Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1812-10-17

:. ma nartizan, He has no party views
to obtain but is governed solely BY 2
keen sense of the unjust and tyrannlcal
nriuciples of the present electoral law.
It will be highly important tor you 10
advert to the principles contained IN
some clauses of tAe bill OF rights OF TINS
state in the 9Th section OF which II IS
declared that elections of members TO
6 serve as representatives ought TO Dc
6 FREE" And in the 18th section It is
declared "that the people have right
e to a uniform government" BY which
is meant not only that the govern
ment should operate upon all alike out
. H. ,be laws should not be subject to
nerpetusl change. BY government Is
not meant merely the form OF the c1i''
stitutien, but the laws passed by the le-
gislature. The pubic good requires
consistency in the laws, IT they are nov
unjust and hostile to the public interest,
By an act of the legislature, passed
) on the 10th of October, 1872, tor ap'
| pointing electors of president and VICE
president of the United States, the state
is laid of into convenient districts, ana
the frecholders in each district arc re-
CURED to elect discreet and proper
6 herson, bring a freebooter, ana coma
{" tide resident in such district for f7uefOe
{" months, as an elector to vote Tor a
I" president and vice.president OF the
!" United States"
Under this law the district OF coun.
try within which the person to be vo'ea
for as an elector must reside, was so
| small that every voter, if he chose could
| become personally acquainted with the
character of the candidate, and could,
above all, ascertain, beyond doubt,
that the candidate was a Freebooter, and
had been a bona tide resident for twelve
months within the district. Under this
law the election of electors was held IN
! the state of Virginia, until, for the pur-
pose of aiding tarty, 1t was found con-
venient, in January 1900, to change that
fair and just mode which had prevailed,
and to which the people had become ia
miliar, for the new system that original.
ed in party spirit and was intended to
crafty the ambition of an individual, by
which the freehoiders in each Of the
electoral districts were obliged to vote
for twenty-one, and, since the late cen
sus, must vote for twenty-five electors.
Under the operation of this general tick
ct law, it may so happen that it every
freeho|der in this district should vote
for James H. Hooe, whons personally
known to many, and by his good cha
racter to all the freeholders in the dis
trict, yet he may not be the elector, but
a person may be elected as the repre-
sentative of this district, for whom not
vote is given in the district. A per-
son may be forced upon us as an cleo
tor without and against our consent;
and not being elected with our consent
nor responsible to US, Can it be presum-
ed that he will regard our wishes, feel
ings or interest, in the vote he shall
give for president and vice. presldent
of the United States This is not, my
fellow citizens, the only evil resulting
from this unjust and a1ti-rrhuSlcam
principle of choosing electors. You are
REQUIRED to vote for twenty-four other
electors, not residents in your own dis
trict, and all of whom must have bona
fde resided for twelve months next pre-
ceding the election, in separate and dis
tinct districts-they must also be free
holders in the district for which they
are to be elected-.that is, they must
possess such freehold as is required
to authorize you to vote. Nov, my fell
low citizens, l ask you, arc the provi-
sions of this law such as REPUBLICANS and
free, INDEPENDENT men ought to submit
to /? Can you say Conscientiously that
the persons who are nominated by the
leeislatipe caucus at Richmond, have the
| qualifications required by law--that 10,
! that they are freeholders in the district,
and have been, fer the last twelve
months, bona file residents of the dis
trict for which they are to be elected !?
| Can any of you say that William Nc
Kinley, who has been nominated by this
caucus for the Ohio district, is free
holder, and is now and has been bona
fide resident in that district for the last
twelve months If you are Ignorant Of
this eentlemaD's qualifications, are you
not equally SO Ct the other candidates,
except the one in your own district 3
The consequence is that yeo must vote
for the nen thus nominated, or for o.
theirs nominated by another set of per-
sons, or not vote at all. You know no
person in these, districts, and the resi-
! depce of these candidates is so ,fmotc
that they cannot, if they are inclined,
visit you, as the candidate in your own
| l;s.r;ct can and docs = If YOU do not