Mr. Fuller, however, cannot be misunderstood on the exemption question. The question is put: "Are you in favor of, or opposed to, exempting any real estate from being taken on execution," etc. Mr. Fuller replies in the following words:

I would not place such exemption in the constitution but I am in favor of the legislature exempting a team, tools, household furniture; and I would not object to a house and small piece of land.

Farmers, do you hear that? The Locofoco candidates for the convention are in favor of exempting a team, tools, and household furniture, while they would allow the merciless creditor to turn you out of doors. But they are not willing that even this small pittance shall be guaranteed to you by the constitution. They wish to leave the matter open for future legislation-for party quarreling and party capital. I deem it better by far to settle this question by constitutional enactment. It will save much foolish and unnecessary legislation—it will save much time and money to the people. But it will accomplish a much more desirable object. It will secure the widow and orphan their home-it will dry up a fruitful source of misery and human suffering. The Locofoco candidates are opposed to the measure; yet they would not object to the reservation of a "house and small piece of land,"-made so by statute law and liable to be repealed at every session of the legislature.

The reply of Mr. Fuller to the question of "electing all executive and judicial officers" is not commendable to the head or heart of that gentleman, and unworthy of notice by any candid mind. It is evasive and shuffling-wanting grammar and wanting sense. About the same may be said of the other points which I have not deemed it proper to notice.

It is to be hoped that every elector in the county will look well to the men and measures they are about to support. Names are nothing in this contest. Party dwindles to a mere dwarf in comparison with the great questions at stake.

A single vote in a town or precinct may tell with effect upon the action of the convention. A single vote in that body may secure to you for all time to come political freedompolitical life. Look to it!

THE ELECTION: ITS RESULTS

[September 8, 1846]

A VOTER.

After a well-contested battle, the Whigs of this district have succeeded in electing their candidate for the Council. In Dane County they have elected their candidates for sheriff and register. The Locos had so well succeeded in palming off their spurious doctrines on the Norwegian voters in this county as to obtain, in a great measure, their unanimous suffrages in behalf of their candidates for the convention and thus destroyed all our hopes from that quarter. This vote, and this only, was the cause of the defeat of at least a portion of the candidates on our convention ticket. The Whig party are accused of having used threats, bribes, misrepresentations, promises, lying, and fraud, getting up split tickets, trading off their candidates, and much more besides to secure the success of their ticket. All these accusations of "bribery and corruption" are worn out and stale, they are stereotyped charges with the Locofocos, they appear periodically, and die off naturally for the want of sustenance. But we submit that the charges in relation to split tickets and trading off candidates come with a peculiar ill grace from the side of our opponents, when it is so well understood that the leaders of the "Tadpole branch" of the Locofoco party in this place exerted all their influence for the avowed purpose of defeating John Y. Smith, one of the regularly nominated candidates on their own ticket; and now they proceed to denounce the Whigs for practices of which they themselves have been so notoriously guilty. Verily, "those who live in glass houses should not throw stones."

SELECTIONS FROM THE MILWAUKEE SENTINEL AND GAZETTE

THE POWER OF BORROWING MONEY

[July 28, 1846]

One of the most important subjects which will demand the attention of the convention for the formation of a constitution for this state is that of borrowing money-whether it shall be left exclusively with the people or given to the legislature. The experience of the several states has shown us the evils of delegating the money borrowing power to agents -evils so apparent to all who care about informing themselves on the subject that we shall now enumerate but few of them.

It is a sound political axiom that money should always be granted by the people to their rulers with a sparing hand. In monarchies there exists a disposition on the part of the monarch and nobility to apply as much of the earnings of the great mass of the people to their own use and benefit as they can reach. In republics the same disposition also exists; but its gratification is restrained by the operations of free institutions. It was well remarked by a distinguished member of a convention in Virginia, that "every spark of freedom in Great Britain arose from the power to give or withhold money. "Give money," said the king. "Give power in exchange," said the commons. "Give money,' said the Crown-"money I want and must have." "If then," said the House, "this money is so deeply important, give us in return security for our rights and liberties, for our birthright.

There is one appalling fact connected with national or state debts-never yet has one been fully paid off! The

effect and tendency of any public debt whatever is to increase and not to diminish. The history of every state in the Union that has resorted to loans proves this. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and other states, their public debt has increased far beyond the expectations of those who originated them. It is questionable whether more misfortune and misery has not been entailed upon the world at large by the borrowing of money and pledging the taxes for the payment of interest than there has been good produced by the invention of money itself. This system was first introduced into England by King William, and enabled him to raise money for his ambitious prospects to a great extent. The public debt of Great Britain at his accession to the crown was but one million, and it has gone on increasing from that time to this, until it has reached the enormous sum of £900,000,000 sterling, at an annual charge upon the industry of the working and productive classes of the nation of about £40,000,000 sterling. This is the natural tendency of public debts. In monarchies, where the supreme power is in the king, public debts are said to be supports to the throne; they interest large numbers of people in the perpetuation and the support of the existing order of things, lest, by a change, they should lose their money. But in a republic, where the sovereignty is in the people, this argument, which is the only one yet adduced in favor of a standing public debt, has no force what

ever.

Guard the exercise of power as we may, by written constitutions or otherwise, experience has shown that "its natural tendency is to steal from the many to the few." The constitution, as has been well and truly observed, is the basis of the legislative authority; it lies at the foundation of all law, and is a rule and commission by which both legislators and judges are bound to proceed. The acts of a legislature cannot be supported in any other way than by reference to the constitution which created it. It has no power whatever in