Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-01-31
PARTIAL LEGISLATION.

Thatmost excellent paper, the Philadelphia A7guI,
under the above head makes the following valuable
remarks Hayeo our readers ever taken the pains 10
examine she proceedings Of cur different State Le-
gislstures, in order to ascertain how very large
proportion Of the time is spent in legislatng for
capibl and against labor2 In other words, how
few acts are passed for the general good how many
for private intsrssts3 If they have not they nave
81 unpleasaut surprise in store, whenever they Wal
devote an hour to the investigation Of the subject
They viii find that nearly the whole time Of our le-
slative bodies is mOnopoizsd by corporations, CAPT
sliss individuals and companies, who wish to grow
rich by special legislation.
s.soue corporations are necessary and useful Mu-
niepsl, psroebiai, literary benevolent, and chart
table interpretations not objectionable generally,
and sometimes they are indispensable. But to cor
porstions for the purpose Of holding and managing
property, there are many and weighty objections.
Thew affect injuriously the matrimonial relation,
depriviDg the wife Of her right Of dover. They
affect the modes Of conveyance, avoiding, in some
STATES, the publicity Of the county registry, They
diminish the liability Of partners for Che debts Of the
company. They create a kind Of mortmain, incon-
sissent with The spirit Of our laws and the genius Of
our government The prohibition Of entailments,
and the equal distribution Of property, are essential
to Democratic government. These provisions
should be Incorporated into every State Constitution
Reestablsh entails and the right Of primOgeniture
and we might well despair Of the continuance Of our
government.
Perpetuity has been said to be one Of the attri-
bHtes Of a corporate body Its members are con-
tinuay changing, but its legal entity and tendency
remains the same; and, unless it be limited IN It's
character or meet an unusual termination, It will
live forever Property thus holden in perpetual sue
cessiou cannot come under the full operation Of our
Democratic principle Of distribution. The stock
msy be distributed snd new stockholders introdu-
ced; but the corporation remains unchanged, CON
tinuing TO hold the corporate property, and to pur-
sue the end Of its creation unaffected by the muta
ton Of its component party.
50 Corporations, as such, are not responsible for
crime. They can be reached only through their OH
GERS and members; remedy which has never yel
been found commensurate with the evil, aud has a--
avs been resorted to with reluctance on the part Of
the wronged.
ssCorporaiions have no moral responsibility. The
responsibility for acts Of the corporation is SO d.
vided among its members, and 50 completely covered
with the corporation shield, to loose nearly It's
whole power. Acts Of incorporation vest the con-
troll and management Of property AMI Of extensive
business, on which 50 many depend for subsistence
in a few persons. Who without the restraint and
selfinterest Of individual responsibility, use the
means in their hands for the accomplishment Of
Obie,ts from which as private citizens, they would
shrink Special charters, therefore, should be
granted only for public purposes beyond the ability
Of individual efforts, aud when the public eEigen-
css require that private property should be taken
for public uses These cases occur far more rarely
than most people are apt to imagine. Comparative
w few instances sre found where individual effort
properly directed and theoretically persevered 10,
would not be able to accomplish all that might be
required without special act of incorporation. il
facilities for combined action in ordinary business
transactions be deemed necessary OF useful they
should be created by general law, like law oil
limited partnership. which should be alike accessi-
bic TO all and of which every joint stock company
might avail itself without requiring the agency OF
leg.s,atiOn.
,,It sppears to US that the time has arrived, if We
are ever 10 reach that desirable point, when THh
prorrF should be cared for in the aggregate, and
not privileged few, the wealthy classes. who
have hitherto secured such vast prePonderance
in our legislative halls 1t seems to MS tina. some
little attention should now be given % the public
welfare, and less time spent in Guacting laws TO make
tae rich richer, and the poor poorer If this is a
country Of Equal Rights, let MS have Equal Laws
nrrrwTNE nF COTTON PLANTERS