the vote stood in favor of it 8,
Connecticut, New Jersey and South Carolina;
abainst it g. Massachusetts, New York Penn
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia. North
Carolina and Georgia.
1t was therefore determined that the Staiss
should be, as it were, interviewer into the
general framework of the Union and such
is, beyond all successful contradiction, their
present condition. The Executive is elected
by the people, the Lower House of Congress
is elected by the people, and the Govern
ment is the Government of the People.