Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1895-10-30
The regular work was resumed

reviewed the general principles
enupciated in the morning. Our
present system is wrong. 1t is car
rying out the monopolistic idea
that has SO long been in vogue.
Our appointment system was lit
tie better than that of tbs manda-
rims. Here we obey, but the duty
of the freeman should be 10 act
and work for himself. The scheme
is to allow each township to be a
sovereignty to itself. There is a
saving clause for such counties
like Beaufort and Georgetown.
County government has been, and
always must be, failure, because
the authority begins at the capital
and then goes to the county and
then to the township. That is not
liberty nor Democracy. General
expenses should be borne by the
county government. The town.
ships are not to be made to bear
the expenses of the county. All
that was wanted was a suggestive
provision. The usual officers for
these townships have been made
out and will be announced as Il
substitute for one of the sections.
The idea is that the township gov
ernments should collect and dis
tribute their own funds. Subdi-
viding the townships into school
districts and make ouI the regis
tration lists would be the most
valuable feature
He knew of no way of settling
the franchise matter in better OF
cleaner manner than by localizing
the voter. Make the voter one
year in the election district be Of
fers to vote in, and the migratory
habits of the negro would, he be-
lieved, disfranchise one-third of
the colored voters. The white
people are stationary. If the
whites move they do it knowingly.
He would not suggest that neigh
boring land owners swap laborers
to disfranchise the colored voters.
1t need not BE- done. He believed
this scheme would solve the prob
lem. It was honest and honora-
bic, and if advantage were not
taken of the migratory habits OF
the negro, he did not know of any
thing else that would be safe or
feasible except female suffrage
with a qualification. The town,
ship government would give a
good medium for this localizine
scheme. These directors, or Con.
script Fathers" Senator Hawley
delighted to call them, would know
who to let vote and keep the ras'
Gals out. Compare this with the
one man system of registration
He wanted 10 start, where all lib
erty started, with the individual
as Jefferson said. He had DO ides
or intention Of assailing the pres
ent county government system
He was not attacking the system
he regarded as SO undemocrate
because of any personal feeling OF
political advantages one way d
another. That was not his style
A great French writer, writing Of
our Government, had the town
ship government running through
the whole book. He attributed the
great growth and prosperity of New
England TO this system. The
township system does more for
township than a town council does
for it's town. 1t organizes, it con-
centrates, it cultivates 1he energy
of the country people in order tha'
they may know what is going on
and protect themselves. 1t is on
ly proposed to vitalize the town
ship governments. The New Eng
land people can all take charge of
meetings and run them in a par
liamentary way. 1t is the only
way of having the county hold its
own with the towns. The city gov
ernments will not be disturbed.
With the township system there
can be NJ one-man power. AS a
rule the best men in a township
will be chosen. These three di-
rectors need not do all that is ex-
pected of county commissioners.
They can have authority to elect
others and supervise. The direc-
tors can he elected every year or
two years as is seen fit. Factions,
he held, could not prevail. The
chances are two to one that the
best men will be taken from op-
posing factions.
He went on to say there has
hardly ever been an entirely hon
est election, but the election of
these directors would be about as
fair as anything could be. If any
member ever attended a township
meeting in Northern State he
wanted to have his impressions.
The Southern people know nothing
about what these meetings are.
They need only only once to see it
to admire it. If we keep up this
principle started by the Republi-
cans we will in a measure atone
for the outrages of Republicanism.
In few years, the speaker said,
he would have disappeared from
the stage of action. Before he
quit public life he would like, if
N.:l.1o +o do eo,oo4b,np for \ IL