Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1855-02-22
CITY Government.
is exotic.

At the adjourned meeting Of the City Coun-
Gil on Friday evening, the order from the
Council in relation to the experimenting school
committee, and asking for special enactment
by the board of Aldermen. We are informed
uuaUtIneut askeu lot, II passeu ny uiru
legislature, will only place the city precisely
where it was in 1851, WHEN the new law went
into effect, or where the city would now be
should all the members of the board of school
committee resign. We do not apprehend any
evil will result from the proposed change from
one-third annual TO annual elections of the
committee, should the next council elect so to
change. The fear is not a practical but
groundless one, that whole committees will be
laid aside by capricious public, and board
of entirely new men be elected. True, such
cases may occur-they may be demanded for
if committee should unfortunately become
made up of unfit materials, or should they be-
come absolutely offensive TO the large MAORI
ty of the people, less evil to the schools would
result from their removal than from their con-
tinuance in office. The chances are very
small that an instance would ever occur when
the whole board would be changed at a single
election. The evidence of the past is alto
gether against such hypothesis. If any one
will take the trouble TO examine the records
of the town of Bath from the time our present
High School system was adopted, some fifteen
years since, up to the organization of the city,
and from that time down to the new educa-
tional law of 1850, he will find that under
system of annual elections, there never was
an instance in which a portion-often ma
jority-of the old committee was not retained
in the new one. Since the present law has
been in force, requiring elections one-third
annually, with committee of three only,
there might have been seuen different individ-
uals on this board, and would have been had
there been as much fckleness with the people
as some seem to apprehend in the future, while
the facts show that only four different persons
have been thus selected. Surely, the evil
dence here, is entirely against the suggestions
of some "wiseacres," that annual elections
will upset the whole order of things. Look
at towns that annually elect their selectmen,
and how few are the instances where entirely
new boards are elected. So of assessors
those men, who, as much as any other public
officers have to decide in conflict with the
prejudices and caprices of the masses, yet how
seldom have we known the instance that no
member of the old board has reappeared in
the new. We have great faith in the people,
! and believe that all officers should be made TO
| feel that they are directly accountable 10 the
people, and that, at not too long intervals,
they must give an account OF their steward
ship. Nothing is more likely to beget and
develop arbitrary feelings and an arbitrary
spirit in public officers than feeling of indie
pendence of the people--a feeling of security
in Office. which has slight dependence on the
popular will. All such feelings are inconsis-
tent with popular sovereignty, and, with all
regulations fostering them, must yield to the