2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President: a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.
3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President, shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
End of Vol. II.
Volume Three—Chapter One.
Canada.
Of what advantage are the Canadas to England?
This question has been put to me, at least one hundred times since my return from America. It is argued that the Canadas produce and export nothing except timber, and that the protecting duty given to Canada timber is not only very severely felt by the mother-country, but very injurious to her foreign relations. These observations are undeniable; and I admit that, as a mere colony compelled to add to the wealth of England, (sending to her all her produce, and receiving from her all her supplies), Canada has been worth less than nothing. But, admitting this for the present, we will now examine whether there are no other grounds for the retention of the Canadas under our control.
Colonies are of value to the mother-country in two ways. The first is already mentioned, and in that way, the present advantage of the Canadas as colonies is abandoned. The other great importance of colonies is, that they may be considered as outports, as stepping-stones, as it were, over the whole world; and for the present I shall examine into the value of these possessions merely in this point of view. We have many islands or colonies under our subjection which are in themselves not only valueless, but, moreover, extremely expensive to us; and if every colony or island is to be valued merely according to the produce and advantage derived from it by the mother-country, we must abandon Heligoland, Ascension, St. Helena, Malta, and, even Gibraltar itself. All these, and some others, are, in point of commerce, valueless; yet they add much to the security of the country and to our dominion of the seas. This will be admitted, and we must therefore now examine how far the Canadas may be considered as valuable under this second point of view.