The New York herald., 1865-06-23

lo3o Z, 1639 June Y, lS4Z The
manner OF their selection substantially ths:-Each
company elected it's members and particular officers,
whose names were thereupon sent to the Common Coun
appointed the engineers and assistants selecting them
from the members Of the Fro Department. afterwards
they were nominated the Common Council by the en-
gneers and foremen and assistant oremen of the several
companies, and finally they nominated by general
ballot or the members Of the Fire Department as pre-
scrbed by the ordinances OF July 16 1885, and June a.
1872 They were for ofhe tme held the pleasure
or the Common Council, and finally 'until new cleo
shall be held and the nomination made by them duly
confirmed" In the performance Of their duties and in
Of the snd for sxn
gushing res they were subject 70 the regulations and
ordinances Of the Common Council Did those facts have
the provision Of 10 constitution The object Of their
appontment-the extinguishment Of ares-is ono Of
81 life and Pss ppopss &. s,, ,n' But sa
was never thought 10 be necessary 70 &C.
SSSss 81 o the
for that purpose authorized and created in the form
Of companies Of men with foremen, assistant oremen
and various minor officers who subjected TO other
and higher agents. In the form Of engineers and assistant
engineen all forming an organized body Of men to
unequal to perform. II would asonish lifetime fire.
man OF New York TO be told that he had been all the
su wnl,s public Officer and the remen were not them;
from themselves TO superintend them in the per.
iormance OF their labors and duties Officers they
were In respect TO their relations to the subordinate
members Of the Fire Department., and In the
In which that term is used to indicate that rela-
ion but in the civil and public in which Il
is used in tho tenth article OF the constitution This
Will more readily appear by reference TO the
article and some Of It's sections The fourth section
Joins that the time Of elocting all officers named In this
article shall be prescribed by law" Surely this
mean that the Legislature shall prescribe tho time for
that the Legislature shall provide for ling
ONCE No one has dreamed Of passing an act Of the
the Fire Department. Nor has any one deemed
tne provisions in relation to the termination of
offices with the political year, had any application TO
any of the duties enoined upon the Legislature by Art
10 touching the duration Of oces times OF election the
filling Of vacancies and when the Office shall be deemed
vacant been applied to the nrcmen and their officers
IN cities and villages There has been great derelicton
OF duty heretofore the part the Legislature il these
numerous bodies Of public officers intended to be
embraced In tho provisions OF that chapter But the
whole difficulty Is easily solved and disposed Of by
versay accepted as truo that tho remen OF cities
and villages and their various officials Of every grade
In the People vs. Conover az r. oa II was held that
mere agency OF municipal corporation is not off,
Ger OF the Stae TO be such the office must be directly
created by the constitution, or BY statute. think,
therefore, 1t may be safely asserted that the foremen
engineers and other officers Of the re department. OF
Now York were not In 1S46 officers In the Of the
constitution SO that the Legislature could not direct the
mode OF their selection and appointment it's discretion
1t had the power to have declared them public officers
had 1t chosen so to do and thereby have created
officers Independently Of tho city authores Ear
the appointing power concerned So far as the Of
soners 1t creates both officers and ofces for il
changes functions heretofore performed by persons
public and civil officers As II the Legislature should
declare the presdencies Of all insurance companies
whose charters arc under Its control TO be public oes
10 DO filed by appointment Of the Governor and
Senate without at all changing the duties OF the posi-
tion. Tho Office would be new, though all its dues
would bc old because private functions would bo trans
muted to public and official It ia Of moment
what official relations may have sprung up since lS48
to govern the fire department, OF tho ely nor
O. Oilc in heir nafur
Their places and powers. any there be- clearly SUBJ
ect TO the authority Of the legislature because the
that time; aud therefore, refrain from pursuing the
history Of the fire department that period But II
city Of New York were authorized to appoint the remen
and their officers and legslats generally for their
,ssn,a1n , nav0n that 81 the act Of 1867 which gives
that reason, violation Of the constitution. But
those powers were no part Of tho Official duties Of
given to he Mayor, Aldermen and conmonalty OF
the city In Common Council convened and were part Of
a. tn ne as
State is supreme over that Of all local legislatures,
except when the constitution intervenes TO restrict it.
The corporation Of the city Is not ocer within tho
meaning of the tenth article To diminish restrict ts
general legislative or administrative power a body
corporate Is to abrogate change public Office in
the OF constitutional restriction The Legislature
may recall to itself and exercise at its pleasure much
OF the powers 1t has conferred upon the city corpora
ton not secured to IL by the constitution This
necessarily results from the fact that all the legislative
power 0xCcpt
such as is expressly reserved This point conceive,
necessarily disposed Of by the People Va Draper
as T., ss2l One question in that case was whether
the Legislature could create the civil DIVISION and
taking from the Common Council Of New York the
appointment OF and control Of the entire police Of the
city hitherto belonging to them, confer II upon
new district officers appointed by the Governor
and Senate. II was argued that this took away
powers cmanating from local constituencies; and
all existing local authority 10 Its existing LOCAL
sourcesan object which was OF course, directly SO
bracing existing localities in which the same powers
be exclusively exercised under central State
authority. But to this position 1t answered, at
may be said that matters Of police have generally
been Of local cogazance, An act which shall unite for
police purposes. several counties and cities causes the
local division 10 be less distinctly Defined aud this Is
true. But this II II proves anything, proves too
much. Tho argument would stamp the distribution OF
administrative authority among the local divisions, with
the attribute OF absolute perInancncy. Evory change
Ia this respect would intensity dctract from the dis
tnctness with which these divisions were marked when
the constitution framed within our recollection
the arrangements for the support OF the poor have been
the subject Of changes, which havo taken from the
county authority and given 1t to the towns and the re-
District attorneys appointed for seve
raj counties Afterwards appointed for each
schools In the administration OF this system both
town aud county agencies employed; but changes
are often made BY which power In taken from one and
the principle that the Legislature reduce the
administrative authority Of countess cities and towns
portion Of the jursdction Of those local DIVISIONS or
change tho partition Of IL among them existed when
the constitution adopted should, think, make
impractcabe government II is the business OF the
Legislature to adjust, In the interest Of the whole
people Of the State, the distribution OF the powers
Of government, taking care that no direct pro.
vision of the constitution Is violated, and that
arrangement which II has made Is incidentally dis
turbed We conclude that the act is constitution.
ally valid so far this objection Is concerned per
DEMO, j., p 5t2) In The People Bstcheior t22 ~
r., 1881, It was said by seden J. :'No one, think,
doubt the power OF the Legislature 10 withdraw
rey or postpone the exercise Of an authority conferred
by itself alone upon the mayor and aldermen No pro-
vision OF the constitution contains any restriction upon
this power" In that the act withheld for time
the appointment Of oficer whose appointment had
been vosted in the council prior TO ls4s and
tanned the incumbent in Office during that period. The
legislature said DEMO- J., in Darlington W the Mayor
&c. MSS Opl have plenary power In respect 70 all
subjects of civil government which they not pro-
hbted from exercising by the constitution Of the United
States by provision arrangement OF the con-
stitution OF tho State" And he condenses, with appro
baton, the views expressed by Justice Washington in
Woodward vs. Dartmouth College "A Wheat, $751; "that
there two kinds Of corporations aggregate, viz