Western Sun & General Advertiser, Volume 17, Number 1, Vincennes, Knox County, 18 February 1826 — Page 2

rcsentatives. Still less can they sit in mass upon the rights of persons & property, administer justice, and expound the laws : all this must be confided to a small number of judges, placed, by the tenure of their office, far above the immediate control and influence of the people. W hat part, then, remains for the body of the people to act in the administration of the federal government ? Elections ; and nothing but elections remain for them ; Sc in the original distribution of power, this part was the one assigned to them. Representatives in Congress were to be chosen by them ; in the election of Senators, they were to have an indirect vote ; and in that of the President and Vice Presi

dent, they were to choose, through their

immediate representatives, such as they

believed to be most capable of making a cood choice for them. Thus, the power

of electing the executive and legislative

members ol the Federal Government, was the only attribute of sovereignty left in the hands of the people, by the Federal

constitution : and if this attribute is lost

or destroyed in the most important election of all, that of the Chief Magistrates, then the appellation of sovereign, with which the people are so often greeted, hecomes a title of derision, only serving to remind them of what they ought to be, & of what they are not. That this great privilege of election was intended lobe a real and not a ban en power in the hands of the people, was asscrtc 1 and admitted by the ablest advocates of the Constitution, at the time of its adoption. The jealous friends of liberty were alarmed at the first appearance of that instrument, at seeing the accumulation of almost kingly power, which it placed in the hands of the President. They saw him vested with authority to nominate the officers of the army and to command them ; to nominate and command the officers of the navy ; to nominate and dis miss, at pleasure, all the collectors and

disbursers of public revenue; to nominate the judges who administer the laws, and the ambassadors who treat with foreign powers ; to exercue, by his qualified vpo a direct part in legislation, and, by his character, station, and vast patronage, to possess a great influence over both branches of Federal legislature ; & from this accumulation of all efficient power in the hands of the first Magistrate, they saw, or thought they saw, ground of real apprehension for the safety ol the public liberty. But they were answered; that all these apprehensions were without foundation ; that there was one single consideration, which would show them to be groundless ; and that consideration was this: that the President himself was to be nothing more than the creature of the people, elected by the best and wisest among themselves ; such as they themselves would ag'cc could make a better choice thati themselves ; and mat, thus issuing from the bosom of the people, dependent upon them for Ids first elee tion,

and subsequent re-appointment, he wou.cl,

too gacat to be independent of the Peofits,

without danger to their liberties. lo them he should, therefore, look for all his honors the brilliant distinction of a first election, and the crowning rewaid of

a second one. Holding it to be a proposition demonstrated, that, in this conledeiation of republics, the choice of the chief magistrates should be left to the whole body of the qualified voters; it 15 :kH to he dissembled, that several objections Sc some of them specious, and even plausible, have been urged against it. That there

chief magistrate if they arc tooigrorant, I for the American Presidency is destitute

factious, and corrupt, to make this choice i of hereditary wealth, aid frequently im

for themselves, it results, as an inevitable

consequence, that there is no other alternative but to take refuge under that Providence which is supposed, by the friends of the hereditary principle, to provide good Kings for bad peop e. That iheie is any icasonto apprehend violence in the popular election ol Piesident, cannot be admitted. The examples quoted fiom foreign commies have no foundation in any thing analogous in our own, and the idea itselt is conn adictcd bv

should be objections against this plan of i the history cf all elections among onr-

povciisi cd by a picvious sci vice in the public affairs j he is unable, if he should b ; willing, to establish a personal intercourse with the voters, by circumambulating the territories of the Ui.fon 1.0thing but his lepuraiicn to iely on; the mode ot acting upon the public mind icvrtsed by the power ot the f,rt w inch gives to intellect that langc over a Nation which, in the Human limes, was tonfined to the city ; the people to be acted upon, a bedv ot tianquii citizens and cultivators, scatiei cd over an immense sur-

elcction, founded in conviction and urgrd selves. livery foieign example which I fact, and voting in small bodies, in the ah

with sincerity, could not be unex- j can be adduced, combines two gi eat can : sence t,f candidates, without arms or edipected by the Committee. They j ses ot excrement, (to bay nothir g ot mi- ,-us distinctions, ai d at several thousand very well know that there does exist, al- j nor ones,) the union of which is iodis; en- j different places. The means of pre set v-

ways has existed, and lorever will exist, sable tor the production of violence, and j ing tranquility in thoe elections, niejust

tree government, two very on-t neither ol whuh cm exist in cut P. evi

dential election : iht 'i'r.s7, dirivrd rci

in everv

posile classes of politicians : one dreading

that the people will overturn the Govern- , mcnt ; and the other di ending that the Go- i verntuent will seize upon the li jetties of , the people : the first class having the fear j of anarchv, the second ot monarchy, Conslantly hcloie their eves. That the ap- j prehensions of each are very sinccicly felt

is reauiiy aomitteu : nut on vvineh slue lies the ground for appi cheiiMon, is not to be decided by aigument, but by reference to the historical fact, that of the bun

as certain of their efi ct, as those lor producing violence were cei'ain of tlcirsirt the election of the Roman Consols. Thcie

ncimrg in one wnicn can serve I i ;,u

1

a f.crtot.ut wrrrcourt' bvttvevn (he candid 'at 1: and the vilrra ; and the V c

from tin- a sir tub tug? vf t. II iln voter t:t example in the other ; ar.d. accoi dii gy, on,- single ticc i.u ground, on f.'it day t ! I ( ur elections hnv e been a marktel lot 01-

Exemine the tn-uat ccs bo oltcn , dcr at d tranquility as tl eo c o t e Remans

dec

refei

;r

:d lo, the election oi a Uoo.au Con i wete hot' violence and bi o.sl ed.

sui, of a Polish King, or even el a stiver j The idea of violence, in tl popular cUc-ei-n Pontiff" ; each will be totn.d 10 com-j tK-n for picsidciit, is consieieicd by the

bine these two great causes ol excrement, committee as o appiehension without

and no others ean be adduced in v.h'.eo J t'umdatien in reason, ur vuppoited by ex-

J the same principles do not exist 1 cm; Ics fiom abiosd, ai d contradicted by

died republics which have flourished in ' pare one ot these elections, that of a lio- all that can be found at home. For fifty

the coulee of the j man Consul as the fairest and most wp- vears the people of the United States

the other hemisphere, in

last thirty centuries, not one is now sir.'- j pos'uc, plan of election for the Amciican

vivi; 0:

All have slided into the kingly

system, while rot a single kingdom has

President, which the committee recom

mend, and observe how completely one

gi eat causes of excitement mentioned, Sc a number of minor ones which intlame l heir operation. The candidate for the Roman Consulship was boundbyacustomin the early ages ot the Republic, h t)y a law "n th.e later, to appear in person, and canvass lor the otiiee, face to face, with all the voters Tieaisand enieitainu.ents v. eie not only allowed, but expected and iiouiicd. lie.side standing, on

public

- i

in fact, be nothing but an instrument in , ly universal; whose intelligence is kept their hands, by means of which, they j up to the progress of the age, by the ir.ulcould direct all this formidable array of tipdeation and diffusion ol newspapers; power to the protection of their own lib- whose daily occupations, as ciiivi n, is a erties, a'ul to the augmentation of their j daily improvement of their mental faculown happiness Ry this answer, enough 1 ties ; ith whom the institution ol c!iooh

were soothed into acquiescence, to permit i and colleges is a maxim ot ptitoury poll . . 1 1 i 1 .1 1 1.1

xne onsuiutron, ov lean maiuriues, m ev, aiui 100 eoucauon 01 uuir ciii.tiren

several States, to g.t into opeiaiion .And now, it bv anv vicious practice, vvhi' h shall giow up under this Constitution, the people shall lose the powet of electing the President and Yke President, then thev lose the only attribute of sovereignty vhich, as a bodv,they are capable ot exercising in the administration of the Fed

eral Government ; they lose the attnoute,

taken and retained the republican form ! j includes, and the other excludes the two

Convinced of the impossibility of temoving apprehensions which have iheir foundation in nature, it is vet due lo the cause of popular rights and of tree governments, to answer the objections which have been urged against the election of our President and Vice President by a direct vote of the people. Ar.Jv sing these several objections, for the pu.pose ol 'exposing their futility, they ate found to resolve themselves into severaldkiiocl r'asses ; the first of which spt in-s I; on; the supposed corruption, ignorance, and violence of the Amciican people. 'I ho cr n mittee would remark, that, in 1 pciod !

two thousand vcars. the hrj; I ot the

rcditary principle have got : !'un:u-;-than to vary ptirascs up-on th. ' ' thi eu 1 deas. The addi es.- ol the Ro:....! iiaie

to Octavius, beseeching him 1. the Imperial dignity, aod that

French C-jUservative. Sena'.eto the h'iral Consul, begging o! i i'n the. s.-.e, e favor, aie each eomjiosedot nothing hut diveisificatio's r.ft'oest; thvee ideas, sti)j)oi tei! by an infinity of cxaniphv.. o.awn horn i !vc conduct of i!cctie Go; omenta. Neither these ideas therusclv e, nor the examples which suppoit them, I ;ve any a naiogy or applicability to the state of the people, the n.uuie of the gov ei nmeni, 01 the condition ol the country in which we live. 'J he chaige ol ignorance can have no foundation among a people with w hr,iu

the talent ot teachng and wining is near

of tin

days, upon ihe highest places in

ihc to' um and the mai kct, he was bound,

j .t cettain lntervais, to 1 ii cumambuiuic ! ihc city, in ail the tortus of a rccular canI va'ii. ihe pomp and ci: enmstance ot

his iir p;:.y v. ere eminently eaictratetl to act iijm.u t!ic imaginations ai.d to inflame '.he jursieiis ol tiic people. Every circumstance, calculated to produce effect,

acccp; was ev;feloiiy selecud, a:.d skillully ar-

ruiigc"!, bihueiumd. 1 lie day was eliosen -.villi CM'eUii icgard lolhe state of the weather anil the convenience of the pubhe. On the morning ol that dav, an immenae crowd assembled at the house of the candidate, made him their salutations, and conducted him to the Capitol, amidst t:ie loudest acclamations. Theie the procession was formed, and the canvass regularly opened." The car.uid.ile on foot, ari.cd in ihc toga cut,d:da commi i.eed his ci; um.itubulation of toe. city, followed by l is rctat:rt ;u intcr:rettn divUrc scjncj'rc., k ali the crowd besides, which interest k cuiiositv could collect in the

n; c-

Up 11

carbide red as an endowment mcue

cious than the richest inheiitar.ee. I. ....... 1 . 1. : . . . .

sucu u peopie me itupmauon 01 ig:;orance is an unfounded aspersion, and will be an aspersion still more unVou.idcd m its application to their posterity. But the imputaticn is not only unfounded, but is e ven coatradictoiy in the mouths of those who utter it : for even the-s at'mit

and the only one, whkh was assigned to that the people are sulVicicntly intelligent them in the first distribution of power in to choose e lectors, and thai these eiec organization of this Government ; the i- ' tors are bound to vota as lite people didentical one wh'ch they were flattered in- I feet them. Here, them the tlieoir of the

to the bclict of possessing, whm tl ev con- j popular election is admittei

sentedtothc cstabushme'.it v t th.tution ; and the one w hich c;'e..e.ot

without rendering the remai: b ; tiiilege of voting indirectly for ;U o . ; i s. f; directly for Kept esentativ cs, o. little consequence to he worth preserving. The laws operate upn the people ;

therefore, t!e theory ot our government requires, that the mass operated upon by

; auu to

n tt- j deny tne practice while admitirrg the thelot. I cry, to j cit'sc a vote to the pv'o;de in per

son, and to allow it to them in the person ot an elector, involves a c':; rac!u ticn which dt feats the objection, -md exposes the elector to the suspicion of being wanted for a purpose which h-.s no; been discovered. After all, admitting that the mass of the people may not be so well

the laws, should elect those who make j informed upon the qualification of Pi csthe laxvs. The same principle applies, idential candidates, as a sm aller and with still greater force, to the eminent , tnuic select body might be, vet this uis-

officcr who executes the laws, and who, ; advantage is more than compensated bv . . . i

c n-

in executing them, is supported by an ar- the greater disinter esiedncss ot thcii

my, a navy, a jiuHciary, and a host of lev

enue officers, all deriving their appointments from himself. To secure to the people the influence over this eminent officer, which the theory of our Government admits, and which their own safety demands, it is indispensable that they should be brought, as nearly as possible, in the presence of each other. Xo intervening bodies should stand between them. The President should be nothing but an cinination of their w ill. His powet s are

oition, and their sincere desire, grow, ing out of their interest, to t;et the best man for President. The mas-! of the people always go for their country ; polticians too often for themselves Sc their party ; and it is believed ihat there is less dange- to bv apprehends d from ti e honest mistakes of the people, than from the criminal designs of ambitious politicians. But the objection goes to the toot of all tcpublican Governments Tor, if the peopie arc incapable ot electing their own

metropolis of the w wild. An open dress ahoved him to display the scars of aounds he lad leceivcd in battle; the manners of the age peimittcd him to recount the exploits which himself and ancestcis had ptifoimtd, and to point cut the services w hich they had vrrdertdlo the State. In this tor in, every street, & square, and suburb of the ci'y, v,as visited ; every citizen was saiuttd bv name, Sc every out.' humbly so.icited for his vote. The rcfafort extended the length, and svetlcd toe tanks, of the procession : the A'jme nclaiort a whispeicd in the candidate's ear the name of cv ci y citizen that was met ; the Interfirctrs nre.de bargains fvr v o'cs; the Divrcx distr ibuted the price; and the Sfjucstrrs received the portions oi those whose sensibility shrunk liom tlte public reception of a btibe. The candidate who did all tlfn, was often a Senator of princi ly lortunc, possessed oi di the family influence which hereditary w eait'n confer s ; butmoie f:eqt;cn:'y a victorious general, loaded with the spoil of plundered provinces and conquered kingdoms. The voters to whom he ad

dressed himself, wet c war like young men,

veteran soldiers, and the dregs of an overgtov.n and corrupted city. Thus inflamed and prepared, the candidate and the

voters met again on the day of t lect'n v.,

in the place, of all others, best calculate d to produce excitement, with tie ineans in their hands of shedding blood, and an ample field for action : they met in the Canf.ns Msrtiu.u aimed as if for battle, separated into odious and lival divisions ot clctsf and centuries, and free from all control from civil magutiatcs. A single tent contained the canelida'.cs and the judges, a narrow bridge let in the voters, and the vast field held the assembled, armed, and agitated multitude. That violence and bloodshed should attend such elections, was natural and inevitable. But r hat points of 1 cscmbhncc can be found between those and ours ? The candidate

have been engaged in elections. Tlcy vote in every state, for repre scntath cs in congiess, in many for their own govcncis and in all for a less or "teeter nun ber of their civii and military e fliccts 'I he danger of bloodshed i much gtealt r in these elections where all tl e candidates aic known, have a personal intcice utsc with the veters, Sc aie frequently present with their friends and ttlatie r.s, then in an clection for president, where the several candidates by their remoteness firm the scene, andgencial want of personal i;cquainunce, amount to little mote than objects of abstiact contemplation. Yet in these domestic and state elections, no scenes of bloodsheel h ive been witnessed, no recourse to arms has ever ensued the most animated contests So far from dreading violence at our ptesideniial elections, the reverse ol that danger, in the opinion of the committee, is the one lo be apptehevuied : apathy! indifference ! a neglect of the elective franchise, of more' portentous import to the cause of liberty, than the greatest excesses of violence ! Already we have cause to feel alarm at The progress of this new and unexpected danger, which is making its silent and fatal approaches upon one side, while we are discussing the possibility of its approaching upon an other ; and, upon every principle of human action, this piesent danger should be repelled, before an absent one is hunted up. To trace this new evil to its source, to display its present magnitude, and to calculate its inevitable effect, would be matter of useful and curious speculation, worthy of the public attention, but not coming within the range of a report, drawn up upon the instant, 5c wanted for an immediate occasion. But, without going further back than the last election, the most ample piool of the main position can be readily tound ; for it was one eminently calculated to excite the feelings and hi ing foith the passions of the people. The candidates were numerous, popular, personally known to many, through fame to all, stationed in the three great sections of the country, each supported by zealous friends, and determined partizans, opposed by others equally zealous and pcrsevciir-jr'and the canvass prolonged through the unexampled pcriod of four years. Yet, what was the result ? An electicn of vioUrcc and bloodshed ? On the contrary, an alarming neglect of the elective franchise ! The people with difficulty were got to the polls I In a few stales, where ihe contest was warmest, about one half gave in their votes ; in many not a fourth"; in some not an eighth! Such, was the conclusion of an election, in which so much violence had been apprehended, and in which so many causes conspired to produce it. If called upon 'o point out the cause of this amazing apathy, it would he shewn to arisc from the interposition of electors be

tween the people and the object of their choice. This intermediate institution, intended to break the force, ar.d to soften the action of the democratic element, has been successful in the first forty years of its existence in destroying the life of the election itself ; thus adding another to the many proofs already existing, of the truth of the gteat maxim, " That liberty is ru. ir.ed by firtviding ar.y ki?:d cf substitute for popular election " The machinery of electors, placed between ti e people Sc the president, and, above all, the imposition of the general ticket, has paralysed the spirit of the voters, and made them look with indifference upon a scene in which they can act no really cfcVient 0-