[164] we have purchased at so dear a rate. You are also instructed to obtain an insertion of a clause in the 2d article of the 6th chapter of the Constitution, whereby settled Teachers of morality, &c., and all persons whatever who do not pay taxes shall be excluded from a seat in the House of Representatives; because those persons who bear no part of the public burden can not be such competent judges of the ability of the people to pay taxes, as those who support their part. And as to the exclusion of settled Teachers of morality, &c., let it suffice to say that we think them very important officers in the State, and that the community must suffer much from having so great a number employed in services so distinct from their particular offices as undoubtedly will be, provided the insertion be not made. At the same time, we are not unwilling that gentlemen of this order, of shining abilities, should be introduced into superior departments by the suffrages of the people at large.However, we do not mean to be so strenuous in our objections as to decline receiving the whole as it stands, provided in the opinion of the Convention the amendments ought not to be made. Accordingly, we, being willing to give up our own opinion in lesser matters, in order to obtain a government whose authority may not be disputed, and which we wish may soon be established, do instruct and direct you in our name and behalf, to ratify and confirm the proposed form, whether the amendments be made or not.
Soon after the adoption of the Constitution, uneasiness began to be manifested in various portions of the Commonwealth, followed by more or less tumultuary assemblages of the people, culminating, in 1786, in armed resistance to the government. From the name of a prominent leader, this has been called the “Shays Rebellion,” which at one time assumed a formidable aspect. The wide-spread disaffection which prevailed was not without cause. “A heavy debt lying on the State, added to burdens of the same nature, upon almost every incorporation within it; a relaxation of manners, and a free use of foreign luxuries; a decay of trade and manufactures, with a prevailing scarcity of money; and, above all, individuals involved in debt to each other, are evils which leave us under no necessity of searching further for the reasons of the insurrections which took place.” 1 The nature of the complaints made by the insurgents, under the name of “grievances,” may be gathered from the printed proceedings of
