Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-05-31

RAVENNA OHIO, WEDNESDAY, MAY 81, 1913.

sen by This Convention from the RESPECTIVE,
ICongressonal Districts: said committee L
Organize Immediately, and to meet hereaf
ter at such times and places as their Chair
man shall designate, to confer for the pub
hc good.
..Resolved, 9Th. That the manly sand
patriotic hrlnness Of the fifteen Senators
who retired from tie Senate Chamber at
the late session Of the Legislature, with, 0
yieW,to prevent anoyerihrow of our consti
tutional liberties by a fraudulent and un.
constitutional system of representation, has
entitled those officers TO the gratitude of
the democratic party"
hese fesolutions meet the crisis fairly
and fully hsssn on who passed them have
no eoneealmsnt OF spurpese to max e-boldly
and learIessly they .l,aYe lhroWlla heir ban.
,4iefS 10 The win Nj heir ehaf esinsis
pies Ipitdinly Inscribed thereon, that ne
who rans may read ,and he who reads may
Understand zt.s, ;st. -sS: 81 90
w thin the past ten years, in. other parts
Of the taipt. the strange anan1oly has ffe.
quenty been presented, of democratic Gov
ernors being elected by decided majorities,
while che legislative power fthe State has
besn largely ashig. Fhis was tAa case at
The last election N CIV Jersey, in Maryland,
Georgia and. nzother- States; and in every
State where. ailis' anomaly has happened,
'tha State yas tsirictod ior Legislative puf-
poses By unscrlp whig partisans, and
SO distrAteds too, as to perpetuate power
in fheif hands. These iac,s known, and
taken IN Connection with The bold and un-
bfushihg avowal made before the meeting
olahalast Legislature, by a leading whig
paper printed In The county Of Clinlon, that
the State should be .districted as in any con.
tingency TO keep il out ofihe democratic
party, particularly when the State was to
be re-districted, caused many to fear tha,
the same bold and unscrupulous game,
played off with signal success in other
States, would be attempted in Ohio. So
strong and well founded was this belief,
lhnt the sG6yernorsor the Statesin his an
nual smessage, warmed the Legislature that
no.fight was s.dearer 10 freeman than 9
quail Representations" and he asked the ma.
jority OF that body to ssmeet this fundamen-
tai trust with all that spirit of delibera,ion,
scapdor,- and fairnes towards all parties and
every district f'the State, which its delica-
cy and proper performance demands
) Heedless Of this warning, the majority
IN The last Legislature went into an avow-
edly POLITICAL apportionnent. The joint
select committee that reported the bill, in
the report which accompanied it, as will
be seen by reference to pages So and 81
ofths- Appendix te4she, Senate JoulaaiSdis-'
cussed the question of apporlionment as
political q uestion, and even went so far as
to loreshadow the fact, that out Of the thir-
ty-six members OF the Senate, but fifteen
could by possibility, be democratic.
Ii is not our intention now. and in this
address, 10 expose the glaring inequalities
of this apportionment scheme, as regards
The injustice done to the politcel party with
which we act; and We must content our
selves with asserting the simple fact, fire.
quently charged and never contradicted,
shas under It's provisions, though Col.
W eller be this fail elected Governor OF
Ohio. by majority greater than that by
which MIR Corwin was elected i'll 1870
though the democracy carry the Slate by
larger majority on the popular vote than
ever any political party carried it before;
still would The Legislature in both branches
be whig; and thus would power be perpet.
uated in the hands Of q political party, in
a fearful minority Of the people. This
fact easily proven to be so, by reference TO
the returns of former elections, is worth all
the idle defamation and groundless asser-
ton of those who attempt to subvert the
plainest principle Of Republican govern
tnent by placing the law making power of
the State government in the hands ofa mi.
nofity Of the people, from which it can
not be wrested, however faithless that
minority may be to the great principles
of democratic liberty. In vain may
federal orators endeavor to explain
in vain may they bIuster,~so long as
the fact we have stated remains uncon
tradicted, the apportionment ssheme, at
tempted to be fastened upon the people by
reckless majority in the last Legislature,
will be held as monstrous in its injustice
base and infamous attempt 10 subVer,
that plainest principle of Republican gov.
ernment, the righ, OF the majority to rule.
Grant, for the sake Of argument, tha,
the principles of the whg party are right
and proper, (and we now address ourselves
particularly to those with whom we hold an
honest difference Of opinion) grant tha,
the theory Of banking. as it exists in Ohio,
is correct, is safe and honest-grant, that
it is right to exempt the banker from in
creased taxation TO pay the State deb,,
while it is laid with heavy hand upon the
farmer, the mechanic, and the other citizen
that these, and all the other prin-
ciples of the whig leaders are correct, then
let us ask, if it be necessary to perpetuate
power by fraud TO keep these principles in
the ascendant: Ifthey be right, full and
free discussion will show their justice ano
add TO the number Of their supporters; bn'
1t is idle to say,that honest principles need
dishonest apportionment scheme to ensure
their success. To SO assert-to act upon
tha, belief, is at once an acknowledgement
upon the part Of those who attempted the
perpetration Of the fraud, that their princi
! pies will not bear the test of close investi
CATION, and that hence, they must be en-
tailedupon the people, whether they bs
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