Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-08-25
shipbqilding may be promoted and adj

HARRtsoN's ADMINISTRATIONS.
| We commend to the fair minded people
| OF the State, of all parties, the wise iu-
dicots, iirnl and economical administra-
ton of benjamin Harrison. Under it at
all times and in several trying episodes the
national honor has been maintained and
our national prestige advanced. The laws
| have been firmly enforced, the revenues
honestly collected and expended, appoint
ments to office have been notably free
from scandal, genuine economy has been
| maintained in all branches of the service
and now, since Democratic House of
Representatives has made larger appro-
priaions than ever before in the history
OF the country, we hear no more of the cry
of the "billion-dollar Congress-"
| With great emphasis we renew the de-
| mand always made and never abandoned
| by the Republican party of the nation, and
of the State of Delaware, for honest cleo
tions, to the end that our government may
| maintain its character as a government by
the people acting through an honestly
ascertained majority, and not q govern
ment Of minority, on odions oligarchy,
maintaining itself in power through force
and fraud.
We believe that the long reign of such
wickedncss in all the Southern states, as
well as in the State of Delaware is coming
to its end and not through the enactment
| Of further Federal statutes, useful and
| valuable as the one now on the books is,
but through the revolt in the states them
selves of their peopleagainst the infamous
| state force laws and their worse adminis-
tration, by which popular government has
been ovcrthrOwn for the benefit of the few
| in control.
LOCAL ISSUES DEFINED.
The Democratic party in the Legislature
al its last session took long strides in the
| centralizing of power and destroying the
right Of home rule and local self-govern-
ment, and in further lettering the fran
chise 50 as to deny to the people the free
opportunity to qualify to vote. Resting
upon the confidence of Democratic majori-
| ties in Kent and Sussex counties, il left
their Levy Courts and other county ofh-
Gals and institutions untouched but the
| Democratic representatives from Kent and
| Sussex countless taking advantage of a
popular demand for relief from Demo-
cratic extravaganza in the management of
| the affairs of New Castle county, against
| the protest of its members, representing
2U,UW population more than both the other
counties combined, legislated out of office
| the duly chosen collectors of county taxes
| for the respective hundreds, and put in
the hands of the governor to appoint
a single receiver of taxes for the
entire county; they made no provision
| compelling this official to furnish adequate
| opportunities by deputies in each hundred
or otherwise to the poll taxpayers of the
| county to pay their taxes, aud get their
receipts, SO as TO qualify to vote, thus
enabling this official to require all Repub-
licnn poll taxpayers to pay their taxes in
dividually to him Individually, which
being practically impossible will disfran-
| chiscineytabiy thousands of voters, while
at the same time he hands out tax receipts
! TO all Democratic poll taxables without
money or price. While passing registration
| and ballot acts under pretense of reform,
| they have taken away from the people of n
portion of the state their ancient right to
| choose without Limitation at each polling
| place their own election officers by giving
to the governor the power to appoint par
| tiSan registrars at every election district in
| the country hundreds of New Castle
county, and 10 appoint an election com
mission for the city Of Wilmington with
u partisan Democratic majority, in
| place Of election officers chosen by
the people, which were two-thirds Repub-
lican, and thus instead of dividing the
| election officers equally, according to the
| spirit of the act have appropriated TO the
| Democrats 10 more inspectors than they
allowed to the Republicans, and have
,lslrped the power Of naming the Repub-
| lican election officers in all districts where
the latter have a majority. They have
taken from the people of New Castle
| county, after the next election. their an
cicnt right to elect by majority of the
| people of the entire county the members
Of their Levy Court, who are to levy the
| taxes of the people, to expend the same
and manage the business of the county,
and have gerrymandered the county into
districts, with the hope that by a minority
of the popular vote they eau still retain
the control of the county. They have
| given the governor the power TO appoint
| cunstables without limit as to number, to
| l.
franchise, and thus to furnish pay for cleo
tion heelers, with the assurance of an
enormous expense to the taxpayers. They
have given to the governor the power to
| appoint Board of Police Commissioners
for the city of Wilmington, instead of
leaving the appointment of such board to
the mayor of the city.
property qualification for the right to
vote is in violation of the constitution of
the State and obnoxious to every instinct
| of American liberty. While posing as the
| pretended friend of the labOring men we
call emphatic attention to tue fact chat the
practical disfranchisement Of Republican
poll taxpayers in New Castle county is
| lcyelled at the men who live by their daily
labor, thus taking from them their strong
weapon of defence and combining the right
TO vote to the property-owning class.
We renew the pledge Of the Republican
party, if entrusted with power, to bring
about promptly Il convention for the re-
| vision of the Constitution of the State, and
denounce the Democratic pretence of sun.
| port, but actual delay, by which any
action ON the subject is continually post
| poned, and we express the belief that the
| only hope of relief is at the hands of the
Republican party.
The public interests demand that taxa
ton shall fall justly and cquitably on all
classes OF property. We approve of the
| creation by the Legislature Of commits
sion to deal with this subject and express
the hope that 1t may reach q satisfactory
solution.
We commend to the people the honest
and economical management of the affairs
of New Castle and Sussex counties by their
Republican Levy Courts and express our
qualification that in New Castle a floating
debt of 100000, incurred in violation of
law by their Democratic predecessors, has
been paid off out of the current revenues.
We earnestly favor the enactment of a
law by Congress compelling the use by
railroad companies of safety car couplers
on all trains for the better protection of
the lives and limbs of the employees en-.
gagged i'll Interstate commerce.
THE CLOSING SPEECHES.
The convention began to call for the
Rev. j. 5, Willis before he was nomi-
mated, but he was not in the hall and
after his nomination had been completed
committee was sent out TO notify him.
Then Senator Higgins was called for
and responded Ills reception was not
near 50 cordial rs at the convention prior
to the national Republican convention
at Minneapolis. "Our hunored friend
needs no introduction" said Chairman
LDtlund, "ypu all know Tony llirrins"