The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-03-04
MINORITY REPRESENTATION.
Remarks or Prof. W. H. Pendieton
on the Proposition TO Provide ior
the Election of state Senators Dy
the Cumulative Vote.
CHARLESTON, February %.

| various amendments, IN the nanus oI
the Printer. 1t has been considerably
changed in some of the sections, though
not verv materially. The section on
Senatorial representation was postponed
at the first reading, and after getting
! through with the rest of the report, was
called up again, when Mr.. Wilson,
from Harrison, introduced proposition
for minority representation" but after
some little discussion, at the suggestion
Of Mr.. Pendleton, from Brooke, and
other members favorable 10 the measure,
the mover withdrew it "for the pres
ent."
Mr.. PendIeton, of Brooke, said am,
Mr. Chairman, in favor Of the object,
proposed in the amendment, which is to
adopt the just principle Of minority
representation, and in conference with
the mover and others, have agreed to
support it. The measure is not so
new" not so "untried an experiment,
as the gentleman from Marion (Mr
Haymond) thinks. 1t was ably pre-
sented to the statesmanship OF Great
Britain by Mr.. Hare, in 1865, and in
1867 was freely discussed in Parliament.
1t commended itself to the most liberal
minds of the illustrious body, and was
adopted, to some extent, in the elections
for the House of Commons. Under the
form of Cumulative voting, it was
particularly favored for what was
termed triangular district" that is
such as were represented by three
delegates. Minds OF the greatest emf
uence, both as practical and philosophic
statesmen-Lord Cairns, Earl Grey,
Earl Russell among practical statesmen
and John Stuart Mill among philoso-
phers-have given their earnest ad'
vocacy to it in advance, upon principle,
and experience has 80 far confirmed the
conclusions OF speculation. lnou own
country the principle is not altogether
untried. In one form OF 1t, that OF the
restrictive vote" we have adopted it
here in our own State. We elect our
inspectors OF elections by restricting
each voter in the number OF candidates
for whom he may cast ballot. Where
two inspectors are to be elected, we
allow each voter to vote for any one, 80
that though party may be strongly in
the majority it cannot elect but one
candidate, and 80 the manifest injustice
of committing the purity OF the ballot
to the exclusive keeping OF one OF two
hostile and contending parties is pro-
vided against.
In Pennsylvania the same rule is
applied in the election of Jury conf
mis.ioners,' and understand that in
few towns the further step has been
taken OF adopting the cumulative
vote" in the election OF their corporate
authorities, or town councils. Illinois
has adopted this method tor the election
OF members OF the House of Delegates,
providing that each Senatorial District
shall elect three members, 10 be selected
as the people choose, from the whole
district, and voted for on the "cumula-
tive" principle, by which each voter is
entitled 10 Cast three votes, or a. manv
as there are cand dates to be elected
and to distribute them as he pleases-
give all three TO one candidate, or two to
one and but one tor another, or TO divide
them into fractional parts, as he chooses
The effect OF the re5o oution offered
by the gentleman from Harrison MI
Wilson,, will be TO allow party that
can cast q number Of votes equal TO one.
fourth OF the whole vote given in the
district 10 elect one Senator and then
give it a Representative in th branch
OF the Legislature do not propose to
enter into a discussion OF this great
principle OF representative reform at
this time, unless it should be the pleas
ure Of the mover OF the resolution 10
push it at once to vote, which should
regard as impolitic, as the House would
doubtless like to have time more fully
to consider it. But allow me briefly to
explain the effect OF the proposition,
should it please the Convention ulti-
mately to adopt it. 1t will require
that the counties Of the State shall
he distributed into eight Senatorial
Districts, and that a representation OF
three Senators shall be given to each
district, thus making the number OF the
Senate twenty-four, the same as Is pro-
posed in the report now under consider.
alton. But instead OF allowing the
majority OF the voters to elect all OF
the three, as would be the case under
the present plan Of voting, it is the pur-
pose ofthis measure to adopt plan OF
voting by which a minority party,
which may be only one-third as strong
as the majority party, may elect one OF
the three Senators To illustrate
Suppose that the first Senatorial district
casts 5000 votes, which would be very
near the actual ratio OF Senatorial rep
resentation under this plan. We will
say that there are 4750 Democrats and
1850 Republicans, or that there is a
Democratic majority Of 500 in the dis
trict. Under the present system the
Democrats would elect all three OF the
Senators, and there would be 1850 Re-
publican voters who wonld have no
voice whatever in legislation. This is
manifestly political injustice, which
ought not to be tolerated in free
democratic republic, and one which the
plan OF cumulative voting" would at
once and effectually remove, for under
it the 1850 Republican voters would
each be entitled to three votes, and BY
cumulating them all upon one candi-
date they would give him 1880 votes.
The 450 Democratic voters would each
be entitled to three votes, and By cumu.
lsting them upon two candidates would
give each OF the two 7l25, and 90 elect
them both. We need not 20 into further
particulars. A single case is sufficient
to illustrate the operation OF the rule
and 70 show how the minority may be