Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-03-14
THE RICHMOND OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, MARCH Ia, 1888

came from its original framers IL has
been materially and radically purged Of
all its evils and defects, and all that was
good in it is all that remains.
Ii was profound observation Of Mr..
Calhoun, in his great work on Govern
ment, that one Of the greatest improve
ments in the government OF people living
under written constitutions is provision
that the instrument should he changed
gradually and in detail that when the
people feel that change is necessary il
should be discussed before them and
their representatives, and after the pro-
vision had been thus considered il
should be put to the vote of the whole
peopIe for their decision. II whole
constitution is submitted to their deci-
sion and vote, while they might greatly
disapprove of some OF its provisions they
might vote for ii rs whole, which was
actually the case in the adoption OF
the Constitution OF lS29-'30. 1t is for
tunate that our present Constitution
contains this great improvement and the
people have avRiled themselves of 1t on
several occasions. which we will emu
merate, and thus have almost changed
the entire instrument. If even they
should find that one of the changes they
have made by an amendment does not
work as they had expected they can by
another amendment annul it, as they
actually did in relation to n change made
by an amendment in requiring the pre-
payment of capitation as a condition of
suffrage. A recommendation of this
mode of amendment is that it costs no
thing bat a vote of the people, while on
the other hand change or amendment
by the action OF convention is enor
mously expensive, as we will show here
after.
In order to make good our proposition
that by these amendments by popular
vote we have eliminated all the evils and
retained all the good in the Constitution,
let ms consider in detail all the main
features of the instrument itself. The
present Constitution as framed was made
upon the model of the Constitution Of
185O-'51 and the Constitution OF the
State of New York. In all the parts the
trainers did not change we find them in
the Constitution of 1S50-5l and the
Alexandria Constitution.
When the people of Virginia ratified
the Constitution in 1859, for the sake of
admission into the Union and the with
drawal of the military government, they
we're painfully aware that it was in many
respects entirely unsuited to the condi-
ton of the State and tho habitudes of
the people. Even after, by the help OF
President Grant, who had the ambition |
TO have the Mother OF States resume her |
place in the galaxy Of the Union during |
his administration and was moved by |
the representations OF the famous Com !
mittee Of Nine, we had voted out the /
DISTINGUISHING clause and the testoath, !
which would have put the government |
into the hands OF the carpet-baggers,
we resolutely took up the heavy load, |
with sad hearts, but with the hope that |
we might change the Constituhonint time. |
Petit larceny then was no bar TO Suffrage.
The representation of the people in the |
General Assembly was so skilfully gerry
wandered in the Constitution that the
carpet baggers and the colored element
had clear majority of forty on joint
ballot, thus securing to them the control
of the entire Judiciary and all the execu-
tive officers of the State. The county
to which our people were
accustomed, remarkable for simplicity
and cheapness, we're rudely abolished
and most onerous and expensive sys
tenn utterly unsuited to our impoverished
was thrust upon MS, although
it might have suited the densely popu-
lated districts of New York and New
England. WILLIAM PORE DABNEY.
POyhatan.