Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1858-01-23

|journment Of the Legislature. The laws
or several years have not been published
! Is early as they should have been, and fire.
} %luently their publication has been delayed
until it was time, according to the common
system of Legislation in the State, to re-
+ peal or alter them. Serious injuries result
: from this failure to publish and distribute
the laws, independent Of the general incon-
venience to courts, attorneys, officers and
i business men. Rights are seriously affect
ed, and the laws broken, by men who have
no knowledge anil no means of knowledge
of what they are. The attention of the
Legislature has been frequently called to
this subject, but the public printer, fol
: some re- son, has paid no regard to it.
recommend that authority be given to the
Secretary of State to declare the contract
forfeited hereafter, whenever the public
/, printer fails to fulfill the contract, and to
let the printing to some other party.
CORPORATIONS.
The Legislature Is empowered to provide
for the organization of cities and incorpor-
ateI villages. and it is made its duty by
the Constitution to restrict their power of
taxation, assessment, borrowing money,
contracting debts, and loaning their credit,
so as to prevent abuses in assessments and
taxation, and in contracting debts, by such
municipal corporations. Cons ant com
plants are made Of the excuses Of taxation
, in cities and Incorporated villages in this
State. In many of our larger cities the
burthens of taxation have become oppres-
fl sive. Too great powers are given toBoards
| of Trustees of villages,a n to the Conn non
Councils of c~ities,in expanding public mon
eys; and the ease with which, in the ear
" stages of Indebtedness, money can be
raised upon city bonds, leads to extrava-
giant expenditures Of the public funds, and,
too frequently, for other purposes than in
payment of necessary expenses or in laak-
ing Improvements. A limit should be fix
ed, in every city charter, to taxation, and
a limit to the creation of public debts
The debt Of a city should never be suffered
to reach such an amount as bring down its
credit more than 5 per cent. below par
THE faithlessness and extravaganza Of pub
lie officers is becoming proverbial, AMI in
Incorporated cities, where a perpetuation
Of power, independent of any political
considerations, is made to depend upon
lavish expenditures of public funds for I'M
authorized purposes, and in fulfllnent of
oppressive and fraudulent contracts, it be-
comes a matter of urgent necessity that the
Legislature should i~nterpose, and obey the
{ order OF the Constitution, by placing a re-
~striction upon the power of borrowing mon
ey, of taxation, of assessment, of contract
ing debts, and loaning credit. Your at
%tention is invited 10 a careful consideration
Of this subject.
There is another question of serious i'm
portance connected with this subject OF
contracting debts by municipal and other
corporations. The State is not authorized
to contract public debts to exceed in the
aggregate the amount of one hundred
} thousand dollars. 1t is also expressly pro
hibited from giving or loaning its credit in
aid of any individual, association or corpor-
alton, or contracting debts for work of in
ternal improvements. Yet the L"gisla-
ture, by a serious of acts running through a
number Of years, has conferred upon coun-
ties, towns, cities and villages, a power to
do that which the Safe has no constitu-
,ional power itself to do. A necessity
may frequently arise where, for some pur-
poses, counties and towns may be justified
in contracting a limited amount of in:iebt-
: edness, but in no case should they be au-
; thorized, and there is no constitutional
power to authorize them, to create a debt
which is likely to become a public burthen,
, or to loan their credit for the benefit Of, OF
in aid Of, any individual, association, or
i corporation. There is no safety for a pub
lie corporation if it falls into the hands of a
r private one. Towns, and counties, and
: cities, were never organized for the purpose
Of building canals, railroads, OF plank
!: roais, or in any manner to speculate in
: private enterprises. Though cities may
be authorized to loan :heir credit, the
+ character of the corporation being esteem
ed in law different from that of town OF
county, yet it is, in every case, of doubtful
~expediency to loan it to private corpora
lions. When once the system is adopted
it is difficult to limit the extent of the liza
ailIties in which they may become involved
There is a uniform history OF embarrass
; ments, prostration Of credit, and burlhen
d some taxation, to be written of such debts
i Counties, towns, cities, and villages, like
q individuals, are in best condition when Out
d Of debt. No deserving private corporation
g needs such aid. Capital, everywhere, will
seek safe and profitable investment, and
will be furnished as fast as public necessity
demands any given Improvement at the
hands of a private corporation. Private
Q corporations are unsafe repositories oil
public credit.
If the whole amount of bonds had been
issued which have been authorized bv the
Legislature, the sum in the last four years
: alone would nave exceeded eleven millions
i Of dollars,a as the following table will show
Counties. amount.