The daily gazette., 1882-10-21

eople, that the method providing in the
existing constitution for its own amend
ment was so impracticablc as TO preclude
the hope Of any future material reforms
through the. Legislature aud they recon-
mended to the Democrats in the various
counties to nominate as candidates 10 the
General Assembly at the next election s'men
favorable TO a new constitution"
1t is stated In the issues of the DELAWARE
GAZETTE containing the report of this con-
vention, editoiially, that the district system
Of electing Representatives and Senators was
much spoken OF and very generally assented
to by the late convention, but as there
existed some differences on the subject, 1t
was resolved not TO ask an expression of
opinion on the subject at that time, but to
leave II for reflection and reference to the
several county meetings. e y.rs 5i3
A resolution was passed Cor committee
Of five from each county to address the
ctzcns on this subject, and one Of these was
;neaker here paid q high tribute to Mr..
Stoc!Eley for his position on this and kindred
subjects, and said that the convention was
the ellmination of o movement for con,
stitutional convention. From this out the
Democrats favored It and the Wings OPP
posed it.. The campaign of 1850 resulted
In the election of Governor Ross and a
Democratic majority iu the Legislature. II
was decided to hold an election for con-
vention on the first Tuesday In November,
1851. The Democrats took an active part
while the Wings were Indifferent. The
convention, II was decided, should meet at
Dover on the first Tuesday of November,
1852. MI s8 ~7 Frf tHi
Mr.. Bates tl.en went on at great length to
give the details of the convention when it
had again met IN 1853. lie told how james
A. Bayard and Martin W. Bates had favored
the right Of the people to change their own
constitution. When It was decided to go
ahead and frame new constitution three
Wing members from New Castle county
withdrew. The discussions upon the sub
ject OF the bnsis OF the representation in the
General Assembly were tho principle
features of that convention. The report Of
the COMMITTEES on the Legislative Depart
nent, of which Mr. Bayard was chairman,
was made IN his absence by Mr.. Bates of
Kent county, and provided for House of
Representatives of "a members, 10 from
New Castle, from Kent and from Sussex,
and authorized the Legislature to make pro-
vision for increasing their number, and for
the reapportionment of the counties. There
were to be four Senators from each county
To this Mr.. Bayard offered an amend
ment providing for Is Senators and 36 Repre-
sentativcs, the State being divided into 18
districts of equal population. Mr. Bates
went on to speak Of the manly stand Of Mr..
Bayard, and said no greater service could
be rendered at the present time than the
re- publication of that speech. The speaker
then went on to quote largely from the
speech which Mr.. Bayad made.
1t was finally decided to amend Mr..
Bayard's proposition as II had at first stood
with the proyiso that Wilmington should
never have more than two-ffths of the men,
befs from New Castle county. Finally the
convention refused to accept the district
system or to regard the basis of population
and Mr.. Bayard retired. New Castle county
while receiving no equal senatorial rspresen-
tation didlat last secure provision for 10
representatives, while Kent got y and Sussex
.. Mr.. Bates told how in the convention
james r. Lo1and declared that Kent and
Sussex would never submit to New Castle
having more representation than themselves.
This man and other Whigs refused TO sign
the constitution when formed and ready TO
be sumbited to the people. The Wings op-
posed the new constitution before the people
and the Democrats generally favored 1t,
none opposing 1t except for the reason that
Mr.. Bayard had retired fiom the convention.
MIR. Bates went on to speak of the sub
ject since 1850, showing that the Democratic
according to population, and then he pro-
ceeded to give
THE REPUBLICAN RECORD
on the subject. The Republican party in
claiming now specially to champion this
subject challenges inspection OF its own
record Its principles are not in favor of ex-
tension of tie suffrage, save in the single
case of the cnfranchisement of the negro
race, which was a political maneuvre to
obtain control of this South, 1t cares
nothing for the right Of q colorcd man to
vote unless he votes the Republican ticket.
1t illustrates its cry for free ballot by
threats and violence to any of that van who
wish to change their politics, and in Sussex
black man who dared to vote the Demo-
cratic ticket IN the little election was met as
he turned from, the polls with threats that
he should be killed. They make no con-
cealment Of this purpose, for one of their
leading men, a candidate, it is understood
for the United States Senate. said from the
platform In our Opera House, that any
colored man who would vote with the
Democrats ought to be sol into slavery.
Whenever this party has control of States
or of Congressional Districts it torturcs both
geophrophy and the cenHus returns to make
the largest representation for Republican
localities and the smallest Tor Democratic
taken ground in favor Of giving to Whining
ton an equitable share OF the county repre-
sentation, and even the arrangement that
Wilmington should always have repre-
sentative in each house of the legislature
was adopted by the Democratic party in its
rules and afterSards followed by the Re-
publicans. We have heard q great deal
about county rights from the leaders of one
section of that party, but the SUCCESS attained
by those gentlemen in enforcing the right of
their county in their own party is not such
as TO encourage the people of this county at
large to entrust TO them any important
right. lF-li aN Fs
"A, THE ASSESSMENT LAWS.
Just now we hear much about the assess
ment laws and their existence is one of the
manifold iniquities charged upon the Dem
ocrats One OF the Republican orators, Mr.. |
Bird, the other night called them s'a law for
the collection Of taxes" and his objection,
when extricated from mass of general
abuse, appeared to be that they failed In
best accomplishing that end. once thought
so and argued before the United States
Court to establish that view-unfortunately
the Court did not agree with me. Chief
Justice Churchwilliby remarked that when
lawyer lost q case he could do one of two
things-take an appeal or go down to the
tavern aud swear ut the Court. could not
take an appeal for there was none and did |
not care to do the other thing---so had no |
alternative but to accept the result, and |
therefore when Mr.. Bird says that these are |
laws passed to raise taxes | refer him to the |
United States Court which decided that they
were system for the registration of voters
Another orator, Mr.. Higgins, denounced