The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-05-07

The subject embraced in the above commune
cation opens n wide field for discussion. What
shall be the basis for voting, and what the quail
fcation for representatives in any community
are questions of erpedency and not of right;
since it may well be doubted whether any one
has a right to express an opinion on Il subject of
which he knows nothing. The object of voting
is to- procure an expression of the intelligence of
the people on the question which may be sub
mitted to the voters and the vote itself is only
valuable, when it is the free and intelligent
expression of the voters view of the interest of
the community in which he lives or, if not of
the interest of the community, of the voters
own interest ut least, or an equally intelligent
expression of an opinion as to who will be pro-
per persons to assist in the enactment of laws.
Intelligence is then the natural basis as well
for a qualification in n representative as for a
voter and here commences the difficulty of
making Il guage or measure which most will
admit ought to be made for that intelligence {;
but certainly the general estimate of mankind
falls upon property as one guage, since people
pay money to the several trades, professions, or
other occupations of life, in proportion to the
estimate placed OH the excellence or intelligence
of the employed in his vocation. The power
liiCh " dCiuIC fiOHOiby III a SiSohSA VI "OiS
limited degree, is one of the most ready or avail
able guages of intelligence. 1t by no means
follows that the richer q man is the more intelli-
gence he has, or that \ is more intelligent than
b because he is richer but it does follow that
if A. has acquired and does keep property, ne
must have a certain degree Of intelligence. His
intelligence, as well as his industry, is so far
demonstrated, and in addition to this he has n
stake in the community, which gives assurance
to others that he stands for law and order, and is
not to be blown about by every seditious brawler,
or to be intimidated by every bugbear.
That people of intelligence sometimes fail to
acquire property in any considerable degree is
true and therefore we would only advocate a
small property qualification for a representative
candidate, and a still smaller one for 4 voter nor
would we shut out from the right of voting
those, not having real property, who show a GER
tain amount of personal property, or still further
can show that they by honest industry, earn q
certain modest or humble income for such men
have a stake in the community, and must of ne
cessity, be on the side of good laws and good
order in society. But it seems TO us selt-evldent
that those people, who never do a days work as
long as they can help it, and never will do an
hours work, rs long as they can find a neighbor's
calabash TO dip their fingers into,-who wander
from place to place, having no fixed abode, have
no moral right to claim a voice, in governing a
community on which they are mere burdens.
Would our lately elected representative be
any better qualified to do his duty as q Legisla-
tor were he in possession of any amount of
wealth ? This may appear TO our correspondent
a knock-down argument. But it can be met by
WAYS first, by remarking that if any con-
property qualification was required, he
not be in the Legislature at all and sec
ondly. we say that he in all probability would
be a much better legislator; and certainly if he
had acquired some little property, by selling his
he would have given some evidence of
his greater fitness to pass an opinion on such |