m W^''^'!:'' m^m^; .-^ aralyzed in the very act — the generous bosom of Sympathy would learn to throb according to the dictates of artificial rules, and the great heart of Philanthropy, itself, would become calloused in complete selfishness. It is not incumbent upon me, then, before I labor in behalf of the men, to prove — what was never PEEFACE. IX proved of any great body — that they were, col- lectively and individually, all good men and true ; or that they, even, always acted from right princi- ples, or with right feelings. It merely rests upon me to show that, while they occupied the same po- sition with the Heroes of '76, they have been branded by every degrading epithet, and persecut- ed, and slandered, to that degree which Human Nature, when it knows itself — nay, when it be- gins to have the faintest suspicion of its power — cannot, and will not, and should not, long endure. It is true the dominant Party have spoken by the mouth of all their oracles, and called the Rhode Island Patriots, rebels ; while the people in the neighboring States, being in many, if not in most cases, content to act the part of echoes, have, for months, risen in the morning, quaffed their coffee, read the papers, dined, supped, and gone to bed again, to dream, very probably, how free they are ; they have done all this, in altogether comfortable ignorance of what their neighbors in this ancient colony of " The Plantations," were doing and suffering. In simplest phrase, then, I have but to show that the men I represent are injtired men ; and the sympathy of their fellow-countrymen will, I doubt not, be enlisted in their favor; for the PRFFACE. People have hearts, though PoHticians, and Legis- lators, may not have. Believing in the unity of Human Rights — the unity of Freedom — we can see that the injury of any member, is the injury of the whole body, and wrong towards any part is wrong towards the whole. It becomes, then, the bounden duty of him who labors in the cause of man, to neglect no sufferers about him who wear the human form, even though their creeds, both political and moral, may differ from his own. And to all others, who have no conscience to bear upon the question, it should become a matter of policy — of downright selfishness. Let them look to it, when Human Rights are trodden under foot, that their own are not injured, or even crushed amid the common wreck* I will, then, place the Free Suffrage Party of Rhode Island, on the same platform with the ca- nonised Fathers of the Revolution ; for there, only, can they occupy their true position ■-— there, only, can they be seen in their true light — there, only, can they hope to receive justice. Nor will they all stand like dwarfs in the presence of those great Shades ; but as true sons, and rightful heirs of the noblest legacy that man ever bequeathed to man. I set before you their history ; and, in the name of PREFACE. XI insulted Truth, and violated Justice, demand a CANDID HEARING. They ask for nothing more. And shall this demand he in vain ? Speak, good men and true, if there be any in Rhode Island who dare to do so ! In Rhode Island, where Honesty is starved, and only the miserable panders of Place and Power — the poor excrescences of a time-worn Aristocracy — can show a well-fed front. Speak, old Massachusetts, our elder-brother-land ! Send us a God-speed, that shall echo from your northern battlements to the hallowed Rock of Plymouth ! Give us one word of good cheer, Connecticut, our comely and right-minded sister ! Show us that a Heart is throbbing beneath that sober girdle — ay, and a Soul, too, ready to kindle at the tale of wrong ! The granite cliffs of New Hampshire never refused an echo when the oppressed cried for help ! They will speak for us. And even Green- mantled Vermont will blush in shame, that she beheld our sufferings unmoved. Her mountain- heart will beat again, true to herself, and the Free Thought that surrounds her like a native element ; and she will more than make amends for her former coldness. Maine will send us a cheer on the free billows that chafe her coasts ; and the eloquence of her orators, and the song of her noblest poet, will be an — nealed in our behalf. New York will Xll PREFACE. send our call abroad, with the high authority of the Empire State, and whisper it to the gentle sister she embraces ; and even the Land of Penn will be " moved in the spirit," to hear, and to help us. Ohio will catch our Appeal from the banks of her own beautiful River, and bear it westward, until, from the children of the distant prairies, shall come a widely-echoing response ; and no free Wind shall return to us with our call unanswered. MiaHT AND EIGHT. MIGHT AND EIGHT- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. It will at once be seen by the style of the fol- lowmg Narrative of events, during the momentous season, when the friends of Liberty were strugghng for their own, and the people's rights in Rhode Island — that the Work has been penned by another hand than was expected. Ill health and domestic engagements have combined to prevent that person from performing the task ; but, in her opinion, the public will not lose by the exchange. The person who writes this Work, brings a warm heart, and powerful intellect into the field, and will, doubtless, do justice to the subject. She has, however, with much couruesy, delegated to another the office of de- lineating the character of Society in Rhode Island, prior to, and at the time of, the great political con* test she is commemorating. The writer of this Introduction has been long aware that people abroad, labor under the grossest mistake witii respect to those who are the characters that compose the principal part and make the princi- pal figure among the Aristocracy of Rhode Island ; Avho; it is known, are the sworn foes to Free Suf- frage ; and, indeed, to liberty in every form, and every where. People of other States, ev^en while they de- spise, the pride of descent, which they suppose has im^)elled ihem to grasp all power, and trample upon the rigjits of |jj|iendowed fellow-citizens, have yet 16 MIGHT AND RIGHT. felt a degree of commisseration, from the supposed hardship of depriving the families of the first settlers of honors and em.oluments they and their families had been always accustomed to, and admitting a set of interlopers (denominated " the rabble, the lower orders, the tag rag, &c. of Society,) to come in and share their inheritance — who had not, like their ancestors, borne the burden and heat of the day. Now persons who understand the matter in this light, may hoard their sympathies for another occasion. There is not a jot or tittle of truth in the supposi- tion : the families of the first settlers, the original owners of the soil, (honored be their names) are, for the most part, a different set of people ; and. with 'a few disgraceful exceptions, are uniformly favorable to the freedom of the Elective Franchise. They are Democrats of the old school, intelligent, liberal- minded men, who, estimating the blessings of Lib- erty and Independence, are willing all should enjoy them. V/ith them originated the first objections to the laws of primogeniture ; and, as will be shown here, were among the number of those, who have at various timics made efforts to obtain an enlargement of the rights of voters — efforts that were uniformly scouted by the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island. But who, then, it will be asked, are the great men who rule that great State ? Who are the Aristocracy that lord it over the people ? Who affect to despise the laboring part of the population (except when they are soliciting their votes ?) Who are they that talk '' of the danger of putting power in the hands of the common people.^^ Why, for the most part, per- sons who a few short years since, ranked far below that order themselves : and now to their Ristory. In the changes to which all things are subject in this changing world, there has been a great change in the Society of Rhode Island. Party spirit has MIGHT AND RIGHT. 17 effected much ; for let a man be ever so despicable in himself, if he would only lend himself to the views of those, who were determined by every means, either honest or dishonest, to acquire and maintain supreme power in the State, his fortune was at once made. And again the facilities for obtaining the benefit of the Insolvent Act, have been the cause of an inundation of artful and dishonest men from other States, whose example has had a most deleterious effect upon the Society of Rhode Island — for although many came without any apparent means of support, yet by some craft unknown to the former staid and sober inhabitants, they contrived to live in a style and fashion quite new, and seduce others into habits of extravagance and profusion, that soon made a wreck of many a fair estate ; and often transferred those very estates into the hands of him, who though he had run the same excess of riot, yet having nothing, could lose nothing. Sometimes this has been done in later days, through the witchcraft of Banks, which readily transforms rags into gold, for in their palmy days, these were next to the General' Assembly — Omnipotent in Rhode Island. An early contest in Rhode Island, whose effects have been felt to the present hour, seemed at once to define the position of parties. We allude to that be- tween the old school Federalists and Jeffersonian Democrats, which was carried on with a zeal and fierceness, never perhaps ' equalled, certainly not ex- celled in any of the States. There was, as in the Suffrage contest, a proscription and persecution from the Federal side of the question, utterly at war with ail republican notions, as well as christian feeling. To give a history of this warfare, in the City of Providence alone, would more than fill this voUnne, and exhibit such examples of " man's inhumaijiiyjo man," as can only be surpassed by the crusade against the Suffrage Party in 1843 and 43. Who that has • 2* ig MIGHT AND RIGHT. read the '' Annals of the town of Providence," lately published by one of the Judges of the present justly styled Supreme Court of Rhode Island, would imag- ine such violence of persecution could have been ex- hibited, such party spite, such malign feeling, such riots, such quarrels, such backbitings and contentions, in a City for the last forty years at least, which he describes — going on as quiet as a (Quaker meeting. To begin with the Crusade against Gov. Arthur Fenner, who was, tell it not in Gath, father of the present Algerine Governor of this State. He was the Democratic Governor and a kmd of head of the Democratic party throughout the State ; at least they adopted him as such, although their party could boast of many men of superior pretensions in some respects, yet his age, his station, his known patriotism, which was never doubted, his shrewdness, and above all, the deep insight with which he penetrated the views and plots of the opposite party, made him a universal favorite with his own. He was besides of a very jocose, social and con- vivial turn, and exceedingly hospitable, entertaining friends and foes, without distniction, at his well spread board. This last virtue was made the instru- ment to mjure him, by many of his unscrupulous giiests ; and careless expressions, uttered durmg the hours of social hilarity, Avere artfully seized on to effect, if possible, his downfall. One of these rela- ting to an unknown stranger, who had recently com- mitted suicide in one of the public highways, was reported in such an aggravated manner as to occasion a lawsuit, and such a commotion as shock the whole State to its centre. It is inconceivable what a tumult the Federal Party contrived to make out of it ; and 35 Gov. Fenner was then a candidate for re-election, they availed themselves of that privilege to abuse him beyond any thing we have ever known of any one individual. The almost expiring hopes of a MIGHT AND RIGHT. 19 famishing party, hungry for office, received such an impulse that they rushed from town to town, and village to village, from shop to shop, and house to • house, and daily collected in little groups in the streets and public places, to report progress, and tell the latest news. The Federal newspapers were fdled every week, with fresh scandals, and further enormi- ties, until one must have believed, if he credited them, that all the sins committed since the first set- tlement of the country, rested on this one man. Meanwhile the prosecution went on. It was an action of slander against the Chief Magistrate, for saying that John Dorrance, (formerly Judge) had sold the dead body of the suicide to a Surgeon, for a beaver hat ; and although they could make nothing out of the case, and the defendant was acquitted, yet did not the fire of the assailing party slacken in the least. From Gov. F. they went to his friends ; and his intimates and political associates were attacked with a degree of violence next in degree, to that with which they attacked the Governor. Fortune here seemed to favor them. It is seldom a man's friends are all honest ; and some curious develop- ments with regard to the affairs of the Gloucester Bank, where several of these were Directors, enabled them to open a new battery ; and oh, what a God- send the failure of that Bank was to the Algerines of that day ! Most of the Directors of that Bank were Democrats, in like manner as all those of the Agri- cultural Bank are Algerines now. How it was that the General Assembly publicly sifted them, and sent them to Jail, and now bear the downfall of this with such christian forbearance, we cannot tell ; since, we opine, that the block-heads who managed the for- mer concern were as much inferior in villainy to some in the late affair, as possible, their crime seemed to be in permitting themselves to be overreached by an artful linancierj who had the adroitness to persuade 20 MIGHT AND RIGHT. them — that he would by one bold stroke, make the fortune of the Bank. However, they had no right to embark the property of others, in such a gambling speculation, and were justly punished, their own party giving them up without a murmur. Still the friends of Gov. Arthur Fenner stuck close, and fought manfully in his behalf, and he was again and again re-elected. Nor did the fire of the Adversary slacken in the least ; every meeting of the Democratic Party was sure to be insulted in some way or other ; and to such a pitch of exasperation did the Federal lead- ers succeed in raising their party, that private insults on account of difference in politics, succeeded pub- lic ones. The military companies m the town of Providence, were at that time commanded by leaders of different sides, and to array them in a hostile atti- tude towards each other seemed quite a desideratum to the Federal Party. In this they succeeded, and on several occasions of public turn-out, a crowd was col- lected on the Great Bridge, and in other public places, where they were expected to meet, to see- the fun ; for, as they could not harmonize to go in one proces- sion, it was expected, whenever they met, there would be a contest. A very handsome and spirited party of Light-horse was commanded by Col. Henry Smith, a staunch Democrat, and a man who feared nobody, and it was supposed that rather than turn out for a foot company he would force his way pell mell through them, as he easily might have done, having the advantage of being mounted : however they reckoned without their host. Col. Smith had no idea of sacrificing the blood of his fellow-citizens from false notions of honor ; and upon meeting the foot company who had made their boast of compelling him to turn out, he very quietly wheeled and gave them the middle of the Bridge. Great cheering from the Federal mob succeeded this exploit ; but a few days after, Col. Smith was riding over, and MIGHT AND RIGHT. 21 chanced to meet the officer whose discourteous man- ners had occasioned such uproar, when he suddenly- leaped from his horse, and with herculean arm seized the little Bragadocio by the waistband, and shook him over the side of the Bridge, threatening to let him drop, unless he solemnly promised never to insult him again. This was final, and from that period, the rival companies passed each other with courtesy. But the persecution and vituperation of the Federal Party still continued. .One sample after they became elated by temporary success, may suffice. There was a naturalized citizen, who had resided several years in the town, ordered to quit it with his family, in three days, for the sole offence of talking his sen- timents publicly in the streets ; his manner, like that of most of his nation, being somewhat loud and bois- terous ; (he was an Englishman by birth) but the law required that a man should be a pauper, or liable to become such, before such a command could be enforced ; and this in his case, was far from being so. He was then driving a profitable business, and cleared at lease five dollars per day, above all expen- ses. The attorneys consulted, advised him not to go, and clearly demonstrated that they had no law for such a proceeding. He remained, and three days after, in attempting to pass the Bridge, was seized by order of the (Federal) Council, stripped, and publicly whipped on the Bridge. This outrage, was one of the boldest, and most daring experiments of that party, and justly drew down public indignation, not only in Rhode Island, but in the neighboring States, and nothing could have restrained the friends of this man from avenging his cause, but that regard to quiet and order which has ever distinguished the Democratic Party of Rhode Island. In allusion to the constant assertion that they were the rabble, it will be proper here to remark, tliat though the ma- jority, then, as now, were mechanics and laboring ^2 MIGHT AND RIGHT. people, they were in general not only better bred, but better born, than their adversaries, who, many of them came into the State, a few years before, not only needy adventurers, but of donbtful character. They were, mostly, the sons of persons, who, like themselves, had lived upon the credulity of mankind, persons, who, even now, Were over head and ears in debt, completely bankrupt, though living in a style that the poor m.echanics to whom they were indebt- ed, never attempted. One family that almost gov- erned the State at that time, originally came into the town as paupers, supported by the town of N , on Y\'hose books may still be seen the appropriations made for their support, and the schooling of their children — children doomed in a few short years to dictate to the .people of the town, and to sneer at '' the poverty and ignorawe of the lower orders.^'' Several of these Aristocrats had made their advent as Stable boys, not a few originally as Pedlars ; and we hold in our hand the Indentures of one of their great guns, who was bound out " to serve in a gen- tleman's kitclien," and who was afterwards the op- pressor of that gentleman's descendants, for demand- ing the rights of the com7no7i people. Reader, we would be the last to dispute tlie claims to respect, of the ])oor man, who has by honest industry raised himself into notice ; but when a man has arisen fr m the very lowest dregs in society, and by unholy stratagems has become possessed of a little wealth, and begins to swagger and look big, and talk about the '• lower orders," and " the rabble," and his " ope- ratives,^^ many of vv^hom are gifted with a genius and capacity which none of his stupid progeny could ever boast of — v/hen they begin to tell of the danger of putting power into the hands of the common people, it is time they should be exposed. They deserve miqualified cont^Miipt. No wonder they view with apprehensions v/iiich they cannot disguise, the dawn- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 23 ing of that spirit of independence, which, were it suc- cessful, would bring them back to the rank from which they sprang : but we have wandered from our history. We have stated that Gov. Arthur Fenner was again and again re-elected, but we did not say that though he lived several years after, those who knew him best, affirmed that the political persecution he went through shortened his days, by undermining a constitution, which had previous to that promised a long life ; that there was a visible alteration, and accelerated progress towards the downhill of life, from the period of his contention with John Dor- ranee ; and that the continued abuse, which that affair first engendered, was hastening a catastrophe which eventually terminated his existence. Be that as it may, he died in the year 1805 ; and James, " his son, reigned in his stead." From the time of his death the hopes of the Democratic Party seemed to centre in him as a leader. He was thought to pos- sess all his father's shrewdness, while education, and a different set of associates had given a higher moral tone of character. This was what the Dem.ocratic Party needed, but they needed also, a man of firm, unwavering republican principles, a man humble in mind, simgle in his habits of life, and of a disposition to accommodate himself to the society of the mid- dling class, or of plain and unlettered men ; and there were those who soon discovered that the new leader was not possessed of all these attributes, nor was it long before this began to manifest itself; and a split in the Democratic ranks, from which the party never recovered itself, was the consequence. Henry Smith, a prominent character, already men- tioned, was one of the leaders of this secession, and associated with him was Seth Wheaton, the father of our now Minister at the Court of Prussia, who himself joined in the disaffection, and with his father, with several others, published a Manifesto declaring 24 MIGHT AND RIGHT. they could go no farther with his Excellency ; and that they were convinced Republicanism in Rhode Island could only be maintained, by the prostration of his Excellency. PROTEST. " To the Republican Citizens of the State of Rhode Island : — Having been informed that in different parts of the State reports were circulated with an intention to induce the belief that we have become reconciled to the re-election of Gov. Fenner, and believing it possible that such misrepresentations of the truth may bear upon the approaching election in a manner favorable to him — We hereby declare that we remain firm and determined in opposition, convinced that Republica?iism can only be revived in this State by the prostration of His Excellency. Your friends and fellow citizens, HENRY SMITH, SETH WHEATON, JAMES PETTY, JNO. T. S PAULDING, WM. PECKHAM, CHRISTOPHER ELLERY, SAMUEL THURBER, THOMAS SESSIONS, HENRY WHEATON. ProvidencBj April lU/i, 1811. And here let us pause to do justice to the charac- ters of some of the persons engaged in this contest. The character of the Hon. Henry Wheaton is now before the world, and most persons in this and other countries, know something of him. He needs no eulogy at our hands, and could suffer no detriment from our censure. Of his father, Seth Wheaton, Esq., who has long since passed to that bourne from whence no traveller returns, we would say, that MIGHT AND RIGHT. 23 ^' take him for all in all, we ne'er shall look upon his like again." He had all the shrewdness of Gov. A, Fenner, united with keen wit and pungent sarcasm, that while it never fails to be admired, fails not also to create many enemies. He was a man of uncom- promising integrity, and unwavering Democratic prin- ciple. It has been urged against him, that his preju* dices were bitter : but granted, they were always founded upon an honest conviction that he was in the right ; and few persons were capable of such deep insight into human character. We have a dis- tinct recollection (in a long conversation where we were present) of some prophecies he made respecting the future course of some of the political characters of the day ; and, had he possessed the spirit of divi- nation, he could not more accurately have given their future history. In no one instance, has it failed to liappen as he foretold. It was his opinion ^' there would come a day, when a test question would come up in Rhode Island, and then there toould be a fall- ing of of all that ivas rotten in the State of Den- mark.^'' Peace to his ashes, his honest heart lived not to be wrung with the knowledge that many who were near and dear to him, then too young to judge of their future characters, would be among the num- ber. As to Col. Henry Smith, the frank, and gallant, and straight forward course he followed, forbade the idea of dark design or plotting in anything he did. His heart was so open, that every child could read it, and his hand so liberal, that none feared to ask any good office from it. Of the other signers, we have little recollection. We do not pretend to judge of the wisdom of a measure, which at that time, carried dismay into the Democratic ranks, and encouraged their opponents to exult over '' a City divided against itself." It made a final split in the Democratic Party. The greater part did not go with them ; for so firmly had the Fenner family entrenched themselves as the 3 9A MIGHT AND RIGHT. leaders of the party, that the attempt to oust thern^ backed by 7io proofs of their delinquency, fell to the ground. Yet it sowed the seeds of disunion and dis- ariection ; it created suspicions, and emboldened that violent and unprincipled Faction, originally termed Federalists, then Federal Republicans, then some- thing else, and, finally, down to Whigs, to manoeuvre with prospect of success in Rhode Island : and last of all, to concentrate power in their own hands, in this unfortunate State, under their most appropriate name of Algerines. During the last war with Great Britain, party spirit ran high, since the Federalists generally exposed themselves at that time as the ancient Tories. If the true Iiistories of their treasonable manoeuvres at tliat period could be given, it would fill many volumes. It was, however, a period when the principles and practice of the Democratic party shone brighter than they ever have since, in Rhode Island, and might be called their golden age. Their duties, however, were fatiguing and burtliensome, particularly when an English squadi^oji teas in the neighborhood. It was no easy duty to walk the shore all night long of a wintry night, to intercept correspondence with the enemy, or to venture out through the cold Vt^aters, to prevent boat loads of flour and other provisions sent by avaricious and disaifected men, from going to their relief. Yerily, as Shakspeare says, 'f I could a tale unfold," but forbear : may the story remain in oblivion, or be sunk in the deep waters, with a cer- tain package of papers, once thrown overboard in Narragansett Bay during that period, by one of our Benedict Arnolds ! ! It would occupy too much space to describe the various ups and downs of the two parties in this State since that period, or of the claims of the various Go- vernors inflicted upon unhappy Rhode Island since that period. Suffice it to say, it has not been a quiet MIGHT AND RIGHT. 25 despotism ; for some act of injustice or oppression has always agitated the State, and provoked hostili- ties from some quarter or another. The mob during the reign of Gov. Arnold, (N. B. We call it reign of Governors under the Kingly Charter,) of which Judge Staples makes mention in the quiet City of Providence, was no exception to this. For the col- lection of citizens, who on that occasion took justice into their own hands, had been long scandalised and outraged by a nuisance, from which no law seemed strong enough to protect them ; from which they had appealed again and again to the authorities of the town, and used every eftbrt of moral suasion to re- form. The two neighborhoods of Olney's Lane and Snowtown, where several respectable families resided, (and many more owned property there, who dared not make it a place of residence,) contained a thicket of houses, which were unfortunately tenanted by some of the vilest and lowest offenders against the laws of decency, and the laws of the land. They were places where no person was safe to pass after dark, perfect Pandemoniums, where persons of all colors congregated together, to carry on their guilty revels, to conceal stolen goods, and to concert every scheme of iniquity of which the human mind can conceive. There can be no doubt that murders were sometimes perpetrated secretly in those abodes of guilt ; as persons were sometimes missing there, of whom no account was ever after received ; not to mention those beat to death in drunken fights — of young women found with broken bones, and expiring from the effects of brutal treatment.* No sleep in the neighborhood of those places could be had the long night through, unbroken by the screams of mur- der, or cries of distress of some kind, mixed with the * Thomas Loyd Halsey, whose residence was on Prospect street, and but a short distance from the Lane, said, "he had no doubt more murders had been committed in that one lane, than ijqi nil the»3tate besides, since its first settlement," 26 MIGHT AND RIGHT. sound of the fiddle, and the drunken shouts of the depraved multitude. To complain had been found inefficient to remedy the evil ; and indeed, at the last, people had become somewhat afraid, lest the spirit of revenge should either fire their buildings or assassinate themselves. In this dilemma, after many years of forbearance, the people aggrieved, and it is believed respectable peo- ple, took up arms of clubs and brick-bats, and de- molished the abodes of infamy and wretchedness. The occasion was a favorable one ; it was the mur- der of a person sent to demand a Swedish sailor, who Avas retained in one of the houses in the Lane. The firing of that gun Avas a tocsin that called all hands to battle, and of all those receptacles of iniquity, but one on the close of that evening was left standing ; and that having a frame that resisted axes and fire- hooks, alone remained standing, a dismantled monu- naent of the judgments of tiiat night. Placards were fixed up, saymg they would take Sn.ow^tow^n the next night, which they did, though the Governor called out a military force to protect the den of iniquity ; and firing into the assailants, killed seven men, seve- ral of whom were persons whom ciniosity brought to the scene of assault. It was urged in his behalf, that he had '' twice^ commanded the people to dis- perse, and once fired blank cartridges " among them. Though no abettor or admirer of mobs, we must say, few ever did more good in shorter time ; and the death of those young men caused much stir at the time. Several had left families, cuid were deeply de- plored. But, accustomed as the people of the State had become to despotic power, it passed off without any action. There was no party bias in the case. The resistants were supposed to he about equally of all parties. For many ^rears there has been a spirit of resist- ance fostering in the people of Rhode Island, against the encroachments of arbitrary power. The health- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 2T fill action of the law, as its friends termed it, was too often found " a word and a blow, and the blow came first." It has often been found a fetter that has bound the j9oor debtor down to the earth, while it has let off the rich bankrupt unscathed. In the late transactions, it will be found, that while it stood ready to protect violence and wickedness, it left the honest and unprotected to be insulted and pillaged by a merciless soldiery — whom avarice, and party spite, and demoniac passion, led on to excesses that have disgraced the State in the eyes of lookers on, and will long be remembered, after the heads that planned, and the hands that have executed them, shall be mouldering under the sod. VV". CHAPTER II. THE CHARTER. In the very onset it may be well to examine the character and claims of this celebrated Instrument, which, until about two years ago, wasacktiowledged as the source of all Order, Government, and Law, in this falsely-called Free State of Rhode Island. Not by the majority of the people, indeed, was it so ac- knowledged ; for these, for more than fifty years, had looked upon it as a dead body ; and they had been, for nearly that length of time, continually en- treating the Government to give it the rites of sepul- ture, and a decent burial. But it was the self-con- stituted Lords of the Assembly of King Charles, who saw so many virtues in the parchment of that disso- lute monarch. It held for them, each and all. Let- ters-patent of Nobility. By it they assumed power to make such laws as best pleased themselves — to alter those laws, or annul them, as they would, and wJieyi they would ; and that without any regard to the interests of others — nay, it might be in direct 3* 28 MIGHT AND RIGHT. violation of those interests, though a majority of three-fifths of the entire population might be the suiferers. The majority^ indeed, came to be regard- ed as plebeians by birth, and by habit, possessing no acknowledged rights, which could, by any extant possibility, be opposed to those of the self-constituted Government, which was, in defiance of all signifi- cance in language, continually affirmed to be the freeat in the world. The People had, it is true, pe^ titioned for a redress of grievances, for about fifty years ; and during that time, had made some little stir about Democracy, and the Rights of the Majori- ty ; but they were easily frowned down, and, to a considerable degree, persuaded that there was no other way but tacit, if not real submission. The Assembly saw that all this was very good. There- fore they determined never to change it. And all their minions cried, "Amen." They were living expositions of the trite fact, that arbitrary power, once obtained, though it be never so unjustly, is not willingly surrendered, unless, indeed, there be a true human heart, and a paramount conscience, in the holder thereof Thus far premising, I proceed to speak more particularly of the Instrument whose name is our present caption. It may be hiterestmg to the curious in such mat- ters, (and who is not curious when any point of the history of his native State is involved in the ques- tion ?) to know uiider what circumstances the Char- ter was obtained. It appears that originally the towji of Providence, then comprising all of what is now Providence County, except Cumberland, con- stituted a distinct jurisdiction, as did also the Island of Rhode Island, and likewise Warwick. These several territorial divisions were first united and brorght within one jurisdiction, by the Charter of 164? ; which was obtained through the assistance of Sir Henry Vane. This Charter was very short, and MIGHT AND RIGHT, 29 very loose in its terms. It shadowed forth a gene- ral power to establish such form of government as should obtain ''the voluntary consent of all." There was so much difficulty experienced in obtaining this " voluntary consent " in favor of consolidating the different districts under one governmentj that it was not until the year .1647 that a general government was agreed upon, and established. The General Assembly was convened in that year, for the first time, and the place of convention was the town of Portsmouth. In the same year were enacted the early Laws of Rhode Island. These were generally of an enlight- ened and liberal character, and were adopted with the following Preamble, " And now, sith our Charter gives us power to govern ourselves, and such others as come amongst us, by such a form of civil government, as, by the voluntary consent, &c., shall be found most suitable to our estate and condition, it is agreed by this present Assembly, thus incorporated, that the form of Government established in Providence Plantations, is Democratical — that is to say a government held hij the free and voluntary consent of ally or the GREATER part of all, the free inhabitants." One of the first provisions had this clause : '' No man in this colony shall be taken, or imprisoned^ or be disseized of his lands, or liberty, or be exile, or any otherwise molested, but by the lawful, judg- ment OF HIS PEERS." What an evident retrograde has been going on since that time ! The unenfran- chised man of Rhode Island could never be tried by his peers ; because neither himself, nor his peers, were eligible to act as jurors ; and, in later times, it has been no infrequent thing to see a man molested, injured in his property and character, and deprived of his liberty, without any ^'lawful judgment," or even any legal pretence. It cannot be doubted that 30 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the early Fathers of Rhode Island never perceived such a tendency in their government, nor intended to produce such a resuU. The government under the Charter of 1643 was dissolved in 1651. Another Charter was obtained in that year by Coddington, by which he was con- stituted Governor, and the Island of Rhode Island and Conanicut was severed from the connection, which, they before held with Providence and War- wick, Though Coddington's Charter soon went out of force, yet the re-union of the severed districts was not so easily effected, and the Representatives from Providence and Warwick met at Providence, while another Assembly held their sessions on the Island. When a re-union was procured, it appeared obvious good policy to take some measures in order to secure and perpetuate it ; and, mainly for tliis purpose, was obtained the Charter of Charles the 11. , which, down to a very late period, remained the nominal Consti- tution of the State. A Court of Commissioners met at Warwick, Oct. IS, 1660, and passed an Act acknowledging Charles as their liege King, also a vote for solemnizing his proclamation, in which it was officially provided that, " on the next Wednesday, which will be the 24th of this instant month, each town in this colony shall, then, at the liead of the company of each train- band, solemnize the proclamation of the Royal Ma- jesty, and that the captain of each town is hereby required and authorised to call the train-band to- gether, to solemnise the said proclamation on the foresaid day, if the weather do permit; if not, then it is to be done on the next fair day ; and that all children and servants shall have their liberty on that day." By the untiring exertions of Roger Williams and John Clarke, a renewal of the Charter was obtained, and a warrant was issued, dated the 14th day of MIGHT AND RIGHT. 31 November, 1663, requiring the Warden, or deputy Warden of Providence, to call a town meeting at Newport on the 24th of that month, "partly and chiefly to receive the Charter, which is certainly re- ported to be arrived." On the day appointed, the Commissioners met ; and the box containing the since famous document was produced and opened, in the presence of what the Record describes as " a very great Assembly of the People." And after the Charter, with '' his Majesty's royal stamp and broad seal," having been " held up on high, and presented to the perfect view of the Peo- ple," was "returned into the box, and locked up by the Governor, in order to the safe keeping," it was directed that the most humble thanks of the colony be returned to his Majesty, " for the high, inestima- ble, yea, incomparable grace and favor." This Instrument, together w"ith various statutes which were enacted from time to time, for the pur- pose of explaining and altering the Charter, and sup- plying lis deficiencies, and certain usages, which, from long existence had obtained the force and sanc- tity of laws, constituted the Government of the State. It has ahvays been in the power of the Ge- neral Assembly, by their entire control over the right of Suffrage, to remove every existing evil, and silence every just cause of complaint. But tliis, whatever assertions may now be made to the con- trary, they were never disposed to do. Every con- cession that has been made, has been extorted by fear, not voluntarily surrendered. But let me not anticipate. I return to the Charter of 1663. By this Royal Instrument it was provided, that *' all persons should, freely, and fully, have and en- joy, his and their own judgments, and consciences, in religious concernments ;" and the people were pronounced " a body corporate and politic." Charles, i also, " by his especial grace, certain knowledge, and 32 MIGHT AND RIGHT. mere motion," granted the power of forming a Ge- neral Assembly — the original members bemg ap- pointed by the King, and mentioned in the Charter. This body had power to '^ eloct and constitute offices and officers, to grant commissions, to appoint, order or direct, erect and settle, places and courts of juris- diction ; to alter, revoke, annul oi pardon, under their common seal ;" to " make, ordain, constitute, or repeal, such laws, statutes, orders, and. ordinances, forms and ceremonies of government, and magis- tracy, as to them shall seem meet, for the good and welfare of said company," provided always, that they be " agreeable to the laws and statutes of this our realm of England.^'' They were also to regulate the election to offices of trust, to prescribe and limit boundaries of towns, etc., and, finally, to " direct, rule, order, and dispose, of all other matters and things." We see by this, that, unless the General Assembly should transcend their prerogative, so far as to do aught which is not agreeable to the laws and stat- utes of England, the Charter may not be violated, though humanity and justice, the world over, cry out against them. Though the Charter does not per?jvit, it has no power, whatever, to check usurpa- tion. It has been, in short, a convenient screen for Despotism and Tyranny to skulk behnid, where they have performed deeds which their cowardice would not permit them to do unsheltered. But the Charter was considered, and was very liberal in its provisions, considering the time and cir- cumstances under which it was given. In it we find permission for the original "Company" to plant grapes, make wine, pursue whale, dubertus, or other great fish, and open mines ; only requiring that one- fifth of all " the ore of gold and silver " they might there find, should be yielded, " in lieu, and satisfac- tion, of all services, duties, fines," and "forfeitures." IIGHT AND RIGHT. 33 And all this might be very well, if there were no PROGRESS. In the early days of the Charter, the people of Rhode Island were engaged mostly in agricultural pursuits, a very large majority of them being freeholders ; so the defects of the government, and the required freehold qualification, were not very sensibly felt. There were then few counteracting influences ; the commercial and agricultural interests being so closely dependent on each other, as to be, in fact, identical. But the body corporate, like the individual body, cannot be always fed on pap, and held by leading-strings. By a common law of na- ture it must grow, and strengthen, until material cha.nges take place in its condition and character ; so that what was, in early infancy, healthful and necessary, becomes in the mature state not only quite insufficient, but totally unnecessary, and even hurtful. It will be readily perceived, that great abuses would not so naturally flov/ from the Charter itself, as from the Assembly. That body claim, and always have exercised, a power that is irresponsible, to all intents and purposes, so far as this country is con- cerned. I said that irresponsible power is claimed, and exercised. They are also independent, and om- nipotent. That they so considered themselves, may be proved from the mouths of their own members. John Howe, of Bristol, at the January session of the [Legislature, in 1842, said — '^ The terms of the I Charter are broad and liberal. They give almost all jpower to the General Assembly." And previously jit was said by the late Honorable Elisha R. Potter, |of South Kingstown, in a speech before the same |august body — " Mr. Speaker, the member from is very much mistaken, when he supposes that this :Geueral Assembly ca7i do anything that is unconsti- tutional ! Sir, I conceive that this body has the iSAME power over THE NON-FREEHOLDERS OF THIS 34 MIGHT AND RIGHT. State, that THE ALMIGHTY HAS OVER THE UNIVERSE!" And this impious declaration was made in the presence of Repubhcan Rulers — those who profess to claim the prerogative of govern- ing the people, from motives of pin-e charity, because they are not capable of governing themselves. Is it not sii/hcient comment on the above, to say, there is 710 record to tell us that Mr. Potter tvas rebuked ! And how should he have been by his coadjutors and fellow tyrants ! They liked the doctrine too well to question its truth ! It will be easily seen that the inevitable result of such an organization would be arrogance on the one hand, and servility on the other. A non-freeholder, in the presence of a freeman, was, oftener than otherwise, a poor cringing slave, incapable of utter- ing his thoughts freely and honestly ; and, apparent- ly, almost unconscious of the fact, that one who had not $134 invested in land, was just as good a man as one who held possession of that same high qualifica- tion and test of manhood. I recollect an instance. Se- veral years ago a non-freeholder attempted to speak in a public meeting. He rose with evident alacrity and interest in the subject under discussion, and began to speak with considerable effect ; but, looking round, he perceived that most of his auditofs owned a freehold estate. He was cowed down in an instant. Stammer- ing out something about not being used to speak in the PRESENCE OF FREEMEN, llC Sat doWU, COVCrcd witll confasion. And this is the spirit the Aristocracy of Rhode Island have always sought to foster. They have always, by their public acts, and their private influence, discouraged everything that hinted at the elevation of the laboring classes of people. And why, but the better to secure their own special pre- rogatives ? Why, but for the same reason that sug- gests the same course of action to Despotism every- where ? Light is unfavorable to Tyranny — Dark- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 35 ness and ignorance are its best adjuncts. There may- be liveried servants, heavier place, richer carpets, and drapery with costlier fixtures^ in other cities — there may be greater show of wealth in many places ; but, I apprehend, that nowhere in this country — per- haps nowhere on the globe — is a poor intruder over the chalked line of the patent ^^ first circle," met with a more chilling — I may say a more killing iciness, than here, in this same little, big-feeling State of Rhode Island. And this is the Government we have heard daily lauded, as if it were the very acme oi legislativ^e wis- dom and clemency ! The power being thus consoli- dated in the hands of the few, the social condition which has grown out of it, is, in a very high degree, restrictive and Aristocratical. A narrow clique became the nobility, constituting what is technically called, '' Society:" while thousands of respectable and en- lightened citizens, with their families, were thrown into the common mass of the " Vulgar" — any indi- vidual of which meeting one of the self-constituted upper-circle, even in the common street, might per- ceive d^, turning up of the high-born, and high-bred nose, and a shrinking, as if from contamination : or, at the best, a vacant stare, which mtelligibly recog- nized — Nobody — Is this a condition of things which Kepublicans — which a Free People should allow ? Nay, are the people — can the people be free, in such a State ? I think not. The Charter prescribed no rules, whatever, for the admission of Freemen ; and it was not until 1724, that an act of Assembly was passed, by which Elec- tors were required to have a freehold estate of $100 ; and, by the same act, the oldest son of such a free- holder was admitted to be a freeman, without other qualification. That the General Assembly have power to make the qualification any sum they PLEASE; so as to consolidate the government entirely 4 36 MIGHT AND RIGHT. in the hands of the weaUhiest magnates of the land^ is proved by the following changes, which have been rung upon this great bell of discord. I have record- ed the Act of 1724. In 1736 £200 of real estate was required. In 1746 £^.00 or £20 per annum, and, finally, in 1762, it v/as reduced to £40, cr §134 of Federal currency. Thus we see that the majority of the people of Rhode Island have been held subject to the sovereign nod of the Assemble, with but one right guarded — no other than the right of con- science, being even acknowledged. Instead of being the free members of a free confederacy, they have been slaves in the fullest sense — which will by and by appear. Their liberties Lave been left to the mercy of an Instrument, w^hich imposed no limita- tions on despotic power. Yet this people have been, for more than sixty years, mocked by the assertion that Rhode Island was free ! And while their own chains were clanking audibly — not on the limbs, indeed — but, worse — far worse — deep in the heart — deeper in the soul — they have listened to mouthing orators on the Fouith of July, when they conceived they had special right and opportunity to profane the sacred name of Liberty ! One would think these Legislators had no honest blood in their hearts ; or they w^ould blush at the very syllables in the name of Freedom ! As instances of the assumption of unwarrantable power, by the General Assembly, take the fcllowhig Acts ; which will go far to show at what rate the venerable Charter should be valued, as a Co7isiiiu- tioji. By that Instrument it was provided that the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants were to be elected on every first Yvednesday in May. at Newport, by a majority of the voters then and there assembled. The General Assembly sav/ fit to ai:::,il this provision ; which they did by passing an Act \o that ellect, in October, 1664 — in less than one year MIGHT AND RIGHT. 37 after the public proclamation of the Charter. It was provided that all freemen who chose to do so, instead of coming to Newport to vote for general officers on the first VVedtiesday of May, miglit vote in town- meetings legally convened, where their proxy votes should be received, thence to be transmitted to the General Assembly. In August, 1670, all voting at Newport w^as ex- pressly forbidden, except by members of the Gene- ral Assembly; and the voters were directed to vote in their respective towns, on the third Wednesday in April. The Charter provided that the freemen are to be admitted by the General Assembly ; but the Genferal Assembly passed an Act in 1666 entirely contrary to that provision ; by which it was provided that free- men should be admitted by the freemen of their respective towns, in. town-meeting. Again, the Charter provided that the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants, with the Repre- sentatives chosen by the several towns, should meet in General Assembly, without any provision for forming two distinct Houses ; yet the General As- sembly, by an Act passed in 1696 arranged that the two Houses are to sit separately, except when for some special purpose they are convened, in Grand Committee. Again, an obvious defect in the Charter was reme- died by an Act, authorising a Lieutenant Governor, or senior Senator, to discharge the duties of Governor, in case of a vacancy, by non-election, death, or re- signation, or by absence or inabilty. Again, Joseph Wanton having been chosen by the freemen of the State as Governor of Rhode Island, was deposed by the General Assembly, in defiance of Electors, and the whole British Parliament. He protested against the Act, was re-elected — and again deposed, by a body of men, who claimed, and exer- 38 MIGHT AND RIGHT. cised, greater than the power of Majesty. Without at all questioning the wisdom or justice of these \ ro- visions, we can see that the Charter interposed no check upon the General iVssembly — not even in the first year of its bridal favor. It is in vain to de- fend such Acts on the ground of right. The power to do right against authority, contained within itself also, in like manner, the power to do wrong. But perhaps by these extensions of prerogative, the As- sembly only intended to cover that singularly elastic phrase, which gave them power over "all other mat- ters and things." But tracing the Records of Legislative Proceedings downwards, we find an Act, which by no possibilty^ could be distorted into anything else than gross and palpable outrage of the very principle upon which the State was founded — that principle which P-.hode Islanders have always cherished with such fond and jealous love — the right of "freedom in religious concernments." By an Act of the first of March, 1663-4, the rights of Sutfrage were more expressly guarded ; but probably sometime between the years 1719 and 1730, the shameful clause was added, " Roman Catholics only excepted." The effect was to exclude Roman Catholics from the polls — to cut off their sacred right of S ffrage. And that not only in defiance of usage which had become hallowed by association, with the name, history, and character of Roger Williams — of the spirit of our institutions, and the habits of our people ; but in the very teeth of that clause of the Charter which expressly pro- vides, that " No person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in any-icise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question^ for any differences of opinion in matters of Religion, who does not actually disturb the public peace." Again, and that in modern t.mes, has this right been openly violated, in the banishment of the Reve- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 39 rend William Fuller, for the flagrant sin of denoun- cing rum-selling and rum-drinknig — in both of which conditions of being, without doubt, the Authorities were interested. Mr. Fuller was a well educated and regularly ordained minister ; and preached to the entire satisfaction of his hearers, at Washmgton village, until his doctrines came to have too many home truths ; and he was officially ordered to leave the town. He obeyed peaceably, , leaving also the State. He has since supplied for some time the pulpit of the first Presbyterian Church in the city of Utica. In this open war upon the right of conscience — the single right that should be, by the Charter, preserved inviolate, we see a deep and fearful meaning. If a right which is so carefully guarded be thus made the subject of wan- ton outrage, what is to become of those rights which are secured by no constitutional bonds? Will the power which illegally infringed that, be too gene- rous to touch these ? The generosity and the jus- tice of tyrants are found — where the rainbow touches earth. They may seem close at hand. You can almost touch them. You fly to grasp the good they promise. You still pursue. It recedes as you approach. And when you reach the very spot where it glimmered in false brightness, it is gone. CHAPTER III. GROUNDS OF COMPLAINT. BsFORE entering on the subject of the present Chapter, I would bespeak the Header's courteous 4* 40 MIGHT AND RIGHT. attention to a number of facts. Dry details they may bo, and wholly devoid of interest in themselves, yet not insignificant to ns, and to onr labors ; for they are the very basis of the whole snperstrnctnre we are about to rear. Attention, then, kind Reader, and gentle patience ; for the question which is now peiiding — and the movement which is now going on, is not one of mere local interest- — a qnestion where tlie rights of a Party are held at issue : — ^ it is not whether the people oi a few miles of territory, shall be bondmen, or freemen ; but it embodies a principle which knows no geographical divisions — ■ no social distinctions — the progress of which no waters can check, and no monntains can arrest — a principle which is yet destined to pervade the wide earth — until the souls of all mankind are aroused as one soul — and every condition of being — Capi- talist and Operative, Governor and Governed, Tyrant and Slave — is mingled, and, as it were, melted into one, by the all-subdumg, all-engrossing fire of true liberty ! But I proceed to enumerate some of the abuses, of which the Suff*rage Party of Rhode Island com- plain. In the first place, they object to a landed, or other property qualification, as degrading to man, setting, as it does, a given portion of earth above the character of manhood ; so that man, instead of having dominion over all the earth, as was at first wisely appointed, is made subject to a small portion of earth, itself. It, moreover, excludes from the right of franchise a large majority of the people, otherwise well qualified, who have the common in- terests, and do all the duties of good citizens ; and yet are excluded from exercising the rights of citi- zenship. It is often said that the necessary amount of lauded property may be acquired by any one. This, I think, is assuming too much ; at least, for the present day. The wisest and best of men ai'« MIGHT AND RIGHT. 41 not always worldli/-\vise, even to the small degree necessary to attain and hold f 134 in real estate, over and above a comfortable living ; and misfortune, not unfreqnently, arrests, not only the most prudent fore- sight, but destroys at a blow, the fruits of long peri- ods of the most successful industry. But let us suppose that a laboring man gathers together the required amount, over and above what is demanded by the immediate necessities of himself and family. To invest this sum m land, is not only exceedmgly difficult, but is, in many cases, the most unwise and unprofitable investment that can be made. A ludicrous, and yet true illustration of this long- vexed question, may be found in the works of Fraidv- lin. Speaking in reference to this subject, he says, '• Suppose the property-qualification to be twenty dollars. A man going to the polls to deposite his vote, not being found to be worth that sum, his vote is rejected. On turnmg away, he meets a man who, probably for some interest in the election, gives him a jackass worth the required sum. He then returns to the polls, and finds his vote accepted. Now, in whom does the right of Suffrage exist — in the man, or in the jackass ?" And, I may ask, Aviil their man- tle of False Republicanism, though garnished with quotations from Jefferson, and all the most glowing patriotic speeches — "The Comthon Weal " — '• Our Country's Good" — and all the minor gems of Fourth-of-July bombast, will that mantle yet a great while hide the lo?ig ears of such as place the pre- rogatives of manhood, not merely in brute animals, but in insensible dust — in barren sand and gravel? 1 think not. The external signs of the species, be- gin to be discoverable, even now. It is a singular fact that the Charter Party boldly deny the principle upon which the General Govern- ment was originally founded — that of the sove- reignty OF the Peopi.e — which also must include 42 MIGHT AND RIGHT. Free Suffrage ; and yet they claim to be Republi- cans ? They bind their fellow men in the bonds of slavery, and then insult them in the desecrated name of Liberty ! Will it be thought too strong language to say disfranchised men are enslaved ? I turn to the defence of that term, so applied. In looking over the " Proceeding and Debates of the Convention of 1787," which met for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the United States. I find, in an ad- dress of Martin Luther, delivered before the Legis- lature of Maryland, relative to the Proceedings of the Convention, the following passage, which speaks so directly to the point, I cannot refrain from a long quotation. There we find that the principles of man's natural right to, and fitness for self-government, in- sisted upon as the very Palladium of Rights, and Corner Stone of Republican Liberty. And should not we faithfully treasure up the rich and nobie thoughts that fell from the lips of those good eld Patriots, like fruits fully ripe, not merely to nourish the then-present generation ; but, planted in the soul, to bring forth new fruit, until reproducing them- selves continually, they should rise in prouder strength — in loftier beauty — the glory of all future ages ! And live they will — and grow — until their branches cover all the earth — the little breath of a purse- proud Aristocracy puffing against them, to the con- trary, notwithstanding. Mr. Luther, says — '' Those who advocated the equality of Suffrage, took the matter up on the ori- ginal principles of government ; they urged that all men, considered in a state of nature, before any go- vernment is formed, are equally free and independ- ent, no one having any right or authority to exercise power over another, and this without any regard to difference in personal stre7igth, in understanding, or WEALTH. That, when such individuals enter into government, they have each a right to an equal vote MIGHT AND fllGHT. 43 in ev^ery matter which relates to its first formation, and afterwards have each a right to an equal vote in every matter which relates to their government. That, if it could be done conveniently, they have each a right to exercise it in person. Where it can- not be done la person, but for convenience represen- tatives are appointed, to act for them, every person has an equal vote m choosing that represe^itative ; who is entrusted to do for the whole, that which the whole, if they could assemble, might do in person, and in the transaction of which, each would have an equal voice. That if we were to admit, because a man is more wise, more strong, or more wealthy, he should be entitled to more votes than another, it would be inconsistent with the freedom and liberty of that other, and would reduce him to Slavery. Suppose, for instance, ten individuals in a state of nature, about to enter into government, nine of whom are equally wise, equally strong, and equally weal- thy, the tenth ten times as wise, ten times as strong, or ten times as rich ; if, for this reason, he is to have ten votes for each vote of either of the others, the nine might as well have no vote at all ; since, though the whole nine might assent to a measure, yet the vote of the tenth would countervail and set aside all their votes. If this tenth approved of what they wished to adopt, it would be well ; but if he disap- proved he could prevent it ; and in the same man- ner he could carry into execution any measure he wished, contrary to the opinion of all the other, he having ten votes, and the other, altogether, but nine. jit is evident, that, on these principles, the nine would jhave no will or discretion of their own, but must be (totally dependent on the will and discretion of the itenth ; to him they would be as absolutely slaves, as jany negro is to his master. If he did not attempt to carry into execution any measure injurious to the other nine, it could only be said, they had a good 44 MIGHT»AND RIGHT. master ; they would not be the less slaves, because they would be totally dependent on the will of an- other, and not on then* own will. They might not feel their claims, but they would, notwithstanding, weal them ; aud tokcnever their master pleased^ he might draw them so tight as to gall them to the bone. Hence it was nrged, the ineqality of re- presentation, or giving to one man more votes than another^ on account of his wealth, &c., was alto- gether inconsistent with the principles of liber- ty ; and in the same proportion as it should be adopt- ed, in favor of one or more, in that proportion are the others enslaved." These, then, are the opinions of such men as George Washington, James Wilson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and their cotemporary patriots ; and these opinions, and such as these, they consider- ed, and we consider, the war of the Revolution es- tablished. The instance adduced by Mr. Luther, of the votes of the nine being countervailed by tlie tenth, is precisely analogous to the state of things here. Three-fifths of the people, in violation of their rights as citizens of the United States — in vio- lation of their rights as men, are held in complete slavery by the remaining two-fifths ; and their his- tory will show that they have, by no means, always had a generous and lenient master. Secondly — They object to the inequality of Re- presentation, and consequently Taxation without Refj{Esentation. This was considered one of the strongest grounds of complaint, upon which was based the war of the Revolution. And is not the objection valid now, as it was then ? Nay, is not every species of Wrong and Oppression, infinitely more daring — infinitely more degrading now, than it was then ; because it conflicts directly with the s})irit of the institutions, which all the Authorities profess to venerate — and with the writings and sen- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 45 timeiits of men, whom the^ pretend to hallow as almost divine ! By a provision of the Charter, Newport Vv^as to have six representatives; Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick, four each ; and each other town of the State, two. This rule, b}^ the changes Avhich gradually took place in the population, came to be very unequal. Providence, with a white populafcioii of 21,870, had two votes less than Newport, with only 7,909 ; and Warwick, with her 6,595 inhabi- tants, and Portsmoth with her 1,692, sent each double the number of representatives of Smithfield, with a population of 9,403 ; and so on through the catalogue. By this it will be seen that a very large number of the people were left quite unrepresented, although they paid all the taxes required of them, and did otherv\ase the duties of good citizens. Is it not wrong that the non-freeholders should be obliged to pay all taxes imposed for municipal purposes, while they were denied a voice in the election of mu- nicipal officers ? And also that they were not permitted to take part in the election of Representatives to the General Assembly, Avhile they were obliged to pay all taxes imposed by the Legislalure, being bound to serve in the Militia, or Fire Companies, and to equip themselves, together with their sons and ap- prentices over eighteen years of age, for that purpose. Furthermore, that they can have no voice in the election of Members of Congress, nor in the choice of the Electors of the President and Vice President of the United States, though they are free citizens of the United States, paying all taxes imposed by Congress, and being liable to be drafted from tjie Militia of the State for the defence of the country. How is their condition otherwise tJian that of serfs and vassals, the world over ? Circumstances may have given to their intellect a somewhat more gene- rous expansion ; but in as far as he can have, or ex- 46 MIGHT AND RIGHT. ercise. any power over his own rights, the non-free^' holder of Rhode Island is as much enslaved, as if ■ he wore a real chain, fastened upon neck and limb with an iron padlock. But to return to the subject of Representation. A Republican Government, or Representative Demo- cracy, has been defined " ci government resulting from the icill of a majority, ascertained by a just AND EQ^UAL REPRESENTATION." Let US mcaSUrC tllC claims of Rhode Island to this title. We shall see whether it deserves not rather the title of Oligarchy, or " A Rule of the Few." Providence County, with a population of 58,077, had only 22 Representatives, while all the other Counties, with an aggregate of only 50,760, had 50 Representatives, or a majority of 14. It is reckoned that there are ,^32,640,000 of taxable property in the State. Of this, $17,970,000 belongs to Providence County, making an excess of $3,300,000 of taxable property, while the Representatives are only 22 to 72. In Providence County the average of taxable property to one Representative, was $816,818, while in other Counties it was only $293,400. Thus one dollar gave almost three times the power in the Southern Counties, that it gave in Providence County ; and almost five times the power in New- port that it gave in Providence. But if we look more closely into particulars, we shall find still more glaring features of injustice. Taking the number of votes for Electors in 1840, as the standard number of freemen in the several towns, I proceed. The town of Jamestown sends 1 Representative for every 18 freemen, while the town of Burrillville sends but 1 for every 126 freemen ; the town of Scituate 1 for every 184 freemen ; the town of Smithfield 1 for eveiy 289 freemen ; and the city of Providence one for every 360 freemen. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 4f Thus we see that as much political authority might be wielded by one man in the town of Jamestown^ as by seven in the town of Burrillville ; ten men in the town of Scituate, sixteen men in the town of Smithfield, and 20 men in the city of Providence ! l It will be easily seen by this exposition, that therd is always opportunity for the muiority to control the majority: and whenever the local interests of th» one come into collision with those of the other, can they be expected not to do so ? What can be mor® important in a State, than a just and equal apportion- ment of taxes ? And yet the late system of Repre- sentation (which is but slightly ameliorated in the present) had both the interest to sustain, and th& power to perpetuate, an apportionment unequal and unjust as we have seen abc^e. Is there not here something more grevioiis than a penny tax on tea? Was it designed by our ever-honored founders that such inequality should exist ? Unquestion- ably not. Could the venerated Roger Williams now see the wrong done to his beloved ProvidencEj whose name hallows it as a City of Refuge from Oppression, his dust would be troubled in its dis- honored grave ; and he would indignantly start forth, to rebuke with awful severity, his weak and vascillating successors ; while he girded on one© more the armor of Truth and Right, grasping again the old familiar standard of Liberty, to lead on the ranks of Reform towards that sublime point of eternal Justice, which his penetrating eye so clearlf saw Thirdly. They consider the Law of Proiogehf- iTURE, as it places the mere accident of birth para- mount to natural ability, or moral character, highly unjust and oppressive ; and, therefore, ought to be abolished, as a rem lant of feudal barbarism, which is subversive of the very first principles of Democ- racy. " Primogeniture," says Paine, " is a law 6 48 MIGHT AND RIGHT. against every law of Nature ; and Nature, herself, calls for its destruction." And yet this corporation of Aristocracy, although, confessedly, man has no power to give away the rights of posterity, continue to " cram Hereditary Right down the throats of the vulgar — " as if the world should never outgrow its swaddling-clothes, and might be held in leading- strings forever. Fourthly. They consider the act of propounding and creating freemen, as a ridiculous mockery of power — at once degrading to the receiver, and an arrogant assumption of power in the donor. It is not sufficient that a man should have even the re- quired amount of property, but he must be pro- pounded, and pronounced free — the seal of his freedom depending entirely upon the will of the Town Meeting. This is what no man of dignity and common sense should submit to — inasmuch as freedom, being an inherent qualit}^, pre-existing in our nature, it is impious for any man — or any body of men - — to claim the power of conferring it — most impious in professed Republicans. It is, indeed, so pitiful a sight — this Republican-Legislative gift of freedom to man, as might " make the angel's weep," if they did not laugh outright, at the ridiculousness of the farce, which man is wont to get up from time to time, on the narrow " boards" of Legislative Authority, and rehearse, and act, with such supreme gravity. Is not the genius simia very frequently represented among us ; nay, is it not possible that our High Places are desecrated to " Apism ?" One might fear, from all this inane chattering, that man is really losing the soul out of him ; so nearly does he come to resemble, both in language and action, his four-handed brother of the East. But courage, Reader ! His soul is not lost. It is only forgotten. In the fulness of time it shall be remembered, and reinstated in its true place ; though it may be in a MIGHT AND RIGHT. 49 condition much cramped and palsied with long dis- use — or more probably misuse. Fifthly, The non-freeholders of Rhode Island, being ineligible to act as Jurors, cannot he tiHed by a jury of their peers. Neither can any non-freeholder undertake a case at law, upon his own right, unless he procure the name of some freeholder to be en- dorsed on the writ. The law took no cognizance of man, as man; but only of a landed-property-adjunct, worth $134 — this was the only recognizable man in Rhode Island. Is not the badge of servitude fearfully visible here ? Sixthly. The General Assembly is not only a Legislative body, but also the Highest Court of Appeal. In other States the Judicature is a distinct and independent body ; and, therefore, can interpose a check upon the Legislative power — But so it was not, and is not here. The Legislature may enact any laws, however odious ; and enforce them, being subject to neither rebuke or question, from any higher power. It may be safely laid down as a general principle, that the Legislative body should never be trusted with discretionary power over the Elective Right, or the Judiciary. The learned Chancellor Kent speaks expressly to this point, in the first volume of his Commentaries, page 207. ^' The power of making laws is the supreme power in a state ; and the department in which it resides Avill naturally have such a preponderance in the po- litical system, and act with such mighty force upon the public mind, that the line of separatio7i between that and the other branches of the government ought to be MARKED VERY DISTINCTLY, and With the most careful precision.'''' Cluite contrary to this opinion has been the connection between the Legislative and Judicial Departments of our Government. One in- stance will show the dangerous tendency of such a position, which, as the case is both interesting and BO MIGHT AND RIGHT. important, I shall be permitted to give at some length, for the benefit of those who are not well read in the *' Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar." In the state of frightful embarrassment immedi- ately following the Revolution, when the bills which Congress had negotiated in Holland for the purpose of paying off the army, had returned unpaid and protested, and laden with the extra burden of heavy damages, the salvation of the Republic appeared at stake and the most sanguine hearts were shaken with fear — hearts that had borne up bravely under all the doubts and horrors of a protracted warfare, now became stricken with dread, and almost hopeless. In this crisis, the merchants, prompted by immense profits, exported all the gold and silver from the country, in order to exchange them for commodities which were much needed. So scarce was money, that the borrower had to pay twenty per cent, per annum, interest ; and sometimes four per cent, per month. The brave but broken-down soldiers had returned home, penniless, and their families were clamorous with cries of, "what shall we eat ?" and, "what shall we drink?" and "wherewithal shall we be clothed?" In this dilemma a band of politi- cal gamblers came forward, and succeeded in per- suading the people that they had discovered the Midas-secret — the art of converting, by their magic touch, the most worthless substance into gold. They obtained a great majority in favor of their project — the ruinous project of issuing a paper currency without any metallic basis ; for as the drowning man will catch at an offered straw, so the distracted bank- rupt will seize any apparent means of rescue, how- ever inedicient it may prove to be. The General Assembly, in 1786, emitted the enor- mous sum of £100,000 of paper money in bills, en- acting farther, that such currency should be a good and lawful tender, to be used instead of money. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 51 These bills soon fell into discredit ; and some of us can now remember of hearing onr fathers and grand- fathers, tell of a plienomenon frequently seen in those days, never perhaps seen in any other — that of a creditor running away from liis debtor, to avoid ' receipting for tlie payment of his note ! But at the session of the following June, the Ge- neral Assembly, after a long preamble, setting forth the excellences of their plan, passed an Act, making it criminal to refnse their paper bills as money, to make any difference between them and gold and silver ; to discourage the passing of them ; or to de- preciate them in any way ; the forfeiture being, for the first offence, a fine of £100, with a loss of eli- gibility to any oifice of trast, profit, or honor, in the State. In August again, a special session of the Le- gislature was convened — making three sessions in four months — and all to promote the wild experi- ment of converting paper into gold. At this last session it was enacted, after a preamble which it would be well for the admirers of our time-honored institntions to study, as an instance of bare-faced as- sumption of despotic power, that if any person should refuse to receive the bills as coin, he should be cited before a special court, in three days, and there stand his trial without a jury. And judgment was to be forthwith executed — and such judgment was to be final, exclusive, and without appeal. There is our HONORABLE General Assembly, in full length and fair colors ! And have we not had in these days, in- stances of tyranny as hellish as that act was intend- ed to be ? An Act that was well described by Rufus King. /' Its red was red as blood. Its black was black as Tartarus." Can the annals of any civil-., ISED Government produce a parallel to the abovb acts ? And, further, all the freemen in the State were required to swear, or affirm, that they would use their endeavors to give the paper money a cur- 5* 52 MIGHT AND RIGHT- rency equal to gold and silver ; and, upon their fail- ing to do so, " were punished as for willful and CORRUPT PERJURY." But the catastrophe drew near. In September, 1786, the case of Trevett vs. Weeden, arose. The pin 11' tiff had bought meat of the defendant, who was a butcher, and offering him the paper bills, was refused. Gen. Varniim was counsel for the defend- ant ; and but for his steadfast and straight-forward earnestness, his patriotism, his love of truth and jus- tice, a deadly precedent might have been established, and the vital energies of ihr young Republic have become paralyzed forever ! To use the wxrds of the eloquent Mr. Updike, " He happily elevated the court above the tramiiiels of party, and made them feel conscious of the high responsibility of their situation, and compelled them to feel that they were no longer ' paper money' tools, mechanically to per- form the works of a junto, but robed as judges, ex- pounding the law, and the constitution." His ap- peal to the magxianuDily of the Bench was not in vain. " The Court adjudged that the amended acts of the Legislature were unconstitutional, and so, void." Nov/ ma; k the authoritative and dictatorial man- date of the Gonerol Assembly, as may be seen on their Record to this day. " vfhereas, it appears that the honorable Justices of the Supreme Court of Judica- ture, Court of Assize, (S6C., at their last September term of said Court, declared, and adjudged, an act of the Supreme Legislature of this State, to be uncon- stitutional, and so absolutely void. And whereas, it is siiggested that the aforesaid judgment is unprece- dented in this State, o.nd may tend to abolish the legislative authority thereof, it is voted and re- solved^ that all the justices of the said Court, be forthwith cited by the Sheriff of the respective coun- ties in v/hich they live, or may be found, to give MIGHT AND RIGHT. 53 their immediate attendance on this Assembly, to as- sign the reason and grounds of their aforesaid judg- ment.^'' They were summoned in this imperative manner, and that without ordinary notice. After a tedious and protracted trial, which was urged with the greatest violence by the prosecuting party ; who would be satisfied with nothing but dispossessing the Judges from their places, and so making them an example, the latter were finally acquitted. Their acquittal was mamly owing to Gen. Varnum, who undertook their defence, and in a series of eloquent appeals seldom equalled, and never surpassed, he overpowered all opposition, and produced such a strong reaction upon the public sentiment and feel- ing, that the General Assembly, seeing their case utterly hopeless, were glad to capitulate. But no thanks to them; for justice was extorted, not Ireely rendered. We see here that the prmcipleslaid (iown in Magna Charta, were violated by acts incompatible^ even with the rights of British subjects ! Had not the General Assembly possessed the power to )nake and unmake Judges, at least once a year, would they have dared, in the first place, to create those odious laws, and then follow up their course by such a high- handed act of tyranny and usurpation as the al; ove ? Men of Rhode Island, ponder well this lesson. The danger IS not over yet ! Your liberties are still in the hands of the successors of that same General As- sembly. Through this defect in our government, wise and thinking men have long seen a dangerous perspective in the Future ; and their view was brought fearfully nigh in the terrors of Martial Law, which to this day has never been repealed. Seventhly : They consider that as the law? of a country regulate, not only its natural wealth, but also all the fruits of human skill, genius, and ijidus- trf , and are capable of reaching, not only the earn- ings, but the liberty and life of any citizen, the man 54 MIGHT AND RIGHT. who is denied his voice in making laws, which he is, nevertheless, compelled to obey, is, in the fullest sense, a slave. All his rights are at the disposal of others, and he can enjoy even liberty and life, but by courtesy, as it were — and only so far as his self- constituted Rulers think them worthless ; or from some motives of policy, dare not take them away. And not only are the above positions true, but it is to be presumed that laws framed by an exclusive class, would, almost necessarily, have regard to the interests of that class, though they may annihilate the interests, and rights, of every other. Finally: They object, altogether, to the strong concentration of power, which is vested in the Ge- neral Assembly — a power which is guarded by no constitutional provisions, and is amenable for its abuses to no earthly power, but the court of a foreign Monarchy. The Assembly had, or rather claimed, the right to fix the right of freedom at just what amount they pleased ; so that although it may be graciously permitted at one time — to adopt the kingly phrases which please their ear the best — by their " especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion," that it should be only §134 ; still they might, as legally and rightfully, fix the terms at $134,000 ; and thus constitute an Assembly of Lords, from which the great body of the People would be forever excluded. Will any one say there is no dan- ger of this ? Let me ask him what security against it he can see ? I perceive none. But facts show to the contrary. The Legislature have repeatedly changed the qualification — the particulars of which changes were given in a former chapter — and who shall say that they may not, by their own sovereign will, or more sovereign caprice, change it again, and that for the worse ? Finally: They considered that as " Gorernment derives all its just power from the consent of the gov- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 55 erned/' and a large majority of the people had never, by any public act, or any written Instrument, con- sented to the Government of this State, they no longer regarded themselves as the subjects thereof, but they were determined to put their own hands to the work, and form a constitution that should take cognisance of the interests, and the manhood, of the whole people. These are their grounds of com- plaint, and they are ready to submit them, not to the few lordling usurpers of the Rhode Island Oligarchy, but to the neighboring States — the United States — to good men and true, the world over. Let their Principles be tried by the Declaration of Independ- ence ; by the Constitution of the United States ; by the writings of the British Patriots ; by those of the greatest American Statesmen ; by every Instrument, and by every principles which Americans hold sa- cred, and as they prove true or false, they are will- ing to stand, or fall. But, to touch once more upon a point lately dis- missed. If Rhode Island possessed the right to dis- franchise her citizens in regard to the choice of state officers, could she have a right to prevent them from taking part in the election of officers under the Ge- neral Government ? The Government of this coun- try was the result of a long and bloody war — a war in which Rhode Island was the first to put life and* limb in jeopardy, and in which the Fathers of Rhode Island toiled, and suffered, and bled, to sustain the principle of the natural equality of man. To serve in that war no property qualification was required ; and to our everlasting shame be it spoken, many of our bravest men, with the gallant Barton at their head, * The British schooner Gaspee was taken Jnne 17th, 1772, just four years preceedinor the battle of Bunker Hill, when Lieu- tenant Duddington, the commander, was badly wounded. On this Rhode Island established her claim to having spilled the riRST BLOOD in the Revolution. 56 MIGHT AND RIGHT. remained to their death, galled by the fetters of po- litical slavery — unpossessed of the blessing which they had purchased with life-peril, and bitter suffer- ing, and sealed with their blood ! A few of these are left even now ; nor will the pealing cannon, nor our loudest boastings, nor triumphal martial melo- dies, on the Fourth of July, quite drown the discord of their clanking chains ! Long years of bondage have been weakening those old and withered arms, which, in the vigor of early manhood, with no shield but Truth and Right, bore bravely up the standard of young Liberty, amid the embattled of Hosts of Op- pression and Slavery : and we are reaping the fruits of their toil, casting out the unrewarded Laborer therefrom ! Shame ! Shame ! Are not the sons of those who established the right of man to self-government, heirs of that right ? And should they longer permit an arrogant and usurping Aristocracy — a bribing, cheating, corrupt- ing Aristocracy — to rule over them? God forbid. Unworthy, then, were they to accept, and carry out, the high mission for which every American citizen should conceive himself sent into the world — to be an Apostle of Liberty — to preach the doctrines of Man^s inherent Rights, best exemplified in himself, before an enslaved, enslaving, and slavish world ! CHAPTER lY. THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT. This age is peculiarly and remarkable an age of transition — of reform. The spirit of liberty which was aroused in the last ages has been very far trans- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 57 cended in this. Men are beginmg to look beyond, and higher, than mere physical freedom, and to per- ceive that there is something loftier and purer than that liberty which has too often been made the theme of empty declamation. The masses of men are beginning to understand something of them- selves — and, consequently, of their correlative du- ties and rights. They catch occasional glimpses as it were, of the long-obscured inner light — a light long hidden, but not exhausted ; and, as it bright- ens more and more, they are turnmg lo the study of themselves — their nature — then' character — their rights — their duties — then* destiny, with astonish- ment, and reverence, and awe. This one fact in view, it will be seen that there must be revolution — either political, mental, or moral, according to the circumstances in which any community of people may be placed. But simultaneously with these changes has been developed a very important princi- ple, namely, an increased tenderness for human hfe, and human happiness. The great sentiment of the age is THE LOVE OF Man. There are many, indeed, who are striving to the utmost to retard the onward movements of Humanity — and such are all monop- olizing corporations — as Capitalists, and Aristocra- cies — whither hereditary or temporary; but the impetus is too strong to be easily checked ; and ob- stacles overcome will only accelerate the progress. The spirit of the age will not long permit some men to live sumptously, and fatten on the labor of oth- ers — while the poor laborer, himself, is starving. ! No exclusive bodies of men — no Aristocracies — I will long continue. " Mene tekel" is already written j upon their walls. The days of their wrong are num- ; bered. They must be weighed in the balance, and found wanting ; and their kingdom shall be divided. The repealers of Ireland, the Chartists of England, the Free Suffrage men of Rhode Island are awake, 58 MIGHT AND RIGHT. and acting ; and what man, or what body of men, may have sufficient magnetic power to reproduce the state of inanity from which they have been so effect- ually, roused — to parahze, and put them to sleep! Can all the LordS; Spiritual and Temporal, of Eng- land do it? Can even the General Assembly of Rhode Island ? Every man that is a man, indig- nandy, and determinately, must answer: " NO." Although the progress of our Cause was early treated v/ith silent contempt by our opposers ; and then, Yv hen they could but see that we were doing sometliing^ regarded as a mere farce ; yet all who looked into tiie matter with a philosophic eye, could see the foot-prints of Human Liberty, as it were sen- sible impressed upon the passing times, illuminated with a strong light of truth, which would no longer suffer them to be hidden. This, as I have said be- fore, is not a question of mere sectional interest, nor one which may be circumscribed by the narrow boundaries of a political party ; for it is founded on a principle in which every human being must, soon- er or later, feel an interest. The issue of this great question, whether government is instituted for the good of the people, or for its own especial preroga- tive — the people being bound to sustain it, though it be 1.0 the prejudice of their own rights, contains a principle which cannot, in this our day, be crushed and smothered, without violating the common sense of mankind ; and checking, in no inconsiderable de- gree, the progress of light and liberty. The decis- ion which is now making, and the course of action wliich leads to it, will not, alone, affect us and our posterity. The neighboring States will feel and be affected by it. The North will feel it. The Re- publics of Central and Southern America will feel it ; until, finally, throughout the whole earth, the chain wdl be forged, or the fetter broken, according as we prove ourselves bond or free. It is in this MIGHT AND RIGHT. 61 wide relationship to all Humanity that I consider the question ; and so all wise and thinking men among us regard it. But I will leave these reflec- tions, and proceed to narrate, plainly and briefly as possible, some of the principal actions and events which have marked our course. By the War of the Revolution the Government of Rhode Island was resolved into its original elements. The allegiance to the British Crown was abrogated ; and, with it, the British Charter became an absolute nullity. It could not be otherwise ; nor could all the talk and boasting of the last fifty years, some- what loud though they were, and tedious to hear — make it other than a dead body — dress it — and decorate it as they might — it was still dead ; and he who would prove otherwise must first prove that the People of Rhode Island were, up to the year 1841, rightfully subject to the British Crown. By the War of the Revolution the Sovereignty of the People was established — though, by the revelations of these days, we find it is to he established over again. It then became the right of the People, as a whole body, either to adopt the Charter as the Law of the State, or to reject it, and frame a constitution upon republican principles. They have never done either. They were never permitted to do the one, nor asked to do the other. The non-freeholders being i|Pisidered as serfs, their seal of approbation was in no wise considered necessary to the validity of any public document. Being thus disfranchised, they had no power, in the accepted sense of the term, to act legally ; and the continuation of the old government without their consent — which was never even asked for — was clearly a usurpation of their rights, and m violation of Section IV, Article IV, of the Constitution of the United State^ which guarantees to every State in the Union a Republican form of Government. 6 62 MIGHT AND RIGHf. It has been urged, on the other hand, that the People did, by their silence, assent to the Govern- Tient ; because, at the time they did not protest igainst it, submitting to the law of the strongest without complaint. Other Republicans do not jus- tify them, if American Republicans claim such as- lent, as the rightful grounds of instituting a govern- nent. Algernon Sydney, volume 1, page 415, after laving shown some reasons why sufferance gives no :;onsent in such cases, says, page 416. " And those who are under such governments, do no more assent to them though they may be silent, than a man ap- proves of being robbed, when, without saying a word, he delivers his purse to a thief that he knows to be too strong for him. " It is not, therefore, the bare sufferance of a gov- ernment, when a disgust is declared, nor a silent submission when the power of opposing is wanting, that can imply an assent, or election, or create a right ; but an explicit act of approbation, when men have ability and courage to resist or deny." This " explicit" act of approbation was never shown. There is no act on record, either munici- pal j judicial, or legislative^ bearing the seal and sanc- tion of the whole people of Rhode Island. It is marvellous ; and it will stand as a recorded wonder to all generations, that so large and intelligent a majority, with such a precedent as the^fieneral Government before their eyes, and with such ex- amples as the sister States around, should so long have submitted to the sway of a despotic minority — a condition of worse than colonial bondage • for had they remained subject to the King, to the King could they have applied for a redress of grievances ; but from the hydra-headed tyrant of Rhode Island, the Gerif^ral Assembly) there is no redress, and no appeal. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 63 Soon after Rhode Island entered the confedera- tion — which she did in 1790, there began to be popular movements in favor of an equalized Repre- sentation, and an extension of Suffrage ; but without success. In 1811 the subject was renewed; and a bill to extend Suffrage to all who performed military duty, or paid taxes, was introduced. This bill was passed by the Senate, but was lost in the House of Representatives. But the spirit was not subdued. In 1819, and the three following years, the senti- ment was gathering depth and strength ; and per- haps failure only added to its yet-latent force. But little was done, however, more than to keep the subject alive, until 1824, when a convention was called by the General Assembly, for the purpose of forming a State Constitution. Thio convention recommended an, equanzed Representation. They drafted, and proposed to the freemen a Constitution, which was voted down by a large majority ; and a motion to extend Suffrage to others besides Land- holders, received but three votes. This might have been anticipated by one at all acquainted either with the organizing body, or the general principle, that a privileged class guards its privileges with a jealous eye ; and the last thing, perhaps, which men relinquish, voluntarily, is power. But still the fire was not quenched. The claim of man to manhood, and all its prerogatives, was made the subject of frequent discourse, of petitions, and of public lec- tures. In 1829 renewed interest on this subject was ex- cited. The disfranchised inhabitants, particularly those of Providence, began to have little gatherings, which gradually increased to large assemblies. Pe- titions were presented to the General Assembly, one of which, signed by nearly two thousand persons, is so far j^espected as to be made the subject of a )ort. These Memorialists after introducing them- €4 MIGHT AND RIGHT. selves as " permanent residents of the State of Rhode Island," proceed to enumerate the political abuses under which they labored, praying for redress — but without asking for universal Suftrage. The whole tone of the Memorial is at once respectful and manly ; and I cannot think that the Reporting Committee paid much attention to it, or they could not, as gen- tlemen, as men, have replied so insultingly to a doc- mxient, which, both from the number of its signers, and the spirit of its contents, was eminently entitled to consideration and respect. But let us give a passing glance at the Report, which was presented by the late Benjamin Hazard, one of the most distinguished members of the House of Representatives. It commences with the decla- ration that " the Committee have not thought it necessary to enquire particinarly, .how many of the signers are native citizens of the State." Of course not. There is always danger of making enquiries in such cases, as the General Assembly have since felt. A questionable right, or title, is always safer in the dark. After very courteously informing the petitioners that they have leave to withdraw their petitions from the House, and themselves from the State, the first paragraph ends. He next proceeds to show that " the right of Suf- frage, as it is the origin and basis of every free-elec- tive government, so is it the peculiar and exclusive prerogative of the people ; and cannot^ without in- fringing that prerogative^ he subjected to any other control than that of the people themselves. If repre- sentatives of the people chosen for the ordinary pur- poses of legislation, could assume a control over this right ; to hmit, curtail, or extend it, at will, they might disfranchise any portion they pleased, of their own electors ; might deprive them of the power ever to remove them ; and thus reduce the g%vernmer]J|to a permanent aristocracy." Most heartily do we™- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 05 spond to this declaration. We claim the right of Suffrage, as " the peculiar and exclusive prerogative of the people ;" and because it is not in the hands of the people, but is controlled, altogether, by a favored class, and their legislators, we fear that the govern- ment ivill be reduced to " a permanent Aristocracy." Experience, as well as reason, teaches us that the prerogative thus held can never be safe ; and, there- fore, we would place it beyond the power of legisla- tors to disturb or injure. He speaks a great deal of the ^' sound''' part of the community. Does he mean by that term to represent the Bankrupt Aris- tocracy, who have so long controlled the affairs of Rhode Isla,nd ? Would not the term be at least as well applied to the respectable Mechanics, Trades- men, and Operatives, by whose unpaid labors many of our noble swindlers are sustained ? He distin- guishes the Memorialists and their party as '^ loose and floating population ;" though they assert them- selves to be permanent residents of the State. Most gentlemanly and courteous, to say the least, thus to give the lie-direct to a body of almost two thousand men ! But the prerogatives were so very safe, and the power so strong, and the Rulers so noble, and the People so servile, there could be no danger f no disgrace ! What should Omnipotence have to fear ? But the Reporter in some degree justifies himself for his most sovereign contempt, by representing the Memorialists as a degraded portion of the community — as aliens, the rabble, and the like. Again, page 6, he says ; '' The restrictions, by which the welfare of society requires that the elec- tive franchise should be controlled, do not at all clash with the great truths which we all embrace : — that the people alone are sovej'eign ; and the source of all poioer ; tfiat governments are instituted solely for their good ; and that the majority ought to gov- ern.^^ He then very gravely proceeds to neutralize 6* 66 MIGHT' AND RIGHT. those important truths, by defining the People as the " Freemen" — that is to say, the manufactured MEN. It seems by this definition that God is not Almighty, as has been foohshly enough beheved. — He cannot make " Freemen," or even " People ;" but this higher power has been held in reserve by the General Assembly and Town Meetings of Rhode Island ! What new systems of Philosophy and Theology may grow out of this newly-discov- ered truth, I cannot attempt to predict. The politi- cal theory which may be established thereupon is somewliat more apparent. The Reporter next goes on to draw a comparison between the masses of Rhode Island, and these of South Carolina, in such a manner as to show that he ranks them together — that he believes the white laborers of liis native State, are to be placed on a level with the slaves of South Carolina ; and this by more than implication ; for he says directly : " We have included the slaves of South Carolina, because, whatever their condition, they ore still a part of the people, AS MUCH as those of other descriptions, who, on accoimt of other qualif cations, are exclu- ded from the exercise of the right of Suffrage." And, simply adding, that the gentleman, in the fer- vor of his patriotism, deprecates the idea of making *' our country, everyhodi/s country," I dismiss the Report, which truly deserves notice only for the high-handed atrocity of its doctrines. This Report, insulting as it was to the very name of manhood, was adopted by the Oligarchy, and printed by their order. It was openly and unblu sh- ingly exulted in, as the most effectual rebuke which the white slaves of Rhode Island had ever met at the hand of their lordly masters. Here it will be proper to say, that these petitioners were, mostly, the • honest and stable mechanics, laborers, and yeomen of the State ; and that they made a very large por- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 67 tion of the temperance men, the friends of social improvement, and moral rectitude in Rhode Island ; yet they were villified by the foulest slanders, and became the subject of every abusive epithet which malice or falsehood could invent. The high autho- rity of the press was prostituted. Instead of respond- ing indignantly to the audacious claims set forth in the Report, and vindicating itself as the Palladium of liberty, it became the engine of despotism — the vile pander of the General Assembly, to echo, and re-echo their doctrines — to distort and exaggerate, if possible, every malicious insinuation, and every- false charge. In 1832 another attempt was made by the people to obtain their rights ; but, like the preceding ones, was destined to failure. In 1833 the question was brought up anew, and weekly meetings at the Town House were held for its discussion. A correspondence was also opened on the subject with John Q^uincy Adams, and Fran- cis Baylies, each of the letters from Rhode Island being signed by six persons, those sending the letter to Mr. Baylies subjoining their trades to their proper signatures. In his reply Mr. Baylies enters into the subject at full length — and ably vindicates the popular sovereignty. Mr. Adams is more concise, but he no less satisfactorily answers the question asked ; namely, whether " the best part of the citi- zens of Massachusetts regret the extension of Suf- frage in that State ; and would willingly adopt the Rhode Island plan, were it practicable to do so ?" It should here be said, that the Suffrage party were continually told that the people of Massachusetts were extremely dissatisfied with their system of Suffrage, and would willingly change it for the Rhode Island Charter system, if they could. Mr. Hazard says this of the Free Suffrage system in general — ''by us untried, and tried by others only 68 MIGHT AND RIGHT. to manifest its mischievous effects^ and the fallacy of the principle ripon which it is predicated.^^ As the letter of Mr. Adams is short, and also contains a di- rect contradiction of this assertion, I insert it entire, to show what falsehoods were resorted to, in order to deceive the people. duFNCT, May 10th, 1833. Gentlemen : I have received your letter of the $22d of last month, enquiring my opinion with regard to the adoption in the State of Rhode Island of the mode of practice, in Massachusetts, of the political right of Suffrage. The administration of the Government, and the modification of the Constitution in each State of this Union, are exclusively at the disposal of the people of the State itself. As the point upon which your enquiries turn, is one upon which, I conclude from your letter, that there is a great diversity of opinions among the people of your State, it might be considered obtrusive; in giving his opinion, for a stranger to pronounce on one side or the other.. The right of Suffrage is, in every State of the Union, subject to come limitation, but scarcely any two States have the same. With the system of voting established in Massachusetts, so far as concerns the right of voting, I do not know that there is any dissatisfaction among the people. If there were, it is probable measures would be taken for amending, in that respect, the Con'- stitution. I see no occasion for dissatisfaction with it, myself, and feel none. Whether it would be expedient for the people of Rhode Island to adopt, I am not competent to give an opinion, deserving to be considered of any authority. Were it otherwise, I would cheerfully give it, in compliance with yom- desire, beings With great respect and consideration, Your fellow citizen, J. Q. ADAMS. Messrs. Wm, J. Tillinghast, Lawrence Richards, William Mitchell, Seth Luther, William Miller, David Brown, Providence, R. L In this same year, May 10th, a meeting of those favorable to the adoption of the Massachusetts mode of Suffrage was held at the old Town House, at which a committee appointed at a primary meeting, holden April 19th, made their Report, which in a MIGHT AND RIGHT. 69 very spirited manner, set forth the claims of the non- freeholders. It is now my pleasant duty to make record of more strenuous exertion, and vigorous measures. In 1834 many individuals in the State associated them- selves together, and organised a party, for the ex- press purpose of obtaining, by political action, an extension of Suffrage. Invitations were given from the towns of Smithfield and Cumberland to several of the larger towns ; and, pursuant to these, their delegates assembled at Providence to deliberate npon the best course to be pursued for the establishment of a written State Constitution, that should properly define and fix the powers of the several departments of the government, and secure the rights of the citi- zens. This convention assembled at Providence on the 22dday of February ; and also again on the 12th day of March, 1834. At the first meetmg a commit- tee was appointed to prepare an Address to the peo- ple of the State ; and at the second meeting the Ad- dress was read and adopted. Of that Committee, Thomas W. Dorr was Chairman. The Address is a noble and manly production ; dignified, yet cour- teous — calmly and clearly setting forth the claims of Right. It bore, in short, the mental image of its au- thor, the YOUNG Champion of Liberty, who with a moral courage which few, not having been in Rhode Island, can correctly appreciate, had just then thrown off the trammels of social and hereditary bondage, which would have bound him forever to the inter- ests of a narrow clique. Disregarding alike the en- treaties of friends and the prospect of success, and high distinction, which, from his position and talents would have been pre-eminently secure, he volnntarily became the Friend and Advocate of the poor, the weak, the suffering, the enslaved ; and, with the godlike vigor of a young Hercules, he began battering away upon the huge black walls of Oppression, and 70 MIGHT AND RIGHT. of Wrong; resting not, yet fainting not — for he KNEW THAT THEY MUST FALL. And wllCH the CVentS of this period become incorporated with. the History of the Past, let it be held in everlasting remembrance, that against the State-Despotism, Thomas Wilson Dorr, the destined Liberator of Rhode Island, struck the first well -aimed and eilective blow. Immediate- ly after the Convention alluded to above, the Assem- bly began, for the first time, to exhibit .symptoms of alarm ; and several influential citizens came to the wonderful conclusion that something sJioidd certai7i' ly he done. Pursuant to this resolution, or rather subterfuge, another Convention was called ; but still NOT of the People, in the Republican sense, but only in the Rhode Island sense — as will be understood by the fact that a motion for the extension of Suf- frage received seven votes. The Constitutional party held another Convention in 1837 ; at which they passed some strong Resolu- tions, and took higher ground. A nominating Com- mittee was also appointed, with instructions to pro- pose for the support of the Constitutional Party, in the coming April, a Ticket of State Officers favora- ble to their principles ; and to report a Ticket of candidates friendly to the same, for the next election i of Members to the Congress of the United States. But after all, no visible progress was made ; and after a manful struggle of four years, the party ex- pired, without having wrought any perceptible change upon the fixed determination always to sus- tain the present Sufi'rage laws. At the .January session of the General Assembly, in 1840, an Act to regulate the Militia was intro- duced, and passed by that body. This Act made it a crime for any man to refuse to do Military duty. A court-martial was established, to impose and col- lect fines ; and any refusal to pay such fine, or fines, subjected the offender to be arrested and cast into MIGHT AND RIGHT. 71 prison among the vilest criminals, without being allowed any favors usually extended to debtors. This barbarous law, it will be seen at once, was a direct violation of that clause of the Charter, by which liberty of conscience was secured, since there were many in the State, whose principles would not permit them to bear arms, or to aid in supporting a Militia, either by their money, or otherwise. It moreover bore with disproportionate heaviness, as doubtless it was designed to do, on the non-freehol- ders, they doing tlie largest share of military duty. The Act of Assembly was the nucleus of the pre- sent Free Suffrage Movement. Universal dissatis- faction prevailed among the last-mentioned class of citizens ; complaints were made, and the subject be- came one of general discussion. In these discus- sions the Mechanics of Providence took the lead ; and after frequent and earnest councils and consulta- tions among their friends, they called a meeting at Union Hall, for the purpose of considering the best means of obtaining an Extension of Sufirage, and . an Equal Representation. The night was stormy, : and but five persons were present. But those few, ' like the brave men of Leonidas, had thrown them- . selves into the gap, pledging all that they had, and , all that they were, resolving to live like men, or, like . men, to die in the conflict. The next meeting pre- • sented a rise of only from five to nine : but from ! this period a new impulse was given to the cause ; •and the spirit of Hope that had so long deserted , them, once more appeared bending her azure pinions (above the political horizon. j The next meeting was very respectably attended, : and no inconsiderable degree of talent, right think- : ing, and good feeling were elicited. Resolutions • were adopted, expressing strong disapprobation of the course of the General Assembly in regard to the • Militia Law, and a determination to regain and es- 72 MIGHT AND RIGHT. tablish their rights. The spirit that was manifested on this occasion, brought great numbers to the meet- ings ; and on the 27th of March, a Preamble and Constitution were adopted for their future govern- ment, under the name of the Rhode Island Sutirage Association. The Preamble is a noble document, and I will insert it entire. PREAMBLE. That all men by nature are free and equal, we consider the plain and simple doctrine of the American Constitution, and a self-evident proposition in itself, and without wJiich, republican- ism is hut a name. The acquisition of property, however necessary and laudable, we hold, neitiicr increases nor multiplies the natural ri;,dits of its possessors, nor diminishes the natural rights of tiiose wiio possess it not. Inde[)endent of artificial government, no distinction of right, privilege, or rank, could exist and be maintained, except by force, nor the superiority of one man over another. The formation of the social and civil compact, is intended for the equal matual benefit and protection of all ; yet, M'ithout a perfect equality of rights, no such equality of benefit and protec- tion can exist. Originally, in a republic, the only voluntary government on earth formed by common consent, each person enters the asso- ciated body, with his own natural and inalienable rights; and which no human power has the rightful authority to wrest from him. The only surrender lie makes, and the only compromise into which he enters, is, to lay down his personal independence for his own security, and to be governed by the majority, for the benefit of the whole. In doing this, it is altogether inconceiva- ble that any man should, of his own accord, resign the right to participate in the selection of members of the body to whom the powers of government are to be delegated, and on which selec- tion his freedom or slavery, and his ha})piness or misery may de- pend : and no longer than the majority shall respect this right, can they justly claim his obedience ; and that for the very sound and obvious reason, that in so doing, he is to be governed as a slave, and not as a freeman. But the distinction by which the right of suffrage is made to depend on the possession of property, takes away the natural rights of the man by force, and places him completely at the mercy of those who will be disposed to op- press him. If the possession of property were one of the conditions origi- nally ordained of heaven, on which were to depend the right of man to be free, and to act as a freeman, we could readily under- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 73 Stand how and why the loss of property should involve the loss of those rights also. But when we reflect that all are originally destitute, and that all are originally alike free hy nature, it sur- passes our comprehension, how or why the accumulation of pro- perty by one man, should destroy the natural rights of another. Yet precisely to this eifect the laws of Rhode Island operate. A large majority of the people of the State, are deprived of all voice in tlie government, and of a representation in the legisla- tive body: not because of the loss of property by themselves, hut because of the accumulation of property by others. By this usurpation of despotic power, and its exercise by a minority, whose only claim to the exclusive right to govern is based on the fortuitous circumstance of wealth, the majority, equally honest, lionorable, intelligent, and patriotic, and equally sharing, or will- ing to share, the expenses of government, are denied even the name of freemen, and in lieu thereof, have entailed upon them the first and most degrading attribute of slaves; an attribute of which no one con divest himself, under existing circumstances, without still farther degradation, in tacitly acknowledging him- self rightfully a slave, by purchasing the right to be a freeman. All this we consider a gross and palpable infraction of the rights which heaven has conferred on every man, and svhich no human power has the right to impair; and in violation of the Constitution of the United States ; and a principle which con- verts the term republican to mockery, when applied to the gov- ernment of Rhode Island. Against such laws, and such robbery, thus arbitrary and op- pressive, we enter our solemn protest; and in the sight of God and man, we pledge ourselves to use all honorable means, con- sistent with the American Constitution, to procure their abroga- tion. We consider the government of Rhode Island, a despotism, and totally unworthy the name of republican, and having no just claim to the confidence and respect of any American citizen. She has not, and never had, as an American republican State, any compact voluntarily entered into by the people. Her only basis of government is an imperfect and almost obsolete instru- ment given her by the royal prerogative of a British King, as a master prescribes rules for the government of his servants. No formal act of the people of the State of Rhode Island has ever ratified it. Its only force at first, was the paramount authority of the British Crown over its dependent colony ; and, since the American Revolution, it has been merely submitted to from the difficulty of effecting a change. As a republic, Rhode Island is destitute of a government: — Destitute, because she has no voluntary compact of the people, and no Constitution to prevent the usurpation of the legislative body, to define the powers of government, or the right of the 7 t*4. MIGHT AND RIGHT. citizen. Tliese constitute the only true distinction between a republic and a despotism ; and of these Rhode Island is desti-- lute, and yet these constitute the only guarantee for the safety of her citizens. Her g'overninent is. therefore, a despotisYn, because the legislative power is paramount. That body can establish and annul, alter and amend, the principles of government at pleasure, and enact laws which may continue them in office for life. The right of suffrage is the first principle in a republic. In all free States it should be confined by constitutional provisions,- adopted by the people in their primary capacity ; and tlius placed, beyond the power of legislative interference. Otherwise it may become the tool of ambitious and selfish legislators, — be altered and amended to their particular views or desires, to the injury of the State, and to the destruction of individual rights. By the present system, the legislature may at any time increase the num- ber of votes, by diminishing the amount of property qualifica- tion, or they may diminish the number by an opposite mode of procedure, so as to place the control of the aftairs of State, at the ballot boxes, into the hands of one-fourth, one-eighth, or one- sixteenth, of her citizens ; and there is no principle of our govern- ment to prevent it. Such a power is dangerous to the rights of any people, and cannot comport with the principles of republi- canism* Against this whole system we solemnly protest, as one that is arbitrary, oppressive, anti-republicon, and disgraceful; and we pledge ourselves to use all honorable means in our power, to eradicate it from the State. The next great principle of a republican form of government, and growing out of the former, is an equal representation, all- essential to the maintenance of equal rights. This is self-evi- dent, because without such equality, the minority may generally rule the majority. Our present inequality of representation is monstrously unjust. Of seventy-two members which constitute the House of Representatives, more than fifty represent less than one-half the population of the State. Providence, containing one-fitth part of the population of the State, sends but four Re- presentatives, while Newport, with less than one-half that pro- portion, sends six. Portsmouth, with a population not equal to that of one of the six wards of the city of Providence, has a re- presentation equal with that of the whole city. Barrington and ^ Jamestown, with both not more than one hundred voters, have each a representation equal to tiiat of any country town, (except Warwick,) having three times as many voters and inhabitants as both of them. Such is the monstrous absurdity of our system of representation. The minority govern t!ie majority at the ballot boxes ; and in the House of Representative, the delegates of less than one-third may govern the other two-thirds. If this be republican, than may we expect to see, ere long, Great Britain, MIGHT AND RIGHT. 75 with her throne, her aristocracy, her rotten boroughs, and her millions of disfranchised citizens, ranked among modern repub- lics. Yet worse than this, pi-obably more than twelve thousand free citizens of the United States, out of twenty thousand, resident in Rhode Island, are entirely unrepresented in the legislative body, and deprived of all voice in the government of the State, ihougii called on by law to sustain it, and to protect the lives and pro- perty of others. They are deprived of the first and most essen- tial right of freemen, for the want of a few square feet of land, as though those who possessed that qualification were immacu- late, and as though those who possess it not, must, in conse- quence, be destitute of intelligence, honor, honesty, or love of country, and natural and political right. We solemnly protest against this flagrant usurpation of power over right, as arbitrary, oppressive, and unjust; and which sub- jects us to a state of involuntary political servitude, to the abso- lute despotism of a domineering minority. The right of suffrage we do not ask a favor. We claim it as our own. We demand it as a privilege, a right, bestowed upon us by heaven itself, and unjustly withheki from us by arbitrary power. God helping, we solemnly pledge ourselves, independently of all the political par- ties and principles of the day, except the great principles of American freedom, steadily to pursue our object till our purpose shall have been accomplished, and we find ourselves reinstated in the rights which heaven bequeathed us, and which the Ameii- can Constitution guarantees. Our first appeal is to heaven, for the justice of our cause. Next, to the whole people of Rhode Island, to aid our eflbrts through the medium of the ballot box. Next, to the General As- sembly of the State, to do us justice. These failing, our final resort shall be to the Congress of the United States, through an assembly of the people, and if need be, to the Supreme Judicial Power, to test the force and meaning of that provision in the Constitution, which guarantees " to everv State in the Union a republican form of government." Our rights, once for all, we determine to rescue from the grasp of arbitrary power, and not to shrink from the task till it shall have been accomplished. WE KNOW OUR RIGHTS, AND KNOWING, DARE MAIN- TAIN THEM. Let these principles be kept forever, that wher- ever men are struggling, amid the devourmg billows of Pride and Avarice, which the winds of Tyranny are lifting mountain-high, its light may shine forth as a guiding star — the watch-fire of those who have gone triumphantly over the deep, amid the wildest 76 MIGHT AND RIGHT. Storms, cherishing warmly, and bearing safely, their dearest treasure — the "pearl of great price" — Liberty. CHAPTER V. MASS CONVENTIONS. A TALENTED and efficient member was chosen Pre- sident of the Association ; and weekly meetings con- tinued to be holden until the following October, when the tremendous vortext of the Presidential Election, with its Utopian schemes of reform, had so absorbed and swallowed up all other public interests, that it was judged best to discontinue the meetings, until that excitement had somewhat subsided. But there were vital questions abroad, and nothing could quell them. " Is the law of the minority, who happen to possess the control of the State — a law to which we have never coyisentcd — to be binding on us, and our pos- terity, forever ? Must we longer submit to be trod- den under foot, and crushed in the dust, by men formed, in all respects, and constituted as we are ? Are the men of Rhode Island less just, less enlight- ened, less patriotic, than their neiglibors, that they should be deprived of their rights, and treated like bond-slaves ? Are we bound by the acts of our Fa- thers ; or is there any immutable law by which men may bind their posterity to any defined course of ac- tion, or any position in society ? Was this govern- ment, indeed, designed by our Fathers, themselves, to be a government of the Many, or of the Few? Did they not speak understandingly, and with an eye to the former, when they called it a ' Demo- cracie ' but has their ideal of Freedom been recog- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 77 nised by their successors ? Would Barton, or Olney, or Greene, have recognised the General Asseni'dy's definition of ' People ?' Would all these gallant spirits, who, when roused by the battle-cry ol Free- dom, left their plough-share in the furrow, and sped forth to the rescue, have so understood it ? If such a thought had possessed them, would they not have turned back in sullen sorrow, as from work unwor- thy, before they had sealed with their heart's blood the badge and the bonds of servitude ? Would they not have said that a dragon from the depths below, and not the strong-winged Bird of Heaven, should be blazoned on our national standard, fitting emblem of treachery and unbridled lust of power? Are ^Hope,' and the 'Anchor,' upon our State's crest, to be, for us, forever without meaning ? When re- spectfully asking for our Rights is continually treat- ed with scorn, shall we not demand them ?" When- ever men met together, in the common street, the market, shop, and warehouse, at the public meetmg, or by the private fire-side, such questions as the above were asked ; sometimes with the clear eye of faith shining forth in the questioner, but oftener with a heavy heart, and a troubled look : and they shall be fully answered when the neighboring States — the United States — shall be true to Rhode Island and Republican principles ; but above all, when Rhode Island shall be true to herself I Heaven speed the day ! When the bustle of the Election was over, the President of the Association, Doctor Brown, called a meeting. Five, again, was the whole number that could be collected together; yet the avowed friends of liberty gradually increased ; and, at length, took a rapid rise from few to many. A weekly paper devoted to the interests of the Suffrage Party, and called "The New Age," w^as issued about this time ; the first number having ap- 7* 78 MIGHT AND RIGHT. peared on the 20th of November. This sheet was ably edited, and well sustained. The name was singularly appropriate ; for its friends saw it was the herald of a new age — a new era in the Annals of Human Liberty, The Suffrage Party took hold of the work right manfully, and the paper Avas the means of eliciting a great deal of truth, and a great deal of talent. Suffrage Associations began to be formed in diffe- rent parts of the State, and the Promethean fire was diffused abroad. A portion of the members of these Associations seemed still to retain a ray of faith in the Legislature. A petition was drawn up, and signed by 5S0 citizens of the State, who would not yet believe that the General Assembly would forever turn a deaf ear to their oft -repeated cry for justice. But the Minority Legislature, at its next session in January, 1841, allowed no action to be taken on it. It was not reported in the regular minutes of the Assembly, but was treated with silent contempt. So much for the sacred Right of Petition in Rhode Island, under the Oligarchy. But the General As- sembly, being amenable only to tlie Government of England, could, oi right, (so called) violate any law not conflicting with the majesty of that Kingdom. At the same session, a memorial from the freemen of the town of Smithfield, which had been lying on the table for several years, asl{:ing for an additional Representative, was called up by the members from that town, and urged so strongly, that it was found- impossible to get away from it. They, therefore, requested the Freeholders to elect delegates to aeon-' vention for the purpose of forming a constitution, in whole, or in part ; and to show how studiously they avoided noticing the greatest want of the people, they requested the C( mmittee to pay particular at- tention to a more equalised Representation ; whilst the Right of Suffrage was wholly neglected. |l MIGHT AND RIGHT. 79 The People at length became satisfied that they had nothing to hope from a convention of the Free- holders, based upon the rotten borough system of representation. After mature deliberation on the subject, tlie ablest constitutional lawyers in the 8tate were consulted, as well as many distinguished gen- tlemen from other States, who ail agreed that the principles upon which their claim was based, were correct. Encouraged by such assurances, in the month of February following, the committee of the Rhode Island Association drew up the following DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLE. Believinsf that all men Avere created free and equal, and that the possession of property should create no political advantages for its holder, and believing- that ali bodies politic should have for their foundation a Bill of Rights, and a written Constitution, wherein the rights of the people should be defined, and the du- ties of the people's servants strictly pointed out, and limited ; and believing that the State of Rhode Island is possessed of neither of those instruments, and that the Charter under which she has her political existence is not only aristocratic in its tendency, but that it lost all its authority when the Independence of the United States was declared ; and, furthermore, believing that every State in the Federal compact is entitled by the terms of that compact to a R(;publican form of Government, and that any form of gov- ernment is anti-republican, and aristocratic, which precludes a majority of the people from participating in its affairs; and that by every right, human and divine, the majority of the state should govern ; and, furthermore, and finally, believing that the time hss gone by when we are called upon to submit to tJie most un- just outrages upon our political and social rights, therefore, Resolved, That the power of the State should be vested in the hands of the People, and that the People have a right, from time to time, to assemble, either by themselves, or their Representa- tives, for the establishment of a republican form of government. Rcso'ved, That whenever a majority of the citizens of this Stati>, ^\ ho are recognised as citizens of the United States, shall, by their delegates in convention assembled, draft a constitution, and the same shall be accepted by their constituents, it will then be, to all intents and purposes, the Law of the State." These Resolutions were passed unanimously, by the different Associations of the State. For the fur- OU MIGHT AND KIGHT. therance of the cause, and in order to a more concen- trated and efficient action, a Mass Meeting was called, to be holden on the 17th of April. In obedience to the call, the men of Rhode Island, for the first time since the Revolution, assembled themselves together for their riglits. The day was ushered in by the ringing of all the bells in the city, with one solita- ty exception — that of the Fn'st* Congregational Church being mute ; and for the first time in our city the bells woke to the call of Equal Rights, and summoned the people of the several wards to form themselves into companies under the command of Ward Marshals. The day was inclement, but the occasion triumphed. There were between three and four thousand persons in the procession, and upwards of four thousand on the ground, notwithstanding the Journal made report only of "about two thousand four hundred, of whom two hundred and thirty-two were mounted, and thirty-five in carriages, and they were about twenty minutes in passing." Never, perhaps, was there a result obtained from any public meetmg, so entirely beyond expectation, as was af- forded by this Parade. The committee were obliged to extend their arrangements, from accommodations for four or five hundred, to accom.modations for al- most as many thousands. Up to the morning of the very day, many, even of those friendly, continued to be incredulous ; and many a lip was dressed with a sneer, and many a brow wore a contemptuous frown, as the citizens met the small advocates of pap and leading-strings, when passing quietly along, to the ground where the procession was to form. The per- * The Sexton had made an agreement with ilie committee, that this bell should send forth its joyous notes, but was forbidden by the committee who have charg-e of the house. The bell of the High Street Church was twice stopped by some aristocrat clothed in " a little brief authority," but would not slay so; for iirmedi- ately on his leaving the house, it again sent forth its joyous peals. Kew Jige. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 81 sons in the procession were, in accordance with a previous Resokition, dressed in citizen's dress, with- out arnas. There was a dignity, a conscious manli- ness, pervading the whole body, such as has been ; seldom witnessed. It is said, " The consciousness of RIGHT makes gods of common men ;" and when I we add to this the consciousness of injury, we have ! the secret of that noble and intrepid bearing. Many of the banners were fine, bearing pithy and appro- priate mottoes. The Revolutionary Soldiers occupied five car- riages, and were twenty-two in number. They bore on their banner the following appropriate in- scription : " We have fought for freedom." On the reverse, " Shall we die without our freedom ?" The procession marched to the animating tones of 1 a piece of new music, the*Free Suffrage (Quickstep, j which was composed for the occasion by one of their members, Mr. Cartee ; and its length was so great, that when the Butchers, who made the front, had arrived at the enclosure on Jefferson's Plain, the Draymen who formed the rear were just crossing Weybosset Bridge — at a distance of three quarters ' of a mile. After the procession had entered the en- closure, the one hundredth Psalm was sung, and an appropriate prayer wag offered by the Rev. Wm. S. Balch. The Address was omitted on account of the rain ; and the prepared collation being hastily par- taken of, the procession again form and paraded . back to the City Hotel, where they were dismissed bv the Chief Marshal, in perfect order, at 3 o'clock, P. M. An adjourned meeting took place in the Town House in the evening ; when the toasts which could not be attended to on the Plain, owing to the in- 82 MIGHT AND RIGHT. clemency of tlie weather, were read. They were generally spirited and appropriate. The advantages obtanied at the late meetmg were immediately followed up by issuing a call for a Mass Convention', to be holden at ISewport, on the lifth day of the May following. This Convention was called for the purpose of taking preliminary steps, for the framing and adoption of a Constitution, which should contain a Bill of Rights, equalize taxation, or weigh it in the balance against Representation ; limit the power of the Assembly ; secure the Free- dom of the Press, and the rights of the People from leirislative influence ; and establish a uniform system of Kducation. Pursuant to the call, the Convention met at New- port, on the appointed day, at 11 o- clock, A. M. ; the assembly being holden in an enclosure at the head of Town street, called '^ the Church lot." As the very important Resolutions which were adopted at this Convention, exhibit the true features and char- acter of the Sulfrage movement, I give them entire, and in their regular order. PREAMBLE. " Whereas, It is the undeniable rio-htof the people at all times, penceably to assemble for consultation and conference touchinir the Government under which they, live, and which they assist in Bupportinor; and independently utter and set forth, on such occa- sions of meeting tog-ether, their views, sentiments and plans rela- tive to the correction, as well of defects in the organization of government, as of taults in the administration of the same : " VVr, a portion of the people of the State, now assembled at: Newport, in a Mass Co.NVLriTioN, formed from all parts of the ►State, and acting in behalf of the great body of our unenfran- chised citizens, do declare their and our opiniona and purposes ill tlie following RESOLUTIONS. 1. Resolved, That it is repugnant to the spirit of the Declara- tion of American Independence, and deroijatory to the character of Rhode Island republicans, to acknowledge the Charter of ai British King, as a constitution, or any part of a constitution of poiitical government, wjjile we venerate the illustrious names of: MIGHT AND RIGHT. 83 RoGFR Williams, and John Clarke, to whose uiitiring- ability and perseverance the colony of Rhode Island was indebted for this grant from the tlirone of Enfrland, so well adapted at the I tune to the wants of his Majesty's subjects, and so liberal in its I concessions, we are at the same time aware that in almost all ; respects, excepting the immortal declaration and (rnaranty of re- ; lio-ious freedom, it has become insufficient and absolete ; tliat it i has discharged the functions for Avhich it was intended, and that j it should be laid aside in the archives of the State; and no lon- I ger be permitted to subsist as a barrier against the Rights and I Liberties of the people. [ 2. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Convention, on the i occurrence of the American Revolution, when the ties of alle- ; giance, which bound the subjects of this colony to the throne of ! England, were dissolved, the right of sovereignty in accordance '; with the principles of Republican Government, passed to the ' whole body of the people of tliis State, and not to any special or ; favored portion of the same; that the whole people were, and I are, the just and rightful successors of the British King, and as I such were, and are, entitled to alter, amend, or annul the form i and provisions of Government, then and now subsisting, with the i sole restriction imposed by the Constitution of the United States, I and in their Original and Sovereign capacity to devise and estab- I !?• xi such a Constitution, as they may deem to be best adapted to i'tne general welfare. i 3. Besolved, That no lapse of time can bar the rights of sove- 'reignty inherent in the people of this State ; and that their omis- ision to form a ('onstitution, and their toleration of the abuses under which they have so long labored, are to be regarded as proof of their long-suffering and forbearance, rather than as ar- guments against their power and their capacity to right them- selves, whenever, in their opinion, redress from the government at present subsisting, is hopeless. 4. Resolved, That the time has now fully arrived for a vigor- ous and concentrated effort to accomplish a thorough and perma- nent reform in the political institutions of this State. 5. Resolved, That a system of government, under which the degislative body exercises power undefined and uncontrolled by fundamental laws, according to its own " especial grace, certain .knowledge and mere motion," and limits and restricts the right of Suffrage, and makes, and unmakes, the people at its pleasure, is anti-republican and odious in its character and operations, at wai' with the spirit of the age, repugnant to the feelino- of every right- minded Rhode Island man, and ought to be abolished. I (). Resolved, That the public good imperatively requires that ithe powers of the Leo-islature andtiip rights of the citizens should be defined and fixed by a WRITTEN STATE CONSTITU- TION. 84 MIGHT AND RIGHT. 7. Resolved, That the Representation of the towns in the General Asseinblv, as originally established by the provisions of tlie Charter of Ki'nij Ciiarles Second, had reference to the then exislinff population'^of the same, and was, at that time, not un- fairly adjusted to it; but that, by the great increase of population in tlie towns, the existing apporiionmenthas become exceedingly uncHiual and unjust in its operation ; and that a new assignment of Representatives among the towns, according to population, •will be an indispensable article in a Constitution for this State. A majority of the Representatives to the General Assembly are now elected by towns containing less than one-third of the popu- lation of the State ; and some of the towns vary in their dispro- portion of representation over other towns, from twice to twenty times what thoy are entitled to, under the just principle of distri- bution above named — an inequality not uncommon in the mon- archies of Europe, but, with the single exception of Rhode Island, unknown in the United States. H. Resolved, That at the foundation of this State, and long" after, property in land was not only the principal property of the citizens, but was so easily attainable that a landed qualiiica- tion for voters (first definitely established in the colony, by the Legislature, in 1724) excluded only a small portion of the people from political power; but that the circumstances of the people have since greatly changed, and that the existing qualification for votinQT, has the effect, contrary to the design of those who first established it, of excluding the great majority of 1G,000 out of 25 000 over the age of twenty-one years, from all political privi- leges and participation in the affairs of government ; and that although we entertain a high and becoming respect for Farmers, and their just influence in this State, we are not insensible to the merits of their own younger sons, of the Mechanics, the Mer- chants, the Working Men and others, who own no land; and that ue are of opinion, that the longer continuance of a landed qualification for voters is a great injustice, and is contrary to the spirit and principles of a Republican Government; and that a Constitution for this State will be altogether insufficient, unsatis- factory and unpracticable, that does not restore to the body of the i)(H)ple of this State the rights and privileges of American Citizens. 1). Resolved, That a continuance of the provisions of the pre- sent Charter relating to representation, and of the act of the Le- gislature requiring a freehold estate to entitle a citizen to vote for public officers, has the effect not only of vesting the control of the General Assembly ; as we have before seen, in less than one- turd of the population, but, as the voters in this third are only a t ind part of the whole number of the adult citizens, it has this fur- ther effect also, tlie most oppressive and odious of all, of placing Uie control of the Assembly and of the State in one-ninth part of d MIGHT AND RIGHT. 85 its adult population, or in other words ; in the hands of less than 3,000 men of 25,000 who are over twenty-one years of age. 10. Resolved, That such a state of thing-s is a bold and hardy defiance of all popular rights, and is a total departure from the principle av^owed at the first session of the General Assembly in the year 1647, who then solemnly declared and voted that the Government of this State should be a DEMOCRACY. 11. Resolved, That the American system of government, is a government of Men, and not of Property, and that Avhile it pro- vides for the ample protection and safe enjoyment and transmis- sion of property, it confers upon it no political advantages, bul regards all men as free and equal, and expects from them no price for the exercise of their birth-right ; and that therefore, the un- doubted rights and privileges of the people, as well as the true honor and prosperity of the State, can only be completely obtain- ed and permanently insured, by a written Constitution, whose framers shall be chosen from the plople of the towns, in pro- portion to population ; and which shall be approved and ratified by the people at large ; and that in the exercise of this high act of sovereignty, euen/ American citizen ivhose actual permanent resi- dence or home is in this State, has a right to participate. And Ave accordingly pledge ourselves individually to eacli other, and col- lectively to the public, that we will use our unremitting efforts for such a Constitution, in tiie way that has been described 12. Resolved, That we disclaim all action with, or for, any political party, in this great question of state rights, reserving to ourselves individually, our own opinions on all matters of State and National politics, which we call upon no man to sacri- fice ; and that we heartily invite the earnest cooperation of men of all political parties in the cause which we have at heart, and which we believe to be the cause of Liberty, Equality, and Jus- tice, to all Men. 13. Resolved, That the General Assembly should have called the convention to frame a Constitution in November next, in such a manner as to apportion the delegates to the convention among the several towns according to population, and to give to every American citizen, as aforesaid, the right of voting for delegates, and for the Constitution which may be proposed for the ratifica- tion of the people. 14. Resolved, That the friends of reform in each town be re- quested forthwith to establish an Association,, for the purpose of a better organization, for correspondence, and generally for the promotion of the objects of this convention. 15. Resolved, Tliat a State Committee of five persons, be ap- pointed by this convention, to correspond with the associations of the several towns, and to carry forward the cause of reform and Equal Rights, and to call a convention of delegates to draft a Constitution at as early a day as possible, 8 g6 MIGHT AND RIGHT. IG Resolved, That tlie State Committee be requested to ob- tain, without delay, a list of all the citizens in the several towns, who are ready to vote for and sustain a constitution, based on the principles hereinbefore declared, and to present the same at the adiourncd nicctinjr of this convention. J 7. Resolved, 'I'hut the State Committee be requested to pre- pare and send forth an address to the people of this State, on the subjects contained in the foregoing Resolutions, and to report proceedings at an adjourned meeting. 18. Reso'ved, That a copy of these Resolutions be transmit- ted to the Governor, to the Lieutenant Governor, and to each member of the Senate, and House of Representatives, whose at- tention is especially and respectfully asked to the Resolution relative to the call of the convention for framing a constitution. J9. Resolved, That the support and patronage of all the friends of reforn), is urgently requested in behalf of the " JVew Jlge,^^ a newspaper exclusively devoted to the cause, which we have this day assembled to promote. 20. Resolved, That these Resolutions be signed by the Pre- sident of the convention, and Secretaries, and published in the several newspapers throughout the State, and that the publish- ers be requested to give them a gratuitous insertion in their respective papers. 21. Resolved, That this convention, when it adjourns, will adjourn to meet in Providence on the fifth day of July next' 111 concurrence with the fifteenth Resohition, a State Committee was appointed, and the Convention adjourned to meet at Providence, July 5th — the 4th being on the Sabbath, that day was chosen for the celebration of Independence. In the mean time the General Assembly, whose action only kept pace with the apparent necessity, started somewhat abruptly, as if too soon aroused from a remarkably pleasant dream ; and they began to think and rub their eyes, as men will do, when an unpleasant truth presents itself, and they would fain persuade themselves they are dreaming still. But look whichever way they might, a stubborn fact presented itself. Men were gathering by hundreds, and by thousands ; and they really began to perceive something serious in the circumstance, thereby proving the exceeding keen- ness of their penetration) for Reverend Doctors saw MIGHT AND RIGHT. 87 nothing ominous even for some months after. They enacted a law at their May session, for the more equal apportionment among the several towns of the delegates to the Landholders' Convention in Novem- ber. And at their adjourned session in June, a bill came before the house, presented by Mr. At well, one of the liberal members, providing, that ''every free white male citizen, over twenty-one years of age, who had resided in the State two years, and in the town where he is to vote the six months next pre- ceding the town-meeting ; and who has paid a tax on real estate, or personal property, for -one year previous to voting, shall be allowed to vote for the choit^e of delegates to the Convention, appointed by tho Assembly to meet in November, for the purpose of forming a Constitution ; except persons insane, under guardianship and convicts." This single fact sholild be enough to silence the assertion, so often, and so boldly made, that the General Assembly wer«, and always had been, willing to extend Suf- frage. Had they been willing to make even this slight concession, of admitting unenfranchised tax- payers, who were permanent residents of the State, to assist in forming a Constitution for the State, all the subsequent difficulty would have been spared. The people would have been content. And yet, after this most obvious violation of justice, on their part, we have been told, again and again, that the people were bent on war and pillage — that they would not accept the kind overtures of the Assembly, which were always held out to them. Never was there a grosser falsehood ! The people's error was on the opposite side. They Avere too willing to make con- cessions — they were too ready to yield, for the sake of peace. They clung, to the very last, to the hope of a legal adjustment of the difficulties ; and most of them have never yet renounced it. On the Gen- eral Assembly, then, and on them alone, rests alltlie 88 MIGHT AND RIGHT. sin growing out of tlie events which they then deter- mined ! This very important bill of Mr. At well, notwithstanding his noble defence of its provisions, was not only lost, but it was voted down by a vast majority. Ac^reeable to adjournmenl the Suffrage Convention assembled at Providence, July 5th. This day afford- ed a glorious triumph to the friends of Equal Rights. The Free Suffrage party wore appropriate badges — and it was said by the oldest persons, that the City never had been before so full of people. The pro- cession was formed in Benelit street, and marched to the Dexter training ground ; where, after the meet- ing had been called to order by the President, Gen. Martin Stoddard, a prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Peterson ; and an Oration on the subject of Man's inherent Rights, followed, by the Rev. Wm. S. Balch. That oration was worthy the fine mind, and true heart, of its author ; and could the princi- ciples which it embodies be carried out in action, there would be no wrong or violence any more ; but Wisdom, and Truth, and Love, would reign upon the earth. After the oration, the Suffrage Glee Club sang a spirited song, and then the State Committee present- ed their Report and Resolutions, which were adopt- ed unanimously. The meeting was addressed by several gentlemen, and the Convention adjourned to the call of the State Committee. The revolution- ary soldiers, thirty in number, then proceeded to the City Hotel, with all those who chose to mingle in tlie festivities of that occasion. The State Com- mittee sent forth an Address to the People of the State, a copy of which was transmitted to each mem- ber of the General Assembly, and to each of the Edi- tors of Newsi)apers in the State, requesting them to uisert the same gratuitously, in their several Journals. The State Committee also, after making their Re^ MIGHT AND RIGHT. 89 -port, in which the belief of the good Cause being in a state of progress was expressed, presented to the ■Convention several very important resolutions. Will not future generations believe that the Rhode (Islanders must have been an incomparably wise and great people, when they reflect that "the mob," *'the rabble," the very " froth and foam of society," were capable of acts and resolutions, such as were , presented at that Convention ? And should the ac- tions and sentiments of the wisest^ and the greatest, be then called for, how would be the climax, crown- ed, or inverted ? It is a blessed thought that man, though he compel into his service the force of Le- gion, cannot annihilate a single ray of truth. What- ever is true and good, will live, for only such has life. Whatever is right, will finally prevail, ancj nothing else. CHAPTER VI. THE people's constitution. It has often been said by our opposers, that they had no objection to a change of government^ provided it be done legally — that is, by themselves — con- trary to their own selfish interests, and long-settled determination. Let me ask by what law these United States, then British Colonies, threw off the yoke, and abrogated the law of their rightful sove- reign? By what, but the indestructible law of Na- ture, written intelligibly within their own souls ? a law which is legible m the erect bearing and upward visage of man — by which he proves himself invest- ed with a right, which no despotism can destroy — 8* 90 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the rio-ht to participate in the government of the com- munit^y of whicli he is a member? By what autho- rity were the Articles of Confederation, and the De- claration of Independence framed ? By what but the God-given authority of Reason in every man, which tells him that he has an inherent right to regulate all matters which affect his life, liberty, or happiness ? By what right was the War of the Revolution pro- secuted, but by the right of Manhood to be free ? a war in which Rhode Island first poured out an offer- ing of blood upon the altar of our young Liberty ! And are we, alone, of all the people of this Union, to be defrauded of that right, which our Fathers bled to establish ? Are we to be bond-slaves in this, the beautiful land of our nativity ? It shall not be. Our course is onward. No one can arrest our pro- gress, but by a direct violation of every principle which an American holds dear — of every principle which the Apostles of Freedom in all ages, and in every clime, have held sacred ! Such was the tone of question and of ansAver, which flashed like rays of light from a newly-dis- covered star, from heart to heart, and from soul to soul, as the men of Rhode Island, in their original and sovereign capaxiity, went forth to their great work — the framing of a State Constitution, which should be just and equal in all its provisions. The State Committee issued this Call on the 24th of July. As the whole subsequent movement was based on the action of this Committee, I will insert the document entire. STATE CONSTITUTION. A CALL TO THE PEOPLE OF RHODE ISLAiN'D TO JISSE^MBLE LV COjYFEMTIOM Al a Mass Cohvention of the friends of Equal Rights and of a WRJTTEN Republica.n CONSTITUTION for this State, held at ]Newport,on the 5th day of May, 1841, the following persons MIGHT AND RIGHT. 91 "were appointed a State Committee for the furtherance of the cause, which the Convention had assembled to promote, — viz : — for Newport County, C CHARLES COLLINS, I DUTEE J. PEARCE, ( SILAS SISSON. Providence, f SAMUEL H. WALES, BENJ. ARNOLD, Jr., WELCOME B. SAYLES, HENRY L. WEBSTER, PHILIP B. STINESS, METCALF MARSH. Btistgl, (BENJ. M. BOSWORTH, ■{ SAMUEL S. ALLEN, ( AB JAH LUCE. Kent, (EMANUEL RICE, ^ SILAS WEAVER, ^JOHN B. SHELDON. Washington, (SYLVESTER HIMES, I WAGER WEEDEN, ( CHARLES ALLEN. The State Committee were directed "to carry forward the cause of Reform and Equal Rights, ana to call a Convention of Delegates to draft a Constitution at as early a day as possible." At an adjourned meeting of said Mass Convention held at Providence, on the 5th day of July, the instructions before given were reaffirmed ; and the committee were directed to call a Con- vention of the People, on the basis of the Resolutions passed at Newport, " at an early day, for tke formation of a Constitution." Pursuing these instructions, the Committee held a meeting at Providence, on the 20th of July, and in conformity with the Eleventh Resolution adopted at Newport, which prescribes the call of a Convention of the People at large, to be represented in PROPORTION to population, passed unanimously the follow- ing Resolutions, for the CALL of a POPULAR CONVEN- TION. Voted, That we proceed to issue a Call for the election of DELEGATES, to take place on the last Saturday in x\ugust, (the 28th day,) to attend a CONVEN'JION to be holden at the State House in Providence, on the First Monday in Oc- tober, (the 4th day,) for framing a CONSTITUTION to be laid before the People for their adoption. Voted, That every American male citizen, twenty-one years of age and upwards, who has resided in this State one year, preced- ing the election of delegates, shall vots for Delegates to the Con- vention, called by the State Committee to be held at the State House in Providence on the first Monday in October next. Votedy That every meeting holden for the election of Dele- 02 MIGHT AND RIGHT. pates to the State Convention shall be oriranized by the election «ra Chairman and Secretary, whose certificate shall be the au- tliority required ot^tiie Delegates. J'oiecl, That each Town of one thousand inhabitants, or less, 8h;ill be entitled to one delegate, and for every additional thou- sand, one delegate shall be appointed ; and the city of Providence shall elect three delegates from each Ward in the city. Voted, That the Chairnian and Secretary be directed to cause one thousand hand-bills to be printed and distributed through the State, containing the call for a Convention of Delegates. Ko/e BIGHT. n. In the city of Providence there shall he six Representativa Districts, which shall be the six wards of said city. And the electors resident in said districts, for the term of three months, nevt preceding the election at which they offer to vote, shall be entitled to elect two Representatives for each district. 4. The Genera! At?semhly, in case of g:reat inequality in the population of the wards of the city of Providence, may cause tho boundaries of the six Representative districts therein to be so altered as to i;)chide in each district, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants. 5. Tiie House of Representatives shall have authority to elect their own Speaker, clerks and other officers. The oath of office shall be administered to the Speaker by the Secretary of State, or, in his absence, by the Attorney General. (). Whenever the seat of a member of the House of Represent- atives shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election. ARTICLE VL OF THE SENATE. 1. The State shall bo divided into twelve Senatorial Districts; and each district shall be entitled to one Senator, who shall be annually chosen by tiie electojs in his district. 2. The first, second and third Representative Districts in the City of Providence shall constitute the tirst Senatorial District; the fourtfi, fifth and sixth Representative Districts in said City the second District; the Town of Smithfield the third District; the Towns of North Providence and Cumberland the fourth Dis- trict; the Towns of Scituate, Glocester, Burrillville and John- ston, the fit\h District: the Towns of Warwick and CransLon the riixth District; the Towns of East Greenwich, We&t Greenwich, Coventry and Foster, tlie seventh District; the towns of New- port, Jamesto-.n, and New Shoreham, the eight District; the towns of PorismoLith, Middlotown, Tiverton and Little Compton the ninth District; the towns of North Kinostown and South Kingstown the tenth District; the towns of Westerly, Charles- town, Exeter, Richmond and Hopkinton, the eleventh District; the towns of Bristol, Warren and Barrington, the twelfth Dis- tiict. :i. The Lieutenant Governor shall be, by virtue of his office, President of the Senate ; and shall have a rioht, in case of an equal division, to vote in the same ; and also to\ote in joint com- mittee of the two Houses. 4. When the Government shall be administered by the Lieu- tenant Goverror, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the S nate, the Senate shall elect one of their own membera President of the same. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 103 5. Vacancies in the Senate occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, may be filled by a new election. 6. The Secretary of State tiliall be, by virtue of his office, Se- cretary of the Senate. ARTICLE VIL OF IMPEACHMENTS. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the aole power of impeachment. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when sitting- for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted except by vote of two-thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is impeached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, with a casting rote in all preliminary questions. 3. The Governor, and all other Executive and Judicial officers, shall be liable to impeachment ; but judgments in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office. The party convict- ed shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punish- ment, according to law. ARTICLE VIIL OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 1. The Chief Executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor, who shall be chosen by the electors, and shall hold his olfice for one year, and until his successor be duly qualified. 2. No person holding any office or place under the United States, this State, any other of the United States, or any foreign Power, shall exercise the office of Governor. 3. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. 4. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the State, except when called into the actual service of the United States ; but he shall not march nor convey any of tho citizens out of the State without their consent, or that of the General Assembly, unless it shall become necessary in order to inarch or transport them from one part of the State to aiiother, ibr the defence thereof. 5. He shall appoint all civil and military officers, whose ap- pointment is not by this Constitution, or shall not, by lay, bet otherwise provided for. 6. lie shall, from time to time, inform the General Assembly of the condition of the State ; and recommend to their considera- tion such measures as he may deem expedient. 7. He may require from any military officer, or any officer ifi the executive department, information upon any dubject relatin "l,. „ ., , SAMUEL H. WALES. ( ^^^^ Presidents, Attest : ^ WiM.iAM II. Smith, ? c^ , . JoiKv S. Harris, } ^"secretaries. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 115 CHAPTER YII. THE RIGHT OF CHANGE. . And while the events recorded in the last chapter were going on, the Chartists, also, were busy — not merely with their own business, but an under-cur- rent was set in motion, calculated to undermine the works of their neighbors, which they had begun to perceive they could not openly prostrate. Like certain other rulers, in a certain other place, they re- solved ; " Our better part remains To work in close disguise, by fraud, or guile :" and, thereupon, the foulest slanders were propagated, and the grossest personal abuse — the dernier resort of conscious weakness — was freely indulged in. The Suffrage Party were represented to have no leaders, no talent, no money, no honesty ; and their particu- lar profession, which suited not the polished nerve of courtly ears, were held up in derison. But the TRUE spirit of Rhode Island was awake, and up, and acting — by which I mean not the spirit of domination, of usurpation, of despotic tyranny, as some of our statesmen are fain to represent it — but that high and indomitable spirit of liberty, which GOD breathed in the soul of man, when he first pronounced it living — and formed after His own IMAGE — and Avhich no hand of clay ever bestowed — or ever can bestow. This spirit was awake — is awake : and not till the universal heart of Rhode Island shall forget to cherish the names of her vene- rated founders — not till the good seed which was planted by her noblest exiled son, when first she opened her maternal arms to receive him, shall be covered with the blight and mildew of death, and no 11(3 MIGHT AND RIGHT. more spring up, and blossom, bearing precious fruits, shall that spirit be lulled by sorcery nito forgetful- ness of its rights and duties, or be compelled by force to surrender its high trust. In regard to the People's Constitution, T would observe that a perfect work is not to be expected from one effort, even of the wisest and the greatest ; but must be the result of a series of efforts. Of its general merits, pro and con, I leave those best quali- fied to judge for themselves, fully believing that, in most respects, it will be its own best vindicator. It was finally submitted to the People, as record- ed in the last chapter, and was adopted by a majority of 4746. Deducting 3000, supposed to be the num- ber of persons insane, convicts, and under guardian- ship, from 26,142, the number of males in the State over 21 years of age, and you have 23,142, of whom a majority Avould be 11,572. 13,944 votes were given for the Constitution, which is 873 votes more than one-half of all the adult males in the State : and 2372 more than half of all those qualified to vote for the Constitution. After deducting from 23,142, the whole number who voted for the Con- stitution, we have a remainder of 9198, of whom 9146 did not vote, and 52 voted against the Consti- tution. There were 4960 freemen who voted for the Constitution ; which, taking 8622, the number of votes polled in 1840, as the standard number of freemen, gives a majority of 1298 of all the free- men in the State. Was not, then, the making and adoption of the People's Constitution, eminently, pre-emincnthj the work of the People ; and that, too, even of the (so called) " legal people ?" The fact challenges denial. There the names stand, in that goodly-sized book, inscribed in free and fair characters; and, with some few exceptions, there can be no question, that the act which placed them there, was as free, and fair. Among them I find MIGHT AND RIGHT. 117 the names of almost all the sm-viving revolutionary veterans ; and am most happy to see that of the ve- nerable Elisha Olney, late of North Providence. He was the warning officer who first notified the inhabi- tants of his town in the Revolution. The first vote polled at Scituate was by Captain Boss, a hero of the Revolution. He declared himself ready to de- fend in age the glorious principles for which he con- tended in youth. Taking the Declaration of Independence for their manual, the fathers of '76 for their exemplars, the opinions of eminent living statesmen for their autho- rity, the Suffrage Party had framed a Bill of Rights, and a Constitution of Government, which, on being submitted to the People, was returned to them by the largest majority that had ever voted upon any question in Rhode Island : and, in consideration of these facts, they believed themselves justified before God, and Man, in putting forth the following : STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, the Convention of the PEOPLE of this State, at their last session, in the city of Providence, on the 13th day of January, A. D, 1842, passed the following- resolutions, to wit: Whereas, hy the return of the rotes upon the CONSTITU- TION proposed to the citizens of this State, by this Convention on the 18th day of November last, it satisfactorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original and sovereign capacity, have ratified and adopted said Constitution, by a large majority : and the will of th& PEOPLE, thus decisively made known, ought to be implicitly obeyed, and faithfully executed: We do therefore Resolve and Declare that said Constitu- tion rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and Con- stitution OF THE State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. And we do further Resolve and Declare, for ourselves, and in behalf of the People whom we represent, that we will estab- lish SAID Constitution and sustaiiN and defend the same, BY ALL NECESSARY MEANS. Resolved, That the officers of this Convention make Proclama- tion of the return of the votes upon the Constitution, and that the same has been adopted, and has become the Constitution of lis MIGHT AND RIGHT. this State ; and that they cause said Proclamation to be published in the nowspnpers of the same. Now, Therefore, in obedience to the above vote of said Con- vention, WE, the iindersi<;-ned, officers of the same, do hereby Proclaim, and make known to all the People of this State, that said Constitution of right ought to be, and is, the paramount LAW and Constitution of the State of Rhode Islaixd and Pro V 1 1) K >' c e Plant ati ons. And we hereby call upon the citizens of the State, to give their aid and support in carrying said Constitution into full operation and ctfect, according to the terms and provisions thereof. Witness our hands at Providence, in said State, this 13th day of January, 1842. JOSEPH JOSLTN, President of the Convention, WAGER WEEDEN, ) Vice SAMUEL H. WALES, ^ Presidents, Wm. H.Smith, ? g^.^etaries. John S. Harris, ^ And here let us inquire by what right the above acts were done, and the above Proclamation issued ? This inquiry, it will be seen, involves several ques- tions of vital import. But before discussing them, let us look for a moment at the position which the unenfranchised citizens of Rhode Island have occu- pied since the Revolution. The General Assembly, as we have before seen, was both an independent and omipotent body. They could enact any law, however odious, and carry that law into effect. There being no constitutional provisions, and, con- sequently, no constitutional check, the people, espe- cially the unenfranchised part, were without any ^' certain remedy" for any abuse ; since when there was no Constitution, there was none to violate. They could not appeal to precedent ; for precedent would depose against them, by showing various acts of irresponsible authority. Laws could not be ap- pealed to ; for as clay is in the hands of the potter, so was Law in those of the General Assembly. Tliey moulded, created, and destroyed it, with no check but their own sovereign will ; an appeal to the Legislature would be a solemn mockery of pe^ MIGHT AND RIGHT. 119 tition ; because that body would never set against themselves. An appeal to any Court of Law would he equally ridiculous — equally useless — because the Judges were the creatures, and the Courts the tools of the Legislature — sharp instruments, indeed, and admirably calculated for shaving others, but never designed to turn against themselves. The Courts sat, and acted only to enforce the Legislative will, and unless some principle of common law were involved, or the Constitution of the United States were violated, an independent decision was never secure. In the mean time justice became, day by day, more unequally divided ; until three-fifths of the citizens of the State were reduced to a condition of vassalage. Does any person require evidence that such a state of things really existed ? I give it, in the words of a Rhode Islander. In an Address by Wm. E. Rich- mond, published in the Manufacturers' and Farmers' Journal, of which Mr. R. was editor, I find the fol- lowing passages. The Address v/as published November 27tli, December 11th, and 18th, 1820; and January 11th, 1821, and was called forth by the adoption of their Constitution, by the people of Con- necticut. "If an utter stranger to our laws," says Mr. R., " should consider the Charter in reference to the Declaration of Independence, by which the supreme and controlling power which the English King in Council, and in his Courts of Law, exercised over the proceedings of the General Assembly was abolished, and that body left without any superior or controling power, to check its attempts upon individual rights, or general freedom, he must be astonished, that a free people have, for more than forty years, submit- ted to a species of government, in theory, if not in practice, as despotic as that of the Autocrat of all THE RussiAS. That the General Assembly, which 120 MIGHT AND RIGHT. now pretends to a legitimate right to govern us, exists and acts hij its oicn authority , alone — that the Bill of Rights, which was lately a theme of his admiration, flowed from the Qiiere good will and pleasure of that Assembly, and may be revoked at its loill and pleasure — that the people of this State elect their representatives to this Assemhly only by its permission — a permission which it may with- draw at pleasure — that this Assembly does not acknowledge its dependence on the people, but, on the contrary, considers itself as existing by its own mere ivill, icitJiout check, balance, or control, exercis- ing the whole government. Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. Any man born in a free country, and educated with clear and precise perceptions of the true attributes of a representative and popular government, will be astonished, that the people or this State have so long submitted to a platform of government, which is devoid of all authority from the people ; and which, though it gives the whole supreme power to EIGHTY-FOUR DESPOTS, instead of one, is not the less arbitrary and despotic on that account.'^ And, again ; speaking of the Government, he sa^^s : ' ^It answers to our ideas of a pure despotism ; because the General Assembly engrosses and exercises, in person, or by substitution, all the powers of sove- reignty." Now where, I ask, should a people, subjected to all these inconveniencies — to say nothing oiivrongs — for wrongs is a harsh word to the delicate nerve of modern ears ; where, and how, should they find a remedy ? There was no legal mode of amend- ment pointed out. They were told that the remedy rested solely Avith the Legislature ; and to the Legis- lature they applied for redress, making this one subject — the right of citizenship, or suffrage — the ground of petition for more than forty years. But MIGHT AND RIGHT. 121 when did a crowned tyrant, because his subjects asked him to do so — petitioned him to do so — vohm- tarily lay down his sceptre, and abdicate his throne ? That is not an act in human nature to perform ; and it affects not the question whether the despot has one head, or many heads ; only that the hydra would be the worse to deal with, of the two. Ac- cordingly we find the unenfranchised men of Rhode Island — many of them, too, descendants of the hon- ored Founders — stigmatised as aliens, degraded, low, unworthy of notice ; and their petitions were laid by in silent contempt, or noticed only to be in- sulted. But rising gradually in spirit and intelli- gence,, ray by ray, the truth broke in upon them, until the whole soul became illumined, and the long- ing heavy heart expanded, with the loftiest thought which any created being can conceive — the con- sciousness of manhood, with all its duties, responsi- bilities, and prerogatives. They pondered these things in their own liearts. They communed with each other. They enquired abroad. All evidence, but the bribed and false evidence suborned by their oppressors, justified them : and they determined to be free. Is there any freeman in this country who will condemn their resolution ? If there is, I im- peach his freedom. He is either a despot, or a slave ; for neither of these can appreciate a free thought, or generate a free action. The obligation does not rest merely upon the Suf- frage Party, to establish the validity of their right of rule ; but the burden, also, of proving theirs, rests upon the Charter Government. Bring forward the scales of even-handed justice, and let us try them in the balance, with not merely opinions, but princi- ples, for weights. The first settlers of Rhode Island never pretended to claim an original and independent jurisdiction. They, always, by all their acts, recognised the power 11 122 MIGHT AND RIGHT. of tlie crown, and held themselves in subordmation to the royal authority. Even the lands which they purchased of the natives, were obtained, and held, by virtue of the royal patent. Of course, then, the government of Rhode Island was not a pure demo- cracy ; since the sovereignty was vested in the crown. By the Declaration of Independence, the royal authority was abrogated. To whom, then, did the sovereignty revert ? ^' To the Landholders — the Freemen :" say the Chartists, " because they were created a body corporate and politic, and were destined to remam such forever." But by what right did such corporations establish any exclusive privileges ? Had the Fathers of '76 intended to re- cognise any such, would they not have given their immortal declaration quite another form ? Should it not have been, all Landholders, or all Landed Cor- porations are created free and equal ? However great the absurdity involved, truth would have compelled them to make some such declaration, so as to sus- tain the trite doctrines we have, all along, (vainly it seems,) imagined they intended to explode. But no ; they did no such thing. They declared that all MEN were created free and equal ■ and, not only so, but ALL men : and that principal is at the bottom Ihie of everythhig that is true, in the political, social, or moral elements connected with the being of man. The whole people, then, as successors of the King, became tenants in common of the sovereignty. ''Hut this is impossible," says Judge Durfee ; " be- cause, were it so, by the act which proclaimed these states sovereign and independent, their very exist- ence, as states, would have been annihilated." " The act of separation," agam, says Mr. Durfee, '' was the act of the corporate people ; and all that was acquired by that act, was acquired by the corporate people, and could be acquired by no other than a corporate people. No7ic hit a corporate people has the capa- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 123 city to receive and exercise sovereignty. The natural people has not the capacity to inherit^ or succeed to sovereignty.^^ I will not quote further, lest I permit the gentleman to demolish his own argument — which he does, for himself, at the very next clause in the sentence. But it suits my purpose now, that his argument should be valid — or, I should rather say, plausible. Could Mr. Durfee tell at what pre- cise point of time the transition was effected, and what ceremony attended it ? Was it when the De- claration was first read, or afterwards published, that the royal chains were dissolved, and the corporation became its own master ? But a corporation is not an original being. It must have a pre-existing cause — it must have been created. The idea of a creation, pre-supposes that of a creator ; and also that the thing created should be subordinate to the creating power. Who, then, created the corporation ? " Why the freemen," you say. Very well. But freemen, according to your definition, are not original beings . — they, too, are the subjects of causation. They have been created. Who created them ? ''' They were admitt^ed free of the company," you say. Of what company ? -' Why, the chartered company of King Charles." Here we have it; we have now completed the circle. We have got back again to royalty and its exclusive prerogatives. We find a government framed in and through a Landed Compa- ny, existing by virtue of an authority which Rhode Island herself, through her delegates that signed the Declaration of Independence, had declared ^'■totally dissolved." But this government still continued to ex- ist, -to the exclusion of all citizens who were not shel- tered under the wings of the royal charter, and that in violation of the Declaration which Rhode Island through her delegates who signed it, had pledged herself to sustain, in theory and in fact, and to dis- tribute the prerogatives it asserted, equally among 124 MIGHT AND RIGHT. all her children. The same old government was con- tinued, without so much as asking leave of a large portion of the citizens — and still it was continued through a period of more than sixty years, though they who suflerod by it ceased not to protest against it — ceased not to cry for redress ; and they, too, had grown to be a very large majority of the whole peo- ple. This government has been called Republican — nay, it has been held up as a model of wisdom and equity, in structure, and m administration. It has been vauntingly said, again and again, that no other state — no, not in the world, was so free as ours. Let us see how its government will square with Madison's definition of a republic. '•' It is essential to such a government," (that is republican) '' that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion or favored class of it ; otherwise, a handful of tyran- nical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a dele- gation of their power, might aspire to the rank of republicans, and claim for their government the ho- norable title of republic." Did Madison mean by this, the great body of rulers, merely, with their constituents, the freeholders ? No one can even pre- tend to think so, with any shadow of candor. Ma- dison, then, would not have called Rhode Island a Republic ; and, by the same rule, would not have sanctioned the conduct of her '^nobles.''' But I return to the original point. Did our Fathers, then, when they looked round on that " old Thirteen," see only Corporations, land- ed, or otherwise ? Did they not rather see men — liv- ing, thinking, rational beings, with true souls, and strong hearts, and ready hands, and feet that stayed not at home when their rights were invaded? Through these, in these, and these alone, they re- cognised the State ■— the new State, which was to MIGHT AND RIGHT. 125 be governed by the law, and the constitution-para- mount, which is written where no despot can erase it — deep in the nature of man ? If it were not so, then were their Acts, and their Declarations, a great bundle of absurdities — and, worse, an unjust resist- ance to just power, and a Avanton waste of human life. In summing up his paragraph on the corporations, Mr. Durfee asks, " What became of the Confedera* tion ? What became of the Congress that made the declaration ?" I answer, neither the Confederation, nor the Congress, was created by virtue of any royal authority, but by virtue of the principle they had made the basis of their new system — the Right of man to participate in the government of the com- munity to which he belongs. Here let me call the attention of Mr. Durfee and his associates to one fact, of which they do not seem to be aware. The Confederation was quietly set aside by the People, through their delegates in Congress, and was succeeded by the Constitution ; and the first quiet, bloodless revolution, of Avhich the history of the world bears record, was etfected. There stands the triumphant principle, which the revolution established, confirmed by the seal of the first Congress, who, by their successful experiment, practically reaffirmed the truth, that " it is the right of the people to alter, or abolish," their constitutions of government ; and showing, by their own act, that such change might he effected peacefully. There stands our first great precedent, as it shown forth, living, from the hands of the sages of '76 ! There it shall stand forever, as an example to all future ages, showing that the great principle for which we con- tend, is no more sublmie in theory, than safe and true in practice. Who, then, I ask once m.ore, were the recipients of the sovreignty ? " The corporation," still per- sists Mr. Durfee, '' because the sovereign will, being IP 126 MIGHT AND KIGHT. a unit, could not be divided among thousands of inde- pendent individuals, without being destroyed." How Mr. Uurfee fixed upon the locality, wherein to de- posit his ^'wiit,'^ I cannot for my life see. Would not each individual of the Freemen who made the component parts of the body politic, claim to be, in his own person, a representation of his full portion of that sovereignty, or in other words, claim his proper dividend of the ^^unit?'^ I believe no one can deny this. Then is not the '' vnii'^ divided ? And what becomes of the argument? It arrives simply to this — A ^'unit" may be divided among hundreds, and remain in safety ; but if it be divided among thouscmds, it is lost. Whoever can see the force of it, must have good optics. " For optics sharp, it needs, I ween, To see what w not to be seen." But where then, is the sovereignty vested ! '' In the government and people cotemporaneously," says Mr. Jackson.* " In the political people," says Mr. Randolph.* ''In the people," says Mr. Hazard.* Truly. But I am forced to ask a strange question for a native of this free state. Who are the people ? '' The Freemen," confidently answers Mr. Hazard ; and all the different members of the Oligarchy echo the assertion, with all their appendages, by which I mean the various chattels in human shape, which they have purchased by proscription, bribery, patron- age, and otherwise. Let us try the assertions of these gentlemen by those 01 some others, who are, I think, quite as wise — quite as great — and, what is better, quite as noNEST. I Avill begin with those of Rhode Island herself, that out of her own mouth her degenerate sons may receive their condemnation. When the Delegates of the People of Rhode Isl- ♦ Members of the General Assembly. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 127 and met in Convention, for the purpose of ratifying the Constitution of the United States, on the 29th day of May, 1790, they issued a declaration, which was a recapitulation of the great work of Jeiferson, and hardly inferior to it. The principles of this do- cument were so directly opposed to those of the Government, that it became a matter of grave policy to keep it nicely laid away ; and, probably, very few men in the State knew of its existence, until it was drawn forth from among its mouldering companions, by Judge Staples, on the occasion of the last semi- centennial celebration of the ratification of the Con- stitution. And a very injudicious act was that. Here I find '' That all power is naturally vested in, and, consequently, derived from the people; [not Landholders] that magistrates, therefore, are their trustees and agents, and at all times ame7iahle to them.'''' William E. Richmond, whom I have taken occa- sion to quote before, said, '' The People of every political community are^ under God^ the only legiti- mate source of political poioer. To them, and to them only, belongs the right of establishing govern- ments." Wilson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, speaks directly and explicitly to the point in question. He was a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence ; was a member of the Con- vention which formed the Constitution of the United States, and of the Pennsylvania State Convention which adopted it ; a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States ,* a professor and learned expounder ef the law, and reviser of the Laws of Pennsyl- vania. ^' Perhaps some politician who has not considered with sufficient accuracy our political systems, would answer; ^but i:i our government the supreme power is vested in the Constitutions.' This opinion ap- 12S miCtHT and right. proaches a step nearer the truth, (than the position that it resides in the Legislature) but does not reach it. The truth is, that in our governments the su* pretnc, absolute, and uncontrolahle jpoioer^ remains in THE PEOPLE. As our constitutious are superior to our legislatures, so the people are superior to our constitutions. Indeed, the superiority in this last instance is much greater, for the people possess, over our constitutions, control in act, as well as in right." Again he sa^^s, vol. 1, p. 25, '' The dread and re- doubtable sovereign when traced to his ultimate source, has been found, as he ought to have been found, in the free and inde'pendent man. This truth, 60 simple and natural, and yet so neglected, may be appreciated as the fii-st and fundamental principle in the science of government." Locke says : "I affirm that the liberty for which we contend, is granted by God to every man^ in his own person, in such a manner as may be useful to him, and his posterity." Vol. 1, p. 403. Vattel says: "This (the sovereign) authority essentially belongs to the body of the society." Law of Nations, p. 48. The Declaration of Independence says : '' Tliat all power is naturally vested in, and consequently de- rived from the people :" and Judge Story, in his Commentaries, says: "The Declaration puts the doctrme on the true sround — that ffovernments de- rive their powers from the consent of the governed." INIontcsquieu speaks of " The People in whom the supreme power resides." Spirit of Laws, Book 2, cap. 2. Jay, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, says: "At the Revolution the sove- reignty devolved on the People ; and they are truly the sovereigns of the country ; but they are sove- reigns without subjects, (unless the African slaves among us may be so called,) and have none to gov- ' MIGHT AND RIGHT. 129 ern but themselves : the citizens of America are equal as fellow citizens^ and as joint tenants in the sovereignty y — [2. Dallas's Reports, 409. Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, says : "It has been said that the people had already surrendered all their powers to the State sovereignties, and had nothing more to give. But surely the question whether they may resume or modify the powers granted to government, does not remain to he settled hy this country. ^^ [4. Wheaton's Reports, 405. Judge Wilson says again : '' Permit me to mention one great principle, the t^?7«/ principle I may well call it, which diiiuses animation and vigor through all the others. The principle 1 mean is this, that the supreme or sovereign power resides in the citizens at large ; and that, therefore, they always retain the right of abolishing, altering, or amending their con- stitution at whatever time and in whatever Tnanner, they shall deem expedient." Lectures on Law, vol. 1, p. 17. I might multiply authorities, but I forbear : for have I not traced this poor hunted sovereignty to its ultimate retreat — its primal investment, in man ? Is not the reserved power — the ''power behind the throne, greater than the throne itself," most properly — nay, unquestionably bestowed here ? Methinks I hear dissenting voices saying " These authorities all go for nothing ; because by the word people not the whole people is meant, but only the freemen. But let me ask what do the terms " every man^^^ " hody of the society ^^'' ^^ citizens at large, ^^ mean} A par- ticular portion ; or the whole ? By placing the power of sovereignty in the corporation, or the laws, you are involved in an absurdity — you make the creature paramount to the creator. It is a heathenish doctrine, that man must bow down and worship the work of 130 MIGHT AND RIGHT. his own hands. If you place it in property, you might, by the same rule, admit some of the in- ferior animals to this distinguished honor. The Chimpanz^* chooses his lot, and builds himself a house, lie is a ^ Hand holder f^ and all of us are well acquainted with the Beaver, as an owner of '' Water Privileges ;" and if sovereignty is vested in any thing foreign to the man himself, why may not these be freemen, and suitable members of the body-corporate ? But I weary with reasoning with those, who, if we may judge by their logic, are cousins of no distant removal from the Chimpanz^ himself; and, with the intimation that if they have four hands apiece, they will find, work sufficient for them all to do, before they prove that Man, and not God, is the creator of people, I dismiss this para- graph. To whom then did this residuary power, the ulti- mate sovereignty, revert at the revolution ? To the People I answer. Unquestionably, to the whole People. If the power passed to the few there must have been some expressed act of surrender, by which the remaining portion bestowed their proper sove- reignty on the majority. No such act can be shewn. And if there were any, it would be invalid. An in- herent and original right cannot be invalidated, even by a voluntary act. A man, for instance, cannot divest himself of the right to be happy ; because that right is conjoined with his nature, his very being. He may, indeed, by violating the laws of his nature, deprive himself of the power of being happy ; but never of the right to be so. The Decla- ration of Independence says '' That there are certain natural rights, of which men, when they form a social compact, cannot deprive or divest their pos- terity ; among which are the enjoyment of life and * The species of Quatlrumana which approaches most nearly to man. ^ MIGHT AND RIGHT. 131 liberty, with the means of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining hap- piness and safety." So that if by any possibihty our Fathers could have divested themselves of the rights of citizenship, it is very plain that they could not have divested us of it. The question of the People's sovereignty being established, by what mode, or through what chan- nel, were they to obtain a Bill of Rights, by which their liberties would be secured? Mr. Goddard says : "We have moreover maintained that where a Constitution provides no mode of amending itself, the people must effect the desired reform through the agency of the Legislature, the representatives and agents of the people. No other mode of chang- ing constitutions of government can we admit to be *'an explicit act of the whole people.' " And this is the sentiment of the Oligarchy. Now what if three- fifths of the people have none of these agents, or representatives ; and what if other people's agents will not interest themselves in their business ; though they have patiently waited, hardly ceasing to peti- tion for more than fifty years ? What must the peo- ple do then ? Must they settle down into the abject condition of slaves, to be only the more wretched for having souls ? And the General Assembly, with a nod of amiable condescension, strokes its whiskers very complaciently ; and, with a smile of perfect security, assents to the proposition. The idea of slaves, and slavery, has always been to it an exceed- ingly composing and agreeable thought. It has helped it to digest many a good dinner, eaten at the State's expense. The men of Rhode Island began to think other- wise ; and in process of time, they began to act otherwise. In short they took steps to right them- selves, as we have already recited, seeing there was none other to right them. And, thereupon, then' 132 MIGHT AND RIGHT. master put on an air of offended dignity, swelled to the full dimenisons of its biggest garment, while its awful brow wore a terrible frown. But the men of Rhode Island, nothing daunted, went on with their Avork ; and let us see what authorities we can find to justify them. Montesquieu says : " The people are extremely well qualified for choosing those whom they are to en- trust with a part of their authority. They have only to be determined by things which they cannot be strangers to, and by facts that are obvious to sense." Spirit of Laws, Book 2, chap. 2. Vattel says : '' If a nation is dissatisfied with the public administration it may reduce it to order, and reform the government. In virtue of the same prin- ciples it is certain that if the nation is uneasy under its constitution, it has a i^ight to change it. The opinion of the majority must pass without dispute^ for that of the whole nation ; otherwise it would be impossible for the society ever to take any resolu- tion." — Law of Nature, p. 67. Algernon Sydney says: ''Filmer doubts who shall judge of the lawful cause of changing the gov- ernment, and says 'it is a pestilent conclusion to place that power in the multitude.' " '' But why should this be esteemed pestilent, and to whom ? If the allowance of such a power in the senate was pestilent to Nero, it was beneficial to niankind ; and the denial of it, which would give Nero an opportunity of continuing in his villanies, would have been pestilent to the best men whom he endeavored to destroy ; and to all others Avho re- ceived benefit from them. But this question depends upon another; for if governments are instituted for the pleasure, great- ness, or profit of one man, he must not be interrupt- ed ; for the opposing of his will is to overthrow the institution. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 133 '^ On the other side, if the good of the governed be sought, care must be taken that the end he accom- plished^ though it be with the prejudice of the gov- ernor. If the power be originally in the multitude, and one or more men, to whom the exercise of it, or a part of it was. committed, had no more than their brethren, till it was conferred on him, or them, it cannot be believed that rational creatures would advance one or a few of their equals above them- selves, unless in consideration of their own good; and I find no inconvenience in leaving to them a right of judging whether this be duly performed, or not. '^ We say, in general, ' He that institutes may also abrogate ;' most especially when the institution is not only bij^ but for himself. If the multitude, there- fore, do institute, the multitude may abrogate ; and they themselves, or those who succeed them in the same right, can only be fit judges of the performance of the ends of the institution." " Our author (Filmer) may perhaps say ; the pub- lic peace may be hereby disturbed ; but he ought to know there can be no peace where there is no justice, nor any justice if the government instituted for the good of a nation, be turned to its ruin. But in plain English, the inconveniences with which such as he endeavors to affright us, is no more than that he, or they, to whom the power is given, may be restrain- ed, or chastised, if they betray their trust ; which I presume Avill displease none, but such as would rather subject Rome, with the best part of the world depending upon it, to the will of Caligula, or Nero, than Caligula or Nero to the judgment of the senate and people ; that is rather to expose many great and brave nations to be destroyed by the rage of a sav- age beast, than to subject that beast to the judgment of all, or the choicest men of them ; Avho can have no interest to pervert them, nor other reason to be 12 134 MIGHT AND RIGHT. severe to him, than to prevent the mischiefs he would commit ; and to save the people from ruin." — [Vol. 1, p. 279. And It is because the Suifrage Movement, and the principles which it elicited, was pestilent to '' Nero," and the partisan favorites of Nero, with all their ap- purtenances small and large, that it has been so cried out against — so traduced — so opposed. And again Sydney says : '' Governments, and the magistrates that execute them, are created by man. They who give a being to them cannot but have the right of regulating, limiting, and directing them, as best pleaseth themselves.'^ — [Vol. 1, p. 296. And again : " The law of the instituted power is to accomplish the end of its institution, as creatures are to do the will of their Creator ; and in deflecting from it overflow their own being. Magistrates are distinguished from other men by the power with which the law invests them, for the public good : he that cannot, or will not, procure that good, de- stroys HIS OWN BEING." By this rule our Charter magistrates were long since dead — struck to the heart by the recoiling weapon with which they would have transpierced the liberties of the people — destroyed by their own suicidal hands : and we had only to give them de- cent rites of sepulture, leaving their own public deeds to be their iittmg monuments. Lord Russell who Avas one of the Council of Six* which was formed to check the despotic proceedings of Charles and his brother, and was the fellow-mar- tyr of Sydney, in his writings and conversation ex- pressed the same sentiments. When the Doctors Burnet and Tillotson with the hope of saving his * The romaininor five were the Duke of Monmouth, Algernon Sydney, Lords Essex and Howard, and John Hampden. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 135 life, attempted to persuade him to acknowledge to the king that subjects had in no case whatever a right to resist the throne, Russell replied : " Upon that hypothesis I see no difference between this government and the Turkish. I can have no con- ception of a limited monarchy which has not a right to defend its own limitations ; and my conscience will not permit me to say otherwise to the king." And the noble martyr gave the highest evidence of sincerity that man could give. He literally sealed this great principle with his blood. It follows, then, by the authority of Russell, that, since we may de- fine no limitations of the power of our hydra-despot, the General Assembly, our government is no freer than that of the Turks. Sovereignty, we have seen, by all evidence, self- associate, and suborned, must exist in the man ; and can exist in no other-where. And, now that we have a platform whereon to establish it, the Right OF Change will be a structure not difficult to rear. Let us search authorities for evidence on this point, also. Locke says : '^ The legislature, being only a fidu- ciary power, to act for certain ends, there remains still in the people a supy^eme poiver to renew or alter the legislative when they find the legislature act con- trary to the trust reposed in them. ''If they (the people) have set limits to the dura- tion of their legislature, and made this supreme power in any person or assembly only temporary : or, else, when, by the miscarriages of those in autho- rity, it is forfeited ; upon its forfeiture, or at the de- termination of the time set, it reverts to the society ; and the people have a right to act, as supreme, and continue the legislative in themselves, or erect a new form ; or, under the old form, place it in new hands — as they think good." — [C. 13, S. 149, 13G MIGHT AxND RIGHT. Uiidoiibtedly Locke used the word '^people" in the good old sense, and intended it should represent every person in the State, who, by his age and ability to judge in such matters, would have been a party to the social compact, if it had been formed anew at the time. Robert Hall says : ''As no man can have any natural or inherent right to rule any man more than another, it necessarily follows, that a claim to domin- ion, wherever it is lodged, must be ultimately re- ferred back to the explicit, or implied consent of the people. Whatever source of civil authority is assign- ed different Irom this, will be found to resolve itself into mere force. But as the natural equality of one generation, is the same with that of another, the PEOPLE have always the same right to new-model their government, and set aside their rulers. This right, hke every other, may be exerted capriciously and absurdly ; but no human poiuer can have any pretensions to intercept its exercise. For civil rulers cannot be considered as having any claims that are coextended with those of the people, nor as forming a party separate from the nation. They are appoint- ed by the community to execute its will, not to oppose it ; they cannot bind the society itself, or prevent it, when it shall think proper^ from forming an entire new arrangement; — a right that no compact ca7i alienate^ or diminisJi, and which has been exerted as often as a free government had been formed. " With the enemies of freedom it is a usual arti- fice, to represent the sovereignty of the people as a license to anarchy and disorder. But the tracing up civil power to that source, will not diminish our ob- ligations to obey ; it only explains its reasons, and settles It on clear, determined principles. It turns blind submission into rational obedience, tempers the passion for liberty with the love of order, and places mankind in a happy medium, between the extremes MIGHT AND RIGHT. 137 of anarchy on the one side, and oppression on the other. It is the polar star that will conduct us safe over the ocean of political debate, and speculation — the laAV of laws — the legislator of legislators." — An Apology for the Freedom of the Press. S. 4. If Milton had been a Rhode Islander, living under the Charter Dynasty, he could not have spoken more to our purpose than in the following passage. '' And surely, they that shall boast, as we do, to be a free nation, and not to have, themselves, the power to remove or abolish any governor, either supreme or subordinate, with the government itself, upon urgent causes, may please their fancy with a ridiculous and painted freedom, fit only to cozzen babies, but are, indeed, under tyranny and servitude ; as wanting the power which is the root and source of all liberty — to dispose and economise in the land which God hath given them, as masters of family, and of their own house and free inheritance, without which natural and essential power of a free nation, though bearing^ high their heads they can, in due esteem, be thought no better than slaves and vassals, born in the tenure and occupation of another inheriting lord, whose government, though not illegal or intolerable, hangs over them like a lordly scourge, not as a free gov- ernment, and therefore to be abrogated." And again he says ; '' It follows, lastly, since the king or magistrate holds his authority of the people, both originally and naturally for their good, in the first place, and not his own, then may the people, as often as they shall judge it for the best, either choose him, or reject him, retain him, or depose him, though no tyrant, merely by the liberty and right of free- born men to be governed as seems to please them- best." — Milton^ s Prose Works, vol. 2, p. 171. Here, then, the right of abrogation is made the very testing principle by which liberty is tried. Nor are we " babies," that we should be longer cozzen- 12* 138 MIGHT AND RIGHT. ed with this '' painted freedom ;" but we Avill prove ourselves men, capable of resuming and securing our natural and "free inheritance." Washington, in his Farewell Address, says, " The basis of our political systems is the right of the peo- ple to make and alter their constitutions of govern- ment." Did, Washington mean such people as are made at our 'Town-Meeting-Manufactories of men ? Did he not rather mean such as God has made, and invested Avith dominion over all the earth ? Jefferson says; "It is not only the right, but the duty, of those now on the stage of action, to change the laws and institutions of government, to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, the light of science, and the amelioration of the condition of society. Nothing is to be considered unchangeable, but the inherent and inalienable rights of man." Harrison says, " The broad foundation upon Avhich our constitution rests, is the people. A breath of theirs has made, as a breath can unmake, change and modify it." — Inaugural Address. Rhode Island herself, by her Convention of 1760, said, " that the powers of government may be re- assumed by the people, whenever it shall become necessary to their happiness." The people, then, are to be the judge ; for none will be so stupid as to believe that it was to be left to the magistrates to decide, whether a change would be necessary to the people's happiness. Madison, in advocating the adoption of the Con- stitution of the United States, says, " The first ques- tion that offers itself is, whether the general form and aspect of the government be strictly republi- can 1 It is evident that no other forrrf would be reconcilable with the genius of the people of Amer- ica, with the fundamental principles of the revolu- tion, or with tliat honorable determination which animates every votary of freedom, to rest all our po- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 139 litical experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government." — Federalist, No. 39, j9. 203. Hamilton says, '' The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure original fountain of all legitimate authority." — Federalist No. 22, p 119. Judge Wilson says: ''The consequence of the sovereignty being vested in themselves, is that the people may change their constitutions, whenever^ and hoioever, they please. This is a right of which no positive institution can deprive them." Again the same Judge says ; "Of the right of a majority of the whole people to change their govern- ment attain, there can be no doubt." — 1 Wilson, 418. 1 Tucker's Black. Comm. 168, cited 324 p. vol. 1 Story's Comm.. Again he says; ''As to the people, however, in whom the sovereign power resides, the case is widely difi'erent, and stands upon widely different principles. From their authority the Constitution originates ] for their safety and felicity it is established. In their hands, it is as clay in those of the potter. They have a right to mould, preserve, improve, refine and finish it as they please." — Works, vol. 1, p. 418. The learned Judge then proceeds to overturn the modern theory of* Rhode Island, that the doctrme of man's inherent rights is an " abstraction,^^ by saying ; " These important truths, sir, are far from being merely speculative ; we, at this moment, speak, and deliberate, under their immediate and benign influ- ence. To the operation of these truths, we are to ascribe the scene, hitherto unparalleled, which Ame- rica now exhibits to the world ; a gentle, a peaceful, a voluntary and a deliberate transfer from one con- stitution of government to another, (from the Con- federation to the Constitution of the United States.) 140 MIGHT AND RIGHT. In Other parts of the world the idea of revolution in s^overnment, by a mournful and indissoluble associa- tion, is connected with the idea of wars, and all the calamities attendant on war." It seems, then, that Revolution may be peaceful. And why was it, but because Rhode Island refused to acknowledge the principles of American govern- ment, that the proposed change in her institutions could not be effected peacefully, as was the intention of its movers ? Rhode Island had, in truth, ceased to be a Republic ; or this vital principle of Repub- lics must have been considered paramount. But to proceed with the authority of Wilson. He goes on to say, in the same connection ; " But happy expe- rience teaches us to view such revolutions in a very different light — to consider them as progressive steps in improving the knowledge of government, and incrsasing the happiness of society and man- kind."— WorArs, vol 3, p. 293. And again: '' Oft have I viewed with silent plea- sure and admiration, the force and prevalence through the United States of this principle, that the supreme power resides in the people, and that they never part with it. It may be called the panacea in politics. If the error be in the Legislature, it may be corrected by the Constitution ; if in the Constitution, it may be corrected by the people. There is a remedy, therefore, for every distemper in government, if the people be not wanting to themselves. For a people WANTING to themselves, THERE IS NO REMEDY." [Ibid. Again he says ; '^ A proper regard to the original and i7ihere7it, and continued power of the society to change its Constitution, will prevent mistakes and mischiefs of a very different kind. It will prevent giddy inconstancy ; it will prevent unthinking rash- ness ; it will prevent unmanly langour." — Works, vol. 1,;?. 420. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 141 Justice Iredell, of the Supreme Court of the United States, in relation to the difference between the prin- ciples of our own government and those of Europe, 3d vol. Elliott's Debates, says ; " Our government is founded on much nobler principles. The people are known, with certainty, to have originated in them- selves. Tliose in power are their servants and agents. And the People, loithout their consent^ may remodel the government whenever they think proper, not merely because it is oppressively exercised, but because they think another form is more conducive to their welfare." — Cited, tStoiy^s Coiiim. vol. 1, p. 326. It is not, then, a necessary feature in the right of change, that the government be oppressive in its character, but if the people be displeased with it, in any way, or any degree, they may alter it, so as it shall be conformable to their own ideas of right. Justice Patterson, of the Supreme Court of the United States, says ; " The Constitution is the work of the People, themselves, in their original, sovereign, and unlimited capacity." And again: ^' A Consti- tution is a form of government delineated by the mighty hand of the People ;" is " paramount to the will of the Legislature," and is liable only " to be revoked, or altered, by those who made it." — Dal- las' Rep. p. 304. Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence, says ; " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- piness ; that TO SECURE these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter, or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying 142 MIGHT AND RIGHT. its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." Mr. Rawle, a distinguished Commentator on the Constitution of the United States, has given us the following remarkable passage. "It is not necessary that a Constitution should be in writing ; but the superior advantages of one reduced to writing, over those resulting on traditionary information, or which are to be collected from rare acts and proceedings of the government, itself, are great and manifest, A dependence on the latter is, indeed, destructive of one main object of a Constitution, which is to check and restrain governors. If the people can only refer to the acts and 'proceedings of the government^ to as- certain their own rights, it is obvious that, as every such act may introduce a new principle, there can be no stability in the government. The order of things is inverted ; what ought to be the inferior, is placed above that which should be the superior ; and the legislature is able to alter the Constitution at its pleasure." — Rawle on the Constitution, p. 16. Luther Martin, Attorney General of Maryland, and one of the Delegates to the Convention of 1787, says; "Agreeably to the Articles of Confederation, entered into in the most solemn manner, (and for the observance of which, the States pledged themselves in the most solemn manner, to each other ; and called upon the Supreme Being, as a witness and avenger between them) no alterations are to be made in those articles, unless, after they are approved by Congress, they are agreed to by the Legislature of every State ; but by the resolve of the Convention, this Constitution is not to be so ratified, but is to be submitted to Conventions chosen by the people ; and, if ratified by them, is to be binding." Here is to be observed a very interesting and im- portant step taken by these new travellers in the MIGHT AND RIGHT. 143 great Highway of Human Liberty. They made the advance of submitting the subject of their labors, not to any intermediate agents or ministers, but to the SOVEREIGN POWER itsclf, as cnshrined and vested in THE People. The Supreme Court of the United States, through their Chief Justice, Marshall, say ; '' That the Peo- ple have an original right to establish for their future government, such principles as, in their opinion, shall most conduce to their own happiness, is the basis ON WHICH the whole AmERICAN FABRIC HAS BEEN ERECTED." And does not the denial of that right in Rhode Island, show that the will exists, if not the power, to subvert, and v/holly to overthrow that fabric ? Justice Story, of the Supreme Court of the United States, says ; " The understanding is general, if not universal, that having been adopted by a majority of the people, the Constitution of the State hinds the whole commumty, proprio vigore," (by its own in- nate power) " and is unalterable, unless by the con- sent of a 77iajority of the people, or, at least by the qualified votes of the State, in the manner prescribed by the Constitution, or otherioise 'provided hy the ma~ ^ jority. No right exists, in any town, or county, or any organised body within the State, short of the whole people of the State, to alter, suspend, resist, or disown the operations of that Constitution, or to withdraw themselves from its jurisdiction. Much less is the compact supposed liable to interruption, or suspension, or dissolution, at the will of any pri- vate citizen upon his own notion of its obligations, or of any infringement of them by the constituted authorities. The only redress for any such, infringe- ments, and the only guaranties of individual rights and property, are understood to consist in the peace- able appeal to the proper tribunals, constituted by the government for such purposes ; if these should fail. 144 MIGHT AND RIGHT. by the ultimate appeal to the justice and good sense of the majority. And this, according to Mr. Locke, is the true sense of the original compact, by which every individual has surrendered to the majority of the society, the right permanently to control and di- rect the operations of the government therein." — Sto- ry^ s Comm. vol. 1, p. 305. "Vattcl justly observes," says Mr. Rawle, ^'that the perfection of a State, and its aptitude to fulfil the ends proposed by Society, depends upon its Constitu- tion. The first duty to itself is, to form the best Constitution possible, and one most suited to its cir- cumstances ; and thus it lays the foundation of its safety, permanence, and happiness. But the best Constitution that can be framed, with the most anx- ious deliberation that can be bestowed upon it, may, in practice, be found imperfect, and inadequate to the true interests of society. Alterations and amend- ments then became desirable. The People retains ; the People, cannot, perhaps, divest itself of the power to make such alterations. A moral power equal to, and of the same nature as that which made, can, alone, destroy. The laivs of one Legislature may he repealed by another Legislature ; and the power to repeal them cannot be withheld by the power that enacted them. So the People may, on the same principle, at any time, alter or abolish, the Constitu- tion they have formed. This has been frequently and peaceably done by several of these States, since 1776. If a particular mode of effecting such altera- tions has been urged upon, it is most convenient to adhere to it ; but it is not exclusively binding.^^ Rawle on the Constitution, p. 17. The Right of Change was laid down as the very corner stone of the Revolution. It occupied a con- spicuous place in the Declaration of Independence. It was recognised in the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States, and of almost MIGHT AND RIGHT. 145 all the States. Let the royal Chartists of Rhode Island, and their Advocates abroad, read their own State Constitution, and tell me how they can deny the right of Revolution, without abandoning the principles of free government. They will see, too, that the people not only possess the right of Change, but the right to effect that change, at such time, and in such manner, as the}^ please. Articles of Confederation. " Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independ- ence." Constitution of the United Stales. " The United States shall guaranty to every State in the Union, a republican form of government^ "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain n'o^hts, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the peo- ple. Tlie powers not dolegated to the United States are reserved to the States respectivelij, or to the people." Constitution of Maine. " All power is inhennt in (lie people. All free governments are founded in their authority and instituted tor their benetil. Tliey have, therefore, an unalienah'e and ind feasible I'ight to institute government, and to alter, p.kform, op^ totally chaixge the SAME, WHEN THEIR SAFETY AND HAPPINESS REQU1P..E IT.'* Constitution of A'ew Hampshire. "All government, of right, emanates from the people, is found- ed in consent, and instituted for the general good. VVlienever the ends of government are perverted, or public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are in.?ffpctual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government. The doctrine of non-resistance against arbitrary power and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.^'' Constitution of Vermont. "The community ha.th an indubitable, unalienable, and inde- feasible right to reform or alter g(jvernment, in such manner as shall be by that community judged most conducive to ihe public weal." Constitution of Massachusetts. " The end of government is to furnish the individuals who com- pose it with the power of enjoying in safety and tranquility their 13 146 MIGHT AND RIGHT. natural rights, and whenever these great objects are not obtained, THE PEOPLE HAVE a right to alter the government." " The PEOPLE have, at all times, an undeniable right to alter their form of government, in such manner as they may think ex- pedient" Constitution of Pennsijlvania, "All power is inherent in the PEOPLE: they have at all limes an unalienable and indefeasible right to reform or abolish their government in such manner as THEY may think proper." Constitution of Delaware. " The people may, from time to time, as circumstances require, alter their constitution of government." Constitution of Maryland. " All government originates from the people, and is instituted solely for the good of the uhole. The people of this State ought to have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof." Constitution of Virginia. "./2 majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalier>a- ble, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish government in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal." The Constitutions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Missis- sippi, and Alabama, adopt this noble provision in the Virginia Constitution, almost without variation in language, and with none in sense. Constitution of JVorth Carolina. "All political power is derived from the people. The people of this State ougiit to have the sole and exclusive right of regu- lating the internal government and police thereof." Constitution of Ohio. " All men are born equally free and independent, and every free republican government being founded on their sole authority, they have at all times a COMPLETE power to alter, reform or abolish their Government, whenever they may deem it necessary.". Constitution of Illinois. " All men are born equally free and independent. All power fnherent in the people, and all free governments are founded their authority." Constitution of Missouri. " The people of this state have the inherent, sole and exclusive i right of regulating the internal government and police thereof,! MIGHT AND RIGHT. 147 j and of altering and abolishing' their Constitution and form of go- ! vernment, whenever it may be necessary to their safety or happi- ness." , Now let the Executive, and Cabinet, and the prin- cipal Senators of the United States, examine care- fully the bills of rights in their respective State Con- stitutions, and also the Constitution of the United ! States, which they have sworn to obey, and then answer, truly, if the Free Suffrage people of Rhode Island do not stand before God, and the whole world, as free from rebellion, treason, insurrection, or domestic violence, as did our Fathers of the Revolution, and the framers of all the State Consti- tutions ? And why, it will be asked — why this long array of authorities, in order to establish indisputable points of political faith and doctrine ? Alas, for us, in this ''free" state! These are no longer indispu- table doctrines ! They are positively and absolutely denied by the existing government of Rhode Island, both in theory and in practice — by word and by deed. Let the speeches and writings of the chief men among them be examined. Let the history of their acts, which furnishes but too elaborate a com^ mentary on their principles, be read ; and it will be clearly seen that what I say is true — if it reach the truth — it does not, indeed, go beyond it. What j will Monarchists of the old world say — what Y\^ill I Republicans at home say, when they are told that here, in Rhode Island — the "freest" of all these United States of America — the great and distin- guishing doctrines of the Declaration of Independ- ence, are openly and unblushingly called,* '' theo- retical abstractions" — mere "rhetorical flourishes" — and that one, at least, among our great men has * See Proceedings of the General Assembly and Freeholders' Convention, May, 1841. 148 MIGHT AND RIGHT. said publicly of the above Instrument, that it had ^^ done* more hurt than good.^^ Would not the Aristocrats of Europe take up the bitter taunt of Israel, and cry aloud, in their scorn ; " Art thou, too, fallen, Lucifer, son of the morning ?" And yet our rulers claim to be '' Jelfersonian Democrats ;" and, from time to time, speak and write very round periods, and very fine paragraphs, about the " Democracip:" which our fathers estab- lished, and the RKruBLic of Rhode Island. Is it consistent with the honor — with the safety of a Republic — that such men should minister at its altars ? Degraded and polluted are those altars, with the blood of immolated Freedom ! Here, let it be distinctly understood, that the Suffrage Party sought to eiTect a change m the government, peaccahly. They deprecated the idea of violence. By rumierous precedents — by the authority of able counsellors — they were persuaded they could do this ; but they were always willing to surrender tJieir powers to the properly-organised State Authorities, could anything like equal and just action have been obtained. Even at the eleventh hour the General Assembly had it in their power to conciliate all difficulties, by passing Mr. Atwell's Bill, empowering all tax-paying citizens of Rhode Island, to vote for Delegates to the Convention, which had been called by themselves, for the pur- pose of forming a Constitution. A single breath of the Assembly might, even then, have blown aside all rancor, all bitterness — all party-feeling — and the honest and energetic yeomanry and mechanics of Rhode Island, would, earnestly, and zealously, have co-operated in the great work in which they were so deeply interested. ' Tins iio1)]e sentimont was uttered by one of the Judtres of the Supreme Court of illiode Island. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 149 But when this last repulse was given, they de- clared themselves weary of '^ asking for bread, and receiving only stones ;" will any person wonder that they were so ? They resolved then to put their own hands to the work, and they did so right manfully. They believed that the question had been settled, beyond dispute, that Constitutions of Government might be changed by a majority of the people, without any appeal to force ; that the fact was established by several precedents — the change in the General Government — the changes in the State Constitutions — and thus authorised — and thus established — had come to be considered as a fixed principle in the policy of American Government — indeed its distinguishing principle. But the Chartists refused to acknowledge this American principle. They opposed it. They ridi- culed it. They undermined it by falsehoods and corruptions of the blackest dye. Indeed, the idea that non-feeholders — the patient slaves they had held in check for more than sixty years, simply by the exertion of their "especial grace, certain know- ledge, and mere motion" — should consider them- selves men, was too good a j-oke to be lost. It was really unsafe for an excitable man to dwell upon. It was a phenomenon they never expected to see ; far better than an ordinary comedy. It was a com- plete " farce" — as they often called it. To think that these creatures, who were not '' freemen," nor even ^' people,^'' should really talk about the rights of man ! It was a subject of unmingled astonishment ! Certainly, had the non-freeholders of Rhode Island been bond-slaves, they could not have been treated with more unutterable contempt. Indeed, their movements were not regarded as the actions of men. It was as if a tribe of monkeys had suddenly risen up among us ; and after playing various antics, hich were new, indeed, and wonderful to behold — w 13* 150 MIGHT AND RIGHT. bad, all at once, claimed to exercise the prerogatives of human beings. The demand was, in itself, a most langliable absurdity, while the idea of such beings having rights was monstrous ! And so were met, and so answered, the cries for liberty — the demand for right — of three-fifths of the People of Rhode Island ; at first with ridicule — and then with deep and bitter scorn. Let the whole tone and spirit of the writings, speeches, and debates of the Chartists, witness that I speak truly, and with- out exaggeration. Before dismissing this long chapter, I wish to re- vert a moment to one or two other objections, which have been frequently made by our enemies. The first is that man, when he enters society, surrenders his natural rights, for others, which are termed social rights. During the progress of this controversy, ojie of our most distinguished clergymen was so zealous in the propagation of this doctrine, that he devoted a whole sermon exclusively to its advocacy, taking the ground that Man has 7io inJierejit rights — or properly no rights at ail ; since if he have them not naturally, they must be given — and a gift is of favor, or courtesy — and not of right. Would not Nicholas give the reverend gentleman a higher salary than could be afforded by the society over which he presides, as a premium for preaching doctrines so consonant with the spirit of his own government? But to return to the question. Algernon Sydney says.: " The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative power of man ; but to have only the law of nature for his rule. The liberty of man in society is to be subject to no other legislative power, but that established by consent in the com- monwealih ; nor under the dominion of any will, or restraint of any law, but what that legislature shall enact, according to the trust put in it.'' Here is no MIGHT AND RIGHT. 151 abrogation of natural rights. There is, on the con- trary, an accession of rights in the social state. Locke, who pertinaciously clung to the old idea, timt man, on entering the social state, must siirren- dcr somethings is yet very far from sustaining our opponents in the ground assumed ; which is, either that man has no natural rights, or surrenders them to the community, in the social state. Locke says : " A man, as has been proved, cannot subject himself to the arbitrary power of another ; and having in a state of nature no abitrary power over the life, lib- erty, or possessions of another ; but only so much as the law of nature gave him, fojr the preservation of himself and the rest of mankind ; this is all he doth, or can give up to the community, and by it to the legislative power ; so that the legislature can have no more than this. Their power, in the utmost bounds of it, is limited to the public good of the society- It is a power that can have no other end hut PRESERVATION ,* and, therefore, can never have a right to destroy, enslave, or designedly injure the subjects." By this, I understand, that man, on entering society, surrenders only the exertion of so much of his own physical, or personal power, as would, in a state of nature have been sufficient to enable him to sustain, recover, or defend his natural rights, from his natural enemies. That is to say, instead of going directly to the point, and vindicating, or avenging himself, he deposites this privilege in the hands of the society ; who, by their laws, will vin- dicate, or avenge him ; so that instead of his own single force, he becomes master of their combined strength. This is properly no surrender, when we consider the helpless eondition of one in a state of nature ; but only an exchange of the lesser for the greater good ^ an acquisition, rather than a loss of power. 152 MIGHT AND RIGHT. But Locke, as if conscious that his doctrine of surrender should be surrendered, goes on to say: " The obligations of the law of nature cease not in society ; but only, in many cases, are drawn closer, and liave by human laws, known penalties annexed to them to enforce their observation. Thus the Law of Nature stands as an eternal rule, to leg- islators, as well as others. The rules that they make for other men''s actions, must, as well as their own^ be conformable to the Laio of Nature — that is to the Will of God of which that is a declaration ; and the fundamental law of nature being tlie 'preserva- tion of mankind^ no human sanction can be good against it.^^ The learned PufFendorf, author of many celebrated works in History and Jurisprudence, who was born in 1631, and became the Historiographer and Coun- sellor of the Elector of Brandenberg, says : " One of the chief ends of erecting governments, was, that the Laws of Nature, upon which the comm.on peace of mankind is established, might be obeyed without danger." — [Laio of Nature and Nations, Book 8, ^cc. 2.] Again I quote ancient and high authority, that of Hugo Grotius, who was, in some degree, the Master of Puffendorf, since it was by the perusal of the works of the former, that the mind of the latter was, perhaps, chiefly influenced. Grotius was born at Delft, in Holland, in 1583, and so wonderful Avere his powers, that, at sixteen, he was made a Doctor of the Laws, and soon after entered into the practice of his profession. He successively became Historio- grapcr, Advocate General of Holland and Zealand, Pensionary of Rotterdam, a member of the States General, and Envoy to England. Pie had a strong, vigorous, and unprejudiced mind, discriminating judgment, and great learning. He says, ^^ In the MIGHT AND RIGHT. 153 Law of Nations, the Laio of Nature is included^' — included but not anniJiilatcd. Mr. Hamilton, speaking of the introduction of Bills of Rights nito State Constitutions, says : " It is evident, therefore, that according to their primitive signification, (abridgments of prerogative in favor of privilege,) they have no application to constitutions professedly founded upon the power of the people, and executed by their immediate representatives and servants. Here, in strictness, the people surrender nothing; and as they retain every thing, they have no need of particular reservations." — Federal- ist, No. 83, pp. 463—4. One quotation more from the gifted Reviewer of Montesquieu. "When men, therefore, unite in soci- ety, it is not true, as has been so often said, that they sacrifice a part of their liberties to enjoy the rest with security ; on the contrary, every one of them ac- quires, by association, an increase of power." Again, it is frequently said by our opposers, that there was no objection to the change, itself, but they did not like the Qiianner in which it was brought about. In answer to this, I will quote the authority of Madison ; who, in reply to certain cavaliers that had objected to the Convention that framed the Consti- tution of the United States, on the ground of their having transcended the powers with which they were entrusted, strenuously advocates a disregard of the Articles of Confederation ; or, in otlier Avords, that the end should not be sacrificed to the means. After very ably sustaining this point, he says : " In all great changes of established governments, forms ought to give way to substances; that a rigid adherence, in such cases, to the former, would render nominal and nugatory, the transcen- dent and special right of the people to ' alter, or abolish, their governmeiits, as to them shall seem 154 MIGHT AND RIGHT. most likely to effect their safety and happiness;' since it is impossible for the people, spontaneously and universally, to move in concert towards that object ; and it is, therefore, essential that such changes be instituted by some informal and unau- thorised propositions, made by some patriotic and respectable citizen, or citizens. They must have recollected that it ivas by this irregular and assumed privilege, of proposing to the people plans for their safety and happiness, that' the States were first united against the danger with which they were threatened by their ancient government ; that Com- mittees and Congresses were formed for concentrating tJieir efforts, and defending their rights ; and that Conventions were elected in the several States, for establishing the Constitutions under which they are noio governed ; nor could it have been forgotten that no little, ill-timed scruples, no zeal for adhering to ordinary forms, vv^ere any where seen, except in those who wished to indulge, under these masks, their SECRET ENMITY TO THE SUBSTANCE CONTENDED FOR. They must have borne in mind, that, as the plan to be framed, and proposed, was to be submitted to the people themselves — the disapprobation of this supreme authority would destroy it forever ; its approbation blot out all antecedent errors and irregu- larities /'^ It seems, then, that the original Congresses and Conventions of the United States, were formed by an '■^irregular and assumed pi^ivilege.^' How op- posed is this statement to Mr. Durfee's idea, of royal colonies, in their crysalis state, winding themselves up in their cocoons ; and, in an infinitely small space of time, coming out republics ! How contrary to his doctrme of "corporations," and "units."' Strange tliat sucli great men, and eminent republicans, should so signally disagree ! Bnt have I not sufficiently established the Right MIGHT AND RIGHT. 155 OF Change, as effected by " the mighty hand of the people." If I have not, it would seem- that there is no platform whereon to rest any prerogative. I shall begin to think that all our* inalienable rights are ali- enated — as Judge Haile has had the kindness to tell us they may be. CHAPTER YIII. the landholders' constitution. It will be remembered that a Petition from Elisha Dillingham, and others, to the number of five or six hundred, praying for the abrogation of the Charter, and an extension of Suffrage, was presented to the General Assembly, at its January session, 1841. This, and other petitions presented at the same time, as has before been stated, • were insultingly passed by, without notice, or action. At the same session the Smithfield memorial, praying for an equalised representation, was also presented ; and was acted upon February 6th, by the General Assem- bly passing Resolutions, requesting the freemen to meet in August, for the purpose of choosing Delegates to a Convention, to be holden on the first Monday of November, 1841, to form either in whole^ or in part ^ a 7iew Constitution for the State. * Judge Haile objected that the assertion that all are created free and equal, in popular acception, is not strictly true. Life, liberty, &c. are inalienable rights. We give up these rights, to secure others. — [Proceedings of Freeholders' Convention, Thurs- day, November 11. There is a smack of "a?iW in that speech, that would suggest the idea of birth and parentage in another than jR/iocfe-Island. 156 MIGHT AND RIGHT. At this session the question was brought up, and discussed, whether the General Assembly had any- right, or power, to institute proceedings for the pur- pose of remedying, or changing, the Government of the State. The opinion that the Assembly had not power so to act, without instruction from their con- stituents, seemed generally to prevail. Mr. Robbins said that here everything came " from the sovereign power of the people" — and again, " Here all power is in the People, and they are sovereign." But what did Mr. Robbins mean by the people ? Why the freemen. We shall now see, that the sove- reignty which was thus, theoreiically, bestowed upon the "people," reverted to themselves. The freemen were the creatures of the Assembly. A breath of theirs had called them into being. A breath could annihilate them. The}^ might be ten thousand to-day^ and one thousand to-morrow. The Assembly were, according to their own words, then, the creators of the sovereignty ; and by their pre- rogative of creation, or destruction, held it in com- plete check ; so that if there was. or ever had been, any sovereignty in the people ; or, as they expressed it, the freemen, the General Assembly had usurped and controlled the whole. How absurd, then, to pretend that they had not power, under the existing institutions, to make whatever changes they would. The House, as a body, probably held the opinion of one of Its members, Mr. Robbins. " There is no practical evil shown in our present form ; and we should act until it is shown." At the June session of the Assembly Mr. Atwell's Bill* was proposed to that body, and by them reject- ed. This last effort of freedom against despotism, was voted down by a majority of fifty-two, against ten in favor of the bill. ♦ See page 65. MIGHT AND RIGHT. Ip7 The State Committee of the Suffrage Party had ispendecl their Call for a Convention, hoping that .)mething might 3^et be gained by their last appeal to the sense of justice in the Legislature. But their hopes were vain ; and they proceeded to act for rliemselves, as above recited. The Landholders' Convention met in November^ and without having formed a Constitution, adjourned^ to ascertain, as they said, the wishes of the people, and re-assemble on Monday, Feb. 14th, 1842. The result of the popular movement, in the form- ing and adoption of a State Constitution, was trans- mitted to the Legislature, at the January Session in 1842, by Mr. Atwell, who had been a member of the Suffrage Convention, and was also a member of the Legislature. He at the same time introduced an Act, reciting the results connected with the adoption of the People's Constitution, and requiring the As- sembly to yield up its authority to the new govern- ment that was to be organised under it. A way was provided in this act, by which the Assembly might quietly dissolve itself, on the day previous to that appointed for the election of the People's officers ; so that a provision was wisely made against anarchy, and all its mischiefs. But the General Assembly re- fused to pass this Act. Mr. Atwell then moved for an inquiry into the number of qualified voters, who had cast their ballots for the People's Constitution. But the Assembly refused to take any such step ; they expressed for the doings of the Convention, and the People, a supreme contempt ; considering it of no importance, whether they were a majority, or a minority. No reasonable person can doubt, that this refusal of the Assembly to make oiiicial inquiry into the alleged majority, was a tacit admission of the fact. Had they seen any reasonable doubt of its truth, they would have been very willing to expose the 14 15S WIGHT AND RIGHT. flaw to public view. On the contrary, they perceiv- ed that It would be incumbent on them, if the truth of the majority should be established, to yield their allegiance to the sovereign will of the people, and pass an Act confirming the Constitution. This was a neglect of manifest and positive duty, and was the true cause of all the subsequent disorder, sufiering^ violence, and wrong. Instead of pursuing any me- liorating course, the Assembly, at the same session, passed an Act, declaring the People's Constitution to be " a usurpation," and its adoption " an assumption of the powers of government, a violation of the rights of the existing government, and ef the rights of the people at large f^ that is to say, 14,000 men had violated their own rights, by voting for an in- strument Avhich was to secure the rights of all. The General Assembly never denied the majority, though it was often denied by individuals.* The General Assembly did not dare to deny it, oificially ; but through their individual members, and their Or- gan, the Journal, the most injurious and false opin- ions were expressed and circulated. It was repre- sented that a very considerable portion, or the larg- est portion, of the signers of the People's Constitu- tion, were in forts, or coal mines, or in Ireland, or round Cape Horn, or convicts, or dead. One might have wondered, if he believed the stories, to find a single name on tlie record. During all the preliminary measures, all meet- ings had been called and conducted, according to the ^ancient usage of the state. Clerks and Moderators were appointed, in due form. It has been objected ■'that tlic Moderators and A^oters were not sworn. In Khodc Island, a Moderator is never a sworn otiicer ; and Voters are never sworn, unless their vote is clial- * They indirectly questioned the majority, by adopting tlic Re- port of the hivestigating Co.nmittee, but never querftioned it by direct action. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 159 lenged ; and every challenge that was made, was received at the People's Election ; and the vote ex- cluded from the court. As a strong expression of public opinion, if for nothing more, the case demanded investigation. If the fact that a majority had so voted were ascertain- ed, and made to appear, the question of right in the estimation of the Assembly would have been still open. If the asserted majority had been established as a false assumption, or any serious doubts had been raised concerning it, the controversy must have ter- minated, or have changed its form. When the Ge- neral Assembly refused to examine the claims of the opposite party, they admitted their truth ; and, as a last refuge, were driven to deny, that the people, without their authority, had any right to act in any official manner, or to reform the government of the State. The Constitution had been thrice ratified ; first, by the direct vote of the People ; secondly, by the admission of their opponents ; and, lastly, by the defeat of the Landholders' Constitution, which had been proposed as a substitute. Was the course of the Chartists manly ? Was it right, thus to continue to dispute, and, by all sub- tlety, endeavor to disprove facts, which they utterly refused openly to investigate ? It has been said that a man who makes charges which he cannot sustain, and will not retract, is a liar. But admitting that there were a very large num- ber of fraudulent votes ; there were still the votes of 4,927 freemen ; being a majority of nearly 600 of all the freemen in the State. Here was no oppor- tunity for fraud. Why do not the gentlemen whose names were used fraudulently, come forward and de- clare the fact ? The ballots are registered. They testify for themselves ; and settle the question for ever. To show what miserable quilbles were resorted 160 MIGHT AND RIGHT. to, ill order to disprove the majority, I will give an instance of a writer in the Journal, of March Sd, 1812. The writer quotes the following passage from Judge Story. ''In the adoption of no State Constitution, has the assent been asked of any but the qnalified voters ; and women, and minors, and other persons not recognised as voters by existing laws, have been studiously excluded. And yet the Constitution has been deemed entirely obligatory upon them, as well as upon the minority who voted against it." From this authority the writer goes on to deduce the very important fact, that because the voters on the People's Constitution, were not a ma- jority of all the men, women, and children in the State, they were no majority at all ; and, therefore, that the Constitution in question, did not emanate from the whole people. Must not that be a hope- lessly bad cause, which can admit of defence so weak and miserable as this ? Two Conventions, as we have seen, were in ses- sion at, or nearly at the same time ; but the prmei- ples which governed, and the motives which ani- mated them, were widely different. The first Con- vention was held by Delegates spontaneously chosen by the citizens at large ; the second by Delegates chosen by the qualified Freeholders, who did not amount to more than two-fifths of the people. The object of the first was to extend Sulirage, and to form a Constitution, upon the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence, which should secure to themselves, and their posterity, the precious rights of citizenship, which have been long unnatu- rally alienated from a large portion of the people of Rhode Island, and to the State a Republican form of Government. The avowed intention of the other, was to remodel the old aristocratic form, which se- cured to the minority all the old exclusive privileges. To secure the old form unaltered, if possible, or, that MIGHT AND RIGHT. 161 not being the case, changed as little as possible. Many, if not most of them, have since denied this, and declared themselves always friendly to a judi- cious extension of suffrage. Their action of the last forty years would express a totally different idea ; but contradictions do not disturb the serene equa- nimity of these great men. The known facts in the case, compel us to be- lieve that the Chartists only favored any degree of reform, so far as they were driven to it, and no far- ther. A writer in their Organ, the Journal, of 1841, speaks of the Charter in this wise. '• And have *we not got on very comfortably? The venerable old Charter, (the oldest written Constitution now valid in the world,) which has carried us safely through the better part of two centuries, is, even now, f worth more than half the State Constitutions in existence. The great principles of Jcivil and religious liberty which it embodies, have now become familiar, and are the common platform of every free government." And, again, after reciting a long list of excellences, the writer continues. '-' The Representation should be reformed ; and perhaps, there should be a reor- ganization of the judiciary ; hiit let us handle the venerable instnunent kindly ; let us not be misled by any temporary clamor, nor take steps which we may repent, but which we can never retrace. The Charter, which stood up, the bulwark of our liber- ties before the Revolution, and which the People have lived under ever since, ^^^repeatedly refusing to * "We, the People?" By no means; but we, the Gov- ernment. t Worth more than all, undoubtedly to the Government; but less than nothincr to the people. t The principles of civil liberty, as secured to the " Company,^^ are, doubtless, manitold ; but what ri^ht was secured to the peo- ple at liirge, I could never find out, unless it was the privilege of catching "dubertus and other great fish." § When were the people ever so much as asked, whether the 14* 162 MIGHT AND RIGHT. abrogate it, is not the cumbrous, useless, and absurd instrument that we are sometimes told it is. The changes of nearly 200 years have, indeed, rendered necessary some changes in the application of the principles which it contains, but until human nature changes, there will be no improvement in the great principles of civil and religious liberty, which are acknowledged in the Charter of Rhode Island." The Landholders' Constitution was laid before that portion of the people, who w^ere, by law, per- mitted to vote thereon, on the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of March, 1842, and was rejected by a majority of those voting upon the question — which majority was about seven hundred. This was the second popular triumph. The Peo- ple had not only sustained their own constitution by a vast majority, but they had rejected that of their opposers. Yet from the fact that so many more had voted in favor of the first, than had voted against the last, the majority was denied. And this denial was busily circulated, at home and abroad, set off by circumstances which were fabricated to support it. There were many reasons why the vote in favor of the People's, should be much greater than that against the Landholders' Constitution. I will enu- merate some of them. Charter should be abrogated? They never avere. By this as- sertion, and others of a similar nature, the Chartists have com- pletely deceived the people abroad, as well as many even here. Upon the strength of these authorities, Ave are frequently told that the people of Rhode Island are strongly attached to* their ancient government ; that they have repeatedly refused to change It. ^But let It be always borne in mind, that only the " legal peo- ple, the "corporate people," the freeholders, were recognised in Rhode Island as people, and that the very existence of all other inhabitants, and citizens, is, politically, annihilated. This cannot be too carefully borne in mind; for opinions injurious to the btJttrage Party, and their cause, grow out of such mistakes, and will continue to do so, until the people of other states become acquainted witii our definitions. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 163 1. They had expressed their opinion in their first vote, and there was no occasion for a second rally. 2. Many were intimidated by threats and proscrip- I tions ; others were purchased, and many were de- I ceived. The ignorant were carefully instructed in ; many particulars, which the minority were interest- I ed in promulgating. They were told that this Con- j stitution was just about the same as the People's ; i and if they did not accept it, their lords and masters I would be terribly angry, and would not let them ] have any more making of shoes and coats, nor watch- 1 ing of nights, nor tending of machinery, nor measur- j ing of tape, nor prf aching of sermons, nor lighting j of street lamps, to do, at any rate, whatever. These i! suggestions were but too successfully employed ; for 1 the awful frown of the General Assembly, and the i disapprohatio?i of Freemen, had not yet lost their ij terrors to the bondmen of Rhode Island. I 3. The basis of Suffrage in the Landholders' I Constitution, was not so broad as that of the Peo- i pie's ; so that many who had voted in favor of the ' last, were not qualified to vote against the first. I will now give some of the reasons why they did . vote against it. 1. The Landholders' Constitution contains no of- fering of gratitude to the Supreme Being — no ac- knowledgment of his power — no allusion to our ; venerated Ancestors, to whom the spirit of the Lord I I was as a pillar of fire, leading them in safety through )\ the howling wilderness, and who testified their sense "■ of his paternal guidance, in the name which they gave to their city of Refuge, when first they knelt upon the cold earth, sealing the baptism with min- i gled tears of faith, and hope, and joy ; and conse- crating all the land to soul-liberty. It is good to . remember these things ; but especially is it good to I connect them with, any great public act, which in- i volves consequences that will be infinite in their 164 MIGHT AND RIGHT. extent — through all posterity. The name of Roger Williams, so associated with our Bill of Rights, would paralyse the impious hand that sought to curtail them, and would quicken the true heart, nerve the strong hand, and elevate the soul to do, to dare, and to be, all that is bound up in that Avord of deep, and fearful, and mysterious import — Man. 2. It does not recognise the Natural Rights of Man, nor the Sovereignty of the People, nor the just foun- dation of Government in their will. It Avas moved by Mr. Dorr, who Avas a member of the Landholders' Convention, that tAvo sections should be added to the first article, Avhich declar- ed ^' certain constitutional rights and principles," namely : 1. " All men are created free and equal, and en- dowed by their Creator Avith certain natural, inhe- rent, and inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, the acquisition of property, and the pursuit of happiness. 2. '' All political poAver and sovereignty, are, origmally vested in, and of right belong to the Peo- ple." These sections correspond Avith the first and second sections of the Declaration of 1790. But the '' greater lights" of the Oligarchy objected to the principles, as, ''unnecessary, improper, and not strictly true.^^ The principles of the Declaration of Independence were represented as abstractions, Avhich had nothing to do with practice, and no connection Avith fact. But, had they no connection Avith the practice of our Revolutionary Fathers? Were they mere ab- stractionists, Avho spouted forth a theory, merely for the purpose of cutting ''rhetorical flourishes," with- out supposing any necessary connection betAveen that and their subsequent action ? Then were they not only fools, but arrant knaves; and it has been MIGHT AND RIGHT. 165 left to the acumen of Rhode Island sages to discovsr, and publish the fact. It was further objected that these principles were of no use, whatever, in a Constitution, but to give countenance to revolution ; and that all the States that had adopted them had subsequently given them the lie. The Natural Rights of man were not ac- knowledged. The extension of Suffrage was not considered a question of rights but merely of expedi- ency. The motion of Mr. Dorr was promptly voted down ; and the Landholders' were prudently silent concerning the Rights of Man. 3. It was exceedingly unequal in the privileges it bestowed upon American citizens,' the Freeholders still constituting a favored class ; who were, in many cases, allowed to vote taxes, without paying them. The privilege of the oldest son was also unnecessa- rily continued. 4. It made an unnecessary, unwise, and unjust disthiction, (unknown in any other State of the Union,) between naturalised and other citizens ; requiring of the former three years residence (in ad- dition to the five required by the Law of the United States,) and a real estate in the town where they should offer to vote. Why, let me ask, why was this strange jealousy — this unjust, this unreasonable distrust of foreigners, which has prevailed too much in Rhode Island ? What could they fear by admitting foreigners, pro|> erly qualified, to the elective franchise ? Is the fact that they have expatriated themselves from their own country, whose every growing tendril was en- twined with their very heart-strings, because they could not longer succumb to the galling yoke, or prostitute then' manhood on the altar of des- potism, any evidence that they cannot appreciate liberty here ? They hear great, perhaps exaggerat- ed stories of our freedom, and the advantages ex- 166 MIGHT AND RIGHT. tended to emigrants; and they come here, hope- winged, as to "The land of the brave, the home of the free." They come and settle permanently among us ; and, by perseverance and industry, they not unfre- quently support themselves with credit, and rear their children in such manner as to render them useful members of society. There is an insidious charge often made against foreigners, of poverty, and ignorance, and incapacity to understand or ap- preciate the blessuigs of liberty ; and, therefore, that they are fit only to be made the tools of designing politicians. Have we forgotten that the son of poor Irish emigrant parents was but lately twice elected the head of the nation ? Have we forgotten that poor, oppressed, trodden-down Ireland gave us a McDonough, and a Barry, to rock the cradle of our infant Navy ; a Montgomery to die beneath the walls of (iuebec ? That she gave us a Stark, a Sullivan, a Jackson, a Jasper, and a Scammel ; a Carroll, a Smith, a Taylor, and a Thornton, who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, to sustain the Declaration of our Fathers? What are McPherson, DeKalb, Gates, Stewart, Lee, Pulaski, St. Clair, Hamilton, Baron Stuben, Roch- ambeau, Chastellux, DeGrasse, Kosciusko, and La Fayette, but the names of foreigners ? They icere foreigners ; but they fought for us ; and, had it not been for their assistance, our struggle must have been incfTectual. And is nothing due to them, and, through them, to their fellows-countrymen ? Is nothing due to the Freedom for which they fought and bicd ? Shall we forget the more than Spartan valor — the greater than Roman virtue — of the little band of Irislimen, who, in the Revolutionary War, left then- homes, their happy fireside, and the embraces MIGHT AND RIGHT. 167 of their wives and children, for the defence of Phila- delphia ? They went with naked feet that left tracks of blood along the wintry way. And when Phila- delphia, to her everlasting shame, had, of all her ex- cecdmg wealth, doled out to her brave defenders, and their starving families, a poor five hundred dollars, did they attempt to escape from the service of their ungrateful adopted country ? No. With true Irish hearts they had wedded freedom ; and they now refused to divorce her? They left deep stains of blood, and dead bodies, to be mute wit- nesses of their devotion, and their truth. Lord Howe, the British General, hearing of their exceed- ing ill-treatment, sent messengers to the poor naked, starving Hibernians, to extend to them pardon for all past offences — to invite them to return from feeding on husks to the feast of fat things, which should be provided under the renewed favor of their royal master. And how did they receive these mes- sengers ? They rejected with scorn the most allur- ing promises. They clung to poverty, starvation, nakedness, and ingratitude. There was no Judas — no Arnold among them. That band of poor, neg- lected, hungry, naked, forlorn Irishmen, trampled the glittering coin beneath their feet, and told their destined purchasers, that Manhood ivas not a coni- niodity — it could not be bought. And do we owe nothing to Ireland, and to Irishmen, for the sake of these ? But I doubt the policy, as well as the right, of that principle of action, which would prevent " our country," from becoming ''everybody's country." Lord Bacon, who was a man certainly not inferior in wisdom even to our greatest men, says : " By those States that have easily and liberally communi- cated the rights of citizenship, greatness has been most successfully acquired. No commonwealth opened its bosom so wide for the reception of new 168 MIGHT AND RIGHT. citizens, as the Commonwealth of Rome. The for- tune of the Empire was correspondent to the wisdom of the Earth. It was their custom to confer the right of citizenship in the most speedy manner. I mean not only the right of commerce — the right of marriage — but the right of Suffrage — and the right to the otlices and honors of the republic." — 1 Ld. Bacon, p. 245. Let America, then, still continue to be the ''Nurs- ing-Mother of Nations." Let the poor and the op- pressed of every clime, flock to her widely-stretching arms. She will embrace them warmly, and cherish them fondly ; for hex high prerogative is the mater- nity of the world. 5. The irregular and unlimited power of the As- sembly over the Judiciary was continued, together with a right of jurisdiction in divorces, insolvent pe- titions, and other matters, whose settlement belongs properly to the courts of law. 6. It destroyed the majority principle. It was a continuance of the old Rotten Borough system. The Senate and House of Representatives under it, would each, have been chosen by less than one-third of the population. . 7. It made the Government the master, and not the servant of the people, as it should do. 8. It gave the Legislature power to extend Suf- frage for particular purposes, and on conditions not recognized by the Constitution. 9. It vested in the Legislature the pardoning power ; and not in the Executive, as it should do. In favor of the opinion that this power should be vested in the Chief Magistrate, Mr. Hamilton gives the following excellent reasons. '' Humanity and good policy conspire to dictate, that the benign prerogative of pardoning, should be, as little as possible, fettered or embarrassed. The criminal code of every country partakes so much of MIGHT AND RIGHT. • 169 unnecessary severity, that without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel. As the sense of responsibility is always strongest in pro- portion as it is undivided, it may be inferred, that a single man would be most ready to attend to the force of those motives, which might plead for a miti- gation of the rigor of the law, and least apt to yield to considerations which were calculated to shelter a fit object of its vengeance. The reflection that the fate of a fellow-creature depended on his sole Jiat, would, naturally, inspire scrupulousness and caution : the dread of being accused of weakness or conni- vance, would beget equal circumspection, though of a diff*erent kind. On the other hand, as men gene- rally derive confidence from their numbers, they might often encourage each other in an act of obdu- racy, and might be less sensible to the apprehension of censure for an injudicious or aftected clemency. On these accounts, one man appears to be a more eli- gible dispenser of the mercy of government, than a body of men." — Federalist, No. TA, p. 402. 10. Under the pretence of keeping out naturalized citizens, the Rotten Borough Constitution revives the old practice of qualifying with land on election day ; and a door is opened to great frauds. The People's Constitution gives to the naturalized citizen who has resided the fixed time, his right of suffi'age ; and protection from improper influence by securing to him the vote hy ballot. The Rotten Borough Con- stitution requires of him a real estate of $134; and as soon as he gets it he is a voter '' therefrom ;^^ and he votes ivithout ballot, without protection. He also votes taxes without paying taxes. The employer looks round and sees who will take a deed for a day, (no previous recording being necessary,) and thus extends suffrage at pleasure. He is secure in doing this ; for the voter thus qualified can vote only in 15 170 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the town where the estate lies; and the privilege ceases when he moves away beyond the reach of his employer. 11. It mmecessarily provided for three, if not four sessions of the General Assembly, in one year, and did not assign the sessions so favorably to other por* tions of the State, besides Providence, as did the People's. 12. It contained no just principles of Amendment. 13. They had established a Constitution, in their opinion, legally and rightfully ; and it would be now boys' play to exchange it at all, and worse than idle to give it up for one which they considered in almost all respects inferior. And, lastly ; the most cogent reason why they did not accept it is, that if that were rejected, they might, probably, get a better, even if" they Avere not per- mitted to retain their own. The above are some of the most weighty reasons why the Landholders' Constitution should have been defeated, and why it was defeated. To these I will subjoin another, for which we are indebted to the invention of the Chartists, which is, with them, an exceedingly active •— nay, predominating faculty. I have no doubt that they have invented more " facts" than any other body of men of equal num- ber, that could be selected. One would think, in- deed, that the mantle of a certain Yankee, whose re- markable gift in this particular has rendered his name a proverb, magnified and multiplied itself infi- nitely, and had fallen upon each of them. What a full and lucid exposition of the facts in the case is here given ! How concisely, and yet how clearly it explains the philosophy of all the struggles, memo- rials, and conventions of the people, for the last many years ! All the popular movements in opposi- tion to the old government, before • recited in this volume, were, undoubtedly, made without any mean- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 171 iiig, or the least practical intention ; but merely, as a certain ^Honorable gentleman said, " for the ex- pression OF AN OPINION." How excoUent the genius of some men is, in their power of disguising the plain, naked truth — of making what is obvious and simple, appear mysterious ! Every force that could be brought to bear in favor of this Constitution had been employed by its advo- cates. Coercion, persuasion, bribes, threats, false- hoods, treachery, family influence, and religious and legal authorities. Ministers volunteered sermons, to show that man has no natural rights ; and Judges volunteered opinions, to prove that the natural peo- ple have no political rights ; whence it followed, from their joint evidence, that the corporate people have ALL the rights, and the great body of the peo- ple have NO rights. Lawyers became lecturers, and Governors, Ex-Governors, and Senators, poured out all their eloquence — and all in vain. The fact stood out in bold relief, that the Landholders' Con- stitution icas REJECTED. It was, indeed, the most stubborn of all facts. It would not bend itself at all, nor succumb in the least, even to the '' express will and pleasure," which had never before been exerted in vain. The General Assembly was stricken aghast ! There were sig7is in the times which they could not comprehend ! * One of our honorable Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, after turning traitor to the Suffrage cause, said he voted for the People's Constitution, merely as an " expression of opinion.''^ How much is it worth ? 172 MIGHT AND RIGHT, CHAPTER IX. THE ALGERINE LAWS. At an adjourned session of the General Assembly, March 30th, Mr. Atwell brought in a Bill on his own responsibility, proposing to submit the People's Con- stitution to the same body who had voted on the Landholders^ — if adopted, it might become the law of the land. If rejected, the matter ended. He thought it would heal all difficulties. The State had been divided on the important question, whether the sovereignty was in the people, or in the Legisla- ture. The Assembly were asked to submit this Con- stitution to the people. It was a mere request to the people to vote for, or against, a Constitution. This very Assembly, chosen by the Freemen, had author- ised a Constitution to be put forth, by a body of men as large again, perhaps, as the Freemen. They were only asked to do the same thing agoAn. Mr. Randolph objected to the Bill, on the ground that the sovereignty existed in the Freemen, and not in the people at large : that those Avere the legal peo- ple ; and no act could be legal or justifiable, unless sanctioned by them. He thought it would be an imposition to submit this Constitution to the people. What can be understood by this, but that the le- gality of any measure depended upon the will of the General Assembly, and nothing else ? That body had all necessary power to qualify others than free- holders, to vote on their oicn Constitution ; but they iiad no power to provide that the same persons should vote on the People's Constitution. Where was the foundation of power in the one case, and want of it HI tlie other? In the omnipotent will of the Legis- lature. Mr. At well's bill was lost by a majority of fifty-nine to three. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 173 Mr. Mathewson introduced a resolution, reciting the events connected with the two-fold expression of the popular will, and proposing that a committee be raised, and instructed "to report to this Assembly, a statement of all the important facts connected with the formation and rejection of said Constitution ; and to report their opinion, whether any legislation is necessary on the subject ; and, if any, what." The resolution passed unanimously. Thursday morning, March 31, Mr. At well asked leave to withdraw the resolutions of yesterday, and submit the following. " Whereas, a joint committee has been appointed by this General Assembly, at the present session, among other things, instructed to report to this General Assembly, a statement of all the important facts connected with the formation and rejection of the Constitution, lately rejected by the people of this State, in order that the people may be accurately informed, as far as practicable, of the facts which led to its rejection ; and, whereas, it is equally important that the people of this State should know, as far as practicable, the whole truth in the premises, and should be informed as to the various means used to secure its adoption^ as well as rejec-- tion ; whereupon, Resolved^ That said Committee be further in- structed, to inquire, and to report to this General As- sembly, what improper means were used, (if any,) to influence the people of this State in voting for, or against said Constitution, with power to send for persons or papers. This resolution was laid on the table for the con- sideration of the Speaker on a point of order. On being called up again, the Speaker decided against it, as being the same as that of Mr. Mathewson. The motion was lost by a majority of 59 to 7. April 1, Mr. Barber from the committee to- whom was referred the joint resolution requiring all the facts relating to the rejec- 15* 174 MIGHT AND RIGHT. tion of the late Constitution, and to enquire what legislation is now necessary, reported, That those opposed to that Constitution, had falsely represented this government to be an aristocracy, while in fact it was a demo- cracy. That a portion of the state was dissatisfied with the ine- quality of representation. That the Assembly had ever shown a disposition to encourage tiie formation of a Constitution. It recited the attempts of Mr. Pearce and Mr. Dorr, at different times, to extend suffrage. It further gave an historical account of the action of the Assembly for a long period, in relation to a Constitution, and particularly in relation to the petitions, debates, and legislation in reference to the last Constitution. , It characterised the movements of the Suffrage Party, as revo- lutionary and illegal, and in disregard of the fundamental laws of the State, for 200 years, requiring a freehold to vote. The People's Constitution was formed by a minority of the people, only 7,000. The unlawful convention acted without law and against law. Tliey formed and voted for their Constitution illegally, and illegally declared it to be the supreme law. The legal convention in a proper manner put forth their Consti- tution to the people. The history of the subsequent debates and resolutions of the assembly were then recited, and the various propositions of Mr. Atwell, were adverted to. The People's Constitution was considered merely as indicating the wishes of the people for an extension of suffrage. It was expected that tlie people would have received the Con- stitution in the same spirit in which it was offered. But misre- presentations were used to defeat that Constitution. It commented in severe terms on the motives of the Suffrage men, and characterised them as deluded men. Tlie report was very lengthy, and closed by directing a pro- clamation to be issued, and that the report and proclamation be published in all the papers. The Committee, it was evident, had only reported tiic facts which led to votes against it, and stated nothing of efforts made for it. They did not state tlie plain reasons that operated against it. They did not give the greatest of all objections, that it placed the power in the hands of the minority, and that the extension of Suflrage was deceptive. They said no-- thing of the fact, that the people were told that they would not have the privilege of bearing arms under the People's Constitution — an argument that was MIGHT AND RIGHT. 17i> frequently and profitably used. They said nothing of the great number of Petitions, and the action in relation to Suffrage. Hazard's insulting Report, in which 2000 Memo- rialists, who announced themselves as permanent re- sidents of the State, were designated as " aliens,'^ as " loose and floating population," and thus stigma- tised as liars, was probably one of the conciliatory measures of the General Assembly. What must the severity of that august body be, if such are its con- ciliatory measures ; or what could the people expect from them, whose tender mercies are cruel ? Mr. Randolph said ; "that Report was able, and silenced the agitation for an extension of Suffrage, That Report was made soon after the Convention had decided, with only 7 votes in opposition, that there should be no extension of Siiffrage.^^ What a precious confession was that ! and yet, what schoolboy would have been so weak as to make it ? And that, too, in connection with the debate on the Report of the Enquiring Committee. By it Mr. Randolph gave the lie to the Committee who pre- pared the Report — to the Assembly who adopted it, he assumed the lie himself! The Committee said the measures of the Assembly had been conciliatory. The Assembly adopted that assertion ,* yet the hon- orable gentleman showed forth one of their chief measures, in the true Rhode .Island Algerine spirit — The People's cries for Right were SILENCED ! ! ! An almost unanimous Convention had decided that there should be NO EXTENSION OF SUF- FRAGE ! ! ! The Committee never reported that all those Con- ventions were exclusive in their character — that from them the great body of the People were always cast out ; that the People were neither admitted^ nor REPRESENTED ,' that tfic Conveutious never acted with regard to the Right of the Majority, but only 176 MIGHT AND RIGHT. in regard to the Privileges of the Minority ! And such only has been the course of action of this State. Strengthened in audacity by its own conscious omnipotence, falsehood had become a familiarly-worn and well fitting garment ; the Government of Rhode Island stood above question, and beyond censure. It felt no obligations to be either just, or true, any farther than self-interest swayed. It called itself Re- publican. It told the people they were free ; and it could no more be questioned for the falsehood that was incorporated into its character, than Bacchus might be called in question for drunkenness, or Jupiter for licentiousness ! It contained within itself all the elements of despotism. It was none the bet- ter that it had many Favorites, instead of few. It was none the better that there were many Despots, instead of one. It was only worse ; as a HYDRA is more hi- deous and abominable than a one-headed monster ! It stood forth to the world a Whited Sepulchre — without, goodly and fair to look upon ; but within was rottenness — the decaying elements of murdered Liberty ! In the afternoon, Mr. Keech, of Burrillville, offered a Bill providing for the repeal of the present election law ; and that the next election of officers be holden according to the provisions of the People's" Consti- tution. Mr. Atwell hoped the Bill would be withdrawn ; he did not think it the best means of quieting the State. Mr. Keech said that the friends of the last Con- stitution put the question on the ground, that it was a choke between the two Constitutions, and he read resolutions passed in the city of Providence, by the friends of the Landholders' Constitution, setting forth tliat we could not fall back on the Charter, but ih:it the question was, whether the Landholders' MIGHT AND RIGHT. 177 Constitution should be adopted, or the People's Con- stitution carried into effect. The Bill was lost, by a majority of 52, against 2. Mr. At well called up his Bill to put the People's Constitution to the people who voted on the last, to be voted on again. Mr. A. said this appeared to him to be the best aud the only way of settling the question — let this Con- stitution go to the people, the only rightful power to decide on this question. If it is voted for by a ma- jority, it will, on the principles of the Assembly, be the law of the land; if rejected, on the principles of Suffrage men, it will not be the law. There can be no doubt as to the power of the As- sembly to do this. The law derives all its force from the ratification of the people, no matter who proposes it. Let us not give the people room to say that we fear the authentic will of the people will become the law of the land. If adopted it settles the question ; if rejected it settles the question. There will then be no need of the bill of pains and penalties that may cause losses and troubles to many of our citizens, and may cause much trouble in the State. The Bill was lost by a majority of 59 to 3. Mr. Burgess, of Providence, then submitted a Bill, extending Suffrage to the same extent, as was pro- pose*d in the Landholders' Constitution — read, and laid on the table for a second reading. April 2d, the Act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State, better known as the Algerine Laws, was brought up, and passed, by a majority of 60 to 6. Messrs. Atwell, W. S. Bur- gess, Gavitt, Keech, Thurston, and Walling, votmg against the Bill. I give their names, that so long as time lasts, they may be honored as the Rhode Island 178 MIGHT AND RIGHT. "Council of Six," who stood up in the strength of freedom, and of manhood, against the host of ty- rants. The following is a copy of the Algerine Laws, and of the Resolutions which accompanied them. Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor, be requested to issue his proclamation to the good people of this State, exhorting tliein to give no aid or countenance to those who, in violation of tlie law, may attempt to set up a government in opposition to the existing government of this State, and calling upon them to sup- port the constituted authorities for the preservation of the public peace, and the execution of those laws on which the security of all depends. Resolved, That the report, and the act accompanying, be pub- lished m all the newspapers in this state, that copies be printed in pamphlet form, and that the Secretary of State cause the same to be forthwith distributed in the several town of this State and the city of Providence, and that copies of the same be sent to the Governors of each State, and a copy each to the President, Vice President, members of the Cab- inet, Senators and members of the House of Representatives of the United States. Resolved, Tljat his Excellency be, and he is hereby authorised to adopt such measures as in his opinion may be necessary in the recess of this legislature, to execute the laws and preserve the state from domestic violence, and that he be, and is hereby au- thorised to draw on the General Treasurer for such sums as may be required for these purposes. AjY act ill relation to offences against the Sovereign power of this State. Whereas, in a free government it is especially necessary that the duties of the citizen to the constituted authorities should be plainly defined, so that none may confound our regulated Ameri- can liberty with unbridled license ; and whereas, certain artful and ill-disposed persons, have for some time past, been busy with false pretences amongst the good people of this state, and liave formed and are now endeavoring to carry through a plan for the subversion of our government under assumed forms of law, but in plain violation of the first principles of constitutional right, and many have been deceived thereby : and whereas this General As- Bombly at the same time that it is desirous to awaken the honest and well meaning to a sense of their duty, is resolved by all ne- cessary means to guard the safety and honor of the state, and overlooking what is past, to punish such evil doers in future, in a manner due to their oftences : MIGHT AND RIGHT. 179 Be it enacted by the General Jlssemhly, asfolloivs : Section 1. All town, ward or other meetings of the freemen, inliabitants or residents of this state, or of any portion of tlie same, for the election of any town, county or state officer or offi- cers, called or held in any town, of this state or in the city of Providence, except in the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the freemen by law prescribed, are illeg-al and void : and that any person or persons who shall act as moderator or modera- tors, warden or wardens, clerk or clerks, in such pretended town, ward or other meetings hereafter to be held, or in any name or manner receive, record, or certify votes for the election of any pretended town, county or state officers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished by indictment with a fine not exceeding one thousand nor less than five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for the term of six months : Provided however, that this act is not intended to apply to cases, in which, by accident or mistake, some prescribed form or forms of cnlling town or ward meetings of the freemen of the several towns of this State, and of the city of Providence, shall be omitted or overlooked. Sec. 2. Any person or persons who shall in any manner sig- nify that he or they will accept any executive, legislative, judicial or ministerial office or offices, by virtue of any such pretended election in any such pretended town, ward or other meeting or meetings, or shall knowingly suffer or permit his or their name or names, to be used as a candidate or candidates therefor, shall be adjudged guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and be pun- ished by indictment in a fine of two thousand dollars, and be im- prisoned for the term of one year. Sec. 3. If any person or persons, except such as are duly elect- ed thereto, according to the laws of this State, shall under pre- tended constitution of government for this State, or otherwise, assume to exercise any of the Legislative, Executive or ministe- rial functions of the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, Secretary of State, Attorney General, or General Treasurer of this State, or within the territorial limits of the same, as the same are now actually held and enjoyed, either separately or collectively, or shall assemble for the purpose of exercising any of said func- tions, all and every such exercise of, or meeting for the purpose of exercising all, any, or either of said functions, shall be deemed and taken to be a usurpation of the sovereign power of this State, and is hereby declared to be treason against the State, and shall be punished by imprisonment during life, and is now by law pre- scribed. Sec. 4. All offences under this act shall be triable before the Supreme Judicial Court only. Any person or persons arrested under the same, and also for treason against the State, may be imprisoned or held in custody for trial in the jail of such county 180 MIGHT AND RIGHT., of the State as the Judge or Justice issuing the warrant may or- der or direct ; and the sheriff or other officer charged with the service of sucli warrant, shall, without regard to his precinct, have full power and authority to take such person or persons and liiin or them to commit to any county jail in this State, which may be designated by such Judge or Justice ; and it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, town sergeants, constables and jailors to govern themselves accordingly. All indictments under tliis act, and also all indictments for treason against this State, may be preferred and found in any county of this State, without regard to the county in which the offence was committed ; and the Supreme Judicial Court shall have full power for good cause, from time to time, to remove for trial any indictment which may be found under this act or for treason against the State, to such county of the State, as they sliall deem best for the purpose of ensuring a fair trial of the same, and shall upon the conviction of any such offender or offenders, have full power to order, and from time to alter the place of imprisonment of such offender or offenders to such county jail within this State, or to t!ie state prison as to them shall s€em best for the safe custody of such offender or offenders, any acts, law, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. Mr. Atwell when called, asked to state his reasons for his vote. " He voted against it, because the exi- gencies of the State did not require it, and it would be certain to disturb the peace of the State. The Supreme Court have already said that the acceptance, or exercise, of any of these offices, was treason — therefore the Act was unnecessary. He had said at the June session he ^vas opposed to carryijig any gov- ernment into operation hy force — he was ready to redeem that pledge. It was because he did not wish the government carried into operation by force, that he voted against the Bill, as the Bill would produce that." Mr. Randolph, when called, said that , ^'' he felt it was the duty of the Assembly to pass a law to let THE PEOPLE AT LARGE KNOW WHAT THE LAW IS ] and that THE Assembly are determined to stand by THEIR Authority." Probably Mr. R, considered the passage of the Algerine Laws as a '^ conciliator if ' measure, and that opinion a " conciliatory" opinion ! MIGHT AND RIGHT. 181 How benevolent thus to enlighten the ignorance of the common people — to " let them know ivhat the laio is^^ — and how characteristic was the fact spe- cified, that '' the General Assernbly ivould stand by their Authority J'' The above Act was what the Journal was pleased to call a "Paternal warning." Comment is unne- cessary. Mr. W. S. Burgess, called up his Bill to extend suf- frage to the extent named in the last constitution. He said that it was admitted that many of those in favor of the People's Constitution voted against the last, and it is also claimed by the mem- bers of this House, that a majority of our constitu- ents, the Freeholders, voted for the last Constitution. Therefore, the last expression of their opinion is, that suffrage should be extended as far as that instrument goes. Both parties are in favor of it. Who knows what effect that conciliation would have. After the strong acts passed, it would show that the house was disposed to yield something to a spirit of conciliation. This bill Avas the moving cause of considerable debate, iii which the friends of Equal Rights strong- ly urged the propriety of the measure, alledging that there was no doubt, had the Convention confined its action to the Extension of Sufirage, that the people would have been satisfied, even with the limited ex- tension provided in the last Constitution ; but they did not want it extended four times as much in one part of the State as in the other. They did not want their extension in " such had company,''^ as it found in the Constitution. And, upon the ground that the people had refused to bind themselves by a Constitution, which would, instead of securing their own liberties, be a guard and protection of the Oligarchy, and would forever concentrate the power in the hands of the Minority, it was urged on the other hand, that the people did 16 182 MIGHT AND RIGHT. not loant an exterision of suffrage ; that they had said they loould not have it. It was announced, more- over, that since the people " would not have this ex- j tension, when the Freemen were loilling to extend it \ to them, and to pacify them,''^ they should fall back on the old Charter. Mark the lordliness of that ex- pression ! Does it sound as if the Government were subject, or master? They were wiUing to ^^ paciff the people, who were clamorous only for Right ! As if they were a company of snarling, hungry dogs, and should be satisfied, when their masters, in the abundance of their condescension, had been pleased to throw them each a bare bone ! Such has always been the tone of address, which the unenfranchised people of Rhode Island have met from the Government. They have never been treat- ed as rational and intelligent beings. They have never been treated as men. Their respectful peti- tions, asking only for the simplest rights of man, were met with insult, ridicule, and contempt ; and when they arose in their majesty, and, of their own will, resolved to be free, they were treated as CRIM- INALS ; and a code of special laws was enacted against them, which repudiated the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States, twenty-five of the State Constitutions, the lives and Fathers of the Re- volution, the Revolution itself, the opinions of Eu- ropean patriots, the sentiments of ancient sages, and the writings and principles of our ablest cotemporary statesmen ; and which, indeed, for its open and au- dacious violations of right, would have disgraced the much-abused State, whose name it bears ! It is strange that the people were not driven to despera- tion — that they could have been restrained in any- wise ! But I return to the debates. The Speaker said he thought the principal reason which induced the mass MIGHT AND RIGHT. I83 to go against the last Constitution, was because they had a Constitution already legally adopted. The mass of the Suffrage Party were made to believe this. The mass of this party were not judges of Constitutional law, and they sought information of those who took the lead, to find what was the law ; they looked to those legal gentlemen who went with them. By those they were led to believe that they had this right to form their Government in their sovereign capacity. They had the legal opinion of high legal gentlemen ; but does that paper show that in the opinion of those gentlemen, that Constitution was the paramount law of the land ? He believed no legal gentleman would say that Constitution was the paramount law of Rhode Island, and he did not be- lieve any of them thought so, nor does that opinion say that, but implies it. He could have said in January that a great majo- rity of the people were in favor of this extension, but he could not now say that. Mr. Atwell said the opinion alluded to was the opinion given by him in his place under the sanction of his oath — and afterwards written out, he had never since written anything to show that he deemed the People's Constitution was the paramount law — - because that depended on the fact whether a major- ity of the people voted for that Constitution. He had no doubt as to the right of the people to form a Constitution in that manner, if a majority voted for it. Since that time he had reflected much on that point, and was confirmed in that opinion. He must admit that the result of the last vote had somewhat shaken his opinion as to the majority. Nothing could have been more unfortunate than this surrender of the ground, by Mr. Atwell. It was the first direct blow that the Sufi'rage Party received. The admission was made incidentally ; and with what motives I cannot pretend to say ; but, consider- 184 MIGHT AND RIGHT. ing it in connection with the whole course of Mr. At well, I must believe it was never intended to pro- duce such an eftect ; nor was it from a pusillanimous, and mean desire of forming a convenient stepping- stone, or inclined plane, from the Aveaker to the stronger party ; from the unpopular, to the popular side. It is generally thought that the concession was made with the hope of provoking a thorough examination, and such I believe to be the fact. The House was called, and the bill to extend Suf- frage was postponed. Only Messrs. Atwell, Burgess, Gavitt and Keech, voting against the postponement. Thus we see that no less than three efforts were made, at this single session, to conciliate the Gov- ernment and quiet the agitation of the State ; name- ly, that of Mr. Atwell proposing to submit the Peo- ple's Constitution to the same persons who had voted on the Landholders' ; that of Sir. Burgess, proposing to extend Suffrage as far as it is provided for in the same Constitution ; and that of Mr. Keech, proposing that the existing election laws should be repealed, and the next election should take place, according to the provisions of the People's Constitution. These were all lost, by the overAvhelming opposition of the Assembly ; two of them being voted down by almost unanimous votes, and one postponed without action. NotAvithstanding these glaring facts, it Avas after- wards busily circulated liere, and industriously spread abroad, that the people onight have had all they asked for ; but they liad always rejected the kind overtures of the Assembly, who Avere ever Avilling to extend to them the most liberal concessions : that they Avere, in short, bent on blood and plunder, and Avould be satisfied Avith nothhig else. Hoav Avick- edly false those assertions Avere, they Avho fabricated, and adopted, and circulated them, should best knoAV, The people Avould have accepted of a very limit- ed extension of suffrage — they Avould have accepted MIGHT AND RIGHT. 185 of almost any terms, rather than have proceeded to violence. Had they really been what their enemies represented them to be, or otherwise than as they were, they certainly wonld have carried their points, triumphantly. They embodied almost the entire physical force of the State. They had precedents in their favor, and all authorities to back them ; and they probably would have established their govern- ment without spilling a single drop of blood. But there were many among them who had conscientious scruples against war in any shape ; and there was a revulsion of feeling, in almost the entire body, at the thought of civil war. They shrunk from it with abhorrence. They had neighbors, and friends, and near relatives, who would be incorporated in the op- posite ranks. They would not incur the remotest possibility of severing all those old, and dear, and sacred ties ; and quenching those deep and living af- fections in blood. And, in this view of the case, how much more honorable to them, as men, is de- feat, than any success would have been, which would have been purchased at the expense of prin- ciples, that were cherished more deeply, and dearly, than life itself. There were other causes also ; for it seemed as if everything conspired to render each effort signally unfortunate. But I anticipate. I trust this will be made manifest, as I proceed. And here let me advert a moment to the grand objection that was made to all the Conventions, and official acts of the people. It Avas this, that they were not called by the Legislature ; and, therefore, were illegal. The Assembly had requested, or in- vited, the Freemen to assemble themselves in Con- vention, and, therefore, they were said to act legally. Let us examine this. An official command, to be legal, must be binding. There was no law in exist- ence, to say that the Freemen should accept that in- vitation, or to enforce an annexed penalty, in case of 16* 186 MIGHT AND RIGHT. non-compliance. What, then, gave the mere request of the Assembly the force of law ? What is law ? The Reviewer of Montesquieu says, " It means a rule of action, prescribed by an authority, invested with competent power, and a light so to do. This idea of law comprehends that of a penalty, conse- qent of its infraction, of a tribunal, which determines the penalty, and a physical force to put it into exe- cution." The word, itself, is said to be " derived from li- gando, which means tying, or obliging ; because it obliges the subjects to its performance.''^ '^ Authority," says Godwin, ''in the last of the three senses alluded to, is where a man, in issuing his precept, does 7iot deliver that which may he ne- glected li'ith imjounity ; but his requisition is attend- ed with a sanction, and the violation of it will be followed with a penalty. This is the species of au- thority Avhich properly annexes to the idea of Gov- ernment." — Godwin's Enquiry concerning Politi- cal Justice, vol. 1, pp. 189-90. The idea of pe7ialty is inseparable from that of law. What, then, gives such potency to a mere re- quest, or invitation, which may be accepted, or not accepted, and the neglect of v/hich involves no for- feiture, or penalty ? Is the General Assembly an in- vestment, or impersonation of the legal spirit, so that its mere requests — its simple invitations, have the force and virtue of law ? Why, then, were not those freemen who neglected to obey th^ call, punished, as for wilful misdemeanor ? Will any pretend that they were so ; or that they incurred even the slight- est penalty by their neglect, or non-attendance? Whence, then, the boasted legality of their mea- sures, and the anathematised ^'/legality of the peo- ple's ? If any person can point it out specifically, I should be very happy to perceive it. The truth is, the condition of things in Rhode MIGHT AND RIGHT. 187 Island had reached that point, which is so well de- scribed by one of the ablest political writers, during the early days of our confederated Republic. He says, '' While men could be persuaded that rights appertained *only to a certain class of meii, or that government was a thing existing in right of its el J] it was not difficult to govern them authoritatively. The ignorance in which they were held, and the superstition in which they were instructed, furnished the means of doing it ; but when the ignorance is gone, and the superstition with, it; ivhefi they per- ceive the imposition that has been acted upon them ; when they reflect that the cultivator, and the manu- facturer, are the primary means of all. the wealth THAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD, bcyoud wliat iiaturc spontaneously produces ; when they begin to feel their consequence, by their usefulness, and their right, as members of society, it is then no longer possible to govern them, as before. The fraud, once detected, cannot be again reacted. To attempt it, is to provoke derision, or invite destruction." And this our Legislators must long since have seen, had they not been, to quote the pithy words of Milton, "accustomed from the cradle, to use their WILL only, as their right hand, their reason always, as their left.'^ They had sought to drown the voice of Right, by trumpeting abroad the sound of great names — not the names of the undying great ; for they have al- ways been, and always must be, associated with the cause of Liberty and Right, not with Oppression, and with Wrong ; but names invested with the petty popularity, of lordship in this little Kingdom of Rhode Island : and they might as well have attempt- ed to silence the deep-toned and eternal Thunder, with the squeaking of a penny whistle ! It had * These opinions are orthodox now, in Rhode Island, and the contrary are heterodox. 188 MIGHT AND RIGHT. been frequently asserted, and reiterated again and attain, by the popular leaders of the Chartists, in the presence of thousands, that, if the Landholders' Con- stitution should be rejected, lue could nat fall hack oil the Charter ; but the People's Constitution must become the Law of the land. This was held out as an inducement to the friends of Law and Order — or, in more appropriate terms, the enemies of free- dom, to sustain the Constitution. But when that Constitution was rejected, it was announced with perfect nonchalance, that we should fall back on the Charter ; and it was denied, point blanc, that any contrary assertions had been ever made, notwith- standing resolutions to that effect, stood recorded in fair print, (the print is the only fair thing about it) in their organ, the Journal ! Directly after the unfortunate admission of Mr. ^twell, before alluded to, it was gravely announced in the Journal, that the gentleman had left his party, and had cordially embraced the Chartists ; where- upon his course and character were extolled, in a manner which must have been very flattering, con- sidering the source from whence the fine sayings emanated. This was designed as a noose, wherein to catch a brave helper ; but the springes that will catch hares and woodcocks, the elephant tramples under foot without harm or danger. Notwith- standing the quite unfortunate issue of this first at- tempt, such falsehoods continued to be in circulation from time to time. Indeed, there was hardly a well known man among the suffrage ranks, who was not, at some time, reported as a traitor. These reports might have the chance of doing some good, until they were corrected. They intimidated the hesitat- ing and cautious among the Constitutionists, and they gave a momentary opportunity for petty triumph to the foes of Freedom. Having all the power in their own hands, the MIGHT AND RIGHT. 189 Chartists, in their iniquitous schemes, succeeded but too well. By the grossest misrepresentations — by the most audacious falsehoods, they have so veiled and disguised the truth, as to deceive many, even here ; for their impudence sustained them, Avhen no- thing else could have done it ; — it is so difficult to believe that men of the highest standing in society, who, though they may have no moral sense in the way, will yet compromise their character as men — their honor as gentlemen, by stooping to the lowest quibbling — the meanest, the most degrading false- hoods — and that, too, in the open face of honest day-light ! I am aware that many will think I in- dulge in uncalled-for severity ; but let them study the whole policy of the Charter Dynasty, during the last three years, and then give an opinion. The Chartists have also engrafted their own views of this affair, to a very considerable degree among the people of the neighboring States ; so that little of the truth, relating to the subject, is known among them. They have represented it as a low, degrad- ing, mean, miserable aifair, got up exckisively by those in the lowest conditions of life ; it was, there- fore, vulvar ; and only the vulgar could advocate its principles — as only the vulgar had dictated, and attempted to carry out its measures. It was, in short, the most plebeian question, that ever came betore an American public ; and as the love of approbation — vanity — is, in the present condition of society, edu- cated and developed, to the neglect, if not the utter exclusion of higher and nobler principles, it follows that whatever is devoid of an imposing aspect — of gilded trappings, finds but small share of considera- tion and esteem, in the eyes of those who are blind, in all other light, but such as is reflected from high places. There was nothing in the suffrage move- ment, to attract what I should call the vulgar eye, It had none of the attributes of earthly dignity, or 190 MIGHT AND RIGHT. grandeur. It did not originate in high places, but on tlie contrary, emanated from a class of citizens, whom it is very genteel and fashionable to despise, or to notice only by patronizing attentions. Its great and severe principles of truth, had little attraction for those who have neither ear, or eye, or heart, ca- pable of perceiving a virtue, beyond the approbation of the great ; and who would sell their souls, if they had any, rather than appear to favor anything not of the highest fashion — not perfectly genteel. Such were a great proportion of our opposers. Many, without doubt, were really honest in their opinions ; having become unconsciously warped by the false views, and false requirements of society. I will conclude this chapter, by giving a quotation from a distinguished political writer, which embraces some points not generally understood ; and which are, nevertheless, the very stamina of political sci- ence. '•' But the case is wholly different, with respect to the institution of civil government, organised on the system of Representation. Such a government has cognizance of everything^ and of every man, as a member of the national society, whethei- he has pro- perty, or not ; and, therefore, the principle requires that every man, and every kiyid of right, be repre- sented, of which the right to acquire and hold pro- perty is but one, and that not of the most essential kind. The protection of a man's person, is more sacred than the protection of his property ; and, be- sides this, the faculty of performing any kind of work, or services, by which he acquires a livelihood, or maintains his family, is of the jiature of property. Is is property to him. He has acquired it ; and it is as much the object of his protection, as exterior pro- perty, possessed without that faculty, can be the ob- ject of that protection to another person. " In a political view of the case, the strensith and MIGHT AND RIGHT. 191 jpermcment security of governmejit, is in proportion to THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE interested i?i suppoi^t of it. The true policy, therefore, is to interest the whole, by an equality of Rights ; for the danger arises from ex'clusions. It is possible to exclude men from the right of voting ; but it is impossible to exclude them from rebelling against that exclusion ; and vjhen all other rights are taken aicay, the right of rebellion is made perfect." CHAPTER XL the judges. I MUST now go back a short space, in order to notice the part which the Honorable Judges of Rhode Island took in the contest. They volunteered their opinions, as has been before stated, pledging them- selves to sustain the Oligarchy, against the known will of the People. Their course had the direct and mevitable tendency to produce a pre-judgment against the people, and to obstruct fair trials, and unbiased verdicts, in cases likely to arise out of the contest. They forgot that they were robed as judges, to ex- pound the law and the Constitution, and not the cra- ven tools of a party ; and their ermine was soiled, and became leprous, with their base and sordid truck- ling to popularity. They, indeed, showed them- selves well skilled to " Turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters, As knowing nought, like dogs, but following." Before any case had actually arisen, and immedi- ately preceding an election, which they knew Avould 192 MIGHT AND RIGHT. be warmly contested, they declared that it would be lawful lor one party to vote, and unlawful for the other party to do so. They exerted all the hifluence of their character and station, subjoined to miposing authorities, to overawe the people, and silence them into submission ; thundering out their official anath- emas against man, for clahunig to exercise the sim- plest rights of man, with a disregard" of all truth — a violence and passion, which would better become the ministers of Nicholas, or Mahomed, than'ermin- ed judges of an enlightened and free country. But I must here give a moment's attention to an address '* To the Members of the General Assem- bly," from the pen of Judge Pitman. The honora- ble Author assumes, in the onset, to be governed by no ordinary degree of candor, and to hold party, party spirit, and party movements, in singular ab- liorrence ; exhibiting in this assumption, a degree of effrontery which is quite remarkable, even in Rhode Island, considering that he was volunteering his opinion, in advance, for the exipress pmyose of strengthening a Party ^ and that in manifest viola- tion of right. With singular ill-judgment he seeks to sustain the acts of his Party, by selecting passages from Wash- ington's FarcAvell Address, which apply to Rebels — the violent and lawless invaders of Right — but distort and misapply them though he did, they still go for nothing, against the great doctrines which have been made the basis of the Suffrage Move- ment ; and to the independent assertion of which, Washington, liimself, was indebted for all his distin- guishing greatness. He was the first successful champion of Man's inherent equality — his natural capabilty of government, and right to participate in that government ; and had he been other than that, liad he been governed by the political axioms of mo- dern Rhode Island, by the prhiciples which Judge MIGHT AND RIGHT. 193 Pitman, himself, was assisting to establish, lie might have been a great general, a great hero, a great ty- rant, a Napoleon, a Hannibal, a Caesar, but never the ideal which the world has recognised in Wash- ington. In order to render it odions, he takes special pains to institute a parallel between the Suffrage Move- ment and Shays' Rebellion ; though he must have known that there was no other resemblance between them, thau that both parties complained of wrongs. The specific object of Shays' men, was to over- throw the Government, and right themselves by force, and the first movement Avas directly towards that object. On the contrary, the Sufi'rage Party had respectfully petitioned, for more than half a cen- tury, for a redress of grievances — for a restoration of the rights, which they knew they might justly claim. They had long seen themselves deprived of citizenship, of manhood, and its dearest prerogatives. They were not merely held in complete and invol- untary subjection to the ruling powers, but their po- litical being was destroyed — their very existence, in a legal sense, Avas annihilated ; yet their patience was not exhausted. With the forbearance of men, in the strength of reason, that holdeth passion in subjection to itself, urging always that Truth and Right must finally prevail, they bore indignities the most degrading, insult the most shameful, until for- bearance ceased to be virtue, and long-suffering de- generated into meanness. They then threw them- selves upon their reserved rights, as human beings, and resolved to regain their birthright. They met together, and reasoned upon the subject. They be- came strengthened in their determination. They consulted wise men among the living, and works of eminent departed statesmen. All confirmed — all strengthened them. They sought not to effect re- form by any act of violence ; but by authority of 17 194 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the great American principle, which has been repu- diated in Rhode Island, that when a people have outgrown, or become dissatisfied with their consti- tution of government, they may change it, loithout an appeal to force, simply by virtue of their inherent sovereignty — " the right of free-born men, to be governed as seemeth to please them best." It is a fact worthy of all admiration, that they were not driven, in madness, and sheer desperation, to acts of violence. Invention was exhausted in contriving abuses — in fabricating slanders foul and monstrous — Robbery, Arson, Murder and Rape, were repre- sented as their specific objects — and so ivell repre- sented, that many weak and deluded people, believed they were the most important constituent principles of the cause itself. Deluded, and weak, indeed, they must have been, to believe such miserably shal- low inventions ! But there are Aveak people every- where ; and recent events have proved that we have our full share in Rhode Island. Then came the Al- gerine Laws to goad them on — to make it treasona- ble for them, even to meet and consult together, and dangerous to utter a free thought ! It is truly the most wonderful fact of the age, that they were not exasperated into perfect phrensy ! How absurd, then — how cruelly false and wicked, to institute such a comparison, merely for the purpose of casting odium on men, who have, at least, suffered bravely. The learned Judge, while he denies the legality of the People's proceedings, never qiiestioris the ma- jority of their votes. On the contrary, an acknowl- edgment of the majority is asserted, or implied, in almost every page ; and in the premises of all his reasoning, this admission is embraced. This fact is worthy of record, and remembrance ; for as the hon- orable gentleman echoed the key note of the Party, It will show that they did not, at first, question the majority. That falsehood remained, as yet, un- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 195 hatched, and unfledged, amid the countless broods of embryo monsters, that afterwards went forth, " From the orient to the drooping west, # * # * # Stuffing the ears of men with false reports." In the following passage, he gives his adversary a peep into his hand, with strange indiscretion for an old gamester. '' If they can deceive some, and over- awe others, so as to induce you to abdicate, and suf- fer them to seize the reigns of government, their object is accomplished. In the absence of any other gov- ernment, in this State, they become the government de facto, if not de jure ; that is, the government in fact, if not of right ; and there will be no rightful Legislature, no rightful Executive, to defend this State, and the rightful government thereof, from domestic violence.' " Strange it is, that the Suf- frage men did not profit by this hint, when they had the power! True to the Rhode Island doctrine, our author, everywhere, recognises in the govenime?it, the su- preme power. This principle he embodies in the following remarkable sentiment: ''No government can sanction doctrines which are suicidal, which go to its own destruction. The first duty or govern- ment IS TO protect itself." The rights and wel- fare of the people, it seems, are to be entirely set aside ; it being a point of duty with the government, whatever may be its character, to " protect itself,'* at all hazards, and in defiance of all consequences. Who that has seen some of the gentleman's earlier sentiments, would not exclaim, in sorrow, " O, mighty Caesar, dost thou lie so low !" Are the sages of Rhode Island taking a leap back into the dark ages, that they so boldly disavow a principle which all wise men have taught, that the GOOD OF the governed is the END OF Government. 196 MIGHT AND RIGHT. Let us hear Plato's opinion on this subject, who says, speaking of a good Prince ; '' He neither thinks nor commands what may advance his own private inter- est, but what may promote the benefit of his sub- jects ; and whatever he says, or does, is done for their advantage, and for their ornament and grace."' Puffendorf, speaking on the same subject. Book viii. Sec. 2, says : '' And therefore they (rulers) ought to esteem nothing as contributing to their own pri- vate or personal good, which is not, at the same time, profitable to the commonwealth." How many of the Rhode Island princes will come up to this stand- ard ? Mr. Pitman says, in the same connection ; '^ The citizen owes allegiance to the government ; the gov- ernment owes protection to the citizen. These du- ties, and the rights that grow out of them, are reci- procal." He goes on to show, that if the citizen makes war upon the government, it is treason ; while all the violation of trust on the part of government, is resolved into the single point, of abdication of ITS POWER ; and this is, he says, a much greater crime, if we are to judge of the enormity of crimes by their consequences, than the commission of trea- son on the part of the citizen. This one crime, then, we are led to think — the crime of yielding their power to usurpers — is all the crime that govern- ments can commit ; and shice it is the very last they would be likely to commit, we may safely conclude that they never would, or never do commit any ; and, therefore, they may continue to exist forever, as they will, '-without let or hindrance." On the next page our author asks the pithy ques- tion ; '' Who are the people of Rhode Island?" and from it he deduces the following remarks. '' TlV/r//- ever are the rights of the people of Rhode Island, those who are not the people of Rhode Island, in any legal or constitutional sense, have no legal MIGHT AND RIGHT. 197 claims to such rights. An attempt to exercise the rights of the people of Rhode Island, hy those ivho are ?iot the people of Rhode Island, is an attack upon the rights of the people — a crime against the State, Such a criine the Atheniayis punished with death." Then he proceeds to show that such crime was com- mitted, and by implication certainly, that such pun- ishment loas deserved by the Suffrage men. " In a political sense, in which sense the word ^ people^ is used by political writers," continues Mr. Pitman, '' it is to be understood as applicable only, in a free State, to those who, by its fundamental laws, possess the political power. ^^ Whether Locke, in the following passage, uses the word ''people" "in a political sense," must be determined by its spirit ; he certainly, at least, ab- solves the unenfranchised from obedience to magis- trates whom they have never chosen. " The people alone can appoint the form of the Commonwealth, which is by constituting the Legislature, and ap- pointing in whose hands it shall be. And when the people have said we will submit to rules, and be governed by laws, made by such men, and in such form, nobody else can say other men shall make laws for them ; nor can the people he hound hy any laws, hut such as are enacted hy those whom they have chosen, and authorised to make laws for them.''^ — Works, vol. V. p. 423. Robert Hall says ; " That there are natural rights, or, in other words, a certain liberty which men may exercise, independent of permission from society, can scarcely be doubted, by those who understand the meaning of the terms." Once more we call upon our good friend, and helper, Algernon Sydney, who says ; " The first in- stitution of the office of King, in this nation, was by agreement of the people, who chose one to that office for the protection of those who chose him, (not to pro- 17* 198 MIGHT AND RIGHT. tect himself, ) and for their better government, accord- ing to such laws as they did consent unto." — Dec. of Par. Eng. 1648. And, again ; " Whilst men are all equal, none will yield to any, otherwise than by a general consent. This is THE GROUND OF ALL JUST GOVERNMENT ; for violence and fraud can create no right ; and the same consent gives the form to them all, how much soever they may differ in form otherwise." — Vol. 1, p. 294. How far these writers would go towards justify- ing the honorable gentleman, in his attempt to fasten a State crime on the majority of the people of Rhode Island ; and how far they would sanction his, and his party's absolute political a7i7iihilation of the ma- jority of the people, I leave the reader to judge. " The charter, by the by," says Mr. P., ^' con- tains no provisions on the rights of suffrage, leaving the people of this State to regulate this matter for themselves. Whatever, therefore, may be our fun- damental laws, on the question of suffrage, the peo- ple of this state made them for themselves, as they had a right to do ; they were not imposed upon them by any foreign power." This is not true, in any sense. Not even the freemen had any absolute con- trol over the laws regulating suffrage, or any other laws. They did, to be sure, choose the members of the Legislature, but those very members, when chosen, had power to make their first act such a one as would deprive their constituents forever of the power to make other choice — they could disfran- chise them at any moment, by making the qualifica- tion so high that few could reach it ; and what would Mr. Pitman say, then, to a change ? Will any one say this is highly improbable? I answer, let him study their Acts, Speeches, and Reports, and tell me if there is no danger. But, again: ''At the Revolution, the people of this State did not see fit to change their fundamen- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 199 tal laws, or to repudiate their charter ; they threw off a foreign yoke, but did not make a domestic revohi- tion ; having a form of government aheady suffi- ciently republican and democratic, and which they no doubt venerated as coming from those fathers, who had rendered themselves illustrious in the his- tory of civil and religious liberty. They found it all-sufficient for the exigencies of 1776, and though they have frequently been invited since, to adopt a written Constitution, tliey have, by their votes, re- turned this answer ; ' We are unwilling to change our fundamental laws.' " This is false. A majority of the people of Rhode Island never established the government ; they never consented to its existence ; they never refused to change it. On the contrary, they have never ceased to entreat of their sovereign lords and masters, by the divine right of monarchism, that it should he changed ! It is time these stories should be contradicted, promptly and positively, for they have already done mischief sufficient ! By means of them, many, who would be otherwise friendly to our cause, are made to believe, through their misapprehension of the term, people, that the suffrage men might have had their rights long ago, but they refused to take them. The truth is, the Assembly, themselves, refused to hear the people's petition for a change. The freemen, the creatures of their own breath, were but as tools in their hands ; and through these instruments, the General Assem- bly have always refused to change the government ! But hear Mr. Pitman again. " What is the griev- ance of which the suffrage men complain ? They are not allowed to vote ! Are they injured by this — are they put out of the protection of the law — are their persons and their property in jeopardy ?" I an- swer the question directly and plainly, yes. Their property is jeopardised. It is voted away in taxes, and appropriated loithout their conseJit. I find a few facts just now to the point. '' In 1830 there were 200 MIGHT AND RIGHT. in the town of North Providence, 779 males over 21 years of age ; of whom 200 were freeholders, leav- ing 579 non-freeholders. In 1832, 66 of the non- freeholders were taxed for about $50,000 worth of property. The amount of their taxes was $140. " In Providence, 65 non-freeholders, alone, have paid a tax of $1078; and 361, including the 65, a tax of $1,810. In Cumberland, there are 210 tax- payers who have no vote ; 280 persons voted at the last election in that town. In Warren, there are 136 freeholders, natives of this state, and 49 resident freeholders, natives of other states. In 1833, 79 non-freeholders were assessed $156,42." And does not the' objection that the non-freeholders, if admit- ted, will vote away the property of other people, come with a very bad grace from those who have been so long voting away their property, without so much as saying, " By your leave ?" And what secu- rity can there be, even for liberty and life, where the WILL of the Government is the supreme law ? But how degrading are the above inquiries of Mr. Pitman, as if men should ask for nothing, wish for nothing, but the right to breathe, and the right to acquire, and possess, the means of continuing that condition ! — Men, whom God, himself, created, without permission of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, and made sentient, free, and account- able beings, with thoughts boundless as the universe, with hopes high as heaven, with fears deep as hell, with powers which can only be transcended by His who gave them ! Can such beings be degraded into mere working, and eating, and drinking, and clothes- wearing rnacliines, without gross violation of natu- ral and moral law ? If parents are to be rendered accountable for the evil influences to which they ex- pose their children, shall not statesmen, who control* and sway the masses, be much more accountable, when they willfully place barriers in the way of their progress ? What a very diflerent course of action MIGHT AND RIGHT. 201 would be suggested, by an enlarged and liberal pol- icy. To call forth self-respect — to excite benevo- lence — to awaken reverence for all tliat is great, and lofty, and true, is a work worthy of '' a minis- ter of God," as a good minister of state is well de- scribed to be : and the first step towards this, is to acknowledge the sovereignty of man^ which is nothing but recognising, and doing reverence to the GoD-iMAGE in which he was formed. The poorest and the lowest man is still a brother, bound to all others of his kind by the common wants, weakness, greatness, and glory of his race ; and, as such, is en- titled to our love ; his interest is our interest ; his hopes are our hopes ; his good is our good. The mind of the humblest, the most ignorant man, is still a direct emanation of Deity ; and, as such, is enti- tled to our veneration ; and whatever we do to cramp, enervate, or injure it, is sacrilege against the enshrin- ed GOD. If these reflections were permitted to sway us, how different would be our course of action ! Cold selfishness would then quicken into active kind- ness. Instead of repeUing an alien, Ave should em- brace a brother. The narrow boundaries of clique, and caste, and " corporation," would melt, as un- natural frost-chains, in the darting beams that radiate from the central sun of Love, whose essence and whose spirit is Guu. As fast as all opaque obstacles are removed, and only transparent media are inter- posed, the beams from that life-giving Sun will speed forth, unobstructed, to cheer the waste places of hu- man being — to gladden and wai'm into fruitfulness, the desert and the wilderness — to rouse, and invig- orate, and enlighten, the utmost verge of Humanity. The true spirit of Liberty, which is but a manifesta- tion of Love, would extend and enlarge its influence, in continually repeating circles, until Patriotism, ■itself, shall be bounded only by the boundaries of the world ! Are these thoughts idle and imaginary ? 202 MIGHT AND RIGHT. On the contrary, I believe them to contain deep and fundamental principles. This theory was the ideal of the sages of '76. From the sublime height on which they stood, their keen eyes penetrated the dark and distant Future ; and to the optic view of Trutii, chaotic and discordant elements assumed shape and order ; until they perceived the whole De- sign of God, in all its 'greatness, all its perfection, all its unity ; and they planned their first great work, as far as they might, so as to form a consistent part of the stupendous whole. Until this Ideal is recog- nised, and manifested in the Acts of Statesmen, in the embodied energies of controlling minds, the me- lioration of society will not have begun. There are obstacles to this inevitable tendency of human affairs, in most countries ; yet even the greatest are, becom- ing every day less formidable, for wherever there are living, thinking, acting minds, there must be reform, there must be progress, and it is a law of nature that such minds multiply each other ; but for us there is no excuse. Let but the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence, be carried out in practice — be carried home^ to every society, and every family, and the work is done. Let us then rescue this violated instrument from the disrespect and abuse into which it has fallen. Let us repel, with disgust and horror, the assertion that its great doctrines are mere "ethereal abstractions;" and al- ways maintain by precept, and by practice, that they are vital principles of truth, which are the very sta- mina of political ethics. The venerable John Quiricy Adams has said, that " The Declaration of Inde- pendence was a social compact, by which the whole people covenanted with each citizen, and each citi- zen with the whole people." It seems, then, that even the unenfranchised men of Rhode Island must have been party to this compact, and rightful recipi- ents, or rather candidates for all it promised; the MIGHT AND RIGHT, 203 Rhode Island definition of '^ People," and Mr. Diir- fee's ''unit," to the contrary, notwithstanding. And when it is necessary that this should be asserted, is not liberty in danger ? Whoever refuses to acknowl- edge the absolute truth of these doctrines, which all consistently great men throughout the world have held as sacred, is unworthy to be called an Ameri- can ; and if Americans are not roused to the import- ance of this — if they remain much longer false to their high trust — open violators of the principles which lie at the base of all their institutions, they must be denounced as 'political hypocrites^ and their name will become a mockery, and a by-Avord, through all space, and through all time. One point, and I have done with this pamphlet. Mr. Pitman says ; '' Their Convention (the People's) was so called, and constituted, that no person, other than those of their party, could, conscientiously, be a member of it. Thus a great majority of those who have the deepest interest in the State, could not be represented, or have any voice in the formation of this Constitution. Such an insult to a free peo- ple, is only to be e(^ualled by the ^patience with which it has been borne." Now I cannot answer for the '' conscience'^ of Mr. Pitman's party ; for that has shown itself a very subtle and slippery thing, which could no more easily be taken hold of, than a living eel could be detained in the hand, as an apt il- lustration of stability and inhabitiveness ; but it is riot true that the Freeholders could not be represented in the People's Convention. It is true that a majority of them were represented ; and equally true, that those who were not, would not he. And now for the pamphlet entitled, '' Charge of THE Hon. Chief Justice Durfee, delivered to the *The Algerine Laws are a happy instance of the exalted " patience" of that party ; and those laws were brewing when Mr. Pitman wrote. 204 MIGHT AND RIGHT. Grand Jury, at the March term of the Supreme Ju- dicial Court at Bristol, Rhode Island, A. D. 1842." This charge, the gentleman tells us, is a point of duty, which he is not at liberty to forego ; and, as lie is so conscientious, we may safely conclude that he is honest. He begins by holding forth upon the duty of allegiance, and the guilt of treason ; the duty, he says, "begins with life — with infancy at the mother's breast, and if he continue an inhabitant, or citizen of the State, it terminates only with the last breath which delivers the spirit over to its final account ;" and the crime he describes, as '' one of the highest of which a human being can be guilty." He then recites the Resolutions of the General As- sembly against the Suffrage men, which he follows up by this assurance ; " Gentlemen, whatever I shall say to you, touching these resolutions, sliall he said with the fall and entire concurrence of each wemher of this Court ;^^ thus subjoining to his own personal and individual opinion, that of the whole court. He then proceeds : "I therefore say to you, that, in the opinion of this court, such a movement as that de- scribed in these resolutions, is a movement which can find no justification in law : that if it be a move- ment against no law in particular, it is, nevertheless, a movement against all law ; that it is not a mere movement for a change of rulers, or for a legal re- form in the government, but a movement, which, if carried to its consequences, will terminate the State itself, as one of the States of this Union." It ap- pears tome that the gentleman's sense of "duty" moved him to make a very strange assertion, in this case. Did lie really believe that the tendency of the Suffrage Movement was to terminate the existence of the State ? For the sake of his character for ve- racity and candor, I truly hope so. He continues : " When great masses move, they move under the influence of excited feelings. When MIGHT AND RIGHT. 20j5 the object is to attain some great political good, real, or supposed, the excitement takes for its law of ac- tion, some ethereal abstraction^ some general theo- retic principle^ true, perhaps, in its application to cer- tain theoretic conditions of man, but utterly false, in its application to man, as he is. This '^ theoretic abstraction^''^ is understood to be the doctrine that, ^' All men are created free and equal ;" for this doc- trine was the basis of the Suffrage Movement, as it was that of '76. But how a law can be true in the- ory, and false in practice, it will take something more than a Rhode Island Lawyer, even though he be a Judge, to show. What is a theoretic principle, which admits of no practical application ? It can be nothmg more than a mere ebulition of fancy — a nonentity. The gentleman certainly appears to draw his "facts from the imagination, and his figures from memo- ry," learned as he is. Truth is true, and all beside is false ; and there can be no true theory, which will not bear the application of practice. Has not the gentleman's poetic genius a propen- sity to get at the throat of his reason ? Judging from the spirit which he manifests, we may safely infer that the '■'■ certain theorectic conditions of man," to which Mr. Durfee alludes, Avould remain such for- ever, for all his exertions to the contrary. He continues : " Gentlemen, when all men are an- gels, and of the same order, these abstractions may be true in all their consequences, but never in their application to man as he is." Why did not JefTer- son insert a clause like that, to qualify the great as- sertion in his Declaration of Independence ? Had he lived in Rhode Island, in these days, he would, doubtless, have been instructed so to do ; and the world would have been spared much useless pother and excitement, in regard to those same " ethereal abstractions ;" and the Despots of the old world 18 206 MIGHT AND BIGHT. would never have had occasion to sneer at the pro- bable failure of our "lively experiment" — an event which Mr. Durfee and his associates, seem anxious to anticipate ; since they are so early putting their parricidal hands to the corner stone, that by re- moving the basis, they may overthrow the whole superstructure. Mr. Pitman adopts the same senti- ment, page 15. " But it is said that all men have an equal right to suffrage. If this be admitted in the origin of society, it is not true after governments are formed.^^ Perhaps he means by this, that the men of '76, who went forth, half starved, and half naked, to battle for the common liberty, were thus made equal. They were equal daring all the ardu- ous labors of the seed-time, but not at the gathering in of the harvest. Does the Declaration of Inde- pendence teach such a doctrine ? And if it had been so understood, would our independence ever have been achieved ? Bat, to return. Mr. Durfee says ; " As a court, it is not only our duty to try offences, when commit- ted, but to prevent them, if it can be done, by mak- ing the law known." Is not "making the law known" to the public, before any offence has been committed, the peculiar province of the Legislature ? So it has always appeared ; and, further, to make the law known to the Grand Jury of a county, to aid their inquiries into offences alleged to have been committed already ^ the utmost extent of the duty of a court. This is certainly transcending the judicial boundaries ; but had they gone no further than this, it would not have been quite so monstrous a thing. But they have not contented themselves with " mak- ing the law knoionf on the contrary, they have proceeded to pronounce their opinion upon the ap- plication of this law, not to any case which had arisen, or was likely to arise, but to a supposed case, the very supposition of which, threw the preponder- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 207 ance altogether into the scales of one of the two great parties, into which the State was then divided, on the subject of a Constitution ; and was calculated to render the other party odious, not only in the eyes of this State, but of all the other States of the Union. It is commonly said among Judges, that " their duty is fully discharged, when they decide cases judicially brought before them, after hearing all the circum- stances of each case, and full argument on both sides." Where then is their right to decide capital cases which are founded only in the anticipated criminal acts of one out of two parties, engaged in a heated political strife ? Such decision may aid the cause of one of those parties; but the common jus- tice must suffer, and the courts be disgraced, wher- ever they are made. But these are not the deepest stains on our judicial ermine — these are not the grossest wrongs, of which our judges have been guilty. As if determined to destroy every vestige of their dignity, and rend their ermine to fragments, they have travelled at large through the State, re- peating their premature decisions — lecturing, and declaiming, in the most violent and heated manner ; appealing to " Heaven, Earth, and Hell," before crowded assemblies, cheered by the loud plaudits of one party, and saluted by the execrating hisses of the other. And when cases of alleged treason did arise, where were the uncommitted Judges, where were the impartial Juries, to try them ? Tltere were none. Mr. Durfee, after quite an elaborate preamble, pro- ceeds to define the word State, thus — ^' A State is a legally organised people, subsisting as such, from generation to generation, without end, giving, through the forms of law, the wills of the many, to become one sovereign will." How the quality of being endr- less, should be a necessary feature in the character of a State, I cannot see. There is but one supposa- ble thing ^^ without end,'' that is eternity ,* and 208 MIGHT AND RIGHT. that has no beginning — a corresponding feature which has always been associated with the idea of what is endless. If a State is, necessarily, ''with- out end," why all this bustle and talk about its com- ing to an e7id ? In the very page preceding that con- taining his definition, Mr. Durfee says ; " I proceed to show the illegality of this movement, and the ruin which it portends. I repeat, that however patriotic may be the intent, the legal eifect of it is the de- struction of the present State, and the construction of a new State out of its ruins." Now, how one end- less thing can be destroyed, and another endless thing constructed upon its ruins, I cannot understand. It maybe that as two negatives make an affirmative, so two endless conditions of being, produce an end of being. In immediate connection with his definition, Mr. Durfee says ; '' There is, and from the nature of things there can be, no sovereign people without law ; without that, unity which the law gives them, whereby they are enabled to act as one ; and, con- sequently, there can be no sovereign will that is not expressed through the forms of their corporate exist- ence." What does he mean by this ? If every visi- ble code and form of law, in any State, should be struck out of being in a single moment, would the people of that State cease to be a sovereign people ? Are laws contained, merely and solely in '' the parch- ment on which they are engrossed ?" Does the law exist prior to the people who make the law ? Is any created thing stronger than the hand which created it ? Can any created thing be made paramount to the creatmg power? Does he mean that there can be no exercise of their sovereignty by the sovereign people, without law ? If he means pre-existing larii- ten law, -the assertion is utter nonsense ,* but if he means the "Law and the Constitution paramount," which are written in the nature of every man, and MIGHT AND RIGHT. 209 continue to exist consociated with his sovereignty, and with which if any written law conflict, it he- conies' invalid, that is the true doctrine. It follows, of course, that there can be no exercise of their sove- reignty by the sovereign people, without calling law into existence, as its inevitable consequence ; and, therefore, sovereignty makes its own laws, as it acts — its action is law — nor can its action be limited or restricted, by any legislation, subordinate, inferior to, or even on an absolute equality with itself. I have already noticed, in a former chapter, the gentleman's doctrine of '' Corporations," and ^' units." I will here only add, that I think he has misapplied terms. His ." unit" appears to be a cypher. He attacks and overthrows Mr. Pitman's idea of a State de facto^ being recognised by Congress. He was far too cunning to admit it. But mark the deep and deadly insinuations in the following paragraphs ! How are they calculated to excite the already ex- cited imagination, conjuring up all dire thoughts — all horrible images. And how does he represent the Suffrage Party ? Under the symbol of FOUL BIRDS AND BEASTS OF PREY ! I make no comment ! '' Now, gentlemen, what are the consequences ? It is well worth while to inquire. We stand upon the brink of an awful gulf. We are about to take the leap, and we may well feel some anxiety to look down into it, and obtain a glimpse of what sort of a Tartarus it is, into which we are about to make the final plunge. "Gentlemen, I will whisper a few questions to you, all of which I dare not, for the peace of this State, ansioer, even in a ivhisper. There is too much combustible material in this wide-spread Union — too many daring and reckless adventurers of all sorts. Gentlemen, it is the faith of the untutored 18* 210 MIGHT AND RIGHT. savage, that certain birds of the air, and beasts of the desert, are endowed with somethnig like a prescience, or foreknowledge of the coming banquet, which hu- man strife is to provide, and, that some days in anti- cipation of the event, they come from all quarters of the Heavens, and from all the far depths of the for- est, and, congregating in the neighborhood of the appointed place, eagerly await the approaching car- nage. I do not want to be heard, or understood, by such as these. Therefore, will I not answer all the questions that I may put, but simply show you that there are such questions. *' When corporate Rhode Island ceases to exists what becomes of her delegation to Congress ? What becomes of her bill in Chancery, which she filed, claiming through her charter, and through that only, a portion of territory within the jurisdictional lines of Massachusetts ? I mention this, not for its import- ance, but for its illustration, and because in the event supposed, the question must necessarily arise, What becomes of the public property of all sorts ? Your court-houses? Your jails? Your public records? Public treasury, bonds and securities of all sorts, which belong to the present corporate Rhode Island, and to her only, and can pass from her only, by her Legislative consent ? What becomes of the actions now pending on the dockets of every court in this State — bills of indictment for crimes committed, or thaf may be committed ? What becomes of your State Prison, and your convicts, from the wilful murderer, to the petty thief? What becomes of your corporations of all sorts ? Of your corporate towns, and their records? Nay, are there not questions touching life, liberty, and individual property? / dare not go farther ; perhaps I have already gone too far. But whatever answer may be given to these questions, (and answered they must ultimately be, in the Supreme Court of the Union,) the bare MIGHT AND RIGHT. 211 fact that these questions must be raised^ tried, and decided, is sufficient to send a thrill of horror through the heart of every man, woman and child in this State:' If there ever was a " mountain made out of a mole- hill," this is it. But, seriously ; it is sufficient dis- grace for Rhode Island, that the Chief Justice of her Supreme Court, forgetful, at once, of the dignity of his station, and the high prerogative of his office, should descend from his true place, and, exchanging the habit of the Judge for that of a stump orator — a common demagogue — prostitute himself as the champion of a Party, by adopting the party spirit — the party slang — and, thus, by presenting imagi- nary evils to view, inflame more and more the heat- ed passions, (and those of the most selfish character) of his coadjutors. This is truly sufficient disgrace ; but it is not the greatest. The mighty in Rhode Island — the Lights — the Sages — approved, and especially commended, this course of conduct. But Mr. Durfee again : '' I therefore say to you, and to all others duly qualified, that it will he lawful for you to vote on the Constitution noio submitted to you by the State'' s Conve?ition ; and that if it be adopted, any person in this State commits a breach of allegiance who wilfully fails to support it:' What occasion was there for this ? To encourage men to the polls for the support of one party, by an extra- judicial opinion ? How could the Judge foreknow the means used for, and the circumstances of the adop- tion of that Constitution, which would materially modify the duty of supporting it ? But to say that a citizen commits a breach of allegience, by not voting for a Constitution, whatever it may be, is assuming too much for any man ; and, in a Judge, is unwar- rantable, inexcusable. But, further ; Mr. Durfee says of the Peopk's Con- stitution : " Standing, as it does, alone, and without 212 MIGHT AND RIGHT. any legal authority to support it, it is not the supreme law of this State ; and those who may attempt to carry it into effect by force of arms, will, in the opinion of this court, commit treason against the State — trea- son, perhaps, against the United States — for it will be an attempt by the overt act of levying war, to subvert a State, which is an integral part of the Union ; and to levy war against one State to that end, we are apprehensive will amount to the levying of war against all." Did not Judge Durfee know, that the crime of treason, which he was so eager to fasten upon one party, by anticipation, would de- pend, in the individual cases, upon circumstances which could not come, at least beforehand, to the knowledge of the court ; yet which would be neces- sary, in order to the formation of a sound judicial opinion ? The Judges in this case not only declare the law before the offence is make known, but they pronounce upon the application of that law, thus forestalling at once the prerogatives of both the Le- gislature and the Jury. Yet these gentlemen, in common with other Rhode Island gentlemen of the same political school, talk a great deal about republicanism, and democracy. Their sincerity may be tested by a very concise and laconic definition of Montesquieu. ^' A love of the republic in a democracy, is a love of the democracy — a love of the democracy is that of equality." There is one principle — and a very important one, too — that the Chartists of Rhode Island either can- not, or will not perceive. It is embodied in the fol- lowing quotation. '' It is not a change from the PRESENT state, lohzch, pcrliaps corruption or decay has introduced, that makes an inroad upon the government ; hut the tendency of it to injure or op- press the people, and to set up one part, or party, toith a distiiiction from, and an unnatural subjection to the rest. Whatsoever cannot but be acknowledged MIGHT AND RIGHT. 213 to be the advantage to the society will, always, when done, justify itself ^ — Locke, vol. v. p. 433. Jefferson, in his Inaugural Address, says ; " The absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the major- ity, is the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal, but to force, the vital principle, and im- mediate parent of Despotism." Notwithstandmg their extra-judicial opinions against the Suffrage Party, our Judges must have known that both their doctrines and their action had been sanctioned by Congress in the case of Michi- gan, when the people of that State, acting in their original and sovereign capacity, without the consent of the Legislature, and even in opposition to its in- terposed authority, adopted the Constitution on which it was received into the Union. This is de- nied by Judge Durfee, on the ground that Michigan was a Territory. But Michigan had a government which was quite as near to the '^/on/i" which the United States' Constitution guarantees, as the Char- ter Government of Rhode Island ; yet this govern- ment was defended by the Legislature, and subvert- ed by the people, in defiance of their authority ; and Congress put the great national seal on the people's right. In North Carolina, also the same doctrine was appealed to by the people in the western part of that state, who were about to put it in practice, when the other party who had actual possession of the gov- ernment, gave way. " The lust Of power, which oft-times took the fairer name Of liberty, and hung the popular Jlag Of freedom out,''' has wrought its full proportion of mischief m Rhode Island ; and with this remark I close the chapter, which is already too long, unless it had a better sub- ject. 214 MIGHT AND RIGHT. CHAPTER XII. THE TWO ELECTIONS. Pursuant to the Resolution which had passed the General Assembly on Monday, March 28, Governor King issued a Proclamation, on Monday, April 4, calhng upon all persons who had been engaged, or concerned in, attempts to carry the People's Consti- tution into effect, " to cease all further proceedings therein, as thf^y will answer the contrary at their peril;" and requiring all ''Judges, Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Deputy Sheriffs, and Constables, and all Military Officers, within their respective depart- ments, and according to their several functions, to be vigilant and firm in detecting, and bringing to con- dign punishment, all persons engaged or concerned in such enterprise." In obedience to this Proclama- tion, the Adjutant General issued his orders to the Commanders of the several Military Companies, " to assemble the men under their command, and di- rect them to be in readiness at thirty minutes warn- ing, armed and equipped ;" and also an order to all such officers, to report immediately after the requir- ed meeting, '' the number of the rank and file under their command, with a statement of their arms and equipments." It has been frequently asserted, and is, I think, pretty generally believed, that the Suffrage Party made the first Appeal to Force. This is utterly false. They never wholly relinquished their hope of aid through the Legislature, until that Body, by refusing them the right to be represented, in the Convention which had been called, for the purpose of forming a State Constitution, finally closed the door against them. Then, and then only, they assumed the right, and the authority of the Sovereign People. But MIGHT AND RIGHT. 215 they did not believe, that when they had formed a Constitution according to all American forms and usage, and adopted the same by a vast majority, that their fellow citizens would be arrayed in arms against them, to compel them, at the point of the bayonet, to surrender at once their rights and their liberties. They would not believe this until on the 1st of April, when, having met at the Town House, news arrived there, that the ARSENAL WAS GARRISONED ! ! ! Consternation and horror thrill- ed through the immense Assembly gathered there, as through one heart ! and not until then did they pass Resolutions of self-defence, and to call upon help from abroad. Similar meetings were held throughout the St^te, passing Resolutions to defend the Constitution to the fltmost, and condemning the Algerine Laws, which had been emphatically made, " without law, and against law," since they not only violated the law -paramount — the Law of Right, but important portions of the written law. By this odi- ous Act, is a Sheriff permitted to act '' without re- gard to his precinct ;" and a Magistrate is allowed to imprison an offender in the jail of any county in the State, against Sec. 62, of the Criminal Law of Rhode Island, which provides that "all persons sentenced to imprisonment, shall be imprisoned in the commoii jail of the county in which the offence ■shall he com- mitted.^^ The accused may also be tried in any other county than that in which he lives, or the of- fence is alleged to have been committed, contrary to the provision of Sec. 60 of the same Digest, that " persons accused of any crime shall be proceeded against, either in the Supreme Judicial Court, or the Court of General Sessions of the county loherein the crirne or a^imes charged^ may he committed.^'' This was designed to harrass all those who might dare assert their rights — to oppress the poor by needless expenses — to separate them from their families, and 216 MIGHT AKD RIGHT. to obstruct them in the means of making a defence. Can a precedent be produced from the British laws, or those of any other State of this Union, where the jurisdiction of a SheritF has been extended beyond the county for wliich he is appointed ? The alleged offender against the law has a right to demand a trial "by twelve free and lawful men, of the body of his county^ by whom the truth of the matter may be better known ? " How, then, can these violations of the law, be valid against the peace and security of the people — against the supreme will of the Peo- ple — which will IS law ? Upon what principle was that portion of the Law founded, which declared all meetings of the people for the purpose of discussing their rights, to be riotous, and subjected all who at- tended such meetings to t^ie danger of being shot down, should they not retire sufficiently soon after the riot act might be read ? Yonder, across the At- lantic, is Ireland, in behalf of which we have felt much sympathy ; yet Repeal Meetings, for the avow- ed purpose of dissolving the Empire, are there held, daily and nightly, in the face of the hireling sol- diery of England ; yet England has not a riot act, to drive the barbed heel quite through the prostrate neck of her sister kingdom ; but here, in Republican America — in Republican Rhode Island — citizens may be shot down for asserting the principles of the Declaration of Independence ! ! If this is Republi- canism, who would be a Republican ? Is it strange that the people in sheer pride should rise against these things ; and if there was a single principle of manhood in them, that it should have been aroused, to defy powers so unwarrantable, so unjust, so mon- stroiis ! The next step of the Charter Government, was to despatcli Commissioners to Washington, to solicit aid from the General Government. This deputation, consisting of Messrs. Whipple, Francis, and Potter, MIGHT AND RIGHT. 217 entirely misrepresented the whole matter. They pretended that domestic violence was apprehended ; and, by implication, that force had already been ex- erted by the Suffrage Party ; whereas, they knew that their own party were organising to put down the people by force. They sought to inflame the strongest prejudice of representatives of that and other influential sections of the country, by asserting that under the People's Constitution, persons were allowed to vote without any regard to color, although they knew that by an express provision of that Con- stitution, colored people ivere fiat alloioed to vote. These misstatements were repeated, and reiterated, by James F. Simmons, Senator from Rhode Island, then in Washington, who whispered them insidiously through the American Court, and embodied them in an Appeal to the South. The Free Suffrage move- ment was represented as being one with the Aboli- tion movement. It was, truly, an Abolition move- ment"; but it had for its sole object the deliverance from political thraldom, of the white slaves of Rhode Island ; and this both the Commissioners and Mr. Simmons very well knew. They represent that the Legislature were influ- enced by the petitions of the people, at their January session in 1841, to request the qualified voters to choose Delegates for a Convention, to frame a writ- ten Constitution. But they omit two important facts ; one is, that the Legislature took no notice of these petitions ; and the other is, that the " request" con- fined all the action on the proposed Constitution, to the Freemen and their eldest sons. Another import- ant misrepresentation is, that immediately after the above request was issued by the Legislature, the . Suffrage Party took measures to countervail those of the Assembly — but they neglect to tell him, that the State Committee took no steps towards forming a Convention, but patiently awaited the result of an 19 218 MIGHT AND RIGHT. application, which they expected would be made at the June session, for such an extension of suffrage, as would admit others than Freemen and their eldest sons, to vote for Delegates to the proposed Conven- tion. They forget, also, that this application was made by a member of the Legislature, and an emi- nent friend of the People, and was rejected by an overwhelming majority. They state not that the Legislature refused all propositions to extend suffrage, until after the People's Constitution was adopted and proclaimed ; and then extended it only for a particu- lar purpose — for a single occasion — to vote for the Landholders' Constitution. They state that all males over 21 years of age, were admitted to vote for the adoption of the People's Constitution. This was not true. None were intentionally admitted to vote by the People's Moderators, except American citizens who had their permanent residence, or home, in the State, and were of lawful age. They state that these meetings were not under presiding officers, whose legal duty, or legal right, it was to interpose any check, or restraint, as to age, residence, property, or color ; but they must have known that those Mo- derators were responsible men, acting under the highly respected authority of the People's Conven- tion, and that they interposed the check of requiring every voter to subscribe to the fact of his permanent residence, as well as his age, printed on his votu ; and the further check of inquiring either of himself, or of the by-standers, when they had occasion to doubt the fact. The Moderators were, truly, not sworn ; but they never are, in Rhode Island. They do not directly deny that a majority of the 22,000 people of the State voted for tlie People's Constitu- tion ; but a denial of this is inferred from the result of the vote upon the Landholders' Constitution. They admit that 8,600 votes were cast against that Constitution, and from these they deduct 1000, MIGHT AND RIGHT. 219 which they say were cast by friends of the Charter ; but how did they ascertain that ? and thus having reduced the votes of the People against the Land- holders' Constitution to 7,600, they take it for grant- ed that this was the full number that could have been cast for the People's Constitution. The rea- sons of this difference have been given in a former chapter. I shall not, therefore, repeat them. But where, I would ask, did the gentlemen get their au- thority for supposing that a negative condition could nullify a positive act? -From what authority did they learn that a principle erected on such a basis, might be taken for truth, without question, and acted upon as truth, to the injury of a large body of men ? Had they shown a little more candor — had they made fewer misstatements, and honestly told the whole truth of the matter, they might, it is true, have made a less brilliant figure as diplomatists, but their conduct would have been infinitely more honor- able to them, as men. Upon the receipt of the Adjutant General's orders by the Militia, it was found that a large majority of them were unwilling to meet the order, by holding themselves in requisition by the Government, to be drawn out at thirty minutes warning, to assist in crushing the liberties of the people of Rhode Island, of which their own were a part. There was a large number of gay young men, who had joined the se- veral independent companies of Providence, merely for the purpose of going upon excursions, attending the convivial meetings of the company, and enjoy- ing themselves. The terms of their admission had been merely the payment of a fine — hence they were called Fine-members. These members had never had any control over the affairs of the society ; but when the Algerine officers saw that the majority were going against them, they called in the Fine- members ; and through them, in addition to persua- 220 MIGHT AND RIGHT. sion, threats, and artifice, they succeeded in gaining over to the side of the Government (so called) a ma- jority of the forces. I should have said that Doctor Brown, President of the Suffrage Association, had been sent to Wash- ington, in order to represent there the claims of his party ; where he arrived before the Charter Delega- tion. He called on a large number of the members of both Houses ; and they pronounced the doings of the Legislature " of no binding effect, whatever," but '' entirely at variance with Right, Reason, and Constitutional Law." He was well received by the President, who told him that Mr. Whipple had called on him the night before, and said that everythmg, black, white, and gray, voted for the People's Con- stitution, and that without law or order ; and that both Constitutions amounted to one and the same thing. The President required a statement of the past and present doings of the Suftrage Party, which Dr. Brown made out, and presented. In the mean time he wrote home, in high hope. I quote the con- clusion of his letter — which, being from a promi- nent and influential person, will go far to show that even up to this time, the hope and trust of the peo- ple, was in right, and 7iot in force. '' Permit me to urge upon the people, the necessity of using every exertion to preserve order and quiet in the community. Provoke not ill feeling ; but stand firm and unwavering. We have nothing to fear. The God of our Fathers is with us. The sovereignty of the People will be established. "11 o'clock, P. M. I have just returned from a visit to the President, and one thing is certain, the President and the Cabinet will never send an armed force to Rhode Island, or in any other way attempt to prevent the people from obtaining their just rights. There will be no attempt to put the Law of the Ge- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 221 neral Assembly in force, and the people can go on without fear or molestation." \ And again, from on board the steamboat — Dela- ware River, Sunday, 2 o'clock, P. M., he writes ; " The President talks in strong terms of the doings of the General Assembly, and. says that the Law (Algerine Act) was uncalled for. He will write to Gov. King this week ; but, depend upon it, he will give no encouragement of interfering with the affairs of Rhode Island." On the 14th day of April, Gov. King issued a pro- clamation, announcing that he had received a letter from the President ; and immediately thereupon, the Letter of John Tyler was made known to the people. In the first paragraph Mr. Tyler says : "I shall not adventure the expression of an opinion upon those questions of domestic policy, which seem to have given rise to the unfortunate controversies between a portion of the citizens and the existing Government of the State. They are questions of Municipal regulation, the adjustment of which belongs exclu- sively to the people of Rhode Island, and with which this govern- ment can have nothing to do.'* But did he not express an opinion by assuming that the Charter Government was ''the existing government?" Did he not know that the questions had been adjusted by the People of Rhode Island ? He knew that the General Government had some- thing to do with it, and that the people of Rhode Island had a right to claim, by the Constitution of the United States, that a Republican Government should be erected over them ! These facts, even the sophistry and misrepresentations of the Commission- ers could not have concealed. The people had done all they could do, peaceably. They had resisted the strongest provocations to violence. They had seen themselves denounced as malefactors, and made the subjects of the most cruel and odious laws. Strong in the faith of the great American principle, and that 19* 222 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the Government of the United States would, and fnust vindicate it, they went eagerly on with their work ; and when they had finished it, they sent an agent to Washington^ to demand the redemption of the National pledge ; yet, strange to say, the Presi- dent and his Cabinet, together with the whole Whig press, boldly denied the principle, but for which, these United States must have been now British Co- lones, and stigmatised the men as TRAITORS, who had dared to assert it ! This is no trifle. I ask if such men, and such a press, should bear sway in a Republican government ; or if a government caii be Republican, where they are permitted to bear sway '? After reciting the 4th Section of the 4th Article of the Constitution of the United States, and portions of the Act of Congress approved February 28th, 1795, also a portion of the Act of March 3d, 1807, Mr. Tyler says : " By a careful consicleration of the above recited acts of Con- gress, your Excellency will not fail to see, that no power is vest- ed in the Executive of the United States, to anticipate insurrec- tionary movements ag-ainst the Government of Rhode Island, so as to sanction the interposition of the military authority, but that there must be an actual insurrection manifested by lawless as- semblages of tne people or otherwise, to whom a proclamation jjiay be addressed, and who may be required to betake themselves to their respective abodes. I have, however, to assure your Ex- cellency, that should the time arrive, and my fervent prayer is that it may never come, when an insurrection shall exist against the Government of Rhode Island, and a requisition shall be made upon the- Executive of the United States to furnish that protec- tion which is guaranteed to each State by the Constitution and laws, I shall not be found to shrink from the performance of a duty, which, while it would be the most painful, is at the same thne the most imperative. I have also to say, that in such a con- tingency, the Executive could not look into real or supposed de- fects of the existing goverument, in order to ascertain whether some other plan of government proposed for adoption, was better suited to the wants, and more in accordance with the wishes of any portion of her citizens. To throw the Executive power of this Government into any such controversy, would be to make the Presid-nt the armed arbitrator between the people of the dif- ferent States and their constituted authorities, and might lead to MIGHT AND RIGHT. 223 an usurped power, dang-erous alike to the stability of the State Governments and the liberties of the people. It will be my duty, on the contrary, to respect the requisitions of that government which has been recognised as the existing- Government of the State through all time past, until I shall be advised in regular manner, that it has been altered and abolished, and other substi- tuted in its place, by legal and peaceable proceedings, adopted and pursued by the authorities and people of the State." It is generally understood that the Commissioners misrepresented the condition of things in Rhode Island, in order to induce Mr. Tyler to go beyond his constitutional authorities ; that they gave him the assiuance that they would, on their return home, exert their power to have an act of amnesty passed by the Legislature, which was then in session, and thus relieve the President from the necessity of ever sending his troops here. But this they found the Governor and Council unwilling to do. The object of the Commissioners was, undoubtedly, to prevent the question from being carried before the Tribunal of the Nation, as that event would present many chances against them. Every effort was made at Washington to silence anything like a fair discussion of the subject. Mr. Allen, a member of the Senate from Ohio, ventured to call in question the correct- ness of the position assumed by Tyler, and attempt- ed to bring the whole subject under discussion. He was immediately cried out against as an abolitionist. Flaming articles appeared in the Madisonian, the Court Gazette of the President, denouncing Mr. Dorr as an abolitionist, and his followers as traitors against the -country. But at the same time, Mr. Simmons, and all the enemies of Freedom, were allowed to speak, and were heard. It is impossible to describe the consternation, and horror, produced by this letter, among the Suffrage Party. Complete dismay overwhelmed the naturally timid; and even the strongest hearts became op- pressed with unwonted heaviness. They could not 224 MIGHT AND RIGHT. believe that John Tyler would refuse to lend his countenance to the great American principle upon which the General Government was originally found- ed — upon which the Confederation gave place to the Constitution — upon which every one of the older States entered the Union — and which had been but lately exemplified in the case of Michigan. They could not believe that the President of the American Republic would thus openly disavow the republican principle, that the people are the source of all power — that they are the only rightful au- thors of constitutions — that they are not to be for- ever shackled by their own servants, though these appear in the shape of a Legislature — and that when they act in the peacable exercise of their sovereign and inalienable rights, such acts are to be respected as the law-paramount. It appears that no inquiry, no investigation of the matter, was made or held. The Constitution of the United States guarantees to every State of the Union a Republican form of gov- ernment ; and when a very large majority of the people claimed to have instituted such a form of gov- ernment, was it not worth while to inquire whether it might not be true, of some other than the people's enemies ? Would it not have been as well to count the votes, and, if need were, to call upon the voters, and test their validity ? To ascertain, if possible, if the claims of the Constitutionists were valid ; and, if necessary, refer the question to the Supreme Court of the United States? The President, in his letters to Gov. King, makes no allusion whatever to any such constitutional question ; he never even asks whether a majority of the People of Rhode Island had adopted the Constitution, but with the utmost coolness, cut himself aloof from all authorities, from all constitutional responsibilities, and, without sanc- tion, committed the daring act of interposing the strong arm of this Republic, to crush the people of MIGHT AND RIGHT. 22^5 Rhode Island, for the offence of asserting themselves free, and claiming to exercise the rights of freemen. This act was founded on a principle so monstrous and unjust, that, if taken advantage of, a despotic Monarchy could have been established, and the word of the Chief Magistrate was pledged to sus- tain it. Let the Genius of American Liberties cast aside her beautiful garments, and gird herself with sack- cloth. Let her prostrate herself in the dust, and cover her head with ashes. She must mourn, in the bitterness of undeserved wrong, all the days when such men as John Tyler, and his advocates, bear sway in the land ! The letter of Tyler was a virtual declaration of war against a majority of the People of Rhode Island, and that in behalf of a usurped government, which was neither republican in its origin, nor its tenden- cies. He pledged himself to sustain by the forces of the United States, a minority government, which had been but recently twice condemned, not only by a majority of the people, but by a majority ol the Landholders. By what right did he pledge himself to exert the forces of the Nation against the senti- ment, and against the principles of a major portion of the people of the community ? By what right did he pledge himself to sustain the Algerine law, which contains provisions wholly repugnant to the Consti- tution of the United States, and all constitutional government ? What right had he to terrify and over- awe the people, and thus prevent them from the peaceable exercise of their rights, in the only way in which they could assert them ; and thus put the 'broad seal of the United States upon the bond which was to enslave three-fifths of the people of Rhode Island, a sovereign and independent State ? What right had he to suppose that the Charter Government was "the existing government," and that the gov- 226 MIGHT AND RIGHT. ernmeut under the People's Constitution, which had been called into existence by a majority even of the Freemen, was not the existing government — or that the peaceable exercise by the people of their inalienable rights, was, or could be, " an act of vio- lence ?" Why did he assume the dangerous power which he so emphatically denounces, and make him- self "an armed arbitrator between the people of Rhode Island, and their consituted authorities ;" au- thorities which had been legally constituted, if it is in the power of any body of men to generate a le- gal act? What right had John Tyler to say, through his sanction of the Algerine Law, that the people of Rhode Island should not peaceably convene them- selves, for the purpose of discussing their political duties and relations, without subjecting themselves to the danger of being shot down as rioters ? These questions will be answered — they must be answer- ed, and that probably at no distant day. The immediate effect of Tyler's letter upon the people's cause, was discouraging in the extreme. In all events which are to be brought about through the action of large bodies of men, confidence is the central pivot upon which success turns. Destroy this, and it is like destroying the power of gravita- tion in the natural world — the centripetal force — the power of union is broken, and disorder and ruin ensue. There is no doubt that thousands who voted for tlie Constitution, dared not vote for the officers under it, because the Federal Executive had assum- ed to decide against their rights ; and they foresaw ihat a carrying out of their principles would involve the crime of treason, and the horrors of civil war. It was exceedingly difficult to find cai^didates for the several offices on the People's Ticket. It has been often said, that Thomas W. Dorr had ambitious aims in the part which he took in Rhode Island af- fairs. Looking back at the line of governors who MIGHT AND RIGHT. 227 had preceded him, he must have been very " ambi- tious," in consenting to become one of their number ! This he at first positively refused to do. He was urged, entreated, to no purpose ; nor would he con- sent, until assured that the ruin of the cause would be involved in his refusal. Under the sanction of a name so dearly loved — so highly venerated, the people gathered' a tempo- rary confidence. They soon had their ticket re- spectably filled ; and they went about the business of their election in somewhat better spirit. Encouraged by the favorable aspect of their affairs, under tlie patronage of Tyler, the Algerines returned to the attack with renewed vigor ; and the cry of "Banks and Beauty," ''Booty and Beauty!" was raised in the Journal, and repeated, and reiterated, through the State, and throughout the country. No- thing could have been more injurious that this. It was undoubtedly frabricated by the College street Junto, and their minions ; and it proved itself wor- thy of the nest where it was fledged. They knew when they sent it forth, that it was false as Hell ! And the cry was repeated, and shouted to the four winds, by libertines of the blackest dye — by crea- tures so obscene — so vile - — so filthy with crime, that common decency could not approach them with- out contamination. These, and such as these, told the world that Thomas Wilson Dorr, the pure and upright, the lofty of heart and soul, was a whole- sale robber — a wholesale murderer — a wholesale violator of the most sacred domestic rights — and that he was gathering together a band of despera- does — of worse than assassins, under a promise that they should share the spoils of plundered, and bleed- ing, and violated Providence ! There is " no tongue so vile, but finds a kindred ear ; "and they were not unheard. A cry was also raised against foreigners and priest- 228 ' MIGHT AND RIGHT. craft. Inflammatory speeches were made, abusive ' placards were issued, and an excitement was got up to act upon the prejudices, and inflame the ah'eady heated passions of tlie people. They did not choose to remember, that during the last war, when an at- tack upon Boston by the British, was threatened and expected, a foreigner, and a Catholic Bishop, the ex- cellent and lamented Cheverus, went, at the head of his foreign Catholic congregation, to build breast- works for the defence of the city. He exhorted his flock to resist the invading foe, and set the example by working himself. They forgot that our natural- ised citizens, subjects of the British crown, have cheerfully taken up arms, as American citizens, al- though they knew, that should they be taken by the mother country, who will never cancel the allegiance of her subjects, they would be shot, as traitors ; yet where is an instance of their proving faithless to the country of their adoption ? But a day will surely come, to answer for these things, also. The election took place on the ISth of April, and Thomas W. Dorr was elected Governor. There had been three tickets in Rhode Island. The People's Ticket, headed by Thomas W. Dorr ; the Rhode Island Prox, headed by Samuel W. King, and the Freemen's Republican Ticket, headed by Thomas F. Carpenter. Mr. King received 4,900 votes, Mr. Carpenter 800, and Mr. Dorr 6,200. April 25, a special session of the Legislature was called by Gov. King, who transmitted to that body a message, saying that probably no legislation was needed, after what had been done the last session — that a Delegation had been sent to tlie President ; he recited what he termed the traitorous proceedings of the Suff'rage Party ; and, in view of them, re- commended to the House the propriety of calling on the General Government for assistance. He recom- mended an organization of troops, and the appoint- MIGHT AND RIGHT, * 229 I ment of a board of counsellors for the assistance of I the Executive. April 26, Resolutions were passed ! for the organization of the military, to enlist and ac- I cept the service of volunteer soldiers — to draw on the Treasury for the support of the soldiers — to ap- point a board of counsellors — and to authorise the Governor to employ a private Secretary, at the' State's expense, to aid in his duty. Against this whole course of raising a standing army in time of peace, Mr. Atwell strongly protested, and as strongly urged the propriety of conciliatory measures. Mr. Jackson offered a Resolution calling for a Convention to form a Constitution, and providing that all who pay a tax on $150 worth of property, should vote for delegates — a ratio of representation was also fixed upon, A motion of postponement of this Re- solution was made. Mr. Atwell said, a sword was suspended by a single hair over the heads of the Ge- neral Assembly ; postpone the Resolution, and the hair was broken. He approved the Resolution, all, save the qualification ; said the people wanted some- thing now, beside promises. He feared the eftect upon some anxious for their rights, and many ready to bleed for them. He went into a history of the number of petitions offered. He had rolls upon rolls of them ; and it was strangely impolitic to tell the people, when their petitions were treated with con- tumely, that they must petition again ; and to tell them if they did not like the laws, they might go out of the State. The House was called, and the postponement was carried, by 45 to 12. A Bill was passed for the organization of volim- teer police companies in the city of Providence, and the Assembly adjourned to meet at Newport, after having, in their two last sessions, filled the measure of their arbitrary power. In the vindictive and ty- rannic;il spirit of Rehoboham, they have transcended 20 230 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the measure of their Fathers' oppression, and they cease not to declare, " My httle finger shall be thicken than my father's loins. And now, whereas my fatherJ did load you with a heavy yoke, / will add to your^ yoke ; my father has chastised you with whips, buti I WILL CHASTISE YOU WITH SCORPIONS." And thcyi have more than made good their declaration. May 1st, and just in time to anticipate the meeting: of the Constitutional Legislature, two companies of Artillery, belonging to the United States' troops, were ordered from Fort Columbus in New York har- bor, to occupy Fort Wolcott, which had not beeni garrisoned, and Fort Adams, near Newport, Rhode Island, under the pretence of protecting the public property there ; and to replace these, two companies of the same number, were ordered to Fort Columbus from Fort Monroe, Virginia, (Old Point Comfort.) Simultaneous with these arrangements, General Wool, the second in command of the Army of the United States, was ordered to Rhode Island. How dared John Tyler to send his hireling soldiery to oc- cupy a Fort built at the national expense, to repel a foreign foe — not to endanger the safety of Ameri- can citizens, while exercising their inalienable rights, in establishing that republican form of . government, which the Constitution guarantees to them? How dared he profane that old outpost, sacred to freedom and popular rights, by placing strong forces there, to overawe and terrify into submission to a despotic minority, a long-suffering, and much-injured people ? And, as if his meaning should not by any possibility be mistaken, 40 roiind of hall cartiidges were distri- buted to the ?ne7i, at parade, on the morning of their arrival. In the face of all these circumstances — the accumulation of troops in Rhode Island — the ordering there of veteran and experienced officers — the bringing of troops from Fort Monroe within sup- porting distance — the people are told that all is MIGHT AND RIGHT. 231 done merely with a view to the protection of the public property ; and this weak and miserable sub- terfuge, alike dishonorable to the Government, and insulting to the People, was persisted in, and directly asserted in an Extra Madisonian, lest the whole country should be indignant at these unwarrantable measures. But this '' paltering, in a double sense," had all the iniquity, the meanness of falsehood, with- out producing its effects. No one was deceived. Tuesday, May 3d, the Constitutional Government was organised, and the ceremony of inauguration took place. As the public buildings still remained in the hands of- the Chartists, an unfinished build- ing, designed for a Foundry, was procured for the purpose ; and hence the Assembly of the People has been sneeringly called the '' Foundry Legislature." The procession, while it had no single feature of a pageant, was, altogether, the most imposing of any I ever witnessed. There they were, the hard-hand- ed mechanics and the sun-burnt farmers, walking the earth erect as man ever should — every one with a light in his eye and an expression of conscious dig- nity on his brow, as if a new beam of truth had just then broke in upon his soul, revealing, for the first time, in its distinct legibility, " Here lives a Man." But the Algerine Fops and Aristocrats saw no moral dignity in this, and even Doctors of Divinity beheld no evidence of '^ strong feeling." They are to be pitied, who could perceive only '^ a farce" in such an array ! There was no appearance of disorder, or even levity ; but a feeling deep as the heart's core beamed in their honest, intelligent faces, which were turned up to the blue Heaven, as if they were un- consciously appealing there, for the right, which was so soon to be denied them here. The Chief Magistrate appeared on foot. Well worthy was he of the place he filled — right worthy to be the cham- pion of the Rights of Man. He had grown, and 232 MIGHT AND RIGfHT. Strengthened, a scion of oak, amid the mushroomi aristocracy of Rhode Island, and subjected to influ-| ences which nothing hut oak could resist, and stiill be strong. The Constitutional Assembly passed an Act, Re- pealing the Algerine Laws, and resolutions requesting the Governor to inform the President of the United I States, that the Government of this State had been| duly elected, and organised under the Constitution of' the same, and that the said Assembly was then in session, and proceeding to discharge its duties, ac- cording to the provisions of the said Constitution ; that the Governor should make the same communi- cation to the President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be laid before the two Houses of the Congress of the United States ; and also to the Governors of the ditferent States, to be laid before the respective Legislatures. The Message of Governor Dorr is a document which would do honor to any State. It is at once manly and dignified in the assertion of right, and courteous towards opposers. It is evidently the work of a great mind^ and a true heart, the embodied THOUGHT of one whose large and magnanimous views of life and society, will never be interrupted or cir- cumscribed, by the boundaries of sect or party ; but must be associated with action, having for its object the welfare of man. No public document to be com- pared with it for statesmanship and dignity, had ever before emanated from a Governor of Rhode Island, It narrates with much clearness and perspicuity, the origin and progress of the Suffrage Movement, and in its whole tone and spirit, it affords a happy con- trast to the speeches and writings of his opponents. Gov. Dorr has too much real dignity ever to be wanting in gentlemanly courtesy. It is only smalt men who use the small missiles of incivility and personal abuse. The truly great are always courte* MIGHT AND RIGHT. 233 ous. Self-respect requires this. The man who abuses another, either by language or otherwise, de- scends at least to his level, however low he may be, and frequently below it ; but this is a fact of which the Chartists of Rhode Island seem to be not at all aware. Take the following passage as evidence that Gov. Dorr considered himself the rightfully elected Oovernor of the State, under a Constitution regularly framed and adopted. "That the sovereignty of this country resides in the People, is an axiom in the American system of government, which it is too late to call in question. By the theory of other governments, the Bovereign power is^ vested in the head of the State, or shared with him by the Legislature. The sovereignty of tlie country from which we derive our origin, is in the King and Parliament ; and any attempt to change the government of that country, would be deemed an insurrection. There ail reform must proceed from the government itself; which calls no conventions of the people, and recognises no such remedy for political grievances. In this country the case is totally the reverse. When the Revolution severed the ties of allegience, which bound the Colonies to the parent country, the sovereign power i)assed from its former pos- sessors, not to the General Government, which was the creation of the States, nor to the State Governments, nor to a portion of the people, but to the whole people of the States, in whom it has ever since remained. This is the doctrine of our Fathers, and of the early days of the Republic, and should be sacredly guard- ed as the only safe foundation of our political fabric. The idea that government is in any proper sense the source of power in this country, is of foreign origin, and at ivar witn the letter and spirit of our institutions. The moment that we admit the prin- ciple, that no change in government can take place without per- mission of the existing authorities, we revert to the worn-out theory of the monarchies of Europe ; and whether we are the sub- jects of the Czar of Russia, or the monarch of Great Britain, or of a landed oligarchy, the difference to us is only in degree, and we have lost the reality, though we may retain the form of a De- mocratic Republic." I will indulge in a few more extracts, which illus- trate not only the spirit of the man, but the spirit of the party, and the spirit of the Enterprise. 20* 234 MIGHT AND RIGHT. " Your attention will be required to the force law and Re- solutions recently adopted by the General Assembly, for the sup- pression of the Constitution. Laws like these, which violate, in some of their provisions, the well known privileges enjoyed by the subjects of the British Monarchy, could hardly find favor in the land of Rog-er Williams. These enactments have been re- garded by the considerate men among our opponents as most im- politic and unjust, and by the people as null and void, because conflicting M^ith the paramount provisions of the Constitution. Military preparations have been made by direction of the Assem- bly, and the people have been consequently put on the defensive. But this is not the age nor the country, in which the will of the people can be overawed or defeated by measures like these." * " We are assembled in pursuance of the Constitution, and un- der a sacred obligation to carry its provisions into effect. Know- ing the spirit which you have manifested throughout this exciting controversy, the moderate but determined course which you have pursued, your love of order, and respect for all Constitutional laws, and for the rights of all other persons, while engaged in the acquisition of your own, I hardly need remind you of your duty to cast behind you all injuries and provocations, and leave them to the retributive justice of public opinion, which will ultimately appreciate every sincere sacrifice to the cause of truth, of free- dom, and humanity. Entertaining the deep and earnest conside- ration that we are engaged in such a cause, and conscious of our own imperfections, let us implore the favor of that Gracious Providence ivhich gvicled the steps of our ancestors, upon this our attempt to restore and permanently secure the blessings of that well ordered and rational freedom here established by the patri- otic founders of our State. " The provisions of the Constitution relating to the security of the right of suffrage against fraud, and to the registration of voters, will require your immediate action. The State demands of its government an economical admmistration of aflfairs, and ■will justly complain of any increase of its expenses, at the pre- sent period. "I cannot more appropriately conclude this communication, than in the words of the Constitution, which declares that ' No favor or disfavor ought to be shown toward any man, or party, or society, or religious denomination. The laws should be made, not for the good of the few, but of the many, and the burdens of the State ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens." But the Journal of May 5th, tries — very feebly — very unfortunately — to get up a laugh at its ex- pense ; calls it nothing but " a patchwork of his own MIGHT AND RIGHT. 235 speeches, and the articles in the New Age, on the sovereignty of the People," the ''speeches of Mr. Parmenter," &c., and pronounced it to be '' in the regular style of the Town House orators." Let pos- terity, then, judge for themselves. They will keep Gov. Dorfs Message^ and like unto that, were the ''agrarian" and "disorganising" speeches, lectures, and meetings, of the Suffrage men of Rhode Island, in their eighth struggle for Right. The Constitu- tional Legislature without having transacted much important business, adjourned Wednesday afternoon, May 4th, to meet at Providence on the 4th day of July. On Wednesday, May 4th, the Charter Government met at Newport, and the inauguration number tAvo, took place. The Charter Assembly passed resolu- tions, declaring that an insurrection existed in the State. A requisition was made on the President, and envoys were despatched to Washington for the purpose of asserting their claims. The procession was meagre, notwithstanding great efforts were made to get up an imposing spectacle ; two of the companies being subjected to a fine of $4 per annum, for non-at- tendance. Several ministers of the gospel also graced the procession, they having ascertained that the Peo- ple's cause was on the wane, true to the instinct of the genus, which stents popularity as a crow scents carrion, afar off", had withdrawn themselves from its support. 236 MIGHT AND RIGHT. CHAPTER XIII. RESIGNATIONS. On the evening of Monday, the 2d of May, a cau- cus was held at the Governor's Head (Quarters, where the question was discussed, whether the public pro- perty should be taken possession of, or not. This measure was recommended by Gov. Dorr, as the only avenue to success, and was urged by him with characteristic energy and strength : it was also ably sustained by George H. Brown, a very promising young member from Gloucester. But, strange to say, this measure, the absolute necessity of which so plainly appeared, was opposed, with more or less strength, by almost the whole body, beside ; and one of them, at least, threatened Mr. Dorr, that if he per- sisted in it, he would entirely withdraw his support and countenance, which were of so considerable im- portance, that they could not thus be violently with- drawn, without involving injury, if not ruin, to the cause itself This gentleman, who assumed so im- portant a part in the crisis, is an old politician, and used only to the sinuous windings of a politician's course. He knew not how to go straight forward. He knew not that there was an overwhelming tide of public sentiment, and public feeling, all in his favor, and ready to bear him on triumphantly to the goal ; but which, if not taken advantage of, would react as strongly in another direction, or be dispersed without action. Had Mr. Dorr been sustained in this measure, success would have been secure, in spite of everything — including John Tyler's Let- ter, and that without the loss of a single drop of MIGHT AND RIGHT. 237 blood. No one now pretends to doubt this ; and all, I believe, see their folly. The Algerines would not have dared to lift a musket, until they saw the United States' troops close at their heels ; or, what would have been much better, marching in their van ; and before this could have been eftected, the Constitutionists would have presented a Government de facto, as well as a Government de jure. I question not the honesty of intention — the true patriotism of those members who thus opposed Gov. Dorr, however unwise their conduct may appear now. They were influenced by right feeling, and right motives, and not by cowardice, as has been frequent- ly asserted ; and that they, and the men they led, were capable of being swayed by such motives, is, of itself, undeniable evidence against the slander of their enemies. When was a horde of demi-civilised barbarians, ever brought to the point where success would be almost the inevitable result, with the pros- pect of pillage, and the gratification of the most brutal appetites ; and, in full view of all they had sought, lying temptingly before them, arrested, and held in check, through fear that blood might hd^ spilled — that war might be the consequence of their progress? Never. The fact is incontroverti- ble ; and, by its single evidence, proves the Alge- rines a body of liars, when they have asserted that the Suffrage Party were seeking only plunder, and blood, and the violation of female sanctity ! when they have called them robbers, and cannibals, and «' worse than cannibals;" cries which have been echoed, and re-echoed through this wide land, until the free winds are disgusted with repeating them ! The fact cannot be disguised, that the Suffrage Party unwillingly resorted to force, and that only in defence of principles they had pledged themselves to sustain ; whereas, on the other hand, the very first measures taken by the ChaitistS; were of a warlike 238 MIGHT AND RIGHT. character. But to return to a vindication of the mo- tives of the Constitutional Legislature, in the act above alluded to. No one ever expressed a doubt of the legality of the government, or of the Constitu- tion, or of the legal right of the government to take possession of the State's property. The only ques- tion was, whether it was expedient to assume a hos- tile attitude towards the Charter Government, backed up as they were by the whole military and naval force of the United States. They believed, too, that the question would be fairly tried before the tribunal of the Nation ; and they said they would not so much as turn the key of the State House door, lest it should be construed into an act of vio- lence. They were willing to wait patiently for the justice, which they knew they must receive. The shame of their disappointment rests not on them. On the 4th of May, Governor Dorr issued the fol- lowing : STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. A PROCLAMATION. BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE SAME. Whereas, the General Assembly, on the 3d day of May, 1842, passed the following Resolution : Resolved, That the Governor be requested to make known by Proclamation to the People of this State, that the Government under the Constitution thereof has been duly organised, and call- ing upon all persons, both civil and military, to conform them- selves to said Constitution, and to the laws enacted under the same, and to all other jurisdiction and authority duly exercised under and by virtue of the same. And whereas the General Assembly, on the 4th day of May, 1842, passed the following Resolutions : Resolved, That the Governor be further requested to call on all persons, who are, or may become, indebted to the State, to make payment to the duly appointed officers and agents, under tlie provisions of said Constitution ; and to make known to all personn, that no payment to any other officers or agents than those aforesaid, will be considered as a discharge of their obli- gations. Resolved, That tlie Governor be requested to call on all per* MIGHT AND RIGHT. 239 sons, who are in possession, or have charg-e of any of the public property, to deliver the possession or charge of said property to the authorities and officers acting under the Constitution and laws ot the State. Now, therefore, I, Thomas W, Dorr, Governor of the State, do hereby, as requested, proclaim and make known said Resolu- tions to the People of the State, and call upon all persons to con- form themselves thereto, and to govern themselves accordingly. Tl s 1 ^" testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, L ' •J and caused the seal of the State to be affixed, at the City of Providence, this 4th day ot May, A. D 1842 THOMAS W. DORR, Governor. By command of the Governor, Witness, WM. H. SMITH, Secretary of State. On the same day, Daniel Brown, Representa- tive under the People's Constitution, was arrested at Newport. On the 5th, Dutee J. Pearce was arrested at the same place ; and on the 6th, Burrington An- thony, at Providence ; and arrests and resignations hecanie the order of the day. On the 7th, Gov. Dorr set off for Washington, to represent in person the situation of affairs ; and on the 12th, a large Mass Meeting was held in the Court of the State House, and Resolutions were passed unanimously, that no more arrests should be permitted, and to pro- tect their Chief Magistrate at all hazards. The ut- most excitement at this time prevailed. Gov. Dorr, on visiting Washington, finding that the heads of the various departments were altogether opposed to his plans, returned to New York, where he was received with the strongest demonstrations of respect and confidence. He returned on the 16th, and was escorted from the Stonington Depot, by a large parade of the military and private citizens. A splendid carriage, drawn by Avhite horses, had been prepared for his accommodation ; and as the proces- sion moved through the principal streets of the city, the beloved Governor was welcomed home, with the 240 MIGHT AND RIGHT. most cheering expressions of joy. When he had arrived on Federal Hill, Mr. Dorr stood up in the carriage and addressed the People, in a very noble and animated speech. He spoke of the hearty and warm reception he had met with in New York, and then drew from his belt a sword, which was present- ed him in that city. He said it was presented by the brother of a gallant officer who perished in the Florida wars, while in the service of his country. ^' He was a brave man," said he. '' He has used this sword," laying it across his arm, '' in the cause of his country ; and I am ready to use it in the cause of Freedom. It was never dishonored in his hands, and it never shall be in mine." An officer in the carriage took the sword, and flourished it in the pre- sence of the spectators, who greeted it with hearty and continued cheers. This is the whole sum and substance of the famous sword speech, Algerine false- hoods, and false swearing, to the contrary, notwith- standing. On the 11th, Gov. King issued a proclamation, to announce the arrival of Tyler's second letter, in which the President fully exhibits the feelings of one, conscious that he has been dragged reluctantly into a mean scrape, and is holding back as hard as he can. He, however, gives the renewed assurance of sustaining the Chartists in their unholy measures, and they are satisfied therewith. The requisition to surrender the public property had not been complied with. The powers vested in the Executive to reclaim this property, had not been exercised. Complaints began to be made at the delay, and the Chief Magistrate was a prisoner under the protection of his friends ; a constant mili- tary attendance being necessary for his personal se- curity. The Government could not, without com- promising its own dignity and relf-respect, longer MIGHT AND RIGHT. 241 delay to take some decisive measure. In view of these facts, on the 16th Gov. Dorr issued the fol- lowing : STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. A PROCLAMATION. By Thomas JV. Dorr, Governor and Commander in Chief of the same. Fellow Citizens :— Shortly after the adjournment of the Ge- iieral Assembly, and the completion of indispensable executive business, I was induced by the request of the most active friends of our cause to undertake the duty, which had been previously suggested, of representing in person the interests of the People of Rhode Island in other States, and at the seat of the General Government. By virtue of a resolution of the General Assem- bly, I appointed Messrs. Pearce and Anthony Commissioners for the same purpose. Of the proposed action of the Executive in the affairs of our State, you have been already apprised. In case of the failure of the civil posse, {which expression was intended by the President as I have been informed to embrace the military power) to exe- cute any of the laws of the Charter Assembly, including their laws of pains and penalties, and of treason, as it has been for the first time defined, the President intimates an intention of resort- ing to the forces of the United States, to check the movements of the People of this State in support of their Republican Constitu- tion recently adopted. From a decision which conflicts with the right of sovereignty inherent in the People of this State, and with the principles which jie at the foundation of a Democratic Republic, an appeal has been taken to the People of our country. They understand our cause; they sympathise in the injuries which have been inflicted upon us ; they disapprove the course which the National Execu- tive has adopted toward this State ; and they assure us of their disposition and intention to interpose a barrier between the sup- porters of the People's Constitution and the hired soldiery of the United States. The democracy of the country are slow to move in any matter which involves an issue so momentous as that which is presented by the controversy in Rhode Island. But when they have once put themselves m motion, they are not to be easily diverted from their purpose. They believe that the People of Rhode Island are in the right; that they are contend- ing for equal justice in their political system ; that they have properly adopted a Constitution of government for themselves, as they were entitled to do ; and they cannot, and will not, remain indifferent to any act, from whatever motive it may proceed, which they deem to be an invasion of the sacred right of self- 21 242 MIGHT AND RIGHT. government, of which the People of the respective States cannotl be divested. As your representative, I have been everywhere received with the utmost kindness and cordiality. To the People of the city of; New York, who have extended to us the hand of a generous fra- ternity, it is impossible to overrate our obligation at this most important crisis. It has become my duty to say, that, so soon as a soldier of the 1 United States shall be set in motion by whatever direction, to act against the People of this State, in aid of the Charter Gov- ernment, I shall call for that aid, to oppose all such force, which, I am fully authorised to say will be immediately and most cheer* fully tendered to the service of the People of Rhode Island, from the city of New York and from other places. The contest will then become national, and our State the battle ground of Ameri* can freedom. As a Rhode Island man, I regret that the Constitutional ques- tion in this State cannot be adjusted among our own citizens. But, as the minority have asked that the sword of the National Executive may he thrown into the scale against the People, it is imperative on them to make the same appeal to their brethren of the States ; an appeal which, they are well assured, will not be made in vain. They who have been the first to ask assistance from abroad, can have no reason to complain of any consequences which may ensue. No farther arrests under the law of pains and penalties, which was repealed by the General Assembly of the People at their May session, will be permitted. I hereby direct the military un- der their respective otficers, promptly to prevent the same, and to relieve all who may be arrested under said law. As requested by the General Assembly, I enjoin upon the mili- tia forthwith to elect their company officers ; and I call upon vol- unteers to organise themselves without delay. The military are directed to hold themselves in readiness for immediate service. Given under my hand, and the seal of the State, at [l. s.] the City of Providence, this 6th day of May, A. D. 1842. THOMAS W. DORR, Governor and Commander in Chief of the State of Rhode Island and Pro- vidence Plantations. By the Governor's command, William H. Smith, Secretary of State. On the 17th of May a direction was issued to the military of the several towns, to repair to Head (oluarters forthwith, there to await further orders. In the evening of the same day, a council of mill- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 243 tary officers was held, and a plan of operation was submitted to them. ''They all thought alike/' Governor Dorr says, ''as to the necessity of imme- diate action, but there was some question as to the point at which it should commence." The enemy had possession of the State Arsenal, a large stone building, situated on an open plain, about half a mile northwest of Federal Hill, which contained from 1,500 to 2,000 stands of arms, several pieces of ar- tillery, and ammunition, and was garrisoned by a force of 40 or 50 men. It was determined, at length, to make this building the first point of attack — since the possession of it would have enabled the Commander in Chief to maintain the position he then occupied on Federal Hill, against any force that could be brought against him — or so it was believed. A delay till past midnight occurred, in waiting for the arrival of the military from the coun- try ; and, by that time, some of the city volunteers had retired. But I must now look back to the day previous. In the afternoon a rumor had reached the city, that the Governor was to be arrested ; whereupon a company of thirty volunteers, resolved to go to the Artillery Armory, and bring away two artillery pieces, with their apparatus, for the purpose of sustaining Governor Dorr. At that time the Ca- dets were in their Armory, which is only 30 or 40 feet from the Artillery Armory. The Cadets had five guns apiece, ready loaded, and yet the Constitu- tional Volunteers stood facing their Armory for more than half an hour, and exposed to their fire. When they first saw the men, the Cadets came out, looked at them, and fired one gun — or it might have gone off accidentally. The Marine Artillery were also in the basement story of the same building. But not- withstanding all this strength, sufficient to have crushed them at a blow, the Constitutionists obtain- 244 MIGHT AND RIGHT. ed possession of the pieces, and carried them tri- umphantly through the streets, in broad day-light. The ways were so thronged, that it was often diffi- cult to move ; yet only two persons exhibited any symptoms of a will to resist. All was pure miutter- able terror and astonishment. The guns were carri- ried to the Governor's Head Quarters. Early on Wednesday morning, about 250 men had assembled ; and they took up their line of march for the destined point of attack. At the meeting of officers, Gov. Dorr had been requested to remain at Head (Quarters, but he considered it his duty to di- rect the operations in person, and accompanied the men, on foot, to the field. While on the line of march, and at a time when the lateness of the hour would admit of no delay, the Governor ascertained that only two of the four pieces of artillery, which he had ordered for the service, had been brought for- ward. On reaching the ground, a demand was made through an officer, for the surrender of the Arsenal, which demand was answered in the negative. A dense fog had arisen, causing much difficulty and delay in bringing the guns into suitable positions. And as objects could not be discovered beyond a short distance, the arrangement of placing the guns far apart from each other was changed, and they were brought into position at a point northeast from the building, and within close range of its artillery. In the mean time, a scene of confusion ensued, and a partial disorganization of the forces, in consequence of the extreme fright, and subsequent disappearance of some of the officers and men. This confusion interrupted the transmission of orders, and Gov. Dorr was obliged to traverse the field, to bring the com- panies into their position, and to restore order, in which he was partially successful. An ineffectual attempt was then made to fire the pieces of artillery. But to the surprise and chagrin of all, the priming MIGHT AND RIGHT. 245 flashed, and the guns resohitely refused to obey the word of command. Daylight was now approaching, and made such fearful disclosures to the assailing party, that it was judged improper to attempt any further prosecution of the plan ; and by suggestion of the officers, the guns were withdrawn, with the understanding that the attempt would be renewed, whenever a more favorable opportunity presented. This was demanded by officers and men, who, Mr. Dorr says, ''were brave and true, wanting only a more thorough organization." Most of the men se- parated for the present, on leaving the field, the re- mainder accompanied the Governor to Head (Quar- ters, where, on examining the guns, it was found that they had been plugged up by some person, but by whom, never was discovered. I will insert an extract from a letter, in relation to the above movement ; though I, not being ^^ for war,''^ disagree with the true and noble-hearted writer, in some material points. I inteiid to write the truth — if possible, 07ihj the truth — and, so far as it may be compressed in these " 300 pages," the whole truth. No personal interest — no hostile feel- ing — no prejudice in favor of, or against any indi- vidual, or party, has been permitted to sway me. Had the Leaders of the Suffrage Party possessed the far-reaching insight, the confidence, the valorous de- termination, the heroic self-sacrifice, the unity of purpose, of their much abused Governor, and thus been led to co-operate with him, instead of spending their strength to oppose him, I cannot doubt that en- tn-e success would have been the result. But they HAD NOT ; and these are not the days of blind surren- der to the will of amy leader — these are trnies of nidependent and individual thought and action; hence, dissentions. But I can no more believe those men were '' cowards," than I believe the heroic and self-devoted few, who stood ready to surrender their 21* 246 MIGHT AND RIGHT. lives ill defence of their liberties, were such. It is not all of valor to brave death in the field. There is another, and often a higher degree of courage, which grows out of a regard to human life ; and that the Sufirage men had learned of their leaders, to DOUBT " THE RIGHT TO TAKE LIFE," iu SUppOl't of their cause, demonstrates that both leaders and men, were capable of feeling, and being swa^^ed by a high and pure moral motive — all the slanders of their enemies to the contrary, notwithstanding. The fol- lowing extract contains much of truth, and strongly portrays the trying situation of Governor Dorr. " Let it be remembered concerning the attack upon the Arse- nal, that, in addition to all the discouraging circumstances under which Gov. Dorr labored at that time, all his head men, Senators and Representatives, &c., refused to countenance his movement upon the Arsenal, from sheer cowardice and incapacity. They labored indefatigably, from one o'clock in the afternoon of the 17th, until one o'clock of the morning of the J 8th of June, to de- feat and disconcert all the measures and plans of the Governor. The historian who would be respected, should write the truth, just as it happened, strike where it will, or not write at all. I know, for I was there on the spot, that the absence of these men, whom we had a right to see on the ground, encouraging and cheering us on, by the side of the patriotic Governor, Avas the cause of the failure of the whole undertaking. I do know, that of all tiie men who were earnest and foremost in setting the Suf- frage Movement agoing, nearly all who had been elected to office under the People's Constitution ; all mIio had spouted in public meetings, and all who had resolved on war to the knife, like cow- ards as they were, dared not show their faces at that momentous time ! Do not put the blame on the people ; let the disgrace go where it ought, on those who set the ball in motion. I know the effect of such baseness at the tmie we were on the ground before the Arsenal, when it began to be whispered about from one to anotlier, tiiat such and such persons were not there, to share the dangers of the fight. Our men, one after another, soon began to leave the ground, and with reason, too. Men began to doubt the truth of our cause, and the right we had to take life, in support of our cause, when all of our leaders had absented themselves from us, at tiiat dark and dreadful hour. I never can think upon that niglit, without uttering imprecations upon the men, Avho, by their absence, caused us to be defeated. I say that the whole m^ral force of the Revolution was broken at that time. There is where MIGHT AND RIGHT. 247 we fell to pieces. Look at the resignations of these men the next day ! Was it not in very truth an invitation to our ' lords and masters,'' to seize upon, and hang Gov. Dorr ? Was it not a warning for all men, to look out, anid protect themselves — to avoid all responsibility in future ?" Information soon came that an attack was project- ed upon the brave Governor, with his remnant of true men ; and preparations for resistance were im- mediately entered into. Several gentlemen of talent and experience accepted appointments for the time, and entered into the arrangements for defence ; and six gnns, the agreed signal for a rally at Head Quar- ters, Avere fired at 7 o'clock. A momentary discour- agement had been felt at the failure of the attack upon the Arsenal ; but the men at Head Quarters soon recovered from it, and they watched for the re- assembling of their companions, hoping to make a successful resistance. But contrary to the expecta- tions of all, only a very few in the course of the en- suing hour, responded to the call. The principal cause of this, was the ptiblication of a handbill, headed, " Resignation of all the offi- cers under the People's Constitution." This hand- bill had been widely circulated among the friends of Suffrage in the city. It was signed by two Sena- tors, and nine Representatives of Providence, (all who had not before resigned,) and contained, not only a resignation of their offices, but condemned the proceedings of Gov. Dorr as " deplorable," and ^' de- structive to the cause in which we are engaged ;" it also protested strongly against the employment of force by the President. The course which the signers had seen fit ta adopt, was made known to Gov. Dorr at 8 o'clock, in a letter written by Col. Saiuuel H. Wales, dated May 18th, 1842, and signed by himself, Eli Brown, William Colem_an, F. L. Beckford, and John A. Rowland, all signers of the handbill. They stated 248 MIGHT AND RIGHT. that the Senators and Representatives had determin- ed to resign nistantly ; that they disapproved of the Governor's proceedings ; and that their men would not act against their own citizens. The difficulty of Gov. Dorr's position, was aggra- vated by a report, which originated with, and was put in circulation by, his opponents, that the contro- versy had been settled by a compromise, honorable to both parties. Some of the friends of the Consti- tution were so far deceived by this, as to aid in ex- tending a report which had no foundation in fact. Several propositions of compromise had been made, and submitted to Gov. Dorr, both by his Constitu- tional friends, and his near relatives, who were lead- ing men in the Charter Party. These he positively, and uniformly, refused to accept, because they all involved a surrender of the Constitution. Did any one of all those who have so freely condemned Gov. Dorr, imagine himself standing, for one moment, in his position, and think how much better he would have acted under any circumstances ? They never would have been there^ they say. True. A pigmy can never fill the niche made for a giant. But let them look at Governor Dorr — his magnanimity — his self-devotion — his uncompromising integrity — his true greatness of soul — and they will see, if they can see anything, that it is much easier to sneer at his misfortunes, than to imitate his virtues. It is difficult, indeed, to appreciate his trials. They were such as an ordinary man could neither feel, nor sus- tain. I subjoin an extract irom his address to the People of Rhode Island, of May 21, 1842. " You will readily appreciate the painful responsibility which rested upon rae, at the point of time which I have mentioned, of deciding the course which duty required of me. " I liad endeavored to bear up with a becoming spirit against all the power and influence of our opponents ; but our movements were now paralysed by our friends, most of whom, six days be- fore, had united in the solemn determination of the mass meet- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 249 ing, to which I have alluded, to defend their Chief Magistrate at all events. Some of them disapproved the military operation proposed on Tuesday evening; but the first information of an open opposition and general resignation was received by me, as already stated, on Wednesday morning. To this I must add that, before the receipt of Col. Wales' letter, Mr. Anthony requested me not to make his house the scene of a hostile encounter. " Nearly one hour and a half had now elapsed from the firing of the signal guns, and our ranks had been increased by but few additions from the city or country. About 60 men of all arms, including the artillerists, as nearly as I could ascertain, were now at the head quarters. That those who remained would have Bacrificed their lives to a man for my protection, I did not doubt, and their subsequent conduct fully confirmed their sincerity. I cannot express the feelings of grateful obligation which I enter- tain towards these brave and noble men. Tiiey could not have been mastered by their opponents without great destruction of life ; and they would have fallen in the end by a superior force of 500 strong. I deemed it my duty, under all the circumstances, not to ask this sacrifice at their hands. I called to nie the Colo- nel in command, and communicated to him the state of affairs. His reply was, " the men are leaving us." I directed him to fall back with his command, or to give such other order as circum- stances might require. At half-past 8 o'clock, and with a regret for which there are no words, I withdrew from the head quarters to the town of Cumberland. Of subsequent events you are well informed. " In the assurance that I have never compromised your rights, and have returned to friends and opponents a uniform reply, ad- verse to the abandonmentof the principles of popular sovereignty and of equal rights involved in the support of your Constitution, allow me to add, that I have never compromised ray own right to serve your cause. Having sincerely devoted to that cause all the abilities I possess, and having in your service sustained the loss of all things hut honor, I may safely commit to you, fellow-citi- zens, my vindication from all unjust or ungenerous imputa:ions, either upon my motives or conduct." A word now in relation to the resignation of the Representatives, who have been stigmatised as trai- tors, and cowards for the act. In order to form a just conception of the position occupied by the Re- presentatives, the situation of the Suffrage Party should be taken into the account. Most of them were mechanics, and men of moderate means, unac- quainted with the technicalities of the Law, and, 250 MIGHT AND BIGHT. although believing they were right, yet beholding almost the entire legal profession deserting them. The troops of the United States, and the power of the General Government, were arrayed against them, without the knowledge that they would be support- ed by a single State government ; and almost with the certainty of involving the country in a civil war, the result of which no one could foresee, but of which Rhode Island, being the theatre of action, would be inevitably the greatest sufterer. Added to this, was the example of hundreds of men who had always acted with them, forsaking their old friends, and rushing to the ranks of the enemy. The Party was also poor. The citizens had exhausted their whole means in the controversy. They beheld be- fore them a body of men, without discipline, with- out commanders, without arms, and without provi- sions. Indeed, the morning after the attack upon the Arsenal, the men with Gov. Dorr were found without means of their own, of procuring a break- fast. It is not strange that in view of all these dis- couraging circumstances, human weakness faltered ; and the weight of responsibility resting upon the officers — a responsibility involving such fearful con- sequences < — should have impelled them to the course they took. It was not through fear of the Algerine law ; for they were already implicated as deeply as possible ; but it was to prevent the sacrifice of life, which appeared inevitable. It was the opinion of many of the leading men of the Suffrage Party, at the time of the organization of the government, that when legally organised, the Charter Government would yield obedience to it, so that the rightful and constitutional powers might go peaceably into effect. This they probably would have done, but for Ty- ler's Letter ; and, further, it can hardly be doubted that the question of Constitutional Right would have been sustained by Congress, had it been properly set MIGHT AND RIGHT. 251 before them. To do this, was only the constitutional duty of that Body. If Tyler had not interfered with the sovereignty of this State, the People would have taken care of themselves, and of their Govern- ment, if they had been allowed to settle the ques- tion. They did not fear any resistance to their legal authority, so far as this State was concerned ; but they could not be expected to resist the whole force of the United States. * In view of all these circumstances, I think the signers of the handbill may be justified in their course, although a very different result might have been consequent upon a different course of action. Had they convened themselves together, and re- solved, one and all, that they would neither engage in, nor sanction, any warlike measure, but that they would sustain their principle, to the utmost extrem- ity — If they had publicly proclaimed this, and had been molested in the peaceable exercise of the func* tions of their several offices, and given themselves up, to be marched in a body to the State House, or the Star-Chamber, and thence to the State prison, until that prison was filled, and new prisons had been erected, to contain them and their adherents, they would have presented what the world never saw — the sublimest spectacle under Heaven — a whole government yielding themselves up, as martyrs, to the cause of Liberty, and Truth, and Right; and the whole country — the whole world — would have responded to their claim — they would have said ; " These men are seeking only right, and right they must, and shall have." I doubt not that many of those men had sufficient heroism for this, had the idea occurred to them ; for they have exhibited the highest kind of courage, moral courage — in daring to be called cowards, for the sake of what they be- lieved to be right. I give the following extract from a letter, by one 252 MIGHT AND RIGHT. who was present, and an actor in the scene, as de- scriptive of the attack on Federal Hill. " In the mean time, the enemy had been muster- ing all their forces preparatory to an attack. Steam- boats had been put in requisition, sent to the south part of the State, and everything in the shape of men dragged on board, to swell the numbers. Old men and boys, black and white, from all parts of the State, were poured into the ranks — the stores and shops were closed, and all business was suspended. In forming the column, with regard to rank, a diffi- culty occurred among the troops, which it took some time to settle. The Providence Infantry, at that time, were not so tenacious of their claims, as they had been on a former occasion, and were willing to resign the post of honor to the Newport Artillery, which honor the latter company very politely de- clined, saying, ' we have come here to assist you, but not to do all the fighting.^ The difficulty was finally settled. The Artillery took the right, and the Infantry posted themselves in the rear, much to their satisfaction. Everything being now ready, this formidable array, numbering probably 1000 men, took up their line of march under the command of the veteran Col. Blodget, arrived at the foot of the street under the brow of the hill, and there halted. This street is called Atwell's Avenue, and passes di- rectly by the house of Burrington Anthony, then occupied by Gov. Dorr as his Head Quarters. The enemy at this time had knowledge of the fact, that Gov. Dorr had disbanded his troops, and retired, and that the troops had left the field. There were not at this time 20 muskets to be found on the ground. Several hundreds of the Suffrage men, without arms, or any means of defence, remained scattered over the ground. About 50 brave men who had charge of the two brass pieces, faithfully stood' by them, and bravely defended the ground against this mighty MIGHT AND RIGHT. 253 force, numberihg at least 1000 muskets, and 6 pieces of artillery. ''A message was received from the enemy, who still lay concealed under the hill, in confirmation of the report circulated early in the morning, that if Gov. Dorr would retire from the State, and the troops disband, and leave the ground, a compromise would be negotiated, honorable to both parties, and all that the Suffrage Party had ever contended for, should be granted. An influential gentleman of that party proclaimed from an upper window of Head Quar-' ters, that he had full confidence in the integrity of 9ur opponents; and, further, that Gov. King had pledged himself to that effect. This, however, was not satisfactory. We had been grossly deceived by them before, and had no confidence in their integrity. We demanded that Gov. King should come forward, to confirm the truth of what had been promised. * Make room ! Make room ! Gov. King is coming !' resounded through the crowd. A way was opened, and Mr. King, accompanied by the High Sheriff, passed through, and entered the house of Mr. An- thony. The presence of the Governor inspired the people with a momentary belief of a speedy termi- nation of the difficulties, which was manifested by considerable of a hearty cheer from the multitude. The Sheriff soon appeared at the widow, calling out, ' Order ! Order, Gentlemen !' In reply to this impre- tions, hisses, and threats were uttered by the throng ; when Gov. King immediately passed his head out of the window, saying, ' Gentlemen, the Sheriff will now proceed to search the house for Thomas W. Dorr.' " ' Treason ! Treason ! No. Never !' echoed and re-echoed from the multitude ; and a general rush was made for the door. Gov. King most fortunately succeeded in making his escape down the back stairs, and over the fence in the rear of 22 254 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the house, when he was no more seen by us for that day. '' The two pieces of Artillery were stationed in the street, about half way between Head (Quarters and the brow of the hill. Several demands were made upon us to surrender them, all of which were indig- nantly refused. We told them to come and take them ; but with their 1000 men, and 6 pieces of ar- tillery, they dared not. And yet they boast of marching up in solid column, against batteries and bayonets, and driving all before them. The enemy advanced, until we, Avho were stationed in front, could just see the tops of their hats. They then halted 15 or 20 minutes, just under the brow of the hill. Wheeling off to the south, they then passed round the hill, and up Federal street, through an alley in the rear of Mr. Anthony's house. During this time, the artillery pieces had been removed on to an open plain further from the house. As the enemy advanced upon us, the Avord " Fire," was given, when the whole regiment scattered, in the utmost confusion, panic stricken, like a flock of frightened sheep, without a leader. In their abrupt retreat, they knocked down several sections of a rail fence, and all hid themselves behind whatever shield presented itself, not excepting the gallant Colonel. Some of the men left, and the remainder rallied and came forward again, but only to enact the same farce. '' Du-ring this time, another small detachment from the main body, under the command of Col. Martin, gained the summit of the hill — there being no force to oppose them — at a point a little south, and un- der shelter of the bank through which the street had been cut. And they won for themselves immortal honor — which very few will covet. After steam- ing up their courage a little, and being some- what recruited, they ventured to advance, and make MIGHT AND RIGHT. 255 another demand for the guns, which was treated with contempt. The artillery men, the only oppos- ing force at this time on the ground, bravely main- tained their position, hurling defiance at their foe. They continued to fall back, to prevent the enemy from gaining their rear, removing the pieces of artil- lery as they retired, until they reached an open plain adjoining Tift's Woods, so called, north of the road. There on the edge of the hill they planted their pieces, bringing them to bear on the east, southeast, and south. In the rear we were protected by the descent of the hill, which was inaccessible, it being at least fifty feet in height, and nearly perpendicular. '' About this time, S. A. Comstock, of Burrillville, and Henry D'Wolf, of Uxbridge, Mass. arrived on the ground. An organization then took place, by choosing D'Wolf as commander, who appointed Comstock as his Lieutenant. At this time the en- trenchment was in operation, the direction of which was pointed out by D'Wolf, and afterwards discon- tinued by him. The field being covered with spec- tators, was ordered to be cleared. This was soon done, and sentries were posted by the road side. At about 4 o'clock, B. Anthony, and Crawford Allen, came on to the field, the latter requesting us to sur- render the brass guns. This was j^romptly refused ; and the gentlemen had leave to leave the field. In the mean time, the reinforcement which we expect- ed, did not arrive ; and, to the chagrin of officers and men, a committee, as they called themselves, came to D'Wolf, and demanded the surrender of the guns, saying they were under bonds to return them that night. D'Wolf told them that physical force was opposed to the execution of a bond ; that they might come and take the guns, but it should be over the muzzle if any way. The citizens sent us some re« freshments of beef, bread, cheese and beer ; but no ardent spirits were permitted on the field; after 256 MIGHT AND RIGHT. which, drilling was renewed. At sun-set, when the night-guard was posted, it was deemed proper to de- clare the field, including one street, under martial law ; of which the citizens were apprised. A va- cant house standing on the western extremity of the field, was taken possession of for quarters, about 9 o'clock. No recruits coming in, a recruiting sergeant was sent to Pawtucket to raise a reinforcement. About midnight D'Wolf and Comstock left Head Quarters, under pretence of going around the out- posts, and penetrated through and about the city. Finding nothing glaring, it was thought a favorable opportunity to secure the State Arsenal, on which a feint had been made the night previous. To this end, as soon as they returned to Head Q^uarters, Comstock, with a guide, was directed to reconnoiter the lines about the Arsenal. He made his round, and reported himself at Head Quarters, that nothing was in the way ; upon which it was resolved, that if 20 recruits arrived, the attack should be immediately made. But to the extreme mortification of all, about 2 o'clock their despatch returned from Pawtucket, without success ; and the expedition was reluctantly abandoned. There were barely enough, of our men, to relieve the guard ; and most of these had been on duty the previous night ; but their determined spirits never faltered. At day-break an alarm was fired; still no support came ; when about 8 o'clock, it was deemed proper to withdraw. Having no horses, or the means to procure any, to remove the pieces, we left the field ; and thus ended this bloodless cam- paign, in which none were killed, none wounded, and none taken prisoners," MIGHT AND RIGHT. 257 CHAPTER XIV. MARTIAL LAW. On the 17th of May, Gov. Dorr addressed a letter to Gov. Fairfield, of Maine, informing him of the position of the Suffrage Party, and requesting him to bring the proceedings of the President, and the question of the rights of the people of Rhode Island, before the Legislature of the State of Maine, which was either then, or soon to be in session. This re- quest was complied with. Action was taken on the subject, and a committee was appointed to report on the question. This committee presented two re- ports — a minority report in favor of the Chartists, and a majority report in favor of the Constitutionists. Nearly at the same time. Gov. King made a requi- sition on Chauncey F. Cleveland, Gov. of Connect- icut, for the surrender of Gov. Dorr, as a fugitive from Justice, which was finally refused. A requisi- tion was also made on John Davis, Gov. of Massa- chusetts, which was granted. In justice to Gov. Davis, I would say, that he pronounced the Algerine Act to be unconstitutional, and said he would grant no requisition to surrender any person under it. He afterwards did surrender two persons, Messrs. Luther and Sayles, in compliance with a requisition under that act ; but when he became aware of the fact, he withdrew his authority, and ordered the Sheriff not to make any arrest. But in refusing shelter to the exiled patriot, he acted upon a principle which would have prompted the surrender of Milton, Hampden, and Sydney, as fugitives from justice, had they sought protection in this country, upon the requisi- tion of their dissolute and tyrannical monarch. And Gov. Seward, of New York, to be consistent with his principles, should have driven back the revered and 22* 258 MIGHT AND RIGHT. cherished Gambradella, and Maroncelli, to rot in the; prisons of Austria, and the excellent and lamented! Follen, to be crushed beneath the iron heel of despot- ism. Thus we see, that old Massachusetts, through] her Governor, thrust forth from her boundaries the modern Exponent of the great American Principle, and sustained the usurpers who were violating that I principle. On the 8th day of June, Gov. King, by proclama- tion, announced that Gov. Cleveland had refused to comply with his requisition ; whereupon, by advice' of the Council, he offered "a reward of One Thou- sand Dollars, for the delivery of the said Thomas Wilson Dorr to the proper civil authority of this State, within one year from the date hereof, that he may be dealt with as to law and justice shall apper- tain." An effort had been made by Mr. Whipple on the part of the Chartists, and Messrs. Harris and Antho- ny, on the part of the Constitutionists, to adjust the dif- ficulty in an amicable way. After their return from Washington, these gentlemen met, when Mr. Whip- ple presented the following schedule of the proposed compromise. '^ MEMORANDUM." " An action forthwith to be brought in the United States' Circuit Court, involving the validity of the People's Constitution, to be tried and decided as soon as possible. The facts to he first ascertained hy a suitable cotn^nittee, to be chosen by agreement of the parties. " Until the final decision of such case, proceedings under the 'act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State,' to be suspended, ex- actly in the present state. '' Until such decision, the present government of the State (of which Gov. King is head) to remain MIGHT AND RIGHT. 259 in the full exercise of their authority, and the per- sons claiming to exercise authority under the Peo- ple's Constitution, to omit such exercise altogether." '' Providence, May 17, 1842." The terms of this compromise, — or rather the com- promise itself, was urged, without naming terms — were proclaimed from the window of Head (Quar- ters, on the morning of the 17th, by Messrs. Harris^ Aldrich, and Ashley. There was much, and is much dissatisfaction, still, in connection with the part which these gentlemen took on that occasion. As it appears, there must have been a mi^mderstanding among the several parties. Mr. Whipple had found it impossible to bring the Governor and Council into his views ; and so the whole matter was exploded. It is judged by many, that it would have been much better for the Suffrage Party, had Mr. Whipple's proposition been complied with ; for Mr. W., though an avowed aristocrat, is, I believe, an honest man. But it appears to me Gov. Dorr was right in reject- ing this proposition, shice it certainly did involve a surrender of the great principle. Of course, the Chartists had possession of all the public treasuries, together with the banks, and the State's portion of the surplus of the U. S. Revenue, which was to "be employed as a fund for the support of public schools ; and they did not fail to vse the public property, to the furtherance of their wicked plans. A general organization of the military took place, and the troops were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's warning. The State at this time was wholly under the control of the Governor's Council — the Chief Magistrate, himself, being a mere cypher, and acting in obedience to the will of this body. The forces of the State amounted to at least 3000 strong ; and Wra. Gibbs McNeill, was ap- pointed Commander in Chief of this great army. Vague and false reports were daily circulated, that 260 MIGHT AND RIGHT. Mr. Dorr, aided by his friends in New York and other places, would soon return, supported by a gang of ruffians, to sack the city. These reports were circu- lated through the columns of the Journal, a paper wherein the truths are to the falsehoods, " as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff; you shall search all day ere you find them, and when you have them, they are not worth the search." Among the false statements in this odious point, one of the few which deserve notice, is the story circu- lated at this time, that Gov. Dorr was deranged. I wonder not they thought so. Straight-forward ho- nesty — self-devoted patriotism, must have been so incomprehensible to men, who were incapable of be- ing swayed by any other than selfish motives, as very naturally to connect the idea of insanity, with one, who, in his generous exertions for the good of others, forgot himself. On the 26th, Gov. King published the following : BY HIS EXCELLENCY SAMUEL WARD KING, Governor, Captain General, and CommanJer-in- Chief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and "Providence Plantations did, on the twenty-fifth day of June instant, pass the following act, viz : AN ACT ESTABLISHING MARTIAL LAW. Be it enacted by the Generat Jlssembli/, as follows : Sec. 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law ; and the same is declared to be in full force until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his Excellency the Governor of tlie State. I do, therefore, issue this my proclamation, to make known the same to the ijood people of this State, and all others, that they may govern themselves accordingly. And I do warn all persons against any intercourse or connection with the TRAITOR THOMAS WILSON DORR, or his deluded adherents, now assembled in ;irais against the laws and government of this State; and admonish and command the said Tliomas Wilson Dorr and his adherents, immediately to throw down their anna MIGHT AND RIGHT. 261 and disperse, that peace and order may be restored to our suffer- ing community, and as they will answer the contrary at their peril. Further, I exhort the good People of the State, to aid and support, by example and by arms, the civil and mi!it;iry authori- ties thereof, in pursuing and bringing to condign punishment, all engaged in said unholy and criminal enterprise against the peace and dignity of the State. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of said State to be affixed to tiiese Presents, and have signed the same with my hand. Given at the City of Provi- [l. s.] dence, on the 26th day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty -two, and of the Independence of the United States of America to sixty sixth. SAMUEL WARD KING. B}'' his Excellency's command: Henry Bo wen, Secretary of State. The Algerines here commenced the course of ab- surdities which afterwards distiiiguised all their movements. Martial Law was declared by the Le- gislature, a body of civil functionaries ; and this is, per- haps, the only instance in which Martial Law was ever known to be declared by the Legislature of any State. The Students were dismissed from Brown University, and the college buildings were appropri- ated as barracks. Armed guards paraded the streets constantly ; and, in violation of the Constitution of the United States, and of all right, commenced their series of house-breakings and insults. Doors and windows were burst in by these armed ruffians ; locks were broken, or forced open ; private apart- ments were entered without leave, or notice ; and, not imfrequently, half dressed, or undressed females, were dragged forth with mockery and insult. Many of those engaged in committnig these outrages, held high places in the church. Ministers, deacons, and church members, invaded the houses of their fellow commtmicants, and the bonds of christian union were violently broken. Others held commissions, and were receiving salaries, from the civil depart- ments under the United States, but no check with- 262 MIGHT AND RIGHT. held any from the prosecution of these wicked de- signs. Neighbors trespassed on the social right ; christians forgot the privileges of christians ; and men the rights of men. Sometimes it was said that Mr. Dorr Avas coming with a powerful force in some steamboat ; when, with great terror, all flew in that direction ; then, that he had landed in Massachusetts, and arrived in Woonsocket, where it was stated he had commenced throwing up works of defence. Scouts, spies, and expresses, were sent in that direction ; every move- ment was turned towards that quarter, and the most intense exitement prevailed. On the 23d, Gov. King issued his orders to the military, to hold themselves in readiness to take the field at a moment's warning. On the 24th a steam- boat was ordered to the south part of the State, to transport the troops from Warren, Bristol, and New- port ; and on the afternoon of the same day, the boat returned, bringing in three companies of artil- lery, and seven pieces of brass ordnance, six pound- ers. The boat was again despatched down the Bay on the 25th, and continued the transportation of the forces, which wer6 pouring in from all parts of the State. A company of Sea Fencibles, composed of Mariners, and numbering 65 men, was formed. They were to have the care of the great Paixham gun, a thirty-two pounder, and an iron twelve pounder. A company of Carbineers was also formed, consisting mostly of young men from Rhode Island, then resi- dent in New York. They were armed with Colt's six barreled repeating carbines. On Saturday morn- ing, June 25th, the act passed the Legislature, plac- ing tlie State under Martial Law ; and on Sunday morning, the 26th, guards were posted at all the avenues leading into the city, and in Market Square. The streets were densely thronged with the military and citizens, and War became the sole topic of dis- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 263 course. Thus a formidable array of more than 3000 troops was concentrated at Providence, of which Wm. Gibbs McNeill Avas appointed Major General, who entered directly on the duties of his office, tak- ing up his Head (Quarters at the Tockwotton House. His first military orders were issued, June 25th. On the 27th the banks were closed by order of Gov. King, and their business discontinued for the week ; and on the same day the Mayor issued the following : MAYOR'S PROCLAMATION, CITY OF PROVIDENCE. In the present emerg-ency, the Mayor directs that the following regulations be obsevved in the city. All persons not on patrol or other duty, are to retire to their houses at 10 o'clock at night, at which hour all shops must be closed. Persons wishing to leave the city, will call at th'e Mayor's of- fice, or upon some officers authorised by the Governor 1o give them, and no person can cross Seekonk River after 8 o'clock, P. M. Permits are not required for persons leaving in railroads and steamboats. All persons are positively prohibited from assembling in large groups after dark, and it is specially urged upon parents, to keep at hoQie their children and young persons under their charge after dark. • Citizens are requested to hold themselves in readiness for fa- tigue duty in throwing up entrenchments. ^In case of an alarm of fire, the POLICE COMPANIES will assemble immediately at their alarm posts under arms. Citizens are urged to repair to the fire to aid in working the engines, but groups of idlers will not be permitted in the neighborhood of any tire. In case of an alarm of fire, the citizens will immediately place lights in their windows. All persons are cautioned not to attack or insult any patrol or guard, such offences will be severely punished. If any person is injured by the patrol, let him apply to th« Mayor for redress, the patrols and guards must be obeyed. While the undersigned regrets the necessity of imposing unu- sual regulations, he informs the citizens that they must be com- plied with for the protection of our lives and property. THOMAS M. BURGESS, Mayor, Providence, June 27th, 1842. The Mayor requests all persons who do not intend to be with 264 MIGHT AND RIGHT. the military, to assembly at the GREAT BRIDGE to-morrow morning, (this day) at 6 o'clock, with pick axes, shovels, crow- bars, &c., to throw up redoubts when needed, at the outskirts of the city. The Legislature under the People's Constitution, stood adjourned to meet on the 4th day of July. To avoid, if possible, a collision with the old Govern- ment, it was determined to meet in some country town, where, if the enemy should attack them, they could make a better defence. The village of Che- pachet, in the town of Gloucester, 16 miles west from Providence, and within 8 or 10 of the Connect- icut line, was selected, as affording the most accessi- ble means of defence, in case of an attack. On Wednesday, the 22d of June, some few of the offi- cers and men assembled at the place, and commenced arrangements in advance of the meeting. Their numbers increased daily, and they continued gather- ing in arms, and began fortifying Acote Hill, on the east side of the road, perhaps a hundred rods south of the compact part of the village. Some forty or fifty years since, the body of a man by the name of Acote, and who was supposed to have been murder- ed, was found here, which gave rise to the name. An entrenchment was thrown up, covering the road on the southeast, south, and west ; and six pieces of cannon were mounted, which could be brought to bear in those directions. The situation in which the party stood, and the circumstances under which they were called together, being considered, it could not be expected that much order or discipline should be found in the suffrage ranks. The whole camp pre- sented a scene somewhat like many which occurred during the revoliuionary struggle. Gov. Dorr arrived in the village on Saturday, the 25th. He established his Gtuarters at Gen. Sprague's Hotel, and on the same day issued the following : MIGHT AND RIGHT. '265 STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. A PROCLAMATION, BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE SAME. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution I hereby convene the General Assembly, which was adjourned 'to meet at Providence on Monday the 4th of July next, at the town of Gloucester on tlie same day, for the transaction of such busi- ness as may come before them. And I hereby request the Towns and Districts, in which vaca- tions may have occurred, by the resignations of Representatives or Senators, to proceed forthwitii to supply the same by new elec- tions, according to the provisions of the Constitution. Given under my hand and the seal of State, at Gloucester the 25th day of June, A. D. 1842. THOMAS WILSON DORR. GENERAL ORDERS. Head Quarters, Gloucester, R. I. } June 25th, 1842. J I hereby direct the military of this State, who are in favor of tlie People's Constitution, to repair forthwith to Head Quarters, there to await further orders ; and I request all volunteers and volunteer companies so disposed, to do the same. It has become the duty of all our citizens who believe that the People are sovereign, and have a right to make and alter their forms of government, now to sustain, by all necessary means, the Constitution adopted and established by the people of this State, and the government elected under the same. The only alternative is an abject submission to a despotism, in its various practical effects, without a parallel in the history of the American States. I call upon the people of Rhode Island to assert their rights, and to vindicate the freedom which they are qualified to enjoy in common with the other citizens of the American repub- lic. I cannot doubt that they will cheerfully and promptly re- spond to this appeal to their patriotism and to their sense of jus- tice ; and that they will show themselves in this exigency to be the worthy descendants of those ancestors who aided in achiev- ing our national independence. v THOMAS W. DORR, Governor, and Commander-in-Chief, By order of the Commander-in-Chief, William H. Potter, Adj. General. At this time there were probably 1000 men in the village, destitute of arms ; and in the encampment, about 300 armed and equipped, not including those 23 266 ' MIGHT AND RIGHT. who manned the batteries. Reports were current, that the enemy contemplated an attack, which were discredited by many, believing they designed nothing more than the defence of Providence. Sunday morning the roads were filled with people, on foot and in carriages, pressing on to the village from every direction. Thousands were not permitted to enter, being stopped by the guards, until the roads were, for miles, blocked up with carriages. This state of things continued through the day. Several promi- nent men of the Suffrage party arrived during the day, who, at an interview with Gov. Dorr, endea- vored to dissuade him from his purpose ; but he was still unyielding. Information which could be relied on had been received, which left no doubt that or- ders had been issued that morning, by Gen. McNeill, (who was comfortably quartered at the Tockwotton House,) for the government forces to be put in mo- tion. Their disposition of attack was by forming three divisions, the first commanded by Col. Wm. W. Brown, was ordered to Chepachet, via Green- ville ; the second, under Col. Josiah H. Martin, was directed to take the road north, through Woon socket ; and the third, under Col. Swan, proceeded to Che- pachet by the way of Scituate. The Volunteer Po- lice corps in Providence, were organised for the pro- tection and defence of the city, under the name of the City Guards. The third Brigade, under Gen. John B. Stedman, was composed of the Third, Eighth, and Eleventh Regiments, belonging to the south part of the State, together with a considerable number of volunteers. The Kentish Guards, under Col. Allen, the United Train of Artillery, under Col. Bradford Hodges, the Carbineers, imder Captain Olney, the Pawtucket and Central Falls Volun- teers, under Captain Potter, were stationed at Paw- tucket, and the Pawtuxet Artillery, were post- ed at Pawtuxet. The plan of operations of the MIGHT AND RIGHT. 267 Charter Government, was to concentrate a consider- able portion of their forces in front of Mr. Dorr's Camp at Acote, by marching detachments to Che- pachet, by different routes. Another object was to throw in a strong force between the Connecticut line, and the encampment, in order to cut off the retreat of the Constitutionists in the rear. As pre- liminary to this, the Third Brigade, Gen. Stedman, was marched towards Foster, where, with the Fourth, under Gen. Greene, it could form a chain of posts in the rear of the Suffrage Party. Col. Mar- tin's regiment was marched to Woonsocket, Monday, June 27th, at 10 o'clock, A. M. They were to have been followed in the afternoon by the Sea Fencibles ; but some mistake occurred about transportation, and that corps was detained till Tuesday morning. On Sunday, Col. Brown's regiment took up their line of march for Chepachet, via Greenville; a detachment of which took the road by Fruit Hill ; and the regi- ment of Col. Swan marched on the same day to Scituate ; also the Third Washington Brigade, un- der Gen. Stedman, took the road through Foster. CHAPTER XV. THE PRISONERS. It may be asked why, in view of all these diffi- culties, why Mr. Dorr did not think best to abandon all further proceedings ? Reasons did exist for this ; and they were weighty. A failure in the first at- tempt did not afiect the question of right involved in the principle ; and the Chief Magistrate was of too sanguine and determined a character, either to believe that his friends would abandon him, or that 268 MIGHT ■ AND RIGHT. success was impossible. How should he believe that those '^who had voted for their own freedom," would sell that freedom for a mess of pottage ; or that they would not be ready to rally round the Con- stitutional standard, in its defence ? Accordingly, his orders were issued, and repeated, to all the towns in Providence County, for the military friendly to the Constitution, to repair forthwith to Head Quarters ; but to his utter astonishment, and inexpressible cha- grin, so feeble was the response, and so meagre was the gathering, that only 225 armed men were found in the Constitutional ranks, at Acote, on the 27th, the day of the disbandment. , This was a sad falling off from the numbers who had been pledged to sus- tain him. These were represented to be more tlian 1,300 ; and a rumor also reached Mr. Dorr, that 500 men, under arms, Avere already at Chepachet. Of the 3,500 who voted for the Constitution at Provi- dence, but 35 men, and 10 officers, came forward to sustain it ! A new panic had seized them. They declared that all they wanted had been obtained, in the call which had been given by the Charter As- sembly, of a Convention to frame another Constitu- tion. Many of Mr. Dorr's friends in Providence, had signed a paper, stating that they denounced his pro- ceedings, as no longer to be ''tolerated." The Chartists held possession of all the available means in the State. The keys of a full treasury were in their hands ; and the funds were lavishly expended. They had the money, the popularity, the power of Rhode Island, and the sword of the United States, to sustain them ; but still, so long as the Constitutionists held up their heads, and showed themselves men, by boldly asserting their rights, they dared not very deeply trespass. But the mo- ment they gave symptoms of doubt, and misgiving, and fear, the cowardly foe gathered courage, and swaggered furiously. The proportion of the Char- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 269 tists to the Suffrage men, was as eighteen to one ; and that of the three divisions which were sent against Chepachet, was as eleven to one. In yiew of these discouraging circumstances, a council of officers was held on the morning of the 27th. They saw that the cause was repudiated by almost all of its former friends — hundreds of whom were daily taking up arms in the ranks of their op- pressors, to be used against a cause, which they had so solemnly pledged themselves to support. They had assembled in arms to sustain a Constitution which had been formed by the will of the majority ; and, as they confidently expected, to be sustained by that majority. But contrary to this, their majority had deiiounced them to the enemy, and thus deprived them of the Constitutional right to resist further. They saw before them a handful of men, ready to immolate themselves on the shrine of Liberty — ready to seal with their heart's blood, the word of truth they had pledged, to support their beloved Governor. Their post was destitute of a supply of water. They had provisions sufficient only for one day. The quantity of balls for the artillery pieces, would have been exhausted in an engagement of fifteen minutes. They acted wisely. They acted justly. They could not see the sacrifice of so much self-devotion. Thomas Dorr was never more a hero than when he gave the order to disband. That was his crowning act of nobleness. He knew the oblo- quy that would be heaped upon him, and he dared TO MEET IT ; and he has met it, with an uncowering dignity — a complete manlmess — which has robbed slander of her deadliest fangs. But no language can portray the feelings of his men, when this order was made known to them. They felt that they were not overcome by their enemies, but by their friends; and, in their unutterable anguish, strong men wept. Let the world judge whether Gov. Dorr acted 23* 270 MIGHT AND RIGHT. right. He was '^ in arms for all, in the name of all/' to sustahi the rights of all, and not to advance the interests ol a party. From the will of the majority he had received his power to act. That will had been his law ; and when it was withdrawn, how could he act legally in opposition to it? Or how could he act rightfully, in the sacrifice of the self- devoted few, who were still willing to sustain him ? It is not strange that the arms fell from his hands, when he saw himself arrayed in opposition, not only to his foes, but to his friends. It is true the great principle remained the same ; and so it would have been, had every man turned traitor ; but when the people of Rhode Island had shown themselves un- willing to receive their freedom, had their Governor a right to force it on them ? I think not. I speak here entirely without regard to the merits of the question of withdrawal from the support of the Con- stitution, and only in relation to the overt action, the outside facts of the case ; for Mr. Dorr, having no right to suppose that the private opinion of his late friends was contrary to their expressed opinion, was bound only to act upon the latter. That opinion did act upon him, with all the force of truth. By it he was surrendered to all the deadly persecution of his enemies — to the influence of a spirit more blood- thirsty, more deeply venomous, than perhaps has ever been manifested, towards any individual in mo- dern times. He has dared all this — he has borne all this, with the heroism of a great soul, without mitigation, and without complaint. Upon his single head have been poured out the seven vials of wrath — the whole concentrated anger and hatred of his ene- mies ; yet he has been always firm ; for his anchor has grappled deep beneath the everlasting rock of Truth and Right. A huge outcry has been raised against the Consti- tutionists, as has been before said, and they have MIGHT AND RIGHT. 271 been called by many ugly and wicked names, such as the '^ Butt-Enders," '' Fag-Enders," "The Rab- ble," ''The Mob," "Incendiaries," "Pirates," "Cannibals," and "Worse than Cannibals;" and, in terms perhaps still more detracting, the "Dor- mouse Party ;" while their character and intentions have been made to square with these titles, which are singularly expressive of the refinement, and hon- esty, of those who coined them. But words are words ; and facts are quite other than they. One fact stands uncontroverted — and it has been pub- licly asserted by a Charter lawyer of high repute — that no single instance of the invasion of private right, has ever been sustained against any individual of the Suffrage Party. One single trespass was com- mitted ; but prompt compensation was rendered. Many slanderous falsehoods were, indeed, put in cir- culation, concerning what the Suffrage men were going to do ; but no one can show a single outrage that they did do. If they were, as they have been represented, why did not the Chartists prove it ? They had the public purse, the public sword, all the influence and popularity of the clerical and legal professions — the countenance of all the State offi- cers — the cases prejudged in their favor ; and all "appliances and means to boot" — and they have shown nothing — they could not show anything, for if they could, they would have done so. In those scandalous stories were fore-shadowed the real intentions of the Algerines themselves. They drew the black picture from their own black hearts. The " sacking of Providence" was but a type and sym- bol of the "sacking of Chepachet." But with how very ill a grace should these accusations come from men, in whose ranks theft, robbery, and burglary, were common crimes ! But they continue to make these assertions, with audacity which nothing can subdue, and that in the very face of the evidence 272 MIGHT AND RIGHT. that they have done, what they say the Suffrage men would have done. But they are the lords parmount. They stand above censure, and beyond question. The victory over the Constitutional Fort at Acote, has been made the subject of the weakest and silli- est exultation. Let us come near enough to see, and try how well this point can be sustained. The division of the Charter forces nearest Providence, at Greenville, must have received the order to advance from Head (Quarters at Providence, as early as 9 or 10 o'clock on Monday evening, when the news of the disbandment must have reached them ; for they began to capture the Constitutional troops, on their return home ; and by these, if not at an earlier date, by their own scouts and spies, they must have been in- formed of the truth. Yet the division was not put in motion until the next day, and they did not reach Chepachet until a quarter before eight, thirteen hours after the disbandment. And the gallant Colonel also took care to ascertain that the picket guard of only 20 men, stationed below Chepachet, had been with- drawn, before he ventured to move. It is supposed that the officers kept the secret of the disbandment entirely to themselves, and that the men knew no- thing of it ; and this accounts for the fact, that, when approaching the village, and hearing the artil- lery pieces discharged — as they were by some gen- tlemen who went into the camp after its desertion — so many of the brave Algerines fainted away. The Suffrage men are said to have shown a want of spirit in leaving Chepachet ; and their disbandment has been stigmatised as flight ; but what shall be said of an army of 2 or 3000 men, under experienced offi- cers, well armed and equipped, with thirty field pieces, and surgeons enough to take care of them, if every man was wounded, who yet shrink from at- tacking 22.5 men in an untenable position, and such as the Constitutionists are described to be ? Look at MIGHT AND RIGHT. 273 the following specimen of empty boasting, equally false and ridiculous, in one of the general orders of the day. " Orders No. 54. Head Quarters, &c., June 28th, 1S42. — The village of Chepachet, and fort of the insurgents, were stormfd at a quarter before eight o'clock, this morning, and take?i, with about one hundred prisoners, by Col. William W. Brown ; none killed — none ivou7idedy Yet the fort, when they arrived there, was as empty as their own boasting. Not a single man in arms was found in it. The return of only half a dozen of the Suffrage men to Woonsocket, on the evening after the disbandment, caused such an alarm to the Algerine forces stationed there, as to occasion the getting up and rehearsal of ^ real "farce." It seems that on Monday evening, sentinels were sent out about two miles from the village, to the top of a high hill, to discover, if possible, any movement of the Dorrites, and report with all possible despatch. About 10 o'clock two men were discovered at some distance, on foot, and coming towards Woonsocket. The brave sentinels, filled with terror, took up their line of march, running their horses at the top of their speed, to give warning to the Algerines, who were snugly esconced at Woonsocket. A call to arms was instantly given, and the troops fled with all possible expedition, falling back towards Mannville, a village some four miles distant, and Woonsocket was left without a soul to defend it, except women. On finding that no invading foe had arrived, they were ordered by their commanding officer back to Woon- socket ; and on Tuesday morning they re-entered the village, with as much pomp, though on a small scale, as was displayed by Napoleon on entering Paris, after his return from Elba. The Chartists have certainly, throughout the contest, displayed ''the better part of valor," in an eminent degree; 274 MIGHT AND RIGHT. nor are some of the Suflrage officers entirely without claim to this praise ; and, in strict justice, they should have their due. But I must return to the sacking of the village. On the arrival of the Charter troops, two or three of the Suffrage men, together with three gentlemen from Boston, were engaged in removing the cannon from the hill ; and they had succeeded in getting all down but two. One of these men, Mr. Lord, stood just before the battery when Col. Rivers came up, in great agitation, and pointing towards the fort, asked, in tremulous tones, '' Will they fire ?" '' No," re- plied Mr. Lord, there is nothing there, but two can- non, and they are empty; go and take them." At that moment Mr. L. saw two of the Suffrage men just over the brow of the hill ; and he Avaved his hand for them to escape, which they did. Upon the strength of this assurance. Col. K.ivers ascended the hill ; and, waving his hat, gave theee cheers, and took possession. The main body then appeared, slowly advancing ; and they soon came up to Mr. Lord, who had stopped at the south side of the road, and there awaited their approach. As they came near, he said, ^' Gentlemen, I surrender myself a prisoner of war. On perceiving him, they cried out, ''Shoot the d'n'd Rebel!" "Cut him down!" "Down with the Traitor!" "Shoot him." After much cowardly abuse of an unarmed man, who had surrendered himself to their mercy, they commenced searching him. Several seized him at once, and al- most tore him limb from limb, Avhile one presented two pistols at his breast, and another a musket at his back, threatening instant death. During the scuffle a Providence gentleman came up, recognised Mr. Lord, called him by name, and afforded him protec- tion. He should be known, for merciful Algerines are rare as comets. His name is Thomas J. Stedman. Let that name be held in remembraace, as it ever MIGHT AND RIGHT. 275 will be by the grateful man whom he so generously served. The column then moved on until they came in front of Gen. Sprague's Hotel. Some of the party rushed into the house, and a scene of con- fusion ensued, in which the cries of " Shoot 'em down ! Shoot 'em down !" were continually kept up by the Algermes. Some one fastened the front door, shutting in a considerable number of the Charter soldiers, along with some unarmed citizens of the place, who had been attracted by the gathering. An effort was made by those on the outside to break down the door ; but, finding that impossible, Mr. John T. Pitman fired through the key-hole. Mr. Hol- brook, of Boston, called out to him, ^' For God's sake do not fire ; you may kill some of your friends. " Just as the piece discharged, he cried out, in great excite- ment, '' I don't care a G'd d'n, if can only kill some- body!" It seems really providential, that no one was killed, by this rash and murderous act. One man was shot in the thigh, and another very nar- rowly escaped. The bullet itself has been preserved. It will be sent to Boston, where it will be kept to illustrate the Rhode Island Algerine Spirit of 1842. Gen. Sprague being a Suffrage man, was consid- ered by these marauders as lawful prey. The troops took possession of his house and effects, appropriating to themselves whatever they chose. In the follow- ing fact is found a solution of their cowardice and their insolence. While at Mr. Sprague's house, >vhich time was somewhat less than two days, they disposed of 37 gallons of Brandy, 29 gallons of West India Rum, 34 flasks of liquor, 1 1-2 doz. bottles of old Madeira, 1 1-4 Sherry Wine, 12 doz. Champagne, 2 doz. Cider, 940 glasses of liquor at the bar, and more than $100 worth of liquor beside, delivered by Gen. Sprague's brother. And such accounts can be found on the books of all houses where they quar- tered. Much has been said of the hardships and 276 MIGHT AND RIGHT. privation which the Charter troops endured ; yet it is well known that the treasury of the State was at their command, and that their whole course was but a series of carousals, and drunken riots. There is but one excuse for many of their acts ; and that is found in the amount of liquor drank. It is a poor excuse, that of drunkenness ; but it is all they have. While they remained at Gen. Sprague's, the valiant Chartists seldom asked for a pie, or a pitcher of water, without presenting a cocked pistol, or a leveled bayonet, and this even to females. Nor would, they go into the cellar, or to any remote part of the premises, unless escorted by a strong guard of the servants of the house. They broke much glass and crockery, carried off cutlery and wooden ware, and injured the house and furniture shamefully. On their departure, bits of fat meat, lumps of butter, pieces of cigars and tobacco, with fragments of al- most every eatable thing, were trodden into the car- pets, where they had been lodged, when the gentry of Rhode Island amused themselves by throwing such missiles at each other. They also wiped their greasy fingers on the curtains, and got into nice beds with boots and armor, carrying with them pieces of ham and greasy meat. Such were the manifestations of Rhode Island " Law and Order." In addition to all these spoils, they consumed and wasted of Mr. Sprague's property, 820 bushels of oats, 17 tons of hay, 50 bushels of corn, 16 bushels of meal, 1-4 of a ton of rye straw, and 11,500 cigars, and much other property. There were 2,400 meals charged ; yet there must have been hundreds, if not thousands more, eaten, of which no account ever was made. And for all this outrage, insult, and injury. General Sprague has never been able to recover anything. He strove to obtain some redress from the Algerine Legislature ; but they considered him as lawful spoil, and refused all compensation. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 277 The prisoners, numbering about 130, were marched to a barn, under a strong guard, and there kept. Af- ter the troops had taken their rations, the fragments were swept into barrels, and carried to the prisoners. The latter were removed on Tuesday night, to the loft of another building ; and the Algerines, mean- while, had been busy in their work of pillage. They robbed and plundered, indiscriminately, all who were, or who were reputed to be, on the Suffrage side. The history of these depredations, alone, would more than fill the book I am writing ; and I must defer the details until I have a wider space be- fore me, than I now have. It may be observed, however, that they went systematically about this business, as if it had been a part of their general or- ders ; and it is more than suspected — it is pretty well known — that there was an understanding on this point, between officers and men, and that the value of the spoils had been held out as an incentive to join their ranks. Such would appear to be the fact, from the following testimony ; or, at least, that the men claimed the right of plunder, as one of their perquisites, whether it was openly sanctioned by the officers, or not. '' I reside in Chepachet, town of Gloucester. On the afternoon of Tuesday, June 28th, 1842, while the Algerine troops were in possession of the village, two or three men came into my store. One of them stepped up to another person who was in the store, and told him that the Bristol Company had made a fine haul, as he expressed it, that day. They had just found a large amount of valuable property in a building, I think a barn ; that one of the articles was a fine two-barreled gun, which he thought was worth forty dollars — and that the Bristol Company would make a very profitable affair of their trip to Che- pachet, much more so than any of the other Compa- nies ; that ' our Newport Company,' as he. expressed 24 278 MIGHT AND RIGHT. it, had been too negligent, and it stood them in hand to be more active, in order to secure their share. This was said in a manner that appeared as if he felt vexed at the better success of the Bristol Company in obtaining plmider. ''CLOVIS H. BOWEN." On Tuesday, at 9 o'clock, A. M., food of the same kind as before, was again brought to the prisoners, who, for the most part, rejected it. They were then brought out, and tied, eight together, with ropes Avhich the Algerines had stolen. The captives were then paraded opposite Sprague's Hotel, and kept there standing, unsheltered, for nearly two hours, in an intensely hot sun. Many of these men had not taken up arms at all, but had merely been attracted to the village from curiosity. The Daily Chronicle of June 30, had the following paragraph in relation to the prisoners, and their capture. " The scene was a rich one ; pen is inadequate to a description of it. The prisoners seemed to be as wretched and God-forsaken a body of men, as we ever saw. They were tied together, like a parcel of sheep ; and their appearance indicated anything but a consciousness of their forlorn condition. These men are guilty enough, Heaven knows ; but how much more deeply, damnably so, must be those who incited them to outrage ! That punishment will fall upon all, is certain. May it prove an useful lesson." I pity the man who wrote that paragraph. There is a cold-blooded ferocity in it, a brutal insensibility, I never saw equalled. There is no need of any out- ward hell for such spirits. The malignant elements of their own nature, would produce a deeper Inferno, than the most orthodox imagination ever painted. The Suffrage Party, as has been before said, were mostly yeomanry, mechanics, and laborers ; and when the alarm sounded, and their liberties were in. danger, they flew to the rescue, in their common la- MIGHT AND RIGHT. 279 boring apparel. Their appearance was no-wise im- proved by toil, and sweat, and dust, by being bonnd with ropes, and driven like beasts through the public highways, sufi^ring the meanwhile of" hunger and thirst, until their unspeakable anguish was nearly passing into despair. And were they God-forsaken ? Does God, then, cast a man out from his protection, because his garments are homely, or even soiled and torn ? Those prisoners were honest men. They had not learned the game of fashionable bankruptcy, by which the Rhode Island Algerines, almost without exception, (for they are one great body of bankrupts) have supplied themselves with fine houses, fine fur- niture, fine carriages, and fine broad-cloth, from the fruits of UNPAID LABOR ; and did God forsake them for this ? Will he not rather cast out from his pre- sence the fashionable Vampire that fattens upon the life of the poor ? Those 130 God-forsaken prisoners, were afterwards tried by creatures of the Chronicle's own party ; and they were, almost to a man, acquit- ted. So much for truth. The barn where the prisoners were kept, had been occupied by a baker. It was stripped of everything ; barn and carriage furniture, and every removable thing ; and the whole village was sacked. When the prisoners were searched, everything was taken from them, penknives, pencils, money, and watches. Some objected that such was private property ; but nothing was given back on that account. On the way to Providence, the Algerine victors stopped frequently for food, and milk, which they stole, or rather took by robbery, from the farm houses as they passed along ; but the poor prisoners, faint, weary, bruised by the ropes, and almost heart-broken as they were, were not always permitted to receive drink from the brooks, that were fed by the free rain of Heaven ! Because, their arms being pinioned be- hind them, they could not help themselves, and, of 280 MIGHT AND RIGHT. course, the lords must be first administered to ; and by the time they had finished, they were in a hurry to go ; and with their parching thirst unsatisfied, the prisoners were marched on, beneath a sun of al- most torrid heat. Soon after leaving Chepachet, they fell in with an old colored man, who was very lame, walking qui- etly by the road side. They threw away the poor old man's cane, tied his dog to a wagon, and giving him one of the muskets they had stolen, compelled him to march beside the prisoners, as a guard. The Church at Greenville had been used for barracks, during the sojourn of the troops at that village ; and, on their return, they marched the prisoners into the desecrated fane, and stopped for rest and refresh- ment. Here the prisoners were again offered food, of which some of them partook, but others were too full to eat ; but they got some water, and by this were relieved of their dreadful thirst. After halthig an hour, they were marched off again. When they arrived at Tripptown, an accident oc- curred, which came very near producing a fatal re- sult. By the accidental discharge of a pistol, one of the flank guards was wounded in the thigh. He fell to the ground, and, at the same moment, several others of the Algerines, whose valor has been so highly lauded, fell, also — having -fainted away, or taken it for granted that they were dead men. This produced an intense excitement. All the array of surgeons were called into action ; and it took some time to find out who was the wounded man. The re-action of their fears, produced anger of the most passionate and deadly character. The discharge of the pistol was laid to the prisoners, although they were bound eight together, and had the use of neither weapons nor hands. An order was given to fire upon the d'nd Rebels ; and they would have been shot down, without further inquiry, had not a woman, MIGHT AND RIGHT. 281 who had been attracted by the procession, witnessed the accident. She called out for them to stop, and then explained how it happened, and thus saved the lives of the prisoners. It should not be forgotten that these 130 prisoners were bound with ropes, eight together, their hands being pinioned behind them. There was a contin- ual wrenching, one way and another, from uneasi- ness and pain, as well as from a constant struggle of each man to avoid the rough places in the road, and get the best path for himself to walk in. The Rhode Island slaves (so their savage captors suppos- ed,) had been brought under the yoke, years before ; and their necks had been pretty well bowed ; but they had never been broken to the harness, and they were restive, when that harness galled. If any one lagged behind for an instant, he was pricked with the bayonet, or a pistol, or musket, was leveled at his head or breast. In addition to all this physical discomfort, hunger, thirst, bruised feet, and arms, in- tolerable fatigue, and almost broken hearts, every kind and degree of insult and abuse was continually heaped upon them, which evil spirits under the in- fluence of evil spirits, could invent — insult and abuse such as no man ever otfered to man, whatever might be his condition ; for the wretch who can in- sult a fallen foe, is a libel on the character, and a dis- grace to the name of man. On reaching the city the prisoners were halted, first, opposite to the Hoyle tavern, when a new ac- cession of blackguard ruffianism appeared ; and a law and order mob, continually increasing, escorted the procession through the streets, with hooting, and hissing, and all foul and inhuman abuses. They were halted again opposite Col, Brown's residence, and, in various other places ; and the lady-Algerines waved their handkerchiefs, and threw flowers to the 24* 282 MIGHT AND RIGHT. conquering heroes, in the greatest profusion, from every window, and terrace, as they passed along, thus acknowledging themselves indebted for all their remaining virtue, to the triumphant defenders of ^' Banks and Beauty" — a band of filthy, drunken licentiates ! Oh, Modesty ! where was then thy blush ? And Truth, and Justice, where were your defenders? Led in cruel bonds by wicked men, through the city of Roger Williams, and the fair hands of woman garlanding their brutal captors. If there ever was a time to be ashamed of Rhode Island — ay, with the deepest, sincerest shame, that ivas the hour. This conduct of the Algerine women is hardly to be excused, in any way. Whatever might have been their political sentiments, the sight of tlie prisoners — men, their neighbors and friends, and,* in many cases, near relatives, driven through the streets, bound with ropes, amid cruel insults, and bitter curses, should have subduced their animosity, and caused a reaction of feeling — and icotild have done so, if every single particle of the true nature of woman, had not been crushed by a passion so mon- strous, that it is difficult to believe the female breast could have harbored it. Many of these women are said to have practised pistol shooting, in order, I suppose, to defend their honor against Thomas Dorr, the wholesale violator ; and murderous wishes, and expressions, were not unfrequently on their lips. All history proves that woman naturally inclines to the side of mercy ; and that without question of whether the sufferer was friend, or enemy, or right, or wrong. The conduct of the female Algerines of Rhode Island, presents a mortifying contrast to this charac- ter — a monstrous deformity in the fair proportions of woman. And these men, to the eye of the Chro- nicle, had no '' sense of their forlorn condition ?" Tliat is not to be wondered at : for the Rev. Dr. MIGHT AND RIGHT. 283 Wayland had just begun to discover traces of " deep feeling," and, of course, it would not do to go be- yond a Doctor of Divinity. At the head of College street another halt was made, and orders were given to load with dou- ble ball cartridge ; and an understanding was con- veyed to the men, that they were to be taken round back of the Colleges, and SHOT. This capped the climax of brutal depravity. Many believed they were to be shot, and some boys, and young lads, could not forbear crying aloud in the intense agony occasioned by the idea of a cruel and unnatural death. When the tortured nerves had been wrung to their utmost tension, the captives were marched over to the prison, so exhausted, so worn out, that cmij shel- ter was welcome. They were crowded in together, from 12 to 14 in a cell of 7 feet by 9, with an aper- ture 7 inches long and 4 wide, the only opening for the admission of air. No tongue can tell — no im- agination can paint — the horrors of that prison. Think of it ! 14 men occupying a space of 7 feet by 9, in that oppressively hot weather, and breathing that putrid air ! Eleven of the 14 could just lie down, wedged in together, ''heads and points," as they expressed it ; and then the remaining 3 had just, and only room enough to stand in. It is very hard to be crowded at all, when one is tired ; and think of those harrassed, faint, and jaded men, lying in that manner, on the bare pavement ! It is horri- ble ! But the worst of all was, the perfectly foetid air ! Much fault has been found with Dr. Brownell, the Surgeon General, and much hard feeling towards him still exists. He made great exertions to have the prisoners removed to the yard, and the cells thinned out * but in this step he was violently op- posed by the Mayor, Thomas M. Burgess, as well as 284 " MIGHT AND RIGHT. by the Governor and Council. He, however, repu- diated the authority of the Mayor, and went to the mihtary commander, who sanctioned his plan of re- moving the prisoners to the yard, and making them more comfortable. As there has been much misre- presentation in regard to the conduct of this gentle- man, I feel it a duty to place the circumstance in its true light ; and I do not hesitate to say, that though Dr. Brownell may sometimes have failed in his duty — for in the service of such a bad cause who could do wholly right ? — still there is the fullest evidence, that had it not been for his humanity and persever- ance, on this occasion, in thinning out those noisome cells, previous to the hot night which followed, the morning would have found dead as many of the suf- ferers, in proportion, as were found in the Black Hole at Calcutta ! How well, and truly, this speaks for the humanity of Rhode Island Magistrates, under Martial Law ! Is not Algiers disgraced and scandal- ised by lending them her name ? A guard of loafers from South Water street sur- rounded the prison ; and whenever the prisoners ap- peared, or their friends visited them, they were sub- ject to the insults and abuse of the whole gang. Much has been said of the fare of the prisoners, for, and against. I will endeavor to state the truth. They had two meals a day, one at ten o'clock, the other at three. Their fare consisted almost wholly of bread and ham. These were, for several weeks, the fragments of the Algerine carousals. The weather was very hot, and the ham was often offen- sive, sometimes maggoty ; and the bread was some- times sour, and frequently mouldy. And even this was served in the most offensive manner ; a piece of bread, and one of ham, being passed in at the aper- ture of the door with the hand, and received hy the hand. The regular prison fare was somewhat bet- ter. The prisoners must have suffered not only from MIGHT AND RIGHT. 285 had food^ but for the want of food, if their friends had not supplied them ; and some who had no friends to think of them, would beg for the stinking ham and mouldy bread — the rations of their more fortunate companions. But seldom were such for- gotten ; the more fortunate were ready to share with the less ; and all who visited the prison on these er- rands of mercy, were the friends of the friendless. The organization of the Court of Commissioners, who tried the prisoners, was the most singular mock- ery of justice I ever heard of. Neither the officers, or any of the witnesses were sworn ; and no man felt himself particularly obliged to speak the truth — an obligation which would, indeed, have been quite novel among the subjects of modern Algiers. The prisoners were arrested by a military, and tried by a civil process — or arrested by a civil process, under Martial Law. Any prominent individual among the Algerines, could control the fate of any prisoner he pleased ; and when the prisoner refused to recant, at the instigation of his rich neighbor, or employer, the influence of the latter would react against him. Dur- ing examination, the prisoners were not only har- rassed and insulted, by the Algerine loafers who al- ways attended on such occasions, but, contrary to all usage, they were obliged to be their own accu- sers. And, not only so, but any person among the spectators might volunteer his evidence, and that evidence, if against the prisoner, (and no other could be found in that den of devils,) would be taken; and a decision affecting the liberty, the comfort, the health, perhaps the life of a worthy individual, might depend upon the false assertions of any malicious scoundrel who might happen to have a grudge against him ! Hundreds of prisoners were commit- ted, imthout any alleged reason, or any legal process ; and after being subjected to all these msults, morti- fications, and suflerings, for months, liberated m the 286 MIGHT AND RIGHT. same manner. It was dangerous to speak an honest opinion against the party in power ; and many were committed for doing so ; and even upon the bare sus- picion of friendliness to the Suffrage cause. h\ Bristol Jail, the prisoners suffered exceedingly for the want of water, as they did also at Provi- dence ; the water at both places being conveyed in leaden pipes, and so warm, as to be almost a vomit. One of the Bristol prisoners told me his sufferings on this account were so severe, that he offered to give 20 dollars for a pail of water ; and though he was able to pay, and perfectly honest in his offer, they refused either to sell or give, one absolutely suffering for it, and his wretched companions a brink of cold WATER. In Newport, the prisoners in the lower cells suf- fered dreadfully from cold. These lower cells were damp and dark — so dark as to require a lamp at mid-day, in order to read a common book — and so damp, that all substances like cloth were continually saturated with moisture ; but they had no fire, or worse than none, until some time late in December. The autumn had been very cold ; and that was the coldest December that had been known for many years. A benevolent lady visited Gov. King, and informed him of the disgraceful fact. He immedi- ately ordered Henry Y. Cranston to visit the prison, and report on the subject. He did so, after making a delay of several days, in order, I suppose, to wring out a little more suffering ; and then he never de- scended to the loioer cells. He asked the prisoners above, how they were, in regard to warmth. They answered they were quite comfortable, as respected warmth : and Mr. Cranston made his report, which was published in the Journal. But by a fortunate accident, the members of one of the State Courts, then in session at Newport, visited the prision, and ascertained the truth. They immediately sent for a MIGHT AND RIGHT. 287 thermometer, and found, by actual experiment, that the air was colder within the cells, than on the out- side of the prison. This was owing to the strong current, which was created by the stoves m the cor- ridor adjoining. They would have perished — they must have perished, had it not been for the kindness of the citizens, who sent them hot drinks, and a plenty of warm food ; and also lamps to burn day and night, that the cheering light, and slight warmth, might, in some degree, alleviate the sufferings of those miserable men. Their food was better than at Providence, and it was, perhaps, sufficient to sustain life ; but they never had enough to satisfy the crai-)- ings of hunger of ordinary appetites. Is it not strange that such gross outrages upon the rights of humanity, should have been committed in the face and eyes of the whole world, and so little have been said about it ? A whole political party, either openly advocated, or resolutely shut their eyes upon the facts ; and where were the Abolitionists, the professed philanthropists of the North, that they did not enter their protest against these proceed- ings ? If a band of colored men had been marched through the streets of Providence, under the sa7ne circumstances all New England would have been in a blaze. I have yet to learn, that black men are better than white men, or that their rights are any more sacred ! 288 MIGHT AND RIGHT. CHAPTER XVI. OUTLINES OF HISTORY. During the June Session of the General Assem- bly, a report reached that body, that a very large force was gathered at Acote Hill, for the purpose of sustaining the People's Constitution. According to their established mode of operation, that of relin- quishing their usurped power only upon compulsion, the Convention was immediately convened for the purpose of framing a Constitution, and the work was pushed through in such a manner, as to occasion se- veral mistakes. The Constitution was finally adopt- ed, by the Convention assembled at Newport, in Septem.ber, 1842 — a law having been passed, sanc- tioning its adoption by a minority ; and this after the Legislature had repeatedly denied their right to move in the matter ; that they could do nothing without the authority of their constituents. It is a curious fact, that, after all their ridicule and contempt of the People's Constitution, the learned and sapient Landholders should have made it the model of theirs ! and, in fact, have taken it almost entire, only modi- fying some of its most important provisions, so as to keep the power still in the right place. Here is an- other presumptive evidence that the Chartists be- lieved that the people had a majority of votes for their Constitution, or why were they at so much pains to assimilate their own to it ? They ivould not have been, had they not considered that Constitution popular. They certainly had sufficient invention ; and they embodied a large amouht of learning and talent. Why did they not produce an original doc- ument? The reason why is very evident. The People's Constitution had been adopted by a large majority ; and, of course, whatever came nearest to MIGHT AND RIGHT. 289 that^ would be most likely to succeed. Accordingly, with some very delicate incisions, and some masterly corrections, which were insinuated into the work so softly, as to alarm none but the practised eye, the People's Constitution was again given to the world. I cannot enumerate all the objectionable points, but will name a few of the chief dangers embodied in the present Constitution. 1. The majority, 57,196, are entitled to but 6 Se- nators, and 39 Representatives, while the minority, 51,642, are entitled to 25 Senators, and 39 Repre- sentatives. 2. Foreigners and colored men, if they be free- holders, are allowed a vote after a residence in the State of one year, while a free native citizen of the United States, if he be not a freeholder, must have resided in the State two years, before he can vote. 3. It excludes Firemen and R evolutional y Sol- diers. 4. The People's Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 2, pro- vides not only for the possession, but the transmis- sion of property ; a right which is said to be guarded so well, in no other American Constitution, On this the freeholders are silent, notwithstanding they have had so much loud talking, and so much fine writing, about the Rights of Property, and their destined vio- lation by the Suffrage Party. 5. Section 4, of the same Article of the People's Constitution, contains this provision ; '' That no fa- vor or disfavor ought to be shown in legislation, towards any man, or party, or society, or religious denomination. The laws should be made not for the good of the few, but of the many; and the bur- dens of the State ought to be fairly distributed among the citizens." The Freeholders are again silent. The idea of legislating for the good of the many, would have been the height of ab- surdity, to a Convention, Avho, from sheer habit, 25 290 MIGHT AND RIGHT. as well as principle, could do no otherwise than act for the minority, leaving the rights of the majorityj to take care of themselves. In all the proceedings^ of all her councils, legislatures, and courts, Rhodec Island has always acted with regard to the rights of the FEW — and that not unfrequently, to the utter: exclusion of the rights of the many. 6. Section 12, of the People's Constitution, gives: the accused, in criminal prosecutions, power to ob- tain witnesses at the public expense, that the poverty of the accused may be no barrier to the free acces- sion of justice. This has not been secured in the corresponding section of the Landholders'. 7. The Landholders' Constitution does not secure the right of trial b)^ j^ny, to " Any person in this State who may be claimed, or held to service imder the laws of any other State." 8. It does not recognise the right of instructing Senators and Representatives by the people, as does the People's, Section 17. This Section corresponds with Section 16 of the Protest of 1790. The re- jection of this important right by the Freeholders, seems to show that the Representatives are not to do the loill of the People^ but their own will : or, in other words, to act according to the dictates of their especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, according to Charter usage. Thus have the Rhode Island Republicans of 1842, refused to recognise a very important principle, and cut off a long-cherished branch of old English Liberty. Is this an evidence oi. pi^ogrcss ? 9. It does not provide that compensation sliall be actuall^r made, if required, before a man's property shall be taken for public uses. 10. It does not prohibit the passing of retrospec- tive civile as v/ell as criminal laws. 11. It does not protect witnesses from being called MIGHT AND RIGHT. 291 ill question for their religious opinions, before the Legislature, or the Courts. 12. In Article 2, Section 2, of the Landholders' Constitution, a blank is left for the future insertion of the word " Whiter Their first Constitution contained the word^ without any special provision for its speedy rejection, as did the People's ; nor is it to be presumed that they ever intended to reject it. But when they found themselves in a fearful minor- ity, and knew that their injured fellow citizens were proceeding to demand their rights at the point of the bayonet, they then saw that some concessions onust he made ; and, in many respects, their second Con- stitution is far mcTre liberal than their first ; but whatever it is, is not due to them, but to their fears. In this dilemma they took advantage of the situation of the colored population. Without one particle of friendliness towards the colored race, but from sheer necessity, they extended to them a valuable privi- lege, reserving by legal enactment, the right to with- draw it at any time they pleased, merely to promote their own selfish and wicked purposes. They made the colored men voters, not because it was their right, but because they needed their help, and when they no longer need it, a law is all ready, to provide for the disenfranchisement of the tools, for which they have no further use. If I could reach the ear of every colored man who has voted under this Con- stitution, I would tell him that he is a dupe — that he knows not his enemies ; that by the very terms of his admission to the right of Suffrage, he is chat- telized ; and that he is the victim of treachery of the blackest dye. The Chartists have preached pro-slavery in Wash- ington, and anti-slavery in Rhode Island ; and at the very time when Senator Simmons was inflaming the prejudices of the Southern Democt'ats, by represent- ing the Free Suffrage as an Abolition movement, his 292 MIGHT AND RIGHT. friends at home were parading the streets with their own coachmen, and sitting at table with people of any color — and the darker the better. So com- pletely have they worn two faces, and spoken with two tongues, in order to secure the favor of both parties, that, even here, in Rhode Island, many of the hard old farmers in the neighboring towns, iHll not believe that colored men vote in Providence. There is a degree of meanness in this conduct, which I really cannot comprehend ; and how any body of men, possessing the smallest idea of honor, to say nothing of honesty, could submit to practice it, is truly wonderful ! 13. The Landholders' Constitution unnecessarily retains a freehold qualification ; probably for the same cause that Mr. Randolph wished to retam the privilege of the oldest son — not because he saw any reason in favor of it, but because it had existed so long. 14. It does not provide for the security of the in- estimable right of voting by ballot, as does the Peo- ple's, but refers the matter to the Legislature. 15. The crowning objection of all, is, that it se- cures all its former authority to the General Assem- bly, by special enactment, ai^d thus nullifies many otherwise wholesome provisions. The good which It holds out is illusive, as recent events have fully shown. The present Constitution of Rhode Island was announced by Gov. King to be adopted, Janu- ary 3d, 1843. July 4th, 1842, the festival in honor of the late Algerine victory, was superadded to the usual cele- bration. The orator — one of the most distinguish- ed lawyers in the State — exhausted all his elo- quence to prove that the Algerine army, in their late brilliant victory over an empty Fort — in their drunken carousals, their burglary and kidnapping, were a band of heroes, of a high and peculiar order , MIGHT AND RIGHT. 293 to be found only in Rhode Island ; inasmuch as they were " covered all over with glory^^ — a condition in which I never heard any other heroes described to be. The orator spoke of the pleasure he felt in ad- dressing the '' Old Rhode Island Line," on an occa- sion like this, when they had just proved themselves the true descendants of those who first made that line glorious. The anniversary was a double one ; and showed that the same great principles which had been asserted and vindicated in the war of the Revolution, had been again asserted and vindicated, on this soil, within the last week. In the war of the Revolution, our men marched against oppression from above — from the King and Parliament. In the late insurrection, their descendants arrayed them- selves against oppression from below — from the out- casts and ruffians of society, both here and abroad. In describing the Suifrage men, he said ; '^ They are cannibals, and worse than cannibals — and had they taken one of you, they would have roasted your body alive, and devoured it.''' It is certainly to be regretted that a man of so high intellect, should have descended to echo the malicious falsehoods, and retail the low slang of the Journal, even in the service of a party. July 5th, it was announced that no more arrests should be made, under the existing martial law, ex- cept upon application to the Governor, or his Coun- cil. Soon after the conquest of Chepachet, the Al- gerines celebrated the victory, and marched in pro- cession through the streets. The procession was led by a cart, bearing an effigy of Gov. Dorr, a pair of old boots, and some epaulettes, which were falsely said to have been his ; and various other trophies. This carriage bore the banner which had been taken from one of the Woonsocket companies, the motto of which was a singularly unfortunate one for the Agerines to parade through the streets, as a speci- 25* 294 MIGHT AND RIGHT. men of their enemy's principles. It was this ,- •"- We concede to others their^ rights ; we demand our OWN." They carried also in the procession a load of empty champagne bottles, which they said they had found in Dorr's camp, but which had been emptied in their own carousals, while they were snaking a mani- festation through the country.''''^ It should not be forgotten, that when the fire engines were left al- most without a man to direct them, the colored MEN came forward, and volunteered to take charge of them ; and this act, the condition and treatment of the men being considered, was one of the noblest that were developed during the whole controversy. On the morning of the 30th of June, between the hours of 12 and 3 o'clock, with a small squad^ Col. Wm. P. Blodget, went to the nm of Jeremiah Crooks, in Bellingham, Mass., broke into the house,, and demanded to see his prisoners. Mr. Crooks asked him by what authority he came ; and he said ''by the authority of the bayonet." They then searched the house, and forcibly carried off and drag- ged to prison, several men who Avere supposed to have been engaged in the aifairs of Rhode Island. For this flagrant violation of the laws of Massachu- setts, and the rights of her citizens, Blodget has been tried and found guilty of burglary and kidnapping. *EIe has, however, petitioned for another trial before the Supreme Court of the United States. August 21st, a special Thanksgiving was pro- claimed ; upon which occasion were called forth the two famous sermons of Drs. Wayland and Tucker, of Providence. I cannot here go into the individual merits of those sermons, as I could wish, and as I hope at some future time to do. They both contain the grossest misrepresentations of the Suftrage Party, * The commandinor officer wrote from Woonsocket, " iVe think it best to make a manifestation through the country, and may not be back in some days." MIGHT AND RIGHT. 295 of their principles, and their conduct ; and are redo- lent with pure, unmixed Tory doctrines — such doc- trines as tend to keep alive, and increase, the exist- ing inequalities of society, and, consequently, secure to the priesthood their peculiar privileges ; not such doctrines are those as Jesus preached — doctrines of universal love and brotherhood, wherein is the es- sence of the purest and the "largest liberty," but rather such as might more properly come before the Court of a Pagan Despot, than before the audience of a free and christian people. This point was, of course, managed more adroitly by Dr. Wayland ; but not the less false and wicked were his misrepre- sentations, and his sentiments ; while Dr. Tucker, with peculiar artlessness, declares, that had the In- surgents succeeded, '• We should have become ' hewers of wood, and drawers of water.' "* He further represents that the specific objects of the Suf- frage Party, were the destruction of the Priesthood, and the Banks, and the leveling of Property ; three points which were calculated to alarm the selfish- ness, and inflame the grossest passions of his hearers ; and much pains was taken to identify the Suftrage and Abolition movements. These two sermons were in the same spirit with the " Affairs of Rhode Island," by Dr. Wayland, delivered May 22d of the same year ; and " Loyalty and Piety," by the Rev. Francis Vinton, Pastor of Trinity Church, Newport, July 21. I regret that I am not able here to con- sider more at length the productions of these " Kna- vish and wicked Doctors, who understood neither what they said, nor whereof they affirmed, and who turned aside to vain janglmg." The compass of an ordinary book will not permit me to go at length, either into the merit of these sermons, or into the history of individual persons, and places, many of * Did the Reverend Doctor ever question v/ith himself of his pecuYmi- Jitness for such labor ? 296 MIGHT AND RIGHT. M'hich contain some o[ the most important and inter- esting particnlars ; but, in justjce to myself, and my subject, I hope to be permitted to give them more fully on some future occasion.* At the time when the Charter troops left Newport for the defence of Providence, a conspiracy was formed, which has never been exceeded in wicked- ness, even by the Jacobins of France. It is thus described by a correspondent from that place. '•A number of men, heretofore called respectable, formed themselves into a band, and bound them- selves, under an obligation, that if any of their friends should be injured in the campaign against the ' Re- bels' at Providence, they would shoot down, or as- sassinate, their leading men in this town, in the streets, at their homes, in their beds, or wherever they could find them." This conspiracy was made known to one of the leaders of the Suffrage Party, to put him on his guard against these horrid machi- nations. The person who made this communication, was a strong friend to the Martial Law and Order Party, and was applied to, to join in this wicked conspiracy ; but he, having some private friends and relatives among the leaders of the Suffrage Party, * There are now in my possession a large collection of very valuable documents, which have been furnished by Suffrage friends, and which I have been wholly unable to dispose of in this volume, as they are amply sufficient to make a volume of themselves. Being- unwilling to manifest any partiality towards these friends, who have my grateful acknowledgments for their kind exertions in my behalf, and being unwilling to injure their papers by mutilation, I have resolved to retain the whole, that, in their collected form, they may make a volume of themselves; which they Avill amply do, in connection with tiie incidental re- flections, and kindred events, that the Author may think proper to combine with them. I trust no one will bo dissatisfied with this arrangement; since it ivas impossible to do justice lo the whole. 1 have, however, sought to embody all the important facts in this, and I hope to give them another interesting and valunble book, containing, in full, the Annals of the R,hode Island War; and when the Public calls for it, it shall be rtadx). MIGHT AND RIGHT. 297 refused to join. He might have been mflnenced by some other selfish views; otherwise, from his char- acter, we do not think he would either have divulged the secret, or refused to join the conspiracy ; which consisted, as far as we could learn, of ten or tw^elve men. Many of their names are known, and they are also known to have prepared themselves with their weapons of destruction. The Rev. Francis Vinton entered warmly into all the military prepara- tions of the Algerines. Several of the members of his own church were among the consjiritors ; and yet they were, then, and are, now, in full fellov/- ship with the church. This same Reverend gen- tleman, when the Newport soldiers found their courage 'oozing out at their finger ends,' encour- aged and stimulated them, advising the officers not only to take the men with their muskets, but to take their field-pieces, with plenty of ammu- nition ; he also assisted the soldiers in making their ball-cartridges, cheering them on to the combat, to shoot down their fellow citizens. People were ut- terly astonishe