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We areatierigtKena tfteabovesuKcci hit wasTopcncd by' Mr. Fisher ' asfoilows : After a motion had been made by Mr. Bynum to postpone the Preamble and Resolu-j itf , VrcnQ wtfl3tA meetHhe wishes of some of his friendsj he" had consented, to a modification of the first resolution. That Resolution wag drawn up in "the usual form-instructin our Senators, and requesting our Representatives ; but;; there were some gentlemen; 'opposed tq caucusj ing, who yet doubtea tne : propriety oi me . juegisiauire, uirKcn vuij members of Congress. - To meet; their views, he was willing so to 'alter the! resolution, as to bring the! question of Caucus or not Caucus, fairly before the House. Of course, then such, gentlemen, as were opposed to the prac-j ' tice 6f Caucusing at Congress1 would Vote for the resolutions ; while those in favour of this usurpation of the rights of the people, would vote agains themi. ; With these explanations, Mr. F. said, he would proceed to consij der the subject: v i :, . I '-.v,. , --, ' "i'-.-V' -j -:';Jr : U When our forefathers came our oi the revolutionary war, they had but half accomplished the great objects for which they had gone into it ;-theyi had fought, the battles of liberty, ana DroKen tne yoKe oi ioreign tyranny : Jwt it yet remained tor them to secure, in permanent institutions, tneprinj ;ciplcs and rights for which they had so profusely shed their blood. This was not an ordinary work ; it required time, wisdom and patriotism to ac complish it ; and we see, fit was hot until after seven years of trial, tha : our government was fixed, on a firm j basis, by the adoption of the Federal Constitution This constitution has now been in existence, for 36 years k it is the work-of some of the wisest heads and purest hearts, that ever livj- fed : and if it is not undermined by the insidious encroachments of that subtle spirit of aristocracy which is ever on the alert, to steal the power I from, the many, to give it to the few, it will not fail to secure to our postej- - have sworn to support s an, it well? becomes us, to raise our voice aeain si . every practice which" goes to violate its spirit, or its letter. Such, said? Mr. F. I consider to be, the practice of holding Caucuses by Members of Congress, for the nomination of Presidents of the United States, i The sc- : co nd article of the constitution expressly prohibits Jllerribers of Congress. jfro act in as Elf ctnrs. . JWhat aoes this article mean ? Does, it intend , merely to prohibit Members of Congress from bearing the name of an Elecj ibrj or does it not "clearly intend to prohibit them from exercising the functions of an Elector ? T"5ame3 are. used for the purpose of conveying to the mind ideas' of things j and, it isjnot material: what names you give, if the thing itself is the same It is the duties, the functions of Electors1, that the constitution forbids Members of Congress from exercising no matter, whether erercised in the electoral coUeel orj in a Caucus, If what Menabers of Congress do in Caucus, is virtually exercising the func tions of Electors, it follows, of course, that they do i the very thing which, by the constitution, they, are permitted not to do.) What is the object of ja Congressional f 'aucus? The friends of the measure, themselves, tell us, k that the object, is to induce the people to vote for some one person as Pre sident, who otherwise might not be voted for, and of consequence, otherr wise would hot be elected.' Now, in this object,1 they will either fail, qr they : will succeed. If they fail, then the Caucus was useless, arid shouljd not have been held ; but if they succeed, then does it not follow, that they have effectually succeeded in exercising the functions of Electors in do ing what the constitution prohibits them from doing ? -in making a Presi dent for : the people. This being their object, now, said Mr. F. I would ask if ever a Congressional Caucus has failed in its object ? It never hai. " In 181 6, after much management, a Caucus was got up' at Congress.--Out of ' all the Members of Congress, 119 only attended 5 the rest being opposed to it ; t of those who attended, 65 voted for Mr. Monroe, and 54 for Mr. Crawford. Mr. Monroe haying a majority of the Caucus in his fa- r vor; he went forth as tlie nominated candidate, and accordingly was elect ed. , Now- will any person contend, I that Mr. ('rawford would not, at this moment, have been President, if he had succeeded in the; Caucus ? But as anxious as that gentleman and his friends were to make him Presidenjt, they gave up all hopes, as soon as they failed in the Caucus. In fact, as ; goon as Mr. Monroe was nominated :by the Caucus, his election was consi ; dered secure, and all further opposition ceased ; and, when the people j)f North -Carolina wye called upon to vote for the Electors, they considered I it so mtich'of a Arce, that not more! thari one vote in jten was given irtj 5 they felt that it 'was unnecessary to spend their time imgoing tbjthe poles to vofe,v when the Caucus had already decided the election. Is it n)t lain, then, that Members! of Congress, by means of these Caucuses, do in directly, what by the constitution they are inhibited from doing directly!? rlt is certain .then, that the Constitution of the United States, j prohibits Members of Congress from acting as Electors ; and it is equally clear tht the intention of that instnunent is to exclude them from any agency what ever, in electing the President, except in the event of no election by tlie people.Now: let us enquire vvhat are the reasons of this prohihitioix ? .". Madison, Jay and Hamilton, in a work that will remain a standard as log as the constitution lasts,. informs usj that the reason of this inhibition wak, to-guard against 4 cabal, intrigue and corruption. The framers of the constitution Were wise men $ they knew the depravity of the human heari ; theyad seen in the history of bur governments to what lengths! ambition would lead men that manyha4 waded through corruption and blood, jto reach their objectl They knew that the I'residencifjjof this great repub lic was a prize at which men of the greatest talents; and most ibordinate ambition might aim 5 and it was to be feared, that some of these would stby 'ntnothing to gih To guard against such men, tin such occasions, jit .was thought wiser and safer to connde the election to the people, than .to intrust it to a pre-txistMg body ofj men. The people, at the same tine, V throughout the union, vote for Electorsthese Electors; are thus created, . 7 as it were, in one 4ay 5 and, before they could possibly be corrupted, thfcy have convened, executed their trust, and dispersed again : So that there -is srlo possible-chance of corrupting them. But is this the case with M em be rsbf Congress? They arc elected nearly two (years before hand j andr for a considerable part of that time, are on the spot at- Washington, where the intrigue and management is going on : they are a tangible, pre-established body, and are subj ect to be operated on by ,the arts and management near being: - hbminated,: by the Caucus. : To givq an idea how Members of Coneress mayoeinnuencea on tnose occasions, i wju reaa, sam mr r. a,iew extracts ?trom. tne lauorsm tneaauonai lnicniencer, maae at tne time.- -y i - i'A.'L.-lLi' ?i j.'-'--U!i lnese traitors are erv.intciiiKenigeni.ieraeri, xney were, eye-witnesses on uie Ot the candidates, who are also, generally on tne spot. Members of Congress,' like members of this LegisI elected for their virtues and talents : a combination of ci ature, are not always itli- out regard to these qualifications, sometimes place them in Congress. When r there,- they are hot- i ess fallible, than before elected 5 nay,;if any difference, they are more so, for the very atmosphere of Washington city seeips to ce :' ate Vhungrino after " ' the; loaves and fishes.:5 fTnere are in every Con gress, a greater or. less number of i the members seeking after preform e h t, ; either for themselves or fpr their relations or friends. It is known, thatfat v the session of 1820, not less than one-third1 of all the members were appli cants to the cabinet for the offices created by the Florida Treaty. Is it dot - reasonable, then, to suppose; that the man ; who will have tlio-offices at &is intriguesiw& for the purpose br niaing Mr. Crawford. President These gentlemen tell us, " that when Congress first met no other candidate t0as publicly '-3?6fn';.6ut; Jfam?foRrp97 They add, " We consult our own inclination, and probably: the interest of the great itepuDiican iamiiy, oy avoiaing an examination mto'tne circum stances, a iJCMBVfATiois mnten naa nearly proaucea a nomination in ai- rect-awaisition. to the vublic will. Again. ' It is a fact, undisputed we believe. I that the activity fandpre-conce rt of the opponents of Mr. Monroe, and a fastidious delicacy of his . best friends, which prevented active exer tions in support of his nomination,-together, produced a state of things As tonishing to most of the ipebnle of the United , States.iwho expected noth ing less than that division. 01 sentiment which prevailed among: their (Re presentatives. . Again l-f-" On fieir part, (the part of Mr. Crawford's rnenasj no exertions were sparea. jis no lapor .wns roarrai. -i nu rn werr too humble to aid their object." " It One halt trie exertions had been made by Mr. Monroe's friends, that were made by his opponents, the no- mi nation jwouia nae neen as unanimous, as 11 ceriaim wuuiu uaic yci when Congress first assembled when no other cnndidate was publicly sunken of hut James Monroe. This is a fact, which iv ought not to o- veriook: These gentlemen . further give it as their opinion, that to refer the election to the people, " would greatly narrow trie scope jorxn trigae and venality. It Would moreover prevent the possibility of the popular will, being defected by a cabal, which is now possible, to say the least of it, -c." This is the testimony of those who were on tie spot Jand were attentive to the passing scenes, preparatory to the Caucus of 1 316. I shall, said Mr. F. read one more extract. Mr. Niles. one whose Repub licanism, i honesty and truth, have never been doubted, in speaking of the Caucus, that is to determine the approaching Presidential election, says, " I have had a nrettv near view of some of the supposed hidden things that are going on, and do verily believe, just as surely as that I shall die and ac count for my acts, that quasi bargains'have. Been made, as for the sale of votes, and that these bargains wtu oe. orouni inio a caucus, y cumposra of 'the '-members , ofytHelpfesenlXongress. ?. .; ;. This then, is thejiiature of a Caucus,! that 13 to deprive the people of their just -privileges in chusfng a Chief xVIagistrate. But these are not the only Republicans who have disap proved the practice of Caucusing. In every Congress that have held'a jt'au cus, there were many Republicans who condemned it. I ake pleasure said Mr. F. to mention Wiong these, the name of pur elder SehdtorJ Mr, Macon y he never attends Caucuses. In the Caucus of 1 812, only ljT out of the 36 Senators attended 5 and only 65 out of the whole number ojf Re presentatives attended ;so that only a minority of two-fifths were present in that Caucus. I "With this view of Caucusing, can the people cbntirue to tolerate a practice which is not only a violation of the Constitution, but an usurpation of their just rights and privileges ? 1 r j But even admitting that Caucusing by Members of Congress, is not a vi olation of the Constitution, or does not usurp the rights of the people, yet it is improper ontmother ground. By the Constitution, in the event the people make no election then the choice is to be made by the House df Re presentatives, vqtingbyi States. It is certainly highly improper thep, for the members to prejudge the case by going into Caucus, and sol emnlyj bind ing themselves to support this or that candidate. They go. into Caucus and vote for a President ; they return home, and at the election for Electors, vote a second time for their man ; they go back to Congress, and in the House of Representatives vote a third time j so that they have three cfc ances while the people have ba tone. : l! r ill Mr. F, further observed, . that he could readily anticipate many of the arguments that would bje brought forward in the defence of Congressional Caucuses.! i One of them would be, that they were necessary to prevent the election from going into the House of Representatives ; for if it goes into the House, the choice will be made by States each State giving but one vote. At fir's t appearance, this is a plausible argument, but it will not bear examination . Tne Federal Constitution, it must be kept in view, is a work of compromise.- When the members from the different States met ih con vention to form a Constitution, they, soon found, that it was a work of im mense difficulty -so conflicting were the .feelings, interests and views of the several states. We are told, that at one' time,, they were 00 the point of breaking up and returning home, without having come to any conclusions; but inspired by the spirit of patriotism, they renewed their labors. Each section of the country igave up some of its views in order to gain jther ; and thus. by mutual compromise, they formed the Federal Consti utibn. which never would havi been formed on any other principles. . Mr. F. said he would very briefly notice three of the'principles of compromise allopted in tlie Constitution. The first Lwas, that the small States should be pro tected from theoverwhelmihg influence of the great ones, by being admit ted to an equarweightjin 'the Senate. Without, a concession of this kind in their favor, the small states would never have gone into the union : The next compromise was-; in favor of the Southern States the partial re presentation of our slave population, by which we gain one-third of our weight in the House of Representatives. The Southern States nevei would have adopted the Constitution without some provision1 of this nature- The tmra principle 01 compromise, is lntenaea iurtner to operate in favor ot tne small States ;-it is, when the nation fails to elect the President, that then the'e- Mr. Madison, mhis lection shall be made by the States-each giving one votpi remarks in the Virginia Convention, speaks of this part of the Constitution as an important compromise designed ta conciliate the small states. This,- then, is a compromise and the avowed object of a Caucus is to defeat this provision of the Constitution, j Heretofore, Caucusses were against rjarty- now they are against the Constitution.- What would; we say, if thej Mem bers from the non-slave holding States were o 0 into Caucus to defeat that part of the Constitution, which allows three-fitths of Our slaves to Bel repire- sented, and thus to deprive us of one-third of our weight in; the, General Government ? Would we auietly permit them to do so No wej would cry treason! and march either to defend the Constitution or to dissolve the w Union, a Caucus, Now, cannot the small States with equal justness, cry out ; , that scheme to destroy the provisions of the Constitution i disposal, can, by holding put hopes,; operate on those who are so anxious to obtain preterment r 10 snow tnat it is, let us look to past experience, and . 4 r.eilf"Kr ninirtn nf thnap mnrft fftnvprennf Ti't too oca urifl. tkA .rAiCM frlili thinV arp. tnanao-ed at AVashincrtrin ir. Tnvlnr n' rlictJnrrJrToUA J.c 'TlllVtl " " ! " 1 v - - - - T W U UlUiiUJSIlU I lIeiltui i . y tviiuuiiaui 4Xili yjiiKi nut . uuacu uaiiiieu ; Wllil unacauai the history of Caucusing,! in a speech delivered last summer, savs of Cltf- gressiouat CnMcttSv "The mode of electing the President aud Vice-Presi dent ot the United states, calls out loudly for amendment The present y i-? "bers'f Congress; a ttibst' palpable fraud upon the r is fits of suffrage The - power of correcting this evil is vested in the f people, if they will exfcr V! cise.1 it. ,yLet fAm discharger thosr members whu uuJiold a Presidential Caucus, and substitute those in their places who will use their utmost efforts to procure such amendments of the Federal Constitution as will produce one Hiniform mode of eletionsj by districts, in each StatR thmiiffhniitifh uniAn r " Then, and not till then, will the ovrnrniinf h 'r!m;TTicfrori Kv o dmJ . . ' - I . O - " . U I U. Jt 1 CM , " , saiucuL ui uicu uwu tiiuice. uue oi tne reasons wny ;.quote the opinion of this gentlemanf is, because he is of Virginia and there are .some in this House, who;will esteem them the more on, thatraccount. , ;-;.f-It will be remembered, that in! 1816,. M rMohroe and Mr. Crawjford were candidates for the Presidency. iThe Revolutionary services of Mri Mo7ir6e, ihiS imjjortant services during the last: warrand hb great experience! iri public rshad ' pointed him: out to the American. people, as the successor! of I Madison' Asto Mr.Crawfordi he hadnosuch claii to theb&ce ; ne vertheless, he rf as pushed forward as a candidate, land by management caine 1 onom a caucus, tnen, py Members ot Congress, tor the purpos the express provisions; of the Constitution, is certainly doing w solemnly sworn not to do--it is violating: the Constitution, if destroy the provisions of the Constitution intend ed to operate in their jfavor ? Surely they can i Weshould not forget the golden rule of doing I to others, as we ivish others to do unto pus.- One part of the ponstitution is as sacred as the rest,;) if any 'part is more so dian; others, it certainly ought to be those parts formed on the principles of concession and compromise: these it were that brought the States together, and a violation of thee, more apt than any other, may dissolve the Union. e ot ueieating hat they have i cheati nz the smaller states out of Iheir iust powers, and the peonle out of their richts. It will be objected jto- the election goin into the House on Representa tives, that a major it yifot the States, containing a minority o? the people, will be able to elect, the President. ( In reply to this it may be said, jthat it is not likely that suc(i a combination will ever take place between the small states j but even if its j does, no danger can follow, when it is' considered, that the election must be made from one of tlie three ' highest of the Candid ates voted for by thej people. ! i ; ; When the People elect Members of Consress, it is with a view :o gislation y when they choose Electors, it is with an eye to the; President: -hence the people, , in. the Electoral College are represented;; but Jin the Caucus they are not. But suppose the Members do carry into the Cau cus, the wishes and feelings of their constituents;. jThe first thing .they do is solemnly to bind themselves to support the man who recjeives the most votes, though ie may be the one of all others most obnoxiousj to the people, j Again, ,rvill. be told, that we ought nov to sanction a Caucus, because, Caucuses have heretofore been held. ' The force of this , its-": because Members of Congress have heretofore done wronsr. is argument we must juscuy tnera in repeaun xne wrongtnus, preceaent is Decpming law:- but, it is jtbTbe hopefe theTpeople of iHSUmted Stateshivill Jut a stophto it, before it becomes as irrerocable'as the laws of the Medes and Persians. Mr. F. said he rejoiced to see that the people were already taking the alarm ; that theybejgan to see the dangerous, tendencies of the practice of Caucusing, and y that they were raising 'their yqicesiin; everyfrjartjlof the nation ainstitT J puVsister,State TeunesseeV had already denounced it, and we rn;eipect Je quarter of thfe nation. Ha North-tarolina, . Caucuses have ever been ' unpopular ; they? will become more so.iI1ieotethat w a resolutions, will not be concealed froin the? pubUo it.will 'go forth, and the people vriU see vruv arc uiexr irienuS) aau wu arc or ginfi up weir ngnts. 'TO''j4''cyTivTxX(3S:','jostlVlJi,. v A meetinsof the SWioldeiTcipVpc Navigation Companyi was held at the Town .k. i in this p)ace, according to previous noticeon M,)n" day last.,. M essrs. Mehane, Boylan, Mendnhali and Johnson, attended irom other-Counties sT also aceo J as proxies; for absent Stockholder? upwards of . 1000 shares were represented, if ' object of the meeting was' to: tak into considers6 tion the) proposition made to the Company by tK State, t take stock '.to the amount of !g25oo on condition that the : Company reduce the pric nf thpilr shilfej to'RSO. aha mto ,'tn StrPrt-j Public Works, 4th.e superintendence of the im provemehts hereafter jto.be made in the Can Fear Jljver : j and we are; happy; to; state that the terms proposed were: acceded to. l,Thii arrane mfent, we have, no doiibt, will ; be prou'uetiv0, lasting benefit to the State, as it will be tlie means of turning into, its natural channel a valuable trade, which has hi therlo gone to enrich 6u r neigli. bors : for there can be no question in our auh "" wwt.v mv,..o v4 vuinDanv to ue.expenueu, as uiey win ,ue, uauer tne riirw.: tirtn nt Jh I fill RnmnAPr. tht I sno W. T iua utiau iuiuiu ii)t iv hut icauic al all ;iiiiii.iriK iiiiuruvrMiif iiij iiriuw ir 11 1 n in rrrnn - . : . T rv 7." j7. . . .vew pieted, such inaucements win Do-held out to t!i merchants and planters in:the upper count'e i nat sucn win oe tne case, mere can h nu reasonauie iiuaut. j- vvneo uuui interest aild patriotism snail comome. as tnev win do to cci uuiiuvviis9 iiicit iniiuciicc vm two power iui to oe resisiea , we iook iorwara ineretore-with commence ta tno penoa,- not very remote, when tne operation oi to eso two causes .united. hn 1VJ i.U ' . I - - iL.i : lit givt; ui, xwi Mi-ai"oiina iiiaii. coiumerciai import inn a m xumpn . rrnmr rna iiTronT inn trofiniM il UllVb lu "mwiij tUA. Ulb VWKW ttitu out ivfj UJ Qir !' i ''a ti uiicai iriuueiiue wiutn .win iiaiurauy ioiiow. . ttis i excellency trqvernor noimes, j attends tne meeting, ana, we are assureti, is .very 90 wlu..o vuau jute; vviitciuuiair;u: iuiutuvcuitIll3 ftt the cape-rear snouia De commenced without dp lav ana prosecutea with enenrv-tin coinlPtw Ye h6pe 1 he may deem? it expedient, to call t T w vaawiftt uuuu Lii wuci ! uicasurcs iuv ouccuaijp cucCUIIJ in object so vitally important; .not merely to the cape-rear aistnct, nut to tne state at larffe, was likewise present ? and his statements, (he iiaviii&r laiciv CAiuuiuui Lilt: rti ucLvvppn rmi ' J . ' m- - - ' VU1J place dnd Wilmington) were very encouragin ; - -r rit win De seen oy an advertisement in to-dav's Re gister, that tne lioard will convene in this city, on.tk x5yin uisc. : , - i i . i f FROM A LATEXQNPON PAPER. V ; British and American Literature. a ue iuiiuw xuir remarks couciuue a xeview m 1 . ' H' . ft I . . i" I: r i - - . ' . , 1 " the last number of Blackwood's Edinburgh Mag ax.uic, ui a uuuucauDU i irjemoraDiiia. i oi w m eaux,-1 respecting the U. States. The iustice of Z A. ; Al A - A W- - T -A. . I us seiiutueui uu uie suuj ect oi eacn country pi rating the books of the other, must be obvious t all: L ?. wium wc oic taiiviutf ui suwu inaiLers. mere . 7 T - Z mf : ) assuredly not with any views, or the'possibilitr - - : ----7 . T- " - ,"""T,..i' '''J C? Jc . - ( mtm-mm V w K ff4WV MIS UM iuc4.su i am y jicarer loi us man any oiner DeoDie la wft.w ti uiiu . uuu .A. l1 I j i i.i : ail iriiiiiiHifv mi 11 p f " 1t V juun.es, uie iwo nauons conunue Kinureu as long as they speak the same tongue. Now, although ure uvme unuer amerent governments, we ltllv o r caa n rw wrr1 .U.. iL.l ... .bh b w . v . m-r m mm mm m m m k.b ui h a -a ii ii'iiiii. 3 . . -Si. i , - stance should at all affect the literature, which is, and ever must be the common fruul fnrhntL n the last age, English authors had no remedy when Iheir books were .pirated in Ireland that has been corrected-it was corrected lonff before .1 I - - i - - .... i . - ,. T O . i - i tne union. Why merely because the Americans have president I Monroe, and we stick to King ureorce, snouia tne autnor who wnfpa Anna vior Jincland anrt AmericaJ fas all authors, who wnte - .... . v . - - : i - . - - . . "J " 7 , " he be; paid for his wntins onlv hv onWhalf ofha readers ? Thb is not fair-in itself j and the p Uig away with such a thing, would tend, we sus pect, much more than most people can have anj notion, to the difiusion of fnendlv and benignant feelings between thej inhabitants of the two coun tries, j Look to Germany for an example. Sore ly there are more natural j ties between us and our: American" cousins; than between the subjects of the differen t states of that conntry. f Yettneir literature is considered as a common) property wiucii-ii were sin ana sname to leave unproteci ed j land the poet who writes and publishes in Berlip, draws as much profit from the copies i ms uQoit. soia in uresaen, Munich, oi Hanovei. a3 if thev were the. doms but of other capitals, "-not of other kingi not bfe so with those; who ha ve tlie saine Shake speare, and the same Franklin ? ti l The proposal would certainly come with uust grace 4t present irom tne other siae 01 Atlantic ; but they must hope that' the benefc- yumy cie loiig o jquite reciprocal ; an u un havej the mortification to see their best writer1 pubhhin here rather than: at home : and in fact even 1 at .this - raonieht the Ithing tells much mtf against American genius, than it does for Anfc lean tmrseal-''. " .-' i;" :.V "!' T.Tereyouid spe something yery4 delightful tne spectacle ot two great nauons, wnoseLoi the!same, arid the best part of whose feelings af manners must : he the same, also thus recogfc inj the riits of that genius, which, whatef may be the course of external events nothing01 prevent from, being and continuing to be a co& mon .pniperty,- ana, f we snouia xain oencM equal pnae. . 4 Printinir in eeneral neatly executed f "1 y :y--'rV-t-
The Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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March 2, 1824, edition 1
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