Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-07-01
VOTING IN EuROpR

TONS In France is conducted with
a quietness and sobriety in marked
contrast to the unceremoniousness
and occasional disorder and vio-
lence which characterize elections
IN this country. A Paris CORE
spondent speaks of the extreme
propriety with which an election
by universal suffrage is conducted
in that country. He says the voting
is of very simple and sedate char
acter; the elector has merely to
walk into a room as quiet as 8
church-indeed, a great deal quieter
than most Paris churches on Sun
day-where he finds five persons
seated together as grave as Judges,
and there, first presenting his "elec-
toral card to be compared with
the register, he drops his voting
ticket into a ballot-box, and the
thing is done. 1t is impossible to
imagine anything better conducted,
and the decorum of the proceeding
certainly makes it a"serious" affair.
Were the freedom of elections in
France as perfect as their good or
der, they would leave little to be
desired. Each elector, before vot-
ing, must take out for himself in
person an electoral card from his
own marie, where his name and
address are known, and without
which he cannot vote. As every
card is cancelled by tearing off the
corner when used, and is Dever is
sued twice to the same person, there
can be neither fraudulent voting
nor personifcation, and no delay or
dispute ever seems to arise. The
bureau which superintends the
polling is formed of president and
four assessors. The former is APP
pointed by the local administration
the latter, according to the terms of
law, ought to consist of the "two
Oldest and the two youngest electors
nrasart 1ubo non ,oal 81 ,r~..+o :,
The ballot box, which stands be-
fore the president, has two pad
locks with different keys, which are
kept by the assessors. When an
elector goes to the marie of his
district to take out his electoral
card, blank voting ticket is also
supplied him, on which he may
himself write the name of his can
djdate if he likes. But most voters
use the printed tickets which they
find at the door of the polling place.
and the habit is to take one Of these
tickets Of each candidate, so that
no one who is looking on can tell
which the elector intends to use.
When his electoral card has been
compared with the register, one of
the assessors teals off a corner of
it so that it may not serve again,
and returns it to the elector, who
then deposits his voting ticket, or
generally the president receives it
from him and puts it into the box,
through the slit in the lid. The
ballOt-boxes of the different sec
tons are all carried after the voting
to the Marie of the electoral diyis-
ion, escorted 10y the national guard,
and sometimes also by 8 body of
Jealous electors, who often remain
on guard over them through the
night.
The same decorum and order are
manifested in the Prussian elections,
as we took occasion to notice when
the elections were being held for
the German Parliament. Electors
there enter the voting apartment
with the decorum they would ox-
hibit in entering private residence,
exchanging the compliments of the
day to the official who, sitting at a
table, receives their votes, and pass
out, politely bowling.
These examples are worthy to be
considered by those of our politi-
clans who think and teach that, in
order for the people to be sover,
eigns, they may cease to be gentle
men without discredit to themselves
and their institutions. The very
best type of repubGcanism is that
of decency and liberation. They
are the highest characteristics OF