92 



CIVIL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part IL 



AMEKDMESTS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 



KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS. 



posed that the adoption of this amendment 

 would secure the re-eleetion of Mr. Jef- 

 ferson, the republican members were ex- 

 tremely anxious to act upon it before they 

 adjourned. But, finding that it would 

 require the session to be protracted to an 

 unreasonable length, they decided upon 

 an adjourned meeting, to be held at Wind- 

 sor, on the last Tuesday of January. 



[n January, 1804, the legislature met at 

 Windsor, according to adjournment, and 

 the proposed amendment was laid before 

 them. After some debate, the amend- 

 ment was adopted by the assembly, yeas 

 93, nays 64. This same question was be- 

 fore the legislature in 1790, and was 

 passed in tlie affirmative, by a vote of 94 

 to 42. In this case, all the federalists vo- 

 ted in favor of the proposed .alteration, and 

 all the republicans against; but, in ld04, 

 all the republicans were in favor of the 

 amendment, and all the federalists op- 

 posed to it. Thus it appears that both 

 parties had totally changed their votes in 

 the course of four years, and that they 

 had either changed their principles, or 

 that they acted without principle. 



In October, 18U4, the legislature held 

 their annual session at Rutland. At this 

 session, anollier proposal for amending 

 the constitution of the United States came 

 before the assembly. This originated in 

 Massachusetts, and its object was to ap- 

 portion the representatives from the sev- 

 eral states according to the number of free 

 white inhabitants, to the exclusion of 

 those elected on account of the slaves in 

 any state. The committee, to whom this 

 subject was referred, reported that " tJie 

 amendment proposed would materially 

 affect that part of the constitution which 

 was the result of a spirit of compromise, 

 and would have a tendency to destroy 

 that union among the states, so essential 

 to our national prosperity," and the pro- 

 posal was rejected by a vote of 106 to 76. 

 The customary business of the session 

 was transacted with expedition and pro- 

 priety. Complaint having been made, 

 that the judges of the supreme court had 

 taken illegal fees, a committee was ap- 

 pointed, towards the close of the session, 

 to inquire into the subject. The commit- 

 tee reported the facts, and that in their 

 opinion, fees had lieen taken agreeably to 

 the fee bill. The house accepted the re- 

 port, so far as it related to the facts, but 

 not as to the opinion given of the legality 

 of the proceedings of the judo-es. The 

 legislature then adjourned, leavin<r the 

 matter in this state of indecision. 



In October, 180.5, the assembly met at 

 Danville. The governor's speech related 

 principally to the internal affairs of the 



state, and, neither that, nor the answer, 

 which was returned by the assembly, was 

 calculated to arouse party feelings, or af- 

 ford subjects of controversy. The com- 

 plaint against the judges for taking ille- 

 gal fees was again taken up, and occupied 

 the assembly for several da}'s, and gave 

 rise to much warm debate. It was, how- 

 ever, finally " Resolved, That it is the 

 sense of this house, that the fees taken by 

 the judges of the supreme court were 

 taken with upright views, and that no 

 further order ought to be taken on the 

 subject." This resolution was passed by 

 a vote of 100 to 82. 



At this session, two more proposals for 

 amending the constitution of the United 

 States came before the legislature. One 

 from North Carolina, having for its object 

 to empower Congress to pass a law to 

 prevent the further importation of slaves 

 into the United States ; and the other from 

 Kentucky, the object of which was to di- 

 minish tlie powers of the United States 

 courts. The former proposal was adopted 

 by the assembly without debate or oppo- 

 sition, and the latter was referred to the 

 next session of the legislature. An act 

 was passed at this session, empowering 

 the governor to take measures for ascer- 

 taining the true north line of the state, 

 and another act fixing upon Montpelier as 

 the permanent seat of the government of 

 the state, from and after the year 1808. 



The next session of the legislature was 

 held at Middlebury, in October, 1806. 

 Mr. Tichenor was again re-elected gover- 

 nor by a respectable majority, notwith- 

 standing the efforts made by the republi- 

 can party to prevent it. His opponents, 

 however, had a considerable majority in 

 the assembly, and in their answer to the 

 governor's speech, tlicy did not attempt 

 to conceal their hostility to the measures 

 which he had recommended. When the 

 resolutions from Kentucky, which had 

 been laid over by tiie former assembly, 

 came up, the house resolved itself into a 

 committee of the whole, and after some 

 debate, adopted the proposed amendment 

 by a vote of 148 to 34 ; thus manifesting 

 their desire to increase tlieir own powers 

 by diminishing those of the general gov- 

 ernment. It being reported that Mr. Jef- 

 ferson intended to retire to private life at 

 the close of his first term of office, the 

 assembly drew up a respectful address to 

 him, which was intended to induce him 

 to become a candidate for re-election. 

 An act was also passed at this session es- 

 tablishing a state bank, consisting of two 

 Tsranches, one at Woodstock, and the oth- 

 er at Middleburv.* 



see article oq Banks, Chap. "VH. 



