THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BALLOT.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 182, 19 July 1859, Page 3

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BALLOT.

(From the Sydney Morning Herald.) The first operation of the Ballot has been to a large extent, successful. In this community it was never necessary to disarm wealth of its authority, or to prevent the " upper classes " —if there are such—interfering with the " lower classes " — if there are such. The ballot has tended greatly to abate the outward excitement of the election, and to give every man ample freedom in exercising his franchise. The objection- of Sydney Smith that the ballot would lead to lying, to the violation of promises, and the indulgence of malice, no doubt, could be sustained were all the voting papers traced to their owners. Is it, however, possible, in the present state of society, to devise a scheme which would not be liable to some such objection ? One thing is clear—that there has been much less importunity. Men have felt indisposed to ask what many have thought proper to conceal, and it has been deemed useless to pur-, chase support or to demand pledges, since the class of men who would give promises under pressure are just those who would avenge themselves by breaking them. We have no doubt that many votes have been deposited in the box that never would have been given under the open.system* People have followed their real inclination. They have been able to do so without apparent inconsistency. They have reserved to 'themselves the power on some future occasion to take the opposite course. They are in a condition, having voted for a man to-day, to oppose him to-morrow ; or, agreeing with him upon only one point, upon which he has commanded their support, they can resist him everywhere else. To no class of men is the ballot a greater boon than to the officers of the Government. Under the late system, they were marked m«n. Human nature must be differently constituted if, where an election is sharply contested, official candidates preserve a magnanimous indifference as to the disposal of votes which may have the power to reward or punish. Happily for the employees of Government, and, indeed, for those of all other great institutions, they have now the right to express their own predilections, and to withhold their support from men from whose politics they dissent. All they have to do is to keep their own counsel, and to maintaim among themselves an understanding that it is necessary, for their mutual protection, that this secrecy should not be violated. The working classes have enjoyed the benefit of the ballot, not in relation to their employers, but in reference to each other. There are, everywhere, noisy, dogmatical, and oppressive men who, by force of will, domineer over their neighbors. Thus many, rather than incur the opposition and contempt of people with whom they have daily to work, have often voted against their inclinations and their conscience. From this necessity they are now relieved. If the despotism of wealth and official authority is to be deprecated, how much more oppressive is that grinding insolence which, clothed in vulgar and aggressive forms* assumes the name of liberty. Wo doubt, as the experience of our politicians enlarges, means will be found to obstruct the fne operation of the ballot box. Everything will depend upon the fidelity of the returning officer.-, and we hope the time is far distant when we shall have so far debased our moral sense as to make it possible to find men abandoned enough, to betray so sacred a trust. This will, however, demand our vigilance. If the ballot is worth having, at whatever cost, it must be had in its purity. There is one thing in connection with the ballot of which most persons have become conscious—that it has stimulated betting to a considerable degree. The result of the elections has been forecast by many, but the calculations have been so various, and upon data so perplexed and confused, as to admit of great differences of opinion. Not more than two of the candidates could have been said to have had anything like certainty of election. The show of hands on the day of nomination represented the more ac&ve partizans of the city, and comprehended the inhabitants from both of its political divisions. Thus there was ample scope for varieties of opinion, and we fear that there has been amount of gambling which is not altogether creditable to the community. Our fellow-citi-zens should recollect that these bets are a minor form of corruption, and that eleswhere they have led to shameful excesses. We are far more in danger of having the ballot box stuffed or perverted by persons having a large stake in the issue than by the influence of mere political profligacy. The power of directly influencing the voters has changed: in ■ some-measure the complexion of a popular election^ The system of bunching is no longer so" practicable, because on agreement of this kind can only extend to a very small number of electors. That surveillance bywhich men were forced almost to act in regiments is broken by the secrecy of the ballot. It has ■thus happened in many instances, that votes were given to candidates whose policy and position in the Assembly will be diametrically opposite. Tin's has evidently moderated the tone of the candidates. They have felt, that they could not calculate upon each other for support, and thus they have been less inclined to close combination. There has been a remarkable absence of the party cries. The last survivor is the "poor old man" wh—whose portrait has yeMo be delineated. Does it not show the poverty of our political vocabulary that we apply to the mass of the community a word which commonly awakens pity, often so closely allied to contempt. The " poor man!" Who is he ? Not tho man that sits by the way-side begging, but the strong, sturdy laborer or mechanic, whose earninga are greater than those of many confidential clerks;— who values himself upon his dignity and intelligence ; who represents himself as the very bone and sinew of society, and who is very apt to cheer the sentiment that the only sort'of men the world ought ■'■to tolerate are the said "poor men." Surely the fertility-of our politicians-will invent some phrase which may dispense with this rkliciv lous term —hackneyed in every newspaper and on every tongue. There are " poor mt>n," in tho colony, except those who are under the hand of misfortune, or who are degraded by vice. It is a term of cant; and, used as claptrap, it has in it a considerable taint, of abomination. At fill evpni-?, the " poor wan" fa now the lord of Hip soi', and the dominant power in the coiiTcuniiy, T:: his conduct 'throughout, this first, election wo me bound to say ho has .shown a calm appsfeifi!ion of his ■ influence, and upon the whole, hi-has ik>thing to be asiuum-d of in the resulr,