Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-04-06
tl5atphman s. journal.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1870.
TrRw-s2oo per year, strictly in advance, or ESQ
Nnoi paid within three month";
Is il q ReyOlntiOn Z

OF by VII We mean the lOnsiltuuous ana 2
!. course the government Of Vermont as il wi
. be if the proposed changes in the Consttutio
shall be adopted. Mar, the political powc
Of the State is in its Jroemen all thrc
/. branches Of the government, executive, logi.
j. Iatyo and judicial, arc accountable to then
b and are held to close accountability. since u
member Of either branch is permitted to hol
his place more than one year without the ap
prevail of the frcomcn, expressed by them
selves as to the members Of the executive au,
legislative branches, and most Of the Judicial
d and by their representatives as to the hghcs
. judicial officers. Let Us contrast with tina
statement the government as il will be if th,
amendments are adopted, First, the frccmei
Of the State are to be sborn Of half thei
power by the admission Of women to share j.
with them secondly, this power Of the peo
pie, over the executive and legislative officer.
aud all subordinate Judicial officers, Is to be
redaced again By onc.lalf through biennial
elections instead Of annual and thirdly, the
representatives of the towns are to be stripped
entirely Of their annual control over the Su
promc Court, and the members Of that Court
are to be responsible, even to the power
that makes them, only once in six years.
To say the least, this is revolutionary in O
vital point--the power Of the people over the
government under which they are to live l,
it Of no consequence Our fathers were
very jealou, Of encroachueuts upon the power
Of the people; and therefore in Part I, article
6, of the Constitution, they declared that all
officers are trustees and scryantsof " the pco.
pie, and in article IS declared " that FIRE.
gtem recurrence to fundamental principles, "
etc. is absolutely necessary to preserve the
blessings Of liberty, and keep government
free" We do not see that the Council OF
Censors have proposed any formal change oil
these articles, and yet they hare proposed
that the people shall rccur to Fundamental
principles less frequently by half than they
have been accustomed to- Why did they not
preserve their consistency, by proposing tc
abolish Article Is, Part I, or at least tC
amend it by inserting the word not so that
the reading would be: that frequent rccur
renee etc, is nal absolutely necessary,
etc? And article also, if the Council j.
right, ought to be so amended as to declare
that the judges Of the Supreme Court are the
officers and trustees Of His Excelloncy the
Governor and the honorable Senate. Why
not, if we are to have the proposed amend.
mcnts2 Surely the different parts Of the
Constitution ought to be consistent with each
other.
The first step towards weakening the pow
or of the people is Of more importance than
it seems, because it makes another advance in
the same direction more easy 1t is the be-
ginning of strife between rulers and the ruled.
which may prove TO be as when one lctteth
out water"-a bigger food than was bargain
ed for. But beyond this and the other OBJ
lection We have named, there are others, and
one is that the Council propose a reduction
by one half Of the chances Of the people for
employment in public service We believe
that ambition for public honors is the strong
est incentive to men to 50 fit themselves by
character and requirements as to deserre pub
lie confidence. Alas there are far too few
really deserving candidates, and far too many
who trust to luck, or trickery, or corruption,
for success but therefore the reason is so
much the stronger for holding out induce
ments to better men We are asked to dis
courage them, by doubling the chance against
their success Is that wise Still another
objection is the absolute increase Of Execu-
tive power over the members Of the Supreme
Court, making the judges dependent upon
the will Of the Governor for nomination to the
Office and a practical doubling of Exccu-
tive influence by doubling his term and his
opportunities to fill vacancies in office. Con-
slider what has already occurred within few
NeNNN hpNNlHoI mas ultii anu Htult-
man. who was not thought of for that Office
by the people, has succeeded to the Executive
power and still another high state officer,
one whose duties were of the most delicate
sort, has also died, and his place is to be fill
ed by Executive appointment OF course
We have not a gord to utter against Governor
Hendee, and not doubt 10 express as to his
wisdom in selecting successor to Auditor
Stewart but we cannot refrain from saying
that such possibilities for mistakes are to be
doubled under the proposed scheme and
not simply as to subordinate offices, but also
as to the highest in rank-membcrs Of the
United States Senate
We exhort our readers therefore, not to
consider the election Of delegates to the Con.
stitutional Convention as a small matter, but
rather one Of very great Importance Every
freeman Of the State ought to feel that he has
personal privilege at stake, and take good
care that no man shall be elected to that
Convention who will vote 10 a5ridge his oirn
personal rights and prisaeges The Council
has aimed blow at every freeman Of the
State, and every freeman ought therefore to
treat this as personal matter and resent
the blow by rejecting the amendments This
is our view Of the ease, and we believe it is
a just view of it; and so we do also believe
that the irccmeu Of every town ought to send
delegate who is pledged, and if need be
instructed, to reject the proposed amendments.
The Census OF 1870.
The Ninth Census Of the United States
will be taken, under the provisions of the act
of May %, 1850, on the first of june next
At the last census, 44l7 assistant marshals