cept by votes of two-thirds of the members of both its branches) to any road or canal, until three-fifths of the amount necessary to complete such road or canal, shall have been otherwise subscribed, and either paid or secured to be paid as the law may direct.

4. Resolved, That the right of suffrage ought to be extended to all free male white citizens of twenty-one years of age and upwards, who having been months preceding the election, freeholders or house-keepers in the county where they offer to vote, shall, within that time, have been assessed on property (exclusive of household furniture and wearing apparel) exceeding in value dollars, or in a tax other than a property tax, of the amount of dollars, and shall have actually paid all the taxes with which they may have been legally charged, during the current year.

The resolutions were referred accordingly.

On motion of Mr. Doddridge, it was ordered, that all the papers referred to the Committee of the Whole, should be printed consecutively, in one connected body. Mr. Claytor of Campbell, offered the following resolutions, which, on his motion, were referred to the Committee of the Whole, and ordered to be printed.

1. Resolved, That the right of suffrage, belongs to, and ought to be exercised by, all free white male citizens within this Commonwealth, who have attained the age of twenty-one years, and are able to give sufficient evidence of "attachment to, and a permanent common interest with, the community."

2. Resolved, That nativity, or residence within the Commonwealth, for a sufficient time, and the payment of all taxes imposed, and performance of all public duties required by the laws of this Commonwealth, ought to be deemed sufficient

evidence.

3. Resolved, therefore, That the right of suffrage ought to be exercised and enjoyed by all free white male citizens of this Commonwealth, who have attained the age of twenty-one years, except, first, paupers; second, persons convicted of infamous crimes; third, persons of unsound minds; fourth, persons who have refused or failed to pay all taxes assessed or imposed upon them by law, for the year next preceding any election at which they may offer to vote; fifth, persons in the military or naval service of the United States, or of this State; and sixth, persons not native born citizens of this Commonwealth, who have not resided at least three years within the same, and one year in the county, city, borough or election district in which they offer to vote, and been regularly assessed for taxation; and if liable to militia duty, enrolled in the militia of the same: Provided, however, that this last restriction shall not be so construed as to deprive any person of the right of suffrage, who had under this Constitution previously been qualified to exercise the same in any county, city, horough or election district, of this State: And provided, moreover, that wherever any question arises as to the right of an individual to vote, the onus probandi shall be upon the person claiming the right.

Mr. Campbell of Brooke, stating that he was in a considerable minority in the Judicial Committee on the propositions there adopted, would beg leave to submit his own views in the resolutions which had been rejected by that Committee. They were as follows:

Resolved, That the Judicial power shall be vested in a Court of Appeals, and in such Inferior Courts as the Legislature shall from time to time ordain and establish. The jurisdiction of these tribunals shall be regulated by law. The Judges of the Court of Appeals and of the Inferior Courts shall hold their offices during good behaviour, or until removed in the manner prescribed in this Constitution; and shall, at the same time, hold no other office, appointment or public trust; and the acceptance thereof by either of them, shall vacate his Judicial office.

Resolved, That the counties, cities and boroughs shall be divided into wards for the apportionment of Justices of the Peace among the people; and the persons authorized to vote for members of the General Assembly in each ward, shall elect the Justices of the Peace therein, who shall be commissioned to continue in office for the term of years, but removeable for any bribery, corruption, or other high crime or misdemeanor, by indictment or information, in any Court holding jurisdiction thereof.

Resolved, That the Constables shall in like manner be elected annually in said wards. Resolved, That the appointment of the Clerks of the several courts, and their tenure of office, shall be regulated by law.

Mr. Campbell of Brooke, also offered the following, which were made the objects of a similar order.

1. Resolved, That all persons now by law possessed of the right of suffrage, have) sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, and have the right of suffrage.

2. Resolved, That all free white males of twenty-three years of age, born within the Commonwealth, and resident therein, have sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, and have the right of suffrage.

3. Resolved, That every free white male of twenty-one years of age, not included in the two preceding resolutions, who is now a resident, or who may hereafter become a resident within this Commonwealth who is desirous of having the right of suffrage in this Commonwealth, shall, in open court, as may be prescribed by law, make a declaration of his intention to become a permanent resident in this State, and if such person shall, six months after making such declaration, solemnly promise to submit to, and support the Government of this Commonwealth, and if he shall not have been convicted of any high crime or misdemeanor against the laws of this Commonwealth, such person shall be considered as having permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, and shall have the right of suffrage.

And then, on motion of Mr. Doddridge, the House adjourned until Monday, eleven o'clock.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1829.

The Convention met at eleven o'clock, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Sykes, of the Methodist Church.

Mr. Morgan of Monongalia, submitted the following resolutions, which, on his motion, were referred to the Committee of the Whole Convention:

Resolved, That the Legislative power shall be vested in the General Assembly of Virginia, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Delegates. But no Minister of the Gospel of any denomination, or person holding any lucrative oflice, place, or appointment, shall be a Senator or Delegate.

"The Senate shall consist of thirty-two Senators, a majority of whom, and no less, shall form a quorum, to do business; for whose election the State shall be divided from time to time as equally as may be according to the number of free white citizens, into sixteen districts; and at the first election, there shall be two Senators chosen in each district; the Senator having the greatest number of votes, for the term of four years; the other, for the term of two years: And to keep up the succession, every second year thereafter, one Senator shall be chosen in each district, for the term of four years: But no person shall be a Senator, who shall not be a free white male citizen of the Commonwealth, of the age of twenty-five years, and an actual resident freeholder of his district, at the time of election.

"The House of Delegates shall consist of not less than sixty-four, nor more than one hundred and seventy-six Delegates, who shall be apportioned among the people, and chosen annually, in such manner that one equal sixteenth part of the whole number shall be elected in each Senatorial District: But no person shall be a Delegate, who shall not be a free white citizen of the age of twenty-one years, and an actual resident of his Senatorial District at the time of election.

"Each House shall have power to appoint its own officers; settle its own rules of proceeding; judge the qualifications, and determine the contested elections of its own members; issue writs of election to supply vacancies occurring during the sessions; originate bills, and adjourn without the consent of the other; but all laws shall be wholly approved and passed by both Houses.

The General Assembly shall meet once or oftener in every year, and the members thereof, shall be exempt from arrest, and enlarged from imprisonment, in all cases except treason, felony, or perjury, during their sessions, and for the term of twenty days before and after: And no disqualification, prohibition or test, shall ever be declared, imposed or required by law, whereby to change or alter the eligibility of any person qualified under this Constitution to be a Senator or Delegate. But, all Senators and Delegates, before they shall enter upon the discharge of their duties, in presence of some person authorised to administer the same, shall make oath or solemn affirmation in this form, to wit: "I,, do declare myself to be a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, owing no allegiance to any foreign power, Prince, or State; and I do swear (or affirm) that I shall be faithful and true to the said Commonwealth of Virginia, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully, impartially, and justly, according to the best of my skill and judgment, perform the duties of my office (Senator or Delegate.) So help me God."

"That all free white men of this Commonwealth, are of right, and forever shall be, equally free and independent: And suffrage, without regard to birth or condition of estate, being the indefeasible right of every such effective man, proving permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, it is delared to belong to, and, in the election of Representatives in the General Assembly, shall be exercised

by all free white male citizens of the Commonwealth, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall reside in the county, city, or borough, in which they respectively propose to vote, and shall have so resided for one whole year next before the time of election; other than those who shall have failed, in this Commonwealth, to pay any public tax or levy, or part thereof, within either of the two years next preceding the one in which they propose to vote; or paupers; or those under judgment of felony or other infamous crime; or soldiers, mariners, or marines in the service of the State, or of the United States: And that the right of suffrage may be exercised only by persons disposed for the prosperity and well-being of the Commonwealth, there shall be a tax of twenty-five cents per annum, levied on every free white man of the age of twenty-one years, to be collected and paid into the public treasury; and the Legislature shall annually set apart an amount of the property-tax equal to the whole amount of poll-tax so paid in; and these two sums shall be annually appropriated and constitute a principal fund, always to be preserved and vested in profitable stocks, or put to profitable uses, the interest and profit whereof, shall, in the best manner, be applied every year to the education of the youth of Virginia."

Mr. Leigh said, he perceived that it seemed to be the understanding of gentlemen, that under the rule reported by the Committee on rules of order, all propositions for amendments to the Constitution, must be made in the Convention itself, before they could be laid before the Committee of the Whole. Gentlemen, he saw, were acting on such an understanding. He had not so apprehended the meaning of the rule when it was adopted; on the contrary, he had supposed that members were at full liberty to move their proposed amendments in the Committee, without previously submitting them to the House. If this were not the just understaning of the rule, it ought to be known; and he now asked for information.

On motion of Mr. Mennis, the resolution containing the rule was read.

Mr. Doddridge said, that his understanding of the rule was, that when the Constitution in any of its parts, or the Bill of Rights, should be taken up in Committee of the Whole, it would then be in order for any gentleman to propose such amendments as related to the subject under consideration. If such a construction were not adopted, the Convention might have the whole political creed of every one of its members spread upon its minutes in the form of resolutions. The substance of the resolutions which had just been read, would have been properly presented in Committee of the Whole at the appropriate time. For instance: the great subject of the right of suffrage had been reported upon by the Legislative Committee, having been specified under three distinct resolutions. As each of these came before the Committee, every gentleman could propose to amend it in such way as to him seemed expedient, by striking out, for example, the property qualification, or that in relation to freehold, and so on. He trusted this course would be pursued, as it was obviously the most convenient. Mr. Leigh said, that he had so understood the rule: All that it forbade, was the discussion and decision of any question of amendment, before it should have been submitted and considered in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. Stanard observed, that the resolution offered by the gentleman from Chesterfield, (Mr. Leigh,) would remove all difficulty on this subject. It includes in its provisions, a permission for new propositions being offered in Committee of the Whole. This was, indeed, the very end and purpose of that resolution: that the Committee of the Whole, in this Convention, might have the same liberty in this respect, as belonged to a Committee of the Whole, on the state of the Commonwealth, in the House of Delegates. He called for the reading of Mr. Leigh's resolution; and it was read accordingly.

On motion of Mr. Leigh, the Convention then proceeded to the Order of the Day, and went into Committee of the Whole, Mr. P. P. Barbour in the Chair.

The Chairman stated, that the subjects assigned to the Committee for its consideration, were the existing Constitution of Virginia, together with the several reports from the Select Committees, proposing amendments thereto, and such other amendments, as had been offered by individual members: the Committee were at liberty to take up any one of these subjects, in such order as might be determined on.

Mr. Doddridge observed, that the report from the Committee on the Legislative Department, would, he presumed, be generally considered at first in order of impor tance, among the reports before the Committee, from the nature of the subjects on which it treated. But, according to the form of the resolution under which the Committee had been appointed, that upon the Bill of Rights had precedence; and he therefore moved, that the report of the Select Committee on the Bill of Rights, be now taken up.

The motion was agreed to, and that report was thereupon read at the Clerk's table; and the question being on concurring with the Committee in their report, it was decided in the affirmative, nem, con.

So the report was concurred in by the Convention.

Mr. Powell now suggested, as a question of order, whether, as the report had declared, that the Bill of Rights needs no amendment, and the Convention had adopted that report, it was to be understood as precluding all additions to the Bill of Rights; and thereby shutting out the resolutions, which had, on Friday last, been submitted and laid upon the table, by hus friend from Norfolk, (Mr. Taylor.)

The Chair replied, that, as the Convention had just decided, that the Bill of Rights needs no amendment, the propositions to amend it, whether by diminution, alteration, or addition, would be out of order.

Mr. Taylor said he was very unexpectedly called to address the Chair; he had had no expectation that the subject of the resolutions which he had had the honor to submit, would come up in any stripe to-day; and so uninformed was he, as to the forms of parliamentary proceeding, as not to have apprehended that the rules of order would lead to such a decision as had just been pronounced by the Chair. It was not certainly for him to question that decision; but he should have apprehended, that when the Convention, by adopting the report of its Committee, had decided that the Bill of Rights needs no amendment, it had not in effect, said, that all additions were inadmissible. If, however, he was mistaken in the apprehension, he felt persuaded, that there existed in this body, a disposition that would lead it rather to consent to re-consider its vote, than, by insisting upon it, to exclude from consideration, resolutions, which, whatever might be their merit, referred to questions of the deepest importance. He asked, therefore, from the candour and generosity of the House, that they would consent to a re-consideration, with a view to let in the resolutions, he had had the honor to submit.

Mr. Johnson said, that perhaps he had misapprehended, either to what resolutions the gentleman referred, or else their true character. If they were tho e resolutions which he had seen printed in the papers, as offered by the gentleman from Norfolk, he could not conceive that they were at all excluded from the consideration of the Committee, by its having adopted the report in relation to the Bill of Rights. Those resolutions proposed an amendment, not to the Bill of Rights, but to the Constitution of Virginia. They pertained, as he understood them, to subjects reported upon by the Legislative Committee, and would be perfectly in order when the report of that Committee should be taken up for consideration.

The Chair observed, that it had expressed no opinion as to the nature or tendency of the resolutions, but had merely decided, that, if proposed as an addition to the Bill of Rights, they must be considered technically as an amendment to that instrument, and therefore out of order, inasinuch as the House had said the Bill of Rights should not be amended.

Mr. Doddridge now moved, that the report of the Legislative Committee be taken up and considered; and the motion was carried-Ayes 4-Noes 33.

Mr. Powell said, that he had thought there was a subject already before the Committee, viz: the question of re-consideration.

The Chair replied, that no express motion to that effect had been made, and the suggestion of the gentleman from Norfolk, had, as he understood, been waived in consequence of the remarks of the gentleman from Augusta.

Mr. Doddridge said, he had certainly so understood the matter, or he should not have made his motion: he trusted the vote would be re-considered.

Mr. Johnson said, that it was only necessary to lay the report of the Legislative Committee on the table; and he made that motion; which being agreed to, the report was laid upon the table accordingly. The vote, approving the report of the Committee on the Bill of Rights, was then re-considered, and the Bill of Rights itself was taken up, read at the Clerk's table, and afterwards read from the Chair by sections, for amendment.

No amendment being proposed by any other member of the Convention,

On motion of Mr. Campbell of Brooke, the resolutions offered on Saturday by Mr. Taylor were read, and the third resolution having been modified by the mover so as to read as follows: "Representation shall be uniform throughout the State," the whole were taken up for consideration in the following form:

1. Resolved, That the elective franchise should be uniform; so that, throughout the State, similar qualifications should confer a similar right of suffrage.

2. Resolved, That, among those entitled by the Constitution to exercise the elective franchise, there should be entire equality of suffrage; so that, in all elections, the suffrage of one qualified voter should avail as much as that of another qualified voter, whatever may be the disparity of their respective fortunes.

3. Resolved, That representation shall be uniform throughout the State.

4. Resolved, That as individual suffrage should be equal, without respect to the disparity of individual fortune, so an equal number of qualified voters are entitled to equal representation, without regard to the disparity of their aggregate fortunes.

5. Resolved, That in all pecuniary contributions to the public service, regard should be had to the ability of individuals to contribute; and as this ability to pay, from dis

parity of fortune, is unequal, it would be unjust and oppressive to require each citizen to pay an equal amount of public taxes.

Mr. TAYLOR then rose and addressed the Committee in substance, as follows: Mr. Chairman,-As the resolutions just read were offered by me, parliamentary usage requires that I should explain and defend them. I should enter on this duty, under the most auspicious circumstances, with great diffidence and embarrassment. The incidents, which have just occurred in the presence of the Convention, are by no means calculated to diminish these feelings. I do not affect not to have bestowed upon these resolutions the consideration which is due to their own intrinsic importance; due to the intelligence of the body which I now address; due to the deep influence which all that is done here is likely to have on the destinies of our country: nor can I forget that self-respect forbids me to lay before such an assembly a collection of crude, undigested thoughts. But I am taken by surprise, both as to the time and the manner in which this subject has been brought up, and have not, therefore, marshaled my ideas, humble as they are, in a manner to exhibit them as I could have wished them to appear. Nevertheless, I shall not shrink from the duty which I conceive to be enjoined upon me by every sentiment of manhood and patriotism; but shall perform it to the best of my poor ability, with all the sincerity which the deepest conviction of their truth can demand, with the zeal which its great importance ought to inspire; and, believe me, Sir, with all that deference, not of manner or of speech alone, but that deep deference of the heart which I ought to feel and to acknowledge, in the presence of such an assembly.

Sir, I will own frankly, that I have scarce any thing of reasoning or of argument to bring forward in support of these resolutions. This, I hope, however, will not throw any discredit upon them: for, I confess to you, it is the very circumstance which recommended them to my adoption. There are some truths, so simple and self-evident, that their most perfect demonstration is furnished by the terms of the proposition itself. Axioms, or self-evident truths, carry conviction to the human mind, the moment they are announced. And, it may be safely affirmed of all propositions which the wit of man can suggest, that the probability of their truth, is in an inverse ratio, to the reasoning and proof required to sustain them. Just in proportion as any affirmation approaches the axiomatic character, in that same degree is the range of argument in its support, limited and restrained. If the resolutions I have submitted have any merit, it lies in this solely the principles they contain are so evident and obvious, that they neither require nor admit of argument to sustain them. What I have to say, therefore, is rather by way of explanation than of argument: believing, as I do, that this will constitute their sufficient defence and best apology.

:

I pray the Convention to recollect that the resolutions refer to two distinct objects; the elective franchise and the principle of taxation; and that their purpose is to give to these two great principles a constitutional consecration.

The principle of taxation, and the elective franchise, at all times most important, especially in a country of free institutions like ours, have now a peculiar interest, from their bearing on the great and paramount question, which occupies every head, and throbs in every heart in this Convention; I mean the question of basis and apportionment of representation. They are presented mainly with a view to their bearing on that object.

When I arrived here, my opinions on these subjects, were not formed: the only sentiment in my heart, was a most ardent and sincere desire to know what was truth, and when found, to pursue it. I sought light every where; conversed with gentlemen of various and opposite opinions; sought for facts in all directions, and listened to the reasoning which was founded on them, with the honest intention of giving due effect to both. But I confess to you, Sir, that as I proceeded, my own judgment became bewildered in this process. Nor is such a result at all surprising; for, the mental, like the bodily vision, we all know, may be destroyed as well by the excess, as by the absence of light. My intellect, I own, was insufficient to take in so many conflicting and various principles, at a single glance; still less was it able to pursue them, through all their multiplied and endless combinations; least of all, was it capable of blending them into one mass, giving to each fact, and to each argument, its proper force, and deriving a result, which should be satisfactory to my own mind. Under circumstances so perplexing, I resorted to what I conceived to be the only remedy: one which rarely had deceived me: it was, to simplify, to disentangle this skein of fact and argument, to analyse the materials of which it was composed; to search for principles; to learn the reasons of them; and finally, to draw a just conclusion, to the best of my humble capacity. The result is embodied in those resolutions: which, if they shall answer no other purpose, may at least furnish channels into which the thoughts and arguments of other gentlemen may be directed; by which means the talent and intelligence of the House may be drawn out and concentrated. I certainly should not have offered them, had I not believed them true. But, Sir, I value truth more than consistency: I will, therefore, endeavour to subdue in my breast, that pride