Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1901-07-11

erful, that bene6cent Being breathed the
Divine afilatus into the miserable dust, up
rose the immortal man."
81 claim, Mr.. President that when one
hundreth part of the people OF Virginia,
that integral portion of Vlrginia's SOW
ereignty gave me by these regular processes
my right to sit upon this floor and to meet
here ninety.nine other gentlemen similarly
commissioned, into me at that moment
when l received proof, the regular and
legal certificate of that fact, passed as to
myself that breath or sovereignty which
gave me the legal power to exercise ii
upon this floor. (Applause.)"
This was very pretty and poetic Illus
tration, and so tickled the vanity of the
pleased auditors (the supreme sovereigns)
that they applauded to the echo the ire
futable (?) proof of their superior author
ity of Divine right. The pretty illustra
ton, however, very aptly contravenes the
theory Colonel Cameron was trying to es'
tablish. After man was made an i'm
mortal being his Immortality was
made conditional and bis right of action
limited by the superior Being who had
created him. Adam disregarded the law
disputed the authority Of a supreme OF
superior power, brought sin into the world
and, among the many evils following, came
! the necessity of having human.made laws
by Constitutional Conventions. The Virgin
ia Constitutional Convention following the
example of ADAM, clothed with brief anc
limited authority, magnifes its own i'm
portance, usurps supreme authority, de
clines to swear fidelity to a higher law
and defantly announces its purpose tC
violate the supreme written and unwritter
law of the republic.
There can be no doubt Of it being the
intention of the convention to violate {
superior law. That is the motive which
impels it to refuse to take the oath, witt
the fatuous idea that responsibility tC
law or conscience will not attach if the
oath is not taken. Colonel Cameron de
clared; II could not take that oath. Ii
would place me between two alternatives
each equally hateful; one Of having con
sciously sworn to what did not mean tC
perform, and breaking it; the other Of be
ing unable to do for the people of Virginia
what | came here to do" In the next
paragraph he says: "The oath calls OF
me to swear as a member of this conven
ton that l will support the civil and pc
litical equality of all men before the law. ,
, This is what makes the oath objection
able, for Colonel Cameron voiced TIT
sentiment of tie majority Of the conven
ton. They have been gathered togethe
as partisan body to violate the suprem
law, aud they do not hesitate to say tina
they refuse to take the oath because
will prevent them from doing what the
have been sent to the convention to do
that is, infract the Constitution Of tn
United States and violate the first princi
pies enunciated by the Bill of Righte an'
the Declaration of Independence.
When discussing the question of Virgin
las sovereignty, and incidentally uphold
} ing the exploded right Of secession ant
the institution of slavery, Colonel Gem
eron criticised the law as laid down b!
Jamison, Cooley, and other eminent au
thorities and said
81 take my law from the Virgins
fathers, from the fathers of the republic
and no where have they uttered one wore
in controvention of the theory of govern
ment which l am proud to uphold here
today"
We invoke the principles Of the Virgins
fathers against Colonel Cameron. Tht
Immortal sage, Thomas Jefferson, il
penning the Declaration Of independence
wrote for future generations ave hole
these truths to be self.evident that al
men are created equal; that they are en-
dowed by their Creator with certain I'M
alienable rights" etc.
The Virginia fathers in the immortal Bill
of Rights declared "Tbat all men are by
nature equally free and independent and
have certain inherent rights" And again
in the Bill of Rights the Virginia fathers
declared
THAT all elections ought to be free; and
that all men, having sufficient evidence Of
permanent common interest with, and at
tacbment to, the community, have the
right of suffrage, and can not be taxed or
deprived of their property for public uses,
without their consent, or that of their rep
resentatives go elected, nor bound by any
law to which they have not, in like man.
ner assented for the public good"
Now comes the news that the Bill Of
Rights may not be retained in the new
Constitution though it has occupied the
first position in every Constitution Virginia
has ever had. The principles of the Bill
Il &c p;ohts conflict with fl O revolutionary