The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-06-27

and as we have no reason to believe that it is
whit less ''candid'' than the MAYORS Message, we
think that we are in duty bound to give it as re-
spectful an examination. 1t is source of regret
to us, however, and no doubt will be so consd-
cred by the public in general-that the grantees
like Mr.. SWAMI, should have commenced their
narrative at so recent date. There seems, in
deed, to be sort of understanding between
the high contracting and now begerent powers,
TO ignore every thing that happened before the
Ordinance finally received the MAYORS approval
and signature. All the mysterious councillings,
combinations and log-rollings-all the lobby ar
rangements and back-doOr and back-star negotia-
tons, which smoothed its passage through the
Chambers and the MAYORS Ofice-are left on
both Sides in utter darkness. Now these are
precisely the things which it interests the public
to know, for from these the job had its birth
and takes its character. They furnished the
elements which have made it so obnoxious
and whose explosion now threatens to bring
it to naught. How the Honorable" gentle
man from one ward was persuaded, and his
neighbor was convinced: how one was hooked in
by the bait of contract in posse and another was
neutralized by trife IN esSe; why the grant was
made to the assigns of the parties named, when
the MAYOR and Councils would have burst with
Indignation, had they supposed that any assign
ment was within the scope of possibility; how his
Honor, who is not famous for official taciturnitv,
came so pertinaciously to hold his peace concern
ing the necessity of State Legislation to compIete
the grant, when we now know, from his Message.
that the official mind was burdened, all the while,
with deep and awful sense of it, why, in fine the
Getty government magnanimously put ND the
the fare a cent per passenger with one hand in
order that the grantees might not starve themselves
by the sef-denying lowness of their rates-and then
took the identical cent away from them, with the
other hand, to pay for parks and rural amusements
these and all the other private incidents and Sc
cret details of the transaction are what we and the
other outside barbarians, would most especially
delight to be informed of. To u.s. no Exposition"
is altogether 'candid," which leaves these in the
background. 1t is like asking one to consider
the nature of sin, without the liberty of recur-
ring to the fall of Adam. But still-as we
can do no better-we must form the ''iudp-
'ment," to which we are invited, upon the MATE
rails which vouchsafed to us, and doine
so, we are bound TO say that think the grantees
have decidedly the best of it, both on the facts and
the argument. They appear TO have carried out
the Ordinance in perfectly good faith---by which
we mean that as it was an abominable scheme,
concocted, unlawfully and advisedly, for their
benefit, they have strictly and literally
awaited themselves of all the WAYS and
means devised by the MAYOR and Councils
to enable them to profit by it. They have no
gone one jot beyond its confused letter and bad
spirit The MAYOR, on the other hand, after hay
ing helped them, wilfully to all its advantages has
become either ashamed of himself or afraid of the
consequences, and is endeavoring to make an issue
on technicality, and to throw on an alleged vic.
laton of the ordinance, the odium and RESPONSE
blity which really belong to its actual provisions,
and to himself who approved them. Such, in our
view, is the position of the question and the par
ties. So far as the community is concerned, there
Is no choice between the grantees and the NUM-
cipal authorities. As between themselves how
ever we think the attitude of the grantees is by
far the more consistent and more reputable Let us
look at it.
There is no dispute that all the bonds required
by the Ordinance have been duly given-the ON
nibuseS and omnibus horses duly paid for-the ma
terials purchased and work begun, in the regular
course and within the proper time. Upon only
two points has the MAYOR any fault to find, viz
the transfer to the Philadelphia assgnees and the
notice for subscriptions to capital stock In our
previous comments on the subject, we think that
the first of these objections was satisfactorily dis
posed OF, by showing that the assignment was pro-
Vlded for, IN words, on the face of the Ordinance
itself. Our sapient neighbor The american. i'm
agines itself to have answered this by the sueees-
ton, that although the grantees were allowed to
assign, they could only assign stock, and
no stock had been issued when their assign
ment was made. But, inasmuch as the grantees
sand their assigns were authorised and required
to commence the work, and buy out the omnibus
proprietors, within sixty days, being thirty days
before the book for subscriptions to stock was re-
CURED to be opened and, of course, before the
possible existence of any stock at all, and
inasmuch as the notice of such books being
opened was to be given by f'said association"
e. by the grantees "and ''those who now
are, or who may hereafter be, as ''sociated with
them and their aseisgns"-it does not appear
necessary to waste time in combating our contem-
porary's ingenious idea
AS to the form Of the notice given, we cannot
douotthati twas the best and indeed the only FORM
lhat conld have been properly adopted. The sec
uon under which it was issued is altogether loose
and absurd, avoiding-and we have no doubt,
with careful and deliberate intention-any pro WIS.,
ions that could have made it effective and practical
as against the contemplated monopoly. 1t says
nothing of the amount of stock to be issued, the
number OF shares, the par value per share. 1t
leaves out every thing essential, imposing only a
naked and barren obligation. What were the
parties then to do acting under it? What right
mad they to assume amount of capital, rather
than another-one number and par value of shares
instead of another? Every designation which they
might have made, would have been equally OBJ
Jectionabe, because they were clothed with no
power to make any. They did, therefore, what
we presume any prudent legal adviser would have
counselled them was the only safe thing to do
They advertised in the very language of the Ordi-
nance, without presuming to place any construc-
ton of their own upon it. They invited the pub
lie to subscribe, leaving to the proper tribunals to
determine hereafter-what only these tribunals
can lawfully decide-the rights acquired by
such subscription, and the mode and form of rem
dering them available. 1t is the fault of the Ord
nance, if no is weak enough to subscribe upon
such terms. Such result was no doubt anticipa-
ted and designed.
But while we concur in the regularity of the &C
ion of the Association" under the terms of the
ordinance, in the particulars referred to-enter-
aiming our opinion of the ordinance itself-we
must not be understood as adopting the amusing
xcuse of the grantees for the defects of the section
7hich we have been discussing. They would have |
$ believe that the MAYOR and City Councils mod |
silly abstaned from regulating the matter of capi-
Il stock-not for the benefit of the monopolsts,
at simply because of their honest conviction that
icy could not create corporation-and that they
erefore intentionally left the question open for
e Legislature to act on. Being rather hampered
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