Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-02-10
MONEY IN POLITICS.

From Fornsy's Progress.
Great Britain has branded rs a high
crime the purchase of the British
voter. A theft in Office, violation of
public trust, broken statute, all are
punished quickly and inexorably,
and from Lord Bacon to the Glasgow
bankers, from the bricklayer to the
peer, the wounded law is avenged in
the criminal, high and low. But
nothing is followed with such stern
and sudden fcrocity rs the paying of
money for the ballot. That is set
apart rs n crime dark rs forgery and
shameless rs rape. have spoken of
the boldness with which some of the
pious frauds of Philadelphia rcsortcd
! TO this infamous system to defeat Han
cock and now that we are in the
midst of another holocaust of sacred
things. another sacrifice of suffrage in
the progress of State legislature,
chosen to register the decree of few
ordinary men, some reference to the
British law on the subject may be use.
ful. Justin McCarthy's wonderful
book, the second part of Nen cf our
Time describes the present condition
Of English practice for the punish.
ment of bribery.
"As in a former age no gentleman
thought it was wrong to seduce wo.
man. so in "A very recent day no man
with money thought it improper 60
spend some of his money in corruptlng
electors. What censure was likely q
country squire would have got, fifty
years ugo, II accused before council OF
squres OF having seduced some tenants
wife or daughter? Just so much would
rich man have got, twenty years ago,
from a parliamentary committee, 1t II
were proved that he had allowed his
agent to lay out money lnreniously Tor
him in bribes. Then, again. the decl.
sion of the parliamentary committee
was very often determined 10y the po-
hlical opinions of the majority of It's
members.
There had, therefore been for long
time AN opinion growing up that some
thing must be done to bring about rc.
form, and IN 1907 parliamentary select
committee reported IN favor OF aband.
onIuc altogether the system OF referring
election petitions to a tribunal com.
posed Of members Of tie House Of
| Commons. The proposal OF this com.
mjttee was, that errY psth0H sh7Wf Der
[ tfrrtG O. one nj thT 5sdySs of the tupeU1r
courts at Wse'Wtuz,sr. with power 10 de
eide both las and fact, and to report
not only a- to the seat but to the extent
/ OF bribery and corruption ia the con.
-tiiuoucy. ihejudgc- thcm@clycs strong.
/ ly objected to having such duties I'm
/ posed upon them. The Lord Chief
| Justice stated, on their behalf, that he
[ had consulted with them. and was
charged by them. one and all, to convey
| To che Lord Chancellor their strong and
unanimous feeling OF iusuperable ob.
/ lection to undertaking functions the
effect of which would be to lower and
1 degrade the judicial office, and to de.
stroy, or At ali events materially impair
/ the confidence oil the public IN the
| thorough impartiality and inilexible In
| tegrity OF the judges, when IN the
course Of their ordinary duties political
matters come iucIden tally before them.
| Notwithstanding the objections OF the
I judges, however, the government, after
I having made one or two unsuccessful
! experiments at q measure to institute
new court for the trial Of election pc.
titions, brought IN bi.l to refer such
/ petitions to a single judge, selected from
/ a list TO be made by arrangement
among the judges OF the three superior
| courts.
"Oi late years some really stringent
measures have been taken against brib.
cry. Several borOughs have teen dis.
/ tranchised altogether because Of the
gross and seemingly ineradIcable cor.
ruption that prevailed there. Time,
education, ana public opinion will,
! probably before long, cleanse our politi.
cal system OF the stain Of bribery. Re.
/ fore long. surely, 1t will he accounted as
base to give as to take a brlbe.'
The practice of corrupting the voter,
/ first at the ballot-box, and then in bis
place as a member of the legislature,
was not known until Simon Cameron
openly bought his seat in the Senate
OF the United States. Before that day
men we're elected without reference to
their money. Since then, not only has
the practice Of purchase been common,
hut in Pennsylvania, with few excep-
tions, the practice has ruled out hun
dred- of able and deserving candidates
/ for the Senate and other places, aud
confined the choice to n class instituted
by Cameron aud his family. The
Democrats sometimes carried the leg
islaturc, and thus secured the senator I;
but as Cameron always elected himself
by his money, and after that his son
to the same place, the great office Of
/ United States Senator became sort
of family possession. 1t is interesting
to note that the only factor in electing
such senators from Pennsylvania was
money. There was no ability in the
| father or the son--not even pretence
Of it. They were not speakers, nor
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