The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1873-01-16
NEW ENGLAND TOWNS.

tory OF teo miles 1hlS town" Is one O
the sources of all the political power o
the Commonwealth Organized on the
principle of the representation Of smal
constituencies ia local and State Leeisla
lures. any voter of the average three hun
dred is directly interested in fair play
Rogues are scarce where honest men are
on the watch. Each town il "a corporate
body under the law This body can
line you dollar for driving over brid se
faster than a walk, or twenty dollars for
declining town Office 1t can itself be
lined fifty dollars for not having "cattle
! pound five hundred dollars for not elect.
| ing town officers, thousand dollars il a
person falls through a rotten bridge and
loses his life, and three thousand dollars for
sending more members to the Legislature
than it is entitled 1t can sue and be
sued as if it were one man. 1t can tax
and be taxed Gun raise money for schools,
| public libraries, burial grounds, bridges,
! roads, markets. pounds, hay scales, stand.
ard weights and measures, public clocks,
houses destroyed to stop coufagrations,
&c. The governing power OF every New
ENGLAND town is the whole body of the
people In town meeting assembled. All
men are excluded from the polls who can
not read, aud the system works nothing
but good. The following clause in the
constitution of Massachusetts is commend
ed to the Pennsylvania Convention to re
form our State constitution.
No person shall have the right to
vote, or be eligible to Office under the
constitution of this Common wealth, who
shall Dot be able 10 read the constitution
10 the English language, and write his
name provided, however, that the provi
sinns Of this amendment shall not apply
TO any person prevented by physical dis
al iiity from complying with its require
meuts. nor to any person who now has
the right to vote. nor to any persons who
shall be sixty years Of age or upwards at
the time this amendment shall take eff
iect
A native Of New England town who
cannot read and write is pointed out as
an object OF curiosity to strangers. Col
| orcd people are equal to the whites be
fore the law their children sit iu the
schools side by side with the white chill
dreu; they vote with the whites at the
ballot box, and have the same advantages
n the purchase aud holding Of property
Once year the voters of this small re
pubic hold "a town meeting to elect tow u
officers, consider improvements and vote
/ taxes This town meeting is parlIa
ment in which every voter is an equal
"a e MI Hba No,u
En2Ianders have governed themselves by
public meeting for two hundred years.
aud how governed, let their splendid sys
tenn of education, freedom from heavy
debt, purity Of the ballot, ability in Gov.
ernment. State and National, and in their
Executives, aud safety from the open
purchase of legislation, testify. This
town meeting is regulated carefully The
people must be duly mortified in advance
the business TO be done must be express
ed in the call aud nothing can be con-
sidered unless it is previously expressed
in the advertisement Every possible
guard is provided against fraudulent or
bad nominations. The principal town
meeting is held in the spring, when the
town officers are elected by ballot
There is absolutely no chance to cheat
where everybody knows every one OF the
three hundred voters present. The town
rulers are three five. seven or nine select
men, who are the chief officers aud take
care of things in general a town clerk,
three or more truant officers, three or
more assessors, three or more overseers OF
surveyors of highways, a constable, one
or more collectors of taxes, a pound keep
er. two or more fence viewers, one or
more surveyors of lumber, one or more
mcasurers OF wood and bark a sealer of
weights and measures, a guager OF liquid
measures. and superintendent OF hay
scales The enolunents are as light as
the duties but every man must serve in
the place he is chosen TO, IN default pay
iDg the fine of twenty dollars, which is so
strictly exacted that reiusals to act are
infrequent The town meetings are de-
corous and quiet ; there are no flights OF
oratory every man talks and acts be
cause he knows he is responsible and a
part of the little republic. The 'truant
Omcer is ne VINO sees lhd1 an 'ho ch'iu
reu go to schools The primary princi
pie of New England government is that
no child, of whatever race, or color, or
capacity. shall grow up amongst them IN
ignorance ] bese people began early,
aud in the primitive towns there was al
ways school house. which often ans
wered for the church, the court house,
and the town hall but to day nearly every
New England town can boast of all OF
these ediGces. includiog a free library
A New Eogland public school is study;
fo- indeed. it is an excellent thing TO be
a child ia this land of Yankees Ii you
are a good boy or girl you have the CON
mou and high schools for first class train
Jog if bad boy, you are sent to re
formatory to be made better. or to ship