The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-04-17
THAT FLUKERING LECtSLh-
TURE.

Two, years. w ME inc llOl w llildin L.
Hamilton. during the last Gubernatorial
campaign in Maryland, was parading so
ostentatiously on the stump his magmiii
cent promises Of ''reform,' he had not,
outside of the little coterie of Democratic
politicians who expected to profit by his
election, one sensible listener, who be-
lieved that he could accomplish a 1.-THE
of what he so earnestly protested to de
sire. Everybody knew he was making
promises he could never fulfill. That he
was tickling the ears of the rural elect
ors with the delusive pledges of politi
clan, which, had the party managers
thought him able to redeem, they would,
to q man, have deserted his standard.
The record of the session Of the Lcgisla-
ture, which closed on the fifth instant,
amply illustrates how meaningless and
delusive were the promises made last
Fall to the people of the State. OF all
the measures of reform then conceded to
be so necessary, not one of general inn
portance has been adopted. Let our
readers recall for q moment the three
most conspicuous planks of the platform
adopted BY the State Democratic Conven-
ton i'll August last, and then review the
beggarly results of the session just closed.
Co 1t will be the duty of the next
General Assembly to tighten the burden
Ca INF l,is Statp Inv a lnlI ShInp all
offices not necessary for the public ser
vice: by reducing all salaries and fees
subject to its control to the limit of the
compensation of persons engaged in SINH
lar employment in private life; by COM
polling the practice of economy in every
detail of State, county, and municipal
expenditures. and by enforcing the OBJ
servance of the constitutional rule that
every person in the State, or person hold
ing property therein, ought to contribute
his proportion of public taxes for the
support of the government, according to
his actual worth in real or personal prop
erty.
(3) Public offices were not created for
the benefit of individuals, nor for the
purpose of rewarding political services;
but were intended solely for the public
advantage. The perversion of their us
to any other purpose is injurious to good
morals and to good government.
Co The maintenance of free lnstltu-
tons in this State and the essential i'll
terests of it's people require that the cleo
tons should be free and pure. The Cen
eral Assembly ought at its next session,
to provide further security for fairness
in such elections by requiring Il new and
uniform registration of the names OF all
persons entitled to vote in this State to
be made by competent officers ut certain
fixed successive periods of time, and by
directing the first OF said new registra-
lions to be made at the earliest practica-
bic period.
How many useless offices have been
abolishcdo Was Mr.. Levin Woolford
disturbed in the fat Office created for him
against the protests of the burdened tax
payers of the State? Indeed. is not
that Jarnaclc grown tirmer in its place,
strengthening upon the rich food it feasts
upon? Has any one heard of Mr. Jesse
X. Hines retirement to the disagreeablc
shades of private life: And so through
the LONG list Of needless offices, the most
of them snccurcs. and salariCd out of
the pockets of the taxpayers of tho State.
1t is true that Governor Hamilton made
feint of rcdeeming his promises OF re
form made to the people last Fall. He
addressed several admirably phrased mes
sages to the Legislature. well knowing
that they would prove meaningless jar
gon to the party leaders. Nothing came
of them, as nothing was expected of them.
The maiority in that body. under shrewd
partisan leadership knew too well their
power. and dcrided as we'll they might
the pretentious assumptions of the Hag-
crstown Cincinattus. They called him a
fool. and charged him with the selfish
design of setting up 4 Hamilton party in
Maryland. They paraded his = vain AFRO
gance.'' his foiled sclfishness. and his
"fluitless personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT =
terms certainly not complimentary to the
man whom, last Autumn, they c"dorsed
to the electors of Maryland las the ablest
exponent of genuine Democracy" When
the Governor asked them to give the poo
pie some security for fairness in elections,
they coolly told him he was a hypocrite,
and that his idea of Il new registration
| law, rs a means of publication of the bal
! lot-box, Involved the G"Jernatorial APP
pointmcnt of two hundred and fifty reg
istcrs.' That they were to be all Ham,
/ ilton men, and that they were to form an
official phalanX of two-fold supervisory
| force to work out the redemption of the
| city Democracy from the dominant wing
and place it at last safely under the con
troll of the E.rsrntiee pleasure.
! When he wanted the oyster law recon.
! structed, they answered that the Govern
or would appoint his own rast army OF
officials to enforce it. and this would have
placed the Eastern Shore alongside OF
Baltimore city to bend obeisance at the
shrine Of the appointing power.
When it was proposed to redeem the
| pledges made to the people - to tighten
| the burden of taxation by abolishing a
partisan newspaper subsidy and save S333-
900, the most of which was needlessly
expended for the publication of general
laws, which few read and fewer under
stood, the refusal to do so was based up
on the unwillingncsS of the party leaders
to empower the Governor to build up an
administration press" And, SO through
the entire reform programme, the
"pearty" leaders met him with the cry
of absoluteism and abuse of the guber.
material privilege. From his party or
gans he received little support, this speci
mcu of comment being the average opin
ion of him held by the Bourbon organ
grinders.
SIT is true. Gov. Hamilton may be in.
nocent of a disposition to abuse his priv.
leges, but some of his Successors may not
be: and, as Il matter of fact. however
good, wise and patriotic the executive
the people of Maryland are not ready t,
establish i'll and through him guberna.
torial autocracy. They would prefer tc
see the appointment power, already great
enough, diminished, rather than aug
mented. 1t is this relic of absoutism
which gave Grant his vicious force, anG
invest, him to day with notoriety which
threatens the integrity of revered tradi
| tions. 1t must be remembered, however,
that the Governor. although strong
vigorous, trenchant antagonist of imperi