New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-03-25
WHOLE NUMBER 2762.

phia Times writes 1Iom NoncVEos NOW
Hampshire:
One good thing will come out of the mire
of the political campaign just closed IN thls
State. A favorable vote on tho question OF
holding constitutional convention secures:
in all probability, q speedy amendment OF
the antiQuated and absurd form of govern
ment which New Hampshire lsbors under:
In Pennsy lvania you have got your third
constitution and begin already to talk OF
amending that, but up here among the
granite hills laws and customs are almost
az hard to fuse and transform % tho rocks,
and the people are still living under the Or
ganic law adopted in 1870.
1t may interest your readers to learn some
of the peculiarities and eccentricities Of
State and local government where matters
have gone on without change for nearly .
century. The first curiosity that strikes
PENNSYLVANIA here is the independent
power of the town. Each town is little
democracy, and the State resembles loose
federative republic like the old league OF
the Swiss cantOns. As the town enjoys
certain sovereignty, it must, of course, have
a representative in the General Court, as
the Legislature is called. The basis of rep
resen tatiOn is $50 voters; but, practically,
every town that is inhabited sends Repre-
sentative. If there are q dozen families
living in it there is usually no trouble in
getting special act passed, CHASING it with
towns electing one member of the House.
1t then becomes "ciassed town." and, by
an odd quirk of law, can hold its election at
auv time within two weeks before the gen.
eral election. Thus Hart's Location, q town
with fourteen voters, chose Representative
last Monday, while the regular election day
was Tuesday. There is q town composed
Of the Isle of Shoals, where nobody lives
except the landlord of watering place
hotel and few servants. Every March
the landlord calls his three or four male
assistants together in the deserted barr0om
and they 20 through the form Of electing
him to the Legislature.
Space would fail mo to tell half the oddi-
ties of election customs. They call an
election q ''town meeting" and that's what
it really is, for the whole town turns out in
the morning and gathers in the town hall.
At nine o'clock the three selectmen take
the platform and announce that the cleo
ton of q moderator is in order. Each party
makes nomination, and if the town is
close there is . division-the Democrats
going on one side of the hall and the Re-
publicsns ON the other to be counted. Either
side, if Dissatisfied, can demand . ballot,
and sometimes the whole forenoon 10 con-
sumed in getting organized. When they
get moderator they put it to vote how
long the polls shall be kept open. Some
at ono or two o'clock, and keep on voting
for the general ticket until six. Usually
all voting in the county towns ceases at
three, but there is nothing to prevent keep
| ing the boxes open until midnight, and this
| is occasionally done in the cities. If there
are three candidates for Representative,
and neither gets an absolute majority,
there is . second ballot had and often
| third; or if night comes on, and the farm
ers want to go home to milk, they postpone
! the business until next day. The town,
| being petty sovereignty in such matters,
| can do as it pleases.
| AZ said before, $50 voters is the basis
| of representation, but for every 300 ''ratable
| polls town sends an extra member to the
| Legislature. Now a "rstable polp' is man
over twenty-one found living in the town q
| The selectmen 20 around and make q list
and of course put on everybody who BY any
stretch of construction can be deemed .
resident. Two years ago gang OF wood
choppers worked at cutting ties for rail
road in q town having only fifteen voters
They were all rated" and ct the next cleo
ton, although not q man Of them staye(
more than three or four weeks, that towl
sent three Representatives to Concord.
The New Hampshire General Court ii
very heavy at the bottom and exceedingly
light at the TOP. In the House there ar
nearly four hundred members; in the Sen
ate only twelve. The pay Of the member
ia three dollars per day, and If the session
lasts over six weeks the whole State get
mad about the expense. In the great hal
where the House meets there is no carpet
and the furniture reminds one of countr.
schoolhouse. The desks arc of unpaintet
wood, are only eighteen inches wide, ant
at each sit six members in narrow wO0del
chairs fastened to the foer by iron stand
ards. The seats of the officers are common
painted chairs, costing about fifty cent
apiece. On the back of each is pasted
printed label with the title of the official t.
whom the chair belongs. For economy
sake the Senate meets in the room occupied
at other times by the Supreme Court.
A New Hampshire Governor gets tn
princeiy salary Of $1,000 year. There Is
queer appendage to his ofioe-a council Q
five members, whose business it is to h0l
on to his coat tails whenever he tries to d
anything of his own motion. Nearly d
executive acts must be approved by . ms
jority of the council. Here is relic Of th
old dread of arbitrary power; It is &c
unique in New England. In the Swiss n
public the executive power is lodged with
council, which chooses one of ite member
president. Perhaps it would be goo
thing if we could limit the one-man p0we
at Washington in some such way. A
judicial officers here are appointed by tn
Governor and cOuncil-even justices OF tn
peace, who are as numerous as frogs i
Egypt. Sheriffs are made in the same way
because they are considered as parts OF tn
executive machine. With the exception {
Governor and railroad commissioner, q
State officers are chosen by the Legislature
.. Nobody can be removed from Office excel
on resolution of both houses, approved
the Governor and council. Official tenur
in most cases, lasts five years, but judg'
are in for life. The only way to get rid (
| them is to abolish their court and create
new one with new name. Every year Il
term of all elective officers comes to an en-
Unjust not forget in this brief mention
the curiosities Of government here the re
ligious test for office holders, which is still
retained. The constitution prescribe
among the qualifications for holding Ofhc
: belief in the Protestant religion. Pract
: cally, this is q dead letter, for almost ever
year there are Catholics in the House, b'
! 60 welded are the people to old notions tn;
! if the question of striking out this must
, today it would probably be voted down.
A general overhaaling of the c0nstit1
Q tion vii, not be attempted by the CONVEX
. ton for fear that the conservatism of I'll
: people would render such Q work ab0rtiv
!, The reforms that will probably be made 81
= the holding of elections in November il
I stead of March, changing the time OF II
Q meeting of the Legislature from June :
, January, and the increase of the Senate
| thirty or fifty members. Sensible me
3 want to cut down the House to lou, b'
. they know it would be useless to .
Z tempt it.
r Blessed the man who knows enough
o | keen his month shut. Some people iy
Q eixtv yeara without learning this art. I
deed, the older they grow the wider the
mouths open. A man or woman who is