Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1868-03-12
THE PRIMARIES.

The Virginia Trepass, several days
ago, found fault with the Union County
Central Committee for making q rather
stringent " test in the qualifications
Of voters at the next Primaries. The
same test was adopted By the Union
County Central Committee Of 0rmsby /;
and it struck US as q little "brash,"
that brother Forbes, Of the Tfespas,,
who has not lived in Storey county long
enough to witness q primary or n gen.
eral election should undertake to find
fault with the action Of men whose ex-
periences and observations have taught
them to adopt measures for the good Of
party, and to prevent the frauds which
have time and again been perpetrated
to its injury. Brother Mighels, of the
Carson appeal, however, is no. so easily
Modified on this f~ault-fnding of the
Tre;pGss as we are, and in yesterdays
issue he "comes back" at Forbes in
real pick-handle style, as follows:
"Some gentlemen, members Of the Union
party, had discussed in the presence Of the
Chairman OF the Committee, the propriety Of
making n liberal tost in order that 'con-
verts' might vote; and at the sam time
the necessity for putting an efficient guard
against imposition was admitted. When the
Committee came together, the author Of that
resolution drew It up as much in order to
solve tho problem Of how to gnard the lib
eral test as from any other reason. Il GER
tainly does guard il and, in our notion,
some such a guard Is needed. The questions
to be propounded, IL satisfactorily answered
by honest men, arc, in themselves good
enough; but the history Of Primary elections
goes to sustain the painful charge that there
has been, always, moro or less fraud practiccd
at such elections; and popular or unpopular,
the authorizing Of the Judges or Inspectors
OF Elections to examine suspicious persons
ballots and discard fraudulent votes is the
only way to prevent their getting into the
ballot box. However, the verbiage Of
Of the resolution might well DO
changed by substituting the word may for
Election officers. BY such q change, the ex-
animation Of ballots would be LEFT to the
Boards discretion-as it should DO. There
is a sort Of meaningless sanctity attaching to
the secret ballot which nobody claims SO
much as being dear to himself as to the
indefinite wide world Of SOM "folks."
We disagree, in toto, with the Trespdss' posi-
ton concerning the test. The history Of Ne
yada State Conventions is u narrative OF an
nual frauds praeticed at the Primary cleo
tons Of the Union party in Storey county.
At the last State Convention ut least half OF
the time Of its sitting was taken up in the
trial Of a case, the only material point in
which was which Of the two rival factions
wrung in the greater number Of Democrats
at the primaries Such a scene as was then
and there enacted ought never again to be
possible. But what guaranty has the party
that such occurrences will not again take
place If the Trespass' advice il complied in
Aud the fact is, il any protesting convert
from Democracy is so very sensitive as to
rcpudiate his newly found adherence to Re-
publicanism upon the ground that he is de-
MED a vote at the Primary elections Of the
Union part, he won't do to trust.his prom
Use to vote the Union ticket next Fall is not
Of any high value. Recruits ought to smell
u little powder and prove that they are not OF
the bounty.jumper persuasion before they
are trusted with the countersign."