A-'i . (J^ -fta 6 2Sili Congress, Rep. No. 546. Ho. of Rrps. 1st Session. V\. EHODE ISLAND— INTERFERENOK OP THE EXECUTIVE IN THE AFFAIRS OF. /fTl = June 7, 1844. Head, and postponed till the first Monday in December next. Mr. Burke, from the Select Committee appointed for the purpose, sub- / mitted the following REPORT: The Select Committee, to rvhom u-ere referred the memorial of the democratic viembers of the Legislature of Rhode Islaiid, nqnesting, among other' things, the House of Representatives to institute an inquiry into the fact of the adoption of a constitution, by the people of Rhode Island in Decem- ber, 1841, and its suppression by the then existing authoriiies of that State, through the interference and assistance of the President of the United States ; also the petition of Samuel Milroy and sundry other citi- zens of Carroll county, in the State of Indiana, relating to the same sub- ject : also the message of the Presided of the United. States relating to his alleged interference in, the affairs of the people of Rhode Island, by which they were prevented from establishing a govern^nent under the con- stitution adopted by them in December, 1841, icith the documents accom- panying, report : That, in order to give a precise view of the grievances complained of by the memorialists lirst above named, the committee herewith present the memorial entire, which is in the following words, viz : • To the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States : The undersigned, citizens of the United States, and democratic members of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence; Plantations, Respectfully represent: That a large majority of the adult male inhabitants of the State of Rhode Island, being citizens of the United States, after having long waited in vain for an amendment, through the old charter governm(?nt, of the politi- cal institutions of this State, in order to bring them into conformity to the standard of a democratic republic, to define and regulate the unlimited powers of the General Assembly, and to secure to the people the right of suffrage and other just rights, of which they had long been deprived, in the exercise of their original sovereign capacity, did, in December, 1841, rightfully adopt and duly ratify a constitution of government, republican in its form and character, agreeably to the guaranty of the constitution of Blair & Rives, prim. I I r^3 4- 2 Rep. No. 546. ^^^ the United States. The votes given in for this constitution Vere signed by the voters, and have been carefiilly preserved as a standing evidence of the will and action of the people. Previously to the election of a government under the people's constitu- tion, the President of the United States issued a letter to the Governor, then acting under the charter and laws, in which he undertakes to pre- scribe the mode of proceeding to amend the institutions of a State, and declares, in effect, that the only valid change must be made by " the au- thorities and people;" placing the "authorities" before the people, making their consent and permission requisite to the action of the people, and re- versing the great fundamental doctrine of our democratic republic — that all just government is founded in the consent of the governed ; and that the people are, of course, superior to the servants intrusted with tem- porary power for convenience, and in order to do the will of their supe- riors. / A majority of the old charter House of Representatives was elected by ■^ towns containing less than one-third of the population of the State, and the voters in these towns were a third of the adult male inhabitants; so that the people of this State were ruled, under the old charter system, by one-ninth part of the adult male population, without whose permission, through their "authorities" in the General Assembly, according to the President, they could never come to the enjoyment of their inalienable rights. On the other hand, leaving to each State the question who are the people, we contend that a majority of the whole people are compe- tent, of themselves, without permission, by an authentic act, to change their form of government. The undersigned would call your attention to another important fact — that there was no mode prescribed by charter, law, or usage, in this State, for proceeding to change the government and to form a written constitu- tion. All that the Assembly could do was to request the people to act; and they were at liberty to do so, or not; and could act as well without the request, which gave no power, as with it. The President, in his letter aforesaid, conveyed the threat of an inter- vention with the forces of the United States, in case the proceedings of the people to set up their government should be persisted in; and by in- creasing the number of troops at Newport, and by other demonstrations within striking distance, he gave all the advantages of actual military co- operation and invasion to the old charter party and their government, and enabled them, witli the union of the State treasury and the military, to suppress the government elected under the people's constitution; to tram- ple upon the rights of our citizens; maintain martial law over the people, in derogation of all law; to impose on the people, while thus under du- ress, another constitution, unjust, restrictive, and anti-republican, adopted by less than one-third of the adult male citizens; and, generally, to gov- ern the State as a conquered territory, by despotic laws and by the mili- tary, and to exercise a political proscription, extending through all the re- lations of society and business, such as has never before been witnessed in any State in this Union. Many of our citizens have been driven from the State, into exile, by the course of the successful party. Large num- bers have been imprisoned, and about fifteen are now under indictments for pretended treason and misdemeanors. One of their number (Thom- as W. Uorr, who was elected Governor of the State under the people's Rep. No. 546. 3 toiislitution) has been kept in close prison for more than three months, under a charge of treason; but, in reaUty, for attempting to maintain, ac- cording to his oath of office, tiie people's constitution, and for carrying out the docnines of the declaration of American independence. The undersigued believe, and affirm, that this interference of the Presi- dent in the affairs of a State, small in territory, easy of access, with an imperfect military organization, and incapable, by itself, of resisting a powerful attack from abroad, had the effect of overawing the people and of strengthening the adverse party; and that it mainly caused the over- throw of the people's constitution and government. If the President had let us alone, the new government would have been peaceably established, and generally acquiesced in. The undersigned desire to make their solemn protest against the course pursued by the President of the United States. If, under the name of suppressing " insurrections," and repressing " domestic violence," the President can thus control the States in their internal affairs, and cast the sword into the scale of the party which he espouses, he is, in fact, a mili- tary dictator of all-absorbing powers, to be brought out as occasion may require; State rights are a mockery, and the declaration of independence is (as it is here asserted to be) " a rhetorical flourish," intended for a pur- pose long since gone by; popular sovereignty is a delusion; and we have not, as was supposed at the Revolution, escaped from the aristocratic and monarchical doctrine of the Old World — that govenmientis sovereign, and the people are subjects. Let it be borne in mind, that when the President commenced his in- terference with the affairs of this State, there was no "insurrection," no "domestic violence." The people were not overthrowing a government, but rightfully and peaceably substituting another, to take effect at a pre- scribed time; the laws being continued in operation, and the officers and magistrates being continued in their places until duly superseded by new elections and appointments. The people of this State, who supported the constitution of 1841, were desirous, at the late election of members of your House for this State, of choosing their own candidates by the electors authorized under said con- stitution, and thus of bringing the question of our rights under the same to your consideration, upon a competition for the seats of the present members. But this was impossible, as, by one of the Algerine laws of this State, (properly so called,) all meetings for such a purpose are de- clared riotous, to be suppressed by civil and military force; and the people present, after the reading of the riot act, and without time to retire, might be shot down forthwith. The undersigned, in view of the facts now stated, and in behalf of their democratic fellow-citizens, therefore respectfully request that the House of Representatives of the United States will inquire whether the President of the United States has any such power of niterfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign State, as he has claimed and exercised in the case of Rhode Island, The undersigned further request the House of Representatives to call upon the President of the United States for the authority, and for copies of the applications, upon which he acted in this case; for the instructions to, and statements of, the charter commissioners, sent to him from this State; for the correspondence between the Executive and the charter 4 Rep. No. 546. Governor of this State, and all the papers and documents connected with the same ; for any correspondence between the heads of departments and said Governor, or any person or persons connected with said charter gov- ernment, and for any accompanying papers and documents; for all orders issued by the Executive, or any of the departments, to mihtary officers, for the movement or employment of troops to or in Rhode Island; and for all orders to naval officers to prepare steam or other vessels of the United States for service in the waters of Rhode Island ; for all orders to officers of revenue-cutters for the same service; for any instructions borne by the Secretary of War to Rhode Island, on his visit in 1842, to review the charter troops ; for any order or orders to any officer of the army or navy to report themselves to the charter government. And the undersigned request an inquiry whether such officers took part in advising said gov- ernment, forming plans, giving directions, and otherwise; also, an inquiry whether, or not, certain officers in the pay of the United States did not, in June, 1842, at Providence, and at the head of gangs of armed whites and negroes, forcibly enter the houses of suffrage-men, and maltreat them, and despoil them of their property; also M'hether, in 1842, in this State, pri- vate correspondence through the post office was violated, and by whom. The undersigned further request the House of Representatives to in- quire whether the menibers of said House from the State of Rhode Island are entitled to their seats; inasmuch as a large number of persons, enti- tled, under the people's constitu ion, to vote at their election, were exclu- ded from the polls, and the eleCvOrs were debarred from voting for candi- dates in opposition, under said constitution, by the military law before described. The undersigned further request the Congress of the United States to execute to this State the guaranty in the national constitution, of a repub- lican constitution, in favor of thut which was righlfidly and duly ado'pted in this State in December, 1841, and established and carried into effect by the organization of a govtrnrnent under it in May^ 1842. The undersigned also request such further aid as Congress may deem it in their power and expedient to affi^rd. Senators. SAMUEL STEERE, GEORGE C. CARR, OLNEY BALLOU, ANSON POTTER, OTIS WOOD, Believing the statement to be sub- CYRUS BROWN, stantially correct, LEVI C. EATON, ISAAC WILKINSON. Representatwes, EDDY KEECH, WILLIAM SMITH, GLADDING O. THOMPSON, THOMAS BUFFUM, ADAMS PARK, ARIEL BALLOU, JAMLS ANGELL, FENNER BROWN, CYRUS FARNUM, WILLIAM LATHAM, WILLIAM STEERE, JOSEPH T. SISSON, DAVID WILBUR, JONATHAN COLE, JAMLS HARKNESS, NILES WESTCOTT, PARDON ANGELL, RICHxARD MOWRY, Providence, February 1, 1844. Rep. No. 546. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. The memorialists allege the following facts, which they pray may be inquired into by the House, viz: 1. That a lav^e majority of the adult male inhabitants of tlie State of Rhode Island did, in the exercise of their inherent sovereign power, in December, 1841. rightfully adopt, and duly ratify, a constitution of govern- miCnt, republican in its form and cliaracter, agreeably to the guaranty of the constitution of the United States, 2. That said constitution was suppressed through the intervention of the President of the United States, by placing at the disposal of the late charter government of Rhode Island the military power of the Union ; and that another constitution, by means of such intervention by the President, was forced upon the people of that State against their consent, and under the duress of martial law. 3. That the people of Rhode Island were disposed to test the validity of the constitution adopted by them, and the one imposed upon them by a minority of the people of that State, through the said intervention of the Presidetit, by the election of members to the House of Representatives, that the question might be raised by the c :>petition f()r seats which would necessarily follow ; but that they v/rre p-^vented from so doing, by a law passed by the ruling party, which law declared all meetings of the people for such a purpose riotous assemblages, which were sul)ject to instant dis- persion at the peril of being shot down on the refusal of those present to . by constitutional obligation, to institute the inquiry prayed for, and to take such other action in relation to the subject subtriitt?.d to its consideration as would be found to be within the scope of its duty and its power under the constitution. With this view of the power of the House to investig^ate the subject- matters of the memorial, and influenced by a desire faithfully and impar- tially to execute the duty confided to them by the House, the committee, at an early stage of their proceedinofs, resolved : 1st. To inquire into the fact of the adoption of the " people's constitution" (by which the constitution of December, 1841, is now generally known) by the people of Rhode island ; and, 2d. To inquire into the f^ict of the interference by the President of the United States, or by any officer of the Government of the United States, in the internal afl!"airs of the people of Rhode Island, during the pendency of the late difficulties in that State, growing out of the adoption and final sup- pression of the " people's constitution." In order that all the parties interested in the investigation with udiich the committee was charged might have an opportunity to assert and vindi- cate all supposed rights and interests which might be involved in their proceedings, permission was given to the njemorialists, and to the existing authorities of the State of Rhode Island, by a resolution of the comniittee,, to attend, by agent or attorney, its sessions ^ copies of which resolution were duly communicated to the memorialists, to the Executive of Rhode Island, and to the Representatives in Congress from said State. The existing authorities of the State of Rhode Island have not deemed it expedient to avail themselves of the permission accorded to them as before stated, and have rot attended the sessions of the comn:iittee, either by agent or attorney. The memorialists have attended the sessions of the committee during a part of its invesiigations, by their agent. Having stated these matters by way of introduction, the committee now proceed lo the main subject of their investigation. The fact that ;i portion (whetfier that portion constituted a majority will he hereinafter considered) of the people of Rhode Island did, in the month of December, 1841, adopt a constitution, establishing a republican form of government, as stated by the Uiemorialists. the eornmittee understand not to be disputed ou any side. It is matter of history, which cannot be questioned, if any one were inclined to question it. IirSTORICAL NOTICE OF THE ORIGIN OF TME CHARTER GOVERNMENT^ AND ITS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. In order to comprehend clearly the reasons which induced the people of Rhode Island to adopt a new constitution, without the consent of the exist- ing iiovernment of that State, and in the exercise of their own inherent sovereign power, as they construed their power, it will be necessary to enter into a brief history of the origin and character of the government then existing, and which they thus sought to change or abolish. The first authentic form of government established within the |)resent territorial jurisdiction of the State of Rhode Island, was that which was derived from the charter granted under the authority of Parliament in. Rep. No. 546. 7 1643. That charter clothed the ^' inhahifants" of the colony with "full power and antliority to govern and rule themselves, and such others as shall hereafter inhabit within any part of the said tract of land, by such form of civil government as by voluntary consent of ail, or the greatest part of t/iem, shaW be found most serviceable in their estates and condi- tion." In other words, it estahlislied a deniocratic form of o^overnment for the people of the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It gave to the inhabitants of said colony the right to establish such form of government as the majority could agree upon — a concession no less re- markable, considering the source whence it emanated, than it was liberal and republican in its character. Thus was the governmentof Rhode Island, under its first charter, a democ- racy. It was confirmed by Cromwell in 1655, and continued a democracy until the charter of 1663 was obtained, when, and by which, its fundamental ciiaracter was totally changed, whatever miglit thenceforward continue to be the outward form of its organization. Tne charter of 1663 was granted by King Charles II, after his restoration, to William Brenton and others — creating them, and such as were and should be •' admitted free of the company" and their successors, a body corporate and politic, with all the powers and privileges incident to a corporation. It gave theni a corporate name ; it conferred upon them the right " to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded," answer unto, and defend all actions, suits, (fe,c., which the company might coiiimence, or which might be commenced against them; it cojiferred upon tliem the power to hold lands, and to sell and alien the same. It gave them a common seal. In short, it invesud tliem with all the powers and attributes of a corporation ; it gave the grantees power " to CHOOSE, NOMINATE, AND APPOINT SUCH AND SO MANY OTHER PERS0^S AS THEY SHALL THINK FIT, AND SHALL BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE SAME, TO BE FREE OF THE SAID COMPANY AND BODY POLITIC, AND THEM INTO THE SAME ADMIT." Thus could nobody be admitted to the company, or have a voice in its proceedings, without the consent of the grantees or corporators. The char- ter, therefore, created a close coRPORATIO^ of the grantees, in the concerns of which no one could have a voice without their consent. In addition to the mere privileges of a corporation, the grantees, in their corporate capacity, had conferred upon them by the charter all the powers of civil government over the colony of Rhode I^l;lnd, limited and restricted only by ihe laws and customs of England, which were expressly declared to be paramount to the powers of the corporation. The following was the organized form of government as prescribed by the charter. There was to be a governor, deputy governor, and ten assistants — the latter of whom, since the Am*M-ican revolution, have been dignified by the more lofty sou ndinof and republican title of Senators. They were to be "con- stituted, chosen, and elected by the freemen of the said company;" and their duly was to " apply themselves to take care for the best disposing and order- ing of the general business and affliirs of and concerning the lands and here- ditaments hereitiafter mentioned to be granted, and the plantation thereof, and the government of the people therein." In addition to the governor, deputy crovernor, and assistants, there were to be chosen by the major part of the freemen of the towns and places for which they should be elected, '*six persons for Newport, four persons for each of the respective towns of Providence, Portsmouth, and "Warwick, and two persons for each other town, S' Rep. No 546. place, or city," who were to constitute the " General Assembly," whose duty it was to meet the Governor and assistants, and " then and there to consult, advise, and determine in and about the affairs and business of said company and plantations." The Governor and assistants, with the persons cliosen by the towns, when met in "general assembly," constituted the legislature of the colony. Such was the character of the charter of Charles IF; such the privileges it bestowed upon the grantees; and such the form of government it established for the colony. It invest(;d all power in the grantees, and clothed them with exclusive political as well as corporate privileges and authority ; in short, it abroo^ated the democratic government established by the charter of 1643, and created an oligarchy in its stead as pure in its oligarchic character- istics as any which have existed in the States of Greece, or the misnamed Italian republics of later times. And such has been the government of Rhode Island in substance, whatever may have been its ostensible form, from the acceptance of the charter of Charles II to its final death and burial in the po]iular movements of 1842, having been superseded, in the opinion of the committee, first, by the adoption of the " people's constitution" (so called) in December, 1841, and, finally, by the present constitution of the State. Whether or not the latter exists by right, and with the consent of the people, will hereafter be considered. It will have been seen by the foregoing that the charter of Charles II coiilerred upon the grantees tlie power to admit such persons as they deemed proper to be '• free of said company;" in other words, to share in the powers and privileges of the corporation, which embraced the adminis- tration of the civil government of the colony. The committee will now pro- ceed to show how this power was exercised, and how liberally the privi- leges of the company, or rather government, (for it will be considered in that view,) were dealt out to the people who were its sultjects. Provisions of the charier government in relation to snffi age. After the acceptance of the charter by the grantees, and the organization of the government under it, the General Assembly proceeded to prescribe the rule which was to govern the admission of persons to the rights of cor- porators ; or, in other words, to the privileges of freemen. At a meetinsf of that body at Newport, on the 4th day of May, 1664, the following rule for the admission of freemen, or rather for the exclusion of the citizens of the colony from all participation in its government, was adopted, viz : " It is also the jileasure and appointment of this General Assembly, that none presume to vote, in the matters aforesaid, but svch whom this Gen- eral Assernbli/ expressly by their writing shall admit as freernenP This was the first rule adopted by the charter government /or the ex- clusion of the citizens of Rhode Island from all participation in tfie govern- ment to which they were subject ; and the ground of admission to the pri- vileges of the government was the arbitrary will of the General Assembly, to be expressed in writing. The next rule prescribed for the admission of freemen was adopted by the General Assembly, at a meeting in May, 1665, at the instigation of "Me king's commissioners?^ It is in the following words : The assembly "enact and declare, that so many of them that take the Rep. No. 546. 9 aforesaid eno^agement, and are of competent estafes, civil conversation, and obedient to the civil magistrate, shall be admitted freemen of this colony, upon their express desire therein declared to the General Assembly, either by themselves, iciith sufficient testimony of their fitness and qualifications as shall hy the Assembly he deemed satisfactory^ or if by the chief offi- cer of the town or towns vvhere they live they be proposed and de- clared as aforesaid ; and that 7ione shall have admissiofi to vote for public officers or dejwties, or enjoy any privilege of freemen till admitted by the Assembly as aforesaid, and their names recorded in the i^eneral records of this colony.''^ By this rule, the candidate for freemanship was required to possess a '''■ competent estate" to be of civil conversation, and obedient to the civil magistrate. Here will be discovered the first glimpse of the property qualification upon which the right of sulTrnge was subsequently based in Rhode Island, and which has resulted in so mucli difficulty and calamity to the peo))le of that State. It did not, however, meet with the approbation of the majority of those who then enjoyed the privileges of the charter, as indubitably ap- pears from the subsequent action of the General Assembly; for, during the very next year it was altered, and a liberal and enlightened rule for admis- sion to freemanship (in other words, basis of suffrage) was adopted. At a meeting of the General Assembly in May, 1666, that body passed an act relating to elections, which contains the following provision in relation to suflVage, which is the third section of the act, viz : '-^ A}idbe it fnrther enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the free- men of each respective town, on their respective town meetmg days, as shall be by them appointed, shall, and they hereby have full power granted them to admit so many persons, inhabitants of their respective towns, freeme7i of their towns, as shall be by them adjiidsed deserving thereof; and that the town clerk of each town shall once every year send a roll or list of all free- men so admitted in their respective towns to the general assembly, to be held for this colony at Newport, the day before the general election, and also such persons that shall be so returned and admitted freemen of the colony, shall be enrolled in the colony^s book by the general recorder.''^ — Digest 1730, jp. 16. Although confining the admission of citizens to freemanship, or the right of suffrage, to the freemen of the respective towns, the act of the assembly now under consideration prescribed no other rule as the basis of suffrage than the will of the freemen themselves. 'I'he property qualification was entirely repudiated. The rule of freemanship, or basis of suffrage, remained unchanged from the date of the act last cited, until 1723. At ihe session of the General Assembly held in February of that year, the following act was passed, viz : "AN ACT for directing the admitting freemen in the several towns of this colony. " Be it enacted by the General Assembly of this colony, and by the authority of the same it is enacted, That from and after the publication of this act, no person wluitsoever shall be admitted a freeman of any town in this colony, unless the person admitted be ?^ freeholder of lands, tenements, or hereditanients in such town where he shall be admitted free, of the value of one hundred pounds, or to the value oi forty shillings per annum, or the 10 Rep No. 546. eldest son of such a freeholder : any ;icf, custom, or usage, to the contrary hereof notvvithstandinor." — DiL'est of 1730, p. 131. By this act a distinct freehold property qualification in the voter was first adopted. It required that, before the citizen could be admitted to freeman ship, lie sliould be a "/recAo/c/fr," or owner of lands, tenements, and he- reditaments, to the value of one hinidred pounds^ or to the value oi forty shillings per annum, or be the eldest, son of such freeholder. It not only established a freehold property qualification, but the justly odious ri^ht of priniooeniture in voting; a principle which lias, it is believed, been ex- ])]oded and repudiated from the statute-books of every State in the Union, so far as the distribution of property is concerned. Such continued to be the qualification prescribed for the voter until 1742, when he was required to own a freehold estate of tv)o hundred pounds, or ten pounds yearly value, or be the eldest son of such freeholder. —See Digest of 1744-'5, p. 252. At the Augnst session of the General Assembly in 1746, an act was passed requiring the voter to be possessed of a freehold estate worth four hundred pounds., or the yearly rent of twenty pounds., or be the eldest son of such freeholder. — See Digest of 1752, p. 12. In the years 1760, 1761, 1762, the qualification was again changed, and the voter was required to possess a freehold worth forty pounds., or the yearly rent o{ forty sliiWncrs, or be the eldest son of a freeholder. — Digest of 1767, p. 58. This qualification remained until 1798, when the voter was required to own a freehold of the value of one hundred and thirty four dollars, or the yearly rent of seven dollars, or be the eldest son of such freeholder; and such has been the qualification of the voter, substantially, from the last mentioned date until the final abrogation of the charter of Charles II, by the adoption of the constitution of December, 1841. At this point it should be remarked, that the fact of owning a freehold of the value prescribed, did not, ipso facto entitle its possessor to the right of suffrage. He then had to pass the ordeal of admission by the freemen of the town in which he resided, who might reject him if they pleased, notwithstanding his qualification so far as respected the ownersliip of an adequate freehold. And it is proper further to remark, that it appeared in the course of this investigation by the committee, that there were persons in Rhode Island at the tiuje of the adoption of the " people's constitution," who were never admitted to the privileges of a freeman, althouoh possess(;d of the requisite (lualification, so far as respected a sufficiency of freehold property. Thus, until the final abrogation of the charter, and the adoption of a written constitution, suflTrage was never conceded to be the absolute right of the citizen of Rhode Island ; but depended, notwithstandiriff his possession of the requisite amount of freehold property, upon the will ol those who had been admitted " free of the comj any and society" of Rhode Island. (See the charter of 1663.) It appears to the committee, from testimony, and from contemporaneous history, that the beisis of suffrage prescribed at different times by the gov- ernment of Rhode Island, however objectionable it was in principle, did not at first operate so much to the injury of the citizen as to induce any very serious dissatisfaction until comparatively a recent period. Like all her sister colonies, Rliode Island was, during a long period, an agricultural community. Her population was sparse, and it was easy to obtain the requisite amount of land to qualify the citizen for freemanship. Few, Rep. ixo. 546. 11 therefore, were excludeJ from the enjoymoDt of the right of sufFrpge, until the State became a maniifacniring and mercantile couimiiiiity, and the cir- cumstances of Its people had become substantially changed. Tliis cliange in the condition, occupations, and circumstances of the people of Rhode Island, demonstrated clearly ihe injustice of the regulations of the govern- ment of the State in relation to sutirage, which operated so as to exclude a laro-e majority of its citizens from the exercise of that invaluable right. By the opeiation of the laws regulating the basis of suffrage, the political power of the State had passed into the hands of a minority — if, a! any period before, a majority of the adult citizens ftf the State bad possessed it. In 1840, it appears by an estimate (admitted by both parties in Rhode Island .10 approxnnate as near to the truth as any estimate probably can) thai there were 22,674 adult male citizens in that State of the age of 21 years and upwards, exclusive of aliens, insane persons, paupers, and convicts, of whom 9;59() only were freemen entitled to the right of suffrage. (See testimony of John S. Harris, table of population, &c., appendix No. 1.) Thus were nearly ihreefifths of the adult male citizens of that State deprived of the right of suffrage (which is accounted the most valuable right which an American citizen can possess,) by the regulations of the government claim- ing its authority from the charter of a King of Great Britain. Injustice of 7^epresetitaliofi under the charter. But there was still another cause which operated with equal or more force to throw the political power of the Slate into the hands of a small minority of iis citizens. It was the relative change of population which had taken place in the respective towns since the apportionment of repre- sentatives to the General Assembly, under the charter. As before stated, under the charter the town of Newport was entitled to six members, the city of Providence and the towns of Portsmouth and Warwick were en- tilled to four members, and all oiher towns to two. At the tune this ap- portionment was made, it might have been just and equal ; but, in the lapse of time, the subsequent relative changes of population in the several towns rendered it very unjust and unequal, as will be distinctly seen by the fol- lowing facts. In 1840, the whole population of the State was 108,837, of whom 22,694, exclusive of aliens, &c., were adidt white male citizens, among whom at that time, according to the estimate before referred to, 9,590 were freemen, entiiled under the laws of the State to the right of suffrage. In that year the highest vote was given in that State which had ever been cast from the date of the charter, and which was 8,622. In the same year the several cities, towns, and places were entitled to 72 representatives to the General Assembly. Of these 72 representatives, 38, or a majority, were apportioned to 19 towns with an aggregate population of 30,818, among whom were 3.538 freemen, who cast 3,149 votes in the election of 1840. Thus had the j)olitical power of the State become, by the unchanged rules of apportionment and suffrage, vested m 3.538 freemen, and was exercised by 3,149, who actually cast their votes in 1840. Thus were the political rights of more than 108,(M)0 inhabitants under the control of 3,538 of their inimber— being less than one thirtit ih part of the jiopulation of Rhode Island, and one seventh part of those who, by natural right, by reason, justice, and common sense, were entitled to the possession of the political power of the State. 12 Rep. No. 546. From this state of things, (which those who had the power obstinately refused to change,) as will hereinafter be seen, originated the discontents, agitations, and movements, wfiich finally resulted in the abrogation of the charter of Charles II, the adoption of the people's constitution, and all the difliculties in the State of Rhode Island, which have grown out of that event. The committee are aware that it is alleged, in behalf of the late char- ter of Charles II, that it secured perfect religious liberty to the people of the State of Rhode Island; and that, under the operation of the Govern- ment established by it, the people of that State enjoyed as great a degree of security in their persons and property, as the people of any other State in the Union. In regard to the religious rights of the people of that State, it- is not denied that they were as carefully protected (perhaps more so) as in any State, or under any other government in the world. This tolerance in religion, however, all history shows, is to be attributed alrnost entirely to that illustrious friend of free inquiry, Roger Williams. In relation to the security of life and property, the committee cannot regard that as any plea of justification, on the part of the authorities of that State, for so long withholding from the great body of the people their invaluable political rights. Besides, the same argument may be urged in favor of the worst despotism in the christian world. There is no doubt but that life and property are as well protected in Russia, or in England, as they ever were in Rhode Island. By that, the committee intend to be imderstood that mur- ders, robberies, thefts, &,c., are as rigorously punished in despotic or aristo- cratic governments, as they are in republican. The few will always consent to protect the many from acts of violence upon their persons and property, if the latter will permit the former to rob them of their political rights. No such argument can avail in a country the corner stone of whose institutions of government is the political equality of the people. But to return. Such was the state of things in Rhode Island immediately preceding the adoption, by the people of that State, of a free constitution, and their at- tempt to establish a government in accordance with its provisions. Alleged causes of grievances under the Charter. The committee will now proceed to give the specific causes of grievance alleged by the advocates of a new constitution to exist under the charter. Those causes were the following: 1. The majority of the people were deprived of all voice in framing the laws by which they were governed, their rights defined, and their persons and property protected ; and all voice in the choice of the officers by whom those laws were administered. 2. They were compelled to perform military and firemen's duty, and to pay their share of the taxes imposed by both State and National Govern- ments, whilst they were deprived of all voice in both. To illustrate the striking injustice of this exclusion from all voice in the government, it is only necessary to state a few facts. It appears by a statement annexed to this report, (appendix No. 76,) that, in the city of Providence in 1840, there were 421 persons having no vote under the laws of the State, who were taxed on personal property owned by them in the city, amounting iu value to between one and two millions of dollars. Bv the same statement it also appears that over 6,000 of the white adult male inhabitants of the State Rep. No. 546. 13 were subject to military duty. Tiiis large number of persons, paying their full share of taxes, and bearing the heaviest burdens of the State, were de- prived of all voice in the control of tlie government .which imposed those burdens upon them. They, with the residue of their fellow-citizens who were denied an enjoyment of the right of suffrage, constituting three fifths of the white adult male inhabitants of the State, had no more voice in the Government of the Umted States than so many slaves, who are represented by their owners. They paid their due proportion of the taxes of the Gen- eral Government, and were subject at all times to be called trpon to peril their lives in battle for its defence; and yet, in consequence of their unjust disfranchisement by the charter government of Rhode Island, they were excluded from all voice in the Government of the Union. This glaring and intolerable injustice was one of the grievances of which the people of Rhode Island complained. 3. By the laws of the charter government, no citizen, unless he was the owner of a freehold, could commence a suit in a court of justice, for the recovery of a debt, or to obtain redress for a personal injury, without first procuring a freeholder to endorse or sign his writ. Thus was he depend- ent on the arbitrary will of a freeholder for the privilege of seeking justice in a court of law. Such a disability was not only an injustice, but it was a stigma attached to his person, which could not fail to degrade him in his own estimation, as well as in that of the privileged freeholder, of whom he was compelk'd to crave the boon of being permitted to use his name in pursuing his rights in a court of justice. 4. The disfranchised citizen of Rhode Island was also deprived, through the operation of its laws, from the privilege granted by the constitution of the United States, to be tried by his peers, because freeholders only were allowed to serve on juries. 5. The people of Rhode Island also complained of the great inequality of representation, by which, as hereinbefore shown, a small minority of the people controlled the political power of the State. 6. Anotlier cause of complaint was the gross frauds perpetrated under the freehold system of voting, by which, in the manufacturing villages, freeholds v/ere expressly created for the purpose of multiplying votes ; the grantor always retaining control of the land granted for such fraudulent purposes, as well as power over the voter who had been made such by the flagitious operation. For the manner in which the fraud was perpetrated, reference is made to the testimony of Aaron White, jr. (Appendix jNo. 20.) 7. But the grievance complained of as much as any other, was, that the government of the State was based on the charter of Charles II, which invested the legislature with unlimited power, making it despotic and su- preme. The people were, in fact, without a written constitution created by their sovereign will, and existing by their consent. Such were the prominent causes of grievance on the part of the people of Rhode Island vvhicli moved them to adopt, by the exercise of their own sovereign power, without the consent of the existing government of the State, a written constitution in place of the charter, and to organize and establish a government under it, and in conformity to its provisions. The people, however, did not resort to their ultimate sovereign right to change, alter, and reform the government existing over them, without repeated ef- forts to induce that Government to consent to, and provide for, a change ; 14 Rep. No. 546. all which efforts were unavailino^, as is abundantly proved by the following facts, established by the contemfioraiieous history of the times. Efforts to procure the esfablishmenl of a written constitution, and an ex- tension of snffrajo-e. The new relations of the people to the Government, produced by the Rev- olution and final independence of the colonies, induced many patriotic cit- izens in the State of Rhode Island, at an early period after that event took place, earnestly to desire the abrogation of the old royal charter, and the adoption of a written constitution, republican in form, which would conform to the principles of the Revolution and the spirit of the ao^e. And hence, as early as 1797 an effort was made to establish a republican constitution, and to extend stiffrage. And the principle on which this movement was avowedly advocated, was the great American doctrine of l\\e absolute soi'>er- eignty of the people proclaimed in the declaration of independence, and vindicated by the toils, sacrifices, and blood of the Revolution. (See ap- pendix No. 18.) In 1811 another attempt was made to secure an extension of the right of suffrage. A bill for that purpose passed the Senate, but was laid upon the table in the House of Representatives ; and thus the attempt failed. (See Mr. Sayles's testimony, appendix No. 13.) In 1820 the subject of an extension of suffrage, connected with a more equal division of power, was again agitated, and a convention assembled in Trovidence to consider the subject. But this attempt, like those preceding it, failed of any beneficial results. (See appendix, No. 19.) In 1824 a fourth attempt was made to procure the adoption of a written constitution, an extension of suffrage, and an equalization of representa- tion. The General Assembly called a convention for the purpose, limiting the choice of delegates to the same to the freemen alone. (See act of the General Assembly passed at the January session 1824, appendix No. 150.) The convention assembled and framed a constitution, which was sub- mitted to the freemen, (landholders and their eldest sons,) and by them re- jected. The extension of suffrage, however, met with no lavor in the con- vention which framed this constitution, a proposition to that effect receiving but three votes in its favor. Another and fifth attempt to procure the establishment of a written con- stitution, and an extension of suffrage, was made in 1829, by a respectful petition numerously and respectably signed by citizens of the State of Rhode Island, addressed to the Legislature of the State. The subject was referred to a committee, and an elaborate report made through one of its members (Benjamin Hazard) against the further extension of suffrage. The report referred to, which is appended to this report, advances doctrines directly at war with republican principles, and the American theory of hu- man rights. (See exhibit B among the papers in the case of Martin Lu- ther, appendix No. 79.) In 1832 another attempt was made to procure an extension of the enjoy- ment of the right of suffrage, but without success. (See message of Gov- ernor Dorr, appendix No. 213, and testimony of W. B. Sayles.) In 1834 a seventh and last attempt to procure the adoption of a republi- can constitution, and an extension of the right of suffrage, through the charter Legislature, was made; which resulted in the call of a convention, the delegates to which were elected by landholders and their eldest sons. Rep. No. 546. 15 The act cnllinof the convention also provided that the constitution which it mio-lit fViuiie should he subn)itted to tfie freemen for its adoption ; thus ex- cludino: a great majority of the adult male citizens of the State from ail voice in lis framing or adoption. (See act of the General Assembly, June session 1834, appendix No. 151.) A convention was elected and assembled in pursuance of the provisions of this act, but finally broke up for want of a quorum; and thus was noth- ing accouiplisfied by this movement. A proposition made in this conven- tion, to extend the enjoyment of the right of suffrage, received but seven votes. Thus it appears that, from 1797 to the movement of the people in 1841, repeated efforts had been made by the advocates of free suffraije to procure of the c()arter legislature an extension of the basis of suifrage, and an equalization of representation; but they were made in vain. Every effort was thwarted and defeated by the inexorable minority who liad the exclu- sive possession of the government of the State. After such patient hut per- severmg attempts to procure an acknowledgment of their just rights from the oligarchy into whose hands the political power of the State had fallen, without success, what recourse or alternative was there left to the people, but to resort to their original, inherent, and inalienable right of sovereignty, which is admitted by the American theory of government to be supreme over all laws and all political organizations? There was no other alterna- tive left to them, but a resort to their ultimate right of sovereignty; and the people resolved upon exercising it. Necessity of the people's acting independent of^ and without the consent of, the charter government. The question then occurred. How shall it be done? There was no pro- vision in the charter pointing out the mode by which they could proceed in changing it, or in forming and adopting a constitution. And the ex- isting authorities of the State refused to provide by law for the change in the form of government vvhich the people had resolved to make. The people, therefore, had no other mode in which to proceed in the great work which they had resolved upon, but by acting independently, and without the consent of the existing authorities, in the exercise of their sovereign power; and upon this course they deliberately resolved. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PEOPLE'S CONSTITU- TION, AND THEIR ACTION IN REFERENCE TO THE LANDHOLDERS' CONSTITUTION, AND ALSO TO THE EXISTING CONSTITUTION. It is proper here to remark, that during the period commencing with the suffrage movement, in 184(1, and ending with the establishment by the charter government of the existing constitution, three constitutions were framed and proposed to the people of Rhode Island for their adoption, viz : the people's constitution, the landholder's constitution, and the constitu- tion now in fact existing in that State. A brief history of the action of the people, in reference to all of the three constitutions above named, will be now given ; after which, the committee will proceed to consider — 1st. The question whether or not the people's constitution was, in fact, i 16 Rep. No. 54G. adopted by a majority of the adult male citizens of the State of Rhode Island, entitled to vote under its provision?. 2d. The right of the people to change, alter, and reform existing sys- tems of g^overnment; in connexion with which question, the right of sat frage will be considered. \ 3d. The suppression of the people's constitution, and the government es- tablished under it, through the intervention of the President of the United States, with the military power of the Union. 4th. The power and duty of the Congress of the United States to act in relation to the prayer of the memorialists. 5tli. The acts of the charter government, complained of by the memorial- ists, by which the people of Rhode Island were prevented, under severe pains, penalties, and perils, from taking any action by which they could test the correctness of their proceedings, in the Congress or in the judicial tribunals of the United States. Tlie committee will now briefly give the prominent facts connected with the history ot the adoption of the people's constitution. Adoption of the people's constitution. The first movement in favor of the adoption of the constitution be- fore mentioned was in the autumn of 1840, and resulted in the forma- tion of a suffrage association in the city of Providence, which was followed by the organization of similar associations throughout the State of Rhode Island. These associations were formed with a view to give concentration and energy to the suffrage movement. They were followed by a mass meeting of the friends of suffrage, which convened in Providence on the 17th day of April, 1841, and which was numerously attended. This meet- ing was followed by another mass meeting, which was held at Newport on the 5th day of May, 1841. At this meeting, resolutions were adopted set- ting forth the principles of the suffrage movement, avowing its entire disconnexion with the existing political parties of the day, and appoint- ing a State committee of eleven persons to superintend the affairs of the suffrage cause. — (See exhibit F, in the case of Martin Luther, ap- pendix No. 83.) This last mentioned meeting adjourned to meet in the city of Providence on the 5th day of July following; prior to which time (viz: on the 11th day of June, 1841) the State suffrage committee is- sued an address, setting forth the grounds and principles which constituted the basis of the action of the suffrage party, and recommending the calling of a convention to frame a constitution. — (See exhibit J 6, in Luther's case, appendix No. 87.) I'he next event in the history of this movement of the people, with a view to the adoption of a constitution, was the holding of the mass meeting adjourned from Newport to Providence on the 5th day of July, which was attended by a large concourse of people from all portions of the State, and at which resolutions were passed, and other proceedings had, expressive of the inflexible determination of those present to establish, by a resort to their inherent sovereign power, a republican constitution and govern, ment. — (See exhibit G,ln Luther's case, appendix No. 84.) The next step was the issuing of an address by the State committee, dated on the 24ih day of July, 1841, calling upon the people to meet in their several towns and places on the 8th day of August then next, and choose dele- Hep. No. 546. 17- ^ates to a convention to be held on the first Monday in October ensuino^, for the purpose of fraiiiins; a conslitntion to be submitted to the people of the State of Rhode Island for their adoption or rejection. The address also prescribed the qualifications of the electors who were to vote in the elec- tion of deleo;ates to the proposed convention, the manner in which the election was to be conducted, and the number of delegates to which each town was entitled. (See exhibit J a, in Luther's case, appendix No. 86.) In accordance v/ith this call, delegates were duly elected in the several towns and places in the State, with very few exceptions; and, on the first Monday in October, the convention assembled and proceeded in the business for which it was called. It sat during the remainder of the month of Oc- tober, and a part of Novemlier, during which time it framed a constitution, and adjourned to the 16th day of November; at wb.ich time the convention re-assembled, made some slight alterations in the instrument, published it on the 18th, and directed it to be submitted to the people, for their adoption or rejection, on the 27th day of December, to be voted for, as therein pre- scribed, on that and the five succeeding days. The convention then ad- jourtied, to meet again on the 12th day of January, 1842. Every person voting on the question of the adoption or rejection of this constitution, was required to be an American citizen of the age of twenty- one years, and was required to have his permanent residence, or home, in the State of Rhode Island. He was required to vote by a written or print- ed ballot, with his name written upon the face of it, and which was in the words following: "I am an American citizen of the age of twenty-one years, xand have my permanent residence, or home, in this State. 1 am (or not) qurdified to vote under the existing laws of this State. 1 vote for (or against^ the constitution formed by the convention of the people, assembled at Providence, and which was proposed to the people, by said convention, on the 18th day of November, 1841." (See a true copy of the vote in favor o\' the people's constitution given by William Sprague,* late a Senator of the United States from Ehode Island, and now opposed to the constitution for which he voted — appendix, No. 75.) The constitution also required that meetings of the citizens entitled to vote under it, should be held foe the purpose of its adoption or rejection, in the several towns of the State, ai]d wards of the city of Providence; at which meetings moderators and clerks were to be chosen, who were to pre- side over and direct the business of said meetings. It also provided that on tlie three first days prescribed for receiving the votes of the people, the citizens should deposite their ballots in person ; and, on the last three, in accordance with an ancient law of the colony, by proxy. (See appendix No. 143.) The proxy ballot was in the same form as the bal- lot which was required to be given in person, with the addition of the name of the person by whom it was received and deposited in the ballot-box, which was endorsed on the back thereof as a witness. (See exhibit K, in Luther's case, appendix No, 88.) The proposed constitution also required the moderators and clerks to re- ceive, and carefully to keep, the votes of all persons qualified to vote under its provisions, and to make registers of all the persons voting ; which, to- gether with the tickets given in by the voters, were required to be sealed up, ♦ The Hon. Mr. Spratiue, as did many others who voied for ihe people's con>iiiutiin, after- wards uirned his back upon it, and gave his assistance and his influence to the charier aulhort- ties, to suppress it. 2 18 Rep. No. 54^. . and returned by said moderators and clerks, with certificates signed arf^ sealed by them, to the clerks of the convention of the people, to be by them safely deposited and kept, and laid before said convention, to bo counted and declared at its adjourned session on the I'ith day of January, 1842. In accordance with these provisions of the proposed constitution, on the days specified therein for the purpose, the people proceeded to vote on the question of its adoption or rejection. 'I'he votes were duly returned to the convention, and there counted, and the result declared as follows, viz : The whole number of votes given on the question of the adoption of the con- stitution was 14,000; of which 13,944 were in favor of the constitution, and 56 against it. (See testimony of John S. Harris, appendix No. 1.) It is proper here to remark, that all the original votes, registers, and cer- tificates, given and made on the adoption of the people's constitution, have been carefully preserved by John S. Harris, esq., one of the clerks of the convention, who has exhibited the same on oath to this committee, by whom they were all carefully examined and counted, from which the following result appeared, viz: Whole number of votes cast, 14,001. In favor of the constitution, 13,955; against it, 46. Of the 13,955 voting in favor of the constitution, 10,193 voted in person, and 3,762 voted by proxy. Also, of the 13,955 voting for the constitution, 4,925 were qualified freemen under the then existing laws of the State, and 9,026 were not qualitied, and did not enjoy the right of sulfrage under the then existing laws of the State. (See appendix No. 73.) As has been before shown in this report, the whole number of free white male citizens of the State, over 21 years of age, exclusive of aliens, insane persons, paupers, &c., was 2:^^,674. Of these, 9,590 were qualified freemen. The people's constitution, therefore, received the votes of a majority of 5,236 of the whole number of the free white male citizens of the State entitled to vote under it, and a ranjority of 260 of the freemen or persons qualified to vote under the then existing laws of the State. Having counted the votes, and ascertained the result, the convention, on the r3th day of January, 1842, passed resolutions declaring the constitution to have been duly ratified and adopted by a majority of tlie people of the State, and directing the officers of said convention to make proclamation, in due form, thai said constitution was henceforth the supreme and para- mount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Islanri ; which was ac- cordingly done. (See exliibit L. in Luther's case, appendix No. 89.) The committee cannot forbear calling the attention of the House to the extreme care and caution of the people of Rhode Island in this great move- ment, by which they now have it in their power to prove every material fact connected with it, from its first inception to its final consumnlation, by testimony which will bear the searching and rigid scrutiny authorized by the strictest technical rules of evidence. The people of Rhode Island then proceeded to electa Governor, Lieuten- ant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Senate, and House of Representatives, according to the provisions of the constitution adopted by them, and to organize a government under it. The officers thus elected as- sembled in the city of Providence on the first Tuesday of May, 1842, were duly qualified, and proceeded to discharge the functions of their respective offices. The Senate and House of Representatives were duly organized by the election of appropriate officers, and proceeded in the exercise of those acts and faculties which appertain to legislative bodies. Thus was a gov- ernment duly organized in ail its departments, and its machinery put in full Rep. No. 546. 19 action under the constitution adopted by the people of Rhode Island, as be- fore mentioned, wliich retained its orijnnizalion, and exercised its powers, un- til finally snppressed by the charter orovernment of the State, aided and assisted by the President of the United States with the military power of the Union, (See exhibit N a, Luther's case, appendix No. 97.) Landholders^ constitution. The committee will now proceed to give a brief detail of the leadings facts connected with the proposal of the '-landholders' constitution," as it is called, to the people for their adoption, and its final rejection by them. After the commencement of the suffrage movement in 1840, and when it had become apparent that public sentiment in Kliode Island imperiously demanded an extension of the basis of suffrage, and a constitution republi- can in its principles and provisions, the charter government set about adopt- ing measures with a view to the forming of a constitution, and its submis- sion to tile people for their adoption or rejection. Accordingly, an act was passed by the General Assembly, at its January session in 1841, calling upon the freemenoi the several towns in the State to elect delegates to a convention to be holden at Providence on (he first Monday of November following, "to frame a new constitution for the State, either in whole or in part, with full powers for this purpose; and if only for a constitution in part, that said convention have under their especial consideration the expediency of equalizing the representation of the towns in the House of Representa- tives." The question of its adoption or rejection was also, by a provision of said act, to be submitted to the freeviea of the State. (See appendix, Mo. 152.) By a subsequent act, passed at the May session of the General Assembly in 1841, the apportionment of delegates to the proposed conven- tion was altered. (See appendix, No. 153 ) And, at the January session in 1842, the assembly passed another act, providing for the submission of the constitution which might be framed by the convention called by the act of January, 1841, to all persons who should be qu.alijied to vote under the provisions of said constitution. (See appendix. No. 154.) In pursuance of the provisions of the act calling the convention, dele- gates were duly chosen, and the convention assembled at the time appoint- ed, and proceeded to frame a constitution, a copy of which is annexed to thetestimojiy of John S. Harris. (See appendix, No. 3.) By the provisions of this constitution, the right of suffrage was conferred on — Ist. Every person who was entitled under the charter to vote. 2d. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of 21 years, having resided one year in the State, and in the town or city in whicli he claims to vote six months, pre- ceding the time of voting, and being possessed of a freehold estate of the value of $134, over and above all incumbrances, was entiiled to the right of suffrage. 3d. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of 21 years, having his permanent residence in the State two years, and in the town or place in which he claimed the right to vote six months, next preceding the time of voting; and every foreign naturalized citizen of the United States, of the age of 21 years, having his permanent residence in the State three years, and in the town or city in which he claimed the right to vote six months, preceding the time of voting, and was, moreover, pos- sessed of a freehold estate, over and above all incumbrances, of ^\2^. By the act of the General Assembly before referred to, passed at the Jan- uary session, 1842, all persons qualified, under the proposed constitution, 20 . Rep. No. 546. were permitted to vote on the question of its adoption. In the month of March following it was submitted to the decision of those entitled to suf- frage under it, and was by them rejected by the following vote : In favor of ^he constitution, 8,013; against it, 8,689. Thus was the "landholders' constitution" rejected by the people, by a majority of 676 votes. In the mean time, the charter government proceeded to tal^e measures to prevent the organization of the government under the people's constitution ; and the people proceeded to take steps with a view to the organization of a government in accordance with its provisions; and did actually, as before slated, elect all the requisite officers, who were duly qualified, and all the machinery of the government was put in motion. Tliat government, and the constitution under which it was organized, were, as lias been before re- marked, suppressed by the acting charter authorities, through the interven- tion and aid of the President of the United States, with the military power of the General Government. Existing co?istilulion of the State. The people's constitution and government having thus been suppressed by force, the calamities which had befallen the State, in consequence of the long and obstinate refusal of the charter authorities to extend the basis of suffrage, and the irresistible demonstration of public opinion in surround- ing States, in relation to the impolicy of the course pursued by the charter authorities, with regard to the question of suffrage and the establishment of a republican constitution, induced the General Assembly again to call a convention, to frame another constitution to be submitted to the people; which that body did, by the act passed at the June session, 1S42. (See appen- dix. No. 157.) The act (for the first time in the history of the charter govern- ernment) called upon the " people," or such of them as should be qualified according to the provisions of the 6th section, and not the "freemen," eo nom- ine^ to choose delegates to the convention. Those qualifications were as follows : 1st. All "freemen" qualified to vote under the then existing laws. 2d. All native male citizens of the United States, (including, of course, white and black,) of the age of 21 years and upwards, having had their permanent residence in the State three years, and in the town or city where- in they offer to vote one year, preceding the time of voting. On the 8th day of August delc^gates were chosen, who assembled in convention on the second Monday in September following, and proceeded to frame the consti- tution which now exists, in fact, in the State of Rhode Island, and under which its present acting government was organized. A copy of this con- stitution is annexed to the testimony of John S. Harris. — (Appendix, No. 10.) The following are substantially its provisions in relation to the right of suffrage : i. Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of 21 years, was entitled to vote, who had his residence in the State one year, and in the town or city in which he claimed the right to vote six months, and v/as possessed of a freehold estate, clear of incumbrance, of the value of $134, or the yearly rent of $7. 2. Every mule native citizen of the United States, who had resided in the State two years, and in the town or city in which he claimed the right to vote six months, preceding the time of voting, had had his name registered, and had paid a tax amounting to $1, or had voluntarily paid the same amount Rep. No. 546. 21 to the town in which he resides for the support of schools, or had been en- rolled and done military service during the year preceding his offer to vote. This last-mentioned constitution was snbmitted to that portion of the people of Rhode Island authorized to vote under its provisions, on the 2 1st, 22d, and 23d days of November, 1842, for tlieir adoption or rejection. The vote upon tlje question of its adoption was as follows : In favor of the con- stitution, 7,024; ao:ainst it, 51 ; majority in favor at the constitution of the people votino- on the question of its adoption, 6,973. (See table of votes in John S. Harris's testimony.) The committee deem it proper to state, in connexion with the history of the origin and adoption of the constitution last mentioned, that the whole proceeding, from the commencement until a short time previous to the election of delegates to the convention which framed it, was had while the State of Rhode Island 7oas under the actual operation of martial law. The General Assembly, by an act passed at their Jinie Session in 1842, de- clared "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" to be under martial law, until otherwise suspended by proclamation of the Governor of the State. (See appendix, No. 103 ) On the 8th day of August, 1812, the Governor issued his proclamation suspending the operation of martial law frotn the said 8th day of August lo the 1st day of 8e|)tember next ensuinij; and on the 30th day of August martial law was suspended for an indefinite period of lime. The military organization of the State was continued long after. Thus \vas the State of Rhode Island under tlie substantial operation of martial law at the very time the act of the Assembly was passed calling the convention which framed the existing constitution of the State, and so con- tinued until tlie existing government of the State u'as permanently estab- lished. A large portion of its citizens, who had participated in the attempt to establish a government under the people's onstitution, were in forced exile while the proceedings were had which re>ulted in the adoption of tlie existing constitution of the State, and dared not return from the fear of ex- posing themselves to the relentless proscription of a party tinshed with re- cent tritunph, and intent on revenge, and the perpetuation of their power by the most unscrupulous means. The existing constitution of that State, therrfore, toas voted for by the people under the duress of militarij force^ and the menace of political persecuiion. Another important fact it is also necessary to state in this connexion. The existing constitution of the State of Rhode Islatid did not receive^ on the question of its adoption, a majoritij of the votes of those persons wh.() were entitled, to the right of suffrage under its provisions. As before stated, of the 7.024 votes which were given for and against it, 6,973 were given in its favor. At the first election of Governor under its provisions, (which was held on the first Wednesday of April, 1843,) 16.52(J votes were given. (See appendix. No. 160.) I'he legality of these votes, which were given by voters registered under the provisions of the constitution, cannot be, and has not been, denied. Thus it appears that there were, at tlie time this con- stitution is alleged to have been adopted by the people, at least 9,547 per- sons in the State entitled to vote under its provisions, or a majority of 2,523 who' neglected, refused, nr were prevented from voting on the question of its adoption. The committee are, therefore, clearly of the opinion that the existins: constitution of the State of Rhode Island did not, at the time of its 22 Rep. No. 546. alleged adopiion by the people, receive a majority of the suffrages of the citizens who were entitled to vote under its provisions. ^l"he authorities then in fact existing in Rhode Island seem to have anti- cfpaied such a result, and shaped their legislation ticcordingly. By the act calling the convention which formed the existing constiintion, a ma- jority of all of those who were entitled to vote^ under its provisions', on the question of its adoption, were required to give their voices in favnr of its adoption. Apprehending that a majority of such persons could not be ob- tained in favor of the constitution, the General Assembly, at its session in October, 1842, as has been before remarked, passed an actio amend the act calling the convention, by which it was provided that a majority of those 7i-ho might vote on the question, only, should be necessary to its adoption. (See appendix, No. 159.) Therefore, according to the provisic)n& of this act, if twenty-five men only had voted, (thirteen for, and twelve against,) the constitution would have been adopted, and declared to be the fundamental law of the State. Of the comparative merits of the three constitutions proposed to the people of Rhode Island, it is only necessary to refer to all of them, to show that the people's constitution was very far superior to the other two, in the liberality of its provisions in regard to suffrage, its just and equal system of representa- tion, and its careful security of ihe rights of both persons and property. Al- though both the landholders' constitution, and the constitution now in force in Rhode Island, make comparatively liberal concessions, so far as regards the right of suffrage, by their apportionment of the legislative powers, the political power of the State is by both confined to a small minority of the people; thus continuing one of the gross abuses of which the people com- plained, and which again, m all |»robability, will lead to discontent arid dis- turbance. The committee have neither time nor space to go into a com- parison of the provisions of the three constitutions, in respect to the distri- bution of the legislative powers; but must refer to those instruments num- bered 3, 5, and 10 in the appendix, and to the census of 1S40, for tlje gene- ral assertion here made. On the first Wednesday of April succeeding its adoption, a general election of officers for the government to be organized under the existing constitution of the State was held, both parties participating in it; and, on the first Tuesday of May, the present government was organized in all its departments, and went into operation. The question now recurs. Was the people's constitxdion, in fact, adopted by a majorittj of the adult citizens of the State of Rhode Island! It has been alleged by the supporters of the charter government of Rhode Island, and has been reiterated on the floor of the House of Representatives during the present session, by the Representatives from the State of Rliode Island, that the people's constitution did not m fact receive a majority of the votes of tlie adult male citizens of the State, and that the apparent majority in its favor was obtained by fraud. The committee deemed so grave an al- legation from such a source worthy, at least, of their careful coiisidiMaJion ; and they liave duly weighed ihe question, whether the people's constitution did in fact receive the majority claimed for it? And, upon that question, they have come to an affirmative conclusion ; and they now submit the rea- sons on which it is based. They are as follows : 1. They have carefully examined the votes given on the question of its adoption, and all the registers of the names of the voters, and the certificates Rep. No. 546. 23 -of the number of the votes given in all the towns in the State. Each vote is signed by the name of the voter, and each proxy vote is signed by the name of the person receiving it, as a witness. This additional authentica- tion rendered the proxy vote doubly susceptible of legal proof, and, in the estimation of the committee, an equally, if not more, solemn declaration of the will of the voter. According to the count of the committee, 14,001 cit- izens voted on the question of the adoption of the people's constitution — 13,955 beuig in favor of, and 4*3 ai^ainst its adoption. According to an esti- mate, (marked O in the case of Martin Luther, appendix No. lOl.) admitted to be as nearly correct as passible, there were in 1840, 25,694 males in the State of the age of 21 years, including every description of persons. Ex- ■ eluding aliens, insane persons, t^c, there were left 22,694 persons who were citizens of the State. By this estimate, which cannot be considered to favor the side of the people, it appears that the people's constitution received a plu- rality of 2,211 of all the male population of the State of every description, of the age o( 21 years; and a plurality of 5,216 of all those persons estima- ted to be citizens of the State. Here then, at least, was stroncr prima fade, if it were not conclusive, evidence of the fact that the people's constitution was adopted by a majority of the people of the State. It is sustained by the strongest positive proof 2 It is corroborated by the fact, indisputable and admitted on all sides. that the landholders' constitution, intended by the charter government as a substitute for the people's constitution, was voted down by a majority of 676 authorized to vote under its provisions. If the people were not in favor of their own constitution, why did they reject this ? The committee are aware tfiat it is alleged, without proof, that the landholders themselves united with the jieople, and voted down their own constitution. And it is alleged, with equal plausibility; on the other side, that many of tlie friends of the people's constitution, desiring an amicable settlement of the question, voted for the landholders' constitution, which made very liberal concessions in relation to suffrage. The allegations are of equal weight and plausibility, and balance ■each other, in the estimation of the committee. They, however, regard the fact that the landholders' constitution was rejected by the people as strong corroborative proof that they preferred the constitution which had received a majority of their suffrages. 3. The existing constitution received hut 7,024 votes out of an adult male population of 22,694 — aliens, &c., excluded ; which number did not equal a majority of those who voted in the first election held in pursuance of its provisions. These facts seem irresistibly to support the conclusion, that the people's constituion received the suffrages of a decided majority of the adult male citizens of the State. But there are other circumstances which maintain this conclusion. 4 After the vote upon the question of the adoption of the people's constitu- tion had been token, and the result ascertained, a tender of the votes, regis- ters, and certificates, was made to the General Assembly, accompanied with the request that that body woidd. inquire into the fact of its adoption by a majority of the people. As before stated in this report, 4.925 of the freemen themselves, constituting a decided majority of their class, voted for the peo- ple's constitution ; their names were registered, under the charter laws, in the towns in wliich they resided. It was therefore susceptible of the clearest proof, whether or not that portion of the votes were genuine. The reniain- der, 9j026, being " non-freemen,"' were named on the registers of the several 24 Rep. No. 546. towns as residents in those towns, and their votes were in exisfence, signed with their own names. It was, therefore, not a difficult thing to show whetlier these voters were genuine or not. But the charter authorities ob- stiiuttely refused to take this sitnpU method to put the question at rest for- ever. (See exliibit L a, case of Martin Luther, appendix. No. 92.) 5. Another opportunity was presented to the existing government of the State of Rhode Island to disprove the fact that the people's constitution had been adopted by a majority of the adult citizens of the State. As herein be- fore stated, at the commencement of this investigation by the committee, no- _^tice was duly given to the Executive of Rliode Island, ajid to the members of the House of Representatives from the State, (Messrs. Cranston and Potter,) to attend its examinations. And when the committee proceeded to examine -and count the votes, the members before mentioned were respectluUy noti- fied and requested to attend the examination, and make such objections, and take such exceptions, as they miglit deem proper. But neither the Rxecu- tive of the State, nor its representatives before mentioned, have attended in person, or by agent, any meeting or examination of the committee. There were, then, at least two opportunities for the charter government, and its successors, either to confirm the fact that the people's constitution had received a majority of the votes of the people, or to disprove it, and cover its advocates with shame and disgrace, and thus put an end to the question forever. They declined both these opportunities. After this, the mouthsof the Oj posers of the people's constitution should be forever closed, and their tongues silent, in regard to the fact of its adoption by the majority of the people; and they should henceforth rely upon the more manly and honorable, but, in the opinion of the committee, untenable position, that the people could not move in the matter without the consent of the then exist- ing authorities of the State ; and, therefore, notwithstanding a majority voted in favor of the constitution, the act was illegal, and the constitution was a nullity. An impartial regard for truth compels the committee here to state, that allegations were made, through one of its members, that many of the votes given for the people's constitution, in ihe town of Newport, were, according to its own provisions, fraudulently received. A list was presented to the committee, containing the names of aliens, persons non resident, soldiers of the United States, persons at sea, minors, and persons alleged to have voted twice, whose votes were received in favor of the constitution. The com- mittee made careful examination of the votes and registers of the town, and found nearly all of the names of the persons alleged to be foreigners, and many of the names of the other descriptions of persons on both voles and registers. How many w^^yq actually of the classes named, the committee had no means of ascertaining, as no proof was offered in relation to them. One of the witnesses, (Mr. Harris.) however, states that the allegations, in part, are true, and that the votes of foreigners and soldiers were received ; and that there might have been two or three hundred votes received which ought not to have been received. The lists alleged to be fraudulent contain over five hundred names. The committee believe that the illegal votes do not equal that number; but, if the whole vote of the town of Newport (1,203) were rejected, there would still be left a large majority of the citi- zens of the State in favor of tlie people's consiitution. It is due also to truth to remark, that no other allegation of fraud, bearing any specific or tangible form, has been made against" the autheiuicity of the vote in fuvor of the people's constitution. Rep. No. 546. 25 The committee now approach the main question involved in the centre- versy, which is — THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER AND REFORM EXISTING FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. In the opinion of this committee, on the question whether or not the people of Rhode Island had the riglit, of their own sovereign wiU, inde- pendent of, and without the consent of, the existing authorities of the State, to change, aUer, reform, or abohsh the government deriving its power under the charier of King Charles the Second, turns the whole controversy m- volved in the late attempt to establish a republican constitution, and form of government under it, in that State. If the sovereign power of the State — by which is understood that inherent, original, and ultimate power, which is supreme over all constitutions and all laws, arid from which all political organizations, constitutions, and laws must emanate — do tiot in fact reside in the people, but in the political organ- ization thereof; or, in other words, the existing authorities, as contended for by the advocates of the charter government — then was the act of the peo- ple of Rhode Island, establishing the people's constitution, void, and the con- stitution a nullity. According to this theory, it would have been void if it had received the consent of every individual in the State. But, if the sovereignty of the State do reside in the people, and not in its political organization, or its authorities actually existing, then was the adoption of their constitution a rightful act, and the constitution itself of full force, and binding on all constituted or legal authorities, and all persons then existing and residing in tlie State, until abrogated by an act equally as solemn as that by which it was established. Their sovereign will was omnipotent; and all organized forms of government, all authori- ties, and all laws, were bound to give way and yield to its behests. Does the sovereignty of a State reside in the people? The committee cannot here forbear expressing their astonishment, that within the period of seventy years from the date of the American Revolu- tion, they should be called upon to vindicate, by argument, the great princi- ple on which that revolution turned, and which was proclaimed to the world in tiie solemn and impressive eloquence of the declaration of independence. The denial of the absolute sovereignty of the people in this free country, and in this age of enlightenment, in regard to political rights, is so novel, so dar- ing, and so audacious, as for a moment to paralyze the energies of thought, and upset all settled and preconceived notions of the rights and power of the people, and the nature and authority of the government which it has been heretofore supposed they could set up and pull down by any authentic act of their sovereign will. The fact, therefore, that opinions so hostile to the liberties and happiness of mankind are incoming so prevalent as to be openly and boldly expressed, not only by persons high in official stations, but by a distinguished individual (and many of his adherents) who is now aspiring to the proudest oiEce in the gift of the American people, renders it necessary that the important doctrine of popular sovereignty be reviewed, and again re-asserted by those wlio desire the maintenance of popular insti- tutions, and the perpetuation of liberty itself. The committee now proceed to consider the question above stated. They do not intend to theoriz ; themselves, nor to enter into elaborate argument upon the great question which they now propose to consider. Mainly in place of their own opinions and reasoning, they prefer to give, as entitled to 26 Rep. No. 546. far greater respect and weis^ht, the views and opinions of eiiiinent writers on popular rio-hts, and of the fathers of American Hberty and independence ; and the practical exposition which has been given to the doctrine of popular sovereignty by the framers of a large majority of the constitutions of the sev- eral States, and of the highest judicial and legislative anthoriiiesof the Union. But, before proceeding to give the authorities on which they base their own opinions, and the right ofthe people of Rhode Island to abolish, by an act of tlieir inherent sovereignty, the government then existing in that State, and to establish another in its place, the committee will state briefly the different theories entertained at the present day in relation to tlie head or depository of the sovereign power of a State. In absolute governments, it theoretically resides in the monarch, from whom all power, law, authority, honor, and distinction are supposed to ema- nate. I'his theory entirely exchides the people from all voice or participation in the government, except as agents and subjects. They are used as mere instruments to execute the will of the supreme head, or regarded as sub- jects bound to obey. In mixed governments or constitutional monarchies, like that of Great Britain, the sovereignty of the nation is supposed to reside in the Crown, which is the representative of the king, lords, and comnions — in other words, it is held to reside in the political oraranizaiion of the State. Ac- cording to this theory, the people, as such, have no sovereign rights; they cannot cliatige the fundamental law of the empire, or its form of govern- ment, of their own sovereign will; but such change or alteration can only be done by the parliament, or legislature, with the assent of the king, or executive head. The republican theory differs radically and fundamentally from the two just stated. It holds that sovereignty is vested not in a single individ- ual who happens to be at the head of the nation, nor in its political or- ganization, or constituted forms of government, but in tlie people them- selves, by whom, and for whose protection and welfare, all government is, or should be, instituted. It holds that the sovereign power belongs to the whole people, of which each individual is joint tenant with his fellows, and an equal sharer in the political sovereignty ofthe State. Before the Revo- lution, the sovereign power was lodged with the King of England. He was the sovereign, and the people of the colonies the subjects. When the separation took place, the sovereign power was remitted from the king — who held it not by concession, but by usurpiition and force — to the people, to whom it always rightfully belornged. They were then, in fact, as well as theory, the sovereign; and all existing forms and institutions of government, and those afterwards to be instituted, were the instruments or means in their hands by which they secured and perpetuated their liberty, safety, and hap- piness. They can, therefore, fH all times, and in any manner they may think proper, alter, reform, or abolish existing forms of government, and institute other forms in tlie places of those they abrogate, whenever they deem such an act necessary for the perpetuation of their hberty, safety, or happiness. That this is the American theory, and the principle on which the existing political systems of the American Union are lonnded, the committee will now proceed to show by the following Authorities. They will first cite the Declaration of Independence, wliich is the first solemn and authentic assertion of the principle contended for. It says — Rep. No. 546. 27 ''We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that amono- them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these riirhts, governments are instituted among men, deriviiio- tJieir jt(st. potvc-rsfroin, the consent of the gootrned ; that when any form of govern- ment becomes destructive of their ends, it is the right of the peopb: to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizmg its power in such torms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." As before remarked, this was the first authentic and solemn promulga- tion of the American theory of government. The committee are not unaware that it is objected, by the opponents of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, tiiat the sentence just quoted from the Declaration of Independence was only the mere assertion of the rigJit of revolution. Such a construction cannot be admitted, nor is it consistent with reason and common sense. If the right of revolution was only in- tended to be asserted by the illustrious signers of the document just quoted, they asserted only a right which is everywhere admitted, and everywhere exercised, wherever tlie people have the power and the wi!l to exercise it. It is a right which belongs to the oppressed in every land and clime, to every age and nation — as much to the people of Russia, of Turkey, or of China, as to the free-born citizens of America. Its exercise always implies force, and, if successful, it is illustrated with the honors of patrioiism ; but if unsuccessful, it is stig hatised vviih the epithet of rebellion, and covered with the disgrace of treason. The fathers of the American Revolution, when they asserted the great right of the people -to alter and abolish" the exist- ing government wlien it was perverted to the purposes of tyranny, or failed to answer the ends for which it was instituted, and maintained that right with their toil and blood, could never have intended that it was nothiuir more than tbe right which the oppressed people of England, the serfs of Russia, or the slaves of Turkey enjoy, and may exercise whenever they have the power and will to do it. They could never have contemplatpd any such absurdity; but they intended to assert that it was an inherent right in the people, which they could at all times peaceably exercise, whenever it be came necessary for their security and happiness. They were founding an empire whose government was to exist in the consent and for the benefit of the people; and thev were asserting a right which would enable the peo- ple to reform that government, when, from any cause, it became necessary, peaceably, and without bloodshed and viofence. They proclaimed that the people in their political capacity are above all laws, and all constituted forms of government, which were their own creations, and which tliey could mould and re form at pleasure. Such is the principle which the com- mittee believe was intended to be asserted by the signers of the Declaration of Independence; and in this view they rejoice, for the cause of liberty, and for the welfire of the human race, to find themselves sustained by many il- lustrious conmnentators on the American theory of government, and the founders of most of tbe constitutions of the several States of the Union. They proceed now to cite the additional authorities on which they rely; and they first quote the "father of his country," who, in his Farewell Ad- dress, says : "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter ih^h constitution of government ; but the constitution which at any 28 Kep. No. 546. time exists, till changed by an explicit and autJientic act of the whole peo- ple, is siicredlv obligatory upon all." Mr. Jefferson saj's : " It is not only the rights but the duty of those now an the stage of action^ to change the laws and institutions of government, to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, the light of science, and the amelioration of the condition of society, Not'iing is to be considered unchangeable, but the in- herent and inalienable rights of man." Justice Iredell, of the Supreme Court of the United States, in speaking of the difference between the principles of the European Governments and those of our own, (3d vol. Elliot's Debates.) says: "Our Government is founded on much nobler principles. The people are known with certainty to have originated it themselves. Those in power are their servants and agents ; and the yeople^ without their consent^ may remodel the Government whenever they think proper, not merely be- cause it is oppressively exercised, but because they think another form is more conducive to their welfareP — tStory''s Cominentaries^ vol. 1, p. 32(5. Hamilton says, (Federalist, JNo. 22:) "The fabric of American empire ouaht to rest on the solid basis of the consent of tlie people. The streams of national power ought to flow im- mediately from tliat pure original fountain of all legitimate authority." Jay. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, says: " At the Revolution, the sovereignty devolved on the peo])le, and they are truly the sovereigns of the country ; but they are sovereigns without subjects, (unless the African slaves among us may be so called.) and have none to govern but themselves : the citizens of America are equal as fel- low citizens, and as joint tenants in the sovereignty." — 2 Dallas's lie- ports^ 41 Q.- Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, says : "It has been said that the people had already surrendered all their pow- ers to the State sovereignties, and had nothinof more to give. Hut, surely the question whether they may resume and modify the powers granted to government does not remain to be settled in this country." — 4 Wheat- on's Reports, 405. Justice Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a mem- ber of the convention of 1787.*vhich framed the Constitution of the United States, and afterwards a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, says : "Of the right of a majority of the whole people to change their govern- ment at vnlL there is no doubt." — 1 Wilson, 418; 1 Tucker's Black. Conim., 165, cited 324 p., vol. 1, Story's Conivi. Again, the same judge says : ' Permit me to mention one great principle — the vital principle, I may well call it— which diffuses animation and vigor through all the others. The principle I mean is this: that the supreme or sovereign power of the society resides in the citizens at large; and that, therefore, they always retain the right of abolishing, altering, or amending their constitution, in whatever manner they shall deem expedient." — Lectures on Law, vol. 1, p. 17. Rep. No. 546. 29 Again, he says: "Perhaps some poHtician, who has not considered with sufficient accu- racy our political systems, would answer, that, in our o-overnment, the supreme power was vested iu the constitution. This opinion approaches a step nearer to the truth, (than the supposition that it resides in the legisla- tures,) but does not reach it. The truth is, that, in our government, the supreme, absolute, and uncontrolable power remains in the people. A5 our constitutions are superior to our legislatures, so the people are superior to our constitutions. Indeed, the superiority in this last instance is much greater; for the people possess, over our constitutions, control in act as well as right." — Works, vol 3, /j, 292. Again, he says : " The consequence is, that the people may change the constitution whnnever and however they please. This is a right of which no positive institution can deprive them. " These important truths, sir, are far froiTi being merely speculative ; we, at this moment, speak and deliberate under their immediate and benign in- fluence. To the operation of these truths we are to ascribe the scene, hitherto unparalleled, which America now exhibits to the world — a gentle, a peaceful, a voluntary, and a deliberate transition from one constitution of government to another, (from the confederation to the constitution of the United States ) In other parts of the world, the idea of revolution in gov- ernment is by a mournful and indissoluble association, connected with the idea of wars, and all the calamities attendant on .war. " Hut happy experience teaches us to view such revolutions in a very different light — to consider them as progressive steps in improving the knowledo;e of government, and increasing the happiness of society and mankind. "Oft have I viewed, with silent pleasure and admiration, the force and prevalence through the United States of this principle, — that the supreme power resides in the people, and that they never part with it. It may be called the panacea in politics, if the error be in the legislature, it may be corrected by the constitution : if in the constitution, it may be corrected by the people. There is a remedy, therefore, for every distemper in govern- ment, it the people are not wanting to themselves." — Wilsoii^s Worksy vol. 3, p. 293. Again : "A revolution principle certainly is, and certainly should be, taught as a principle of the constitution of the United States, and of every State in the Union. This revolution principle — that, the sovereign power residing in the people, they may change their constitution and government when- ever they please — is not a principle of discord, rancor, or war; it is a prin- ciple of melioration, contentment, and peace," — Wilsoii's Led., vol. \,p.2\. Again : " As to the people, however, in whom the sovereign«power resides : from their authority the constitution originates ; in their hands it is as clay in the hands of the potter ; they have the right to mould, to preserve, to ftn- prove, to refine, and to finish it as they please. If so, can it be doubted that they have the, right likewise to change it?" — Vol. 1. /;. 410. 30 Rep. No. 546. Again ; "The dread and redoublable sovereign, when traced to his ultimate and genuine source, has been found — as he ought to have been found — in the "free and independent man, Tliis truth, so simple and natural, and yet so neglected or despised, may be appreciated as the first and fundamental principle in the science of government," — Lectures on Law^ vol, 1, p. 25. And again : '•A proper regard to the oriffinal, and inherent, and continued power of {\\Q society to change its constitution, will prevent mistakes and mischief of a very different kmd. It will prevent giddy inconstancy; it will prevent unthinking rashness; it will prevent unmanly languor." — Wilson, vol. I, p. 420. Justice Patterson, of the Supreme Court of the United States, says: "The constitution is the work of the people themselves, in their original, sovereign, and unlimited capacity," " A constitution is the form of govern- ment delineated by the mighty hand of the people," is " paramount to the will of the Legislature," and is liable only " to be revoked or altered by those who made it," — 11 Dallas^s Rep. p. 304. The Supreme Court of the United States says, by Marshall, Chief Justice* " That the people have an original right to establish, for their future gov- ernment, such principles as, in their opinion, shall most conduce to their own happiness, is the basis on which the whole American fabric has been erected. The exercise of this original right is a very great exertion ; nor can it, nor ought it to be frequently repeated." — 1 Crunch 157, cited 431 Stort/ Com. vol. 3. Rawle, an able commentator on the constitution, says: " Vattel justly observes, that the perfection of a State, and its aptitude to fulfil the ends proposed by society, depend upon its constitution. The first duty to itself is to form the best constitution possible, and one most suited to its circumstances; and thus it lays the foundation of its safety, permanence, and happiness. But the best constitution which can be framed with the most anxious deliberation that can be bestowed upon it, may, in practice, be found imperfect and inadequate to the true interests of society. Alter- ations and amendments then become desirable. The people retain — the peo- ple cannot, perhaps, divest the7nselves of the power to make such alterations. A moral power, equal to and of the same nature with that which made, alone can destroy. The laws of one legislature may be repealed by atiother legis- lature, and the power lo repeal them cannot be withheld by the power that enacted them. iSo the people may, on the same principle, at any time alter or abolish the constitution they have formed. This has been frequently and peaceably done by several of these States since 1776. If a particular mode of effecting such alterations has been agreed upon, it is most conve- nient to adhere to it, but it is not exclusively bindingJ^ — Rawle on the Con- stitution, p. 17. Justice Story, of the Supreme Court of the United States, says, in his Commentaries on the Constitution : " The declaration puts the doctrine on the true ground — that govern- Rep. No. 546. 81 ment derives its powers from the co?isent of the governed. And the people have a rigfit to alter it," «fec. — p. 300, vol. 1. Again, Judge Story, speaking of the Declaration of Independence, says: " It was not an act done by the State governments then organized, nor by persons chosen by them. It was emphatically the act of the whole people of the united colonies, by the instrumentality of their representatives chosen for that among other purposes. It was an act not competent to the State governments, or any of them, as organized under their charters, to adopt. Those charters neither contemplated the case, nor provided for it. It was an act of original inlierent sovereignty by the people themselves ; resulting from i/ieir right to change the form of government^ and to insti- tute a neio government^ wh,enever necessary for their safety and happi- ness.^^ — Story^s Com. on the Constitution, vol. l,jo. 198. Again, commenting upon the origin of the Congress of 1774, he says : "In some of the legislatures of the colonies, which were then in session, delegates were appointed by the popular, or representative branch ; and in other cuj^es they were appointed by conventions of the people in the colo- nies. The convention of delegates assembled on the 4th of September, 1774 ; and having chosen officers, they adopted certain fundamental rules for their proceedings. "Thus was organized — under the auspices, and with the consent of the people, acting directly, in their primary, sovereign capacity, and without the intervention of the functionaries to whom the ordinary powers of gov- ernment were derived in the colonies — the first general or national govern- ment. "The Congress thus assembled exercised, de facto and dejure, a sovereign authority — not as the delegated agents of the government de facto of the colonies, but in virtue of original powers derived from the people." — Story^s Com. on the Co?istitution, vol. \,pp. 1S5, 186. Mr. Paine, in his Essay on the Rights of Man, p. 184, contending for the right of t!ie people to change or remodel their constitutions, without the consent of the existing government, says : "Government has no right to make itself a party in any debate respect- ing the principles or modes of forming or oi changing constitutions. It is not for the benefit of those who exercise the powers of government that constitutions, and the governments issuing from them, are established. In all those matters, the right of judging and acting are in those who pay, and not those who receive.''^ Again, he says : " A constitution is the property of a nation, and not of those who exercise the government." Again, p. 185, he says : "The laws which are enacted by governments control men only as in- dividuals ; but the nation, through its constitution, controls the whole gov- ernment, and has a natural ability so to do. The final controlling power., therefore, and the original constituting power, are one and the same power." It may be contended that the authorities above cited refer only to the right of the whole people to form or remodel their constitutions— that when 32 Rep. No. 546. the political compact has been once formed, it cannot be changed by a majority of the people, unless expressly stipulated in the compact, but must be changed by the act of the whole people, or such part of then, to whom the right is expressly reserved in the compact (or constitution) itself. The committee do not agree to this hmit of the power of the majority. All social and political compacts are formed for the " greatest good of the whole number." It cannot be supposed that any compact of society, or government, was ever entered into by persons possessing tfie same equality of right as they must be supposed to possess in the state of nature, witli the express object of securing a greater portion of power and privilege to the minority than the majority enjoyed. That could not be the design of social compacts, nor of constitutional compacts. The democratic theory of government is, that the majority shall govern. That is the theory on which is founded the wiiole American system of government. Constitu- tions are adopted to prescribe the rules by which the power of the majority shall be exercised. They provide certain organizations and modes through which the power of the majority shall be expressed in legislation and in the administration of government, that its action may be consistent, regular, certain, and moderate. But it should never be forgotten that these very constitutional limitations are the work of the majority. The sovereign will of the majority spoke those constitutional limitations into being; and it can alter them, modify them, repeal them, and substitute others in their place. That the majority should possess this right, is most obvious to reason. Political power, from numerous causes, may pass from the many to the few. By the local changes of population, it may be thus transferred, it is, in some degree, inseparable from representative fornjs of government, and more particularly wlien representation is apportioned to territory, (as it was in Rhode Island under the charter, and as it is in many of the States of the Union,) and not to population. By the power of construction^ which those possess who administer the Government, it may be perverted from the original purpose of its creation, into an instrument of oppression and injustice, even while retaining the republican form. Even great discoveries of science may so operate as to neutralize the wholesome action of Government, by concentrating power in the hands of a few, and thus rendering necessary a new adjustment of it. To counteract these tendencies of the powers of government to pass from the many to the few, it becomes necessary that the right of reform should ever exist in the majority. It is the living principle of free government, without which it could not long exist, but would inevitably become a prey to usurpation, and the instrument of despotism. Therefore, when a govern- ment is perverted from the true and legitimate purpose of its institution, or from any cause becomes burdensome and oppressive, the majority should always have the right to reclaim the power thus abused, and, by introdu- cing new checks and limitations, and making new distributions of it among its administrators, to secure its just and equitable administration. It is indeed contended, that, when the political compact is once formed, it is a contract, and cannot be changed without the consent of every indi- vidual who is a party to it. However plausible this proposition may be in the statement, its logic cannot bear the test of analj^sis. The political com- pact, like all others^ is to be tested by the obvious meaning and intention of the parties to it. And what is the intention of the parties to the political compact ? It is, to secure to those entering into it the full and complete Rep. No. 546. 33 'enjoyment of life, liberty, and the right to seek iheir own happiness, not only tor the present, but for all future time. With a full knowledoje of the facis that all things connected with hunjan affairs are ever progressmg and ever changing — that forms of government establislied at one time may, by the lapse of time, and the change of circumstaiic*s, 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 farms are not to change with the changes of society, I,f such were the understanding, they will have stipulated for tne 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, sup- posing 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 condi- tions of tlie social or political compact, that it shall be subject to all changes wliich 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 bur- densome or oppressive to the living, the latter may alter or abolish such compacts or institutions, and form others that will secure to them the enjoy- ment of the rights to which they are, by nature, entitled. A contrary doc- trine would perpetuate the errors and imperfections of government through- out 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 com- munities where the minority actually possess and exercise the political power, and the majority are excluded from it, such exclusion is irilli 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 con- trary 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 unal- terable, 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 dis- own the operations of that constitution, or to withdraw themselves from its jurisdiction ; much less is the compact supposed liable to interruption, or 34 Bep. No. 546. suspension, or dissolution, at the will of any private citizen, upon Iiis own notion of its obligations, or of any infringement of ihem by ihe constituted authorities. Tlie only redress for any such infringenients, and ihe 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 aypeal to the good sense and justice of the ntojorit'ij. And- this, according to Mr. Locke, is the true sense of the original compact, by which every individual has surren- dered to the majority of the society the right permanently to control and direct the operations of the government therein." — tStory^s Comm.^ vol. 1, f. 305-6. Mr. Chapman Johnson, a distinguished federalist of Virginia, in a speech in the Virginia convention in 1829-30, says : " 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 re- form is declared unquestionably to belong ; — the people are the sole exclu- sive judges. It is their duty, 1 admit, to listen with all deference and re- spect to the counsels of their v/ise 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 de- monstrate 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 Prov- idence, 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 atten- tively and impartially considering all the arguments adduced to sustain these counsels, and carefully weighing every fact on which they rest, if 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, if 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 wisdoip, your virtue — the great superiority of your attainments, and the miire 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. Uut 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 Rep. No. 546. 35 our own senses, and the reflections of our own minds, have conducted us . to a different conchision ; ours is the stake in this government; ours the loss, if ill should result ; ours the gain, if happiness should aUend our re- forin ; ours, therefore, is the province to judge, and you ncust excuse us if, dissenting from your opinions, we feel bound to follow the dictates of our own judgments.' " Tlie people, then, Mr. Chairman, must judge for themselves, when the casus foederis has occurred; when the defects of the government require reform ; and, judging (hat time to have arrived, the. vnquestioi/able right to reform belongs' to the majority." — Debates in the Virginia convention, pp. 202, 263. Mr. Locke, in his work on civil government, says : " For w.here any number of men have, by the consent of every individ- ual, 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 determina- tion of the majority; for that which acts any community, being only the consent of the individuals of it, and it being neces;-ary to that, which is one body, to move one way, it is necessary the hotly 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 community — which 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 Jio 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, jo//^5 himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the determination of the majority^ and to he concluded by it.^ Mr. Madison, in relation to the same subject, says: " 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 peopli^J'^ * * * «' It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion or Si favored class of it ;. otherwise a handtiil of tyrannical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a< delegation of their power, might aspire to the rank of republicans, ands 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 de- graded from the republican character." — The Federalist, No. 39. These views are consistent with the universally received doctrine in re- lation to republican government, — that, in the formation of the social com- pact, the minority agree to submit to the will of the majority in the admin- istration of its political concerns. The object of the social compact is the 86 Eep. No. 546. mutual safety and security of all ; and it is ever to be presuniod, whatever the fact may be, that the administration of its concerns will never be in viola- tion 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 jjower is inherent in the people ; all free governments are founded in their authority, and instituted for their benefit. Thep have, therefore, an unalienable and indefeasible right to institute government, and to alter, 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 fur- nish 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, honar. or private interest of any one man, family, and any class of men ; there- fore 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 emol- ument of any one man, family, or class of men ; therefore, whenever the ends of the government are perverted, or public liberty manifestly endan- gered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may., and of right ought ^o, reform the old, or establish a new government." — Con- stitution 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 con- ducive to the public weal." — Constitution of Vermont. " Tiiat all political power is inherent i?i the people, and all free govern- ments 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 suchmarmer as they may think expedient.'''' — Con- stitution of Connecticut. "That all power is inherent in tJie people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and hap- piness. For the advancement of those ends, they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their govern- ment in such m.anner as they may think proper." — Constitution of Penn- sylvan ia. " Through Divine goodness, all men have, by nature, the rights of wor- Rep. No. 546. 37 sliippino- and serving their Creator according to the dictates of. their con- sciences, of enjoying and defending hfe and liberty, of acquiring and pro- tectino- reputation and propertv, 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 lor the due exercise thereof, power is inherent in them; and theref)re all just authority in the institutions ol political so- ciety is derived from the people^ and established with their consent, to ad- vance their happiness: and they may for this end, as circumstances require, from time to time, alter their constitution of government." — Constitution of Delmvare. " 1. That all government, of right, oriiritiates frotn the people, is founded in compact only, and instituted solely for the good of the whole. "2. That the people of this State oui;ht 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 x^ommunity; of all the va- rious modes and forms of government, that is best which is capable of pro- ducing 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 viajor- ity of the conirmtaity hatli 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.^^ — Const iiu/inn of Virginia. " I. 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 riffht of regulating the internal government and pohce thereof" — Constitu- tion of North. Carolina. " 'i'hat all power is inherent in tJie people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happi- ness. For the advancement of these ends, they have at all times an una- lienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their sfovernment, in such manner as they may think proper.'' — Consfitutiim, 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 happi- ness. For the advancement of those ends, they have at all times an una- henable and indefeasible right to alter, reflirm, or abolish the government, in such manner as theymnay think proper.'''' — 'Constitution of feniiessee. " 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 prop- erty, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safely ; and every free re- publican government being founded on their sole anthority., and organized for the purpose of protecting their liberties and securing their independ- ence, — toefFect these ends, they have at all times a complete power to alter, reform, or abolish their government, whenever they may deem it necessary." — Constitutio)?, 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 happi- ness. For the advancement of these ends, they have at all time^^ an una- lienable and indefeasible right to alter or reform their government in such manner as they may deem proper P — Constitution of Indiana. 38 Rep. No. 546. <'That all political power is iiikercnt in the people^ and all free g^ovem- ments are founded on iheir authority, and established for their benefit ; and, therefore, they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter or abolish their form of government, in such manner as they may think expedient. ^^ — Constitution of Mississippi. " That all power is inhe?-ent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and hap- piness." — Constitution of Illinois. " All political power is iiihtrent in the people, and all free governments are founded on tlieir authority, and instituted for their benefit ; and there- fore they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government, in such manner us they may think expedie7it.'''' — Constitution of Alabama. " 1. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people. " 2. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of alter- ing and abolishing- their constitution and form of government, whenever it may be necessary to their safety and happiness." — ConfIy and universally to move in concert towards their object; and it is iheretore essential that such changes be instituted by some informal and unatithorized propositions, made by somf^ patriotic and respectable citizen or number of citizens. They must have recollected that it was by this irregular and assumed privilege of proposing to the people plans for their safety and happiness, that the States were first united against the danger with which tliey were threatened by their ancient government; that com- mittees and congresses were formed for concentrating their efforts, and de- fending their rights; and that convenlions were elected in the several States for establishing the constitutions under which they are now governed. Nor could it have been forgotten that no little ill timed scruples, no zeal for ad- hering to ordinary forms, wore anywliere seen, except in those who wished to indulge, under these»masks, their secret enmity to the substance contended for. They must have borne in mind that, as the plan to be framed and proposed was to be submitted to the people themselves, the disapprobation of this supreme authority would destroy it forever; its approbation blot out all antecedent errors and irreirularities." — Federalist, No. 40. Thus was the present constitution of the Union brought into being by an irregular and unauthorized proceeding on the part of the convention which framed it. f3ut the subsequent approbation and ratification of the people blotted out --all antecedent errors and irregularities." This example does not stand solitary and alone in our annals. The people of the States of Tennessee, Michio-an, and Arkansas, when those (States were in the political condition of Territories, formed constitutions without the consent of Congress, and were admitted into the Union with 'Ihe constitutions they had thus framed. On the part of those opposed to 40 Rep. No. 546. their admission, it was objected that the people of those three Territories had not the ris^ht to adopt constitutions without the consent of Congress; and therefore the constitutions which they presented were unauthorized and void. On the other side, it was conteiided that, when they had the re- quisite number of inhabitants, the people of those Territories could, by an exercise of their own inherent sovereignty, frame constitutions, repubhcan in form, and claim of Congress admission into the Union ; otherwise, it was contended Congress, by refusing its consent, could forever prevent their forming constitutions, and prohibit their admission into the Union. During the debate upon the adnnssion of Michigan, in the Senate of the United States, Mr. Benton remarked that " conventions were original acts of the people. They depended upon inherent and inalienable rights. The people of any State may, at any time, meet in convention, wit/witt a lav) of their' legislature, and without any provision, or 4cVl^'s.T any pro- vision IN THEIR constitution, and may alter or abolish me whole frame of government as they please. The sovereign power to govern them- selves was in the majority, and they could not be divested of it." — Gales t^' Seaton^s Debates, vol 12, part I, p. 1036. The committee cannot forbear giving one more authority. In the con- vention which framed the present constitution of Virginia, a proposition was made to insert a clause providing a mode of its future amendment. The proposition was rejected, on the ground that a majority of the people had the power, at any time, and in any manner they pleased, to amend the constitution, or make a new one. The following is the vote by which the proposition was rejected : Ayes. — Messrs. Smith, Miller, Baxter, Mercer, Fitzhugh, Mason of Frederick, Naylor, Donaldson, Boyd, McMillan, Campbell of Washing- ton, Summers, Lee, Di^ddridge, Morgan, Campbell of Brooke, Wilson, Clay- tor, Saunders, Cabell, Stuart, Thonipson, Joynes, Bayly, and Upshur. — 25. Noes. — :Vlessrs Barbour, (President,) Jones, Leigh of Chesterfield, Taylor of Chesterfield, Giles, Brodnax, Droingi>ole, Alexander, Goode, Marshall, Tyler, Nicholas, Clopton, Anderson, Coffman, Harrison, Williamson, Bald- win, Ji hnson, McCoy, Moore, Beirne, Mason of Southampton, Trezvant, Claiborne, Uiquhart, Randolph, Leigh of Halifax, Logan, Venable, Madi- son, Stanard, Holladay, Henderson, Osbonie, Cooke, Griggs, Pendle- tor, George, Byars, Roane, Taylor of Caroline, Morris, Cloyd, Chapman, Mathews, Oglesby, Duncan, Laidley, Barbour of Culpeper, Scott, Green, Tazewell, Loyall, P';entis, Grigsby, Campbell of Be{ybrd, Branch. Townes, Martin, Pleasants, Gordon, Massie, Bates, Neale, Rose, Coalter, and Per- rin. — 6S. Among those voting against inserting a provision in the constitution of Virginia, providing for future amendments, on the ground that the ppople have at all times the right to amend it in any manner they misht deem proper, are the names of ./oA« '/'y/tr, acting President of (he United States, and of the late ex-President Madison, and Chief Justice Marshall. Thus it appears to be the clearly understood doctrine of American sages and legislators, from the earliest history of the republic to the present time, that the sovereign poicer of the State resides in the people of the State; and that in the exercise of their sovereign power, thw majority of the peo- ple can, in any maimer, and at such tiuic as they deem expedient, with- out the consent of existing authorities, and even against an express pro- vision of a constitution once agreed to by them pointing out the mode, alter^ Kep. No 546. 41 reform, or abolish their existing forms of government, and institute others in the places of those abrogated. THE RIGFIT OF SUFFRAGE. But if is contended by the advocates of the charter government of Rhode Island, that tlse term " people" does not include the free white male resident citizens of the State of the age of 21 years, as contended for by the supporters of the people's constitution ; bill; that it implies only the " legaV' people, or those on whom the right of snfirnge had been conferred by the charier government; in other words, the '■'•frecvietC' of the State, who, as has be^n before seen, comprised but one third part of the white male citizens of the State, of full age. The committee will now, with as much brevity as possible, give their views upon the question, Who consViinle tlie paople of a State^ in wlio^n resides the sovereign poiver 7 and, also, upon the right of sriffrage which is involved in the question just stated. But, before passing to the consid- eration of. those questions, they will stop for a moment to expose the ab- surdity of the theory advanced by the advocates of a royal charter, that the ^^ legal" people only are invested with the sovereign power, and have a right to change the fundamental lorm of ijovernment. Who were the "legal" people in Rhode Island? In 1663, when the charter was first granted, they were all such persons as the grantees of the charter might "admit free of the company." At another time, "the legal" man must possess a "competent estate ;" at another time, he must be ad- mitted to freemanship by the freemen of the several towns ; at another time, he must possess a freehold worth £100; at another time, he must be the o^vner of a freehold of ilie value of £2ii(); at another, his freehold must be worth £41)1). and then again £40, and a^ain $134 ; at another time, this free- hold might be a mortgaged estate; at another, it must be free of incumbrance. At one time a certain period of residence was required in addition to the free- hold. At another, a different period. Now, could the sovereign power be vested in men who were measured by such a changeable, capricious, and arbitrary standard, as these regulations imply? Could the right of suf- frage depend upon such a variable and evanescent princifile? But, to cap the climax of absurdiiy on the part of those who contend that the " legal" peo- ple only (in otiier words, the persons " admitted free of the company") were the sole possessors of the sovereign power, the charter assembly, by the act calling the convention which framed the existing contitution of the State, admitted persons who were not the owners of freehold estates to vote in the election of delegates to the convention, and afterwards on the question of the adoption of the constitution. ''J'hus, at last, the "legal" people of the State became those who possessed a certain qualification of residence, and were not freeholders, nor freemen. It is an outrage upon reason to suppose that the sacred right of suffrag;e could depend upon such a variable standard — could be the victim of snch ever changing caprice. The committee will now o;ive their own views upon the right of suffrage; relying more, however, upon the practical exposition of the right given by the frauiers of the American constitutions, than any abstract theories of their own. They believe that the ri^ht of suffrage is a naf.ural, not a conveidioual right, which attaches to the man, independent of the accidents of birth or lortune; of which right he cannot be divested, except by usurpation or force. It exists antecedent to the formation of the social union and the 42 Rep. No 546. political compact, and inseparably belongs to him as certain qualities insep- arably belong to things. The very act of men's convening in the social compact, ntiplies a prior exercise of the right of suffrage — the expression of voluntary clioice or consent ; for that is no more nor less than what is nnderstood by suffrage. It attaches to the individual man, and not to Ijis casual concomitants of high birih, talents, or fortune. All men liave by nature an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I'o secure the enjoyment of this right, tfiey first form the social wiion, and then the political compact, or institution of government. When they meet in the social union, which is the intermediate state between a state of nature and the poliiical compact, they meet on terms of perfect equality of right. But some possess qualities or things which others do not possess. Some have more property, some more talent, and some more physical strength, &c., than others enjoy ; and they may insist that their voice, or share of influence, in the political compact which they are about to form, shall be in proportion to then* property, their talents, or their physical strength. If these claims were obstinately persisted in, could the political compact ever be formed? Would the several possessors of those different qualities or things which they prefer as grounds of claim to supe- rior power, agree among themselves as to the proportions they should enjoy? Would those who possessed no property and but a usual share of mental capacity and physical strength, agree that those who possessed more of those qualities should enjoy a greater influence in the political compact than themselves ? It is plain, if the possessors of property, or the possessors of talent, or of physical strength, should insist that those things should entitle them to a proportionate share in the political compact, it never could be formed. To illustrate the theory proposed. Suppose ten men accede to the social union, with a view to form a political compact. One brings with him more property than all the others; another brings with him more mental ability; and another, more physical strength ; another, more mechanical skill ; an- other, more general knowledge, (fcc. Now, if property were the basis of power, the possessor of that would enjoy more influence in the government to be established than all the others. The others would, in fact, possess no power, because their voices would be overbalanced by that of the owner of the property. Would he not, therefore, become the despot and oppressor of the community ? And would not the same result take phice if talent, or physical strength, or mechanical skill, or, in fact, any other quality or thing, were the rule of distinction ? It is plain, therefore,, that noquahties or pos sessions, which attach to the person, can be the measure of p^wer in the government to be formed. If the right to political power cannot be attached to the things and qualities which men acquire, or accidentally possess, in what can it reside but in the man himself? All men have a natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of ha[)piness. That right infinitely transcends all possessions wliich men may have. It is a right shared equally by all. All, therefore, should have an equal power to protect it. Hence all men should have an equal voice in the governments which they have instituted for the protection of their rights. Such a conclusion accords with the voice of justice, of reason^ of common sense. The committee can never concede the principle, that one man shall have a voice in the government of a comtnunity, because he happens to possess property; and that another man shall have no voice in it, because he does not possess it. Riches and poverty are both the accidents of human life. Properly may be acquired Rep. No. 546. 43 by skill, inherited by descent, seized by fraud, or obtained by chance; and It may be lost by misfortune, or squandered by folly, Beins: a casual appurtenance to man, which may be attached to him to-day and detached to morrow, it has no intrinsic claim to power, and should confer upon its possessor no additional weight in the body politic, A contrary doctrine de- grades the man, and gives to things of his own creation, which possess neither intellect, sensibility, nor moral worth, an importance and conse- quence which are duo only to the living immortal being, the image of the Deity — man himself — who possesses all those attributes. Besides, property needs no factitious political influence for its safety and protection. It needs not, for its own preservation, to be recognised as a political element in the social compact ; which is to speak, and act, and vote in the government of the community. It possesses m itself, and gives to its owner, a power independent of any political privileges wiih which it may be clothed. And the annals of the whole human race show, that whenever it has been uniied with political power, it has proved to be the enemy of freedom, and the friend and ally of injustice, oppression, and despotism. Our daily experience convinces us of the truth of the trite axiom, that " money is power." When aggregated in large masses, it has not only proved, in many instances, to be the tyrant and oppressor of the poor man, but it has openly and audaciously trampled upon the law, and set the power and authority of Government itself at defiance. It, therefore, needs not the assistance of political power for its preservation; — in other words, its possessor should have no greater voice in the government of the community, on the pretext that he needs it in order to protect his property, than he would liave without it. Nor does he personally stand in so nuich need of the protecting shield of government as the poor man, for the very reason that his property gives him a fiictitious influence, winch he who has none does not possess. He has more means in his hands to defend and protect himself from the encroachtnents and usurpations of government, and the oppression and violence of others, than the poor man. The poor man has just as much right to his liberty as the rich man; and the free and fidl enjoyment of t!ie fruits of his honest toil is of more importance to him than the rich man's property to its possessor, because the former cannot live without the fruits of his labor. The poor man is subject to all the great burdens of the state to which the rich man is subject, and he can- not escape from their performance as the rich man can and does escape. He p;iys as much of the revenues of the government, in proportion to his means, as the rich man. He is subject to military duty, and, in periods of public danger, he is liable to be called upon to peril his life in battle for his country. The rich man, indeed, is subject to tiie same obligations; but his wealth enables him to escape personally froiiF their performance. His wealth enables him to command others to perform the duty which society allots to him. Who fill the ranks of armies? It is mainly the poor. And who perform the prodigious labors which convert the forest into the field of culture? who build our dwellings, our towns, our cities, and our public works — in short, fill our country, and all countries, with monuments of utility, splendor, and magnificence? It is the man who toils — not he who lolls at his ease in opulence and luxury. Wealth ever seeks an alliance with power, because power confers upon it honors and privileges. Hence, its possessors are generally in favor of those forms of government which concede honors and privileges to men 44 Rep. No. 546. who possess wealth, and are opposed to those forms of government which, denying all artificial grounds for the bestowment of honors and distinction, conter them only on superior merit and virtue. All governments which recognise wealth as the l)asis (entirely or partially) of power, honors, and privileges, must depart from the strict principle of justice in the dispensa- tion of" their favors. Free governments, which repel the idea of wealth as an element of political power, recognise the political rights of all persons to be equal. They are, therefore, founded on the principle of exact justice to all men. They aim to secure to all persons composing the body politic, without regard to rank or wealth, an equal share of power, and an equal voice in the administration of the government. Such a government the poor man is interested in maintaining, because in its preservation he finds the only sure protection of his rights and liberties. While, on the other hand, the possessors of wealth are naturally inclined agamst free or repub- hcan governments, because they do not concede any peculiar honors or privileges to property ; and they are naturally inclined to aristocratic or monarchical forms, because such governments do clothe property with honors, privileges, and political influence. The extension of suffrage, therefore, to those who do not possess prop- erty, will not weaken, but will do much to strengthen free governments; because it places the government more directly in the power of those classes of the people who are most interested in maintaining it— the middle and laboring classes. Those classes see that their rights are safe only under a government which recognises ia its administration the principle of exact justice to all, poor as well as rich. And, under such a government, it would not be difficult to show that property, in the general sense, is bet- ter secured to its possessors than under any other form; it being restrained, so far as human devices can restrain it, from encroachments on the rights of others. But it may be asked, if all who belong to the political society shall have an equal voice in controlling its concerns, why are women and children excluded? Why is the right of suffrage to be confined to'niales over 21 years of age? In relation to women, the answer is, that their interests are so intimately blended with those of men, it would be useless to give them a voice in the government. The Almighty himself, by making them weaker in person, has decreed their dependence on man. They are, therefore, with propriety, rep- resented in the political concerns of society through the other sex, to whi'tn their affections and sympathies are allied, and on whom they are dependent for protection. This < xclusion is in accordance with the voice of nature, and the practice of all nations in all ages: it is in unison with the wis! es and desires of women theanselves, who prefer to wield the potent sceptre which sways the empire of the heart and the affections, to the rude en- counter and turbulent passions of the political arena. Besides, it is a fact which will be generally conceded, that women reflect the political senti- ments and feelings of their male relatives. And, if they did not, the dif- ference of opinion which they would express at the polls would lead to domestic dissensions, which could not fail to lower the moral tone of the community. All enlightened women, therefore, have, with scarcely an exception, concurred in the propriety of those wise ordinances of society which have, with a tender anxiety for their welfare, rescued them from the contamination of political strife. Rep. No. 546. 45 in rec-arcl to children, it is well known that they are dependent for nur- ture and protection upon their parents. In addition to their weakness of person, tlieir intellects are undeveloped, and they have not the reason and judo-ment wisely to provide for their own interest and welfare. On account ol this weakness of mind and person, resuUiuff from the undeveloped state of both, they are ext^mpted from the burdens and obligations of society, and are only held amenable to the natural and obvious laws of justice; and then not until they are of sufficient capacity clearly to perceive the distinction between right and wrong. In the progress of nature, there must be a period when this weakness must cease — when the minor becomes capable of perceiving his true ititerests, and of protecting himself. When arrived at his maturity of niind and person. Nature herself impels him to go forth from his paternal roof, and do for himself in the world. At what age does this weakness cease? At what period in his life is he the mature man? It is admitted that all the individuals of the race do not arrive at maturity at the same age ; but there is an age when the majority do. What is that age? The iiation from which we derive not only our origin, but our municipal laws and customs, and, it is believed, many other nations, have fixed it at 21 years. Adopting the judgment of our mother land, the people of this country have fixed the commencement of the mature man at the same age. He is then held to be capable of enjoying and exercising all the rights and duties which attach to the mature man in society ; he is then held to be obliged by the contracts into which he enters ; he then becomes the subject of taxation ; in short, bears his share of all the burdens, and should participate in all the benefits, of society. And such has been the practical decision of the founders of the Ameri- can constitutions, as will appear by the following authorities, which are the provisiotis of the constitutions of a large majority of the several States of the Union, in relation to the right of suffrage: Authorities on the right of suffrage. "Every male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, excepting paupers, persons under guardianship, and Indians not taxed, having his residence established in this State for the term of three months next preceding any election, shall be an elector for governor, senators, and representatives, in the town or plantation where his residence is so established ; and the elections shall be by written ballot." — Constitu- tion of Maine. "Every male citizen of twenty one years of age and upwards, (except- ing paupers and persons under guardianship,) who shall have resided within the commonwealth one year, and within the town or district in which he may claim a right to vote, six calendar months next preceding any election of governor, lieutenant governor, senators, and representatives, and who shall have paid, by himself or his parent, master, or guardian, any State or county tax, which shall, within two years next preceding such election, have been assessed upon him in any town or district of this com- monwealth ; and, also, every citizen who shall be by law exeujpt from tax- ation, and who shall be in all other respects qualified as above mentioned, shall have a right to vote in such election of governor and lieutenant gov- ernor, senators, and representatives; and no other person shall be entitled to vote in such election." — Constitution of Massachusetts. 46 Rep. No. 546. "Every male inhabitant of each town, and parish with (own privileges, and places nnincorporiited, in this State, of twenty one years of age and upwards, excepting paupers and persons excused from paying taxes at their own request, shall have a right, at the annual or other meetings of the in- habitants of said towns and parishes, to be duly warned, and holden annu- ally, forever, in the month ot March, to vote in the town or parish wherein he dwells, for the senators of the county or district whereof he is a mem- ber." — Constitution of New Hampsfm-e. " Every man of the full age of twenty one years, having resided in this State for the space of one whole year next before the election of represen- tatives, and is of a quiet and peaceable behavior, and will take the [required] oath or affirmation, shall be entitled to all the privileges of a freeman of this State." — Constitutioti of Vermont. "Every white male citizen of the United States, who shall have gained a settlement in this State, attained the age of twenty one years, and re- sided in the town in which he may offer himself to be admitted to the privilege of an elector at least six months preceding, and have a free- hold estate of the yearly value of seven dollars in this State; or, having been enrolled in the militia, shall have performed military duty therein for the term of one year next preceding the time he shall offer himself for admission ; or, being liable thereto, shall have been, by authority of law, excused therefrom ; or shall have paid a State tax within the year next preceding the time he shall present himself for such admission, and shall sustain a good moral character, shall, on his taking such oath as maybe pre- scribed by law, be an elector." — Coiistilution of Connecticut. "Every male citizen of the age of twenty one years, who shall have been an inhabitant of this State one year preceding any election, and for the last six months a resident of tlie town or county where he may offer his vote ; and shall have, within the year next preceding the election, paid a tax to the State or county, assessed upon his real or personal property, or shall by law be ex- empted from taxation; or, being armed and equipped according to law, shall have performed within that year military duty in the militia of this State: and, also, every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been, for three years next preceding such elections, an inhabitant of this State, and for the last year a resident in the town or county where he may offer his vote; and shall have b'^.en, within the last year, assessed to labor upon the public highways, and shall have performed the 1 ibor, or paid an equivalent therefor, according to law, shall be entitled to vote in the town or ward where he actually resides, and not elsewhere, for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be, elective by the people. But no man of color, unless he shall have been for three years a citizen of this State, and for one year next preceding any election shall be seized and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged thereon, and shall have been actually rated, and paid a tax thereon, shall be entitled to vote at such election. And no per- son of color shall be subject to direct taxation, unless he shall be seized and possessed of such real estate as aforesaid." — Constitution of New York. " In the elections by the citizens, every white freeman of the age of twen- ty-one years, having resided in this State one year, and in the election dis- trict where he offers to vote ten days immediately preceding such election, and within two years paid a State or county tax, which shall have been as- sessed at least ten days before the election, shall enjoy the rights of an elec- Rep. No. 546. 47 tor. But a citizen of the United States, who had previously been a qualified voter of this State, and removed therefronn and returned, and who shall have resided in the election district, and paid taxes as aforesaid, shall be en- titled to vote, after residincj in the State six naonths: Provided, That white freemen, citizens of the United States, between the ages of twenty one and twenty-two years, and having resided in the State one year, and in the elec- tion district ten days as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote, although they shall not have paid taxes." — Constilutinn of Pennsylvahin. "And in such elections every free white male citizen of the age of twen- ty-two years or upwards, having resided in the State one year next before the election, and tlie last month thereof in the county where he offers to vote, and having within two years next before the election paid a county tax, which shall have been assessed at leasi six months before the election, shall enjoy the right of an elector ; and every free white male cuizen of the age of twenty-one years, and under the age of twenty-two years, having re- sided as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote without payment of any tax." — Consiitutmi of Delaware. " That all persons possessed of a freehold in any town in this State, and having a right of representation ; and, also, all freemen who have been in- habitants of any such town twelve months next before, and at the day of election, and shall have paid public taxes, shall be entiib'd to vote for a mem- ber to represent such town ui the House of Commons." — Constitution of North Carolina. '• bjvery free white man of the age of twenty one years, being a citizen of this State, and having resided therein two years previous to the day of elec- tion, and who hath a freehold of fifty acres of land, or a town lot, of which he hath been legally seized and possessed at least six months before such election ; or, not having such freehold or town lot, hath been a resident in the election district in which he offers to give his vole, six months before the said election, and hath paid a tax the preceding year of three shillings sterling towards the support of this Government, shiill have a right to vote for a member or members to serve in either branch of the Legislature, for the election district in which he holds such properly, or is so resident." — Constilution of ISouth Carolina. "That every free white male citizen of this State, and no other, above twenty years of age, having resided twelve months in the county next pre- ceding the election at which he offers to vole; and every free white male citizen of this State above twenty-one years of age, and having obtained a residence of twelve months next preceding the election in the city of Balti- more, or the city of Annapolis, and at which he offers to vote, shall have a right of suffrage, and shall vote by ballot in the election of such county or city, or either of them, for delegates to the General Assembly, electors of the Senate, and sheriffs.'' — ConstUniion of Maryland. "The electors of members of the General Assembly shall be citizens and inhabitants of this State, and shall have attained the age of twenty one years, and have paid all taxes which may have been required of tfiem, and which they may have had an opportunity of paying, agreeably to law, for the year preceding the election, and shall have resided six months vvithin the county." — Consdtntiou oj Georgia. "In all elections for representatives, every free male citizen (negroes, mu- lattoes, and Indians excepted) who, at the time being, hath attained to the age of twenty one years, and resided in the State two years, or the county 48 Eep. No. 546. or town in which he offers to vote one year next preceding: the election, shall enjoy the right of an elector; but no person shall be entitled to vote, except in the county or town in which he nmy actually reside at the time of the election, except as is herein otherwise provided." — CouslUvtioii of Kevduc.ky. •'Every free white man of the age of twenty-one years, being a citizen of the United States, and a citizen of the county wherein he may offer his vote, six months next preceditijj; the day of election, shall be entitled to vote for members of the general assembly, and other civil officers, (or the county or district in which he resides; Provided^ That no person shall be disquali- fied from voting in any election on account of color, who is now, by the laws of this State, a competent witness in a court of justice against a white man." — Constitution of Tennessee. " In all elections, all white male inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the State one year next preceding the election, and who have paid, or are charged with, a State or county tax, shall enjoy the right of an elector ; but no person shall be entitled to vote, except in the county or district in which he shall actually reside at the lime of the elec- tion." — Constilntion of Ohio. In all elections not otherwise provided for by this constitution, every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, who has resided in the Slate one year immediately preceding such election, shall be entitled to vote m the county where he resides ; except such as shall be enlisted in the army of the United States, or their allies." — Constitution of Indiana. "In all elections for representatives, every free white male citizen of the United States, who, at the time being, hath attained to the age of twenty- one years, and resided in the county in which he offers to vote for one year next preceding the election, and who, in the last six months prior to the said election, shall have paid a State tax, shall enjoy the right of an elector." — Constitution of Louisiana. "Every free white male person of the age of twenty-one years or up- wards, who shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this State one year next preceding an election, and the last four months within the county, city, or town in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector." — Constitution of Mississippi. " In all elections, all white male inhabitants above the age of twenty- one years, having resided in the State six months next preceding the elec- tion, shall enjoy the right of an elector ; but no person shall be entitled to vote, except in the county or district in which he shall actually reside at the time of the election." — Constitution of Illinois. "Every white male person of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, who shall be a citizen of the United States, and shall have resided in this State one year next preceding an election, and the last three months within the county, city, or town in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a quali- fied elector : Provided^ That no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the regular army or navy of the United States, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State: And provided, also, That no elector shall be entitled to vote, except in the county, city, or town (entitled to separate representation) in which he may reside at the time of the election." — Constitution of Ala- bama. " Every free white male citizen of the United States, who shall have at- tained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have resided in this State Rep. No. 546. 49 one year before an election, the last three months whereof shall have been in the county or district in which he offers lo vote, shall be deeim-d a quali- fied elector of all elective offices: Provid/^d, Thut. no soldier, seain.tn, or marine, in the re(,ailar.army or navy ol the United States, shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State." — Constitution of Mhsourl. '•In all elections, every white male citizen above the a^e of twenty one yenrs, having resid d in the State six mouths next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote at such election ; and every white male inhabitant of the age aforesaid, who may be a resident of the State at the time of the signing of this con^titntion, sliall have the right of voting as aforesaid ; but no such citizen or inhabitant shall be entitled to vote except in the district, county, or township in which he shall actually reside at the time ol sucli election." — Constitution of Michigan. " Every free white male citizen of the United States, who shall have at- tained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have been a citizen of this State six months, shall be deemed a qualified elector, and be eiiiiiled to vote in the county or district where he actually resides, for each and every office made elective nnder this State or the United States: Provid>d^ Tliat no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the army or navy of the United States^ shall be entitled to vote at any election within this State," — Constiiution of Arkansas. The act of Congress of May 20, 1812, relating to the establishment of a Territorial Government in the Territory of Illinois, indicates the sense of that body in relation to the right of suffrage. The following is the provision of the act in regard to suffrage : » Kach and every free in/iilc nude person who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and shall have paid a county or territorial tax and who shall have resided one year in said Territory previous to any general election, and be, at the time of any such election, a resident thereof, shall be entitled to vote for members of the Legislative Council, and House of Representatives for the said Territory."' Such are the opinions of the people of twenty-three Slates of the Union in relation to the right of suffra^ce. The exposition of the ricrht by the Congress of the United States accords with those opinions. The rule or prin- ciple which they establish is agf and cinzenshi/). To establish the tact of cuizenship, they require residence, the payment of a tax, or the performance of some service ; but none of them require a freehold estate as the ultimate condition of the enjoyment of the right of suffrage. Thus has the practical exposition, by a vast majority of the people of this country, expressed through their constitutions and law's relative to suffrage, been in accordance with the laws of nature and of justice. And when this natural right has been disregarded in the political compact, it has n^'ver been done by the voluntan/ consent of those who have been deprived of it, as contended for by some, but by force and usurpation. The course of reasoning which the committee have pursued, and the authorities they have cited, establish clearly to their own minds the two following propositions: 1st, That the sovereign power of a State is inherent in the people; and that, in the exercise of that sovereiijn right, they may alter or abolish, in any manner they may deem proper, all existing forms of grovernment, and ordain and establish other forms in the t)!ace of those which thev abroa-ute. 4 * -^ o 50 Rep. No. 546 2d. That the (political) people include ail free white mole persons, of the age of twenty-one years, wiio are cMzens of the State, are of sound mind, and have not forfeited their right by some crime againiit the society ofwliich tliey are members. The people not fickle^ unstable, and fond of change. The committee arc not unaware of the objections which are ur^eA by the enemies of popular sovereignty against the doctrine of the unlimited power of the people over the political organization of a State. They contend that, if generally admitted, it would unsettle the foundations of all governments; that the people are unstable, fickle, and fond of change; and thai they would be constantly at work in the busmess of making and unmaking their govern- ments. Tins assumption is contrary to our own experience in this country, and to the evidence oi all history. So far from the people desiring change and instability, history [troves that they are ever in favor of stability and permanency; and that they long bear the abuses, oppressions, and tyranny of government, before they resort to their ultimate right, which is revolu- tion — by force, in despotic governments, and reform, through the peaceful exercise of their own infierent sovereign power, in commonwealths. This is the voice of all history, from the earliest periods of Greece to tlie present day. The secession of the people of Rome to the sacred mountain, the wonderful revolt of Massaniello in Naples, and the sanguinary and shocking revolution of 1790 in France, did not spring from the desire of change in a fickle people; but they had their origin in unfeeling, heartless, ruthless, and intolerable oppression on the part of their rulers, which goaded them to re- sistance and revenank- head himself was ordered "to repair individually to Newport, R. I., and there remain until all appearance of domestic violence shall have disap- peared." But (hat is not all. By an order dated April 2(3th, addressed to Major Payne, a military esjnona^e was established by the General Gov- ernment in the Str.te of Rhode Island. — (See appendix. Military orders.) On the 4th day of May, Governor King communicated to the President the resolutions of the charter assembly, announcing the existence of an insurrection, and calling upon the Kxecutive of the United States to act upon the requisition of the Assemblv^ by interposing the authority and pow- er of the Uiiited States to suppress the insurrection. (See appendix. No. 168.) Thus had the President issued his letter promising aid to the charter Government against the people. He had sent a n^iiitary otiicer, as request- ed, to Rhode Island, who was to act in concert with the cliarter authorities. He had di.-ected two companies of artillery, with a full complement of ef- fective men, ready for active and " del ached'''' service, to enter the territory of Rhode Island. He had placed two conjpanies more, equally effective, and prepared for active service, within ten hours' sail, and in striking dis- tance of that State ; and htid established a milildnj espionage over the peo- ple of the State. Did not all this constitute a MiLirAiiv dkmonstration upon the people of Rhode Island ? And did it not have the effect which it was designed to have 1 Did it not intimidate and subdue tlie people, compel- ling them to abandon their constiujtion and government? And cannot a people be as effectually conquered by a military demonstration, as by actual attack and slaughter? No man in the possession of his reason will deny the affirmative replies to these questions. And yet the PresidentJn his message to the House in answer to the resohuion of that body, says that the casus foederis never arose during the late disturbances in Rhode Island, which would justify his interposition with the military power of the Union ; that he never did interfere ; and that all tliis movement of troops into the territory of Rhode Island, and concentration of them within striking distance in the neighborhood, was only intended '■'•to strengilicn the garrison, at Fort Adams!" Was it necessary that the troops intended "to strengthen" Fort Adams should be provided with tents for ^'' detached'^ service} If they were designed only to strengthen that post, wliy were they provided with equipage, tents, &c., for active service in the feld? Notwithstanding the positive assertion of the President to the contrary, the committee feel that they would deny the irresistible convictions of their own understandinjjs if they should say that he did not interfere, with the military power of the Union, on the side of the cliarter authorities, against the people of Rhode Island, by which their constitution and government were put down and suppressed. 56 Rep. No. 546, The first attempt of the people of Rhode Islond to establish tlieir consti- tution and government was suppressed by the means and instrumentalities above described. In the latter part of June, (oUowino^ the events before mentioned, Governor Dorr made another attempt to re-establish the author- ity of the people's constitution and government. It will now be shown what connexion the President had with this second effort of Governor Dorr to reinstate the authority of the government under Vi^hich he acted. In anticipation of this second attempt of Governor Dorr to re-establish the people's government, Governor King addressed a letter to the President, Jinder date of ,Vlay 25, statinsf tlie grounds of his apprehensions, and add- ing, "In this position of affairs, I deem it my duty to call upon your excellency for the support guarantied by the constitution and laws of the United States to this Government." Did the President remain silent and inactive on this requisilioti ? Let the facts answer. On the 28th of May, the President replied to the letter of Governor King as follows: "Should the necessity of the case require the interposition, of the authority of the United States, it will be rendered in the manner prescribed by the laws." How was it rendered ? On the 28th of May, Colonel Bankhead was ordered '• to communicate personnlly ivi/h Governor King''' in relation to the subjects of his letter. On the 29ih day of May, another order from the War Department was addressed to General Eustis. of Boston, request- ing him to make inquiry in relation to the movements of the '-insurgents,'^ wliich was to be done "quietly and privately," and the result communi- cated to the dep.irtiTient. On the 2Sth of May "presidential instructions" were a]so addressed to the Secretary of War, directing Colonel Bankhead to take certain measures, witli a view to the contemplated attetript " to place" Dorr in the chair of State in Rhode Island." On the 22d day of June, Colonel Bankhead reported to the Secretary of War certain facts and cir- cumstances, which led him to believe "that Mr. Dorr and his party are de- termined to enter the State in force ; and that, in a few days, serious diffi- culties will arise." On the 29th of June, the President addressed a com- municaiion to the Secretary of War, in which lie states that it is now "evi- dent that the difficulties in Rhode Island have arrived at a crisis which njay require a prompt interposition of the Executive of the United States to prevent the effusion of blood;" and, '^ with a view to ascertain the true con- dition of things, and to render the assistance of this Government, if any be required, as prompt as may be, you are instructed to proceed to Rhode Island." The Secretary was also directed to make requisitions upon the Governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut for miliiia. He also car- ried in his poclcet a proelamalion of the President against the "insur- gents." Colonel Bankhead, in the mean time, iims in co7nmuiiicalion with Governor King, as appears by his letters to the Secretary of War, under date of .lune 23. On tlie 27th of June, Colonel Bankhead writes to Adju- tant General Jones, at Washington, stating the forces of the charier govern- ment, and of Governor Dorr, at Chepachet ; and add.'^, "it seems to be im- possible to avoid a conflict betv/een the two parlies, without the interposition of a strong regular force." He then proceeds to speak of the condition of things in the city of Providence, and of the strengtli of Dorr's position, and adds, "it would, therefore, be highly imprudent to make the attack, even if no secret foes were left behind within the city, without a positive certain- ty of success ; and, with the aid of a few disciplined troops, a defeat [to Dorr] Rep. No. 5i6. 57 there would be rninons and irreparable. A force of 300 regular troops would insure success, and probably without bloodshed." Ac{ainst whom were these "reijular troops" to act, but against Dorr ? And did Colonel Bankhead re- ceive these reitjforcements ? By general orders No. 33, " the lio^ht companies of the 1st and 3d artil- lery, on being relieved, will proceed to Fort Adams, to constitute two of the foi/r companies assigned as the permanent garrison of that post ;" and, on the 1 Ith of June, the assistant adjutant general wrote to Col. Bankhead that "the two companies now at Fort Adams, to be replaced by two light companies, njay wait for the arrival of the latter." Thus ivus Col. Bank- head svpplied vuth nenrly the mu/iber of men required ; and a circum- stance, not unworthy of note, connected with these military movements, is, that, at this juncture, two ordinary companies of artillery were removed, and their places supplied with two companies of " li^fit^^ or Jlijing artillery, which are the most effective force in tlie service. The United States troops at Fort Adams were also provided with ammunition, flints, haversacks, provisions for two days' service in the field, daily disciplined, and informed by these officers that they were to act on the side of the charter authorities against the people. Oariridges for cannon and muslcets were also taken from the stores of the Uniteil States, and delivered to the charter troops. — (See affidavit of George S. Reed, appendix No. 57.) In view of these facts, can any one doubt that they constitute a second MILITARY DEMONSTRATION agaiust the pcople of Rhode Island and Mr. Dorr, their riglitful Governor, who was attempting to reinstate the peo- ple's constitution and government against the charier authorities, who had become the usurping and insurrectionary party in the State? Yet the President affirms that the casus foederis never arose when he was author- ized to inti^rpose the authority and power of the General Governn)ent in the political disputes of tiie people of Rhode Island ; and, in his late mes- sage, in face of the facts above stated, he gravely avers to the House and the country "that the Executive did not deem it his duty to interfere, with the naval and military power of the United States, in the late disturbances in Rhode Island ;" but the movement of troops to that State was merely "^0 siren !^i hen the ^arriyon at Fort Admns T The committee have stated the facts, and, notwithstanding the positive denial of the President that he did interfere with the military power of the General Government on the side of the charter party against the people, they feel bound to say that the testimony supports a conclusion entirely opposi e to that to which the President has arrived. It was by this second military demonstration that the people were again defeated, and their con- stitution finally suppressed. Had ihe President a right to interfere at all on the side of the charter au- thorities agaiust the people who, in the exercise of their sovereign power, were engaged in a peaceable and orderly attempt to establish their constitu- tion and government, but who were unlawfully, and without right, resisted in this attempt by the charter authorities? The President derives his au- thority to act in the case under consideration (if from any source) from the fourth section of the fourth article of the constitution, which is in the followmg words : "Tile United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a re- publican form of government, and shall protect each of them against inva- 58 Rep. No. 546. sioii ; and. on application of the Legislature, or of the Executive when the Legislature cannot be convened, agauist domestic violence." And also he rehes upon the laws of Congress passed in pursuance of this provision of the constitution. This provision of the constiiution, and the laws of Congress made in pursuance of it, authorize the President to in- terfere only in cases of domestic violence or insurrection against tlie duly constituted authorities of a State — authorities which are admitted on all sides, even by the insurgents themselves, to be constitutional and legal. In- surrection cannot exist against a defimct government, which claims power by usurpation and force. The Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts, and the whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania, were insurrections against govern- ments admitted and recognised by the insurgents themselves to be constitu- tional and legitimate. In such cases, there can be no doubt as to the duly of the Executive, But the act of the people by which they, in the exercise of their inlierent sovereign will, substitute one government for another, cannot be deemed an insurrection against the government they have abrogated ; and, in such a case, the Presid«',nt would be guilty of a violatioti of the constitution, if he were to interfere and put them down by the military power at his command. Instead of a "constitution- maker," he would, in such a case, be the peri'etuator of usurpers and tyrants. The interpretation which he makes of his own duty under the constiiution, in assuming that the act of the people in changing their con- stitution cannot be authentic without the consent of the existing authorities, makes him not only an "agitator" between the parties, but a constitu tion-maker, or rather a constitution destroyer. His interpretation of his duty would have perpetuated in power the thirty tyrnnts of Aihens, if they had happened to be the " aulhorities" of the State of Rhode Island ; and, with due deference to the higli source whence such doctrines emanate, the committee believe tliat they are most pernicious and dangerous in their effects upon free government, and deserve to be stamped with reprobation by the American people. They would forever put the bar up against all reform in existing governments, except by force ; they therefore tend to produce the anarchy and bloodshed which the President so ft eliiigly affects to deprecate, or they tend to despotism. The President, in substance, says to the party which hapfjens to be in possession of power in a State : " Do as you please with the power you pos>ess ; pervert it as much as you please ; pay no regard to the people, if you please ; deprive them of as much of their rights as you please. If they attempt to regain them without your consent, — if they attempt to abolish the constitution, or frame of gov- ernment, under which you act, and which you have perverted, and to establish another in its pfice without your consent, I will interpose with the military power of the Union, and put them down. They are insurrec- tionists against your government, and rebels against your authority; and it is therefore my constitutional duty to put them down." What effect would doctrines like tlT£se have in the commonwealths of wliich this republic is com[)osed, but to create tyrants and to establish despotisms, or to bring about bloody revolutions and civil war? And, to decide in favor of tlie ex- isting government, is he not as much an ^^ agitator' between the contend- ing parties, and a " constitution f/iukei;" as if he were to decide in favor of the people? The President also assumes, in his message, that, as the charter was the form of government which existed in Rhode Island at the Revolution, and Rep. No 546. 59 at the time of the adoption of the constitution of the United States hy the State of Rhode l--land, it was the form of government which the United States stipulated to guaranty. He further, in snltstance, contends that he had no rigfit to take notice of the act of the people of Rhode Island by which they abrogated the charter, because the act was not done by the eon- sent of the authorities deriving their power from the charter. To make the difierence between themselves and the President more ob- vious, the committee will stale their views of the effect of the Revolution upon the charter. Prior to tlial event, the institutions of the colonies re- cognised the theoretic principle, that the sovereign power was vested in the crown of Enoiand. AH charters of government were derived from the crown, and could be altered or revoked at the pleasure of the king; and all laws passed by the legislatures of the colonies required the assent of the king or his representative; the king was the admitted sovereign, and the people aspired to be no more than subjects. The revolution established a new theory, viz: that the people, in their political capacity, were sovereign: and in tlieir individual capacity, the subjects of their own laws. When the separation between thecoloni(\s and the motfier country actually took place, the sovereignty reverted from the crown of England to the people of the several colonies. The people, therefore, stood in the same relation to all the existing governments of the colonies, as that in which the crown stood before the .'•eparation. They could abolish them, and substitute others in their places, or they could permit them to exist. In some of the States tliey proceeded immediately to the work of revoking the royal charters by which their governments were established, and instituting written constitutions in their places. If any of the old charters existed, (as tfiey did in Coimecticut for many years after the Revolution, and in Rhode Island until recently,) they existed by the consent, or rather sufferance of the people, who possess- ed the power to abolish them at will. While they tlius existed, with the consent of the people, the comiDittee concur with tlie President in the opinion, that they were entitled to the guaranty of the United States under the constitution, provided (he government, under them, was in form repub- lican. But the President contends that the United States, acting through its constituted authorities, has no right to take notice of any change of these original frame-works of government, the royal charters, (or even of con- stitutions adopted in their places.) unless such change shall have been made by the people with the consent of the authorities existing under those charters; — in other words, r)o act of the people, changing those charters, can be authentic without such consent ; and that he, actino- for the United States, in executing the guarantee of the constitution, has no discretion in the matter, but must stand by the authorities, and against the people. On this point the committee differ with the President. Tliey hold that when the casus fosderi^ tirlses which demands the execution of the constitutional guarantee to a State, the authorities of the Union, charged with the execu- tion of thai Guarantee, /n.ii.'^t deliberate. Tliey must decide whether they are called upon to guaranty a republican form of government ado{)ted by the [)eople of the State claiming tlie guarantee, or to perpetuate a govern- ment which is not, or which has ceased to be, repul)lican. The section of the consiitmion containing this stipulated guarantee, e.r vi termini requires this deliberation and decision. And in accordance with this view of the sub- ject, Mr. Madison, in the 4Rd number of the Federalist, remarks: ''As long, therefore, as the existing repvblican forms are continued by the Stales, m^ Kep. No. 546. they are guarantied by (he federal constitution. Whenever the States }?rai/ choose to siihstiLiUc, other republican forms ^ they have a right to do so, and 10 claim the federal guarantee for the latter." In addition to the authority of Mr. Miidison, the committee will refer to a re- cent and conspicuous example, in which the then Executive of the United States exercised tliis deliberation and decision. The committee refer to the refusal by certain individuals of one political party in Pennsylvania, in 1838, to surrender the offices and authority they lield to other persons who had been elected by the people of that State to the same offices. The former were in possession of the govern ment of the State in all its depart- ments. They were the official government of the State. They came to the determination to treat the election by the people of others to their places, as though it had not been held. Great excitement followed this resokition of tlie official government, and the people assembled at its seat in such numbers as to induce those holding the offices of the government to fear fhat tliey would be ejected from their places by force. In this emergency, a requisi- tion was made upon the President of the United States for his int. rposiiioti with the military power of the Union to protect the Slate from insurrection and domestic violence. It was made by a government de facto ^ claiming to be such de jure, and to all appearance orijanized in all its departments. Yet the President deliberated. He considered whether those persons con- stituting the government de facto were holding it by right. He investigated the fcicts, and saw that the people had elected a new governmetit, which, although the individuals constituting it had not been qualified, and had not assumed their offices, was the government de Jure^ and that tiie other was in fact a usurpation. He therefore decided against the usurping government, in favor of the rightful one, and refused to comply with the requisition. The resrdt, as is well known, was the ascendency of the people over the usurping party. According to the interpretation given by the President, of the duty of the Executive under the clause of the constitution guarantying to the States republican forms of government, and protecting them from domestic vio- lence, the eminent individual who filled tlie execiuive chair at the time of the event above alluded to occurred, was bound to interpose the power of the United States in favor of tlie actual government making the requisi- tion, having no discretionary power to inquire whether the requisition |)ro- ceeded from a legitimate or a usurpina- government. In such a construction of his duty, the committee repeat that they do not concur with the President. This subject will be further considered in another part of this report. The committee have no doubt of the fict, because it is shown by the testimony annexed to this report, and by the notorious history of the times, that, if the President had not intt^rposed with the military power of the United States, in favor of the charter government, tlie people's constitution would have gone into effect, and the government organized undrr it would now have been the government of Rhode Island. Their constitution was adopted in peace, and without opposition. Their government wa" organ- ized without molestation, and no serious opposition was made to it by the charter authorities, until they hadnceived the pledge of aid from, the Pres- ident. W ithout this assistance, no reasonable man, cognizant of the facts, can doubt that the charter authorities would have peaceaf)ly and qui<;tly surrendered their places and power to the government of the people. Not- withstanding, therefore, his averment to the contrary, (which the committee. Rep No. 546. 61 in courtesy, are bound to receive as honestly made,) the fact cannot lie de- nied that he made himself the "agitator" between the two parlies in Rhode Island ; and that he defeated one consutntion. and imposed upon the pi'ople of the State another— thus making himself the "coNSTiTUTioN-MAKEii" for the people of Rhode Island. The President also professes to entertain the bc^lief, that a course contra- ry to the one he pursued in Rhode Island vvonld lead to civil war, anarchy, and bloodshed. With due deference to the opinion of the President, the committee entertain a belief directly the reverse. The experiment o( the President was indeed successful in Rhode Island — a State small in popula- tion as well as in territory. But, if he had thus interpose d in a snnilar controversy between two parties of the people of the great and powerful States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Virginia, what would have been the result? Would the party against whom he interfered have submitted peaceably to presidential dictation? Would they have feared the power of the Union ? And could the President rely on the aid of the people of other States, in such an emergency, — especially when the aim and object of his interposition were to trample down the great funda- mental principle of American institutions, by tlie tenure of which j)rin- ciple the people hold their liherties, — and to perpetuate in power a gov- ernment which the people of a State lind abrogated and repudiated? In such a contest, on which side would be the sympathies and the active aid of the generous, magnanimous, and liberty loving people of this country? The President may rely upon it, tiiat they would not be on the side of the General Government and a factious minority against the people. If it had been the people of any of the large and powerful States of the Union with whose political controversies the President had interfered, instead of Rhode Island, he would have been resisted at once, and he then would liave witues.-ed the melancholy spectacle of civil war, aiiarcfiy, and bloodshed, which he deprecates. Tiie conflagration would have l)een lit up by a brand from his own hand, and he would have seen an uprising of the people against himself and the authority he wielded, which would have swept away himself, and his ministers and agents of power, as the dust is swept from the eagle's wings by the winds of the raging tempest. Such, in the opinion of the committee, would have been the awful consequences, if a single individual of the people of Rhode Island had been slaughtered by the hireling soldiery of the United States. It would have kindled a civil war which might have pervaded the whole Union, and prostrated in blood and desolation the fairest fabric ever erected to human liberty. The people of this country are justly jealous of the power of the General Government. While they will stand by it with patriotic fidelity, when it moves within the proper orbit of its powers, they will never permit it to step beyond the sphere of its duties, and interfere with the political contests of the people of the several States. In such emergencies, the President will always find the American people arrayed against the power of the General Government. In the unhappy controversy in Rhode Island, the President himself saw evidences of tins fact, in the almost universal sympathies of the people of other States in favor of the suffrage party of Rhode Island, and in their indignant condemnation of executive interference. Such was the state of feeling among the people during the occurrence of the events under consideration, as was too clearly manifest to be mistaken by the Pres- ident. He could not have shut his eyes to the portentous spectacle of a large public meeting composed of men of wealth, talent, and the highest respec- 62 Rep. No. 546. lability in the city of New York, which was called expressly on the occasion of his interference. Nor could he have failed to perceive the spirit which brought together similar assemblages of the people m Boston and other places. Not nntil he had inltrposed the power of the Union in the dis- pute^ was there any disposition among the people of other States to min- gle actively and personally in the fray. It was to oppose him and his power that individuals from other States joined the standard of (Jovernor Dorr, if any did join it ; — of which fact, however, the committee have had no proof, although there is proof that citizens of other States served in the ranks of the charter party, during the late difficulties in Rhode Island. The President concludes the review which his message takes of his con- duct which resulted in the establishment of the existing constitution of the State of Rhode Island, with the following self-gratulating remark: " Thus the great American experiment of a change in government, under the in- fluence of o])inion, and not of force ^ has been crowned with success, and the State and people of Rliode Island repose in safety under institutions of their own adoption, unterrified by any future prospect of necessary change, and secure against domestic violence and invasion from abroad." That the remark of the President, above quoted, may be stamped with its true character, the committee will briefly review the circumstances under which this "great American experimentof a change in government," of which he speaks, was effected. The people of Rhode Island, in the exercise of what they believed to be their sovereign right, without force and in a peaceable manner, adopted a constitution in place of the charter under wliich they had long lived. At the time appointed in their constitution, they proceeded to elect and organize a government under it, in place of the government existing under the charter. They called upon the charter authorities to surrender the power which they (the people) had decided to withdraw from those authorities, and to place in other hands. The charter authorities re- fused, and called upon the President to aid them in putting down the people w-ith the military power of the Union. This aid was promised, and, with that view, troops and munitions of war belonging to the United States were sent into the territory of Rhode Island ; and, through this interposition of the President, the people were conquered., and their government overturned and suppressed. Martial law was proclaimed; awA while it continned in force^ the people were called upon, by an act of the Legislature, to elect dele- gates to a convention which was authorized to frame a new constitution. The election of delegates took place on the last Tuesday of August, 1842. On the eighth of the same August, martial law was temporarily suspended by proclamation of the Governor, not repealed. It may, therefore, with truth be said, that; the delegates to this important convention were elected tin- der the actual existence of martial law. The convention assembled, framed a constitution, and submitted it to the people for adoption on the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of November, 1842; prior to which time (viz: on the 3()th day of August) martial law was indefinitely suspended by procla- mation of the Governor, although the act authorizing the Governor and council to proclaim it at any time, still remains unrepealed. The people voted, and the constitution received less than 7,000 votes, (which number is less than one-third of the suffrages of the whole people,) and was de- clared to be adopted, and the present government of the State was organized under it accordingly. During the whole of this time the State of Rhode Island was under actual military organization; many of its citizens were Rep. No. 546. 63 in j)rison, on charges of treason and other crimes; many were in forcible exile, and a majority were writhing under the degradation of military con- quest. The fart is^ therefore, that the existing constitution of the State was actually framed and adopted under the mejiace and duress of martial laiD and military force. And yet, in tlie face of this pregnant and pointed fact, the President coolly asserts to the House and the country, that this " great American experiment of a change of government" was accomplished '• under the influence of opinion, and not of Ibrce !" The committee submit to the House and the country to compare the facts with the President's assertion, and to draw the inference, THE POWER OF CONGRESS IN RESPECT TO THE iMATTER OF THE ME- MORIAL. The committee now proceed to consider, briefly, the power and the duty of the Government of the United States in reference to the matters pre- sented to the consideration of the House by the memorialists. In addition to the inquiry into the allegations of fact in their memorial, they pray Con- gress to execute the guaranty of the United States to the people of Rhode Is- land, by reinstating their constitution, which was suppressed by the charter authorities, illegitimately holding power, assisted by the Executive of the United States with the military power of the Union. All the power which Congress possesses over the subject-matter of the memorial is derived from the fourth section of the fourth article of the constitution, which has been be- fore cited. That provision of the coiisiitution guaranties to each State "a republican form, of gov ernn lev t^'' xsvi& stipulates "to protect each of them against invasion ; and, on the application of the Legislature, or of the Ex- ecutive, when the Legislature cannot be convened, against domestic vio- lence." "^rhis provision of the constitution vests in the Congress of the United States a supervision over all the State constitutions ; so fiar as the as- certcuninent of their republican character is concerned. And when those constitutions do not provide fir a republican form of government — which, in addition to an outward popular organization, the committee understand to be one which exists in the consent of the people, and over which they have control — it is the duty of Congress to set it aside, and to recognise and en- force one which possesses this republican character. This act of supervision implies the prior action of the people, or of a party assuming to be the peo- ple, of a State. And further than the exercise of this supervision, the com- mittee contend that Congress has no power and cannot go. Congress can- not prescribe to the peo|)le of a State the details of their constitution, if none of its provisions conflict with a republican form. It cannot dictate to the people as to whom shall be confided the political power of the State. The people, as hereinbefore defined — who do not, in the opinion of ihe commit- tee, include slaves, nor persons under pupilase or guardianship, nor aliens, nor insane persons, nor paupers, who contribute nothing to the effective means of the community, nor persons who have forfeited the confidence of the community by crimes against its rights, — the people, thus defined, have supreme, unlimited control over their constitutions. The majority may make such distribution of political power in their constitutions as they may think proper. They may limit and restrict it as they please, provided it is the will of the majority, and provided the power is at all times reserved to the people as before defined, (to include every free male citizen, with the 64 Rep. No. 546. exceptions above stated,) to alter, reform, or abolish the existing govern- ment, ill manner and form as they shall dtem most ex[)edient. The committee also are of the opinion that the Government of the Union is bound, at all times, to take notice of this sovereign act of the people, when- ever it is done, and to protect the people in the exercise of it. Congress is bound to pass laws, if none now exist, (which the committee beheve to be the fact,) to protect the people of the several States in tiie enjoyment and exercise of their sovereign powers. If this were done, and if these were the doclrmes entertained by the authorities of the Union, no change of govern- ment by the people of a State would lead to bloodshed and civil war. Such changes wo ild l^e made with as little excitement as occurs at an ordmary election. Each party would know that the validity of the act by which the change was effected would be tested by a superior tribunal, governed and controlled in its action by the supreme law of their common country; and they would await its decision — with anxiety, to be sure, but in tranquillity and peace. Then, indeed, would be exhihited the sublime spectacle of "the great American experiment of a change in government, under the in- fluence of opinion, and not of force.'' It would not be effected by a resort to the bloody right of revolution, which is tlie common right of the serfs and vassals of every despot in every hind and clime; but it would be brought about by the peaceful operation of the great principle which lies at the foundation of all the American institutions of government — the sov EREIGNTY AND SUPREMACY OF THE PEOPLE. Coijgress is as imperatively bound by the provision of the constitution before reterred to, to protect the States from invasion and domestic insur- rection and violence, as it is to guaranty to them republican forms of gov- ernment. But those insurrections must, of course, be against governments rightfully exisiing^ by the will and consent of the people, and not by usurpation, against their will. The people, in attempting to put down such governments, cannot be rebels and insurrectionists. On the contrary, they are entitled to the aid and succor of the General Government in such an act. In respect to the guaranty claimed by the memorialists for the people's constitution and government, the committee have before remarked, that, on the first election under the existing constitution of Rhode Island, an un- doubted majority of the people did register their nairies and give their suf- frages according to its provisions. Whether that act was equivalent to an abrogation of the people's constitution, and a ratification of the present con- stitution of the State, the committee, as they have before remarked, will not undertake to decide. And for the purpose of producing unanimity, as much as possible, in the opinion of the House, they do not propose any further action in reference to the subject, than to declare, by resolution, that, until the people's constitution was thus abrogated, the acts of the gov- ernment established under it were rightful, and entitled* to full faith, credit, and authority. And the committee would here respectfully suggest to the House the propriety of some legislation by Congress, with a view to meet emergencies like that which has occurred in the Slate of Rhode Island. The action of the Kxecutive in that emergency, by which the will of the people of that State was suppressed, and the people themselves conquered and degraded, clearly demonstrates the necessity of such legislation, in order to prevent that arm of the General Government which is first applied to in such- Kep. No. 5i6. 65 cases, from becoming the arbiter of the people in questions affecting the exercise of their sovereign power, and the "constitution-maker" of the States. TYRANNY AND DESPOTISM OF THE CHARTER AUTHORITIES. The committee will now pass to the consideration of the conduct of the charter authorities in reference to the people of Rhode Island, with a view to prevent them from adopting a constitution, and organizing a government under it ; together with such other acts of tyranny and outrage, in the name and under the forms of law, perpetrated by the charter authorities and their adherents, against the advocates and supporters of the people's constitution and government, during the late unhappy disturbances in that State. And, first, the legal expedients resorted to, to prevent the people from adopting their constitution, and organizing their government, will be noticed. Coercion of the people hij penal enactments. The charter assembly, at its session in March, 1842, with a view, and for the express and avowed object, of preventing the people from proceeding to the election of a governor and other State officers, and a legislature, ac- cording to the provisions of tlieir constitution, passed an act entitled "An act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State," more generally known afterwards in the political vocabulary of the State as the "Algerine act." (See appendix, No. 2.) The first section of this act, after declaring all " town, ward, or other meetings," for the election of any " town, ward, city, or State officer or officers," not held according to the laws of the charier government, illegaf and void, proceeded to enact that "any person or persons 7iiho shall net as inoderator or moderators., warden or wardens^ clerk or clerks,^^ in such meeting declared to be illegal, "or in any name or manner receive, record, or certify votes" for any officers at such meetings declared to be illegal, '■'■shall he deemed guilty of a misde??ieanor^ and be punished, by indictment, with a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, nor less than^'re hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for tJte term of six ?nonths.'^ The se 'Olid section enacts, that any person or persons who shall '^signify that he or they will accept any office by virtue of such elections declared by the act to be illegal, or shall " knowingly suffer or permit his or their name or names to be used as a candidate or candidates" for any office at such election, shall be adjudged guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and be punished, by indictment, in a fine of two thousand dollars, and be imprisoned for the term of one year." The third section, in substance, enacts that any person who shall "as- sume to exercise" any office "under any pretended constitution of govern- ment for this State, or otherwise," within the territorial limits of said State, or "shall assemble for the purpose of exercising any such functions," every such exercise of, or meeting for the purpose of exercising any of said func- tions "shall be deemed and taken to be an usurpation of the sovereign power of this Slate, and is hereby declared to be treason against the State, and shall be punished by impriaonment during life.''' The fourth section of the act provides that "all indictments under this act, and all indictments for treason against this State, may be preferred and 5 66 Rep. No. 546. found in awy county of this State, without regard to the comity in which the offence was committed.'''' The same section authorizes tlie supreme court to remove any indictment for trial to any county in the State. Such, in substance, are the provisions of the celebrated act in relation to offences against the "sovereign power" of the Slate. The whole of it was aimed at the people's constitution, and was intended to prevent the election and organization of a government under it. The first section was designed to deter the people from electing the officers necessary for the organization of their government ; and with that view, it was declared to be a misdemeanor to officiate as moderator or clerk at such meeting, under a penalty of $1,01)0, and imprisonment for the term of six months. The second section was de- signed to prevent the people from having any candidates; and to intimidate such persons as were inclined to act as candidates, it was declared to be a " high crime and jnisdejueanor''^ if they " signified''^ that they would accept an office to which they might be elected, or if they, knowingly ^^snff'ered or permitted'''' themselves to be candidates; .and the offender subjected himself to a penalty of i2,000, and imprisonment for the term of one year. The third section declares the exercise of the functions of any office, or meeting for that purpose, (which was thus forbidden,) to be "^reaso/t" against the State, which subjected the offender to imprisonment for life! The fourth section committed an atrocious violation of every principle of justice, by authorizing a partisan court (since proved to be — see Charge of .ludge Dur- fee, appendix No. 212) to transfer the accused from the county in which the alleged offence was committed, to some other county, for trial, (perhaps among his enemies,) in which his conviction woidd be rendered more cer- tain. Such a provision is in direct conflict with the sixth amendment of the constitution of tlie United States, which secures to the accused an im- partial trial by a jury of his peers in the county or district in which the offence shall have been committed. Such a provision in regard to the trial of the accused would not, in this age, be permitted to disgrace the legisla- tion of any civilized and enlightened t^uropean Government which pro- fesses to be free. In all its provisions, it is equally obnoxious, derogatory to the rights of the people, and disreputable to the State and the age. It seems to have been reserved for the legislators of Rhode Island to discover that '■^signifying^^ to accept an office, or '■'■permitting'''' one's name to be used as a candidate, was a "high crime and misdemeanor;" or that, assuming to exercise the functions of such office was " treason against the State." When were such acts before denounced as crimes in any free country? When, before, were men accused of high crimes, permitted to be transported from the county in which the crime was committed, to another, for trial, in order to insure conv'iction? The venue is often permitted to be changed when the accused cannot have a fair trial in the county in which the offence was committed, but never to render his conviction more certain. The change of venue is permitted as an act of humanity to the accused^ to secure to him a just and impartial trial, and not to enable the government to wreak its vengeance with more sure and certain success. Such vindictive tyranny is worthy only of the oge of the Stuarts and their judicial instrument, the infamous Jeffries; and would now be scouted for its abominable injustice and tyranny, even in England. The recent trial and conviction of Thomas W. Dorr, who officiated as governor under the people's constitution, for the alleged offence of treason, •furnishes a conclusive illustration of the tender mercies of the act under con- Rep. No. 546. 67 sideration. His alleged offence was commilted in the county of Providence; ill wliich county, the people's constitution had most friends and supporters. He was transported to the county of Newport for trial, where lie had the most political enemies. After several days wasted in empannelling a jury, there being over 100 summoned, a jury was at length packed, being every man of them his political enatnies ; and he was passed through the forms of a trial, and convicted, as every man knew he would be, under such a fiarci- cal, if not disgraceful proceeding, in the name of justice. The committee rejoice that such a law, and such an administration of it, have never soiled tlie character of any State in the Union — except Rhode Island. They believe it to be violative (in two of its features, at least) of the constitution of the United States. Its definition of treason is a violation of that provision of the constitution which declares that treason shall consist in " levying war against the United States, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Its provision authorizing the transfer of persons accused of crimes from the county in which the offence was com- mitted, to another county, for trial, with tlie obvious purpose of enabling the government the more readlli/ to convict them, is, as has been before re- marked, in violation of the constitution of the United States, which provides that the accused shall be tried in the district in which the offence shall have been committed, and which has been previously ascertained by law. The whole aim and object of this act was to prevent the people of Rhode Island from organizing a government under the constitution adopted by them; and if tiiey should persist, to enable the charter government, if suc- cessful in the contest, to wreak its vengeance upon those who dared to advo- cate and defend that constitution and governmenl. The people, however, treated the act with the scorn and contempt which it merited, and proceeded to elect the officers provided by their constitution, and to organize their government. Tiiey, also, through their legislature thus elected, repealed the odious law, the provisions of which have been recited, and set it aside as one of those execrable acts of a despotic power which deserve the deci- sive condemnation of frecinen. And if it had not been for the unauthorized and censurable interference of the Executive of the United States with the military power of the Union, on behalf of the charter government, the de- funct power of the odious statute under consideration would have never been revived, and the State of Rhode Island would not have attained that preeminent distinction for vindictive and relentless political proscription which it now enjoys, and which exceeds in its ruthless vengeance the con- duct of any modern civilized government pretending at all to regard the forms of liberty, equity, and justice. 'I'he act above mentioned was passed before any election had occurred under the people's constitution, and before any govertmient imder it was organized. Its object was, as before remarked, to prevent such election and organization from taking effect. After their constitution and government were suppressed, the people of Rhode Island, as the memorialists allege, in order to bring the question in relation to their right to change their form of government before the House of Representatives of the United States, to be there considered and determined, proposed to elect members to the House, that the question might be raised by the compel ition for seats which would take place between the members elected under the people's constitution, and those elected under the existing constitution of the State. To prevent the people from resorting to this peaceful mode of testing the questions, both of 68 Rep. No. 546, ri^ht and of fact, involved in the adoption of the constitution, and as Kseew- ingly fearful of the result, the General Assembly, under the existiuij consti- tution of the State, at its January session, 1843, passed an act in addition to the act " in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State," (which act has been before described ;) in and by which, the provisions of that act in relation to such oflTences were re-enacted. It declared all meet- ings, not according to the laws of the charter government, and its successor^ the present government of the State, to be illegal and void; subjected the moderators, clerks, candidates, and officers, assuming to exercise the func- tions of their several offices, to the same penalties; declaring these acts tO' bd misdemeanors, high crimes, and treasons. Not stopping at the re enact- ment of the provisions of the " Algerine act," it took one bold stride farther, and denounced all meetings held by the people for electing officers, except according to the dominant power of the State, to be ^^ riotous, tumulinous, and treasonable assemblies ;"' and directed the Governor of the State, sher- itTs of counties, &c., (fcc, to command such meetings to disperse forthwith ; and if such con)mand were not followed by instant dispersion^ they were authorized to use first the civil posse, and next to call out the military pow- er of the State, to disperse such assemblies. Thus, under the refined pro- x'isions of this act, all meetings, however ordei^ly and peaceable, which vi^ere held for the purpose of electing officers, and which were not authorized by the rulino: party in the State, were declared to be "riotous, tumultuous, and treasonable assemblies," which might be commanded to disperse instantly / and if that order was not instantly obeyed, the awthorities, thus empowered by the act, could call out the military force, and instantly shoot down those who were concerned in the meetings declared to be " riotous, tumultuous, and treasonable." The committee have looked in vain in the statute-books of the several States of the Union for an act which, in its provisions, bears any resemblance to the one under consideration. And they believe it to be the first instance in the republic in which a State has provided, by legal enactment, to have its citizens, who are holding a peaceful meeting, shot down by an armed military, if they do not instantly obey an order to dis- perse.* — (For the act now under consideration, see appendix, No. 232.) But llie committee forbear to comment upon the despotic and sanguinary features of such legislation, further than to remark, that, by it, the people were intimidated and prevented from electing members of Congress, under tlieir own constitution and laws; and therefore were deprived of that op- portunity of submitting their cause to the arbitrament and decision of the nation, through its Representatives in Congress assembled. Such were the legal coercions resorted to by the dominant authorities of Rhode Island, to prevent the people, not only from organizing a govern- ment under their constitution, but from presenting the questions of right and of fact, growing out of their movement, for the decision of Congress — the only tribunal that could determine those questions by direct jurisdic- tion — through its power of supervision over the constitutions of the States, There is one more legislative expedient resorted to by the charter author- * In April, 1842, ihe charter assembly amended the existing riot act of the State, which re- quired one hour to elapse after proclamation, before military force could be used, so as to author- ize its application msianler alter the proclamation ; but it did not declare the meetings ot the people, to elect officers under their constitution, " riotous, tumultuous, and treasonable assem- blies," although there is no reason to doubt that to disperse such instantly by the bayonet was the object of this amendmen: o; the riot act.— (See appendix, No. 23-2, A.) Rep. No. 546. 69 hies to suppress the suffrage movement, to whicli the committee will briefly allude; and which was, the scheme of the legislature to disband all the mili- tary companies suspected of being inclined in favor of the snffrage move- ment, and to reorganize companies composed entirely of adherents of the cliarter cause. The latter companies were also favored by legislation in numerous ways ; armories were built for them, and douceurs, in other forms, voted by the legislature, to encourage them and secure their fidelity. As military service is one of the qualifications of suffrage under the ex- isting constitution, the law was so contrived as to exclude the suffrage men from qualifying themselves in that way. The power of enrollment was re- tained in the hands of the charter party, who could enroll such as they pleased, or exclude such as they pleased ; and thus, to some extent, they had a control over the right of suffrao^e. For the particular acts of the General Assembly, passed with a view to the above objects, and which proved to a great extent successful, the com- mittee refer to the appendix, where they are collated. The committ.;e now proceed to notice, briefly, some of the misrepresent- ations, persecutions, and outrages of which the suffrage party have been made the victims by the dominant authorities of the State of Rhode Island, and by persons intrusted with office and power under said authorities. The misrepresentations of which the people have been the objects, will be first noticed. Misrepresen tat ion s.. During the progress of the debate upon the memorial which is now be- fore the committee, the signers of it were, in substance, charged by one of the members now representing the State of Rhode Island in the House, with presenting to the House a tissue of falsehood, which lie alleged the memorial contained; which charge applied to all tlie material averments of the paper. The same member, also, among other things, charged the suffrage party, and their confederates, with having formed a plot to plunder the banks of the city of Providence, and to subject its women to brutal vio- lence; which plot was carried so far towards its execution as the designa- tion of a signal, on which the infernal work of plunder and violence was to commence. In relation to the general charge of falsehood preferred aofainst the me- morialists, the committee are bound in justice to say that all the material averments and allegations contained in the memorial have been proved to be true by the testimony, oral and documeniary. which has been presented to the committee, and which is hereunto annexed. In relation to the charge that the suffrage party, or any person connected or confederated with it, in or out of the State of Rhode Island, had formed a plot to phmder the city of Providence, and to comniit the other enontities alleged, the committee deemed it of so important a character, (coming from the source it did,) as to require their n:o.st searcliing scrutiny and inves- tigation — well knowing that no party or class of men in this coimtry would uphold a party who could be guilty of concocting a plot so wicked, atro- cious, and diabolical. The committee felt that, however just the cause of the suffrage party of Rhode Island might have been in the outset, if they had stained it by a crime so revolting, they had forfeited all claim to the sympathies and the support of their countrymen, and had debarred them- 70 Rep. ^■o. 546, selves of all favor from the House. With a view, therefore, of eliciting aO' the facts connected with this charge, and to g-ive the utmost opportunity to the individnal who preferred it to substantiate if by testimony, the com- mittee, at an early stage of their investigation^ passed the following reso- lution: '■'■Resolved^ That the chairman of this committee request the Hon, Henry Y. Cranston, of the House of Representatives, to communicate to this com- mittee the names of the persons by whom the fact, stated by him in his speech in the House of Kepresentatives, during the present session, upon the resohition, reported by this conjmittee, for power to send for persons and papers, that the suffrage party of the Slate of Rhode Island, and their confederates in or out of said State, had, during the late difficulties in that State, formed a plot to rob the banks and violate the women of the city of Providence, can be proved." A copy of this resolution was immediately delivered to the Hon. Mr. Crans- ton by the chairman of the committee. Yet, during the whole investiga- tion, he has named no witness, nor given other information to the commit- tee, by which the charge preferred by him against the suffrage party could be proved. The committee, nevertheless, deemed it their duty to resort to every means in their power to prove, or disprove, the charge. And with that view, questions were propounded to John S. Harris, Welcome B. Sayles, Aaron White, jr., and Captain John R. A^nton of the United States army — persotiswho were examined before the committee. The three first persons named are friendly to the people's constitution, bnt they are gentlemen of undoubted good character and unimpeachable veracity. Captain Vinton is a native of the State of Rhode Island, and. as appears from his testimony, was in fivor of the charter crovernment, and is now in favor of the existing government of his native State. Yet. the committee are glad to express their belief that, however strong his attachments were, and may be, to the doiiu'nant party of that State, his high sense of honor would not permit him to asperse, even by implication, much less by direct assertion, any portion of his fellow citizens, however much he might differ with them in opinion. He and the other three witnesses named concur in the statement that no authentic proof of any such plot as is before described ever came to their ktiowledge. Therefore, in the absence of all proof of, and all attempt to prove, the existence of such a plot, the committee are constrained to say that it has not appeared to them, nor do they believe, that there is any foundation whatever in flict for such a charge. In saying this, they, of course, biipute no willful desiofii to misrepresent on the part of those who have been instrumental in making such a charge against the suffrage party. They state only the facts, and leave to the House and the world to judge as to the motives of the originators of the calumny. Proscription, by the charter authorities, of the friends of the people^s con- stliution. When, by the assistance of the Executive of the United States, the domi- nant party in Rhode Island had triumphed over the people, and suppressed their constitution and government, humanity suggested, and ihe President himself recommended, to the victorious party, to deal kindly and gently with their fellow-citizens with whom they had so seriously differed. The President, as if conscious that he had used his power in an unpopular, if not an intrinsically bad cause, urged tiie charter party, in earnest and Rep. No. 546. f 1 emphatic terms, to grant to the people the extension of the riglit of suffrage which they claimed, and to pass an amnesty fir past offences. This course every enlightened person would have advised, and every government, con- tent with a successful vindication of its authority, and not intent in wreak- ing on its subdued subjects its vindictive and insatiable vengeance, would have pursued. Yet the government of Rhode Island did not approve of this reasonable, this enlightened, this christian course of conduct towards those of its sahjerjs who favored the people's constitution, and have since fallen into its power; but it has pursued them with forced exile, with in- dictments, trials, and punishments, to an extent which cannot fail, when known, to call forth the emphatic and indignant condemnation of every magnanimous and mercifnl man. The ruling party in that State are now engaged in this work — in indicting, trying, and condemning men equally as respectable, virtuous, and excellent in character, as themselves — men upon whom no taint of crime rests — some for misdemcaiiors^ in acting as moderators or clerks of a peaceable meeting ; some for high crimes and misdemeanors, in " si^nif//ing'^ that they would be candidates for office under the people's conslitution ; and others for " /rmso«" against the State, in exercising the functions of office after they had been so elected. And all these prosecutions are for offences committed against a defunct govern.- meni, which the dominant party of the State have admitted ought to have been abrogated, by the fact that they have adopted a new constitution and government in its place, and conceded to the people the great principle contended for — the right of suffrage. But a recapitulation of distinct cases of proscription and persecution will speak more eloquently than words the sentence of condemnation and of reprobation which ought to be pro- nounced upon the ignoble and malicious motives which prompt such perse- vering, relentless, and ruthless revenge. The committee refer to the fol- lowing cases of proscription and persecution still persevered in by the present ruling party in Rhode Island, which have come to their knowledge, and which they have reason to believe are but a few of the many indict- ments and prosecutions still pending in the courts of that State: 1st. They begin with the case of Andrew Essex, a/ormer, of the town of Cranston, Providence county, who is indicted for a ^^ high crime and mis- demeanor ^^^ for accepting the office of justice of the peace, having been elected thereto under the people's constitution. The penalty of his "offence is a fine of $2,001), and imprisonment for one year. Indictment still pending. 2d. The next case is thai of Charles A. Slocnm, a farmer, of the town of Cranston, /or acting as moderator of a town meeting under the people's constitution. Penalty — a fine not exceeding $1,000, nor less than $.500, and imprisonment for the term of six months. Indictment still pending. 3d. The next case is that of Bnrrington Anthony, esq., of Providence, for signifying his acceptance of the office of sheriff, to which he had been elected under the people's constitution. Penalty — fine of ,$2,000, and im- prisonment for the term of one year. Indictment still pending. 4ih. The next case is that of Franklin Cooley, of Providence, stone- cutter^ for the crime of treason, in accepting the office of representative of the city of Providence under the people's constitution. Penally — impris- onment for life in the Stnte prison. Indictment still pending. 5th. The next case is that of Benjamin Arnold, of Providence, grocer, indicted for the crime of treason, he having accepted the oflice of rrpre- sentative of the city of Providence under the people's constitution. Pen- alty — imprisonment for life. Indictment still pending. 72 Rep. No. o4G. 6ih. The case of Clavis H. Bowen, esq., of Glocester, indicted lor acting OS dtrk of a lown ittoeiinsr in Glocester. unier the pet^ple's consmntion. Penally — one not exceeding $l.lW. nor less than S^^<^^<^^ ft«d in prisonment for six monihsu Indicimem still pending. Tth. The case ol Hezekiah Willard, a njercliant, ol the city of ProTidence, indicted for treason, he having occtpttd the oliice or senator from said city of Providence, under the people's constitniion. Penally — imprison men t for liH. Indictnient still pending. Sth. The case of William H. Smith, esq., of the city oi Providence, in- dicted fi^r trtasiVK he having occtpted ihc oifice ot Secretary ol Siate under ilie peoples conslitutiou. Penalty — imprisonment for life. Indictment sull pending. 9th. The case of David Parmenler, a f/ioemaltr, of the city of Provi- dence, indicted for acting as uxxleraior of a lown meeting in the city of Providence, under the people's constitution. Penally — fine not exceeding $l,lXH\ nor le5s than $5iX\ and imprisonmeni for six months. Indictment sdil pendmg. lOih. The case of Charles S Sander?, of Sraithfie'd. a pointtr, indicted for trmson, he having Itried inrr against the State on the ITlh day ot May. Penalty — imprisonment for hie. Indictment still pending. (For t!ie ten cases above mentioned, see appendix. >'o. 229. certincate of the clerk of the court in Providence county.) Ihh. The case of Wilmarili Heath, of Ba rrins ton. a r'arm^r. indicted for actin? as nK»derator of a town meeting: in Barrmgton. under the people's ; ^ ,-n. Penalty — fine not exceeiiiug 81.lXX>. nor less; than SotH). and ::enT six months. Heath was ir:ed at the last March term of the < ::, ibund guilty, ••recommended to wierry^ by the jury, and 44, found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine of $-'l\». and be imrrisoned six mouths. This man is note in prison under this s^u:-r act. ISiii. The cai»e of Benjamic M, Bos worth, of Warren, a machine maker, indicted for aetin? as clerk of a town meeting in Warren, and for receiving and rcconiing votes at said meeting, under the people'^ constitution. Tried at the Marcir term of the supren>? court, 1S44, found guilty, and recom- iDended to mercy by the jury. Stutence postponed to the next term. 14ih. The case of Joseph Gavit- of Chariest own, a fanner, indicted for trems!«m in assembling to exercise the functions of the office of a member of the Hoose of R^reseuTaiives under the |XK>ple"s constitution. The offence charged as baling been commiiied in the cotnijf of Proridemce : indict- ment found in the cotutf^ of Waskiugton. Penalty — imprisonment tor life. iDdiotOiect still pending. loth. The case of Sylvester Hime& of North Kingston, 9. farmer, indicted lor treasoH. in assembiios to exercise the functions of a member oi the House ^M Representatives under the people's CO' > The offence charged to Ita ve teea committed in the county of f :-: ; indicted in the county 0f }f'iisAiMgton, Penally — imprisonment i or .jie, Indicrnaent still rending. l above described are for constructive, or rather factitious, treasons and other offences, under the act best known as the "Alseriue act." And fourteen of them are men in the humblest walks of life, being farmers and mechanics. What civilized government, out of the limits of Rhode Island, would pursue with such an unrelenting spirit of malice and revenge such humble men ? Dignified and chivalrous gov- ernments, if they deem it necessary to make any sacrifice of life or liberty, content themselves with striking down the leaders in treason and rebellion, and never degradeand demean themselves by persecutins: the humble and un- distinguished participants and followers in such enterprises. Even under tlie despotic Governments of Europe, at this day. such conduct to.vards the humble subject would be deemed dishonorable, unmanly, and grovelling. Besides, the offences are too paltry to be worthy of the eff jrts of a respect- able government to punish.* And what adds a deeper shade oi discredit to this disreputable proscrip- tion on the part of the existing government of Rhode Island, not a single njan of tlie nineteen indicted, whose cases are given above, ever intended to commit, or supposed they were committing, a crime, when they were doine the very acts for which they stand charged with crime. They sup- posed they were pursuing a ffreat right, «hich was euarantied to them by the institutions ot their country : and if they had not entertained this belief, not one of them would have been concerned in acts which, according to the laws of Rhode Island as now administered, have subjected them to the penalties of fine and imprisonment, even during life. Intention constitutes the very essence of crime. That essential ingredient, it may be safely as- sumed, is absent in every one of the cases above cited. If those men were not right in the course they pursued, they were deluded : and after thai de- lusion had been dispelled by defeat and subjection, is it humane, is it magf- nanimous, is it just, to punish it as a crime ? The committee cannot but hope that more lenient counsels will prevail among the ruling party of Rhode Isl.ind ; ar-d they trust that, if the spirit of vengeance and retaliation cannot 1^ allayed, a decent respect for the opinions of the world will induce them to forbear the further persecution of their lellow citizens, who have been guilty of no offence but an honest difference of opinion, on a great question affecting their dearest rights and liberties. mak mtmbers of Uuir fatniUts. to be enrolled in lAfmilUia .' For the tacts conoecied with these shameful and 3 ssracefui proceedinss, ihe commiisee reier to the statetneni of Mrs. Abbr H. Lord, toseiher wiih a copF of ihe iDilicuneni against her. which will be found in ihe addenda 10 ihe papers appended lo ibis repcn. 74 Rep. No. 546. It is also worthy of remark that, in the difficulties which occurred in Khode Island, daring tlie attempt to establish the ])eople's constitution, the committee have not yet learned that a single life was taken, or private pro- perty violated, by the suffrage party or any individual attached to it. This fact speaks volumes in favor of the moderation of its course, and shows conclusively that none of its members could have been actuated by criminal intentions. It is also due to truth to remark, that the committee have reason to be- lieve that the nineteen cases, described above, fall very far short of the whole number of prosecutions for similar offences. It is a fact notorious to the country, that several others have been indicted for treason, among whom is the Hon. Dutee .1. Pearce, of Newport, formerly a distinsuishetl member of Conffress from the State of Rhode Island, who was a member of the House of Representatives imder the people's constitution. Another case is that of Thomas W. Dorr, who was elected to the office of governor, under the people's constitution, and who has recently been tried f)r the crime of treason. He is known personally to one of the mem- bers of this committee to be a gentleman of high character, and very supe- rior talents and accomplishments — a man whose good name would never intentionally be stained with the perpetration of crime. His native State has seldom produced a man favored with brighter faculties, or adorned with purer virtues. What could such a man care about the honor of being at the head of the government of Rhode Island, except it was to as- sert and vindicate what he believed to be a great principle of right, on which he believed the liberties of the people depended ? He is connected by relationship with the most respectable and wealthy families belonging to the ruling party of the State ; he has talents of a high order, and an edu- cation finished and complete. And if he had continued to support the in- terests of the charter government, his pathway to the highest honors within its gift was open and unimpeded, and his success not to be doubted. For what could such a man abandon such prospects, for the purpose of leading the people in a hazardous and perilous enterprise, if it were not to assert and vindicate a great principle? Could he be charoed with a desire for the honors and emoluments of office? The office of governor of Rhode Island, with its salary of .'$400, could hardly be a prize sufficiently dazzling to win such a man from his high hopes and brilliant promises. Could it be love of plunder? His enemies have admitted that, aside from his politi- cal theories, he was honest. Who, then, will for a moment suppose that Thomas Wilson Dorr ever contemplated the crime of treaso7i, which implies a wicked and corrupt attempt to overthrow a government admitted to be rightfully and legitimately existing? What other obvious intention could he have, but to assert and vindicate the great principle of popular sov- ereignty, involved in the contest between the two parties in Rhode Island? Yet this man has been convicted of treason by a jury of twelve men, (every one of whoin was his political opponent,) and is now liable to be sentenced to imprisonment for life for that offence. Does justice, or the security of the State of Rhode Island, require such severity of punishmeiU ? Yet the com- mittee deprecate no mercy for Governor Dorr. The time will come when his countrymen will appreciate the great principle for which he now suffers the vengeance of his persecutors, and do justice to his acts and his motives. The same sentence will also remove from his shoulders, to those of his pur- suers, the load of stigma which they have attempted to cast upon him. After Rep. No. 546. 75 the hipse of seventy years from the Revohition, the cause of hberty may require tiie blood ot some martyrs, even in America ; but from it, hke armed men from the dragon's teeth, will spring up myriads of brave and fearless asserters of the rights of tlie people, by whose courage and efiorts the prin- ciples of the declaration of independence n.ay be reinstated in our institu- tions of government. Bliscellaneoiis acts of onirage and oppression by persons acting under the authority of the charter government. Under the general authority conferred upon the committee, they caused a conmiission to be issued to Benjamin F. Hallett, esq , of Boston, to take the testimony of certain witnesses therein named, in order to prove specific acts of outrage and violence, by which the people of Rhode Island were in- timidated, and their constitution suppressed.* A large mass of proof lias been obtained by the commissioner, in pursuance of the authority delegated to liini by the committee, an abstract of which follows ; 1. Tlie first matters inquired into by the commissioner were the outrages of the ciiarter troops in Pawtucket, and the murder of Alexander Kilby, the particulars of which follow. "^I'hey first call the attention of the House to the murder of Alexander Kilby, a citizen of Pawtucket, Mass. This event occurred on the 27th day of June, 1842, being immediately after the State of Rhode Island was placed under martial law. On that day, a detachment of charter troops was sent from Providence to Pawtucket, which is a large manufacturmg village, situated partly in Rhode Island, and partly in Massachusetts — Paw- tucket river dividing the two portions of the village, which were united by a bridge. Until the arrival of these troops, there appears to have been no disturbance or particular excitement among the people on eitlier side of the river. After their arrival, and near the evening, they coumienced acts of outrage and violence, which can find no excuse or palliation in the con- duct of the inhabitants. They began these outrages by repeated discharges of musketry, loaded tvith ball cartridges^ among the populace of the vil- lage, who had been drawn together more from curiosity than any other mo- tive, and who htid offered no resistance or violence to the military. Many of the balls thus discharged rattled upon the brick walls of the liouses, others penetrated and lodged inside. Two of the citizens were hit and slightly wounded, and Alexander Kilby, a peaceable and quiet citizen, was shot dead. To show the circumstances under which he was killed more particularly, the committe^e extract the following statement from the depo- sition of Samuel W. Miller, who stood near Kilby at the time he was shot, * Commissions were first issued to Waller S. Bur:jess, George Turner, and Jesse S. Tourtel- lot, esquires, who were citizens of Rhode Island. Before proceeding to execuie their commis- sions, they were threatened with prosecution by the present sovtrnment oC the Siaie, under an act oi'ihe Slate prohibiting the administration of extra-judicial oaths; an act originally aimed at the oaths administered at masonic lodges. These threats were thrown out to intimidate the commis-ionevs from executing their fommissjons, in the vain hope of suppressing the facts which the investigation bv the committee was likely to elicit. Yei, as appears by the doc- uments accompanying the President's messasje, in answer to a resolution of the committee, this law was repeatedly vi(jlaied by Judge Pitman, Henry Bovven, and Thomas M. Burgess, ad- herenis of the charter government, who did not scruple to take depositions and adininisier oaths contrary to its provisions,; for which they have never been called to an account, and never will be. The committee, however, were not defeated by this paltry expedient lo elude an inquiry into their acts, by the existing authorities of the Stale. 76 Rep. No. 546. Miller was a resident of Pawtucket, on the Rhode Island side of the river. He says : '•On Monday evening, June 27, 1842, about dusk, I crossed over the bridge from the Rhode Island to the Massachusetts side, at Pawtucket, there being a guard of armed men stationed on the bridge at that time. I went up to Mr. Abell's hotel, and remained there until about 8^ o'clock^ p. m., when a person came in and stated that a woman had been killed on the bridge. I had previously heard the discharges of musketry, but, sup- posing them to be blank cartridges, I did not take any notice of them. I immediately started for the bridg(^, to learn if tlie report was correct ; and had proceeded as far as the corner of Mr. William Sweet's shop, within eighteen yards of the soldiers at the bridge, when 1 was accosted by Mr. Alexander Kilby, who put out his hand and asked when I was going down the river. At that moment I saw two of the soldiers on the bridge taking deliberate aim at us, and heard JNehemiah Potter, of Pawtucket, then in command of the soldiery, and whom 1 knew well, give the order to fire. I know that he was the person wlio gave the order to fire. 1 grasped Kilby's hand to pull him one side ; but before 1 could succeed, one of the guns went off, and he fell dead at my feet ; the other missed fire, which probably saved my own life. I left Kilby on the ground, and hurried back to Abell's hotel, the soldiers continiiina to fire, the effects of which may be seen in a number of ball holes in the buildings in the vicinity of the bridge on the Massachusetts side. * * * Kilby, at the time he was shot, was doing nothing to assail or provoke the soldiers, nor had I seen him. * * * j never knew nor saw Kilby take any part in the suffrage cause. I saw no persons assailing or insulting the soldiers when Kilby was killed, and knew no reason why they should have fired on us." — (See Miller's testimony, ap- pendix No. 24 ) Several other witnesses confirm the testimony of Miller, in all its essen- tial particulars; as well in respect to the killing of Kilby, and the indiscrimi- nate firing upon the citizens of Pawtucket, as to the fact that the troops had no adequate provocation for such an unjustifiable and atrocious out- rage. No coroner's inquest was held on the body of Kilby ; and he was buried while the bridge was surrounded by the charter troops with caiuion loaded and matches lighted, the funeral procession passing near to them in its way to and from the place of burial. n'hus was a peaceable and inoffensive man murdered in cold blood, in mere wantonness, and without a pretence of justification by the charter troops of Rhode Island. Kilby, the murdered man, left a wife and seven children in indigent circumstances. After his death, it is proved that the citizens of Pawtucket and other places contributed sums of money, amount- ing to about ^200, for their relief But the authorities of Rhode Island have done nothing to mitigate the privations and sorrows of a family whose protector and father was shot down by the wanton act of troops ni their own employment. Other acts of violence were committed upon persons and property at the same time, by the charter troops. Among them are the following cases : Daniel F. Cutting was hit in the arm with a musket ball, and slightly wounded. Another man, William R. Silloway, was slightly wounded iij the knee with a musket ball. Robert Abell and Larned Scott, while passing over the bridiie on to the Rhode Island side, in a covered carriage, were shot at without cause or provocation, the ball penetrating the carriage, and passing through between the two inmates, at the imminent hazard of their Rep. No. 546. 77 lives. Samuel W. Miller was arrested by the charter troops without cause^ rudely treated, and finally discharged. His housie was searched, his shop broken open, and his property damao;ed. Amos Ide was arrested by James N. OIney, a citizen of New. York, and placed under a guard of four men, two of whom said they were citizens of New York, and one was a citizen of Massachusetts. He was finally discharged, nothing appearing against him. John S. Despean was arrested without cause, taken to Providence, and discharged. The soldiers took possession of his confectionary shop, and converted a portion of its contents to their own use, for which he never has been paid. The witnesses all concur in the statement that the disturbances which occurred in Pawtucket were produced by the charter troops sent there from Providence. All the acts of violence and outrage detailed above, fwere unprovoked and unjustifiable; and the discharge "of loaded muskets into the centre of a populous village can be ascribed to no other motive tlian a wanton disposition to destroy human lile. For proof of the facts above stated, the committee refer to the depositions of the witnesses in the appendix. 2. The second matter inquired into by the commissioner, was the deten- tion of Governor Dorr's order to disband the sutfrage forces, by which the peace ol the State, and the lives of its citizens, were kept in peril a day lono^er ; and the interference with the public press. The testimony under this head shows that before 7 o'clock in the after- noon of the 27th day of June, 1842, Governor Kmg and his council had intercepted and knew Governor Dorr's order to disband his troops, which was enclosed in a letter to Walter S. Burgess, esq., with an urgent request that the order should be forthwith published in the Express newspaper, the organ of the suffrage party, and that Governor Kmg and his council, to- gether with Col. James Bmikhead, of (he United Slates armi/, {ivho ap- ]iears to fiave been present at the co/isu/tation, ) beheved that the sutfrage troops had been disbanded. It further shows that Governor King and his council intercepted and broke open Governor Dorr's letter, and detained it until 9 o'clock the next morning. The depositions under this head, and that of Col. Harvey Chaffee, taken to prove the facts hereinafter stated un- der the fourth head, establish the very material fact, that on Monday eve- ning, the 27th ol Jime, it was known to the charter authorities, civil and military, that Dorr had disbanded his men, and resistance was at an end • that they knew he only desired to have his men allowed to return peacea- bly to their homes ; that they had the means to have published his order on Monday evening or Tuesday morning, and thus have put an end to the excitement and all the subsequent outrages ; that, with this knowledge, they suppressed the order until about Tuesday yioon ; and, in the mean time, they sent their troops to Chepatchet, who captured the abandoned tort, and seized and conveyed to Providence a large number of innocent per- sons as prisoners, besides committing numerous other outrages upon the persons and property of suffrage-men ; that, instead of sending the intelli- gence of the disbandment of the suffrage forces to Pawtucket, to quiet mat- ters there, they sent two companies of troops, which led to the murder of Kilby, as has been before described. The testimony also proves that some four hours after they knew in Providence that the whole suffrage en- terprise was at an end, within four miles of Providence, and after i't was 78 Rep. No. 546. known that Kilby had been shot, Governor Kino: sent a park of artillery to Pavvtncket to blowup the bridg-e between Rliode Island and Massachusetts.'" It further appears, by the deposition of Kobert Abell, (appendix No, 31,) that on the night Kilby was shot, (June 27.) at about 12 o'clock, John Whipple, esq., of Providence, escorted by two armed men, entered Abell's house, and told him Dorr had left Chepatchet and the war was over. This fact brings the knowledge home to the charter authorities before most of the outrages hereinafter mentioned were committed, and demonstrates, beyond the power of contradiction, that revenge^ and not defence^ was the ruling motive of the charter authorities and their adherents, after the disbanding of the suf rage-men. Tlie testimony under this head also proves a direct interference of armed men, coupled with the menaces of the charter party to suppress the suffrage press, and by which the "Express" newspaper was suppressed, as is directly proved by the depositions of its proprietors and editors, whose testimony is confirmed by the fact tliat Governor King gave them a license to publish the order of Governor Dorr disbanding his troops. Aaron Simons, a person attached to the office of the " Herald," states that Samuel Dexter, son in law to the present Governor of the State, (James Fen- ner.) came into the office, made use of abusive and violent language, saying "that the press and types ought to be thrown into the street, and that he would be one to help do it. From threats out doors, and other causes, the press was kept in awe during the continuance of martial law, and the liberty of the press was, in a great measure, suppressed." For the threatening and abusive language, tending to excite the angry passions of the mob, indulged in by the adherents of the charter govern- ment towards the conductors of the suffrage press, the committee refer to the testimony in the appendix. 3. The third branch of the testimony taken by the commissioner relates to the arrests, searches, and acts of violence committed upon the persons and property of the suffrage citizens of Rhode Island. The following are the most striking cases: The first is the case of Leonard Wakefield. He was a methodist cler- gyman, residing in Cumberland, Rhode Island. He was arrested on the 30th day of June, 1842, (three days after all appearance of hostility on the part of Governor Dorr had ceased,) and taken, with twenty-one other pris- oners, to Providence, marched through the principal streets of that city amid the jeers and insults of the mob, committed to prison, and confined in a loathsome cell twelve feet by nine, poorly ventilated, with fifteen other persons, and kept on an allowance of two rations of stale bread and meat per day. He was imprisoned five or six days, and, nothing appearing against him, he was discharged. He was in favor of the suffrage cause, but had always exhorted both parties not to resort to arms. Elias Whipple was arrested on the 6th day of July, confined in prison for the space of 31 days, on a charge of treason, and required to find recog- nizance in the sum of $10,000, which he succeeded in doing. The grand jury found no bill against him. He had taken no part in the conflict, but to vote for the constitution and Governor Dorr. Mehituble Howard, of Cumberland, a female, aged 62 years, was grossly assaulted and insulted. The following is her plain and simple story, ex- hibiting a cowardly ruffianism on the part of her assailants, as disgraceful to humanity as it was unprovoked and uncalled for. She says : "On the 29th of June, 1842, in the morning, between 5 and 6 o'clock, Rep. No. 546. 79 Alfred Ballou, with seven other men, all armed with guns, came to my house and entered it, 1 forbidding them to enter. Myself and grandchildren were the only persons in the house. He broke the door open, and drove it off the hinges. As Ballou can^ in, he seized me by the siioulders, and shook me hard, leaving prints where fie took hold of me. He then pushed me, and pushed me against a post about three or four feet from where 1 was stand- ing, which bruised my shoulder very much. He came up to me again, seized me, and pushed me again towards the window, saying 'get out of the way,' in a loud voice. He then gave me a shakC; and left me, saying, 'where is Liberty, (meaning my son,) and where is the gun V He went up stairs, and searched the chambers, turning the beds over in which the little children were. He then came down, went into my lodging room, and took a gun and carried it off. 1 was much overcome ; but when he came out, I said 'I don't fear you, Mr. Ballou.' He then came up to me, laid his hands on me, shook me, and said in a very loud voice, ' Do you know that you are under martial law?' He then took his bayonet, and put the point of the bayonet against the pit of my stomach. He pressed the bayonet against me, and said, '1 will run you through,' looking very angry and spiteful. The point of the bayonet went through my clothes, and fractured the skin, but did not break it, but caused the blood to settle the size of a ninepence, or larger. I really believed at the time he intended to run me through. VVilh my hand I knocked* the bayonet away, and he stepped back, and stood and looked at me with a stern look, and then went out of the house. My husband was a suffrage-man, which is the only reason 1 know for this treatment. Ballou had been a neighbor of ours for near forty years. He was a charter man. 1 was hurt very bad, and unable to do much work for several days after, and have never recovered from the effects of the shock upon my system. I am sixty two years of age." Nehemiah Knight was arrested for saying it was "a mean business to shoot Kilby." He was again arrested, and marched through the streets of Providence, to the armory, by a gang of white men and negroes armed, (mainly negroes,) and was guarded by negroes. He was kept in confine- ment two days, when, nothing appearing against him, he was discharged, Elizabeth Nutter was assaulted and rudely treated by one of an armed band of charter men, while they were searching the house of a Mr. Has- well, where she resided. Otis Holmes, a citizen of Providence of great respectability, had his dwelling-house, store, and brewery broken open by a band of armed char- ter men. He offered them his keys ; but they preferred to force their way by violence. After searching his house, store, and brewery, he was marched off— two men holding him by the collar, while another walked in front with a pistol, to the office of Henry L. Bowen. The gang consisted of thirty men with muskets. He made no resistance ; he heard no charges against him, and, without examination, was committed to jail, where he remained seven days ; and then, without examination, he was put into one of the cells of the State prison, with seven others. He adds : " It was large enough for us to lie down by lying heads and points. I remained there twenty-one days. The suffering was extreme from heat and want of air, with plenty of vermin. The health of the prisoners suffered materially. During the time, I was examined by the commissioners. They charged me with keeping arms to aid the suffrage cause. No proof was shown. I was remanded. I then got a writ o{ habeas corpus before Judge Staples of the supreme court, and went before hina in a room in the jail, and, upon a 80 Rep. No. 546. hearing, was discharged. I was then immediately committed by the sheriff, on a warrant from Henry L. Bowen, on a charge of treason. I then ap- plied for another writ of habeas corpus, which Judge Staples ordered to be heard before the whole court at Newpo#. 1 was there, and allowed bail in the sum of $12,000, with sureties. At the next sitting of the court in the county of Providence, the grand jury found no bill against me, and 1 was discharged. 1 was in close prison fifty nine days." Henry Lord, a non combatant, was taken near Acote's Hill, marched with other prisoners, with arms pinioned, to Providence, and there confined in the State prison, with thirteen others, in a cell 7 feet by 10, in which he was kept twenty-one days, and discharged on parole. The house of Martin Luther, in the town of Warren, was broken open on the 29th of June, 1842, by nine armed charter men, and the female inmates rudely treated — their lodging rooms being broken into before they had time to put on their necessary clothing. They used violent lan- guage to the mother of Mr. Luther — pointing a weapon at her breast, and threatening to " run her through" if she did not tell where her son Martin was. Stafford Healey, a hired man of Mr. Luther, was, at the same time the transaction last described took place, forcibly seiz od by the same armed men who broke into Mr. Luther's house, carried to jail, where he was confined seven days, and then discharged — nothing appearing against him.» Jedediah Sprague was arrested and confined in prison twenty two days on a charge of treason, when, nothing appearing against him. he was dis- charged. His family were also grossly maltreated by the charter military at Chepatchet, and his property despoiled and forcibly -taken away to a large amount, ($2,546. as he alleges,) which he has never been able to recover, and for which the government of Rhode Island have, as yet, allowed him nothing. For a particular account of the gross maltreatment of the females of his family and the plunder of his property, reference is made to his tes- timony in the appendix. Other depredations were also committed by the charter troops upon the property of the citizens of Chepatchet, as appears by the testimony. For the details of the cases above mentioned, the committee refer to the testimony under the third head in the appendix. 4. The fourth and last matter of inquiry was the taking of Acote's Hill, Dorr's post atChepachet; orders-tt) the military; interference of the United States officers, and the using of the custom house at Providence as a place of deposite for military stores belonging to the charter authorities. With- out giving a digested abstract of the testimony under the last-mentioned heads, the committee will briefly refer to the facts which it establishes. They will first give an account of the capture of Acote's hill. It appears from the testimony that the encampment of Gov. Dorr was broken up on the morning of the 27th of June, 1842. This fact the charter government had learnt from the intercepted order of Gov. Dorr disbanding his forces ; and, of course, before a soldier was ordered by them to Chepatchet, there was no enemy to meet, no fighting to be done, and no honors to be won by the toil and blood of battle. The troops, therefore, were sent to capture a de- serted fort — an achievement which they performed with a chivalrous hero- ism which became an enterprise so desperate, as will be seen by the following account of the incidents connected with the expedition. On the morning of the 28th, the charter troops arrived from Providence. As they approached, Rep. No. 546. 81 they discharged their pieces at persons indiscriminately, whom they hap- pened to see, and capturing such persons as they took a fancy to capture. There was no person in the encampment of Gov. Dorr, and nobody in arms in or about the hill, and no resistance whatever was offered by any one to * the charter force. Having made their bloodless assault upon the disman- tled fortress, they returned to a hotel near by, vvliere several persons were captured and confined, and sundry acts of violence and insult to peaceable citizens were committed. The scene is thus described by Mr. Josepii Hol- brook, a gentleman residing in Boston, who was an eye witness. He says : "An advance of from eighteen to twenty five men, of the charter troops, (so called,) came up to the hotel ; the main body of a division of about seven hundred men not being then in sight. The advance party were armed with rifles or carbines, and swords, and pistols ; and as they approached at double quick time, they fired their pieces, without any apparent cause or the least provocation, at any persons they saw indiscriminately. When this advance party came up to tlie hotel, I inquired of one of them, who com- manded the party? and he said Lieut. Pitman, and pointed him out to me. From what I then learned and saw, 1 have not the least doubt tliat this per- son v,'as Mr. Pitman, the clerk of the United States courts of Rhode Island. I said there was no need of violence. Several persons were standing in the entry of the hotel, the front door being open. There was no show of re- sistance, and nothing to make it with. One of the persons in the entry was recognised by the men who came up, as Mr. Eddy, a suffragenian, as I then understood. He was called by name, and ordered to come out. He replied that he should not. Two of the armed party then rushed into the house, lo force himV)ut. A scuffle ensued between them in the entry, and the front door was accidentally shut. Lieut. Phman observing this, gave the door a kick with his foot, but it did not open ; he then leveled and took aim with his carbine, and appeared to be going to discharge it. Seeing this, I caught him by the shoulder, and begged of liim not to fire, as he might kill some of his own men, as well as others. He replied : "I don't care a God damn if I can kill somebody," and instantly fired. A ball passed through the key- hole of the front door, and took efte; t in the thigh of Horace Bardine ; and I saw him in a few minutes coming from the house, hid by two men, and shot in the thigh. Lieut. Pitman's party charged upon them as soon as they appeared, and were forced back ; and I did not see Bardine afterwards." — (See Holbrook's testimony.) Another witness (Col. Mitchell, of Boston,) gives substantially the same account of the conduct of the charter troops on the occasion referred to; and states the additional fact, t/iat Col. Bftnkhead, of the United States army^ was there in. company with the charter troops. The next day, after picking up as many siragslers as they could find to swell their triumph, the charter army returned to the city of Providence with their prisoners in charge, and the spoils and plunder of tlie enemy. The finale of this celebrated military enterprise is thus described by Henry Lord, a man sixty years of age, who mittee on the memorial. No. 74. Copy of suffrage vote. No. 75. Copies of the votes of ex Senator Sprague and others, for the people's constitution, now violent persecutors o( the suffrage party. No. 76. Statement of taxes paid by non-voters in the city of Providence, persons serving in the militia, (fee, (fee, by Wm. H. Smith, esq. Papers filed In the case of Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden et aL, pendins^ in the Supreme Court of the United States. No. 77. Bill of exceptions. No. 78. Proceedings of a convention of delegates of the freemen of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, met for the purpose of ratifying the constitution of the United States, May 29, 1790, marked A. No. 79. Report of Benjamin Hazard on the extension of suffrage, in 1829, marked B. No. 80. Resolutions passed by the General Assembly, January session, 1841, on a memorial of the town of Smithfield to enlarge the representa- tion of that town to the General Assembly, marked C a. No. 81. Petition of Elisha Dillingham and others to the General Assem- bly of Rhode Island, praying the abrogation of the charter, and the estab- lishment of a constitution, marked D. No. 82. A declaration of principles of the Rhode Island suffrage asso- ciation, made February 7th, 1841, and April 13th, 1841, marked E. No. 83. Resolutions adopted at a mass meeting of the friends of suffrage, held at Newport, on the 5th day of May, 1841, setting forth the principles of the suffrage movement, marked F. No. 84. Resolutions adopted at a mass meeting of the friends of suffrage, held at Providence, July 5th, 1841, marked G. No. 85. Resolutions of the General Assembly, passed at the May session, 1841, in amendment of resolutions passed at the January session, same year, marked H a. No. 86. A call to the people of Rhode Island to assemble in convention; marked J a. 96 Rep. No. 546. No. 87. Address of the State committee appointed by the suffrage con- vention at Newport, May 5, 1841, for the purpose of calling a convention to form a constitution for the State, marked J b. No. 88. Constitution as finally adopted by the people's convention, which assembled at Providence on the 18th day of November, 1841, marked K. No. 89. Resolutions of the people's convention, declaring the adoption of the people's constitution, marked L c. No. 90, An act calling a convention of the people to frame a written constitution for the State of Rhode Island, as proposed by Mr. Atwell, and rejected by the General Assembly, marked H b. No. 91. Copy of the records of the House, under date of May 7, 1841, showing the proceedings on the bill proposed by Mr. Atwell to call a con- vention of the people to frame a written constitution, marked I a and I b. No. 92. Proceedings of the General Assembly, showing the refusal of that body to consider the proceedings of the people's convention, and the vote on the adoption of the people's constitution, marked L a. No, 93. Proposed act to change the day of the annual election, dissolve the constitutional convention, and adjourn sine die — in other words, to recognise the people's constitution. Indefinitely postponed by the General Assembly, marked L 6. No. 94. Copy of an act passed by the General Assembly at the June session, 1842, to provide for calling a convention to frame a new (the ex- isting) constitution, marked Q, a. No. 95. Copy of an act to amend the act calling a convention to frame a new constitution, passed at the June session, 1842, marked Q,a. No. 96. Proceedings of the charter assembly, rejecting Mr. Atwell's bill proposing the people's constitution for adoption or rejection, marked R. No. 97. Organization of the governiTjent under the people's constitution, marked N a: No, 98. Journal of the Senate under the people's constitution. No. 99. Journal of the House of Representatives under the people's con- stitution. No. 100, Acts and resolves of the Legislature under the people's consti- tution, marked N e. * No. 101. Table of population, marked O. No. 102. State of votes for general officers in the elections, commencing with 1832 to 1841, inclusive, marked P. No. 103. Copy of the act declaring martial law, passed by the General Assembly on the 25th day of June, 1842, marked Q. No. 104. Proclamation of the people'.s convention, declaring the people's constitution to be the supreme fundamental law of Rhode Is] -'d, marked X. No. 105. Agreement of parties to the action. Registers of the names of those persons who voted on the question of the adoption of the people's constitution. No. 106. Register of the city of Providence. No. 107. Register of Smithfield, No. 108. Register of Cumberland. No. 109. Register of Burrillville. No. 110. Register of Glocester. No. HI. Register of Foster. ' Rep. No. 5i6. 97 No. 112. Register of Scitiiate. No. 113. Register of Johnston. No. 114. Register of North Providence. No. 115. Register of Cranston. No. 116. Register of Warwick. No. 117. Register of Coventry. No. lis. Register of East Greenwich. No. 119. Register of West Greenwich. No. 120. Register of North Kingstown. No. 121. Register of South Kingstown. No. 122. Register of Exeter. No. 123. Register of Richmond. No. 124. Register of Charlestovvu. No. 125. Register of Hopkinton. No. 120. Register of Westerly. No, 127. Register of Newport, No. 128. Register of Middletown. No. 129. Register of PorfsmoiUh, No. 130. Register of Jamestown, No. 131. Register of New Shoreham. No, 132. Flegisier of Tiverton. No. 133. Register of Little Compton, No. 134. Register of Bristol, No. 135. Register of Warren. No, 13G. Register of Barrincjion. - Cliartcrs and legislative documents. No. 137. The charter of 1643, granted by Parliament. No. 138. Cromwell's letter to Rhode Island. No. 139. The charter of 1663, granted by King Charles II. No. 140. Declaration by the General Assembly, relating to sufFrage. in the year 1664. No. 141. Declaration in relation to the qualification of voters by the Gen- eral Assembly, in 1665. No. 142. Order of the General Assembly respecting persons voting who are not freemen, in 1667. No. 143. Act of General Assembly regulating elections, and prescribing the proxy mode of voting in 1663. No, 144. ;' ;t of 1666, regulating the admission of freemen. No, 145. Act fixing the freehold qualification of voters, passed in 1723, No. 146. Act relating to same subject, passed in 1729. No. 147. Act relating to same subject, passed in 1742. No, 148. Act relating to same subject, passed in 1746. No. 149. Legislation in reference to suffrage; and acts of 1793 and 1822, relating to same. No. 150. Act of 1824, calling a convention to frame a written constitu- tion. No. 151. Act of 1834, calling a convention to frame a constitation. No. 152. Resolution of January, 1841, for SAme purpose. No. 153. Resolution of June, 1841, relating to same subject. 7 98 Rep. No. 546, No. 154. Resolution of January, 1842, relating to Piame subject. No. 155. Act in amendment of the act regulaimg the admission of free- men. No. 156. Resolutions of the General Assembly relating to the people's constitution. No. 157. Act of June, 1842, calling a convention to frame a constitution, (published in the case of Martin Luther — see No. 94.) No. 158. Resolution of the convention, asking for a declaratory act. No. 159. Act of October, 1842, declaratory of the act of June, 1842, and providing that a majority of those voting shall adopt the constitution. No. 160. Account of the organization of the government of Rhode Island under the constitution of 1842. No. 160 a. Report of the committee appointed to count the votes given on the adoption of the existing constitution of Rhode Island. Extracts from dorjrmeni No. 225, Ho. of Reps., 28th Congress, 1st sessioriy relating to the interfertrice of the President in the affairs of Rhode Island. No. 161. Message of the President, in answer to the resolution of tlie House relative to his interference in the affairs of the people of Rhode Island. No. 162. Affidavit of Samuel Curry as to proceedings and arming of suffrage-men, February 5, 1842. No. 163. Two letters from Samuel W. King, Governor of Rhode Island, to the President of the United States, calling for the aid of the United States to suppress the suffrage movement, dated April 4, 1842. No. 164. Letter from the President, in reply to the foregoing letters of Governor King, dated April 11, 1842. No. 165. LeUer of Henry L. Bowen, Secretary ofState of Rhode Island, to the President, April 7, 1842, with affidavits of Martin Stoddard, Hamilton Hoppin, Samuel Curry, Jacob Friese, Christopher Robinson, and Edward S. Wilkinson. No. 166. Letter of John Whipple, craving audience with the President, m behalf of the Rhode Island committee, April 9, 1842. No. 167. Statement of facts submitted to the President by John Whipple^ John Brown Francis, and Elisha R. Potter, committee appointed by Gov- ernor King to confer with the President, April 10, 1842. No. 168. Letter of Governor King to the President, dated May 4, 1842, transmitting resolutions of the General Assembly, declaring the State of Rhode Island in a state of insurrection, and calling for the military inter- ference of the Uuited States. No. 169. The President's letter to Governor King, dated May 7, 1842, in reply to his letter of May 4, 1842. No. 170. Letter of Thomas W. Dorr, Governor of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, to the President of the United States, enclosing the resolutions of the General Assembly under the people's constitution ; in- formmg the President of the organization of the government under the said constitution. No. 171. Confidential letter of the President to Governor King, May 9, 1842. Rep. No. 546. 99 No. 172. Letter of Governor King to the President, dated May 12, 1842, acknowledging the receipt of the President's letter of May 9. No. ITS.'^Letter of EHsha R. Potter to the President, IN'lay 15, 1842. No. 174. Private letter of the President to Mr. Potter, May 20, 1842. No. 175. Letter of Thomas A. Jenckes, private secretary to Governor King, dated May 16, 1842, enclosing the proclamation of T. W. Dorr to the people of Rhode Island. No. 176. Letter from Governor King to the President, dated May 25, 1842, stating that Mr. Dorr is organizing troops in other States, and calling for military aid. No. 177. The President's reply to same, May 28, 1842, promising th aid required. No. 178. Letter of the Secretary of War to Colonel Bankhead, May 28, 1842. No. 179. Letterof J. C.Spencer to General Eustis, Boston, May 29, 1842. No. 180. Instructions of the President to the Secretary of War, Mav 28, 1842. No. 181. Letter of the President to the Secretary of War, June 29, 1842. No. 182. Proclamation by the President of the United States to the people of Rhode Island, No. 183. lietter of Daniel Webster, Secretary of Slate, to the President, June 3, 1842; enclosing anonymous letter of the same date. No. 184. Letter of Colonel Bankhead to the Secretary of War, June 22, 1842. No. 185. Letter of E. J. Mallett to the Postmaster General, June 26, 1842. No. 186. Letter of Thos. M. Burgess, mayor of Providence, to the Presi- dent, June 23, 1842. No. 187. Letter of Governor King to the President, June 23, 1842. No. 188. Letter of the President in reply, June 25, 1842. No. 189. Depositions' of Samuel W. Peckham, Charles F. Harris, Charles J. Shelley, and John C. Keep. No. 190. Letterof Lieutenant E. D. Townsend to the Secretary of War, June 23, 1842. No. 191. Letterof Colonel James Bankhead to the Secretary of War, June 23, 1842. No. 192. Letter of Colonel James Bankhead to the Adjutant General of the United States, June 23, 1842. No. 193. Letter from same to same, Juno 27, 1842. No. 194. Communication signed by James F. Simmons, William Sprague. and Joseph L. Tillinghast, addressed to the President, June 27, 1842, urging him to comply with Governor King's requisition. No. 195. Communication of the President to the Secretary of War, June 29, 1842, instructing him to proceed to Rhode Island. No. 196. Depositions of Charles T. Martin, John F. Pond, and William S. Slater. Military orders. No. 197. Statement showing the number of United States troops station- ed at Fort Adams, during the months of April, May, June, and July, 1842. No. 198. Assistant Adjutant General to Major M. M. Payne, April 11. 1842. 100 Kep, No. 546. No, 199. Assistant Adjutant General to Colonel A. C. VV. Fanning, Apr?! 25, 1842. No. 200. Same to Major M. M. Payne, April 25, 1842. No. 201. Same to same, April 26, 1842. No. 202. Same to Colonel J. Bankhead, April 26, 1842. No. 203. Adjutant General to lYJajor M. M. Payne, April 29, 1842, No. 204. Same to Colonel Bankhead, May 5, 1842. No. 205. Same to same, May 28, 1842. No. 206. Same to same, June 1, 1842. No. 207. Same to General John E. Wool, June 2, 1842. No. 208. Extract from General Orders No. 33, June 2, 1842, No. 209. Adjutant General to Colonel James Bankhead, June 6, 1842. No. 210. Same to same, July 9, 1842. No. 211. Assistant Adjutant General to Colonel Bankhead, June 11, 1842. (Extract.) No. 212. Charge of Chief Justice Durfee to the grand jury, at the March term of the supreme judicial court at Bristol, Rhode Island, A. D. 1842, remarkable for its anti-republican doctrines. No. 213. Organization of the government under the people's constitutiouj and message of Governor Dorr. No. 214. Governor Dorr's address to the people of Rhode Island, August, 1843. No. 215. Proclamations of Governor King, suspending martial law. No. 216. Correspondence between John Brown Francis and Henry Clay, relative to the affairs of Rhode Island, March, 1844; and extract from the speech of Henry Clay, at Lexington, Kentucky, in the autumn of 1842. Indictments of suffroge-mcn for political offences against the charier government. No. 217. Indictment vs. William H. Smith, and certificate of commit- ment. No. 218. Indictment vs. Burrington Anthony. No, 218 a. indictment v^. Hezekiah Willnrd. No. 219. Indictment vs. William P. Dean, and certificate of imprison- ment. No. 220. Indictment vs. Benjimin Arnold. No. 221. Indictment vs. Charles H. Campbell and Andrew Thompson, No. 222. Indictment vs. Joseph Gavit. No. 223. Indictment vs. Sylvester Himes. No. 224. Indictment vs. David Parmenter. No. 225. Indictment vs. George S. Nichols. No. 226. Indictment vs. Martin Luther, and report of trial. No. 227. Indictment vs. B. M. Bosvvorth, and report of trial. No. 228. Indictment vs. Wilmarth Heath, and report of trial. No. 229. Certificate of the clerk of the court in Providence countyj Rhode Island, showing the number of persons indicted in that county, and certificate of the jailer of the commitment of Otis Holmes. No. 230. (y'ertificate of the keeper of the jail in Bristol comity, Rhode Rep. No. 546. 101 Island, showing the number of persons committed, who were connected with the suffrage movements. No. 231. Statement of Wilham J. Miller, showing the direction of Chief Justice Durfee to the jailer of Bristol county not to furnish certificates of commitment. No. 232. An act in addition to, and in amendment of, an act entitled " An act in relation to the sovereign power of the State," passed by the General Assembly, January session, 1843. No. 232 a. Act amending the riot act, passed by the General Assembly, April session, 1842. Acts of the legislature dlsbcutdiiig tn'dilary companies supposed to favor the suffrage cause, and incorporating other conipaides. No. 233. Laws relating to the military, passed by the General Assembly, IVlay session, 1842. No. 234. Same, passed by the General Assembly, June session, 1842. No. 235. Same, do. do. October session, 1842. No. 236. Same, do. do. January session, 1843. No. 237. First twenty-four sections of " An act to regulate the militia," June session, 1843. No. 238. An act to regulate the election of civil ofRcers, and for other purposes, January session, 1843. No. 239. Speech of Thomas W. Dorr, on the right of the people of Rhode Island to form a constitution ; delivered in the people's convention, Nov. 18, 1841. No. 240. Ixeport of the trial of Thomas W. Dorr, Governor of the State of Rhode Island under the people's constitution, on the charge of treason. No. 241. Proceedings of the United States Senate, on the resolution of Mr. Allen, in relation to the difficulties in Rhode Island ; 27th Congress, 2d session. ADDENDA. No. 242, Arrests of women—Statement of Mrs. Abby H. Lord. No. 243. Copy of an indictment against Mrs. Abby H. Lord, 102 Rep, No. 546. APPENDIX. No. 1. Testimony of John S. Harris. 1. Question by the committee. Are you a resident and citizen of Riiode Island, and liow loiio; have you been such ? Answer. I am a resident and citizen of Rhode Island; and from my birth to the present time, I have considered my residence to be in that State. 2. Gtuestion by the committee. Were you secretary of the convention which sat in Providence on the first Monday in October, 1841, which framed the people's constitution, so called? Answer. 1 was one of the secretaries of the convention referred to in your question. That convention sat in Providence in October and Novem- ber, 1841, and in January, 1842. The convention was called to meet in Providence on the first Monday of October, 1841, and did meetat that time, and framed a constitution, and published it for the consideration of the peo- ple, and adjourned to meet again at Providence on the 16th day of Novem- ber then next following. And on the 16ih day of November, said conven- tion again assembled at Providence, and made some slight amendments to the constitution, as before published ; and on the 18th day of November, the constitution herewith submitted (marked A) was framed, and agreed to by the convention, and ordered to be published and submitted to the people, agreeably to the requirements contained in the first, second, third, and fourth sections of the 14th article thereof The said convention then adjourned un- til the 12th day of January, 1842, then to meet again in said Providence, for the purpose of counting and declaring the vote given in by the people upon the question of the adoption of said constitution. On the said 12th day of January, the convention again met; and the ballots given in by the people, upon the question of adoption the convention appointed a large and respectable committee to examine, count, and report the result ; which com- mittee, after a careful and very thorough examination of the registers kept by the officers who officiated at the meetings of the people of the different towns, and of the ballots or votes themselves, on the 13th day of said Jan- nary made report of the result to the convention, which report was accept- ed and adopted, and published, as is annexed, (marked B.) Annexed, also, (marked B B.) is a copy of the {jroclaniation made and published in com- pliance with a resolution of the convention. This proclamation was pub- lished in most, if not in all, the newspapers printed in the State. The con- vention, after declaring the constitution to have been adopted by the people, passed a vote authorizing the secretaries to furnish any persons with copies of the registers of the votes given in any of the towns, by being paid therefor. This was complied with for several days, until copies of nearly half the towns in the State had been furnished; but, upon representations made to Rep. No. 546. 103 us, we were soon led to believe that the opponents of this constitution were usinu- these lists to intimidate and proscribe those wlio had voted in good faith f )r that constitution. Indeed, 1 was in Mr. Dorr's office one evening, when George B. Holmes came in and called Mr. Dorr out to speak with him; when Mr. Dorr returned, he informed me that Mr. Holmes advised that no more copies of the lists ought to be furnished; as those who obtained them were using them to proscribe and intimidate the voters, Mr. Holmes em- ployed a large number of men at the time, and was friendly to our cause, but subsequently became one of our opponetits. 3. (Question by the committee. Have you the original files and journal of tlie proceedings of said convention? and, if so, please communicate them to the committee. Answer. I have now in my possession, and herewith show them to the committee, the original credentials of the delegates to that convention, and the report of the committee of said convention, to whom the credentials and qualifications of its members were referred. 'J'he report is as follows, viz : " The committee to whom was referred the subject of the members elect- ed to the convention, the towns represented, and the credentials presented, respectfully report : That they have examined the subject conunitted to them, and find that every lown in the State, and the six wards in the city of Providence, are duly represented in nearly the proportion recommended by the cull for said convention. " That the town of Portsmouth was not, by the terms of said call, entitled to but one representative ; but that, in consideration of the large fraction over 1,000 in its population, the convention received two delegates from said town. " Tliat but one delegate has appeared from the town of Glocester, said town being entitled to two. "They would further report, that all of said delegates presented certifi- cates of their election, certined by the chairman and secretaries of the meetings in the several towns and wards, which are now on the files of the convention. "Respectfully submitted for the committee: " PEliEZ SIMMONS, CAmVmari." I have also the original journal of that convention ; also, the original roll of members; and, I believe, every other paper. The document before sub- mitted (marked A) is the constitution formed by said convention, and is tiie one voted for, and, as 1 verily believe, was adopted by a large majority of the white male adult citizens of said Slate. Of the truth of this, I have no more doubt than 1 have that there is such a place as London. In fur- ther proof of this, 1 annex the vote given upon the question of the adoption of what is familiarly called X\\e landholders'' constitution. This vote was taken on the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of March, 1S42, and was considered by very many as a test or alternative expression of opmion between that and the people's constitution. The foilowiuiT vote passed at a mass meeting of the friends of that instrument, hoiden at Providence oti the 7ih of March, 1842: '• Amonost the resolutions offered by Charles Potter, esq., and adopted unanimously, was this : ^^Resnlvtd, That, in the opinion of this meeting, should this constitution be rejected, the State could not fall quietly back upon the old charter ; but 104 Rep. No. 546. that she would inevitably be exposed to all the evils of anarchy, or s'm'k^ with tarnished honor, and with dejected hopes, under a dominion established 'without law and against law.'" The different requirements to become an elector, contained in the two constitutions, was such as to diminish the suffrage vote, in my opinion, some two thousand or more. The people's constitution, upon the question of its adoption, required the voter, at the time of voting, to have his permanent home in Rhode Island, and to vote thereafier in all general elections; to have resided in the State o»e year, and in the town or city where he voted, six months ; and regarded naturalized citizens the same as any others. The landholders' constitution, on all questions, required two years' residence in the State for native citizens, and a freehold qualification of ^134 to enable naturalized citizens to vote. In connexion, I would state to the committee that I have in my posses- sion, as one of the secretaries of the people's convention, every original bal- lot or vote given in by the citizens of that State upon the question of its adoption ; also, the registers of the names of the voters taken and certified to by the clerks of the meetings at which the vote was taken : all of which are herewith submitted to tlie examination of tlie committee. I acted as moderator in the sixth ward of the city of Providence at the time the vote was taken on the adoption of the people's constitution ; and, as such, endeavored to have the voting conducted with as much f(\irness, and with as great a desire to prevent fraudulent or illegal voting, as ever was done in any other similar ward meeting. Great care was taken by me^ as the presiding officer of that meeting, that no one should vote but such as had the right by the provisions in said constitution. Votes were reject- ed by me on that occasion ; and I do not now know of a single vole remain- ing on the register, or among the ballots, which is not a good vote, if there are any fraudulent voles or ballots now shown to the committee from that ward, they are unknown to me. I am aware that charges of fraudulent voting, on the question of the adoption of the people's constitution, have been made by the charter party* but I never have seen anything but general and vague assertions, except with regard to the town of Newport. That party made charges of that ciiaracter against that town, and published a list of those who, they say,, jjad no right to vote. I, at the time, sought information from our friends with regard to the fact ; and it is but just to say that there were votes re- ceived in that town, as 1 have been informed, which ought not to have been ; but the reason given at the time for receiving them was, that they were included in the census, and, if not taken, our side would be counted as against us by our opponents. The list published as bad voters by the charter party, I know, is not true ; but how many of those that I have spoken of there were, I cannot say. My informant estimated them at less than 200. The following is the official report of the votes given for and against the [landholders'] constitution, as submitted to the General Assembly by the committee appointed to count them. The majority against the constim- tion is 676. Rep. No. 546. 105 VOTE OF PROVIDENCE. Against the constitution. For the constitution 312 130 lb3 324 330 282 310 262 451 2i'9 543 199 - 2,129 1,406 1st ward 2d ward 3d ward 4lh ward 5tli ward 6th ward Total Providence county. Providence - - - 2,129 1,406 North Providence - - - 430 150 Smithfield - - - - 997 334 Cumberland - - - 638 210 Johnston - - - - 231 148 Cranston - - - - • 283 . 156 Scitnate - - - - 371 280 Foster .... 133 251 Burrillville - - - - 326 52 Glocesier - - - - 387 59 Total - Kent 601 Warwick - Coventry - East Greenwich West Greenwich comity. 595 279 97 44 Total - 1,015 Total ... - 5.925 3,046 Newport county. Newport - - - - 361 730 Middletown ... 6 152 Portsmouth ... 97 204 Tiverton .... 86 371 Little Compton ... 6 202 Jamestown - - - - 11 46 New Shoreham - - - 34 94 1,799 382 266 146 179 973 106 Rep. No. 546. Bristol county A-gainst the constitution. For the constitution. Bristol - . - 149 358 Warren - - - 65 263 Biirrington - - Was hi ngt 24 62 Total - 238 683 oil county. North Kingstown . . . 265 210 South Kingstown . - - 188 450 Exeter - . - 32 258 Hopkinton - - - - 163 159 Riclimond - - - - 69 167 Westerly - - - 153 182 Charlestown - Recapit 40 86 Total - 910 1,512 ulalion. Providence county . _ _ 5,925 3.046 Newport - - - 601 1,799 Kent . - - 1,015 973 Bristol - . . 238 683 Washington, 910 1,512 Total - 8,689 8,013 against . . 8,013 _ Majority 676 4. Question by the committee. Were you clerk of the assembly, under the people's constitution, which convened in the city of Providence on the first Tuesday of May, 1842? And have you the original files and journal of the proceedings of said assembly? and, if so, please produce them to this committee. Answer. I was one of the clerks of the House of Representatives of said assembly; and 1 have the original files of the same, and the journal of said house, and every original act, resolution, or vote of the same; and I here- with produce them for the inspection of the conimittee. I have also the journal of the Senate, kept by William H, Smiih, esq., the secretary of state under that constitution. The handwriting in that journal I know to be his handwriting; and I believe it contains a true journal of the proceed- ings of that body. [Copies of these journals and acts, resolutions, &.C., will be found in the copy of the Martin Luther case, appended to this testimony.] * 5. Question by the committee. How long have you been a resident of the city of Providence ? Rep. No. 546. 107 Answer. I have been a resident of the city of Providence since the year lSt)9, with the exception of about three years; and tlien 1 resided in the adjoining town of Johnston, at the dwelHng- of our family — that being my native town, and distant only three miles from Providence line. 6. Question by the committee. Have you a family? and, if so, please name the members; and how many are males, and how many are females. Answer. 1 have a family, consisting of myself and six children — three males and three females. My two eldest children are males — one 23, and the other 16 years of age, and one other 7 years of age. The females are 14, 10, and 5 years of age. At the time of the greatest excitement in Rhode Island, (in .Tune, 1842,) there were but three of my children at my own house, althouirh five were in the city of Providence. 7. Question by the committee. Are yon now, and were you during the continuance of the attempts of the people of Rhode Island to establish a free constitution, an owner of houses and other real estate, bank stock and other personal property, in the city of Providence? Answer. I am now, and was during all the time the people of Rhode Island were attempting to establish a free constitution, (1 mean in 1840,- '4l,-'42, and since, and for years before,) the owner of dwelling houses and other real estate in the city of Providence. I was then, and I am now, the owner of stock in several of the banks in the city of Providence; and had then (in .lune, July, &,c., in 1842,) other personal property in bank in the city of Providence. 8. Question by the committee. Were your houses insured at the time referred lo in the last question ? Answer. They were not insured; nor were they incumbered in any way. 9. Question by the committee. Do you know of any plot or design formed at any time, by the fi lends of the people's constitution, in or out of the State of Rhode Island, to plunder the banks and other property in the city of Providence, and to subject the women of that city to brutal violence ? Answer. I do not know of any such design, either entertained, expressed, or thought of, by any friend of the people's constitution, in or out of the State ; nor do I believe that any such design or desire was ever entertained by any of the friends of said cause, either in or out of the State. And although the friends of that cause have been, as I believe, falsely and ma- liciously charged, both in Rhode Island and on the floor of the House of Representatives of the United States, with such a design, yet there never has been, to my knowledi^e, nor do I believe there ever can be, a particle of proof adduced to found such a charge upon. The people of that State, in their desire to reform their government, by the adoption of a written constitution, never entertained a design or wish to destroy or to change property, either by force or by legislation. They were neither plunderers nor agrarians. They demanded, through the ballot-box^ their just political rights — the extension of suffrage, and the equalization of representation in their legislature, and nothing more: and whoever will read the constitution — called the people's constitution — will see at once ihat, by its provisions, not only are personal and political rights extended and secured to the people, but that private property is also abun- dantly guarded and protected. In this respect, I am confident that no con- stitution in the whole twenty six States of this Union excels it. It is true that, by the provisions of that constitution, corporations are not sufiered to remain 108 Rep. No. 546. in that omnipotent position that they had heretofore occupied in that State; and this is one great reason why the American doctrine of popular sover- eignty was so repudiated and condemned in that State by the charter party. 10. Question by the committee. Do you know of such a plot or design being entertained by any person, or number of per.-~ons, at any time, in or out of the State of Rliode Island ? And were you in a situation which would have enabled you to obtain the knowledge of such a plot or design, if any had been formed ? Answer. I do not know, nor do I believe, from anything I heard said, or from any act then done by any person or persons belonging to, or friendly to the people's cause, either in or out of the State of Rliode Island, that such a plot or design, or any other plot or design which would destroy private property, and commit brutal violence upon females, was ever entertained by any one or more persons friendly to that cause. 1 never heard such a matter proposed, talked of, or even intimated, by any one. And I do verily believe that, if such a design had been entertained anywhere, I must have heard of it; for I think I may say that I was personally known to as many of the friends of tiiat cause, and was consulted by as many of then), and as often, in 1842, in regard to the proceedings had or designed, as any other man in Khode Island. Indeed, I do verily believe that, from the Gover- nor to the humblest individual engaged in that cause in that State, I had as good, and perhaps a better opportunity to know what was going on in our party, than any other person in the State; and I am confident as I can be, on any question which consequently requires a negative answer, to say that no such design or plot was ever intended or manifested. 11. Question by the committee. What were the preliminary measures taken by the people of Rhode Island to bring about reform of the political evils complained of? Answer. In the year 1840, some gentlemen in the city of Providence, without regard to the party considerations of the day, met togetlier to con- sult what could be done to reform the political evils then existing in the State. This soon produced the formation of " the Rhode Island Suffrage Association," and the establishment of a newspaper called the "New Age;" the object was to promote a reform, and to spread such information among the people as would lead to the establishment of a written republican con- stitution, which should extend the right of suffrage, and equalize represen- tation in the General Assembly. Soon after the formation of this associa- tion, they published a declaration of its principles as follows : "A declaralion of prlnchles of the Rhode Island Suffrage Association. " Believing that all men are created free and equal, and that the possession of property should create no political advantages for its holder; and believ- ing that all bodies politic should have for their foundation a bill of rights and a written constitution, wherein the rights of the people should be de- fined, and the duties of the people's servants strictly pointed out and limited ; and believing that the State of Rhode Island is possessed of neither of those instruments, and that the charter under which she has her political exist- ence is not only aristocratic in its tendency, but that it lost all its authority when the independence of the United States was declared; and further- more, believing that every State in the federal compact is entitled, by the terms of that compact, to a republican form of government, and that any Rep. No. 546. 109 form. of a^overnment is anti-republican and aristocratic which precludes a majorityof the people from participating in its affairs, and that by every right, human and divine, the majority in the State should govern; and fur- thermore, and finally beheving that the time has gone by when we are called upon to sub;nit to the most unjust outrages upon our political and social rights : Therefore, '■'■Resolved, That the power of the State should be vested in the hands of the people; and that the people have a right, from time to time, to assemble tofjether, either by themselves or their representatives, for -the establish- ment of a republican form of government. '^Resolved, That whenever a majority of the citizens of this State, wlio are recognised as citizens of the United States, shall, by their delegates in convention assembled, draught a constitution, and the same shall be accepted by their constituents, it will then be, to all intents and purposes, the law of tlie State." Similar associations were very soon established in nearly every town in the State, and lectures and public discussions soon made the question of constitutional reform one of all-absorbing interest at that period. I have examined the answer of Mr. Sayles, given to a similar question propounded by the committee ; and, so far as my knowledge extends, his answer details correctly tlie proceedings of the people in their numerous mass conventions and primary meetings, prior to the meeting of the con- vention on the first Monday in October, 1841. Indeed, from the knowl- edge I have of what took place at that time, I believe the people of that State thoroughly understood the political evils that existed in the State, and had coolly determined in their judgment to make reform, by adopting a written republican constitution. 12. Question by the committee. Did this reform commence in Rhode Island at the instigation of either of the great political parties whicli divide the people of that State and the country, so far as your knowledge extends? and when did this question assume a party character, and from what cause ? Answer. So far as my knowledge extends, its commencement had no party cast whatever. Men of both political parties united for reform; but as the whig party was then in power in that State, its organ very naturally exhibited signs of extreme jealousy, fjr fear the party would lose its as- cendency ; though, until the adoption of the people's constitution, the organ nt tliat party admitted communications favoring the people's cause, from its friends. At the first nominating convention held after the adoption of the people's constitution, the Executive was publicly tendered to a whig, in the person of the Hon. Wager Weeden of South Kingstown, one of the electors of that State who voted for General Harrison in 1840 ; but the charter assembly having subsequently passed an act entitled " An act to punish offences against the sovereign power of the State," commonly called the " Algerine act," Judge Weeden declined the nomination ; being a gen- tleman somewhat venerable in years, he was not inclined to undergo the tur- moil which would be likely to follow such a position. Afterwards, the State committee, who were empowered by the nominating Convention, nominated Thomas W. Dorr for governor ; and he was elected, and entered upon the duties of the Executive of the State, for which position he is now immured in prison, awaiting trial for treason. After it became known how heavy the vote was for the adoption of the 110 Rep. No. 546. people's constitution, by the official count and declaration of the convention sittino^ in Providence, at the same time the charter legislature was in ses- sion also at Providen,ce, and when the constitution and the proceedings of the convention were submitted to the legislature throuc^h the Governor, then the government of the State (which was whig) denied the American doctrine of the inherent uUimate right of the people of a Stale to alter- or reform their government, without the consent of a majority of those whom a minority of the people had constituted their legislative servants; and as this question became extended through the Union, the two great parties became interested for the one or the other side, according to the estimation in which they respectively regarded the right of the people, and the primitive principles of the foundation of this government— one party contending that sovereignty, or the ultimate power of the people to "alter, reform, or amend" their government at any time, without the assent of any legislative pro- ceedings or authority, is the true foundation of republ'can democracy, and was the basis upon which the people of this country created their existence as a nation. One party contends that the legislature and its exercised au- thority is but the organ, or the agent of the government, havino^ no power 10 institute it, nor to make any forms for its institution; but that the people, and they alone^ for their own safety and happiness, have the sole right to institute and form governments. The other party contended then, and still contend, not that the sovereignty or ultimate power now resides in the King and Parliament, but that it resides in the political organization of the State — in the executive, legislative, and judicial organs of government; and that these government organs have become possessed of sovereignty, probably as the heirs at-laio of the King and Pariiament of Great Britain, who, all agree, died in 1776. This is the English doctrine — essentially the doctrine of the divine right of kings ; and it is only varied in this country by circnmstances, names, and titles, so as to become the tenant of American instead of English minds. When this question became a national question, by the interference of the Executive arm of the United States, then the development of these an- tagonist principles of the two political parties of the country became mani- fest in their public sympathies frequently expressed on the Rhode Island difficulties. This answer necessarily embraces matters of history and opinion. 13. Question by the committee. Was there any design, to your knowl- edge, in Rhode Island, by the friends of the people's constitution, to con- nect their cause with the abolition of slavery? Answer. So far as my knowledge extends, 1 know of no such design or purpose ; nor do I believe there ever was any such purpose intended by the movers of the reform, or by any body of men respectable in point of num- bers. 1 have never attended an abolition convention, meeting, or lecture ; therefore, my answer to this question will be given from the doings of the convention, and from proceedings as they are found in newspapers, &.c. In the convention, which consisted of about one hundred members elect- ed, a proposition was made to strike out the word " w/«7e" from the second article, (on the right of suffrage,) which had been reported by the commit- tee. After some debate this was voted down, only eighteen voting in the affirmative, on a call of the convention, as the roll now in my possession will show. After the committee had reported the second article, " of elector's and the Rep. No. 546. Ill rio^ht of siiffrage^^'' with the word ^'•ivhile'^ as one of the qualifications for an elector, and before the vote above referred to on said article was had in convention, a committee of the blacks sent a remonstrance to the conven- tion, in the following words, viz: " To the Free Suffrage Convention. '•Gentlemen: The remonstrance of the undersigned colored citizens of Rhode Island, respectfully represent, that, in the constitution that is pro- posed to he sent forth by your respected body for adoption, there is one measure inserted, upon which we. as an interested party, beg leave, with de- ference, to make known our views, and give an expression of oursentiujents. We have reference to that proposed article which, in inserting the word ''white," denies all persons of color the use and exercise of the elective franchise. " Against the sacrifice of an ill-used and unoffending people, we desire to enter our most solemn and earnest protest. We are unwilling that this sore, grievous, and unwarrantable infliction should be made upon our already bruised hearts, without lifting up our voice in clear, strong, and decided remonstrance. "The article to which we refer, disfranchises that portion of the commu- nity generally entitled ''colored." The reason of this proscription is seen in the terms employed — it is the existence of the fact color. We regard the proscription as unwarrantable, anti-republican, and in tendency de- structive; and, as such, we protest against it. " We protest against it as vnwarraiitahle. We affirm that there is nought in the character or condition of the colored people of this State, as a class, which can justify this procedure. We are mostly native born citizens. We have lent our best strength in the cultivation of the soil, have aided in the development of its resources, and have contributed our part to its wealth and importance. " We have long, and with but little aid, been working our way up to respectability and competence. It is evident to open eyes, that, repulsed and disfranchised as we liave been, we have, nevertheless, been enabled to pos- sess ourselves of the means and advantaijes of religion, intelligence, and property. Debarred as we have been of the advantages of learning, and denied participation in civil prerogatives, we unhesitatingly assert that we will not suffer by a comparison with our more privileged fellow-citizens of the same rank, in either religion, virtue, or industry. "Is a justification of our disfranchisement sought in our want of christian character? We point to our churches as our reputation. In our want of intel- ligence? We refer not merely to the schools supported by the State, for our advantage ; but to the private schools, well filled and sustained, and taught by competent teachers of our own people. Is our industry questioned? This day, were there no complexional hindrance, we could present a more than proportionate number of our people, who might immediately, according to the freeholders' qualification, become voters. " But all these considerations may not be sufficient, and the justice of our being proscribed may be found in the insuperable objection of our color. Against this, then, we enter our earnest remonstrance. We protest against it ZB anti-republican. We know of no authoritative standard, where the right of man to participate in the privileges of government' is predicated of their per- 112 Rep. No. 546. sonal appearance or bodily peculiarities. We know of no system of political ethics in which rights are based upon the complexion of the skni. We can find no nation that has the temerity to insult the common sense of man- kind by promnlgatiijg such a sentiment as a part of its political creed. We are confident that no such explanation of American republicanisn was ever made by the "father of his country," or by those able minds who are justly regarded as the best explainers of the nature and purposes of the Govern- ment — the writers of the " Federalist." " Nay, we appeal to thatgreat written charter of American liberty — the dec- laration of independence — in support of our protestation. We believe that 'all men are created free and equal;' and we affirm, that no tinge of the skin can possibly invalidate that cardinal doctrine of onr country's liberty, or make nugatory or partial the political privileges which, as deductions, may proceed from it. " \Ve claim, then, that to deprive the colored people of this State of the immunities of citizenship, on account of the color of the skin, (a matter over which they have no control,) is anti-republican ; and against such a procedure we enter our solemn protest. As a harm and injury, as destruc- tive in tendency, do we regard this measure; and do therefore remonstrate against it. "If the nature o{ man opens the way for, and reqiiires civil government and its various functions, as a means of good and blessing to him, and as an aid in the full development of his powers, liow can it be otherwise than that the powers capacitated to civil duty, being diverted from their natural channel, should turn upon himself in hurtful inactivity, or active evil? And surely the State is to blame, and not the people, when invidious dis- franchisement causes moral and civil degradation; and when the sympathies and sentiments capacitated to political duty are perverted and smothered. And herein lies the destructive tendency of this measure. For what can be expected of a people when they are told — when their children are taught that they are regarded as so far beyond the pale of common human nature, that they need not expect the rights which are readily granted to others? — and this, for the commission of no crime, but on account of an arrangement of the Divine mind. Can active intellects, and healthful hearts, and souls aspiring after goodness, truth, and honesty, be reasonably looked for? De- prive a man of the use of any of his powers, and his whole system suffers ; he suffers in all his relations; injury is done him in all the. departments of activity. " The possession of the elective franchise is ever a stimulant to enter- prise, a means of influence, and a source of respect. And will you help deprive us of this benefit? The want of it is the cause of carelessness, intellectual inertness, and indolence. And will you aid in thus injuring us? Is it not destructive of humanity to frame such laws, whose tendency is to quench honorable ambition, to beget a sense of inferiority, to lessen the consciousness of individual worth and manly character? Surely, it must sicken the soul, and eat out the heart of any people. " We have thus briefly expressed our sentiments in opposition to the proposition that would give the name and influence of this convention, and that portion of the citizens of the State whom your body represents, to dis- franchise the colored people. " We have heard with surprise the expression of sentiments upon this matter, foreign to American soil and republican principles and institutions — Rep. No. 546 113 sentiments which, if carried out, would affect not only our rights, but the ri^hls of all. For it is no declamatory query that we put, when we ask you, gentlemen, what safeguard have you lor your liberties, and the liber- ties of your children, if you are willing to pollute the pure and eternal principles of human liberty by a base admixture of the adventitious cir- cumstance of human complexion? What security have you against some unexpected distinction which may at some future time arise, and, taking precedent in our proscription, sweep away your dearest rights, and most highly cherislied prerogatives, as unconcernedly as you would ours? And it IS the warrant of history when we say, that thus striking off from us the dearest boon — the precious birthright of freemen — that yet, in the course of God's providence, the poisoned chalice may be returned to the lips of those who departed from their principles, and retributive justice place them under severe restrictions and endurable chauis. " Whether this may be so or not, political experience, the annals of na- tions, clearly teach that there is always danger in departing from clearly delined aiid universal truths, and resorting to unjustifiable and invidious partialities. We trust that your respected body, in the influence you can exert, will not do this. By all humane feeling, by all regard for principle, we entreat, do not this great wrong: to us. " We have thus protested against this article, and given our reason for so doing; and if, in making known our views, we may appear unusually earnest, we trust to the candor and enlightenment of your respected body in presentmg earnestness of feeling as an extenuation of strength of senti- ment and expression. "ICHABOD NORTHUP, ] " SAMUEL RODMAN, | « Committee in "JAMES HAZARD, }behalf of the " GEORGE J. SMITH, | people of color:' "RANSOM PARKER, J When the convention met by adjournment to complete the constitution in November, the following conmiunication was made to them, in behalf of the " Rhode Island Anti-Slavery Society," viz: "Providence, November 16, 1841. " To the Suffrage Convention : "At a late meeting of the Rhode Island Anti Slavery Society, the follow- ing resolution was passed, viz: '•'■Resolved. That a committee be appointed to go before the suffrage con- vention to convene in this city next week, and protest, in the name of the abolitionists of this State, against the insertion of the word ' white' in their new constitution. " We therefore petition your body that we may, either personally or by counsel, be heard in the premises. "On behalf of the committee: "ABRM. WILKINSON." This communication was laid on the table by the convention. Subse- quently, the convention voted to hear any citizen of the State address them on the propriety of striking out the word "white." This was done, but no change was wrought in tlie convention. S 114 Hep. No. 546. Dnrinof the canvass before the people of the State, on the qnesiion of the adoption of this constitution, nearly the whole of the lectures and speeches made in opposition to its adoption were made by the abolition society, or its members and lecturers — at least it was so published at the time in the public papers, and has never, to my knowledge, been denied. 1 will here subjoin, from an abolition paper printed at the'time in Providence, some ex- tracts, to show where that party stood: "ANiNUAL MEETING. " The sixth annual meeting of the Rhode Island Anti Slavery Society was held in this city, in the Franklin Hall, on the Uih, 12th, and 13th of No- vember. It far surpassed in interest, spirit, and numbers, all of its prede- cessors. Never before did this State witness such a gathering of free, inde- pendent, and self sacrificing spirits. The farmer and the mechanic, the merchant and the broker, the manufacturer and the operative, the clerk and the teaclier, the lawyer and the printer, the priest and the politician, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, male and female, white and colored, bond and freed, of all sects and all parties : all these came up h'om the ex- treme parts of the State, and co-operated ' i// glorious unity' ioK the ad- vancement of our noble enterprise. It was good to be there. The truth elicited, and impression made, can never be effaced, " The recent base, cowardly, and hypocritical attempt of the suffrage par- ty to graduate the rights of man by the complexion of the skin, called out, previous to the meeting, a spirited and stirring appeal from the executive committee to the abolitionists of the State, to send up large delegations to devise ways and means, and mature plans, to meet the approaching crisis. That appeal was nobly responded to. It was a glorious opportunity for the abolitionists to demonstrate the sincerity of their professions. This prompt movement of theirs, if followed up, will cause the Iriends ot the slave in this State to be respected. The spirit of Roger Williams was with them. Had the old reformer himself been present, he would not have been ashamed of his descendants. "The unity of sentiments which prevailed, and the deep and strong feel- ings which existed during the sessions of this meeting, called to mind those delightful gatherings of former days, when the opposition witliout, and the burning love of freedom within, caused the hearts of all, ' Like kiadred drops, lo mingle into one.' "Rogers, Foster, and Pillsbury, of New Hampshire, were present. Gar- rison, Abby Kelly, Jackson, Collins, Foster, Cole, and Sanderson of Mas- sachusetts, were there also. And last, but not least, Frederick Douglass, a fugitive from American oppression, was among the number of strangers from abroad. All these added not a little to the great interest of the meet- ings, "After the various committees had been appointed, George L. Clarke, cor- responding secretary, read a short but clear and forcible report. A most spirited and eloquent discussion was elicited, when a motion was made lo adopt this report. Our ecclesiastical relations with the murderous system of slavery was fully brought to light, and the influence of the northern church in upholding American slavery was. we are confident, made appa- rent to every one present. " The first evening the hall was crowded to a press, and almost the entire Rep. No. 546. Il5 evening occupied by five colored speakers. We regret that some one was not present to report tfieir speeches, which would have done credit both to the head and heart of the same number of white speakers. We wish the hull had been ten times as large, and all our ' negro haters' could have heard them. They would have learned, if they did not know it before, that 'the colored man,' as Douglass beautifully expressed it, 'had a head to think, a heart to feel, and a soul to aspire to, like other men.' Many left the hall that night aslijuiied of their treatment towards tliis oppressed class. " The second day the question of suffrage came up; and as the abolitionists go for free discussion, all persons friendly or unfriendly to our cause were, at the commencement of the first session, invited to participate in the dis- cussions. Dr. Brown, and others favorable to the constitution as it now is, attempted to justify their selfish policy. This was a golden opportunity to show up the wickedness of the course pursued by the suffrage party. Gar- rison, Rogers, and others, improved it, and so cut up and mangled the argu- ments of Dr. Brown and his colleagues, that from our souls we pitied them. They attempted to mend the matter by explanations and apologies, but these only called out more terrible rejoinders from their herculean op- ponents. '• Resolutions condemning the new constitution were unanimously adopted, and the executive committee were recommended to call a series of conven- tions, and to take the most prompt and efficient measures to defeat the adoption of this instrument, and pledged to sustain the committee in carry- ing this resolution into effect. '' We can spare room for only one more extract from that paper, at this time, as follows : '• In relation to our opposition to the people's constitution with the word 'white' out, we will insert a resolution unanimously passed by tlie great anti-slavery convention, held in this city the I2th of last month, and is the sentiment of abolitionists of Rhode Island: '• Resolved, That whenever the people of this State shall be presented with a constitution which shall be really based on the truth, ' that all men are created iree and equal,' t!ie princi/tles loliich ve profess give the surest guaranty that abolitionists will not oppose, but hail it with delight. "After this expose, we hope to hear no more about the connexion between the suffrage party and abolition." 1 will here add the proceedings of a meeting held in a village in the town of Scituate, during that canvass, as published at the time in the New Age, the organ of the suffrage party : "Mr. Editor : You are probably aware that a convention was called by the anti-slavery meeting in this village on the 7th and 8th instant. The lime came, the sun rose, and the sound of the spindle was heard as usual ; but the disorganizers were until afternoon minus of a place to hold their meeting. Finally, by agreeing that nothing should be discussed but the subject of slavery, they were permitted to assemble in the Baptist meeting- house. ^^ Afternoon session — Present : F. Douglass, a colored man, Abby Kelly, S. S. Foster, Abel Tanner, and some other speakers, and a few hear- ers. Nothing of importance orcurred during the session, which adjourned to meet in the same place in the evening. " Evening session. — Mr. Foster offered the follovving resolution : 116 Pep. No. 546. ^'■Resolved, That the while suffrage constitution, now offered to the people of this State for their adoption, is more odious and liateful to the true prin- ciples of hberty than the old charter, and cannot receive the support of any true republican or christian. "Mr. Foster advocated the adoption of the resolution. He said that every man who voted for the eonstilution denied that man has natural rights. " He said that the rights of the people were safer as they now are, in the hands of the minority, thau they would be in the hands of those admitted under the constitution ; and that every man who voted for the constitution naturally said to the slaveholder, 'Go on and enslave, and murder the soul and body of the negro, and we will stand up in your defence ' " He referred to the New Age, and said that in (hat sheet they were taunted as interlopers from other States. "He said that Congress would never sanction the constitution, because it was not a republican constitution, and never could be, so long as it did not include the whole human family. " He said that, under the landholders' constitution, the blacks could obtain the right of voting, if industrious, &c., (fcc, (See, of a like nature. " F. Douglass, a runaway slave, next took tiie stand. He is a man of some natural talent, and I could wish that he was in better company. He evi- dently hibored hard to say what his instructors had told him. He followed nearly in the same train of argument as those who had preceded him, and declared that he was bound by the laws of God to oppose any constitution that would be in accordance with the constitution, if I understood him. " On his taking his seat, a stranger arose and replied to their reasonings in an able manner. He also referred to the principles advocated by the same gentlemen in Providence. He was followed by Mr. Allen, of tins village, who said that he had been libelled by the speakers, and that he would not sit quietly for persons from other States to judge of his and his associates' motives. "At this stage of the discussion, one of ihe committee of the house stated that the house was not engaged for such discussion ; but Mr. Foster again got the floor, and declared that he had the floor — he would stand, in or out of order, unless the convention decided that they would not hear him. "He commenced speaking ; but the house was becoming in confusion, so that no one could be heard, and one of the committee who had charge of the house declared that the meeting was dissolved, and that no further dis- cussion would be held in that house. The fascinating Abby Kelly entered the pulpit, and begged that they might have leave to adjourn in order; but the committee were determined, and would not even let her have a hearing. Thus has ended the convention which was intended to enlighten the people of Scituate. "A suffrage meeting was immediately called at the hall of the Temperance Hotel, which was crowded to overflowing, and addressed by several gentle- men with much spirit and propriety, until near 11 o'clock, when tlie meeting was dismissed with three cheers for the success thus far of the people's RIGHTS." I will also refer to the ballots given against the adoption of that constitu- tion in the towns of Little Compton, South Kingstown, and other towns. The ballots used in those towns are expressive upon this matter. Hence I am confident that there was no ground to charge the friends of the people's constitution with any purpose or design to aid abolition, nor that Rep. No 546. 117 the reform souo"ht for in adopting a consiitiuion was '• a/< abolition move- mcntP The people engaged in the cause of political reform in that State under- stood, and continue to understand, something about the different races of mankind. They then well understood, and they now understand, what is the political mea/iing in civil g over itmeiit in this country of Iheuwrd i^eo- PLK. They have never contended, aud they never will contend, that it means or signifies aliens, Indians, or slaves. 14. Question by the comniiitee. Have you any other documents or papers in your possession, not referred to in your answers, that you deem ol im- portance to the investigation of this matter? If you have, please annex them to your testimony. Answer. 1 have many documents and papers that may be important in investigating tliis matter. Annexed (marked C) is the' copy of a petition to the General Assembly of Riiode Island, and of an act that passed the Senate in February, 1811, to extend suffrage. The same ge'Utleman that was the Governor of Rhode Island then, is now the Governor. The Governor then was, and now is, the presiding officer of the Senate. Annexed (marked D) is the copy of a constitution proposed to the /ree- Jiolders oi ihixi State in 1824, and rej -cted. This constitution did not e.'^- tend suffrage, nor did it eqiiahze representation. Also, (marked E,) is an address to the people of Rhode Island from the constitutional convention of 1S34. It gives, 1 believe, a true history of the legislation of that State upon suffrage under the cliarter. Also, (marked F.) is a copy of what is called the landholders' constitution, which was rejected in March, 1842. The convention which framed this constitution was aidhorizedh^ the General Assembly, upon the petition of the town (or of the citizens of the town) of Smithfield, asking for an increase of rv present a lion in that town. The petition did not, I believe, ask for any extension of the right of suffrage. The resolutions of the Assembly, calling the convention, authorized thee invention to frame a constitution, eiXher in whole or in. part ^ to be submitted to the freemen. And although, at the same session, one or more petitions were presented to extend suffrage, yet no allusions were made to them by the committee; and the design of the 'Charter government evidently was to ioxKnpart of a constitution, and in it to make the representation more equal ; for the town of Smithfield was the second town in the State in point of population, and it was important un- doubted Iv to the riding party in the State not to offend the party sensibili- ties of Its inhabitants. Also, (marked G,) is a copy of the constitution which the de facto gov- ernment ot the State claims now to act under. It is remarkable for nothing €xce|)t for the liability, if not for the certainly, of being misunderstood and misconsirutid ; especially in the second article^ on the qualification of elec- tors. I also refer to article fourth, on the legislative poiver, and par- ticularly to the first, tenth, and eighteenth sections of said article. To make the oppressions of the charter government more intolerable to the people, and to reii^n in perfect dominion, they, in 1842, construed the charter to grant power to the General Assembly to declare martial law, or, as the charter says, ^'tlie laio martial.'''' This is clearly a mistaken stretch of power; for wlien the charter speaks of the law martial, it evidently means to confer the power upon the officers in tlie field, or in command, in a state lis Rep. No. 546. of war ; not legislative bodies nor persons — for the terms '• Ko.nmanders, gov- ernors^ and niiliiar y officers'' (ippointed, <5^'c., indicate that that power is to be used for the special defence and safety o^ the InhnbitanLs ; and I hey, and not the Legislature, are authorized to " uae and exercise the Unv mar- tial,^'' (fcc. It would seem, then, and it is beheved that the tenth section expressly meant to give to the General Assembly the power to put the State under martial law whenever they choose, although \he fourth section seems to put the military under the civil authority. Again : the first act of the General iissembly authorizing this convention^, required that a majority of all those qualified to vote under said constitu- tion to be framed, should be necessanj for its adoption ; but subsequently, after the convention had had one session, and adjourned to meet again, the General Assembly, under a pretext of const ruiiiij the first act, passed a second one, only requiring that a majority o\ those who voted upon the question of its adoption should be necessary to adopt it. This is another strong evidence that the charter parly then knew, or was well satisfied, that a majority of the people were not with them. This indicates, also, (rather strongly too,) that then, at least, they believed and relied very much in the power and efficacy of ninjorities in establishing and changing govern- ments. Also, (marked H,) is a copy of the proceedinos of the convention of the State of Rhode Island, holden at Nevv|)ort in May, 1790, which ratified the constitution of the United States. Tins, \ apprehend, is an authentic act of the legal people of the State. tCS^ I would here call the attention of the committee to an act, or bill,. which I believe passed one or the other House of Congress just prior to that time, by which Rhode Island was to be treated as ?l foreign State. Also, (marked I.) is a copy of the report of a committee of the charter Legislature, after the defeat of the landholders' constitution. The commit- tee consisted entirely of the charter party, and therefore does not give the tvhole cause which defeated that instrument. They have only put so much into the report as would serve as an apology before the world for the law passed at that session, called "An act in relation to offences against tlie sovereign power of the State."' Marked K are certain resolutions, declaring the object the democratic party had in taking part in the election of IS43, under the present constitu- tion. The people, in 1843, protested against the present constitution of the- State, upon the ground that it was a usurpation ; that it was proposed simul- taneously with martial law, and that the delegates to the convention were elected under martial law ; and, in fine, that it was established, and ihe government under it, by intimidation, proscription, tyranny, and cruelty. With these views, amid the grinding powers of a moneyed aristocracy, the people (most of them) consented, under their solemn protest, to register their names, in hopes, by their exertions, to yet estuhlish that goverumeiit, in a peaceable manner, that had been, as they believed, prostrated by the strong arm of the executive power of the United Slates. Rep. No 546. 119 The following table is the vote cast in that State, at difteretit times, up )ii this cotisiitutioii-inaking question : Towns. Providence (city) North Providence Smithfield Cumberland Johnston Cranston Scituate - Foster Burrillville Glocester Newport - Portsmouth New Shore ham • Jamestown Middletown Tiverton Little Compton - Westerly- North Kingstown South Kingstown Charlestown Exeter Richmond Hopkinton Warwick East Greenwich - West Greenwich Coventry Bristol Warren - Barrington t- O O) o o > fa 1,606 187 374 226 156 101 251 265 96 83 694 192 48 25 100 214 85 124 179 237 56 131 75 106 285 144 53 255 341 281 51 7,024 1,406 150 334 210 148 156 280 251 52 59 730 204 94. 46 152 371 202 182 210 450 86 258 167 159 382 146 179 266 358 263 62 8,013 a: f/j ^^ ■^ O o < 2,129 430 997 638 231 283 371 133 326 387 361 97 34 11 6 86 6 153 265 188 40 32 69 163 595 97 44 279 149 65 24 8,689 •=Q 3,556 683 1,338 892 347 404 524 238 •283 402 1.202 126 132 31 30 274 43 251 253 275 100 134 132 162 900 135 62 406 366 210 52 13,944 Votes against the Algerine constitution, 51. The following table of population, freemen, estimate, &c., was prepared by me from the "sarnie source of information as the one prepared by me at the request of the Hon. Elisha R. Poller, for the use of the landholders' convention. 120 Rep. No. 546. The copy of the one prepared for that convention, is contained in tlie documents in the case of Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and others. The remariis appended to this estimate are mine, and are beheved now to be true. Table of population, freeholders, <^'C. o 00 ^ d i^ If Towns. c s . -^ o 13 !_~ ID Oj o o t "3 0) 1° s^ o Cu ti >^ ^.i Providence (city) 23,172 5,579 1,440 1,610 North Providence 4,207 938 212 270 Smithfield 9,534 2,049 578 660 Cumberland 5,224 1,195 364 405 Scituate . - - - 4,090 966 368 395 Cranston 2,902 647 255 265 Johnston 2,477 609 201 225 Glocester 2,308 591 272 295 Foster . - - - 2,181 554 272 290 Burrillville 1,982 533 253 280 58,077 13,761 4,215 4,695 Newport - - - - 8,333 1,970 560 630 Portsmouth 1,706 447 176 185 Middletown 891 220 80 95 Tiverton 3,183 787 255 290 Little Compton - 1,327 315 139 150 New Shoreham - 1,069 244 103 135 Jamestown 365 99 37 58 16,874 3,718 4,082 1,350 1,535 South Kingstown 800 394 415 Westerly 1,912 423 173 195 North Kingstown 2,909 686 244 265 Exeter . - - - 1,776 426 156 210 Charlestown 923 197 108 135 Hopkinton 1,726 376 193 205 Richmond 1,361 298 135 155 14,325 3,206 1,403 1,580 Rep. No. 546. TABLE— Continued. 121 Towns. o a o Free white males over 21. Zoc o — ■■s| 394 357 156 134 u C (D Warwick Coventry- East Greenwich - West Greenwich 6,726 3,433 1,509 1,416 13,08.4 1,387 795 373 362 430 370 165 165 2,917 1,041 1,130 Bristol - - - - Warren - - - - Barrington 3,490 2,438 549 794 800 124 306 235 71 320 250 80 6,477 1,708 612 650 108,837 25,674 8,622 9,590 We believe the above table, exhibiting the population of the State, the number of male adults over 21 years old, the vote cast on the election of President Harrison, and the estimate of the freemen of each town and city, is as near correct as can be made without a thorouiih investigation. We are so sure of its general correctness, that we challenge tlie "Journal" to point out — not by assertion, but by facts — any errors. Some towns may be over-estimated, and some may be under in the estimate ; but one thing is cer- tain — that is, that there never w<>re more (hnii 9,600 qualified votes in the State. Great pains have been taken to collect correct information in this respect : and we feel satisfied that, if we err any way, it is in over-esti- mating the number. On the presidential election in 1840, there was a great vote cast, viz: 8,622. This was, by hundreds, the greatest vote ever cast in the State, either before or since; and when we know the exertions which were made by the successful party to be the banner State — how they supplicated their opponents not to be strenuous in investigating the qualifi- cations of those who voted on that accoimt — and especially when it was well known by the democratic party that no efforts of theirs could be suc- cessful in the State — it is not too much to assert, that we believe there were nearly as many votes then given in, as thee were honest qualified freemen in the State. Those who are unacquainted with our State may wonder that some towns should have a larger per rentage of its population freemen than others. This fact is well understood here. In the populous or maiiufac- turing towns, their qualified freettieii are less in proportion to population than m those towns or sections where the agricultural interest predomi- nates. P'or instance: in Providence, with a population of 23.172, its num- 122 Rep. No. 546. ber of freemen is bin about 1,600, or about 7 per cent. ; wbile in the agri- culiural towns it is 10 per cent. If the city of Providence contiiins a fair proportion of freemen accordino- to its popnhition with the whole State, there would be but about 8,000 in the Stale; but this is not so. In the manufacturing: towns, but 7 or 8 per cent, of this population have a right to vote ; whereas, in the agricuhural towns, 10 percent, enjoy that right. In the State tliere are 2.5,674 white male adult citizens over 21 years of age; from this number must be deducted, as aUfns, non-compos, insane, under ijuardinnship, and criujinals, as many as 3,000, which will leave 22,674; a majority of which is 11,33S. The people's constitution received 13,944— leavmg, of the 22.674, 8,730 to be counted as against it. I refer the committee to the several laws and resolutions passed and enacted by the charier and existing government of lihode Island, from January, 1841, to the present time. They, I think, will show a govern- ment predisposed to a military despotism — an overbearing aristocracy — a fixed purpose to curtail personttl independence and the free exercise of the elective franchise. At the request of the committee, I annex an irregular copy of the case Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and others, now pending in the Su- preme Court of the United States. It is not arranged in the form that it came up from the court below, but it is believed to be all here — except, per- haps, a copy of the rules of the people's House of Representatives. 'J'here may also be some derangement in the order in which it is presented here, and especially in the defendants' pleas; but the whole material parts of the case are in this copy. The oiieriiigs and exhibits are coa)plete, which is most material to show the judicial iiistory of this question. The exhibits in tliis case are all lettered. I shall only refer to such ones as are not more particularly set forth before in my answers. B — Report made to the House of Representatives of Rhode Island upon the right of suftVage, in June, 1829. The attention of the committee is particularly called to this document. F — Contains the resolutions passed at a mass meeting of the people held at Newport, May 5th, 1841. G — Contains the resolutions and proceedings of a mass meeting of the people held at Providence on Monday, July 5th, 1841. J a, — Is a copy of the call made by the State conniiittee upon the people to elect delegates to meet in convention at Providence in October, 1841, to form a written constitution. J b — Is an address of the State committee to the people upon the object of the convention, and upon the necessity of reform. O — Is a table of population, representation, estimates, number of votes and voters, (fcc., used by the landholders' convention. P — Is a cof)y of a document of the Secretary of State of Rhode Island, certifying the number of votes polled in said State at the general election for ten years, beginning with the year LS32. H a, II b,l a, I b, L a, L b — Are exhibits of the proceedings of the Legis- lature and House of Representatives of that State upon the subject of con- stilutioiis and suffrage since 1841. They are copies from the certified copies now on file in this cause in the clerk's office of the Supreme Court in Washington. Rep xNo 546. 123 Ps' a — Is ii copy of tlie journal of the Senate under the people's constitu- tion, kept by Williaui H. Smith, Secretary of Slate. IS (j Is a copy of the journal of the House of Represetitatives inider tlie people's constitution. i\ c — Are copies of all the acts and resolutions passed by the Legislature under the same constitution. Also, an agreenietit of the parties in said cause, made by their respective counsel, as to what should be done and what should be used on the trial thereof. I have one or two facts to a^d, th(;y having- been omitted in my answers to the questions to which they properly apply. In January, 1842, after tlie pt-ople's constitution had rect ived a majority of the male adult vo;es of the State, Mr. Atwell, a member of the House of Representatives of that State, who was also a member of both conven tions, (the people's and the landholders'.) offered a resolution in the House of Representatives, that the then government had been changed by the adop- tion of the people's constitution, and that said new government onoht to go into operation at the time specified in the constitution. This was so violently opposed by the charter party, that subsequently Mr. Atwell moved a resolution, or motion, that a committee of the House should be appointed to investigate the fact whether a majority of the people had voted for the constitution or not. This was debated considerably; and it was iheii not denied by the charter party, but generally conceded, thai a majority of the male adult citizens of tlie State did vote to adopt that constitution ; hut tliey denied that the people had a riglit to do so, unless done by a legislative permission or request, 'i'his last proposition was indefinitely postponed. This session, which Was held in January, 1842, adjourned until March following, when they met to officially proclaim the result of the voting upon the question of the adoption of the landholders' constitution. When, by the report of a committee, it was found that that constitution had been rejected, Mr. Atwell, on his own responsibility, as another measure of peace and tranciuillity to the State, pro|)osed that the people's constitution should be submitted to the people again for adoption, under legislative sanction, and that none others should vote upon the question but such as had voted upon the landholder.s' constitution. This proposition was voted down by a great majority. Again: after the people's constitution had been adopted by the people, and afier it had been charged that it had been adopted by fraudulent or unfair voting, I made inquiry of the Hon. Elishu R. Potter, for my own satisfactioii, whether tl^e vote in the county of Washington, where he resided, was a fair one. His reply to me was, substantially, this : '-It was about as f lir as elections usually are." '-You know," he said, "that more or less bad votes will be cast at every election; but 1 think the votes given for this (the people's) con- stitution are about as fair as common." Afterwards, Mr. Potter repeated substantially the same opinion, to another gentleman in my presence. Hence I c.mcluded then, that the votes in the county of Washington, given for the people's consiilution, were correct; and 1 know of nothing now to change that opinion. This testimony (much of it) is necessarily inferential and historical ; but it IS nevertheless believed by the undcrHgned to be siiiclly true, and that it Will '-bear ihe test and scrutiny of tiiiic and IruthJ^ 124 Hep. No. 546. Questions submitled by Mr. Causin, of the committee. 1. For what reasons, within your knowledge, did Mr. Hohnes become, as alleged, the enemy and persecutor of your cause ? and in what acts were the etjmity and disposition of Mr, Holmes to persecute your cause, exhibited? 2. By whom was it " falsely and maliciously," as you believe, asserted on the iioor of the House of Representatives, that '• the friends of the people"s constitution, in or out of the State of Rhode l.^land," were to plunder the banks and ^ther proiierty in the city oi Providence, and to subject the wo- men of that city to brutal violence? 3. Upon what facts, and in reference to v^iom, do you assert that because "corporations were not suffered to remain in that omnipotent position they had heretofore occupied in tlie State,'' was one great reason why '-the American doctrine of popular sovereignty was so repudiated and condemned in that Stale by the charter party ?" 4. What party, or member of a parly, in Rhode Island, ever asserted that the "government organs" liecanie possessed of sovereignty — probably, as the heirs at lain of the king^ and parliavieiit of Great Britain, who, all agree, died in 177(3?" 5. What was the extent, in what manner exercised, and what the effect, of the asserted interference of the executive arm of the United States? 6. In prescribing the qualifications of voters for the adoption of the peo- ple's constitution, what were the requisites to entitle one to vote ? particularly, were blacks permitted, by ihe terms of the proposition, to vote on the adop- tion of the constitution ? To the first explanatory question propounded by Mr. Causin, I answer: That 1 do not know the rea^^ons which induced Mr. Holmes to become the opponent ot the cause he had before that lent his aid lo. To the second question, I answer: That 1 still believe such charges were made; and I ground my beliet from veihal information and from reports of speeches made upon this question. 1 do not desire to call any names; for it is to be hoped that such charges will, on reflection, be retracted. I also refer the committee to the report of the speech of the Hon. Henry Y. Cranston, in the National Intelligencer of the 9ih of March last — particularly to the debate upon this snbj<^ct-as another foundation for what I believe ; from which I extract the followiiig: "In alluding to the declaration of martial law at the time of the disturb- ances ill that State, he said it was that which had saved them from the swarms of ruffians from other States that had hung upon the borders of the State, ready at the signal of the nine guns, wl^n they should have got possession of Providence, of its wealth, of. twenty-two hanks, and of that which constituted the greatest wealth of the city, (which he would not name.) to have rushed in upon them. Yes, when these 'patriots' should have got possession of the city, these armed ruffians — armed with pikes, of which he gave a description- and these vagabonds from out of their State, were to have rushed in upon them, and to have seized whatever might have been seized over the dead bodies of the citizens, if it could have been got in no other way. The Slate had been put under martial law, and that had saved them, under the providence of God, from entire desolation ; and how many parts of this country besides Rhode Island had thereby been saved, wliich otherwise would have remained secure but a little longer, God only knew. If, in Rhode Island, selected as it had been to be the Rep. No. 546. 125 great 'hattle-fieM of American liberty, because it was a little State, that bloody flag had floated in triumpli there, what would have become of New York, where could have been mustered at any moment fifty iliousand tuch 'patriots,' armed with pikes and oilier weapons? Mr. C. could not trust himself to talk upon this subject. He felt too much, and he felt because he had been a witness — a witness of the whole scene, which would be among the last things which his memory would cease to retain." To the third question, I answer: That J believe a united action upon the Lewislaiure by the corporations, would carry any question, just or unjust, reasonable or unreasonable, opitressive or liberal. But had the people's constitution gone into operation, the Sth, 9th, lUth, and llth sections of the 9th article would have secured the people in a measure. I'iiere- fore, from the fact that all the most powerful of these corporations were, and now are, opposed to this reform, and also from the fact that I have heard those provisions Irequenily condemned, I infer that this is one cause why tlie docirme of popular sovereignty was by them repudiated and con- demned. To the fourth question, 1 answer: "^Phat I have heard it contended by the legislative, judicial, and jntlUical organizations in Rhode Island, that the sovereignly rested in the institutions of the Slate, and not in the people; and I believe other men, belonging to a distinctive party in this country — indeed, the greui body of the party themselves — avow this doctrine. But that these institutions or organizations received it from the king and par- hament at the declaration of American independence, is my own mference. To the fifth question, 1 answer: As to tiie extent and the manner the executive arm of the United States interfered in this matter, I refer you to the documents transmitted to the House by the Executive, and to such names, for testimony, as have been furnisiied the conmiittee, of particular acts done by the oliicers of the United States. The efitct of this interlerence was to discourage and disliearten the people, and to encourage and sustain a minority government, odious in itsulf; and I verily believe that, if the Executive of the United States liad not interfered with troops and threats, the people's constitution would have gone into operation in peace, and to the satisfaction of a great majority of the people of that State, and to the quiet of the country. To the sixth question, I answer by referring the committee to the four first sections of the 14th article of the people's constitution, for the qualifica- tions of the voters for the adoption of that constitution. By these provis- ions, I do not see that blacks were expressly prohibited ; though 1 do not know, of my own personal knowledge, that one voted for it — but there may have been. J. S. HARRIS. Washington City, April 24, 1844. Then the abovenamed John S. Harris made solemn oath that the fore- going testimony, by him subscribed, is, in his belief, true. Before me, EDMUND BURKE, Chairman Select Committee on Rhode Islatid Memorial. April 25, 1844. 126 Rep No. 546. PAPliRS ANNEXED TO THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN S. HARRIS. No. 2.— (I.) Statk of Rhode Island and Providp:nce Plantations, III General Assemblij, March session.., 1842. Report of the commiltee on the action of the General Assembly on the sub- ject of the constitution. The committee to wliom was referred the joint resolution, reqiiirinsr ihem to report to this Assembly a stiitement ot all the imftortdtit facts connected with the formation and rejection of the consiimtion lately siihmiited lo the people of this State for approval or rejection, and also to n^port their opin- ion whether any leo;islatioti on said subject is now necessary, and, if any, what, — beg leave to report : That those wlio have set thems<^lves in opposition to ihe government of this State have pretended that it was an aristocrucy. and not republican in its form. On the contrary, your committee have no hesitaiion m asserting that this State, irom its settlement, has possessed a democratic torm of gov- ernment. The first charter obtained under the authority of the parlian ent of Eng- land in 1043-44, and the last charter obtained in 16(33, from Charles II, secured to the people of this Stale the right of self-government. Under that form of government, which has descended to us from the patriarchs of the colonv, tlie people have enjoyed a degree of civil and reliijious freedom which has never been exceeded, and stldom equalled, in any other State. This form of government has been fnund sufiicie^nt m peace and in war — in times when our people acknowledged allegiance to the crown of England, and since the declaration of independence. Under this form of government the people of this State became parties to the declaration of independence, to the union of the States under the confederatioi]. and to the constitution of the United States, under which we have enjoyed so much prosperity and happiness. The charter ot 16t)3 having fixed the representation of the towns, with- out any reference to their subsequent population, the altered circumstances of the State have produced an inequality of representation from the towns in the House of Representatives, which has created some dissatisfaction in that portion of the State which has most increased in population. Within the last eighteen years three attempts have been made to form a constUution of government for this State, under the sanction of acts of this General Assembly. These attempts have failed in two instances by the vote of the people — in 1824 and in 1842; and by the failure of the convention in 1834 to form a constitution. This General Assembly has thus manifested a disposition to afford every facility to the people of this State, which was necessary to enable them to repeal or reform, or remodel, at their pleasure, their fundamental laws. The unequal representation of the towns has not therefore influenced this Gene- ral Assembly, so as to prevent the action of the freemen at large on this sub- ject. And as a further instance of the liberality of this General Assembly, in the last attempt that was made to form a cotistitution, the basis of repre- sentation in the convention was altered, by an act of the Assembly, so as to i Rep. No. 546. 127 render the people more eqiinlly represented in that body which was to form the coiistitutioti. In the attempts to form a constitution in 1824 and 1834, but very few were desirous of chatio-ina^ the freehold qualification for the right of suffrage. In the convention of 1824, Mr. Pearce made a motion to extend (he right of suffrfige to persons who did not possess a freehold ; which was almost unan- imously rejected, three only voting in its favor. In IS:]4 a similar motion was made by Mr. Dorr, and but seven voted in its favor. At the January session of the General Assembly, 1841, a memorial from the town of Smiihfield was referred to a select committee of the House of Representatives, of which the Hon. Asher Robbins was chairman, who, in behiilf of said coiimittee, reported as follows: '•Tiie select committee to whom was referred the memorial of the town of Smithfield, praying this General Assembly to 'take the subject of the ex- treme iiiequ lity of the present n^piesentation from the several towns under consideration, and, in such- manner as seems most practicable and just, to correct the evil complained of,' have had the same mider consideration ; and the committee, believing that the regular and rightful way of obtain- ing the object prayed for, is by a convention of the freemen of the State, acting III their sovereign capacity on the suliject. report the following reso- lution for adoption : '' Resolved by tlu General Asscmb/i/, (tiie Senate concurring with the House of Representatives therein,) That it be recommended to the freemen of the State, at the several town meetings in April, to instruct their represent- atives as to their wishes for a State convention to frame a new constitution for this State, in whole or in part, with full power for that purpose." Alter some remarks from several members, on motion of Mr. Robbins, on the 5t)i of February, 1841, this resolution was recommitted, to report in the morning, and tlie report was made the order at the day lor the morrow. Un the next day the memorial of the town of Smithfield was tak'en up, and the resolution as amended by the committee; and after considerable de- bate on the question, whether the freemen should be called upon first to in- struct their representatives on the subject ot calling a convention, or whether the General Assembly should pass a bill, as heretofore, immediiitely for calling a convention, the latter course was adopted. Resolutions were then passed by this General Assembly, requesting the freemen to choose, in August, delegates to attend a convention to be holden at Providence on the first Monday of November, A. 1). 1841, to frame a new constitution for this State, either in whole or in part, with full power for this purpose; and if only for a constitution in part, that said convention have under their especial consideration the expediency of equalizing the representation of the towns in the House of Representatives. At this January session, printed petitions were presented, signed by about six hundred persons in all, as follows : To the Hon. the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island : ' The undersigned, inhabitants and citizens of the State of Rhode Island, would respectfully represent to your honorable body, that they conceive that the digtnty of the Slate would be advanced, and the liberties of the citizen better secured, by the abrogation of the charter granted unto this State by King Charles the Second of Hngland, and by the establishment of a constitution which should more effectually define the authority of the 128 Rep. No. 546. executive and legislative branches, and more strongly recognise ihe ri^lits of the citizens. Your petitioners would not take the liberty of suggestinic to your honorable body any course which should be pursued, but would leave the whole affair in your hands, trusting to the good sense and dis- cretion of the General Assembly. Your petitioners would further represent to the General Assembly, that they conceive that an extension of suffrage to a greater portion of the white male residents of the State would be more in accordance with the spirit of our institutions than the present system of the State; and for such an exten- sion they ask. Your petitioners would not suggest any system of suffrage, but would leave the matter to the wisdom of the Gerieral Assembly. Upon both the prayers of your petitioners they would ask the immediate and efficient action of the General Assembly; and, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [Signed by Elisha Dillingham, and about 5S0 others.] The prayer of these petitions was answered by the action of the Assembly on the Smithfieid memorial. Any extension of the right ot suffrage was most proper for the people acting by their delegates in convention. Such a convention the General Assembly had every reason to believe would be formed under the resolutions which tliey had adi^pted. At the last May session of this General Assembly, Mr. Mowry, of Smith- field, submitted a resolution, that the resolution for a convention to form a constitution for the State be amended, so as to elect the members in pro portion to the number of delegates the towns would severally be entitled to according to the last census, not exceeding six to one town. Mr. Atwell then said (If he has been reported correctly) that, In connexion with the resolution, he would call for the petition of Khslia Dillingham and others, for extending suffrage, presented at the last session ; as he thought, when settling as to how n;any delegates should be elected, we should inquire as to who should elect those delegates. Mr. Ames advocated the passage of Mr. Mowry's resolution. The resolution of Mr. Mowry was adopted by the House, by a vote of 48 to 20. The next day Mr. Atwell presented a bill which he had been requested to offer, as meeting the views of a large portion of our citizens. It provided for a new apportionment of representation, and an extension of suffrage m choosing delegates for the convention to frame a constitution. Mr. Atwell (according to the published report) said he was not then pre- pared to say he could go the length the friends of the bill proposed. He wished the bill read, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, to re- port in June ; and the bill was so disposed of. At the last June session, (according to the published account,) Mr. Atwell made a minority report from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the act sent to the House as aforesaid. The substance of the report was, that every white male citizen of the United States, over 21 years of age, who has resided in this State two years, and In the town or city where he is to vote for six months next preceding the town meeting, and who has paid a tax on real estate or personal property for one year previous to the time of voting, shall be allowed to vote for the choice of delegates to the convention appointed by the General Assembly to meet in November next, Rep. No. 546. 129 for the purpose of fonnins: .1 consiitution, excepi p-ersons insane, under guardianj-liip, and convicts. There was much debate in the House, arrowing out of this report; some denying the power of the House to pass such an act; others admitting the power of the House, but denying its propriety. The report was de- fended as to the power of the Assembly, and the propriety of such an act. On the question, fifty two voted against the act proposed by Mr. Atwell, and ten in its favor. Mr. Spencer, who voted against the act, said that the proper course for those who wished for an extension of suffrage is to go to tfie convention appointed for the purpose of considering that subject with others ; and if they found no redress there, then the proper course would be to come here. This course, so plain and proper, was not adopted ; on the contrary, measures were taken to extend suffrnge by the act of those who, by law, were not eniiiled to suffrage, by a movement revolutionary in its character, and without any such necessity or oppression as must exist to justify revo- lution. The refusal of the General Assembly to extend the right of electing dele- ofates to the convention, to persons who were not quahfied electors by the fundamental laws of the State, has been alleged as a justification for the convention which formed what they have been pleased to term the people's constitution. xMeasures, however, were taken before the June session, by the friends of the sutTrage movement, to organize a convention by their own authority. In May last, at a large meeting in Newport, under the auspices of the suffrage association, measures were taken for calling a convention of the people, without any regard to the fundamental laws of this State, which, f<)r nearly two hundred years, have required the possession of a freehold to entitle a person lo be admitted to the exercise of political power, and to be a member of the body p(thtic and corporate. A portion of the people re- sponded to the call of this unauthorized body, and met in the several towns to choose delegates to a convention to form a constitution for this State, to be holden at Providence October 9, 1S41. This was in anticipation of the lawful convention, which was to meet on the first Monday of November last. Tlie unauthorized convention assembled in Providence nt the time ap- pointed. They were the delegates of a minority of the people, in whatever sense the word "people" may be understood. A small portion of the free- holders joined in this irregular election ; and, although all persons were ad- mitted to vote who chose, not more than about seven thousand two hundred votes gave any appearance of sanction to this convention. The number of white male citizens of the United States resident in this State, over 21 years of age, exceeds 22,000. Such was the authority upon which this convention assembled and pro- ceeded to act. It has been generally supposed that this convention pro- ceeded simply without law, and not against law ; but as they assumed the authority which, under the laws of this State, was to be exercised by an- other convention, chosen by the freemen for that purpose, they acted in op- position to the law under which the lawful convention was called, in vio- lation of the right which belonged to the legally qualified electors, to make a constitution for this State ; and their doings were not only without law, but against laio. 9 130 Rep. No. 546. This unlawful convention, elected by a minority of the people, proceeded to the solemn work of forming a constitution to be proposed to the people of this Stiite, and also exercised one of the most important powers of sove- reignty ; of tlieir own authority, they decid('d what portion of the people should, and what portion should not, vote upon the adoption or rejection of the constitution. At meetings liolden under their authority, their constitu- tion was submitted to those whom they pleased to recognise as the people. It was voted for, during three days, in open meetings ; and three days by votes collected from all quarters, by any person or persons, and brouo;ht to the pretended moderator, and with no opportunity for detection of frauds. Votes thus collected and counted, by their own mode of computation, they have declared to have been given by a majority of the people; and, by the same usurped authority, have proclaimed their constitution to be the supreme law of this State. The lawful convention met at the time appointed, on the first Monday of November last. On the question of suffrage, they decided to admit persons to vote who did not possess a freehold qualification. They decided not to admit, in future, the eldest sons of freeholders as qualified voters. On the question, what personal property qualification would be required? there were three propositions : one proposing five hundred, another three hun- dred, and anotlier two hundred dollars. Tlie vote beiiiij taK'en on the largest sum first, it was decided in favor of this. On further reflection, it was ascertained that rejectmg the eldest sons, and requiring a personal property qualification of the value of five hundred dollars, would not be an extension, but a diminution of the number entitled to vote. At this period of their deliberations the convention adjourned, to meet again on the 14th of February, to ascertain the sentiments of their constituents on this funda- mental question. Before this time, however, the suffrage convention com- pleted their work, and declared their constitution the supreme law. At the session of this General Assembly, in January last, they communicated their constitution and their declaration to the General Assembly. At the com- mencement of the January session, Mr. Atwell, who had been a member of the suffrage convention, introduced an act reciting the fact of the adoption of the suffrage constitution by a majority of the people, and its having be- come the supreme law, and requiring tliis General Assembly to yield up its authority to the new government which was to be formed under it. This step being found too bold to meet with any countenance in this As- sembly, he afterwards made a motion to inquire how many of the legally qualified voters in the State had voted for this constitution. This motion did not prevail. The Legislature was not disposed to sanction, in any manner, the doings of this convention, or the voting under their authority. The following resolutions were then passed by the General Assembly, with much unanimity — but seven voting against them : State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, In Getieral Assembly, Jammry sess^ion, A. D. 1842. Whereas a portion of the people of this State, without the forms of law, have undertaken to form and establish a constitution of government for the people of this State, and have declared such constitution to be the supreme law, and have communicated such constitution unto this General Assembly: and whereas many of the good people of this State are in danafer of beino misled by these informal proceedings: therefore, Rep. No. 546. 131 it is hereby resoloed hy this General Assembly, That all acts done by the persons aforesaid, for the purpose of imposing upon this State a consti- tution, are an assumption of the powers of government, in violation of the rights of the existing government, and of the rights of the people at laro-e. Resolved, Tiiat the convention called and organized in pursuance of an act of this General Assembly, for the purpose of firming a constitution to be submitted to the people of this State, is the only body which we can recog- nise as authorized to form such a constitution; and to this constitution the whole people have a right to look, and we are assured they will not look in vain, for such a form of government as will promote their peace, security, and happiness. Resolved, That this General Assembly will maintain ils own proper authority, and protect and defend the legal and constitutional rights of the people. True copy: — Witness, HENRY BO WEN, Secretary. This General Assembly, though they considered this pretended constitu- tion as a nullity, yet were disposed to consider the number of persons who had voted for it as expressive of an opinion in the community that the right of suffrage should be very liberally extended. A bill was introduced into the Legislature, providinof for such an extension of suffrage as was af- terwards adopted by the legal convention. It was, however, deemed im- proper, by many, that this should be done by the General Assembly, and especially as the freemen had already sent delegates to a convention to de- cide upon this matter. As a substitute for this lull, and with a view to con- ciliation, the following act was passed : State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, In General Assembly, January session, A. D. 1842. AN ACT in amendment of an act entitled "An act revising the act entitled 'An act regulating the (TiRnner of admitting freemen, and directing the method of electing officers in this Slate.' " Whereas the good people of this State having elected delegates to a con- vention to form a constitution ; which constitution, if ratified by the people, will be the supreme law of tlie State: therefore. Be H enacted by the General Assembly as follows: All persons now qualified lo vote, and those who may be qualified to vote under the existing laws previous to the time of such their voting, and all persons who shall be qualified to vote under the provisions of such con- stitution, shall be qualified to vote upon the question of the adoption of said constitution. True copy : Witness, HENRY BOWEN, Secretary. The legally authorized convention met at the time to which they had adjourned, (the 14th of February,) finished their work, and submitted their constitution to the people, to be voted upon on the 2Ist, 22d, and 23d of March, 1842. The provisions of this constitution extended the riaht of suffrage to every while male native citizen of the United States, of the ao-e of 21 years, who has resided in this State two years, and in the town or city where he offers to vote six months next preceding his voting, exceptino- 132 Rep. No 546. lunatics, paupers, &c.; and to such naturalized citizens as possessed such freehold qualification as has been heretofore required for all citizens, on a residence o( three years in this State after their naturalization, and six months in the town or city in which they offer to vote, next preceding the time of voting. This extension was as liberal to all native-horn American citizens, as that granted by the (so called) " people's constitution," except that two years' resi- dence was required instead of one. It was a further extension than was contemplated by the bill already mentioned, introduced by Mr. Atwell. at the June session. In relation lo those who were born in foreign countries, it was not deemed prudent that they sliould 1 e admitted to the right of suffrage as freely as the native-born citizen, and not until, by a longer residence, and a freehold qualification, there was such "evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community," as would render it safe to extend to them this most important right. It was to have been expected that the native-born citizens of the United States, resident among us, who have been so desirous of an extension of suf- fra<7e, would have accepted this constituiion in the same spirit of conciliation and compromise witii which it was offered them. Many have done so; and many more would have done so, if pains had not been taken by their interested leaders to pledge them to vote against this constitution before it was ever formed. And many have said that they would not vote for it, if it had been word for word like their own. Such a spirit is beyond the reach of conciliation or compromise. Nothing can satisfy such men but a triumph over the law, and a prostration of the government to their unhallowed purposes. By a small majority (076) the constitution has been rejected. We have no doubt many voted against it from their attachment to ihe freehold quali- fication. Some voted against it, because the colored people were not placed ' on the sameplaiform wiih white men ; others, because ihey considered the representation in the Legislature unequal ; and we have reason lo believe that many voted against it. bemg deceived by the grossest misre|)resenta- tions, and having been told they would lose, if this constitution was adopted, certain rights and privileges to which they were well known to be much attached. We have seen, on the part of a portion of the free suffrage men, a zeal in opposition to this constitution, which offered to them more than they origin- ally asked, that cannot be accounted for upon the principles of interest and prudence which govern men in ordinary times. With them, the contest has j ceased to be for principle ; it has become a contest for power ; — not for power under ordinary circumstances, for the honors or emoluments of office under the same laws and the same government, but a contest for power, in violation of every righteous principle, to the destruction of all law, and all legitimate government. "We cannot for a moment doubt on which side all good citizens will array themselves, when such a contest is brought m that issue, which is threaten- ed by those resolutions these deluded men have already passed, •' That they will support their constitution ' by all necessary n:eans, and repel force by force.' " The duty of the government is most plain. We are required to protect the citizen by legislation when the laws are defective, to warn the deluded Rep. No. 546. 133 hew they act in violation of the hiws, and to exert tlie means put into our hands to vindicate the ri^fus of the govermnent, and to guard the peace and happiness of the State. Wiih this view, your committee recommend the passage of a bill here- with presented, which, in their opinion, is necessary to meet the exigency of til^^ tunes. Your committee also recommend the passage of the following resolutions: Rrsdlver/j That his excellency the Governor be requested to issue his proclamation to the good peofile of tliis Slate, exhorting them to give no aid or countenance to those who, in violation of the law, may attempt to set up a government in opposition to the existing government of this State, and calling upon them to support the constituted authorities for the preserva- tion of tlie piiMic peace, and in the execntioii of those laws on which the security of all depends. Resolved, That his excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby, authorized to adopt such measures as, in his opinion, may be necessary, in the recess of this Lej^islature, to execute the, laws and preserve the State from domestic violence; and that he be, and is hereby, authorized to drav/ on the general treasurer for such sums as may be required for these pur- poses. fit-solved, That this report, and tlie act accompanying, entitled "An act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State," be pub- lish;-:d in all the newspapers in this State; that ten thousand copies be primed in pamphlet form ; and that the Secretary of State cause the same to be forthwith distributed in the several towns of this State and the city of Providence; and that five copies of the same be sent to the Governor of each State, and a copy each to. the President, Vice President, members of the Cabinet,, Senators, and members of the House of Representatives of [he^ United States, AN ACT in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State. Whereas, in a t>ee government,' it is especially necessary that the duties of the citizen to the cons'ituted authorities sliould be plainly defined, so that none may confound our regulated American liberty with unbridled license : and whereas certain designing persons have, for some time past, been busy with false pretences amongst tlie good people of this State, and have framed, and are now endeavoring to carry through, a phm for the subversion of our govermnent, under assumed forms of law, but in plain violation of the first princi})les of constitutional right, and many have been deceived thereby: and whi reas this General Assembly, at the same time that it is desirous to awaken the hoiK'st and well meaning to a sense of their duty, is resolved, by ail necessary means, to guard the safety and honor of the State, and, overlookniij what is past, to punish such evil doers in future, in a manner due to their offences : Be it ai'icied by the General Assenildi/ (is/olUnrs . Section 1. All town, ward, or other meetiuirs of the freemen, inhabit ants, or residents of tliis State, or of any portion of the same, for the elec- tion of any town, citv, ward, county, or State officer or officers, called or 134 Rep. No 546. held in any town of this State, or in the ciiy of Providence, except rn the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the freemen, by lixw prescri- bed, are illegal and void ; and any person or persons who shall act as mode- rator or moderators, warden or vvardens, clerk or clerks, in such pretended town, ward, or other meetings hereafter to fe held, or in any name or man- ner receivfe, record, or certify votes for the election of any pretended town, city, ward, county, or state officers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemean- or, and be punished by indictment, wiih a fuie not exceeding one thousand, nor less than five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for the term of six months: Provided, hoivever, That this act is not intended to apply to cases in which, by accident, or mistake, some prescribed form or forms of calling town or ward meetings of the freemen of the several towns of this State and of the city of Providence, shall be omitted or overlooked. Sfx. 2. Any person or persons who shall, in any manuer, signify that he or they will accept any executive, legislative, judicial, or ministerial of- fice or offices, by virtue of any such pretended elections in any such pre- tended town, ward, or other meeting or meetings, or shall knowingly suffer or permit his or their name or names to be used as a candidate or candi- dates therefor, shall be adjudged guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and be punished by indictment in a fine of two thousand dollars, and be imprisoned for the term of one year. Skc. 3. If any person or persons, except such as are duly elected thereto according to the laws of this State, shall, under any pretended constitution of government for this State, or otherwise, assume to exercise any of the legislative, executive, or ministerial functions of the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, Secretary of State, Attorney General, or General Treasurer of this Slate, or within the territorial limits of the same, as the same are now jjctnally held and enjoyed, either sepiuately or collectively, or shall assemble for the pur- pose of exercising any of said functions, all and every such exercise of, or meeting for the purpose of exercising all, any, or either of said functions, shall be deemed and taken to be a usurpatmn of the sovereign power of this State, and is hereby declared to be treason against the State, and shall be punished by imprisonment during life, as is now by law prescribed. Sec. 4. All offences under this act shall be triable before the supreme judicial court only. Any person or persons arrested under the same, and' also for treason against the State, may be imfirisoned or held in custody for trial in the jail of such county of the State as the judge or justice issuing the warrant may order or direct; and the sheriff, or other officer charged with the service of such warrant, shall, without regard to his precinct, have full power and authority to take such person or persons, and him or them to commit to any county jail in this State which maybe designated by such judge or justice ; and it shall be the duty of all sheriffs, deputy slieriifs, town sergeants, constables, and jailers to govern themselves accordingly. , All indictments under this act, and also all indictments for treason against this State, may be preferred and found in any county of this State, without re- gard to the county in whicli the offence was committed ; and the supreme judicial court shall have full power, for good cause, from time to time to re- move for trial any indictment which may be found under this act, or or treason against the State, to such county of the State as they shall deem best, for the purpose of ensuring a fair trial of the same; and shall, upon the conviction of any such oirender or ofienders, have full power to order, Hep. No. 546. 135 t-und from time to time to alter, the .place of imprisonment of stich offender or offenders, to such county jail within this State, or lo the State's prison, as to them shall seem best for the safe custody of such offender or offenders 5 any act, law, or usage to the contrary, notwithstanding. Secretary's Office, April i, 1842. I'he foregoing is a true copy of the report of the committee, with the resolutions and act passed by the General Assembly thereon. Witness: HHNRY BOW EN, Secretary. No. 3.— (P.) Confttiiution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, as adopted by the convention assembled at Providence^ November, 1841. We, the people of the State of Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, do ordum and establish this constitution for the government thereof. ARTICLE I. Declaration of certain constitutional rights and principles. In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom estab- lished here by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for their posterity, wd» do declare that the inherent, essential, and unquestionable rii^hts and principles hereinafter mentioned, among others, shall be estab- lished, maintained, and preserved, and shall be of paramount obligation in all legislative, judicial, and executive proceedings. Section I. Every person within this State ought to find a certain reme- dy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely and without being obliged to purchase it, completely and with- out denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws. Sec. 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be viola- ted ; and no warrant shall issue, but on complaint in writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Sec, 3. No person shall be holden to answer for a capital or other in- famous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or such offences as are usually cognizable by a justice of the peace ; or, in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person shall be tried after an acquittal, for the same offence. Si'X'. 4. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted ; and all punishments ought to be propor- tioned to the offence. Si:c. 5. All persons imprisoned ou'.jht to be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capita! offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption 136 Rep. No. 546. great. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be saspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety shall re- quire it; nor ever, without the authority of the General Assembly. Sec. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the privilege of a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining them in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and be at liberty to speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived of life, liherjy, or properly, un- less by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. Sec. 7. The" person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, ought not to be continued in prison after be shall have delivered up his property for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 8. ^o ex post f ado law, or law impairing the obligation of con- tracts, shall be made. Sec. 9. No man, in a court of comtnon law. shall be compelled to give evidence criminating himself. Sec. 10. Every man being presumed innocent until pronounced guilty bv the law, all acts of severity that are not necessary to secure an accused person shall be repressed. Sec. 11. The right of trial by jury sliall remain inviolate. Sec. 12. Private property shall noi be taken for public uses, without just compensation. Sec. 13. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise the rights of fishery, and all other rights to whicli they have been heretofore entitled under the charter of this State, except as is herein otherwise pro- vided. # Sec. 14. The military shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil authority. Sec. 15. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. 16. The liberty of the press beinii essential to the security of free- dom in a State, any person may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, unless publii-hed from malicious motives, shall be a sufficient defence to the person charged. Sec. 17. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for reciress of grievances, or other purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. Sec. 18. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be in- Iringed. Sec. 19. Slavery shall not be tolerated in this State. , Sec. 20. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it, by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness : and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migrations to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they exfiressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil state may stand, and be best maintained, with full liberty iu religious coiicernuients : we. Rep. No. 546. 137 therefore, declare that no man f^luill be compelled to frequent or support any religions worship, place, or ministry whatever ; nor entorced, re- strained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from holduiCT any office, nor otherwise suffer, on account of his rehiiious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by aroument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion ; and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. Skc. 21. The enumeration of the foregoing riglitsshall not be construed to imi'air or deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. Of the right oj suffrage. Skction. I. Every person who is now a freeman, and qualified votc-r, shall continue to be so, so long as he retains the qualifications upon which he was admitted. *Sec. 2. Hereafter, every white male native citizen of the United States, or any territory thereof, of the full age of twenty one years, who shall have had his actual permanent residence and home in this State for the period of one year, and in the town or city in which he may cbiim a right to vote six months next preceding the time of voting, and shall be seized in his own right of a freehold real estate in sucli town or city, of the value at least of fine hundred and thirty-four dollars over and above all incum- brances, shall, therefrom, have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legal town or ward meetinos. Skc 3. Every white male native citizen of the United Siatps, or any territory tht^of, of tiie full age of twenty one years, who shall have had his actual permanent res^idence and home in this State for the period of two years, and in the town or city in which he may claim a right to vote six months next preceding the time of voting, shall have a right to vote in ifie election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legal town or ward meetings: Provided, hoivever, That no person who is not now a freeman shall be allowed to vote upon any motion to impose a tax, or incur expen- ditures in any town or city, unless he possess the freehold qualification re- quired by this article, or shall have been taxed on property valued at least at one hundred and fit^ty dollars, within one year from the time lie may offer to vote, and shall have paid such tax in said town or city. Si-:c. 4. Any white male, native of any foreign country, of the full age of twenty one years, naturalized in the United Slates according to law, who shall have had his actual permanent residence and home in this State for the period of three years alter his naturalization, and in the town or city in which he may claim a right to vote six months next preceding the time of voting, and shall be seized in his own right of a freehold real estate, in such town or city, of the value at least of one hundred and thirty fi>ur dollars over and above all incumbrances, shall, therefrom, have a riiiht tovote in the election of all civil officers, and in all questions in all town or ward in,eetings. R it no person in the military, naval, marine, or any oilier service of the United States, shall be considered as having the required residence by re;*son of being employed m any garrison, biirrack, or military or naval siation in this State. And no pauper, lunatic, or per- son lion cot/ipos mentis^ or under gnurdianship, shall be permitted to vote; 138 Rep. No. 546. nor shall any person convicted of any crime deemed infamous at common law, be permitted to exercise that privilege until he be restored thereto by the General Assembly. Persons residing-"on land ceded by this State to the United States shall not be entitled U) exercise the privilege of electors during such residence. Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall, as soon as may be after the adop- tion of this constitution, provide for the registration of voters; and shall also iiave full power generally to enact all laws necessary to carry this article into eflect, and to prevent abuse and fraud in voting. Sec. 6. All persons entitled to vote shall be protected from arrest in civil case^^, on the days of election, and on the day preceding and the day fol- lowing an election. Sec. 7. In the city of Providence, and all otlier cities, no person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, alderman, or common councilman, who is not qualified to vote upon a motion to impose a tax or incur expenditures as herein provided. Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall have power to provide, by special or general laws, for the admission of any native male citizen of the United States, or any Territory, who shall have had his permanent residence and home in this State for two years, but wlio is not otherwise qualified under this article, to vote on such conditions as they may deem proiier, except for taxes and expenditures. ARTICLE III. OJ the distribution of powers. The powers of the government shall be distributed into l^iree distinct branches — the legislative, executive, and judicial. ARTICLE IV. Of the legislative pfAoer. Skction 1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the State ; and ail laws inconsistent therewith shall be void. The (ieneral Assembly shall pass all sucli laws as are necessary to carry this constitution into effect. Sec. 2. The legislative power, under this constitution, shall be vested in two distinct houses, or branches, each of which shall have a negative on the other: the one to be styled the Senate, the other the House of Repre- sentatives; and botfi together, the General Assembly. The style of their laws shall be : It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows. Sec. 3. There shall be one session of the General Assembly holden annually at iNewport, on the first Tuesday of May ; and one other annual session, to be holden on the last Monday of October, once in two years, at South Kingstown ; and the intermediate years, alternately at Bristol and East Greenwich ; and the adjviurnment from the October session shall be holden at Providence. Sec. 4. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, or be of counsel in any case pending before either branch of the General Assem- bly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon due proof thereof to the satis.fiiction of tlie branch of which he is a member. Rep. No. 546. 139 Sp:c. 5. The person and estate of every member of the General Assembly shall be free and exempt from all process in any civil action dnring tlie session of the General Assembly, and for two days before the commence- ment and after the termination thereof. And all process served contrary hereto shall be void. And lor any speech in debate, m either House, no member shall be questioned in any other place. Sec. 6. Eacli House shall be the judi:e of the elections and qualifications of its members ; and a majority shall conslituie a quorum to do business ; but a smaller numl)er may adjourn Irom day to day. and may compnl the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may prescribe. Sec. 7. Each House may determine the rules of proceed in tr, punish con- tempts, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concur- rence ot two thirds, expel a member; but not a second time for the same cause. Sec. 8. Each House shall keep a journal of its j)roceedings. The yeas and nays of the members of eiiher House shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Sec. 9. Neither House shall, durinof a session, witliout the consent of the otlier, adjourn for more tb.an two days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting. Sec. H). The General Assembly shall continue to exercise the judicial power, the power of visiting corporations, and all other powers they have heretofore exercised, not inconsistent with this constitution. Sec. 11. The General Assembly shall regulate the compensation of tlie Governor and other oflicers elected by general ticket, or by the General Assembly, and of the members of the General Assembly, subject to the limitations contained in iliis constitution. Sec. 12. All lotteries shall hereafter be prohibited in this State, except those already authorized by the General Assembly. Skc. 13. The General A.ssembly shall have no power, hereafter, to incur State debts to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of invasion, witliout the express consent of the people; nor ill any case, without such consent to plediije the faith of the Slate for the payment of the obligations of others. 'This section shall not be con- s r led to refer to any money that may be deposited with this Stale by the Governinent ol the United States. Sec. 14. The assent of two-ihirds of the members elected to each branch of the General Assembly sfiall be required to every bill af)propriating the public moneys, or property, for local or private purposes. Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, provide for making new valuations of property, for the assessment of taxes, in such manner as they may deem best. No direct State tax shall be assessed on ttie rat:ible property of the Stale, before a new estimate of sucli property shall be taken. Sec. 16. Whenever a direct tax is laid by the State, one sixih part thereof shall be assessed on the polls of the qualified electors: provided that the tax on a poll shall never, in any one tax, exceed the sum of fifty cents. Sec. 17. The General Assembly may provide by law for (he continuance in ollice of any officers of annual appoiiitment, uiili! other persons are qualified to take their places. 140 Rep No. 546. ARTICLE V. Of I he House (if Rqirtseii.tativts. Section 1. The House of Representatives shall consist of members elected by the electors of" the several towns and cities in the respective town and ward meetings, Each town or city huviny; four thousand inliabitants, and under six thousand five hundred, siiall be eniiiled to elect three Repre- sentatives ; each town or city having- six thousand five hundred inhaliitants, and under ten thousand, shall be entitled to elect four Representatives ; each town or city havmtr ton thousand inhabitants, and under fourteen thousand, shall be entitled to elect five Representatives ; each town or city havinjr fourteen thousand inhabitants, and under eighteen tliousand, shall be entitled to elect six Representatives ; each town or city having eighteen thousand inhabitants, and under twenty two thousand, shall be entitled to eleet seven Rej)re.senta ives ; each town or city having over twenty two thousand inhabitants, shall be entitled to elect eight Repre-eniatives. But no town or city shall be entitled to elect more than eight Representatives, and every town or city shall be entitled to elect two. Tiie representation of the several towns and cities in this State shall be apportioned agreeable to the last census of the people of the United States [)receding the election. Skc. 2. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect its Speaker, clerks, and other officers. The oath of office shall be administered by the Secretary of Stale, or, in Ids absence, by tlie Attorney General. The clerks shall be engaged by the Speaker. Sec. 3. Whenever the seat of a member of the House of Representatives shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, tlie vacducy may be filled by a new election. Sec 4. The senior member from the town of Newport, present, shall preside in the organization of the House. Al^TICLE VI. Of the Senate. Skction 1. The Senate shall consist of nineteen members, to be chosen annually by the majority of electors, by districts. The Slate shall be divided into sixteen districts, as follows : First. The town of Newport shall constitute the first senatorial district, and shall be entitled to elect two Senators. Second. The towns of Portsinoutli, Middletown, Tiverton, Little Conjpton, New Shqreliam, and .laniesiown, shall constitute the second senatoiial dis- trict, and shall be entitled to elect two Senators. Third. The city of Providence shall constitute the third senatorial dis- trict, and siiall be entitled to elect two Senators. Fourth. The town of Smithfield shall constitute the fuirth senatorial district, and shall be (Uititled to elect one Senator. Fifik The towns of Cumberland and North Providence sh.iU coiistiiule the fifth senatorial district, and shall be entitled to elect one SenatMr. Si.vth. The towns of Scituate. Cranston, and .lohnsion. shall constitute the sixth senatorial district, and shall be entiih'd to elect one Senator. Seventh. 'I'he towns of Glocester, Poster, and Bnrrillville, sh.ill consti- ttitetlic seventh senatorial district, and shall be entitled to elect one .'feuator. Hep. No. 546. 141 El^hilt. The town of South Kingstown siiall cnnstitiite the eighth sena- toriiii district, and shall be entiilcd to elect one Senator. Niiitli. The towns of Westerly and (yharlestovvn .shall constitute the ninth senatorial district, and shall he eniiiled to elect one .Senator. TtiUli. "^riie towns of Hopkniton iUid Ki< hnsond shall con^utnie the tenth senatorial district, and shall be entitled to elect one Senator. Lllfventh. The towns of North Kingstown and Exeter sliuU constiinte the eleventh senatorial district, and stiall be entitled to elect one Senator. I'welflh. The town of Bristol shall cotjstitnte the twelftii senatorial dis- trict, and shall be entitled to elect one Senator. Thirttintli. The towns of Warren and Barrington shall constitute the thirteenth senatorial district, and shall be entuled to elect one Seuiitor. F(iiuteeiil.li. The towns of East Greenwich and West Greenwich shall constitute the fourteenth senatorial tlislrict, and shall be entitled to elect oiie Senator. Fifteeiitli. The town of Coventry siiall constitute the fifteenth senatorial district, and shall be entitled to elect one Si nator. Sixtiietitk. The town of Warwick shall constitute the sixteenth senatorial district, and shall he entitled to elect one Senator. And no more than one Senator shall be elected from any town for the same term, in the second sen itorial district. Sec. 2. ^he Lieutenant Governor shall ex officio be a member of the Senate. The Secretary of State shall be, by virtue of his oflice, Secretary of the Senate, unless otherwise piovided by law; and ttie Senate may elect such other officers as they may deem necessary. Skc. 3. It, by reason of death, resignation, or absence, there be no Gov- ernor or Lieutenant Governor present, to preside in the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their own number to preside, until the Governor or Lieu- tenant Governor returns, or until one of said offices is filled according to this constitution; and, until such election is made by the Senate, tiie Secre- tary of State shall preside. ARTICLE VII. Of impeacJi'inevts. Section. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. Sec. 2. All' impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when sit- ting for that purpose, they shall be under oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted, except by vote of two thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is impeached, the chief or presiding justice of the su- preme judical court for the time being, shall preside, with a casting vote in all preliminary questions. Sec. 3. The governor, and all other executive and judicial officers, shall he liable to impeachment ; but judgment in such cases shall not extend fur- ther than to removal from office. The party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. ARTICLE VIII. Of the executive poiver. Section L The chief executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor. 142 Rep. Xo. 546. Skc. 2. The Governor shall take care that the laws be fiiithfnlly exe- ciitrd. Skc. 3. He sholl be captain general and commander-in chief of the mili- tary and naval forces ot this State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States. Sec. 4. He shall have power to orrant reprieves, after conviction, in all rases, except those of inipeachnient, nntil the end of the next session of the General Assembly, and no longer. Sec. 5. The person filling the office of Governor shall preside in the Senate, and in grand commiitee; and shall have a right, in case of equal division, to vote ; not otherwise. Sec. 6. He may fill vacancies in office not other^vise provided for by this constitution, or by law, uniil the same shall be filled by the General Assem- bly, or the people. Sec. 7. In case of disagreement between the two Hotises of the General Assembly, res[)ecting tlie time or place of adjourn merit, certified t(^ him by either, he may adjourn them to such time and place as he shall think proper ; provided that the time of adjournment shall not be extended be- yond the day of the next stated session. Sec. 8. He may, on special emergencies, conve'ue the- General Assembly at any town in this State, at any time not provided for by law; and in case of danger from the prevalence of epidemic or c iniagious diseases in either of the places in which the General Assembly may by law meet, or to which they may have been adjourned, or from other circumstances, he may. by proclamation, convene said Assembly at any other place within this State. Sec. 9. All commissions shall be in ihe name and by authority of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, shall be sealed with the Stale seal, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary. Sec. It). In case of the death, resignation, refusal or inability to serve, or removal from office of the Governor, or of his impeachment or absence from the State, the Lieutenant Governor shall exercise the powers and autliority appertaining to the office of Governor, until another be chosen at the next annual election for Governor, and be duly qualified, or until the Governor, impeached or absent, shall be acquitted or return. Sec. 11. If the offices ofGovernor and Lieutenant Governor be both va- cant by reason of death, resignation, absence, or otherwise, the person enti- tled to preside over the Senate for the time being, shall, in like manner, ad- minister the government until he be superseded by a Governor or liieuten- ant Governor. Sec. 12. The compensation of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be established by law, and shall not be diminished during the term for which they were elected. Sec. 13. The duties and powers of the Secretary, Attorney General, and General Treasurer, shall be the same under this constitution as are now established, or from time to time may be prescribed by law. ARTICLE IX. Of elections. Section 1. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senators, Representa- tives, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and General Treasurer, shall Rep. No. 546. 143 be elected at the town, city, or wtircl meetings, to be holden on the third Wednesday of April, annnally; and shall severally hold their offices for one year, from the first Tuesday in May next succeeding their election, and until others are legally chosen and duly qualified to fill their places. Skc. 2. The voting for all officers cliosen by the people, except town or city officers, shall be by ballot, in manner to be regulated by law. Town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on demand of any two persons en- titled to vote for the same. Sec. 3. The names of the persons voted for as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, General Treasurer, and Attorney General, shall be put upon one ticket, and the tickets shall be deposited by the mod- erator or warden m a box by themselves. 'I'he names of the persons voted for as Senators, and as Representatives, sliall be put upon separate tickets, and the tickets shall be deposited by the moderator or warden in separate boxes. The polls for ail the officers named in this section shall be opened at the same time. Sec. 4. All the votes given for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secre- tary of Slate, General Treasurer, and Attorney General, and also for Sen- ators, shall remain in the ballot-boxes till the polls are closed. These votes shall then, m open town and ward meetings, be taken out and sealed in separate etivelopes by the moderators and town clerks, and by the wardens and ward clerks, who shall certify the same, and forthwith deliver or send them to the Secretary of State ; whose duty it shall be securely to keep the same, and to deliver the votes for general officers to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after the House shall be organized, at the May session of the General Assembly. The votes last named shall without de- lay be opened, counted, and declared, in such manner as the House of Rep- resentatives shall direct. The votes for Senators shall be counted by the Governor and Secret£iry of State, within seven days from tlie day of elec- tion, and the Governor shall give certificates to the Senators who are elected. Sec. 5. The votes for Representatives in the several towns, after the polls are declared to be closed for the same, shall be counted by the mode- rators and clerks, who shall announce the result, and give certificates to the persons elected. If there be no election, or not an election of the whole number of Representatives to which the town is entitled, the |)olls for Rep- resentatives may be reopened, and the like proceedings shall be had until an election shall take place: provided, however, thaf an adjournment or adjournments of the election may be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. Sec. 6. In the city of Providence and other cities, the polls for Repre- sentatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the day, and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks in open ward meeting, and deliv- ered til the city clerk. The mayor and aldermen of said city or cities shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election; and if no election, or an election of only a portion of the Representatives, shall have taken place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election to be held, not more than ten days from the day of the first election, and so on till the election of Representatives shall be completed. Certificates of elec- tion shall be furnished l)y the city clerks to the persons chosen. Sec. 7. If no person shall have a majority of votes for the office of Gov- 144 Rep. No. 546. ernor or Lieutenant Governor, the Senate and House of Represenfalivcs, in Sirand committee, may choose one by ballot from the two persons havmg the highest number of votes. Skc. 8. In case an election of the Secretary of Stale, Attorney General, or General" Treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors at tlieir annual election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the General Assembly in grand conunittee, Irom the two candidates for such office havujg the greatest number of the votes of the electors. Or, in case of a vacancy in either of said offices from other causes, between the sessions of the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint some person to fill the same until a successor elected by the General Assembly is qualified to act; and in such case, and also in all other cases ot vacancies not otherwise provided for, the General Assembly may fill the same in any manner they may deem proper. Sec. 9. If there be no choice of a Senator or Senators at the anmial election, or if a vacancy in the Senate occur from any other cause, the Governor shall issue his warrant to the town and ward clerks of tlie several towns and cities in the senatorial district or districts that may have (ailed to elect, or where such vacancy may have occurred, requiring them to open town or ward meetings for another election, on a day to be by him ap- ])ointed, not more than fifteen days from the time of issuing such warrant: and, in such election, a plurality of votes shall elect. Sec. 10. All general officers shall take ilie following engasement before they act in their respective offices, lo wit: You, , being by tiie l>ee vote of tlie freemen of this State of Rhode island and Providence Planta- tions, elected unto the place of , do solemnly swear (or affirm) to be true and faithful unto tliis State, and to support the constitution of this State and of the United States; that you will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties of your aforesaid office, to the best of your abilities, according to law : so help you God. Or, this afiirmation you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. And the members of the General Assembly shall take an eiiijageuient to the same effect. Sec. II. In all elections held by the people under tliis constitution, a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the choice of the persons voted for, except as is lierein otherwise provided. Sec. 12. The officers now elected in grand committee, except justices of the peace, sliall continue to be so elected until otherwise prescribed bylaw. Sec. 13. The oath or affirmation shall be administered to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Senators, by the Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives, in presence of the House, or elsewhere, by a justice of the su- preme judicial court. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Gen- eral Treasurer, shall be engaged by the person exercising the office of Governor. ARTICLE X. Of quaUjicalioiis for office. Section 1. No person shall be qualified to hold the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senator, or Representative in the General Assepibly, unless he be a duly qualified elector. No person shall be elected a Repre- sentative to the General Assembly, or to any town or city office, unless he be a qualified elector, and an inhabitant of the town or city which elects him. Rep. No. 546. ' 145 Sr;c. 2, Every person shall be disqiiilified from holdino- any office to whicli he may have been elected, if he be convicted of having offered, or procured any other person to offer, any bribe to secure his election, or the election of any other [)erson. Sec. 3. The jndires of all the courts, and all other officers, both civil and military, shall be botmd by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, and the constitution of the United States. Sicc. 4. No |ierson who holds any office under the Government of the United States, or any other State or foreign country, shall be capable of act- ing as a general officer, or shall take a seal in the General Assembly, unless, at tlie time of taking his engagement, he shall have resigned his office under such other oovernment. And if any general officer, senator, representa- tive, or judge shall, after his election, accept or hold any office under any other government, fie shall not be capable thereafter of acting as a gene- ral officer, senator, representative, or jtidge, but the office shall be thereby vacated. ARTICLE Xr. Of the judicial pmve?: Skction 1; The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one su- preme judicial court, and in such inferior courts as the General Assetnbly may, from time to time, ordain and establish ; and the jurisdiction of the supreme and.of all other courts may, from time to time, be regulated by the General Assenjbly. Sec. 2. Chancery powers may be conferred by the General Assembly on the supreme judicial court ; but no other court exercising chancery powers shall be established in tliis State, except as is now provided by law. Skc. 3. The justices of the supreme judicial court shall be elected in grand committee of the two Houses, lo liold their offices until their places be declared vacant by a resolution of the General Assembly to that effect ; which shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the House in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same majority of the other House. Such resolution shall not be entertained at any other than the arinual session for the election of public officers; and, in default of the passage thereof at said session, the judge, or judges, shall hold his or their places, as is herein provided. But a judge of this, or of any other court inferior to the same, shall be removable from office, if', upon impeach- ment, he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor. Sec. 4. In case of vacancy by the death, resignation, refusal, or inability to serve, or absence from the State, of a judge of this court, his place may be filled by the grand committee until the next annual election ; when the judge elected shall hold his office as before provided. Sec. 5. The judges of the supreme judicial court shall receive a suitable compensation for their services, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Sec. 6. The judges of the supreme judicial court shall, in all trials, in- struct the jury in the law. Sec. 7. There shall be annually elected by each town, and by the seve- ral wards in the city of Providence, a sufficient number of justices of the peace, or wardens, resident therein, with such jurisdiction as the General 10 146 Rep. No. 546. Assembly inay prescribe ; and said justices, or wardens, except in the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown, shall be commissioned by the Governor. Sec. 8. The courts of probate in this State, excepiino: the supreme judi- cial court, shall remain as at present established by law, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. ARTICLE XII. OJ education. Section 1. The diffusion of knowledge as well as of virtue among the people being essential for the preservation of their righis and liberties, it shall be the duty ot the General Assembly to promote public schools, and to adopt all other means to secure to the people the advantages and opportuni- ties of education, which they may deem necessary and proper. Sec. 2, The money which now is, or which may hereafter be, appro- priated by law for the formation of a permanent fund for tlie support oi public schools, shall be securely invested, and remain a perpetual fund for that purpose. Sec. 3. All donations for the support of public schools, or for other pur- poses of education, which shall be received by the General Assembly, shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donors. Sec. 4. 'I'he General Assembly shall make all necessary provisions by law for carrying this article into effect. They are prohibited from divert- ing said moneys, or fund, from the aforesaid uses ; and from borrowing, ap- propriating, or using the same, or any part thereof, for any other purposcj under any pretence whatsoever. ARTICLE XIII. Of amendments. The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each House. Such propositions shall be published in the newspapers, and printed copies of said propositions shall be sent by the Secretary of State, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks in the State ; and the said propositions shall be by said clerks inserted in the warrants or notices by them issued, for warning the next annual town and ward meetings in April ; and the clerks shall read said propositions to the electors when thus assembled, with the names of all the Representatives and Senators who shall have voted there- on, with the yeas and nays, before the election of Representatives and Sen- ators shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected to each House, at said annual meeting, shall approve any proposition thus made, the same shall be published and sent to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval ; and, if then approved by three-fifths of the electors of the State present, and voting thereon in town and ward meetings, it shall be- come a part of the constitution of the State. Rep. No 546. 147 ARTICLE XIV. Of the adoption of this constitution. Section 1. This constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tuesday in May, in the year one thousand eiffht hundred and forty- two. 'I'he first election ot Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and General Treasurer, and of Representatives and Senators, under s;tid constitution, shall be had on the third Wednesday of April next preceding. And the town and ward meetings therefor shall be warned and conducted as is now provided by law. All civil, judicial, and military officers now elected, or who shall liereafter be elected, by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the said first Tues- day ot May, shall hold their offices, and may exercise their powers, until that time, or until their successors are qualified to act. All statutes, public and private, not repugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assem- bly. All charters, contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this constitution had not been made. The present gov- ernment shall exercise all the powers with which it is now clothed until the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and until their successors, under this constitution, are duly elected and qualified. Si'-.c. 2. All debts contracted, and engao-ements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the State as if this constitution had not been formed. Sec. 3. The supreme judicial court, established by this constitution, shall have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present estab- lished ; and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to, or pending in the same; and shall be held at the same times and places, and in each county, as the present supreme judicial court, until otherwise prescribed by the General Assembly. Skc. 4. The towns ol Jamestown and New Shoreham shall continue to enjoy the exemptions from military duty which they now enj.»y, until other- wise prescribed by law. Done in convention, February 19, 1842. HENRY Y. CRANSTON, Presidefit of the Convention. Thomas A. Jenckes, Secretary. Walter W. Updike, Assistant Secretary. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Secretarfs Office, February., 1842. The foregoing is a true copy of the original roll deposited in the Secre- tary's office. Witness : HENRY BOWEN, Secretary, 148 Rep. No. 546. State of Rhode Island and Providf.nce Plantations, In Convention., February 19, A. D. 1842. Resolved^ That the constitution framed by this convention be certified by the president and secretaries, and, with the jonrnal and papers of the convention, shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State ; that the Secretary of State cause said constitution, together with this resolution, and all the acts and resolutions of the General Assembly relatinjj; to this convention, to be printed and distributed accordinsT to law ; and that said constitution be submitted to all the people authorized to vote for general officers under the same, for their ratification or rejection, at town and ward meetings, to be holden in the several towns and in the city of Providence on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the twenty first, twenty-second, and twenty-third days of March, A. D. 1842. The several town and city clerks shall issue the necessary warrants for said meetings. Said meetings shall be kept open for the reception of votes from the hour of nine o'clock in the forenoon, until seven o'clock in the afternoon; and in the city of Providence and town of Newport, until nine o'clock in the evening, on the days appointed. At said town and ward meetings every person voting shall have his name written on the back of his ballot; and said ballots shall be sealed up in open town or ward meetings, and, with lists of the names of the voters, shall be returned to the General Assembly at their session to be holden on the fourth Monday of March next. Read and adopted, February 19, 1842. THOMAS A. JENCKES, Secretary. True copy of the original resolution deposited in the office of the Secre- tary of State. Witness: HENRY BOWEN, .S-fcre/ary. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, la General Assembly.^ Janvarij session, A. D. 1841. Resolved by the General Assembly.^ (the Senate concurring with the House of Representatives therein,) '^I'hat the freemen of the several towns in this State, and of the city of Providence, qualified to vote for general officers, be, and they are hereby, requested to choose, at their semi-annual town or ward meetings in August next, so many delegates, and of like qualifications, as they are now respectively entitled to choose Representa- tives to the General Assembly, to attend a convention, to be holden at Prov- idence on the first Monday of November, 1841, to frame a new constitu- tion for this State, either in whole or in part, with full powers for this pur- pose; and. if only for a constitution in part, that said convention have under their especial consideration the expediency of equalizing the representation of the towns in the House of Representatives. Resolved., That a majority of the whole number of delegates which all the towns are entitled to choose shall constitute a quorum, who may elect a president and secretary, judge of the qualifications of the members, and establish such rules and proceedings as they may think necessary ; and any town or city which may omit to elect its delegates at the said meetings Rep. No. 546, 149 111 An^nst, may t^iect them ai any time previous to ihe meeting of said con- vention. Resolved, That the constitution or amendments agreed upon by said convention shall be submitted to the freemen in open town or ward meet- ings, to be holden at such time as may be named by said convention. The said constitution or amendments shall be certified by the president and sec- retary, and retiirned to the Secretary of State ; who shall forthwith dis- tribute to the several town and city clerks, in due proportion, one thousand printed copies thereof; and also, fifteen thousand ballots, on one side ol which shall be printed " amendments," or, "constitution adopted by the con- vention hoideu at Providence on the first Monday of November last ;" and on the other side, the word approve on one halt of the said ballots, and the word reject on the other half. Resolved, That, at the town or ward meetings to be holden as aforesaid, every freeman votm^ shall have his iiamt; written on the back of his ballot ; and the ballots shall be sealed up in open town or ward meeting by the clerks, and, with lists of tlie names of tlie voters, shall be returned to the General Assembly, at its next succeeding session ; and said General Assem- bly shall cause said ballots to be examined and counted ; and said amend- ments, or constitution, being approved of by a majority of the freemen votnig, shall go into operation and effect at sucli time as may be appointed by said convention. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding tliree hundred dollars be appropri- ated ior detraying tlie exjienses of said convention, to be paid according to the order of said convention, certified by its president. True copy : — Witness, HENRY BOW EN, Secretary. State of Rhode Island and Providknce Plantations, l/i General Assembltj, May session, A. D. 1841. Rf solved htj this General Assembly, (tlie Senate concurring with the House of Representatives therein.) That the delegates from the several towns to the State convention to be holden in November next, for the pur- pose of framiiio: a State constitution, be elected on the basis of population, in the followino^ manner, to wit : Elvery town of not more than 85U inhab- itants may elect one delegate; of more than 85t) and not more than 3,000 inhabitants, two delegates; of more than 8,00(1 and not more than 6,000 inhabitants, three delegates; of more than 6,(i00 and not more than 10,000 inhabitants, four deleijates ; of more than 10,000 and not more than 15,000 inhabitants, five delegates ; of more than 15,000 inhabitants, six delegates. Resolved. Tfiat the deleo:ates altendinof said convention be entitled to re- ceive froiu the gen sral treasury the same pay as members of the General Assembly. Resolved, That so much of the resolutions to which these are in amend- ment, as is uiconsistent herewith, be repealed. True coDv : "Witness, HENKY BO WEN, S^icretary. 150 Rep No. 546. State of Rhode Island and Pkovidence Plantations, In General Assembly., January session, A. D. 1842. Resolved by this General Assembli/, (the Senate concnrriiio- with ihe House of Representatives thereni,) That the freemen of the towns in this State, in whose delegation to the convention called to frame a consiituiion vacancies have occurred since the meeting of that ciinveniion. or may here- after occur, be requested to elect delegates to fill those vacimcies .it town and ward meetuigs, to be holden before or dnring tlie session of said con- vention ; notice of such meetings to be given at least one day previons tO' the holding thereof. True copy: — Witness^ HENRY BO WEN, Sccrelary. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, In General Assembly, January session. A. D. 1842. AN ACT in ainendmeni of an aci eniiiled "An act revi-iiig the act entitled 'An act regula- ting the manner of admitting freemen, and diiecting the meihod of electing oliicers in ihis State.'" Whereas the good people of this State liaving elected delejjafes to a con- vention to form a ci'iistitiition ; which coiistitndon, if ratified by the j eoplcj. will be the supreme law of the State : therefore, Be it enacted by the General Assembly, as follows: All persons now qualified to vote, and those who may be qualified to vote under the existing laws previons to the time of such their voting, and all persons who shall bi^ qualified to vote under the provisions of snch consti- tution, shall be qnalified to vote upon tlie question of the adoption of said constitution. True copy : — Witness, HENRY BO WEN, Secretary. State of Rhode Island and Providinge Plantations, In General Assembly, .haiuary session, A. I). 1842. Resolved, That so much of the resolution relative to a convention for making a constitution, passed at ihe January session, 1841, as requires the Secretary of Slate to cause one thousand copies of the constitution, and fifteen thousand ballots, to be distributed to the several town and city clerks, be amended, so that he shall cause five thousand copies of said constitutRin and twenty-five thousand ballots to be distributed, in the sanje manner as is required by the aforesaid resolution. Resolved, That s:iid convention be authorized to appoint one or more days for votinof on the adoption of said constitution. True copy : — Witness, HENRY BO WEN, Stcntury. Rep No. 546, 151 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, hi Genaral Assembly, January session, A. D. 1842. Whereas a portion of the people of this State, without the forms of law, have undertaken to form and estabhsli a constitution of government for the people of this State, and have declared such constitution to be the suprenje law, and have communicated such constituiion unto this General Assembly: and wliereas many of the good peo()le of this State are in danger of being misled by these informal proceedings: therefore. It is hereby resolved by this General Assembly, That all acts done by the persons aforesaid, for the purpose of imposin;^ upon this Slate a constitution, are an assumption of the powers of government, in violation of the rights of the existing government, and of the rights of the people at lorge. Resolved, That the convention called ar)d organized, in pursuance of an act of this General Assembly, for the purpose of forming a constitution to be submitted to the people of this State, is the only body which we can rec- ognise as authorized to form such a constitution ; and to this constitution the whole people have a right to look, and we are assured they will not look in vain, for such a form of government as tvMll promote their peace, security, and happiness. Resolved, That this General Assembly will maintain its own proper au- thority, and protect and defend the legal and constitutional rights of the people. True copy : — Witness, HENRY BOWEN, Secretary. No. 4.— (E.) Address to the people of Rhode Maud, from- the convention assembled at Providence on the 22d day of February, and again on the \2th day of March, 1834, to promote the establishment of a State constituiion. Fellow Citizens : Agreeably to an invitation from the towns of Cum- berland and Smithfield, delegates from the following towns in this State, namelv, Newport, Providence, Smithfield, Bristol, Warren, Cranston, John- ston, North Providence, Burrillville, and Cumberland, assembled in conven- tion at Providence, on the 22d of the last month, to consult together upon the best course to be pursued for the establishment of a written State con- stitution wliirh should properly define and fix the powers of the different departments of government, and tlie rights of the citizen. 'I'he resolutions passed at our first meeting, have already been submitted to your consideration. We deemed it a duly to those whom we represent, to ourselves, and to the body of the people of the State whose co operation we ask, to set forth in those resolutions explicitly, and beyond question or misinterpretation, an outline of the proposed political reform ; leaving, where it belongs, to those who may be hereafter called to the important duty of framing a constitution, the task of maturing its provisions. The articles which we have proposed, we are fully convinced, are indis- pensable articles in such ah instrument ; without which, it would be insuffi- cient, unsatisfactory, and impracticable, defective in the distribution of po- litical justice, ill-adipted to the wants and feelings of the people, and without the promise of poniianent duration. 152 Rep. No. 546. It was a duty tn onr cotisfiittents and to ourselves, thus freely to utter and set forth their and onr views, sentiments, and plans, and to put an end to all conjectures about ulterior and concealed intentions, because we have nothinoj to disguise nor conceal; propose no ciiange in the order of govern- ment which we do not believe to be clearly right, and because we deem it unworthy of men who live under institutions at least nominally republican, silently to acquiesce in the longer continuance of a system so defective in its structure, and unequal in its operation. It was a duty to the iteople of the State to announce to them unequivocally the nature and extent of those amendments to their present system, whicli we ofter ; especially, to remove every pretence of uncertainty from that part of our plan which relates to the enlargement of political rights, and to secure to the great principles of a constitution the benefits of public attention and mature judgment. And we are happy to be assured that the publication of our plan, in its length and breadth, and all its dimensions, has already had the effect of overcoming the doubts and objections of many who were opposed to us from an imper- fect acquaintance with our views, and of enlisting their good will and as- sistance on the side of reform. Having met again, for the second time, in convention, with the addition of delegates imm the towns of Scituate and North Kingstown, we proceed, fellow-citizens, to state and to enforce, more at large, tliose reasons and ar- guments by whi(?h the subject of our resoluti>>ns is recommended to the good sense and justice of the people of Rhode Island, intending to use great plainness of speech, and endeavoring, at the same time, to present our opin- ions as briefly as the extent and importance of the matters to which they relate will in anywise permit. There are some preliminary considerations with which we would occupy a few moments of your time, before advancing to the principal topics which belong to the present examination. We desire, then, to disclaim, in the outset, any design or desire of offer- ing the slightest disrespect to the memory or to the character of our prede- cessors, who first established that scheme of government into which we are now anxious to carry the work of reformation. If any pride of ancestry maybe indulged in this country, the people of Rhode Island may honorably exult in tliose noble forefathers who abandoned their native home, and, again, their adopted land, and encountered tlie dangers of a savage wilder- ness, for the sake of that great experiment of religious liberty, in the bless- ings of which we all participate. Assembled as we now are, almost within a stone's cast of the ashes of Roger Williams, that one of us who should utter a word of disparaaement of such a man, or his illustrious fellow- patriots, would feel himself rebuked by the '-genius of the place." We revere the names of those venerable ancestors; we glory in our inheritance; and animated, as we trust, (though some of us are but the subjects^ rather than the citizens of a republican State.) by a portion of their own love of freedom, of their firm purpose, of their zealous ;md determined perseverance ; and re- solved to carry out still further into practice the life and purport of those principles which they maintained at the foundation of the State, we would employ our earnest and unremitted exertions for the correction of defects and errors which, in the progress of time and change, are inevitably found to exist in the best organized system of government, and which are, at this ntoment, so visible and palpable in our own. If we bring to our under- Rep. No. 546. 153 takings any of the ancient sturdy spirit of Rliodo Island patriotism, we shall deserve, and in the end obtain, a [»roportionate snccess. Nor is the business, fellow citizens, in which we are engaged, a mere narrow party affair, got up to promote the sordid views u( personal aggran- dizement. The aspect of our assembly, composed, as it is, of men of all the political divisions in tfie State, affords f-ufficient evidence lo the contrary. We have individually sacrificed no opinions on national affairs; we intend to sacrifice none: we have asked no one to make this sacrifice; we do not intend so to ask, nor desire to see it made by any who may act with us. Li^-avinof the field of national politics to every man's previous preferences and attachments, we find, in the present political necessities of our own State, a common ground for friendly and harmonious action. We meet here as brethren and fellow-laborers, and cast aside all personal feelings and prejudices, for the promoiion of an object which is large enough and wide enough to comprehend within its limits men of every political com- plexion, and all men who have at heart the public honor and welfare. There has been too much strife in this State about men^ and for the benefit of /y<.e/<; ioo vanch mauxvor^hip. Party after parly has come into power, and many of us have lent our aid in effecting these ()arly triumphs. But we liave had the mortification of perceiving that very little has been done for the improvement of our political condition, from the fear of en- dantrering this or that man's office or ex[)ectation of office — from the fear of offending, or from a desire to conciliate, this or that prominent politician — from an anxiety to stand well with this or that interest in the community. The fact, and the causes of it, have been so apparent, that the mere statement is the sufficient proof of them. And it has been for a long time a certain conviciion in the mind of every accurate observer of political affairs, that nothing but a union of men of different parties could ever promise any very decisive chanije for the belter in the condition of our insiiiutions. In the spirit of concession and compromise upon matters of local politics, we have made this union, under ihe standard of a Constitutional Pakty. Few who are seriously in favor of the cause we sup[)ort will question the expediency, and indispensable necessity, of a party orojamzaMon to insure its success. There must be a liead and front to our undertakino:. A great political benefit to all parties and classes of men must be brought about by political means. The idea tliat they who are opposed to a re- formation, or who feel liiile interest in it, will take any measures for its ac- complishment, while its friends remain in apathy, or confine themselves to complaints, resolutions, and memorials, instead of presenting them.^elves in the attitude of political preparation, is too delusive to be encouraged for a moment, and is repelled by all past experience. A party on wide and liberal grounds, such as we hope has now been formed among us, becomes a centre for the accumulation of new forces; it affords a rallying point for the doubtful and hesitating ; it collects public opinion, and brings it to bear, in the strongest and surest manner, upon the ends to be attained. H'hat the present is a favdrable time, and the rii^lit time, f)r the formation of such a party, we cannot entertain a doubt. '^I'he all absorbing question of a presidential election has been disposed of, for ihe present, by ihe re- election of the present incumbent. There is not, at this monient, such a doubtful balance of parlies in the State as to give to any attempt at reform the appearance of being a measure designed solely for the purpose of securing a preponderance to tiiher side. There is also, if we do not 154 Pvtp. No. 546. grraily mistake the signs of fhe times, an increasing disposition in all parts (if the. State, and among all classes of our citizens, in favor of the desired result, founded on the belief of its necessity and justice. In order, then, lo obiaiii tliis result, which has l)een heretofore unattainable by other parties, from the nature of their position and from other causes, we ask you, fellow- citizens, to approve our design, and to aid us in its execution, if you are already convinced that it is meritorious, or if we shall be able to offer you any arguments adapted to produce conviction. When you are so con- vinced, the surrender l)y you of local feeliui^s to the general good, will, we doubt not, be cheerfully and decisively made. Should yf^" ask us for a more particular expression of our motives of action, we shall make, in reply, no loud profession of good intentions. Such professions, from the too frequent contradiction of them in practice, have fallen under a just suspicion^ and are received with a very hesitatino; con- fidence by the public. Judge us by our works. By them we wish to be tried, and are ready to stand or fall. If we deviate from the straight and onward course which we have marked out, for the furtherance of secondary or sinister ends, we fail, and justly fail, in a cause of which we shall thus prove ourselves to be the unworthy advocates. But should we proceed with singleness of purpose, with a firm and steady regard to the i^reat ob- ject bef )re us, — addressing" ourselves with good temper and moderation to the sense and justice of the people, — and if not without reproach, yet abrive the fear of it when unjust, we shall not only deserve, l)ut receive the sup- port of our fellow citizens, and witness the issue of our labors to the honor and advantage of the State. It would be consuming your time unnecessarily, to enlar^i^e upon the practical evils growing out of the exercise of irresponsible power in general, and which are attendant upon all irreijular and fluctuating legislation. To attempt to convince yon, by a formal argument, of the truth of this great axiom in political science, would argue a disres[)ect for your understanding and information, of which we shall not be guilty. It is equally apparent, as a general principle, that a discretionary regula- tion of the elective right, and of the judicial system, can never be properly and safely vested in the legislature. In the language of the learned and eminent Chancellor Kent, — "The power of making laws is the supreme power in a State ; and the department in wltich it resides will naturally have such a preponderance in the political system, and re. not to the Governor and Company of Rhode Island, but to the people at large, who fought the battles of the Revolution, and to their descendant^. These positions are neither new nor indefensible. It lias been judicially, and by one of the earliest appointed judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, de- clared tiiai "the constitution is the work of the people themselves, in their oiticiiNAL, sovKREiGN, aud UNLIMITED Capacity."* The learned judge to whom we ref r, on the same occasion, described what was then tmderstood in this country by a constitution. "A constitu- tion," he says, "is the form of government delineated by the mighty hand of the people; in which certain first principles or fundamentid laws are es- tablished." ' It is," he adds, "certain and fixed;" it contains "the perma- nent Will of the people," being "the supreme law of the land," being "para- mount to the will of the legislature," and liable only •' to be revoked or al- tered by tliose who made it." * See I he charge of Judge Patterson to tlie grand jury in ihe case o\' Van Home ry. Dor ranee, ia the circuit coiirl of ihe Pennsylvania district, in 1793 ; repnried in "i Dallam's Reps., p. 304. 156 Rep. No. 546. There is one fact which, of itself, is adapted to awaken attention— and iris, that such a constitntion as has just heeti described lias been e:>tabhshed in every Stale except our own. That ihe people of Rhode Island retain their inherent rio^ht to establish (in their original, sovereign capacity) a constitu tion, cannot for a moment be doubted ; inasmncli as they never have made a surn^nder of it, either dn-ectly or indirectly. Whenever, therefore, tlie people shall see fit to organize a government under a conslituiion of their own making, every good citizen wdl cheerfully submit to it. 'i'he impor- tant question then to be examined is. Has there been, or is there now, less occasion for a new written constitution in Rhode Ishmd than in any other Slate of the Union ? A moment's consideration makes it appear at least probable that some amelioration in the condition of the people of the State could be effected by substituting a new constitution in the place of a British charter, which was written out more than one hundred and seventyi years ago, when the clucks and restraints upon government, in no pari of the world, were so well adjusted as they now are to the maintenance of ra- tional liberty. In Rhode Island, <(S elsewhere, tfie object of government should be understood to be the welfare of the people generally — an object not to be arrived at without taking as a guide the everlasting principles of liberty and justice. Liberty v^u6 justice are no idle or insignificant words. In the whole range of human language there are no two words more preg- nant in meaning. 'I'hey comprise, as a part of their definition, restraints H|)on rulers, protection against legislative aggression, and a perfect guaranty of the rights of the citizen. Are these great objects properly secured by the charter of Charles II? We propose, in answer to this question, and in the spirit of candor, to consider that instrument with some attention. We begin by inquiring whether it be consistent with the spirit of the dec- laration of American independence, -md becoming the cliaracter of Rhode Island republicans, any long.'r to acknowledge tlie charter of a British king as a constitution of civil government? If the trappings of royalty appended to this instrument were taken away, would it not be better suited to a peo- ple wlio have changed the name of '■'■ mihject.s'^ for that of citizen^, even al- lowing it to be, in all other respects, perfect? These royal supplements of " esfiecial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion" are the badges of our former colonial dependence, and are ns inappropriate to our present condition as the habiliments and toys of childhood are to the proportions and habits of a more mature age. The declaration of independ.^nce, which severed forever the connexion between Great Britain and the colonies, should teach ns a lesson on this subject ; and it is this — that, r tainmg all which is valuable in the provisions of the old charter, we ought long since to have discarded its form. But it will be said, Are we not all republicans? and is there anything in the name of royally to affright ns? In the politi- cal world, more than anywhere else, names are ih'nurs^ as we all know by experience. And if but a single person, in his inquiry after political truth, atid the principles of republicanism, sliould he misled or olfciidt'd by the senseless formularies of "divine right." in wliich our grant of giwernment is wrapped up. then ought we forthwith lo assume both the form and truth of the republican system. But admitiing, merely for tlie sake of argument, that the form of the royal charter, with all its monarcliical appendages, sub- sists as firmly as when the seal was affixed to it. and tliat it was derived from a proper source — a far more important inquiry yet remains to be made : Rep. No 546. 157 Are (he powers and duties of the different departments of our government properly m.trked out and defined by the charter? Wlien we take into view the tiiDe at which, and the objects for which, the charter of Kinij- Charles H w;is ^ranted, we freely admit it to be, in many respects, a very good instrument. There is, however, but one of the provisions contained m it, involving legislative power and popnlar right, that was calcniated for all hitnre titues, T\\e provision referred to is, i/iat 710 person shall be called in question for any ojnnionin matters ofreliaion, who does not actually disturb the cwit yearj'. In a constitution for this State, this provision of the charter should be scrupulously preserved. It cannot be copied too literally, nor retau)pd too tenaciously; the act of the General Assembly, exchiding Roman Catholics from the polls, to the con- trary notwithstanding. The main object in procuring the charter of Charles 11 was not to define with exactness the powers of the government it constituted, but it was to define territorial boundaries, and to secure a permanent union of all por- tions ot territory under one domain. This is not only fairly to be presumed from tlie face ol the charter itself, but it still more clearly appears by a recur- rence to the circumstances under which that instrument was solicited and ob- tained from the government of the mother conntry. It is a matter of some in- terest to understand what the circumstances were under which it was solicit- ed and obtaiU'd. It appears that originally the town of Providence constituted a distinct jurisdiction by itself; and so also did the island of Rhode Island, and Warwick likewise. These several territorial divisions became first united, and were first brought within one jurisdiction, by the charter of 1643. This charier is very short, and is very loose in its terms. It embraces a general power to establish such a s^overnment as should be agreed on by the "voluntary consent of all." In obtaining this voluntary consent in fa- vor of uniting and consolidating different [)ortions of territory under one gov- ernment, there was much difficulty ; for it was not tuitil the year 1647 that a general government was agreed upon and established. In that year was the first General Assembly convened, and the place of convention was the town of Portsmouth. The government thus established was dissolved in 1651, by another charter obtained by Coddiiiiiton, constituting him governor; and this charter severed the islands of Rhode Island and Conanicut from the connexion which they before had with Providence and Warwick. Though Coddington's charier was soon vacated, a re union of the several towns was not immediately thereupon effected; but, on the contrary, representatives from Providence and Warwick met at Providence, while another assembly met on the Island. When a re-union took place, which, after much difli- culty, was effected, it became an object to perpetuate it ; and for this pur- pose, principally, was procured, in 1663, the charter of King Charles II, which still exists as the nominal constitution of the State. That charter is so superabundant in words and oft repeated recitals, that no inconsiderable degree of patience is required in extracting from it its ex- act meaning and import. The only constitution of government it pre- scribes may, in [)lain and more modern language, be embraced within a very small compass. After appointing a governor, deputy governor, and ten assistants, to continue such until the first Wednesday in May next en- suing, it then provides that those officers shall be elected on the first Wed- nesday in May, in each year, at Newport, " by the greater part of the said company for the time being, who shall be then and there present." The 158 ■ Rep. No. 546. officers just named, with six persons from Newport, four for each of the respective towns of Portsmouth. Providence. ;iiid Warwick, and two persons for eacli othtT town, to he elected by the m.ijor piiri of the freemen of the respective towns, are to a hold a general assembly, twice in every year ; nam^^ly, on every first Wednesday in the month of May, and on every hist Wednesday in ihe m nlh of ( 'ctober, or oltener if it shall be requisite. The members, or the greater part of the niemhers, constituting (his assem- bly ("whereof the governor, or deputy irovcrnor, and six of the assistants, at least to be seven,") are invested with the following general powers, viz: To alter the times and places of holding the general assembly ; to admit free such persons as they may think fit ; to create such offices, and elect such officers, as they shall deem requisite ; to make and repeal such laws, forms, and ceremonies of government as shall be deemed advisable; to establish courts and appomt judges ; to regulate the manner of election to offices and places of trust ; to prescribe the number and limits of new towns ; and, finally, to use the sweeping words of the charter, '■ to direct, rule, order, and dispose of all other matters and things as to them shall seem meet." It will be perceived, then, that the powers conferred l)y tfie charter for the organization and administration of the government, afford so much latitude, and are of such indefiniie import, as to leave a great deal too much to the dis- cretion of the legislature— more especially as, since the declaration of inde- pendence, no appeal can he had, as formerly, by an aggrieved party, to a tribunal of the mother country.* further than this, a variety of instances can be pointed out, which show that the General Assembly have heretofore considered the charter an instrument conferring upon them a dominion en- tirely discretionary. The charter, as we have already seen, provides that the governor, deputy governor, and assistants, are to be ek'cied on every first Wednesday in May, at Newport, by a majority of the voters then and there present. 'Phis pro- vision the General Assembly have deemed themselves competent to annul. By an act passed in October, 16o4, less than a year after the public procia mation of the charter, which was made at Newport on the 24th of Novem- ber, IG63, it was provided that all freemen who so desired, instead of com- ing in person to Newport to vote for general officers on the first Wednesday in May, might vote in lawful town meetings, where their proxy votes should be received, and thence transmitted to ttie General Assembly. In August, 1760, voting at Newport was entirely prohibited, except to members of the General Assembly; and the voters were directed to vote in their respective towns on the third Wednesday of April. We have perceived, too, that the charter provides that the freemen are to be admitted by the General Assembly; whereas the General Assembly, directly contrary to that provision, enacted in the year 1666 that the free- men should be admitted by the freemen of the respective towns, in town nipeting. The charter also appoints that the governor, deputy governor, and assist- ants, with the representatives chosen by the several towns, shall hold a general assembly, without any provision for forming two separate houses; and yet, by an act of the General Assembly, passed in 1696, the governor, deputy governor, and assistants are to sit separately. ♦The Geir^rnl Assembly, at the June session, 1719, went even so far as lo cut offihe liberty of appeal to the king in council, unless the matter in controversy was of the value of three hundred pounds. Rep No. 546. 159 The act authorizing a lieutenant o-overnor, or senior senator, to discfiarge the duties of governor in case of a vacancy by non election, death, or resig-- naiioii, or ot his absence or inability, is another instance ol the exercise of a sovereign discretion by the legislature, for the purpose of reii;edying a de- fect in the charter. We wish to be understood, that \v*> consider neither of the above acts in in itself objectionable. We have pointed ihem out merely as henig essential deviations from some of the most precise directions set down in the charter. But what must be thought of the act of the General yVssembly* excluding Roman Ca(/wlics from the polls? The charter, in this instance, was treated as a perfectly dead letter; for it expressly provides "that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in anyivise molested, pun- ished, disquieted, or called in question, for any ditferences of opinion in matters of religion, who does not actually disturb the civil peace." Pro- fessors ol the Roman- Catholic faith were, by the act of tyranny referred to, not only "molested" and "disquieted," but "punished;" and that, too, by denying to them the inestimable right ol sufi'rage ! To come down to a later period. Soon after the State was, with tiie otiier States, acknowledged U-qq and independent, the General Assembly pre- sented a singular example of high handed prerogative. The judges o( a court, in discharge of their imperative duty, had ventured to decide that an act passed by the General Assembly, and deeply affecting the riglits of a citizen, was repugnant to the great prmciples of liberty contained in Magna Chartit^ and was incompatible with the acknowledged rights of even British * Ttie act o( February, 1783, extends to Roman Calhollc citizens all the rigliis and privi- leges of the Pioleslant citizens of this Slate, av declaied by the act of the 1st of March, l()G3-'4, "any exceptions in the said act to the contrary notwithstanding."— (See the last paragraph of this note.) The clause of exclu>ion in this act, '■ Roman Caiholics only excepted," was evi- dently added to the act of ifitit, long afierwyrd— some lime between the years 1719 and 1730. It is not to be (oinid in the records of the State so far dovn as the year 171ti, when the first (imper- fect) edition of the laws wis published. In the second edition of 1730, it appears for the first time. The legislature, therefore, when they spoke ol thi.s clause as a part of the act of lti63-'4, rau.-^t be understood to have considered it as an addition or amendment. The present charter was granted in July,lGG3; and it is altogether incredible that Roger Williamsand hisassociates, then melnber^ ot the legislature, should have consented, four months after the reception ol the charter, lo an enactment so diiectly contrary both to the letter and spirit ol one of its most essential provisons, for the establishment oi' which they had used such strenuous exertions. There is extant in a work of Roger Williams, printed in l().5-3, a full recognition of the re- ligious rish's of papists. If any doubt remained upon this question, it would be removed by the declaraiion of the A.ssembly in May, l(j()5, in answer to the king's commissioners, that equality of ctvil and religious riglils had been "a principle set forth and maintained in this colony, from the vcnj bcginnivg thereof." Wiiaiever, then, may have been the occasion of subsequently inserting this clause of exclu- sion in the act of I6t)4, (and it seems probable that it was done to prove the loyally of the colony in the contest l:)eiween the Government and the Preiender to the throne of England,) it was suffered to remain in three editions of our statute book, as a part of the law of the land, for more than fifty years; and, as far as we can learn, unquestioned as such by any one. So flagrant a violation of the charier proves, conclusively, that the legislature then, as they did afterward, and do at preseiit, considered and treated that instrument as if it were eniirely subject to their coDirol; and that they claimed and exercised an undefined power, similar to that of the English Parliament. It ought lobe added here, that what is called in the act to remove disabilities from Roman Catholics, the a(;t of the 1st of March, IGG3, is, in fact, the act of 1st of March, 1GG4. T!;e commencement of the civil and legal year, it will be recollected, was anciently on the 25th of March; and was not altered to the 1st of January, in ihe British dominions, till the year 1751, by act of Parliament. The charter was granted in the ///eciiiA year of Charles II, (1G63.) The act of 1GG3, above mentioned, is staled in the marsjin ol ihe printed copy to be of the six- teenth year of Charles II, which of course was 1G()4. All laws passed before the '2.5ihof March would be dated as of the year preceding. 160 Rep. No. 546. subjects. For thus ciarinCT to deny an ntjlimited and irrn^ponsible power in the General Assembly, those jiidores were arraigned before that body, when they barely escaped t)eing punished with dismissal from office. The con- duct of tlie General Assembly in tliat instance comports well with the dec- laration made by one of the most prominent members of the House of Rep- resentatives, while standing in his place, viz: that the Legislature of Rhode Island was omnipotent. This decUtration was made within the last twenty years, and caimot have escaped the recollection ot many no.v living. The General Assembly would not have proceeded as they did in the case just mentioned, had they not been emboldened by the charter, which leaves it in their power to make and unmake judges once a year, or oftener if they see fit. Is not this a capital defect? We shall have more to offer on this subject by and by. What shall we say of an instrument of government which is uncertain enough to leave it to be made a question, whether, upnn a failure to eb'ct a governor and senators, the government itself fell through, and with it the legislative acts of the ensuing year, the titles to a large amount of property. and the proceedings and decisions of the courts? We shall say, if we are just to ourselves, tluit it should be forthwith dispensed with, and that a new one should be adopted by the people without delay. The charter is lurther essentially defective in having affixed a certain representation to each town for all time to come ; thus making no provision for the changes that might happen. No form of a constitution can be worth much, which leaves to the repre- sentative servants of the people the power of determining the rights of the people as voters. The people ought always to do this for themselves, and not leave it to be done for them. Strange mistakes sometimes liappen from this neglect ; as in this State, where it lias become necessary to hskiv/iothe people are? More on this subject in another place. Who will say by what right the towns of North Kingstown and South Kingstown are singled ont from the other towns in the State, by the act of June, 1722, and each entitled to a senator? In May, 1778, the first senator having declined serving, the General As- sembly promoted each of the other senators one degree higher, and elected a new tenth senator! ! Without citing any more examples, we appeal then to our fellow-citizens. sand ask them whether there does not exist abundant reason for proclaiming what was expressed in one of the resolutions passed at the first session of the convention, namely : That the powers of the Legislature, and the rights of the citizen, should be defined and fixed by a written State constitution ? A subject of just complaint, and one which loudly calls for the corrective hand of a constitution, is the extreme inequality of our represtntntion. This evil has been entailed upon us by our strange adherence to the char- ter of Charles II. This charter provides (as we have seen) that the towns in the State shall be represented by •' not exceeding six persons for Newport, four persons for each of the respective towns of Providence, Portsmouth, and Warwick, and two persons for each other town." At the time the char- ter was granted, this was a fair and equal apportionment of representatives, according to the relative population of the several towns. But since that period, the relative population of our towns has so greatly changed, and so many small towns, entitled to two representatives each, have been incorpo- rated, by dividing and sub-dividing larger ones, (hat the freemen of this State are now very unequally and unfairly represented in our State Legis- Rep. No. 546. 161 Mature. In order to show the extent of this inequality, we ask yojir atten- tion to a few statements, which you will find iully supported by referring to the official returns of votes polled in each town at our recent elections, and by comparing the number of these votes with the number of representatives to which each town is entitled by the charter. At the last spring election, the whole numb-^r of votes polled in all the towns in this State was 7,317. One third of this number is 2,489. Our House of Representatives consists of 72 members. 38 of these (beino- a ma- jority of two members) were elected by 2,384 qualified freemen — less than one-third of the qualified freemen of the State who then voted. 'I'he re- maining 34 members were, of course, elected by the remaining 4,933 free men. The result is about the same at our other elections. Half the freemen or (more properly speaking) qualified voters in the State, amount by the returns to 3,658. 51 representatives (being a majority of 15) are now elected by 3,637 voters — less than half the qualified voters in the State, The remaining 21 representatives are, of course, elected by the remaining 3,680 qualified voters. By descending a little to particulars, we shall find instances of inequality still more unjust and indefensible. The town of Jamestown, for instance, sends one representative to every*18 freemen; while the town of Burrill- ville sends but one representative to every 113 freemen ; the town of Fos- ter but one representative to every 156 freemen ; the town of Smithfield hut one representative to every 206 freemen; and the city of Providence but one representative to every 275 freemen. Thus our system supposes that one freeman of the town of Jamestown is entitled to as much political weight and importance as 6 freemen of the town of Burrillville, 8 of the town of Foster, 11 of the town of Smithfield, and 15 of the city of Providence. It consequently takes 6 freemen in Bur- rillville, 8 in Foster, U in Smithfield. and 15 in Providence, to equal one freeman of the town of Jamestown. The result will be very similar by comparing other small towns with larger ones. An inequality of representation like this is too unjust to be much longer tolerated. It is not uncommon in the monarchies of F]urope ; but, with the single exception of Rhode Island, it is unknov/n in the United States. It was never intended by our venerable ancestors who procured the charter ; and if Roger Williams were now to rise from his grave, there can be no doubt that such inequality would, of itself, induce him to take the lead of a political reformation. If the number of representatives from each town be compared with the whole population of each tovi^n, the result will not materially differ from that to which we have arrived in considering the representation of qualified voters only. The whole population of this State, according to the census of 1830, is 97,210. One-third of this number is 32,403. 31,308 (beino- less than one- third) are now represented by 38 members of the House of Representatives, being a majority of 2 in that body. The remaining 65,892 are, of course, represented by only 34 members. Half the population of the State is just 48,605. 47,365 (being less than half the population) are now represented by 51 members of the House of Representatives — being a majority in that body of 15. The remaining 49,845 are, of course, represented by 21 members only. Of the twelve most agricultural towns in the State, the six largest have II > ^ 162 Rep. No.' 546. less than one-third t!ie weight of representation in our Legislature thai the SIX smallest have; yet this inequality is represented by some as a mere question of interest between the agricultural and manufacturing towns. This inequality of representation has had the eftect of placing the majority of the qualified voters in this State under the control of the minority. This is as certain as the fact that figures speak the truth. ISow, who does not see that upon all questions in which the local interests of this minority are adverse to the local interests of the majority, they will unite against the ma- jority? And who does not see that whenever they do so unite, they will control the majority? It is an odious feature of our present system, that it has given a local character to some of the most general and vitally import- ant questions of legislation. What, for instance, can be more important than a just and equal apportionment of taxes? And yet our present system of representation has given a minority of the freemen both the interest and the power to perpetuate an unequal and unjust apportionment. What can be a more important object of legislation than to establish a just and equal representation of the people? Yet our present system has given to a minor- ity of the freemen both the interest and the power to continue our present unequal and unjust representation. Our present system is at war with the pi'osperity of the State. Is not the cbnteujplated accession of territory, wealth, and population from the State of Massachusetts important to our in- terests? Yet our present system has given to a minority of the freemen both the power and the local interest to defeat this accession. INow, it is one of the essential parts of the definition of a republican gov- ernment, or representative democracy, that it is a govertiment resulting from the u'ill of the majority, asctr/alned by a just and equal representa- tion. Is that government, then, where the will of the majority is not as- certained by a just and equal rejiresentation, but where the will of the mi- nority controls that of the majority, a republican governiTient? Is it not, in effect, whatever may be its forms, an oligarchy — or the rule of a fewl How, indeed, can we better define an oligarchy, than by calling it a govern- ment in which the less number, not by the power of virtue or talent, but by a political appointment, rule the greater? Whether this minority be a small or a large minority does not alter the principle. A large minority has no more right, on republican principles, to rule the majority, than a small one. Even a large minority, especially in a small State, is easily brought under the control of a few leading men. We have seen that, in this State, the legislative power is placed, by the inequality of our repre- sentation, in the hands of less than one third part of the qualified voters. These eleci a majority of the representatives. A ie\x political managers, who give themselves to the business, have but little difficulty in managing such a nhnority in this small State, and in ruling the whole State as they please, against the will of two thirds of the freetnen, and three fourths of the people. It is not strange, therefore, to find some men of all parties very unwilling to disturb the present order of things. We by no means contend that representation ought to be proportioned to the amount of property represented, or to the amount of taxes paid. The citiz-^n of small property, who pays a tax in proportion to his means, is as much entitled to a voice in the appropriation of that tax, though small in amount, as the most opulent man in the State. The same principle is ap- plicable to towns and counties. The true basis of representation undoubtedly is that adopted by the con- Rep. No. 546. 163 stitution of tiie United States — population; for the representative repre- sents not only the interests of the independent freemen, who are his imme- diate fconstituents, but also tht interests of the wiiole population, who are depi-ndent upon or connected with them^ and property is so equally dis- tributed among the people in our country, that the practical etfect of ad- liering to this basis is, that those who pay the expenses of government will have a fair voice in the measures of government. We have seen that the relative chancres in our population, and the incor[)oration of small towns, have combined to change this basis; and it is certainly an aggravation of this evil, that it has carried along with it an extravagant disproportion be- tween our representation and taxation. This will be made perfectly evi- dent by comparing our present ratio of representation with the act of the Gieneral Assembly passed in 1824, establishing a valuation of the ratable property in every town in the State as a rule of taxation. It will be found, by referring to that act, that the taxable properly in the county of Provi- dence amounts to $1,6511,01)0 more than all the taxable property in all the other counties in the State; and yet the county of Providence has consid- erably less than one-third of the representation which those counties have. It will also be found that the taxable property in six of the towns in this State an)0unts to about the same as the taxable property in the other twenty- five towns ; yet these six towns elect but tbnrteen representatives, while the other tov/ns elect the remaining fifty-eight representatives. It will also be found that some of our country towns pay five^ others six, others seven, others eight, and others nine times the amount of taxes paid by other country towns having the same number of representatives as the former; and yet this subject has often been represented as a mere question of in- terest between town and country. These statements prove that the portion of our people who pay the weight of the taxes are deprived of their fair numerical influence in the appropriation of these taxes. Is this just, fellow-citizens? Is it right? Will posterity believe that we are the sons of those men of Rhode Island who were foremost to shed their blood and expend their treasure in humbling the power of Great Britain, "for imposing taxes upon us without our con- sent ?" Certainly those who pay the weight of the taxes are entitled to be equally represented, in proportion to their numbers, with those do not. This is all we ask for them. But, to crowd them down below the level of their equal rights with one hand, and to keep the other hand in their pock- ets, only because time and accident have given us the power to do so, is unworthy of the successors of Roger Williams, — unworthy of tiie land of Greene, Olney, and Perry! S! range as it is, the State of Rhode Island, so far famed for relis^ious lib- erty, seems to have become insensible to the claims of political liberty. It is the only State in this great republican confederacy in which the people have not limited the power of their legislature by a written constitution; — the only State in the Union in which the people suffer a fair and equal rep- resentation of their interests to be defeated by a rotten borough system, al- most as odious as that which the subjects of the Kins' of Great Britain have too much republican spirit to endure, and which they have lately, in a great degree, corrected by a parliamentary reform. The remark of one of our own citizens is hut too true — "that the great foundations of republican liberty and equality have virtually ceased to be the basis of the government of Rho *e Island." He might have added, 164 Rep. No. o46. with equal truth, that "the evil is only to be remedied by a conslitidhn--^ a constitution founded upon enlightened and just principles, and approbated and adopted by the voice of the people." You have just seen that thirty-eight (two more than half of the repre- sentatives to the General Assembly) represent less than one ihird of the population of the State, namely, thirty-one thousand three hundred and eighteen inhabitants ; and, after adding that a majority of that number of inhabitants have no voice m the election of those representatives, it will be lime for us to advance to the very important inquiry, whether the minority of a minority ought any longer to govern this State ; or, whether there ought to be such an extension of suffrage as to include among the voters a majority of the people. And in prosecuting this inquiry, we have a just claim to your patient attention, even if our remarks should be protracted to a length in any degree proportioned to its great interest and magnitude. A question relating to the rights and disabilities of more than thirteen thousand* of your fellow-citizens cannot be hastily and carelessly consid- ered and dismissed, without such an imputation of indifference toward their feelings and claims, both in those who otl'er reasons, and in those to whom those reasons are addressed, as would be alike discreditable to our candor, justice, and patriotism. We contend, then, that a particijiation in the choice of those who make and administer laias, is a natural right, which cannot be abridged^ nor suspended any farther titnn the greatest good of the greatest number im- peratively requires. And this greatest good is not that of any portion of the people, however large, but ot the whole population of a State. It may seem strange that a fundamental truth like this, which contains the very life-blood and vitality of a republican government, should be called in question at the present day, and in our own country. But it is, never- theless, true, that there are those who, wliile they yield a formal and guarded deference to this great doctrine, yet m their reasoning and practice destroy all the force of their hollow and doubtful admission ; and maintain doc- trines which, if followed out to their legitimate consequences, would justify almost any exercise of irresponsible and unjust power. In order to comprehend more clearly the nature of the political right to partake in the choice of rulers, let us see, in the first place, how rulers came to exist. A nation, or State, is a collection of families, held in union by their consent to a form of government for the whole, either express or implied. This union, for purposes of defence, and for the security of pre- viously existing rights of person and property, (founded on the great law of nature written in every man's heart,) takes place, of course, at the first settlement of a country. In the early and rude ages of the world, and to the present period among uncivilized people, personal strength, courage, and fortitude are the only recommendations to public favor ; and the affairs of government are usually intrusted to men of war and prowess. In the course of time, the power thus delegated, — ^having become fixed in the Tlie number of the white male citizens of this Stale, over ihe age of twenty-one years, ac- cording to the last census, exceeds twenty-three thousand. Ten thousand would be a very high estimate of the number of freemen — probably a thousand too large. But say there are ten thousand treemen in the State ; it then becomes a matter of the utmost importance to examine a legislative provision, which excludes the whole of the remaining thirteen thousand and some hundreds from all political privileges. Rep. No. 540. 165 hands of those who hold it, by means of mihtary force ; or in other hands, iike theirs, by conquest, with the aid of tlie lono: train of frauds and arti- fices which mioht enlists in its service a^rainst right all over the world, — was transmitted, like property, to their successors, who, under the names of chiefs, kinu'?, and other appellations to designate the post of supremacy in a State, thenceforth became the established sovereigns of the difterent na- tions of the farth. That the elective process, which has been described, is not the mere fic- tion ot speculative writers, bitt actually took phice at some remote period in the history of almost every country, (in the old world, for instance, in the progress of population westward, from its earliest seat in the east,) is ren- dered almost certain by what we know of the institutions of our remote progenitors in the forests of Germany, and by the laws and usages of jj^ov- ernment in some of the aboriginal tribes of this continent. It was adopted among ourselves by the pilgrim fathers, who, when they had passed beyond the execution of English laws, proceeded to form a plan of government, by nuitual consent and natural suffrage, which was carried into effect upon their arrival at the rock of Plymouth. The proceedings of Roger Williams and liis associates furnish another striking exam|)le ; and, if we are not greatly mistaken, the accurate history of some of our western settlements, at the early period when the hardy pioneers first buried themselves in the forest, beyond the reach of civilization and law, would elucidate this problem of the formation of government, and fully sustain the suggestions that have been offered. As a general rule, then, government was first formed by the act and with tlie consent of those who were to be governed, given either expressly or by acquiescence. And what did government confer upon those who established it 7 Here lies the radical error of those wlio contend tliat all political rights are the creatures of the political compact. Those reasoners will tell you about riohis created by society. We wish to nsk, previously, what those rights were which existed before political society itself. Those rights were the rights to life, to liberty, to property — in general, to the pur- suit of happiness. Life was the gift of the common Maker of all ; and could not be taken, without conmiitiing the greatest act of injustice which one man can commit a^j^ainst another. Personal liberty, too — the right to walk abroad upon the face of the earth--was another natural right. The bounties of nature were all, at the beginning, spread out before the human race fur their sustenance and enjoyment ; and he who should appropriate the fruits of the earth to his own use — and more especially those with which he had mixed his own labor by the cultivation of the soil — had a just ric^ht to repel the invasiotn'of him who should seek to dispossess him of what he h;id acquired. This was the natural right to property. Each in- dividual also had the riirht of pursuing his own happiness in the way which he might prefer, provided he injured no man in the enjoyment of the same right. Another great personal right already alluded to, has been reserved lor the last : it is the ri^rfit which every mem., amonrr the familits hy which nations were composed, had of i^ivino- or rvithholding his voice in every ques- tion relating to the uninn of those families in uform of government, and of removins" from its jurisdiction if that union were formed against his con- sent. The existence of snch a natural right is too evident to be disputed ; and so far was it from being surrendered when government was once formed, that its continuance was absolutely necessary to maintain the ex- 166 Kep. No. 546. istence of that arovernment by the re-election of new magistrates when the terms of those first elected had expired. This right is the very right of suffrage which is the burden of our present inquiry, and which we call a natural right. Political society could not covfer that right or pvrvf-r upon its members by the exercise ofiohick it first came into existence. In other words, man, in the exercise of his natural rights, niade government ; and government did not give to man his rights. Why, then, it will be asked, was government established at all, if not to give rights? We will answer by saying that the end of government teas to make previously ex- isting rights^ conftrrtd by the hnnd of God^ more secure. Where men live in families, as we have described, without laws, each man is the natu- ral, and, in most cases, the sole protector of his own rights. If life, liberty, property, and happiness be threatened or invaded, each man is then obliged to defend himself against the aggressor, and victory will attend not upon the best right, but upon the strongest arm. The portion of land appropri- ated out of the common stock to individual uses will be liable to coiitiiiual invasion. Individual happiness will be perpetually insecure. The right of suffrage, which we have shown to exist, but for vvhich there is no use in this state of' things, at last brings men of different families together, and they agree to certain laws, and upon certain magistrates to execute them ; thus freeing themselves from the necessity of perpetual warfare individu- ally against individuals, in private defence. This is government. It does not give rights, but it defines and defends them. Examine the most exten- sive collection of laws in existence, which has been gradually accumula- ting for ages, from the necessities of men in their various relations to each other, audi which has been matured by the wisdom of the most enlightened legislators and judges, and you will not find one just law in the whole of it which is not designed to promote and protect some one of the great natural rights which existed before written law and political society itself. Gov- ernment, then, being designed to accomplish a orreater good for each man than he could single-handed secure to him>elf, the greatest good of the greatest number must be the everlasting criterion of all governments in all ages and parts of the world ; and it is the duty of patriots and philanthro- pists, whenever this greatest good has b^^en disregarded, in the abridgment or suspension of natural rights, to endeavor to bring back government to its original and just principles. The idea of surrendering natural liberty, in any proper sense of that word, upon entering into political society, in con- sideration of the benefits to be derived from it, is one of those preposterous fictions with which day-dreaming men have so long abused the easy credu- lity of mankind, and which despotic rulers most readily embrace, that they may, with a greater appearance of justice, enslave and oppress their fellow- creatures. A man, upon entering into political society, surrenders to the magistrate the protection of his rights, and not the existence of the rights themselves. It is very common to attempt to make a distinction between the rio:ht of property, and the riglit to participate in political power, founded on the fact that the former is so much less interfered with by governments than the latter. From this fact the inference is drawn, tliat the former is a natural right, and the latter is not. The fact of interference is true, but the infer- ence is not correct. A despotic government will, for its own sake, respect the rights of projierty ; but will carefully suppress all political rights as coming in contact with itself. And yet various restraints on the holding Rep. No. 546. 167 of property have prevailed, and now prevail, in different countries ; and the examination of them would be very much to our purpose if time per- mitted. The reason why an enlightened reo^ard to the best "[ood, interferes so much more with political rijihts than with the right to hold property, is found in the different directions which these rights take in their exercise. In acquiring property, a man dirt^cts his attention to the productions of na- ture and of industry, and to the various exchanges of them; and the more who are at work in this way, the better for the public. Tlie right of voting brings a man in contact with his fellow citizens in matters of right and in- terest, and controls the legislation by which the latter are protected ; and there will be a great many who are too ignorant to exercise it to the advan- tage of the whole. It is also objected to the doctrine of a natural right of suffrage, that mi- nors and females are excluded from political privileges. I'he first part of the objection, regarding minors, proves too much for the objectors ; for as the minor is debarred from the full enjoyment of the right of properly also, until the age of twenty one years, it might be argued, with equal show of reason, that there is no natural right of property; for which rii^ht the ob- jectors strenuously contend. But the truth is, that the restriction upon mi- nors does not confiict in the least with any natural ri^ht; it acknowledges their rights, and only decides the period at wliich they shall commence and be exercised. This decision is not arbitrary, but founded on a just ob- servation and experience of human nature and character, it is necessary, before the yoinig man can enjoy any of his natural rights to his own ad- vantage, or with safety to the u-eneral good, that he should be able to take care of his own interests, should have attained to some knowledge of him- self, of affairs, of mankind, of the nature and operations of government. True it is that some are better quahfied for political action at tlie age of eighteen, than otiiers at the most mature and vigorous period of life. But, as a genera! rule, twenty one years are not too long a time to acquire the requisites for the full enjoyment of civil and political rio-hts. If men were born into the world in the full possession of their physical, mental, and moral powers, without the necessity of development, exercise, and cultiva- tion, then there might be some force in the objection which is offered. But as this is not the case, the rule of all civilized countries, which postpones a man's majority until he has attained the stature and capacity of a man, is founded on a just deference to the greatest good of the whole, without infringing upon individual rights. This rule is merely the continuation of a law of nature, enforced in the families of which we have spoken, be- fore the formation of political society. With regard to the exclusion of women from the exercise of political power, we are far enough from denying to them the possession of natural rights. It is well known that they formerly exercised the elective franchise in one of the States of this Union — New Jersey; and now that they have ceased to do so, the suspension of tlieir rights rests not upon any decree of mere force, but upon a just consideration of the best good of society, in- cluding that of the sex itself. Their own assent, it should be added, con- firms this arrangement of their natural protectors; and being fully aware that the dignity and purity of iheir sex, character and example, would be soon impaired in the conflicts of party strife, they have wisely consented to forego the nominal exercise of politiciil power, and to rule mankind by the only absolute authority which is consistent with their greatest happi- 168 Rep. No. 546. iiess. There is only one criterion of this abridgment or suspension of the rights of our nature — to which we have frequently referred ; and if the greatest good of the greatest number do not require the exclusion of women from our political assemblies, in accordance with the decision of those countries where they are most honored and esteemed, then is this exclusion unjust. The inquiry, in each case, is strictly a question of fact. Any other exclusion of individuals, or classes of persons, must be tried and de- cided by the same rule. Bat to proceed : political liberty is not, then, as we hear it sometimes said, the after-growth of refined and cultivated ages, but it is the sponta- neous oifs[)ring of a natural sense of right and justice; and though harsh in some of its features, in an uncivilized age, it may still vigorously exist, and even then contain within its rude forms the germs of those institutions which shall become the boast and the glory of subsequent and more en- lightened generations. To him who studies the philosophy of history, it is a matter of surprise and pleasure to discover, in the government of the ancient Germans, the elements and principles of liberty which make the most valuable portion of the constitution of England, and which have been carried out and so greatly improved in our own admirable form of government. If at all successful in our investigation, we have arrived at the conclu- sion, that government was designed for the protection and perpetuation of rights — not derived from itself, but natural and inherent — in such a way as to promote the greatest good of the whole: and that the question now before us is, not what right of suffrage the government ought to grant as a gift, but with what restrictions, required by this greatest good, suffrage may be claimed as a right by the people of this State. Is it consistent with this general good that the present landed qualification should be any longer continued as the exclusive condition of exercising the priviU^ge of an elector? As we are addressing republicans, who believe that a republican govern- ment is the only one which truly consults the rights and happiness of the people, if we should show that the present restriction is, in its operation^ inconsistent with republican principles, then we shall secure the aid of all those who consistently hold those principles, in having this restriction re- moved. While the general welfare is the great aim and object of the American plan of government, most ot the governments of the old world are con- structed and operate for the benefit of the few, at the expense of all the rest. The orignial principle of equality of suftVage at the formation of political society has been set entirely at naught ; and you will see a despot whose remote anceslor was elected to the head of a state on account of his valor and achievements, now claiming to rule over their descendants by divine riyht, and to exclude them from political privileges. The eflect of this kind of government, and of the artificial condition of society connected with it, is to place all the wealth and power of the country in the hands of the intelligent few; and, beyond the middle classes, at the other ex- tremity of the body politic, to create a mass of poverty, ignorance, and degradation, which is incapacitated to participate, to its own sjood, in the government of the country, and unfit to accept of a better government if it should be offered. This is the most dreadful effect of a long standing despotism. In such a state of society, where the vast majority are taughi Rep. No. 546. 169 to re2:ard the few who rule them ns a higher order of heings — are imbued wiih a leeliiio- of entire servihty, and liave lost that of personal worth and independence — a true lover of his fellow men may well hesitate about the propriety and the safety of suddenly introducing a republican system, and makinw-'tliem voters all at once, without the preparatory process of educa- tion ; since the ffood of the whole, including- the oppressed themselves, niight require their exclusion. Such a man, if in his heart a republican, would, notwithstandiuof his hesitation about immediate emancipation, still acknowledge their natural rights. He would feel that the poorest and most deiJ:raded subject ol the most despotic monarch is yet a brother of the hu- man race, and has within him the capacity of better things; that all who wear the form of humanity are entitled to the hopes and privileges of hu- man nature. He would therefore be anxious to qualify the oppressed as soon as possible, and to raise them to the privilege of self-government. But whatever course a true patriot might feel himself bound to adopt in one of the corrupt monarchies of the old world, no sucli reason can be given for a postponement of political rights in our own country. No privileged orders have ever existpd in it, to create the vast inequality which prevails elsewhere between the many and the few, A spirit of freedom was brought with them by our ancestors, and has ever subsisted among us. There is a very gejieral diffusioti of useful knowledge. The great majority, also, in this country, are interested in property of some sort or other ; and are thus strictly bound together in interest to support the government. The only exception to this general equality is in the slave States, where a large part of tlic population's in a still lower condition than the degraded populace to which we have alluded. But be the case as it may in those States, there is no pretence of any such marked inequality among the citizens of fthe body" politic — a body, by the way, into which our ancestors first incorporated themselves by natural and equal suffrage. t See note to page 159. X It appears that there was an intermediate step between the practice of electing freemen wholly by the General Assembly, and afterward wholly by the towns. This is more clearly explamed in the manuscript Digest of 1719. The plira'eology of the act of 166G there varies greatly from that of the printed act. At pages 35 and 36, it is enacted " That every town, at their town meeting, hath power to make such men freemen of their towns as they shall judge may be meet, and may be serviceable to serve in the towns in town offices." The act goes on to say, that all such persons may then vote for town officers; and that after their names shall have been pre- sented to the General Assembly, and they *' pass by vote to allow ihem freemen of the colony," hey may vote for general officers. Kep. No. 546. 175 less he were a freeholder of lands, &c , of the vaUie of 100 pounds, or to the vahie of 40 shilhngs a year; or tJie eldest son of siicli a freeholder; '•any other act, cusiom, or usage, to the contrary liereof notwithstandinc^." In 1730 it was enacted "That no person whatsoever shall be admitted a freeman of any town in this colony, unless he be a freeholder of lands, &c., to the value of 200 pounds, or 10 pounds per annum, or the eldest son of such a freeholder." Id 1742 it was further declared that no person shall be admitted to vote, but such only who, at the time of voting, are freemen, and possessed of land, &.C., as above. The preamble of the act of 1746 complains of the inroad of bribery and corruption into the colony; and gives, as the occasion of it, the manner of adnntting freemen, which " is so lax, and their qualifications as to their estates so very loir^ that many persons are admitted, who are possessed of little or no property^ Tlie remedy of the evil (whether real or pretended by the leading politicians to cover iheir desigi-i, we need not now inquire) consisted in raising the qualification to 400 pounds value, or 20 pounds rent per annum ; without which, no one was " allowed to vote or act as a freeman." Tlie qualification of voters was changed again in 1762; and it was en- acted that no person whatever should be permitted to vote, or act as a freeman, but such only as were possessed of a real estate of the value of 40 pounds, or which sliall rent for 40 shillings per annum. It is sufficiently evident, from this brief examination, tlmt a freeman was not necessarily a freeholder; and that the mode of admittijig freemen, pre- viously to the act of 1724, [whicli act, for the first lime in. the coleny, estab- lished an. exclusive freehold qualification,) was entirely irregular ; and the language used about its laxity, and the lowness of qualifications, and the allusion in the act of 1724 to "a custom or usage to the contrary" of what was then enacted, show that the restriction had been merely nominal. There is anotlier itnportant fact apparent from the acts raising the qualifi- cation to two and four hundred poiuids, namely — that a distinction was thus made amoui; the freemen themselves. All persons (previously freemen, or not, it made no difference) who did not come up to the sum of two and four hundred pounds, were, by these acts, deprived of their privileges. The acts of 1742, 1746, and 1762, directed not merely who should be ad- mitted freemen in future, but also who should cease to act as such.* This unmaking of freemen, or depriving; them, without proof of crime, of every- thing but the mere name, was a clear violation of the spirit of the charter, and goes, iu addition to the remarks already made upon the operation of that nistrument, to show how little it was practically regarded in the busi- ness of legislation ; and that the General Assembly then exercised, as now, an undefined power, similar to that of the Parliament of England. " If rep- resentatives of the people," it has been well said, "chosen for the ordinary purposes of legislation, could assume a control over this right, (the right of sufiVage,) to limit, curtail, or extend it at will, they might disfranchise any portion they pleased of their own electors — might deprive them of the power ever to remove them ; and thus reduce the govenmient to a permanent aristocracy.^^ *Our statute-book, at the present day, does not prescribe, in direct terms, who .shall be free- men, but who shall not vote or act as such. The law, on its very face, is an excluding rather than an enabling act. 17() Rep. No. 546. The existing restriction on suffrage is, then, we think, clearly in opposi- tion to the real iiilention of our aticeMors, and to the spirit of the democracy which they estabhshed. We have already seen that it exchides many wiio pay taxes. It is further objectionable, because it occasions those taxes to be imposed without consent, and without any control of their expenditure. It was this same evil to which our fathers refused to submit, and whicli led lo the revolutionary contest. It is still an evil, thouo;h visited upon a large portion of the people by their own fellow-citizens. If it were unjust tor our forefathers to be taxed without representation, it is equally unjust for their descendants to be so taxed by their brethren, so long as they have no voice in determining either the quantity or appropriation. How, let it be asked, are the duties on those articles of foreign importation, which are consumed in this State, paid? By the body of the consumers, who consist as well of non freeholders as of the owners of the soil. The expenses of the General Government, as we well know, are paid without any resort to direct taxation. The non freeholders pay their full proportion to govern- ment in the shape of duties, and yet they have no part in national affairs; because those only can vote for Representatives lo Congress who are voters for members of the most popular branch of the State Legislature. And these voters are exclusively the owners of the soil. This injustice is so palpable, that we think it must extort the confession of all who give it a moment's attention. Ought it not to be remedied? The objection that the non-freeholders, if admitted, will vote away the money of other people, comes with a very ill grace from those who are now voting away the money of these very non-freeholders without their con- sent. The present system is also inconsistent with itself. It excludes intelli- gent and upright men from the polls, because their business is such that the possession of the requisite landed qualification is impracticable. And yet, in many instances, they are bound to the soil by a species of real property, consisting of houses, workshops, &,c., built upon land leased to them for a term of years. A life estate entitles a man to vote ; a lease for 99 years does not. Is this consistency ? Again : the present system of voting is opposed to the spirit of the con- stitution of the United Slates. That constitution contemplates no such distinction among the citizens as our law creates. It guaranties to each State a republican form of government, the very nature of which is to ex- tend the right of voting to a majority of its citizens. If we venerate that instrument, why should we any longer withhold those privileges which it intends to confer? Another objection to our law of restriction is, that it is opposed to the theory and practice of all the other Slates, with a single partial exception. In North Carolina a freehold is still required to vote for a Senator. This is now the only remaining State in which the right to vote for any officer is confined exclusively to landholders. The following is a table of the qualifications of voters in all the States, derived from a careful examination of each of their constitutions: Mame.— Citizenship of the United States, and three months' (next pre- ceding) State residence. Untaxed Indians excluded. New Hcifnpshire. — Inhabitance and payment of taxes. Massachusetts. — Citizenship: one year's Stale, and six months' (next preceding) town or district residence, and payment of taxes. Rep. No. 546. 177 Connecticut. — Citizenship of the United States, and settlement in the State, with a freehold of seven dollars yearly value, and six months' (pre- cedino-) town residence; or, a year's performance of mihtary dnty ; or, the payment of taxes, with good moral character. Blacks excluded. Vcrmnut. — One. year's (next previous) residence, with quiet and peacea- ble behavior, and an oath to vote according to conscience " touching any matter that concerns the State." Rhode Island. — inhabitance in town where vote is offered, with real es- tate to the full value of 134 dollars, or which shall rent for 7 dollars per annum; or, being the eldest son of a freeholder, to the same amount. Vo- ting, by writing name on back of ticket — same in effect as viva voce. Blacks excluded. New York. — Citizenship, with one year's State, and six months' (next previous) town or county residence, and payment of a tax within the year preceding an election, unless exempted; or performance of military duty within tl^it year, unless exempted ; or, p. rformance of labor upon the high- ways, (unless an equivalent has been paid) with three years' (next prece- ding) State, and one (the last) year's town or county residence. For men of color, three years' citizenship of the State, with a freehold of the value of 250 dollars, owned for one year preceding an election, and having paid a fax thereon. Neio Jersey. — One year's (immediately preceding) county residence, and being worth 50 pounds proclamation money. Pennsylvatda. — Two years' (next previous) residence, and payment of a State or county tax, assessed at least six months before an election. Sons of voters allowed to vote between the ages of 21 and 22 years, without having paid taxes. Didaware. — Citizenship, with one year's (next preceding) State and the last moiitli's county residence, and payment of a tax assessed six months before an election. Citizens allowed to vote between the ages of 21 and 22 years, wiihout having paid a tax. Blacks excluded. Maryland. — Citizenship, with one year's State, and six months' (next preceding) county residence. Blacks excluded. F/ro-«///a— Citizenship and residence — with a freehold qualification, ac- cording to the former constitution — or, a freehold of the value of 25 dollars — or, a reversion in land of the value of 50 dollars — or, the occupancy of a leasehold estate, of a term originally not less than five years, at a rent of 20 dollars a year — or, lastly, having been a housekeeper and head of a family for 12 months next preceding, in the place where application is made to vole, and having paid a State tax within the preceding year. Voting viva voce. Blacks excluded. Norfdt Carolina. — To vote for Senators, one year's (immediately pre- ceding) residence in any one county, and a freehold, within the same county, of fifty acres of land, held for six months next previous, and at the day of election. — To vote for members of the House of Commons, one year's (immediately preceding) residence in any one county, and having paid public taxes. South, Carolina. — Citizenship and two years' State residence previous to the day of election, with a freehold of fifty acres of land, or a town lot, legally possessed at least six months previous, — or, without a freehold, having been a resident in the election district where the vote is offered six months previous. Blacks excluded. 12 178 Rep. No. 546. Georgia. — Citizenship and inliabitance, with six months' county resi- dence, and the payment of taxes, if assessed, for the year preceding an election. Voting viva voce. Ohio. — A residence of one year next preceding an election, and bein^ assessed to pay a State or county tax, — or, laboring on the roads. Blacks excluded. Kentucky. — Citizenship, with two years' Slate, or one year's (next pre- ceding) town or county residence. Voting viva voce. Blacks, mulattoes, and Indians excluded. Tennessee. — Irjhabitance in the State, and a freehold in the county where the vote is offered, — or, inliabitance in any one county six months immediately precednig the day of election. Mississippi — Citizenship of the United States, with one year's (next preceding) State, and the last six months' county or town residence, and enrolment in the militia, — or, having paid a State or county tax. Blacks excluded. Alabama. — Citizenship of the United States, with one year's (next pre- ceding) State, and the last three months' county or town residence. Blacks excluded. Louisiana. — Citizenship of the United Stati s, with one year's (next pre- ceding) county residence, and the payment of a State tax within the last six months prior to the election. Blacks excluded. Indiana. — Citizenship of the United States, with one year's (next pre- ceding) residence, entitles to vote in the county where resident. Blacks excluded. Illinois. — Residence in State for six months next preceding an election entitles to vote in the county or district where resident. Voting viva voce. Blacks excluded. Missouri. — Citizenship of the United States, with one year's (the next before) Slate, and the last three months' county or district residence. Blacks excluded. Those v/ho call in question any natural right of suffrage, lay great stress upon the fact that in so many of these constitutions* the qualifications of persons eligible .to the offices of government are fixed much higher tharn those of the eleciors themselves. They say that therefore political rights are not self-subsistent, but are derived from an arbitrary appointment of the lawgiver. We do not consider any such distinction to be necessary in this State, nor do we contend for it; and it is a sufficient answer to the objectors to say, that where the distinction does exist, it was made by the people themselves, in their original, sovereign capacity. The constitutions of all the States proceeded from the great mnjority of the people, fairly rep- resented in convention. These constituiions were laid beiore them for acceptance or rejection. They could and did define, limit, and settle their own rights as they saw fit. The fact above stated, so far then fiom proving anything against the rights of the people, proves another thing conclusively ♦ The Slates which have made landed property an indispensable requisite fur ihe governor, senators, and representatives, are the following; New Hampsiiire, Norih Carolina, South Caro- lina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In New York, the governor and senators; in New Jerse}', the legislative councillors and represeniaiivs; in Virginia, the senators and representatives; and in Massachusetts and Georgia, the goveinors, must be landhoMers. In ihe remaining tliirteen Slates, no property in landis exclusively required of ar>y of the above- mentioned officers. Rep. No 546. 179 in fcivnr of the people, namely, — that, in manifesting so much solicitude that nil places of trust should be filled with those most competent to dischari^e their duties, and in thus foregoing an equal claim to iliem in all the voters, they h ive shown themselves the safe depository of political power, aud eminently worthy of republican freedom and self-government. We do not ask for a change here, merely because a restriction like ours has been abolished in other States, but because such a change is right. Still, tlie fact that twenty two out of twenty three of the other States have no such exclusive landed qualification as that now insisted upon in this, ought to go far in overcoming any doubts or scruples on the subject of ati extension of suftrage. Are not the people of the other States our brethren? Are we not all bound together as one people, under the glorious constitution of the United States? Uan the j)eople of this State be expected to entertain any less liberal ideas of republican freedom and government than the vast majority of their brethren elsewhere, who are united to them in interest and feeling, and separated only by the outline of State boundaries? Such an expectation is unreasonable, and contradicted by all observation and ex- perience. Are not the people of otiier States, who have adopted the plan of extension, as enlightened, as capable of understanding the greatest good of the whole, as much blessed with sound laws and the wise execution of them, as ourselves? Are we indebted to a landed suffrage for any decided superiority in our civil and social condition ? Have we gone further than all others, in proportion to our means, in providing for public instruction and public charities? We are obliged reluctantly to admit the contrary. Not to pursue this part of our subject any further at present, let any man point to any one practical result m this State, which gives an advantage to a landed qualification for voters over that of the payment of taxes, and we shall be happy to give it a fair consideration, and allow to it all the weiiiht to which it may be entitled. One of the reasons offered in favor of a freehold qualification is, that it tends to a greater division of land, and to check the increase of great landed estates. Even admitting this to be trup, the remedy is not wanted; for it has already been supplied by the statute of distributions. The right of primogeniture, as it respects property, has been done away. An equal divi- sion most commonly takes place at the death of a parent; and it is perfectly well known that the third, or fourth generation at most, in this country, scatters the greatest accumulation that the industry and economy of the ancestor is ever able to make. Property is divided and equalized in our country, to an extent never known in any other. And the interest in prop- erty of some kind or other, thus created in the majority of the people, is one reason, and a strong one, for believing that our form of government will be permanent. In no Slate, which has exchanged the landed for a tax qualification, has there been the slightest complaint of too great an accumu- lation of land in a k\v hands from this cause. The argument is evidently more for the benefit of the present suffrage law, than for the benefit of the people. What, then, is the object of any property qualification at all for a voter? The only just object is to raise a presumption of his honesty and intelli- gence. VVhere this honesty and intelligence can be ascertained, indepen- dently of a particular qualification, there the necessity of it ceases. Men of all opinions readily say, in the discussion of the question of suffrage, We should be perfectly willing to let in all honest and intelligent persons to 180 Kep. No. 546. vote, whether they have property or not, if we could only ascertain (hem. The man of substance is not admitted to vote, upon ony property qualifica- tion which niay he adopted, because he is a man of substance, but because Ijis quahfication raises the necessary presumption in his favor. If the law merely reg^arded the voter's substance, then the more substantial he might be, the more power should he have as a voter. If this were the spirit of a law relating to the elective right, then, to be consistent, we ought to go back to ihe plan adopted by one of the kings of ancient Rome, who divided the voters into classes and centuries, in such a way, that though each man had but one vote, yet the men of substance had the most centuries, and so con- trolled the elections. But how does property, or the ability to pay a tax, (which implies property, and amounts to the same thing,) raise an inference of a man's honesty and intelligence? Only in this way : if a man inherit property, the presumption is, judging by the natural fieelings of men, that the parent who left it to him was able and willing to give him education enough to use it properly; if a man have acquired property, the presump- tion .IS, and must be, as a general rule, that industry and probity were exer- cised by him in sc^doing; and that the cares and relations, which properly brings with it, have sharpened iiis faculties, and increased his natural intel- ligence. Now, all we ask is, that every man among us who can be fairly presumed to be honest and intelligent enough to exercise the privilege of a voter, consistently with the best good of our whole population, should be ad- mitted to that privilege. And we propose such a quahfication as will raise, in our condition of society, the presumption of honesty and intelligence ; and if a certain minimum, or smallest sum, were fixed, so that every one who chose to pay a tax on not less than dollars should become a vo- ter, all pretence of objection on account of the supposed control the assessors of taxes might have over elections would be entirely removed. A strict registration of voters we consider indispensable ; and voting by baltot, so that it could not be known how the vote was given, would remove the objection of improper influence. We are very desirous to see it intro- duced. The distinction proposed between the qualifications of the native and the naturalized citizen is founded on the principle already laid down, viz: that the abridgment or suspension of a political right to promote the greatest good of the greatest number, and for that purpose only, is the self-preserving law of a political society. The restriction places the foreign born citizen ii» a better condition than the present freeholder, as he is only required to have been once the owner of a freehold, for a certain length of time, to be deter- mined by the framers of a constitution. The non-freeholders are willing and anxious to l)e tried by this law of the greatest good. The moment it can be shown that their claim of privilege is inconsistent with the greatest good of the whole community, they are willing to withdraw it. But let it be so shown. It is a mistake in any to suppose that this restriction is at variance with any provision in the constitution of the Uniied States. When the constitu- tion says that "the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States," it does not mean that they shall carry their rights with them from one State to another, but that they shall accept of such as are provided in the State to which they have re- moved their residence, and be subject to all distinctions tliere established. There are some who consider themselves as making a reply to the argu- Rep. No. 546. 181 men\s whidi have been offered, by affirmino^ that '-'no one ought to inter- fere with the rules and usages of a land company P What idea snch per- sons can have of the nature of the government of this country, or of any government, it would not be easy to determine. "The rules and usages of a land company," both civil and pohlical, must then prevail forever in Rhode Island, whether right or wrong. We hope to be al)le on all occa- sions to manifest a becoming resignation to the appointments of Divine Providence; but we have not any such respect for the decrees and ordi- nances of men, no belter than ourselves, as to believe or admit that, in polit- ical afTairs, " whatever is, is right." The " rules and usages of a land com- pany" may be very convenient for those who hold power, and desire to keep it ; but they have no recommendations of justice or policy to others who are kept out of possession of their proper share of that power, though they have a permanent interest in the State, and are not destitute of a patriotic attach- ment to their native land.* Tlie colonists of Rhode Island were indeed a land company; bat they were endowed with political privileges, and have exsrcised the usual functions of government; and for what piirposc'gov- ernment was made, and who ought to partake in it, we have already seen. The friends of reform do not ask, nor do they consider themselves answered by being informed, how old their jjovernment is. Their question is, whether it be right or wrong. If an attempt were made to gel possession of the shares of a trading, banking, insurance, or, if you please, of a land compa- ny, williout the payment of an equivalent, then there would be just reason for protesting against this invasion of chartered and vested rights. If such an attempt should be made, those who are aggrieved will find complete pro- tection in the strong arm of the law. We would ask ojf those who contend that everything should remain in this generation as it came to us from tlie preceding, one or two questions. Suppose that some eminent individual in Eiiwjandt had been employed to draw up a form of government for the colony of Rhode Island ; and that, for the sake of conformity with the institutions of the mother country, he had introduced a provision into the charter to the effect that the offices of gov- ernor, deputy governor, and of the assistants, should forever be confined to the male de^cendents of Arnold, Wdliam^, OIney, and the other persons who were named in the charter, to fill them for the first time. Suppose farther, that this hereditary Senatnt had not been abolished at the Revolution, but that it had Continued to our own time: would you now advocate it? And if so, might you not say that it was established by the original law of a " land company," confirmeci by usage, and too venerable to be disturbed? If op- posed to it, would you not say, however determined the Senators might be never to surrender their liereditary privileges, that there ought to be, and must be, some way of voting them down? To add one more question — *Ii ha. subject for reflection, that, while si me of tlie desceodait-: of the early settlers of the Stale have no vole in the places of their Jatht rs any one may ccme in from abroad, and upon the purrh ise of real estate, and being piopmuided three months prev^icusly, may become a vo- ter. We welcome strangers, but not to greater privileges than are enjoyed by the inajority of oil own citizens. , t Tlie consiituiion prepared for the Slate of South Carolina by the celebrated Locke can hardly be deemed to have created anv exception lo the siatemeni be lore made, that no privileged order of men had ever exi-ted in this count v; since, that (■oii^iitiition was found to be totally Jmpracticab'e, and was abroaaied in KJO'J, ader a duration of im y 2'i year>. ?It is one of the very remarkable features of our Slate goverumeni, that the Senate is the m-ore |)opul2.r branch of the Legislature. 182 Rep. No. 546. what is the meaning of the clause in the conslitntion of the United States^ which guaranties to each State a repuhlican ftrm of governnjent ? Is it noty that no constitution, hivv, nor usa^e of any Stale, however agreeable to the majority, sliall ever be suffered to compel ihe snbmission of a minority to a form of government in any respect anti repnbhcan ? If the minority in every State be thus taken care of, most assuredly any expression of the will of the majority, not inconsistent with the definition of a republic, will be recognised by the General Government. It IS a great mistake to say that the prescription in favor of the present order of things has never been disturbed. At about the commencement of the Revolution, the General Assembly manifested their sense of the neces- sity of some change, by the appointment of a committee to report upon a proper form of government for the Slate. No report, it is believed, was ever made. Otlier attempts, both for partial and general reform, liave been un- successful; and tlie evils of the body politic have been suffered to accumu- late. Blit it ought to be borne in mind that no continuance of usage, or pre- scription however lonor, can impair or lake away political rights from the people. From the ancient English maxim, '' Time does not run against the king," erase the word "king," and insert " people," and you have a great and everlasting truih. INo delay or acquiescence on iheir part can ever make it right to govern wrong, or to deprive any man of a voice in public affairs, who is sufficiently honest and intelligent to use it well. We have seen that our existing fieehold qualification for voters is incon- sistent with a just regard to natural rights; thai it is opposed to the prin- cijtles of a republican government; to the real intentions of the founders of this State; to the declaration of American independence; to the spirit of tlie constitution of the United States ; to the practice of all tfie other States but one ; that it is inconsistent with itseh, attd unfair in its operation. Still farther: admitting, lor argutnent's sake, (and God forbid that we should ev^er otherwise make the admission, so long as we retain any recollection of the declaration of independence, and of the principles, the acts, and the men of the Revolution!) that there are no natural rights, and that all political power and privilege proceeds from the government to the people, the pres- ent landed qualification is proved to be highly tinnecessary and in xpe- dient. But there are many, who are capable of feeling the ti-rce of these objections, who will call them abstract and theoretical, and say that they want more facts. We want them too ; and we ask these objectors to go along with us in the search — bearing in mind at the same time that, as the freehold restriction is in derogation of political rights, the burden of proving its nece.'-sity rests upon its advocates. We have come to the great issue of fact, which we now again tender to our fellowciiizens, and it is: Are those citizens who, by an extension of suffrage, would be admitted to vote, such a class of persons as are unfitted by their character to paiticipate in the po- litical privileges which they claim ? We wish this question to be fairly niet. Enough has been said, in vague and general terms, about '■'■ uinvhole- some ciiizetis,^^ "persons nut to be safely trusted." "without property, and vicious ;" about '* protecting the sound \m\x\ of the conmiuniiy against those who have nothing at s'take in society," and ''protecting the people against iiiiruders and adventurers from other Stales." Ii is perfecily < asy to make this general declamation, and it has its natural and designed effect upon too many minds. Let those who use this language come out and say, if they Rep. No. 548. 183 will venture the assertion, that the body of trader^t and mechanics^ and pro- fessional nicn^ and sons of landholders^ are the base and corrnpt persons who are aimed at in. ihes9 sweeping deiinnciations. No others can be meant. They are the men who unite with a large portion of the farn:iing interest in demanding a reform. Shame, then, upon those defamers of their fellow citizens who, in tlie ititercsted defence of a decrepid and tottering system, resort to this wanton and nnrnanly abuse and dispuragement, which (he daily business and intercourse of life prove to be wholly destitute of foundation in truth. We shall endeavor to show the people more in detail who these men are, who now claim the esiablisnment of tlieir just rights, and how many of them contribute by taxes to the public irtaMiry. We invite you, fellow-citizens, to go along with us, and to aid us in the inves* tigaiion. But there is one charge made against the friends of reform, which ought not to be passed by without a more particular notice. It is said by some, that they are urging on a war against property, and stirring up the poor against the rich. Was there ever a more unfounded and ungenerous accu- sation '/ God forbid that we should ever fall so low as to be capable of re- sorting to this last and basest expedient of decayed and desperate politicians ! The />o(7r against the iich!—m a country where all interests and classes are combmed and interwoven in mutual dependence, and rise and prosper, or decline and fall together. Does any one seek to take away any right from others, and to appropriate it anew? It will be time to throw out such a sug- gestion when it is made to appear that an attempt to obtain the (ixercise of his own riglits is robbery from other people, and not till then. The subject of the jUi)ici.\RY, though last in the order of consideration, is not the least in magnitude iuid importance. In introducing this subject, it is proper to state a single fact, and we believe that noconmient is required. The fact is this: that, while the most numerous portion of the present free- men are averse to any change in the judiciary, those who are now excluded from the polls are in favor of it. The improvement of our courts of law will be an essential provision in any constitution that may be hereafter planned for this State. Independ- ence in the judge, is essential both to the formation of the best judicial character, and to the best administration of justice. A judge should sit se- renely abore all the storms of political strife, that he may rightly divide the justice of tlie law between man and man ; he should have nothing to hope from party as^cendency, and nothing to fear from the fall of political friends. A judge, however honest he may be, is in great dansjer of having his- impar- tiality called in question in decidiiiir a case, or instructing a jury, when one of the litigants has been recently placed shoulder to shoulder with him in a warm contesi; for victory. The public good cannot be properly consulted wheuever b'ss attention is pjiid to the qualifications of men to sit and de- cide as judges, than to services rendered to the appointing power. The necissiiy of a welldffined and independent judiciary is more fully appreciated when we remembpr th;it the Legislature of this State in many instances act as a court of jiistice. Under their oath of otRce as legislators, they assume the responsibility of judires. They, in fict, legislate concern- ing particular facts, upon rules and principles unknown to the common law. If they can do so in one instance, they may do so in others.* They may * The practice of appointins: special judges foi- particular cases, which has existed in this State, is highly inproper and dangerous. 184 Rep. No. 546. dispense with that palladium of liberty — the trial by jury — and erect them- selves into a tribunal to decide both upon the law and the facts. If there be any one sig-ht more unpleasant #ian another, it is that of a political judge acting alternately as an adminislrator of the laws and the manager of a party; and yet the fault is all your own. You drive hmi to the necessity of management, in order to retain a place which is opened once a year to new competitors. A court appointed during good behavior, and receiving a fixed and com- petent support, is indispensably necessary as the. sheet-anchor of a consiitu- tion. It affords a constant barrier against encroachments of the legislative and executive powers, either upon the boundaries of each other, or u[)on the rights of the citizen. So far from admitting that the acts of the l^egis- lature could not be called in question, it would be the arbitrator between the people and their representatives ; between those who make laws, and those who are called on to submit to them. The poorest possible of all economy is that which places the salaries of judijes, and law officers gene- rally, so low, that (ew men of the first rate qualifications can be induced to abandon the superior emoluments of private practice. The money wliich is annually expended upon protracted litigation in this State, greatly ex- ceeds the amount of the most liberal salaries that could ever be desired for our courts. This loss to the people is never taken into the account in esti- mating the cost of cheap justice. In 1729, the judges of the court of com- mon pleas in this State were appointed during good behavior. The act regnl.ting their term of appointment was repealed four years after, in 1733;* and they were afierwards chosen annually. We want a fundamental law, which sfiall place their tern) of oflice out of the reiich of everybody hut the power that makes and unmakes constitutions. If you object to inde- pendent courts on account of tlie cost, the non freeholders would he glad to pay their part of a poll, or other tax, large enough to support both the courts and the schools. We have -poken to you, fellow citizens, of the nature of fundamental laws, or constitutions, and of the source whence they are properly derived ; of the history, operation, and defects of the present charter ; of the great inequality and injustice in the apportionment of our representation ; of the duty of extending the privilege of voters to all our fellow-citizens who are qualified to partake in it, consistently with the general good ; of the vital necessity of ;in independent and permanent judiciary. Have we, or have we not, shown you that there is something radically wrong in the political institutions of Rhode Island? and if so, does it not follow, as an irresistible conclusion, that all political measures, designed and properly tending to produce a complete and effectual change, without any further delay, are right, expedient, and entitled to your strong and cordial support? A con- stitutional party in this State, if it proceed upon open and fair grounds, di- rectly and resolutely to its end, is most emphatically the Coinmotiwealth^s farty. It has a right to expect the adherence of the older portion of our citizens, whose duly it is to transmit to their successors not merely what they have received, but all those additional improvements which the wis- dom of age and of political experience has been able to suggest; it chal- • The reason given in the preamble of the act of repeal is, that the law of 1729 is " found very inconsi.>-ienl with the consiituiion ol this government, and contrary to the same.'' An in- dependent judicitiry is truly inconsistent with an arbitrary lesislaiure. But any incongiuiiy of this .'•ort may be easily coriected, by fixing a proper limitation of legislative poweis. Rep. No. 546. , 185 lenires the bestenerjiies and the most active oo operation of the younger men. Every motive of duty and of patriotism calls uponj^liem to range them- selves on the cotistitntional side, and to aid us in making our government more suitable fo the condition, and more " meet for the service of the body" politic. As they successively come forth to refresh the life blood of ihe political system, let them be found among tlie friends of justice and refor- mation. We shall make the best return of gratitude to the memory of our venerated ancestors, not by forever retaining the long established and pres- ent condition of our inheritance, but by proceeding, with some portion of their spirit, to do what they would do, if now within the range of human affairs and interests, to make it more worthy of tlie citizens of a free coun- try. Ill the language of the illustrious author of the declaration of inde- pendence, " It is not only the right, but the duty, of those now on the stage of action, to cliange the laws and institutions of government, to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, the light of science, and the amelioration of the condition of society. Notliing is to be considered unchangeable, but the inhtrent and inuilieiiable rights of man." Without stopping to recapitulate more minutely the different topics and arguments of this address, we now commend them to your earnest attention and deliberate judgment, with confidence as to the result. Wo have endeav- ored to speak plainly and distinctly. But, if there should remain any doubt in your minds respecting any subject, or part of a subject, which has been considered, we shall be ready to make any explanations that may be de- sired. We ask you to call together, by your representatives, a convention which shall represent the people at large, and prepare for us a liberal and permanent constitution. We wish to proceed in the usual course of our brethren in other States ; and that the same Legislature which has imposed on tlie citizens of Rhode Island a landed qualification not spoken of in the charter, has at least as much right to suspend it, for the single purpose of facilitating the exercise by the people of the great, original right of sove- reignty in the f irmation of a constitution, we cannot for a moment doubt. We wait your decision. Let it be worthy of republican freemen. ^o. 5.- (A.) Proposed roristifuflon of the Siaic of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- tations, as fjially adopted by the peoplel^- convention, assembled at Prov- idence on the \bth daij of November, 184L We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, irrateful to Almighty God for bis blessing vouchsafed to the '' lively experiment" of religious and political freedom here "held forth" by our ven- erated ancestors, and earnestly imploring the favor of his gracious provi- dence towards this our attempt to secure upon a permanent foundation the advantages of well ordered and rational liberty, and to enlarge and trans- mit to our successors the inheritance that we have received, do ordain and establish the following constitution of government for this Slate. 186 Rep. ^0. 546. mc ARTICLE I. claratlou of principles and rights. 1. In the spirit and in the words of Ro^er Williams, the illustrions foun- der of ttiis State, and of his venerated associates, we declare "that this gov- ernment shall be a democracy," or government of the people, " hy the ma- jor consent" of the same "only in civil things." The will of the people shall be expressed by representatives freely chosen, and returning at fixed periods to their consiituenls. This State shall be, and forever remain, as in the design of its f)nnder, sacred to '-soul liberty," to the rights of con- science, to freedom of thought, of expression, and of action, as hereinafter set f<)rth and secured. 2. All men are created free and equal, and are endowed Iiy their (^reator with certain natural, inherent, and inalienable rights; amonu- which are life, liberty, the acquisition of property, and the pursuit of ha|)p'iness. Govern- ment cannot create or bestow these rights, which are the gift of God ; but it is instituted for tiie stronger and surer defence of tiie same, that men may safely enjoy the rigfits of life and liberty, securely possess and transmit prop- erty, and, so far as laws avail, may be successful in the pursuit of happiness. 3. All political power and sovereignty are originally vested in. and of right belong to, the people. All free governmi nts are founded in their authority, and are estal)lished for the greatest good of the whole numlter. The peo- ple have therefore an unalienable and indefeasible right, in their original, sovereign, and unlimited capacity, to ordain and institute government, and in the same caj acity to alter, reform, or totally change the same, when- ever their safety or happiness requires. 4. No favur or disfavor ougiit to be shown in legislation toward any man, or party, or society or religious denomination. The laws should be made not for the good of the few, but of the many ; and the burdens of the State ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens. 5. The diffusion of useful knowleJge, and the cultivation of a sound mo- rality in the fear of God, being of the first importance in a republican State, and indispensable to the maintenance of its liberty, it shall be an impera- tive duty of the iiCgislature to promote the establishment of free schools, and to assist in the support of public educaiion. 6. Every person in this State ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be done to his rights of person, property, or character. He ought to obtain right and jus- tice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial, promj-tly and without delay, conformably to tlie laws. 7. The right of the people to he secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searclies and S( izures, shall not be vio- lated ; and no warrant shall issue but on complaint in writing upon prob- able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as neatly as may be the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized. 8. No person shall be held to answer to a capital or other infamous charge, unless on indictment by a grand jury, except in cases ari^^^ing in tlie land or naval forces^ or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person shall be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offence. 9. Every man being presumed to be innocent until pronounced guilty Rep. No. 546. 187 by the law, all acts of severity, that are not necessary to secure an accused person. oui[ht to be repressed. ^ 10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor en, el or nnnsual punishments inflicted ; and all punislnnents ought to be proportioned to the offtiice. 11. All prisoners shall be bailable upon sufficient surety, unless for cap- ital offetices, when the proof is evident or the presumption great, "^rhe priv- ilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rehtdlicni or invasion, the public safety shall require it. 12 in all criiuinal prosecutions, the accused shall have tlie privilege of a speedy and pulilic trial, by an impaitial jury; be informed of the nature and cau.<^e of the acusation ; be confronted with tlie witnesses agairst him; have compulsory process to oblain them in his favor, aod at the public ex- pense, when necessary; have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and be at liberty to speak for himself. Nor shall he be deprived of his life, lib- erty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 13. The right of trial by jury sliall remaiu inviolate, and in all criminal cases the jury sliall jnd^e both of the law and of the facts. 14. Any person in this State, who may be claimed to be held to labor or service, under the laws of any otiier State. Territory, or District, sliall be en- titled to a jury trial, to ascertain the validity of such claim. 15. No man in a court of common law shall be required to criminate himself lo. Retrospective lav/s, civil and criminal, are unjust and oppressive, and shall not be made. 17. The people have a right to assemble in a peacea1)le manner, without molestation or restraint, to consult u[)on the public welfare; a right to give instructions to their Senators and Representatives ; and a right to apply to tliose invested with tlie powers of e;overnment for redress of grievances, for tile repeal of injurious laws, for the correction of fai\Its of administration, and for all other purposes. 18. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of freedom in a State, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any sutject, being re- sponsible for the abuse of that liberty ; and in all trials for libel both civil and criminal, the truth, spoken from good motives, and for justifiable ends, shall he a sufficient defence to the person charged. 19. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just com- pensaiion, nor unless the public good require it; nor under any circum- stances, until compensation shall have been made, if required. 20. The military shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil authority. 21. No ;;o!dier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in manner to be pre- scribed by law. 22. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to iiifl lence it by temporal jiunishments, or burdens, or by civil incapacita- tions, lend to beget habits of h\pocrisy and meanness: and whereas a prin- cipal object of our venerated ancestors in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, thit a flourishing civil State may stand, and be best rnaintiiined, with full liberty in religi' us concernments: Vie therefore de- CLAKK that no man shall be compelltd to frequent or support any religious 188 Rep. No. 546. worship, place, or ministry wliatsoever, nor be enforced, restrained, milest- ed, or burdened in His body or goods, nor disqualified from holding any office, nor otherwise suffer, on accoimt o( his religious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to aiaintain. their opinions in matters of religion; and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or afl?ect their civil capacities ; and that all other relit^ioiis rights and privi- leges of the people of this State, as now enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and inviolable. 23. No witness shall be called in question before the Legislature, nor in any court of this State, nor before any magistrate or other person author- ized to administer an, oath or affirmation, for his or her religious belief, or opmions, or any part thereof; and no objection to a witness, on the ground of his or her religious opinions, shall be entertained or received. 24. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery, and privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this Stale. 25. The etmmeration ofihe foregomg rights shall not be construed t3 impair nor deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. Of electors and the right of suffrage. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty- one years, who has resided in this State for one year, and in any town, city, or district of the same for six months, next preceding the election at which he offers to vote, shall be an elector of all officers who are elected, or may hereafter be made eligible by the people. Out persons in the military, naval, or marine service of the I'nited States, shall not be considered as having such established residence, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military place in any town or city in this State. 2. Paupers and persons under guardianship, insane, or lunatic, are exclu- ded from the electoral right; and the same shall be forfeited on conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime, and shall not be restored utdess by an act of the General Assembly. 3. No person who is excluded from voting, for want of the qualification first named in section first of this article, shall be taxed, or be liable to do military duty ; provided that nothmg in said first article shall be so con strued as to exempt from taxation any property or persons now liable to be taxed. 4. No elector who is not possessed of, and assessed for, ratable property in his own right, to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, or who shall have neglected or refused to pay any tax assessed upon him, in any town, city, or district, for one year pn ceding the town, city, ward, or district meeting at which he shall ofier to vote, sliall be entitled to vote on any question of taxation, or the expenditure of any public moneys in such town, city, or district, until the same be paid. 5. In the city of Providence, and other cities, no person shall be eliijible to the office of mayor, aldermivn, or common councilman, who is not ta.xed, or who shall have neglected or refused to jiay his tax, as provided in the preceding section. 6. The voting for all officers chosen by the people, except town or city Rep. No. 546. 189 officers, shall be by ballot ; that is to say, by depositing a written or printed ticket in the ballot-box, vviilioiit the name oC the voter written tliereon. Town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on the demand of any two persons entitled to vote for the same. 7. There shall be a strict registration of all qualified voters in the towns and cities of the State ; and no person shall be permitted to vote, wliose name has not been entered npon the list of voters before the polls are opened. 8. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for the prevention of fraudulent voting by persons not having an actual, permanent residence, or hor-ne, in the State, or otherwise disqualified according to this constitu- tion ; for the careful registration of all voters, previously to the time of vo- ting; for the prevention of frauds upon the ballot-box; for the preservation of the purity of elections ; and for the safekeeping and accurate couniing of the votes ; to the end that the will of the people may be freely and fully expressed, truly ascertained, and effectually exerted, without intimidation, suppression, or unnecessary delay. 9. The electors sliall be exempted from arrest on days of election, and one day before, and one day after the same, except in cases of treason, fel- ony, or breach of the peace. 10. No person shall be eligible (o any office by the votes of the people, who does not possess the qualifications of an elector. ARTICLE III. Of the distribution of powers. 1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into tliree depart ments — the legislative, tlie executive, and the judicial. 2. No person or persons connected with one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, except in cases licrein directed or permitted. ARTICLE IV. OJ the legislative department. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct Houses: the one to be called the House of Representatives, the other the Senate, and both together the General Assembly. The concurrent votes of the two Houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws; and the style of their laws shall be: Be it enacted by the General Assembly, as follows. 2. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any civil office under the authority of the State, during the term for which he shall have been elected. 3. If any Representative, or Senator, in the General Assembly of this State, shall be appointed to any office under the Government of the United States, and sfiall accept the same, after his election as such Senator or Rep- resentative, his seat shall thereby become vacant. 4. Any person who holds an office under the Government of the United States may be elected a member of the General Assembly, and may hold his seat therein, if, at the time of his taking his seat, he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same on oath, or affirmation, if required. 5. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of counsel 190 Rep. No. 546. or act as advocate in any case pending before either branch of the General Assembly, mider penalty of forleiting his seal, upon due proof thereof. 6. Each House sliali judge oftlie eleclioti and quahfications of its mem- bers ; and a majority of ah the members of each House, whom the towns and senatorial districts are entitled to elect, shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjouru from day to day, and may comp ./• p / / SAMUEL H. WALES, \ ^^^^ ^residents. No. 6.— (B.) PEOPLE'S CONVENTION. The people's constitution was declared adopted by the convention on Thursdiiy, January 13, as follows: Whereas, by the return of the votes upon the constitution, proposed to the citizens of this State by this convention on the 18th day of November last, it StUisfactorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original and sovereign capacity, have ratified and adopted said cotistitution by a large majority ; and the will of the people, thus decisively made known, ought to be implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed : V\ e do, therefore, resolve and declare thnt said constitution rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the Slate of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. And we do further resolve and declare, for ourselves, and in behalf of the peo[)le whom we represent, that we will establish said constitution, and sustain and defend the same by all necessary means. Resolved, That the officers of this convention make proclamation of the return of the votes upon the constitution; aud th.at the same has been adopted, and has become the constitution of this State ; and that they cause said proclamation to be published in the newspapers of the same. Resolved, That a certified copy of the report of the committee appointed to count the votes upon the constitution, and of these resolutions, and of the constitution, be sent to his excellency the Governor, with a request that he communicate the same to the two Houses of the General Assembly. A resolution was offered relating to the safekeeping of the votes, which was passed, as follows : Resolved, That the secretaries cause all the votes given in upon the constitution in their separate envelopes to be enclosed in a general enve- lope, sealed up, and safely deposited; and that ihey be authorized to copy any part of the registry of said votes, or of the votes ihemsi Ives, upon the ap- plication of any person. Resolved, That it be recommended to the electors of the several towns ' Kep No. 546. 203 and representative districts in this State, who are friendly to the constitu- tion, to choose as n)ai)y delegates as they are entitled to el'^ct Representa- tives to the General Assembly, to assemble in convention at Providence on the 16th day of Fehrnary next, at 2 o'clock, p. m., for the purpose of nom- inatincr a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other State officers, to be supported upon a constitv.tional and ISiate ris'/ils ticket, at the first general election, on Monday the 18th day of April next. Resolved, That the friends of the constitution in the several senatorial districts, counties, towns, and representati'/e districts, be also requested to hold meetings at an early day for the nomination of senators, sheriffs, rep- resentatives, and justices of the peace, to be voted for at the general election on the 18th day of April next. On motion, the convention then dissolved. The undersigned, who were appointed on the 12tli day of January, 1842, a committee of the people's convention, to examine and count the votes upon the constitution propos'-d to the people by said convention, on the 18ih day of November last, which said votes were given in on the 27th day of December last, and on the five subsequent days, report that they have attended to the duty of their appointment, and they present to the conven- tion the following statement of the result: County of Providence. Providence — Fieemen. Non-freemen. Total. Fir.st ward - 162 362 524 . Second ward 90 281 371 Third ward 165 472 637 Fourth ward 142 357 499 Fifth ward 245 519 764 Sixth ward 255 506 761 l,n.59 2,497 3,556 Smithfield 3S2 956 1,338 Scituate 2t)8 316 524 Glocester 195 207 402 Cumberland 294 598 892 Cranston 167 237 404 Johnston 141 206 347 North Providence* 214 469 6b3 Foster 124 114 238 Burrillville 149 2,933 134 283 5,734 8,667 *The votes of five freemen and of iliree non-freemen given in favor of the cousiitutioD, were rejected for informality of tlie return. 204 Rep. No 546. County of Newport. Freemen. Non-freemen. Total. Newport 319 883 1,202 Portsmouth 71 55 l26 New Shore ham* 102 30 132 Jatuestown 18 13 31 Middletown 8 22 30 Tiverton 102 172 274 Little Compton - 19 Ke?it. 25 44 039 1,200 L839 County of Warwick 309 591 900 East Greenwich 50 85 135 West Green wicli 17 45 62 Coventry 157 533 249 970 406 1,503 County of Bristol. Bristol . 152 214 366 Warren - 103 107 210 Barrington 28 24 52 283 345 628 County of Washington. Westerly- 107 144 251 North Kingstown 84 169 253 South Kingstown 138 137 275 Charlestown 64 36 100 Exeter - 52 82 134 Richmond 44 88 132 Hopkinlon 83 79 572 735 ECAPITULATION OF THE COUNTIES. 162 1,307 R Providence - 2,933 5,734 8,667 Newport 639 1,200 1.839 Washit)gron 572 735 1,307 Kent 533 970 1.503 Bristol - 283 345 628 4,9eo 8,984 13,944 * Twenty six additional voles for the constiiution were given by twenty-two freemen and four non-freemen, of wiiich no regular return was received. Rep. No. 546, 205 The whole number of males in the State, over the age of 21 years, as nearly as can be ascertained by the census of the United States for the year 1841), is 26,142. Deducting at a moderate computation 3,U0U persons who are not citizens of the United States over the age of 21 years and per- manent residents, or who are excluded by being under guardianship, in- sane, or convict, and the remainder is 23,142, of wliom a majority is 11,572, The constitution has received 873 votes more than one half of all the adult males in the State, and 2.372 more than half all tliose qualified to vote for said constitution by citizenship, age, and residence, as afore- said, and an actual majority of 4,744. Deduct from 23,142, the whole number who voted for the constitution, (viz: 13,944.) and the remainder is 9,198; of whom 9,146 did not vote, and 52 voted against the constitution, viz: In Smiihfield 2; North Providence 11; Tiverton 3; Little Compton 17; Westerly 1 ; South Kingstown lU; Warwick I ; East Greenwich 6; and Warren 1. Of the persons who voted. 4,960 are qualified voters under the existing laws of the State. The greatest number of votes ever polled by said voters was 8,622, at the presidential election in November, 1840 ; of this number, a majority of 1,298 have voted for the constitution — making, also, as your committee believe, a mnjority of all the freemen of the State. The committee have found all the returns of votes from the several towns and wards to have been regularly made, and accompanied with lists of all the persons voting, which enumerate the qualified voters, and those who are not. Every voter has signed his name upon his ticket; and the com- mittee believe that both the voting and the returns have been as regular and accurate as at any election ever held in the State. A considerable number of votes were returned as having been given by freeholders who had not yet been admitted freemen; but they were, of course, counted with those of the non freemen. The committee report to the convention, as the result of their exanrina- tion and count of tlie votes, that the constiiution proposed to the people by said convention on the 18th day of November last, has been adopted by a large majority of the citizens over the age of 21 years, having their perma- nent residence in the Stale. William James, Chairman. Welcome Ballou Sayles, John R. Waterman. Sylv. Himes, Dutee J. Pearce, Israel Wilson, David Daniels, Jonathan Remington, Oliver Chace, jr., Christ. Smith, Robert R. Carr, Elisha G. Smith, Ariel Uallou, Samuel Luther, Thomas W. Dorr, Erasmus D. Campbell, Samuel T. Hopkins, Nathan Bardin, Alfred Reed, Joshua B. Rathbun, Win. C. Barker, Nathan A. Brown. Abner Haskell, Alexander Allen, Wm. H. Smith, 1 ^ Willard Hazard, John S, Harris, \ ^^^^retancs. Providence, January 13, 1841. 206 Rep. No. 546. No. 7.— (BB.) STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS, A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the convention of the people of this State, at their last session, in the city of Providence, on the l3th day of January, A. D. 1842, passed the following resolutions, to wit : " Whereas, by the return of the votes upon the constitution, proposed to the citizens of this State by this convention, on the 18th day of November last, it satisfectorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original and sovereio^n capacity, have ratified and adopted said constitution by a .large majority; and tlie will of the people thus decisively made known, ought to be implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed: " We do. therefore, resolve and declare that said constitution rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. " And we do further resolve and declare, for ourselves, and in behalf of the people whom we represent, that we will establish said constitution, and sus- tain and defend the same by all necessary means. " Resolved^ That the officers of this convention make proclamation of the return of the votes upon the constitution, and that the same has been adopted and has become the constitution of this State, and that they cause said proclamation to be published in the newspapers of the same." Now, therefore, in obedience to the above vote of said convention, we, the undersigned, officers of the same, do hereby proclaim and make known to all the people of this Stale, that said constitution has been adopted by a large majority of the votes of the citizens of this State ; and that said con- stitution of right ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations. And we hereby call upon the citizens of the State to give their aid and support in carrying said constitution into full operation and effect, accord- ing to the terms and provisions thereof. Witness our hands, at Providence, in said State, this 13th day of Janua- ry, A. D. 1842. JOSEPH JOSLIN, President of the Convention. WAGER WEEDEN, ; .- d -^ , SAMUEL H. WALES, \ ^^^^ Presidents. jIhn \ hTrr'Is, ( ^^^retaries. No. a— (c.) Opinion of John Pitman^ now United States judge for the Rhode Island district. In addition to the testimony of William E. Richmond, esq., which was recently laid before the General Assembly, that of Judge Pitman is now of- fered. Mr. Pitman is, with the rhetorical aid of Professor Goddarei, the Rep. No. 546. 207 author of the address to the members, which has been circulated amonof itiem, 10 prove tiiat all political rights originate with the government, to which the people are indebted for all grants of privilege, instead of being themselves the sovereign power, as has been generally supposed. Subjoined is the first section of the "bill to extend suffrage," which was passed in the Senate of this State, in February, 1811, and was laid on the table in the House of Representatives ; and also a petition to the Assembly in favor of said bill, with a subsequent argument in support of the same, based on the doctrines. of the declaration of independence. Mr. Pitman was the author of the bill, petition, and argument ; and they are presented as affording an interesting contrast with his present views, as contained in his aforesaid "address." The public will decide which side of the case Judge Pitman has maintained with the greatest ability and success. He is now a rancorous opponent of the rights of the people. It is hoped that a similar act of justice to that now rendered to the politi- cal judge, may be shortly rendered to the nominal professor, " who pays no taxes." At the time when said bill was passed, (February 11,) the following per- sons were State officers: James Feniier, Governor; Isaac VVilbor, Lieuten- ant Governor; Jeremiah B. Howell, John Remington, Daniel Babcock, Benjamin Howland, Daniel Mowry, William Waterman, Oliver Gardner, Isaac Barker, William Peckham, Senators, (John D'Wolf, absent.) The remaining sections of the bill, which are omitted, were intended to guard the general provisions of the first section. P. S. — A great number of the above addresses have been sent to different parts of the State, done up with United States Government paper and tape. RIGH r OF SUFFRAGE. The following is the suffrage bill originated in and passed the Senate of the State, at the last session of the General Assembly, and was met in the House by a postponement : AN ACT in addiiidti lo an act entitled " An act regulating the manner of admitting freemen, and directing the method oJ electing officers in this State." Be it enacted by the General Assembly^ and by the authority thereof it is enacted. That every white male citizen of this State, who has attained to the age of twenty one years, and who is rated lor a poll or property tax, or who is or has been enrolled in the militia of this State, shall be hereafter entitled to vote for general officers of this State, and for persons to represent the respective towns in General Assembly : Provided., That no citizen shall be entitled to vote by virtue of his being, or having been, enrolled in the militia, who is exempted from military duty in consequence of any bodily defect or infirmity : Provided, also, That no citizen shall be admit- ted to vote in any town for the officers or persons aforesaid, except the one wherein such citizen shall have been a resident for the space of one year next preceding the time of such voting : And provided, always., That every citizen qualified as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote as aforesaid, not- withstanding he may not have been admitted a freeman in any town in this State. 208 Rep. No. 546. After the above bill was read in the House, Mr. D'WoIf, of Bristol, pre- sented the following: petition, vvhrch he requested might be then read, as it was connected with tlie subject-matter of the bill ; and it was read accord- ingly: To the hotiorable General Assembly of the State of Rhode Idand and Providence Plantations, to be holdtn at East Greenwich., on lite fourth Monday of February, A. D.V^W. The subscribers, citizens and freemen of said State, humbly represent unto your honors, that they have viewed, with much concern, a practice which has lately obtained in this State, and which tends to destroy, and render of no effect, the law which regulates the qualification of freemen, and to evade some of the provisions of the act entitled "An act regulating the manner of admitting freemen, and directing the method of electing offi- cers in this State." We consider a blow aimed at our elective franchise as aimed at the root of our liberties. The people of this State have no other way of exer- cising their controlling power, but in the choice of those to whom their original power is delegated; and if they are deprived of this, in whole or in part, they are, in whole or in part, subjected to usurped and illegi- timate authority. The people of this State, acting by their representatives in General Assembly, have heretofore willed tliai no person should have a right to vote in the choice of general officers, or town representatives, but such as were admitted freemen, and who possessed a certain property qualification. The lowest property qualification of a voter, is a real estate in this State, for the life of the voter, of the fall value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, or which will rent for seven dollars a year ; and the law says that no estate of a less quality shall entitle a person to the freedom of this State. The ingenuity of man has, however, devised a way completely to evade this provision, to bring a man within the letter of this law, and to enable him to vote without a real interest in a shilling's worth of freehold. F^or example; A is possessed of a freehold estate of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, and gives a life lease of it to B, upon the consideration that B shall pay him a yearly rent for the same of twenty or fifty dollars, and also upon the condition, in case the said rent should remain unpaid at the expiration of twelve months, that the lease should be void, and that A should have a right to re enter upon the premises. B goes forward with this lease, and claims a right to vote as being a freeholder, (having heretofore been admitted a freeman.) There is no question but that the freehold of A is of a sufficient value ; and the only question is respecting the fraud of the conveyance, which, although appa- rent to every one, still B can go forward and swear that he is possessed of the estate according to the tenor of the said conveyance, and that he has given no assurance to reconvey it. His vote is received, and goes to bal- ance the vote of some substantial freeholder. But it is plain B has no estate in effect, whatever he may have in law. He enters into no covenant to pay the rent, and only forfeits the lease if he does not do it. It is perfectly un- derstood between the parties, that the rent is never to be paid ; which is pur- posely placed much higher than the premises are yearly worth, in order that the lessor may run no risk of being deprived of the control of his prop- erty, and that the lease may stand or not, at his pleasure, at the end of tlie year. To make this contrivance as productive as possible, care has been Rep. No. 546. 209 taken to give sucli leases to those who have a son of sufficient age to vote, who is then propounded, admitted a freeman, and suffered to vote as being the eldest son of a freeholder. If such proceedings are tolerated, then in- deed is our election law of no other utility than to sliarpen the wit and in- genuity of those who find no conscientious restraint in the spirit of a law which they are willing to destroy, if they can do it with inipunuy, by bring- iiig themselves within its letter. We would also respectfully submit unto your honors, whether some fur- ther provisions might not be made to prevent more effectually the making of voters, by other ways than is above stated, as we are convinced that either property qualifications should be abolished entirely, or some v\?ay found out to prevent the alarming increase of illegal voters. In the town of Providence alone, we are informed, that at the late town meeting iii that town, upwards of one hundred and twenty persons were propounded to be admitted free, preparatory to tiie election in April next; and we leave it to your honors to decide whether or not this increase is the natural result of increasing wealth and population. That this town should, according to the common course of things, increase its number of freemen one seventh it] one year, is to us astonisliing, when we consider that its number of in- habitants, according to the census of 1800 and 1810, has not increased in anything like the same proportion. We think your honors must be sensible of the importance of the elective franchise to the people of this State. Without a free and fair enjoyment of this, we cannot possess the substance of republicanism. We therefore pray that your honors would take this subject into consideration, and either ex- tend the right of voting to all the citizens of this State who pay a poll tax, and have been enrolled in the militia, or make such a law as shall prevent tfiose who have now the will and the means from qualifying for voters those who in fact thereby obtain no property, no independence, and who are made instruments in the hands of tiie rich to render nugatory tlie votes of such of the yeomanry, and of the middling cla.^s of citizens, as are not willing to submit to be led, and who have spirit and independence enoui^h to think and act for themselves. And we, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. [Signed by a number of freemen.] I certify the foregoing to be a true copy. TH. BURGESS, Clerk, No. 9.— (D.) Proposed constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- tationSf as adopted by the convention assembled at Newport, dime 21 y 1824. We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,, do ordain and establish this constitution for the government thereof : 14 210 Rep. No. 546. ARTICLE I. Of the dislribution of powers. 1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into three distinct departments — the legislative, executive, and judicial. 2. No person, or persons, belongmg to one of these departments, shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, ex- cept ill cases herein expressly directed or permitted, ARTICLE II. Section 1. Of the legislative department. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct houses or branches : the one to be styled the Senate, the other the House of Repre- sentatives; and both together, the General Assembly, The style of their laws shall be. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and. Providence Plantations. 2. If any senator or representative in the General Assembly of this State shall be appointed to any oflice under the Government of the United States, and shall accept of the same after his election as such senator or representative, his seat shall thereby become vacated ; and any person who holds an office under the Government of the United States may be elected a member of the General Assembly, and may hold liis seat therein, if, at the lime of his taking his seat, he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same on oath, if required. No member of the General Assembly shall, during the time for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this State, which shall have been cre- ated, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during the time for which he was elected. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of counsel, or act as advocate before either branch of the legislature, under penalty of forfeiting his seat upon due proof thereof. 3. There shall be one session of the General Assembly holden annually at Newport on the first Tuesday of May; and one other session, holden al- ternately at Providence and South Kingstown, on the second Monday of January in each year ; and the adjournments from said sessions, respectively, shall be holden at East Greenwich and Bristol alternately. 4. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and for two days before the commencement, and two days after the termination, of any session thereof ; and for any speech in debate, in either house, they shall not be questioned in any oiher place. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections and qtialifications of its own members, and the majority shall constitute a quorum to do busi- ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may com- pel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such pen- alties as each house may prescribe. 6. Each house may determine the rules of proceedings, punish its mem- bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds o( the members elected, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause. Rep. No. 546. 211 7. P2ach house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the r^ame wh for which he shall be elected, and possessed of a freehold in the same, sufficient to qualify him to be an elector according to this constitution. 3. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect their own speaker, clerk, and other officers. 4. Whenever the seat of a member of the House of Representatives shall be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election. Section 4. Of impeachments^ 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeach- ment. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and, when sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be con- victed, except on concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected. When the governor is impeached, the chief justice of the supreme judicial court shall preside. 3. The governor and all other executive and judicial officers shall be liable to impeachment; but judgments in such cases shall not extend fur- ther than to removal from office. The party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. Rep. No. 546. 213 ARTICLE III. Of the executive department. L The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a gov- ernor, who shall be chosen by the electors properly qualified, and shall hold his office for the term of one year, from the first Tuesday in May next succeeding liis election, and until his successor be duly qualified. But if no person shall have a majority of votes, the Senate and House of Represen- tatives, in joint committee, shall choose a governor by ballot, from the two persons havitig the highest number of votes. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, who does not possess the qualifications of an elector, and who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and who is not a native born cit*izen of the United States, and who shall not have been, for the term of five years, resident within this State ; or who, at the time of his election, or during the term for which he was elected, shall not be a resi- dent therein. 2. Th.ere shall also be chosen, in the same manner as hereinbefore pro- vided for the election of governor, a lieutenant governor, who shall con- tinue in office for the same term of time, and possess the same qualifications, as are required in the case of the governor. 3. A secretary of state, general treasurer, and attorney goueral, shall also be chosen on the third Wednesday of April, annually, in the same manner, and for the same term of time, as hereinbefore provided as to the election of governor and lieutenant governor. And in case an election of the sec- retary of state^ attorney general, or general treasurer, should fail to be made by the electors at their annual election, or in case of a vacancy in either of said offices, from any other causes, tlie vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the legislature, in joint committee of both branches thereof. 4. 'IMie governor shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons after conviction, in all cases except those of impeachment. He shall preside in the joint committee of both houses, when assembled for the election of offi- cers, and shall have a casting vote therein, if the joint committee be equally divided. He shall from time to time give to the General Assembly informa- tion of the state of the governnjeot, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient. 5. In case of a disagreement between the two houses of the General Assembly respecting the time or place of adjonrnment, the person adminis- tering the office of governor m:iy adjourn them to such time and place as he shall think proper: provided that the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond the day of the next stated session. 6. The person administering the office of governor may, on special emer- gencies, convene the General Assembly at any town in this State, at any other time than hereinbefore provided. And in case of danger fro n the prevalence of contagious diseases in either of the places in which the Gene- ral Assembly may by law meet, or to which they may have been adjonrned, or from other circuoistances, he may, by proclamation, convene said As- sembly at any other place within this State. 7. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Rhode l>land and Providence Plantations ; shall be sealed with ihe State seal, signed by the governor, and attc^sted by the secretary. 8. The governor shall be commander in-chief of the militia of this State. 214 Rep. No. 546. 9. In case of the death, resio^nation, refusal, or inahility to serve, or re- moval from office, of the governor, or his impeachment, or absence from the State, the lieutenant governor shall exercise the powers and anlhority appertaining to the office of governor until another be chosen, at the next annual election for governor, and be duly qualified, or until the governor, impeached or absent, shall be acquitted or return, or his inability be re- jmoved. 10. If, during the vacancy of the office of governor, the lieutenant governor shall die, resign, refuse, or be unable to serve, or be removed from office, or if he shall be impeached, or absent from the State, the president of the Senate joro tempore shall in like manner administer the government until he be superseded by a governor or lieutenant governor, 11. The compensation of the governor and lieutenant governor shall be established by law, and shall not be varied so as to take effrct until after an election which shall next succeed the passage of the law establishing such com()ensation. 12. Tlie duties of the secretary, general treasurer, and attorney general, shall be the same under this constitution, as are now established by law, or as the'legislature may, from time to time, prescribe. Article IV. Of the judiciary department. 1. The judicial power of tliis State shall he vested in one supreme judi- cial court, a circuit court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, and in such other courts inferior to the supreme judicial court as the legis- lature may, from time to time, oidain and establish ; and the jurisdiction of the supreme judicial conrt, and all other courts, may, from time to time, be regulated by the legislature. 2. There shall be annually appointed, in each town, a sufficient number of justices of the peace, with such jurisdiction as the legislature may pre- scribe. 3. The justices of the supreme judicial court and circuit court of com- mon pleas and general sessions of the peace shall be appointed in the man- ner provided by this constitution. They shall be removable from office, by impeachment, or on the joint resolution of both branches of the legis- lature, two thirds of the number elected of each branch concurring therein. But no person who was a member of the legislature at the time of such re- moval, shall be appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned thereby : and in all cases of removiil by joint resolution of both briinches uf the legislature, the causes of remov;il, and the ayes and nays thereon, shall be stated and en- tered upon the journal of each house. 4. The supreme judi'i.d court shall consist of one chief justice and two associate justices, a mnj<:)rity of whom shall form a quorum. The chief jiistice sfiall be appointed for the term of six years ; the second justice for the term of four years ; and the third justice for the term of two years ; but all subsequent appointments at the end of either of these terms shall be for the term of six years. The justices of the su()rt;me judicial court shall receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their term of office, 5. 'The circuit court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace shall consist of five justices — one justice to be taken from each county ; and Rep. No. 546. 215 the jurisdiction of said court shall extend to every county in this State ; and the terms of said court shall be holden in each county, as shall be pre- scribed by law. The justices of the circuit court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace shall be appointed for the terra of one year. 6. No judge shall charo^e juries on matters of fact ; but may slate the tes- timony, and declare ihe law, 7. The courts of probate in this State shall remain as at present estab- lished by law, until the legislature shall otherwise prescribe. ARTICLE V. Of elections and the right of svffrage. 1. Every person who now is, or hereafter may be, admitted a free- man, previous to the adoption of this constitution, shall be an elector so lontj as he shall be possessed of the qualifications by which he was admit- ted to be a freeman ; and hereafter, every free white male citizen of the age of twenty one years, who is really and truly possessed, in his own prop- er right, of real estate, within this State, of the value of one hundred and thirty-four dollars, or which shall rent for seven dollars per annum, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, or an estate in reversion, which qualifies no other person, or, al least, an estate for the person's own life, shall be enti- tled to be admitted a freeman in the town in which his estate lies; and, being so admitted, shall be an elector, and no other persons: Provided^ however^ That the yearly value of such life estate shall exceed tlie amount of the rent reserved, if any, by the sum of seven dollars per annum : And provided^ Tliat no person whose estate is under morto-age, and the mort- gagee is in possession of sucli estate, either by suit at law or by consent of the mortgager, shall be admitted to vote in the election of any officer in this State, or be capable of acting as an elector therein ; but the mortgagee, having possession of the land as aforesaid, shall be admitted to vote in the election of officers, if he be in other respects qualified : Provided^ hoii'ever^ That no mortgager, while in possession of the mortgao-ed premises, shall be admitted to vote thereon, unless his interest therein shall exceed the sum of one hundred and thirty four dollars, over and above all sums secured by mortgage: And provided, also. That no person shall be admitted to vote in any town in this State for representatives to the General Assembly, or for any town officers, or in any town affairs, who has not a sufhcient freehold in such town. 2. Electors shall in all cases, except in those of treason, felony, and bread) of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returnino' from the same; said privilege not to extend further than on said day of election. 3. The privileges of an elector shall be forfeited by a conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime; but such elector, so for- feiting his privileges, may be restored to the same by the General Assembly. 4. No person shall be eligible to any office in this Slate, other than of- fices in the militia or town offices, unless he possess a freehold sufficient to qualify him to be an elector. 5. The town meetings in this State for choosing the governor, lieutenant governor, senators and representatives to the General Assembly, secretary of state, attorney general, and general treasurer, shall be holden on the diird Wednesday of April, annually. 216 Rep. No. 546. 6. Every person who shall vote for the officers mentioned in the prece'- dinfj^ paragraph, except! nor for representatives to the General Assembly, shall have his name written at length on the back of his vote at the time of de- livering in the same ; and the names of all the officers voted for shall be put upon one ticket ; and all the votes so taken shall be, in open town meet- ing, sealed up by the town clerk,, and shall, together with a hst of the per- sons voting for governor, be delivered by said town clerk to a senator or one of the representatives of such town, whose duty it shall be to deliver them to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after the said house shall be duly organized ; which voles shall be opened, counted, and de- clared as the House of Representatives shall direct. 7. The oath of office shall be admmistered to the persons who shall have been declared to be elected, in the manner in the preceding paragraph re- cited, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in presence of the house. ARTICLE VI. A declaration of certain constitutional rights and principles. 1. Every person within this State ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may re- ceive in his person, firoperty, or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial ; promptly, and without delay — conformably to the laws. 2. The riyht of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue, but on complaint in writing, upon probable cause, supported by oath or aflirmation, and describing, as nearly as may be, the place to be searched, atid the person or things to be seized. 3. No person shall be holden to answer a capital or other infamous crime, unless on presemment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person shall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offet.ce. 4. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishment inflicted ; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offence. 5. All prisoners ought to be bailed by sufiicient sureties, unless for capi- tal ofiences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion ilie public safety shall require it; nor ever, without the authority of the legislature, nor for u longer period than sixty days at any one time. 6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the privilege of a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process to obtam tliem in his favor ; and to have the assistance of counsel in iris defence. Nor shall he be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 7. The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of Rep. No. 546. 217 fraud, ought not to be confined in prisoji after he shall have delivered up his property lor the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be pre- scribed by law. 8. Retrospective laws, punishing offences committed before the existence of such laws, are oppressive and unjust, and ought not to be made. 9. No man, in a court of common law, shall be compelled to give evi- dence against himself. 10. Every man being presumed to be innocent until pronounced guilty by the law, all acts of severity, that are not necessary to secure an accused person, oujjht to be repressed. 11. 'I'he citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble for their common ijood, and to apply to those invested with the powers of govern- ment for redress of grievances, or other pro[)er purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance. 12. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of freedom in a State, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any subject, being re- sponsible for the abuse of that liberty. 13. The ri^lit of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, 14. Private i)roperty shall not be taken for jiublic uses without just com- pensation. 15. The military power shall always be held in strict subordination to the civil authority. 16. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in manner to be pre- scribed l>y law. 17. VViiereas Almighty God liath created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapaci- tations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness: and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment that a flourishino^ civil State may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in religious coticermnents : We therefore declare that no man shall be compelled to frequent, or support, any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever; nor enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from hold'wg any office, nor otherwise suflt'r, on account of his religious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in mat- ters of religion ; and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or afiect their civil capacities; and that all other religious rights and privileges oi the people of this State, as now enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and in- violable. 18. Tlie enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair nor deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE VII. Of education. 1. A fund shall be created from all moneys received for taxes on licenses granted uiid<^r the authority of this State for the support of free schools, which shall be called the school fund, and shall be invested and remain a perpetual fund, and shall continue to accumulate, until the interest arising 218 Rep. No. 546. therefrom, tooether with the taxes annually paid on licenses, sliall be suffi- cient to support free schools, at least tiiree months in each year, in every town in this State. 2. All charitable donations for the support of free schools shall be in- vested and applied agreeably to the will and pleasure of the donors. 3. The General Assembly shall mnke all the necessary provisions by law for carrying this article into effect; but no law shall ever be passed, author- izing said fund to be diverted to any other use than the support of free schools in tlie several towns in this State, as provided in the first paragraph of this article. ARTICLE VIII. Of amendments. The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution, by the vote of two-thirds of the members of each house. Such firopositions shall be [lublished in the newspapers, and printed copies thereof shall be sent by the secretary, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town clerks in the State; and said propositions shall be by said clerks inserted in the warrants or notices by them to be issued, for warning the next annual town meetings in April ; and the clerks shall read them to the electors, when assembled, with the names of all the senators and representatives wlio shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of senators and re[)resentatives shall be had. If two-thirds of the members chosen at said annual meeting present in each house shall approve any proposition tlius made, the same shall be published in the newspapers, and again sent to the electors, in the mode to be prescribed by the act of approval ; and, if then approved by two thirds of tlie electors of the Strtte present, and voting thereon, in town meeting, to be specially convened for that purpose, shall become a part of the constitution of this State. ARTICLE IX. General provismis. 1. This constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tues- day of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. The first election of governor, lieutenant governor, senators, and representatives, secretary, attorney general, and general treasurer, under said constitution, shall be had on the third Wednesday of April next preceding. All civil, judicial, and military officers now appointed, or who shall hereafter be ap- pointed by the General Assembly, or other competent authority, before the said first Tuesday of May, shall hold their offices and may exercise their powers until ten days thereafter. All laws now in force, and not repug- nant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or .are repealed by the General Assembly. All charters, contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as though this constitution had not been made. The present government shall exercise all the powers, not repugnant to tliis constitution, with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty five. Rep. No. 546. 219 2. Ail debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adop- tion of ihis constitiiiion, shall be as vahd against the State, as if t!iis con- stitntion had not been formed. 3. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the State ; and the judiies of all the conrls, and all other oflicers, whether civil or military, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to its due observance. 4. Ttie supreme judicial court, established by this constitution, shall have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present establishedj and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which may be appealed to or pend- ino^ in the same, and shall l)e holden at the same times and [ilaces, in each county, as the present supreme judicial court, until the legislature shaH otherwise prescribe. 5. The circuit court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace shall have the same jurisdiction as the present courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace in the several counties, and shall have juris- diction of all causes winch may be appealed to or pending in the said courts of common pleas and general sessions of tlie peace in tlie respective counties : and shall be holden at the same times and places in the respective counties, as the said courts of comnjon pleas, until the legislature shall otherwise prescribe ; and all writs and processes wfiich may be made returnable to the said courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, shall be re- turned to, and the same proceeding shall be had thereon in, the said circuit court of common pleas in each county, as might have been had thereon in the said courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace. Done in convention, at Newport, the third day of .Uily, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, and of American independence the forty eighth. ELISHA R. POTTER, President of the Convention. Attest: Christophfr Elf^kry RoBBiNs, > c. . • \x- . „ ' > ^secretaries. vvELcoME Arnold uukgeSj S No. 10.— (G.) The Constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, adopted November, 1842. We. the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, grateful to Almiijhty God for the civil and religious liberty which he hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this constitution of government. ARTICLE I. Declaration of certain constitutional rights and principles. In order effectually to secure the religious and political freedom estab- lished by our venerated ancestors, and to preserve the same for our posteri- ty, we do declare that the essential and unquestionable rights and princi- 220 Kep. No. 546. pies hereinafter mentioned shall be established, maintained, and preserved and sh.ill be of paramount obligation in all legislative, judicial, and execu- tive proceedings. Section 1. In tlie words of the Father of his country, we declare that "■ the basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter tbeir constitutions of government; but that the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory njion all." Sec. 2. All free governments are instituted for the protection, safety, and happmess of the people. All laws, therefore, should be made lor the good of the whole ; and the burdens of the State ought to be fairly distributed among; its citizens. Sec. 3. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness : and whereas a principal object of our venerable ancestors, in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment that a flourishing civil State may stand and be best maintained with full liberty in religious concernments : We therefore declare that no man shall be compelled to frequent or to support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatever, except in fulfilment of his own voluntary contract; nor enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor discpialified from holding any office, nor other- wise suffer, on account of his religious belief; and that every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and to profess, and by argument to maintain., his opinion in matters of religion ; and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect his civil ca- pacity. Sec. 4. Slavery shall not be permitted in this State. Sec. 5. Every person within this State ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or character. He ought to~obtain right and justice freely and without purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to the laws. Sec. 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on complaint in writing, upui probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as nearly as may be the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury except in cases of impeachment, or of such offences as are coanizable by a justice of the peace ; or in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger. No person shall, after an acquittal, be tried for the same offence. Sec. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel [)uni.shments inflicted ; and all punishments ought to be propor- tioned to the offence. Sec. 9. All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient surety, unless for offences punishable by death or by imprisonment for life, when the proof of guilt is evident or the presunijition great. The privilege of Jhe writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of Rep. No, 546. 221 rebellion or invasion the public safety sliall require it ; nor ever, without the authority of the (General Assembly. Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused sliall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an inripartial jury, to be inlbrii:ed of the nature and cause of ihe accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses ao-ainst him, to have compulsory process for obtainino; them in his favor, to have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and shall be at liberty to speak for himself; nor shall he be deprived of life, liberty, or properly, un- less by the judgment of his peers, or the laws of the land. Sec. 11. The person of a debtor, when there is not strong presumption of fraud, ought not to be continued in prison after he shall have delivered up his property for the benefit of his creditor, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 12. No ex post-flicto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- tracts, shall be passed. Sec. 13. INo man in a court of common law shall be compelled to give evidence criminating himself Sec. 14. Every man being presumed innocent until he is pronounced guilty by the law, no act of severity which is not neces' ary to secure an accused person shall be permitted. Sec. 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. Sec. 16. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just compensation. Sec. 17. The people shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery, and the privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of this State. But no new right is intended to be granted, nor any existing right imp.iired, by this dec- laration. Sec. 18. The military shall be held in strict subordination to the civil authority. And the law martial shall be used and exercised in such cases only as occasion sliall necessarily require. Sec. 19. No soldier shall be quartered in any house, in time of peace, without the consent of the Ovvner; nor in time of war, but in manner to be prescribed by law. Sec. 20. The liberty of the press being essential to the security of free- dom in a State, any person may publish his sentiments on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty ; and in all trials for libel, bojth civil and criminal, the truth, unless published from malicious motives, shall be sufficient defence to the person charged. Sec. 21. The citizens have a right in a peaceable manner to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or for other purposes, by petition address, or remonstrance. Sec. 22. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be in- fringed. Sec. 23. The enumeration of the foregoing rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. Of the qualification of ehclors. Section 1 . Every male citizen of the United Stales, of the age of twetity- 222 I?ep. No. 546. one years, who lias had his residence and home in this State for one year; and HI the town or city in which he may claim a right to vote six months next preceding the lime of voting, and who is really and truly possessed, in his own right, of real estate in such town or city, of the value of one hun- dred and thirty-four dollars over and above all incumbrances, or which shall rent for seven dollars per annum over and above any rent reserved, or the interest of any incumbrances thereon, being an estate in fee simple, fee tail, for tiie life of any person, or an estate in reversion or remainder, which qualifies no other person to vote, the conveyance of which estate, if by deed, shall have been recorded at least ninety days, shall thereafter have a right to vote m the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legal town or ward meetings, so long as he continues so qualified. And if any person hereinbefore described shall own any such estate within this State, out of the town or city m which he resides, he shall have a right to vote in the election of all general officers, and members of the General Assembly, in the town or city m which he shall have had his residence and home for the term of six months next preceding the election, upon producing a cer- tificate from the clerk of the town or city in which his estate lies, bearing date within ten days of the time of his voting, setting forth that such person has a sufficient estate therein to qualify him as a voter ; and that the deed, if any, has been recorded ninety days. Skc. 2. Every [ ] male native citizen of the United Stales, of the age of twenty-one ytars, who has had his residence and home in this State two years, and in the town or city in which he may offer to vote six months next preceding the time of voting, whose name is registered pursuant to the act calling tiie convention to frame tliis constitution, or shall be registered in the office of the clerk of such town or city at least seven days before the time he shall off<-r to vote, and before the last day of December in the pres- ent year, and who has paid or shall pay a tax or taxes assessed upon his es- tate within this State, and within a year of the time of voting, to the amount of one dollar, or who shall voluntarily pay at least seven days before the time lie shall offer to vote, and before said last day of December, to the clerk or treasurer of the town or city where he resides, the sum of one dol- lar, or such sum as, with his other taxes, shall amount to one dollar, for the support of public schools therein, and shall make proof of the same, by the certificate of the clerk, treasurer, or collector of any town or city where such payment is made ; or who, being so registered, has been enrolled in any mil- itary company in this btate, and done military service or duty therein, with- in the present year, pursuant to law, and shall (until other proof is required by law) prove by the certificate of the officer legally commanding the regi- ment, or chartered or legally authorized volunteer company, in which he may have served or done duty, that he has been equipped and done duty according to law, or, by the certificate of the commissioners upon military claims, that he has performed military service, shall have a right to vote in the election of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized town or ward meetings, until the end of the first year after the adoption of this constitution, or until the end of the year eighteen hundred and forty- three. From and after that time, every such citizen who has had the residence herein required, and vvhnse name shall be registered in the town where he resides, on or before the last day of December, in the year next preceding the time of his voting, and who shall show, by legal proof, that he has for Rep. No. 546. 223 r.nd within the year next preceding Ifie time lie shall offer to vote, paid a iiix or taxes assessed against him in any town or city ni this State, to the amount of one dollar, or that he has been enrolled in a mihtary company in this State, been equipped and done dnly therein according to law, and at least for one day during sncli year, shall have a right to vote in the elec- tion of all civil officers, and on all questions in all legally organized town or ward meetings: Provided^ That no person shall at any time be allowed to vote in the election of the city council of the ciiy of Providence, or upon any proposition to impose a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town or city, unless he shall, within the year next preceding, have paid a tax as- sessed upon his property therein, valued at least at one hundred and thirty- four dollars. Sec. 3. The assessors of each town or city shall annually assess upon every person whose name shall be rejjistered, a tax of one dollar, or such sum as with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar; which registry tax shall be paid into the treasury of such town or city, and be applied to the support of public schools therein. But no compulsory process sliall issue for the collection of any registry tax: Provided, That the registry tax of every person who has performed military duty according to the provisions of the preceding section, shall be remitted for the year he shall perform such duty; and the registry tax assessed upon any mariner, for any year wfiile he IS at sea, shall, upon his application, be remitted ; and no person shall be alK)wed to vote whose registry tax, for either of the two years next prece- diuif the time of voting, is not paid or remitted as herein provided. Si:c. 4. No person in the military, naval, marine, or any other service of the United States, shall be considered as having the required residence by reason of being employed in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval sta- tion in this State; and no pauper, lunatic, person noti coitipos mentis, per- son under guardianship, or member of the Narragansett tribe of Indians, shall be permitted to be registered or to vote. Nor shall any person con- victed of bribery, or of any crime deemed infamous at common law, be per- mitted to exercise that privilege, unless he be expressly restored thereto by act of the General Assembly. Skc. 5. Persons residing on lands ceded by this State to the United States shall not be entitled to exercise the privilege of electors. Sec. G. The General Assembly shall have full power to provide for a re- gistry of voters, to prescribe the manner of conducting the elections, the form of certificates, the nature of the evidence to be required in case of a dispute as to the ritjht of any person to vote, and generally to enact all laws necessary to carry this article into effect, atid to prevent abuse, corruption, and fraud in voting. ARTICLE Iir. Of the distribution of powers. The powers of government shall be distributed into three departments— the legislative, executive, and judicial. ARTICLE IV. Of the legislative power > Section I. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the State, and 224 Rep. No. 546. any law inconsistent therewith shall he void. The General Assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry this constitution into effect. Sec. 2. The legislative power under this constitution shall be vested in two houses — the one to be called the Senate, the other the Hou?e of Repre- sentatives ; and both together, the General Assen:ibly. The concurrence of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws. The style of their laws shall be. It is enacted by tlie General Assembly as follows. Sec. 3. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly holden annually — one at Newport, on the first Tuesday of May, for the purposes of election and other busmess ; the oiher on the last Monday of October, which last session shall be holden at South Kingstown once in two years, and the intermediate years alternately at Bristol and East Greenwich ; and an adjournment from the October session shall be holden annually at Prov- idence. Sec. 4. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fee, or be of counsel in any case pending before either house of the General Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seat, upon proof thereof to the satisfaction of the house of which he is a men^ber. Sec. 5. The person of every member of the General Assembly shall be exem|)t from arrest, and his estate from attachment in any civil action, durmg the session of the General Assembly, and two days before the com- mencement, and two days after the termination thereof; and all process served contrary hereto shall be void. For any speech in debate, in either house, no member shall be questioned in any other place. Sec. 6. Each house shall be the judge of the elections and qualifications of its members, and a majority shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel tlie attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by such house, or by law. The organization of the two houses may be regulated by law, subject to the limitations contained in this constitution. Sec. 7. Each house may determine its rules of proceeding, punish con- tempts, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concur- rence of two-thirds, expel a member ; but not a second time for the same cause. Sec. 8. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings. The yeas and nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of one fifth of tliose present, be entered on the journal. Sec. 9. Neither house shall, during a session, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting. Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall continue to exercise the powers they have heretofore exercised, unless prohibited in this constitution. Sec. 11. The senators and representatives shall receive the sum of one dollar for every day of attendance, and eight cents per mile for travelling expenses in going to and returning from the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall regulate the compensation of the governor and all other officers, subject to the limitations contained in this constitution. Sec. 12. All lotteries shall hereafter be prohibited in thij State, except those already authorized by the General Assembly. Sec. 13. The General Assembly shall have no power hereafter, without the express consent of the people, to incur State debts to an amount exceed- Rep. No. 546. 225 ing fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of insurrection or invasion ; nor shall they in any case, without such consent, pledge the faith of the State for the payment of the obligations of others. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that may be deposited with this State by the Government of the United States. Sec. 14, The assent of two thirds o( the members elected to each House of the General Assembly shall be required to every bill appropriating the public money or property for local or private purposes. Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall, from lime to time, provide for ma- king new valuations of property for the assessment of taxes, in such manner as they may deem best. A new estimate of such property shall be taken before the first direct State tax afier the adoption of this constitution shall be assessed. Sec. 10. The General Assembly may provide by law for the continuance in office of any officers of annual election or appointment, until other per- sons are qualified to take their places. Sec. 17. Hereafter, when any bill shall be presented to either House 'of the General Assembly, to create a corporation for any other than for reli- gious, literary, or charitable purposes, or for a military or fire company, it shall be continued until another election of members of the General Assem- bly shall have taken place- and such public notice of the pendency thereof shall be given as may be required by law. Sec. 18. It shall be the duty of the two Houses, upon the request of either, to join in grand committee for the purpose of electing Senators in Congress, at such times, and m such manner, as may be prescribed by law for said elections. ARTICLE V. Of the House of Representatives. Section 1. The House of Representatives shall never exceed seventy- two members, and shall be constituted on the basis of population, always allowing one representative for a fraction exceeding half the ratio; but each town or city shall always be entitled to at least one member; and no town or city shall have more than one-sixth of the whole number of mem- bers to which the House is hereby limited. The present ratio shall be one representative to every fifteen hundred and thirty inhabitants; and the General Assembly may, after any new census taken by the authority of the United States or of this State, re apportion the representation by altering the ratio; but no town or city shall be divided into districts for the choice of representatives. Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect its speaker, clerks, and other officers. The senior member from the town of Newport, if any be present, shall preside in the organization of the House. ARTICLE VI. Of the Senate. Section I. The Senate shall consist of the lieutenant governor, and of one senator from each town or city in the State, 15 226 Rep. No. 546. Sec. 2. The governor, and, in his absence, the lientenatit governofj. shall preside in the Senate and in grand committee. The presiding officer of the Senate and grand committee shall have a right to vote in case of ecjiial division, but not otherwise. Sec. 3. If, by reason of death, resignation, absence, or other cause, there be no governor or lieutenant governor present, to preside in the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their own members to preside during such ab- sence or vacancy ; and until such election is made by the Senate, the sec- retary of state shall preside. Sec. 4. The secretary of state shall, by virtue of his office, be secretary of the Senate, unless otherwise provided by law ; and the Senate may elect such other officers as they may deem necessary. ARTICLE VIL • Of the executive power. Section 1. The chief executive power of this State shall be vested in a governor, who, together with a lieutenant governor, shall be annually elected by the people. Sec. 2. The governor shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe' cuted. Sec. 3. He shall be captain general and commander-in-chief of the mil- itary and naval forces of this State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States. Sec. 4. He shall have power to grant reprieves, after conviction, in all cases except those of impeachment, until the end of the next session of the General Assembly. Sec. 5. He may fill vacancies in office not otherwise provided for by this constitution or by law, until the same shall be filled by the General Assem- bly or by the people. Sec. 0. In case of disagreement between the two houses of the General Assembly, respecting the time or place of adjournment, certified to him by either, he may adjourn them to such time and place as he shall think prop- er: frovidedj That the time of adjournment shall not be extended beyond the day of the next stated session. Sec. 7. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General As- sembly at any town or city in this State, at any time not provided for by law; and in case of danger from the prevalence of epidemic or contagious- disease in the place in which the General Assembly are by law to meet, or to which they may have been adjourned, or for other urgent reasons, he may, by proclamation, convene said Assembly at any other place v/ithin this Stale. Sec. 8. All commissions shall be in the name and by authority of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ; shall be sealed with the State seal, signed by the governor, and attested by the secretary. •Sec. 9. In case of vacancy in the office of governor, or of his inability to serve, impeachment, or absence from the State, the lieutenant governor shall fill the office of governor, and exercise the powers and authority ap- pertaining thereto, until a governor is qualified to act, or until the office is filled at the next annual election. Sec. lU. If the offices of governor and lieutenant governor be both va- Rep. No. 546, ^27 cant, by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, absence, or otherwise, Uie person entitled to preside over the Senate for tlie time being, shall, in like manner, fill the office of governor during such absence or vacancy. Sec 11. The compensation of the governor and heutenant governor shall be established by law, and shall not be diminished during the term for which they are elected. Skc. 12. The duties and powers of the secretary, attorney general, and generni treasurer, shall be the same under this constitution as are now established, or as, from time to time, may be prescribed by law. ARTICLE VIII. Of elections. Section 1. The governor, lieutenant governor, senators, representa- tives, secretary of state, attorney general, and general treasurer, shall be elected at the town, city, or ward meetings, to be holden on the first Wed- nesday of April, annually ; and shall severally hold their offices for one year, from the first Tuesday of May next succeedmg, and until others are legally chosen and duly qualified to fill their places. If elected or quali- fied after the said first Tuesday of May, they shall hold their offices for the remainder of the political year, and until their successors are qualified to act. Sec. 2. The voting for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, general treasurer, and representatives to Con- gress, shall be by ballot; senators and representatives to the General As- sembly, and town or city officers, shall be choscfn by ballot, on demand ot any seven persons entitled to vote for the same ; and in all cases where an election is made by ballot, or paper vote, the manner of balloting shall be the same as is now required in voting for general officers, until otherwise prescribed by law. Sec. 3. The names of the persons voted for as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and general treasurer, shall be placed upon one ticket; and all votes for these officers shall, in open town or ward meetings, be sealed up by the moderators and town clerks, and by the wardens and ward clerks, who shall certify the same, and deliver or send them to the secretary of state, whose duty it shall be se- curely to keep and deliver the same to the grand committee after the or- ganization of the two houses at the annual May session ; and it shall be the duty of the two houses, at said session, after their organization, upon the request of either house, to join in grand committee, f )r the purpose of counting and declaring said votes, and of electing other officers. Sec. 4. The town and ward clerks shall also keep a correct list or regis- ter of all persons voting for general officers, and shall transmit a copy thereof to the General Assembly on or before the first day of said May session. Sec. 5. The ballots for senators and representatives in the several towns shall, in each case, after the polls are declared to be closed, be counted by the moderator, who shall announce the result, and the clerk shall give cer- tificates to the persons elected. If in any case there be no election, the polls may be re opened, and the like proceedings shall be had until an elec- tion shall take place; Provided, however, That an adjournment or adjourn- 228 Rep. No. 546. ments of the election may be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. Sec. 6. In the city of Providence, the polls for senator and representa- tives shall be kept open during tlie wiiole lime of voting for the day, and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up at the close of the meeting by the wardens and ward clerks in open ward meeting, and afterwards de- livered lo the city clerk. The mayor and aldermen shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election; and if no election of senator and representatives, or if an election of only a portion of the representatives shall have taken place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election, to be held not more than ten days from the day of the first election, and so on until the election shall be completed. Certificates of election shall be furnished by the city clerk to the persons chosen. Sec. 7. If no person shall have a majority of voles for governor, it shall be the duty of ihe grand committee to elect one by ballot from the two per- sons having the highest number of votes for the office, except when such a result is produced by rejecting the entire vote of any town, city, or ward, for mformality or illegality ; m which case, a new election by the electors throughout the State shall be ordered ; and in case no person shall have a majority of votes (or lieutenant governor, it shall be tlie duty of the grand committee to elect one by ballot from the two persons having the highesS number of votes for the office. Sec. 8. In case an election of the secretary of state, attorney general, or general treasurer should fail to be made by the electors at the annual election, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the General Assembly, in grand comuiittee, from the two candidates for such office having the greatest numler of the votes of the electors. Or in case of a vacancy in either of said offices from other causes, between the sessions of the General Assembly, the governor shall appoint some person to fill the same until a successor elected by the General Assembly is qualified to act; and in such cast- , and also in all other cases of vacancies not otherwise provided for, the General Assembly may fill the same in any manner they may deenj proper. Sec. 9. Vacancies from any cause in the Senate or House of Represent- atives may be filled by a new election. Sec. 10. In all elections held by the people under this constitution, a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the election of the persons voted for. ARTICLE IX. Of qualifications for offi.ce. Section 1. No person shall be eligible to any civil office, (except the office of school committee,) unless he be a qualified elector for such office. Sec. 2. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office to which he may have been elected, if he be convicted of having offered, or procured any other person to offer, any bribe to secure his election, or the election of any other person. Sec. 3. All general officers shall take the following engagement before they act in their respective offices, to wit: You being by the free vote of the electors of this State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- Rep. No. 546. 229 tions, elected nnfo the place of , do solemnly swear (or affirm) to be trne and faitlifnl unto this State, and to support the constitution of this State and of the United States; that you will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties of your aforesaid office to the best of your abilities, according to law : so help you God. Or, this affirmvition you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. Skc. 4. The members of the General Assembly, the judges of all the courts, and ail other officers, both civil and military, shall be bound by oath or atlirmation to support this constitution, and the constitution of the United States. Skc. 5. The oath, or affirmation, shall be administered to the governor, lieutenant governor, senators, and representatives, by the secretary of state, or, in his absence, by the attorney general. The secretary of slate, attorney general, and general treasurer, shall be engaged by the gover- nor, or by a justice of the supreme court. Sec. 6. No person holding any office under the government of the United States, or of any other State or country, shall act as a general officer, or as a member of the General Assembly, unless, at the time of taking his en- gagement, he shall have resigned his office under such government. And if any general officer, senator, representative, or jud^e, shall, after his election and engagement, accept any appointment under any other govern- ment, his office under this shall be immediately vacated ; but this restric- tion shall not apply to any person appointed to take depositions or acknowl- edgments of deeds, or other legal instruments, by the authority of any other State or country. ARTICLE X. Of the judicial fowtr. Section 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the General Assembly may, from time to time, ordain and establish. Skc. 2. The several courts shall have such jurisdiction as may, from time to time, be prescribed by law. Chancery powers may be conferred on Ihe supreme court, but on no other court, to any greater extent than is now provided by law. Sec. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall, in all trials, instruct the jury in the law. They shall also give their written opinion upon any question of law, whenever requested by the governor, or by either house of the General Assembly. Sec 4. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the two houses in grand committee. Each judge shall hold his office until his place be declared vacant by a resolution of the General Assembly to that effect; which resolution shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the house in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same majority of the other house. Such resolution shall not be entertained at any other than tHe annital session for the election of public officers ; and, in default of the passage thereof at said session, the judge shall hold his place as herein provided. But a judge of any court shall be removed from office, if, upon impeachment^ he shall be found guilty of any official misde- meanor. 230 Rep. No. 546. Sec. 5. In case of vacancy by death, resignation, removal from the State, or from office, refusal or inabihty to serve, of any judge o( the supreme court, the office may be filled by tbe grand committee, until the next an- nual election, and the judge then elected shall hold his office as before pro- vided. In cases of impeachment, or temporary absence or inability, the governor may appoint a person to discharge the duties of the office during the vacancy caused thereby. Si:r. 6. "^rhe judges of the supreme court shall receive a compensation for their services, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Skc. 7. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown may continue to^ elect their wardens as heretofore. The other towns, and the city of Provi- dence, may elect such number of justices ol the peace, resident therein, as they may deem proper. Tlie jnrisdicli n of said justices and wardens shall be regulated by law. The justices shall be commissioned by the governor, ARTICLE XI. Of impeachments. Section 1. The House of Representatives shall have tbe sole power of impeachment. A vote of two-thirds of all the members elected sliaU be re- quired for an impeachment of the governor. Any officer impeached shall thereby be suspended from office until judgment in the case shall have' been pronounced. Sec. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate ; and, when sitting for that purpose, they shall be under oath or affirmation. I\o person shall be convicted, except by vote of two thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is impeached, the chief or presiding justice of the supreme court, for the time being, shall preside, with a casting vole in all prelimi- nary questions. Sec. 3. The governor, and all other executive and judicial officers, shall be liable to imi)eachment ; but judgment in such cases shall not extend fur- ther than to removal from office. The person convicted shall, nevertheless^ be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. ARTICLE XII. Of tducalion. Section 1. The diffusion of knowledge, as welt as of virtue, among the people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and liberties, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to promote public schools, and to adopt all means which they may deem necessary and proper to secure to the peo|)le the advantages and op| oriunities of education. Sec. 2. The money which now is, or which may hereafter be, appro- priated by law for the establishment of a permanent fund for the support of public schools, shall be securely invested, and remain a perpetual fund for that purpose. Skc. 3. All donations for the support of public schools, or for other pur- poses of education, which may be received by the General Assembly, shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donors. Kep. No. 546. 231 Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall make all necessary provisions by law for carryiiis: this article into effect. They shall not divert said money, or fund, from the aforesaid uses; nor borrow, appropriate, or use the same, or any part thereof, for any other purpose, under any pretence whatsoever. ARTICLE XIII. Of amendments. The General Asseuibly may propose amendments to this constitution by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each house. Such propositions for amendment shall be published in the newspa[)ers, and print- ed copies of them shall be sent to the secretary of state, with the names of all the members who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and ciiy clerks in the State, The said propositions shall be, by said clerks, inserted in the warrants or notices by them issued, for warn- ing the next annual town and ward meetings in April ; and the clerks shall read said propositions to the electors when thus asseujbled, with the names of all the representatives and senators who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of senators and representatives shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected to each house, at said annual meeting, shall approve any proposition thus made, the .same shall be published a'.id submitted to the electors in the mode provided in the act of approval ; and if then approved by three fifths of the electors of the State present, and voting thereon in town and ward meetings, it shall become a part of the constitution of the State. ARTICLE XIV. Of the adoption of this constitution. Section 1. This constitution, if adopted, shall go into operation on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty- three, "^rhe first election of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and general treasurer, and of senators and rep- resentatives under said constitution, shall be had on the first Wednesday of April next preceding, by the electors qualified under said constitution ; and the town and ward meetings therefor shall be warned and conducted as is now provided by law. All civil and military officers now elected, or who shall be hereafter elected, by the General Assembly, or other competent au- thority, before the said first Wednesday of April, shall hold their offices, and may exercise their powers, until the said first Tuesday of May, or until their successors shall be qualified to act. Ail statutes, public and private, not repugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed b^ the General Assembly. All char- ters, contracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this constitution had not been made. The present government shall ex- ercise all the powers with which it is now clothed, until the said first Tues- day of May. one thousand eight hundred and forty three, and until the gov- ern m3nt under this constitution is duly organized. Sec. 2. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the State as if this constitution had not been adopted. 232 Rep. No. 546. Sec. 3. The supreme court, established by this constitution, shall have- the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present established ; and shall have jurisdiction of all causes which maybe appealed to, or pend- ing in the same; and shall be held at the same times and places, and in each county, as the present supreme judicial court, imtil otherwise pre- scribed by the General Assembly. Sec. 4. The towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown shall continue to enjoy the exemptions from military duty which they now enjoy, until other- wise prescribed by law. Done in convention at East Greenwich, this fifth day of November, 1842. JAMES FENNER, President. HENRY Y. CRANSTON, Vice President. Thomas A. Jenckeis, > ci j • ,,r \A7 TT i t^ecretaries. W ALTER VV. Updike, S State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, In Convention^ November 5, A. D. 1842. Resolved^ That the constitution framed by this convention be certified by the officers thereof, and, with the journal and papers of the convention, be deposited in the office of the secretary of state, who shall cause said constitution, together with this resolution, and all acts and resolutions of the General Assembly relating to this convention, to be printed and distributed according to law ; and that said constitution be submitted to all the people •who may be by law authorized to vote thereon, for their ratification or re- jection; at town or ward meetings to be holden in the several towns and in the city of Providence, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of November, A. D. 1842. The several town and city clerks shall issue the necessary warrants for said meetings. Said meetings shall be kept open for the reception of votes during the time herein speci- fied, and longer if necessary, viz : from the hour of 9 o'clock in the forenoon until 4 o'clock in the afternoon ; and in the town of Newport and city of Providence, until 7 o'clock in the evening on the days appointed. In the first line of the second section of article second, relating to the qnalification of electors, when the constitution is enrolled, there shall be a blank space left betwi^en the words every and male; and at the meetings hereinbefore appointed for voting upon the constitution, the following ques- tion shall also be separately submitted, to be voted upon by those who may be authorized to vote for or against said constitution, viz: '' In case the con- stitution framed by the convention assembled at Newport in September, 1842, be adopted, shall the blank in the first line of section second of article second of said constitution be filled bv the word wliiteT'' and a sufficient number of affirmative and negative ballots for this purpose shall be printed and distributed by the secretary. And in case said constitution be adopted, and there shall also be a majority of votes in favor of filling said blank with said word lolute^ the General Assembly shall cause the blank to be so filled, and the same shall be a part of said constitution, in the same manner as if originally inserted therein by this convention. But if there be a majority of votes against filling said blank as aforesaid, the constitution shall be printed without said blank. And if said constitution be not adopted, \h& Rep. No. 546. 233 vote taken in relation to said word white shall be of no effect. And the town and ward clerks shall keep separate lists of the votes of all colored persons undt-r the second section of the article on the qualifications of elec- tors, who may vote on the question of the adoption of the constitution, and also on the question of the insertion of the word white in said section ; and these ballots shall be placed in separate parcels in the sealed packages of ballots, to be returned by the town and ward clerks to the General As- sembly. The ballots upon the adoption of said constitution, and also upon the question in relation to said word white, shall be returned to the next session of the General Assembly holden after the meetings herein appointed, in order that they may cause the votes to be counted, and the result declared. Read and adopted. THOS. A. JENCKES, Secretary. In Convention, November 5, 1S42. Resolved, That the town and city clerks give immediate notice of the time appointed by this convention for voting upon this constitution, and also of the time appointed for the completion of the registry of votes accordijig to the provisions of section second, article second, of said constitution ; and that the secretary of the convention cause copies of this resolution to be forwarded to all the town and city clerks in the State. Read and adopted, THOS. A. JENCKES, Secretary. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Jh General Asseinbly, June session, A. D. 1842. AN ACT to provide for calling a convention of the people of this State for the purpose of forming a new constiiuiiun or form of government for the people thereof. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. The people of the several towns in this State, and of the city of Providence, qualified to vote as hereinafter provided, are hereby requested, at the town or ward meetings holden on the last Tuesday of Au- gust next, to choose so many delegates as they will be severally entitled to, according to the provisions of this act, to attend a convention to be holden at Newport, on the secoi.d Monday of September next, to frame a new con- stitution for this State, either in whole or in part, with full powers for that purpose. Sec. 2. A majority of the whole number of delegates which all the towns and city of Providence are entitled to elect, shall constitute a quo- rum, who may elect a president, secretaries, and other officers, judge of the election and qualification of members, punish contempts, and establish such rules and proceedings as they may deem proper. Said convention may adjourn to any place they may think proper. Any town or city which may fail to elect its delegates at the time prescribed, may choose them at any time before the meeting of the convention ; and vacancies, from resigna- tions or otherwise, may be filled at any time by a new election. 234 Rep. No. 546. Sec. 3. The constitution or articles agreed upon by the convention shall be submitted to those qualified to vote as hereinafter provided, in open town or ward meetings, to be held on such day or days, and in such time and manner as the convention shall direct. The constitution or articles shall be certified by the president and secretaries, and, with the journal and pa- pers of the convention, deposited in the office of the secretary of state, who shall immediately distribute to the several town and city clerks, in due pro- portion, five thousand printed copies of the constitution or articles, in pam- phlet form, and also thirty thousand ballots ; on one side of which shall be printed " Constitution, or articles proposed by the convention holden at Newport on the second Monday of September, A. D. 1842 ;" and on the other side thereof shall be written or printed the word " adopt" on one half of them, and the word " reject" on the other half He shall also cause said constitution or articles to be published in any other manner the convention may prescribe. Sec. 4. At said town or ward meetings, every person voting shall have his name written on the back of his ballot; and the ballots shall be sealed up in open town or ward meetings by the clerks, and, with lists of the voters, be returned to the General Assembly, at the next session thereof, who shall cause the vote? to be examined and counted ; and if said consti- tution or articles be adopted by a majority of the persons having a right to vote, the same shall go into operation at such time or limes, and in such manner, as shall be appointed by the convention. Sec. 5. The delegates to said convention shall be elected upon a basis of population according to the census of 1840, as follows : Every town of not more than 3.000 inhabitants may elect two delegates ; over 3,000, and not over 6,000. three delegates; over 6,000, and not over 10,000, four delegates; over 10,000, and not over 15,000, five delegates ; and over 15,000, six del- egates. Sec. 6. In the choice of delegates to said convention, the following de- scriptions of persons shall be admitted to vote : All those who are qualified to vote for general officers by existing laws, and all native male citizens of the United States, (except Narragansett Indians, convicts, paupers, per- sons under guardianship and non compos mejitis,) who are of the age of 21 years and upwards, and who shall have had their permanent residence or home within this State for the period of three years next preceding their voting, and in the town or city wherein they offer to vote for the period of one year next preceding such voting, and who shall have had their names recorded with the town or city clerk of the town or city in which they shall offer to vote, in proper books, to be kept by said town or city clerk for that purpose, at least ten days before the day of voting. In voting upon the adoption or rejection of said constitution or articles, in addition to those who are qualified to vote for general officers by the existing laws, all those shall be admitted to vote who will be qualified to vote for general officers under the provisions of said constitution or articles, if in force ; but this provision shall not be construed to give to any person a right to vote at any town or ward meeting, held under and by virtue of this act, upon any other question or questions than the questions herein specifically named. Sec. 7. The delegates shall receive the same compensation for attend- ance as members of the General Assembly, payable upon the certificate of the secretary. Sec. 8. A sum, not exceeding five hundred dollars, is hereby appropri- Rep. No. 546. 235 ated for defrayinof the expenses of said convention, to be paid out of the treasury to the order of the president thereof Skc. 9. It shall he the duty of the town, city, and ward clerks to warn, accordino: to law, the meetings hereby appointed, and those which may be ordered by said convention. Sec. 10. Any fourteen mpmbers of the convention, inchidinj^ the presi- dent, (if there be one,) shrdl have full power and authority to compel the at- tendance of absent members. If shall be the duty of the sheriff of tlie coun- ty where the convention shall be in session, to attend said convention, and execute the orders thereof Skc. U. Whenever in any town or ward meeting holden under this act, any dispute shall arise as to any person's residence, or other qualifications, the moderator or warden, or person presiding in snid meetings, shall have authority to examine, under oath, the person offering to vote, and other persons who may be present, respecting the same, and decide upon hisqn»d- ification, subject to review by the General Assembly. A true copy : — Witness, HENRY BO WEN, Secretary. State of Rhode Island and PnovrDENCR Plantations, In Convtnlion at Newport, September 29, 1642. Whereas, from the manifest impracticability of ascertaining the precise number of persons that might have a right to vote on the adoption of any constitution to be submitted for adoption under the provisions of the act calling this convention, it is inferrible that it is the true intent of said act that none but those actually voting should be counted: and whereas there is an ambiguity in said act in this particular: 'I'herefore, Resolved, That the General Assembly be requested to pass such declar- atory law as may be deemed necessary for the plainer expression of the in- tent and meaning of the act aforesaid. Read and adopted. THOMAS A. JENCKES, Secretary. State op Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, In General Assembly, October session, A. D. 1842. AN ACT to amend " An act to provide lor calling a convention of the people of this State for tiie purpose of forming a new constitution or form of governaient for the people tliereuf," passed at the June session, A. D. 1842. Whereas the convention which assembled at Newport on the second Monday of September last, in pursuance of the provisions of the act afore- said, have requested this General Assembly to declare the true intent and construction of a portion of the fourth section of said act: Therefore. Be it enacted by the General Assembly asfollou)s: If the constitution or articles that may be framed and submitted to the peof)le under the provisions of said act, be adopted by a majority of the persons having a right to vote, and actually voting, upon the question of adopting the same, the said constitution or articles shall become the su- 236 Rep. No. 546. prenie law of the State; and shall go into operation at such time or times, and in suchf manner, as shall be appointed by said convention. True copy: — Witness, HENRY ROVVEN, Secretary. Secretary's Office, Providence^ November 7, 1842. I certify the foregoing constitution and resolutions of the convention, and acts of the General Assembly, to be true copies of the records in my office. Witness, HEiNRY BO WEN, Secretary. No. 11.— (H.) Ratification of the constitution of the United States by the convention of the Stale of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. We, the delegates of the people of the State of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations, duly elected and met in convention, having maturely considered the constitution for the United States of America, agreed to on the seventeenth day of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, by the convention then assembled at Philadelphia, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, (a copy whereof precedes these presents,) and iiaving also seriously and deliberately considered the present situation of this State, do declare and make known — I. Tliat there are certain natural rights, of which men, when they form asocial compact, cannot deprive or divest their posterity; among which, are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring, possess ing, and protecting propert^y, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety, II. "^rhat all power is naturally vested in, and consequently derived from, the people ; that magistrates, therefore, are their trustees and agents, and at all times amenable to them. III. That the powers of government may be reassumed by the people whensoever, it shall become necessary to th* ir happiness; that the rights of the States, respectively, to nominate and appoint all State officers, and every other power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by the said constitution clearly delegated to the Congress of the United States, or to the departments of government thereof^ remain to the people of the several States, or their respective State governments, to whom they may have granted the same; and that those clauses of the constitution which declare that Congress shall not have or exercise certain powers, do not imply that Congress is en- titled to any powers not given by the said constitution, but such clauses are to be construed either as exceptions to certain specified powers, or as inserted nnerely fi>r greater caution IV. That religion, or the duty which , we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can he directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men have an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the die- Rep. No 546. 287 tates of conscience; and that no particnUir religion, sect, or society, ought to be favored or established by law, in preference to others. V. That the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government should be separate and distinct ; and that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the public bur- dens, they should at fixed periods be reduced to a private station, return into the mass of the people, and the vacancies be supplied by certain and regular elections, in which all or any part of the former members to be eli- gible, or ineligible, as the rules of the constitution of government and the laws shall direct. VI. That elections of representatives in the legislature ought to be free and frequent ; and all men having sufficient evidence of permanent com- mon interest with, and attachment to. the community, ought to have the right of sufiVage ; and no aid, charge, tax, or fee can be set, rated, or levied upon the people, without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected ; nor can they be bound by any law to which they have not in like manner assented for the public good. VII. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people in the legislature, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. VIII. That in all capital and criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence, and be allowed counsel in his favor, and to a fair and speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty, (except in the government of the land and naval forces,) nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself. IX. That no freeman ought to be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, privileges, or franchises, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the trial by jnry, or by the law of the land. X. That every freeman restrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy, to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the same if unlawful ; and that such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed. XL That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man. the ancient trial by jury, as hath been exercised by us and our ancestors, from the time whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary, is one of the greatest securities to the rights of the people, and ought to re- raam sacred and inviolate. XII. That every freeman ought to obtain right and justice, freely and without sale, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay ; and that all establishments or regulations contravening these rights are oppressive and unjust. XIII. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. XIV. That every person has a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his papers, or his property ; and, there- fore, that all warrants to search suspected places, or to seize any person, his papers, or his property, without information upon oath, or affirmation of sufficient cause, are grievous and oppressive ; and that all general warrants (or such in which the place or person suspected is not particularly desig- nated) are dangerous, and ought not to be granted. 238 Rep. No. 546. XV. That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of writing and publishing; their sentiments. That the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and ought not to be violated. XVI. That the people have a right peaceably to assemble together to con- sult for their common good, or to instruct their representatives; and that every person has a right to petition or apply to the legislature for redress of grievances. XVII. That the people have a riglit to keep and bear arms; that a well- regulated militia, including the body of the people capable of bearing arms, is the proper, natural, and safe delience of a free State; that the militia shall not be subject to martial law, except in time of war, rebellion, or ii'isurrec- tion ; that standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be kept up, except in cases of nece.ssity ; and that at all times the military should be under strict subordination to the civil power : that, in time of peace, no soldier ought to be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner ; and in time of war, only by the civil magistrate, in such manner as the law directs. XVIII. That any person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms ought to be exempted upon payment of an equivalent to employ another to bear arms in his stead. Under these impressions, and declaring that the rights aforesaid cannot be abridged or violated, and that the explanations aforesaid are consistent with the said constitution, and in confidence that the amendments here- after mentioned will receive an early and mature consideration, and, con- formably to the fifth article of said constitution, speedily become a part thereof, — we, the said delegates, in the name and in the behalf of the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, do by these presents assent to and ratify the said constitution. In full confidence, never- theless, that until the amendments hereafter proposed shall be agreed to and ratified, pursuant to the aforesaid fifth article, the militia of this State will not be continued in service out of this State for a longer term than six weeks, without the consent of the legislature thereof; that the Congress will not make or alter any regulation in this State respecting the times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators or Representatives, unless the legislature of this State shall neglect or refuse to make laws or regulations for the purpose, or from any circumstance be incapable of making the same ; and that in those cases, such power will only be exercised until the legisla- ture of this State shall make provision in the premises ; that the Congress will not lay direct taxes within this State, but when the moneys arising from impost, tonnage, and excise shall be insufficient for the public exigen- cies, nor until the Congress shall have first made a requisition upon this State to assess, levy, and pay the amount of such requisition, made agree- able to the census fixed in the said constitution, in such way and manner as the legislature of this State shall judge best, and that the Congress will not lay or make any capitation or poll tax. Done in convention, at Newport, in the county of Newport, in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety, and in the fourteenth year of the independence of the United States of America. By order : DANIEL OWEN, President, Attest: Daniel Updike. Secretary, Rep. No. 546. 239 No. 12.— (K.) DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION. Tuesday Afternoon, December 20, 1842. The convention for the re organization of the democratic party of this State, re-assembled at Washington Hall in this city, pursuant to adjourn- ment. A large number of delegates were in attendance at an early hour. President VVilmarth N. Aldrich, esq., called the convention to order, and the secretary read the roll of members. The following gentlemen were added as delegates to the several towns, as follows: Glocester. — Wm. Luther, Horace Kimball. Tiverton. — Gilbert H. Evans. Cumberland. — David Whipple. Portsmouth. — Ptleg Thurston. Warioick.-~yAm.Qs Fisher, Wm. Carder. West Greenwich. — James Battey. (Not represented before.) Smithjic'ld. — Dr. Marsh, Elisha Smith. Newport. — Jeremiah Bliss. Providence. — Philip B. Stiness, Wm. B. Mann. Burrillville. — Stephen Vallet, t^astus Mathewson. Richmond. — Judge James, General Sisson. On motion, Henry Lord was appointed doorkeeper. A set of resolutions, lying on the table from last meeting, were called up; and after some discussion, the 1st and 2d sections were stricken out, and the following resolutions adopted in their stead : Resolved, That a State central committee of seven persons be appointed, whose duty it shall be to carry out the organization of the democratic party, according to the plan devised by this convention, and to call State conven- tions whenever they may deem it necessary for the purpose of organizino- a State ticket of general officers, or the choice of Representatives to Congress, or for other purposes. Resolved, Tliat a State committee to consist of thirty six persons, one from each town, and one from each ward of the city of Providence, be ap- pointed. The third resolution was amended and adopted, and is as follows : Resolved, That the State committee in the respective towns be individ- ually authorized to call a convention of the democracy and friends of equal rights in the town or city in whfch he resides, for the purpose of oro-anizmo' the democratic party, appointing committees, delegates to represent them in State conventions, and for ascertaining their views upon important sub- jects affecting their welfare. The fourth and last oi the resolutions was amended and adopted, and is as follows : Resolved, That the appointment of the State committees shall continue until otherwise ordered by a democratic convention. The following resolution was adopted: Resolved^ That a committee of twelve be appointed to prepare and pre- sent to this convention resolutions and such business as they may deem necessary. 240 Rep. No. 546. The committee was appointed — four from the county of Providence, and two from each of the other counties, as follows: Newport county. — William Ennis, George Rowland. Providence county. — Dexter Randall, Dr. Ballou, John S. Harris, Jonah Titus. Kent county. — John R. Waterman, William Carder. Washington county. — Alfred Updike, Wm. B. Bliven. Bristol county. — Nathan Bardin, John K. Barney. A vote passed that the Ghair appoint a committee to nominate the State central committee. A vote passed appointing Burrington Anthony a committee to apply for the State house for the use of the convention. On motion, the towns were called in order, and the following persons were appointed the State committee : Providence — First ward. — David Burt. Second ward. — Benjamin Cowell. Third ward. — Edward S. Underwood. Fourth ward. — Walter R. Dan forth. Fifth ward. — Franklin Cooley. Sixth vmrd. — John S. Harris. Neiojwrt. — Robert R. Carr. Barring ton. — Wilmarth Heath. Portsmouth. — Isaac S. Corry. North Kingstoivn. — George T. Nichols. Smithjield — (Greenville) — Asa Winsor. East Greentcicli. — Silas Weaver. Foster — (South) — Henry Hopkins. Westerly. — Joseph Hiscox. Coventry. — James A. Fenner. Warwick — (Pawtuxet) — James Fisher. A^. Pr^ovidetice, (Pawtucket) — Joseph T. Sisson. Cranstoti. — Anson Potter. Cumberland. — Fenner Brown. Glocester. — Jesse S. Tour tel lot. Johnston. — Earl Knight. Bristol. — Nathan Bardin. Scituate — (South) — Horace S. Patterson. Warre7i. — Benjamin M. Bosworth. Exeter. — Henry B. Joslin. New Shoreham. — Samuel Dunn. S. Kingstown — (Wakefield) — Perry G. Underwood, Hopkinton. — Joseph Spicer, jr. Middletown. — Jonathan North up. Richmond. — Silas R. Kenyon. Charle.'itown. — Joseph Gavitt. Burrillville. — Eddy Keach. Tiverton. — Allen Durfee. W. Greenwich. — Amos Whitford. Little Compton. — Nathaniel Tompkins- Jamestown. — George Anthony. Rep. No. 546. 241 The followins: resolution was offered, read, and passed : Resolved, That the State central committee shall have power to fill^Il vacancies that may occur in the State committee. ' The committee appointed to procure the State-house for the convention to sit in, reported that it could be had after 6^ o'clock, p. m. ; and a vote passed that when the convention do adjourn, it adjourn to meet in the State-house at half-past 6 o'clock, p. m. Mr. Pearce called foi; the reports of the committee of the several towns, appointed at the last session, to get the views of their constituents in re- lation to the registry of their names. The reports of the committee were generally favorable, and most of the towns had already taken the necessary steps to have a full registration. The convention then adjourned. Evening, 6.^- o'clock. — The convention met in the State-house, pur- suant to adjournment. The secretary read the roll, and the members took their seats by towns, as they were called. A vote passed that a letter from one of the members of this convention, Elisha R. Potter, published in a city paper this afternoon, relating to polit- ical affairs in this State, be read. After the reading of the letter, on motion of Mr. Pearce, a committee of five was appointed to whom were referred the letter, and a resolution lying on the table from the last session. The Chair appointed the following persons as a committee to noniinate the State central committee: D. J. Pearce, Wm. Ennis, T. F. Carpenter, David Burt, J. R. Waterman, Christopher Smith, Afred Updike, Ariel Ballon. The committee appointed to prepare resolutions and business of the con- vention, made the following report, and it was read and received. After a short discussion on one of the resolutions, the entire report was unanimously adopted as it came from the committee. REPORT. Resolved, That " the right of the people" to institute government, and to organize ."its powers in such forms as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness," and " to alter or to abolish " that govern- ment, which has become either oppressive or "destructive of the ends" for which it was established, and to substitute in its stead " new government," is their unalienable right, and the only sure basis of all popular govern- ments. Resolved, That the democratic principles avowed by all the republicans in the convention which framed the federal constitution, and maintained by Jefferson and his republican successors in the presidential ofiie«, and by the entire democratic party in the Union, are the only principles on which republican government can be organized, and by which its administration can be safely and successfully conducted. Resolved, That as democrats and as citizens of this State, we may well differ upon the provisions of any fundamental law proposed or in force; but the original right of the neople to make or alter their fundamental law 16 242 I?ep. No. 546. at. any time, without authority or a request of the exisiin^ government, is an American right, which the democracy of this State and of the whole couniry will never surrender. Resolved, That tiie anti democratic docfrines avowed by John Adams, advocated by Hamilton and liis associates in the federal convention, and maintained by the elder Adams and his federal successors in the presiden- tial office, and by the federal or whig party throughout the country, are the doctrines of monarchies and aristocracies, and the- government of the few over the many. Resolved, That in the measures and policy pursued by the whig ma- jorities in the present Congress, v/e see again revived the favorite measures and policy by which the federal party have ever struggled to warp the government into the accomplishment of their plans, and to estrange it from the principles upon which it was founded, and to mar the purity which has ever marked the administration of every republican President. Resolved, That the necessary and obvious tendency of the doctrines and policy of the present Congress leads directly to enlarge the powers of the government, and to restrict and consolidate all powers of legislation to its legislative branches, wholly independent of the controlling negative of the executive department ; and that Henry Clay's proposition to procure an amendment to the constitution, which would abolish the veto power, is one of the avowed means by which this great scheme of mischief is sought to be accomplished. Resolved, That among the promised benefits and reform which were to follow the ascendency of the present whig adtninistration, are a treasury (received by them unembarrassed with debt, and with resources enough to meet all current demands) at the end of eighteen mouths exhausted ; bills protested on its counter; embarrassed with a debt of nearly thirty millions of dollars ; public credit prostrated ; the national character declining ; the public finances deranged ; perpetual sessions of Congress ; the fialls of legislation in confusion; riotous wrangling among the members; the dif- ferent departments of government at variance with each other; cabinets broken up and remodelled ; enactments made and rescinded ; the proceeds of the land sales distributed ; loans resorted to ; extravagant appropriations ; loose expenditures pernjitted ; bank charters granted and vetoed; a tariff' " q/" oio///!7 Secretaries. Wm. J. Miller, ) The following preamble and resolution, offered by Dr. Ballon, of Cum- berland, was passed unanimously before the convention dissolved : Whereas certain leading and influential men, formerly acting with the democratic party, have allied themselves with those who are tlie foes of popular liberty, and denied the cardinal principles of democracy, and aided materially in the establisliing despotic power in this State : therefore. Resolved, That, by this course, they have forfeited all claims to demo- cratic principles, and to the confidence of that party in this State and of the Union. MEETING IN THE FIFTH WARD. A meeting of the friends of democracy and equal rights, belonging to the fifth ward, was held on Monday evening last, at Washington Hall. Mr. Benjamin Arnold, jr., was chosen to preside as chairman, and P. W. Ferris was appointed secretary. A commiltee of three, consisting of Messrs. Philip B. Stiness, P. W. Ferris, and David Parmenter, were chosen to draught resolutions for the meeting. Messrs. Bradley, Whipple, and Anthony, were appointed a committee to ■canvass the ward and superintend the rejjistry of names. Col. F. Cooley, Adnah Sackett, and Epiirann Richmond were appointed a committee of finance. Messrs, Ferris, Stiness, and Arnold were appointed a committee of cor- respondence. 'I'he following resolutions were then reported by the committee appointed for that purpose : Resolved, That the people of this State, in the free exercise of tlieir in- herent and leofitimate sovereignty, have formed for themselves a constitu- tion of government ; but that they have been prevented from carrying it into operation, by a lawless military force. Resolved, That we consider the thing termed a constitution, recently adopted hy a sutall though wealthy faction in this State, to be both illegal in its origni, and unequal and unjust in its provisions; and that therefore it is not of right the paramount law of the State. Resolved, That, in organizing a form of government under this consti- tution, we intend to do no more than to give the people an opportunity to carry out their own will, in opposition to that of the unprincipled despots who would control the free exercise of their unalienable rights. Resolved, That we recommend to the friends of the people's constitution to register their names, and otherwise qualify themselves to act at the com- ing election, and to hurl those petty tyrants from the offices which they unworthily fill. Resolved, That, in qualifying ourselves to act under the Algeriiie consti- totion, and in using such means as may be put in our power, through the 246 Rep. No. 546. forms of" law and order," to cast aside this most odious firm of government, and to rear npon its ruins the constitution iegallv made and adopted by the people, we believe we are performing a solemn duty which we owe to our God, to our country, and-to our posterity. Resolved., That we have tlie utmost confidence in the honesty and integ- rity of Thomas Wilson Dorr, and that we believe him to be an incorrupti- ble patriot, a profiund statesman, as well as the champion of equal rights ; and that he fully deserves the esteem and confidence of the democracy of onr whole country. Resolved, That the conduct of John Tyh^r, acting President of the United States, in the part lie took in aiding the Algerines, and thus de- priving the honest mechanics and workingmen of thit> State of their just rights, has struck a blow at the vitals of our republican institutions, and that he is deserving the unqualified censure of the democracy of the whole Union. Resolved, That we cheerfully accept the challenge of our friends in the sixth ward, and that we will endeavor to show ihem that we can not only beat them, but any other ward or town in the State, in proportion to ous" population. BENJAMIN ARNOLD, Jr., Chairmaiu P. W. Ferris, Secretary. MEETING AT GLOCESTER. On Saturday evening last, the friends of democracy and equal rights held a meeting at the house of General Sprague, for the purpose of taking into consideration the expediency of registering preparatory to the spring election. '^I'he meeting was organized by the choice of Charles S. Slocum as chairman, and Ezra Hawkins, secretary. The meeting was then addressed by Dr. Brown and P. B. Siiness, of Providence, showing, in a clear and definite manner, the propriety of registering according to '■'■law and order. ''^ The following preamble and resolution were offered by Thomas O, Evans, esq. : Believing that some united and definite plan of operation should be agreed upon by the suffrag-e party of this State, and believing that the only practicable course now known is to register our names according to the provisions of ihe Algerine constitution r therefore, Rexolved, (as the sense of this meeting,) That it is the duty of every man., who is in favor of establishing the people's cause in this Slate;, and hurling from power those men who have so disgraced their station, to register their names, and be prepared to consign them to that oblivion to which they be- lons:. CHARLES S. SLOCUM, Chairman. EzLRA Hawkins, Secretary. Rep. Ao. 546. ^ 247 No. 13. Testimony of Welcome B. Sayles. 1. Question by the cotnmiltee. Were you a resident citizen of the Slate bf Rhode Island at the time of the decU\red adoption of the people's consti- tution, (so called,) and the organization of a government under the same? And it so, how long had you been such? Answer. I was a resident citizen of the State of Rhode Island, and a "freeman at the time of the adoption of the people's constitution, so culled," and also at the time of an organization of the government under the same; and had been a resident of said State iox more than ten years prior to said acts. 2. Question by the committee. Did you take an active part in the pro- ceedings of the people, which resulted in the holding of a State convention, the (ramit]g of a constitution, and the declared adoption of the same? And if so, you will give some account of those proceedings, so far as they came under your personal observation, or are within your knowledge. Answer. I did take an active part in the proceedmgs of the people, from the commencement, which resulted in the holding of a State convention, which framed a constitution that was submitted to the people, in accordance with its provisions; and which constitution, upon the re-assembling of the convention for the purpose of examining and countincr the votes, was de- clared to be adopted ; so much so, at least, as to be flimiliar with those pro- ceedings in a considerable portion of the State, and which 1 will briefly state: In tlie fall of 1840, the subject of a written republican conslitution, se- curing an extension of suffrage and a more equal representation, with other reforms, was again ygitated in Rhode Island; and an association was form- ed in Providence, called the Rhode Island Suffrage Association, soon fol- lowed by similar associations throughout the State. Frequent meetings for discussion and lectures were holden,and united efforts made to diffuse gen- eral information upon the subject of equal rights and political liberty, and to concentrate public opinion upon the best mode of accomplishing the great objects in view, and which had so often been sought for in vain. The association with which I was immediately connected, and believed to be the secoiid formed in the State, from the nature of circumslancfs, took a very active part in these proceedings ; being greatly interested in the objects to be obtained, as will be seen by the following tacts. The village in which this (the " Woonsocket Sufi'rnge Association") was formed, lying partly in each of (he towns of Cumberland and Smithfield, and containing about 3,000 population ; and the whole number of voters supposed, at most, not to exceed 1.50, or I to 20 of population. The said towns, containing about 15.000 population — nearly one-seventh of the whole popnkition of the Slate — had but four representatives in the popular branch of the government, which body consisted of 72 members. This association was formed by, and consisted of, persons of both political parties, and avoided all political sub- jects, aside from the objects directly in view. The president of this associa- tion was Doctor Ariel IJallou, one of your m^emorialisis, and one of the most respectable, intelligent, and influential citizens of the State, and highly honored in his profession ; he was, and is, a democrat. Tiie secretary of Jhis association was an active whig. 1 speak of the politics of the officers 248 Rep. No. 546. to show that we avoided the appearances of party in the orsanization. And as corresponding secretary of this association, and holding irequent cor- respondence with associations in various parts of the State, 1 feel that I am justified in declaring, as I do declare, tliat the great body of the people, ahnost destitute of party leaders, and above all party considerations, moved to the accomplishment of their purpose boldly set forth to the world. If such is not their position now, it may be easily accounted for, if desired. In November, 1840, a paper was established in the city of Providence, and devoted to the suffrage cau^e, or the "suffrage party," as we were termed from the commencement. This paper took sides with neither of the great political parties of the day — it w.is called the " New Age." The Provi- dence Herald, the leading democratic paper of the Slate, espoused our cause from the commencement; the Providence Journal standing uncom- mitted for some time, but admitting articles upon both sides of the question, for and against the principles contended for by the suffrage party. These primary movements were followed by the holding of a State mass conven- tion in the city of Providence, on the 17th day of April, and wiiich was very numerously attended, even beyond the most sanguine expectations of its friends, exhibiting a state of public feeling not to be mistaken. They paraded the streets of the city, and organized a convention upon the "Jef- ferson plan," so Called. 1 was present, and can without hesitation say that the proceedings of this immense meeting were marked with great propriety. Another State mass convention was holden at Newport on the 5th day of May following, at which resolutions declaratory of principles and mode of action were adopted ; a State committee appointed, who were instructed to issue an address to the people of the State, and to call a convention of dele- gates for framing a constitution. The proceedings of this State mass con- vention, under which the convention for framing the constitution was called,, are herewith submitted, (marked A.) The Newport convention adjourned to meet in the city of Providence on the 5th day of July following, (cele- brated for the 4th, which came on Sunday.) This adjourned conven- tion was very numerously attended, beyond all others ever holden in the State; every portion of the State represented ; it was organized upon Dexter Training Ground, so called ; an oration delivered by William S. Balcli. The State committee, appointed in May, made a report, and submitted ac- companying resolutions, which were adopted, and which, together with the proceedings of the convention, are herewith submitted, (marked B.) The State committee, of which I had the honor to be a member, and appointed by the State mass convention which convened at Newport May 5th, 1841, in pursuance of instructions from said convention, issued an address to the people on the 11th day of June following, in which the principles of the suf- frage party were set fort'n ; a copy of which is herewith submitted, (marked C.) The State committee, in the furilier perform;\nce of the duty assigned them, did issue on the 24th of July, 1841, a call to the people of tlie several towns of the State to hold meetings on the 28th day of August following, and to elect delegates to a State convention, to be holden at the Statt -house on the first Monday of October following. The call proportioned the dele- gates among the towns, based upon population, fixed the qualification of electors, &c. ; a copy of which is herewith submitted, (marked D.) These ore, in brief, the proceedings of the people to the time of holding said con- vention for framing a constitution, as they came under my personal obser- vation, or are within my knowledge. Rep No 546. 249 3. Q-iiestion by the committee. Wliat were the leading; causes of com- plaint ill the government, as it existed under the charter, as set forth by the suffrage party in their early movements ; the objects to be obtained ; and the proposed plan of accomplishing these objects, so far as your knowledge ex- tends? Answer. Among the leading causes of complaint, it was urged by the suf- frage party that the government, as it existed and was exercised under the cfiarter, was anti-repubUcan, inconsistent with the fundamental principles of our institutions, and tlie rights and security of the people ; and that it was corrupting and deg^rading in its influences ; that whereas it deprived a large majority of the male adult citizens of the State of voice in the framitigof the laws by which they were ruled, and in the election of the officers by whom the laws were executed, or in disbursement of the money for which they were taxed ; that they were also called upon to do military and fire duty, and to bear their proportion of the burdens of government, both State and national, whilst they were deprived of all representation in each. They also complained that they did not derive the protection that belongs to every citizen in securing their property, as, without the assistance of a " freeholder," they could not collect a debt by law. They also declared that the sacred right guarantied to every citizen of the United States, of a trial by a jury of his •' peers," was denied them, as none but these favored "free- men" were admitted to the jury box ; every non freeholder going to trial by or before a jury raised above him. This was declared to be the condition of three fiitlis of the male adult citizens of the State, including nearly every revolutionary patriot in the State. They further complained of the great inequality of representation, whereby a small mnjority of those enjoying the franchise of electors elected a laroje majority of the popular branch of the government. For instance : Providence county, containing a large majority of the whole population of the State, had but 22 representatives in a house consisting of 72 members — this portion of the State paying a very large proportion of all the taxation of the State; Smithfield, with about 10,00(1 population, large in territory, had but two re[)resentatives ; whilst Jamestown, with 364, had two; Ports- mouth, with 1,700, had four; Providence, with 23,000, four; Newport, with 8,000, had six. But, above all, the government was professedly based upon a charter de- rived from Charles II, but which, in fact, did not restrain legislation at all — the l(^gislature making their own electors^ their will the only tenure by which any man enjoyed the right of suffrage, or any other right; that they were, in fact, without a written constitution deriving its authority from the '-consent of the governed," and controllino- and reo-nlatinof leaislation, as the happiness and security of the people required. It was such a con- stitution they Iiad long been seeking. These were the evils; this the rem- edy. In answer to that portion of the inquiry relating to the plan proposed for accomplishing the objects in view, it has been shadowed in my account of the early proceedings. That there was no hope of a satisfactory change through the existing authorities, was equally clear, as was contended l)y the suffrage party — whether we reasoned from the disposition of mankind to surrender advantages of political power, as all history taught ; or from the history of the efforts which had been made from time to time for half a century; and that there was nothing new in this movement, so far as the 250 Eep. No. 546. objects to be obtained were concerned, or anything novel in the plan, as tliought by the suftVage party. I wish to call the attention of the commit- tee to the fact, that, as early as 1797, and soon after Rhode I.•^land gave her consetit to the federal constitution, the subject of a constitution was agi- tated, atid complaints were loud. It was then declared that we possessed nothing l>ut an " imtigindry constitution" a " crazy and comforlless man- sion^ shaken by the unnds and pervaded by the sto7-ni. f aiid the course urged upon the peoj)le was such as they decided on adoptiifg more than 40 years after, although the evils increased every year; and not until it was believed that all other means had failed, did they seek redress through what they had learned to be the fundamental principh^s of our institutions as established by their fathers. For the doctrines contended for at that time, I submit an extract from an oration delivered by Col. George R. Burrill, in Providence, in 1797. He was the brother of tho late James Burrill, and. it has been said, possessed the best legal mind Rhode Island has ever pro- duced. That he was a ripe scholar, and a beautiful writer, is well known. The extract is marked E. In ISll an extension of suffrage was souL'ht for, and a bill was passed through the Senate, but was laid upon the table and lost in the House. [See journals of proceedings IS II.] Again, in 1820 the subject was agitated, particularly for a more equal division of power; and a convention was holden in the county of Provi- dence to further the object. In the editorial articles of the Manufacturers and F\armers' Journal of that time, it was declared, in relation to the state of things in Rhode Island, '^ that a free people have for 'more than forty years submitted to a s/iecics of government in f.heori/,if not always in practice, as despotic as that of the autocrat of (he Russias." Again, in speaking of the government : ^^ It was not establislied by the people of this iStafe, nor is it amenable to them ; it acknotoltdges no supe- rior or creating poioer, and claims to exist and act by i/s own oninipo- tenceP And again, speaking of the General Assembly: " TJiat omnipotent body sliould consider that the people are competent to form a convention for themselves, wilhout the authority of their high mightinesses ; and thai any longer dtlay of duty on the part of those who noui set up their title of '•legitimacy^ may produce such a result.'''' I make these extracts to show that the complaints of the suffrage party were not neu\ or their course novel. I submit further extracts from the same journal, then edited by William E. Richmond, and which appeared as editorials under the following dates: November 27, December 11 and IS, 1820, and January 11, 1821', mark- ed P. In 1824 the Legislature proceeded to call a ''freemen's" convention, which was liolden, and framed a constitution, and which, in some degree, equalized representation, or divi'^ion of unjust power; but a proposition to extend suffrage beyond landholders and their olde>t sons, received but ^Aree votes. This constitution was submitted to the "freemen" only, and by them rejected. Again, in 1829 the friends of suffrage and a republican constitution, pe- titioned the assembly; and for the manner in which the memorialists were treated at this time, although the peiiiion was numerously and respectably signed, I submit the report of the comujittee to whom tlie memorial was assigned. The chairman of the committee was the Hon. Benjamin Hazard, Rep. No. 546. ' 251 of Newport. [Sve file of papers, Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden, el al. marked 79 in this appendix. There was another active movement in 1832, but without success. A constitutional party was organized in 1S34, which struggled for two or three years, and found the fate of all third parties in a warm political struggle; and, as has been asked, what could a party do without votes? But they secured a promise of a convention, which was called by the legis- latiirp, and holden during tliis time — another convention of " freemen" to draught a constitution to be submitted to "freemen," but to govern the peo- ple. During their discussions of two or three weeks, a proposition to extend suffrage received seven votes. This convention broke up in confusion, for want of a quorum. It was in view of these unsuccessful efforts, that a plan was proposed, and it was declared, from the conmiencen)ent, that the people were competent, in their sovereign capacity, and without the consent of the existing authorities, to establish a constitution which would, of right, be the paramotmt law ; and that a constitution which should receive the sup- port of a majority of the male adults, native or naturalized, would be, of right, the le^al constitution of the State. These were the doctrines de- clared in the first meetings of our association, and constantly adhered to. The following declaration, adopted by the Rhode Island Association, was generally adopted by the associations: "^4 declaratioH of principles of the Rhode Island Suffrage Association. '■ Bclievino: that all men are created free and equal, and that the posses- sion of property should create no political advantages for its holder; and be- lieving that all bodies pohtic should have for their foundation a bill of rights and a written constitution, wherein the rights of the people should be de- fined, and the duties of the people's servants strictly pointed out and limited; and believing that the State of Rhode Island is possessed of neither of those instruments, and that the charter under which she has her political exist- ence is not only aristocratic in its tendency, but tfiat it lost all its authority when the independence of the United States was declared : And further- more, believing that every State in the federal compact is entitled, by the terms of that compact, to a republican form of government: and that any form of government is anti-republican and aristocratic which precludes a majority of the people from participatin,'^ in its affairs; and that, by every right, human and divine, the majority in tlie State should govern: And furthermore, and finally, believing that the time has gone by when we are called upon to submit to the most unjust outrages upon our political and so- cial rights : therefore '•Resolvfd, That the power of the State should be vested in the hands of the peo[)le, and that the people have a right, from time to time, to assemble together, either by tliemselves or their representatives, for the establishment of a republican form of government. ^^Resolvf^d, That whenever a majority of the citizens of this State, who are recognised as citizens of tlie United States, shall, by their delegates in convention asse-mhled, draught a constitution, and thesanie shall be accepted by their eonstituents. it will then be, to all intents and purposes, the law of the State." After the commencement of the present agitation, it has been said there 252 Rep. No. 54G. was a disposition upon the part of the authorities to extend suffrage. This disposition the people tried, after they had proceeded to call a convention: a proposition to extend ?ufFrage in voting for the delegates was made by a friend of the people's cause in that legislature, (the Hon. Samuel Y. At- well.) which received but 10 votes. At^he first session of this landholders' convention in 1841, the committee on suffrage reported a restriction on the then existing suffrage ; but the convention, before adjourning, decided on a 500-dollar personal property qualification for non freeholders and younger sons, 4. Question by the committee. "Were you a member of the convention which assembled in the city of Providence on the first Monday in Octo- ber, 1841, which framed the people's constitution, so called? Answer. I was a member of said convention which framed the people's constituticm, so called, holden at Providence on the first Monday ui Octo- ber, in pursuance of a call from the State committee. 5. Question by the committee. Are the files and documents presented to the committee by John S. Harris, as the original files and journals of the pro- ceedings of said convention, correct, so (ar as your knowledge extends? Answer. I have examined the files and journals of the proceedings of said convention, submitted by John S. Harris, and find them true and faith- ful records, so far as my knowledge extends. 6. Question by the committee. Were you a member of the assembly under the people's constitution, which convened in Providence on tlie first Tuesday of May, 1842? Were you an officer of said assembly; and if so, what office did you fill ? Were you present at the organization of the gov- ernment under the said constitution; and if so, state to the committee such facts in relation to the organization of said government, as are within your personal knowledge? Answer. I was a member of the assembly under the people's constitution which convened at Providence on the first Tuesday of May, 1842, in ac- cordance with the provisions of said constitution. I was elected a member from the town of Smithfield. I was elected to the office of speaker of said assembly, and officiated in said capacity. I was present at the organiza- tion of said assembly. The members elect proceeded in the organization by calling the Hon. Dutee J. Pearce, of Newport to the chair; John S. Harris, by his invitation, officiating as secretary. The town and represen- tative districts were called, and the credentials of members presented ; sub- sequently I was elected to the office of 'sp aker, and proceeded to qualify myself as the constitution provided, by taking and subscribing the oath, as therein prescribed. I then proceeded to call the members as returned, and administered to them the oath, in the words and as required by said con- stitution. The House then proceeded to the election of clerks, and John S. Harris and Levi Salisbury were duly elected, and engaged by the speaker, as re- quired by the constitution; which completed the organization of the house. A committee was then appointed to count the votes for governor, lieutenant governor, and secrrUary of state, attorney general, and treasurer, and senators ; which officers were all duly qualified by me, as provided in the constitution, by administering the oath in the words, form, and manner therein prescribed; which completed the organization of the government, as appears from the original records, which, together with the proceedings of said legislature, have been submitted to the committee by John S. Harris, Rep. No. 546. 253 and) having been examined by me. are found to be, so far as my knowledge extends, true and faithful journals of the proceedings. 7. Question by the committee. Are you still a resident citizen of the State of Rhode Island? and if not, what are the causes which have induced you to leave that Slate? Answer. £ am not at the present time a resident citizen of the State of Rhode Island, having taken a temporary residence iti Massachusetts, I have absented myself from the State, with the exception of a few brief visits, since June, 1S42 ; my friends having been very anxious that I should be in a po- sition to act as circumstances might require, from the office which I held in the government, and not be placed within the power of the charter party, which had previously made an attempt to arrest me — a warrant having been issued against me under the act entitled "An act for punishing offences against the sovereign power of the State." A requisition was also made by the acting Governor of Rhode Island upon the Executive of Massachusetts, and a warrant issued by John Davis, then Governor of that Common- wealth ; whereby I found it necessary to leave this, my native Common- wealth, and sought security in New Hampshire and Connecticut for seven months, my family remaining in Rhode Island, where I retained my resi- dence until last May, when, supposing that I could be of no further service to the cause and party with which I had been associated, and believing that I should be subject to further persecutions, and my family to further anxiety, (from which they had suffered much) I reluctantly removed from the State into Massachusetts. But lei me be distinctly understood, that, al- though I have found it necessary to exile myself from my adopted State, to secure my personal freedom, to be charged by the reigning powers of that State with a high crime towards her institutions, to make great sacrifices, still I have felt none of the guilt which attaches itself to crime; and there has been no moment when I desired to retract a word that I had spoken, or a sentence that I had written, or an act that I had committed, touching the matter of which I was accused — feeling that 1 did nothing but what my duty demanded, but regretting that I could not have done more for the cause in which I was engaged. 8. Question by the committee. What do you mean by the term ''freeman," as used in your answers to the committee, more than a freeholder, or the oldest son of a freeholder? Ansv/er. In the use of the term " freeman," I mean what the law con- sidered a freeman at the time of which I speak. A man might hold any amount of real estate, or be the oldest son of such landholder, and still be no " freeman," or voter. The charter was granted to such and such persons, together with those whom they (the grantees) might from time to time admit free; which power was finally placed in the grantees of the several towns; and it was required of one having the requisite qualification, that he should be propounded in open town meeting, and, so standing for a certain time, might, by said town, be admitted free, if a majority of the corporators so pleased ; in which case, he became a partner in the government of the State, and a freeman, 9. Question by the committee. Had you any personal knowledge of the voting on the adoption of the people's constitution? and do you know of any fraudulent votes having been given for the same? Answer. I was present at the meetings for voting for the people's consti- tution in the town where I resided, (Smithfield,) and which cast more than 254 Rep. No 546. 1 ,300 votes for that constitution. Although not an officer of said meetings, I took nn active part therein, and can unhesitatingly say that the voting was carried on with the utmost good faith, and with a determination not to receive the votes of any persons not competent by the provisions under which they were voting. The subject of voting was one of frec|uent con- versation among leading men of the suffrage party; and I never heard but one opinion expressed among our friends, previous to or at the time of the voting — and that was, that great care should be taken lest, through inad- vertence or otherwise, the votes of incompetent persons should be admit- ted ; and, however few, would be used by our opponents to prejudice our cause. Believing that the voting would undergo the scrutmy and investi- gation at the hands of our opponents, which the friends of the constitution have at all times sought, if they had been governed by no higher motive than interest, they would have done as they did — refuse the votes of all in- competent persons; and I can also say, whilst I disclaim all knowledge of fraud in voting for that constitution, that, from an intimate acquaintance with the officers of the meetings for voting on the constitution in a large number of the towns, 1 know they would have spurned the idea of being cognizant of fraud in the receiving votes ; and I might also add, that no necessity was considered to exist to use any fraudulent means to obtain the support of a large majority of the male adult citizens of the State, compe- tent to act in its support. No doubt existed upon this point; and from all my knowledge of the voting at the time, with all 1 have since learned, I am very fully of opinion that a less number of illegal votes were polled for that constitution (the provisions of the constitution fixing the qualifi- cation) than in any contested election holden in the State for many years. Any doubt upon this point was entirely an after-thought vi^ith our oppo- nents, who have studiously avoided every opportunity of proving their charges, knowing that any attempt to do so would confirm the vote. Even anything like definite charges of fraud, so far as my knowledge extends, have been confined to one town, with some appearance of foundation, growing out of a construction of the provisions under which they were voting — a construction not approved or adopted anywhere else, but which is not sufficient to affect the case at all. 10. duestion by the committee. Was there, at any time, any plan or plot proposed or entered into by the suflTrage party, of plundering or burning the city of Providence, or any other place, or to do violence to females, to your knowledge? Answer. 1 have no knowledge of any such plot, plan, or intention of the suffrage party to do violence to the persons or property of their opponents. Their object was not to invade any man's rights; they respected scru- pulously, to the best of my knowledge, every other man's rights, only anx- ious to maintain their own. To such an extent was this the case, that a declaration was drawn from a most distinguished opponent, (John Whipple, esq ,) during a recent trial in Rhode Island, who is reported to have said that the suffrage party manifested a respect to private rights and private property, unprecedented in the history of the world, when two parties stood hostilely arrayed towards each other, as in that State. I have perused the answers of Aaron White, jr., and John S. Harris, to a similar question of the committee ; and should I extend my reply, it would be substantially the same, being, to the best of my knowledge, true. The charge of an intention of the suffrage party to burn and pillage Rep. No 546. 255 Woonsocket, my place of residence at the time, has been made; and, Hke all other charges of the same import, to the best of my knowledge, is entirely iinloiinded. And in confirmation of my opinion, 1 would state, that when I found it necessary, to secnre my personal freedom, to leave the State, I left my family, consisting entirely of females and children, having no fear of any such attack; also more than 1U,(JOO dollars of real and personal property, situated in said village, subject to destruction in case of any such attack upon the place — only endangered, as I thought, and as was threat- ened by the charter party, to confiscation. I received an invitation from a distinguished man of the charter party, (but a personal friend,) asking me to convey and assign my property to him, to prevent any such loss; to which, however, 1 did not co?isent. II. (Question by the committee. To what cause do you, or the suffrage party, attribute the final suppression of the people's constitution; and upon what ground is such allegation made? Answer. The suffrage party entertain but one opinion, to the best of my knowledge, us to the principal cause of the success of the charter party in suppressing the people's constitution ; and that is, the influence of the Gen- eral Government brought to bear upon them, through the President of the United States, 'I'his was visibly seen immediately upon the publication of President Tyler's letter of , in answer to an application of the charter party to him for assistance, producing fear in some, doubt in others, and a division as to the course to be pursued; being evident that they were to encounter the military forces of the United States, the effect was most dis- heartening and destructive to us, whilst new life was evidently given to the charter party, having professedly relied upon such aid, but which we could not suppose they would obtain, until the appearance of said letter from the President. It was expected that the tmusual forces of the United States arriving at Newport were only waiting for some overt act to be brought to bear upon the people ; which produced such an efi'^ct upon a portion of the members of the General Assembly which organized under the people's constitution, as to prevent them from taking possession, as they otherwise would, as is believed, of the public property, and becoming the government in fact as well as in law. Promised aid working the same effects, precisely, as would the bringing the force directly to bear upon them, as is supposed it was subsequently; but at a time when the suffrage party were in no condition to maintain themselves against any considerable force from any quarter — having been divided and distracted, by the course of the President, from united action, which had characterized their former movements. It is to be remembered, also, that the President of the United States held no direct communication with the people of Rhode Island, by proclamation or otherwise, but through a gentleman whom he was pleased to style Gov- ernoi' King ; being all, if not so marked, " private and confidential," only so far as he (Governor King) or his party chose to make it public; giving to the charter party the power of making such interpretations and declarations from the President, and of his course, as might best promote their objects; which advantage they did not fail to use most successfully, I will mention one other fact, to show the effect of the aid of the General Government upon the charter pprty ; and that is. That the act entitled " Ari act for punishing offences against the sovereign 256 Rep. No. 546. power of the State," and intended, as was declared, to prevent the election of officers and the organization of a govern nnent under the people's consti- tniion, although disregarded and violated openly and boldly for a long while, still no arrests were made, or attempts made to enforce the same, until after a successful application to the President, and its consequences fully seen throughout the State, This law was believed by the suffrage party to have no binding force. I herewith submit answers to the several questions submitted by the com- mittee, being a true statement of facts, to the best of my knowledge ; together with such historical matter as the questions involved, which were well authenticated and believed to be true. WELCOME B. SA.YLES. Washington, May 3, 1844. Then the above-named Welcome B. Sayles made solemn oath that the foregoing testimony, by him subscribed, is, in his belief, true. Before me, EDMUND BURKE, Chairman of the Select Comtnittee on the Rhode Island Memorial. No. 14.— (A.) Proceedings of the mass convention held at Neioyort, R. L, May 5, 1841. Whereas it is the undeniable right of the people, at all times, peaceably to assemble for consultation and conference touching the government under which they live, and which they assist in supporting ; and independently to utter and set forth, on such occasions of meeting together, their views, sen- timents, and plans relative to the correction, as well of defects in the organ- ization of government, as of faults in the administration of the same : We, a portion of the people of this State, now assembled at Newport in mass con- vention, from all parts of the State, and acting on behalf of the great body of our unenfranchised fellow-citizens, do declare their and our opinions and purposes in the following RESOLUTIONS: 1. Resolved^ That it is repugnant to the spirit of the declaration of American independence, and derogatory to the character of Rhode Island republicans, to acknowledge the charter of a British king as a constitution of political government. While we venerate the illustrious names of Roger Williams and John Clarke, to whose untiring ability and perseverance the colony of Rhode Island was indebted for this grant from the throne of Eng- land, so well adapted at the time to the wants of his Majesty's subjects, and so liberal in its concessions, — we are at the same time aware that in almost all respects, excepting the immortal declaration and guaranty of religious freedom, it has become insufficient and obsolete ; that it should be laid aside in the archives of the State, and no longer be permitted to subsist as a bar- rier against the rights and liberties of the people. 2. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this convention, on the occurrence Rep. No. 546. 257 of the American Revolution, when the ties of allegiance which hound the subjects of this colony to the throne of England were dissolved, the rights of sov<'reignty, in accordance with the principles of republican government, passed to the whole body of the people of this State, and not to any special or fcwored portion of the same ; that the whole people were and are the just and riijhifitl successors of tlie British king, and as such were and are enti- tled to alter, amend, or annul the form and provisions of government ihen and now subsisting, with the sole restriction imposed by the constitution of the United States; and, in their original and sovereign capacity, to devise and substitute such a constitution as they may deem to be best adapted to the general welfare. 3. Resolved, That no lapse of time can bar the sovereignty inherent in the people of this State; and that their omission to form a constitution, and their toleration of the abuses under which they have so long labored, are to he regarded as proof of their lona: suffering and forbearance, rather than as ar- guments against their power and their capacity to right themselves, wtien- ever, in their opinion, redress from the governments at present subsisting is hopeless, 4. Resolved, That the time has now fiilly arrived for a vigorous and con- centrated effort to accomplish a thorough and permanent reform in the po- litical institutions of this State. 5. Resolved, That a system of government under which the legislative body exercise power undefined and uncontrolled by fundamental laws, ac- cording to its own "especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion," and limits and restricts, and makes and unmakes the people at its pleasure, is anti-republican, and odious in its character and operations, at war with the spirit of the age, and repugnant to the feelings of every right minded Rhode Island man, and ought to be abated. 6. Res'ilved, That the public good imperatively requires that the powers of the legislature, and rights of the citizens, should be defined and fixed by a written State constitution. 7. Resolved, That the representation of the towns in the General Assem- bly, as originally established by the provisions of the charter of King Charles II, had reference to the then existing population of the same, and was at that time not unfairly adjusted to it; but that, by the great increase of popula- tion in the towns, the existing apportionment has become exceedingly une- qual and unjust in its operations ; and that a new assignment of representa- tives among the towns, according to population, will be an indispensable ar- ticle in a constitution for this State. A majority of the representatives to the General Assembly are now elected by towns containing less than one- third of the population of the State; and some of the towns, from twice to twenty times what they are entitled to, under the just principles of distribu- tion above named — an inequality not uncommon in the monarchies of Eu- rope, but, with the single exception of Rhode Island, unknown in the Uni- ted States. 8. Resolved^ That, at the foundation of this State, and long after, property in land was not only the principal property of the citizens, but was so easily attainable, that a landed qualification for voters (first definitely established in the colony by the legislature in 1724) excluded only a small portion of the people from political power ; but that the circumstances of the people have since greatly changed, and the existing qualification for voting has the effect, contrary to the designs of those who first established it, of exclu- 17 258 Rep. No. 546. ding the great majority of 16,000, or 25,000 over the age of twenty one years, from all political privileges and participation in the aflairs of govern- ment ; and that, although we entertain a high and becoming respect for farmers, and their just njfiuence in the State, we are not insensible to the merits of their younger sons — of the mechanics, the merchants, the working men, and others — who own no land ; and that we are of opinion that the longer continuance of a landed qualification for voters is a great injustice, and is contrary to the spirit and principles of a republican government ; and that a constitution for this State will be altogether insufficient, unsatisfac- tory, and impracticable, that does not restore to the body of the people of this State the rights and principles of American citizens. 9. Resolved, That a continuance of the provisions of the charter relating to representation, and of the act of the legislature requiring a freehold es- tate to entitle a citizen to vote for public officers, has the effect not only to vest the control of the General Assembly, as we have before seen, in less than one-third of the population, but, as the voters in this third are only a third part of the whole number of male adult citizens, this further effect also — the most odious of all — of placing the control of the Assembly and the State in one ninth part of its adult population; or, in other words, in the hands of less than three thousand men out of twenty five thousand, who are over twenty-one years of age. 10. Resolved, That such a state of things is a bold and hardy defiance of all popular rights, and is a total departure from the principles advanced at the first session of the General Assembly in the year 1647, who then sol- emnly declared and voted that the government of this State should be a democracy. 11. Resolved, That the American system of government is a government of men, and not of property ; and that while it provides for the ample protec- tion and safe enjoyment and transmission of property, it confers upon it no political advantages, but regards all men as free and equal, and exacts from them no price for the exercise of their birthright ; and that, therefore, the un- doubted rights and privileges of the people, as well as the true honor and pros- perity of the State, can only be completely obtained and permanently insured iby a written constitution, whose framers shall be chosen from the people of •Uie towns, in proportion to population, and which shall be approved and rati- fied by the people at large ; and that, in the exercise of this high act ol sover- eignty, every American citizen, whose actual permanent residence or home is in this State, has a right to participate. And we accordingly pledge our- selves individually to each other, and collectively to the public, that we will use our unremitting exertions for such a constitution, in the way that has been described. 12. Resolved, That we disclaim all action with or for any political party in this great question of State rights, reserving to ourselves individually our own opinions on all matters of State or national politics, which we call upon no man to sacrifice; and that we heartily invite tlie earnest co-operation of men of all political parties in the cause which we have at heart, and which we believe to be the cause of liberty, equality, and justice to all men. 13. Resolved, That the General Assembly should have called the con- vention to frame a constitution in such a manner as to apportion the dele- gates to the convention among the several towns, according to population, and to give to every American citizen as aforesaid the right of voting for Rep. No. 546. 259 ?le]egates and for the constitution which may be proposed for the ratifica- iHiu of the people. 14. Resolved, That the friends of reform in each town be requested forth- witlj to establish an association for the ^nrpose of a better organization for correspondence, and generally for the promotion of the objects of this con- vention. 15. lit^solvcd, That a State committee of eleven persons be appointed by this convention to correspond with the associations of the several towns, and to carry forward the cause of reform and equal rights, and to call a conven- tion of delegates to drauglit a constitution at as early a day as possible. 16. Resolved, That the State committee be requested to obtain, witliotit delay, a list of all the citizens m the several towns who are ready to vote for and sustain a constitution based on the principles hereinbefore declared, and to present the same at the adjourned meeting. 17. Resolved^ That the State comtriittee be requested to prepare and send forth an address to th^people of this State on the subjects contained in the foregoing resoltitions, and to report proceeditigs at an adjourned meeting. 18. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the gov- ernor, to the lieutenant governor, and to each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, whose attention is especially and respectfully asked to the resolution relative to the call of the convention for framing u constitution. 19. Resolved^ That the support and patronage of all the friends of reform are urgently requested in behalf of the " New Age," a newspaper exclusively devoted to the cause which we have this day assembled to promote. 20. Resolved, That these resolutions be signed by the president and sec- retaries of the convention, and published in the several newspapers through- out the State, and that the publishers be requested to give them a gratuitous insertion in their respective papers. 21. Resolved, That this convention, when it adjourns, will adjourn to meet at Providence on the 5lh day of July next. The following gentlemen were then appointed a State committee, in ac- cordance with the loth resolution : Newport county. — Hon. Charles Collins and Hon. Dutee J. Pearce. Providence county. — Samuel H. Wales and Benjamin Arnold, jr. Washington county.— Wm. S. Peckham and Sylvester Himes. Kent con?ity. — Silas Weaver and Emanuel Rice. Bristol county. — Samuel Allen and Benjamin M. Bosworth. No. 15.— (B.) Resolutions of the mass convention held at Providence., R. I., July 5, 1841. Resohed, That on this, (he anniversary {5(h July, 1841) of our nation- al independence, we recur, with emotions of deep and patriotic gratitude, to the principles, the measures, and the men of the American Revolution. Resolved, That the doctrines of liberty and equality, first promulgated in modern times by the immortal founders of our Slate, and re asserted by 260 Rep. No. 546. tlie illnslrions author of the declaration of independence, lie at the founds, tion of all that is just and free in our political institutions; and that the vindication of these doctrines, when impaired, and the development of them in all their force and effect, are duties of the most sacred and impera- tive obligations, and enjoined upon us by the venerable fathers, who, being dead, yet speak to us, by our character as republicans and as men, and by our regard to the rights and interests of our succe^-sors. Resolved, That, in the language of Jefferson, '-It is not only the right, but the duty, of tliose now on the stage of action, to change the laws and institutions of government, to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, the lights of science, and the amelioration of the condition of society;" — and that " nothing is to be considered unchangeable, but the inherent and unalienable rights of man." Resolved, That the political institutions of this State have long since lost their character of liberty and equality, which belong to a republic; and that, inasujuch as in the words of Washingtoi^ " the basis of our po- litical institutions is the right of the people to make and to alter their con- stitutions," it has now become the duty of the people of Rhode Island, act- ing upon the principles which have been recited, and animated by the ex- ample of their patriotic ancestors, to apply with a firm hand, without un- necessary delay, and in their original and sovereign capacity, the necessary corrective to existing political evils, by the formation and adoption of a written republican State constitution. Resolved, "That we unanimously and cordially re-affirm the views, sen- timents, and plans" set forth in their resolutions by the convention of the friends of equal rights, held at Newport on the 5th day of May last ; and that, inasmuch as the General Assembly of this State, at their last session, m June, have finally decided that the freeholders are exclusively the people of Rhode Island, and have denied to the great majority of the people, so far as it is in their power thus to deny, any participation in the convention to be held in November next, the time has now fully arrived for the peo- ple, in their original and sovereign capacity, to exercise their reserved rights; and that we hereby approve the call by the State committee of the people's convention, on the basis of the resolutions aforesaid, at an early day, for the formation of a constitution. Resolved, That when the constitution, so framed, shall be adopted by a majority of the whole people of the State, by their signatures or other- wise, as the convention may provide, we will sustain and carry itito effect said constitution, by all necessary means; and that, so far as in us lies, we will remove all obstacles to its successful establishment and operation : and we hereunto solemnly pledge ourselves to each other and the public. Resolved, That we hail with pleasure the presence among us of the venerable remnants of our revolutionary worthies; and entertain the hope that they may be spared to witness another anniversary, when they will be deemed not only worthy of shedding their blood for the defence of their country, but of voting for their rulers, and of taking an equal share of the concerns of government. Resolved, That we enter our solemn protest against the principles upon which the landholders' constitution is called, as by that call a large ma- jority of the people of this State are excluded from a participation in the choice of deh^gates to frame a constitution, by the provisions of which they are to be governs d. Rep. No 546. 261 Resolved, That we deny the authority of the legislature to proscribe or prevent any portion of our fellow-citizens, who are permanent residents of this State, from a participation in the organization of the government, which is to affect the rights and privileges of all. Resolved, That it is contrary to the spirit of a republican government for a minority to make laws that shall bind the majority ; and that we will resist, to the utmost of our ability, a government that shall not acknowledge the just rights of the whole people. Resolved, That we will use all honorable means within our power to have every American citizen, who is a permanent resident in this State, represented in the convention for framing a constitution that shall define the powers of the legislature, and secure to the people the free exercise of their rights and privileges. By a vote of said mass convention, the following gentlemen were added to the State committee, viz: Nbicport county. — Silas Sisson. Providence county. — Henry L. Webster, Philip B. Stiness, and Metcalf Marsh. Bristol county. — Abijah Luce. Kent county. — John Brown and John B. Sheldon. Washington county. — Wager Weeden and Charles Allen. No. 16.— (C.) Address of the State suffrage connnittee, settitif^ forth the principles of the suffrage movement. Fellow CITIZENS : The undersigned, a committee of those friendly to the formation of a State constitution, and to the extension of suffrage in this State, beg leave to address you on the important subject, and to call your attention to some of the considerations which actuate the friends of reform, as well as to the means considered by them best calculated to effect the ul- timate object in view. In doing this, it is neither our intention nor dispo- sition to create feelings of hostility between our fellow-citizens who may honestly differ from each other on the question of expediency or political right, but to excite the public mind to calm discussion and rational inves- tigation ; being morally certain that such a course will fully develop the justice of our cause, and lead to the consummation of our wishes in a njan- ner that shall give universal satisfaction. To all who are acquainted with human character and human passions, it is well known that power and pre eminence cnistitute darling objects of ambition ; and that human ingenuity, aided by interest and prepossession, and more especially sanctioned by custom, habit, and the forpe of edtica- tion, is seldom at a loss lor ifie semblance of argument to satisfy us of our right to that which we hold in possession. For these reasons, we can readily account for the hostility hitherto man- ifested by a great proportion of the landholders of Rhode Island against re- form in o\jr State government, and an extension of the right of suffrage. 262 Rep. No. 546. without attributing to them the unqualified determination to act with iojtis- tire towards others. The muiiner in which the territory of the State wa» oriCTiiialiy acquired, the form of government estabhshed under the auspices of the British crown, the quiet submission of the people to that form of gov- ernment since the American revolution, the principles in accordance with it, handed down from generation to generation, and the firm convictions of the friends of the present system that it is most conducive to the best inter- ests of the State, — all operate on the landholders ; and honestly, in most ia- stances, we have reason to believe, they are thus induced to act against what we deem to be the rights of others. That the original colonists of Rhode Island, settling on lands they had purchased as a company, had the incontrovertible right, as proprietors un- der the crown, to institute such rules and regulations for the management of their affairs as they pleased, and as the grant from the crown permitted them to do, it is believed no one will deny. And as, at the period of the Revolution, no measures were instituted to change the iorm, to conform to the change of circumstances; and as, also, they have hitherto neglected to effect such a change, the impression has come down to the present period, that the original form of government still continues in ftiU force, by virtue of the right of the original colonists to institute it; and that it cannot right- fully be changed, but either by the voluntary act, or at least the consent, of tlieir successors in possession. As we ask for nothing but the right, per- mit us to examine this point. It must be recollected that the original settlers of Rhode Island neither claimed nor exercised any other rights than were granted and guarantied by the British crown. Their jurisdiction, therefore, was neither original nor independent, but was boih derived and subordinate ; and its entire force was the royal sanction un^uaranty. And even their right to the soil, by purchase of the natives, could have given them no exclusive right of pos- session, but by force of the royal patent. 13id the same or similar circum- stances now exist, it is readily acknowledged that the non-freeholders could set forth no legal claim to participation in the government, and but two events (one or both) could occur to extend to them that privilege, or to legalize the claim. In the first instance, the freemen might grant it ; in the second place, the royal charter might be revoked, or be rendered null and void by the destruction of the royal autliority. It cannot be doubted that, had the entire British realm been revolution- ized, instead of only her American colonies, and the declaration of the uni- versal national equality of man been adopted as the basis of government, the people of Rhode Island, in common with all their fellow-citizens of the nation, would have been thrown back on their natural rights, and released from their subjection to the royal will, claimed and exercised the right to. frame and adopt a government in obedience to the will of a majority only. In no other way could a legitimate government have been formed; for the only governmental power and authority, except what originally resided in the people themselves, would thus have been annihilated. Such principles would have been the cliaracter and effect of the revolu- tion under Oliver Cromwell, had he and his associates proceeded on the principles adopted by our revolutionary fathers ; and such also the French revolutions of 1792-93, and of 1830. But the American revolution produced precisely the state of affairs in the revolted colonies as though the king Rep. No. 546. 263 had been dri\ren from the throne, royalty proscribed, monarchy abohshed, all ranks and distinctions amono^ men obliterated, the government dissolved, and its powers restored, to be exercised of right by the whole people. As to the colonies, all ibis did take place ; and no statesman who values his reputation as such, will hazard the assertion, that the slightest claim of force in our government can be erected on the grant and sanction of our former sovereign or his successors. On what, ihen, does the claim rest? First, on the ownership of the soil. Did our landholders still con- tinue simply a body corporate, permitted to regulate their company affairs under a former jurisdiction, that ground would be valid. But circum- stances have changed. The body corporate has merged into a sovereign and independent State. The very acts by which that sovereignty and in- dependence were declared and established, created freeholders and non-free- holders a body of political equals. It recognised the original rights^ and not the acquired privilege of the "governed," without discrimination, to ex- ercise powers inherent in them, and ^^ indefeasible^' as well as " unalienable,^^ to be conj-ulttd and heard, and altio to act on the question how they should or would be governed. Tfie freemen or landholders of Rhode Island consented to this act and to these principles. On that condition the State was incorporated into the American Union. From that moment she placed herself under a new jurisdiction — the government of tlie people. And from that moment, also, the people — all the people — whom the American revo- lutionary and constitutional principles recognised as the original source and rigfitful possessors of all political power, resumed, and might have expe- rienced, the ritfht to erect a government for themselves. But, in the second place, it is confidently asserted, that the people having quietly submitted to th« govt-rnment as it is, that government has become prescriptive; and that thus the not) freeholders have lost their right to de- mand or effect a change, even if they possessecfit. We do not ihus view the suliject ; and we believe those who assert this principle are altogether in error, i'hat our government is prescriptive, we admit ; but we do not admit that it can invalidate an original right. A government by prescrip- tion, or by custom, certainly cannot claim the force of one that has receiv- ed the formal satiction of the people ; and if it could, we. as republicans, assert, without fear of contradiction, that a majority of the '■'■governed'^ have, at any time, and on any occasion, a right to change their govern- ment — a right which, being inherent, unalienable, and indefeasible, not even they can part wiih by their free and voluntary act ; much less can it be taken from them by prescription, or by precedent, or by any act of their predecessors. We declare it, therefore, as our solemn conviction — a convic- tion strengthened and confirmed by the principles and acts of the most em- inent statesmen — that a majority of the citizens of this, or of any other State, have ihe incontrovertible right, at any time they may choose, to assemble together, and, eitlier by themselves or by their delegates, lo alter, amend, annul, or reform their government, at pleasure; always controlled by the dictates of natural law, that the legitimate end of government is the good of the whole in general, and of each individual in particular. To suppose that, under such a political system as that of tb.e American Union, the fun- damental principle of which is the sovereignty of the people, one generation can bind those who succeed it to any principles or form of government, or that prescription or custom should divest them of their right of change, is 264 Kep. No. 546. preposterous. Tt is, moreover, the doctrine of tyranny ; and, once estab- lished, the sovereignty of the people is destroyed. Without fear of contradiction, therefore, we aver that, even had the pres- ent form of govt:rnment been formally sanctioned by the people of Rhode Island, (which it never was,) they could be bound to its provisions no long^er than during their own pleasure. The original power and sove- reignty of the people are never relinquished. Tliey cannot be ; for they are unalienable and indefeasible. They are merely delegated, to be exer cised for certain purposes ) and whenever those who delegated them become satisfied that the contemplated object has not been, and will not be, given by their exercise, they have the right to resume them, and to use them as they please. Such is the doctrine of natural law, and such also is the doctrine of the declaration of American independence, which has been en- grafted on the American constitution. It is in vain that the portion of Rhode Ishmd citizens called freemen, or a part of them, assert that a change in the form and principles of our gov- ernment is inexpedient, inasmuch as it is asserted by them that a change could not benefit the State. This is an assertion only, and rests on mere speculative conjecture. Riglit claiujs precedence of expediency. It is enough for us to know (and on this point we are certain) that a majority of the cit- izens of the State are deprived, by the existing government, of the rights which their Creator bestowed on them, and which the principles tiiat con- stituted the very basis of the national government sanction and guaranty. A participation in the government of the State they have a right to demand and assume. It is not a question whether the minority are willing to iti- trust the exercise of the political power in the hands of a majority, or pre- fer to retain it themselves; the question is not. Will the State be better or worse governed in consequence of the change? It is a simpli^ question of individual riijht ; imd the%laim is one .which cannot be successfully de- nied. The disfranchised citizens among the '•'• governed'''* — among those, therefore, for whose benefit government is, or should be, instituted — among those from whom the powers of government are, or should be, derived. Hence their right is unquestionable to a voice as to the disposition of tliose pow- ers and their exercise, and the fitness of the government and its adaptation to the end proposed — the good of the governed. This is their right. This right they claim. They constitute tlie majority. With thetn, therefore, is the right to decide. And they presume themselves to be, and will be found to be, as ctipal^le of jud^^ing correctly, and acting as wisely, as to the true ends of government, as are the minority, who now exercise all its functions. It will be time enough to talk of the result, after the cfiange has been effect- ed. If it be evil, the people will not long submit to it: if good, riijht will liave been done, and the welfare of the State secured. But why talk of the present system of government? We have no fixed system. Every system of government, or anything else, is made up of certain fundamental rules and principles, from which those who act upon it are not at liberty to depart. Every science and art has its fixed rules and principles, and these constitute their system ; the constitution — the uork of the people — of the governed — fixing metes and bounds to the power and authority of the several departments, prescribing definite principles of ac- tion, and eiroumscribing the legi.'>lative, executive, and judicial servants of the nation, by limits tliey dare not overstep. Such is the case with all the States, except our own. These are the only legal barriers against usurpa- Rep. No. 546. 265 tion, misrule, and deception. When these are violated, at the expense of official perjury, the people have their remedy under those systems of gov- ernment ; but, without them, tlie minority, and even the disfranchised ma- jority, have no other security for their dtjarest rights than force and arms — • always precarious, and frequently resulting in violence and blood. The only guarantee of rights to the people of Rhode Island is the constitution of the United States. We have no constitution — nosystem of government. Kven the right of franchise, the " basis of every free elective government," and the most valuable privilege of the free citizen, is in the liands of the legislative body, unguarded by any popular barrier, to be moulded to any form the mujoriiy of the legislature may think proper, to gratify their ambition, or to promote party objects. Thus the right of suffrage is the subject of con- tinual fluctuation and change at the hand of parties, as one or the other may obtain the power, and as may appear best calculated to perpetuate its hold on power, and to baffle the efforts of opponents. It is a solemn fact, and one that admits of no denial, tliat the General y\ssembly may, if a ma- jority of that body choose, at its very next session, and without a moment's warning to the people of the State, repeal every syllable of law relative to the elective francliise, and enact another law as entirely different from it as possible— and, indeed, effect one entire change in the policy of the State ; and there is neither constitution, law, nor precedent to the contrary. Should such abuses occur, where is the remedy of the people? No constitulional principles are violated, because we have none to violate. Precedents could not be appealed to, because all precedent in Rhode Island is but a contin- ual exhibition of the exercise of unqualified and unlimited legislative power. Laws could not be resorted to, because all former ones having been repealed, new ones would have been enacted to suit the occasion. An ap- peal to the legislature would, of course, bt; fruitless, as that body would not sit as judges to condemn themselves. Resort to courts of law would be useless, as they have no constitutional principles to guide them. Their criterion is the legislative action. And, except when provisions of the con- stitution of the United Suites are involved, or questions of common law, the courts of Rhode Island, the creatures of legislative power, exist, sit, and act, only to carry out the legislative will ; vvherea-;, in other States, the people can always appeal from that will, through the courts themselves, to the constitution which they have adopted: thus, by means of the action of their own original power, compelling both courts and legislative bodies to act within the limits (he people themselves have marked out. Bat, we repeat it, the people of Rhode Island have no one of the above safeguards. Prom the town council to the chief justice of tbe highest court ; from the voter in the House of Representatives, to the Governor who presides at the Senate body— all are free from constitutional restraint, all free from popular restraint. The sole power centres in the General As- sembly; and that power is independent, and politically omnipotent. To what resort, then, can the people flee for redress, when that power shall have been grossly abused? There are but two modes left them: 1. The ballot-box. 2. 'I'he resumption and exercise of their original and natural rights and powers. l-'irst, then, to the ballot box. And now let us turn our attention to this subject for a moment, and see how far that resort would be available. Suppose, then, the advocates of right and justice, or the friends of the present government and laws, should come forward with sufficient strength 266 Rep. No. 546. at the polls to eject from the seat of power men who had rendered themselves obnoxious by acts of usurpation and misrule : what stronger guarantee would you receive from their successors that they would reform abuses, than the in- dividual pledges of (perhaps) ambitious and interested political partisans? And even should pledt^es be redeemed, what assurance c^nld you have that another body, in another year, would not revisit you with greater evils than those which had been removed ? Each General Assembly, the State being destitute of constitutional provisions, is an independent body, acting solely on its own responsibility, guided only by its own principles of action, and its own rules ; and the people have no other means of restraint upon their actions, than the distant view of the ballot box, and which each General Assembly might previously regulate, by changing the tenure and qualifications of the elec- tive fratichise to suit themselves. The committee would appeal to every reflecting, high-minded, and honorable man, and ask, in all candor and sin- cerity, if the rights and privileges free by nature, and free by the laws and constitution of our common country, should be thus intrusted to chance, or to fortune, or (what is still worse) to the hands of political partisans, to be manufactured, at pleasure, into political capital, to aid the cause of aspirmg ambition? Can any people be safe under such circumstances? Under them, what man that is free to day, can have the assurance that he will not be a slave to-morrow? Whut, then, remains, but for the people to resume and exercise their original ris^hts, and to frame for themselves a constitu- tion of government, which shall guard and protect them against the exer- cise of arbitrary power, by prescrit)ing limits to legislative action. We feel certain that the freemen, (or, in other words, the present voters of the State,) would spontaneously, and without legal formality, assemble and institute means of redress, in case their ov/n rights were thus invaded. Thus have the rights of our disfrancliised citizens been invaded, without in- termission, from the period of the American Revolution. As far as they are concerned, they have been the subjects of continual usurpation and misrule ; and so far have even their civil rights been trampled on, that, without the sanction o( a freeman, or landholder's name, as a master vouches for his slave, they are not known in law, or permitted to appear as parties, to ask for justice at the hands of a judicial tribunal ; and all this in the very face of the fundamental political doctrine of our nation, that the power is in the governed, and that from them all the just powers of government are derived. Thus circumstanced, it is quite apparent that the disfranchised citizens of Rhode Island, and who constitute a majority of the whole people, can find no redress tlirough the ballot box, from which, by law, they are ex- cluded. Nor is it much more likely that they will derive it from legislative aid ; the members of the legislature being exclusively the representatives of the minority, who wield the power. INor yet is there niore to hope from the freemen or landholders themselves at the polls, unless, contrary to what has heretofore happened, a majority of them liave become willing that right and justice should supersede the lust of power. The conunittee are happy to believe that a very considerable change has taken place, in this respect, within a short period; and that a very respect- able body of the landholders are now advocates for a written constitution, to be framed and adopted by the people, and a liberal and permanent sys- tem of suffrage filaced beyond the reach of legislative control and interfe- rence. The committee congratulate the friends of the cause on this auspi- Rep. No. 546. 267 cious circumstance; still it must not be disguised that nincii yet remains to be done. 'i'lie friends of reform must depend on their own active energies. The laws of the State are against them ; the legislative authority is against them ; the custom of more tiian half a century is against them ; and, no doubt, the opinions, interests, political aspirations, and the prejudices and prepossessions of a majority of the landed interest are against them. To the timid mind, and to the mind that has not investigated the subject, all these may present a powerful hostile array; but were they ten thousand times more powerful even than they appear, the rights and privileges of a sohtary American citi- zen are fully worthy of the struggle. However forbidding the obstacles that may present themselves — however dark and frowning the aspect of the opposition— however threatening the arm of power suspended over us, — they are mere shadowy and unsubstantial forms, and a single act of the ma jority of the whole people of Rhode Island will be found sufficient to sweep them all away. The people — the '■'■ n inner i calf or ce'^ — have but to proclaim their will, to resume their original powers, and assert their original rights. It is but for the people to arouse themselves to action, to array themselves in the majesty of their strength, and to speak with imited voice. " VVe, THE PEOPLE," decree it, is a legitimate sanction to the warrant that cop- signs an unequal government to the grave. " We, the people," the para- mount power of a free elective government; have but to speak, and their voice must be obeyed, for their will is the fountain of government and laws. " We, the people," are the original depositary of power, and the only source whence government derives its sanction, its strength, and its sup- port; and government thus fran)ed and adopted, must be legitimate — must rise superior to all others, and must be sanctioned and sustained by our national councils. For. under the auspices of a free, elective republic, based on the great principles of natural equality and of the popular sover- eignty, what authority shall interpose to defeat the will of the popular ma- jority, expressed in the formation of a government on similar principles? We repeat it, therefore, the people have but to put forth their energies to resume and exert their original rights and powers, and to speak and act; to assemble of their own accord ; to repudiate the existing government of the State ; to frame and adopt another more congenial to human rights, and to organize themselves under it as a body politic, which a free people have at all times the right to do; and demand the fulfilment of the con- stitutional pledge which guaranties to every State in the Union a republi- can form of government. To do this, fellow citizens, is your only availa- ble and certain course. To do this, unanimity, at least, of action must mark your conduct. Among a great body of men contending for their rights, some conflicting feelings and opinions on minor points must exist. Of these, amoncr ourselves, probably the most prominent and important is, on what shall be the final extent of the elective franchise, or who shall be admitted to vote at elections? This question is frequently put, and by it your opponents hope to scatter dissension in your ranks, and to defeat your purpose. But be it borne in mind that this is a question which now is not the time to answer; nor does it belong tons to answer it. We cannot hope to attain our object without mutual concessions. As the friends of popular rights, it becomes us individually to abide content by the will of the majority ; and it is confidently believed that no one has united himself with us, and espoused our cause, who will not cheerfully give his sanction 268 Rep. No. 546. to such provisions for the government and well-being of the State as a ma- jority may approve. To the final decision of the majority, then, let the above question be referred, and not permitted to disturb onr harmony, or prevent the cordial union and exercise of all our energies to promote the forward progress of our great and just cause. Be firm ; be united ; press forward with zeal and alacrity; use all honorable means to insure success, and you cannot fail to obtain it. In due time, the committee, lo whom the duty has been intrusted, will issue the call for primary meetings, preliminary to the call of a State con- vention. Meanwhile, we would urge it on every one engaged in the cause, to use his efforts to harmonize the views and feelings of its friends, to awaken their zeal, and arouse them to action ; that thus, when the period shall have arrived when it shall be deemed expedient to attempt the con- summation of the grand object, there may be no faltering; and that all, like one man, with one body, one heart, one soul, and one object in view, to be gained by one means, may come forth at the call, and practically manifest the indomitable resolution to rescue, preserve, and perpetuate the rights of freemen. On you, fellow-citizens, under God, depends the issue. If you are re- solved, firm, and immovable, you must succeed ; and you will thus trans- mit to your posterity an invaluable legacy, for which they will bless you. If, through supineness and neglect, you should fail of the object, you leave yourselves — and it niay be also your descendants — demi-slaves, subject to the exercise of arbitrary power, and destitute of a constitutional guaranty for a solitary right, political or civil. Your aid, one and all, is confidently expected. Let not the friends of freedom in Rhode Island and our sister States be disappointed. Let " God and the right" be your motto. Let us remember that " in union there is strength." Move with energy and act with vigor, and your efforts will and must be crowned with success. State committee. Newport — Charles Collins, Dutee J, Pearce. Providence — Samuel H. Wales, W. B. Sayles, Bt njamin Arnold, jr. Bristol — Benjamin M. Bosworth, Samuel S. Allen. Kent — Emanuel llice, Silas Weaver. Washington— William S. Peckham, Sylvester Hmies. At a meeting of the above committee, June 11, 1841, on motion, Voted, That the secretary be directed to transmit a copy of this address to each of the editors of the newspapers in this State, and request them to give it a gratuitous insertion in their respective journals. BENJAMIN ARNOLD, Jr., Secretary, Rep. No. 540. 269 i\o. 17.— (D.) Address of the State suffrage committee, culling upon the people to elect delegates to a convention for the purpose of forming a constitnlion. At a mass convention of the friends of equal ria^hts and of a loritten repub- lican constliutioa for this State, held at Newport on (he 5th day of May, 1841, tlie follovvino^ persons were appointed a State committer, for the furtherance of the cause which tlie convention had assembled to promote, viz: Newport county. Bristol county. Benjamin M. Bosvvorth, Charles Collins, Samuel S. Allen, Dutee J. Pearce, Abijaii Luce. Silas Sisson. Kent county. Providence county. hjmanuel nice, Silas Weaver, Samuel H. Wales, John B. Sheldon. Benjamin Arnold, jr., Welcome B. Sayles, Washington county. Henry L. Webster, Sylvester Himes, Pliilip B. Stiness, Wager W^eeden, Metcalf Marsh. Charles Allen. The State commiltee were directed to " carry forward the cause of reform and equal rights, and to call a convention of delegates to draught a constitu- tion at as Ccirly a day as possible." At an adjourned meeting of said mass convention, held at Providence on the .oth day of July, the instructions before given were reaffirmed, and the committee were directed to call a convention of the people, on the basis of the resolutions passed at Newport, "at an early day, for the formation of a constitution." Pursuing these instructions, the committee held a meeting at Providence on the 2Uth of .Inly; and, in conformity with the eleventh resolution adopted at Newport, which prescribes the call of a convention of the people at large, to be represented in proportion to population, passed, unanimously, the fol- lowing resolution for the call of a popular convention : Voted., That we proceed to issue a call for the election of delegates to take place on the last Saturday in August, (the 2Sth day,) to attend a con- vention to be holden at the State-house in Providence, on the first Monday in October, (the 4th day,) for framing a constitution to be laid before the people for their adoption. Voted, That every American male citizen, of twenty-one years of age and upwards, v/ho has resided in this State one year preceding the election of delegates, shall vote for delegates to the convention called by the State committee, to be held at the State-house in Providence on the first Monday in October next. Voted, That every meeting holden for the election of delegates to the State convention shall be organized by the election of a chairman and secretary, whose certificate shall be required of the delegates. Voted, That each town of one thousand inhabitants, or less, shall be en- 270 . Rep. No. 546. titled to one delegate; and for every additional thousand, one deleo^ale shall be appointed; and the city of Providence shall elect three delegates from each ward in the city. Voted, That the chairman and secretary be directed to cause one thou- sand handbills to be printed and distributed through the State, containing the call for a convention of deleo;ates. Voted, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman and secretary, and be published. On ino/ioH, voted, That this meeting stand adjourned, to meet at this place on the 1st day of September, at 11 o'clock, a. m. Fellow citizens : We have discharged our duty in a call of a conven- tion of the whole people, to provide for the attainment and security of those invaluable rights which have been so long withheld from them, and without which they are but subjects and slaves in a state only nominally republican. Depend upon it that a spirit has been aroused in this State, which can- not be intimidated nor repressed : which has suffered long, until patience has ceased to be a virtue ; and which, regarding the republican institutions everywhere else enjoyed but here, and prompted by our venerable and patriotic ancestors, the first to assert the true principles of religious and po- litical freedom, will brook no further delay ; and which cannot be more ap- propriately expressed than when we say, in behalf of the great majority of the people — Give lis our rights, or we will take them. We ask for nothing that is not clearly right, and we are determined to submit to nothing so manifestly wrong as the corrupt and anti-republican system of government which has so long subsisted in Rhode Island by the forbearance of the people. Bear in mind that there is no constitutional mode of amending our gov- ernment, except by the people at large, in whom, as the successors of the king of England, the sovereign power resides and remains unimpaired by any lapse of time, or toleration of past abuses. That there is no bill of rights in this State, except that granted by the legislature, and which they can at any moment resume and annul. That the General Assembly is a body irresponsible to the majority of the people, restricted by no constitutional rule of action, virtually omnipotent, making and unmaking the people, doing and undoing what it pleases, ac- cording to its " especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion," in imi- tation, upon a smaller scale, of the monarchy of Great Britain. That the system of representation to this Assembly is also the rotten borough system of Great Britain, now partially reformed ; by which system, in this State, a third of the freemen and one ninth of the people command the House of Representatives. That, by reason of the landed qualification, which it is impossible for the great majority to obtain, two-thirds of the people are ousted of the birthright acquired for them by their fathers ; and are governed, taxed, compelled to do military duty, and subjected in all respects to the will and pleasure of one-third, with the sole restriction imposed by the constitution of the United States. Instead of enumerating other particulars, we only say, look at the history of Rhode Island legislation. Fellow citizens, it is these evils to which the great unenfranchised ma- jority, acting in their original, sovereign capacity, propose and intend to Bep. No; 546. 271 apply an effectual remedy. We ask your aid and assistance in this good work. We respectfully urge upon you to assist in the election of delegates to the popular convention to be held in October next — not as the friends or opponents of any political party now existing in this State, but as the friends of justice, of humanity, of liberty, of equal rights, of well regulated consti- tutional government. Do not be deceived by the freeholders' convention called for November next. It is a gross fraud upon the people. The designs of its originators was to clirystalize, in a stronger form, the present statute provisions relative to suffrage, and to place them beyond the reach of amendment, except by the hand of force. Once more, we say to the unenfranchised mass of our brethren and fellow- citizens, — "Vour rights are in your own hands. Assert and vindicate them like men determined to be free. See to it that a meeting for the choice of delegates is duly held in every town, and that its proportional number is regularly elected. Summon your friends and neighbors to the work ; and, rely upon it, that a constitution framed by such a convention, and signed by a majority of the people, will be promptly acquiesced in by the minority; will be vigorously sustained ; and will become, without delay, the undisputed, paramount law of our State. By order, and in behalf of the State committee. SAMUEf. H. WALES, Chairman. Benjamin Arnold, Secretary. Providence, July 24, 1841. No. 18.— (E.) Extracts from the oration of George R. Bitrrill, delivered in Providence in 1797, in favor of a republican constitution. "Something better than a void, or at most an imaginary constitution, was to have been expected from the State of Rhode Island. We inhabit a crazy and comfortless mansion, shaken by the winds, and pervaded by the storm. The materials are around us of a stable, commodious, and magnificent edi- fice — such a one as might invite the stranger to dwell in it, and be honored and imitated by distant people. The foundation is laid in the independence of our country ; let the superstructure, the constitution, perfected from the models of our fifteen States, and the experience of our own numberless necessities, be raised and fixed upon it. The final extent of a territory in tlje State will render unnecessary that complexity which is found in the constitutions of most States. In fine, we might enjoy a constitution more simple, efficacious, and cheap, than that of any other free government. " But if, in a representative government, the greater number of the peo- ple choose only the minority, and the smaller number choose the majority of the legislature, how shall a constitution, or a change in the constitution, be eftected ? Equal representation in such a case will be the consequence of a constitution, and will deprive this majority of that precious power, of which men are so tenacious, and which, when they are once in possession of it, they will strive to render perpetual. To petition this legislature for equal representation, is to require the majority to surrender their power — a 272 Rep. No. 546. requisition which it is not in human nature to s^rant. But is this evil to be perpetual? Is there not in every free jj^overntnent the principle of amend- ment and accoajtnodation — a radical health-givino: principle — a natural con- stitution, paramount to all positive institutions ? If there is not, there may then be, in a given case, a free people, who neither are nor ever can be governed by their representative ; and the government, thus corrupt and absurd, may exist with all its errors and abuses forever, exhibiting this paradox — a free, sovereign, and independent people, desirous of changing their form of government, without the power of doing it. Such a perpe tuity is absurd and repugnant ; the power exists in the State, and in every free State; and that of necessity, and mdependently of any human provision. Representation always supposes proportion. A hundred inhabitants in one place cannot be represented by one man, while an equal nunjber in another place are represented by ten men. Either, in the first instance, there are ninety who are not represented ; or there are, in the second instance, nine persons in the legislature who represent nobody. Such a disproportion always constitutes a tyranny, active or dormant, and severe or not, accord- ing as the disproportion is great or small. Tiie minority and their con- stituents are absolutely in the power of the majority. If this disproportion may consistently exist in any degree, however small, the principle is admit- ted, and it may exist in any degree, however great. It is certainly impossible to justify such a government in the understandings of that minority or their constituents. It is absurd to maintain that the people are free in a despotic government, or that the government may be so constrncted as that it never can alter or improve, and that its errors and abuses must be perpetual. Yet this doctrine, so absurd, so repugnant and contradictory, has found its ad- vocates. If there is any convenience or advantage in equal representation, it becomes a right ; and rights are equally sacred, and to withhold them is equal injustice, whatever may be the subject to which they relate, whether pecuniary or political. To withhold this right, may be the triumph of petty ambition, the jest of those who trifle with justice, and indifferent to those waxen consciences which may be moulded to every feature of cir- cumstance ; but to the upright and liberal mind, and public s[)irit, it is matter of serious concern, and, measured on the scale of moral justice, it is a high handed wrong. " 'The whole constitution of a free government is not a positive institution ; neither is it or can it be written upon paper. No machinery can destroy the force of gravity, neither is there need of machinery to precipitate bodies to the earth. No law can make that right, which is morally wrong. As in natural philosophy and in morals, so also in government, there are certain fixed and unchangeable maxims, which enter into the very essence of it, which no written constitution can vary, or needs or ought to explain or declare. The existence of this constitution paramount is so true, that there can be no free government where it is not acknowledged. It is the rectifying principle, which enables government to effect the purposes of its institution. It is like the operations of nature, which, in the natural body, repair the waste of age, disorder, and injurious impressions. When these operations are weakened, the body decays; when they cease, the body is dead. It is the standard and regulator of every function, continually correcting and improving. Whenever any authority supersedes the constitution para- mount, that authority becomes absolute power. In a free government, no majority, even among the people, who alone are the makers of the written Rep No. 546. 273 constitution, can prevail ag-ainst it. The power of such a majority is but the power of the strons-est, and not a legitimate or consliiutinnal po^uer. Much less can the legislature^ to wliich even the written constitution gives law, control the constitulioii pftramount , to which all other authority is subordinate. Whenever a court of law exceeds its jurisdiction, the judg- ment is illegal and void, and the ministerial oificer executes it at his peril. All laws enacted by the legislature contrary to the constitution, are also void, and not binding upon the courts of law or the citizen. In like manner, whenever the written constitution contravenes the constitution paramount — or, in other words, the principles and mimutable maxims of free government — it is void. Rebellion, therefore^ or resistance to law and, order, is not to be imputed to those who maintain this supreme anlhoriiy, ulthongh they act in opposiLion to a written constitution; because, wherever the two authorities interfere, the subordinate is void, and must give place to the supreme au- thority. Still less can, the charge be alleged, where there is no wrilten constitution, or where it was never ratified by the people, but imposed on them by an authority which they haoe in the most solemn manner re- nounced. Equal representation is involved in the very idea of a free gov- ernment ; it IS accordingly and consequently provided by the constitution paramount, that every citizen shall be represented. When and how this equal representation sfiall operate, is left to the written constitution to pro- vide ; but that it shall operate, is alrendy provided for by the constitution paramount. Resistance to this supreme authority, is that act of domestic violence, against ivhich the government of the United States is to protect the ifidividual States. "There are three principal branches in government — that is to say, the makers of the written constuution, the law-makers , and the administrators of the law; or, in other words, the people, the legislature, and the courts of law. All other branches are collateral and ministerial. The maki?ig of the constitution paramoimt is no act of govern/meid; it always exists: it is the immediate work of Goil, and a part of nature itself. These three branches are distinct and separate. A court of justice cannot create a legis- lature, or enact a law; since it exists after the law, is created by the law^ and acts under it. Neither can the legislature create a. constitution; since the legislature itself is the creature of the written c, IS44. Then the above testimony was subscribed and sworn to before me, EDMUND BUKKE, Chairman of the Select CommiUee oil the Rhode Island wenioiial. No. 21. Test'unoiiy of Colom-l James B'lnkhettd. 1. (Question by the committee. Are you an officer of the army of the United States, and what rank in it do you hold? Answer. I am an officer of the United Siat-'S army, and am the colonel of tlie 2d regmient of artillery. 2, Question by the committee. Were you, in the spring of 1842, during the late dijEficulties in Rhode Island, growing out of an attempt by the people to esiablish a constituiion. directed by the President of the United Stales, the Secretary of War, or the cotnmanderin-chief of the army, to proceed to the State of Rhode ishind and take command of the military forces there assembled ; and if so, what was the substance and purport of the orders und<^r which you acted / Answer. 1 was directed, by letter from the Adjutant General's otfice, dated May 5, 1842, to "repair to iS'ewport, Rlmde Island, and there remaui until all appeanuices of domestic violetice shall have disappeared." — (See letter of JMay 5, 1842, from Adjntani General's office.) 'd. Question by the committee. Did you, at any time, in pursuance oj the orders under which you acted, hold communicjiiion wnh (k).vernor King, or any of the acliisg authorities of that State; and did yon, during the pending of said diificuliies, advise with Governor King, or any of said authorities, in relation to ;lie action or movement of the troops under the direction of said governor and authorities, or the uoops of the United States under your command, against that portion of tiie people, of said State who were attempting to esiabiisli a government under the con.>t!i!it:on they pro- 28-1 Rep. No. 546. fessed to have adopted ; and if so, what was the purport of your cidvice to said authorities? Answer. I conferred with Governor King- to obtain information of the state of affairs in Rhode Island, that, if important, I miijht communicate such information to the Government. 1 had no orders or authority to advise with Governor King-, or any of the authorities of tfie State, in relation to the action or movement of the troops under the direction of the said governor and authorities, or of the troops of the United Slate? under my command, against any portion of the people of the State of Rhode Island. 4. Question by the committee. Do you know that troops of the United States were ordered froui otiier posts at which tiiey were stationed, to Rhode Island, during the pending of the difiicuhies before referred to; and if so, what corps and what nunjber; and did any of said troops enter the limits of the territory of Rhode Island? Answer. On the 2d of May, 1842, the garrison of Fort Adams was rein- forced by two companies of artillery from Fort Columbus, New York, making the a^^regnte force there 3(l2. June 17, 1842, two of the companies left Fort Adams, and one company of mounted artillerv joined, reducing the as^gregate force in Rhode Island to 190. July 2, one company of mounted artillery joined the post, making the aiigrcL^ate force 269. 5. (Question by the committee. Were there, to yonx knowledge, at any time during the pending of the difficulties before mentioned, arms, ammu- nition, and other munitions of war belonging to the United States, delivered to, or in any manner placed at ihe disposal of, the acting authorities of the State of Rhode Island, or any of their officers or agents, or troops in their service, to be used against that portion of the people of that State who were attempting to establish a free constitution? Were any of the officers of the \ United States army, acting under your orders or not, engaged personally in ■ connsening- »nd advising the acting authorities of said State, or in drilling • and disciplining troops acting under the orders of said authorities? Answer. No ammunition, or any munitions of war bi^ongiiig to the United States, were delivered to, or in any manner jilaced at the disposal of, the acting authorities of the State of Rhode Island, or any of their officers or agents, or troops in their service, for any purpose whatever, by my authority or to my knowledge — except that a few musket cartridges were loaned to a volunteer company in Newport, by a subordinate officer, in my absence, but which were rein rued. No officer of the United States army under my orders, or the orders of the Government of the United States, was engaged in commandiuL'-, drill- ing:, f^f disciplining the troops of the State of tihode Island. I was not authorized to counsel or advise the authorities of the State on any subject. 6. Q,uesiion by the committee. Were there at any time during the pt'iid- ing ol the difficulties before referred to, arms, ammtmition, lations, and camp or other etpiipa^re, for active service in the field, delivered to the troops of the United Stati'S under your command ; and were they ordered to hold themselves in readiness to act instantly against that portion of the people of Rhode Island who were then attempting to establish a govern- ment under tlie constituiion professed to have b^en adopted by them? Answer. No orders were given to the irottps to hold themselves in readi- Rep. No 546. 285 ness to act instantiv oo;ainst that portion of (he people of Rhode Ishuid who were then atteiDpting to establish a new s^ovcru merit, or any other portion of the people, by any authority emanatino; from the Government. 1 may possibly have given instructions to tlie troops of my command lo be in readiness for any service they migiit l)e called on to perform ; but of this I am not certain, for the troops are always ready, and prepared tor any sei vice they may be called on to perform. No extra supply of arms, ammunition, rations, camp or other equipage for active service in the field, was delivered to the troops of the United States at tjie time referred to above. Some defective muskets were ex- changed, by my order, for effective ones ; and a battery of field artillery, and equipments and ammunition, were sent to Fort Adams ; but thev were necessary, and required for tlie ordinary practice and instruction of the artillery companies ; the field battery which had been iu the service of the companies tiien at Fort Adams, hnvmg been left at Buffalo. Two companies of artillery were ordered from Fort Monroe to Fort Co- lumbus, under the command of Lieut. Col. Fanning, with instructions that he should report their arrival at Port Columbus to Colonel Bankhead. 7. Question by the committee. Were yon at Chepatchet during the lime of the military demonstration of Governor Dorr at that place; and did you counsel with and advise the acting authorities of (he State of Rhode Island, civil or military, in relation to the best plan of attacking Governor Dorr's position ? Answer. J was not at Chepatchet during the time of the military demon stration of Governor Dorr at that place. 1 visited it after he and most of his followers had fled, 1 had no authority to counsel with or advise the authorities of tlie Slate of Rhode Island, civil or military, in relation to the best plan of attacking Dorr's position. 8. (Question by the committee. Had you any other orders from the Pres- ident of the United States, or other superior officer, written or verbal, in relation to your military conduct in Rhode Island, during the pending of the late difficulties in that State, other than those communicated to the House of Representatives by the President with his late message ; and. if so, what were their substance and purport? " Answer, I received no orders from the President of the United States, or other superior officer, in relation to my military conduct in Rhode Island, during the pending of the late difliculties in that State, except to obtain the most correct information of the then ^tate of things, and to communicate it to the proper authority. JAS. BANKHEAD, Colonel 2d regiment artillery. May 3, 1844. Then the said James Bankhead made solemn oath that the foregoing testimony by him subscribed is, in his belief, true. Before me, EDMUND BURKE, ChairnKin of the Select Committee on tlie Rhode Island memorial. 286 Krp. No. 546. No. 22. Testimony of John, It. Vinlon, esq., captain ?>d artillery, United States army. 1. Question by the committee. Are you an officer of the United States army; aiid if so, what r.uik do yon fill 7 Answer, i am a cafitain in the 3d leg^iment United States artillery. 2. Question hy the committee. Were you in Rhode Island, in 1842, du- ring the difficulties growing out of an iittempt by a portion of the people of that State to organize a govern n)ent under a constitution alleged to have been adopted by them ? And if yon answer in the affirmative, were you at that time connected with the military force of the United Slates quartered in that State 1 • Answer. I was on leave of absence for several months in 1842, and for a portion of the time was in Rhode Island. 1 had not arrived there, how- ever, so early in May as to witness the first outbreak, (on the 17th of May, I believe;) and I happened to be absent at New York at the time of the second, (in June, I believe.) Application was made to me by some of my fellow-citizens, in the meanwhile, to lend my professional aid in furtherance of tlieir cause; but, feeling myself bound as an officer of the army to observe the neutral policy known to be entertained by the General Government, I reluctantly declined to act. When I heard afterwards, however, that my native State had been invaded by a force from abroad, I inmiediately re- paired to Washington, to signify "to the Pri^sident my strong desire to act, and to claim the firivilege, as a citizen of Rhode Island, to be exempted for the time from my responsibilities as an officer of the Utiited States army. The President seemed decidedly averse from any interference by the army with the affairs of Rhode Island, and declined to give any official sanction in the case. I returned to Providence, resolved to be i^overned by circum- stances ; but, before I arrived there, the forces under Mr. Dorr had been dis- persed, and the contest was over. I was not at that time connected wi!h the military force of the United States quartered in the liarbor of Newport. 3. Question by the" committee. Did you at any time during the existence of the difficulties growing out of the attempt of a portion of the people of Rhode Island to organize a government under their constitution before mentioned, aid and assist the charter authorities of said State, by drilling and disciplimng troops under the command and direction of said authorities, or instrucliug them, by lectures or otherwise, in tactics and strateiiy? And did you at any lime during the said difficulties, bear arins on the side of the charter government against that portion of the people who were attempting to establish a counter constitution and government? Answer. " During the existence of the difficulties" I did not. After the difficulties were all over — namely, as late as August and September — I under- took', in pursuance of an invitation I'rom Ihe city regiment of Providence, to carry that regiment through a course of instruction in tactics and strat- egy, by drills and lectures. I believe all the organized companies attended these drills. If there were others disaffected to ilie actual government of the State, I was not aware of it. At no time did 1 bear nruis during the controversy between the two parlies, for, as 1 have before shown, I had no opportunity to do so. Rep. No. 546. 287 4, Question by iho committee. Did you ^nve ai.y military aid or conn- sel to lieueral McNeil, then commanding the foices of the charter trovern- mt nt, during ?aid difficulties, or to any officer or agent acting in hehalf o! the charter government; and if so, wliat aid or counsel did you give? Answer. I gave no such aid or counseh 5. Question by the committee. Do you know of any arms, anuTJunition, or other munitions of war belonging to the United States, being delivered to, or used by, the troops in the service of the charter government ; and if so, by whom were they delivered, and of what description and quantiiy were tiiey? Answer. 1 have no knowledge of anything of the kind. 0. (inestion by the committee. Do you know of arms, ammunition, camp equipage, and other articles and instruments of warfare, being delivered to the troops of the United ^States in Khode Island, with a view to prepTro tliem for service against the suffrage party of said State / and if so, state what you know touching the subject of this interrogatory. Answer. I know nothing in reference to this subject. 7, Question by the conunitiee. Is the following a true copy of a letter, bearing date January 12, 1813, addressed by you to Col. \Vm. W. Brown, and others, viz : "PiLATKA. \:. v., January \2, 1843. " Gkntlemen : I have had the honor to receive to-day your letter, dated October 22d, 1842, conveying to me an expression of the approbation of a large portion of my fr-llow-citizens for the humble service it was iny happi- ness to render, in obedience to their wishes, during the last summer, when the public mind in Rhode Island was more than usually directed to milita- ry affairs. 1 have also received the very beautiful pieces of plate which ac- companied that letter. " Por any service rendered to my native State, I could desire nothiiig as a recompense beyond the assurance of having discharged, in proper part, that duty which I shall never cease to owe as one of her sons. Not as a recompense, therefore, could I receive the present you have so obligingly proffered ; but as a token of the good will and kindly feeling of my fellow- citizens, I regard it as beyond all price, and receive it with emotions of grateful satisfaction. "Permit me to say, also, that, in view of my relations a* an oflicer of the United States army, this gratifying testimonial comes to me charged with an additional value; for.it serves to prove that, even in a season of peace with foreign powers, occasions may arise when the professional abilities of the graduates of our Military Academy may be made acceptable to their countrymen constituting the great militia arm of our national defence, at any time when it may seem good to call such abilities in requisition. " Accept, gentlemen, for yourselves, and for the members of the military companies whom you represent, the homage of my profound respect and grateful regard. "JOHN R. VINTON, " Cnptain 'id regiment United States artillery, " Col. Wm. VV^ Brown, and others, " Providence, Rhode LlandJ' Answer. It is a true copy of the letter. 288 Rep. No. 546. 8. duestion by the committee. When, and of what character, were the services by you performed, to which the foregoing letter relates ; and what pay, compensation, reward, or acknowledgment, did you receive for the same 7 Answer. The services rendered were simply those I have recited in an- swer to the 3d interrogatory. No pay or compensation was ever received or desired by me. I should have scorned the very suggestion. My fellow- citizens requested some instruction in the art of war. 1 had been educated at the Military Academy, and was supposed to be able to give it. I felt it to be a grateful duty then, as now, and always, to bestow myself freely at the call of my countrymen, whenever my services might be required. The let ter above quoted shows that the idea of a recompense, beyond the assurance of having discharged my duty, was utterly repudiated by me. The military companies of Providence, however, were intent upon expressing their thanks by a token more substantial than words, and they presented me with seve- ral articles of plate, each bearing a flattering inscription. It was in ac- knowledgment of this mark of their kindness and good will that the forego- ing letti^r was written, 9. Gluestion by the committee. Do you know of any other persons be- longing to the army of the United States, commissioned, non commissioned, or privates, who [(articipated actively and personally on the side of the charter government, or heW any communication with said government, du- ring the pending of the difficulties before meniioued ? If so, please name the persons, and describe the acts which they did. Answer. I am not aware that any persons of tlie army so participated. 10. Question by the committee. Do you know, from any source of knowl- edge w. your possession, other than hearsay and rumor, of the existence of any plot or design on the part of the suffrage party of Rhode Island, or of their friends and confederates, in or out of the State of Rhode Island, to plunder the city of Providence, rob the banks of said city, and subject its women to brutal violence? And if so, name the facts within your knowl- edge, and the persons implicated, or in any way concerned in said plot. Answer. I have no positive knowledge of any of these things. J. R. VINTON, Captain 'Sd regiment artillery. May U, 1844. Then the said J, R. Vinton made solemn oath that the testimony above written, by him subscribed, is true. Before me, EDMUND BURKK, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Rhode Island memorial. No. 22 a. Caption and return of commission to Benjamin P. Hallett, esq. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Suffolk and Bristol., ^ ^"^ By direction and authority of the commission hereto annexed, requiring the depositions of the persons therein named to be taken, in a mutter now pending before the House of Representatives of the United Stat^'S upon the Rep. No. 546. 289 memorial of certain members of the legislature of Rhode Island, and as a justice of the peace throughout tlie Commonwealth, having first taken the oaih required by said commission, before the Hon. Pliny Merrick, one of the associate justices of the court of common pleas, which oath is ap- pended to said commission, I caused Oluey Ballou, esq., of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and also his excellency James Fenner, esq., as the executive of the State of Rhode Island, to be duly and seasonably notified of the times and places of holding the examination required by said commission; which several notices, with the returns of service thereon, are hereunto appended ; and at such times and places, and by adjournuient from day to day, I pro- ceeded to take the examination and depositions of the several persons whose names are inserted in said commission, having first appointed Robert Sher- man, esq., a deputy slierilf for the county of Bristol, as officer in attendance upon the commission sitting in Pawtucket, and caused proclamation to be made that all persons duly authorized by the executive of the State of Rhode Island, or by the memorialists, would be heard and allowed to put interrogatories. Olney Ballou, esq., one of the memorialists, was present on the two first days of the examination; and Benjamin Cowell, esq., coun- sel for the memorialists, was present on eiich day of said examination at Pawtucket. No person authorized by the executive of the State of Rhode Island was present. Previous to the taking of each deposition, the respec- tive v/itnesses were duly cautioned and sworn to testify the truth, and nothing but the truth, touching the subject matter of the examination, as will appear from the jurat affixed to each deposition, which, with the ex- ception of the depositions of Samuel Low and Walter R. Dan forth, were reduced to writing by me, in the ))resence of the respective deponents ; and the same are herewith transmitted (comprising the depositions of forty-five deponents) to the " Hon. Edmund Burke, chairman oi the select committee appointed by the United States House of Representatives, on the memorial of certain members of the legislature of Rhode Island." And I fiirther certify that the memorialists suggested and proposed the examination of other witnesses, whose depositions there was not time to take during the sittings ; but the commissioner did not feel at liberty to extend the inquiry, and thereby delay his report. BENJAMIN F. HALLETT, Commissioner. tVc. No. 22 b. House of Representativks of the U. S., Washington, Aprils, 1844. To Benjamin F. Hallett, Esq., of Boston^ ill the county of Suffolk,, and Cominonwealth of Massachusetts. The select committee, appointed by the House of Representatives on the memorial of certain members of the legislature of Rhode Island, have di- rected me to authorize and empower you to make inquiry into the following matters, touching said memorial ; and for that purpose you are requested to cause to be summoned before you, for examination, under oath or affirma- tion, the witn,esses hereinafter named, viz: 19 290 Rep. No. 546. First. Yoii will proceed lo make inquiry into the fact of the personal par- ticipation of John T. Pitman, clerk of the United States district conrt for the district of Rhode Island, in the suppression of the people's constitution ; for wliich purpose you will summon and examine the tollowing persons, viz : Joseph Holbrook and William Mitchell, of Boston. Second. You will make inquiries uiio alleged aggravated cases of vio- lence to the persons and property of the suffrage citizens of Rhode Island, or to the citizens of Massachusetts ; for this purpose you will summon and examine the following persons, viz : Widow Sarah Kelby, Draper Carpenter, M. I)., Ellis B. Pitcher, William Sullaway, Robert Abell, Freeman Berry, Samuel W. Miller, Joseph Fletcher, David F. Cutting, Thomas V. Medbery, Asa E. Carpenter, Lamed Scott, Samuel Low, William J. Miller, Walter R. Danforth, Aaron Simons, Leon- ard Wakefield, Eliab Whipple, Henry Lord, Mehitable Howard, Nathaniel Knight, Ann Maria Buffington, Elizabeth Nutter, Otis Holmes, Walter S. Burges, George S. Reed, Thomas Reid, Peter Norton, Albion N. Olney, Simeon Sherman, jr., Abel Oaks, William Coleman, Stephen G. Coleman, William Haswell, Thomas Greene, Isaiah Barriey, Lyman A. Taft, Ariel Ballou, John S. Dispean, Harney Chaffee, Wm. C. Thayer, Amos Ide, and John L. Johnson. Before commencing the inquiries and examination which you are herein authorized and directed to make, you will qualify yourself by oath, or affirmation, to the faithful discharge of the duties here assigned to you, be- fore some competent magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You will then give due notice to Olney Ballou, esq., of Cumberland, in the State of Rhode Island, one of the signers of the memorial above mentioned, and also to the executive of the State of Rhode Island, of the times and places when and where such inquiry and examination will be had. And you will also permit to be present at said inquiry and examination any per- son duly atithorized by the respective parties to appear as counsel, and will permit such persons so appearing as counsel to be heard on all questions arising in said examination, and to put to the witnesses in writing all per- tinent and proper interrogatories. It is desired that you proceed with all convenient despatch in the execu- tion of this commission, which, when completed, you will forthwith return to me, with your doings thereon. EDiMUND BURKE, Chairman of the select committee appointed by the United States House of Representatires, o?i the memorial ■ of certain members of the Legislature of Rhode Island. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ) County of Suffolk, \ On this 1st day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, personally appeared Benjamin F. Hallett, and made oath that he would faithfully discharge the duties assigned to and devolving on him, by and under the foreo-oins: commission. Before me, PLINY MERRICK, Judge of the Court of Coninion Pleas. » Rep. No. 546. 291 COMMONWKALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Suffolk, SS : Boston, April 26, 1844. Sir : Yon will please take notice, that, by virtue of a commission from a select committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, to take depositions concorninj; alleged ao;o-ravated cases of violence to the persons and property of the suffrage citizens of Rhode Island, or to the cit- rzens of Massachusetts, in relation to matters of inquiry now before said committee, 1 shall be present for that purpose at the inn of Robert Abell, in Pawtucket, on Thursday, the 2d day of May, at 10 o'clock, a. m., and at my office, No. 20 Court street, in Boston, on Saturday, the 4th day of said May, at 10 o'clock, a. m. ; at which places you are notified to be present, if you shall see fit, by yourself or counsel. Respectfully, B. F. HALLE TT, Commissioner, (^'c. To Olney Ballou, Esq., Cumberland, R. /. Pkovidence. April 27, 1844. I made service of the within notice, by leaving with the within-named Olney Ballon a true and certified copy hereof. BURRINGTON ANTHONY. COMMONWEALTFT OF MASSACHUSETTS, Suffolk, SS : Boston, April 26, 1844. Whereas a select committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, now sitting at W ashington, in the District of Columbia, upon tlie memorial of Oiney Ballou and others, members of the legislature of Rhode Island, have requested and authorized me to take the depositions of sundry persons, to be used in the investigation now pending before said committee, and have directed me " to give due notice to the executive of the State of Rhode Island of the times and places when and where such examination will be had, and to permit to be present any person duly au- thorized to appear as counsel, and to be heard on all questions arising in said examination, and to put to the witnesses in writing all pertinent and jiroper niterrogatories," — you will please take notice that, in pursuance thereof, I shall be present at the inn of Robert Abell, in Pawtucket, on Thursday, the 2d day of May next, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon ; and at my office. No. 20 Court street, in Boston, on Saturday, the 4th day of said May ; at which times and places such person or persons as may be author- ized by you to appear as counsel, will be heard, and may put such interrog- atories as they may think fit. [l. s.] Given under my hand and seal, the date and place aforesaid. B. F. HALLETT, Commissio?ier, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. To his Excellency James Fenner, Esq. Providence, (R. I.,) April 27, 1844, half -past 6 o'clock, p. m. I.made service of the within notice to James Fenner, by leaving a true and attested copy hereof, at the usual place of his abode. BURRINGTON ANTHONY. 292 Rep. No. 546. PEPOSITIONS TAKEN BY BENJAMIN F. HALLETT, ESQ. I. — Deposit ions relating to transactions in Paiofncket, the outrages of the charter troops. my shop, took the key with me, and went to the funeral. 1 followed the remains of Kelby to t!ie grave, and, when returning in the procession, w;is stopped by a friend, who nd- vised me not to go over into Rhode Island, ns tny shop had been broken open by the charter troops, who threatened that they would have me, dead or alive. I did not attempt to return itjto Rhode iNland that afternoon, but the same evening went to Rehoboth, Mass., where 1 remained two- days. On Friday evening following, I returned to my home in Pawtucket, and learned from my wife that my house had also been visited and searched by a gang of charter troops, who carried ofi' a valuable rifle, powder horn, flask, &,c., belonging to me. The next morninof, when 1 went into my shop, I found the contents piled in a heap in the middle of the floor, and that it had been completely ransacked, and everything overhauled. A musket, cartridge box, belts, &c., were taken by the troops who broke into it, which, together with the articles taken from my house, have never been returned to me. Kelby, at the time he was shot, was doing nothmg to as^sail or pro- voke the soldiers, nor had 1 seen him do anything. 1 had just shook hands with liim when the gun fired. We often went down the river fish- ing and clamming, and Kelby and I had thought of going about that time. I never knew nor saw Kelby take any part in the suffrage cause. I saw no persons assailing or insulting the soldiers when Kelby was killed, and knew no reason why they should have fixed on us. SAMUEL W. MILLER. Signed in presence of — Wm. J. Miller. BURRINGTON AnTHONY. North Providence, R. L, May 9, 1 844. Then, in the presence of the within named Samuel VV. Miller, who is feeble in body, but clear in mind, and of sound understaiiding, and after cautioning him as to the importance of slating the truth and the whole truth, as in the expectation of never recovering from his present sickness,. J carefully read to him the foregoing statement, and made the corrections therein at his request, which are interlined, and appended after his signa- ture. And the said Miller now solemnly declares that the foregoing facts are correct and true in all respects, and such as he would testify to if under oath, and which he declares with the same solemnity as if under oath, and that his signature is to have the same effect as if it were now made in my presence. The reason of not administering the oath to the said Miller is, that his residence is over the Massachusetts line in Rhode Island, and he could not, without danger to life, be removed within my jurisdiction. B. F. HALLET'r, Co mviiss loner. No. 25. Deposition oj Fieeinav Berry. I, Freeman Berry, of Paw-tucket, in the State of Mas^achusetis, iuaruit;c. Rep. No. 546. 295 thirty six years of age, depose and say: That on the 27th day of June, 1842, about half-past five in the afternooi), in said Pawtuciarty. After expostulating with him a long time on the impossibility of moving a news- paper office, witli a heavy printing machine, without previous arrangemenis, and with no place but the public streets, or a storehouse, to remove it to; and ascertaining that the only objection he himself had was our printing a daily |:iaper, we proposed to issue one more number of the Express, the day following, (Monday,) to inform our friends of the circumstances under which we labored, and then discontinue its publication until the great ex- citement which then prevailed was abated, and to continue the semi-weekly paper (the New Age) on its regular days of publication as usual. To all of which he assented, and left the office. On Monday, June 27, the daily |)aper was issued, announcing to our patrons and friends the last appearance of the daily paper, under the exist- ing circumstances. We still intended to go on with the semi weekly. On this morning, (the 27ih,) Mr. Larcher again called, and said he had seen '• them folks,^^ (meaning, as I understood, the governor and council, then in session.) and that they had rather see the whole building in ashes, than that we should issue the paper. The excitement continued to increase, and many angry threats were made of destroying the office, and thro\f>ing the publisiiers out of the windows. Armed men were in the office, 1 think, once or twice in the course of this day. Some of our hands were alarmed 2.1 remaining in the office ; we concluded, however, to issue the semi weekly Sm Rep. No. 546. paper on the morrow (Tuesday) morning, its regular day of publication, and were enabled so to do, although we had but one conipositor and Mr. Miller, one of the partners ; we got the paper out for the next morning, and announced in it its suspension for the present. On the morning of the 28lh of June, before the paper was struck off. the office was again visited, and proof-sheets of the morning paper demanded ; they did not get them. The same day. about noon, an order from Governor Dorr to disbatjd his troops dated at Chepatchet, the 27ih of June, directed to the "publishers of the Express," was handed to us by Walter S. Surges. The original of the letter is appended to this deposition. The letter would have reached us on Monday evening, the 27th, in ample season for Tuesday morning's paper^ had it not been intercepted. I have no doubt this letter was in the posses- sion of the governor and council on Monday evening. If published on Tuesday morning, it would have allayed the excitement, and prevented the excesses which happened on that day. It is well known that Mr. Dorr and his friends abandoned Acote's Hill on the afternoon of the day on which this order of the 27th is dated, and this original order was in possession of Governor King and council from Monday evening until Tuesday fore- noon, and suppressed by them, when it was brought to us, broken open ;. and havii g been in the possession of the governor and council, and both of our pafers suspended from causes above stated, we got Mr. Burges to- see if the governor and council would allow a publication of an extra containing this order. He applied to them, and got permission to issue an extra containing the order, which we accordingly published. That was the last paper we issued until September 13, 1842. The paper was not stopped for want of pecunifiry n;eans or patronage at that time, but soltly from the above circumstances. I saw prisoners brought into the city on the return of the charter troops from Chepatchet; they were tied with a small cord at the arms. SAMUEL LOW. Glockster, R. I., Jiwe 27, 1842. Tb (he Publishers of '■'•The Express,^- Providence, R. 1.: Having received such information as induces me to believe that a ma- jority of the friends of the people's constitution disapprove of any further forcible measures for its support ; and believing that a conflict of arms would therefore, under existing circuujstances, be but a personal controver- sy among different portions of our citizens, I hereby direct that the military here assembled be dismissed by their respective officers. T. W. DORR, Gonmiander-in-diief. No. 39. Deposition of Willia??i J. Miller. I, William J, Miller, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, printer^ twenty-six years of a^e, depose and say : That in June, 1842, I was one of the proprietors of the Daily Express and New Age, which was the oxsom Rep. No. 546. 311 of the people's government under the people's constitntion. I have heard read tlie deposition of Samuel Low, who was then one of my co partners in said paper. The facts which he states therein as within his knowledge, and the conversations and threats which he relates, 1 knew and heard at the time, and knew them to be true ; and I also was informed by others of what he states as information derived from other persons. The reasons assigned by him were the sole causes for suspending the paper. Our ap- prehensions were such, in regard to the safety of the property, that on Monday evening, the 27th, we collected all our valuable papers and books for removal to a place of security, if such could be found ; and on Tuesday morning I had them removed to a private dwellins:. WILLIAM J. MILLER. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: Pawtucket, May 11, 1844. Personally appeared the above named Samuel Low and William J. Mil- ler, and severally made oath to the respective depositions subscribed by them, and carefully read to them by me in their presence. Said Low's deposition was reduced to writing by him in my presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 4U. Deposition of Walter R. Danforth. I. Walter R. D.inforth, a native of Providence, and now, and for more than fifty years, a resident therein, make the following declaration under oath : Sunday, the 26th day of June, 1842, was a day of extraordinary e.Kcite- ment in the city of Providence. The public markets and the stores were open, and the place was thronged by vast numbers of troops from other parts of the Slate. In tl«e morning I repaired to the office of the Daily Express, which was then in the granite block, on the northerly side of Market square. This is the centre of the city, and focus of local ne\N's, and was at that time the theatre of the greatest bustle and excitement. Martial law, which had been declared the day previous, under the authority of the Algerine legislature, was on that Sunday in full operation. On Market square, and in several of the public streets, and at the lines of the city on roads leading into the country, military guards and sentinels of white and colored persons were posted, to prevent the egress of citizens who could not present a written pass or permit from the authorities, and to ap- prehend and hold in custody suspicious characters ; which description of characters was well understood to be confined to democrats and friends to the suffrage cause and equal rights. Military officers, subs and privates, with civil officers of the United States, the State and the city governments, were moving about, armed, in all directions, evidently designino to increase rather than to allay the excitement which prevailed. The United States marshal was conspicuous on this occasion, acting with the Algerine party with great zeal. Several persons were arrested during the day : and, from 312 Rep. No. 546. the windows of the Express office, I saw some of them under a military guard carried through the streets, either in carriages or on foot, to some place of confinement. In the afternoon, when 1 left the Express printing- office, a large mob was gathered in Market square — the denser portion be- ing in front, and near the entrance to the office. I was accosted by a citizen, aged more than sixty years, who partook of the excitement in a high degree, and who, directing his discourse to me, in a very impassioned and loud tone, and pointing towards thesign-board of the office, vociferated : " That office is the cause of all these troubles; U is a public nuisance, and ought to be torn down, and its types and materials scattered over Market square and destroyed." His object evidently was to provoke a controversy with me, and to produce a rush of the exasperated mob on that press which had been the bold and uncompromising organ of the sufFrnge cause. His words, if not precisely quoted, were of the above import; and he repeated them sev- eral times, and at each repetition I replied : "You are a law and order man,, and this is an admirable commentary on your professions and those of your party ;" and, after a few minutes, I left the excited man still pouring forth his maledictions against that press. That part of the granite block in which was the office of the Express, was owned by Jahn Larcher, who was of the Algerine party — not violent and vindictive, but a timid man, anxious about the preservation of his property. When he thought that a horde of foreign desperadoes would come to assist th^uffrage party, and to lay waste the possessions of the Algerines, he remarked that the Express being there was a good insurance ot his building; but when that story died away, like others of Algerine fltbrication, he then insisted that the printing-office should be removed. He was urging them (ihe proprietors) to that on Saturday, on this Sunday, and on Monday; andthreatened, as I learned from others in my absence, if they did not comply with his urgent request, to invite the mob without, to come in and remove the materials. Of this I have no per- sonal knowledge. His conversation, when I was present, was directed to the proprietors of the press; and 1 gave little heed to what he said, being generally engaged in editorial duties, and having no proprietary interest in that paper. On that Sunday, or on Monday, a' military detachment com- manded by T. B. Fenner came into the office of the Express, and he inform- ed me, very courteously, that his object was to Search for arms. 1 stated to him that I had learned from one of the proprietors, (Mr. Miller,) that a military guard had previously been there, searched the office, and carried off the only gun they could find; and he then retired with his comrades. Some of the military came to the office in my absence, I was told, and demanded the inspection of the copy or proof-sheet, that they might be apprized of what would be forthcoming in the morning's paper ; but they were refused. We were for several days harassed by some of the civil and military Al- gerine mob, and by our landlord ; and, after printing a paper on Tuesday morning, 2Sth June, we suspended its publication to '^' a more convenient season." The proprietors of the Express were Messrs. Samuel B. Millard, Samuel Low, and William J. Miller ; and what 1 have stated as from infor- mation, their depositions will probably verify — except Mr. Millard's, who was absent the last three or four days of our publication, and now resides in New York. W. R. DANFORTH. Rip. No. 546. 313 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss: Pawtucket, May 9, 1844. Then personally appeared the above-named VV. R. Danforth, and, being cautioned and sworn to the truth of the foregoing, subscribed the same in my presence, which was reduced to writing by the deponent, and read to him by me, B. F. HALLETT, CoimnUsioner^ and Justice of the Pence through the Commonwealth. No. 41. Deposition of Aaron Simons. 1, Aaron Simons, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, testify and say: That I am attached to the office of the Repubhcan Herald, a demo- cratic newspaper pubhshed in Providence, and which advocated the suffrage cause, and was the only paper that survived the controversy, on that side. On the morning of the I7th of August, 1842, Samuel Dexter, who is a son-inlaw of Governor Fenner, and h'ad been active on the charter side, came into the office and, after discontinuing his subscription to the paper, made use of abusive and violent language, (apparently much excited,) and said that the press and types ought to be thrown into the street, and that he would be one to help do it. From threats out doors, and other causes, the press was kept in awe during the continuance of martial law, and the lib- erty of the press was, in a great measure, suppressed. AARON. SIMONS. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: Pawtucket, May 1 1, 1844. Personally appeared the above named Aaron Simons, and subscribed and made oath to the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HAI.LETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonivealth. III. — Depositions relating to arrests, searches, and acts of alleged violence. No. 42. Deposition of Leonard Wakefield. 1, Leonard Wakefield, of Cumberland, in the State of Rhode Island, forty years of age, depose and say: That I am,and have been for about fourteen years, a minister of the Metliodist Episcopal Church. I have resided in Rhode Island and been a local preacher there for about fourteen years. 314 Rep. No. 546. On the V3th of June, 1842, I was at home in my office; I acted at that time as assistant to the postmaster at Cumberland. The State troops were returnino^ from Woonsocket to Providence — about three hundred. Two of the soldiers came into the OiTice where I was then engaged, and inquired if I had any fire arms, and demanded the sanfe. I delivered to them a small birding gun, vvhicli I had liad for many years, and they went away with it. 1 then went into my house to dinner ; my wife was tending a sick infant child which was not expected to live, and which died in a few weeks after. As I sat eating my dinner, three soldiers came into tlie room, and two of them were stationed over me as a guard ; they were armed with muskets ; the other searched everv part of the house, from the garret to the cellar, not excepting tlie lodging room. They found nothing, and I was then ordered to go with them ; was not told where, nor for what. Two of the soldiers took me by the arms, one on each side, and marched me across the street to the tavern. I was carried into the hall of the tavern, and from thence, without any examination or inquiry, put into a wagon with other prisoners ; there were twenty one prisoners in wagons. We were then conveyed to Providence, a distance of twelve miles. The wagons con- taining the prisoners were in front of the body of the troops, who followed them. In each wagon there were soldiers guarding the prisoners ; 'two on each side of me with muskets ; and, so lar as I could see, that was the mode each prisoner was guarded; none o^them were bound. When we reached the precincts of Providence, we were taken from the wagons ; the prisoners ranged two and two in file, flanked with soldiers on each side — the body of the troops in the rear; and in this order we were marched through the principal streets to one of the armories. While we were passing through the streets, garlands were thrown from windows to the soldiers; and there were shouts, and jeering, and insults heaped upon the prisoners. I heard, repeatedly, exclamations — '-there goes the minister!" and m one instance, '■d n him, the next time he preaches, it will be in the State prison!" 1 was generally known in Providence as a clergyman. We remained at the armory about half an hour. There was no examination or inquiry of the prisoners. Some one of the officers, as 1 supposed, asked what should be done with the prisoners. General Edward Carrington (who, I under- stood, was one of the governor's council) said : " God d n them, take them off* to the State prison." The City Guards then took us in custody, having first been ordered to load with ball cartridge ; which they did. We were then placed between two files of soldiers, the remaining troops in the rear, and were marched to the State prison, ' There were twenty one pris- oners, and the company of soldiers was a full one. We were put into the cells in the State prison. The cell that I was in had sixteen persons in it. Its dimensions were about twelve feet by nine. Under the edge of the roof there was a loop-hole, and in the door a hole about seven inches by five. A pipe for ventilating led from the floor through the outer wall. We were put into the cell about sunset, and the sixteen continued con- fined there from Thursday evening until Sunday about noon — being let out once a day in the yard, under a guard. We slept on the floor — lying in a heap together, as we best could. The suffering from want of air and space was severe. On Sunday the prisoners were separated ; and, after that, there were eight in the cell I was put in, I was confined six days, in all, I was taken before the commissioners in one of the rooms in the jail building. Stephen Branch was the chairman, and there were Rep. No. 546. 315 three others. No cliarges whatever were brought agahist me. I was asked niy name, age, and residence ; if I had been at Chepatchet ; if I h;id run bullets for Dorr's men: to which last question I answered no. I was also asked about a discourse 1 had preached on the Sabbath at the Albion vil- lage, Mr. Branch made •lie inquiry. I asked him if he wanted a synop- sis of the discourse, which I was ready to give. He said he only wanted what I had said about fighting. 1 replied that I had exhorted the people not to fight at all on either side. He asked no further question. Cliristo- pher Rhodes, who was present, but not one of the commissioners, said he knew nothing about it ; but his agent at the Albion village had told him somethina^ about it. He did not state what. In answer to the question whether I had been at Cliepatchet while Dorr was there, I answered that 1 had ; that I went at the request of a number of my neighbors, to induce the Cumberland men, who were there on the suftYage side, to come home; that 1 had no arms. It was true that I had gone to Chepatchet, and had an interview with the Cumberland company on the suffrage side; and, in consequence of my representations, as I believe, they left the ground and returned home. After these inquiries were made by the commissioners, the chairman asked if any person appeared for or against me. There was none on either side. I had four of my neighbors present, to teitity in my favor if necessary ; but there being no charges against me, I did not call on them. I was then remanded to prison, no reason beintj given for that course, and remained in confinement till the next day in the afternoon, when 1 was again carried before the commissioners, with some fifteen others, to whom an address was made, and we were discharged. From the time I was ar- rested, and until discharged, nor ever after, did I hear or learn from the authorities tlie grounds, or charges, or suspicions, n()on which I was ar- rested. During my imprisonment, our fare was two rations a day of stale bread and meat, and nothing else but water. I had done nothino^ on the suffrage side, except to express my opinions freely and fearlessly, with a temperate zeal. 1 had done nothing to induce, but all I could to prevent violence. The sermon alluded to, which I preached at Mr. Rhodes's village, (the Albion.) was decidedly pacific, and discouraged any attempt to take up arms. LEOiNARD WAKEFIELD. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, Mai/ 4, 1844. Personally appeared the above named Leonard Wakefield, and made oath to atid subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace throuirh the Commonwealth. No. 43. Deposition of Eliab Whipple. 1, Eliab Whipple, of Cumberland, in the State of Rhode Island, farmer,^ 316 Rep. No. 546. thirty six years of age, depose and say : On the 6th of July, 1S42, I was arrested by Samuel Currey and two others, ou a warrant of the governor and council, on a charge of treason. I was brought to Providence, and put into prison. At the end of eight days 1 was examined by the commission- ers and remanded — nothing appearing against pe. After I had been in prison twenty-four days, 1 was told I was discharged ; but before I left the prison, I was arrested again by the civil authorities, and the next day sent to the jail at Newport. At the end of six days 1 was allowed bail in ten thousand dollars, \vn\\ sureties ; which I procured. At the next term of the court, the grand jury found no bill ; but my recognizance was not dis- charoed until the next term, when I was informed that the grand jury had found no bill, and the recognizance was discharged. This information 1 had from the attorney general. I was imprisoned thirty-one days, and under recognizance for ten thousand dollars from August, 1842, to March, 1843. The only reason for my arrest, that I ever knew of, was, that I had voted for the people's constitution and for Governor Dorr. I had never taken up arms, nor took any part in the conflict. I went to Chepatchet solely from curiosity on Friday, the 24th of .June, and returned home the next day; was unarmed, and took no part. I continued at home about my ordinary business until I was arrested. ELIAB WHIPPLE. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: PawtuckeT; May 9, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Eliab Whipple, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in liis presence. Before me, B. F. HALLET1\ Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace tlirousrii the Commonwealth. No. 44. Deposition of Henry Lord. s| I, Henry Lord, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, depose and say : That 1 am nearly sixty years of age. I was taken by the charter jj troops at Acote's hill on the morning of June 29th, 1842, and was unarmed, w I was the only person on the hill when the advance of the troops came up ; f 1 saw no other; this was about eight o'clock, I should judge; it might have been seven. When I saw a horseman coming, I went down the hill and met him. It was Colonel George Rivers. He asked me, (pointing to the hill,) Will they fire? I answered no; that there were no troops there. He tiien went up, two soldiers following, and gave three cheers when he took possession of the fort. There was no resistance made, for there was no one there to make it. I went down into the road, and there encountered the main body of the troops, and was taken prisoner. They then had in charge over a hundred prisoners; none were tied. The troops did not go up the hill, but marched to Sprague's hotel with the prisoners. The next Rtp. No. 546. 317 morning we were mustered, and tied together with large bed-cords. The rope was passed in u close hitch around each man's arm, passing behind his back, and fastening him close up to his neighbor; there being eight thus tied together in each platoon ; we had no use of the arm above Uie elbow. In this way we were marched on foot to Providence, sixteen miles, threatened and pricked by the bayonet if we lagged from fatigue, the ropes severely chafing the arms ; the skin was ofl' of mine. In two instances, when the soldiers were halted to refresh, we were refused the use of their cups to get water from, the brook which passed the road, and had no water till we reached Greenville, about eight miles. It was a very hot day; I had had no water or breakfast that morning, and I received no food until the next day in Providence. We were marched thus tied through the streets, and, after being exhibited, were put into the State prison. Fourteen were put into my cell, which was seven feet by ten. After remaining in prison twenty-four days, I was released on parole. HE>RY LORD. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtlcket, jlai/ 10, 1S44. Personally appeared the above-named Henry Lord; and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me, in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, ' Commissiofier, and Justice of the Peace throvsh the Cojnmoiiweallh. No. 45. Deposition of MeJiitahle Howard. I, Mehitahle Howard, of (Jumberland, in the State of Rliode Island, wife of Joseph How^^rd, of said Cumberland, depose and say : That on the 29th of June, 1S42, in the morning, between five and six o'clock, Alfred Ballou, with seven other men, all armed with guns, came to my house and entered it — I forbidding them to enter. Myself and grandchildren were the only ones in the house ; he broke the door open, and drove it otf the hinges. As Ballou came in, he seized me by the shoulders, and shook me iiard, leaving prints where he took hold of me. He then pushed me, and pushed me against a post about three or fo'ir feet from where I was standing, which bruised my shoulder very much. He came up to me again, seized me, and pushed me again toward the window, saying, " Get out of the way,'^ in a loud voice. He then gave me a shake, and left me, saying, '-Where is Liberty, (meaning my son.) and where is the gun V He went up stairs and searched the chambers, turning the beds over in which the little children were. He then came down, and went into my lodging room, and took a gun and carried it off. I was much overcome ; but when he came out, I said, "I don't fear you, Mr. Ballou." He then came up to me, laid his hands on me and shook me, and said, in a very loud voice, " Do you know that you are under martial law ?" He then took his bayonet, and put the point of the bayonet against the pit of my stomach : he pressed the bayo- 318 Rep. No. 546. net ao-ainst me, and said, "I will run yon through," looking very angry and spiteful. Tlie point of the bayonet went through my clothes and fractured the skin, but did not break it, but caused the blood to settle tlie size of a ninepence. or larger. 1 verily believed at the time that he in- tended to run me through. With my hand I knocked the bayonet away, and he stepped back, and stood and looked at me with a stern look, and then went out of the house. Ballou appeared to be the leader of the band. Some of his men were in the house; 1 saw two in the house with him, armed. He said nothing to me about his authority, or why he treated me so. My husband was a suffrage man, which is the only reason I know for this treatment. Ballou had been a neighbor of ours for near forty years; he was a charter man. I was hurt very bad, and unable to do my work for several days after, and have never recovered the effects of the shock upon my system. 1 am sixty-two years of age. The gun has not been returned. ' MEHITABLE HOWARD. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, May 4, 1S44. Personally appeared the above-named Mehitable Howard, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing in her presence, by me. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace throush the Commenwealth. No. 46. Deposition of Nathaniel Knight. I, Nathaniel Knight, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, of the age of thirty-nine years, blacksmith, depose and say : That on Tuesday, the day after Alexander Kelby was killed, I came out to Pawtucket, to see the corpse. 1 had a permit from the mayor of Providence, which 1 got to pre- vent any trouble to come to Pawtucket. I saw the corpse ; but found it was not that of any person I had known, as I had supposed it was. While waiting for the stage to return to Providence, and conversing about the corpse, I said that it was a mean piece of business to kill a man like that, with a laro-e family. A young man standing by, whose name I did not know, as I suppose, reported this to Captain Brown, who had the command of some soldiers stationed there. It was in front of the building where I understood the troops had their headquarters. Captain Brown thereupon ordered me to be taken up into the hall ; and I was taken there by the soldiers, among whom was this young man, who appeared to be one of *■ the company. They told me to go in and sit down with those prisoners. There were two there. I sent for Captain Brown, who came ; and I told him what I had said ; and, after some conversation, I sent for two men who were acquainted with me — one of whom was Bradford Hodges, who, I understood, was a charter officer; and upon his recommendation I was re- Rep. No. 546. 319 leased, and returned to Providence. I was in custody about two hours. On the Thursday following-, I was working in my shop in the morninof, and, when I went home to breakfast^ my wife informed me tljat George B. Hohnes had been to my house to inquire for arms and ammunition. On the following Saturday, George B. Holmes came to my house, after I was in bed, and told me 1 had better leave the State for a week or two, till things were settled. I told him I had done nothing, as he very well knew ; that all I had done, I had walked up to the polls and voted as a man ought to. 1 was a freeholder, and had had a right to vote under the charter. I told him I should not leave my wife and property. He said then they would have me that night or in the morning. He went out; and, in a few minutes, a guard came, consisting of nine negroes and three whites. They were all armed with muskets, except the commander, who had a sword. He was a white man. The commander and a negro came into the house, and took me as a prisoner, and marched me down to the armory. The commander ordered me to fall behind, and one of the negroes took hold of my arm to lead me. I refused to go in that way ; and told the captain that 1 would not march through the streets with a negro. He then ordered them to halt ; and said, when he ordered them to take hold of me they might. 'J'he ne^ro let me alone, and we went to the armory, and I was kept prisoner there all night, under the guard of these armed negroes. 1 saw but two white men there that night, and they turned in and went to sleep, and left the negroes to guard. In the morning I got access to the colonel. He in- quired what I was there for .' And nobody had any charges against me. This was Sunday morning; and 1 asked leave to go home and change my clothes. He offered to let me go with the guard. I told him I would not go through the street with those negroes ; and, finally, he let a white man go with me, with his cartridge-box and bayonet. I went home, changed my clothes, and returned with this guard ; and, shortly after, the colonel said there was nothing against me, and discharged me. NATHANIEL KNIGHT. Commonwealth op Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: Pawtucket, Mai/ 4, 1S44. Personally appeared the above-named Nathaniel Knight, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing in his presence, before me. B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 47. Deposition of Ann Maria Bnffington, I, Ann Maria BufRngton, wife of Alfred Buffington, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, testify and s.-iy : That on Sunday, the 26th day of June, 1842j John F. Pond, William P. Blodget, Thomas Sekell, Charles Wheelerj William Clark, Bennett Wheeler, jr., and some others, (the per- 320 Kep. No. 546. sons named being all .irmed, and some of the others also armed,) en- tered the dwelling-house of said Alfred Buffington, in Providence, without knocking or asking admission, late in the afternoon, and proceeded to examine such parts of the house as they saw fit. P^rom one of the rooms they took and carried away an old musket belonging to my father. Samuel Horswell, and then went away. "^Fhe next morning, about seven o'clock, the same persons above named, except the two Messrs, Wheeler, together with Joseph Belcher and Edward Hurwood, again entered the house, with- out leave, and made a second search, in one of the rooms they broke open a box containing clothing, and scattered the things about the floor ; searching the drawers of my bureau and every room and closet. They al- leged that they were in search of my husband, and for powder and shot. I asked what he had done that they should search for my husband ? And they said he had given a great deal of money to support the suffrage cause. I followed them round to every place they searched, and did not miss any property after they had gone, except the gun. They placed a guard around the house when they came on Sunday afternoon ; and orders were given (which 1 heard) by William P. Blodget, to "shoot the d d rascal, if he comes out." ANN MARIA BUFFINGTON. Commonwealth op Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss: Pawtucket, May 4, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Ann Maria Buffington, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in her pres- ence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace tliroiisli the Commonweallh. No. 48. Deposition of Elizabeth Nutter. I, Elizabeth Nutter, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, of lawful ao-e, do testify and say : That on Sunday afternoon, the 26th of June, 1842, the same persons named in the deposition of Mrs. Ann Maria Buffington came from Mr. Buffington's house to the house of his father in-law, (Mr. Samuel Horswell,) in Providence, in which I resided ; I saw them, from the window, coming from that house. They knocked at the door, and Mr. Horswell refused them admittance. They said they would come in and look for Mr. Buffington. Mr. Pond then came in, (John F. Pond,) and came to my lodging room, from which 1 had heard what had passed. I heard Miss Horswell tell Pond that there was no one in my room but my- self. He made no reply, but came to the bed-room door, and entered without any notice ; being at the time only partly dressed, as he entered the door, I retreated into a small closet, or clothes press, and closed the door. He fol- lowed quickly, and, without saying anything, he forced the door open while I was holding it. I told him there was no one there but myself; that I was Rep. No. 546. 321 dresfsing, and to go about his business. He then seized me by the arm with great violence, and drew me forcibly out of the closet into the room. I struggled in resisting this alarming violence ; and after he had drawn me out into the room, he then said, in a sneering manner, '-Oh, I beg your pardon, it is a lady." Before he drew me from the closet, and belore I entered, he must have seen me, and known it was a female. He then proceeded over the rest of the house, and searched the upper part of the house, and after joining his associates I heard him tell them what he had done, viz: that iie only found a lady in a clothes press ; upon which they raised a shout of lauijhter. They then left a guard at the house, and the rest went away. The force which Pond applied to my arm made marks upon it, and caused a lameness for several days afterwards. ELIZABETH NUTTER. CoMM0Nwi-:ALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, Mai/ 4, 1844. Personally appeared the above named Elizabeth, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in her presence. Be- fore me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace throu'sh the Coniinouweallh. No. 49. Deposition of Otis Holmes. I, Otis [iohiies, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, brewer, fifty years of a^e, depose and say : That on Sunday, the 26th of June, 1842, my house in Providence was entered by a body of armed men. They searched the house, breaking the locks, though I oift-red to give them (he keys. I was lying on the bed, and was taken by two men, who seized me by the collar. One was named Samuel Thon)as ; the other 1 did not know. Charles Harris, at the same time, put a pistol to my breast. They found nothing at my house but my training musket, which I had had many years; they took it, and have never returned it. They carried me to my brewery, and broke in there ; I had previously offered them the keys of my premises. In the brewery they found two old ducking guns, without locks, and one old musket with a shattered lock and no ramrod. They took these, and they have never been returned. There was also a hunting powder- horn, with about half a pound of powder, and a cannister of about a pound of powder, which belonged to another man who left it there. They also broke into my store and counting room, and ransacked that, my private pa- pers, and then marched me to the office of Henry L. Bowen, esq., justice of the peace. I was carried through the streets by two men, having hold of my collar, and another in front, with a pistol. There were about thirty men with muskets; I made no resistance. The course lay through the principal street of the city. I heard no charges, and was not examined be- fore Mr. Justice Bowen ; but was marched to jail, with a file of soldiers, in 21 322 Rep. No. 546. company with ten others, I was put in a room in the jail, and remained there seven days, and then, withont examination, put into one of the cells ot the State prison with seven others. It was large enough for us to lie down, by lying heads and points. 1 remained there twenty one days. Tlie suf- fering was extreme, from heat and want of air, with plenty of vermin. The health of the prisoners suffered materially. During this time 1 was exam- ined by the commissioners. They char*^ed me with keeping arms to aid the suffrage cause. No proof was shown. I was remanded. 1 tlien got a writ of habeas corpus before Judge Staples, of the supreme court, and went before him in a room in the jail, and, upon a hearing, was discharged. I was then immediately committed by the deputy sheriff, on a warmnt from Henry L. Bowen, on a charge of treason, I then applied for another writ of habeas corpus, which Judge Staples ordered to be iieard before the whole court at Newport. I was there heard, and allowed bail in tlie sum of twelve thousand dollars, with sureties. At the next sitting of the court in the county of Providence, the grand jury found no bill against me, and I was discharged. I was in close prison fifty-nine days. OTIS HOLMES. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss: Pawtucket, Muy 9, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Otis Holmes, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me. B. F. HALLETT, Cof/wiissiojier, and Justice of ihe Peace throvgh the Comnionwealth. No. 50. Deposition of Martin Luther. Bristol, R. I., (County Juil^) April 3, 1844. I, Martin Luther, of the town of Warren, county of Bristol, and State of Rhode Island, depose and say: That in the early movements of the suffrage party in Rhode Island, in the year 1841, I did not take any active part, save voting for the delegates to frame a constitution, and for the sauie when it was submitted to the people for Iheir adoption or rejection ; but afier the adoption of the constitution, and the General Assembly, by their acts, at- tempted to prevent its going into peaceable operation, and raised the question of sovereignty between the people and themselves, I became deeply inter- ested, attended meetings, acted on committtes, and, in fact, acted in any ca- pacity the people saw fit to place me. On the 18th of April, 1842, 1 was elected moderator of a town meeting in Warren, under the peof)le's consii- tution, and presided over the same, receiving the votes of my lellow citizens for general, state, and town ofhcers. Of the organization of the govern- ment under said constitution, and the attempt to take pos^ession of the State's property, 1 need not give particulars ; sufiice it to say, lluit on the 27lh of June following, my friends became alarmed for my safety, and advised me Rep. No. 546. 323 \c> leave the State ; which I did, and went to Fall River. The next day (2Sih) I reiurned as far as Coriieil's tavern, in Swansey, Massachnsett?, wlieie I was again advised by friends to retnrn to Fall River, they not deem- ing: it safe f^tr me to remain even there; which I did the same even ms^. Between the hours of three and four o'clock, in the morning of the next day, (29th,) within forty-eight hours after I had left home, the inmates of my house in Warren were awakened by the forcible entiy of nine armed ruffians, viz: Stephen Johnson, liUiher M. Borden, James Gardner, VVilham L. Brown, John H. Munroe, William B. Sneii, (surveyor of the United States for the port of Warren, district of Bristol,) Hammond Snrgeant, Silas P. Mnrim, and John Kelly, all of Warren, who burst in the outside and an inner door; a servant girl, who was awakened by the noise, sprang out of bed, and put her fingers upon tlie latch of the door opening into her lodging-rootn, and requested the persons outside to give her time to dress herself, and sfje wonJd llien open the door; this was answered by an injmediateentry of fonr or five anued men into her room. My mother, whose lodging room opened out of tlie former room,, and who had succeeded in gettu)g on a portion of her dress, entered the room at the same moment tlie rnflians did, and was met by one of them, who pointed a weapon at her breast, and said : *-Tell me where Martin l^iuher is, or I will run you. thioughV She replied that { had gone to Fall River. He said: ^'- DoiiH yon. lie to im^P She then re- peated that I had gone to Fall River. He then said: "You lie," and re- peated tile tlireat if she did not tell. She replied: "You can do as yoji please; but if Martin is not in Fall River, I don't know where he is." He then tnrned to leave her, and she asked him by what autjiority they had entered the house in that manner. He replied, by the authority of the State of Rhode Island. She told him she should like to see their authority. He then asked for a light, which my mother procured, but no authority was shown her. In the mean time, a part of the gang had proceeded up stairs, where two hired men lodged that worked on my farm ; they being alarmed at the noise- below, had etideavored to secrete themselves in a small room, containino: a very low bedstead, on which were a nutuber of ariicles of win- ter bed clothing. One of them attempted to get under the bed ; but there not being sufficient space between the bedstead and floor, he could not get but about hallVay under, and in that situation was found. On dragging him out, one of the gang remarked : '• We have got him ;" and another of the company, who was below, and heard the remark, started up stairs, and ex- claiujed as he went, '• if they have fjund him, I will kill Aim," My mother replied: "If you have found him, you may kill him." Afier they had fin- ished their search, and told my mother they should visit her again and hum- ble her yet, they departed, taking with them, as prisoners, my hired nien, (Loranus A. Brayton and Stafford Healy,) whom they committed to jail in Bristol, where they remained some ten days, although neither of them had taken an active part in the suffrage movements; during which time, the crops otj my farm suffered severely for want of attention, The foregoing facts, of my house being beset, have been furnished me by the then in- mates; and I have a suit now pending in the United States court at "Wash- ington, against the nine individuals, who do not deny the ficts, bit plead justification under inartud lan\ which was then in force in this Sfate. A {'i,'^ days previous to the annua! election in April, 1813,1 returned into the Slate of Rhnde Island, and remained until the dec tic i was over. After it was ascertained that the whigs had carrit d tlie Stat , the day after the 324 Rep. No. 546. election I was arrested on complaint of Stephen Mnriin and William Ccvrr,- jr., (ihe former the father of one of the ruffians that broke into my house,) for acting as moderator of the town meeting of April 18ih, 1842, and com- mitted to the county jail in Bristol; alter remaining in confinement two days. Messrs. Jonathan Sainh and Salathiel Jones became my bail, and were bound in the sum of $2,000 for my appearance at the next September term of the supreme court for the county of Bristol. At the meeting of the conrt in Septeujber, a bill of itidictment was found against me, and the trial con- tinned until the next March term of the court ; the same gentlemen contin- uing my bail. On the 12th of March, 1844, 1 appeared before the court, was tried, convicted of acting as moderator of the town meeting of April 18th, 1842, and sentenced to pay a fine of $500, with costs of prosecution, and to be im- prisoned in Bristol county jail for the term of six months from the r2th March, 1844, where I now remain. MARTIN LUTHER. Bristol, 55/ Bristol, ^;jr?7 3, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Martin Luther, and made oath to the truth of the aforegoing statement by him signed. Before me, WM. C. VAiN DOORN, Justice of the Peace. No. 51, Deposition of Stajford Htaly. I, Stafford Healy, of Rehoboth, in the county of Bristol, m the Common- wealth of Massachusetts, yeoman, of lawful age, testify and say : That on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ti;rty-two, when at work for Martin Luther, in the town of Warren, in the State of Rhode Island, and being myself at that lime a citizen of said War- ren, I was forcibly taken by a number of armed men early in the morning, some lime before sunrise, who broke into the house and took me therefrom, and carried me to an hotel, when, after making some inquiries of me, I was again removed to the jail of Bristol county, and tliere confined for the space of seven or eight days, when I was examined by Joseph M. Blake, and discharged in the course of three days — nothing being, as he said, found against me ; and all by no authority, to my knowledge, except that offeree. STAFFORD HEALY. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: April 5, 1844. Then personally appeared before me, the subscriber, one of the justices of the peace in and for said county, the abovrnamed Stafford Healy, who was examined and sworn, according to law, to the truth of the above deposition by him subscribed; taken to be used at thecity of Washington, before a special commitlee on a memorial there pending from citizens of the State of Rhode Island. Before me, SAMUEL BULLOCK, Justice of t/te Peace, Rep. No. 546. 325 lY. — Deposlions }'ela'i/t,S' to the taking of Acote's Hill — Orders to the mili- tnry — Interference of United States officers^ and use of custom-house for military stores. No. 52. . Deposition of Joseph Holhrook. I, Joseph Holbronk, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, forty-seven years of age, depose and say: That, on the morning of the 2Sth of June, 1812, I u'-as at Chepatchet in Rhode Island, near x'\cote's hill. When I ar- rived (here, the fortification on the liill was abandoned by the snflrage partjr, so called. 1 was standing in front of General Sprao;ne's hotel, having no weajion of any description, except a small cane. There were at that time no persons present who were armed or exhibited any hostile intent. An advance of from eighteen to twenty five men, of the charter troops (so called.) came up to tlie hotel, the main body of a division of about seven hundred men not being then insigiit. The advance party were a/med with rifles or car!)ines, and swords and pistols; and as they approached, at double quick time, ihey fired tlieir pieces, widiout any apparent cause or the least provo- cation, at any persons they saw, indiscriminately. When this advance party came up to t!)e hotel, I iiiciuircd ot one of tliens who commanded the party; and he said Liieutenant Pitman, and pointed him out to me. From what 1 then learned and saw, I have not the least doubt that this person was Mr. Pitman, tlie clerk of the United States courts of Rhode Island. I said there was no need of violence. Several persons were standing in the entry of the hotel — the front door being open. There was no show of resistance, and nothing to make it with. One of the persons in the entry was recog- nised by the men who had come up, as Mr. Mddy — a sufFrag ■ man, as 1 then undt^nstood He was called by name, and ordered to come out. He re- plied th:it he should not. Two of the armed party then rushed into the liouse^ to force him out. A scuffle ensued between them in the entry, and the front door was accidentally shut. Lientenanl Pitman, observing this, gave (he door a kick with his foot, but it did not open. He then leveled and took aim with his carbine, a seven barreled short piece, and appeared to be gi'ing to discharire it. Seeing tfiis, I caught him by the shoulder, ard begged of him not to fire, as he might kill some of his own men as well as others. He ref)lied, "I don't care a iiiod damn if I can kill somebody," and instantly fired. A ball passed through the key-hole of the frotit door, and took eiiect ni the thigh of Horace Bardine, and I saw him in a few min- utes coining from the house led by two, and shot in the thigh. Lieutenant Pitm.m's party char2:ed upon ihem as soon as they appeared, and they were forced back, and 1 did not see Bardine afterwards. The party remained posted in front of the liouse, with their pieces leveled, ready to fire upon any one who should attempt to escape. At the time this occurred, Colonel William Mitchell, with whom I came to the place that morning from curi- osity, was, as I believe, in tlie hotel, in a room just beyond the entry, and siearly opposite. Soon after tliis occurrence, one of the divisions- of the mam body of the charter troops cairie up, and I was arrested by order of Crawford Allen, and was confined with forty or fifty others in a small room of the hotel — most of whom had been taken by the troops on their march ?<> Chepatchet, These men were not armed, and I saw no evidence that ihey hud taken any hostile part whatever in the controversy. They ap- 326 Rep. No. 546. peared to have been taken indiscriminately, to make a show of prisoners. 1 was examined by Mr. Alien as to my object in being there, which did not appear to satisfy him; and I was put under ojnard, and ordered to be sent to Providence f)r fiirther examination. Having taken no hostile part, I did not d<^em my detention necessary, nor in accordance with military usages ; and. iiiiding an opportunity, I availed myselt of it to leave them — the rest of the prisoners remaining in the room. 1 have heard read the deposi- tion of Colonel William Mitchell, with whom I was in company most of the time, and his statements in regard to the condition of the hill, and the state of affairs there, I know to be correct. JOSEPH HOI.BROOK. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Suffolk, ss.- Boston, Map 13, 1S44. Personally appeared the abovenamed Joseph Holbrook, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me. Before me, B. F. HALLRTT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Coinmonweallh. No. 53. Deposition of Ariel Ballou. 1, Ariel Ballon, of Woonsocket, in the State of Rhode Island, physician^ depose and say : That I have seen and read an atiidavit pnrporiiny to have been sworn to in Providence, tlie 23d of June, 1842, before Henry L. Bowen, justice of the peace, by Chailes F. Harris, which is on page 43 of Document No. 225 of tlie "Isti^ession of the 2Sth Congress, House of Rep- resentatives, executive," accompanying the President's message on tlie afiiiiirs of Rliode Island. Said Harris there testifies, that, while he was in custody of officers of the suffrage troops, on the 23d of June, 1842, between Chepatchet and Woonsocktt, they met a doctor, whom be describes as "a Doctor Ballon, who lives in Woonsocket," who stopped his sulkey, and, in conversation with the said officers, told them that "we" (nwaning the suf- frage men) "have five cannon at (Jhepatchet," and that he agreed to send thetn over with horses. There is no other physician of njine or a similar name in Woonsocket or vicinity, atid this statement was obviously int^-rided to refer to me, and appears to have been used for the purpose of influencing the President of the United States. So far as concerns myselt^, it is utterly false. I was a member of the charter legislature from Cumbi riand, in which a part of the village of Woonsocket lies, and at that time was at Newport, in attendance on the bgislature. I never knew or heard of any sucti transaction, until I heaid of it tbroug'i the said affidavit. 1 have also read ajstatement to tlie President of the United Stiites, in the sanie docu- ment, page 21, No. 6, in which Mr. John Whipple, under date of April 9,. 1842, informs the President that "nearly all the leaders, (of the suffrage party,) who are professional men, have abandoned them, on the ground: that u majority is not in favor of their constitution." I think this stutemeus Rep. No. 546. 327 is incorrect; I knowof tio leader, or profession t\l man, who had abandoned tlie party at that time, op that ground. I think I was in a situation to have known it, if such was tfie fact. I was a member of the convention that framed the people's constitmion, and one of tlie committee ttiat counted the votes, the report of which committee is given in the same congressional document, No. 32, wFiere my name appears. The votes were fairly and correctly counted ,' and I then believed, and still believe, from all the evi- dence in the case, that there was a clear majority for the constitution. INo proof has ever been offered, to my knowledge, that would affect this result, nor do 1 believe can be. ARIEL BALLOU. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss : Pawtucket, May 10, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Ariel Ballon, and subscribed and made oath to the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of iJie Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 54. Deposition of William Mitchell. 1, William Mitchell, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, forty years of asfe, merchant, depose and say: 'i'hat having business to transact at Nor- wich, Coiineclicut, 1 left Boston in the cars for that purpose, on Monday, June 27, 1842, intending to return via Providence, Rhode Island, where I Iiad bills to collect. On my way to Norwich, in the cars, I was introduced to Messrs. Johnson and Weeks, reporters for Boston newspapers, who were going direct to Acote's hill, to give a correct report of the proceedings going on there; and, in consequence of hearing some exciting stories by tlie way, of an expected battle, 1 was induced to change my route and accompany the reporters to the gcene of action. We left the cars at Pomfret. and pro- ceeded by wagon to Chepatchet. It raininof hard, we stopped for the night at Cady's tavern, in Glocpster, and were there informed by men who had come from Acote's hill that Governor Dorr's troops had been disbanded, and that a compromise had been made. We were then four miles from the camp, and in the morning resolved to go and see it. We arrived there about half past five o'clock, viz: Messrs. Weeks and Johnson, Joseph Hol- brook, and myself— all of Bosion. None of us were armed in any respect, nor, to my knowledge, had the slightest intention of interference. We went up on to the hill and in the camp; it was completely deserted; there was not a living thing in if, nor any armed men around or near it. The breast- work was slightly thrown up, insufficient to protect the men. There were seven iron cannon, three and six pounders, badly mmiMted, and no other armament, except a bent bayonet and a \p\v rusty pikes, with some cannon cartridges and ball in a broken wagon. There were about seventeen tents 328 Rep. No 546. standing — the marquee having been burnt d down, tlie fireslill smouldering-. The delences were wholly inefficient as a military position. Finding the guns loadi-d, we conchided to fire them off— partly from sport, and partly to prevent the boys who had followed us up from the vilhige, from doing any mischief. VYe touched them off with a brand from the burning marquee. '^I'here were also a number of cannon cartridges, loose cannon balls, and boxes with scrap iron in them, on the field. We then went down to Sproffue's hotel, a few rods from the hill, and ordered breakfast. Up to this time we had seen no troops on either side, nor an armed man in the village. We were on the hill about an hour. While breakfist was pre- pariiiij, about seven o'clock, we saw a body of men coming from the direc- tion of Providence, about thirty in nunjber. Tliey went up the hill, and went into the fort. No person was there, when tliey took possession. The body of men, who were armed but not uniformed, soon after came down from the hill to the hotel, and surrounded it. There was no resistance or opposition to their movements. They came into tlie hotel, and seized a Mr. Eddy, who was in the entry. A scuffle ensued, in which Mr. Eddy e.scaped, and went out at the rear of the building. Two shots were fired, and Horace Bardine, who was standing in the entry, was shot, in the thif,di. I was in the dining-room, at the breakfast table, looking through the door that led into the entry. The shot that struck Mr. Bardine must have come through the front door. There was not the least occasion for firing these shots. I went out in front of the hotel, and sat down with Messrs. Weeks and Johnson. Colonel Brown then came up with the main body of the troops, in much hurry and disorder in their ranks. Colonel Brown, who appeared to be the conmiander, and who knew me personally, came up and shook hands with me; and I introduced Messrs. Weeks and Johnson, and explained to him the circumstances under which I was there. I was, nevertheless, detained as a prisoner till sundown, under guard. At that time, Colonel Bankhead of the United States army, who passed by the window, was recognised by Mr. Weeks, who introduced me to him as the comn)ander of the detachment that had performed the funeral escort at the burial of his friend, Major Loma.v, at the arsenal in Watertown, Massa- chusetts. By his kind interference, 1 was then released. Messrs. Weeks and J(;Iinson were released at the same time, by the interference of Thurlow Weed, esq., of New York, who was there, as 1 understood, as cou)missioner from New York. Wliile under guard, I was frequently insulted by armed men, and, in one instance, had to call for protection to the giuiids. I never experienced such brutal treatment, and never heard of such in civilized warfare. John Gdes, an Englishman, a son of Hon. James F. Sim.mons, and a Mr. Harris, were the most abusive. General Stead, and a son of John H. Clark, treated me like gentlemen. I was examined by Mr. Craw- ford Allen, L. W. Clifibrdj Colonel William Brown, and ex-Lientonant Governor Dimon, in the morning, and offered to prove that I came into the State unarmed, and after every insurirent (so called) had left the place ; but 1 was kept prisoner until released, as above. I had never seen Governor Dorr, to my knowledge, and had never received any conmiunication from WM. MITCHELL. Rep. No. 546. 329 CoMMO-\WEAr/rH OF MassachusI'Tts, Suffolk, ss: Boston, May 5, 1844. Then the said VVillialn Mitchell, beincr duly cautioned and sworn, niade and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before nie, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner^ and Justice of the Peace ^^ through the Coinnionwealth. No. 55. Deposition of Harvey Chafes. I, Harvey Chafee, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Lsland, forty years of age, depose and say : I'hat, on the 2&ih day of June, 184?^, I was first lieutenant of the uniied company, Train Anilkry of Providence. I had formerly held the commission of lieutenant colonel in the same com- pany, and resigned in 1833, and continued an honorary member. On the 27th of June I was elected lieutenant, and, understanding the company was only to be used as an unarmed patrol, I accepted the commission, and was qualified, '^rhe company then had no arms ; Col. Bradford Hodges was/he commander. Tuesday morning, the 28th, after it was known that a man had been shot at Pawtucket, we paraded at tlie armory. As one of the officers, I was there shown an order from Governor King to Col. Brad- ford Hodges, to this effect: "You are conunanded to proceed forthwith to Pawtucket, and blow up Pawtucket bridge." The order was signed by Samuel W. King, commander-in-chief J have a distinct recollection that snch was the substance of the order, and am certain that it was an order to blow up the bridge. There were two cannon mounted, with ammunition ; but we had no muskets. We were expecting every moment muskets from Massachnsetis. Shortly after, the muskets did arrive at the railroad depot, from Boston, and were brought to the armory in boxes. The uiuskets were there taken out of the boxes, and were the United States M«ssachu- setts mtiskets. They were in very bad condition ; the bayonets would not fit, and could not be made to fit, Tiiey were afterwards tried, and many of them could not be got off, and the charges had to be drawn. After the muskets were distributed, we proceeded to Pawtucket with the twocaimon, and, when half the distance ludted and charsjed the camion with canister and £ra[)e, and the small arms with ball ; then proceeded to Pawtucket bridge, and drew up the cannon so as to command the bridge and the Mas- sachusetts side. We saw no armed persons, nor any disturbance, nor indi- cation of an invasion of Rhode island from Massachusetts. There was excitement growing out of what had happened the night previous, but no dirert interference with us. Col. podges commimicated to one of the officers of one of the companies which were at Pawtucket wlien we arrived, that his orders were to blow up the bridge, and he took the command of the forces. During some parts of the time we were stationed there, tliere were as many as four hundred troops, I should judire. It was understood that Capt. Olney, who commanded one of tl^ companies, (the carlsiniers,) was a New York man, and not a citizen of Rhode island. 'I'iie artillery 330 Rep. No. 546. company occupied this post lill Thursday noon, when we took up our Hue of murch for Providence. While we were in Pawtucket, I could not see the least occasion for the company being stationed there. HARVEY CHAFEE. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, May 10, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Harvey Chnfee, and, being duly cautioned and sworn, made and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner., and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 56. Deposition of William C. Thayer. 1, William C. Thayer, of Providence, Rhode Island, testify and say : That, in April, 1842, I was orderly sergeant of the United Independent Volunteers of Providence, an independent chartered company from the year 1794. I had previously been commander of the company for six years. In that monih, immediately after the election under the people's constitution, and before Gov. Dorr was inaugurated, or had done any act as governor, an order was received from Gov. King, as commander-in- chief to the company, to hold themselves in readmess at thirty minutes' warning, and to report the condition and force of the company. The order was made known to the company, and report made accordingly. It was understood that all the military companies received a similar order about the same time. Subsequently, an order came to the volunteers to ascertain if we would support the charter government, and, if not, to rsturn llie arms. The cojrnpany unanimously voted to snpjiort the people's constitution, be- lieving that was the law of the land. After the 18th of May, the principal part ol the arms were delivered up to Gen. Cirrington, one of Gov. King's council. Subsequently, the charter legislature annulled the charter of the compnny without notice. The private property of the company was taken by charter troops, and has never been returned. The majority of the Cadet Company, as I was informed, and have no doubt, was in favor of the people's constitution. The minority for the charter government held a meeting, and admitted new meiBbers of their side, and then expelled the others, who would have been a mnjority. Of this fact I was informed by members of the company, and have no doubt ; similar changes, it is well known, were made in other compames. WILLIAM C. THAYER. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, Majj 11, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named William C. Thayer, and made Kep. No. 546. 331 oath to the foregoino^, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioher, and Jus/ice of the P>are tJirou^k the Comvionumlth. No. 57. Deposition of George S. Reid. I, George S. Reid, of Fail River, in the Smte of i\'5assachnsetts, cnrpen- ter, twenty eiglit years of age, testify and say : That 1 was enlisted at Detroit in 11S39, and was in service as a United States soldier at Fort Adams, in Newport, Rhode Island, and was at that station from 1841 till the fidi of 1S43. I was then ordered to Fort Hamilton, and took my discharge in February, at the expiration of my term of servire. About the time of the Cfje[)atchet affair, or the Ftderal hill, and before I heard of any troops go- ing tiiere, orders were pnblislied at the fort, on parade, that con)pauy E, with detachments of companies A and B, were ordered from Forts Hamil- ton and Cohmibus, New York, to Fort Adams. This was the substance of the ordmr. There was then at Fort Adams about the ordinary complement of men. Shortly after the order, the^etachment arrived at the fort under Captain Marchant, of the United Slates army, who assumed the command at the fort as senior officer. Immediately alter the troops were inspected, to see if their arms and accoutrements were in order for actual service, and all defective arms were supplied, and forty rounds of bill cartridges, with flints, were issued to each man ; also, haversacks for carrying rations to all who were deficient in them, and the men in all respects equipped for active service. Provisions (or two days' rations were ordered to be cooked, and the cooking went on. They were kept in the cook room ready, but were not served out. We were daily inspected, to show that our arms and ammaaition were in order, including the whole effective force. We were ordered, through the orderly sergeant, to bold ourselves in marching order to take the steamboat at any moment for Providence. During this time. Colonel l^ankhead was frequently at the fort, and inspected the men at dif- ferent times. It was distinctly understood by me, and, I liave no doubt, by the men generally, from the communications of the officers to the non com- missioned officers, that we were to be ordered to Providence, for tlie pur- pose of acting with the charter troops ajjainst the suffrage men. The sub- ject was much talked of amona: the soldiers, and there was a strong aver- sion to eui/age m such a service. The sympathies of tlie soldiers univer- sally, as I believe, were on the other side. Powder in keo^ was received at the fort from Newport, which was understood to be State ammunition, and was put in a magazine, and a sentry placed over it. This powder was taken away from time to time. Acting Ordnance Sergeant Boat told me lh;,t he had issued fixed ammunition for six poiuuiers to the State Artil- lery company at Newport, and that musket cartridges had also been fur- nished to the militia. A cartridije here shown me is the same description that was served out to us at the f irt. It is a United Slates cartridge, pecu- liar m the fold, and such as 1 never saw out of the United States service. 332 Rep. No. 546. Sergeant Boat I "left at Fort Hamilion, New York, where I understand he now is. A guard was detailed from Fort Adams to Fort Wolcott, in New- port harbor, which had previously been unoccnpied. I carried my car- tridges about three weeks, and then gave them in, and things subsided at the fort as they were before. GEORGE S. REID. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pav/tucket, May 11. 1844. Personally appeared the above-named George S. Reid, and made oath to the foregoing, and subscribed the same, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace lltrough the Vommouweallh. No. 58. Deposition of Thomas Reid. I, Thomas Reid, of Cranston, iugthe State of Rhode Island, mechanic, forty-two years of age, depose and say: That I keep an umbrella and dry goods store in Providence, and in June, 1842, had my place of business in Providence. On Sunday, the 2tith of June, 1842, 1 was in Providence, having brought my family to attend church, as usual Coming down Col- lege street in the forenoon, I was Ijailed by Sylvester Hartshorn, United States marshal, tie stopped me, and said he understood I had been talking to the soldiers on the hill, (meanitig the charter troops on Benefit street,) and told me that " if I did not shut up my head, and keep my d — d tongue between my teeth, he would have me taken up in less than five mmutes." He said I had been talking to the soldiers, and preaching the doctrine that all men were created equal, and that the sovereignty rested in the people, and they had a right to alter and new model their government wlienever they saw fit. He said this was a damnable doctrine, and the cause of all our troubles. I had not been conversing with the soldiers, but with a friend on the sidewalk. I repeated to said Hartshorn the doctrine I main- tained, and quoted, in proof, thesayi;;gs of Washington and Jefferson. He told me it was no time to have such talk over ; and if I did not keep my tongue between my teeth, I should be connnitted. When the charter troops returned from Acote's hill, I saw the prisoners marched throug^i the streets tied together. Their arms were pinioned be- hind them with ropes passed from one man to the next, tying each platoon together from ten to twelve abreast. There were from one hundied to one hundred and fifty so lied, with files of soldiers on each side, and bodies in front and rear. There was a large military force, and there was no need, as I could see, for tying the prisoners. 1 had seen in Scotland a hundred and fifty French prisoners escorted by fifty British soldiers, bui the prison- ers were not tied or secured. The apparent object, as far as I could see, was to expose the prisoners to derision. They repeatedly lialted, while Rep, No. 546. 333 marching through t!ie streets, and there was n.nch exhibition of trinmph. In the ranks of one of the cliarter ccmpaiiies I noticed Mr. Hartshorn, the United States marshal, marcliing vviih a musket. THOMAS REID. Commonwealth of M ass achv setts, Biisiol, ss: Pawtucket, Mat/ 11, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Thon:)as Reid, and made solemn affirmation, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that llie foregoing, reduced to writing by nie in his presence, and by him subscribed, is true. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, ^c, and Justice of Peace tlirouirh the Commonwealth. No. 59, Deposition of. Peter Norton. I, Peter Norton, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, drover; fifty years of age, depose and say: That on the 27lh of June, 1842, I was a resident in Pavvtuxet village, m the town of Cranston. On the morning of that day I was in my son inlaw's blacksmith shop, and was there seized by Remington Arnold, an inspector of customs at the port of Pavvtuxet. Arnold vvns armed, and accompanied by other armed men, who appeared to be under his command. He seized me by the shoulder, with violence, appearing to be in a great rage, and ordering me to go with him. I asked him for his authority. He replied that he volunteered his services to arrest me for saying that 1 believed Thomas W. Dorr to be the ffgal governor of the State. He carried me to the quarters of the company, before the captain; and they charged me that I had been against them in party, and had favored tlie suffrage party. There was no pretence that I had done any imlawful act, except express my opinions. A two-horse lumber- wagon was then got, (which belonged lo .lohn B. Francis, now United States Senator,) into which I was put, with Arnold and eleven others, all armed, and driven to Provi- dence, five miles. I was carried to the office of Henry L. Bowen ; Arnold handed me over to the justice, and gave my name. The justice asked what the crime was. Arnold replied, " he says he believes that Dorr is the legal governor of the State." The justice called on me to answer ; and I said I did think so, and 1 had not changed my mind. The justice then said, "that is enough." There was Mr. Holmes in prison for treason, and they would probably keep him there for twenty j-ears. The justice said that if I could get some respectable persons to vouch for me as a good citizen, and would sign a paper that I would conform to their governuient, and the laws of their charter, then they would let me go. Tliey called in Mr. Joseph Butler, who was a neighbor of mine, and one of their party; and after talking with him, they said that he advised to let me go. The justice, or some one in his presence, handed me a printed paper, and said, if I would sign that, I might go. I had not my spectacles, and told them I signed nothing I could 334 Rep. No. 546. not see. Christopher Rhodes, of Pawtnxet, who knew me well, was called on, and was asked if 1 was a dangerous man. He said not ; that I was a man he was not afraid to have come njto his house, but that I had the most in- fluence of any man in the place with the suffrage people, though I had done nothing; but he would not consent that 1 should i^o. This was the whole amount of the evidence against me. A guard was then brouglit, and I was marched off to prison, and remained there sixteen days. 1 was then carried before the commissioners' court ; no charges were made, ai-id I was discharged. On my way home, on foot, I was overtaken by Mr. William Rhodes, (brother of Christopher,) who said that Mr. Carrington had threat- ened my arrest again, because I had complained of my living in jirison. Fearino- I should again be imprisoned, the next day I left my fiimily in Pawtuxet, and went out of the State. I was a farmer, and left my haying. After a few days' absence, I was informed by my son. from Mr. Rhodes, that I might come back ; and I then returned. While I was in prison, my house was searched, as 1 was informed by my wife, but no arms were found. When I was first arrested, P'ileg Aborn, surveyor of the port of Pawtuxet, was one of the guards at the headquarters ; Elisha H. Rhodes, the United States boatman, was also one of the guard, and under arms. Arnold, since my discharge, has often boasted of what he did to arrest me, and defied me to make his conduct known at Washington. When I was arrested, I was unarmed, and had not used a musket or any deadly weapon for twenty years, and do not believe, under our government, it is necessary to resort to arms to settle political questions. 1 was a strong supporter of President Harrison, and know of no reason why I was arrested, exce[)t the opinion 1 expressed as to Governor Dorr. I voted for the people's constitulionj but had not voted for Dorr for governor. PETER NORTON. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss: • Pawtucket, May 9, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Peter Norton, and made oath to the foregoing, reduced to writing in his presence by me. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonweallh. No. 60. Deposition of Albion N. Olney, S, Albion N. Olney, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, attorney at law, d(^pose and say: Tliat on Sunday, the 2(Jth day of June, 1842, I Was on the premises of Otis Holmes, in said Providence, hut not in his house, when he was forcibly dragged from it by a number of armed men, who had broken into his house. 1 also saw him carried through the streets, with a person holding him on each side by the collar, and armed men in front and rear. He was marched to the office of Henry L. Bovven. There were from twenty to thirty armed men, and many who were not armed. Rep. No 546. 335 1 saw amnng (he leaders Sylvester Hartshorn, the United States marshal for the district. He was not armed, having only a cane, but appeared to take un active part in the proceedings. 1 saw Mr. Holmes's brewery broken open, and also his store and counting-room, and another store adjoining. Mr. Hohnes, in the honse and at the brewery, begged them not to break in, and he wonid fnrnish the keys; bnt no attention was paid to his request. While the soldiers were marching Mr. Holmes throngh Westminster street, I heard Joseph F. Arnold, who was an inspector in the custom honse, say to his son, (who, armed with a musket and fixed bayonet, marched directly in the rear of Mr. Holmes,) " Prick him, Frank; prick the d d sconndrel." Mr. Arnold was standing in front of his house as the men passed, and said this in an audible voice. I heard and remember the words distinctly. On several days after I saw Sylvester Hartshorn, the United States marshal, equipped with a musket and accoutrements, drilling and doing duty with a volunteer company of citizens. On the 18ih ol May I saw Hon. .lohn Pitmiui, judge of the United States district court, in the ranks of the char- ter troops, armed with a musket. During the period of martial law, 1 saw Edward J. Mallett, tlie Providence postmaster, doing duty as guard in College street. At the same time that I saw .ludge Pitman in the ranks, I also saw Richard W. Greene, Untied States district attorney, marching as one of the soldiers to go on Federal hill, and William R. Watson, collector. ALBION N. OLNEY. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, May 9, 1844. Personally appeared the above named Albion N. Olney, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing in liis presence by me. Before nie, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 61. Deposition of Simeon Sher7nan,jr> 1, Simeon Sherman, jr., of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, bleacher, twenty-nine years of age, depose and say: On the day Mr. Otis Holmes was arrested, I was near his brewery. I saw the men who had arrested him break into the brewery. One of these men was Sylvester Hartshorn, the United States marshal of Rhode Island. I heard him say to the men, " Break the door down ; the State will pay for all the damages." They then broke tlie door in, and went into the building. Mr. Hartshorn appeared to be at tlie head of the men ; he was in citizen's dress, except the cockade on his hat, and had no arms. I also saw the men break into Mr. Holmes's store and counting-room. Mr. Hartshorn retnained till they had searched the brewery. I do not know where he then went. SIMEON SHERMAN, Jr, 336 Ktp No. 546. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, May 9, 1S44. Personally appeared the a!)ove named Simeon Sherman, jr., and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. Before me, B. F. HALLETT, Com/iiissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 62, Deposition of Abel Oaks. I, Abel Oaks, of Providencfe, in the State of Rhode Island, drayman, forty-six years of age, depose and say : That between the 15th and 20th of June, 1842, I was apphed to by General Edward Carrington, one of the governor's council, to go to James Eames's store in Westminster street, Providence, to take a load of musket-balls to tiie customhouse. The load was not ready when I got there, and I found that the load I was to take was boxes of musket-balls. I saw the balls put into the boxes, and, being in a hurry to get the load, assisted in doing so. I took in five boxes, which was all they had ready, and carried and left them at the custom house, at the north store door, where there was a quantity of military equipments and munitions of war, such as boxes of muskets, boxes such as muskets are usually packed in, boxes of carbines, cartridge boxes, belts, blankets, and other military stores. The boxes of muskets were marked, on some, " U. S. and Mass." There were fifteen or twenty boxes, I should think, of different sizes, for muskets, carbines, and cartridge boxes. On a num- ber of the boxes were also marked, " Samuel Arnes, quartermaster general, to the care of B. W. Comstock, master of transportation." After this, (to wit, on Monday, the day on which Alexander Kelby was shot at Pawtucket,) 1 went with a team to the custom-house, at the request, I think, of Mr. Vincent Carr, of the firm of Richmond &. Carr, merchants of Providence, who paid me for the job; and there took two boxes of car- bines, and delivered them at the store of Richmond & Carr, in North Main street. I also took one other box from the custom-house to Carrington's block on Water street, which was known as the headquarters of the char- ter troops, or rather their depot for arms. ABEL OAKS. Commonwealth op Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss : Pawtucket, May 3, 1844. Personally appeared the abov^e-named Abel Oaks, and made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing: in his presence, by me, b: f. hallktt. Commissioner^ and Justice of the Peace throush the Commonvoealth. Rep. No. 546. 337 No. 63. Deposition of William Coleman. I, William Coleman, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, me- chanic, forty-four years of age, depose and say : Tliat on Monday, the 27tli of June, 1842, a file of soldiers came to my shop, under the command of Edward J. Mallett, postmaster of Providence, He told them to go in and search the building; which they did, and took out my training gnn and bayonet, and delivered it to ihe said Mallett. Some six weeks after, he asked me if 1 was not coming up for my gun. He said it was in a room over his office ; that he found he was likely to be responsible for the guns he had taken, and he had collected them, and got them in a room over the post office. 1 did not go for the gun, nor intend to; and some time after he sent a mxn with a new gun to me, which was not my gun, though of equal value. Mr. Mallett gave me no reason for searching my shop. There was none, except that my opinions were known to be on the suffrage side. WILLIAM COLEMAN. No. 64. Deposition of Stephen G. Coleman. T, Stephen G. Coleman, forty years of age, brother and co partner of Wil- liam Coleman, testify and say: Tiiat I was present when the facts stated in the foregoing deposition of said William took place ; which deposition has been read in my hearing, and know the same to be true. I also heard Mr, Mallett. when my brother had stepped one side, order the soldiers a second time, in a very emphatic manner, to search the building thoroughly. STEPHEN G. COLEMAN. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss : Pawtucket, May 4, 1844. Then the above-named William Coleman and Stephen G. Coleman severally made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, which was reduced to writing by me in their presence. B, F. HALLETT, Commissioner, d^c, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 6.5. Deposition of John L.Johnson. I, John L. Johnson, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, me- chanic, forty-three years of age, depose and say : That on or about the 21st of June, 1842, 1 saw a wagon standing at the custom-house, containing a number of keo-s in crocus or canvass bags, A person named to me as Mr. "22 338 Rep. No. 546. Diitee Greene had the wagon in charge, and delivered the kegs to General Edward Carrington, who received them in the north store of the custom- house. Mr. William P. Greene, a custom house officer, was present at the time of the delivery, and I asked him if it was customary to make a powder magazine of the custom-house. He repHed that it was only going to stay- there ten or fifteen minutes. The next day, about 4 o'clock in the after- noon, I came by, and the doors of this same store of the custom-house (which is under the same roof with the offices) were open. 1 saw General Carrington, with two muskets, going from the custom-house to Mr. Little's, opposite, a gunsmith. 1 looked into the store, and saw the kegs standing in the same place as the day before. There were numbers of loose mus- kets and musket boxes in the store, wUh cartridge boxes, belts, and other military stores. Samuel Ames, then quartermaster general of the charter troops, was in the store, moving a box which appeared to be a box of mus- kets, from the manner in which he moved it. About a week after this, I saw a box taken from the same room in the custom house, and which ap- peared to be a box of muskets, and put into a wagon, which I followed, and the wagon stopped at Webster's tavern, on Christian hill, in Providence, about a" mile from the customhouse. I there examined the box, and found it contained muskets. On the side of the box was marked " Foster." The man who was with the wagon, as 1 was informed, was from Foster. About tile 26th of June, (or the 27th, 1 think,) 1842, my house was entered and searched by Thomas Sekell, Caleb Borrows, Hiram Barker, and one other unknown. I asked for their authority, but they showed none. They were all armed with muskets ; two of them kept guard in a room, while the others searched the house. They said their object was to find muskets and ammunition. 1 told them I had none, but they could find them at Mr. Rathbun's, my next-door neighbor. They said he was one of their men, and did not go there. They found nothing in my house. On Sunday, the 26th of June, 1842, while standing at the corner of Green street, in Providence, a body of about thirty soldiers came up, headed by Sylvester Hartshorn, the United States marshal. They placed a guard there; and a Mr. Bowman, who was with me, (and has since died,) asked Mr. Hartshorn what the matter was. His reply was, "Do you suppose I would tell you before that d d rascal standing there?" (pointing to me.) Mr. Hartshorn passed on, with the rest of the soldiers, up to Jackson street, and set a guard there, and then went on to Mr. Otis Holmes's brewhouse. Soon after I saw them come back with Mr. Holmes — two persons having hold of him, and Mr. Hartshorn following directly behind. JOHN L. JOHNSON. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, B7'istol,ss: Pawtucket, Mmj 3, 1844. Then the above-named John L. Johnson, being duly cautioned and sworn, made oath to and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing by me in his presence. B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, tj'c, a? id Justice of the Peace throusrh the Commonwealth. Rep. No. 546. 339 No. 66. Deposition of William Haswell. I, William Haswell, of Providence, m the State of Rhode Island, shoe- maker, forty years of age, depose and say: That about the 20th of June, 1842, before martial law was declared, I saw in ihe custom-house in Providence, in the north store, five boxes, such as are used to hold accoutrements, marked "U. S. A.," in large letters; one was also marked with ink "Samuel Ames, ese|., quartermaster, Providence, R. I." This was soon after break- fast. At noon, returning from my work, I again saw the boxes. They were then all in the building. In the morning two were outside the door, as if just landed. A man was then taking cartridge boxes out of one of the boxes in the building. It was a cartridge box with broad white belt, brass mounted with " U. S. I.," or '■ U. S. infantry," on the back ; they were taking them out and hanging them up. WILLIAM HASWELL. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol, ss : Pawtucket, 31ni/ 3, 1844. Personally appeared the above named William Haswell, and, being: duly cautioned and sworn, made and subscribed the foregoing, reduced to writing in his presence by me, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, <^'c.,mid Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth. No. 67. Deposition of Thomas Greene. I, Thomas Greene, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, thirty- one years of age, mechanic, depose and say: That on Monday following the declaration of martial law, a file of soldiers came to my house in my absence, as my wife informed me, and took away my training-gun, and searched the house throughout, 1 did not know who these persons were. I went to the mayor, and complained of what they had done, and wanted to know how I should get back my gun, and get redress. He told me to go to General Carrington, which 1 did ; and he referred me to Captain Shaw, of the Third Ward Volunteers, who seemed to know nothing about it. I was a freeholder, and was a voter under the charter. About six weeks or two months after this, I saw Edward J. Mallett, the postmaster of Providence, wh^asked me to go into his room over the post oflice; which I did. There were three or four guns there, one of which he said was mine, and that under martial law he had gone into my house and taken the gun. He said we had been political friends, and he wanted to take good care of my gun, for fear it might i)e lost. I asked him by what authority he had searched my house ? And he said he had acted under authority of the government, and had the command of the men that searched my house. He requested me to take the gun home : which I dechned, stating, that if it was taken ac- 340 Rep. No. 546. cording to law and order, it must be returned according to law and order, 1 asked him how the gun came to be in his possession, if he took it un- der the authority of the Rhode Island government? which he explained no further than as above — that he took it to take good care of it, to pre- vent its beino lost. He said he would send it to my house ; which I de- clined, telling him I did not wish to subject my house to another search. There was a good deal of conversation, but the above is the substance of it. About a fortnight after this — just after dinner — I saw Mr. IVlalleit in my parlor with a gun, which he set up by the window, and said " there is your gun." I told him 1 could not receive it; he said he could not help it, and immediately left the house. IVIy wife, who was present, «aid it was the same man who had taken the gun from the house when it was searched. THOMAS GREENE. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bristol^ ss : Pawtucket, May 4, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Thomas Greene ; and. being duly cautioned and sworn, made and subscribed the foregoing, reduced lo writing by me in his presence. B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace through the Commonwealth, No. 68. Deposition of Isaiah Barney, I, Isaiah Barney, of Providence, trader, depose and say: That on the 18ih of May, 1642, after it was understood there was a compromise, and ^he troops iiad left Federal hill, Sylvester Hartshorn, United States mar- shal, came into my store. There was a gnn behind the door, which be- longed to Lyman A. Taft, of Smithfield, who was present. Mr. Harts- horn questioned him, and he said he had been on Federal hill. He then took the gun, and carried it off. In the afternoon 1 met Mr. Hartshorn, and asked him if his office was such that it made it his duty to take that gun without any process? He said it was; and told me I did well not to in- terfere. There was then no martial law, I saw the troops when they brought the prisoners into Providence, They were tied together, as is described by Henry liord in his deposition. 1 saw him among them. They were paraded on the great bridge at the market-place, and kept there about three-quarters of an hour. ISAIAH BARNEY. Rep. No. 546. 341 No. 69. Deposition of Lyman A. Taft. I, Lyman A. Taft, of Smithfield, in the State of Rhode Island, depose and say: 'I'hat the above statement which has been read to me, so far as it relates to tfie taking of my gun by Sylvester Hartshorn, is true. Mr. Harishoru took me with the gun, and carried me to the hall over the market, but did not take me in, and there left me. Afterwards 1 saw him, and asked him by what authority he took my gun. H(-) replied., by the authority of the United States. I asked him if the United States did not authorize every man to keep arms? He said it did, but not in a case of insurrection. I told him I did not consider it an insurrection ; I was sent for by the gover- nor. He asked. Governor who? I said Governor Dorr. He replied. Dorr is not governor, but a rebel. Afterwards he returned the gun to me, but made no explanation. LYMAN A. TAFT. Commonwealth of .Massachosetts, Bristol^ ss : Pawtucket, Minj II, 1844. Personally appeared the above-named Isaiah Barney and Lyman A. Taft, aiifl severally made oath to the foregoing, and subscribed the same, reduced lo writing by me in their presence. Before mo, B. F. HALLETT, Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace throusrh the Commonwealth. No. 70. Deposition of Jedediah Sprague. I, Jedediah Sprague, of Glocester, in the county of Providence, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, aged forty years, do depose and say : That I now am, and have, for the space of about tour and a half years past, been the innholder of the Chepatchet Hotel, in said town of Glocester; that I was the keeper of said hotel in June, A. D. 1842, at the time of the encampment of the suffrage party, or a portion thereof, on Acote's hill, near said village of Chepatchet. On Thursday, June 23d, 1842, late in the af- ternoon, the suffrage people aforementioned commenced encamping on said hill ; early Saturday morning following, (to wit, tlie 25th of June,) Gov. Dorr arrived and took roo iis in my house. Two or three days previous to said 23d oi June, persons known to be in the interest of the charter party, (so called,) and hostile to the suffrage party, were reconnoitring this section of the State, both in the day and night time. Tuesday and Wednesday eve- nings, the 21st and 22d of June, 1842, expresses arrived from Providence, bringing the intelligence that armed companies were forming in Providence for the purpose of making an attack on the village of Chepatchet ; in conse- quence of this information, a portion of the citizens of said village, together with a few persons troin other towns, tbrmed a patrol to watch and protect liie place. On Wednesday night aforesaid, (which was the first night of 342 Rep. No. 546. the streets being generally guarded,) information was received that large numbers of persons had passed the turnpike gate, about four miles east of this village, on the direct road to Providence, who were approaching the village at about 12 o'clock at night, which is an unusual time for travellers to be on the roads in this part of the country. About 1 o'clock on the morn- ing of Thursday, the 23d June aforesaid, Messrs. Shelley, Keep, Harris, and Peckham were apprehended, all armed with pistols; about which time, sev- eral carriages, apparently approaching from towards Providence, hastily turned off from the main or turnpike road, some eighty or one hundred rods below. The persons taken by the patrol aforesaid were Supposed to be an advance guard of the company, which, from the intelligence received, it was expected would attack the viilaiic ; and it was supposed that the discharge of cannon which took place in the village immediately after the arrest of said persons deterred others from entering the village. It being believed that the village of Chepatchet would not be strong enough to hold out against any considerable number of armed men or strong force, the persons appre- hended were marched, with said company of patrol, to Woonsocket, wliere said Shelley, Keep, Harris, and Peckham were discliarged. On Thursday, the 23d aforesaid, said patrol returned, accompanied by a part of two mili- tary companies from Woonsocket, and commenced the encampment on Acote's hill, as before stated. Said Acote's hill was in possession of the suf- frage party, as aforesaid, until the afternoon of Monday, June 27th. During the occupancy of said hill and the village, the sufiYage people were quiet, orderly, and peaceable, and the personal rights of the citizens were respected. On Saturday morning, the 25th of June, the bar of my house, where liquors were sold, was by me, at the request of Gov. Dorr, closed, and remained so until Tuesday morning, the 28th. On the afternoon of Monday, the 27th, the military on Acote's hill disbanded, and nearly all of them quietly retired from the village. An express started from my house on Monday afternoon, bearing a communication from Gov. Dorr to Waller S. Burges, esq., of Providence, acquainting said Burges with the tact that the forces on Acote's hill were to be disbanded, and requesting said communication to be pub- lished in the Express, the organ of the suffrage party, published in Provi- dence. About 7 o'clock, (according to the best of my recollection,) on the morn- ing of Tuesday, June 2Sih, the advance guard of Col, Brown's regiment arrived at my house in carriages, under the command, as 1 understood at the time, of Lieut. John T. Pitman, (clerk of the United States court for the district of Rhode Island.) who was well known to me at that time, and for several years previous. There were in my house at the time said advance guard arrived, only eight male persons, besides my own family and domes- tics, three of whom were gentlemen from Boston, who had arrived that morning; one gentleman from Long Island, and three persons with him, who had stopped with me over night as travellers, and who had not, to my knowledge, had anything lo do v/ith the matters at that time agitating the State; and a Mr. Lyman Cooley, who had left the village ihe night before, and had returned that morning to my house, through fear, as he stated, that he could not make his escape. Said Cooley was from New York city; was taken prisoner in my house that mornino ; imprisoned in the county jail and State's prison in Providence in a state of insanity, and soon after died an in- male of the asylum for the poor in said Providence. Mr. Cooley was for- merly a Providence man. 1 considered him to be in a state of insanity from Rep. No 546. 343 his appearance and conversation on the morning of the 23th, before he was taken prisoner. None of the persons in my house, at the time of the arrival of the advance guard as aforesaid, were, to my knowledu^e, in any way armed ; there was no such instrument as a musket, gun, pistol, sword, or the like, to be seen in said house. As said advance guard drove up in front of my house in carriages, the citizens of the village soon collected in the front piazza, and about the doors, to the number of ten or a dozen, which number gradually increased for a few minutes ; none of whom were, to my knowledge, armed. 1 was standing on the piazza in tront of the entry door leading to the bar- room ; the persons comprising said advance guard having alighted from their carriages, came along scatteringly, and adv\ancing towards me, I ob- served one shaking hands with Mr. Alexander Eddy, a citizen of this place ; heard them in conversation while approaching the spot where I was stand- ing. As they came on to the piazza, 1, turning partly around, invited them to walk in; they not heeding my invitation, I repeated it. At this juncture they all stood apparently hesitating what course to take. I stepped over the threshold of the door, and again invited them to walk in. At the last invitation, one of the advance guard placed his musket across the door afore alluded to, in the act of guarding it. Mr. Alexander Eddy at that moment attempted to pass in at the door, and the guard dropped the muzzle of his gun to prevent him from passing in ; the guard tlien turned his left eye over his left shoulder to the street, and whilst he was looking to the street, Eddy raised the muzzle of said guard's musket, and passed into tlie entry. When said person who was guarding the door as aforesaid turned his face fronting the house, and saw Eddy in the entry, he brought his musket to bear upon him, (said Eddy,) and, calling him a God damned rascal, told him to come out, or he would shoot him down. At this time there was a gen- eral cry amongst the persons of the advance guard — "Goddamn 'em, shoot 'em down," and simultaneously a rush for the doorway. I was standing near the person who first brought his piece to bear upon Eddy, and raised the muzzle aliove the head of any one in the entry, by putting my hand un- der his gun. There was a general rush at this time of the armed soldiers and unarm- ed citizens and spectators for the doorway, arid the entry was immediately filled witii both classes — the armed soldiers attempting to shoot the unarm- ed, and continually keeping up the cry of '•' God damn 'em, shoot ''em downP I was in the midst of the scene, and was continually raising and brushing ofi" the muskets, pistols, carbines, (fcc, with which they were armed ; com- manding them not to shoot; telling them they were not resisted by any armed force; stating to them that they produced the whole confusion and disorder, and that if they would be quiet, order would be restored ; that I could and would maintain order in my house. I should think that, during this confusion, I brushed from my own person, and other unarmed persons, muskets, guns, pistols, and the like, as much as a dozen times. During the squabble aforementioned, I was pushed some seven or eight feet from the doorway into the entry, into about the midst of the crowd. In the mean time the door was puslied to, and locked by an unarmed man, and held by unarmed persons; the armed persons on the outside attempted to break said door down. Knowing that the unarmed persons in the entry could at that time protect themselves against those that were armed. I ))assed through the bar-room from said enTry, and went on to the piazza outside of the house, through one of the bar room windows, thinking I might be ser- 344 Rep. No. 546. viceable in preventing mischief on the outside. As I passed the first bar- room window from the entry, in my attempt to get outside, some one of the soldiers thrust a pistol through a pane of glass in said window, directed or aimed at me ; I passed to the next window, raised it, and went out. Being outside, and on the piazza aforesaid, the first thing that attracted my atten- tion was said John T. Pitman with the muzzle of his musket or carbine at the key-hole of said entry door, and attempting to get it off. I was within about fifteen feet of said Pitman when I alighted from the window, and im- mediately approached him, and ordered him not to fire ; my language was, ^^For God^s sake, don^t you fire in there^'' This expression I think I made directly as I alighted from the window as aforesaid. I intended, if 1 could, to prevent said Pitman from firing in, and approached him for that purpose-^ but his piece was discharged when 1 was within about three feet of him. I recollect said Pitman's language at the time of firing was, ^'- 1 don't care a God damn; 1 mean to kill somthodyJ'' After said Pitmar) had discharged his piece as aforesaid, he rushed a few steps to the north, on the piazza, and then back towards the door, rapidly, appearing perfectly frantic, infuriated, and fiendish. About this time the main body of Colonel Brown's regiment were in sight, and such as had arrived proceeded to surround the house. I entered the front door, which is about twenty feet north of the one afore- mentioned, passed through one of the front rooms into the aforementioned entry, and unlocked the door through which said Pitman had discharged his piece. The ball which was fired through the key hole as aforesaid, pass- ed throuoh the thigh of Mr. George H N. Bardine. making a deep and se- vere flesh wound. Said Bardine was at the tinre in said entry, and near the door. Up to this time I heard no other discharge of fire-arn)s near or about my liouse, and am very positive there had been none ; had there been any, 1 must have heard and known it. In a very few minutes my house was completely filled with armed men, and was entirely in their possession — every door guarded by soldiers. Soon after, or about the time the matters just spoken of were transpiring, I retired into the back part of the house, and discovered a soldier standing at one of the back doors with his musket cocked and bayonet fixed, and aimed into the house, and ordering the males and females to march into the back yard, one at a time. This, however, was abandoned by my assuring them that the ladies were unarmed, and would most certainly do no harm to any of them. The soldiers who took possession of my house were abusive and rough in their language and be- havior, from the time they entered as aforesaid, during my continuance on the premises, which was up to 4 o'clock, p. m., of Wednesday the 29th. This 1 do not mean to apply to all of them; but it was the fact with very many. They took possession of every room in the house, and of all my effects, and ransacked from garret to cellar. There were neither arms nor munitions of war in the house, to my knowledge, at tlie time, except a smalt bird gun or fowling-piece, which was taken and carried off. Soon after the main body of Colonel Brown's regiment arrived, about half a dozen pieces of cannon were planted on the south and west sides of my house, and aim- ed towards it. They'(that is, the soldiers) swore they would " blow us all to hell." They were prevailed upon not to fire into the house, by the inter- position of two of the citizens of the village, who informed them that they were for ^'laic and order^'' but disapproved of their firing into the house. The guns were afterwards wheeled about, and fired a number of times, to the great destruction of windows in my house, and of other houses in the Rep. No. 546. 345 immediate viciniiy. There are side lights to the door, (through the key- hole of which said Pitman discharged his piece,) with glass 9 by 12, throiio-h which he might easily see everything which was going on in the entry aforesaid, there being four lights on each side of said door, of the afore- mentioned size ; and the aforementioned front door, about 20 feet further north on said piazza, was open during the aforementioned squabble in the entry. Nothing prevented any one, if he chose, from passing through said lastmentioned door. About sunrise on the morning of Tuesday, the 2Sth, I directed my do- mestics to set the table the whole' length of the dining-room, (one range of tables in said room will accommodate about sixty persons at a time,) and to put upon it all the victuals it would hold, and lo be prepared to supply it as soon as need might require it ; all of which was accordingly done, immediately after the arrival of the troops, as aforesaid, the table aforesaid was filled, and continued to be filled from the time of their arrival in the monung, until between 4 and 5 o'clock in the afternoon ; as fast as one got up, another would supply the vacant place. In addition to those seated at the table eating, others were standing and eating victuals, which they took and had reached to them from the table. There were also persons in the kitchen when the cooking was going on, who were taking: victuals as the same were cooked, and others helping them- selves from the closets and cellar. The table was also set for them again that evening, and a great many were victualed as aioresaid on the two suc- ceeding days. In taking possession of my barns, stables, and granary, they took pos- session of about twenty tons of hay, between eight hundred and one thou- sand bushels of oats, and from fifty to seventy five bushels of corn, and be- tween one and two tons of rye straw , all of which was used and destroyed, with the exception ot something less than one ton of hay. They also took possession of six horses at that time in the stable, five or six carriages, and as many harnesses, bufitilo robes, and whips; five of the horses were used, and I believe the other one, by the charter party (so called;) two of said harnesses have never been returned; four of the buffalo robes, and some half dozen or more of whips which were taken, have not, as yet, been re- covered. During the Tuesday and Wednesday aforementioned, up to the time of my departure from the village, my house, barns, &c., were con- stantly guarded, and I was denied access to my barns and stables, and to many of the rooms in my house. The troops of the charter party (so called) also had full possession of my liquor bar and cellar, and helped themselves lo cigars, wines, and ardent spirits, according to their pleasure; several hundred dollars worth of prop- erty was consumed or destroyed in liquors and cigars, I was generally a spectator to the scenes before described, after they had taken posses- sion of my house ; but was occasionally ordered about, at the muzzle of a presented musket or pistol, to perform some service about the house or bar. One man hi two instances ordered me, in an authoritative tone, with a pis- tol presented at me, "to feed his horses;" previous to this, all of the white males in my employ had been taken prisoners, and put under guard. On Wednesday morning, the 29ih, my wife and the females in the kitchen were put under guard, and set to work cooking; said guard was armed. Immediately after this, I was taken prisoner, but was released on parole 346 Rep. No. 546. with my promise to be in Providence at 6 o'clock, p. m.,of that day. I was arrested by Colonel W. W. Brown aforeinentioned, soon after which he left the village with between one and two hundred prisoners v/ho had been taken at Cbepatchet and the country round about. T saw said prisoners tied together in front of my house, with ropes, previous to their departure for Providence. An hour or two after my arrest, and after the departure of Colonel Brown with the prisoners, ex governor VVm. C. Gibbs sent for me to come to his room, which was in my house, when ne gave me an ex- amination as to my participation in the Rhode Island affairs; and the follow- ing is a true copy of an instrument thereupon wjven to me, which was in my presence written by the Reverend F^rancis Vmton, of Newport, and in my presence signed by said Gibbs; which instrument is now in my pos- session, and at this time before me, and is exactly in the following letters, words, and figures : "Jedediah Sprague (after due examination) is hereby released from arrest. " WM. C. GIBBS, " General of Staff. "June 29, 1842." Having pledged myself to Colonel Brown to be in Providence at 6 o'clock in tfie afternoon, I, notwithstandino^ the release from Governor Gibbs, went into Providence to report myself according to promise, having with me said discharge from Governor Gibbs. I understood, afier I arrived at Provi- dence, that there was talk of having me again arrested. On inquiry by me, Who is going to have me arrested ? the reply was, Henry L. Bowen. 1 exhibited my discharge or release to Governor Samuel Ward King, stating to him that I was threatened with another arrest. His reply was, in regard to the release which 1 had exhibited to him, "7 donH knoio but what it is sufficient — clonH know about it — dou^t k)iowP I then went to the office of Henry L. Bowen, esq., a justice of the peace in and for the city of Provi- dence. I went voluntarily, not having been arrested or apprehended, saving by Colonel Brown, as aforestated. 1 understood that said Bowen was act- ing as a commissioner under martial law. He asked me a number of ques- tions, which I answered ; no witnesses were examined. Mr. Bowen finally ordered a constable in attendance to take me to prison; which was accord- ingly done. Said Bowen slated to me, at the time, upon my inquiring what the charge was against me. that " it was treason," and " that the evidence was, that I had entertained at my house Thomas W. Dorr, and the persons associated with him." I remained in prison twenty-two days, and suffered much from indisposition; I was in feeble health v hen committed — was just recovering from a long period of illness. After 1 had been in prison about two weeks, I was taken before a court of commissioners, as it was styled, and examined by interrogatories directed to me only. I was not confronted by witnesses, nor were any examined on the occasion, to my knowledge. After the examination as aforesaid, 1 was remanded to prison. The following is a true copy of certain papers now before me, which I procured this spring from the keeper of the county jail and warden of the State's prison, and are exactly in the following words, letters, figures, and characters, to wit : Rep. No. 546 347 To th'e Keeper of the Providence county jail: Yon are hereby required to receive, and safely keep, until further orders, Jedediah Sprague, in the debtors' apartment. By order of the couimander-in chief HENRY L. BOW EN. Providence, ss : Juke 29, 1842. Conimitted the bodies of the within named Jedediah Sprague, to the Providence county jail, as within commanded. Fees, 74 cts. PELEG JOHNSON, Constable. Providenck ss : June 29, 1842. Committed the bodies of Jedediah Sprague and Joseph Hogans to the Providence county jail, by order of the governor and council, and have made my return on the mittimus, and lelt it with the jailer, together with the prisoner. Fees — 2 Commitments - . - - - - - $1 48 Carriai^e - . . - - - - 1 00 2 48 PELEG JOHNSON, Constable. Providence, July 9A, 1842. Jedediah Sprague, named opposite, was discharged on an order from the governor and council, THOMAS CLEVELAND, Jailer. Headquarters, Council Chamber, Providence^ July 21, 1842. Sir: You are ordered to discharge Jedediah Sprague, prisoner of war, and allow him to go at liberty. By order of his excellency Samuel W. King : L. H. ARNOLD, One of his council. To Thos. Cleveland, Esq., Keeper of the iState jail, Providence. The above is a true copy of the original order on file. THOS. CLEVELAND, Jailer. Providence, April 6, 1844. April 6, 1844. The above are correct copies of the original order of commitment, offi- cer's return thereon, commitment aiad discharge of Jedediah Sprague. THOMAS CLEVELAND, Jailer. 348 Rep. No. 546. I further depose and say, that at the January session of the General As- sembly of said State, A. D. 1844, at Providence aforesaid, at the suggestion of some of the members of said body, who are of the self-styled law and order portion, and also at the suggestion of other members of said party, I presented a bill against the State, for provisions eaten, liquors drank, hay, corn, oats, meal, and rye straw, fed out and carried away, or wasted ; also for cigars taken, use of house and beds, spoliations of property, and damage done, all particularized — amounting to the sum of $2,546 89. Said bill was referred to a select committee, and was supported by numerous affi- davits of persons best acquainted with the facts and circumstances. The committee to whom the matter was referred could not agree as to the amount due on said bill, as appears from the report of the proceedings and debates of the House on the subject, in the Providence Daily Journal of Thursday, February 15, 1844. The House of Representatives finally voted not to allow me one cent of my claim, by a vote of 35 to 17. The ground of opposition to said claim, taken by some of the members, as they are reported as aforesaid, was, that 1 was an insurgent, had been let out of prison on sufferance, and ought to be thankful for being let off so easily ; that there was not in my house, on the arrival of the charter forces, provi- sion enough to bait a rat-trap; that what provision, if any, there was on hand, fell mto the hands of the charter forces on the capture of the house, and was forfeited to the State, on the principle that "to the victor belong the spoils." 1 further say, that it appears to me that I have been selected by a portion of the charter party as a victim for plunder, inasmuch as large bills or de- mands against the State have, in many, if not all, instances been allowed of a like nature; as the proceedings of the legislature of the State, and the reports of the general treasurer for the last two years, will abundantly show. JEDEDIAH SPRAGUE. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providejice, ss: Glocester, May 16, 1844. Then personally appeared before me the above-named Jedediah Sprague, and declared the aforegoing statements, which were by me in his presence reduced to writing, and by him subscribed in my presence, to be true in all their parts; and also declared his willingness and readiness to make oath to the same. But there being some doubts of the authority of a magistrate in this State to administer an oath in like cases, I liave taken his declara- tion, as afore appears ; and I certify that saitl Jedediah Sprague, who is well known to me, is a credible person, and that his statements are entitled to full credit and belief JESSE S. TOURTELLOT, Justice of tite Peace, I No. 7J, Deposition of Clovis H. Boiven. 1, Clovis H. Bowen, of Glocester, in the county of Providence, State of I '{I Rep. No. 546. 349 Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, aged forty three years, do depose and say : That I now am a citizen of the village of Chepatchet, in said town of Glocester, which is my native place. On the 28th day of June, A. D. 1842, early in the morning, I went on to Acote's hill, near said village, out of mere curiosity ; the suffrage people, who had for a number of days previous had possession of said hill, having retired on Monday afiernoon and even- ing, the 27th. I found on said hill, on said morning of Tuesday, the 2Sth, (say) ten or twelve men, and probably from fifteen to twenty boys, not any of whom were armed, all apparently occupied in viewing the charter forces, who were approaching from towards Providence. I had been on said hill, 1 should think, about half an hour, when ten or twelve men, apparently under the command of George Rivers, e?q., came on; they were somewhat in advance of the main body. Said Rivers called upon every one to stand, as they should fire upon or shoot down any one who attempted to leave; very soon after this order, the boys began to scatter and run off the hill, and the troops commenced firing in the direction which they ran — but whether with an intention of killing, or not, I cannot say. While this was transpiring, I moved off in another direction, (without being observed, I presume,) and came into the village by a circuitous route. As I was approaching the main street of the village, 1 met George H. N. Bardine, bleeding from a wound in the thigh, which I was informed at the time he had received at Sprague's hotel. Said Bardine was taken to the house of Lawton Owen in said village, where he remained until he had recovered sufficiently to be removed to his own house, about two miles from said village. I'he suffrage people having left the village on the previous evening, Mr. Bardine had come down out of curiosity, as he told me ; he further stated, that he had not participated in any of the movements, further than giving his vote; and I believe it has never been pretended that he had. Subsequent to the wounding of Bardine, and other matters afore stated, on said morning of the 28th of June, as I was standing in my office, I saw a number of armed men running across the lots west of said main street, apparently having an object in view to shoot at, and crying out in a loud tone, " Stop, or we'll shoot you ;" and others in the street vociferating " Shoot the damned scoundrel." These shouts were thickly interspersed with dis- charges of muskets, one of which took effect in the object pursued, viz: in the leg of a young man, whose name was Simmons, as I was informed. The other principal incidents of the day, (to wit, the 28th,) were the making arrests under martial laro ; breaking into and searching the dwellings, stores, and other buildings of suffrage men. What amount of plunder was carried off from said village, 1 am unable to state, but have no doubt it was large. I could see from my office, and did see, the soldiers of the charter army coming out of buildings with various kinds of property, which I have no reason to doubt was carried off. In addition to this, 1 should infer, from conversation which I heard, that there was an anxiety amongst some of the companies to outdo others in acquiring spoils. At one time during said day, there were some eight or twelve of said soldiers of the charter army in my office, all of whom were strangers to me ; one of ihem said to another, "The Bristol company has made a good haul." On another one's in- quiring what, he replied, " they have got hold of a valuable lot of property ; one gun," said he. "amongst it is worth forty dollars; a beautiful double- barreled fowling piece, silver mounted;" and added, "they (the Bristol company,) will beat the Newport company all out in getting property, and 350 Rep. No. 546. were s^oing to make a damned good speculation of the matter." I further say, that when the charter forces took possession of Acote's hill, there was no one of the suffrage party there, making or offering resistance ; the small arms had all been cleared from the place, and the cannon had been dis- charged before they came np ; there were not so many persons in the village that morning as the usual number of inhabitants, and all was as quiet as at ordmary times. CLOVIS H. BOWEN. State of Rhode Island and Providence Pf^antations, Frovidefice, ss: Glocester, May 17, 1844. Then personally appeared before me the above named Clovis H. Bowen, and declared the aforegoing declaration, which was by me in his presence reduced to writing, and by him subscribed in my presence, to be true in all its parts; and also declared his willingness and readiness to make oath to the same. But there being some doubts of the authority of a magistrate in this State to admmister an oath in like cases, I have taken his declaration, as afore appears ; and 1 certify that said Clovis H. Bowen, who is well known to me, is a credible person, and that his statements are entitled to full credit and belief. JESSE S. TOURTELLOT, Justice of the Peace. No. 72. Deposition of Ara Hawkins. I, Ara Hawkins, of Glocester, in the county of Providence, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, aged fifty-two years, do depose and say: That on the morning of Tuesday, June 28, 1842, 1, with two of my sons, were engaged in hoeing opposite my house, which is about one mile southerly of the village of ('hepatchet, in a lot adjoining the highway, when a detachment of the charter troops came up on said road, on their march to Chepatchet, from a place commonly known as Scituate Four Cor- ners. When said troops had arrived within about thirty rods of my house aforesaid, they made a halt, and sent two or three armed men to see me. Easterly of my house, and in plain sight of the place where the troops halted as aforesaid, one of my neighbors had recently been engaged ni making charcoal ; and there was on the lot a cabin, such as is commonly built for the quarters of the person who tends the pits, and a number of bins of coal. Coal-bins are generally made of common fencing rails, in the form of the body of a log house, twelve feet square. The men who had been sent to see me inquired whether Dorr's party had got any cabins built out there? I replied, " Not as I know of." One of them then said, if there was any, I ought to know it. One of my sons then suggested that they probably referred to the cabins where Ml". Phetteplace had been making coal. One of the armed men then inquired how many Rep. No. 546. 351 cnhins would be built for that purpose? I replied, "Not but one, probably, as the pits were all near together." His reply was, " There is more than (or as umch as) a dozen of them," and desired me to go with them and see. 1 went with these men to the place where the main body had halted, and in the mean time other men were sent down to question my sons upon the subject. When I came up to the main body as aforesaid, I explained to them that ihe objects which had apparently filled their minds with so much consternation were mere bins built as aforesaid, and contained the very sim- ple and common article "charcoal." The men who had been sent to ques- tion my sons as aforesaid, were then called back ; and the troops marched down and halted opposite the house, in the highway. After arriving at my house as aforesaid, they wished to know if there were any men in the barn, which is across the road, and nearly opposite the house aforesaid. My answer was, " I presume not ; there was no one there / this morning when I went in to fodder, and I have been at work all the morning near by, and have seen no one go in." My answer did not seem to satisfy them : they desired to see for themselves ; and, accordingly, I went in, at their request, with one of the men. This man proceeded to make a close search for something buried in the hay, by thrusting his bayonet into the mow in various places. He, however, succeeded in stabbing nothing but one beam, which lie did very spitefully — thinking, as I supposed, that he had found a Dorrite. The mow was a little higher in this place, on ac- count of said beam, which was entirely covered up with hay. At the east end of the barn, which is the end next to the road, there was an open win- dow, through which I was seen by the soldiers in the road, as 1 stood there awaiting the operations of the man inside. One of the soldiers seeing me as aforesaid, brought his musket to bear upon me, and ordered me to come out of" tlierey 1 desired the man inside to speak to the soldier, and request him to lake his gun down ; but he paid no attention to my request. By this lime, two more of the soldiers were taking deliberate aim at my person, through said window; and the cry from others was, "fire.' Believing myself to be in too much danger, and without any protection, 1 dropped down upon the hay; thus covering my body by the side of the barn under Said window, where I sat with my legs hanging off of the scaffold over the stalls, where I could be seen as soon as they entered the barn. I made no attempt to get away. One of the men immediately came into the barn, and endeavored to haul me off the scaffold ; but not succeeding, he clasped my legs with one arm, and with the other presented a pistol, and commanded me to come down ; which I did accordingly. He then seized me by the col- lar, and led me out doors, saying, " Here he is, you can have him now." t| The person who appeared to be in command said he wished to ask me a few questions. I told him I would answer them as far as I could. I had done nothing that 1 was ashamed of or regretted. He questioned me in regard to the amount and number of Dorr's forces. I answered according to the best of my information. He also wished to know if I had been troubled by them (Dorr's men.) I told liim I had not; that 1 had not been molested by any one, until his company came up; that I had been in the village every day, and had been well treated at all times. I further say that 1 had taken no part in the matters at that time agitating said State, ex- cepting to cast my vote according to my own pleasure. ARA HAWKINS. 352 Rep. No. 546. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence^ ss : Glocester, May 18, 1844. Then personally appeared the above-named Ara Hawkins, and declared that the aforegoing statement, which was by me in his presence reduced to writing, and by him subscribed in my presence, is true in all its parts ; and also declared his willingness and readiness to make oath to the same. But there being some doubt as to the authority of a magistrate in this State to administer an oath in like cases, I have taken said Hawkins's declaration as above; and I certify that said Hawkins, who is well known to me, is a cred- ible person, and that his statements are entitled to full credit and belief. JESSE S. TOURTELLOT, Justice of the Peace. Rep. No. 546. No. 73. Vote on the question of the adoption of the peopWs eonsiitiution. Decenihtr^ 1841, as counted by the comnnttee. For the constitution. Against the consli- talion. Towns. ' T^tal. Pro«y vufeea. Freemen. Non-free- men. Freeiaen. Non-freie- mea. Harrington 28 24 52 21 Burrillville - 134 149 _ _ 283 79 Charlestown 49 51 _ _ 100 12 Bristol 149 211 _ 360 96 Coventry • 155 250 _ _ 405 162 Cranston - 167 234 _ _ 401 113 Cumberland 295 597 892 190 Exeter 52 82 134 67 East Greenwich 50 85 " 6 141 37 Foster 124 113 237 55 Glocester - 193 208 401 157 Hopkinton - 83 79 'u " 2 175 '68 Jamestown - 18 13 _ 31 6 Johnston - 142 206 348 104 Little Compton 19 25 ~17 ~ 4 65 14 Middletown 8 22 _ 30 13 New Shoreham 102 30 132 Nortii Kino^stown - 81 170 _ 251 102 North Providence - 224 479 _ 703 198 Newport - 318 885 _ 1,203 262 Portsmouth 67 59 _ 126 59 Providence - 1,057 2,495 ~ 3,552 610 Richmond - 45 88 _ 103 47 Scituate 208 316 _ 524 227 Smithfield - 381 945 1 _ 1,327 449 South Kingstown - 140 146 286 91 Tiverton - 101 173 " 3 277 131 Warren 103 106 ~ 1 210 43 Warwick - 308 592 900 256 West Greenwich - 17 " 45 62 17 Westerly - 107 4,925 144 ~ 1 - 252 75 9,026 39 7 13,955 3,762 23 254 Rep. No. 546. No. 74. Suffrage ballot. 1* [Edtoin Wilbovr,] am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-one •years, and have my permanent residence, or home, in the State of Rhode Island. J ami [not] qualified to vote under the existing laws of this State, 1 vote against the constitution formed by the conventjon of the people as- jsembled in Providence, and which was proposed to the people by said con- veniion on the 18lh day of November, 1841. Reasons. 1. Because the word " white" is in it. 2. 3. No. 75. Copies of the votes of ex-Senator William Spraguey George B. Holmes.j Henry G. Mnmford^ and Stephen Branch, for the people's constitution. Those gentlemen are now among the most violent persecutors of the suf- frage party. 1776. [ Eagle. ] 1841. Adoptio7i of the constitution of Rhode Island. people's ticket. i am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, and have my permanent residence, or home, in tliis State. I am qualified to vote undei the existing laws of this State. I vote for the constitution formed by the convention of the people assem- bled at Providence, and which was proposed to the people by said conven- tion on the 18th day of November, 1841. WILLIAM SPRAGUE. [This vote was given in Warwick.] 1776. [ Eagle. ] 1841. Adoption of the constitution of Rhode Island. people's ticket. I am an American citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, and have my permanent residence, or home, in this State. I am qualified to vote under the existing laws of this State. I vote for the constitution formed by the convention of the people assem- * Write your name in this place. « t Write ihe word not, if you are not a voter. Rep. No. 546. . 355 bled at Providence, and which was proposed to the people by said conven- tion on the 18th day of November, 1841, GEORGE B. HOLMES. [This vote was given in the fifth ward of the city of Providence.] 1776. [ Eagle. ] 1841. Adoptio7i of the constitution of Rhode Island. people's ticket. I am an American citizen, of the a November term, 1842, at Providence. United States of America: ) BILL OF EXCEPTIONS. Be it remembered that, at a term of the circuit court of the United States for the first circuit, held at Providence, in the district of Rhode Island, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty three, by the Hon. .Joseph Story, esq., associate justice of the supreme court of the United Slates, and the Hon. John Pitman, esq., justice of the district court of the United States for the district of Rhode Island, came 358 Rep. No. 546. Martin Luther, of Fall River, in the State of Massachusetts, trader, and a citizen of said State of Massachusetts, and by an action of trespass declared against Luther M. Borden, master mariner, Stephen Johnson, cooper, William L. Brown, carpenter, John H. Monroe, tailor, William B. Snell, custom house officer, James Gardner, merchant, Silas P. Martin, master mariner; all of Warren, in said district of Rhode Island, and all citizens of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The writ and declaration, and service thereof, and the defendants' plea and the issue joined, are as follows : WRIT. Rhode Island district, ss: The President of the Uniled States of America to the marshal of said district^ or to his deputy, greeting: We command you to arrest the bodies of Luther M. Borden, master ma- riner, Stephen Johnson, cooper, William L. Brown, carpenter, John H. Monroe, tailor, William B. Snell, custom house oflicer, James Gardner, merchant, Silas P. Martin, master mariner, Hammond Serjeant, seaman, and John Kelley, master mariner, all of Warren, in said district, and all citizens of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, if they may be found in your district ; and for want of their bodies, to attach their goods and chattels to the value of five thousand dollars, and him or them in safe custody keep, to answer the complaint of Martin Luther, of Fall River, in the Stale of Massachusetts, trader, and a citizen of said State of Massachusetts, at the next circuit court to be holden at Providence, within and for the Rhode Island district, on the 15th day of November next en- suing the date hereof, in an action of trespass; for that the defendants, on the 29th day of June, A. D. 1842, at Warren, in the Rhode Island district, with force and arms illegally broke and entered the plaintiff's house, and ill-treated his family, as by declaration to be filed in court will be fully set forth, to the damage of the plaintiff" five thousand dollars. Hereof fail not, and make true return of this writ, with your doings thereon. Witness the Hon. Roger B. Taney, our chief justice, at Providence, the 6th day of October, A. D. 1842. JOHN T. PITMAN, Clerk. DECLARATION. Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden et al. District of Rhode Island, ss: ) Circuit Court, > November term, 1842. at Providence. United States of America: \ To the Marshal, Sfc. In an action of trespass ; for that the defendants, on the 29th day of June, 1842, at Warren, in the county of Bristol, in said district, the house of the plaintiff', then occupied by him and his family, with force and arms broke and entered in the night time, the said defendants being armed with dan- gerous weapons, and then and there, with like force and arms, and in a men- Rep. No. 546. 35^ acing and ruffianly manner towards the inmates of said house, broke and •tore down and despoiled the doors, glasses, windows, and furniture, misused and defiled the said house above stairs, and insulted and drove from their beds the females and other inmates in said house there quietly sleeping, and grossly insulted and assaulted the mother of the plaintiff, and threatened to run her through with a bayonet, and other wrongs and injuries then and Jhere did to the plaintiff, against the peace, .&.C., to the damage of the plain- tiff five thousand dollars, as set forth in his writ dated the 0th day of Octo- ber, A. D. 1842. B. F. HALLE TT, Plaintiff's Attorney. MARSHAL'S RETURN. District of Rhode Island, ss: Warren, October S, 1842, Arrested the bodies of the witliin named Luther M. Borden, Stephen Johnson, and John H. Monroe, and have taken Rodolphus B. Johnson as bail; also arrested the body of William L. Brown, and have taken Joseph Smith for bail; also arrested the bodies of James Gardner and William B, Snell, and have taken Henry H. Lutlier as bail ; also arrested the body of John Kelley, and have taken George T. Gardner and Martin L. Salisbury as bail, as commanded; the within named Silas P. Martin and Hammond Sergeant, being absent from the district, are not arrested. SYLVESTER HARTSHORN, United States marsho^- For 7 services • $514 00 Travel, 11 miles - 1 10 Bail for 7 - 3 50 11 copies - - 2 00 $20 60 Received $20 60 of Benjamin M. Bosworth, my fees for service. S. HARTSHORN, United States fuarshaL Rodolphus B. Johnson bail for Luther M. Borden, Stephen Johnson, and John H. Monroe. Joseph Smith bail for William L. Brown. Henry H. Luther bail for James Gardner and William B. Snell. George T. Gardner and Martin {,. Salisbury bail for John Kelley. DEFENDANTS' PLEAS. ]■ Rhode Island district, ss . Circuit Court of the ^November term, A. D. 1842. United States, Case Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and others. First plea.— And the defendants come, &c., and defend the force and in- 360 . Rep. No. 546. jiiry"^when, &c. : and as to the breakino^And entering the plaintiff's dwelling . hORse, as set forth in the plaintiff's declaration, say : That the plaintiff his actifen aforesaid against them ought not to have or maintain, because they say "that on the 24th day of June, A. D. 1842, and for a long time before, and from that time continually until after the time the said trespasses are . alleged to have been committed, large numbers of men were assembled in arms m different parts of the said Slate of Rhdde Island and Providence Plnntatiorrs, for the purpose and with the intent of overthrowing the gov- ernment of-€aid State, and destroying the same by military force; and with such illegal, malicious, and traitorous intent and purpose, at and during the t;mes akirecaid, did in different parts of said State make and levy war upon said State, and upon the government and citizens thereof, attempting and enterprising the hurt, detriment, annoyance, and destruction of the inhabit- -ants of said State, and the overthrov/ of the government thereof. And the defendants aver, that, in order to protect and preserve the said Stale, and the government and citizens thereof, the said State of Rhode Island, on the 25th day of June, 1842, was, by legal and competent authority, declared to be under martial law, and the commanders and military officers oi said State were authorized to use and exercise the law martial. And tfee defendants aver, that, at said time, when said State was declared to be under martial law as aforesaid, the occasion necessarily required the •use and exercise of the law martial in said State. And the defendants fur- ther aver, that at the time when the pretended trespasses mentioned and set forth in the plaintiffs declaration are alleged to have been committed, the plaintiff was aiding and assisting the aforesaid traitorous, malicious, and unlawful purposes and designs of overthrowing the government of said State by military force, and in making war upon said State, and upon the government and citizens thereof And the defendants further aver, that, at the time when the said trespasses are alleged to have been committed, the said State was under martial law as aforesaid, and the commanders and military officers of said State were legally authorized to use and exercise the law martial ; and that at said time the defendants were enrolled in the company of infantry in the town of Warren, in the fourth regiment of the militia of said Slate, and were under the command of John T. Child, a mil- itary officer duly appointed and legally qualified to act as their commander ; and at said time, the defendants at said Warren were ordered by the said John T. Child, their said commander, to arrest and take the said Martin Luther, and, if necessary for the purpose of arresting and taking the said Marim Luther, to break and enter the dwelling-house of the said Martin Luther. And the defendants, verily believing that the said Martin Luther was con- cealed in said dwelling-house, did then and there, in obedience to the com- mand ol the said John T. Child, their said commander, enter the said dwel- ling-house of the said Martin Luther, for the purpose of arresting and taking the said Martin Luther. And because it was necessary to enter the said dwelling-house in order to arrest and take the said Martin Luther, in obedience to the command of the said John T. Child, their said commander, and to search and examine the different rooms and apartments of the said dwelling-house, the defendants did then and there, with a little force, break and enter the said dwelling- house, and search and examine the different rooms and apartments in said dwelliiig-honse, for the purpose of arresting and taking the said Martin Rep. No. 546. 361 Luther, doing as little damage as possible, and not injuring or hurting the persons abiding in said dwelling-house, which it was lawful for them To do. Wherefore the defendants pray judgment if the plaintitrhis action afore- said thereof against them ought to have or maintain, and for their costs. Second plea. — Saving which, if overruled, by leave of court first had and obtained, and for further plea, the defendants come, &c., and defend the force and injury ; and as to the breaking and entering the plaintiff's dwelling- house, set forth in the declaration of the plaintiff, say the plaintiff his action aforesaid ought not to liave or maintain, because they say : That, at the time when the pretended trespasses mentioned and set forth in the plaintifl's declaration are alleged to have been committed, large numbers of men were assembled in arms, in warhke array, in the State of Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations, who, in different parts of said State, made and levied war upon said State, and was attempting and enterprising the hurt, detri- ment, annoyance, and destruction of the inhabitants of said State, and the overthrow of the government of said State by military force. And the said State of Rhode Island was by legal and competent authority declared to be under martial law. and the commanders and military officers of said State were authorized to use and exercise the law martial. And the defendants aver, that, in order to protect and preserve the said State, and the govern- ment and citizens thereof, the occasion necessarily required the use and ex- ercise of the law martial at said lime in said State ; and the defendants were enrolled in the company of infantry in the town of Warren, in said State, in the fourth regiment of the militia of said State, and were under the com- mand of John T. Child, a military commander, duly appointed and legally qualified to act as their commander, and were ordered by their said com- mander, at said Warren, to arrest and take said Martin Luther, who was supposed to be concealed in said dwelling house of said Martin Luther ; and the defendants, in obedience to the command of the said John T. Child, their said commander, did enter the said dwelling-house for the purpose of arresting said Martin l^uther; and because it was necessary, in order to ar- rest and take the said Martin Luther, according to the command of the said John T. Child, to enter the said dwelling-house, and to search and examine the different rooms and apartments of the said dwelling-house for the pur- pose of arresting and taking said Martin Luther, doing as little damage as possible, as was lawful for them to do. All which the defendants are ready to verify. Wherefore, they pray judgment if the plaintiff his action afore- said ought to have or maintain against them, and for their costs. Tnircl plea.— Saving which, if annulled, by leave of court first had and obtained, and for further plea, the defendants come, etc., and defend the force and injury, as to the breaking and entering the plaintiff's dwelling- house, set forth in the declaration of the plaintifi'. and say that the plaintiff his action aforesaid ought not to have or maintain, because they say : That, at the time when the pretended trespasses mentioned and set forth in the plaintiff's declaration are alleged to have been committed, large numbers of men were assembled in arms in warlike array, in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, who, in different parts of said State, made and levied ^ar upon said State, and were attempting and enterprising the hurt, detriment, annoyance, and destruction of the inhabitants of said State, and the overthrow of the government of said State by military force. And the defendants aver that the legislature of said State of Rhode Island, duly and legally chosen, constituted, and elected, according to the provisions of the 362 Eep. No. 546. ■charter or fundamental law, and the ancient and long-established usapfes of said State, enacted the followinor law, in pursuance of the authority contained in the said charter, of the ancient usages of the State, and of the general le- gislative powers conferred on them by said charter and usages, to wit : "AN ACT establishing martial law in this State. " Be it enacted hy the General Assembly as follows : "Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law, and tlie same is declared to be in full force until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by procla- mation of his excellency the governor of the State." And the commanders and military officers of said State were authorized to use and exercise the law martial. And the defendants aver, that, in order to protect the said State, and the government and citizens thereof, the occasion necessarily required the use and exercise of the law martial at said time in said Slate. And the defendants were enrolled in the company of infantry in the town of Warren, in said State, in the fourth regiment of the militia of said State, and were under the command of John T. Child, a military commander, duly appointed and legally qualified to act as their coirmiander, and were ordered by their said commander, at said Warren, to arrest and take said Martin Luther, who was supposed to be concealed in said dwelling-house of said Martin Luther ; and the defendants, in obedience to the commands of said John T. Child, their said commander, did enter said dwelling-house for the purpose of arresting said Martin Luther; and becatise it was necessary, in order to arrest and take said Martin Luther, according to the command of the said John T. Child, to enter the said dwelling-house, and to search and examine the different rooms and apartments of the said dwelling-house, the defendants, by order of the said John T. Child, did then and there break and enter the said dwelling-house, and did search and examine the different rooms and apartments of the said dwelling-house for the purpose of arrest- ing and taking said Martin Luther, as was lawful for them to do, doing as little damage as possible. All which the defendants are ready to verify. Wherefore they pray judgment if the plaintiff his action aforesaid ought to have or maintain against them, and for their costs. Fourth plea. — And as to the residue of the trespasses set forth in the plaintiff's declaration, except the breaking and entering the plaintiff's dwel- ling-house, and searching and examining the rooms and apartments in said dwelling-house, doing as little damage as possible, for ihe purpose of arrest- ing and taking the said Martin Luther, the defendants, by leave of the court, &c., come and defend the force and injury when, &.C., and say they are not guilty in manner and form as the plaintiff in his declaration thereof against them has declared; and of this, they put themselves upon the country for trial. By their attorneys, GREENE, BOSWORTH, & WHIPPLE, Rep. No. 546. Rhode Island district, 55.° Clerk's Office Circuit Court, At Providence, Map 26, 1843. ^ 1 certify that the above and foregoing^ five pages contain a true copy of ike pleas filed April 20, 1843, in the case Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and others, dnly compared by me. JOHN T. PITMAN, Clerk. REPLICATION. Circuit court of the United States. — In the action Martin Luther vs. Luther M. Borden and others. Replicntion to the deftndantis' pleas. And the plaintiff says, that he ought not to be precluded from having and maintaining his action aforesaid thereof against them, the said defendants, by reason of any matter or thing above by them in their said pleas in bar alleged ; because he, the said plaintiff, says that the said defendants, at the time when, &c , committed the trespass aforesaid, in his the said plaintiff's declaration alleged, of their the said defendants' own wrong, and without such cause as i^ by the said defendants, in their said pleas, alleged ; and this the plaintiff prays may be inquired of by the country. By their attorney, B, F. HALLETT. Rejoinder. And the defendants, likewise, by GREENE, WHIPPLE, & BOSWORTH,. A true copy. — Atttst : JOHN T. PITMAN, Clerk of U. S. circuit court, Rhode Island district. 65 cents, paid. [Here tollows the record from tl e minute book of continuance and further security given for costs, on motion of defendants, bond copied, <}(6C.] [Here follow the jury verdict, and judgment.] Which issue being joined, came on to be tried before the said circuit court, at the November term, A. D. 1843, by a jury dnly impannelled therefor. And, upon the trial of that issue, the counsel for the plaintiff, to main- tain and prove the issue on his part, offered to give in evidence the follow- ing matters, facts, and things, in manner following, to wit : First. The plaintiff offered in evidence the proceedings and resolutions of a convention of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, passed 29th iMay, 1790 ; a copy whereof is hereunto annexed, (marked A.) Second. The plaintiff offered in evidence the report of a committee of the House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island, e,as wo have before observed, cannot feel the same strong imere&t in it as native citizens. l''lieir ancestors were not among ours, '^fheir Uyitural connexions are in other places ; and their haljits, attachments, and predileciions have been formed before tliey came. What, then, can we expect or claim of those who come merely with a view to some present ob- ject of irtiin ; lo seek for some business or employment, to make trial of among us, to.be pursued nr not, as they may find their account in remaining here a longer or shorter period for that purjiose? — persons who leave their native homes from necessity, and whose consirained absence serves to strengihcn ti'.eir attachujents lo them; their distaste to all otiier places of residence; llieir hopes (d'some day returning to their homes, there to enjoy the fruits of ilieir enterprises ubroad. What claims have these upon us, more than to t .0 rites of hospitality and tiie protection of our laws? 'i'iiere would be nothing to apprehend from this source, if none but sub- stantial citizens from sister States came here to reside. But sucji'as these are under no necessity, and few such have any iiiclinafion, to turn their i)acks upon liieir native States. There are exceptions, certdinly. Wo have a number of very valuable fellow citizens v/iio are natives of other States. These, we trust, make no complaints that they are not sufficiently honored and distinguished among us. But many, if not most of those who come, are not of the same description. They bring little else with them than the prid;' of belonging to larger and (in their estimation) mo.re respectable States^ whicii tjiey consider as quite sufScient to .ctnitle, tljem.to distinction here. I?:it the evils resulting frorn the admission, upon t'>o. slender qualifications, of HHtive citizens of sister States who come to reside here, are drive,n,: wholly 386 Rep. No. 546. from onr thoughts when we come to reflect upon the dangers to be dreaded from the indiscriminate (in many States actually indiscriminate) admission of strangers from all quarters of the globe — of all nations, races, tribes, and tongues, to the exercise of the elective franchise : as if it were a worthless thing that could not be abused. Truly, of all the countries upon the face of lire globe, this, our country, is tlie most bountiful — bountiful, we fear, to its own destruction. As if the American people could not, of themselves, enjoy the fruits and bounties of their country, because they were the lords of a territory ample enough to aflord the same blessingsto their posterity through a thousand generations. As if the descendants of those who made the coun- try their own, and made it soveraign and independent, were not able to pro- tect it, or to preserve the bkssings bequeathed to ihcm, our government stretched out its arms, and invited to the bosom of the country the overflow- ings of all nations; invited them, not only to come and help us enjoy the good things of the land, but to lake part in governing us and our country. It hastened to provide laws for " naturalizing" (as it is termed) and incor- porating with American citizens all who should be brought — all of the color called white, and who were not called slaves, however abject and servile their actual condition might be. And to protect them not only here, but on the seas, against the claims of their native countries, a second national war was (professed to be) engaged in ; for the prosecution of which, the blood and resources of the people were staked and freely expended, and the nation burdened with a debt of millions. No wonder that such substantial allure- ments were not iield out in vain. Since the creation of the world, never v/ere such captivating prospects presented, not only to the forlorn, depressed, and debased, but to the restless, ambitions, and aspiring of all countries. No wonder they came, and continue to come, by myriads ; those who could not otherwise get here, selling themselves for a term of years to any trader who would buy and bring them. The importation of this staple commodity became a regular branch of business, and U[)wards of twenty seven tliousand head were imported from Great Britain alone in a single year; a number nearly equal to a third of the whole population of this State. What num- bers were brought from all other countries in the same year, we cannot tell. A single merchant or mercantile house in New York, we are informed, now keeps no less than eighteen ships, wholly and constantly employed in this business of importing and supplying us with fellow-citizens and freemen. What the wh' le mass, accumulating, as it has been, for near half a c( titury since the establishment of our independence, now amounts to, it is beyond the powers of calculation to ascertain. We shall not be understood as meaning to include all who come here in a general description of the common mass of emigrants. We know that there are many highly respectable foreigners who have adopted this for their country, and who would be an ornament and a valuable acquisition to any country. There are also among them many sober, indusirious, skillful people, employed in the humbler, and to us quite as useful, walks of life. Our remarks are applicable to the vast multitudes of a different de- scription; a great majority of whom were, in their own country, in as de- graded a ci^ndition as men can be brought to by abject servitude, poverty, ignorance, and vice. What consciousness of the dignity and rights of man. what conceptions of the principles of free republican institutions, can such as these have 7 The late 5Ir. Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," speaking of the ira- Rep No. 546. 387 policy of encouraging emigrants to this country, who, he says, come mostly from despotic monarchies, makes the following remarks : " They will bring with them the principles of the governments they leave, imbibed in their earliest yonth ; or, if able to throw them ofl', it will be in exchange for nn- bonnded licentionsness, passing as usnal from one extreme to another. It would bo a miracle were they to stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty. These principles, with their language, they will transmit to their children. In proportion to their numbers, they will share with us the legislation ; they will infuse into it their spirit, warp and bias its directions, and render it a heterogeneous and incoherent distracted mass." Yet, to such as these, all honors, oliices, and emolasnents here are freely open. The l^te law of the United States, requiring foreigners to be propounded a cer- tain tinje before being naturalized, was intended to correct the evils expe- rienced under former acts. But it atibrds merely a temporary and very par- tial relief anywliere : and in some Slates foreigners are admitted upon a few months' residence, whether citizens of the United States or not. "^rhe evils we have thus entailed upon our posterity, and are experiencing ourselves, were inevitable. The hosts ol new- created freemen were soon loo numerous not to feel their strength, and make it to be felt. Not con- tented with exercising the right of suffrage individually and quietly, they organized, or rather were organized by their aspiring leaders, into affiliated political societies, bearing their proper national names. These societies, established in mo.st, if not all, of the principal cUies, kept up a correspond- ence with each other ; held their political meetings ; passed resolves, appro- bating and denouncing men and measures; nominating and dictating who should be governors, senators, and representatives. State and federal ; and even selecting their man for the presidency and vice presidency of the United Slates. Nor are their resolves mere idle boasts or threats. They have been considered so powerful, that propitiatory addresses and appeals are made to them, solicitinsf their countenance and patronage in behalf of candidates for the highest offices in the gift of the people, not excepting the presidency itself. Tlie control which these societies and people thus exer- cise over some of the largest States, and particularly over the great cities, is almost unlimited. The grand schemes of internal improvement, which of late years have been so extensively embarked in, by inviting the loose floating part of the foreign population to migrate from State to State, enables multitudes of them to exercise the elective franchise in the various States where those schemes are in prosecution — particularly those States which require but a short term of residence, and no qualifications at all. And we are assured that several thousand of these free sutfrage men who were canalling and road making, under their superintendents, in one of tfie most populous of the western States, by their voies were the means of displacing: some of the most valuable of its representatives to Congress, and liad a great effect in the choice of the presidential electors, if they did not turn the scale, in that State. The people of those States {and we may rejoice that the New Eng- land Stales are such) which are so fortunate as to possess few temptations for these emigrants, have been left, unmolested, to manage their own State affairs as they were managed by their fathers before them. But no State can escape its share of a national misfortune. The relative weight and influence of the States, and the apportionment of State repre- 388 Eep. No. 546. sentatioi) in the Federal Governmcnl, are greatly affected by the vast amount of foreiirn population. And tlie character of a lar^re portion oL' tliat representation is also affected by t!i3 same influences. Nor can it be supposed that the Niitional Governnietjt iiself will remain wholly unaffected by them. But tliose influences are most biii>-hiing to the morals. r)rincip!es, stability, and character of the nation itseU. How can a country, who;-o native citizens are undistinguished, and can exercise no prerojjatives but in commun with an immense, muliifarious, and exoiic population — strangers to oiie ancUher, as much as to the native citizens, — how much can sucii a couniry liope ever to attain io that exaltation o( national character, without which a naiion may became powerful for a iitoe, but can never be gr(;at and renowned I There was nothing of which the great ancient republics, as long us they remained nncorru[)ted, were so proud and tenacious as of the riglit of cinzenship. No strangers were ever h^)nored or trusted with them, but upon some signal service rendered to the State ; and all were held to be sirrmgers to the country, but those who wer-e iifheritors of its glory and bound in its destinies. Thus every citizen was allied to his countr^r, and identiiied v/ith it; and hence that inextinguishable spirit of patriotism, that innate love oi coimlry. that devotedness to its glory, and that lofty pride of najiona! character, which signalized the peofsle.of th.ose Stales, and carried them to heights of grandeur and power to wiiicii the world paid fiomage. To be called '• ;i Spartan," '-an Athenian," or '-a Ro- nian," was greater honor than to be a prince. Nor is their fame still at all diminished. Even to this day. all civflized people employ the terms '• Gre- cian" and •' Roman" to designate v^^hatever they deem m.ost perfect in the arts, in eloquence, refinement, and wit, in language, history, and poetry, as well us in viriue, patriotism, heroism, and glory. But this our inlaiit nation claims the merit of making a new mid livdi/ (xpcriittciit iiirepiihlicau lves from the encroachments of ambition — if this power is {.ut into the hands oi' that class of people whicii, though, it contains some wholesome citizens, embraces at the same time all the loose atid floating; all the dependant and tnercenary popula- tion ; all th'ose who, having little or nothirjg at slake themselves, care little or nothing for th'e rights of others ; people who, in voting, exercise no judgment of {heir own, nor have any wish to form any; taking their im- pulses and directions from their leaders, and ready to fight their battles, not inei'eiy by voting, but by every species and excess of brawling and violence to which those lead.'rs may instigcite them : — can we not see that to put power into such hands, itistead of adding to the number of real freemen, wotild be to multiply the instruments whereby ambition may enable itself to set tiiof-e freenuMi at defiance .^ Some idea of the character of the new- made voters may be formed from the fact, that the whole increase of popii- latian in this S a'e (probably amounting to ten or twelve thousand) during Rep. No. 546. 401 the last ten or twelve years, this whole increase has been in the mannfac- turing districts, including the town of Providence as their centre. What a spectacle would our freemen's meetings exhibit, should they ever be filled by hosts of mercenary voters ! Even now, we know that angry feelings, looks, and language, and sharp disputes, are but too much indulged in. And in many places where free suffrage prevails, we constantly hear of affrays, violence, and even bloodshed ; each party spiriting on its reck- less retainers to get possession of the polls, and to intimidate its opponents. And the consequence is. that great numbers of sober minded, peaceable freemen, are disgusted with such scenes, and keep away from the polls^ where they know they will be abused and insulted for exercising the rights of freemen. We ought to recollect that all the evils which may result from the ex- tension of suffrage will be evils beyond our reach. We shall entail them upon our latest posterity without remedy. Open this door, and the whole frame and character of our institutions are changed forever. It is not safe for any nation to flatter itself that it will always be wiser and better than all others have been. The Athenian and Roman repub- lics, great, renowned, and proud of their liberties as they were, were sub- verted, one after the other, and enslaved by the instrumentality of this same engine of universal suffrage. The moment that was introduced, the brokers of offices and sellers of their country publicly spread their tables, upon which they counted out their bribes to the voters. For the committee, B. HAZARD. No. 80.— (C.) Resolutions of the General Assembly. The following resolutions were passed by the General Assembly at the January session, A. D. 1841. upon a memorial from the town of Smitlifield; to enlarge the representation from that town to the General Assembly : Resolved by the General Assembly, (the Seriate concurring with the House of Representatives therein,) That the freemen of the several towns in this State, and of the city of Providence, qualified to vote for general offi- cers, be, and they are hereby, requested to choose, at their semi annual town or ward meetings in August next, so many delegates, and of the same qual- ifications as they are now respectively entitled to choose representatives to the General Assembly, to attend a convention to be holden at Providence on the first Monday of November, in the year of our Lord 1842, to frame a new constitution for this State, either in whole or in part, with fall powers for this purpose ; and if only for a constitution in part, that said conven- tion have under their especial consideration the expediency of equalizino- the representation of the towns in the House of Representatives, Resolved, That a majority of the whole number of delegates which all the towns are entitled to choose, shall constitute a quorum, who may elect a president and secretary, judge of the qualifications of the members, and establish such rules and proceedings as they may think necessary; and any town or city which may omit to elect its delegates at the said meetings in 26 402 Rep. No. 546. August, may elect them at any time previous to the meeting of said conven- tion. Resolved^ That the constitution or amendments agreed upon by said convention shall be submitted to the freemen in open town or ward meet- ings, to be hoiden at such time as may be named by said cpnvention. The said constitution or amendments shall be certified by the president and secretary, and returned to the secretary of state, who shall forthwith distribute to the several town and city clerks, in due proportion* one thou- sand printed copies thereof, and also fifteen thousand ballots, on one side of which shall be printed "Amendments (or constitution) adopted bjj the con- vention hoiden at Providence on the first Monday of November last;"' and on the other side, the word '•' approve" on the one half of said ballots, and the word " reject" on the other half. Resolved^ That at the town or ward meetings to be hoiden as aforesaid, every freeman voting shall have his name written on the back of his ballots, and the ballots sliall be scaled up in open town or ward meetings by the clerks, and, with lists of the names of the voters, shall be returned to the General Assembly at its next succeeding session ; and the said General As- sembly shall cause said ballots to be examined and counted, and said amend- ments or -constitution being approved of by a majority of the freemen vo- ting, shall go into operation and effect at such time as may be appointed by said convention. Resolved^ That a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars be appropri- ated for defraying the expenses of said convention, to be paid according to the order of said convention, certified by the president. No. 81.— (D.) Petition of Elisha Dilliiig/ta?}i a7id others. To the honorable the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island: ■ The undersigned, inhabitants and citizens of the Slate of Rhode Island, would respectfully represent to your lionorable body, that they conceive that the dignity of the State would be advanced, and the liberties o! ilie, i)eople better secured, by the abrogation of the charter granted unto tins State by King Charles II of England, and by the establishment of a constitution which should more effectually define the authority of the executive and legis- lative branches, and more strongly recognise the rights of the citizens. Your petitioners would not take the liberty of suggesting to your honora- ble body any course which should be pursued, but would leave the whole affair in your hands, trusting to tlie good sense and discretion of the Gene- ral Assembly. Your petitioners would further represent to the General Assembly, that they conceive that an extension of suffrage to a greater portion of the white male residents of the State would be more in accordance with the spirit of our institutions than the present system of the State, and for such extension they ask. Your petitioners would not suggest any system of suffrage, but would leave the matter to the wisdom of the General Assembly. Upon both the prayers of- your pelitioiiersj they would ask the immediate Kep. No. 546. 40^ and efficient action of the General Assembly ; and, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [Signed by Elisiia Dillingham and 5S0 others.] [Endorsed.] Petition of Elisha Dillingham and others for an abrogatioa of charter and establishment of a constitution. H. R., Jamiarij 21, 1S41.— Received, and laid on the table. T. A, J., Clerk. A true copy from the files of the House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island. THOMAS A. JENCKES, Clerk of said House. No. 82.— (E.) -A declaration of principks of the Rhode Island Suffrage Association^ tnade 7th day of February, 1S41, and the I3th of April, 1841. Believing that all men are created free and equal, and that the possession of pro[)erty should create no political advantages for its holder; and be- lieving that all bodies politic should iiave for their foundation a bill of rights and a written constitution, wherein the rights of the people should be defined, and the duties of the people's servants strictly pointed out and limited ; and believing that the State of Rhode Island is possessed of neither of these instrumenis, and that the charter under which she has her political existence is not only aristocratic in its tendency, but that it lost all its authority when the independence of the United States was declared; and fiirthermore, believing that every State in the federal compact is en- titled, by the terms of that compact, to a republican form of government, and that any form of government is anti-repubiican and aristocratic which precludes a majority of the people from participating in its affairs, and that by every right, human and divine, the majority in the State should govern ; and furthermore, and finally, believing that the time has gone by when we are called upon to submit to the most unjust outrages upon our political and social rights : therefore, Resolved, That the poirer of the Stale should be vested in the hands of the people; and that the people have a right from lime to time to assemble together, either by themselves or their representatives, for the establishment of a republican form of government. Resolved, That whenever a mnjority of the citizens of this State, who are recognised as citizens of the United States, shall, by their delegates in convention assembled, draught a constitution, and the same shall be accepted by. their constituents, it will be, to all intents and purposes, the law of the State. Resolved, That the cause of suffrage can only be carried forward by the diffusion of correct doctrine on this subject. Therefore, the friends of the cause are under an imperative obligation to aid by their patronage and in- fluence in giving a wider and more extended circulation to the organ of this association, the New Ao-e, 404 Kep. No. 546. Resolved^ That we earnestly recommend to the good citizens of this State who are in favor of a just and equal government — or, in other words, a government of the people — to form associations in every town in the State ; and that their secretaries be requested to correspond with the secre- taries of other associations, so that a convention may be called to adopt the plan this evening proposed, or some other plan which they, in their wisdom, shall devise. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this association, the two most impor- tant objects to be gained in the formation of a constitution, are equal repre- sentation and a liberal extension of suffrage. Therefore, we are of opinion that, to accomplish these objects, all who are interested should be allowed to participate in its formation. At a meeting of the said suffrage association holden at Providence on the 13lh of April, 1S41, the foregoing declaration was reiterated, and the following resolution passed : Resolved, That, for the purpose of promoting the furtherance of the cause in which we have engaged, we have determined on a parade, to be held on the 17th inst., and that we invite the citizens generally to meet on the occasion. No. 83.— (F.) Resolutions adopted at a mass meeting of the friends of svffrnge, held at Newpo7't, May 5, 1841, setting forth the principles of the suffrage move- merit. Whereas it is the undeniable right of the people, at all times, peaceably to- assemble for consultation and conference touching the government under which they live, and which they assist in supporting ; and independently to utter and set forth, on such occasions of meeting to^^^ether, their views, sen- timents, and plans relative to the correction, as well of defects in the organ- ization of government, as of faults in the administration of the same : We„- a portion of the people of this State, now assembled at Newport in mass con- vention, from all parts of the State, and acting on behalf of the great body of our unenfranchised fellow-citizens, do declare their and our opinions and. purposes in the following RESOLUTIONS: 1. Resolved, That it is repugnant to the spirit of the declaration of American independence, and derogatory to the character of Rhode Island republicans, to acknowledge the charter of a British king as a constitution of political government. While we venerate the illustrious names of Roger VVilliams and John Clarke, to whose untiring ability and perseverance the colony of Rhode Islond was indebted for this grant from the throne of Eng- land, so well adapted at the time to the wants of his Majesty's subjects, and so liberal in its concessions, — we are at the same time aware that in almost ail respects, excepting the immortal declaration and guaranty of religious freedom, it has become insuflicient and obsolete ; that it should be laid aside in the archives of the State, and no longer be permitted to subsist as a bar- rier against the riglits and liberties of the people. 2. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this convention, on the occurrence Rep. No. 546. 405 of the American Revolution, when the ties of allegiance which bound the subjects of this colony to (he throne of England were dissolved, the rights of sovereignty, in accordance with the principles of republican government, passed to the whole body of the people of this State, and not to any special or favored portion of the same ; that tlie whole people were and are the just and rightful successors of the British king, and as such were and are enti- tled to alter, amend, or annul the form»ancl provisions of government ;iien and now subsisting, with the sole restriction imposed by the constitution of the United States; and, in their original and sovereign capacity, to devise and substitute such a constitution as they may deem to be best adapted to the general welfare. 3. Resolved, That no lapse of lime can bar the sovereignty inherent in the people of tliis State; and that their omission to form a constitution, and their toleration of the abuses under which they have so long labored, are to be regarded as proof of their long suffering and forbearance, rather than as ar- guments against their power and their capacity to right themselves, wiien- ever, in their opinion, redress from the governments at present subsisting is hopeless. 4. Resolved^ That the time has now fully arrived for a vigorous and con- centrated effort to accomplish a tliorough and permanent reform in the po- litical insiitutions of this State. 5. Resolved^ That a system of government under which the legislative body exercise power undefined and uncontrolled by fundamental laws, ac- cording to its own "especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion," and limits and restricts, and makes and unmakes the people at its pleasure, is anti-republican, and odious in its character and operations, at war with the spirit of the age, and repugnant to the feelings of every right-minded Rhode Island man, and ought to be abated. 6. Resolved, That the public good imperatively reqjiires that the powers of the legislature, and rights of the citizens, should be defined and fixed by a written State constitution. 7. Resolved, That the representation of the towns in the General Assem- bly, as originally established by the provisions of the charter of King Charles II, had reference to the then existing population of the same, and was at that time not unfairly adjusted to it; but that, by the great increase of popula- tion in the towns, the existing apportionment has become exceedingly une- qual and unjust in its operations ; and that a new assignment of representa- tives among the towns, according to population, will be an indispensable ar- ticle in a constitution for this State. A majority of the representatives to the General Assembly are now elected by towns containing less than one- third of the population of the State; and some of the towns, from twice to twenty times what they are entitled to, under the jtist principles of distribu- tion above named — an inequality not uncommon in the monarchies of Eu- rope, but, with the single exception of Rhode Island, unknown in the Uni- ted States. 8. Resolved, That, at the foundation of this State, and long after, property in land was not only the principal property of the citizens, but was so easily attainable, that a landed qualification for voters (first definitely established. in the colony by the legislature in 1724) excluded only a small portion of the people from political power; but that the circumstances of the people have since greatly changed, and the existing qualification for voting has the effect, contrary to the designs of those who first established it, of exclu- 406 Rep. No. 546. ding the great majority of 16,000, or 25,000 over the age of twenty-one years, from all political privileges and participation in the affairs of govern- ment ; and that, although we entertain a high and becoming respect for farmers, and their just influence in the State, we are not insensible to the merits of their younger sons — of the mechanics, the merchants, the working men, and others — who own no land ; and that we are of opinion that the longer continuance of a landed qualification for voters is a great injusticej and is contrary to the spirit and principles of a republican government ; and that a constitution for this State will be altogether insufficient, unsatisfac- tory, and impracticable, that does not restore to the body of the people of this State the rights and principles of American citizens. 9. Resolved, That a continuance of the provisions of the charter relating to representation, and of the act of the legislature requiring a freehold es- tate to entitle a citizen to vote for public officers, has the effect not only to vest the control of the General Assembly, as we have before seen, in less than one-third of the population, but, as the voters in this third are only a third part of the whole number of male adult citizens, this further effect also — the most odious of all — of placing the control of the Assembly and the State in one ninth part of its adult population ; or, in other words, in the hands of less than three thousand men out of twenty five thousand who are over twenty-one years of age. 10. Resolved, That such a state of things is a bold and hardy defiance of all popular rights, and is a total departure from the principles advanced at the first session of the General Assembly in the year 1647, who then sol- emnly declared and voted that the government of this State should be a democracy. 1 1. Resolved, That the American system of government is a government of men, and not of property ; and that while it provides for the ample protec- tion and safe enjoyment and transmission of property, it confiers upon it no political advantages, byt regards all men as free and equal, and exacts from them no price for the exercise of their birthright ; and that, therefore, the un- doubted rights and privileges of the people, as well as the true honor and pros- perity of the State, can only be completely obtained and permanently insured by a written constitution, whose fiamers shall be chosen from the people of the towns, in proportion to population, and which shall be approved and rati- fied by the people at large ; and that, in the exercise of this high act of sover- eignty, every American citizen, whose actual permanent residence or home is in this State, has a right to participate. And we accordingly pledge our- selves individually to each other, and collectively to the public, that we will use our unremitting exertions for such a constitution, in the way that has been described. 12. Resolved, That we disclaim all action with or for any political party in this great question of State rights, reserving to ourselves individually our own opinions on all matters of State or national politics, which we call upon no man to sacrifice; and that we heartily invite the earnest co-operation of men of all political parties in the cause which we have at heart, and which we believe to be the cause of liberty, equality, and justice to all men. 13. Resolved, That the General Assembly should have called the con- vention to frame a constitution in such a manner as to apportion the dele- gates to the convention among the several tovvns, according to population, and to give to every American citizen as aforesaid the right of voting for Rep. No. 546. 40T delegates and for the constitution which may be proposed for the ratifica- tion of the people. 14. Resolved^ That the friends of reform in each town be requested forth- with to establish an association for the purpose of a better organization for correspondence, and generally for the promotion of the objects of this con- vention. 15. Resolved^ That a State committee of eleven persons be appointed by this convention to correspond with the associations of the several towns, and to carry forward the cause of reform and equal rights, and to call a conven- tion of delegates to draught a constitution at as early a day as possible. 16. Resolved, That the State committee be requested to obtain, without delay, a list of all the citizens in tiie several towns who are ready to vote for and sustain a constitution based on the principles hereinbefore declared, and to present the same at the adjourned meeting. 17. Resolved, That the State committee be requested to prepare and send forth an address to the people of this State on the subjects contained in the foregoing resolutions, and to report proceedings at an adjourned meeting. 18. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the gov- ernor, to the lieutenant governor, and to each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, wliose attention is especially and respectfully asked to the resolution relative to the call of the convention for framing a constitution. 19. Resolved, That the support and patronage of all the friends of reform are urgently requested in behalf of the " New Age," a newspaper exclusively devoted to the cause which we have this day assembled to promote. 20. Resolved, That these resolutions be signed by the president and sec- retaries of the convention, and published in the several newspapers through- out the State, and that the publishers be requested to give them a gratuitous insertion in their respective papers. 21. Resolved, That tliis convention, when it adjourns, will adjourn to meet at Providence on the olh day of July next. The following gentlemen were then appointed a State committee, in ac- cordance with the 15th resolution : Ncivport county. — Hon. Char'es Collins and Hon. Dutee J. Pearce. Providence county. — Samuel H. Wales and Benjamin Arnold, jr. Washington coiuUy. — Wm. S. Peckham and Sylvester Himes. Kent county. — Silas Weaver and Emanuel Rice. Bristol county. — Samuel Allen and Benjamin M. Bosworth. No. 84.— (G.) Resolutions adopted at a mass 7neeting of the friends of suffrage held at Providence, R. 1., July '5, 1841. Resolved, That on this, the anniversary (5th July, 1841) of our nation- al independence, we recur, with emotions of deep and patriotic gratitude^ to the principles, the measures, and the men of the American Revolution, Resolved, That the doctrines of liberty and equality, first promulgated in modern times by the immortal founders of our State, and re-asserted by 408 Rep. No. 546. the illusliioLis author of ihe declaration of independence, lie at the founda- tion of all that is just and free in our political institutions; and that the vindication of these doctrines, when impaired, and the development of them in all their force and effect, are duties of the most sacred and impera- tive obligations, and enjoined upon us by the venerable fathers, who, being dead, yet speak to us, by our character as republicans and as men, and by our regard to the rights and interests of our successors. Resolved^ That, in the language of Jefferson, '-It is not only the right, but the duty, of those now on the stage of action, to change the laws and institutions of government, to keep pace with the progress of knowledge, the lights of science, and the amelioration of the condition of society;" — and that "nothing is to be considered unchangeable, but the inherent and unalienable rights of man." Resolved, That the political institutions of this State have long since lost their character of liberty and equality, which belong to a republic; and that, inasmuch as in the words of Washington, "the basis of our po- litical institutions is the right of the people to make and to alter their con- stitutions," it has now become the duty of the people of Rhode Island, act- ing upon the principles which have been recited, and animated by the ex- ample of their patriotic ancestors, to apply with a firm hand, without un- necessary delay, and in their original and sovereign capacity, the necessary corrective to existing political evils, by the formation and adoption of a written republican State constitution. Resolved, " That we unanimously and cordially re-aflirm the views, sen- timents, and plans" set forth in their resolutions by the convention of the friends of equal rights, held at Newport on the 5th day of May last ; and that, inasmuch as the General Assembly of this State, at their last session, in .lune, have finally decided that the freeholders are exclusively the people of Rhode Island, and have denied to the great majority of the people, so far as it is in their power thus to deny, any participation in the convention to be held in November next, the time has now fully arrived for the peo- ple, in their original and sovereign capacity, to exercise their reserved rights; and that we hereby approve the call by the State committee of the people's convention, on the basis of the resolutions aforesaid, at an early day, for the formation of a constitution. Resolved, That when the constitution, so framed, shall be adopted by a majority of the v^diole people of the State, by their signatures or other- wise, as the convention may j^rovide, we will sustain and carry into effect said constitution, by all necessary means ; and that, so far as in us lies, we will remove all obstacles to its successful establishment and operation : and we hereunto solemnly pledge ourselves to each other and the public. Resolved, That we hail with pleasure tlie presence among us of the venerable remnants of our revolutionary worthies; and entertain the hope that they may be spared to witness anolf.er nnniversary, when they will be deemed not only worthy of shedding their blood for the defence of their country, but of voting for their rulers, and of taking an equal share of the concerns of government. Resolved, That we enter our solemn protest against the principles upon which the landholders' constitution is called, as by that call a large ma- jority of the people of this State are excluded from a participation in the choice of delegates to frame a constitution, by the provisions of which they are to be governed. Rep. No. 546. . 409 Resolved^ That we deny the aiUhority of the legislature to proscribe or prevent any portion of our fellow-citizens, who are permanent residents of tliis State, from a participation in the organization of the government, which is to affect the rights and privileges of all. Resolved, That it is contrary to the spirit of a republican government for a minority to make laws that shall bind the majority; and that we wiU resist, to the utmost of our ability, a government that shall not acknowledge the just rights of the whole people. Resolved, That we will use all hojjorable means within our power to have every American citizen, who is a permanent resident in this State, represented in the convention for framing a constitution that shall define the powers of the legislature, and secure to the people the free exercise of their rights and privileges. By a vote of said mass convention, the following gentlemen were added to the State committee, viz: Newport county. — Silas Sisson. Providence county. — Henry L. Webster. Philip B. Sliness, and Metcalf Blarsh. Bristol county. — Abijah Luce. Kent county. — John Brown and John B. Sheldon. WasJiinglon, county. — Wager Weeden and Charles Allen. No. 85.— (Ha.) Resolutions of the General Assembly, passed at the May session, 1S4.\, in amendment oj resolutions passed at the January session, same year. At the May session of the General Assembly, 1841, the following resolu- tions passed in amendment, or in addition, to those passed in January of the same year, "^rhey are as follows, viz : Resolved by the General Assembly, {the Senate concurring with the House of Re])resentatives therein.) That the delegates from the several towns to the State convention to be holden in November next, for the pur- pose of framing a State constitution, be elected on the basis of population in the following manner, to wit : Every town of not more than eight hun- dred and fifty inhabitants may elect one delegate ; of more than eight hun- dred and fifty, and not more than three thousand inhabitants, two dele- gates ; of more than three thousand, and not more than six thousand inhabitants, three delegates ; of more than six thousand, and not more than ten thousand inhabitants, four delegates : of more than ten thousand, and not more than fifteen thousand inhabitants, five delegates ; of more than fifteen thousand inhabitants, six delegates. Resolved, That the delegates attending said convention be entitled to re- ceive from the government treasury the same pay as members of the Gene- ral Assembly. Resolved, That so much of the resolutions to which these are an amend- ment as is inconsistent therewith, be repealed. 410 Eep. No. 546. No. 86.— (J a.) A call to the jjeople of Rhode Island to assemble in convention. At a mass convention of the friends of equal rights and of a written repub- lican constitution for this State, held at Newport on the 5th day of May, 1841, the following persons were appointed a State committeEj for the furtherance of the cause which the convention had assembled to promote, viz: Nnoport county. Bristol county. Benjamin M. Bosworth, Charles Collins, Samuel S. Allen, Dutee J. Pearce, Abijah Luce. Silas Sisson. Kent county. Providence county. hjmanuel Kice, Silas Weaver, Samuel H. Wales, John B. Sheldon. Benjamin Arnold, jr., Welcome B. Sayles, Washington county. Henry ],. Webster, Sylvester Himes, Philip B. Stiness, Wager Weeden, Metcalf Marsh. Charles Allen. The State committee were directed to " carry forward the cause of reform and equal rights, and to call a convention of delegates to draught a constitu- tion alas early a day as possible." At an adjourned meeting of said mass convention, held at Providence on the oth day of July, the instructions before given were reaffirmed, and the committee were directed to call a convention of the people, on the basis of the resolutions passed at Newport, " at an early day, for the formation of a constitution." Pursuing these instructions, the committee held a meeting at Providence on the 20th of .luly; and, in conformity with the eleventh resolution adopted at Newport, which prescribes tlie call of a convention of the people at large, to be represented in proportion to population, passed, unanimously, the fol- lowing resolution for the call of a popular convention : Voted, That we proceed to issue a call for the election of delegates to take place on the last Saturday in August, (the 28th day,) to attend a con- vention to be holden at the State house in Providence, on the first Monday in October, (the 4th day,) for framing a constitution to be laid before the people for their adoption. Voted, That every American male citizen, of twenty-one years of age and upwards, who has resided in this State one year preceding the election of delegates, shall vote for delegates to the convention called by the State committee, to be held at the State-house in Providence on the first Monday in October next. Voted, That every meeting holden for the election of delegates to the State convention shall be organized by the election of a chairman and secretary, whose certificate shall be required of the delegates. Voted, That each town of one thousand inhabitants, or less, shall be en- Rep. No. 546. 411 titled to one delegate; and for every additional thousand, one delegate shall be appointed ; and the city of Providence shall elect three delegates from each ward in the city. Voted, That the chairman and secretary be directed to cause one thou- sand handbills to be printed and distributed through the State, containing the call for a convention oWelegates. Voted, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman and secretary, and be published. On motion, voted, That this meeting stand adjourned, to meet at this place on the 1st day of September, at 11 o'clock, a. m. Fellow CITIZENS : We have discharged our duty in a call of a conven- tion of the whole people, to provide for the attainment and security of those invaluable rights which have been so long withheld from them, and without which they are but subjects and slaves in a state only nominally republican. Depend upon it that a spirit has been aroused in this State, which can- not be intimidated nor repressed; which has suffered long, until patience has ceased to be a virtue ; and which, regarding the republican institutions everywhere else enjoyed but here, and prompted by our venerable and patriotic ancestors, the tirst to assert the true principles of religious and po- litical freedom, will brook no further delay ; and which cannot be more ap- propriately expressed than when we say, in behalf of the great majority of the people — Give us our rights, or we will take them. We ask fur nothing that is not clearly right, and we are determined \o submit to nothing so manifestly wrong as the corrupt and anti-republican system of government which has so long subsisted m Rhode Island by the forbearance of the people. Bear in mind that there is no constitutional mode of amending our gov- ernment, except by the people at large, in whom, as the successors of the king of England, the sovereign power resides and remains unimpaired by any lapse of time, or toleration of past abuses. That there is no bill of rights in this State, except that granted by the legislature, and which they can at any moment resume and annul. That the General Assembly is a body irresponsible to the majority of the people, restricted by no constitutional rule of action, virtually omnipotent, making and unmaking the people, doing and undoing what it pleases, ac- cording to its "especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion," in imi- tation, upon a smaller scale, of the monarchy of Great Britain. That the system of representation to this Assembly is also the rotten borough system of Great Britain, now partially reformed ; by which system, in this State, a third of the freemen and one-ninth of the people command the House of Representatives. That, by reason of the landed qualification, which it is impossible for the great majority to obtain, two-thirds of the people are ousted of the birthright acquired for them by their fathers ; and are governed, taxed, compelled to do military duty, and subjected in all respects to the will and pleasure of one-third, with the sole restriction imposed by the constitution of the United States. Instead of enumerating other particulars, we only say, look at the history of Rhode Island legislation. Fellow-citizens, it is these evils to which the great unenfranchised ma- jority, acting in their original, sovereign capacity, propose and intend to- 412 Rep. No. 546. apply an efFiCtiial remedy. We ask your aid and assistance in this good work. We respectfully urge upon you to assist in the election of delegates to the popular convention to be held in October next — not as the friends or opponents of any political party now existing in this State, but as the friends of justice, of humanity, of liberty, of equalright^of well regulated consti- Jtutional government. Do not be deceived by the freeholders' convention called for November next. It is a gross fraud upon the people. The designs of its originators was to chrystalize, in a stronger form, the present statute provisions relative to suffrage, and to place them beyond the reach of amendment, except by the hand of force. Once more, we say to the unenfranchised mass of our brethren and fellow- citizens, — ^our rights are in 5'our own hands. Assert and vindicate them like men determined to be free. See to it that a meeting for the choice of delegates is duly held in every town, and that its proportional number is regularly elected. Summon your friends and neighbors to the work ; and, rely upon it, that a constitution framed by such a convention, and signed by a majority of the people, will be promptly acquiesced in by the minority; will be vigorously sustained ; and will become, without delay, the undisputed, paramount law of our State. By order, and in behalf of the State committee. SAMUEL H. WALES, Chairman. Benjamin Arnold, Secretary. Providence, Juli/ 24, 184L No. 87.— (J 6.) Addreiis of the Slate committee appointed by the suffrage convention at Newport, May 5, 1S41, /or the purpose of calling a convention to form a constitution for the State, Fellow-citizens: The undersigned, a committee of those friendly to the formation of a State constitution, and to the extension of suffrage in this Stale, beg leave to address you on the important subject, and to call your attention to som.e of the considerations which actuate the friends of reform, as v/eli as to the means considered by them best calculated to effect the ul- timate object in view. In doing this, it is neither our intention nor dispo- sition to create feelings of hostility between our fellow-citizens who may honestly differ from each other on the question of expediency or political right, but to excite the public mind to calm discussion and rational inves- tigation ; being morally certain that such a course will fully develop the justice of our cause, and lead to the consummation of our wishes in a man- ner that shall give universal satisfliction. To all who are acquainted with human character and human passions, it is well known that power and pre eminence constitute darling objects of ambition ; and that human ingenuity, aided by interest and prepossession, and more especially sanctioned by custom, habit, and the force of educa- tion, is seldom at a loss for the semblance of argument to satisfy us of our right to that which we hold in possession. For these reasons, we can readily account for the hostility hitherto man- ifested by a great proportion of the landholders of Rhode Island against re- form in our State government, and an extension of the right of suffrage, Rep. No. 546. 41.5 without attributing to them t[ie unqualified determination to act with injus- tice towards others. The manner in which the territory of the State was originally acquired, the form of government estabhshed under the auspices of the British crown, the quiet submission of the people to that form of gov- ernment since the Ameritan revolution, the principles in accordance with it, handed down from generation to generation, and the firm convictions of the friends of the present system that it is most conducive to the best inter- ests of the State, — all operate on the landholders ; and honestly, in most in- stances, we have reason to believe, they are thus induced to act against what we deem to be the rigiits of others. That the original colonists of Rhode Island, settling on lands they had purchased as a company, had the incontrovertible right, as proprietors un- der the crown, to institute such rules and regulations for the management of their affairs as they pleased, and as the grant from the crown permitted them to do, it is believed no one will deny. And as, at the period of the Revolution, no measures were instituted to change the form, to conform to the change of circumstances ; and as, also, they liave hitherto neglected to effect such a change, the impression has come down to the present period,, that .the original form of government still continues in full force, by virtue of the right of the original colonists to institute it; and that it cannot right- fully be changed, but either by the voluntary act, or at least the consent, of their successors in possession. As we ask for nothing but the right, per- mit us to examine this point. It must be recollected that the original settlers of Rhode Island neither claimed nor exercised any other rights than were granted and guarantied by the British crown. Their jurisdiction, therefore, was neither original nor independent, but was both derived and subordinate; and its entire force was the royal sanction and guaranty. And even their right to the soil, by" purchase of the natives, could have given them no exclusive right of pos- session, but by force of the royal patent. Did the same or simifar circum- stances now exist, it is readily acknowledged that the non-freeholders could set forth no legal claim to participation in the government, and but two events (one or botli) could occur to extend to them that privilege, or to legalize the claim. In t.he first instance, the freemen might grant it ; in the second place, the royal charter might be revoked, or be rendered null and void by the destruction of the royal authority. It cannot be doubted that, had the entire British realm been revolution- ized, instead of only her American colonies, and the declaration of the uni- versal national equality of man been adopted as the basis of government,, the people of Rhode Island, in common with all their fellow-citizens of the nation, would have been thrown back on their natural rights, and released from their subjection to the royal vv^ill, claimed and exercised the right to frame and adopt a government in obedience to the will of a majority only. In no other way could a legitimate government have been formed; for the only governmental power and authority, except what originally resided in the people themselves, would thus b.ave been annihilated. Such principles would have been the character and effect of the revolu- tion under Oliver Cromwell, had he and his associates proceeded on the principles adopted by our revolutionary f;ithers ; and such also the French revolutions of 1792-93, and of 1830. But the American revolution produced precisely the state of affairs in the revolted colonies as though the king 414 Eep. No. 546. had been, driven from the throne, royalty proscribed, monarchy abolished, all ranks and distinctions among men obliterated, the government dissolved, and its powers restored, to be exercised of right by the whole people. As to the colonies, all this did take place ; ami no statesman who values his reputation as such, will hazard the assertion, that the slightest claim of force in our government can be erected on the grant and sanction of our former sovereign or Iiis successors. On what, then, does the claim rest? First, on the ownership of the soil. Did our landholders still con- tinue simply a body corporate, permitted to regulate their company affairs under a former jurisdiction, that ground would be valid. But circum- stances have changed. The body corporate has merged into a sovereign and independent State. The I'ery acts by which that sovereignty and in- dependence were declared and established, created freeholders and non-free- holders a body of political equals. It recognised the original rights, and not the acquired privilege of the "governed," without discrimination, to ex- ercise powers inherent in them, and '^indefeasible'^ as well as " ujialicnable^'^ to be consulted and heard, and also to act on the question how they should or would be governed. Tlie freemen or landholders of Rhode .Island consented to this act and to these principles. On that condition the State was incorporated into the American Union. From that moment she placed herself under a new jurisdiction — the government of the people. And from that moment, also, the people — all the people — whom the American revo- lutionary and constitutional principles recognised as the original source and rightful possessors of all political power, resumed, and might have expe- rienced, the right to erect a government for themselves. But, in the second place, it is confidently asserted, that the people having quietly submitted to the government as it is, that government has become prescriptive ; and that thus the non freeholders have lost their right to de- mand or effect a change, even if they possessed it. We do not thus view the subject ; and we believe those who assert this principle are altogether in error. That our government is prescriptive, we admit ; but we do not admit that it can invalidate an original right. A government by prescrip- tion, or by custom, certainly cannot claim the force of one that lias receiv- ed the formal sanction of the people ; and if it could, we. as republicans, assert, without fear of contradiction, that a majority of the '■'-governed'''' have, at any time, and on any occasion, a right to change their govern- ment — a right which, being inherent, unalienable, and indefeasible, not •even they can part wiih by their free and voluntary act ; much less can it be taken from them by prescription, or by precedent, or by any act of their predecessors. We declare it, therefore, as our solemn conviction — a convic- tion strengthened and confirmed by the principles and acts of the most em- inent statesmen — that a majority of the citizens of this, or of any other State, have the incontrovertible right, at any time they may choose, to assemble together, and, either by themselves or by their delegates, to alter, amend, annul, or reform their government, at pleasure; aivvays controlled by the dictates of natural law, that the legitimate end of government is the good of the whole in general, and of each individual in particular. To suppose that, under such a political system as that of the American Union, the fun- damental principle of which is the sovereignty of the people, one generation can bind those who succeed it to any principles or form of government, or that prescription or custom should divest them of their right of change, is Rep. No. 546. 415 preposterous. It is, moreover, the doctrine of tyranny ; and, once estab- lished, the sovereignty of the people is destroyed. Without fear of contradiction, tiierefore, we aver that, even had the pres- ent form of government been formally sanctioned by the people of Rhode Island, (which it never was.) they could be bound to its provisions no longer than during their own pleasure. The original power and sove- reignty of the people are never relinquished. They cannot be ; for they are imalievahle and indefeasible. They are merely delegated, to be exer- cised for certain purposes ; and whenever those who dti gated them become satisfied that the contemplated object has not been, and will not be, given by their exercise, they have the right to resume them, and to use them as they please. Such is the doctrine of natural law, and such also is the doctrine of the declaration of American independence, v^^hich has been en- grafted on the American constitution. It is in vain that the portion of Rhode Island citizens called freemen, or a part of them, assert that a change in the form and principles of our gov- ernment is inexpedient, inasmuch as it is asserted by them that a change could not benefit the State. This is an assertion only, and rests on mere speculative conjecture. Right claims precedence of expediency. It is enough for ns to know (and on this point we are certain) that a majority of the cit- izens of the State are deprived, by the existing government, of the rights which their Creator bestowed on them, and which the principles that con- stituted the very basis of the national government sanction and guaranty. A participation in the government of the State they have a right to demand and assume. It is not a question wlietiier the minority are willing to in- trust the exercise of the political power in the hands of a majority, or pre- fer to retain it themselves; the question is not, Will the State be better or worse governed in consequence of the change? It is a simple question of individual right; and the claim is one which cannot be successfully de- nied. The disfranchised citizens [are] among the '■'•governed'''' — among those, therefore, for whose benefit government is, or should be, instituted — among those from whom the powers of government are, or should be. derived. Hence their right is unquestionable to a voice as to the disposition of those pow- ers and their exercise, and the fitness of the government and its adaptation to the end proposed — the good of the governed. This is their riglit. This right they claim. They constitute the majority. With them, therefore, is the right lo decide. And they presume themselves to be, and will be found to be, as capable of judging correctly, and acting as wisely, as to the true ends of government, as are the minority, who now exercise all its functions. It will be time enough to talk of the result, after the change has been eifect- ed. If it be evil, the people will not long submit to it : if good, right will have been done, and the welfare of the State secured. But why talk of the present system of government? We have no fixed system. Every system of government, or anything else, is made up of certain fundamental rules and principles, from which those who act upon it are not at liberty to depart. Every science and art has its fixed rules and. principles, and these constitute their system ; the constitution — the work of the people — of the governed — fixing metes and bounds to the power and authority of the several departments, prescribing definite principles of ac- tion, and circumscribing the legislative, executive, and judicial servants of the nation, by limits they dare not overstep. Such is the case with all the States, except our own. Tbese are the only legal barriers against usurpa- 416 Rep. No. 546. tion, misrule, and deceplion. When these are violated, at the expense of official perjury, the people have their remedy under those systems of gov- ernment ; but, without them, the minority, and even the disfranchised ma- jority, have no other security for their dearest rio^hts than force and arms — always precarious, and frequently resulting in violence and blood. The only guarantee of rights to the people of Rhode Island is the constitution of the United States, We.havenoconstiliuion — no system of government. Even the right of franchise, the " basis of every free elective government," and the most valuable privilege of the free citizen, is in the hands of the legislative body, unguarded by any popular barrier, to be moulded to any form the majority of the legislature may think proper, to gratify their ambition, or to promote party objects. Thus the right of suffrage is the subject of con- tinual fluctuation and change at the hand of parties, as one or the other may obtain the power, and as may appear best calculated to perpetuate its hold on power, and to baffle the efforts of opponents. It is a solemn fact, and one that admits of no denial, that the General Assembly may, if a ma- jority of that body choose, at its very next session, and without a moment's warning to the people of the State, repeal every syllable of law relative to the elective franchise, and enact another law as entirely different from it as possible — and, indeed, effect one entire change in the policy of the State ; and there is neither constitution, law, nor precedent to the contrary. Should such abuses occur, where is the remedy of the people? No constitutional principles are violated, because we have none to violate. Precedents could not be appealed to, because all precedent in Rhode Island is but a contin- ual exhibition of the exercise of unqualified and unlimited legislative power. Laws could not be resorted to, because all former ones having been repealed, new ones would have been enacted to suit the occasion. An ap- peal to the legislature would, of course, be fruitless, as that body would not sit as judges to condemn themselves. Resort to courts of law would be useless, as they have no constitutional principles to guide them. Their criterion is the legislative action. And, except when provisions of the con- stitution of the United States are involved, or questions of common law, the courts of Rhode Island, the creatures of legislative power, exist, sit, and act, only to carry out the legislative will ; whereas, in other States, the people can always appeal from that will, through the courts themselves, to the constitution which they have adopted : thus,, by means of the action of their own original power, compelling both courts and legislative bodies to act within the limits the people themselves have marked out. • But, we repeat it, the people of Rhode Island have no one of the above safeguards. From the town council to the chief justice of the highest court ; from the voter in the Mouse of Representatives, to the Governor who presides at the Senate body — all are free from constitutional restraint, all free from popular restraint. The sole power centres in the General As- sembly; and that power is independent, and politically omnipotent. To what resort, then, can the people flee for redress, when that power shall have been grossly abused? There are but two modes left them: 1. The ballot-box. 2. The resumption and exercise of their original and natural rights and powers. First, then, to the ballot box. And now let us turn our attention to this subject for a moment, and see how far that resort would be available. Suppose, then, the advocates of right and justice, or the friends of the present government and laws, should come forward with sufficient strength Rep. No. 546. 417 at the polls to eject from the seat of power men who had rendered themselves obnoxious by acts of usurpation and misrule : what stronger guarantee would you receive from their successors that they would reform abuses, than the in- dividual pledges of (perhaps) ambitious and interested political partisans? And even should pledges be redeemed, what assurance could you have that another body, in another year, would not revisit you with greater evils than thos€ which had been removed ? Each General Assembly, the State being destitute of constitutional provisions, is an independent body, acting solely on its own responsibility,guidedonly by its own principles of action, and its own rules : and the people have no other means of restraint upon their actions, than the distant view of the ballot box, and which each General Assembly might previously regulate, by changing the tenure and qualifications of the elec- tive franchise to suit themselves. Tiie committee would appeal to every reflecting, high-minded, and honorable man, and ask, in all candor and sin- cerity, if the rights and privileges free by nature, and free by the laws and constitution of our common country, should be thus intrusted to chance, or to fortune, or (what is still worse) to the hands of political partisans, to be manufactured, at pleasure, into political capital, to aid the cause of aspiring ambition? Can any people be safe under such circumstances? Under them, what man that is free to day, can have the assurance that he will not be a skive to-morrow? What, then, remains, but for the people to resume and exercise their original rights, and to frame for themselves a constitu- tion of government, which shall guard and protect them against the exer- cise of arbitrary power, by prescribing limits to legislative action. We feel certain that the freemen (or, in other words, the present voters of the State) would spontaneously, and without legal formality, assemble and institute means of redress, in case their ov/n rights were thus invaded. Thus have the rights of our disfranchised citizens been invaded, without in- termission, from the period of the American Revolution. As far as they are concerned, they have been the subjects of continual usurpation and misrule ; and so far have even their civil rights been trampled on, that, without the sanction oi o. freeman^ or landholder's name, as a master vouches for his slave, they are not known in law, or permitted to appear as parties, to ask for justice at the hands of a judicial tribunal ; and all this in the very flice of the fundamental political doctrine of our nation, that the power is in the governed, and that from them all the just powers of government are derived. Thus circumstanced, it is quite apparent that the disfranchised citizens of Rhode Island, and who constitute a majority of the whole people, can find no redress through the ballot box, from which, by law, they are ex- cluded. Nor is it mucli more likely that they will derive it from legislative aid ; the members of the legislature being exclusively the representatives of the minority, who wield the power. JNor yet is there more to hope from the freemen or landholders themselves at the polls, unless, contrary to what has heretofore happened, a majority of them have become willing that right and justice should supersede the lust of power. The committee are happy to believe that a very considerable change has taken place, in this respect, within a short period ; and that a very respect- able body of the landholders are now advocates for a written constitution, to be framed and adopted by the people, and a liberal and permanent sys- tem of suffrage placed beyond the reach of legislative control and interfe- rence. The committee congratulate the friends of the cause on this auspi- 27 418 Rep. No. 546- cions circumstance; still it must not be disguised that much yet remains to be done. 'J he friends of reform must depend on their own active energies. The laws of the State are against them ; the legislative authority is against them; the custom of more than half a century is against them ; and, no doubt, the opinions, interests, political aspirations, and the prejudices and prepossessions of a majority of tlie landed interest are against them. To the innid mind, and to tlie mind that has not investigated the subject, all these may present a powerful hostile array; but were they ten thousand times more powerful even than they appear, the rights and privileges of a solitary American citi- zen are fully worthy of the struggle. However forbidding the obstacles that may present themselves — however dark and frowning the aspect of the opposition — however tlireatening the arm of power suspended over us, — ' they are mere shadowy and unsubstantial forms, and a single act of the ma- jority of the whole people of Rhode Island will be found sufficient to sweep them all away. The people — the " ?mmerical fores'^ — have but to proclaim their will, to resume their original powers, and assert their original rights. It is but for the people to arouse themselves to action, to array themselves in the majesty of their strength, and to speak with united voice, " We, THE PEOPLE," decree it, is a legitimate sanction to the warrant that con- signs an unequal government to the grave. " We, the people," the' para- mount power of a free elective government, have but to speak, and their voice must be obeyed, for their will is the fountain of government and laws. '• We, THE PEOPLE," are the original depositary of power, and the only source whence government derives its sanction, its strength, and its sup- port; and government thus framed and adopted, must be legitimate — must rise superior to all others, and must be sanctioned and sustained by our national councils. For. under the auspices of a free, elective republic, based on the great principles of natural equality and of the popular sover- eignty, what authority shall interpose to defeat the will of the popular ma- jority, expressed in the formation of a government on similar principles? We repeat it, therefore, the people have but to put forth their energies to resume and exert their original rights and powers, and to speak and act; to assemble of their own accord ; to repudiate the existing government of the State ; to frame and adopt another more congenial to human rights, and to organize themselves under it as a body politic, which a free people have at all times the right to do; and demand the fulfilment of the con- stitutional pledge which guaranties to every State in the Union a republi- can form of government. To do this, fellow citizens, is your only availa- ble and certain course. To do this, unanimity, at least, of action must mark your conduct. Among a 2;reat body of men contending for their rights, some conflicting feelings and opinions on minor points must exist. Of these, among ourselves, probably the most prominent and important is, on what shall be the final extent of the elective franchise, or who shall be admitted to vote at elections? This question is frequently put, and by it your opponents hope to scatter dissension in your ranks, and to defeat your j)urpose. But be it borne in mind that this is a question which now is not the time to answer; nor does it belong to us to answer it. We cannot hope to attain our object without mutual concessions. As the friends of popular rights, it becomes us individually to abide content by the will of the majority ; and it is confidently believed that no one has united himself with us, and espoused our cause, who will not cheerfully give his sanction Rep. No. 546. 419 to such provisions for the government and well-being of the State as a ma- jority may approve. To the final decision of the majority, then, let the above question be referred, and not permitted to disturb our harmony, or prevent the cordial union and exercise of all our energies to promote the forward progress of our great and just cause. Be firm ; be united ; press forward with zeal and alacrity; use all honorable means to insure success, and you cannot fail to obtain it. In due time, the committee, to whom the duty has been intrusted, will issue the call for primary meetings, preliminary to the call of a State con- vention. Meanwhile, we would urge it on every one engaged in the cause, to use his eftorts to harmonize tlie views and feelings of its friends, to awaken their zeal, and arouse them to action ; that thus, when the period shall have arrived when it shall be deemed expedient to attempt the con- summation of ilie grand object, there may be no faltering; and that all, like one man, with one body, one heart, one soul, and one object in view, to be gained by one means, may come forth at the call, and practically manifest the indon^itabie resolution to rescue, preserve, and perpetuate the rights of freemen. On you, fellow-citizens, under God, depends the issue. If yoti are re- solved, firm, and immovable, you must succeed ; and you will thus trans- mit to your posterity an invaluable legacy, for which they will bless you. If, through supineness and neglect, you should fail of the object, you leave yourselves — and it may be also your descendants — demi-slaves, subject to the exercise of arbitrary power, and destitute of a constitutional guaranty for a solitary right, political or civil. Your aid, one and all, is confidently expected. Let not the friends of freedom in Rhode Island and our sister States be disappointed. Let "God and the right" be your motto. Let us remember that "in union there is strength." Move with energy and act with vigor, and your efibrts will and must be crowned with success. State committee. Newport — Charles Collins, Dutee J. Pearce. Providence — Samuel H. Wales, W. B. Sayles, Benjamin Arnold, jr. Bristol — Benjamin M. Bosworth, Samuel S. Allen. Kent — Emanuel Rice, Silas Weaver. Washington — William S. Peckham, Sylvester Himes, At a meeting of the above committee, June 11, 1841, on motion, Voted, That the secretary be directed to transmit a copy of this address to each of the editors of the newspapers in this State, and request them 10 give it a gratuitous insertion in their respective journals. BENJAMIN ARNOLD, Jr., Secretary. 420 Rep. No. 546. No. 88.— (R.) Const iiution as finally adopted by the people^ s conventioji, ivhich assembled at Providence un the Itith day of November, 1841. We, the people of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, grateful to Almighty God for his blessing vouchsafed to the '' lively experiment" of religious and political freedom here ='held forth" by our ven- erated ancestors, and earnestly imploring the favor of his gracious provi- dence towards this our attempt to secure upon a permanent foundation the advantages of well ordered and rational liberty, and to enlarge and trans- mit to our successors the inheritance that we have received, do ordain aiid establish the following constitution of government for this State. ARTICLE I. Declaration oj principles and rights. 1. In the spirit and in the words of Roger Williams, the illustrious foun- der of this State, and of his venerated associates, we declare '"that this gov- ernment shall be a democracy," or government of the people, " by the ma- jor consent" of the same "only in civil things." The will of the people shall be expressed by representatives freely chosen, and returning at fixed periods to their constituents. This State shall be, and forever remain, as in the design of its founder, sacred to "soul liberty," to the rights of con- science, to freedom of thought, of expression, and of action, as hereinafter set forth and secured. 2. All men are created free and equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights; among which are life^ liberty, the acquisition of property, and the pursuit of happiness. Govern- ment cannot create or bestow these rights, which are the gift of God ; but it is instituted for tlie stronger and surer defence of the same, that men may safely enjoy the rights of life and liberty, securely possess and transmit prop- erty, and, so far as laws avail, may be successful in the pursuit of happiness. 3. All political power and sovereignty are originally vested in. and of right belong to, the people. All free governments are founded in their authority, and are established for the greatest good of the whole number. The peo- ple have therefore an unalienable and indefeasible right, in their original, sovereign, and unlimited capacity, to ordain and nistitute government, and in the same capacity to alter, reform, or totally change the same, when- ever their safety or happiness requires. 4. No favor or disfavor ought to be shown in legislation toward any man, or party, or society or religious denomination. The laws should be made not for the good of the few, but of the many ; and the burdens of the State ought to be fairly distributed among its citizens. 5. The diffusion of useful knowledge, and the cultivation of a sound mo- rality in the fear of God, being of the first importance in a republican State, and indispensable to the maintenance of its liberty, it shall be an impera- tive duty of the Legislature to promote the establishment of free schools, and to assist in the support of public education. 6. Every person in this State ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which may be done to his Rep. No. 546. 421 lights of person, property, or character. He onorht to obtain right and jus- tice freely and wilhont purchase, completely and without denial, promptly and without delay, conformably to tlie laws. 7. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- lated ; and no warrant shall issue but on complaint in writing upon prob- able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing as nearly as may be the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized. 8. No person shall be held to answer to a capital or other infamous charge, unless on indictment by a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces^ or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger. No person sliall be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offence. 9. Every man being presumed to be innocent until pronounced guilty by the law, all acts of severity, that are not necessary to secure an accused person, ought to be repressed. 10. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted ; and all punishments ought to be proportioned to the offence. 11. All prisoners shall be bailable upon sufficient surety, unless for cap- ital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. The priv- ilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety shall require it. 12. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the privilege of a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; be confronted with the witnesses against him; have compulsory process to obtain them in his favor, and at the public ex- pense, when necessary ; have the assistance of counsel in his defence, and be at liberty to speak for himself Nor shall he be deprived of his life, lib- erty, or property, unless by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land. 13. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and in all criminal cases the jury shall judge both of trie law and of the facts. 14. Any person in this State, who may be claimed to be held to labor or service, under the laws of any other Slate, Territory, or District, shall be en- tuled to a jury trial, to ascertain the validity of such claim. 15. No man in a court of common law shall be required to criminate himself 16. Retrospective laws, civil and criminal, are u.njust and oppressive, and shall not be made. 17. The people have a right to assemble in a peaceable manner, without molestation or restraint, to consult upon the pubhc welfare; a right to give instructions to their Senators and Representatives ; and a right to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, for the repeal of injurious laws, for the correction of faults of administration, and for all other purposes. 18. The liberty ot the press being essential to the security of freedom in a State, any citizen may publish his sentiments on any siil>ject, being re- sponsible for the abuse of that liberty ; and in all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, spoken from good motives, and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient defence to the person charged. 19. Private property shall not be taken for public uses without just com- 422 Rep. No. 546, pensation, nor unless the public good require it ; nor under any circum- stances, until compensation shall have been made, if required. 20. The military shall always be held in strict subordination to t!ie civil authority. 21. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in manner to be pre- scribed by law. 22. Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free, and all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burdens, or by civil incapacita- tions, tend to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness : and whereas a prin- cipal object of our venerated ancestors in their migration to this country, and their settlement of this State, was, as they expressed it, to hold forth a lively experiment, that a flourishing civil State may stand, and be besS maintained, with full liberty in religious concernments : We therefore de- clare that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor be enforced, restrained, molest- ed, or burdened in his body or goods, nor disqualified from holding any office, nor otherwise suffer, on account of his religious belief; and that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion; and that the same shall in nowise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities ; and that all other religious rights and privi- leges of the people of this State, as now enjoyed, shall remain inviolate and inviolable. 23. No witness shall be called in question before the legislature, nor in any court of this Slate, nor before any magistrate or other person author- ized to administer an oath or affirmation, for his or her religious belief, or opniions, or any part thereof; and no objection to a witness, on the ground of his or her religious opinions, shall be entertained or received. 24. The citizens shall continue to enjoy and freely exercise all the rights of fishery, and privileges of the shore, to which they have been heretofore entitled under the charter and usages of tliis State. 25. The enumeration ofihe foregoing rights shall not be construed t> impair nor deny others retained by the people. ARTICLE II. Of electors and the right of suffrage. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty- one years, who has resided in this State for one year, and in any town, city, or district ol the same for six months, next preceding the election at which he offers to vote, shall be an elector of all officers who are elected, or may hereafter be made eligible by the people. But persons in the military, naval, or marine service of the I'nited States, shall not be considered as having such established residence, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military place in any town or city in this State. 2. Paupers and persons under guardianship, insane, or lunatic, are exclu- ded from the electoral right; and the same shall be forfeited on conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, theft, or other infamous crime, and shall not be restored unless by an act of the General Assembly. 3. No person who is excluded from voting, for want of the qualificatioa first named in section first oi this article, shall be taxed, or be liable to do Rep. No. 546. 428 military duty; provided that nothing in said first article shall be so con- strued as to exempt from taxation any property or persons now liable to be taxed. 4. No elector who is not possessed of, and assessed for, ratable property in his own right, to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, or who shall have neglected or refused to pay any tax assessed upon him, in any town, city, or district, for one year preceding the town, city, ward, or district meeting at which he shall offer to vote, shall be entitled to vote on any question of taxation, or the expenditure of any public moneys in such town, city, or district, until the same be paid. 5. In the city of Providence, and other cities, no person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, alderman, or common councilman, who is not taxed, or who shall have neglected or refused to pay his tax, as provided in the preceding section. 6. The voting for all officers chosen by the people, except town or city officers, shall be by ballot ; that is to say, by depositing a written or printed ticket in the ballot-box, vviihont the name of the voter written thereon. Town or city officers shall be chosen by ballot, on the demand of any two persons entitled to vote for the same. 7. There shall be a strict registration of all qualified voters in the towns and cities of the State ; and no person shall be permitted to vote, whose name has not been entered upon the list of voters before the polls are opened. 8. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for the prevention of fraudulent voting by persons not having an actual, permanent residence, or home, in the State, or otherwise disqualified according to this constitu- tion ; for the careful registration of all voters, previously to the time of vo- ting; for the prevention of frauds upon the ballot-box; for the preservation of the purity of elections ; and for the safekeeping and accurate cotinting of the votes ; to the end that the will of the people may be freely and fully expressed, truly ascertained, and effectually exerted, without intimidation, suppression, or unnecessary delay. 9. The electors shall be exempted from arrest on days of election, and one day before, and one day after the same, except in cases of treason, fel- ony, or breach of the peace, 10. No person shall be eligible to any office by the votes of the people, who does not possess the qualifications of an elector. ARTICLE III. Of the distribution of powers. 1. The powers of the government shall be distributed into three depart- ments — the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. 2. No person or persons connected with one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers belonging to either of the others, except in cases herein directed or permitted. ARTICLE IV. OJ the legislative department. 1. The legislative power shall be vested in two distinct Houses : the one $0 be called the House of Representatives, the other the Senate, and both 424 Rep. No. 546. toofether the General Assembly. The concurrent votes of the two Houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws ; and the style of their laws shall be : Be it enacted by the General Assembly, as follows. 2. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any civil office under the authority of the State, durn)g the term for which he shall have been elected. 3. If any Representative, or Senator, in the General Assembly of this State, shall be appointed to any office under the Government of the Tnited States, and shall accept the same, after his election as such Senator or Rep- resentative, his seat sliall thereby become vacant. 4. Any person who holds an office under the Government of the United States may be elected a member of the General Assembly, and may hold his seat therein, if, at the time of his taking his seat, he shall have resigned said office, and shall declare the same on oath, or affirmation, if required. 5. No member of the General Assembly shall take any fees, be of counsel or act as advocate in any case pending before either branch of the General Assembly, under penalty of forfeiting his seal, upon due proof thereof. 6. Each House shall judge of the election and qualifications of its mem- bers ; and a majority of all the members of each House, whom the towns and senatorial districts are entitled to elect, shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller nuisiber may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the atttiudance of absent n)embers, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may have previously prescribed. 7. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected, expel a member ; but not a second time for the same cause. 8. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same when required by one fifth of its members. The yeas and nays of the members of either House shall, at the desire of any five members pres- ent, be entered on the journal. 9. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days, nor to any other place than that at which the General Assembly is holding its session. 10. The Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and for two days before the commencement, and two days after the termination of any session thereof. For any speech in debate in either House, no mem- ber shall be called in question in any other place. 11. The civil and military orficers, heretofore elected in grand committee^ shall hereafter be elected annually by the General Assembly, in joint com- mittee, composed of the two Houses of the General Assembly, excepting as is otherwise provided in this constitution ; and excepting the captains and subalterns of the militia, who shall be elected by the ballots of the mem- bers composing their respective companies, in such manner as the Gene- ral Assembly may prescribe ; and such officers, so elected, shall be approved of and commissioned by the Governor, who shall determine their rank ; and, if said companies shall neglect or refuse to make such elections, after being duly notified, then the Governor shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices. 12. Every bill and every resolution requiring the concurrence of the two Houses, (votes of adjournment excepted,) which shall have passed both Rep. No. 546. 425 Houses of the General- Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor for his revision. If he approve of it, he shall sign and transmit the same to the Secretary of State ; but, if not, he shall return it to the House in which it shall have originated, with his objections thereto, which shall be entered at large on their journal. The House shall then proceed to reconsider the bill; alid if, after such reconsideration, that House shall pass it by a majority of all the members elected, it shall be sent with the objections to the other House, which shall also reconsider it ; and, if approved by that House, by a majority of all the members elected, it shall become a law. If the bill shall not be returned by the Governor within forty-eight hours (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case, it shall not be a law, 13. There shall be two sessions of the General Assembly in every year ; one session to be held at Newport, on the first Tuesday of June, for the organization of the government, the election of officers, and for other busi- ness ; and one other session on the first Tuesday of January, to be field at Providence, in the first year after the adoption o( this constitution, and in every second year therealter. In the intermediate years, the January ses- sion shall be forever hereafter field in the counties of Washington, Kent, or Bristol, as the General Assembly may determine before tlieir adjournment in June. ARTICLE V. Of the House of Representatives. 1. The House of Representatives shall consist of members chosen by the electors in the several towns and cities, in their respective town and ward meetings, annually. 2. The towns and cities shall severally be entitled to elect members ac- cording to the apportionment which follows, viz: Newport to elect five; Warwick four; Smiihfield five; Cumberland, North Providence, and Scit- uate, three ; Portsmouth, Westerly, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Glocester, West Greenwich, Coventry, Exeter, Bristol, Tiverton, Little Compton, Warren, Richmond, Cranston, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Johnston, Foster, and Burrillville, to elect two ; and Jamestown, Middletown, and Barrington, to elect one. 3. In the city of Providence, there shall be six representative districts, which shall be the six wards of said city ; and the electors resident in said districts, for the term of three months next preceding the election at which they offer to vote, shall be entitled to elect two Representatives for each district. 4. The General Assembly, in case of great inequality in the population of the wards of the city of Providence, may cause the boundaries of the six representative districts therein to be so altered as to include in each dis- trict, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants. 5. The House of Representatives shall have authority to elect their own Speaker, clerks, and other officers. The oath of office shall be administered to the Speaker by the Secretary of State, or, in his absence, by the Attorney General. 6. Whenever the seat of a member of the House of Representatives shall 426 Rep. No 546. be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy may be filled by a new election. ARTICLE VI. Of the Senate. 1. Tlie State shall be divided into twelve senatorial districts ; and each district shall be entitled to one Senator, who shall be annually chosen by the electors in his district. 2. The first, second, and third representative districts in the city of Providence, shall constitute the fiist senatorial district; the fourth, fifth, and sixth representative districts in said city, the second district; the town of Sinithfield, the third district; the towns of North Providence and Cum- berland, the fourth district ; tlie towns of Sciiuate, Glocester, Burrillville, and Johnston, the fifth district ; the towns of Warwick and Cranston, the sixth district; the towns of P]ast Greenwich, West Greenwich, Coventry, and Foster, the seventh district ; the towns of Newport, Jamestown, and New Sjjoreham, the eighth district; the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown, Tiverton, and Little Compton, the ninth district ; the towns of North Kings- town and South Kingstown, the tenth district; the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, Exeter, Richmond, and Hopkinton, the eleventh district; the towns of Bristol, Warren, and Barrington, the twelfth district. 3. The Lieutenant Governor shnll be, by virtue of his office. President of the Senate; and shall have a right, in case of an equal division, to vote in the same ; and also to vote in joint committee of the two Houses. 4. Wiien the government shall be administered by the Lie;iteuant Gov- ernor, or he shall be unable to attend as President of the Senate, the Senate shall elect one of their own members President of the same. 5. Vacancies in the Senate, occasioned by death, resignation, or other- wise, may be filled by a new election. 6. The Secretary of State shall be, by virtue of his office, Secretary of the Senate. ARTICLE VII. Of impeachinents. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeach- ment. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; and when sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be con- victed, except by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected. When the Governor is impeached, the chief justice of the supreme court shall pre- side, with a casting vote in all prehminary questions. 3. The Governor, and all other executive and judicial officers, shall be liable to impeachment ; but judgments, in such cases, shall not extend fur- ther than to removal from ofiice. The party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. ARTICLE VIII. Of the executive deparinient. \. The chief executive power of this State shall be vested in a Governor, Rep. No. 546. 427 who shall be chosen by the electors, and shall hold his office for one year, and until his successor be duly qualified. 2. No person holding any office or place under the United States, this State, any other of the United States, or any foreign power, shall exercise the office of Governor. 3. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed. 4. He shall be commander in chief of the military and naval forces of the State, exc^'pt when called into the actual service of the United States; but he shall not march nor convey any of, the citizens out of the State, without their consent, or that of the General Assembly, unless it shall be- come necessary in order to march or transport them from one part of the State to another, for the defence thereof. 5. He shall appoint all civil and military officers whose appointment is not by this constitution, or shaU not by law, be otherwise provided for. 6. He shall, from time to time, inform the General Assembly of the con- dition of the State, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 7. He may reqtiire from any militaryofficer, or any officer in the execu- tive department, information upon any subject relating to the duties of his ofiice. 8. He shall have power to remit forfeitures and penalties, and to grant reprieves, commutation of punishments, and pardons after conviction, ex- cept in cases of impeachment. 9. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- pensation which shall not b.'- increased nor diminished during his contin- uance in office. 10. There shall be elected, in the same manner as is provided for ti.e election of Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, who shall continue in office for the same term of time. Whenever the office of Governor shall become va(;aut by death, resi^aiation, removal from office, or otherwise, the Lien- tenant Governor shall exercise the office of Governor until another Gov- ernor shall be duly qualified. U. Whenever the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall both become vacant, by death, resignation, removal from office, or other wise, the President of the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor until a Governor be duly qualified ; and should such vacancies occur during a recess of the General Assembly, and there be no President of the Senat3, the Secretary of State shall, by proclamation, convene the Senate, that a President may be chosen to exercise the ofiice of Governor. 12. Whenever the Lieutenant Governor or President of the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor, he shall receive the compensation of Gov- ernor only ; and his duties as President of the Senate shall cease while he shall continue to act as Governor; and the Senate shall fill the vacancy by an election from their own body. 13. In case of a disagfreement between the two Houses of the General Assembly respecting the time or place of adjournment, the person exercis- ing the office of Governor may adjourn them to such time or place as he shall think proper ; provided that the time of adjournment shall not be ex- tended beyond the first day of the next stated session. 14. The person exercising the offir^e of Governor may, in cases of special necessity, convene .the General Assembly at any town or city in this State, at any other time than hereinbefore provided. And, in case of danger from 428 Rep. No. 546. the prevalence of epidemic or contagions diseases, or from other circum- stances, in tlie place in which the General Assembly are next to meet, he may, by proclamation, convene the Assembly at any other place within the State. 15. A Secretary of Stale, a General Treasnrer, and an Attorney General, shall also be chosen annually, in the same manner, and for the same time, as is herein provided respecting the Governor. The dnties of these offi- cers shall be the same as are now, or may hereafter be, prescribed by law. Should there be a failure to- choose either of them, or should a vacancy occur in either of then- offices, the General Assembly shall fill the place by an election in joint committee. 16. The electors in each county shall, at the annual elections, vote for an inhabitant of the county to be sheritF of said county, for one year, and until a successor be duly qualified. In case no person shall have a ma- jority of the electoral votes of his county for sheriff', the General Assembly, in joint committee, shall elect a sheriff from the two candidates who shall have the greatest number of votes in such county. 17. All commissions shall be in the name of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, sealed with the seal of the State, and attested by the Secretary. ARTICLE IX. General provisions. 1. This constitution shall be the supreme law of the State ; and all laws contrary to, or inconsistent with the same, which may be passed by the General Assembly, shall be null and void. 2. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws for carrying this constitution into effect. 3. Tho judges of all the courts, and all other officers, both civil and mil- itary, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to the due observance of this constitution, and of the constitution of the United States. 4. No jurisdiction shall, hereafter, be entertained by the General Assem- bly in cases of insolvency, divorce, sale of real estate of minors, or appeal from judicial decisions, nor in any other matters appertaining to the juris- diction of judges and courts of law. But the General Assembly shall con- fer upon the courts of the State all necessary powers for aflbrding relief in the cases herein named ; and the General Assembly shall exercise all other jurisdiction "and authority which they have heretofore entertained, and which is not prohibited by, nor repugnant to, this constitution. 5. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, cause estimates to be made of the ratable property of the State, in order to the equitable appor- tionment of State taxes. 6. Whenever a direct tax is laid by the State, one-sixth part thereof shall be assessed on the polls of the qualified electors : provided that the tax on a poll shall never exceed tlie sum of fifty cents ; and that all per- sons who actually perform military duty, or duty in the fire department, siiall be exempted from said poll tax. 7. The General Assembly shall have no power hereafter to incur State debts to an amount exceeding the sum of fifty thousand dollars, except in time of war, or in case of invasion, without the express consent of the peo- Rep. No. 546. 429 pie. Every proposition for such increase shall be submitted to the electors at the next annual election, or on some day to be set apart for that purpose ; and shall not be farther entertained by the General Assembly, unless it re- ceive the votes of a majority of all the persons votin^. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that now is, or hereafter may be, deposited with this State by the General Government, 8. The assent of two thirds of the niembers elected to each House of the General Assembly shall be requisite to every bill appropriating the public moneys, or property, for local or private purposes; or for creating, con- tinuing, altering, or renewing any body politic or corporate, bankiug cor- porations excepted. 9. Hereafter, when any bill creating, continuing, altering, or renewing any banking corporation, authorized to issue its promissory notes for circu- lation, shah pass the two Houses of the General Assembly, instead of being sent to the Governor, it shall be referred to the electors for their considera- tion, at the next annual election, or on some day to be set apart for that purpose, with printed tickets containing the question — Shall said bill (with a brief description thereof) be approved, or not? and if a mnjority of the electors voting shall vote to approve said bill, it shall become a law ; other- wise not. 10. All grants of incorporation shall be subject to future acts of the Gen- eral Assembly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same ; and this provision shall be inserted in all acts of incorporation here- after granted. 11. The General Assembly shall exercise, as heretofore, a visitatorial power over corporations. Three bank commissioners shall be chosen at the June session for one year, to carry out the powers of the General As- sembly in this respect. And commissioners for the visitation of other cor- porations, as the General Assembly may deem expedient, shall be chosen at the June session, for the same term of office. 12. No city council, or other government, in any city, shall have power to vote any tax upon the inhabitants thereof, excepting the amount neces- sary to meet the ordinary public expenses in the same, without first submit- ting the question of an additional tax, or taxes, to the electors of said city; and a majority of all who vote shall determine the question. But no elec- tor shall be entitled to vote, in any city, upon any question of taxation thus submitted, unless he shall be qualified by the possession, in his own right, of ratable property to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars, and shall liave been assessed thereon to pay a city tax, and shall have paid the same, as provided in section fourth of article two. Nothing in that article shall be so construed as to prevent any elector from voting for town officers, and, in the city of Providence, and other cities, for mayor, aldermen, and mem- bers of the common council. 13. The General Assembly shall not pass any law, nor cause any act or thing to be done, in any way to disturb any of the owners or occupants of land in any territory now under the jurisdiction of any other State or States, the jurisdiction whereof may be ceded to, or decreed to belong to, this State; and the inhabitants of such territory shall continue in the full, quiet, and undisturbed enjoyment of their titles to the same, without interference in any way on the part of this State. 430 Rep. No. 546. ARTICLE X. Of elections. 1. The election of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of stale, general treasurer, attorney general, and also of senators and representatives to the General Assembly, and of sheriffs of the counties, shall be held on the third Wednesday of April annually. 2. The names of the persons voted (or as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney general, and sheriffs of the respective counties, shall be put upon one ticket ; and the tickets shall be deposited by the electors in a box by themselves. The names of the per- sons voted for as senators and as representatives shall be put upon separate tickets, and the tickets shall be deposited in separate boxes. The polls for all the officers named in this section shall be opened ai«the same time. 3. All the votes given for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney general, sheriffs, and also for senators, shall remain in the ballot-boxes till the polls be closed. These votes shall then, in open town and ward meetings, and in the presence of at least ten quali- fied voters, be taken out and sealed up, in separate envelopes, by the moder- ators and town clerks, and by the wardens and ward clerks, who shall cer- tify the same, and forthwith deliver or send them to the Secretary of Slate, whose duty it shall be securely to keep the same, and to deliver the votes for State officers and sheriffs to the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, after the House shall be organized, at the June session of the General Assembly. The votes last named shall, without delay, be opened, counted, and declared, in such manner as the House of Representatives shall direct ; and the oath of office shall be administered to the persons who shall be de- clared to be elected, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in the presence of the House : provided that the sheriffs may take their engage- ment before a Senator, judge, or justice of the peace. The votes for Sena- tors shall be counted by the Governor and Secretary of State within seven days from the day of election ; and the Governor shall give certificates to the Senators who are elected. 4. The boxes containing the votes for representatives to the General As- sembly in the several towns shall not be opened till the polls for representa- tives are declared to be closed. The votes shall then be counted by the moderator and clerk, who shall announce the result, and give certificates to the person selected. If there be no election, or not an election of the whole number of representatives to which the town is entitled, the polls for representatives may be re-opened, and the like proceedings shall be had, until an election shall take place: provided, however, that an adjournment of the election may be made to a time not exceeding seven days from the first meeting. 5. In the city of Providence, and other cities, the polls for representatives shall be kept open during the whole time of voting for the day ; and the votes in the several wards shall be sealed up, at the close of the meeting, by the wardens and ward clerks, in the presence of at least ten qualified electors, and delivered to the city clerks. The mayor and aldermen of said city or cities shall proceed to count said votes within two days from the day of election ; and if no election, or an election of only a portion of the representatives whom the representative districts are entitled to elect, shall have taken place, the mayor and aldermen shall order a new election to be Rep. No. 546. 431 held, not more than ten days from the day of the first election ; and so on, till the election of representatives shall be completed. Certificates of elec- tion shall be furnished to the persons chosen, by the city clerks. 6. If there be no choice of a senator or senators at the annual election, the governor shall issue his warrant to the town and ward clerks of the several towns and cities in the senatorial district or districts that may have failed to elect, requiring them to open town or ward meetings for another election, on a day not more than fifteen days beyond the time of counting the votes for senators. If, on the second trial, there shall be no choice of a senator or senators, the Govert]or shall certify the result to the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and the House of Representatives, and as many senators as shall have been chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a senator or senators, from the two candidates who may receive the highest nimiber of votes in each district. 7. if there be no choice of Governor at the annual election, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall issue his warrant to the clerks of the several towns and cities, requiring them to notify town and ward meet- ings for another election, on a day to be named by him, not more than thirty nor less than twenty days beyond the time of receiving the report of the committee of the House of Representatives who shall count the votes for Governor. If on this second trial there shall be no choice of a Gov- ernor, the two Houses of the General Assembly shall, at their next session, in joint committee, elect a Governor from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, to hold his office for the remainder of the political year, and until his successor be duly qualified. 8. If there be no choice of Governor and iiieutenant Governor at the annual election, the same proceedings for the choice of a Lieutenant Gov- ernor shall be had as are directed in the preceding section : provided, that the second trial for the election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be on the same day : and also provided, that, if the Governor shall be chosen at the annual election, and the Lieutenant Governor shall not be chosen, then the last named officer shall be elected in joint committee of the two Houses, from the two candidates having the highest number of votes, without a farther appeal to the electors. The Lieutenant Governor, elected as is provided in tins section, shall liold his office as is provided in the preceding section respecting the Governor. 9. All town, city, and ward meetings for the choice of representatives, justices of the peace, sheriffs, senators. State officers, representatives to Con- gress, and electors of President and Vice President, shall be notified by the town, city, and ward clerks, at least seven days before the same are held. 10. In all elections held by the people under this constitution, a majority of all the electors voting shall be necessary to the choice of the person or persons voted for. 11. The oath, or a^irmation, to be taken by aU the officers named in this article shall be the following: You, being elected to the place (of gover- nor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney general, or to the places of senators or representatives, or to the office of sher- iff or justice of the peace,) do solemnly swear, or severally solemnly swear, or affirm, that you will be true and faithful to the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and that you will support the constitution thereof; that you will support the constitution of the United States; and that you will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of your afore- 432 Rep. No. 546. said office, to the best of your abilities and understanding: so help you God ! or, this affirmation you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury. ARTICLE XI. Of the Judiciary. 1. The judicial power of tiiis State shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, as the Legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish : and the jurisdiction of the supreme and of all other courts may, from time to time, be regulated by the General Assembly. 2. Chancery powers may be conferred on the supreme court ; but no other court exercising chancery powers shall be established in this State, except as is now provided by law. 3. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected in joint com- mittee of the two Houses, to hold their offices for one year, and until their places be declared vacant by a resolution to that effect, which shall be voted for by a majority of all the members elected to the House in which it may originate, and be concurred in by the same vote of the other House, without revision by the Governor. Such resolution shall not be entertained at any other than the annual session for the election of public officers; and, m default of the passage thereof at the said session, the judge, or judges, shall hold his or their place or places for another year. But a judge of any court shall be removable from office, if, upon impeachment, he shall be found guilty of any official misdemeanor. 4. In case of vacancy by the death, resignation, refusal, or inability to serve, or removal from the State, of a judge of any court, his place may be filled by the joint committee, until the next annual election ; when, if elect- ed, he shall hold his office as herein provided. 5. The justices of the supreme court shall receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 6. The judges of the courts inferior to the supreme court shall be annu- ally elected in joint committee of the two Houses, except as herein pro- vided. 7. There shall be annually elected by each town, and by the several wards in the city of Providence, a sufficient number of justices of the peace, or wardens resident tlierein, with such jurisdiction as the General Assembly may prescribe. And said justices or wardens (except in the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown) shall be commissioned by the Governor. 8. The General Assembly may provide that justices of the peace, who are not re-elected, may hold their offices for a time not exceeding ten days beyond the day of the annual election of these officers. 9. The courts of probate in this State, except the supreme court, shall re- main as at present established by law, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. ARTICLE XII. Of education. 1. All moneys which now are, or may hereafter be, appropriated, by the Rep. No. 546. 4B3 ?inthority of the State, to public education, shall be securely invested, and remaitj a perpetual fund for the maintenance of free schools in this State ; and the General Assembly are proliibited from diverting said moneys or fund (rom this use, and from borrowmg, appropriating, or using the same, or any part thereof, lor any other purpose, or under any pretence whatso- ever. But the income derived from said moneys or fund shall be annually paid over, by the general treasurer, to the towns and cities of the State, for the support of said schools, in equitable proportions : provided, however, that a portion of said income may, in the discretion of the General Assem- bly, be added to the principal of said fund, 2. The several towns and cities shall faithfully devote their portions of said annual distribution to the support of free schools ; and, in defiiult there- of, shall forfeit their shares of the same to the increase of the fund. 3. All charitable donations for the support of free schools, and other pur- poses of public education, shall be received by the General Assembly, and invested and applied agreeably to the terms prescribed by the donors : pro- vided the same be not inconsistent with the constitution, or with sound pub- , lie policy ; in which case, the donation shall not be received. ARTICLE XIII. Amendmejits. The General Assembly may propose amendments to this constitution by the vote of a majority of all the members elected to each House. Such propositions shall be published in the newspapers of the State ; and printed copies of said propositions shall be sent by tlie Secretary of State, with the names of all the ujemliers who shall have voted thereon, with the yeas and nays, to all the town and city clerks in the State ; and the said propositions shall be by said clerks inserted in the notices, by them issued, for warning the next annual town and ward meetings in April, and the town and ward clerks shall read said propositions to the electors when thus assenibled, with the names of all the Representatives and Senators who shall have voted' thereon, with the yeas and nays, before the election of Representatives and= Senators shall be had. If a majority of all the members elected at said annual meetings, present in each House, shall approve any proposition thus made, the same shall be published, as before provided, and then sent to the- electors in the mode provided in the act of approval; and, if then approved by a majority of the electors who shall vote in town and ward meetings, to be specially convened for that purpose, it shall become a part of the con- stitulion of the State. ARTICLE XIV. Of the adoptioyi of the constitution. 1. This constitution shall be submitted to the people, for their ado^ption or rejection, on Monday, the 27th day of December next, and on the two succeeding days ; and all persons voting are requests d to deposite in the bal- lot boxes printed or written tickets in the following form : 1 am an Ameri* can citizen, of the a^e of twenty-one years, and have my permanent resi- dence, or home, in this State. I am (or not) quali^ed to vote under the ex- isting laws of this State. I vote for (or against) the constitution formed by 28 434 Rep. No. 546 the convention of the people, assembled at Providence, and which was pro- posed to tlie people by said convention on the 18th day of November, I84L 2. Every voter is reqnested to wiite his name on the face of his ticket ; and every person entitled to vote as aforesaid, who, from sickness or other causes, may be nnable to attend and vote in the lown or ward meetings as- sembled for voting upon said constitniion, on the days aforesaid, is requested to write his name upon a ticket, and to obtain the signature, upon the liack of the same, of a person who has given in his vote, as a witness thereto. And the moderator, or clerk, of any town or ward meeting convened for the purpose aforesaid, shall receive sncli vote, on cither of the three days next succeeding the three days before named for voting on said constitution. 3. The citizens of the several towns in this State, and of the several wards in the city of Providence, are requested to hold town and ward meet- ings on the days appointed, and for the purpose aforesaid ; and also to choose, in each town and ward, a moderator and clerk, to conduct said meetings, and receive the votes. . 4. The moderators and clerks are required to receive, and carefidly to keep, the votes of all persons qualified to vote as aforesaid, and to make registers of all the persons voting; which, together with the tickets given in by the voters, shall be sealed up, and returned by said moderators and clerks, with certificates signed and sealed by them, to the clerks of the con- vention of the people, to be by them safely deposited and kept, and laid be- fore said convention, to be counted and declared at their next adjourned meetino-, on the I2th day of January, 1842. 5. This constitution, except so ujuch thereof as relates to the election of the officers named in ihe sixth section of this article, shall, if adopted, go into operation on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty two. 6. So much of the constitution as relates to the election of the officers named in this section shall go into operation on the Monday before the third Wednesday of April next preceding. The first election under this constitution, of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Gen- eral Treasurer, and Attorney General, of Senators and Representatives, of slierifTs for the several counties, and of juslices of the peace for the several towns, and the wards of the city of Providence, shall take place on the Monday aforesaid. 7. The electors of the several towns and wards are authorized to assem- ble on- the day aforesaid, without being notified, as is provided in section 9th of article 10. and without the reg'ist ration required in section 7lh of ar- ticle 2, and to choose moderators and clerks, and proceed in the election of the officers named in the preceding section. 8. The votes given in at the first election for Representatives to the Gen- eral Assembly, and for justices of the peace, shall be counted by the modera- tors and clerks of the towns and wards chosen as aforesaid ; and certificates of election shall be furnished by them to the Representatives and justices of "the peace elected. 9. Said moderators and clerks shall seal up. certify, and transmit to the House of Representatives all the votes that miy be given in at said first election for Governor and State officers, and for Senators and sheriffs ; and the votes shall be counted as the House of Representatives may direct. 10. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, at the first ses- Rep. No. 546. 485 mox) of ilie same, qualify himself to administer the oath of office to [he mem- bers of the House, and to other officers, by taking and subscribing the same oath in the presence of the House. 1 1, The first session of the General Assembly shall be held in the city of Providence on the first Tuesday of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with such adjournments as may be necessary; but all other sessions shall be held as is provided in article 4 of this consti- tution. 12. If any of the Representatives, whom the towns or districts are entitled to choose at the first annual election aforesaid, shall not be then elected, or if their places shall become vacant during the year, the same proceedings may be had to complete the election, or to supply vacancies, as are directed concerning elections in the preceding sections of this article. 1.3. If there shall be no election of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, or of both of these officers, or of a Senator or Senators, at the first annual elec- tion, the House of Representatives, and as many Senators as are chosen, shall forthwith elect, in joint committee, a Governor or Lieutenant Gov- ernor, or both, or a Senator or Senators, to hold their offices for the re- mainder of the political year; and, in the case of the two officers first named, until their successors shall be duly qualified. 14. If the number of justices of the peace determined by the several towns and wards on the day of the first annual election shall not be then chosen, or if vacancies shall occur, the same proceedings shall be had as are provided for in this article in the case of a non election of Representatives and Senators, or of vacancies in iheir offices. The justices of the peace thus elected shall hold office for the remainder of the political year, or until the second annual election of justices of the peace, to be held on such day as may be prescribed by the General Assembly. 15. The justices of the peace elected m pursuance of the provisions of this article, may be engaged by the persons acting as moderators of the town and ward meetings, as herein provided; and said justices, after ob- taining their certificates of election, may discharge the diuies of their office, for a time not exceeding twenty days, without a commission from the Gov- ernor. 16. Nothing contained in this article, inconsistent with any of the pro- visions of other articles of the constitution, shall continue in force for a longer period than the first political year under the same. 17. The present government shall exercise all the powers with which jt is now clothed, until the said first Tuesday of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and until their successors, under this constitution, shall be duly elected and qualified. 18. All civil, judicial, and military officers now elected, or who shall hereafter be elected by the General Assembly, or other competent author- ity, before the said first '^ruesday of May, shall hold their offices, and may exercise their powers, until that time. 19. All laws and statutes, public and [irivate, now in force, and not re- pugnant to this constitution, shall continue in force until they expire by their own limitation, or are repealed by the General Assembly. All con- tracts, judgments, actions, and rights of action, shall be as valid as if this constitution had not been made. All debts contracted, and engagements en- tered into, before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the State as if tbis constitution had not been made. 436 Rep. No. 546. 20. The supreme court, established by this constitiition, shall have the same jurisdiction as the supreme judicial court at present esiabhshed ; and shall have jurisdiction of all causes v/hich may be appealed to, or pending in the same: and shall be lield at the same times and places in each county, as the present supreme judicial court, until the General Assembly shall otherwise prescribe. 21. The citizens of the town of New Shoreham shall be hereafter ex- empted from military duty, and the duty of serving as jurors in the courts of this Sti.te. The citizens of the town of Jamestown shall be forever here- after exempted from military field duty. 22. The General Assembly shall, at their first session after the adoption of this constitution, propose to the electors the question, whether the word "white," in the first line of the first section of article 2 of the constitution, shall be stricken out. The question shall be voted upon at the succeeding annual election; and if a majority of the electors voting shall vote to strike out the word aforesaid, it shall be stricken from the constitution ; otherwise, not. If the word aforesaid shall be stricken out, section 3d of article 2 shall cease to be a pari of the constitution. 23. The president, vice presidents, and secretaries shall certify and sign this constitution, and cause the same to be published. Done in convention, at Providence, on the 18th day of November, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty one, and of American inde- pendence the sixty-sixth. JOSEPH JOSLIN, President of the Convention. WAGER WEEDEN, I yice Presidents SAMUEL H. WALES, ^ ^^^ce ^/esi«e«fs. Attest: William H. Smith, John S. Harris, Secretaries. No. 89.— (Lc.) Resolutions of the people's convention, declaring the adoption of the peo- fle's constitnlion. Whereas, by the return of the votes upon the constitution, proposed to the citizens of this State by this convention on the ISlh day of November 1841, it satisfactorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original and sovereign capacity, have ratified and adopted said constitution by a large majority ; and the will of the people, thus decisively made known, ought to be implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed : We do, therefore, resolve and declare that said constitution rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. And we do further resolve and declare, for ourselves, and in behalf of the people whom we represent, that we will establish said constitution, and sustain and defend the same by all necessary means. Resolved, That the officers of this convention make proclamation of the return of the votes upon the constitution; and that the same has been adopted, and has become the constitution of this State ; and that they cause said proclamation to be published "in the newspapers of the same. Rep No. 546. 437 Resolved, That a certified copy of the report of the committee appointed to count tlie votes upon the constitution, and of these resohuiot}s, and of the constitution, be sent to his excellency the Governor, with a request that. he communicate the same to the two Houses of the General Assembly. The undersigned, who were appointed on the 12tli day of January, 1842, a committee of the people's convention, to examine and count the votes upon the constitution proposed to the people by said convention, on the 18th day of November last, which said votes were given in on the 27th day of December last, and on the five subsequent days, report that they have attended to the duty of their appointment, and they present to the coiiven- tion the followiflo- statement of the result: Providence — First ward - Second ward Third ward Fourth ward Fifth ward Sixth ward Smilhfield Scituate Gloeester Cumberland Cranston Johnston North Providence* Foster Burrillville Newport Portsmouth New Shorehamt Jau)estown Middletown Tiverton Little Compton County of Providence. * - Freemen, Non-tVeemen 162 362 90 281 165 472 142 357 245 519 255 506 1,059 2,497 3S2 956 208 316 195 207 294 598 167 237 141 206 214 469 124 114 149 134 2,933 5,734 County of Newport 319 883 71 55 102 30 18 13 8 22 102 172 19 25 639 1,200 Total, 524 371 637- 499 764 761 3,556 1,338 524 402 892 404 347 (>83 238 283 8,667 ,202 126 132 31 30 274- 44 1,839 * The votes of five freemen and t)f ihree aon-freemen given in favor of the conslitution, wer« rejected (oi informaliiy of the return. . t Twcniy six additional voie> tor the constitution vv,ere given by twenty-two freemen and four nuii-frteuieD, of which no regular return was made. 438 Rep. No 546, County of Kent. • Freemen. Non-fieerae».. TotaL Warwick 309 591 900 East Green w ich - 50 85 135 West Greenwich - 17 45 62 Coventry 157 533 249 970 406 1,503 Comity of Bristol. Bristol • 152 214 366 Warren - 103 107 210 Barringlon 28 24 52 283 345 628 County of Washington. Westerly 107 144 251 North Kino^stown - 84 169 253 South Kings town - 138 137 275 Charlestown 64 36 100 Exeter - 52 82 134 Richmond 44 88 132 Hopkinton 83 79 572 735 RECAPITULATION OF THE COUNTIES, 162 1,307 Providence - 2,933 5,734 8,667 Newport 639 1,200 1.839 Washington 572 735 1,307 Kent - 533 970 1,503 Bristol - 28a 345 628 4,960 8,9S4 13,944 The whole number of males in this State, over the age of 21 years, as nearly as can be ascertained by the census of the United States for the year 1840, is 26,142. Deducting at a moderate computation 3,000 persons who are not citizens of the United States over the age of 21 years and per. manent residents, or who are excluded by being under guardianship, in- sane, or convict, and the remainder is 23,142, of whom a majority is 11,572. The constitution has received 873 votes more than one-half of all the adult males in the State, and 2,372 more than half of all those qualified to vote for said constitution by citizenship, age, and residence, as afore- said, and an actual majority of 4,746. Deduct from 23,142, the whole number who voted for the constitution, (viz: 13,941.) and the remainder is 9,198; of whom 9,146 did not vote, and 52 voted ag;iinst the constitution^ viz: In Smithfield 2; North Providence II; Tiverton 3; Little Oompton 17; Westerly I ; South Kingstown 10; Warwick 3 ; East Greenwich 6; and Warren L Rep. No. 546. 439 Of the persons who voted. 4,960 are qualified voters under the existino; iawsof the State. The greatest number of votes ever pohed by said voters was 8,622, at the presidential election in November, 1840; of this number, a majority of 1,298 have voted for the constiiution — making, also, as your committee beheve, a mnjurity of all the freemen of the State. The committee have found ah the returns of votes from the several towns and wards to have been reo;ularly made, and accompanied with lists of all the persons voting, which lists enumerate the qualified voters, and those who are not. Every voter has signed his name upon his ticket: and the committee believe that both the voting and the returns have been as regu- lar and accurate as at any election ever held in this State. A considerable number of votes were returned as having been given by freeholders who had not yet been aduiiited freemen; but they were, of course, counted with those of the non freemen. The committee report to the convention, as the result of their examina- tion and count of the votes, that the constitution proposed to the people by said convention on the 18ih day of November last, has been adopted by a large majority of the citizens over the age of 21 years, having their perma- nent residence in the State. William James, Chairman. John R. Waterman, Dutee J. Pearce, David Daniels, Oliver Cliace, jr., Robert R. Carr, Ariel Bidlou, Thomas W. Dorr, Samuel T, Hopkins, Alfred Reed, Will. (J. Barker, Abner Haskell, Alexander Allen, Willard Hazard, Providence, January 13, 1842. Welcome Ballou Sayles, Sylv. Himes, Israel Wilson, Jonathan Remington, Christ. Smith, Ehsha G. Smith, Samuel Luther, Erasmus D. Campbdl, Nathan Bardin, Joshua B. Rathbun, Nathan A. Brown. Wm. H. Smith, John S. Harris, Secretaries. No. 90.— (H 6.) AN ACT calling a convention of the people to frame a written cjnstiiution fur this State. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: Section I. The citizens of the several towns in tliis State, and of the city of Providence, are hereby requested to choose, at the semi annual town and ward meetings in August next, fir the election of representatives to the General Assembly, delegates to a convention to be held at Providence on the first Monday of November, 1841, to frame a written constitution of gov- ernment lor this State. Sec. 2. The delegates to said convention shall be apportioned to the towns and city aforesaid, as nearly as may be ia the ratio of one delegate to «very thousand inhabitants, as follows; Newport shall be entitled to elect 8 delegates. Portsmouth " " 2 " 440 Rep. No. 546. Middletown shall be entiiled to elect 1 delegate,, Tiverton » » 3 " Little Compton « » 1 u New Shoreham " u i a Jamestown " " I " Providence " « ]8 " North Providence " " 4 " Smithfield " " 9 " Cumberland " " 5 " Scituate " » 4 " Cranston " " 3 " Johnston " » 2 " Glocester » " 2 " Foster " " 2 " Burrillville " " 2 " South Kingstown " " 4 " Westerly " " 2 " North Kingstown " " 3 " Exeter " " 2 " Charlestown " " 1 " Hopkhiton " " 2 '' Richmond " '^ 1 " Warwick " i; 7 cc Coventry " " 3 '^ East Greenwich " " 2 '^ West Greenwich " " 1 " Bristol « « 3 '^ Warren " « 2 " Harrington " " 1 " In the city of Providence each ward shall be entitled to three delegates^ who shall be chosen by (he resident voters in the same ; and the niayor and aldermen of said city shall furnish separate certificates of election to the delegates of each ward respectively. Sec. 3. Any person who is entitled to vole luider this act, may be elected a delegate. Sec. 4. Every male inhabitant of this State, of the age of twenty-one years, who is a citizen of the United States, and who has resided in this State for two years, and in the town or city where he offers to vote for three months next previous to the day of town and ward meetings aforesaid, (persons insane, under guardianship, or convict excepted,) shall be entitled to vote in the choice of delegates, and upon the question whether the con- stitution submitted to the people shall be ratified or rejected. Sec. 5. Any person who shall be challenged on either of the occasions of voting as aforesaid, for want of any of the tpialifications of a voter pre- scribed in section 4, shall be examined on oath by the moderator or warden, and if he shall swear to his qualification or qualifications, he shall be ad- mitted to vote. Any person who shall commit perjury in falsely swearing to his qualification or qualifications as aforesaid, shall, on conviction by a competent court, be sentenced to the State penitentiary for a term not less than three months, nor more than one year. Sec. 6. The voters for delegates, and upon the proposed constitution^ and under this act, shall vote by ballot. They shall be required to write their names upon their ticketSj and they shall deposite their votes in close Rep. No. 546. 441 boxes, to be provided by the clerks for that purpose. It is hereby made the duty of the town clerks, and of the wardens in the city of Providence, to record in alphabetical lists the name of every voter, as he deposites his vote, and to return certified copies of said lists to the offices of the town cleiks, and of the city clerk of Providence, to be preserved on file. Every town clerk, and every warden, who shall neglect for five days to make such re- turn of the certified list of voters aforesaid, shall pay a fine of five hundred dollars, to be recovered by indictment, for the use of the State, before any competent court. Sec. 7. A majority of the whole number of delegates, whom all the towns and the city of Providence are entitled to choose, shall constitute a quorum, who may elect a president and secretaries, judge of the qualifica- tions of the members, and establish such rules of order, and direct such '■^l pfoceediijgcj as they think necessary; and every town or city which may omit to elect its delegates at said meetings in August, may elect at any time previous to the meeting of said convention. Sec. 8. The constitution agreed upon by said convention shall be sub- mitted to the voters qualified as aforesaid, in open town or ward meetings, to be held at such time as may be appointed by said convention. The said constitution shall be certified by the president and secretaries, and returned to the secretary of state, who shall forthwith distribute to the several town and city clerks, in due proportion, for the information of the citizens, thirty thousand printed copies thereof; and also forty thousand ballots, on one side of which shall be printed "Constitution framed by the convention held at Providence on the first Monday of November last ;" and on the other side, the word "approve" on half of the said ballots, and the word "reject" on the other half. Sec. 9. On the days of voting under this act, the polls shall be opened in every town, and in the city of Providence, at 10 o'clock, a. m.,and shall not be closed liefore sunset. Sec. 10. The ballots given for and against the constitution shall be sealed up in open town or ward meetings, by the clerks, in the presence of at least ten voters, and, with the lists of the name:5 of the voters, shall be returned to the General Assembly, at its next succeeding session ; and the General Assembly shall forthwitfi cause said ballots to be examined and counted. If the said constitution be approved by tlie majority of the citizens voting, it shall go into operation and efiect at such time as the convention shall have appointed. Sec. U. The members of the convention shall receive the same com- pensation as the members of the General Assembly, to be paid to them by the general treasurer on certificate of one of the secretaries; and a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars is hereby appropriated for defraying the ex- penses of the convention, to be paid by the general treasurer, according to the orders of said convention, certified by its president. Sec. 12. Tlie resolutions passed at the .Tanuary session, 1S41, requesting the •' freemen" to choose delegates to the convention therein, are hereby re- pealed. Endorsed — "An act calling a convention," not recommended. H. Y. CRANSTON, For I he Committee. JuxN'E 25, 181L— Rejected— 51 to 10. 442 ' Rep. No. 546. Mr. Atvvell, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom the above act was referred, reported the same, as a minority report, with the following amendments: "Strike ont 2d section, and substitute therefor the first resolution of the resolves of May, 1841." " In section 4th, line 5th, after the word 'excepted,' add the words 'and who shall have paid town or State taxes assessed on real or personal estate at any time durincr one year next before the time of his such voting.'" "In line 1, section 4, insert 'free white' after the first word 'every.'" "Add to section 12, the 2d and 3d resolutions on this subject, passed at the May session, 1841." True copies from the files of the House of Representatives. THOS. A. JENCKES, Clerk. No. 9l.-(l a, I 6.) Copy from the records of the House under date of May 7, 1841. "An act calling a convention of the people to frame a written constitution for this State. Introduced by Mr. Atwell. Read first time, and referred to judiciary committee." Under date of Friday^ June 25. "The morning was consumed in debate, mostly between Mr. Atwell and Mr. Ames, on the act (No. 44 May session) calling a convention of the peo- ple to frame a constitution, which was not concluded when the House ad- journed till 3 o'clock, p. m. " P. M. The discussion was resumed upon the act calling a convention, which was participated in by Mr. Ames and Mr. Atwell, and briefly by sev- eral others. The House was then called on the passage of the bill, when the ayes and noes stood as follows : " Jyes. — Messrs. Atvvell, Ballon, Cook, C. G. Greene, Randall, Baker, A. Church, jr., Gavit, Hall, C. Robinson.— 10. ^^ Noes. — Messrs. Ames, Arnold, Babcock, Barber, Bateman, Brayton, Brown, Burges. Burton, Chase, Childs, Church, S. Clarke, Cole, Crandell, Cranston, Drown, F. Greene, Holbridge, Kenyon, King, Lewis, Low, J. Man- chester, W. Manchester, Matliewson, Moss, Mowry, Newton, Pearce, Perry, Randolph, W. A. Robinson. Rose, Sands, Shaw, Slocum, Smith, Spencer, W. Spragup, A. Sprague, Stead, Taggart, Vaughn, E. Watson, jr., R. H. Watson, Weaver, Westcott, Whipple, Wilbour, Wilkinson. — 52. " So the bill was lost." A true copy from the records of the House of Representatives. • THOMAS A. JENCKES, Clerk. Rep. No. 543. * 443 ^o. 92 —(L a.) Copy of the records of the House of Represent liives, at their January ses- sion, 1842. Under date of Tuesday. January 11th, the following entry appeals: "A bill to alter the day of annual election, to dissolve the constitutional convention, and to adjourn the General Assembly in May sine die, was presented by Mr. Atwell,and read the first time. "February 5. — Indefinitely postponed." Under dafe of January 14. " Communication from the Governor, enclosing papers from the ' people's convention.' " February 5. — Indefinitely postponed." Under date of January 20, "Mr. Atwell called up his act presented at the beginning of the session. He moved its reference, together with all the papers communicated by the Governor, to a committee of three from each county, to examine the whole subject, and investigate the elections and their returns, (the results of which had been communicated to the House,) in order to learn if a majority of the freemen had voted. The di-bate la^^ted the whole morning. "P. M. 'I'he consideration of Mr. Aiwell's motion next came up. This was discussed by Messrs, Cranston, Spencer, Whipple, Robinson, J3urges, Randolph, and King, until o'clock, when the House adjourned," January 21. " Mr. Atwell called up the consideration of his motion, which was dis- cussed by Messrs. Clarke, Dixon, Bos; worth, and Howe, till after 12 o'clock, when the House adjourned. " P. M. Mr. At well's motion was then taken up, and debated by Messrs. Jackson and Atwell until ti o'clock, when the House adjourned," January 22. "Mr. Atwell's motion came up for consideration, and was debated by Messrs. Atwell, Spencer, Jackson, and Randolph, until past, 12 o'clock, when the House was called upon its passage, and it was rejected as follows : ".4ye5. — Me.ssrs. Atwell, W. S. Burges, Brayton, J. H. Clarke, Gavit, Keech, Rose, VV, Sprague, A. Sprague, Slocum, Thurston. — 11. " Noes. — The Speaker, Messrs.' Atwood, Arnold, Bosworth, Babcock, Browning, Baker, A. Brown, C. Brown, Barton, Barber, F, Burgess, jr., Cranston, S. Clarke, D. Clarke, Chase, A. Cimrch, jr., N. Church, Cook, Cole, Dixon, Danby, Durfee, Drown, Green, Hoxie, John Hazard, Jere- miah Hazard, Howe, King, Kenyon, Lawton, Low, J. Manchester, W. Man- chester, Mathewson, Mowry, Newton, Perry, Pearce, Randolph, Reynolds, Robinson, Randall, Spencer, Sands, Sherman, Smith, Teflt, 'i'aggart, Wat- son, Westcott, Whipple, Weaver, Wilkinson, Wood, Walling. — 57." 444 • Rep. No. 546. No. 93.— (L b.) Proposed act to change the day of the annual election^ (^*c. Whereas the people of this State have, by a large majority of the resident citizens of the same, of the age of twenty-one years, ratified and adopted the constitution of government for this State, vvliich was submitted to them by the conyention sitting at Providence on tlie 18th day of November hist: and Whereas the sovereign power of the State is vested in the people thereof, and their will is the paramount law of the State, and, when made known, should be implicitly obeyed by the representatives and servants o^the peo- ple : therefore, Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : 1st. So much of the election law of this State as provides that an election of State officers and representatives shall be had on the third Wednesday of April is hereby repealed, in order that said elections may take place accord- ing to Ihe terms and provisions of the constitution of the people aforesaid. 2d. The resolutions passed at the January and June sessions of the last year, for the call of a convention of the qualified freeholders of the State to form a constitution, are hereby repealed, exceptinii so much thereof as pro- vides for the pay of the delegates for their past attendance. The clerks of said convention are requested to issue certificates to the members for said attendance ; and the president of the same is requested to certify all the bills of expenses of said convention to an amount not exceeding the sum appro- priated by the Assembly for the use of said convention. The foregoing is endorsed as follows : "Act to change the day of annual election, dissolve the constitutional convention, and adjourn sine die. "House of Reprksentatives, January 11, 1842. — Read first time be- fore the Senate was organized. "House of Representatives, January 14, 1842. — Read first time. "February 5, lb42. — Indefinitely postponed. "J. S. P., aer/i-." A true copy from the files and records of the House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island. THOMAS A. JENCKES, Clerk. February 15, 1844. No. 94.— (a a.) Copy of an act passed by the General Assembly at the June session, 1842. AN ACT to provide for calling a convention of the people of this Slate for the purpose of forming a new constitution or form of government for the people thereof Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. The people of the several towns in this Slate and of the city of Providence, qualified to vote as hereinafter provided, are hereby requested at the town or ward meetings, holden on the last Tuesday of August next, Rep. No. 546. 445 to choose so many delegates as they will be severally entitleti to accordina;^ lo the provisions of this act, to attend a convention to be holden at New- port on the second Monday of September next, to frame a new constitution for this State, either in whole or in part, with full powers for that purpose. Sec. 2. A majority of the whole number of delegates, which all the towns and city of Providence are entitled to elect, shall constitute a quorum, who may elect a president, secretaries, and other officers, judge of the election and qualification of members, punish contempts, and establish such rules and proceedings as they may deem proper. Said convention may adjourn to any place they may think proper. Any town or city which may fail to elect its delegates at the time prescribed, may choose them at any time be- fore the meeting of the convention, and vacancies from resignation, or otherwise, may be filled at any time by a new election. Sec. 3. The constitution, or articles, agreed upon by ihe convention, shall be submitted to those qnalifii^d to vote as hereinafter provided, in open town or ward meetings, to be held on such day or days, and in such time and manner as the convention shall direct. The constitution, or articles, shall be certified by the president and secretaries, and with the journal and papers of the convention deposited in the office of the secretary of state, who shall immediately distribute to tlie several town and city clerks, in due pro- portion, five thousand printed copies of the constitution, or articles, in pam- phlet form, and also thirty thousand ballots, on one side of which shall be printed " (Constitution, or articles, proposed by the convention holden at iNewport, on the second Monday of September, A. D. 1842;" and on the other side thereof shall be written, or printed, the word '•' adopt" on one- half of them, and the word '• reject" on the other half. He shall also cause said constitution, or articles, to be published in any other manner the con- vention may prescribe. Sec. 4. At said town or ward meetings, every person voting shall have his name written on the back of liis ballot ; and the ballots shall be sealed up in open town or ward meeting by the clerks, and, with lists of the voters, be returned to the General Assembly at the next session thereof, who shall cause the votes to be examined and counted ; and if said constitution, or articles, be adopted by a majority of the persons having a right to vote, the same shall go into operation at such time or times, and in such manner, as shall be appointed by the convention. Sec. 5. The delegates to said convention shall be elected upon a basis of population according to the census of 1810, as follows : Every town of not more than 3,0U0 inhabitants may elect two delegates ; over 3,000, and not over 6,000, three delegates ; over 6,000, and not over 10,000, four delegates ; over 10,000, and not over 15,000, five delegates ; and over 15,000, six delegates. Sec. 6. In the choice of delegates to said convention, the following de- scription of persons shall be admitted to vote : All those who are qualified to vote for general officers by existing laws, and all native male citizens of the United States, (except Narragansett Indian.*?, convicts, paupers, persons under guardianship and noti compos metitis,) who are of the age of twenty- one years and upwards, and who shall have had their permanent residence, or home, within this State for the period of three years next preceding their voting, and in the town or city wherein they offer to vote for the period of one year next preceding such voting, and who shall have had their names recorded with the town or city clerk of the town or city in which they shall 446 Rep. No. 546. oiFer to vote, in proper books to be kept by said town or city clerks for that piirjiose, at least ten days before the day of voting. In voting upon the adoption, or rejection, of said constitution or articles, in addition to those who are qnahfied to vote for general officers by the existing laws, all those shall be admitted to vote who will be qualified to vole lor general officers under the provisions of said constifuuon. or articles, if in force ; but this provision shall not be construed to give to any person a riyht to vole at any town or ward meeting held under and by virtue of tins act, upon any other question or questions than the questions herein specifically named. Sec. 7. The delegates shall receive the same compensation for attend- ance as members of the Genercl Assembly, payable upon the certificate of the secretary. Skc. 8. A sum not exceeding five hundred dollars is hereby appropri- ated for defraying the expenses of said convention, to be paid out of the treasury to the order of the president thereof. Sec. 9* It shall be the duty of the town, city, and ward clerks to warn, according to law, the meetings hereby appointed, and those which may be ordered by said convention. Sec. 10. Any fourteen members of the convention, including the presi- dent, if there be one, shall have full power and authority to compel the at- tendance of absent members. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of the county where the convention shall be in session, to attend said convention and execute the orders thereof. Sec. U. Whenever, in any town or ward meeting holden under this act, any dispute shall arise as to any person's residence, or other qualifica- tions, the moderator, or warden, or person presiding in said meetings, shall have authority to examine under oath the person offering to vote, and other persons who may be present, respecting the same, and decide upon his qual- ifications, subject to review by the General Assembly. No. 95.— (a a.) Copy of an act to amend the act calling a convention to frame a fiew con- stitution, passed at the June session, 1844. AN ACT to amend " An act to provide for calling a convention of the people of this State, for the purpose of forming a new constitution or form of government for ihe people ihere- ol," passed at June session, A. D. 1842. Whereas the convention which assembled at Newport on the second Monday of September last, in pursuance of the provisions of the act afore- said, have requested this General Assembly to declare the True intent and construction of a portion of the fourth section of said act : Therefore, Be it enacted by the General Assembly,, as follows : If the constitution or articles that may be framed and submitted to the people, under the pro- visions of said act, be adopted by a majority of the persons having a right to vote, and actually voting upon the question of adopting the same, the said constitution or articles shall become the supreme law of the State, and shall go into operation at such time or times, and in such manner, as shall be appointed by said convention. The foregoing is a copy of an act from the published schedule of the October session, A. D. 1842, of the General Asse.Tibly. Rep. No. 546. 4 47 No. 96.~(R.) Proceedings of the charter assembly^ rfjectiiig Mr. AtweWs bill proposing the people'' s constitution for adoption or rejection. From (he records of the House of Representatives, at their March session, 1842, under date of March 30, is the following entry : " An act snbmittinir to the people of this State a constitution, or written form of government, for their adoption or rejection." Offered by Mr. Atwell, and read first time. Under date of April 1, Mr. Atwell called up his bill, proposing the " peo- ple's constiuuion," for adoption or rejection. The House was called upon its passage as follows : Ayes — Atwell, W. S. Bnrges, Garrett — 3. Noes — The Speaker, Anthony, Atwood, Arnold, Bosworth, Brayton Browning, Bai"own and Townsend, of the county of Newport; Himes and Arnold, of the county of Washington ; Tillinghast,'; Holley, and Newman, of the county of Kent; and Boswotlh and E. G. i Smith, of the county of Bristol, be a committee to count the votes for governor, lieutetiant governor, secretary of state, general treasurer, attorney general, sheiifls, and senators, and report the result. The towns and representative districts were called, to return the votes of the electors for governor, &c., when no returns were made by the following towns : Portsmouth, Hopkuifon, South Kingstown, Little Compton, Middle- town, and Jamestown. Said votes were delivered to the aforesaid com- inittee to count and report. j 'j'he House took a recess for one hour. j At three o'clock, P. M., the Speaker resumed the chair. Gilbert Chace, esq., a representative from the town of Newport, appeared,; produced his credentials, and was qualified by the Speaker. i, Mr. Simmons, on behalf of the committee appointed to courit the votes,'! made the following report, which was received. House op Representatives, May 3, 1842. The committee to whom was referred the couruing of the votes given at the election under the constiiution, April IS, 1842, for governor, lieutenant governor, senators, secretary of state, general treasurer, and attorney gen- eral, and also the votes for sherifis in the several counties, respectfully report : That the whole number of votes given in for governor is 6,359; that of this number 0,359 were given in for Thomas W. Dorr, of Providence, and jhe is therefore elected, > I Rep, No. 546. 45^ That the whole number of votes given in for lieutenant £fovernor is 6,361; that of this number 0,301 were given in for Amasa Eddy, jr., of Glocester, and he is therefore elected. That the whole number of votes given in for secretary of state is 0,300 ;. that of this number 0,300 were given in for William H. Smith, of Provi- dence, and he is therefore elected. That the whole number of votes given in for attorney genernl is 6,360; that of this number 0,300 were given in for .lonah Titus, of Scituate, and he is tlierefore elected. That the whole number of votes given in for general treasurer is 0,300 ; that of this number Joseph Jotlin, of Newport, received 0,300, and is tliere- fore eL'-cted. That in the first senatorial district, the whole number of votes given irt for senator is 820; that of this number 820 are for Eli Brown, of Provi- dence, and he is therefore elected. That in the second senatorial district, the whole number of votes givers in tor senator is 1.315 ; that of this number 1.315 are for Hezekiah Willard, of Providence, ajid he is therefore elected. That in the third senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 052; that of this number .lohn Paine received 052, and is therefore elecied. That in the fourth senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 907; of which Abner Flaskell received 907, and is therefore ■elected. That in the fifih senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 850; of which Solomon Smitli received 850, and is therefore elected. That in the sixth senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 048 : of which 048 are for Benjamin Nichols, and he is there- fore elected. Thnt in the seventh senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 237 ; of which 237 are for .lohn Wood, of Coventry, and he is therefore elected. That in the eighth senatorial district the whole number of votes given in for senator is 324; of which Benjamin Chace received 324, and is therefore elected. That in the ninth senatorial district 119 votes were given in for sena- tor ; of which 119 are for John B. Cook, and he is therefore elected. That in the tenth senatorial district 234 votes were given in for senator; of which Joseph Spink received 234 voles, and is therefore elected. , That in the eleventh senatorial district 135 votes were given in for sen- ator ; of which 135 were for William James, and he is iheref)re elecied. That in the twelfth senatorial district 210 votes were given in for sena- tor ; of which Christopher Smith received 210, and is theref.)re elected. That in Providence county the whole number of votes given in for sheriff is 4,718; that of this number 4,717 are for Burrington Anthony, and he is therefore elected. That in Newport county the whole number of votes given in for sheriff is 444 ; all for Joshua B. Ralhbone, and he is therefore elected. That in Bristol county the whole number of votes given in for sheriff is 210; all for Nathan Bardin, and he is therefore elected. 454 Rep. No. 546. That in Kent county the whole number of votes given in for sheriff is <)13 ; all for Hazard Carder, and he is therefore elt^cted. That in Washinijton county the whole number of votes given in for sheriff is 307; all for Benjamin Bleviu, and he is therefore elected. That no votes were received in season to be counted by the committee from the towns of Hopkinion, Little Compton, Jamestown, New Shore- ham, and Portsmouth ; in the two last, towns votes were polled, but not returned to the House of Represenaiives. RespectfuUv submitted. PRAjNKLIN cooley, Por the committee. Vottd, That Messrs. Pearce, B. Arnold, jr., and Mawney, be a committee to inform the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, general treasurer, and the senators elect, of their election, and learn of them at what time they will be ready to take the oath of office. Mr. Pearce, from the committee appointed to inform the general officers and senators of their election, made report : That they had waited upon the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and senators Brown, Willard", Haskell, Paine, S. Smith, Nichols, Chace, James, and Smith, and that they had severally signified the acceptance of their respective offices, and would immediately be engaged by oath ; that the general treasurer was not present, and John Wood of the seventh district, Joseph Spink of the tenth district, and John B. Cooke of the nhilh district, were not present, and it is said had declined to serve. The governor, Thomas W. Dorr; the lieutenant governor, Amasa Eddy, jr.; William H. Smith, secretary of state ; Jonah 'Pitus, attorney general, came into the house and severally took the oath prescribed in the constitu- tion, administered by the Speaker in the presence of the House. Eli Brown, senator of the first district ; Hezekiah VVillard, senator of the second district ; John Paine, senator of the third district ; Abiier Haskell, senator of the fourth district ; Solomon Smith, senator of the fifth district ; Benjamin Nichols, senator of the sixth district ; Benjamin Chace, senator of the eighth district; William James, senator of the eleventh district; Christopher Smiih, senator of the twelfth district, severally came into the house and took the oath of office prescribed in the constitution, administered by the Speaker in the presence of the governor, lieutenant governor, and of the House. Votedy That Messrs. Simmons and Pearce be a committee to wait upon the governor, wiih such others us the Senate may add, and inquire whetl)er he has any communication to make to the General Assembly. The vote came down concurred, with the addition of Eli Brown, senator of the first district, to said committee. Mr. Pearce, from the committee to ask the governor if he has any com- munication to make to the General Assembly, reported : That the governor would forthwith, in person, meet the two houses, and communicate a mes- sage. The two houses having joined, the governor, in person, communicated his message. : The governor, lieutenant governor, and senate returned from the house. Mr. Simmons oftered a set of rules, which were read and voted to be laid on the table. Rep. No. 546. 455 Mr. Simmons, of Providence, oftered the following resoliuions, to wit: Resolved. That the governor be requested to inform the President of the United ^States that the government of this State has been duly elected and organized under ihe constitution of the same, and that the General Assem bly are now in session and proceeding to discharge their duties according to the provisions of said constitution. Resolved^ That tlie governor be requested to n)aive the same communi- cation to the president of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Rep- resentatives, to be hiid before the two Houses ot the Congress of the United States. Resolved, That the governor be requested to make the same communi- cation to t[ie governors of the several States, to be laid before the respective legislatures. The resolutions above were read twice and voted unanimously, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Pearce offered the following resolution, to wit : Resolved, That the governor be requested to make known, by proclama- tion to the people of this Slate, that the government under the constitution thereof has been duly organized, and calling upon all persons, both civil and military, to conform themselves to said constitution and to the laws enacted under the same, and to all other jurisdiction and authority under and by virtue of ihe same. Read twice and voted to pass unanimously, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Brown, of Glocester, moved that when this House adjourn, it will adjourn to meet at this place at 9 o'clock, a. m.: and that, in the meantime, the sheriff be directed to prepare the State house for the reception of this House. The motion, after debate, was adopted. Mr. Sinimons, of Providence, offered the fallowing act, to wit : Be it enacted by the (general Assembly as follows : The act entitled "An act in relation to ofiences against the sovereign power of the State," passed at the March adjourned session of the General Assembly, 1842, is hereby repealed. Read once ; and, on the second reading, Mr. Olriey, of Cranston, moved to lay the bill on the table until to-morrow. The motion wns negatived without a count. The bill passed as an act, and was sent up tor concurrence. The secretary of state returned the resolutions voted by this House to inform the President, Congress, (fcc, of our organization, duly concurred in by the Senate and approved by the governor. The secretary of state also returned a resolution voted by this House to request the governor to issue his proclamation, &c., duly concurred in by the Senate and approved by the governor. The secretary of state also returned the bill repealing the act entitled "An act in relation to ofiences against the sovereign power of the State," duly concurred in and approved by the governor. The house adjourned until o'clock tomorrow morning. Attest : J. S. HARRIS, Clerk. 456 Rep. No. 546. Wednesday Morning, May 4, 1812. The House met tit 9 o'clock, a. m. The Speaker in the chair. The House is called to order. The roll is called; and a quorum is pres- ent. Mr. Olney, of Cranston, addressed a note to the Speaker asking to be ex- cused IVom attending in his seat to day, in consequence of severe sickness in his family. Voted to excuse Mr. Olney. Mr. Wales, of Providence, offered the followinfj resolution, to wit: Resolved by this General Assefnblt/ {'he Senate concurring with the House of R('presentatu)es therein) That a committee of be appointed to proceed to Newport, and to request a conference with a similar commit- tee of the General Assembly now convened at that place, for the immediate and honorable adjustment of the controversy now existing in this State. This resolution was read ; and. after debate, was^ on motion, voted to be laid on the table. Mr. Jencks, of Cumberland, offered a bill entitled "An act providing for the registration of electors, and directing the manner of voting by ballot in town and ward meetngs." Read ; and, on motion, it is voted to take said bill up and pass upon it by seciions. The first section is read, and passed to be enacted. The second section is read, and passed to be enacted. The third section is read, and passed to be enacted. The fourth section is read, amended, and passed to be enacted. '^J^'he fifth section is read, amended, and passed to be enacted. The sixth section is read, and blanks are filled, and passed to be enacted. The seventh, eighth, and ninth sections are read, and passed to be en- acted. '^rhe bill, as engrossed, passed to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Brown, of Glocesler, moved a bill entitled "An act to revive the charter of Glocester and Burrillvile Greene Artillery." The above bill was read twice, and passed to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Pearce presented a bill entitled "An act to repeal an act entitled 'An act in amendment of ail act entitled 'An act to prevent routs, riots, and tu- multuous assemblies, and the evil consequences thereof,' " passed by the Gen- eral Assembly at their April session, 1842. Read twice; and, after debate, the same passed to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. Joseph Joslin, the general treasurer elect, came into the House, and having signified his acceptance of said office, took the oath in the words and form prescribed by the constitution, administered in the presence of the House. Voted, on motion of Mr. Pearce, that Messrs. Simmons, Brown of Glo- cester, Gavitt, Cory, HoUey, and Bosworlh, be a committee to report a bill fixing the pay of members of both houses at one dollar per day. Mr. Pearce presented a bill entitled "An act to repeal certain resolutions passed by the General Assembly at their April session, 1842." The reso- * lutions to authorize the governor to preserve the public property, to recall Rep. No. 546. . 457 any arms loaned by the General Assenribly, to authorize liie governor to fill vacancies in the offices of the militia, and the appointment of a board of connsellors, were read, and passed to be enacted, and sent up for concur- rence. On motion, the rules of the House were taken up, and being read under each head, were debated, amended, and passed, as they appear on the files of the House. Mr. Simmons, of Providence, from the committee on the compensation of the members of the General Assembly, reports the followmg bill, to wit: Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follou's. to leit : Section 1. T?he several members of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives shall hereafter receive, as a compensation for their services, the .sum of one dollar for each day in which they shall be in actual attendance during any session of the Assembly. Sec. 2. The several members of the Senate and House of Representa- tives shall be entitled to receive the sum of ten cents per mile, each way, for their travel, in attending at each session. The above bill is read, debated, and passed to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. Voted that Messrs. Arnold of Providence county, Arnold of Washing- ton county, Pearce of JNewport county, Bosworth of Bristol county, and Newman of Kent county, be a committee to consider to what time it is proper for the Assembly to adjourn. AHj^ourned until 2 o'clock, p. m. J. S. HAPvKlS, Clerk. AFTERNOON .SESSION. The House met at 2 o'clock, p. m. The Speaker in the chair. Upon a call of the roll, a quorum is present. Mr. Gavitt offered the following- joint resolution, to wit: Resolved by the House of Representatives, {the Senate concurritig- herein,) That Messrs. Simmons of Providence, and Mowry of Smithfield, be a committee to demand, receive, and transfer the records, books, and papers, appertaining to the office of the secretary of slate, and transfer the same from Henry Bowen, late secretarv of state, to his successor, William H. Smith. Voted, and sent up for concurrence. The committee on the time to which the legislature should adjourn, re- port by Mr. Arnold, and recommend that the General Assembly hold an adjourned session on the first Monday of July. Report accepted ; and it is voted, that when this General Assembly adjourn, (the Senate concurring herein,) it will meet again on the first Monday in .Inly next. Resolutions drawn and sent up. Mr. Pearce offered the f)llowing resolutions, to wit : Resolved, That the governor be further requested to call on all persons who are, or may become, indebted to the State, to make payment to the duly appointed officers and agents, under the provisions of said consti- tution ; and to make known to all persons that no payment to any other officers or agents than those aforesaid will be considered as a discharge of their obligations. Resolved, That the governor be requested to call on all persons who are 458 Rep. No. 546. in possession, or have charge of any of the public property, to deliver the possession or charge of said property 1o the authorities and officers acting under the constitution and laws of the State. Read and passed, and sont up for concurrence. The act repealing the amendment to the riot act, passed this morning, came down concurred in by the Senate, and approved by the governor. The act providing for the registration, &c., of voters, came down with an amendment, changing the time, &,c., of registry. Voted to concur with the Senate in the amendment. On motion, it is voted that the two Houses join in committee to proceed upon the election of officers. Mr. Brown of Glocester moved the following bill, to wit: J5e it cnactid by the General Assembly as folloivs: Section 1. If any person or persons, or body corporate, from whom any sum or sums of money may become due and payable to the general treas- urer of this State, elected under the provisions of the constitution of this State, as adopted by the people thereof, accordmg to the provisions of the act to which this is in addition, or of other acts in addition or amendment to the same, should refuse or neglect to pay said sum or sums of money as by law directed, he or they so refusing and neglecting shall be liable to pay interest for the retainer of such sum or sums of money, at and after the rate of one per cent, of the amount due, for each month's neglect and refusal as aforesaid. Sec. 2. If any person or persons, or body corporate, holding in their possession any other money or property whatsoever belonging to the State, shall refuse to pay over and deliver the same to any officer or agent of the State duly authorized to receive the same, after being duly required thereto, he or they so relusing shall be liable to be sued therefor in any court of competent jurii-diction, in the name of the general treasurer aforesaid ; and on rendition of judgment in any such case against the defendant or defend- ants, the court before whom such judgment may be rendered shall assess damages thereon at double the amount of the money or value of the prop- erty found due, with costs. Read, and passed to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. The act reviving the charter of the Greene Artillery came down con- curred, and approved by the governor. The act repealing the act establishing volunteer police companies in Providence, came down concurred, and approved by the governor. The act repealing certain resolutions passed in April last, investing the governor with great power, and appointing his council, came down con- curred, and approved by the governor. , The two houses having joined, on motion, his honor the lieutenant gov- ernor was called to preside. The elections of all civil officers were postponed until the next session of the General Assembly. Several military officers were appointed, the record of which will appear on the secretary's minutes. The two houses separated. The act submitted to enable the governor to appoint and commission officers, and to orijanize the militia, was taken up, debated, and committed to Mr. Thrown of Glocester. Mr. Brown made report, that the act referred to him, giving the governor Rep. No. 546. 459 certain power in appointinof and organizing the militin, is unconstiiutional, and asks to be discharged from the further consideration of the same. Voted to discharge the committee, and the act is hud on the table. Mr. Brown offered the following resolution, to wit: Resolved. That the thanks of this House are due to their constituents, civil and military, for the zeal they have displayed, and efficient aid ren- dered, in assisting tliis General Assembly iu organizing the government under the constitution. Voted unanimously. Mr. Simmons offers a resolution authorizing the governor to sand com- missioners to Washington, to make known to the President our position, &c. Voted that the same be laid upon the table. Mr. Simmons moved the following resolution, viz: Resolved by the House of Representatives, [the Senate concurring here- in.) That Messrs. Pearce and Chace be a committee to demand, receive, and transfer all the moneys, bonds, securities, records, books and papers, and every other article appertaining to the office of the general treasurer of this State, from Stephen Cahoone, late treasurer, to Joseph Joslin, his successor. Voted, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Wales moved the following act, to wit : Be it e^iactedby the (ren.eral Assembly as follows : Section 1. Tlie charter of the United ludependent Company of Volun- teers, of the city of Providence, be so amended as that said company is au- thorized to receive and enrol additional members to the number of two hun- dred, exclusive of commissioned officers. Voted to be enacted, and sent to the Senate for concurrence. Voted that the House take a recess tor one hour, it being now 5 o'c'o^k, p. m. At (j o'clock, p. m., the House re assembled. The Speaker and a quoruni present. The act authorizing the volunteer company to increase the numbir of their men, came down concurred, a{)d approved by the governor. Tile resolutions transferring the effects of the offices of the late secretary of state and general treasurer, came down concurred, and approved by the governor. The act to collect the revenue, and secure the payment to, and the pos- session of the State's property, and the consequences and liability in paying and delivering the same to officers under the constitution, came down con- curred, and approved by the governor. The act relating to the pay and travel of the members of the General As- sembly, came down concurred, and approved by the governor. The act relating to the duties of those indebted to Uie State (marked No, 1) came down concurred, and approved by the a;overnor. The resolution to adjourn until the first Monday in .luly next, came down concurred. Mr. Taber, of Sinithfield, moved the following bill : Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section I. In all elections of the captains and subalterns of militia com- panies, at their annual elections, the elections shall be made by the members of said companies delivering their votes, with the name of tlie person voted for thereon, to the officer of the company in command on the day of elec- tion ; and all companies who may have neglected to choose their officers at their last annual election, may proceed to choose the same as aforesaid, oa any day before the next annual election. 460 . Rep. No. 546. Sec. 2. The chartered military companips who have not made their re- turns, may make the same at any time previous to the next adjourned ses- sion of this Assembly. Sec. 3. '^I'he governor is hereby authorized to commission the officers chosen by volunteer companies in this State, for a term not exceeding one year from tijis time. Voted to be enacted, and sent np for concurrence. Mr. Simmons, of Providence, moved the following resolution, viz: Resolved by the House of Representatives, {the tSenate concurring tlu re- in,) That the governor be authorized to appoint suitable persons as com- missioners in behalf of this State, to proceed to Washington, to make known 10 the President of the United States that the people of this State have formed a written constitution, and elected officers, and peaceably organized a government under the same, and that said government is now in full op- eration. Voted, and sent up for concurrence. Mr. Nathaniel O. Smith, a member from Barringlon, sent to the Speaker his resignation. Voted, That the same be accepted, and that the Speaker issue his war- rant to the electors of said town, requiring them to elect another representa- tive in his place, George Niles, a member from Richmond, resigned his seat. Voted, That the same be accepted, and that the Speaker issue his war- rant to the electors of said town, requiring them to elect another representa- tive in his place. Voted, That the clerks be directed to make out certificates of attendance for the pay of each member, according to the act of this session ; and to de- liver the same to them respectively. On motion of Mr. Pearce, Mr. Simmons was appointed a committee to wait upon the governor, and inform him that this House is ready to ad- journ if he has no further communications to mal^e to them. Mr. Simmons, the committee appointed to wait upon the governor, made report that he had performed that duty, and that the governor had nothing further to communicate. The act relating to the election of military officers, to commissioning the same, and to charter companies, came down concurred, and approved by the governor. The resolution appointing commissioners to proceed to Washington, came down concurred, and approved by the governor. Voted, That John S. Harris be allowed, and paid out of the treasury, for his services as clerk this session, six dollars. Voted, That Levi Salisbury be allowed, and paid out of the treasury, for his services as clerk this session, six dollars. Voted, Tliat Burrington Anthony be allowed, and paid out of the treas- ury, for attendance as sheriff, and other expenses this session, the sum of five dollars and fifty cents. Voted, That Seth Howard be allowed, and paid out of the treasury, for attendance of himself and other officers at this session, the sum of ten dollars. On motion of Mr. Newman, of Warwick. It is unanimously voted, That the thanks of this House be presented to the Speaker for the able, dignified, and impartial manner in which he has presidtd over its deliberations. Voted and resolved, That all officers not re elected, and in whose places Rep. No. 546. 461 ethers have not been appointed, be, and they are hereby, continued in their respective offices until the adjourned session of this General Asseajbly, to be holden at Providence on the first Monday in July, IS42, with as full power and authority as they have at any tinwi had. Voted and resolved, That all business lyitj^ before this Assembly unfin- ished, be referred to the adjourned session to be hojden on the first Monday in July, 1842; that the secretary cause the acts, orders, and resolutions, passed at this session, to be pubhshtd, with a suitable index, and distributed accordina: to law; and that this Assembly be, and the same is hereby, ad- journed to the first Monday in July, 1842, then to convene in the city of Providence. Voted to be enacted, and sent up for concurrence. The vote of adjourtnuent came down concurred ; and thereupon, the Speaker informed the House that they were adjourned acrordins:ly. Attest: J. S. HARRIS, Clerk, No. 100.— (Ne.) Ads and resolves of the Legislatwe under the people^s constitution, ISO. 1. State of Rhodf: Isi^and and PROvrDENCE Plantations, General Assemblf/, Muy session, city of Providence, 1842. Resolccd, That the ^rovernor be requested to inform the President of the United States that the government of this State has been duly elected and organized under the constitution of the same, and that the General Assembly are now in session and proceeding to discharge their duties ac- cording to the provisioiis of said constitution. Resolved, That the governor be nqnested lo make the same communi- cation to the President of the Senate and lo the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be laid before tlie twO; houses of the Congress of the United States. Resolved, That the governor be requested to make the same commimi- cation to tht governors of the several States, to be laid before the respective legislatures. Approved May 'S^ 1 842. T. W. DORR, Goverrwr. A true copy. — Witness : WM. H. SiMITH, Secretary. No. 2. House of Ri.preskntatives, May 3, 'J842. Resolved, That the governor be requesied lo make known by procla- mation to the people of this St.ite that the government imder the constitu- tion thereof has been duly organized ; and cdhng upon all persons, civil and military, to conform themselves to said consiiiuii.tn and lo the laws enacted under the same, and to all other juiisdiction and authority duly exercised under and by virtue of the sanic. Approved May 3, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. — Witness : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. 462 Rep. No. 546. No. 3. House of Representativks, May 3, 1842. Be it ejjaclsd by the General Assembly as follows : The act entitled " An act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State," passed at the March adjourned session of the General As.^embly, 1842, is hereby repealed. Approved May 3,. 1842. T. W. DORR. Governor. A true copy. — Witness : WM. B. SMITH. Secretary. No. 4. AN ACT providing for the registration of electors, and directing the manner of voting by billot in town atjd ward meetings. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. At every annual election of town or city officers, there shall ^ be chosen three inspectors of registry in each town and ward, whose duty it shall be 10 meet on the first Monday in June, annually, and prepare a perfect register, as near as may be, of all [persons entitled to vote in said town and ward. And said inspectors shall be sworn or alfirmed to the faithful per- formance of the duties of their said office before entering thereon, and shall give notice of the time, place, and purpose of their said meetings, by no- tices posted up in at least three public places in said town or ward for the space of at least ten days next before said meetings. A majority of said inspectors shall be suffii-ieut for the transaction of business, and they shall have power to administer oaihs or affirmations touching all matters relative to the formation of said register. Sec. 2. Said register shall consist of two separate lists: one containing ihe names of electors qualified to vote for officers, and on all questions rela- tive to taxation and the expenditure of public money; and the other con- taining the names of electors qualified to vote for officers only. Each list shall be alphabetically arranged according to the surnames, and said in- spectors shall, within two d.iys after said meetings, post l^p copies of said regiijter, luider their hands, in three public places in their respective towns and wards. Skc. 3. And it shall also be the duty of said inspectors to attend at every town and ward meeting in their respective towns and wards before the opening of the polls, to amend tfieir said register by adding thereto the names of qu.ilified electors not previoif^ly registered, and by putting each name in its proper list. And alter correcting said register as aforesaid, said inspectors shall deliver a certified copy thereof to the town or ward clerk, for the use of the moderator or warden, before the opening of the polls, and shall also record the same in a book kept for that purpose, u'hich shall be opened for the inspection of any elector demanding to examine the same. Sec. 4. Any elector of the town or ward whereiii he may be entitled to vote may challenge the vole of any person in said town or ward, by stating his objections to the moderator or waiden ai the time such vote may be offered, or l)y leaving liis obje-ctions in wri'ing with said moderator or warden before such voie may be offered ; and in case of r.ny challenge, Rep. No. 546. 4!>3 said moderator or wnrden shall proceed imineiiately to examine such per- sons as he may think necessary, by oath or affirmation, in regard to said challenge, and thereupon receive or reject such vote, as to him shall appear lawful. Sec. 5. At every town or ward meeting, the moderator or warden shall have before him a ceititied copy of the last precedinii registration, and shall receive no votes but in accordance therewith ; and said moderator or warden, on receiving any vote, shall declare the name of the voter: and the clerk, moderator, or warden of said meeting shall check the name of the voter before his vote shall be deposited in the ballot-box, and from v^hich a list shall be made by said clerk, at length, on a separate paper ; and, in cases where two or more polls are open at the same time, the electors shall present their votes for each poll at one time, in which case one declaration and one record of tlie voter's name shall be sufficient. Sec. 6, If any inspector shall wilfully refuse to register the name of any qualified elector, or fraudulently register the name of any unqnahfied per- son, or shall fraudulently neglect to perform the duties of said office, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be liable to be indicted therefor, and, on conviction, to be fined not less than fifty dollars, nor more than five hun- dred dollars, for each offence ; and if any moderator or warden shall fraud- ulently refuse the vote of any qualified elector, or wilfully receive the vote of any unqualified person, such moderator ur waiden shall be deemed o^uilty of a misdemeanor, and be liable to be indicted therefor, and. on conviction, shall be fined not less then ten dollars, nor more than twenty dollars ; and any person who may fraudulently obtain the registration of any one as an elector, or fraudulently offer any vote, or who may wilfully disturb the ps^lls, or any meeting of said inspectors, or the safe-keeping ot any votes, or the counting of any votes, shall be liable, for every such offence, to pay a fine of twenty dollars, to be recovered on cotnplaint and conviction before any justice of the peace in the county wherein such oflence may be commiited. Sec. 7. The fees of said inspectors shall be tv*'o dollars to each inspector for attendance at their annual meetings, and one dollar to each insi:)ector for attendance at town and ward meetings, and twenty five cents for every two- hundred names in all copies hereby required to be given ; the fees of any- absent inspector to be divided between the inspectors attending, which fees shall be paid by the town or city wherein such registration is made. Sec;. 8. And for the purpose of preparing a register of electors for the election of officers and the transaction of business in town and ward meet- ings, before the first annual election of inspectors, as herein provided, there shall be appointed and commissioned by the governor, before the third Mon- day in May, 1842, three suitable persons, in each town and ward in this State, who shall meet on the third Tuesday in May, A. D. 1842, witiiout giving notice as aforesaid, and attend all town and ward meetings in their respective towns and wards, until the election of their successors as afore- said, and proceed in the formation and amendiuent of registers of electors, in the same manner as is herein provided fo^r the registration of electors by the aforesaid inspectors. Sec. 9. All laws inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby- repealed. House of Representatives, Ma]/ 4, 1842. Read and voted, (fcc. Per order : LEVI SALISBURY, ClerL 464 Rep. No. 546. In Senate, read the same day and concurred iti. By order : • W. H. SMITH, Secretary. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. — Witness : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 5. AN ACT to repeal certain resoliuions passed by the General Assembly at their April ses- sion, 1842. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : The following resolutions, passed by the General Assembly at their ses- sion aforesaid, to wit : ^^ Resolved, That his excellency the governor be, and he is hereby, au- thorized to take such measures as he shall deem necessary to protect and preserve the public property of this State ; or, in case he shall deem any portion of the same unsafe in its present situation, to remove said property to such place of safety as he shall think proper; ^'•Resolved, That his excellency the governor be, and he is hereby, author- ized to recall any arms or cannon that have been loaned to the General Assembly, to any of the independent or chartered companies of this State, or to any other person or persons; ''■Resolved., That his excellency the governor be, and he is hereby, au- thorized to fill any vacancies which may exist in the officers of the militia of this State, and to commission any officers whom he may appoint to fill such vacancies; and also, in his discretion, to approve the officers elected by the several independent companies at their last annual election, and com- mission the same accordingly ; ^^Rcsolued, That Richard K. Randolph, James Fenner, Edward Carring- ton, Ijcniuel H. Arnold, Nathan F. Dixon, Peleg Wilbur, and Byron Diman, be, and they are hereby, appointed a board of councillors to advise with his excellency the governor as to the executive measures proper to be taken in the present einergency of the State ; and that his excellency the governor be, and he is hereby, authorized, at the expense of the State, to employ a private secretary to aid him in his duties; and that the said secretary be also clerk to the board of councillors — " Be hereby repealed, iipproved May 4, 1842. A true copy. — Witness T. W. DORR, Governor. WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 6. AN ACT to repeal an act entitled "An act to authorize the establishment of volunteer police companies in the city of Providence." JBe it enac'ed by the General Assembly as follows, viz : Said act is hereby repealed. House of Representatives, May 4, 1842. Voted, &c. Per order : J. S. HARRIS, aerk. Rep. No. 546. 465 In Senate, read the same day and concurred in. By order ; WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Approved May 4, IS 12. T. W. DORR, Governor, A true copy. Attest : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 7. AN ACT to repeal an act entitled "An act in amendment of an act entitled 'An act to prevent routs, riois, and tumultuous assemblies, and the evil consequences thereof,' passed by the General Assembly at their April session, 184-2." Be it enacted by the General jissemhly as follows : Said act is hereby repealed. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. Witness : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 8. Be it enacted by the General Assembly asfolloios : That the charter of the United Independent Company of VohinteerSj of tiie city of Providence be so amended, as that said company is author- ized Jo receive and enrol additional members to the number of two hun- dred, exclusive of commissioned ofilcers. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. Witness : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 9. AN ACT in addition lo an act entitled '"An act imposing duly upon licensed persons and others, and bodies corporate, wiihiuthis State." Beit enacted by the General Assembly as follows^ viz : Skction 1. If any person or persons, or body corporate, from whom any sum or sums of money may become due, and payable to the general treasurer of this State elected under the provisions of the constitution of this State, adopted by the people thereof according to the provisions of the act to which this is in addition, or of other acts in addition or amendment to the same, shall refuse or neglect to pay said sum or sums of money, as by law directed, he or they so refusing and neglecting shall be liable to pay interest OT the retainer of such sum or sums of money at and after the rate of one per cent, of the amount due for each month's neglect and refu« sal as aforesaid. Sec. 2. If any person or persons, or body corporatCj holding in their 30 ta 466 Rep. No. 546. possession any other money or property whatsoever belonging to the State, shall refuse to pay over and deliver the same to any officer or agent of the State duly authorized to receive the same, alter being duly requested thereto, he or they so refusing shall be liable to be sued therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction, in the name of the general treasurer afore- said ; and, on rendition of judgment in any such case against the defend- ant or defendants, the court by whom such judgment may be rendered shall assess damages thereon at double the amount of the money or value of the property found due, with costs. Approved May 4, 1842. A true copy. Witness : T. W, DORR, Governor. WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 10. Be it evaded by the General Assembly, asfolhncs, viz : Section 1. The several members of the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives shall hereafter receive, as a compensation for their services, the sum of one dollar for each day in which they shall be in actual attendance during any session of the Assembly. Sec. 2. The several members of the Senate and House of Representa- tives shall be entitled to receive the sum of ten cents per mile, each way, for their travel, in attending at each session. House of Rei)resentatives, May 4, 1842. Voted. &c. By order : J. S. HARRIS, Clerk. In Senate, read same day and concurred in. By order: WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. Attest: WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 11. Resolved by the House of Representatives, [the Senate cononring therein,) That Perez Simmons and Nathaniel Mowry be a committee to demand, receive, and transfer the records, books, and papers appertaining to the office of the secretary of state, and transfer the same from Henry Bowen, late secretary of state, to his successor, William H. Smith. House of Representatives, May 4, 1842. Voted. By order : J. S. HARRIS, Clerk. In Senate, read the same day and concurred in. By order : Approved May 4, 1842. A true copy. Attest : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. T. W. DORR, Governor. WM, H. SMITH, Secretary. Kep. No. 546. 46T No. 12. Resolved by the House of Representatives^ (the Senate concurring- therein^) That Messrs. Pearce and Chace be a committee to demand, re- ceive, and transfer all the moneys, lands, securities, records, books and pa- pers, and every other article appertaining to the office of the general treas- urer of this State, from Stephen Cahoone, late treasurer, to Joseph Joslinj his successor. Approved May 3, 1842. T. W. DORR, Govfsrnor. A true copy. Witness : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 13. Resolved, That the governor be requested to call on all persons who are or may become indebted to the State, to make payment to the duly appointed officers and agents under the provisions of the constitution, and make knowu to all persons that no payment to any other officers or agents than those appointed will be considered as a discharge of their obligations. Resolved, That the governor be requested to call on all persons who are in possession, or have charge, of any of the public property, to deliver the possession or chaige of said property to the authorities and officers act- ing under the constitution and laws of this State. House of Representatives, May 4, 1842. Voted, &.c. By order : J. S. HARRIS, Clerk. In Senate, read the same day and concurred in. Bv order : Approved May 4, 1842. A true copy. Attest ; VVM. H. SMITH, Secretary. T. W. DORR, Governor. WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. No. 14. Resolved by the House of Representatives, [the Senate concun-ing' therein,) That when the General Assembly adjourn, they adjourn to meet in Providence on the first Monday in July next. House of Representatives, May 4^ 1842. Read and voted, &c. LEVI SALISBURY, Clerk. In Senate, read the same day and concurred in. By order : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Alrue copy. Attest : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. 468 Rep. No, 546. ISo. 15. AN ACT to revive ihe charter of the Greene Artillery. Be it enacted hy the General Assembly as follows: Section 1. The charter heretofore granted to said company is hereby revived ; and the governor is hereby authorized and requested to issue commissions to such officers as shall be elected by a majority of those who were members at the last muster of said company, in t!ie same manner as if no forfeiture of said charter had ever been incurred. Sec. 2. This act shall be subject to all future acts of the General Assem- bly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Govtrnor. A true copy. — Witness: WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. ISo. 16. AN ACT presciibin? the manner of voting by ballot in the election of the captains and sub- alterns of militia companies, and for other purposes. Be it enacted hy the General Assembly as follows, viz: Sectjon 1. In all elections of the captains and subalterns of militia com- panics, at their annual elections, the elections shall be made by the mem- bers of said companies delivering their votes, with the name of the person voted for thereon, to the officer of the company in command on the day of election; and all companies who may have neglected to choose their officers at their last annual election, may proceed to choose the same, as aforesaid, on any day before their next annual election. Sec. 2. The chartered military companies who have not made their re- turns, may make the same at any time previous to the next adjourned ses- sion of this Assembly. Sec. 3. The governor is hereby authorized to commission the officers chosen by volunteer companies in this State, for a term not exceeding one year from this time. House of Representatives, May 4, 1842. — Voted, Sec. By order: JOHN S. HARRIS, Clerk. In Senate, read same day and concurred in. By order : WM. e. SMITH, Secretary, Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. — Attest ; WILLIAM H. SMITH, Secretary, Eep. No. 546. No. 17. Resolved by the House of Representatives, [the Senate concurring there- in,) That the governor be authorized to appoint suitable persons commis- sioners on behalf of this State, to proceed to Washington, to make lYnowii to the President of the United States that the people of this Slate have formed a written constitution, elected ofiicers, and peaceably organized the govern- inent under the same ; and that said government is now in full operation. House of Representatives, Mav 4, 184?.— Voted, &c. J. S. HARRIS, Clerk. In Senate, same day read and concurred in. By order : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copv. — Attest : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. 'So. IS. Voted and resolved, That all ofiicers not re-elected, and in whose places others have not been appointed, be, and they are hereby, continued in their respective ofiices until the adjourned session of the General Assembly, to be holden at Providence on the first Monday in July, 1842, with as full power and authority as they have at any time had. Voted and resolved, That all business lying before this Assembly unfin- ished, be referred to the adjourned session to be holden on the first Monday in July, 1842 ; that the secretary cause all the acts, orders, and resolutions passed at this session, to be published with a suitable index, and distributed according to law; and that this Assembly be, and the same is hereby, ad- journed to the first Monday in July, 1842, then to convene in the city of Providence. House of Representatives, May 4, 1842.— Read, and voted, &c. LKVl SALISBURY, Clerk. In Senate, read same day and concurred in. By order : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Approved May 4, 1842. T. W. DORR, Governor. A true copy. — Attest : WM. H. SMITH, Secretary. Rep. No. 546. No. 101.— (O.) Table of population, 6^0. sg s -<2 at 5 EO Towns. .So (0 a 43 > o t: s . IS a V " 2 ^& ^ c o o £2 s a Pi 3 Q, Providence county. Providence 23,172 4 5,793 5,579 1,440 279 North Providence 4,207 2 2,103 938 212 14 Smithfield 9,534 2 4,767 2,049 578 9 Cumberland - 5,224 2 2,612 1,195 364 3 Scituate 4,090 2 2,045 966 368 6 Cranston 2,902 2 1,451 747 255 23 Johnston 2,477 2 1,238 609 201 7 Glocester 2,308 2 1,154 591 272 2 Foster 2,181 2 1,090 554 272 Burrillville 1,982 2 991 533 253 8 58,077 22 13,791 4,215 Neivport count]/. Newport 8,333 6 1,388 1,970 560 67 Portsmouth 1,706 4 426 447 176 2 Middletown 891 2 445 220 80 3 Tiverton 3,183 2 1,591 787 255 11 Little Compton 1,327 2 663 315 139 New Shoreham 1,069 2 534 244 103 3 Jamestown 365 2 182 99 37 6 16,874 20 4,082 1,350 Washington county. South Kingstown 3,718 2 1,8.59 800 394 51 Westerly 1,912 2 956 423 173 3 North Kingstown 2,909 2 1,4.54 686 244 15 Exeter 1,776 2 888 426 156 13 Charlestown - 923 2 461 197 108 10 Hopkinton 1,726 2 863 376 193 3 Richmond 1,361 2 680 298 135 4 14,325 14 3,206 1,403 Bristol county. Bristol 3,490 2 1,745 784 306 39 Warren 2,438 2 1,219 500 235 15 Barrington 549 2 274 124 71 5 6,477 6 1,408 612 Rep. No. 546. TABLE— Continued. 471. , 10 c O CO oJ CO S-i O (« JC5 O rt -^ CO 6 . <0 (N Is Towns. o « Is ^2 Is Vi s « 5 c 0^ o ^ 4> O o O a « a. fc. ;> Kent county. Warwick 6,726 4 1,681 1,387 394 52 Coventry- 3,433 2 1,716 795 357 2 East Greenwich 1,509 2 754 378 156 11 West Greenwich 1,416 2 708 362 134 •Jl 13,084 10 2,922 1,041 Average. Total - 108,837 72 1,511 25,674 8,622 668 No. 102.— (P.) 5'/a^e of votes for general officers in the elections, from 1832 to 1841, iti- clusive. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Secretary'' s Office, January 6, 1844. I, Henry Bowen, secretary of said State, and keeper of the records and r n the seals thereof, do certify, that the whole number of votes for '^ ' ' J general officers, as reported by the counting committee appointed by the General Assembly at the May session, for the years after named, was as follows, viz : P^'or the year 1832, five thousand six hundred and fifteen ; For the year 1833, seven thousand three hundred and one; For the year 1834, seven thousand two hundred and thirty four ; For the year 1835, seven thousand six hundred and seventy-four ; For the year 1836, seven thousand one Iinndred and sixty-eight; For the year 1837, four thousand two hundred and seventeen ; For the year 1838, seven thousand seven hundred and forty six ; ' For the year 1839, six thousand two hundred and seventy-three ; For the year 1840, eight thousand two hundred and ninety two : For the year 1841, two thousand seven hundred and thirteen; All which appears of record. 4T2 Rep. No. 546. No. 103.— (a.) Copy of an act declaring mariial law. I further certify, that the subjoined is a true copy of an act entitled <'An act eslablishing- martial law in this State," passed by the General As- sembly of said State on the 25th day of June, A. D. 1842; that said act remained in force, and without repeal, until August 8, 1842, when its operation was suspended, by proclamation of the governor, until the 1st day of September then next ; and that, on the 30th day of August aforesaid, the [act] was, by like proclamation, indefinitely suspended, as appears of record. AN ACT eslablishing martial law in this Siate. Be it enacted by the General Assembly y as follows: Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law ; and the same is declared to be in full force until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his excellency the governor of the State. r -j In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed II ■ ■ J the seal of said State, at Providence, the day and year above written. HENRY BOWEN. Fees, searching copy, and certificate, f 1 25. No. 104.— (X.) Proclamatio7i of the people^s convention. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the convention of the people of this State, at their last session in the city of Providence, on ihe 13th day of January, A. D. 1842, passed the following resolutions, to wit : "Whereas, by the return of the votes upon the constitution proposed to the citizens ol this State by this convention, on the ISth of November last, it satisfactorily appears that the citizens of this State, in their original and sovereign capacity, have ratified and adopted said constitution by a large majority, and the will of the people thus decisively made known ought to be implicitly obeyed and faithfully executed : We do, therefore, '^Resolve and declare^ That said constitution rightfully ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. ^^And we do fvrther resolve and declare^ (for ourselves, and in behalf of the people whom we represent,) That we will establish said constitution, and sustain and defend the same by all necessary means. '■'•Resolved^ That the officers of this convention make proclamation of the return of the votes upon the constitution, and that the same has been adopted and has become the constitution of this State, and that they cause said proclamation to be published in the newspapers of the same," Rep. No. 546. 473 Now, therefore, in obedience to the above vote of said convention, we, the ttndersigned, officers of the same, do liereby .proclaim an(i make known to all the people of this State that said constitution has been adopted by a large majority of the votes of the citizens of this State, and that said constitu- tion of right ought to be, and is, the paramount law and constitution of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. And we hereby call upon the citizens of the State to give their aid and support in carrying said constitution into full operation and eflect, accord- ing to the terms and provisions thereof. Witness our hands at Providence, in said State, this 13ih day of Janu- arv, A. D. 1842. JOSEPH JOSLTN, Pr'esident of the convention. WAGER WEEDEN, ) ^. „ ., , SAMUEL H. WAIiES, \ ^^^^ ' /e^iaent^-. WiLMAM H. Smith, } ci . • , c! u ? Secretaries. John S, Harris, ^ No. 105. Agreement of parties to the action. It is agreed, that all the acts, resolutions, and proceedings of the General Assembly of the colony and State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, from the organization of the government under the charter of 1663, to the organization of the government under the present constitution, to be found in the records, schedules, and digests of said colony and State, nnay be used in the trial and argument of said case of Martin Lut'.ier, plaintiff in error, against Luther M. Borden and others, defendants, before the Supreme Court of the United States, in the same manner as if said acts, resolutions, and proceedings had been put into this bill of exceptions. It is also agreed, that the printed constitution — printed by authority of the convention, and rejected by a majority of the votes thereon on the 21st. 22dj and 23d days of March, 1842 — may be used in the trial of the above case, in the same man- ner as if the same were put into this bill of exceptions. It is also agreed, that all other exhibits referred to in the statement of the evidence of either party, as annexed to such statement, may be used in the trial of said case, in the same manner as if said exhibits were annexed to the statement of the evidences in the bill of exceptions : such exhibits to be furnished to tlie op- posite party within ten days from this date. It is further agreed, that the bill of exceptions shall be allowed, and signed by Mr. Justice Story, wherever he may be at the time when the same shall be presented to him. And that a writ of error may be issued and served, with the same effect as if the same was issued and had been served prior to the present term of the Supreme Court of the United States; and that this cause shall be entered upon the docket of said court at tliis term accord- ingly : provided that the plaintiff in error, before the service of said writ, give bond, according to law. to the satisfaction of the district judge. SAMUEL Y. ATWELL, Counsel for plaintiff in error. ALBERT BOS WORTH, Attorney for defendant in error^ Providence, January 30, A. D. 1844. 474 Rep. No. 546. ^'^ If 1 Zf ''f'fj ^' '^' '^'^'i'^' «/ the 27th, 28th, and 2m Decern^ ber, IQAl, for the purpose of adopting the people^J constiiutum No. 106. CITY OF PROVIDExXCE. FIRST WARD. David A. CleaveJand Joseph Sprague Winsor James Page William C. Helme Thomas Hopkins Namon Miller Daniel Chase FJasfon Thomas D. Windale Lyman Ware Daniel L, Perry- George J. Thurber Matthew McKernan Joseph L. Wood Joseph Cole 2d George W. Walcott Samuel Low Lewis F. Hubbard ] Samuel S. Brown Dexter B. Lewis George A. Ormsbee Silas T. Burbanks Jabez Gorham 2d George W. Briggs Henry S. Brown Lyman S. Parr Samuel S. Sweet Joseph A. Gilman f John E. Cook Elisha Dillingham F Henry J, Ormsbee, revo. pen. Charles Annis Olney Annis Khodes Pheteplace Daniel Angell p John Proctor p Daniel VV. Palmer Enos Goss Henry A. Williams p Eli Brown p James S. Davis Ira Pidge Benjamin J. Taft James M. Haskell p Nathan H. Low- Henry O. Connell George Pepaw Stephen A. Cornish James R. Stone Alonzo Chase p James Prestwick Job Smith Henry P. Salisbury, jr. John C. Leveek Wm. M. Webster p Welcome Angell p James Major John Gannon p Gushing Brown p Benjamin B. Baker p Henry Bulls Charles E. Newell John M. Fanning M. A. Huicheson Elisha Easton Joseph Pidge Matthew Owens George W. Allen James Cole Isaac C, Sisson Peter Duffy William Russell Henry J. Duft^ John I). Booth Elkanah Whiteley Benjamin Lewis Arnold Taft Israel B. Pn rri nglon Nath'i Aldrich p Simeon Peckham Hiram Cook Samuel Wheldon p Obadiah P. Osborn p Richard Lawnly John Gorham p Lewis W. Day Thomas Arnold p Rep. No. 546. 47i' PROVIDENCE— FIRST WARD— Continued. John Tyler George Brown Solomon Batchetder Stephen Grover jNicholas Goff John Davis James M. King Benjamin Barney Wm. N. Smith F John S. Richardson FrankUn Wheeler '^ Thomas Steward Ebenezer Kingman John B. Dexter F Robert Currie Joseph W. Spencer Joseph E. Tiffany John Brown Jesse Parks Cyrus Young Ebenezer Wakefield Leonard Comstock Cyrus Osborn F Wm. A. Hopkins James B. Cooman Horace Cole Albert Holbrook F Henry Sumner Short Harrison Reynolds Horace Thayer William Field, jr. Simeon Burt Paris Winsor, jr. F Andrew Waterman Dexter F David Taylor Warren Bissell Ezra George Brown Daniel Branch Leonard Drown Owen Salisbury Albert Peters F Joseph S. Barber Edward Tyler Richardson George O. S. Young Boylston Poor Richard Lee Robert H. Angell Levi Sayles Lapham Amos Baker John Phillips, jr. Cornelius Mahony George W. Flagg James C. H. Baxter Samuel T. Manchester Francis R. Newell Willis C. Legg Ezra F. Colvin Edwin Angell Cyra Bissell Jeremiah C. Hammond Henry Metcalf Thomas Glynn Samuel S. Cook Albert Freeman Augustus Arnold Henry N. Bucklin Rufus GofF Albert Young Nicholas West Thomas Angell Benjamin C. Paull Peter Gilligin Joseph Crandall George Hawkins Joseph Y. Francis James D. Titus Wm. H. H. Streeter Patrick O'Connell Daniel S. King Thomas Phillips John H. Phillips Benjamin Crandall Severn Somers John H. Godfrey Nathan M. Orujsbee Joshua Godfrey Charles H. Handy Joseph Ormsbee Joseph S. Covell Nathaniel Westcott Fayette Thnrber OIney L. Smith Nathan Westcott Benjamin AWen HoRirook F George W. Buffington Nehen)iah Dodge F Wm. R. Tarbox Joshua W. Tripp F Wm. W. Hoyt John J. Aldrich P- F 470 p. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— FIRST WARD- Continued. Benjamin Newton Albert Smith Duty Cook Sheffield A. Swan Lewis Potter Wm. BiUler Elisha A. Austin Wm. Angell Josiali Seagraves, jr. Parley M. Malhewson John B. Baker William H. Hopkins John P. Cornell George E. Cleavelaiid Cyrus Wood. jr. Thomas Proctor Seth Carter Horace Robbins Francis H. Mann Jabez J. Potter Thomas M. Baker Arnold W. Angel! James Angell Joseph Kelly, jr. Nelson C. Northup Luther Angell Joseph A. Cass well John Campbell Joseph Venzie Henry C. Hill , Stephen Wicks Joseph King Joseph Whii)p!e Orison Tillson Paris Winsor Josiah F. Crooker Joseph Greene Crumline La Due Hezekiah Reynolds Benjamin F. Smith Martin Walling Jonathan Chace E. T. Paul I Willis Gould John Webb William H. White Alexander Burgess Nathan Hill Amariah Medbury Benjamin L. Medbury F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F Charles M. Rounds Benjamin L. W^heldon Setli Howard Warren Batchellor David Heafon F Samuel G. Dodge William B. Bradford F Pharis Wood William B. Tasker j^Benjamin Rhodes *Henry M. Amsbury Nathan M. Briggs F Joseph D. Kent William P. Farnum Andrew Bowen S. W. Jordan Albert W. Page David Burt F Lewis Thayer F Samuel A. Metcalf F Andrew Bishop James M. Morris Joseph Hull F Redmond B. Shepard F George W. Kimball Thomas Fletcher F Baxter M. Hill Daniel Hill Francis B. Fanbrother Stephen Smith William Gratton Gardner Pettis Peter C. Taylor Bradford Briggs William Kenna Joseph Diggles John K. Smith F Joseph A. Church Richard B. Hawkins William Stafford Joseph Fletcher F John H. Green F Peter Haswell Joseph Cole Stephen W. Angell F Hansel Brown F Lemuel Capron F Patrick Healy John Healy Pearly Carpenter Rep. No, 546. 47T PROVIDEISCE— FIRST WARD-Coniinued. George Johnson Nathaniel G. Hehne Daniel Armington Thomas J. Paine Joshua Pi. Burdick F Stephen S. Salisbury Franklin Smith F Joseph Boodry Ziba Covell Benjamin G. Whipple Hiram Smith Edwin S. Bradford Bernard Greene Benjamin D. Annis David Osborn F C. W. Hoi brook Benjamin M. Hubbard Theodore Angell F John E. Metcalf VVilham D. Avery F J. B. Sisson F Artiiur Williamson Obadiah Arnold F Nathan Baxter F Tibbelt Reynolds Henry G. Coggeshall Asa Wooley Jeremiah O. Angell - F Ezekiel Carpenter F Nicholas B. Easton John Green James K. Potter John Oun:! Horace Grossman Albert Angell Ebenezer Gary F Seba C. French Silas Ifemmenway James Tliurber. jr. F Joseph W. Briggs F James M. Moore George Brown, 3d F Sayles Wilbur Galusha W. Arnold F Eliery Wesson Ethan Whipple Lyman A. Bates Green Clapp Henry ('. Stoddard Albert Briggs F Benjamin G. Gardner F Israel Amsbury, jr. Jesse Brown Sweet William B. Healy Robert D. Briggs Jarvis Sisson Benjamin T. Hathaway William H. Salisbury Henry H. Snow . F Nathan Taft Samuel Dillaber James Wetherby Ezra Dean Poller F Paul Taylor Arnold Man F Nicholas C. Hill William Grayson Alvers Benson F John McCrarpen Walter M. Scott F E. E. T. Paul] Asa Angell Oliver Lindall Joseph Weaver F Nelson Hawes John Sidney Pollard William H. Reynolds William W. Chase F John Salisbury William Fletcher F William Mitchel Clark W. Casswell Nathan M. Williams James Booth George Very James Greene Edwin Williams Gardner C. Clarke Thomas W. Walcott .Tames McKenna F Oren Nichols John Wayland Ezra N. Sampson Barney Claflin F' George Leavens Arthur Snow F Levi C. Dexter Joseph Pcirney F .lames i-'itz Simmons James B. Browu Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-FIRST WARD-Coniinued. John Watson Joel R. Fernal George J. Shearman John^B. Smith Benjamin L. Tuelis Hiram H. Whitfbrd John Whitford William Morris, jr. George Hall Samuel R. Kelly Henry Patt Aaron M. Burt Samuel Metcalf Samuel Brown Henry Tinker Joseph Burton Freeman Knovvlton James Kennedy Mawnev Carpenter J. Selai.'a MiUer James Yerrington John C. Lee Wm. W. Carpenter John Prestwick Samuel Briggs John Worsley Edward Lasell Paul N. Pidge Isaac Green Thos C. Hiell Samuel Wright Richmond Henry John Boy den Charles Mastisson Isaac T. Hawkes Wm. Murry Ensign E. Kelly George Henry Thurber Mason A. Kingman James Barrows Wm. B. Gardner Robert H. Barton Elijah Smiih Thomas L. Tuells William W. Covell Owen Finey Michael Cooman Henry B. Metcalf Edwin T. Scott George A. Payne F F F F F F F F F F F F F John Young Joshua Bacon Francis P. Bardeen John Smith OIney B. Scott Francis Hersey James Chester Cyrus Grant Henry Tuell John Knight Horace Batchellor James Mumford Job M. Knight Stukely Wickes William G. Angell Francis Hawkins John Hudson Briggs Henry L. Smith Samuel J. Cole Christopher O'Brien Patrick Shannon Jonathan B. WiUiams Benjamin Holbrook Benjamin Aldrich Henry Anthony Henry A. Morse Solomon Gage George S. Morse Charles Hackett Lemuel Baker Thomas Greene Benjamin Earle Obadiah Mason Benjamin Appleton Richard Mathewson Charles F. Searle Calvin Shove Alden Henry Edward Bucklin Winthrop Pidge Luther Salisbury Alfred Gardner Alfred Potter Edward Harwood Benjamin F. Newton Levi Anthony Stephen Barry Stephen Smith John Holmes Arnold Russell F F F F F F F F F Rep. No. 546. 479 PROVIDENCE-FIRST W ARD-Coniinued. Augustus J. Winship Edwin Potter Moses Mason Henry McPhail David Lawless Asa Scott Talman T. Angell James S. Anthony Joseph Wheldon James Tyler Philip F. Brayton Reuben Taylor Clarke Steere Henry J. Angell Alfred M. Pratt Mason Hathaway Chandler Eddy William Frazier Nathan Rath burn Silas S. Applebey Willis Hamblia Thomas Maston Uenjamin T. Albro Ezra Hubbard Benjamin Bowen Walter S. Burgess Henry Thurber Samuel B. Cushing Jesse Bennett Edward S. Lyon James E. Budlong Russell Clapp Jesse Calder James B. BufFum Henry Allen Elijah Ryder John A. Brown John Vaughn Samuel if. Wales William Wenlworth Joseph Dorr Isaac Fisn, jr. Obed Wood Wm. a Smith John L. Boylston Thomas W. Dorr Wm. Whipple Brown Jolin McPhail Robert Wilkinson F Stephen Clarke Anthony McKinna F Palemon Pidge F Harrison Young J. B. Swasey Benjamin Williams F Duty Roberts F Edwin W. Hawkins Pardon Brown F John Donelly F Thomas Collins F F John 0. Shaw F Caleb B. Chase F F William G. Grant Freemen - 162 F N on -freemen - - 362 Total • 524 SBCOND WARD. Edwin Montgomery Thomas Swan John C. Martain F 1 Elisha Emerson Abert G. Barton Josiah C. Blanchard David Keith Cyrus Drake John Sayles F Henry Pinkham Elisha N. Tobey Joseph K. Angell F Lewis W. Chfford F Thomas McGuire F John O. Fahiey F Eaton W. IMaxcy F F Henry B. Salisbury David T. Seamaus Alfred Mason Edward H. Thurston Abram Bliss F F George M. Kendall Asa Cole F John B. Barton F S. W. Sperry 480 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— SECOND WARD— Commued. Philip Allen, jr. F Wm. B. Marshall Luke Whitcomb F Amos Yeomans George Judd Henry S. Parks John F. Jolls Richard Eddy F Isaac Clarke Thomas R. Rathbun George L. Morse Asel Steere F Henry Temple F Charles A. Hinkley F Joshua Eaton Mark W hidden James M. Smith F Samuel Morgan Wescott Handy Andrew P. Holden GamaHel L. Dvvigh£ F John Plumly Ira Harvey Daniel C. Gushing Erastus Parish Wright Curtis Abraham Bush VVtn. S. Humphreys F Samuel G. Tripp David P. Baker William G. Dickey James II. !!orlon John Frodin F Phineas B. Nichols Louis Bnutell William Sawyer }']!ij .)i Sanborn Charles Grove David P. Peck James Smitti Ahab Reed F Philander W. Fisher William Wilson David Hopkins Ama^a Breck F James C. Mahenny Michael G. C. Bates Nicholas Power Joshua L. Gray Hiram W. Chace Wm. R. Angell James C. Otley Stephen O. Pinnell John H. Bradford James M. Bradford William E. Cutting Stephen L. Gould Arthur Dennis Theophilus Hilton Thomas Breck F W^m. P. Dean Jeremiah Monroe George F. Mann F William Robinsow James R. Potter Silas G. Tripp Charles H. Smith F George H. Pidge Fenner Angel, revo. pen. Erastus W. Pond Welcome Brown James Chapman Freeman M. Rose John H. Gould Martin Stoddard Hiram T. Chace Wm. P. Bradford Rhodes Waterman John R. Horton Thos. Jefferson Branch Timothy H. Temple Charles Robbins Barker 'J\ Yerrington James A. Baldwin liCwis Bangs Sabin Hopkins Charles Snow Charles R. Taylor James Fosdick, jr. George Ward well Wilmot D. Luce William Barnet Ambrose Clarke John Shaw ^ Alfred W. Eldred Allen Greene Benjamin Greene William G. Hodges George Wheaton F William H. Chandler F F F F Rep. No. 546. 481 PROVIDENCE-SECOND WARD-Continued. Alva Woods Samuel Watson Holmes Greenwood Augustus Ellis Samuel Millard Thomas Burgess Stephen A. Aldrich Emerson Clarke Richard Palmer William L. Barrus Nedebiah Angell James B. Dorrance William Temple John B. Ingraham Sylvanus Griffith Joel Barrett Lemuel Vinton Alfred R. Gardner Joshua Howland Otis Chace Elisha Brown Henry 0. Packard AVilliam B. Bnrdick Nathaniel R. Waterman Henry G. Mumford Augustus M. Town John F. B. Flagg John P. Knowles Hugh H. Brown James R. Budlong Henry Knowles Job Winsor Simon Smith William J. M. Fisk Halsey Sweetland James S. Lincoln Ambrose N. Perriti Lanson JM. Calder Henry O. Demings Ferdinand Bardeen Charles A. Pennell George S. Peckham. Virgil B. Bucklin Joseph Jewett Daniel J. Peckham Thomas D. Melville James McCarthy William G. Snow Asa Cushman Joseph B. Wilkinsou 31 F F F F F F F F F F F F F William H. Loveil Josiah Gushing William M. Perkins Eben Ames Joseph Smith Bartlett Donaghue Walter Crowley Phineas Wesson Charles J. Little Leonard C. Lincoln Rufus S. Gould Lyman Pierce Hiram J. Eddy F Parker H. Lawton F Benjamin Co well F George M, Angell Henry A. Webb Stephen B. Jenckes William Foster F Edwin B. Harvey Manson Briggs F Anson Waterman William Gibbs Ijyman Howe Ira Arnold David B. Blake F George W. Thayer Edwin L. Johnson Charles Robinson George W. Bennett F George W. Perry Aaron Derby Michael Smith Samuel H. Thomas F Joseph W, Taylor Edwin A. Bush F James M. Warner, 2d John Handerson Nehemiah W. Lee Horace Pratt Stephen Smith Palmer Lewis F Harvey Perry F Abner Butler F Cyrus Darling George H. Bradford Brayton Slade George Rice F Eben Shed Arable Collins Rep. No. 540. PROVIDENCE— SECOND WARD-Continued. Selh B. Lewis Pitls Smith F William Ed^ar James Colviti Otis H. Kelton Samuel McLellan, jr. Henry J. Swan Robert Piirkis, jr. F Stephen W. Hunt F John Mullin, jr. Warren G. Noyes Still man H. Black well John W. Hoyt Richard Locke Henry Lindol John Hempshall Auo^ustus B. Copeland F Laban T. Rogers Edwin Lovett Richard Smith F Tillinghast Thornton William Vinton Harvey Brown Benjamin P. Robinson James Anthony Edward Hall Zebu Ion S. Steere Lamed Scott F John B. Day Cornelius Miller Henry Whiting Charles G. Arnold Smith Shaw Joshua Emmons George A. Howard Dennis Ryan Lyndon White Thomas W. Foley Henry Mowry Nelson Bunn Arthur Addington George Capron James K. Logee William P. Roberts William B. Thompson Otis Wilmarth Joseph T. Holroyd William Harding John Corry F Gideon M. Hortoa George W. Frost George Updike Amos Martin Henry S. Sweet Benjamin F. Herrick William C. Bowen Richard E. Eddy F Amos D. Yeomans F Major W. Shaw F Joseph A. Andrews F Eber Gleason Walter W. Orrell Jeremiah Smith John Calder F Charles Sabin Edward D. Leveck William M. Battelle James S. Phelteplace F Abm. Alexander Walter S. Allen John N. Swan Sterry Clarke Thomas T. Wilcox Thomas R. Holden, jr. F Henry R. Congdon William R. Andrews Edward F. Miller F Michael Glynn Henry H. Burrington F James H. Sabin James Humphreys F By proxy. Mason W. Jones L. W. Benton James Calder Levi Ellis William Q,. Wheeler E. H. Winship William Eaton Dexter Taft Mathewson Williams F James B. Calder F John Kavanagh F George H. Phillips F Abner Gay, jr. F Isaac Fisk F Edwin W. Lewis John Ferguson Rep. No. 546. 483 PROVIDENCE-SECOND WARD— Continued. Simon H. Rose William Alexander Robert Bowser William C. Force James Scott, jr. John Burr Crawford Carter John C. Gray Amasa S. Wescott Philip Allen James S. Pidge Cyrus Pratt Elisha Dayton Joseph Gardner James Casey F F F F F Michael Fowler Lfiwrence Hunt John A. Parmenter James D. Gregory Israel Gardner Philip R. Greene James Hazard William Valentine Daniel Robinson F F Freemen, 88 No n -free men, 284 Total 372 THIRD WARD. Frectnen. Theodore Hali Roscoe Hall Henry Gardner Allen Tillinghast Isaac Hall Samuel C. Eathforth John Burrough Joseph R. Brown Benjamin W. Robbins William Coleman Thomas Greene Sylvanus Goff, jr. William Bradley Wheeler M. Blanding Harvey Simmons Edward Luther Philip M. Baker John T. Sheldon Samuel Guild Joshua H. Work Peabodie Bailey John Cross Thomas G. Northrop Richard Lloyd David W. Barney Elias Read James M. Turner Gorton Hudson Robert L. Thurston George W. Fuller William Saben Daniel Russell Benjamin Smith Thomas H. Tillinghast Giles Peckham William C. Barker Daniel V. Ross Sylvanus Goff John McLaughlin Alexander Kieff Samuel Warren Nathan Kent Albert K. Gerald John Fleming Perry J. Chace Ira M. Goft Eliphalet Horton Arnold R. Pond Isaiah Barney John B. Taylor Norris Deming. jr. William Tillirighast Daniel Weaver Calvin Kent Elisha C. Wells Gideon Hall Daniel Sweelland Edward S. Underwood Albert G. Dexter Hosea Carpenter John Crocker Thomas H. Stoddard 484 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-THIRD WARD— Continued. Richard Harding Allen J. Gladding George W. Talbot Benjamin A. Vincent Mason Peckham Alfred K. Hall Josiah Simmons Samuel W. Reynolds Zena Waterman George Dickey- Thomas W. Cook Lloyd Shaw Henry A. Potter Richard Baker Silas Talbot Nathan Mason Samuel Carr Anthony Budlong John D. Jones William P. Allen David B. Doyle William C. Millac Edmund Jackson Joseph W. Rawson Anthony Dexter Christ. G. Godfrey David Vincent John Justin John A. Howland Marvin Lyon Joseph Briggs Benjamin D. Bailey- Thomas U. Gladding Abel Foster Thomas A. Richardson Albert J. Jones John Wilson George Oxx George A. Laimmus AVilliam W. Shaw John O. Potter AVilliam H. Pike Robert E. Lapham Gideon G. Hicks Thomas Phillips Lucius Horton Hugh Morrison William Guerney James Bean Ellas Stoyles Albert G. Gardner Stephen G. Coleman Samuel A. Gerald John A. Townsend Jeremiah Miller Lewis H. Bradford Horatio Barney Russell Sutton Joseph A. Chedell Sturgis P. Carpenter George S. Dye Lewis Leveck William J. Tilley George D. Clarke Philip H. Durfee George W. Mason George B. Dean Peter W. Ferris Ira B. Winsor George S. Harwood Albert Dailey Peleg A. Shearman James P. Butts, jr, William Woodward, jr. Calvin J. VV. Bullock Allen Munro, jr. Albert Dodge Frederick F. Dodge Keiley Brown Nathaniel Luther Oliver Mason James Mason Jabez Rounds John H. Butts William B. Brown Henry Leonardson William Smith Joseph Bradford Job Hull Davis Wilson George R. PauU Nathaniel Church Harding W. Stoddard Darius N. Thurber George W. Brown Joseph Tillinghast William C. Millard George H. Peck James T. Rhodes' Kinsley C. Gladdirg Rep. No. 546. 48|| PROVIDENCE— THIRD WARD— Continued. Joei Blaisdell George W. Conley Solomon Dodge Votes of perso?is qual/Jied, hut not\ admitted. John B. Earle Humphrey Sprague John G. Alers Joseph Spelman Henry Richardson Lewis Kenyon Thomas C. Watson George Read Nathaniel P. Bartlett John Bacon Henry W. Rodman Edwin Stayner John Jones Edward S. Burrough William L. Ormsbee Jonathan Allers Oliver Spelman Iram Hayward John Johnson James B. Tillinghast William H. Harris Charles A. Lake Nathaniel C. Bushel William Wriling Henry J. Burroughs Robert N. Burdick Edward T. Ross James C. Sayres James H. Munroe John . Paine Israel Wood William R. Gladding John A. Hopkins William J. Spencer Thompson Wells . Josiah Reed John A. Bennett Mathevv W. Armington Edward P. Butts William A. Munroe Nathaniel Cole, jr. Gideon Gurnett Abel Oaks Benjamin Gibbs Gardner C. Gibbs John C. Gibbs Benjamin N. Armington William W. Simmons Charles Gray William C. Davenport Charles W. Henry William Mansir Jeremiah S. Smith Stephen G. Mason Marian Smith Lewis C. Allen Albert H. Ormsbee Ellery Millard Amanuel A. Vaughn Olney Heath Henry T. Cooley Albert Weaver Simeon Nicomb Henry Weaver William H. Foster Mathew A. Chase John S. Greene Ehas D. Trafton Henry Cleaveland Oliver H. Stowell John D. Drown Samuel B. Bullock Pardon M. Hale James M. Brickley Georo^e T. Drown William W. Aldrich William Blanding A. B. Simmons Joshua Read Ira D. GofF Thomas J. Monroe Frederick Fuller James D. Tillinghast Samuel M. Manchester John S. Hammond John R. Child Thomas J. Griffin Hezekiah Brown Luther A. Martin Joseph L. Brown George Richardson William T. Pearce Nathan Child Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— THIRD WARD-Continued. Addison M. Fairbanks Wm. Bunnell Nicholas Johnson Charles M. Peck John T. Greene James C. Bigelow William Franceville Joseph B. Mason Benjamin J. Brown Joseph R. Allen Cyrus Tvvitchell Nathaniel M. Allen Edward Loobey Benjamin Wakefield James E. Spelman John H. Greene John H. Lonsdale Crawford Allen J. L. Maring Nicholas Carr John B. Walker Elijah Selden Stephen Hill Benjamin Allen Voters not qualified hy land. Job Luther Francis B. Bushell Ezra P. Lyon Charles B.' Smith George W. Coster George W. Harris William E. West Loven Jones Benjamin K. Smith James O, Read Nathan B. Luther Benjamin C. Hubbard Charley Shannok Laban Easterbrooks William Jones Daniel K. Ormsbec John ^J\ Sweet William C. Thayer John M, Jenkins Daniel Fisk Kingsley P. Studley Edwin Tripp George Foster Francis W. Garlin Abraham B, Studley James Anthony James M, Munro William A. Stanley Benjamin Conwell Benjamin D. Chace Joel Hotchkiss Jacob Frieze George C. Dickinson Lee Langley Samuel Spooner Daniel Holmes Borden Albro John A. McLane John H. Miller Benjamin Davis David Collar Jacob Hopkins Zoeth Brown Ebenezer C. Allen Caleb Whiteford Calvin S. Peck James P. Allen William H. Peck Nathan F. Read Peter A. Davis Shubel Blanding William W, Cummin^ William E. Sweet Samuel Spencer Samuel Arnold Lewis Bonney William Cameron William Sprngue Harvey Chaffee Lebbeus J. Peck Patrick Flynn John S. Reynolds John Welden Otis T. Stanley Benjamin Maker Samuel Heath Ira A. Stanley Charles A. Eddy David R. Houghton Thomas T. Pitman Henry Congdon William N. Studson John Mathews Rep. No. 546. 'm PROVIDENCE— THIRD WARD— Continued. William Barker Samuel Allen Henry R. Pail 11 Levi Shearman Henry Stevenson John N. Locke John D. Henley Joshua Read, jr. George S. Brown Joseph T. Smith Sylvester W. Peck Samuel Alien Wm. B. Gould Henry Miller Benjamin J. Brown Brutus Aldrich Wm. Eddy Wm. H. Sabin Rouze P. Wate Stephen Maxwell Michael Tooker Thomas Hopkins Jared C. Dodge Joseph K. Mason Oliver C, Stanley Shubel Ormsbee James N. Curtis Perry S. Manchester Sanford Ross James S. Miller Henry Bragg Henry L. Foster Wm. W. Doty Aaron Atwell Richard Chappell Josiah A. Hunt Wm. T. Hopkins Bowen Spencer Alva Grey Benjamin Albro Walter L. Potter Ezra S. Allen Benjamin Hodgdon William Haswell Metcalf White Ansel West Henry Bailey Hiram Barron Thomas B. Smith William Sutton, jr. Simon Watson Jeremiah S. Ross Amos Stone Hiram S. Read David Ingraham William U. Bogman Albert Bullock James C. Sheridan Gilbert N. Warren Benjamin J. Bliven Joseph Cole George Grafton Benjamin W. Dexter George H. Bosworth George W. C. Frieze George Grafton, 2d Jeremiah Wilcox Wilder Brown George Wilcox Cornelius S. Stephens Henry W. Smith Winfield S. Chase Elhanan W. Wade James S. Moran JNoah Howe Josiah S. Pierce Darius Dennis Maxwell Chase William H. P. Steere Isaac Goddard Jerome Shearman Benjamin Pierce Thomas Wetherby Seth Cobb Daniel V, Ross, 2d Jeremiah G. Luther William C. Carr John Glover Napthali Newhall John Sprague William H. Vaughn Charles Dean John Hoar John D. Barney- Horatio M. Smith John B. Palmer Noel Matherson Edward P. Martin Edward Landey David L, Williams ^8 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-THIRD WARD-Continued. Iram Frost Russell Munroe Edward T. Bourne George Fowler Josias L. Peck Morris Demming James Fuller Charles A. Cornell Benjamin S. Heath Obadiah Mason William Battey Dean Chase Benjamin Rogers William W. Battey Aaron Boomer Comfort Horton Samuel A. Thomas Leprelet H. Wilmarth John Merris James B. Holme George A. Bailey Albert Hunter John C. Bill Francis Hull Abraham B. Salisbury Henry A. Sutton George A. Blackmar Solomon W. Jacobs Israel Pearce Benjamin B. Hathaway Ephraim Brown Simeon P. PuUin Isaac Dowd Bradford Ripley Wheaton Moflit William P. Allen Ephraim Eld ridge Nathan S. Bowers Abner Tripp Rodney Luther William Morsfan Charles W. Rhodes Josiah Bliss John M. Shaw Alba B. Parker Josiah H. Ormsbee Abel B. Potter Silas Reynolds Patrick Q,uain Stephen S. Burdick Thomas R. Tripp William Allen Christopher Blanding George Doad George Fisher William Jackson David T. Corn well Joseph S. Mason William Hull Lyman Hodsdon Aaroh Richardson Pardon B. Millard Charles A. Brown Henry S. Frieze Jeremiah C. Bliss Joseph B. Mason William H. Butts Henry Potter John Williams Joseph J. D. Grafton George A. Studley Edwin G. Greene Alexander Eddy Benjamin H. Bassett Charles S. McReady Stephen A. Aptin George Foster George D. Mason Joseph Gould Henry Dodge James Millard George Greene John S. Sweet James White Charles B. Gladding John Sutton Charles Tripp Edward Crowley Edward Garland Samuel Langley Joseph Northrop James A. Leet Robert Ford Gideon R. Sweet John Greene Daniel Greene Jonathan Baker Samuel H. Viall Daniel Bucklin Ezekiel Mowry Rep. No. 546. 4Sd PROVIDENCE— THIRD WARD-Continued. George D. Wenman George Lewis Simon Smith Edward A. iVshton William Pierce Jeremiah Wilcox, jr. Charles Daniels William Chappell William B. Bigelow Orion Whitaker J. C. Dillaber William Thomas Samuel Eathforth Benjamin Greene Samuel Butts, jr. James McLellan, jr. John G. Dishley Lorenzo Mitchell Henry Luce Samuel G. Davis George W. Smith Alexander T. Sheldon Selh Chapin Jesse A. Bullock Samuel Wilmarth Charles McLane William Meriwether James Dunbar William Clarke William C. Ormsbee Hugh H. Harkins Joseph French Israel Barney Joseph Paine Nathaniel W. Cozzens John Potts "William Nicholas John Clarke Asaph Mason Stephen P. Clarke Mason Read William Brown Charles N. Pond Samuel J. Butts Theophilus P. Paine Wilham Smith Andrew Ide James Foster Rolhn S. Belknap Henry E. Barney George S, Mason William Smith James S. Hinkley Andrew J. Davis David Dodo-e Richard Stokes John J. Hall Asa Armington John H. Pierce Gilbert K. Gladding Henry Fowler Reuben Weekes George W. Hazzard Jonathan Cartwright Stephen Brooks Jefferson Perkins Arnold L. Brown Nathaniel Viall, jr. Samuel D. Lindsley Lloyd Bowers John T. Moore Joseph L. Burroughs Galen Pond A. P. Newcomb Wm. S. Whitmore Wilham Relph John T. Tillinghast Joseph Hunt David C. Champlin John P. Battey Emery Cushman Fenner Brownell Freemen, 165 Non-freemen, 472 Total 637 FOURTH WARD. Solomon H. Austin Robert Almy Wra. H. Allen Charles A, Arnold James P. Arnold Isaac B. Allen Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-FOURTH WARD-Continued, Silas S. Allen Alvin S. Arnold Francis Anderson John B. Ames Samuel B. Arnold George A. Abbey- Charles G. Arnold Anson W. Aldrich Jonathan B. Allen James O. Arnold Caleb Arnold Benjamin R. Almy Alexander T. Andrews Burrington Anthony David G. Aldrich Jabez Allen George W. Arnold Joseph F. Arnold Tillinghast Almy John S. Andrews Elisha Bosworth Anson Buckley Fred. L. Beckford James P. Burgess, jr. Albert Brickley John Brady James Barnes James Billings George A. Billings Samuel W. Baker Nesbiit F. Bowes Oliver A. Budlong Freeman Burke William Baker. Hartford B. Billings Wm. A. Baker Benjamin Bogman Josiah Brownell Jesse Bolles George Bolles Wm. H. Burgess Albert M. Burgess Charles Burlingame Cornelius W. B. Bennett Daniel R. Briggs Charles D. Brown Wm. W. Brown Samuel W. Butts David M.Bullock James Boyce Albert E. Bowers Frederick B. Bersuet Samuel Brown Elijah Brown John G. Bitner Edwin D. Burroughs Gideon Barker John R. Brown Peleg Burroughs Henry Brickley Sylvester B. Bowers Charles Buck Leonard B. Bigelow Ephraim A. Burrows Eseck Bowen WiUiam Brownell Reuben Brown John Bussey William Bogman Stephen Brown George O. Bourne John Burdekin William Brownell Thomas Burns Benjamin C. Bowen Samuel J. Bowen William B. Bourn Allen Brown Charles W. Carter Benjamin T. Chace Charles H. Colson Horace Collins Horace Capron Oren Claflin Eleazer W. Collins Stephen Cornell Welcome Collins Archibald Chase Nicholas E. Chase Ebenezer Cobb, jr. Thomas Case Nathaniel J. Cheney Thomas Chase John H. Chase Lyman F. Cobb Jacob Converse John P. Case Asa Chase Stephen C. Colby Ebenezer Cobb Rep. No. 546. AM PROVIDENCE-FOURTH WARD-Continued. William Carr Stephen Curtis William B. Cranston Rufus Claggelt William P. Cook Otis H. Cushing William H. Clarke John E. Chase Thomas L. Clarke Benjamin R. Carpenter Powell H. Carpenter Ebenezer C. Cook William J. Cobb James Clarke Liberty Childs Thomas J. Carpenter Nelson Cooper Joseph G. Chamley George G. Clarke William Coggeshall Job Carpenter Simon B. Cutler Henry G. Carpenter James Carroll William W. Crandall Thomas F. Carpenter Calvin Cady Edward E. Chase Francis Carr Christopher G. Dodge John Drown Stephen A. Davis Walter R. Dan forth Jonathan M. Danforth Edward Dexter George R. Davis Mathew Donnelly Rowland Duckworth, jr. John S. Davison George R. Dodge Clark Dalrvmple Ellis Day " Thomas Derraot David Davis Francis L. Danforth Rowland Duckworth George Dyer William P. Davenport John R. Eames Silas S. Everett John Easton Thomas Easterbrooks Yinal N. Edwards George A. Eaton Charles W. Eddy Charles B. Eddy Bailey W. Evans John Eldridge Samuel Eldridge Thomas Earle Benjamin Eddy Charles Fisk William B. Fairman William H. Fenner Abijah W. Fitts OUver Furnald George Fax William Fisk Ezra W. French George B. Franklin George C. Freeborn A. J. Foster Joseph B. F. Fuller Edmund Fowler Burroughs Field Peter O. Greene James W. Gladdmg Henry Gray David E. Gale Slade Gardiner John H. C. Gray William N. Gardiner John S. Gladding Samuel S. Ginnedo Henry B. Gladding Timothy Gladding William H. Gardiner Benjamin A. Grinnell Royall P. Gladding Benjamin H. Gladding James P. Goodwin George F. Gladding Joshua P. Geddings Abel Greene William B. Greene Jason W. Harvey Edward Hallett Jacob Hardenburgli William H. Hood William Hill '492 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-FOURTH WARD— Continued. Paul Himes William L. Hammett Thomas G. Humphreys Joseph P. Hoyt William Harding Patrick Hammond Angell P. Healy Alfred Hin:ies Nathan Hall Jones Hunt Daniel Holmes Benjamin F. Herrick George Herrick William R. Harvey Samuel Havens Caleb M. Horton Moses Hawkins Thomas M. Hawkins David S. Headley Leonard Hill Henry S. Hutchins Stephen Hall Avery M. Horton Wilham F. Hammond Arnold C. Hawes Theodore Horton Theodore Hutchins William Hidden Samuel E. Hills Thomas D. Hudson Herman Hartwell Peleg Hull Cyrus Handy William W. Hoppin David M. G. Hamilton Geo. W. Ingalls Elkanah Ingalls Lewis L. Ingalls Richard T. Irons Oliver Johnson John L. Johnson Richard W, Jackson Job F. Knight James S. Kimball Shepard C. Kingr.ley William W. Keech John C. Keep Charles S. Lawrence John S. Lawrence Judah C. Lyon Christopher P. Lillebridge Alexander Lake Henry S, Latham Barney Leonard John Lassell Joseph Luther Edwin H. Leonard Alexis Ladd Stephen A. Lockvvood Henry D. Lyon Bowers Lewis Henry H. Lassell Albert Lockwood Henry G. Luther Seth Lee John Lyscomb Joseph Low Edward Lynch John H. Lockwood John A. Littlefield James Luther Robert Manchester Robert Manchester, jr. Alexander Manchester James Manchester Horace A. Manchester Thaddeus Manchester Jeremiah Mathews William Moore John Meriwether James P. Muncy Nathaniel Monroe John H. Morris Peter McSourley Samuel M. Millard William H. Miller John McBride Edward McKenna Joseph B. Mathewson William J. Miller Reuben Mowry Nathan F. Mathewson Avery Moulton M. B. Mead John McKenna Nelson H. Mowry Henry McNeil Pardon Mason Coomer E. Mason Michael McKenna Rep. No. 546. 4kt7«J PROVIDENCE-FOURTH WARD-Continued. Edward McKrakeii Charles B. Morton Peter Mullen Daniel Mothevvson Orson Moffitt Christopher C. Najac Lewis Najac Borden A. Norton Walter Newell Paul S. Niles Merrick Nichols Richard Nichols Ebenezer Newell Jesse N. Olney John W. Oldham Lewis P. Parlin Benj. Peck Benoni Pierce Aldrich Payne Perry Pearce Joseph E. Potter John W. Potter Squire Pearce Nicholas Peckham Cyrus Pierce Wm. J. Peasely Edwin Pearce Dexter Pearce Dexter H. Pearce John F. Pratt Daniel T. Penniraaii Jeremiah Peckham Samuel Potter Geo. W. Peck John Perrin Ashiel Pearce Avery Pettis Stephen Pearce Levi Parker Barnard Pearce Nath. Polly Thos. S. Paine Ebenezer N. Padelford Abm. Paine Stephen A. PhiUips Lyman W. Perkins Darius Phillips Silas Peckham Stephen Phillips William F. Preufert Luther Pierce John Prentice John Pen no Joseph Remington Jeremiah Remington John E. Risley Joseph G. Reynolds Salmon Rugg Seth M. Rounds Martin Ryan Horace Read John V. Rolph Wm. H. Russell James H. Shaw Simeon Shearman Josepli Simmons Perez Simmons Michael Sisson Mathew Sweet Harvey Scott Charles Smith Seth Simmons James Sawyer Thomas G. Stoddard Geo. W. Spink Albert G. Sprague Charles J. Shelley Wm. Sampson Job S. Stanley Edwin S. Stanley Thos. W. Sampson Charles D. Shed Amos M. Southwick Wm, Spencer Stephen L, Shearman Benj. C. Simmons Nathan Simmons Sam. Stow James Salisbury, jr. Geo. S. Slocum Chas. Sisson Seth Spooner Wm. Simons, jr. Samuel San ford Solomon Seacles Peleg Seymour Thaddeus S. Simmons Samuel S. Stow Artemus Staples Ara H. Simmons Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— FOURTH WARD-Conlinued. Douglas T. Seamans James H. Stow Harvey Searle Gideon A. Smith Rowse W. Spencer Wm. Simons Edward S. Simons John B. Sweet Aaron Simons Edward H. Simons Joseph F. Stow Hezekiah Sabin, jr. James Smith Charles Smith, 2d Lemuel B. Shepard Jeremiah Stndson Albert M. Shaw Dennis Sawyer Elias Smith Darius Sessions Benj. Stephens Sam. Thurber Stephen G. Thurber Enos Tucker Wm. Talbot Charles Town Edward M. Tyler Wm. Thompson Benj. T. Turner Sam. S. Taber Andrew Thompson Charles Tourtellot Henry Tanner Horace Thompson Daniel M. Tyler Phillips Tillinghast Henry H. Truemaii Pardon Taber Solomon Tyler Sam. J. Townsend Abm. Taber Joseph A. Tibbetts Henry G. Taber Nathan Trueman Samuel S. Thurber Wm. R. Tower Lewis Thomas Chas. G. Taft Harvey Towner John S. Thurston Wm. P. Taft Patrick Tracey Otis R. Tiiigley Joseph Yose Nath. R. Wright Sam. Wilbur Wm. B. Wilcox Esek Williams Tobias L. Warner Jonathan M. Wheeler Samuel Whipple James M. Warner, 2d Prelett Wilbur Reuben Wright Henry E. Whipple Albert Wescott Charles T. Weinz Thomas M. White Oliver Waterman James M. White Jabez C. Wright James Walford John Whittemore Wilbur Wheaton James Wilson, 2d Ozias Willard Wm. H. Wood Zephaniah Word Chas. A. Williams Caleb Wescott Alex. Walford Amos M. Warner John West Leander M. Wail John G. Whipple James Wescott Benj. White Preston E. Williams Amos A. Walker Henry Williams Sam. Young Sheldon Young Edward R. Young Freemen Non-freemen - Total - i 142 357 499 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-Coniinued. 495 FIFTH WARD. Samuel R. Williams Peleg Johnson Benajah C. Warner Octavian Rice Richard S. Dawley Peleg Dawley Josiah Jones Fraiijilin Cooley Palmer Simmons Joseph D. Benton Philip B. Stiness James M. Shaw Peleg Hull Henry B. Winslow George R. Walker Nelson Hopkms George San ford Daniel W. Young James H. Sweet Ezra B. Viall Israel A. Tripp Wm. W. Brown Peleg W. Gardner Horatio R. Chirke George Gardner Caleb R. Barney James G. Daggett John J. Bent Henry E. Branch Joseph Davis, jr. Nath. G. Winslow Smith Potter David Parmenter Benj. Arnold, jr. Hezekiah Willard John S. Allen Nicholas R. Arnold Geo. W. Horn Asa H, Til ley Peleg A. Sanford James Howard Geo. A. Miller Hiram Chappell Joshua Brown Robinson Monroe' Amos Fletcher Ephraim Richmond George Morse Harris J. Mowry John Eddy Henry D. Davis Geo. Fabyan Cornelius T. Allen John W. Child Daniel E. Carpenter Jeremiah W. Anthony John C. Davis Henry Luther Emery Willard Simon D. Glines John Andrews John Warner Martin Grant Joseph R. Hood Wm. Pitcher Geo. N. Ohiey Humphrey Almy Jonathan R. Snow Seth Walker Horatio Viall Owen Weaver Daniel G. Shearman Alfred S. Buffington Asa H. Pease Thomas Hathaway Luke Hazard Rufus Reed Benj. Pidge John Budington Wm. A. Potter Wm. Gould Benj. Peckham Sam. Hawes Azariah Smith Paul Dexter Arnold Peters James D. Mason Wm. Dee Daniel Remington Daniel Smith Richard Hazard Thomas W. Greene John Dougherty Philip Marks Gorton B. Randall Henry E. Talman 496 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— FIFTH WARD— Continued. Joseph C. Miller James Lewis Asa N. Greene James Hazard Calvin "Wesson Pardon Goff William H. Cobb Alpheus B. Southwick Nathaniel liOng John Donald Charaplin R. Browning Thomas G. Daggett James S. Williams Sylvester G. Hazard James H. Bntler Thomas T. Tift Ellery Allen Charles Armington Benjamin H. 'I'hurston William P. Patt William M. Ryan Amon R. Thurston William W. Knight Josidh F. Everett Edmund H. Angell William L. Ells William A. Bradley Isaac F\e\d, grand Juror Nicholas Rogers George W. Page William W. Gunnell Otis P. Hicks John H. N. Gardner Nathan M. Blake Amasa H. Slocum Sylvester Lewis Isaac Field, jr. Edward Tipson William G. Bullock Sayles Irons Benajah Warner Thomas G. Howland Samuel Lewis Ephraim Haswell Albert Cleaveland Nicholas Briggs Fisher A. Cleaveland Jonathan Barlow Homer P. Hunt Thomas Barnes Warren E. Messenger Homer B. Whipple John O. Paine Thomas N. Smith Eli Messenger Henry Battey Calvin Whipple Halsey Ellis Newman Thurber Samuel F. Merriam Elisha Padelford Ebenezer Ladd Benjamin F. Pierce Lewis Prentice Henry A. Bos worth Samuel Haswell Augustus K. Tallman James G. Brown Horace Weatherhead William Gonsalve James Wilson William Worrall Chester Fay Edward Balcome Gideon Congdon Orana W. Prince Champlin Lyon Thomas G. Butler Resolved W. Cady Peleg Hull, 2d. George W. Brown Seth B. Rounds Edwin Smith Wm. H. Gale Wm. H. Wood Ezekiel Potter Warren Congdon Nathan Weaver Charles Trescott George A. Jenckes Luke Movvry Newton O. Whipple William Winslow Robert Miller Stephen Brownell Robert Grinnell John Wilbur Patrick Winters Edward B. Jenckes William A. Carpenter Rep. No. 546. 49T PROVIDENCE-FIFTH WARD-Cominued. Albert T. Remington Dexter Hathaway Enos A. Cooke O. F. Butcher Welcome Arnold William S. Young Lucian B. Kendall John Spencer John B. Wood Andrew Johonnot Isaac Field T. A. Chace Thompson Newbury- Charles Warren Horace Ray- John E. Tourtellot L. W. Cooper Lindamon H, Orins Rufus B. Briggs Stephen Moss John Allen William Belcher James Knox William P. Gray Edward Bowers Abraham S. Gladding Experience S. Barrows Daniel A. Brown Joseph A. Waite Henry Lord John H. Mason 2d Christopher C. Potter Arthur M. Potter Charles Burnett, jr. Philip M. Fisk William H. Mann Peles: C. San ford William T. Swarts Ephraim Gilford Charles Battey William D. Butts Lewis W. Varrin John Springer Nicholas Medbury Horace M. Brown James Trafton William Bushee John Dean William H. Potter James Heany 32 Horace T. Briggs Franklin Oldes George W. Branch Mason R. Pierce Abraham H. Siillwell Henry Aibro John Emerson Marvin Andrews Samuel Warner Elisha M. Warner Loring W. Nye Walter E. Gardner John M. Scott Elijah White Otis Taber Asel B. Col well David Hicks Henry C. Westcolt Joseph D. French William Blaisdell Daniel Champlin Timothy Munyan Charles A. R. Pierce John Jackson Samuel Wesson Hugh McCatferty Seabury Manchester Joseph L. Sanders Joseph W, Sanders Jeremiah Child James Randall Richard Burke Asahel Herrick William L. Branch Rufus A. Peck Arnold W. Spencer George N. Gilmore James P. Sisson George Burr Henry B. Eddy Richard Salisbury Jeremiah P. Pearce Isaac Saunders Albert W. Tripp Jonathan Freeborn William Gardner James C. Burke Josiah Wardwell Major Tripp John Sanders ^m Kep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— FIFTH WARD-Continued. Horatio Brown Benjamin Willoughby Albert Fuller Richard W, Dexter Lewis Streeter Welcome W. Pitcher John S. Eddy William Bnrr Joseph Ashley Nathaniel Knight James Tucker Mark A; Heath Oliver H. P. James Alfred B. Lewis William U. Coins Remember Ingraham James D. Carr Lewis Carr Daniel C. Beetle William P. Tanner Charles T. Allen Lyman J. Arnold Martin Fisk William C. Johnson Lemuel Wyatt William H. Murray Solomon D. Walker Joha S. Rice Lewis S. Towne Alexander Albertson Thomas Pierce, jr. Rufus Phelps Stephen Cornell Wilham Loring Lorenzo Logee Charles Sanger James C. Hidden James Winsor Asarelah Harris David Porter James M. Sanders Francis C. Curtis William Hazard Elijah B. Newell William Spencer Samuel F. Knowley Abraham S. Gladding John J. Smith Carr Lawton George W. Murray Jolui L, O'anady Samuel Robinson Charles Davis John White Milton Hodffes John Hunt Calvin Harding William H. Dyer Edwin Burn ham Edward Burr Alden Pabodie Francis Crowell Samuel Reynolds Gardner T. Swartz Benjamin Foster George A. Taylor Jacob Symonds John A. Jastrani Henry Cutting Immannel Searle W^illiam Nye Freeborn Johnson Watson Andrews Joseph Burke Augustus Codding Joseph Chase Augustus W^ood William Daruley Ebenezer B. White Daniel Allen Stephen S. Allen Thomas Barstow John Springer Gilbert Sheldon Aaron Davis Ingoldsby Work George W. Young John Perkins Joseph Chappell Oliver Jenkins William Atwood Rasselas M. Chapin Adnah Sacket William Rider George W. Babcock Dexter Hall Warren Wood Oliver C. Monlton Richard S. Moulton James H. Hook James Burgess Daniel HuU Edward Harris Increase Sumner Gardner G. Wood James Shearburn Fenner WilJiarns WilJiam Hull John Douglas Georg-e Wood Henry M. Phetteplace Gdbert Luilier Walter Collins Nathan Crowell Henry C. Johnson ^elh Darhni? Anthony Hazard ^rankhn Pearce Albert G. Coffin Jabez R. Arnold Allen Brown Henry Studley Philander White Horace B. Peck j homas Browneli Joseph Davis Gardner Salisbury genry Sherburne C^harles Mills Ghauncy Himes Oliver Wicks Hezekiah Allen, jr James W^ Paine i^rastus Edwards ilorace Edwards JVilliam J. Curtis Henry H. Jones George W. Snow Alfred Randal! James Arnold James G. Rawson Ebenezer Carpenter John Anthony fioswell R Rickard John H. Bullock Jedediah B. Fuller Henry A, Nye Isaac S. Bailey George B. Holmes Wilham Salisbury Horatio Burke Alien G. Case Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-FIPTH ward-Co... 499 Stephen Russell •Ralph Mowry Tliomas Reynolds John Pearson Jeremiah Woodmancy Hams Searle IJichard W. Liscomb Welcome Miller Horace C, Burgess Charles Hix " Ira Grant i^enjamin Smith John Harman Sylvester Salisbury David King Hamilton Warren John W. Field John La ha Gideon Edwards N.ithan'1 i\. Carpenter VVi ham J R UnderhilJ v^ilham F. Kent Joseph Pitman Francis Stoddard Arnold Matthewson Wilham P. Rodgers Peleg Bo wen William G. Hodges Edward Billino-s Daniel Brown '^ Thomas Luther Nathan Gorton George W. Crocker trankhn Maguire Albert Hicks Nathaniel Stephens Wilham Jones Francis 'J^albot Samuel G. Anthony Jonathan Green ' William Field Stephen Branch Ebenezer F. Barnard Robert K. Field Joseph Manchester I-evi Salisbury William i\. Dewey Daniel H. Leonard Robert Whipple Taylor R. Brattia '^Mi 500 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-FIFTH WARD— Continued. William W. Heath William Valley John B. Merriam Job Cornell Alfred Spink Alpheus J. Snow- Horatio N. Pierce Eben Simmons, jr. W^illard Johnson Olney Read Richard M. Field, jr. W^illiam Maxwell Hiram Kendall Samuel Boyd William B. Lawton Rodolphus Jenney Thomas B. Snow- Simeon Field Christian M. Nestell Benjamin Arnold Ray Clapp Amos W hitney John G. Petlis Joseph G. Snow Calvin Topliff Samuel P. Grins Harvey Tillinghast John Reeve John VV. Greenp Elijah Pomroy Spencer Pease, grand juror Riley Scott Still man Rand John VV. Freeman Nathan B. Fenner Bernard Clarke John C. Kin^ James M. Whiting John G. Childs William G. Percival David C. Keep Robert W. Potter William Taylor Thomas Taber John Deo Jolin S. Brown Charles Wescott Joseph H. Snow Samuel Sawyer Henry Braman Alfred D. Chace Wheaton Burgess Bradford C. Shaw WiUiam 1). Guile Charles V. Merrick Francis Read Samuel S. Brown Samuel G. Rawson John Clemmons Archibald Dalrymple John F. Greene Arnold Irons Henry U. Smith James C. Backlin C. B. Manchester Jesse A. Healey William H. Hathaway William Ross Benjamin G. Snow Joseph West Job L. Pratt Benjamin Kendall Edward Salisbury Zach. R. Tucker Eseck Tall man • Samuel Currie Jacob Manchester Lewis Field Edwin B. Eddy Charles Harding, jr. Emanuel Suesman Gideon Waite Thomas Goodman Allen F. Manchester Edward R. Mitchell Samuel Pearce John H. Bentley Ezra Luther Alpheus Billings Ezra Baker Charles Ri?,ad Ebenezer Kingsbury William B. Dean Chancy Marble Amos \V. Snow James A. Eddy Ira H. Chase Albert H. Manchester Thomas J. Ward well Benjamin H. Salisbury Rep. No. 546. 501 PROVIDENCE-FIFTH WARD— Continued. John W. Butts Joseph W. Davis, grand juror Gardner Luther William Rhodes Thomas Boyd Benjamin Ham Edmund J. Ham Job Andrews John Taylor George T. Thorp Alfred H. Barker Hanson H. Thomas Henry A. Hidden Daniel Perrin Edwin Barstow Nicholas B, Gladding Samuel James Reuben Glover William R. Ballantyne Ezra Miller, jr. Nathaniel B. Horton Pardon S. Pearce John H. Madden F*ancis McGown Patrick McLaughlin Henry H. Young Amos Horton Francis Tallman Henry S. Hazard, grand juror Horace Gray Emerson Tower John Holden Thomas Doyle William Bowers William Andrews Charles H. Childs Jarvis E. Gladding James Martin Daniel Martin Thomas Snow Leander Utley Alvin B. Robbins George Woodward Eben Simmons Daniel Snow Samuel Snow Anson Cole Thomas Harrington George W. Anthony Earle Carpenter Leonard C. Marble Eliphalet S. Fulson George D. Lawton Henry Luce John Congdon Loring W. Cady Cyran A. Carpenter George Duckworth John F. Trescott Edward Field Charles N. Esbeck Henry D. Martin Amos R. 'YnxxxQr , rev. pensioner, Dutee Arnold Samuel Gray J. Stoddard Bernard O. Rourke Richard Kelpy Samuel S. White Josiah Cady John Humphrey Benjamin Davis Job Winslow Robert Welsh Charles F. Brayton Horatio L. Holmes Edwin Tallman John Entwistle William A. Wiley Jeremiah Ellis Fitch M. Parker Abner A. Cornell Thomas Taber Benjamin H. Sanders Aaron Turner Smith Brown Jesse Battey Hiram Fuller Robert Shearman William Johnson Hazard D. Slocum John M. James, jr. Samuel Maccomber Jabez Williams George W. Gladding Benjamin P. Wood John S. Gladding Royal Belden George S. Steere Christopher Briggs Rep. No. 546.r PROVIDENCE— FIFTH WARD— Coniinued. Edwin Pidge Moses Hall Willet Potter Charles G. Stafford Edwin B. Bohnzerrioz Robert Laird Francis Laird Freeman Bi^elow Henry H. Parker Thomas Sears Solomon Arnold Oliver Gorton Benjamin E. Carpenter Jonathan P. Helme Henry Bray ion William W. Thurston Albert Harrington David Dee James l^ibert James Payton Osborn S. Warren William P. R. Benson John T. Rice Horatio Biidlong Benjamin Wilson Stephen Perry Samuel S. Partridge James Barber Silas Sekell Archibald Kenyon James Hall John A. Moseley John Greene Robert S. Babcock Silas Weston Roswell K. Brown Charles V. Tallman Jeremiah Williams John Col ford John H. Langley William A. Wardwell Stephen Arnold George J. Prentis Richard Barnes Maurice A. Heferren William Newell Amasa Humphrey Jabez Thurston Frederick H. Smith John Carpenter Hezekiah Anthony Chace Lewis Isaac Wilcox Joel P. Jenckes Apollos Sekell William D. Snow F. F. Foster Moses Healey George B. Luther Daniel Brown John Wardwell John P. Hazard George Cook Francis Hearney Joseph Belcher Freeholders, Non freeholders, Total, 248 515 763 SIXTH WARD. Non freeholders. Eli Haskell Joseph Johnson Henry L. Wilson James D. Vaughn Jeremiah A. Sheldon Orrin A. Capron Mowry Lovell Elisha K. Waterman Barton K. Taylor Russell Parker William F. Ayer James Barnes William H. Hopkins Palmer Fanner Thomas R. Fenner David Cady Samuel Carpenter Natlianiel Robbins Dexter B. Carpenter William W. Babcock Rep, No. 546. mi PROVIDENCE— SIXTH WARD— Continued. Alfred Burke Kinsman Hart Artemas H. Parker John Stevens Benjamin B. Chace Benjamin R. Dawley Philander Barney Isaac Peckham Henry Hillman John S. Barnard Anthony Hathaway Daniel T. Hubbard Leonard Horlon G. W. Hubbard Ichabod Potter Henry C. Potter Robert B. Searse Richard Stone R. G. G. Spooner Esek Stone David N. Rickard Christy Potter Milton Cady Asa W. Davis John P. Dunham Stacy W. Remington Benjamin G. West Charles Williams, jr. John Branch Samuel French Edwin Field Samuel C. Greatrakes Ezra Gowine: William H. Gilmore Josiah R. Pierce Nathaniel R. Paine Stephen G. Williams Earl Potter Francis D- Brickley Lorenzo D. Littlefield Jeremiah S. Barret Elisha Tripp Gamaliel Collins Dana Lyon Samuel P. Eldridge Frederick H. Clarke Cashel F. Corey Stukely Johnson George S. Wescott Joseph G. Johnson Samuel Hedley Daniel Heath Stephen A. Stone Stephen H. Cobb William H. Chappel Noadiah J. Stone Otis Cook William J. Browneli Stephen Col welt George S. Thompson Olney Logee Ephraim Martin John Mitcliell Ira Johnson Stephen A. Hayward George R. Gage John F. Brown Nicholas W. Johnson Lewis J. Lamphere John S. Weeden George H. Talbot Bowen Pierce Henry A. Luther John H. Dorrance Joshua Hathaway Samuel Durfee John A. Mason Asa C. Newton George J. Crosswell Israel Orswell James Burlingame Melville Hopkins James M. Shellev Charles E. Randall Richard M. Allen Abraham H, Padeltbrd Francis P. Haynes Chester Clack Luther Buffiiigton Lawson Tayl&r William A. Anthony Charles R. Cooke Benjamin F. Dustiu Daniel Rice John Hagan Lucius Weaver Thomas E. Shearman Charles G. Stone Darius Angell William H. Bennett 504 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD-Continued. Thomas H. Burke Benoni Phillips Caleb Mosher, jr. Henry Porter Isaac N. Hal let Pardon H. Manchester Peleg H. Barnes George Burgess Reuben Weaver John Read, jr. Daniel N. Phillips Fitz James Rice Micajah C. Rice William P. Oldridge, jr. Samuel Oldridge, jr. Benjamin Sarle Miles B. Lawson Thaddeus Reynolds Thomas W. Sprague Ellery Bentley George N. Briggs Willard Eddy Timothy B. Chedell William Johnson John M. Freeman Hazzard D. Reynolds Daniel Angell Benjamin Grant Richard M. Cornell Waterman Irons John Crandall John W. Sprague Edmund A. Nichols Burrill Arnold Edward C. Wade Horatio N. Williams William Calverson Walter Jackson John Eviston Abram Aldrioh Thomas Wensor David Andrews Ebenezer R. Morton Calvin L. Nye Paris Parker Henry Snow James M. Fenner Robert Pettis James G. Rounds Thaddeus Winship Oliver P. Tanner Otis W. Everett Henry D. Coggeshall Lawson Gale William H, Barney Benjamin Miller George S. Tapley William Keep David Jackins Francis Salmon Lewis Bosworth Albert C. Allen Silas M. Field ApoUos Richmond' Nathaniel G. Titus George Trafton Jeremiah Knight William H. Luther John A. Durfee Amos Jillson James H. Nichols Henry H. Graves Benjamin T. Slocuni: James A. Smith Benjamin Balch Robert Wilson Samuel Tweed Edward Burrows George A. Harris David Fitts Stephen Simmons Davis E. Burke Anthony Mason Gideon S. White Stanley Carter Daniel Round John A. Aldrich Seth Hathaway Thomas E. Hudson Simon Winsor Henry G. Day Stephen Crary George A. Willard George W. Morse Addison Livermore Benjamin Hoar Pliny E. Capron Pardon M. Stone Dexter Pierce Jaspar Davison Rep. No. 546. 50$ PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD-Continued. Chester Davison George Gilbert Otis ]N, Pierce Elijah Pomeroy Amos WhJtaker David A. Mathswson Nicholas C. Hudson Henry S. Cartee Horatio Hunt Henry Parkhurst Amos Smith Henry Waterman Gardner Williams Job Angell Isaac Sisson Aldan a Lyons John C. Sleere Samuel T. Moore Jeremiah Mathews Ellis B. Pierce David W. Pettey Bradford N. Mathewson Aaron Gates Daniel K. Chaffee James Sheldon Samuel Hudson Charles T. Dunham Sessions Smith Benjamin Burrows Caleb Mosher James Day Leveret Sprague Joseph B. San ford Milton Cady. jr. Thomas Aylesvvorth Nathan P. Luther Sylvester E. Kelley Abram Chace Edward EUsbree Erdix T. Swift George Williams Thomas Williams Charles Bacon Royal A. Webster Franklin W. Cooke Joseph W. Chadbourn Daniel Mcintosh George Chedel Nehemiah Davis Samuel Cooke Waller Greenwood Alfred W. Fisk Amos B. Bunnell Harvey Nichols Sanford Chace William G, Hathaway William Springer John G. Vallett Joseph W, Field Clark Cundell Christopher C. Taber John B. Wade Welcome Arnold Ira Biackman Isaac R. Burlingame John Fagan Nathaniel Burgess, jr. George R. Coggeshall Benjamin W. Remington Jeremiah D. Card Horatio N. Carpenter William S. Davis Samuel N. Warner Horton Kelley Lemuel M. Smith Allen Chilson Edward Dennis Thomas J. Monro William Davis Ira Mathewson Caleb Mathewson Nathan B. Goff Joseph Hicks Arnold Saunders Cyreen Paine Alexander W. Fenner Edward O. Lawrence James E. Brown Caleb Coggeshall Henry Bunnelf* Alfred B, Biirdick Daniel Saunders William Monro Daniel K. Gardner Warren Haskell Thomas W. Manchester Dexter S. Cooke John Clark Lyman Cargill Benjamin B. Burgess 5m Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD-Continued. John Baggs John T. Thurston Edward Phillips Benjamin T. Chedel James Jennings Joseph Paine Benjamin Brownell WiUiam Whitman Welcome Ide Augustus Smith William B. Henshaw Calvin Wilbur Cyrus W. Johnson John H. Donahue William P. Brightman Ebenezer B. Sowden Loring Hoyle WiUiam Brown William J. H. Tucker Timothy Shedd Franklin Rand John Peehara William N. Douglas William Mathewson Allen Luther Thomas P. Shearman George Horton Jonathan Jenks Peleg Shearman Robert Markham George W. Springer Smith Farnham Caleb S. Pierce Salisbury Peck Nathaniel Penno Cyrus W. Brewer James R. Hodges Benjamin Martin William Clarke James M. T4illlson Lloyd B. Paine Seth Baker Joseph C. Humphreys Artemas Raymond Enos H. Weoden William T. Butts Smith W. Arnold Henry Lawrell Dennis Lawrell Alden Ishara Charles P. Shelton Julius Jordan Thomas Nobles Arnold Rhodes Charles Saunders Horatio Vallett Alanson Carter William H. Lawrence William Parker John Branagh Daniel Tafferty Eben Norton, Sidney S. Clapp Truman Bowen Samuel A. Wightman Thomas T. Goff John Hazard James Allen Henry T. Franklin Samuel R. Thompson Otis Weaver Francis Cory Samuel Ashley Isaac Collins Olney Winsor Samuel B. Harris David Gale Owen Arnold Francis Eveieth James N. Hopkins Jesse Wood James W. Lock Noble T. Greene Brown Simmons Henry Allen William Burke James M. Peck ham Joseph L. Dennis Calvin Wares John C, Hardenburgh Thomas JM. Rounds Robert Newson Thomas Henry Thomas W. Eddy William Davenport John Nobles Charles Sheldon Samuel Sweatland Albert P. Ware El ah Beach Rep. No. 54d. 50T PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD— Continued. Daniel A. Whipple Simeon Anthony Joseph E. Chace Samuel W. Anthony John D. Henley, jr. Wm. A. Williams John H. Whipple Robert Hazard Benjamin Brown Arnold H. Burlingame Halsey Greene Joseph W. Pierce Wm. H. Slocum Seth B. Cooke Nicholas A. Fenner James Bacon Joseph V. Snow Ariel B. Horton, jr. Daniel C. Bo wen Samuel D. Allen Jeremiah Bos worth Samuel Woodbury Wm. B. Davis James A. McKenzie John Taylor John F. Pitts John S. Peckham Wm. K. Thurber Samuel Oldridge Wm. H. Stone'^ Samuel S. Ashley Christopher Johnson Ebenezer Robinson Patrick Golden George McGowen John E. Brown Garnett J. Burnc Stephen P. Collins Henry P. Knight Benajah Williams, jr. Thomas Lee George J. Ames Cyrus Barney John W. Ellis Wm. Jackson John V. Hill John Taylor Daniel Eaton Benjamin F. Jones Asa Cumminss Jeremiah Hammond Thomas Smith Amasa Slocum Samuel Stone John Shearman James Gage Peleg H. Congdon Wm. N. Sprague Lemuel Nichols Jacob Garland Abner Taylor Ira HoUoway Isaac Randall Aaron Paine Darius Young John Sweeny Otis Walker Wm. S. Manuel Samuel Walker George W. Frost James D. Hubbard Pierce Anthony David C. Greene Charles M. Ware Daniel Randall Francis Worth Michael Noland John Dowley Stephen Drew Francis Steere Seth B. Cooke, jr. Daniel Chace Qualijied. John S. Harris David P. Casswell Samuel Hawkins Benjamin Hopkins Arnold Pooler James G. West Daniel Pettey Hezekiah Smith James H. Steere John Luther Nathaniel J. Rider Samuel Monroe Charles Williams Edward G. Farmer Stephen C. Kenyon 508 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD-Coniinued. Samuel Clarke Josiah J. Luther Rhodes Allen Benjamin B. Wood James S. Hall Richard Lake Freeborn Johnson Edward W. Nottao-e Alfred B. Frink Wm. S. Hunt Reuben H. N. Bates Thomas J. Capron John Tillinghast Joseph Tyler John S. Tripp Henry W. Olin Levi Lewis Sylvester Bowers Elias Arnold Arbro Anthony Ransom Hicks Thaddeus Curtis Isaac La ha William Olney, 2d Thomas Chaffee Charles Ellis Wm. B. Preston Samuel B. Durfee Benjamin Orswell Wm. C. Barker, 2d Joseph A. Carr Reuben Smith, jr. Wm. B. Remington Joseph Arnold, jr. Bradford Allen Whipple Phillips John Proctor John L. Snow Caleb Cory William Winsor, jr. Samuel M. Dnnham Stephen Chace Obadiah Fasten, 2d Stephen Barker Halsey Wade Gardner Vaughn George Miller James Harris Emery Johnson Peleg Andrews Nathaniel Burgess Thomas Yates Job C. Eldred Abijah B. Thomas Thomas Walker Calvin Tower Nathan Thornton, jr. Wm. B. Harris Jeremiah Bagot Abel Hopkins Pasco Haynes John M. Cargill Joseph B. Harris Sheldon Brown Thomas Lincoln George E. Blake Joseph Col well Samuel Green James T. Slocum Rowse H. Dawley Wm. J. Pabodie John S. Parkis Wm. H. West William Hicks Abm. Lucas Stillman Perkins •Tosiah H. Martin Benjamin B. Knight Wheaton A. Harrington Ezra Tibbetts William Randall Charles Seamans William Fenner William P. Shaw John Hopkins Nathan M. Chaffee George C. Bowers Jacob C. Gould Peleg Peck Nathaniel Ingalls Theodore D. Fenner Rufns Blan chard Samuel Kelley John Field Stephen Beverley Edward Beverley Otis Holmes James Bowen Jonathan Shearman Charles D. Miller Rep. No. 546. 509 PROVIDENCE-SIXTH WARD— Continued. Daniel Davis Amos W. Olney Sterry Kelley William L. Thornton Edmund Williams Lorenzo E. Bovven Nathaniel Rounds Allen H. Rounds Joseph Beverly Albert G. Olney Amos Fuller Benoni Tyler Seth Simmons, jr. Samuel Harrinojton William Seaver, jr. Palmer Harrington Jacob Bourne William S. Spink Almond Hopkins Joseph C. Potter Jonathan Wood, 2d Dexter A. Edwards Benedict H. Dawley John W, Arnold Jonathan Wade Isaac Hedley Alfred Lewis Lewis Jones Suiion P. Shearman Job F. Angell Seth R. Shepard Andrew Golding Peleg C. Remington Richard Beverley Winson Angell Sylvester R. Jackson Stephen P. Henry Ezekiel Angell Warren G. Slack John H. Watson Joseph F. Gilmore John Winship Albert Corlis Stephen Field .Tohn A. Darling Albert F. Evans Filisha Evans Samuel Arnold William W. Arnold Hiram Barker Charles H. Pierce Amasa R. Tourtellot Jacob Monro Joseph Sisson Welcome Bussey John R. Martin John Barton George W. Seamans Charles F. Robinson David Read Abiel Sampson Benjamin G. Teel James P. Burgess Richard M. Snow Joshua Kimball Henry Beverley Nathaniel F. Potter James W. Winson John Beazley Ira L. Beckwith John Fisher Nathaniel Eaton William Beverley Thomas R. Seamans George W. Gilmore William P. Olney William A. Wood Rufus Bo wen Henry Hill Thomas Bowen James W. Tibbetts Caleb R. Nye William H. Hathaway John K. Lester William Andrews, jr. By proxy. Samuel W. Brown Thomas J. Sprague Ephraim Martin William H. Hudson Joseph Robinson Alexander Brownell George L. Noitage Addison Winch Amos Young John P. Hunt William M. Bowen Daniel Usher 510 Rep. No. 546. PROVIDENCE— SIXTH WARD— Continued, Nathaniel Sweet John Gould Elisha Paine Joseph Smith Richard Saunders Edward Thurston John C. Snow Zadoc Shearman George Weeden Barney Peck Jeremiah Amable Barton Randall Nathan Monro Silas Burgess Thomas Sarle Henry C. Pabodie James C. Randall Charles T. Martin Lawton A. Shearman Joseph H. Austin Beijjamin M. Jackson Alexander G. Folger Israel Scott John Penno, jr. Seth Scott Jeremiah Penno Holden Pearce Charles Seamans Joseph Moore Almon S. Baker. David Cole Jabez C. Olney Not qualijied. Nathaniel Perkins Ethan T. Sheldon John Francis P. S. T. Hewett Benjamin Stansfield Benjamin S. Olney John Banks William 0. Briggs David Nichols. Nathaniel Fuller Alanson Smith Qualified - 255 John P. Mumford Not qualified - - 506 John Day Edward S. Folger Total - - 761 Charles F. Rawson RECAPITULATION. First ward Second ward Third ward Fourth ward Fifth ward Sixth ward Total Grand total • Q,ualified. Not qualified 162 362 88 284 165 472 142 357 248 515 ■ 255 506 1,060 2,496 . 1,060 3,656 Rep. No. 546. No. 107. VOTERS IN SMITHFIELD, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. Not qualified. Arnold, John F". Arnold, Daniel Allen, Asa M. Andrews, Dennison D. Aldrich, William Allen, David Allen, David E. Angell, Stephen Arnold, Jacob Arnold, James M. Arnold, Hanson Austin, John Adams, .lohn A. Ashton, Samuel B. Allen, Kay Ano^el, Eben S. Aldrich, Hamilton P„ Arnold, George W. Allen, Leonard Aldrich, Eseek Aldrich, Nelson Allen, Alfred Arnold, Collins Aldrich, Alva Allen, Ichabod, jr. Aldrich, Lewis Aldrich, Caleb Angell, Stephen Aldrich, Charles Allen, Ichabod Arnold, Lewis G. Adams, Luther H. Adams, Elijah Arnold, James Albee, Ethan A. Archer, George S. Arnold, Whipple Allen, Joseph C. Allen, Otis Arnold, Baxter L. Arnold, William Arnold, Samuel, jr. Qualified. Applebey, Charles Angell, Nathan Aldrich. Vesy Ansel), Pardon Armington, Lyman Arnold, Allyn Allen, Sabin Aldrich, Edwin Aldrich, Nathan, 2d Angell, Jabez B. Angell, David Angell, Daniel Aldrich, Smith Aldrich, Thomas S. Aldrich, Thomas J. Arnold, Samuel S. Aylsworth, Allen E. Arnold, Israel, jr. Aldrich, Wellington Arnold, John R. Arnold, Olney Arnold, Thomas T. Arnold, Lyman Arnold, Jenckes Aldrich, Smith S. Alexander, Ijcmuel Andrews, Thomas Aldrich, George B. Aldrich, Welcome W. Aldrich, Joel, jr. Aldrich, Burrill Arnold, Seth Angell, George W. Against. Aldrich, Simon Not qualified. Balcom, Ebenezer, jr. Balcom, Ebenezer Ballon, Horace Bliss, Lewis S. Babbitt, James Babbitt, Ebenezer Bennett, George Bryant, Noah A. Brown, Nathan 512 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD— Continued. Bailey, William Burlingame, James Blackman, Lawton Bailey, Jeremiah Burlingame, Ira Barney, Patrick Byron, Boh an P. Balcome, Alfred Babbitt, Ebenezer Blair, Charles E. Bray man, Hasard Bailey, George W". Babbitt, William W. Boyden, Samuel Blackmar, William Bradford, George W. Brown, Laban Brown, Ebenezer Brown, George W. Brown, James Bee bee, George C. Beals, Samuel R. Bullock, Lorenzo D. Bartlett, William Bentley, Gardiner Briggs, Caleb A. W. Bowen, Horace B. Ball, Nahum Bentley, John Bennett. Whipple Bullock, Bradford Brickell, James H. Babson, John F. Briggs, Daniel Bowen, Eber Beebee, William H. Briggs, William H. Ballou, Welcome Boyle, Phineas Bicknell, Japheth Bates, Ephraim J. Barrows, Fayette Braman, Stephen H. Boss, John Li. Balsor, Oman Barnes, Horace Barnes, Mowry Ballou J Silas Ballou, Joseph R. Bray ton, Rai.dali S. Bates, Albert A. Bishop, Welcome W. Baker, Asa Bryant, Henry W^. Boss, George Bicknell, Joseph B. Burlingame, George W. B. Baxter, Alexander Buxton, William Buxton, William Brown, Stephen Brown, Daniel S. Ballou, Wheaton F. Ballou, Dennis Bellows, Willard Bellows, Eliphalet E. Bartlett, John S. Brayman, Wanton Bolster, Warren Bassett, Nathan Ballou, Peter Bowen, William R. Bowen, Joseph W. Bentley, Warren Burrows, Josiah Buxton, Job Brickell, Samuel C. Bowen, Alden Ball, George W. Brown, Jonathan Brown, Elisha Brown, John Brown, Christopher Bowen, Stephen Boomer, Joseph Bacon, George W. Bridge, Allen M. Bowen, Coomer Burbank, William H. Barber, Ezra F. Braylon, Boylston Bigelow, Harden Briggs, James M. Briggs, Rufus Blake, Andrew Bradford, Dutee Burden, Estes Bishop, Alien Billiiigioii, Randall Brown, William Rep. No. 546. ol3 SMITHFIELD-Continued. Bradford, Zebediah Bartlelt, Jiimes Barton, Washington Bo wen, Henry Barnett, Hiram Brightman, Robert D. Buxton. David Brayton, David Benchley, William Qualijied. Bnrbank, Thomas Bradford, Gideon Bradford, James H. Barnes, William Brown, Thomas S. Ballon, Eliab M. Bosworth. Richard T. Bradford, Isaac Bray, Christopher G. Brown, Waterman F. Bartlett, William Buffum, Thomas Bisbee, William O. Barnes, Jjevi Brooks, William Buxton, Oliver C. Briggs, Richard Baxter, Ansel Bacon. George A. Brown, Lorenzo S. Bishop, Thomas W. Braman, James M. Barnes, Pardon Burrows, Eleazer W. Brown, Charles Benedict, Stephen Benedict, Thomas J. Benedict, David H. Benedict, Stephen G. Ballon, William Ballon, Willard Bennett, Josepfi Brown, Gideon Brown, Ebenezer Brown, Arnold Briggs, James JJarney, William C. Ballon, William J. Bradford, Willurd 33 Buxton, Charles Buxton, Rnfns Buxton, Thomas Buxton, Aaron Busher, Samuel Bellows, James Butler, William Brown, Daniel Bradford, Sabin Ballon, Warren Not qualified. Carpenter, Allen Chase, Thomas Colvin, Albert Clarke, Charles Carter, Abel Cummings, Wm. Cole, Jonathan D, Chase, Nelson Crosbee, Geo. W. Croswell, Theophilus Chase, Lulher Chandler, Enos Collins, Thomas, jr. Crosbee, Daniel B. Clatke, John B. Cole, Ariel Crosbee, Aurelius Curtis, John Crowell, Joseph Grossman, John W. Colwell, Willard Gushing, Benj. Grossman, Emery Collins, Heman S. Cook, Reuben Collins, Daniel J. Cunliff, Giles M. Claflin, Charles J. Cory, Christopher Chase, Moses Croplee, Elisha Cady, Edmund Collins, Ephraim Crossbee, Wm. H. Crandall, Lorenzo Crandall, Chas. C. Carpenter, Richard Carpenter, Richard, jr. 514 Rep, No. 546. SMITHFIELD— Continued. Cummins, John Cooke, John L. Cooke, Warren Chamberlin, James Clarke, Preston H. Champlin, Daniel Carlton, Daniel Cooper, Thos. J. Conkey, Isaac G. Carpenter, Daniel Corser, Benj. Corey. Caleb A. Collins, Kufus Curtis, Joseph Carr, Daniel Cash, David Collins, Thomas Collins, Simon Cummings, James R. Casey, Gideon Clarke, Nelson L. Cole, Sisson Cobbett, Isaac Cutting, David F. Collins, Joseph Cuzzine, Geo. J. Cushing, Nicholas Clarke, John Chase, Alfred B. Cutting, Caleb Col well, David Cooke, Oliver C. Cooper, Chester Corey, Daniel N. Corey, Marvin Grossman, Noah Qualified. Clarke, Andrew Y. Grossman, Alpheus Grossman, Chas. P. Clarke, David Cole, Jonathan Cole, Geo. D. Carpenter, John J. Chase, Samupl Carr, Weaver Cummings, Pardon J, Cummings, Geo. T, Crossbee, Benj. Coe, Alden Capron, Joseph, jr. Cardon, Dunleonard Chase, Alex. B. Cowden, Jason Collins, Prince Clarke, Randall B. Cooke, Albert Copeland, Geo. H. Clarke, Alfred C. Coe, Emor Coe, Robt. A. W. Cooke, Lyman Carr, Henry Chase, Allen Crapon, Thos. G. Copeland, Joseph Not qualified. Dean, Aratus Dean, Brigham Dickerson, John Dawley, Farnum Devereux, Elisha O. Davis, John D. Davis, Wm. Dexter. Benj. Daniels, Benj. Dickerson, Ebenezer Davis, Thomas Davis, Stephen T. Darling, Lewis Drake, John Dow, Geo. W. Dunsley, Wm. W. Dean, Calvin Dean, Edward Dudley, Abel Dean, Listl Devereux, James Davis, John Davis, Benj. Davis, Nathan Day, Austin G. Drury, Levi W. Darling, Alvin Darling, Cordis . No. 546. 51S SMITHFIELD-Continued. Darling, Joshua Dean, jfames Qualified. Day, Elijah Dexter, Francis M. G. Dolly, Solomon Davis Stephen Davidson, Wm. M. Diirfee, David Daniels, David Dick, George Darling, Willis Daniels, John M. Dampney, John Noi qualified. *Eggleston, Asa Ellis, Amos Erson, James W. El kins, Edward Earle, Hiram Earle, R-ilph Evans, Benj, jr. Elliot, Nath. Elliot, Daniel Emmons, Alfred J. Ellsbree, James Earle, Albert Earle, Wm. Earle, John F. Easton, Alvan Esten, Randall Ellsbree, Wm. Edge, Thomas P. Enches, Benj. Enches, Dexter R. Enches, Jesse F. Edson, Benj. Eastwood, James Qualijied. Enches, Thomas Ellis, John Esten, Diitee Eggleston, John W. Not qualified. Freeman, B. Fuller Florence, John Finn, Thomas Fuller, Thos. P. Fuller, Geo. W. Foster, James J. Fiske, Emory Fuller, Henj. Fisher, Howard Fenner, Henry G. Freeman, Caleb Freeman, Mason Fuller, Wm. Fuller, Nathan, jr. Fuller, Amos Fuller, Lorenzo D. Fuller, Nathan Fuller, Joshua Fuller, T. R. Fairbrother, Pritchard Fairbtjuks, James Field, Ira f^ristall, Olney Freeman, Willard Franklin, Ebenezer Flood, Arthur Fanning, Chas. H. Fisher, Elius Foster, James Ford, Joseph Fuller, Zachary Fuller, Caleb Follett, Randall Flagg, Benj. Fisher, Chas. L. Qualified. Follet, Leonard Follet, Isaac Follet, Lewis Follet, Leonard J. Fenner, John Farnum, Chas. A. Faxon, El bridge G. Farnum, David 516 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD— Continued. Not qualified. Gorton, Oliver C. Greene, James G. Greene, Satn. L. Greene, Henry L. Greene, Gto. F. H. Gardiner, Samuel Gardiner, Nath. F. Gardiner, Wm. H. Gilmore, Avery Gilniore, Elbridge Gilmnre, Gorton GifFord, Alpheus Goffe, Am? sa C Goffe, Luther W. Ga2;e, Richard B. Gordon, Charles S. Gordon, Geo. Goffe, Ephraim Gardiner, Nelson Gardner, William Gaskill, George B. Guild, Oiis G. Gleason. Hiram Gilford, Roboit Gorton, Lewis E. Grey, Joshua Gross, Samuel A. Gregory, Ehsha Guild, Hen;an Garrett, Benjamin Grinnell, Simeon Grinnell, James Gatchell, John Gould, Oiis Garrett, Ezekiel Greene, Benjamin Greene, Augustus Greene, Scammel Greene, Israel Greene, Alien Greene, David Greene, Benjamin P. Greenman, Edward Guild, Loring C. Qualijied. Godfrey, Aldrich Grant, Preston Green, William A. Gifforcl, Freeman Gifford, Seih B. Greyson, Thomas Gorton, Israel R. Greene, Alexander G=- Greene, Benjamin F. Greene, William Gardiner, David N. Godrey, Bradford Greene, William A. Gonley, John A^ot qiialijied. Hammond, Amos Harris, David Harrington, Jonathan Hubbard, James Hawkins, Eleazer Harris, ]ra Hawkms, Elijafi C. Hutchinson, Stephen Harris, Mason Haywood, James Hawkes, A.-x Hicks, Jacob Hutchitison, Francis Hawkins, Arnold Holmes, William Holmes, Harvey Hudson, Stephen Harriuiideen, Wanton Holt, George W. Holmes, Ebenczer M. Harlow, Calvin Horton, Nathan S. Harrington, Edward V, Harradon, Jeremiah Hix, Benjamin Hayden, William Hathaway, Jeremiah Harlow, William A. Harvey, John A. J. Humes, Daniel Harris, Daniel Hoxie, Arnold Hill, Edward Hill, Daniel Rep. No. 546. mr SMlTHFlELD-Continu?cl. Hayden, Daniel W. Humes, George Humes, Ezra Hutchinsoij, Simon Heiidrick, Thomas Haywood, Gordon N. Hutchens, Samuel Hill, James Higgins, Solomon Howard, Shubael Horton, Nathan Horton, Thomas Hawkins, Smith Hill, Leonard liood, Joseph Hill, William A. Higgins, Zebina Hopkins, Willis Humes, Raymond Haraden, Hiram Harris, Sanford Han nay, Samuel Hale, Jabez R. Hill, George B. Hoxie, Arnold Hurd, Dean Harrington, Selh Hudson, M. VV. Haywood, Richard Haywood, WiHiam Hawkins, Otis Hathaway, Joseph R. Howiand, Sears Harris, William Hammond, John A. Hendrick, William Hawkins, John H. Harris, Woodbury C. Harris, Smith Hill, William, jr. Harding, Timothy L. Horton, Ambrose Hawkins, George Harwood, Byron Hill, George W. Hicks, Augustus Handy, Ebenezer Hendrick, Horace Holden, Havilah Hutchinson, Cyrus B, Hewett, Allen Howard, Joseph Haliburton, George • Holbrook, Cephas Handy, Elisha Harrington, William Holmes, David Harris, Jeremiah Hend, Oliver Horton, John Qualified. Hoskins, Abijah Humes, Henry S. Holley, Wm. P. Hendrick, Wing Hasten, JoshuaG. Holbrook, Wilder Harris, Daniel G. Hutchinson, Burrill Hendrick, Daniel Harris, Benjamin Handy, Philip F. Hill, Ebenezer A. Holman, Ansel Hathaway, Pardon Harkness, Souihwick Harkness, James Harris, Albert T. Harris, Edwin Hakes, Jesse Holley, Abner Harris, David J. Hakes, Nelson Holley, Rufus Hunt, Daniel Hutchinson, William Hutchinson, William B. Harris, Simon Harris, Alexander Harris, Welcome Harris, George Howard, William Harris, Farnum Holbrook, Moses K. Hurd, Freeman Not qualified. Ide, Ebenezer ^18 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD-Cominued. Irons, William Irons, Arthur Inman, W. S. Irons!, Amasa Inman, Jonathan Ives, Nelson Qualified. Irons, Harris M. Inman, Joseph Inman, Rebiies Inman, Daniel, jr. Not qualified. Jacobs, Nathaniel P. Jacques, James Jenckes, Jeremiah Jillson, William D. Jenckes, Hosea Jostin, Charles Jacques. Isaac Johnson, William Jenckes, George W. C» Jenckes, John, od Jones, William H. Johnson, Aibro Johnson, Sumner R. Jepherson, Reuben Jacobs, Benjamin Qualified, Johnson, George Jenckes, George Jenckes, Joseph Jenckes, Arnold Jenckes, James H, Jenckes, Rufus Jeffers, Thomas Not qualified. Kent, Henry H. Kimball, John J. Kendall, William H. Keecl), Daniel Kingman, Charles Keech, Joram Keech, Stephen Keith, Artemas Knight, Waterman Kibbe, Harry Kimball, Daniel Kerr, James Kingman, Cassander Knapp, Moses B. Keen, Daniel M. Kent, Henry B. Keen, William W. Kimball, Stephen Qualified. Kendall, Daniel Keene, John Kook, Sylvanus Knapp, Joseph Knight, Alfred Knight, Harden Keech, Alfred, jr. King, OIney Keene, John S. Kinneconi, George H. Knight, Daniel Not qualified. Leach, Lebbeus Luther, John W. Lewis, Horace D. Lacy, Augustus W. Landers, Charles S. Latham, Arthur Leach, John Luther, Hiram Lee, Mason Latham, Andrew B. Legg, Allen Lawrence, Adam Linkfield, Benjamin Lewis, Daniel Latham, Horatio Leonard, Carleton Lyon, Asa Lewis, James Luther, Calvin Lawrence, Jabez Lewis, Albert Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD-Continued, Luther, Daniel W. l.eggett, William M. Leech, Lebbeus Lochlin, James Lewis, Enoch Lewis, Foster (Qualified. Latham, Elisha Latham, Zebina Lapliam, Scott Lapham, Mowry Lockwood, Amos D. Luke, Sylvester Luther, Jeremiah Not qualified. Mason, William A. Mathewson, Riley P. Munyan, Marcus Morse, Joseph Marsh, Warren Mowry, Dutee, 3d Marsh, Joel Mason, Stephen N. Marvel, Ira Macklin, George Mouse, James H. Miller, Simeon Megget, Alexander Mowry, Aldrich Mowry, Newell Mowry, Albert Mowry, Henry Mowry, Scott S. Morse, Thomas Manchester, James Man ton, Wm. H. Merry, Joseph H. Morse, Moses Mason, Wilber Merry, Steward Miller, John R. Medbury, Benjamin D. Mowry, John O. Mowry, Wm. G. R. Mathev/son, Smith Martin, Benjamin Moies, Miles G. Mansfield, John F. Manning, Asa Mowry, John D. Miller, Seth S. Monroe, James Manchester, JS'iles Marsh, John Mason, Asa jr. Mowry, Whipple B. Maynard, Elmer N, Millard, George Martin, Remember Miller, Aaron Mann, William McCartney, James Mowry, Wm, R. Moffit, Caleb Mallory, Samuel S. McBlain, George Mclntire, Sylvester Marker, Charles Muzzy, Elisha Martin, James Mason, Miller Manning, Isaac Morse, Alfred Mann, Bonaparte Mann, Henry Martin, John Manly, Charles Mason, William Marsh, Silas Marsh, Simeon Marsh, Nahum Matteson, Ray Mowry, Darius Qualified. Mowry, Ahaz,jr. Mason, William Mowry, Charles C. Mathewson, Mansa Mowry, Eliakim Mowry, Jesse Mowry Ulvsses Mowry, Philip Mowry, Richard Mowry, William G. Mowry, Fenncr Mowry, John, 2d Mowry, Smith. 2d 520 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD-Continued. Mo wry, Benedict Mowry, Edward C. Mowry, Welcome, jr. Mowry, David B. Mann, Thomas Mason, Asa Miller, Joab Mansfield, Henry S. Mowry, Sylvester, 2d Mowry, Nathaniel, 2d Mowry, Welcome F. Mowry, Edwin W. Mann, Stafford Marsh, Metcalf Mowry, Olney Mowry, Esek Mowry, Jona. Mowry, Burrell R. Mowry, Smith R. Mowry, Asa E. Mowry, Foster Mowry, Levi B. Mowry, Mark A. Mowry, Welcome Mowry, Welcome, 2d Mowry, William Marvin, John B. Mann, Job S. Mowry, Jesse T. Mowry, Lievi McCan, James Not qualified. Nickerson, Stephen INickerson, Dean Nickerson, Leonard Nickerson, Clifford P. Niles, Ephraim Newell, Nelson Nickerson, William Nickerson, Isaac Nason, Delmont Norton, Henry H. Nichols, Reuben Nichols, Albert Nichols, Jonathan Newton, Simeon Qualified. Nickerson, Caleb M. Newman, Benjamin M. Not qualified. Oalley, John Osten, Henry Qualified. Owen, Thomas J. Olney, Emor Not qualified. Potter, John Poor, Nathan Paine, Mowry Pate, Rowland Pierce, James B. Phetteplace, Thaddeus Phetteplace, Allen Phetteplace, Chad Phetteplace, Otis Phetteplace, George Phetteplace, David Palsey, Alanson Parker, George W. Plummer, John Peck, Joshua Parish, Charles Pooke. Milton Place,'H. N. F. Potter, Joseph S. Perry, John Pitsley, Joseph Paine, Pliny P. Paine, Angell Pitsley, Alexander Pitsley, Joseph B. Pierce, James M. Pierce, John Pierce, David N. Phillips, Nathan Phillips, Lewis Phillips, Arnold F. Phillips, Nathaniel Phillips, Stephen Pierce, Isaac Pierce, Asahel Perrin, Otis Potter, B. A. Pate, Jeremiah Pierce, John Rep. No. 546. 521 SMITHFIELD-Continiied. Pierce, Bar nil m Pholly, Albert Phinney, Warren Perry, William W. Pierce, Henry G. Paine, Horace A. Phillips, John Potter, Arnold Palsey, Virgil M. Perkins, William A. Perkins, William F. Pierce, Henry G. 2d Pritchard, Knott Plummer, Marvin Potter, Horace Paine, Ephraim Paine, Mathewson VV. Pritchard, William Parish, Burnham Paine, Smith W. Potter, Ira Place, Lewis Paine, Ftnner Paine, Oliver Prince, George Qualified. Paine, David N. Phetteplace, Thurston E. Paine, Ephraim Perry, Stephen Phillips, Welcome A. Phetteplace, Nev/ell Phetteplace, Benjamin Phetteplace, Dutee Pate, Simon Pate, William J. Pate, Jabel Paine, Nahum B. Pinkerton, Thomas Paine, Noah Pierce, Daniel Polsey, Abner Pooke, Edward Peck, Noah S. .Pitts, Joseph Pitts, James Paine, Daniel Paine, Paris L. Paine, Abel Prentis, William Phetteplace, Simon W. Paine, John A^ot qualified. Q,uimby, Samuel Q,uiston, Robert M. Not qualified Remrich, Angustus Reynolds, Thomas P. Rogers, Solomon Reed, William Rogers. Benjamin Rathbun, John Roberts, John Richardson, N. H. Reed, Anson Reed, William B. Reynolds, Allen Reynolds, Robert Rathbun, Nathan Rogers, Solomon, jr. Reed, James Radcalf, William C. Roberts, Ebenezer Reynolds, Arnold Rogers, Warren Richmond, Edward Randale, Simeon Roys, Benedict Robinson, Andrew Robinson, James K. Remington, William Richardson, Charles Rounds, Freeman Ric'iardson, Isaac A. Ross, Frederick Qualified. Randall, Shadrach Robinson, Whipple Robinson, William Ray, Joseph C. Ray, Samuel Randall, Dexter d22 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD-Gonlinued. Reed, John Reed, George Reddy, Michael Reddy, Edward Remington, James M, Robinson, John S. Not qualified. Stebbins, Charles F. Spencer, Edward Sahsbury, George E» Stratford, Charles J. Sayles, William Sherman, Silas E. Sherman, N. K. Smith, Israel A. Smith, Isaac Smith, Reuben Sayles, John E. Sears, James P. Stras, Stedman W. Saunders, Thomas Smith, Clarke Studley, Freeman Sweet, Waterman Smith, Palmer Sherman, Ebenezer Staples, Sylvanus Simmons, Eleazer Stone, Benoni Sweetland, Thomas Snow, Levi M. Snell, Thomas Sheter, Thomas Sherman, Preserved Sherman, James B. Smith, Brown Shove, Samuel Smith, Good Smith, George W. A. StearnS; Michael Simmons, Daniel Sisson, Abner C. Smith, Michael Stearns, Francis Salisbury, Benoni Stearns, Micah Staples, Arnold Speak, William Sprague, Benjamin Shaw, John, jr. Salisbury, Stephen Sayles, Seth Stanley, David F. Smith, Charles Smith, Marshall Smith, Amasa Sweetser, George Sherman, Waterman Stutely, Henry Stone, Lewis Stimpson, Lovett Sibley, James Sweetser, Warren Smith, Welcome Spencer, Jason Salisbury, Charles Smith, Henry M. Salisbury, John Smith, Amasa Streeter, Nathaniel Simons, Edward Sibley, Elbridge G. Sweet, Anthony Salisbury, William Smith, Anan B. Streeter, David W. Slater, Stephen Sweetzer, Charles Sanborn, Stephen Salisbury, Charles Smith, A. B. Slater, Stephen, jr. Salisbury, Reuben Simmons, Levi Sherman, John B. Simmons, Sandford Sweet, Richard Stearns, George Sheperson, James W. Snooks, Barney Smith, Gardner Smith, Josliua B. Smith, Daniel Sweetland, Thomas Slade, Stephen Sayles, Daniel Staples, George Sears, Thomas Rep. No. 546. 1^ SxMITHFIELD-ContiHued. Sherman, Henry Stoddard, Benjamin G, W. Sherman, Benjamin Sturtevanf, Francis Slocum, Samuel G. Searle, Benjamin G. Stafford, Foster H. Stafford, Rufus J. Smith, Amasa Spear, Benjamin Smith, Elisha Seagrave, Edward F. Smith, Elisha Smith, George Streeter, Van R. Shove, Thomas F. Sayles, Smith, 2d Shippee, George Smith, Charles A. Spooner, Asa D. Qualified. Sweet, Daniel A. Sherman, Steniien A. Sayles, Richard Smith, George W. Sayles, Benjamin, 2d Smith, Emor H. Stafford, Christopher G. Sayles, Clarke Smith, Edward Smith, Stephen Smith, Dow Sayles, Welcome Sayles, Stephen Smith, Elisha Smith, Jin Smith, Orrin Spaulding, John N. Stiness, George G. Streeter, Alfred Stone, Henry Spear, Arnold Sayles, Welcome B. Sherman, P(Meg B. Sherman, Eleazer Sayles, Israel Sweet, Albert Smith, Silas Smith, Wanton Smith, Ahel Slocum, William Spear, Seth Smith, Simon Smith, Elijah Smith, Emor Sayles, Orrin Southwick, Eber Sayles, Madison Smith, Russell Swan, William Not qualified. Taylor, Charles M. Trafton, John Thompson, Benjamin Thompson, Nahum W. Tillinghast, Henry G. Thompson, Hiram Thompson, Ellis Thompson, John Thompson, Henry L. Taylor, Henry Tyler, Timothy Tourtellot, Lebbeus C. Tyler, Gardiner Tyler, John Taber, Lawton Thompson, Horatio T, Taber, Stephen H. Taft, Lyman A. Tobey, Archelaus Tobey, William Thornton, James Tucker, Amasa T, Tiffany, Charles A. Taft, Henry Thayer, Hiram Taylor, Edward G. Taft, Abner P. Thayer, Smith Tilden, James B. Tucker, William Taylor, Dexter Thorp, Comfort B. Terry, Seth W, Thurber, Albert D. Thompson, William A. 524 Rep. No. 546. SMITHFIELD-Continued. Thompson, Daniel C. Taylor, Timothy A. Tift, Rufus W. Taylor, Cyrus B. Tiffany, Joseph Thayer, Laban Tripp, Abiel Taft, Royal K. Taft, Bailey Thayer, John W. Thayer, Samuel W. Tift, Arnold Tallmai), John Qualified. Tracy, Ralph Tanner, Silas Taft, Elias Taber, Isaac Taber, Benjamin P. Taber, William B. Todd, Albert Turner, Joshua Thornton, Waterman Taft, Nelson Tucker. Jackson Tucker, Elhanan Tucker, Samuel P. Trowbridge, Horace Taft, Amasa Thayer, Smith Not qualified. Usher, Willard Usher, Elisha M. Qualified. Usher, James S. Not qualified. Vallett, Wanton Vallett, Barton Yallett, David Vannevar, John Vickery, Abiel, jr. Vaughn, William N. Vose, Amariah iualificd. Vickery, William Varney, Andrew J. Vars, John Vose, Alanson Vose, Selh H. Not qualified. Welden, Enoch Wight, George A. Woodward, Nicholas Wood, Allen Whitaker, Harris Walderson, Everett Wilmarth, Albert T. Whipple, Charles Wilbur, Jonathan S. Watson, Caleb Weatherhead, Alfred Wakefield, Jeremiah Wheelock, Dennis Wood, John Winsor, Edward M. Walcott, Palemon Westcott, Harley Wilbur, Oliver T. Webb, Joseph Waterman, Albert Wilson, Benjamin Wright, Amasa Z. T. Williams, James Warden, Jona. L. Wilmarth, Hiram Wilmarth, Lyman Wilmarth, Joseph Wilmarth, Theophilus W. Wilmarth, Joseph, jr. Weatherhead, Avery F. Whitman, Benjamin T. Woodward, Samuel E. Wood, Samuel Watson, Champlin Westcott, George N. Wheeler, Philip M. White, Asa Westcott, Caleb White, Samuel O. Wood, J. O. Rep. No. 546. 525 SMITHFIELD-Continued. White, Welcome Wilmartlj, Eben Wilbonr, Cliristoplier Wilbonr, Lawrence West, Brownell Williams, David W^atson, Buffiim Watson, Lyman Ward, Thomas Wright, Joel Wiley. Alonzo A. West, Bradford Williams, Benjamin White, Melatiah Welden, Warren Whipple, George R. Williams, Simon Wood, Abram Wilbur, Gilbert West, Isaac Wliipple, Levi Weld, Tyler Wheeler, Jonathan Webber, George Wood, George Wheelock, Silas Wilbonr, Daniel ' Wheaton, William S. Wilbur, Stephen R. Williams, Jeremiah Qualijied. Whipple, Olney A. Wilbur, David Wright, Orrin Walker, Dudley Wriglit, Stephen Welden, Prince Wilbur, Daniel, jr. White, John J. Walker, Harris Whipple, Ferdinand Weaver, Archibald B. Weatherhead, Daniel Wilmarth, Jabez Wilkinson, David S. Whipple, Ahab Wilkinson, John J. Waterman, Royal Worrall, John Wilkinson, William Whipple, Arthur Wilkinson, Isaac West, William, jr. Not qualified. Young, Martin Young, Charles Young, Alphens Yearnshaw, Thomas Yearnshaw, John Young, Charles Young, Israel Young-, Daniel Young, Thomas Young, Othniel Young, Seth P. Yearnshaw, William Qualijied. Young, William Young, Jeremiah J. Q,ualified, 381 for Do. 1 against Not qualified, 956 Total, 1,338 556 Rep. No. 546. No. 108. VOTERS IN CUMBERLAND, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. George Jenckes Sylvanus Thayer Whipple Joslin Windsor Wheelock Leonard Joslin John Cheesebrough David D. Kent William Treadweil Mark Kelley John Burnham Sabin P. Pond Elijah A. Sherman Cyril R. Grant Ahiman W. Arnold Ariel Ballou David A. Colvin Linus M. Harris Joseph A. Gladding Warren J. Ballou George J. (^^hambers George G. Greene George W. Herrick Elias~ Cobb James Kelley Eleazer Wight Warren White Clinton Puffer Philip W. Capron Elisha Addington Daniel Pierce, jr. Joseph D. Brown David Curtis Welcome J. Bartlett Nelson Steere John M. Eastman Silas Bennett William A. Jenckes William B. Hopkins George W. Kelley Samuel Day William B. Shove Kinsley Carpenter ISailian P. Hopkins Ezttkiel Cook Ebenezer "Warren William P. Chapman Henrv Green man John S. D. Grant Martin S. Saunders Lyman Cook 2d David Burchard Nelson Maxson George W. Davis Jenckes Harris James Shepardson Elijah Carpenter Anthony G. Randall Asa Bowdish Abner Ravvson Lebbeus Cook Calvin Mason Aaron Mowry Sutton Jillson Jeremiah Goffe Dan A. Daniels Dan King Erastus P. Cole David Greene John King George Mclntire Samuel N. French Charles W. Darling Andrew Pucker, jr. Gardner Smith Robert P. Williams Seth Mowry, jr. Joseph Nason Charles W. Underhil. Aaron White, jr. William O. Bartlett Charles A. Scott Samuel Merriara Edwin 1. Gerry Edwin Mason Richard Kelly Wanton Greene Gideon Harris James Carroll Smith Burlingnme Comfort Eddy Amos Follett James Wilkinson William Smith Alanson S. Daniels Benjamin M. Darling Emory Arnold Rep. No. 546. m^ CUMBERLAND— Continued. Amos Grant Elijah Smith Albert C. Vose Horatio Siockbridge Sampson Chase Charles Greene William A. Knowlton Mo wry Colwell Jeremiah Phillips John H. Flint Waterman Hopkins William J. Olney Asa Sargent, sr. Dudley Keach Simeon Mclntire John Mowry Rnfns A. Younff George M. Streeter Richard Moore William Greenman Henry Dick Jonathan Ballon Asa Johnson Adin D. Sargent William B. Robbins Joshua Nickerson Willard Ballou George W. Mowry Willis Wales Sylvester Alhee Albert Sweet Horace M. Pierce Bethuel A. Slocum Eber Barllett Stephen Whitman Joseph P. Sweet Joseph G. Wells Amos Williams John A. Corey Jerry A. Olney Charles Dean Henry P. Green Persia W. Whitaker Warren Grant Caleb Mathews Charles W. Gates Obadiah Kimball, jr, Sheffield Maxson Flavel S. Caswell Otis Hawkins Stephen Rounds Lowell F. Cole Samuel Cruff Willis Young Ambrose Norton Samuel Crapon Henry Sampson Avery Waterman Benjamin B. Slade John Sawyer John Fuller William Bray Thomas Mague George W. Harrison John Lynch Sterry Hopkins Charles E. Richards William Ross John Fiske Thomas Wilbur George B. Brown William H. Whitaker Zera Clough William P. Noyes Alfred Hixon John E. Brown Barton Darling Jesse Ennis Sidney S. Paul Michael McCowan Levi Day Thomas Nason Francis C. Gardiner James Wood Richard Aldrich Marvel Aldrich Henry Brown, jr. Abraham Honghton Stafford Northup John S. Smith Smith Young Robert Blanchard Libeus Gaskell Christopher C. Gates Elisha Aldrich Anthony S. Fletcher Timothy S. Walker Daniel Hubbard Daniel Wescott Sampson Chase, jr. 528 Rep. No. 546. CUMBERLAND— Continued. Oliver Rose Edward R. Walker Isaac N. Cook Lorenzo D. Davis Timothy A. Andrews Welcome Jillson Samuel Davis Alexander S. Streeter Amos H. Maxson Benjamin F. Crandall Isaac Ellsbree Dexter Wescott David Vickery Orramel Jones Ozias iM. Morse Nahnm Mowry iSathaniel Morrill Warren Ballou Oliver W. Reynolds Asahel Mann Hela T. Chase Jonathan 13. Wood Wilham H. Shackleford Nathaniel W. Whiting Hiram J. Buffingtoii Stiikely S. Waterman Anderson Gorton Moses P. Keith Eugene J. Martin StilTman Kendrick Arnold Jillson Ottewill Worrall, jr. James Burchard Anson Darling Nelson Jenckes Nathaniel Nason Allen Gary Nahwm Sireeter Joseph Burlingame John D. Hunting Albert Darling David Brio:gs John Gordon Leonard Hyer George L. Bartlelt Elisha Smith Ebenezer Cook Stephen Bartlett Jonathan Sweet Fenner Salisbury George Scott Albert L. Smith George Hood Jairus Lawrence Thomas J. Keach Enos White Elbridge G. Greene James Albee Asel Goffe Jerauld O. Wilcox Elias Balcome Olney Burlingame Elias Bnrdick Simon Keith Benon L. Goldthwait Lewis B. Arnold Elijah C. Carpenter Lyman Mowry Joseph P. Arnold Stephen B, Whipple William C. Miinroe Seth Barilett Alfred Whiting Spencer Pratt James Corey John Ennis John Phinney William Randall James M. Rawson James Hopkins Thomas Knight Nelson Chase Perry Ballou John Cole Oliver A. Kelley Welcome Harrington Osmon Hathaway Eras! us Keach Liberty E. Weld Amos Darling Charles M. Hayden Thomas Harrington Thomas E. Davis Hawkins Mowry Reuben Huntress Abner Jillson Horace M. Nickerson Joshua O. Lewis Henry G. Ballou John Glackin Rep. No. 546. 529 CUMBERLAND— Continued. John Boodry Welcome Bartlett Jesse Shipper Horatio Stockbridge, jr. Increase Gatchell Ephraim Day Henry Estes Philip C. Scott Joseph Weeks Samuel Withrington Smith Cook William Bartlett Burgess T. Chase Benjamin Darling Caleb Carr Leprelel Fuller Darius Sibley Wilson Chase Augustus Adlington David Hill Ira Sibley Chesselden Bruce Mason Wales George Wilkins Charles Fates, jr. George C. Potter Thomas Russell Joseph R. Greene James Greene Alexander Smith Daniel F. Knapp Ezra Kenjpton, jr. Hosea Gaskill Stephen Borden Charles H. Stone John Washburn Moses Randall Aruna B. Armstrong Seth Peckham Samuel Baker David S. Wilder Jacob W. Saunders Alvin Arnold Burgess Chase William Cole William Joslin Levi T. Ballou William Carpenter Edwin K. Godfrey Benjamin H. Kimball 34 Layton F. FoUett Elijah Bartlett Whipple Cook, jr. James R. Case Horace Cleaveland Horace Gibson Amaziah Weatherhead James M. Whipple Stephen Farnum Hamilton T. Jillson William Lindley Benjamin Gardiner Jenckes Vallett Gideon Jenckes Oliver F. Ballou George Joslin Leonard Wakefield William T. Balcome Ephraim W. Cargill Stephen V. Whipple W^arren Weatherhead Jeremiah Jillson Israel Burlingame Pardon Angell Reuben Jenckes Ephraim Knapp Isaac Jenckes Leonard Whipple John A. Knovvlton Elisha Capron William Whipple George Capron Lyndon Cook James A. Wilkinson Daniel Arnold Henry Ray William Smith Stephen Dexter, 2d William Sprague, jr. Ichabod Howard James W. Ballou Olney Ballou Joseph A. Weatherhead Samuel E. Reynolds Cyrus Angell Otis M. Pickering Seth Harding Peter Darling Stephen Bennett Uriah Jillson 580 Rep. No. 546. CUMBERLAND- Con tin ued. William Wilkinson Fenner Brown Joseph A. Scott Daniel FoUett Horace T. Jillson Lyman Bnrlingame Knight Whipple Joseph Howard Samuel Weatherhead William Freeman El bridge G. Cook Ezra Blake Joseph Whipple Jeremiah Howard Sanford Jillson Freeman Salisbury Olis Whipple Welcome Whipple Thomas Carpenter Abner M. Black Lidon Adams Barton Whipple Lewis M. Hill Mial L.Thayer Horace Converse Israel Wheeler William H. Davis Abner Twining Harvey Ballou Timothy Guild James Weatherhead Daniel Weatherhead Wheaton Bly Willard Haskill James R. Whipple Calvin Richards Joseph E. Marble Whipple Weatherhead Abner Haskell Alfred Peck John W. Tingley Nelson C. Newell William Newell Richard Crowninshield David Alexander Joseph D. Weatherhead Jesse W. Franklin Martin Cooke Lebbeus R. Whipple Benjamin Razee Joseph Whipple, 2d William Sprague Dexter Clarke Willard Freeman Albert FoUett Samuel D. Clarke Whipple Razee Lewis Freeman Aaron Fisher William Crowninshield' Daniel Hayden Ellis Follelt Levi Cole Anson Grant Edward Ballou David Aldrich James Cole John Newell Henry D. Aldrich David B. Aldiich Lewis Jenckes Timothy Darling Columbia H. Tingley Joseph A. Razee Luther Follett William Razee Hosea F. Tingley Ira Alexander Stephen Tingley John Currier, jr. George Lapham John F. W. Clarke Elanson Tingley Willard Staples Alfred S. Whipple Jesse Ellis Jeremiah B. Harris William Howard Eliab Whipple William H. Drown Morris Frettee Edwin R. Arnold William M. Rawson, Elijah Brown James Jillson Daniel F. Ellis Laban Walden Albert Bishop Benjamin Abbott Addison Knight Rep. No. 546. CUMBERLAND— Contj'ftued. Riifus Hawkins Riifus Arnold Georofe Follelt Otis Mason Meletiah Hathaway Albert H. Trask Charles Fisher Samuel Howard Amasa Whipple Olney Whipple John H. Ray JNewton S.Ballou George Thomas William B. Smith , George W. Clarke Welcomtj R. Peck Bela Grant Nathaniel Newell Gustavns Alexander Richard Ellis Daniel Alexander William H. Whiting Rufus M. Hawkins" Mo wry Taft liaban Thayer Gladdins: O. Thompson James B. Miller Spauldmg Newell Dexter B. Shaw Obed Alexander Warren Grant William H. Carpenter Asa Pickering Stephen Alexander Lewis Arnold -Edwin H. Pickering Edwin Follett Samuel Clarke Lewis W. Cole Henry N. Thomas Samuel Walter William W. Howard James A. Crowninshield Whiting Haskell Willara Hawkins John M. Ray Wheaton B. Thomas Joel Hawkins Darwin Cook Ebenezer Crowninshield Lyman Carpenter Thomas B. Sheldon James A. Wilkinson James M. Carpenter Jonathan Peck Pardon Carpenter Jason Tower Jonathan Thayer Alfred Crowninshield Mason Pickerinsf Tisdale B. Thayer Samuel Hancock John M. Smith Charles Hancock George Ide Eliphaz Grant Johnson Burlingame Allen Haskell Otis M. Clarke John Fisher John B. Howard Daniel Whipple Lyman Follett Oliver Follelt Royal C. Whipple Jeremiah H;izleton Charles B. Carpenter William Hawkins Amos Whipple Henry N. Staples Horace Follett Abiel Brown Charles Thayer Clarke Simmons Michael W. Fuller William Harding Benjamin Gardner David Jenckesjr. Cyrus Randall Batavia Matliewson George Perry Alfred D. Read Freeman Cudworth Anson Follett Nathan Brown Montague Will'aTis Leonard Blackinjton Albee Brown Henry J. Morris Isaac Leacb 582 Rep. No. 546. CUMBERLAND-Continued. Jedediah Jenckes George L. Dana Joseph Cobb George W. Read William Freeman John Follett Paris Whitman Preston Williams William Perry- William H. Brown Benjamin M. Stivers Silas Whipple Sterry Fisk John P. Sloe urn Elisha Grossman Benoni Mann Lovet Havens Asa Miller Daniel Wilkinson, 2d John A. Dexter Thomas Eddy W^heaton A. Pooke Philo W. Freeman Stephen Peck Thomas H. Clarke William Staples Francis Cntler James Cutler Otis Ingraham Jacob Briggs Henry Goodwin Stephet) Slocum Silas Gleason I ,yman Morris ^ Jail es Cargill William Slocum Albert F. Potter Kodman Lewis David Patt Jason Cargill! Bo wen Wescott Halsey Miller George Cargill Syria Humes Olney Cargill Willis Cook Rodeiick Holley Wilder Fuller Edward G. Slocum Charles Titus. Ezra Carpenter Alexander S. Bennett Moses T. Humes Samuel C. Whipple George Slocum Levi Carpenter Samuel E. Woodward Joseph Whipple, jr. Barnard Miller Green Mathewson John Irons Zaphee Skinner Williams Blanchard Benjamin Austin Joseph E. Dawley Calvin Paine Alvin Bartlett Russell Chase Lewis R. Blake Ebenezer J. Paine Uriah Jones Chester B. Morse Joseph Rose Lyman Pond James Austin Asa Dunham Samuel Wild George Witherell Benjamin Ingraham Abner Crocker Thomas J, Hathaway Richard Smith Benjamin B. Brown Pardon Newell Elhanan Miller James Jackways James H. Harvey James M. Patt Oren Mowry John B. Eggleston John F. Carpenter Norris W. Mathewson John Leach David Whilman Arnold Carpenter Joseph C. Fiske INathaniel C. Dana John E. Richardson John Eddv Muxcv Miller Rep. No. 546. 533 CUMBERLAND-Continued. Mowry Curtis Amaziah Ballon Clarke J. Sweet Eber Miller William H. Fuller Charles Fisk William C, Crapon John Boyden, jr. Nathaniel Devereux Kobert Prentis Gideon Angell Bela Whipple William Spear James Whipple Edmund G. Hopkins Enoch Weatherhead Benjamin Luther William Aldrich Daniel Mnnley Willis B. Taft Charles Thayer Otis Hall John A. Mowry Edwin Hixon Gardner Warren Philip Williams Job Cooper Nathaniel Sweeting Carleton Cushman Benajah Allen William Dexter Amos Kimmings Thomas D. Paine Zebina GolTe Darling White Mowry Staples Albert Rogers Curtis Steere Welcome Alexander Nathaniel Scott Russell Jenckes Daniel Jenckes William Allen Joseph Capron Stephen Joslin Leprelet Thayer William Bartlett Welcome A. Whipple Albert Barber Arnold Paine William T. Weaver David Bartlett John Capron Lyman Mann Nathan Jillson^ Olney Ballou, 2d Hiram Allen Stephen Whipple Eppes W. Aldrich Jacob Morse Jonathan Wales Obadiah Kimball Philip Briggs Benjamin Bushel Loring Saunders George B. Lapham George H. Law Barton Grant Elbridge Read Joseph P. Childs Benjamin Taylor Lyman Tonrtellot Henry Collier Hezekiah Cook Eleazer Cook Reuel Smith Willis Jefferson Dennis CrufF William Freeman Oren Smith Ellis Cook, 2d John O. Preston John W. Barrett Joshua Aldrich Jonathan M. Dow Billings S. Farrington Henderson Rowell German Potter George W. Weekes Otis P. Handy Lewis W. Jillson George Robinson James M. Taft James Verry Willard Bal'lou, 2d Eseck Cook Henry A. Anthony Charles Wheaton Elijah Darling John Cass 584 Rep. No. 546. CUMBERLAND-Coatinued. Welcome Cook Joseph R. Hardin Joseph M. Perkins Nathan Ballon (Simeon Lilley George J. Hawkins Willard Joslin Barton Clarke John Armstrong Welcome Darling Sandford Aldrich Ira Lee Albin G. Reynolds Elisha Gaskill Henry Morris Thomas W. Bishop, jr, Isaac Bennett Elias Nickerson Levi F. Leonard Benjamin Horton Stephen Nortluip Horace Goff Edwin Hagan James Cole, jr. Seth Clarke Otis Fisher Daniel A. Thompson Levi Carpenter James B. Parker Oiis Shepardson Joel P. Harris William F. Harris Alfred Kandall Luther C. Pitcher Frederick Sibley Joshua Clarke Jacob Dunham Giles E. Greene James Chase Ira Sayles Oren Dexter Alfred P. Dunham Joseph Matteson Amos Lane William Langiey William Rude Samuel Whipple Richard Mowry Allen Smith George Wellman Jona. Fisher Fibenezer Fuller Samuel G. W. Alexander James O. Whipple Naaman Fuller Jonah Razee Nathaniel Humes Samuel Gorton Randall O. Mowry Levi T. Cheever Levi Weatherhead Levi Simmons Benjamin Slocum. jr. Squire Fiske James Titus John Hopkins John Craig Augustus "Millard Milton S. Morse Crawford Potter Russell Miller Barton Cargill William Cargill Ezekiel Staples John E. Bishop John M. Walcott Alexander Thompson James Thompson George A. Howard Nahum Cook Sylvester R. Whipple Simeon Siedman William Fuliett William C. Harrington Jabez Newell H. D. Walcott Darius Fisher Arnold Staples Solomon Peck Eddy C. Smith John Whipple Willard Grant dualified, 293 Not qualified, 599 Total, 892 Rep. No. 546. mm No. 1Q9. VOTERS IN BURRILLVILLE, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. Ziba Phetteplace Joseph Clark, jr. Alfred Lapham Stephen Evans David Phetteplace Robert P. Dean Jonathan Lackey Joseph Clarke Smith Mathewson Asael Keech Eddy B. Ballon Charles S. Smith Eraslus Mathewson John B. Mathewson Rowland Mathewson Solomon Smith Duty Lapham William Stone Cyril Paine Othniel B. Young Asael Bnllard Othniel Young Elisha Mathewson Aaron Phillips John Mathewson George Harris Welcome Mathewson Martin S. Salisbury Joseph Ballon Lay ton Cass well Dennis H. Smith Duty Salisbury Alexander Salisbury William Howard Moses Taft, jr. Olney Inman Benjamin Brown Darling Mathewson Hiram Ross Silas Howard John Chase William Stanfield Sylvester Mowry Joel Thompson Dennis Paine Samuel Smith Esten Angell John Salisbury Noah Shumway Harris C. Sayles Amos Stone Marcus Eddy Washington Logee Mowry S. Inman George W. Taft John Smith Albee White VVillard Steere Elisha Taft Almon Paine William Clarke Stephen Esten Alfred L. Comslock Jesse Comstock Abner Inman James Inman Elisha Darling Willard Ballou Caleb Comstock Smith B. Walling Silas Comstock Amasa Ballou Arnold Sayles Elam Inman George W. Sheldon - Willard A. Mowry Nathaniel Jenckes John Darling Emor B. Comstock Jason Olney Abm. Baker, jr. Francis H. Inman Otis W. BIy Silas A. Comstock Sabui Brown Josiah R. Hill Charles Brown Jeremiah Mowry Jason Jenckes Asa Walling Eddy Keech Edwin VV. Walling Enoch Thayer Isaac Wallitig Isaac W. Thayer Smith Mowry 536 Rep. No. 546. BURRILLVILLE-Continned. George W. Jenckes Israel Tucker James Ballon Warren Walling Alfred Hicks John Whipple Burrill Logee Mowry White James Paine Daniel JVlathewson Enoch Harris Alfred Albee Sanford Brown James Brown John C. Trask Ezekiel Phetteplace Cyrus Williams Nelson Paine Stephen Phillips Jonathan Arnold Mowry Walling Caleb B. Mowry Moses Gould Welcome Ballou Theron Steere Ephraim Young Noah White Leander Smith George Inman, jr» Lyrie Lampson Lorenzo Lackey Coomer Smith William Hicks Smith Wood Joseph Esten David Ballou Aaron Esten Martin Phetteplace Mowry Lee Sayles B, Phillips Jesse Morvell Alonzo Gleason Levi Battey Dewitt C. Remington Stenson W. Smith Mansou Phillips James Wood Smith Preston Lyndon Hix Henry A. Alexander- David Covell John Briggs Lawton Wade Benjamin M. Paine Merril Elbridge Charles Wight Adin Steere John Walden Royal Keith Lorenzo P. Ward Joseph Ballou, jr. Reuben Albee Stephen Clarke Olney W. Fairfield Sanford H. Bowdish John Casswell Joseph Oat ley Daniel M. Brown George S. Hopkins Willard D. Spaulding Jeremiah Smith Mo?es B. Salisbury Lyndon Fairbanks Francis Callahan Simeon B. Marsh Francis Reynolds Benjamin H. Johnsort Allen Bowen Amos Taft Enoch M. Taft Riley Barnes John Brown William R. Ballou Henry Phillips Francis N. Buxton Nelson Kecch George W. Marsh Oliver A. M. Smith Preserved Greene Randall A. Smith William S. Hodges Oliver Morse Samuel Comstock Seth Wheelock Lewis Harris Jirah Ballou George W. Darling Harris Keech Jeremiah E. Tinkham Georg-e W. Harris Rep. No. 546. 537 BURRILLVILLE— Continued. John Grossman Elias Mowry Walter P. Smith Elisha Brown Emor C. Smith Arnold Paine Russell Straiofht William Gould William Bellows Camarial Y. Smith Dexter Grossman Moses L. Batchellor Thomas F. Handy- Jonathan Harris Daniel J. Pickering George W. Whipple Alexander B. Hunt Nathan Williams Harrison Darling- Ransom Inman James P. Washburn Joseph Garroll Daniel Yoimg Stephen Mitchel Amos Arnold Joseph Mowry Silas Mowry Josiah S. Thayer Isaac W. Darling Dennis Inman William S. Mowry Otis P. Davis Simeon Hix Moses Batchellor Irad Lapham Stephen Handy Alexander Batchellor Zebedee Anthony Sterry Young Benjamin Phetteplace George Waldron Nathan Gleason Abram Sayles George W. Williams George W. Esten Ezekiel Young Jason Young Arthur Barnes Edwin G. Sayles Chauncy Ballou Richard A. Armstrong William Brown William H. Gutter Benjamin C. Mitchell Jedson Young Nelson Keech, jr. Charles L. N. Lyttleton Richard B. Taft Joel Taft Cyrus Albee Abram Tourtellot Arnold S. Irons Asael Stone Moses Cooper Henry Hapgood Uriah H. Read Stephen Paine Eliphalet Bailey Collins Keith Warren Darling Luther S. Keith William Waterman William Knight Augustus Wilcocks Wellington Young Thomas Ballou Lewis S. Bailey Augustus Durfee Josiah B. Stratton Stephen Chauncy Simeon Phetteplace Joseph H. Hold Stephen Harris Dexter Taft Area Thayer Ezek Phetteplace Lewis Smith dualified, Not qualified. Total, 134 149 283 538 Hep. No. 546. No. 110. VOTERS IN QLOCESTER, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. George J. Winsor Nelson Ballou Thomas Sunmore Henry Angell Jacob Davis Asa Hawkins Archibald Pray Mathewson Andrews Sayles Brown Hugh Pray John Paine Frederick A. Squiers Caleb Bradley Lawton Owens Obadiah Winsor James B. Reynolds George G. Hawkins Henry S. Taylor Gideon Durfee Jonathan A. Tourtellot Joseph B. Waldren Cyrus Winsor Joseph F. Thornton Samuel Phillips Asa Greene Riley C. Shippey James Irons George Eddy Stephen A. Brown Jervis J. Smith William Gross William Wilcox Thomas P. Sweet Smith Peckhani Dexter Davis Albee Bellows Zenas Andrews ■ Otis Dexter Lawton C. Rounds Darius Darling Jeremiah Mathewson Franklin B. Mowry Joseph Andrews Joshua Bowen Artemas Smith Amasa Eddy, jr. Samuel Durfee Jesse Irons Ezekiel Bishop Joseph W. Sheldon William Aldrich Isaac Winsor Benedict Aldrich William Winsor Jarvis Smith Seril Bowen Samuel Blackman Jonathan Davis Zephaniah Bishop, jr. Penuel Bassett Albert Eddy Esaias Pray Daniel Clarke Samuel Mowry William Hopkins Gideon Smith Reuben Place Asahel Steere Jesse Phetteplace Arnold Eddy David Coman John Gross John W. Wood Harris W. Col well Timothy Sweet Jedediah Sprague Benedict W. Shippey George N. Turner Sabin Durfee Horace Sprague John S. Durfee Hiram Hopkins George B. Wood John Gross, jr. . Benajah Dyer William Davis Alexander Eddy Jeremiah S. Lawrence Nehemiah Clements Thomas O. Evans Joseph C. Medbury Davis Hill Ira W. Steere George Frissell Oliver Greene W' illis Bowen Rep. No. 546. GLOCESTER-Cominued. William S. Potter George L. Owen Amasa Smith George R. Sayles Jesse S. Tourtellot Zattara Paine Allen Hawkins Potter Steere Solomon A. Owens Otis Well man Renben Place, jr. Henry O. Burlingame Wanton Potter, jr. Amos Hawkins Jeremiah Sweet Samuel Y. Alwell Albert S. Peckham Charles Andrews Samuel Davis Thomas N. Gleason Samuel Burgess Ishmael Sayles Charles A. Slocum Joseph B. Smith George H. Brown Ziba Olney William Young Clovis H. Bowen Manning H. Angell Gjeorge Emerson Dexter Walling Jason Clements Hiram S. Kelley Julius Reynolds William Ken yon William Allen •Otis Thornton Erastus Polk Edwin Phillips Abel Whitaker Otis Clements David Bowen George V. Austin Simon Phillips Dutee Green Henry T. Brown John M. Eddy Abijah Slater Sprague Hopkins AVilllam R. Sprague Elisha Hopkins Samuel Phillips, jr. Benjamin Smith David Page Warren Young Amos A. Hawkins Salisbury Freeman Adfer Eddy Jonathan Valet Nathaniel Sheldon Clark R. Straight Anthony Place, jr. Harris Clements Paris O. Davis Dwight F. Hammond Robert S. Tucker Daniel Tucker ' George N, White Arnold Capron Andrew G. Sweet Sabin Mathewson Samuel Steere Sabin Ballon Nelson N. Eddy Stephen Walker Samuel T. Willard Randall Colwell Sullivcin Daggett William Irons Jeremiah Sweet, jr. Smith Sprague Jeremiah Sheldon Philip Waldron James Reynolds James Watermer Simeon Uaker Orrin Stephens Paris Owen R. K. Webster George W. Paine Daniel P. Inman Anthony Clemmons Elisha Chapman John Wilkinson Stephen Eddy Jackson E. Mowry Jesse Irons, jr. Elisha Keech Horace Smith James R. Wood 540 Rep. No. 546. GLOCESTER— Continued. Enos Steere Squire B. Tucker Nathan Place Philip Waldron Hawkins Martin Brown Benjamin Hare i)utee Place George A. Smith Stephen Aldrich Aaron F. Spencer Alanson Sprague William R. Page Ethan F. Place Nehemiah Angell Benjamin Keach Edward P. Place Benjamin Waterman Sabin Adams George R. Potter Albert Armstrong Angell Darling James M. Owen Mansur Shippey Ezekiel Potter Ezra Hawkins Benjamin Grossman Elijah Bowen Russell Kelley Rufus Daggett Seril N. Daggett James B. Preston King G. Tucker Amasa Potter Bray ton Vallett Samuel Potter William Luther Amasa Burlingame David Whitney David Medbury Nathan Page Jesse Haven Bennett Steere Paris Wade Charles H. Steere Effingham Lawrence Abel Mann Obadiah King Esek Harringdeen Ira Hawkins, jr. Allen Brown Charles M. Lockwood Thatcher Harringdeen Aaron Bardeen John A. Inman Welcome T. Miller Jeremiah Pray Lyman Corney John Briggs Orin W. Andrews Joseph C. Keech Alfred Keech Augustus Irons Levi Covin Benjamin Cook Caleb Blanchard, jr. Ebenezer Aldrich Henry Gross Obed Seaver Horace Vallet George Olney Stephen Hawkins William Dudley Joseph P. Sweet David W. Smith John McBride Lyman Bowen Orin Reynolds James Sprague Ira Potter Jeremiah Andrews Lyndon Smith Seril Paine Azaniah Cutler William Gleason Joseph C. Steere Eddy Evans Emory Swift Wanton Potter Jonathan Paine Silas Baker Horace Bardeen Haiie Sayles Amos Eddy Sabin Owen Elijah W. Preshoe George Smith, 2d Darlinff Medbury Caleb E. Tucker George Chappell Nicholas Tucker Rep. No. 546. 541 GLOCESTER— Continued. Simon Brown William H. P. Smith Coomer Soule Edward Babbitt, jr. Horace W. Keech Silas Aldrich Gardner Lewen David Bo wen, sen, Edward Cook David Young Cyrus Farnum Randall Davis Almon Steere Obadiah Smith Hiram Mathewson Winsor Colwell Thomas R. Eddy Russell Harrington William Wade Antony Sprague Juni Irons Nathan Young Leonard N. Austin Robert Bennett Frank Trask John P. Moffit John MofRtt James Bowen Ephraim Pray Arnold M. Bowen Welcome Barnes, jr. Caleb D. Bsrdith George Saunders Nelson Armstrong Jeremiah Steere Mason W. Evans Darling S. Durfee Spencer Smith Jesse Steere Thomas Irons Robert Paine Colwell Irons Orrin Vallet Adolphus Thayer William Steere Wyman Culler George Sprague Willard Wade Nathaniel Bowdish Aalhony Place Simeon Place Perry Cole Wilson Daggett TertuUus Millard William Colwell Harris Keyes Horace Kimball Wheaton Bowen Arthur Wade .Jeremiah Pray .leremiah Smith John A. Law William Brown Reuel Place Parley Young Hugh Pray Rhodes Page Daniel P. Spencer Esek Burlingarne Rufus West Joseph WilmartH John Sprague EHsha Farr Clovis H. Eddy Orrin Smith Maxsori Woodmancey Peleg Hopkins William Dexter Joseph P. Smith Harding Mitchell Simeon Bowen Nicholas Bussey James Hammon Nehemiah Coman Abel Wade Bowen Smith Joseph Mitchell Adiii Patten Enos Ballon Nathan Shippee Charles Walker Henry Trask Laban Irons Albee Wade Olney Eddy John L. Smith James G. Moffitt Richard Boulster George F. Cahoone John 0, Hopkins .-.^ J -i,^>''?5i 542 Rep. No. 546. GLOCESTE R-Coniinued . Joseph Paine Palmer Vallett Daniel Adams Dexter Adams Nathan Irons Amasa Eddy duahfied Not qualified Total 192 210 402 No. 111. VOTERS IN FOSTER, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. Joshua Angell, jr. Anthony S. Aldrich Daniel Austen Lucius Aldrich Esek Aldrich Stephen G. Albro Joseph T. Anthony "William Arnold Anan Aldrich Samuel Adams Harris W. Aldrich Sylvanus Albro Elliot Button Simeon G. Bennett Calvin Brown George V, Bennett Israel Bennett Abraham Bennett Silas Baltey Ichabod Bennett Alpheus Bo wen Charles Bowen Lionel Bennett Sampson Battey William Brown Angell P. Boss Andrew Brown Frederick A. P. Bacheldor James M. Blanchard George Bennett Cyril C. Bowen Nathan Bennett Asaph Bowen Olney Burgess Daniel Battey Leonard Burgess George Burgess Brands Brayton George E. Brown James Cole Harris Bowen Otis W. Coop Rufus Cole Jonathan S. Cole Silas Cole Israel Cole Orison Cole David A. Chapman Brayton H. Cole George A. Cole William Cole Sterry Cahoone Ezekiel Col well, jr. Horace S. Cole Serill Cornell William L. Carpenter Daniel Cole Joseph C. Cooke Samuel D. Cole Joseph H. Corp George Cornell Richard S. Cross Othniel Davis Abraham Dorrance Benjamin Dexter William Drown James Dorrance Abraham S. Durfee King Easton Jonathan Earle Ira Eddy Sterry Frye Obadiah Fenner Robert C. Fuller Rep. No. 546. 548 FOSTER— Continued. Richard Fry Lindsey C. Greene Leander Gleasou Otis H. Hopkins John Harrington Arnold Hix Samuel Howard WiMiam Harrington Joseph B. Hopknis Otis Hopkins Gideon M. Hopkins Andrew Hopkins Samuel Harrington George E. Hopkins Jonathan Hill 2d Jireh Hill Henry H. Hopkins William Hill Sahin Hopkins Pardon A. Holden Seril Harrington Peleg Harrington Daniel Hicks Emory Hopkins Horace Hopkins 2d Jeremiah Hopkins Ezekiel Hopkins Peter Hopkins Paris Hopkins Amos Harrington James Howard increase Handel Asahel Hopkins Albert W. Hopkins Alfred Horton Thomas T. Hill George W, Hopkins William Hopkins 3d Baronet Hopkins James Howard Harrison C. Hopkins Horace Ida Elisha Johnson Joshua Jones Alfred S. Jones Asa Jordan Dwight R. Jenckes Smith Jones Freeman Jones Caleb Johnson Gardner Jordan George Kennedy William E. Kennedy Alexander Kennedy Reuben Lyon Chad Miller OIney Mowry Benjamin L. Medbury Nathan Malhewsoa John JVlathewson James Merithen Dexter OIney Stephen Place Jeremiah Patterson Gardner Phillips Nathaniel Phillips Hanson L. Payson Richard Pray Charles Phillips Horace W. Phillips Samuel Phillips Allen S. Pearce Abrahan) Place Rhodes Pray Caleb Phillips Jeremiah Phillips Raymond G. Place Atwell Pray Job W. Place Samuel Pattereon William Pray Jonathan Pray Peleg Place John L. Randall OIney Randall Eddy Randall Alfred Randall Holden Randall George W. Round Esek Russell Henry Randall John C. Randall Emory Round Asa Round Benoni Round Charles Round Alvin H. Shippey Solomon Shippey, jr. Caleb Seamans Sabin Smith- 544 Rep. No. 646. FOSTER-Conlinued. Robert -Seamans OIney P. Smith George Slater Solomon Shippey Elijah Seamans Charles H. Searle Richard Salisbury James Stone West Smith Nathaniel Searle Daniel Stone Asa B. Seamans Robert D. Salisbury Charles M. Stone George B. Smith Hezekiah Seamans Robert Saunders Nelson L. Seamans George H. Seamans Charles Salisbury Othniel Saunders William Seamans Joshua Turner John Taylor William L. Taylor Dexter W. Tyler William L. Thayer Lyman Tyler William L. Tripe Atwell A. Williams Hiram Wells Cyrill Whitman Charles Walker Nelson T. Wilcox Joseph Wells Stephen Webster Benjamin Weigh Thomas S. Willams William T. Wood Turner Williams John Weaver Joshua Wells Henry D. Williams Thomas W. Williams Stephen Williams Olney Williams Winsor Wade Xerxes Williams Samuel Whitman Ransom Wood Philip Winslow Abner Winslow Abel M. Wilder Sheldon Williams Daniel Wilcox Otis Williams Samuel W. Weaver Benjamin Wright David Yeaw Sterry T. Young David A. Young Welcome Yeaw Stephen Yates Welcome T. N. Yeaw Freeholders, 124 Non-freeholders, 113 1 against Total, 238 No. 112. VOTERS IN SCITUATE, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. Freeholders. Benjamin Boss Zephaniah Bishop Ohiey P. White Amos Johnson Alfred Greene Jutties Whipple James Wilbur George Yeaw Stephen Greene Seth C. Hopkins Albert Olney George Mathewsoa John H. Eddy Albert Stone^ Rep. No. 546. ms SCITUATE— Continued. James Pollard Josiah Thornton Stephen Dexter Sylvester Taylor Elijah Hawkins Harley Luther Kichard Grayson John A. Harris Rhodes Hopkins Alden Round Je?se Corey Jason S. Harrington Charles Morse, jr. Zephaniah Ramsdell George W. Brown Stej)hen Bowen Jonathan Hill John Bardin Caleb Hill Marinas Collins Solomon Taylor Joshua B. Harrington jRussell Smith Charles L. Hawkins Noah Kimball Arthur F. Randall Rhodes Burke Mathewson Smith Stephen H. Ohiey William Taylor John H. Marble Reuben Johnson Peter K. Taylor William R. Gardner Robert Salisbury Jt)hn Kamsdell Jeremiah Ang^ell, jr. Samuel Austin Arnold 'I'anner Charles Griffiths Arnold Austin John Hill William Miller RusS' 11 Yeaw Matthew Hill Alpheus VVallen Faruum Hopkins Eliplialet M. Bennett John H. Btrdin Jeremiah Dexter 35 Andrew Waterman James Yeaw Russell Round Isaac C. Bardin Knight Hill John Peck ham Benjamin Owen Stephen E. Brown John Graves Levi Fuller Vincent Brown Jeremiah Angell Samuel Baker Allen Chandler Lawton S. Johnson Jarvis Eddy Miles O. Pray Flavel Patterson Richard K. Thomas Isaac H. Place Ezra R. Wilbur James Healey Arnold Salisbury Knight Wilbur William Miller, 2d Jerry S. Battey Douglas F. Burrill Brown Robert Knight Jesse B. Tucker Alexander Allen Benedict Johnson Christopher Fenner Joab Wood, jr. William P. Olney Mathewson Wilbur Simon Mathewson Richard Olney Arthur F. Aldrich George W. VVinsor Horace Martin Charles A. Harris Abel E. Taylor Henry Yeaw Darius Durfee Stephen Colvin Job Wilbur Morris Durfee Alpheus li. Angell Albert Randall Briggs Rep. No. 546. SCITUATE-ComiDued. David Phillips, 3d Jeremiah Cole, jr. Whitman Steere Isaac Saunders Jonah Titus Joseph W. Warner Ira Bishop Ezekiel Ramsdell Russell Wilbur Wilmarth N. Aldrich Gardner Lyon Harley Fisk Russell Smith, 2d Seneca Brownell Bray ton Mo wry Parley Round William Eddy John H. Anthony Pardon Tilling^hast Jenckes Thornton Aaron Wheeler John Bond OIney B. Steere Anson W. Barnes Albert W. Harris James Farnum Luther Eddy Abel Salisbury Horace S. Patterson Ezekiel C. Hopkins Albert B. Phillips David Mathewson Stephen Randall George A. Rhodes Ezra N. Barnes John W. Cook Stephen Olney William Bellows Daniel M. Harris Cyrus T. Eddy Marun Smith Abner W. Peckham George W, Sherman Joshua J. Rath bone Levi Matteson John A. Budlong Perry I{. West Jonathan Potter Peleg Barnes E^ra Potter Eleazer U Phillips Joseph Potter Amos Collins George Searle Elisha Williams Stephen W^illiams Abraham S. Angell Westcott Wilbur Elihu Randall William Hammon Henry Smith Lnther Waldren Fenner Smith INehemiah Randall Nehemiah Wood Samuel Hoyt Christopher War n- Arnold Co I well John Battey William Hill Stephen Hill Lyman Hanks Joshua Rathbone Jeren)iah P. West George Mattison John Harrington Patrick Kelley Orrin L. Battey Nathaniel Hill Anthony K. Potter William B. Mattison Enoch Place James Williams Sylvanus Moffitt Henry Williams Job Angell John Davis Robert Round Pardon Angell David Wilbur Caleb T. Place Richard C. Young Solomon Angell John Gee Non-tYeeholders Peieg R. Davis Jacob W. Warner Joseph Ney Rep. No. 546. mi SCITUATE-Continued. Albert G. Harris George Smith William VV. Warner James E, Hawkins Samuel A. Winsor Gardner Gibson Curtis Cornan William Roberts Joseph Bigford Jonathan E. Randall Dean Kimball Charles Potter Cyrus Leach William N. Fisk Zadok Luther James E. Hawkins, jr. William Field John G. Bowen Stephen R. Davis Valentine Whitman Richard Howard Horace Sfeere George W, Brown Albert Yeaw William P. Bates James L. Bushee Paris Latham Hart/ord Marshall Harley Colwell Seth S. Bennett Dennis H. Graves Pentecost Sweet Larey Nichols Rufus Potter Edmund Burton Holden Colvin Gorton Wescott Stephen Davis Thomas Fenner Harrison White Russell Eldridge William Cahoone Abraham Angell Arnold Ano^ell Bradford W. Johnson Ziba Steere George R. Yeaw Phillip Wells George Baker Saiilh Edwards George J. Foster William O. Austin Arthur Arnold Cyrus Tinkham George S. Kn owl ton James A. Harris Arnold Colvin George W. Taylor Job W. Bardeen Stephen W. Hawkins Olney H. Austin Joseph Smith Rufus Amniidown Ambrose Rathbone Willard Walker Stephen M. Olney John Matteson George Simmons Waterman Tinkham William R. Stone Asahel Stone Ira Conee John McDonald Benjamin Angell Arnold Moffitt Thomas Winsor Zennis Stedman Asaliel Battey liewis Peck George H. SayJes Stephen Hawkins Stephen Hill, 2d Samuel West George Cahoone Joseph L. Hill Billings C. Kane Timothy M. Fiopkins Henry B. Robertson Warren S. Ballou William A. Bishop Daniel O. Bates Oliver H. P. Hawkins William H. Hall Thomas Hawkins Elisha Wilbur Henry E. Sweet John Fisk Enoch Hix Albert A. McDonald Austin Penfield 648 Rep. No. 546. SCITUATE— Continued. Robert Walker N lit 1 mil B. Graves E. K. Potter Otis Maltison Ira Colvin Albert Dean Darius Johnson William Rice Jonathan P. Davis WiUiam H. Hyde Harvey Suydam William O. Gavitt William H. Brayton Jonathan K. Fisk Richard M. Grayson Asa S. Kelly Elisha Lawrence John L. Tinkham Dntee «. Steere Henry VV. Dana Lyman Remington Ebenezer Williams Thomas W. Hills Otis Whitman George W. Stone Benjamin Bentley Joseph Dawley George H. Burl in game Thomas Leonard Lyman Ross Stephen W. Wood Josiah K. Weaver George Hall George Adams James Tucker Jeremiah C. Stone Arnold W. Brown Horace Cahoone Nathaniel Tucker Arnold Cole Sterry Fisk Erasius Stephens Arnold Mills George Trim Emory G. Harrington Daniel A. Clarke Hiram W. Potter Joshua Harrinton Job Johnson Harley P. Bardin Horace Mason Abel Tanner James Chadwick Simeon Harrington Larkin Stone Philip Mathewson Mancliester B. Taylor George Boomer William N. Fisk Daniel An gel I Horatio N.^Angell Joseph S. Manchester Harley W. Pray Ichabod Potter Ellison Buckminster Otis N. Angell Marvin M. Leavens Benjamin Right, jr. Job Wilbur William H. Jenckes Amasa Simmons William G. Smith William Bishop Jeremiah Hiorlihy Philip C. Aldrich Albert Anthony Marcus Cornell William H. Marsh William A. Roberts Welcome A. Patt William King (Charles H. BrowneU William S. Blackmar Richard Blackmar Horace A. SjM-ague Daniel MaiiUAVSon James Mathewson George Davis Waterman Green Paschal D. Aylesworth Horatio Hopkins Charles Angell Harrison L. Brastow Anthony O. McDonald Betijarain Potter James Graves Matlx^wson Steere Will'atn Satiiiders An>asa Abbott George Collins Rep. No. 546. SCITUATE— Continued. Rufiis A. Cole Martin Luther Ephraim Staples Horton Staples Benjamin B Aldricli George Hubbard John Woodman George W. Lawton Wilham R. Brown George B. Hutchens Frankhn Remington Joseph W. Thompson Daniel C. Moffit Wheaton Knight Andrew Mathewson William A. Brownell Paschal Handy William Putnam Lyman Fox Benoni Randall Stephen Angel 1 James M. Dawley James O. Battey Harrison Chamberlin David Phillips, jr. Alfred B. .Mo wry Joshua Angell Daniel Davis, Job Steere, 2d Sterry Davis William A. Baker William H. May Israel White William G. Bentley Samuel Wright Elisha Partridge William A. Potter ^'athan B. Wright Nathan Case, jr. Samuel Salisbury Jeremiah Smith William Gorton William Collins William W. Spencer Angell Austin John Capron James Fenner John J. King Arnold Chappell Abm. Norwood Elisha Phillips Edmund Monroe ' Naihan Potter John Miller Thomas E. Eldridge Daniel Austin, jr. Nathan Staples William B. Hammond Josiah Brown William Corbin Pardon A. Phillips Harris O. Brown Horatio N. Uattey Nelson Wade David Matthewson Alexander Lovell Alexander Lovell, 2d Albin C. Kinof Hawkins B. Wood Gardner Cahoone Zephaniah Hill Albert Martin Ransom Pooler John Whipple Allen Rogers Lewis Seamans Ira Manchester William Bellows Alva Dunham Owen Potter Samuel A. Eldridge Robert S. W. Hopkins Sheldon C. Potter Lawton Wright Emory Walker Othniel Saunders George Fid red Daniel Seamans George B. Salisbury Emnry Smith William A. Colwell Jeremiah Seamans Ira Ingrahani John Eldred Aaron M. Hall Lorenzo D. Oatley Stephen Collins Anthony Young James West cot t, jr. Edward S. Young sm Rep. No. 546. SCITUATE-Coniinued. Dennis Arnold Joseph C. Jacques James Howard, Sd Josiah Randall David Kelly Andrew T. Farell Nelson Luther George Congdon John A. Randall John Mathewson George Cole Riley Ck)le Thomas Hopkms Freeholders - Non -freeholders Total No. 113. VOTERS IN JOHNSTON, PROVIDENCE COUNTY. Richard Angell William H. Arnold John Alverson, jr. Ezekiel Angell Olney Angell Merritt Angell Olney W. Angell Burrill Arnold Angell Austin, jr. PhiUp Angell Silas Allen Abm. L. At wood Samuel Aldrich William Albro Palmer Austin Elijah Angell Benjamin Andrew Crawford G. Andrew Charles Atwood Thomas J. Abbott Daniel Bishop Joseph Blan chard Darius B. Bigort Alpheus Blanchard Jeremiah Bishop Mowry A. Bellows Nelson Barnes Dexter Barnes Barton Bennett George H. Blendell Jeremiah Briggs Thomas Bassett Andrew Bauson . Israel M. Bo wen Parley Batchelder Hosea Bicknell Gridley Barnum John B. Braonjr. Bonaparte Bates Wendell Barrows Charles Bennett Jeremiah Brailey William B. Brayton John O. Brown Zenah Bliss Harris Brown Jeremiah Cole Henry Cole Charles Calder James L. Calder William Gary Averv Chase Joseph Clarke Giles Chase James B. Case Otis Clements Nathan D. Corey Joseph H. Davis Robert Devereux Isaac S. Devereux Patrick Douglay Nathan Davoll Alfred Davis Nathan Eddy Jehu Evans Anthony Earle Henry Fenner John Farnum 208 316 524 Rep. No. 546* JOHNSTON-Contiaued. Zachariah Prench William W. French Stephen Fewner Jabez W. Fenner Henry Fisk "William Fenner, jr. John Farnum, jr. George Fenner Cyril Fenner Arnold Franklin James Fenner Samuel Fenner Otis Fenner Daniel Fisk Silas S. Franklin Selah Ford James Fenner John L. Fenner Thomas A. Greene William Gordon John Gordon Charles Gordon George Gunnison Emanuel Gardner Henry A. Griffins George S. Gallop Martin Gallop George J. Harris Elam S. Holloway Edward A. Hopkins Pardon Hopkins Weeden Holloway Joseph Higgins Ezekiel Hopkins Benjamin Hall Kussell Hall George L. Horton Ezekiel Holbrook Joseph Holbrook Gardner B. Hammond Joel P. Harvey Jarvis Hopkins Abm. L. Howard William H. Hastings Whipple A. Hendrick Joseph R.-Harrisoii William T. Hastings Perry h. Hopkins James Harrison John M. Hart Benjamin M. Hawkins Isaac Howell William R. Holloway John Hawke Samuel Irons Horatio N. Irons Elisha Irons Stephen Johnson Anthony Jones Levi Jenckes Oliver C Johnson Robert S. W. Joslin Welcome Johnson Edwin C. Kelly Earle Knight Benoni Knight James King Sterry Knight Jacob Knight James Kingsley Joseph Kingsley Jackson W. O. King Pardon King William L. Kelley Jeremiah King Miranda Kimball Dexter Knight Dyer Kingsley Dyer Kingsley Stephen King Harris Kelley Albert A. G. Kendall Hanson Kelley John Kelton William B. King Sion Kelton Sanford Knight Charles Knight Edward Kenyon Benjamin Knight William Latham Thomas W. Latham Abm. Lewis Ashel Luther Calvin Luther Elisha Luther Paris Mathewson Benjamin Meriwether George E. Munson Asa Mathewson 552 Rep. No. 546. J OHNSTON-CoHtinued. Caleb Malhewson Olney Mathewson George G. Mathewson Abner C. Manchester James Mathewson Jonathan Meriwether Angustus Moffitt Henry Millett William Mathewson , Joseph Mathewson Charles C, Mathewson Carlo Martin Philip Mathewson Benjamin O. P. MathewsoD Amasa Nicholas Caleb Newell Benjamin C. Olney William Olney Eself Olney John R. Peck Alvin Pray Benjamin Peck A. G. Place Beriah Potter Jesse Potter Alfred Parker Daniel Pettis James Paine Thomas Ptiine Alexander C. Pierce Elijah Potter Smith Phillips Isaac M. D. Pike John H. Paine Ashael Paine Jonathan Patt Charles Proctor Nathaniel Palmer Zachariah Place Henry Proctor John Place Fenner Potter John Rhodes Hezekiah Randall Abel Reynolds Jeremiah Konnds George W, Remington William H. Randall John H. Rathbono Horatio N. Rose William Rice Elkanah Rice Gilbert Read John P. Remington Asahel H. Robinson Joseph B. Randall Abner B. Rogers George Read Caleb B. Remington Francis Randall William W. Remington George B. Randall Edward S. Rhodes George W. Randall Stephen W. Remington George Randall Stephen Sweet David F. Sweet William Smith Orrin Sweet Lewis G. Smith Stephen T. Stone Daniel Sumner Thomas Simpson Hezekiah Smith Anthony Smart Henry Stone Peter S. Stone Richard Shearman Daniel-A. Sweet William L. Smith William W. Steere Amasa Sweet Augustus D. Sprague William G. Shearman Cyrus Stone Daniel Steere Philip Salisbury Thomas S. Smith John Steward Enos Sweet Philip A. Sweet WiUiam K. Smith Robert B. Stravens Ebenezer Sprague Otis Simmons * William C. Sweet Isaac F. Salisbury George Septon James W. Smith Rep. No. 546. 55^ JOHNSTON— Continued. Daniel O. Smith Nathaniel Sweet Seril E. Sweet William B. Smith Isaac Swain Ezekiel Smith A. G. Sherman Roswell Saltonstall Gilbert Sepion Benjamin Sweet John Snell John W. Sweet Christopher Thornton Allen Taylor Nathaniel J. Taylor Jeremiah Thornton Randall Tallman Isaac Thornton Arnold Thomas Silas Thornton Ethan S. Thornton James H. Tobey Ira Thurber Christopher E. Thornton Richard Thornton Laban Thornton Silas Thurber William Thornton Paris 'I'hornton Daniel Thornton Benjamin Thornton William M. Vallett Resolved Waterman Laban C. Wade George A. Williams Nehemiah R. Waterman William B. Whipple Pardon White Cyril Waterman E. W. Walker Charles S. Winsor Oliver C. Williams Benjamin Waterman Benoni Waterman Augustus S. White Joseph C. Webb Marvin H. Walker Seril Winsor Jonathan P. Wescott Nicholas Waterman George F. Williams Benoni Wescott Ephraim Winsor John Wescott Edward Williams George H. Williams Samuel White George G. Warner Corner Waterman Granville S. Williams Gideon B. Waterman Henry Whitford Thomas W. W^illiams Job Waterman John White Ira Williams Ames L. White Charles Waterman Jeremiah R. Waterman Henry S. Waterman James Williams Stephen West Albert Waterman William B. Whiting George Wellman Elias^Wilbur Isaac Winsor Hiram Young Gtualified, Not qualified, Total, 136 210 346 m R^p. No. 546. No. 114. VOTERS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH PROVIDENCE. Armington. Samuel Angell, Lemuel Austin, Eldred Aldrich, Molton W. Albro, Henry Aldrich, Gideon Angeil, Daniel Albro, Henry R. Albro, Arnold Armington, John M. Andrews, WilUam Angell, Alfred Angell, Henry Angell, James Angell, Fenner Albro, Joseph Albro, Jonathan At wood, Thomas H. Angell, Joseph, jr. Angell, Joseph Angell, Gushing Anthony, Alfred Angell, Elisha O. Anthony, Jerome B. Andrews, Charles Aldrich, William B. Andrews, H. R. Arnold, Joseph Aldrich, Welcome Arnold, James Amesbury, Jeremiah Allen, Joseph W. Alexander, Charles H. Arnold, Joseph 2d Anthony, Bowers Aldrich, Andrew Alexander, Robert Allen, Esek Alexander, Whipple Alexander, John Adams, Abraham H. Adams, Arnold Armington, Levi Angell, Christopher B. Arnold, Horace Allen, George W. Allen, Ira Alney, Andrew Arnold, George Anthony, Benjamin Angell, Abraham Atkins, William Benedict, David Belknap, William Brown, Dexter Button, Leonard Baker, Richard Barnes, Stephen Bray ton, Benjamin 2d Beck ford, H. D. Briggs, Allen Barnes, Edmund Benedict, Thomas S. Barney. Beriah Bascome, Andrew J. Burt, Consider Belknap, Charles Blake, Elliott Ballon, Reuben Barnes, Tilmerick Barnes, John Bartlett, Daniel Brown, Elisha Ballon, Jesse P. Burnham, Lemuel P. Billingston, Robert Blue, Ethan Baxter, Josiah Bowen, Nathaniel Brown, SmUh W. Bullock, L. A. Bowden, John Bowden, William Bailey, Perry D. Bailey, Ira Bailey, William Boss, Man son Briggs, John W. Bailey, Sylvester R. • Bray man, Samuel G. Balcome, F. F. Bennett, Zephaniah Booker, Georije Bentley, Isaac Benson, John W. Brown, Isaac R. Rep; No. 546. SSH^A NORTH PROVIDENCE-Cominued. Bullock, Cyril Boyd, William Biirrill, Benjamin Burgess, Joseph Beiisley, John Bowen, Levi S. Brown, Jesse Bliss, Samuel P. Bennett, Benjamin Bennett, William H. Bennett, Job Boyd, William H. Bentsley, Samuel Bodwell, Frederick, Burgess, Henry O. Blanding, Abial D. Bates, Daniel Brintley, William Bowen, Nelson W. Bennett, Isaac Bowen, Ephraim Bliss, Albert Bowen Samuel Brown, Samuel A. Bowen, Harvey Brastow, Samuel Burgess, John W. Baker, Sylvanus IJrown, Richard Briggs, Hiram A. Bates, George F. Barnes, Thomas Bagley, John Burton, Gideon Brown, Nathan A. Baxter, Asa Booth, Samuel Barber, Adin Brown, Enoch 2d Bowen, George W. Booth, John Bagley, David Brown, Enoch Benford, John Bucklin, Stephen R. Bagley, William Brinton, Olney Blanchard, Gilbert Bre, Charles S. Carpenter, D wight G. Capron, Edwin Cozzens, Nelson P. Cozzens, John R. Crowell, Thomas Chase, Asa P. Carpenter, Sumner Chaffee, Samuel B. Cheney, Charles Comstock, Lyman Col well. Olney Cunliffij, Richard G. Cowing, Martin K. Carpenter, George W. Cunliffe, James M. Carpenter, Seba Case. Rufus Carpenter, John R. Cory, John A. Cranston, Peleg P. Clarke. Joseph G. Corey, Daniel Colvin, Earle CoUa, Thomas Corey, Charles E. Corey, Peleg Chase, Enoch Carr, Sylvester W. Crawford, .William Crawford, James Chase, George Carpenter, Albert W. Cameron, James Crowell, Joseph R. Chase, Dean Carter, Daniel Coggsill, Joseph Carpenter, George D. Collins, Henry F. S. Coggeshall, Royal Collyer, Isaac W. Chase, John L. Clarke, Elisha A. Ohase, Nelson H. Carpenter, Perez Colyer. Nathaniel S. Childs,' Alfred L. Cole, Alien Carpenter, Elias W. Cole, Edmund Chamberlain. Lucius 556 Rep. No. 546. NORTH PROVIDENCE-Conlinued. Cheney, Alfred Crowell, Kbenezer Carpenter, Emerson Cahoone, Esek B. Cash, Samuel Cahoone, Joseph Chace, William Chace, Sheffield Clark, Stephen R. Clark, Asa B. Crawford, Montgomery- Cowing, John K. Coggeshall, John S. Crowell, Henry Cooms, William Corey, Pearce Carr, Riifus B. Dexter, Nathaniel Draper, Joseph B. Dean, Martin Dawley, Benjamin G. Deverenx, William S. Dawley^ John T. Donley, Peleg Davis, Edward B. Develin, Lewis Develin, John Davis, Charles E. Douglas, William Davis, Joseph M. Dickerson, Joseph C. Douglas, Hiram Dexter, Waterman Douglas, Isaac Davis, James Damon, Lucius Dispean, John S. Dunham, Daniel Dexter, John W. Douglas, Robert Dexter, Jerameel J. Darling, Nathaniel J. Dean, Leonard Develin, Bernard Dexter, Horatio S. Dexter, Simon W. Esten. Esek Esten, Cornelius Edwards, Preserved Everett, William B. Eaton, Levi Curtis Everett, Gilbert N. Everett, Ebenezer Everett, Ira Everett, Ellis Eddy, Owen Eddy, Ferdinand S. Ennis, Daniel S. Everett, P. F. Frost, William F. Follett, Robert ^ Furlong, Edward Follett, Lyman Fenner, John O, Franklin, Nelson Farnsworthj Ephraim Fuller, Marcus M. Fisk, Abjjah Fur n ham, Joseph P. Fairbrother, Phineas Fairbrother, Samuel W, Freeman, Benjamin Field, George Fuller, Joseph R. Franklin, Darius S. Fales, John T. Fairbrother, John Fuller, Albert Furman, Jason Fechman, Ray Green, Stephen A. Gardner, Christopher D. Goldsmith, John Godfrey, Samuel Gilman, David Greene, Jofin Godfrey, Elisha Grid ley, Benjamin Gunman, Silas Greene, Henry P. Godfrey, Ezra Gage, Samuel Gridley, Jonathan F. Gregory, James Guild, Elias Rowland, Edwin Huntress, Andrew Hale. Silas Horr, William A. Horr, Darvis Rep. No. 546. 55T NORTH PROVIDENCE— Comiaued. Havens, Samuel Hutchens, Samuel Handy, Allen Harris, William Hubbard, William M. Horr, Jacob C. Haswell, Isaiah C. Hoyt, Lewis Horr, Darius W. Hortoii, Andrew- Houghton, John B. Had ley, Benjamin H. Hopkins, Willett Hadley, Nicholas B. Havens, Nathan Holmes, Joseph J. Holmes, David A. Hunt, Elisha, jr. Henry, William Henry, William P. Hamilton, Gideon Hawkins, William L. Hawkins, David Harris, John Hall, Charles Howland, Shubael Higgins, Hiram H. Hicks, William H. Hawes, Joseph Harrington, Thomas Holbrook, Sylvanus Hutghinson, James Haskell, Levi Henry, Foster Hunt, Caleb Handy, Martin Haskell, Moses Hawkins, Darius Harris, Thoaias J. Handy, John Hall, Nathan H. Himes, Willard Hawkins, Josiah H. Hale, George Himes, Stuart Hathaway. Nathan Hodges, A. F. Hunt, Ira Henry, George Haskins, Lovett Haskins, George Howard, Hiram L. HoUoway, Ichabod K. Hawkins, Marvel Henry, Mat hew Irons, Amasa Irons, Edward W. Ingraham, H. N. Ingraham, Jabel Ingraham, Caleb Ide, Amos, jr. Ingraham, Joshua Irons. Morris T. In man, Ahab Jen ekes, Pardon Jenckes. Stephen Johnson, Isaac Jacquays, James M. Jenks, George Jepherson, Dutee James, Joseph Jo.slin, George, jr. Jenkes, William B. Jaqnays, Oliver F. Jaquays, David D. Jenks, Levi Jillson, Pardon P. Jillson, William O. James, John Johnston. Jason Jordan, Oliver Joslin, George Jenckes, Isaac T. Jenckes. Levi, 2d JefFers, Henry H. Johnson, Dutee Jenckes, Nathaniel M Jenks, Ichabod Jenks, Slater Jenks, James V. Jeifers, William Jenks, Pardon, jr. Jenks, George C. Jenks, Lyndon Jenks, Sterry Jenks, Jabez W. Johnson, John N. P. Jenks, William Kinnicntt, Shubael Kennedy, Thomas King, Jarvis King, George K. 59S Rep. No. 546. NORTH PROVIDENCE^Cominued. Kingsley. William Kids, Orrin KdowIps. Benjamin Kin?, Benoni Kelly, Jedediah C. Kelly, Richard Knowles, Robert A. Kerr. William KenyoD. Jonathan C. Kenyon. Joseph G. King. Abner N. Kno\rlion. James LowdeD, John W. Lurabert. Thomas Leonard, Apoilos Lewis, Crandall Luther, Edmund Lincoln. Beta Luther. Hezekiah Leland. Alonzo Lockwood, Benajah T. Latham. Thomas W. Lawton, Isaac Lee. Newell Lawton, William H. Lyon. George W. Lewis. John Latham. Benjamin F. Lothrop, Lebbeus Lothrop. James F. Lyon, William Lord, Samuel Lewis, Thomas Lapham, William Leonard. Charles A. Le Craw, John B. Lewis, Robert G. Merry. Benjamin Mann. Jacob Miller. Samuel W. Merry. Samuel Maccomber, Frederick Marchant. Jeremiah Maccomber, Zebedee Mclntire, Joseph Manchester. Cornelias Mowry. Jenckes Metcalf. Owen Meeder. Daniel Maihewsrn, Benom Mowry, Randall Mowry, William MuUett, William Masterson, Michae Mowry, Horace B. Mitchell. Daniel Means, Joseph Martin. H. Otis Mitchell, H. Otis Mitchell. William Martin, Sampson McCallum, J. E. Marchant. Gorham Martin, Horace A. Miller, Barton Miller, Ephraim Mason, Edmund Mason. Jam^s S. Martin, Le Baron Norihnp Lebbeus Newell. John Northup. William H. Newell, George W. E. Nicolas. Nelson Nickerson. Enoch Northup. Rufus Northup. John S. Northup. David Nicolas, George Newell, Ziba" Norton, George Northup, Thomas R. Niles, Nathaniel Olney, Edward B. Olney, Edmund J. Olney, William H. Oluey, Solomon Olney, Obadiah Olney, Joseph Olney. < yrus Olney. Daniel Olney, Elisha Olney, Sullivan Olney, Charles Olney, Henry D. Olney, Almon Olney, Elisha Pack, Adams Perry. Edward Pond,' William H. Pond, Parker H. Pratt, William A, Rep. No. 546. 5^9 NORTH PROVIDE>XE— Coctinaed. Potter, Samuel B. Peckham, Benjamin L. Peck, Daiiforth L. Potter. Danforth L. Potter, Edmund Phillips, Otis Pierce, Sanford R. Parker. J. N. Pollard, James Peck, Foster S. Parsons, William E. Paul, John Perrin, Henry- Pond, Julius Peters, Albert Pait, Edwin C. Patt. Horatio N. Peck, Albert B. Putney, Otis Phinney, Zenas Patt. David Park. Appleton Paul, Jacob Read, Amos M. Ripley, Charles Rex, Jeremiah Randall, Shadrach Rounds. Caleb Randall, Nathaniel Reraineton, A. S. Reynolds. Erastus Rice, Emery Reynolds, Thomas Q» Ricker, Ezekiel, 3d Randall, Joseph Razee, Jesse E. Reynolds, George H. Robinson, James B. Robnson, Samuel Roberts, George A. Read, Ervin Read, Horatio N. Rex, Thomas Randall, John Ripley, Calvin Randall. Peter Rex, Charles S. Ryder. James Rechard, Gardner Rice, Archibald B, HeXj George Rex, John Ryder. David Reed. Adam Round, Charles M. Ripley, Charles B. Remington, Waterman Roberts, James A. Sisson, Joseph Sisson. Samuel Sumner, Frederick A. Spauidins:. Silas Smith, John F. Shepard. John Sweet, Daniel D. Smith, Dexter B. Sweet, Samuel Sweet. Eiisha W. Smith, Eben Staunton, John C. Slocura, Eason Stetson, Isaac Smith, Mowry W. Sweet, William A. Stone. John Steere. Asa Smith. Richard Steere, Asahel. jr. Sampson, Abiel M. Sherman. Benjamin Smith, Hosea Smith, Horace, jr. Smith. Nehemiah Sweet, Eiisha S. Smith. Salisbury Swan. Charles E. Salisbury, Arthur Sherman, Isaac Simonds. Alfred Sweetland. James H. Smith. Nelson E. Sweet. James W. Sundalin, Henry H. Shove. Robert Seamans, Olney E. Sears. Obed Sanders. Samuel Smith. Abiel Smith, Scott Snow, Edward Salisbury, Joseph Smiih, John 560 Rep. No. 546. NORTH PROVIDENCE— Conlinned Smitli, Jotham G. Stall, George W. Sweetland, William Salisbury, Luke S. Slocum, Jeremiah Smith, Cyrus Strange, Thomas H. Sweetland, Thomas Slade, Philip A. Smith. Samuel Smith, Nehemiah P. Steere, John Salisbury, Clement D. Tucker, John Teft, William H. Thorp, John Turner, Luther Trescott, L. E. Tyler, George Tyler, Archibald H. Tripp, John Thornton, Horace T|iurston, Peleg Tripp, William H. Tingley, Lyman Tudor, James F. Tanner, John B. C. P. 3d Thompson, William B. Teft, Henry Thatcher, Prentis Tompkins, Edmund C. Thornton, Joseph W. Tucker, Jeremiah Utton, John W. Utton, John T. Verry, John Vickere, Albert Vial, James M, Vose, George A. Wilcox, Robert Wetherell, Zelotes Wood, Ebenezer Walker, Kussell D. Weedon, John M. Wade, Noyes Ware, Gilbert A. West, Job Pv. Wilbur, Calvin Webbter, Lewis Whelden, Prince Woodberry, John R, White, Nicholas P. Whipple, Thomas J. Whipple, Thomas Whipple, Stephen Williams, Elisha S. Wilcox, Reynolds Whitman, Joseph Williams, Waterman C. Waterman, Charles B. Whipple, James M. Whipple, William O. Whipple, Benjamin Wilcox, John C. Williams, Andrew Whipple, John J. A. R. Wood, George H. Wilkinson, Abraham Williams, Larned Williams, Harrison, jr. WillianiS, George D. Whitmarsh, Thomas Wilson, Alexander Whitfemore, Mdward W hillock, Lawrence Willard, John H. Williams, T. William Wakefield, Chancey Winsor, Emor White, William W. Wilmarth, Harrison Warren, David B. Webber, William White, William G. Williams, Anthony S. Whipple, Daniel P. White, Isaac H. Whiting, Nelson Wilkinson, William W. Whipple, Amasa W. Whitaker, Ira C. Walker, Francis Young, Samuel Qualified - Not qualified - 221 - 472 'IV.ial Against - 693 - 13 For - - 680 VOTERS IN Qualifiec:. Benjamin Hunt Jeremiah Carpentei Sheldon CoJvin Joshua [Iiint Caleb Colvin Henry Waterman ■t^benezer B.irney David Mclntire Isaac N. Sprague isaac (A)ngdon, jr. Georae Harris Freeborn Potter l^uty Colvin •Rf'bert Grinnell "VViHiam Bno-crs Joseph Sheld'oli ^evi S. Wilhams Andrew Es.sex Wjibnr Searle Charh-s Porter Joseph Nicholas ^ams 8 /.each VV^'J'iam K. CarpeDtor -Tiiihjs ^'praffiie St' phen Wi'o-ht WilJutm F. Waterman Sylvester Stone J<>fT" A. King W/ll,am I). Williams ^^GpUe,ti J. Colvin ^ fseph Carpenter Joseph Sixi-W Caleb Williams George W. «pragne O'^s B. Sali^bur^ i;mierick Williams Arnold Smith William (Jorpe Wii!h S. Budlong Wilham H. Hunt Asahel Fenner Youngs Morgan George W. Sheldon Wilham E. Rutter H. Blai.'^dell James W. Scott Jsrael K. Potter John Fenner Niles Wescott Welcome Fenner Caleb Potter Harding Steere John Q. A. Davis Nathaniel Cole Fones Bngars Gardner LJuher Erastus R. Mowry Gzias Dan forth Edward Luther William Hardenburgh Benjamin Tallman Solomon W. Thornton John B. Whitehead John Beattie Mowry Williams J^yman Barney Wilham H. A. Aldr.ch <^>ren Baker Ebenezer Walker Nehemiah Wight Chdstopher Nicholas 561 Rep. No. 546. CRANSTON- Continued. William Slieldon George T. Potter Nathan Waterman Philip Paine, jr. James S. Williams William H: Prior James Youngs Benjamin E. Jones George Cunlifl:' Elisha A. Whitaker John D. Foster John S. Foster Christopher N. Levalley Thomas Grace Henry Jennison Joseph E. Bnrge.-!S Horace Williams Henry Bnr^jess Jeremiah Fenner Freeborn Potter, jr. William A. Sarll Burton Sarll / Thomas Roberts Horace Prior Charles Peck George VV. Spencer Benjamin Chapman Henry N. Thornton Samuel Slociim W^illiam Cunliff Elisha H. Rhodes Thomas B. Coles Eliakim Briggs Richard Fenner Henry Fenner Daniel S. Congdon Caleb W. Johnson Samuel F, Joy Benjamin G. Tallman Joseph Howard Leander L. Dodge Joseph Howard 2d Oliver Daw ley Joseph Sheldon Stephen Relph Charles Remiugton Ozias Danforlh David Sprague George P. Hazard De Witt C. Sprague William R. Butterworth Samuel Burgess Randall Relph Seth Baker George Hunt Edward Beasley George Waterman Stephen Sprague Christopher Thornton Gilford W. Cliase Augustus Carpenter James S. Chase John S. Baker Squire Baker Not qualified. Eborn Knight Leonard Salisbury Peter Harrington James Davis Olney M. Nelley Levi Bradford George M. Collins Albion N. Olney Hardin Briggs William Thorington Henry Reynolds Raymond Stone William Wright Joseph S. Lock wood Lewis R. Sprague Stephen Sheldon Daniel T. Remington John Lane Peleg Hedley Jesse H. Randall W^illiam H. Sterrat Pardon L. Wight Edward Li. Wight Stephen Arnold Morris Judd Joseph C. Gavitt John Reynolds, jr. Edwin Stone William Reynolds Lewis Potter Dean Kimball Caleb Henry Robert Benttie Rep. No. 546. 56^ CRANSTON— Continued. James Wight Samuel Budloni^ Tillinghasl Williams Ebenezer Sprague John Slain George N. Foster Mo wry K. Aid rich George B. Richardson Stephen D. Olney Wilham F. Paine James B. Pitcher Hazard Ennis William H. Allen Peleg W. S locum Alpheus Smith Joseph W. King Henry Randall Sidney B. Smith Clarke Dawley Richard Fenner Charles Peabody Allen Lewis Levi Trumbull Ambrose B. Bailey John P. Waterman James Bates John Smith Thomas Knight Nathaniel Langley Arnold Lawton Sylvester R. Franklin Elihu Thomas John P. Nicholas Abel Angell Thomas Warner Anthony M. Angell Silas Rider Alexander Harrington Daniel C. Stone Seneca Stone Thomas H. Pollard ISehemiah Thnrber William C. Brigsfs AVilham G. Coffin William R. S locum M. B. Lord Thomas W. Allen John Stone Samuel Stokes Nathaniel W. Rounds William Ton more Benjamin Gorton Benjamin Roberts Charles Hortcn Rowland Lovell George Hawes Asa H. Marshall Dyer S. Essex Joseph Y. Reynolds Joseph W. Fuller Joel Benton Jonathan R. Remington William H. Allen 2d Dan Wilson Joseph Taylor, jr. Joseph Taylor Thomas R. Taylor Joseph F. Norton Amos Potter Asahel Fenner 2d Isaac liriggs John Heap Horatio N. Randall John Cornell William Owens John W. Greene Rnfus King William King Horatio King .lames Arnold Edward Mason Charles B. Hawkins Timothy Ralph Luther E. Brayton James S. Hill William Ash croft William H. Manchester Benedict Arnold Horace Lawton Luther Eldridge James Chi Ids George W. Whitehead Albert Tillinghast Jeremiah Knight Charles D. Warren Ebenezer Cushman Almond Arnold William Adams Norris H. Church David Lawton ^4 Rep. No. 546. CRANSTON— Coniinued. Albert Brijrgs WilHam H. Sprague Feuner Harris Be nan i Sprague ColviHe D. Brown William Sieere Darius Sessions Parker VV. Stephens Orrin Mowry Albert Mowry Syria Mathewson William Briggs, jr. William Keach Stephen KandaU Paris Roberts Joseph Watson Leonard Pearce Abm. R. Gary Henry Stone ISaihan Reene Ezra Kelley Abel Howard Benjamin F. Fuller Cyril Greene Darius A. Franklin Erastus N. Burlingame George W. Eddy Daniel L. Cook John D. James Ebenezer F. Kingsbury Abel G. Tripp James Mott jNorman Brown Robert Moon Harding Knight, jr. Silas Spink Arnold Spink ' Daniel Chedell Henry Graves Samuel Fisk Edward S. R. Remington Ellery Kinyon William Gardner William Whiiaker Caleb Stone Ezekiel Warner Nehemiah Warner Thomas Moor Nathaniel Mumford William Manchester James W. Johnson. Giles Phillips John Congdon Henry Taylor George Lawtou Arnold Tarbox George Arnold Sampson Burgess Abncr Wade Hazard James Walter H. At wood, jr., William H. Howard Peleg Groves Elisha Bowen Jasper Jordan Ledyard H. Brown William Sherman Pardon Sheldon Caleb N. Field William Burnnvs Peter ISorton Frink W. Dorrance Jabez Holden Joseph Loring William P. Plotter Charles Chace Thomas W. Wood John A. S. Ken yon Rufus Keach Arnold Knight Albert Himes William Arnold John R. Wood William Himes (jSeorge W. Shermati Stephen Roberts Roswell Webster Ozias Read Cliester A. Wood worth Alfred Wright John Scott Joseph Nutting Philip Baker Horace Austin William Horsewell William A. Arnold Robert Ralston John Franklin John Sweet George B, Potter Rep. No. 546. 565 CRANSTON— CoLtinued. Francis Horsewell Caleb Carr Francis C. Doane John Williams Benjamin (iardner John A. Gardner William V. Davoll Oliver Gardner Q,ualified, Not qua li tied. Total, 159 241 400 i\o. 116. VOTERS IN WARWICK, KENT COUNTY. Qnalified. CJeorge W. Cnrni ' Robert W. Arnold Burton Baker Christopher Greene Sylvester G. Manchester Christopher Spencer Owen Biirlinirame George W. Gardner Joseph \N. Potter Alfred Read William Battey Jonathan Remington Henry Dyer William W. Knight Benjamin Nichols Edmuntl Bn rk William Miller Christophpr Greene, S. W. Joseph W. Hammond Peleg R. Angell Caleb Whitman, jr. Thomas W. Warner Joseph B. Baker Edwin Johnj^on Pardon Spencer Robert M. Bennett James Barllett Nehemiah Brayton Palmer Sheldon Louis Greene Christopher S. Warner Russell G. Arnold Philip Matteson Thomas B. Vaiighan Thomas R. Stafford Nathan Sunderland John P. Remington Philip D. Sherman Thomas R. Stafford, jr. Smith W. Pierce Christopher Arnold, 'S'. ;S'. William Carder Emanuel Rice William Endlong Hazzard Carder Stephen Biidlong James Carder Jahleel VVestcott Oliver Baker Horace Smith Lawton Greene William Warner Nicholas P. Baker Harding W. Potter Nelson Levalley Thomas Remington Randall Carder Orrin Spencer John Warner Benjamin Tihbetts Joseph Baker Thomas Rice John B. Sheldon Jonathan A. Sherman John Kinnecom Benjamin Kinnecom James Fisher Uriah Eddy 566 Rep. No. 546. WARWICK— Continued. Thomas E. Anthojiy Allen Arnold Augustus Phillips Squire Millard Henry A, Bowen Isaac Nichols Thomas J. Rathbone John Shrieves Daniel Bahcock Benjamin Sweet Caleb A. Rice Stephen Andrew, jr. Charles Reynolds Isaiah W. Butfey Christopher Holden Moses P. Nutting Stephen Holden Stephen Thornton John Holden Alanson Wood Whipple Stone Sluk(^ly Wood John Carpenter Samuel F. Tibbetts John G. Mawney Abel Tanner George Levalley Jesse Dawley Samuel J. Sherman James V. Holden Nehemiah Slone Ezekiel Rogers John Weaver William Tibbelts Oliver C. Arnold John R VV^atcrman- Joshua VVhitefoord John F. Johnson Samuel N. Hopkins Sheldon J^uther Seariel Simmons Godfrey Greene Eldridge Dyer Rhodes Greene Otis Tyler Joseph W. Ladd Emory S. Bennett Richard Waterman Nicholas Arnold Stephen Browning Daniel Hall - John G. Reynolds Nicholas E. Gardner William Rice Robert G. Mawney Wheaton G. Bennett Festus L. Thompson Wanton Wilbur Nicholas R. Gardner Charles W. Atwood George C. Perry Amos G. Fenner Seth Burke John D. Spink Spicer Greene Alanson Hawley Edmund C. Cole Nelson Williams William Kinnecom Charles Millard Am but A. Wescott Benjamin P. Nichols Stephen Arnold Joseph Card Alexander L. Nichols Elijah Baker James S. Andrews Rowland Crandall Bowen Fenner Ebenezer Tourgee Harrison Collins .Oliver C. Mott Reuben Wickes Hanan Hawkins William A. Briggs Gideon C. Briggs Whipple A. Arnold Oliver Arnold Darius Hart Charles C. Shippee Lodowick W. Shippee Charles Nichols Benjamin Sweet, jr. John W. Atwood Lyman North up Amos Budlong James W. Clarke Thomas Tiffany Sylvester B. Merrill Samuel N. Phillips Rep. No. 546. WARWICK— Continued. Isaac A. Rhodes Benjamin Nichols Job Pierce Nathaniel Bennett Thomas P. Gorton Daniel Congdon Eben W. Sweet "William North Up Stephen Northnp James Graham Jam(!s Doran Man sir (J. Shippey Reuben S. Peckham Joshua A. Johnson Thomas M. Remington Benjamin Williams Henry Hamillon Nicholas Gardner Benjamin P. Phillips Ray G. Andrew Henry B. Slone Benoni E. Ijcwis James B. Bennett John Gardner Pelegf Homes George Greene John B. Tanner Osborn Mowry Richard Rice Joseph E. Lock Daniel Dyer John Blanchard James F. Hills Alfred Fairbanks Stephen Luther John PL Himes Andrew Kinnecom Asa Lock Ephraim Spencer Charles F. Buchinhead Josiah Baker George B. Himes George K. tJlarke David Baton James A. Tanner Merchant Weeden Joseph W. Arnold Isaac Allen Varniim Spencer Benjamin \V. Briggs Reuben Whiiman. jr. Richard B. Knight Thomas B. Arnold Dexter R. Spencer George W. Bates Allen Whitman Oliver Briggs Thomas Lock wood Joseph Hammond Charles Ross John Tucker, jr. Robert I -ovalley Benjan)in Snell Otis Martin Albert W. Knight Samuel D. Pierce Daniel Eld ridge Henry Tatcm Slocum Harrington Thomas W. Matterson Elijah Card Clarke N. Andrews Stukely B. Baggs Weaver Andrew Russell Youngs Charles Lock wood Elisha L. Baggs Ray W. x\t\vood Albert G. Smith Samuel Sisson Paul Wheeloek William Sprague Earle Builingame Alvin Wickes Abel Slocum Henry A. Arnold David Whitman Giles Spencer William Fason Burton Baker Albert G. Franklin John Norihup, S. A. Nathan W. J^ockwood. Amos C. Eurle Reuben W. Austin Nathaniel Millard Robert W. Greene W^illiam Arnold Edward Pike William Carter ms Rep. No. 546. WARWICK-Continued. George L. Mo wry- Joseph Burrows Stephen Smith Isbon Shermon Samuel Reynolds Abel Slocum, jr. Samuel Arnold Stephen Austin Cyrus Arnold Russell V. Batley Wescott Hanes Peleg Rhodes Henry Snell William Jones Hiram Biirlingame George W. Wells William Cottrell William C. Ames Henry Potter Gorton Atwood Oliver C. G.Arnold Colonel A. Carpenter William S. Cranston George Potter Stephen Potter William Arnold James H. Peckham Wanton Stone William Baker Frederic Arnold William T. Gardnier William Hopkins Oliver Arnold, ^Js'. P. Asa Kettle John Baker Caleb Whitman Stephen Levulley John.Levalley Samuel G. Allen Caleb Johnson Not qualified. Stephen B. Whipple Samuel Dyer Henry A. Barley Edmund Spencer Thomas B. Briggs Silas Hathaway ' Benjamin Tift Samuel P. Sweet Samuel K. Dayley Smith Northup John Mo wry John H. Chappell Christopher W\ Knight Benjamin B. Briggs James Russell Joseph Card Samuel Sweet Jason Strait Jeremiah Hawkitis Stephen Sunderland Solomon Matfison William Blanchard John Allen Stephen S. Northup Edward A. Cole Sweet King Amos Shermon Richard Gorton William Van riper William Remington Seth Keach Enos W. Barber David W. Wescott Horatio Bennett Isaac D. Phillips Wilson C. Scoit William B. Brown Nehemiah Dexter Jeremiah Blanchard Charles F. Thurston Barnet Allen James Casswell William Fisk William Vickory John M. Brant William Reynolds William S. Pieice Samuel H. Sherman Levi G. Bryant Benjamin Greene Benjamin F. Bryant Almerian Balvill John Barber Nelson Ken yon George B. Carpenter Thomas Covil Albert Chipman Rep. No. 546. 569 WARWICK-Continued. Arnold B. Austin Thomas Taylor James W. Brown Thomas B. Greene Elisha P. Ellis George W. Holden George W. Price John Vickory Johnson B. (I'olvin James H. Reynolds William Con^don Joseph P. Coggeshail Jesse B. Chamberlain Thomas Covil George W. Waternjan Pardon M. Baker Gordon Spencer Ichabod S. Phillips John Chamberlain John Howard Allen Austin John Nichols William A. Wickes Alpheus Collins David G. Taft George W. S. Noyes Cyrus Nicholas David Tripp James H. Bradford Silas A. Sweet Edmund D. Randolph John S. Colgrove Ephrnim Covil Asa Crandall Havens Tenant Samuel Tonrgee William Greene Israel Carr Joshua Carpenter Thomas Utter Thomas C. Hall Charles Millard, jr. John Tew Christopher Hill, jr. William Stafford George Vickory Hiram Stephens Sabin Knight Stephen Allen Joseph VV. Arnold Greene H. Capron Barton Baker Samuel Leach Christopher Harrington Benjamin Carter William B. Keach Wanton Sisson Ebenezer Fuller Sylvanus C. Newman George Vickory Silas Whitman .Tohn Holden Taber Hollis George Moon, jr. Ephraim Bennett Philip Dawley W^arner D. Greene James Douglas, jr- Stephen S. Burlingarae Charles S. Carder Edward G. Rogers Caleb B. Spencer William Tyler Robert H. Grmold Thomas Sunderland William N. Nichols Asahel Wood George W. Briggs Daniel Sunderland Braberry Dow William G. Wood Ebenezer Brayman Christopher Spencer Ray Earle Albert Phillips William B. Spencer Ezra W^hitford John H. Arnold John Douglas William Colvin Zebulon Northup Rufus Wheeler Randall F. Greene Elisha S. Peckham Caleb Rice William H. Hill Brintal Whitfoord Asael A. Bennett James Hill Abiel S. Brown 570 Rep. No. 546. WARWICK— Continued. George Hawkins Abel Bennett Peleg Brown John Colvin John C. Johnson Joseph Sheldon Thomas M. Pierce Jeremiah Staftbrd Ambrose Brown Caleb A. Bailey John P. Burke Sylvester W. Colvin George Comstock Ehsha Dickinson Philip A. Colvin James C. Jocoy Nelson T. Briggs Henry Arnold William Nichols John B. Bradford Lorenzo D. Reranigton Kay Johnston Stephen Norihup Henry Baker John Douglas William Tonrgee William Baker . Isaac Lawton James Nigh Amos Greene Stukely C. Himes Samuel Peckham Jonathan Rogers Thomas Hovey Ira Mattison Thomas Nichols John B. Bassell Henry A. Love Hall Gorton William Card Sheffield Reynolds James Gardner Zadoc Bnro:ess Noah Kinsley Sylvester H. Bennett John Himes Jeremiah C. Knight William A. Cory Daniel D. Greene Joseph Congdon Lymon L. Leach Edwin W. Arnold Anthony Carr Lyman Grinnol John Andrews Benjamin Albro Stephen B. Gardner John W. Towl Henry Rieves Isaac Mo\vry John W. Bennett John S. Budlong Nathan T. 1 -ock Georire W. Harrington James M. Tonrgee Joseph Johnson William Remington James Cole Harris Johnson Henry H. Stephens William H. Budlong Whipple Stoveyer Joseph G. Lawton Jonathan West Jabez Colvin Stephen S. Brown Sion Arnold Lorenzo D. Budlong James B. Arnold William Fairbanks William Mumford John R. Stafford John R. Brayton Isaac Carr Mason Cornal John Sunderland, jr. William Wood James Bowener James Carr Henry W. Greene William Randall Samuel G. Bo wen Hiram Clark Hazzard Wilbur Clark Spink John Bennett Christopher W. Greene Thomas S. Northup Harding P. Rice Lowry Greene Rep. No. 546. 571 WARWICK— Continued. Christopher T. Congdon William Case William Montgomery Israel Wood Amos Bndlong, jr. Henry Capron Walter R. Pearle Asaph Tennent Riifns Diirfee Nicholas VV. Shrieves Joseph S. Fones Thomas Keltoti Holden Fisk John Northup Daniel Stone Jetfrey H. Gardner Nathan Kenyon George Hoffman Benjamin VV. Vanghrj Edmund L, Endlong George W. Griffin William W. Matteson George A. Davis Leonard Vinton George W. Rawson Perry K. Browning Henry Hawkins William Boyle Charles Noyes Thomas IVlaihewson James Leach Moses Bndlong John Linlefield Benjamin Tonrgee Christopher Hill Alfred Whipple Robert Gavitt William Love Henry Collins . Thomas Matteson John Nutting George W. King- Nathaniel Champlain Jeremiah Randall William T. Arnold Stephen A. Remington El is ha Tew Edward Capron George Hutch ins George A. Smith Albert H. Alexander Joseph Matteson Davenport Simmons Thomas M. Tonrgee Nathan Card Silas Hunt James Johnson Rowland Greene John Carlwright Jacob Matteson Thomas J. Remington Douglas Blanchard Alfred Austin Benjamin Cornel, jr. Dudley Hall Philip Arnold Horace S. Youngs Joseph Pollard Stephen Briggs Alfred W. Potter John R. Barber Stephen Card Rhodolphus F. Whitney John Remington Courtland J. Crandall Palmer T. Briggs John M. Franklin Jerod B. Baker Elveton Arnold Caleb Bates George C. Perry jr. Joseph P. Essex Christopher A. Tillinghast Walter P. Wilcox Arnold Gavitt Allen Blanchard Edward K. Stone Horatio A. Stnne Sheffield S. Wiils Parish Andrew Benoni King Lyman Arnold Preserved Pierce Hugh Kelley Alonzo Borden William D. Budlong William S. Gardner John Austin Elijah Card George W. Matteson 572 Kep. No. 546. WARWICK-Continued. Samuel Eldred William M. Williams Emory Henry Reuben Essex William G. Spencer Dennis Dunn John A. Spencer James Howard Alanson P. Brownell Benjamin A. Brigg-s Augustus Remington Isaac Hall Joseph F'ones Anson Lewis William Stone Salma Wood Willet R. Briggs William Holley Thomas Maskey David W. Hajan Nicholas Brown Giles J. Jenkins Henry Lewis James Lamberton Caleb Brown Joseph B. Rice Thomas Worthington Dexter G. Wescott Alfred Sunderland George Bee bee William L. Chase Stephen Andrew Benjamin Andrew Benjamin Briggs Henry O. Sherman George Scott John R. Lewis Rodman James David C. Taylor George F. Brayton Joshua Tonrtellot George A. Phillips Henry Sunderland Benjamin B. Congdon Thomas Bowener Stephen Greene Nicholas Taft John B. Aylesworth Harden Hatch Warren Collins George W. Collins Benjamm W. Collins Thomas Shippee Austin Wilson James Davis Henry Freeman Caleb Gorton Thomas E. Remington Alden Knight Benjamin Wight Isaac F. Hollis Nicholas M. Gardner James H. Bndlong George G. Watson Lewis W, Briggs Caleb W. Bennett Nicholas Briggs Robert Card Josiah Merrill John D. Thomas Pardon Tillinghast Jeremiah Webb Beriah S. Brown Rowland Sweet Amos More Jarvis W. Reed George W. Nye Arnold C. Gardner Charles Sherman John Nuttinff. jr. Charles Stone Leonard Capron Bowen Kettle Wanton W. Potter Job Benson John Rice Samuel K. Nason Daniel F. Biirlingame Vacnum Taber William H. Carpenter Levi J. Bianchard Horace Franklin Simeon Spencer Lewis C. Merrill James Carroll, jr. Charles M. Sunderland Abner A. Hart Thomas Baker Christopher H. Dawley Benjamin M. Moon Rep. No. 546. a7S WARWICK— Continued. Gideon Wilcox Vinson Dawley Benjamin Francis Edward VVeuver John T. Nichols Albion N. Arnold Job W. Potter John W. Arnold William Barber Allen R. Hill Jonathan Noyefs William H. Healey William Nye, jr. Benajah Lockwood Daniel W. Peckham Albert W. Knight Joseph W. Holden Allen Brijjgs John Uowiiiof, jr. William S. Peckham Joseph Shaw Barney W. Davis William Hill Robert Brigors Avery Winslovv Joseph P. Chainplain Francis W. Carpenter Jeremiah Tourgee Joel E. Cady Benjamin Miichel David Nickerson George T. Ross John A. Taylor Thomas W. Lock William Smith Thonicis R. Parker Daniel Greene George Mowry Andrew G. Vaughn Jonathan Bazzel! John P. Sweet Kze! Keyix^lds Jeliery W. Sunderland Eleazer Fisl: Hazzard Clarke Hiram West Nicholas Harris Edwin Goggswell Kiishft Andrews Joseph Burgess Alfred Smith George Colvin Nicholas T. Allen Spanlding N. Ross Timothy Clarke Dennis Hunt Russell At wood James F. Rhodes Abraham Brightman George W. Keacli Andrew Arnold George H. Cooke William Tonrgee William Nye Caleb Johnson Benjamin Essex Thomas F. Greene Joseph E. Cranston Nelson Young William Bardeen Pardon Crandall Jonathan Taft William A. Leach Joel E. Cady Thomas W. Lockwood John F. Bacon Sumner Trumbull Giles S. Greene Barnard M. Hall Stephen Nutting Whipple Andrews George Cook James Kinsley William Wilbur Simon Sherman William Stone William Jennison Welcome Bates George Hodges George Johnston En OS Farrow George H. Arnold Bernard N. Eddy John Kini: Warren C. Gardnier Reynolds S. Wilcox Simeon W. Drown Joseph W. James Thonins P. R. A. Knox .Aitemas S. Fuller 574 Rep. No. 546. WARWICK-Coniinued. Chester Hinies Silas James John Cass we 11 Christopher F. Collins Pardon Biirlingame Benjamin W. Arnold Benjamin Rogers John Campbell Warren Tanner Ray Greene Remington Sherman "William Stoveyer L. Can field Samnel R. Gavitt Stephen E. Card Mark Connelly Lewis Chaffee Solomon Arnold Jonathan Benson Ellis M. Cottery Daniel Nason Samnel Bennett Nicholas W. Cook Joseph My rick Joshua A. Davis James Carr Josiah LiCvalley Daniel B. Himes Qualified - 308 Not qualified - - 587 Total - - 895 No. 117. VOTERS IN COVENTRY, KENT COUNTY. George W. Greene Coddmgton S. Burch Orrin Cahoone Alfred Cornell John Smith Hosea Cahoone Eber Phillips Andrew Colvin Allen Greene Abel Cornell 2d Arnold Pettis James Langley James A. Venney Jonathan Nichols ^ Nathan Walker Israel Wilson Christopher Carpenter James L. Ross Sylvester Andr3\v John R. Allen George Cahoone George Fairbanks David H. Culver Jonathan BIy Thomas J, Ross James M. Herrington Sheffield R. Greene Cromwell liCvalley Bowen Angell Benjamin B. Cotterell Thomas Hall Nehemiah Knight Benjamin S. Chace Albert Wickes William Knight William Cahoone Isaac B. Aylesworth Allen Cahoone Erasmus D. Clarke John'W. Davis Archibald Mattison Josiah N. Colvin Stephen G. Watson Isaiah Kettle William Brown Luther L. Col well Ira Cobb Thomas Tennent George W. Whitman Josiah Love Rep. No. 546. 575 COVENTRY— CoiUiiiued. Samuel Sweet Thomas O. Johnson Tchabod White Jeremiah U. Austin Israel Walker Benjamin Holden Christopher Robinson Samuel II. Cotterel Robert x\nsten Benjamin Greene Reuben Potter Hazzard B. Clarke Jason P. Stone, 2d Martin Bradford Alvin Greene Alfred I'aylor Ira West Henry O. Sweet Jenckes N. Kilton Sheffield VV. Havens Jason Weaver James Caswell Thomas A. Andrew Rufus Kettle Elisha B. Chappell William G. Perry Charles Holden George Dye Gardner P. Cottrel Philip P. Hawkins Ishmael Nichols Jareb Matteson Daniel Rice Charles H. Thayer Edward Slocum Stephen Salisbury Jeffrey Davis W^anton Gardner Joab \Vood John Wickes Benoni Slone Benjamin Dawley, jr. Asa Bennett George Trim, jr. Alvin Trim Ebenezer W. Chase Lawton Johnson Peter T. W. Mitchel Wilbur Mattison Geor^je Briggs Thomas J. Hines Benoni Rogers Perry Andiew Ira G. Briggs Benjamin Morse Wilham Kerr Charles Collins Asahel Jordan Benjamin Dawley Benjamin S. Briggs William Bowen Samuel F. Chappell Augustus F. Bowen Andrew J. Wright Francis W. Gardner David Wilcox W^illiam F. Potter Charles Colvin John Bennett Bowen Cahoone William J. Barber Augustus J. Lewis Stanton Ilazzard Jonathan Pettis Benjamin Cobb Benjamin B. Cobb Oliver Howard James Kendall Bowen Johnson John Bowles Caleb Colvin Joseph Gorton George A. C. Cole Jesse Wood Daniel Arnold Sylvester Rice Henry C. Peck Paul Harrington Dexter Moore David Blanchard Abm, Tillason Joseph Cass well Verbadus Mattison Royal Andrew Jefferson L. Kimball Samuel Greene Fileazar Briggs James B. Arncld Abel M. Sweet John P. Millerd E—" 576 Rep. No. 546. COVENTRY— Continued. John Moon Henry A. Maltesoo Isaac Hyde Abner Rogers James Warner, jr, George P. Gould Jolin Bro.vn James Sweel Ezekiel Johnson Albert O. Milchel Jeremiah Greene Samuel Whaley Peleo; Gorton Job Gorton Zebulon Gardner Samuel Franklin John A. franklin Nathan Rice William P. Scott Sheldon Potter Samuel P. Carr Oolvin W. Richards Aaron Bowen James Brigijs William G.^Battey Samuel A. Briggs Joseph Greene J Miller Briggs Richard Arnold Jeremiah Arnold Andrew Colvin Robert Havens William H. Sweet William G. Sheldon Jonathan Nichols George C. Sieevens Sheffield Wait, jr. Holden Andrew Reuben Nicholas Randall Knight Henry Morse Henry Cahoone Olney Wood Archibald Morse George W. Greene Jabez Stone Wheaton Knight Hale C. Manchester Job iManchester Abel Maiteson Benjamin Gorton Otis W. Arnold Cornell O. Havens John Wood Asahel Greene Darius Whit ford Stephen Richmond Samuel Bissell Arnold Maiteson Isaac H. I.awton William W. Whipple Daniel V. Reynolds Stephen Bennett William Taylor John Wilcox George W. Bowen Peleg Gorton John A. Wilcox Peter Eddy Klhan Angell George W. Johnson John'W. Dance Joshua Havens John Y. Johnson John A. Matleson Bowen T. Briggs Charles S. Adams John S. Maiteson Josiah Briggs C'harles Morse Silas Gorton Reynolds Lewis Nichols Austin Reynolds Austin OliVer Maiteson William G. Merrill William B. Merrill Easou Barbee John Slocum, jr. Qualified, Not qualified, Total, • 44 88 132 590 Rep. No. 546. No. 121. VOTERS IN CUARLESTOWN, WASHINGTON COUNTY. Scranton Chappel William Greenman Thomas Webster Joseph Cross Hoxie Perry WilHam Card Caleb Ney John E. Smith Benjamin Tucker Ehsha Card Peleg N. Tew Gideon Holloway David C. Larkin Daniel Hall AA/glcome Chappell Hazard G. Ken yon Benjamin G, Card Peleg Tucker Samuel C. Card Noah Holloway Robert Clarke John Tucker Peter Boss Jesse Clarke Joseph Gavit Joseph H. Lewis William H. Perry Maxson Greene William B. Tucker Benjamin Tucker William Card Welcome B. Greene Jason P. Greene Henry Greene John Holloway Oliver Gavit Samuel Frye Jesse B. Crumb Benjamin C. Baggs Jeremiah A. Kenyon William N. Clarke Augustus Burdick George H. Sherman Robert Hazzard Joseph E. Baggs James N. Kenyon Edward L. Green Aldrich Pottet Samuel Stanton John Edwards Lodowick Hoxsie Robert B. Peckhara John Stanton Henry C. Burdick Arnold Hiscox, jr. Daniel B. Irish Arnold Hiscox Benjamin Burdick Lewis G. F. Randolph Dennis Ennis Lewis Kenyon Henry Crandall William Sheldon Pardon Kenyon Joseph Taylor John S. Hisrox William B. Rose Ethan Crandall Ephraim Gates Joseph Burdick John Macomber Charles M. Card George Browning James A. Whitford 'I'horaas Clarke Welcome Burdick George F. Burdick John W. Tucker Alva Taylor Holden Almy George W. Sweet Charles Burdick Gilbert Taylor Joseph Chuch Joseph Wilcox David S. Davoll Sanford Gavitt Job Taylor George W. Taylor Simeon Adams John A. Keiiyon David N. Macomber Nathaniel Sheffield M arbor o N. Gardner Daniel W. Wright James Kenyon Rep. No. 546. 5M ^ CHARLESTOWN— Continued. Billings Macomber Albert W. S taut on Alvin Greene Thomas Healey Qualified, Not qualified, Total, 64 'S6 100 No. 125. VOTERS IN HOPKINTON, WASHINGTON COUNTY. Joseph Spicer, jr. Joseph Spicer John S. Champlin Jesse Wilbur, jr. John Main Thomas Richardson George Gates John K. Barber Samuel Burdick Edmund Jordon Augustus L. Wells Reuben Larkin Lodowic Sisson Thomas T. Larkin John Lewis Timothy S. Wales Alfred L. Palmer Hezekiah Larkin George Beverly Samuel Woodmansee Jonathan Burdick Eli Button Pardon K. Tefft Joseph R. Allen Azariah Maine George W. Braman Simson Babcock, 3d Sanders Sisson John T. Edwards Stanton G. Edwards Daniel C. Crandall William C. Crandall Thomas Ken yon Philip C, Champlin Robert Langworthy Jedediah D. Wittee Joshua Button Horace Thurston Albert Wells William Burton Samuel Allen Ephraim Button Joseph Crandall George Y. Collins James Babcock Noyes W. Kinyon Benjamin B. Thurston David Avery Jonathan S. Larkin Noyes D. Wheeler Samuel Coone Daniel Coone Benjamin F. Wells Ichabod Burdick Oliver D. Cole Isaac C. Burdick Samuel Crandall, jr. Hezekiah Palmer Samuel Foster Jesse Wilber Adam B. Champlin Samuel Coon, jr. Pardon Wriglit Ray G. Burlmgame Jonathan C. Taylor Russell Crandall Luke B. Maxson Asael Gardner Tliomas C. Phillips Nicholas V. Crandall George Taber John Larkin William W. Tanner Benjamin B. James Stephen Bates Samuel Crandall Asa Woodmansee Isaac S. Crandall Thomas P. Dye Dudley F. Saunders Nathan Phillips Benjamin Taber Benjamin H. Young Henry Taber ^92 Rep. No. 546. HOPKINTON-Continuei. Thomas P. Kenyon Hazard B. Woodmansee Abel Fenner Matthew S. Barber Boweii Fenner Silas Teff Job Jordan Jared Barber Godfrey A. Kenyon Joshua A. Godfrey Green Allen Green B. Allen Jesse Brown Ephraim Stillraan Edward S. Wells Benjamin F. Chester Joseph Prosser Thomas Burton John Lampher Braddock Davol James H. Sheldon Georo^e Richmond Joseph P. Wilcox John P. Bnrdick Amos Kenyon William S. Alexander Ezra G. Palmer Nathaniel Hall Perry M. Palmer Joseph A. Richmond Rowse C. Kcjiyon Jeremiah Button Oliver Clarke Asa Jaques Daniel N. Hall David Brown William Clarke Sanford N. Button Kenyon Lampher Stephen A. Lock Peleg Green Paul Healey Christopher N. Chester Charles A. Phillips Asa Wordcn Sihoii S. Bnrdick Ephraim Clarke Mathew Bnrdick Artiold Browning John P. Babcock Simon Kenyoa LymaLi Woodmansee Abel Larkin, jr. " Clarke Sanders David Langworthy Stephen Austin Benjamin F. Newton William T. Thurston John H. Wells Jesse Kenyon " Arthur Fenner Jonathan Boss James M. Weeks James B. Anthony Beriah B. Knowles Mumford Burdick Stephen Wright Charles Noyes Arnold B. Barber George Barber Robert Douglas John E. Douglas Fones G. Wilbur Ehab Blake Charles R. Perry Christopher Brown, jr. James Stanbrough, jr. George A, Babcock Lester Crandall Henry Lewis Jacob D. Babcock Franklin Barber Samuel P. Kinyon Daniel M. Crandall George Hoxie Daniel Lewis Lebbeus Cottrell, jr. Peter Davis Horatio S. Berry Jonathan C. Johnson Jeremiah Baggs Qualified - Not qualified For Airauist Total 81 81 162 13 175 Rep. No. 546. Vo. 126. sm Maxiou Chase WilJiam Saunders Oeoro-e H. Peckbam John Pen-in ^"•'ns Ames VViiJiam H. Keynolds Johu P. Main <^eor(re Brown Jerome Webster benjamin P. Babcock William Yorke VViliiam P. Arnold Ebenezftr Geers ■Enoch Gould ^amnei P. Uwton Peleg Sisson Horace iirig^htman George S. Coy Oaniel C. Hafnmond V urn urn S. Hide JoJin Pcckham Clarke S( ill man Hphraim Hiscox i^Jmeon Hall Ezra Babcock 'Samuel Sims Jchabod R Sisson >'^niot. Pendleton James Lee Jfunes York William Champlin I>"vid O. Main Hosea Barber J^^iin H. Cro?s ^>'^"i'«rnin Yorke, jr Sylvester Coon Robinson Dunham ' John G. Lamphere Kobert Burdick Joseph Craridall John B. Stedrnan. jr Ellas Coitrell William B. Tilt William H. Main Perry G. Babcock Lodowick liazzard John C. Geer Oliver Babcock 3S. VOTERS ..WESTERLY, WASHINGTON con.TV. Daniel Stedrnan, jr. rhonms Brightman John Lee Charles Leonard Oharles Ford Samuel S. Larkin I-^aac W. Gavitt Albert Ciandall Adam Stilman Samuel Slocuni James Yorke, jr ^^liarles C. Burdick ■tisek Carr Si'as \Y. Kdwards Thomas G. Hazzard Charles Crandall VVilham Yorke, 2d CoddiniTton Bliven Amos P. Chapman »^ ill mm Sisson ^-^''ark Lamphesr •^anford Sisson '[Ob W. Rathbone Ezra B. Thompson >;athaniel Chase George S. Barber ^^"licin M. Chase David Gavitt William y. Parkinson Oharles L. Pendleton Gordon Porigo i *;ayer J. Crandall l^i^n h. Dunn Emery Sisson William R. Frazer fj^l'hen G. Norihup Henry C. Card gen.iamin G. Rogers J^renton. I. Clarke lardon Lewis William S. Breed ^enadam Richardson David Saunders John B. Tim Jonathan Lamphere i>athamel West Alfred A. Crandall i^elson H. CrandaiJ ^4 Rep. No. 546. WESTERLY-Conlinued. Alfred Bliven William Greene Daniel Lampheer, jr. Benjamin Burdick Daniel Stilman Isaac P. Merrill lyiisha A. Cables Joseph L. Bliven Joseph Cass well Prentice Lampheer, jr. Elisha West Saxton Berry Phineas Slilman Samuel R. Wye Henry Davis Chrislopher Lewis Benjamin P. Crandall Samuel Saunders, jr. Bradford Bliven Amos Edwards Perry Lampheer ^ Henry VV. Lee Enoch Lamphere Daniel Lamphere Silas Edwards Francis S. West James G. Bills Roberl Brown Nelson Brown William Gavit Frederick Duncomb Roy G. Burdick 3ohn Scoit John C. Thurston ; Jcseph C. Nash ; Henry Remington ^ Benjamin, Yorke -Samuel Chapman Oliver Wilcox Henry Ci Gavitt * Jeremiah S. Dodge Nathan BUy.en Pardon Greene : Henry R. Guvitt Peleg' Clarke Lemuel. Yose, jr. Daniel Bliven . Johnson IVIillef. Timothy'Sissqh , George' Bk'rber William Rathbone David T. Rathbone Barney Sisson Joshua F. Sisson Thomas Brightman Edwin P. Berry James Peck ham Maxson Greene Jared Main Edward N. Taylor Benjamin Gavit Elias Saunders Tsaac Hall George Wilcox Stephen Saunders Joseph W. Bliven Benajah Gavitt Georsfe G. Chapman Ezekiel Gavitt Joseph Gavitt James Ross Joseph Hiscox John Hiscox John A. Champlin Augustus York James Crandall Philip Saunders Samuel Saunders Stephen Burdick Thayer N. Crandall William Crandall Mathias Crandall Russell Cottrell Albert Clarke Peleg Peck ham Elisha Saunders Weeden Barber, jr. Charles Saunders Charles Burdick Christopher Rallibone Joshua C. Crandall Darius Bliven Lebbeus Cottrell William Brown Gideon H. Noyes San ford Noyes Sanford Noyes, jr. Gorton Gardner . Lyndon Taylor Beiijaiiiia L. Burdick Rep. No. 546. 595 WESTERLY— Continued. William Thompson Edmund Rogers Alexander Bradford Thomas H. Vmcent VVarren G. Crandall Joseph Sisson Ira Burden Franklin M. Saunders James H. Clarke Charles Murphy Sumner Chapman Weeden H. Bsrry Joshua Barber John P. IN ye William Thompson Jonathan Burdick John Crandall Oliver Davis Amos Burdick Arnold Crumb, jr. Paris Eldridcre Charles Bliven Thomas N. Bliven Stephen Codner John Ross Clark Burdick James Crandall, jr. Clark Hiscox Truman Burdick William Langworlhy Joseph Macomber Rowland Babcock Peter Crandall Rowland Peckham ' Joseph Burdick John P. Dyer, jr. James Babcock David Harvey Joseph 1\ Ross Weeden Barber Charles Vars David Peckham Rowland C. Sanders George Lamphere Richard B. Carpenter Francis Carpenter Benjamin S. Burdick Benjamin P. Barber George W. Ells George F. Crandall Dudley Frink Henry Crandall Jonathan Burdick George W. Crandall . George Eddy Horaiio W. Burdick (against.) (Qualified Not qualified For - Asrainst Total . - 107 - 144 - 251 - I Freeholders. Henry H. Thurston Joseph E. Cranston James Hart William R. Budlong Nicholas Hazard Richard Sanford John H. Barker John Goddard Benjamin Oman No. 127. VOTERS IN NEWPORT. William Hall Samuel Watson Daniel Brown Elisha Case John H. Moore Otis Chaffin Nathaniel Smith Micah W. Spencer Henry W. Vernon George W. Stanhope Francis B, Peckham 596 Rep. No. 546. NEWPORT- CoDiinued, John Carr Francis Henderson, jr. Eleazer J. Read John F. Tennant Stephen F. Slanton Horatio N. Tracy William P. Cory Samuel H. Oxx .Samuel Greene George B. Hazard Simon S. Nichols Dutee J. Pearce James Pitman John 0. Card Richard Hazard William N. G. Hchiie Benjamin B. Hazard James A. Greene Henry Oman Joheiiiou T. Almy Joseph M. Lyon Robert R. Carr Danie! B. Davis Abiel Spencer James G. Card ijteoYoe Hazard Henry H^dley Peleg Brier Samuel Vaughan Joseph Joslin W'illiam S. Cranston Charles Williams Benjamin H. Ailman "t'harles VV. Underwood John Allan <;aleb (J. Tripp Samuel Hazard John J. Grinman William Peabody Robert C. Sisson W^illiam Gray Samuel Sterne Henry McGown iSoah Barker Perry W^eaver George W. Anthony Thomas Aldrich Daniel McAllister George Comstock jQeorge Turner William Swan, jr. John Alger William C. Tennant William W. Horsewell William Rider Thomas J. Peckham Elisha Atkins Nathan Stanton Joseph Crandall William Botteraore Edwin Wilcox Milton Hall Caleb Tripp, jr. Job S. Eldridge David S. Holl'oway Charles E. Bell Benjamin H. Lawton John Sterne James Smith James L. Weaver .leremiah B. Eddy Peter B. Underwood Daniel Peckham .loseph Anthony Andrew Winslow, jf. Abraham M. McGregor Michael Corney Robert Settle William G. Hammnnd William J. Tiiley William Goii" John C. Clarke William Alger William Vars Clark Burdick .lohn Siringer Benjamin \V. Carr William B. Rider John B. (Jlarke Gilbert Chase Sumner M. Stc .vart Sand ford Bell Henry G. Place John Wilson George C. Shaw Edward H. Tew John H. Watson Joseph Southwick, jr. Samuel Moses Charles Barker Rep. No. 546. 597 NEWPORT—Conlinucd. 'Cyril fJ. Weaver Walter W. Simmons John H. Crossby John T. Anthony John A. Stacy John Salisbury William 1). Ross John McGreijor Stephen S. Vars Raymond Dnrfee Benjamin T. Freebody Joseph F. Havens Edward Mc Hough Morris Ashton Jesse Cud worth John L.ewis Gilbert Stanton Josiah Southwick Peleg G. Swet-t Samuel P. Mason James Simmons Truman B. Spooner Siepheii Albro Kdward Watson Joshua Tew, jr. William Lewis Thomas P. White William (/ard Nathaniel M. Chaffee Giles Barney Ben on i Ward William Smith John F. Brown Joshua Stacv Edward Willis Thomas C. Weaver Henry A. Mulligan William B. Wilson William F. Smith John H. Watson Pitts South wick Thomas J. Stedman Johnathan R. Gardner Nicholas Austin John Hunt Thomas E. Gardner Alexis Menage William Shearman Thomas B. Shearman Solomon Peckham George A. Peahody George W^. Albro Kdward T. Williams George Harrington Joseph Freeborn William Card, jr. Josiah S. Monroe John Gladding William McCan George B. Kelton John }. Stacy Samuel Iveenon George C. Scott John Patterson William Lewis Robert Wyiie Charles Russell William Giles Jamos L. Hazard William G. Crandall James Webb Edward L. Tilley James Alger Staunton Peckham John Easton Samuel .1. Carr Lewis Mitchell Joseph South wick Jereuiiah Green man William Mansfield William Greenman Simon Scott Francis Scott Thomas Pratt Simon Hart, jr. John E. GofF George Popple, jr. Joseph Simmons Thomas C. Shearman William H. Settle William Young Clarke Weaver William Hall Thomas Rotch William Ennis Thomas Sweet Benjamin G. Hunt Abm. T. Peckham Stephen Deblois John Hull 598 Rep. No. 546. NEWPORT-Continued. Samuel S. Maxon Isaac Burdick Benjamin C. Steevens George Chirke Joseph M. Coit John Gladding Albert Watson Job A. Peckham William G. Peckham Robert H. Stanton Alden F. Simmons Henry Anihony James M. Tut-1 Benjamin Peabody Heleven Hollowcll James Cornell Joseph Smith William II. Chase Asa Shaw William W. Stoddard Isaac Sissnn Thomas Fowler Job Cornell William H. Pvead Willi mi Turner Charles Collins ^ Richard Shaw William D. Read William J. Holt Laughlin Dowling George L. White Pardon Cory Benjamin Gardner John Spooner Benjamin S. Settle Joshua Tew, jr. Peleof Sanford Gideon Palmer, jr. Edwin Peabody Ezekiel Hopkins Perry C. Irish Robert M. Franklin, jr. Richard B. Mumford Charles R. Budlong Stanton Congdon Nathaniel Lock Robert M. Franklin Daniel Peckham Edward N. Sands Samitel R. Carr John Dring Philip Dring Caleb L. Ball Green G. Reynolds Silas Southwick Benjamin Southwick Joseph B. Freeborn Thomas C. Allen Lewis B. Caswell Thomas H. Tew Thomas T. Franklin James K. Tift Thomas B. Peabody Samuel Southwick Jeremiah Peabody, jr. Samuel Ball. jr. Stephen Weaver Seneca B. Sprague Samuel Smith Robert Dunham Samuel Gladding William Sweet Thomas H. Oxx Ebenezer Briggs Philip Shearman W^m. P. Congdon Wm. Young, jr. Wm. S. Clarke Henry J. Hudson Thomas Gould Wm. Wilbur Geo. G. Chase A. G. Shearman Richard Sisson Sanford Kiiiyon S. W. Robinson John Graham Patrick Doyle John Smith James C. Butter worth Rhodes A. Bndlono; John C. Chapman Charles Williams, jr. Charles T. Hazard John Peabody Not/.-frecholders. James Patterson George J. Steele Rep. No. 546. dm NEWPORT-Continued, Thomas Armstronsr Thomas Hambleton Albert Scott Wiliiam Mallett Jeremiah Murphy Timothy Downer Caleb S. Knjo^hts Charles N. T!ll(?y Augustus Teft Jesse W. Nichols Elliot Boss Pardon A. White Benjamin Chase John A. Buffingtoii Malhew M. Trundy Isaiah Bnrdick William B. Greene George S. Lyndon D. B. Bon telle Daniel Albro Stephen Green man Simon Moffitt William Hnddy Hnnlick Hnddy Royal West John R. Esbreck' Daniel Flanders James Grand all William Bnrronglis John Daniel James N. Allen Charles Fenno Gregory E. Hazard Solomon Gladding Joseph D'^witt Samuel Potter Sniith Bos worth George A. Wilson Isaac Peckhnm Patrick Ward James Danghertv Thomas Gould ' James Rielly John Hughes Josiali O. Burdick Michael Benson Mathew Lyon John Jaquay James D. Herrick Charles Chadwick William R. Phillips Alexander Asher Alexander Morgan Jacob Smith William B. Fales Charles Mason Walter Rodman Joseph B. Carr William H. Smylie Albert Cottrell Beriah Crandall Da^'id Sisson Gideon Barker Robert Minkley George W. Babcock George C. Davis Henry Moore Nathan Cory Jonathan Baker James M. Gill John Millard James Congdon James Barker, jr. Oliver D. Slocum Joseph C. Francis Abraham Thiirston^ Alexander Williams Oliver Peckham Samuel T. Oman James Dubling Richard A. Shearman George Henderson Henril Bacock William A. Davis John Clarke William Cowgeshail Henry R. Underwood Oliver Tennnnt Knight W. Oli.iey James M. Meliville William White Eiisha Smith William Bowler Holden Almy Benjamin W. Underwood Edward Deacon Joseph Carpenter James M. Levis Patrick Gleason John O'Neal mo Rep. No. 546. NEWPORT— Coatinued. Patrick Fearlley Benjamin VViliard George W. Johnson Benjamin Ford George Patterson John Lawson Elisha Bevvins Daniel McEnnis John Connelly John R. Stedman William Bolmley John Cheney Patrick Dutmegaa William H. Dennis Job Lawton Robert W. Goffe Henry Kinch Wilhelm Mayer John L. Lawrence David Giftbrd Thomas Stacy, jr. H. C. Martin ' Benjiiniin Crov/ell Samuel T. Hopkitis (Sylvanns Wilbur Samuel Hunter David Melville Samuel Peckhatn George Tripp Gilbert Tompkins Henry Gibbs Charles B, Bowler Cromwell Barlow John S. Cook Ele;izer Allen Silas Ward Peleg Cosgesliall James Ormsbee Jeremiah Bliss Thomas Stacy, sen- Jeremiah Hazard Eliab King Jefferson 6. Riley , John Barney William B. Lewis John Barts Henry Servans Lawton Riggs Michael Fennegan William C. Tillev Green Burroughs James Barker Diiniel T. Swinburne Samuel A. Parker James T. Shearman Thomas Cutter Thomas Durfee Robert Lawton Levi H. Gale William H. White Albert Vernon Abel Stevens David Ross George Taylor John Yoimg Samuel Wilson John Brown, jr. Dennis Chambers Nicholas Weaver Alvin Crowell Pardon V. Smith Charles C. Heath Edward Smith William W. Dawley William H. Carr William Peckham Joseph T. Monro Caleb M. Davis James M. Tew John R. Smith Reuel Hewitt Henry Curtiss Henry T. Walker Calvin B. Bowers Benjamin G, Tift Nathaniel Simmons Sydney J. Ashley John H. Rider Reuben Phillips David Sisson, jr. Elijah Baker David B. Hall James H. Dcmarest Joseph Burroughs Ebenezer l-'arlow, jr. George H. Read Whitman Peckham Bovv^en Briggs l^atham T. Tew George J. Almy Rep. No. 546. 601 NEWPORT— Continued. Giles P. Kose David Hockham Thomas L. Stanhope Nathaniel Monroe James Cowrey John Murphy John Donkey John Bardell Dennis Harrington Joseph Hart William Hnse John Hnse Nicholas Francis William Cowsen Thomas Ryan John Ryan Thomas Finnegan John M. Mahoon Thomas Murphy- George W. Taylor John Harrington Cornelius Mc<^arty Thomas Holloway Cornelius Way James W, Doyall Thomas Luff Dewis Harrington Jereniiah Flinmati Michael Regan Johettion Palterson Feleg Weeden John Scott Simon T. Webster Patrick McNutty William Smith Thomas Simsoii John Francis John Richardson George Simson Moses Barlow- Thomas Huddy Charles Taylor Ebenezer Parlour William King John Cunningham Charles C Jordan Henry Edmonds William F. Clements Joseph L. Barnes George Shellman Warren L. Lewis Richard Milton Williatn E. Bennett Stephen R. King John B. Nichols James A. Farrell John Langford Taber Bennett Arison Brownell Selma M. Spink John Steale Benjamin Bateman Charles Clarke William E. Chappell Thomas Sherman Anthony Stewart David P. Peckham John Goff Jaii-es Wood Asa Hildreth Daniel Austin George Lewis David A. Baker George Congdon Philip Cass well Daniel Patterson John H. Clegg John Hogan Peter Kelly James Meagher William Bailance Peter O'Connell Daniel Kearney Richard Norris Thomas Me Elver Daniel Doyle ^ Cornl. Barry ' Rep. No. 546. 607 NEWPORT— Conlinned. William Poran Patrick Whaleii William Rowe Daniel O. Sullivan Michael Sullivan B. Ganniticr James McGowan Charles P. Barber Edward J. Allen Joseph C. Dennis John Clarke James H. Ail man Syria Vaughn James H. Wilson Cliarles B. Horsewell Samuel C. Potter James Clifton James Ogle James Monkhouse Darius E, Barker James Hammond William D. Callahan John T. Freeborn Laurent F. Nicolai Giles Pearce, jr. Rhodes Budlong Edmund A. Brown James Rusher John Rusher J. Francis Albro Richard C. Spencer James Dunn Thomas Jeffery Richard Newman John Callahan Michael McGrath W'illiam Powers A. Newton Jeremiah Sullivan Alexander Luney Edward Lahwa Christian Biah John Coho Benjamin G. Harvey William H. Davis Jspheth Mason Samue! Goddard James M. Sherman Oliver P. Sherman John M. Allen John Washburn Georo-e W. Potter David Crook James Dority George Martin George Edgar James Clarke John Bailey, jr. Samuel Lee George L. Putnam Edward R. Collins Thomas J. Peckham W'illiam C. Olney Israel T, Horion Henry Jewett James R. Jacobs Samuel Stewart George N. Burch John .1. Andrews Curtis A. Monro W^illiam Tucker Lorenzo Riley Alexander N. Austin Albert S. Manchester John F. Taylor Jeremiah L. Fowler Augustus H. Bobbins John Hamilton Philip Armstrong James Graham Patrick Rufte Henry T. H. Gate wood John White Rol)ert B. Luwton Glualified, Not qualified, Total 317 890 1207 608 Rep. No. 546. No. 128. VOTERS IN MIDDLETOWN, NEWPORT COUNTY. Freeholders. Gardner Brown Nathaniel Wyalt Gideon Peckham Barzillai Barker Benjamin T. Remington John S. Bro\vn Wiliiani 'W VVyatt Caleb J. Albro Noti freeholders. William Kanll Abraham Barker Abel Sherman William Kaull, jr. Levi Barker Arnold Brayman John N. Northup George C. Kaull Thomas C. Wyatt Abraham Sherman Edwin Barker Gardner T. Slocum Henry iJarker .loseph S. Barker Robert Caswell Uriah Staflbrd Jonathan B. Northup Oliver Dawley Georoje W. Allen William C. Allen James K. VVyatt G. Barker Peckhain Freeliolders Non freeholders Potal 8 22 30 No. 129. VOTERS IN PORTSMOUTFL NE APOili COUNTY, John Tall man Thales Tall man .Tonathan Tallman Alexander Davoll James Brownell Thomas i?rownell John Burrington l^vi Almy John Brownel! John S. Brownell Samuel (3orey Benjamin Greene Ix)renzo D. Tallman Levi Tallman Royall Davoll William T. Eddy John M. Keith William B. Browrnell Benry F. Greene George F. Hood Joseph W. (ireene Oliver D. Greene Otis P. Cobb Peter Fagin David B. Irish l^'k•^ T. Wait Philip Almy Peieg Almy Isaac Peckham Pardon Wliite David Fish Henry F. Fish Stephen Freeborn Daniel Wilcox David E. Monroe Charles M. Vaughn Edmund Freeborn Robert; Hicks, jr. Rep. No. 546. 609 PORTSMOUTH— Conimu-d. Peter Wood Caleb A. Chadsey Daniel Wait Daniel Philips William Dawiey Rowland Chase Philip B. Bowen John R. Babcock Joseph W. Fisk JN'icholas Tallman Albert G. Cook George Cook Cook Wilcox Edward T. W. Cook John W. Sherman Job Sisson Ciiarles S. Freeborn Benjamin Sherman Isaac S. Cory Benjamin Gardner Hawkins Greene Leonard Fish James Boyd Samuel Sisson John W. Fish Thomas Cory Barzillai Fish Robert Wilcox Jonathan W. Coggeshall Philip D. Lawton William B. Lawton Giles Lawton James Irish Stephen Slocum, 3d Benjamin Peckham, jr. Abner Macomber Leonard Brown Georo;e L. Fish John Dennis William H. Barker David Brownell Peleg Cornell Samuel F. Essex Abner B. Cory Stephen C. Monroe Abiel C. Fish John McCorrie Jesse T. Durfee William C. Hazard Benjamin Sisson Raymond P. Dennis John Cory Henry P. Sisson Asa Cory Levi W\ Cury Thomas Gardner Richmond W, Dennis Joseph Cook George Hall Lorenzo D. Watts George W, Brownell Richmond Hazard Abner Tallman Andrew Brownell Peleg Almy, jr. Charles Almy John Tallman 2d David Anthony Oliver Brownell John W. Almy Otis T. Peters Stephen \\. Cook William A. Chase ( /oriolanus Cook John Almy Charles E. Boyd Arnold Pierce Stephen W. Cory Samuel Allen Thomas Sherman Frederick Sherman William Sisson Joseph S. Sherman George Wilcox Joseph Thomas Charles P. Cornell Parker Hall Borden Chase Freeholders - Non-freeholders Total - 67 - 69 - 126 39 Rep. No. 546. No. 130. VOTERS IN JAMESTOWN, NEWPORT COUNTY. .John Reminffton Ebenezer Tift John 0. Dockray Redmond Hull George Anthony William Briggs ' WilHam A. Weeden Arnold Weeden Robert Carr Isaac Carr ""■- Joseph M. Carr George Hull Daniel W. Carr Ananias Lockwood WilHam P. Carr James Tew Ohver Hopkins James A. Grinnell WiHiam A. Weeden^ jr. William B. Reynolds Joseph Hull William Nye WilUam W. Brings George C. Cnrr — Joshua Clarke Charles H. Eldred Freeholders, 18 John W. Carr Non-freeholders, 13 John E. G. Weeden — John C. Grinnell Total, 31 John Hammond — John T. Potter No. 131. VOTERS IN NEW SHOREHAM, BLOCK ISLAND. Freeholders and oldest sons. Solomon L. Dodge Simon Ball William Wesgate John Sprague Simon Babcoek. jr. John P. Allen Simon R. Ball William Clarke Thomas D. Sprague William Ball Benjamin Sprague Daniel R. Mitchel William Rose 2d John Dunn Martin W. Rose Rowland S. Oatley Ray Liitlefield Jonathan Mitchell John Ball Joshua Ball, jr. Levi L. Sprague Rathbun Littleiield Samuel Ball Henry B. Stedman Daniel Brown James R. Mitchell Daniel Rose Littlefield Rose Jonathan S. Ball Jordan Rose Simon Mitchell Joseph B. Dickens Lemuel B. Rose John Mitchell John L. Mitchell Simon Dodge William Vose Noah Dodge Amos D. Mitchell Elias Littlefield Hep. No. 546. 611 NEW SHOREHAM— Continued. Enoch Rose Ezekiel Rose Samuel Dunn Giles P. Dunn Barzillai B. Dunn Noah D. Dunn Joshua Dunn George C. Ball Nathaniel Donsre Anthony Littlefield Frederick Littlefield John P. H. Sands Caleb Westgate Oliver D. Sprague Frederick Rose Ichabod Mitchell Enoch Rose. jr. Gideon Dodge Silas N. Littlefield Abel Ball Joshua Ball Henry Willis John R. Mitchell Gideon Sprague Daniel Dickens Caleb L. Rose Hiram Dodge Welcome Dodge Lyman Ball Edward Sands Joshua Dodge Sylvanus D. Willis Hiram Ball Gideon D. Ball Trustum D. Mitchell Joseph Mott Levi Mitchell, jr. Silas Mitchell Joseph H. Smith Moses D. Ball Thomas Mitchell John G. Sheffield Reve Paine Joshua Dodge Isaac Chase William Sprague "William Dodge John E. Sands Charles Babcock Green Card John Littlefield 2i Bartlett Ball, jr. George W. Ball James Rose Bartlett Ball Nathaniel Dodge 2d Nathaniel BalT Perry Clarke Jesse Ball Reuben W. Paine Rath bun Dodge George Rose A'ot qualified. Levi Mitchell George E. S. Ely Charles E. Thompson W^arren L. Beebe William H. Mitchell Jesse D. Mitchell Asa Ball Henry Ball Nelson Dodge Henry Dodge John T. Dodge Varnum Dodge Simon Sprague John S. Ball Joseph Hull John W. Dodge Jasper L. Dodge John Wright Seneca Sprague John M. Rose Fred. W. Sprague William M. Rose Benjamin Coe Elijah Macomber Gideon Ball John Wright, jr. Elhandar C. Dodge Jasper Latham Amos Dickens Moses R. Dodge Qualified, Not quahfied, Total, 102 30 13a 612 Rep. No. 546. No. 132. VOTERS IN TIVERTON, IvEWPORT COUNTY. Allen Dnrfee Oliver Chase, jr. John Grinnell 2d Charles Manchester Edward Wilcox Thomas J. Brown Abraham Manchester Joshua B. Rathbun David Hambly Philip Manchester Andrew VVillislon Isaac H. Borden David Seabury Oliver Hicks Isaac T. Wilcox Job Lake 3d Allen Wilcox John Manchester Edward W. Lake Paul T. Wilcox Oliver Manchester Alfred Kin(( Joseph liake Joseph Hart Charles Wilcox Abraham Borden Isaac S. V\ illistoii Abraham Brown Abner Lake Pardon Williston Arlinglon Wilcox Oliver Wilcox Jabez Manchester Isaac Manchester Arnold Dnrfee Edward Slierman James Westgate James Bailey Green Fish Perry Lake Lot Sherman Joseph Church, jr. Benjanjin Sherman Holder Westgate Wna. C. McCorrie Gardner Hambly John W. Hicks Dtiniel D. Owelty Samuel T. Cook Gilford H. Evans Giles Manchester William Manchester William Sherman William A. Gray Henry A. Brown Isaac Barker Abraham B. Manchester. Elias Hicks Pliilip Lake Jeremiah Manchester Nicholas E. Durfee Nicholas E. Durfee, jr. Asa Gray Benjamin Wilcox Leonard Sanford Nathan B. Earl Gardner S. Dean Stephen Sanford Isaac Borden Thomas C. Johnson George Havens I'eier Cook .lames B. Jones Samuel B. Wilcox Barker Hathaway Dwell y Durfee Ucal Woodman Alexander Borden Joseph Tallman Willard Winter George W. Hopkins Samuel S. Manchester- Peleg S. Shaw Arnold Brown W^illiam Tompkins John DevoU Daniel H. Davis Hezekiah Monroe William Sanford Southard H. Miller Tillinghast Records Earl B. Anthony Benjamin Manchester Robert Hart James F. Devoll Russell G., Peckham I I Rep. No. 546. 613? TIVERTON— Continued. Ward C. Copeland Clarke Brown William Wilcox Newell Ambler Theodore Warren Oliver Gray William Woodman George B. Fish Stephen M. Taber Andrew Alamhested Abraham Manchester John Hiin Thomas San ford 2d Gardner S. Anthony John A. Chase David Brownell Leonard Nickerson Seth Borden Jeremiah Wilcox Daniel Wilcox Clarke Whipple Borden Cook Joshua Wilbur Enoch Woodman John Burt Charles Tompkins Perry Chace William G. Borden Ira Clapp Joshua Dwelly Jeremiah B. Peitey An^uslus Chace Sylvanus Nickerson Adley Wilcox William B. Trofford Edwin Meeson Nelson Cook Isaac Negus, jr. John Harrison William B. Mowry Israel Coggeshall •David Manchester Edward Meeson Theodore liawton Taber Corey David Gifford Joseph Borden Alexander S. DevoU Cook Tall man Richard Borden Perry Albert. George A. Knapp William H. Harrison Reuben Davoll Willet M. Slocum W. G. Winters Gilbert Tompkins John Brayton Silas S. Manchester Isaac Manchester 2d Jonathan Hart John Grimshaw Charles Snell Benjamin F. Field Joseph C. Winters Richard Sisson Job Grossman Abner Devol David Gifford, jr. Noah Maccomber Samuel ("hace Edward B Davis William Winters Darius Cook Simeon Snell Isaac Bri^htman Nathan Pettey John W. Borden Richard S. Peckham Benjamin Slocum John B. Wilcox David Rider Ezra Marble Thomas Estes Joseph Church Hiram Atwood Charles P. Dring William Harrison Joseph Brow Joseph Wilcox Asahel W. Coggeshall David Durfee 3d Gideon G. Durfee Benjamin Nickerson Brownell Slocum George W. Fish Peter Estes Gideon Grinnell Job Durfee 2d Cornelms Cook Rep. No. 546. TIVERTON— Coniinucd. David Lake Jeremiah Lake Crofford Snell, jr. Samuel C. McCorne Goodwin D. Warren Thomas Simmons Abner G. Devoll Peleg Stafford Knowles Negus Job S. Mancliester John Dennis John Remington Joseph Tripp Samuel Manchester Joseph Wilcox Lewis Hart Nathan Tripp David Brayton Noah Smith Peleg Hart Joseph Sinmions Thomas Durfee Bailey Manchester William Beals Kdward Smith Job Andrews Richard Smith Elisha Fish Humphrey Fish Timothy Tripp Leander Sanlbrd Philip Manchester John Boyd, jr. Squire Simmons Stephen Manchester John Simmons John R. Gray Abel Grinnell Benjamin Manchester 2d Rodolphus H. Allen Joseph Cook David Grinnell Knight Springer David Westgate Edward Westgate David Evans Nelson Bennett Wilbur Maccomber John Manchester 2d Jefferson Watts Joseph Borden, jr. George W. Gould John T. Negus Isaac Negus James Stevens Beniamin Lake Peleg ToUey Albert Chace Wm. B. Gray John Maccomber Peleg Tripp Samuel Cottle George Manchester Joseph Lake Eseck Manchester Bailey Lake Joshua C. Durfee Edson V. Evans Edward Manchester William Fish 2d Ichabod Eddy Thomas Springer 2d Elisha Smith Benjamin Hambly, jr. Aaron Slocum Wm. Wilcox Eason Sherman Godfrey Estes Against constitution. Robert Seabury Harvey Chace Thomas Borden 3d (Qualified Not qualified Ajjainst Total 27T Rep. No. 546. No. 133. VOTERS IN LITTLE COMPTON, NEWPORT COUNTY. For the constitution. Andrew J. A I my Oliver H. Almy Isaac C. Almy Warren Brown E. M. Brownell Abner W. Brownell Thomas P. ClarKe Alexander E. Giftbrd Joseph Weeks William Willard Fobes Hunt Philander Hunt Ellery Hunt Benjamin Hunt Philip Little Albert Manchester Clarke S. Manchester Bradford Pierce Peleg Pierce George W. Snell Isaac Snell Green B. Sisson Nathaniel Tompkins Lindol Tompkins William H. Wilbur Samuel Wilbur Jonathan Wilbur Thomas C. Wilbur James H. Wilbur Simeon Wondley Thomas Wilbur 3d Hezekiah Wilbur John Gray 3d Jonathan Carr John S. Almy Job Seabury Toby Little Lawton Brown Thomas G. Tompkins Henry Bnrlingame Andrew Gray Abner Gray Benjamin Clapp Pardon Almy Q,ualified, Not quahfied, Total, 19 25 Against the constitution, Loring Gray Samuel S. Burgess Water Grinnell James D. Peckham Ezra Wilbur Thomas Burgess George M. Taylor Henry Wilbur Philip Wilbur Charles Wilbur Elisha Woodworth Kdwin Wilbur Owen Wilbur Benjamin T. Wilbur Clarke GifFord Job Manchester James F. Bailey (Qualified, Not qualified, Total, For, Against, Total, 13 17 17 616 Rep. No. 546. No. 134. VOTERS IN BRISTOL, BRISTOL COUNTY. William H. Allyn Samuel Y. Allyn Jonathan Alo;er John H. Allyn Samuel S. Allen George A. Allen Kufus D. Arnold Alvin C. Aldrich Stephen W. Arnold Nathan M. Bunn Lemuel Bunn Robert H. Bullock- James Baker 2d Henry Baker Job M. Barras Lemuel Bunn, jr. Nathan Borden John Burgess Walter Bradford Jeremiah Bosworth Allen Bullock Simeon Bullock Parker Borden William Bradford James W, Burgess William Bullock Beriah Y. Browning Arnold W. Bush James Bourn Philip A. Baker John W, Bush Ebenezer W . Bullock Nathaniel Bunn Peter F. Bradford Martin D. Bonney Benjamin Bosworth John F. Baars Ermin F. Baker Jonathan Bosworth James C. Beebee John Baker John Bowler William P. Bradford Allen J. Bradford John Bullock William M. Bly James P. Brown Lorenzo D. Bennett Martin M. Baker David Bullock Jonathan Browneil Joseph Bullock Royal Bosworth John Boyd George A. Briggs Lemuel Cummings Jacob Cushman George CoggeshaU George Church William J. Clarke George B. Chase Thomas Cole Henry CoggeshaU David Coit Nehemiah Cole Joseph Coit John Douglass George W. Douglass Henry Daggett Francis M. Dimond William F. Dimond James Dimond William Davis John L. Daggett William Davis, jr. Alexander V. Y. De Wolf Henry Dimond Charles H. Davis Joseph Decoster Henry Y. Davis William Drown Onville Day Lewis Day Rufus B. Drown Jonathan Fales Elisha B. Franklin William C. Fales Benjamin Franklin Rufus Fisher William B. Phelps Joshua Gladding Josiah Gooding Squire Goff Edward Gladding James Gladding Edward Gladding 2d Rep. No. 546. 617 BRISTOL— Continued. Henry Green Henry W. Gladding John Gladding, jr. Samuel Gladding 2d James M. Goff Benjamin P. Gage James E. Chase Nehemiah Cole, jr. John F. Cook Nathaniel Church David Cole William M. Curtney William M. Card John Chawick James B. Card Sylvanns Coggeshall INathaniel Cory Stephen Chase Thomas F. Crandall Freeborn Coggeshall Henry Y. Coggeshall Timothy Cogo^eshall Daniel H. Collins Benjamin W. Doty Elbridge G. Davis HopestiU P. Dimond Robert Dunbar Stephen Douglas Thomas B. Davol Thomas C. Dennis James Dimond, 2d Abel Easterbrooks John Easterbrooks Jonathan Easterbrooks Aaron Easterbrooks (iardner Easterbrooks Benjamin Easterbrooks Cyrus Eddy Lemuel Fales Elisha Franklin Joseph B. Fish Hiram Frisben George P. Fish Marcus Franklin John Gladding John Gladding, jr. Oliver Gardner Samuel Gladding Samuel L. Gladding Stephen D. Gray James Grant Sylvester Harding JiUther Handy Daniel L. Howland George C, Hatch William Handy Solomon Hatch Abijah Hale James Hoar Henry Hale Frederick Hart Russell Handy Moses M. Hill John Hay Luther Horton Luther Handy Coomer Haile William Handy Barnard Haile Benjamin Harding John Y. Harding 2d Benoni Hawkins Levi Horton William Handy William Hoar Samuel Ingraham Gardner Jones Salathiel Jones William B. Johnson Lorenzo D. Kenny Cassander Kingman Abijah Luce Jonathan I^indsey Abraham Leonard Seth Lincoln Obadiah Luther Isaac Liscomb Jolin V. Lewis George W. Ling Sylvester Luther Pardon Lake Simon D. Liscomb Jeremiah Luther Thomas Lindsey Edward M. Luther William Lawless William Lindsey Woodbury Lindsey George Lawton Godfrey Lake 618 Rep. No. 546. BRISTOL- Coniinu.'d. Sotfi Lincoln 2d Nathaniel Lewis Jonathan Lake Benjamin Moot Marmadnke Mason INallian Monroe Samnel Monroe David Monroe WiUiaiu K. Mason Ezra M. Martin Isaac Manchester John Manchester John Mancliester, jr. William Monroe Tliomas K. Monroe Benjamin Morris Nallianiel Monroe Ist Hnam I J, Monroe Joseph Monroe Benjamin Mnrphy Nathaniel Mitchel Samnel S. Molt John Mnlchahey Al)ner Mefj-<»'it PliiHp A. Manchester George Manchester Henry A. Manchester James Molt George Monroe Nathaniel Manchester George Monroe Jeremiah Manchester Allen K. Monroe Joseph Monroe Henry Monroe Nathan Monroe Isaac II. Matteson Bosworth K. Monroe Jeremiah W. Monroe William Maxileid William Mitchel James Miller William Monroe George H. Martin Henry R. Manchester Benjamin Mann John Monroe Joseph Mason Joseph B. Manchester Nathaniel D. Maxfieid William H. Mann (Jaleb Monroe Samnel Norris Thomas Norris Joseph Norfhnp Samuel M. Oxx Nathaniel M. Oxx Reuben Oat ley Benjamin Pitman William Paul Geor<;e P. Pierce John A. Pitman Hezekiah Y. Pitman William Pearse, jr. John O. Pearce Walker Pearce John H. Pitman Williain H. Pierce Joseph Peck James Peckham Benjamin Peckham Angel Pierce William Pierce 3d Nathaniel Peckam John W. Pierce San lord M. Pierce James D. Pitman Isaac N. Penno John S. Plummer John Pierce Zebedee Patill William Reynolds George H. Reynolds Samuel Reed, jr. Samuel Reed Smith Robinson Joseph Ralph, jr. Jonathan Reynolds Jonathan Jteynolds, jr. Daniel I>. Reed Joseph Ueynolds John C. Rich James Smith Nathaniel P. Swan Josiah Simmons Mark A. I). W. Smith Smith B. Simmons Allen S. Simmons Joseph Springer 2d Thomas Swan Rep. No. 546. 6ld '0 BRISTOL— Conlinued. Charles Spooner Nathan Simmons WiUiam Smith William B. Spooner Nathaniel D. Simmons Jonathan Slade Edmund D. Sherman John W. Spooner Isaiah D. Simmons George Stetson Antony Snell Samuel Swan Isaiah Simmons John B. Sweet Joseph Springer William S. Simmons Antony Snell Benjamin S. Tanner Stephen Tolbey Nelson B. Tanner Joseph S. Thompson Daniel Tanner Benjamin Tilley, jr. Thomas Thornton William Thornton Isaiafi Vickery George Vaughn Benjamin D. Vickery Gideon Vaughn William Vincent Nathan Warren, jr. Hezekiah Willard Job Williston Job Williston, jr. George Wilson Danifl Wilcox John Wilcox John Waldron Amos T. Whilford Henry R. Warren Benjamin Wyatt William Waldron Joseph Waldron John West David Waldron Benjamin B. Waldron Benjamin Y, West William Wyatt Benjamin West Edmund Waldren Henry Wanning Amos Wilson Robert Wyatt William Wyatt Nathaniel Waldren 2d Thomas N. While William Wyatt Thomas Wilson Isaac Waldron Joseph Wardwell Henry Waldren Hezekiah 0. Wardwell Leonard Williams Nathan Warren Stillman Welch William Waldron Philip y. Wilson Samuel J. White George White Thomas Wilson, jr. Qualified - Not qualified Total - - 151 - 218 - 369 No. 135. VOTERS IN WARREN, BRISTOL COUNTY. Qualified. Rufus Hunter George Parker Philip Chase John D. Mason Barnard Miller Nathan Kent, jr. Samuel Maxwell William L. Brown Hiram Andrews Nathan Luther 6-20 Rep. No. 546. WARREN— Continued. Anthony Mason Nathaniel Adams Joljn Salisbury, jr. Jacob Sanders William B. Snell Ansel Churchill Joseph Adams Zephaniah Mason Hiram Goffe Daniel Salisbury Giles Luther Henry Bartlett Martin E. Borden Ephraim W. Burr Francis Marble James E. Bowen Charles H. Salisbury Henry H. Bowen Joseph Y. Tibbetts Edward C Sparks David E. l.ulher John S. Allen John Salisbury liUther Cole Henry Coomer Ebezezer l/Ulher George Woodmancey Andrew B. Read Samuel A. DriscoU George Thurber Barney Grant Gardner Mason John Andrews "William S. Hunter Abram Greene Alvin Buflington Haile Bowen Collins Thurber Richard S. Waldron Charles P. f3owen John C. Hoar Samuel Wheaton 2d "William Martin Samuel Wright, jr. Nathan P. Cole James Mason Frederic Luther Allen Luther Oliver Johon not Lewis B. Pierce William G. Ingraham Allen C. Hoar .lohn Soles Henry F. Drowi Job MilL(-- James Sm\tf. William G. Hisco? John Ingraham Samuel S. Child Daniel B. Wheaton Stephen Davol Lewis T. Hoar Henry Sanders John H. Monroe Josiah T. Horton Samuel Mason, jr. Nathan Perry Howland Mason Job A. Mason Miller Barney Jonathan Smith Jonathan R. Simmons Howland Smith James V. Cole Charles A. Andrews Benjamin Parker Job Luther William Bowen Samuel Bowen Gardner Case Samuel Wright Henry Child John D. Tuel George Easterbooks Shearjashub B. Allen Benjamin W. Bosworth George Luther Alfred Cornell Jesse Davis Benjamin Bowen Caleb Bowen Martin Luther Stafford Healey Isaac L. Peck George Presbury Nathan Cary Philip Mosher Benjamin Foster Elisha G. Smith Philip Monroe Rep. No. 546. 621 WARREN— Continued. John K. Barney Simon Kinnicutt Caleb A. Carr Jeseph B. Tanner Charles E. Bennett Edward Sanders George S. Til ley- Joseph M. Smith William King William Haile,jr. Alvin Cole Barber Manchester James Smith, jr. Isaac L. Barrows Allen Drown Henry Cole John Cannon Stephen S. Swasey James A. Thornton Henry Burr Benjamin Drown Benjamin T. Cranston Pardon Hiscox iS'athan Goffe Billings Salisbury Luther Collamore William H. Bowen A'oi qualijied. Jotham Waterman Samuel Luther Elbridge G. Leonard Elisha G. Hiscox John S. Monroe James C. Child Charles H. Collamore Edward T. Child James S. Bosworlh Allen Cobb Benjamin Albro John IS. West Martin King Jonathan B. Barton Palmer Monroe Hezekiah Peck Aaron Phipps George Monroe William L. Hathaway John K. Slade John Slack James P. Burt Henry W. Child George H. Rounds Robert Cole Henry Cary Thomas C. Collamore William Liiither 3d Ambrose Barnaby Jeremiah Driscol Robert G. Cooley Lawton Kelly John Coomer Seth Simmons William Thurber David E. Clarke David Miller Samuel T. Burt George Butts Edward Sanders Joshua Van Dorn Thomas P. Aloore William S. Bosworth David Grey Nathan Burr Joseph H. Luther Benjamin Kelley George S. Brown Thomas Sisson Ebenezer Cole Zachariah T. Thornton Jeremiah C. Luther George P. Woodmancy Caleb Carr, jr. Henry Cole William P. Eddy Birnabas W. hlasterbrooks Eli^ha Cornel Amasa Mason Samuel Place Joseph Salisbury John B. Child Joel Sawtelle William Long Seranus A. Brayton Paul Ware Samuel VVhealOQ Wheaton Cole &>2 Rep. No. 546. WARREN-Gontinued. Thomas B. Borden Liicher C. Short Johi] E. Luther Daniel H. Luther Horace Bean Qualified, 103 for Not quaUfied, 106 « 1 against Total, 210 No. 136. VOTERS IN BARRINGTON, BRISTOL COUNTY. Qualijied. Grindall Chase BeDjamin B. Medbury Wihiiarth Heath Seba Peck- John Martin Joseph M. Smith Ira Kent Christopher Smith Benjamin Medbury Elbndge G. Medbury Ebenezor Grant Josepfi Bean Nathaniel Smith Asa Peck Nathaniel C. Smith Job Wheaton Enoch Remington Asa Smith Amasa Cook Allen Bowen Henry Smith Amariah Li Hey Daniel Drown John Kelley Ira B. Kent Custis Ladue James Maxfield Nathaniel Brown Not qualified. James Ingraham Charles H. Campbell Simeon Drown Albert Bowen Jonah Miller Samuel Thurber Caleb Cary George W'. Adams Ira Allen Martm Brown Paschal Alien 3d Ebenezer Adams Patrick Fin ley Cyrus S. Morey Calvin B. Thurber Allen M. Brown James H. Seymour Joseph Rawson Samuel Bosworth Alfred Willis Joshua Maxfield Solomon Drown William J. Bowcu John Short Qualified Not qualified Total 28 24 52 i Rep. No. 546. 623 No. 137. CHARTER OF 1643. GRANTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF PARLIAxMKNT. The following is the first Charter to the people of Rhode Islnnd, incorpo- ratinor them " by tlie name of the In corporal ion of l^rovideiice Planta- tions in the Narmgansttt Bay in New h'/igland,'' grnnied under the authority of ihe Purhament of England, in U343, givino: them ^'fuU power and authority to govern and rule themselves^ ^*c.*^ Whereas by an Ordinance of y" Lords and Comons now assembled in Parliament bearing date t!ie 2d day of November Anno Dom. 1613. Robert Earlle of Warwick is constituted 6c ordained Governor in Chief & Lord high Admiral of all thos Islands and other Plantations inha'.jited atid plant- ed by or belonging to any of his Majesties y- King of England subjects (or w<='' hereafter may be inhabited and planted by or belongmg to thf-m) w'^''" y" bounds and upon y Coasts ot America. And whereas y'- .said l^ords &. Comons have thought fitt and thereby ordained, y' Phillipp Earle of Pem- broke, Edward Earle of Manchester, William Vicont Say and Seale, Phil- lipp Lord Whorton, John Lord Roberts, members of y^ house of Peers, Sir Gilbert Garard, barrenet, Sir Arthur Helsri^/ge, liarrenet, Sir Henry V'aune Junior Knight, Sir Bh;njaniin Rudyerd, Knij^ht, John Pirn, Oliver Crom- well, Dennis Bond, Miles Corbett. Cornelius Holland, Sammuell Vassell, John Rolle and William Spurstowe, Esquirese members of y^ house of Comons, should be Commissioners to joyne in aide ifc assistance w''^ y« said Earle. And whereas for the better governing (fc preservings of y^ said Planta- tions it is thereby ordained, y' the aforesaid Govern'" and comm"^ or y« greater number of them shall have power and authority from time to time, to nominate, appoint, &, constitute, all such subordinat Govern""' Counsel- ors, Commanders, officers, and agents, as they shall judge to be best affect- ed, and most fitt and serviceable to govern y" said Islands «fc Plantations, and to provid for, ordere, & dispose all things w'*' they shall from time to time find most fitt and advantageouse for y^ said Plantation, and for the bet- ter security of y^ owners & inhabitants thereof to Assine ratify &, contirme, soe much of their afore mentioned authority 6c power, and in such man- ner, 6c to such Parsons, as they shall Judge to be fitt, for y- better Govern- ing 6c preserving of y" said Plantations 6c Islands from open violence, pre- judice, disturbance and distractions. And whereas their is a tract of Land in y^ Continent of America aforesaid called by y= name of y^ Naragansett Bay, bordering North and Northest on the Patten of y"- Massechusetts, East 6c Southeast on Plymouth Patten, south on y- oation, and on y« weast and Northweast By Indians called Nahoggannsucks alias Narragansetts ; ye whole tract extending about twenty and five English miles, into y« Pecut river and Country, and whereas divers well afilcted and industrious English Inhabitants of y^ Townes of Providence. Portsmouth, and Newport, in the tract aforesaid, have adventured to make a nearer neighbourhood 6c sosiaty to 6c vi^^ y«= great body of the Narragansetts w'^'' may in time by y«= bless- ♦ See page 634. 624 Rep. No. 546. ing of GOD upon their endeavours lay a surer foundation of happiness lo all America, : tenor of your charter, formerly granted on that beiialf ; taking care of the peace and safely of those plantations, that neither through any intestine commotions, or foreign invasions, there do arise any detriment, or dishonor to this commonwealth, or yourselves, as far as you, by your cure and dili- gence, can prevent. And as for the things which are before us, they shall, as soon as the other occasions will permit, receive a just and filling de er- niination. And so v»'e bid you farewell, and rest Your very loving (riend, 29 March, 1655. OLIVER P. xNo. 139. The charter granted by King Charles II. Charles, the Second, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, (fcc, to all to whom these pres- ents shall come greeting: Whereas we Itave been informed by the humble petition of our trusty ond well-beloved subject, John Clarke, on the behalf of Benedict Arnold, William Brentoit, William Coddington, Nicholas Easton, William Boulsloii, John Porter, John Smith, Samuel Gorton. John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph Clarke, Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, Samuel Wildbore, William Field, James Barker, Richard Tew, Thomas Harris, and William Dyre, and the rest of the purchasers and free inhabitants of our island, called Rhode Island, and the rest of the colony of Providence Plantations, in the Narragansett Bay, in New England, in America, that they, pursuing, with peaceable and loyal minds, their sober, serious, and religious intentions, of godly edifying themselves, and one another, in the holy christian faith and worship, as they were persuaded ; together with the gaining over and con- version of the poor ignorant Indian natives, in those parts of America, to the sincere profession and obedience of the same faith and worship, did,. not only by the consent and good encouragement of our royal progenitorsj.' transport themselves out of this kingdom of England into America, but aisOj since their arrival there, after their first settlement amongst other our sub- 40 ^26 Kcp. No. 546. jects in tfiose parts, for the avoiding of discord, and those many evils which were hkely to ensue upon some of those our subjects not beings able to bear, in these remote parts, their different apprehensions in reUgious concern- jfnents, and in pursuance of the aforesaid ends, did once again leave their desirable stations and habitations, and with excessive labor and travel, haz- ard and charge, did transplant themselves into the midst of the Indian na- tives, who, as we are informed, are the most potent princes and people of oil that country; where, by the good Providence of God, from whom the Plantations have taken iheir name, upon their labor and iiidustry, they have not only been preserved to admiration, but liave increased and prospered, and are seized and possessed, by purchase and consent of the said natives, to their full content, of such lands, islands, rivers, harbors and roads, as are very convenient, both for plantations, and also for building of sjiips, supply of pipe-staves, and other merchandise : and which lie very commodious, in many respects for commerce, and to accommodate our southern planta- tions, and may much advance the trcde of this our realm, and greaily en- large the territories thereof; they having, by near neighborhood to and friendly society with the great body of the Narrag^ansett Indians, given them encouragement of their own accord, to subject themselves, their people and lands unto us ; whereby, as is hoped, there may, in time, by the blessing of God upon their endeavors, be laid a sure foundation of happiness to all America: and whereas, in their humble addre^s, they have freely declared, that it is much on their hearts (if they may be permitted) to hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil slate may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in re- ligious concernments ; and that true piety, rightly grounded upon gospel principles, will give the best and greatest security to sovereignty, and will lay in the hearts of men the strongest obligations to true loyalty : Now know ye, that we, being willing to encourage the hopeful undertaking of our said loyal and loving subjects, and to secure them in the free exercise and enjoyment of all their civil and religious rights, appertaining to them, as our loving subjects ; and to preserve unto them that liberty, in the true christian faitli and worship of God, which they have sought with so much travel, and with peaceable minds, and loyal subjection to our royal progen- itors and ourselves, to enjoy : and because some of the people and inhabit- ants of the same colony cannot, in their private opinions, cou bim to the public exercise of religion, according to the liturgy, forms, and ceremonies of the Church of England, or take or subscribe the oaths and .u tides made and established in that behalf; and for that the same, by reason of the re- mote distances of those places, will, (as we hope) be no breach of the unity and uniformity established in this nation : Have therefore thought fit, and do hereby publish, grant, ordain, and declare, that our royal will and pleas- ure is, that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be anywise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any dif- ferences in opinion in matters of religion, and do not actually disturb the civil peace of our said colony; but that all and every person and persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments, throughout the tract of land her'eafter mentioned, they be- having themselves peaceably and quietly, and not using this liberty to licen- tiousness and profaneness, nor to the civil injury or outward disturbance of others ; any law, statute, or ciausej therein contained, or to be contained, Kep. No. 546. 627 usage or custom of this renlm, to the contrary hereof, in anywise, notwith- standing. And that they may be in the better capacity to defend themselves, in their just rights and liberties, against all the enemies of the christian faith, and others, in all respects, we have further thought fit, and at the humble petition of the persons aforesaid are graciously pleased to declare, that they shall have and enjoy the benefit of our late act ot indemnity andL free pardon, as the rest of our subjects in other our dominions and territo- ries have; and to create and make tliem a body politic or corporate, with the powers and privileges hereinafter mentioned. And accordingly our wiU and pleasure is, and of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mete motion, we have ordained, constituitd, and declared, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do ordain, constitute, and declare, that they, the said Wiflliam Brenton, William Coddington, Nicholas Easton, Benedict Arnold, William Boulston, John Porter, Samuel Gorton, John Smith, John Weeks, Roger Williams, Thomas OIney, Gregory Dexter, John Coggeshall, Joseph. Clarke, Randall Holden, John Greene, John Roome, William Dyre, ■Samuel Wildbore, Richard Tew, William Field, Thomas Harris, James Barker, Rainsborrow. Williams, and John Nickson, and all such others as now are. or hereafter shall be, admitted and made free of the company and society of our colony of Providence Plantations, in the I5ar- ragansett Bay, in New England, shall be, from time to time, and forever hereafter, a body corporate and politic, in fact and name, by the name of The Governor and Company of tlie English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England, in America ; and that, by the same name, they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succes- sion, and shall and may be persons able and capable, in the law, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to answer and be answered unto, to de- fend and to be defended, in all and singular suits, causes, quarrels, matters, actions, and things, of what kind or nature soever ; and also to have, take, possess, acquire, and purchase lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any goods or chattels, and the same to lease, grant, demise, aliene, bargain, sell, and dispose of, at their own will and pleasure, as other our liege people, of this our realm of England, or any corporation or body politic within the same, may lawfully do. And further, that they the said Governor and Com- ipany, and their successors, shall and may, forever hereafter, have a common seal, to serve and use for all matters, causes, things, and afl^airs, whatsoever, of them and their successors; and the same seal to alter, change, break, and make new, from time to time, at their will and pleasure, as they shall think fit. And further, we will and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do declare and appoint (hat, for the better ordering and managing' of the affairs and business of the said company, and their successors, there shall be one Governor, one deputy Governor, and ten Assistants, to be from time to time constituted, elected, and chosen out of the freemen of the said Company for the time being, in such manner and form as is hereafter in these presents expressed ; which said officers shall apply themselves to take caret for the best disposing and ordering of the general business and afl^airs of and concerning the lands and hereditaments hereinafter mentioned to be granted^ and the plantation thereof, and the government of the people there. And,. for the better execution of our royal pleasure herein, we do, for us, our heirs and successors, assign, name, constitute, and appoint the aforesaicl^ Benedict Arnold to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and the said William Brenton to be the deputy Governor, and the said WiU 628 Rep. No. 546. liam Boiilstoi), John Porter, Roger Williams, Thomas Ohiey, John Smithy John Greene, John Ooggeshall, James Barker, William Field, and Joseph Oarke, to be the ten present Assistants of the said Company, to continue in the said several offices, respectively, until the first Wednesday which shall "be in the month of May now next coming. And further, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, do ordain and grant that the (.Jovernor of the said Company, for the time being, or, in his absence, by occasion of sickness, or otherwise, by his leave and permission, the deputy Oovernor. for the time being, shall, and ujay, from time to time, upon all occasions, give order for the assembling of the said Company and calling them together, to consult and advise of the business and affairs of the said Company. And that forever hereafter, twice in every year — that is to say, on every first Wednesday in the month of May, and on every last Wednes- day in October, or oftener in case it shall be requisite, the Assistants and such of the freemen of the said Company, not exceeding: six persons for JSewport, four persons for each of the respective towns of Providence, Ports- mouth, and Warwick, and two persons for each other place, town, or city, who shall be, from time to time, thereunto elected or deputed by the major part of the freemen of the respective towns or places for which they shall be so elected or deputed, shall have a general meeting or assembly, then and there to consult, advise, and determine in and about the affairs and business of the said Company and Plantations. And further, we do, of our especial grace, certain Knowledge, and mere motion, give and grant unto the said Governor and Company of the English colony of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations in New England, in America, and their successors, that the Governor, or, in his absence, or by his permission, the deputy Governor of the said Company, for the time being, the Assistants, and such of the free- men of the said Company as shall be so as aforesaid elected or deputed, or so many of them as shall be present at such meeting or assembly as afore- said, shall be called the General Assembly; and that they, or the greatest part of ihem present, whereof the Governor, or deputy Governor, and six of the assistants, at least to be seven, shall have, and have hereby given and granted unto ihem, full power and authority, from time to time, and atalltimes hereafter, to appoint, alter, and change such days, times, and places of meeting and General Assembly as they shall think fit; and to choose^ nominate^ and appoint such and so many other persons as they shall think Jif, and shall he willing to accept the same, to be free of the said Company and body politic, and ihem into the same to admit ; and to elect and constitute such offices and officers, and to grant such needful commissions as they shall think fit and requisite for the ordering, man- »fring, and despatching of the affairs of the said Governor and Company and ^heir successors ; and, from time to time, to make, orditin, constitute, or repeal such laivs, statutes, orders and ordinances, fo)-fns and ceremonies of government aud magistracy, as to them shall seem meet, for the good and welfare of the said Company, and for the government and ordering of the lands and hereditaments hereinafter mentioned to be granted, and of the people that do, or at any time hereafter shall, inhabit or be within the same ; «so as such laws, ordinances, and constitutions so made be not contrary and repugnant unto, but as near as may be, agreeable to the laws of this our jealm of England, considering the nature and constitution of the place and people there, and also to appoint, order and direct, erect and settle, «uch places and courts of jurisdiction, for the hearing and determining of Rep. No. 546. 629 all actions, cases, matters, and thinpfs happening within the said colony and plantation, and which shall be in dispute and depending there, as they shall think tit: and also to distinguish and set forth the several names and titles, duties, powers, and limits of each court, office, and officer, superior and in- ferior; and also to contrive and appoint such forms of oaths and attestations, not repugnant, but, as near as may be, agreeable, as aforesaid, to the laws and statutes of this our realm, as are convenient and requisit', with respect to the due administration of justice and due execution and discharge of all offices and places of trust by the persons tliat shall be therein concerned; and also to regulate and order the way and manner of all elections to offices and places of trust, and to prescribe, limit, and distinguish the numbers and bounds of all places, towns, or cities, wiihin the limits and bounds herein- after mentioned, and not herein particularly named, who have, or shall have, the power of electing and sending of freemen to the said General As- sembly ; a'ld also to order, direct, and authorize the imposing of lawful and reasonable fines, mulcts, imprisonments, and executing other punishments, pecuniary and corporal, upon offenders ;aid delinquents, according to the course of other corporations within this our kingdom of England ; and again to alter, revoke, annul, or pardon, under their common seal, or other- wise, sucli fines, mulcts, imprisonments, serstences, judgments, and condem- nations, as shall be thought fit ; and to direct, rule, order, and dispose of all other matters and things, and particularly tliat which relates to the making of purchases of the native Indians, as to them shall seem meet; whereby our said people and inhabitants in the said Plantations may be so reli- giously, peaceably, anct civilly governed, as that, by their good life and or- derly conversation, they may win and invite the native Indians of tlie coun- try to the knowledge and obedience of the only true CJod and Saviour of mankind ; willing, commanding, and requirinsf, and by these presents, for us, our heirs, and successors, ordaining and appomliiig that all such laws, stat- utes, orders, and ordinances, instructions, iuipositions, and directions, as shall be so made by the Governor, deputy Governor, Assistants, and freemen, or such number of them as aforesaid, and pul)lished in writing, under their common seal, shall be carefully and duly observed, kept, performed, and put in execution, according to tlie true intent and meaning of the same. And. these our letters patent, or the duplicate or exemplification thereof, shall be to all and every such officer, superior or inferior, from time to time, for the putting of the same orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, instructions, and di- rections, in due execution, against us, our heirs and successors, a sufficient warrant and discharge. And fuither, our will and pleasure is, and we da hereby, for us, our heirs_ and successors, establish and ordain, that yearly, once in the year, forever, hereafter, namely, the aforesaid Wednesday in May, and at the town of Newport, or elsewhere, if urgent occasion do re- quire, the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants of the said company, and other officers of the said company, or such of them as the General As- sembly shall think fit, shall be, in the said General Court or Assembly to be held from that day or time, newly chosen for the year ensuing,, by such greater part of the said Company, for the time being, as shall be then and there present; and if it shall happen that the present Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants, by these presents appointed, or any such as shall hereafter be newly chosen into their rooms, or any of them, or any other 4he officers of the said Company, shall die or be removed from his or their several offices or places, before the said general day of election, (whom we 1630 Rep. No. 546. do hereby declare, for any misdemeanor or default, to be removable by the Governo/, Assistants, and Company, or such greater part of them, in any of the said 'public courts, to be assembled as aforesaid,) that then, and in every such case, it shall, and may be lawful to and for the said Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants, and Company aforesaid, or such greater part of them, so to be assembled as is aforesaid, in any their asserabhes, to proceed to a new election of one or more of their Company, in the room or place, rooms or places, of such officer or officers, so dyino; removed, according to their discretions ; and immediately upon and after such election or elections made of such Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistant, or Assistants, or any other officer of the said Company, in nuuiner and form aforesaid, the authority, office and power, before given to the former Governor, Deputy Governor, and other officer and officers, so removed, in whose stead and place new shall be chosen, shall, as to him and them, and every of them, respectively, cease and determine : Provided alivays, and our will and pleasure is, that as well such as are by these presents appointed to be the present Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants, of the said Company, as those that shall succeed them, and all other officers to be appointed and chosen as aforesaid^ shall, before tfie undertaking the execution of the said offices and places respectively, give their solemn engagement, by oath, or otherwise, for the due and faithful performance of their duties in their several offices and places, before such person or persons as are by these presents hereafter ap- pointed to take and receive the same, that is to say : the said Benedict Ar- nold, who is hereinbefore nominated and appointed the present Governor of the said Company, shall give the aforesaid engagement before William Brenton, or any two of the said Assistants of the said Company; unto whom we do by these presents give full power and authority to require and receive the same; and the said William Brenton, who is hereby before nominated {uid appointed the present Deputy Governor of the said Company, shall give the aforesaid erjgagenient before the said Benedict Arnold, or any two of the Assistants of the said Company ; unto whom we do by these presents ^ive full power and authority to require and receive the same; and the said William Boulston, John Porter, Roger Williams, Thomas Olney, John^ Smith, John Greene, John Coggeshall, James Barker. William Field, and Joseph Clarke, who are hereinbefore nominated and appointed the present Assistants of the said Company, shall give the said engagement to their offices and places respectively belonging, before the said Benedict Arnold and William Brenton, or one of them ; to whom respectively we do hereby give full power and authority to require, administer, or receive the same: and further, our will and pleasure is, that all and every other future Governor or Deputy Governor, to be elected and chosen by virtue of these presents, shall give the said engagement before two or more of the said Assistants of the said Company for the time being; unto whom we do by these presents give hill power and authority to require, administer, or receive the same \ and the said Assistants, and every of them, and all and every other officer or officers to be hereafter elected and chosen by virtue of these presents, from linie to time, shall give the like engngemenls, to their offices and places Tespectively belonging, befi)re the Governor or Deputy Governor for the time bemg; unto which said Governor, or Deputy Governor, we do by these presents give full power and authority to require, administer, or receive the same accordingly. And we do likewise, for us, our heirs, and successors^ ^ive and grant unto the said Governor and Company, and their successors^ Rep. No. 546. 631 by those presents, that, for the rnore peaceable and orderly government of the said Plantations, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants, and all other officers and ministers of the saiS.,for Rhode Island district. I, Hamilton Hoppin, of Providence, in the Slate of Rhode Island, on oath do testify and say: That, in a conversaiion which I and two other per- sons had with David M. Hamilton of this city, on the 5th instant, (Tues- day,) the said David slated that, in case of an outbreak and violence in this State, the Boston Montgomery Guards were ready to assist those who sup- port the people's constitution ; that this had been arranged and agreed on ; that one of the sergeants of the said guards was then in this city, and that about 12.5 or 150 of the muskets of said guards were deposited in his house, and he offered to show them if we would step over with him. His Jiouse IS within 20 or 25 rods of my father's ; and the said David is well known to me as a naturahzed irishman of property and influence among his class of citizens. This is the substance and effect of the said conversa- tion. HAMILTON HOPPIN. I, Samuel Currey, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, on oath do testify and say : That I was last evening informed by one Douglas Sea- mans, of this city, that he had good reasons to know that the party who threaten to carry the (so called) people's consliiution into effect, had pro- vided themselves with from four to five thousand stand of arms ; that they ■were ready at a moment's warning to take the field ; that they were deter- mined to resist force by force, and put down the existing government at all hazards. The said Seamans boards at the hotel with me, is an adherent of the party opposed to law and order, and it is my firm belief that he said the foregoing upon good and sufficient authority. I have other reasons for be- lieving the same facts ; and have no doubt, from these and other statements which have been made to me. that the peace of the State, the lives and property of our citizens, are in imminent danger. The said Seamans meant to convey the impression that the aforementioned arms were distributed Rep. No. 546. 663^ among the people of this city, and that his party were of that strength here, independently of their forces in other parts of the State. SAMUEL CURREY. ss. United States of America, Rhode Island district. On this sixtli day of April, A. D. 1842, personally appeared the above- mentioned Hamilton Hoppin and Samuel Cnrrey, and made oath to the truth of th ' facts contained in the statements by them above respectively subscribed before me. And I certify that they are persons entitled to credit. JOHN PITMAN, District Judge of the United States for Rhode Island district. The following statement of facts relative to the proceedings of the party from which has emanated the people's constitution, (so called,) is made partly from recollection, and partly from the official publications of the above- named party : On Saturday, April 17, 1841, the Rhode Island SufTrage Association, lo- cated in the city of Providence, together with the auxiliary associations in vario\is other towns and villages in the State, assembled at Providence by previous appointment,. and held what was termed a mass meeting. The assemblage was very large — containing, probably, from six to eight thou- sand ; and in the procession were many banners, with inscriptions — some of the latter calculated to produce the impression that the party had intend- ed and determined to effect a change in the form and principles of govern- ment ill the State, at all hazards. Among these were " I die for libertv," '• Peaceably IF we can, forcibly if we must." &.c. Nothing very material occurred at the above convention or meeting; but in a few days subsequent to it, another was appointed, with the mutual understanding of the various associations, and also individuals, to be held at Newport on Wednesday, May 5lh, the day of the general electioti at that place for the State of Rhode Island. This convention, or rather mass meeting, (for it was a peri'ectly voluntary assemblage,) consisted, as near as could be con- veniently ascertnined, of about five thousand people, as computed by its friends, and published in the official organ of the party at the time. At that meeting a resolution, anong others, was passed to appoint a State commit- tee, with powers to call a convention of the people to form a constitution for the State. In conformity with this resolution, a committee was ap- pointed, consisting of eleven members. The proceedings were strictly of an ex-parte character, as none were permitted to act at the meeting but those who wore the badge of the suflrage party, or were otherwise recognised as its friends and supporters. (See New Age. June 18, 1841.) Subsequent to the meeting at Newport, no other movements occurred of an extraordinary character, or of much importance, exct^pt a passage of resolutions occasionally at the meetings of the associations, the celebration of the anniversary of Americafi Independence at Providence, and more par- ticularly the meeting of the State committee at Providence, and the meas- ures taken by that committee to call a convention to form a State constitu- 664 Rep. No. 546. tion. (See New Age, June IS, 1841.) The meetings for the choice of delegates from the several wards and towns to attend thut convention, were direc'ccd to be held on Saturday, August 28, 1841. Previous to the issue of the call for this convetition, tlie General Assembly had issued a call for a convention of the freemen of the State to form a constitution ; and the meetings for the choice of delegates to this convention had, at the same lime, been ordered to take place on Tuesday. August 31, 1841. Thus the State committee intentionally took precedence of the General Assembly in point of time, and maintained that precedence throughout, as did also the (so called) people's converition over th.at one summoned and acting under the legislative authority. And, as far as I knew, or was able to learn, that course was pursued by the leaders, or a portion of the leaders of that parly, that, by premature action and ultra measures, they might counteract the efforts of the legal convention, render its labors abortive, and secure them- selves the support of a large popular majority in the State — to revolutionize the government, peaceably or forcibly, as the case might be. The meetings for the choice of delegates, and those for the adoption of the people's constitution, were of course, dt?stitute of sworn officers, and without legal responsibility. The number of votes for delegates in the en- tire State was about 7,00U. (See New Age, September 3, 1841.) For the adoption of the constitution, the number was said to be 13,944, and was so returned. As near as 1 have been able to jiid2:e, about 9,5U0 of these were received on the first three days ; and the remainder, by proxy, on the last three days. Of the manner in which these meetings and the voting were conducted, (except at the 3d ward polls in tlie city of Providence, where I attended myself.) I can say nothing; though it was then, and has been since, supposed that uniformity prevailed, m a great measure, in most parts of the State. In the above named ward, no evidence was re- quired, on either occasion alluded to, of the qualification to vote of any one who offered, except his own yea or nay ; and even of foreigners, strangers, or otherwise, no naturalization papers, or other evidence of citi- zenship, was required. During the last three days, or days of proxy voting, 1 was Informed by the warden or moderator, and clerk, that a larg?. number of votes were deposited in the ballot-box, which had been received from seamen and others, then absent, previous to their departure; and I have reason to suppose that, from persons wlio did not attend the polls at all in that ward, some two or three hundred votes were cast, or said to be cast. Similar proceedings, it was understood, were had throughout ihe State. I know that some, at least, of the most prominent men in that party, (and I think many, if not all of them,) were extremely anxious that the legal convention should not form a constitution that would be acceptable to the people ; that they declared they would not vote for one, word for word like their own, or even better than their own ; and that, let what would come, they would carry their constiluiion into effect, and organize aiid es- tablish a government on it, by force if necessary. And such, 1 have reason to believe, has been, frou] the first, and still continues to be, the spirit and feeling of the members of that party in general. Much of that spirit I have seen manifested, and many threats of violence in case of resistance to their measures; nor have I any reason to suppose that they were lightly or idly uttered or intended. I have long been conversant with the party of which I have spoken, and I think 1 understand their feelings ; and, from the treat- ment 1 have invariably received when opposing even all intimations of vio- Rep. No. 546. 665 letice, am fiiliy persuaded that a firm resolve pervades their ranks never to give back from their purpose, if they can perceive a probabihty of its exe- cution by any means in their power. As farther evidence of this, refer to resohitions of the State convention, passed at Providence, Wednesday, Jan- uary 12, IS42, and the motto on their flag, which was, and still is, " The constitution is adopted^ and shaU be maintainedJ^ JACOB FRIEZE. Providenxe, April 6, 1842. United States op America, } Rhode Iskmd district, ^ On this 6th day of April, A. D. 1842, personally appeared the before- named Jacob Frieze, subscribed to the foregoing statement, and solpmnly atiirmed that the facts therein stated were true, before me ; and I certify that the said Jacob Frieze is a man of respectability and entitled to credit. JOHN PITMAN, District Judge of the United States for Rhode Island distrh't. I, Christopher Robinson, of Cumberland, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, on oath declare: That I am a native of Rhode Island, and, for the last eighteen months have been a member of the State Legislature. This affiant further states, that, in the spring of 1841, accord- ing to the best of this affiant's recollection, meetings of individuals, in many- towns in this State, were organized under the name of "snfl'rage associa- tions;" the objects of which associations were ostensibly to procure an ex- tension of the elective franchise in this State. In the month of May last, a mass meeting of the people of this State, friendly to the purpose of said associations, was called by the suffrage association in the city of Providence, to be holden in Newport, m this State, on the 5th day of said month, for the purpose of concerting measures to etfect the object of said associations. Said mass meeting was holden at said Newport at the time aforesaid, at which a State committee was elected, vested with authority by said mass meeting to call, if necessary, a State convention. Another mass meeting of the people, friendly to the objects of said '• suffrage associations," was holden in the city of Providence on tbe 5th day of July, 1841, at which this affiant believes it was resolved to call a convention of the people of the State for the purpose of framing a constitution for the government thereof. In the month of July, 1841, according to the best of this affiant's recollec- tion, papers were circulated in the town of Cumberland, and this affiant presumes in other towns, for the purpose of procuring the signatures of the citizens to an expression of their wishes either for or against having a con- stitution for the State. How many signatures were obtained to said papers, this affiant does not know. Early in the month of August last, a call was made by the State committee who were elected at the mass convention at Newport, directed to the people of this State, and requesting the male citi- zens thereof, who were of the age of 21 years and upwards, to assemble in their different towns in open meetings, and elect delegates to a convention to be holden at Providence on the 5th day of October, A. D. 1841, according to the best of this affiant's recollection, for the purpose of framing a consti- 666 Rep. No. 546. tution of this State. Said meetino^s were holden in the different towns in this State, as this affiant understood and verily believes; at which said meet- ings no negative votes were given, as this affiant has heard and verily be- heves ; and which meetings were not recognised by any law of this State,, and the officers of which said meetings did not act under any legal obliga- tion, nor did they return a record of their doings to any legal body in this State. The delegates elected as aforesaid assembled in the city of Provi- dence at the time appointed, and, after being in session one week, adjourned to meet in the city of Providence on the 15th day of November following, at which time said convention reassembled and completed the formation of a constitution ; which said constitution was ordered by said convention to be voted for on the 27th, 2Sth, and 29th days of December, 1841, in open meetings; and the three successive days were allowed by said convention lor those persons who were prevented by sickness, or other causes, from at- tending the open meetings, to bring or send in their votes to the persons ■who presided at the open meetings. All persons over the age of 21 years, resident in the State, were allowed, as this affiant recollects, to vote upon the question of its adoption, and the voter was requested to express upon the back of his vote that he was qualified to vote by the existing laws of this State or not, and also to declare that he was an American citizen of the age of 21 years, and had his permanent residence or home in this State. On this vote the name of the voter was written. The convention ordered said votes, after the expiration of the said six days, to be sealed up and sent to said convention, at an adjourned session of said convention in said Prov- idence, holden on the — day of January, A. D. 1842, for the purpose of being counted. Said convention met on said — day of January, A. D. 1842, counted said votes, declared that a majority of the people of this State over the age of 21 years had voted for said constitution, and pro- claimed that the same was the supreme and paramount law of the State. On the 19th day of February, A. D. 1842, a convention, called hj the Gen- eral Assembly of this Slate at their January session, A. D. 1841, sent out to the people of this State a constitution for their adoption or rejection, and ordered the same to be voted for on the 21st, 22d, and 23d days of March last, by the people of this State who were qualified to vote under its provis- ions — said voting to be had in open town meetings, and the presiding offi- cer of the same du!y authorized to administer all necessary oaths, to prevent illegal and fraudulent voting. Before the rising of said last convention called by the General Assem- bly, and elected by the qualified electors of the State, meetings were^ield in various parts of the State by the friends of the " people's constitution," (as the constitution emanating from the first convention herein described was called,) in which said meeting the constitution proposed by the convention called by the General Assembly was denounced as a usurpation of the power of the people, and in which it was determined to stand by and defend the first constitution at Rep. No. 546. 675 United States, on the application of your excellency, under the autliority of the resolutions of the le2:islaturo already transmitted, will stand ready to succor the authorities of the State in their efforts to maintain a due respect for the laws. 1 sincerely hope, however, that no such exigency may occur, and that every citizen of Rhode Island will manifest his love of peace and good order, by submitting to the laws, and seeking a redress of grievances by other means than intestine commotions, 1 tender to your excellency assurances of my distinguished consideration. ^ JOHN TYLER. To the Governor of the State of Rhode Island. i\o. 170. Letter of Governor Dorr to the President of the United Slates, endoxinor resolutions of the General Assembly under the people's constitution that the government was organized. Sir : As requested by the General Assembly, 1 have the honor of trans- milting to you, under the seal of the State, the accompanying resolutions; And 1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOMAS W. DORR, Governor of the Slate of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, To John Tyler, President of the United States. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. General As.sembly — May Session, Jn the city of Providence, A. D. 1 842. Resolved, That the Governor be requested to inform the President of the United States that the government of this State has been duly elected and organized under the constitution of the same ; and that the General Assembly are now in session, and proceeding to discharge their duties ac- cording to the provisions of said constitution. Resolved, That the Governor he requested to make the same communi- cation to the President of the Senate, and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be laid before the two houses of the Congress of the United States. Resolved, That the Governor be requested to make the same communi- cation to the Governors of the several States, to be laid before the respective legislatures. A true copy :— -Witness, WM. H. SMITH, Secretary of iStatpt 676 Rep. No. 546. No. 171. [Prii-aie and confidential.] Conjideyitial letter of the President to Goveriior King. May 9, 1842. Sir: Messrs. Randolph and Potter will hand you an official letter; but [ think it important that you should be informed of my views and opinions as to the best mode of settling all difficulties. I deprecate the use of force, except in the last resort : and I am persuaded that measures of conciliation will at once operate to produce quiet. 1 am well advised, if the General Assembly would authorize you to announce a general amnesty and pardon for the past, without making any exception, upon the condition of a return to allegiance, and follow it up by a call for a new convention upon some- what hbf ral principles, that all difficulty would at once cease. And why should not this be done / A government never loses anything by mildness and forbearance to its own citizens ; more especially when the consequences of an opposite course may be the shedding of blood. In your case, the one- half of your people are involved in the consequences of recent proceedings. Why urge matters to an extremity? If you succeed by the bayonet, you succeed against your own fellow-citizens, and by the shedding of kindred blood ; whereas, by taking the opposite course, you will have shown a pa- ternal care for the lives of your people. My own opinion is, that the adop- tion of the above measures will give you peace, and insure you harmony. A resort to force, on the contrary, will engender, for years to come, feelings of animosity. I have said that I speak advisedly. Try the experiment; and if it fail, then your justification in using force become? complete. Excuse the freedom I take, and be assured of my respect. JOHN TYLER. Oovcrnor King, of Rhode Island. No. 172. heltcT of Governor King to the President, achiowledging the receipt of the President'' s letttr of May 9. Providence, (R. I.,) May 12, 1842. My dear Sir: 1 have had the honor to receive your communication of the 9th instant, by l\ir. Randolph, and assure you it has given me much satisfaction to know that your views and opinions as to the course proper to be pursued by the government of this State, in the present unhappy con- dition of our political afiairs, is so much in conformity with my own. Our legislature will undoubtedly, at their session ii] .hme !iext, adopt ^uch measures as will be necessarv to organize a convetition for die lotnui- Rep. No. 546. G7t tion of a new constitution of government, by which all the evils now com- plained of may be removed. It has already been announced, as the opinion of the executive, that such of our citizens as are or have been engaged in treasonable and revolution- ary designs against the State will be ]);irdoned for the past, on the condi- tion only that they withdraw themselves from such enterprise, and signify their return to their allegiance to the government. With high consideration and respect, your obedient and very humble servant, SAML. W. KING. His E.xcellency the Pre.sidsnt of the United States. No. 173. Letter of Elisha R. Potter to the President. KiNc^sTON, (R. I.,) May 15, 1842. Dear Sir: We arrived at Newport on Wednesday morning, in time to attend the meeting of our legislature. The subject of calling a convention immediately, and upon a liberal basis as to the right of voting for the delegates, was seriously agitated amongst us. The only objection made was, that they did not wish to concede while \hQ people's party continued their threals. All allowed that the concession must be made, and the only difference of opinion was as to time. For my own part, I fear we shall never see the time when concession could have been made with better grace, or with better effect, than now. If two or three noisy folks among the suffrage party conld only have their mouths stopped for a week or two. a reconciliation conld be brought about at any time. Or, if Mr. Dorr- would allow himself to be arrested peaceably, and give bail, no one could then object. But the supporters of the gov- ernment say it is wrong to give up so long as Mr. Dorr threatens actual resistance to the laws in case he is arrested. If this could be done, they would then consider that they had sufficiently shown their determination to support the laws; and the two measures whicli you proposed to us in conversation at Washington — a convention, and then a ^e/«era/ amnesty — would succeed beyond a doubt. Allow me to suggest that if Mr. Wlckliffe, or some one whom you might think would have most influence, would address a letter to Governor Fen- ner on tlie subject of conciliation, it might he of great service. Governor F. is the father-in law of General Mallett, and a member of our Senate, Our Assembly adjourned to the third Monday of .Tune; but it is in the power of the Governor to call it sooner, which can be done in a day at any time. Unless, however, there is a little more prudence in the leaders on both sides, we shall then be farther from reconciliation than now. The great mass of both parties I believe to be sincerely anxious (or a settlement. I do not know whether a letter addressed to the President upon a subject of this nature would of course be considered as public, and liable to inspec- tion. Few would write freely, if that were the case. If private, I will 678 Rep. No. 546. cheerfully communicate from time to time any information that may be in my power, and which might be of any service. 1 am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, l^JJSHA R. POTTER. His Excellency John Tyler, President of the United Slates. Mr. Dorr returned to Providence this (Monday) morning with an armed escort. (Wriuen in >:nc:', in same handwriting.) No. 174. Private letter of the President to Mr. Potter. [Private.] Washington, May 20, 1842. J^EAR Sir : You have my thanks for your favor of the 15th lust., and I have to request that you will write to me, without reserve, whenever any- thing of importance shall arise. My chief motives for desiring the adoption of the measures suggested to you — viz : a general amnesty, and a call of a convention— were, 1st. Because I i'elt convinced that peace and harmony would follow in their train ; and, 2dly. If in this I was disappointed, the insurgents would have had no longer a pretence for an appeal to the public sympathies in their behalf. 1 saw nothing to degrade or lo give rise to in- jurious reflections against the government of the State, for resorting to eve- ry proper expedient in order to quiet the disaflection of any portion of her own people. Family quarrels are always the most ditlicult to appease ; but everybody will admit that those of the family who do most to reconcile them are entitled to the greatest favor. Mr. Dorr's recent proceedings have been of so extravagant a character as almost to extinguish the last hope of a peaceable result; and yet I cannot but believe that much is meant for elFect, and for purposes of intimidation merely. 1 certainly hope that such may be the case, though the recent proceedings in New York may have excited new feelings and new desires. This mustering of the clans may place Governor King in a different situation from that which he occupied when 1 had the pleasure of seeing you. Then^ he might have yielded with grace ; whether he can do so now, is certainly a question of much difficulty, and one on which I cannot venture to express an opinion at this distance from the scene of action. 1 shall be always most happy to hear from you, and your letters will never be used to your prejudice. Accept assurances of my high respect. JOHN TYLER. Elisha R, Potter. Esq. Rep. No. 540. 679 No. 175. iL.etier of Thomas A. Jenekes^ jirlvnte secretary to Governor King, enclosing the proclamation of T. W. Dorr to the ])eople of Rhode hland. PuoviDENCE, May 16, 1842. Sir: At the fistjiiest of Governor King, I enclose to you an extra of the Providence Daily Express o( this morning, containing the proclamation of Tliomas VV. Dorr to the people of this State. It states definitely the position assumed by him and his faction against die government of this State and of the United States. His excellency tenders to you the highest respect and consideration. Respectfully, yours, THOMAS A. JENCKES, Private Secretary. To the President of the United States. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLAN'TATiONS. A PROCLAMATION By Thomas \V. Dorr., Governor and commander -in- chif of the same. Fellow-citizens : Shortly afier the adjournment of the GeHeral Assem- bly, and the completion of indispensable executive business, I was in- duced, by the request of the most active friends of our cause, to undertake the duty (which had been previously suggested) of representing in person the interests of the people of Uhode Island in other States, and at the seat of the General Government. By virtue of a resolution of tlie General As- sembly, I appomted Messrs. Pearce and Anthony commissioners for the same purpose. Of tlie proposed action of the Executive in the affairs of our State, you have been already apprized. In case of the failure of the civil posse (which expression was intended by the President, as I have been informed, to embrace the military power) to execute any of the laws of the charter As- sembly, including their law of pains and penalties, and of treason, as it has been for the first time defined, tlie President intimates an intention of re- sorting to the firces of the United States to check the movements of the people of this State in support of tlieir republican constitution recently adopted. From a decision which coutlicts with the right of sovereignty inherent in the people of this State, and with the principles which lie at the foun- dation of a democratic republic, an appeal has been taken to the people of our country. They understand our cause; they sympathize in the inju- ries wiiich have been inflicted upon us ; they disapprove the course which the national Executive has adopted towards this State ; and they assure us of their disposition and intention to interpose a barrier between the sup- porters of the people's constitution and the hired soldiery of the United States. The democracy of the country are slow to move in any matter which involves an issue so momentous as that which is presented by the 680 Rep. No. 546. controversy in Rhode Island ; but when they have once put themselves in ■niolion, they are not to be easily diverted from their purposes. They be- lieve that tlie people of Rhode Island are in the right ; that they are con^ tending for equal justice in their political system ; that they have properly adopted a constitution of government for themselves, as they were entitled to do ; and they cannot, and will not, remain indifferent to any act, from whatever motive it may proceed, which ihey deem to be an invasion of the sacred riglu of self-government, of which the p^ple of the respective States cannot be divested. ,* As your representative, I have been everywhere received with th most kindness and cordiality. To the people of the city of New Y who have extended to us the hand of a generous fraternity, it is impossi- ble to overrate our obligation at this most important crisis. r has become my duty to say, that, so soon as a soldier of the United Stat^i shall be set in motion, by whatever direction, to act against the people of this State, in aid of the charter government, I shall call for that aid to oppose all such force, which, I am fully authorized to say, will be immediately and most cheerfully tendered to the service of the people of Rhode Island from the city of New York and from other places. The contest will then become national, and our State the battle-ground of Ameri- can freedom. As a Rhode Island man, I regret that the constitutional question in this State cannot be adjusted among our own citizens; but, as the minority have asked that the sword of the national Executive may be thrown into the scale against the people, it is imperative upon them to make the same appeal to their brethren of the States — an appeal v/hich, they are well as- sured, will not be made in vain. They who have been the first to ask assistance from abroad, can have no reason to complain of any conse- quences which may ensue. No further arrests under the law of pains and penalties, which was re- pealed by the General Assembly of the people at their May session, will be permitted. I hereby direct the military, under their respective officers, promptly to prevent the same, and to release all who may be arrested under sail law. As requested by the General Assembly, I enjoin upon the militia forth- with to elect their company officers; and I call upon volunteers to organ- ize themselves without delay. The military are directed to hold them- selves in readiness for immediate service. J- , Given under mv hand, and the seal of the State, at the city of Provi- 1^^- ■'^•-1 dence, this 0th day of May, A. D. 1842. THOMAS W. DORR, Governor and commander-in-chief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. By the Governor's command : William H. Smith, Secretaiy of State. Rep. No. 546. 681 No. 176. Letter from Governor King to the Pre.ndent, stating that Mr. Dorr is organizing troops'i7i other States, and colling for military aid. Providence, R. L, May 25, 1842. Sir : Since my last communication, the surface of things in this city and State has been more quiet. Tlie complete dispersing of the insurgents, and the flight of their leader, on Wednesday last, the ISth instant, seemed to have broken their strength, and prevented them from making head openly in any quarter. But another crisis now appears to be approaching. By the private ad- vices received by myself and the Council, from our messengers in the neigh- boring States, we learn that Dorr and his agents are enlisting men, and col- lecting- arms, for the purpose of again attempting to subvert, by open war, the government of this State. Those who iiave assisted him at liome, m his extreme measures, are again holding secret councils, and making prepa- rations to rally on his return. Companies of men, pledged to support him, have met and drilled in the north part of this State during the present week. From the forces which he can collect among our own citizens, we have nothing to fear. Our own military strength has once scattered them, and could as easily do so a second time. But if the bands which are now or- ganizing in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, should make the incursion which they threaten, with Dorr at their bead, we have reason to apprehend a civil war of the most destructive and vindictive character. Our own f)rces might be sufficient to repel them; but having little disci- pline, and no officer of military experience to lead them, they could not do It without the loss of many valuable lives. For the evidence that such forces are organizing in other States, 1 refer your excellency to a letter from Governor Seward, of New York, and to a statement made by one of our messengers m the Council, which will be handed you. Other messengers confirm, to the fullest exteiu, the same in- telligence. In this posture of affairs, I deem it my duty to call upon your excel- lency for the support guarantied by the constitution and laws of the United States to this government. 1 would submit to your excellency whether a movement of a sufficient body of troops to this quarter, to be stationed at Fort Adams, and to be subject to the requisitions of the executive of this State, whenever, in his opinion, the exigency should arise to require their assistance, would not be the best measure to insure peace and respect for the laws, and to deter invasions. You will see by the statement of the secret agent of the government that the time set for this incursion is very near. The mustering of the insur- gents, and their movement upon the city, will probably be with the greatest expedition, when once commenced — in a time too short for a messenger x Sir : In reference to my letter to you of yesterday, I am instructed by- Major Goneral Scott to desire you to hesitate much about sending an offi- cer for the purpose of obtaining intelligence in Providence, and not to do so if you can obtain the services of any other discreet, intelligent citizen 5 because the purpose of the detached officer, whether in uniform or not,, would be liable to be suspected — which might do much harm in the present excited state of public feeling in Rhode Island. Nevertheless, it is the wish of General Scott that you obtain, by all honorable means, the fullest intelligence possible on tlie great subject I presented to you yesterday, and- to communicate the same daily to him (unsealed) under cover to the Sec- retary of War, Duplicates need not be sent to New York, as General Scott may not be there. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. G. FREEMAN, Assistatit Adjutant General, . Major M. M. Pj^yne, (or officer commanding,) Fort AdimSyR, J. 702 Rep. No. 546. No. 202. Same to Colonel J. Bankhead. [Confidential.] HfiADaUARTERS OF THE ArMY, Adjutant GeneraVs Office^ Washington, April 26, 1842. Sir: TVvo companies from Fort Monroe, under Colonel Fanning, have been ordered to repair immediately to Fort Columbus, to report to you. Before this detachment can arrive, you will receive further instructions from Major General Scott, under whose orders I am writinof. He directs that you will immediately cause two companies in the harbor of New York to be filled up with effective men, out of the other two present, and to be held in readiness at Fort Columbus, with tents, for detached service. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. a. FREEMAN, Assistayit Adjutant General. Colonel J. Bankhead, Commanding 2d artillery.^ Fort Columbus, N. Y. No. 203. Adjutant General to Major M. M. Payne. [Confidential.] Adjutant General's Office, Washing to?i, April 29, 1842. Sir : Although Major General Scott is exceedingly desirous that you should meet the general court martial, of which Brigadier General Armi- stead is president, and which has been ordered to reassemble at Savannah the 10th of the following month ; yet he deems your presence at Fort Ad- ams, during the next week, of still higher importance. The General-in- chief, therefore, desires that you immediately return to Fort Adams, and re- sume the command of that post for the present. Should, however, the danger of domestic violence in Rhode Island fortunately pass away by the 6th or 10th of the ensuing month, it is expected that you will proceed rapidly to Savannah; and, if necessary, the general court martial (of which you are a member) will be instructed to wait six or ten days for your arri- val. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. JONES, Adjutant General. Mnjor M. M. Payne, Commanding Fort Adams, R. 1. Rep. No. 546. 70^ No. 204. Same to Colonel Batikhead. [Confidential. J Adjutant General's Okfice, Washington, May 5, 1842. Sir : The Generalinchief desires that you repair, individually, to New- port, R. I., and there remain until all appearance of domestic violence shall have disappeared. If necessary, further instructions will be communicated. Immediately on your arrival at Newport, you will please to direct Major Payne to proceed to Savannah, there to serve as a member of the general court martial ordered to reconvene on the 10th inst., for the trial of Cap- tain Howe, of the 2d dragoons. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. JONES, Adjutant General. Colonel James Bankhead, 2d Artillery, commanding Fort Columbus, N. Y. No. 205. Same to same. Adjutant General's Office, Washington, Maij 28, 1842. Sir : Your report of the 20th inst. has been duly received. Should you consider your presence no longer necessary at Newport, you will please to repair to your station at Fort Columbus. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. JONES, Colonel James Bankhead, Commanding 2d artilkry, Newport, R. 1. Adjutant General. No. 206. Same to same. Adjutant General's Office, Washington, June 1, 1842. Sir : Your report of your departure from Newport to Sackett's Harbor, as a member of a court martial, on the 29th May, has been received. The General-inchief directs that yon forthicith return to Newport, R. I., where you will find instructions of importance, despatched by the Secretary of War, on Sunday, the 29th.* * The letter containing the said instructions is dated the 2Sth of May, 184?. 704 Rep. No. o46. You will please to report the receipt of these instructions, and your ar- rival at Newport. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, II. JONES' Adjutant GeneraL Colonel James Bankhead, 2d artillery, (under cover to commandins: officer,) SacketCs Harbor, N. Y. No, 207. Same to General John E. Wool. Adjutant General's Office,' Washington^ June 2, 1S42. Sir : In forwarding you a copy of the order directing Colonel Bankhead to return forthwith to Newport, R. I., where important instructions from the Secretary of War uwait him, I am directed by the Generalin-chief to express his disapprobation of the withdrawal of that officer from the station, and the specictl service to whicli he had been assigned by instruc- tions from the headquarters of the army on this occasion. 1 am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. Brigadier General John E. Wool, Cornmaudiiig, Sf'c, Troy, N. Y. R. JONES, Adjutant GeneraL No. 208. Extract from General Orders No. 33. HEADaUARTERS OF THE ArMY, Adjutant General's Office, Washington, June 2, 1842. ■»###»*** ^^4. With a view to united instruction in the higher manoeuvres, the four light companies of artillery will be brought together in pairs, at points which furnish grounds the best suited for that purpose. Consequently, the light companies of the 3d and 4th artillery will constitute the permanent garri- son of Fort McHenry; and the light companies of the 1st and 2d artillery, on being relieved, will proceed to Fort Adams, to constitute two of the four companies assigned as the permanent garrison of that post. ■»♦ # * * * ♦ * By command of Major General Scott. R. JONES, Adjutant General. Rep. No. 546. 705 No. 209. Adjutant General to Colonel James Bankhead. Adjutant General's Office, Washington, June 6, lJr'4?. Sir : As the two light companies just ordered to Fort Adams are fully equipped, you will now please seiod to the Watertown arsenal the battery of brass guns, &c.j recently furnished by the Ordnance Department for the post. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. JONES, Adjutant General. Col. J. Bankhead, or Cotnmanding officer Fort Adams, Newport, R. I. No. 210. ' Same to same. Adjutant General's Office, « Washington, July 9, 1812. Sir : In acknowledging the report of your return to Fort Columbus from Rhode Island, I am directed by the Generaliu-chief to say, that, having been sent to that State on special and confidential service, your return t* New York without special authority is irregular, and not appioved. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedienT servant, R. JONES, Adjutant General. Col. J. Bankhead, 2d artilltry, Fort Columbus, N. Y. No. 21L Assistant Adjutant General to Colonel Bankhead. [E {tract.] Adjutant General's Office, Washington, June 11, 1842. Sir: • * * The two companies now at Fort Adams, to be re- placed by two light companies, may wait for the arrival of the latter. * * I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. • L. THOMAS, As^iH Adj't General. "Col. J. Bankhead, Commanding 2d ortiller^j, Fort Adams., li. L • 45 706 Rep. No. 546. No. 212. Charge of Chief Justice Durfee to the grand jury, at the March term of the supreme judicial court at Bristol, Rhode Island, A. D. 1842, published agreeably to the following request: Grand Jury Room, March 15, 1842. The ^rand jurors respectfully tender to the honorable supreme judicial court their thanks for the learned and appropriate charge delivered to the grand jury this morning, by Mr. Chief Justice Durfee. Relating, as it does, to a subject upon which there is much diversity of opinion, but which all admit to be of momentous interest, the jurors think its publication would t)e useful at the present time, and do request a copy for the press. Henry D'Wolf, Thomas Wilson, Howland Smith, John J. Allin, Samuel Sparks, Jonathan Martin 2d, William H. West, Ebenezer Grant, S. T. Church, !ra B. Kent. Robert S. Watson, Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : It is made our duty, by statute, to instruct you in the law relating to crimes and offences cognizable by this court, by giving you publicly in charge our opinion thereon. We are not at liberty to forego this duty, from any feelings of delicacy towards others, or for any considerations of a per- sonal nature. A court is but the organ of the law ; and when it speaks, it should announce what the law is, " without fear, favor, aflfection, or hope of reward." I use the language of the oath which you have just taken, gentlemen ; for that oath does as truly express our obligations as a court, as it does yours as a jury. The first duty which every person residing within the jurisdiction of this State owes to it, is that of allegiance. It begins with life — with infancy at the mother's breast; and if he continue an inhabitant or citizen of the State, it terminates only with the last breath which delivers the spirit over to its final account. Allegiance is a duty due on an implied contract — often, however, sanctioned by an oath, but none the less sacred in the absence of the oath — that so long as any one receives protection from the State, so Jong will he demean himself faithlully, and 'support the State. All persons, therefore, abiding within this State, and deriving protection from its laws, owe this allegiance to it ; and all persons passing through it, or visiting or jTiaking temporary stay therein, owe, for the time, allegiance to this State. One of the highest crimes of which a human being can be guilty, is treason; and treason necessarily involves a breach of allegiance. From the following resolutions, and the matters to which they relate, there seems to be a peculiar necessity for my calling your attention to this subject at this time ; for, as a court, it is not only our duty to try offences when committed, but to prevent them, if it can be done, by making the law- known. Those resolutions are in these words ; Rep. No. 546. TOT "State OF Rhode Island and Providrnce Plantations, " //t General Assembli/, January session^ A. D. 1842, "Whereas a portion of the people of this State, without the forms of laWj have undertaken to form and establish a constitution of government for the people of this State, and have declared such constitution to be the supreme law, and have communicated such constitution unto this General Assem- bly : and whereas many of the good people of this State are in danger of being misled by these informal proceedings : therefore. " 7/ is hereby resolved by this General Assembly. That ai! acts done by the persons aforesaid, for the purpose of imposing upon this State a consti- tution, are an assumption of the powers of government, in violation of the rights of the existing government, and of the rights of the people at large. ^^ Resolved, That the convention called and organized, in pursuance of an act of this General Assembly, for the purpose of forming a constitution to be submitted to the people of this State, is the only body which we can recognise as authorized to form such a constitution ; and to this constitution the whole people have a right to look, and we are assured they will not look in vain, for such a form of government as will promote tiieir peace, security, and happiness. ^'- Resolved, That this Genera! Assembly will maintain its own proper authority, and protect and defend the legal and constitutional rights of the people. " True copy : — Witness, "HENRY BOW EN, Secretary P Gentlemen, whatever I shall say to you touching these resolutions, and the proceedings to which they refer, shall be said with the full and entire concurrence of each member of this court. And it is peculiarly appropriate, in a case like this, that it should be known what the opinion of this court is; so that no man may become implicated in any otience against the State, without a full knowledge of the opinion of this court, as an independent branch of the government, in relation to the nature of the offence, and the law which it violates. 1 therefjre say to you, that, in the opinion of this court, such a movement as that described in these resolutions, is a movement which can find no justification in law; that if it be a movement against no law in particular, if is, nevertheless, a movement against all law ; that it is not a mere move- ment for a change of rulers, or for a legal reform in government, but a movement which, if carried to its consequences, will terminate the exist- ence of the State itself as one of the Slates of this Union. I will now give our reasons for this opinion. But, gentlemen, in addressing you upon this subject, I know not but that I am addre.ssing those who have participated in this movement. If this be the case, I beg you, and all others with whom you may have acted, to dis- tinctly understand me. Whatever language I may use to characterize the movement, it shall be but the language of the law; it shall mean no im- peachment of your or their motives. I will concede to you and to them, if you choose, motives as pure and patriotic, legal attainments and talents as high, as those of the purest and greatest minds that this State ever pro- duced ; and still J say, with all proper deference to you and them, that you have mistaken your duties, and misunderstood your rights. Deem it not strange that calm lookers-on can see where the error lies, better than tho.se 708 Rep. No. 546. who are engaged in the heat of the movement. Wlicn ^reat masses move, they move under the influence of excited feelings. When the object is to attain some great political good, real or supposed, the excitement takes for its law of action some ethereal abstraction, some general theoretic prin- ciple — true, perhaps, in its application to certain theoretic conditions of man. but utterly false in its application to man as he is — and endeavors, without regard to present social organizations, to carry that principle to its utmost consequences. Gentlemen, strong heads and patriotic hearts doubt- less gave the first impetus to the French revolution ; but does not the pro- gress and issue of that bloody drama tell us that those abstractions, (ia which they so freely dealt,) whatever might be their theoretic truth, became false and fiendish in their application? Do we not know that the very masses which were engaged in carrying them out, rejoiced when the iron rule of military despotism came, to deliver them from themselves, and from the incarnate demons which the movement had conjured up? Gentlemen, when all men are angels, and of the same order, these ab- stractions may be true in all their consequences ; but never in their appli- cation to man as he is. Wiih this explanation, I proceed to show the illegality of this movement, and the ruin that it portends. I repeat, that, however patriotic may be the intent, the legal effect of it is the destruction of the present State, and the construction of a new State out of its ruins. Gentlemen, what is a State? I ask not for a poetical definition, but I ask for a definition which befits a court of law — which may befit the courts of the Union, in which we must be ultimately judged. Strange as it may seem, amid all the controversy which this movement has excited, 1 have not known this question to be asked, or a definition to be given. Such have been the jarring and confusion of the social elements, that the best minds seem to have uttered their thoughts only in fragments. What, I repeat, is a Stiite? Think ye it is tlio land and water within certain geographical lines? The child may tell you so when he points at the map; but that is not the State, but only the territory over which the State has jurisdictio!!. Think ye it is a mere aggregate of neighborhoods within those limits? No, gentlemen, there is something wanting to give them distinctive unity. A mere proximity of habitations never made a State, .any more than congregated caravans of Arabs when by night they pitch their tents together in the bosom of the desert. Think ye it is the ag- .gregate of inliabitants within such limits? Never. It would be prepos- terous to call a mere collection of individuals withm certain limits a Slate. Regarded as a mere aggregate, tliey are still without unity, and have nothing whereby to bind them together, and enable them to act as an or- ganized whole. No treaty can be made with them ; no law can be enacted by them. Think ye that it is the mere rulers of those who have the legisla- tive and executive power in their hands? This, indied, comes something nearer to our idea of a State ; and when we look upon governments abroad, we may look no farther. But surely this does not make a State here, at iiome, under the constitution of the Uniled States. Here, we must not only find a government, but a people so bouud together, colligated and orgasj^zed by law, as to appoint rulers, and to reduce ih'. innumerable wills of the multitude to a legal unit. I think ! give you ii (rue desc! iption of :^ State, • when I say that a State is a legally organized people, subsisting as such from generation to generation, vviihoiic end, giving, lliiougii the forms of Rep. No. 546. 700 law, the wills of ^ho many to become one sovereign will. It is a body- politic, qnalified to subsist by perpetual succession and accession. It is a self-snbsistent corporation, resting upon its own centre, and it is, imder the conslitution of the United States, bound, to a certain extent, in its entirety and in all its constituent individual elements, to tlial coiiimon central body politic, which is tlie corporate peoj)le of tlie Union, or body politic of States, whichever it may be. There is, and, from the nature of things, there can be, no sovereign people without law — without that unity which the law gives them, whereby they are enabled to act as one; and consequently there can be no sovereign will, that is not expressed through the forms of their corporate existence. Now, can there be a doubt that this is a true definition or description of a State, and that it applies to this State as one of the States of the Union? Lest there should be a Imgering doubt in some reluctant mind, 1 will verify this defmition from the history of the State itself. The first charter of this State was granted in 1613. Tt incorporated Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport, under the name of the incorpora- tion of Providence Plantations, in Narragansett Bay in New England. War- wick was subsequently admitted. It was then that the inhabitants of this State first became a corporate people, but dependent on tiie mother coun- try. In 16(30 this corporate people, by their agents, petitioned their sov- ereign for a new charter. On this petition the charter in our statute books was granted, and, by the same corporate people, in November, 1663, accept- ed as their charter or form of governmpnt. This charter declared that cer- tain persons named therein, and such as then were, or should thereafter be made free of tlie company, a body corporate and politic, in fact and name, by the name of the Governor and Company of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations in New England, in America, and by the same name that they and their successors sitonid liave perpetual succession. Now, here was a corporation, and the freemen constitutincr it continued their corporate existence, subsisting by succession, still d-pendent upon the parent govern- ment, exercising the powers in the charter granted, holding property of all sorts as a corporate people down to tire Revolution. It was then that those aggressions and claims of the King of Great Britain, which are set forth in the declaration of independence, and wliich were enforced or attempted to be enforced by the l)ayonet, threw this corporate j)eople upon the natural rights of self-preservation. They resisted as a corporate people. It was in the prosecution of this justifiable def-nce, that this corporate people found it necessary to cut the bonds which bound it to the motlier country. It did so. It was its own act, performed by its delegation in Congress, by its legisla- tive body, and by the corporate people itself, in every legal form in whicli it could act. It was this act, and this alone, that made us a self-subsistent corporation, body politic, or State. It was this people, acting in its corpo- rate capacity, or by its members, as members, through prescribed forms, that subsequently adopted the constitution of the United States, whereby this State became a member of the Union, and its citizens citizens of the United States. Does not the history of this State, gentlemen, verify the definition which I have given? Is a State anything but a self subsistent body politic and corporate, designed to continue its existence, by succession and accession, through all time } If it be anything else, I neither know nor can conceive 710 Rep. No. 546. what it is. But if it be this, whatever there is of sovereigQly must be found in ti)e body politic and corporate, and nowhere else. But it has been lately said by some whose opinions are entitled to great respect, tiiat, on the separation from the parent government, a subsequent assent of the natural people was necessary lo continue the sovereign power in the corporate peuple, and that all right in the latter to govern ceased and passed to the aggregate unorganized mass of individuals. Gentlemen, this cannot be so. The act of separation was the act of the corporate people ; and ail that was acquired by that act, was acquired by the corporate people, and could be acquiied by none but a corporate people. None but a corpo- rate people has tlie capacity to receive and exercise sovereignty. The nat- ural people have not the capacity to inherit or succeed to sovereignty, though they may create it by compact, all being parties; or by force, where there is no su[)erior power to impose restraint. A sovereign will is a unit, is a mere legal entity ; it has nowhere, in any civilized country, any existence inde- pendent of law. Jn the constitutional monarchies of Europe, it has a mere legal existence ; hence the legal maxim in England, that the sovereign never dies. and can do no wrong. The moment that the sovereign will ceases to be a lega jwuI, and becomes a mere personal will, you have no- thing but a master and a body of slaves; you have no State at all, but only the semblance ot one. The sovereign v/ill is a unit. The moment you divide it, you destroy it; and could such a unit pass to thousands of individuals, isolated, inde- pendent, and bound together by no common law, as the natural state sup- poses, and still continue to exist as a unit, as a one, sovereign will? Never, gentlemen ; to pass it to the unorganized mass, is to destroy it. And how fallacious the idea that the sages of seventy-six annihilated, reduced to nothingness, the sovereignty of every State of this Union, in and by the very act which declared them sovereign and independent ! What became of the confederation 7 What became of the Congress that made the declaration ? Truly, gentlemen, some strange infatuation has seized upon the age, if we can believe that, when ilie Coiigress crt' seventy six declared these colonies (in thn words of tiie declaration) free and independent States, and that they had full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish com- merce, and to do all other things which independent Slates might of right do —that, at that very moment, every one of these States ceased to exist, and crumbled into their natural elements. No. gentlemen, our fathers under- stood tl)eaiselves better than their children appear to understand them. Well may we humble ourselves in the presence of their memory, when we find such strange hallucinations seizing upon the wisest and best of us. They have made large demands upon the admiration of their children ; let us take care we do not make demands, equally large, upon the pity of ours. Gentlemen, the definition is correct ; it is true to history ; and it is true to the declaradon of independence ; and it is true to the constitution of the United States, which, according to its intciU, tliis State, as a corporate peo- ple, adopted by its convention. Gentlemen, let us not deceive ourselves by the various forms which this sovereignty puts on, to carry its will into effect. The orovernment in all its departments, legislative, executive, ami judicial, is but the exterior form which this sovereignty puts on, in oid3r to preserve itself and to exercise jurisdiction over its peculiar territory, and all persons and things within it. Rep. No. 546. 711 It is in this way that it extends protection to the whole people, and to every individual man, woman, and child within its jiirisdiciion, and makes them all one with the corporate people, except m the mere exercise of the right of voting. I have recently heard the phrases "the legal people," "the physical people," repeated by those whose opiniotis are entitled to respect, as if there was a distinction between them. Gentlemen, we are all the le- .gal people — we are all the physical people. Every man, woman, and child, not of foreign birth, domiciled within this State, is a citizen of this State, and lor that reason also a citizen of the United States. Every man, woman, and child has the protection and benefit of all its laws, without distinction ; and, lor that reason, every one owes it allegiance and fidelity. ISo one within this jurisdiction can lawfully renounce this allegiance, and transfer it to another sovereignty^ whether created within this State's juris- diction or elsewhere. For this reason, each one and all are the legal people of this State, and are so regarded both by the laws of this State and the laws of the United States. We cannot recognise the distinction as having any just foundation in fact or law. The error lies in the misapplication of language. It is apparent that what they mean, who use the phrase "legal people," is the corporate people. By thus limiting a large and comprehen- sive phrase, a confusion of ideas is produced, and nothing is distinctly seen. The language seems to imply that all who are not the legal people, in this limited sense, are the illegal people, or people without law and in the natu- ral state, and entitled, therefore, to rely on their physical force; and this idea seems to be strengthened and confirmed by denominating them the physical people. We may all have misapplied these phrases. I myself may have misapplied them, for I make no pretensions to being better or wiser than others. But if we have misapplied them, let us misapply them no longer; let us recollect that the legal people and the physical people are the same great whole. But, gentlemen, if it he true that tlie corporate people are the sovereign people, and the forms of government but the instruments of its will — what follows ? Why, the moment that the corporate people ceases to exist as such, everything is resolved into its natural elements. This corporate peo- ple, whilst it exists, may, of its own will, and through the forms of law, which it prescribes by its legislature, put on a::; many different forms of government, not conflicting with the constitution of the Union, as it chooses. Its power lor that purpose is ample, unquestionable. It may change its form as thoroughly and as often as the fabled Proteus; it may extend the right of suffrage to every man, woman, and child ; and still remain the same legal entity, the same State. But the moment the corporate people of Khode Island cea^e to exist as such, whether by force, fraud, or voluntary death, cor[)orate Rhode Island herself ceases to exist — the State is gone. Yes, one of the good old thirteen is gone forever. You may close the grave upon her ; you may write " /«o jacei" upon her tomb; she lives only in history. It may be asked whether tlie natural people have not their natural rights, and whether one of these is not the right of establishing a government of their own ? ] answer, that if we grant you that the people have a right to violate their allegiance, resolve themselves into the supposed natural condi- tion of man, and to establish a new State and government ; and if we even admit that it has already, in this particular instance, been done — it does not at all relieve us, under the constitution of the United States, from the ap- 712 Rep. No. 546. palling fact that the old State has ceased to exist, and that the new State is not a member of this Union. We, as the natnral people, have accomphshed a revolution, in which we have originated a new sovereignty, which utterly disclaims all connexion with that corporate Khode Island which uttered the declaration of independence and adopted the constitution. And how can we claim to take her place ? How can we, as citizens of such a State, he citizens of the United States? 1 have heard much, of late, about the right of revolution ; and there is no doubt but that, in those cases where a people, by the oppression and vio- lence of their rulers, are thrown upon the natural right of self preserva- tibr), this right exists, may be exercised, and a revolution be justified. But, however justifiable it may be, we should always recollect that, if it be revolution, it is revolution, and nothing but revolution. There is no possi- bility of making it half revolution and half not. If you resort to revolu- tion, you must adopt it, with all its consequences, be they never so calami- tous. These calculations are to be made at the commencement of it, and weighed against the evils which it is proposed to remedy. Thus, gentlemen, if everything be conceded that we can ask for — if it be conctided that we have quietly put down the present corporate Rhode Island, and that we have succeeded m establishing this earth born prodigy in her place— what have we done, but broken our allegiance to our legiti- mate State, broken our allegiance to the United States, and accomplished our complete outlawry from the Union ? But perhaps we may hope that the General Government will, v^ithout inquiry whether we be or be not the legitimate State, recognise the govern- ment in fact (in legal phrase de facto) as the State. I am apprehensive that in this hope we shall be disappointed. Such a recognition v/ould pre- sent a question of constitutional law, affecting every State in the Union. This could not be avoided ; but if it could, it would still present a question of policy, equally certain to be decided against us. True it is, that the Gov- ernment of the United States does recognise the government de facto of a foreign country as the legitimate govertiment or state. And it does so from policy. The Government of the UniiOn, having no fundamental principle in common with the monarchies of ^]lurope, and in its anxiety to avoid an embroilment in their concerns, recognises those as the government of any country v/ho exercise 'he powers of government, without questioning the legitimacy of their claims. But how is it with the monarchies of Europe among themselves? What is necessarily their policy? Why, whenever a revolution is effected in any one of them, upon principles which endan- ger their ideas of legitimacy, or the permanence of their institutions, mil- lions of swords at once leap from their scabbards, cities are wrapped in flames, fields are deluged with blood, and heaped with slaughtered thou- sands. Think you ihat it was out of compassion to an exiled Bourbon that Europe consumed one whole generation in blood and carnage? No, gen- tlemen ; the struggle commenced with sustaining their ideas of legitimacy, in which every monarchy of Europe was interested, and terminated in their triumph. And how much more deeply interested will every State in this Union be — all subject as we are to the same common constitution and government — in a question of State legitimacy? For what is the principle to be established by the recognition of the new government as the State? It presents itself in these facts. A portion of the people of this State claimed a further ex- Rep. No. 546. 713 tension of suffrage, nnd an equalization of representation for the benefit of several towns. This the legislature did not giant at their request; but called a convention, with a view of establishing a constitution which might meet every reasonable demand. This I believe to be about the extent ot our grievance. And now, before that convention had accomplished their task, we, backed by tlio physical force of nnnibers, take the powers of gov- ernment into our own hands, frame a constitution, declare it to be the su- preme law of the land, and overturn, not merely the government of the State, but the State itself iNow, as a mere matter of policy, could the dele- gations of the several States in Congress establish the principle, that, be- cause of such a ijrievance, mere numbers are above law. and have a right to overturn the State of which they are citizens? Let lis try to call this a grievance, and then how many thousand grievances are tliere, of greater magnitude, in every State ? And if they are to be in this way redressed, the stability of our institutions is at an end. Have we no questions touch- ing; domestic servitude.^ None touching the social relations? None touch- ing tiie most active and powerful of all principles, conscience and religious faith? May not protestantism, in a moment of infatuation and alarm, in this manner establish itself as the religion of the State? May not Romanism then rally, put down protestantism, and establishing itself in turn, nail the cross to every steeple, place a priest at every altar, and a teaclier in every school, and compel us to support all by taxes? May not the unequal dis- tribution of property in some States be found a grievance ? May not banks in others become obnoxious? May not certain forms of taxation become odious? May not the debts of the Slate bear heavily? Let this principle of revolution, by an unauthorized and irresponsible movement of masses, become an element of the constitution of the Union, and any State may be overthrown, upon any pretext or petty grievance, real or supposed. And can any«one believe that, from policy, the Government of the Union would recognise such a principle ? Never, gentlemen, never — until that Govern- ment, desirous of bringing about a consolidation of these States, chooses to put every element of disorganization into operation upon them. But if the new government cannot be recognised from policy, the next question is, can it be recognised on legal and constitutional principles? What says the constitution? '-New States may be admitted by Congress into^this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the ju- risdiction of any other Slate, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress." Is it said that tfiis provision contemplates a case where only a part of the State's territorial jurisdiction may be occupied by the newly-formed State? Very probably the framers of the constitution had such a case in mind ; but so much the worse for the case in hand. Does not an article which forbi'ds any part of a State's terri- tory being so appropriated, for a stronger reason forbid the occupation of the whole, and the absolute destruction of the legitimate State? Can you take the v/hole without its parts? Gentlemen, it will not be respectful to your good sound common sense to spend a moment's time on this point. Again: by an express provision of the same constitution, almost imme- diately following the above, and to be considered in connexion with it, the United States are bound to guaranty to every State in this Union a govern- ment, and a republican firm of government. Will this guaranty be ful- filled by suffering this government to be annihilated — and annihilated by a 714 Rep. No. 546. power which, by the very terms of the article first above mentioned, can no more be recognised as corporate Rhode Island than Texas or Algiers? Tell us not of the admission of Michigan. Michigan was a Territory. No pre-existent State was subverted. We know of nothing in the consti- tution that forbids Congress bestowing upon any Territory that State form of government which is guarantied to every State; and which, if reduced by this movement to the condition of a Territory, it may be our humilia- ting lot, in some way, to receive at their hands. But, gentlemen. Congress is not the only tribunal before which we shall have to appear. It is the peculiar province of the Supreme Court of the United States to decide, in the end, all constitutional questions, and ques- tions touching State rights. I will, therefore, state to you what must ne- cessarily, according to the common course of judicial proceedings, be the process by which this question will be determined in the courts of the Union. When the existence cf a State has been constitutionally recog- nised, the courts of the United States may well recognise the government de facto as the government de jure — in other words, the government in fact Bs the government in law. They may well enough presume that those who exercise the powers of the State are the legal officers of the State, and leave the question of the legality of the election to be setrled by the Slate functionaries appointed to that special duty; but, before there can be any such presumption, there must be a State— a State known to the constitu- tion and laws of the Union, There is no such thing as presuming the ex- istence of such a State. A de facto State is, as truly as a de facto corpora- tion, an absurdity in terms. A State must have its fundamental laws or constitution known to the constitution of the Union, of which it is a mem- ber, find in accordance with it ; and to talk of a de facto law, is to talk pro- found nonsense. To prove, tfien, the existence of the new State, or even to prove the existence of any of its officers, you must present to the Supreme Court of the Union this instrinnent which has been proclaimed as the supreme law of this State, and you must show that it had a legal origin. The question will not be, who voted for it? or how many? but what right anybody had to vote for it at all, as the supreme law of Rhode Island ? In the records of the true constitutional Stale of Rhode Island, you can nowhere find any law, any authority, countenancing such a proceeding. This the friends of the supposed constitution must themselves confess. Indeed, they must boldly avow that it was not only voted for without any such authority, but against the whole body of the legislation of the State, whose fundamental laws have all been recognised, directly or impliedly, by the constituted authorities of the Union, and by the very court that will be called upon to decide this question. And can we think that this court will lose its firmness, and tread back its steps, on account of the delusion of some ten or fifteen thousand persons in this State, and establish a con- stitutional principle of disorganization, which must eventually become pre- dominant in every State, and reduce all to ruin ? It is folly to anticipate such a decision, and wickedness to hope for it. This pretended constitution, then, does not spring from constitutional Rhode Island— from that Rhode Island known to the constitution of the United States as the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; it is without legal authority, and of no more value in the courts of the Union Rep. No. 546. 715 than so much blank parchment. You are then without a constitution — you are without fundamental laws — you have no officers that can be recog- nised as officers de facto, for there are no legal and constitutional duties for them to discharge. You have no legislature — no State legislation ; — in one word, you have no State, and are reduced to the condition of a mere Ter- ritory of the Union, without the benefit of territorial laws. Now, gentlemen, what are the consequences? it is well worih while to inquire. We stand upon the brink of an awful gulf. We are about to take the leap ; and we may well (eel some anxiety to look down into it, and obtain a glimpse of what sort of a Tartarus it is into which we are about to make the final plunge. Gentlemen, 1 will whisper a h\v questions to you— all of which, I dare not for the peace of this State, answer even in a whisper. There is too much combustible material \\\ this wide-spread Union — too many dating and reckless adventurers of all sorts. Gentlemen, it is ihe faith of the untutored savage, that certain birds of the air, and beasts of the desert, are endowed with something' like a pre- science or foreknowledge of the coming banquet which human strife is to provide, and that, some days in anticipation of the event, they cume from all quarters of the heavens, and from all the far depths of the forest, and. congregating in the neighborhood of the appointed place, eagerly await the approaching carnage. 1 do not want to be heard or understood by such as these ; thert^fore will I not answer all the questions that I may put, but sim- ply show you that there are such questions. When corporate Rhode Island ceases to exist, what becomes of her dele- gation in Congress ? What becomes of her bill in chancery, which she filed, claiming througli her charter, and through that only, a portion of territory within tlie jurisdictional lines of Massachusetts? 1 mention this, not for its importance, but for its illustration ; and because, in the event supposed, the question must necessarily arise. What becomes of the public property of all sorts? Your court houses ? Your jails? Your public records ? Public treasury, bonds, and securities of all sorts, which belong to the present cor- porate Rhodejsland, and to her only, and can pass from her only by her legislative consent? What become of the actions now pending on the dockets of every court in this State — bills of indictment lor crimes com- mitteti, or that may be committed ? What become of your State prison, and your convicts, from the wilful murderer to the petty thief? What become of your corporaiions of all sorts? Of your corporate towns and their records? Nay, are there not questions touching life, liberty, and individual property? I dare go no farther ; perhaps I have already gone too far. But, whatever answer may be given to these questions, (and answered they must ultimately be in the Supreme Court of ttie Union,) the bare f;ict that these questions must be raised, tried, and decided, is sufficient to send a thrill of horror through the heart of every man, woman, and child in this State. And all this for what? For if revolutions may be justified, we may well put the question. It is said to be for an extension of suffrage and an equaliza- tion of representation. How many of you have ever felt the want of this to be so great as even to sign a petition to the General Assembly on the subject? If this be a grievance at all, is it not the merest trifle, compared with the <;alaniities through which we must pass, in order to redress it in the mode which this movement has proposed ? If it be a grievance, it has scarcely been felt, and a legal and legitimate remedy is already before you from the 716 Rep. No. 546. State's convenlion. Is there any other? Did we ever petition this gov- ernment for any favor which reasonable men might ask for — no mutter what party was in power — that was not cheerfnlly gr.tnted 7 Are we overtaxed by this State? Is there any oppression which can bo named to justify a revo- lution ? Have not we and our fathers ail lived in peace and happiness under the laws of this State, from its first establishment to the present day ? Did not our fathers estabUsh themselves here in a howling wilderness, and, un- der the protection of tliat distinctive principle of their government, religious liberty, enjoy peace, and quiet, and happiness, whilst the sister colonies were shedding blood, and persecuting their fellow- men for conscience sake? Did they not under this State, and for tliis State, utter the declaration of independence, and, led on by her Greenes and Olneys, go forth in array of battle, and shed their blood on a hundred fit-Ids? Did they not gloriously and Triumphantly secure to us the righls which we ever since have and now enjoy under the protecting laws of this State? But they have done their work — they have passed through the toils and suflerings of their day, and laid them down in the quiet grave, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. They have left the fruits of their labors as an inheritance to us. May their sainted spirits join with us in a prayer to the Almighty Father of all spirits to save us from this fatal delusion ! Gentlemen, the meaning of the word revolution in this case is very dif- ferent from its meaning when it designates the conflict between the colonies and (he mother country. That was a conflict between corporate bodies on this side of the Atlantic, against corporate Britain on the other. But revolution in this case means a conflict among the very elements of society. It proposes to realize here, in Rhode Island, the horrors of the French revolution. It proposes to arm neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, brother against brother, father against son, andson against father — and all this for what? Can any one tell us? We may flatter ourselves that we are a people too enlightened and too good to pass into the excesses which have marked revolutions in every age. But, gentlemen, in all ages of the world, and in all countries, excited passion, in its extremes, is the same ; the individual man, however en- lightened and good he may be as an individual, is merged in the mass to which he belongs , he loses his freedom ; he blends with it ; whilst the mass itself becomes a mere brute force, which, under the influence of the.idea or passion which actuates it, goes on and on — heedless of the ruin which it makes, heedless of its own destiny, to its final dissolution or utter anni- hilation. Would to God that men would fearn something from history ! But it has been well observed, that we ever place the lanlerm in the stern, and not at the prow. It sheds its light only on the tumultuous billows of the past. We there see the Wrecks of nations that have comanitted them- selves to anarchy, tossing and heaving on the stormy surge. Yet on we go, exulting in our superiority over our predecessors, heedless of the rocks beneath the bow, until the billov/ on which we are borne sinks beneath us, and dashes us into fragments. It may be thought that I am indulging in feelings not usual to the bench ; but, gentlemen, there are occasions when humanity may be ex- cused lor rising above ths petty etiquette of ofiicial dignity — when the for- malities of the judge may be lost in the realities of the man. And if ever such an occasion presented itself in any State, it now presents itself in this. It would be our duty as good citizens, but it is imperiously our duty as- Rep. No. 546. 717 sworn conservators of the peace, to tell you what is law, and what is not law. This duly we are noi at liberty to forego. I therefore. say to you, and all others duly qualified, that it will be law- ful for you to vote on the constitution now submitted to you by the State's convention ; and that, if it be adopted, any person in this State commits a breach of allegiance who wilfully fails to support it. If it be not adopted, it will be our duty still to adhere to that compact of our ancestors called the charter, as that sheet-anchor at which our beloved Slate has triumph- antly ridden out many a storm, and can as triumphantly ride out this. And as to that instrument called the "people's constitution," however perfect it may be in itself, and however strong may be the expression of public opinion in its favor — yet, standing, as it does, alone and without eople^s constitution^ and mes- sage of Governor Dorr. From the Providence " New Age" of May 7, 1842. The city was crowded on Tuesday with visiters from all parts of the country, to witness the interesting ceremonies of the inauguration of the governor and the organization of the civil government of Rhode Island, in conformity with the provisions of the people's constitution. At an early hour, there commenced a constant and immense influx of civil guests and military corps, and their numbers continued to increase till the hour assigned for forming the procession. At about ten o'clock, the procession was marshalled in the broad space in front of the Hoyle tavern, and proceeded down High and Westminster streets, and portions of other principal streets m the city, to a building pro- vided for the occasion in Eddy street, where they halted; and the Gover- nor, preceded by tlie shenft", and followed by the other officers and repre- ,seiitatives elect, entered, and went through the ceremony of inauguration. 718 Rep. No. 546. On motion of Mr. Simmons of Providence, Hon. D. J. Pearce was ap> pointed to preside till the organization of the House should be completed. Certificates of election wore presented from twenty-two towns, and sixty- five members answered to their names. The following appointments werei then made : Welcome B. Sayles, of Smithfield, speaker ; and John S. Harris and Levi: Salisbury, jr., clerks. On taking the chair, the Speaker thus addressed the House : " Gentlemkn op the House of Representatives : I trust that 1 prop- erly appreciate this signal mark of your confidence in the high honor it has been your pleasure to confer upon me. Were it not thought that excuses- come wilh a very ill grace from all, save those who are eminently compe- tent for what they are about to undertake, I would give an expression to the extreme regret I feel in my inabiUty and inexperience to discharge thei important duties devolving on mo as your Speaker. But I have not felt at liberty of late to shrink from any responsibility my friends required ; there- fore, I throw myself upon your kind indulgence, knowing 1 shall receive your assistance in the discharge of my duties. "You, gentlemen, are no ordinary legislature, to whom only your imme- diate constituents are to look for wholesome legislation, but the eyes of more than 15,000,000 of free people are upon you. May we be able to dis- charge the important duties devolving upon us in such a manner as to dis- arm our enemies, and satisfy our friends at home, and retain the appro- bation of the friends of liberty and equal rights throughout the world, •' The constitution provides that the Speaker shall qualify himself by sub- scribing the oath, and then administering the same to the members, which I will now proceed to do." A committee of fil'teen members and the clerks was then appointed to count the votes, and the House took a short recess ; after which they re- assembled, and both houses were duly organized, when Governor Dorr read his message, which appears in other columns — a document which cannot fail to be perused with deep interest and full approbation by the friends of the constitution and the advocates of equal rights, and the legiti- mate descendants of those who achieved our national independence. The committee for counting the votes made their report — that the num- ber polled for governor was 6,359. The votes for the other officers on the ticket did not materially differ. The votes from six towns (in four of which meetings were held) were not received in time to be counted. An act was passed repealing the law for the punishment of offences against the sovereign power of the State, commonly called the Algerine law. The Governor was requested to notify the President of the United States of the organization under the constitution ; and also to notify the presiding officers of both Houses of Congress of the same fact, and request them to lay the information before their respective Houses; and also to notify the governors of the several States of the same, to be communicated to their legislatures. A resolution was passed requesting the Governor to issue his proclama- tion, requiring of civil and military officers and others obedience to the present government. The sheriff of the county of Providence was directed to prepare the State-house for the use of the General Assembly; after which, both houseis Rep. No. 546. TIO" adjourned, to meet at their present place of meeting at 9 o'clock this morning. The procession, which, besides the officers elect, included the Independ- ent Company of Volunteers, accompanied by the Providence bra«s band, and several militia and volunteer corps, and the butchers on horseback in white frocks, made a very imposing appearance, and numbered about tliree thousand; while double that number, principally true friends to the con- stitutional cause, thronged the sides of all the avenues through which it passed. Windows and doors were crowded with the smiling faces of the fair sex, eager to behold tiie novel sight of an immense assemblage, movingf in perfect order, to place the key-stone in the arch of the proud fabric of their independence. When the procession arrived at the house, the military were called to- gether by the chief marshal, and, having unanimously passed the following resolutions, were dismissed : Whereas we believe that, according to the principles recognised in that sacred instrument, our declaration of independence of July 4, 1770 ; by the constitution of the United States, and the declaration of rights adopted by the people of this State in the year 1790, all political governments de- rive their authority from the consent of the governed ; and that the people are sovereiijn, and have in themselves, when acting in their sovereign ca- pacity, full power and lawful authority to alter and change the form of gov- ernment when circumstances involving their happiness require : and whereas the people of this State, acting in their original and sovereign ca- pacity, have seen fit of late to call a convention of delegates to frame a constitution of government, republican in form, which should conform to the republican institutions and forms of government of other States in this Union — the late government of this State under the cliarter of Charles the Second not being of that character : and v/hereas said constitution having been adopted by a majority of the whole people of this State : therefore, Resolved, That said constitution is the supreme law of this State, and ought to be obeyed by all good citizens thereof. And whereas, agreeably to the provisions of said constitution, a gover- nor, lieutenant governor, senators and members of the House of Repre- sentatives, and all other officers to be chosen by the people, agreeably to the provisions thereof, have been duly elected by the people, and the govern- ment of the State duly orgatnzed under said constitution, and agreeably ta the provisions thereof: therefore. Resolved further, That, as a component part of the militia of this State, we are bound to respect Thomas Wilson Dorr as our "commander-in- chief" under said constitution, and that we will obey all lawful orders com- ing from him as commander in chief of the military of this State, for the defence of said constitution, the laws of this State, and the laws of the United States, when called upon so to do. GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Tuesday Aftern^oon, May 3. The organization of the two houses having been completed, on motion of Mr. Pearce of Newport, it was Resolved by the House of Representatives, That a committee of two mem- !*^r 20 Rep. No- 546, bers of this House, with such addition as may be made by the Senate, be ap- pointed to wait upon the Governor, and inform him that the General As- sembly are ready to receive any communication that the Executive may have to lay before them, Messrs. Pearce of Newport, and Simmons of Providence, were appointed a committee lor tliis purpose on the part of the House; and Mr. Brown, of the 1st district, was added by the Senate. The committee reported that the Governor vrrould forthwith address the two liouses; and the two houses thereupon united in joint meeiujg, and were addressed by the Governor in the following MESSAGE: Senators and Representatives : It is with no ordinary emotions that I proceed to discharge the duties im- posed upon me by the constitution of this State, in submitting such sugges- tions for your consideration as the occasion requires. This is the first session of a legislature ever convened under a written constitution of government, proceeding from tlje people of Rhode Isiand. That a mnjority of the people should have been so long debarred from a par- ticipation in those rights which are elsewhere so well recognised, and that we have been so slow in arriving at a point long since attained in other States, are facts ill adapted to elevate our feelings of State pride, as succes- sors of those venerated men v/ho here proclaimed, for tiie first time, the just principles of religious and political freedom, which are now the common inheritance of American citizens. On the other hand, the peculiar circum- stances in which the people of this State have been placed, and the extraor- dinary difficulties with which tliey have had to contend, render the establish- ment of their constitution a subject of the deepest satisfection to the people themselves, and to all who sympatiiize in the progress of rational liberty. If the people of Rhode Island are true to themselves, the democracy of Rojjer Williams has this day been restored in the place where it originati;d. T'he sacred fire, so long extinguished, has been re-kindled upon our altar. The sovereignty of the people has been vindicated. The distinctions of caste and privilege have been abolished. Our institutions are rendered conform- able to the standard of our sister republics. While the rights of those here- tofore denominated the freemen of the State have not been impaired, the rights of others have been placed on a sure basis, by constitutional provisions securing: the common welfivre of the whole people. On this peculiar occasion, it is due to ourselves, and to our fellow-citizens abroad, who entertain so lively an interest in our affairs, to pass briefly in review the history of our proceedings, and to submit them to the scrutiny of public opinion — the arbiter of political questions in a free country — and to which, in the confidence inspired by a righteous cause, we are ever ready to appeal. The idea of imposing a government on the people of this State by mere power, and without right, is one which will be promptly discarded by the coMStitntiOtialists of Khode Island. 'I'hey maintain the ground that tliey are i ot only a inajority, but that thty have proceeded righiiiiHy to alter arid refiim tho;r government, according to we!!-detined principles in our reptib- , lie an system. 'I he people of Rhode Inland have, for many yea s past, complained pf manifest defects in their fonn of government; t?:e raxit serions of which. Rep. No. 546. ^ 721 were the limitation of the right of suffrage, an unequal representation, and the absence of all fundamental laws to limit and regulate the powers and functions of the General Assembly. The operation of the suffrage law of this State has for a long time excluded from the right of voting three fifths of its adult population. The largest vote ever polled by the freeholders was at the election of the President in 1840, when S,6G2 votes were cast, in a total adult male population, of permanently resident citizens of the United States, exceeding 23,000. jt is impracticable for the disfranchised mnjority, even if' of pecuniary ability and so disposed, to qualify themselves as voters upon real estate. Although the Senate, consisting of ten m-embers, was elected upon general ticket by the freemen at large, yet a majority of the House of Representatives was chosen by towns containing less tlian one- third of the population of the State; so that the conjoint effect of suffrage and representation in this State has been to place all political power in the hands of a niinority of its citizens, and to hold out the greatest temptation to that minority to resist all changes, which would divest the few of the ex- clusive control of aflairs. But if these evils had not existed ; if suffrage had •been extended, and representation had been equalized, still the want of funda- mental laws to regulate the legislature itself, and to protect the citizen against legislative tyranny or caprice, would alone have afforded ample justifica- tion to the strong impulse among the people in favor of a State constitution — such a constitution as should define the rights of the citizen, establish the departments and powers of government, and lay do\vn definite and perma- nent rules for its administration, to which all might appeal. The charter government of this State had no counterpart in any Stale of the Union. We have never had a constitution, in the American sense of the term. The substitutes for it were a charter granted by Charles II of England; various statutes to explain, define, and alter the charter, and to supply its deficiencies; and certain usnges ; all which, taken together, com- posed our form of government, and were all subject to the will and pleasure of the General Assembly. The charter of 1663 was the creation, in ordinary form, of a political cor- })oration. with general powers of self government to the colony, and it granted to th'' colonists the utmost freedom in all religions concern n)etusv The zeal and perseverance manifested by Roger Williams and John Clarke »in obtaining this charter entitle them to our lasting gratitude. Our ances- tors declared themselves a democracy long before the date of the charter, and they lived as such under it ; and, aUhoiigh their proceedings were sub- ject to the government at home, they enjoyed their institutions, with little interruption, to t,he time of the Revolution. It is not the charter with which wc find fault. In the day wlien it was granted, it was a noble monument of freedom, and well adapted to the circumstances of the people at the time. It has long since performed its office, and ought to have been laid aside in the colonial archives when our connexion with the mother country was severed. It is the action of the General Assembly under this charter, and since the Ilevolution of 1776, which has occasioned all our difficulties. It has been in the power of the General Assembly, at any moment, by their entire control over the right of suffrage, and by extending it, to remove eve- ry existing cause of complaint among the people; inasmuch as a liberal ex- tension would have led to the adoption of a liberal constitution. The char- ter empowers the Assembly t(j admit persons free of the company, and pro- scribes no terms or qualifications whatever. Before this charter, and under 46 722 llep. No.546. that of 1G43, the rule of admission was "beino^ found meet for the service of the body politic." After the charter of 1663, the laws'niake mention of "competent estates," without defining their nature or amount; and in 1666 the admission of the freemen was transferred, for greater convenience, to the several towns, who were authorized to make admission of those who were "deserving thereof." It was not till the year 1724, 88 years afier the settlement ot the State, that a definite property qualification was established, by a law of that year, which enacted that no man should be admitted a freeman unless possessed of a freehold estate of the value of one hundred pounds, or forty shillings a year, or unless he were the oldest son of such freeholder. The amount of the qualification was afterwards raised to two hundred, then to four hundred pounds; and in the year 1762 it was diminished to forty pounds, equiva- lent in our present currency to one hundred and thirty- four dollars, at which point it has ever since remained. Whatever may have been the original inducement for the passage of such a law, it does not appear to have been regarded at the time tis a serious in- convenience, any more than such a law would be regarded in any State purely agricultural. At the time of the Revolution, and for some years subsequent, the voters of the State were a majority of the inhabitants. The State became deeply involved in the war of the Revolution. The at- tention of the people was turned from their own institutions to matters of more general and absorbing interest; and the old charter system remained^ as before, the government of the State. As population increased, and the inhabitants became more and more diverted from agriculture to other pur- suits, the evil of this system became more manifest — the number of voters bearing a constantly decreasing proportion to the whole number of adult male citizens. The vote polled fifty years ago, at ordinary elections, was not, as has been stated, two thousand less than the average vote at our elections at the present day, in a population nearly double in numbers. A poliiical injustice so marked as this, did not fail to suggest the proper remedy by an extension of suffrage. In the course of time, the apportion- ment of representatives, which was fairly made in the charter, according to population, had become extremely unequal. A movement in favor of a constitution was made near the close of the last century, but without any practical results. In the year 1811 a bill to extend sufi^rage to all citizens who paid taxes and performed military duty was passed in the Senate, but was lost in the House of Representatives. In the year 1819, and the three following years, the subject of a State constitution was again agitated, and the oppressive inequality of our present system was clearly demonstrated^ but with the usual want of success. In 1824 a convention of the freemen was called by the General Assembly to form a constitution. This conven- tion proposed to the freemen. a constitution, which redressed, in part, the inequalities of our representation ; but a resolution to extend suffrage to others besides landholders received only three votes. This constitution was voted down by a large majority. In 1829, a renewed interest upon the question of their rights was awa- kened among the disfranchised inhabitants, especially in the city of Provi- dence. Frequent meetings were held, and a petition numerously signed was addressed to the General Assembly. It was so far deemed worthy of noiice as to be referred to a committee, and to be made the subject of a re- port, drawn up by a very distinguished member of the House of Repre^ Ikp. No. 546. 723 sentatives. This committee treated the application of the petitioners with scorn and contumely ; described (hem as a low and degraded portion ot the commnnity; and reminded them that, if they were dissatisfied with the institutions of the State, they were at liberty to leave it. The report was received and printed, and considered, with much exultation, as the most effective rebuke ever administered to the advocates of liberal suffrage in Rhode Island, [n 1832, an attempt to obtain a participation in the elective rio-ht shared a similar fate. In 1&34, a, party was organized for the express purpose of accomplishing the same object by direct pohtical action on the electors of tlie State. After a resolute struggle of four years, this party became extinct, without having apparently created niuch impression upon the freemen, or having tended, in any perceptible degree, to change their fixed determination never to abandon the existing suffrage laws. But the movement of this j^arty gave occasion for some alarm ; and the General Assembly forthwith called a convention of freenren, who met at Providence, in September, 1834, to propose amendments to the existing in- stitutions of the State, or to form a constitution, as they might deem expe- dient. A motion to extend suffrage beyond the landed qualification was decisively negatived, only seven members voting in its favor. The con- vention was unable to maintain a quorum, and adjourned without pro- posing a constitution, or any part of one, to their constituents. A whole generation had thus passed away, in fruitless efforts to obtain, as a grant from the chartered authorities, those rights which are everywhere else, throughout the length and breadth of this great republic, regarded as the birthright of the people. The legislature Iiad been repeatedly approached in terms of respectful petition, and the applicants had been driven away as intruders upon the vested rights of the ruling political class. The General Assembly, which was invested with as full power to alter the law of suffrage in favor of the people, as to establish the law originally, without any pre- scription in the charter, had turned a deaf ear to the reiterated and most earnest remonstrances of a long injured ami oppressed majority. The conventions of the freemen had manifested, if possible, a still greater hostility to the claims of the majority. The anxious inquiry of the people began to be raised — Is there no remedy for these manifest grievances? Must we submit forever to be trodden under foot by men no better than ourselves? Is the law of a minority, who hapi)en to possess llieconirol of a State, like the laws of the Medes ai.d Persians, to be the immutable standard of right and justice, in despite of all the changes which havo been occasioned by time and circumstances in the condition of the State and its inhabitants? Was this designed to be a government of the few, or of the many? Have we gained or lost by the boasted emancipation of our State from colonial sub- jection? Questions like these were naturally interchanged among those who felt the pressure of a common injustice; and they became bound to- gether in attachment to a conLimon cause, and in a struggle for the sam.e just and equal rights. And wl\o were these men? They were the younger sons of firmers, the great body of the mechanics and of the workingmen of the State. They found among Cneir number nearly all the surviving patriots of the Revolution, who '^elt themselves impelled to assert, in tlie period of venerable age, the sajne cause to which they had devoted the freshness aud 724 Rep. No. 546. vigor of their youthful days. The men thus hopelessly disfranchised were lliose to whom the defence of the country is committed in lime of war, who protect the community against the ravages of coniiagration, who sustain their equal amount of the burdens of community, and who sustam, by in- direct taxation, the government of the United States. They were sensible of no inferiority of nature or condition, which marked them for the subjects rather than the citizens of a nominally republican governmeiit. They were the descendants of ancestors who had proclaimed to the world, for the first time in its history, the first principles of a democratic government, or of the men who contributed their substance, their honor, and their lives to the freedom and independence of their country. Could they hesitate in the course which they were bound to pursue? It was idle to tell them that they were well governed, and that tlie existing authorities were better qual- ified to provide for their interests, than they were to take care of themselves. They felt in their inmost hearts the proud response of American freemen, conscious of their rights, and daring to maintain then). While it is the right of a British subject to be well governed, they believed it to be the right of American citizens to govern themselves; and they de- termined to remove the badge of servitude fastened upon them by a landed oligarchy. in the latter part of the year 1840, an association of mechanics, mostly non-freeholders, was organized in this citj'-, for the final attainment of their political rights ; and similar associations were soon formed in many oiher towns of the State. A portion of the members of these associations, still re- taining a hope that the General Assembly might lend an ear to the remon- strances of the people, presented once more a petition at the .Tanuary session, 1841, for a redress of their political grievances. The petition was not acted upon. At the same session, a memorial from the town of Smithfield, pray- ing for an increase in its representation, received the attention of the House, and a committee once more reported a bill for a freemen's convention to form a constitution. The experience of the past had forbidden disfranchised citi- zens to expect, from a convention so organized, any favorable result ; and they soon after proceeded to call a mass conveniion of the people to consider the condition and prospects of their cause. This convention met in Prov- idence on the 17th of April, 1S41. A second mass convention was held at Newport on the 5ih of May. when it was resolved that a convention of the 'people at large should be called for the formation of a republican constitu- tion ; aiid a State committee was appointed to issue the call. The General Assembly met in May, 1841, and passed a law for the more pqual apportion- ment among the towns of the delegates to the freeholders' convention in IMoveniber. At the adjourned session in June, a bill was introduced in the House to admit tax- payers to vote with the freemen in the choice of dele- p-ates to the November convention. This bill was negatived by the same 'decisive vote that had been before given against all propositions for an ex- tension of sufTrage. On the 5ih of July, 1841, the Newport mass convention held an adjourn- ed meeting at Providence, and, having become satisfied that therewas no longer any hope from the General Assembly, issued instructions to the State committee to proceed forthwith in the call of a popular convention ^ which instructions were complied with, by issuing to all the towns in the Sutte a request to elect delegates, in the proportion, as nearly as possible, of one to every thousand inhabitants, to asseu.ble at Ptovideuce in. October for the Rep. No. 546. 725 purpose aforesaid. Meetings of the citizens were duly field, pursuant to notice, in nearly all the towns of the State, in the latter part of August, moderators and clerks were appointed, and delegates were elected in the usual form for such occasions. A large majority of the delegates as^sembled in convention, at Providence, on the 4th day of October ; and. affer having formed the plan of a constiiution, adjourned till the next month, in order that their labors might be submitted to the investigation of the public. The convention reassembled in November; and after making several amend- ments, finally passed upon the constitution, and proposed it for adop- tion, or rejection, to the adult male population, who were citizens of the United States, and had their permanent residence, or home, in the State. The question upon the constitution was taken on the days appointed in the same, in the moiith of r3ecember, 1841 ; and the result was, the adoption of the constitution by a large majority. The freeholders' convention met in November; and, after preparing the plan of a constitution — in which, however, there were some provisions pro- posed only, and not acted upon — adjourned to the month of February, 1842- Their adjournment took place prior to the second meeting of the conven- tion of the people. The frt-eholders' convention, at their first session, ex- tended suttVage beyond the existing freehold qualification, to the possessors of personal property of the value of five hundred dollars. This convention met again, according to adjournment, in February, completed their consti- tution, and submitted it to those of ihe people who were qualified to vote undtr it; by whom, in the month succeeding, it was rejected. This constitution was voted against by a large majority of the friends of the people's constitution — not because it was made by the free-men, and not by themselves, but because its leading provisions were unjust and anti- republican, and tended to prolong, under a different guise, some of the greatest of those evils which had been the occasion of so much complaint under the old charter system. It is a fact which challenges contradiction, and is familiar to every man in this State, that the friends of political reform and equal rights have ever been desirous, previous to the adoption of their constitution, that all changes in their form of government should be made through the action of the Asseivibly, or the body of the freemen. The course adopted by them daring a long series of years — their respectful appli- catioiis to the Assembly — their delay in the call of a popular convention, until every probability of redress had been cut off, and patience had ceased to be a virtue, will satisfy all candid men that the minority are in the wrong on this point, and that the people have pursued the only course consistent with a proper regard to their rights as citizens of a free country. Two questions here arise, to which it is our duty to reply — a question of right, and a question of fact. Had the people of this State a right to adopt a constitution of government Jn the mode they have pursued? and, if so, have they adopted this constitution by a mnjority of their whole number? That the sovereignty of this country resides in the people, is an axiom in the American system of government, which it is too late to call in question. By the theory of other governments, the sovereign power is vested in the head of the State, or shared with him by the legislature. The sovereignty of the country from which we derive our origin, and, f may add, many of our opinions upon political subjects, inconsistent with our present condi- tion, is in the king and parliament; and any attempt on the part of the people to change the government of that country, would be deemed an in- 726 Rep. No. 546. snrrecUon. There, all reform must proceed from the government itself, which calls no conventions of the people, and recognises no such remedy for political grievances. In this country, the case is totally the reverse. When the Revolution severed the ties of allegiance which bound the colo- nies to the j)arent country, the sovereign power passed from its former posses- sors — not to the General Government, which was the creation of the States ; nor to the State governmewts ; nor to a portion of the people ; but lo the whole people of the States, in whom it has ever since remained. 'I'liis is the doc- trine of our fathers, and of the early days of the republic, and should be sacredly guarded as the only safe foundation of our political fabric. The idea that government is in any proper sense the source of power in this countrj)-, is of foreign origirj. and at war with the letter and spirit of our institutions. The moment we admit the principle that no change in gov- ernment can take place without permission of the existing autliorities, we revert to the worn-out theory of the monarchies of Europe; and whether we are the subjects of the Czar of Russia, or of the monarch of Great Britain, or of a landed oligarcl^y, the diiference to us is only in degree; and we have lost the reality, though we may retain the forms, of a democratic republic. If the people of Rhode Island are wrong in the course they have pursued, they will nevertheless have conferred one benefit upon their countrymen by the agitation of this question, in dissipating the notion that the people are the sovereigns of the country, and in consigning to the de- partment of rhetorical declamation those solemn declarations of 1770. which are repeated in so many of the State constitutions, and which are so clearly and confidently asserted by the most eminent jurists and statesmen of our country. By sovereign power, we understand that ultimate power, which must be vested somewhere, and which prescribes the form and fimctions of govern- ment. It is, of course, superior to the legislative power, which can be prop- erly exerted only according to rules laid down for its action, in that expres- sion of the sovereign will called a constitution. This sovereignty is a per- sonal attribute, and belongs to the man himself, and not to the soil or property with which he may be endowed. It is a power seldom visible ; which ought to be, and can be. but rarely exerted. The making and alter- ing of laws, which lie at the foundations of society, should be a work of great care and caution; and when done, ought to be well done, that it may be effectual and permanent. It is our misfortune in this State, that, as no expression of the sovereign will has been, until recently, made in the adop- tion of a constitution, and no index of this will constantly before the public eye, the distinction between the two powers has become obliterated among UJ ; and the legislature has been regarded not only as the immediate act- ing power, but as the sole power of the State; and all who maiiitain the right of ihe people in their original, sovereign capacity, to alter the present government, and render it conformable to their just rights, have been repre- sented as hostile to law and order, and as putting in jeopardy the stability of government. On the other hand, we contend that the people iiave a right to change the government when necessary to their welfi^re ; that they 'are the judges of that necessity; that " time does not run against the peo- ple, any more than against the king," and that they have not forfeited this right by any acquiescence; that a power to assent, involves another to dis- sent ; that even if a past generation had surrendered to a minority their po- Rep. No. 546. 727 litical rights, (which they never have done,) they did not, and could not, bind their successors, or prevent them from re-ussuming their sovereignty. • If time permitted, I should take great satisfaction in laying before you the most abundant evidence that these are the well recognised principles of our republican system, and are not to be regarded as revolutionary. The declaration of American indepeiidence asserts that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; and that it is the right of the people (meaning the whole people, the governed) to alter or abolish their government whenever they deem it expedient, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and oro^anizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. This declaration was expressly adopted by the Gen- eral Assembly of this State in July, 177G. The constitutions of many of the States, while they contain specific pro- visions for the mode of their amendment, set forth, in the strongest terms, the right of tiie people to change them as they m>y deem expedient. Any other construction would render a portion of the declarations of rights in these constitutions entirely nugatory. The convention which framed the constitution of the United States, acted as the representatives of the sovereignty of the people of the States, without regard to the limitation attempted to be imposed by the Congress of the confederation. That the v.'hole people, by an explicit and authentic act — the great body of society, have a lisjht to make and alter their consti- tutions ot government, is a principle which has been laid down by the fathers of the constitution, and the ablest expounders of our political in- stitutions, by Washington, Hamilton, and Madison. The strong opinions of .Tefierson on this point are too well known to need a particular repetition. Chief Justice Jay says: "At the Revolution the sovereignty devolved on the people; and they are truly the sovereigns of the couniry." " The citi- zens of America are equal as fellow-citizens, and as joint tenants in the sovereignty.'' Justice Wilson, of the same court, says: '• Of the right of tlie majority of the wliole people to change their ^rovernment, at will, there is no doubt." It is this "one great principle, the vital principle," " which diffuses anima- tion and vigor tlirough all the others." He says: "The principle I mean i^ this, — that the supreme or sovereign power of society resides in the citizens at large ; and that, therefore, they always retain the right of abolishing, altering, or amending their constitution, at whatever time, and in whatever manner, they shall deem expedient." "In our government, the supreme, absolute, uncontrollable power, remains in tlie people. As our constitutions are superior to our legislatures, so the people are superior to our constitu- tions." The consequence is, that the people may change the constitution, whenever and however they please. This is a right of which no positive institutions can deprive them. Mr. Itawle, a distinguished commentator on the constitution of the United States, in speaking of the mode of amending a constitution, remarks : "The people retain — the people cannot, perhaps, divest themselves of the power to make such alterations." "The laws of one legislature may be repealed by another legislature, and the power to repeal them cannot be withheld by the power that enacted them. So the people may, on the same principle, at any tmie alter or abolish the constitution they have formed. If a par- 728 Rep. No. 546. liciiinr mode of effecting such alterations have been ajrreed upon, it is most convenient to adhere to it ; but it is not exclusively binding," Ii i*s impossible to misunderstand language like this. It might be sug- gested that the people referred to are those who are recognised as voters by constitution or laws; but the language used is too clear to admit of sucli an interpretation. It is the whole people, the people at large, who have the right to change the institutions under which they live. Nor is this a dangerous doctrine in its practical application. This I believe is the only State in which the majority of the whole people do not partake of the electoral privilege. All other Stales have written constitutions, with pre- cise provisions for their amendment. It is hardly possible for a case to oc- cur in any other State, v.'hich would require the interposition of the people in any other than the prescribed mode. In all others suffrage has been en- larjied, and all complaints respecting a limitation of suffrage or inequality of representation have been redressed without any very protracted delay. The constitution will here also be regarded as a final measure. While we assert the sovereign right of the people in our own case, and presume not to limit its exercise under possible exigencies not now foreseen, and of which every generation must judge for itself, we have no reason to believe that Rhode Island will be an exception to the general rule in other States, or to doubt that its constitution will become a permanent as well as para- mount law, to be altered or amended according to its prescribed mode. But, whatever opinions may be entertained respecting the right of the whole people to change a constitution in any other than the prescribed mode, where such a mode exists, there is a point in our case to which the attention of every one should be closely invited. Until the adoption of the present constitution, there has been no mode prescribed in this State, either by the charter, or by any law or usage, for amending our form of govern- ment. The charier contains no such direction ; being a royal grant, the power to amend by a supplemental charter remained in the grantor, and needed no specification. The charter contains a very general authority to make all necessary laws; but they must be consistent with the royal pre- rogative, and with the rights of parliament. The power of amending the charter passed over to the people of the Slate, as an incident to their sove- reignty, at the Revolution. In the absence of any, such provision, it is a totally unfounded assump- tion in the charter Assembly to pretend that the proceedings of the people are null and void for want of a compliance with law, when no legal or other provision exists upon the subject. All that the General Assembly have ever done, has been to request, in their own form, the freemen to as- semble and elect delegates to form a constitution. The freemen, if they saw fit, might at any time have chosen such dele- gates, without such a request, in their own form, and with an equally valid effect. Is it not apparent that the people at large have a still greater right to do the ^ame thing in this State? ''J'hey have demanded in vain that any valid legal objections to their proceedings should be produced. It is to the last degree ungenerous and unjust that the freemen should set up their own jieglect in years past to provide a constitutional mode of amendments as a bar to the action of the people, in the only mode in which they can act at all. When any disposition is manifested to amend our constitution in a different mode from that prescribed in it, it will be time for alarmists to Rep. No. 546. 729 suggest ilie clanger and instability that maj'^ possibly occur from any irregu- lar action of the people. But was this sovereign power of the people exercised, in fact, by a ma- jority of the whole people of the State? We assert, with entire confidence, that it was. I'he voting was conducted as fairly as at any election ever held in this State. All challenges of voters were received and entertained. The moderators of the meetings, who received the votes, were not under oath ; neither are those of their eemen's meetings. The town clerks, and wardens and ward clerks in the city of Providence, act under an engage- ment ; and this is the only difference between the meetings cf the freemen and those of the people. This difference will create no serious objection, when it is stated that the name of every man who voted for the people's constitution was written on his ticket; and that the ticket of every man who did not attend the polls on the three last of the six days of voting, in addition to his signature, was attested by that of some person who voted at the polls on the three first days. These proxy votes were but a small por- tion of the whole. Still further: the name of every man who voted was re- gistered; and a copy of the register in every town and ward was duly certified with the votes. All the votes have been preserved in their envelopes for any subsequent reference. The votes were duly returned to the people's conven- tion, and were examined and counted by a large committee. The committee reported that, as nearly as could be ascertained, the number of males in this State over the age of twenty-one years, citizens of the United States, and permanently resident, deducting persons under guardianship, insane, and convict, was 23,142, of whom a majority is 11,572; and that the peo- ple's constitution received 13,944 voles — being a majority of 4,747. After making every reasonable allowance for questionable votes, from which no election can be entirely free, it is impossible to entertain a reasonable doubt that a large majority of the whole people fairly voted for this constitution. The report of the counting committee was transmitted to the General As- sembly at the January session, 1842, and a motion was made to inquire into the return of the votes polled ; but it was negatived, as usual, by a large majority. An attempt to impeach the return has been made, by drawing an unfa- vorable inference from the subsequent diminished vote against the con- stitution of the freeholders. But the attempt fails at once, when it is un- derstood that a considerable nutnber of those who voted for the people's constitution, and are now friendly to it, voted also for the freeholders' con- stitution, as a mode of obtaining a part of their rights and of terminating all controversies. Many who voted for the first named constitution, were excluded from a vote against the second by its suffrage provisions ; and there were others who were qualified, but declined to vote at all. At the election of State officers under the people's constitution, there were no opposing candidates ; and, notwithstanding the powerful influences brought to bear upon the election, there was a larger vote by 1.600 than was polled for the officers of our opponents at the election held by the free- men. At this election, a portion of those freeholders who are the friends of the people's constitution, and who had voted for officers at the election held under that constitution on Monday, voted again for a constitutional candidate, and have been very strangely claimed, in consequence, by the party who sustain the old charter system. When the constitution of the people is examined, without reference tO' 730 Rep. No. 546. its origin, it is found that there are few objections made against it. It guards wilh great care all civil and political rights ; it establishes as equal a representation as the circumstances of the State will permit, and a senate to be chosen in districts under such an apportionment as to secure to a ma- jority of the population a majority of its members. The freeholders' con- stitution, on the other hand, was rejected for many reasons — one of which was its defective provisions relating to suflrage, and its exclusion of the vote by ballot. The main objection was, that it entirely abolished the ma- jority principle in our government. Under it, both tlie House of Repre- sentatives and the Senate were to be elected by towns and districts contain- ing less than one third of the inhabitants of the State. The senators were also assigned to the districts, without scarcely any reference to their popula- tion. By the nature of the provisions relative to amendment, any subse- quent improvement of this instrument was rendered nearly impracticable. At the session of the Assembly in March, 1842, the people's constitution came under the consideration of that body, twice ratified— directly by the votes of the people in its favor, and indirectly by the rejection of another instrument. But these repeated manifestations of the popular will were totally disregarded. A bill to conform the gejieral election to the provisions of this constitution, and another to submit it to those who were qualified to vote under the constitution of the freehold^■rs, were promptly rejected. A proposition was made to extend suffrage ; and a second proposition was offered at the adjourojed session in April, for the call of another convention to form a constitution — the delegates to which convention were to be voted for by a constituency not much extended beyond the present freeholder. Both propositions shared the fate of the preceding. Your attention will be required to the force law and resolutions recently adopted by the General Assembly for the suppression of the constitution. Laws like these, which violate in some of their provisions the well-known privileges enjoyed by the subjects of the British monarchy, could hardly find favor in the land of Roger Williams. These enactments have been regarded by the considerate men among our opponents as most impolitic and unjust, and by the people as null and void, because conflicting with the paramount provisions of the constitution. Military preparations have been made by direction of the Assembly; and the people have been consequently put upon the defensive. But this is not the age nor the country in which the will of the people can be overawed or defeated by measures like these. There is reason to believe that a letter addressed to Governor King by the President of the United States was writ- ten under a mistake of the facts, occasioned by the misrepresentation of the character, motives, and objects of the constitutionalists of this State. Our fellow-citizens in other States will perceive, from the exposition which has been made, without further comment, that the people of this State are engaged in a just and honorable cause ; and (hat they have taken the only course for the attainment and security of their just rights. We are assembled in pursuance of the constitution, and under a sacred obligation to carry its provisions into effect. Knowing the spirit which you have manifested throughout this exciting controversy ; the moderate, but determined, course which you have pursued ; your love of order, and respect for all constitutional laws, and for the rights of all other persons, while engaged in the acquisition of your own, 1 hardly need to remind you Rep. No. 546. 731 of your duty to cast behind you all injuries or provocations, and to leave them to the retributive justice of public opinion, which will uhimately ap- preciate every sincere sacrifice to the cause of truth, of freedom, and hu- manity. Entertaining the deep and earnest conviction that we are engaged in such a cause, and conscious of our own imperfections, let us implore the favor of that gracious Providence which guided the steps of our ancestors, upon this our attempt to restore, and permanently secure, the blessings of that well-ordered and rational freedom here established by the patriotic founders of oar State. The provisions in the constitution, relating to the security of the right of suflVage against fraud, and to the registration of voters, will require your immediate action. The Stale demands of its government an economical administration of affairs, and will justly complain of any increase of its ordinary expenses at the present period. I ca;)noi more appropriately conclude this communication than in the words of the constitution, which declares that " No favor or disfiwor ought to be shown in lesfislatiou toward any man, or party, or society, or religious denomination. The laws should be made, not for the good of the few, but of the many; and the burdens of the Slate ought to be fairly distributed among its cuizens." THOMAS W. DORR. Providence, R. I., Mat/3, 1842. No. 214. Governor Dorr''s address to the people of Rhode Island, August, 1 843. 7b the people of Rhode Island. Fellow Citizens: Some time has elapsed since the intention was ex- pressed by me of addressing you upon the afTairs of our State, and the part which I have taken in them during the eventful period of the contest for the establishment of the constitution adopted by the people. The delay since tiiy mformal communication of June, 1842, for reasons of which you are well aware, could produce no injury to any interest of yours ; and it is mainly a duty to m^'^self that now calls upon me to explain more at large some of the events of the past year, and to disengage them, partially at least, from the misrepresentations with which they have been invested by the fertile invention, stimulated by success, of our political opponents. State- ments have also appeared in the papers, without my request or knowledge, purportnig to set forth my views, feelings, and intentions, which I must continue to exercise the right of expressing for myself. You will understand me not as undervaluing the cause of the constitution and of equal rights — which to me is still great and just, which is dear to the friends of American freedom, and which lu\s been made sacred by defeat — but as referring to my present inability to serve it. Having so much to say of my own personal concern in it, and regretting that some things must be said of others which I would gladly omit, and that they should on any oc- casion be placed in the wrong, I have approached the subject with reluctance and delay. 1 am not disposed to become the accuser of my associates. What I have done, if it be right, will stand of itself; and, if wrong, shall not 732 Rep. No. 546. be divided among- them. Of the g:eneral current ot calumny which ha;s been so unsporinely poured out lor more than a year past, I have had noihiufj: to say. The particulars in snccrssion "have had their day, have been discoursed about, have been despised with their authors, and will be forgotten with them." They were false; they are not believed, and this is enough. Your attention will be asked to a general review of the facts of this controversy. In these the public are interested, and they have been industriously perverted. The review cannot be so brief as might be desired, and the repetition of many things before known is unavoidable. I trust thnt the principles of political right involved in the Rhode Island question, with the authorities which support them, together with the annals of the time, will be submitted to the judgment of our fellow citizens, in an authentic form. and by competent hands, on some other and not too distant occasion. The recent controversy unnecessary. It will strike every one forcibly at the outset, and throughout the whole course of affairs connected with the Rhode Island controversy, that it was unnecessary, and that on various occasions it might have been prevented by the adherents to the charter government. But the experience of our own, if not of other American States, furnishes no exception to the rule existing in other parts of the world, under less favorable forms of government — that they who hold unjust power will not readily part with it ; and that the more unjust it is, the more tenacious the grasp with which it is retained. Here, as elsewhere, the real aristocrat is he who, rich or poor, is not satis- fied with the possession of his own rights, but seeks to retain or to possess himself of a part or the whole of the riglits of his neighbor. And the dis- tinction of our country is not the absence of aristocracy in all its forms, but the supposed ability of the mass, through themselves and their mstitutions, to protect and defend themselves against its assumptions and machinations. As is faiTiiliar to most of you, the people of Rhode Island would have been satij>tance to an authorized government, no attempt to impair the execution of tiie laws. The people's government had not been elected. All that could be said by the commissioners of the charter party, who were- delegated to Wa5,hington to sohcit the employment of the national troops- against their fellow citizens at home, was, that the great majority of the peopie had voted for a constitution which was too liberal to please the mi- nority, and without their permis!>ion or request; and that, if the majority proceeded to set up a government, and to make their constitution effectual, the commissioners appreh.ended lliat such an act might be regarded as an insurrection, or lead to domestic violence by the charter government (if it should persist in contravening the will of the majority) against its popular substitute. This was all that could be properly said. But if, as tlieir friends at home liave asserted, the commissioners went further, and represented to- the President that the charter party of Rhode Island was the party of the President's political friends: and if they held up, with a distinctness suffi- cient to be intelligible to a prospective candidate, tiie contingency of the electoral votes of the State, they were not wanting in the diplomatic adroit- ness which their business required of them, nor insensible to the predispo- sition of the individual with whom they were negotiating. Grounds assumed by the Pi^esUleiit. Two things were by him taken for granted, which have not been, and £ trust never will be in tliis country, admitted by the people — viz: that the people hav^ no right to change a government, in a peaceable and authentic luaiiner, wr.houl leave from the existing legislature, wliether it represent a. majority, or only a small fraction ol the people; and that the President of these States is the constitutional umpire of State rights, authorized to set- tle all domestic quei^tions of this kind summarily with tlie sword, in case of the non-acquiescence in his mandate to the offending party, in favor of that which he espouses. He denies the sovereignty of the people. The important question of fact, wfiether the people of Rhode Island had actually, by a great majority, instituted another form of government, repub- lican in its character, as required by the constitution of the United States^ was im.mediately set aside by his unwarrantable assumption that tl:e form is everything, and the substance nothing; and that, for want of form, the acts of the people could not be regarded or inquired into for a moment.: The matter of fact considered by the President was, whether the people of Rhode Island had been invited, authorized, or commanded to form and adopt a constitution by their superiors, the servants of the minority repre- senting them in the legislature, Finding that this constitution had been Rep. No. 546. 741 framed and adopted without any such formality, in the original, sovereign rio-ht of the people, he at once assumed the ground that the whole proceed- ing was null and void, and liable to be arrested by the military power vested in his hands; — an assumption at war with the declaration of independence, and with the constitutions of the States, and whicli completely overthrows the fundamental principle of our democratic republics— the sovereignty of the people; not of the favored few, but of the \vhole. The doctrine of the present anti-republican administration was, and is, that the sovereign power, (the power which democracy regards as the crea- tor of the legislative, judicial, executive, and all other political powers in the State — itself original, ultimate, underived, and forever vested in the hands of the whole people.) notwithstanding the unequivocal purport of €ur declarations and constitutions, the clear current of authorities, and the opinion of the ablest statesmen of all parties, from the revolution down- ward to tlie present day, is vested in that political formation denominated the State. It may be admitted by some politicians of this school, that the people originally, before government is instituted, I;ave equal rights to par- ticipate in the act of lormation ; but they contend that, afterward, all changes must originate in the will and authority of the State, exj)ressed by its officers, v/hether representing the whole, the mnjority, ihe minority, or, through the decays of the "rotten borough system," the smallest fraction of the whole mass. The sovereignly is in the organization, and not in those who organize ; in the system devised by the people, and not in the people themselves; in the governed, the majority of the wliule mass, who consti- 4ute the people of a country. This doctrine was embodied in a letter, snid to have been prepared by the Secretary of State, addressed by President Tyler to Gov. Kmg in April, 3 842, m which it is set forth most explicitly that no valid change of a State government can take place without the consent of " thk authorities and PEOPLE," the authorities being first in time and importance, and ilie agency of the people being secondary, and of course subject to the impulse and. control of their public servants. Vieivs of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State, Mr. Webster, was subsequently still more direct and positive on the point we are now considering. He declared in May» 1842, that in a political point of view the people of a State are to be re- garded in the light of a corporation. The individuals holding a right to vote are the members of a body politic. The government are the directors ; and when it is asked what acts have been done by the corporation, the sole reference must be to its record, or a transcript authenticated by the record- ing officer and by tiie corporate seal ; so that an inquiry whether the people of Rhode Island have adopted a constitution, must be simply, what is the evidence of the authorization and of the result of their proceedings under the hand and seal of the charter officers? To show, by proof from without, that nineteen out of twenty of the corporators have voted or acted in a par- ticular manner, is no evidence of the act of the corporation ; and without the due certificate under hand and sea! of charter officers, it matters not how many citizens have voted for the people's constitution. This is an inquiry which cannot be gone into. It is, says Mr. W., a revolution, (meaning the attempt to reform the government i;i Rhode Island.) If the men of the rev- 742 Rep. No. 546. olutionary war had not succeeded, they would have been hanged. They understood the consequences, and it was all fair. From which 1 infer, that,, in the view of the then Secretary, no principle was involved in the revolu- tionary contest to justify the venerated patriots of that day in their struggle for the establishment of their unalienable rights. They contended nobly, and with success ; and a monument has arisen to the heavens on the field of their early encounter, to indicate their undying names to all succeeding generations. And yet their success was the criterion of tlieir merit, and of their claim to the grateful reverence of posterity. If they had not succeeded, they would have been — and more than this, in alT fairness ought to have been — suspended by the neck, and on the spot first signalized by their for- mal resistance to the myrmidons of British despotism. It is not surprjsing^ that an individual enteriaining sentiments like these, which breathe the genuine tory spirit of days gone by, should, at a recent commemoration, have preserved a perfect silence respecting the principles in the presence of the men of '70. He praised their actions because they succeeded, without affirming the right to contend and to succeed, (the American right,) without leave of the " autlioiiues" of Great Britain, and without any other name,, save that of God and of their country, to resist and beat down their oppres- sors. Had the monument on Bunker Hill been raised by a British party to immortalize their success in the extinction of the American cause, and of the patriots who defended it, can it be doubted that the distinguished abili- ties of the orator of the day would have been at the service ot that party, to celebrate their principles and their acts, to which success had set the right- ful seal of trnth, and whicli had thus been commended to the respect and honor of the American people? Let it be added that Tyler and Webster claim to be the followers of the illustrious author of the declaration of inde- pendence — the first originally, the second afar ofl". and with the spirit of re- cent adoption ; and the picture is completed. " Anarchy and confusion^'' apprelLended. I know it will be said, perhaps, by a majority of a large political party in this country, who would feel aggrieved to be denominated the successors of the tories of the Revolution, that the President and his Secretaries were right ; that they ought not to have considered for a moment the proposition that the people at large in one of our States — the governed — the community — have a right in any case of injustice, however long continued and aggra- vated, to take their own affairs into their own hands, and to make a writteri constitution where none exists, or to cliange a constitution already in opera- lion ; because such a concession would open a door to anarchy and confu- sion, and unsettle the foundations of regulated liberty. But let it be asked of those who hold such an opinion, whether they do not practically take side with the opposers of the American Revolution, and on precisely the same ground, and with the very language which they employed? Do they not impugn the formation of our Stale governments, and of the first Con- gress, and of the national constitution itself, which was framed by an as- sumption of authority on the part of the delegates to the convention ? And is it true that there is a tendency to anarchy and confusion in the principle ior which we contend 7 It is rather a principle of order, of stability, and .of peace. Let us bring together the right contended for, and the danger apprehended, and see if they stand in the" connexion of cause and effect. Rep. No. 546. 74^ A groundless apprehension. So lon^ as the spirit of freedom kindled in this country at ihe Revolu- tion shall continue to exist — that is, so long as the attiibules of the Saxon race shall remain unimpaired— the people of our Slates and of our country- can" never be expected to submit permanently to any great practical injus- tice m the form or administration of the government under which they live. The Saxon American will have his rights. This comes of his blood and origin. If his rights are not conceded, when his patience has been exhausted he will take them. He understands perfectly that political is the only safeguard of civil liberty ; that, in order to derive the benefit of good laws, it is indispensable that he should have a voice in choosing the makers of the laws. He not only claims, in the spirit of English freedom, to be well governed, but to govern himself. It is one of the great blessings of our country that such a spirit of independence, and such a sense of jus- tice, are so deeply infused into the people ; and that the constitutions of the States in so great a degree protect them in their rights, and provide so generally for the convenient amendment of all imperfections in their own structure. But still there must be somewhere a reserved power — *' a power behind the throne greater than the throne itself" or there is no ultimate protection of natural riohts; and the boast that American institutions dilfer in their basis from the monarchies of the old world, is empty and fallacious.. The difference between them, in this view, is, that the American govern- ments were better at the start, and are more just and better arranged ; but, being set in operation, they are all the same as those of the old world in their relation to the people, who are subordinate to the forms by which they are surrounded — the creatures of the State — the servants of the " authori- ties" who govern them. The great foundation of our American system is thus effectually nullified. It is not true that, in the United States, all just government is derived from, and rests upon, the consent of the governed, as the declaration asserts. It is not true that the governed have a right of themselves to help themselves whenever old forms become injurious and oppressive, however expressly such a right may be guarantied in the con- stitution, and taken out of the definition of Revolution, by being recognised as a principle of the government itself And thus, after all that has been so often and so inconsiderately said upon the days of the returning anni- versary of our national existence, there is no remedy in the last resort but direct and unauthorized force for inveterate evils in the body politic. The consequence is inevitable. Force will become the arbiter of right, as it now is in the countries of the old world. Importance of Ihe reserved sovereignty. Other cases similar to that in Rhode Island may arise. Although the modes provided for amending the State constitutions may now appear to meet all cases that may occur, it may not be so always. J3y the operation of causes not now estimated, by the relative decrease of population, by legislative usurpation, by false constructions, by the increase of wealth and hixury, by the growth of monopoly and artificial interests, and in all those ways in which political power is gradually stealing from the many lo the few, inequalities not now conceived of may disclose themselves in our po- litical systems, portentous in their character, and threatening, unless speed- 744 Rep. No. 546. ily eradicated, seriously to impair or to overthrow the Hberties and the institutions of the country, 1 ask, then, where is the true conservative ele- ment of our system, if it be not in the reserved sovereignty of the people? In the cases supposed, of unjust power accumulated in the hands of minor- ities, will it have a tendency to restore the equilibrium, to keep constantly before the n)inds of the ruling minority that they are the sovereigns of the State, and beyond control or responsibility ; and that the measure of right to the majority is what they have got, or what the minority choose to con- cede to them? Will it satisfy the people, and be a means of pacification in the Stale, to hold out the sword as a barrier to reform, if ihai reform shall be unpalatable to the prevailing oligarchy? Is it a measure of peace to invoice Ihe aid of the General Government to force back tfie people of a State withih the linjits prescribed to iliem by an in perious fjiction? Will it defeat injustice, and restore equality, for the General Government to promise its aid to a faction, so long as it will hold out against the will of the majority ? If this be the way of peace in this country, then must some change come over the spirit of this people, which shall divest them of all their more robust qualities, and render them unworthy of the inheritance purchased for them by the blood of the revolution, and fit only to be the slaves of a corrupt aristocracy, who, "booted and spurred," shall "ride them legitimately by the grace of God." Effect of the opjjosite doctrine. On the other hand, it is equally manifest, that to cherish the spirit of equal- ity, constantly to assert the worth and importance of the individual man, and to maintain the conjoint sovereiffijiy of all, must have the effect of pre- serving a wholesome balance of power in the political system. The hum- blest individual realizes his value as an integral part of the couiraon mass. The loss of all things leaves him yet a man, with a voice in the State. The State did not make him what he is. He looks to a higher source for the origin of ritrhts, in the exercise of which, conjointly with his equals, the State itself has been created. This doctrine of sovereignty, beyond and superior to all existing institu- tions, is only the extension to the men of political society in the mass, what every democrat aflirms and believes of them individually, as the possessors of native and unalienable rights, conferred by the h;md o( God, and which it is the purpose of government not to give but to strengthen and protect, in the name and with the power of the whole people. Where these principles are carefully guarded and maintained, and enter into the apprehension and imbue the sentiments of the community, the po- litical stale will not fail to conform itself, and without intolerable delays, to the mind and will of the people. The certainty that exists, that no wrong can be permanent, that those who hold unjust power under existing forms must surrender it, and accommodate themselves to the spirit of the ago, and. the demands of their co tenants in the sovereign power, is a perpetual admo- nition to the spirit of injustice and exclusiveness that might be otherwise disposed to get and keep all it can, and, as in the infcituated aristocracies of the old world, to concede nothing until concession is too late, and the people have already helped themselves. Deny these principles, and exclude this ultimate sovereignty, and you cast the State into a rigid mould of uniformity ; you make its defects perma- Rep. No. 546. 745 iicnt; you encourasfe the aristocrcicy, which is growing upon us, to resist every change; you blot out the original, distinctive character of our repub- lic, and vest in the interests of the day, more especially the wealth of the couniry, not only the political adnnnistration, but the control q( {he form of the government Itself, which is the index of the prevailing power in every country, and in the end will shape itself to it, as the shadow to the substance. But let it be understood tliat the mighty hand of the people, which created the State and its institutions, though now withdrawn and invisible, is still potent with its original energies; and let but a finger of that hand be pointed at the wrongs or corruptions which resist refortn through ordi- nary and convenient modes, and bid defiance to the wishes of the majority, and the miracle is wrought. The barriers of lime, and interest, and pre- judice, and corruptio;i, give way. The will of the majority prevails, and the practical working of the State is made to conform to the standard of equality and justice. The hand is withdrawn. Its use is suspended. The certainty that it exists, and can and will be used In the last resort, prevents the necessity of using it at all. 1 cannot render to this subject the justice it requires, but a deep and earnest conviction of the truth and importance of the principles asserted will justify me in dwelling upon them. Whenever the people of these States shall so far forget the orij^in of their institutions as to believe themselves the creatures of tlie governnient, and liiat all their rights are derived from it; that what the State concedes is the measure of their privileges; and that they are the subjects of a sovereign power, and not the equal participators of that power, they will be ready to become the instruments of the prevailing aristocracy, whatever may be its form; our government will be changed, and will subside into the mere arbitrary regimen from which it emerged. Give up the vital principle which ani- mates our American political system, and nolhiiig but its form separates it from the aristocracy and monarchy of Europe. Time and wealth will do the rest. I am ilie friend of "regulated liberty," but still more friendly to the right of the people to make the regulations by which their liberty is defined and protected. TAe President claims to arbitrate upon the rights of the people with the sword. But not only does the President, with his administration, assert that the people in a State have no riijht to amend (heir institutions without the per- mission of the au'horiiies, but he also sets forth the dangerous doctrine, so well calculated to alarm the democracy of the couniry, and all friends to the constitution, that the national executive is the ultimate judge and um- pire in all questions of the kind that may arise in the States; and that, ia defiult of obedience to tlie Executive mandate, it may be enforced with a strong hand, and the contumacious, (or '■'■ insurgents,^^ as they are denomi- nated,) may be overthrown and put to the sword. This is the plain mean- ing of the President's letter, rendered unequivocal by his actions. If this be the true doctrine in such cases, as it now stands uncorrected, then we have in our midst the elements of a great central despotism of the most odious, as well as destructive character; and those distinguished anti-fed- eralists were not far from the truth, who declared that the convention had provided in the constitution a President with an all absorbing power whea- «ver, under favorable circumstances, he should choose to exercise it. 746 , Rep. No. 546. And this assumption is the more to be abhorred, because it is of a power obtained by steahh, in the usual mode of these encroachments, by a forced enlarg^ement of powers undenied, and salutary in their legitimate exercise. The President is aiithorized to suppress " insurrections," and to quell " do- mestic violence ;" and the cases to which his authoi ity extends are readily per- ceiver', not only from the necessary force of language, but from experience in the course of our history. The rising up against, and forcibly resisting in the exercise of its functions, or dispersing a duly constituted government, is one of the cases. So, also, when any of the laws or any lawful author- ity of that government is resisted or obstructed with violence, it is the right of the President, in the last resort, and when other means are inadequate, to lend the aid of the United States to sustain the government or the law. But the Presicfent stretches his authority far beyond this point. There had been no insurrection — no domestic violence in Rhode Island. The people had, in a peaceable manner, assembled together in their several towns, and elected delegates to a convention which had publicly and peacefully framed a constitution, which was in the same manner adopted, and under which the laws and officers were continued in force and in place. The people were about to meet once more, in a prescribed manner, to elect the officers desig- nated by this constitution. When this constitution had been carried into effect, those who resist* d the government under it would be, in the view of the constitution of the United States, the real insurgents and actors of vio- lence. At this point, the President interferes; he strikes down the right of the people at a blow ; he charges upon them that their further proceedings will necessarily be insurrectionary, and lead to violence ; whereas he him- self stimulated all the violence that v/as to be apprehended, by denying the sovereign, self governing right of the people, by casting his sword into the scale of one of the parties, causing it to preponderate, and by stimulating that party to acts which it would not otherwise have thought of. What right had the President to assume that the charter party would hold out against the will of the majority? By coming to him to solicit his inter- ference and aid, notwithstanding the fact that they had at their control the treasury and the military power, they had confessed themselves to be a helpless minority. If he had let the matter rest where it was, and, follow- ing the example of a democratic predecessor, as upon a similar application,, had replied, that, when a case for his interference had actually arisen, he would attend to it, no exception could have been taken, and neither party would have derived an advantage. But, instead of this just caution, he enters at once into an exposition of State riglits ; lays down what the peo- ple can do, and what they cannot do; urges the minority to hold on, by the promise of military succor; and, to all intents and purposes, transfers to him- self the ultimate sovereignty over the people. A lord paramount, or a su- preme military despot, could do no more under the same circumstances ; and such is .lohn Tyler in his relation to the people of Rhode Island. If the doctrine of 1842 is to prevail, such may some of his successors become to the whole people of the country, without the exercise of that eternal vigilance, which is the price of our dearest and most valued rights. Assault on State rights. Look for a moment longer at the assault which has thus been committed upon State rights. The constitution of the United States was adopted in Rep. No. 546. 747 separate, sovereign States, for specific objects, which experience had shown to be unattainable under the form of a confederation acting on the States themselves, and not upon the individual citizens. Under the State consti- tutions, which are somewhat indefinite in the jjrant of powers, the local governments practically exercise the powers which are not withheld from them by special reservation. The Government of the United States, on the other hand, was intended to exercise only such powers as were specifi- cally granted, or indispensable by implication, to carry those which had been specifically granted nito operation. This was the necessary restriction upon a limited government, without which it would become strongly cen- tralized, and absorb the powers of the separate States. Of the two great parties into which the country always has been and will be divided, the tendency of one has been to enlarge, by free construc- tion, the original grant of powers to the Federal Government ; of the other^ the democratic party, (with occasional departures from the true principle, which the people thus for have rectified,) to confine the General Govern- ment within its original boundaries, and to preserve unimpaired the rela- tive proportions of the centripetal and centrifugal forces of the system, as the only sure expedient for perpetuating both f )rms of government. We see, at the present time, the effect of these opposite principles and tenden- cies in the controversy f)ending between the two parties : the one contend- ing for a national bank ; an exclusive tariff; plans to subsidize the States;: an indefinite system of internal improvements ; an assumption of State debts; — the other rejecting all these measures of^ their opponents as incon- sistent, not only with sound policy, but with the terms of the grant by which the national Government was carved out of the original powers of the several grantors. These attempts at enlargement have been for the most part manifested in the legislative departments of the General Government, which, by their separate organization, hold each other in check, and thus give time to the salutary operation of public opinion upon each. But this last assumption by the Executive is of a still more formidable character, and more arbitrary than the others, as vesting in a siuiile will the disposal of the reserved rights of the States and of the people, and by a forcing process in a part of the constitution where it would be the least expected that the authority would be detected. The theory of constitutional rights is thus reversed by the Executive. No one has heretofore thought of looking into the constitution of the United States for a grant of sovereign powers to the people, for the plain reason that out of these pre existing powers the constitution itself proceeded. Henceforth, enlightened by the logic of the President's advisers, we are to bear in mind that the States and the people are the creatures of one of the central powers which ihey are supposed to have created. The citizens of the States are thus placed in a worse position than British subjects. In Great Britain, the sovereignty is by theory in the government,, and not in the people. All reforms, therefore, must proceed from the gov- ernment ; and for the people to act on their own authority is treasonable. But the discretion which restrains them is not vested in one man — the head of the State — but in Parliament; and the conjoint action of the two houses is necessary to the imposition of penalties upon the subject for attempting 40 interfere with the jurisdiction of his superiors. It would be bad enough -if the Congress of the United States should assume to dictate to the people 748 Rep. Fo. 546. of the States the measure of their rights and the constitutions under which they should hve. But it is intolereible when one man assumes to be the arbiter of their fates, to dictate to tliem the mode of procedure and the time of waiting for redress, and joins himself to one of the parties in a State to put down the other with the sword. ^Vo the wisdom, the integrity, and patriotism of a Washington, a Jeffer- son, or a Jackson, if to any single judgment, might the citizens of h. State be willing to commit the arbitrament of their pnhtical right ; but they liave no guaranty that the seats of these illustrious men will be always filled by successors of a similar character. In the vicissitudes of the politi- cal world, the chair of state may be occupied (though it is to be hoped not frequently, sometimes casually) by an mdividual who has betrayed [lis friends, without securing the confidence of his enemies ; who changes his principles with his habiliments, according to the exigency of the day ; whose opinions and motives are distrusted ; whose measures and ap- pointments are directed towards personal objects, under the stimulus of .an inordinate and diseased vanity, which craves a popular election to a place for which nature and his constituents never intended him; who contaminates all that he touches, and in his turn is worked upon, ■through a dangerous facility of. disposition, by sinister and unprinci- pled advisers, (souie of them irresponsible,) and who is controlled for the time by the influence that is nearest at hand, enforcing itself with appeals to an Incliscriminating credulity and an all-gvasping selfishness. If such a inan should arise in tliis country, God forbid that he should be permitted to hold in his hands tlie political rights of Rhode Island, or of any other State ! Let them at least remain in abeyance till, in the rapid revolution of time, he shall, with the cordial unanmiity of all parlies, be restored to the place from which he was taken. Can it be wondered that, in view of the wrong inflicted upon our State, •as well as of the principles and practices of the present chief magistrate, the democracy of the country should so generally shun his contact, and set their faces against his administration, and the ignoble faction by which it is ^sustained ? Military attiiudt of the President. * President Tyler having assumed, upon the application of the charter .government of Rhode Island, to decide the controversy then pending, lost no time in following up his engagements to his friends in that State, by issu- ing a manifesto against the constitutional party and their proceedings. A second letter was afterwards addressed by him to the charter Governor, be- lieved to have been prepared by Mr. Spencer, the Secretary of War. The military force of the United States at Newport was increased by draughts from other posts, and by a detachment of horse artillery, which could add no strength to a fortification, and which, it v/as openly boasted by the mem- bers of the charter party, on the occasion of performing its manoeuvres be- fore the members of their legislature, was to be employed against the people. At a later period, another detachment of horse artillery was* marched to Rhode island from Plattsburg. It was stated at one of the posts in New- port, that the troops had been sent there to aid President Tyler in expound- lijg the constitution of the United States to the people of Rhode Island, who appeared to be slow in comprehending it. A distinguished officer in the Rep. No. 546. 149 artillery service was directed to report himself to the charter government^ and was afterwards efficient in advising the plans to be pursued. Other United States officers also rendered their services in other modes. It is be- lieved that the revenue-cniter service was also held in requisition to block- ade, if necessary, the maritime approaches to the State. There is reason to- beheve that ihe inmiunities of the post office were disregarded, and that let- ters addressed to the members of the constitutional party have been opened and resealed, and that other letters have been withheld from their destina- tion. The custom-houfe in Providence was made a place of depot for mu- nitions of war ; and officers under the United States were seen at the head of parties to search houses and to make seizures. Subsequently to the en- campment at Chepachet, the charter troops were reviewed, with high com-^ mendation, by a colonel in the United States infantry, and by the Secre- tary of War. Effect of the President's letter. The effect of the President's letter in April was greatly to depress the constitutionalists, and to encourage their opponents, who at once ceased to express any desire to accommodate themselves to the wishes of the majority,, and determined to set them at defiance, expressing themselves confident m the forces of the Genera! Government, which would do all the fighting on their side, if any were required. A desire for a contest at arms had existec^ in neither party. Neither was prepared for it. The military organization was at its lowest ebb. 1 believe that there was but one militia company in Providence fully officered. The members of most of the chartered compa- nies inclined more toward the people's side than to the other. But when" the President loaned to one party the sword of the Union, Ihe face of things: was changed at once. The charter party became confident. They had been the first to take measures of military preparation. Their want of num- bers was now compensated, and they set to work to recruit their force, and to improve their oroanization, lookiiig to the President to supply all defi- ciencies. Previously to his first letter, the President, from his conversa- tiot>s, was supposed to be of precisely the opposite opinion to that which he- expressed. This demonstration of the President had the same effect as if the whole? force of the Urnted States had actually been employed in Rhode Island. That it ought to have had such an effect, may well be denied from what will appear hereafter. But I speak of the fact, which the people of larger States have not fully appreciated. The force uf the Union, in a small State that may be traversed in a day, was a disparity with which it seemed to bo vain to contend, even in a cause so just and nglueous as that of the consti- tutional party. The President, in attacking the rigiits of a small State, had- manifesied the greatest indignity of all, as it may well be asserted by ihose- who know him that he would never have ventured upon such a course to- ward a larger State. The threat of Mr. Tyler to march the whole army of the United States into JSew York, or Pennsylvania, or Virginia, or even the well-prepared and martial State of New Hampshire, for the sake of sup- j)ressing a constitution that the great majority desired to live under, would liave drawn down the derision of the people of those States, and have aroused their entire energies, so that the army, when it came, would have- served rather to fertilize the soil than to suppress tlie rights of the citizeiis^. 750 Rep. No. 546. Bill Rhode Island has paid the penalty for her contracted territory imposed by the President. This act alone will justify the retribution which awaits him. His veto of the rights of Rhode Island casts all his other vetoes into the shade. Conscious of an unworthy course, he omitted all mention of it in his last message to Congress, and contented himself with the empty, heartless congratulation, that -^ the personal liberty of the citizen is sacredly maintained, and his rights secured, under political institutions deriving all their aiUhoritij from the direct sanction of tlie people ;" while the recollec- tion of his high-handed interference to suppress the direct action and the choice of the people of Rhode Island was fresh in all minds. Apparent recovery. The first shock seemed to have expended itself. The election of officers under the people's constitution proceeded. The people appeared to have recovered their self-possession ; but this appearance was deceptive. The meeting of the legislature disclosed the under-tone of feeling among (he memhers, and their indisposition to active measures, to which I have be- fore alluded. Object of visit abroad. Shortly after the session of the people's Assembly, having attended to the necessary executive business, I set out for the city of New York, with the intention of proceeding to Washington. I was strongly urged to visit the cap- ital by many of the best friends of our cause, and a vote to the same effect was adopted at a large meeting of the citizens in Providence. They were desirous that I should ascertain, on the spot, what were the springs of the movement against us at Washington, and whether there was a final deter- mination to suppress our constitution by force. Believing this point to be settled beyond question, I doubted whether any advantage was to be derived from such a visit, which was without avail, as might have been expected. I nevertheless complied with the strong urgency of my friends. My great ^ object in leaving Providence at this time, was to present our cause to our democratic brethren abroad, and to ask them, in the name of our common liberty, if our constitution was to be put down, without an effort elsewhere to counteract what we believed to be the unconstitutional and unjustifiable interference of the national executive. Character of the appeal made. It has been charged, that this was a censurable invitation to citizens of other States to interfere with affairs in which they had no concern, and in which, had they been left alone, they would have felt no interest. I most explicitly deny the assertion in all its parts. It comes with an indifferent grace from any who, through their agents, have urged and importuned the President of the United States to exercise a power of interference, which converts his office to a despotism. Let me then repeat that, with the views I entertain respecting popular soyereignty within State limits, I am one of the last to invoke the interposition of the citizens of other States in political matters of a local character : nor have I done so. I held that the people of Rhode Island were competent, and had the exclusive right, to attend to and Rep. No. 546. * 751 to manaofe their own affairs, in their own time, and in their own way; and had the right to Hve under such a form of repnbhcan government as should suit them best, without advice or dictation from abroad. Nor did they stand in need of aid. If tliey were not capable of asserting their own rio-hts, they were not qualified to enjoy them. It was therefore with great regret that I saw the attempt made by our opponents to withdraw the controversy from its position within the bound- aries of a State to an external jurisdiction: and no approach was made on our side to the President of the United States, until he had been solicited by the charter commissioners to lend a military force for our subjugation. Nor was he asked by us to take part with the people, in substituting a re- publican constitution for the government of the prevailmg oligarchy. He was furnished with such explanations as were necessary to counteract the partial and injurious representations that were made to him of the character and proceedings of the constitutional party, and the false views that were taken of their principles and rights ; and this was all. But when an un- authorized invasion from abroad was invited by our opponents, and the aid was at hand to enforce the commands of the invader, the time had arrived to inquire if our countrymen of oihcr States were disposed to look on in silence, and to see the people of a small State borne down, without assist- ance, by an act of usurpation, and sacrificed to the unjiislifiable policy of the executive. The appeal was made to our brethren, nor was it made in vain. Prompt response of the democracy. Equally unfounded is the assertion that the citizens of New York, and of other cities and States, were urged and stimulated to take an interest which they did not naturally feel in the cause of their brethren in Rhode Island. They needed no impulse. The great heart of our democracy conveys its warm and healihful tides through every member of the political system; and an injury to any portion of it, however remote or minute, be- comes, by the pervading sympathy, a wrong and injury to all, which every brother of our common fraterniiy feels to be his own. The declaration of President Tyler of his intended intervention in the aflairs of Rhode Island had an electrical e^ect upon the democracy of the country. They felt that a great wrong was about to be committed upon one of the Slates least able to defend itself against it, and, through that State, upon the common rights to self-government of the American people, with whom in the several States the sovereign power resides. Tliey raised a generous and decisive tone of remonstrance, which shook the air of the palace, and reminded its occupant of the mortal tenure of his place. : But in the midst of the healthful enthusiasm which the time excited, you will look in vain at the proceedings of any public or private meeting, in New York or elsewhere, for the slightest indication of an intention or de- sire on the part of our fellow citizens abroad to impose upon our State insti- tutions similar to their own standard, and more conformable to their own views of political justice. The great point, which it is impossible to mis- take, and where all opinions and sentiments were found in unison, was the right of the people of Rhode Island to live under a republican constitution of their own choice — under a poor constitution, if such were their pleasure — without being dictated to by a superior force from without, falsely arroga- 752 Rep. No. 546. ting to itself an offensive and dangerous supremacy, in an affair exclusively appertaining to the independent citizens of a sovereign State. Whether the feople's constitution were better contrived than the old charter, or than the landholders' constitution, was interesting to the democracy abroad only so ff.r as thc-y were concerned in, and gratified by, the progress of free prin- ciples at liotn?. and in foreign States ; but whether the people of Rhode Island had a right to make a constitnliot), and whether the President of the United States was to assert the contrary doctrine with force, were questions which every deinocrat felt himself at liberty to ask and to answer in sucli a manner that the repiiblic should receive no detriment. ]Neither in this, nor in any other matter connected with the constitutional party in Rhode Island, has there been any concealment. In my address to the democrats of New York, at Tammany Hall, on the 14lh of May, and in my proclamation of the 16th, the ground on which aid from abroad was asked and expected was distinctly set forth. I disavowed to our brethren ihere and elsewhere any desire to involve them in a conflict between two parties in a State ; freely avowing to them, that, if the majority of our people were not competent to succeed in their own right and in their own strength, they were not fit or worthy to succeed at all. I invoked aid to rescue the majority from an unequal contest with another force to be unjustifiably in- troduced from without. Believing this force to be set in motion, to be used in suppressing the rights and liberties of the majority in Rhode Island, our friends avowed their readiness to lend diis aid. They prepared themselves to lend it ; and had the people of Rhode Island and their representatives maintained the ground which they assumed in the support of their consti- tution, and not shrunk away from it when the decisive occasions presented themselves, they would have been powerfully and successfully sustained, and the intervention of Tyler would have made Rhode Island the battle- ground of American freedom. But having receded from this position, they lost this coi'ditional support, and placed their friends in the attitude of ex- pectativtn. While these fjiends were willing, in s!ich a cause, to help those who manifested the disposition to help themselves, they were disposed hot to assume the burdens of those who shrunk from the contest, but to wait until it became evident that they were in earnest, and intended to maintain: themselves to the extent oT their own means and abilities. Aid from abroad. All who come to aid us from abroad, in the course of this conte.'^f, so far as I know, were thirteen brave men at Chepachet, from the city of New York, and less than a third of this number from Massachusetts. For every one of these, there were ten or more in the opposite ranks who had volun- teered or were enlisted from abroad, to serve against the constitutional catise, in defence of the charter party, and without justification or excuse; for this party had possession of the military organization of the State and of the treasury, and was sustained by the military force of the General Government. Rehirn to Providence — position of affairs. On the 16ih day of May I returned to Providence, having, as I believed, accomplished the mcst important object for which I had departed. My Rep No. 546. ^ 753 reception by a numerous collection of citizens, including a respectable por- tion of the military, who manifested a martial appearance, was cordial and gratifying. One of my lirst inquiries, .m arriving at Providence, was made of a commanding oflicer, whether lie was prepared for action. The reply was in the negative, and that his men were out only for parade. The citizens and military returned to their homes, and I was left to myself. My position was that of a prisoner guarded by a few of his friends. It was impossible that this state of things should continue. It could be ter- minated by surrendering my office, by an arrest from the charter govern- ment, or by carrymg into effect the orovernment set up by my constituents. To surrender my post, and to reti'-e from the responsibility which it im- posed upon me, was a thought not likely to occur to me. To submit to au arrest, and to the breaking up of the government, witfiout an effort in its behalf, and in the face of the strong pledge of nearly 800 men in arms, as- sembled at the inauguration, that they would respond to all lawful com- mands proceedino- from me as chief magistrate, and of a similar pledge of the largest public meeting ever held in Providence, on the I2ih of May, would have been, in the general opinion and in f.ict, a dishonorable aban- donment of tlie means apparently placed at my disposal, to maintain my own, and the rights intrusted to my keeping. Altcm/)t to take possession nf the public property. Duty and fidelity to my obligation prescribed a course from which I felt 110 disposition to recede ; and it was taken. I endeavored to obtain posses- sion of the public property still withheld from the rightful custody, and to establish the government in fact, in pursuance of the resolution of the Gen- eral Assembly; and with this intention I assembled what appeared to be a sufficient force to accomplish the object. After a long delay for the arrival of the military from the country, at an early hour in the morning of the iSth of May a movement was made upon the arsenal in the city of Provi- dence, a depot of the State arms, with two hundred and fifty men and two pieces of artillery; two others being left behind, through a neglect wliicli has never been accounted for. The place to be taken was a stone building of two stories, Vvith artillery in the first and infantry in the second. After the opening of the large doors below, it became indefensible against an assault. The attempt failed from desertion, for want of better organization and of oficers, and by the disabling of the guns through treachery. Some, persons having access to them, and acting in concert with our en*^mies, did not intend that anything should be accomplished; and they prevailed. (Shortly after the summoning of the arsenal, aboiK two-fifths of our men left the ground, by the unauthorized order of a subordinate officer. The officer first in command under me also disappeared, and was followed by others. Delay occurred in altering the position of the pieces. An in- ellectual altempt was made to discliMrge them : they had been rendered un- serviceable. 'I'hc greater portion of the men had become scattered, or had retired, i directed the pieces to be withdrawn, and left the ground at day- light with thirty five or forty men. None remained behind after we had retired. My wannest acknowledgments are due to the steady good coii* duct of those who kept their places to the last. 48 754 Rep. No. 546. Subsequent proceedings. The failure to accomplish our object, though we were left with the means before possessed to renew the attempt, natiirallj'- encouraged our opponents, and raised the determination on their part to assume the offensive. Of this we were fully apprized ; and, on returning lo headquarters, new officers were appointed, the means of defence were placed in readiness, and at the proper time the signals were given for ail the friends of the constitution to rally for its support. Most of the men had returned to their places of abode in the city. They did not answer the sunmions. JMany who had left their arms piled at headquarters did not return. Not a few who voted for the constitution, and who had sustained it, and the sovereignty from which it sprang, with their ability, their zeal, and means — some with the eloquence of the lips and of the pen — appeared in arms on that day in the ranks of our opponents. Our friends in Providence, with a iew exceptions, yielded to the panic which had been produced by the demonstration of the chartists, and absented themselves. Some were imposed upon by the delusion of a compromise. At this critical moment, when 1 had a right to expect the silence, if not the co operation, of those associated with me in the govern- ment, nearly all the members of the legislature from the city of Providence resigned their offices. They subsequently published a handbill, to proclaim the stand they had taken, in which my proceedings were called "deplorable" and "destructive," and I was condemned and denounced, and virtually handed over to the dealings of the enemy. This handbill was submitted to the charter governor. Several of these members of the legislature joined in addresi^ing to me a letter of similar import, to announce their resignation, and that their support and that of the citizens were withdrawn from me. Making every allowance for the state of things at the time, and for the subsequent exertions of the individuals to whom I refer, and who then fell back from the cause, 1 find it difficult to trust myself to give expression to the feelings which the occasion excited, and which the remembrance of it so painfully revives. Let the facts suffice. Had five hundred, or half that number, of the 3,500 men of Providence who voted for the people's consti- tution, appeared on this day to defend it, the charter party would have failed in their turn, and would have recoiled from an attack which might have been promptly repelled. I was left almost alone. There were,^ at first, about sixty armed men on the ground, and the number gradually de- creased. The last report made to me by the officer in command was, that the men were leaving. The charter force was about 500 strong. A few brave and determined men still remained by the guns. I did not deem it my duty to direct the fS'w who remained to what appeared to be a useless sacrifice of themselves or others. Having directed the officer in command to withdraw them from the position, I left the ground. The few who had charge of the artillery pieces maintained themselves in a gallant manner against the large force of the charter party who after- wards came up. I was informed, the same evening, that a rally had been made, and directed that the post occupied by our men should be main- tained, informing the commander that 1 should join him the next day. This order was not carried to him, according to promise. It was repeated the next day in writing, and was received too late. Ascertaining that an- other rally was then impracticable, I left for the city of New York. Rep. No 546. 755 Compromise spoken of. As il regards a compromise of the constitution with the charter party, or any of its members, of which so much was heard at the time, — let nie say. once for all, mid leaving to others of our party all the credit they may claim for their motives or intentions, that 1 have had nothing to do with any such design or attempt. I need not dwell upon the absurdity or the dishonesty of an attempt of an officer in my position, w[io, bearing an oath to main- tain the constitution under which he was elected, should undertake to com- promise such an instrument, or to negotiate it away. If it could not be supported, it must fall. The only release to me was by a surrender of my duty and office, or by the act of the people repealing the fundamental law which they liad established. No man can rise up to gainsay my fidelity to the constitution. Why were not farther proceedings abandoned? It will now be inquired why, after such a demonstration as has been de- scribed, all thoughts of any further proceeding to carry into effect the people's constitution were not abandoned, and the cause was not left to ex- pire in the hands of those who had brought it into existence .' I reply, that the rights of the case were not taken away by a failure of arms. Nor could I be permitted to believe that the cause was surrendered by its friends. The course pursued by the representatives of Providence, and of other places, was not approved by the people. They regarded, 1 had reason to beheve, the disaster of the. 18th of May as a casualty to be retrieved at the earliest opportunity. It is not a part of my disposition to give up a good cause, while any ground is left to stand upon. Much less could it occur to me to believe success an impossibility, in the midst of numerous assurances, verbal and in writing, ;ind from various quarters in Rhode Island, that the governor of ti^e State needed only to raise once more the constitutional standard at the right place, and with sufficient notice, to be surrounded by such a portion of those who had voted for their own freedom as would in- sure, at all hazards, its triumphant vindication. Could it be possible that, of the 14,000 who had given their suffrages to the people's constitution, there would not be found a fourth or a sixth part who would avow what they had done, and evince their sincerity by their actions, when that cause was about to be finally stricken down, with which the memory of so many wrongs endured, and of rights pursued and almost acquired, was indelibly associated? They had but to stand up and show themselves to their op- ponents, to nullify their efforts. If our cause had been suffered to abide the result of a first movement, in which many of its friends complained that they had not the opportunity to participate, the death of our constitution would have been attributed to me, and with justice. This burden cannot now rest upon me. Support promised. The charter party had gained more than we had fost, and were improv- ing every opportunity, and all the means furnished by the treasury and wealth of the State, to strengthen themselves against all further attempts to uphold the government of the people. The hesitating or reluctant were 756 Rep. No. 546. stimulated to animosity and rancor by all kinds of extravagant reports of a great arniament in New York and Connecticut destined for the invasion of the State, with the two-fold object of establishing the libertins of Rhode Island, and of despoiling its citizens of their property ! But, on the other, hand, I could not doubt the evidence presented to me that the constitution- alists, with unequal means, were equally on the alert, and resolute for an occasion which demanded all their energies. I relied not upon the money, but upon the men of the State ; and they promised to be in readiness, with- out regard to threats from abroad. More than 1,300 (including 400 or 500 from Providence) in several towns were represented to me as being pledged to rally to the support of the government, when their services should be required. With such a beginning, it was reasonable to believe that, if the great object in view — the complete establishment of this government — could not be uiimediately carried into eifect, at all events a session of the legis- lature could be maintained, and the work of the first session, which m 4Some important particulars was left unfinished, could be completed. Proceedings at Chepachet, {Glocester.) I left the city of New York June 21st, for Norwich, Connecticut, on my return to Rhode Island. Desiring that no premature movement should occur, and that if any further steps should be taken, all who were so dis- posed might have an opportunity to join in the defence of the constitution and government, an order was sent to convene a council of military officers at Chepachet, to determine whether it were feasible to make any movement at present, and, if so. in what manner. No meeting or council was lield, and I was next informed that five hundred men were assembled at Chepa- chet, without orders, and in expectation of an attack in that quarter. 1 lost no time in setting out to share with them the fortunes of the cause. On my arrival, I found that their number was greatly exaggerated, and did not ■exceed one hundred and eighty or ninety, some of whom left in the after- noon of the 25th, On the night of the 26th there were not more than fifty men on the ground, the remainder being scattered about the village. On the 27th, the day of disbandment, there were two hundred and twenty- Jive, as 1 am informed by the officer who was second in command of the field ; and this is the greatest number that appeared m arms on our side. •It was stated somewhat larger (at an average of from 250 to 300) in a former communication, from the information I then had. The present statement, I presume, is as nearly correct as can be ascertained. A much larger number of persons came and went as spectators^ some of whom may have been set down as a part of the military ; but, of course, those only are ito be counted who staid and took up arms for the cause. At no time was the whole supply of arms in use. It has been stated by our opponents that our least number was seven or eight hundred ; and this has been believed to be the fact by many of our friends abroad, and has passed as such into the annals of the year. Had such a number of armed men been collected, the result might have been different. Of the 250 men who mustered for the capture of the arsenal, abont one- half were at Chepachet; so that the whole number who took up arms, in actual service, on our side, npon both occasions, may be set down at 350. .As it was impossible to keep our lines at Chepachet clear of intruders, Rep. No. 546. 757 under the guise of friends, our true numbers and condition must have been at all times known to the chartists in Providence. Orders issued and repetUed. Orders were sent, and repeated, to all the towns in Providence county, where the majority of our strength lay, for the military who were friendly to the constitution, to repair forthwith to headquarters, for its defence with the result I have stated. Similar orders were also sent, as far as practi- cable, to other counties. A general notice was thus given, and, the distances being short, ample time was afforded to all who were pledged, and to all others who were inclined to act out their resolutions, to come to the rescue of their cause, nov/ in peril. The ground occupied — Acote's hill. I was greatly surprised, on my arrival, to find the few who had assembled posted in an untenable position, which was commanded on one side, at a short distance, by a superior elevation of land ; exposed on another side, and overlooked by an eminence, from which it could be swept by heavy artillery. There was no fort on Acote's hill, as has been commonly stated. On two sides of the summit slight, field works were thrown up, with wide mtervals for the artillery, consisting of seven light pieces. The other sides of the hill were unprotected by works. Amoimt of the charier forces. By the aid of martial law, and a heavy penalty for non-appearance, the charter government had succeeded in mustering a force, which appears by their pay roll to have exceeded four thousand men ; the male citizens of the State over 21 years of age being more than twenty-three thousand. The proportion of this force to our owa was as eighteen to one ; that of the three divisions p^i in motion a^jainst Chepachet was about as eleven to one. No expense was spared to furnish the charter forces with artillery, some thirty pieces, and an abundance of the other material requisite for service. On our side, as we had no resort to a treasury and the contributions of the wealthy, it was apprehended that there would be a deficiency of means- for subsisting the considerable body of men who were expected to take the field. Bat, small as were our 7?teans, (too small to be mentioned,) the defi- ciency of men was still more marked and regretted. In so narrow a com- pass of operations, the campaijjn must be short. It was our men, a portion of the 14,000, that we needed. But the people were called, and they did not come. Let the reasons be assigned by others. I am stating the facts which truth and justice to those who did respond to the call made upon them require me to set forth. The people as a body, let it be said, were unwilling, or unable ; they were deterred by the threats of the President, or debarred by the mailed hand of a niilitary despotism. Be it as it may, they did not come ; and to a few was left the burden of affairs. Denounced by our friends. Nor was this all. Under a renewed and increased panic, occasioned by 758 Rep. No. 546. the operation of martial law, many of our friends in Providence (35 men and 10 officers only came to our support from that place, of more than 3,500 who voted for the constitution) were led to renounce and denounce our proceedings as no losiger to be "^o/era/e^," and they subscribed a paper to this eifect. They declared that all they wanted had been obtained, in the call by the charter assembly of a convention to form another constitu- tion. Our paper, the organ of our party in Providence, expressed the same opinions in strong terms, and joined in condemning and reprobating the conduct of the Governor, and those associated with him, in upholding the cause with arms, in the last resort. A military council.. To our unspeakable disappointment, it now became evident that we had been, if not imposed upon, greatly deceived in the support which had been promised. It was not a case where delays and difficulties had occurred, which made it necessary for a few to sustain themselves as they might, until the rest should be able to rally to their aid ; but a repudiation of the whole proceeding, and those concerned in if — not by a fraction of the party, as on a former occasion, but by nearly the whole. My proclamations and orders had been put forth in the name and strength of those whom 1 repre- sented ; and the discrepancy between the call and the result was now more mortifyinor than ever. Nor was it in my power to deter those of our party, who had taken and were daily taking arms in the ranks of their enemies, from acting with them against the cause they had so solemnly engaged to support. It was my duty to submit the condition of affairs to the officers in com- mand of our force. This was done by convening a council in the forenoon of the 27th. No final action was determined upon at this meeting. An order for dismission was approved by the officers at a meeting in the after- noon ; and it was proclaimed to the men before seven o'clock. I left Glocesier an hour after. Thus ended the attempts to enforce the consti- tution of the people. Reason for the course taken. In taking the course which a painful necessity thus seemed to prescribe to us, let not the motives which governed our proceedings be misunder- stood. In the council of officers, the only point considered was our relation and duty to the people for whom we were acting. We had assembled in arms as a portion of the people, callipg upon them to do the like — not for any partisan, Jocal interest, but for the defence and welfare of all. It was not our constitution and rights that were to be maintained, but the consti- tution and rights of the majority, who not only declined to take part with us, but virtually and actually denounced us to the enemy. It was a con- test among fellow-citizens. We were not guerillas, about to fight for suc- cess and spoils, that would be more valuable in proportion to the smallness of the numbers among whom they were to be divided ; but we were in arms for all, in the name of all, and for public rights; and the arms fell from our hands only when we found ourselves contending against a com- mon array of enemies and friends. It was our friends, and not our ene- mies, who conquered us. Rep. No. 546. 75J> The military question. , The military question arising in the condition of affairs that has been related, is entirely distinct from that which was considered in the council of officers. Whether or not the force assembled at Chopachet was adequate to contend with the forces of the charter government, let others decide, not solely by the comparison of numbers, but from all the circumstances of the occasion. In addition to what has been stated, our post was destitute of a supply of water ; there were on hand provisions sufficient for a day only. The quantity of balls for the artillery pieces, supposing them all to be in use, would have kept them sup{)lied for about fifieen minutes; ihongh the materials for a close discharge were more abundant. The place was not one in which a body of men no larger than oilers could suffer themselves to be surrounded, either with or without supplies of provisions and n)aterial. The alternatives were to advance or to retreat. If afii\irs had not ended as they did, for the reasons that have been given, it is now iniavailing to in- quire what result might have been expected ; but it is justice only to say, that both our officers and men were ready for all that the occasion required, and to meet their opposers at least half-way from their point of departure. This is not an idle parade of intentions. If a tnovement upoii Greenville, the nearest post, did not take place on the night of the 27lh, the chartists may attribute the act not to their numbers or preparation, but to our repu- (\\A\\u^ friends. My associates in arms. I pause here, for a moment, to render the tribute of gratitude, which is so justly due, to the brave and true-hearted men who rallied at Chepachet for the defence of the constitution and government of the people. They were of the sons of the soil, and of the mechanics and working-men of our party. Many of them, if not a majority, were already partakers of the landed suffrage, and came to support the rights of the non-freemen, who staid away. They came forth in the garb of the field and of the workshop, more fit for use than for display; and it is not surprising that their appear- ance did not suit the critical eyes of fasiiionable inspectors, wiio look on the outside to find the man. These men also came f^reely, expecting only a subsistence, in the spirit which carried the men of an earlier day to Bunker hill, and to serve a cause which they believed to be the same in principle with that of our national freedom. They came in a spirit of personal de- votion., aiid, for the most part, v/ithout any previous nnlitary formaiiot), to fall into the places th;it might be assigned to them. They remained as freely as they came. Previously to the mornitig of the 27th, there was no restraint upon the departure of any one; after this, all who chose to stay were required to conform themselves to a stricter discifdine. Their organ- ization, hastily exlemporizid for the occasion, was necessarily imperfi3ct and insufficient; but they were prepared to render all sacrifices. I shall carry with me to the last period of existence the grateful remembrance of their devotion to myself and to the cause, for which they were ready to lay down their lives. Their manly tears attested the sincerity of the regret with which they left it to its enemies. If it were wrong that it was pursued no further, the blame is mine, and not theirs. Regarding my duty to all, as governor of the State, 1 believe, after a review of all circumstances, that I 760 Rep. No. 546. decided rijfhlly. Excln.ding; from recollection all but my position ,is com- mander of a post, the associates who held it, the military spirit of the occa- sion, and the wrongs to which onr brethren have been subjected, I confess that I have found, in the retrospect, the dictates of judgment sometimes overruled by the feelings which I shared with my associates, and which animated all hearts. Let them decide whether 1 am subject to censure. Upon this question they are the only suflVage men whom I can recognise as rightful judges. False clamor raised ngn'mst them. So much has been said, in strict jnstice to those wb.o took up arms for our cause at Chrpachet. A iew facts will suffice to set at rest the false imd. base clamor which has been raised against their designs and proceed- ings, to promote the purposes of the charter party. Witli the judicial ap- paratus and all the officers of the State at their service, there would have been no difficulty in establishing the fact of unjustifiable conduct, if it had existed. Our men were cautioned against all invasions of private rights. The irregularities of an ordinary militia muster were not seen amonsr them. The small damage discovered to have been committed in one instance, was promptly compensated. To say that this tnoderation was to be rewarded by a general license, when they should reach the city of Providence, is ati idle charge, though it worked to the advantage of the Algerine inventors; it was made to cover up their own iniquities and outrages, and it comes from them with a bad grace while the public bear in mind the "sacking of Ohepachet," and the appropriation of private property; not to dwell upon the gathering up of unarmed men, many of them from the fields and work- shops, and marching them, tied with ropes, to grace a triumphal procession. The victory of the Algerbies. The •' victory" over our force at Chepachet, which has been made the subject of empty (not to say childish) exultation, becomes greatly diminished upon a close inspection. For reasons, satisfactory or not, before stated, this force was disbanded, by a general order, before 7 o'clock in the afternoon of the 27th of June ; and a copy of the order was sent by me enclosed to a friend in Providence, (discuit 16 miles,) with a request that he would cause it to be published. Tliff letter was intercepted in Providence, and I'brth- Avith laid before the charter government. An order from headquarters in Providence to advance, might have reached the nearest division of the charter forces, at Greenville, between nine and ten o'clock; and this divi- sion had information, it is believed, of our departure, bulbre it was made known in Providence. Yet the division was not put in motion till the next day, and did not reach Chepachet lill a quarter before eight in the morning of the 28th, thirteen hours after the disbandmeiit. Nor was it put in motion till it was ascertained that our picket-guard of 20 men, stationed below Chepachet, had been withdrawn upon the disbandment. Our men at Acote's hill separated soon after they were dismissed, except twenty- seven, who remained until between 3 and 4 o'clock in the next morning. An urgent request was left by me that the hill should be dismantled, and the guns and tents removed. This was promised, and there was ample time; but it was not done. Very early in the morning of the 28th, some ot Rep. No. 546. 761 the artillery pieces were discharged amor.o: the trees, by four persons who came to see the ground. When the division arrived from Greenville, there was no man in arms on or near the hill to oppose them. The only sem- blance of a conquest was the empty tents and the pieces left upon the hill ; and yet we read the following general order of the day, equally false and ridiculous : " Orders, No. 54. Headquarters, &.C., June 28, 1842. The village of Chepachet and fort of the insurgents were .stormed at quarter before 8 o'clock this morning, and taken with about otie hundred j)risoji.ers, by Col. William W. Brown ; none killed, and no one wound- ed," (fcc. All which can only mean that the charter troops, in taking possession, did not injure one another; there being no enemy to injure them. An ac- count, published by 'heir sympathizers abroad, states that the charter troops came up and dispersed 700 of their enemies without loss of life. The disparagement of our men by the chartists reacts upon the calum- niators in another form. It is charged that the suffrage men betrayed a want of spirit in leaving Chepachet ; and their open disbandment is called a flight. If they had broken up in the face of an attack, there would have been a better foundation for t!ie charge. But this was not the case. And it may be asked, "Of what stuti' must men -be made, of whom it takes from 2500 to 3,000. with 30 guns and an abundant material, to contend with 225 men, such as they have attempted to describe the suffrage force?" If our 225 men are to be disparaged, what shall be said of the courage and enterprise of between 3,000 and ^1,000 men, who lay for several days within 16 miles of Chepachet, and made no attempt to assail or surround its de- lenders? The return of less than half a dozen of our men to Woonsocket, in the evening after thf disbandment, caused such an alarm to the charter force stationed there, several hundred strong, that they precipitately fell back t jiles; " none killed, none wounded," notwithstanding the rapidity of the movement. So long as the suffrage party stood firmly by their resolutions, and showed no signs o^ flinching, the chartists were civil, and kept at a re- spectful distance. When the former began to filter, the latter, backed by Mr. Tyler, turned fierce vlances upon them. When the former showed a disposition not to contend, ;he latter breathed threatenings of war. When the former had q^wqw up, and the few who came had gone, and the chartists were sure of it, they pursued and took a part of the contents of Chepachet. Thi'se matters are not revived for the sake of stimulating past animosities. God knows the recollection of wrongs and injuries inflicted upon the suf- frage men does not need to be exasperated. Eat they are mentioned ta rebuke the petty boasting, of which it is no more than fair to believe that the really brave among our opponents must be heartily ashamed, as they are of the transactions at Chepachet, and of the capture of citizens who did not bear arms, and of their march with some who did, fastened with ropes, to and in the city of Providence. Subsequent events. After the first vindictiveness of triumph had somewhat subsided, 1 ad- dressed a letter, from New Hampshire, to some whom I still believed to be 762 Rep. No. 546. my friends in Providence, to ask them if the cause was at an end, and if any service remained that I could render to it. These questions were put, that the answer might enable me to decide upon a subject for some time in contemplation, viz : a return to Rhode Island. Twice I had left the State, declining to surrender, and thus to disable myself from serving the cause of the people. But a different motive had been assigned, which could be best repelled by re entering the jurisdiction of the prevailing government during the continuance of martial law, and responding to all accusations. 1 have not been kept out of Rhode Island by any regard to personal conse- quences. The thought of surrendering my citizenship in Rhode Island has never entered my mind. Right or wrong, I am responsible there for all that I have done. The answer of my friends was, that the cause was not extinct ; that they had hopes of accomplishing something at the ballot-box ; and that my per- sonal freedom, by remaining out of the State, was to be desired, and might be useful. This request was regarded as imperative; and the intention of returning was postponed. Seizure of my papers. No secret was made of the letter, and it contained no suggestion of any further military proceedings ; nevertheless, tlie friend who carried it was arrested in Providence for treason. All my private papers in his possession, to be brought to mo on his return, were seized without any form or process, and, excepting a small portion, have been ever since retained. All of these papers were of dates prior to the 6th of May ; none of them, I believe, re- late to military movements; none tend to prove any fact in any form of controversy that would not be readily admitted; and many, if not most of them, have no reference to political subjects. Some of the letters among the papers, addressed to me from abroad, as private, have been published by the captors. In connexion with the decencies, not to say of warfare, but of civilized life, and with the dangers to private property, of which the chartists have expressed apprehensions, this proceeding might suggest a comment ; but it does not seem to be necessary. Another constitution. In November, 1842, another constitution, generally known as the Al- gerine constitution, was proposed, by the convention called in June, to those of the people who were authorized to vote for it. It received the votes of about 7,U0O of the 23,000 citizens of the United States in Rhode Island, after every exertion had been made by the charter party to swell the list. The friends of the people's constitution on this occasion very gen- erally protested against the proceedings of their opponents. The people's constitution could doubtless be superseded in the mode pointed out m it for its amendment, or by an act of the majority of the whole people. In neither of these modes has another constitution been substituted. That under which the government is now carried on was adopted by a small minority, and has been sustained by the Algerine laws, backed by the military ; and the constitution adopted by the people, and the government elected under it, have bee^ set aside by the same force. Rep. No. 546. 763 Registration of the suffrage yarty. A qneslion inimediately arose among the suffrage party, whether, all circumstances considered, they ought to register themselves under this new constitution, and contest the ensuing State election. There was danger af impairing their protest by this proceeding, and, on the other hand, they were debarred from acting under the constitution rightfully adopted ; and a party which is confined to the expression of purposes and resolutions, not carried into political action, loses its cohesion, and cannot long exist. 1 united with others in recommending a registration, upon the assurance of two fads, in which all concurred, viz : that the suffrage party would very generally register themselves, and tliat, when registered, they would con- stitute an undoubted majority of the electors; requesting, at the same time, that I might not be considered as in the list of candidates for office. The resolution to register was complied with, and a commanding majority of the electors was undoubtedly recorded on the suffrage side. Object in vieic. The expected success was unequivocally and decisively pledged to the resuscitation of the people's constitution by the democratic convention. The election of a legislature by the people's party would, by general con- sent, relieve the State from the Algerine laws and the military domination which pressed upon it; but, in regard to the mode of revivi.'ig the people's constitution, there was a difference of opinion. The legislature chosen under the Algerine constitution would be, of course, under an obligation to support it, from which they could not be discharged by their own act, or by any power short of that of the people, which creates and changes the forms of government. The imputation by our opponents of a design to exercise a self dispensation from their engagements, on the part of a legis- lature elected by the people, was a groundless suggestion for political effect, and was promptly repelled. My views on this subject, and others con- nected with i(, were expressed at large to friends in Providence three months before the election. But while this charge was publicly disclaimed, it cannot be too much regretted that, during the canvass, there should have been any appearance of denying or keeping out of sight the main object of the contest — the ultimate renewal and restoration of our constitution. Such .a suppression could not fail to give an aspect of insincerity to the whole proceeding, and to have a most injurious effect upon the result. The election. After a struggle of great severity, in which the money power of the State was brought to bear more efieclually than ever before, in every variety of its multiform influences, upon all classes and interests, the registered ma- jority was transferred to the other side, and the Algerine victory was se- cured. A proscription unexampled in Rhode Island— perhaps in any other State — was brought to bear upon our voters. But, on the other hand, there is implied a too great facility of being proscribed, which renders the retro- spect still more unsatisfactory. It is gratifying to turn from it to the 7,400 men who could not be put down on this occasion, and whose devotion to the good cause remained unabated by adversity. How far the value of the 764 Rep. No. 546. protest against the Algerine constitution is affected by the result which has occurred, 1 shall not now inquire. Nor does there renjain to me space to consider the value of an appeal to the Congress, or to the Supreme Court of the United States, for any aid that they can afford in giving effect to the people's constitution. The result of the last election annulled the request of my friends, con- tained in their reply to my letter of August, 1842, and left me to consult the duty which I owe to myself, in the position in which I am placed. At an early day after the election now about to take place. I iiiall return lo Rhode Island. General review. The length of this communication will preclude many of the reflections which the details of facts so forcibly suggest. Having retired from the contest for your rights, you have the less reason to complain of the evils which have been visited upon you. You have realized, in the letter and spirit, the consequences wliich were pointed out, in my last call to our sup- port, on the 25th of June, as necessarily resulting from a refusal to respond to it. You have been treated by your victors (who act as \t they had a perpetual lease of power) as the inhabitants of a conquered territory. You have been subjected, m time of peace, to seizures of person and property utider martial law, administered by all who chose to take it in hand, with- out judjje or trial ; and you are still the subjects of a strong military super- intendence. Your constitution and government have been set aside, and the freedom of speech and of action for a time disappeared. True, much has been extorted from the dominant faction. The electors have been doubled, and the political power, which, under the charter system, was vested by the conjoint operation of representation and the landed suffrage in one niydk part of the population, has been more widely diffused, although the chartists have constructed a senate of thirty-one members, IG of whom represent 23,000 of the population, and 15 members the remaining 85,000. But the great right of all — that of the people to live under such institutions as they prefer, of their own choice and free will, and not by favor, grant, or permission — has been overthrown; and in this respect the victory of the charter party is unquestionable. We have also seen the acts of the charter party approved by a large whig minority in the country; and the democracy uiay well ask themselves, in view of this fact, how the contest of the Revolution would have terminated, if it had been deferred to a later day; and what exertions are incumbent upon them to revive the patriotism of past days, and to keep alive the original principles of our form of government. The ease with which the people of a State have been put dov/n, by a minority, without the aid of an hereditary aristocracy, or a strong standing army of its own, as in the old countries, by means of the substitutes which are found here for both, will suggest to all the sacred vigilance with whicli our rights must be guarded, if they would save the American republics from lapsing into the fate which has arrested those of other ages and countries. Force and proscription, if not as effectual here as elsewhere, have been demonstrated, by our recent experience, to be quite strong enough for all the purposes of an aristocracy of wealth. It is the part of wisdom to regard the earliest sign of evil in the political system, and to be prepared Rep. No. 546. 765 to counteract it. This early lesson in Rhode Islund may be full of instruc- tion, and cannot be safely disreg-arded. In these allusions to the consequences of your inaction it has not been my purpose or desire to raise a spirit of revenge ; but. in the view of tliese consequences, you will be better enabled to estimate the opposite course which I attempted to pursue. My remarks are pariicularly commended to those who have approved all my principles, as conformable to the standard of Jeffersonian democracy, and have opposed all my measures for carrying them into effect, without suggesting any that were deemed more correct or expedient. Nor is it my desire to call your attention to individual hardships. The cause intinitely transcends its supporlers, and its defeat or loss throws] into the shade all wrongs to individuals, all private griefs. Individuals are nothing in the compari;>on. In the faithful service of such a cause, it is honorable to rise or fall. The recent milida laic. Without stopping to comment tipon the acts of legislation through which it has been attempted to regain from the Algerine constitution a part of its concessions to the people, I may say of the recent militia law, that it an- swers one valuable purpose. While it exempts the great majority — the en- rolled militia — the suffrage men — from military duty, and thus gets rid of their military qualification as voters, — and also taxes them (and not the community at large) for the support of the active militia, tiie charter men, — it at the same time demonstrates on which side is the real, unbiassed n^^ajority oi ihe people of the State. An undoubted and confident ma- jority in a republican State does not depend on its strong military organization, its arsenals, its jealous iirilitary supervision, for its strength and efficiency; and, on the other hand, no stronger confession could be offered of inherent weakness in a political party, than a dependence upon such auxiliaries, which furnish but a doubtful and transient aid, and can- r.ot be long tolerated even by the side which relies upon them. If the charter party have an actual reliable majority of the people with them, who are so from preference and conviction, and not from proscription and com- pulsion, all this regulating apparatus is unnecessary and injurious, as well as irritating to the community. The conclusion is, that the present party ascendency is unnatural and factitious, not self sustained, but propped up for an uncertain period by external appliances, and destined to fall away when the pressure shall be withdrawn, and the public mind shall revert to its ordi- nary state. Our brethren abroad. The hearty enthusiasm manifested in our late contest by our democratic brethren abroad, especially in the city of New York, in Nev/ Hampshire, in Massachusetts, and Connecticut, demand of us the most sincere and fra- ternal acknowledgment. The principle of popnlar sovereignty inscribed i;pon our banner, they will never "willingly let die;" and though ob- scured or lest with us, it will assuredly be vindicated elsewhere, whenneces- sity shall require, with the hearts and hands of democratic freemen, who '• fear no omens in their country's causer 766 Rep. No. 546. TJie suffrage womtn of Rhode Island. And let us not forget the debt of gratitude which is so justly due to the women of Rhode Island, who, like their predecessors of early days, have in the past year done so much, in the spirit of true devotion, to lighten the toils and strengthen the hearts of their brethren and associates. Their deeds of mercy were hallowed by the prayers of the poor, and will be treas- ured up for other days,\vhen it will be said that they at least were worthy of success. Conclusion. Fellow-citizens-: If the principles that have been considered and set forth be true, then the just blame is not that so much was done, but that more was not done, in support of the constitution of the people. Claiming no exemption from the common lot of error and infirmity, 1 leave to the honest judgment of my countrymen the transactions which have been passed in review, trusting that the part which I have had in them will not be found at variance with the conduct of a good citizen and a patriotic son of our common native State, loyal to the cause of your rights and to the great fundamental principles of American political truth, and anxious lor the ascendency of just constitutional law. I have discharged the office conferred upon me, to the best of my ability, and of the means which were placed at my disposal. I have ever been ready to do all that these means permitted for the support of our common rights, I have invited none to dangers that I was not ready to share with them. Success is no criterion of rights, I have spoken of a cause which ought to have succeeded, as if it had succeeded. And now, in the midst of the exultation of our opponents, still encour- aged by the generous devotion and the cheering voice of our democratic brethren — and, above all, sustained by the consciousness of having served an honest and righteous cause from good motives, and to justifiable and honorable ends, I will confide in the everlasting right and truth, which are cast down only to rise again — it may be in other times and forms — with renovated power. In our political faith there is no despair. The anchor of Hope is inscribed upon the arms of our State. May the good Providence, under the shadow of whose protection it has so lonff reposed, and which elicits good from apparent evil, converts the wrath of man to its praise, and renders salutary the discipline of adversity, reanimate in us a spirit worthy of the inheritance derived from the fathers of our State, and at length assure to all the sons and citizens of Rhode Island the birthright of American freemen, THOxMAS W, DORR. BosTot^j August 10, 1843. Rep. No. 546. 767 No. 215. Proclamation of Governor King, temporarily suspending martial law in Rhode Island, dated August 8, 1842. By his excellency Samuel Ward Kino^, Governor, Captain General, and Commander in chief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- tations. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the General Assembly of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations did, on the twenty-fifth day of June last, pass the act following, viz: "AN ACT establishing martial law jn this State. ** Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: "Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law; and the same is declared to be in full force until otherwise ordered by ihe General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his excellency the Governor of the State." I do, therefore, pursuant to the authority aforesaid, and by the advice of the Council, hereby suspend the operation of said act from the date hereof, until the first day of Septen)ber next, and the same is suspended accordingly. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of said State to be affixed to these presents, and have signed the same with my hand. Given |. 1 at the city of Providence, on the eighth day of August, in the L^' ^-J year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, and of the independence of the United States of America the sixty- seventh. SAMUEL WARD KING. By his excellency's command : Henuy Bowen, Secretary of State. Proclamation of Govertwr King, indefinitely suspending martial law in Rhode Island, dated August 30, 1842. By his excellency Samuel Ward King, Governor, Captain General, and Commander-in-chief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- tations. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the General Assembly of said State, on the twenty-fifth day of JuDe last, passed the act following, viz: "AN ACT establishing martial law in this State. '' Be it ejiacted by the General Assembly as folloios: " Section 1. The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is hereby placed under martial law; and the same is declared to be in full 768 Rep. No. 546. force, until otherwise ordered by the General Assembly, or suspended by proclamation of his excellency the Governor of tJie State." And whereas, on the eighth day of August instant, 1 issued a proclama- tion suspending the operation of said act until the first day of September then next ; I do now, therefore, pursuant to the authority in s^ud act to me given, and by advice of the Council, liereby further suspend ibe operation. of said act on and after the said first day of September, indefinitely. Given under my hand and seal of said State, at the city of E^rovidence, this thiriieth day of August, in the yecr of our Lord one thousand [l. s ] eight hundred and forty- two, and of the independence of the United States of America the sixty seventh. SAMUEL WARD KING. True copy — Witness: Henry Bowen, Secretary. No. 216. doTrespondence beticeen Hon. John B. Francis and Hon. Henry Clay, relative to the- affairs of Rhode Island. Washington, February 19, 1S44. Dear Sir: Enclosed are certain resolutions passed at a meeting of the law and order members of the General Assembly of the Stale of Hhode Island, holden in Providence on the 14th instant, which I have the lionor to forward to you. Your generous support, at a time when few politicians dared to evince any sympathy for us, cannot but increase the aUachment to you already so strong in our State. By Mr. Crittenden's advice, 1 direct to Savannah. Wishing you a pleas- ant journey to this city, 1 am, most respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN BROWN FRANCIS. Hon. Henry Clay, at Savannah., Georgia. Augusta, March 31, 1S44. My dear Sir : I duly received, in- this city, your ftiyor transmitting certain resolutions adopted at a meeting of the law and order members of the General Assembly, held in Providence in February last ; and I request yon to convey to them my profound acknowledgments for the friendly and flattering allusion to my name in some of the resolutions. I congratulate your State upon its 6uccessful vindication of social order and the authority of the law. The principles avowed and attempted to be enforced, by subvert! ng thfi existing government in Rhode Island, struck at the foundations oi al^ i-afety and security in civilized society. They were revolutionary, without beuig characterized by a manly spirit of open and fearless resistance, fu re- Ibuking and repudiating them, Rhode Island has rendered an important Rep. No. 546. 7^ service to the cause of order, stability, and free institutions ; and Iiaving" achieved a decisive triumph over disorder and anarchy, I have no doubt that she will not tarnish the kistre of it by any act of useless and uncalled- for severity. I am, with, ^reat respect, your friend and obedient servant. H. CLAY. Hon. John Biiown Fuancis. Extract from a speech of the Hon. Henry Clay, delivered at Lexington^ Ky., in the autumn of 1842. 9. The last, though not least, instance of the manifestation of a spirit of disorganization whicli I shall notice, is the recent convulsions in Rhode Island. That liule but gallant and patriotic State had a charter derived from a British king, in operation between one and two hundred years. There had been enacted upon it laws and usages I'rom time to time, and altogether a practical constituti^^n grew up, which carried the State as one of the glorious tliirteen through the Revolution, and brought her safely" into the Union. Under it, her Greens and Perrys, atid other disthiguished men, were born and rose to eminence. The legislature had called a con- vention to remedy whatever defects it had, and to adapt it to the progressive improvements of the age. In that work of reform, the Dorr party might have co-operated ; but, not choosing so to co operate, and in wanton de- liance of all established authority, they undertook subsequently to call another convention. The result was two constitutions, not essentially differing on the principal point of controversy — the right of suffrage. Upon submittuig to the people that which was formed by the regular convention, a small majority voted against it. produced by a union in cast- ing votes between the Dorr party, and some friends of the old charter, who were opposed to any change. 'I'he other constitution being also submitted to the people, an apparent moiority voted for it, made up of every descrip- tion of votes, legal and illegal, by proxy and otherwise, taken in the most irregular and unauthorized manner. The Dorr party proceeded to put their constitution in operation, by elect- wg him as the governor of the State, members to the mock legislature^ and other oflicers. But they did not stop here ; they proceeded to collect, to drill, and to marshal a nulitary force, and pointed their cannon against the arsenal ot the State. The President was called upon to interpose the power of the Union to preserve the peace of the State, in conformity with an express provision of the federal constitution. And I have as much pleasure in cvf/rsssing my o-pinion thai he faithfully performed his duty, in responding to thai call, as it gave me pain to be obliged to animadvert on other parts of his con- duct.' The leadnig presses of the democratic party at Washington, Albany, New York, and Richmond, and elsewhere, came out in support of the Dorr party, encouraging them in their work of rebellion and treason. And wheii matters hud got to a crisis, and the two parties were preparing for a civil war, and every hour it was expected to blaze out, a great Tammany meet« i.Kg was held in the city of New York- headed by the leading men of the 49 770 Rep. No. 546. party — the Cambrelengs, the Vanderpoels, the Aliens, State, and under a pretend- ed constitution cf government for this State, with force and arms feloniously and traitorously did assume to exercise, and did exercise, the office of the secretary of state withni the territorial limits of this State, as the same are now actually held and enjoyed ; and did, together with a large number of associates, usurp the sovereign power of this State, against the peace and dignity of this State, and contrary to the statute in such cases made and provided: on which complaint the said William H. Smith, being arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and, on examination, was adjudged to be probably guilty of the said offence by said court, and was ordered to be committed for safe keeping until discharged by due order of law. Committing ....... 74 'Carriajje - - - - - - --2 00 $2 74 HENRY L. BOWEN, /. P. R. W. POTTER, Sheriff. June 3, 1842. William H. Smith, named on the opposite page, having this day given 776 Rep. No. 546. recogDJzance for his appearance to answer the charsfe there referred to. with sufficient surety, is discharged from his said commitment by me. W. R. STAPLES, Justice iSvpremc Judicial Conrt. The above commitment and discharge are correct copies of the original lecord in jail book " C,"' of Providence county jail. (Seventeen cents paid.) THOMAS CLEVELAND. /ai/er. No. 218.^ Indictment vs. Burrington AntJiony. Providence, sc. At the supreme judicial conrt of the State of Khode Island and Providence Plantations, holden at Providence, within and for the county of Provi- dence, on the third Monday of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two : The grand jurors of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, and in and for. the body of the county of Providence, upon their oaths present : That Burrington Anthony, of the city of Providence, in the afore- said county of Providence, gentleman, alias esquire, not regarding the du- ties of his allegiance to said State, but falsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of said State to disturb, and to subvert the govern- ment of the said State, and to set up and establish a false and pretended government in (he place and stead tfiereof, on the third day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two, at the said city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with force and arms, did combine and confederate with divers other evil disposed persons, to the jurors aforesaid unknown, to set up and establish a certain usur])ed and pretended government in the place and stead of the true, lawful, and rightfu! government of the said State ; and to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect, his said false, malicious, and wilful design, he, the said Burrington Anthony, on the said third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with force and arms did signify that he would ac- cept the ministerial office of sheriff of the aforesaid county of Providence, in the said State, in and under a certain usurped and pretended govern- ment to be set up and established in and over the said State ; to which said office he, the said Burrington Anthony, then and there ftxisely claimed and asserted that he Jiad been elected, chosen, and appointed by virtue of a cer- tain false and pretended election, held and made in the said State on a certain day, to wit, on the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at certain unlawful and "void meetings and assemblies of divers freetuen, inhabitants and residents of the said State, there held and assembled in the several towns of the said county of Providence, and in the several wards of the city of Providence, amongst other things, for the election of certain State officers for the said State, to wit, for the election of governor, lieutenant governor, senators, attorney general, and general treasurer of said State, and sheriff for said Rep. No. 546. 777 county of Providence, which said nneetings and assemblies were not called, held, or assembled in the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the freemen by law prescribed, nor by virtue of any law of the said State reg- ulating the calling of town or v/ard meetings of the freemen of the several towns of the said State, or of the city of Providence, any prescribed form or forms of calling said town or ward meetings, being by accident or mis- take omitted or overlooked, with the intent to overthrow and subvert the true, lawful, and rightful government of said State, and to set up and es- tablish a false and pretended government therein, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said Burrington Anthony, not regarding the duty of his allegiance to the said State, bnt falsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of the said State to disturb, and to subvert the true and lawful government of the said State, and to set up and establish a false and pretended govern- ment in the place and stead thereof, on the eighteenth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with force and arms did unlawfuliy and knowingly suffer and permit his name to be used as a can- didate for the ministerial office of sheriff' of the aforesaid county of Provi- d»;nce, in the said S?ate, in and under a certain usurped and pretended gov- ernment, to be set up and established m and over the said State, to which said office he, the said Bnrrington Anthony, then and there falsely claimed that he might be elorti^d, chosen, and appointed by virtue of a certain false and pr-^tendtd eleciion Jbereafter to be held and made in the said State on a certain day, to wit, on the said eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at certain illegal and void meetino-s and assemblies of several freemen, inhabitants and residents of the said f^lU'to, thereafter, to wit, on the said eighteenth day of April, in the year oi ova- Lord one thonsand eight hundred and forty-two, to be held and assembled in the several towns of the said county of Providence, and in the several wards * f the said city of Providence, amongst other things^ for the election oi certait. State officers for the said State, to wit, for the election of governor, lieutenant sfovernor, senators, attorney general, and general treasurer, and sherili' of said county of Providence ; which said meetings and assemblies were not to be calJed, assembled, or held in the manner, for t!ie purposes, at the tunes, and by the freemen by law pre- scribed, nor by virtue of any law of the said State regulating the calling of town or ward meetino;s of the f)eemen of the several towns of the said State or of the city of Providence, any prescribed form or forms of calling said town or ward meetings being by accident or mistake omitted or over- looked, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. Preferred by — ALBERT C. GREENE, Attorney General. A true bill : George C. Ballon, /ore/na/i Obhrey Jenne Joseph Robinson Horatio N. Waterman Samuel M. Taber William H. Andrews 778 Rep. No. 546. John Harris Lewis W. Davis Nehemiah Scarborough Jonathan Harris Joseph W. Davis _ . Caleb Allen Henry S. Hazard Nathaniel Spauldinj Thomas Bowen Caleb Hathaway Lyman W. Perkins Ibaac Field Spencer Pease A true copy — Attest : Copy, 6:c., 85 cents — paid. W. PAINE, Jr., Clerk. W. PAINE, Jr., Clerk. No. 218 a. Indictment vs. Hezekiah Willard. Providence, sc. At the supreme judicial court of tlie State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, liolden at Providence, within and for the county of Provi- dence, on the third Mottday of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ai>d forty-two : The grand jurors of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, and in and for the body of the county of Providence, upon their oaths present: That Hezekiah Willard of the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, merchant, being an inhabitant of and resident within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being under the protection of the laws of said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weigh- ing tbe duty of his said allegiance, but wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power thereof, and to set up and establish a cer- tain usuri>ed and pretended government in the place of (he true and right- ful govern aient of the said State, on the third day of May, in the year of our Lord ono. thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Provi- dence, in ih«' siforesaid county of Providence, maliciously and traitorously with force and arms did, with divers other false traitors, whose names are unknown to tiie said jurors, conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and estab- lish a certain usurped and pretended government in tha place and stead of the true, lawful, and rightful government of the said Stats ; and, to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect his most evil and wicked treason and treasona- ble compassings and imaginations aforesaid, he, the said Hezekiah Willard, did, on the third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight Rep. No. 546. 779 Itundred and fortylvvo, with force and arms, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the territorial Hmits of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, as the same are no\v actnally held and enjoyed, not being duly elected thereto accord- ing to the laws of the said State, and under a pretended constitution of gov- ernment for the said State, maliciously and traitorously assume to exercise the legislative functions of senator of the said State, in a pretended General Assernbly of the said State, then and there held, contrary to the duty of his said allegiance and fidelity, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present : That the said Hezekiah Willard, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being un- der the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weighing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war, against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the place of the true and rightful government of the said Slate, on the third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence, in the aforssaid county of Providence, maliciously and trai- torously, with force and arms, did, with divers other false traitors, whose names are unknown to the jurors aforesaid, conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, antl to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended govern- ment in the pluce and stead of the true, lawful, and rightful government of the said State ; i.nd, to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect his most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and unaofi nations aforesaid, he, the said Hezekiah Will.ird, on the said third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with force and arms, at the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the territorial limits of the said State, as the same are now actually held and enjoyed, not being duly elected thereto according to the laws of the said State, and under a pretended constitution of government for the said Stale, and being, with divers other false traitors, to the jurors aforesaid unknown, then and there assembled and met together as a pretended General Assem- bly of said State, did maliciously and traitorously assume to exercise the legislative functions of a senator of the said State, in the said pretended General Assembly of the said State, then and there held, contrary to the duty of his said allegiance and fidelity, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present : That the said Hezekiah VViUard, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being un- der the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Provi- 780 Rep. No. 546. dence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, noi weighing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously de- vising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the place of the true and rightful government of the said State, on the fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and lorty-hvo, at the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, maliciously and traitorously, with force and arms, did, with divers other false traitors, whose names are unknown to the jurors aforesaid, conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war, against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the place and stead of the true, lawful, and rightful government of the said State ; and, to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect his mosi; evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, he, the said Hezekiah Willard,on the said fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with force and arms, at the city ot Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the territorial limits of the said State, as the same are now actually held and enjoyed, with divers other false traitors, to the jurors aforesaid unknown, being then and there assembled and met together, did then and there, not being duly elected thereto, according to the laws of the said State, maliciously and traitorously assume to exercise the legislative functions of senator of the said State, in a pretended General Assembly of the said Stnte, then and there held, contrary to the duty of his said allegiance and fidelity, against the form of the stat- ute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said Hezekiah Willard, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being un- der the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations, and owintr allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weighing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously de- vising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war, against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and estab- lish a certain usurped and pretended governm'ent in the place of the true and rightful government of the said State, on the third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, maliciously and traitor- ously, with force and arms, did, with divers other false traitors, whose names are unknown to the jurors aforesaid, conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the soven-ign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the Kep. No. 546. ~ 781 place and stead of the true, lawful, and rightful governnfient of the said State; and, to fulfil, perfect, and bring to efiect his most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, he, the said Hezekiah Willard, on the said third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with force and arms, at the said city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the ter- ritorial limits of the said State, rs the same are now actually held and en- joyed, not being duly elected thereto according to the laws of (he said State, and under a pretended constitution of governmeiit for the said State, and being, with divers other false traitors to the jurors aforesaid unknown, then and there assembled and met together as a General Assembly of the said State, did then and there maliciously and traitoroutjly assume to exercise the legislative functions of senator of the said State, in the said pretended General Assembly of the said Stale, and, as such member, did then and there vote for the passage of divers pretended acts and laws for the said State, contrary to the duly of his said allegiance and fidelity, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said Hezekiah Willard, being an inhabitant ot and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being un- der the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weighing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir op, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war agamst the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government of the said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the place of the true and rightful government of the said State, on the third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, maliciously and traitorously, with force and arms, did, with divers other false traitors, whose names are unknown to the jurors aforesaid, conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, and to subvert and alter the legislature, rule, and government offhe said State, and to usurp the sovereign power of the said State, and to set up and establish a certain usurped and pretended government in the place and stead of the true, lawful,.; and ri^jhtful government of (he said State; and, to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect his most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, he, the said Hezekiah Willard, on the said third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and forty-two, with force and arms, at the city of Provi- dence, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the territorial limits of the said State, as the same are now actually held and enjoyed, not being duly elected thereto according to the laws of the said State, did, under a pretended constitution of government for the said State, maliciously and traitorously meet and assemble, with divers other false traitors, to the jurors aforesaid unknown, i'or the purpose of exercising the legislative functions cf senator of the said State in a pretended General Assembly of the said tState then and there held, contrary to the duty of his said allegiance and 782 Rep. No. 546. fidelity, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided^^ and against the peace and dignity of the State. Preferred by — ALBERT C. GREENE, Attorney General, A true copy — Attest : W. PAINE, Jr., Clerk. A true bill : Geo. C. BaWon, foreman Joseph Robinson Samuel M. Taber Nehemiah John Harris Joseph W. Davis Henry S. Hazard Thomas Bovven Lyman W. Perkins Spencer Pease Scarborough Obhrey Jenne Horatio N. Waterman William H. Andrews Lewis W. Davis Jonathan Harris Caleb Allen Nathaniel Spaulding Caleb Hathaway Isaac Field. No. 219. Indictment vs. William P. Dean, and certificate of imprisonvnent. Washington, sc. At the supreme judicial court of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, holden at South Kingstown, within and for the county of Washington, on the first Monday of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two: The grand jurors of the Strte of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, and in and for the body of the county of Washington, upon their oaths present : — That William P. Dean, of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence, gentleman, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being under the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weigh- ing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebel- lion, and war against the said State, on the seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two, at the city of Providence, in the county of Providence, with force and arms unlawfully, fiilsely, maliciously, and traitorously did conspire, compass, imagine, and in- tend to raise and levy war, insurrection, and rebellion against the said State ; and in order to perfect, fulfil, and bring to eflJect the said compassings, ima- ginations, and intents of him, the said William P. Dean, he, the said William P. Dean afterwards, to wit, on the said seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eigHt hundred and forty-two, at the city of Pfov^ Rep. No. 546. 783 idence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with a great muhi- tude of persons, whose names are at present to the jurors aforesaid unknown, to a great number, to wit, to the number of three hundred persons and up- wards, armed and arrayed in a warhke manner, that is to say, with guns, muskets, swords, pistols, dirks, and other warhke weapons, as well offensive as defensive, being then and there unlawfully, maliciously, ani traitorously assembled and gathered together, did falsely and traitorously assemble and gather themselves together against the said State, and then and there, with force and arms, did falsely and traitorously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves against the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ; and then and there, that is to say, on the day and year aforesaid, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, within the said State, in pursuance of their traitorous intentions and purposes aforesaid, he, the said William P. Dean, with the said persons so as aforesaid traitorously assembled, and armed and arrayed in manner aforesaid, most wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously did or- dain, prepare, and levy war against the said State of Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations, contrary to their duty of allegiance and fidelity, against the form of the statute in such ease made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said William P. t)ean, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being under the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weigh- ing the duty of his said allegiatjce, and wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, on the 18th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with force and arms, unlawfully, falsely, maliciously, and trai- torously did conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to raise and levy public war, insurrection, and rebellion against the said State ; and in order to perfect, fulfil, and bring to effect the said compassings, imaginations, and inteats of him, the said William P. Dean, he, the said William P. Dean afterwards, to wit, on the said eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and forty-two, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with a great multitude of other persons^ whose names are at present to the jurors aforesaid unknown, to a great num- ber, to wit, to the number of three hundred other persons, and upwards, armed and arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with guns, rauskets^ swords, pistols, dirks, and other warlike weapons, as well offensive as defen- sive, being then and there unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously assem- bled and gathered together, did falsely and traitorously assemble and gather themselves together against the said State, and then and there, with force and arms, did falsely and traitorously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves against the said State ; and then and there, that is to say, on the day and year last aforesaid, at the city of Providence aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, in pursuance of their trai- torous intentions and purposes aforesaid, he, the said William P. T'ean, with the said other persons so as aforesaid traitorously assembled and armed and arrayed in maimer aforesaid, most wickedly, maliciously, and traitor- 784 Rep. No. 546. ously did ordain, prepare, and levy public war against (he said State, con- trary to the duty of the allegiance ot the said William P. Dean, against the form of the statnte in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said William P. Dean, being nn inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being un- der the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weigliing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously de- vising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, on the twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two, at Glocester, in the aforesaid county of Providence, with force and arms, unlawfully, falsely, maliciously, and traitorously did conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to raise and levy war, insurrection, and rebellion against the said State ; and in order to perfect, fulfil, and bring to effect the said compassings, imaginations, and intents of him, the said Wil- liam P. Dean, he, the said William P. Dean, afterwards, to wit, on the said twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- dred and forty-two, at Glocester aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Prov- idence, with a great multitude of other persons, whose names are at present to the jurors aforesaid unknown, to a great number, to wit, to the number of five hundred other persons, and upwards, armed and arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with guns, muskets, swords, pistols, dirks, and other warlike weapons, as well offensive as defensive, being then and there un- lawfully, maliciously, and traitorously assembled and gathered together, did falsely and traitorously assemble and gather themselves together against the said State, and then and there, with force and arms, did falsely and trai- torously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves against the said State; and then and there, that is to say, on the day and year last aforesaid, at Glocester aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Provi- dence, in pursuance of their traitorous intentions and purposes aforesaid, he, the said William P. Dean, with the said other persons so as aforesaid trai- torously assembled and armed, and arrayed in manner aforesaid, most wick- edly, maliciously, and traitorously did ordain, prepare, and levy war against the said State, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of the said William P. Dean, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State, And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said William P. Dean, being an inhabitant of and residing within the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and being under the protection of the laws of the said State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and owing allegiance and fidelity to the said State, not weigh- ing the duty of his said allegiance, and wickedly and traitorously devising and intending the peace of the said State to disturb, and to stir up, move, and excite insurrection, rebellion, and war against the said State, on the twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at Glocester aforesaid, in the aforesaid coursiy of Providence, with force and arms, unlawfully, falsely, maliciously, and trai- torously did conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to raise and levy public war. it:isurre3tionj and rebellion against the said State ; and in order to per- Rep. No. 546. 785 feet, fulfil, and bring to effect the said compassings, imaginations, and in- tents of him, the said Wilham P. Dean, he, the said William P. Dean, after- wards, to wit, on the said twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, at Glocester aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, wilii a great multitude of other persons, whose names are at present to the jurors aforesaid unknown, to a great num- ber, to wit, to the number of five hundred other persons, and upwards, armed and arrayed in a warhke manner, that is to say, with guns, muskets, swords, pistols, dirks, and other warlike weapons, as well offensive as defen- sive, being then and there unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously assem- bled and gathered together, did falsely and traitorously assemble and gather themselves together against the said State, and then and there, with force and arms, did falsely and traitorously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves against the said Slate ; and then and there, that is to say, on the day and year last aforesaid, at Glocester aforesaid, in the aforesaid county of Providence, in pursuance of their traitorous inten- tions and purposes aforesaid, he, the said William P. Dean, with the said other persons so as aforesaid traitorously assembled, and armed and arrayed in manner aforesaid, most wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously did ordain, prepare, and levy public war against the said State, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of the said William P. Dean, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. Preferred by ALBERT C. GREENE, Attorney General. A true bill : Joseph Cross {of G*) for€7na}i Bradford Clarke Eben Sherman Asiier Palmer Wait R. Clarke Georo;e Sweet Luke Clarke, jr. Augustus Tucker James Tillinghast James Whitehorn Rouse H. Lillibridge William T. Nichols David B. Knight William Champlin Samuel Rodman Christopher C. Lewis, jr. Washington, sc. Clerk's Of FiCE Supreme Judicial Court, 3Iarch 3, 1843. The foregoing I certify to be a true copy of the indictment, the State vs. William P. Dean, as appears on file in said office. Witness, POWELL HELME, Clerk. W State of Rhode Island, dec, Jailer^ s Office^ South Kingstown., April 6, 1844. ASHINGTONjSC I certify that William P. Dean was confined in this jail from August 30th to December 30th, 1842, on a mittimus at the suit of said State, 50 786 Rep. No 546. charged in said mittirrlns with treason against the State of Rhode Island. and levying war against the same, on complaint of William P. Blodget be- fore Henry L. Bowen, justice of the peace. 1 also certify that the said William P. Dean was confined in this jail from the 7th to the 23d of November, 1843, on a mittimus at the suit of the State of Khode Island, &c., from the supreme court, having been in- dicted by the grand jurors within and for the body of the county of Wash- ington on the above said complaint — for treason against said State of Rhode Island, ll, sworn — Was present at a town meeting in Warren, on the 18th April, 1842, and saw a person vote ; saw defendant sitting at a table, and writing. Don't know what he wrote. Thought defendant was clerk of the meeting. James Coffni, sworn — Was present at the town meeting on the 18th of April ; remained there fifteen or twenty minutes ; saw a person vote; thought defendant recorded it ; saw him write; did not see what he wrote; defend- ant sat near the moderator; fifteen to twenty persons were present; believes there were notices put up calling the meeting ; "f/isrew/e/«6er" about any name being signed to the notices; did not vote — hope not; was not a Dorr- ite, and hoped he never should be. George Easterbrooks, sworn — Was present and voted at a town meeting on the 18th April, 1842. Voted for State officers. Saw defendant sitting at a table with two or three otiiers. One person writing — not defendant. Did not see any person record votes. Saw a list of votes afterwards, sup- posed in defendant's hand-writing, as I had heard he was clerk of the meeting. Was at the meeting three limes in the course of the day. Was not a voter under the old charter. William H. DriscoU recalled — Heard defendant say to the attorney gen- eral, before he was indicted, '-You need not keep DriscoU here ; let him go about his business : I admit all the facts." I had not then been before the grand jury. Supposed he referred to the charges preferred against him, as they were conversing on that suhject. Elias Magoun, sworn — Was present at the town meeting on the 18th April, 1842; Luther was moderator ; defendant was clerk, if there was any clerk. No person voted while I was there. Defendant has told me since, he was clerk ; and if I did not believe it, he would show me the book and records. Was a. magistrate — justice of the peace; felt it a solemn duty to go and see if the laws were violated. Should not have attended, were I not a magistrate ; did not immediately issue warrants against these men; did not see the book and records. John S. Munro, sworn — Was present at the meeting on the ISth April, 1842, and voted for general and State officers ; the moderator received my vote; cannot say who acted as clerk ; have never heard defendant say he acted as clerk ; was there three times in the course of the day ; at otie time, saw a number sittins: at the desk. Rep. No. 546. 809 Joseph M. Smith, sworn— Heard defendant tell Magonn he acted as clerk of the town meeting on the 18th April, 1842, and tf he would go to his house he would show him the records. This was said in the course of con- versation between them in my shop. Believe he was in earnest when he said he acted as clerk. 1 advised Magoun to go and see the records. The attorney general read a certificate from Samuel Randall, town clerk of the town of Warren, setting forth that no town meeting had been called to be held on the 18th April, 1842, under the charter ; which closed the testimony. Counsel for defendant rose, and, after remarking upon the character of the charge against defendant, said that it was no fault of the defendant that this indictment was still pending here. The General Assembly had conferred discretionary power on the governor and attorney general, to nol. pros, these indictments on application. Such application has been made. If the General Assembly acted in good faith, they intended this should be a mode of disposing of all these prosecutions; but the defend- ant is here on trial, not tlirough any obstinf^cy of his own, but solely by the will of one man. The court here interposed, and told the counsel he must confine him- self to the issue. Counsel for defendant then briefly reviewed the testimony, and was pro- ceeding to argue against the validity of tlie law of pains and penalties, inas- much as it was in derogation of the fundamental principles of American liberty, when he was again stopped by the court, and told that the jury had notlimg to do with questions of law. They must take the law from the court. Counsel for defendant — This is contrary to the understandmg of the bar, and what I had supposed has been, until recently, the opinion of this court. Court — The jury must decide according to the evidence, and the law as we give it to them. If we give them the wrong law, we are responsible. The counsel for defendant here closed his remarks by saying to the jury, that the case was wholly in their hands; and whatever their decision was, and upon whatever reasons founded, no power on earth could call them to account. The attorney general briefly closed the case. He reviewed the evidence, which he deemed full and explicit, and the jury must return a verdict of guilty on that evidence. The court read the law of pains and penalties to the jury, and instructed that that was the law in the case ; if the evidence was sufficient to convince them that he was guilty of the act charged, they must return a verdict of guilty. The jury retired to their room, and the court took a recess for about one hour. The jury, after being out about one hour and a half, returned into court with a verdict of guilty and recommending the prisoner to mercy. On the meeting of (he court after the recess, the jury being still out on the case of Bosworlh, the court ordered a venire to issue for a second jury. The venire was served among the bystanders and returned, and the jurors called — all in about ten minutes— when it was found they were all Algerines, 810 Rep. No. 546. as follows : Hezekiah Bosworth, (foreman,) George G. Hazard, James Coffin, Suchet Maiiran — of Warren ; Nathaniel Coggeshall, Benjamin Tilley, Mason W. Pearce, John Fletcher, George Littlefield, Amos T. Gorham, Horace Peck, Charles Pales — of Bristol. The case, State vs. Wilmarth Heath, charged with acting as moderator of a town meeting held under the people's constitution in the town of Bar- rington, was called. Mr. Salisbury, for defendant, presented an affidavit for a continuance, on the ground that, owing to ill health, defendant had not been able to procure the counsel he desired. The court overruled it, and the defendant was arraigned, and pleaded not guilty. Objection was made to one of the jurors, (Suchet Mauran, of Warren.) on the ground that he arrested and committed defendant in 1842, under mar- tial law. The juror (in 1S42 a resident of Barrington) replied that he held no prejudice against defendant, but considered him a good neighbor. Two witnesses, Thomas R. Allen and Nathaniel C. Smith, were called to the stand, who testified that" the defendant officiated as moderator of a town meeting in Barrington, on the 18th of April, 1S42, and received votes for State officers under people's consiitution. No cross-examination of witnesses. The attorney general read a certificate from Ebenezer Tiffany, town clerk of the town of Barrington, setting forth that no town njeeting had l)een called to be held on the 18th April, 1842, under the charter ; whicfi closed the testimony. Mr. Salisbury remarked, tliat on this evidence, and under the ruling of the court in the other case, he deemed it useless to argue this case to the jury. He was not disposed to waste time ; and, being so permitted by the defend- ant, he left the case with the court. The attorney general made a few remarks on the testimony. The court briefly charged the jury with the law, and they retired. A^ter being out about ten minutes, they returned into court with a verdict of GUILTY, and recommending the prisoner to mercy. The sentence, in both cases, was postponed till the ni^xt term, on affi- davit — in Bosworth's case, on account of sickness in his family ; and in Heath's, on account of his own ill health. No. 228. Indict7nent vs. Wilmarth Heath, and report of trial, (supra.) Bristol, sc. At the supreme judicial court of the State of Rhode Island and Provi- dence Plantations, holden at Bristol, within and for the county of Bristol, on the second Monday of September, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and forty-two : The grand jurors of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions, and in and for the body of the county of Bristol, upon their oaths present: That Wilmarth Heath, of Barrington, in the aforesaid county of Rep. No. 546. 811 Bristol, yeoman, not reo:ardit)g the duty of allegiance to the said State, but falsely, mahcionsly, and wilt'iilly contriving the peace of the said State to disturb, and to subvert the true, lawful, and rightful government of said State, and to set up and estabhsh a false and pretended and usurped govern- ment in the place and stead thereof, on the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two, with force and arms, at said Barrington, in the aforesaid county of Bristol, did act as moderator of a certain illegal and void meetmg of divers freemen, inhabit- ants and residents of the said State, then held at said Barrington. for the purpose, amongst o her things, of electing certain State officers for the said State, to wit, for llie election of governor, lieutenant governor, senators, attorney general, and general treasurer; which said meeting was not called or lield in the manner, for the purposes, at the time, and by the freemen, by law prescribed, nor by virtue of any law of the said State regulating the callino" of town meeting's of the freemen of the several towns of the said State; any prescribed form of calling town meetings being, by accident or mistake, omitted or overlooked, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oatlis aforesaid, do further present : That the said Wilmarth Heath, not regarding the duty of his allegiance to the said State, and feilsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of the said State to disturb, and to subvert the true, lawful, and rightful gov- ernment of the said State, and to set up and establish a fcdse, usurped, and pretended government in the place and stead thereof, on the eighteeiuh day of April, m the year of our Lord one thousand eigJit hundred and forty two, with ft)rce and arms, at said Barrington, in the aforesaid county of Bristol, did act a^ moderator of a certain illegal and void meetino- of divers free- men, inhabitants and residents of the said State, then held at said Barring- ton, for the purpose, amongst other things, of electing certain State officers for the said State, to wit, for the election of certain pretended members of the House of Representatives from said town of Barrington, in a preiended General Assembly of the said State; which said meeting was not called or field in the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the freemen by law prescril)ed, nor by virtue of any law of the said State regulating the caMing of town meetings of the freemen of the several towns of the said State ; any prescribed form or forms of calling town meetings being, by accident or mistake, omitted or overlooked, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace atad dignity of the State. Af d the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, further present : That the said Wilmarth Heath, not regarding the duty of his allegiance to the said State, but falsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of said Stale to disturb, and to subvert the true, lawful, and rightful govern- ment of tlie said State, and to set up and establish a certain false, usurped, and pretended government in the place and sti^ad thereof, on the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two. with force and arms, at said Barrington, in theaforesaid conniy of Bristol, did receive votes lor the election of certain State officers for the said State, to wit, for the election of governor, lieutenant governor, sena- tors, attorney general, and general treasurer, against the form of the statute in ^uch case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the Stale. 812 Rep. No. 546. And the jurors oforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said Wilmarth Heath, not regarding the diUy of his allegiance to tlie said State, hiU falsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of the said State to disturb, and to subvert the true, lawful, and rightful gov- ernment of the said State, and to set up and establish a false, usurped, and pretended government in the place and stead thereof, on the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty- two, with force and arms, at said Harrington, in the aforesaid county of Bristol, did receive votes for the election of certain State officers for the said State, to wit, for the election of certain pretended members of the House of Representatives from said town of Barrington, in a pretended General As- sembly of the said State, against the form of the statute in such cuse made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present: That the said Wilmarth Heath, not regarding the duty of his allegiance to the said State, but falsely, maliciously, and wilfully contriving the peace of the said State to disturb, and to subvert the true, lawful, and rightful gov- ernment of the said Slate, and to set up and establish a certain false, usurped, and pretended government in the place and stead thereof, on the eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two, with force and arms, at said Barrington, in the aforesaid county ol Bristol, did act as moderator of a certain illegal void and pretended town meeting of divers of the freemen, inhabitants and residents of the said town of Barrington, then and there held for the election of certain pre- tended State officers for [he said State, to wit, for the election of governor, lieutenant governor, senators, attorney general, general treasurer, and mem- bers of the House of Representatives from the said town of Barrington, to a certain pretended General Assembly hereafter to be held, which said meeting was not called or held in the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the freemen by law prescribed, nor by virtue of any law of the said State prescribing the form or forms of calling town meetings of the freemen of the several towns of the said State ; any prescribed form or forms of calling said town meetinos being, by accident or mistake, omitted or overlooked, against the form of the statute in such case made and pro- vided, and against the peace and dignity of the State. Preferred by — ALBERT C. GREENE, Atlortiey General. State of Rhode Island, &c., Bristol Counti/, sc. Cleric's Office Supreme Court, in the oforcsaid count i/, April 8, 1844. 1 certify the foregoing to be a true copy from the original in said office. Attest : VVM. THROOP, Clerk. Kep. No. 546. 813 State of Rhode Island, &c. sc County of Bristol, Supreme judicial court, September term, A. D. 1S42. Indictment— the State vs. Wilmarth Heath. Fifth day of the term, the defendant was arraigned, and pleaded " not guilty" to the indictment. Eighth day, continued on affidavit of the defendant. March term, A. D. 1843. Second day, continued on motion of defendant. September term, A. D. 1843, Second day, continued. March term, A. D. 1844. Seventh day, defendant arraigned and put to plead ; and, waiving the reading of the indictment, and persisting in his former plea of "not guilty," the following named jurors were sworn and empannelled to try the issue joined, viz : Hezekiah Bosworth, (foreman.) Benjamin Tilley. John Fletcher, George G. Hazard, George Littlefield, Horace Peck, Charles Fales, Mason W. Pearce, James Cotfin, Sachet Mauran, Amos T. Gorham, Nathaniel ('og- geshall ; and, on the same day, the said jury returned the following verdict: " We find the defendant guilty in manner and form as charged in the indictment. .Tury recommend the prisoner to mercy." Sentence postponed to the next term of the court. Bristol, sc. Clerk's Office, Supreme Court, April 9, 1844, l' certify the foregoing to be a true copy from the records in this office. Attest : WM. THROOP, Clerk. No. 229. Cert^cnte of the clerk of the court in Providence county^ Rhode Island^ sJiowing the number of persons indicted in that county ; and ccrtificale of the jailer of the commitment of Otis Holmes. THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. Providence, ss : Clerk's Office Supreme Court, April 3, A. D. 1844. 1, Walter Paine, jr., clerk of said court for said county of Providence, do hereby certify, that at the September term of said court A. D. 1842, the fol- lowing indictments were returned into court as true bills by the grand in- quest of said State within and for the body of said county of Providence, viz ; 814 Rep. No. 546. Against Andreio Essex, of Cranston, yeoman, for accepting the office of justice of the peace in said town of Cranstun, having been elected thereto on the 18th day of April, A. D. 1842, under the (so called) people's consti- tution. Against Charles A. Slocum, yeoman, of Glocester, for acting as moderator of a town meeting held in said Glocester on the 18th day of April. A. D. 1842, under the said people's constitution. Against Burringion Anthony, of Providence, gentleman, alias esquire, for signifying his acceptance of the ministerial office of sheriff of the aforesaid county of Providence, to which office he had been elected by the people un- der the (so called) people's constitution on the 18lh day of April, 1842. Against Franklin Cooky, of Providence, stone cutter, and against Benja- min Arnold, of Providence, grocer, for treason, for accepting the offices of representatives of said city of Providence under said constitution, to which offices they were elected on said 18th day of April, 1842. Against Clovis H. Bowefi, of Glocester, esquire, for acting as clerk of a certain illegal town meeting holden at said Glocester on the 18th day of April, under the said people's constitution. Against Hezckiah Willard, of Providence, merchant, for treason ; he hav- ing accepted the office of senator from said city of Providence, to which he was elected under said constitution, April I8th, 1842. Against William H. ^SV/^VA, of Providence, esquire, for treason ; he having accepted the office of secretary of state under said constitution, to which office he was elected on the 18th day of April. 1842, under said constitution. Against David Parmenter, of Providence, cordwainer, for acting as a moderator of a certain illegal town meeting holden at said Providence on the 18th day of April, 1842, under said people's constitution. I further certify, that, at the March term of said court, A. D. 1843, the grand inquest of said State, within and for the body of said county of Prov- idence, did return as a true bill an indictment against Charles S. Sanders, of Smithneld, in said county, painter, for treason committed on the 17th day of May, A. D. 1842, by levying war against the State. All which defendants have been arraigned, and are now under recogni- zance, with sureties, for their appearance whenever said indictments (all of which are now pending in said court) shall be called for trial. Attest': WALTER PAINE, Jr., Clerk. Otis Hohnes was committed to Providence county jail, June 26, 18^2, by order of the governor and council ; July 29, 1842, was discharged by or- der of the governor ; and the same day committed to said jail by virtue of a mittimus signed by Henry L. Bowen, esquire, and left with the jailer, on which warrant he was detained in said jail until August 24, 1842, on which day he was dehvered to the supreme judicial court, then sitting in Newport, on a writ of habeas corpus, as appears on record in criminal jail-book " C " of Providence county jail. THOMAS CLEVELAND, Jailer. Providence, April 1, 1844. Rep. No. 546. 815 No. 230. Certificate of the keeper of the jail in Bristol county^ Rhode Island, show- ing the number of persons committed, who were connected with the suf- frage movements. I, Bennett J. Monro, keeper of the jail in the county of Bristol, and State of Rhode Island, do certify, that Stafford Healy and Loranus A. Braytoti were committed to this jail June 29th, 1842, by order from JohnT. Childs, lieutenant 4th regiment R. I. militia, commanding at Warren; and that they were both discliarged July 9th, 1842, by order of Governor King, having previously been examined before commissioners appointed by the legislature for that purpose. Also, that Hiram Chappell, Andrew Thompson, Charles A. Campbell, David M. G. Hamilton, Caleb Bradley, and Wm, T. Olney, were brought from Providence, and committed to this jail July 20th, 1842, as prisoners of war, and remained as such until July 25th, 1842, when they were re- leased as prisoners of war by order of Governor Kincj, and were the same day arrested on warrants, and, after an examination, were again committed to take their trials before the supreme judicial court ; the said Chappell, Ol- ney, Bradley, and Hamilton being charged with treason against the State, and the said Campbell and Thompson charged wiih breaking into a build- ing in the town of Warren, with intent to commit larceny. That the said Thompson was admitted to bail before a magistrate, August 13th, 1842, The said Campbell was admitted to bail September 19th, 1842, he having been previously indicted by the grand jury. The said Chappell was dis- charged September I7th, 1842, by order of court, the grand jury failing to find a bill against him. The said Hamilton was admitted to bail Novem- ber 10(h, 1842, by the supreme court, in consequence of sickness. The said Wm. T. Olney was discharged April 20th, 1843, by order of the gov- ernor and council. The said Caleb Bradley was discharged May lOth, 1843, also by order of the governor and council. All of which appears of record in this office. Attest : BENNETT J. MONRO, Jailer. Bristol County Jail, April 2, 1844. No. 231. Statement of William J. Miller, showing the direction of Chief Justice Dwfee to the jailer of Bristol county not to furnish certificates of com* mitnient. ^' I, William J. Miller, of Bristolj State of Rhode Island, say : That on last week I applied to the jailer of Bristol county for a copy from the records in his possession of all persons committed to jail in said county during the year 1842, connected with the suffrage movements in this State, and was told that he would furnish me with it as soon as he could make it out. The latter part of the week an adjourned term of the supreme court was held in Bristol, and the high sheriff of the county having learned that the 816 Rep. No. 546. jailer had had such application made to him, made complaint to the cosirt, who decided that the jailer need not furnisli said copy. The ]ano-nas[e of the chief justice was: " We don't give any opinion as a court, but we think you (to the jailer) need not furnish any papers to send to Washington." The foregoing I overheard in the court-room ; and was afterwards inform- ed by the jailer that he could not furnish me with the papers I had applied for, and gave as the reason what the court said. WILLIAM J. MILLER. No. 232. An act in addition to, and in am^endtnent of, an act entitled " An act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the State,''^ passed by the General Assembly, January session, 1 843. Be it e?iacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section L All town, ward, or other meetings of the electors, inhabitants, or residents of this State, or of any portion of the same, for the election of any person or persons to any office or offices, place or places whatsoever, to which the people of this State may by law elect, called or held in any town of this State, or in the city of Providence, except in the manner, for the purposes, at the times, and by the electors by law prescribed, are illegal and void ; and such meetings, and also all meetings of persons other than those authorized by law, calling themselves, when collected, or claiming to be the General Assembly of this State, or either house thereof, are hereby declared to be riotous, tumultuous, and treasonable assemblies; and the commander-in chief, the sheriff of any county, or any deputy sheriff, any justice of the court of common pleas m any county, the mayor of the city of Providence, -or, in his absence, the board of aldermen of said city, are hereby authorized and required to command such assemblies, or any of them, to disperse; and if they dn not forthwith obey said command, then, by the civil posse, or if they deem it necessary, by calling out and using for that purpose the whole or any portion of the military force of this State within their respective jurisdictions, that they, or either of them, may deem sufficient therefor, to disperse sucfi assemblies, or any of them, within their jurisdictions; and all such officers, and all military officers in this State, and persons under their command, are hereby directed to govern themselves accordingly. Sec. 2. All moderators, wardens, or clerks, or persons acting as such, in any such illegal town, ward, or other meetings, hereafter held, shall be pun- ished as is provided in the first section of the act to which this is in amend- ment, for the punishment of the moderators, wardens, clerks, or persons acting as such, therein mentioned. Sec. 3. Any candidate for any such office, who shall signify that he will accept the same, if elected thereto by virtue of any such pretended elections in any such meetings, or shall knowingly suffer or permit his name to be used as the name of a candidate therefor, shall be punished as is provided for the candidates mentioned in the second section of the act to which this is in amendment. Sec. 4. Any person or persons, except such as arc duly elected thereto Rep No. 546. 817 according: to the laws of this State, who shall, under a pretended consti- tution of government for this State, or otherwise, assume to exercise the functions of any legislative office or place whatsoever, to which the people of this Slate may by law elect, or shall meet with others for the purpose of exercising the functions of any such office or place, shall be punished as is provided in the third section of the act to which this is in amendment, for the punishment of the persons therein mentioned. No. 232 a. An act ill. amendment of on act entitled '■'■ An act to prevent 'routs, riots, and tumultuous assemblies, and the evil consequences thereof. ^^ Be U enacted by the General Assembly as folloiDs : The act to which this is in amendment, is hereby so far amended as that if, in the making or attempting to make proclamation, as mentioned in said act, the persons assembled in manner therein specified do not forthwith dis- perse themselves, they are to be dealt with as is in said act provided ; and that so much of said act as requires the delay of an hour after making or attempting to make proclamation as aforesaid, is hereby repealed.- No. 233. Laics relating to the military, passed by the General Assembly, May ses- sion, 1842. AN ACT establishing a military company by the name of the Warren Artilleiy, in the town of Warren, and county of Bristol. Whereas the preservation of the United States depends in time of war, under God upon the military skill and discipline of the inhabitants : and, whereas a number of them in the town of Warren, and county of Bristol, have mutually agreed, for the public good, to form themselves into a com- pany by the name of the Warren Artillery, in the town of Warren, and county of Bristol ; and by their respectful petition prayed this Assembly to grant to them a charter of incorporation, with such privileges, and under such restrictions and limitations, as this Assembly should think proper : Wherefore this Assembly, in order to give all due encouragement to so laudable a design and so noble a disposition, have ordained, constituted, and granted, and by these presents do ordain, constitute, and grant, that Charles Collins, Charles Smith, and William B. Snell, together with such others as have already joined them, or shall hereafter be added to them, not exceeding the number of one hundred, exclusive of officers, be, and they are hereby declared to be, a military company in the fourth regiment of militia, by the name of the Warren Artillery; and by that name shall have perpetual suc- cession, and shall have and enjoy all rights, powers, and privileges in this grant hereafter mentioned. First. It is granted unto this company, that they, or the greater part of 52 Sl8 Rep. No. 546. them, shall and may once in every year, that is to say on the third Monday in April, meet and assemble themselves together in some convenient place by them appointed, then and there to choose their own officers, to wit : one captain, four lieutenants, one quartermaster, and all other officers necessary for the training, disciplining, and well ordering the affairs of said company; at which election no officer shall be chosen but by the greater number of votes then present; the captain, lieutenants, and quartermaster to be ap- proved of by the governor and senate for the time being, and to be com- missioned by the governor under the seal of the State, and to be duly en- gaged like the officers of the militia. Secondly. The said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise themselves on such days and as often as they shall think proper, but shall be obliged to meet four times in every year for drilling, training, and field duty, upon penalty of paying to and for the use of said company the follow- ing fines, to wit: the captain, lieutenants, and quartermaster, each six dol- lars, the non commissioned officers and privates each three dollars for every day's neglect, to be levied by warrants of distress directed to the quartermas- ter from the colonel, or other commanding officer of said company for the time beiuff. Thirdly. The said company, or the greater part of them, shall have pow- er to make such rules and orders among themselves as they shall think ne- cessary to promote the end of their establishment, but which shall be con- sistent with this grant; and to lay and levy such fines and forfeitures upon any of their own company, for the breach of any such rules and orders, as they shall think proper, so that the same shall not exceed six dollars for any one offence ; and shall have full power to levy the same, as aforesaid, by war- rant of distress directed to the quartermaster from the commanding officer for the time being. Fourthly. All those who shall be duly enlisted in said company, so long as they continue therein shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing mil- itary duty (watching and warding excepted) in the several companies or training bands in whose district they respectively belong. Fiftkly. If any commissioned officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the county of Bristol, or shall be taken away by death, or shall resign, in either of those cases the captain of said company, or some commissioned officer for the time being, shall call said company together as soon as conveniently may be, and choose another or others in place of such officer or officers so inca- pacitated to serve as aforesaid, in the manner hereinbefore directed for the election of officers of said company. Sixthly. It is further granted, that the captain of said company shall have full power, by warrant or commission under his hand and seal, to authorize all officers who shall be duly elected by said company, under the rank of quartermaster, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respect- ively elected. Seventhly. It is further granted, that the officers of the said company, when called into actual service with the miliiia, shall take rank according to their commissions. Eighthly. This charter shall be forever subject to all future acts of this General Assembly, in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. Sep. No. 546. 819 AN ACT in amendment of an act entitled " An act to incorporate the First Light Infantry- Company in the second regiment ol uiiiiiia." Be it enacted by the Cren-eral Assembly as follows : Section 1. Section first of the act entitled " An act to incorporate the First Lic^ht Infantry Company in the second regiment of miUtia" is hereby- amended, so that there may be hereafter enrolled not exceeding two hun- dred men, exclusive of officers. Sec. 2. All the corporate and other rights of said company, which may have become affected by reason of their having more men on their roll than by the charter was allowed, are hereby confirmed to the same extent as if they had not exceeded tlie number hmited them by said charter. AN ACT to authorise the establishment of volunteer police companies in the city of Provi- dence. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as folloiDs : Section 1. The inhabitants of the city of Providence, or any portion of ihem, are hereby authorized to unite and form themselves into volunteer police companies, not exceeding fifty men in each company, to be com- manded by one captain and two lieutenants, who shall be appointed and commissioned by the governor. Said companies may severally elect a clerk, and a proper number of non commissioned officers. Said companies shall be designated in numerical order by the governor, and shall arm and equip themselves in such manner as they may deem proper. The officers of said €ompanies shall severally hold and exercise their offices therein, until others are appointed in their places. Sec. 2. Said companies may keep watch and ward in said city, under the general direction of the mayor or aldermen thereof; and shall be liable to be called out for the prevention or suppression of any tumult, riot, or mob in said city, by the authority and in the manner prescribed by the act entitled "An act to prevent routs, riots, and tumultuous assemblies, and the evil con- sequences thereof;^' and may be also called out by the authority and in the manner provided in and by the sixty-first section of the act entitled " An act to regulate the militia." No. 234. ■Laws relating to the ntilitary, passed by the General Assembly^ June session^ 1842. AN ACT to incorporate the Wakefield Cadets, Be it enacted by the General Assembly as folloics : Section I. George Whitford, John B. Dockray, William P. Dockray, Edwin A. Peckham, William H. Hazard, William R. Noyes, W. W. Avery, and VViUiam C. Watson, all of South Kingstown, in the county of Wash- ington, their associates and such others as may hereafter be added unto them, not less than twenty five and not exceeding one hundred men, ex- 820 ' Rep. No. 546. elusive of officers, are hereby created and made a body politic and cor|io- rate, by the name of the "Wakefield Cadets," in the eleventh regiment of militia ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and per- petual succession, and shall and may enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges hereinafter mentioned. Skc. 2. Said company, or the greater number of them, shall and may, once in every year, that is to say on the first Monday of April, meet and assemble together in some place by them appointed, then and there to choose their officers, to wit: one captain, three lieutenants, one ensign, and one quartermaster, who shall, by virtue of his office, be clerk of said com- pany ; and also such non commissioned officers as shall be necessary for the training, discipiiningy and well-ordering said company. At such meet- ing no officer shall be cliosen except by a majority of the votes then present; and the captain, lieutenants, and ensign so as aforesaid chosen, shall be approved of by the governor and senate for the time being, and shall be commissioned and engaged in the same manner as the militia officers in this State : Provided^ That nothing herein contained shall be construed to exempt any officer from military duty, unless he shall have actually served as a commissioned officer for the term of five years. Sec. 3. Said company shall be obliged to meet at least twice in each year, for military exercise, to wit : on tlie first Monday of April, and on the first Monday of September; and that for neglecting to appear at such meetings, neglecting to equip, refusal to obey any lawful order, or for un- officer-like or unsoldier like conduct, the officers and privates of said com- pany shall be subject to the same fines and penalties, to be collected and enforced in the same manner as by the existing militia law of this State. Sec. 4. The said company, or the greater number of them, shall have power to make such rules and by laws for such company as they shall deem necessary for the promotion of their object; and to impose such fines and forfeitures for the breach thereof as they shall think proper : Provided, That no fine for any one offence shall exceed the sum of five dollars ; and said company shall have fiill power to levy and collect the fines they shall so impose, by a warrant of distress from the captain or other superior officer of said company for the time being, directed to the clerk or either of the sergeants of said company. Sec. 5. All the members of said company, so long as they shall remain such, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty in the several companies or train bands within the districts in which they respec- tively live. Sec. 6. If any commivssioned officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved of by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the limits of said regiment, or shall resign or decease, or his or their place or places become otherwise vacant, then, and in either of those cases, the captain of said company, or other superior officer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of said company as soon as conveniently may be, in order to choose another or other oflicers in the stead of those whose places have thus become vacant ; said warrant to be served by some member of said company, by reading the same to the members of said com- pany, or by leaving a copy of the same at their last and usual place of abode, at least four days before the time for such special meeting. Sec. 7. When said company shall be reduced to less than twenty five Rep, No, 546. 821 members, exclusive of officers, this act of incorporation shall be null and void, and the said company extinct. Sec. 8. George Whitford shall be captain ; John B. Dockray first, Wil- !ian) P. Dockray second, Tennant T, Stedman, third lieutenant; Edwin A. Peckham ensign of said company until the next election: and com- «iissioned accordingly. AN ACT to authorize llie establishment of volunteer companies in the several towns of this State and in the city of Providence. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section t. The inhabitants of the several towns in this State and of the city of Providence, or any portion of them, are hereby authorized to form themselves into volunteer conipanies, to be commanded by one ca{»- tain, and not less than two, nor more than three lieutenants, who shall be appointed and commissioned by the governor. Said companies may seve- rally elect a clerk and a proper number of noncommissioned officers, and shall be designated in numerical order by the governor, and may equip themselves, or shall be equipped by him, at the expense of the State, in such manner as he shall deem proper. The officers of said companies shall b ' elected for one year on the last Monday of April in each year, and shall hold and exercise their offices for one year, and until others are ap- pointed in their places. Sec. 2. The commissions heretofore issued by the governor to the offi- cers of the several volunteer companies established under the recommenda- tion of the governor and council, and also under the act entitled "An act to authorize the establishment of volunteer police companies in the city of Providence," are hereby approved and confirmed; and the commanding officers of the several volunteer com|)aiiies already established as aforesaid. or to be established under or by virtue of this act, shall determine their relative rank by lot, although their commissions may be of diflferent dates; and their companies shall take post with them when on parade. Sec. 3. Said companies may keep watch and ward m the city of Provi- dence under the general direction of the mayor and aldermen of said city, and elsewhere under the general direction of the several town councils of the several towns in this State; and shall be liable to be called out for the prevention or suppression of any tumult, riot, or mob, in said city or town of this State, by the authority and in the manner prescribed by the act en- titled " An act to prevent routs, riots, and tumultuous assemblies, and tlie evil consequences thereof," and any acts in addition to or amendment of the same; and may also be called out by the authority and in the manner pro- vided in and by the sixty-first section of the act entitled "An act to regu- late the militia." Sec. 4. The commissioned officers of the several chartered and volun- teer companies of the city of Providence, are hereby empowered to form said companies into a regiment, to be called " the City Regiment;" and the governor, by and with the advice of the senate, is hereby empowered to grant commissions to such proper officers as the said commissioned officers aiay elect or designate to command them ; the colonel and other officers 822 Rep. No. 546. of said regiment to hold their commissions until others are appointed in their places. Sec. 5. The act entitled "An act to authorize the establishment of vol- unteer police companies in the city of Providence," is hereby repealed \ all things heretofore done in conformity thereto being hereby validated, confirmed, and continued in force, in the same manner as if said act ha'd not been repealed. AN ACT in amendment of an act entitled " An act to incorporate the independent company of cadets in the town of Providence." Be it enacted by the General Assembly as foliates : Said company^ now known by the name and style of the National Cadets, is hereby allowed to enroll men to any number not exceeding two hundred, exclusive of officers ; and any act of this Assembly is hereby repealed, so far as it§ provisions are inconsistent herewith. AN ACT in amendment of " An act establishing a military independent company by the name of the Train of Artillery in the town and county of Bristol. "^ Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: The act to which this is in amendment is hereby amended, so that said company shall hereafter consist of a number not exceeding two hundred^ inclusive of offi,cers. AN ACT in amendment of an act entitled " An act for establishing a military company by the name of ibe United Company of the Train of Artillery in the tuwn of Providence." Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: Section 1. The first section of said act is so far amended, as that the officers chosen by said company shall be one captain and four lieutenants^ who shall be commissioned accordingly; and such other non commissioned officers as shall be necessary to the training, disci{)lining, and well-ordering of said company. Sec. 2. The fifth section of said act is hereby repealed. Sec. 3. Said company shall be attached to the regiment in the city of Providence ; and the officers of said company shall hereafter take rank and station in the same manner as the officers of other companies. Voted and resolved^ That the sum of one thousand dollars be appropriated to build an armory and furnish equipments for the Kentish Guards; and that said sum be expended under the direction of Ezra Pollard and the colonel of said company, who are hereby authorized to draw on the general treasurer for said sura, for the purposes aforesaid i Provided hoioever. That if said company is ever dissolved, the State shall be entitled to an equitable proportion of the value or proceeds of said armory, corresponding to the amount contributed ; and that the sum hereby contributed be paid in sijs months from the date hereoL Rep. No. 546. 823 AN ACT to annul the charters of certain military companies. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows: The charter of the independent company called the United Independent Volunteers, and the charter of the First Light Infantry Company iti the fifteenth regiment of militia, are hereby repealed, and declared null and void. Resolved., That the governor be, and he hereby is, authorized to fill any vacancies which may now exist, or which may hereafter happen in the militia of this State, and to commission the persons appointed ; and also, in his discretion, to approve and commission any officers tfow or hereafter elected by any of the chartered companies of this State. Resolved., That the governor be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint a special commissary general of the State, and also a surgeon general ; and that said commissary general and surgeon general be, and they are hereby, authorized severally to appoint so many assistants as they, in their discretion, may think necessary for the ptiblic service. Resolved, That the adjutant general and the quartermaster general be, and they are hereby, authorized severally to appoint so many assistants as they may deem tiie public service requires, with the rank of captain. Upon the petition of the Warren Artillery for an appropriation of seven hundred dollars for the purpose of aiding said company in building an armory: Voted and resolved, That the prayer thereof be granted, and that the sum of seven hundred dollars i^ hereby appropriated for that purpose, under the direction of Alfred Bosworth and Captain Samuel Pearce, who are authorized to draw on the general treasurer for that sum; and it is hereby declared that said armory, when erected, shall be and remain per- sonal property : Provided however, That if said company is ever dissolved, the State shall be entitled to an equitable proportion of the value or proceeds of the armory corresponding to the amount contributed, and that the sum hereby allowed be paid in six months from the date hereof. Upon the petition of the First Light Infantry of Providence for grant of money : Voted und resolved. That the prayer of said petition be so far granted as to appropriate for the use of said compai^y the sum of twelve hundred dollars, to be paid by the general treasurer to the order of William W. Brown. Provided, That if said company is ever dissolved, the State shall be en- titled to an equittible proportion of the value of the proceeds of the armory corresponding to the amount contributed ; and that the sum hereby allowed be paid in six months from the date hereof Upon the petition of the Bristol Train of Artillery for an appropriation to build an armory: Voted and resolved, That the prayer of said petition be granted, and that the sum of five hundred dollars, in addition to the sum of two hundred dollars heretofore granted, is hereby appropriated for the purpose of building an armory,, under the direction of Byron Diman, Wil- liam R. Taylor, and Jacob Babbitt, jr., who are hereby authorized to draw 824 Rep. No. 546. on the general treasurer for that amount ; and it is hereby declared that said armory, when erected, shall be and remain personal property : Pro- vided, That if said company is ever dissolved, the State shall be entitled to an equitable proportion of the value or proceeds of the armory corres- ponding to the amount contributed ; and that the sum hereby contributed be paid in six months from the date hereof. No. 235. Laws relating to the military, passed by the General Assembly, October session, 1842. AN ACT to incorporate the Sea Fencibles. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, as follows: Section 1. Nathaniel S. Mauran, Thomas Pearce, William P. Blodget, Truman W. Foster, William G. Mereweather, and William Cameron, all of the city atjd county of Providence, their associates, and such others as may hereafter be added unto them, not exceeding one hundred men. ex- clusive of officers, are hereby created and made a body politic and corpo- rate, by the name of the Sea Fencibles in the second regiment of militia ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and perpetual suc- cession, and shall enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges hereinafter mentioned. Sec. 2. Said company, or the greater number of them, shall and may once in every year, that is to say on the third Monday of April, meet and assemble together in some place by them appointed, then and there to choose their officers, to wit, one captain, three lieutenants, and one quarter- master, and one ensign, and also such non-commissioned officers as shall be necessary for the framing, disciplining, and well-ordering of said com- pany. At such meeting no officer shall be chosen, except by a majority of the votes present ; and the captain, lieutenants, quartermaster, and en- sign so chosen, shall be approved of by the governor and senate for the time being, and shall be commissioned by the governor, under the seal of the State, and be duly engaged like the officers of the miliiia. Sec. 3. Said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise themselves on such days and as often as they shall think proper, but shall meet four limes in every year for training, drilling, and field duty; and for neglect- ing to ajipear at such meetings, neglecting to equip, refusal to obey any lawful order, or for unofficer-like or unsoldier like conduct, the officers and privates of said company shall be subject to the same fines and penalties, to be collected and enforced in the same manner, as by the militia law of this State for the time being ; said fines to be to and for the use of said company. Sec. 4, Said company, or the greater number of them, shall have power to make such rules and by laws consistent with this gratit as they shall dtein necessary for the promotion of their welfare, and to impose such fines and forfeitures for the breach thereof as they shall deem proper, so that the same shall not exceed five dollars for any one offence, and shall have full power to levy and collect the same by warrant of distress from the captain or other superior officer of said company for the time being, directed to the quartermaster or either of the sergeants of said company. Rep. No. 546. 825 Sf.c. 5. If any commissioned officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the county of Providence, or sliall resign or decease, or his or their place or places become otherwise vacant, in either of these cases the captain of said company, or other superior officer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of said company as soon as conveniently may be, to choose another or other officers instead of those whose places have thus be- come vacant, in the manner before directed ; said warrant to be served by some member of the company, by reading of the same to the members of said company, or by leaving a copy of the same at their last and usual place of abode, at least four days before the time of said special meeting. Sbc. 6. All the members of said company, so long as they continue such, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty in the several companies or train bands within the districts in which they respectively live. Sec. 7. The captain of said company shall have full power and authority, ,by warrant or commission under his hand and seal, to authorize all officers which shall be duly elected by said company, under the rank of quarter- master, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respectively elected. Skc. 8. The officers of said company shall take rank in the regiment ac- cording to their commissions. Skc. 9. Whenever the company shall be reduced to less than thirty members, this act shall become null and void. Skc. 10, The officers now holding commissions in said company shall continue as such until the next annual meeting. Sec. 11. This act shall be subject to all future acts of the General As- sembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. AN ACT to incorporate the company of Woonsocket Guards , in the sixth regiment of militia.' Whereas the preservation of this State, in timesof war and of public dan- ger, depends, under Divine protection, upon the patriotism and military skill of its inhabitants: and whereas a nutnber of the inhabitants of the village of Woonsocket and vicinity, in the towns of Smithfield and Cum- berland, viz: Arnold 13riggs, William H. Andrews, John Allen, John Allen, jr., Joseph Briggs, Thomas F. Mason, Jackson P. Mowry, Seth H. Vose, William H. Passmore, Jesse Gould, John Passmore, Arunah Grant, Wil- liam J. Holder, Stephen S. Waterman, ''J'iiomas Conlin, Lyman Cooke, Eugene Martin, Cyrus Arnold, jr., Sidney S. Paul, Edward H. Sprague, Charles H. Stone, Wilson B. Kobbins, Mowry Aldrich, Smith W. Paine, George F. Verry, Sullivan Ballon, Jacob Hicks, Charles L. Fisher, Willard Ballon, Henry G. Ballon, Nelson Chase, John Moore, Nathan Verry, Hiram Burnett, Henry Thayer, Darwin T. Briggs, James Robinson, Edwin S. Hull, William O. Bisbee, John Mowry, Noah L. Peck, William O. Mason, George Taft, and Enoch Whipple, have petitioned this General Assembly, setting forth that they have organized and formed themselves into a military body of infantry, and have petitioned for a charter of incorporation : Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section 1. The said petitioners, and such others as shall be hereafter 826 Rep. No. 546. added unto them, not exceeding^ one hundred men, exclusive of officers, be, and they are hereby, created a body corporate and pohtic, by the name of the Woonsovket Guards, in the sixth regiment of the miUtia of this State ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and perpetual suc- cession, and shall and may have and enjoy all the rights, powers, and priv- ileges hereinafter mentioned. Sect. 2. The said company shall and may, once in every year — that is to say, on the third Monday in April — meet and assemble themselves to- gether, in some place by them or by their superior officer appointed, then and there to choose their officers, to wit : one captain, four lieutenants, and such non commissioned officers as shall be necessary for the disciplining and well ordering of said company; at which election no officer shall be chosen, but by the greater number of the votes there present. The captain and lieutei;ants to be approved of by the governor and senate for the time be- ing, and to be commissioned and engaged m the same manner as the other militia officers in the State. Sect. 3. The said company shall and may meet for exercise at least, four times in every year, upon the penalty of paying, for tFie use of the company, the following fines, viz: the captahi, for every neglect, eight dollars; the lieutenants, each, six dollars; and the non-commissioned officers and privates, each, three dollars ; the same to be collected in the manner prescribed by law for collecting fines in other militia companies. And said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise upon such other days, and as often as they shall deem necessary, and shall be subject to the orders and directions of the commandant or other field officers of the sixth regiment, and shall at all times be considered as attached to said regiment. Sect. 4. The said company, or the majority of its members, shall have power to make such rules, by laws, and regulations among themselves, as they shall deem necessary to promote the design of their establishment; and to lay such fines and forfeitures upon any of its members, for the breach of any such rules, by-laws, and orders, as they sliall think proper : providing the same does not exceed six dollars for any one offence. And they shall also have full power to levy the fines and forfeitures which they shall so impose, by a warrant of distress from the captain or other superior officer for the time being, directed to the clerk, or either of the sergeants of said company. Sect. 5, All the members of said company, so lon^ as they shall con- tinue therein, shall be exempted from bearing arms, or doing military duty in the several companies, or train bands, in the districts in which they respectively live. Sect. 6. Jf any commissioned officer or officers of the said company shall be disapproved of by the governor and senate, or shall resign, or shall decease, then, and in either of these cases, the captain of said com- pany, or other superior officer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of the same, as soon as conveniently may be, in order to choose. another, or others, to fill the offices vacated as aforesaid, in the man- ner liereinbefore directed for the election of officers of said company. Sect. 7. If any action or suit shall be commenced for any matter or thing done by virtue of this act, the defendant may plead the general issue, and give this act in evidence. Sect. 8. Whenever the said company shall be reduced to less than thirty Rep. No. 546. 827 members, excluding officers, this act of incorporation sliall become null and void. Sect. 9. The following named members shall be, and they hereby are, appointed the officprs of said company, to hold their respective offices until the last Monday of April next, and to be commissioned accordingly, viz: Arnold BrigiJ:s, captain ; VVilham H. Passmore, first heutenant ; Sidney S. Paul, second lieutenant; Eugene Martin, third lieutenant; and Thomas F. Mason, fourth lieutenant. Sect. 10. This act shall be subject to all future acts of the General As- sembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. AN ACT establishing a company of light dragoons by the name of the Providence Horse Guards in the city o( Providence, Whereas the efficiency of infantry is greatly increased by the co opera- tion of horsemen ; and whereas a number of the inhabitants of the city of Providence, being deeply impressed with the necessity of such an addition to the present militia of the State, have mutually agreed to form themselves into a company, by the name of the Providence Horse Guards, in the city of Providence, and by their respectful petition have prayed this Assembly to grant to them a charter of incorporation, with such privileges and under such restrictions and limitations as this Assembly should think proper: Therefore, Be it enacted hy the General Assembly as foUnics : Skction 1. That Almon D. Hodges, George W. Hallett, Samuel G. Ar- nold, William W. Hoppin, John Giles, Moses B. Ives, John A. Wadsworth, and Thomas J. Stead, together with such others as are now or may hereaf- ter be associated with them, not exceeding the number of two hundred, ex- clusive ot officers, be, and they are hereby declared to be, a military com- pany in the second brigade of Rhode Island mihtia, by the name of the Providence Horse Guards, and by that name shall have perpetual succes- sion, and shall have and enjoy all rights, powers, and privileges, in this grant hereafter mentioned. Sec. 2. It is granted unto this company that they, or the greater part of them, shall and niay, once in every year— that is to say, on the third Mon- day of April — meet together in some convenient place by them appointed, then and there to choose their own officers, to wit: one captam, four lieutenants, one adjutant with the rank of lieutenant, and all other officers necessary for the training, disciplining, and well-ordering the affairs of said company; at which election, no officer shall be elected except by a major- ity of the votes of those present. The captain, lieutenants, and adjutant to be subject to the approval of the governor and senate for the time being, and to be commissioned by the governor under the seal of the State, and to be duly engaged like the officers of the militia. Si<:c. 3. The said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise them- selvt;s on such days and as often as they shall think proper ; but shall be obliged to meet four times in every year, for drilling, training, and field duty, upon the penalty of paying to and for the use of said company the following fines, to wit: the captain, lieutenants, and adjutant, each six dol- lars; the non-commissioned officers and privates, each, three dollars for every day's neglect; to be levied by warrants of distress directed to the ad- 828 Rep. No. 546. * jutant from the captain or other commanding officer of said company for the time being-. Skc. 4. The said compaHy, or a majority of its members, shall have power from time to time lo make snch by-laws and regulations as they shall deem necessary, consistent with this grant ; and to impose, lor the use of said company, such fines and forfeitures upon its members, for the breach of any or all of such by laws and regulations as they shall deem proper, so that the fine or forfeiture shall not exceed six dollars lor any one offence ; and shall also have free power to levy such fines and forfeitures as may accrue as aforesaid, by warrants of distress directed to the adjutant from the commanding officer for the time being. Sec. 5. All members of said company, so long as they shall continue regularly enrolled, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty in the several companies or training bands in whose districts they may severally belong. Sec. 6. In case of the disapproval by the governor and senate of any commissioned officer or officers, or of his or their removal from the city of Providence, or of his or their death, or of his or their disability to hold said office or offices from any cause, the captain of said company, or the officer highest in rank for the time being, shall assemble said company as soon as convenient after said incapacity of such officer or officers is made known, for the purpose of electing another or others to supply the vacancy or va- cancies caused by the incapacity as aforesaid, in the manner hereinbefore described for the election of officers. Sec. 7. The captain legally elected of said company, is hereby fully em- powered, by warrant or commission under his hand and seal, to authorize all officers who shall be duly elected by said company, below the rank of adjutant, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respectively elected. Sec. 8. This charter shall be forever subject to all future acts of this General Assembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. Sec. 9. Almon D. Hodges shall be captain ; George W. Hallett, first lieutenant; Samuel G. Arnold, second lieutenant; William Warner Hop- pin, third lieutenant; John Giles, fourth lieutenant; John A. Wadsworth, adjutant, until the next election. Sec. 10. Whenever said company shall be reduced to less than thirty members, this act shall become null and void. Whereas the preservation of this State from foreign foes in time of war, and from bad men and traitors in time of peace, depends, under Divine protection, upon the patriotism and military skill of its inhabitants ; and whereas a number of the citizens of the town of North Kingstown, viz: George B. Thomas, John R. Greene, George C. Sandford, and others, have petitioned this General Assembly, setting forth that they have formed them- selves into a military body, and prayed this General Assembly to grant them a charter of it] corporation : Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follotos : Section I. The said petitioners, and such others as may be hereafter added unto them, not exceeding eighty men, exclusive of commissioned officers, are hereby made a body corporate and politic, by the name of the Rep. No. 546. 829 Wickford Pioneers ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and perpetual succession, and shall and may have and enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges hereinafter mentioned. F'irsi. It is granted unto said company, that they, or the greater number of them, shall and may once in every year — that is to say, on the first Mon- day of April — meet and assemble themselves together in some phice by them appointed, within the town of North Kingstown, then and there to choose their officers, to wit : one captain, three lieutenants, and one ensign, and such non commissioned officers as shall be necessary for the training, disci- plining, and well orderingof said company; at which election, no officer shall be chosen but by the greater number of votes then present : the captain, lieutenants, and ensign, to be a[)proved of by the governor and senate, and to be commissioned and engaged in the same manner as other militia offi- cers in this State. Seco7id. Said company shall be obliged to meet for exercise at least four times in every year — to wit, on the first Monday of April, the first Monday in June, the first Monday in Aujjust*, and the last Monday in September — with the power to substitute, by vote, the fourth day of July and the first Monday of October, for the first Monday in June and the last Monday in September, upon the penalty of paying to and for the use of the comj)any the following fines : the captain, (or each day's neglect, eight dollars ; the lieutenants and ensign, each, six dollars ; and the non commissioned officers and privates, each, four dollars; to be collected in the manner prescribed by law for collecting fines in other militia companies ; and shall have liberty to meet and exercise upon such other days, and as often as their command- ing officer shall, in his discretion, deem necessary. Said company shall be attached to the third brigade of militia. Third. The said company, or greater part of them, shall have power to make such rules, by laws, and ordinances among themselves, as they shall think necessary to promote the design of their establishment ; and to lay such fines and forfeitures upon any of their own company, for the breach of any such rules, by-laws, and orders, and for non eqinpment or non- attendance at any regular meeting of said company, when duly warned, so as the same do not exceed six dollars for any one offence; and they shall also have full power to levy fines and forfeitures they shall so impose, by warrant of distress from the captain, or other superior officer for the time being, directed to the sherift', his deputy, or either of the town sergeants or constables in the county of Washington; which warrant shall be served, executed, and returned in like manner as is by law provided for the serving, executing, and returning of warrants for the collection of military fines. Fourth. All members of said company, so long as they shall continue therein, shall be exempted from bearino- arms, or doing military duty in the several train-bands or companies in the districts in which they respectively live. Fifth. If- any commissioned officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved of by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the limits of the county of Washington, or shall resign, or decease, then, and in either of those cases, the captain of said company, or other superior offi- cer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of said com- pany as soon as conveniently may be, in order to choose another or others in the place of such officer or officers so incapacitated to serve, as aforesaid, in manner hereinbefore directed for the election of officers of said company. 830 Rep. No. 546. Sec. 2. When the said company shall be less than tvveJ3ty-five members, including officers, this act of incorporation shall be null and void, and the said company extinct. Sec. 3. The following gentlemen are appointed the officers of said com- pany, to hold their respective offices until the first Monday of April next, and that they be commissioned accordingly, viz : George B. Thomas, captain j John R. Greene, first lieutenant; George C. Sanlbrd, second lieutenant; William Sanford, third lieutenant ; and George W. Reynolds, ensign. Sec. 4. This charter shall be hereafter subject to all acts of the General Assembly, either in amendment or repeal thereof. AN ACT lo incorporate ihe Manville Light Infantry. Be it enucttd by the General Assembly as follows: Section 1. Daniel Hale, Stephen P. Irwin, Asa Dodge, Moses B. Almy, Samuel F. Man, all of Smithfield and Cumberland, in the county of Prov- idence, their associates, and such others as may hereafter be added unto them, not less than twenty five, nor more than one hundred men, are here- by created and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Man- ville Light Infantry in the second brigade of militia ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and perpetual succession, and shall and may enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges hereinafter mentioned. Sec. 2. Said company, or the greater number of them, shall, once in every year — that is to say, on the third Monday in April, annually— meet and assemble together in some place by them appointed, then and there to choose officers, to wit : one captain, three lieutenants, one quartermaster and commissary, who shall rank as lieutenant, one clerk, who shall also rank as lieutenant, and also such non-commissioned officers as shall be neces- sary for the training, disciplining, and well-ordering said company. At such meetings, no officer shall be chosen except by a majority of the votes then present; and the captain, lieutenants, quartermaster and commissary, so as aforesaid chosen, if approved by the governor and senate for the time being, shall be commissioned and engaged in the same manner as the militia offi- cers in this State : Provided^ That nothing herein contained shall be con- strued to exempt any officer from military duty, unless he shall have actu- ally served as a commissioned officer for the term of five years. Sec. 3. Said company shall be obliged to meet at such times as the mili- tia of the State may be required to meet by law for military exercise; and that for neglectins: to equip according to law provided for the militia, or the by-laws of said company, refusal to obey any lawful order, or for unoffi- cer-like or unsoldier like conduct, the officers and privates of said company shall be subject to the same fines and penalties, to be collected and enforced in the same manner, as may be provided by the militia law of this State for the time being. Sec. 4. The said company, or the greater number ot them, shall have power to make such rules and by-laws for said company as they shall deem necessary, and shall not be repugnant to law, for the promotion of their object; and to impose such tines and forfeitures for the breach thereof, as they shall think proper: Provided, That no fine, for any one offence, shall exceed the sum of five dollars ; and said company shall have full power to Rep. No. 546. 831 levy and collect the fines they shall so impose, by a warrant of distress from the captain or other superior officer of said company for tlie time being, di- rected to the clerk or either of the sergeants of said company. Sec. 5. All the members of said company, so long as they shall remain such, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty in the several companies or train-bands within this State. Sec. 6. If any officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved of by the governor and senate, or if any one shall remove out of the limits of this State, or shall resign or decease, or his place become otherwise vacant, then, and in either of those cases, the captain of said company, or other superior officer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of said company as soon as conveniently may be, in order to choose another or other officers in the stead of those whose places have thus become vacant; said warrant to be served by some member of the company, by reading the same to the members of said company, or by leaving a copy of the same at their last and usual abode, at least four days before the time of sucli special meeting. Sec.^7. This act shall be forever subject to all future acts of the General Assembly, either in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. Sec. 8. Daniel Hale shall be captain ; Asa Dodge, first lieutenant ; Ste- phen P. Irwin, second lieutenant ; Moses B. Almy, third lieutenant; Saml. F. Man, quartermaster and commissary ; Joseph H. Streeter, clerk of said company, until the next election, and commissioned accordingly. AN ACT establishing a military company by the name of the Rhode Island Guards. Whereas the preservation of the United States depends in time of war, under God, upon the military skill and discipline of the inhabitants; and whereas a number of them in the towns of Warwick, Coventry, and Cran- ston, and counties of Kent and Providence, have mutually agreed, for the public good, to form themselves into a company by the name of the Rhode Island Guards; and by their respectful petition prayed this Assembly to grant to them a charter of incorporation, with such privileges, and under such restrictions and limitations as this Assembly should think proper: wherefore this Assembly, in order to give all due encouragement to so laud- able a design, and so noble a disposition, have ordained, constituted, and granted, and by these presents do ordain, constitute, and grant, that John C. Harris, Philip Greene, David Pike, Sierry B. Fenner, Daniel G. Chase, John B. Brayton, Cyrus Harris, (S. W.) together with such others as have already joined them, or shall hereafter be added to them, not exceeding the number of one hundred, exclusive of officers, be, and they are hereby, de- clared to be, a military company in the fourth brigade of militia, by the name of the Rhode Island Guards; and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall have and enjoy all rights, powers, and privileges in this grant hereafter mentioned. First. It is granted unto this company that they, or the greater number of them, shall and may once in every year— that is to say, oti the third Mon- day in April — meet and assemble themselves together in some convenient place by them appointed, and then and there to choose their officers, to wit : 832 Rep. No. 546. one captain, four lieutenants, one quartermaster, and all other officers neces- sary lor the training, disciphning, and well oriering the affairs of said com- pany ; at which election, no officer shall be chosen but by the greater num- ber of votes then present. The capiain, lieutenants, and quartermaster, to be approved of by the governor and senate for the time being ; and to be commissioned by the governor, under the seal of the State, and duly en- gaged like the officers of the militia. Secondly. The said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise themselves on such days and as often as they shall think proper ; but shall be obliged to meet four times in every year for drilling, training, and field duty, upon penalty of paying to and for the use of said company the follow- ing fines, to wit: the captain, lieutenants, and quartermaster, each six dol- lars; the non-commissioned officers and privates, each two dollars for every day's neglect ; to be levied by warrant of distress directed to the quarter- master, from the captain or other commanding officer of said company for the time being. TUirdiy. The said company, or the greater part of them, shall liave power to make such rules and orders among themselves as they shall think necessary to promote the end of their establishment, but which shall be consistent with this grant; and to lay such fines and forfeitures upon any of their own company for the breach of any such rules and orders as they shall think proper, so that the same shall not exceed six dollars for any one offence ; and shall have full power to levy the same as aforesaid, by war- rant of distress directed to the quarterrHaster, from the commanding officer for the time being. Fourthly. All those who shall be duly enrolled in said company, so long as they shall continue therein, shall be exempted from bearing arms or do- ing military duty (watching and warding excepted) in the several compa- nies or train bands in whose district they respectively belong. Fifthly. If any comiiiissioned officer or officers shall be disapproved of by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the counties of Kent and Providence, or shall die or resign, in either of those cases the captain of said company, or some commissioned officer for the time being, shall call said company together as soon as conveniently may be, and choose another, or others, in place of such officer or officers so incapacitated to serve as aforesaid, in the manner hereinbefore directed for the election of officers of said company. Sixthly. It is further granted, that the captain of said company shall have full power, by warrant or commission under his hand and seal, to au- thorize all officers who shall be duly elected by said company under the rank of quartermaster, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respectively elected. Seventhly. It is further granted, that the officers of the said company, when called into actual service with the militia, shall take rank according to their commissions. Eighthly. This charter shall be forever subject to all future acts of this General Assembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise af- fecting the same. Ninthly. The officers now in commission in said company shall con- tinue as such until the next annual meeting. Rep. No. 546. 833 Upon the petiiion of the committee on buildins: an armory in the town of Warren, for the Warren Artillery, praying for further appropriation of ei'Jihl hiiudred dollars for completing said armory — ^Voted and resolved, That the prayer thereof be granted ; and that the ?nm of eight hundred dollars is hereby appropriated tor that purpose, under the direction of Alfred Bosworth and Samuel Pearce, who are authorized to draw on the general treasurer for that sum; and it is hereby declared that said armory, when erected, shall be and remain personal property : Provided, That' if said company is ever dissolved, the State shall be enti- tled to an equitable proportion of the value or proceeds of the armory cor- responding to the amount contributed, and that the sum hereby allowed be paid in six months from the date hereof. Resolved, That the artillery company of the town of Newport be author- ized to draw on the general treasury for seven hundred dollars, to enable said company to pay off the debt incurred by them in building their armory. No. 236. Laivs relating to the riiiUtary, passed by the General Assembly, January session, 1843. AN ACT to incorporaie ihe company of Johnston Guards, in the fourteenth regiment of militia. Be it enacted by the General Assembly asfoUoivs: Section I. George B. Randall, Maxon M.Ross, Zachariah French, Or- ren Li. Brown, their associates, and such others as may hereafter be added unto them, not exceeding one hundred men exclusive of officers, are here- by created and made a body politic and corporate by the name of the Jiilaislofi Guards, in the fourteenth regiment of militia ; and by that name shall and may have a common seal and perpetual succession, and shall enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges hereinafter mentioned. Skc. 2. Said company, or the greater number of them, shall and may once in every year — that is to say, on the third Monday in April — meet and assemble together in some place by them appointed, then and there to choose their officers, to wit : one captain, three lieutenants, and one quar- termaster, and also such non commissioned officers as shall be necessary for the training, disciplining, and well-ordering of said company. At such meeting, no officer shall be chosen except by a majority of the votes pres- ent ; and the captain, lieutenants, and quartermaster so chosen, shall be approved by the governor and senate for the time being, and shall be com- missioned by the governor imder the seal of the State, and be duly engaged like the other officers of the militia. • Sec. 3. Said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise them- selves on such days and so often as they shall think proper, but shall meet four times in each year for training, drilling, and military duty; and, for neglecting to appear at such meetiiiLrs, neo;lecting to equip, refusal to obey any lawful order, or for nnofficer like or unsoldier like conduct, the officers, non-commissioned officers, ai;d privates of said company shall be subject; 53 834 Rep. No. 546. to the same fines and penalties, to be collected and enforced in the same manner as by the militia laws of this State for the time being ; siiid fines to be to and for the nse of said company. Sec. 4. Said company, or the greater part of (hem, shall have power to make such rules and by-laws, not inconsistent with this act or tiie laws of the State, as they may deem proper for the good of the company ; and to impose such fines and forfeitures for the breach thereof, as they shall deem proper, so that the same sliall not exceed five dollars for any one ofience ; and all fines and forfeitures shall be collected in the manner prescribed by law for collecting fines in the militia. Sec. 5. If any commissioned officer or officers of said company shall be disapproved by the governor and senate, or shall remove out of the county of Providence, or shall resign, or his or their place or places become, otherwise vacant, in either of these cases, the captain of said company, or other superior ofiicer for the time being, shall, by warrant, call a special meeting of said company, as soon as conveniently may be, to choose an- other or other officers to fill the place or places which have become vacant in the manner before directed ; said warrant to be served by some member of the company, by reading the same to the members thereof, or by leaving a copy of the same at their usual place of abode, at least four days before the time of such special meeting. Sec. 6. All the members of said company, so long as they continue such, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty in the several coujpanies in the districts in which they respectively live. Sec. 7. The captain of said company shall have full power and au- thority, by warrant or commission under his hand and sea!, to authorize all officers which shall be duly elected by said company, under the rank of quartermaster, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respec- tively elected. Sec. 8. The officers of said company shall take rank in the regiment according to their commissions. Sec. 9. If any action or suit shall be commenced for any matter or thing done by virtue of this act, the defendant may plead the general issue, and give this act in evidence. Sec. 10. Whenever the said company shall be reduced to less than thirty members, excluding officers, this act shall become null and void. Sec. 1 1. The following named members are hereby appointed the officers of said company, to hold their respective offices until the first annual election, and to be commissioned accordingly, viz : Joseph S. Lockwood, captain; Benjamin A. Harris, first lieutenant; Orren L. Brown, second lieutenant ; George B. Randall, third lieutenant ; Caleb A. Harris, quarter- master. Sec. 12. This act shall forever be subject to all future acts of this Gen- eral Assembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. AN ACT establishing a compan}'' of cavalry by the name of the " Rhode Island Horse Guards," in the island of Rhode Island. Whereas the efficiency of infontry is greatly increased by the co-opera- tion of horsemen ; and whereas a number of the mhabitantsof the island of Rhode Island being deeply impressed with the necessity of sucli an addi- Rep. No. 546. 835 tion to the present militia of the State, have mutually agreed to form them- selves into a company by the name of the Rhode Island Horse Guards^ in the island of Rliode Island, and, hy their respectful petition, have prayed the Assembly to grant to them a cliarter of incorporation, with such privi- leges, and underl:nch restrictions and limitations, as this Assembly should Ihink proper: therefore. Be it enacted by the General Assembly as follows : Section I. That Thomas G. Rogers, J. H. Gilliaf, Nathaniel Greene, T. C. Dunn, Joseph I. Bailey, John Vars, Seth Bateman, Joseph Thomas, Borden Chase, Thomas T. Sheffield, together with such others as now an; or may hereafter be associated with them, not exceeding the number of two hundred, exclusive of officers, be, and they are hereby declared to be, a military company in the first brigade of Rhode Island militia, by (he name ot the Rhode Island Horse Guards, and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall have and enjoy all rights, powers, and privileges in their grant hereafter mentioned. Sec. 2. It is granted unto this company that they, or the greater part of them, shall and may, once in every year — that is to say, on the third Mon- day of April — meet together m some convenient place by them appointed, then and there to choose their own officers, to wit : one captain, four lieu- tenants, one adjutant v^nth the rank of lieutenant, and all other officers neces- sary for the training, disciplining, and well ordering the affairs of said •company; at which election no officer shall be elected, except by a major- ity of the voles of those present. The captain, lieutenants, and adjutant, to be subject to the approval of tlie governor and 'senate for the time be- ing, and to be commissioned by the governor under the seal of the State, and to be duly engaged like the officers of the militia. Sec. 3. The said company shall have liberty to meet and exercise them- selves on such days and as often as they shall think proper, but shall Ik^ obliged to meet four times in every year for drilling, training, and field duty, upon the penalty of paying to and for the use of said company the follow- ing fines, to wit: the captain, six dollars; the lieutenants and adjutant, each four dollars ; the non commissioned officers and privates, each three dollars, for every day's neglect; to he levied by warrants of distress di- rected to the adjutant from the captain, or other commanding officer of said company for the time being. Sec. 4. The said company, or a majority of its members, shall have power from time to time to make such by laws and regulations as they shall deem necessary, consistent with this grant ; and to impose, for the use of said company, such fines and forfeitures upon its members, for the breach of any or all of such bylaws and regulations, as they shall deem proper, so that the fine or forfeiture shall not exceed six dollars for any one offence ; and shall also have free power to levy such fines and forfeiiures as may accrue as aforesaid, by warrants of distress directed to the adjutant from the com- manding officer for the time being. Sec. 5. All members of said company, so long as they shall continue regularly enrolled, shall be exempted from bearing arms or doing military duty ill the several companies or training bands in whose districts they may severally belong. Sec. (3. In case of the disapproval hy the governor and senate of any commissioned officer or officers, or of his or their removal from the island 836 Rep. No. 546. of Rhode Island, or of his or their death, or of his or their disability to hold said office or offices from any cause, the captain of said company, or the officer highest in rank for the time being, shall assemble said company, as soon as convenient after said incapacity o1 such officer or officers is made known, for the purpose of electing another or others to supply the vacancy or vacancies caused by the incapacity as aforesaid, in the manner herein- before described for the election of officers. Sec. 7. The captain legally elected of said company is hereby fully em- pov/ered, by warrant or commission under his hand or seal, to authorize all officers who shall be duly elected by said company, below the rank of ad- jutant, to act in the rank or station to which they shall be respectively elected. Sec. 8. This charter shall be forever subject to all future acts of this General Assembly in amendment or repeal thereof, or in anywise affecting the same. Resolved, That the quartermaster general be a committee to furnish new carriages for the brass cannon of the Bristol train of artillery, and that he draw on the general treasurer for the expenses of the same. No. 237. First twenty-Jive sections of the existing militia law of Rhode Island, passed Jmie session, 1 843. AN ACT to regulate the militia. It is enacted by the Getieral Assembly as follows : Of the enrolled militia. Section 1. Every able-bodied white male citizen in this State, who is or who shall be of the age of eighteen years, and not exceeding the age of forty-five years, excepting persons absolutely exempted by the provisions of this act, and idiots, lunatics, common drunkards, paupers, vagabonds, and persons convicted of any infamous crime, shall be enrolled in the militia as hereinafter provided. Sec. 2. In addition to the persons exempted from military duty by the act of Congress, there shall also be exempted from the performance of such duty the following persons, to wit : All persons who have holden the office of governor or lieutenant governor; all persons who, after the last day of February, A. D. 1796, shall have holden any military commission or com- missions, or staff office, with the rank of an officer of the line, for the space of five years successively, and who shall have been engaged thereon accord- ing to law, and been honorably discharged ; and also all persons who shall have holden any such military commission or commissions, or staff office aforesaid, for a less term than five years, and who have been superseded without their consent. Sec. 3. -Persons of the following descriptions, as long as they shall re- main of said descriptions, shall be exempted from the performance of mili- tary duty, to wit : the justices and clerks of the supreme judicial court, the justices and clerks of the courts of common pleas, the secretary of state, the Rep. No. 546. 837 fittorney general, \he general treasurer, the sheriff of each county, one ferry- man at each stated ferry, who usually navigates the boat, the keepers ot light-houses within this State, all settled or ordained ministers of the gos- pel, the president, professors, tutors, students, and steward of Brown Uni- versity, the town councils of the several towns, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Providence, town and city treasurers, town and city clerks, prac- tising physicians, practising surgeons, (not including the pupils of either,) precep'ors and ushers of academies and schools, and engine men : and pro- vided that no engine shall have more than twenty men, imless otherwise provided by special enactment ; the members of fire hook and ladder com- panies, and chartered fire hose companies ; all persons belonging to the So- ciety of Friends, commonly called (Quakers ; and the inhabitants of the towns of New Shoreham and Jamestown, and of the island of Prudence, and such others as shall make oath or affirmation that they are conscientiously scru- pulous against bearing arms ; vvliich fact shall appear to the commanding officer by certificate of the n)agiytrate before whom said oath or affirmation was given. _ Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the assessors of taxes in each town in this State, and of the city of Providence, annually to prepare a list or roll of all persons liable to be enrolled in the militia, as provided in the first section, together with all persons liable to do duty in case of invasion, insurrection, riot, and tumult, living wiihin their respective limits, whether such persons be or be not attached to any chartered or regimental comi»anies; and to place the same in the hands of the town clerk of such town, and of the said city of Providence ; and it shall be the duty of every such clerk to record such list or roll of names in a proper book of record, to be kept for that pur- pose in every town in this State, and in the city of Providence. Annual returns of the militia, thus enrolled, shall be transmitted to the adjutant general in the month of October in each and every year, by the clerks aforesaid, and by him to the President of the United States. It shall also be the duty of said assessors to assess upon the persons liable to be etirolled in the militia as aforesaid, except in the towns of New Shoreham and James- town, and that portion of the town of Portsmouth forming the island of Pru- dence, a tax of fit"iy cents each, ammally, distinguishing said tax in their as- sessment as a tax in conmiutation of military duty, which tax shall be col- lected with the State taxes, on property of said person, if any, and if none, then with the town taxes, if any, in the same manner as by law is provided for the collection of State and town taxes ; and if no property tax be assessed against him, then this tax shall he collected in manner aforesaid by itself. The several collectors of taxes shall be entitled to retain five per cent, of the amount of this tax so by them collected, in fiiU compensation for their services for collection ; and they are hereby required to keep by itself this tax iissessed and collected for militia duty, and to pay over the same to the general treasurer on or before the first day of J.muary in each year. No such tax shall be collected of any person who holds a military commission, or who shall produce a certificate from the commanding officer of a regi- mental company that he has been enrolled and done duty therein according to law for at least one day within a year preceding the assessment of said tax, or who, whether as a commissioned officer, non commissioned officer, or private, has, within the ter.ns of tliis act, been superseded or honorably discharged. Sec. 5. Every keeper of a tavern or boarding-house, and every master or 838 Rep. No. 546. mistress of a fimily or dwelliiiff-honse, shall, npon application of the asses- sors of taxes of the town or city williin whicli such tavern or house is situ- . ated, or on application of any person acting under the direction and author- iiy of such assessors, give inlormation of the names of all persons residing" in such tavern or house liable to enrollment, or to do military duly. Sec. 6. If any non-commissioned officer or private shall become a pauper, vagabond, or common drunkard, or be convicted of any infamous crime, he shall be forthwith disenrolled from the militia. Of the active militia. Sec. 7. The active militia of this State shall consist and be composed of ; tlie several chartered corps now existing, who shall, within sixty days after the pass;ige of this act, voluntarily accept by vote the provisions of this act^ and communicate the same to the adjutant geuera!,, 'which acceptance shall i be irrevocable,) and of all military companies which may be hereafter char- j tered. Said companies shall be drilled and disciplined as battalions as well as conf^anies, and as the peace establishment of the State, and as nurseries of officers, shall be called regimental companies, or reduced regiments. The active militia shall, in all cases, be first ordered into service in case of war or invasion, or to prevent invasion, or to suppress insurrection, rioi, or tu- Uiult, or to aid civil officers in the execution of the laws of the State. Sec. 8. Whenever forty men shall have enrolled themselves as a corps of artillery or infantry, or thirty two men as a corps of cavalry, and have been nuiformed as hereinafter required, and it shall be made to appear to the General Assembly that they are desirous to serve the State as a portion of tiie military force thereof, they shall be entitled to a charter in conformiiy with the system by this act established : Provided, hojoever, That the num- boir of such companies shall not exceed thirty ; and that hereafter tfiey shall be formed in the proportio i of one regimental company to five hundred en- rolled militia in t!ie several towns or districts where such companies may 1)6 located, including in such proportion the existing companies: And pro- vided, further, That every f^ucli regimental coiDpany may admit members to tlie number of five hundred, anything in the charters of said companies ta the confrory notwithstanding. Sec 9. Whenever any corps of the active militia hereafter chartered shall at any time be destitute of commissioned officers, and, having been twice or- •li^red to fill vacancies, shall neglect or refuse to fill them, or shall be reduced ro a less number than twenty privates in a corps of cavalry, or thirty in a 'orps of inffintry or artillery, and remain so reduced for three months, such corps may be disbanded by the General Assembly. Organization. Sec. 10. The whole militia of this State shall be arranged in one divis- ion : the militia of the county of Newport shall form the first brigade ; the militia of the county of Providence the second ; the militia of the county of Washington tiie third ; the militia of the county of Kent the fourth ; and the militia of the county of Bristol the fifih brigade. Sec. U. The brigades shall consist of the several regimental companies or reduced reaiments, in their respective limits, n^w existing or hereafter to be raised. The said regimental companies or regiments shall be numbered Kep. No. 546. 889 through tlie division, according to the dates of tlieir respective charters. In compensation for their services, every member of the active mihiia who shall be returned to tlie general treasurer, as hereinafter provided, as having done military duty four limes in the year next preceding the return in any regi- mental company in this State, sh ill be entuled to an equal proportional part of the tax (or militia duty, collected and paid into the general treasury as afore- said, not exceeding the sum of five dollars a year to each man. In the njonth of January of each year, the general treasurer shall apportion the sum re- ceived as a tax for militia duty, as aforesaid, amongst the active militia, and issue certificates to the members of the several regimental companies re- turned aS hereinafter provided, payable to their individual order, for their proportional part of the whole amount of s;iid tax by him received, not ex- ceeding five dollars per man, as aforesaid : Provided^ howijve)\ The members of no existing chartered company of this State, who shall not accept the provisions of this act and conform thereto, shall be entitled to receive the compensation aforesaid, St:c. 12. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier of any regimental company, who shall have done duty therein according to law fbrijie term ol seven years from the time of his enlistment, and shall have received an honorable discharge, shall not be compelled to do duly in the militia, ex- cept in time of war or invasion, or to prevent an invasion, or of insur- rection, riot, or tumult. Such discharge, upon the completion of the term of service a orcsaid, shall be given by the commanding otiicer of the brigade, upon the application of the commanding officer of the regiuiental company to which such private or non-commissioned officer may belong. How officered. Sec. 13. The officers and non commissioned officers of the militia shall be as follows, to wit : The governor for the time being shall be captain general and coinmander in chief; and he shall command, except u'hen the militia shall be called into the service of the United States; and he shall be entitled to appoint his own aids, with the rank of colonel. There shall be one major general, two aids of the major general with the rank of major, and a military secretary with the rank of captain ; one division inspector with the rank of lieutenant colonel ; one adjutant general with the rank of brigadier general ; one quartermaster general with the rank of brigadier general ; tiie adjutant general and the quartermaster general, with the assent of the commander in-cliief, to appoint a sulficient number of assistants with the rank of captain ; one commissary general with the rank of colonel ; one paymaster general with the rank of colonel ; one surgeon general, to appoint, witli the assent of the commander in chief, a sufficient number of assistants; one purveyor general of hospitals. To each brigade there shall be one brigadier general ; one aid, wuh the rank of captain ; one brigade inspector, who is also to serve as brigade major, with the rank of major ; one brigade qufutermaster, with the rank of captain. To each regimental company or regiment there shall be one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, one major, one adjutant with the rank of captain, one quartermaster, one paymaster, (the quartermaster and paymaster each with tlie rank of lieutenant,) one surgeon, one chaplain, one sergeant major and one sergeant quartermaster, one drum major, and one fife major, and the necessary number of non commissioned officers. In time of war or insurrection, when new levies are drauuhted into 840 Rep. No. 546. said regimental companies or regiments, as hereinafter provided, to each company of infantry, light infantry, and riflemen, there shall be one caprain, one first lientenant, one second lieutenant, and one third lieutenant, five sergeants, and four corporals: to each company of artillery ihtre shall be one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, and one third lieu- tenant, five sergeants, four corporals, and three drivers; to each company of cavalry there shall be one captain, one first lieuteiiant, one second lieu- tenant, one tliird lieutenant, five sergeants, four corporals, one saddler, one farrier, and one or more trumpeters. Sec. 14. Whenever the office of major general, brigadier general, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major commandant, or captain, shall be vacant* or such officer be sick or absent, the officer next in rank shall command the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, or company, as the case may be. until the vacancy be supplied; and whenever the office of adjutant general and quartermaster general shall be vacant, the duties thereof shall be performed by the senior assistant adjutant and senior assistant quartermaster general, until the same be filled. Sec. t. a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town or city, sliall by the boards of canvass- ers be admitted to vote, unless upon the production of a certificate or cer- tificates from the collector or collectors of taxes of some towii or city in this Slate, that on or before the last day of December in the year next preceding he has paid such tax or taxes assessed for and within such year, at least to the amount of one dollar : Provid(ul^ however, That if he claims a riglit to vote upon the payment of a registry tax, such payment shall be certified as aforesaid by the collt^ctor of taxes of the town or city in which he resides and claims to vote : And provided (dso, That if his name has been registered for more tlian one year, two registry taxes for the two years next preceding the canvass having been assessed against him, and he claims the right to vote upon the payment of his registry tax, the certificate of the collector of such town or city must be produced before the canvassers, that on or before the last day of December next preceding the canvass he has paid such registry tax for each of the two years next preceding the time of voting, or that the same has been remitted by the town council or mayor and alder- men of the town or city in which he resides, in pursuance of the third section of the second article of the constitution. No person vi'-ho, at any time after the passage of this act, claims a right to vote upon the payment of a property tax, in the election of tlie said ciiy council of the city of Providence, or of any member of the same, or upon any pro|)osition to im- pose a tax, or for the expenditure of money in any town or city, shall in such case be admitted by the canvassers to vote, unless upon a certificate from the collector of taxes of such town or ciiy that he has, on or before the last day of December in the year next preceding, paid a tax assessed for and 844 Rep. No 546. within such year, upon his property therein, valued at least at one hnndred and thirty four dollars. Any collector of taxes who shall wilfully refuse to grant such certificate to any person demanding the same, and legally entitled thereto, or shall grant such certificate to one not entitled thereto, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every such offence. Sec. 5. Every town and city clerk of this State shall provide a suitable book for the registry of the names of all persons who, in order to vote, are required by the constitution to be registered ; which book shall be kept in the office of the town or city clerk, ibr the purpose of such registry only, and shall always be open to the inspection of any elector of such town or city ; and every town or city clerk in this State is hereby required to regis- ter in said book the name of every male inhabitant of the town or city, who shall demand such registry, and who shall declare that he is qualified by birlh. and is or will be within a year qualified by age and residence to vote in such town or city, together with the date of the registry ; and sliall also register therein the name of every such inhabitant demanded to be regis- tered by any elector of such town or city, who shall declare that sucti in- habitant is qualified by birth, and is or will be wiihin a year qualified by age and residence to vote therein ; in which case, besides the date of the registry, he shall also register, opposite the name of such inhabitant, the name of the elector demanding the same. Every town or city clerk who shall neglect to provide and keep such book, or who shall refuse, at all suitable times, to permit such inspection of the same, or who shall refuse or neglect to register the name of any person upon demand and declaration as aforesaid, or shall register a name without a date, or with a false date, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every such off nee. Sec. 6. On or before the twentieth day of February in the year 184B, the clerks of every town and city of this State shall deliver to the assessors of taxes of their respective towns and cities a certified copy Irom the registry, al[)habetically arranged, of tlie names of all persons registered to vote in such town or city on or before the 30th day of December, 1842. On or before the 20th day of January in the year 1844, and in each year there- after, said clerks shall deliver to said assessors a like copy from their regis- try of the names of all persons registered in the town or city on or be- fore the last day of December in the year next preceding : and such as- sessors of taxes shall, on or before the first Monday in September in the year 1843, and in each year thereafter, assess upon every person whose name shall have been registered, as aforesaid, his property tax ; or, if he have no taxable property, or his taxes thereon do not amount to a dollar, then, as the case may be, a tax of one dollar, or such sum as with his other taxes shall amount to one dollar. On or before the first Monday in Octo- ber in the year 1843, and in each year thereafter, said assessors shall re- turn to the clerk's office of the town or city said copy of the registry by them duly certified, with the tax or taxes assessed against each person placed against his na'.ne thereon, distinguisliing whether said tax is a property or registry tax; and if a properly tax, whether said tax was as- sessed upon his property therein valued at least at 134 dollars ; which copy so returned, it shall be the duty of the town or city clerk to record and file. The copy of the rsgistry thus made out and returned shall contiiin the names of all the registered voters for the calendar year next succeed- ing. Every town or city clerk neglecting or refusing to deliver such cer- tified copy to the assessors as aforesaid, or wilfully delivering a false or Rep. No. 546. 845 imperfect copy, shall forfeit the sum of three hundred dollars ; and if any assessors of taxes shall wholly neglect or refuse to make sucij assessments, each and every such assessor so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit the sum of one thousand dollars, and be liable to imprisonment for one year; and if any assessors shall wiU'ully neglect or refuse to assess as aforesaid any person registered as aforesaid, each and every assessor so neglecting or refusing shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every person whom he shall so neglect or refuse to asssess as aforesaid. Sec. 7. Every town or ward clerk, upon payment or tender of his legal fees, (which shall be the same for the ward clerks as for the town and city clerks,) shall furnisht o any person demanding the same a certified copy of any list of votes given in at any election. Every town or city clerk shall, upon like payment or tender, furnish to any person demand- ing the same a certified copy of any registration of voters, with the names of those who have paid taxes to him, and the amount of such taxes, and whether the same were paid on or before the last day of 13ecember next preceding; and shall also, upon ti]e request of any person and tender of legal fees, and without unreasonable delay, examine the records and cer- tify to the estate of any person or persons, and shall furnish copies of any instrument or writing which may be on record or on the files of his office. Every collector of taxes, or town or city treasurer, shall, upon like request and payment or tender, and without unreasonable delay, hir- nish to any elector a certified list of those who have paid to him State, town, and registry taxes, and the amounts and times of such payments; and shall grant certificates setting forth whether a certain person or per- sons have or have not paid to him such taxes, and, if paid, to what amount, and at what time ; and every town, city, or ward clerk, collector of taxes, town or city treasurer, who shall refuse or unreasonably delay to furnish such lists or certificates, upon payment or tender as aforesaid, shall, lor every such offence, forfeit not less than twenty-five, nor more than two hundred dollars. Sf.c. 8. On or before the 2.5th day of February in the year 1843; every town and city treasurer and collector of taxes, and on or before the first Monday of February in every year thereafter, every town and city collect- or of taxes in this State, shall furnish to the town clerks of their respective towns and cities, duly certified alphabetical lists of all persons registered on or before the 3Uth day of December in the year 1842 ; and on or before the last day of December next preceding in every year thereafier, in their respective towns and cities, who shall on or before that time in the year 1842 have paid to such town or city treasurer their registry tax; or in each year thereafter, to such collector of taxes, their taxes assessed for and within said year preceding, together with the amount of the payment by each, specifying whether the tax was a registry tax, or a tax on prop- erty, and, if a property tax, whether assessed on property valued at least at one hundred and thirty-four dollars. On or before the first Monday of March in the year 1843, and every year thereafter, every town clerk in this State shall furnish to the town councils of their respective towns, and the city clerk of the city of Providence shall furnish to the mayor and alder- men of said city, a duly certified alphabetical list of all persons registered on or before the 30th day of December in the year 1842, and on or before the last day of December next preceding in every year thereafter, for the purpose of voting in such town or city ; placing opposite the name of every 846 Rep. No. 546. person so registered, tiie amount of his assessed property tax for tlie year preceding; and whether the same was assessed on property in the said town or city vahied at least at one hundred and thirty four dollars, and of the registry tax, if any, by him paid, and whether said taxes were paid on or before the 30th day of December in the year 1842, and on or before the last day of December next preceding in every year thereafter; and, sepa- rately therefrom, correct alphal)etical lists of t'lje names of all persons enti- tled to vote under article second, section first, of the constitution : and every town and city clerk, and every town or city treasurer, who shall re- fuse or neglect to deliver such lists as aforesaid, within the time above lim- ited, or who shall wilfully deliver false or imperfect lists, shall forfeit not less than five hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars, or be impris- oned not less than six months, either, or both, at the discretion of the court who shall try such offender. Sec. 9. On or before the last day of February, in the year 1843, every town and city clerk in this State shall pay to the treasurer of such town or city all sums by him received as registry taxes as aforesaid : and any town or city clerk who shall neglect or refuse to make payment as aforesaid shall forfeit not less than one hundred, nor more than three thousand dol- lars, or be imprisoned not exceeding five years, or until he shall have paid over such money so by him received. Sec. lU. The town councils of the several towns in this State, and the mayor and aldermen of the city of Providence, shall, on or before the second Monday of March in the year 1843, and in every year thereafter, make out correct alphabetical lists of all persons qualified to vote generally, to wit : of all persons entitled to vote under article second, section first, of the con- stitution; and all persons entitled to vote by registry and payment of regis- try and other taxes or military services in their several towns and the sev- eral wards of said city of Providence ; and, separately from such lists, cor- rect alphabetical lists of all persons entitled to vote upon any proposition to impose a tax or expend money in their respective towns, and upon such proposition : and in the election of the city council of the city of Providence, in the several wards of said city, to wit: of all persons entitled to vote under article second, section first, of the constitution ; and all persons upon whose property m their several towns and in said city, valued at least at one hun- dred and thirty-four dollars, a tax or taxes have been assessed and paid, and within the year next preceding, and on or before the last day of De- cember therein; and shall cause such lists to be posted up in four or more public places in their respective towns, and one in each ward of the said city, and one in the town or city clerk's office which last lists shall be open to the examination of any elector of eiie town or city at all reasonable hours; and any person who shall take down, destroy, or deface such list or lists so posted up, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars, or may be imprisoned three months. Sec. 11. On or before the third Monday of March in the year 1843, and in every year thereafter, the town councils of the several towns, and the mayor and aldermen of the city of Providence, shall be in session at some convenient place or places, for a reasonable time, in their respective towns and said city, for the purpose of correcting such lists; and the notice of the time or times and place or places of holding said sessions, shall be given by the town councils, and said mayor and aldermen, upon the lists posted up as aforesaid. The members of the town councils and town clerks of Rep. No. 546. 847 liie several towns, and the mayor and aldermen and city clerk of the city of Providence, sliall be paid, by their respective towns and said city, one dollar each for every day's attendance in the discharge of their duties un- der this act; and said town and ciiy clerks shall, in addition, be paid legal lees for their recording and making out the several lists and returns in this act required. Sec. 12. At least ten days previous to the first Wednesday in April, said town councils and mayor and aldermen shall cause to be posted up, asafere- said, lists of persons entitled to vote in their respective towns and said city, so by them corrected as aforesaid, and shall, on the Monday preceding the, first Wednesday of April, hold a session for the purpose of further correct- ing said lists, which session shall be holden for at least two hours. Said board of canvassers shall also, at least two days previous to any election of Rej)resentatives to Congress, of electors of President and Vice President of the United States, or of town or city officers, hold a session for the purpose of furtlier correcting the town and ward lists of voters ; in which case, the lists need not be posted up as aforesaid, but notice of the time and place of such session shall be given for at least ten days previous thereto, by post- ing up notices thereof in four or more public places in every town, and one in each ward of llie city of Providence, and one in the town or city clerk's office ; or, instead of such notice, in one or more newspapers pub- lished in such town or city. The lists of voters, so corrected, shall be by said town councils, and mayor and aldermen, certified by their presiding officer, and on the same day delivered to the town clerks of their respective towns, and to t!ie city clerk of the city of Providence, to be delivered by said town clerks to the moderators of the several town meetings of their re- spective towns as soon as chosen ; and the city clerk of the city of Provi- dence shall, from the list of voters so corrected, make out separate lists of the voters in each ward of said city, and send such lists by him certified to the clerks of the respective wards, before the time fixed for the opening of the ward meetings. Any wilful neglect to hold the sessions, to post up the lists, or to deliver the same, as hereinbefore required, on the part of any town council, or of said mayor and aldermen, or town or city clerk, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, to be forfeited by every member of the town council, and of said board of mayor and alder- men, and by every tou'n or city clerk so wilfully neglecting his duty afore- said. Sec. 13. Said town councils and mayor and aldermen shall have power, at their said sessions, to examine imder oath or affirmation any person pres- ent, and any other evidenc coffered, or that they deem necessary, respecting the right of any person to vote, and to decide upon the same ; and any per- son refusing to answer, or giving a false answer upon such examination, shall forfeit a sum not less than twenty five, nor more than three hundred dollars for such refusal, or for each false answer so given. Sec. 14. The town councils and mayor and aldermen, in case ihey shall have entered on said lists the names of all persons returned to them by said town or city clerks, shall not be held answerable for any omissions in said listSj nor for refusing to place in their list the name of any person omitted in the lists to them delivered as aforesaid ; unless at one of their said ses- sions they shall be furnished with sufficient evidence of such omission, and of the qualifications as a voter of the person omitted, and shall have been requested to insert hiy name on their list. 848 Rep. Ko. 546. Sec. 15. The moderator or warden of any town or ward meetinj^ shall receive the votes of all persons whose names are upon the lists of voters so to him delivered and certified as aforesaid, and he shall reject the votes of all persons claiming: to vote whose names are not on said lists : Provided^ however, That nothing herein contained shall be constrned to im[)uir the right of either house of the General Assembly to judge of the elections of its own members, or of the grand committee to count legal, and refuse to count illegal votes : A7id provided further, That any person duly registered on or before the 30th day of December, 1842, may vote during the year 1843 in any town or city in this State, being otherwise qualified by law, 'though not on said town or ward list, who, in addition to a certificate from the town or city clerk of the town or city in which he resides and offers to vote, that he has thus been registered, shall produce to the moderator or warden a certificate or certificates from a collector or collectors of taxes in this State that he has paid a tax or taxes assessed upon his estate in this State, within a year of the time of voting, to the amount of one dollar : And provided further, That if any voter whose name is upon any ward list in the city of Providence shall have removed to another ward after the making out of the ward list, or if the name of any voter shall have been placed upon the wrong ward list, every such voter shall be admitted to vote in the ward in which he resides, upon producing the certificate of the city or of a v%'ard clerk that his name is upon another ward list, duly prepared for the election in which he claims to vote. The certificates mentioned in this section shall, with the votes, be returned by the several town and ward clerks to the officer or body by law provided to receive the votes ; and if any town, city, or ward clerk shall refuse to give such certificate to one entitled to*and demanding the same, he shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for each and every offence, and, upon conviction, be ever after in- capacitated from voting for any officer, civil or military. Sfx'. 16. The present wardens and ward clerks of the city of Providence shall hold their offices until the second Wednesday of May next, and until others are elected and qualified to act in their places ; and said officers shall hereafter be elected on the second Wednesday of May in each year, instead of the third Wednesday of April, as is now by law provided. Sec. 17. If any person in any election shall fraudulently vote, not being qualified, or, having voted in one town or ward, shall vote in another lowii or ward, without having withdrawn the vote first given, he shall be fined one hundred dollars, and be imprisoned not exceeding twelve months; and no person, after conviction of such offence, shall ever after be permitted to exercise the privilege of voting for any civil or military officer. Sec. 18. In the election of general officers. Representatives to Congress, and electors of President and Vice President of the United States, and (when the vote is taken by ballot) in the election of senators and representa- tives to the General Assembly, the town meetings of the several towns shall be kept open for such voting during the whole time of voting for the day. Town and ward meetings for the election of general officers. Representa- tives to Congress, and electors of President and Vice President of the United States, shall be open at 10 o'clock, a. m., on the day of election ; and all town or ward meetings for such elections, in any town or city hav- ing five hundred electors or upward, shall be kept open at least until five o'clock, p. m., on said day; and in all towns having less than five hundred electors, shall be kept open at least until 3 o'clock p. m., on said day. ^ Rep. No. 546. 849 Sec. 19. Every moderator and warden hereafter elected shall, upon his election, and before he shall proceed to the execution of [lis duty, take the following oath or affirmation, to be administered to him by the town or ward clerk, or, in his absence, by some judge. or justice of the peace, in open town or ward meeting; "You, , having been chosen moderator of this town meeting, or v/arden of ward, in the city of , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will faithfully and impar- tially perform the duties of your said office, and that you will support the constitution and laws of this State and the constitution of the United States: so help you God;" or "this affirmation you make and give upon the peril of the penalty of perjury," And the town or ward clerk shall thereupon enter upon his record that the oath or affirmation was in due form administered and taken. Sec. 20. If any moderator, warden, or person whose duty it is to receive votes, shall fraudulently receive any unlawful vote, or shall fraudulently re- ject the vote of any voter whose name is on the town or ward lists, he shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars for every offence; and, upon con- viction, shall be ever afterwards disqualified from voting. Sec. 21. If any person shall directly or indirectly give, or offer, or agree to give to any elector, or to any person for the benefit of any elector, any sum of money or other valuable consideration for the purpose of inducing such elector to give in his vote at any election in this State, or by way of reward for having voted; or if any person shall directly or indirectly ac- cept or receive, or offer or agree to accept or receive, any sum of money or other valuable consideration, or any promise, obligation, or security ior the payment or delivery of any sum of money, or other valuable consideration, as an inducement to give in his vote, such person so offending shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined the sum of five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding three months, or both, at the discretion of the court. Sec. 22. If senators and representatives to the General Assembly, or if Justices of the peace be voted for by ballot, the names of the candidates in any town or city voted for by any one elector, shall be written or printed on one ticket ; and in all such cases where the voting is by ballot, atid in the election of general officers. Representatives to Congress, and electors of President and Vice President of the United States, the christian and sur- name of the voter shall be written at length on the back of his vote. Sec. 23. In all elections the votes shall be received by the moderator or warden, and by no other person ; and the electors shall, one by one, in their own proper persons, deliver their votes to the moderator or warden, who shall forthwith publicly declare the name of the person voting, and shall cause his name to be checked on the town or ward lists. The town or ward clerks shall keep a fair register of the names of all persons voting for gen- eral officers, representatives to Congress, and electors of President and Vice President of the United Stales; and shall, before such voles are sealed up, carefully compare the votes with their lists so taken ; and on the copy of the hst which at each election is forwarded to the General Assembly, they shall certify the number of votes for each of the candidates. The original lists shall be kept in the town clerk's office. Sec. 24. In the city of Providence the ward clerks shall keep a fair regis- try of all persons voting for senator, representatives, and justices of the peace, and shall deliver a copy thereof with the votes to the city clerk. Sec. 25. Any town or ward clerk who shall neglect to keep the registry, 54 850 Rep. No. 546. and any moderator, warden, or town or ward clerk, who shall neglect to seal up and direct the votes, or to send the same with the lists as herein- before or by the constitution provided ; and any town or ward clerk who shall knowingly keep a false or imperfect registry, and every moderator or warden, town or ward clerk, who shall knowingly sea! up, direct, and send a part only of the votes, or with false or imperfect lists, shall be" lined not less than one hundred, nor more than three thousand dollars, or be im- prisoned not more than three years, either or both, at the discretion of the court who shall try such ofFeiider. Sec. 26. If any town or city clerk shall necessarily be absent from his office at any time within thirty days next preceding any meeting held for the election of any State or town officers, Kepresentatives to Congress, or electors of President and Vice President of tlie United States, it shall be his duty, and he shall have full power to appoint a deputy clerk, whose duty it shall be to attend the office during such absence, and perforin all the duties thereof; and if any town or city clerk shall refuse or wilfully nt^glect to ap- point a deputy as aforesaid, he shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars. Sec. 27. All business of the annual general election shall be done by the General Assembly in grand committee, and not in separate houses. Sec. 28. If any town or city clerk shall neglect or refuse to furnish any member of the Senate or House of Representatives elect with a proper cer- tificate of his election as soon as may be after his election, he shall be fined not less than fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, or be im- prisoned not exceeding six months, either or both, at the discretion of the court trying such offender. Sec. 29. If any person elected senator or representative shall, at any time between his election and the expiration of his term, refuse to serve, and shall declare the same to the town or city clerk of the town or city for which he is elected, or shall die, resign, or remove out of said town or city, the town or city clerk shall forthwith issue his warrant for an election to fill such vacancy, unless a special election for that purpose shall be ordered by the house in which the .vacancy happens. Sec. 30. Every officer chosen by the General Assembly, and every mili- tary commission officer, shall be commissioned by the governor, and be- fore he enters on the duties of his office shall take an enjjaffement before a senator, judge, justice of the peace, public notary, town or city clerk, to support the constitution and laws of this State, and the constitiuion of the United States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of his office ; which shall be certified upon his commission by the person administering the en- gagement. Sec. 31. All officers of annual appointment, who shall not be re elected, or continued in office at the annual general election by the General Assem- bly, may continue to officiate for the space of twenty-four days after the first Tuesday of May, unless their successors are sooner qualified to act. All such officers who may be re elected, may continue to officiate for the same length of time, without taking any ns's Law Diet 569, and Co. Litr. 1,58, on the subject of the impartiality which ought to be shown by officers in summon- ing jurors. A ''tolerable ground of suspicion" even is sufficient to set aside the sher- iff's return. So also a nomination of the men by either party. — 3 Bla. Comm. 359; 4 Bla. Comm. 352; 4 Hawkins' P. C. 11; Hale's Comrn. L, 28(3-9 ; 3 Jacobs 574. "One person returned on a pannel, at the nomination of either party, will vitiate the i-eturn." — Woods's Instit. 616. "An attorney was turned over the bar for ijiving directions to the sheriff what persons he should return." — English Liberties 239. 3 Jacobs L. D. 572. The court decided that the challenge to the array could not be sustained ; and the defendant excepted to the ruliiij^ of the court. The defendant proposed a question to the court respecting his right of being heard for himself A prisoner has a right to be heard by counsel. 872 Rep. No. 546. and to speak for himself. After the two counsel whom the rules aflow have spoken, is it still the rigljt of the prisoner to be heard? 'j'he court said not. The prisoner, if he speak, is one of the counsel, and only one other can be heard with him. Monday afternoon, April 29'h. Samuel Heath examined ; summoned for a juror, and declared that he had expressed no opinion. Peleg Aimy testified that he heard Heath say they "did not kill enough at Chepachet," (meaning the charter troops,) though his feelings were not worse toward Dorr than the rest^ he considered him as a ringleader. Set aside. Samuel Westcott was admitted a juror. Defendant excepts, because his answers were unsatisfactory. Tuesday morning, April 20th. Mr. Blake alluded to the injustice which, he said, was done to William H. Cranston yesterday, in the matter of summoning jurors. Mr. Cranston said that he had no conversation with the deputy sheriff when he went out to suirmion jurors, but rode with him only. Tiiose who knew him would believe him incapable of such an interrere\ice. Benjamin I. Lawton examined for jur-r ; had expressed no opinion. Thomas Cutter heard him say that '■' T. Dorr ought to be shot." Abiel Spencer heard Lawton say he " would chop Dorr fine enough to make sausage-meat, if he could have his way." George L. White heard him say that he " would have the Dorr party all hung." Ordered to stand aside for the present. The jury was filled without call- ing him again. At 10 o'^clock in the forenoon the jury was completed, and the following is a list of them : 1. Benjamin Carr, of Tiverton, 2. Asa Devol, of ditto, 3. William L. Melville, jr., of Newport, 4. -William Card, of ditto, 5. Jonathan Coggeshall, jr., of Portsmouth, 6. David Seabury, of Tiverton, 7. Benjamin Cory, of ditto. 8. Charles \Y. Howland, of Little Compton, 9. Borden Chase, of Portsmouth, 10. Joseph Paddock, jr., of Newport, 11. Richard C. Norman, of ditto, 12. William D. Southwiek, of ditto. Richard G. Norman was app-nnted foreman, and declined. Joseph Pad- dock, jr., was appointed in his place. The jury being empatmelled, tlie clerk again read the iuuictment, and Mr. Bosworth opened the case for the State. Tlie crime charged was happily a novel one. A terrible oppression had been occasioned by trials for treason, when carried on by the kin^ and gov- ernment in England; and this had been the occasion of the crime beinof re- stricted here to those odious and atrocious acts which stab malicitnisly and wickedly at the life of the State. The pro'^ecntors, lie said, could have no feelings which would lead them to desire a conviction in this case. The Rep. No. 546. 873 jury were fortunately relieved from the duty of ascertaining the law. The coiirt will instruct them in the law, and they will apply it to the facts. He spoke of the violation of high duties in treason. Read the statute against treason ; two witnesses required to each overt act. Levying war was an unlawful assembling, in warlike array, with trea- sonable {)urpose, and with ability to commit the act. — 2 Swift's Dig. 2G4-'5. Appearing at the head of armed men, and advising them to act, is a levy- ing war. — 6 Dane's Ab. 693. Dispersion without an actual engagement does not take away the charac- ter of treason. MancEUvring in the face of the government is enough. — 2 Burr's Trial, 407. There are four counts in the indictment. Two charge the acts done at Providence on the I7th and IHth May, 1842, and two those done at Gloces- ter on the 25th and 27th of June. Mr. Bosvvorth then went on to give a history of the proceedings of the defendant, and to describe his motives and character in an exa2:gerated strain of denunciation and invective, more adapted to the political caucus than to the hall of justice, and which a political' opponent of more manly qualities would hesitate to em|)loy. Mr. B. had forgotten the remark of his colleague, (the attorney general.) that "if Mr. Dorr was governor, then he had a right to do all that he did ;" and that the true question involved the principle of popular sovereignty, which might be honestly supported by Mr. Dorr, as it had been by the men of former days, who have bequeathed to us the inheritance of our liberiies. The question was raised to the court by Mr. Bosworth, whether the pros- ecution may prove the intention of the accused before the proof of the overt acts of treason. The court, upon the authority of Chief Justice Marshall, (1 Burr's Trial, 472,) derided that the prosecutors might proceed in the or- der they pleased. Chief Justice Durfee remarked, that the intention may well be proved first, " for the law does not presume that a man at the head of armed men is committing treason." The prosecuting officers then proceeded in the examination of witnesses in behalf of the State. WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION. Tuesday forenoon, April 30, 1844. Ji^remiali Br is^gs— Was present at the meeting of an Assembly at the "foundry," on the 3d of May, 1842. Saw the officers sworn ; saw Mr. Dorr hold up his hand and take the oath of office. The oath was taken by the representatives, senators, clerks, and the State officers, excepting the general treasurer. Mr. Dorr took an oath to support the constitution of the State and of the United States, as governor. Saw a large procession formed on Christian Hill. The General Assembly and the governor were attended by about 150 armed men. Crossed over from the hill to the house where they were to meet; was there the whole time, and heard Mr. Dorr deliver his address as governor; it was very long. The Assembly passed acts to renew the charters of several of the military companies. They also elected military officers, and passed several resolutions. They amended the char- ter of the volunteer company of Providence, and of the light infantry company of Wootisocket, so that they might enrol 200 men. They also amended some laws passed by the General Assembly some time previous ; 874 Rep. No. 546. recollect, in particular, the riot act. Some of them seemed to think the foundry was not a fit place to sit in, as it rained tlirongh, and some drops fell on the speaker's head. They requested the sheriff, Bnrrington An- thony, to obtain the court house for their session the next morning. Wit- ness passed in witfi the procession. They went in uncovered, through tiles' of soldiers. Cro^s examined — Witness heard Mr. Dorr deliver his address as gover- nor from a printed paper. There was nothing unusual in it for such an address. Never heard one delivered before ; heard nothing in it about using force. The procession was like others he has seen since ; has seen bitter looking men. WiUiatn Burrough — Saw Mr. Dorr at the foundry acting as governor of the State. Saw the procession form ; it was composed of men armed and unarmed. Saw Mr. Dorr take the oath in the common form. Military guards were stationed about the building for some time. The General Assembly passed acts, and appointed military officers. They appointed a committee to call on the secretary of state to take possession of the papers of his office ; also, a committee to take possession of the public funds. Mr. Anthony, the sheriff, was authorized to prepare the court-house for the use of the Assembly. They abolished the laws respecting offences against the State, called the Algerine laws ; they appointed civil officers, and con- tinued the courts ; they appointed a speaker and clerks, and altered the law respecting riots. Saw a guard at Anthony's house on the 18ih of May. There were several cannon there, and some companies of armed men ; supposed they were there to protect Mr. Dorr. Cross-examined — There were armed men in the procession on the 3d of May. Some had clubs or canes ; they were not ordinary walking sticks; some of them were as large as his arm. The committee spoken of to t.tke possession of the public funds were to demand tliem after a new treasurer was sworn in. There was nothing warlike or riotous in the proceedings of the Assembly. Does not recollect hearing any forcible measure proposed. B. Anthony was authorized to go and demand the keys of the Siate house, and, if he obtained them, to prepare it for their use. Nothing was said about what he was to do if he did not get the keys. He was requested to do so. Saw no difference from other legislatures in the mode of conduct- ing the business. One man there seemed to know more about business than the rest, and told them what to do ; others did not seem to understand the manner of doing business; never saw anything just like it elsewhere. Levi Salisbury — Saw Mr. Dorr at the foundry. The Assembly was held there for the purpose of organizing ihe new government ; and they took the necessary steps for that purpose. Was not present when Mr. Dorr took the oath as governor. Heard him deliver his message; he was stand- ing on the platform at the end of the building ; don't recollect seeing him before he came in. The procession was decent, well dressed, and orderly; the armed men had guns or swords. The General Assembly passed acts and resolutions, and appointed officers, chiefly military. Does not recollect the appointment of any but military officers, excepting ihosi* necessary to organize the two houses. Committees were appointed to inspect the public offices, and to transfer to the new officers the books, property, and papers. A resolution was passed directing the new treasurer to receive and receipt for the funds. Does not recollect hearing Mr. Dorr propose to take pos- session of the public property by force, or any otlier person in his presence. Rep. No. 546. 8^5 Was not at B. Anthony's house on the night of the attack on the arsena! ; knows of it only by report. Does not recollect oi hearing Mr. Dorr say anything abont attacking the arsenal. Cross ex-amined — Witness bt'lieves that the General Assemlily passed a resoUitioil authorizing tiie governor to demand and require the surrender of the f>nhlic property to the new officers of the State. The organization ot the government was conducted in every respect in an orderly manner ; there was nothing unusual, except that both houses met in one room. Saw no dictation of any one person over the rest. There was by talk and con- versation among tlie members of the legislature, as in other public bodies. A resolution was passed in the house, requesting the sheriff' to prepare the court-house for the use of the Assembly. Does not recollect that anything was said of any alternative if tlie house should be refused to him. Saw nothing unusual in the procession. Did not see any of the procession carrying large sticks or cluhs. [Witness hesitated in replying to a question from the attorney general, whether he knew that it was Mr. Dorr's wish to take possession by force on the 3d of May, 1842, on the ground that he might subject himself to prosecution for misprision of treason, if he stated he had such knowledge and gave no information of it. The attorney general said it would be such an offence to refuse to tes- tify what he knew of such a desire or intention on the part of the defendant. Mr. Dorr said he hoped Mr. Salisbury would not withhold anything he knew on his account. The court said that the witness was not asked whether he divulged or concealed, at the time, his knowledge of Mr. Dorr's intentions, but more generally what he knew on the subject; and that he must answer the ques- tion asked of him.] Mr. Salisbury continued : He certainly understood, at the time, that it was the wish of Mr. Dorr to take possession of the State-house and of the other public property. (Mr. Dorr said witness was correct.) Witness under- stood that Mr. Dorr was for vigorous measures. There was some discus- sion ill the house on the subject ; luit it was dropped informally. There was a division of opinion in the house upon taking such a step. The res- olution that was passed, requesting the sheriff to prepare the State house for the sitting of the Assembly, did not authorize or imply the use of force for that pur|)ose. Witness understood that it was then Mr. Dorr's inten- tion, and also that of others, to take possession of the State-house and other public property by force, if force should be necessary. Wni. H. Smiik — Was at the foundry at the meeting of the General As- sembly; Mr. Dorr also. Witness heard him deliver his inaugural message; thinks Mr. Dorr took the oath, but does not positively recollect seeing him do so. The procession was formed near the Hoyle tavern ; Mr. Dorr was near the head of it. Some were armed ; others not. Persons with arms Walked by the side of tlie members of the Assembly; also by Mr. Dorr. The Assembly elected military officers. Does not know that Mr. Dorr signed any military commissions to officers then appointed, or that such commis- sions were issued ; or of Mr. Dorr's procurino- a seal of the State. That was tlie, duty of another officer. Witness has seen commissions with Mr. Dorr's signature to them, but does not know that thfy were issued to the persons named in them. Heard Mr. Dorr say that fie was elected to the place of chief magistrate, and was bound to perform the duties of his office. 876 Rep. No. 546. Has also the strong impression that Mr. Dorr said it would have been bet- ter to go at once to the Stale house and take possession of it. Witness knows that it was Mr. Dorr's desire to take possession of the State house at all events. Witness did not know at the time that force must necessa- rily be used. There were different opinions as to the necessity ■of force to accomplish the object. Cross examined — A resolution passed the Assembly requiring all persons in possession of any of the Slate property or papers to transfer the same to the newly elected officers ; and the governor was authorized to carry this into effect. This resolution was passed near the close of the session. State officers, senators, and representatives were elected. A committee was ap- pointed to count the votes. The votes were counted; and the result was declared to the Assembly. Witness thinks there were about 7,000 votes given in. There were few, if any, against Mr. Dorr. Does not know that any other governor of the State was ever elected by an equal majority. Mr. Dorr made no proposition hostile to the true interests of the State. He acted as governor of the State. Witness never knew of his acting other- wise than from a hig^h sense of duty. He was treated by the Assembly, and those associated with him, as governor. Witness does not know where the votes given in for defendant as governor now are; or where the votes are at present which were given for the people's constitution, under which Mr. Dorr acted. Tuesday afternoon. [Mr. Turner, for. defendant, read from the authorities, to show that an overt act of levying war must be proved, before testimony as to intention, or for other purposes, can be introduced. The court adhere to their opinion before expressed.] Roger W. Potter. — Was sheriff of Providence county in May, 1842. Saw the defendant at the Assembly held at the foundry. He was called the governor of the State. The day after the Assembly adjourned, a war- rant was placed in the hands of the witness against Dorr, and another against William H. Smith, as secretary of state. Mr. Dorr was not to be found. W^itncss saw him again on the 16th of May, (the day he returned from New York.) He was in a carriage surrounded by a guard of armed men. Cross-examined. — Witness did not go out of the middle of the city to look for Dorr. Witness was first directed to go to Burrington Anthony's house for Dorr ; but, after dinner, was directed not to go there, but to arrest Dorr if he should find him down street in tlie city. Did not know what miglit be considered his place of residence, as he had removed from his former home to the Franklin House, and afterwards left that house. Did not know that his residence was at IJ. Anthony's. Did not inquire for him there. Was told he might be found at the printing office of the Herald or Express. Edward Carrington, of the council, and others, told Ititn that Dorr would be down street. Witness received the warrants from the gov- ernor, or some one of his council. Dutee J. Pearce. — Does not know what day Mr. Horr left the State for New York after the adjournment of the people's legislature. Witness left on Saturday, and met Mr. Dorr in Philadelpfiia on Monday. They pro- ceeded to Washington. Witness left him m New York when he returned from that place. 'Witness knew Mr, Dorr intended to return to Rhode Rep. No. 546. 877 Island ; but nothing respecting his intention to maintain himself as gov- ernor, and to take possession of the public property by force. Mr. D. did not communicate with him on the subject. The proposition to take pos- session of the property was made at the tni)e of the sitting of the legislature ^ but witness did not hear defendant make it. Witness took ground against this proposition, and opposed it. Durina: the session of the legislature at the foundry, there was a meeting of several persons at B, Anthony's house, and the subject of taking possession by force of the public property was talked over. Several persons were in favor of it. Does not recollect that Mr. Dorr expressed an opinion. Durino; this absence of the defendant, witness heard him speak of bring- ing a force to this State, to resist the force which might be brought by the General Government in aid of the charter government ; but defendant never spoke of wanting or using any force from abroad, except in the contingency of an interference from abroad by the United States troops. He did not say how many men would be wanted in such an event. His object was to prevent an interference on the part of the General Governmant. Witness was informed, after he lelt Wasbington, that defendant saw the President, Dorr stated to witness afterwards, at Chepachet, that he considered himself the lawful governor of the State, and that he had as good a right to use force to defend the government as any other officer had to overthrow it. Did not hear him hold out any inducement to any one to stand by him. He certainly did not to me. Cross-examined. — Did not hear Mr. Dorr say that he wished to take forcible possession of the State-house. Did not have much conversation with him at that time. George H. Brown, of Chepachet, was strongly for the measure. Witness took groinjd against it. For this he was called a coward by Mr. Brown ; but he (Brown) had made tracks fast enough when he got into difficulty. . Witness had no doubt of Mr. Dorr's intention to take possession of the State-house. When witness returned to Newport, he said then, that if it had not been for him, Dorr and his men would have taken possession of the public [)roperty ; and witness believes he was correct in saying so. Wiliiam F. Blodgo.t. — Saw Dorr in the procession on the 16th of May, Followed the procession to Federal hill, near B. Anthony's house. He ad- dressed the multitude ; does not recollect whether from a carriage or a plat- form. He said it was false, as he had been accused, that he should have the aid of 51./HJ men from abroad that he had asked for ; he expected 5,0tl0 when they were wanted. He drew his sword, and said it had been dipped in blood once, and before he sliould yield up the rights of the people of Rhode Island, it should be buried in gore to the hilt. Dorr was surrounded by between 3()(J or 400 armed men in the procession, and a concourse of un- armed. Witness never heard such a yell as when defendant announced his determination. They applauded him with the yell of fiends. Witness was told it was not safe for him to remain there. Was not much fright- ened. Remained twenty minutes or half an hour. The men about Dorr were more like desperadoes than men. They only wanted a leader to do anything. Gave information of these proceedings to the governor and council. The cannon of the artillery company were taken by Dorr's men on the afternoon of Tuesday, the I7th of May. The detachment came down about four o'clock; no authorized person was present to defend them. 878 Rep. No. 546. Witness coliected a number of his friends, to prevent the carrying off of ihe guns, in case the orders should arrive from tlie governor in lime; they did not arrive, and the guns were carried off. The officer in command of the detachment said the muskets ot his men wore loaded ; so also did one of the company. The troops from the rest of the State v/ere ordered up, and came during the night of the 17th and in tlie morning of the 18th. Wit- ness was not at the arsenal, but was ordered to await the arrival of the troops from Warren, Bristol, and Newport. In the morning the column of about 550 men marched up Federal hill, under the command of Col. Wil- liam Blodget ; he marched beside the commander. Some one came and told them for God's sake to stop, as they would be fired upon. Companies were then deployed to the right and left, and the cannon of the Newport artillery were unlnnbered in front. The hostile gnns were then withdrawn some distance. The numbers around them decreased very rapidly when the troops came up to 40 or 50. The cannon were said to he loaded with round shot and slug iron. After a time B. Anthony promised that the guns should he returned at four o'clock in the afternoon if the troops were withdrawn ; Anthony said the men were drunk, and could not be influenced by him. The troops were consequently withdrawn. Cross examined. — Did not see on what Dorr stood when he made his speech. The shout was more like an infernal yell than anything else. To understand it, one must have seen Dorr's countenance when he made the speech. It accorded with the whole scene. Dorr did not make any explanation as to the use of the 5,000 upon the interference of Tyler. His name was not mentioned. Did not derive the story of the sword from a newspaper. Witness has not said that he came here to get Mr. Dorr convicted, or to that effect. He has said that he should say here all he could against iVIr. Dorr. Edward H. Hazard. — Saw the procession of the 16th of May. Informa- tion was received by the authorities that Dorr was in Stonington, and an armed force of his friends went to Stonington to escort him up. A propo- sition was made to the governor to arrest Dorr at Kingston depot, but it was not accepted. Went down to the depot of the Stonington railroad on Monday morning, and saw Dorr arrive. There were probably about 1,400 men in the pro- cession ; went with Colonel Blodget afterwards to Federal hill. Heard Mr. Dorr say that the sword had been dyed in blood, and should use it again in ' the same way in defence of the rights of the people of this State. Dorr- also requested the military officers to meet him at Anthony's. [Mr. Hazard then gave an account of the proceedings at the arsenal on the night of the 17th of May, and also of the occurrences in the city on the 18th, and afterwards; giving hearsay information relating to various indi- viduals and subjects, which was objected to by counsel for defendant. Wit- ness, however, proceeded.] Witness saw the men at the breastwork after they had fallen back from Anthony's house. D'Wolf was to take charge of them, and, if they could hold out a short time. Dorr was to return. Cross-examined. — Dorr spoke boldly and candidly. Witness thinks lie may have said that the 5,000 men wlio were to come from New York were to stand against Tyler, though he does not distinctly recollect. Witness did not derive the story about the sword from a newspaper. Never saw it in any newspaper. Rep. No. 546. 879 Hmry S. Hazard. — Was in Providence on the 17th and ISth of May 5 s,iA^ l)i)ir Oil the I6ih of May, when he came from Stonington ; saw the procession first going to the bridge ; didn't follow it: saw a large collection at B. Anthony's house on the 17th of June; many were the same as those who went in the procession. There were 300 or 400 up there when 1 went up; they were in companies; their arms were stacked, and guards were stationed round them. On the night of the 17th, about 12 or 1 o'clock, heard cannon fired; rode up on horseback over Federal Hill ; saw the men in I me ; rode along the line, and over to the arsenal ; told Colonel Blodget that they were coming ; he said he was ready for them ; rode back, and hoard them asking one another in line whether they were going to the ar- s^^nal ; some said they were, some said they were not; then rode to the light infantry armory and told Colonel Brown. There were 400 or 500 men, but not all under arm.s. The cannon were in the road ; they appeared .| ready for service. ' Cross examined. — Should think there were rising 400 men with arms. There was a very heavy fog that night ; rode along the line from one end to the other ; couldn't see more than half the length. They were standing in line — not in the best of disci|)line ; think they were mostly in double line; sto[)ped a little from the further end of them ; rode along the whole line ; , went there on purpose to see how many there were; didn't see Dorr that niglit. In answer to question whether he had said he hoped to see Mr. Dorr in prison, witness replied that he had said he hoped justice would be done to Mr. Dorr, and he was anxious to have him arrested; has no hard feehngs against Mr. Dorr. Joseph S. Pitnian — Heard on the 15th of May that Mr. Dorr had re- quested an armed force to meet him at Stoninyton ; the next day saw him escorted through the streets of Providence. [Mr. Pitman was aid to Gov- ernor King, and gave an account of what he saw as a scout on the night of the 17th.] Henry IS. Hazard^ recalled. — As we marched up, the cannon of the in- surgents was planted opposite Anthony's house, pointed down the hill. We marched up until we could see into the muzzles of the guns, and then halted. The insurgents then withdrew their cannon, and many of them dispersed ; should think tliat when they posted their cannon again, not more than forty or fifty remained. Saw a man swinging a torch, as if to apply it to the cannon ; some one took hold of him and prevented it. Orson MoJJitt. — Saw Dorr in Providence on the 16th and 17th days of May; saw him marching through the streets on the 16th. On the 17th, an armed force came down from B. Anthony's house to seize the cannon of the artillery company; saw them take the guns and carry them away. They said they came by orders of Governor Dorr. They said their raus- k 'ts were loaded. Saw Dorr, on the 16th, draw his sword, and something was said about a sword dyed in blood ; could not hear exactly what else he s-iid. Went to Warren on the 17th, at night, to bring up the troops ; came h ick and went through the city the rest of the night. Went into Dorr's lines : heard him give the order to fire ; saw one gun flash, and then heard Mr. Dorr himself call (or the torch; saw the other gun flash; saw him lioMing the torch ; conld see him plainly when the gun flashed ; was near enough to him to have touched him easily. The cannon was near the ar- senal, pniiitf'd vd it. When he found the gun only flashed, he said he was betrayed. He appeared to be commanding; heard him give no other orders 880 Rep. No. 546. than the one to fire ; it was obeyed instantly. There was no guard on ihe plain when I was there ; saw a number of men about. They generally started to go off, and I left soon after the gun was flashed. About 12 o'clock that night, witness was fired into going down Carpenter street ; was challenged first ; did not stop, and the musket was fired ; was leaning down and looking out of the carriage, else he should have been hit. Cross examined. — Saw Dorr draw his sword on the 16th ; could not ex- acdy hear what he said. Saw Dorr on the night of the 17th. Am certain that he applied the torch to the cannon ; knew him by the voice at first, and then by sight. Witness could not say anything about the dress of Mr. Dorr — whether he had a hat or a cap, or what sort of a belt, or what was the position of the guns, or who were near or standing around, or who flashed the first gun. Was in the midst of the men about the guns. George O. Bourn described tlie march of Mr. Dorr's men toward the arsenal. A person, who was following, told him there were 300 or 400 under arms, and that others were to be armed with the guns that might be taken; they were then to march toward the city. The cannon were placed near the great tree. Thought the men in the arsenal could reach those around the cannon on the field wiih muskets. Cross-examined. — One of the insurgents told him there were 1,000 men without arms, who were to be furnished from the arsenal. Wednesday, May 1, 18/12. Ro^er W. Potter^ recalled. — Went on Federal Hill on the morning of the ISth of May, while the insurgents were there. Was called upon in the morning to go to the council chamber. A warrant was put into his pos- session against Thomas W. Dorr. Went up with the governor to Federal Hill ; we missed of the troops who had started before us. When we got there, John S. Harris was addressing the crowd ; went in and inquired for Dorr; B. Anthony pledged his honor that Dorr had been gone some time. A call for the governor to come to the window arose; witness took out the window; Governor King then said that the sheriff was in the house with a warrant for Dorr; they cried out, "No, no, shoot him, shoot him." Governor King then retreated from the window. Witness went to the window; they cried out "Shoot him." A man levelled a gun at his head ; they looked at each other a moment, and the man lowered his mus- ket. At Burrington Anthony's request, witness called to the crowd not to fire into the house. A cry then arose that the landholders were coming. William Dean gave the information, and the men rushed away from the house and the cannon. Went out to the cannon ; a man by the name of Gould was flourishing a lighted port match above one of them, which was pointed directly at the troops coming up the hill. Carter said that he should stand by the guns till he was shot down ; Gould said that the cannon were loaded with round shot and scrap iron. When we first went up, there was a line of men with muskets before the house — perhaps a hundred ; there were armed men in the house, on the stairs and above. When the troops came up, there was a great rush of both armed and unarmed men from about the house. One man cried out, " Where the hell are you going? — a pretty soldier to be running away!" Hiram, Clmppell. — Was in the procession which escorted Dorr from Stonington depot. They were under arms; don't know that the muskets were loaded ; the men had ammunition. Witness remained at and about the house of Burrington Anthony till they went to the arsenal. Isaac Allen • Rep. No 546. 881 lind command of the troops at Burriiigton Anthony's house ; he said at the time tliat he was appoiutrd a major by Dorr, and received his orders from him. Knows of ammunition heinir purchased for the purpose of going to the arsenal. Dorr gave him money to buy powder and flannel, ^25. Dorr went with the troops to the arsenal. Witness did not go on to the field. All the troops left the field about daybreak. Went back with Dorr in the same squad ; he said nothing about disbanding his troops, or going away. Did not know that Mr. Dorr had left till 8 or 9 o'clock. Drew the charges of the guns in the morning with Carter; found first a bag of slugs, then a ball, then a cartridge, then another ball, then another cartridge; tlie last cartridge was fired off, and the guns reloaded. They were loaded with ball and bags of slugs when the troops came up. Went to Chepachet on the 24th of June. Saw men under arms, about 250 or 300, and in the mornmg saw a breastwork thrown up. Isaac Allen had command of them. Afterwards they chose D' Wolf commander. Satur- day Dorr came with an escort, and staid there till Monday night; about dark a letter was read on the hill, ordering the troops to disperse and go home peaceably. There were 25 or 30 of the Spartan band, who were said to come from New Y^rk. They were armed with muskets. They were out on scouts most of the time. D'Wolf was chosen by the, ofiicers. There was a pike company here, a pieked-up company. Tliere 'was a large quantity of scrap iron for the cannon, and three boxes of balls ; looked as if they came from some fort. One of the cannon came from Olneyville, called the Governor King. A ruuior arose at one time that the Algerines were coming, and Major Allen made a fuss and called up the Wooiisocket artillery to stand with match ropes lighted, by the guns. Allen said that if the Algerines did not come up, then they would go into town on Wednes- day. D'Wolf and Allen took their orders from Dorr. They so reported, and Dorr directed the troops to obey them. Dorr's order was, that no straniier should be admitted on the lull. The report was there that men were coming from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut ; also that Mike Walsh had written to New York for the rest of his band. The muskets were said to have arrived at Norwich, and were then in boxes oft the wharf, as the railroad directors would not let them be brought over; the troops there were encouraged by these reports. Knows that arms and ammunition were obtained and secreted after the Federal Hill affair for the Chepachet gathering. Had some in his own house. Knew of the expedi- tion to Warren, as the men came to his house for arms. Knew that they wished to go and get arms from the wharf of Messrs. Brown 6c Ives. At Chepachet guards were set, countersigns had, and one prisoner was taken. Heard from Captain Bradley that he had surrounded Sprague's house with his company, to find if Dorr was there. Witness ascertained that he went away about half an hour after the letter was read upon the hill. Witness knew half an hour previous that Mr. Dorr was going to leave. Dorr came on the hill soon after he got there, and also on Monday. Heard that Dorr's father had been there Monday. [Mr. Turner objected to the witness's stating for testimony the hearsays and rumors that anybody may have told him. He ought to state facts. The court ruled, that whatever the insurgents said or did among themselves was proper evidence to characterize the assemblage. The government were bound to prove the connexion of the prisoner with this assemblage. The defendant was not answerable for their acts any further than this.] 56 i 882 Rep. No. 546. Witness. — When the letter was read upon the hill, the troops dispersed in great confusion, like a flock of sheep with dogs after thein. Knows that arms were purchased in other States for the use of the troops at Chepachet, Tents were there, wh.ich came from Massachusetts ; two men there told him that they were stolen. Dorr went oft' from Federal Hill before the governor and sheriff" came up. Didn't leave till after it was reported to witness that the troops were coming. Cross-exarnhied. — In witness's opinion, there were 25(Jor S()0 men armed at Chepachet ; they were going and coming continually. They were not permitted to go or come freely from the hill. No one could go from the hill, except by permission of the sergeant of tlie guard. An expedition went out after arms on Saturday. Heard there was a council of officers before the order to disband was given. The balls for the artillery that were there, were put up in boxes, as they are kept in forts and arn-iories ; had informa- tion of Allen that aid was coming from New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. On Monday night it was rumored that the State troops were encamped at Scitiiate. Did not hear, at the time we left, that any State troops were marching from Greenville. Stated before the commissioners upon his exauiination that he plugged the cannon at Federal Hill ; before they went to the arsenal, did plug the cannon with short pine pings ; this was done about 1 1 o'clock in the night ; didn't tell any one of it then ; should have been very foolish to have done so. Went out with the pieces, and halted there till morning. Was present when the charges were withdrawn from the guns the next morning; the pine plugs were jammed through. By the 250 or 300 men in arms in Chepachet, means only those who were on the hill. There were men armed and unarmed in the village. There were guards in the barracks, as they were called, at the upper end of the village, and at Sprague's tavern. The men around street went where they pleased, except when the companies marched. The object of the as- semblage in arms at Chepachet and at Federal Hill was to take possession of the State. Witness was an officer, but without a commission. Witness did not tell any one, after his examination by the commissioners, that his story to them about plugging the guns was false, and was related to them to gain favor. Jonathan, M. Wheele?\ — Was in Providence on the 16th, 17th, and 18th days of May. Men were under arms in the escort. Dorr delivered an ad- dress on Federal Hill; was on the hill the afternoon of the J7th: there were armed men there ; didn't know that the cannon were taken till even- inw. Was on the hill the night of the 17th ; saw Mr. Dorr there once, on the ground at the arsenal. The troops were around him ; witness staid there till two o'clock and then went away. Don't know what the troops did ; thinks he heard Dorr say that if he was legal governor, he had a right to take possession of the public property, and was bound to do it. Under- stood the intention was to take the arsenal that night. Saw the ^nns flash. Was not near enough to see how they were pointed. Understood the guns were brought on the field to take the arsenal. Thinks the men in the field were under the command of Thomas W. Dorr. Gen. Leonard Blodget, (at that time colonel.) — Witness produced the evidence in writing of his appointment to command the arsenal in Provi- dence by Col. Samuel Ames, quartermaster general, and of the approval of Governor King. Rep. No. 540. 883 Witness commanded the arsenal on tlie night of the 17th, and on the Ibth of May, 1S42, and was employed as above stated. On the night of the I7tli an attack was expected. Somewhere from one to two o'clock in the night, a sentinel came aiid informed witness that there was a flag of truce at the door. Witness went down stairs to the door, and saw two men with a lidg. One of them demanded the surrender of the arsenal. Wit- ness aslced him in whose name, fie replied, in the name of Col. Wheelei-, adding, in an under tone, and of Governor Dorr. Witness said he knew no such peisons by those titles; and should not surrender, but defend his post. They then said that ha or tliey would come and take it. Witness replied, "Very well, then come and take it." The bearer of the messaa'e then answered that Dorr had a large force with him. Witness understood that the demand was made by Colonel Wheeler, in the name of Governor Dorr. Witness was informed that tliere would be an attack just before the men came on the ground. Went out once and heard their voices. There appeared to be a large number, but sav/ them indistinctly. The arsena! and the arms in it were tState |)roperty. The quartermaster general sup- plied the p'rovisious and ammuniiion. From thirty to fifty men were en- listed by witness for the defence of the arsenal. Governor King came into the arsena! from ten to twelve o'clock on the night of the 17th, and went away again. Two companies marched into the building from the cUy, tc assist in the defence — the Cadets and the Marine Artillery, numbering about seventy-five men fach. A number of citizens were also present, niakini: about two hundred in all who were in the arsenal that night. Did not see the iiash of the guns before the arsenal. Cross examined, — Does not recollect that Orson Moffitt made any report to hun of proceedings that night. Does not recollect seeing Moffitt. Sent out Mr. Barker and Colonel Pitman as scouts. Knows nothing in particular of the movements of Mr. Dorr on the outside. Governor Kmg rem.anied but a short time at the arsenal. The building is of stone, two sTories high, the walls 18 inches thick, the doors and windows of iron. The artillery pieces were placed in the lower story — five six-pounders. The doors to- wards the attacking parly were to be opened, and the pieces were to be run out and fired. Nelson B. Aldrich. — Saw Mr. Dorr on the plain before the arsenal on the night of the I7th May, with the men who marched there. They had two pieces of cannon. Dorr passed by witness. Saw the flash of the can- non, but was not near enough to see the direction in which they were pointed ; the cannon were north of the arsenal. When Dorr passed, he was going along the line of a company. Understood that the object was to take the arsenal. Was at ('hepachet, and saw Dorr once on the hill ; can't say v/hether he was armed. There were armed men there; and saw cannon, implements of war, and musical instruments. Saw Dorr at Sprague's tavern, the head- quarters. He had a belt around him; can't say whether he had arms or not. Richard Knight. — On Saturday, 2.Tth of June, started from Providence for Chepachet, about two o'clock in the afternoon. Nothing strange took place till near Chepachet; passed two young men from Chepachet, gomg to Providence in a wagon; they turned and followed him; they could not, overtake him; his horse got near the fort, and became frightened and ran ; men ran down the. hill and crossed his track ; there were three blacks there; 884 Rep. No. 546. one of them had a gnn. Gnns were pointed at witness, and one was fired; a black man told him the next day there was a ball in it. Several men ran along the hill and headed him off. The horse ran but about five rods farther, and stopped. The men asked where he was going ; said he was going to Jeremiah Sheldon's. Tliey told him to pass on ; he stopped, and asked for Mr. Sheldon; the two men then came up and stopped opposite. »S!ieldon was sent for, and went into an inner room with him. Soon an armed man came to the door, and said Captain Bradley wanted to see him at the door of the house; witness went out, and saw a man with a sword, who said that Governor Dorr had sent to have him arrested, and carried on the hill. Tlie officer told two men to take hold, one of each arm ; they moved on three or four rods, and halted. There v/ere 25 or 30 men about, who were ordered to fall in, and they then marched him on the hill. They carried him up to near where the marquee was. There was a gathering on tlie other .side of the marquee. Was taken np to the place, and saw Dorr in the circle; the salute of the officer was returned by Mc Dorr. They took me into the ring, and the officer said to Dorr that he had taken a man, and asked what should be done with him; Dorr said that depended on which side he was. Witness had some conversation with Dorr, and then the officer and Dorr stepped aside, and the officer returned and said I must go into the marquee and be examined by the officers. Went in and saw a man with no hair on, who was called secretary. They asked me several questions, and the answers were noted down in a book. Understood the secretary was Seth Luther. Mr. Carter was present during the examination. Witness was then marched over with 16 men to the guard-house; was kept there that night and the next day : got permission to go to Colonel Aldrich's, who was colo- nel and commissary in that army. A great many men came in from the 'I'hompson road ; on Sunday there were from 60U to 1,000 men in the vil- lage, mostly without arms. There were said to be companies from pla(^es out of the State ; some with drums, some without. The companies were marched up and down the street. Some of these companies said tliey were from one place at one time, and another at another. Saw pikes made in the blarksmith shop near the guard-house. On Monday, at 2 or 3 o'clock, Colonel Aldrich came and said I was released, but must stay till sunsetj and then go without giving any information that I was released. He said that Governor Dorr was going away. Witness asked him to let him have an officer to go on the hill. Aldrich called a man whom he called sergeant of the guard, and he went with me, Down round the tavern there were men that grabbed him, but the officer caused him to be let go. Went up the hill and looked round. When he first went there on Saturday, Sheldon told him that the Algerines were deceived; that they could have 3,000 men, and as much money as they wanted. Went up on the hill, and saw about 150 men under arms, and probably 150 more standing round. On Monday there were 300 or 400 men under arms, half of them well armed. They pointed me out as the old Algerine. They were expecting some communication from the governor, and were impatient; some one said he had gone; another said it was a d — d Algerine lie. They expected the communication to be to go and attack the column at Greenville orScituate. Saw Dorr with a belt on ; cannot say whether he had any sword or pistols. The men said that they were going to take possession of the government of the State. Witness left, the hill about 7 o'clock; went towards Provi- Rep. No. 546. 885 detice, and about two or three miles from Greenville was stopped by the otlier kind of troops — at least they looked differently. Gioss-^xaiiuned — Dorr was not present in the marquee wiien the man with no hair examined him. Witness experienced no ill treatment from Dorr, or by his orders ; was released by order of Mr. Dorr. Dorr was not present at any time after he was taken into the marquee, and witness never heard him say a single word. Bradley said that witness was taken in the camp; replied that he was taken in Sheldon's house. Carter said they were not (joing to have any Algerines coming there to contradict them ; he would find that he had been taken in tlieir camp, which would soon be the v.'hole ytate of llliode Island. Carter took up a bag, apparently of bullets, and said that those were the pills for the d — d Algerines. Witness went to Chepachet upon the suggestion of a daughter of Mr. Sheldon ; had other , business there; thought he had as good a right to go there as anybody. Witness paid his tolls, and went on his own hook. Don't recollect of hav- ing seen any of tfie governor's council that day before startino;. A great number of men there on Sunday were spectators. The companies marched up and down the street several times, saying they were from as many dii- ferent places. The last company was a lar^e one of sixty or seventy men ; they hurralied, and said, Tlus is the first company of the three thousand men from Hartford, who would all be there before the next night. Wit- ness understood tfiese movements of men pretending to be from different places were merely for show, to produce an impression on him of their numbers. Saw no men intoxicated on the hill; everything was orderly there, but ihere were one or two near the tavern who appeared to be af- fected with liquor. Don't recollect that they were armed. Witness was insulted most at the guard house. Charles J. S/i'Mei/. — [Mr. Dorr objected to this testimony to prove acts committed before he went to Chepachet. The court admitted it, on the ground that it went to characterize the as- semblage at Chepachet.] Witness. — On the night of the 22d of June was hailed on the road to Chepacliet and ordered to stop. Didn't stop. Drove on till near Sprague's tavern, and was again ordered to stop. Drove on till near the tavern, when we saw a cannon on the bridge a short distance off. We then stopped and went into the tavern, and asked some one to take care of the horse. Capr. West (as they calkd him) took out a pistol, and ordered him to sit down, saying that he had been at large long enough. [Mr. Dorr again objected, and asked the witness if he saw him there, or heard that he was there. Shelley said he did not see him, or hear that he was there. WUtiess. — There was a warlike assemblage at Chepachet, at Sprague's tavern, and at the guard house. Snould think there were a dozen or fifteen men. Wednesday afternoon. [Mr. Dorr again renewed his objection to the admission of the evidence of Mr. Shelley. The court decided that it was proper for the witness to stale the object and intentions of tiie men collected there.] M'iJnesy. — A body of armed men were in Sprague's house. Newell stated lo him that they were officers and soldiers of Gov. Dorr. Newell acted as 886 Rep. No. 546. an officer; was called Gen. Newell. Witness was taken prfsonei by them ; was retained in Spragne's bar-room hall' an hour; then was taken over to the guard house, the building described by Mr. Knight. Protested against their taking him from the house of Mr. Sprague. Spragne said these men would take care of him ; that he was a prisoner of war. They took him for an Algerine, a spy, a d — d scoundrel. They stated that they were arrayed against the Algerine government. Was searched, and was taken from tlie guard-house, bound in the street, marched oil" towards the north, and finally reached Woonsocket. Habere were in company from 30 to 40 men armed with muskets and a piece of cannon. Major Allen had the chief command. Captain Bradley, Captain West, and others, were present. After marching six or seven miles, witness was put into the ammunition wagon. Alter they reached Woonsucket, an alarm was fired, and men collected in arms. Witness was taken to a room called the arsenal. After having been kept there some time, he was released. Two others were taken at the same time, and were marched over with us. Witness saw a wagon at Woon- socket, said to be loaded with muskets in boxes, and tents. This load went back with us to Chepachet. Witness went ov^r v/ith Carter ; staid in Che- pachet about an hour. There were considerable numbers of men in arms there then ; they stated that their object was to take possession of the gov- <^rnment, and to place the rightful governor at its head. Seth Luther was fhere. He talked of the object of the assemblage. He said they had a large number of men in New York who were coming on, with Mr. Dorr at the head. Carter said the same. He said they were all prepared and wouldti't have to go home for their breakfast, as they did on Federal Hill. Cross-examined. — Doti't know that I heard at that time of any appre- Jiended attack upon Chepachet from the city of Providence. 'I'hey talked ;it Chepachet of an express being sent towards Providence. Witness was '-omplainant in certain cases in Providence county against part of the per- sons for offences committed at tliis time. Some of these men were acquitted, rmd part of the matter was comproniised. The defence set up was, that there was a state of war, and the offence was merged in treason. It was not set up in their defence that there was any deficiency of evidence. Henry A. Kendall. — Saw the body of men who marched on tlie niglit of May 17th to tlie arsenal, and saw them again on the plain before that build- ing. They had arms and cannon, drums and fifes. Witness was there when they started and on the plain. The cannon were stationed so as tO' fire upon the arsenal. The purpose of the marchuig to the arsenal was to fakf? it. Witness was a part of t!;e time near Mr. Dorr. Can't say that he lieard Iiim give any orders. Orders were oriven by various persons. '^Fhe iroops marched on the plain ; they halted awhile, and then advanced. Wit- ness saw the artillery pieces attempted to be fired. They flashed. Witness don't know who attempted to fire tlie guns ; was about ten or twenty feet from tliem; don't know where Dorr stood at the time. Mr. Dorr was on the plain at the time. Witness thinks another attempt was made to fire the jruns, or one of them. Witness thinks he discourajred Dorr from making the attempt on the arsenal while on the field. He did not comply with the advice. The men, some of them, remained on the field till daylight. They went on about one o'clock. Witness heard of the flag- of truce being sent :, thinks Carter bore it. Witness don't know when Dorr left the plain, but witness thinks he left him there when he (witness) went away himself Witness cannot recall the particulars of any conversation he had with Mr.. Rep. No. 546. 887 Dorr oil the field. Witness knows what his own intention was in going to the arsenal, not that of any one else. Cross examined. — Saw tfie man who attempted to (ire one of the guns ; it was not Dorr. Don't think he saw the man who touched the second gun. Did not see Mr. Dorr have a torch in his hand that night. Witness did not go with the men to Chepachet. Col. Silas A. Comstock. — Came to Providence about noon on the ISth of May, and went on Federal Hill. He saw tlie embankment which had been thrown up on the brow of the hill. Did not rernain there. Witness was also at Cliepachet. Saw Gov. Dorr there, and a collection of armed men. Mr. Dorr came up on the hill to inspect them. He wore a belt with two pistols in it. Witness arrived at Chepachet before him. The men on the hill were, some of tliem, at work on the entrenchment. Does not recollect that they were drawn up in order when Mr. Dorr came upon the gromivd. There were a number of pieces of cannon, some of which were mounted ; there were also powder and cannon balls. Witness did not hear Mr. Dorr address the soldiers. The object of the assemblage was mil- itary discipline and improvement, in order to support and protect the people's legislature, whicli was to meet at Chepachet on the 4th of July. The meet- ing was accidental, and not by any particular orders that witness knew of. Guards were stationed about the hill in the night, and in the daytime also. Witness did not know that there was any particular movement in view, un- til somethino: ebe was arrived at. Witness tmderstood that Gi>v. Dorr is- sut^d his proclamation to convene the people's General As.sembly at Chepa- chet; and the men on Acote's Inll gathered there in reference to this call. 'J'hey meant to defend the place. The guards were stationed about for the safety and protection of the place. The men came to Chepacliet wlicn they did, in cojisequcnce of rumors which had been put in circulation that Che- pachet was to be sacked by charter troops from Providence. Cross-exainhied. — Witness acted as colonel of the men assembled in arms at Chepachet, and exercised authority accordingly. In the opinion of wit- ness, on Monday, .Tune 27th, when tlie men were formed into a regiment, there were under his command from 200 to 2.50 men under arms and orders ; and this was the greatest number ol armed men who were at any time at Chepachet on his side. There were many other persons on the ground, and in the village, who' came and went as they pleased. They were spec- tators, and were not a part of the military, or subject to any orders. There were as many spectators as men every day about the lines. The number of soldiers on the hill did not vary much, though the men kept changing, as they came and went. Witness was not there on Saturday afternoon ; but nnderstood that a company then went otf and returned to Cumberland. The spectators spoken of were from Glocester, and from other towns. Our men were all volunteers, without pay. Nothing was furnished them but their food. There was no fort on the hill ; there was nothing more than a slight breast-work gnins^ round the south and west sides of the hill. It was a tem- porary work of not much strength. There were large openings or embra- sures in it for the pieces of cannon. The genera! impression among the men was, that we were to maintain the government under the people's constitution by otfensive or defensive means, as circumstances miijht require. The men did not come there as full companies in u state of discipline. 888 Rep. No. 546, They came for the most part in squads — a dozen or so in each. Owly one or two com[)anies came there as such, and officered. There were from eleven to thirteen men, who were said to have come from New York, and to belong to the Spartan band. They conducted themselves, like the rest of the men, in an orderly manner. Witness considered them under his conmiand, as the rest were. There was no colored man under arms, to the knowledge of witness. But there were two or three blacks in the commissary's depart- ment, to prepare the provisions. None of our men were under pay. No inducement, other than his food, was held out to any to come there. Witness understood that a proclamation was issued by Governor Dorr to the people of the Slate, but did not see it. The people wer© called upon to assemble in arms for the support ot their governnient. There was very little response to the call. Our men did not assemble there from the several towns, as there was reason to expect they would do. The government un- der the people's constitution was abandoned for want of support by the people. This was the sole cause of the disbandment of the men. A council of officers was called by Governor Dorr, to consider the sub- ject, at General Sprague's bouse. Every officer present expressed bis opin- ion upon it. 'J'lie ground of the disbandment was, that the people of the State, after having been called upon, had refused to give their support to their own government. They had denounced its officers, and had gone over, many of them, to (he other side, leaving their friends by themselves. The order to disband was submitted to the cotnicil of military officers by Governor Dorr, and received their approval. '^I'he meeting was at head quarters, at Sprague's house. Two meetmgs were held there in the course of the day. At the last, in the afternoon, the order for disbanding the men was given by Governor Dorr to General D'Wolf, at the house, for him to carry on the field and announce to the mc^n. This order was issued towards sunset on Monday, June 27. Witness does not recollect that he took par- ticnlar notice of the time of day; believes it was within an hour of sunset when the order was sent. The men disbandi^d in consequence of the or- der. There was a little feeling at first u)anifested by some, who were not informed of the circumstances, and who were for holding on. There were but few who made any objection to the disbandment, or who did not ap- prove of it as affairs were situated. Witness did not see Governor Dorr leave Chepachet. The last he saw of him was when he gave the order to D'Wolf It was a short order to the officers to disband their men ; does not recollect the wording of it. D'Wolf read it to the men on the field, as given and signed by the commander-in- chief. The subject was deliberated upon in council before the order was finally given. '^I'here was no irregularity or disorder among the men at the lime, though they wanted discipline. They separated as usual after a dismis- sion. There were countersigns given out, but does not recollect any of them. Witness saw Bradley at the house of Sprague at the time of tlie order to disband. The house was not surrounded at any time. Bradley's company were dismissed, and were firing their guns. '^I'he house was our liead- quarters. Witness recognised Governor Dorr as Governor of Rhode Island and commander in chief, and received his orders. Witness do< s' not know of any force being ex[)ected from New York or elsewhere, or of any sup- plies expected from abroad. It was a matter of conversation., that, if the Rep. No. 546. 889 troops of tlie United States should interfere in our State affairs, there were invA\ in New York wlio stood ready to give their assistance to repel them, '^rhis was the oeueral impression. There were at the hill two Massaclni- setts men — CVW^If atid another. No unnecessary restraint was placed upon the people in the village of Chepachet. Knows of no person being arrested besides Mr. Knight. Governor Dorr gave orders that private property should be strictly re- .spected by all : and, so far as witness knows, it was respected. The sol- diers received their provisions from the commissary. Witness heard no complaint from any one that private property had been interfered with ; if it liad been, should have heard of it. We left tlie village uninjured and unmolested as we fuund it. Governor Dorr gave directions to have the guns, tents, and everything else on the hill, removed. [(yhief Justice Durfee here reaiarked, that there was no question about the taking of private property by the men iti arms there (meaning the suf- frage soldiers.) 'Iliis is not in dispute; and defendant's questions to wit- ness on this point are objectionable.] Direct examiiiatioii. resu/ncc/. — Witness acted as a colonel ; commanded the 2d regiment. There were a number of companies, as he had before explained, parts of which came there — two companies. from Woonsocket, one from [Jurrillville, one from Cumberland, one from Glocester, and one from Pawtucket. Tliere was but one regiment there. Witness did not give any orders in particular to the Spartan band. Among them were Mike AValsh, Johnson, and Newman. Walsh was the leader. Witness didn't ask Walsh whether his olject was to support the people's constitution or not. Has the impression tliat they were there to assist in any arrangements that might be made to defend it. Did not see Walsh go through any exer- cises. The principal reason for disbanding was, that the people did not come, as they had promised, to support the constitution and government; and many of our friends had come out in the papers with a public remonstrance against our proceeding further. The charter troops had no effect upon us. They had not come near us. Orders were sent to all the towns, by Gover- nor Dorr, for the people to assemble at Chepachet; to come out generally all who were in fiivor of the constiuition, and shov/ themselves, and present a strong front. The latest of his seeing Mr. Dorr was when he gave the order to D'Wolf, The consultation was hiid among (he principal officers. D'VVolf was called first, as he was the tallest officer we had. Bradley, Newell, Potter, Carter, Landers, and as many more were called into council by Governor Dorr. Word was sent to them on the hill in his name. They went to his room, and he stated, in substance, that as no re- sponse liad been relumed to tlie orders issued, and the people were not with usj and declined to support us, that it was proper to disband. This was the opinion of the council also. D'Wolf fully recognised the propriety of the measure. Witness went with D'Wolf to the liill. Staid there till dusk. When we returned to the village, we did not go to Sprague's, Witness was at his house in the evening. Didn't see Governor Dorr again at all. The officers all separately expressed their opinions, but does not recollect that the question was formally put to the vote. Witness heard that the charter troo[)S had- come out as far as Greenville. But their coming out was not the cause of the disbandmeut; what men we had were ready to stand their ground. 890 Rep. No. 546. Horace A. Pierce. — Came on with Mr. Dorr from Stoniiigton, on his re- turn from New York, May IGth. Mr. Sayles was there. Mr. Dorr did not say anything in witness's hearing abont collecting a force at Anthony's honse. Witness was not an officer there on the i6th. Saw Mr. Dorr a little after sundown on the 17th. There were a considerable number of men under arms at Anthony's house — about 300. There were two compa- nies from Woonsocket, one from Pawtucket, and several from Providence. It was said they were there by order of Governor Dorr. VVimess expected the object was to make an attack upon the arsenal. Saw Dorr in the liouse. They went to attack the arsenal that mght about one o'clock. Colonel Wheeler and Major Allen had the direction of the troops. Dorr was at the head of them. He went with them. When we got near the arsenal, some one gave the word to halt. They then advanced some distance to where the cannon were placed. They were attempted to be fired, and were af- terwards limbered again. Dorr came back, and requested men to take charge of the guns. Many of the men deserted them. Some of them were afraid and left. After the guns were flashed, Dorr came and requested the men to take charge of them. They were again unlimbered, and Dorr gave the order to have thom fired again. It was said he touched ihem off. Witness could not so5 distinctly whether he did so.or not. Some who were standing by, retnarked that few men would have the courage that Dorr had. and no one could call him a coward, for he touched off the cannon him- self. Those who remained then went back to Anthony's house. Witness thinks it was from seven to eight in the morning when Mr. Dorr left Provi- dence. The State troops came up between eight and nine. Mr. Dorr went with 0. Allen. Witness did not know that he was going till he had gone. The first he knew of it, some one called out of the window and requested them to disband. This was not assented to by those who had charge of the pieces. When the State troops came up, some one who had the port- fire, swung it, as if to touch ofT the cannon. Saw a gun presented either at the sheriff or Governor King. The pieces were withdrawn after the house had been searched. Heard a fortnight after that another attempt would be made. Went to Chepachet— thinks on Wednesday, .lune 22d. A company came from Che- pachet to Woonsocket, and witness returned with them. Tlie embankment was begun to be thrown up on Wednesday or Thursday. There were from 100 to 150 men there then. Understood Mr. Dorr would be there. The purpose of our going there was to protect the General Assembly, and to execute the further orders of that body. Mr. Dorr caice on Friday night or Saturday morning. On Saturday there were from 200 to 250 men on the hill. There were a great many without arms, who were in the vil- lage as spectators. There was a company of men who lived in Chepachet, who staid at their house except when exercised. There might have been some who came and went away again with arms, and professed their readi- ness to give their assistance if necessary. Went on the hill first with Dorr. He went round and spoke with the men. Didn't hear him give an address. There were five or six pieces of cannon on the hill. Never saw but one loaded. That was loaded with powder, ball, and a bag of slugs. Saw scrap iron around, and pikes. They were carried up on the hill. Saw Mike Walsh and his party. Thought he had 14 men; some said 11. Heard that if the Executive of the United Slates interfered, men would come from New York and other States to repel ilie troops of the United Rep. No. 546. 891 States. The arrds and ammonilion were not, to his knowledo:e, furnished troni New Yoiif. The disbandinsr v/as near sundown. D'Woli brought the letter tm the hill and read it. Witness was not on the hill at the time ; was at the tavern. Can't tell certainly what time Mr. Dorr lef( Chepachet. Witness left himself before dark. Thinks Mr. Dorr left not far from dark. Whei-j Mr. Dorr went on the hill, he had a belt on, with a pair of pi.sto!s. Saw the handles of them. Thinks he had no sword. He had a cane. Witness does not know that he (witness) held any otlice there. Cross-examined. — A man by the name of Smith told witness first that Mr. Dorr touclied the cannon off. Couldn't tell what lime Mr. Dorr left Bnrrington Anthony's house. Some said he had gone afterwards. Wit- ness thinks there were fifty men who returned from the arsenal. There fjivas no order purporting to come from Dorr for the troops to assemble at Chepachet. It was given by Major Allen. Knows of a request from Mr. J)orr for a board of otficers to convene and consult about what was best to be done. Thinks they did not meet. The organization at Chepachet was to carry into effect the government under the people's constitution. The greatest number of persons under arms on the hill, including all who were subject to orders, was from 200 to 250 njen. The n)en in the streets came and went as they pleased, as spectators. There were some artillery balls there. Many of them did not fit the guns. There were not cannon balls enough to supply the pieces more than fifteen or twenty minutes in an en- gagement. Witness heard a report from the captain of the artillery to that effect. Witness was in the marquee irequently. There were muskets and rifles in the marquee, that were not called for or used. Tliey were lying scattered about there. Walsh and his men were subject to orders like the rest. They drilled and worked on the entrenchment. Good order and discipline were maintained. Saw no disorder or improper conduct among t le men. B'^jijomiii M. DiirUiig — Was on the plain before the arsenal on the night of the 17th of May, 1842. Witness arrived there from out of town jnst as the men were going out, and did not hear the reasons for going. Wit- ness had heard that Governor Dorr would probably be arrested, and that he wanted his friends to come and protect him. Saw two cannon there. Had not been informed for what action they were there. Saw a flash, which was said to be of the cannon. Witness was distant from twelve to twenty feet. Witness did not go to Chejiachet. Cross-examined — Saw Mr. Dorr on the ground ; was near him, as his aid. Got to B. Anthony's house late from Woonsocket. and was not in the council. It was a dark night, from a very heavy fog. A man could hardly be distinguished a ^ion which has been spoken of when he was ordered to go to Chepachet ; intended to accept this cornmiss'on ; would not have given it up, if he could have got his discharge from im- prisonment before. Governor Arnold requested him to bring it in when he went home on parole. He gave it up. that he might get his final dis- charge. Hiram Chappell was in prison with him. Witness had conver- sation within the prison yard — having seen Chappell's examination before the commissioners published in the papers, in wliich he ((.'happell) stated that he had plugged up the guns before they were carried out to the arse- nal. Chappell then told witness that he did not plug the guns, but had said so in order to get his discharge from imprisonment. He said that se- riously. The prisoners were blackguarding about the matter in the yard. After witness withdrew his men from the field at the arsenal, he went over again to it. Did not meet Mr. Dorr. W^itness met the guns as they were coming back in the morning. All witness's company went off the field before the arsenal when he did. There was some dissatisfaction among witness's men, because he marched them oft' without making more of an effort to join in the attack on the arsenal. This was the reason why witness walked over on to the ground, as he has before stated. If anybody be to blame for his men's marching off, it was not his men. They were willing to go wherever he would have gone. Willis Bowen — Was in Chepachet, he believes, on Saturday, in June, 1842. There was an assembly of men in arms there. Was there but a little while. He judged there were from 150 to 200 men under arms. The troops were drawn up in a hollow square. Governor Dorr went into the square and delivered a speech. He had a belt around him, and the appearance of pis- tols. The men formed into square to hear his speech ; can't recollect much of it. He stated that he came there for the benefit of the people, and that he would rather that his bones should remain on the hill than that the people should not have their rights. He went oft" the hill escorted ; don't know by how many. He was attended, when he came on, by several persons ; one of them appeared to be an officer. Saw there cannon, (Jrums, fifes, tents, and flags flying. Cross examined. — Was a little deaf when there, from a cold, and the wind bew stons:. Should think Dorr %.ised the words before mentioned. Wit- 894 Rep. No. 546. ness was there but a short time. Was two or three rods from Dorr, at the corner of the hollow square. When he went there, didn't know that there was disturbance there. Some of them had a notion that witness should not ^o away; but he went away. The sergeant of the guard (a man named Dean) was going to stop him. Witness saw no disturbance or disorder. Caleb E. Tucker. — Was at Chepachet on Saturday, June 25th, 1S42. Saw an assemblage of men in arms, cannon, tents, (fcc. Saw Governor Dorr there in the afternoon. He had a belt and pistols, and a small cane in his hand. The men were drawn up in order, and manoeuvring about. The first I saw of Mr. Dorr, a man from Thompson pouUed him out, and said the governor was a smart, portly-looking man. Heard him address the troops, wlio were drawn up in a hollow square. He said they were there for the purpose of proiectiiicr the legislature, which was to be there in a (q\v days. He spoke of the rights of the people, which they were to de-. fend. Could not say certainly whetlier he used the expression that h4 would rather leave hi5 bones tliere,or not. He said he would rather sta|^ there till cold weather, than that the people should not have their rights,' and their Assembly meet. Guards were placed around the hill below, none upon it. Witness went down to the tavern. He made no inquiries as to their object. He v/ent on the hill to see the governor. Don't recollect par- ticularly anything being said about making an attack. Cross examined.— Wiiness, asked no leave to go on the hill. There was no objection made to his going. He was within ten rods of Dorr when he made his remarks. Saw Potter there ; this was about 4 o'clock. Has an impression that he heard the words he has mentioned, that he would rather leave his bones there. Should rather think he didn't get this impression from a newspaper. The men whom he saw there in arms were rugged, hard-handed people, farmers and mechanics. Some visiters were from Thompson, and his conversation was mostly with them. There was per- fect order on the hill; and the same in the village. There were two men from Connecticut, apparently visiters, not armed. There were perhaps 2U0 men under arms. The meeting there corresponded well with military trainings generally. The order was as good as at a general muster. Wit- ness saw one or two not quite sober at the tavern. Thursday morning, May 2. Darius Hill. — Repeats the statements before made respecting the assem- blage of armed men at Chepachet. Witness understood from those there, that Governor Dorr was to convene his legislature there on or about the 4th of July. Hardly thinks the men on the hill were the members of the legis- lature. Don't know what the cannon were put there for, except for protec- tion. They were pointed so as to command the road from Providence. Saw many things that looked as if they might, with a lettle help, go into the cannon. Witness left there on Monday afternoon between 4 and 5 o'clock. Was among the armed men. Left on his own business ; had corn to hoe, and cows to look after. Heard there was a body of men coming up that way, under a pretty slow progress, from Providence. Did not under- stand for what object. The people on the hill were under the command of Major I. B. Allen during the first part of the race. Didn't hear Dorr give any command. Should suppose in his own mind that Allen acted under Dorr. Witness didn't suppose that he himself acted under anybody's command ; he considered himself a nation by himself Didn't interrupt Rep No. 546. 895 Dorr lo ask him what his intentions were. Heard but few words of his ad- dress. Heard orders that purported to have been issued by Dorr; and un- derstood from the officers that the orders for the movements on the hill were by authority of Dorr. Cross-examined.- Was there the 25lh, 26th, and 27th. If his recollec- tion serves him right, was not tliere the 2Sth. Don't know what flag was there, or what time the State troops got there the next day. Witness resides four nnles west of Chepachet. Is a small farmer. The men on the hill were principally of that class, and mechanics — those whom he knew. George B. Aldrich.—Afier passing Mr. Dorr in the road, in a carriage going out of town, as he thinks at about half-past eight in the morning of the 18th of May, witness proceeded into Providence, and went on Federal hill, where he saw about 40 or 50 suffrage men with cannon. One or two went on the hill with hmi. The number of men v/ith the cannon were de- creasing while he was there. Was at Chepachet Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, in June. Saw Dorr on the hill there on Saturday. Did not hear him address the troops. Some of them were drUling. Saw him walk about on the hill. (Witness was reluctant lo repeat the conversation between himself and Mr. Dorr, lest it should commit himself; but was told he must proceed.) Witness went on: Mr. Dorr said, that if he had had his way, the em- bankment would have been thrown up in a different manner. Mr. Dorr said he gave no orders to Major Allei"! to call the people together at the time when they were called. He said that the breastwork was not well done. Understood he came there upon the information given him by Major Allen ; Dorr did not say so. Witness went with Major Allen from AVoonsocket up there. They went thereto protect the legislature that was to meet there the 4th of July; and that was the purpose of the greater part of them. Witness went because the rest did. Major Allen seemed to be commander. He gave witness some orders, which he did not obey ; and witness did not hear Allen give any orders coming from Dorr. Heard forty reports about tlie charter troops coming there ; sometimes they were at Greenville, sometimes within a mile, and sometimes at Scituate. Witness went on Saturday night about sunset. There were armed men scattering all the way up and down in the village. Saw two men who drove up to the tavern ordered out of the carriage by armed men. Can't say that he saw any one under restraint as a prisoner; can't say but he did. There were a good many things carried on — some manoeuvring, some firing. Saw a lot of old iron there. Expects likely they were going to put it into the cannon. The cannon were on the south side of the hill, pointed southerly. Cross examined. — There was no fort at Chepachet, only a line along one side of the hill about four feet high. They mowed a quantity of brush, put that in the middle, and covered it with dirt. Witness works at farming when he does anything. General Jcdediah >'S'praguc.— Lives in Chepachet. Keeps the hotel there. Kept it also in 1842. Heard that it was Governor Dorr's intention to come to Chepachet the night before he came. Don't know that he knew before of his intention to return at all. Witness was at a meeting at Woonsocket about the 1st of June. He heard there was to be a military parade there, and found a meeting of officers. Military movements were discussed at this meeting. An organization of the military was the intention. Under- 896 Rep. No. 546. stood that the organization was for improvement in tactics. The uhimate object was not stated. D'Wolf was there ; he might have been the chair- man. Comstoclc, Allen, Potter, and Dean, were also present. It was pro- posed tcrraise a subscription to purchase a piece of ground for the suffrage association to use as a parade ground. Witness has heard letters read from Mr. Dorr; may have heard them in some meeting, or they nuiy have been read to him individually. Cannot speak positively, or recollect the partic- ulars of the letters. Did not understand whether Mr. Dorr was coming or not to take command of the troops. Was not surprised when he heard Mr. Dorr was coming. Thinks it was anticipated, and that he would re- turn. Wi ness does not say whether \'r. Dorr was comraander-in chief, or not. He took rooms at his house ; and was sometimes there, and some- times on the hill, Duririg the time Mr. Dorr was there, the n)ilitary officers from the hill were occasionally inquiring for him, and went and talked with Iiim. Witness saw no action on the part of Mr. Dorr, nor, in fact, on the part of any one, as he was not much abroad. Soon after Mr. Dorr came, thinks he heard him say that he knew nothing of the assembling at Chepa- chet, and of what was going on, till shortly before he arrived. Thinks he said that he was going to convene the legislature there. That mi- ence — are all matters with which the verdict has nothing to do. The present constitution is a fact which is taken for granted on all hands. It exists, and is made effectual by a government operating under it. No other constitution has now any operation ; and there is no other govern- ment in actual competition. But is this state of facts to decide a question of right? Because the constitution and government under it have been set aside by firce ; and because, through the fault or misfortune of its sup- porters, and by external interference, the plan of reform in this State failed of success, is the opposite forcible success the criterion of all our rights? It may be true that the people have been defeated, or have defeated them- selves, and have acquiesced, or are disposed to acquiesce, in a new order of things ; and yet it may be also true that they were in the right, and that 922 Rep. No. 546. those who attempted to serve them in 1842 were in the right. And this is what we now desire tiie opportunity to prove to a jury of the country. The court have taken an oath to support the constitution under which they act; and they cannot escape from it while they continue to act, and until they are relieved by a competent authority. In what respect, then, can they be affected hy any argument to show that the old charter govern- ment was, two years ago, rightfully superseded by that under the people's constitution? If the court be convinced by this argument, still they are held by the obligation to the constitution which they have assumed, and which they have assumed without qualification, or any reference whatever to its origin, or the question whether the charter government was valid or not at the time this constitution was formed. If the court be not convinced, then they remain just as they were before. But, whether convinced or not, they still remain a court ; and the defendant, if heard, has the advantage and the justice of a full hearing in what he deems the most vital portion of his case. In addition to this, it may be remarked that the question of the effect upon the court of the people's constitution could not be a practical one, even if the court were now sitting under the charter government; for, by the people's constitution, the judges were continued in their places until a new election should take place; and the legislature under this constitu- tion made no such election : so that, in the case supposed, the court would be as much the court of the constitution, as of the charter. But, beyond all this, taking for granted that the court, by permitting the defendant's justification to go to the jury, would be permitting its own legal existence to be drawn in question, what right have the court to regard any real or supposed consequences, or to interpose them as barriers to a full in- vestigation of all the principles and facts of the case? The court sit to do justice, let what will come of it; and let justice be done, though the heavens fall. What reason is there why a court should not hear all ob- jections, in good faith, not only against the soundness and legality of their decisions, and against their jurisdiction, but against their own qualification or legal competency or existence as judges? Some years ngo, there was a controversy concerning what was called the perpetuation act, relating to the holding over of a part of the government till a new election should be effected by the voters. Now, suppose this court not to have held over by operation of law, but by act of such a perpetuated government; and the question had arisen, whether the court had a valid existence, and its powers were legally continued : would not your honors have listened to such a question? If you had entertained any serious doubts as to your legal com- petency, and the validity of your powers under such an act. would you not have hesitated to proceed, or have postponed your proceeding until the difficuliy could be removed ? Suppose that it should be now suggested that your honors are sitting here under an election, in which the prescriptions of the constitution were not complied with, or without being properly qualified, and without commissions : would not such a suggestion deserve and require your attention ; and, if well founded, would not your action as a court be at once arrested ? This doctrine, that a person accused of treason cannot be permitted fully to defend himself, because, if he do, certain con- sequences may follow, and the jury may take a different view of the con- stitutional or legal question proposed from that of the court, has no limitations, and may be carried out, in their discretion, so as to work an en- tire denial of justice, and a defeat of the trial by jury. If one consequence Rep. No. 546. 923 is to be regarded, why not another? A learned judge has recently observed, that "insanity and the alibi ha\'e become the Castor and PolUix of the criminal courts," so that tlie guilty have often escaped improperly, under these forms of defence. Why not say at once, that hereafter those grounds of defence shall no lon^rer be permitted in this court, because they have been, 'and may be, employed to the defeat of public justice? As to the proof of the people's constitution, and the election of the gov- ernor under it, by parol, which is deemed objectionable, the difficulty will be at once removed by presenting a copy of this constitution, and a certi- ficate of the election of the defendant as governor, under the hand of the person who was secretary of state under said constitution in 1842. These your honors, of course, will not admit ; and being thus deprived of the shortest and easiest mode of reaching the court and jury, we will proceed with parol proof, if we are permitted, in the way that foreign laws are sometimes proved ; your honors not regarding the constitution and election as any part of the legal /ecord of the State. This difficulty is not of our own making. It has been already submitted to your consideration, that this is not the same court that before decided the question now in argument. This court derives its origin from a diiferent source, and there is a new member on the bench. The question before you may be regarded as new. But it is said that the people of this State did not succeed in 18'12. They did not permanently establish their constitution and government. And what of this? Is might tlie standard of right, in a country of republics like this? Does the existence of a right cease with the establishment, pos- session, and enjoyment of it ? Does success create rights or confirm them ? In despotic countries, where rights are only concessions from the hand of force, this doctrine of contingent rights may meet with some countenance from the state of affairs and the long suffering patience of the people ; but it fias no application here. It the defendant had a rio;ht to proceed as he did, in the discharge of his appointed duties, defeat did not take it away ; and he ought to be permitted to assert it in his defence against the accusa- tion which here rests upon him. It will not do to say that this is a political question which has been settled elsewhere. This is not an answer to the present apphcation. One party carried the day, and the other lost it. Is it to be asserted that the party which ought to succeed is always successful, and that which does not succeed is always in the wrong? If not, then, so fiir as tliis case is concerned, the question has not been settled ; and if, as your honor says, it be political, then political facts and arguments are ap- propriate to it, and more especially as addressed to a political jury. To say that the people's constitution was formed without authority from the government theri existing, and was consequently null and void, and therefore that it would be of no benefit to the defendant to admit the proof of the facts, which show that this constitution was actually the work of the people, is begging the question. We deny the assertion that the people cannot act for themselves in the construction and change of government, without the permission of that ijovernment. The court cannot take this for granted with our consent. We strenuously assert, and stand ready to prove, precisely the contrary, and by a wt3ight of authority and opinion that has never yet been successfully resisted. The defendant does not ask as a favor or indulgence, but claims as the citizen of a free country, the right to show to the court the entire validity of all the proceedings of the people in 924 Rep. No. 546. the adoption of their constitution ; and tlie same right to exhibit the evi- dence of their votes and of his own election. There is no conjecture in a proof hke this. The people set their hands to the work of the constitution. The prisoner offers their sio^natures to the jury. To refuse this inquiry of law, and this exanfiinalion of facts, is to cut off the right arm of his defence. Durfee, Ch. J. — We have decided this question. I am astonished' that men of high intellect can take such views of it as they have. We cannot admit this testimony. In this stage of the proceedings, we cannot hear the argument to show its admissibility. After verdict, we shall be disposed to entertain the question. The defendant then protested against this decision of the court, request- ing the court to note his exception. By request of the court, the offering of the defendant as the ground of his justification to the jury, thus rejected, was reduced to writin^^ as follows : "The defendant proposes to show by the authorities, that the people of this State have a right to adopt a written constitution of government ; and that, in the exercise of that right, they did adopt a constitution, in tlie month of December, 1841, under which the defendant derived his authority ; and this fact he proposes to prove by the production of the votes of the people themselves in favor of said constitution." Mr. Dorr inquired whether this decision to hear no argument, and to reject the testimony offered, was the decision of the whole court. Braylon^ J., (newly elected,) said that it was. Mr. Dorr. — I have sought to conceal nothing in this case. I deny no- thinof, except the falsehoods with which it has been sought to surround it. I should be the last man, I trust, to make any such denial, believing as I did, and as I now do, that I was in the right, and that my opponents were in the wrong. I have accordingly claimed here the right fully to justify myself to the jury, both in law and fact. Your honors have come to a different cinclusion, but not more honestly than I have to the opposite of it. As you refuse to permit me to justify myself, I shall now once more offer the same testimony, in a more general form than when Mr. Harris was called upon the stand, to repel the charge of treasonable intentions. Levy- ing war is not enough. In the language of Chief Justice Marshall, the levying war must be with the intent to commit treason ; and treason is not to be inferred from an assemblage in arms, without an examination of all the circumstances and reasons that led to it. Mr. Turner then made a third offering, as follows: " The defendant offers to prove, by the votes of the people, to be produced and verified, that a large majority of the whole resident adult male popu- lation of the State, being citizens of the United States, gave their votes for the adoption of the constitution, called the people's constitution of Rhode Island, in the month of December, 1841 ; and also to prove that, under the said constitution, the defendant was elected governor of this State, in the month of April, 1842. And this testimony he now offers, to repel the im- putation of malicious and treasonable motives and intentions, as charged in the indictment, and urged by the prosecution in behalf of the State." A debate then ensued between the defendant and his counsel, and the court, on the same grounds that were before taken, and with the same result; the court overruling the offer of the testimony, and the defendant protesting and excepting as before. Mr, Turner then proposed to offer to the jury a copy of the people's con- Rep. No. 546. 925 stiliition, to show that the government provided under it was republican in its form, agreeably to the requirement of the constitution of the United States. The offering was overruled by the court, as being immaterial, irrelevant, and inadmissible. Defendant excepted. Mr. Turner then offered the message of Governor Dorr, deliveied May 3, 1842, before the General Assembly under the people's constitution, to explain the motives and objects of the defendant. Ruh^d out, and exception taken by defendant. Mr. Turner then claimed of the court, in behalf of the defendant, the right of defendant and his counsel to address the jury on all matters of law involved in the case, as their undoubted privilege; inasmuch as the jury, in all capital cases, are the judges both of the law and of the fact ; the prov- ince of the court being, in such cases, to lay before the jury their views of the law, and of the jury to judge of them, as they do of the testimony. Dur/ee, Ch. J., said the court entertain a different opinion. We must have the duty and responsibility of deciding upon the law. 3Ir. Dorr very earnestly and strenuously urged upon the court his right to be heard by the court upon this question, and to argue the law to the jury, who did not sit in the box as ciphers, but to hear, judge, and deter- mine for themselves. If they could not do this, then, as the court had made up their minds, the jury were to be governed accordingly, and this was but the shadow of a trial. Durfee, Ch. J. — This question has been fully and ably argued in a former case before this court, and must be considered as settled. Mr. Dorr. — Until it be overruled. The decisions of the court are not irreversible ; and as there are no published reports, from which we can learn the reasons of them, there is good cause for asking to be heard in a Case of this importance. Mr. Turner. — 1 have authorities that will convince the court, if I can be permitted to produce them, and if your honors will listen to them, which will satisfy your minds that the prisoner has this right to go to the jury, in a capital case, upon the law ; and that the jury have a right to judge of it, however they may be advised by the court. I have, among the cases which 1 wish to bring to your attention, the impeachment of Judge Chase, of the Supreme Court of the United States, for official misconduct ; one of the principal charges against whom was, that, in the trial of Fries, charged with treason, he rehised to permit the counsel to argue the law to the jury. The counsel for Judge Chase admitted the right of the jury to hear the law argued to them, but denied the allegation that he had refused to permit the counsel of Fries to argue the law to the jury. Huile, J. — This State must have been extremely ignorant when they passed a law making it the special duty of this court to instruct the jury in matters of law. This question was settled at Providence, in a li- cense case, some time ago. Mr. Dorr again urged upon the court his right to have the authorities read, and to go on with an argument upon them. Durfee, Ch. J. — Well, go on. Staples, J. — I am opposed to a re-argument of this question at the present time, in the course of a jury-trial. I am willing to hear it re-argued when the court are at leisure. Hailc, J. — Nor am I disposed to hear a re argument during the trial, 926 Rep. No. 546. when this question has once been solemnly settled. At a proper time, it can be heard. But it ought not to be heard in the hurry of a jury-trial. Mr. Dorr. — It falls strano;ely upon the ear of a man in ray position, when I hear the judge of a court, in a case of this kind, and involving principles of such moment, make use of an expression like this— the "hurry" of this trial. 1 must be hurried through to judgment, then, with- out a hearing; and after conviction I may be heard! Is the liberty or the life of a man to be disposed of in this way? if there are any reasons why a conviction should not take place, why should they not be heard now? What reparation is it, after conviction, to hear the reasons why it was un- just? This is, literally, according to a common observation, hanging a man first, and trying him cifterwards. [Here one of the spectators remarked, in an audible voice — That is the way of this court. The court ordered him removed. But he presently re- turned with the sheriff, and made an apology, stating that he was in the habit of speaking out, and had not the proper command of himself He was permitted to return to his seat.] Staples, J. — The jury are kept here under much restraint; and can they be kept here week after week, while we are hearing arguments which belong to another stege of the case? Mr. Dorr. — The jury do not complain. I think they will hear all my defence patiently. Staples, J. — They are men. Mr. Dorr. — I also am a man, and claim the rights of one. Mr. Turner. — We ask an opportunity to convince the court, by the au- thority of the greatest judges that have ever lived in this country. Durfee, Ch. J. — The constitution of this State settles our duty to charge the jury upon the law; and are we to sit here with our juries re- ceivmg the law from judges of other States ? The only duty of the jury is to take the law as given by this court, and to judge whether it be applica- ble to the facts. Mr. Dorr. — I wish to give some reasons for the position taken, from high sources. Do the court refuse to hear authority and argument? Durfee, Ch. J. — The court decide not to hear any argument upon this question. The defendant excepted to the ruling of the court. 7%e court, after some consultation together, announced that they would hear an argument on the first pomt — which sets forth that treason can only be committed against the United States — as this was a new question, not heretofore discussed before them. Mr. Turner said that he should be ready to argue this point in the morn- ing ; and the court adjourned. [The debate, which occupied three hours on Friday afternoon, was in some parts more in the form of a dialogue than we have given it. But we have endeavored to bring together the remarks on both sides, and to do justice to both, in giving the substance of them. The prosecuting officers took no part, beyond asking an occasional question. Some warm passages occurred — the defendant contending strenuously for his right to a hearing, and the court manifesting some impatience at the time spent in addressing them on what they adjudged to be settled questions.] Rep. No. 546. 927 Saturday Morning, Mmj 4. Mr. Turner occupied the forenoon session of four hours, and a part of the afternoon, with an able and elaborate examination of, and comment upon, the authorities relating to treason, and the sovereio^n power against which it must be committed, if at all; incidentally demonstrating, from the highest sources, the right of the people at large to make, alter, and amend their forms of government, as they may deem expedient, without the interference or consent of the government in existence. The levying war charged must be with the design and purpose of com- mitting treason ; which is defined by Lord Coke, 3d Inst. p. 2. as ^^ crimen loisce tnajestatis''' — the accusation or offence of injured majesty. In English Liberties p. 65, it is said to be derived from trahir ; which signifies treacherously to betray. Lord Hale, (Pleas of the Crown, 159,) speaking of the sovereignty offended by treason, calls it jus summi imperii^ ox the right of the highest or ulti- mate authority ; which in despotic governments is vested exclusively in the reigning prince, and in other monarchical governments is divided, to a greater or less extent, with the legislature. Hawkins (Pleas of the Crown, I, 85) shows that treason can only be com- mitted against the "sovereign lord, or the sovereign power." Foster (Crown Law, p. 5) gives the indictment for treason against the Scotch rebels, which shows that the treason charged was against "their su- preme, true, natural, lawful, and undoubted sovereign lord," and to deprive him " of his title, honor, and royal state, and of his imperial rule and gov- ernment." Blackstone conveys the same idea in substance. Burlamaqui (vol. 2, ch. 5, sect. 1, p. 212) says, -'The sovereign in a State is that person, 'or power,' that has the right of commanding in the hist resort." Sect. 2, "As to the sovereignty, we must define it the right of commanding in the last resort." P. 213, sect. 5, " Sovereignty can admit of no share or partition : there is no sovereignty at all, where there are many, because there is no one who commands them in the last resort." P. 220, ch. 7. sect. 2, " The first characteristic, (of sovereignty,) and that from which all others flow, is its being a supreme and independent power — that is, a power that judges, in the last resort, of whatever is susceptible of human direction, and relates to the welfare and advantage of society ; inso- much that this power acknowledges no superior on earth." P. 221, sect, 5, '■• A second characteristic, which is a consequence of the former, is, that the sovereign, as such, is not accountable to any person on earth for his con- duct, nor liable to any punishment from man; for both suppose a superior." P. 222, sect. 8, " A third characteristic essential to sovereignty, considered in itself, is, that the sovereign, as such, be above all human or civil law." Sect. 9, "But with regard to laws merely human, as their whole force and obligation ultimately depends on the will of the sovereign, they cannot, with any propriety of speech, be said to be obligatory in respect to him ; for obligation supposeth two persons, a superior and an inferior. Blackstone (vol. 1, p. 48) observes that there is, and must be, in all gov- ernments, " a supreme, irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority, in which the ^'wra summi imperii, or the rights of sovereignty, reside." (See Tuck- er's note 5.) 3 Dallas' Rep. p. 74: " Every nation that governs itself, under whatever form soever, without any dependence on a foreign power, is a sovereign State." (Patterson J.) 928 Rep. No. 546. These authorities, by pointing out the essential characteristics of sover- eignty, enable us to define it to be an independent, absolute, uncontrollable, irresponsible, and supreme power in a State in the last resort ; all of which is embraced by the jura sunimi imperii — or rights of ultimate authority. And these authorities coincide in establishing the point, that treason, no matter what particnlar form it may be made to assume by legislative enactments, is an offence that can be committed only against the ultimate sovereiiinty of a State or nation— whether that sovereignty reside in a prince, as in Russia ; in a king and parliament, as in England ; or, as in this conn- try, in the v)liole people, voters or otherwise. The subordinate, fictitious treasons that have been invented by special laws, are confined to arbitrary, or monarchical governments, with a recent exception in this republican country. The State against which treason can be committed here, must be that State or government which is invested with the higher attributes of sovereignty. In this country, that sovereignty against which only treason can be com- mitted is vested in the United States, to which power the people of the several States have seen fit to delegate some of the highest functions of gov- ernment. In examining the power of the people over the whole structure of gov- ernment, Mr. Turner further cited Burgh, who wrote about the time of Blackstone, (vol. 1. book 1, ch. 2, p. 3) — " All lawful authority, legislative and executive, originates from the people. Power in the people is like light in the sun, native, original, inherent, and unlimited by anything human." P. 4, "As the people are the fountain of power, so are they the object of government." "As the people are the fountain of power and ob.- ject of government, so are they the last resource when governors betray their trust." P. 227, "The authority of government is only superior to a minority of the people. The majority of the people are rightfully superior to it." P. 278, "for the people give to their governors all the rightful pow- er they have." (Locke on Government, s. 149-237 ; and Sidney, 278, 358, 415, to the same point.) But it is unnecessary to look abroad for authorities. They are abund- antly furnished at home, in our own country. The declaration of American independence sets forth the imperishable truths, " l^hat to secure these rights, (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,) governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and tojnstitute new govern- ment, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to efiect their safety and happiness." Again : " When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing inva- riably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute des- potism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." To show that the declaration is an authority, and not the obsolete ex- pression, in a rhetorical form, of rights which were limited to a single oc- casion, Mr. Turner cited I Story's Comm. 199, 299, and 2 Dallas, 470. These passages contain, in behalf of the people of the United States gen- erally, the first distinct assertion of their complete sovereignty in the last resort — that of governing themselves. Sep. No. 546. 929 The constitulion of the United States, framed by a convention of dele- gates in 1787, acting upon the principles laid down in that declaration, commences — " We, the people of the United States, &c., do ordain and estab- lish thisc onstitulion," «fcc. ; and by an amendment, madu before it was adopt- by the State of Rhode Island, there is an express reservation of the undele- gated powers to the people. The Federalist (No. 22, p. HI) says, "The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from the pure, original foun- tain of all legitimate authority." No. 4(3, p. 235, " Tliey must betold that the ultimate authority, where- ever the derivation may be found, resides in the people alone.*' In 3 Dallas, 93, (in 1795,) Justice Iredell says, "A distinction was taken at the bar betwen a State and the people of the State. It is a distinction i am not capable of comprehending. By a State formincr a republic, (speak- ing of it as a moral person,) 1 do not mean the legislalare of the State, the executive of the Slate, or i\\e judiciary ; but all the citizens who compose that State, and are, if I may so express myself, integral parts of it, all togetli- er fornjing a body politic." "The great distinction between monarchies and republics, (at least our re- public,) in general, is, that in the former the monarch is considered the sov- ereign, and each individual of his nation as subject to him ; though, in some countries, with many important special limitations. But, in a republic, all the citizens^ as such, are equal; and no citizen can riohtfully exercise any authority over another, but in virtue of a power constitutionally given him by the whole community; and such authority, when exercised, is, in effect, an act of the community which form the body politic. In sucli govern- ments, therefore, the sovereignty resides in the great body of the people, but in their political capacity alone" — and not as individuals, who are not sep- arately sovereign. In 2d Dallas, 454, Wilson J. observes, speaking of the framers of the constitution, (he being one of tliem.) "They might have announced them- selves sovereign people of the United States. But, serenely conscious of the fact, they avoided the ostentatious declaration." He then goes on to define the State and sovereignly. P. 461, "Even in almost every nation which has been denominated free, the State has assumed a supercilious preemi- nence above the people who have formed it. Hence the haughty notions of iState independence, State sovereignty, and State supremacy." ■ P. 471. — (Jay Ch. J.) " At the revolution, the sovereignty devolved on the people ; and they are truly the sovereigns of the country. But they are sovereigns without subjects, (unless the African slaves among us may be so called,) and have none to govern but themselves. The citizens of America are equal as fellow-citizens^ and as joint-tenants of the sovereignty.''^ P. 472 — "Sovereignty is the right to govern. A nation or State sovereign is the person, or persons, in whom that resides." Chief Justice Marshall, in 1 Cranch, 176, lays down the doctrine, "That the people have an original right to establish, for their future government, such principles as, in their opinion, shall most conduce to their own hap- piness, is the basis on which the whole American fabric has been erected. The exercise of ttiis original right is a very great exertion; nor can it, nor ought it, to be very frequently repeated. The principles, therefore, so estab- lished, are deemed fundamental. And as the authority from which they 59 930 Rep. No. 546. proceed is supreme, and can seldom act, they are designed to be permanent/' "This orjoinal and supreme will organizes the government, and assigns to different departments their respective powers." Judge Wilson, of the Supreme Court, one of the framers of the constitu- tion, says, (1 Works, p. 17, in 1790,)— » Permit me to mention one great principle — the vital principle, I may well call it — which difl'uses animation and vigor through all the others. The principle I mean is this : that the su- preme or sovereign power of the society resides in the citizens at large ; and that therefore they always retain the right of abolishing, altering, or amending their constitution, at whatever time, and in whatever manner, they shall deem expedient. He further remarks at p. 25, " The dread and redoubtable sovereign, when traced to his ultimate and genuine source, has been found, as he ought to be found, in the free and independent man." This truth, so sim- ple and natural, and yet so neglected or despised, may be appreciated as the first and fundamental principle in the science of government," P. 417 — "The best and purset [species of government] — that in which the supreme power remains with the people at large — is capable of being formed, arranged, proportioned, and organized, in such a manner as to exclude the inconve- niences, and to secure the advantages of all the three. On the bas-is of good- ness, we erect the pillars of wisdom and strength." In his speech before the Pennsylvania convention, in November, 1787, upon the question of the adoption of the constitution of the United States, (Works, vol. 3, p. 291,) the same learned judge remarks : " There necessa- rily exists in every government a power from which there is no appeal, and which, for that reason, may be termed supreme and uncontrollable. Where does this power reside? " To control the power and conduct of the legislature by an overruling constitution, was an improvement in the science and practice of govern- ment reserved for the American States. " Perhaps some politician, who has not considered with sufficient accu- racy our political systems, would answer, that in our governments the su- preme power was vested in the constitutions. This opinion approaches a step nearer to the truth, but does not reach it. The truth is, that in our governments the supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power remains in the people. As our constitutions are superior to the legislatures, so the peo- ple are superior to our constitutions. Indeed, the superiority in the last in- stance is much greater; for the people possess over our constitutions con- trol in act as well as right. The consequence is, that the people may change the constitutions whenever and however they please. This is a right of which no positive institution can ever deprive them." "It is essential to such a government" (that is, a republican) says Mr. Madison, (Federalist, No. 39, pp. 203-4,) " that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable portion or a favored class of it." Justice Iredell of the Supreme Court (3 Elliot's Debates,) remarks, that "Our government is founded on much nobler principles. The people are known with certainty to have originated it themselves. Those in power are their servants and agents. An4 the people, without their consent, may remodel the government whenever they think proper ; not merely because it is oppressively exercised, but because they think another form, is more conducive to their welfare^ And it is equally plain, as observed by Rawle on the constitution of the United States, " that the people retains, the people Rep. No. 546. 931 caiutoi perh ips divest itself of, the power to make such alterations." The laws of one legislature may be repealed by another legislature ; and the power to repeal them cannot be withheld by the power that enacted them. So the people may, on the same principle, at any time alter or abolish th^ constuuiion they have formed. If a particular mode of effecting such alter- ations have been agreed upon, it is most convenient to adhere to it; but it is not exvlnsively binding^ Chief Justice Durfee having remarked that the right of the people at large to change governments, that had been spoken of, was a revolutionary right, leading to measures of f)rce and war, Mr. Dorr said he would read a passcige to show that such was not the nature or operation of the doc- trine as-serted, in the opinion of its teachers. He read from Judge Wilson's works, vol. 3, p. 293 : " To the operation of these truths, we are to ascribe the scene, hitherto unparalleled, which America now exhibits to the world — a gentle, a peaceful, a voluntary and deliberate transition from one constitution of government to another, (from the confederation to the constitution of the United States.) In other parts of the world, the idea of revolution in government is, by a mournful and indissoluble association, connected with the idea of wars, and all the calamities attendant on war. But happy experience teaches us to view such revolutions in a very differeni light — to consider them as pro- gressive steps in improving the knowledge of government, and increasing the happiness of society and mankind." Judire VV. calls "the force and prevalence through the United States of this principle — that the supreme power resides in the people, and that they never part with it — the panacea in politics." "If the error be in the legisla- ture, it may be corrected by the constitution; if in the constitution, it may be corrected by the people. There is a remedy, therefore, for every dis- temper in government, if the people be not wanting to themselves. For tx people wanting to themselves, there is no remedy." The same distinguished and able writer lays it down, that " A revolution principle certainly is, and certainly should be, taught as a principle of the constitution of the United States, and of every State in the Union. This revohition principle — that the sovereiiin power residmg in the people, they may change their constitution and government whenever they please — is not a principle of discord^ rancor, or ivar: it i.s a principle of melioration, con- teninient, and peace^ (Works, vol. 1, p. 21.) He also says, " a proper regard to the original, and inherent, and the continued power of society to change its constitution, will prevent mistakes and mischief of a very different kind. It will prevent giddy inconstancy ; it will prevent unthinking rashness ; it will prevent unmanly langor." (Works, vol. 1. p. 420.) Mr. Dorr also called the attention of the court to the fact that the consti- tution of the United States was not framed by virtue of the powers express- ly conferred on the delegates to the convention. They were sent to pro- pose some amendments to the articles of confederation. But, in behalf of the people, and overlooking the request of Congress, they threw these articles aside, and commenced an entirely new work. The ratification by the peo- ple of the States is what gives efficacy to this constitution. Staples, J. — But it was ratified by the people who were qualified voters, and not by the people at large. Mr. Dorr. — The assent, however, which was inferred, of the sovereigfi body, was what gave efficacy to the ratification. 932 Rep. No. 546. Judge Staples also observed, that there was a difference between people and the people. The word the must be stricken out, in order to find the doc- trine of sovereignty at large, contended for by the prisoner. Mr. Dorr. — The declaration of independence uses the word governed in speaking of those who hold the power to amend and change governments. And surely the governed takes in the whole people. A non freeholder in Rhode Island was most assuredly among the govefmed, and in many re- spects to his disadvantage. Mr. Tomer, passing from a review of the general right of the people of the State to assign and distribute to the government of the Stale, and of the United States, such powers and functions, respectively, as in their judgment might be conducive to the public welfare, and having demonstrated the sov- ereign authority of the people, proceeded next to inquire into the nature of the grant of powers to the General Government, in order more definitely to determine the question where the power resides against which treason is committed ; contending that there cannot be two treasons — one against the State, and one against the United Stales ; but that the offence must necessa- rily be directed against the higher power in a union of States, like that un- der which we live, and which is something very different from a mere con- federation, or compact by treaty, of States retaining individually their former complete jurisdiction. He cited 3 Dallas, 76, (in 1795) — "Congress had an imperfect sovereisruty previous to the declaration of independence; and the articles of confedera- tion are only a definement of rights before vague and uncertain. On the declaration of independence, a new body politic was created. Congress was the organ of the declaration ; but it was the act of the people, not of the State legislatures, which were likewise nothing more than organs of the people. And it is absurd to say that both the Federal and St'ate govern- ments held sovereignty in the same points.-' — (Patterson J.) — P. 81 : "The truth is, that the States, individually, were not known or recognised as sov- ereign by foreign nations, nor are they now. The States collectively, un- der Congress as the connecting point or head, were acknowledged by foreign powers as sovereign, particularly in that acceptation of the term which is applicable to all great national concerns, and in the exercise of which other sovereigns would be more immediately interested." In 2 Dallas, 452, Blair J. remarked : " U sovereignty be an exemption from suit in any other than the sovereign's own courts, it follows that when a State, by adopting the constitution, has agreed to be amenrible to the judicial power of the United States, she has, in that respect, given up her right of sovereignty." Same book, p". 468, Gushing J. said : " Whatever power is deposited with the Union by the people for their own necessary security, is so far a cur- tailing of the power and prerogatives of States. ' This is, as it were, a self- evident proposition —at least, it cannot be contested. Thus the powers of declaring war," &.C., "are lodged in Congress, and are a most essential abridgment of State sovereignty. Again: the restrictions upon States, 'no State shall enter into any treaty, alliance,' &,c. ; these, with a number of others, are important restrictions of the power of States, and were thought necessary to maintain the Union, and to establish some fundamental, uni- form principles of justice throughout the whole Union. So that 1 think no argument of force can be taken from the sovereignty of States. Where it Rep. No. 546. 933 has b^en abridged, it was thought necessary for the greater, indispensable good of the whole." Tlie limitation of State supremacy is ftirtlier explained by Chief Justice Marshall in 4 Wheaton, 4t(5 : "If any one proposition could command the universal assent of mankind, we might expect it would be tliis, — that the gov- ernment of the Union, though linjited ni iis powers, is supreme within its sphere of action. This would seem to result necessarily from its nature. It is the government of all ; its powers are delegated by all ; it represents all, and acts for all. Though any one State may be willing to control its operations, no State is willing to allow others to control them. Tlie nation, on those subjects on which it can act, must necessarily bind its component parts. But this question is not left to mere reason ; the people have, in ex- press terms, decided it by saying, 'This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof,' 'shall be the sn- preme law of the land ;' and by requiring that the members of the State le- gislatures, and the officers of the executive and judicial departments of the States, shall take the oath of fidelity to it." The people of the States, in constructing the General Government, have not only seen fit to curtail the State governments of many powers before possessed by them, but of those higher powers against which treason can be committed. The State otficers take an oath to support this supreme gov- ernment, and cannot act till they have recognised it as such. Judge Story, 1 Comm. on Coiisiit. 191, says: "A State which possesses this absolute power, [jus svnimi imperii.] without any dependence upon any foreign power or State, is, in the largest sense, a sovereign State." And, at pp. 199, 2(il, 202, he goes on to negative the separate sovereignty and in- dependence of the individual States. In every one of our States, the high- est authority (not foreign, but from without) is exercised within their respec- tive limits, abridging their sovereignty. These authorities warrant me (said Mr. Turner) in laying it down as set- tled, that in this country, under the people, the supreme power, as it respects some of the highest attributes of gov^.rnment, is clearly vested in the Gov- ernment of the United States by the constitution of the United States. But it is contended that the several States which compose the Union are also, at least for certain purposes, sovereign within themselves; whicli is ad- mitted. But it is imjxjrtant to examine the reserved powers, and to com- pare them with the powers of the Union, to see more particularly what has been given up. If this State be sovereign, in the sense we have been con- sidering, it must possess the jus siinimi imperii; it must be a State that governs itself without any dependence on any other power, and without be- ing controlled by any such power. A State completely sovereign and inde- pendent, among other powers, may levy war and contract alliances ; send ministers, and receive foreign ministers; determine, through the people, the nature of its own government ; make all its own laws; divide, or even dis- pose of. its own territory ; raise and maintain armies ; t-siablish and regulate commerce; coin money, and regulate ii.^ currency ; establish an indepen- dent judiciary ; punish all offences committed within its jurisdiction ; estab- lish post offices and roads. These are essential powers and inseparable incidents to all fully sovereign States ; and yet nearly every one of them is expressly taken away from the individual States of the Union by the constitution of the United States, and 984 Rep No. 546. those that are not so taken away and prohibited are more or less restn'cted or abridged. Can the State of Rhode Island levy war, or contract alliances? Can she send ministers abroad, and receive tort-ign ministers? Can slie adopt any other than a repubhcan form of government? Can she make all the laws in force within her limits? She cannot natnralize a foreigner, pass a bank- nipt law — certainly not while an act of Congress on the same subject is in existence. Nor can she pass a law relating to the branches of jurisdiction that have been snrrendered to the d-neral Government. Can Rhode island divide or dispose of her own territory ? Can she raise or maintain armies? Can she establish and regnlate commerce? Can she c(Mn money, and reg- iilate its currency? Can she establish a judiciary independent of that of the United States? Can slie punish all offences committed within her ju- risdiction? Can she establish post offices and roads? Every one of the.^e questions must be answered in the negative. This State has parted with the powers that have been described. What attributes of sovereignty then remain to her? There resides in the people of this State the sovereign power to adopt and change their con- stitution and form ot government, subject to the limitation in the consti- tution of the United Stales, that the new constitution shall be republican. The State also possesses and occupies the field of local jurisdiction over matters confined to its own limits. The amendment to the constitution (art. 11) which provides that 'Mhe judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against any one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State," is only an exception, and shows the extent of the national sovereignty, and the corresponding limitation on the other side. A Sinte is mU suable. It may be brought by a State before the supreme court of the United States, and adjudicated against. Could this be the case if it pos- sessed the highest degree of sovereignty? No individual State, therefore, either does or can possess the "jws summi imperW^ — the highest sovereignty in the last resort. As it is against this sovereignty that the offence of treason must be committed^ and this sove- reignty resides in the United States, then I am prepared (said Mr. Turner) to assert that no treason can be committed' aorainst a separate State, and, ronsequently, that no State can constitutionally punish as treason any act done toward a State. If the act amount to treason, the United States courts only have jurisdiction of the offence, as a crime against the United States. if it be not treason against the United States, then it can only be coNsidered and punished as a misdemeanor, or some less offence, by the State. In either case, the present indictment cannot be sustained, and the prisoner must be acquitted. Such I contend (said Mr. T.) is the true construction of the constitution of the United States, and such to have been the early and contemporaneous construction put upon that instrument by ilie States themselves. In the debates of the convention that formed the constitution of the Uni- ted States, Mr. Madison and other distinguished members expressed opin- ions to the effect that treason could be committed only against thi; United States, on the ground that it was an offence against the sovereignty, " which can be but one in the same community." Rep. No. 546. 935 Does the constitiUion of the United Slates justify the construction which IS given to it ori this j)oitU ? Two great offences requiring to he guarded against as dangerous to the general safety and peace, are piracy and treason ; and it would seem that the framers of the constitution intended to put them hoth within the exclu- sive jurisdiction of the courts of the United States; for it is impossible to suppose that they deemed piracy more of a national offence than treason, when piracy has for its object a wrong to individuals only — being but " rob- bery on the high seas" — while treason, in this country, can be aimed only at political institutions, and is general in its effects, extending beyond the State where it originated. The apparent distinction made between these two offences in the constitution, doubtless arose from this circumstance — that, whereas the offence wliich they intended to punish as treason had been accurately and technically defined for above 300 years — in fact, ever since the act of the 25th of Edward 111, in 1350 — it could be clearly de- fined in the constitution, and so as to cut off all pretended and fictitious treasons. The constitution did so define it, and left to Congress the duty only of providing by law for its punishment. But with regard to tlie other offence — that of piracy — the case was en- tirely different. What'acts should or should not be deemed piracy, it was not well settled, and could not at that time be easily settled ; and what the punishment should be was also a matter of doubt. In England, formerly, piracy had been adjudged high treason, (3 hist. 8;) and our own history shows that other acts — the slave trade, for instance — are now declared to be piracy, which 50 years ago were no crimes at idl in law [See Federalist, No. 42, paires 209, 210; No. 43, page 216] The framers of the constitu- tion, therefore, deemed it expedient (as Congress, of necessity, would have to pass laws providing for the punishment of both offences, and as tlie slave trade was to continue to a later period,) to leave it to them both to define and punish piracy, while they were required only to punish treason. No State in the Union, it is believed, has ever pretended to any jurisdiction in cases of piracy, and to this day it is considered as within the exclusive ju- risdiction of, the courts of the United States; although every State in the Union, situated on the sea or navigable waters, has probably punished acts as larceny, which, if committed only a few leagues from the same place, would have amounted to piracy under the laws of the United States. And so of trt^ason : an act may be done against a State, which, if done against the United States, would be treason, ;md yet not be treason against the State; in the same way that, formerly, homicide would have been deemed petit treoson only in respect to the individual upon whom it was committed. What has been the practical construction put upon the constitution, on this point, by the several States? During: the war of the Revolution, and down to the adoption of the fed- eral constitution, the States considered themselves, and considered each other, as independent States; and that was the basis of the confederation. Yet New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Vir, but not over the States. What reason is there why acts which amount to treason should not be punished as such by a State? Without this power to punish, a State can- not protect, defend, or preserve itself. Treason may as well be committed against a State as against the United States ; and the power of punishing it has not been surrendered to the United States. The constitution defines treason against the United States only; and it also provides that a person charged in any State with treason, &c., and who flees from the same into another, shall be delivered up on de- mand of the executive to the State having jurisdiction of the crime — thus recoa^nising the offence of treason against a State. Besides this, in many of the Slate constitutions, and in many more of the State laws, treason is de- fined and punished as a crime against a State, as well as against the United States, when it takes that direciion. Writers on law also so re^rard it; and, in proof of this, he read a number of authorities: 2 Swif's Digest, 264 ; 1 Story's Commentary on Constitution, 199 ; 6 Dane's Abridgment, (386- 7-8 ; 4 Tucker's Blackstone's Commentaries, Appendix, 20, 21 ; Rawle on Constitution, 142; 14 Johnson's Reports, 549; 1 Story's Reports, 614 — containing Judge Story's charge to the grand jury at Newport, in June, 1842, which Mr. B. said contained a clear and decided view of the powers of a State, in a case like the present, to defend itself, and to try and punish tlie offence of treason. The prosecutor offered to put into the case the proclamation of General Jackson ajjainst South Carolina, at the period of a threatened nullification. The court said it was hardly an autliority. The defendant did not object ; but said, if it were admitted, he should offer other messages and docu- ments of that distinguished individual. The attorney general did not put it in. Monday morning, May 6. Mm Dorr spoke at considerable length, in the close of the question on his side, respecting i reason as an offence against the United States, and not against a State. There are, he said, three questions to be considered : What is treason ? What is the sovereignty against which it is committed ? Where does this sovereignty reside in our country 7 Treason had been already defined and commented upon. It is the cri- men IcescB niajestniis, the accusation or crime of injured majesty, and was primarily aimed at the life of the king, as laid down in 3 Inst. 2, S. It was an attack upon the existence or authority of the liead of the State. The definition of it here, (though there was an extraordinary exception in this State.) was the levying of war, or aiding and comforting public enemies. The authority against which treason is committed is, according to the definitions of the books, the "j//s summi impcrii^^ the authority of the "supreme liege lord," or of the "supreme sovereign lord." Burlamaqni vests the sovereiirnty of a State in him who commands in the last resort. This rule applies to monarchies, and more especially to despo^isnjs, in which only it can be strictly s lid that an individual commands in the Inst resort with absolute poA'er. In every State there is and must be an ulti- mate power, beyond v.'hich there can be no greater, except the divine ; but, in a republican country, it is not vested in an individual, or in a number of 940 Rep. No. 546. individuals ; but in the people, by whom and for whom governments are created, and unto whom they are responsible. In noticino; tiie attributes of this sovereignty, the author last cited goes on to say that there is no sovereignty where there are many to exercise it, referring to the kin^j as the head of the State. It is everywhere an un- divided power, of which there can be no share or partition. There cannot be two sovereignties in a State. The writer adds, that the sovereign has no superior on earth; that he is not liable to punishment; that he is above all human or civil law, and subject only to the divine law. Blackstone speaks of the sovereign authority as supreme, absolute, irre- sistible, and uncontrolled. One of the highest attributes of sovereignty is the power of war and peace, the surreiider of which by one State to another constitutes the latter a sov- ereign in a preeminent degree. The doctrine of foreign writers, though it does not apply, in f>rm, to American institutions derived from the people, yet applies in principle. The sovereignty here is not vested in emperors and kings, or in kings and parliaments, or in governments in any sense; but in the people themselves, who, throuifh certain ora^anizations of their own making, or approved by them, and with the aid of a representative action, constantly exercise what is commonly called self government — perhaps, more properly, the power of governing one another. Vattel recognises the right of the people to alter the arrangements of gov- ernment by a new edict ; and such a right is the foundation of all our in- stitutions in this country. To deny it, is to deny the riwht and the capacity of the people to be free, and to preier the aristocratic and monarchical systems, which were cast away, it was supposed forever, at the period of the revolution of 1776. 'I'lie sovereign power here resides not in the legislature, nor in either of its branches, nor in the governor, nor in the courts, nor in government in any mode or form. A sovereign legislature, or representative or senator, a sovereign governor, or a sovereign judge, are solecisms which would sound strangely in American ears. • [Mr. Dorr said that he should go into the American doctrine of the ulti- mate and supreme sovereignty of the people the more fully on this oc- casion, though the consideration might lead him away from the precise point before the court, inasmuch as his views had been misrepresented, and in reply to the questions which the judges had themselves propounded. While Mr. Turner was putting in and commenting on the authorities, several questions were asked by the court, and replied to by Mr. Dorr, such as the following: Dnrfee, Ch .J. — whether the people mentioned in the au- thorities as sovereign, were not the organized legal people, recognised as such by constitutions and laws ; whether the right to make, alter, and amend governments, asserted in the declaration of independence, was not a belli- gerent riij:ht, claimed for that occasion, and necessarily supposing force and war; whether the sovereignty of a State be not necessarily a unit. By Haile, J.— whether those who exercise the highest powers of government in a State are not sovereign. By Staples, J. — whether the people does not mean the legally recognised political people. By Brayton, J. — whether the sovereignty is vested in individuals, so that ten men (for instance) could make a constitution for themselves; whether the people at large, by a vote, independently of forms, could pardon an offender against the laws. The substance of Mr. Dorr's replies is here presented in a connected form.] Rep. No. 546. 941 None of the definitions before given of sovereign power can apply to any of tile branches of a republican government, or to any of the officers under it, nor to the political or legal peo[)le themselves; for they are the creatures of the constitution, and act as they are there empowered. And yet there must be somewhere a power greater than political institutions, or they never could have come into existence. The people existed before the State. They were not created by it. How can there be a State without a people, before a people ? The doctrine of our adversaries strangely reverses this position of things. They look to the State for the rights of man. We look to the men oi the State themselves, as endowed by their Creator with cer- tain rights, which cannot be justly alienated or taken away, and in the ex- ercise of which political societies and states originated, can be changed, abolished, reconstructed, amended, as convenience or necessity may require. Of what constitution, government, magistrate, or voting body in this country, can it be affirmed that he or it has no superior ; is above all hu- man or civil law, and subject only to the divine law ; is supreme, irresist- ible, and uncontrolled? Of what magistrate or voter in any State in this country can it be affirmed that he is not liable to punishmetit ? We are driven to the conclusion, then, either that there is and must be a power great- er than any constitution, or any political body, or authority established un- der it ; or that there is no sovereign power in the peopje of any of our States, or of the United States. If the latter alternative be true, then a government, having come into existence some how or other, becomes a fixture, and is clothed with a self-perpetuating power; and the only advantage that we have gained over the institutions of the old world was in making a better start on the republican plan. If we had started on the aristocratic, then there could have been no change without the permission of the aristocracy, who would have possessed the government ; and if the republican constitu- tion should become defective, and a minority holding power under its form, possessmg the government, should not see fit to accede to the desired re- form, and deny the petition of the majority, there is no remedy but submis- sion or emigration. Will such a doctrine as this be tolerated for an in- stant by the American people? If so, then the principles of '76 are a mockery ; and the people of "76 are dishonored in their graves by their un- worthy descendants as successful traitors, instead of being venerated in per- petual memory as the asserters and defenders of the inherent, unalienable, and unchangeable rights of their race. If there be any sovereignty, (as doubtless there is,) it cannot be in the gov- ernment, but must be in the people, in their original capacity, standing on the outside of the political society, living under government by consent and for the general good, and possessing, of consequence, the right to change it when the greatest good shall so require. This sovereignty cannot be in the people as voters under a constitution ; for the constitution makes them such. They act according to the rule pre- scribed, and are subject to various regulations affecting more or less the right of suffrage; and they are punishable in several forms for misusing the right of suffrage. How, then, can they be, in this capacity, the sover- eigns of the State ? They can be such only as members of society, and as tenants in common of its reserved and ultimate powers. The voters of the State, so far from being the sovereign power, may be a minority ; and a small minority of the whole people, as in this State, under the charter gov- ernment, ruling the rest by sufferance, without responsibility; and, if the 942 Rep. No. 546. doctrine of onr opponents be true, with an authority fixed and unalterable, except by their own mere motion or concession. In this State, we hnd either a sovereign minority, or a sovereignty of the people at large ; for the voters were but a fraction of the adult population. As it regards the exercise of this sovereign power itself, in the last re- sort, independent of all constituiional and legal provisions, although theoreti- cal difficulties may be suggested, the usages of the race to which we belong furnish a practical solution of them ; and it is not the friends of popular rights that find any difficulty in ascertaining who are the actual residents, the mature men, of this or any other community. What we contend for is, not a sovereignty of individuals, but a tenancy in common of one sovereign power, manifesting its will and action through the voice of the majority of the whole nnnjber of the people. The indi- vidual man cannot set himself up against the political society to which he belongs, and become, as one of the witnesses claimed to be, "a nation of himself" The natural law of the greater good here intercepts the con- flicting will of the individual and of the minority. It is a part of the natu- ral right, if not of the social instinct, of individuals to associate in the form- ation of government ; and the object of government is, the better to de- fine, secure, and protect natural rights. If the assent of every individual were requisite to the formation of government, this great end could never be accomplished. The majority stands opposed to the minority or to the individual. Natural justice dictates which party should yield to the public welfare. This is a rule anterior to all legislation or compacts, and lies at the foundation of the social system. It is true that the general mode of amending the governments existing in this country is through the action of those who are qualified to vote under them ; and why an exception to this mode occurred in Rhode Island, will be considered presently. But vi^e are now speaking of the ultimate right, HI the last resort, underived from government itself, original and sub- sisting in the nature of man, but only recognised in our own country. The body of voters, who obtain their authority to vote from a constitution which was made before they were born, cannot be said to be sovereign under it, in any other than a limited and qualified sense. When an amend- ment of a constitution, or a new constitution, is submitted to them, they exercise the high fimction of passing upon it, for ratification or rejection, as the agents and representatives of the whole community, of the whole body of the governed, and by their sufferance or acquiescence. The ac- tual voters may thus be said to perform a sovereign act, in behalf of the greater body, which includes themselves and the whole mass of the peo- ple. But the power is derivative and permissive, and the act- is secondary, and dependent for its validity upon the continuance of that assent of the whole people, upon which our form of government rests, and which is or- dinarily implied rather than expressed. It is only in a secondary sense that the State is sometimes called sove- reign. It is a political association, formed by the people and for the people, and represents their sovereignty, of which it is the reflection. The people may possess and reserve more powers than they choose to part with to the State. But the State, in this country, can never possess more powers than the people, except by usurpation, or gross neglect to repair the decays of existing institutions. The difficulty in this State of appreciating the true source of power, Kep. No. 546. 948 arises from the want of any visible evidence of it greater than that of the lejrislature. In other States, the constitution stands forth as the permanent form of the popnhir will, it binds and governs the legislature as well as the people. It prescribes the limits of legislative action, and is a constant restraint upon tlie tendency of legislative bodies to strengthen themselves by absorbing new forms. In tliis State, we have been living since the revo- lution, without any check upon the General Assembly, except the constitu- tion of the United States and the election by the freeholders ; before the revolution, the home government was the superior, and might be appealed to to redress grievances. But even then, the old charter was altered at pleasure, and the elective right was enlarged and contracted at pleasure of the gov- ernment, representing a small portion of the connniinity. The General Assembly had so long acted according to their mere will and pleasure, that they deemed themselves, and became virtually, omnipotent within their sphere ; and we now hear the people, who had beconte tired of waiting to receive their right from ihe action of the minority Assembly, and who undertook to exercise the American right of sovereignty, denounced as con- spirators and traitors against the government! In oiher States, the legislatures have acted within bounds. They have been restrained by a fixed constitution — fixed till changed according to its forms, or by an act of the majority of the voters, or by an authentic act of the majority of the whole people, duly made known to the existing gov- ernment. And when the people on the outside have called for an extension of suffrage, and for still more extension, and for other reforms, they have been respectfully attended to; and all the changes have taken place that have been asked for. Rhode Island furnishes the exception ; and here all that has been obtained has been extorted. Let the blame rest where it be- longs. There is a gradation of powers in the State, and a harmony in the whole. The Executive carries into effect the laws, as decided by the court. The court is bound by the laws enacted by the legislature. The legislature can only enact laws conformably with the authority vested in it by the consti- tution. The constitution is derived from the people, and is voted for, ordi- narily, by the qualified voters at the time, acting in behalf, and with the im- plied assent, of the whole people. Behind all, stands the absolute sovereignty (above and greater th;«i all political forms and institutions) of the political community of the whole people, rarely, but freely and faithfully, to be ex- ercised as great exigencies may require. There, there is no confusion — no jostling of powers. The executive does not intrude himself upon the bench. The bench do not claim to legislate. The legislature does not pretend to alter the constitution. The qualified electors, who compose a part of the sovereign body of the whole people, but are not the ultimate sovereignty, will never, in the event of a great publib exigency, be found, without unjust aid, in opposition to the will of the majority of the whole number. Whatever may be the ultimate powers of the people who compose the sovereignty in the last resort, there is no probability that the people will de- viate from the natural order which has been suggested. It is wholly im- practicable, if not impossible, for the qualified voters, or the sovereign body, to take upon themselves the functions of making, interpreting, or exe- cuting the laws, or of pardoning offenders in States like ours. This work must necessarily be done by agents chosen to do what the people cannot 944 Rep. No. 546. so well do for themselves— by legislators, judges, governors, and other magis- trates and officers. In this State, where the people have been so ninch abused for attempting to gain their rights, and where one might snppose, from the representations that have been made, that "chaos had come again," the whole proceedings were orderly and regular ; the whole system of laws was preserved, (so far as not inconsistent with the new constitution,) and subject to tlie action of a new legislature. All officers were continued in office until their successors should be duly elected and appointed ; and thus a natural and easy transition was provided from the old order of things to the new. The old machinery of the State, so far as laws, property, and civil rights are concerned, was kept agoing; and the change consisted in an enlargement of the premises for the sake of greater convenience, and in the application of a new moving power. The right asserted is not the right of stopping the wheels of govenmient, of intercepting the administration of justice, of overthrowing the legisla- ture, and producing anarchy. The government has tlie force of (Mje while it lasts — it stands till it is changed. Till it be changed in the manner described, there is no evidence that the people have acted : and they who assail it, do so at their own risk. The object of the people of Rhode Island was not to overthrow the government, but to continue it under the definite forms of a written constitution ; and when this new government went into effect, the other rightfully ceased. Those who held on to this old govern- ment, after it had been thus properly superseded, were the opposers of the governujent, were concerned in the work of pulling it down, and in re- ality committed all the treason of 1S42. This principle of popular sovereignty, as thus explained, is of inestima- ble importance and value to the American people. It marks the grand dis- tinction between their own and foreign nations. In the latter, the sove- reignty is vested, not by right, (for the natural rights of man are the same everywhere,) but by theory, in the government; while here, it is vested in the whole people. There is a guaranty in this principle, and by the effect of it, that all necessary reforms in government shall take place. The certainty that there is a mighty hand behind the scenes ready to be stretched out when justice has been long withheld and patience is exhausted, and reform through the ordinary ch.mnels is hopeless, is a perpetual caution to those who hold power to respect the will of the people, and to do right seasonably, and without the irritation of frequent refusals. Though it is to be hoped that all reasonable amendments in our political systems will take place as the general welfare and public opinion shall de- mand, and through the accustomed forms, yet it may become necessary to go out of these forms, and to exert the popular sovereignty in such manner as the people at large may deem expedient. Suppose the government of a State should fall through, from neglect or inability (as during an inva- sion) to comply with the provisions of the constitution for the election of public officers, or through the act of the legislature itself: the staunchest friend of "law and order" would admit that such a case, and, from the ne- cessity of it, the community, might set themselves at work to reinstate the constitution, and to set in motion the machinery of government. We ex- tend this rule of necessity for the public welfare still farther in extreme cases, setting rights above forms. Suppose, again, that in some State the representation, tliough originally Rep. No. 546. 945 Fair in its distribution to the towns, has become grossly nneqnal, by changes of popuhitioii, so that the ni;ijority of re})resentatives are elected by a small minority of the people, and these representatives refuse to lake any steps to amend the coiistituiion: is there no remedy in such a case? What remedy is there, when others have failed, except the intervention of the sovereign power? Suppose the right of suffrage also to degenerate, througfi some arbitrary qualification of the voters, and to become confined to a small portion of the inhabuants, who persist in holding on to this inequality, against all remon- strance: is there no remedy for such an injustice in this republican coun- try? Put the two cases together, to make the difficulty more intense, so that the majority of the representatives shall represent but a small minority of the inhabitants, and a small minority of the inhabitants shall choose these representatives— while the great body of the people stand without, and knock in vain at the door of the legislature: again, is there no remedy? Must the people wait forever? Two-thirds of them would say no ; and would be for applying the sovereign power, after they had knocked long enouifh at the bolted door. Would they not be right in so doing? If it should be said that no suc?i case can happen, we reply thai it has happened in Rhode Island, in the compound form before mentioned ; and that it may happen again, in the mutations which-.time occasions, and even in a State possessing a written cunsiitution. Further, this doctrine of ultimate popular sovereignty is necessary to give a sense and a meaning to our State constitutions. The opponents of this doctrine are obliged to pass over, as mere surplusage, an important portion of the declaration of rights in these constitutions, or most of them ; while, on our side, we give eflect to the whole. Our opponents say, that the only way in which a constitution, containing a provision for its own amendment, can be changed, is through this article of amendment ; and they are consequently obliged to treat as a nullity the clause in the declara- tion of rights, which afSrms the right of the people, of the governed, of the community, of the majority of the inhabitants, to make, alter, and amend their government, when and how they please. We, on the other hand, construe these parts of the constitution together, and give full mean- ing and effect to both. We say that the political people, qualified under the constitution as voters, have a right to amend it in the mode prescribed fir the sake of convenience, and which, in almost all cases, will be followed and adhered to. We also hold that, when this mode does not exist, or has become defective, or is not permitted to operate for the end desired, the voters themselves, atjd, for a much stronger reason, the whole people, or a majority of them, have a right to intervene without forms, and to amend their political system — admitting, at the same time, that this is a work which can rarely be done; that constitutions are made to last, and, like the planet- ary system, are set in motion, witli inherent sustaining powers, which cannot often require the intervention of the hand that created them. We also give a meaning to the various declarations of rights that have been put forth in our country, commencing at the period of '76, which our op- ponents are obliged to explain away as "flourishes of rhetoric." And what is the answer to all this ? That the doctrine of popular sov- ereignty is untrue ; and the principal reason is, because it is dangerous. We deny both the conclusion and the reason ; and assert that it is both true and safe. 60 946 Rep. No. 546. It is the American doctrine, the doctrine of our denaocratic republic, which rests upon this basis. Mr. Dorr called the attention of the court to the declaration of American independence, which was re-adopted in this State, and to the declaration of the freeholders' convention in 1790 in this State, which was called to ratify the federal constitution, as most explicitly avow- ing the right of the governed^ and of posterity, to make, alter, and amend the forms of government. Mr. Dorr also contended, in opposition to the doubt expressed in the query of the Chief Justice, that the rights set forth in the declaraiion of independence are valid and subsisting, independently of the means to cairy them into effect ; that these rights are as just now as they were in 76, and were not then asserted rhetorically for a single oc- casion ; that although force was necessary to carry them into effect, as then avowed and exercised, the declaration would have been just as true if Great Britain had consented to a voluntary separation. Mr. Dorr said that what was a revolutionary right merely, a right of war, in countries where the sovereignty was not held to reside in the people, had here, by the act of the people, been transplanted into the pale of government itself, by our dec- larations and constitutions, which recojjnise the right of the people, on the outside of all organizations, to act for themselves. A right which is thus recognised, though in a general way, and, of course, without prescribed forms of proceeding, ceases to be revolutionary, and has become regular and definite. Mr, Dorr alluded to the opinions of some of the framers of the federal constitution, and of the most eminent statesmen and jurists of our country, of both political parties, as asserting, in the strongest manner, the ultimate sovereignty not merely of the voters and organized legal people in the States, but of the whole body of the people, who, in the language of Chief Justice Jay, of the Supreme Court of the United States, " are equal as fellow- citizens, and as joint tenants" (more properly, perhaps, tenants in common) "of the sovereignty." Mr. Dorr alluded to the consequence of the opposite doctrine, as expressed by one of the court, that "they are sovereign who exercise the highest powers of government ;" in which case, the legislature, being sovereign, might abolish the rights of suffrage and representation, dispense with the constitution, and vote themselves a permanent aristocracy. Mr. Dorr regarded the fact, that the political reforms that have taken place in our States have been made through existing organizations, not as disproving the right to make them in another way, but as showing a dis- position to do justice in time, so as to save the necessity of any unusual ac- tion ; a disposition which it was to be regretted had not been manifested in this State. [Mr. Turner alluded to the case of the people of Michigan, who, at vol- untary meetings, voted to accept the conditions of admission into the Union, after they had been rejected at legal meetings ; which vote was deemed suf- ficient by Congress, who looked more at the will of the people, than at the form in which it was expressed.] Mr. Dorr also recalled attention to the fact, that the convention who formed the constitution of the United States were not requested or author- ized to perform such an act, but only to amend the articles of confederation ; and that they proceeded on their general authority as representatives of the people. The constitution was submitted for ratification to conventions chosen by the voters in the States, notwithstanding that, by the articles of Rep. No. 546. 947 €Onfe(3eration, no alterations were to be made in these articles, unless such alterations, after beino' approved by Congress, should be agreed to by the legislature of" every" State. The constitution was to be considered as rat- ified by the votes of the conventions of "nine" States. The people at large had more right to vote upon the constitution, than the delegates had thus to disres^ard the solemn pledge of the articles of confederation. The doctrine of popular sovereignty is true, and it is also safe. Mr. Dorr ^ave some reasons to show that the fear and distrust of those who regard it as leading to the overthrow of all valuable rights and institutions, and to general anarchy, is groundless and imaginary. Mr. Dorr said, that men are nowhere disposed to resort to extreme measures, and, in the language of the declaration of independence, " all experience hath shown that man- kind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolisliing the forms to which they are accustomed." We belong to a race proverbially attached to old habits and usages, and who do not change too easily. The striking fact that the people of the States have always preferred lo look to the existing organizations (without, how- ever, looking in vain) for such jrolitical changes as they needed, is a very strong proof that they are in no danger of abusing the sovereign power, or disposed to interfere with any existing organizaiiot), but from what they consider extreme necessity, growing out of a long-continued, persevering, and hopeless denial of justice. The great security for the discreet exercise of this power lies in the es- tablishment of universal suffrage ; for where this exists, the sovereign body, the people at large, become so nearly identical with the political or legal people, that it becomes very difficult, or hardly possible, for any disputes conc':'rnin2: government or political reform to take place between them. The people except in some such extreme case as has been before alluded to, can accomplish, under existing forms, all the changes that are desired or desirable, and are not likely to fall into controversies about the mode of action. Universal suffrage thus becomes in the body politic like the broad base of a pyramid, giving such strength and permanence to the superstruc- ture that it cannot be overturned, and rendering it proof against time and de- cay. Universal suffrage, strangely as it has been disparaged and depreca- ted by some of our politicians, is thus a conservative element of our institu- tions ; and the free suffrage States are the strongest and the safest. In the review of political reforms, Rhode Island constituted the exception among the States. Here, the people at large and the legal people were widely distinct and separated — the latter being but a small minority of the whole, holding their privileges wilh a tenacious grasp, and refusing to share them with their brethren of the community. Two opposing interests and parties were thus created, through the default of those who neglected or refused, at different periods, to extend suffrage. Time widened the breach, and thus resulted the conflict of 1841 -'42. Such a conclusion of affairs was predicted by one of the ablest public writers of the State, twen- ty-two years before it took place. Mr. Dorr then proceeded to inquire against what form of sovereignty treason can be here committed. He said it can unquestionably be commit- ted against this State, unless some of the attributes of sovereignty, which draw after them the offence of treason, have been parted with from the States to the United States. The defendant then stated that he desired most expressly to repudiate 948 Rep. No. 546. the centralizing doctrine of an all-absorbing national government, if, from the indefinite language of any of the authorities, or from any ot the re- marks of his counsel, such a doctrine had been inferred on the other side; inasmuch as he (defendant) adliered to the State rights construction of our national system. The National Government, under the constitution of the United States, was not formed by the aggregate mass of the people of the United States, but was in the nature ot a compact among the several States ; the people of which act in each, on all occasions, separately, by their own local majorities. As the constitution was not formed by a majority of the whole people of the United States, so neither could it be abolished by them by an aggregate vote, as if it were the constitution of a single consolidated State. The States do not stand in the relation of counties to the United States. It was not a matter here under discussion how the constitution could be changed in a manner other than that contained in its mode of amendment. What the defendant wished to be understood as contending for, was, that this State, at the Revolution, separate, sovereign, and inde- pendent, had voluntarily become a member of an association or union of States, and had, with the rest, conveyed to the General Government many of its most important original powers, retaining, fiowever, in a sovereign capacity, all the rest as completely as before. The United States, therefore^ could not exercise any general sovereignty over the people of this State, but only in certain delegated functions, and for certain definite purposes. The people of this State are still sovereign in making and altering their govern- ment, with the single distinction that it must be republican in its form. The question is, whether the power to define and punish treason be not vested in the United States exclusively, by the purport of the constitution, and from the nature of the powers conveyed. Under the confederation of the States, the General Government was a government over States. Under tlie constitution, the government reaches uidividnals; thus exercising one of the highest attributes of sovereignty. The defendant then referred to the numerous important powers which had been either given up entirely by the States, or much abridged. Among them, is the power of war and peace. A State cannot, without the consent of Congress, maintain troops and ships of war in time of peace, or engage in war, unless invaded. The President is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia when called into the service of the United States ; and he is authorized to interfere with force in cases of insurrection and domestic violence in the Stales; though such interference is arbitrary and censurable when made upon the pretext of any right to suppress the action of the people to change their govern- ment as they may deem expedient. As treason is the levying of war, when auch an offence is really committed, it must be against the war-making power, which also defends against war. 'I'he offence is aimed at a State, but it involves the United States. Conjoint powers may be sometimes exercised by the States and the United States; but they must be compatible with each other, or there njust be some reservation, express or implied, to the States. The argument is, that trea- son, which is defined by the constitution, and punished by the laws, of the United States, excludes all separate State treasons, even if the exclusion be not in express terms. It Congress had not seen fit to legislate on the sub- ject, then il might be a question whether a State had not (he pov;er to do sc — at least until the legislation of Congress. Piracy has passed entirely Rep. No. 546. 949 cnt of the jnrisdiction of ihe States, in consequence of Congress being em- powered to define and pnnisli it. A reason for confinino: the jurisdiction over this oflence to the United Stales, may be found in the muUiplicity of State treasons which may other- wise spring up for political purposes, as in England, and in the great abuses which may grow out of them. As Dr. Franklin observed in the conven- tion which formed the national constitution, '•'■prosecutions foi' treason are too generally irrelevant^ and perjury is made rise o/"." Though the debates in this convention are somewliat indefinite as to the settlement of this question, it should be stated that, in the opinion of Mr. Madison, (the leading member in that distinguished body,) treason against a State and against the United States involved each other; and, if both migiit exist, a person might receive two punishments for the same of- fence. To follow out the idea : Suppose a person captured in the act of levying war by the joint forces ot a State and of the United States: to whicli jurisdiction is he amenable? Can he be tried by a State court and acquitted, and tfien be tried by a court of the United States, convicted and executed, or the reverse? Can State and United States offences be possibly commingled in this way? As before observed by Mr. Turner, the early State constitutions did not recognise the offence of treason against a State, though it may have been punished by law in some of them. In this State, treason was made an offence by law in 1777; and the act was repealed in 1798. It was revived in IS38. Art. 4, sect. 2, par. 2 of the constitution is cited as recognising treason against a State ; and provides that'^a person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which li€ fled, be delivered up, to be renwved to the State having jurisdic- tion of the crime." ^J'his portion of the constitution is to be considered in reference to the state of things when it was formed. The States were tiieii connected, uii- -der the confederation, by a very slight bond. Treason could undoubtedly be co-Timitted against them. It was defined and punished by the States. In Rhode Island, the act of 1777 took cognizance expressly of treason against the United States. Now, as the constitution contemplated no such appara- tus of circuits and districts as was afterwards provided by Congress, and as the offence could only be punished in the State where it was com- mitted, the constitution could not otherwise provide than for a return of the fugitive to that State. Does it involve an inconsistency to suppose tliat the framers of the constitution then had in view the punishment, in and by a State, of the offence of treason, which they had established, and which had been so punishable bef)re? Wtiat the courts of the United States were to be, and how to be constituted, was then altogetiier a matter of conjecture. But the frnmers of the constitution were determined, at all events, that there should be one mode provided for recovering a fugitive to the State whence he had escaped, to be tried by whatever jurisdiction there might have cog- nizance of tlie offence. When the courts of the United States were after- wards estabhshed, a mode was provided, through the warrant of a United States judt^e, for transferring a person so charged to the State where the offence had been committed. But suppose no such provision had been made by law; could not the general power of the State executive, as described 950 Rep. No, 546. in the part of the constitution that has been quoted, be made available for the same object? By the act of the United States of 1790, if any person, who has knowledge that any treason has lieen committed, shall neijleci to give information of it to the President, or to a jndwe of the United ^tatt^s, or to the govirnor of tlu State, fie shall l^e deemed gnilty of misprision of treason. If a governor may hold an inquisition of this kind, may he not also recover a fugitive to the justice of the United States? But, after all, perhaps the more natural construction of this paragraph of the constitution is, that it is only intended to provide for the recovery of fugitives for the higher offences, in which treason, felony, &,c. are included^ by way of definition, without affirming what are or shall b' Slate offences. 'I'he paragraph would thus mean that fugitives, who are charged with the higher offences, be they whai they may, shall he. reclaimed in the manner thus provided. [It ought to have been before mentioned, that Mr. Dorr,at the commence- ment of his remarks on the subject of treason against a Stale, stated to the court his regret that, in consequence of tfie alienee of his principal counsel, Mr. Atwell, whose severe illness commenced just before the sUting of the court, and upon whom Ije Iiad depended for all the closing argnmems in the case, he was now obliged to take up a question of law of this great im- portance, with little opportunity to refiect upon it, and with no other knowl- edge of the authorities than from hearing tliem read over in court. Being^ nevertheless, under the necessity of going on, he felt it his duty to say thus much in justice to the subject and to himself.] REMARKS OF MR. TURNER. May it please your honors : Gentlemen of the jury : — When you consider the novel character of the circumstances by which I am surrounded ; the fiigh nature of the duties which liave devolved on me, as one of the counsel for our distinguished chent; and the deep sense of professional and personal responsibility which a faithful discharge of these duties creates in the mind, you will find, I trust, ample apology for whatever eml^arrassment may be betrayed by me in at- tempting their discharge, and will kindly extend to me such indulgent con- ssideration as my position requires. The circumstances I have said to be of a novel character; for trials for treason have, happily for ns, until the present time, been entirely unknown in this State, and of very rare occurrence in this country. The duties of which I speak, inasmuch as tfiey embrace the distinct as- sertion of principles of vital importance to the whole community, of which we are all members, as well as the vindication of the character of our client^ may well be pronounced of a high and commanding nature. And the responsibility, which it is impossible not to feel, arises from a contemplation of the con.sequences to him and to us, wfiich will result from the verdict you may render in the present case ; which verdict, in a greater or less degree, will de[)end upon the fidelity and ability with which the de- fence is conducted. In view of these circumstances, well may the defendant's counsel, there- fore, feel a degree of self distrust and embarrassment, which ordinary cases would neither call for nor justify. Rep. No. 546. 951 Bat, orentlemen, in some respects, your own situation is not less difficult than ours; your position as jurors has also its novelty, its duties, and its responsibilities. It is your duty impartially and fairly to try, and irue de- liverance make, between the Stale and the prisoner at the bar; and this you, under your oa'hs as jurors, are to do, according to law and the evi- dence given you. It is your duty, therefore, attentively and patiently to hear, and seriously and carefully consider and weiijh the matter, whether of law or evidence, that may be submitted to yon for the defence; we look to you for that on your parts; and, on the other hand, we assure you, on our parts, that it will be our endeavor neither to tax your attention, nor draw on your indulgence beyond what a complete discharge of our own duties may require. In point of responsibility, gentlemen, there can be no comparison between lis. When we shall have faithfully acquitted ourselves of our duty to our client, all our responsibility ends; yours then begins. Neither he, nor the people of this State or country — notour fellow men of this day, nor thpse after generations that may succeed us, will have cause to inquire after or care for us. But it will be to you tliat he and they will all look; and all will equally hold you while living, and your memories after death, respon- sible for the verdict you may render. You are at this moment (and it is the first that has occurred in American history) standing in a position be- tween popular riglits and popular supremacy on the one side, and legis- lative assamptioii and oppression on the other; and although you will de- cide the immediate fate of one person alone by that verdict, yet upon that verdict hang suspended the destinies of Freedom herself. By the indictment, our client (Mr. Uorr) is charged v/ith the crime of treason. * Treason, gentlemen, is an offence that differs materially and essentially in its character from most other crimes; in them, (such as murder, rape, arson, &,c.,) the injury intended is merely of a personal and private nature ; they are directed against the individuals of a community only, and are pun- ished as such. But treason is a crime against an entire community collect- ively, and it is the highest crime that an individual can commit against a community or body politic of which he is a member. It is, therefore, a po- litical offence; and as such it ever has been, and still is to be regarded. Such being the nature and character of treason, from the principles and structure of American government, its object is generally, if not always, a change either in the form of goverinnent, or the admmistration of it. We are to look, therefore, for its origin in political causes. History will justify me in saying that treason has been most frequently created, and oftenest pimished, under the most arbitrary governments, and those whose adminis- tration has been most wickedly conducted. Could a full and perfect his- tory of all the proceedings against treason be written at this day, it would present to us such a picture of cruelty, depravity, oppression, robbery, and murder, (sometimes with and sometimes without the forms, but always wi- der color of I'liv^ and avowedly for the better preservation of order^) that, as Americans — the citizens of a free country, which has hitherto escaped its desoliitions — we should turn in disgust and abhorrence from the detail of its monstrous atrocities. Treason, gentlemen, you must be aware, is a plant of slow growth, for ^'mankind are more disposed to sutler whilst evils are sufferable. than to 952 Rep. No. 546. right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they have been accns- lomed ;" and where prosecutions for this and similar offences have been most frequent, it has been invariably found that injustice and oppression have ever been their precursors; it derives its origin most frequently ■' i^rom a long train of usurpations and abuses" on the part of government ; whilst, on the other hand, under good governments, well administered, treason is a crime scarcely known in history. It is of importance, therefore, gentlemen, that we should turn our atteif- tion a moment to the pohtical history of our own State, as well for the pur- pose of ascertaining the remote causes of tiie present prosecution, as to fix in our minds the great and broad principles upon whicli we intend to rely for the present defence. He would not himself, nor shall we in his behalf, seek, by any evasion or subterfuge, to shun the great question you are to try; it is not the act^ but the construction put upon it, which gives in)porl- ance to the cause; and the question, when stripped of its technical invest- mejits, and presented before you in its naked hneaments, is this — are the "pepple of a Stale dependent on the will of the leoislature alone for alter- ing' its fundarnetital laws, and reorganizing its government 7 This is the great question, and well deserving the deepest solicitude and the most profound consideration. [Here Mr. T. was interrupted by the attorney general, (Blake,) and told by the chief justice (Durfee) to confine himself to the indict /nent.] It was my purpose, gentlemen, to have reviewed to you the course of legislation pursued by the charter government on subjects out of which this prosecution has grown, and to have enlarged somewhat on the griev- ances under which about three fifths of our fellow-citizens have labored, in order to have shown to you that justice to them and fo their rights had long been not only neglected, but denied; and to have satisfied you that the time had actually arrived for the people themselves to take measures for estab- lishing a written constitution. But from all this I am debarred by the di- rection of the honorable court, and will ask your attention to matter of the indictment itself. Closing remarks of Mr. Turner. Gerdlemtn of the jury : Yoi} will recollect, in the first remarks that I made in opening the defence of the prisoner at the bar, that I proposed to rest that cjefence on five points, which were then stated to you. " 1st. That in this country treason is an offence against the United States only, and cannot be committed against an individual State.'" It was my purpose, and we deem it the rii'ht of the prisoner to have argued this, as well as the other questions of law, directly to you, as the judges, in all capital trials, as well of the law as of the fact; but we were overruled by the court, and permitted only to argue it to the court, in your hearing. What their decision may be, will be made known to you in their general charge. If it sustains the ground we have taken, then you can only acquit the prisoner, because the State courts can have no jurisdiction over the offence laid in the indictment. Upon the second point of (he proposed defence, viz: "That the fourth section of the act of Rhode Island, of March, 1842, entitled 'An act relating to offences against the sovereign power of the State,' is unconstitutional and void, as destructive of the common law right of trial by jury, which I Rep. No. 546 953 was a fundamental part of the English constitution at the declaration of in- dependence, and has ever since been a fundamental law in Kiiode Island." The honorable court would not sutler us to use argument to you, as it was a question of law; nor would they, for reasons which you heard, permit us to argue it to them, on the ground that it was a closed question, decided by them after solemn argument in another case. A smiilar decision has been also made on the third point, "That that act, if constitutional, gave this court no jurisdiction to try this indictment in. the county of Newport, all the overt acts being therein charg^ed as com- mitted in the county of Providence;" because, being also a matter of law, to be argued to the court, they will not interrupt the progress of the trial to hear it reargued at the present time. Upon the fourth point, "That the defendant acted justifiably as gover- nor of the State, under a valid constitmion, rightfully adopted, which he was sworn to support," whicli was the right arm of our defence, and which, if made good by the evidence, (all which we had at command,) must have acquitted the prisoner, the court, by ruling out that evidence as irrelevant and inadmissible, have very much abbreviated the labors of us both ; and having deprived us of all the technical and purely legal grounds of defence, leave us none except the first and the last. — " that tiie evidence does not support the charge of treasonalile and criminal intent in the defendant." On this point alone has all the testimony, as well for the government as for the defendant, been introduced. It fias at no time constituted any part of the prisoner's plan of defence against this indictment, to disavow or deny any act by him done ; nor would he allow us to do for him that which he would not do himself. All the ]jrominerit and leading facts of tfie case he avows and justifies ; and to save liimself from misconstructions and false imputations, he has himself presented evidence before you, for the purpose of removing false impres- sions, disabusing the minds of the jury and the public, and of placing him- self, his character, and his cause, before you in a right point of view. With the same view, also, it is, that 1 will ask your consideration of some parts of the testimony in the case. If the defendant, in what he has done him- self, or cnmmanded others to do, has not acted justifiably, aVid from a high sense of right and duty, he must suffer the consequences of his acts ; but if the whole evidence and circumstances go to show that he has throughout acted justifiably, without traitorous intent, and believing himself to be right, with every reason so to believe, then you will give a verdict in his favor ac- cordingly. The counsel on behalf of the State have been permitted to introduce testimony before you to show a criminal intent on t\<.e part of the prisoner as far back as the 3d of iMay, the time when the legislature first met under the people's constitution at Providence, for the purpose of organizing the State government according to the provisions of tliat constitution ; it is proper, therefore, for me to carry your attention to the testimony back to the same period. It is in evidence, that on that occasion Governor Dorr and the members elect of the legislature passed from the Hoyle Tavern on Christian hill, through several of the streets of the city of Providence, to a building called the Foundry, where they were to convene, attended by a numerous procession of citizens ; and an attempt was made by the witness Burrouo;hs to give tlie affair something of a warlike character. But the testimony of Salisbury 954 Kep. No. 546. and Carter places it in its true li^ht. It was a civic procession, with a mili- tary escort in honor of the occasion, and to manifest respect in the nsnal way. There was nothing extraordinary or unusual about it: it was just like that which in a few days will, in all probability, attend the Assembly here, at the organization of the State government for the ensuing political year, according to a long-established custom. And all the testimony agrees that it was conducted in the most orderly manner. The evidence of the witnesses as to the transactions and proceedii]gs at the Foundry fully es- tablishes the facts, lliat the votes given in the election were duly returned, committed, counted, and reported; that Mr. Dorr, with others, vvas declared duly elected; that he took an oath of office; that proclamation of his elec- tion vvas made; and that all was done for the full and complete organization of the government, required by the constitution, with the formalities and ceremonies usual on such occasions. The organization was perfected; and all, the governor and the two houses, acted in every respect like other legis- lative bodies, and as though they had a perfect right so to act. Governor Dorr delivered an address of the usual character ; laws were enacted, and others repealed or amended; resolutions were passed; officers both civil and military were elected under the new constitution, and according to the ancient usages of the State: tlie usual committees were appointed to attend to the transfer of the public property and records from the old to the new officers; in fact, everything that a new legislature could rightfully do, was done in a legislative and proper manner. The prisoner was called and treated as the governor of the State; and having received a greater major- ity than had ever before been given to any one for the same office, he had every reason to believe, and did truly believe, that he vvas the constitutional and legal governor, elected by the free votes of a free people of a free State. There can then be no presumption drawn from these facts, that he possess- ed at that time the traitorous intent cliarged in'the indictment. It he was vested with rightful authority as governor, then he acted rightfully in at- tempting to enforce that authority. His intention to take possession of the public property for the uses of the State, was fully warranted by the provi- sions of the constitution under which he acted, and which, as has been shown, he was 'sworn to support, as well as by a resolution passed by the foundry legislature at that time. Shortly after the adjournment of the foundry legislature, it is in evidence that the prisoner left the State ; and it has been charged by the prosecution that he escaped from the State to avoid apprehension, to excite sympathy, and to solicit aid in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewliere, in furtherance of treasonable purposes, and, by the introduction of /omo-/< mercenaries, to subvert and overthrow the charter government of the State by force of arms. Upon this point, gentlemen, the evidence is, that, in consequence of indications received that the power and force of the United States would be put in requisition to sustain the charter government, and to defeat the ope- ration of the people's constitution, at a larije and numerous meeting of the Suffrage Association of the city of Providence, a resolution passed unani- mously requesting the prisoner to go to Washington and disabuse the Presi- dent of the gross misrepresentations under which he was supposed to act, and to explain there and elsewhere the true nature and points of the ques- tion at issue between the two parties who were contending for supremacy in this State. The prisoner in a few days left the State and went to Wash- ington, in compliance with the request before mentioned ; and, on his re- Rep. No. 546. 955 fiirn, whilst in New York, he addressed a very o:reat assetnhlage at Tam- many Hall, explanatory of the situation of affairs in Rhode Island. The counsel for the State have said that it was a harancrue soliciting aid in men and money to carry on a war against his it-llovv citizens in tliis State. But It is in evidence by Burrington Anthony, esq., who was present and heard the address, that Governor Uorr in express terms '■'■repudiated the idea''' of nsing any force from withonl the Slate, except in the contingency of the troops of the United States being bronght to snpport the charter govern- ment ; in which case, he shonld expect and gladly receive the aid and as- sistance of the otlier States. Pnrsning the chronological order of events, the evidence proves that on the ItJth ot May Mr. Dorr arrived in Khode Island by the Stonington train of cars, attended by a iew friends who had met him for that pnrpose |f at Stonington. He was received at the depot in Providence by a large con- course ot his fellow citizens and friends ; the whole number, assembled from curiosity or sentiments of respect, was unqiiestionably very great, al- though no witness has attempted to fix the number. A procession, liow- :'«ver, was formed to escort him to the place of his temporary residence, at Mr. Anthony's, on Federal hill, in that city. This procession, according to the testUDony o{ the witnesses, was composed of from 1,200 to 1,800 men — in all probability, considering the population of the ciiy, they might have amounted lo 1,500 — a portion of whom (say 300 or 400) were under arms, and, as is usual in Rhode Island, (and 1 believe everywjiere,) did escort duty on that occasion. There was an attempt on the part of the govern- ment, but wholly without success, to prove that on this occasion the mili- tary portion of the procession was furnished with ball cartridges^ and tliereby to give it a warlike, hostile, and treasonable character; but the whole evidence on this point, when taken toijether, shows that, like the one before mentioned, its sole purpose was respect ixuA honor \o the chief magis- trate, and not icar upon the citizens, or treason to the State. When the procession arrived on Federal hill, it is in evidence tfiat the prisoner, from the carriage in which he rode, surrounded first by the mili- tary, next by the unarmed procession, and last by the spectators at large, — except that a very few personal friends were surrounding Uie barouche within the military lines, — ^that the prisoner, I say, addressed the assem- blage at considerable length, giving in detail a report of his proceedings during his visit to Washington, his reception in Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere. The address delivered by Mr. Dorr on the occasion has been the source of mucli misrepresentation, not entirely confined to irresponsible newspaper publications, but widely circulated throughout the State and the country. He is represented as having, while abroad, excited sympathy, and solicited the aid of men and money to carry into effect the government under the people's constitution, aiiainst that portion of the citizens of Rhode Island which adhered to the charter government; and, through the instrumental- ity of such means, to effect his purpose by force of arms and civil war. The o;)euino: counsel tor the government took the same ground, and the effort on iheir part was made to support such representations by proof. The falsity of these statements, gentlemen, is clearly established by the testi- mony of the governnnnit witnesses. On iliis point, the testimony of Mr. Pierce, (who was in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington at the same times with Mr. Dorr, and who was also one of the comniissioners sent to 956 Rep. No. 546. communicate with President Tyler on the subject of Rhode Island af- fairs) is clear and explicit: "The prisoner repudiated the idea of bringing force from other States, unless in the event of the interference of the Gene- ral Government." Mr. Burrington Anthony, who heard Mr. Dorrs address delivered at Tammany Hall, in the city of New York, the tenor of which Mr. Dorr was recapitulating at Federal hill, uses this language: "He repu- diated the idea of bringing forces from without the State, unless to repel the force of the United States." These two witnesses, both summoned by the government, testify to the expressions of the prisoner, made before and at the time of the Tammany Hall address ; while the only testimony of a contrary character is that of Col. W. P. Blodget and Edward H. Hazard — to which, as it is relied on by the government, I will ask your attention (or a moment. Blodget says: "The prisoner said he had been accused of having procured the aid of 5(J0 men from abroad, but the charge was false. He had been promised the aid of 5,000 men, and could have them at any time. He drew his sword, and said it had been dipped in blood, and. rather than yield the rights of the people of Rhode Island, it should be buried in gore to its hilt. I cannot recollect his other expressions used at that time." "I heard no reference to the General Government." Mr. Hazard's tesiiiijony is to the same effect, and in nearly the same words; he, however, added, "I am not positive that he made any explanation;" and, on cross- exammation, he said : "1 have no recollection that the prisoner said the aid would be furnished him in the event of the interference of the General Government — he might have so qualified it." These are the only wit- nesses sworn in behalf of the State who have testified to this point, except Orson i\h:)ffatt, whose testimony is quite vague and indefinite. On the other hand, gentlemen, and in confirmation of the statements sworn to by Messrs. Pearce and Anthony, we have the testimony of Col. B. M. Darling, Col. S. Wales, Mr. Anthony, and Mr. N. Porter. Col. Darling sat in the barouche in which Mr. Dorr was standing at the time; the other three wit- nesses stood around it, within the space occupied by the armed escort ; whilst, by their own showing, Blodget and Hazard, as mere spectators, or rather hearers, were situated entirely without the circle formed by 1,500 or 1,800 men who had composed tlie procession ; they must, therefore, have labored under gr^ at disadvantages in hearing accurately, and maij have been wistaken. I think, and I fancy you will think, they must have been mistaken: because, gentlemen of the jury, you will recollect what was sworn to by Mr. James Thurber, jr., in relation to Col, Blodget, who, smart- ing under a conviction of kidnapping at a court in Dedham, came up here to procure the conviction of the prisoner, if he could. You can judge, then, under what feelings he must have testified on this trial ; and yon could not but notice the manner of Mr. Hazard, his apparent willingness to put into this case much that, as a lawyer himself, he must have been sensible was not leual testimony. What had the foolish fears of Joseph Sweet to do with the crime of treason charged ao'ainst the prisoner by this indictment? — what a cutler said about Parmenter buying a pistol; or the floods of tears that deluged VVeybosset street — and who, on another judicial trial before him, is reported to have said that he "did not care a d n for the letter of the law !!" The evidence is with you, and wi'll decide whether, in any de- gree, the expressions ol the prisoner, on that occasion, support the allega- tion of crinunal and traitorous intent charged in the indictment. It is in evidence that, when speaking of the apprehended interference of the Presi- Rep. No. 546. 957 dent with the United States troops, in favor of the charter partj^, Mr. Dorr represented such to be the state of public feeling abroad, that, in that event, he sliould call on otlier States for aid, in the cause of the people against the President ; and such had been the assurance given him, that he could rely, not on 500 only in such event, but on 5,00U or more if he wanted tliem ; but as between the two parties in this State — the suffrage party and the ciiarter party — the former, being a large majority, needed no aid; and, if they did not clioose to maintain their own rights, they were unfit to enjoy them. But, if the President should employ United States troops to suppress the people's constitution, and the governujent under it, other States would be then equally interested, and would be called on for aid. In such case, the question wonid be entirely changed ; because, if the President could, in this summary way, decide on the validity of the new constitution of ,.| Rhode Island, he might do the same of other States also. How far the President, by the course he did pursue, by the aid he gave and promised, and by ordering at that lime United States troops of a certain description into Rhode island, succeeded in the overthrow of the people's constitution, is not a fit subject of inquiry here; it is, however, a subject now undergoing inquiry before a committee of Congress. But. gentlemen, further use has been made of the proceedings on the 16ih of May, and, in order to give plausibility to the charj[e of long pre- meditated treasonable intents on the part of the prisoner, the same wit- nesses have sought to Represent iiim, in manner and action, as a desperado and a fit nd ; a man bent on destruction, reckless of civil and social duties, wantonly regardless of human life, and a slave to the worst sort of mad ambition : they have commented on liis fiendish looks and appearance wliilst making his address, and have spoken of the cheers with wliich some passages of it were received by the audience, as the yells of fiends from the infernal regions. Although 1 lived through the log-cabin and hard-cider campaign, 1 have little knowledge of such things; these gentlemen, how- ever, seem well acquainted with the appearance and yells of fiends; but 1 shall leave you to compare their testimony with that of Darling, Wales, and Porter, Who describe the day as dusty, the wind very fresh, and Mr. Dorr as having been riding, bare-headed, in an open barouche, through nearly the whole city of Providence; and you will then say whether the facts in proof before you will warrant you in drawing the same conclusion that they seem to have drawn from the prisoner's appearance. It next appears in evidence, that on the afternoon of the next day, (the 17th of May,) the prisoner, in broad and open day, sent a small detachment of men from Federal hill to take possession of the cannon of the United Train of Artillery, in the name and for the use of the State — the result of a deliberation previously had by Governor Dorr and a council of his officers. It has been cliarged by the prosecution that these guns were stolen, and it constitutes one of the many calumnies which have been heaped npon the head of my distinguished client. If the prisoner was governor of the State, he not only had a right to order possession of these guns to be taken, if they belonged to the Sttite; but he was bound to do so by his oath of office, as well as by a special resolve of the foundry legislature. There was, however, nothing secret, felonious, or like stealth, to mark the transaction, notwithstanding Colonel Blodget says they were stolen. In the first place, the guns did not belong to the State, but to the company; they were taken, as appears from the testimony of Captain Reed and Lieu- 958 Rep. No. 546. tenant Stndley, by an arrangement mnde with the prisoner, by consent of all the members of the company; the key was passed to them to open the door for the purpose; and, as htis been stated, all was done in open daylight, in the very heart of the city of Providence, without any attempt at privacy or concealment. Upon such evidence, can you believe that these guns were feloniously taken ; that the prisoner, to accomplish any object, how- ever important in his estimaii(m, could commit a felony of that description? You do not believe i(, gentlemen ; nor does any one who has ever known hiu). The fon! and slanderous charge has been made and reiterated against him, solely for the purpose of attaching a stigma to the purity of his motives and the honorable consistency of his character. It has also further appeared in evidence, that, at the council of officers mentioned, it was determined that on the same night of the 17th of May, 1842, an attack should be made on the State arsenal, situated not far from Federal hill, where were kept in deposite the arms belonging to tlie State, with a view to obtain possession of them, and thereby prevent their being turned bv the charter government against that established under the people's constitution, and secure the use of them for its support against any unwar- ranted interference on the part of the President in the pending difficulties. It was known that aid and support had been pledged from that quarter to Governor King; and it was also known, as has been sliown by the evi- dence, that the arsenal was manned (to what extent was uncertain) and under the command of a brave officer, Colonel Leonard Blodget, who has been examined before you as a witness for the government, (you are in no danger, 1 think, of mistaking him for the other Colonel Blodget,) with a view to the contemplated attack, the cannon mentioned had been procured, and other necessary arrangements made or ordered by the prisoner. It also appears by the testimony of Colonel Carter, a witness summoned on the part of the State, that when it was understood that Governor Dorr in- tended to conduct the attack in person, he (Carter) and a number of the officers present endeavored to dissuade him from so doing, as unnecessarily exposing the person of the commander in chief; to all which the prisoner, so liberally slandered for cowardice, made this pithy reply: "That he had often publicly stated at the town house, that when danger should happen, he wished to be found anywhere but in the rear ; that he should be as good as his word, and would not send others where he was not willing to go himself." You will bear in mind also, gentlemen, as relating to this period of time, the testimony of Walter S. Burgess, esq., by which it appears that the prisoner, on the evening of that day, previous to the advance upon the arsenal, had an interview with his confidential friend, the witness, and with him made all the necessary arrangements of his business concerns, private, professional, and fiduciary, for the worst and most fatal event. It seems the prisoner, at that time, held several important trusts; yet, on the very eve of a desperate adventure, as though to give the lie to all the floating calum- nies against him, could deliberately arrange and securely guard all the diversified trusts confided to him, whether of a pecuniary or public nature; exemplifying by that act the high and honorable character of his own mind. To return, however, to the attack on the arsenal. The number of men engaged in that attack has been greatly exaggerated, and is differently es- timated by the witnesses who have been called to the stand, as well by the Rep. No. 546. 959 prisoner ns by the government. On the part of the government witnesses, they are varionsly estimated at from 3U0 to 500. Henry S. Hazard says 400 or 500. George 0. Bourne says 400 or 500, and a larije body un- armed. On the other hand, we have the testimony of Colonel Carter, Dar- hng, and Aldrich, all of whom were present taking part in the affair ; and, as you will observe, had much better means of knowing the actual num- ber — who estimate them at from 200 to 250. None go beyond that number ; and Colonel Carter swears that before they left Federal hill he counted them by sections, and found their number to be 234. So that it seems cer- tain that it could not have exceeded 250 men. It had also appeared in evidence before you, that the night of this attack could not have been se- lected on account of its darkness, as the first part of it was moonlight ; and that after the moon set, a heavy dense fog came on, settled on the earth, and enveloped everything in its folds. So noticeable was it, that Colonel Carter, in speaking of it, said "it seemed like an interposition of Divine Providence." 'I'he witnesses agree that the force under the command of the prisoner, on arriving near the arsenal, took their position in its front, within musket shot of its walls; the two pieces of artillery on a line at some distance asunder, levelled at, and flanking the door or gateway ; and a small party of infantry lying in ambush on the ground at the left, in ad- vance, and quite near the gate, so as to rush in whenever that should be opened, to return the fire of the assailants. These dispositions having been made, the prisoner directed the usual and proper formalities in attacking a garrison to be observed. An officer with a flag of truce was sent to demand a surrender of the arsenal, which was refused. Nothing then remained but to take it by force of arms, or for the prisoner to suffer the people's con- stitution, and the government organized under it, to fall to the ground ; .so far as it depended on him, he resolved on the former alternative. The plan was, to make a simultaneous attack with the artillery, for the purpose of forcing the doors of the arsenal, or cause the defenders to throw them open, to return the fire, and then for the flanking party lying in ambush, as has been stated, to rush in at once and overpower the men who were in possession of the lower floor of the arsenal — the number of whom must necessarily be very limited; when all those in the upper part of the build- ing could, in the end, do nothing but surrender. It was, however, ascer- tained, in consequence of the density of the fog and darkness of the night, that a change of position of the two pieces of artillery was desirable, and they were severally removed nearer each other, and more directly in front of the arsenal gates — remaining, according to the testimony, about twenty feet apart, or as near as they could be conveniently worked. In the mean time, it appears that portions of men, especially after the return of the flag of truce, availing themselves of the surrounding obscurity, began to retire ; some leaving the field entirely, and others seeking shelter behind piles of wood that were somewhere near. Even the gallant Colonel Dispean, (according to Carter's testimony,) who commanded a volunteer company of ninety men, about two fifths of the whole force then before the arsenal, awakes suddenly to the idea that there ivas danger there, and marches his men from the field. Colonel Wheeler, who had been intrusted by the prisoner with the immediate command of the attack, who had him- self sent to demand the surrender of the arsenal, and who probably thought " discretion the better part of valor," before Colonel Carter could look to the further end of the line and back, " had gone off in the fog." Finding 960 Rep. No. 546. that the commanding colonel (Wheeler) and Colonel Dispean with his com- mand had left the field— covered by the fog, if not with laurels— parties of other men followed, and passed Carter, who had gone to persuade Dispean to return ; so that when the moment arrived for the firing to commence, the force of the prisoner had dwindled down from 250, to from 40 to 50 men only ; and the command of them was by the prisoner conferred on Colonel Carter. When the order was given to fire, the pieces in succession ^osAerf only; and being reprimed, flashed again — both pieces thus proving imserviceable, ai least for the time being. In consequence of these misadventures, and the delays occasioned by them, the time for successful action had passed. It was now after daylight; the force remaining was totally inadequate; the men hungry and tired ; the fog liable to disperse in a moment, and the city troops might place them between two fires, whenever they chose to do so. Under this accumulation of untoward circumstances, the prisoner felt him- self compelled to order a retreat, which was accorduigly executed vvitti only about 50 men ; Colonel Carter with a part of them carrying off one of the guns, and the prisoner with the remaining men assisted in taking off the^last — reaching Anthony's, on Federal hill, at about sunrise on the morning of the 18th. Sach, gentleiriMi, is thehistory of the attack on the arsenal, furnished by the evidence in the cause. You will however recollect, gentlemen, that you were told by the opening counsel for the State that " the prisoner sought the bad eiuinence of distinction in crime," "and descended from the dignity of a rebel commander^ and condescended with his own hand to ap- ply the match to light the torch of civil war." The uncalled-for and un- warranted coarseness of these epithets will be passed over without notice; the language was used as applying to the conduct of the prisoner on this occasion, and, with much of a similar character, was doubtless intended to create in your minds the most unfavorable prepossessions towards him, and his general character and conduct. The prisoner is charged with having taken in his own hand a torch, and touched ofi'one of the guns at the arsenal himself. Had such been the case, in my opinion, it would have been neither criminal nor derogatory for the prisoner, under the circumstances, to have done so; the counsel for the State have thought otherwise, and have intro- duced a witness, Orson MofFatt, to prove it. This witness swears that the order to fire was given by the prisoner, whilst he (witness) " was in the midst of his lines," and " near enough to have touched him easily" when the gun flashed; "heard Mr. Dorr call for the torch" — "saw him holding the torch," and "saw the other gun flash." Yet, gentlemen, this witness, who swore that he had once or twice that night made report to Colonel Blodget, at the arsenal, of movements on the outside, and also that he knew the prisoner perfectly, upon his cross examination could not name another person on the ground — could not tell whether the prisoner wore a bat or a cap — a belt or not — nor describe the position of either of the guns. You will recollect, gentlemen, that these guns were about twenty feet apart, and within musket-shot of the arsenal, which was thoroughly defended by ar- tillery and infantry both ; and, in case of an assault, the doors were to be thrown open, and 5 six-pounders were to be run out and fired; that the witness, it his statement be true — which, by the way, is far from being confirmed by that of Gen. (then Col.) Blodget— must have been aware of these facts; yet this witness tells you that he'stood near enough to Mr. Dorr, Rep. No. 546. 961 to touch him, when he flashed the orim — at a moment, too, when he mie;ht instantly expect to receive the whole deadly fire from the infantry and ar- tillery of the arsenal — without any possible motive, other.than mere curiosity. ISow, gentlemen, can you believe one word of the testimony of this Mr. Moffiitt ? I do not ; and upon the testimony taken by itself, no man but a madman or a fool could or would needlessly put himself in such a situation ; it is not in human nature to suppose it possible; and I trust that you will not give to his testimony a particle of weight, the more especially as the testimony of several otlitr witnesses proves it to be groundless. Capt. Wade stood within two feet of Mr. Dorr when the first gun was flashed, and swears that he did not know the man, but that it was not Mr. Dorr. Col. Carter, then in command, swears that he himself gave the several orders to fire; that Mr. Dorr stood close by him all the time, between, and a little in the rear of the guns ; that a man named Andrews flashed one, and a man named Hathaway the other; that Governor Dorr had no torch or port-fire in his hand that flight; and that Mofiatl's testimony, which he had heard, was false. Thaddeus Simmons was one of Gov. Dorr's body- guard, was near his person all night, and swears positively that Mr. Dorr did not flash the gun. The statements of these witnesses are confirmed by the negative testimony of several others, all of whom would be more likely to know the facts than Mr. Orson Moftatt. At about 7 o'clock on the morning of the 18th, after the return to An- thony's house on Federal hill, it was ascertained that 27 men only remain- ed under arms, attached to the cause and the fortunes of the prisoner. In the mean time, the guns had been examined, bored out, and reloaded ; no phig^s were in them, according' to the testimony of Hathaway, who bored them out with a giinblet, as had been reported and sworn to by Hiram Chappell. His testimony on this point, however, was sufficiently contra- dicted by that of Col. Dispean ; upon the examination it appeared that the powder was bad; that in consequence of the dampness of the night, it had first dissolved, then hardened, and would not ignite. By this time the charter troops of the city of Providence, reinforced by those from Newport, Bristol, and Warren, were in motion. The concerted signal (a gun on Federal hill) had been fired for a rally of the supporters of the peo/^le^s government; but, instead of being answered to by men in arms, as had been pledged to Gov. Dorr, he received a written communi- cation from some of his friends in the city, that he could not expect such support under present circumstances. Those circumstances were, thestrength of the charter military force then embodied in the city, the aid promised them of U. S. troops from Fort Adams; and the apprehensions entertained by many, of the legal consequences of coming in conflict with the General Government. Under all these circumstances, according to the proof in the cause, the prisoner, urged'by the advice of the few gallant officers who still adhered to him, and his hopelessness of maintaining a position on Federal hill, issued orders for the few remaining men to retire and disband them- selves, and withdrew himself beyond the lines of the State ; assuring his officers, however, at the same time, that whenever the people were ready to support their own government in the great cause in which they were en- gaged, he should be prepared to return and join thein. And for this act of prudence and necessity, also, had the prisoner been branded as a coward ! From this period up to about the 20th of June following, the prisoner ap- pears to have remained out of the State ; it is in proof, however, that in the 61 062 Rep. No. 546. north and northwest part of the county of Providence, a determination still existed to sustain and establish the government under Mr. Dorr ; and as the people's lewisiatnre had adjourned to meet again on the then coming 4th of July, a collection of military officers and partisans met at Woonsocket, it was resolved to purchase a suitable lot of land for an encampment, and put themselves in a situation to sustain, and, if need be, lo defend the legislature during its proposed session, 'i'his was as early as about the 12th of June, A committee was appointed ; and Acote's hill, contiguous to the village of Chepachet, in the town of Glocester, about sixteen miles from the city of Providence, was the spot selected. It appears to have been understood, gentlemen, that the people's legislature would convene and sit in that vil- lage. According to the evidence, companies and parties of armed men be- gan to assemble there on the 22d of .June. Gov. l)orr was known then to be at Killingly, in the State of Connecticut. It furtlier appears that a writ- ten communication was made to him by some of the nnlitary officers, ur- ging his immediate return to assume command, and giving assurances that 1,500 men were detailed from different parts of the State to support him — such, at least, is the testimony of Col. Carter — 600 of whom were to be furnished from the city of Providence alone. Upon such representations and assurances, thus urged, the prisoner, es- corted by a very few officers, who had gone from ('hepacliet to Killingly for the purpose, arrived at the former place on the morning of Saturday, June 2.5th — the day on which the overt act of levying war, in the third count of the indictment, is laid. Upon his arrival, instead of the fortified camp, and a gartison of 1,500 men, which he had a right to expect, he found in arms about 200 men ; a camp, on two sides partially defended by very slight em- bankments or breastworks composed of brnsli and earth, and five moimted and one unmounted old pieces of artillery, of different calibres and descrip- tions Evidence has been introduced on the part of the prosecution, how- ever, (the court overruling our objection that it was irrelevant to either count in the indictujent,) showing that, several days before Mr. Dorr came into the State, and before he was in any way connected with the military movements at Chepachet, in consequence of a rumor that the charter troops were about to attack the place, and arrest Lieut. Gov. Eddy, who resided in Cliepachet. Charles J. Shelley, an emissary from Providence, had been on the 22d taken as a spy, and detained as such until the next day, when he had been discharged two days before Mr. Dorr arrived there; which, as I have before said, was on the 25th. This evidence was thrown in as nsatter of aggravation, although it is manifest that the prisoner could in no way be legally implicated by it, nor held responsible for it. "it lias appeared in evidence that Mr. Richard Knight was also made a prisoner o!j the evening of the 25th of June, the day of Mr. Dorr's arrival at Chepachet; and 1 call your attention to this 'testimony, with a view of noticing some of his statements, which are calculated to create false im- pressions on your minds, and intended to confirm newspaper assertions. He has testified, that on his entrance into the village, he was fired on by one of two men who were running down the hill, as if with design to liead hirn off. Upon this point, we have the testimony of Mr. Don's adjutant general, (William H. Potter,) who was on the ground, and swears that he never heard of it, and that, if such had occurred, lie 7Tiust have known it. Mr. Knight also «5Wore that, at the same time, he saw three black men on the hill, oneof whom had a gun also. Gentlemen, you all know how often, during the pe- Rep. No. 546. 963 f\od of these troubles, it had been asserted that Gov. Dorr's forces at Chepa- chet were the offscoanrjijsof the h\iid — black, white, and gray] and this tes timoMy is given by Mr. Knight, who had been a prisoner there, to give color to sn€h reports, and to convey the idea that blacks constituted a part of the soldiery, and were on the hill serving as troops, that a prejudice might be. raised in your minds against the prisoner. Bnt what is the true state of the case, as shown by the wliole evidence on the point? That there were bnt tiiree blacks connected m any way with the troops there, and that they were merely waiters or servants, attached to the conuT.issary department of the camp, iis sv/orn to by B. M. Slade, who acted at the head of that department. The evidence produced relative to the jrathering at Acote's hill, from the time when the prisoner arrivcid there, (and it is with that otdy we have to do,) shows that it was throughout conducted in a most orderly and proper man- ner^ orders were iirmiediately issued by him, (hat all private rights and pri- vate property should be respected; and three instances oiily of the violation oi those orders occurred; they were msiorniiicjmt in themselves, but promi>t- ly repaued by the prisoner's orders, and in one instance he made pecuniary reparation out of his own pocket. As one means for the preservation of or- der, he caused the bar of the tavern of Gen. Sprague to be shut, so that no liquor should be sold, and none was furnished to the men. It appears in evidence, that on the afternoon of tiiat day (the 2.5th) the governor examined the works of defence on the hill, and the munitions of war there collected; reviewed and ascertained the number of effective men assembled, and made a speech to them. Very exaggerated and extravagant accoutits of the num- ber of those men have been made and circulated by those opposed to Gov. Dorr and the cause he was engaged in, as an additional pretext for charging hira with poltroonry and cowardice, in abandoning the post as he did, on the evening of the 27th. But it appears by the evidence of Potter, Corn- stock, and Carter, confirmed by others, that the force of men under arms was fluctuating — constantly cominir and going. On Saturday, the 25th, there were 225; on Sunday, the 26th, somewhat more; on Monday, the witnesses agree that they did not exceed 250 in all. The proclamation which had been issued by the prisoner, calling for the men promised before he came into the State, and on the military of the State generally, was not responded to. Of those present, about two-thirds were sufficiently armed ; the residue were miserably equipped. Some expression used by the prisoner in the speech delivered to the troops has been seized on. and tortured into fancied evidence of traitorous malignity, derogatory to the character and to the purity of the motives of the prisoner ; and two witnesses (Willis Bowen and Caleb E. Tucker) have been called on to establish the fact, and prove the expression. The attempt, however, sig- nally failed of success, and was disproved by a number of witnesses called (or the prisoner. On Sunday, the 2(3th, the interview took place at General Sprague's (then Governor Dorr's head-quarters) between the prisoner and Mr. D. J. Pearce, the particulars of which have been fully detailed to you by Mr. P. on the stand, giviiig expressions and statiurf the views, objects, and intentions of the prisoner; and 1 leave you to judge, gentlemen, whether the testimony does not negative, in the clearest and strongest terms, the corrupt and trait- orous intent with which the prisoner by the indiciment is charged. You will bear in mind also, gentlemen, some important facts sworn by the witness as having been stated to Governor Dorr in that interview, that 964 Rep. No. 546, he had seen 2,300 charter troops pass by his boardins'-hoiise in Providence the day before; that 500 or 600 in addition were then expected from the counties of Kent and Washington ; that a requisition had been made on the President, which would, witllout doubt, be favorably answered on Tues- day morning; that Colonel Bankhead was in Providence awaiting the ar- rival of orders; and that many of his warmest political friends, and officers under the people's constitution, had not only resigned their offices, but he had seen some of them the day before in the ranks of the charter troops. Some stress has been laid on the attack which it is supposed was intend- ed on the advanced post of the government troops stationed at Greenville; but it does not appear by any evidence that such an attack was ever con- templated by the prisoner. His object throughout appears to have been,, and was avowed to be, to protect the people's legislature which was to be convened at Chepachet on the 4th of July; and it was clearly intended \o adopt, as far as practicable, every measure necessary for that purpose, and to sustain and defend the people's constitution and government, and nothing more — the purpose being defence, not offence. The private opinion of Colonel Carter, respecting the taking possession of the colleges in Provi- dence, converting them into barracks, and preparing a furnace for heating shot, is not material to the issue yon are trying, and, in fact, has nothing to do wiih the present indictment. The prisoner had no knowledge of, and ]3 not implicated, in such intention ; nor is there the slightest proof or ground for supposing that he ever contemplated any such movement. Early on Monday, June 25th. the prisoner received intelligence that the charter troops were at Greenville and Scituate ; in the mean time, his friends in the city of Providence were deserting him and the cause; fourteen mem- bers of the people's General Assembly had resigned their offices at one time ; no additional force coming to liis aid and support; the charter and govern- ment force then, according to the information of Mr. Pearce, amounting probably to 3,000 men, within six or eight miles of him ; his own position nnskillfully situated ; other heights in the vicinity commanding his slighs fort; having no extensive or adequate commissary department ; not ammu- nition sufficient for an action of more than fifteen or twenty minutes dura- tion ; his military chest, containing only $70, raised among the officers by voluntary contribution ; — under these pressing circumstances, the prisoner deemed it his duty to call a council of war, and disclose the true situation in which they were placed. A council was accordingly called and held al General Sprague's, his head-quarters. All these facts were fully laid open to his oflicers, and deliberately discussed. The final result of their deliber- ations was a resolution to disband the forces forthwith, as a measure dic- tated by the severest necessity. The order for this purpose was issued at about 4 o'clock the same afternoon, sent to the hill by General D'WoIf, ac- companied by Colonel Comstock, and was then and there duly read to the soldiery ; upon which, the men immediately separated, and, as expressed by Colonel Comstock, '-dispersed as is usual after dismission ;" and, as stated by Colonel Carter, "without any haste or disorder." It appears also, by the evidence of General Sprague a\id Colonel Carter, that Governor Dorr him- self remained in the village (at Sprague's) until about sunset, which, at that season, would be about half-past 7 o'clock ; when, accompanied by Colonel Carter and a driver, he went to Thompson, Connecticut, passing in the route several parties of the retiring men. And yet, gentlemen, Governor Rep, No. 546. 965 Dorr has often been charged with precipitately running away from his tnen at Chepachet. It is also in evidence, that on the same day, after the order for disbanding had been issued by the prisoner, he enclosed a copy of it for publication, in a letter to his friend Mr, Burgess. It will be recollected that the prisoner's headquarters were in Chepachet, sixteen miles from Providence ; that one i)ody of the charter troops were at Greenville, on the direct road, and an- other body in Scituate, on the south road ; so that the messenger (Mr. Ed- dy) was intercepted, and probably somewhat delayed ; yet Mr. Burgess states that he received the communication at about dark the same evening, whilst he was reading a newspaper by the remains of dayhght ; that he read the letter in the presence of the two officers who brought it to liini, and inimediately submitted both the letter and, the copy of the order for disbanding to General McNeill^ and to the governor and council. The next day, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, their troops took possession ot the evacuated tort, and (I liad almost said) sacked the village of Chepachet, While the place was in possession of the forces of the prisoner, the rights of person and of property were lield sacred, with the slight infringements be- fore explained ; and when thei/ left it, they left it in peaceful security. What the condition of the village and its inhabitants was when the charter troops abandoned it, I am not permitted by the court to prove or state. And such was the victory of the charter troops at Acote's hill, and the termination of the Chepachet war — entering a deserted fort twelve hours ajter it was known to be abandoned ! ! But, gentlemen, it lias been charged upon the prisoner, here and elsewhere, that he brought to Chepachet, from New York, the Spartan band, with the design of leading them to the city of Providence to sack the city and cover themselves with spoils. Of the Spartan band I know only that, ni the popular slanj; of the day, they, with Governor Dorr and all his friends, and the adherents to the people's constitution, were classed under the gen- eral name of rowdies, and these were said to be foreign rowdies ; and it has been said they were to advance to the work of violation and havoc un- der the watchwords of " The baitks and the beauty of Providence.'^ Of all the thousand slanders circulated in the community to the prejudice of the prisoner, this was the most infamous, and as base as it was false. But, with regard to the Spartan band, the only evidence in the cause, touch- ing the point, is, that there were from ten to fifteen (being differently estimated by different witnesses) who joined the encampment at Chepachet on the 24th of June, the day before the arrival of Mr. Dorr from Con- necticut. They came direct from New York ; and there is no evidence ooing to show any connexion or concert between them and the prisoner. He found them, as he found the others, on the hill at his arrival ; they were there as military men; they were treated, and did their duty, in common with the others, as such ; and, for aught that appears, u ere as orderly and well behaved. They may have been foreigners, or they may not ; they were not Rhode Ishmders ; and there were also two persons there from tlie adjoining State of Massachusetts — General D'Wolf and a private. If, however, this be matter of reproach to the prisoner, the charter government are equally liable to it. Major General McNeill and some of [lis officers were nivited here from other States; and why, I can scarcely tell. It could not be from any deficiency of native military talent or capacity. That we tiave men among us " fit to stand by Cassar, (or Napoleon,) and to give di- 966 Rep. No. 546. rections." we have the very best evidence. It may be derived from the months of some of the government witnesses themselves, when speaking of their own exploits ! With tlie exceptions, however, that I have men- noned, the men composing Mr. Dorr's force were all Rliode island men — men of landed estates, or hard handed, enierprisinir mechanics; men who had voted for the adoption of the people's constitution, and for Mr. Dorr as governor under that constitution — such- men (and 1 can say nothing aga'wsi those excepted) as would be no disgrace to the .service and the cause of polit- ical freedom. I have now, gentlemen, briefly gone over the prominent points of the testimony in the cause, so as to give you a clear and connected view ot all the transactions in which the prisoner was concerned during the period of time embraced hi the several counts in the indictment, which charges the overt acts of levying war against the State on the 17th and 18ih days of May, and the 25th and 27th days of June. 1 have done this for the further purpose of calling your attention more particularly to the question oi crim- inal and malicious intent on ilie part of the prisoner. There can be no crime where there is no criminal intention. Intention is the very essence of all crime. There can be no treason where there is no trailorous intention. The mere act of levying war, whether it be actual or constructive, does not necessarily amount to treason. To constitute that crime, it must be levying war with a 'malicious and traitorous intent ; and such is the averment of each count of the present indictment. If no such averment were there, the indictment would !>• fatally defective, and you could not find the prisoner guilty under it ; and the question here is, Does the evidence offered on the part of the prosecution support the alle- 'jation, so as to justify you in finding a verdict against the prisoner? You have been already told by the court that there was no evidence or pretence cf express malice or treasonable design on the part of the traver- ser ; but that such malice and such* intent, wliere an overt act of levying war was proved, was a presumption of law, and changed the burden of proof from the government to the prisoner ; — as in homicide, the intentional killing a man the law presumed to be murder, until the person charged offered evidence that should reduce the oiFence to manslaughter, or some- thing less. This presumed traitorous intent, after all, is but a presump- tion — not a fact proved ; and may be rebutted by facts and circumstances disproving the possibility of its existence. Such, gentlemen, we contend IB the present case. You will recollect that, according to the testimony of the witness, it was with much reluctance, and after at least three other per- sons had been put in nomination and declined, that the prisoner consented to a nomination as governor at the election in April, 1842; that he received upwards of 7,()()() votes for that office; that the votes were duly returned to the Foundry legislature; that a committee was appointed to count them; that the committee reported thai the prisoner was duly elected; that the usual proclamation of such his election v.^as made; tfiat he took the required oath of otfice; that he delivered an inaugural address, or message, to the legisla- ture; and that a government under the people's constitution was fully or- gitViized and put in operation, supersedini::, as we (•.o)Ueiid, all other govern- ment in this State. You will also bear in mind an admission made by the attorney general, (Blake,) that "if the pri.-oner was in fact governor, he was justified hi all he did." Now, gentlemen, taking that evidence and that ad- mission along with you, trace every act done, every expression used, and Rep. No. 546. 967 •every measure proposed by the prisoner, from the assemblage of the people's legislature on the 3d of May, to his leaving Chepachet on the evening of the 27th of Jnne, 1842; compare and weigh the evidence whenever it con- flicts, and say, if yon can, where you find any evidence calculated to sup- port this charge of Ireasouable intent. On the other hand, gentlemen, you will find him actuated hy principles of the highest standard ; intent, not on suhvertin.^^ but on establisliin^; the government of the people; controlled by an all-pervading sense of official duty, and governed by a religious sense of the oath he had taken to supjiorl tlie people's constitution, and discharge his duty faithfully to the people of the State. I shall not attempt here to recapitulate the evidence of these particulars, having somewhat glanced at them in passing ; but it is such as frees the character of the prisoner from every imputation upon the purity of his motives and tlie unshaken consist- ency of his conduct. You have the evidence all before you, gentlemen ; and, under your oaths as jurors, you are "true deliverance" to •• make be- tween the State and the prisoner at the bar." After all, gentlemen, who is the prisoner at the bar? and how came he now before you for trial? Mr. Dorr is an educated sfentleman of the most respectable family and connexions. It is also in evidence that he, person- ally, has stood high in the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He has represented tlie city of Providence in the General Assembly. At the time he is charged with having levied war against the State, he was the treasurer of the Rhode Island Historical Society, and had in his hands the funds of that iistitufion to a large amount. He was a commissioner of the Scituate Bank, havin": coi-iirol ot its funds and securities, under an appoint- ment of the legislature; and he was president of the school committee of the city of Providence. It appears also that, as administrator or trustee, he had in his hands large amounts of the property of private individuals. During the troubles that followed the affair at the arsenal — the destitution of men, arms, ammunition, provisions, and money of the Chepachet cam- paign — during his protracted exile from the State, — did Governor Dorr em- bezzle, divert, or misap))ly these funds, or a farthing of them ? No, gentle- men, as is shown by the testimony of Mr. Burgess, he guarded the whole with the most scrupulnus care, guided by the highest sense of honor, and placed them, undiminished, beyond the reach of the perils which environed his own position. With this evidence before you, does he carry about with him any of the marks of that rmodyisni of which we have heard so much? Has not his whole course of life, his sentiments and his actions, been such as to free him from the imputation of havinof, in anything, been governed by other motives tiian a desire and a zeal for the best interests of his fellow- citizens and of the State? It has been uri^ed by the opening counsel for the State, that the prisoner, taking counsel from his fears at Chepachet, ran anay from the Stale. It would have been an act, not of wisdom or courage, but of the wildest folly, for Mr. Dorr to have bared his devoted head to the whirlwind of popular fury that then swept over the State; or, under legislative martial law, to have confided his fa» to the tender mercies of a drum head court-martial. But when the tempest had apparently passed over — when the excitement had become somewhat allayed by time — when martial law no longer fet- tered the legal tribunals of the State — he came voluntarily back to the State, and submitted himself to its tribunals. He came (when large rewards failed to bring him,) because this was his native State — his home — and because 968 Rep. No. 546. he expected, and had a right to expect, that he should be tried by a jmj of his peers of the vicinages amongst vvFiom he had always lived, and for whose benefit alone he had acted. He is now in pour hands ; and 1 repeat, gentlemen, that, in deciding on his case, you may decide upon your own fate and that of your posterity; your decision 7nay involve the fate ot American freedom — nay, of civil liberty itself. Finally, gentlemen, it the evidence to which I have directed your atten- tion should fail to satisfy your minds fully as to the purity of the pris- oner's intentions, and the absence of treasonable design on his part, and doubts remain on the subject, you are bound (and will be so instructed by the court) to throw those doubts into the scale of the prisoner, and retain a verdict of acquittal. I now leave him with you, under the conviction that the moment you take his life and liberty into your hands, you, at the same time, commit your characters through life, and your memories afier death, to the award and decision of the great tribunal of public opinion ; and I hope and trust that at its hands you may receive that justice which, in be- half of the prisoner, I claim at your hands. CLOSING REMARKS OF MR. DORR. After Mr. Turner had concluded his summing up upon the evidtnee, Mr. Dorr addressed the jury for three hours in the close of the defence. The following is a summary of his remarks : Having addressed to the court all he had to say on the subject of treason, (which he had contended was an offence against the United Stales, without admitting that any such offence had, in this instance, been committed,) he now turned to the jury, and thanked them for the patience which they had thus far manifested in attending to the proceedings of a trial necessarily protracted beyond the usual length. Although the duration of the trial had been more than once alluded to by one ot the honorable court, he de- sired to assure them that he had not intentionally trespassed on their time. Much of it had unavoidably been spent in empannehng the jury, wliich, in a case of this moment, could not be hastily done. The defendant had a right by law to twenty peremptory challenges ; and a large number of those who had been called as jurors had disqualified themselves as they were called, by replying to the questions proposed to them, that they had formed and expressed an opinion upon the charges laid in the indictment, render- ing it necessary to issue new process for summoning an additional num- ber. It would also be recollected fliat the defendant had been brought here from the county to which he belonged, professedly for a more impar- tial trial, and among those with whom he was but little acquainted, and whose qualifications and opinions could not be investigated and ascertained without special inquiry, which it had been sometimes necessary to make through witnesses, to whom the jurors were belter known than to himself. The jurors now emi)anneled had severally responded, tmder their oaths, that they had neither formed nor expressed an opinion ufTon the matters now in issue; and only through their avowed impartiality could the object be ob- tained for which the case had been, in this unusual manner, removed from the county where the offence was charged to have been committed, iiuo another, which had been equally pervaded by the political feelings and dis- Rep. No. 546. 969 cnssions which had pervaded the whole State in the eventful period of 1«42. As so much had been said about foreign notions and foreign interference, it was proper for him to remind them that he was no stranger in their midst. He had not come here from abroad to proclaim new and strange words, at war with the original doctrines upon which our government was established. He was a native citizen of Rhode Islatid ; and a portion of those from whom he claimed descent had been among the earlier settlers of the State. He was by birth, and still more, he trusted, in principle and feeling, a Rhode Island man. He did not stand before them as an alien to the common inheritance; and he was ready to meet his opponents in any attempt liiey might make to show that his efforts had been directed to any other object than the reassertion of the ancient liberties of the State, and the inherent rights of the people. The Case now presented to the jury is one of no ordinary importance, and is not lightly to be disposed of by a hasty and inconsiderate judgment. It is not a matter of dollars and cents, to be decided by an average of opin- ions ; but a question affecting: the rights and freedom, and, to all intents, the lif(3 of the accused. The seiiience consequent upon conviction is perpetual imprisonment, with the attending deprivation of -the social and political privileges of a man and a citizen — an infhctinn which might induce some minds to prefer the more friendly missive of the military tribunal. It is the duty of the jury to contemplate the results of their verdict. For though they are not directly responsible for the law, and sit here not to make, but to administer it, they may well be inspired, when they regard the personal rights which are now put in issue, with a solemn caution, with a spirit of sincere and earnest inquiry ; fearful themselves of doing a greater wrong than that which is alleged against the individual they are called upon to try, and bearing in mind that the justice of the law is not revenge, and in- sists upon no doubtful constructions of the acts of the accused. Tiie jury must be satisfied, beyond a reasonable doubt, not only of the facts, but of the legal meanii.g and purport of the facts; and they are not called upon to offer sacrifices to kState policy or to the dignity of the law. At this dis- tance of tmie from the date of the transactions in controversy, a more dis- passionate and candid investiofation was to be expected and demanded. The offence charged \s polilJcal — not against individuals, but against the State, under a system now no longer existing, "^rhe defendant necessarily does not stand alone. He acted for others. In trying him, you try also the 14,(J0il citizens who voted (or the people's constitution in 1841, and who, if there be any guilt in the doctrines of '76, are equally afuilty with him. Nay, more : you will try the principles of the American Governn:ent and the rights of the American people; and you yourselves will in turn be tried for any wounds you may inflict upon American liberty. You are not sitting here in one corner of a small State, out of the reach of observation ; and beware that no political bias incline yon to do atiy injustice to the defend- ant, by way of retribution to the party with which he is connected ; or how you permit yourselves to def^'at the ostensible object of a fairer trial in the removal of this case; and let the public have reason to believe that it has been more fair than was intended. The opening counsel tor the State (Bosworth) had not been satisfied with the customary epithets which the forms of indictment bestow on those who are brought within the pale of the courts; but he had launched out into 970 Rep. No. 546. the hins^uacre of vituperation and calumny, the not uncommon substitutes for ivasoiiing and aryiimeiit. These ebuMitiuns of mahgrjity do not so much indicate tlie character of the object upon vvfiich they are poured, as the con- dition of the source from which they spring. Real vahir never seeks to magrnfy itself by depreciating the character of those who have been over- come by the fortune of the day, and avoids all questionable exultation. An honorable mmd, in a great political controversy like this between the two parties of the 8tate, conscious itself of good motives, will be slow to impute tlie reverse to a fair and open political opponent. The coarse remarks of the assisiant lo the prosecutor are left to you, with all the weight to which they are entitled. It he he not ashamed of them, they may cause some of his friends to be ashamed of him. Without any proof that it was known at the time to the defendant, the aid of ihe prosecutor lias laid much stress on the fact that some of his rela- tives by law or blood were tbund in array against him on the 17th of May, lb42 ; and it is insinuated, by way of arousing the prejudices of the jury, that the object of the delendant was the destruction ot his own relatives and friends. In re[ily to this false and malicious charge, Mr. Dorr said, that, in periods of excitement, it mij'.ht happen, and sometimes did happen, to tlnxse who were near, and painfully to those who are also dear to each other, to be widely se[)arated even to the conflict of war. He stood almost alone in his political opinions among those who were connected with hini by blood. VVithout consulting interests, he had asked for himsell what was riu:ht, and pursued it. If his views of the sovereignty and action of the people were correct, then they who placed themselves in opposiiion to the government, and attempted to prevent the recovery of the public properly, whether strangers or relations, did so in their own wrong, and miirht with equal propriety be said to have been bent upon his own particular destruc- tion. He left them to their motives, and claimed respect for his own. "^rhere are obligations of duty from which no interest or consanguinity can furnisfi a discharffe. Mr. Dorr said that he was not aware at the time that any person related to him was enQfaged in the defence of the arsenal ; but, from wti.it had fallen from one of them, he had supposed that he intended to be. This person was not his brother, (now absent from tlie country,) whose name had been forced in iiere with a very apparent object, and who, though opposed in poHtics, was entirely capable of appreciating his moiives, as he was of making the same estimate in return. But, if he had been aware that all his clan were enlisted against the law and constitution of the State, he should not have been deterred from discharging the oath of duty which rested upon him. The offt-uce charged is somewhat of a vague nature. What is levying war? It is not a gathering of men merely with arms in their hands. 'J'his is the description of every military training or review. Against whom is it levied? The State. Who rejiresented the State at the time in Rhode Inland? Which was the true tjovernment? or, more properly, which was the aovernment? And, ajjain : for what object was war levied, if at all? Was it for any lawless, unjustifiable purpose; or in defence of government, and the most valued rights of the citizen? Here we have, in addiiion to the mere question of fact, Were certain things done or not? the much larger and more iaiportant questions of rigfits, of motives, and intentions. The indictment charges that the acts laid in it were maliciously and traitorously done. To constitute a levying of war. as it was held in 4 Granch, To, &c., Rep. No. 546. 971 there must be an assemblage of persons for the purpose of effectinjr by force a treasonable |)uipose. Ii^ulistiiieiit of men to serve aj^ainst govern- meiit is not sufficient. It is not treason, it thus seems, to enhst men lor service, even aijainsi a lawful jjovernment; much less is it to enhst ihem and to bring them into service against an nnlavvhil one, existing by usurpa- tion, and contendniff with Ibrce against that by which it has been rigbt- fuMy supplanted. You will also bear in mind the admission of the attor- ney general, who properly stated, in the ouisel of the case that, if the de- fendant were the governor of the State, he had a rigiit to do wtiat lie did. It is thus perfectly evident that the true question essential to a fair trial is that of riif/iis anti niotives. There must be a treasonable intent in the levying of war, to constitute any treason at all ; not a mere knowledge of what one is about, but a deliberate, set purpose and treason of the mind ; as in cases of homicide, the act njay be murder, or man.slaughter, or no offence at all, according to circumstances and intentions. Mr. Dorr said, that, in the argument ot this case, he had the disadvan- tage of appearing before the jury without the aid of his principal counsel, Mr. Atwell, upon whom he had relied for all the closing arguments, who had been overtaken and disabled by a severe illness just before the com- mencement of the case, when it was too late for the defendant to niake any preparation. While he desired to acknowledge the zeal, fidelity, ability, and industry of the genileinan who assisted him, he could not but feel the absence of a counsellor, whose letjul eminence and eloquence, practical ex- perience, and just weight as a lawyer in this court, were of so much im- portance to his clients. 1( the defendant have anythinof to advanc ■ in his own fivor, it will be said to come from a too partial source, and it weighs nothing. What he admits, is taken strongly against him ; and what he may say concerning himself, may be, for the most part, better said by another. The defence, as well as the prosecution, has drawn out upon the exam- ination of witnesses a Ions detail of facts. My sfreat objtH^t, said Mr. Uorr, has been to have all the facts of the case correctly ascertained ; to disalaise it of all the falsehoods and calumnies with which it has been invested by the malignant ingenuity of puliticai enemies; and to disprove ail tlie |)re- tended charijes that have been so often repeated against myself, my political associates, and the political party with whom we have acted. 1 have aided by questions and by witnesses in bringing all the fiicis to light. There are, and have been, no secrets in the cause in which I have been engaged ; there is nothitiij, so far as 1 am aware, that might not safely be brouijht to the liirht of day. In August last, I published, over my own name, a state- ment of all the transactions now in controversy, from beginniuii to end, which was generally circulated in this State. It does not difier perceptibly from the present testimony. I am willing to put it into the case, as a part of it, il the prosecutor do not object. I should liave been willing to save (fiis investiifation by so doing; but it was not for the defendant to prescribe the mode of proceeding by the prosecutor, who, of course, would not have ad- mitted the account of the defendant to be correct, and expected to make a case much more favorable to his own side of the question. And here, let it be asked of common candor and fairness, after listening to the testimony, what has become of the shameful and groundless imputa- tion conveyed in the fabricated watchword of "l)eauty ;ind the banks;" of the " foreio;!! desperadoes," who were to plunder and burn the city of Prov- idence, and to invade the domestic purity of its homes ; of the intervention 972 Rep. No. 546. of citizens abroad for any other object than to arrest the unjustifiable inter- ference of the President with State rights ; of the general appropriation of private property to miUtary uses; of "the lawless and intemperate charac- ter" of those engaged in the people's cause; of the "forcible enlistments;" of the "Stale scrip;" of the "sword dyed in blood;" of the "waiving of the torch and the firing of the gun ;" and the hundred other stories and inventions that were got up by political managers and editors for effect, and have had their day. and have answered all that was expected of them? They were no doubt believed by some, with that credulity which alarm creates. And there were others who availed themselves of this slight pre- tence to go over, and basely and treacherously abandon the cause of the people to the enemy. Henceforth, let the retailers ot these calumnies, which have been put down in and out of court, hold their peace. The alleged invasion of private property by the sufl^rage men at Chepa- chet, of which so much had been attempted at the time to be made by their opponents, was reduced to three instances : a horse borrowed, used, and re- turned; a cow taken and paid for; and a lew boards burnt on the hill ! The question was asked, whether the village of Chepachet, the day after it was left by the suffrage men, was not sacked by the charter troops? But this, we were told, had nothing to do with the issue, and could not begone into ! It was irrelevant ! There was a contrast to be disclosed. Of all that was really done by me, said Mr. Dorr, (aside from the fabrica- tions alluded to,) or that I had a part in doing, I deny nothing. 1 should disdain to make such a denial here or elsewhere, to preserve either liberty or life. Defendant said that if any fact had not been brought out in the testimony, which the jury were desirous of knowhig, and which was with- in his knowledge, he was ready to state it. My defence before you, said Mr. Dorr, is a justification throughout. What I did, 1 had a right to do ; having been duly elected governor of this State under a rightfully adopted and valid republican Slate constitution, which 1 took an oath to support, and did support to the best of the means placed within my power. He then alluded to the extraordinary embarrassment in which he was placed in this portion of the defence, by the refusal of the court to permit him to make good his justification, by exhibiting the proofs of his election as governor, and the proofs of the adoption of the people's constitution, un- der which he had been elected ; the votes given upon it having been brought here for the express purpose of authenticating it to the jury. Nor was he permitted, directly or otherwise, than in incidental remarks, to main- tain, either to the court or jury, the right of the people of Rhode Island, upon American principles, to form and adopt this constitution ; nor to argue any other question of law to the court or jury, than whether treason be an offence against a State or against the United States ; nor to introduce pro >fs of his election, and of the constitution, to repel the charge of malicious and traitorous motives; nor to show by authorities that the jury are, in capital cases, the judges both of the law and of the fact. It was with extreme surprise and regret that he thus found himself de- barred from his true defence. The fdcts being thus plain before the jury — that the defendant had, on several occasions attempted to carry into effect, by military force, the constitution and government of the people, and as the chief magistrate of the Stare — the jury will very naturally ask, how did ail this come to pass? By what authority did the defendant these things? Rep. No. 546. 97S The reply to your very natural inquiry is a blank. The defendant is most anxious to proceed before you, and to eslabhsh all these rights; but he is not permitted. He must look to you to take care of them. He is in the con- dition of the mariner whose bark has been stripped by an adverse gale, and who, in directnig his course to the land, can expect to reach it only with the aid of a jury mast. The votes that were cast for the people's constitution are at hand. They who gave them are not flir off. The acts of the people's legislature, under this constitution, can be proved in a moment. These and the unanswera- ble proofs that popular sovereignly is the just source of government, were what It was desired lo lay directly before you. By the refusal of the court, the defendant feels that he has been deprived of a great right, and that jus- tice has been denied him. Whether the doctrines on which the republic rests be admitted here or not, they are unchangeably the same. The de- fendant has no desire to r^ract his subscription to them. Some ages ago, a natural philosopher was accused and silenced before the inquisition, for teaching that the earth turned on its axis. As he re- tired, alter his forced confession to the contrary, from the presence of the officers of the justice of that day, he exclaimed "Still it turns:" and, in spite of all opposition of f^ilse philosophy, ii has turned ever since. There are other immutable doctrines, and other honest convictions, which cannot be forced out of a man by any human process. The sun will not rise, said Mr. Dorr, upon any recantation by me of the truths of '76, or of any one of the sound principles of American freedom. The servants of a righteous cause may fail, or fall in the defence of it. It may go down ; but all the truth that it contains is indestructible, and will be treasured up by the great mass of our countrymen. If I have erred in this Rhode Island question, said Mr. Dorr, I have the satisfaction of liaving erred with the greatest statesmen and the highest au- thorities, and with the great majority of the people of the United States; and I have the satisfaction also of reflecting that all errors of judgment here will be corrected by the great tribunal of public opinion, which as- sures to all ultimate and impartial justice. Here the defence might end. The facts are before you. You cannot avoid the question of right, imperfectly as it comes to you. But there is one re- maining point — tlie amount and purport of the evidence. It is due to him- self that the defendant should make some further allusion to it, by way of explanation of his conduct and motives during the period of affairs that has been passed in review. To this subject the" remainder of his remarks will be confined. Monday Afternoon, May 6. Mr. Dorr resumed his remarks. It had been charged against him, that he had originated an unnecessary movement in this State, and that it had been persevered in without good reasons. Both these charges he proposed now to consider. It is impossible that any man should stand alone in any attempt at po- litical reform like that which has recently taken place in Rhode Island. It is not within the compass of human ability to create a set of circumstances to suit a scheme of ambition involving any considerable change in the affairs of a State. The utmost that any individual can do, is to be present and to take a part, more or less efficient, in a movement originating in gen- 974 Rep. No. 546. eral causes, and afFectitior large portions of the people. The people of this country, and of this State, and, it may be added, of the race to which we belong-, are not addicted to change ibr the sake of change merely. It is a libel upon thetn to say that they are not capable of thinking and acting for themselves. In all those movements relating to the organization and the amendment of forms of government, there are deeply-hiid causes beyond the control of individuals, and most frequently of remote origin and long continuance, to which the final resrdt is to be attributed. "^I'he events of 1842 grew naturally out of a long train of evils and abuses running far back, and which require a brief consideration, m order fairly to indicate the remedy which was proposed, and to explain the conduct of those who were concerned in applying it to the existing condition of affairs. A glance at our political history will exhibit the origin of all the troubles which fiHve of late agitated and distracted this State. Mr. Dorr said he desired to repel the imputation which had been cast on those with whom he had ncted, and himself; that they commenced their undertaking with a disparagement of their ancestors, the venerable founders of our civil polity. Much had been said about the charter government, and the early institutions of the State. He then paid a tribute to the char- acter of Roger Williams, as the founder of American democracy, and the author of the true system of religious liberty, in its relation to the political systtm. and tlie inalienable rights of conscience and private judgment. To this illuslrious man (the greatest in the ante-revolutionary history of the country) was the colony of Rhode Island mainly indebted for the un- exampled degree of freedom here enjoyed, and for democratic institutions, to the origin of which every right-minded son of this State must look with a just and honorable pride. In the heat of political controversy, the sins of the royal grantor of the charter, and of those whose mal-administration of the government under it had subsequently planted the seeds of futute evils, had been laid upon the charter itself, which was in its day, and long subsequently, a monument of liberty. The charter had well done its office ; and, at the period of the revolution, or as soon afterward as circumstances^ would permit, should have been consigned to the archives of the State, to be held in perpetual veneration for the benefits that it had bestowed. Mr. D. referred to his past addresses and appeals to freeholders and non free- holders during the course of the controversy, from the first period of his connexion with it, in proof of the statement he had made. It was the patrimony of Roger Williams and his associates which this colony long enjoyed. It pos5;essed the freest government on earth, with a remote dependence on Great Britain. The result of the efforts and doc- trines of Williams was the formation here of a peculiar people, in advance of the times in which they lived, jealous of their rights, fixed in their opinions, disposed to think and act for themselves, and to exercise freedom of speech without regarding personal consequences. This spirit was con- firmed by the local position of the colony, with a limited domain betweea two stronger neighbors, bent on aggrandizing themselves at its expense, and never relinquishing, down to the period of the adoption of the federal constitution, the design of annexing it to their respective territories. The way of our fathers was to hear freely, to discuss openly, to conceal nothing, and to act without fear. They were not to be driven by authority or dicta- tion of any kind. This old-fashioned spirit, it is to be regretted, has been i Rep. No. 546. 975 depressed by recent events ; but, let it be hoped, not beyond the possibility of oltimate recovery. This originally free democratic g^overnmeiit passed ihroiiffh a period of deijeiieration, from which it has of late been partially restored. It is now 120 years since the first detinite landed qualification of voters was estab- lished bylaw. It was at first a (pialification lor siirt"rage; it became at length a hmitation of sntfrage, and a badge of exclusion from poliiical rights. Nearly all the adult inhabitants were at first, as now among the western settlements, the owners of land. 'I'his landed qualification may have been justified at the time, by the State policy of resisting undue in- fluences from abroad, through a requisition upon all who came to incor- porate themselves with the colonists, that before they became a part of tlie political body they should identify themselves with the population by this visible sign of adhesion and permanent residence. But such a policy has long ceased to exist; and through the property restriction, as this quali- fication at length became, the government of the State was transformed into a landed oliijarctiy. Up to the period of the revolution, when the population was about three- fifths of its present number, there were no complaints. But with the in- crease of population, they were manifested ; and, through neglect, were deepened mto a sironyr disaffection toward the existing order of the State. A committee, consisting of the governor and other distinguished indi- viduals, was appointed, at the breaking out of the Revolution of 1776, to inquire what changes in the government were requisite to adai)t it to the new order of things. But the committee made no report. The subject was again revived about the period of 1799, without a result. In 18M a bill (draughted by the present district judge) to extend suffrage to all persons paying taxes and performing military duty, was passed by the Senate, and was laid on the table in the House of Representatives. A bill of half a dozen lines would at any time have accomplished the desired end, and have pre- vented all the subsequent difticulties. In 1819 the defects in the State gov- ernment v/ere again brought under consideration, principally as connected with th« grossly unequal representation in the lower house; the county of Providence, in its ratable property, being liable, through direct taxation, to the princi[ial burdens of the State, while it was entitled to a disproportionate force in the body by which they v/ere imposed. [iVlr. Dorr here read an eloquent passage from the political writings, in the year 1820, of the late lamented .lames D. Knowles, in which the consequences of this unwise de- lay of a political reform of the State were strongly pointed out ; and the ne- cessity which might occur to the people of taking the matter into their own hands, as an ultimate resort, for the redress of grievances, was clearly pre- dicted.] In 1824 a freeholders' convention was held for (he formation of a State constitution, which was rejected. A proposition made in this body to ex- tend snfiVage beyond the landed qualification, received three votes. The next attempt to obtain an extension of snfirage was commenced in 1829 by the non freeholders, whose memorials to the General Assembly were treated with contiiinely in the report of a committee of the House, which descril:)ed them as unworthy of any serious consideration. In 1834 the attention of the freeholders was again called to the restricted condition of suffrage in the State. In that year the defendant was elected a representative irom Providence, as the advocate of political reform, and of a republican State 976 Rep. No. 546. constitution ; and should his political life be now brono;ht to a close, as one of the results of this protracted contest, it will end as it began — in the just cause of the disfranchised inhabitants claiming their due share of the birth- right of American citizens. Tlie constitutional party of freeholders, .which was lliis year formed, received but little encouragement, and expired after an ineffectual struggle of nearly four years. The condition of things brought to the consideration of the legislature was hardly to be paralleled in any of the States. A majority of tlie House of Representatives in this body was chosen to represent less than one third of the inhabitants of the State; and the electors of these representatives were about a third of the adult male population in the towns that sent them ; so that the conjoint operation of unequal representation and of limited suf- frage was to vest all the political power of the State in about one-ninth part of the resident citizens of the United States in Rhode Island — an inequality too unjust and oppressive to be much longer tolerated in the land of Roger Williams, so long as there survived among the people any portion of the an- cient spirit of the State. A freeholders' convention was again called in 1S34, in which, as a mem- ber from Providence, the defendant, as he had before done in the legislature, urged upon his associates the immediate duty and expediency of redressing the political inequality of the State, through the forms of law. A proposi- tion made by him for the extension of suffrage, received but seven votes ; and the convention dissolved without proposing any constitution to the freemen. The natural conclusion, from this brief view of the facts, in the mind of every man of ordinary intelligence and candor, will be, that the responsi- bility for all consequences is on the heads ot those who have so long denied, or have exerted themselves to defeat, the just rights of the people of this State. And everyone will see at a glance the futility of the attempt to ascribe to the dissatisfaction or to the ambition of any individual, or a few individuals, the rising up of the men of Rhode Island, under a sense of common wrongs, for the final attaimnent of just and equal rights. It was in vain, on the part of those who undervalue the right of suffrage, and who flatter themselves with the ability to govern others better than they can govern themselves, to repel the non-freeholders with the answer that they were better off under the protection of the landed system. While the British subject claims to be well governed, it is the birthright and glory of American citizens to govern themselves. The right of suffrage is the guardian of civil liberty. The only security for just and impartial and beneficent legislation is in the universal right to participate in choosing those who make and administer the laws. The non-freeholder, who was worthy to be counted among the represented population, felt himself equally worthy to vote for the representative himself. He came to this conclusion from a just estimate of his own character ; of his worth and natural equality as a man ; of his proportionate contribution to the support of the public burdens. State and national ; of his productive industry in creating the com- mon wealth, and contributing to the common welfare of the State; from a view of the free institutions of other States, by which he was constanlly re- minded of his own privations, and which held up before him rights irom which he felt himself to be debarred by no natural mark of inferiority or in- capacity, but by the arbitrary and selfish exclusion of men no belter than himself. Rep. No. 546. 977 The result of this long denial of justice was the creation of two distinct ■classes of citizens — the people at large, claiming, by virtue of the revolution, the sovereignty of the State ; and tlie qualified freemen, who possessed and exercised tlie political power, and governed the rest, accordino; to their will and pleasure. And this state of things, always dangerous to the tranquillity of a country where all are professedly equal, led to a collision between the two classes, and to the events of l841-'2. The next and final attempt to obtain their rights was begun by the non- freeholders in 1840, through the general orgauiziiion of a political partv. With its proceedings you are already aoquaiiUed. The non freeholders were excluded, as they always had been, from any participation in the choice of delegates to the convention to frame a constitution, which was called by the General Assembly in January, 1841. They knew from ex- perience what was to be expected from such conventions; but, before they proceeded to assert their own rights, they looked once more to the legis- lature for a concession to their reasonable chtims. At the subsequent May session, a bill was presented to the House of Representatives by Mr. Atwell, which was drawn by the defendant, and which provided that the citizens generally sliould be authorized to vote for the delegates to the convention. At the June session it was amended of his own motion, by the member who had introduced it, so as to confine that temporary extension to tax payers only — a proposition which received but ten votes. The door was thus closed upon the non-freeholders of the State, and they turned away from the existing government with the entire conviction that the lime had now arrived to redress their own grievances through that power which is the superior of all others. They called a popular conven- tion on a free basis. That convention framed a republican constitution, which, three months before the rejection of that of the landholders' conven- tion, was adopted and ratified by the votes of a vast majority of the whole people. This would have been demonstrated to you, if the court had per- mitted the votes, which have been brought here for the purpose, to be pre- sented for your examination, as the defendant most earnestly desired. Under this constitution, the defendant was duly elected to the office of gov- ernor of the State — a fact which he is debarred from proving by the pro- hibition of the court. In the name and by the authority of those who are the true source of power, he has acted in the capacity to which he was as- signed, not to do his own will, but the will of the people of this State. This is his true and sufficient defence. Mr. Dorr then passed to the remaining topic — the manner in which his duty had been discharged, in connexion with the question of motives ; giving an outline of affairs relating to the organization of the people's gov- ernment, and of the subsequent proceedings. The defendant was nominated for governor shortly before the publication of the letter of President Tyler, in wliich he threatened his intervention in the political affaip of the State. The defendant accepted the nomination, though his means did not warrant him in so doing, at the urgent request of political friends, after three others, (one of them connected with the op- posite poHtical party in general politics) had declined it, and it had become apparent that, unless the defendant accepted, there would be no candidate,. and an organization under the constitution might be defeated. This he would not sutler to occur, if he could prevent it. As c-liairman of the Stale committee, he would not see the constitution die in his hands. He did not 62 978 Rep. No. 546. seek the nomination, nor did he dech'ne it when the absohite necessity fiad arisen, nor shrink from any duty or responsibility connected with ihe office. He was elected by the people. At the appointed time the General Assembly was convened, and was attended by a military escort to the place of meet- inw. It is unnecessary to repeat the proceedings of that body, many of which have been detailed to you. By a remarkable oversight, they per- mitted the judiciary to remain unchanged. Upon a proposition, made in the House of Representatives, to instruct the sheriff to take possession of the Slate-house for the use of the Assembly, there was a division of opinion ; three fourths of the members being op- posed to such a step, and in favor of a simple request only for the opening of the building. This ill judged omission was of fatal consequences. The day was thus lost, and ultimately the cause itself, through the vacillating and retreating disposition of its friends. They held, on that day, everything in their own hands. All might then have been accomplished without loss or injury to any one. My views to the contrary of the course then adopted (said Mr. Dorr) are well known to you and to my fellow citizens. 1 have been accused of dic- tating to others the conduct of our affairs. If this had been the case, and it had been in my power to enforce an implicit compliance on their part, it is not a little singular that, at this most important crisis, my associates should have sacrificed my judgment to their own. Believing that a gov- ernment on paper was no government at all, I desired to see it put imme- diately into action, by taking possession of the public property, and bring- ing the whole case to a practical issue at once. This was my opinion, desire, and advice. They yielded to other feelings and opinions, dreading also the interference of the national Executive. The first and best oppor- tunity was suffered to pass by. The cause declined and died. Had the leo-islature been disposed on that day to avail themselves of that "tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune," the people's government would have gone fully into operation, and the Stale would have peaceably acquiesced. But, although the legislature did not incline to active measures at this time, they nevertheless, very near the close of the session, passed a resolution requiring all persons having possession of any of the public property to surrender it to their successors in office, leaving to the defendant, as governor, the responsibility of carrying this act into effect, under his oath of office to execute the laws. The time of the defendant was occupied with the signing of commissions and with the other business of the executive, until he left for Washington, at the request of a number of his friends, and of a large public meeting held by the suffrage association in Providence. The object of this visit to Wash- ington was to make a true representation of our affairs to the President, and to avert his intervention to suppress the rights of the people. No flivorable result was attained. The defendant remained some days on his return at New York, and con- ferred with friends in that city, irpon one special subject, by wliich he had been mainly induced to leave Providence at this interesting period of events. He referred to obtaining assistance of men from abroad to repel this threat- ened interference of the President ; which he and others believed to be un- constitutional, and a most unjustifiable outrage on the rights of the people of Rhode Island. He addressed the democratic citizens of that place at Tammany hall ; stating to them, most explicitly, the sole ground on which Rep. No. 546. 979 ih^.y were called upon to act — not as intermeddlers between two political parties in a State, but only in the case distinctly proposed ; freely avowing that, if the people of Rhode Island, when left to themselves, without the interference of the United Slates, were not capable of maintaining their own rights, they did not deserve to be free. The appeal was cheerfully responded to. 'I'he answer was tlie outburst of warm and generous tiearts devoted to tlie great cause of popular rights. Five thousand — nay, almost any rumiber — were disponed to pour themselves out to arrest this ureal in- justice now threatened to the more numerous party in Rhode Island, by throwins: into the opposite scale the military forces of the United States. The deffsndant then alluded to his interview at New York with Major William G, McNeill, who had stated here in his testimony that defendant had, in a half-jesting way, offered to him the command of his men, and who, as defendant supposed, was friendly to the suffrage cause. The com- ments on Mr. Pearce's testimony, which fell from McNeill, had been occa- sioned by a misapprehension by Mr. Pearce of defendant's conversation with him. Defendant did not say that at Chepachet he had been, a few days before, advising with Mr. McNeill respecting military affairs. De- fendant meant to be understood that he had seen this gentleman not a long time before— alluding to this meeting in the city of New York. Defend- ant had never seen him since, nor had any correspondence with him du- ring the recent difficulties, nor had he any reason to suppose that he had not been faithful to the charter government', though defendant was sur- prised to hear of his appointment as the charter general, having supposed him to be favorable to the other s'.de. Mr. Dorr then passed to the public meeting on Federal hill, upon the day of his return to Providence. The reason of his producing a nuiTiber of witnesses, who stood very near him when he made his address on that occasion, was to refute the testimony which had been given by two politi- cal opponents, respecting ''the sword dyed in blood"— an expression which they liad attributed to him. This testimony was not founded in fact, and had been clearly and sufficiently contradicted. The object evidently was, to hold up the defendant as blood-thirsty, and desiring destruction for its own Sake — a representation which would not be readily credited by those who were acquainted with him. The defendant alluded to the taking of the cannon of the artillery com- pany on tlie afternoon of the I7th of May, as having been done by his order, and with the consent of the company themselves. Affairs had now arrived at that point where the defendant must either surrender to the charter government who aimed at his arrest, resign his office, or enforc^e the laws under the government of the people. The de- fendant had no disposition to abandon the cause, while there was any ground to stand upon. He could not retire from the contest, believing himself to be on the jnst side of it, and encouraged by the voice of the citizens, who had so often and unequivocally avowed their intention and readiness to support the government, whenever they should be called upon. Not to have proceeded, would have been to incur itnpntations which no honorable man would suffer to rest upon him. The time had now come to carry the laws into effect. The Assembly had directed that all the public property should be delivered up. This resolution had not been complied with. It was of great importance that the arms of the State should be recovered from the opposing government, 980 Rep. No. 546. which had riorhtfnlly ceased to exist. After consultation with the military officers present at a meeting in the evenino- of the 17th of May, the de- fendant ordered that a movement should be made to sjain possession of the arsenal in Providence, where these arms were deposited. A force of 234 men proceeded to execute this purpose, not far from 2 o'clock on the morn- ing of the I8ih May; first repeating the demand, which had been already niade by the General Assembly, foj the surrender of this portion of the pubhc |)roperty. Mr. Dorr then described the proceedings at the arsenal, after a demand for its surrender had been made and refused ; the placing ot the men and pieces in position ; the change of position in consequence of the darkness occasioned by a dense fog, whicii had come up after the force had been put in motion for the arsenal ground ; the detachment of a body of men to lie very near to the building, to carry it by assault, so soon as the door should be opened to return the first fire of the artillery without; the order to fire; the flashing of the pieces, which were rendered unserviceable by dampness or water, and could not be discharged; the immediate disorgan- )z;ation and retreat of the men without orders; the withdrawal of the pieces, and the return of the defendant, after daylight, with the last of the men, about thirty in number, to headquarters at Anthony's house. The statement that the defendant had attempted to fire one of the artillery pieces was not true. The tendency, if not the intention, of this story, was to show a development of destruciiveness on the part of the defendantj which could not intrust to subordinates the performance of duties whicli they were ready and more competent to discharge. The defendant did not: that night wave a torcl), or apply it to either of the guns. A commander may be placed in a position vi^here it devolves upon him to do the work of others. No such necessity there occurred. Tfie defendant gave the order to fire the pieces. The whole responsibility rests on him. The defendant then further proceeded to describe the occurrences of the morning of the 18ih ; the return to Anthony's house of only sixty men ; the appointment of new officers ; the preparation to maintain the ground ; the firing of the signal suns at 7 o'clock, without the return of more men ; the receipt of a letter from several members of the legislature in Providence, stating tfiat the members in the city had resigned their places, and that all support was withdrawn from the aovernor; the report to defendant of the commanding officer that the men who had remained were leaving; the al- ternatives of a surrender or a retreat; the order to the commnndmg officer to fall back with those who were left, and to dismiss them in his discretion ; the departure of defendant at half-past 8 o'clock ; the arrival of the charter forces, 6(JU to 81)0 in number, from one to two hours afterward in the fore- noon ; the conduct of the 27 suffrage men who fell back with the pieces and kept them ; the pretended " compromise," with which defendant had^ and could have, nothing to do — the suggestion to compromise a constitu- tion bearing absurdity on its face. Defendant said that, if a rally had taken place in Providence after he left on the 18th, it was his intention to return. Defendant went directly to the city of New York, where he remained till the 2lst of June, when he left, that place for Norwich, in the State of Connecticut, It will here be asked, why, after so unpromising a result, and such a failure of support, any further attempt was not abandoned as iujpracticable and hopeless, and the defendant did not regard himself as discharged from Rep. No. 546. 981 any further obligation to the cause and the government, which he had thus iiiefFectiialiy endeavored to carry into effect. The reply is, that rights and duties are not to be measured by degrees of success or faihire. The cause was the same ; the obligations restnig upon the commander-in-chief were not reheved by any events which liad as yet occurred. The constitution ivas vahd and subsisting. The people could abandon it by their votes or by their acts. They had done neither. This uiisadventure in the city of Providence v/as attributed to unforeseen circumstances, to accident, to the want of a more general notice iu the country towns for a general rally at the headquarters of the State, to a temporary panic in the city, to the pusil- lanimity of leading friends M the cause in that place, from whoai better things were expected, and whose hearts had failed them iu the moment of trial. Encouraging reports and statements were received by the defendant, through letters and by visiters, from various parts of the State, all indica- ting an earnest desire to retrieve the late disaster, to regain the position that had been lost, and to carry into complete effect the constitution and government of the people. A second opportunity, he was assured, would not be lost upon the defenders of the common cause, whom defeat had aroused to new exertions. Favorable expectations were entertained by them from the transfer of the legislature to the country from the city; and which would have the effect of drawing together a great body of men for its protection, and to overcome resistance to its laws. The quotas of men in the several towns, including Providence, wh.o were pledged to support the defendant whenever he should again call upon them, amounted to 1,3()(). It was my duty (said Mr. Dorr) to give the people another opportunity to sustain their government; and if it had not been given, the loss of the cause and the death of the constitution would have been laid at my door, and by many who had promised to stand by them to the last. No such charge now rests upon me, or can impeach my memory. 1 left New York (said Mr. Dorr) with the general intention of carrying into effect the government under the people's constitution, but not without a proper consultation as to the time and manner of proceeding. The defendant reached Norwich on the 22d of June, and sent an order to Glocester to convene a council of military officers, who were to consult whether any steps could nov/ be taken, and, if so, what. It they should deem it expedient to select a spot of ground for defence, they were caution- ed to find a position that was tenable. No council was held. A precipitate gathering of men took place at Chepachet, without orders, on the 23d. The capture of Shelley and his associates gave the first impulse. They were supposed to be the scouts of an attacking party on the village of Chepachet. When Col. Comstock in his tesimiony stated that this was an " accidental meeting," he meant to be understood that it was voluntary, and without command, or the specification of any definite object beyond the present pro- tection of the place. Hiving been inf )rmed that 500 men in arms were already thus assem- bled at Chepachet, the defendant set out and arrived there on the morning of the 25(h of June. He forthwith issued a proclamation to convene the legislature at that pi ice, instead of Providence, on the 4th of July. He also issued and repealed special written orders to the military in all the towns of the county ol Providence, and as much firther as practicable, to repair !o headquarters, and support the governmeni of the State against all op- position, preseut or intended. Ample notice was given to a large majority 982 Rep. No. 546. of the friends of the constitution of the exigency which now required theh services; and those wIjo had pledged tlieinselves to respond to tlie call ol their commander, had now the desired opportunity to manifest the sincerity of their professions, and the reahty of their devotion to the cause of ilie people. The appearance of things on liis arrival was to the defendant justly the occasion of surprise and disappointment. A slight breast work was found thrown up on two of the sides of a iiill, whicli was commanded by several other heights. There were then about 140 persons in arms. Un Satur- day afternoon an order was given on the lull, by defendant, to count all the armed men ; and the return consisted of one hnndred and eighty or ninety ; some thirty of whom shortly after left the ground, and returned to tlieir homes. It was a volunteer movement. None were forced into the ranks, and, until Monday the 27ih, all were at liberty to depart as freely as they came. On that day all who took up arms were required to retain them, and to sub- mit to the usual discipline of the camp. Of the large number of spectators from various quarters, few remained to share the forUmes of the field with those who occupied Acott's hill. 1'heir curiosity was satisfied, and they departed. Of the 4U0 to 6Ul) who were pledged in the city of Providence, 35 men and lU officers arrived at the camp. The greatest nunjber of the military at any one lime, during the affair at Chepachet, including all in the place v/ho were under arms and subject to orders, was about 225. This was the average statement also of all the witnesses who were in the best position to know ; and you have heard their testimony. Among thi uj, are the colonel in command, the acting adjutant general, one of the aids of the comu)ander-in chief, and several spectators wlio visited the hill, and who took no part in the trans- actions of the tinie. Tlie defendant alluded lo the perversion, by political mahce, of some of the expressions in an address to the troops; to the 13 "Spartans," as they were called, from New York, (whose numbers and designs were so much mag- ijified at the time by our opponents f )r political effect,) as a company of mechanics, whose leader was an engraver, and a man of remarkable abilities; to the capture ol Mr. Knight as a spy, from whom it is now first heard that he was fired upon before his capture by one of the guards ; to the national flag under whicli the men were assembled ; to the defective supply of pro- visions, sufficient only for a (ew days, and received by contribution, or pur- chased with means collected on the ground ; to the want of balls for the ar- tillery, there being only enougli for an engagement of about 15 minutes; to the means for carrying on a campaign, which were too smtill to be named,, the reliance being on tlie prompt action of the great mass who voted for the people's constitution ; to llie tenjperance which was maintained by closing and keeping closed, at defendant's request, the bar of the public liouse ; to. the respect paid to private properly, which was enjoined on all by the com- mauder-in chief. Will) regard to the desian to take the city of Providence, of which so much has been said, all that could have been implied in it Was to seat the legislature in the house which was appropriated to them, and to deiend ihem there; to place the public officers where they belouged, and to sustain them and the government generally by all necessary means. But there was nothing in the condition ofafiiurs at Chepachet to suggest this step; and no such plan was ever suijgested among the oflicers, whatever might have Rep. No. 546. ' 983 been the wishes or the words of individuals. Of course, there was no proposition for occupying the collejje buildina^s in Providence as barracks; thouo^h they were tendered by the president of that institution to the char- ter troops, and occupied for this purpose. All the surmises of an intention on the part of the suffrage forces to enter Providence, with the watchword of "beauty and the banks," and to invade the pro{)erty and the homes of the citizens, were the base inventions of the enemy. The defendant pointed the jury, with feelings of just pride, to the gene- ral af^pearance of the " men of Chepachei" who had been summoned here as witnesses, if the jury were desirous of seeing what description of per- sons they were who took up and retained arms for the constitution and rights of the people. It appears from the testimony, that these brave and true- hearted men were, for the most part, hard-handed farmers and mechanics, already possessed ofsuffrage tliemselves, and coming forth to contend for the rights of their imfranchised fellow-citizens, who chose to stay at home. Let no reproaches be cast upon these men of Chepachet, said Mr. D. Let them rather fall on me, in whatever form, or upon whatever pretence, rather than on the associates who so nobly responded to the call of duty, in the dis charge of which they were ready to sacrifice their lives. They were not only, with the vast odds against them, ready to defend their post, but to meet their opposers halfway on the road. When the rumor of an approach- ing force reached tliem, they stood at their quarters, to return with interest what they might receive. However it might now be the fashion to dispar- age the men of Chepachet, the time was not distant when a general public opinion would attribute to their agency all the political liberty that is now possessed in Rhode Island. It is a fact, that may be denied, but which is fully sustained by evidence, tluit the bill to call a convention to frame a constiiution was not introduced and passed in the charter legislature of 1842, until the legislature had become satisfied that an actual gatheri/ig of men in arms had taken place at Chepachet. Tlie shield of their attack upon one constitution, was the promise to substitute another. '^rhe defendant then referred to the mortifying but indisputable evi- dence presented to himself and his associates, that the people of the State had ceased to desire that their government should be defended and carried into effect. They had been called like " spirits from the vasty deep," but they did not come. No attention had been paid to the military orders sent lo the towns. We were not supported by the people. We had assembled at Chepachet, not as a faction, to contend for our own special interests, but for the common welfare. We were not only abandoned by our party men, but remonstrated with, denounced, and condemned by them. They were even taking up arms against us. VVe were reduced to the necessity of fighting both our friends and our enemies. The will of the people thus manifested was olieyed, and we ceased to contend. The defendant then went on to describe the call and proceedings of the council of military officers, and their deliberations on tlie course which it was most proper to pursue. The defendant laid before them the state of affairs, and his own opinion that it was impracticable for them, of them- selves, and in the midst of a general desertion, to maintain the position which tfiey had assumed. The conclusion of the council was, that duty required ns to disband. The order to this effect was approved by the sepa. rate voice of the members. It was communicated to tfie men in camp by the general commanding, between six and seven o'clock in the afternoon 984 • Rep. No. 546. of Jnne 27th. As it had not been discussed among the men, it may have occasioned surprise and dissatisfaction with some who were not aware of all the facts. But the feeling was momentary. And we separated, tliono;h with hiiter regrets, yet with the conviction that onr duty had been fully discharged to ourselves and to the cause. The order to disband was given when no enemy was near, and it could be issued and obeyed without dis- honor. The charter forces did not present themselves in the village of Chepachet till the next day, thirteen hours after the disbandment ; and then they would have found no trophies, had the order to dismantle the hill been complied with. A letter containing the( rder to disband was forthwith communicated to Mr. Burgess, a friend in Providence, for publication in the Express, the paper of the suffrage party; but the order was intercepted in Providence, delivered to Mr. B, read by him in the presence of the captprs, and shortly after, in the same evening, before the governor and several of his council and the commanding general McNeill; all of whom were thus early in- formed that they had no enemies to contend with, and were able to govern their future movements accordingly. The defendant left Chepachet about an hour after the disbandment had taken pbice, at a quarter before eight, in company with Colonel Carter^ one of his aids. Thus ended all attempts to carry into effect the government set up under the constitution of the people. It was abandoned by those who had most sol- emnly resolved to maintain it by all necessary mear]S, and who had given to the defendant the assurance of their prompt and unfailing support, when- ever it should be called for. He retired from the field conquered, not by his enemies, but by his friends. Defendant then proceeded to speak of his motives in returning to this State. He had intended to do so before the revocation of martial law; and aware of the consequences, but not at liberty, in the view of honorable con- siderations, or desiring to avoid them, he a'fdressed a letter to some of his frit^nds in Providence early in August, 1812, to ask them if any duty in their political service remained undischarged, and if they had any further claims upon him. The reply was, that his personal liberty was still of value to them, and that he might serve their cause by preserving that liberty, and prolonging his absence from the State, while they were exerting themselves to retrieve their losses, and save themselves by the power of the ballot box. But this instrument the sufiVage men of Rhode Island seemed to hesitate in employing at the vitally important election of April, 1843, as they had before hesitated to employ the cartridge box when force had become indispensable to the safety of their cause. Tiirongh desertions, they were overthrown at this election. "^Phe defendant's resolution was immediately taken to return to the State; and his return was deferred to the month of October only by his private concerns and by bodily illness. He returned here, not in the spirit of defiance, or courting persecution, but as a Rhode Island man, who had a right to be here, who desired or sought no domicil abroad, and was unshaken by defeat in the avowal of the doctrines of liberty, which he had inefiectually attempted to reassert in the land of Roger Williams. The re- turn of the delendant was voluntary and free. He was not forced back by the efficacy of rewards promised his captors, or by any compliance abroad with the requisition of this State, in a case when no wrong was deemed to have been committed. The consequence of having thus obeyed, by his re- l^ep. No. 516. 985 turn, a sense of honor and duty, is alt(!sled lo yon Ly the proccjcdings which havf3 now so iotif^ occutncd your atlentioii. Mr. Dorr enforced upon the jury the conchision which fairly and una- voi(Jahly resuhed from tliis rapid survey of the course of action which he h.id pursued ; that, as the rijihifuliy (iUjcted chief nm^nsirate of the Slate, he held .-K'tf^d strictly ni conforniiry wiili his duly and (ibliu'atinns — not oniiliing on the one hand what the constilulion and laws rcijinn^d <»( hnn, or exci'edinjr on th(! other IIk; hounds of aiithdrity in the adojttion of in(!asurack again to the great and vital rpKistion of llie case — a cpiestion of rights and of principles, affect- ing nol merely the fortunes of the defendant, l)Ut the liberty of tlie people, and reaching to the fbutidation of our r(;|)ublican instiiuiions. Hut Ih; had already tres[)as.sed upon their tiiiK;, and would hasten to the close of his r(!inarks. Gentltunen (said Mr. Dorr) if 1 am in the riii:ht, as 1 then believed, and now believe, with an unshaken confidence in the irullis for wfiich I have con- tended in this Slate, then ihe blame, if any, is, not tfiat I served too W(;ll, but that I did not serve, still heller in Ifiis righteotis cause, (claiming no ex- emfitioti from the frailties of our common fuimaiiity, but, at the sami; time, conscious of having be(!ii animattMl by good rjioltves iti the |)ursuil of justi- fiable and honorable en(Js, 1 eomiriil my cause into your liands, will) a just fiope of your lavor;ible consideration, and witli a firm c(jnhdence in the final verdict of my countrymen. closing argtjmknt for ttle stati-; i',y joseph m. blakr, attorney geni-:ral. Mr. niake b(>gaii by rem;irking that there had been intrf)duced such a mass of testimony in the case, xo many motions made, and iiKiuirics started, with which iha Juri/ had nothing to do, that fie feared ihey might lose sight of the true, question, and the only one they fiad to decide — wliether, in fact, the defendant levied war against the Slate, as alleged in the uidictment. He said there were many subjects iniim;itely connected with the crime for which tlie definidaiit was on trial, about winch great diversity of of)iniou iiad been enlertaiiHid, and which, on a proper occasion, were worthy of serious dis(;ussion, bin thiit on tfie trial of tfie issue before tfiem, ilio jury were nol reipnrc^d or expected to give any opinion. Mr. niake, then went on lo enumerate some of them — sucfi as, whetfier a majority of the male adults of the State actually voted for the so called peo- pie's consiiiulion ; and if they did, whetlier they intended anything more than a simple expression of opinion in favor of u written constitution for ifie State ; how far sjiffroi^r. shoiil(J be; (;xteii(Jed ; and what irslihinci- should be required as a quaiificaiion ; whether a riitijorUi/ of the peo[)lt,' of a State, witliout tfie assent of the •ininorily, and without an atiifioiiiy hy law, liav(! a natural right, at ifieir pleasure, to change a government (oiinded on compact, and declare and make such new government binding on all. With all these, however important, and greatly as they had fieen agitated during the lale disturbances, the jury were nol to meddle ; ail evidence on those [loints 986 Rep. No. 546. havino- been ruled out by the court, leaving them only to decide whether the defendant had levied war ao-ainst the State. If he did so levy war, then he was guilty of treason — the highest crime known to the law. That it embraced or led to all other crimes — murder, rape, robbery, and tlie whole cataloo^iie of human transgressions. That it aimed at the sovereignty of the State, and the subversion of all government. ' That no attempt atrevolution can, by any government, be admitted as legal. That there could be no ranker absurdity than a le^al or cnnslidttioual rebellion. That the success of rebellion gave it its legality. That, in despotic governments, attempts at revolution were often morally right and patriotic, even when unsnccessfnl ; because, in them, there might be no other available mode of redress of griev- ances ; and justifiable, as in the lauijuage of the declaration of indepen- dence, when government becomes destructive of the true ends of govern- ment — the security of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happuiess — and when all other means of redress have been resorted to perseveringly, in good faith, and failed. In no case can such an attempt be justified, unless the change would promote the getjeral good, or utdess the weans are obviously ade- quate to the end. Bad government is better than none; and no condition of a people can, from oppression, be so bad as not to be made worse, by fre- quent insurrections and civil war. Mr. Blake next spoke in terms of commendation of the principles of Rhode Island government, as securing the people from oppression, and of its cor- recting itself throucrh the force of public opinion ; and instanced the exist- ing State constitution, made and adopted by the freeholders, liberally ex- tending and securing the right of suffrage. He (Mr. B.) next took up the history of the suffrage cause in this State, in reply to the remarks of the prisoner. He denied that there was any evi- dence that the legislature had at any time refused to conform to what they kneic or believed lo be the wish of a majority of the people upon this sub- ject. That prior to 1841 tliere never had been a majority in favor of a written constitution; he stated that even a small party in its favor could keep up its organization but for short times; and that the prisoner himself, after he had been instrumental in that organization, had once been a candi- date for Congress, witiiont making that a test question, or placing his pre- tensions to support on that ground; that he was run as a democrat merely, and on that principle received the support of the democratic party. He then proceeded to a review of the legislative proceedings upon the pe- tition of Elisha Dillingham and others, presented in January, 1841, praymg for an extension of suffrage; stating that the General Assembly promptly responded thereto by calling a convention to frame a constitution ; and went on in attempting to show that the object was defeated by a few scheming politicians, and by creating an excitement to restore the ascendency in pow- er to the defeated democratic party of the State, by taking exception to the mode in which tlie delegates to the convention were, by the act of the As- sembly, to be elected, and by thwarting in everything the action of the General Assembly. After disposing in his own way of this part of the subject, he went on to a consideration of the connexion subsisting between the General and State Governments, attempting to show the great superiority of the American over all other forms of government, and the confidence felt in the stability of the former, derived from the general diffusion of intelligence among the people ; Rep. No. 546. 987 their unlimited confidence in public opinion as a corrective; and in their reveretice fur the laws until chunked in conformity to law. But (said Mr. B.) the Sii;n;es who Ibiinded our institutions were fully aware of the danger, and, with the wisest forecast, provided against it. And constructed as our National Govenitnent is, and as our State governments are, and connected together as they are, we have a more effectual safeguard against revolution than is possessed, or ever was possessed, by any other na- tion on earth. We look to the Federal Government to regulate our inter- course with foreign nations, and to protect us against f)reign aggression; but it is not a more effectual defence against assaults from without, than against domestic faction and insurrection. The States are sovereign within their spheres, but all are intimately connected together. The sovereignty of one cannot be affected, without affecting the sovereignty of all. No one of them can be stricken from its orbit, without disturbing, if not destroying, the whole system. By the federal constitution, the United States are to guaranty to the several States the republican forms of government existing; wlien the con- siitution vas adopted, and protect them against domestic violence. The State governments being thus protected by the General Government, it is hardly possible that n faction can ultimately prevail by force in any of the States. F'rom these premises, Mr. B. argued that no successful rebellion or revolution could ever occur in tliis country, however it might originate, or however widely spread, until a great majority of the people of a majority of all the Slates shall become infatuated for the horrors of war, rather than resort to the peaceful r<'medy of the ballot box. Mr. B next proceeded to say that the defendant was aware that the United States would, be bound, upon application of the governor or the legislature, to protect the State against d(>mesiic violence; and intended to call in forces from other States to resist the power of the General Govern- ment, and commit treason against the United States also ; and insisted that, adujiiiinir tlie extent of the grievances to have been such as would justify revolution, still he had no ri^^ht to resort to arms, unless he had adequate means to insure success, or strong reason for believing so. That, with all the aid derived from the sympathisers at the Pewter Mug and Tammany Hall. New York, his whole force (either at Federal hill or Chepachet) was but 3i)() or 4()U men I This was the extent of his means, and with them he commenced a revolution of this State and the United States. But (said Mr. B.) the prompt action, of onr oivn antJtorities, and of our own citizens^ rendered the interposition of the poiver of the General Government un- necessary. Rhode Island proved able to take care of herself The spirit that was with her early citizens in their struggle for regulated liberty is still alive, and her sons still possess hearts to cherish, and arms vigorous to de- fend her institutions against assaults from within or without. [At this point, Mr. B. intimated to the court that he proposed now to con- sider the question which had been previously argued to them by the pris- oner's counsel and himself, viz: whether treason can be committed against an individual State.] Duifee, Ck. J.— it is unnecessary for you, Mr. Attorney, to take up any time on that point. The court are unanimous in opinion on that point. Mr. Blitke. — Since, then, gentlemen of the jury, the court deem it unneces- sary for me to say anything on that subject, we may well take it for granted 988 Rep. No. 546. that treason may be committed ag.iinst a State ; that levying war against a State is not necessarily treason agamst the United States," hut is treason against the State. There is no dispute as to vviiat is levying war. "An a!>sen]blage of men for the purpose of making war against the government, and Ml a condition to make it, (not to make it success{ully,)is levying war — is treason. Fiiilisting and marching men are sufficient overt acts, without coming to battle. If an army, avowing hostility to the government, should march and countermarch before the enemy, and then disperse without firing a gun, it would be levying war." Mr. B. said he had intended to go into an examination of the testimony, but the defendant had admitted the facts, and he did not know that he might not with safety have asked for a verdict against him, as upuii a confession made hi o/je>i court. It was, however, lie said, proved and admiitfd that the defendant collected forces, commis- sioned officers, and directed the troops as their commander, in May at Prov- idence, and in June at Chepachet ; that he attempted to take the public property, and ordered the guns to be fired upon those who defended it; that the troops under his command took prisoners of war, and conducted in all respects like a hostile army; that the object of all these movements was to overthrow the existing government, and to establish another in its stead ; that the whole case was made out. But it is contended (said Mr. B) that, in all these proceedings, the motives of the defendant were pure and patri- otic, and not traitorous. You can judye of a man's motives only by his acts. There is no process for seeing the workings of tlie heart, by which to determine the secret springs of action. The defendant says he did not intend to commit treason. But he intentionally levied war against the State, and the law makes that treason, whatever else he might have in- tended. The law affixes the intent to the act. A man who should burn his neighbor's dwelling might as well set up in defence that he did not in- tend it should be arson. A man accused of theft might have a good de- fence on the ground that he took the goods by inislake; but it would hardly do for him, at this day, to admit the intentional taking, and contend that he did not intend to commit theft, for the owner was rich, and he sincerely be- lieved a more equal distribution of properly would promote the public wel- fare. 1 suppose (said Mr. B.) there never was a rebellion in which some of the parties implicated did not believe their conduct justifiable. But a jury cannot consider that question; the pardoning power may ; juries and courts must be governed by the law and the evidence. Did the defendant levy war? is the only question you have to answer by your verdict ; and there is no way for avoiding the question, for the facts are all proved and admit- ted. He has given you a history of his arraying troops, of the attack upon the arsenal, of his leaving the State, of his encampment at Chepachet, and his plan of attacking the forces of the United States. Is it not astonishing that a man of intelligence, in a country like this — more blessed in her po- liticctl institutions than was ever any other country on earth — should openly admit his intention to overturn the government of his native State by civil war, and carry on the war, if need be for the attainment of his purposes, against the United States, and detail the particulars of the whole affair, as though it were a matter of every-day occurrence, and as coolly, and with as liitle emotion as he would detail the progress of a negotiation for merchan- dise, or any other business transaction ! He would even arraign the coun- sel who opened for the government, and place him on the defensive, because he characterized the treasonable acts of the defendant as they are charac- Rep. No. 546. 989 terized by law. He would have had him concede that, in his attempts to shoot down his fellow-citizens, his motives were most honorable and tiisin- teresied, and, for ang:ht I know, niost benevolent and cliristiayi. Mr. B. proceeded to say that no small portion of the defendant's testimony was irrelevant to the issue the jury were trying, but intended lor effect out of court ; that, aitliough he well might, he did not object to its introduction ; yet that, on the |)art of the government, none had been offered which had not a direct bearing on the question before the jury. Such matters as had been thus thrown into the case by way of embellishments, he should not stop to discuss, but merely allude to some portion of the testimony in jus- tice to some of the witnesses whose credibility was impeached. [Here Mr. Blake, at some lengfih, attempted to sustain the testimony of Mr. Orson Moffalt, but offered no additional light on the subject. By the time fie concluded the topic, it was quite dark; and the court took a recess until half past 8 o'clock p. m., at which time Mr. B. continued his argu ment as follows :] Mr. Blake next commented on the testimony of Colonel W. P. Blodget and Fi. H. Hazard; that they without doubt heard what they swore, aitliough none of the defendant's witnesses should have heard the same ; they miglit also have sworn to expressions used by the prisoner, whicli neither Blodget nor Hazard could recollect; and that the character of the two government witnesses was too well known to require any vindication. Mr. B. next reviewed and commented on the testimony of Richard Knight, taking occasion to sneer at the prisoner for attempting to vindicate himself from ttie charge of the opening counsel, that some portion of the troops at (Jhepachet were blacks; and because the attempt was made argu- ing that the prisoner did not admit that blacks had any sonls^ or any civil or political rights. It is contended (said Mr. B.) that whatever acts were done by the de- fendant, connected with the charges laid in the indictment, he did as the agent, in the name and for the benefit of the people, and therefore you are urged to infer the purity and patriotism of his motives. Now, what portion. of the people was he the agent o( ? and how many of them were in favor of civil war? There could not at that time have been in the State less than six or seven thousand men in arms. How many of them were his followers? Why, 234 at the arsenal, and 2.50 at Chepachet : these were for subverting the State government by a civil war, and their will he was willing to regard as law, and to sacrifice himself in effecting it. His own legislature, in May, would not give him countenance in using force ; so, soon after, he, on his own responsibility, resorted to it, in open de- fiance of their will and authority. And here Mr. B. commented witli some severity on the prisoner's motives — urged to it, as he said, by the attack made upon tlie counsel ; and concluded by saying that "he (the prisoner) may have been governed by principle. If so, it was a cold, abstract principle — a principle which f)etrified the heart." The counsel for the defendant has undertaken to ridicule the testimony of Mr. Hr.zard, as to the alarm which pervaded the city of Providence on the night the arsenal was attacked. And here Mr. B. gave the jury a hii;hly wrought picture of the real or imaginary terrors that pervaded the city at that time ; but as it did not seem to bear upon the guilt or innocence of the defendant under the indictment, no attempt is here made to trace it. Mr. B. resumed the argument, by stating that the defendant declared he 990 Kep. No. 546. should not resort toother States for aid, unless, upon a requisition, ihe Presi' dent should order United States troops to support the State authorities: in that event, he did expect aid. and intended to resist the troops of the United States; and he very coolly tells you his design was, in that event, to conn- mit treason as well against the United Stales as a^rainst this State. For such is the law, as laid down by Judge Story in his charge to the grand jury, in this court house, in relation to this very case. [Here the attorney general read a part of the charge found in 1st Story's Reports, and then proceeded.] It was the defendant's intention, then, as he admits, to levy war against the United States, at the risk of involving the whole country in all the hor- rors of civil war. Was ever so great a work undertaken with means so disproportionately small — with so little prospect of success? Was there ever a calamity so great, produced by so trifling a cause? Admitting the establishment of the people's constitution to have been just and desirable after the question of suffrage had been conceded — I ask, if the cost of effect- ing it, as estimated by the defendant himself, would not have been greater, infinitely greater, than the good sought to be obtained? Mr. Blake next drew a picture of some of the consequences that must have been caused by such an attempt; and went on to say that many of the original members of the suffrage parti/, when they found the defendant intended a resort to force, deserted, denounced him,, and took up arms with the charter troops to oppose him; ascribing, after all, the bloodless issue of the contest to the overruling care of a special Providence, that would still continue to guard and protect us. But it is urged by the defendant, (said Mr. B.,) that in trying him, you also try the 14,000 men who voted for the people's constitution. If you were trying him for voting for the constitution, that might be true. But you are trying him for levying loar; and if anybody else, it would be more proper to say the 200 or SUO who were with him, and willing to carry out his plans by force. You, however, are not trying the validity of that constitu- tion, or the legality of the existing government, but a naked question of fact. Did the defendant levy war, or not? If he did, lie committed treason. Mr. B, next enlarged on the duty ot the jury in standing by the law, their own interest and the peace and security of the whole alike requiring it. Mr. B. conceded there miffht have been brave men with the defendant, but very few ; and Colonel Wheeler, who ran off in the fog, he considered a good type of the hisurgents, as he styled them generally. x\lr. B. told the jury that all the points of law raised by the defendant had been ruled against him by the court; but the defendant, after a verdict against him, could move the court for a neiv trial, or in arrest of judg- ment, or apply to the legislature for a pardon. That if the defendant did levy war, they must find him guilty — that had nothing to do with the law ; the court would take care of that. That the defendant himself had con- fessed all the facts ; and if they refused to find him guilty, it would be the severest blow which they could inflict upon the judiciary of the country, the palladium of their rights and liberties. The defendant says that the public will hold you responsible for the verdict you inay render in this case. Well, be it so, gentlemen ; and recollect that nothing will so brace up a man, amidst friends or foes, in the conflict of parties, as being conscious that in trying times, regardless of consequences to himself, he had performed his duty. Rep. No 546. 991 Gentlemen, you are the sworn guardians of tlie law, in a case of mo- mentous importance — one involvino- principles that reacli to the very foun- dations of civil government. I will not doubt that you wiH prove true to the trust, without regard to personal or pohtical or party consialerations, nor suffer them to deter you from a faitliful performance of the obhgations imposed upon you by your oatlis. The charge of the court to the jury was then given by Chief Justice Durfee. Gentlemen : In delivering the charge in this case, I shall confine myself very strictly to the notes v/hich 1 have prepared for the purpose — making, however, such remarks, in illustration of the general propositions which may be advanced, as may seem necessary in order to render them more intelligible. 1 take this course, that we may not be misunderstood here, nor misrepresented elsewhere, without baving it in our power to apply a cor- rective. We find it necessary in this case to guard against misrepresenta- tion — not particularly against misrepresentations made to the people of this State, who know us, but against those which may be made to the people of the United Stales, and perhaps to posterity, t'or no one wishes to dis- guise it — ay, let it be proclaimed to the whole world, and through all time to come, that the principle which is involved in this issue lies at the very foundations of all our political and social institutions, and that upon your verdict does the future confidence of all considerate men in the durability and safety of our institutions depend. We have, therefore, some ambition to appear as we really are. The constitution of this State, and the act under which this court is organized, make it our duty to deliver to the jury, in all cases, the law in charge — no very desirable responsibility in any case ; least of all in one that has so roused the passions, and deeply stirred and agitated the popular mind ; but bound, from the nature of our organization as a court, and with the oath of God upon us, we shrink from no duty, we recoil from no con- sequences. Ill discharging this duly, (I speak not for myself merely, but for the court,) it is of some importance to know what the duties of a court are, and what the duties of a jury are; for they cannot be one and the same in rela- tion to the same case. If it be our duty to decide what the general law of the land is, it is not your duty also to decide it. If it be your duty to ascer- tain what the facts are, and then apply the law to tlie facts as you find them, it is not our duty to do the same. A judicial tribunal, which is but a growth of the wisdom of ages, is not so absurdly constituted as neces- sarily to bring the court into conflict with the jury, and the jury in conflict with the court; and thus to defeat all the ends of justice. If such were the state of things, we could have no law; what the court did, the jury might undo; what the jury did, the court might undo ; and thus at the very heart of the system would be found in full operation the elements of anarchy and discord. Let us see if our duties are so jumbled together, that we, as a court, can perform the duties of a jury, and you, as a jury, can perforin the duties of a court. It is the duty of this court, and of all other courts of common law jurisdiction, to decide upon what evidence shall pass to the jury, and wliat shall not. Questions as to what is evi- 992 Rep. No. 546. dence, and what not, will arise; and in all time it has been made the dnty of the court to decide them. It is the duty ot this court, as of all others of like jurisdiction, to decide what shall pass to the jury as the law of t!ie land, touching the indictment on trial, and what shall not ; for questions as to what is law, and what is not law, will in like manner arise, and the law has appointed none but the court to decide them. If it errs in its decisions, it can correct them on a motion for a new trial, if the verdict be against the prisoner; if it wilfully decides wrong, its members are liable to impeach- ment and disgrace. When the evidence has passed to the jury, it is their duty to scan it closely — to decide what is entitled to credit, and what not; and when they have determined what the facts are, that are proved or con- fessed, they itpply the law which has been given them to the facts thus ascertained, and then, acting as judges both ol the law and the evidence, re- turn a verdict as to them, deciding under their oaths, may appear to be right. Here is no conflict of duties. The jury acts in harmony with the court, and the court with the jury. Gentlemen, it has been our desire in this case to adhere strictly to our ordinary course of ruling upon all questions that were brought before us. We were determined, if possible, to go not one hair's breadth beyond our duty, nor fall one hair's breadth short of it. In the eye of the laW; all men who stand at the bar of this court, accused of crimes, stand equal. We have no favors to deal out to the man of distinction or notoriety, which we deny to the lowly and obscure. In the eye of this court all are equal ; and while we allow them the same rij^hts, we subject them to the same rules. We have been earnestly pressed in this case to depart from our ordinary course of ruling in criminal cases. This I attribute mainly to the want of familiarity on the part of the accused and his counsel with our usual course of ruling here in criminal trials. We have been urged to permit them to argue questions of pure law to you, gentlemen — questions touching the jurisdiction of this court; questions touching constitutional law; to argue over again questions which have once been solemnly decided after full argument by eminent counsel, and which we considered closed questions — and that, in the midst of a jury trial ! All these motions we have been obliged to overrule, reserving to the accused the right to be heard, should it become necessary, on a motion for a new trial. Not that we have any doubt of the correctness of our former rulings, but that we will not refuse him a hearing in the proper stage of the proceedings. And now, after those rulings, the case comes to you to be decided according to the evi- dence which has passed to you, and the law which shall be found applicable to it. What is the crime set forth in the indictment? It is treason against the State — the highest crime known to the law ; in this State, punishable with imprisonment for life; in all others, where it is named, punishable with death; and if we pass from our own to foreign lands, and particularly to that country whence we derive all our political and legal institutions, pun- ished with death inflicted under circumstances calculated to strike the great- est terror, and to fix on the memory of the criminal the most histing infamy. I mention this, not forgetting that many noble hearts have fallen victims to the accusation of treason under arbitrary governments ; but simply that you may estimate the universal sentiment of abhorrence with which this crime is regarded, and that you might, while you thus estimate it, feel that it is your duty to require the most satisfactory evidence that it has been com- Hep. No. 548. 993 ^l\ulecl, and that the defendant is guilty, before you return a Verdict against hiai on the one hand, and that you may fee!, on the othel", the necessity of discharging, with firmness and fidelity, that duty which every juror owes to his country, under the oath which he has taken to return a verdict of guilty^ on legal proof of guilt. It is no less the duty of the jury than of the court to secure the peace of the State, by aiding in the firm and impartia'i admin- istration of the laws. Now, the first question is, can this crime be committed againf,t one of the States of this Union ? This question can be considered wholl y irrespective of this indictment, wholly irrespective of the guilt or innocence of the pris- oner. It involves no fact in pais. It is a question of mere constitutional law, and for the court alone to decide. And as the organ of the court, I say to you, gentlemen, that wherevet allegiance is due, Uiore treason may be •committed. Allegiance is due to a State, and treason may be committed against a State of this Union. The defendant and bis counsel have gons into an argument to show where the sovereign power is ; and that it is iu the people of the United States, considered in their primary or natural capacity and that it is that people which is sovereign in the State of Rhode Island, and not the organized people of the State itself In answer to that, it is suf- ficient to say that we know of no people of the United States, save that which the constitution of the Union has organized and formed, and they art • sovereign only to the extent, and in the qualified sense, which that instni . raent expressly giants and defines. Against the natural people, the primar, j capacity people. (I wish I could command a better phrase,) no crime whal .. ever can be committed, save that which, in violation of the laws of God, or le man may perpetrate on another. It is against an organized people only th; u any crime, and especially the crime of treason, can be committed. Wecai.j- not enter into those speculative inquiries as to the origin of government. Sufficient for the court and jury is it, that government exists. They mtjst? take it as it is ; and where the plain letter of the law prescribes to them thej»- course, that course they are bound to pursue, no less from a sense of d' ^ than by the requirements of the oath of God which is upon them. n}^ constitution of the United States itself — an instrument in which if ' ', , to be sought for — recognises the fact that treason may becomip' l^ hardly a State, by an implication too strong to be resisted. It ex*- '' , against that a person accused of treason in any State, who shal' fl*^*^^^^ ^^ provides and be found in another State, shall, on demand of ih ' ""^^ .^'^'^ justice,, of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, Xc , '^ executive aiithority having jurisdiction of the crime. ^ ^^ ^^mov^^ to the State The result of the debate in the conventior ,. . r , ,, . . the United States, in reference to the art^ ^.'ff ^""'"^f the constitution of ance with this view. The decision of ,,,'ji' tllT^ ^^'"'''2' '' ^ VT'"^- had occasion to touch the question the ont inn f ""ll ''' ^''''' '^^' ^"^^ constitutional law, recognise th' same fa?f Th «."^. commentators on ted States who presides in ^' .is diXt Hn.nl St '!.' •'';'^^' ""^ ^^l^"^" delivered in this district n/conte^nlatiin n thp /h°^ '" uf^f "' '^"'^^ ir. tKie «t„.o vor^oot;r- ' cou templatiou ot thc then unsettled disturbance guisr.erj, the one from the other, by the immediate objects and designs of the conspirators. If the blow be aimed only at the internal and munrcipai reff- 63 r & 994 Rep. No. 546. ulations or institutions of a State, without any design to disturb it in the dis- charge of any of its functions under the constitution of the United States, ii is treason against the State only ; though, if the object be to prevent it from discharging those functions, (as the election of Senators or electors of Presi- dent, and the like,) it becomes treason against the United States. If any fur- ther judicial opinions, delivered with reference to our recent troubles, were wanting in order to confirm these views, we have them in the opinion of the same court, and the same judge, deciding on the sovereign authority of this State to proclaim "martial law. Can it be doubted that that power which, of its own constitutional authority, can proclaim martial law, is sovereign, or a delegated sovereignty, and that it may define and proclaim what trea- son is? If any further authority were requisite on this point, we have it in the fact shown in the argument of the question to the court — that eleven out of twenty six States of our Union have inserted an article in their con- stitutions, defining the crime and providing for its punishment, and that two others have made the same provision in their statute laws. The stat- utes of no other of the States have been referred to, nor have been exam- ined by the counsel. The probability is, that, if they were examined, we should find, not that thirteen only of the States, but that the whole twenty- six have defined this crime, and made provision for the punishment of it. The power to provide for the punishment of this crime, the legislature derives not from the United States, or the people thereof; but from our own people, from the organized sovereign people of the State. That legislature 1 exercising this power has declared that treason against this State shall con- ■sist only m levying war against the same, or in adhering to the enemies thereof, giving them aid and comfort. This law, we now say to you, is constitutional, and binding on all; and that the sovereign authority of this State is such, that treason can be committed against it. We are now prepared, gentlemen, to consider the indictment. The in- dictment consists of four distinct counts, upon either or all of which you t»re to return a verdict of guilty, or not guilt^, according to the evidence whkh has passed to you, and upon that evidence alone. Nothing that comes within your mere personal knowledge is to be taken into account. You are lo presume that the defendant is innocent at the outset, and to be led to a conviction of his guilt, if to that conviction you come, solely by force of the evidence given to you, or of the admissions made. Each of these cuvmts substantially charges that the prisoner, being un- der the protection of the laws of this State, and owing allegiance and fidel- ity to the said State, noi weighing the duty of his said allegiance, and traitorously devising and intending to stir up, move, and excite insurrec- tion, rebellion, and war against the said State, with force and arms, un- lawfully and traitorously did conspire, compass, imagine, and intend to raise and levy war, insurrection, and rebellion against the said State ; and, in order to perfect, fulfil, and bring to effect the said compassings, im- aginations, and intents of him, the said Thomas Wilson Dorr, he, the said Thomas Wilson Dorr, with a great multitude of persons, amounting to a great number, armed and arrayed in a warlike manner, being then and there unlawfully, maliciously, and traitorously assembled and gathered together, did falsely and traitorously assemble and gather themselves to- gether against the said State, and then and there, with force and arms, did falsely and traitorously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves against the said State, and then and there, in pursuance Rep. No. 546. 995 of the said traitorous intentions and purposes aforesaid, he, the said Thomas Wilson Uorr, with the said persons so as aforesaid traitorously assembled and armed and arrayed, in manner aforesaid, most wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously did ordain, prepare, and levy war against the said State, contrary to the duty of his said allegiance and fidelity, against the form ot the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dig- nity of the Slate. The particular overt act charged on the prisoner in each count, is, that he, together with ihe armed multitude described, with force and arms, did falsely and traitorously, and in a warlike and hostile manner, array and dispose themselves agamst the State. The only essential difference in the counts is, that the first two charge the overt acts to have been committed in Providence— the first on the 17th of May, 1842; the second on the ISth of the same month. The two succeeding counts charge the overt acts to have been committed in Glocester, in the county of Providence — one on the 26th day of June, 1S42; the other on the 27th of the same month. The overt act charged in each of these counts must be proved by at least two witnesses, or by the prisoner's confession in open court. They may be the same two witnesses, or other two witnesses ; but two witnesses at least there must be. There nuist be tv/o witnesses to prove the particular overt act or part which the prisoner is in each count charged with having taken in the levying of war; and when once any particular overt act is fixed upon him by the two witnesses required, or by the confession, he must be deemed guilty of levymg war, as described and proved under that particular count which contains sucli overt act. The acts of the armed a'-semblage then become his, unless he prove that he had abandoned the conspiracy, or was so absent that he conld not have participated in it. Now, the first question of law is, what is it which constitutes the levying of war within the meaning of the act? In giving you the meaning of these words, we shall rely as little as possible upon our own judgment. We shall endeavor to be governed as much as possible by the opinions of those able jurists who, undisturbed by the excitement and alarm of an agitated conmiunity, have, after calm and deliberate consideration, pro- nounced their meaning. " To constitute," says Justice Story in the charge to which I have already referred, "an actual levy of war, there iTiust be an assembly of persons met for the treasonable purpose, and some overt act done, or some attempt made by them with force to execute, or toward ex- ecuting that purpose. There must be a present intention to proceed in the execution of the treasonable purpose by f>rce. The assembly nuist now be in a condition to use it, if necessary, to further, or to aid, or to accom- plish their treasonable design. If the assembly is arrayed in a military manner — if they are armed and march in a military form, fur the express purpose of overawing or intimidating the public, and tluis attempt to carry into effect the treasonable design, that will of itself amount to a levy of war, although no actual blow has been struck, or engagement taken place." This construction of the meaning of the words " levying war against the State," accords entirely with the opinion of Chief Justice Marshall, delivered in the case of Aaron Burr, and. in the main, with that of all eminent Ameri- can jurists and writers on the same subject; and we now give it to you as the construction which this court places upon those words. Let us now consider this construction of thn meaning of those words with reference to the evidence which has passed to you under the first two 996 Rep. No. 546. counts in this indictment. It is for you to say what that evidence proves'; but I may put these questions to you. Has it been proved by two or more witnesses, or by confessions in open court, that on the 17th and 18ih of IMay, or either of those days, there was assembled in Providence a body of armed men, arrayed in a militaiy manner; that they had provided them- selves with artillery, musketry, or like implements of war, for the express purpose of making an assault upon, or taking possession of, the State's arsenal or magazine of arms in Providence ; that they marched on the night of the 17th, or morning of the 18th, with intent of carrying into effect their design ; that they arrayed themselves in arms before the arsenal^ that the arsenal was at that time in the actual occupation of the military- forces of the government of the State; that they sent a messenger with a flag to demand its surrender; that upon the refusal to surrender, the mes- senger returned ; and that upon his return, or before it, one or more of the guns were aimed at the building; that there were two attempts made to discharore them into the building? if you believe these facts have been proved by the two witnesses, or by the confession of the prisoner, it is the opinion of this court, not only that war was levied, but actually carried on against the State, althouoh not a single gun was discharged, and no en- gagement actually took place. But, supposinff you sliould be satisfied that war had been thus levied, this will not justify you in returning a verdict of guilty; you must be satisfied by two or more credible witnesses, or by confessions in open court, that the prisoner took a part in it; in other words, his particular overt act must be thus proved upon him. it is observed, in the case of Bollman and Swart- v/out, that if a body of men be actually assembled for the purpose of effect- ing by force a treasonable object, all those who perform any part, however mfnute, or however remote from the scene of action, and who are actually leagued in the general conspiracy, are to be considered traitors. "Both cir- cumstances (says Judge Marshall) must concur; they must perform a part which will furnish the overt act, and they must be leagued with the con- spirators. He who comes within this description, levies war, arrays and disposes armed men against the State." If this applies to the private in the ranks, it pre-eminently applies to the commander-in chief. As to him, it can only be necessary to prove that he claims to be such commander, and to prove his presence at the scene of action ; for it cannot be supposed that an assault can be made on an armed arsenal or fortress, in the presence of the commander in-chief, without his orders, unless it be made so to appear. Indeed, it has been declared by the highest authority, that to appear at the head of a rebel army is itself an overt act of levyingf war. The main ques- tion, then, is, Did the prisoner march with this body of men to the arsenal; or was he then and there present, and is the fact proved by the two or more credible witnesses, or confessed by him in open court? If you believe, from such evidence or confession, that he was leagued with the conspira- tors, and performed a part, the overt act or acts charged are fixed upon him, and there is no alternative but to return a verdict of guilty on one»or both these counts in the indictment. I now pass to the other two counts in the indictment. These charge the levying of war against the State, in Glocester, on the 25th and 27th of June. Was war then and there levied, within the meaning of the Jaw? That is the first question which you have to decide. An assemblage of armed men for a treasonable purpose may sometimes accomplish its object by the terror Rep. No. 546. 997 'which it inspires ; and hence it has heen decided, that actual violence to external objects is not necessary to constitute the levying of war. It can hardly be doubled that '-if a rebel army," to use the language of Chief Justice Marshall, "avowing its hostility to the sovereign power, should front that of the government, should march and countermarch before it, should manoeuvre in its face, and should then disperse, from any cause whatever, without firing a gun," — it can hardly be doubted, I say, that it would amount to an act of levying war. True, the government troops were not present, and under the eye of the insurgent force at (^hepachet, as at the arsenal ; but a portion of the State, if not actually invaded by a foreign force, was, nevertheless, (as all tlie testimony goes to show,) in the actual occupation of a body of armed men hostile to the government. The laws of the legal government did no longer there afford protection to its peaceful citizens; men were taken and treated as prisoners of war; prop- erty was seized by the strong arm of military force. The hostile force oc- cupied an entrenched camp on a hill commanding the public highways, and a number of pieces of ordnance were mounted tind loaded, and so directed as best to defeat an assaihng force. Ammunition was there; a commissary department was established, and from two to tliree hundred men were daily drilled on the height, as preparatory to further operations. Everything indicated preparations for a permanent military occupation of a portion of the State. Knowledge of these facts threw the whole State into military array, and subjected it to martial law. This was the external appearance of the movement ; and certainly it does present an appearance of a movement of a warlike character, and equalling, at least, a mere military manoBUvring in front of the government forces, as mentioned by Chief Justice Marshall. Should you be satisfied by the confession in open court, or by other evi- dence, that an armed force of two or three hundred persons was actually embodied at the time and place mentioned in the indictment, there en- trenched in a fortified camp, with the avowed object of overturning tlie existing government, and establishing a new one on its ruins, and to that end taking prisoners of war and seizing private property, there is no doubt in the mind of this court but that such acts amount to a levy of war within the meaning of the statute. But though, from the proof in the case, you should come to this conclusion, you still cannot find the prisoner guilty, wnless you are also satisfied by the two or mere credible witnesses, or by his confession, that he performed a part which will be the proof of the overt act. Here also, to prove that he was present, acting as coujmander in chief, is, as under the two preceding counts, at once to prove that he took a part and was leagued with the conspirators. The material point here to be proved is the overt act; and any two credi- ble witnesses who swear that they saw him with the insurgent force, armed, marching with them, or performing any other part in furtherance of the common design, are sufficient to establish the overt act. The intent with which he was there, or the character which he, as their comniander-in chief, assumed, may be established by proof of his own admissions, or by his dec- iaratious in open court, or by his acts; and may be proved by one, or any number of witnesses, each testifying to a distinct admission or a distinct fact. Now, gentlemen, if it has been tlius proved, under either or both of these counts, that he performed a part with the insurgent force — that he was their commander in chief — these two counts also are sustained, and it 998 Rep. No. 546. will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty ; otherwise, a verdict of no6 guilty, on the same counts, or either of them. But it is due to the prisoner, since such has been his course, to say, that from the testimony which he has put in, and his declarations here in court, he has seemed to be rather ambitious to show that be was there perforniing a part, what that part actually was, and how he stood related to his asso- ciates. It may be, gentlemen, that he really believed himself to be the governor of this State, and that he acted throughout under ihis delusion. However this may go to extenuate the offence, it does not take from it its legal guilt. It is no defence to an indictment for the violation of any law, for the de- fendant to come into court and say, " I thought that 1 was but exercising a constitutional right, and I claim an acquittal on the ground of mistake." Were it so, there would be an end to all law and all government. Courts and juries would have nothing to do but to sit in judgment upon indict- ments, in order to acquit or excuse. The accused has only to prove that he has been systematic in committing crime, and that he thought that he had a right to commit it, and, according to this doctrine,, you must acquit. The main groimd upon which the prisoner sought for a justiScation was, that a constitution had been adopted by a majority of the male adult population of this State, voting in their primary or natural capacity or condition, and that he was subsequently elected, and did the acts charged as governor under it. He offered the votes themselves to prove its adoption, which were also to be followed by proof of his election. Tliis evidence we have ruled out. Courts and juries, gentlemen, do not count votes to determine whether a constitution has been adopted, or a governor elected, or not. Courts take notice, without proof offered from the bar, what the constitution is or was, and who is or was the governor of their own Slate. It belongs to the legislature to exercise this high duly. It is the legislature, which, in the exercise of its delegated sovereignty, counts the votes, and declares whether a constitution be adopted, or a governor elected, or not ; and we cannot revise and reverse their acts, in this particular, without usurping their power. Were the votes on the adoption of our present constitution now offered here to prove that it was or was not adopted, or those given for the governor under it, to prove that he was or was not elected, we could not receive the evi- dence ourselves — we could not permit it to pass to the jury. And why not .^ Because, if we did so, we should cease to be a mere judicial, and become a political tribunal, with the whole sovereignty in our hands. Neither the people nor the legislature would be sovereign. We should be sovereign, or you would be sovereign ; and we should deal out to parties litigant, here at our bar, sovereignty to this or that, according to rules or laws of our own making, and heretofore unknown in courts. In what condition would this country be, if appeals could be thus t;iken to courts and juries? This jyny might decide one way, and that another ; and the sovereignty might be found here to-day, and there to- morrow. Sovereignty is above courts or juries, and the creature cannot sit in judgment upon its creator. Were this instrument offered as a constitntion of a foreign State, we might, perhaps, under some circumstances, require proof of its existence; but, even in that case, the fact would not be ascertained by counting the ^otes given at its adoption, but by the certificate of the secretary of state, under the broad seal of the State. This instrument is not offered as a forei2;n constitution ; •and this court is bound to know what the constitution of the government is Rep. No. 546. 999 under which it acts, without any proof even of that high character. We iinow nothing of the existence of the (so called) " people's constitution" as law; and there is no proof before you of its adoption, and of the election of the prisoner as governor under it; and you can return a verdict only on the evidence that has passed to you. Our ruling on this point is in exact accordance with that on the same point in the trial of the indictment of the State against Franklin Cooley, where, after an elaborate argument, it was unanimously decided that no such evidence could be received by the court, or pass to the jury. This case is now with you, gentlemen ; you can find the prisoner guilty on one or more counts in the indictment, and not guilty on the residue; or you may return a verdict of guilty or not guilty, generally, according as you find the law applies to the evidence given you. The court has now performed its duty ; go ye, gentlemen, and do yours. Mr Turner. — We wish the court furtl:er to charge the jury, that in criminal trials for capital oti'ences, the jury are the judges of the law, as well as of the facts in the case : and also, that the evidence for the State does not support the charge of traitorous and criminal intent, as laid in the indict- ment. Chief Justice Diirfee. — We can charge the jury only as we have charged them: they are to apply the law, as laid down to them by the court, to the facts as they may find them proved before them. On the other point, the only question of intent which the jury have to consider, is, if they find all or any of the overt acts of levying war sufficiently proved, whether the de- fendant, at the time, intended to commit those acts. The jury, then, at a quarter before 11, p. m., retired, and the court took a recess. At twenty minutes bef)re 2 o'clock on Tuesday morning, the jury came into court and pronounced a verdict of guilty; which being duly recorded and read, the prisoner was remanded to the custody of the sheriff, and the court took a further recess until 8 o'clock, a. m. [After the verdict of the jury had been received and recorded by the clerk, Mr. Justice Haile, (Chief Justice Durfee beins: absent,) m dismiss- ing the jury, thmiked thein '■'■for their punctual attendarice, mid for the faithful inannt^r in ivhich they had discharged their dutyP One of the jury, immediately after they separated, beirjg asked whether there had been any division among them about their verdict, replied, ^^No. There was nothing for us to do — the court tnadt everything plaiii for usP Another juror, being asked why they remained out so long, said ^'- they agreed u})on their verdict immediately; but remained out, so thai the crowd inight disperse to their homes.^^j Tuesday morning, May 7 , 1844. At 8 a. m., the court met. All the judges present. 3Ir. Blake^ attorney general., moved that Thomas W. Dorr be brought into court, to receive sentence upon the verdict rendered against him. Mr. Turner.^ when Mr. Dorr came in, njoved the court to stay the sen- tence until he could prepare a bill of exceptions, and file a motion for a new trial. Mr. Blake did not object, as the legislature was then sitting in the house, and both he and his associate counsel would be necessarily engaged there; but wished to be furnished with a copy of it as soon as possible. 1000 Rep. No. 546. After some discnssion between the counsel, the prisoner, and the coort, as to tirn''', the motion was granted. Ten d;iys were allowed for filing the motion, and the court adjourned for the hearing to the second Monday (the 10th) of June. On the 1.5th of May, Mr. Dorr, hy his counsel, Mr. Turner, filed in the clerk's office the following bill of exceptions and motion for a new trial, viz: " Nkwfort, sa. " Supreme Court, March term, A. D., 1844. ^'Indictment. "The State vs. '^I'homa.s W. Dorr. " And now, on this fourteenth day of the term of said court, after ver- dict and before .sentence, the said Dorr moves the honorable court thai said verdict may be set aside, and that no judgment ho rendered thereon, and that a new trial of the said indictment may IjC awarded to him by the same, for the reasons following, viz: " 1. because Jo.sejjh Paddock, jr., the foreman of the jury, and also William L. Melville, jr., ai)d Uenjamin (Jarr, members o( ihe jury, before the jury were emf-antielled, had, each of them, formed opinions of the giult of the dftfftndatit, and had ex[)ressed such opinions, and in te-nns of prejudice and erirninaiion toward thie defendant, personally ; thereby man- ifesting toward him feelings of vindictivcness and hostility that disquali- fied them to act as imp;irtial jurors. "2. [Jecaiise Ah!jer Tallman, who was called for a juror, and testified that he had neither formed nor expressed an opinion upon the charges laid in the ifidictrnent, and was otherwise competent, was set aside upon insuffi- cient testimony. "3. because a challenge against Samuel Westcott, for cause, by the de- fcndiint, as having formed and cxf^ressed an opinion of the guilt of the prihoner gerif;rally, though not upon the charges as .sjjecifically set forth in the indictment, was overruled by the court, and defuiidanl was compelled to set him aside by a peremptory cliallenge. "4. JJecause tfie writ u{ venire for the twelve additional jurors, issued on Friday, the 2f>th day of April, 1844, and served and returned by George Ilowlaiid, a d(!puty shf.riff of said county of Newport, was wrongt'ully and illegally .'^ervcd and returned, in that the said jurors returned on said writ of venire^ or some of them were so returned, at the noniination and sug- gestion of William H. Cranston, esq., attorney and coiins(;llor at law, and an officer of this court, whose frequently-expressed ofiinions are inimical (o the traverser, and who, since Jhe commencement of the present trial, hits acted apparently as an attorn<'y with, and as an agent in the employment and und«'r the dir(!Ction of, the attorney general, and has summoned wit- nes;s(:s in behalf of the Slate, from remote parts of tlie Island; and a ma- terial portion of the testimony to prove said allcifations having come to the knowlftd-re of the traverser, since the filinf/ of tins original challeinfe to the array of tlif, jury so illegally rflurned, and since the vv.nhcl m this cause. ".5. because neither the defi-ndant nor his counsel were furnished with copies of either of the four last panels of jurors, returned upon writs of Fep. No. 546. 1001 venire two full days before the said jurors were called and sworn, as the defendant was eiiiitled to be; and in one instance he was tarnished with a copy of a return only about three hours before the time for canvassnicr the same in court ; whereby the defendaiii's right of challenge, for cause, was greatly and injuriously abridged. "6. Because, before the full jury was sworn, the defendant's counsel moved tiie court to permit the defendant to recall his peremptory challenges to six of the persons examined for jurors and set aside, and to challencre said persons for cause, upon proof to be produced, of their incompetency; which motion was denied by the court. "7, Because the defendant was not furnished with, althou2;h he season- ably applied for, a list of the government witnesses, two ftiU days before the trial of said indictment commenced, as he was entitled to be; and l)ecause several witnesses were sworn and examined, of whom he had no previous notice whatever. '' S Because, before any evidence was introduced to prove eitlier of the overt acts laid in the indictment, the court permitted evidence to go to the jury of acts done by the detendant and others, at a period of lime long be- fore the first overt act charged in said indictment. '' 9. Because the prosecutor was permitted to otfer to tlie jury proof of acts in agijravation of the charges in ihe indictment, in which tlie defendant had no part, and of which he had no knowledge. '• UK Because the court would not permit the defendant to jiistify himselt", by ortering to the jury the votes given by the people, and other testimony, to prove tilt-' adoption of the peoples consiituiion in December. 1^41. by a majority of the adult male citizens of the United States resident in this State; and to prove that, under said constitution, and according to the pro- visions tliereof in April, 1S42, the delendant was duly elected governor of this State; althouirli the prosecutor admitted that "if the dtfendauf was govertior, he had a riiiht to do all that he did," and was permitted to intro- duce evidence to prove that on the 3d day of May. ISI'2. in General As- sembly sitting in Providence, the defendant took an oaih as governor of the State, and openly and avowedly acted, and was treated as such by said As- sembly. " 11. Because the court, after the testimony recited in the preceding Idih spi^cification had bten ruled out, when otfered to justify the acts and pro- ceedings of the detendaiit. also refused to permit the defendant to oti'er said testimony to repel ilie charge of malicious and treasonable motives and in- tentiotis as laid in the indictment. •• 12. Because the eourt refused to permit to pass to the jury a copy of the people's constitution, to show that a republican form of government was provided for in the same, according to the guaranty in the constitution of the United States. " 13. Because the court would not permit the defendant or his counsel to argue to the jury liie several matters of law deemed important for his full defence, and especially the following, viz: ''1st. That, in this country, treason is an olience agaiiist the United States only, and cannot be commi(ted against an individual Slate. "2d. That the 4th section of the act of Rhode Island, of March. 1S42, entitled '•An act relating to ofi'ences against the sovereign power of the State,' whereby indictments may be found out of thu county where the of- fences were charged to have been committed, is unconstitutional and void, 1002 Rep. No. o46. as destructive of the common right of trial by jury, which was a funda- mental part of the Enghsh constitution at the time of the declaration of American independence, and has ever since been a fundamental law in Khode Island. "3d. That said act, if constitutional, gave this court no jurisdiction to try this indictment at that time in the county of Newport ; all the overt acts being therein charged as committed in the county of Providence, where the defendant is by law entitled to be tried. "4th. That in law the defendant acted justifiably as governor of the State, under a valid constitution, rightfully adopted, whicli he was sworn to support. " 14. Because the court overruled the first point in the preceding 13th specification, and instructed the jury that treason mi^ht be committed against a State. " 15. Because the court refused at that time to hear any argument from the defendant, or his counsel, upon the 2d, 3d, and 4th points in said 13th specification, and instructed the jury that the defendant could not have been justified, by any evidence offered by him. in acting as governor of the State. " 16. Because the court then refused to liear an argument from the defend- ant, or his counsel, to show that, in capital cases, the jury are the judges both of the law and of the facts; and misdirected the jury, in charging them that they were not the judges of the law and of the facts in said cases, but were bound by their oaths to take the law as laid down by the court, and were no further judges of it than simply in applying it, as given to them by the court, to the facts which they deemed proved in the case. " 17. Because the court misdirected the jury, in charging them that the only question of intention on the part of the defendant, which, under their oaths, they could consider, was, whether the defendant, at the times laid in the indictment, intended to commit the acts charged against him in the same, " 18. Because the officers charged with the service of writs of venire for the return of 108 jurors, selected and summoned the whole number, except one, from the members of one political party in the State, whose political feelings and prejudices are inimical to the political party to which the de- fendant is attached, and to the defendant himself." Monday, June 10, 1844. The court met at 3 o'clock, p. m ; all the judges present. The attorney general^ (Blake,) upon Mr. Dorr's being brought into court, renewed his motion for sentence; but was reminded by Mr. Turner that the motion for a new trial took precedence of that motion. Durfee^ Chief Justice. — We are ready to hear the motion. Mr. Turner. — Since the filing of the motion, evidence has come to our knowledge of good cause of exception to another of the jury, and I there- fore move for leave to insert in the 1st specification the name of Benjamin Carr. Mr. Blake. — I don't know that we have any objection ; insert as many names as you please. The court saw no reason, if wished, why the amendment should not be made. The amendment was made accordingly. Rep. No. 546. 1003 Mr. Turner then read the exceptions at full length, (see ante;) and, in support of the first, read an affidavit, as follows: ''NEWPORT, sc: "Supreme Court, March term, A. D. 1844. " Indictment— The State vs. Thomas VV. Dorr. " On motion for a new trial. "And now, on the 15th day of the term, the said Dorr, on solemn oath declares and says that he verily believes, and expects to prove, that Joseph Paddock, jr., William ii. Melville, jr., and Benjamin Carr, three of the jurors em; anneled to try said indictment, and who rendered a verdict thereon against him of guilty, had, each o( them, before they were sworn on said jury, formed and expressed an opinion of his guilt of the oftence charged in said indictment, and unfavorable to him personally and gener- ally; and that this affiant had no knowledge of the fact that either of said jurors had so done, whereon to ground a cliallenge forcnnse against either of them, until after they had been empannelled ; and no knowledge in re- lation 10 the ground of challenge against said Paddock and Carr, until after said verdict had been rendered as aforesaid. "THOS. W. UORR. " Filed loth day of the term, and sworn to in open court. "VVM. GILPIN, Clerk:' It was proposed by Mr. Turner, and assented to by the attorney general and the court, that the several specifications should be separately taken up, argued, and disposed of, in their order; and tiiat mode was pursued, as to the argument, until Tuesday noon. Mr. Turner. — I will now call the witnesses in proof of the 1st specifi- cation. Mr. Blake. — I object to any testimony being olfered against any juror, as bemg too late ; an examination of the jurors having been fully gone into at the time they were empainieled. Mr. Turner contended that this was the legal and proper time for taking the exception, where the facts (as in the present case) were unknown to the party affected, or his counsel, when the jurors were sworn. He read 11 Pick. Rep. 466. Mr. Bl'ike. — Was that a capital case? Mr. Atwell (wfio at this time was well enough to be in court.) — No, a fotirpencc'half penny case, and liberty is worth more than that. Mr. Turner rrad 3 Dall. Rep. 51n, Fries' case; 2d Chitty's Black. 272; 4th Tuck. Bl. 350, 3.52 ; Hale's Com. Law, 257; 1 Chit. Cr. L. 422, 443, 437, and 43S ; and commented upon the authorities as warranting the ex- amination of witnesses on a motion for a new trial, to prove the disqualifi- cation of jurors. Mr. Blake. — lam willing the testimony should be taken, reserving the objection. Mr. Turner — We prefer to have the questions settled as we go along. Mr. Blake went on in reply. In England (he said) no such evidence or objection would be listened to a moment. He read 17 Mass. Rep. 515; 1 Pick. Rep. 41 ; 6 Dane's Dig. 233 ; Dig. N. Y. Rep. 318, 320 ; and 5 Mass. Rep, 1004 Rep No. 546. 78. The court must look at the facts of the present case, and, before Ihey ^rant a new trial upon this, or any other ground, consider whether a new jury could return a different verdict. The prisoner admitted all the facts at the trial ; a new trial would, therefore, in no respect subserve the pur- poses of justice. I object to the testimony. Mr. Turner read 14th Mass. Rep. 205, and from 1 Pick. Rep. 41, cited by the attorney general. Mr. BosiDorth — When the prisoner has had an opportunity to challenge the juror, it cannot be proper to allow him again to go into the matter, any more than it would be if the defendant had neglected any other portion of his defence, which, after trial, it might be considered best for him to put in. If this doctrine prevail, the evils of such a precedent would be great ; cases might happen that the juror, weeks and months after the trial, might be far absent, and might not give the explanations neces:jary to sustain his decla- rations on the voire dire. No cause of objection to a juror will set aside a verdict, unless it appear that that cause, in some way or degree, did actually influence the verdict. Reads 2 vol. Dig. N. Y. Rep. 320. Mr. Alivell. — There is no one authority amongst those cited by the gen- tleman, that shakes the position, that whatsoever would have been good cause of challenge before trial, would be good ground for a new trial, if discovered atler trial, as is here stated in the defendant's affidavit. The at- torney general contends that these jurors have been once tried. We then failed to prove the partiality of Paddock, the foreman, by the witness we produced; since then, we have ascertained the existence of evidence, which, if then produced, must have set him aside. It is said the defendant has confessed everything in open court. His plea is not guiUy. True, he has stated the facts; but, taking all he said together, he was in fact not guilty. If the right of trial by jury be worth anything, it should be securely guarded in cases like the present. A fair trial has not been had. We can and we wish to prove that three of the jury had formed and expressed opin- ions hostile to the defendant- such opinions as should utterly disqualify any man from being a juror ; the objection can now be well taken advantage of, in the mode we are pursuing, and is, of itself, if made good by the proof, a sufficient ground for a new trial. It must be recollected that the defendant is not in his own county : he is a stranger to the people from whom the jurors come — knows them not even by sight, name, or reputation. It is known that some of the parmels were returned but a very short time before the defendant was called on to make his objections to them. He had not time to ascertain whether these stran- gers had expressed hostile feelings or not. He did not know their neighbors or associates, or to whom to apply himself to learn their qualifications or disqualifications as jurors. We did all we could in canvassing their quali- fications ; and the court, from all they could hear to the contrary, adjiidged them qualified, and let them sit. Since that time, the evidence of tlieir un- fitness has come to light; and we crave permission of the court to intro- duce it. After a brief consultation by the court, Durfee, Ck. /. — Proceed, Mr. Turner, to the next article; the court will consider of this. Turner rend the 2d article. [The taking Abner Tallman off the jury without sufficient cause.] Your honors will recollect the circumstances under which Mr. Tallman was ordered off the jury. Upon being called Rep. No. 546. 1005 and examined on his voire dire by the attorney general, he answered the questions promptly and nnequivocally, that he had neitfier formed nor ex- pressed any opmion of the gnilt or innocence of the prisoner. The attor- ney general, however, asked the court to let the juror stand by for the pres- sent, so that he might hunt up witnesses against him; and it was on this business that Mr. Cranston was despatched to Portsmouth on the afternoon of the 26th of April. The object was accomphshed ; the next morning, a man named Waite, a blacksmith, was produced on the stand, who swore that on a certain occasion, at his shop, Tallinan, in conversation with him, (Waite,) when no person was present, had said that, if he was a juror, he would not convict Dorr '•'■till all was blue^^ or "«s long as he had a drop of blood in his veins^ Upon cross examination, he stated that he had never mentioned this conversation with Tallman to any person whatever ; and that when first called on by Mr. Cranston, he could not recollect any- thing at all about it, but told Mr. Cranston " he guessed it would come to him in an hour or two." He also stated that, on the occasion when he had the conversation with Tallman, they also conversed about Tallman's dog having been charged with killing sheep, and Tallman being called on to pay for them, about which Tallman was quite wrathy; and that Tail- man used one of the expressions about trying Mr. Dorr, and the other about paying for sheep his dog did not kill ; but which he used to the one. and whicli to the other, he could not even then remember ; [it had not all come to hijfi.] The juror, when called on after hearing the testimony of Waite, denied the statement as to Mr. Dorr totally, and went on to give a clear, connected, and distinct account of the whole conversation that took place between them — showing, I think plainly and conclusively, that the language used, whatever it might have been, had relation entirely and exclusively to the affair of the dog, as Tallman swore. ' I at that time contended, and I contend now, may it please your honors, that Tallman should not have been set aside upon that evidence; there was, at most, only oath against oath. It should be considered, however, that Waite's recollection was most im- perfect ; he wanted an hour or two to remember anything. Tallman's is ready, consistent, and perspicacious — and besides, Waite, here on the stand, swore without qualification that no person was present ; that he had never told it to any person whatever; yet Mr. Cranston, when sent out on an exploring expedition, goes right to Mr. Waite, and finds him the very man he wanted. It was contended, however, that the one was positive, the other ncffniive testimony; but 1 do not think this case falls within the rule of negative SluA positive testimony. That rule is intended to apply to cases where both witnesses are merely hearers ; in which case, he who swears he did hear is entitled to belief" — not he who only swears that he did not hear. I submit, may it please your honors, that the decision was against the right of the prisoner and the weight of the evidence. Mr. Dorr. — The testimony of Tallman is positive — it being what he said, and when and how he said it ; whilst that of Waite contradicts itself, and is negative. Tallman not only tells what he did ?iot say, but precisely what he did say. Blake. — This matter, at the time of it, was fully argued ; and the court, in their discretion, ordered the jurors to stand aside. The objection is now made that the juror was set aside on insufficient testimony. The testimony of Tallman was negative, because Waite swore to what he heard him say; and all that Tallman said ainounted to no more than that he did not 1006 Rep. No. 546. recollect it, althouo;h he swore positively enough that he had not used any ' such language. On the other hand, Waite's was positive^ and should pre- vail ajjainst that of Tallman, on all the principles of evidence. 1 really do not think this matter calls for anything further from me. Mr. Turner next considered and argued article 3d of the exceptions. [That the court overruled a challenge for cause to Samuel Westcott, and thereby compelled the prisoner to waste a peremptory challenge.] The court will recollect in the case of Mr. Westcott, that, in answeir to the standing interrogatories put by the attorney general, the juror stated that, from all he had seen and read in the papers, and heard talked along street, if one half of it was proved, he believed the prisoner was a guilty man ; in addition to which, we believed, notwithstanding his answer to the con- trary, that we had positive evidence of his having both formed and ex- pressed opinions to the same effect ; and he was accordingly challenged for cause. Benjamin H. Lawton, a witness, swore that about the time of the Chepachet affair, " Westcott was in a great steto,^^ and said "he hoped they would get the villain Uorr, and the rest of them." We rested the challenge upon that evidence, and the juror's own answers, insisting that it was a much stronger case than the one of Tallman, which the court had decided against us. Yet the court overruled us ; and although that did not complete the pannel, the prisoner was compelled to apply his last peremptory challenge to get rid of him. With perfect deference to the hon- orable court, I then thought the challenge for cause well sustained, and I think so still ; and have an authority in point, which I will read, and sub- mit to your honors that the decision in that case was erroneous. — (Reads 9 Pick. Rep. 499.) Blake. — The court, upon the evidence and argument, decided this juror to be competent ; there was no evidence, nor is there now, of any settled hostility against the prisoner in the mind of the juror. If the court had gone upon the ground of excluding from the jury everybody that had talked about Governor Dorr, he would never have had a trial at all ; for there is nobody in the State but what has expressed his opinion one way or another. Atwell asks — Was the question as put. "formed and expressed," or " formed or expressed an opinion ?" Durfee^ Ch. J. — The former. Dorr. — 1 believe the juror was not set aside for having /ormecZ an opin- ion, if he had not also expressed it. Atwell. — If a man has /orme men would have been set aside upon challenges/or r«?/5e. It is very true, that in lliis State we have no statute on this subject; and' as we have hitherto had no such cases^ we can have no established prasHce to regulate us. But the statute of the United States enacts that the pris- oner, in cases of treason^ shall be furnished with a list of the jurors five days; and in England, the statute of Anne, in the same cases, extends the time to ten days. Now, supposing neither the English nor the United States law to be binding on the courts in Rhode Island ; yet it is obvious that both make a marked distinction, in this respect, between cases of trea- son and all other capital offences; so that the courts here may well follow the practice, if they are not bound by the authority of one or the other of those statutes. We say, therefore, that, in this respect, the right of chal- lenge in the defendant was injuriously abridged, but to what extent we can- not tell. But be it more or less, we ask for a new trial to correctit. ^Staples, J. — Did you make any complaints that you had not had time enough, when the jurors were called ? Turner. — I did not deem it decorous, after the court had fixed the time; we had repeatedly asked the court to give us longer time ; and we now ask if this was long enough time to canvass the qualifications of so many- strangers. Staples, J — It would have been as decorous then as it \s now. The 64 1010 Rep. No. 546. court, in several instances when challenges were made, did give you further time. Such an exception ought iiot to be taken here. Dorr. — The court fixed the time beforehand for taking up the several pannels. and the defendant then made no objection, because it was too late. The court had decided how much time he should have. The point is, that, for want of time, we could not ascertain o[)jections, which we have since ascertained. It is true, when an objeciion was made to ony particular ju- ror, the court did allow time for witnesses to be produced. Turner. — I proceed to the seventh exception. (As to withdrawing six peremptory cliallenges, and challenging for cause.) Your honors will rec- ollect, that, in the course of the morning of the third day of the trial, and before a full jury was empanneled, I moved the court in behalf of the prisoner, for leave to withdraw or revoke his peremptory challenges to six of the persons called and examined for jurors, and to challenge each of them for cause ; and stated to the court that the witnesses, by whom we expected to sustain those challenges, had been summoned in behalf of the prisoner, and were then in attendance. The court overruled the motion, on the ground that the jurors were not then in court, and had in fact been excused from further attendance , to whicli ruling the prisoner took excep- tion at the time. I contend, may it please your honors, that a prisoner has a ri<)^ht to withdraw his peremptory challenges, and challenge /or cause., at any time before the full empannelment of the jury. If the persons had re- mained in court, I doubt not we should have been allowed to withdraw them for the purpose we intended ; that they did not remain in court is no fault of the prisoner. If the objection be available at all, it is only on mo- tion for new trial. 1 proceed to consider the next, the seventh exception. (Mr. T. reads exception as to prisoner not being furnished with a full list of government witnesses, &c.) Before the adjournment in March, we called for a list of the government witnesses, claiming a right to have it two full days before the trial; we were then furnished with a list of thirteen, and assured by the attorney general that, as soon as he ascertained the names of the others, we should have them. Several additional lists were from time to time fur- nished as we called for them, but never o^ all of them ; and in the progress of the examination, I designated several as they were examined, as being entirely new to usi. (Mr. T. here gave the names of three.) This excep- tion, however, need not be dwelt on, as it falls exactly within the reason and the law applicable to the fifth exception. (Mr. T. read 1 Chitty C. L. 420.) I proceed to the eighth exception. (Mr. T. read the exception, relating to admissibility of other evidence before proof of overt act.) This question was first raised before any evidence was put in by the government ; and we insisted that, according to the course of autfioruies, both in this country and in England, no other proof could be admitted to pass to the jury until some overt act was sufficiently proved by two credible witnesses; and relied for authority in support of that position on 4th Cranch, 4S9, 490. 493, and 497; Foster's C. L. 149; Hawk. P. C. § 8; and Greenleaf on Evidence, 293, (fir-st edition.) The court, however, overruled my objection, and permitted the other side to introduce evidence relating to a period of time long ante- rior to that of the first overt act charged in the indictment. This ruling, also, was excepted to by the prisoner. With deference to the court, I still think their decision incorrect, and that the prisoner's means of defence were Rep No. 546. 1011 prejudiced thereby. The same reasoning and tlie same authorities are re- lied on now. I pass to the ninth exception. "Ninth exception. — Because the prosecutor was permitted to offer to the jury proof of acts, in ai^gravation of the charges in the indictment, in which tlie defendant had no part, and of which he had no knowledge." (Upon this article a desnUory discussion took place between the court and Messrs. I\irner5 Atwell, and Horr, in relation to the relevancy of She! - !y's testimony j— it all relating to what took place atChepachet three or four days before Governor Dorr (;ame into Rhode Inland, and when he was neuher actually nor cons(rw:ticely pi-csent. The discussion so much as- sumed the nature of dialogue, that it was impossible to report it.) The next exception is the tenth. (Rejecting the evidence of the adoption of the people's constitution, &c.. See ante.) Much of the ar- gument, and many of the autliorities applicable to this exception, as the court will recollect, were urged in the argument of the question of State treason. 1 do not, therefore, propose to do more, on the present occa- sion, than to state the propositions I contend for, and furnish the court with a list of authorities in support of them; for I feel assured that the court will found their opinion upon their own examination of them, rather than upon any reasoning 1 may use upon the subject. My propositions are these : A constitution is superior only to a minority ; the majority is superior to that. As they inake the constitution, they have the power and the right to alter, or even abolish it. The people (vis. the community — the governed) are superior to tlie legislature — the legislature being \\\e creature of the constitution. The people can, therefore, derive no power and acquire no right by any legislative act. They can therefore change their constitution without any legislative sanction whatever. 'I'hey can change it whenever they please, And by , and always combined of both lai/) a.nd fact, Mr. T, cited 6 Dane's Digest, 693, c. 199, A 6. § 12. " Levying war is an act compounded of laia and /act, of which the jury, aided by the court, must judge." Diirfee, Cli. J. — Of v/hat use are the court, if the jury are the judges of the law ? Turner. — Of very great use. They are the proper and sole judges of everything relating to the empanneling of the jury; tiiey decide all ques- tions as to the admissibility of evidence; and, after the argument at the bar, they advise, instruct, or charge the jury as to what the law is, in their opinions ; but. after all that, the jury are to judge for themselves, otherwise the court decide the case, and not the jury. [Mr. 1'. proceeds with the argument.] it is unquestionably true, that juries generally are not so competent to decide qiiestions of law as the court ; but as they are the sole judges of the guilt or innocence of the accused, and are by no law bound to find a spe- cial verdict, referring the questions of law to the court; and as all capnal trials necessarily involve questions of law, as well as of fact, reason and common sense would dictate that, before being called on, under an oath, to decide, they should hear the qiiesti(Mi thoroughly argued on both sides, to enable them the better to decide it, under the instruction that the court may give them after such arguments are had. This is not only common sense, but I will endeavor to show that, in this country and in this Slate, it is also comvton, laiv. I will, however, in the first place, introduce such English authorities as seem to place the law in that country on the same footing in this respect with the law here. Hale's P. C, vol. 2, p. 313 — "It is the conscience of the jury that must pronounce the prisoner guilty or not guilty?^ '-And to say the truth, it were the most unhappy case that could be to the judo;e, if he, at liis peril, must take upon himself the guilt or innocc^uce of tlie prisoner; and if tlie judge's opinion must rule the matter of fact, the trial by jury would be use- less." This same authority is thus quoted by Sir \V. Blackstone : "For, as Sir Mathew Hale well observes, it would be a most unhappy case for the judge himself, if the prisoner's fafe depended upon his directions. Unhappy also (or the prisoner; for, if the judge's opinion must rule the verdict, the trial by jury would be useless." — (4 Tuck. Bl. 361.) And in the same paragraph he says: "And such public or open verdict may be either gen- eral, guilty, or not guilty ; or special, setiino- forth all the circumstances of the case, and prayuig the judgment of the court, whether, for instance, on the facts stated, it be murder, manslaughter, or no crime at all. This is where they doubt the matter of law, and therefore choose to leave it to the determination of the court; though tliey have an unquestionable right of determining upon all the circumstances, and finding a general verdict if thev think proper so to hazard a breach of their oaths," — (Mr. T. cites English Lib. p. 22(3, § 4, and Hale's Com. Law, 293.) 1014 Rep. ^o. 546. [Atwell. — Trial by jury now, is getting to be iilmost a mere farce.] Sir MicFiael P^oster, who wrote liis treatise on crown law about the pe- riod of the Scotch rebellion, and was himself a distinguished judge, in the case of the Kinlochs, who asked to have counsel assigned them, and time i^rauted to plead special matter of law in defence, -Mold them withal, that if the matter contained in their papers would avail them at all. they would have the full benefit of it itj^on not guilty; since it amounts to no more than that their cases are not within the act of the last session, by authority of which act alone this court sits. They then severally pleaded not guilty." — (Foster's C. 1j. 15.) Now wliat can be clearer than that here the judge intended that matter of mere law might and should be argued to ihe jury by the prisoner's counsel, under the general issue, the plea of not guilty — the defendant's plea in the present case. I Chitty's C. L. 3^3. — '■'■ Upon all capital accusations, the plea of not guilly puts in issue the whole of the charge ; not merely whether the de- fendant actually did the fict stated in the record, but the criminal intention with which it is alleged he was actuated, and the legal quality of tlie guilt to be deduced from the whole. (Cites 4 Bl. C. 338; 1 Erskine's Sp. 278.) In this respect, there is a very impartunt distinction between civil and crimin.al proceedings; in ihe former, where the facts are admitted, and the defence is that they were rendered legal by circumstances, a special justifi- cation must he pleaded ; biU in the latter^ no justification can be admitted to limit the defendant's means of defnce. Nor is it at all necessary : for if it appear (to the jury) that the facts, though true, were legal, the defendant will, of course, be acquitted."— (Cites 2 Hale, 258; 4 Bl. C. 338; 1 Erskine's Sp. 278 ) Now, m what way can matter of justification be available before a jury, without the argument of counsel? But 1 think this authority goes much further than we now claim. J understand from it, that even if a special plea be interposed and ruled out by the court, yet the prisoner's counsel might even then go with it to the jury, under the general issue; because '■•no justification can be admitted to limit ihe defendants -means oj de- fence.''^ Your honors will recollect the decision of this court in the Cooley case, where, on motion, the special pleas of the defendant were ruled out by the court. Same page, (384,) "So also in indictments for felony and treason ; if the facts stated amount to neither of them, the prisoner will be discharged un- der the general issue, for the terms '■feloniously ^u A traitorously,^ by which the crimes are designated, are the gist of the charge; and unless they are shown to be properly applied, the indictment cannot be supported." — (Cites last-mentioned authorities ) If it be incumbent on tiie prosecutor to show that the terms feloniousli^ and traitoronsly are well applied, he must do so by authorities and arg^i- rnent; and it would seem very strange if authorities and argument for the governnient might not be met and answered by authorities and argument for the defendant. Again, page 511.— "That plea (not guilty) refers the whole matter of guilt or innocence \o the jury; the intenticm, as well as ihe facts, and the legal complexion of the transaction, as well as the transaction itself It fol- lowed, therefore, that he may show the innocence of his intention, as well as negative the facts of the charge.. And it is laid down as a general rule. Rep. No. 546. 1015 that whatever he could not have pleaded specially, he may justify under the a;eneral issue." How can a defendant ever sliow the ijinocence of his intention, if the court, in the first place, refuse to let him into proof of the facts in his justi- fication ; and, in the next place, prevent him from arguino^ the law to the jury, upon which his intention — in other words, his gn.ilt or his innocence — depends ? These authorities seem to me to estahlish the foUowino^ points: — That even in Hngland, at common law, all pertinent questions of law, in capital trials, may he, and ought to he, argued to tiie jury under the ijeneral issue of not guilty; that even the matter of a special plea, that had heen over- ruled by the court, may be so arijued ; and that any and all matters of legal defence that could not be taken advantage of by way of special plea, may also be argued to the jury, lo prove the innocence and good intentions of the prisoner. And such I take to have been common law of Kngland ever since trials by jury have been known. In fact, in such cases, their powers, their duties, and their oaths as jurors, place them, for the time being, in a similar situation to the English House of Lords on the trial of a peer of the realm ; each of them — the jury in the one case, and the House of Lords in the other — are trying one of their peers. And the court, in the one case, are the law advisers of the jury, as in the other all the judges of Eng^land are the law advisers of the House of Lords. — Foster's C. L. 143, &.C.; 4 Tuck. Bl. 263. The same thing may be said of the United States Senate, when it sits as a high court of impeachment upon a President; then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is the presiding officer, and the law adviser of that body. Ill this country, in 1804, this same question arose upon the impeachment of Samuel Chase, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, befire the Senate of the United States. The impeachment consisted of eight distinct articles. We have nothing to do except with the first article, which contains three distinct specifica- tions, and is as follows : "ARTICLE I. "That, unmindful of the solemn duties of his office, and contrary to the sacred obIiij;ation by which he stood bound to discharge them 'faithfully and impartially, and without respect to persons,' the said Samuel Chase, on the trial of Jolui Fries, charged with fiigh treason before the circuit court of the United States, held for the district of Pennsylvania, in the city of Philadelphia, during the months of April and May, one thousand eight hundred, whereat the said Samuel Chase presided, did, in his official ca- pacity, conduct himself in a manner highly arbitrary, oppressive, and un- just, viz. : " 1. In delivering an opinion in writing on the question of the law, on the construction of which the defence of the accused materially depended, tending to prejudice the minds of the jury against the case of the said John Fries, the prisoner, before counsel had been heard in his defence. "2. In restricting the counsel for the said Fries from recurring to such English authorities as they believed apposite, or from citing certain statutes of the United States, which they deemed illustrative of the positions upon which they intended to rest the defence of their client. 1016 Rep. No. 546. "3. In debarring the prisoner from his constitutional privilege of ad > dressing the jury (through his counsel) on the law, as well as the fact which was to determine liis guilt or innocence ; and at tiie same time en- deavoring to wrest from the jury their indisputable right to hear argument, and determine upon the question of law. as well as the question of fact, in- volved in the verdict which they were required to give. "In consequence of vi^hich irregular conduct of the said Samuel Chase, as dangerous to our liberties as it is novel to our laws and usages, the said Jolin Fries was deprived of the right secured to him by the eighth article amendatory of the constitution, and was condemned to death without hav- ing been heard by counsel in his defetice, to the disgrace of the character of the American bench, in manifest violation of law and justice, and in open contempt of the right of juries, on which ultimately rest the liberty and safety of the American people." To the third specification I would direct your attention, for the purpose of showing that the House of Kef)resentatives of the United States, forty years ago, considered it a constitutional privilege in the prisoner to addre-s the jury upon the laic as well as the/ac/; and the indisputable ris^lit of the jury to hear argument and determine as to both, upon the questions in- volved in the verdict they were required to give.* Mr, Chase himself, in his answer, admits the docttine, but denies the fact; andt Hopkinson, his counsel, defends him on that ground; whilst Martin t and Harper § alone deny both the right and the fact, and would restrict the jury to taking the law from the court. Upon taking the final question upon that article of guilty or not guilty, the vote, 1 think, stood 18 to 16 for a conviction ; the two members from Rhode Island (namely, Messrs. Ellery and Howland) both voting upon that article, guilty. There was, however, not a constitutional majority of two- thirds of the whole, and so the learned judge escaped conviction. 2d Wilson's Works, 372: "But, in many cases, the question of law is intimately and inseparably blended with the question of fact; and when this is the case, the decision of one necessarily involves the decision of the other. When this is the case, it is incumbent on the judges to inlorm the jury concerning the law; and it is incumbent on the jury to pay nmch re- gard to the information which they receive from the judges. But now the difficulty in this interesting subject begins to pres^ upon us. Suppose that, after all precaution taken to avoid it, a difference of sentiment takes place between the judges and the jury with regard to a point of law; suppose the law and the fact to be so closely interwoven, that a determination of one must at the same time embrace a determination of the other. Suppose a mat'er e it enacted, c5*c., That if any person shall be prosecuted by indict- ment or information, for writing, or publishing, or causing to he written or published, or aiding or assisting therein, any defamatory libel or libellous matter, it shall be lawful for the defendant, upon th'! trial of the cause, to give in evidence, in his defence, the truth of the matter contained in the writing or publication charged as a libel ; and the jury who shall try tne cause shall have a right to determine the law and the fact, under the di- rection of the court, as in other cases," (Passed in 1804.) The court were understood at the trial to say that the jury had the same right of determining the law in every case, civil as well as criminal ; and tiiat it was in all cases confined to the opjjlicabiliti/ of the law, as laid down by the conrt, to the facts as they were proved to the jury. I'o us it would seem that the legislature of Rhode Island, in 1804, when the act just read was passed, entertained intentions and views widely different from those now advanced by the court. If at that time there were no cases in which the jury were to determine the law as well as the fact, the legislature surely would not have used the language they did use, "as in other cases." If they weie, as the court con- lend, to determine the law as much in one case as in another, no such power would have t)een necessary, and it would not have been granted ; nothing would havr been said ;ibout it; it would have been passed over in silence, as a merely incidental power, pertaining to the jury in all cases. Therefore to us it would seimi that the legislature intended to recognise, as existing law, the right of the jury to determine the law as well as the facts in capital cases ; and justly deeming reputation and character no less dear than life itself, also intended by the act in question to clothe the jury with a new and further power to the same effect, in all criminal prosecu- tions for defamatory libels. The whole act, taken together, seems to us to admit of no other construction. Then wliat were the ''other cases" referred to in this act? Why, clear- ly, criminal trials for capital offences — at the head of which stands high treason. It is perfiectly well known that, up to a much later period — in fact, until within a few years — our courts did not charge juries at all in 1018 Rep. No. 546. civil cases; and very rarely, if at all (unless asked by the jury themselves) in criminal cases, whether capital or otherwise. The practice ofarguitiof matter of law in snch cases to the jury, not only in our own courts, but tlirouijhout the country, has been such as we now contend for as a right. In the trial of Chase, already cited, ample proof of this may be found. We tlvrefore insist upon it as the right of the de- fendant, through his counsel; as the right also of the jury; and as an inseparable incident of the common law jnry trial — the great bulwark of our liberties. Of that great right, without the full exercise of which he could not have a fair trial, the prisoner at the bar has been deprived, by what we consider the erroneous ruling of the court ; and upon this ground, also, we ask that a new trial may be granted. Hiiile. J. — The constitution clearly points cut our duty. It directs the judg-es to "instruct" the jury in all cases. Tiirtier. — So it does, may it please your honors ; but to convey the same idea, the books use the words inslrucf, direct^ and charge^ indiscriminately ; and they are all of them synonymous, in this case, with the word advise. Durjee, Ch. J — If the jury do not take the law from the court, how are they to know what it is? Turner. — The jury hear the law read and argued at the bar, and thus obtain their information — as also from the opinion given by the court. The court adjourn until 9 o'clock to-morrow morning. Wednesday Morning, Jnve 12, 1S44. The court met as usual. Mr. Dorr brought in. Mr. Dorr. — I wish to say further, in reference to exceptions 13 and 16, that we urge the point only as ap[)licahle to cnpilal cases. Again : If the court have considered the first exception, so far as the admission of testimony to prove the disqualification of certain of the jury is concerned, 1 should like to know the decision, on account of the wit- nesses, who are here at, great inconvenience to themselves, and expense to me, which I cannot afF'rd. Mr. Blake. — I wish to be heard. Dorr. — The matter was argued on both sides, and submitred on the first day. Blake. — As other exceptions have a bearing on that, I should like to be heard on all the exceptions together. Diirfee, Ch. 7.— My difficulty is, that the jurymen may not have been prevented from giving a fair verdict in a very plain case like this ; what- ever the cause of challenge might have been, it is not shown that it had any influence in the formation of the verdict. Blake. — The juror must have given an uvfai.r decision. Prejudice, however strong, is not enough. No matter what the juror may have said against the prisoner. Did he act fairly? that is the question. Turner. — The prisoner by law is entitled to a speedy, a fair, and an impartial trial. It the jury was composed of partial and prejudiced men — men who had prejudged tlie cause — 1 care not what their verdict may have been, nor how they arrived at it — he cannot be said to have had a fair trial by an impartial jury, and miahl full as well have been tried in the county of Providence where he belonged. Dorr.— It is the right of the accused to have an impartial jury. If the Rep. No. 546. 1019 facts and the testimony liad been known when the jnrnrs were sworn, they would have been challeng^'d, and must have been taken oif ; no verdict they can give, will cure a radical defect in the organization of the jury. Haile^ J. — The juror swore he had no prejudice ; now, if he had a pre- judice, he was guilty of perjury, and the evidence lo be produced against iiim should be such as would secure a conviction of [)erjury. The juror once being tried, it strikes me, by all the authorities, that we cannot go into question of partiality again. Turner. — How was it in Talhiian's case? After }ie had been examined, the witness (VVaite) was called. Would Waiie's testimony convict Tall- nian of perjury? Staples, J, — 1 was inclined lo hear and weigh the evidence at first; but the opinion of the court being as it is now on the effect of the evidence, I am, on the whole, decidedly against tlie admission of evidence. Haile, J. — I deem the matter foreclosed by the swearing of the juror. BraytoH, J. — I am willing to hear the evidence. Durfee, Ch. J. — The court being divided, 1 suppose the evidence must be adniitted. Staples. J. — The argument was on the objection of the attorney general to the court's receiving evidence. I was in favor of it, and the court were divided on tlie question ; but now, as three judges think the testimony, if admitted, would not be a ground for a new trial, as there is nov) no fact for a jury to try, and the court is divided about other matters, 1 am against ad- mitting it. Dorr. — -Your honor seems to take it for granted that the jury had nolhiiig of fact to try. Now I deny that I did the acts as charged in the indict- ment, with tlie intents and motives imputed to me, which could alone de- termine my guilt or innocence, and therefore I say that I am not gnilty. Staples, ./.—I have no doubt of tlie purity of the motives of the defend- ant. 'I'his is the view 1 have always tiiken ; but there was no legal excuse^ and there was notliing for the jury to try; therefore, whether the jurors were all fri e from prejudice, is of less importance. Dorr. — Well, how does your honor know but some of the jury might have thought so too, if we had been allo-v ed to show and prove to the jury what the foundations of my actions were? The court gave no decision on the subject. Mr. Turner proceeded, taking I4th exception. He said it was not his intention, as the court lia.cl indulged fiim with an argument on the sul'ject of State treason during tlie tri;d, to go over the same ground again, upon the same authorities; he should ask the attention of the court to those au- th()rities now, when they could give the sulject greater delil)eraiion than was expected of them in the progress of an important jury trial. (Mr. T. gave the court a list of the aulliorities — see ante pages 927 el scq. He said that at the former argument he had inadvertently omitted one authority, as to the cotentporaiteous and practical construction of the con- stitution on the subject of treason, wfiich he now wished to put in. In Massachusetts in 1787, before the adoption of the United States constitu- tion, a law was passed very similar to that of Rhode Island, and already cited, f )r punishing (reason against the State ; and it was re|)ealed, as tliat of Rhode Lland had been, upon the first revision of their statutes (after the United States constitution was adopted) in 18UL — furnishing another in- stance of the construction contended for. 1020 Rep. No. 546. Dorr. — I will add one suggestion, if the court please, on this point of treason against a State, which, perliaps, was not sufficiently dwelt on at the former argument. At the time when the United States constitution was framed, there were no district or circuit courts; there were no judicial divisions of the United States; the only ones known were the States themselves. At that time there was no general judiciary system ; it could not then be known how the United Stales courts would be organized, or their jurisdiction limited and arranged. P'or aught that could be then foretold, Congress might by law provide that treason thereafter, as it theretofore had been, should be pim- ished by the courts of the respective States. So that the framers of the constitution, in order to secure a trial of the offender where the offence was committed, whether before a United States or a State tribunal, could only provide, as they did, in the article respecting fugitives from justice, for their being returned to the State having jurisdiction of the crime; leaving it to be determined by the future law of Congress, whether that jurisdiction, with- in the State, should be vested in a court of the State or of the United States. Thus we now find that, by the act of 1790, it is mis/>rhion of treason to conceal treason from the governor of a State, although it be treason against the United States. Atioell. — My idea is, that the constitution provided temporarily for the punishment of the crime in the Slate courts., until the United States should arrange their judicial power to take cognizance of it. The article in the constitution does not say he shall be sent to the State "against whom tiie offence was committed," but to the State " having jurisdiction." Bef)re this constitution was adopted, the States alone had courts. Then the constitu- tion must have meant the State judiciaries in the 3d article, and of course they were providing for the punishment of treason against the United States. Mr. Turner next took up the 15th exception. This exception is fotmded, in part, on the act of Rhode Island of March, 1842, (commonly called the Algerine law) and involves a consideration of the constitutionality of the 4th section of that act, so far as it provides for the finding and trial of in- dictments in any county other than the one in which the offence is charged to have been committed. The court, at the trial, said that this question having been once solemnly argued and decided by the same conit, in the Cooley case, they considered it a closed question ; and gave that as a reason why they then would not hear it reargued. If the opinion of the court is made up on this point, I should not deem it proper to reargue it on the same authorities; if it is an open question, then we claim it as a privilege and a right to be heard. Is this the same courl 1 This is a question partly of /or?/; and partly of /cec^. We beg leave to differ from the court in this matter. Tlie court that decided the Cooley and .loslin cases, by a different title., acted under the old charter government. This court, with a neio title, hold under a vcio constitution and new form of government. That was composed of ^/«ee judges — this o^ four. That was elected anmially ; this hold their offices during good behavior, or until removed, impeached, or otherwise disqualified. That they sit in the same place, exercise the same jurisdiction, and use the same seal, does not make them the sa/ne court. But deriving all their powers from a new and different form of govern- ment — being composed of a different nnmbtr of members, and holding Kep. No. 546. 1021 their offices by a neiD tenure^ create iliem, both in point of laio dudfact, a ?iew court. But, admitting that your honors think otherwise, and still deem this to be the same court, in law, that made the decision in the cases referred to ; — even then, we say that on a question of this importance, whether we con- t^ider its bearing on the present case, or the course of future adjudications, neither respect for authorities, nor mere pride of opinion, ought in justice to prevent litis court from reviewing, and, if need be, reversing any decision of that. Examples of such a practice are of frequent, or at least occasional occurrence, in other courts — even in the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest judicial tribunal in the country. As an instance, 1 refer your honors to the case of Bollmaii and Swartwout, in 1807, reported in 4 Cranch, 103, where Chief Justice Marshall says : " I am very far from de- nying the general authority of adjudications. The uniformity in decisions is often as important as tlieir abstract justice. But 1 deny that a court is precluded from the right, or exempted from the necessity, of examining into the correctness or consistency of its own decisions, or those of any other tribunal. If I need precedent to support me in this doctrine, I will cite the example of this court, which in the case of United Slates vs. Moore, Feb- ruary, 1805, acknowledged tlial in the case of United States vs. Sims, Feb- ruary, IS03, it had exercised a jurisdiction it did not possess. Strange indeed would be the doctrine, that an inadvertency once conmiilted by a court, shall ever after impose upon it the necessity of persisting in iis error. A case that cunnot be tested by principle, is not laiv; and in a thousand instances have such cases been declared so by courts of justice." In a case, then, like the present, where a decision depends upon, or is for- tified by wo precedent, and the principle of it is at least doubtful, how much more should the court be willing to reconsider an adjudication of its own? The court directed Mr. Turner to proceed with the argument. Mr. Turner went on as follows: The indictment in tliis case is founded on the 1st section of the 1st chap- ter of tlie criminal code of 1838; but it is preferred and prosecuted in thia court imder the 4th section of the act of March, 1842, entitled "An act in relation to offences against the sovereign power of the Slate." The part of the section material to this case is as follows : "All indict' ments under this act, and also all indictments for treason against this State, may be preferred and found in any county of this State, without regard to the county in which the offence was committed; and the supreme judicial court shall have full power, for good cause, from time to time, to remove for trial any indictment which may be found under this act, or for treason against this State, to such county of this State as they shall deem best, for the purpose of insurins: a fair trial of the same." This act, it is contended, is unconstitutional and void, as destroying or abridging the right of the common law trial by jury, which right is of itself a fundamental part of our constitution. In order the better to understand the nature and force of our objections, it may be proper to inquire into the constitutiori. and incidents of the jury trial as established by the common law, especially in criminal matters. When we speak of the common law jury trial, we use language in law strictly technical ; and such trial is intended and understood as embracing all the circunisiances and incidents that pertaiti to such trial, as much as though they were all particularly expressed or enumerated. As was ex- 102-2 Rep. No. 546. pressed by Mr. Madison, in the Viro^inia convention, on the adoption of the United States constitntion, (2d vol. Elliot's Debates, p. 389,) on the same snbject, " he (Mr. Mason) is displeased that there is no provision for pre- etnptory challerjges to juries. There is no such provision made in our con- stitntion or laws. The answer made by an honorable member lately, is a fnll answer to this. He said, and wuh great propriety and truth, that where a technical word was used, all the incidents belonging- to it necessarily at- tended it. The right of challenge is incident to the trial by jury; and, there' fore, as the one is secured, so is the other." The first great feature in jury trials in criminal cases, at common law, is, that the indictment shall be found by a grand jury composed of good and lawful men of the county in which the offence is committed. This was a right of our English ancestors long before Magna Charta, and ever after, to the settlement of the American colonies; and its violation was one of the causes of the Revolution. (For authorities, see next point.) The next in order was, that the trial should be had in the same county where the indictment was forntd^ being that in which the offence was com- mitted. -25 Ed. 8, c. 4.-4 Hawk. P. C. 371.— 3 Coke Ins. 27 Eng. Lib. 213, 221, 229, and 24.-2 Hale P. C. 264, 163, and 164.— 4 T. Black. 349, 1 Trials per pais 115, c. 8.-3 Inst. c. 2, p. 24, 25, 26, 27, 33.— 1 Hale P. C. 221, 298, 299.— Hawk. P. C. 2, c. 23, s. 92.— Rhode Island Res. 1790, art. 8. Crim. Code of 1838, p. 992, s. 26. The next was, that all the jurors sicorn should be of the same county of the vicinage, or neighbors of the accused. (For authorities, see last point, ante.) The wru of venire was to be served by a sheriff tcho was without sus- picion ef partiality, or unduly influenced by any one. — 1 Chitty, C. L. 437 and 438, and authorities there cited. The jurors themselves were not only to be of the county where the of- fence was committed, but also to be men of substance in point of estate, and, individually, above all objection or exception. <'0/«//e exceptione majores'^ — ■ and probi et legtdes homines. Another incident in capital cases was. a right to peremptory challenge of jurors; in treason, to the number of thirty-five — and as many more for cause, as good objections could be made to. And, (one of the most important of all,) the jury in criminal trials were judges both of the law and the fact. — 4 Tuck. Bl., tit. Jury. They were all to be under oath ; and, lastly, they must all unite and agree upon the verdict they might render under their oath. These are the principal features and incidents of the trial by jury, at com- mon law ; and the great and good Lord Hale had them all in view when, two hundred years ago, he pronounced "the trial by a jury of twelve men, as settled in England, to be the best trial in the world." — Hale's Common Law, 286. It was under a full consideration of all this combination of circumstances and incidents, that Sir W. Blackstone, in his Commentaries, vol. 3, p. 349 and 356, passed his encomiums upon it, and at page 380 declares it to be, " therefore, upon the whole, a duty which every man owes to his country, his friends, his posterity and himself, to maintain, to the utmost of his power, this valuable constitution in all its rights ; to restore it to its ancient dignity, if at all impaired by the different value of property, or otherwise de- viated from its first institution ; to amend it, wherever it is defective ; and, Rep. No. 546. 1023 above all, to guard with the most jealous circumspection against the intro- duction of ueio and arbitrary methods of trini, which, under a variety of phxnsible pretences, may, in time, imperceptibly undermine this best pre- servative of English liberty." Under similar views of trials by jury — and an enlightened view of the powers and rights of juries was it — Lord Brougham, in his speech in tiie Enghsh House of (commons, February 7, iy2S, on the state of the law, thus expressed himself: " The House will permit me to say a {qw words upon the subject of juries ; the rather, because this venerable institution has, I lament to say, been of late years attacked by some of tbe most distinguished legal reformers. Speaking from experience, (and experience alone,) as a practical lawyer, I must aver that I consider the method of juries a most wholesome, wise, and perfect invention, for the purposes of judicial inquiry. In the first place, it controls the judge, who miglit not only in political casfs have a prejudice aghinst one party, or a leaning towards another, but might also, in cases not political, where some chord of political feeling is unexpectedly struck, if left snpretnc, show a bias respecting suitors, or (what is as detrimental to justice,) their counsel or attorneys. In the second place, it supplies that knowledge of the world, and that sympatliy with its tastes and feelings, which judges seldom possess, and which, from their habits and stations in society, it is not decent that they should possess, in a large measure, upon all subjects. In the third place, what individual can so well weigh conflicting evidence, as twelve men indifferently chosen from the middling classes of the community, of various habits, characters, preju- dices, and ability? The number and variety of the persons is eminently calculated to secure a sound conclusion upon the opposing evidence of wit- nesses, or of circumstances. '• The system is above all praise — it looks well in theory, and works well in practice — it wants only one thing to render it perfect, namely: that it should be applied to those cases from which the practice in equity has ex- cluded it ; and that improvement would be best effected by drawing back to it the cases which the courts of equity have taken from the common law, and which they constantly evince their incapacity to deal with, by sending issues to be tried whenever any difficulty occurs." Such was the trial by jury claimed of the British crown, as a fundamen- tal law of the realm, by the Continental Congress, in their declaration of rights, October 14,1774, art. 5, where they say : "That the respective colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicin- age, according to the course of that law." Such was the trial by jury claimed and demanded by Rhode Island, in their resolutions of October, 1769. " That the seizing of any person or persons, residing in this colony, suspected of any crime whatever commit- ted therein, and sending such person or persons to places beyond the sea to be tried, is highly derogatory to the rights of British subjects; as thereby the inestimable privilege of being tried by a jury from the vicinage, as well as the liberty of summoning and producing witnesses on such trial, will be taken away from the party accused." Such was the trial by jury, for the deprivation of which the declaration of independence charged the British king with having given assent to acts of Parliament " for protecting, by a mock trial, from punishment" his troops " for any murders committed on the inhabitants of these States ;" "for de- 1024 Rep. No. 546. priying us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ;" and " for trans- porting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences," and " for altering fundamentally the forms of our governments." Such was the trial by jury, which the liberal-minded friends of civil lib- erty, in the British House of Lords, by their protest against the " act for the better regulating the government of the province of Massachusetts Bay, May 11, 1774, asserted in behalf of the colonies," " because the governor and council, thus intrusted with powers with which the British constitution has not intrusted his Majesty and his privy council, have the means of re- turning such a jury, in each particular case, as may best suit with the gratificiition of their passions and interests. The lives, liberties, and prop- erty of the subject are put into their hands, without control ; and the invaluable right of trial by jury is turned into a snare for the people, who have hitherto looked upon it as their main security against the licentious- ness of power ;" and made on the ISth of the same month a similar protest against the act for lemoval of persons to England, to be tried there for of- fences committed here. — 4th Ser. American Archives, p. 127, 94. Such was the trial by jury in Rhode Island in June, 1777, during the revolutionary war, vi^hen a part of our State was in the hostile occupation of an open and avowed enemy, and toryism and treason were sown broad- cast through the State; then a legislature of Rhode Island repealed an act of the previ(His session, that authorized the taking up of a jury by venire to try such offences, without the regularly drawn jury, because, as they say, it was " contrary to the ancient laws, usages, and customs of this State." Such was the trial by jury here also in 1787, when the case of Trevett and Weeden was tried, in which it was maintained "that the trial by jury" (that is to say, the common law trial by jury) was "a fundamental right, a part of our legal constitution : that the legislature cannot deprive the citi- zens of this right." — (Trial, page 11.) And the supreme court of this State at that day so decided, in defiance of an act of the legislature. The judges who had the manly independence so to decide, were summoned to appear forthwith before the Assembly, " to render their reasons for adjudging an act of the General Assembly unconstitutional, and so void ;" and they did so at- tend, and they did render their reasons, as required : and upon being fully heard by counsel, at the bar of the two houses, to the lasting honor of a Rhode Island legislature, which I delight to recall, they were all honorably discharged. Such now also is the common law trial by jury, which every other State constitiuion has declared shall be forever held ftacred and inviolate^ and which is also secured in express terms by that of the United States also. Such was the trial by jury in 1830, when Judge Story, in the case of Par- sons vs. Bedford and others, (3 Peters's Reps.) declared that " the trial by jury is justly dear to the American people. It has always been an object of deep interest and solicitude, and every encroachment upon it has been watched with great jealousy. The right to such a trial is, it is believed, incorporated into, and secured in every State constitution in the Union. One of the strongest objections originally taken against the constitution of the United States, was the want of an express provision securing the right of trial by jury in civil cases. As soon as the constitution was adopted, this right was secured by the seventh amendment of the constitution pro- posed by Congress, and which received an assent of the people so general as to establish its importance as a fundamental guarantee of the rights and liberties of the people. At this time there were no States in the Union, the Rep. No. 546. 1025 nnsis of whose jurisprudence was not essentially that of the common law, in its widest meaiiino;." ^ ^ Such, may it please yonr honors, is the constitutional trial hy jury in its unshorn state, both in tlngland and tliis country: such is the trial by jury, it may be presumed, that the convention whicli framed our present consti- tution probabhj intended by that article of the bill of rights attached to it, which declares that it shall remain sacred and inviolate. I say probably intended; for this very obnoxious act was then m full forre, and was the law of the State regulating jury trials; and it cannot, in justice to human- ity, be supposed that the convetition ever intended to make such a law JiiudaiiieHtal and perpetual, by [)lacing it beyond the reach of all future legislation. And now, may it please your honors, ha'ving shown in what the com- mon law trial by jury consists, by an enumeration of its inseparable inci- dents; and haviuo- attempted, by atithorities, to establish it as a part oi our fundanjentid or constitutional law, let me ask your honors' attention to the alarming inroads made upon its very vitals by the act of March, 1842. Th€ fourth section of the act provides that '• All indictu)ents under this act, and also all indictments for treason against this State, may be pre- ferred and found in any county of this State, without regard to the county in which the offence was conmiitted." It leaves it, therefore, entirely at the discretion or caprice of the attorney general to proceed against a sup- posed offender in any county he pleases, no matter how remote or how hos- tile to the accused ; and according to tlie construction given to the act by the court, it authorizes a trial to be had in the county where such indict- ment may be found, " without regard to the county in which the offence was committed;" thus enabling the prosecutor to take the accused away from his own county, under an indictment found by a grand jury of an- other county, and there try him by a petit jury, equally unknown to him and liis friends, if he have any — beyond the leach of witnesses in his own favor — beyond the means of such challenges as he might make to jurors of his own county — and alike beyond the means of contradicting or dis- crediting the witnesses brought against him. The extent of territory of this State, to be sure, is small ; but principle is the same everywhere. Suppose the legislature of one of the large States — New York, Pennsylvania, or Virffinia, for instance — should pass such an act ; it is hardly to be believed that the supreme court of either of those States would declare such an act to be law. Suppose that Congress siiould pass an act, authorizing indictments for treason against the United States to be found and prosecuted in the same way in any of the United States, without regard to the State or district in which the offence was committed, (and, by parity of reason, they well might do so :) is it possible to doubt that the Su- preme Court of the United States would at once pronounce it unconstitu- tional and void ? Durfce, Ch. J. — The only question is, whether the General Assembly can,, by statute, alter the common law. Tomer. — That depends on another — whether that common law was a part of the fundamental or constitutional law. If it were, then the legisla^ lure could not alter it. [Turner proceeds.] The right of trial by jury implies and includes all the incidents that I have enumerated. Ordinary legislation cannot rightfully abridge them. Yet this act, at one dash of the pen, abolishes the necessity of an. indictments 65 1026 Rep. No. 546. found in the county, and by jurors of the county where the offence was com- mitted ; subjects the accused to be tried in a foreig^n or remote county, by a jury of that county; and essentially alteis the nature of the common law, and constitutional jury trial. If the legislature had gone a step farther, and completely abolished the right to peremptory challenges, (as they have already reduced the number of thetn from 35 to 20,) the form of trial by jury would be hardly worth pre- serving ; for, as it is not every decision of twelve men that constitutes a trial by jury, in legal acceptation, the purposes of justice might have been as well subserved by a military as by such a civil tribunal. 1 contend, therefore, that that portion of the 4th section of the act of March, 1S42, was unconstitutional and void ; that the ruling of the court was erro- neous, and that a new trial ought to be awarded. The court adjourned until 3 p. m. Wednesday afternoon, June 12, 1844. The court met as usual. Mr. Dorr brought in. Mr. Turner took up the 17th exception — viz: "Because the court misdi- rected the jury, in charging them that the only question of intention on the part of the defendant, which, under their oaths, they could consider, v» as whether the defendant, at the times laid in the indictment, intended to com- mit the acts charged against him in the same ;" and urged to the court that the guilt or innocejice of the prisoner was principally a question of general intent; that any presumed criminal intent might be legally rebutted by evi- dence drawn from facts, and circumstances proved on his part ; that, for this purpose, he had offered proof of the adoption of the people's constitution by both votes and voters; of his election as governor, the constitution itself, and the address which he delivered to the people's legislature, besides a great mass of oral testimony drawn from his own and the government witnesses ; that the testimony thus offered, and ruled out by the court, together with that which was introduced and charged by the court as irrelevant, was legally sufficient to rebut all presumption of criminal intent on his part ; and that the charge of the court to the jury not to consider it, but to confine them- selves to his intent to commit the acts charged against him, at the times laid in the indictment, was clearly a misdirection on their part, for which a new trial should be granted. Mr. T. then took up the 18th exception, viz: "Because the officers charged with the service of writs oi' venire for the return of 1U8 jurois, selected and summoned the vi^hole number, except one, from the members of one politi- cal party in the State, whose political feelings and prejudices are inimical to the political party to which the defendant is attached, and to the defendant himself." Dnrfee, Ch. J. — What do you propose? That we shall determine what makes a democrat or a whig? Dorr. — We offer to prove the facts alleged by competent witnesses. — • (Reads t Chitty, &c.) Turner comments on the singular fact, that where public opinion had been so generally divided as on recent Rhode Island affairs, the sheriff should have summoned 107 out of 108 men of the opposite parly. Blake. — A good deal is said about party — what party do you mean? Turner. — I have so far, may it please your honors, avoided the use of any term that might be offensive either to the court or the government ; but, Rep. No. 546. 1027 beinsf so pointedly called on, I say that I mean the Algerine, the "/a?y and mder^'' the anti suffrage party; the party that, with exasperated and embittered feeUngs, are opposed to Mr. Dorr, and the parly with wliicli he has acted. These parties, at one time, constitntpd the two great political divisions of tlie people of this State. I therefore say that it does not seem to me tlie best way in the world to get an impartial jury, to look for them all among poHtical enemies. Durftc^ Cli. J. — Would it be fairer to take them from the other party? Turner. — No. But from both indiscriminately. IJurfee^ C'k J. — All who were not for the government were against it. Turner. — We offer evidence to prove what we allege as to their hostile political party feelings. Dorr. — What I complain of is, that the sheriff studiously avoided the members of one party, apparently deeming ihem not the most advantageous triors, and selected them all trom another party. It looks a little like an un- fairness which is inconsistent with my riglit to an impartial jury. [Aticell makes an allusion to the convent case.) Dorr. — Mine is a much stronger case than that of the Catholics in the re- cent case of Daniel O'Connell. Bosworlk. — None of those summoned took part in the rebellion. Blake. — There were several who left Mr. Dorr when he used force. The court refuse to admit any evidence as to the political character of the jury. The exceptions having now been all considered in course, Mr. Turner takes up the substitute for exception No, 4, rel;iting to the challenge to the array. He read the exception, and an affidavit filed by the prisoner, as fol- lows, viz; Supreme Court, March tertn, A. D. 1S44. Newport, sc: Indiclment — The State vs. Thomas W. Dorr. On motion for new trial. And now, on this I7th day of the term, the said Dorr on solemn oath de- clares and says, that, upon a challenge to the array made on the trial of said indictment, and overruled by the court, this affiant has new and further evi- dence in its support, which has come to this affiant's knowledge since the verdict in said cause was rendered, and of which he v/as then ignorant. THOMAS W. DORR. Sworn to in open court: William Gilpin, Clerk. Blake. — We are not prepared to meet such a charge, and object to its be- ing filed. The court permit it to be filed. Durfee., Ch, /, then (Slelivered the opinion of the court upon the objec- tions made by the attorney general to the 1st exception — That no evidence shonid be received to disqualify the jurors by proof of previous hostility to the prisoner. MR. BLAKE, ATTORNEY GENERAL. IN REPLY TO MR. TURNER'S OPENING ARGUMENT, ON MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL. Mr. Blake said that, although it was then pretty late, yet he would go on to reply to the bill of exceptions that evening, as he had very little to say on 1028 Rep. No. 546. the subject, and thought it probable that he should not occupy their honors'' attention more than about fifteen minutes. (It was then about 5 p. m.) Mr. Blake said, as to the lat exception, it had already been sufficiently p.roued and disposed of by the court's having refused to admit testimony in support of it. He, however, conimented on Mr. Turner's authorities, and read 17th Mass. Rep. 515, 1 Pick. Rep. 41, 6 Dane Dig. 233, Wend. Dig. N. Y. Rep. 318 and 320, and 5 Mass. R. 78. As to Tailman, (said Mr. B.,} it is going a good ways to make such an exception. The objection, lo be available to the prisoner, must not be for light atid trivial, but lor vitally ini- portaut grounds. In this case, Waite (the witness) swore positively. Tall- man only negatively; and, by all the rules of evidence, he ought to be, as in fact he was, set aside. As lo Westcott, (said Mr. B.,) he was challenged for cause, and, upon trial, the challenge was not sustained. It is too late now to try the matter over again ; he was challenged peremptorily, and of course did not sit on the jury. Mr. B. commented ou the authorities cited, and insisted that they 'lid not meet this case. As to the 4th exception, touching the challenge to the array, I consider this exception as virtually settled by the decision of the court. If evidesice cannot be admitted after verdict to disqualify a single juror, a fortiori it will not be received to set aside a whole pannel. — [Reads 1 Chitty C. L. 545, Har. Dig. 522-4, s. 8, 6 Dane's Dig. 253, cites 3 John. N. Y. Dig. 320.] As to the 5th exception — that the prisoner had not sufficient time to can- vass the qualifications of the jurors. The law gives no time. But no pris- oner ever had more time, in the whole, than Mr. Dorr had; the most he could expect was a reasonable time, and of that the court alone are the judges. As to the 6th exception. There is nothing in this exception, as to loss of peremptory challenges ; because when the motion was made at the trial, the si.x challenged jurors had been discharged, or excused by the court, and were no longer within the power or control of the court — in fact, were no longer jurors : and I know of no law that requires the court to ask permis- sion of a prisoner on trial, when they are to excuse from further attendance such jurors as he, by his peremptory challenge, has himself told that he would tiot have to sit on his cause. As to the 7th exception — that prisoner was not furnished with a full list of the government witnesses — I have the same to say that was said with regard to copies of the pannels of jurors. He was not, by any law, entitled to any notice. It was otherwise in England, to be sure, in cases of constructive treason. This is a case of actual levying tvar, and not of constructive trea- son. In point of fact, however, he did have notice of them, as fast as we ourselves knew who they were — at least all of them but one. As to the 8th exception — the introduction of other evidence before any overt act was proved. This objection was made ariB argued at the trial, and the counsel read authorities upon the point; but the court, upon the au- thority of Chief Justice Marshall, in Burr's trial, decided that we might in- troduce it. Now I agree, if we had not subsequently proved an overt act of treason, and the prisoner's participation in it, all such evidence would have gone for nothing. It is merely a question of the order in which the evidence fIk^uIcI be iiitn'ducerl, and entirely in the discretion of ilie court. As to the 9th exception— admitting aggravating testimony as to facts be- Rep. No. 546. 1029 yond ihe knowledge of the prij>oner. This testimony was introduced to cUaructcrize the assembly wliich was subsequently joined by the prisoner. Besides, before the court will grant a new trial, they must be satisfied that, if this testimony had been ruled out, the verdict would liave been dilfereiit from that fomid by the jury. , As to the lOth exception. I shall pass by all the authorities on this right of the people to make a constiiution ; the question had been fully and elab- orately argued and re-argued, and little now can be said on tfie subject. It was Mr. Dorr's intention to subvert the government of the State. He had no right to use force. Bosivnrlh. — His own legislature were opposed to it. Blake. — Mr. Dorr was not injured by tiie refusal to receive the votes, as proof of the people's constitution; they could not have been produced, if the court had admitted them ; and it would have been ntterly impracticable to prove them by so many v/itnesses as the votes themselves. This was all in- tended for mere show. Dorr. — '['here was no sJioio about it. The votes themselves were actually here — ready to be produced and verified. As to the llth exception, I shall say nothing. It is nearly like the hast, and has once been passed upon. The r2ih exception is about the same. As to the 13th exception, whether the jury are the judges of the law, (fcc. Tiie court already understand- all about that; but 1 will notice some of the gentleman's authorities. In the trial of Judge Chase, it appears to me that he laid down the law very much as this court has, and a portion of his counsel put it on tlse same ground; whereas, on the groimds contended for by the prisoner's counsel in this case, the court and jury would be coming continually in conflict. Mr. B. read Thos Coke, 355, 2 Sum. Rep. 241, 7 Dane Dig. 382, 3 Wend. 318, and commented on them. As to the 14th exception, I need say notliing, as I presume the opinion of the court on the subject of State treason remains the same as at the trial. As to the loth exception, 1 pass tliat over also, for the same reason ; it having been solemnly decided by the court, upoii a very learned and elab- orate argument. As to the IGih exception, that v/as embraced in the argument of the 13ih. As to the 17th and I8th exceptions, as it is now late, I will say what I liave to say about tliem in the morning, when 1 wish to remark on the whole subject of the bill. Tiie court adjourned until to morrow morning at 9 o'clock. TiiuRSDA.Y MORMNG, Juue 13, 1844. The court met as usual ; Mr. Dorr brought in. Mr. Blake (attorney general) continues his argument on the motion for a new^trial. Mr. B. said: As to the 17lh exception, (the ruling out evidence as to intent,) he was satisfied then, and now, that the evidence was inadmissible fjr ihat or any purpose, and very properly ruled i)ut by the court. x\s to the iSsh exce[)tion, he could say nothing. The court refused to admit any evidence in relation to it, and tlierefore it all went for nothing. i\ir. B. then recurred to the 4th exception, upon the substitute and afli- davit offered by the prisoner ; and contended that the objection could only 1030 Rep. No. 546. be mnde before the jurors were sworn, and that after they had been sworn, even though an unsuccessful challenge to the array had been interposed at the proper time, no exception could be taken to it after verdict^ upon which to ground an application for a new trial; that it was then too late; that more evidence was required to set aside a verdict in a capital case than in any other, because, in the former, the prisoner had the benefit of liis per- emptory challenges ; that a juror may have had prejudices that might be proved, and yet, before he was sworn, might have overcome them, and so tvulif have sworn that he had none; that (as had been ruled by the court) if, alter verdict, evidence would not be received to disqualify a single juror, a fortiori it would not be received to disqualify many, far less to set aside a whole array; that before the court would grant a new trial, they must be satisfied that some injustice had been done the prisoner by the verdict, which might be remedied on a new trial ; that another jury might find a ditFerent A^erdict ; but that in this case the prisoner had himself admitted the facts against him on the trial, and no intelligent jury, who regarded their oaths, could find a different verdict. He admitted that, if there had been a mis- trial, a new trial should be granted. Durfee^ Ch. J. — What i? a mis trial ? Blake. — A void trial — no trial at all. The additional authorities read by Mr. B. were — 2 Chilly, C. L. 545 ; Har. Dig. 1522-4; 17 Mass. 538, 4 do. 399 : 6 Dane's Dig. 251 ; and N. Y. Dig. 320. The argument was briefly closed by Mr. Turner for the prisoner. Mr. Turner said he thanked the Ienrn3d attorney general for having- given him, as he thought, very little to do, although he had stretched out fifteen minutes to somewhat more than four hours. He said this motion resolved itself into two questions for the consideration of the court, viz: 1st. Can the court, by law, grant a new trial in a capital case like this? iuid 2d. Has the prisoner, by his motion, fairly brought himself within the legal discretion of the court in granting one? The first question, whatever the law or the practice may be elsewhere, is settled in this State by statute, which expressly vests that power in this court. (Mr. Turner read R I. Digest of 1822, page 110, § 6.) Upon the other question, 1 have litde to add to that which has been al leady submitted to the court. In reply to the arguments and authorities of the attorney general, Mr. T, went nito a full reconsideration of the matter of challenge to the array, on his pirt insisting that the evidence (which he minutely stated at full length) ouglit to be received by the court; that it proved much more than the '■^tol- erable cause of suspicion'''' of improper interference with the duty of the officer in taking up the jury, mentioned in several of the books he had read ; that it was of itself, if there was no other point in the case, good and ample cause for a new trial ; that it affected and destroyed the legal competency of the whole jury ; and that no trial could he fair, that was had before a totally incompetent and -illegal jury; that this was the only legal way in which a remedy could be reached ; that the challenge was seasonably made, and. being overruled, the prisoner was driven to the necessity of challengino; the polls, or of submitting to have the whole illegal pannel packtd upon him. The court ruled that the evidence shall not be admitted, on the ground that the challens^e was tried at the time it was made. Rep. No. 546. 1031 Sta})les, J. — If all the facts were proved, they would be insufficient for setting the verdict aside; they would amount to nothing. The court adjourned until 3 p. m. Thursday afteknoon, June 13, 1844. The court met as usual ; Mr. Dorr brought in. Dnrfee Cli. J. — "^Phe court is not yet ready to dehver an opinion. The court adjourn until 9 o'clock to-morrow morning. Friday morning, June 14, 1844. The court met as usual ; Mr. Dorr brought in. Dni'fee^ Ch. J. — The deiay in delivering the opinion of the court has been occasioned by an effort to reduce it to writing; it has not yel been completed, and cannot be done now, for perhaps some days. We will state the general result arrived at now, with a view to any further proceedings ; and when completed, have the written opinion put on the files in the clerk's office. The motion for a new trial is overruled. MOTION IN ARREST OF JUDGMENT. Mr. Turner then put in and read a motion in arrest of judgment, as fol- lows, viz: " Newport, sc : •'Supreme Court, March term, A. D. 1844. "7m the case of the indictment — The tSlate vs. Thomas W. Dorr, for treason. "And now, on this nineteenth day of the term, after verdict given, and before judgment rendered in said cause, the said Thomas W. Dorr here moves this honorable court to arrest the judgment to be rendered on said verdict, for the following objections and causes of error, which arise upon the face of the record of said cause here remaininof. " 1. Because it appears by the indictment that the offences charged to have been committed by the said Dorr are charged to have been committed by him in the county of Providence, and the said indictment is found and returtjed a true bill by a grand jury composed of citizens of the county of Newport, sua)moned, sworn, and empanneled as the grand inquest of said last mentioned county, and not otherwise, and by them returned for trial to this honorable court at their August term, 1842. "2. Because it appearing by said indictment, as aforesaid, it also further appears by the record aforesaid, that the said Thomas W. Dorr was tried and convicted of the several offences charged against him in said indict- ment, at the present session of this honorable court, held in and for said county of Newport, and by a jury composed of the citizens of said county of Newport, summoned, empanneled, and sworn as such, and not otherwise; all which is contri^ry to law. Whereupon, he moves the court, here, to ar- rest the judgment in said cause. "THOMAS W. DORR." Mr. AtwtU. — I move the court to assign some future day for the argument. The great importance of the question itself, as well as the effects of the de- 1032 Rep. No. 546. cision, requires that it should be fully aroned. I have once argued tliis question, and wish to argue it fully to the court, having prepared myself to do so ; Mr. Turner's attention having necessarily been occupied in the consideration of other points of the case. My state of health, which your honors know, will allow me, I hope, to do this at any day after the rising of the General Assembly. My confidence in the question is very great. Bosworlh. — 1 object to any delay : the prisoner has had much delay already. It was known that Mr, Atwell would be unable to attend. This same question was originally one of the grounds for a new trial, and they professed to be ready to argue it. Turntr. — For myself, 1 say so now. But Mr. Atwell was always relied on to argue this question. It is on account of his ill health that any delay is now asked. Dorr.— On this question of delay, I wish it to be entirely understood that it is a matter between the court and Mr. Atwell, whose services I have much needed, and which, in this matter, would be of great importance. I ask for no delay on my own account. Blake. — 1 am opposed to any delay ; the argument ought to proceed im- mediately. Halle., J. — Could not the trial proceed, so far as the opening is concerned, and Mr. Atwell close the argument in writing? This would be a great re- lief to him, in his state of health. AiiceJl. — That would he satisfactory ; more so than to take the chances of being able to argue it after the rising of the Assembly. Everything Mr, Dorr has slated as to his expectations of my services is strictly correct. Diirfee., Ch. J. — I do not see but that would be a very good arrangement. iStoples, J. — I would extend every indulgence to Mr. Atwell ; but not even to him, as he is situated, without the assent of the prisoner. Atwell. — Mr. Dorr assents to it. Dvrjee^ Ch. J. — Then, Mr. Turner, you will proceed. MOTION IN ARREST OF JUDGMENT. Opening argument of Mr. Turner. May it please your honors: The question now to be presented for the consideration of your honors, is, whttlier the indicbnent in this case could be legally tried m this county? 1 am aware that the same question which arose on the indiclment against Judge Joslin has been once argued before, the former court, and tliat the decision was against us. The question, however, is one of such great importance to our client, Mr. Dorr, and of such deep interest to the com- munity at large, that we have felt ourselves excusable in strongly urging upon your honors its reconsideration upon this motion. The court need not to be informed that, in that case, the decision was not the unanimous opinion of the court ; and we tliink, even if it had been, as it was the first and only case which had arisen under a new law, and as the court now is differently constituted, composed of a diflJerent number of judges, (one of whoiTi has never heard the point argued,) it is not derogatory to the court to consider it as still an open question, and a proper subject to be reargued. The court, or a majority of them, are also aware that 1 was not present, and took no part in the argument of that case; and I may properly state Rep. No. 546. 1033 that I have seen no report of it; so that, in attempting the argnment in this case, I have no aids beyond my own views of the huv, and my own researches for authority. But when so great an innovation is attempted npon the jurisprudence of the State, it is most expedient that what is to be considered law should be deliberately and well settled in the first instance. The views I may take of the subject it would be egregious vanity in me to imagine will compare with those of the profound and learn< d scholars who argued the question before ; but they will be my own. and I doubt not that the court will bestow upon them all the consideration they may be entitled to. In the first place, then, I shall contend, and attempt to show by authori- ties, that, by the common law and ancient statutes of England — all of which were a pan of the common law of Rhode Island — a citizen who stood in- dicted was triable only in t\\ecoutitu where the offence was charged to have been cosnmitted, and by a jury of the visue or neighborhoncl. [Here Mr. T. read, and commented on as he read, the following author- ities : Stat. 2.5 Kdward 3, c. 4; 4 Hawk., P. C 371 : 2 Hawk., P. C. 4(13; 3 Coke's Inst., 27; Ena. Lib. 213, 221. 229, and 24; 2 Hale's P. C. 204; 163, 164 ; 4 Tuck. Bl. 340 ; I Trials per Pais, 1 15, c. 8.] Blake^ attorney general. — Wetidmit that, as comnioii. law, the defendant had a right to be tried in the county; but a great many statutes in Eng- land have altered common law in that particular. Chitty is full of them. Turner. — I am aware of it, as you will perceive by the next position that I tidf indignation from tfie enraged brow of an angry people ; and I warn the President to take notice of the lightning's flash, as being the forerunner of a storm that will cover him with deep disgrace. Yes, sir, this is a Government of principle, sustained by the sense of the people; and the man who rashly luidertakes to put down popular liberty in this conniry will meet with signal discomfiture. In connexion with my honorable colleague, I have the honor of re[)resenfing one of the great and glorious States of this Union : and, sir, 1 can assure you that 1 speak the feelings of the great body of the people, acting only under the pro;i ptinirs of a bold and heroic magnanimity, when I say that they would be roused — Rtp. No. 546. 1063 that they would rally as one man in defence of onr glorious liberties, whether invaded by foreign or domestic foes. I now offer a resolution, which will test the sense of this body upon the vitality of our vvhole system. I have introduced into it nothing but what has been prompted by a natural impulse of patriotism — nothing but will be responded to by the whole body of my coimtrymen. Had the Senate acted upon tlie resohuion when it was first offered, the President would have re- tracted ; he would not now have stood pledged; the Government of the people would have gone on ; the rights of all would have been protected by the votes of all. Mr. Preston rose to a point of order. He had refrained from interrupting the Senator for a long time, though he had, from the beginning, transcend- ed not only the rules, but the ordinary license of debate. Mr. Allen would save the Senator from the necessity of proceeding any further, by inf)rming him that he iiad ri^en to his point of order just in the right time, for he (Mr. Allen) had not another word to say, except to submit his resolutions, as follows: Resolved^ That it is the right of the people of Rhode Island to establish for themselves a constitutional republican firm of State government, and in any particular to alter or tnodity it, provided its form be left republican. Resolced^ That it is not the right ot the Federal Government to interfere in any manner with the people, to prevent or discourage their so doing ; but that, on the contrary, it is the duty of the Federal Government to guaranty to them, as a State, such republican form of State government, when so es- tablished, altered, or modified. Mr. Simmons observed that he had a few remarks to make in answer to what had fallen from the Senator from Ohio. Mr. Preston asked if the whole thing had not been irregular, and inquired what was tbe question bef )re the Senate. The Chair explained that, in strictness, the question was whether the Senator from Rhode Island should proceed. The Senator from Ohio hav- ino- gone beyond the mere explanation allowed on the introduction of a resolution, without having been calh^d to order, the Senate could, by gene- ral consent, permit the Senator from Rhode Island to proceed. Mr. Kinof observed that in all ordinary cases, great latitude of debate was allowed ; but there were cases in which great inconvenience might ari^e. When he had voted to take up the resolution, it was under an ex- pectation that the Senator from Ohio would have modified it: and had it been taken up, the resolutions now offered, and the remarks accompanying them, would not have been offered. But all this having occurred, it seemed now as if discussion could not be restrained. It was obvious that such dis- cussion could hardly be kept from excitement. He would, however, suggest to the Senate the ubvious propriety of approaching this subject with calm- ness and moderation. }A\\ Calhoun observed that his vote against taking up tlie original reso- lution showed that he had no desire to see the subject agitated in the Senate, as long as it was pos-ible the affairs of Rhode Island would be settled by the people themselves; but it was impossible now to prevent discussion. He hoped it would be permitted to go on, and that the resolutions would be allowed to be presented, and that a day would be a[)poiiited for taking them up for debate. He made a motion to that effect. Mr. Preston concurred with the Senator from South Carohna, [Mr. Cal- 1064 Rep. No 546. houn,] that the time was come for discussion. He thought the time had come when it was necessary to lay down the principles * .1 which, the nction of this Government is to be conducted in its relations with the S-tates. He therefore seconded the motion of the Senator from South Carohna to have the resohitions printed, and a day appointed for th^ir discussion. Mr, TaMmadtje had listened to the Senator fromiJhio for some time v/ilh surprise — the Senate having refused to take up the original resolution. The discussion had been forced upon the Senate quite irregularly ; hut, as it was permitted to go so far, he would move that the Senator from Rhode Island be permitted to go on; and then, if no one else offered such a motion, he would move to lay the resolutions on the table, Mr. Allen explained, that when he had experienced a determination on the part of the majority of the Senate to suppress the expression of opinion on the part of the minority, he had taken advantage of a rule of the Sen- ate which justified him in pursuing the course he did. If gentlemen were forced into discussion, it was the consequence of an arbitrary attempt to suppress a free expression of opinion, dictated by a sense of public duty. Here a general disposition was manifested to allow Mr. Simmons to pro- ceed ; and the point of order being witlidrawn — Mr. Simmons made his acknowledgments to Senators who had interposed to obtain him a hearing in reply to the Senator from Ohio. The remarks of that Senator had not excited in him any other feelings than those of sur- prise. The Senator had proceeded on the assumption that all constitutional law and rule of government should be in writing. Whence did he derive this notion ? Not from the country of our origin. With respect to the constitution of Rhode Island, which the Senator from Ohio characterized as dead, and all action under it as blasphemous usurpation, he (Mr. S.) would say that it is — no matter what it may or may not be — the constitu- tion of Rhode Island ; and it v/as not competent for any other State to dictate to that Stale what its constitution should be. He denied that the charter of its government wi^s such as it had been described by its oppo- nents. The charter fully recognises the form of altering it. The legisla- ture has frequently acted upon that form, and called conventions. It did so when it called the convention which ratified the federal constitution. The people of Rhode Island knew what they were about when they adopt- ed that constitution. Where else were the elements of civil and religious liberty to be found, which had always actuated Rhode Island, but in that charter — the first ever obtained in these colonies? It was these cherished principles of liberty which bound it to the hearts of those who now wished to cherish it. It is contended that the legislature is supported by a minority of the people. This he denied. He manitained there was always a ma- jority entitled to franchise, as large as in any other State. Some regulation was necessary with regard to qualifications of suffrage. The people of Rhode Island, through their legislature, had fixed their own rules, and no other State or power had any right to interfere. In those rules the State of Rhode Island asked for some particular evidence of the attachment of a citizen to th^ir State, and to the district of his resi- dence, before it granted the franchise. Does not every other Stnte, in some form or other, require the same? They say that, in order to give evidence of this attachment, the citizen must purchase a home to the amount of one hundred and thirty four dollars. The very first act of his own life was to vest the savings of his minority in the purchase of property to entitle him Rep. No. 546. 1065 to this right. It was property which he prized above all others, and which would he the last \V€ should ever part with. 'I'his pride gave a peculiar home-feeling and altnchnient to the people of Rhode Island. But sucli is the regard which the legislature has for popular rights, tliat, whenever a number of the people cc stituting a majoriiy have proposed a change, it has been accorded. On ihe ap|)lication of those men who, a year ago, asked the legislature for an extension of rights, tlie legislature called a con- vention, at which they had their request accorded. But, instead of pa- tiently waiting till the change was consummated, these men got together and attempted to revolutionize the government; they presented to every- body and anybody their new constitution, without the slightest guard against fraud. It is now the boast of some wlio signed that constitution, that they did so sixteen or eighteen times. Notwiilislanding all this, the convention authorized by the legislature went on and extended the right of suffrage as far as had b&en required ; but tlie opposite party voted it down with as much energy as if it was to deprive them of suffrage, instead of to increase it. AH that the government of Rhode Island requires is, that whatever change may be desired by a large portion of the people may be effected by law, and according to law. Wlien tile Senator from Oliio Vv^as reading the declaration of the people of Rhode Island, with regard to the sovereign rights of tiie people, he (iVlr. S.) was in hopes the Senator would have read further, and shown what was the sense of Rhode Island as to what was due to its government. It says that the powers of government may be resumed by the people when necessary ; and that any power not delegated to the General Government or Congress, remains with the people or their respective legislatures. He would ask the honorable Senator, where was the power of Congress to de- clare that any form of government shall be the government of Rhode Island? As to the powers of the legislature of that State not being defined by a written consiitution, he would say they were defined in the bill of rights. He would ask the honorable Senator if, instead of Rhode Island being governed by an anti-republican government, it w