The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-01-29
JUDGE POWERS ON REPRESENTA-
TON.

Judge Powers touched upon this sub
iect in his address at the Sons of Yer
mont anniversary meeting in Chicago
Friday. Among otner things he said
that it was in the fourteen years of
VemOnts independent statehood that
were fashioned many of the characters
tics of our present political polity. Our
system of representation in the Legisla-
ture by towns, rather than upon basis
of population, grew out of the influence
which towns, as towns. eXerted in shap-
ing the affairs of the settlers in their
early struggles. The old committees of
safety, in their day, represented units of
political power, irrespective of the ques-
ton whether that unit was made up Of
a large or small population. They had
worked out the political salvation of the
people; why then should the system be
disturbed, GA why should any surrender
the unit of strength, which all, by
equal right, held? Continuing, Judge
Powers said:
st may, to-day, seem undemocratic to
give town of fifty voters tine same vot-
ing strength as that of a town of 1000
voters. But the same thing is seen In
the federel constitution. Delaware has
the same voting strength in the Senate
as New York Under our system we
simply reverse the rule and make oul
Senate the representative of population
and our House the representative OF
municipalities. As equal representation
in the Senate of the United States pre-
vents tine sacrifice of the interests OF the
small States, so under our system, the
rights of the smaller and poorer towns
cannot be smothercd, or overridden by
the larger and Weather towns. More
over, it gives to the people of thu
smaller towns an opportunity for adj
vancement that they weuld not hav'
under different system, and experience
has proved that three-fOurths of all thu
men in Vermont who have become nota
blelin public and private life have beer
born and reared in the smaller towns
And in the practical working of the sys
TEN who shall say that the Legislature
of Vermont has not been rs conservative
progressive and as keenly alive to thu
wants Of the people as that of any of he
sister States? Who shall say that lib
erty under law-equality in civil right
educational and moral advancement anC
the general interests of the people hav'
not been conserved and promoted al
faithfully among the Green Mountains
as among the Rockies or the ALE
ghanies?"
While the Judge did not express pos
tive opinion on the subject, he left it t.
inferred that he favored the present sys
TEN of representation. 1t may be con
ceded that in the first half centuey sine,
the adoption of the present system, TIL
Legislatures of the State have been con
servative, progressive and keenly aliv
to the wants of the people, but there i
undoubtedly in this day n constantly IL
creasing sentiment among the most con
sentative or our people IN favor of
change in the present system. Com
bined with our system of biennial SEES
sions and one-term legislators, we GROVE
into the House at each session SO man,
inexperienced men that they are in eacl
others way, their very numbers alon
clOgging the wheels of legislation. /
may be easier to criticize than to sugges
improvement, but it is becoming yer,
evident that system that worked wei
fifty years ago is not equally saIisfactor
now.-Free Press.