The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-12-15

special act, when the ObJect II attainapie w
| general laws.
The eighth proposition declared that the
| Legislature shall have no power to pass any
act granting any special charter fer BANKING
purposes or any special act TO increase the cap
ital stock of any chartered bank; hut corpora
tons may be formed for such purposes, or the
capital stock of chartered banks may be IN
creased, under general laws"
| This proposition was finally adopted by
| vote of l53 to SO.
These wise moderate and bene6cent reforms.
in the organic law of Massachusetts, have been
| defeated by q combination of interests never
| before united in action Most of these reforms
were borrowed from the Constitutions OF the
new States or from the new Constitutions OF
the Older States. The people of other States
will be not little surprised to learn that mea'-
ures so bene6cent, so truly Democratic have
been voted down 10y the people of this Common
wealth.
The Wing party originally opposed all
amendments to the Constitution. In 1890 ana
| 1851 that party contended against any change
of the Constitution When amendments were
| proposed in the Legislatures Of 1850 and 1881
the members Of that party voted them down.
! When Constitutional Convention Was pro
DO~eu, LDey ucUlcu us Nilh W.
| ted against it, All of the proposed amendments,
| however, received in the Convention the sup.
port OF Wing members. When the Convention
adjourned, several Wing members expressed
| their intention Of voting for them. 1t was the
| opinion of men OF all parties that the amend
ments would be adopted by an immense major
Ity A few days after the Adjournment of the
| Convention, a meeting Of Wing editors and pol
| 80, hold Rocfyp fHbnga YgttipIa N :
and editors had somehow been impressed with
| the ridiculous idea that the adoption Of the
amended Constitution would be the ruin Of the
Whig party. A member Of the Wing State
Committee said to Seward Wing, of New
York, that "the existence of the Wing party
depended upon the defeat Of the New Consti-
tution-that its adoption would place the Co
alltionists in power for ten year." At this
meeting it was resolved upon to oppose the
amended Constitution An indscrlmnate war
fare was opened upon the work of the Conven-
ton.
At the Wing State Convention it was resolv.
ed to oppose the amendments-to go for amend
ments either through the action of the Legisla-
ture, or by new Convention. This sudden
conversion to reform served TO delude portion
of the progressive Wings who were in favor Of
nents Of change and the friends of reform join
ed hands to defeat the amendments, for which
many of their delegates in the Convention had
voted. Perhaps 8, 900 out Of 10000 Wings vo-
ted Tor the new Constitution
By tho general ticket system, Boston elected /!
six Senators and forty-four Representatives on |
one ticket The new Constitution divided the
State into Single Senatorial dctricts and the
cities into districts for the choice Of Represent
atiyea. This blow at the general ticket system
by which few men, the representatives Of
great interests had been able To control the
nominations in Boston, and through that dele
cation to control the Legislature Of the State,
was the sin of the Convention in the eyes of
the conservative leaders Of Boston. Power would
pass from the hands Of the few in Boston to the
people, il the new Constitution shOnld lie adopt
cd. OF course, State, Beacon and MIX streets
poured ont money like water to preserve sys-
tenn by which the few had been able to control
Boston and the State Bat with all those
means to control affairs, the Wings would have
been pOweress H. effect the defeat of the amend
ments, il they had not received aid and com
tort from other sources
} The Hunker Democrats were the first to give
that aid and comfort" At their State Con-
vontion, held in Boston on the 22i Of T}eptem
Der, these men, whose hatred of Anh- Sauerv is
only equalled by their lore of rum, came ont
against the constitutional amendments These
Hunkers hated the new Constitution because it
was framed by the Coaitlonists They deuoun.
1ed it a, Free Soil instrument framed to put
the Free Soil party in power This combina
ion Of aegrOhOterS and rum-iorcrs gave about
) 600 yotos--4 900 Of which were from the
Democratic party
The liquor interests also took the field against
the new Constitutions The Union Association
Of liquor dealers and distllers welding great
Boston and other large places, came
Jut in Their organ, the Chronicle against the
adoption Of the amendments. This Association
If liquor dealers even wanted the nomination
and election Of Senators and Il Representa-
iyes in Boston. They were opposed to the
lew Constitution because it broke up the gen
,ral ticket system, which enabled them to |
WELD such commanding influence in Boston |
and in the State These men hated the Free
Sellers because most of them were Maine Law |
men.
The Catholics, ~ body, took tho field
against the New Constitution. Their organ,
the Pilot, assailed it and it, friends The Cath
Dlcs were appealed to, az a body, TO vote
lillS FENt sNOil ne uDtO-
rious o. A. Brownson took the stump, and told
tho Irish voters of Lowell, Quincy, and other
places, that by the general ticket system they
could in few years control the election OF
some 80 members of the Senate and House of
and thus control the State
The article concerning sectarian schools gave
great offence to the Catholics On the Sabbath
preceding the election, many of the priests told
. ni, e., t, vnf nat b..
tuition; and on Monday, hundreds who had at
tended during the previous week meetings and
cheered the new Constitution, voted against it.
This action Of the Catholics, so unexpected to
the men with whom many Of them acted, had
great influence on the result. The vote of Bos-
ton, Roxbury, Lowell Blackstone, and other
towns, where Catholic voters reside, shows tho
power of these voters when they act in union
Here we find the Wings, the Hunkers the
Rummies, and the Catholics combined to de-
feat the new Constitution and to crush the
men who framed it. The motives by which
this coalition of interests and men were guild.
cd, are apparent to all men. The merits of
the new Constitution had nothing whatever TO
do with the que ton. Each OF these combined
interests had its own selfish motives and objects
In spite of all the aid and comfort given To
the Wings by the Hunkers Rummles, and
| Catholics, they had but little hope OF defeating
| the rei0rmers. Their meetings were few and
! thinly attended. In this emergency, Mr.. Pal
frey camo to their aid His pamphlet cam,
| as God send 10 them in their hour of need
| They caught AZ it. printed it, and scattered i
broadcast over the State. This blow aimee
| by Mr.. Palfrey at his old friends, who hao
| sustained him with heroic fidelity, spirlte,
ond reused the Wings Few Free Sellers were
affected 10y it. They remembered that this wa
not the first blow they mad received from tn
same hand
Mr. Charles +. Adams aso came out in
speech against the new Constitution. His spcocl
was printed by tho Wings Tor circulation
This however was not an unexpected demon
stration.
But the most crushing blow came from "C