Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1841-06-03

aud especially those who have acquired
Tor themselves competent freehold, are
muro industrious, prudent aud substan-
lial are more permanently s'itlrd,> ano
lveI a greater interest in aud attachment
TO the State, IN which they IRE owners
and cuItiyators oi' the soil, lhDn those who
have either squaUdered The inher'lhnce
earned Tor them by Their fathers, or have
failed io acquire any for themselves al
though the acquisition was To be accom-
punicd by this 50 much coveted right o
suffrage. We are aware that there ar'
many worthy citizens not possessed %
the freehold qualification. But ,hese ar,
constantly acquiring II for themselves. -
And in lhIs country, almost every man -
industry and good conduct every goo'
citizen, in short, ia almost certain speed
lily to acquire (if he win n sufficient free
hold qualification. And in the meaI
time, this class Of citizens, equally with
all others, ENJOY the beneii, Of the WIS,
provisions by which The elective fran
chse j. guarded from abuse. Still, II l.
true, there will remain some wholesome
ci,izcns, whom i'll fortune and uDhyoid-
able circumstances prevent from qualify
iny themselves. OF these, we hope,
there are but few, and we regret there
should be any. They will reflect that
no general ruls can be made 80 perfect
as 10 be fee from all exceptions : And
when they sec The management of affairs
in the hands of The substantial part of the
community, las far as this eau be ac-
complshed,) they will not desire that II
general rule, best for the whole, should
be broken down or relaxed on their nd-
vidunl account, when that prostraiion OF
The rule would take away all value from
the privilege itself; by letting in at the
same time, multlludes Of others, Of DIFF
ierent character, TO exercise it without
regard To the welfare of the community
Nor do we believe that any complaint.
are made by this class of citizens. We
know that most oi those who do acquire
sufficient lrceholds are seldom in any
haste Ia. qualify themselves 10 take arar
10 political intrigues and contests of the
day. And most of them are urged for
" ard to be propounded and admitted, ana
to attend town meetings by persons ~h'
take more interest IN the matter thar
they do themselves.
There is one other class Of citizens oi
whom we have not taken any notice.
We mean those who do possess sufficient
property to qualify themselves, aud do
not choose to. Such persons have as
little right to complain as those who do
possess sufficient ireeholds and will not
be ut the trouble Of having themselves
propounded /; as little right as they would
have to complain that carriages are not
provided for them, at the public expense
to carry them to town meetings. IL any
Of those who having it fully in their pow
er and al their own option TO qualify
themselves Tor voters as soon as they
please, are so Indifferent to the privilege f;
or 80 engrossed by more profitable put
suits or so greedy, that they will not
spare the small sum Of one hundred and
thIriy-lour dollars to purchase freehold,
because it Ugh, give them IA little less
profit /; they ought, at least to remain
quiet and pcacenb.e citizens.
Upon our principle snbrct-the ne
crssity Of requiring freehold qualifca.
tion, we have only further to remark,
that il has strong tendency to check
the monopoly of large and landed estates
in the hands of a few individuals and
operates as an incitement To the meiiiori-
Gus young men, TO acquire for lhenst Ives
a privilege, from participating in which
many, though not all, OF the unworthy,
are excluded. A privilege which ought
to be entrusted TO those only who are
profoundly sensible Of its importance /;
and Of the responsibility which the pos
session of ii imposes upon them.
We have often been told how far we
are behind our sister states in our con-
ceptions Of free government and have
been called upon to follow their example,
and act upon their enlightened views of
Ihe universal right Of suffrage. 1t would
be wise for Us 10 profit by the wisdom of
others but not wise To surrender our
own judy ments 10 theirs without convic-
lion. Let US, then, take such a view of
'''sS p'o''S'oho o'pl
which relate to this subject, as will en-.
able us to form just estimate Of the i'm
provcments they arc supposed 10 contain.
"Oi the iwenty-lour States already en,-
braccd in .lhe Union. Virginia and
Rhode Island require freehold quaIlf-
cation for voters. Conncciicut. re- quires
n freehold Of seven pounds carly value,
or The payment OF taxes, or one YEARS
service IN the AlIilin, (unless excused,
and that the voters shall hare gained a
settlement in The State and turning TO
Ihe laws Of that State TO ascertain hat
he applicant has 10 do 10 gain a settle
pent, we fpd that If he comes from a
sister State, he must reside, at least, one
, ear in the town in Connecticut where he
is TO gain his settlement, and must be pos
sessed, in his own right, in fee, OF zeal
estate in that State OF the value Of three
hundred and lhriy-fcur dollars, free Of
lncunbrance, tho deed Of which shall
have been one year on record and with
out such substantial recommendation, he
gains no substantial settlement, unless
especially favored by the authority Of
the town. Maryland requires freehold
ri fifty acres, or property To the amount
of thirty pounds. North Carolina re-
miro, , fro.hnId nc GGy ..,o c