Litchfield enquirer., 1873-11-13
Constitutional Reform.

The Constitutional Reform Association has finally passed the resolutions com hitting its members to constitutions convention as the chief end of Connecti cut politics in coming campaigns. | both parties select nominees favorable to convention, members of the Associa tion are at liberty to vote for either. Il the candidates of but one side are com mitted to convention, they are to give that side their support; if neither of the regular party nominees favor a conyen tion, the Reformers are to nominate new candidates.
 Mr. Eaton, of Hartford, refuses in ad vance to take any such position as thai assigned the .Reformer under this pro gramme. The Courant and most of the other Republican papers of the northern and eastern part of the state oppose a convention, and to all appearances New Haven and Bridgeport are left alone to fight for constitutional reforms, except oi the very superficial kind practicable through commission.
 The chief reforms needed we take to be the following: 1st-a change in the times and frequency of our elections; 2d-some constitutional check on special legisla- tion; 3d--a change in our present mode of appointing commissions, judges, &c; 4th-- reform of our unequal representa- tion in both Houses of the General As- sembly.
 The first of these reforms, with many others of msnor importance, could no doubt be effected through constitution al commission. It is possible, too, that the second object could be reached in the same way. But when we come to meas ure that would take away the appoint ment of commissions, judges, &c., from the legislature, and give it to the gov ernor or to the people, is their any ra- tional hope that majority of one legis- lature, and two thirds of the next, would pass any such self-denying ordinance? Still less is there any likelihood that a succession of reforming Senates will change our present unjust apportionment, or that succession o7 reforming Houses will abridge the representation of the small towns for the benefit of the large cities?
 We think, then, that convention, elected as our lower Houses are elected, by towns, would very likely effect three out of the four foregoing measures of re- form, and would in addition equalize the Senate; but would as certainly leave us lower House substantially unreformed Would such a constitution be accepted by the people? Much easier, we judge, than a convention bill can pass the legis- lature The small Senatorial districts and the small towns would make the pas sage of such bill very diffiult. The peo- pie outside our cities are on the whole averse to change. It will take just about as much effort to effect such reform as it would to make fair and thorough overhauling of the present miserable system that gives representation only to towns and to maiorities, when it is the people-of the town and of the city, of the majority and of the minority-that are en- titled to elect the peoples House.
 As we have repeatedly indicated before, while we should be glad to see conven- tion called, and see it effect any of the needed reforms we have alluded to above, "o av ..ss feel like breaking our necks for measure that offers us-of the unrepre- sented 'cosntry raalnv1itiss ..vt1ltng. If New Haven and Bridgeport will make their scheme of reform as broad as the occasion demands-redressing our just grievances as we'll as their own-we will go as far as they towards throwing aside party ties for securing it's adoption. Their present scheme cannot reasonable claim any such sacrifice on our part.