Smyrna times., 1882-10-25
The Revision of the Con-
StitutiOn.


AT mass-meeting held at Townsend
on Wednesday, presided over by Henry
I'll. Appleton and addressed by N. B.
Smithers and Geo, V. Massey, Esq'rs,
the former took strong stand for
revision of the Constitution of our
State. After stating his ground, to
show that he was not radical he asked
Mr.. Massey to read the following ex-
tract from speech delivered in the
constitutional convention in 1892 by
the late James A. Bayard:
Sr:-ChangeS are required and will mention
two which alone are in my judgment sufficient
TO justify the holding of a convention. hold to
uOnate TO numbers: but do not desire to give
to New Castle county, as county, a preponder-
ance III the legislation of the State l want to see
this state elect the Legislature by single districts
SO that this whole matter of county feeling may
be entirely broken down. We are Il small state.
My object is believing that all our interests are
perfectly reconcilable to adopt the Republican
principle of representation based upon pOpula-
ton, and to have those representatives elected by
single districts. That is one change which / con-
celVe TO be necessary. Another change which |
consider Ofgreat Importance is the abolition of the
prepayment OF tax as Il qualification for voting.
Sir. have lived long enough TO see Il decided de-
teroratiOn in the State OF Delaware in the popular
morals US regards the exercise of the elective.
franchise within the last - years, and trace the
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 CHd6ie them 10
U0te. 1t is u corrupt practice and should he cor
rected the only way to correct it, is to abolish it
on the clement of the right to vote. It is no
proper element of the right to vote
After the reading Mr.. 5mithcrs went
on to say that this argument, c0gently
stated, was one in which Democrats as
well as Republicans could stand, be-
cause it was uttered by their ablcst
leader, and best champion. The Leg
islaturc, he argued should adopt meas
ures by which the debt against the
citizens for State expenses, should be
collected, but the State has no right to
90 down below, where the ballot box
is the means by which the people OK
| press their views. He then went OF
to argue if the two matters Mr.. Bayard
| had spoken of justified new constitu-
ton then, that it was needed much
more now. He said he did moi resi-
alone upon the opinion Of MI BaYard
but he had weighty facts, ana thel
! proceeded to cite them. In all the 81
States of the Union in 1877, there wer,
but eight, land Delaware wanIrh ,
! WHICH Ic'lllTcu tuc ,Ahp l.. =
pa r@y lanqia@" 10 suffrage, and all the
=. est placed themselves upon the cardi
nal principals that the voter should
| have the right to east his ballot, and i
the State wanted Il tax from him it wa,
for the Legislature to furnish tht
means of collecting it. The system
such as Delaware has is radically
wrong.
Mr.. Smithcrs then alluded to the law
to 1873, which made the payment of ;
tax the prerequisite to vote. Senate
Bayard, he said, had owned himself t,
be responsible for the amendment t.
this law, which made the collector
receiver, so that he simply sits in hi
office, having given notice, and peopl
have to come to him.