The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-10-22

office, and the law was passed, very
stringent, very Just and a very apt one
that made a very strong penalty upon
collector in either of those counties who
did not receive a tax; but the delinquent
feature Of the law that a man should be
dropped IL he was a delinquent from the
list and his name not be put back for
twelve months, was repealed, because with
Republican collectors in Sussex county 1t
bore upon Democrats. Now, in the face
of that, no man with whatever cheek he
may have can stand before any Of the peo-
pie in this state and say that that delin-
quent law is fair law No Democrat can
say It. for he enacted It to disfranchise
Republicans; he repealed 1t when he could
do-it, and 1t bore down upon him, and
now, In the last Legislature they have re-
enacted it when they again got control of
the Levy Court Of Sussex county and had
control Of both the lower counties. They
have, therefore. put back on Kent and
Sussex that delinquent tax law, and they
actually have the hardyhood to undertake
to apply it on the year of its enactment to
those people who had innocently neglected
to pay their taxes of that year at a time
when there was no penalty for their not
doing 1t, thereby violating the principle
which is bound in the Constitution of the
United States that no state shall enact an
expost facto law that has created penalty
for an offense that had no penalty when
the act was committed. Boldly, when this
was brought to their attention, they had
the decency to amend the law in that re-
spect and give to the people of those two
lower counties two weeks in which to pay
their taxes-and 1t was done. They have
been paid and they have been very largely
paid In New Castle county at infinite cost
and labor and tribuation. But that was
what was done by the last Legislature in
that respect. II they had stopped there 1t
would have been bad enough, but the fact
is, with 400 majority against them in 1890,
and only i10 in their favor with SO many
laborers and mechanics in 1892, in New
Castle county and SO in Kent. they simply
went back in this last Legislature and Gu
trenched. There had existed in the state
until the last Legislature the right Of the
people to choose the election officers who
represent them In each party. Every one
who lived in the country remembers how
1t used to be done You would
vote at the little election for the inspectors
as well as assessor and the defeated candi-
date for the inspector was the Judge on
his side, and the inspector chose the other
judge, and thus the law worked out a
majority in favor of the party. that is,
worked out a majority in the number Of
judges in favor of the party that had the
majority at the election. In this city that
is taken away from us and 1t is confined
to the majority OF the Board of Election
Commissioners presided over by Mr..
Neary. Not only are the Democratic mem-
hos % ~ al nfla tai
Democratic majority, but they chose
the Republican members as WELL and that
Is the condition to which we have been
reduced, / will read you newspaper ex-
tract which is from the speech Of my re-
speeted friend. Mr.. Gray, in the Senate of
the United States upon the Elections bill,
otherwise known as the force bill of 1890.
He was complaining of the fact that the
supervisor of elections should appoint all
the supervisors of both parties Well, as
it was done by Judge. and
he might be Democrat. and
might appoint a Democratic inspector.
it was not fair. Mr.. Gray said; SHOULD
that state OF things obtain in free
country? Under the system that has OBJ
tanned in all the states. In my own state,
and doubtless in the state of the senator
from Massachusetts, the polls are m the
hands indinerently of one party and
another. Local self-gOyernment and trust
In the people have beon carried to the ex-
treme in the administration of the state
election laws. Each little election pre-
cnct elects its own officers to conduct its
own elections. They are placed In office
as the result OF popular vote and whether
they be Republicans or Democrats or Pro-
hibitlonists or any other party, 1t is the
people of that particular precinct who
have said that they shall preside at the
bailot-box and see their votes" And
then he goes on to say, "If any state in
this Union has attempted by its legislative
enactment to provide law analogous to
this which would put every polling pre-
cinct throughout its borders in the hands
of men of one political faith and surround
the ballot-box by an armed force OF the
same political faith and return the results
of the counting to a partisan board Of
canvass of the same political faith, the
Legislature that passed such a law and
the administration that advocated 1t would
not survive one moment the hot breath Of
public Indignation that would go up from
every ballot-box throughout the state at
the first opportunity at the next election"
Gentlemen, Democrats or Republicans,
this is the first election after
just such a law has been enacted
against you In this city of Wilmington.
and am expecting that from you without
of party will come that same hot
breath Of indignation which Mr.. Gray pre-
dictcd in that speech (Applause) These
things you have suffered. Whatever we have
stood we at least have not lost the in
stincts or the courage OF freemen, and we
mean in one way or another that we shall
have the right to be represented at the
by the men who fitly and fairly
represent our party. Great applause.)
l do not know how much further 1t may
be contemplated that this may be carried.
There has been an Importance, as we law
yers say, q convention between represen-
tatives of the two parties with regard to
agreements with respect to the manage
ment OF the election in particulars as to
which tho statutes are obscure. Such an
agreement as a part of this matter was
entered into two years ago for the general
good. From publication in a Democratic
newspaper from Mr. Armstrong, the chair
man OF their party committee. see that
1t is stated that the agreement is of.
do not propose tonight and at this time
to go into any discussion of that matter.
Three, at least, of the members of that
committee on the part OF the Republican
party have been called away from the city
and two from the state about matters
that have made 1t impossible for the con-
ference to be reconyened. l shall be slow
to assume that the responsible leaders of
the Democratic party will permit any ar
by which the choice of those
election officers and Of the voters assis-
tants shall be made other than by the
of each party at the polls
(Applause) II it is not done
1t is notice of but one thing and that
is of fraud; and If 1t be done the RESPONSE
billty OF 1t belongs to no mere agents, and
II cannot be escaped by the principals |
(applausey-and those principals are not
in a position to disavow their RESPONSE |
bility. Not upon anybody else, but upon |
them will 1t rest. (Applause) l shall not !
believe until have to-that the words |