have, as well in the power of once, over all others of the same degree, as in the completion of the required number of officers, and on the margin of all civil offieer's commissions, shall be inserted the written number of votes given to each.

SECTION 6. For electing all directors, commissioners, representatives and legislators, not promoted worthy officers, as directed in the section next preceding; lots shall be cast from a certain chosen number as in manner following, viz. Each of every two candidates's names having the most votes, shall by the clerk be written on distinct ballots, in the presence of the su perintendants, in open meeting by the president of elections, and by him declared accordingly, in the hearing of the meeting, then by him openly cast into the vote box, made also convenient for that purpose, and theroughly shaken at least half a minute, together with not less than ten blank ballots, of the same dimension, after shutting the lid of the box, then from which the first drawn name in open meeting, by the fair moving hand of a blind-folded voter, or member when required, and who shall draw and openly hold forth the same in open view of the meeting, and conveniently at end, for the required inspection of the superintendants, and the president thereof shall then immediately declare the truth of the drawn name, in the hearing of the meeting, which the clerk thereof shall then enlist and repeat accordingly, and which shall be the allotted offcer required, and for preventing deception the vote box shall be emptied entirely, upon the platform of the undrawn ballots, immediately before and after casting in and drawing out the same; and which shall be called casting lots, and be the only mode (8) and by which casting lots all ties or restraints which may happen, by

(8) That of casting lots from a certain number of well chosen competitors, for actors, directors, ecu missioners, representatives and legislators, only five different ranks; forms a complete unanimity in all the officers of government, of course in all the Columbians in regeri to general interest, for which former puts an end to the rivalry of a pair of ruinous parties, kè=

an equal or interfering number of votes given for the choice of actors, directors, commissioners, representatives, legislators and mediators, shall be removed.

SECTION 1.

ARTICLE V.

All actors shall be elected in manner following, viz. at every May meeting immediately after determining the superintendants, the president of the elections thereof, shall in open meeting from one common pile of the. balloted names of the principal list, previously to be prepared by the clerk thereof, openly mix at random, and divide and accurately count the same into four equal parts as near as their number will admit, which names shall be distinguished into a first, second, third and fourth class of actor's candidates, which classes for four of the first rounds of suffrage shall be distinctly voted for, without counting the votes until the last of the four rounds shall be taken, and between the votes of each round a thin horizontal table, shall within the vote-box be intervened for preventing their mixture, whose names of the first class of candidates, for the first round of suffrage, then of the second class for the second round, then of the third class for

cause none but Providence can possibly know till after election who is governor, and the mediators and presi dents being elected by those who know not till after election which party will reign or who will be elected, of course will be those who merit the office, and certainly every town must have five times as many men fit for office, as there will be important legislative officers wanted, whose interest will be the same, then out of erery five what matter is it to community which of the five shall be drawn by lots, this is not casting lots, as it respects good and bad men, where chance might put the wrong in power, but which is our satisfactory choice, that any good men, and with indifference to us which of them, shall make our laws, for here we are perfectly united, and soon we shall all be wise and all fit to make laws.

the third round, and last the names of the fourth class, for the fourth round of suffrage, shall by the said president of elections, be declared in the hearing of the meeting and twice repeated of such names as required, and one class only shall be voted for, before the next shall be declared, and every class shall be decla red before voted for, and it shall be the duty of all competent voters, to be provided with means for plainly writing their own votes, and they shall write and number them if necessary; and according to the class of actor's candidates to which they severally belong, and deliver to any voter incompetent of so doing, such vote as he may request. And while voting for actors on whose basis all depends, of right ought to be used the greatest prudence, it shall therefore be the solemn duty of every voter, and of the moderator their organ, addressing themselves to him, who during the choice of actors shall keep and observe such strict order and silence, as will prevent confusion, cavil or influence of any voters over others. And the said president after the votes shall have been fairly sorted and counted, shall declare in the hearing of the meeting, the choice of and the number of votes given to each of those having ten or more votes of the same number, and all of which actors excepting as herein before and after directed, as shall have at least ten or more votes, and no others shall be lawful actors, and the clerk shall form a catalogue of their names with the number of votes for each, to be called the actor's list, and for completing the first number of actors required, from the remainder of the four classes, as before or from the undivided whole, as the will of the majority of the meeting as signified by an uplifted hand shall direct, repeated rounds of suffrage shall be taken, and the votes canvassed as before, at every round of suffrage, unless voted for by classes, in which case canvass the votes at the fourth round, and continue repeated rounds of suffrages, until the required first number of actors, shall be augmented at least one fifteenth, then for the required reduction of which augmented list, one countermanding round of suffrage shall be taken from all the voters present, for the re;

jection of whatever number of actors the list shall have been augmented above the first number required, and all such as shall have the most and more than ten rejecting votes, and having the least number of approv ing votes, shall be erased from the actor's list, and be considered not chosen, and in case the list shall not then be sufficiently reduced, erase therefrom those of the required number, having the next least number of approving votes, and by the legal casting of lots remove all ties. The actors names by the president shall then be read over in the hearing of the meeting, and the actors in the mean time answer to their names. (9)

(9) That mathematical science, which surveys gecgraphically the government of man, with the sovereign power corresponding with the common country, as well as human clusters or cities, renders a due proportion of officers to, and elected by all the people of all parts of Columbia, according to the number of voters without regard to rich or poor conforms the sovereign power to the geography of the soil, and not to the barter and exchange of its productions, which gathers the sovereign will into cities, and palaces, and lords and kings; for in which case the voice of every neighborhood is heard and satisfactorily has his official actors, every town its directors and commissioners, every county its representatives and legislators, and every district its mediators, and every one votes for whom he pleases, uninfluenced by caucus. But many

may say this is a fatiguing way of electing our officers; is it more fatiguing than to be slaves involved in war and sin, which this hard road to heaven prevents. Will not experience make that which is right, though at first apparently hard the greatest ease? does not due attention required for the delegation of right power, withhold the devil's legislation, whose laws are burthensome lies? when we employ agents, is it_not better to be particular in the beginning contract, least we leave the door of self wide open to the rogue, who will involve us in law suits and misery, and our agents (lawyers) grow on our ruin to tyrant nobles? this

SECTION 2. All directors shall be first elected in manner following, viz. immediately after completing the choice of actors, in the same meeting, from the same voters, at every round of suffrage as shall be required for the election of directors, the names of each of those candidates who shall have at least twenty-five votes, and of those five who shall have the most votes, and no others shall be lawful directors, shall by the clerk be written on distinct ballots, after being so de clared by the said president, who shall then cast them and the blank ballots altogether into the vote box, and the first drawn half with the odd one, if any there be of halloted names, by the legal casting of lots, shall be the assigned directors, whose required first number, when so near completed as shall require the last round of suffrage to give twenty-five or more votes, to each of double the number of candidates to that of directors

rule of voting may not be right, but experience and improvement may provide a right way. And until we reduce a right method to practice, the wicked hearts of men can never be changed, and war, waste and sin be never omitted.

In the ordinary manner of voting, the voters are not independent, but are tools to the leaders of each others party. For instance, two candidates for governor, are nominated by the already powerful leaders of each party, both have their hobby-horse, one candidate being the devil in the opinion of the opposite party, and if he is chosen he will cut off our heads; yet the other is not the one we want for governor, for he will cut off our toes, of course we must all go to meeting and vote for the least of the two evils or lose our heads, for if we do not vote for either of the two candidates, but vote for others our scattering votes are lost; thus the pow erful will grow more and more powerful, till they are kings. Whereas were our scattering votes (and let us scatter our votes as much as we please) given and saved in the election of such candidates to office as we please, and such as no one knows of but our maker till after election, our governors will save our heads and toes both.