The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-07-01

sisted of three clauses: first. that the dog
was too we'll trained and too intelligent to
kill sheep; second, that the dog was Sc
curely tied up at home when the sheep were
killed; third, that he never had a dog. The
representation alluded to in Connecticut is
very peculiar. and seems at the first glance
very unfair. The system is based upon the
home rule principle, as applied to the towns,
which contain, as De Tocqueville says, the
germ OF this country's form of govern
ment. In the lower House of
the Connecticut legislature, each of
the old towns, that is those which
were incorporated at certain date near the
beginning of the present century, is repre-
scented by two members, and each new
town, by one member. Thus it comes about
that the city of New Haven, with about
fifty thousand population, sends up to Hart
ford two representatives, and the town of
Union, with about five hundred inhabitants,
sends up two representatives. Until last
fall, when the constitution was amended,
with regard to that city, aud one or two
which were similarly situated, the city of
Bridgeport, with a population of about
thirty thousand, was represented by only
one member. The upper body is filled by
cutting the state into di visions which were
once nearly equal in population. 1t is in
this latter body, only, that any change is
contemplated. The large towns being,
almost without exception, democratic
and the small ones largely republi-
can. the system of House representation, it
will be seen at a glance, works disadvsn-
tageously for the democrats. Thus it fire.
queptly happens that the state elects
democratic governor and a republican leg
islsture. Such was the case during each
term of office of Gov. English, while demo-
cratic legislature had for years been IN
known until 1873. The democrats used
sometimes to inveigh against the
system, but so strongly was
the love of town representation implanted
in the breasts of the people that they have
never offered to make any change in it since
they came into power, although il continues
to seriously increase the obstacles which
they have to overcome. The usual argu-
ment in favor of the present system is that
the inequality is apparent rather than real,
dS INC bOWDS are
so much more ably represented
than the small ones that the influence
which their members WELD makes up for
the disparity in numbers, while most of the
questions which come up in the legislature
lie near the interest OF the towns and locali-
ties rather than the people, considered as
individuals. The proposition which the
democrats have just voted down referred
entirely to the constitution of the Senate,
and had nothing in the wide world to do
with the system of town representation. AS
almost any change which they could make
would rebound to the benefit Of their own
party. they probably refused to pass the
proposed measure for redistricting the state
because they preferred that it should be done
by a constitutional convention or commits
sion. Had they been moved by any such
motives as the Tribune suggests, they would
have only been initiating the manner in
which their opponents acted for a dozen long
vaarS