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present organized, is entirely defective. Whether a proper system of courts, to be held by magistrates, can ever be attained, the committee very much question. Responsibility in public officers is the greatest safeguard to our rights; and who will for one moment believe, that there is the least responsibility in a county court, consisting, as it frequently does, of from fifty to one hundred members; what one will ever hold himself accountable for its acts, when he had so small a share in controlling its proceedings? Yet the business transacted in this court is of the utmost importance: here the rights of the widow and the orphan has to be adjudicated; here the taxing power and the disbursing of our public money is placed. The committee think it unnecessary for them at present, further to point out the defects in the organization of so important a tribunal. Suffice it to say, that no institution should be established to transact public business without being made in some degree responsible for its acts. Yet the committee would not be understood as recommending a constitutional prohibition of a magistrate's court; on the contrary, they recommend that the Legislature shall be left entirely free to act on that subject as the necessity and interest of the country may require.

The committee think it will not be entirely irrelevant to the subject to suggest that an orphan's court and court of probate over which a judge elected by the people shall preside; let there be commissioners of roads and revenue established under such rules and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe, and made immediately responsible to the people for their acts; would at least relieve the county court of much of its business, and we do not hesitate to say that it will be better done. But the last remarks more properly belong to the action of a future Legislature, and we forbear to make further comment, by recommending the following amendments to the Constitution; to wit:

That the different counties in this State shall be laid off into townships or districts of convenient size, so that the whole number of districts in each county shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty, which shall be laid off as the Legislature may prescribe.

That the 12th section of the 5th article of the existing Constitution, be so amended that there shall be two justices of the peace elected, for each district, by the qualified voters thereof, who shall hold their office for the term of years, whose jurisdiction and duties shall be regulated by law.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

JOHN PURDY, Chairman.

On motion of Mr HUNTSMAN, it was

Ordered, That said report be referred to the Committee of the Whole.

And then the Convention adjourned.

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1834.

The Convention met acccording to adjournment, and was opened with prayer, by the Rev. Mr GARRETT of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The morning business being through:

The Convention on motion of Mr JOHN A. M'KINNEY, again resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, Mr Cannon in the chair, on the existing Constitution and the various amendments thereto proposed; and after some time spent in the consideration thereof, the committee rose, reported progress, asked and obtained leave to sit again.

And then the Convention adjourned.

MONDAY, JULY 21, 1834.

The Convention met according to adjournment, and was opened with prayer, by the Rev. Mr HESS of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Mr STEPHENSON presented, at the request of Mr Greene who is absent on account of indisposition, a memorial signed by two hundred and ninety-six citizens on the subject of emancipation; which was read and ordered to the table.

Mr ARMSTRONG submitted the following:

1st. Resolve, That all militia officers of this State shall be elected by those persons who are subject to military duty within their respective companies, battalions, regiments, brigades or divisions, as the case may be.

2nd. Resolved, That no militia or cavalry company shall consist of less than sixty nor more than ninety, rank and file, and that no regiment shall consist of a less number than four hundred and eighty, including officers and soldiers, except in counties that may not include that number subject to military duty, in which case a smaller number shall compose a regiment.

3rd. Resolved, That company and field officers of the cavalry shall be elected by the troops under their respective commands; and when any new county is laid off and established, the field officers of the said cavalry may appoint company officers therein, pro tem. who shall serve until the company is filled up and completed, at which time the election of such company officers shall take place according to law. Mr PURDY, the following:

Resolved. That the militia in this State shall be regulated in such manner as the Legislature shall from time to time direct.

Mr BLOUNT, the following:

Resolved, That the Legislature be authorised to make provision by law to prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to and settling in this State, under any pretext whatsoever; and as far as practicable,

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also, to prevent their coming to this State, except on known business of a laudable and interesting kind, which, when done in reasonable time to transact such business, to depart from the State, under a penalty for disobedience to the mandate of the law.

And Mr ROBERTSON, the following:

Resolved, That there shall be only one major to each regiment of militia in this State.

And the rule requiring resolutions to lie on the table one day being suspended, the said resolutions were severally read and ordered to be referred to the Committee of the Whole.

Mr President (CARTER) thereupon submitted the following:

Whereas it is important to the best interests of the People of Tennessee, that an ordinance of this Convention shall exist, appointing the mode of hereafter amending the Constitution of the State in such parts thereof as may be considered defective, without touching and endangering the whole instrument. It is therefore declared that the General Assembly, whenever two thirds of each House shall deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this Constitution; which proposed amendments shall be duly published in print, at least three months before the next general election of representatives, for the consideration of the People, and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers, at the next general election which shall be held for representatives, to open a poll for, and make a return to the Secretary of State for the time being, of the names of all those voting for representatives, who have voted on such proposed amendments; and if thereupon it shall appear that a majority of all the citizens of this State, voting for representatives, have voted in favor of such proposed amendments, and two-thirds of each House of the next General Assembly shall, after such an election and before another, ratify the same amendments by ayes and noes, they shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitution. Provided, that the said proposed amendments shall, at each of the said sessions, have been read three times, on three several days, in each House. And it is further declared, that should the new Constitution be rejected by the voters of this State, that this ordinance shall be and remain in force, and be considered and attached as an amendment to the old and retained Constitution, by means of which, amendments may be made to that instrument, without the intervention or call of another Convention. On motion of Mr CARTER, the foregoing ordinance was ordered to the table for the present.

On motion of Mr NEAL, the resolution heretofore submitted by him, declaring it inexpedient for the Legislature of this State to charter any bank, without making the individual property of the stockholders liable for the redemption of the notes issued by such bank, was taken up, read and referred to the Committee of the Whole.

Mr SHARP's resolution of the 19th June, making it the duty of the county courts to assess the toll upon all bridges established by the Legislature, was, on his motion referred to the commiftee on local legis

lation.

The Convention again resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, Mr Cannon in the Chair, upon the existing Constitution and the several amendments proposed thereto; and after some time spent in the consideration thereof, the committee rose, reported progress, asked and obtained leave to sit again.

Mr STEPHENSON submitted the following, which was read and ordered to be entered upon the journals; to wit:

The undersigned, in discharge of a duty they owe not only to themselves but to their country, its liberties and the cause of humanity, take leave in the spirit of candor, to state some of their reasons for voting against the adoption of the second report of the committee to whom was referred the memorial on the subject of slavery and here we would remark, that the extraordinary action of the Convention, and still more extraordinary and labored report of the committee, to us had the appearance of an attempt in some degree to affect the standing of some members of this Convention; as an artful advocate will sometimes attempt to dissipate the force and effect of testimony by discrediting the testifier: but although this might to us, appear to be its object, yet we cannot, even for one moment, attribute to this Convention the most remote intention of effecting such a purpose, notwithstanding it may seem to wear such an aspect; nevertheless, in view of this matter and its progress, together with the little importance of the object proposed to be attained and its ultimate result, inclines us in the language of the poet to say, it resembled "ocean into tempest wrought to waft a feather or to drown a fly." How far the facts stated in the report accord with the statements and assumptions made in the protest, we deem it unnecessary to say much, but would however ask the unprejudiced reader inquiring after truth, to take up the protest, keeping in mind that it was hastily written by plain men, making no pretensions to erudition or criticism; in the absence of the memorials gaining all the information in relation thereto merely from hearing them read at the clerk's table; and then take up, and contrast with that, the able, ingenious and labored report of the committee, made up of the most able and talented counsellors of the bar, composed and penned, with all the caution and circumspection of a special pleader, with the evident design of answering and demolishing the facts and arguments presented in the protest, with the advantage for weeks of all the papers and documents relating to this matter. It then, under these circumstances, the reader is not surprised to find the protest so well sustained by the facts developed in the supplemental report, we are free to confess their conclusions are very different from ours. is however, proper, specifically to notice some of the exceptions taken in the report to the language of the protest, and which is held up to the world as examples of our disregard of truth, one of which is that the memorials were from almost every part of the State. Although the undersigned do not pretend to arrogate to themselves perfection in any thing they do, but, with the immortal Washington, confess that to "err is human," and that in this instance they might perhaps have used

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more appropriate language; yet we believe the language is just about such as almost every other person would be likely to use under similar circumstances. We therefore ask the candid reader to look at the facts reported, and then say do these words in the protest contain an unjustifiable or even an unusual hyperbole; nay, will they not see in the report a manifestation of that spirit that would "make a man an offender for a word." Another exception taken, is, that a large portion of the memorialists were slaveholders. This matter both in the protest and second report is to some extent conjectural. The undersigned however, believe the protest well sustained by the statement of facts in the report, but of this let others judge. Another exception is with regard to the language used in the protest, respecting the plans proposed by the memorials. Here let the protest speak its own language; to wit: "In our opinion the committee have mistaken the object of the memorialists, when they say that their plans cannot be carried into effect, when in fact they do not so far pretend to dictate to the Convention as to propose a plan, except that some of them say something about the time, and hint at colonization." The undersigned believe that even a casuist would decide that the facts developed in the report demonstrably confirm this language. The undersigned would here take leave to say, that notwithstanding the high authority of the report, they yet entertain the opinion that the inference drawn in the protest, of the improbability of a general removal of slaves, is fairly deducible from the premises laid down, and will so remain after amending it in accordance with the report by inserting "one hundred and five instead of a "large portion." Suppose some of the memorialists do hint at something visionary; is that a reason why, (if a thing in itself is right,) it should not be done at all? Surely we do not thus generally reason and act, with respect to other matters. The undersigned believe that the founder of the christian religion and the writers of the holy scriptures need no aid from them in repelling the charge, that they gave countenance to slavery in its worst form; or in other words, did not denounce it. Yet permit us fearlessly to say that the precepts and maxims of the gospel, when carried into full operation and practice, will banish slavery from the face of the earth.

The Committee have brought to notice that truly great and good man, the apostle Paul, and have written nearly as much about him, as his epistle to Philemon, in order to prove his example and counsel was in favor of slavery. Such an unnatural effort to press into service, is, as we believe, indicative of a cause hard to defend. As this epistle to Philemon would just as soon prove any thing else as slavery-hear Paul's own words to Philemon, respecting his servant Onesimus; after telling him he might receive him forever, he adds "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved." We would then, respectfully ask in the spirit of soberness. was this given to Philemon as a christian, a right to receive and treat Onesimus worse than the most abject slave amongst us, and even to cut his throat if it accorded with his whim, and thus to set at defiance the declared law of the eternal

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