New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-10-27

between Eew-YOrk aud Paterson must be ms
continued.
This was pretty well, but Fisk and Gould
Thought they could do still better. A new bill
was introduced estensibly to increase the pen
alty for oyerchafging. The first section raised
the forfeit to $3.50; but the second section was
40 adroi,Iy worded that, while appearing TO re-
peal only those portions Of the act of 1889
which were inconsistent with the new law, it
really repeaIed the act itself. Thus more than
| 80 Judgments already obtained against the road
updsr the act of 1859 fell to the grOsnd, and
Fisk g. Co. obtained a complete bill OF indem-
nity for all their overeharges up to March of
| the present year.
Having wiped out old scores, still another
I'LL WIS wanted to enable. the Company to
charge as much as they pleased in future An
act wac. accordingly passed purporting to au-
thOrize the constructions of branch road !;
but hidden away in the midst of multitude
of verbose conditions and prOviscs was line
oonferrirg upon che Erie Company, in respect
"tO its aid branch road and its leased lines"
al the privileges ever granted to o railroad III
Hudson, Passaic, Morris, or Sussex Coung,
sven undtr charters which never went irtO
gperation, and to roads which never existed
except on paper. What enormous powers haze
been conferred by this weeping clause we
shall find out only by degrees. 1t will tako
long STUDY of legislative records to make
catalogue Of them OF CO. arse it is not neces-
sary that the branch road should ever be built;
the additional powers are wanted only for the
leased lin g.. for it is on these that illegal
|. charges have heretofore besn made. That the
Erie man ayers have found in some dead
and forgotten charter the power for which
they sought is apparent from the fact that
they have put up their eharges-nOt 100 per
cent as they did before bat $50 per cent?
| We have not done yet, for there il % fourth
bill, as bad az the ether three. The Erie Com
pany owns valuable real estate in jersey City
known al the Long Dock property, and worth
probably at least $15,0C9,000. AT the rate OF
taxation in Jersey City q per cent?, this prop
erty ought to pay $300,5O0 year into the city
treasury; but Emo bill No. provides that the
Company shall hereafter be taxed only One-halt
OF one per cent on tAsir O,rn apprasemem of the
pr0pertv-this tax to be paid into the treasury
of Che State, and to be in lieu of all other
taxes and iraposts whatever upon that prop
erty Ali these four bills were passed on the
same day, the 18th OfaMarch, 1870, and all but
the last were intended directly to defeat the
administration of justice in the Courts of the
State.
We hope the people of New-York will re-
| feet upon the warning which is given them
by such shameful days work. The lawless
combination which is enabled in this manner
| to disgrace Legislatures and defy the Courts,
| has allied itself in our city with equally
| infamous political combination which for years
has corrupted the Judiciary and robbed us of
our only safeguard, the suffrage. Between the
two all our dearest rights are assailed. The
| right of choosing our own rulers, the right of
self-taxation, the right to the fruits of our
own labor, all are taken from lis. IL we can
not arrest these vIlainous usurpations, we
may as well confess that republican liberty is
| a dclusion,