The New York herald., 1870-04-06
RI, New Charter.

from the face Of the record that there never
was any respectable opposition to It's passage
The "young democracy" appears to have been
a bugaboo. 1t made famous noise and the
most alarming threats Of what calamities
should come to pass in case It's Ire was raised;
and these threats seem to have at first fairly
| driven tho Charter from the field. But when
this young democracy failed to foist it's own
| Charter on us, and failed because 1t had no
votes to support the series OF proposed
| frauds and swindles It called q Charter
that demonstration Of weakness encouraged
the revival of the bill that Is now law; and
this bill, fairly put under way, passed the
! Assembly with only six votes against it and
the Senate with only two. There are few
incidents in the history Of legislation that
equal this ludicrous failure to appear Of q
organization that ever had vitality in our city
politics. With oil its roaring and noise, all
it's asseverations Of power and probity, all Its
declarations that 1t not only was great party,
but that It was tho ono sole party that had any
existence here, and that all others were mere
frauds, cheats and shams--with all this, and
with the utter JfaseO of six votes in the Assem-
bly, as the assertion of its power and greatness,
ends the present history of the young demo-
cracy.
The Charter that is now tho organic law Of
our municipal government Is, perhaps, not
the very best one that wise men might make,
with ample leisure and long life before
them-if wise men ever have long lives before
them; but nevertheless 1t is very good
Charter. We give it entire to-day, in tho hope
that VIC may thus encourage the people to
read it, and that they may acquaint themselves
fully and clearly with the structure of the city
government, and of the powers and duties and
several Offices; for we sincerely believe that
there are no other topics of equal importance
Of which the intelligent people of our city are
80 ignorant; and we doubt not that the
apathy on their part, of which there
is such just complaint, is In great
part the fruit of that ignorance. In this
Charter there is a certain regard to symmetry
in the distribution Of powers in tho govern
mcnt; and though this Is not rigidly adhered
to, yet it gives simplicity Of plan that makes
the law more comprehensive than such laws
usually are. In the two branches Of the City
Council-the one representing the city at
large, tho other representing the wards--we
have legislature that must, in its compost
ton, feel the effect Of all opinions, and that
may be a body Of very satisfactory character.
The different composition applies to our city
government for the first time the principle in
force in the State, and in the country at largo,
by which the Senate is given an origin
different from that Of the House. Once moro
we have definite deposit Of the executive
power in the Office of Mayor and there is no
faction and no man Of any party who does not
believe that to have one executive is better
than to have forty. Tho departments in our
city government are recognized as appended
to the executive power, and are somewhat
analogous 10 tho departments in the general
government; but the associated heads are not
called tho Mayors Cabinet. All, however,
are appointed by the Mayor, save the heads Of
the departments Of Law and Finance. 1t is
good that the administration Of justice should
derive as much Of its force as possible directly
from the people and it is pr oper, also, that no
loss an authority should determine what man
shall handle and be responsible for the public
money.
In this scheme of government there arc ten
departments. These are departments of
Finance, Law, Police, Public Works, Public
Charities and Correction, Fire, Health, Parks,
Buildings and Docks. In one or another of
these we may locate every necessary act Of
the city government. The general division Of
duties and powers in force in the commission
system is accepted sometimes to the dctriment
Of the logical character Of the Charter. An
instance Of this is in the case of the Depart
ment Of Parks. Such department was only
made in Difference to the fact that there was
Central Park Commission. 1t has been argued
at Albany that such powers as rested in this
commission are outside the general powers OF
government. The Charter would have answered
that argument completely by giving the Park
to bureau in the Department Of Public Works.
Other departments also are anomalous and
superfluous. The duties Of the head OF the
Department Of Buildings are police duties. But
these are minor defects, that are as nothing by
comparison with the cxcellences and benefits
Of law that sweeps the commissions out Of
existence aud opens to us the possibility Of
good municipal government.
THE MCFARLAND TRIAI.-Two moro jurors
for the trial of this case were obtained yestsr-
day, making eight in all. This is better pro-
gress than we expected, considering how very
generally among our citizens the case was
read and discussed at the time of the killing
of Richardson. At this rate 1t is fair to infer