Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-12-28
SLa,,raslrr tntelligenrer.
THrRsOAY EVENING, DEC. %. 1882
The Convention Reunion.

;i,e presence in our city of a number
OF the members of the Constitutional
c,nyention. assembled here purely for
purposes of social reunion, cannot fail to
r call the valuable labors Of that distin
glished body of men. In its personnel
the convention was probably the most
eminent and weighty, for its number,
that ever was gathered together in this
state. There were some small men IL
it, to he sure, who crawled in by the de-
vices Of the politician, but as class the
members were distinguished in their
various walks of life. Many OF
the most celebrated and ablest law
yers, railroad directors, fnanciers and
pubIicists of the state were on the roll OF
its membership and left their impress
upon its work.
Ten years have elapsed since their
election and less than nine since the
adoption of their work by a popular ma
jority of over one hundred Thousand.
The test of time has discovered that
some of that work was crude and i'm
p.rfect some, perhaps, not vel
advised. Some Of the beneliceEt and
urgent reforms projected and adopted by
the trainers of the new Fundamental law
have failed to become effective by The
criminal negligence or ignorance o! leg
islatures which were ordered to put them
into effect; but, upon the whole, thu
people readily accepted their cCnstitu
ton as welcome relief from an order
of things that had become intolerable
and. after the lapse of these years, q
proposition to revoke the new anI
restore the old would he voted
down by a much more emphatic expres
sion of popular opinion than adopted
the constitution of 1873.
The present reunion is the sequence OF
a series of similar occasions the institu
ton of which arose entirely out of The
kindly personal feelings cngendered by
the associations Of the convention. IT.
members were, for the most part, mcl
of culture and congenial tastes, and be
ing imbued with 4 common high pur-
pose, approaching their ends by diff
ferent means and in different
lines, they did not sacrifice thos
purposes to partisan interests no
mar their deliberations with the wrangle
that too often disgrace the history 0
legislation. Under such circumstances
their annual reunion, litly fixed at abou
the season when their work was sdopt
ed, cannot fail to be an occasion o
satisfaction to the participants, and On
worthy of note by the people of ii,
commonwealth. Year 10y year III
ranks are being thinned by deatl
and it is with melancholy grstiI
cation that ut this time al
recalled tie private and public virtues G
some of the distinguished men, who's
counsels We're felt in the convention. bu
whose presence will be missed from til
festal board. Nor is it to be forgotten
as matter of congratulation by I'll
members and of pride by the people, tl.:
since the last reunion two members {
the convention, nominees of Il
state Democracy, MessrS. Clark an
Elliott, have been honorel with ele'
ton to hig!. place. Among the Coz
spicuous merits which were place
to their credit in the late canlpaig
was the fact thai they had been usefl
members of the constitutional cnnvel
tiOn Of 1874