The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-11-08
Eaect Of Education on Voters.

u lnuSS VI n1utcrldl is uSeu us u Drute IOTCC
. merely, it must carry down all obstac cs
whatever 1t is only by education and
instruction that the particles Of such 4
mass can be distncgratcd and, if our
Republic is to endure beyond the Roman
, or firccian terms, it must have an cduca.
ted people as its cornerstone.
To show how little Independent thought
is exercised by the foreign voters, as we
shall designate them for the purpose Of
classification, it has been often noticed
that the ballots cast by them are seldom
if ever, altered or scratched. If any OF
their ballots are so altered, it is found
that such changes have been uniformly
made before they were placed in the yo-
ter's hands. Take, for instance, the clec-
tion for governor in 1859. While in .
wards of the city of Boston, more or less
tickets were scratched, the returns for
governor and lieutenant governor in the
three other wards wiz, Wards Five, Se-
ven, and Thirteen where the foreign vote
largely prevails, exhibit not a single al
teration and in Ward Two, which com.
prises the largest foreign vote of any ward
in the city, out oftwo thousand and nine
~ ballots, only eight were altered, and
these we're changes on the Republican
tickets. At the Municipal election for the
same year, while at other wards Of the
city there were more or less scattering
votes for mayor in Wards Two, Five,
Seven, and Thirteen not one was cast
This shows conclusively that the ballot
is generally deposited by the naturaized
voter just as it is placed in his hands by
the vote-distrbutors. Advantage is often
taken of this fact by interested parties,
who are candidates for some subordinate
office at such elections.
The average returns Of votes from the
wards of the city of Boston will show,
without exception, that more scratching
of tickets, indicating more Independent
voting, is done in Wards Six, Ten, and
Eleven, where the dwellings are largely
occupied by cultivated or well-educated
citizens while little or no scratching is
done in Wards Two, Five, Seven, and
Thirteen, where the bulk of the foreign
voters reside.
For the same reasons, the negligence
to vote. when candidates are all unsatis-
factory, is more noticeable in those wards
were the intelligent citizens preponderatc
than in other wards, where so much dis
elimination does not exist.
The only exceptional case Of independ-
ent voting bv a naturalized voter, which
ever came to the notice of the writer, oc-
cured in this wise In 1868, during the
mayoralry of the Hon. Mr. Rice who was
one of the best magistrates Boston ever
had,. it happened that Dennis f., an
Irishman, who could neither read nor
write, obtained, through the Instruments
lity Of Mr.. Rice Il position as a laborer
upon the Common. In December of thai
year, Mr. Rice was candidate for re-
election On election day, Dennis ap-
peared at the City hall, anxious to see
Mr.. Rice. He was told by the city clerk
that Mr. Rice was out, and was asked the
nature of his errand. Dennis then said
II want to give him my rofe.' well"
said Mr.. NJ, "you must 90 to your ward
room in Ward Fight, and deposit your
ballot there and it will then be
counted" "No, no. said Dennis that
won't do" | shn't give it to any one
else. want to give it to him in his own
hand No reasoning or persuasion could
make him do any thing else SO he wait
ed patiently till Mr.. Rice came in, and
then he told his story, and gave Mr.. Rice
his ticket Mr.. Rice, in his very pleasant
way, thanked Dennis for his exceeding
interest, and took his ballot, but lost his
( vote.
But this exception only proves the rule;
for Dennis would have voted in the same
way and manner as his kinsmen did, had
not his gratitude, and his desire to evincc
it, overcome all other considerations
1t is not to be denied that there are
men who possess strong common sense, but
who, nevertheless, cannot read not write.
Hundreds Of eases could be cited 10 prove
this fact.
OLD AND NEw. - Old and New tor
November opens with little ter-tablc
discussion on the situation of poor dear
Paris wherein she" proves conclusively
that it is all Paris own fault. Indeed
foreign affairs seem to have prominent
place for there is also poem by Mrs
Julia Ward Howe, an article on the
French army by Edwin Laboulayc, and
one on the Vatican by C. 7 Winslow
besides three or four shorter articles on
French, German and Italian books and
subjects in the Examiner" and Record
of progress" But there are other interest
ing ethical fantastic, scientific and politi-
cal articles also and an unusually large
number of advertising pages, with an un-
precedent number of fine wood-cuts in
them,go to make up an uncommony thick
volume for magazine. The publisher
announce that they will issue early III
December a Christmas number as n con-
Meeting link between the Old and New
Years. 1t will contain articles by II. W.
Bellows, j. Freeman Clarke, Mrs. II. b
Stowe, Mrs. A. d. T. Whitney, Edward
+. Hale, Eliss Polko, and other popular
contributors. Subscribers (both old and
new, who subscribe to "Old and New
before Dec |, will receive The Christ
mas Locket" free.
ATLANTIC MONTHLY The Atlantic
Monthly for November has the conclusion
apparently of Bayard Taylors tale OF
"Joseph and his Friend = one of Mrs.
Austin's interesting papers, wherein Mis-
ellie makes researches into manufactures
of one sort and another-this time it l.
gunPowder aud the article is hlty entitled
"lligh'y cxplosive"-a singular article
entitled "Experimcnts :" highly colored
article ON Fechter's Hamlet, by Kate