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ttfBLI3HED (wttiatr) St ALLMAND UTUESbA, JULY 23,' i805.
ifr. 449.
raox the Virmosj journal
MR. ELLIOT, '
v ' - 'TO HIS CONSTITUENTS ,
i v;;- : Lettvhh A ; '' i
THE constitution of .the, United Stales Js
the most "illustrious monument of human
wisdom that has existed in any age or nation
It combines energy with liberty ; the great
desideratum of the most celebrated states
linen . of ancient and modern times.' The
provision oi the constitution twhich renders
attainable such amendments as time and ex
perience may require, is one Of its most esti
mable characteristics Dut an instrument so
fiacred should be touched with a gentle hand.
It U time for every .theorist;' aqd few have
been more ardent theorists than myself to
sacrifice the visions of his, imagination .upon
the altar ofnationat union V
: Many of the jjreatmt and best men in Vir
g!nU were opposed to the adoption of th
; Constitution Could this circumstance' be
considered as a reproach," it would not be ap
plicable to Virginia alone ; it was the case in
' large majority of the states. . Opposition
generally speaking, proceeded from the best
tof motivss, from an attachment to liberty,
and from a fear, that Were ilie constitution
adopted, " liberty wouldhebut name to a
dorn the short historic pare of the halcyon
days of A ill erica.' But there "were peculiar
features in the constitution which rendered it
peculiarly obnqxioui to Virginia The states
were to be equally represented in the Seiute,
an. important brarich of the government, a
two edjed sword, pUced in the avenue to the
overeijjatie of the individual slates, and
Checking equally th President and the re
presentatives of the psopls, shoulJ th;y
attempt td exceed their comtilutioiial limits.
Many of the greatest men of Virginia
thought radically wroag that, the adall
state of RhoJc-Islan J should have an equal ,
"voice in the Senate With tlte largest state t
and as that idea still prevails in Virginiaand
that state piuesscs a threat aiij increasing
influence over the snnill states, it is reasona
ble to conclude that those who think the con
stitution wrong will endeavour1 td make it
ttht, as soon as trie obtain the power.
Nothing else can be expected so long as
' man is man." Although jealousy has been
considered by many as a republican virtue
of the ftrit order, we ought not, however, to
indulge a groundless je'Mdusy ; nor ought we
to aoejss any portion of the union of a design
to change the constitution, without unqties
lionable evidence. Upon tHis subject my
Blind h3s been perfectly convinced, and (
always express with ttue republican free
dom, opinions of correctness, df which I feci
' perfect conviction.
' The sentirrients of the Celebrated Patrick
Henry, of Edmund Randolph of .Mason,
and many otherdiHtinuishd Virginians, re
pecting the constitution, are on record, and
the record cannot be obliterated; The equa
lity of suffrage In the Scnattf was a promi
nent objection. The mmd even of the great
Washington hirbourcd a strji,j prepostcs
sioit in favor of the largi states. 1 have been
toli by a Venerable member of the conven
tion which funned the constitution, that
Washington was decidedly of opinion that
the smill states took too high ground, - and
that nothingbut the indispensable necessity
of forming a constitution previously to thd
dissolutisn of the convention, induced him to
support what he considered as too great a
concession on th ' part of the Urge states.
.Various publications oft recent date, under
the signature of the veHernble patriot, iui.'
tnund Pendleton, Inculcated the propriety of
. severs! Important alterations of the constitu
tiont tod there Is every reason to believe
that those publications were correct indica
tions of the getvetaj sentlmenti of Virginia,
Ilr. Eppes, a member of Congress from that
lUte, m the address to his constituents, in
consequence of which bt obtained bis elec
tion, announcc4 his determination to advo
cate several very important alterations of tha
constitution, one of which should have for Its
abject the reduction of lime for which' the Se
niton ere elected, and also, if my recollec
tion be Correct, to' render them liable to be
rtcslled by Ibe state legislatures. Mr. Drtc
tenridge, a native of Virginia, and a distin
guished member of the Senate, declared in
the debate epon the late amendment that no
thing could be more aristocratic in his f pin
Ion, thsn the election of the Senators for sit
years but that be wished not to conned an
alteration of the constitution In that respect,
with the amendment' then under considers
tlon. Another V' member of the Senate
declared In my pretence, tint rrothing could
be clearer than that it Is totally wrong to
fcste a Se nrte at ill in a ttpublican Rovem
mem. It imi ttrifsLiCAiM, of other states
as well as Virginia have declared to me that
eery Important amendments oMre constitu
fi1n must and will take place in a few years.
One member from Virginia In the presence
f several members ef both pnlitieal psrtici,
teM me, that the time for which the Sena
too are elected roul be reduced to two
years that this ilttrstion would uott te agl--HUd
that it ttedd be tut by vib'cb la
try the republicans ) atld that no member
' could be consiuered as a true republican who
sttotua oppose iu i nave ascertained mat a
very great proportion of republicans in Con
gress are of dpinidn that tha constitution is
, too aristocratic', that the small states possess
, Joo great Weightr that the judiciary is by far
too tiide pendent, arid.hat the following ' alter-'
Rations of the constitution piust be made, as
sdon as the public niind ban be prepared for
them.' ' , - '' ;''. ''.. ,' ' ":. A
; I . Td Wddce thte time for which the Sena-
tbrs are elected to two years. ' 'I his would
soon fender. the senators from the small slates
the mere toolsof the large states, and would
lead to the total destruction of the senate. , -
v 2 To carry the election of President td
i the people at large. This would destroy all
the remaining Weight of the small states, as
statesj in the lection of Pre s Went. . The
height of Vermont relative to Pennsylvania,
in thatelection, is nt?w in the ratio of 60 to
; ip it would then be only as 4 to. 18:
. - SiThat the judges shall be appointed for
a few years only. Qonlment is here unne
cessan . ;'''.'
r Possibly there may be rib jiist grohnd for
my alarm upon this subject, but although I
may be too credulous I am certainly sincere
in my fears. Should no attempt be made to
alter the constitution, I shall be Willing to be
.considered, not only as a weak alarmist but
a vhionary politician
M ich is said of a plot td divide1 the itniori
It W imputed Chiefly to the federalists, but at
tempts have not beeu wanting to implicate
the northern republicans. I have expressed
im'self in favor of a union of the people in
the northern states in general sentiment, for
the purpose of securing to us our dde Weight
in the councils of the nation, and for preser
iin "instead of destroying the constitution
but I wjh that union to take place upon re
publican principles, and no other ; upon the"
genuine principles of the conitituiion alone;
Were the northern states as well united as
the southern, we should not be so unreasona
ble as to deire ni tre than our due degree of
political weight, and that the southern states
would be Willing to allow Us, for they must
;.dreid a dissolution of the union equally with
ourselves. No person in the United States
can more ardently desire the preservation of
the uti'ort than myself. I .shall always be
' prepared to spill the last drop of my blood in
Its support I believe the only wav to pre-
, serve the Union is to preserve the tonstitu
tidn. May Both be preserved I May the
Constitution and the union be perpetual I
These are the sentiments of a Vermont re
publican, who without aspiring to-pre-emi-'
nence will never consider himself inferior to
the republicans of Virginia. My little farni
ol fourteen acres is cultivated by the labour
ofmrown hands; my brethren of the south
possesses hundreds of slaves scattered ore?
thousands of acres. Speculatively the Vir
ginian may be a better republican than I am j
but his republicanism is certainly not quite
ad practical as mine '
James ellIot 1
P. S, Since writing the above letter some
tf the alterations of the constitution which I
had ventured to predict, have beert moved in
Congress by Mr. Randolph, of Virginia, and
Mr. Nicholson, of Maryland, and are made
the order of the day for the first day of next
cssion. I am also possessed of evidence to
prove that some of Mr. Randolph's most a
ble supporters In congress have boldly avow
- td their boslilitjr to the constitution in all in
essential parti.
It is possible thai my atarmu'pontbU lute
jeet my be a tain one. I hbpe that it Is so.
lint in thtaltcrnate triumphs of the two great
parties in our country, 1 have seen moogh
to convince me that party spirit is Capable of
every pecie of delusion and tioletice, in
the support of favbrite measures and I sin
cerely believe that we are in danger of wit
nesting a political tempest, fraught with ru
intolhe righs oftbe small states. It is
known to every member of congress from
the northern states, that the majority of Vlr
ginia statesmen,' entertain opinions, in re
ference not only to constitution! principles;
but to the great interest of commerce which
re at varience with the aeniimthts of men
of all panics of this quarter of the union..
In these opinions our Virginia brethren are
honest. They have sketched for themselves
the system which they think would best pro
mote the prosperity and glory of the union,
and they will support that sy.tem with ener
ry Our owndeclaimere v. ho resort to the
farewell address ol the great Washington,
for denunciations against those who mhrf
pftitnt the opinions and alms of other dis
tricts," act unjustly in aniifing 0ose who
ryrrtent tomtUj the semlmrnti and views
'iHitic!int In other qu'arieri. I have made
this torrtct presentation under the strong
est impressions of dmj. And jeatot'n I
m nf Virginia, I will support, is an Indivl
dtf il a Virginia candidate for the oflice of
I'rtslilent, o long as lhat state shall picnnt
toogrvirwthe man, qualified above all o
thers, (or that station. As the present presi
dent will probably decline athlnlcfrctlon. t im
tj. n3uccdtobcIitve that Mr. MadiiXn ami Mr.
Randollh will be candidates for the next presi
dency. In that event the ptople of the nor
thern aid middle states will consult their own
ifiterestj and that of the union, by support
ing Mr Madison. Attached to the constitu
tion fnnjits infancy, his administration
would be guided by. it prihcipleaWand it ia
to be,' hoped that the Chariot of the suh Witt
never be committed to the guidance of a se
cond PbaktonI In other wordsit is hoped
ihatgenius.aad eloquence, combined with
habits of cool reflection arid profound inves
ti). ation, will ever be considered as forming
superior pretensions to the presidency, to
genius and eloquence alone.
; v J. ELLIOT
Letter IX t- : : .' .
'.That part of the conflitution of the
Uni ed Slates which allows to the people
ol the f"ut hern fUtes, a reprefentation in
cpngrefs and in ihe election of the prefix
dent, oi" their (laves, (for it is not a re-
prs-fentation of Hayes) is the only part of
that tnttrumcnt winch 1 conliner as ma
terially objectionable ; and I (hall hot be
detctrsd from an exprelfion of my fenti
ment upon the fubjeft by the fool i In out.
cry about an imaginary dillolution of
the Union. 1 have often fatd that I with
not to fee the fubjecTt again agitated, in
the form of an amendment, to' the confli
tution. Every one knows it mud be un
availing. But it may (till be ufeful that
the operation of that part of the con it i
ttition (hould be better underftood by the
people than it had been hitherto.1 Infor
mation can do no harm in a republican
govern tieut j the more the people know,
.the greater the; probability uf pielerving
the cotiftimtioB.
It ii certainly trhe that the) rich plan,
ter in he foil thorn flstcs who pulhlffS
jo fl jves; has tbtNy-int times the political
weight in our national government than
is punVfed by the farmer 01 merchant of
New-Eirgland. - He does not direclly give
fo man votet, but the flatcs is alldwed
thfeifl, and as one of the conflituenis of
the rcprefcntaMve and elector of the dif
tricl, he pofT.ff.-s" all that conlcquence.
At the lime time he contributes much
lei's tllanhis proportion to the fuppdrt of
goveninvmtf for th: labouitng (laves con.
Iiime.nothirigof confequence upon which'
a duty is patJ t-ind what the mater,
does cdntrilute is eatneJ for him by the
laiour of (lives, while the fanner and
every man of bu fine ft in the northern and
middle flatet pays his taxes with the
fweat of his own brow. It will be (aid
that compaiifdm of. this kind are invidU
ous. It ii false. -Truth and corrcit irt
fdrmaiidn fa far- from meriting that
Character, aire always honourable and
iifeful. , VViih very conGderabte labour
I have made forae calculations updn this
fubjetf.'to which I flia!l receive the
thanks of every honeH man in the diflricti
and which will certainly give rife 10 ri
fled ons of a mod interesting nature.
Whole ntimber of persona r
in the United States in 1799 : 3,893,635
Deduct slaves, 694,389
Thttefifth of slate
litest)
TrVee fifths of the slarei
3,195,353
416,368
Whole No. represented 3,615,993
Giving 106 reprefenutivti and a traction
of 18.923 fiat by the lofs of fractional
pans of ihe ratio of reprefentation In the
apportionment of the fcveral ftatei, tha
actual numbers wai only 106.
Of 5j,28o fiivet, the Hate of Mart
lind, Virginia, Kentuckey,North.Caroll
na, South Carolina, and Georgia, con
tained 645,023 three fifths of which num.
ber it 387,011 which divided by 33,00s)
(and not calculating fractional loffin the
appoitionment to the flate which would
tint In this cafe amount -to one member)
gives as ihr flave reprefentation of the
louthern (tales agrreably to the ctnfus, e
lfn members and a frsQion of I4.au.
whole number of perfans in the Uni
ted States in 1800, exclufive of TennclTce,
Ohio, and the rcfiltorles,
3,149,308
Slattu Total,
Tennessee 13,314 IC3.60J
Ohio 43,365
Indiana 133 5,641
Mississippi '3,489 , 8,839
17,208
In other states
ala.es 875,325
Deduct in India-
105,438 165,438
5,305,66$
Tot.lav.892,433 ns!tMi isissippi
deduct in Iml. unrepresented 1 4,49 1
& Mis. 3.624 , -
835,603 deduct Slav.
5,391,175
881,809
' '
4,403,368
; ry ... 4,935,646
.Giving 149 reprefentatives and a trac
tion of 18,640. But by the lots of the '
fractional parts, fjtc. the number ia on
ly .14a; 'V I '
,f. By the fecpnd cenlusi of8S,8o9 flaver
the fame flates contain 837.9, "threw
fifths is 4?9,74, giving 15 reprefcntalivel :
and a fraction of 4, 7 94- s
1 fhilHivtde the United States into the.
three great naiural divifions of northern,
middle and fduthern flates. , The northern
receive no advantage, the biddle but a
trifle, if any and the fob t hern a very
important advantage, from the reprefenta
tion for (laves.
The following table exhibits the r?e
creafe of (laves in the northern and middle,
and their increaffc in'lhe fouthcrn ltatesj
for ten years.
. New-Hampfhire, MaflachufettSi R."
I (land, Connecticut and Vermont coni .
tained in 1 796 Tot aK 1,(509,522 ; HaveeV
3,886. "In 1806, total 1,233,01 1 j flavea
l339- New-York, New.jeffey, Penn
(ylvania and Delaware, in 1793, total
017,726 vfiavs4537fv in 1800, total
1.464,017 ; (laves. 40,84. Maryland, -Virginia,
Kcntuckey North-Carolina,
South-Carolina and Georgia, in 1790, to
tal 1,866,387 ; (laves 64,923. In 1800,
total 2,437,231-; djves 832,992 The
(laves in the northern flates have decreafed
froiiv3,886 to 1,329, almoft in the ratid
of 2 and 3: In ihe middle flates from 4$,
? 71 to 40,894 in that of nearly oneninth.
ncreafe in the. fouthefn frdm 46,033
to 832,992, neatly one ihird of the origi
nal r umbcr,. or in the ratio of 3210645,
Rhode-Illsnd has decreafed from 948 to .
38 Connecticut from 2,7640951, Newa
York nearly llationary. Pennfylvania
and Delaware have decreafed a little, and
Maryland made a fmall increafe. Virgi
nia has ihcrelfed in the ratio of 34510 292"
Kentiickey in that of 4010 12. North
Carolina in ihat of 133 to too. South
Carolina in that of 14610 107. Georgia,
his doubled. her number. The lacreafe
gives 4 members of 'Congref and as ma,
ny clecloiaof FieGdent to the southern
(tales.
The increafe of ihe whole number of
perfons reprefented has been as 49 to 3$,
that of (laves for which their matters are
reprefented aft 53 to 4! ; 'that of free men
as 4 to 31. Let us calculate upon the
fame ratio for ten years to come.. In-i
creafe the number of peifons reprefented
from 49 to 65 ; (laves from 53 to 68
free men from 44 to 6o, round numbers ;
there will be in ten years more than 10
reprefentatives for Oaves. But if we cal
culate as we may with probability, upon
a much larger increafe upon the creation
of the new dates in Louifianl, and the
importation and propagation of (laves in
that country, $1130 or 40 years there will
be between 30 and 40 reprcfentative in
congrefs for Oaves and as many tlc&ots of
prefident.
But another my gloomy part 6f thd
picture remains id be unfolded. .
In the lafl ten years the whV.e num.
ber of perfons in the northern or eaflern
Haiti has increafeJ onl in the . proporJ .
lion of il to id, in the middle ai 14 it ' '
10, in the fouthern neatly as 24 to 18.
Free people in the eaflern as 12 to 104
(lives in the fouthern as 83 to 64
Free people In the fouthern Hates trooi
1,221,364 to 1,604,230. Free propl6 .
in the caltern flates In ihe ratio of one
fifth onhr of the original number ihofd
in the fouthern flates in that of nearly
dne third ; flares about Jn the fame
proportion. v
Dy the laft cenfus the number of free?
perfons in the northern flates wai 1,131,
672 and in the fouthern 1,604,239-
Ily the fortrier cenfus the number of
free perfons in the northern Hates was
1,006,636, and in the fouthern 1,221,
364 How are the people In thtfe dif
tercnt quarters of the union relatively
reprefented) By. the fitd ctnfus er
mot had two membeif, New.Himp
(hire 4, Malaihufetts 14, Hhodc-lll-and
2, Connecticut f 28 membvi
Maryland 7, Virginia,' 19,. Kentucky-2,
North Carolina 10, Souih.Carolina 6,
Georgia 8 46 members. 1,00,63
citilcns In. the northern flates had 29
repreieniatlvei. Without alleging any
fractions of the ratio of rrprtfentaiiort .
in the appointment to the fevrra! Hates
and making no allowance for flavri, the
northern Hates would have ieen cntl.
(ted by the cenfus of 1790 ta 30 repre.
fenratives and a fraction nf IC.636, the .
fjuibcm to 37 ool; with the trilirg