■' UBftMRY 
 
 \ OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF !' 5 '“-‘s 
 
 J 
 
 \ CONSIDERATIONS 
 
 CN 1I3E PROPRIETY 07 ADOPTING A 
 
 GENERAL TICKET 
 
 IN 
 
 S OUT H-C A RO LIN A, 
 
 TOR THE ELECTION OF 
 
 REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS 
 
 AND ELECTORS OF 
 tRESIDER T AND FICE-PRESIDENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE PEOPLE OF 
 SC U T H-C A RO L IN A, 
 
 B Y 
 
 C R I T 0. 
 
 CajSLESTQK, (South-Carolina.) 
 
 Prints# by T. B. B O W E N» 
 
 Ns>. 3 E3.CU3-STR3ET. 
 
 I ^t>' 1 
 
 library 
 OF THE 
 
 E.iVERSJTY OF aims 
 

 “*> 14 , 2 . 
 
 $ DEDICATION. 
 
 c* 
 
 * 
 r I 
 
 T 0 
 
 Brigadier-General ROBERT ANDERSON. 
 
 PERMIT me, unknown and unfalcited, to 
 cfFer the lollowing pages, n ot fo much to your 
 patronage, as t ) your ferious attention and 
 careful perufal. Principles to dear to the hip- 
 pinefs of a Republican people; to be adopted 
 require only to be diitinflly feen. The fub- 
 je& they profefs to examine and unfold, is 
 clcfely allied to tnofe in the eflablifhment of 
 which, you have acted a manly and diftin- 
 guifhed part. 
 
 The numbers originally appeared in the 
 City-Gazette, under the affumed fignature 
 annexed, and have brought it with them, in¬ 
 to the form in which they are now prefented. 
 This has been done, from a conviction, that 
 nam s cannot give authority to argument, or 
 fhed luftre upon truth. Stripped as thev are, 
 of all the boaft and ornament *of pedigree, 
 and above the fleeting influences of perfonal 
 fupport ;—they Rand on the plain, Republi¬ 
 can ground of principle, and claim no other 
 p-ote&ion, than that of found, liberal, and 
 unfophillicatea dhcuflion, 
 
 I will occupy but little of your time to fay, 
 that in preparing thefe few lheets for the pref3 ? 
 
 I have 
 
 
« • 0 
 111 . 
 
 I have been obliged to employ, broken and In¬ 
 terrupted intervals from bufmefs, ill fuited to 
 regular and elaborate inveftigation. Where I 
 could have (aid much, I have been compelled 
 to leave the queftion to the fullnefs and anti¬ 
 cipation of the public mind. 
 
 My efforts to bring forward this topic, would 
 never have furvivecl the ephemeral being of a 
 news-pa per, but for the partiality of fome 
 friends, who confidered them, as containing 
 demonltrations cf practical utility, entitled to 
 the calm and difpaflionate decifion of the pu¬ 
 blic jucgment. With this intent,the publication 
 is iubroitted -—1 hey were pleafed to think its 
 prefence, too ntceffary at this moment, to af¬ 
 ford me an opportunity even of correcting its 
 imperfe&ions, or of throwing round its hum¬ 
 ble garb the embellifhtnents of a critical revifion 
 cr the ordinary decorations of flyle. 
 
 r J o ycur penetration and fagacity it is need- 
 lefs to remark, that the views taken of the fub- 
 jt6b fcim but an in perfeCl outline of the 
 tranfcender.ily important matter propofed for 
 argument. 1 have left many interefling points 
 cf enquiry, to be furve^ed and explored by 
 the very able Republicans who compofe the 
 prefent legiflature. 
 
 kiom the uniform teror, cf your political 
 life, I feel a particular pleafure fir, in dedicat¬ 
 ing thde dfays tc you, for I am aware, that 
 “ youp 
 
 A* 
 
9 
 
 IV. 
 
 your undemanding is as indifferent to apology 
 for theiotrufion, as it is repugnant to adula* 
 tion in the addrefs, 
 
 I am Sir, Refpe&fully 
 
 Your mod obedient Servant. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 November iytb, ilou 
 

 J 
 
 
 > 
 
 l 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T , 7 F. period has at ler^cfTi arrived. fel!ow- 
 CJtfzens. vhtn a fai r ar.d honorab’e expert- 
 ir.tnt wi'l be given to the operation of repub¬ 
 lican pniicip es. Ihe Tea on is at hand when 
 ve are to know, whether tnefe precious 
 principles vh ch we have cher fhed with par, n* 
 tal f ndnefs, arc to end in fpurious abo ti ns ; 
 or whether the srer.erou- care or republicans 
 
 O 
 
 vill wa^ch over a: d propitiate their b rth, 
 mature their vrowt and tonfecra ethe r exig¬ 
 ence. h he 'ill of t e people is the foul of 
 power; it is the aliment of a’l governments ; 
 it is the food which preferves their exigence ; 
 they mult perifh without it. in > merica, 
 there is an immediate confanguinity between 
 the people ana the government; it is the crea¬ 
 ture of their hands, and has been fafhloned bv 
 their will. I therefore difclcfe my iurjedt to 
 ycu— t is an i ie mockery to talk of a rep b- 
 lican adminiilraticn, without tae republican 
 co operation of the people. 
 
 You have be ore \ > u the recent and fplen- 
 did iufla .ce or the efficacy of organ-zed fenti. 
 pi-nt amongst the people, in the kite presi¬ 
 dential elect.o v it was a great and awful 
 movement of the will *t a nation, a id proves 
 fu v deciave and i.refitibl; that is, when 
 biougiit to act in the majefty cf its llrength. 
 
 a This 
 
* 
 
 VI. 
 
 This fudden and central combination of opi¬ 
 nion, which nothing but an inftindive and uni- 
 ve-rfal fenfe of danger could have produced, 
 has la : d a broad and durable foundation on 
 which to erect the edifice of public liberty and 
 national happinefs. 
 
 Fc low citizens, the work is but half done, 
 if you halt at this point in your glorious ca¬ 
 reer. Irerrules mud not vet lean upon his 
 c’ub. A republican ad mini ft rati on at the 
 .head of your government, with anti republi- 
 c n reprefentat ves in congrefs, involves the 
 grofldt al furdity ; it is a lolecifin in ooutics ; 
 it is filicide of the mod atrocious character.— 
 Awake from your dreams of landed fecurity, 
 and, armed with the principle, that it is the 
 duty ot toe people to eltabiifh their rights, 
 adopt fuch meafures as are likely to fecure 
 thole great ends Indulge not in the vain of- 
 tation cf a triumphant change, but rather 
 e pr cultiCttily bulled in bringing thofe princi¬ 
 ples to bear upon your objects, and thusinfufe 
 them into the bioed and fpirits of the body 
 •politic. 1 rds is not tire time to abate your 
 perseverance m the great caufe you have un¬ 
 dertaken. I p in filer.ce, the injuries 
 
 a r ft infuIts your i ii .1 n lv feelings have been con¬ 
 i'rained to endure under the late admmidra- 
 tion. 1 will not itop to enumerate your fuf- 
 or to mark the humiliation of the 
 
 man. 
 
 i. e 
 
 hr 
 
 
 .'i oro 
 
• 9 
 
 VII. 
 
 man, or the vile degradation of the cVzen. 
 I am content that the hand of oblivion (hould 
 throw a pall over its enormities, though its 
 bitter leffions are indehbly (lamped upon the 
 heart, 1 he fcene in retrospect is pregnant with 
 utility for us and for pofterity, as I (hall fully 
 flate to you on another occafiom South Caro¬ 
 lina is mequho:ally republican —Is it true, fel¬ 
 low-citizens, that the republican fenfe and 
 fpirit of Carolina has been expreffied by its 
 reprefentatives ? Is the true fe mb lance and 
 image of Carolina reflected by its reprefenta¬ 
 tives in congrefs ? Can the genius of republi- 
 canifm in this State (land up and fav, thefe are 
 the fponfors of my political faith ? If you wifh 
 to be fatisfied on thefe points, confult, I in¬ 
 treat you, the proceedings of congrefs. But 
 you have an efficient remedy in your hands — 
 yes, you the freemen o( South-Carolina can 
 model, and regulate, and ordain thefe things as 
 you deem proper. It is (or you lo to arrange 
 them, as bell to anfwer the ends of federal 
 legiflation; to hrengthen the bonds of focial 
 union ; to preferve thofe principles which 
 bind together, by a mydeiious charm, the 
 elements of political fociety ; and at once, to 
 convert local into national re^efeniaiioiu 
 
 l have affiigned it as a duty to myfelf to point 
 out t r ds p an to you, and to exhibit a correct 
 nd intelligible chart, by widen lo (teer your 
 
 courie. 
 
The tme fcience of politics !s fh« 
 happinefs and freedom or the people. If m/ 
 argument' to honed minds ca r ry no weight 
 v ith them ; if mv views are inaccurate; and 
 r.v pan incoherent, reject teem. But if 
 they a~e found, if they are conclusive, unao- 
 fwerable and irrefragable, th n l a(k \o i M 
 fuppor* them ; then, I fay. accumu ate your 
 f'rergth, pre s foru ard to their adoption. ard 
 fcnng them to the ordeal of pub ic invemga- 
 t-on. J he iuccefs of hrbrmut eiv mom s 
 ago, in - f arolina, was deeme^ chimerical, nay 
 vhptjfible ; but nothing could overawe the 
 { 'em wi rking an progrefs of opinion, 01 ar* 
 X- i 11hc a.arch cf p i incip.e. 
 
 — Qjir.d d'v\i*n p-omrtere 
 1 emo «iuJt:et, verve »•* die* cn ! attulit ultra. 
 
 + .n * • « 
 
 4 '■ r\ r,r 
 
 * ». 1 » 
 
 •!° *^nctj to fav to vou on the ref- 
 
 p nfbtlitv oi the pr-iVm admini ration, and 
 V t- r ecodii v of rvmj to t .eir meafures that 
 
 V O o 
 
 t * bo ;, or operation and cna.ice of fucce'S, 
 without v. :c = . the executive department is 
 ; p iiciy tiuhified ; v it'iout this confidence 
 r b unporr, v u w'b impair the benehcial 
 v . :th ■ t g over, n.ent, uou pervert the ipir.t 
 id b v: confirm om 
 
 li v e . iicudi- u of t ; -is rrett queftion, I 
 
 , v'1.0 S.H> A£ vi pH i a ■ ■ 4, * *■!* *»*-1 
 
 Jt. 'I hat 
 
IX* 
 
 iff. the election by gtwral tLkef it 
 the true republican mode. 
 
 2d That it will be p ditic and advan^ageon* 
 i i South Carolina to adorn it in her cao ce of 
 members or congrefs a id eiedtors. 
 
 ^,d. I ha: this is the crifis far fuch r^gula- 
 t* >n, in confequence of an acceffion (by the 
 late cenfus) of two mem Deis in our reprefea- 
 tat on to con rrefs, 
 
 I fha’l animadvert upon thefe topics wi h 
 tom er and argument, and 1 tria l with effect. 
 F epulr canif-u is t hz predicate of my fubjeft—» 
 public liberty its offVpri ig, my end. 
 
 I invite you feiioufly to consider the qnef- 
 tion, examine it well; difcuffion wi 1 detect 
 error, and you will better underftand your 
 lights; and when underflood, I kno.v you 
 feel the energy, and have the capability to af- 
 feri them. 
 
 As to m felf, I declare to vou, that mv fin- 
 cere objects are, a more complete, perfect and 
 republican reprcfe itation in cmgrefs, and a 
 choice ot elect rs hy the people ; becaufe ( 
 will (hew you, that a c loi e which can be 
 pracfic /Zly made bv tae people, ought to be 
 made by the n, and that in fach cafe the dele¬ 
 gation ol power to representatives ceifcs to be 
 neceflhry or ju t. I hele are my views. I a n 
 r»t ’‘puffing or hi >wing in the race of p an. 
 lamy > ' hor do 1 the warm fundhine of 
 
 pl *liai 
 
I 
 
 prefidertial favor, I fay ones mors, unite— 
 confolidate your exertions-—let your reprefen- 
 tarives fpeak out in a manly tone, this claim of 
 the people 9 and the objed is fecured* 
 
CONS IDE RAT JONS. We. 
 
 1 ii a ill in 
 
 PART, I. 
 
 * e The Election by General Ticket is the true Re - 
 
 publican Mode. ! * 
 
 if T cannot be confidered as amongfl: the vices 
 or follies cf the people of the United States, 
 that they perfevere for any length of time in 
 erroneous opinions concerning their political 
 interefts. It is to be lamented indeed, that 
 in many inftances the pallions and prejudices 
 cf party, and the rage of oppofition, have 
 oblcured thefe objects; but when ra ; fed above 
 them, by the magnitude cf the fuhjeft, they 
 are enabled from their elevation to take a dif- 
 tindl and comprehenfive view of the true por¬ 
 tion of things, with their bearings and tenden¬ 
 cies. From this point let us v ! ew the queflion 
 before us. 1 have faid that the election for 
 reprefentatives to congrefs, by a general ticket, 
 is, “ the true republican mode )f you alk 
 me uhat idea 1 mean to convey by “the re¬ 
 publican mode 1 anfwer, that fcheme or 
 mode cf election, which proceeds dircdly and 
 immediately from the great body cf the people —- 
 
 an 
 
 
i" ele^ior. hy tJr rjrhrJe people of i ? e Prfe. 
 tot one ly a detached, circumfctietd p.; t ,f 
 thepcrp-e, in a co-net of t e Hate. Ii is ne- 
 c -flary to its did’ndive ch tracer as a rep ibii • 
 can ele&ior, that it fi-c bid he £y tie pup 's 
 f i.eta ly, anc not bv a'rr.al and inco: fi era- 
 l e portion of that peevle, cr by a parrcular 
 clais and defcriptioi of men. Po the txiiting 
 
 regulations on this ft bud, 
 ft nr divided int > cifir -.cls 
 
 ihls fl ate is at 
 a i thev flood 
 
 i er)y order the j dLial a rancren ent for the 
 ■ch c 'cnof representatives in congrets. ( har- 
 h 1 n diHrict is cmirled to one member —* 
 'Jib n ember i ehcted, we will fav, by nco 
 voters in Charltflcn didiidh V hat is he 
 v hen tlccled, and what charter is he it vci'U 
 c ■ with ti: der the federal conlliiutinn ? tie is 
 a eprefentative in congrtfs jo K SiUtb-Ca o in \ 
 1 e repreleiits ti e line through the diitridt, 
 independently of the will or power of the 
 cthd dktridls of the hate, and the gre t ma* 
 j;’iiy of .he p pie. He is, perhaps, totdllr 
 
 1 acquainted with t e policy ar.d intereits of 
 t e • reared per ion oi ti e people whom he 
 
 2 j. relents, aid may prove inflrumentai it 
 icitM i,.; upon that very people an odious or 
 eppi< iTivt law '1 his then, .s a violation of 
 t e upideitative principle; iris repreienta- 
 ticn by fiction, whence iprurg this p;edi- 
 loclioa ior a. choice by diitr-iU i is there an j 
 
 iwrcsiY 
 
•V* «» 
 
 \ 
 
 3 
 
 forcery in the territorial metes and bounds of 
 a diftrict ? Is there a magic line drawn round 
 it, which conftitutes the few within it, fove- 
 reign over the many beyond it ? Or is it found 
 republican policy, in great national arrange¬ 
 ments, to balance the fufffages of a country 
 againft itfelf, by carving out geographical lec¬ 
 tions of the people. I hold this principle to 
 be ftriclly republican, that the reprcfentative 
 of South-Carolina in congrefs, ought to be 
 the choice of the people of Soutb-Cdrolina ; that 
 if he is the reprefentative of the (fate, he cari 
 only properly be fo by an expreffion of the 
 will of the majority of that date. 1 he men 
 of ‘Ninety-Six, of Walhington and Pinckney, 
 of Camden, of Orangeburgh &c. have as 
 ftrong a claim to a lhare in his choice, as the 
 people of the diflrifl by whom he is elected. 
 If they have not, he is but the reprefentaiire 
 of a diftriQ:. This ele&ion by dillricts, is a 
 furrender by the people of the great right of 
 ele&ion and reprefentation, and evidently ena¬ 
 bles the few to dictate to and controul the 
 many ; it fplits the republican fenfe and ener¬ 
 gy of the people into little ariltrocracies, and 
 by dividing, diflipates their llrength and en¬ 
 feebles their voice. It narrows down, nay, 
 deftroys the elective privilege, becaufe the inha¬ 
 bitants living within particular lines, are re- 
 itricUd to the choice ot one member , when 
 
 C they 
 
4 
 
 they ccu d pradlically e 7 ect fix. The refult 
 then is, that by the prefent'anti-republican ar¬ 
 rangement, the citizen isferioufty abridged of 
 his ~ights; or in other \v 02 ds, he is excluded 
 Jr c m a voice in the election o r Jive fix tbs of the 
 eongrejjiorwl reprefcntation of the date of which 
 he is a member. J he more you fubdivide the 
 flare, the farther you recede from the genuine 
 elective principles. A few, no doubt, confi- 
 der it as the perfection of reprefentative govern¬ 
 ment ; became, in confequence of particular 
 influences, a favourite member can be fecured \ 
 but of what confequence is this to the people 
 generally of the diftrict, who thereby lofe 
 their voice in the entire reprefcntation ! 
 
 This may, and has proved of more ferious 
 importance, than the acquifition of a fmgle 
 individual. Diiiridls are the nurferies of a 
 local popularity, in a variety of in fiances un¬ 
 known to, and not acknowledged by the peo¬ 
 ple at large. I will not now enquire into its 
 caules.buU am fu re, that in three cafes out of fix, 
 it would not hand the republican reft of the ge¬ 
 neral ticketjfomething more than diftricl popu¬ 
 larity and the little arts which often given rife to 
 it, is neceftkry to fecure the confidence, affec¬ 
 tions and fupport of the whole people. It is de- 
 nonftrated, that the adoption of the general tic¬ 
 ket will enlarge the fphere of elections ; that it 
 will give to every citizen in the ftate, the 
 
 right 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 c 
 
 right of voting for the whole reprefentation^ 
 and thus convert the folitarv dilriCt franchife 
 into a Suffrage, embracing the date, and ex¬ 
 panding the vote for one, into a choice fo* the 
 •whole. Men fo eleCted, may truly be called 
 reprefentatives of the people, and fuch an 
 election mav be denominated republican The 
 flighted view of the regulation at prefent of 
 force, prefents a marked departure from thofe 
 great principles which form the bans of poli¬ 
 tical judice. It cannot find a palliation even 
 in the diftempered jealoufy of its votar'es. 
 
 Before l purfue any farther, the progrefs of 
 this dilcudion, I will anfwer an objection 
 which I have frequently heard dated. If this 
 mode by general ticket be correct andfalutary, 
 why not adopt it in the date legislature ? To 
 this I reply, that in the fird place it would be 
 highly inconvenient, and perhaps impracticable 
 to form and concert a jiate ticket , from tne 
 number in the reprefentation ; and in the next 
 place, local elections mud be made, becaufe the 
 various parts of the Jiate mud be reprefented. 
 The fubjeCts of date legislation require this, 
 for they relate alm&d generally to heal matters ; 
 to quedions of police, which in many cafes 
 require a local knowledge of the country . Not 
 io with regard to federal reprefentation —there 
 the people of South-Carolina are reprefented 
 in their collective and national capacity. They 
 
6 
 
 fend fix members to a£1 for the (late—there 
 they difcufs and agitate queftions which in¬ 
 volve the deeped: interefts of the nation; on 
 that floor they fettle quefliions of p^ace and 
 war ; they raife armies and equip navies ; they 
 levy dircfl taxes ; create and eftablifh offices ; 
 pafs [edition and alien laws ; appropriate money 
 for treaties, &c. Are the people of the ftate 
 collectively interefted in thefe momentous con¬ 
 cerns ? If fo, ought not every man to poffefs 
 the right of electing thofe from this (late who 
 have the legiflative power of impofmg thefe 
 burthens ? By diftrict reprefentation, refpon fi- 
 bility is weakened and depreciated. It is in 
 yam for the fuffering citizen to complain or 
 murmur at the mod defperate projects. The 
 reply will be, “Sir, / reprefent a part of the 
 country where my principles, meafures and 
 politics aie highly relifhed and approved.”— 
 dhere are in fact no particular local exclufive 
 diftriCt interdts in federal legiflation ; none* 
 unlefs you think fit to call the commerce of 
 Charicfton fuch ; andfurely that appertains to 
 the intereft of the ftate at large ; it is well un¬ 
 derdo od, and will be effectually guarded and 
 preferved by the general ticket. Diftrict elec¬ 
 tions fofter and riourifh local attachments, 
 preferences and particular views, frequently 
 incompatible with the general good—In fitua. 
 tions of this kind the member adheres to his 
 
 diftrict, 
 
 * • ^ « 
 
7 
 
 diftricV, becaufehls popularity is at flake upo» 
 his conduct. 
 
 We will now proceed to another view of 
 the fubjeft. The federal principle of repre- 
 fentation is founded upon numbers, and we 
 are allowed in the ratio of three-fifths ror our 
 Haves. It appears, therefore, in its character 
 and objects, to be numerical , though in fact 
 in the account amongft ourfelves, property is 
 evidently an ingredient in its conftitution, 
 which is greatly in favor of the lower country. 
 Slaves were in fome view confidered as per fans 
 by the convention, and were thrown into the 
 fcale by compromife ; but furely in our (late 
 regulations, as to the manner of ele&ion,” . 
 we will and ought to pay a juft regard to our 
 white population, the freemen of the country. 
 
 I will ftate, by way of example, the fituation 
 of the diftri&s of Pinckney and Wafhington, 
 which fend one member to congrefs. They 
 contain 63,155 white inhabitants, and at the 
 rate of three-fiths, their number of flaves 
 amounts to 5,877 ; deducting, therefore, for 
 their prefent member, 33,000, it leaves an 
 excefs of 30,155 white inhabitants unreore- 
 fented, exclufive of 5,877, the federal ratio 
 of Haves. If I include Ninety-Six diftrict, it 
 contains 44,405 white inhabitants, and, at the 
 ratio 1 keep conftantly in view, 7,257 Haves 
 entitled to reprefentation \ deduct 33,000 for 
 
 the 
 
!S* 
 
 the member, an I there remain? an "excefs or 
 i {,405 whites, wh chadded to thofe of Wadi- 
 ington and Pinckney, will conftitute a body 
 cf 41,560 white inhabitants completely unrepre¬ 
 sented ! every one of whom entitled to vote 
 would have their full (hare in the government, 
 on the ballot by general ticket ; fo that, add¬ 
 ing the conftitutionai number of their Haves, 
 15,134, they have in the whole 54,694, who 
 have not even the fhadow ol reprefentation. 
 
 The fact is incontrovertible, that eledion 
 by didrids will always leave a furplus number 
 beyond the 33.000. 
 
 This principle of eledion by general ticket 
 is not new. The dates of New-Hampdiire, 
 
 x J 
 
 Connedicut, Rhode - 1 Hand, New-Jerfey, De- 
 leware and Tennefiee,* have each adopted it 
 with fuccefs. In Virginia, its operation has 
 been highly aufpicious in the choice of elec¬ 
 tors. 
 
 In this part of the enquiry, I will prefent a 
 feature ol the fubjed, which will be more high¬ 
 ly intereding, in the fecond number. By the 
 conditution of the United States, the repre- 
 fentatives in congrefs are to choofe the prefi- 
 dent, in cafe of an equality of votes given by 
 the eledors of prefident and vice-prefident 
 
 * Smith’s Comparative View of the different StaU 
 Conditutioiis, publiuied in 1796. 
 
 throughout 
 
9 
 
 throughout (he United States. The cafe hns 
 happened, and may occur again. If reprefen- 
 tation be a fubftitute for the prefence and a ba ud 
 agency of the people, how were you repre- 
 ed on that occafion ? Oid you not e&prefs 
 your fenfe on the queftion by the electors chofen 
 at Columbia, and how was that choice treated 
 by the diitried members of congrefs at Wafh- 
 ington ? Were you not in imminent danger of 
 having a man forced upon you in that high 
 and refponfiblo office, who was not your 
 choice ? and this by men who are called your r$- 
 prefentatives; but in the election of five-fixths of 
 whom you had no more to fay, than if they 
 had been fent from Connecticut. There can 
 be no fympathy of nature between fuch men. 
 and thofe whom they are laid to reprefent. I 
 will enforce this remark by bringing to vour 
 view a cafe in poinn I will introduce, for the 
 fake of argument, the member from Beaufort 
 and Orangeburgh, elected by 784 votes.™ 
 Ke is a member for 33,00c ; in cafe of refer¬ 
 ence to congrefs. upon the election of prefi- 
 dent and vice-prefident, this vote might have 
 turned the fcale, and decided the con'eft; and 
 yet, allowing him his 33,000, I then fay 1 :/• 
 750,000 people, under the federal cevfs in 
 this ftate, had not the molt remote agent"/ c 
 inftrumentality in his election. c b .;po. -nt 
 hereto remember, that the vote \vj ,0 
 
 r 
 
 a w 
 
 
so 
 
 for pref:chnt is by States , that is to fay,the ma|o« 
 r:ty cf the members from a ftate determine the 
 vote of that ftate. In this predicament, a dif- 
 trid member, whofe politics may be at vari¬ 
 ance with the great majority of the people of 
 Ins ftate (whofe fenfe on the fubjecl has been 
 folemnly and legally exprefied) decides the 
 controverfy as he pleafes. Thetruft, in every 
 view, is one of a moft delicate and facred cha¬ 
 racter. In the firft place he legiflates ; and, 
 under the circumftances ftated, may become 
 the di/tridi rep re/e mating elector of the prefi- 
 dent, who is to direct the movements and con- 
 dud: the adminiftration of the United States. 
 
 In my treatment of this fubjed, L banifh 
 from my view the common place objection of 
 of an unjuft combination of the majority 
 again ft the minority. It is lefs likely to hap¬ 
 pen by general ticket than in diftrict electons. 
 '1 here will be a wider range for party fpirit and 
 the fury of the “ ejprit de corps'' which, by 
 being pent up wnthin narrow bounds, may 
 burft forth in fome violent explofiom Be this 
 as it may, it is the law of fcciety that the major 
 ihould controul the minor party. It is the firft 
 principle of government. To fuppofe that it 
 will be wrongfully exercifed or grofsly pervert¬ 
 ed, is to impute the worft ana bafeft mom es to 
 our brethren of the other parts of the Irate.— 
 'i his would be again to throw down the apple 
 
 of 
 
 « 
 
II 
 
 ©r difcord ; to renew hoftilities in the field of 
 opinion ; and to reduce to the ifiiie of an 
 angry ftruggle in the legiflature, that which 
 ought to be a voluntary and fpontaneous ac¬ 
 commodation, They may let rt in their turn 
 and fay, that we who occupy this fpot, be- 
 caufe we inhabit a magnificent city, with 
 commerce, riches and fplcndor, infill upon 
 the right to monopolize all the power and coil- 
 fequence of the country. 
 
 There are many prominent grounds of ar¬ 
 gument which appear to belong to this paper, 
 which I fhall arrange under the other heads.™ 
 I wave for the prefent the queflion concerning 
 the electors. I think I have made it appear 
 that the plan propofed is “ the republican 
 mode/’ 
 
 1 confider the election by general ticket, as 
 one calculated to melt down the hitherto dis¬ 
 cordant opinions of Carolina into the great 
 mafs of public intereft and general happinefs. 
 It will greatly tend to fmooth the afperity and 
 foften the acrimony of contending parties. It 
 will obliterate thofe invidious lines of demar¬ 
 cation, which have been drawn between the 
 upper and lower divifions of the Hate, and 
 thus unite a people, too long eftranged from 
 each other. It w ill enable the people, of the 
 weft to imparl with thofe of the eaff, and of 
 the north to harmonize with thole cf the 
 
 fcUlh £ 
 
 4 
 
 D 
 
12 
 
 fomh ;—it will draw defer the cords of afr 
 f blicn. and bring about a gradual affimilation 
 of republican principles, opinions and in- 
 terefls. 
 
 PART . 11. 
 
 <i That it null' be politic and a dv ant a? eons in South-Caroft* 
 nZy to adept it in h^r choice cf Ad embers of Corgrejs 
 
 and L lectors.” 
 
 I WILL proceed, fellow-citizens, to the 
 difeuffion of this interesting view of the fub- 
 jedt, by prefen ting to you a feature of the cafe, 
 which will arrefl your moil ferious attention. 
 
 It will imprefs cn your minds and feelings the 
 important neceiTity of adopting the arrange¬ 
 ment proposed, and cf expreffmg, as a peo¬ 
 ple, your decided nreference of the republi- * 
 can election by general ticket. 1 he 4th fee- 
 lion of the iff article of the federal conftitu- 
 tion, provides, “that the times, places and 
 manner of holding elections for fenators and 
 reprefentatives, fhail be preferibed in each 
 flare by the legiflature thereof; but the con- 
 grefs may, by law, make or alter fuch regula¬ 
 tions, except as to places of choofing fenators.” 
 This fhews you that your manner of election 
 is completely and irrevocably under the con- 
 troul of congrefs. They can dictate what 
 
 terms 
 
 1 
 
*3 
 
 terms they pleafe. They are not even confin¬ 
 ed to what we confider the ineftimable vote by 
 ballot. You can, it is true, prefcribe the 
 mode ; but they with equal authority can, in 
 their tern, c< make,” or even cc alter fuch re * 
 gulations.” It is of moment, therefore, that 
 the regulation of your local adminiftration 
 fhould precede that of congrefs, becaufe the 
 ftate reprefentatives are fuppofed to be connu- 
 fant of your interefls and requifitions. Su- 
 peradded to this, it will have the weight of 
 law, and a recent regulation of the (late,— 
 Without fuch an expreffion of the national will 
 on your part, congre r s may adopt a plan re¬ 
 pugnant to your wilhes. A party there, to 
 meet their own views, may annihilate every 
 appearance of republican election. The fup- 
 porters of fedition laws, and advocates of the 
 deftrudtion of the prefs, the organ of pub,ic 
 opinion, I fear, would feel no great hefitation 
 in laying their hands on the hallowed right of 
 election. In their fcheme of policy, the gra¬ 
 dation would be eafy. It is not impolfible but 
 that fome of y our dijlridl members may lend 
 their moil active aid, in fnatching this privi¬ 
 lege from the whole people of a (late, to nur¬ 
 ture their own influence, and perpetuate their 
 continuance in power. It is nor to be looked 
 for—It is too great a ftretch of patriotifm, to 
 expect, in thefe times, that members of congrefs 
 
 will 
 
.will Support the general ticket, by which they 
 are at once flung into the (hade, and fink into 
 their primitive obfcurity. It would be a Spe¬ 
 cies of oftracifm, or if you pleafe, “ displace¬ 
 ment,” too galling to individual pride, and 
 infupportable to their fancied dignity. It is 
 unreasonable to fuppofe, that a diftridt member 
 cf congrefs will Sign his political death-war¬ 
 rant, by Supporting the general ticket, and 
 placing Such an engine in the hands of the 
 people. Representatives elected by the people 
 getetally, will fpeak their fenfe, and contend 
 for their privileges. Knowing and poflfefling 
 themfelves the Sentiments of their constituents, 
 exprefled in their laws, they will preferve a 
 dole adherence to their meaSures ; and Stand¬ 
 ing oa the vantage ground oS a certain and 
 Sr^b’e popularity, they will independently 
 exprefs the public will in our national council •. 
 Should congrefs aflame tne regulation of this 
 
 iubjcct, \ou will have Secured two great and 
 leading objects-—the adoption of the general 
 ticket by this ft te, and the confequent lupport 
 of vour members, railed to the floor ot con- 
 
 j • 
 
 grefs by that general and republican choice. 
 As we ‘hall have the whole ftate to make our 
 Selection Irom, thefe will be men of prominent 
 character, great talents and high confidence. 
 For thefe reafons it is advantageous to adopt it; 
 fcr if the queftion was brought forward at this 
 
 day 
 
I 
 
 day, as a ftate, we labour under the moft fla¬ 
 grant difad vantages, in the total difregard 
 fhewn to the opinions of the people, by fome 
 of the difrrid reprefentatives. Exercife your 
 rights while you have the power to do fo, and 
 when the queflion is agitated before congrefs, 
 let not South-Carolina be cited as an indance 
 of the eleflion bv diffricls Abandon it ini- 
 
 J 
 
 mediately ; dil’mifs all inferior cc ilderation-, as 
 un vorthy of a free and enlightened (late, and, 
 derogatary to thofe virtuous principles which 
 are fpreading their influence around us. 
 
 1 afkyou, with mingled fenfations of melan¬ 
 choly rec dlcclion and pain, what would have 
 been vo r fate, if the queftion had been qif* 
 c tiffed in the lad congrefs, about the time of 
 the memorable ballot for prefident of the 
 United orates ? 1 Know your feelings, and will 
 not aggravate their mortification, by railing 
 the curtain of that federal fcene ! 
 
 It if for you to apply a fpeedy and effectual 
 remedy to thefe difbr ers. 1 he collective voice 
 of the date is the grand healing panacea. The 
 vote by general ticket will either work oiT the 
 fee ant vitiated humours of the fvttem, or, 
 like the cau'lc, deflroy the corroding gan¬ 
 grene, with which we are politically afflicted. 
 1 look to t e people and their reprefentatives at 
 Columbia, for theie -reat and fanative appli¬ 
 cations. 
 
 What 
 
 X 
 
'What is representation ? It Is an expedient 
 adopted in government, by which the people 
 delegate the management of their rights, to 
 perfons elected by them for that puroofe, and 
 tor their benefit. 1 here are two efihntial co¬ 
 venants in the contract between the reprefenta- 
 tive and the condiment. In the firft place, 
 there mud be fidelity to the truft, in the repre¬ 
 sentative*, and Secondly, in cafe of imfcon. 
 duel, that the condiment may change the ap¬ 
 pointment and difeharge him. I have before 
 obferved to you, that the difkrici member, the 
 moment he :s chofen, is transformed 64 into 
 the representative of the ftate he reprefents 
 the aggregate interefis of the country. Now 
 what conircu have the red of the people over 
 this member in cafe of mi icon da cl ? Suppofe 
 he were to per ill for years in a train of con- 
 dudl holliie and difgufiing to every other dif- 
 tridl in the date j you have no alternative, 
 you rnir't fubmit to the caprice of the diflricl 
 which font him, or rather you mud acauiefce 
 
 j _ JL 
 
 in their direction of your concerns. The con¬ 
 tra cl froken cf, is therefore a mockery. But, 
 fay the friends of the prefent fcheme, how are 
 v/e to know what men to cleft on this general 
 ticket, except by reputation ? > fay it is a very 
 good ; and. rd bv which to elect a man. kve¬ 
 ry elefbon is liable to the fame objection, if it 
 |>e one, for all the electors even of a parifh, 
 
 cannot 
 
»7 
 
 «: j: .;*> ttao'.v.l 
 
 
 .A. *. 
 
 car.not pretend to an intimate and perm.;,* 
 knowledge of a card Irate, in a difbi:! it is 
 idle to expcfl it—an unf t man v.h have i fs 
 chance bv t* e pin era!, than ' v d’ tv election. 
 It is not probable that a man q*j .bliej ^ : r 3 
 
 and chai abler fo* congrefs, will t u ir, .io i 
 to the people at large I think 1 c < pro¬ 
 duce home inftances of di d j d; ciebidm? ii 
 which the member could nor bav 
 bv two thirds of the ini 1 O ! tints. B 
 
 j 
 
 general reputation is a never failing ted. V e 
 are obliged to elect our Prejidcnt cur' V.cs-Fre - 
 dent in that way, and no republican compiaihs 
 of the rcfuit. Is it not better to elect 2m peral- 
 
 O 
 
 Iy in this mode and under th’efe circum't owes, 
 than that the people of Pendleton, e bbevihe, 
 York, Edgefield, cr elfewere, fhould be re- 
 prefented by men whom ih■ y do not know even 
 by refutation ! Bet if the observation had force, 
 there is no human irdlitntion without objection, 
 and this of the general ticket is counterbalan¬ 
 ced by greater, folid and pofiiive advantages. 
 Tile re is no danger of any embarrahment of 
 this kind-—he citizens vviu take care to feleft 
 proper ‘peri on:- ot known and fixed principles, 
 and of attractive and eitabiilhed merit; they 
 have taken too muen on trnd already ? they 
 wilt not eafiiy be again entrapped by profef- 
 hons. It is the duty of a good foidier ro look 
 well to the out- works, when an attack is medi¬ 
 tated 
 
* 
 
 4 
 
 i8 
 
 rated on the garrifon. 
 
 I think it may be affirmed with truth,that you 
 never will have a repreientation in congrefs 
 wholly republican, till the adoption of the ge¬ 
 neral ticket. You may, by the diltrich choice, 
 fecure two cr three of that defciipticn. In 
 feme inftances we have dene fo, and cv. e them 
 much for their zeal, and ardent, though un- 
 fuccefsful fer vices. 
 
 But that muft be confidered an execrable 
 fcheme of politics, which leaves fuch great in- 
 terefts to contingent and fortuitous occurren¬ 
 ces, and parcels cut the people for the accom¬ 
 modation of particular men. If it be called 
 ccmpronufe , it is a contemptible barter of rights , 
 for fomeihing as infignificant as a mefs of pot¬ 
 tage ! 
 
 The truth is, that this ek&ion by diflridls 
 was engendered by influence and inteiefls 
 which have loft their hold upon the people,-— 
 The power of names has died away. That day 
 is palled, and you are emancipated from their 
 controul, by the genius of republicanism— 
 Drugged as you have been by the anodynes of 
 iuperior claims, family pretentions, and ex- 
 clufive rights, it is time to apply the ftimu- 
 lants of juftice and republican policy, to 
 awaken you from the deep fleep into which 
 you had funk. An unbounded confidence may 
 fcmetimes degenerate into a torpid negligence 
 
 cf 
 
 \ • 
 
of public concerns. If is In vain to fay, that 
 the exifting mode has been in practice inwards 
 of f en years* loo long, indeed have we 
 endured it; but time cannot fanctify its ufe, 
 ncr give a right by prefer Ipfioa to govern.— 
 It is cf no confequence to the fu eject, whe¬ 
 ther the principle I contend for, be co.eval 
 with the ufage or New -1 lamp mire, or upflart 
 with the pre ent period. 1 afk. is it fair ? Is it 
 equal and falutary ? Is it republican ? 
 
 There :s a fpir't of free and rational enquiry 
 abroad, and it is our duty to folio vv truth 
 wherever it leads us. 
 
 We are now fe:tling a queftion of rig! t, on 
 the bafis of political convenience and expedi¬ 
 ency. It is fufficient for the purpofe, that we 
 fee it, and to infure its fucceis, that we will 
 It Sure'*v the recent tranfa&ions in congrefs, 
 are lufficient to roufe us to a fenfe of our ii {.na¬ 
 tion. i he people are cmed the fource of 
 power- If this • cans any thing more than 
 metaphorical fiction, the ft ream fhould poflefs 
 the qualities of the fountain. A reprefenta- 
 tive, who, if [ may ufe the expreflion, is born 
 of the people, .he od b ar about him fome 
 filial refembkmcec* ice on oring fhould exhibit 
 fome traits and lineaments of its parent.— 
 You never will fee thefe points of nm litude 
 ? • adoption of the general ticket— With* 
 out it, you may itruggle in vain ior the attain- 
 
 b merit 
 
ment of true liberty* Even her facrrd nam© 
 without it, in the prefent pofture of things, 
 becomes an empty found- 
 
 I know full well how this queftion (lands 
 with a particular party. I am aware, that 
 with certain characters, there is a prejudice 
 bordering on antipathy, refpeCting the benefi¬ 
 cial extern Hon of this privilege to the people 
 generally. I agree wi h a great and wife poli¬ 
 tician, that this is a mill which the fun that 
 has mw rifen, will fpeedily dillipate. They 
 may keep it about them as tight as the coun¬ 
 tryman in the fable, did his cloak —that fame 
 fun, without any more violence than the 
 warmth of his beams, will compel them to 
 throw it afide, unlefs they feel an inclination to 
 fweat under it. 
 
 r l he people by this time are too fully appri- 
 fed of the principles Hated, to be any longer 
 excluded from their rightful (hare in the ria~ 
 tional government. After this view of the 
 proportions already lubmitted to you, permit 
 me to introduce to your ferious reflection, the 
 dilemma into which your political character, 
 as a people, has been thrown. I had ahnofl 
 afked you indeed, whether you had any na¬ 
 tional political chara&er ? I venerate your 
 principles, and fay, yes, you have. But by 
 what tatal delufion ; by what miflaken and in¬ 
 verted policy has that character been degraded 
 
2 ! 
 
 and metamorphofed In congrefs ? It is a fact 
 well known to men of information, that 
 South-Carolina has been confidered wanting, 
 by her filter republican dates, in the derling 
 qualities of which they are competed. They 
 judge of you in this way. South-Carolina has 
 for upwards of ten years pad, uniformly 
 fent a majority of men devoted to the federal 
 intereds and its various plans, and yet you 
 are republicans at home. The people, the 
 legiflature, and the electors are republicans.— 
 Ton have never vet voted for Tohn cams as 
 
 J ^ 
 
 prefident; but you have fent. reprefentatives 
 to congrefs, who embraced with open arms, 
 Tils deitruaive fdr erne of politics. Some of 
 them no fconer entered the had of congrefs, 
 than they became his rnofl naive and fivored 
 agents. It was natural that th's ihou!d have 
 excited fufpicion, and even difgul’t in thofe 
 •who faw the odious defpotifna he was about to 
 edablifh. r l hey conclude * there was fotne lea¬ 
 ven of anti republican fpirit in all this. Per¬ 
 haps it was not unjuft to remark, what a 
 ftrange amphibious people! What an inexpl? 
 cable and incongruous mixture ! With repub¬ 
 lican materials to work upon, they condruT a 
 reprefentation in congrefs directly the reverie 
 of the principles prevalent in then own date j 
 and eleft them, it would feem, for no other 
 purpofe, than to fubvert the order of things 
 
 antecedently 
 
 
r. 
 
 .antecedently Tna’ntainer! and eTablifhed among 
 themfe'ves. Such things, without much aid 
 irom fancy, may create c\ fruit. No nan can 
 find an apologv for uch b ind repul live c >n- 
 du£t, who \\ id calmly review fome of the 
 elections in the upper and lower diifricts. It 
 may well be afked, of what confequence is it, 
 that you elect Jefierfon and Burr, if you difi- 
 troy with your leit band, what you have raifed 
 with your right ? What is it then wnich keeps 
 up thefe petty repugnancies in congrefs, which 
 dishonor a p op e ? i teii youtne mafs, cotn- 
 pofed, o ' hefe dlcoriant elements an i diflimi- 
 ! :’• opinions, is held together by the comp^ef- 
 iiveforce or diltri-.d elections —Remove them, 
 and the evil is radically cured. 
 
 I fpeak with the freedom of mftory, when I 
 aflert, that lb doubtful were tho r e in power of 
 your poll t cs, that you have always been calculat¬ 
 ed upon ; veu have even bun pledged for fome 
 federal votes for prdldent, till they cU'covered 
 vour ol-fiinate Derfevera- ce - as they ar nleaf- 
 ed to term it) i ■ jac .oinifm. They expected 
 that the f. ..e delufi u • oich lent your con- 
 : . Iona; vprefentuiF .s« v. ad predominate 
 
 in n e choice of eleP- >rs. Fortunately tor us 
 rid the United tarns, they were deceived ; 
 and v e \ ave eic. p u the fcorn of republicans, 
 rod the execrations of poftenty. Yourfplen- 
 • utiiotifin dil'pelled every hoftiie project, 
 
 and 
 
and changed, t>erhvos the denudes of \me- 
 
 O •'l . J 
 
 i. anifn 
 
 I 
 
 r-» 
 
 i ul > 
 
 hca. tfrom tnat aiom u:t, rep 
 become the ah: -' da it an i g >ver ii,t t principle 
 in the adminl Yrah m of our a fairs. How 
 long it ,wiil remain :b, i you madly ~erhft in 
 the fvfteni of difirifl election, time a' me can 
 determine. ['here is no node, in my ooinion* 
 by which you can be redeemed from this 
 wretched three com, a:::: vindicate ycur repub¬ 
 lican character, but >v the ediiacl-us remedy 
 of the general beket. It is the only tn ;de, by 
 which you can inf do into congrefs your un¬ 
 adulterated ooftion o . oouiar fenti.aent. it 
 is in i,it the on 1 / or. which the people of 
 a date can be laid to enjoy* a fubit intial fede¬ 
 ral repreienuuon. This is the charter of your 
 jrcedem ! Cuard and protect it with republican 
 inflitutions, and 1 pronounce it indeitruclibie. 
 The current of public opinion is gradually 
 fwelling in its courie morn the mountains, and 
 will f.veep to the fame oblivion, L .e PnalJow 
 fophiftry of declaimers, and i.. e w 11 u e. i u lions 
 of anti-republican rage, it is for you to allix 
 the (lamp of law to principles developed by 
 argument and fupported by rea'bn. /\:i object 
 wruch prom'.:cs feck diffufive blefliags, well 
 deferves your care. It will, among.t many 
 other valuao e eitecls, c unpleteiy d : troy an 
 it flue nee , which has already taken root, and 
 hawing found a congenial fertility of foil, 
 
 t 
 
 1 opry* V 
 
 i'v V 
 
fecms to *eg*tat- bed in the vicinity oF that 
 element on which it was borne to our fhores* 
 Eemcml er the in fir active moral from the alle¬ 
 gory of the fog at the he :1s of the traveller— 
 at fird it was frnall, low andfcarcely difcerni* 
 ble, till rifing it covered the hills and filled tht 
 atmo'phere. 
 
 This projeclecl plan of the general ticket, 
 will effectually prevent a combination of in¬ 
 fluential men in a didrift, and from different 
 parts of the date, to fecure the election of a 
 favorite political Candida e. in a particular 
 diftrifb* This naturally creates fervility and 
 cbiieaticn in the member, which lead to con- 
 fequences prefent to the mind of every think¬ 
 ing man. C abal and faction muff fink into 
 the dull, under that ju- icious fvftem, which 
 flretches the fphere of fimrage over an entire 
 ftate. If it dees not dedroy them, it will at 
 lead controul and paralize their effects. 
 
 From thefe diverfified afpeets of the fubjeff, 
 I demand of your underdanding, fcC vv nether 
 it be not politic and advantageous in South- 
 Carolina to adopt the general ticket.’* 1 have 
 
 not time to explore it furti: er in detail : to n:y 
 
 ' * 
 
 mind, the petition has been fati ladlorily main¬ 
 tained. It is well to recollect:, that to the re- 
 
 * I think I or.^e ’-'"id C nnetbin:; about treats, barb!- 
 cuts, &c. but perhaps t was ere: rn j 
 
gulatlon proDo r ed, there is no constitutional 
 ftumbling-block in the wav. You are as free 
 to change the diftric election?, as \ou are any 
 other master of lee Qitive ana 1 .*e 1 mt — 
 
 1 o 
 
 There is no more difficulty in the bufinefs, 
 than there is in chan i. g a public road, which 
 you da not tnink proper any longer to ufe. — 
 By this i mean, that the thing is completely 
 within the regulation cf an a:h of affenbly. 
 I look for cppofition to it—I expect this to 
 every meafure which claims to be republican. 
 But when you fee men. cling to inveterate abu- 
 fes, with the fame ardor that others advocate 
 the mod facred lights, believe me, there is 
 fomething grofsly defective, fomething rotten 
 in their fyftem. Keep a heady vigilant eye 
 upon fuch politicians, and the bed refutation 
 you can oppofe to their fophifms, will be to 
 bring your plan to the teft of experience. Let 
 it have a full and fair hearing, and “ for trial, 
 put itfelf upon God and the country.” 
 
 With reipedt to the choice of electors by ge¬ 
 neral ticket, the arguments already urged, ap¬ 
 ply with great force. A variety of others, 
 peculiarly appropriate to the fubjedt, will be 
 adduced in a feparate difeuffion of this topic. 
 1 o incorporate them here, i find, w ill extend 
 zny obfervations to a cenfurable length. 
 
 fellow-Citizens, I have brought before you 
 ground* which, in my ediinaticn, ought to 
 
 hav.e 
 
have • or^r. s we^nt, " ' hen I Iook into 
 there' ' v o.IcL :• rd Tee a people indifferent 
 
 • > 
 
 JL * 
 
 r- :. “ • em ; n v rea'on fuggefts to 
 
 of' th ountry is flain * 
 c nly h a fjrsgle 
 cperiment 
 
 has ? . ' >!cv co' tr ance of 
 
 gov. i. • ( b is iti many ref- 
 
 pec* s in feet, 1 - i Vies are found and 
 
 r 
 
 or 
 
 ccrecu but ti rc re . :e generous care 
 
 a 1 c - pec - c ' • ern to practice and 
 
 cn vp rr* t-; n 
 
 ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ i- • A C* s.' ^ •«— C v 4. - 4 X 9 
 
 .-T v r * ///• 
 
 cc TH<Sisr oh- orfuch regulations, in 
 
 ccrdequence of r: ?c.'r 'o'' by 'he late cenfus 
 
 c > two members m our 
 
 r vcfc »’ 
 
 i> : w :G ' r> , ■ 
 
 iheto’ic propofed ipe^-ks forcibly Its own 
 ro~ -i - d the proportion it contains 
 rs to : inte nal and in le evi- 
 deuce o. its truth.* If the amelioration of 
 
 The a gument is founded upon tl >refent appor- 
 merit (i ■ .to numbers. Should con- 
 
 A 
 
 : refs alter tl s -/a . e ent, vve > i ill be allowed two 
 additional rr * : r? veil at the rate of one for 36,000. 
 
 aether the ex. = ing plan of one for 33,000 is prefer 1 *- 
 f or not, ... ■ • < f the general ticket Hill holds 
 
 i. ~*y t b : c, by sc -pting a law to this manner of 
 ii y, you may prov! le for the apportionment by 
 : i refs, - ( Id fu h be made. 
 
 rc preicntaion to con- 
 
 T 
 
I 
 
 the reprefentative fyftem were under the gui¬ 
 dance of the moll cautious and timid policy, 
 and one, in fome degree, reluctant to reform, 
 it would naturally embrace this period as impe- 
 rioufly calling for a change, and prefenting at 
 the fame time, the choiceft forms of republi¬ 
 can modification. 1 he flow progreftion of 
 events rarely prefents a greater fitnefs and ap¬ 
 titude for improvement, than the moment in 
 which 1 write. The embryo of this facred 
 principle, engendered in the womb of public 
 Jieedom, has gone its allotted time and is ma¬ 
 tured. f ir parturition. This delicate and event¬ 
 ful operati n is entruPied to ;he hands of the 
 pe Die; on our care it will depend, whether 
 it lhali'be brought forth in pangs, its firfl 
 breath be extinguifhed, and the delivery 
 prove abortive; or. whether it {hall be ufher- 
 cd into being, un ^r the h^-prer aufpices of a 
 joyous bit th. 
 
 Ihe late cen r s of the people of this date 
 
 1 7 
 
 has given us tuo members o r c eng refs, in ad¬ 
 
 dition to the fix elected u ..er the cenfui of 
 1790; fo that, at the ne-.t election, we (hall 
 be entitled to lei d eight ieprjfer>tat ; v^s. it 
 therefore becomes inddpenfiolv neceiLry to 
 new model and rev.fj the law in that refpect, 
 in order to make provifion for the t.vo newly- 
 acquired members. J his re-aajuitment of the 
 matter mult, of neceffitv, occupy the atfen- 
 
 p 
 
p 
 
 £ 
 
 hen of the legiflature at their approaching 
 feflion, to meet the eledlions for congrefs in 
 the year *802 ; fcecaufe, being evidently 
 entitled to the acceffion fpoken of, the legi¬ 
 fiature mn ft immediately determine how, and 
 when, and where they {hail be defied Pur- 
 fuirg, for a moment, the idea of our prefent 
 diftricc fyftem, the firft qoeftion which invites 
 enquiry, is, where will you locate the new 
 members ? What new dinr els will you admea* 
 fure and lay out, to meet the occurrence ? Or, 
 will you, in that fpiiit of compromise, which 
 has aiready {wallowed up iome of our oefh 
 rights, give to particular favored diftrcl? the 
 choice of two n err bers, to the exciufio?* of 
 all the refi r H ere is no poflible arrangement 
 on this fcale, whxhcan be fatistaftorv to the 
 people generally ; c fferent difbicU will con¬ 
 tend for fuperioi claims; 1 me v ill in'ill oft 
 it, or the Icore of anincreafcd white po i; n a¬ 
 tion : others, on that of the number of ne¬ 
 oroes ; various and confessing ocmancs will 
 be made for the incrcafed representation. ^ It 
 will be a con tell c f the limbs againir the body* 
 The evident abfurdity of the pretent order or 
 rather diforder of things, will apparently afford 
 fpecio us grounds for thefe pretentions ; but, 
 to me it appears deplorable that the great 
 oueOion of ‘ the quantum or meafure of repre¬ 
 sentation* fhouid ebb and flow with change** 
 
 ble 
 
*9 
 
 'Lle and precarious events ; that it (hould be 
 regulated in one di drift by the increafe of the 
 number of negroes, and in another by the 
 augmented population of that particular dif- 
 trift; as if no reference was to be had to the 
 country as a flute ; as if it were a government 
 by didrifts ; and as if the accidental and for¬ 
 tuitous advantages, arifmg from foil and fitua- 
 tion, gave an undeniable right to partial, ex- 
 clufive and pre-eminent privileges. 1 cannot 
 fee any wifdom or judice in the policy which 
 gives to men of a particular territory, becaufe 
 they inhabit that fpot, greater and more en¬ 
 larged political rights than their neighbours, 
 who are members of the fame flate , and equal¬ 
 ly intereded with themfelves in all the con¬ 
 cerns of date reprefentation. When I am 
 told a didrift: has increafed, in the view of con- 
 greflional reprefentation, 1 appropriate that 
 increafe to the date Does this give a right 
 to a didrict to rife in its demands, and fay, 
 you mud give me two members where I had 
 one before ? The thing is abfurd, it is aftually 
 throwing the population of the date into fepa- 
 rate clans and departments, for the purpofe of 
 giving to feme an unjud and predominant in¬ 
 fluence over others ; it is, in faft, to fay, that 
 the intered of the whole date (hall be made 
 fubfervient to the intered of fome of its condi- 
 tuent parts. If diilrifts were feparate and in¬ 
 dependent 
 
 % 
 
dependent fo*‘ ro r?;gnties, there might be fome 
 p a uH bi iir y in rhe argument; but as integral 
 parrs of a Pate, the thing is prepofterous.— 
 The views already taken of the fubjeft, fuffi- 
 cientlv evince this. The fe T cral confutation, 
 gives us, as a component part of the confede- 
 racy, arc! as one of the fouthern ftates, a re- 
 prefentation in the ratio of three fifths for our 
 negroes ; it was an advantage gained for the 
 irate. But is it at all deducibie from this pro- 
 vidon, that this weight of reprefentation ought 
 to be apportioned and thrown into particular 
 diftricts ? it is a benefit intended for the flats 
 at forge, and coniequently ought to be felt 
 throughout. 1 could enlarge on the fubjed: to 
 the extent of a volume, but I leave it to the 
 reflections of difoatTionate men ; I difdain to 
 
 A ' i 
 
 chard t’ 1 e caprices of particular opinions, or to 
 catch the momentary gale of popular preju¬ 
 dice ; I fpeak to the underftanding and appeal 
 to the approving judgment of the country ; I 
 know that reafon and argument only, can open 
 an avenue to the fenfe and confidence of the 
 people. 
 
 This, therefore, is the crifis, in which yon 
 ir av (heaps from the dilemma, and filsnee thefe 
 rdn;s i v the a p : n of the general ticket. 
 B- ;lcft* '.in r the prefenr arrangement, and 
 if - rji row views w; ;ch prop up and fupport it, 
 ;-ju ?, move the caufe of jarring and rival in* 
 
 terefis, 
 
3 * 
 
 terefts,f and commit, by one mighty effort, 
 to the care of all, the intereft of alL ” 4 S his 
 is the day of falvation fome change m i% 
 be made ; and the question is, which is the 
 beft : Wi.ether vou will throw off the prefent 
 form, by which your rights are fette^d, and 
 adopt that which l confider a great jSEfidera- 
 tum in the politics of this ft at e. Politicians 
 
 
 of I beral minds ought to look beyond th 
 imined are effect, to the remote and fut-ur 
 confequences of a meafure- To maintain 
 things as they are, in the face of that foirit 
 which is now anongit us. when the tide of 
 general lend nen? is turning fad to v r ,rds rep ib- 
 Jicmif n, will be to force it back with exeeuive 
 and fudden rapidity, and perpetuate the mif- 
 ch efs 1 defire to avert. I- you leize not the 
 prelent precious moment, yoa mav wait in 
 vain ten years longer, the earning of another 
 cenfus; when that day arrives, ye ar ears will 
 be aiTailed wnh the fame arguments ; your 
 long and fpiritlefs acquiescence will be urged 
 aga nd you, and the fame changes will be 
 rung in 66 omne v:lub 'Jis avum” This is the 
 
 f They will (land thus, 
 
 I) ift rifts. Whites. 
 
 Finck. & Wafli. 63,155 
 Ninety-Six, 44,405 
 
 Charleston. 199963 
 
 ratio of Slaves. Total. 
 
 5 8 77 69,033.. 
 
 7254 51,659 
 
 37*449 574 r i 
 
 critical 
 
s* 
 
 critical feafon ; every thing is in unifon ; the 
 popular fpring is now flrong and elafic ; de¬ 
 lay and indifference will 'effectually break its 
 force, and debi-itate its nerve. 
 
 If you ferioufiy and fervently wifh to effect a 
 retullicm^ charge you will appreciate the ad¬ 
 vantages x>f a period propitious to this end.—- 
 1 his is the prolific feed-time wh'ch will fwell 
 to exuberant plenty, the future harveft of 
 public good and national profperity. I expedl 
 to hear the ufual rant againfl reformation and 
 improvement—We have heard and feen it 
 bandied about irom the dawn of the American 
 revolution, to this day. There are men who 
 ccnfider, even that , a diabolical innovation on 
 kingly authority—Others affief to feel the 
 n oifc exquifite fennbility on the fubjeft or po- 
 litical amelioration. Of jecls loom larger to 
 the eye, from being viewed through a denfe 
 and ini fly medium. Great and attainable 
 good mult rot be facrificed to fanciful and idle 
 chimeras ; their affrighted imaginations have 
 already conjured up terrors at a diftance, in 
 the fpeclre of the general ticket, and arrayed 
 it in tne robes of jceohinifm i On a nearer ap¬ 
 proach, we find it republican in its afpeft* 
 holding up a juft equality of rights, and equal 
 eongreffional reprefentation, and pointing im- 
 preffively to the ftrong political neceility of a 
 change. As die great Bacon, fays, It is the 
 
 reformation 
 
 * 
 
i 
 
 S3 
 
 reformation which draweth on the change, and 
 not the defire of change, which pretendeth 
 the reformation,” Innovation and reform are 
 indeed fpoken of, as if the limit of human 
 wifdom had reached its acme in its prelent at¬ 
 tainments. 1 afk, with a celebrated republi¬ 
 can, “Is the molt fublime and difficult of all 
 arts, the improvement of the focial order, to 
 be alone ftationary, amid the rapid progrefs of 
 every other art, liberal and vulgar, to perfec¬ 
 tion ? Where would be the atrocious guilt of 
 a grand experiment, to afcertain the portion of 
 freedom and happinefs, that can be created by 
 political in^titutions.’ , .All the improvements 
 of human life are deviations from our prede- 
 ceffors, and there mu ft be fomething more in 
 this dread of innovation, “this horror at re¬ 
 medy,” than appears at fir ft view—I fee it in 
 Itrongly marked characters in thefe words— 
 the reluSlant fur tender cf power by the few tv 
 the many. J hat cannot be confidered as a vi- 
 fionary project, to which we are conducted by 
 the hand of reafon. No, 1 confider their ar¬ 
 guments as having no other clue, and the op- 
 pofition no other aim, than to preferve, at ail 
 events, the prefen t odious fyftem; and, if 
 poffible, to augment its preffure. Is the prin¬ 
 ciple advocated true in theory and falfe in prac¬ 
 tice ? The phrafe is more familiar to our ears, 
 than it is admifiible to our underftandine— 
 
 O 
 
/.wny with filch alfurd rrc! Vagrant difcnmi¬ 
 rations ! T1 is union of tiu'ih and falfehood in 
 the fame dcdhine, applied to the fame fulpjedt, 
 is irrpcflible. I he idea can only have force, 
 v hen by f fTurr.ption, piadiice is improperly 
 appl cd to a dedtrine which it never was in¬ 
 tended to include, and afiociated with a theory, 
 to which is docs not belong. Whatever theo¬ 
 ry pronounces to be true, mu ft be practicable* 
 When, therefore, a propefition be true in theo¬ 
 ry, it muft, if made up of the fame ideas and 
 objects, be equally true in practice, where that 
 practice is ccrrefpendent to the theory. I do 
 not think it proper in thefe fort of difeuflions 
 to refort to metaphyhes ; but it is fometimes 
 r-ecefTary to convince men, that though they 
 imagine themfelves entrenched behind maxims, 
 they are in faff, nothing more than fallacious 
 and untenable portions. It requires no very 
 proiour d refearcly to detect error of this kind* 
 ’1 lie truths wl ch regulate our p r liticai rela¬ 
 tions. are few and fimule, and are at no 
 great diitance from the furiace/’ 
 
 Characters will fometimes arife, who foarj 
 irg above the level of mankind in the regions 
 c t fenfe and knowledge, refu e ;m a govern¬ 
 ment pretending to be free) t ie participation 
 of equal rights to the people, on the ground of 
 their uant cf irjorn.ainn . ^key art too igno¬ 
 rant* jay ihey> to be traru/ied with fucb high 
 
 powers / 
 
3 S 
 
 fevers f T Took for fuch obfervations from 
 men of felhfh hearts and muddy underft-lad¬ 
 ings ; but, that perions of decency and fenfe 
 fh uid urge them, furprifes me; an 1 whe i I 
 am turt ler to.a, that tnen of fcience and emi« 
 rent It n ing (late it as an objection, I am co n¬ 
 founded. £re gentlemen aware rhat fuch in* 
 fr uations flrike at the very comparand foun¬ 
 dation of fociery ? This i, a new mode of 
 tnea'uring out rights, bythee<"entof a mards 
 intel.eft and capacity. I quefiion very much 
 its operation, even with thofe who pretend to 
 be plus [age que le /ages” I believe, as far 
 as my observation extends, that the people of 
 this (late are remarkably well informed on po¬ 
 litical queftions, and 1 can venture to fay, 
 th'J their knowltdge will enlarge with the in~ 
 c*ea!e of their rights. It they are fo miferabiy 
 ignorant as to be deemed unfit to be trufied 
 vmh the management of their own concerns, 
 they certainly are under great obligado is to 
 their kind rulers lor h iving, no w and then, 
 enlightened their benighted minds, rio.v do 
 they manage their hate affairs ? 1 o me there ap¬ 
 pears to be a pretty equal divifion of ability 
 and talents for bulinels, difperfed throughout 
 the country, and carried into the legiil «ure* 
 Ihe fame men who ftruggie for exdujjve pri¬ 
 vileges, alpire by correlative pretentions, to a 
 monopoly of all tne knowledge of the (late* 
 
 © r l hofe 
 
s® 
 
 Thofe who claim fuch high inteiledcal endow¬ 
 ments, ought, at leaft in their politics, to be 
 more moderate ; in their political views, more 
 juft ; in their condud, lefs difpofed to violate 
 and impair the liberties of a free and indepen¬ 
 dent people. To their confederation I refer 
 the topic, and forbear to put forth my ftrength 
 upon it. 
 
 A mind difpofed to abandon the illufion of 
 fpeculation for pradical good, will find abun¬ 
 dant caufe to rejoice in the profped of our fe¬ 
 deral arrangements, which are now juft break¬ 
 ing on the view. From the wile meafures of 
 the prefcnt adminiftration, within the fhort 
 ipace cf a few months, you have already feen 
 an immeni’e redudion of public expenditure 
 So the amount of many thoufand*, and the 
 ground work laid for infinitely more in the 
 revenue department. You have feen the re¬ 
 duction of ufeiefs foreign embaflies, and many 
 nielli 1 changes of men in office, though ex¬ 
 it finely moderate in the extent, inftead of 
 it ibute to the Earbary powers, you have 
 Fen apart of our navy adually employed in 
 cer.fnirg thefe pirates to their harbours, pro- 
 tedirg ciefencelefs citizens from galling capti¬ 
 vity, convoying our merchant ffiips, and giv¬ 
 ing un reft rained fcope to cur vigorous and en¬ 
 ter priilng commerce. This is better than pay¬ 
 ing millions for tribute to their voracious 
 
 mandsj 
 
37 
 
 mands, and fufermg our frigates to rot In the 
 dock-yards. If money mull be expended, it 
 is better that :t fhould be done in keeping up a 
 fma!l naval armament on the defenfive , and 
 fome portion of the dollars to go into the poCo 
 kcts of our odicers an i failors, than the 
 whole into their infidel coffers. 
 
 You have beheld thefe, and many other va« 
 luable reforms refulting from a new adminiftra- 
 tion, recently brought into being, and as yet 
 in its cradle; what may you not exo;£t from 
 its wifdom, when time (hall enlarge its growth, 
 ripen its ftrength, and perfect its manhood ? 
 "Without the gift of preference, I fee in per * 
 fpe&ive before mi, in its firft movements, the 
 certain reduSiion of the eight per c p nt % loan 9 
 and the complete abolition of your internal re¬ 
 venue, the damp law, the excife la v, and 
 various others which (land fo p o.oh ent in the 
 federal calendar of domeftic tax i ion. Great 
 and beneficial as thefe will prove, t ,ev vill be 
 but the fore-runners of a fylte u calcu aied to 
 carry us back to true conftitudo lal pri.ici res, 
 and to cut off thofe morbid execref :e ices 
 which had been futFered to gro w and faden 
 upon the government. I look for a regene¬ 
 rated and happy order of things. Does ‘ucra 
 an adminiflratibn invite and require your fuo- 
 port. and co-operation ? Is this, or is it not the 
 time to contend tor principles ? Or are you 
 
 content 
 
corVent be fderrh carried down the Orea*n 
 again, to that direful (late of things from 
 from wr.ich we hai efcaped r i ave you not 
 hoarded vp your reprblxan energies for the 
 preftnt crifis or wifi you blunt the fpi rs of 
 yubiic fpirit ard action, by a ‘ame and unavail¬ 
 able procrastination? Thefe are awful quef. 
 t.ors to a p op'e 5 and they wiil be beft an- 
 iwered by y our conduct in the ietdement of 
 the federal rcprefenta J !on, It is in truth an 
 err a in which tie interefr cf polterity, as well 
 as our own, are deep'y at ftake, and depend 
 ebeiuLi y cn the prelent iucicious eftimat > f 
 cur rights, h he man w ho has e caped the hor 
 rors ol a prec’p ce, or the fury of a umpeft, 
 wiil often leu k buck with fearful folicitude to 
 t e earners or tne feene. When you retrace 
 
 * J 
 
 your recent hiftcrv as a people; w r hen 
 yr'u firvey wi h me’ancholy emetions the 
 iwuggh svou t ave endured, and ihe dithcul- 
 tics Kii have encountered, to gain what has 
 cj iate t t '■ ( U 1 'itveri ; the mingled inou.ee- 
 r ems ci gratitude and patrioiifn, will pie- 
 fide < vci i? shite and cl ard its preh rvaiion. 
 
 '] hi s fehow-ci’izens, ha\e \ endeavored 
 
 haftky to fketch out my propofed invekigatiorj 
 of toe fubj l hi— imperl c ft! y indceo—havi-a* 
 li:be leifure rb devote, and lefs ability t-; ei.l it 
 rath cai fe i conlider thefe papers as mere- 
 tenant of grounds and an exhibition of 
 
 principles* 
 
 f i; "a s t •; 
 
 5 w 4-UiA 
 
99 
 
 principles, furn’fhing materials as well for re« 
 fie' ion, as to kindle in fome repuolican br aft, 
 the flame of a refiftlefs eloquence. I pro'ef? 
 to be anxious for the event. Animated w i 1 
 a lenfe of your virtuous exertions, to you, 
 fellow-cit zens 1 commit tie fibje.t ; for [ 
 kno v, ‘ that if ye do thefe things ve fliall 
 live.” 1 (hall indeea rejoice at it> a i)ption; 
 or, if a fpirk fhould ariie in Carolina, of fuf- 
 ficient f rce and power not only to frraig e, 
 but after a ards to tramp’e on the defi es and 
 claims of the people—in mufing over the m;f- 
 fortunes of my country, 1 fhail fee! n ) regret 
 in having given thefe fentiments to the wo i i 9 
 
 Cairo. 
 
 \