The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-17

English Government is supposed to be pre-
pared to make were communicated, but they
were not such proposals as the Government
of the United States would entertain for
moment 1t is not probable that Mr. Motley,
up to this time, has been encouraged to ex-
pect any more acceptable terms than these
from Mr.. Gladstone. This is improbability
number three
We may add, as improbablity number four,
that Mr.. Motley would hardly be SO indis-
Greet as to place himself, at this early stage of
his mission, in the attitude of deliberate hos
tlllty to the Government he represents, at
least until 1t should appear that the country
was suffering by that policy, of which, as yet,
there can be no pretense. We are therefore
constrained to doubt the existence of any let
ter from MIR. Motley which would bear the
construction put upon it by the correspondent
OF our evening contemporary.
THE NEW CONSTITUTIoN-THE GOV
ERNNIENT OF CITIES-A WORD TO
DEMOCRATS.
From the NJ Y. Sum
The Democrats have complained very loudly
of the government of the city of New York
through the incessant interference of the
Legislature, and especially by the creation of
various boards of commissioners to adminis-
ter its affairs They now have an opportunity
to remedy all this by adopting the new Con-
stitution.
That instrument provides that general laws
shall be passed by the Legislature, at its first
session, for the organization and government
of cities, and that no special act shall be passed
for this purpose except when the object can
not be attained under general laws. This will
prevent all that species of discriminating
legislation in regard to this city and Brooklyn
to which the Democracy have SO long and SO
strenuously objected.
The Constitution also provides that not
only Mayors but all city officers shall be
chosen by the electors of cities, or be appoint
ed by such city authorities as the Legislature
shall designate. The authorities however,
who may be clothed with limited appointing
powers, must themselves be chosen by the
electors of the several cities. This provision,
therefore, will prevent the creation by the
Legislature of any special commissions for the
city of New York. If commissions are created,
1t must be done under general laws, equally
applicable to all the laws of the State;
and even then the commissions must be
chosen by the electors of the several cities,
or be appointed by authorities chosen by
those electors.
BY the new Constitution, mayors are vested
with much larger powers than the Mayor of
this city now enjoys. According to its provi-
sions, mayors are clothed with authority to
see that the duties of all other city officers are
faithfully performed; and for this purpose,
they may investigate their acts examine all
their books, records, and documents subject
them and their subordinates to rigid inquiry
under oath and suspend or remove them from
office for misconduct or neglect of duty.
All this is eminently just and proper; and
we need hardly say that the bestowal of such
authority upon the Mayor of New York. not
to speak of other large cities, would amount
to revolution in our municipal government
and revive those earlier and better times
when the Mayor was in fact, as well as in
form, the Chief Magistrate Of the metropolis
of the Union.
The new Constitution then, will commit
| the exclusive control of all the cities of the
| State to the electors thereof, to whom it pro-
| perly belongs, The effect eff this measure
upon the politics of the State is obvious.
The cities are the prolific fountains whence
the Democratic party draws large share of
its strength. To place them completely under
the control of Democratic authorities must
operate to enhance the power and influence
of that party, not merely in the cities them
selves, but throughout the State. Viewing
the question from the standpoint of the cities,
therefore, it is clearly for the interest of the
Democrats to see that the Constitution is
adopted.