Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-02-19

Town 0FFICEHs-For The Phaniz.-One Of the
most important duties offrcemcn is the election their
public officers; for upon the exercise of their decgat
ed powers, to great extent the practical operations
of government must depend. The will Of the people
being the only legitimate authority it is OF the first
Importance that TIE agents by which that authority
is to be executed, should be men of sound principle
of strict and tried integrity. If the people u
ciently watchu of their own best interes,-if they
would duly appreciate the fact, that cecting public
servants best calculated to give vitality and force to
their own laws, is the goal of repubcansm-the main
spring that shapes and regulates the measures of our
government we could confidently anticipate an i'm
proved condition of public affairs.
An officer whose election or appointment is effect
ed with view promote partzan interest or private
ambition, whose official influence is but for the benefit
of party or faction, rather than the public good
of all men the most to be feared. This rule applies
with equal force in the election of town officers us in
State or National Only such men should be placed
in authority, in town affairs as will have due re-
spect for, and faithfully and mpartally carry into eff
feet the laws Of the State according to their intent and
design.
The Liquor law" is, in the estimation of candid
thinking men, of vital interest to the moral welfare Of
the whole people, and especially to shield the young
from the temptations to vice, incident the unresric-
ed use Of Intoxicating drinks. Towns cannot too care
fully avoid placing men in authority, who not only
disregard its provisions themselves but to the extent
OF their influence, encourage defiance of its author-
ty in others. In may towns it is next to impossible
to enforce the penalty of the law for its most persist
ent violations; for the that the public officers
themselves bound to treat it with utter contempt
Let the friends Of temperance, aud all who wish to
maintain the laws of the State, and secure fraternal
progress and domestic peace in the several towns look
well to the election, not only of County Commission
or, but to Seectmen and town Grand Jurors; for nm
on these officers the progress of temperance and the
suppression of intemperancc materially depends. Is
it not important then that Temperance men should
promptly and efficiently discharge their duty on the
day of election?
The advocates Of the liquor traffic will doubtless
make an effort to elect town officers, and n County
Commissioner favorable to their own views, and if the
friends OF the law remain inactive as was the case Il
year ago, they may succeed. For it singular fact,
that in some towns, well in large districts that
principle is wantonly sacrificed at the altar of polcy
and by the eectioneerng tactics and close affinity of
the anti-liquor law men, and mis-called Democrats,
the minority actually rule the majority. The blame
in these cases rests with the majority themselves. For
If they neglect their duty of being at the polls and of
depositng their votes for men known to be true with