150 ing in such counties, were unable to elect deleg-ate of their own ct'C<'d, shall they therefore be disfranchi ed Y shall they be cut off from all participation in di. cussing and deciding the important question, who shall represent the State upon the floor of Oongress1 Justice would answer, no. Yet such are the principles upon which that caucus ,vas based, whose decrees are to be obligatory and not to be questioned or reversed by the high tribunal of the people ! But there i another feature of that caucus worthy of special notice. Not content with enjoying its high priYilege during its own exi tence, it must bequeath its power to other .-Having settled down upon their ticket, the thought struck them, that vacancies might possibly occur; and that it was also probable the State would become entitled to ad- ditional members by an act of the pre ent Congress. In either event how shall the selections be made? By a majority of the party? No. A pecial committee must be appointed to uit the case.-Accordingly seven gentlemen of their own body were singled out, and invested with full authority to make all the necessary appointments. To their labors the public are indebted for a portion of the ticket now before them, and I presume they still hold themselves in readiness to make further selections in the event of the death or withdrawal of any of the present candidates. BelieYing in the doctrine that the people are competent to think and act for themselves, I can perceive no necessity for the appointment of such committee. If, however, it really were indispensible that such a tep should be taken, in order that the people might be relieved in every contingency from the burthen of choosing their own servants, I can see no ab olute nece,sity tbat such committee should have been selected exclusively from the caucus itself. Wa it impossible to find, out of the limits of their own body, any qualified for the important trust¥ And if not, upon 'what principle was the exclusion placed Y This circumstance may probably ()xcite surprise in the minds of some, but cannot in those who have reflected upon the tendency of all power, whether legal or usurped, to prolong its dura- tion and enlarge its bounds.-The apology for the whole proceeding is the concentration of party force; but if it is admi able to accom- plish thi end without reaard to principle, it can be effected more promptly and efficiently by making the voice of one man supreme instead of seven. Why then not have a ingle dictatorship T I make no argument on the ground of the liability of small bodies, to the in- fluence of flattery, partiality, corruption and ambition, for this con- sideration naturally sugge ts it elf to e-,·ery mind. Indeed, the doc- trine that the members of the Legi lature may fir t a sumc to them- elves and afterward tran fer to a few individual of their own se- lection-the exclusive control in our Congre ional election , is too absurd and heretical, too much at war with the nature of our Govern- ment and destructive of those acred principle of freedom which we all. hold to be true, and by which we are willing to be governed, to require any refutation by argument or exp ure by ridicule. It is radically and self-evidently wrong; and the people cannot fail to see and ~el it to be so. Who that have tl1e lea t spark of independence or love of liberty, arc prepared to urrcnder the right of self-govern- ment to seven men, (nay to four, for a majority of the committee must
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