The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1851-07-23


to deprive any portion Of the citizens Of
the State, from the free and equal exercise
of that right, is entirely inadmissible.
AT the same time it must be acknowl-
edged, that such state of the case. as is
now presented in the county Of Noble, has
been entirely overlooked; and that county
must, in its political organization, remain
unknown in the General Assembly for the
period of ten years. ltdoes not, however,
follow that the people Of that county are
disfranchised; and for the purpose of ex-
tending to them the rights and privileges
to which they are equally entitled. in COM
mon with their citizens, | find no
difficulty in asserting the apportionment to
have been made on the tenth of March,
and before that county was created The
gross, glaring and palpable injustice, which
would be done by the operation Of the
strict rule Of law, is sufficient justification
for setting it aside. 7as
The county Of Noble is then. for the
purpose Of electing members of the Gener-
al Assembly and Judges of the Court Of
Common Pleas at the first election, as
though the law Of its creation had never
been enacted, and the citizens thereof will
for these purposes, cast their ballots in
their original respective townships, Of the
various counties of which that county is
composed, as though no such county ex.
listed. The county lines existing on the
tenth Of March will, for these purposes, be
preserved for the ensuing ten years, and
until the next apportionment.
To do otherwise would derange the
system and principle of apportionment; for
to the counties Of Guernsey, Monroe, Nor
gan and Washington are given two addi-
tional Representatives for their fractional
ratio. If the boundaries 10 which those
representatives are given, are permitted TO
be changed, those counties may be pos
sessed Of more power than they are enti-
tied TO by the change in the number Of their
inhabitants.
The General Assembly possess power TO
correct this evil to the citizens of Noble
county. SO far as their Judicial elections
are implicated, and will doubtless do so by
the law which assigns that county to its
proper Judicial district; but they possess
no such power in the other instance.
This will, no doubt, be inconvenient to
the electors; but between the Inconvenience
and disiranchisemen there is no alterna-
tive.
In elections, where whole townships are
in the limits of Noble county, two ballot
boxes must be opened. and two sets Of poll
books kept In one box will be deposited
the votes for State and county officers, the
poll book for which will be returned to the
county clerk of that county; in the other
will be deposited the ballots for members
of the General Assembly and Common
Pleas Judge, the poll book for which will
be returned to the clerk of the county from
which the township was taken. When
portions only OF township are taken from
another county, but one box and book will
be kept in which will be deposited the bal
lots for State and county officers, and the
book returned as in the first instance;-iI
the citizens wish TO vote for members of the
General Assembly any G. P. Judge. they
must 90 to the place OF voting in the prop
er township Of the county from which they
were originally taken, where their right to
cast ballots for those officers is indisputa-
BILE.
The same remarks apply to the citizens
taken from Washington and annexed to
Monroe. Respectfully yours,
]. MCCORMICK.
JAS. II. NORRIS, Esq.
....... CHOLERA.
From all the verbal reports we have re-