Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1849-10-18
Universal Suffrage in France and Eng
land.

Lamartine, in his Conseiller du Peuple addresses
The French nation follows upon universal suffrage:
universal suffrage was your coronation. You
reached at one leap the limits of popular
relgnty. You have been overwhelmed with political !
rights and duties But il has So happened that wide
opening has been left for intrigue and confusion, by
the general ticket system. protested against it, aud
l fOresaw that the elections would be of darkness raih
than of broad daylight. When the constitution
shall be revised that scheme will be rec;ed. Those
who devised it said virtually to The people, You shall
be King, but on condition Of being hoodwinked"
On the same topic, La Rereu des Deur MOndes
holds this language:
"Universal suffrage with the general ticket, (scru
tin de hSle) to have been invented expressly
for the end that the voter those whom
he would prefer. No system could more completely
separate The elector from the elected The voters
at the polls soldiers maneuvring in battle the
commander alone knows and sees the object to be
complished Thus, the first merit of the voter is dis
cipline, his great fault independence The Moderate
party in France is obliged this system to the
best account as their antagonists the acticans have
uniformly done.''
The London Examiner, in its comments univer-
sal suffrage for Great Britain, recommended by the
public meeting of the Parliamentary and France Re-
form Association. says:
France has passed 1T bound to universe suffrage
the most confined and scaniy, and quite
that this necessity o. the political position, and
that without il clamOrous anarchical minority would
by dint of buster and violence have obtained
tendency belonging 10 it, and hold the country in
incessant disturbance and alarm. But ii is be re-
membered. that France has the greatest number Of
small proprlctOrs at any country in the world, and
these have balasted her through her In Eng
land at the present moment, universal suffrage Gas it
Is enormously termed) would enfranchse vast body
of ignorant and dependent persons, who would be
driven the polls like droves of cattle by their land
lords. We must not be misled by relying too much
on the intelligence and education TO be found in
towns; there is also the large rural population, the
highest degree Of inapttude for any functions above
| the satisfaction of the animal wants. We have
Doors well as our clever artisans. Education is
indeed making progress; but yet the present statistics
of it show what vast field remains still be cult
waited, and meanwhile ii cannot for any safe
| foundation of an electoral system. One word upon
the example Of France. Mr.. c. Washington truly
says that the suffrege (Which he mscalls CONVERSELY
Of the adult male mole;y Of The population has "pre-
served her from much evilu 1t has done so; it has
distinctly, and beyond oil question aud dispute, map
ped out the strength aud weakness Of different
tending parties md has cheered the friends of order
by showing them their vast preponderance. The vio-
lent minority has not been enabled, by dint Of noise
aud fanfaronede, to pass itself for the majority q
very common deception in troubled times, when there
are means of testing the preiences OF pariies and
when the moderate contribute TO the delusion BY their
disposition always TO undervalue their strength,
| and thus, by seeming weak, become the thing they
seem. But shall be told to look at the other
ample, of The United States, with it's cheap govern
ment and iourishing finances; but there we have 10
remark this important circumstance that the educa-
ton of the people has extension greater than the
suffrage, general as it is. There is universal educa-
ton. Tie standard doubtless is low, but low 1t
may be- it would be blessing have il here in place
of The dense british ignorance which possesses large
portion of rural population. If the suffrage
contracted in the United States monarchy would
spring from it, and if it were expanded as much as
Mr. Feargus OConnor desires in this country, repub-
licanism could not be its offspring the people of Eng
land being essentially orist"cratic and monarchica,
and likely remain So unless their being be pre-
sumed upon overmuch and impcriously."