cers.

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the Presidential election, if they think proper. The first Tuesday would be within the thirty-four days, as prescribed by the act of Congress. As to the effect on the elections of choosing State officers, and the Electoral ticket, on the same day, he was not prepared to say, that it would be so great as to subject the whole mass of the people of the State to Government influence. He had too much confidence in the people, to believe that they could be humbugged and gulled, by any party that came into power. He did not believe that the influence of the Post Masters, and other officers of the Government in this State, was so great as the gentleman imagined; or, that the Presidential election created as much feeling as he supposed. He refered, as an illustration of his views, to the fact, that last fall, the number of votes polled at the October election, was much greater than at the election in November. This proved that there was not so much interest felt in the election of President, as in that of State offi

There was never so large a number of votes polled in November as in October. Not feeling so much immcdiate interest in the Presidential as in the State election, the voters could not be induced to turn out. Now, he wished to fix upon such a time as would bring out all the voters. If they went with him he should be gratified, but, if not, he still wished them to vote. He wanted to secure a full and fair expression of opinion at the ballot boxes, and, moreover, he was perfectly content to abide by it. In his action here, he disclaimed any thing like party motives or feelings. If his course suited his party, it was very well, but he should go for what he thought right, come what may. There were, he thought, insuperable objections to the proposition of the gentleman from Adams. Whatever day was agreed upon, he wished it to be as late as Tuesday, out of regard for the feelings of the religious part of the community, who disliked to leave home on Sunday, as they must do, if the election should take place on Monday, and not continue for two days.

Mr. CHANDLER, of the city, said:— I rise, sir, to say but little to the question, as it had been discussed beforet he committee—but as delegates have mentioned the probable effect of alterations in the time of holding elections in their respective districts, I deem it proper, mingling, as I do, almost professionally in every canvass, with the people, to remark, that any day mentioned in either of the resolutions, or amendments, upon your table, would be perhaps acceptable to the people of the city of Philadelphia; but, I cannot believe that they would willingly consent to an alteration that would, for two successive days, keep open the polls for one election. In less than half an hour, any voter, in good health and sound limbs, may walk from his residence to the polls—and there has never been, as far as I know, an instance in which the judges and inspectors of the election could not receive and record every vote presented to them. One day, therefore, I believe will be found sufficient for the purposes of any election, nor need the polls be kept open later than nine or ten o'clock in the evening.

Other reasons for limiting the term to a single day, have been powerfully and I doubt not satisfactorily urged by my respected and honorable colleague (Judge HOPKINSON) whose arguments need no enforcement from any person.

But, sir, the resolution before you, contemplates such an alteration in the time of the State elections, as shall unite them with that of the electors for President and Vice President of the United States, without adverting

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to the facts, that the Legislature of the State may, at times, find it for the promotion of the general good, to choose their electors themselves. I, however, concur with the arguments of the highly respectable gentleman from Allegheny, that it is of the greatest importance to separate our State elections from the influences of the General Government, always seen and felt at the choice of the Presidential electors.

The gentleman from the county, (Mr. M'Cahen) whom I do not now see in his place, and I always miss him when he is absent, has declared, that the officers of the General Government exercise no influence on the voters in this State. Sir, I am glad to hear this from so high a source -especially when I know that gentleman, himself, is an efficient Government officer, is known to employ his time and eloquence in the canvass to promote the success of his party. I say, sir, that knowing his zeal and exertions, I am glad, as well as astonished, to hear him say he exercises no influence upon the election.

But, sir, the General Government does operate upon the Presidential election in every State in the Union, and it does it intentionally, and in some cases, avowedly. Else, why does the administration distribute its patronage, of various kinds, only to those who have distinguished themselves by party exertions in the canvass, and at the polls ?

It is urged, sir, that the State patronage may be, and often is brought to bear upon the election. I pretend not to deny it, though I cannot, from experience, assert it. It was, at least, never exercised through me; but if it is, the State Government is only interfering in its domestic concerns, as seeking to promote its municipal good. The administration of the General Government, whether right or wrong, seeks to perpetuate itself by a similar interference with the Electoral election, so that the deleterious effects of the operation may be limited to the election upon which it is intended to bear, and not, as would be the case if the proposed amendment should be adopted—to effect the choice of every State and corporation officer voted for at the time, an effect, perhaps, not desired by the national administration, but resulting necessarily from the prevailing influence of the Presidential election, over the choice of lower or more ephemeral officers.

The gentleman from Lycoming argues, that the officers of the General Government can not exercise the dangerous influence imputed to them, because, as he says, there were more votes polled at the State election in October, than at the Electoral election in November. The argument, sir, if based upon correct data, might be easily combated, but unfortunately for the gentleman, the facts are against him, the electors having received a greater number of votes than were polled for the State Legislature.

The mingling of the State election with that of the President of the United States, may be productive of another evil, by withdrawing public functionaries from the action of the people's censure, at the ballot box. The voters of the State may have to administer their admonition to offend. ing legislators, who will escape their punishment in the higher interest felt for the more important ticket for national officers, and thus the influence of Government officers, may not only lead to the election of a President opposed to the interests of the people, but shield State functionaries from the operation of justly excited resentment.

Mr. Brown, of Philadelphia, said he had no particular preference for

any one of the days mentioned, above another. His immediate constituents had been so often legislated out of their days of election, that they would accommodate themselves to any day. They did not complain of the present, nor could they, he believed, of any that might be agreed upon as best accommodating the other portions of the State. There was one feature of the amendment, however, which he objected to, and that was in requiring the polls to be closed at 6 o'clock. Many of his constituents were engaged in their daily pursuits until that hour, and if the amendment was agreed to, it would cause them to lose more time than was necessary to go to the election, or be deprived of their vote. As it would be of no benefit to the people of any other portion of the State, and would be injurious to his constituents, he hoped this part of the amendment would not be agreed to. Mr. B. said he had risen, more particularly, for the purpose of noticing the remarks of the gentleman from the city, (Mr. CHANDLER) who seemed to fear the influence of the officers of the General Government. Should the general and State elections be held the same day, he (Mr, B.) neither feared, desired, nor opposed such connexion. He had too high an opinion of the intelligence, discernment, and integrity of the people, to suppose that they would be influenced by the officer of any Government, whether of the United States, of the State, or of the city of Philadelphia. But if any such influence was exercised or felt, he thought that exercised by the corporation of the city of Philadelphia itself, independently of its trusts, so far as the numbers dependent upon it, or the money dispensed were concerned, was more than that of the United States, in all the State of Pennsylvania. If the gentleman from the city was really desirous of keeping out all extraneous influence from the State elections, he ought to look to this immense corporation influence, of which that gentleman (Mr. CHANDLER) was a part, and which he knew to be great and powerful. Much (said Mr. B.) had been said about the Custom House and Post Office, in Philadelphia. He knew something of both these establishments, and he believed there were several persons in the former opposed to the administration; all performed their duty well, so far as he knew; but, if they had any influence in elections at all, he was free to say he had never seen or felt it. posed influence had been used by the opposition as an argument, and perhaps not without effect, against the party who sustained the administration. No one knows better than the gentleman from the city, the impartiality and efficiency of the Post Office-he could not say any of its officers have officially done wrong. So far as his colleague, who held a situation in that office, was concerned, he was surprised to hear the gentleman from the city allude to him, when no one knew better than that gentleman, his industry and fidelity; they had won him the approbation of all parties. His colleague had always been an active partizan politician; he was still so, but not more since he held office than he had always been before. Mr. B. did not suppose, however, that any man forfeited his rights and privileges, as a citizen, when he took office. If he performed its duties faithfully, he ought to be left free to the full enjoyment of his right; it was only when he prostituted his office to party purposes, that he was to be condemned. He (Mr. B.) never had held office any where, and he believed much of the alarm about official influence, had little of ruth in it, but was designed for political effect-he was surprised that any gentleman should have deemed it necessary to allude to it here,

But its sup

Mr. KONIGMACHER said—It was my intention, until recently, not to have troubled the committee with any remarks. I had supposed, that long before we assembled in this Hall, the opinion of every member of this Convention would have been unchangeably fixed, as to the course he would pursue.

I have listened attentively to every speech that was delivered from the time we first met to the present day, and can only say, that I was not mistaken. I have come to this conclusion, after weighing the various arguments, that, judging from the political complexion of this Convention, it is composed of three parties, viz: conservatives, moderate reformers, and radical reformers. I am not right sure if the term of the last class mentioned is as appropriate as that of deformers: be that as it may, there had been enough said as to the power and the qualities of this body. I presume that we are all convinced on that point.

I sincerely hope, that we will now get to work in earnest. We have been in session four weeks, and what have we done? We have adopted our rules ; passed three sections in committee of the whole ; and are now discussing the fourth.

At this stage of our proceedings, and as I intend, for the first time, to vote for an amendment to this matchless instrument”, under which we have lived so prosperous and happy for nearly half a century, I deem it proper for myself, and for my constituents, to state my reasons briefly for so doing. Sir, if I know their sentiments, they never did believe that any

amend. ments, we can propose to them, will be worth the expense which will be incured in holding a Convention ; at the same time, they, as well as myself, do believe, that some amendments might be made for the better; but those alterations must be few, and simple. I am backed, in this opinion, by a majority of six thousand votes, given against the call of a Convention, in the county which I have the honor, in part, to represent.

Sir, from what knowledge I have of the views of the people, I am convinced that they will not ratify a Constitution that will materially change the features of the present, which has been well tried. They have not the same faith in experiments they had when the “Old Roman” was in power.

The amendment under consideration, I think, can be improved. I like the amendment offered by the gentleman from Adams, (Mr. STEVENS) for holding the general election, on the same day with the election for Electors for President and Vice President of the United States, as that would obviate the difficulty which at present exists. The farmers would be done seed. ing, and besides, it would save the State at least $30,000 every fourth year by holding both elections at the same time. I also like the proposition offered by the gentleman of Allegheny, (Mr. FORWARD) that the general election should be held on the second Tuesday in September : either would answer much better than the present day, as the farmers are gene. rally busy seeding on the second Tuesday of October. I am in favor of changing the day, either earlier or later. I therefore hope, that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Franklin, Mr. DUNLOP, will not prevail.

Mr. CHAMBERS, of Franklin, was disposed, (he said) at first, to regard

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this amendment with a favorable eye, as it afforded an opportunity to the State Government to dispose of both elections in one day; but, after some examination, he was led to believe that it was, in some particulars, very objectionable. The remarks of the gentleman from Allegheny, which were so forcibly addressed to the understanding and experience of all, and which, in fact, were unanswerable, had great weight with him. He could not shut his eyes to the influence exerted upon State elections, through the agency of officers, dependants and expectants of the National Government. If there is any question on which public opinion is divided, it is always brought to bear upon the State elections, and to extend and increase the excitement which prevails in the Commonwealth on that occasion. Great as was the patronage of the Governor of this State, influential as it might be, it was still small in comparison with that of the General Government. There were, perhaps, a thousand Postmasters in this State-five times the number of all the officers who hold their offices at the will and pleasure of the Governor of this State. The patronage of the National Executive had become infinitely greater than was ever contemplated by the Constitution. The patronage of the Governor of this State we had it in our power to limit, and it would probably be reduced by the action of this body; but there was no hope of ever reducing or limiting the patronage of the General Government. So great were the difficulties in the way of any amendment to the Constitution of the United States, that we must despair of obtaining one for this purpose. The prospect of lessening the number of federal officers in this State, was, therefore, beyond reach or expectation. It would be proper, then, to separate our annual elections from the electoral election, in which the influence of the National Government would predominate.

One reason against fixing the day of the State election at the same time with that of the Presidential election, was, that the latter occured only once in four years. The convenience of the State ought, therefore, to be alone consulted in fixing the time. In regard to many of the citizens of the State the time was not material; but to the farming interest it was : and though, in reference to that interest in his neighborhood, he would prefer the second or third Tuesday of October, yet, for the accommodation of the northern and western counties, he was willing to postpone it to the fourth Tuesday of October, as proposed in the report of the committee. But he was not willing to connect the State election with the electoral election, by fixing the former on the day assigned for the latter. He was also opposed to keeping the polls open for two days, believing that it would have an unfavorable effect upon the morals of the country. With

many persons an election was a time for frolic, idleness, and vice. A certain portion of the community, in almost every part of the State, made this a season for indulgence in dissipation. He was unwilling, therefore, to set apart two successive days, in which those persons would be tempted to expend their time and money at the expense of their morals.

Another objection that he had to the amendment, was, that it belonged to Congress to fix the time for the electoral election; and it was not expedient to appoint the day by a permanent Constitutional provision. Congress allowed the State Legislatures to fix the time within certain limits, but frequent propositions had been made in Congress, to provide

uniform modo and time of electing President and Vice President in all