The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-10-21

l Vi 'HS So"StitutiOn Oh lSsU, anu tucy COutcuC
that the verbs employed in the section las
referred to, that prohibit General Assembl!
firm contracting debts, except fer the pur
pose of repelling invasion, suppressing insur
rcctiOn, or defending the State in war;" are Il
be construed literally and strictly, and tina,
their effect is to absolutely prohibit the State
from contracting debts, except for the very
purpose and under the precise circumstances
specified.
1t must be confessed if chose who thus rea
son are correct, the only mode that can be
adopted to afford either direct or indirect aid
TO the city of Chicago, Is that OF direct tax
atlon ; ami 1t Is an argument in favor of the
lass mentioned mode of raising money, that
we thereby avoid the necessity of giving other
than the true and literal construction to the
words OF the proviso that it would be voted
upon. But as has often been suggested,
with reference to other instruments, the true
construction is the only one that is admissible,
ana the literal construction is not necessarily
true, TOR the object of construction is to ascer-
tam the sense and purpose for which the
words IN question were introduced into the
| instrument, and that sense, when discovered
Is to be accepted ; and in that sense the instru-
ment, II a constitution is to be obeyed and
| iniOrced.
do not believe that these who insist upon
contining the power of the General Assembly to
contract debt to the precise occasions of INVASION
lnsurrection or war, do justice to the purpose of
| the trainers of the constitution. They all in.
tend, beyond all doubt, to deny the General As
| semb!y the power to contract debts beyond the
sum OF $250,OOO which they have authorized it
to do, substantially, at its own discretion, ex.
oept under circumstances of extreme peril to the
State In defining the degree of peril that they
intended should warrant the exercise by the
General Assembly of q power that had been so
much abused, they employed the strongest Ian
suaee; but 1t cannot be inferred that they in.
tended that the State should be defended from
invasion-that it might employ its resources to
suppress an instruction, or to prosecute war
but should be powerless to resist the greatest
evils or prevent the most threatening dangers
that might arise from any other probable cause
1t seems to me that they intended to define the
degree IT urgency, rather than to express the
particular occasions when the power il question
might be employed. The trainers of the consti.
tuition were statesmen familiar with the
practice as we'll as science of government, and
we'll understood, from the examples in which
history abounds, that occasions might arise in
the future of the State when money might be re.
quired to be raised before the people could be
consulted in general election, to meet other ex.
igences than those of actual invasion, insurrec.
ton or war They knew that dangers sometimes
impend over States, and evils overtake them, to
which the dangers and evils produced by inva-
! sons insurcections and wars are bu. examples
that might require all its resources, should be at
once e'npioyed TO prevent or remove them and
with that knowledge, it cannot be presumed that
they intended that the state, abousding in
wealth. should submit to an unhappy fate, or in
vlte an invasion, excite it's people TO instruction
or engage IN war, TO find a pretext for employ
ing its own resources to avert IT,
It was not the purpose Of the trainers of the
constitution to deprive the state o: the power TO
discharge its vital aud essential functions as the
narrow Interpretation of the constitution l am
disputiug nndou btedly does; and the circum-
stances OF the case Of the city Of Chicago, DOW
under consideration serves III the purposes Of
the most complete and satisfactory illustration.
In that city, within few hours many millions
OF property Were suddenly destroyed ; nearly or
quite 100000 Of its inhatt4nts deprived OF food
and shelter; the ordinary agencies created by
the State were, by the same overwhelming cslam-
ity, deprived of their power and resources, and
were helpless to feed or shelter them. The Leg
islature OF the State though convened by the Gov
ernor they find the moneys in the treasury
inadequate TO meet the demands uuou tie STATE.
but It's credit is practically hmitless, and the
means to feed ana give protection TO the hungry
multitude abound on every hand.
The General Assembly cannot as claimed,
draw upon the resources of the State, or antici-
pate its revenue beyond an amount limited-nut
by the urgency Of its duties but by certain tech
nical words contained in the constitution II
this is the proper conclusion, and the people were
not otherwise relieved, one of the conditions up.
on which the power to contract debts is said to
depend, would soon be supplied, for the cravings
OF hunger will madden any population on earth
to instruction.
II is to be borne in mind that the State of Hi.
nois is so far independent OF all other govern
ments chat it must at all times be equal to the
perfect discharge of its own obligations. II can
not rely upon the voluntary charity of the
benevolent 10 feed or give shelter to it's destitute
population without ut the sme time ceasiay to
exist
1t cannot and has not abdicated the most es.
sential function of its existence, of raising all
moneys required for the discharge of its most
important duties, by regular NODES for tho safe.
~ of al the interests of the people forbid it, To
claim that the people of the State have locked up
their property, SO it cannot be reached by const-
tutional methods, TO be used for the most urgent
purposes of government, and discharge the high.
est social obligations, is not only to do injustice
to their character for humanity. but to their in.
telligence and discernment for the power to
raise money to meet great and sudden mergen.
ces in the affairs of states, is essential to their
existence.
Entertaining these views of the proper Con.
struction of the language of the proviso of the
eighteenth section of the fourth article of the
constitution, feel no hesitation in recon- mend.
ing that If this course Is deemed by the General
Assembly most judicious, that the amount nee
essary to meet the urgent demands upon the re.
sourses of the State be borrowed, and ut the same