The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-11-30
VOL. I...NO. 1876.

guarded against. For brevity, those arguments
will be given as condensed and abridged by ano-
ther.
''One motive was to escape those intrigues
and cabals which would be promoted in the
legislative body by artfu and designing men,
long before the period of choice, with view to
accomplish their own selfish ends. HaCouId be
IN The pOlUer Of an ambitious candidate by hold
ing out The rewardS Of office, or other sources of
honor and profit, silently but irresistibIy to in
fLence majority Of notes, and thus By has
unpriRcipled conduct secure choice, to the ercbt-
sion Of The purest and most enlightened men of
Ike country. The very profession of the cleo
live power would cause il to mingle itself with
all the ordinary measures oflegislatioR. Com
promises and bargains would be made, and
laws passed to crafty particular members or
conciliate particular interests, and thus disas-
trous influence would be cast over the whole
Government. The President would become the
mere tool Of the dominant party in Congress,
or they would become his tools; no measure
would be adopted which was not in some de-
gree connected with the Presidential election,
and no Presidential election made but what
woald depend upon artificial combinations and
adegrading lavouritism."
To modernEears, this language sounds very
much like philippe against our present system
of Presidential elections; but, they were the ar
taton, against confding the election to Con-
gress, and are what were pointed out, in those
days, as some of the evils which it was then
supposed the present plan was to obviate. If
that plan has, as we all know it has, instead of
obviating, actually produced all the evils here
depicted, what more can be necessary to satisfy
every one of the impenous necessity for an
immediate and radical changer
There is nothing better calculated to lower
our estimate of human infallibility than the to-
tai failure of this feature ofthe Constitution to
work in practice according to the theory upon
which it was founded, and the anticipatiens of
its projectors. For there certainly never was
so much political wisdom, so profound know
ledge of the science of government, convened
together IN any assembly, as that which formed
our Constitution. If such men were so de-
ceived in the adoption of means to ends, how
humiatng the lesson il teaches of the untrust-
worthinessof human forecast! 1t perhaps should
teach at the same time, the insufficiency Of
all mere paper guards checks, and balances,
and that the first, if not the only reliance, for
the purity ard perpetuation of our institutions,
rests on the purity and Intelligence of tho peo-
pie. fsuch be our only or our surest trust, for
the perpetuaton of this glorious fabric Of Gov
vernment, how sedulously should we weed from
our institutions every thing tending to corrupt
our institutions.
The fallacy of the whole plan proceeded from
not having duly weighed or understood the infu-
ence Bipartisan on the elections. The practical
operation of the system is not merely not to al
low the electors that perfect freedom of choice
which was intended, but to allow no discretion
| whatever. They in no instance elected for
! their individual worth and merit, or capacity to
make choice, but because they have already
| pledged themselves to vote for a particular can
! didate Not one voter in ten knows even the
ma mes ofthe electors for whom he votes. Many
never know that they voting for electors at
all. 1t IS common practice in those States
where the votes are taken UiUa rOce for the voter
merely to name his candidate for the Presiden-
cy, and his vote is recorded in favor of the
whole electoral ticket that stands pledged to
vote for that person. Thus has the whole scheme,
which was devised for the express purpose of
avoiding the evils of direct popular election,
been set at naught, and the election become
literally well in effect, directly and purely
popular. The electors have ceased to be any
thing more than a useless unnecessary part Of
the machinery, which insight safely be cast aside
altogether, without producing any important eff
feet upon the system.
But, even if the people'were to fulfil what the
theory OF the plan requires from them, and IN
qualitiedly transfer to the electors their power
Of choosing, still the electors would be SO neccs-
sarily liable to local sectional bias, that it
would seldom occur that the election did not
devolve on the House Of Representatives. This .
however, as a constant mode, was as little with
in the contemplation of the trainers of the Con-
stituton that of direct popular election
1t was rarely provided to meet contingency,
which it was supposed would ne Of rare occur
renee. Yet there are few, at this day. who are
not convinced that, from this time forth, it will
seldom if ever happen that the election is not
devolved on the House, except where it is the
result OF consent between two pre-existing par
ties
If such is to be the constant result, it would
be lar better at once to do away with the cum
brous preparatory machinery of electing electors,
with all its accompaniment of popular ferment
and strife, and give the election directly to the
House.
But no such plan can ever obtain public sane
ion. Why it cannot and should not, will fbe
shown IN the next number.
KENTUCKY DEMOCRAT.
ELECTR cat TELEGRAPH.-Prof Wheat.
stone, the Inventor of the electrical telegraph
which is now at work on the Great Western
railway is at nresent in BRUSSELS where he has