Petitions!

We [ubliah to day, (orms of petition to our Stuto Legislature, requesting them to secure lo colorcd citizeus llie elective fran chise, and givethem the privücge of a jury iria!. Wq intend to put to the les!, the principie of equal rights and exact juetice toall rnen,8oprominen(!y put iorlh in the Democratie papers. Thai party has unlimiled swey in the Legislature, and if they shall be recreant to iheir own professions, il will be lenown and read of n!l men. They are so eituaied ihnt they cannot if they wouid, dodge responsibiüty. The first article of the Constitution expressly provides that "in aii civil casos in wliich personal Iiberty may be in vol ved, ihe trial by jury shal! nol be refused." Yet in defiancoof this express declaration, the slaveholders havo claimed and exercised the privilege of seizing upon auy colored persou3 whom they might designato as their property, and hurrying thern out ofi the State, on the warrant of a Justice,! wil hout nny opportunity whatever for se. curing a jury trial to the person cluiraed. The clausc in the Constilutionhasod hilheito a deod letter, and none have pretended to pay atiy nttention to it. Now wo ask tbc Legislature merely toj enact a law with the proper penal sanc-j Uons to carry.out the princijile above laid' Jown,and cause t to be reepected as the! law ofthe iund. Ia there any tiing un-' reasonabie iu this peiition - ány thn''which the Legislalure ought not to grani at once, without a moment's hesitation? The second pel i ion asks fiat the elective franchife mny be extended to colored citizejis of this State, agreeably to the great principie laid down by our forefaiher?, ihat represen tution and taxation in reference to our native citizens, bhould bo commensurate ind co-exteusive witli ech other. Wc ehaSI say more upon this point' hereaftcr. As the colored citizens ore thus robbed ofoneof theii ïiyhts by the ConalitutionJ in order to restore that right, the Constitution mu9t be ahered. The only way this can be effected is poiuicd out in ihat in-' struaientas füllowt,: "Aoy nmep.fJmcTit or amendmenta to his Constitution may be proposed in the! Senate ur House of itepresentatives;and if hè sanie fchall be agroed to by a majority of the members cleclcd to eacliof thu two: Iouses, such iiroposcd ajnendmnnf nr _'niendments shall bu entered on their journals, with th yc.as and nays taken thcreon, uid reierrod io the Legisiature ihen next to bé and shaii be pubhshed fur tbree iïibnihs previous lo (he time of matting sucli choice: And if, in tho Legislaiuro uextchüsen as ufuresid, such proposed arnendiiient or amendmenls shuli be agreed io by iwo-ihirds of aN the members elected io cach House, then l sliall be the duty of the Legislature to pubrnit such proposed uciyndment ór amendments to tho people in such rnanner and at such timois the Legislature shall prescribe , Mnd if lUe people shall app.ove and ratify sudj amendment or amerdments, by a moj .-rity oí ihe electors qualificd to vote for members of the L gislature voling thcreon, such atnendmeni or nmendments shnll become part of ihis Uonstitulion." The Liberty party in Michigaa wil! present these mesures to their Legislature without imermission unt.i they shall bo adoptcd, bo the time of their probation longer or ehorter. The AiUi-Liberiy parties can now eee dlstinctly what legislation we want, and whut we certainly shall have before we cease our endeavors. What we asl for is reasonable and just: and they can act upon it. or flir ,h„ .ter till it shaU be done by ihe irieods of Liberty themselves. We hopeour frignds will sign nnd circuíate these petiiions without delay, No time should be lost. The Legislatura meets the Hrat Monday of January, and ill bp composed olmoat entireiy ofocrats, and they have ihreatened tb hol short sessions. In the present disarou condition of the State, t will be policy fOr !hem to legislate as little as posaible, and the session wül prob abiy be brief. Henee the pctition8 should be forwarded at tho opening of the sossion to the representalives of the respective Dislricte, with a request to ihem to present 6 advocate them We underatand that several promiaonl' merebers of the present Legislaiure have avowcd themselves decidedly in favor of ihe object of these petition?, end we hate reason to believo that ihöy will sasiain and advocate them. Thejustice and pro. prioty of ikra must commend them ta their conscienceiaiul judgtnetits, while to far as we enn 6ec, thé intr.resls oftliQrro. epective parlies will n qo way be damag. cd, hut ruther promoted, by the legislaiion asked for. VVhereas, should ihey utterly. refuse any action upon them, it will add1 another to the many evidences already ex. isting, that the Whig and Detnocraiic par. lies have no rea! reyuFd for the righls orwcnare oí communuy, any turlher than ihcir action ca them will in iheir estima,- tion, promote iheir party interesls.. All ihat tbefïiends of Liberly have toda is to agitule the sulject, and petition; ani ihe result must, in the nature of the caso be for the interests of the cause. Should the Legislature grant what vo ask, ther j wiil be so miich gained permanentlv:- Should they rcfuse, it will demonstrato t evcry one, tho hollowness of their pretended zeal for the rights of men, aod durinjf tho fiext year, such a result will add larga ly lo the numbers ond influence of ih& Liberty party. Sothat if we only act,w are euro to muke progresa. OrBrethren,dctermine whet you oughj to do in thia matter. Take a day iorth work, nd let itbe done up at once. Cut out the fonns of petilion in this paper, paste them on tothe top oftwo half sbeels of paper, and canvass your town thorough y. You need not con fine your solicitatioa to abolitionists only: all lovers ojf justice and equal rights oughi to sign them, without disür.ction of party, and many wilt, if they shall bo asked. Remember ihat nothing great or excellent can be accomplished without exerllons, and you wilifind in this and in all similar attempts, tbat yoursuccess will be very much in proportion to the effbrts you put forth.