Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1860-01-27
THE CONVENTION TUESDAY.

sroNER for this County was an uncommonly |
large one, and in some respects a peculiar one.
The Call for the Convention, by the proper |
Committee. was rightly addressed TO the |
&" Friends Of Temperance and Of The Prohibit !
orr Lar" IN Chittenden County. There was !
a coodlv number of them present. from
majority of the Towns in the County. But /
besides those, there were present in consider
able numbers, chiefly from this vicinity, per-
sons who, in no honest sense Of the terms, !
could he considered as either " friends
Of Temperance or of the prohibitory
law; some who have been notorious, for
years, for their excessive use of intoxicating
drinks, some who have been repeatedly con-
victed before the Courts of violations Of the
prohibitory law, some who are and have
been VIGOROUSLY engaged in frustrating the
law, and others, who if not open contemners
Of 1t, would be glad to have it 50 admins
tered as to interpose no efficient obstacle to
any indulgence of their own appetites-al
these, under the loose regulations of a mass
Convention, where no roll of proper mem
hers is made up, taking the liberty to act IN
the Convention, and actually rallying large
vote on the nomination, obviously contrary
10 the main sentiment of those who properly
composed the Convention under the Call.
A brief account of the doings, beyond what
is stated in the cfficial report, is due to the
people Of the County. The nominating
Committee-an unusually large one-2S
in number-was composed Of men well
known in the county for their probity,
good judgment, and as steady and tried friends
Of " Temperance and Of the Prohibitory
law" They unanimously recommended
by their chairman, Mr. Barstow, Henry
LAWRENCE, ESQ, of St. George, TO be NOM
mated for County Commissioner for the year
ensuing. At the instant of their report,
and before even the motion was made to ac-
cept The report to get il properly before the
meeting, Mr. D. G. Walker, clerk in the
store Of j. S. Pierce, Esq, the Town Agent
for sales Of liquor in Burlington, moved the
report be rejected. and that JAMES MITCHELL,
Esq, Of Burlington, the present Commits
sioner, be nominated. Carolus Noyes, ESQ,
of Burlington, next proceeded to say that in
the nominating comm ittee charges had been
made against the present Commissioner
which ought t. be made public and opportu-
nifty Of REPUTATION allowed, before the re-
port was accepted. a discussion on a point
of order arose-the result being decision
that the acceptance of the report had nothing |
to do with the adoption of the rcommenda- |
ton in it, but only brought 1t fairly before
the Convention that on the subsequent
motion to adopt the recommendation Of the
report, any inquiries or remarks as to the
fitness Of that recommendation or the propri
ETY. Of substituting another name. for that Of
Mr.. Lawrence, would be in order. The re-
port was accepted, ard Immediately Mr.. c.
Morse moved that the report be laid on the
table, and that the Convention proceed to
ballot for a nominee Mr. G. W Benedict
called for a division Of the motion. The
chairman decided that a division was in or
der, and the motion to lay the report on the
table was put and decided in the negative
On the second part of Mr.. Morse's melton
considerable discussion ar1se-the object Of
those who favored it evidently being to pre-
vent all discussion on the merits of this or
that nomination by calls for the ballot and
abundant stamping in one part Of the house.
The difficulty of a fair ballot in such an as
sembly, was urged by Mr.. Perrin, of Hines
burgh, there being no roll of members prop
erly entitled to vote, under the Call for the
Convention.
1t was urged, further, by others, that
whether the nomination be decided by bal
lot or otherwise, it was right to have a dis
cussion on the merits of candidates where
two were named, and that the committee
should have an opportunity to respond to any
insinuations against their fairness OF good
judgment. Hon. Francis Wilson, of Hines
burgh, one of the committee, said that as
to charges said to have been made against
Deacon Mitchell, the present Commissioner,
in the committee, no imputations Of wrong
intention were even limited at-that mention
was made of some rumored complaints re-
garding the appointment by him Of local
onr nc M 4 , md
Underhill we believe) but the explanations
made by members Of the nominating com
mite from those towns, acquainted with the /
circumstances, were quite satisfactory -
that in fact the influential reason in the |
minds OF the committee for presenting anoth- |
er man, was the fact that the practice in the |
county had been to change the officer once
in two years, as was the case in respect to
other oficers-that they believed the prac- |
tice was good one and had better be fol-
lowed, and therefore they agreed upon Mr.. |
Lawrence, of St. George, as a man every |
way fit for the Office. The vote to proceed |
to ballot for nominee was taken, Ga for it |
and GO against it. Mr.. Benedict moved that |
the Secretary be directed to take the names
of all who offered votes, which motion was
adopted The result of the ballot was as
stated in the official proceedings.
A motion TO make the nomination unani- |
nous, received numerous nays, and motion
subsequently introduced, pledging the sup
port of the members of the Convention at |
the polls to the nominee, was laid upon the
table.
We copy elsewhere the list of those who
voted on the nomination. 1t speaks for it
self. Our Burlington readers will find in it
abe names of notorious violaters of the liquor
law, of hard drinkers, and of number who,
to say the least, are very curious ''friends of
and the prohibitory law" They
voted on previous questions (when the vote !