The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-12-01
Nov. 30, 1871.

IN tne new Ork COnSlltu ll0nal Con
vention held at Albany, 1s67.S, the Sec.
retary read Aug. s, 1867 the following
section proposed as part of revised
Constitution:
SEC. 1. The State shall be divided in.
to thirty.two Senate districts, each of
which shall choose one Senator, and the
term of Office shall be four years" The
section also defines the geographical
limits of the several districts.
Hon. Horace Greeley, Delegate from
Westthester county. thoreupon moved
the following substitute, which with
Mr.. Greeley's remarks thereon, is given
as follows in the official report of the
Proceedings and Debates, Vol. I, page
S7l.
Mr.. GREELEY, | move as a substi-
tutc the first section of my amendment,
to be found in document 40. The Sec.
retary proceeded to read the substlt ute
offered by Mr.. Greeley, as follows:
Sec. 9 The Legislature for 1868 shall
divide the State into fifteen Senate Dis.
tricts, whereof each shall contain as
nearly as may be, with due regard to
the integrity of counties, an equa mum.
ber of legal voters, and whereof each
district shall ba entitled to elect three
Senators. Each voter may, at his dis.
cretiCn, repeat twice or thrice on his
ballot for Senator the name of candi-
date, provided, that all names borne
thereon, including repetitions, shall no
exceed three; and each ballot shall be
counted two or three votes, as the case
may be, for any candidate whose nam g
may be thus repeated. The Senator S
thus chosen shall hold their Office for
- years and any vacancy meantime
occurring shall be filled by election as
heretofore. On the expiration of the
terms of Senators, their places shall be
filled as above"
l desire simply to correct one or two
misappre tensions which the debate has
shown to exist. In this amendment, it
is proposed to have fifteen Senat Dis.
trlcts, each containing $1,000 ele ctors
Now, if 10 any district the minority
party, or any minority shall number so
many as $4,000 elector5-over one quar- =
ter of the whole number-that minori ty
can surely elect one Senator by nomi.
mating single candidate and printing
his name thrice on each ballot, viii ch
would give the candidate $4,000 votes !;
and it is not possible that the larger
party, having but II 900 votes in all,
can by Formulation or managem
prevent the minority from choos-
ing one Senator. Now, this State
cannot be 50 divided that there will be
more than one district in which the
will not be equal to $1,000 out
of the $4,000 voters. Fairly divd ed,
there will not be one single district in
which the minority cannot elect one
Senator. Again, q gentleman on the
tloor said that no party would confess
itself in the minority. No party need
do 50; where the disparity is notorious,
it will do so; but in every
other district each party will nominate
two candidates, and try to elect both
and the party which is the stronger
'oW elect the two, ami the weaker party
will elect one. 1t is just and good FOR
persons outside of any party. Here are
independent voters choosing to elect
some able and eloquent man, who
stands outside of any party organiza.
tion. If they exceed one.quarter of
the voters Of the district, they can elect
that man by cumulating his name on
their ballots. This is plan TO allow a
majority to have q representa- tive-tO
allow the who'" people TO be represent.
ed. You now have 400 900 electors out
of 100000 represented In the Legisla.
ture. l propose that the whole 700, 900
shall be represented, the minority as
well as the majority. l hope the Con-
vention will allow the ayes and noes
to be taken on this proposition.
After some further discussion, the
Secretary called tho roll on the amend
ment of Mr.. Greeley, and it was lost.