Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1862-02-27
THE COUNCIL OF CENsoRs

The Constitution of Vermont provides for
the election, every seven years, of a Council of
Censors, 10 be composed of thirteen men, on
the last Wednesday of March. In accordance
with that provision an election is to be made
this year.
1t is now less than four weeks before the
election is TO take place and no convention has
been held or even called by any appropriate
committee. The Woodstock Standard and
Rutland Herald have assumed in this emergen-
cy, to call Mass Convention at Burlington, on
Wednesday the 18th day of March, "for the
purpose of nominating thirteen suitable men
to constitute the Council of Censors." The
Rutland Courier gravely suggests that it is not
proper for the Committees of any or of all the
political parties in the State to call such con-
vention, on account Of the political bearing
such movement would have, and sagely pro-
poses that the Editors of all the papers in the
State meet at Burlington and make the neces-
sary nominations-as if Editors were destitute
OF all political impulses and preferences The
St. Adams WeSsenge, has gone so far as to get
John w. Stewart, Inland Hall, Bliss n. Davis.
Geo. +. Edmunds, VIM. w. White, Samuel
Adams, William Hebard, John A. Child John
IL. Prentice, Charles Linsley, Lucus b. Peck,
Daniel Kellogg, and Julius Converse. These
are all excellent men, as good perhaps for the
place as any who could be named, but three of
the number are constitutionally ineligible. as
they are now members of the General Assem-
bly,.
These schemes are all Objectionable 1t is
presuming very much for newspapers to call
State Convention. 1t is entirely within their
province TO suggest modes of action leaving
TO the people the right which is inherently
theirs of accepting or rejecting such sugges-
tions. But it seems to us utterly preposterous
for newspaper to compose State ticket, or
for Editors alone to meet in convention to
nominate one. Neither the one nor the others
are accredited by the people with the requisite
authonty Tor such acts. All the freemen of
the State are represented by the various politi-
cal parties and they have delegated to the re.
spective State Committees OF each the appro.
pirate power and duty Of calling such con-
ventions. The objects of the Council ore
political, yet not parizan, and it is not only
competent but emincntly fit and proper that
these Committees should join in calling con-
ven'ion, in view of the action devolved upon
the people of this State by the Constitution.
Ii the people of Vermont do not care TO elect
a Council OF Censors it is their privilege to re-
frain from doing so. But it will be well to
bear in mind that a Council ,eiU. in all human
probability, be elected, as a plurality of votes
elects, and half a dozen votes, if no more are
cast will constitute as valid an election os forty
thousand votes could effect even if they were
all agreed. In this view of the case il doos
seem to us that some importance should he at
tached to this election, and as much by those
who object to any constitutional revision and
amendment as by those who are in favor of
both. If no action whatever is had in the way
of nominating suitable ticket it may and is
not unlikely TO happen that body of men will
be elected who will occasion the State more
expense than is sought TO be saved by those
who are opposed to the calling of a Conslit-
tutional Convention on economical consider
atoms. The experiences of lS55-57 are suf-
ficiently obvious and palpable to preclude any
desire for their repetition.