The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-05-07
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.

NJ. NJ. Green. Of Warrenton, is candi-
date for sergeant at arms of the COnsti-
tutiOnal Convention.
There are more than 100 candidates
for the Constitutional Convention, md
33 of them have opposition.
q. 5. Anderson, OF Buena Vista, is the
Republican candidate for the COnstitu-
tional Convention in Rockbridge county,
in place Of W. F. Sandridge, declined.
Capt James G. Board has been nom-
mated candidate for the Constitutional
Convention by the Republicans OF Bed
ford county. Mr. W. c. Franklin is the
Republican nominee for the convention
in AppOmattOx.
Senator Dar'el has " t. n to end
in P'chmond TINT he W y not be n candi-
da;e for election ~ president OF the Con
si.utiOnal Convention. The honors con
ie ed upor him, the Senator says, are
oil that he has n ri2 1T tOeSspect
All the Democratic nominations for the
Constitutional Convention are now IN,
and the election is less than thr weeks
off. Among the notable independent
candidat, - are Gen james q. Field, ex-
Judge and ex-Attcrney-General OF Nir-
GINA, aud at variOu times candidat for
other positions. The Judge is an eX-
Confederate soldier, and won his title in
the service.
There was never n law on the statute
books Of the failure of which To estab-
lish Justice the evidence is more over
whelmng than j. the ease with the tax
law o. Virginia. Uniformity. required 10y
the Constitution, il impossible under pres
nt arrangements, and commissioners
of the revenue have long since given up
the effort to make assessmcnts uniform.
-StauntOn News.
1t has been reported that Senator Dan
tel would come to the Constitutions
Convention with a carefully prepared o.
ganic law such as he thinks ough. to he
adopted. One of his intimate lends says
this il not COZ rect. Senator Daniel,
said he, has some vely carefully formed
ideas az to certain features of the pro-
posed new Constitution buo he wishes 10
hear what Others may have to say before
offering his suggestions.
We believe that the State owes it To IL
self To give every child a chance to learn
how to read, write and cipher at least.
But we do not think that the State owes
il To itself or to the child TO make in
practicable attempts at higher educa
ton The tendency Of public education
il to teach too many things. Better r.
suits would be achieved by teaching
fewer things and thoroughly.-lndex-
Appeal.
No, the last say, and the whole say ~
to submission OF the revised Constitution
to vote of the people resides in the con
yention itself The Governor is only one
of the many agencies theconyention may
employ in the performance OF its du,y,
and can net only under the direction OF
that august body. Asone OF it's agencies
he is to be or not to be only as it wills
lie derives no power whatever from the
Act of the Legislature. and there is moth
ing on earth that can so empower him,
except the convention 1deX-Appeal
Ii is a favorite argument with those
who are most earnest IN then advocacy
of restricted suffrage, that the ne essity
of cheating the negro makes white people
dishonest. We woLld Ike To know what
these people think of the tax laws in Wv
ginia, az to their tendency to make people
honest or dishonest 1t seems 10 us If
there is any class Of laws N the world
that would make rascals out OF people,
il is the tax laws Of Virginia. We have
double taxation on al sides; we have
gross ineQ ualities in assessment al over
the State we have an income tag law
that j. 30 involved mat he who shes
to misn, 'rpret it con do so without
much stretch Of h's conscience, and
nine out Of ten persons do misinte-pret
it; we tax every ching, almost every pro-
fession aud every privi'e3e.-Staunton
News.
Constitutional revision il to be pressed
upon the Georgia Legislature next fa'l
by Governor Gambler Of that STATE, with
a view largely to the adoption for Georgia
of the franchise regulations now IN force
in Mississippi and other Southern States
in which suppression of the ignorant
negro vote IS deemed n public and pa
triotic du,y. Virginia and Ter essce
are soon To hold Constitutional COnven-
tons. by which it is espccted that lit
crate qualification for the SUI ace will be
adopted, and Alabama will be quite ike
ly to follow this example. The test Of
for the suf -a.e, so manifest
ly requisite in any eI 'ghtened system OF
seems destined to be
employed in this country chiefly through
out the "bIack belt in order to hold in
political check distrusted element Ofthe
population Philadelphia Record.