The daily gazette., 1882-10-19
THEIR OWN MEETING.
MEsSRS. sMlTHERS AND
MASSEY AT TOWNSEND.
TALKING ON STATE ISSUES.

An A fair which the Speakers Char acterize
as Matter Of Their Own-Aione and Un-
attended They Talk.
Alone, unattended and unheralded, save
by few badly printed posters,
Hon. Nathaniel b. Smithers and George
V. Massey, ESQ.,, of Dover, addressed Re
publican mass meeting at Townsend last
night. The meeting had very little about 1t to
mark it as one of the political gatherings,
and 1t was not In the beaten track at all.
True, there was q band and flaming torches,
and few local candidates upon the plat
form, and the talk was about political
issues ; but there was something about the
affair to cause wonderment and surprise.
Two men stood before the audience who
years ago have been known as Republican
leaders, but who have almost completely
dropped out of politics, and proclaimed In
unmistakable language that the meeting
was their own, that the sentiments which
they expressed were their own, and they
only were responsible for them and uttered
them more as personal than party views.
1t was remarkable that not prominent Re-
publican leader was present, and not q
member of the State Central Committee
took hand.
The meeting was held in front of the store
of Lattomus & Co., which is also the post
office, and the Diamond State band from
Middletown discoursed good music. Henry
Appleton was chairman and Mr.. Smithers
was the first speaker. He was introduced
in words of high praise, and In commencing
his speech said that the fattering erms in
which he had been presented called blush
to the cheeks of one who had
been charged with having face
hard enough to stand anything. He told q
story of the scotchman, who when told by
the Englishman that they must have all
been equal at the time of the food because
Noah was the only one in the ark, replied
that every Scotchman had boat of his own.
So 1t was with him-he had q boat of his
own. The cargo was his and he did not
ask anyone to ship in the craft. No one was
responsible but himself. All had right to
discuss the great principles Of good govern
ment, and he came as q fellow citizen to
address the audience as a man and anyone
who expected him to dish up slander
and abuse was mistaken. He would not
speak In disrespectful terms of any one-a
Democrat was as good as Republican, and
why not treat all with fairnessl He would
not discuss National issues. The tariff was
4 question in which there was little differ
ence between the two parties, and needs
differed with communities. He would not
tell about internal improvements. Mr..
Martin dips into the Treasury and takes out
q modicum for Broadkiln; Mr.. Robeson dips
in and takes out q modicum for q stream
that commences nowhere and ends nowhere,
and Mr.. salisbury, when the appropriation
for st. Jones' creek is stricken out, Is no
more interested by the subsequent proceed
| ings.
After again declaring that he alone was
| responsible for what he said, Mr. Smithers
proceeded to argue on the necessity for a
| new constitution. The first change neces-
| sary was a radical one, He believed that
| all the political mischief which had been
brought in this community, lay in requir-
ing the payment of a tax as right to vote,
and he was in favor OF its abrogation. He
spoke in strong terms in favor of this
change. He knew 1t was anti-Democratic
as well as anti-Republican, but he was not
| alone in this opinion.
Mr.. Smithers then had his friend, Mr..
Massey, to read the following extract from
| a speech made by the late James A. Bayard
before the Constitutional Convention:
Sir: Changes are required and will men,
tion two which alone are in my Judgment suffi-
Client to justify the holding Of a convention. l
hold to the principle that representation must
be prOportiOnate to numbers;but do not desire
to give to New Castle county, as county,
want to see this State elect the Legislature by
| single districts, so that this whole matter
Of county feeling may be entirely broken
believing that all our interests are perfectly
recOncilable to adopt the Republican principle
of representation based upon population, and
to have those representatives elected by single
Districts. That's one change which conceive
to be necessary. Another change which con-
slider of great Importance is the abolition of
the prepayment OF tax as q qua LITIGATION for
voting Sir, have lived long enough to see
decided deterioration in the State Of Delaware
In the popular morals as regards the
exercise Of the elective franchise within
the last 20 years, and trace the origin of that
to the system which has been in vogue during
that period Of collecting funds by the different
parties, and attach no more blame to the one
than to the other for the purpose of paying the
taxes of the citizens, to enable them to pote. 1t
is a corrupt practice and should be corrected,
the only way to correct It, is to abolish 1t on the
element of the right to VOTE 1t is no proper
element of the right to vote
After the reading Mr.. Smithers went on
to say that this argument, cogently stated,
was one In which Democrats as well as Re-
publicans could stand, because 1t was uttered
by their ablest leader, and best champion.
The Legislature, he argued, should adopt
measures by which the debt against citizens,
for State expenses, should be collected, but
the State has no right to go down below,
where the eallot box is the means by which
the people express their views. He then
went on to argue If the two matters Mr..
Bayard had spoken of justified new con-
stitution then, that it was needed much
more now He said he did not rest alone
upon the opinion of Mr.. Bayard, but he had
weighty facts, and then proceeded to cite
them. In all the 38 States of the Union in
1877 there were but eight, (and Delaware
was one,) which required the payment of
a tax as the right to suffrage, and all the
rest placed themselves upon the cardinal
principles that the voter should have the
right to cast his ballot, and If the State
wanted tax from him it was for the Legis-
lature to furnish the means Of collecting it.
The system such as Delaware has is radi-
cally wrong.
Mr.. Smithers then alluded to the law of
1873, which made the payment of a tax the
prerequisite to vote. Senator Bayard, he
said, had owned himself to be responsible
for the amendment to this law, which made
the collector q receiver, SO that he simply
sits in his Office. having given notice, and
people have to come to him. This was
done, they say, for fear the collector would
be indicted for not doing his duty in collect
ing the taxes of the colored people so they
concluded that he should not collect at all,
but simply sit aud receive taxes.
The speaker then went on and argued In
favor of representation according to popu-
lation, saying each district should elect its
own representative, and that Wilmington
should have an increase-not In proportion
to population, (for the population of vii
mington is floating one, but nearlyso. The
record of the Republican party since 1866,
when he introduced in the Republican State
Convention resolution, which was passed,
giving Sussex AZ delegates, Kent 40, and
A.. Ia ha ~. hao hal