The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-05-07
WEDNESDAY, MAY z. 1902.
- urln,cF The PEOPLE.

The VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
Tho strasburg News calls for a mass
r,ceting OF the voters of that county 70
instruct Delegate Chapman as to no"
he shall vote on the question ofprocia'tn-
ing the new Constitution or submitting
# 10 vote of tho people. It says that
MS the matter now stands Mr.. Chapman
will have to vote for submission. out u
he is instructed in 1nass-meeting to DO
otherwise. that is a different thing.
There is the whole question in a nut
shell. A great deal has been said In this
discussion about the voice Of the PEG
Dle.' The people are indeed the supreme
authority in this State and their word IS
. law. It would be outrageous thing
for the Constitutional Convention, In oe-
fancs OF the wishes of the people OF ln,s
State, to put the new Constitution into
effect by proclamation BY the same
token Il the people wish the Constitution
70 be proclaimed. the convention Wouio
) be acting contrary to the will Of the PEG
! ple In submitting It.
That simple View seems to us TO DIS
nose efrectualiy and completely of the ar
gument in favor of submission. Iho
, greatest principle Of Democracy. is the
/; principle OF local self-government Each
and every section Of the State which has
one or more delegates in the Constitu-
tional Convention is entirely within its
!, rights wncn the people of that communi-
ty meet and give instructions to their
representatives. Each and every COM
, munity is a law unto itself in this mat
I, ter.
. It is commended by some, however, that
On many instances the n1ass-meetings
! which have been held were slimly attend
ed and were not representative OF the
! wishes of the people. But In the absence
Of opposition meetings it is fair in
ference that meetings which have been
. he'd were representative meetings. If
. there Is INV considerable element in OPP
, position it is its privilege to meet and
pass resolutions to express its own view.
But SO far as we know, no such meet
i ings have been held anywhere, and 1t
must be clear to all, from the expression
of people and press throughout the length
and breadth of the State, that the SEN
si1nent among the whites in favor of pro-
claiming the Constitution is overwhelm-
Ing. The people want the Constitution
proclaimed and there is now no sort of
DOUBT that it will be proclaimed
By way of clinching the argument let
:, IA
at Charlottesville on last Monday. 1t
was a large and representative meeting,
composed Of citizens of Albemarle county
md the city Of Charlottesville, and an
address was made by Mr.. Withers, of
Denville. He pointed out the features of
She new Constitution and went over the
ground thoroughly ana fairly. After the
people had listened to him attentively
and inteiligently, resolution was intro
E1uced instructing Messrs. Boaz and Lind
say tc vote for proclamation. Now we ask
IN all candor what are Messrs. Boaz and
Lindsay to do when it comes to vote on
that question? And we ask in all candor
what are all the delegates who have
been so instructed to do when the test
comes? They are responsible, If respon-
, sible at all, to the people who sent then,
TO the convention, and they must take
their instructions from them rather than
from political convention which assem-
5led before the Constitutional Convention
met and declared that it was the sense
OF the Democratic party that the new
Constitution should be submitted. We
hold that the people of each section have
the right to speak for themselves ana
{ their wishes are not to be overridden by
any resolution of the party at large. We
cannot believe that the delegates from
Albemarle and Charlottesville o, froi,
any other county or city where instrrc-
lions have been given, will consider that
they are bound by the action oc The State
Democratic Convention rather than bv
the subsequent action of their own con-
sutuents.