Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1835-01-27

-, .s,iie, &c. Data winch exhj
these, obviously erroneous that I'll no, ...,,,,,x
judgment must throw them aside leading more to err
ror than to truth, and look other guide In the
Senatorial election i'll Jefferson in 1880 am informed
from respectable authority that $50 votes were smiled
and an attempt was then made with care to ascertain
the vote of the county, by seeking out the voters that
were oDsent-thcy were found to be between 500 and
cDO The white population S4}5 one tenth of this ia
S43, the highest number found to be the vote of
the county Accordingly this has been assumed as tho
ratio Tor the three western countless Frederick Pcndlc
ton and Rockbridgc This is farther corroborated bv an
attempt recently made in r. ascertain its actual vote
winch results within some 10 votes of the same
ratio
Fearing that from the redundancy of slave ponpIoton
this might be too low for the Eastern counties Is was
assumed as high maximum. This is remarkably sus-
tanned by statement of Joel Roper Comnssioner or
the Revenue of Petersburg Cn the Constellation of the
24h fixing the resident vote of the town at 4OO-IS
OF Its population is 400 1t may well be conceived
IN small place like Petersburg where the Commission
crIPlncs 10 every man at his own residence, and can
walk 70 ii in 10 minutes from Office that the occro
cy OF ms books would be very different from those of the
couhties where the Commissioner relies mostly upon
meeting individuals at Courthouse and public places
ana where tor the compensation allowed him would be
impossible for him visit the houses of each individual
nor ought to be urged objection this ratio that
the small counties, rare occasions may have
poed more than arc here allowed them. In exciting
contests many bad votes unavoidably taken On the
other 1t VIII be remarked that the large countless per-
haps never come up TO the maximum In the warmly
contested election of Fairfax in 1888 500 votes were
poledlO6 less than the given 20 the county The
rate of the Chesterfield and Caroline estimates would
give it nearly 900.
In Abemarlc, in 1884, her greatest vote ever Siven
pos opened at the Courthouse and four precincts was
between ll3O and 1l40many of these were doubtless
bad The ratio of eighth gives 1907; after deduct
ing bad votes the actual vote fell short the ratio pro-
6ably 2Oo The presumption is fair that the number al
lowed by the ratio, does not exist At the rate claimed
Tor u and o. by the clerks, and the would amount
to nearly 1900.
The ratio of oneeighh makes the qualified voters of
the IL Eastern counties and borough fairfax omittedO
81 per cent of the white males above Gland IS per
cent OF all between the ages of lS and 49, including ex
cmpts, cripples, &c
Lest might be inferred that these calculations are in
accurate from the increase of population since 1880
state the singular fact that the IL nsructine Eastern
counties, and the Borough of Petersburg increased i'm
aggregate white population only 800 souls from IS2O to
1880 Subtract the county of Nelson, and the others
exhibit positive decrease Of nearly 500.
THINK from the above facts that every impartial mind
VIII admit that these Commissioners books exhibit as TO
rcsidentVocrs many men Gin buckram; that on day of
election many OF them returned non est inrcntas -
ms being the case with those purporng be residents
now much more uncertain they then non-rcsi-
dehs persons at distance of whose existence and OPT
mons nothing certain is often known; who have no oppor
tuhes OF exercising their rights and who never arc and
many never can come to the polls being females or in
ahis tins great uncertainty exists the numbers of
nonresident voters and entire Ignorance their will
9oes not reason Justice and proper regard to the ac
know!edgcd rights of the people, demand that they be
rown out OF the question: except where they appear and
express their opinion, by signing dissenting from the
i"s'' ucuOhs' CIVIS.