Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1885-03-09

and half in New Castle? What ms
giciaD's wand has wrought . spell upon
the waters Of the romantic stream re-
joicing In the classic name Of Duck
Creek, that he who CROSSES from the
north becomes n freeman. and he from
the south q slave.
Are tho several counties 40 many In.
dependent sovereignties, claiming ALE
glance from their respective citizens,
and through their Representatives uni.
ting in the General Assembly as =
confederation Of republics? Are not
all Of us citizens of the State Of Della
ware. equal In our common manhood,
and entitled 70 an equality OF civil
rights and an equal voice, through our
represen tative In the protection of our
lives, our liberties and our property.
under our common government ?
Should not legislation be an expression
Of the will OF the State, and Is not the
Of its citizans as persons DOES not
the only method of ascertaiLing and
enforcing the will of the people upon
any given subject necessarily involve
the practical recognition Of the right OF
the majority to control? Is 1t not the
only lest Of the popular will, where
differences Of opinion exist =?
No one can successfully gainsay these
truths. These principles are not TO
be banded about, affirmed at one time
and denied at another to meet the
aims or needs of partisan politics.
They lie at the root Of civil liberty, and
upon them all good men, TO Whatsoever
take their stand. The late Senator
James A. bay ard-a man of acute and
powerful intellect WAS the honored and
trusted champion of the. Democratic
party Of Delaware. No one exceDled
him In devotion to the interests OF his
party. Yet he, unlike some Of the most
distinguished leaders of the Democracy
in more recent times, held his political
manhood in proper regard, and when
the fundamental political rights, that
should belong to him as q citizen OF
Delaware, were questioned or denied he
spoke in no uncertain tone. He took
an active and leading part in the Della
ware Constitutional Convention of
1882. In that body the subject of rep.
resentative government in this State
WAS largely discussed, and especially
the Justice from which the citizens of
New CastleCounty suffered with respect
to the measure Of their representationtn
the General Assembly-an injustice
much less griey GUS then than now. Mr..
Bayard said:
g. take 1t for granted, that no man
in this Assem- bly--no man in the State
Of Delaware will, for moment, deny
the principle, that the great basis of a
r epublioan government is. that every
free man stands in the community
with equal civil and political rights.
IL is on this basis that you have deter.
mined TO abandon all property qualiti
cations for office. 1t Is ON this basis
that you refuse TO require the possession
of land or other property as n requisite
to entitle man to vote. You cannot
retain republic on any other ground.
IL Is an axiom or a postulate which
cannot be denied among a republican
people, that every freeman is entitled
70 equal civil and political rights with
each, all, and every one of his fellows.
II this principle be true, can any gen
| tleman give me a reason why 1t should
not prevail throughout, as we'll as In
reference 10 the very highest right ol
all the right To bet represented, as TO the
mere right of voting personally May
| not trust to the sense of justice of The
members of the convention May
not trust to those republican princi-
Piles, which presume every man In the
state of Delaware, without regard to the
party to which he may belong, OF to the
part OF the. State in which he resides
would always wish TO upholu ? y
Now, sir, An. right in my pIinci.
pie, If as a citizen OF this State L am,
according to the principle of your gov
ernment, entitled TO the same civil and
Rnl ifi,,,ll riullfa nfhar oil
(and that principle, l presume, will
not be denied } can any gentleman
tell me why, because happen TO reside
| north or south Of q given line, those
| rights should be diminished or added
to ona-half? Can any gentleman de-
fend it on principle? If you cannot
take away from the citizen his equality
of civil and political rights, and
without the political right the civil
right is always insecure-on what basis
is IL that you can say, because a man IL
now living in the County of New Gas.
tie, he shall have but one half the DO
litical rights which he would have If he
removed over the line into the County
Of Kent ?''
And again
The amendment before you test.
the question whether you are willing in
the future to give us something like
equality. If you deny it to us, my
course, at least, will be plain. l will
appeal to that sense OF the people of the
State as against the sense of the con-
vention. ! will appeal to that sense OF
justice which | believe IL natural u
men, over which, passion may some
times triumph, over which, interest
may often triumph, yet which, II this
Is a republican government, and il the
people are capable of self-government
il priuciple 30 plain. 30 clear, and &C
uIdeniable-I mean the principle of tht
Equality of, civil rights, and the
Equality of political rights, which are
the sole guardians of civil rights be
tween man and man, in any part o.
the State-that believe IL INNS
triumph, and that 1t no distan
day"
James A. Bayard has gone to hi
grave, and these ringing words are
nobler and more enduring monumen
to his memory Than any marble tha
lcould be raised above HIS ashes. The,
should cause the leaders of the De
mocfacy in this State to-day to ham
their heads in shame. They will
infuse into the heart of every lover O
i American liberty fresh zeal in tn,
eause of justice and equality.
Then " hat principle can be invoke
by the uphoidt IL of the present iuiqui
tous system Is it the principle G
territ orial representation But wha
shall be the basis of such representa-
ton Shall 1t be the acreage or tn
value OF the land =? Will any one hav
the effroDtery 10 claim that upon I'll
basis of acreage the swamps of SUISSE
aud the tbickets of Kent should be Sc
of as against the fertile fields 0 Ne,