New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-05-15

The People of Ohio, of Indiana, of Mic

revision of their several State Constitutions
that of Ohio being already chosen and
about to assemble. In each Of them, We
doubt not, decided progress toward the
complete acknowledgment and practical con-
cession of the Right of Man to SelfGoyern-
ment will be made, though probably more in
Virginia than elsewhere, because that State
has hitherto been the most misgoyerned and
aristocratic in its institutions Of any in the
Union, South Carolina possibly excepted.
We presume that in all the Election Of Judges
will be confded directly to the People, and
in Virginia the popular election Of Gov
ernor also, though not without desperate
struggle. We hope moreover to see the abb
surd restrictions on the freedom Of Elections
which prescribe that Governor, Judge, SEN
ator or Representative must be so old, have
lived so long in the State, Tin some cases.
own so much property, and lin New-iIamp-
shire) profess a particular religion, swept
entirely out of existence There is no reason
in them, and no good results from them. 1t
may be very proper, as a general rule, that
Legislator shall have attained mature
age and lived some years in the State; but
the constituencies understand all this quite
as well as the constitution-makers, and can
do what is right without being put in strait
jackets. Experience shows that they are
more likely to err on the side Of distrust Of
youth or unacquaintance than on that of pre-
cipitate confidence. There are few Consti-
tutions that might not be pro6tably shorten
ed by the omission Of needless inhibitions.
But the Reform which seems to usmore
desirable than any other, is that which shall
| give every Senator and Representative hence
forth a separate constituency, by which he
shall be chosen, to which he shall be imme
diately responsible. There is no other
change proposed so fraught with universal
good as this. We thought so before our
own State tried it, and therefore urged the
experiment, and, now that she has tried, we
Eno,o it. There is no device of man so ia
tai to the trade of party wire-workers and
political gamblers as this. Let party have |
a pretty certain majority in a County which |
chooses three or more Legislators, and its |
ticket is almost certain to be made up in part
of poor material. Ambitious wealth buys
places on it by hiring the services of hungry
Activity; proAigate Activity secures nomi-
nations by packing delegations and then
buying and selling votes. Whichever party is
morally certain to carry its ticket is nearly |
certain TO have heavy load oft for men who |
would not dare to run alone may contrive
to shuttle on in crowd, and obtain the votes
Of thousands, where not SO many hundreds
really desire their success. But they are
on the ticket, and regular nominations must
be supported-and they are.
If, then, the People Of the States about to
revise their Constitutions will resolve that
each legislator or other functionary to be
chosen henceforth shall be chosen from a
separate or Single District, in other words,
that there shall be as many Districts as
Members-they will do very much to reduce
Mario west limits and restore to themselves
and their posterity that just and proper con-
troll over the choice of their own lawmakers
whereof party machinery and 'usagcs have
too long well nigh deprived them. Every
locality, every interest, every sentiment,
may hope to find expression under the Sin |
gle District system as it cannot under the |
irregular and bungEng fashion hitherto gene
rally prevalent. Reforms are at first local !
and feeble; they are often crushed and
smothered beneath the weight of gigantic
constituencies, whereof the left hand know
eth not what the right hand doeth. Then
the iuggles, the bargaining the partiality
and injustice displayed in dstricting, by
buying up and overruling doubtful county
with one of decided party bias, such as we
see has wasted good part of the Session of
the Pennsylvania Legislature, and called
forth one Veto from the Governor-therc is
no effectual cure for these but in the Single
District system. No other is half so fair to
all parties, enabling them to exhibit their
strength clearly in the results Of all cleo
ticns. Thus in our own State last Fall,
when each party polled just about 100000
votes, each under the Single District system
chose an equal number (s0) legislators-one
party having one more than half in the SEN
ate, and the other like ascendancy in the
House. Formerly, party polling five
ninths of the popular vote has repeatedly
failed to carry the Legislature; henceforth