Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-03-20

have throwa in the faces of those
who offered them. We see some faint
reason 10 believe that this is the. case
also in America, and that. the ulti,
mate. cause OF ,tbe popular,toleration
for corruption is popular ignorance;
The electors d05, not ,beheye ,theirfep:
.resentatiyes co&upA.' the hohaa
that by. any .scsiieut the eyidsnct
comes before the people in way they
trust, thsrs is,an end of ,bribe, taking
: Ia his very Pomeroy affair, the mo-
ment Colonel York had produced in
disputable proofs the contest was at
an end. The membsss'ot. the Kansas
houses dMed not. face heir coastitu-
ents' indignation, and with Poueroy's
money in many Of their packets,
unanimously voted his dismissal, the
election 'of his adversary, andr-his
own arrest on criminal information.
In the United States House of Com
mons there has been No Aesitation'to
investigate; norefusal to expel-Mr.
'Ames, for instance, being expelled =
except by the cumbrOus method Of
impeachment, and mo idea that any
convicted member will be reelected.
Th re is much lelity about pun
isbmerrt az there used to be in Eng
land, and indeed still IS ABOUT buying
seats in the .Houss Of CommoIs,; But
it is evidently. fslt that the electors
do not intend votes to be. sold,.. and:
that, although, thy may. choose pep,
no:bettsr t4,n those expelled, Ibey
will not knowingly choose the agents
Of the lobbying. Rings. While.
they think them merely extravagsnt
they will bear with them. partly be-
cause they are too. comfortable. to
remember the debt is being re-
duced by s25,000,000. a. year-and
partly from that horror of pecuniary
meanness" which amoig certain
classes id America, as among the
whole lower classes in England, has
made OF thrift an artificial vice, but
corruption they decidedly dislike.
This is so far satisfactory, but we
cannot deny that each Of these $. reve-
lations, necessary as they are if there.
is ever to reform is -. i.
A SEVERE BLOW STRUCK AGAINST
-. DEMOCRACY; ,...,., =
Grant the. electorate innocent, and
we must still, concede that tits excess
siveiy stupid. 1t looks as If average
half-edueatsd working men, such as
make mp the constituency OF Kansas,
while they can be trusted to fight for
their country; and even to see that
slavery is an evil, cannot be trustea
to discern the character Of their rep
resentatives: They select in ordinary
times a bad lot" and when selected
do not look after them with anything
like adequate keenness and intetli
gencp. Ii they remain poor, that is
no credit to them; and if they become
rich. that is no cause Of suspicion, for
they may have been specializing in
stocks. We do not like Tie outlook
-tor Englishmei and Americans are
essentially the same-any more than
we Ike the deduction We are forced
to draw-that the reverence for rank.
acts as an antiseptic Oh the reverence
for money.
We never feel sure, as we read
these stories in American papers, and
French papers, an / German papers,
that the English guarantee against q
repetition OF them in this country is
not caste pride, the trongest argu
ment for aristocracv in some Sense or
other it would be possible to suggest.
1t is disheartening thought from
our poipt Of view, but we never deny
a fact, and there the fact is that any
man who offered Gl200 or e12,00o
to any English peer or county MEM
Der for his vote would be summarily
elected from. the room. There ART.
lobbyers anong'us, too, but they re-
frair from putting temptation into
that crude form, and they are pow.
,laes. .ro;nct no cacte -