Western Carolinian

              western carolinian vol v.j salisbury n c tuesday september 21 1824 no 224 rkistsd axp rublished evert tuesnat debates on the caucus electoral college assembles in detach ed and small bodies and has but a brief existence but to both these objec tions is congress as an electing body liable it is a large and pre-organiz ed body we are told however that members of congress are not the elec tors of the president let gentlemen however look at the fact and candor will oblige them to admit that accor ding to the caucus plan the members of congress virtually elect the presi dent ot the united states their nom ination is in effect a dictation this ought not to be so it is an unholy usurpation of power not delegated by the constitution and exposes us in the choice of a chief magistrate to 11 the evils against which the framers of our constitution designed to secure us i c nsider the caucus meetings held at the city of washington for the purpose of nominating a candidate to fill tbe office ot president of these uni ed states as unconstitutional anti-re publican dangerous to liberty and operating injustice to the rights ofthe small states unconstitutional be cause the members of those meetings practically transcend their constitution al powers anti-republican because they are calculated to rear up a politi cal aristocracy and thereby vest in the few that power which belongs to the many ; dangerous to liberty because they are in truth an usurpation of some of the dearest rights of freemen and injurious to the rights of the small states because they are thus deprived of ihe ch.nce which the constitution guarantees to them of having an equal voice with the large states in the elec ti n of a president whenever the choice devolves upon congress these positions it not self-evident have been so ably established by my honorable friend from rowan that it would be supererogatory for me to dwell longer upon them we have been told by the gentleman from beaufort that these ri solutions were introduced with a view to the presidential question sir to my mind it seems disingenuous when propositions are before this moo.sc stamped with public good ca pable oi bearing the tes>t of ages and divested of every local temporary or party feature to endeavor to excite the prejudices and blind the understand ings of those to whose consideration they are submitted do these reso lutions wear any thing of this kind on shetr face i i hey exhibit the fair as pect of republicanism ; they are politic and ought to be adopted but gentle men object to a principle contained in these resolutions the right of the con stituent to instruct b:s representative they have been repeatedly told by the friends of the bill ihat if an opportu nity were giver they would willingly put them in such a shape as to render them unexceptionable in this respect this liberty however has been de nied them i sincerely hope that a majority of this house will affrd an opportunity so to tmend the resolutions as io make them an expression ofthe will of the legislature as i believe such an expression would have a direct tendency to put down the practice of which we complain the gentleman from caswell grave ly tells us that though members of congress are prohibited to be electors yet that should not prevent them from meeting in their private capacity to recommend some suitable person for the presidency sir no one who has observed the effect of such recommen dations can deny but they are in truth dictations in what instance i would ask has the recommendation of a man to this office failed to insure his elec tion ? i have no doubt but members of congress through the instrumen tality of caucuses do indirectly what the constitution prohibits them to do directly — not merely designate but make the president again we are told that a caucus is necessary to keep the dominant party in power sir it is well known that at present there is but one party in the united states — all are friends of the present administra tion if any parties do exist they are but in embryo and have been produced by the conflicting claims of the pres idency it cannot be said that there is at this time any dominant party but if there were such a party shall we adopt a principle which clothes prizing they are distinguished in the field and in the cabinet her sons have displayed acts of gallantry and noble daring which would do honor to the proudest nation of lhc earth let then the example of tennessee have its full weight awav ihnt i shall be followed by gentlemen who are more competent than mvself to do justice to this important subject i will not tres pass any longer on the patience of this honorable body — i hope the resolu tions will not be indefinitely postponed with authority a body of men in open and manifest violation ofthe genius of our constitution ? let me further ask if it has always happened that the in terests of the dominant party is iden tified with that of republics ? history teaches us such parties have often proved the bane of free governments often under the pretext of promoting public good have they abused their power to secure self-aggrandizement until therefore it is shewn that there is a dominant party and that the in terest of that party is the same with the interest of the government it is believed that this argument of gentle men can avail them nothing it has been said by my worthy friend from beaufort that opinions of eminent men against caucuses nre not to be regarded but i trust that this house will res pect such opinions on this as well as on other subjects the father of his country has said " that all combina tions of individuals for the purpose of controlling and influencing the free ex ercise of constitutional rights or pow ers are seriously to be deprecated here is a direct and unequivocal con demnation of caucusing by the great est patriot and statesman of any 3ge gentlemen say that we are unneces sarily consuming the time of the house by this discussion sir in my hum ble opinion the time of this house could not be better employed than in discussing a question of such vital im portance to the welfare of our consti tuents it is of more importance to the good of our state to put down caucuses than to restore to credit rogues and swindlers the gentle man from caswell informs us that a caucus nomination has no binding in fluence this is really new i be lieve however it will not be found correct in fact ; as no one can say that such a nomination has not the same effect as if it were obligatory what is the practice members of con gress go into caucus and nominate tneir candidate the members of the state legislature then go into caucus form an electoral ticket and recom mend the caucus candidate and the caucus ticket to the support of the people which proceedings produce the same result as if they were sanc tioned by the constitution and thus sir are the freemen of this country ingeniously divested of a most sacred and invaluable privilege we contend that members of congress have no right to form a caucus for the pur pose of influencing the presidential election j because they are elected for an entirely different purpose when they act in any other capacity than as legislators they transgress the con stitutional powers when they do it with a view of influencing the election of the executive they encourage an union of the distinct departments ol the government which if effected would produce tyranny and anarchy members of congress are moreover exposed to the improper influence of the candidates who will generally be at the seat of government and it would be saying too much for human nature to assert that these candidates will not frequently use every means to promote their ambitious views we have been told that it would be im proper to adopt these resolutions be cause one of our senators is too vener able and virtuous to be instructed by this body in this country sir we should never allow the creature to be esteemed greater than the creator but if all our delegation were like the gentleman alluded to it would be use less to pass these resolutions as it is well known he never attends caucus meetings others of our representa tives it is to be feared have not the same scruples the legislature of tennessee has been referred to as having recently passed similar resolu tions an attempt is made to impair the force of this example and how ? by saying that tennessee has eternally disgraced herself by refusing to the citizens of north-carolina the right to sue for lands in her courts we are told that this one act so irretrieva bly darkens her character that she is a stigma on the house from which she sprung sir with this blot on her escutcheon we have to be proud of our offspring the citizens of tennessee are high-mioded intelligent and cnter btphilo white in resuming thc publication of the debates on mr fisher's resolutions against the caucus in the house of commons of the last legislature we will begin with one on each side of the ques tion that our readers may have a view of the whole argument pro and con on the subject : the terms of the western carolinian will licre-.d'ter be as follows three dollars a year payable in advance ■ no paper discontinued except at the option fthe editor until all arrearages are paid advertisements will be inserted at fifty cents d er square for the first insertion and twenty-five |? cn tg for each subsequent one all letters addressed to the editor must de post-paid or they will not be attended to mr roane said that when these resolutions were first introduced he saw no great objection to them but on examining the preample he thought it very improper he was therefore op posed to the proposition altogether lhe 18th section of our bill of rights says that the people have a right to assemble together to consult for the common good to instruct their representatives c he saw no im propriety in our members of congress meeting together and advising their constituents as to the candidate for the presidency most likely to answer their expectations there was nothing that infringed any principle of the constitu tion his constituents knew but little of mr crawford mr adams or mr calhoun and where must they in quire for information ? their neigh bors know as little of these gentlemen as themselves to whom then can they apply with more prospect ol suc cess than to our members of congress what he wished was to have the peo ple well informed for himself he had little preference for any ofthe can didates he did not believe the mem bers of that house were expected by their constituents to instruct our mem bers in congress all the rights which the people have not delegated are reserved to them _\ but one of thr first things we see in the preample to these resolutions denies to our mem bers of congress the right to act in re l;.ti n to the presidential question as they judge proper we in our court houses and other pbices meet and con sult on public affairs whenever we please and yet it is proposed that we shall say to our representatives in congress you shall not meet together for his part he was willing to hea r the opinion of our members of co - kress on this subject or any other he did not think he or his constituent would be injured by it mr croom i should consider my self chargeable with a dereliction of the duty i owe that respectable portion of the state which i have the honor to represent were i to remain silent on the important question now under discussion these resolutions pro pose by an expression of the legisla tive will to discountenance the danger ous practice of caucusing and to re commend that the district mode of electing electors should become uni form throughout the union to both these propositions i am decidedly friendly an ardent admifer and sin cere friend to our free institutions i shall always contribute my best efforts to their preservation and oppose with alacrity any attempts threatening their existence or purity the brightest feature in our character of liberty and one upon which our political fahric is mainly based is the right of free suf frage that this right becon-es im portant as the object for which it is ex exercised is so must be conceded no person can then deny that this right is in no other instance of its exercise so valuable as in the election of chief magistrate of the union did the venerable sages who framed our con stitution view the subject in this light ? that they did no one can doubt who will bestow a moment's reflection on the anxious solicitude which they evin ced to guard the purity of the presi dential election whether threatened by aspiring demagogues at home or by selfish and corrupt intrigues from a broad if there be any one part of our constitution on which its framers be stowed greater consideration than on any other it is that part which secures the purity of the election of our chief magistrate the happy plan devised shews at once their wisdom and the success of their labors there were two prominent evils apprehended and against which they were to guard the one was the tumult passion and disorder incident to all large assem blies 5 the other the cabals intrigue corruption to which am pre-existing bodies are exposed the plan devised and incorporated into our constitution happily avoids both these evils our desultory suppression of profanity at a meeting ofthe inhabitants ofthe central district in worcester massachusetts the follow ing resolutions reported by a committee were unanimously adopted resolved 1 hat in the view of this meeting profane swearing and lewd language practised cither by the young cr o are evils of enormous magni tude as being themselves infringe nietits on good morals and christian duties and as paving the way to vices and crimes of almost every kind by weakening that sense of obligation to obey the commands ol god and that regard for decency which are essential to the best interest of the community that it is the duty of every citizen by example by precept and by coun tenancing the faithful execution ofthe laws on these subjects to check these great and growing evils that the inhabitants ofthe central scho"l district in worcester here as sembled will individually and collec tively use their influence to suppress these evils in their families in the streets and elsewhere and to support the magistrates in making an example cf obstinate offenders to be continued the ex-emperor iturbide extract of a letter dated alvarado 3d august 1824 " the iturbide party is now complete ly prostrate " how parties will now stand requires no great penetration to predict the re publicans will be joined by all those of iturbide's party who were ever opposed to the spanish supremacy and they com posed his only active effective force the spanish party will receive an acces sion of strength bv the force and influence ofthe clergy who in the establishment of the present government see the de struction of their own power by the no bilitv and wealth ofthe country i should suppose that ofthe two parties the span ish will profit most by the downfal of itur bide — for having money with a sordid soldiery like that of mexico what may not be done ? " gen santa anna whose appointment to yucatan i mentioned in a former letter has taken a stand supposed to be injuri ous to the union government are fitting at this port to sail in a few days an expe dition for campeachy ; but whether it is to act in concert with or against santa anna is not well understood in this place — that it is highly important that the wise nnd salutary provisions of law en arted to prevent the practice of profan ity should be made familar to the knowledge and understanding of those who are amenable to it ; and as the best means of impressing its oblig - ti;;ns upon the minds of the children and youth of our village that it be re commended to the instructers x the respective schools to read the law to pupils ic expli in and enforce its mean ing and obligations and to notice and reprove every instance ofthe violation cf i;s prohibitions levi lincoln per order pb051 the ftlebmas's rilroxicle the death of iturbide the late em peror of mexico is an awful lesson to usurpers he doubtless earned his fate by his wilful violation ol the terms upon which bis life was spared and a liberal support granted to him by his country men his career is now ended his am bition which hoped to march to glory over the ruins of a dawning republic has proved his ruin he appeared upon the theatre of south american politics in an interesting and laudable character he fought the battles of his country with a de votedness tkat did him honor and gave out to the world that it was his country's glory only that he fought for but the honors which awaited him he accepted and pei haps he found them too grateful and fascinated to be neglected or repelled when elevated to the highest office in the mexican republic he repeated his as surances of personal exertion for the pub lic good alone like our own beloved washington he decided upon retiring from the honors which the gratitude of his country heaped upon him bv this too he secured the public confidence and enlisted in his own behalf the wishes and sympathies of all republican america but unable to stand the sudden change in his condition he raised an unauthor ized standard and created himselfa mon arch i an insulted confidence of a great and growing nation forced him into for eign climes ; but his restless ambitious disposition persuaded him to return ; his life has been the price of his temerity in ror.helle and its vicinity 47,840,000 yards of flannel and baizes are manufac tured yearly this is supposed to be more than half the quantity manufactu red on thc whole face of the globe mrs coutts the widow of the great london banker in june gave a petit dejeuner at her beautiful little villa at highgate to about seven hundred ladies and gentlemen of tbe first rank and fashion in great britain including royal dukes c the military bands stationed on the lawns consisted of no h-ss than seventy performers ofthe first ability : the attendants out of livery amounted to forty well dressed per sons ; three wagon-loads of gold and silver plate were used nnd to every servant who came with the guests a two-shilling ticket was given to be ex pended in refreshment for himself six hundred partook of this liberality from ti1e haleigh 8tah electoral distric ! 3 the following is the order in which the several counties of this stale are ai ranged in districts for the election of president and vice-president of the united states a retort courteous a justice of the peace in vermont v.ho was not very noted for his erudi tion had a cause brought before him of rather an indelicate nature ; in which a young woman was introduced as a witness who was not very delicate in the choice of words in her testimony the justice observed to her that she had brass enough in her face to make a five pail kettle : to which she an swered yes sir and there's sap enough in your head to fill it 1st district — the counties of buike buncombe rutherford and haywood 2d do — wilkes iredell surry and ashe 3d do mecklenburg cabami3 and lincoln j kthdo rowan montgomery and da vidson 5th do — rockingham stokes and caswell 6th do randolph guilford and chat ham 7th do richmond anson moore robeson and cumberland 8th do person orange and granville 9th do — wake johnston and wayne 10th do — warren franklin halifax and nash 1 1th do — bertie northamton hertford and mil tin a man carrying a cradle wjas stop ped by an old woman and thus accos ted so sir you have got some of the fruit of matrimony " softly soft ly old lady said he you mistake — this is merely the fruit basket " an eminent groce^r company in dublin announce in the newsnapers of that city that they hiive whiskey on sale which was drank by his majesty while in ireland — pasquotank gates chowan perquimons camden and currituck 13th do — beaufort edgecombe pitt washington tyrrel and hyde 14th do — craven greene lenoir jones carteret and onslow 15th do bladen sampson columbus duplin new-hanoter and brunswick we follow the world in approving others but we go before it in approving oursevles