men, who shall preside at such meetings; and the town-clerk, in the presence and with the assistance of the selectmen, shall, in open town-meeting, sort and count the votes, and form a list of the persons voted for, with the number of votes for each person against his name; and shall make a fair record of the same in the town-books, and a public declaration thereof in the said meeting; and shall, in the presence of the inhabitants, seal up copies of the said list, attested by him and the selectmen, and transmit the same to the sheriff of the county," &c.* This is all that is said, respecting the choice of governor. Now, how are a hundred thousand people to coincide in one man, or hope or expect such a miracle, without some concert? There must be some previous nomination; there must be some effort, to bring up men, well qualified, before the public eye, and fasten their merits on the public attention. As there are no legal assemblies for this, it is done in voluntary meetings, called caucuses; and it seems to me, an honest citizen may go to them, without the imputation of being a lover of faction, or a follower of demagogues.

If these nominations were not made in these caucuses, they must be made by single citizens, or editors of newspapers, which would be infinitely

worse.

* Constitution of Massachusetts, Chap. II., Art. i., Sec. 3.

As caucuses seem to be necessary, so it seems to me, some of them are managed with singular wisdom. I see nothing which the most dreaming theorist could desire to mend. Take the usual method in which a governor is nominated, as an example. The members of the legislature, previous to the next election, assemble on some evening, to consult on this important point. They are supposed to be the wisest men in the commonwealth; they come from all parts of the State; they stand in a responsible situation, and their characters are well known. Such nominations are as little likely to fail either from want of wisdom, or want of virtue, as any that can be devised.

Respecting the lower caucuses, more might be said; they too often fall into the hands of busy and irresponsible men. No government can be worse, than that which is managed by secret agents, behind a curtain. But the defect of these caucuses, happens through the negligence of our best citizens. They have imbibed such a prejudice for the word, and have such a perfect detestation of a meeting called for the purposes of violence and faction, that they often stay away from them; and leave their purposes to be forestalled by agents of less virtue, but more activity. It should be remembered, that the caucus is the most important meeting; there resides the spirit of the election, and in the other only the form. Here, minds are compared, wills are united, and the proceedings here fix the election, as the planting of the seed decides the character of the tree.

It may be asked, whether caucuses should be confined to men of one party, as is now generally the case? or whether a general meeting of free citizens, should be invited? In times of high excitement, I apprehend the exclusive mode is the best. If in an informal meeting, you were to bring two parties together, there would be danger of a tumultuous assembly, and no decision. But in calmer times, it would perhaps be best to collect all, and to adjust differences by a mutual compromise.

It is an evil, that caucuses are held in the evening. A man is not the same being by candle-light, that he is in sunshine; no, not the wisest and best. It is true, it will be said on the other side, that the evening is the season of leisure; and that it would be difficult for artisans and men of business to leave their work, during earlier hours. How far these evils counterbalance those of nocturnal deliberations, deserves to be considered. But I am sure no man ought to allow himself to make any important decision, after ten o'clock at night. He will be apt to find it a work of darkness, in more senses than one. Late sessions, late courtships, late meetings, are the ruin of our welfare, in politics, love, and religion.

One evil of caucuses is, that there is often a first cause before the first; a caucus before the caucus, where a number of busy men have already anticipated the decisions of the meeting. It is as hard to trace things to their first causes in politics, as it is to find

the end of the little fibrous roots of a tree, which run deep in the ground. To prevent this, I could wish that a caucus could always hold two sessions. Let them first meet to discuss matters, interchange opinions, hear speeches, (which should be short, and not inflammatory,) and run over a list of candidates. Let them choose a large committee of nomination, and then adjourn; for it is an excellent thing to sleep, after a debate, before a decision. Let them come together, to hear the report of their committee, and fix on their candidates. All this should not be considered as a subsidiary part of an election. It seems to be essential to a union of efforts, and a wise result.

Republicanism is a car, which can only accomplish its journey, by going slow enough. The people will generally be right, if you can only keep them in pause long enough to think. For this reason, in all our proceedings, we should avoid hasty decisions. A great deal has been said about long speeches, irrelevant repetition, and a needless consumption of time, in our State legislature. This is a preservative evil in republicanism. I had rather be vexed with long speeches, than ruined by rash legislation. I have sometimes thought it would be wise, to hire ten longwinded tribunes, to consume the day for the preservation of our laws, and to save us from the evils of perpetual innovation.

THE PURITAN.

No. 44.

For though most hands dispatch apace,
And make light work (the proverb says),
Yet many different intellects

Are found t' have contrary effects;
And

many heads t' obstruct intrigues,
As slowest insects have most legs.

Hudibras.

YOUTHFUL recollections are not easily effaced; and I look back with some pleasure on the eloquence I heard, and the scenes I witnessed, in former days, at our Bundleborough town-meetings.

In the first place, a half sheet of fools-cap paper, with all the articles to be debated, written out in a fair hand, was pasted up at the porch-door of the meeting-house, and other conspicuous places in town, signed by the selectmen, warning all good citizens worth sixty pounds in money, to come and vote on their municipal affairs. Sometimes it was to choose a governor, sometimes representatives to the State