On the question for striking out "national treasury," as moved by Mr. Ellsworth,—
Mr. HAMILTON renewed his opposition to it. He pressed the distinction between the state governments and the people. The former would be the rivals of the general government. The state legislatures ought not, therefore, to be the paymasters of the latter.
Mr. ELLSWORTH. If we are jealous of the state governments, they will be so of us. If, on going home, I tell them we gave the general government such powers because we could not trust you, will they adopt it? And without their approbation it is a nullity.129
On the question,—
Massachusetts,[1] Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, ay, 4; New Jersey Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, no, 5; New York, Georgia, divided.
So it passed in the negative.
On a question for substituting "adequate compensation" in place of "fixed stipends," it was agreed to, new. con., the friends of the latter being willing that the practicability of fixing the compensation should be considered hereafter in forming the details.130
It was then moved by Mr. BUTLER, that a question be taken on both points jointly, to wit, "adequate compensation to be paid out of the national treasury." It was objected to as out of order, the parts having been separately decided on. The president referred the question of order to the house, and it was determined to be in order,—
Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, ay, 6; New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, no, 4; Massachusetts, divided.
The question on the sentence was then postponed by South Carolina, in right of the state.131
Col. MASON moved to insert "twenty-five years of age as a qualification for the members of the first branch." He thought it absurd that a man to-day should not be permitted by the law to make a bargain for himself, and to-morrow should be authorized to manage the affairs of a great nation. It was the more extraordinary, as every man carried with him, in his own experience, a scale for measuring the deficiency of young politicians; since he would, if interrogated, be obliged to declare that his political opinions at the age of twenty-one were too crude and erroneous to merit an influence on public measures. It had been said, that Congress had proved a good school for our young men. It might be so, for any thing he knew; but if it were, he chose that they should bear the expense of their own education.
Mr. WILSON was against abridging the rights of election in any shape. It was the same thing whether this were done by disqualifying the objects of choice, or the persons choosing. The motion
- ↑ It appeared that Massachusetts concurred, not because they thought the state treasury ought to be substituted; but because they thought nothing should be said on the subject, in which case it would silently devolve on the national treasury to support the national legislature.
