THE principle of universal suffrage, as adopted in the United States, was the unrestrained exercise of that right on the part of all white male citizens over twenty-one years of age, unless the right was forfeited by some violation of law on the part of the individual. Thus, the white males of age constituted the political nation; and these, according to the several enumerations, state and federal, number pretty uniformly about one-fourth part of the whole people, and these again are divided pretty equally into two parties, which alternately triumph; hence, about one-eighth part of the whole number of souls would govern the nation, or, at least, would appoint the officers who should carry on the government, if the principle was fully carried out. Through the operation of various state laws, however, restraints are imposed which still further reduce the number of legal voters, and render the governing minority of the whole people still more marked. Thus, of the New England states, Rhode Island had, in 1840, at the date of the census, a property qualification for voters; while in New Hampshire, as an instance, no restraint but those growing out of crimes were imposed upon the right of suffrage. If we compare these two states by taking the number of white males over the age of twenty-one, according to the United States census, and the number of votes cast at the presidential election of that year, when probably the strongest vote was brought out, we observe a great disparity, thus:

Population.

New Hampshire, 284,754..
Rhode Island, 108,830..

No. of

No. of No. of males over White males No. of votes males in 100 votes in 100 21 who did over 21. cast. population. population. not vote. 20........ 5 25...... 8........17

70,377.. .59.919.

..26,266..

8,579

25.

Thus, in New Hampshire, among 100 inhabitants, there were twenty actual voters, and only five per cent. of aged, sick, incapacitated, or neglecting to vote. In Rhode Island, out of 100 inhabitants, twenty-five were free white males, but only eight voted, while seventeen were mostly restricted by the operation of the property qualification. If we carry out this table so as to embrace all the states in the Union, in 1840, we shall remark singular variations, as follows: 1

VOL. XXIX.-NO. II.

NUMBER OF FREE WHITE MALES OVER 21 YEARS IN EACH STATE PER CENSUS OF 1840-NUMBER OF VOTES CAST AT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, WITH THE PROPORTION OF MALES, VOTERS AND NON-VOTERS, TO THE ABOVE

In this table it appears that the number of 25 per 100 of population is the average for free white males in the northern and western states. The proportion of white males in the newly settled states is very high, but owing probably to the sparse settlement, and the large proportion of aliens in the country, the ratio of votes do not rise. In the new southern states, where immigration does not affect the representative numbers in so great a degree, there is less disparity between the number of votes and the number of white males, with the exception of Louisiana, where the vote for 1840 was under the old constitution of that state, which restrained the right by property qualification. The recent modification of these restraints by the constitutions recently adopted, has much increased the number of voters. It results generally, that in a population of 14 million whites in 1840, there were 3,538,000 free white males over twenty-one years of age, and of these 2,405,506 voted; and of these, 1,300,000 decided elections, and with them the policy of the government that is to say, the vote of one person governed eleven. The number of votes cast was much increased from what it would have been, had the tide of immigration been less, or had the restraints imposed upon aliens been more stringent. The number of males which arrive in the country by much exceeds those of the females, thus: in 1850 there arrived in the United States 158,000 males and 113,000 females, giving an excess of 47,000 males who can become voters in from three to five years in New-York, and vote for the Chief Magistrate of the Union, while many Americans of great intellect and large property can never enjoy that right. That an extended and reformed mode of franchise is needed,

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is evident, and in some respects the initiative steps have been taken in this direction. In many of the states the rights of the "unrepresented classes" have, in the State Constitutional Conventions, received more attention of late, particularly in the mode of protecting them; but it would seem to be better to go directly to the point, and alter their condition from the unrepresented classes." In the case of property, the relations between man and wife in New-York and some other states have been changed so far, that the married female holds absolutely in her own right the property which comes to her through any other channel than her husband. Thus her property is, before the law, no longer his property. In this position it becomes necessary for her to exercise the control of that property; and a law was passed at the last session of the New-York legislature, giving married women the right to vote at elections of officers and directors in corporations of which they are stockholders. That is to say, if a married woman holds 100 shares of bank stock, she can vote at the election of of ficers and directors. Now, if the same woman holds land and houses forming a portion of the city corporation, has not she as much natural right to vote for the mayor and aldermen who manage the business of that corporation, as for the president and directors who manage the affairs of the moneyed corporation in which she is concerned? This, however, is applying a property qualification to women, and degrading the intellectuality of the voter in the manner pointed out by Dr. Franklin when the property qualification was proposed. Said he: "Suppose a man owns a jackass worth $100, and that property confers upon him the right to vote: very well! he votes, but in the next year the death of the animal deprives the man of the vote: was it then the man or the jackass which voted?" It is not this ground of the mere possession of property, which, for the most part, she has not earned, that the female influence at the polls would be most desirable; but it is on the ground of the moral influence which the female voice would exert upon the course of government, that the greatest good might be expected. The moral influence of woman in the social state softening and purifying the ruder temper of the sterner sex, has long been admitted, even if ever doubted. Her perception of right and wrong is more acute, and her superior love of offspring would form a most powerful check upon that profligacy of legislation, which has not only become so disgraceful, but is so rapidly increasing in magnitude, and which, if no check upon it is applied, must become subversive of government. The question arises whether, by enlisting women, by giving them a voice in its management, in the operations of government, they would not throw over the political world that moral restraint which is so beneficial in the social state. How many of the actors in the rogueries at Albany, during the present summer, would retain their places, if their knavish tricks were discussed in the female circles as freely as the important question whether skirts should be long or short, or be worn with pantalettes or without?— The probability is, that if the temporal as well as the spiritual, the political as well as the social portion of their offspring were to engage the attention of the mothers of America, by which we do not mean that silly and frivolous portion of the sex which supposes that the welfare of a nation and the destiny of a race hangs upon the cut of a collar, or the fashion of a frock, or the length of leggings, that an immense and beneficial influence would soon be felt upon the course of politics.

The right of suffrage has been pushed in the United States, until it now embraces all male whites over twenty-one years of age not under convic

tion for crime. The ground traveled over since our Saxon ancestors, incapable of holding property, walked about with the iron collars upon their necks, inscribed with the names of their owners, has been considerable. Personal freedom, property, political rights, a voice in the government, and finally, the control of the government, have all successively been acquired or recovered" by adult male whites, from those who deprived them of those natural rights. The position of woman, until very recently, has not changed, and now slightly only in respect of property. A change has, however, been made in that direction, and none can doubt but that further progress is at hand.

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In Europe, the emancipation of the males is more slow and fluctuating in its progress. In France, the popular will has been allowed to manifest itself only at times; and it is a peculiarity either of the French people or of their enthusiastic nature, that the vote is generally one way. Thus, under the right of suffrage acknowleged by the first revolution, the constitution of 1793 was adopted by 1,887,918 votes; that of 1795, by 1,801,918, with scarcely any opposition; that of 1797, which made Bonaparte consul for ten years, had 3,011,007 votes. In 1802, the question " shall Napoleon Bonaparte be consul for life ?" was carried by 3,368,029 votes out of 3,557,885 votes. In 1804, the vote electing him Emperor gave him 3,572,329 yeas, against 2,569 nays. When English bribery and German valor succeeded in forcing the Bourbons back upon France, the property qualification imposed upon the right of suffrage nearly destroyed it. Under Louis Philippe, the citizen king, further restriction reduced the number of votes to 200,000, and finally, to 180,000, for the whole of France; while the number of office-holders was raised to 500,000, dependent on the king, or nearly three offices for every vote.

The revolution of February, 1848, restored, as did the old one, the right of suffrage to every male Frenchman of the age of twenty-one; and according to the census of 1846, the number of them in France is 11,026,381, or thirty-one per cent. of the whole population; and the votes for the constituent assembly indicated that the number of voters in each department varies less than two per cent. from the proportionate number of adult males.

The vote for Louis Napoleon resulted as follows:

Males over twenty-one years of age,
Votes for Louis Napoleon, ...

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11,026,381

5,534,520

7,449,471

Cavaignac and others,..... 1,914,951
Total,

This showed an actual vote very nearly of the same proportion to the population of males as in the United States :-that is to say, in France, of one hundred persons, twenty-one voted; and in the United States, of one hundred white inhabitants, eighteen voted at the Presidential Election of 1840. At the election of 1848, there were cast 2,872,056--South Carolina giving no popular vote, and the white population in 1850 per census, less South Carolina, was 19,440,367; consequently, there were fifteen votes only to 100 whites. The French vote was, therefore, very large. On the 20th of December, mysterious movements were observable around the palace of the assembly. The first legion mounted guard, in fatigue order, before the peristyle. The representatives were discussing a printing project. M. Waldeck Rousseau asked permission to make his report on the presidential election. During the reading of this, Louis

Bonaparte entered the room, to receive his investure from the assembly. He was dressed in a plain suit of black, and wore the order of the legion of honor. General Cavaignac was seated in the presidential chair. After the reading of the report, he asked to address the house. He ascended the tribune, where he deposited the dismissal of the ministers, resigned his powers, thanked the assembly for its benevolence, and took his seat three benches below M. de Lamartine.

The assembly greeted him with their plaudits of adieu.

Louis Napoleon succeeded him at the tribune. M. Marrast read the form of the oath :

"In the presence of God, and before the French people, represented by the National Assembly, I swear to remain true to the Democratic Republic, one and indivisible, and to fulfill all the duties imposed on me by the constitution." "I swear it," said Bonaparte, raising his hand.

A salute of artillery then announced to the people the first intelligence of the ceremony.

The new President afterwards read a manifesto, in which the assembly applauded the following passages :

"We have, representative citizens, a great mission to accomplish, which is, to found a Republic in the interest of all, and a just and firm government, which shall be animated with a sincere love of improvement, without its being reactionary or utopian.

"Let us be the men of the country, not those of party, and with God's assistance, we shall, at least, do good, if we cannot accomplish great things." The assembly rose at the cries of "Long live the Republic!"

Louis Bonaparte descended from the tribune, and went direct to General Cavaignac, and shook him cordially by the hand. The assembly were moved at this spontaneous act, and applauded him for it. The constitution of France, adopted by the National Assembly, November 4, 1848, and which Louis Napoleon thus swore to support, provides

“ART. 23—Population shall be the basis for election.

ART. 24-Suffrage shall be direct and universal.

ART. 25-All Frenchmen aged 21, and in the enjoyment of their civil and political rights, are electors, without property conditions of any kind."

On this principle, the National Assembly which adopted the constitution was elected; and on the 10th December Louis Napoleon was elected President by the large vote enumerated. On the 15th March following, this assembly, elected by universal suffrage, passed a law chiefly making six months' residence in the commune prior to voting, a condition of the exercise of that right. This cut off 1,087,185 citizens from the right of voting. On the 31st May, 1850, the same assembly passed another law, making three years' residence in a commune requisite to exercise the right of voting, and making the payment of the tax personnelle et mobiliere, or poll tax and tax on rent, the proof of residence. The letter of the constitution forbids a property qualification of any kind; but this requires the payment of a tax as a proof of residence. The contribution personnelle and mobiliere is divided into two parts:-1. The personnelle is a kind of poll-tax, rated at three days' labor; the value of a day's labor is fixed by the Council-General of the Department; its maximum is lf. 50c., and its minimum 50 centimes per diem. This applies only to men from eighteen years and upwards; women and children are exempt. 2. The tax mobiliere is fixed according to the rent of a habitation, at the