The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-04-07

doubling whether ELECTORAL reform Is
necessary, and whether man who talks
for 1t and works for IL is not little Wis
ionary or at least somewhat ahead Of
the times.
There Is another thing that is some
times done. Coalitions are common
we have what are called "Citizen's,'"
"People's" or "Union" tickets set up.
They are very we'll in some cases, but
are often set up in the interest of some
man, or of few. A man of the ma.
jority is offended at what his party has
done; perhaps they have done him moth
ing but sheer justice; they have declined
to put him Into office, and he has a
dozen men subject to his influence, or
he has money, and he goes to the Oppo-
site party..the minority-and he says
to them, "Put me on your ticket, and
will elect it, Or IL he does not ask TO
be put upon the ticket himself, he asks
that some personal friend of his shall
be put on, and that pledges shall be
given in favor of something he wants
done. Then by turning over a small
number of voters from his own party
to the other, the coalition is made to
succeed.
l insist, therefore, that these points of
objection, or of doubt rather, In refer
ence to this new plan, do not condemn
IL or render its adoption unwise or i'm
proper.
Mr.. B. proceeded to speak upon the
application of reformed voting in the
choice Of delegates to nominating bodies,
and particularly to county conventions,
describing the various plaus upon which
such bodies were chosen, aud insisted
that the same remedy which would
purify and improve the legal elections
should be extended to the voluntary or
primary ones also. He strongly con-
demned the Crawford county plan of
nomination, and expressed his prefer
ence for that recently adopted in the
county of Columbia, under which there
was representation of election districts
in proportion to their party vote, and
complete freedom to the electors in cast
ing their votes for delegates. He con.
cluded by stating that he regarded the
bill under consideration as step in the
course of reform-as one well calculated
to have considerable effect in the i'm.
provement of municipal government
and to familiarize the people with new
but effectual and necessary plan for the
renovation Of popular elections.
In SENATE, March 30, 1S71.--Agreea-
bly, to order the Senate resumed the
third reading and consideration Of
Senate bill entitled An act for the fur
Mr.. BUCKALEW. Mr.. Speaker, il
any gentleman desires to make remarks
upon this bill will give place to him
If not, desire to say few words and
then have the vote taken. l desire to
explain that this bill does not apply to
any borough in the State established by
special law. 1t only applies to those
that have been or may be Incorporated
under the act of 1851, or the prior act Of
1884. Nor doesit apply in many cases.
where, by special legislation, particular
arrangements have been made in bor-
Oughs for the selection of councilmen.
There are largenumber of laws which
provide, for instance, that where there
are two, three or more wards, each ward
shall be entitled to elect member Of
council, or more members than one, for
one, two or three year terms; so that 1t
often happens that only one councilman
is voted for by the same body of elec-
tors. This bill does not disturb such
arrangements or affect the manner Of
voting in such cases. 1t applies only to
those boroughs which exist under gene
raj laws, and to those hereafter estab-
lished or brought under those laws.
L desire to add another explanation,
and that Is, that this plan of voting is
very different from that proposed by
Mr.. Hare, In work Of some celebrity
published by him. He proposes plan
of personal representation by means OF
| preferential voting, as 1t is called, and
he announces his leading object to be to
emancipate the voters from the domina.
tion or control of party organization to
enable them to vote without reference
to those associations heretofore known
in Great Britain and in this county as
| political parties. ! am opposed to his
4 ,l,N nd II n ff,t t,., ,.ts
derstood that the free vote points to an
object quite different from his. This
plan now before us, assumes the exi'-
tence in political society of political par
ties, and it assumes that they will exist
hereafter. 1t Is simplya proposition by
which political parties can represent
themselves conveniently and justly by
their own votes. 1t does not strike at
or affect party organization. In fact,
MIR. Speaker, l agree entirely with the
mainportion of the argument submitted
by yourself to the Senate the other even.
Ing, In which 1t was insisted that po-
litical parties were necessity in free
governments-at least that they were
inevitable wherever freee play was per-
mitted to the political activity of the
citizen. This doctrine was laid down
by Mr.. Madison perhaps rs briefly and
clearly as il ever was, In the forty-ninth
number of the Federalist in whiih he
said that ian extinction of parti,s
necessarily implies either universal
alarm for the public safety, or an abso,
lutte extinction of liberty" Now, sir,
think that reformers who in the present
stage of civilization look to political
arrangements independent Of party
visionary and their schemes impracti
capable; and am one of the last men
who would assent to the adoption of any
new system based upon their ideas. !
take political parties as l find them
take political society, divided funda.
mentally upon great government issues,
and assume that so long as free play
is permitted to the human mind In po-
litical affairs there will be parties,
and government must be organized
and administered with reference to
them, and that all attempts based
upon an assumption that It is posi-
out parties, is idle and vain; in fine,
that all attempts based on that idea
must result In complete and disastrous
failure. No such object has been pro-
posed by persons in this county, or
beyond the ocean, who have supported
this plan of the free vote or cumulative
viting. All they propose is to put into
I the hands of political parties an instru.
r ment by which they can act Justly al
, elections, by which they can obtain for
, themselves fair share of power by
, their own votes, by which 1t will bt
: impossible for them to take from theiI
= fellow citizens any portion OF politica
power which belongs to them; by whict
r the principle of gambling las l call it
shall be extracted from elections, ant
by which the motive for spending
money in order to obtain the majority
, at elections shall be taken away.
think this explanation was due to tn,
3 Senate, and to those who pay attention
7 to our debates, because some distrust o
l question has been created in the mind
s of gentlemen who imagine that tn
: new plan proposed here Is identical o
r similar in principle to the reform pre-
}. posed by Mr.. Hare, which is so compli
u Gated, so intricate, and so far beyond tn
n convenience. of political society tina
!. there is good reason for opposition to II