The "Standing Order" of to-day is not a privileged church, but a dominant political party strong in the privilege and powers derived from long tenure of office and intrenched behind constitutional amendments which, in addition to this unequal representation in the House, provide for the election of Senators upon town and county lines rather than upon population. The Constitutional Reform Party of to-day propose radical measures to remedy these more glaring defects in the administration of government, and to consider these, called the Constitutional Convention of 1902. In it, the influence of the small towns on the drafting of the proposed constitution was so great that, when it was presented to the people for ratification, an adverse majority in every county refused to accept it. In fact, only fifteen per cent of the whole people thought it worth while to express any opinion at all.
References for the Constitutional Convention of 1902: Clarence Deming, Town Eule in Connecticut, Political Science Quarterly, September, 1889; and M. B. Carey, The Connecticut Constitution. (These will be found useful as summing up much of the newspaper discussion of the period, and also for the data upon which the argument for the desired changes is based.) There is also "The Constitutions of Connecticut, with Notes and Statistics regarding Town Representation in the General Assembly, and Documents relating to the Constitutional Convention of 1902," printed by order of the Comptroller, Hartford, Conn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. HISTORIES
1. GENERAL
A few titles are given of those works found most useful in acquiring a general historic setting for the main topic.
Bancroft, George. History of the United States. New York, 1889.
Gardiner, S. R. History of England from Accession of James I. London, 1863.
——History of England under the Duke of Buckingham and Charles
I. London, 1875.
——History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate. London and New York, 1894-1903.