enjoyment of life, liberty, and the right to seek their own happiness, not only for the present, but for all future time. With a full knowledge of the facis, that all things connected with human affairs are ever progressing and ever changing-that forms of government established at one time may, by the lapse of time, and the change of circumstances, cease to be adapted to attain the ends of the political compact - those who enter into it cannot, at the time, suppose that its terms and forms are not to change with the changes of society. If such were the understanding, they will have stipulated for the absurdity, that, while all other things connected with human affairs are subject to vicissitude, instead of conforming to the new conditions of soci ety, the terms of the political compact are to be immutable and perpetual. But such could not have been the meaning of the original parties to it, supposing such an original compact of society ever to have been formed. On the other hand, it is reasonable to presume that it is one of the implied conditions of the social or political compact, that it shall be subject to all changes which may be necessary to make it conform to the new conditions of society, and to secure the object of its original formation. This is the voice of nature, of reason, of true philosophy. The dead cannot bind the living; and, therefore, when any compacts or institutions of the dead become burdensome or oppressive to the living, the latter may alter or abolish such compacts or institutions, and form others that will secure to them the enjoyment of the rights to which they are, by nature, entitled. A contrary doctrine would perpetuate the errors and imperfections of government throughout all time. Besides, it may be safely assumed that the social or political compact was formed (if the theory was ever true in fact) upon the principle of the majority, that is, that the majority, having the power, prescribed the terms of the compact. It is not reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the majority, by whose consent the compact was originally formed, would yield up the powers to which they were by nature entitled, to the minority. And it is incumbent on those who assert a contrary doctrine to prove that such was the fact. It is incumbent on them to show that, in all communities where the minority actually possess and exercise the political power, and the majority are excluded from it, such exclusion is with the consent of the majority, and not the result of fraud, usurpation, or force, against their consent. On the other hand, it is always to be presumed that, in all communities in which the minority possess and exercise the political power, and the majority are excluded from it, it is not with the consent of the majority, but is the result of fraud, usurpation, or force, until the contrary be proved.

But the committee are not without authorities to sustain their views on this point. They again quote Judge Story, who says:

"The understanding is general, if not universal, that, having been adopted by a majority of the people, the constitution of the State binds the whole community, proprio vigore, (by its own innate power,) and is unalterable, unless by the consent of a majority of the people, or at least by the qualified voters of the State, in the manner prescribed by the constitution, or otherwise provided by the majority. No right exists, or is supposed to exist, on the part of any town or county, or any organized 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 private citizen, upon his own notion of its obligations, or of any infringement of them by the constituted authorities. The only redress for any such infringements, and the only guaranties of individual rights and property, are understood to consist in the peaceable appeal to the proper tribunals constituted by the government for such purposes; if these should fail, by the ultimate appeal to the good sense and justice 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 direct the operations of the government therein."-Story's Comm., vol. 1, 305-6.

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Mr. Chapman Johnson, a distinguished federalist of Virginia, in a speech in the Virginia convention in 1829-230, says:

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"But who is to judge whether the government has been adequate to the object of its institution? Who to judge of the manner of its reform? Surely the people who ordained it; the people, for whose happiness and safety it was instituted; the people, to a majority of whom the right of reform is declared unquestionably to belong ;-the people are the sole exclusive judges. It is their duty, I admit, to listen with all deference and respect to the counsels of their wise men, who may tell them, 'We have been long and attentive observers of the operations of your government; we have compared it with all the governments of the world, ancient and modern; we are satisfied it is the best that ever existed; we can demonstrate that it has fulfilled all the great ends of its institution; that it has secured you all the happiness and safety which it is the province of government to secure; and that an attempt to change it essentially is a wanton experiment, to make that better which is already good beyond the common lot of human institutions; it is to sport with the blessings of Providence, and encounter the imminent hazard of losing all that is valuable in practice, in the vain pursuit of all that is perfect in theory.' After attentively and impartially considering all the arguments adduced to sustain these counsels, and carefully weighing every fact on which they rest, convinced by them, it is a solemn duty to themselves, to posterity, and to all mankind, to reject all propositions to reform, to preserve a model of so much excellence as an example to the world, and as a rich inheritance to the generations that are to come. But, it they are not convinced; if, on the contrary, their judgments are satisfied that they have not enjoyed the degree of happiness and safety which good government ought to assure ; that their government is not only imperfect in theory, but defective in prac tice; that its defects may be safely remedied, and its practical good much enhanced ;-then there is but one answer which they can give to these counsels: We acknowledge your experience, your wisdom, your virtuethe great superiority of your attainments, and the entire sincerity of your opinions; we admire the plain, candid, and manly language in which you have spoken disagreeable truths; we thank you-sincerely thank you for the parental solicitude with which you have raised your warning voice. But you must allow that we, too, have some experience in the operations of our own government; that we have enjoyed its blessings, suffered its evils, and have some opportunity of judging whether the one may be abated, or the other increased. You must remember that you are endeavoring to prove to us, by rhetoric and logic, that we are prosperous and happy, when

our own senses, and the reflections of our own minds, have conducted us to a different conclusion; ours is the stake in this government; ours the loss, if ill should result; ours the gain, if happiness should attend our reform; ours, therefore, is the province to judge, and you must excuse us if, dissenting from your opinions, we feel bound to follow the dictates of our own judgments.'

"The people, then, Mr. Chairman, must judge for themselves, when the casus fœderis has occurred; when the defects of the government require reform; and, judging that time to have arrived, the unquestionable right to reform belongs to the MAJORITY."-Debates in the Virginia convention, pp. 262, 263.

Mr. Locke, in his work on civil government, says:

"For where any number of men have, by the consent of every individual, made a community, they have thereby made that community one body, with a power to act as one body, which is only by the will and determination of the MAJORITY; for that which acts any community, being only the consent of the individuals of it, and it being necessary to that, which is one body, to move one way, it is necessary the body should move that way, whither the great force carries it, which is the consent of the majority; or else it is impossible it should act or continue one body-one communitywhich the consent of every individual that united into it agreed that it should; and so every one is bound by that consent to be concluded by the majority. And therefore we see that, in assemblies empowered to act by positive laws, where no number is set by that positive law which empowers them, the act of the majority passes for the act of the whole, and of course determines as having, by the law of nature and reason, the power of the whole; and thus every man, by consenting with others to make one body politic under one government, puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the determination of the majority, and to be concluded by it."

Mr. Madison, in relation to the same subject, says:

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"If we resort for a criterion to the different principles on which different forms of government are established, we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people." "It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion or a favored class of it; otherwise a handful of tyrannical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a delegation of their power, might aspire to the rank of republicans, and claim for their government the honorable title of republic.

"It is essential for such a government that persons administering it be appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the people; and that they hold their appointment by either of the tenures just specified; otherwise, every government in the United States, as well as any other popular government that has been, or can be, well organized, or well executed, would be degraded from the republican character."-- The Federalist, No. 39.

These views are consistent with the universally received doctrine in relation to republican government,-that, in the formation of the social compact, the minority agree to submit to the will of the majority in the administration of its political concerns. The object of the social compact is the

mutual safety and security of all; and it is ever to be presumed, whatever the fact may be, that the administration of its concerns will never be in violation of strict and impartial justice.

The committee will now cite another class of authorities--being no other than the declarations of right in the constitutions of twenty of the sovereign States of the Union. They follow:

"All power is inherent in the people; all free governments are founded in their authority, and instituted for their benefit. They have, therefore, an unalienable and indefeasible right to institute government, and to alter, t reform, or totally change the same, when their safety and happiness require it."-Constitution of Maine.

"The end of the institution, maintenance, and administration of govern. ment, is to secure the existence of the body politic, to protect it, and to furnish the individuals who compose it with the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquillity, their natural rights and blessings of life; and, whenever these great objects are not obtained, the people have a right to alter the government, and to take measures necessary for their safety, prosperity, and happiness.

"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people, and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, and any class of men; therefore the people alone have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government, and to reform, alter, or totally change the same when their protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it."Constitution of Massachusetts.

"Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of the government are perverted, or public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to, reform the old, or establish a new government." Constitution of New Hampshire.

"That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community, and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single man, family, or set of men, who are a part only of that community; and that the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform or alter gov. ernment, in such manner as shall be by that community judged most conducive to the public weal."--Constitution of Vermont.

"That all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such manner as they may think expedient."-Constitution of Connecticut.

"That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. For the advancement of those ends, they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper."-Constitution of Pennsylvania.

Through Divine goodness, all men have, by nature, the rights of wor

shipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences, of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring and protecting reputation and property, and, in general, of attaining objects suitable to their condition, without injury by one to another; and, as these rights are essential to their welfare for the due exercise thereof, power is inherent in them; and therefore all just authority in the institutions of political society is derived from the people, and established with their consent, to advance their happiness: and they may for this end, as circumstances require, from time to time, alter their constitution of government."-Constitution of Delaware.

"1. That all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the whole.

"2. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof."-Consti tution of Maryland.

"That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community; of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and that when any gov ernment shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal."-Constitution of Virginia.

"1. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people only.

2. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof."--Constitution of North Carolina.

"That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. For the advancement of these ends, they have at all times an una lienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their government, in such manner as they may think proper."-Constitution of Kentucky. "That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. For the advancement of those ends, they have at all times an una lienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish the government, in such manner as they may think proper."-Constitution of Tennessee. "That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; and every free republican government being founded on their sole authority, and organized for the purpose of protecting their liberties and securing their independence, to effect these ends, they have at all times a complete power to alter, reform, or abolish their government, whenever they may deem it necessary." -Constitution of Ohio.

"That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and.instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness. For the advancement of these ends, they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter or reform their government in such manner as they may deem proper."-Constitution of Indiana.