New-York daily tribune., 1858-10-13

ington.
The Hon. Gerrit Smith must have nearly COM
pleted his canvass Of our State as an independent
candidate for Gosernor He has had a liberal and
candid hearing from the People and the Press. So
far as we are aware, he has been treated fairly,
courteously, kindly Thousands love him for his
philanthropy and goodness of heart. who deem
him an unwise and unsOund statesman, aud there
fore deprecate his election as Governor. That
their view is the correct one We proceed to show
by citations from his public ayowals at his meeting
in this City, which were substantially like those
made by him at other places.
l. And first, with regard to the relative powers
of the Executive and the Judiciary under our form
of Government. Mr.. Smith, in his meeting at the
Cooper Institute, said:
He had beer sskci question in THE TRIBUNE. IKE i.:
What would you Governor for probhi,o legislation
unco1 stutionsll = There certainly v,i provision
in the Constitution pIoyiaHs that sprrme cour Judge OF
Judge Of the Court o Ape. cold be removed bS concur
resolution Of the Houses Of tie Legislature. Now II
had objected g. the e't1re OF Ifo.i0ten thty fh fs a.
sIred that Governor be shoul MT h the sacancT with
BE- done TIE Senate on the recoarneuds Of the Governor
could remove sy Judge below supreme Court judge When
tia, any judge Of tbs County bad off ally either directly or
indirectly recognized the sacred rights Of property IN nioscs
impatient recommend 10 the Senate the prompt removal OF
that Judge"
We entreat the attention of every thoughtful
reader to the above. Is it the doctrine of con-
sidcIute man. Does it eyince due regard for the
independence of the Judiciary? That a Judge
may BE- removed for malfeasance, crime. gross
debauohery or idiocy, We concede but how would
it answer to expe Judges from office because their
decisions on a grave and difficult question did rot
accord with the views of the Governor and Legis-
laturel What security for life, liberty and prop
erty, would such system aud practice afford
And set more: What practical advantage TO the
cause Of Temperance is to be- derived thereiroml
Who believe. that Gov. Smith would ever see a
Legislature at Albany that would, by concurrent
vote of the two Houses. remove Judges on such
grounds What thoughtful Prohibitionist would
choose TO subject the Temperance cause to the
evaporation and hostility which such removal
would inevitably provoke VINO would wish to
e,e the Liquor Interest the fearful advantage of
rallyinc behind and struggling for the Independence
OF the Judiciary
H. On the subject Of a Registry Law, Mr..
Smith, said:
iied with in t stienr; to the purity Of the bs,
If X, gisiy Law IA led. he would have .omethus bet
It urte,ssn the OF hOues itom being
couai,rscted BY tae vote Of scoundrtl'
Now, We have once tried this experiment of
Registry Law for this City alone, and it was ex-
posed to odium and broken down mainly because
of this very partisliy in its application. "It is
"invidous insulting" exclaimed its adyersaries.
with much plausibilty; q" make your law general
81 in its application and We can respect it; but W
"protest against having one rule for determining
"who are legal voters on one side of AN Invisible
line and another on the opposite side" We
then resolved to be eyermore in fasor OF q
Registry for every poll and to that faith We
adhere. 1t Is tie honest, just rule. IL is
very far from true that great cities alone
afford facilities for Illegal Voting. or that they
are the only points al which such voting occurs.
The famous Plaquemnc frauds, BY which the State
Of LouisiaDa was stolen from Henry Clay and given
70 James X Polk Ill l-ii. took place in strong
Democratic rural district where there are scarcely
twenty houses IN sight from any one point; the
state o. Minnesota wrtsted from the Republ-
cans last Fall and Ii, ,de 10 send Democrats to both
Uouses of Congress, With State Officers and Le1is-
ls,ure 10 match, by frauds committed in the widest
backwoods regions. Including Pembiha, where there
were not ten bcuses any mile square; BarsIow
WAS elected Goyerno~ of Wisconsin by Ike frauds
in the widest woods 10 icJJ and Bon Bradbury
MAS last month all but elected to Congress from
Maine by similar frauds on the graniest scale Got up
without regard oexpense IN the wlds of Aroostook
far away from any city or considerable viii ,ge There
: doubtless great need of Registry in all great
cities: bu; the wild. secluded districts where the
ballot.boxes are entirely controlled by one party
and scarcely Observed by the feeble, tmid. cowed
minority. equally require the safeguard Of an Official
l;st of Legal Voters. which maj be scru,inzed be-
forehaud. and which affords check on the number
of votes 10 be- poiled. There are some polls, We
admit where the necessity Of Registry is not so
obvious: but here the cost and trouble of making
one can BE- but triding and the honest voters must
realize that a fraudulent vote cast against them
elsewhere Will have equal effect with one put into
te box under their eyes II is in their behalf tia.