West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1867.

West Coast Times, Issue 637, 9 October 1867, Page 2

West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1867.

In the election which takes place tomorrow th<>. ratepayers will have a list of eighteen names supplied to them. Of these they will have to strike out nine, or more. Any paper containing more than nine names unerased, will be invalid. Any voter, however, may otrike out as many names as he pleases, provided he leaves one on tho list. ■We trust that op. this occasion the ays* tew gf " plumping" -will not be reiiortecl

to. Voters who sacrifice every other consideration for the purpose of putting in one particular man fail, in their general duty to the public, and especially deprive themselves of their political rights. They leave their fellow citizens to the chance of eight bad men going in, merely because they are anxious to sccm-e the return of one good one. And they deprive themselves of the power of exercising a controlling influence uj)on the general constitution of the Town Council. One man, however able and conscientious and honest he may he, can do nothing in a Council of nine, unless he has the assistance of colleagues who think aud act with him. The electors should make a judicious choice between the whole number of candidates, but not disfranchise themselves by giving one vote only, where they are entitled to give nine. In this case plumping is plainly a selfdisfranchisement. Under the cumulative system of voting, an elector desirous of doing his utmost to secure the return of a particular candidate, is at liberty to give him as many votes as there are members to be returned. Whether the system is a judicious one may be questioned. But it does not in any sense disfranchise the elector who chooses to confine his support to one particular candidate. The case is very different where only one vote can be recurded for one man. When there are nine seats to be filled, plumping for one candidate means throwing eight votes away. On other grounds, very strong objections may bo urged against the practice. The voter who plumps, not only to a very large extent disfranchises himself, but he refrains from exercising the power that belongs to him and the duly that devolves upon him as an elector, to protect the public interests against the return of incompetent or dishonest men. To please a particular fancy of his own, what right has any elector to leave his fellow citizens and their interests at the mercy of a chapter of accidents ? Every man who enjoys the right of voting, is responsible for such an exercise of it as will most conduce to the interests of his fellow citizens — in other words to exercise it to its fullest extent, to secure the return of good men. We trust that this principle will be acted on at the forthcoming election, and that every voter will do his utmost to secure the return to thj Town Council of nine good men.