The examiner., 1886-02-13
Votes and Noti71Ss.
HARTFORD.

Robert Pyne of THE EXAMINER vii address the workingmen of Windsor Locks Tuesday evening.
 The late entertainment given by the St Peter's Ladies land league netted $11O fol the Parliamentary fund The ladies re turn thanks for the generous patronage be- slowed on their endeavors.
 The petition of the K. of L., to the Com mon Council that eight hours be days work for all employees of the city govern ment, was favorably received by both the upper and lower boards.
 L. st week we performed the painful du- ty of announcing the critical condition of Mr. H. 0. Baker, and fearing unwelcome results, but this week are happy to sta te that the crisis is past, and the sick man we'll on the road to recovery.
 Seldom has Hartford audience listened to more forcible or entertaining lecture than that given last week at the Opera house by Ex-Gov. St. John of Kansas. He fairly excoriated both political parties and showed that to-day neither of them dared to meddle with any living issue. With un- surpassed keenness of sarcasm he exposed the duplicity of the Republican party, and the falIacy of its claim to be par-excellence the party of temperance. He dwelt upon the fact that our Senators and Representa- tives have made the nations capitol @ reg ular drinking saloon. He illustrated his remarks with well-told anecdotes that fire quently, ,convulsed the audience with laugh one, except the most bigoted kind of a partizan, could have failed to enjoy his lecture of an hour and half, filled with so many telling points, and with hu- merous, though cutting satire, even though its keen shafts pricked some tender places in their own prejudices.
 GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
 What is the use of political parties was the question discussed by Pastor KimbalPs class in "Good Citizenship" at Unity hall last Sunday. The Pastor said he wished to hear the question examined from a moral point of view. He thought they were of great utility by the educational work they performed, as each member of party be- fore elections were led to examine the func- tions of government and its various poli- cies, or were instructed therein,-an edu- cation that was of the utmost importance in republican government.
 One speaker remarked that one evil re- sulting from political parties was that their organization was continued after the issues upon which they were founded had been settled, and new policies were adopted by the party to which individuals of it could not conscientiously subscribe, but their att tachment to it was so strong, or that they had not the moral courage to withdraw from it and would go for their party right or wrong, a course productive of danger ous evile,
 Another spoke of political parties as pro ducing the caucus system, which, as usual ly managed, was the bane of a republican government, throwing the control of it oft en into the hands of a few unworthy and designing politicians, suppressing the real voice of the people. It was suggested that by the adoption of the Preferential or Pro portional methods of election almost all the evils of the caucus system would be obvia- ted, giving voters a chance to elect such men as they desired to represent them,- something not possible under the present system, that where parties were nearly equally divided, the temptation was almost irresistible to use unfair and illegal means, such as colonizing, buying votes, or ballot box stuffing to secure the victory. The Pastor thought that nearly equal division of parties was a check, a restraint upon their exercise of power and made them more mindful of duty.