Page:Speech on Partial Suffrage by Laura Clay to the Kentucky Constitutional Convention, December 12, 1890.pdf/4

 freeman, that of self-government, and that this Constitutional Convention will foresee and provide for the reform to come. We beg of this Convention that it will take such action as will not lay one straw in the way when the time comes for the people to confer the privilege of self-government upon women.  Mr. J. L. PHELPS. In my haste in making a speech which I did not expect to make, I incidentally referred to the murders during the administration of Governor Blackburn. I want now to explain that that death rate had no reference whatever to his administration; but I happened to have the statistics for those years, and they were the only ones I could remember at the time. I want to say there is no one here who can speak in higher terms of Gov. Blackburn than I will.

The amendment offered by the Delegate Irene Clinton was read, and is follows:

The General Assembly shall provide by law for the appointment of a board in each county and city voting separately from the county, composed of not less than two persons residing in the county or city, whose duty it shall be to select and appoint the officers of election in each voting precinct in the county or city. Said officers shall be sober end discreet persons who can read and write, and legal voters in the precinct for which they are appointed. The members of the board and the officers of election shall be equally and fairly divided between the adherents of the political or contending parties at the election to be held.

Mr. BRONSTON. I want to interrupt the proceedings just one minute to make a motion, which I think it is my duty to do, and that is, that the speech which has just been delivered and taken by the Reporter be regularly published in the proceedings of the Convention.

A vote being taken, it was so ordered.

Mr. BRENTS. I want to explain my amendment, and I would be exceedingly glad to have the attention of the Delegates, and especially the members of the Committee on Elections, because I consider this a very important matter. We have been for several days considering the best means to prevent corruption and to secure purity and honesty in the elections. It is not sufficient to provide for free elections and for giving every voter an opportunity to go to the polls and freely and independently cast his ballot according to his convictions. It is also important, and highly important, that the vote, after being cast, shall be honestly counted. What will he the good, if we provide for honest and a fair and quiet election, if we neglect to provide for the honest count of the votes after they are deposited in the ballot-box? My amendment aims at securing officers who will count honestly, as well as to secure fair elections. I will read it: "The General Assembly shall provide by law for the appointment of a board in each county and city, voting separate from the county, composed of not less then two persons residing in the county or city, whose duty it shell be to select and appoint officers of election in each voting precinct in the county or city." Under the present system one man appoints the two judges and the clerk. There is a law that these officers shall be divided between the political parties; but the judge may comply with the law and yet give one party, the party to which he adheres, an undue advantage. He may appoint strong minded intelligent men of his own party on the one side, and weak and ignorant men on the other. I have given this matter some thought, and I do not believe it is safe, I do not believe it will secure the people's rights to leave it in the hands of one man to appoint the officers of election. Therefore, I have offered this amendment, which provides that there shall be a board of not less than two persons. "Said officers," that is, the officers of the precinct "shall he sober and discreet persons." I will ask the members of the Committee on Election if they have any objection to that? Do you object to the officers of the election being sober?