Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-11-22
PUBLIC LEDGER.
THE prNNsYLvAN1A CONVENTION.

THE PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION.
A Convention is in session at Harris
burg, Pennsylvania, called for the pun
pose of revising the State Constitution
1t is over forty years since the last con
vention, and it is probable that yer.
important changes will be made. Propo
sitions have been introduced to increas
the Governors term to four years, ex
tend the term of Senators TO four AM
Representative to two years, and to hol'
only biennial sessions of the Legislature
Also to amend the pardoning power, ant
providing for the appointment Of coun
Gil on the subject; prohibiting appro
priations for charitable or educationa
purposes; prohibiting legislative or judi
cial officers from accepting railroad
passes; compelling attendance at public
schools, and authorizing juries to render
verdicts by the assent of two thirds.
Each one of the foregoing propositions
is of serious Importance, and they are
all directed toward reform and the
adaptation of fundamental law to the
present state of public affairs and gen.
eral intelligence. Short terms for Gov
ernors and Legislatures relieve the exec
utive and the law-making power of that
arduous responsibility attaching to a
longer term, for they argue that if mis-
takes are made it will be easy to rectify
them at the next session, and it often hap
pens that members of these bodies are
studying harder for reelection or for pro-
motion than over the science of govern
ment or the welfare and future prosper
ity OF their constituents. Governors
and Senators elected for four years
would have time to familiarize them
selves with the laws Of the State, would
give more dignity to their positions, and
the people would elect men for their
capacity, worth and integrity, and the
best of talent and experience could al
ways be commanded. But prohibiting
legislative or judicial officers from ac-
cepting railroad passes, while intended
as a reform measure, would in effect be
almost null aud void. 1t would be the
same as to prohibit these officers from
accepting cigar or attending a free
oyster supper. 1t is supposing corrup-
ton and bribery where none can be
proved, and if it could be proved there
is law reaching such cases. This law
could easily be evaded, for if railroad
corporations desire to confer favors they
could sell the tickets at one cent for
thousand miles or could send each mem
Der check for the amount of his fare.
There is no State in the Union, save
New York, where railroad influence has
exercised such control over Legislatures
as in Pennsylvania. But the remedy pro-
posed is too weak, and will not reach
the case any more than soothing syrup
will cure yellow fever. Compelling at
tendance at schools will not be popu-
lar measure. The first compulsion is
to establish the schools, make them &C.
cessible to all and let parents be the
judges about sending their children.
There is smack Of despotism about
this which will not take with the Ameri-
can people; it would have been all right
in New England about two hundred years
ago, when men were fined for kissing their
wives on Sunday, or riding their horses
out of a long walk. People of this
country will not be compelled to send to
a certain school any more than 90 to
church or lift their hats when the Gov
ernor rides out on the street. They have
wills of their own about their purely
domestic and individual rights which
no amount Of compulsion" will ever
conquer. Authorizing juries to render
verdicts by the consent of two-thirds
would be an innovation on a system
handed down from the English law hun
dreds of years old. Trial by jury, and
the verdict to be unanimous, was guar
anteed by the Magma harta, and the
rights and safety of the private citizen
viii be endangered whenever the old
landmark is abandoned for a new path.
The only objection found by the wisest
men Of the age to the jury system is
that intelligence is at a discount, and
that incapacity to read a newspaper or
form a sensible conclusion is one Of the
first qualifications for juror.