The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1871-05-17

| the press OF our otdte, Hdso euS6So'Se
plans for tie ameliorat:on Of present
evils. Mr.. Memmiuger and Colone
Rion especially deserve mention, 81
gentlemen of large ability and influence
who have made their contributions tt
the cause.
Without discussing tie plans pro
posed by those gentlemen, or pointing
out the impossibility of putting such
plans into practical execution, 1 proceed
to express my conviction that there rs
remedy, at once simple and eficacious
practicable and still Radical. l mean
the cbauge Of our present system of the
representation Of majorities merely, and
the substitution Of proportional repre-
sentation, or, as it is more commonly
called, minority representation, b5
means of the cumulative or free vote.
! You know, of co1rse, that there is nc
novelty in this remedy. The press o.
our State, especially the Charleston
| News, the Columbia Phenix and the
Charleston Republican, as we'll as iadi,
viduals, have discussed and advocated
| it. l have studied the matter, in its
principles and its results, as theory
and as q practice. l have waited to
express my conviction until l could al
least satisfy myself Of its practical efica'
cy as present remedy. My examina:
tiou leads me to give my unreserved
support TO the plan, and to believe that
it will lay the foundation for stable
peace in our State.
regret that time will not allow full
discussion Of this subject in its priuci-
PIES. Who ever desires this, will find
| it abundantly in John Stuart Mill on
"Representative Government" in the
debates in the English Parliament in
| 1867, by Chancellor Lowe, Lord Cairns
Earl Grey and Mr.. Mill in the very
able and elaborate report of Senator
Buckalew, Of Pennsylvania, made to the
United States Senate in March, 1868,
and, am happy to add, in an address
delivered before the students of Woford
College in June last, by Colcael j. p.
Thomas, of our own State, where will
be found an admirable resume Of the
history and nature Of the plan, enforced
by many new and effective arguments.
AS study merely, to one who is
attracted by discussions of the great
questions Of republican government, few
topics have greater charms. But Of all
this must not speak.
The plan is briefly this: to give each
voter as many votes as there are repre-.
seutatives to be elected in his county or
voting district, and allow him to cast
them all for one candidate, or divide
them among several, as he pleases.-
Thus, to lake the illustration Of another
and apply it to case within our own
State: "The County Of Charleston has
eighteen representatives in the lower
house of the Legislature each voter
has eighteen votes; he may give them
to eighteen candidates, one to each, or
he may cumslate them upon a less
number than ten, even to one. One
eighteenth of the voters may thus be
sure of a representative, if they choose
to unite upon one person. In practice.
however, no doubt tickets would be
made up by the two parties, and each
party would send representatives merely
proportional TO its constituency"
Such is the plan. Its result would
be to give to each party in our State a
representation in our lower house of
Assembly, and, in fact, in all elections
where more than one person was to be
chosen, propor,ioned to its numerical
strength, instead, as now, Of ignoring
the minority wholly, and giving to a
majo.ty, made up of one hundred and
ole, the sole representation in voting
district of two hundred voters.
This is true Republicanism, in dis
tiuc,ion from false Republicanism. As
Colonel Thomas ap'ly styles it, it is
"totatiH representation" giving to all
parties and all interests fair share OF
repre>e
TO make this principle applicable to
our elections would require some
changes in our organic law; but it
would be Immediately applicable to
elections for members ofthe lower house
iof the Legislature, to elections for
tIcurty Commissioners, and to the
Senatorial election in Charleston Couu-
ty. I tsAk no change of our coustitu-
ton is required to effect all this, but
simply a statute embodying and en-
forcing the new plan.
The immediate result Of such q
change will De immense. If the numer
ical relations Ct our present political
parties aad of tie two races is that Of
three to FIVE, the lower house of the
Legislature will stand forty-seven to
seventy-seven. The sane result would
be seen in the boards Of County Com
missioners, board Of prime importance
to the tax payers of the State.
Gradually the application of the ays-
ten might be extended uotil it becxme
the universe! rule in all our elections,
when more than one person was to be
chosen 20 the same Office.
Another result would be to improve
the character and ability Of the officers
chosen in each party. 1t would check
the debasing inauepoe of professional
politicians; it would make corruption
iu popular elections comparatively ;m
possible; it would make the defeat Of
specially oboo1ious candidates, or the
/ L. ! Il L.