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iiy acts of social life, without the
assistance of conversation would
lose all dignity and become simply
disgustful. What would be our so
cial meals without it, but the mere
exhibitions of animal gratification?
The table, the centre in all ages, of
social and domestic refinement—the
emblem ot’ household and hospitable
virtues—though laden with the
choicest viands, if lacking the feast
of reason and How of soul, would be
only a manger for beasts.
I have said that good conversa
tion should be instructive, interest
ing and entertaining, it may em
brace one or all of these qualities,
and just in proportion as it possesses
them in the highest degree, with a
just admixture of them all, does it
approach to the ideal of perfection.
Without some admixture of all these
qualities, conversation will scarcely
approach to fine art ; for when it is
purely instructive it is apt to be and,
on some subjects, is sure to be te
dious and prosy ; so that it will lack
the second quality; while if it be
merely amusing and entertaining,
devoid of particular interest or in
struction, it is but too apt to degen
erate into mere common-] lace and
frivolity.
The topics of polite conversation
are almost unlimited: all that con
cerns mankind in general ; that re
lates to classes or individuals; all
Art, Science. Philosophy, Politics
and Religion, the wide domain of
nature, animate or inanimate. In
fine, thete is scarcely any subject so
trivial, nor any so important, wheth
er in nature or in art, that by proper
information and handling, may not
be made to yield material for good
conversation. Most usually the to
pics of conversation are directed by
the time, the occasion and the com
pany. and a regard for the decorums
and the circumstances. None should
be entertained calculated to violate
the proprieties of the occasion or to
offend the company. If peculiar
information is possessed by some in
individual, or there be some topic of
interest to all, such a turn may be
given as to bring cut each, if the
conversation does not naturally flow
towards such ends. It is well not
to set a subject for conversation,
since such a plan is apt to result in
stillness. A judicious selection of
topics to suit our occasions, to draw
out particular information, to excite
interest, to artmse wit and pleasant
ry, is certainly no small part of this
art. “ Men,” says Mr. Addison,
“ would come into society with ten
THE GEORGIA COLLEGIAN.
times the pleasure they do, if they
were sure of hearing nothing which
would rhock them; and likewise
expected vvlnt would please them.
It is a degree towards the life of
Angels, when we enjoy conversa
tion wherein nothing is presented
but its excellency ; and a degree
towards that of Demons, wherein
nothing is shewn but its degenera
cy.”
We are hut too apt in choos
ing our topics to be influenced in
the selection by what is most agree
able to ourselves, or by considera
tions of importance to ourselves,
without reflect mg that such may not
be so to others. Hence our aches
and pains, our infirmities and sick
ness, are too often paraded before
our friends for their sympathy and
our own satisfaction. “Itis a won
derful thing,’’ says Addison, “ that
so many persons, and they not reck
oned absurd, shall entertain those
with whom they converse by giving
them the history of their aches and
pains; and imagine such narrations
to be their quota of the conversation.
This is, of all others, the meanest
help to discourse, and a man must
not think at all, or think himself
very insignificant, when he finds an
account of his head-ache answered
by another’s asking, “ what news by
the last mail ?’’ Or, perhaps, we
may introduce what indeed may be
of general interest, hue too common
place and trite to afford any scope
for conversation. Such as the
weather, that much used topic—the
familiar resource of us all under try
ing circumstances. Nor yet should
we draw the conversation to our own
skill, achievements, or adventures,
unless of such a character as to
illustrate other topics, or to relieve
and vary by pleasantry. Affectation
and egotism are at all times tedious
and disgusting. Nor yet ought we
to desire to push a topic to exhaus
tion ; but rather let the flow of con
versation continue naturally and ea
sily from topic to topic, and hope
that it will again take lip whatever
it may have for a moment passed by.
[ To be Continued .]
...The March issue of the Uni
versity Review contains an article,
which denounces in the strongest
terms “secret fraternities,” and at
tributes the recent destruction of so
many literary societies to their per
nicious influence. It can not be
denied that secret fraternities tend
to create factions in literary societies.
However, we are as free from all
such contention as any institution,
although there are eleven fraternities
in college.— Sou. Col.
For the Georgia Collegian.
Viva Voce Voting.
The Right of Suffrage, while it
is one of the highest privileges of a
freeman, is also one of his highest
duties. It confers the right to par
ticipate, not only in the formation
of the government, but also in the
choice of those who are to exercise
its several functions. The right,
then, of suffrage, implies an obliga
tion on the person who exercises it,
not only for his own interests, but
also for those of his fellow-citizens
and foi the country at large, to use
it oil the purest and highest princi
ples. The word vote, in its original
significance, carries this sense. It
is derived fmm the Latin “ voveo,”
which signifies to promise or to wish
solemnly , as if to God or in His
presence: hence “ votiim” a solemn
vow or promise as to God, and “ vo
ta,” a day devoted to solemn pur
poses. To vote, then, is to perform
the office of a freeman, in the selec
tion of his rulers, or in the forma
tion of his government, as if he
were performing a vow to God. As
upon the purity of elections, and the
casting of votes by the freemen of a
country on high and pure motives,
depends the excellence and perpetu
ity of all free governments, nothing
should he left untried by the people
and their rulers, in order to secure a
fair and full expression of the public
voice in iis purest and best form.
If this could be effected in accord
ance with the literal meaning of the
word vote, republican governments
would represent the ideal form of
excellence in governments. But as,
in this germ of the free government,
in this act of voting, the very com
mencement of the whole structure,
there is the greatest liability to cor
ruption, not only from nature and
ignorance, but from surrounding in
fluences, so it happens, that the
problem of free government is yet
unsolved, or if solved, the examples
of the Past would indicate in a neg
ative direction.
But it is not so much with the
general question of suffrage that we
wish to deal, as with the particular
manner in which votes should be
cast or polled, in order to arrive at a
fiee and full expression of the public
voice.
Two methods have been and are
still widely used in the polling of
votes; the one, called “ viva voce”
voting, i. e. the calling out loudly
and distinctly by the voter, of the
name of the candidate or measure of
his choice, or, [which is nearly the
same thing] a count of hands, when
possible; the other, called the bal
lot, which is his writing the name
of the candidate, or the particular
measure in question, on a piece of
paper and placing it in a box for fu
ture count. Which of these two
methods is the best, in order to at
tain purity in elections is yet, in
practice, undecided. The general
practice in the U. S., is to vote by
ballot in all public elections; the
contrary is the practice in Great Bri
tain. But while the practice may
be varient, many reasons may be
adduced, to show that the method of
viva voce voting is the best and pur
est, at the same time that it is most
conformable to true ideas of republi
can freedom. For there is, in the
first place, no possibility of falsify
ing the number of votes cast, since
the result of the election must, from
its nature, be known to all concern
ed, as well as to the judges of elec
tion. Each party can, and will keep
its own count. On she other hand,
the ballot being secret, depends for
its result on the fairness of the
judges of election alone, and in case
of heated party strife, when they
happen to be all of one side, the
temptation to falsify is great. The
sole question to be decided by the
judges in the former is, whether a
(lerson has the right to vote ; while
in the latter, the judges not only
decide that question in secret con
clave, but also the absolute number
or count of voters. It is a fact well
attested by many elections in this
country, that the number of ballots
cast has been found to exceed by
thousands the number of registered
voters in a given district ; and it is a
fact equally well attested, that
judges have, in heated contests,
made the ballot a means of fraudu
lent election. The first case could
never happen in open voting ; be
cause, however unfairly disposed the
judges might be, the parties them
selves would never allow such man
ifest wrong to be openly done, as to
allow one man to cast several votes,
or many persons, not entitled to
vote, to do so, except when violence
was used.
A great argument for the ballot is,
that it enables a man to follow the
dictates of his own judgment, unde
terred by fear of giving offence to
these in power, or those who have
a special means of inflicting injury
upon him for casting his vote in a
particular manner. As for instance,