The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1870-05-21
The New Constitution.

the convention in session at Springfield since
last December, and which finally adjourned
last Friday, is published in the Chicago and
Springfield papers, and in spite Of its great
length, we shall lay it before our readers next
week. We are inclined, from the hasty glance
We have given it, to think well OF it, and to
regard it as certainly an improvement on our
present constitution.
To the bill Of rights some important addi-
tions have been made; such as, that In minor
offenses grand juries may be dispensed with
and the offenders tried summariy by county
courts, thus avoiding the expense Of keeping
supposed offenders frequently for months in
jais to await the sitting Of grand juries, by
whom they are as often discharged as indict'
ed. The making irrevocabls grants Of char
tered privileges is prohibited; private proper
ty Cor public use is not to be taken without
compensation, the damages to be ascertained
by jury; and the fee of lands taken for
railroad tracks remains in the owners.
The Legislative department is improved by
raising the number Of senators to 50 and rep
resentatives to 100, and provision is made to
guard against the dishonest practice Of gerry
Wandering in apportloning the representa-
tives among the counties. Various provisions
are also inserted to guard against corrupt and
hasty legislation.
The provisions in regard to the Executive
Department" are wise and sensible. The veto
power of the Governor is made more effective
by requiring twothirds vote Of the legisla-
ture to overcome it, and the executive officers
are made to account more rigidly Of their
doings.
The judicial department has been improved
by the enlargement of the Supreme Court,
and by giving the legislature ample powers to
make provision for facilitating and expedting
business in the lower courts.
Important improvements have been made
in the matter of fees and salaries, giving this
part Of our organic law more fexibility than
is given by the present constitution, and thus
doing away with the present demoralizing
practice OF disregarding the constitution to
indulge in unlimited stealing under the name
Of legal fees
Such matters as the convention were doubt.
tul about they submitted to be voted on sepa-
ratcly There are no less than eight of these
separate articles or sections, any one Of them
being voted up, takes the place of the present
constitutional provision on that subject or,
being voted down, the present constitution
stands, where it says anything on the subject.
|. The first of these refers to railroads. II
requires all railroads in the state to keep their
stock and transfer books in the state. and not
in New York or Boston, as many of them do
at present. The rolling stock of railroads is
declared personal property, liable to execu.
ton and sale for debt. No railroad is allowed
to consolidate" with II parallel or competing
line The legislature has power to fix maxi
mum rates of charge for treights and fares
Railroad companies are not allowed to pay
dividends by new issues OF stock, or in any
way to increase their capital stock fictitious
ly; and the Legislature shall pass laws to pre-
vent unjust determinations and extortion by
railroads in the matter of treights and fares.
These provisions strike US as Just and sensible
and we have no doubt will, as they ought to,
be voted up.
.. The second article to be voted on sepa-
rately is that relating to Counties" The
first four sections, which relate to the forma-
ton Of new counties and the removal of
county seats, are no Improvement on the pro-
visions Of the present constitution. They
allow counties to be cut down to 400 square
miles, or less than IL townships, and open
hundreds of interminable local fights about
new county lines and county seats from which
the state for the last 20 years has been hap
PLY exempt. Most Of the remaining nine
sections of the article have been drawn with
special reference to Cook county, in whose
affairs We confess We feel very little interest.
Upon the whole, we shall vote no ON this
article.
3. The third article TO- be voted on sepa-
rately refers to warehouses" and is intended
to correct some Of the abuses and swindling Of
the Chicago warehouse men. We naturally
90 for anything that promises reform in that
direction.
L. Fourshly, the people are to vote squarely
on the simple question, shall majority vote
be sufficient, or shall a three-ffths vote be
necessary to remove county seat We vote
for three-ffths.
). The next provision submitted to sepa