Litchfield enquirer., 1873-10-23
Constitutional Reform.

The Constitutional Reform Association holds an adjourned meeting at New Ha- ven, on Thursday of this week, which bids fair to be of more importance than any the assoclation has yet held. At it's last meet ing MT. Anketell, the secretary, offered a resolution regarding representation pro- posing a reduction to one representative in all towns having less than 3,241 inhab- itants, and distribution among the large cities of the representatives taken from those towns. This scheme was better one than that proposed in the last legisla- ture by MT. Henry B. Harrison, but it was voted down as not being radical enough and the executive committee was instructed to prepare plan for Thurs days meeting. MT. Anketell's scheme has the fault common to all temporizing measures. It would reduce towns of the size of Litchfeld to one representative, with towns of the size of Morris. Warren and Bethlehem. This reduction would not involve the gross injustice of our present system, but it would still be far from fair on any principle.
 The simple fact is that there are two theories of representation, by adherence to either of which we can have system that will remove all serious difficulties of detail. Oneis the theory that is the town, not the people, that are entitled to repre- sentation. A strict adherence to this plan would give us House with one or two representatives for each town. The theory of popular representation which prevails throughout the Union, except in about half of New England, would apportion representation according to population. All compromises between these two theories are necessarily ar- bitrary and unsatisfactory in their na- ture and involve most of the evils of both plans.
 But there is this practical objection to the plan of popular representation in most of our States that it affords no rep- resentation to minorities constituting, on an average, not less than three sevenths of the entire voting population. This in justice would bear especially hard on the Republican party in this State. The De- mocracy carry all our principal cities, and the usual system of representative dis tricts would greatly increase their power; and very unjustly, too, for they only car ry those cities by maiorities ranging un- der 500 in every case except that of New Haven, where they may possibly average 1000. Now these maiorities would not entitie them, on any fair representation of the vote cast, to but two more representa- tives than the Republicans in New Haven, and one in each of the other large cities. This is less than they get under the present system. So too throughout Western Con- necticut generally, there are very large unrepresented Republican minorities; throughout Eastern Connecticut smaller unrepresented Democratic minorities. There is an unpleasant savor of par tisanship and of selfishness about any of the plans for reform of our House that have yet been presented. The Demo- cratic party would gain heavily and un- justly by adoption of the district system. They would thus leave our large Republi- can minorities unrepresented, not only in the cities, but throughout all Western Connecticut. So, indeed, the cities would obtain representation in proportion to population, but that would leave larger class of voters-in the city and country minorities-still unrepresented, or rather misrepresented.
 But there is more selfishness yet in this business. New Haven wants reform because that would increase the represen- tation of the southern and southwestern towns where her strength lies. Hartford opposes reform because it would dimin- ish the power of the northern towns where her strength lies. The Hartford Times, indeed, favors the project, but that is evidently because it sees the chance of Democratic gain in it.
 Now, our views on this matter have been so often and so frankly expressed that we do no more than briefly recapitu- late them at this time. We believe that the fundamental principle which under lies all republican government requires that every vote should have equal weight in representation. City and country, ma iority and minority, have the same right of proportionate representation. Any re- form that will give them that proportion ate representation would, we think, carry large support in this very Litchfield coun- l ty to which New Haven speakers refer as
 likely to insist on the existing plan. Such
 reform would eventually succeed; fo,
 majority of the people of the State
 would be, directly interested in its suc-
 cess. But any attempt to introduce the
 district system, unjust as that system
 would be both to city Republicans and to
 country minorities of either party, would
 at best interest only the large cities, ani
 would probably unite the country town.
 in solid opposition to it. We sincerely hope the Constitutional Reform Associa- 1 tion will adopt some wise, thorough plan, such as country reformers can support l with some hope of success.
 | At MARBLEDALE, new house has been
 built for MT. Lynes on the site of the one
 burnt few moths since.